All posts by h716a5.icu

After giving some of his fringe players the chance to shine on Thursday night, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta would no doubt have been happy with what he saw.

The Gunners ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Dundalk in the Europa League, making it two wins from win to start off their journey in Europe.

And one of the team’s goal-scorers on the night – Joe Willock – had a particularly impressive game in the middle of the park.

The England U21 international was joined by Mohamed Elneny in central midfield, and with the Egyptian tasked with holding and screening the defence, Willock was allowed to join in with attack.

That licence to roam forward was partly why he got himself on the score-sheet, receiving the ball inside the penalty area after an Arsenal counter-attack, before unleashing a fierce drive into the roof of the net.

Despite the fact some of his stats seem very questionable – he lost possession 20 times and lost 13 of his 14 duels – his overall energetic presence and willingness to take risks would have been pleasing for Arteta.

Speaking after the game, Willock himself said that he was pleased with his contributions, saying: “I thought I did well, I thought I contributed with a fair amount. That’s what I want to do, I want to score goals, create goals and to get an assist and a goal, I’m really happy to do that. I just want to push on and do it more in the Premier League.”

The £45k-a-week earning starlet will be hoping that his performance against Dundalk gives Arteta some food for thought going forward.

Everton could have put any and all transfer interest in Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha in the rear-view mirror, but the Goodison Park natives will now be rueing their failure to sign Fiorentina’s dynamic dribbler Gaetano Castrovilli this summer.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Gazzetta dello Sport, Castrovilli has revealed that he is now eying a new contract with his Serie A side that he hopes will run until 2025 after catching the attention of several European clubs this summer.

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti was said to have been one of the many admirers to have coveted the midfielder’s acquisition in the transfer market, per Calciomercato, but was informed along with Inter Milan, Juventus and unnamed Bundesliga outfits that he had been deemed unsellable following a three-goal, two-assist campaign in the Italian top-flight.

Fiorentina’s opposition to a deal eased somewhat as the window progressed with FC Inter News later claiming Castrovilli could fetch between €40m (£36m) and €50million (£45.1m), with RB Leipzig, SSC Napoli and Tottenham Hotspur now sniffing around the creator whom Inter were very hot to.

But no deal was ever made and Castrovilli clearly has no ill-feeling to the failure, having now stated that he wishes to impress his manager Giuseppe Iachini and take Fiorentina into Europe.

“My dream is to play in Europe with Fiorentina,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s nice that the top clubs have shown appreciation, but I only think of the Viola.

“Can I renew [my contract] until 2025? I’d like to. I’m fine in Florence, Fiorentina is like a family for me, so if the opportunity arises, I would certainly be happy [to stay].”

Forget Zaha

Everton could have forgotten all about their long-standing interest in Crystal Palace forward Zaha had Director of Football Marcel Brands orchestrated a deal to bring Castrovilli to the Premier League this summer.

The Toffees were touted to renew their efforts to sign Zaha by The Mirror in July following two failed bids in 2019, with Ancelotti backed as a big admirer of the Ivorian speedster whom Marco Silva refused to pay the Eagles’ £100m asking price for last year.

Blues hero Louis Saha continued to laud the potential of Zaha at Goodison Park in August, telling the Football Index podcast via The Express: “Zaha is a player who is capable of playing everywhere, he’s such a good player.

“If you want to improve your game, the foundations are there at Everton for you to achieve this. When I joined Everton, I found players and staff around me who had a desire to win trophies and improve the club’s infrastructure. Zaha would feel the same way if he joined Everton.”

Castrovilli would have been the better purchase, though, and Brands will be rueing not being able to add the 23-year-old to Ancelotti’s squad after he began the 2020/21 season with four goals and one assist in five Serie A appearances.

The 6-foot midfielder is also averaging 4.4 ground duels won (47%), 0.4 accurate crosses (100%), 1.6 shots, 0.6 key balls, 2.0 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 0.8 clearances a match in the Italian top-flight, per SofaScore, showing the level of skill he could have brought to Goodison Park.

His efforts in the centre of the pitch also led Football Whispers to laud his dynamic ability last season, having attempted an average of 4.48 take-ons per 90, of which he completed 3.38. Only four players in the Serie A were more successful than the one-time Italy international, who ranked tenth for attempts.

Now, Everton will likely watch on as Castrovilli takes his game to another level in years to come, knowing they missed an absolute gem in the 23-year-old midfielder who makes the left-hand side of the pitch his playground.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can repeat his summer masterclass by landing an Everton-linked £76k-p/w powerhouse.

Andrea Radrizzani has signed off on some seriously smart decisions during his time at Leeds, with the signing of Patrick Bamford being one of them. However, one call he recently made is a bit of a head-scratcher. The chairman opted to extend Gaetano Berardi’s contract until the end of the current season, despite his ongoing injury woes.

Over the last two seasons, the right-back has missed a total of 38 matches due to a flurry of injuries. He is currently sidelined at the moment with a ruptured ACL and may not feature again for Leeds.

Leeds should have cashed in on Berardi

Fitness issues aside, Berardi was becoming more and more of an inconsistent starter for the Whites. Last season, Berardi was dropped for 22 games and started just 12, playing a minimal role in the club’s historic Championship-winning campaign (via Transfermarkt).

The defender also sparks worry surrounding his discipline. He has missed a whopping 18 games during his Leeds career due to red card suspensions, which is not a trait Marcelo Bielsa will want to advertise in the Premier League. The top flight strikers will be able to exploit his lack of discipline and could seriously hurt the defence by drawing in fouls from him.

Radrizzani’s decision to extend his contract doesn’t make much sense, considering the fact he is on a reported £35,000 per week, which he will be earning whilst on the sidelines recovering from injury.

Leeds will need to take to the transfer market in January to bolster their options in goal as well as attack. Spending a mammoth £1.6million on Berardi’s wages for the year seems like a complete and utter waste of money. The 32-year-old will likely be leaving the club at the end of this season on a free contract. Radrizzani must surely be wondering why he bothered tabling a new deal in such a strange scenario.

In other news, Signing Fraser Forster will help Leeds improve Illan Meslier…

Glasgow Rangers delivered a big statement by beating Aberdeen at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon to send Steven Gerrard’s side six points clear of Celtic at the summit of the Scottish Premiership.

The 54-time Scottish champions struck twice in the first half before a goal from Scott Arfield after the break and James Tavernier’s eighth penalty of the season gave the Gers an unassailable four-goal lead.

However, there was one notable absentee, as Bongani Zungu was nowhere to be seen. It’s since been revealed that the South Africa international is still injured and will miss tonight’s game against Benfica in the Europa League at Ibrox. Ryan Jack also remains a doubt after suffering a knee injury whilst away on international duty.

This means that Gerrard will be without the new summer signing for the next group stage match, whilst Jack faces a race against time to prove his fitness, which may leave the Ibrox boss short of midfield options.

It’s likely the in-form Glen Kamara will be recalled to the starting line-up, which means that Gerrard will have to choose from Arfield, Joe Aribo and Steven Davis to form the midfield three.

Aribo could be in contention with Arfield having played the past two games in a row but the former Canada international has been the trusted man for the big occasion in recent years.

Gerrard has spoken admirably about the Canadian in the past, once describing him as the “perfect professional” and admitting “he’s like the glue in the dressing-room.”

The 32-year-old became Gerrard’s first signing after the former Burnley midfielder signed a four-year-deal in 2018 and he has repaid the favour with consistent performances over the years.

Arfield has made over a hundred appearances for the Gers, whilst he has scored 26 goals and supplied 17 assists in all competitions so far.

Naturally, the new signings have seen him somewhat fall down the pecking order, as he barely featured for the club at the beginning of the campaign, whilst his contract is set to expire in 2022. But this could be the best chance for him to stake his claim for a place in the starting line-up.

The Gers are currently tied with Benfica at the top of the Europa League Group D on seven points apiece, with the two sides sharing the spoils in Lisbon at the start of the month.

Whilst the Super Eagles fought back to tie the first game, Gerrard’s side will be viewed as the slight favourites off the back of their impressive home record, but they cannot afford to take the fixtures for granted, and Arfield will want to put in another commanding performance to send the Ibrox boss a timely reminder.

AND in other news, Davis and Hagi start, no room for Kemar Roofe: Glasgow Rangers Predicted XI vs Benfica…

Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move for Schalke centre-back Ozan Kabak in recent months, and whilst the Reds opted against bringing in him during the summer, a recent update on the Turkish international could lead them to sign him in next month’s window.

What’s the word?

According to Tuttosport newspaper (via Milan Live), the Bundesliga side are in dire straits this season and have therefore lowered their asking price for Kabak to just €15 million (£13.77 million).

The Reds are, of course, without the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez for the foreseeable future, so whilst Fabinho and Joel Matip have done a superb job at centre-back in recent weeks, surely the club wouldn’t turn down this opportunity to sign Kabak at such a cut-price fee?

The 20-year-old has earned a lot of plaudits for his performances in the Bundesliga in recent seasons, having already made 46 appearances in the German top-flight in his career.

Worldly-wise…

During his time with Stuggart, the defender earned the praise of sporting director Thomas Hitzlsperger, who said:

“It’s incredible how worldly-wise he is for his age. It’s astonishing. I see him every day and am amazed at how mature he is. He wants to know everything; he wants to learn German right away and understand everything. That’s the kind of attitude we need. He’s already a role model, despite his age.”

The Bundesliga website also compared the youngster’s style of play and ability to read the game to Real Madrid centre-back Sergio Ramos, so it seems as if the Reds would be getting a very talented player should they sign Kabak in January.

Considering he is currently valued at £22.5 million by Transfermarkt, to sign him for around £14 million in January would surely represent good business from the Merseyside club, especially if he can go some way towards easing the current defensive injury crisis at the club.

Even more so when he has a release clause of €45m (£40m), as per Bild (via BuliNews).

At 20-years-old, there’s no reason why Kabak couldn’t go on to have a long successful career at Liverpool, and perhaps he could be the man to replace Van Dijk in the long-term.

And, in other news… Liverpool handed huge transfer blow on “unbelievable talent”

According to a recent report from Eurosport, Celtic are chasing Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy in January.

What’s the word?

It’s claimed that the Hoops have been eyeing a move for the 30-year-old Glaswegian for several months.

McCarthy is also reportedly well aware of the interest coming in his direction from Parkhead and is apparently open to a move away from Selhurst Park due to a lack of game time this season.

Roy Hodgson has some tough decisions to make regarding several Palace players, including Belgian striker Christian Benteke, who have already entered the final few months of their contracts.

McCarthy has been a loyal servant of the club for many years now but the Scotsman could be off, with the Scottish Premiership champions seeing him as a capture in the next window.

Get it done, Eagles

Should McCarthy leave south London for the north of the border as is expected in January, Hodgson will need to find a replacement who is capable of filling the void left by his potential exit.

If McCarthy does indeed depart Selhurst Park, Palace’s long-term target and Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan could be the ideal option to provide a box-to-box presence in the midfield.

The Eagles were originally linked with a move for the 55-cap Turkey international in 2018, and he recently revealed he came very close to moving to Selhurst Park after a bright start to his career at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium before a deal collapsed at the last second.

He told Goal: “Crystal Palace had showed a real interest in me a few years back and I nearly signed for them. We even had our plane tickets to England. But right before the day we planned to fly to England, Crystal Palace’s Sako got injured.

“The board had an emergency meeting and they decided to sign a replacement for him. So my move failed. They signed Alexander Sorloth instead of me. The details on this are not widely known but yes, it happened to us.”

Reports in recent times from Turkey have reaffirmed those links to Palace, amid interest from Premier League rivals Everton and Fulham.

Valued at £9m via Transfermarkt, in 13 appearances in the Super Lig this season, the 25-year-old monster has scored four goals and supplied two assists, while he is averaging 1.2 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 1.8 shots and at least one key pass per game, via WhoScored. Not bad, not bad at all.

In contrast, even McCarthy has only mustered 0.2 shots and 0.2 key passes on average per game in the Premier League, as per WhoScored, albeit he has suffered an injury-disrupted campaign.

Proving both capable of playing at the back or in the midfield, Tufan could become a vital asset for this current Palace side, especially when you consider the fact McCarthy looks likely to leave Selhurst Park.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace must avoid signing Fiorentina striker Christian Kouame in January…

Is today the day that Celtic finally turn their season around?

It has been a topsy-turvy 2020/21 for Neil Lennon and co but with a Scottish Cup final to contest, it’s time to bring back positivity to Parkhead.

On the chalkboard

Only a few weeks ago, Hoops supporters turned out in their droves outside Celtic Park to protest against the management.

It was understandable too. The Bhoys are 13 points behind Rangers in their quest to win a tenth successive SPFL crown in a row and they were being battered on a constant basis in Europe.

However, after the hierarchy came out and backed Lennon, he has engineered two wins in a row against Lille and Kilmarnock.

The victory over Killie marked the club’s first clean sheet since the beginning of November, and they will have to take that confidence into their Scottish Cup final clash with Hearts.

If they lose, you really do fear for Lennon and the players. It will be nothing short of disastrous.

Therefore, how can they go about ensuring victory?

The solution

To put things simply, Celtic simply have to unleash David Turnbull on Hearts.

The Scot spent a period out with COVID-19 but has now recovered and since being instated in the side, has been nothing short of outstanding.

Against St Johnstone, Celtic’s creativity was questioned severely. They drew 1-1 and Tom Rogic, the club’s attacking midfielder on the day, managed just one shot and crucially he failed to play a single key pass.

Turnbull has now taken his place and been excellent, assisting goals against both Lille and Killie. As it happens, the summer signing also found the net against the French opposition in the Europa League.

The midfielder has been playing just right of centre and was phenomenal last time out, amassing as many as six shots and eight key passes. That’s a truly ridiculous record when you consider he’s only just forced his way into Lennon’s plans, starting three times this season.

Against Lille, he managed four shots and three key passes which versus such superior opposition, is seriously impressive. It’s hardly a surprise that Lennon thinks he’s got a “real touch of class.”

Turnbull is proving to be a fabulous addition and if the Bhoys are to have any chance of winning on Sunday, they need to start him.

Forget Rogic, the 21-year-old is now their main creative spark.

AND in other news, Celtic must unleash “wonderful” ace with “explosive power” on Sunday…

Farhad Moshiri must boot Jonas Lossl out of Goodison Park immediately amid reports that Inter Miami are in talks to sign the forgotten Everton goalkeeper.

What’s the word?

According to the Miami Herald, confirming reports by Tipsbladet, David Beckham’s Major League Soccer franchise are in the market for a host of new players ahead of the 2021 season as the England icon looks to take a more active role in the club’s football operations.

Miami opted against taking up their option to extend starting shot-stopper Luis Robles’ contract at the end of last season after their captain lost his role following a broken arm, while John McCarthy kept only one clean sheet in nine games after taking over the role.

Lossl is believed to be looking for a move away from Everton in 2021 after failing to establish himself at Goodison Park, with the 31-year-old still yet to make his debut one-and-a-half-years after joining the club as a free agent.

The one-cap Denmark international hopes a transfer away from Merseyside will aid his efforts to secure a role in his nation’s European Championship squad for this summer’s postponed tournament, having been an unused substitute in nine fixtures this term.

Olympique de Marseille are also believed to be in discussions with Lossl and his representatives, as the Ligue 1 side see the £28,000-per-week ‘keeper in a positive light following his successful years with Guingamp before joining Huddersfield Town.

Should Everton sell Lossl?

Lossl faced an uphill struggle to emerge as Everton’s first-choice goalkeeper following his return to Goodison Park in the summer, having seen Carlo Ancelotti hire AS Roma’s Robin Olsen on loan to understudy for Jordan Pickford and he now seeking a permanent deal for the Sweden international.

Olsen is clearly ahead of Lossl in Ancelotti’s thinking, with the Italian having called on the 30-year-old to feature on three occasions thus far, while Marco Silva’s goalkeeper signing continues to watch the action only from the bench or from outside of the match day squads.

Moshiri must see Lossl’s position, and the emerging interest, as a chance to recoup some of the cash Everton spent to bring the 6 ft 4 shot-stopper to Goodison Park in 2019, having so far seen the £1.5m spent on wages be totally wasted as he hasn’t even seen a second of action.

Ancelotti is unlikely to change that anytime soon, either, despite having an FA Cup tie at home to Championship strugglers Rotherham United to come this weekend as he is loath to hand out minutes without due cause.

“My desire was to give opportunities also to Lossl and [Joao] Virginia because they are good goalkeepers and training professionally but, unfortunately, I cannot do what I want sometimes,” the former Chelsea boss said, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo, last month.

Lossl is under contract at Goodison Park for a further year-and-a-half so will only continue to bleed Moshiri dry if a deal is not secured while interest is high and while the goalkeeper is eager to leave to secure his role in Denmark’s Euro 2020 squad.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can atone for his £18m summer mistake with an Everton raid for a relentless gem.

Aston Villa remain interested in signing Galatasaray defender Christian Luyindama.

What’s the story?

Reports over the summer transfer window suggested that the DR Congo international was a player Dean Smith’s side were looking at, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the deadline.

Now, Turkish publication Sampiy (via Sport Witness) claim that both Villa and fellow Premier League side Everton are closely interested in signing him, with the centre-back having just been put up for transfer for a fee of around €10m (£9m).

The report adds that Galatasaray are just waiting for an official offer to come in so that they can let him go and reinvest the money in their own side.

Lange’s second chance

Having missed out on his signing in the summer, Johan Lange has got the perfect chance to ensure Villa don’t miss out again by landing Luyindama this time around.

The 6 foot 3 titan has got plenty of experience of playing real top-level football over the years with Galatasaray, competing in both the Champions League and Europa League with the Turkish giants.

No categories

And with reports in recent weeks claiming that Bjorn Engels could be set for a return back to his native Belgium after really falling out of favour under Smith this season – he’s made no appearances for Villa whatsoever – a move for Luyindama would offset the loss of the 26-year-old.

If Lange is intent on strengthening Villa’s defence and ensuring Smith has got enough options at centre-back particularly after Engels’ potential departure, then Luyindama’s affordable price and experience makes him a shrewd signing.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa played an absolute blinder by selling this flop…

In recent comments made on Twitter, Ben Jacobs discussed the latest on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 2021-2025 plans for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the body that failed with a takeover of Newcastle United last year.

In Jacobs’ tweets, the journalist revealed that the Public Investment Fund Twitter account disabled comments on a video of Mohammed bin Salman unveiling his future plans for PIF due to the replies being ‘flooded with NUFC takeover talk’.

He continued by stating that this was in no way in relation to the potential resurrection of the takeover deal, but more the ‘social team’ of PIF ‘playing it safe to avoid any negative PR’.

And, when questioned by a fan as to why PIF decided to choose now as the time to disable comments, having never seemingly done so previously, Jacobs confirmed that ‘this is a big new phase of their plan’ and that they don’t want to ‘pull attention away from their main message’.

Transfer Tavern Take

With The Sun recently claiming that a ‘peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Qatar’, which was agreed earlier this month, could bring an ‘end to the piracy’ of BeIN Sports in Saudia Arabia, something which could ‘pave the way’ for the takeover deal to go through, the disabling of comments on PIF’s recent video, according to Jabobs, is not something that Newcastle fans should be worried about, it would seem as if there is indeed still the hope of the deal being resurrected at present.

In other Newcastle news, find out who has been named as a potential suitor for a transfer to NUFC here!