All posts by z3u9t.icu

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle’s interest in Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho.

What’s the talk?

According to Spanish outlet Sport, Newcastle’s new owners PIF are in talks with Barcelona over a potential January deal for the Brazil international.

The report claims that the Magpies are keen on a swoop for the attacking midfielder and are able to afford Barcelona’s €50m (£42m) valuation.

Fans would be ecstatic

Newcastle fans would surely be ecstatic if PIF are able to secure a deal to sign Coutinho in January. If this report is accurate, the Saudi Arabian consortium are showing immediate ambition in the transfer market, as he would represent a significant boost to the current playing squad.

Coutinho has played in the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga throughout his career for Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively and would give a lift to the players at St James’ Park. The 29-year-old is a Champions League winner and has won league titles in both Spain and Germany, which means that he would arrive with pedigree and could be respected by the other players at the club.

In his last 18 months at Liverpool, Coutinho produced 20 goals and 13 assists in 41 Premier League starts for the Reds. He averaged a WhoScored rating of 8.03 in his final half-season at Anfield, with seven goals and six assists in 14 appearances.

His former Reds teammate Roberto Firmino claimed that the 29-year-old has ‘magical powers’ on the ball, saying (via Goal): “He’s phenomenal. You simply can’t say that he’s not a magician. He has magical powers. He produces plays that don’t exist, that you couldn’t make up.”

These quotes and Coutinho’s phenomenal statistics in England for Liverpool highlight why Newcastle fans would likely be over the moon if he is signed for £42m in January. He is a proven Premier League attacking midfielder and could come in and score the goals and provide the assists to lift Newcastle up the table, whilst also possibly being the first marquee addition of the new regime on Tyneside.

Therefore, PIF must ensure that they can get a deal over the line for Coutinho. Fans would be delighted with this piece of business due to his experience and quality, and it would be a shrewd first swoop by the owners to show the supporters that they are serious about competing at the top end of the table.

AND in other news, Football finance expert drops Newcastle budget claim which will surely leave fans buzzing…

A big Newcastle United transfer update has emerged, regarding their efforts to sign Jesse Lingard in the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, the Magpies are set to ‘throw everything’ at Manchester United to land the midfielder this month.

The reporter claims that sources have told him that the confidence over a deal being done has been growing over the weekend, with the window slamming shut in less than ten days.

Elation

This will surely leave Newcastle fans elated for several reasons. Firstly, they will be delighted to read that PIF are willing to make a huge effort to sign Lingard and that they will do whatever it takes to bring him to St. James’ Park.

It shows that they are willing to go the extra mile to land a key target and supporters will be happy with the club’s attempts to strengthen the attacking midfield position, albeit there may be frustration at the lack of progress in the centre-back department.

The fans will also be buzzing with this news simply because of the prospect of Lingard playing in black and white in the second half of the campaign.

He is a proven top-flight player and he could add some much-needed goals and assists to the side.

No Newcastle central midfielder has managed more than two combined goals and assists, after all, with Jonjo Shelvey, Sean Longstaff and Joelinton all on two.

Meanwhile, Lingard has two goals in 89 minutes of football in the Premier League this season and produced nine goals and four assists in the division on loan to West Ham last term.

Former Manchester United coach Michael Carrick once lauded the midfielder, saying: “I think his movement is excellent. It’s something that sounds quite simple, but it’s difficult to defend against.

“He senses where the space is and how to use it. I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s a dribbler with skills and tricks but he’s dynamic. How he plays, he is unique in some ways. You don’t see so much of that now as everyone wants to get on the ball. Off the ball, he’s very effective.”

This suggests that the England international could come in and score the goals that Howe has been lacking in the midfield areas.

Therefore, he could be a fantastic addition to the side and one that will leave fans feeling elated, due to his proven quality at this level.

AND in other news, Player keen: NUFC can find their new Demba Ba in £34m powerhouse who’s “like a train”…

West Ham are reportedly closing in on the loan signing of defensive midfielder Alex Kral from Russian side Spartak Moscow.

The Lowdown: West Ham doing deadline day business

The Hammers are in a good place on and off the pitch, shining in the Premier League under David Moyes and doing shrewd business in the transfer market.

Nikola Vlasic has already signed for West ham on deadline day and now another deal could get over the line.

The Latest: Kral set to join?

According to Russian Football News, Kral could join the Hammers on loan, joining up with Czech Republic compatriots Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal.

The source from a Russian outlet states the Irons want ‘one more RPL (Russian Premier League) player’ after Vlasic.

There will be an option to buy in the deal, with the 23-year-old winning 22 caps for his country to date.

The Verdict: Another shrewd addition

Kral could be a great signing for Moyes’ side, bringing more stability in the centre of midfield, especially with Mark Noble’s best days now behind him.

He could dovetail effectively in the middle of the park with either of Declan Rice or Soucek, having averaged 1.5 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game for Spartak in the Russian Premier League last season.

This gives Moyes the chance to rotate his star men in the middle once Europa League matches roll around, adding depth to a vital position.

In other news, some West Ham fans are excited by another transfer rumour. Read more here.

FC Porto midfielder Sergio Oliveira is on the transfer radar of Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias [via Molineux News]. 

The lowdown

The 29-year-old scored 13 league goals and provided five assists from his midfield berth last season. He averaged 1.7 tackles, 1.5 key passes and 3.1 accurate long balls per 90 minutes (via WhoScored).

His most memorable goal came in the Champions League. With five minutes remaining in extra time of the round 16 tie against Juventus, Oliveira netted a long-range free-kick to send FC Porto through on away goals.

He was called up to the Portugal squad for the European Championship, making two substitute appearances as the defending champions bowed out in the first knockout round against Belgium.

Oliveira signed a contract extension at the Estadio Dragao as recently as last December, with his new deal running until June 2025 (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

The report from Jornal de Noticias [via Molineux News] stated that Wolves manager Bruno Lage wants to sign an experienced midfielder in the remaining weeks of the window, and he ha’s identified Oliveira as a potential candidate.

Wolves are apparently willing to shell out €20m (£17m) on the Portugal midfielder.

The verdict

This would be some signing for Wolves. Oliveira is bang in his prime and genuinely seems to have a complete skillset for a central midfielder. As evidenced by his statistics from 2020/21, he carries a mightily impressive goal threat, creates opportunities for others and can also thwart opposition attacks.

A valuation of £17m seems fair for a player who could certainly help lift Wolves back into the top half of the Premier League if he were to replicate his FC Porto form in the Old Gold.

In other news, Wolves have also held talks over this midfielder. 

Having been without Diego Llorente for the past couple of games in the Premier League, Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa must surely call upon him when his side take on Watford this afternoon.

The Whites have seen the Spaniard only briefly in action this season, playing more than an hour in the 1-1 draw against Burnley, before being forced off with injury early on in the game against Liverpool three weeks ago.

However, having confirmed that he is now fit and available for selection, Bielsa must throw him straight into the deep end when they take on the promoted Hornets at Elland Road.

The “imperious” Spaniard, as hailed by Adam Pope, became a regular Leeds’ defence in the final few weeks of 2020/21, starting 13 of the last 14 games in that top-flight season and coming up with some impressive performances, not least netting a late equaliser against Liverpool.

He earned a WhoScored match rating of 6.90, which marked him out as the Whites’ second-best centre-back after Cooper, who was also the only player at the club to win more headers per game than Llorente’s 2.2.

Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan raved: “He looked every bit that leader and that quality centre-half that we were all expecting when he signed for the football club. There was great excitement about him it took a long time to get to see him consistently.

“But when we did, we saw him grow and grow and grow. We saw him get stronger and better as the games went on. If you ask any Leeds United fan who watched him in that second part of the season and ask them who would be the first centre-half on the team sheet, they would say Llorente.”

Given the poor start Leeds have made to the new Premier League campaign, a bit of quality at the back and bringing in someone as composed Llorente could ease some of the concerns regarding the team’s defending.

The £18m-rated ace could well be the game-changing return at the back which swings things back in Leeds’ favour heading into today’s clash with Watford.

Meanwhile, a journalist has dropped a Leeds United transfer update…

Paul Stewart thinks Tottenham’s lack of transfer activity could lead to them being a long way behind the Premier League leaders before the first international break.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s first competitive game as manager is a daunting clash against champions Manchester City on Sunday.

But whilst Tottenham have enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season, which included beating north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday, Santo isn’t likely to name any new faces in his starting XI to face City.

Bryan Gil has arrived from Sevilla, although he’s been at the Olympic Games and didn’t start training until this week, whilst goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini will be on the bench as back-up to Hugo Lloris.

Spurs’ latest signing Cristian Romero is expected to come straight into the backline, although only once he gets fully fit following an injury sustained in the Copa America final.

With Spurs’ lack of business completed, Stewart exclusively told Football FanCast that Santo’s side could easily be winless from their first three fixtures:

“I’m not saying you lose it, but you can be a long way behind. You need a pre-season and have time to settle in. You’d be worried if you were bringing them in after the season has started, and you can certainly lose sight.

“You can see nine points on the board for Man City, but at Spurs you can see them not winning a game and being seven or eight points behind. And that for me, it’s a distinct possibility.”

West Bromwich Albion have been had a number of concerns to attend to over the last week with a virus outbreak in the camp, and now an unexpected guest has made an appearance at The Hawthorns.

What’s the word?

West Brom journalist, Joseph Masi, dropped a bombshell yesterday afternoon on Twitter after revealing that the club’s controlling shareholder, Lai Guochuan, has made his first visit to the club for three years.

Masi put out a string of tweets, letting fans know what was happening;

“It is understood this is the first step towards Lai reintegrating himself back into the club. He had positive talks today with Ismael about the future and the upcoming January transfer window… #wba”

He then added;

“It’s believed Lai still wants to sell Albion. But he accepts a sale is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Therefore he wants to give his investment some TLC to help them back to the Premier League… #wba”

The 47-year-old businessman, who bought the club in 2016 for £200m, has gone to extreme lengths to make this visit, spending ten days in quarantine after flying to England, and when he does make the flight home to Guangzhou he will undergo a strict 28-day quarantine process, so the visit was clearly monumental for Lai.

Fans elated

Fans of West Bromwich Albion have always been vocal about their disappointment and anger towards Lai and his handling of the club, with many of them responding to Masi’s tweets about the visit to express their opinion;

One fan tweeted in response to Masi; “C’mon Joe this is absolute garbage… he’s doing all these fake meet & greets to smoke screen fans into believing he cares about our club. Attendances & interest is down currently. He’s a desperate man.”

Another fumed; “We want him gone too, to be honest. To sell we need to be in Premier League but he’s hoping we can go up without spending anything. Not happening. Cough up.”

Evidently, Baggies fans will be elated if Lai does eventually sell up so this update from Masi should provide them with some encouragement.

Supporters will definitely be expecting Lai to put his hands in his wallet this January as a lack of proper investment has, as a result, seen the club yo-yo-ing between the Championship and Premier League, with the side finding themselves unable to establish themselves in the top flight, facing constant relegation battles.

As a result, it’s clear to see that his time in the Midlands has not really been a success.

It will be intriguing to see what Lai’s next moves are for the club and whether he has a genuine interest in fixing the issues that West Brom currently face in a tight battle for automatic promotion.

The shareholder can make a real positive impact by signing players in January to help with goal-scoring, where the side is lacking compared to their two title rivals, Fulham and Bournemouth, and managing this problem could substantially increase the chances of promotion for the Baggies.

If he doesn’t do that, the discontent towards Lai will only grow deeper while the thought of him finally taking his leave will leave fans beaming with excitement.

In other news: Joseph Masi drops exciting behind the scenes claim

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Glasgow Rangers side head into Sunday’s Premiership clash knowing that they simply must secure all three points if they are to give themselves any chance of retaining their domestic crown this season.

Indeed, with their Glasgow arch-rivals currently leading by nine points in the league, the Light Blues cannot afford any slip-ups if they are to push the table-toppers as far as possible over the remaining five games of the 2021/22 campaign after today’s clash.

As such, while a trip to Stephen Robinson’s 10th-placed St Mirren should not cause the Europa League quarter-finalists too many problems, Van Bronckhorst must nevertheless ensure that he gets his team selection spot-on against the Buddies in order to secure victory.

While it is true Leon Balogun had something of a shocker in the 1-0 defeat to Sporting Braga last time out, it would appear as if Fashion Sakala is the most likely candidate for the chop on Sunday afternoon, as the 25-year-old well and truly fluffed his big chance leading the line for Rangers on Thursday.

Van Bronckhorst must axe Sakala

Indeed, over his 62 minutes on the pitch in Portugal, the centre-forward cost his side dearly through his wastefulness in front of goal and extremely poor hold-up play. The £3.6m-rated striker missed the target with both of his shots at goal – one of which was deemed a big chance – completed just three of his seven attempted passes and enjoyed just 20 touches of the ball.

The £10k-per-week forward also lost all 10 of his duels, committed two fouls, was flagged offside once and lost possession 11 times, meaning he gave the ball away with every 1.8 touches. These returns saw the 25-year-old earn a hugely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.1.

Furthermore, the Daily Record’s Andrew Newport also awarded the Zambia international a five in his own player ratings, stating of the centre-forward’s display: “Given the unenviable task of filling Alfredo Morelos’ boots but missed two huge chances to give Rangers the lead. Hold-up play was hopeless.”

As such, with Rangers needing to ensure that they take their chances on Sunday afternoon, Van Bronckhorst simply must axe Sakala from his starting XI, as the player who Tom Stoltman claimed “doesn’t cut it” could very well end up costing his side their Premiership crown against St Mirren.

AND in other news: Van Bronckhorst can axe £10k-p/w liability as Rangers eye “frightening” £8.4k-p/w “bag of tricks”

While things have started to look on the up for Wolverhampton Wanderers in recent weeks, having picked up 13 points from a possible 18 over their last six fixtures, Bruno Lage will nevertheless be hoping that his side turn in a much better performance than their last outing against West Ham United this weekend.

Indeed, prior to the international break, Wolves were comfortably brushed aside by Crystal Palace, with the 45-year-old’s men managing a mere two shots on target, as well as failing to create a single big chance, in the 2-0 defeat at Selhurst Park.

As such, considering their lack of cutting edge in the final third, it would seem highly advisable for the Portuguese boss to shake things up in his attacking lineup this weekend, with one player in particular looking to be an excellent candidate to step into the starting XI against the Hammers – in the shape of Daniel Podence.

Lage must unleash Podence

Despite having been handed only one Premier League start by Lage so far this season, Podence has nevertheless proven on a number of occasions that he would be more than deserving of a starting spot this weekend.

Indeed, over his 84 minutes on the pitch against a very strong Tottenham Hotspur side in the League Cup, the £22.5m-rated man was arguably Wolves’ star performer, scoring his side’s only goal of the game and earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.3 – the second-highest score of any Wolves player.

Furthermore, the 26-year-old’s introduction in the comeback victory against Aston Villa last month proved crucial to Wolves sealing all three points against their Midland rivals, with the £60k-per-week forward registering one assist, making one key pass and receiving a SofaScore match rating of 7.3 – despite only featuring for 16 minutes of the match.

As such, with Lage’s side having lacked any real attacking impetus against Palace, the 45-year-old simply must unleash the man Conor Coady dubbed “absolutely fantastic” this weekend, as Podence has already shown he is something of a game-changer.

In other news: Wolves dealt big setback on £51k-p/w gem who “players bounce off”, Shi surely fuming

Leeds United have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to keep Kalvin Phillips at Elland Road amid Manchester United’s reported interest this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Florian Plettenberg, with the Sky Sports Deutschland journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that United are currently “dealing” with the transfer of the defensive midfielder – with Ralf Rangnick’s side having been heavily linked with a £60m move for the England international this summer.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

Concerning Manchester United’s interest in the 26-year-old, Plettenberg said: “Been told that the club “is dealing” with Kalvin Phillips.”

Supporters will be fuming

Considering how important a part of the Leeds United side Phillips has become in recent years, in addition to the historic rivalry between Manchester United and the Whites, the news that the Red Devils look as if they are in discussions regarding a deal to sign the Leeds academy graduate this summer is sure to have left supporters fuming.

Indeed, while Phillips’ 2021/22 campaign has been severely hampered by a hamstring injury, the £45m-rated maestro undoubtedly proved over his 29 Premier League appearances last term that he is one of the leading defensive midfielders in the game, making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 2.6 tackles, 1.7 clearances and winning 5.3 duels – at a success rate of 52% – per game.

The £38k-per-week regista also impressed in a creative capacity, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to completing an average of 1.2 key passes, 4.7 long balls, 41 passes, four chipped through balls, 0.7 dribbles and one cross per fixture.

These returns saw the player who journalist Ali Martin dubbed “unreal” average an extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.21, not only ranking him as Leeds’ best performer in the league but also as the joint 17th-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, it is clear for all to see that losing the services of Phillips this summer would be something of a disaster for Jesse Marsch and his side, while the thought of the 26-year-old turning out for Manchester United next season is sure to be every Leeds supporter’s worst nightmare.

AND in other news: Victor Orta plotting Leeds bid for £20k-p/w “phenomenon”, it could be bye-bye Raphinha