All posts by z3u9t.icu

Liverpool are back in Premier League action this afternoon with an away clash against Wolves at Molineux in their latest push for the Premier League title. 

After seeing off their Merseyside rivals in midweek with a 4-1 victory over Everton, Jurgen Klopp’s side are in third place in the league table with 31 points, one behind Manchester City and two behind Chelsea heading into this weekend’s fixtures. 

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Klopp could choose to be in his starting XI to take on Bruno Lage’s side, one player that didn’t play against Everton that should be in the mix this afternoon is defender Ibrahima Konate, who Klopp has previously said has “massive potential.”

Given how the Everton game was only on Wednesday, perhaps this could be an area where Klopp could look to rotate his players and kill two birds with one stone by resting Matip, who played in midweek, and giving Konate some minutes under his belt. 

Standing at 6ft 4in tall, Konate has kept three clean sheets in the four league games he’s played in so far this season, showing that he is more than capable of playing at a high level in the top flight. 

One of those clean sheets came during Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford where Konate managed to keep Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently hit the 800 career goals mark, quiet for the day, showing that the Frenchman can battle it out against dangerous attacking opponents.

This performance against the Red Devils led to Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders calling Konate a “beast.”

Overall, Konate has managed to rack up an average of 4.8 clearances per game, two interceptions per game and 1.5 tackles per game, as well as winning 69% of duels, which could make him a terrifying opponent for Wolves on this occasion.

Looking ahead to the Wolves match, this could be a great test for the £70k-a-week earning Konate to play against some of Wolves’ attacking players such as Raul Jimenez, Adama Traore and Hwang Hee-chan as the Old Gold will presumably be on the attack given how they’ve only managed to pick up two 0-0 draws in their two previous games.

In other news: Big relief: Klopp given major LFC boost as transfer claim emerges, fans surely buzzing – opinion

Taking to Twitter, Foot Mercato journalist Sebastien Denis has broken some West Ham United transfer news involving RC Strasbourg striker Ludovic Ajorque.

The Lowdown: West Ham in striker hunt…

In perhaps the worst-kept secret of the January transfer window, Irons manager David Moyes and new transfer chief Rob Newman have their eyes firmly placed on bringing in a new striker alongside other additions.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

There have been plenty of names linked with a move to east London, including Flamengo’s Gabriel Barbosa and Blackburn’s Ben Brereton-Diaz, with Moyes and Newman seemingly looking under every rock.

The latter has been tasked with assisting West Ham in the transfer market after leaving his role of chief scout at Manchester City, coming with a big reputation from his time at Eastlands (The Athletic).

As of yet, the head of recruitment has been unsuccessful in clinching any West Ham deals, but he has now set his sights on a new target.

The Latest: Newman eyeing Ajorque…

According to French journalist Denis, West Ham and by extension Newman have set their sights on Strasbourg’s in-form talisman Ajorque amid their drawn-out search for centre-forward options.

The journalist explained on Twitter: “Looking for a 9 for many months, West Ham is interested in Ludovic Ajorque, the Strasbourg serial scorer, current 2nd top scorer in L1 with 10 goals.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

Reliable West Ham insider ExWHUemployee recently claimed that the Irons were looking for talent in Ligue 1, with the French top flight potentially becoming a solution for Newman (West Ham Way).

It is therefore no surprise to see another name from France linked with a move to West Ham, but going by his numbers, Ajorque could be a shrewd option.

Alongside his impressive strike rate this season, the 27-year-old has notched an impressive total of 79 senior career goals and is an imposing threat going forward.

Compared to West Ham’s current squad, the towering 6 foot 5 striker has averaged a colossal 3.7 aerial duels won per 90 over 17 league starts – far more than any Irons player this season (WhoScored).

An aerial threat and proven in front of goal, it’s little wonder the Hammers and Newman now hold an interest in Ajorque.

In other news: West Ham source: Newman also moves to sign ‘devastating’ forward after price plummets by £32m, find out more here.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says that there is a ‘huge case’ for Newcastle United’s prospective owners selling shares to the club’s Supporters Trust.

The proposed £300m takeover by the Saudi Arabia-led consortium collapsed last summer (via the Guardian), but there is still hope that it can be revived.

What’s happening with Newcastle’s takeover now?

According to The Telegraph, the offer will be resubmitted if Newcastle are successful in their arbitration case against the Premier League. A panel will adjudicate on the reasons behind the failure of the takeover.

If they were to complete the deal at long last, they would be presented with a dilemma. The Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) has asked for donations from fans as it looks to secure a 1% stake in the football club.

‘You’ve been through a challenging decade under Mike Ashley’

Maguire told Football Insider: “I think there is a huge case for the new owners saying: ‘You’ve been through a challenging decade under Mike Ashley, we’re completely open and transparent and we would like you to come on board’.”

However, he went on to explain that there would be a way to limit fan involvement, saying: “If the new owners want to invest heavily, one way to do that is to issue loads more shares. Then all of a sudden, that one percent could become half a percent.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

As Maguire noted, it would be an excellent PR move if the new owners were seen to embrace the 1892 Pledge, an action which would surely start off the new era on the right foot.

This all remains hypothetical for now, of course. According to The Athletic, the crucial arbitration process still hasn’t begun in earnest and is moving along at a ‘painfully slow’ pace. Also, Maguire noted that the incumbent Mike Ashley ‘hates’ the NUST idea and wouldn’t countenance it.

It seems a commendable idea on theory, but the practicalities of pulling it off could be difficult.

In other news, Newcastle could lose this player in the summer.

Rangers have been hit or miss in the transfer market over the previous few years, with the Premiership side often reluctant to splash out on transfer fees and in turn, this results in free transfers and loan signings at Ibrox.

This campaign has been no different, under both the ex-manager and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Some players such as John Lundstram and Fashion Sakala have turned out quite well after a slow start, whereas Juninho Bacuna was back down in the English Championship after only five months in Glasgow.

With the club six points clear at the top of the league in January, the onus was on the new manager to strengthen, which he didn’t.

Bringing in Amad Diallo who is young and raw hasn’t paid off and the club should have moved for a player former Rangers legend Brian Laudrup called a “crowd-pleaser”, the Denmark international Andreas Skov Olsen.

The Ibrox side were perennially linked with Olsen during the summer and January transfer windows to no avail, as Club Brugge’s Champions League riches won the battle as they signed him for £6.3m from Bologna.

The right-winger’s stats have been fantastic since moving to Belgium, scoring five times and laying on seven assists for his teammates in only 12 matches since January.

Compare this to Diallo’s stats since his arrival; eight matches, one goal, and no assists and you can see which player Rangers really should have pushed the boat out for.

Hopefully, this is a lesson for Ross Wilson, although the Ibrox side are now traditionally a selling club, signing players who will immediately improve the first team will more often than not pay the club back with performances and excellent stats.

Club Brugge prevailed where Rangers didn’t take their opportunity and it was a poor choice from Wilson.

AND in other news, Gough 2.0: Van Bronckhorst could save Rangers millions with “superb” rarely-seen 18yo

A number of Liverpool fans have been reacting to the news that Reds youngster Layton Stewart has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, the latest such blow to afflict the club.

It has been a cruel season for the Premier League champions, with Jurgen Klopp having to deal with an endless stream of injuries.

Liverpool are currently having to make do without Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip for the rest of the campaign, while the likes of Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, James Milner, Thiago and Diogo Jota have also missed noticeable chunks of action in 2020/21 to date.

[freshpress-poll id=“348883″]

While the Reds’ problems appear to be easing a little now, with Jota and Keita both returning recently, youngster Stewart suffered a devastating setback at the weekend, injuring his ACL in Liverpool under-23s’ 1-1 draw with their West Ham counterparts on Saturday. The teenager confirmed the news via Instagram, with a screenshot of his post shared by journalist Neil Jones on Twitter.

It means the promising 18-year-old’s season has been ended prematurely, with the striker expected to be missing for several months, having suffered the same fate that Van Dijk did against Everton back in October.

Liverpool fans bemoan Stewart’s injury setback

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to provide their reactions to Stewart’s “heartbreaking” injury, expressing their sadness for him and wishing the youngster a speedy recovery.

“Heartbreaking. He will be back stronger”

Credit: @CaoimheSport

“So gutted for him. He looked in agony”

Credit: @annemullin1

“Take it easy and be back soon”

Credit: @englishjen2

“YNWA”

Credit: @AlbaUnda

“Get well soon Layton and come back stronger. YNWA”

Credit: @BigTallTweets1

“Sorry for Layton Stewart. ACL injury after coming back from long term ankle injury. Damn LFC are cursed this season.”Credit: @NasiruRashid7

In other news: Some Liverpool fans beg for a major Bundesliga signing – read more about it here.

Kevin Phillips believes it is “almost impossible” Borna Barisic will stay at Glasgow Rangers given the interest in him from Premier League clubs.

The Lowdown: Interest in Barisic

Barisic has attracted plenty of attention from south of the border thanks to his performance for the Gers over the past couple of seasons.

Leeds United as well as Aston Villa, Arsenal and Wolves have all been linked with a move for the left-back.

The Latest: Phillips expects transfer

Speaking to Football Insider in the wake of the news of all this interest, Phillips believes it will be very difficult for the Gers to hold on to the Croatia international this summer. He said:

“I’ve always said the draw of the Premier League, does it outweigh playing in the Champions League?

“At the end of the day, Rangers are never gonna win the Champions League. They can give it a good go and try and get as far as they can.

“But the chance to play in the Premier League, week in, week out, probably outweighs that in my opinion.

“So it’s almost impossible to turn down a Premier League side. Of course, the finances are gonna be a lot different as well.

“There are quite a few clubs looking for a left-back. It’s a specialised position and they’re not very common. So it will be interesting to see how that one unfolds.”

The Verdict: Champions League is Gers’ joker card

Barisic showed his attacking threat last term with five goals and 14 assists in all competitions (Transfermarkt), while he was also part of a team that conceded just 13 goals in the league – he is crucial for the Gers on both sides of the ball.

It was a marvelous campaign for the £5.4m-valued 28-year-old (Transfermarkt), who is currently away at Euro 2020 with his country.

That will only attract attention from other sides, and Barisic does not have too long left for a big move. The Gers’ Champions League fate may play a big role in the defender’s future – qualification for the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition may be enough to convince him to stay for one more year.

Fail to get past the qualification rounds however, and Phillips’ concern may just come to fruition.

In other news, Rangers fans were livid at this Euro 2020 news.

According to journalist Duncan Castles on the latest episode of the Transfer Window Podcast, Manchester City ‘hold an interest’ in signing Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto – prompting many Sky Blues to beg for the ‘dream signing’.

Neto, who has been a mainstay under Nuno Espirito Santo this season, grabbing five goals and five assists in 28 Premier League starts whilst also winning five Man of the Match awards (WhoScored), continues to entice interest from the Sky Blues.

Castles explains that while City officials were scouting Adama Traore last season, they started to see the quality of Neto as he became more of a regular in the Wolves team – resulting in some interest.

The journalist also reveals that City, and by extension sporting director Txiki Begiristain, still hold this fondness for the 21-year-old – with City supporters begging for his acquisition as a result.

One supporter called him a ‘dream signing’, and given his form this season, it’s not hard to see why.

Find all of their best verdicts down below, after the news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra.

City fans beg for Neto signing

“Dream signing”

Credit: @kwameKonfanko

“OMG YESSSSS”

Credit: @SilkyCyrus_74

“Music to my ears ..”

Credit: @DavidTheOneOnly

“PLEASE I BEG”

Credit: @DylanMCFC

“City pls make this happen”

Credit: @BerradiBenny

“Yes please”

Credit: @FerociousFerran

“Give them whatever they want for him! Lads going to the top”

Credit: @MikeyTidmas

“I’d bin Mahrez in half a second for him, I’m sorry”

Credit: @CanceloCulture

In other news: Man City fans were ecstatic by this ‘great news’, find out more here.

A reliable journalist has named five players that Newcastle United may sign in the summer transfer window as an alternative to Joe Willock.

The Lowdown: Willock may not join Newcastle permanently

As well as Willock has done in the North East since arriving at St. James’ Park from Arsenal on loan in January, there is no guarantee that the deal could be made into a permanent one, and so Steve Bruce’s team may have to look at alternative targets to find someone to add end product from midfield.

As money could well be tight due to the financial impact of the global pandemic, players who will become free agents in the summer could be a fruitful market to go to.

The Latest: Five players Newcastle could target

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, journalist Sean McCormick has named five players that the Tyneside club could target in the summer if they run their respective contracts down.

The Toon Army will be familiar with the names of John Lundstram and James McCarthy, who both currently play in the Premier League for Sheffield United and Crystal Palace respectively, while Alex Mowatt has been captain of a Barnsley side who have taken up an unlikely position in the EFL Championship play-off places.

Hakan Calhanoglu and Alan Dzagoev have both featured prominently on both the European and international stage, and while the Magpies are very unlikely to sign up all five, one or two may be smart buys if they do not have to pay any transfer fees.

The Verdict: Little risk with free signings

There is little risk involved with signing players on a free transfer, as they are sure to have some resale value.

Taking the Transfermarkt values of each of the five players mentioned above currently, Calhanoglu (£31.5m), Lundstram (£6.3m), Mowatt (£3.6m), McCarthy (£3.15m) and Dzagoev (£3.15m) could save NUFC nearly £50m in potential transfer fees if they signed up all of them.

Of course, that is not going to happen, but even signing one or two of these players as free agents would certainly count as shrewd business if they can prove effective long-term or even for a short period before being sold for profit.

In other news, find out what big claim has been dropped on the potential takeover here!

Ivan Toney endured something of a shocker on Monday evening as Brentford slipped up in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final against Bournemouth.

Having been in a remarkable run of form towards the business end of the season, with Thomas Frank’s side going 12 games unbeaten in the run-up to the play-offs, the side who finished third in the Championship table appeared to be the strong favourites over a Bournemouth team who had finished 10 points behind them in sixth.

The goalscoring form of Toney seemed to be yet another string to the Brentford bow heading into the clash, with the 25-year-old having scored a remarkable 31 Championship goals in addition to registering 10 assists over his 46 appearances in the second tier this season.

However, both Brentford and Toney were completely nullified by Jonathan Woodgate’s side on Monday evening, with the Cherries nabbing a 1-0 win against the Bees thanks to a second half Arnaut Danjuma strike.

Toney’s performance was particularly disappointing, with the £16.2m-rated centre-forward managing no shots on or off target and a mere one shot blocked over the course of the 90 minutes. The former Peterborough United man also saw very little of the ball at the Vitality Stadium, managing just 40 touches, significantly fewer than that of Brentford’s goalkeeper David Raya, who had 54 touches.

Even when the £21k-per-week striker did have the ball at his feet he often proved rather careless, losing possession 14 times as well as completing only 14 of his 24 attempted passes, a success rate of just 58%.

Indeed, Toney’s overall SofaScore match rating of 6.8 is something which will have to be considerably improved upon if Brentford are to have any hope of progressing to the play-off final, as the striker, who has often been the Bees’ saviour this season, badly let Frank down on Monday as their promotion hopes took a huge dent.

According to RMC Sport, Marseille chiefs have been left angry with defender Duje Caleta-Car after he refused to join West Ham United or Wolverhampton Wanderers before the deadline.

The Lowdown: West Ham summer completed…

As the Irons have completed their summer business, it’s safe to say most supporters will be fairly happy with the outcome given they had just Alphonse Areola to show for a majority of the window.

In the end, manager David Moyes came out with Aroela, centre-back Kurt Zouma, midfielder Alex Kral and attacker Nikola Vlasic – with only the lack of another striker being a sour point.

The central defensive area was a big topic for much of the window, and before West Ham landed Zouma, they were apparently in the mix to land Caleta-Car from Marseille.

The Latest: Marseille chiefs angry with Caleta-Car…

As per RMC Sport, chiefs at the Ligue 1 giants are angry with Caleta-Car after he refused to join West Ham a few weeks ago, or Wolves before the deadline.

Marseille apparently needed to ‘lift some of the constraints’ weighing on the club in this transfer market and were desperate to find a solution to sell the player.

Valencia came forward in the last minute but to no avail, with the 24-year-old now set to stay at the Stade Vélodrome in January.

The Verdict: Blessing in disguise?

Despite Caleta-Car having perks of his own, standing at a colossal 6 foot 4 and possessing the physicality for Premier League football, Zouma stands out as the better option.

The latter man has a wealth of experience both in Europe and the English top-flight – all while being a calm and composed option at the back for West Ham.

He averaged an impressive 90.9% pass accuracy out from the back over 22 league starts for Chelsea last season and even pitched in with five goals going forward (WhoScored).

Missing out on the £22.5 million-valued Caleta-Car could actually come as a blessing in disguise.

In other news: ‘Yayyyy’, ‘Ooooo’, ‘Actually mental’…West Ham fans rave over ‘fantastic news’, find out more here.