All posts by z3u9t.icu

Gylfi Sigurdsson has found a new gear under Marco Silva this season but Nikola Vlasic’s form at CSKA Moscow suggests that he could be the man to eventually step into the Iceland international’s shoes.

Sigurdsson has been released of the manacles which restricted him under Sam Allardyce last season and Everton are reaping the rewards. A return of nine goals and three assists from 24 Premier League appearances is just reward for his fine performances, while his link-up play has been at the heart of Everton’s best performances under the Portuguese manager.

However, if Everton want to improve then no player should be considered untouchable. The very best sides are those which demand constant improvement throughout the squad, with competition for places often serving as the best way to guarantee that desired progression.

With that said, Sigurdsson may well be looking over his shoulder now that Vlasic is beginning to thrive with CSKA Moscow. The creative midfielder is showing signs that he can dethrone the Iceland international and become the next coveted playmaker to operate in the hole.

Indeed, Vlasic has already scored seven goals and provided four assists this season, including a memorable winner against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

At just 21-year-old Vlasic is showing the level of promise which Silva will naturally want to see from the player he offloaded temporarily in the summer, and his return in 2019 could signal the beginning of a glowing career on Merseyside.

Boasting a similar level of creative instinct, technical prowess and ability to influence the game in the final-third, the Croatia international could yet blossom into the next Sigurdsson-esque figure at Goodison Park despite his slow start in English football after completing his transfer from Hajduk Split in 2017.

Vlasic’s return in the summer will effectively represent a new signing for Silva.

Everton fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Transfer insider Dean Jones expects Aston Villa to sign either Kalvin Phillips or Yves Bissouma this summer. 

The lowdown

According to The Guardian, Gerrard is keen to add a defensive midfielder to his ranks, as well as a striker.

And The Times recently reported that Villa are ‘leading the race’ to sign Phillips from Leeds United.

They’re apparently willing to break their transfer record with a £60million swoop for the Englishman.

Football Insider, meanwhile, claimed this week that Villa had been in contact with Bissouma’s camp ahead of the transfer window.

They allegedly made a ‘£20million-plus’ bid in January, which was rejected by Brighton.

The latest

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said Villa could submit bids for both players but will ultimately only sign one of them.

“I think they’ll go for both players, but I only expect them to sign one,” he said. “I’ll be very surprised if they got both of those players through the door.”

The verdict

If Villa were to see bids accepted for both players, who should they prioritise?

Intriguingly, the duo are of somewhat different moulds. Phillips, described as a ‘quarterback’ by Rio Ferdinand, likes to launch long passes from deep, averaging 3.3 a game to Bissouma’s 1.9.

So Villa need to choose a stylistic direction, with Bissouma more of a defensive mind with the fourth-most tackles per game in the division, but there’s also a financial calculation to be made.

If Phillips is to cost as much as £60million, might it be more prudent to pursue Bissouma, who is out of contract in 14 months’ time, putting Brighton in a fairly weak negotiating position.

Signing the Malian could leave Villa with considerably more to spend on the striker position.

In other news, this Villa star is attracting interest from Arsenal.

As per Italian newspaper Tuttosport, via Sport Witness, a fresh Tottenham Hotspur bid is now expected as news emerges on in-form Torino ace Wilfried Singo.

The Lowdown: Conte gifts green-light…

Reports out of the continent indicate that Spurs head coach Antonio Conte is a personal admirer of the Ivory Coast international amid his search for more options on the right.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Indeed, another recent claim by Tuttosport (via SW) at the end of March lifted the lid on Conte’s eagerness to sign Singo for Spurs.

The 52-year-old, as per their information, ‘wants him at Tottenham’ as Spurs’ head coach seemingly gives his green-light for the Lilywhites to target him.

Sharing an update on the situation, Tutto now come back with a development this week.

The Latest: Tottenham bid expected…

According to the Italian source, again shared by SW, Spurs chief Fabio Paratici has been attempting to open discussions in the last few days as he eyes transfer talks.

The report goes on to add that an offer to sign Singo this summer is now expected as an interesting update comes to light on Conte’s personal target.

The Verdict: Right man?

Singo, who has been in brilliant form for Torino this season, could come as a shrewd option for Spurs given his young age (21) and obvious attacking threat.

According to WhoScored, he’s registered the joint-most assists for his club in Serie A this season whilst also clinching the joint-most Man of the Match awards alongside in-demand central defensive teammate Gleison Bremer.

He also ranks in as Torino’s third-best performer going by average match rating (6.84), and depending on the price they’re willing to negotiate, Singo could be a brilliant outside contender to help strengthen Conte’s options out wide.

In other news: Tottenham eye agreement ‘in the coming weeks’ as they make offer for exciting midfielder, find out more here!

The London Stadium now well and truly feels like home for West Ham United and the club’s supporters.

It has taken a long time for the atmosphere to boil fiercely at the old Olympic Stadium but with the Irons going deep in Europe, a carnival has arrived in east London.

The win over Sevilla a few weeks ago was nothing short of sensational and as Lyon entered town on Thursday evening, there was vast optimism in the crowd once more.

An extremely controversial red card to Aaron Cresswell threatened to spoil the party but when Jarrod Bowen found the net via a deflection in the second period, it looked as though the Hammers were taking a 1-0 advantage back to France next week.

However, the visitors fought back with Spurs loanee Tanguy Ndombele beating the ‘keeper late in the encounter.

It was an unfortunate goal to concede, specifically for Ben Johnson who was thrown in at the deep end.

The full-back has largely been impressive during his breakthrough campaign in the capital but he was particularly abject for the goal after being substituted on following Cresswell’s red card.

Lyon’s own substitute Tete beat him all ends up down the right flank for their goal, skinning him before delivering a teasing cross that was eventually fired home by Ndombele.

It wasn’t an ideal night for Johnson, who has recently been linked with a move away, but on this evidence, he still has plenty to learn about his game.

During his time on the field, he had fewer touches than goalkeeper Alphonse Areola (18) and only successfully completed one pass in the entire game at a success rate of a meagre 20%.

Lacking in composure with his passing and positioning for the goal, he was arguably the only minor downside to the draw on Thursday evening.

Cresswell will now miss the second leg so Johnson will have to improve considerably if he’s given a role to play in the second leg.

AND in other news, WHU may end up signing “electric” £50m gem this summer, he can finally replace Haller…

Aston Villa captain Tyrone Mings is ‘at risk’ of losing his place in the team, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

Mings, a Villa mainstay, has started 29 of their 31 Premier League matches so far this season, with only injury or suspension keeping him out of the line-up.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/aston-villa-latest-developments/” title=”Aston Villa latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Villa paid just over £20million to sign him from Bournemouth in the summer of 2019, and he signed a contract extension in September 2020. His £80,000-per-week deal runs until the end of the 2023/24 season.

Mings has faced criticism in recent times, with journalist Zach Lowy insisting in February that he was ‘far too error-prone to be a starter, let alone captain’ and urging Villa ‘to move on from him and upgrade with a new CB this summer’.

Steven Gerrard has said he will pick his ‘long-term’ skipper in the summer and admitted that he could recruit someone from elsewhere to don the armband.

The latest

Jones, speaking to GMS, says Gerrard will be considering Mings’ ‘position in the side’ in light of a succession of errors in recent seasons.

He explained:

“I think his position in the side has to be at risk at this stage,” he said. “He has also made quite a few errors over the past couple of years.”

The verdict

Since Villa were promoted to the Premier League, Mings has made five errors directly leading to an opposition shot and four leading to a goal and given away two penalty kicks (via SofaScore).

And those figures don’t account for more subjective errors.

It seems that Gerrard is determined to strengthen at the heart of his defence, with Football Insider claiming he plans to approach his old club Liverpool over a deal for Joe Gomez.

Gomez, valued at £19.8million by Transfermarkt, is described as his no. 1 target.

His public comments about the captaincy might have been a veiled challenge to Mings, who could be fighting for his spot in these final weeks of the campaign. If he can respond, then perhaps it will be enough to avoid the axe.

In other news, Villa could make this move after Sean Dyche’s sacking.

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has ‘called’ former Liverpool forward Luis Suarez ahead of a possible summer swoop.

That’s according to journalist Gerard Romero, and, as to be expected, the update has received plenty of interaction from Villa supporters on social media.

Romero, who has over 300,000 Twitter followers, had previously shared details of an offer from Villa, with Suarez apparently turning down approaches from Palmeiras, Corinthians, Atletico Mineiro and a Saudi Arabian side to focus on a move to the Midlands.

He’s now added that Gerrard has ‘called’ Suarez ‘for the summer’, with the 34-year-old into his last six months on his Atletico Madrid contract.

Gerrard’s former Reds teammate will turn 35 on Monday, but it seems as if a return to the Premier League to reunite with Gerrard and possibly Philippe Coutinho could be on the cards.

Villa fans react

@villareport relayed Romero’s update regarding Suarez on Twitter. This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with one labelling a possible move as ‘incredible’.

“Stop it now Stevie”

Credit: @BlackMarcus__

“Would never imagine we’d have Coutinho, Ings and potentially Suarez at Villa with Gerrard as a manager a year ago”

Credit: @JaiGhuman_

“This Will Be An Incredible Signing If It Happens”

Credit: @Jack31998773

“Get him on a 6 month loan then sign for free in the summer”

Credit: @casper197635

“Stevie G getting the band back together at villa park!”

Credit: @VivaAVFC

“Makes more sense. Allows us to offload one of the strikers in the summer then”

Credit: @UTVilla10

In other news: ‘We’ve actually broken Lange’ – Many Villa fans ‘excited’ as more transfer news is now confirmed. 

Rangers legend Ally McCoist expected Giovanni van Bronckhorst to give Cedric Itten a chance against Motherwell on Saturday. 

The lowdown

Rangers exercised their recall option to bring Itten back from his loan at Bundesliga outfit Greuther Furth in January.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/rangers-news-3/” title=”Rangers news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

He made consecutive starts against Livingston and Ross County at the end of January, but then missed out on nine straight matchday squads, with his only game time coming in the Scottish League Cup against Annan Athletic.

Ahead of the Gers’ trip to Fir Park, though, striker Kemar Roofe joined long-term absentee Alfredo Morelos on the injury list.

That seemed to present an opportunity for Itten, but Van Bronckhorst instead opted to field Fashion Sakala up front.

Itten did feature for the first time since the winter, but only for the final four minutes as a substitute.

The latest

Rangers’ all-time leading goalscorer McCoist, speaking live in commentary for Sky Sports, says it may be a damning reflection that Itten didn’t start even with the injuries Rangers had.

“Interesting, I heard the boys talking before the game,” he said, via Ibrox News.

“Obviously no Roofe, no Morelos, however would it not have been an opportunity for Cedric Itten? Or is he so far down the pecking order [that he didn’t get a chance]?”

The verdict

It’s clear now that Van Bronckhorst simply doesn’t rate Itten all that highly.

It was pretty telling that the Dutchman didn’t even include him in his squad for the Europa League knockout stages.

Itten was called ‘magnificent’ by former boss Steven Gerrard but regrettably, his record for Rangers – just seven goals in 48 appearances – doesn’t live up to that billing.

It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see Rangers look to shift the £2.7million-rated, £14,000-per-week frontman from their wage bill come the summer.

In other news, one Rangers player was rated just 4/10. 

Tottenham Hotspur will target Sofyan Amrabat after sealing a move for Adama Traore this week, according to Fabrizio Romano…

What’s the one?

The Italian transfer guru delivered a fresh update on Spurs’ transfer plans to Twitter, where he revealed that the Fiorentina midfielder was their “main target” as they close in on the Wolves star.

“Tottenham are now focused on Tanguy Ndombele loan move to Paris Saint-Germain and Adama Traoré deal with Wolves. Negotiations [are] ongoing.

“Sofyan Amrabat’s the main target as midfielder in case Ndombele will leave, as revealed on Sunday,” he said.

It remains to be seen how much the 25-year-old Moroccan international would command with CIES Football Observatory valuing him at around €15m (£12.5m).

Onto the next

It certainly seems as if Traore will soon become a Lilywhites player after GIVEMESPORT reported that they had agreed to make him their fourth-highest earner on £120k-per-week with an initial loan move very close.

Now it seems their attention will turn to strengthen another key area that Antonio Conte is desperate to bolster – the engine room.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-thfc-spurs-transfer-rumours-gossip-conte-paratici-levy-updates” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Ndombele’s move to Paris Saint-Germain could well happen before next Monday’s deadline, whilst the futures of Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli are by no means certain either, so there’s going to be a position in the squad available if even two of the three depart N17.

It’s believed that the Italian head coach wanted three key signings.

One being right wing-back, where he is expected to convert the Spanish winger into his next Victor Moses, central midfield, where Amrabat has emerged as the top target, and striker, where Harry Kane needs some backup, as per football.london.

Capped 27 times for his national side and having featured in over 130 appearances across the Italian and Dutch top-flight, the 6-foot powerhouse is an experienced and reliable option in the heart of the pitch.

At the Africa Cup of Nations this month, he has been one of the best passers, averaging a success rate of 93%, only bettered by three other players, whilst the fact that he commits more fouls (106) than he has tackles (101) during his time in Italy suggests he’s an aggressive presence that isn’t afraid of putting in the graft, so he’ll be a midfielder right up Conte’s street.

On the above evidence, the 52-year-old will surely be delighted as Spurs close in on their first two signings of the winter transfer window, especially as they are in key positions he has requested for.

AND in other news, Bid accepted: Spurs close in on “extraordinary” £25m-rated beast, Conte will love him…

Many Sunderland fans have been left gushing over some transfer news that has emerged involving Denver Hume.

As per The Chronicle, the left-back is now a target for Portsmouth in the January transfer window, after he was shoved down the pecking order by both Dennis Cirkin and Niall Huggins.

Even winger Lynden Gooch has filled in at left-back ahead of him this season, suggesting that he may not be in Lee Johnson’s plans anymore.

The manager has since addressed the Hume rumours to the media, and appeared not to rule out an exit for the Englishman.

Nonetheless, the Stadium of Light faithful have been critical of some of his performances in the past, and with just eight games played all season in total over all competitions, now may be the best time to move him on.

Sunderland fans on Hume transfer news

These Black Cats were left gushing over the transfer news as it was shared on Twitter:

“I’ll order him a taxi”

Credit: @dean_longstaff

“PLEASE TAKE HIM!!”

Credit: @LIAMMACKEM

“Please please please please let this be true”

Credit: @Brysa08

“Take the money!”

Credit: @Steve_M73

“Great news”

Credit: @RoryHanley

“What a transfer window this could be”

Credit: @Bsw1995

In other news, find out what transfer update has SAFC supporters buzzing here!

When it rains, it pours.

Leeds United have suffered yet another injury blow this week…

What’s the latest?

As relayed by The Athletic’s Phil Hay, it appears as if young striker Sam Greenwood is the latest name to have picked up an issue following the Yorkshiremen’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham United in the FA Cup at the weekend.

“This is beyond ridiculous,” the ever-reliable journalist said in response to a screenshot of the 19-year-old starlet confirming an injury to social media.

Another cruel blow

This is just another in a long string of problems for manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Regularly throughout the season, he has had to endure the loss of key players and backup options, seemingly every week there is a new concern and that will surely leave him furious as he cannot get any sort of consistency going on the pitch.

What makes this Greenwood blow even worse is the fact that Patrick Bamford’s recovery has been dealt a setback, whilst alternatives in Rodrigo, Tyler Roberts and Joe Gelhardt are also on the treatment table, leaving him light on strikers heading into another clash with the Irons.

The two sides will go head to head once again on Sunday but this time in the Premier League, where the Whites will need to keep ticking over, having gone eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Their chances of righting the result in the cup are seriously hampered by not having a single striker available.

Elsewhere, Bielsa was also missing skipper Liam Cooper and key cog Kalvin Phillips in the defeat, whilst against Arsenal last month, the Argentinian head coach was missing as many as 11 players – something that could repeat itself this weekend.

Indeed, just as Hay outlines, it is getting rather “ridiculous” at Thorp Arch, where there are surely more injured first-team players than ones available. You have to feel sorry for the manager.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Meslier: Leeds lightweight who lost 86% duels badly let Bielsa down…