All posts by z3u9t.icu

Taking to Twitter, reliable ESPN reporter Moises Llorens has shared a big update on Barcelona attacker and Tottenham Hotspur target Ousmane Dembele amid his contract stand-off.

The Lowdown: Spurs table offer…

As reported in recent months, the France international is a target for Spurs and manager Antonio Conte as Lilywhites chief Fabio Paratici takes to the 2022 free agent market.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-5/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

According to Mundo Deportivo, Tottenham’s managing director is eyeing ‘quality players at zero cost’ for his countryman at N17 – including Dembele, whose deal runs out at the end of this season.

Spurs have also allegedly made an offer to sign the 24-year-old on a pre-contract, promising ‘a lot of money’ and the guarantee of being a key player (Mundo Deportivo).

After recent claims Tottenham will ‘push hard’ for his signing this month, ESPN journalist Llorens has shared a significant update.

The Latest: Spurs gifted possible boost,,,

According to his information, sharing news late Tuesday night, Dembele is set for a crunch ‘meeting’ today amid his contract stand-off at the Camp Nou.

However, it is now apparently very unlikely that the player signs an extension, with the difference in negotiations ‘practically insurmountable’.

Indeed, the La Liga giants would apparently see Dembele penning fresh terms as a ‘miracle’ in what could be a boost for Paratici and Spurs.

The Verdict: Time to strike?

The forward looks almost certain to leave as things stand, but does that mean Spurs should continue their alleged pursuit and sink the final blow?

Lauded as ‘exciting’ and ‘almost unplayable’ at times by Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand, Dembele’s ability is clearly rated and there is a reason Barca paid an initial £97 million to sign him from Borussia Dortmund back in 2017.

However, the winger also has a troubling history of hamstring problems and could command a hefty salary – with his current wages believed to be around £210,000-per-week.

An offer around this amount or over would make him the highest paid star at Hotspur Way, even above the likes of Harry Kane, and it would arguably be a gamble to invest that much in a player prone to absences.

Coming with plus and negative points, a move for Dembele before January 31 could prove potentially fruitful but with a big element of risk.

In other news: Conte green-lights move for £220,000-per-week ‘jewel’ as he lays out transfer demand for Spurs chiefs, find out more here.

Celtic laid dormant like a small church mouse last season as the Hoops crumbled, fell and ultimately watched their stronghold over Scottish football evaporate into thin air.

It was a disastrous campaign for the Bhoys as they failed to win a single trophy and saw the back of their former manager at Parkhead in Neil Lennon.

Yet, enter Ange Postecoglou, an Australian-Greek coach who has overseen a quite colossal rebuilding project at Parkhead and put Celtic firmly back at the top of the Premiership.

He has overseen a Scottish League Cup triumph and few would now bet against Celtic winning the title as they sit six points ahead of fierce rivals, Rangers.

A number of his signings have been superb with the likes of Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Jota finding themselves involved in a mammoth 79 goals between them this term.

Yet, there is uncertainty over the future of Jota who Celtic could sign for £6.5m due to an agreement in his loan contract from Benfica.

Should they fail to agree a deal they may well have nightmares over a move that Lennon didn’t seal back in the summer of 2020.

That happens to be one for Noa Lang, a flying winger whose stock is now rising all the time.

Reports nearly two years ago now suggested the Hoops were fighting it out to bring the Netherlands international to Glasgow. Ultimately, a move didn’t happen and he eventually ended up joining Club Brugge from Dutch giants, Ajax, last summer.

His form since has been imperious with the attacker now dubbed a “phenomenon” by journalist Peter Vandenbempt, scoring nine goals and racking up 13 assists for the Belgian side.

That kind of form has seen his value rise exponentially, so much so that Arsenal are eyeing up a blockbuster £33m move for him.

Hindsight is a thing of beauty but it’s evident that Celtic missed the target when putting Lang in their crosshairs.

A failure to conclude a deal has not only seen them miss out on a wonderfully gifted footballer but also a pretty hefty payday too.

You can certainly file the 22-year-old under one who got away.

AND in other news, Sources: Deal now agreed for potential “£20m-plus” talent, it’s bad news for Celtic… 

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans are buzzing over a transfer update involving former Liverpool star and Paris-Saint Germain midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

It’s only been a matter of months since the Netherlands international swapped Anfield for the French capital as former Premier League boss Mauricio Pochettino brought him to PSG on a free deal.

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

However, a lack of game time under the Argentine has already seen him being linked with a move away from Ligue 1 and back to the English top flight.

In a shock update, West Ham are among the clubs who could actually sign the £165,000-per-week star as 90min share a transfer update out of the London Stadium.

According to their sources, manager David Moyes and the Hammers have now been offered Wijnaldum through intermediaries as his agents work on a January move for the player.

In terms of West Ham’s stance after these representatives made an approach, it is believed that the club haven’t ruled out the possibility of negotiating a loan deal in the winter window.

West Ham fans buzz…

As this transfer update emerges, it’s safe to say this Wijnaldum story has many Irons supporters buzzing on Twitter.

Despite Pochettino’s lack of consistent starts for the 31-year-old, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s praise for the player over 2020/2021 speaks volumes for his quality.

The German lauded Wijnaldum as a ‘legend’ and ‘sensational’ last season and it’s not hard to see why going by his impressive stats.

Indeed, he actually averaged a higher pass accuracy (92.7%) than any Reds player last season and was a mainstay in their midfield – playing in every single Premier League game (WhoScored).

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder West Ham fans are raving as they are offered the chance to sign him – find all of their best reactions down below:

“If true I’d take him in a heartbeat, imagine the energy of a midfield of Gini, Rice and Soucek, we saw how good he can be in an attacking sense at the Euros, he could cause havoc in that 10 role”

Credit: @TomQuirkeJourno

“I’m on my knees”

Credit: @1bbyWHU

“Please Happen!!!”

Credit: @X3Number1

“Wages must be crazy but what a signing he’d be. A whole new dimension with a 4-3-3 and is well versed at covering for marauding DMs/ full backs, which would allow Rice and Cresswell to utilise their attacking abilities mix”

Credit: @leondepreli_

“quality signing this would be, bloke’s world-class”

Credit: @stephenlott

“Pleeeeeease”

Credit: @VammandeSammarN

“I would cry.”

Credit: @CostiaAHN

In other news: Approach already made: West Ham now willing to pay asking price for colossal 47-goal striker, find out more here.

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have erupted over big news on Vladimir Coufal.

As well as benefitting from the arrival of recruitment chief Rob Newman in a new Hammers transfer era, manager David Moyes is also eyeing a number of new contracts for his first team stars.

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

Indeed, as explained by Claret & Hugh, West Ham have fresh deals for some key players in the pipeline, with Coufal, Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice linked to being offered fresh terms.

According to sources in Italy, Angelo Ogbonna could also sign a contract extension, but now some big news has emerged on Coufal’s situation specifically.

According to reporter Roshane Thomas of The Athletic, the Czech Republic star has put pen to paper on a new three-year deal with the option to extend it by a further year.

The 29-year-old was crucial to Moyes last season, averaging the joint-most tackles per game for West Ham in the Premier League and marking himself out as a real fan favourite.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder that numerous Irons supporters have absolutely erupted on social media upon hearing of his contract extension – one even called it the “best news ever”.

Check out some of their best verdicts below.

West Ham fans erupt over big Coufal news…

“Best news of the week!”

Credit: @_samhowell

“SIUUUUUUUUUU”

Credit: @alex_cvb

“Absolutely MASSIVE news!!”

Credit: @dave_lapointe

“YESSSSSS”

Credit: @morgzwhu

“This is absolutely superb news, well done Moyes and the board 👏🏻🔥⚒ Another step in the right direction”

Credit: @MartynHobbs12

“That’s big”

Credit: @conwhufc03

“Best news you’ll see today #GSBOUT irons irons irons”

Credit: @joehalford1990

“This is the best news ever”

Credit: @StefGoodridge

In other news: Reliable reporter says West Ham fans ‘should be excited’ by another development, find out more here.

This season has been the very definition of a horror show for Celtic and everyone at Parkhead.

The Bhoys have surrendered their grasp on the league title and they will finish the 2020/21 campaign without a single trophy to their name.

It ends what has been a decade of complete dominance for the Hoops and throughout the rest of the season, nothing but pride is at stake.

They capitulated in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup last weekend, ruing not only a missed penalty and a succession of excellent chances but also their defending.

As Rangers won 2-0, it was their two full-backs who had to be held accountable from a defensive point of view.

On the chalkboard

Diego Laxalt has had a very inconsistent stay at Celtic. Going forward he has looked like creating plenty of chances but when he tries to defend, he is left all at sea.

Against Dundee United a few weeks ago he was tortured by Lawrence Shankland and he was left at the mercy of Joe Aribo in a similar fashion last Sunday.

The Rangers winger led Laxalt a merry dance down Celtic’s left-hand side and the Uruguayan was powerless to stop it.

For the opening goal, he wasn’t even in the picture as Steven Gerrard’s men countered and then scored acrobatically from Steven Davis.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-howe-lampard-klimala-ajer-gossip” title= “Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Though, for the second strike, Laxalt was worse. The AC Milan loanee was turned inside out by Aribo who then rolled the ball across goal. Jonjoe Kenny didn’t track Ryan Kent and he then inadvertently put the ball in his own net.

It was a shocking performance from the left-back, a player who surely won’t warrant the £7.2m fee Celtic could pay to sign him permanently in the summer.

John Kennedy has to take the decision of dropping him when the Hoops face Aberdeen on Wednesday night.

He was a liability last weekend and has to be taken out of the firing line. After all, his performance sparked considerable criticism.

Celtic podcaster Paul John Dykes called his first-half against Rangers a “nightmare” during the interval while John Hartson had some very choice words for the defender.

Speaking on Premier Sports’ live coverage of the clash, Harton said he “does nothing” before unleashing the following: “Well he went off after half time obviously and John Kennedy would have been disgusted with his left-back. He’s from good stock as well. He’s on loan from AC Milan. He is a good player.”

Unfortunately, Laxalt has rarely shown that he’s a good player while in Glasgow.

With little time remaining in the season and nothing to play for, it feels pointless to field an individual who is almost certainly going to depart in a few months.

Kennedy needs to axe him for good, starting on Wednesday evening.

AND in other news, Celtic may have their new Tierney in “tricky” 18 y/o who’s rarely-seen at senior level…

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.

A claim involving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been dropped after the failed takeover of Newcastle United.

As per The Sun, the group have reportedly switched their attentions over from the St. James’ Park faithful to Inter Milan.

The news outlet understands that PIF are currently in talks with the Serie A club, who are valued at roughly £850m.

Inter have been desperate to sell since the end of last year and the publication report a source as claiming that PIF ‘look to have given up’ on the North East club.

Huge blow for Newcastle

If the claims that PIF are looking elsewhere are true, then it could potentially be a big blow to the hopes of a takeover on Tyneside.

For the original deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA consortium to be revived, they would need to put themselves back onto the table, but it looks as if they may be starting to lose interest in that.

Inter are currently a club who ‘tick all the boxes’ given that they are currently top of their domestic league at the moment, six points clear of their local rivals AC Milan after 26 games, with just 12 more left to play.

That puts Antonio Conte’s team in pole position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the start of the 2021/22 term, which may well be seen as a more attractive proposition than taking over at the Magpies.

In other news, find out what PIF claim has been dropped by a finance guru on the potential takeover here!

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte could make Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni his top defensive target ahead of the summer transfer window, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Bastoni linked with Spurs

Despite his desire to bring one in during January, Tottenham failed to sign a central defender for Conte. As a result, the Italian has ended up employing left-back Ben Davies as a makeshift left-sided centre-back.

However, according to Spanish sources, Spurs are already in the process of bolstering their defensive options and have submitted a £42m bid for Bastoni.

Inter remain reluctant to sanction a sale, so the 23-year-old remains on a list with the likes of Sven Botman, Josko Gvardiol and Nico Schlotterbeck as potential additions (via The Athletic).

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-copy/” title=”Tottenham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Jones’ claim on Bastoni

Jones believes that Conte will make a big push to sign Bastoni from his former club.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the reporter claimed: “I think there’s a good chance that Bastoni will emerge as the guy.

“At this stage, I keep being told there is no order at the moment, that they’ll see at the end of the season where they’re at and they’ll go from there.

“They have a shortlist, but it’s not in any sort of ranking, as it stands.”

The Verdict: Great signing if it comes off

Described by journalist Mario Sconcerti as a “young Bonucci”, Bastoni is clearly valued quite highly in Italy. This praise is warranted by his underlying statistics – the 23-year-old ranks in the 99th percentile for progressive passes received, the 94th percentile for shot-creating actions and the 91th percentile for progressive carries (via FBRef) among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues.

With Conte’s preferred back-three formation, Bastoni would suit playing on the left-hand side of the defence, with his ability on the ball complimenting this style of play.

Therefore, it would not be a surprise to see Conte make a big push for the Inter centre-back, who certainly seems like he would be an ideal signing in terms of what the Lilywhites boss is seeking in a defender.

In other news: One Tottenham man could lead a potential N17 mass exodus

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Sheffield Wednesday legend Carlton Palmer has fired a stark warning to the next Owls boss.

Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri sacked Tony Pulis less than two weeks ago after just ten matches in charge and now he’s looking for his fifth manager in three years at Hillsborough Stadium.

The Owls have gone four matches unbeaten, three of which under caretaker coach Neil Thompson, who Palmer has backed to receive the job permanently.

Whilst the likes of Paul Cook, Joey Barton, Thorsten Fink and Jose Morais have all been linked to the vacant role in south Yorkshire.

Though, Palmer isn’t sure that anyone would want to work under the current structure at Wednesday as he dropped a huge claim on how Chansiri operates in the transfer market…

He told FFC:

“My understanding is, in the past, from what I’ve heard is that Chansiri will come to the manager and say ‘right, here’s four or five players – choose which one.’

“That’s still not right because it is maybe not the players that the manager wants.

“The manager should [be the one to] draw up a shortlist of players he wants.”

Chansiri claims that he sacked the 62-year-old Welshman over his negative brand of football, claiming it was a “mistake” to appoint him in the first place, though it could not have come at a worse time now we’re a week into the January transfer window.

Indeed, if the Owls make any moves before that crucial appointment, then it will only add further weight to Palmer’s damning remarks.

The job at Hillsborough is certainly less attractive if the new manager isn’t going to have full autonomy over incomings and outgoings.

Wednesday face League Two outfit Exeter City in the FA Cup this weekend and it doesn’t seem like an appointment is going to happen before then.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sheffield Wednesday tipped to appoint 57 y/o as next boss…

A journalist has dropped a stunning update on the potential takeover of Newcastle United involving the ‘Big Six’.

The Lowdown: Ashley launches legal bid

Mike Ashley has told his legal team to take the Premier League to the high court over what the St. James’ Park faithful believe to be anti-competitive behaviour in their takeover decision-making process, as per The Shields Gazette.

It is understood the top flight were given fresh case legal papers in April, as Ashley looks to force them to put through the deal originally agreed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

The Latest: ‘Big Six’ may be involved

In what journalist Ross Gregory describes as a ‘stunning development’ in his latest piece for NationalWorld, the so-called ‘Big Six’ (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur), may be forced to hand over evidence of their involvement in the breakdown of the takeover bid launched by the Saudi consortium.

The North East club’s legal team believe that these clubs may have put pressure on the division over the proposed deal, and thus want any documents to do with them and the takeover to be disclosed.

The Verdict: Documents may be significant

Any documents involving the ‘Big Six’ and the takeover bid may well turn out to be significant if any evidence is found of them influencing the PL over their decision.

If this evidence is proved to be what Ashley is hoping for, then the Tyneside club have a very good chance of winning their legal battle – the top flight won’t have a leg to stand on if it turns out they decided the results of the Owners’ and Directors’ Test under pressure from other clubs.

This would of course help speed up the whole takeover process, and perhaps Toon fans may still get what they are dreaming of this summer.

In other news, find out what big claim Ben Jacobs has dropped on the potential takeover here!