All posts by z3u9t.icu

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”

Steve Bruce has now revealed an update on Martin Dubravka’s injury ahead of Newcastle United’s game at home to Leeds United in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Setback

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against Burnley in the Carabao Cup second round back in August, Bruce had confirmed (via Sky Sports) that Dubravka had suffered a setback in his recovery from injury.

The Slovakia international’s wounds had got ‘infected’, which set him back a ‘couple of weeks’.

The Latest: Update

Speaking ahead of the clash against Marcelo Bielsa’s team at St. James’ Park, Bruce has now revealed that Dubravka is ‘coming along nicely’, and added that the wound which was badly affected has ‘gone’.

Bruce says that the goalkeeper is ‘hoping to be back on the grass next week’, which is ‘good news’ for the North East club.

The Verdict: Big boost

It certainly is great news to hear that Dubravka should be back playing on Tyneside soon.

Third-choice ‘keeper Freddie Woodman has had to step in so far this season given that Karl Darlow has also not been available, and has conceded the most goals in the top flight (12) after four games (Premier League).

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His performance in the 4-1 away loss to Manchester United in particular was criticised, and so the Magpies could now do with Dubravka’s experience in between the posts, even despite Darlow’s return.

Nonetheless, the Toon need to start picking up results, and fast, with their Slovakian shot-stopper sure to be crucial in that process.

In other news, find out what triple injury blow NUFC have ahead of LUFC here!

Sunderland have potentially been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their League One fixture on Tuesday evening.

What’s the latest?

Speaking after the Black Cats’ 2-1 victory over Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday, Lee Johnson revealed that the reason for Corry Evans’ withdrawal midway through the second half of the game was due to injury – something that could potentially rule the midfielder out of the club’s clash against Burton Albion on Tuesday evening.

As cited by The Sunderland Echo, the 40-year-old said: “He’s had a bit of tightness just on the edge of his hamstring/groin. It was just enough for him to come off, so we’ll have to see.”

Johnson will be gutted

While the Black Cats manager is not exactly short of options in the middle of the park, being able to call upon the likes of Carl Winchester, Elliot Embleton and Dan Neil, if Evans is indeed unavailable for selection for the trip to Burton on Tuesday, it will nevertheless leave Johnson gutted.

Indeed, despite having only arrived at the Stadium of Light this summer, Evans obviously made an incredibly good impression on the Mackems manager, with the £14k-per-week midfielder being made club captain for the 2021/22 campaign.

Furthermore, the Northern Ireland international played the full 90 minutes in the club’s impressive 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic on the opening day of the season, a game in which the 31-year-old won eight of his 12 duels, made one clearance, three interceptions and two tackles.

As such, with Johnson undoubtedly hoping to maintain Sunderland’s 100% record this season on Tuesday evening, the potential loss of the man Tony Mowbray dubbed a “fantastic” player will be a significant blow for the 40-year-old – whose side are facing an extremely tough challenge against one of the other three League One sides who have won both of their opening games of the season.

In other news: Medical planned: Sunderland get breakthrough over 23 y/o beast, Johnson surely buzzing

Former Everton star Marcus Bent insists that the club still need to add depth up front despite the signing of Salomon Rondon in the summer transfer window.

The Toffees attempted to add new blood to support Calvert-Lewin, who has emerged as the club’s first-choice forward.

The England international was in sensational form last season and scored 16 goals in 33 games in the Premier League, and he has already netted three times in three games this term.

Everton brought Rondon into the club in the summer window, signing him on a free transfer on deadline day.

However, Bent believes that the club need to bring in more depth in the final third, be that up front or on the wing.

He says that boss Rafael Benitez is likely to have as many as five targets ahead of next summer’s window, although he does hold some doubts over whether they will be attainable.

Speaking to The Transfer Tavern, Bent said: “Everton are a big club, a new stadium, and going forward, and DCL hopefully he stays but he needs support, so we need to bring those players in to help him to score goals. Going forward, Benitez probably has five players he wants to get in.

“Whether he can get them with the budget, we don’t know, but what it will be, it will be moving players across with the January window coming in, but all in all, Everton need to be consistent, and they weren’t consistent last season.”

Leeds United winger Raphinha has been praised for his call to be substituted against West Ham United last weekend by injury expert Ben Dinnery.

The Lowdown: Injury setback

Raphinha has started the 2021/22 campaign in sizzling form with three Premier League goals in six games, half of the tally from his debut top-flight season in England already.

The Brazilian winger picked up a hip injury in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle United two weeks ago and was a doubt for the defeat to David Moyes’ side last Saturday, but he lasted 70 minutes and opened the scoring with a brilliant left-footed strike.

Following the game, Bielsa claimed that the 24-year-old made it known it was becoming difficult to continue and the Leeds manager duly replaced him with Tyler Roberts.

The Latest: Right call

Speaking to Football Insider, injury expert Dinnery has insisted that Raphinha made the right decision to alert the Leeds backroom staff that he wasn’t right to continue.

He said of the White winger: “It’s the right thing to do, absolutely. If you aren’t feeling 100 per cent, do you push on and risk potentially suffering a more serious setback?

“Or do you do the sensible thing and flag that to the medical team and ask to be removed.

“We know Raphinha had problems going into the Newcastle game. There were question marks about whether he would be involved at all.

“He had missed large parts of training due to what Marcelo Bielsa referred to as a ‘hip issue’.

“if he isn’t getting those sessions in on the training pitch, fatigue could be a factor.”

The Verdict: Important for Leeds

With Leeds in the relegation zone in the Premier League and one of five teams without a win in the top flight, having Raphinha fit will be vital for their upcoming games against Watford, Southampton and Wolves.

Last season, the winger created 12 big chances and completed 21.1 passes (72%) and 1.9 dribbles per game in his first season in England (Sofascore), highlighting the importance of his contribution and availability to Bielsa.

If Leeds are to exit their current rut, they will need Raphinha to keep hitting the heights that he has done so far at Elland Road. Dinnery is right to praise the 24-year-old for admitting that he had to come off last week, as playing on could have further aggravated the injury and possibly being ruled out for a lengthy spell.

In other news: Dinnery made a less than encouraging claim about one of Raphinha’s Elland Road team-mates

Former Premier League footballer Dean Windass believes that Harvey Elliott is so talented and will be at Liverpool for a long time.

Elliott joined the Reds in 2019 after his youth contract at Fulham expired. Last season Elliott headed out on loan to Blackburn Rovers in the Championship and was in good form, scoring seven goals and providing a further 12 in all competitions.

The 18-year-old featured for Blackburn off either wing and after a good season has returned to Liverpool and has been part of the club’s first-team pre-season fixtures, featuring most recently in the club’s 1-1 draw with Athletic Club where he played 84 minutes.

Windass was full of praise for the youngster, telling Football FanCast: “I think the lad’s so talented and listen, at the end of the day I’ve always said when you play with good players you become a better player yourself. 

“He will be at Liverpool for a long, long time, they won’t want to sell him, they will want to develop him, they’ll want to monitor him, they’ll want to get as many games under his belt as they can.”

Elliott signed a new long-term contract this summer with Liverpool, with manager Jurgen Klopp telling the Metro: “We have obviously a new midfielder in our squad with Harvey Elliott.”

Liverpool got their Premier League campaign underway today when they travelled to Carrow Road to take on Norwich City, and will be hoping to improve on last season’s third-placed finish in their title defence campaign.

According to Calciomercato.it, there has been another development in Tottenham Hotspur’s chase to sign Juventus forward Dejan Kulusevski in January.

The Lowdown: Kulusevski on the radar…

Tottenham transfer chief Fabio Paratici and manager Antonio Conte have seemingly been targeting a move for the Sweden international for quite some time.

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Indeed, there have been rumours of contact for the 21-year-old and a report from La Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday indicates that Paratici could indeed bring him to north London next month.

This comes amid the winger’s lack of game time in Turin as The Old Lady reportedly contemplate a sale.

The Latest: Spurs could table bid…

According to Calciomercato.it, a promising update has emerged involving Kulusevski and Spurs as the Lilywhites enter pole position to sign him in the winter window.

As well as this, it is believed that Tottenham ‘could put an offer of €35 million (£29.4m) on the plate’ for his signature, an amount which would make Juve ‘falter’.

The Verdict: Promising claim…

If Juventus are willing to sell for £29.3m, with Spurs favourites to sign the Swede, this truly comes as an exciting claim.

Still very young at 21 and already proven in the Italian top flight, his best season with former club Parma showcases exactly what he can do when given the opportunity.

Bagging 10 goals and eight assists in 33 Serie A starts over 2019/2020 for his ex-team, Kulusevski also averaged an impressive 2.2 key passes per 90 in the final third over that campaign – more than any Spurs man has managed in the Premier League this season (WhoScored).

Called an ‘excellent player’ by none other than footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, he very well could be a brilliant addition to Conte’s side.

In other news: ‘Wow’, ‘Statement’…Tottenham pundit thrilled as Paratici eyes ‘big signing’, find out more here.

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

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Paddy Kenny has been left thrilled by West Ham United as they allegedly eye a move for Torino striker Andrea Belotti.

The Lowdown: Hammers targeting Belotti…

As new recruitment chief Rob Newman arrives at Rush Green, one of his first major tasks will be the signing of a new back-up striker to support Michail Antonio.

West Ham have been in fine goalscoring form so far this season but one serious injury to the Jamaica international could spell real trouble if manager David Moyes isn’t careful.

As such, the club and Newman have been linked with signing a striker, with one target being Torino star Belotti.

As per reports from WestHamFans.org and The Daily Express, the Italy international is on West Ham’s radar amid his tenuous contract situation at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.

The Latest: Kenny thrilled…

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League goalkeeper Kenny has heaped praise on both the player and West Ham – insisting Belotti would be a ‘bargain’ at £15 million, as some reports suggest.

“He’s got a goal nearly every other game for Torino and quite a few Italy caps,” he explained.

“He’s 27, so he’s a good age for a striker. He isn’t very big and he’d be a different striker to Antonio at West Ham.

“At £15m? That sounds like a bargain. I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to go to a team like West Ham too.

“He knows where the back of the net is. That’s an incredible record. It could potentially be a very, very good signing for them.

“In this day and age, £15m is pennies, not a big gamble at all. He’d give them something different up front and that can only be a good thing.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

Belotti comes as, by far, West Ham’s most fruitful option in our opinion.

A proven goalscorer with 151 senior strikes across a career spanning over 10 years, the fact he is Torino captain could also point to leadership qualities and the kind of attitude which could bonus Moyes’ dressing room.

If the club can secure him in January, or even on a free deal next year, Belotti may well come as a brilliant capture.

In other news: ‘Disgrace’, ‘Get him gone’…West Ham fans slaughter ‘painful player’ after ‘shocking’ Genk display, find out more here.

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!