All posts by z3u9t.icu

There’s no denying that Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have done a fantastic job at Wrexham so far. They set out to get the Welsh club promoted back to the EFL, and did exactly that last season, setting standards not many have seen before in the National League – which has helped their asset triple in value.The Hollywood stars have truly placed Wrexham on the map, culminating in a USA tour in their current pre-season, where they’ll face the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.Behind the big-name friendlies and flashy destinations, however, problems are beginning to mount for the A-list actors. And, for the first time in their ownership, difficult questions are coming their way.Something tells us that this wasn’t in the script…

What are the problems McElhenney and Reynolds face at Wrexham?

According to Alan Smith of The Mirror, there are some names at the club that feel as though playing against weakened versions of Manchester United and Chelsea will not prepare Wrexham for the season ahead in League Two, where they expect to push for a play-off place at the first time of asking.

The time frame of the tour is also not considered ideal, with the Welsh club still on their tour of America just six days before the campaign gets underway. Whilst a storm hasn’t exactly brewed just yet, a poor start to the season could lead to the blame being pointed upwards by those at the club.

As shown in their documentary – Welcome to Wrexham – McElhenney and Reynolds have integrated themselves and understood the community of the club impressively well so far. But, taking pre-season to America may make that same community feel somewhat distant.

On top of this, the resale price of tickets to watch the open training session is $300 (£229.23). And if you did want to see the Welsh club in action against Chelsea, it will cost a whopping $550 (£420.25).

Whilst the argument over touring America could come down to revenue, the club are also charging £30 to enter a ticket ballot, making 150 tickets available for every home game. Yet, this will also result in less away tickets for season ticket holders, who have already suffered price rises of 70%.

In a Tweet, Smith summarised the issues saying “it’s not all good vibes all the time”, before noting there are “questions” over owners’ high-interest loan, and adding that some staff even quit over “rude, arrogant” board member, while also claiming there is “fury” over those aforementioned ticketing arrangements.

Releasing a statement on the matter, the advisory board told The Mirror: “We have and will always listen to fans about all matters relating to the club.

“The decision to increase the cost of membership was taken after an assessment of the benefits that fans would receive including access to the priority period to purchase tickets and the new ballot, ticket exchange processes we have put in place.”

As it turns out, it’s not always sunny in Wrexham…

Will Wrexham get promoted in 2023/24?

With the likes of Paul Mullin to call on once more, Wrexham once again have a high chance of earning promotion – in fact,

a supercomputer has predicted back-to-back promotions for the club as they’re tipped to win League 2 next season.

In usual circumstances, it would be quite the call to predict a newly-promoted side to go up at the first time of asking, but it seems the Red Dragons are more than capable of causing a shock or two.

McElhenney and Reynolds must first solve a few problems off the pitch, however.

Aston Villa have no intention of giving up in the race for Leeds United's Wilfried Gnonto, and they are still pushing Everton in the race for his signature, according to journalist Alessio Lento.

Who are Aston Villa signing this summer?

Transfer insider Dean Jones has reported that signing a new winger will now become Villa's main aim this summer, telling GiveMeSport: “Finding a new winger is considered the new priority for Emery after reaching a deal for Pau Torres because he wants a fresh dynamic to give his attack a new edge.

“Villa have also been looking at Harvey Barnes and Brennan Johnson, so this is going to be interesting to see exactly how they narrow down the profile of the player they want and need. The ability to be adaptable is definitely something important, that’s what I keep being told.”

With Barnes now close to completing a move to Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest set to demand "mega money" for Johnson, Emery could now move on to other targets, having recently identified a couple of other options.

Moussa Diaby is now a target for the Villans, although they will have to battle the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for the Bayer Leverkusen star, while they are also one of the Premier League clubs now taking an interest in Pyramids FC's Ibrahim Adel.

There were reports early on Tuesday which indicated that Everton are now close to signing Gnonto, who has made it clear that he wants to leave Leeds this summer, but Emery is not willing to go down without a fight.

CalcioMercato journalist Lento reports that Villa and their manager have "no intention of letting go" in the race for the Italian winger, as we now enter the hottest hours in regard to his Elland Road future.

Villa are seemingly yet to make any concrete moves for the 19-year-old, but there is a suggestion they could attempt to hijack the Toffees' deal at some point in the near future.

How much will Wilfried Gnonto cost?

There have been reports that Everton are willing to stump up £19m for the youngster, but there is always a chance his price gets driven up even higher if Emery decides to make a late swoop.

Although Leeds were relegated from the Premier League last season, the Italy international showed some promising signs, weighing in with four goals and four assists in all competitions despite only receiving sporadic game time, drawing praise as "fantastic" from Gary Neville.

Given his age, the former FC Zurich man is not yet the finished article, and there are a number of areas in which he must improve, namely in his distribution of the ball, ranking in just the 32nd percentile for his pass-completion rate per 90 in the past year.

However, Gnonto has time on his side, and the fact he already has Premier League experience under his belt could make him a solid low-cost alternative to the likes of Diaby, with Bayer Leverkusen set to hold out for £50m to sanction the Frenchman's departure.

Manchester United appear to be keen on possibly bringing Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to Old Trafford.

Are Man United interested in signing Robert Sanchez?

The Red Devils unveiled Mason Mount as their first summer signing on Wednesday, with the midfielder penning a deal until 2028 and the option of a further year in a deal worth a total package of £60m.

Arriving from Chelsea, the England international could be the first of many through the door ahead of Erik ten Hag’s second season in charge, with a new goalkeeper now seemingly next on the agenda.

Reports have suggested that Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana is a real target, with an Old Trafford contract already agreed upon between the player and United.

However, a fee still needs to be agreed with Inter and Man United have verbally proposed a new £39m offer for his services. The Serie A side want around €60m, though, which could result in United looking elsewhere, where Sanchez comes into play.

According to The Daily Mail, Man United and other Premier League clubs are circling over a potential move for Sanchez.

The Spaniard has fallen out of favour under Roberto de Zerbi, with Jason Steele number one on the south coast and Bart Verbruggen recently brought in from Anderlecht for £16.3m.

As a result, Sanchez could be on the move this summer, and United view him as a cheaper alternative to Onana as he is valued at £30m.

Who is Robert Sanchez?

Sanchez, who shares the same agency as Luke Shaw, first moved to Brighton from Levante back in 2013 and has come through the youth ranks with the Seagulls.

The 25-year-old, now a full Spain international, spent time out on loan with the likes of Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale during the early stages of his career, turning out on 17 occasions in League Two and 26 in League One.

He broke into the first team setup during the 2020/21 season and has made a total of 90 senior appearances for Brighton, keeping 29 clean sheets, one of which came in the FA Cup semi-final with the Red Devils last season.

He is under contract until 2025 and earns £25,000-a-week with his current employers, and he came in for praise from former Brighton boss Graham Potter, who labelled him as ‘powerful’ and ‘fast’ who has ‘everything to be a top goalkeeper’.

“He is a monster in terms of his physicality. He’s not just big but he is powerful, he is fast.

“In terms of attributes as a goalkeeper, he has got everything to be a top goalkeeper.”

As per WhoScored, Sanchez averaged more passes and had a better completion rate than De Gea last season, whereas he stopped more crosses and averaged a shorter average length of goal kick than Onana, as per FBref. This shows how he could suit Ten Hag’s style of playing out from the back, and by the looks of things, a move could be one to keep an eye on.

Celtic have endured a difficult summer so far as they have had to deal with plenty of change, both in the dugout and throughout the playing squad.

Australian manager Ange Postecoglou left last month after two years at the helm and has been replaced by Brendan Rodgers, who is now in his second stint in Glasgow.

They have also been rocked by the retirement of midfielder Aaron Mooy and, most recently, the departure of Portuguese star Jota to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.

The winger spent two seasons with the Hoops, one of which was on loan from Benfica, and has now moved on to join the likes of Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante in the Middle East.

Who could replace Jota at Celtic?

Rodgers will need to replace the 24-year-old magician ahead of the 2023/24 campaign and could already have the dream heir to his position in the squad in Israel international Liel Abada.

Football Insider reported earlier this summer that the Hoops are expecting the young forward to depart for £10m amid interest from the Premier League, as he has rejected the offer of a new contract in Glasgow.

However, Jota's departure could provide the exciting ace with the opportunity to become a regular starter for Celtic next season, something that could well tempt him into sticking around.

The ex-Benfica star was Postecoglou's outstanding wide option as he racked up 11 goals and 11 assists in 26 Scottish Premiership starts. Only Kyogo Furuhashi's goals (27) and Matt O'Riley's tally of 12 assists stopped the terrific dynamo from leading the charts for the club in both statistics, which highlights the immense influence he had in the team.

Abada, meanwhile, contributed with ten goals and five assists in 13 league starts for Celtic, whilst he also created ten 'big chances' for his teammates. This means that the 21-year-old was directly involved in a goal every 0.87 starts on average for the Glasgow giants.

Whereas, Jota averaged one every 1.18 starts in the division on average with this suggesting that the potential is there for the £10m-rated talent to be the dream replacement for the Al-Ittihad winger.

Former Scotland full-back Alan Hutton previously described the "revelation" as being "under the radar" because of Jota, something that is evidently backed up by the aforementioned statistics.

The £15k-per-week maestro has been incredibly productive in spite of being in the shadow of the Portuguese ace, so imagine what he could do as a regular starter for the Hoops next season under the Northern Irishman.

Rodgers must place his faith in Abada by making him the replacement for Jota instead of splashing out on a new player to take his place. A fresh addition in that area could also provide strong competition for places to spur the Israel international on to up his own game.

The £14.5m-rated speedster has the quality to score and assist goals week-in-week-out in the Scottish top flight, which is why he deserves an opportunity to stake a claim for a starring role next term.

One of the most challenging situations of the summer transfer window at Leeds United will be convincing touted forward Wilfried Gnonto to remain at Elland Road following the club's relegation from the Premier League.

The Championship side are expected to lose a wealth of players after plummeting from the top flight, but a sure-fire way to ensure that a title challenge is mounted would be retaining the Italy international's services.

And while the Whites are managerless at present after dismissing both Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia this term before making a short-term swoop for the stoic Sam Allardyce in the closing weeks of the campaign, a shrewd appointment for a Championship specialist might just be forthcoming.

Indeed, according to the Daily Mail, Farke has emerged as the leading candidate for the managerial role in West Yorkshire after being dismissed from German Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach several weeks ago.

Scott Parker and Patrick Vieira have also both been placed on the short-list, but given Farke's experience in forging two promotion-winning campaigns from the second tier with Norwich City, he could be the man for the job.

How would Gnonto perform under Daniel Farke?

The 46-year-old boss has led 138 matches in the second tier, winning 71 matches and amassing 182 points at a rate of 1.82 points per match.

The prospective appointment will be tethered to concerns over his suitability in the Premier League – should Leeds succeed in their seasonal endeavour at the first time of asking – given that Farke boasts a miserable 0.53 PPM in the English top-flight, with just six victories from 49 outings.

But that is largely down to Norwich's mediocrity at the highest level, candidly – the Canaries have suffered relegation across all four of their previous Premier League campaigns.

An offence-minded, gegenpressing coach, Farke's attractive philosophy would suit Leeds to a tee and is exactly what the squad, and indeed fanbase, needs to spark some optimism after a dismal year, and such a style could prompt touted talent Gnonto to stay.

The 19-year-old "diamond" – as he has been called by talent scout Antonio Mango – impressed for the Whites last term and posted four goals and assists apiece from his dynamic role on the left flank, with his exploits earning him a regular role in Italy's international set-up, where he has earned ten caps and scored one goal.

Farke has a history of managing prosperous forwards, salient names being Marcus Thuram, Teemu Pukki and Alexander Isak, and with the likes of Everton interested in making a move for Gnonto this summer, Farke will be determined to keep hold of his £20k-per-week man and ensure that his past management of Isak does not repeat itself.

Indeed, Newcastle United's club-record £63m striker played just one solitary match under Farke's stewardship at Borussia Dortmund II, and Farke will want to ensure that another "special" – as Gnonto was praised by Michael Skubala – prospect is not whisked away from him early on once again.

Especially considering the 23-year-old has just plundered ten goals and two assists from just 17 Premier League starts during an injury-stricken campaign.

Praised as a "pocket rocket" by pundit Tam McManus, Gnonto could use the forthcoming campaign at Elland Road as a chance to develop his skills and star for the creme-de-la-creme of the Championship, spearheading a charge back to Premier League competition and unleashing his refined skills at the highest level once again.

Manchester City are now "really close" to completing a deal for Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.

What's the latest Man City transfer news?

With Ilkay Gundogan's depature to Barcelona now confirmed, Pep Guardiola has set his sights on a number of new midfielders, including West Ham United's Declan Rice, however Man City's opening offer of £90m was immediately knocked back.

Arsenal are also in the race for Rice's signature, and if City do end up missing out, there are some other options on the table, including Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, who they submitted an enquiry about earlier this month.

The Sky Blues' deal for Kovacic has been in the works for some time, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reporting a £30m deal had been agreed last week, and Sheth has now offered an exciting update about when the move could be completed.

In an interview with GiveMeSport, the Sky Sports reporter claimed he does not expect finalising a contract agreement with the Croatian to be an issue, with the deal set to be completed in the near future, saying:

"Just as you see big-name players like Gundogan leaving and going to Barcelona, City are already looking to the future, aren't they?

Kovacic is as good as a done deal and it's all agreed for £30 million. We think it's £25 million of guaranteed payment plus £5 million in add-ons. Personal terms are not expected to be a problem and it should be formally announced in the coming days, as that one is really, really close.”

Will Mateo Kovacic improve Man City?

With Gundogan playing a big part in Man City's historic treble last season, scoring 11 goals in all competitions, including a brace in the FA Cup final, Guardiola will be very disappointed to lose the German, but Kovacic could go some way to filling the void.

The Croatia international is very experienced, making 95 appearances for his country, and he has established himself as a key player for Chelsea, making a minimum of 25 Premier League outings in every season since he arrived at the club.

Hailed as "fantastic" by members of the media, there is every indication the 29-year-old would slot in well at Man City, particularly considering his passing ability, ranking in the 92nd percentile for passes attempted per 90 over the past year.

The only thing the Linz-born midfielder needs to improve is his attacking output, having found the back of the net just twice in all competitions last season.

Liverpool are believed to hold an interest in Napoli's prolific forward Victor Osimhen as they look to bounce back from a lacklustre season in the Premier League.

What's the latest on Victor Osimhen to Liverpool?

That's according to yesterday's edition of Corriere dello Sport (via Paisley Gates), who state that with a vested interest in the ace from the Reds, Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, the Serie A champions are demanding around €150m (£128m) for their talisman.

Osimhen has been one of Europe's most prolific forwards this season and has been instrumental in his outfit's triumphant campaign, but with just two years left on his current contract, Partenopi may be forced into considering a sale if negotiations are fruitless.

Liverpool's frontline is probably the area least desperate for reinforcements and given that the midfield holds a hole following contract conclusions this month, Osimhen's signature might be hard to obtain.

Despite this, Klopp will admire his superlative skill set and could look to test the waters by initiating negotiations.

How many goals has Victor Osimhen scored?

Since signing from Lille for £81m in 2020, Osimhen has scored 59 goals and supplied 14 assists from 101 appearances, bursting into prominence this term and plundering 31 strikes from 39 outings, now heralded as "world-class" by Matteo Bonetti.

The £90k-per-week phenom ranks among the top 1% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for rate of non-penalty goals, the top 1% for total shots and the top 3% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90, as per FBref.

Dubbed a "goal-scoring machine" by journalist Josh Bunting, Osimhen would bring a potency only a select few in world football could rival, providing Jurgen Klopp with the dream rival to Manchester City's devastating striker Erling Haaland.

Liverpool hoped to have found their own new talisman last summer after completing a club-record transfer for Darwin Nunez, potentially reaching £85m, but a somewhat underwhelming maiden year on Merseyside has left the Uruguayan requiring an upswing in his cutting edge to truly cement a starting berth and wreak havoc as anticipated, with club legend Robbie Fowler saying he is "too wasteful".

Coincidentally, Nunez is listed as a comparable player on FBref to the 25-cap Nigerian, albeit far less convincing in his frontal prowess at present, ranking among the top 1% of peers for total shots and the top 12% for rate of non-penalty goals per 90, which is by no means unimpressive but highlights the missed opportunities that have contributed to the Reds' malaise this year.

Still only 23-years-old, Nunez has ample time to grow into his skin but Klopp will be tantalised by the prospect of signing such a first-class attacker in Osimhen and despite his exorbitant valuation, could lodge a formal offer as he looks to rebuild Liverpool's once-imperious squad.

He is the “heart and soul” – as stated by journalist Mina Rzouki – of Napoli's thriving outfit and he could emulate such an aura at Anfield and spearhead a coveted renaissance, albeit at the expense of Nunez who could well be banished from the starting XI as a result.

Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper has reported that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani’s bid to complete a takeover of Manchester United has been completed and will be announced soon.

What is the latest MUFC takeover news?

For months now rumours have circulated about who could be the new owners of Old Trafford, or if the club had even actually been fully put up for sale by the Glazer family.

While the situation is ever-changing, it wasn’t that long ago that Ineos’ Sir Jim Ratcliffe was viewed as the leading candidate as his bid would see two of the Glazers stay put in a partial takeover, though it would still see the British billionaire become majority owner.

However, as reported by CNBC, Manchester United shares surged as much as 30% in premarket trading on Tuesday, before paring gains, after Qatari media suggested Sheikh Jassim was likely to succeed with his takeover bid.

Indeed, a Tweet from the Al-Watan newspaper wrote about the “success of Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim’s acquisition of Manchester United” and said the announcement of deal the will be done “soon.”

On top of that, Zaid Al-Hamdan, who is the Vice Chairman of the Canadian Qatari Business Council and Chairman of Armasite Group – and is followed by Sheikh Jassim’s brother on Twitter – also spoke of ‘successful’ acquisition.

He wrote on social media: “Congratulations to Shaikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim on his acquisition of Man Utd.”

How big is Man United’s debt?

In that CNBC report, they also note that a spokesperson for Manchester United was not immediately available to comment and so these reports are only coming from Qatar and have not been confirmed by the English side as of yet.

Last week, BBC Sport stated that Sheikh Jassim had made a final bid for 100% of the club and he will clear United’s debt – reported to be £969.6m – and has a separate fund for the club and local community as part of his offer.

If he is to fail with that bid, the Qatari banker will pull out of the race and so it feels as though we have finally reached crunch time with regard to the whole takeover saga.

It remains to be seen if his offer will be enough to meet the Glazer family’s demands but it seems those outside of England are pretty confident a deal has been struck at last.

Newcastle United remain confident of completing the signing of Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney this summer, journalist Dean Jones has claimed.

Do Newcastle want Tierney this summer?

The £110,000-a-week defender was part of a Gunners team that came close to winning the Premier League title last season, but it was a frustrating campaign for him overall.

Tierney only actually started six league games in the whole of 2022/23, with Oleksandr Zinchenko invariably preferred at left-back, and injury problems not always helping either. It is hard to see how the Scot's situation is going to change much at the Emirates moving forward, so it could be that he looks to move away this summer.

Newcastle have been linked with a switch for the 26-year-old, seeing him as someone who can bring quality and fight to the squad, providing stern competition for Dan Burn and Matt Targett in the process.

What's the latest on Tierney to Newcastle?

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones said that Newcastle remain in a strong position when it comes to signing Tierney, partly due to a lack of competition for his signature:

"I think that they're confident that the competition isn't too fierce. They've definitely got competitors for him, but I think they'll be looking to get this one done as soon as they can, just so they know they can focus on other areas."

Tierney could be a great addition at Newcastle before the start of next season, arriving with the bit between his teeth after not quite reaching expectation levels at Arsenal.

He would bring something completely different to Burn at left-back, in terms of natural width and pace, and he would immediately enhance the squad depth at Eddie Howe's disposal, coming in as an upgrade on Targett, who only also only started six Premier League matches last season.

Tierney who has been lauded as a "warrior" by Ashley Cole, has made 123 appearances for Arsenal and 37 caps for Scotland , which shows that he is also someone with a wealth of experience at the top level now, as well as 14 assists for the Gunners.

At 26, he is at a great age to come in and hit the ground running immediately, with his best years potentially coming soon, which could further benefit Newcastle. He has a fierce attitude and playing style, with that winning edge also a positive, and while he may not be cheap, the Magpies have the funds available this summer.

Journalist Paul Brown has been left thrilled by reports that Arsenal are targeting Man City captain and treble-chasing midfielder Ilkay Gundogan on a free transfer.

Who are Arsenal looking to sign this summer?

The Premier League giants narrowly missed out on their first title in nearly 20 years last season, with Mikel Arteta being beaten to the punch by his mentor Pep Guardiola.

Despite Arsenal's position at the front of the queue for much of 2022/2023, they fell short at the final hurdle, and it's now the task of Arteta to shore up key positions of his squad for a fresh challenge next campaign.

The north Londoners are looking to sign central midfielders above all with reports suggesting they could make two key signings in that area of the pitch. West Ham's Declan Rice and Brighton star Moises Caicedo, among others, are apparently on their radar.

Sporting director Edu has also apparently earmarked the signing of a central defender to back up stars like William Saliba, with the Frenchman succumbing to injury at the back end of last season.

Going back to midfield, Man City star Gundogan is another target for Arsenal, according to reports, with the German really coming into a hot streak of form lately.

His latest heroics, a brace in the FA Cup final against Man United on Saturday, saw City clinch a domestic double with the Blues still well and truly on for an historic treble.

Journalist Paul Brown, speaking to GiveMeSport, says he could be a game-changing signing for Arsenal if they get it done.

"If Arsenal were to get Gundogan, I think that would be a great signing for them," said Brown in response to the links.

"He’s a really versatile player who can play in a number of different roles. He switches systems very easily in game and could be a game-changer for them really. And one that is quite fascinating to see.”

Who is Ilkay Gundogan?

The 32-year-old was Guardiola's first ever signing as City manager and hasn't looked back since – having played a key role over his seven-year stint.

This season, Gundogan has contributed with a number of important goals in sky blue, and he etched himself into club folklore with final day title-winning heroics against Aston Villa in 21/22.

However, City are in danger of losing him on a free at the end of this month, putting Arsenal and Arteta on serious alert.

His experience and quality could prove to be a major asset for the Gunners, especially at zero cost, and we believe he couild be an exceptional signing for them.