Category Uncategorized

Celtic look to have been handed a huge injury boost ahead of their Champions League meeting with FC Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday evening.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a recent report by the Daily Record, who claim that, after being limited to an 18-minute cameo in the Hoops’ 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid as a result of a shoulder injury, the centre-forward now appears to be fully fit ahead of the club’s second group stage game in Warsaw tonight.

Good news for Postecoglou

While it is true that Giorgos Giakoumakis put in two extremely solid performances when leading the line against Rangers and Madrid in the absence of Kyogo, considering just how impressive the Japan international has been for the Bhoys so far this season, the 27-year-old’s apparent return to full fitness is undoubtedly good news for Ange Postecoglou and his side.

Indeed, over his six Premiership fixtures in 2022/23, the £5.4m-rated forward has been in astonishing form, having already bagged six goals and provided his teammates with one assist, in addition to taking an average of 2.3 shots – 1.3 of which have hit the target – and completing 0.7 key passes per game.

These metrics have seen the £52.5k-per-week talent average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.68, ranking him as the joint second-best player – behind only teammate Jota – in the top flight of Scottish football so far this season.

In comparison, while it is true that Giakoumakis’ physical presence and work rate are his biggest strengths, the Greece international has scored just two goals and registered no assists over his five Premiership fixtures so far this season, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.80.

As such, should Kyogo indeed be deemed fit enough to start this evening, it would undoubtedly come as a huge boost to Postecoglou’s chances of picking up all three points against Shakhtar – a result Celtic will be desperate for in order to give them the best possible chance of making out of the group stages of the competition.

Despite Aston Villa’s precarious position in the Premier League table, Steven Gerrard has by all accounts had a solid summer transfer window.

The club have brought in quality, with Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara, and Philippe Coutinho arriving at Villa Park in permanent deals.

Deadline day saw another two additions, with Leander Dendoncker and Jan Bednarek arriving for £13m and a season-long loan respectively and this has given Gerrard options in the two positions that arguably needed it most.

They were also after another forward in the window, with Blackburn Rovers star Ben Brereton-Diaz being linked recently, however, no move materialised for the player.

This might not matter though, as the club could already have a talent within their ranks who might be a Premier League star in the making.

Caleb Chukwuemeka is a forward for Villa’s U21 side and older brother of Carney Chukwuemeka, who recently joined Chelsea from Villa in a £20m transfer.

There is no doubt that Chukwuemeka could follow in his brother’s footsteps with the talent he possesses, with Gregg Evans describing him as a “real prospect” and there appears no limit to what he can achieve in the game.

Gerrard has sent the youngster out on loan to Crawley Town for the remainder of the season and the manager will be hoping he continues his development in League Two.

In the Premier League 2 last season, he netted seven goals in just nine appearances, grabbing a further five assists and he won the player of the month award for September.

Aston Villa beat Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers to the signing of the 20-year-old just last year and he joined Premiership side, Livingston, for the second half of last season.

No goals were scored during his stint in Scotland, but first-team football for a top-flight team was excellent for his development and if he carries on improving, then he could well be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Newcastle United have reportedly not given up hope of signing Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, despite having been rebuffed by the Foxes thus far.

What’s the word?

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, in his CaughtOffside column via Substack, the Magpies are set to make a further attempt to sign the 25-year-old this summer, having already seen two bids rejected thus far – the latter of which totalled a fee of around £50m.

The transfer insider wrote: “Newcastle will push again for the transfer of James Maddison after having two offers rejected. It’s a tricky deal, though, because Leicester insist there is no price for Maddison – Brendan Rodgers has publicly commented that Maddison is not for sale.”

As Romano alluded to, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has seemingly attempted to quash any speculation regarding the Englishman by stating he is not for sale, albeit with some quarters suggesting that a £60m offer could be enough to tempt the Midlands side into letting him depart.

World-class

Previously dubbed “world-class” by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate for his set-piece prowess, Maddison could well become the star attraction at St James’ Park were to make the switch before the September deadline, having proven himself an elite performer in recent times at the King Power Stadium.

The former Norwich City man – who joined his current side on a £20m deal back in 2018 – has scored 45 goals and provided 33 assists in 171 games in all competitions for the Foxes, cementing himself as the key creative force in Rodgers’ side.

Last term proved particularly fruitful as the £45m-rated maestro scored 12 goals and registered eight assists in 35 Premier League games, recording a stunning average match rating of 7.32 in the process, as per SofaScore – the highest among his current teammates.

The £110k-per-week sensation has also got the new season off to a strong start after registering an assist in the 2-2 draw with Brentford on Sunday, teeing up teammate Timothy Castagne with a delicious and inviting corner kick.

Such a moment of quality will have caught the eye of those back in the northeast, with the 5 foot 9 gem only serving to rubberstamp just why Eddie Howe and co are so desperate to sign him, with Newcastle currently crying out for more attacking reinforcements.

At a club which has seen the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Peter Beardsley thrive in a playmaking role in years gone by, Maddison could prove to become the next world-class figure to take on that mantle.

Aston Villa midfielder Emiliano Buendia is a doubt for the club’s season opener against Bournemouth on Saturday, according to two reliable journalists. 

The lowdown

Steven Gerrard will bring his Villa side to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon to take on Scott Parker’s newly-promoted Cherries.

Buendia made 35 Premier League appearances for the Villans last season, starting 22 times overall.

Only Matty Cash (38), Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Martinez (both 36) featured in more top-flight matches for the club in 2021/22.

Buendia recorded the joint-most assists (six, level with Danny Ings) and led the way outright for expected assists with 5.5 (via FBRef).

The £75,000-per-week playmaker has been called a ‘tenacious little character’, an ‘amazing talent’ and a ‘little warrior’ by manager Steven Gerrard.

The latest

Both The Athletic’s Gregg Evans and The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece describe Buendia as a ‘doubt’ for the trip to the South Coast.

Evans explains that he is ‘recovering from [a] quad injury’ but was able to train on Thursday and would ‘be assessed’ ahead of the game.

Preece, meanwhile, adds specifically that Buendia ‘picked up [a] thigh strain in last week’s behind-closed-doors game vs Fulham’.

Intriguingly, these updates came after the official club account stated that Buendia would be ‘available for selection’, so it seems the journalists have received slightly less optimistic information, with Preece confirming a late fitness check is expected before the match.

The verdict

How will Aston Villa’s team look on Saturday?

Well, one area where there is some clarity is the midfield three. According to The Daily Mail’s Tom Collomosse, Gerrard is ‘expected’ to start new signing Boubacar Kamara alongside Douglas Luiz and John McGinn.

McGinn has been appointed the new club captain, taking the armband from Tyrone Mings. It will be interesting to see, therefore, whether the deposed centre-back keeps his place in the side at all, with Diego Carlos adding to the competition.

And Gerrard also has a decision to make up front – does he play both Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins, or favour one over the other? Perhaps the absence of Buendia in the attacking midfield role will force the gaffer into a traditional front two.

Manchester United are interested in signing Brazilian starlet Gabriel Veron from Palmeiras this summer.

That’s according to reports via The Sun, who claim that the Red Devils had been interested in the winger in the past, but will now look to make a move as the £10m price tag has enticed them.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-man-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more-nunez-ten-hag-nkunku-richarlison” title=”Read the latest Man United news!”]

The teenager has been linked with several top European clubs, and is likened to Gabriel Jesus in this report.

Erik ten Hag could look to bolster an underperforming attack with this exciting Brazilian star in the making.

The next Vinicius Jr

Gabriel Veron burst onto the Brazilian scene during the U17 World Cup, hosted in his home nation, where he helped his side become world champions.

Boasting incredible pace, power, trickery and technique, the youngster won the Golden Ball award and has continued to impress since.

Similar to Vinicius Jr, who made his move straight from Flamengo to Real Madrid as a 16-year-old in 2017, perhaps United could plan ahead and reap similar rewards to that of Los Blancos.

Last season Vinicius Jr was involved in 30 league goals, and for just a reported £10m, it is a relatively risk-free signing with the potential to reap world-class rewards.

Bebeto, who won the 1994 World Cup with Brazil, had plenty to say about the youngster with a huge future in the game: “He’s a kid with enormous talent.

“I looked for more information about him and I was impressed once I saw him wearing the No.7 producing beautiful plays.

“I watched him score a goal dribbling from almost his own half before finding the net with a quality finish, calmly beating the opposition goalkeeper.”

Veron is still just a kid playing adult football, yet still averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.02 in CONMEBOL Libertadores. He is naturally still growing, but to receive such high praise at such a young age sets him apart from the rest.

He managed just six goal contributions across 33 games in all competitions last season, and has steadily increased year on year.

As aforementioned, for a relatively risk-free amount, Erik ten Hag could nurture this Brazilian teenager into their very own Vinicius Jr and reap potentially unlimited rewards.

AND, in other news: Fabrizio Romano: MUFC have another “done deal” after Eriksen, supporters will love it.

Arsenal’s summer transfer window started with sheer excitement but the wind has rather been taken away from their sails in recent days.

What’s the word?

After welcoming Fabio Vieira to the club from Porto, Edu set his sights on bringing Lisandro Martinez and Raphinha to the Emirates Stadium.

However, it looks as though the latter now prefers a move to Barcelona over the Gunners and Man United have meanwhile joined the race for the former.

Arsenal are set to battle Erik ten Hag’s men for the signature of another exciting talent, though, with reports linking the pair with a move for Serge Gnabry.

The German winger is in the final year of his deal at the Allianz Arena and as a result, is available at a cut-price of £40m.

Arsenal are interested in re-signing Gnabry according to the Daily Star, but they will have to ‘lock horns’ with United in order to sign him.

Better than Raphinha

There was much fanfare behind the Gunners’ bid to sign Raphinha but with that move now seemingly dead in the water, they should turn their attention to Gnabry.

Arsene Wenger holds great regret over the manner in which he left Islington and headed back to his homeland and it’s hardly a surprise when you consider what he’s done since.

A complete machine in the final third, the 26-year-old is now in the prime of his career and has been described as “truly unstoppable” by verified social media manager Alex Chaffer.

It’s easy to see why that assessment has been made with the Germany international scoring 64 goals and supplying 40 assists in 171 outings for Bayern. Five of those goal involvements came in one game back in October 2019, when he truly terrorised Tottenham in the Champions League.

Those types of performances are exactly why Edu and Mikel Arteta should be fighting hard to acquire his signature this summer.

He is a special talent and on the above evidence, he is even better than Raphinha. He has an elite pedigree and has shown on a regular basis that he can light it up on the continent’s biggest stage.

However, a deeper look at his numbers also tells us why he is a greater threat than the Leeds United forward.

Gnabry’s scout report, via FB Ref, is a sea of green with the former West Brom loanee ranking in the top 12% of players in Europe’s top five leagues for shot-creating actions per 90 minutes. Raphinha, by comparison, only sits in the top 32%.

Meanwhile, the effervescent attacker is also in the top 10% for expected assists, the best 6% for progressive carries and the top 5% for touches in the attacking penalty area.

If we compare that to Raphinha, he is considerably better with the Brazilian ranking in the best 34% for expected assists, the top 61% for progressive carries and the top 42% for touches in the opposition’s penalty box.

With that in mind, it’s clear to see why Arsenal should now put all of their eggs in Gnabry’s basket. He is more experienced, knows the Premier League and is available at a bargain price.

Everton have reportedly now made contact over the potential signing of Harry Winks.

The Lowdown: Out of favour

The 26-year-old has fallen out of favour under Antonio Conte, having played just 24 times under the Italian over all competitions last season, and only completing the full match in eight of those appearances (Transfermarkt).

With Yves Bissouma signing from Brighton and Hove Albion, the Englishman is likely to fall further down the pecking order, so he could seek a move away this summer.

The Latest: Everton make contact over Winks

As per Football Insider, Everton outfit have now made Winks a ‘top priority’ after officially registering their interest in the player.

A source from the Merseyside club has revealed that they have ‘made contact’ over a potential deal, which would cost them in the region of £20m.

The Verdict: Avoid

Dubbed a ‘fabulous’ player by former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson, Winks has shown his qualities in the past, making his senior England debut in 2017, but he has not played for his country since 2020 (Transfermarkt).

His dip in form has coincided with that of his club, who made the Champions League final three years ago but have only just managed to get back into the competition recently with a fourth-placed finish last season.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-7/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Astonishingly, Winks has only managed 11 goal contributions in more than 200 games for Tottenham (Transfermarkt), the kind of numbers which would hardly impress Everton manager Frank Lampard.

With the possibility that the Toffees could lose Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin this summer, the 43-year-old would surely want to sign a midfielder who can contribute more goals and assists than what Winks has done in north London.

In other news, find out which ‘incredible’ ace the Toffees are now most keen to sign

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Luka Ivanusec to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Croatian media outlet Germanijak, who claim that Victor Orta has now restarted his pursuit of the GNK Dinamo Zagreb attacking midfielder ahead of Leeds’ 2022/23 campaign.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more-2″ title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The report goes on to state that the Whites were believed to have agreed a €15m (£12.5m) deal for in the January window, only for the 23-year-old and his representatives to back out as a result of the Whites’ precarious position in the Premier League table at the time.

Imagine him & Aaronson

With Victor Orta having recently sealed the £25m signing of Red Bull Salzburg starlet Brenden Aaronson, the prospect of the Spaniard adding yet another extremely impressive addition to Jesse Marsch’s attacking options in the shape of Ivanusec is sure to be one that will excite the Elland Road faithful.

Indeed, despite his season being hampered by a groin injury, the £11.25m-rated talent still managed to catch the eye over his 27 1.HNL appearances, scoring three goals, registering five assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots, making 1.4 key passes and completing 1.7 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the £6k-per-week attacker – who can also comfortably operate in central midfield and on either flank – average a SofaScore match rating of 7.09, with the 23-year-old playing a key role in Dinamo’s title-winning campaign.

The player who Sacha Pisani dubbed “exquisite” also impressed in European competition, scoring one goal and providing two assists over seven appearances in Champions League qualification, as well as bagging one goal and one assist over six Europa League outings.

As such, it is clear to see that the signing of Ivanusec – especially for a fee of around £12.5m – would be a fantastic piece of business for Orta to get over the line this summer, with the Croatia international undoubtedly possessing the potential to form a deadly partnership with Aaronson in Marsch’s new-look Leeds midfield.

AND in other news: Orta can unearth next Raphinha as Leeds now eye “spectacular” £12.5m-rated “marvel”

Sunderland ace Jack Clarke will reportedly sign a new contract with parent club Tottenham Hotspur this summer before heading back out on another loan ahead of the start of next season, according to Lilywhites insider John Wenham.

The Lowdown: An instant impact

The 21-year-old first made the move to the Black Cats on loan from the Premier League outfit back in the January transfer window, where he has made 19 appearances since arriving at the Stadium of Light, scoring one goal and providing three assists during that time, as per Transfermarkt.

The winger played the full two sets of 90 minutes in Sunderland’s League One play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday where they secured a 2-1 aggregate victory, providing the winning assist to Patrick Roberts.

The Latest: Another loan move on the cards

When speaking during an interview about Clarke’s future at Spurs, Wenham admitted that he doubts any club looking to take him on a permanent basis will meet Tottenham’s asking price, making another loan spell the most sensible available option.

He told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild: “So Clarke is actually out of contract in the summer of 2023.

“So I think what will happen is he will return to us and sign a new one-year extension and he will go out on loan again.

“Maybe this time it will be a Championship club, it would be good to see him move a step higher.

“At this point, no one is going to pay anywhere near what we paid for him so another loan could also boost his value.

“I think that’s the aim at this point. I also don’t think Sunderland will be able to afford him outright but he could rejoin them next season if they go up.”

The Verdict: Make it happen

There’s absolutely no doubt that the Black Cats hierarchy will want to do everything within their power to try and retain the services of the youngster next season and beyond if they are able to afford going back in for another move.

The £25k-per-week starlet has proven to be a real threat in the final third for the Wearsiders this term, where he has averaged 1.6 dribbles, 1.6 key passes, and 1.5 shots per game, via WhoScored, displaying just how much of a huge part he played in getting Alex Neil’s squad into the top-six.

The Scotsman is clearly a huge fan of Clarke too, having dubbed him a “quality” player, and if Sunderland do manage to secure promotion to the Championship, this could be a huge factor when it comes down to the player deciding whether he wants to return to the club again next year.

In other news… a Sky Sports pundit has sent Sunderland a warning ahead of their upcoming play-off final.

Eoin Morgan’s men have been World Cup front-runners for two years now. But their lack of adaptability on sporty pitches is a concern

George Dobell in St Lucia03-Mar-2019Just ahead of this ODI series, Eoin Morgan called on his England side to show an ability to adapt to conditions. At the time he made the comment, he foresaw a series played on slow, turning surfaces which could test England’s aggressive approach to batting. As it was, most of the series was played on very good batting tracks, with the final match played on a surface offering pretty steep bounce by modern standards.But the principle was the same: Morgan was calling on his side to show an ability to adapt and they failed to do so. While it would be simplistic to dismiss this England team as flat-track bullies, it wouldn’t be totally untrue, either. On flat wickets where the ball neither seams, spins or bounces especially high, England are world beaters.On other surfaces? Well, they were knocked out of the Champions Trophy by Pakistan on a pitch offering help to spin and reverse swing. They were bowled out for 153 by South Africa on a green surface at Lord’s (they were 20 for 6 at one stage) and 196 by Australia on a seaming surface in Adelaide (they had been 8 for 5 at one stage). If they come up against such a surface in a knock-out game at the World Cup – and they did in both the 2013 Champions Trophy final and the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final – they look vulnerable.”We didn’t adapt,” Morgan admitted afterwards. “It was a terrible batting performance which is a disappointing way to end the series. We need to learn from the experience.”The time for learning is up, though. Well, just about, anyway. England will have named their provisional World Cup squad before they play another ODI and they are committed to the batting line-up that played in this series.They are, in many ways, an admirable bunch. They have improved vastly and expanded the bounds of what we thought possible in this format. On the sort of surfaces which are expected during the World Cup – true, flat and even-paced – they will worry any bowling attack in the world. They have, after all, thrashed the two highest scores in ODI history in the last three years and have four of the five highest totals made in the format since the last World Cup.And perhaps it is inevitable, if you progress at such pace so often, that you will occasionally fall. For, in the 39 completed first innings England have had in ODI cricket since the last World Cup, they have passed 400 four times and won on each occasion. They have passed 300 on 24 occasions and won 19 of those games. And, yes, on four occasions, they have failed to reach 200 and have been beaten on each occasion. If we praise them for their boldness on the days the shots end up in the stands, we have to be very careful about criticising when those same shots end up in hands. This was a drawn series, after all; not a defeat. They have still not lost a bilateral ODI series (so excluding the one-off game against Scotland) since they were in India in early 2017. That’s 10 series with nine victories.Losing the toss was significant here, too. Perhaps due to heavy rain overnight, the pitch started just a little tacky. With England reasoning it would ease during the day, they felt the need to attack in order to set a winning total. This is not a team that tries to limit the extent of their loss; it’s a team that tried to win. Always.Morgan, to his credit, refused to use the toss as an excuse. Reasoning that winning the toss is always, to a greater or lesser extent, an advantage, he knows that England cannot expect to have things – the pitch, the toss, the conditions – their own way all the way through a World Cup campaign.Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo celebrate winning the match•Getty Images”The toss is an advantage across every game we play,” Morgan said. “I might have argued that if we’d lost by one or two wickets, but we weren’t at the races today.”One of the frustrations with this England side is that it seems, with just a little better judgment, with just a little more nous, they could improve markedly. As Morgan admitted, it was clear from the first few minutes that this pitch offered the bowlers some life and clear that England would have to bat accordingly. For reasons that are not clear, they were unable to do so.”It was evident from the first two overs [that we had to adapt],” Morgan said. “You could see it from the changing room. We did have that conversation. But we didn’t adapt. Trying to curb your natural ability, to try to go from high-risk to low-risk and still get a score in the morning that will be good enough in the afternoon, is difficult.”Whose job should that be to gauge what a winning total is on each pitch? Well, this team has been together for a long time now. Every option for the opening position has played more than 60 ODIs and should be able to show the sophistication to know when to take the foot off the accelerator. Joe Root, too, is an experienced player who has scored more ODI centuries for England than anyone else. He should be able to adapt his game as required. Morgan, with more than 200 caps to his name, should also be able to do so.Morgan disputes the suggestion that England are slow learners, however. While he accepts there is a general problem in adapting to new conditions, he felt England have shown improvement on slow, low surfaces and simply haven’t experienced a pitch with as much bounce in it as this.”When we come up in conditions for the first time it has gone wrong,” Morgan said. “When we’ve come back in conditions that are similar to where we’ve made mistakes, we’ve actually played really well. It’s easy to gloss over things like that because when we play well some of our guys make things look quite easy.”We learned from that Champions Trophy defeat. We went away from home and played on slow, low wickets and improved our game from that experience.”These was a surface that we rarely come up against. It was just the bounce. And I don’t think we dealt and adapted with that. We continued to play as if we were on the same pitch in Grenada. A low-risk shot there was high-risk today.”There are other areas of concern. And the England bowlers’ failure to learn to deal with Chris Gayle throughout the series – if anything, he became more destructive as the series progressed – is one of them.Gayle is an exceptional player, of course. But England will come up against several exceptional players during the World Cup and, if their batsmen get the run-filled pitches they want, their bowlers will have nowhere to hide. They have to find a way to at least stem the bleeding. Gayle hit a six every 8.10 balls he faced this series. It’s hard to imagine a World Cup-winning bowling attack allowing that.Where could they have bowled to him? Well, the Hawkeye pitch map for this innings suggests England attempted to bowl three yorkers at him. The two aimed at the stumps were dot balls, while the one aimed down the leg-side, as Gayle attempted to give himself room, was inside-edged to the boundary. They bowled five yorkers at him during his innings of 162 in Grenada, too. None of them went to the boundary and four of them were dot balls. And they didn’t bowl any yorkers on the line of the stumps at him during his innings of 135 in the first ODI. It seems odd that it was not a line of attack pursued more often.”Gayle is probably in the best form of his life,” Morgan argued by way of mitigation. “Our execution needs to be near on perfect and that’s a really good test because we are going to come up against similar players in the World Cup.”So, here they are, on the brink of the World Cup and with lessons to learn with bat and ball. They’ve been the front-runners for this tournament for a couple of years now. But as we get closer to the event, it feels as if the field is starting to close.