All posts by z3u9t.icu

[ad_pod ]Tottenham Hotspur have been rocked by news of yet another injury blow.Ben Davies limped out of the club’s Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea on Thursday, and the club have confirmed that he will now miss this weekend’s FA Cup tie against Crystal Palace.Moussa Sissoko, who made his comeback from a groin injury against the Blues, sustained a knee injury in that game, and may also be unavailable, with further assessments to take place this weekend.Spurs are already without striker Harry Kane and midfielder Dele Alli, while Son Heung-Min is still with South Korea on international duty. However, his side lost to Qatar on Friday and have been eliminated from the Asian Cup, meaning he will soon be available for selection.CheekySport’s Joel claims Spurs badly need to invest in January after not having “the balls” to beat Arsenal. Check out his uncensored opinion in the video below…The news of Davies and Sissoko’s injuries will come as a major disappointment to manager Mauricio Pochettino, who is already working with the bare bones of a thin squad.He may well be able to deploy Victor Wanyama against the Eagles after his return to fitness, but that may prove scant consolation, particularly given Sissoko’s excellent displays thus far this season.And Spurs fans have called on the club to finally dip into the transfer market to reinforce the squad, having seen the side fail to add a new player for the last two windows.

According to Spanish source Estadio Deportivo (via Sport Witness), West Ham United may have discovered the price required to sign Sevilla forward Lucas Ocampos. 

The lowdown: Ocampos a wanted man

The 27-year-old has previously been linked with a move to Liverpool and Leeds United, having impressed in Spain following a €15m (£12.5m) switch from Marseille in 2019 (Goal).

A recent report from Calciomercato claimed that the Hammers, along with Wolves, are interested in the Argentine winger ahead of the summer transfer window.

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A fresh update from elsewhere in Spain has informed Premier League suitors of the potential fee required to land the 27-year-old…

The latest: GSB eyeing lucrative swoop for Ocampos

As per Estadio Deportivo, as translated by Sport Witness, Sevilla are ‘about to close’ an extension on the Argentina international’s contract to extend his stay for a further year until 2025.

The report claimed that the new deal for the 10-cap forward will include a release clause of €80m (£66m).

Furthermore, despite the mention of West Ham and GSB specifically holding Ocampos as a ‘favourite’ to bolster the attack at the London Stadium, any summer exit is regarded as ‘unfeasible’ under the new terms.

The verdict: Sign him at all costs

Equally adept on either wing, the skilful Argentine – who has been described as ‘electric’ by football journalist Fede Praml – would provide an alternative to Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen and therefore would be a smart piece of business from West Ham, even at the mooted price point.

If the Irons are to continue their improvement, adding players of this calibre to their ranks is a must; and with mooted admiration from GSB, the board should be willing to sanction the fee and allow recruitment chief Rob Newman to pursue a possible deal.

So far this season, Ocampos – who has previously likened himself to Cristiano Ronaldo – has scored eight times and provided four assists in 35 appearances across all competitions this term. With only three West Ham players finding the net more regularly in 2021/22, adding a player of his potency seems a no-brainer for GSB and co.

In other news: Italian source delivers update on West Ham transfer hunt; find out more here

Tottenham Hotspur would be an attractive option for Torino striker Andrea Belotti, claims journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Belotti’s contract

The 28-year-old’s current deal with the Serie A outfit is set to expire in the summer. Thus, a number of transfer rumours have arisen linking him with a move abroad.

According to Tuttosport (via SportWitness), Spurs could be a potential destination for the Italian, given the pull factor of manager Antonio Conte and managing director Fabio Paratici.

Belotti has a sensational £84.7m release clause in his Torino contract, but with that set to expire in the coming months, the Lilywhites would be able to secure his signature on a free transfer, a bargain considering what he would have cost just two or three years ago under that clause.

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The Latest: O’Rourke’s claim

O’Rourke believes that Tottenham would be an appealing move for Belotti, where he can see him as a replacement for Harry Kane, or as his understudy, if their star man chooses to stay at the north London club.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, he claimed:

“Moving to the Premier League and moving to London, I’m sure would be attractive to him. Maybe he might go there as a replacement to Kane or maybe as a back-up to Kane, but he’s a good player on his day and his goalscoring record does stand up.”

The Verdict: Not good enough to replace Kane

The Torino man was one of the hottest prospects in European football after he bagged 24 league goals during the 2016/17 season, with former boss Moreno Longo hailing him as an “extraordinary striker”.

This season resulted in huge praise from some of the biggest names in Italian football. This included Fabio Capello who lauded the forward, at the time claiming that he is “probably better than Batistuta”.

However, in more recent seasons, Belotti’s goal-scoring form has dried up. The Italy international has netted just five goals in the Serie A this season. This form has been affected by the number of injuries he has sustained this year, which have kept him on the sidelines for 14 league games.

Therefore, it can be concluded that Belotti would not be a suitable replacement for Kane, due to his lack of goals and injury concerns. However, as a back-up striker, he could be a great addition to Conte’s squad.

In other news: Tottenham Hotspur: Paul Robinson urges Spurs to sign Paulo Dybala

An injury expert has now dropped an Everton claim on Yerry Mina before the Toffees take on Manchester United at home in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.

The Lowdown: Couple weeks away

As quoted by The Liverpool Echo last Friday, Frank Lampard revealed that Mina will be back within the ‘next couple of weeks’.

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The Colombia international has since missed defeats to West Ham United and Burnley in the top flight respectively, with the Merseyside club now sweating on his fitness ahead of their match against the Red Devils at Goodison Park.

The Latest: Leicester targeted

Speaking to Football Insider, Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in both medicine and data analysis, has claimed that the Toffees will now be targeting a return for Mina at home to Leicester City on April 20th, believing throwing him in this Saturday would be a ‘massive gamble’:

“You’re in a very time-crunched environment, particularly when you’re a key player.

“We know the impact that Yerry Mina has on that Everton team.

“When you’re looking at recent performances and how close they are to the relegation zone, Lampard will want him back.

“But you want him back not just for one game but for the remaining fixtures.

“I wouldn’t expect him to be back for the United game, but the Leicester game should give him plenty of opportunities to build that fitness.

“That’s the game they’ll be looking to target.

“To throw him in before that would be a massive gamble, especially given that he has a bit of chequered past with regards to muscle injuries.“

The Verdict: Too early

Throwing him in against United would likely be too early for Mina.

He will need more time to properly recover, especially given the fact that he has been out since February.

However, these are desperate times for the Blues now, and their other central defenders need to step up in his absence.

Ben Godfrey in particular was criticised for his performance in their most recent 3-2 loss away at Burnley, and so Frank Lampard will now be looking for a reaction from his team against United.

In other news, find out who EFC are now ‘first in line’ to sign here!

Celtic saw many players make the move to Parkhead during Peter Lawwell’s reign as the club’s chief executive.

As tends to be the case with a lot of clubs across Europe and beyond, not every deal that gets completed ends up being particularly successful.

One example of this happening at Celtic was their 2013 move for striker Teemu Pukki.

Signed during the 2013 summer transfer window on a four-year deal from Schalke worth a reported fee of £3m, the Finnish international ended up making just 38 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions.

Finding the back of the net just nine times, the centre-forward then joined Brondby on loan in 2014 before signing on a permanent deal in 2015.

With 26 league appearances in the 2013/14 season, the centre-forward could only register 13 shots on target, the same number as midfielders Scott Brown and Joe Ledley.

Having started just 14 of these league fixtures, the £15k-per-week attacker failed to really nail down a place in the team, particularly towards the end of the campaign.

Described as being “unplayable” by former Norwich City manager Daniel Farke, Pukki failed to repay the transfer fee that the Hoops shelled out for him.

Speaking about the striker’s time at Celtic Park, former Hoops boss Neil Lennon had this to say on the matter.

He said: “He is a quiet boy. He had a few injury problems as well and at a club like Celtic, when you’re brought in for money, you have to score goals.

“And he wasn’t really an out-and-out goalscorer. He played within himself a little bit, I thought. He didn’t really show his capabilities. He’s very quiet. I don’t know if it was too big for him because he had been at Sevilla and Schalke, so he had been at big clubs. 

“He was never prolific but we felt he had the qualities we wanted but he would maybe say he never got the chance to show that on a consistent basis.”

Taking all of this into account, as well as the fact that the Hoops only got a fraction – £608k, to be exact – of the transfer fee from Brondby that they originally paid to bring him to Celtic Park, it’s safe to say that Lawwell and the club had a nightmare on this particular deal.

AND in other news: Ange must now revive Celtic swoop for £2.7m-rated “rocket”, he’s a “massive talent”

Tanguy Ndombele’s future at Tottenham Hotspur is by no means certain.

The 25-year-old midfielder, who cost a club-record £55m two-and-a-half years ago, has not featured for the club since being withdrawn early during their FA Cup third-round victory over Morecambe.

He slowly trudged off to a chorus of boos and jeers with his side down by a goal at the time. Since then, it has emerged that the club are trying to move him on and that he has reportedly been training alone at Hotspur Way.

“Tottenham are looking for a solution to sell or loan out Tanguy Ndombele in January,” revealed Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

It’s hard to put up a case for Spurs keeping hold of their big-money signing as he’s been nothing short of a flop – as per Transfermarkt, he has delivered only ten goals and nine assists across 91 appearances.

If they are to move him on, however, manager Antonio Conte will be in need of a new central midfielder but perhaps he already has the answer at the club, somewhat.

Sarr solution?

During the summer, sporting director Fabio Paratici sealed the signature of promising Ligue 1 gem Pape Matar Sarr, who has remained on loan at Metz, for around €17m (£15m).

The 19-year-old midfielder has played in pretty much every role in the engine room for the French outfit this season, where he has made 19 appearances across all competitions.

Now valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, the Senegal international has struggled for consistency, averaging a rating of just 6.43, though there have been signs of encouragement and he is a player with undoubted potential.

“I am told this guy is really more than an interesting talent. He has real potential, [he’s a] fantastic talent,” claimed Romano to his YouTube channel in September.

“One of my sources told me he could become one style of [Paul] Pogba player. He has style, he has potential, he has skills, so we will see what happens with this guy.”

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A Pogba-like midfielder? That should be right up Conte’s street considering he managed the France superstar across 78 matches at Juventus before he rejoined Manchester United.

Sarr is certainly looking to contribute at both ends of the pitch, having averaged 2.2 dribbles, 1.7 successful tackles, one shot and 0.9 key passes per 90 minutes in the French top-flight, via WhoScored.

“Pape Matar Sarr is elegance in the midfield, it’s talent, it’s making others play.” once claimed Metz coach Frederic Antonetti.

So come the summer, Conte may not need to look far to find Ndombele’s replacement, thanks to Paratici’s decision in the summer. He seems primed for a shot in Spurs’ first team, especially under the stewardship of the Italian, who has already worked wonders with players like Oliver Skipp and Sergio Reguilon.

As such, he could also save the clubs millions as Sarr seems like the perfect replacement for the struggling flop.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold drops exciting Hugo Lloris claim at Spurs…

Manchester City currently have the best defensive record in the Premier League with 21 goals conceded in 33 league games.

One figure, in particular, that has contributed a lot to that impressive feat is defender, Aymeric Laporte.

Signed from Athletic Bilbao back in the 2018 January transfer window, the centre-back has made 148 appearances in total for the Manchester club.

With 28 league appearances to his name in this campaign, only three other outfield players have racked up more minutes than the Spaniard.

In terms of what he’s delivered for the team, only Joao Cancelo (2363) has completed more passes in the entire league than Laporte (2355), showing just how much of the ball gets passed around through the centre-back.

From a defensive point of view, the 27-year-old has racked up 14 tackles, 125 pressures, 19 blocks, 29 interceptions and 64 clearances, highlighting how involved and capable he is when required to defend.

Even though Pep Guardiola’s side have some massive games left to play in the Premier League and Champions League before the summer transfer window opens, it seems the club could be in the mix to replicate the same sort of masterclass they made with Laporte.

According to reports in Spain, City have joined their rivals Manchester United in the race to sign Villarreal defender Pau Torres.

Labelled as having an “extraordinary talent to construct the play” by former Villarreal player and coach Javi Calleja, Torres has the second-highest number of passes at the club during this current La Liga campaign.

This shows the similarities between him and his fellow countryman Laporte in terms of being particularly useful when it comes to passing the ball out from the back.

Also, with 11 tackles, 168 pressures, 39 interceptions and 103 clearances under his belt in La Liga this season, the £45m-rated 25-year-old can also hold his own in terms of defending his goal.

Moving forward, should Guardiola feel the need to strengthen what is already a strong defence, adding Torres to their ranks could be the best option as someone that can fit the bill of how the game is played at the Etihad Stadium.

In other news: Contact made: Man City in talks for “sensational” £150m signing, Pep would love him

Wolves youngster Dion Sanderson is ‘close’ to sealing a loan move to the Championship until the end of the season, according to reliable journalist Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Sanderson not needed at Wolves

The 22-year-old has already been out on loan this season, spending time at Birmingham City and making 14 starts for Lee Bowyer’s side. He was recalled by Wolves earlier this month, and while Bruno Lage may have seen him as a squad option, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

A fresh update suggests that the defender will be making a swift return to the Championship, with a loan move to QPR seemingly in the offing.

The Latest: Sanderson set for QPR loan

Taking to Twitter on Monday afternoon, Spiers confirmed that Sanderson is on the verge of joining QPR, who sit fourth in the table after an impressive season which has seen them pushing for promotion to the top flight

The Athletic journalist outlined: “Dion Sanderson is close to joining promotion-chasing QPR on loan (they’re fourth, two points off second). Told Sheffield United came in with a late loan offer but it’s looking like QPR for the 22-year-old.”

The Verdict: Shrewd move for Sanderson

It makes perfect sense for Sanderson to be loaned out again, rather than struggling for minutes at Wolves and seeing his development stunted. He has been hailed as a ‘Rolls-Royce’ player by Sunderland Lee Johnson during a previous loan spell at the Stadium of Light, highlighting his pedigree whenever he is given a chance at senior level.

The young defender may have a long-term future at Molineux, but for the time being it is hard to see him ousting the likes of Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss from the starting line-up. Indeed, the 22-year-old did not feature in any of Wolves’ three matches since he was recalled from Birmingham, and that was even with Saiss gone to the Africa Cup of Nations.

With QPR pushing for promotion to the Premier League, it would be a great opportunity for Sanderson to test himself in a pressurised situation, looking to make his mark in west London – and indeed on his parent club.

In other news, a journalist has talked up Wolves making a move for one player. Find out who it is here.

Kevin Phillips has dropped a claim on the future of West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with West Brom News, the Sky Sports pundit stated his belief that, should the Baggies receive a sizeable offer for the 28-year-old this month, they will more than likely cash in on the England international as a result of his contract situation, with his current deal due to expire at the end of the season.

However, the former Premier League centre-forward went on to suggest that, if Albion were to lose the services of the former Manchester United ‘keeper – who has been linked with Tottenham, West Ham, Newcastle and Rangers this month – it would come as a huge blow to Valerien Ismael’s chances of automatic promotion from the Championship.

Speaking about Johnstone’s future, Phillips said: “It’s always a difficult one. You can look at it from two points of view – the club’s point of view and then about getting the club back to the Premier League.

“From a business point of view, if a big offer comes in, it wouldn’t surprise me if the club took it because he could walk away for free in the summer. I would like to see the club wanting him to stay, but it’s business. I’d like to see the player himself help get the club back to the Premier League. If he was to leave, it would be a huge blow.”

“Huge blow”

Considering how impressive Johnstone has been for West Brom since his £6.5m move to The Hawthorns in 2018, the loss of the goalkeeper this month would undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Albion’s chances of securing a top-two finish in the current campaign, as Phillips has said.

Indeed, over his 24 Championship appearances this season, the £7.2m-rated stopper has kept 11 clean sheets, in addition to making 1.4 saves and 1.7 successful runs out per match. These returns have seen the 28-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.82, ranking him as Ismael’s 14th-best player in the league.

However, it was undoubtedly over his 37 Premier League outings last term that the England international solidified his reputation as a top-class option between the sticks, with the £32.5k-per-week ace keeping six clean sheets and making 4.5 saves per match – the most of any ‘keeper in the league.

These metrics saw Johnstone earn an astonishing seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as the Baggies’ second-best player in the division – a quite remarkable feat considering the club’s ultimate relegation from the top flight.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the loss of the 28-year-old would come as a significant blow to West Brom’s chances of securing a return to the Premier League this year. That leads us to believe that it would be worth keeping Johnstone around until the end of the season, before waving goodbye to him on a free transfer this summer.

In other news: West Brom finally receive positive injury news, fans will be buzzing

A number of Liverpool supporters have reacted in delighted fashion to a claim that the Reds won’t be investigated for possible false negative virus tests.

The Reds have suffered a difficult period in their season, like so many clubs, with numerous players having to isolate after testing positive for the virus.

The likes of Alisson, Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho have all been ruled out at different times recently and Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge has been affected as a result, with just two points taken from the last nine on offer.

The Reds also saw their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal cancelled last week, with the Emirates Stadium fixture instead moved to 20 January.

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On Monday, a story from The Athletic emerged claiming that the Reds could be investigated for reported false positives, in what was a worrying development for the club.

However, according to The Evening Standard [via Anfield Watch], that will not happen, with the EFL not planning to dig deeper into the issue.

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Liverpool fans delighted at investigation claim

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to react positively to the news, with one describing it as a “masterclass” from manager Jurgen Klopp, who himself was recently diagnosed with the virus.

“Salty Arsenal fans incoming”

Credit: @Seyjith

“Liverpool is so massive”

Credit: @Tokpenyulfc

“This is really good news for #LFC”

Credit: @9_khac

“Another masterclass from Jurgen”

Credit: @jackmartinez_

“ARSENAL FANS CRYFEST!!!”

Credit: @dkapoor_lfc

“Let’s gooooo”

Credit: @6_LFC_19

In other news, some Liverpool fans have laughed off one Reds transfer claim. Read more here.