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Ipswich must seal a deal for 6ft 2 Preston North End centre-forward Jayden Stockley this summer. 

What’s the talk?

According to the Lancashire Post, Ipswich are one of the clubs interested in signing 6ft 2 Stockley from Preston North End. Charlton and Rotherham are also keen on the attacker, with him having been on loan to the former last season, and Portsmouth have been given permission to discuss personal terms this week.

The Lancashire Post had previously reported that Stockley’s preference was to join Charlton on a permanent basis at the end of the season. Portsmouth, however, are now leading the race for his signature and Ipswich are looking to get involved in the chase.

Former Charlton boss Lee Bowyer lauded Stockley upon his arrival at The Valley on loan in January. He told Charlton’s official website:

“There was a lot of interest in him, he’s a good striker and normally in these transfer windows good strikers don’t become available.

“I’ve got a good relationship with Peter Ridsdale at Preston and I have to thank him for his help and obviously the manager and their owner. He’s a Championship striker and with their help and a lot of our persistence, we were able to fend off interest from other clubs.

“We know what problems he caused us last season, so I’m delighted to have him here. With his experience, his goals, he is definitely going to add to us.”

Cook needs him

Paul Cook is desperately lacking in quality options at the top end of the pitch and he needs a player like Stockley to bolster his squad this summer.

James Norwood ended the season as Ipswich’s top goalscorer in League One with a paltry nine strikes and was one of only two players with more than four league goals for the club. Gwion Edwards’ tally of six placed him second on the list, emphasising the need for Ipswich to dip into the market to add more goals to their side ahead of next season.

Stockley could be the perfect man to bring in as he has proven that he has the quality to score goals at an impressive rate at League One level.

He picked up eight goals in the second half of the campaign for Charlton, one fewer than Norwood managed all season, and vastly outperformed the Ipswich man in terms of his all-around game. Stockley averaged an eye-catching WhoScored rating of 7.41 for Charlton, whilst Norwood’s score of 6.68 appears unimpressive in comparison.

The £5.1k-per-week ace has also been a goal machine in the EFL prior to his spell with Charlton. He scored an impressive 35 goals in two League Two seasons with Exeter, showing that he has the quality to score goals on a consistent basis in the EFL, which could solve Cook’s goalscoring problems and add the attacking flair he is lacking at the moment.

Ipswich must do all they can to convince Stockley to make a move to their club.

AND in other news, Major transfer update emerges on “fantastic” £3.5k-p/w ace, Ipswich fans will be livid…

Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri will not listen to the cries of supporters.

Following Wednesday’s relegation to League One, the supporters trust board wrote a letter to the club calling for Chansiri to take a “clear step back”.

For them, that entails a new chairman and CEO coming in to manage the team. A demand for non-executive board members to share some of that responsibility has also been made.

Palmer, though, cannot see that happening and has warned fans that their cries are likely to fall on deaf ears.

Speaking exclusively to FFC on the matter, the ex-Wednesday player said:

“He’s the money man, so you can’t tell the money man to step down. He either steps down because he wants to or he sells the club because he wants to, but he’s not going to do anything they’re telling him to do.

“Bottom line is he’s the money man; he puts the money into the club. The only thing I’d say to the chairman is look where we are now. We are in League One.

“For me, it’s quite simple. He knows nothing about football; he knows nothing about the running of a football club.”

Chansiri has been a very controversial figure at Hillsborough this season after sacking both Garry Monk and Tony Pulis in the same campaign.

Ultimately, it is not hard to understand the frustrations of supporters and those who have an affinity with the club.

Tottenham Hotspur must defeat Leicester City if they are to stand a chance of qualifying for a place in the Europa League later this afternoon.

Ryan Mason and his side head to the King Power Stadium sat in seventh place and risk losing out on Europe for the first time since 2009 if they do not secure all three points.

A draw may not be enough to seal their fate, with Everton and arch-rivals Arsenal hot on their tail whilst the Foxes also need a victory if they are to get back into the top four.

Last time out, Spurs were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa, so the 29-year-old caretaker has a lot to ponder heading into kick off.

So, here is our predicted Lilywhites XI, as well as the latest team and injury news…

Mason could be tempted into three changes from midweek.

One of which will be enforced at the back as Japhet Tanganga, who has started their last two league games under the interim, is confirmed to be out with a serious ankle injury.

Matt Doherty came on in his place against Villa, so he may well be preferred to Serge Aurier, who is expected to return to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-managerial-latest-update-transfer-rumours-gossip” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”]

He’ll join Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Sergio Reguilon and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

In midfield, there will surely be a recall for Tanguy Ndombele at long last. His presence has been sorely missed lately, and Spurs only improved after his introduction.

He’s likely to replace £26m-rated Harry Winks, whilst Giovani Lo Celso is snubbed.

Further up the pitch, the third and final change should be the return of Gareth Bale to partner Heung-min Son, Dele Alli and Harry Kane.

The 31-year-old didn’t start in midweek due to fitness concerns but is well-rested ahead of what could be his last-ever game in a Tottenham shirt. He’ll replace Wednesday evening’s goalscorer, £22.5m-rated dynamo Steven Bergwijn.

Similarly, this could even be Kane’s final swansong for the Lilywhites.

AND in other news, Ryan Mason dealt fresh Spurs injury blow ahead of crucial Leicester clash…

Once the transfer window opens, Celtic will have a colossal job on their hands.A number of Hoops players, including Odsonne Edouard and Kris Ajer, have been linked with the exit door while they have several loanees that will head back to their parent clubs after a spell at Paradise.

On the chalkboard

One man who will definitely leave the Bhoys behind this summer is Scott Brown as the midfield veteran heads to Aberdeen to take up a player-coach role.

His replacement in the middle of the park could be Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy.

The Irishman is out of contract at the end of the season and will be available to lure to Glasgow on a free transfer.

Celtic have been linked with the 30-year-old for a good few months now and he could well become Dominic McKay’s first Celtic signing.

GIVEMESPORT claim that talks between McCarthy and the Hoops are now at an advanced stage.

Forget McCarthy

Despite being a boyhood Celtic fan, they need to completely forget about signing him this summer.

That’s because they have a number of young players in the same position coming through that they’d be better off blooding.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/celtic-manager-transfers-eddie-howe-jesse-marsch-ryan-christie-siriki-dembele” title=”Read the latest Celtic managerial updates, transfer news, rumours and gossip!”]

The Hoops are in a transitional stage where they need to move away from older players and look towards the future.

Ismaila Soro is one player who should get a chance instead while they also have Luca Connell coming through the ranks.

However, there is a youngster who they will welcome to the club that should be given the limelight; Liam Shaw.

Celtic have agreed a deal to sign the 20-year-old, who is set to join up with his teammates at Lennoxtown for the first time this summer.

The Sheffield Wednesday youngster has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in England, playing in a multitude of positions. He can feature at centre-back but he also looks at home playing in midfield and using his long levers to stride forward.

Comfortable in possession and full of energy, his box to box style could completely reinvigorate this Celtic team.

He is adept in the air, winning 1.7 aerial duels per game but he also knows how to pick a pass and beat a man.

For instance, against Rotherham this year, he completed three key passes and four dribbles as Wednesday lost 2-1.

With Brown walking through the exit door this summer, the last thing they need to do is replace him with another ageing player. By utilising Shaw, it could breathe fresh life into a decrepit starting XI.

In a similar way to Ajer, he loves to burst forward, something we saw in the FA Cup earlier this season against Exeter.

He galloped beyond the halfway line in lung-busting fashion from centre-half before dancing past his marker on the right flank and fashioning a goal. It was a piece of play that The Mirror’s James Whaling said was “sensational.â€

Blessed with tremendous stamina and non-stop energy, McKay will need to urge the new management team to faze Shaw into proceedings as soon as possible.

AND in other news, Celtic set for huge boost as Lennoxtown news emerges, McKay & Desmond will be buzzing…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has a few big choices to make ahead of the Reds’ Premier League clash with Southampton tonight.

The Merseysiders have not been in action since the 1-1 draw against Newcastle United two weeks ago following the decision to postpone their fixture against Manchester United last week.

They were left frustrated in the clash with the Magpies, with tonight’s clash against the Saints representing what could be their last realistic chance to earn a place in the top four.

One player who should be left out by Klopp at Anfield is forward Diogo Jota. Despite the Portuguese forward having enjoyed an electric start to life with Liverpool following his move from Wolves last year, he has simply not managed to hit the same heights in recent weeks.

The £36m-rated forward has started each of the last three Premier League games, not managing to get on the scoresheet. As a matter of fact, he is now five matches without a goal in all competitions.

That run has shown little signs of ending, with Jota having flattered to deceive against both Leeds and Newcastle. Over those two games, he managed to have nine shots according to WhoScored but only got four of those on target.

Meanwhile, Jota was also supremely wasteful on the ball having conceded possession 23 times against Leeds and 16 times against the Magpies.

In both games, the forward was substituted by Klopp. He lasted just 80 minutes at Elland Road whilst also being withdrawn after just 57 in the frustrating stalemate with Newcastle.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news%2c-transfer-rumours-and-moreozek-suarez-ward-correa-klopp-super-league-watkins” title=”Read the latest Liverpool news, transfer rumours and more…”]

Whilst it might make sense to keep him in the starting XI considering Liverpool’s need to win the game against a stuttering Southampton, Jota’s lack of rhythm and form make him a prime candidate to drop out.

AND in more news, the Reds have received a huge defensive boost ahead of hosting the Saints at Anfield…

Keith Gillespie has told Football FanCast that Newcastle United should not sign Kyle Bartley from West Bromwich Albion this summer.

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier this week that the Magpies are keeping close tabs on Bartley ahead of a potential summer move.

Both West Brom and Newcastle are mired in relegation trouble; the Baggies are 19th, while the Magpies are currently 17th, just two points clear of Fulham.

Burnley are also interested, but any deal between Newcastle and West Brom may depend on the former’s survival as the season comes to a head.

Gillespie played for the club between 1995 and 1998 and he does not believe that any deal will excite the St James’ Park faithful, while he also maintains that a centre-back is not necessarily needed.

He told FFC: “They want the players that are going to excite them and bringing in a centre-half is not going to do that. Defensively, at times, they have been okay, so it’s not something that I would earmark.”

Indeed, Gillespie has insisted that Newcastle actually need more help going forward as they look to score more goals.

Their current top scorer is Callum Wilson, with 10 goals, while only Miguel Almiron has netted five or more.

Gillespie added: “I think you need players further forward, who are going to create, midfielders, maybe, depending on what way you’re going to play, get somebody up alongside Callum Wilson when he’s fit.”

With Aston Villa just beginning to stumble in the final few weeks of the Premier League campaign, Dean Smith may consider embracing some of the club’s rising young talents.

The Villans still find themselves in the mix for a European spot for next season but have hit a bit of a roadblock in terms of their form, winning just twice in their last nine top-flight games.

If Smith wants to look more long-term towards Villa’s future, then he could do a lot worse than handing an opportunity to someone like Carney Chukwuemeka.

According to Goal’s Tom Maston, “despite his age, the 6 foot 1 youngster has developed into one of the most imposing midfielders in English youth football, and though he will likely need to fill out more when he is promoted to the senior game, his footballing intelligence combined with his physical attributes mark him out as being supremely gifted.”

Maston also claimed that there is a “hint of Dele Alli about his game”, while the club’s academy manager Mark Harrison, was also unequivocal in his praise of the teenage midfielder. He said: “We’ve talked to him about scoring more goals, being more positive with his runs, both with and without the ball, and getting himself in that final third to rack up some assists and more goals.

“He’s a confident lad; will receive the ball anywhere on the pitch, under pressure and not under pressure. That’s what the manager likes; he comes into an environment and settles in quickly. We’ve got high hopes for him, like a lot of our players.”

Meanwhile, one scout told The Athletic: “He’s the best player Villa have got coming through. He can do everything in the midfield area and there are a lot of clubs monitoring his situation at Villa.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-aston-villa-transfer-rumours-and-news-copy-copy” title=”Latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news”]

Recently on the 1874 podcast, Gregg Evans spoke about how highly-rated Chukwuemeka is behind the scenes, revealing that “he’s the one everybody’s talking about” – the journalist even described him as “the real deal”.

Having a midfield player who can break the lines and time his runs into the box to pick up vital goals and assists would add an extra dimension to Villa’s game, something Alli did so successfully at Spurs when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge – the England international still has an impressive record of 65 goals and 59 assists in just 244 games for the Lilywhites.

In Chukwuemeka, Villa could unearth their own Alli, and he might be their next real breakout star after Jack Grealish.

Meanwhile, Villa’s summer transfer plans have been revealed…

At the time, Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for £15m from Southampton and ship Kyle Walker-Peters in the other direction was understandably lauded as a masterstroke.

The N17 youth product had struggled to make much of an impact after breaking into the first team setup, with neither Mauricio Pochettino nor Jose Mourinho called upon him regularly.

After just 24 senior appearances, Daniel Levy managed to offload the right-back for a fee in the region of £12m, meaning the total outlay for the Danish powerhouse was just £3m.

The Hojbjerg side of the deal has paid off, that’s for sure. He has arguably been Mourinho’s player of the season but, in selling Walker-Peters, Spurs may have made a premature and costly blunder.

But for injuries, the 23-year-old would probably be their signing of the year, too. Walker-Peters’ 6.97 average rating is only bettered by two players at St Mary’s Stadium – Spurs-linked defender Jannik Vestergaard (7.09) and England international James Ward-Prowse (7.10), as per WhoScored.

Saints manager Ralph Hassenhuttl has recently acknowledged just how influential the 23-year-old is to their fortunes, telling the Daily Echo: “We miss him when he is not playing. He was an important player in our best time of the season. And yes, we hope when he is coming back that he can lift our game.”

That follows on from his previous praise in which he dubbed the young talent a “role model” who “makes few mistakes.”

Not only has he contributed defensively with his tough-tackling and game-reading ability, but he has also proven to be a threat in the final third – as per WhoScored, Walker-Peters (2.8) is only second to defensive brute Oriol Romeu (3.4) for tackles per game, and similarly, he ranks second (1.7) behind Stuart Armstrong (1.9) for dribbles per match.

There were already signs of talent in north London – Pochettino once said the defender was a player with “amazing quality”.

The right-back spot has been a long-standing issue ever since Walker-Peters’ namesake departed for Manchester City in 2017. Kieran Trippier shortly followed him out the exit door, and Spurs were left with Serge Aurier, who has often been a “liability” for the club.

In the summer, Wolves star Matt Doherty joined the club for £15m but that has been an instant disaster. Mourinho was caught berating him against Liverpool, just a few weeks after picking up a needless red card against Leeds, and now it is thought his future is in jeopardy.

According to ESPN reporter James Olley, the Spurs boss is considering putting the 29-year-old flop up for sale should his form not improve before the end of the season.

When Aurier has usurped his own replacement, you know something’s not right.

Competing in the very same division as the exiled former Spurs graduate, it’s easy to make a direct comparison, and this is where Levy’s mistake starts to surface.

Doherty has struggled defensively, averaging 1.3 tackles and 1.3 fouls per game, and he’s not been able to reproduce his attacking returns, managing a measly 0.3 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

Therefore, when you consider the contrasting form of both players, the Spurs decision-makers have certainly committed a disastrous mistake here. If they didn’t believe in Walker-Peters, then perhaps a season-long loan in the big time would’ve been sufficient.

Instead, they’ll pay the price for letting the defensive gem leave. Hide your eyes, Levy, he’s now worth €30m (£26m) as per CIES Football Observatory.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Lamela: Spurs eyeing “creative” Ligue 1 sensation…

Some fans of Manchester City have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed a report regarding the future of Sergio Aguero.

According to the report by The Sun, the striker is happy at Manchester City, but with the 32-year-old’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, it is claimed that the Argentine would be unwilling to take a pay cut to his £230,000-per-week wage in any new contract offered by the club.

As a result, it is then reported that, while Pep Guardiola’s side do want to keep hold of the club’s all-time top goalscorer this summer, City are unprepared to offer Aguero a contract of the same worth as his current deal, largely due to his injury problems of late.

After City Xtra relayed this report on Twitter, some fans of Manchester City flocked to have their say on the matter, with many stating that they would not have a problem with Aguero leaving the Etihad Stadium this summer. One even called the 32-year-old “washed” in a damning assessment of his career trajectory – the striker recently ended a 14-month Premier League scoring drought.

So, what did these Manchester City fans have to say in reaction to the report regarding Sergio Aguero?

“Ya I love Kun but he should just leave tbh.”

@KZN22_

“Want to keep him? What are the club thinking? He should leave as soon as possible.”

@mbaalthani8

“This is just sad man.”

@Harry_MCFC891

“Some poorly run club will pay it, so good luck at his next club.”

@normski_1970

“No way there’s a team in the world that would give him that.”

@MCFCDavid027

“He’s washed, let him go.”

@gggd_MCFC

“Hate to say it, but he doesn’t deserve to be on £230k atm. I love serge, but what’s he done recently to earn it?”

@kae_16__

“If it’s a money problem, it’s time to go.”

@MendyLaChevre

In other news: These Man City fans were ecstatic as this transfer news emerged – find out more here!

Georginio Wijnaldum has suggested that Liverpool’s slump could be put down to the absence of fans.

The Reds have lost six consecutive home league games for the first time in their history and fallen from league leaders to European outsiders.

All five of their 2021 victories have come away from home, and you have to go back to 16 December for their last Anfield victory, which was against Tottenham (Transfermarkt).

Wijnaldum addressed the issue in the club’s pre-match press conference ahead of their Champions League round of 16 second leg meeting with RB Leipzig on Wednesday. Curiously, Liverpool may be glad that their ‘home leg’ of the tie will be settled at the Puskas Arena in Budapest rather than at Anfield.

“I believe the things happening to us now would not be happening if fans were in the stadium,” the Dutch midfielder said.

The Reds played three home games in front of a limited crowd of 2,000 while the city was in the second tier of pandemic restrictions, winning two and drawing one.

If permitted, they plan to welcome back 10,000 supporters for their final-day Premier League clash with Crystal Palace in what they hope will be a precursor to a normalised 2021/22 campaign (via The Athletic).

In the meantime, these Kopites weren’t too happy with Wijnaldum’s comments about their Anfield slump:

These Liverpool fans won’t give Wijnaldum an easy out

“Embarrassing excuse this”

Credit: @Ugo_nando99

“Can we please stop the excuses and just get on with it, please”

Credit: @TrentsDelivery

“Probably true but that’s the way it is this season, you have to deal with the hand you’re dealt. Stop with the excuses and just get on with it.”

Credit: @duvetcapeman

“Probably true but that doesn’t justify poor results or others out playing us every week”

Credit: @jaziz1989

“It’s like LFC is the only team that doesn’t have fans in the stadium”

Credit: @escandesco

“We are Liverpool Football Club!! no excuses please!!”

Credit: @matters_ho

“I’m not Gini hating at all, but I have wondered for a while whether his contract situation has had any effect on the team. There are a lot of contributing factors to how our season has played out”

Credit: @marksmith_84

In other news, many Liverpool fans call for this line-up change for Leipzig second leg.