All posts by h716a5.icu

Tottenham Hotspur are among the front-runners to land Lucas Vazquez this summer, according to reports…

What’s the word?

The 29-year-old is out-of-contract at Madrid at the end of the current campaign and looks likely to leave the Bernabeu, having rejected the fresh terms offered by the La Liga giants, as per Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness).

They claim that the £13.5m-rated star is already among their lowest-paid players – though £115k-per-week may say otherwise – and would not be prepared to take a 10% wage cut. It is also thought that Vazquez wants a long-term deal with a team in the Champions League.

Given only Spurs and arch-rivals Arsenal are mentioned in the report, it certainly seems like the Lilywhites have an advantage, with them sitting three places and six points ahead of their north London counterparts.

Doherty’s nightmare

Vazquez is a winger by trade but has been utilised more frequently at right-back by Zinedine Zidane, which will have undoubtedly piqued Jose Mourinho’s interest given his continual struggles in the role.

Summer signing Matt Doherty has failed to reach expectations since his £15m move from Wolves.

According to ESPN last month, the Spurs boss is far from happy with the 29-year-old’s form, so much so that if it doesn’t improve in the coming months, he could well make the defender available for transfer after just a year at the club.

The report explains how Mourinho was berating him all game from the sidelines against Liverpool, just a few matches after a needless red card against Leeds United, and he’s done himself no favours since after dropping a diasterclass in the north London derby defeat.

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Wolves are thought to be seen on re-signing him, so you’d imagine if Spurs were to bolster the position once again this summer, through the arrival of Vazquez, then the Irishman is probably going to face the chop – you certainly couldn’t have three potential first-team starters for one right-back spot.

Despite the uncertainty over his future in the Spanish capital, Zidane has still trusted him to start regularly. “What he’s doing right now doesn’t surprise us. Not only do I like him, we all like him because he is always on the job and reliable. He always gives everything on the pitch,” lauded the Frenchman.

Indeed, the nine-time Spanish international has started each of Madrid’s last six league games and has only failed to start three matches since the end of October, thanks to injury via Transfermarkt.

20 of his 31 appearances have come at right-back, where he has delivered six assists, compared to just the one when deployed in his natural wing position.

Similarly, Vazquez has displayed strong attributes defensively and has shown an excellent reading of the game having averaged 2.3 tackles and 0.8 interceptions, via WhoScored.

Throw in 1.9 key passes and 1.4 dribbles per game, and you get a pretty all-rounded full-back capable of contributing at either end of the pitch.

Whereas Doherty, having come from a wing-back system at Wolves, has struggled defensively managing fewer tackles (1.5) than the Madrid ace and the third-highest number of fouls per match (1.3).

Considering Spurs can nab him on a free transfer this summer, it would certainly be a bargain swoop from Daniel Levy.

AND in other news, Terry 2.0: £11m beast could be the answer to Jose Mourinho’s biggest problem…

Leeds United appear to be leading the race for long-term target Rodrigo de Paul.

The Whites were linked with the Argentine last summer and reportedly came agonisingly close to landing the central midfielder ahead of their first season back in the Premier League.

However, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side all but guaranteeing their top-flight status for the 2021/22 campaign, links to De Paul are starting to resurface.

‘Leeds above all’ for De Paul

A recent report from TuttoAtalanta, cited by TEAMtalk, shared Atalanta’s interest in the €35m-rated star.

The story claimed Udinese are open to selling the player in the upcoming window, but De Paul’s choice this summer is ‘Leeds above all’.

The likes of Liverpool and Inter Milan are also thought to be keen on the 26-year-old, but it seems as if a move to Yorkshire is one that is appealing to De Paul the most at this moment in time.

Transfer Tavern take

Should a €35m (£29.8m) deal go through this summer, De Paul would become the club’s most expensive signing of all time – eclipsing Rodrigo Moreno’s move last year.

De Paul’s potential arrival could prove to be a huge moment for the Whites. It seems as if Bielsa could do with a marquee addition in the middle of the park to help Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klich.

Utility man Stuart Dallas has been solid in recent weeks, however, if Leeds want to progress, bringing in a player of De Paul’s quality could be massive in the long run.

In other news: Leeds keen on 16-goal forward this summer, find out more here. 

Many Arsenal fans have slammed the performance of Calum Chambers in their 3-0 home loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday night.

The former Southampton man, who is primarily a central defender by trade, was run ragged at right-back by Sadio Mane all night as Jurgen Klopp’s men cruised to victory in the end at the Emirates Stadium.

Although there were some pretty poor performances in a Gunners shirt on the night, Chambers was especially off-colour. He lost out on 10 of his duels, the most of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch, and he also made no interceptions or tackles and lost the ball on 19 separate occasions (joint-most of any Arsenal player), earning him a measly 5.7 overall rating on Sofascore, the lowest out of anyone involved on the night.

Arsenal fans on Chambers display

These Gooners slammed his performance on Twitter, with one supporter even going as far as to claim that the 26-year-old is a ‘midtable footballer’:

“Might be good this in long run. Chambers, Holding, Ceballos, Elneny not good enough. Add Pepe, Auba, Laca to that maybe. Very poor.”

Credit: @RobWoodfin1

“#ARSLIV | Holding and Chambers beaten aerially by a guy shorter than the both of them. Embarrassing. 0-1 #AFC”

Credit: @HighburEE0304

“We expect top 4 again with Holding and Chambers starting games still in 2021! #afc”

Credit: @johnh1886

“One thing we learned is Chambers isn’t the answer he is a midtable footballer and he joins the vast collection of midtable trash masquerading as Arsenal players!!! #ARSLIV”Credit: @stevegroves2004″The only time Chambers and Holding play is for Arsenal, they aren’t good enough to be on the bench for England. Shows how out of class we are. Pathetic manager, pathetic players. Bring it on Thursday! #ARSLIV”Credit: @msleeplessagain”If Chambers was awarded a penalty he would probably pass it back to his keeper #ARSLIV”Credit: @stephen_peelIn other news, find out what Martin Odegaard news has left these Gunners buzzing!

With a swift click of the fingers, Pedro Neto’s outstanding season has come to a premature end.

The winger has enjoyed a scintillating breakthrough campaign at Wolves, putting a number of Premier League teams to the sword with red-hot dribbling and his devastating left-foot.

Neto is the club’s top scorer this season on five goals while he’s also Nuno Santo’s chief creator with six assists.

Those aren’t breathtaking numbers but it says a lot that at the age of just 21, he is the standout player in a top-flight side.

The Portuguese sensation has stepped up admirably in the absence of Raul Jimenez but like his Mexican teammate, he now faces a considerable period on the sidelines.

Wolves have had rotten luck with injuries this term and only last week Jonny was ruled out for the best part of a year with another ACL injury.

Neto won’t miss quite as much time, but he’s now set to miss the next six months with a significant injury to his knee cap that requires surgery.

On the chalkboard

The youngster will be a huge miss to Wolves between now and the end of the campaign and they will struggle to replace him.

After all, Nuno’s side have hardly been full of goals. Fabio Silva has only found the net three times this term while Willian Jose hasn’t scored at all.

They can take comfort from the fact that Adama Traore bagged his first Premier League goal since December 2019 in the win over Fulham but he has some way to go before rediscovering his best form.

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One player Wolves could turn to is a player in their academy; Theo Corbeanu.

The 18-year-old hasn’t made a single first-team appearance for the club but he was on the bench in both of their FA Cup ties this term while he’s appeared among the substitutes in the top-flight on six occasions.

He is yet to make a breakthrough but evidently, the Canadian is very much on Nuno’s radar.

A winger or centre-forward by trade, Corbeanu possesses many of the qualities that have made Neto such a stand out fixture in the Wolves starting XI.

He is a tricky individual with the ability to find the net and create. This season the teenager has five goals and two assists for the U23 side.

The forward has made a dazzling impact in James Collins’ team and has earned eye-catching praise along the way: “He’s athletic, tall, can head it, can defend, can dribble past people and score, he can shoot, he can pass, he’s both footed, he’s got a bit of everything,” Collins admitted.

“Theo can be anything he wants to be. He’s an outstanding prospect,” he concluded.

We saw the ruthless impact Corbeanu can have when he was given an opportunity to shine in the EFL Trophy against senior opposition. During that competition, the attacker managed 1.8 key passes per game and 2.3 successful dribbles.

Only Pedro Neto (2) has managed more key passes a match in Wolves’ Premier League side this term while only Traore trumps the youngster in terms of take-ons.

Clearly, the Wolves prodigy has plenty to offer to the senior squad. With Neto now on the sidelines, this feels like the perfect chance to hand him a first-team berth.

AND in other news, Wolves may have their new Jimenez in rarely-seen beast with an “assassin’s mentality”…

Former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Carlton Palmer believes Sam Johnstone will almost certainly leave the club if they are relegated, telling The Transfer Tavern that Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be interested.

Johnstone has excelled at times this season in a struggling Baggies side.

In total, the goalkeeper has kept six clean sheets this season and is currently the leading stopper in terms of saves made – with 124, three more than Leeds United’s Illan Meslier.

It may not be enough, though, with Sam Allardyce’s side currently eight points from safety despite their 3-0 win over Southampton on Monday night.

It would take a herculean effort for them to remain in the division, though it isn’t impossible, but Palmer expects Johnstone to seek a move if they do drop through the trapdoor, as he looks to protect his ambitions of becoming an England regular.

He has yet to win his first cap for his country but he has been called up by Gareth Southgate to his senior squad, and he may be involved in the squad for the European Championships this summer.

Spurs have been linked with a swoop for Johnstone, as they look to replace Hugo Lloris, who turned 34 in December.

The Sun reported that the club have run the rule over the former Manchester United academy product and Palmer is unsurprised by the link.

He told TT: “He’s having a good season. So he’s obviously been talked about, isn’t he? You know, though, Lloris is not getting any younger.

“So I can see where Tottenham are looking for a replacement for him. And he’s still performing to a very high standard at this moment in time.

“But obviously, clubs will look and target teams that are going to get relegated and see whether, because obviously, they’re not they’re not going to pay that type of money in that league, and Sam will be one of those.

“He will be pushing hard to go to the Euros, he’ll be pushing hard to go. Whether he gets to go I don’t know, but he’ll pushing out to go and so he won’t want to be playing in the Championship.

“So yeah, Tottenham, for sure, one of the top clubs. I’m sure the top clubs are looking at him and Tottenham might be one of those interested parties.”

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has had his say on Eddie Howe, following links to both Celtic and the Eagles.

Howe reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Hoops at the start of the month, however, he’s since been sounded out by Palace to potentially replace Roy Hodgson in the summer.

The former Bournemouth manager’s representative has revealed that he plans to return to the dugout in the summer at the earliest, with Brighton also keeping tabs on the 43-year-old.

Talking on Tuesday’s White & Jordan talkSPORT show about all the managerial developments, the 53-year-old had some strong thoughts when it came to Howe potentially moving to Glasgow.

“He’d go to Celtic, as that is a very attractive and luring proposition. Let’s look at the Celtic job, with the exception of Brendan Rodgers, how many managers have gone in an upward direction [thereafter]?

“Celtic is a fabulous football club with a great history and wonderful support in a league that pays broadcasting rights that are equivalent to a bottle top and a packet of gobstoppers.

“I would suggest the more ambitious move for Eddie Howe is Crystal Palace. The Premier League is not even in the same zipcode in terms of quality to the Scottish Premiership.

“Why would you want to be a big fish in a tiny little small pond in a runt of a litter league or be a decent manager operating in a big league.”

Jordan then shared his views on how Palace would fare if they were in the Scottish Premiership, believing the Eagles would beat the Hoops.

“I would hasten to add, or venture to guess, that if you put Crystal Palace in the Scottish Premier League they might have a good chance of winning that league and getting into Europe.

“Palace would beat Celtic. I think Celtic are a poor side right now. I think the Scottish Premiership is a poor league.”

Transfer Tavern take

Not for the first time, but Jordan’s comments are over the top. He mentions Brendan Rodgers going on to bigger things with Leicester City, and Howe, should he join, could well follow in the Northern Irishman’s footsteps.

The Englishman could rebuild the Hoops successfully, as he did with Bournemouth, which, in the long run, may then put him in the frame for a return to the Premier League with a ‘bigger’ side.

Dealing with the Parkhead pressures and demands of winning titles is bound to catch the eye of some English giants, as he is yet to really establish himself as a boss who wins titles – if he simply wants to show he can keep a Premier League team up, he already spent a few years doing that with Bournemouth.

If he moved to Palace and achieved mid-table finishes, that may not appeal to a top-six side in the long run. It’s an interesting debate, but joining Celtic over Palace, in our view, shouldn’t be seen as a downgrade.

In other news: Premier League side looking to have deal in place for Celtic star prior to summer window, find out more here. 

According to reports from Italy, Daniel Levy has contacted the agent of Maurizio Sarri in a bid to install the 62-year-old as the new Tottenham Hotspur manager.

The report by Football Italia claims that, following the sacking of Jose Mourinho on Monday, sources have revealed that Levy and the ENIC Tottenham hierarchy have reached out to Sarri’s agent Fali Ramadani to offer the former Chelsea manager the Spurs job.

It is then stated that, should the Italian accept the offer, he would take over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, with Sarri himself reportedly be eager to return to football after being sacked from Juventus last year.

However, Football Italia also reported that a number of Serie A clubs including AS Roma are also in contact with the Tuscan coach, with it being claimed that the Stadio Olimpico appears to be the 62-year-old’s favoured destination.

Transfer Tavern Take

With The Guardian reporting that Levy wants to appoint an attack-minded manager to replace Mourinho, and with the philosophy of ‘Sarri-ball’ being fast-paced, free-flowing and very attacking, appointing the Italian would certainly appear to tick this box for the Tottenham chairman.

However, with both the players of Chelsea and Juventus failing to fully adapt to ‘Sarri-ball’ in his time at either club, it could be argued that the appointment of the 62-year-old would still represent something of a risk for Spurs.

In other news: Insider information on Spurs’ Mourinho sacking emerges; sources rubbish ‘absolutely false’ claim – find out more here!

Newcastle United almost fell to their first defeat in four Premier League games at Anfield on Saturday, but Joe Willock came off the bench to be the hero after Mohamed Salah’s third-minute strike seemed certain to seal a 1-0 win for Liverpool.

Here are our Magpies player ratings from Merseyside…

Starting XI:

Martin Dubravka: 8/10

Kept Newcastle in the game after Salah’s magnificent early opener, doing well to thwart the Egyptian a second and to prevent Sadio Mane from firing home. The onslaught continued after the break and was not helped by Jonjo Shelvey’s strange back pass on the hour mark.

Jacob Murphy: 6/10

A moment of indecision almost let Liverpool in for a second when Salah snatched possession late in the first period. Had delivered a teasing box into Allison’s area that no one tried to meet, and saw an effort blocked early in the second half.

Federico Fernandez: 7/10

Had to be careful after receiving a yellow card after the first quarter of an hour for a tackle on Diogo Jota and was beaten in the air by Mane moments before the break, as another Reds chance went begging. His calm presence helped to prevent things from getting out of hand.

Ciaran Clark: 5/10 (off 64’ min)

Will have been frustrated to have not gotten a more substantial contact on Mane’s cross for Salah’s opener and gifted possession to the Reds inside Dubravka’s box only for Jota to scuff his shot wide. Recovered well and had the ball in the back of the net but was offside.

Paul Dummett: 6/10

Liverpool’s attacking pace occasionally proved problematic for the Welshman but made a great interception to nip the ball away from Salah as he bore down on Dubravka’s net, and frequently cleared the ball to keep pressure away as often as he could.

Matt Ritchie: 5/10

Wasted an early free-kick to try and get United back into the game with the ball sailing straight out of play, having been the player spun by Salah for the host’s first. Kept trying but not always able to find a black-and-white shirt in the box.

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Miguel Almiron: 5/10 (off 85’ min)

Not the Paraguayan playmaker’s best day for Newcastle, as his lack of focus saw a chance midway through the first half go to waste when a communication breakdown saw Almiron, Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin get in each other’s way.

Jonjo Shelvey: 6/10

Played a beautiful pass down the inside-left for Sean Longstaff to run through on goal and one down the right for Joelinton either side of the break but created his best chance for the wrong side with his strange back pass almost gifting Mane a goal.

Sean Longstaff: 5/10

Failed to sort his feet when freed by Shelvey resulting in Allison easily palming away the midfielder’s scurried shot, and later saw Mane intercept a dismal pass out from the back that led to Salah rippling the side netting.

Joelinton: 5/10 (off 60’ min)

Unable to be the same player that proved a nuisance against Tottenham and build on his goal against West Ham, eventually replaced by Callum Wilson on the hour mark moments after stinging Allison’s gloves with a low blast.

Allan Saint-Maximin: 7/10

Took a battering from the Liverpool players after overcoming a knock to his ankle to feature, but still caused the Reds plenty of problems and almost struck an instant reply. Dropped a shoulder to breeze past Salah and deliver a dangerous cross, was almost unplayable when given the chance to run.

Substitutes:

Callum Wilson: 6/10 (on 60’ min)

Spread play nicely following his second-half introduction and thought he had stolen a point at the start of stoppage time, only for a VAR review to spot the ball bouncing off his arm after being pushed from behind by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Joe Willock: 7/10 (on 64’ min)

The Arsenal loanee came up clutch for the Magpies for the second week in a row, coming off the bench to score the final goal of the game in the fourth minute of stoppage-time, sealing the draw following his game-winning goal against West Ham last time out.

Dwight Gayle: N/A (on 85’ min)

Unused subs: Mark Gillespie (GK), Jamal Lewis, Emil Krafth, Javier Manquillo, Jeff Hendrick, Andy Carroll

AND in other news, Newcastle United hold keen interest in £35m titan who “flung his teammates under the bus”…

Tottenham Hotspur will still be without the services of Ben Davies for their Premier League clash with Sheffield United this evening, handing Ryan Mason a gutting blow…

What’s the latest?

Speaking ahead of kick-off, the interim boss, who took over from Jose Mourinho nearly two weeks ago, delivered a fresh update on the 28-year-old left-back.

He said, via the club’s official website:

“In terms of injuries, it’s the same as last week. Ben Davies is the only one out injured at the moment. Matt Doherty has been training since last week. He had a period of time out injured, but he’s back with the group and has trained all week.”

Big blow

Spurs have suffered from inconsistencies in recent weeks and ultimately, it was a dismal run of form that cost the Portuguese his job in north London.

Mason steered his side to a victory in his first match in charge, coming from behind to defeat Southampton but they were gifted two goals, one of which was a late penalty.

And then they were well-beaten by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, in a week which saw the Super League collapse and subsequent fan protests.

Spurs’ XI could probably do with a shake-up, especially as they still have a place in the top six to aim for and victory against the already-relegated Blades would help morale tenfold.

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Without Davies, Mason will not be able to make a change in one of Spurs’ problematic positions right now.

Sergio Reguilon had looked like a steal from Real Madrid this summer, quickly emerging as a quality and more attacking option along that left flank but since his return from injury in February, he’s just not looked the same, whatsoever.

In his five-game absence, Spurs endured one of their toughest periods, losing four of those five outings, including some big encounters against Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City.

His return had been expected to give the side a boost, though he’s underperformed ever since then.

Reguilon has started Spurs’ last six league matches and has failed to record a WhoScored rating above 6.9 in all but one of those games. He has also failed to contribute an assist in that run, managing only four key passes.

By comparison, the Spaniard’s average for the season is now 6.81 and had been their third-biggest source for creating goals prior to injury, with three assists.

If Davies was available, then Mason could freshen things up defensively, and that’s where most of their problems this term have remained. Therefore, not having the Welshman back from injury is yet another huge setback for the 29-year-old caretaker.

AND in other news, Spurs should fear Jose Mourinho 2.0 amid Jorge Mendes claims…

West Ham’s controversial decision to offload Grady Diangana last summer is looking better and better as every week passes.

After a successful loan spell at promotion-winning West Brom during the 2019/20 campaign, many at the London Stadium expected the 23-year-old winger to contend for a place in David Moyes’ first team.

But the Iron’s ownership group, GSB, had other ideas as the temptation of £18m was far too much to refuse.

This decision was met with fury from fans as well as their skipper, Mark Noble.

Supporters were seen protesting following a defeat to Newcastle United earlier in the season whilst the veteran midfielder tweeted he was “gutted, angry and sad.”

Fast-forward to now and it seems as if David Sullivan and co played an absolute blinder, especially in getting so much for him.

Now valued at just €15m (£13m), Diangana has struggled to have much of an impact in the Premier League, where the Baggies are facing an instant return to the Championship.

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The 5 foot 11 dynamo has only played 16 times this term, scoring just once but it’s evident that he’s just not favoured by former Hammers boss Sam Allardyce as he’s played just 63 minutes of league action since the turn of the year, failing to contribute a goal or an assist since September, via Transfermarkt.

At this point, you could say West Ham were lucky to get as much as they did for him. In the second flight, he bagged eight goals and registered seven assists, with many plaudits coming his way.

Sky Sports’ EFL podcast ran an episode highlighting ‘future stars’ in the division, in which Diangana featured alongside the likes of Joe Rodon, who has gone onto feature in Spurs’ first-team, and Bryan Mbeumo of Brentford.

The 23-year-old was described as an “explosive” attacker and one that is a “total nightmare” to defend against but we’ve just not seen that lucrative form translate into the big time.

Diangana may well go onto thrive in the Championship again next season, with relegation at the Hawthorns all but confirmed, but the Irons will not rue his sale whatsoever.

He is yet to deliver and GSB have laughed their way to the bank.

AND in other news, Moyes must seal £18m West Ham swoop for 6 ft 4 “diamond” who’s silenced Ings & Cavani…