All posts by z3u9t.icu

With the summer transfer window moving ever closer for Celtic, attacking midfielder Tom Rogic was probably gearing up for a departure from Parkhead.

The Australian has been phased out of the Hoops team in the later parts of the campaign which after missing out on a move last year, will have been disappointing.

However, this summer represents another opportunity for the Bhoys midfielder to earn a switch elsewhere.

Rogic has attracted the interest of clubs in Asia and before Neil Lennon resigned, he’d have probably grasped that avenue with both hands.

Though, the entire landscape of Celtic is about to change. After failing to nail down Eddie Howe, the Hoops have turned their attentions towards Ange Postecoglou.

The 55-year-old is currently in charge of Yokohama Marinos in Japan so would be a rather left-field choice in the manager market.

That said, it’s difficult to discount him when you consider the style of play he prefers. His Marinos team play with a relentless press, hounding the opposition defence at every opportunity.

This appointment could be game-changing for Rogic, though. Initially thought to be on his merry way, the chance to work with a coach he fared so well under with Australia should be appealing.

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Postecoglou took charge of the Socceroos from 2013-2017, guiding them through the 2014 World Cup.

Rogic ended up earning 26 caps under the Celtic-linked boss, netting six goals in that time frame. One of those strikes came in an impressive outing against Germany where Australia tasted a 3-2 defeat.

The 28-year-old has very rarely set the world alight in the last few years but it’s important to keep in mind that he is incredibly gifted.

Lennon hardly allowed him to express himself and then John Kennedy denied him an opportunity to play too.

The Australia international started just one game in the final three months of the season and endured a torrid time on the bench.

However, under a coach who knows his game well from international level, he could finally be given greater freedom at Parkhead.

Speaking about Rogic earlier this year, David Turnbull could only find praise for him. “When I was up against Tom Rogic with Motherwell, I always felt it was impossible to get the ball off him,” he began.

“He’s just so strong, he can hold the ball up and hold you off as well. There’s so many good touches, it’s just hard to get the ball off him. He’s right up there with the best I’ve played with or against. You see his technical ability when he plays,” the Scot added.

Celtic supporters may not be too enthralled with the idea of Rogic earning more game time but with a glowing appraisal from Turnbull and a manager he trusts, a spark could be reignited in his career.

The £16k-per-week earner’s best form at Celtic came under Brendan Rodgers, where he scored 24 goals and produced 20 assists in 104 outings. If he can replicate those sorts of numbers alongside the effervescent Turnbull, it will surely be a recipe for success.

Coincidentally, the Aussie compared Postecoglou to the current Leicester boss back in 2016: “It’s almost a bit of a similar feel as I see the managers being a little bit similar in ways — both quite positive and both quite intense to work under,” he explained.

Rogic’s future is out of his hands at the moment but under the Yokohama Marinos boss, he could begin to thrive again. The new manager must give Rogic a chance.

AND in other news, Celtic buy McCann in £13m spending spree, Edouard axed: How Postecoglou’s XI may look…

Newcastle United moved on to 43 points on Saturday as they beat Norwich 3-0 in a Premier League encounter at Carrow Road.

The Magpies are well clear of relegation and are on course to avoid the drop down to the Championship after an impressive resurgence under Eddie Howe.

They can now start to think about what they are going to do in the summer transfer window as attention turns to 2022/23 and their ambitions to compete higher up in the table.

One player the club are reportedly in the running for is Napoli centre-forward Victor Osimhen, who has been thriving in the Serie A this season.

Speaking about a potential transfer, his agent – Andrea D’Amico – said: “If a very important offer arrives, it goes away. But this is true for every player who plays in Italy.”

“At the moment I have no requests from the Premier, but it is early, it is a situation that remains evolving. England remains a top-tier market. When I speak of an important and indispensable offer for Osimhen, I mean offers of 150 million.”

Imagine him & Bruno

If the Magpies can bring the £126m (€150m) attacker to St. James’ Park then he would be able to form an exciting partnership with Bruno Guimaraes.

Osimhen has scored 12 goals in 19 Serie A starts this season and averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.12 for Napoli. The dynamo also scored four goals in five Europa League matches earlier in the campaign and this shows that he has been a reliable scorer, and performer, for the Italian side.

He is finally fulfilling the potential that he showed earlier in his career. Whilst in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, his then-manager Andries Jonker outlined his talent, saying: “He has great potential in him. He is ambitious, quick and highly unpredictable, he will be a star in the future if he maintains his focus.”

Guimaraes, meanwhile, has four goals and one assist in 13 games in the Premier League since arriving in England in January. He has averaged a fantastic SofaScore rating of 7.25 as he has been able to hit the ground running in the top-flight under Howe.

The Brazilian has proven that he can make an impact in the division and now you can imagine what his link-up with a striker as clinical as Osimhen would look like. Imagine both of them exchanging passes and running at opposition defences next season; it’s an exciting thought and a dream that PIF can, hopefully, realise in the coming months.

AND in other news, “Newcastle want..”: Journo drops exciting claim on £109m duo, it’ll delight supporters…

Former Premier League Golden Boot winner Kevin Phillips is unsure about the prospect of Leeds United signing Ainsley Maitland-Niles this summer.

Sunday’s 0-0 draw at home to Manchester United leaves the Whites sitting in ninth place in the Premier League table following a hugely impressive first year back in the top flight. Leeds could be looking at a number of additions in the next transfer window, however, in order for Marcelo Bielsa to keep improving his squad.

Maitland-Niles has been linked with a move to Elland Road recently, with the youngster currently on loan at West Brom from Arsenal.

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Phillips unsure about Leeds signing Maitland-Niles

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips admitted he isn’t sure that the midfielder would be the right fit at Leeds, with Bielsa already blessed with options in the middle of the park. The ex-Sunderland striker said:

“It does surprise me a little bit. He hasn’t been fantastic at West Brom, he’s had the odd good game here and there.

“For Ainsley, he undoubtedly has good talent. Wherever he goes next season he has to play regularly. Credit to the kid, when he came to West Brom he wanted to play and he has, he has progressively got better.

“You just wonder where he gets in that Leeds side at the moment, the midfield area possibly.

“Maybe that right back spot, I don’t know. I’d be surprised if [Marcelo] Bielsa went for him, he’s got the legs but he’s more of an industrious player than a technical one.”

Transfer Tavern take

While Maitland-Niles perhaps doesn’t look ready to be a regular starter for Leeds, he could still be worth a punt, such is his quality. West Brom manager Sam Allardyce has described aspects of his game as ‘excellent’ and he already has five caps to his name for England.

He has averaged 1.9 tackles per game since joining the Baggies, a figure which suggests that he could be a solid partner for, or alternative to, Kalvin Phillips in Leeds’ midfield – the 25-year-old is the only Whites midfielder with a better tackling average than Maitland-Miles.

Granted, it hasn’t yet worked out for the 23-year-old at Arsenal, hence his loan move to The Hawthorns, but he possesses quality, versatility and long-term worth; and working under Bielsa could see him go up another gear.

In other news, one Leeds player is being tipped to make a summer exit – find out who it is here.

Speaking to Football Insider, a West Ham United source has claimed that David Moyes has deemed Andriy Yarmolenko surplus to requirements, coming just after the sale of Felipe Anderson.

The Lowdown: West Ham exodus…?

Anderson completed his return to Lazio on Friday after West Ham confirmed his departure, with the Brazilian becoming yet another senior Irons player to leave this summer.

Fabian Balbuena also moved on upon the expiry of his contract, and little to no money has been recuperated from these east London departures.

While West Ham refuse to disclose Anderson’s sale fee, he has reportedly left for around €3m (£2.6m) with a 50% sell-on clause, according to Sky Italy.

The Latest: Source drops Yarmolenko claim…

According to a West Ham source, speaking to Football Insider, the club have now opened talks with Fenerbahce to offload Yarmolenko after ‘slashing his asking price’.

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The Hammers have given the Istanbul club the ‘green light’ to pursue the Ukranian after Moyes deemed him surplus to requirements. West Ham are also keen to get him off the wage bill and save money amid the pandemic-driven financial crisis impacting clubs up and down the country.

However, GSB are apparently willing to sell the 32-year-old for just £2m, a similar initial fee to Anderson, despite Yarmolenko being one of Ukraine’s standout players at Euro 2020.

The Verdict: Big mistake…

Offloading the £18m arrival for that meagre sum would certainly come as another big blunder by West Ham as they also seek to add much-needed additions to Moyes’ squad.

Yarmolenko could arguably command a much larger fee after his impressive Euro 2020 campaign, where he scored two goals and set up two more in five appearances as Ukraine reached the quarter-finals (uefa.com).

Getting the £115,000-per-week ace off West Ham’s salary bill is perhaps imperative, but selling him for a measly £2m could be another own goal by the east London club, especially with the added commitment of Europa League fixtures to come in 2021/22.

In other news: West Ham favourites to sign ‘huge’ 29-goal striker amid talks, he is destined to leave this summer – find out more here.

Lee Ryder has shared what Mike Ashley has told the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium amid their latest Newcastle United takeover stance.

The Lowdown: Arbitration delay

The arbitration case between the St. James’ Park faithful and the Premier League over the failing of the takeover deal between Ashley and the the consortium has been delayed until early next year because of issues with the disclosure of evidence.

The hearing was expected to take place this month, but now further delays have been implemented, meaning that the North East club will now go into another season with yet more uncertainty.

The Latest: Ryder latest

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder, who has been following the whole takeover saga closely, has shared that Ashley has assured the consortium that the ‘door will remain open’ for them to complete a deal.

However, some observers of the takeover bid have concerns that they will ‘lose patience’ with the process and the top flight eventually.

The Verdict: Limbo

The Tyneside club have very much been left in limbo by the news that the arbitration proceedings have been delayed even further, adding to the delays that they have already been forced to put up with.

While holding the process until next year is certainly not ideal, it at least means that there is still a chance that the takeover can be completed eventually, providing that the results go in the favour of the Magpies.

Nonetheless, with a large chunk of the summer transfer window already gone and the new 2021/22 season a matter of weeks away now, the Toon Army now has to put up with what is a very uncertain time for the future of NUFC.

In other news, find out what club insiders are looking for amid the takeover twist here!

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has said that it would be a ‘disaster’ if the club sold Raphinha this summer following an excellent first season at Elland Road.

The Lowdown: Raphinha shine for Leeds

The Brazilian joined the Whites from Rennes back in October and has been a key man, scoring six goals and registering seven assists in the Premier League.

Raphinha’s performances have caught the eye of the some of the country’s leading clubs, however, with Liverpool and Manchester City both linked with signing him.

The Latest: Whelan fearful of Raphinha exit

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan admits that he is worried about Raphinha exiting Elland Road at a point when Leeds are trying to narrow the gap with those at the top of the league. He said:

“In my opinion, there’s no deal to be done. We’re trying to catch up to Man City and build a team that’s going to compete. We’ve shown that we can do that against them this season with Raphinha in the side.

“If we’re really going to be considering selling one of our best assets, where does it leave us as a club? After one season having Raphinha on the books, I’m hoping that’s not what we are right now. We’re certainly trying to build something special at the club.

“We’re playing the right way and we’re going to add more quality in the summertime. So, if we’re going to sell players like that, I’m not sure where it’s going to leave the fans. They’re going to want to pay money to see players like that at Elland Road and they’ll be angry if not.

“Next season, fingers crossed, we’re having fans in there. He’s one of our star assets so we’ve got to be strong enough to fend off the big guns in Europe and in England. If we sell him, it’s a disaster for the club.”

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The Verdict: Must be kept on

Under no circumstances should Raphinha be allowed to leave Leeds this summer, considering his importance to the team. Marcelo Bielsa needs to make his squad even stronger in the next transfer window, bringing in new faces in but also keeping hold of those who are invaluable to him.

Raphinha is certainly one of those, providing a huge threat from the right-hand side, whether he’s dribbling past opponents – his average of 1.9 dribbles per game is the highest of any Leeds player in the league this season – producing defence splitting-passes or finding the net himself.

Making better teams stronger, especially those with which you’re competing, and weakening your own side makes no sense whatsoever, even if a huge bid comes in for the winger. Whelan is right – Leeds cannot afford to cash in on the 24-year-old.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly battling some heavyweight clubs for the signing of a winger this summer. Find out who it is here.

A major development has emerged in the race to sign central midfielder Billy Gilmour, one that will impact Southampton’s chances of landing him this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to The Guardian, Norwich City are closing in on a deal to sign Southampton target Billy Gilmour on loan from Chelsea. Thomas Tuchel has given the green light for Gilmour to depart Stamford Bridge and Chelsea are willing to send the Scottish international to Norwich on a season-long loan.

The Evening Standard have claimed that Southampton attempted to sign Gilmour in January, only for Chelsea to rebuff their efforts. Southampton have continued to track the central midfielder ahead of this summer, but now look set to miss out on a deal to newly-promoted Norwich.

Last year, Rangers boss Steven Gerrard hailed Gilmour as a “fabulous” player, whilst admitting that he had not been in contact with Chelsea to sign the midfielder. He said:

“I think he’s pretty settled at Chelsea. Fabulous little player but there’s been no contact.”

Fans will be gutted

Southampton fans will be gutted by this news as the club could be about to miss out on what could have been a great move for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Gilmour is a talented young midfielder and Martin Semmens could be missing a trick by allowing Norwich to swoop in and secure a deal to bring him in on loan. It could be a low-cost, exciting, transfer for Norwich and one that Southampton fans may be envious of.

The 20-year-old has burst onto the scene with Chelsea and Scotland over the past 18 months or so. He has an outstanding record of winning Man of the Match awards, with the midfielder winning the award on his Premier League, FA Cup and European Championships debuts for Chelsea and Scotland respectively. This shows that he has the talent to stand out at the top level, suggesting that he could be ready to join a Premier League club on loan and play regular football next season to further his development.

Hasenhuttl’s squad is bereft of options in central midfield. James Ward-Prowse, Ibrahima Diallo and Oriol Romeu are the club’s only natural central midfielders, with the latter two both being defensive-minded. The £43k-per-week starlet, Gilmour, could have filled a gap within Southampton’s squad in that regard. He could have provided much-needed competition in midfield and offered Hasenhuttl a new option to partner Ward-Prowse in the Premier League, which is why fans will be frustrated that Semmens has not been able to oust Norwich to snap him up.

AND in other news, Southampton must pounce on “brave” £65k-p/w dynamo after major update, Ralph needs him…

After a disheartening 2020/21 season which saw Sheffield Wednesday relegated from the Championship, Darren Moore’s side have had a mixed start to their League One campaign.

With nine games played prior to today’s clash against Oxford United, the Owls have won four, drawn three and lost two, with their latest match seeing them beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 at the DW Stadium.

Looking ahead to the game against Oxford, Owls manager Darren Moore revealed in his latest press conference that Sam Hutchinson and Lewis Gibson have both trained ahead of today’s clash but that George Byers will not be available. With this in mind, here’s how we feel the Owls will set up against Oxford, with two changes from the team in midweek.

Will Wednesday pick up another win this weekend?

In goal, Bailey Peacock-Farrell has been a regular for Wednesday so far this season and should continue there to face Oxford.

The defence could see full-backs Marvin Johnson and Liam Palmer retain their places in the team after the midweek victory, with the duo making a total number of seven tackles and five interceptions between them against Wigan, proving themselves to be useful defensive outlets for Wednesday.

There could be some change in the centre-back position, though, with Hutchinson taking Cheyenne Dunkley’s place at centre-back alongside Dominic Iorfa, who also impressed in midweek, earning himself an overall match rating of 7.1/10 (as per SofaScore).

This could then lead to Barry Bannan coming back into the squad after being an unused substitute against Wigan.

Elsewhere, the other change we think Moore should consider for the Oxford match would be to take Jaden Brown out of the team after failing to make an impact against Wigan from the left-midfield position, taking 27 touches and losing possession on 12 occasions, ultimately earning a rather lacklustre overall match rating of 5.8/10, making him Wednesday’s lowest-rated player on the day according to SofaScore.

In his place, we feel Moore should give Olamide Shodipo, who replaced Brown in midweek, a chance from the start to see if he can do a better job than the 22-year-old did against Wigan.

On the other side, Moore should stick with Dennis Adeniran on the right to see if he can have some sort of attacking threat, even though his two league goals this season have come from when he’s played in the centre of midfield.

Finally, Wednesday should continue with Lee Gregory and Callum Paterson, who scored against Wigan, as their two strikers to hopefully fire the club to another three points.

In other news: Sheff Wed handed big injury boost ahead of Oxford clash, fans will be delighted – opinion

West Ham United may have another Declan Rice coming through the system at Chadwell Heath.

16-year-old defender Kaelan Casey has been named in the Guardian’s ‘Next Generation’ list for 2021, in which the 20 best up-and-coming talents at Premier League clubs are profiled.

It’s claimed that the towering centre-back has been making impressive strides in the youth set-up, leading to his inclusion in the U21 squad that defeated Ipswich Town in the EFL Trophy recently.

There are hopes that Casey will go on to forge a great career in north London and his ability on the ball has earned lofty comparisons to the England international, who can also be deployed in defence.

In fact, the young teenager is said to look up to his fellow Hammers academy graduate for inspiration, so much so that he hopes to replicate such a feat.

West Ham’s official website describes Casey as “an imposing, ball-playing” defender and at a little over 6-foot in height, he isn’t far off being a carbon copy of Rice himself.

The Irons picked up the 22-year-old from Chelsea’s academy following his release in 2014 and within three years, he had made his professional debut for the club.

A year later, Rice was named the runner up for the ‘Player of the Year’ award, only showing the sort of impact he made on the club’s staff and management.

Casey is far from breaching into Moyes’ first-team but the early signs are positive, so surely it’s only a matter of time before he’s given an opportunity. It may not be this season but certainly, in the next two to three years, we could well see the 16-year-old gem involved just like Rice was.

Whether his future lies in defence or a little further afield very much remains to be seen, though his skill set seems primed for either role.

AND in other news, Newman could get West Ham fans purring with bargain swoop for “special” 31-cap beast…

Aston Villa have been mentioned as one of the sides interested in signing England and Southampton striker Danny Ings.

What’s the story?

Ahead of the Three Lions’ EURO 2020 semi-final clash against Denmark tonight, news emerged that Ings – who of course isn’t a part of Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for the tournament – had turned down a new contract offer from the Saints.

And now, according to The Athletic, Villa, along with fellow Premier League sides West Ham and Tottenham have all shown an interest in signing the England international this summer.

The striker has just a year left on his existing deal at St Mary’s, so could either leave on a cut-price deal in the transfer window or exit on a free transfer next summer.

NSWE mean business

The £19.8m-rated Ings enjoyed another fantastic campaign in the Premier League last season, firing in 12 goals in just 29 top-flight games – that followed up from his Golden Boot winning year the season before when he bagged 22.

Ex-Premier League striker Clinton Morrison once compared Ings to Robbie Keane for his “first-class” movement, while his current boss at St Mary’s, Ralph Hasenhuttl has lauded his exploits as “unbelievable”.

Having already clinched shrewd deals for Ashley Young and Josh Feeney, and a record-breaking signing for Emi Buendia, this latest interest in Ings is a major sign of NSWE’s ambition.

The club, of course, are also being linked with a stunning swoop for Arsenal starlet Emile Smith Rowe, but a move for the proven player like Ings would be a real statement of intent.

If Villa can successfully fend off competition from both the Hammers and Spurs for Ings, then it would show NSWE really do mean business.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have been handed a transfer boost over this star…