All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Celtic have been handed a potentially significant boost in their pursuit of Liverpool defender Ben Davies.

What’s the story?

The Hoops have been chasing the 25-year-old centre-back for several months now, with their interest originating when he was still a Preston North End player.

After deciding to move to Anfield over Parkhead back in January, Davies failed to make a solitary appearance for the Reds and is set to depart the club without playing a single minute, according to the Scottish Sun.

Ange Postecoglou will love him

Jurgen Klopp brought the Englishman to Merseyside in a £1.6m deal following season-ending injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, but fitness issues of his own saw Davies sidelined for the entire second half of 2020/21.

With the trio set to return to action ahead of the upcoming campaign, plus the arrival of Ibrahima Konate and the emergence of Nat Phillips, opportunities are expected to be extremely limited for the central defender, meaning Liverpool are open to his exit.

Celtic may have to move quickly in order to secure Davies’ signature, though, with recently-relegated Sheffield United also believed to be keen on the experienced Championship man after Brighton’s Matt Clarke opted to sign for West Brom instead of them.

The lure of European football and the potential to win some silverware may make the Glasgow giants a more attractive option than the Blades, and new Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou will be hoping that that’s the case.

Postecoglou is known to prefer his sides play a passing game, recently emphasizing that he wants Celtic to play one or two-touch football during an open mic training session.

Davies is known for being competent with the ball at his feet and particularly adept at playing long passes, meaning the Australian tactician would surely love to have the Liverpool man in Glasgow.

The £60k-per-week defender was previously labelled as ‘different class’ for his performances whilst at Southport, with their manager Paul Carden lavishing praise on the 6 ft gem in an interview with The Athletic.

“He was a different class, and I did think he’d get in Preston’s first team. If you’d have asked me whether he’d sign for Liverpool, I probably wouldn’t have said so.”

Only time will tell if the Celtic hierarchy follow up their interest in Davies with a concrete offer, but Postecoglou and the club’s supporters will surely be urging them to get this deal over the line.

And, in other news…Celtic agree deal for £4.5m Ajer replacement, he’s a big upgrade on Duffy

Writing for football.london, reliable Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has made a claim involving Nuno Espirito Santo and promising young defender Joe Rodon.

The Lowdown: Big season ahead…

As Nuno prepares for his first full season at the Tottenham helm after signing a two-year deal, the Portuguese has the mountainous task of restoring pride in the club after a summer of shambles.

Tottenham took over two months to appoint a new boss, holding successive managerial talks with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso (BBC).

Now the Lilywhites can finally focus on how they approach next season, with Gold revealing who Nuno may select more far more often over 2021/2022.

The Latest: Gold drops Rodon claim…

Writing for football.london, Gold has claimed that the new Tottenham manager could turn to Rodon next season as more of a mainstay in the team.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-3/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Indeed, the Portuguese is now ‘expected’ to make ‘much more use’ of the Welshman, especially after an impressive Euro 2020 campaign for his country.

It is believed that the 23-year-old impressed plenty of people behind the scenes at Spurs during his debut season after he had to make the most of very limited game time.

Rodon could also return for pre-season training slightly earlier than expected in order to get a head start on pre-season training under Nuno.

The Verdict: Good news…

The starlet certainly impressed at points over 2020/2021 and he arguably displayed better form at times than the likes of Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez.

Wales Online reporter Ian Mitchelmore has waxed lyrical over the ‘special player’ for his performances at international level and there is no reason he can’t replicate it for Spurs.

In what could be a major summer revamp for Tottenham at the back, it appears Rodon could have a larger role to play next season.

In other news: ‘I’d be excited, Spurs fans’…Stan Collymore thrilled by major news out of N17, find out more here.

Ange Postecoglou is already eyeing up his former players as Celtic have been linked with a move for Yokohama F. Marinos forward Ado Onaiwu, via Glasgow Live.

The Lowdown: Postecoglou to assess targets in quarantine

Postecoglou was confirmed as Celtic’s new manager on Thursday, 106 days following Neil Lennon’s resignation in February.

The 55-year-old left Yokohama F. Marinos to pen a 12-month rolling contract at Parkhead, and he’ll reportedly assess potential targets during his isolation period in Scotland.

It appears as if he may well already have his eyes on one of his former players if recent reports are to be believed.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-5/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Onaiwu links

According to the Daily Record, relayed by Glasgow Live, Postecoglou is ‘on alert’ regarding Onaiwu’s future.

The 25-year-old, who has scored 65 goals in his career to date, is out of contract in January 2022, so now is the time for his club to cash in if he is not going to sign a new deal.

Onaiwu, who is yet to turn out for his country, has impressed at club level and was actually called up to Japan’s senior squad recently.

The Verdict: New manager not wasting time

There’s no denying Postecoglou will need several summer signings, especially in the attacking areas, so a cut-price move for Onaiwu could be a solid starting point.

Odsonne Edouard has told friends he will be quitting Parkhead for Leicester City, Mohamed Elyounoussi has returned to Southampton and Leigh Griffiths’ future is up in the air.

Should Edouard and Griffiths depart, the Hoops would be left with Albian Ajeti as their only recognised centre-forward.

On that basis, bringing in a player who has scored goals for the new Celtic manager previously could be priceless in his first season in the Hoops hotseat.

In other news: Celtic to miss out on long-term target, find out more here. 

Leeds United are set to miss out on signing Fleetwood Town teenager Josh Feeney, with Aston Villa reportedly on the verge of snapping him up.

The Lowdown: Leeds linked with Feeney

The Whites may be eying up first-team reinforcements this summer, but they have also been linked with a move for Feeney, who is the current England Under-16s captain.

The highly-rated youngster has been watched by a host of clubs, such is his potential, with Leeds tussling with the likes of Wolves, Leicester City and Celtic for his services.

The Latest: Aston Villa set to sign youngster

It looks as though Villa have won the race to sign Feeney, however with the Birmingham Mail reporting that the centre-back has been in talks with them in recent days.

The player’s representatives were believed to be ‘impressed’ by what Villa had to offer, seeing a potential path into the first-team for him eventually.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-copy-2/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Verdict: Long-term blow

While missing out on Feeney is no great issue currently, with Leeds possessing strong centre-back options in Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk, it is a potential long-term hit.

The defender clearly has a huge amount of promise moving forward going by the huge fight for his signature, and with Marcelo Bielsa hopefully looking to set the Whites up for a strong future, signing him would have been a positive.

Only time will tell if Feeney makes the grade, but having great English talent in the academy squad is always preferable, so this is a blow for Victor Orta and co.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with a move for an exciting youngster – find out who it is here. 

Lots of Manchester City fans are delighted after Jack Grealish removed a number of tweets criticising the Citizens from his Twitter profile.

Last term, City achieved plenty of success as they won the Premier League and Carabao Cup, but their defeat in the Champions League final to Chelsea in Porto meant the campaign signed off on a sour note. As such, there is likely to be plenty of business conducted at the Etihad Stadium this summer as Pep Guardiola gets his side ready for another season.

One of their prime targets this summer is Aston Villa and England ace Grealish (caughtoffside.com). It appears that the £58.5m-valued (Transfermarkt) 25-year-old may have given an indication that he could be on the move this summer as he took to Twitter to remove several tweets from a few years ago in which he criticised the Citizens.

The update was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on his recent online activity.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Grealish update

“Submit the bid”

Credit: @_BhekemuziG

“Probably the best sign there’s been so far this”

Credit: @Aruldddd

“he’s coming home then”

Credit: @MoSakoooo

“He’s coming to play with his idol KING KEV”

Credit: @Kidus17179630

“He’s coming home”

Credit: @CitehEra

“It’s happening”

Credit: @thecityzensfc

In other news, lots of Man City fans want the club to sign this Euro 2020 star in the summer.

Leicester City have been linked with a move for Borussia Monchengladbach winger Jonas Hofmann ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to German outlet Bild, the Foxes are keen to prize the 28-year-old away from the Bundesliga outfit as Brendan Rodgers looks to strengthen his squad over the summer.

The report also claims that fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and La Liga giants Atletico Madrid are vying for Hofmann’s signature.

Rodgers needs him

Leicester enjoyed an impressive 2020/21 campaign, sealing their maiden FA Cup crown before narrowly missing out on a Champions League qualification spot.

Injuries to several key stars badly affected Rodgers’ charges throughout the season, with a lack of strength in depth noticeable upon their absence.

Harvey Barnes was flying before a serious knee injury ruled the 23-year-old out for the remainder of the campaign, and the drop-off in quality among his direct replacements led to a slight change of system for the Midlands outfit.

AS Roma forward Cengiz Under arrived on a season-long loan last summer and was expected to add an exciting and intriguing option to the Leicester attack.

However, the Turkey international failed to settle in England, with Rodgers seemingly remaining unconvinced over his tactical discipline.

Although Under would have been the most natural alternative to the injured Barnes, Rodgers often opted for either Ricardo Pereira, a full-back, or Ayoze Perez, an attacking midfielder, to fill the void out wide.

Under made just one Premier League start during his time at the King Power Stadium, failing to find the back on the net while on league duty throughout a bitterly disappointing loan spell.

His return to Rome leaves the door open for a replacement which Rodgers desperately needs, and director of football Jon Rudkin may have found the perfect one in Hofmann.

The Germany international has impressed at Monchengladbach for many years now and was particularly impressive in 2020/21, bagging eight goals and providing 13 assists in all competitions.

If Leicester want to finally break into the top four next season, then the addition of Hofmann could prove to be pivotal.

And, in other news…Rudkin masterclass: LCFC must seal “dazzling” £22.5m-rated gem, Rodgers needs him 

Daniel Farke’s Norwich City right-back Max Aarons is attracting an increasing amount of interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who, speaking on a recent episode of his Here We Go podcast (via Football League World), claimed that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have now joined the race for the 21-year-old.

The City star is also reported to be attracting interest from Manchester United, Bayern Munich, West Ham United and Everton this summer – with Norwich believed to be demanding a fee of around £30m to part with the England U21 international.

Fans will be gutted

While the sheer amount of interest in Aarons would appear to indicate that the right-back looks set to depart Carrow Road in the upcoming transfer window, the report of yet another side who intend to pinch the youngster away from the Canaries is nonetheless likely to come as gutting news for fans of the club.

Indeed, the £18m-rated defender has been influential to Norwich gaining promotion back to the Premier League in the season just past, with the 21-year-old scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating five big chances over his 45 Championship appearances, as well helping his side keep a whopping 17 clean sheets.

In addition, the right-back also made an average of 0.9 interceptions, 0.7 tackles and 1.4 key passes per game last term, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 6.97 – ranking him as Farke’s 12th-best performer in the second tier.

As such, if Aarons – who has been dubbed by Aidy Boothroyd as an “outstanding” player – is to move on to pastures new this summer, it would not appear to bode well for Norwich’s chances of retaining their status as a top-flight team come the end of next season, unless Stuart Webber can somehow find an apt replacement for the extremely talented 21-year-old.

In other news: Webber must seal NCFC deal for “unbelievable” £4.3k-p/w gem after major update emerges – opinion

Some Liverpool supporters are desperate for the Reds to snap up Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic this summer following a fresh update on his future.

While much of the talk this season has understandably revolved around Liverpool’s centre-back woes, that has been far from their only issue.

It could actually be argued that their wastefulness in front of goal became even more problematic as the campaign went on, with the likes of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino well below their best.

[freshpress-quiz id=“355458″]

Fortunately, it didn’t cost Jurgen Klopp’s side in the end, with a third-place finish sealed on Sunday, but the manager may still be eyeing up summer reinforcements in attack.

One player who has been linked with a move to Anfield in the summer is Vlahovic, who has taken Serie A by storm in 2020/21, scoring 21 goals in 37 appearances for Fiorentina.

According to Corriere dello Sport [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter], the Reds are still keen on signing the 21-year-old, although a big offer will likely need to be made to prise him away.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-2/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans keen on Vlahovic move

These Reds supporters took to Twitter to give their thoughts on the matter.

“Yes. He’s the one this summer. Get him in along with a quality wide player”

Credit: @LFCAnfieldRd

“He’s absolute quality”

Credit: @LB_78

“Gooooooooo”

Credit: @RyzRyB

“Yesssss glad”

Credit: @mrdude2304

“It would be interesting to see this lad at Anfield”

Credit: @LfcJohnny

“Get him”

Credit: @Xerneas321

In other news, some Liverpool fans want one Reds player to stay put this summer. Find out who it is here.

According to an update by Sky Sports journalist Matteo Moretto, writing on his Twitter, La Liga giants Barcelona are ‘thinking of’ signing Manchester City star Raheem Sterling this summer. 

The Englishman, who has made a stellar 292 appearances for the club overall since he signed from Liverpool in 2015, scoring 114 goals in that time, is the subject of intense speculation regarding his future.

Sterling has arguably underperformed somewhat when compared to previous years, with the 26-year-old scoring less than half of his 2019/2020 tally in all competitions last season (Transfermarkt).

Reports even suggested he could be used as a makeweight to sign Harry Kane this summer, with Sky reporter Moretto now sharing a twist that Barcelona are eyeing a move.

Reacting to this development, there have been no shortage of varying takes from City supporters – with some in disbelief over the amount of links emerging between Barca and City players.

Others, meanwhile, urged the Sky Blues to offload.

Find a flavour of their best takes down below.

Man City fans flock to Sterling development

“Take him pleaseee”

Credit: @gggd_MCFC

“They are going crazy now..they want every player from us”

Credit: @MancityBongola1

“Siiuuuuuuuuuuuu”

Credit: @SazMCFC

“So Barcelona want to sign our whole squad basically”

Credit: @Priceless_Silva

“This one I agree 100%”

Credit: @Mike_MCFC_

“This is crazy. At this rate, the next thing I will read is that: Barcelona are “thinking of” and are “actively pursuing” the idea of buying Manchester City Football Club.”

Credit: @King_Kevin100

“Give us Messi and it’s a deal”

Credit: @kdbking17_

“Take him”

Credit: @dickson_mancity

In other news: Man City fans absolutely livid at this news, find out more here.

Liverpool have seemingly begun the process of replacing Mo Salah with a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho.

The current Reds’ star has long been linked with a move away from Liverpool, with French giants Paris Saint Germain thought to be the latest club to open talks with the Egyptian, according to Telefoot.

As a result, Liverpool have been linked with a swoop for Sancho, with reports in Spain indicating that FSG would be willing to part with €100m (£86m) to bring him to Anfield in a deal that would be beneficial for the Reds.

Since signing for Dortmund from Manchester City, the English winger has been nothing short of sensational.

At just the age of 21, he has made 131 appearances for BVB, scoring 46 goals and providing a further 60 assists at a rate of a direct goal contribution rate of 0.8 per game in all competitions.

His performances have certainly earned him praise from all quarters with former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann labelling the wideman as “world-class”.

For comparison, Sancho’s numbers are certainly not behind that of current Reds forward Salah.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news%2c-transfer-rumours-and-more-asensio-vlahovic-van-dijk-alberto-pedri” title=” Read the latest Liverpool news, transfer rumours and more…”]

Since the Egyptian’s arrival from Roma, he has made 197 appearances for the Reds, scoring an eye-watering 122 strikes and laying on a further 45. It means that Salah is only marginally more productive than Sancho at a goal contribution rate of 0.84 per match.

Interestingly enough, the 28-year-old is outperformed by the Dortmund man in most other facets of the game.

According to WhoScored, whilst Salah takes more shots per game in the league at 3.3 compared to 2.1, Sancho excels in key passes, dribbles and passes per game.

It all goes to show then that should Liverpool elect to sell their ‘Egyptian King’ at some point in the near future, £190k per week Sancho would certainly be a very capable heir to his crown at Anfield.

AND in more news, read which other Borussia Dortmund star the Reds must also try to bring to the club this summer…