All posts by z3u9t.icu

New Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has got his reign at Ibrox off to a great start by winning all four games he’s taken charge of, with the latest being their recent 3-0 win over Dundee FC in the SPFL.

Now, with the January transfer window on the horizon, it seems as though the club could have identified who Van Bronckhorst’s first signing as Rangers boss could be.

What’s the news?

In a recent interview with Foot Mercato, Dundee United midfielder Jeando Fuchs revealed that Rangers are one of the clubs that have contacted him and his agent over a potential transfer.

Since joining United back in October last year from Spanish side Alaves, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £720k according to Transfermarkt, has made 45 appearances for the club across all competitions, chipping in with just one assist in the process.

This season has seen Fuchs start 13 of the 15 SPFL games he’s appeared in, showing how important he is for the side.

In those league games, Fuchs has shown what a defensive unit he has been for United by racking up an average of two interceptions per game and 2.3 tackles per game.

As well as his impressive defensive output from midfield this season, Fuchs’ overall league performances have earned him a season rating of 6.72/10, making him the fifth-highest rated United player to have made more than four appearances this season according to WhoScored.

Despite sitting at the top of the league table at the moment, Rangers have conceded four more goals than Celtic have and only one fewer than Hearts in third place, which could make a potential transfer swoop for Fuchs a smart move for the club and just what Van Bronckhorst needs to secure the title at Ibrox this season.

Looking ahead to the January transfer window, Rangers’ sporting director Ross Wilson should definitely consider making a move for Fuchs, who has “unbelievable energy” according to Micky Mellon, to see if he can help push the team to the title and end Van Bronckhorst’s first season at Rangers on a high.

Also, with two of Rangers’ current midfield options – Scott Arfield and Steven Davies – being well into their thirties, Fuchs could be a suitable long-term replacement for the duo given his fairly young age. With all of the aforementioned positives in mind, this would surely be a dream deal for the club’s new manager.

In other news: GVB handed big boost as Rangers update emerges on “highly respected” £5.4m-rated beast – opinion

With Aston Villa having signed the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne during the current January transfer window, it seems as though they could have a challenge on their hands when it comes to the next summer transfer window and trying to keep hold of one of the key players in Steven Gerrard’s squad.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Telegraph, Villa midfielder John McGinn has been identified as a summer transfer target for fellow Premier League side Manchester United.

The report also claims the United’s technical director Darren Fletcher is apparently a big fan of McGinn and would welcome his potential arrival at Old Trafford.

Fans would be fuming

Villa signed McGinn from Scottish club Hibernian back in the 2018 summer transfer window when they were still in the Championship.

Since then, the midfielder has gone on to make 129 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing 21 assists along the way, highlighting how much of an important figure he has been for the team.

The £27m-rated dynamo has been an ever-present figure for Villa this season as well, with Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa being the only outfield players to have racked up more minutes in the Premier League than McGinn.

The Scotland international has also been the subject of heavy praise by Gerrard as well with the former Rangers boss describing McGinn’s passing ability in their 2-1 win over Leicester City in early December as “outstanding.”

With WhoScored currently listing the 27-year-old as the highest-rated Villa player to have started more than one Premier League game this season with an overall rating of 7.14/10, this backs up why he’d be a big miss for Villa if he were to leave in the summer.

Taking all of this into account, it would be nothing short of a disaster if the Midlands outfit were to sell the Scot this summer to United given how important he is to the side, especially just months after losing fellow talisman Jack Grealish. To lose both in such a short space of time, would understandably leave supporters rather angry.

Moving forward, with his current contract not set to expire until the summer of 2025, it could be worth Villa’s owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris encouraging McGinn to stick with Villa and help them reach the club’s aspirations of securing European football in the future.

In other news: Deal agreed: Fabrizio Romano delivers Villa transfer update, Lange is working wonders – opinion

Celtic interim manager John Kennedy is in the running to take over from Neil Lennon on a permanent basis.

That’s according to a report from Give Me Sport, who were provided with information regarding the Hoops’ search for a new boss.

They suggested on Friday night that the 37-year-old could significantly boost his chances over the next 48 hours with a win against rivals Rangers in the Scottish Cup.

Kennedy, who prefers a 4-4-2 system, is unbeaten in the five games as caretaker manager. He’s already faced Steven Gerrard’s side, drawing 1-1 in the Scottish Premiership last month.

Transfer Tavern take

It seems as if Celtic are closing in on Manchester City’s Fergal Harkin as their new director of football, and alongside incoming chief executive Dominic McKay, the pair could play key roles when it comes to appointing a new manager.

It seems as if Kennedy can boost his chances of landing the role on a full-time basis by lifting some silverware, but to us, the club should be looking elsewhere.

By all means, try and keep Kennedy around at Celtic Park as part of the backroom staff, but with no senior experience in management, it could be a huge risk.

Appointing someone like Eddie Howe, who has been heavily linked with the vacant position, may be the smarter option, as he has success of rebuilding a side and over 500 games of experience.

In other news: Celtic open to Odsonne Edouard swap deal involving £57k-p/w ace, find out more here. 

Leeds United had a fairly busy previous summer transfer window in terms of the deals that took place at Elland Road.

Not only did the Yorkshire club secure permanent deals for the likes of Dan James, Jack Harrison and Junior Firpo, but they also saw numerous players leave on loan or free transfers.

However, one player that the Whites were linked with over the summer that they will now be regretting not being able to sign is Conor Gallagher.

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Having spent last season on loan with West Bromwich Albion from his parent club Chelsea, the midfielder found himself on the move again last summer.

A report from the Daily Mail claimed that Leeds were in the mix with Crystal Palace and Newcastle United for the Englishman’s signature.

Eventually, the Chelsea youngster stayed in London but ended up at Selhurst Park with the Eagles on loan until the end of the campaign.

Unfortunately for Leeds, the 22-year-old has shown just how much of a mistake the Whites made by not making sure it was them who Gallagher joined in the summer.

With 28 league appearances to his name, the England international has scored eight goals and delivered three assists, leaving only Wilfried Zaha with more goal contributions for Patrick Vieira’s side.

One of those goals ended up being labelled as “outrageous” by Palace podcaster Dan Cook on Twitter.

As well as his efforts in front of goal, Gallagher’s overall performances have been mightily impressive as well.

So much so that WhoScored have him listed as the highest-rated player in Vieira’s squad, as well as the seventh-highest rated player in the entire Premier League excluding Liverpool and Manchester City players.

In comparison to Leeds attacker Rodrigo, the Palace loan star has made more big chances and played more passes into the final third than the Spaniard this season.

To further highlight how imposing the £17k-per-week Englishman has been in terms of creating chances, he’s racked up more shot-creating actions than the likes of Raheem Sterling, Diogo Jota, Phil Foden and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Taking all of this into account and with some of the difficult results that Leeds have picked up at times this season, having a player like Gallagher – who is now reported to have an asking price of £50m – in their ranks could have been a massive boost for the Whites.

AND in other news: Leeds heading for disaster on “wonderful” £38k-p/w “talent”, Marsch would be fuming

Carlo Ancelotti will be desperate for updates on Robin Olsen’s fitness after goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was ruled out of Everton’s FA Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester City.

The Toffees have confirmed that Pickford will not be able to face Pep Guardiola’s Citizens on Saturday after aggravating an oblique abdominal muscle injury during last week’s 2-1 defeat to Burnley.

Pickford will now miss at least his side’s FA Cup encounter, plus England’s three March internationals against San Marino, Albania and Poland following scans carried out on Monday.

Ancelotti was forced to withdraw Pickford shortly before half-time during Saturday’s loss to Burnley, as the 27-year-old was unable to continue after irritating a prior rib injury that forced him to miss four games last month.

Academy shot-stopper Joao Virginia replaced Pickford for his Premier League debut and could now earn only his second Everton start in all competitions against Manchester City, with doubts lingering over Olsen’s fitness.

But, according to the Liverpool Echo, Olsen has not yet given up hope of guarding the goal against the Citizens on Saturday, as the AS Roma loanee hopes to overcome his own fitness concerns in time.

Olsen has been sidelined since last month’s Merseyside derby win away to rivals Liverpool with an unspecified injury, which has forced the 31-year-old to be absent from Ancelotti’s past four Premier League matchday squads.

The 42-cap Sweden international played no role in the 2-0 win at Anfield or previous 3-1 loss to Manchester City, but has kept two clean sheets in his nine outings across all competitions this term and has played all 330 minutes of Everton’s FA Cup campaign to date.

Ancelotti will be desperate to get word on whether or not Olsen will be passed fit in time to face Manchester City on Saturday, with Virginia otherwise his sole option for the FA Cup tie.

Virginia’s only previous first-team appearance for the Toffees, prior to replacing Pickford against Burnley, had come in the Carabao Cup in September when he kept a clean sheet at home to Salford City during a 3-0 win over the League Two side.

The 21-year-old was able to register a second shutout against the Clarets over the weekend, but the Portuguese prospect almost conceded after fumbling Chris Wood’s header to leave Matej Vydra with an open goal only for the forward to waste the opportunity.

Virginia felt his top-flight bow went well, overall, having kept to Ancelotti’s instructions of keeping things simple.

“The manager and Alan [Kelly, the goalkeeping coach] told me to be confident and keep it simple and let the game come to me,” Virginia said. “That’s what I did. I waited for the game to come to me, and everything went well.”

But Ancelotti may favour a recall for Olsen if the on-loan ‘keeper is considered fit enough to start, having previously stated how he and Pickford are no better or worse than one another.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti has set his eyes on bringing a £59m flop to Everton…

Alan Hutton reckons that only a ‘massive’ bid could prize Kalvin Phillips away from Leeds United, as reported by Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Leeds United prepare for 2021/22

As Marco Bielsa’s men gear up for 2021/22, fans up and down the country will be intrigued to see how the Argentinian goes about improving on their impressive display last season.

Acquiring a few new faces would certainly not go amiss, but keeping hold of their prize assets will also be of particular importance to Bielsa, given most of this squad is the same as the one he arrived to in the Championship.

Hutton has echoed this sentiment regarding Phillips in particular in his latest interview with Football Insider.

The Latest: Only a ‘massive’ fee would lure Phillips away

Speaking about Phillips’ qualities amid potential interest in him this summer, the former Tottenham Hotspur man stated:

“There’ll be loads of teams watching him.

“There’s obviously people looking at him thinking: ‘Right, we’ve got a young midfielder, broken into the England team, absolutely outstanding.’

“But the figure? Try put a figure on his head. I couldn’t. The fee could be massive. I just think he’s an absolutely fantastic player.

“You could see when you watch Leeds, he had a couple niggly injuries throughout the season. When he wasn’t playing, they weren’t the same team.” [Football Insider].

The Verdict: Keep at all costs

In 2020/21, the 25-year-old enjoyed an outstanding campaign for the Whites, making 31 appearances whilst he registered four goal contributions; one goal and three assists [Transfermarkt].

Phillips’ desire to make things happen from deep has been a driving force for Bielsa’s men the last year. Averaging around 4.8 long balls per 90 minutes, he has the highest rate of long pass attempts in the entire Leeds United squad [WhoScored].

His impact was really shown when he was out of the side however – in the nine league games Phillips missed, Leeds won just twice.

The Whites support will be desperate to keep the local lad in Yorkshire for many years to come, as will his manager as they move forward into 2021/22.

In other news, Leeds United have been offered the chance to sign an Ivory Coast international.

According to a report by Italian news outlet Calciomercato, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are ‘ready’ to pay the €30 million (£25.6m) release clause for Roma star Lorenzo Pellegrini. 

The Lowdown: Italian job?

Since managing director Fabio Paratici was officially appointed by Tottenham, the club have been linked to a host of Serie A stars – including ones that are currently shining for Italy at Euro 2020.

Domenico Berardi, who has been a real threat and mainstay under Azzurri boss Roberto Mancini, is one of the names touted with a possible Spurs move this summer.

Manuel Locatelli is another, with the very promising 23-year-old dazzling for Italy on Wednesday evening in their 3-0 win group stage win over Switzerland.

The Latest: Tottenham ‘ready’ to pay for Pellegrini…

Now, as per a claim from Calciomercato, Tottenham are ‘ready’ to pay the £25.6m release clause in Pellegrini’s contract amid the player’s contract dispute at Roma.

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Indeed, the 24-year-old is currently in talks over a new deal at the Stadio Olimpico, but the ‘agreement is missing’ and ‘struggling to be found’.

This has prompted the Lilywhites and Premier League rivals Liverpool to turn their heads, with both sides now ready to pay the fee needed.

The Verdict: Jack of all trades

An all-round central midfield player, Pellegrini is both a threat going forward and solid defensively going by the numbers.

The Italian dynamo averaged an impressive 2.1 shots per 90 in Serie A over 2020/2021 – which is even more than Son Heung-min managed in the Premier League at Tottenham (WhoScored).

Defensively, Pellegrini also made the same amount of interceptions per match domestically (1.3) as Tottenham midfield colossus Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (WhoScored).

This points to a very dynamic midfield presence in all areas, leaving little wonder why he has been called ‘phenomenal’ by Roma legend Francesco Totti (Basia.news).

Pellegrini would certainly feel like a top signing for Spurs, but given their more pressing need for a centre-half, we still believe he should be put into the maybe pile for now.

In other news: ‘I am hugely surprised’…Sky pundit baffled by alleged transfer development at Spurs, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur could be all change in the goalkeeper position this summer, if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Spurs are exploring alternative targets to Burnley’s Nick Pope in fear of being priced out of the England international, and one name that they are keen on is Lille shot-stopper Mike Maignan.

It’s thought that the Clarets will demand in excess of £30m for the 28-year-old, something that Daniel Levy may not be able to afford in the current financial climate.

Maignan will enter the final year of his contract at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy at the end of the season, so could be available for a cut-price deal.

Transfermarkt currently value the French international at £18m, whilst it remains to be seen how much the Ligue 1 joint-leaders would want for their first-choice goalkeeper.

Bye-bye Lloris?

The 25-year-old has started all 30 of Lille’s league matches this term, keeping 16 clean sheets in the process on their way to challenging Paris Saint-Germain for the title.

And it is the French champions that play an interesting role in this potential deal as the report also claims that Hugo Lloris’ future in north London remains uncertain as PSG are interested in signing him.

The 34-year-old veteran has somewhat regressed over the past 18 months or so, with more and more errors creeping into his game.

Premier League matches against Aston Villa and Brighton last season saw him fumble the ball for the opposition to score, whilst earlier this season, Lloris was dubbed “lettuce wrists” and a “weak link” of Jose Mourinho’s side as he let in five goals against Everton in the FA Cup.

Maignan is a decent replacement to make. He’s silenced some pretty big names this term, having stopped the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and one-time Spurs target Arek Milik from scoring.

It also presents an opportunity to move on from the past, and to start planning for the future. Goalkeepers do last a lot longer than most players these days, but at 34, Lloris is on the wrong side of that, whereas at 25, Maignan can become Spurs’ long-term option for the next five-to-six years, at least.

In addition to all that, two of Spurs’ current staff members – assistant Joao Sacramento and goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos – have worked with him before at Lille, and according to L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), they believe he has ‘enormous potential.’

Similarly, ex-teammate Victor Oshimhen claimed he was “too strong” and that merely echoed the thoughts of manager Christophe Galtier, who has lauded him “decisive” this season.

No Ligue 1 side has conceded fewer goals than Lille (19) this term and by comparison, Mourinho’s side have leaked 11 more goals, often to individual mistakes at the back. Lloris is usually one main culprit, too.

Given the interest in Maignan, it could be the final nail in the coffin for Lloris’ future at Spurs.

AND in other news, Dele Alli in line for Spurs revival if “unbelievable” boss is appointed…

Pep Guardiola may already have his Sergio Aguero heir at Manchester City with Ferran Torres’ superb recent displays suggesting that he can step up as his long-term replacement at the Etihad.

The Spain international, who reportedly earns £46k per week at City, fired in a superb hattrick in Friday evening’s 4-3 win against Newcastle United, which takes his tally for the season to 13 in all competitions – an impressive return for his debut season.

The 21-year-old joined City from Valencia last summer and whilst he has been on the peripheral of Guardiola’s squad for much of the season, he has regularly found the back of the net when given a chance to start, and is now showing his worth in the Premier League, which suggests that he could be much more of a regular next season.

City are likely to be in the market for a new striker this summer when Aguero leaves the club, with it already confirmed that the legendary Argentine, who joined for £38m in 2011, will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Gabriel Jesus is currently the only senior striker in Guardiola’s squad and the Brazilian, whilst a top-quality player, has emphasised that he will perhaps never have the goalscoring instincts of someone like Aguero.

It has also been confirmed that 18-year-old Liam Delap will be a part of Guardiola’s squad next season after impressing with the academy sides, but it would be unrealistic to expect him to replace Aguero’s goals in this City side.

However, Torres’ performance against Newcastle emphasised that City might not need to delve into the transfer market and spend millions on someone like Erling Haaland or Romelu Lukaku this summer.

The youngster moved into a more central role in the second half and added to his remarkable backheeled flick goal in the first half with two poachers goals, first smashing home Jesus’ cross from the right, before volleying into the roof of the net after Joao Cancelo’s shot came off the post.

Following Torres’ hattrick at St James’ Park, Guardiola certainly hinted that he could have a future as a striker, saying:

“Not just this evening, of course this evening was important, but his first season in England and his numbers are exceptional. He came as a winger, but he has to think about (being) a striker. When Sergio, Gabriel were out, he was there. He scored against Leeds and Crystal Palace. He didn’t have many minutes, but when he played, he had a sense of goal.

“Yeah, he can be [a No 9]. We will use him, we used him and he was brilliant. His rhythm, especially defensively he has improved a lot. The game at Palace, he makes a turn [in his season] – so good. The movement he makes as a striker, for the [third] goal, it hits the bar and where it goes, he knew it.

“The smell, the strikers know, intuitively where it will arrive. He has this talent and the first goal is fantastic. Very pleased.”

Therefore, with regular game time next season, there seems no reason why Torres can’t become a regular option up front for Guardiola, and perhaps step up as Aguero’s replacement, as his goalscoring instincts have been clear to see this season.

And, in other news… Txiki could be set for huge Man City mistake with £9m-rated dud even worse than Mendy

Ange Postecoglou’s first summer as the new manager of Celtic was an extremely busy one.

Together with Dominic McKay, the Hoops boss carried out a thorough upheaval of the playing staff, with plenty of bodies coming and going.

Twelve first-team players arrived, including three on a frantic transfer deadline day, but Postecoglou was also keen to strengthen the ranks in the reserve team. They brought in the likes of Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide from Sheffield Wednesday, while Joey Dawson was also recruited from the English Football League to Parkhead.

Shaw looks as though he’ll have a bright future in Glasgow, but sadly he has not been able to work his way into the manager’s plans so far. Instead, it was claimed by The Athletic this week that Dane Murray and Bosun Lawal were ahead of him in the pecking order.

Murray earned his Celtic debut in the Champions League at the beginning of the season, while Lawal was one of many signings this summer, arriving from Watford in a deal worth just £120,000.

He has made an instant impact at the club, taking on the captaincy of the B team, who have enjoyed a vibrant start to their life in the Lowland League.

A tough midfield player, he could well become the Hoops’ new Olivier Ntcham over the next few seasons.

Ntcham left Celtic this summer as he headed to Swansea following a dismal last 12 months in Scotland. The Frenchman was labelled a “disgrace” by Noel Whelan after he appeared to down tools with his performances and it was a sad way for such a talented player’s career in Scotland to end.

When he was on song, he was a fabulous asset. Discussing the midfielder in 2015 when he was still at Manchester City, The Guardian wrote: “Despite still being a teenager he already appears a powerhouse, a quality that is balanced by mobility, the ability to play the simple or clever ball, and a natural instinct to ghost into the penalty area at the right time to score.”

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi added: “I’ve been in the world of football 26 years and I’ve never seen a similar player at his age. He has an unlimited potential, and is really a fantastic talent.”

Ntcham never lived up to that potential, but in being a long-legged midfield general, Lawal has similar attributes at his disposal. The 18-year-old won’t be seen in the first team for a while and has yet to feature at senior level but he looks an incredibly promising player.

During his time with the Hornets, Watford icon Troy Deeney loved what he saw from the teenager, saying: “You know what, he’s got a little bit of [Abdoulaye] Doucoure about him.

“He can get past people effortlessly and keep striding, he has that big long stride. I thought he did really well.

“Three or four days after playing in the U23s, he played another 90 minutes and it was effortless to him.”

The tireless youngster clearly made a big impression in Hertfordshire, and by being entrusted with skipper duties in the Celtic B team, he is already making enormous strides at his new club.

Lawal is certainly one to watch.

AND in other news, Forget Montgomery: Celtic may have their next Tierney in 17 y/o who’s the “real deal”…