All posts by z3u9t.icu

An update has emerged on Robin Olsen, regarding West Ham’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to TuttoMercatoWeb journalist Gianluigi Longari, as transcribed by Transfer Tavern, West Ham have identified Roma goalkeeper Robin Olsen as a potential signing following his strong performances at the European Championships for Sweden.

The report claims that Real Sociedad and Lille also hold a strong interest in landing the shot-stopper and that they will be competing with the Hammers to land his signature in the coming weeks of the transfer window.

Moyes needs him

West Ham must sanction a swoop for the experienced goalkeeper this summer to bolster their ranks between the sticks. Lukasz Fabianski, 36, and Darren Randolph, 34, are in the latter stages of their career and the time could be right to bring in a younger shot-stopper to potentially take over from Fabianski or provide tougher competition for his place in the side.

Whilst Olsen is not exactly a spring chicken at the age of 31, he does have five years on Fabianski – who has been West Ham’s number one in recent seasons – and that suggests that he could be the club’s first-choice for several seasons if he arrives this summer. This is why his age, especially in comparison to Fabianski and Randolph’s, should not be a major concern for the club.

His quality should also not be in doubt. The Sweden international enjoyed a terrific tournament at the European Championships, averaging a WhoScored rating of 6.80 and earning one Man of the Match award from four appearances for his country. After a stunning display against Spain earlier in the competition, his Swedish teammate Alexander Isak hailed the “incredible” giant and promised that he would give him a hug to say thanks for his superb performance.

He said:

“He was absolutely incredible.

“He was fantastic, he saved us. I am going to give him a big hug and say thank you.”

The £43k-per-week monster could be an excellent addition to West Ham’s squad. In seven Premier League appearances on loan at Everton last season, Olsen averaged a solid WhoScored rating of 6.70. Fabianski and Randolph, meanwhile, managed scores of 6.62 and 6.52 respectively.

Moyes needs Olsen at the London Stadium. He could be a brilliant signing to come in and compete with Fabianski and eventually be his long-term replacement, as he has shown he is capable of producing a higher standard of performances than the Poland international and Randolph.

Hopefully, West Ham will be able to get a deal over the line and fans can watch Olsen fill up the goal in the Premier League for the Hammers.

AND in other news, The Athletic drops West Ham update on £20m “goal king”, fans will be buzzing…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left slamming the display of Ianis Hagi despite their 2-0 win at home to St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team came home from Ibrox with all three points thanks to goals from Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent, but Hagi, making up the final part of the front three, was certainly not as influential.

The Romania international lost out on five of his duels in total, the joint-most out of any of his teammates on the pitch, and failed to score with all three of his shots (SofaScore).

He was also unsuccessful with all of his dribble and crossing attempts, while Hagi was guilty of losing possession of the ball on no fewer than on 18 separate occasions in the match, the second-most out of any Light Blues player (SofaScore).

Rangers fans slam Hagi

These Teddy Bears slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Gers supporter even going as far as to claim that he was ‘non-existent’:

“Good half but Hagi has been stinkin’”

Credit: @jaayfc

“Btw Hagi is useless wide. We need to stop this”

Credit: @RheiceMulgrah

“Still don’t get Hagi, would love to know how many times he loses possession in a game by just falling down”

Credit: @de5erteaglegreg

“What do people actually see in Hagi?”

Credit: @WilliamGrimes_

“Hagi out wide is utterly depressing just get Fash on”

Credit: @LeighamMacleod

“Hagi non-existent here”

Credit: @L8522Mac

In other news, find out what official RFC post has fans gushing here!

Everton are reportedly among a number of clubs who want to sign Christian Eriksen on a free transfer in the summer.

The Lowdown: Eriksen’s deal expiring

The 30-year-old’s six-month deal at Brentford expires in the summer, so he will be able to talk to other clubs about signing as a free agent.

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The Denmark international has made a return to the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for his country at Euro 2020, so caution was taken by the Bees over the length of contract given to him during the January transfer window.

The Latest: Eriksen wanted by Everton

Co-writing in his latest piece for 90min, transfer insider Graeme Bailey has revealed that Everton are just one of the clubs ‘looking’ into offering Eriksen a contract this summer, along with Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Fulham.

The Dane’s former club Tottenham Hotspur are also ‘interested’ in his signature, and there is interest from abroad too, but the 30-year-old would prefer to remain in England.

The Verdict: No-brainer

Assuring that the Merseyside club can stay in the Premier League, signing Eriksen for free is surely a no-brainer.

Described as a ‘magician’ by Spurs insider John Wenham earlier this season, and recently hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by his manager Thomas Frank, the playmaker has already reminded the Premier League what he is capable of by scoring one goal and supplying one assist in his five Brentford appearances so far, including netting in the recent 4-1 demolition of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Transfermarkt).

Currently rated at £13.5m, and not thought to be wanting six-figure wages, landing Eriksen on a free transfer would be a real bargain, and the Toffees would do well to beat off the fierce competition for his services.

In other news, find out what ‘significant’ update has now emerged from Goodison Park

Liverpool will take on Porto at Anfield this evening, and the side is expected to rest players due to an early qualification to the last sixteen thanks to going unbeaten in Europe this season so far.

The reds have taken maximum points from their first four games in their group, currently seven points ahead of their opponents on Wednesday evening.

Klopp has hinted in his press conference that he will be resting players in the fixture that has no effect on the side’s qualification in the tournament whether they win, lose or draw.

The German coach told the press;

“We always respect the competition but we have to think about ourselves, our schedule and the situation of our players first.”

With Liverpool’s injury crisis in mind – they are missing Curtis Jones and Naby Keita – there is one player that has been a hot favourite with fans for a start tonight in the European fixture. At just 19 years old, Tyler Morton is predicted to make his Champions League debut for the side ahead of the likes of Thiago and Fabinho.

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Hailing him as “brilliant”, Klopp heaped praise on the teenager a few weeks ago and talked about getting him ready for first-team football;

“You can see Tyler Morton, I told him now we pretty much have to send him directly to the gym now. Because if he gets a body, he’s a brilliant footballer.

“There’s obviously some things to come physique-wise, but the football brain is outstanding.”

Morton is no stranger to the first team this season, putting in a confident performance against Norwich in the Carabao Cup when he came on in the second half, and more recently made his Premier League debut, when he was subbed on for Thiago Alcantara in the final six minutes of the game against Arsenal in which the side ran away with a 4-0 win.

The youngster is set to get his first opportunity in the starting line up against Porto tonight and will be hoping to prove to Klopp that he made the right choice in introducing him into the first team, which he can achieve with a measured display

Liverpool will be hoping to remain unbeaten in Europe with a win over Porto tonight, where the Portuguese side will be hoping to steal a win at Anfield to widen the gap in second place holding back AC Milan and Atletico Madrid from qualification.

In other news: Liverpool predicted Champions League XI vs Porto

Celtic have two distinct financial plans in place for whether or not they qualify for next season’s Champions League, according to football finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley.

The Lowdown: Celtic closing in on title

The Hoops are enjoying a memorable season to date, with Ange Postecoglou proving to be an inspired managerial appointment last summer despite a rocky start in Glasgow.

As the season slowly reaches its conclusion, Celtic find themselves six points clear of Rangers in the Scottish Premiership title race, as well as preparing to face their arch-rivals in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

If Postecoglou’s side are crowned champions of the league they would of course qualify for the Champions League, as they look to make their mark in Europe’s biggest club competition.

The Latest: Financial plan in place

Speaking to Football Insider, Plumley revealed that plans are in place at Celtic financially, in terms of them qualifying for the competition or not, as it could make a £17m difference:

“You have to be careful, of course. Celtic know near enough what their revenue will be each year because it’s almost guaranteed that you’re going to finish first or second.

“They sell out every week and they know what they’re working with. The differentiator is, of course, European football. If they win the league this year, they get automatic qualification, which is going to be worth £17m minimum.

“That makes a big difference, so they’ll have different models depending on different possibilities.  Model A, they make the Champions League. Model B, they don’t. That extra money makes a big difference.

“Everything is based around those distinct models and whether you can repeat the trick and qualify year on year.”

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The Verdict: Shrewd approach from Desmond

This is a really smart approach after major shareholder Dermot Desmond hinted at as much recently, ensuring the club is run in sensible fashion rather than recklessly.

The expectation should be that Celtic are in the Champions League next season, of course, but in the event that it doesn’t happen, it is only right that a contingency plan is in place.

While Postecoglou and his players deserve huge praise for their performance on the pitch this season, the manner in which the club is being run as a whole is also worthy of positive reviews.

In other news, Kieran Devlin has singled out one Celtic player for praise. Find out who it is here.

The return of the Premier League this weekend after the latest international break sees Southampton take on Leeds United at St Mary’s on Saturday, with both teams having had rather disappointing starts to the campaign.

The Saints’ previous league outing before the break saw them fall to a 3-1 defeat against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Djenepo should start for Southampton on Saturday

One player who did not feature in Southampton’s starting XI against Chelsea but who should come in against Leeds is Moussa Djenepo, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £55k-per-week according to Spotrac.

Southampton signed the winger back in the 2019 summer transfer window on a four-year contract from Belgian club Standard Liege in a deal which could rise to £15m.

Since then, the 23-year-old – who is currently valued at £11.7m by Transfermarkt – has made 58 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, in which he has scored four goals and provided two assists along the way.

So far this season, Djenepo – who was described by teammate Nathan Redmond as being a “super-talented” player – has played in all but one of Southampton’s league games, starting four of them, but has yet to score a goal or provide an assist.

Nonetheless, he has managed to rack up 1.2 shots per game so far this season in the Premier League according to WhoScored, showing that he is still very much an attacking threat for the Saints whenever he’s on the pitch, and he could therefore be a potential game-changer against Leeds. Only four players can exceed that tally and there is a strong chance that two of them won’t feature on Saturday through either suspension (James Ward-Prowse) or injury (Che Adams).

After replacing Nathan Tella in the second half of the Chelsea game, Djenepo made two successful dribbles and won five ground duels and two tackles in just 17 minutes, ultimately seeing him earn a match rating of 6.5/10. That was higher than the likes of Tella and Redmond, both of whom started the match according to SofaScore.

Looking ahead to the Leeds clash, we feel that Hasenhuttl should go with Djenepo over Tella on the left wing to see if the Mali international can help the Saints secure their first league win of the season against Marcelo Bielsa’s side – who they would overtake in the table if they manage to do so – based on the decent showing the 23-year-old delivered off the bench against Chelsea.

In other news: Hasenhuttl must unleash “perfect” £9m-rated Southampton gem, he’s a real game-changer

Tottenham Hotspur are keeping an eye on Dusan Vlahovic after an update on his future emerged this week…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Italian journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who delivered an exciting update to his ‘Here We Go’ podcast.

The Fiorentina striker has turned down a lucrative new contract extension that would have made him La Viola’s highest-paid player in their history and now Spurs, who were linked with the 21-year-old in the summer window, are watching his situation closely.

“Tottenham, they will keep an eye on this boy because Fabio Paratici always works like this. If he likes a player he will follow this player for a long time,” he revealed.

“So Tottenham will keep an eye on Vlahovic’s situation, but a lot of clubs in Europe will keep an eye on this situation. He is officially an opportunity, his contract is up in 2023 so Fiorentina need to sell the player in January or in [the] summer.”

Promising news

This news should leave many supporters around N17 absolutely buzzing as there is a chance that Spurs could land one of the most promising young forwards in Europe right now.

Vlahovic was in prolific form last season, bagging 21 goals in just 37 league appearances, and that has rolled into the 2021/22 campaign already, finding the net six times in eight matches, via Transfermarkt – that’s even despite the interest in his signature throughout the off-season.

“I think that after Haaland and Mbappe, he is one of the strongest in Europe,” is how former Italy international Christian Vieri once described the Fiorentina talisman.

Whilst the 6 foot 3 colossus has earned plenty of comparisons to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, too.

“He’s just a complete number nine and I know it’s just off the back of one season, but he’s strong, can link play up, can hold the ball up and most importantly, he’s scoring goals. He’s one of those players that when he looks confident, you almost expect him to score every time he plays,” claimed Serie A expert Conor Clancy to This is Futbol.

Harry Kane has struggled for goals so far this campaign, failing to score in five Premier League starts, whilst their 2-1 win over Aston Villa was the first time that Nuno Santo’s side scored more than once in any top-flight game this term.

As per WhoScored, the north Londoners are also fourth-from-bottom for average number of shots per game (10.4).

It’s clear that there has been a real problem in the final third for Spurs and Vlahovic’s impressive record surely makes him an interesting and potential solution.

Therefore, the fact that Fabio Paratici is keeping an eye on the Serbian talisman is certainly reason to get excited. If Tottenham can complete a deal for him in January, then they absolutely should do it.

AND in other news, “I saw him limp”: Reliable journo drops Spurs injury claim, fans are surely worried…

Nottingham Forest have been handed a major boost in their bid to bring Max Lowe to the City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that, despite having seen an initial offer rejected for the Sheffield United left-back, Dane Murphy is now close to completing a season-long loan deal for the defender.

Further reports had claimed that both Swansea City and Reading were also interested in the former Derby County man, however, it would now appear as if Forest have won the race for the 24-year-old.

Murphy will be buzzing

Considering just how short Chris Hughton’s side currently is at left-back, as well as having seen an initial offer for Lowe turned down by the Blades, the fact that the Reds now appear to be close to landing the defender is sure to have left Murphy buzzing.

Indeed, while summer signing Jordi Osei-Tutu had been filling in on the left-hand side of defence, his recent injury has once again left Hughton with only Gaetan Bong as a viable option in the position – with the 33-year-old having been informed he was free to leave the club earlier this summer.

As such, it very much appeared a priority for Murphy to bring in a fresh face in the position prior to the closure of the summer transfer window on Tuesday, and, in Max Lowe, it would appear the Forest CEO has landed an extremely capable player.

While it is true that Lowe failed to establish himself in Sheffield United’s starting XI last season, making just eight Premier League appearances over the course of the club’s campaign, the 24-year-old nevertheless proved during his time at Derby that he will be a very useful player for Hughton this season.

Indeed, over his 29 Championship appearances for the Rams in 2019/20, the £2.7m-rated defender helped his side keep three clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 3.7 tackles, 1.6 clearances and winning 6.9 duels per game.

These returns saw the man Danny Law dubbed an “impressive” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.83, ranking the £14k-per-week left-back as the club’s 14th-best performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, should Forest indeed go on to complete a deal for the former England U20 international in the coming days, it would undoubtedly come as a massive boost for Hughton, who is very much in need of one following the Garibaldi’s diabolical start to the season.

In other news: Murphy heading for grave Forest error over “unbelievable” ace, fans will be fuming

Some Wolves supporters have been hailing a brilliant piece of skill produced by Rayan Ait-Nouri in the weekend victory over West Ham.

Bruno Lage’s side are still on a high after seeing off the Hammers at Molineux on Saturday, with Raul Jimenez’s goal earning them a 1-0 win.

It was a victory which further suggested that Wolves could be eyeing up European football this season, with their sixth-place position achieved after a strong run of form.

Lage has got his team playing attacking football and picking up positive results at the same time, with his players performing well both individually and as a collective.

One player who shone against West Ham was Ait-Nouri, with five tackles and seven duels won on the day. On Tuesday, Wolves’ official Twitter channel posted a video of him producing a superb piece of skill on the touchline, backheeling the ball to take out Tomas Soucek in one slick movement.

Wolves fans laud Ait-Nouri skill

These Wanderers fans took to Twitter to hail the left-back’s moment of quality, with one hailing him as a “baller” and another revelling about how he “had West Ham on strings”.

“Just Hwang and Ait-Nouri running the show down the left”

Credit: @Westywwfc

“Bruno training, motivating, allowing natural skills. This team may falter but will get better”

Credit: @geofftwitt

“Silky baller”

Credit: @WolvesNumber37

“Marcal would’ve broke his ankle attempting such filth”

Credit: @Staffs_chris85

“He had West Ham on strings all game”

Credit: @LoganL151

“Hoping to see this on Soccer AM Saturday.”

Credit: @warren_bland

In other news, Luke Hatfield has tipped one Wolves player to leave the club. Find out who it is here.

Leeds United have made a significant breakthrough in their attempts to sign Valerenga starlet Kristoffer Klaesson this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days from Football Insider had initially claimed that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were in advanced talks with Valerenga about bringing the 20-year-old goalkeeper to Elland Road.

They revealed that a Leeds source claimed: “Klaesson is now the top keeper target and discussions are progressing well over a potential deal. The Premier League outfit have offered a contract to the Valerenga number one and a deal is edging closer.”

And now, things have moved swiftly in the right direction.

Football Insider have now revealed that the Whites have had a £2m bid accepted for the shot-stopper, and that he is set to undergo a medical before putting the final touches to his move.

The report adds: “All parties are confident that the deal will be completed this week before the Norwegian youngster links up with his new teammates for the final segment of their pre-season campaign.”

Bielsa will be buzzing

While Klaesson is likely to find himself as Illan Meslier’s deputy next season, he could potentially grow behind the Frenchman as an eventual successor to the former Lorient man, especially if PSG come back in for him – it was recently claimed that Mauricio Pochettino’s side are keen on luring him back to France.

Getting some experience of English football over the coming year would stand Klaesson in good stead if that ever happens, and give Bielsa a bit of comfort knowing he’s got another rising goalkeeping star in his ranks who he can fall back on.

With Kiko Casilla having already completed his season-long loan move to Spanish side Elche, the Leeds boss desperately needed a new goalkeeper to come in ahead of the new Premier League campaign to provide some cover and competition for Meslier.

This latest development on Klaesson means Leeds have edged closer to getting that new ‘keeper, and Bielsa will be buzzing about that.

At just 20, Klaesson still has the world at his feet, and is a relative baby in goalkeeping terms. Spending the next few years under the manager of Bielsa should see him develop into a top-class star.

Meanwhile, Radrizzani is now willing to sanction this Leeds swoop…