All posts by z3u9t.icu

According to a recent report from ESPN, Ben Chilwell’s future at Leicester City appears far from certain. The England international came up through the ranks at the Premier League outfit and has since become a regular under Claude Puel, with his mightily impressive efforts for the Foxes seemingly attracting the interest of City manager Pep Guardiola.

And that’s because a recent report from ESPN suggests that the Citizens are eyeing up a summer move for the Leicester defender, which should prompt Puel’s Foxes to prepare for his possible exit by launching a move for fellow left back Patrick van Aanholt, valued at £8.1 million by Transfermarkt.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while it took Chilwell some time to convince some sections of the Leicester faithful of his capabilities, the 22-year-old appears to have completely banished those doubts in recent times such have been his incredibly high-level displays for the Foxes in the last 12 months.

The Englishman, capped five times by his country at senior level in 2018, initially struggled to regularly dislodge the experienced Christian Fuchs from the starting eleven in the 2016/17 season, appearing only 12 times in the Premier League, only for the arrival of Puel to pave the way for the young defender to become the number one left back at the King Power Stadium.

And that’s because the 22-year-old appeared 32 times in all competitions for the Foxes last term as they finished ninth in the Premier League under the Frenchman, while he has missed only one league game so far this time round to underline his consistently high-level efforts for the Midlanders – there’s a reason he has forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s England reckoning.

And with Benjamin Mendy’s recurrent injury issues leaving Guardiola short in the left back ranks at Man City, a move for Chilwell this summer makes complete sense – and were that to indeed happen, Leicester have to be prepared by bringing Crystal Palace’s van Aanholt to the Midlands outfit.

The Netherlands international has proven to be one of the most impressive left backs in the Premier League over the years for both Sunderland and indeed Palace, with his exit from the former for the latter in January 2017 somewhat consigning the Black Cats to relegation that season.

Up until then, the 28-year-old had been a regular at the Stadium of Light and started the 2016/17 campaign well before Palace came calling, where he has since continued to produce the goods with 68 appearances for the Eagles, in which time he has netted nine times and laid on three assists.

Yes, there have been some question marks about his defensive capabilities in Roy Hodgson’s side, but one does not play 149 times in the Premier League at left back if one does not have adeptness at the back – add in his dynamism in getting forward and helping out in attack, and van Aanholt appears to be exactly what Leicester need were Chilwell to indeed leave.

As such, with City reportedly (as per ESPN) keen on the young Foxes defender, Leicester themselves have to be ready for such exit by launching a move for Palace’s van Aanholt.

Leicester fans… what do you think? Let us know!

With the long two weeks of the international break now behind us, Premier League football was back in the offing for Leeds United supporters on Saturday afternoon, with Jesse Marsch’s side holding Southampton to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road.

The fixture could not have gotten off to a much better start for Leeds, with the Whites dominating the early stages of the game before Jack Harrison poked home to give them the advantage after 29 minutes. However, after growing into the match before half-time, Saints were level just four minutes after the break thanks to a trademark 25-yard James Ward-Prowse free-kick.

While both teams had chances to steal all three points in the closing stages, neither could ultimately break the deadlock, with a draw probably being the fairest outcome of the match.

While there were a number of fine performances on display at Elland Road, Luke Ayling and Illan Meslier both had games to forget on Saturday afternoon, with the latter arguably being the most below-par against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s outfit.

68% passes completed

While it should be noted that the 22-year-old did make four important saves and two high claims over the course of the 90 minutes against Saints, there is perhaps an argument to be made that the goalkeeper should have done better for Ward-Prowse’s free-kick.

However, there was one area of the France under-21 international’s game which was – to put it bluntly – particularly shocking on Saturday afternoon, namely his distribution.

Indeed, the £18m-rated shot-stopper found his intended target with only 19 of his 28 passes – a success rate of just 68% – which often invited a great deal of pressure onto his team, such as the phase of play leading up to Southampton’s equaliser.

So poor was the £41k-per-week goalkeeper’s distribution that Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross tweeted during the fixture that Meslier’s kicks were “all over the place” and were “not relieving any pressure” on the Whites’ defence.

This was reflected in the journalist’s player ratings as he awarded the Frenchman a five, stating: “Very good stop to deny Che Adams from close range in the first half, but question marks over his goalkeeping for James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick and his poor distribution throughout the match which rarely seemed to relieve pressure on the side.”

As such, while the youngster is undoubtedly a very talented ‘keeper who has been Leeds’ undisputed number one for two years now, he will certainly need to up his game over the Whites’ remaining seven fixtures of the season if he is to give his team the best possible chance of avoiding the drop.

AND in other news: Orta can finally replace Leeds’ £19k-p/w “demon” with “extraordinary” 19-year-old “talent”

Everton have another chance of trying to pick up some much-needed points in the Premier League this afternoon.

Frank Lampard’s side are back in action in front of their home fans as they welcome Manchester United to Goodison Park.

The Toffees’  previous league outing saw them throw away a 2-1 half-time lead in their 3-2 midweek defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor, leaving Sean Dyche’s side just a point behind Everton on the edge of the relegation zone.

Looking ahead to today’s showdown against the Red Devils, it seems as though the home team could be set to welcome back a key figure to their ranks.

What’s the news?

Speaking in his latest press conference on Friday, Lampard talked about the current fitness situation surrounding Everton’s club captain, revealing: “We’ve got Seamus Coleman – who on Wednesday night was feeling the effects of not being well and wasn’t fit to play – in consideration, so that’s a nice boost for the game tomorrow.”

With 22 league appearances under his belt in the current campaign, only Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane and Abdoulaye Doucoure have played more minutes than the Irishman, showing how important he is to the team.

From a defensive point of view, only Allan (104) has racked up a higher number of combined tackles and interceptions than Coleman (98).

Given how Everton didn’t have either of those on the pitch in midweek, this may go some way to explaining why they conceded three goals against a team which had only found the net 22 times all season before Wednesday’s clash.

Also, no other Everton player has completed more tackles in the attacking third (11) or defensive third (31) than the 33-year-old, showing how useful he is at both ends of the pitch.

Great news for Everton

Even though the Republic of Ireland international has been a part of Everton’s disappointing season, potentially having him back on the pitch to take on Ralf Rangnick’s side will still give Lampard and co a boost.

Having lost 10 of their past 12 league games, it’s safe to say that the Toffees could do with any fillip which may come their way.

Looking ahead to this clash, the fact that United have racked up a rather inconsistent run of results since January should give the Everton players some confidence that they can go out and grab a positive result this time around, particularly if the Toffees’ reliable skipper will be back in action.

In other news: Kenwright calamity: Everton had a nightmare over “unbelievable” 166-goal “superstar”

Nikola Vlasic, Lukasz Fabianski and Craig Dawson all struggled in West Ham’s 1-1 draw against Burnley.

It was a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show for the Hammers as David Moyes’ side suffered in their quest to put pressure on the Premier League top-four at the London Stadium following their European heroics in France against Lyon.

After an inauspicious start, the game was halted for a lengthy period so Ashley Westwood could receive treatment. When the contest got back underway, it was visiting striker Wout Weghorst who opened the scoring. Things could’ve been worse for the Irons before half-time as Maxwel Cornet missed from the penalty spot having been brought down by Lukasz Fabianski.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-developments-4/” title=”West Ham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Despite an improved performance in the second half and a goal from Tomas Soucek, Moyes’ men were unable to seal three points and the Europa League now seems like the most realistic route to the UEFA Champions League next season.

According to SofaScore, there were three West Ham players in particular who were particularly below par on the afternoon.

Vlasic 6.6/10

Yet another appearance seemed to pass the Croatian by before being replaced shortly after the hour mark.

Overall, the 24-year-old lost possession on 10 occasions, failed to complete a single dribble, gave away two fouls and only had 36 touches whilst on the pitch, with only four of his teammates having fewer.

Fabianski 6/10

The guilty party for the penalty in the first half and booked for the incident, albeit the 36-year-old Pole was relieved to see the subsequent spot-kick fired wide.

Fabianski ended the match with a passing accuracy of 11/14 (79%), giving the ball away cheaply three times, and perhaps most surprisingly ended the contest without making a single save. 

Dawson 6.7/10

Far from his exploits in France on Thursday night, Dawson failed to have his usual impact on proceedings on this occasion.

The 31-year-old lost possession 10 times, gave away two fouls and was only accurate with 39/49 (80%) of his passes.

In other news: French source earmarks West Ham ace for summer move! Find out more here.

Liverpool are planning to strike a £50million-a-year shirt deal in a big financial upgrade on their current situation, according to a fresh rumour that has now emerged.

The Lowdown: Liverpool excelling in all areas

The Reds are enjoying a season to remember, as they lie on the cusp of potentially sealing a historic quadruple under Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool are not only excelling on the pitch, however, with the club being run in a sensible fashion, allowing them to be in an extremely strong financial situation.

Their current kit deal with Standard Chartered brings in approximately £40million per year, but with that deal expiring in 2023, a new sponsor is now expected to come in with even bigger rewards.

The Latest: Big shirt deal incoming?

James Pearce revealed earlier this week the club are in ‘talks’ with suitors, and now according to Football Insider, Liverpool are plotting to strike a £50million-per-year deal.

A source claims the club are ‘testing the market’ as they search for potential sponsors and look for a ‘big uplift’ in earnings.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-29/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Magical time at the club

The fact that Liverpool are in such a strong bargaining position further highlights the incredible growth of the club during the Klopp era, with everyone seemingly pulling in the same direction.

The Reds are now one of the world’s most prominent and desirable sporting teams, and for that reason, a world-renowned sponsor will surely be keen on replacing Standard Chartered, bringing in more money in the process.

These are truly special times to be a Liverpool fan, and even if the quadruple chase is unsuccessful, there haven’t been many more fruitful periods in the club’s history.

In other news, a journalist has dropped a key Liverpool contract update. Read more here.

With just over two weeks left until the current January transfer window closes, Celtic have been rather busy with their activity in the market so far with a number of players making their way to the Parkhead club to strengthen Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the window, it seems as though a current Celtic player has been touted for a move away from the club that would surely not go down well with a lot of fans if it were to happen.

What’s the latest?

Speaking to Football Insider, Alan Hutton had this to say about Celtic defender Stephen Welsh, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £3.6k-per-week according to Salary Sport and his immediate future at the Parkhead club.

He said: “He deserves the praise that’s coming his way. I think for the player, he’ll be thinking about it, a chance to move. He will have seen the likes of Aaron Hickey going there, Jack Hendry going abroad.

“They’re doing really well, getting moves and progressing in their career.”

Welsh had recently been linked with a move to Udinese in Italy, a nation where former Celtic academy gem, Hickey, is currently enjoying his football in.

Transfer calamity

As a product of Celtic’s youth system, the 21-year-old has gone on to make 41 senior appearances for the club across all competitions, chipping in with three goals and one assist along the way.

Having been praised for his “superb” performances for Celtic in the past by fellow teammate Greg Taylor, Welsh has been a fairly regular figure in Postecoglou’s side across all competitions this season with 19 appearances under his belt and nine of them coming in the SPFL.

His performances have shown why it would be a disaster for Celtic to let him go as well with WhoScored giving him an overall season rating of 7.03/10, making him the ninth-highest rated player that’s currently in Postecoglou’s squad.

That shows he is more than capable of playing in this current Celtic team at a decent level and why it would be a calamity to see him leave.

With Postecoglou recently claiming that Welsh’s immediate future will be at Celtic Park, it’s safe to say that the fans would be more likely to take his word about the situation over Hutton’s.

Therefore, any worries about the defender potentially making a move away from Parkhead could be quashed, especially when you consider the fact that his current contract isn’t set to expire until 2025.

In other news: Big boost: Ange drops huge Celtic injury update that’ll surely have fans delighted – opinion

Journalist Ryan Taylor has now dropped some Newcastle United transfer news on Hugo Ekitike.

The Lowdown: January bid

A reported £33m deal for Ekitike to move to St. James’ Park from Reims fell through on deadline day in the January transfer window, so Chris Wood from Burnley was the only striker brought in to boost Eddie Howe’s forward ranks.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-5/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

However, given recent links to the likes of Victor Osimhen and Arnaud Kalimuendo, it is clear that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would like to bring in another forward to the North East in the summer, with Wood only finding the back of the net twice for the Magpies.

The Latest: Ekitike update

Taking to Twitter, Taylor has shared that the Tyneside outfit have now been ‘told’ that they can sign Ekitike this summer, following comments from Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot:

“Newcastle have been told they can sign Hugo Ekitike this summer after January deadline day deal collapsed. #NUFC

“Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot: ‘Hugo will be allowed to go & he’s probably going to leave.’ Also interest from West Ham, Wolves, Fulham.”

The Verdict: Exciting

The summer window is shaping up to be an exciting one for the Toon Army, and more so given this update on Ekitike.

Described as a ‘very special‘ player earlier on this season by Reims manager Oscar Garcia, the French teenager has a big future ahead of him, and many in France even go as far as to claim that he could be the ‘next Mbappe‘.

Like the now PSG superstar did at AS Monaco, Ekitike has burst onto the scene, with ten goals and four assists in 24 games in total over all competitions so far (Transfermarkt), and at just 19 years of age, he could be a real coup for the Magpies.

In other news, find out which NUFC target is ‘definitely an upgrade on Ciaran Clark’ here!

Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is currently undergoing contract talks with the club, according to technical director Scott Sellars.

The Lowdown: Neves enjoying superb season

The 24-year-old has been one of Wanderers’ outstanding players so far this season, proving once again to be a class act in the middle of the park.

Neves has been a dominant figure both on and off the ball, not only enjoying an 83.7% pass completion rate but also averaging 2.3 tackles per game, with teammate and compatriot Jose Sa hailing him as an ‘amazing’ influence at Molineux.

There have been constant reports surrounding the Portuguese’s Wolves future, though, with moves elsewhere mooted this summer.

[freshpress-poll id=“388780″]

The Latest: Sellars makes big claim

Wanderers may have been boosted, however, with Sellars confirming to The Express & Star that Neves is discussing a possible new deal at Molineux:

“Ruben is having a fantastic season and everybody should take a pat on the back in terms of how well he is playing.

“We’re obviously talking to him and we all know how much he loves playing for the club. We know how much he has settled here, but he is also an ambitious young man.”As with all players, you try and have an open dialogue with them and their representatives to come to the best scenario for the club and the player.

“Rightly so, elite clubs all over Europe will have Ruben on their radar, but we have an excellent relationship with him and will do things properly, and collaboratively, when the time is right.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: Potentially huge news

Neves is arguably the most important player at Wolves currently, in terms of quality, age and influence all rolled into one, so losing him would be an almighty blow.

It is only natural that he may be looking at a move elsewhere – he is surely good enough to be starting for a Champions League-playing club – but if he signs a new contract with Wanderers it would feel significant.

Not only would it mean Bruno Lage keeping hold of a vital figure but it would also be a real show of loyalty and belief that this team is moving in the right direction.

In other news, a European giant are eyeing up a move for one Wolves player. Find out who it is here.

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing Espanyol and Spain striker Raul de Tomas, as are a couple of other Premier League teams.

The Lowdown: De Tomas impressing in Spain

The 27-year-old is enjoying a hugely impressive season in his homeland, scoring 12 goals in just 21 La Liga appearances for Espanyol.

De Tomas also won his maiden international cap for Spain back in November, as his career has really turned up a gear this term.

It looks as though the Spaniard could potentially be off to the Premier League, too, if a new rumour is to be believed.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Leeds linked with move

According to AS, Leeds are set to do battle with Arsenal and West Ham for the signature of the Espanyol man, whose current deal doesn’t expire until 2026.

The Gunners have identified him as an alternative to Dusan Vlahovic, while Leicester City are also mentioned as possible suitors.

It is stated that Espanyol don’t want to sell him for anything under €70million (£58.76m), though, so we would surely need to see that price come down if Victor Orta is to strike a deal.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-33/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Too expensive?

De Tomas’ ruthless form this season means he could be exactly what Leeds are after, in terms of providing stiff competition for Patrick Bamford.

The Englishman is the only real out and out goalscorer in the squad, meaning there is huge pressure on his shoulders and a gaping void to fill when he is not fit.

That being said, there is little to no chance that the Whites would pay the amount allegedly being demanded for De Tomas –  Rodrigo is the club’s record signing at £27million.

Cheaper alternatives must instead be looked at by Orta, with a summer addition more likely than January reinforcements, due to financial issues.

In other news, Phil Hay has provided a key Leeds transfer update. Read more here.

Leeds United embark on a trip to the capital to kickstart their FA Cup campaign.

It’s the first of two successive matches against Premier League rivals West Ham United for Marcelo Bielsa’s men but they head into kick-off full of confidence after last weekend’s impressive victory over Burnley.

However, the Argentinian head coach has since suffered further injuries to his already-depleted Whites squad, so it will be interesting to see how seriously he takes the competition, given their top-flight struggles this term.

What sort of lineup could we see at the London Stadium? Here’s what Football FanCast are predicting…

There could be just two changes from the win against the Clarets.

Tyler Roberts picked up an injury during that encounter and is unavailable and his likely replacement, Joe Gelhardt, suffered a blow during Thursday’s training session.

Patrick Bamford is expected to return to the squad today but it would be a risk to start him, especially for the entire 90 minutes. Instead, Bielsa might hand an opportunity to promising U23 hopeful Sam Greenwood, who continues to light up the academy with goals.

According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, both he and Lewis Bate are likely to be involved in some capacity – the latter may have to settle for a place on the bench though.

The other change comes out wide as leading goalscorer Raphinha earns a rest ahead of next weekend’s important league clash. In his place, we could see Crycensio Summerville after the 20-year-old’s impressive performance for the U23s in midweek.

It means Illan Meslier remains between the sticks, with a backline of Junior Firpo, Diego Llorente, Robin Koch and vice-skipper Luke Ayling also unchanged.

Stuart Dallas would continue in midfield alongside Adam Forshaw – who will continue in the Kalvin Phillips role – and Mateusz Klich.

As a more experienced member of the squad, Jack Harrison could support Greenwood and Summerville in the attack.

Predicted Leeds XI (4-1-4-1): Meslier; Firpo, Llorente, Koch, Ayling; Forshaw; Harrison, Klich, Dallas, Summerville; Greenwood

AND in other news, Bielsa suffers fresh Leeds injury blow ahead of Hammers cup clash…