All posts by z3u9t.icu

A number of Manchester City fans are livid after the club were heavily linked with a move for Barcelona defender Sergi Roberto.

The Citizens have now ended what was a mixed campaign. Of course, they had two trophies to celebrate in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, but the tournament they wanted to win most of all, the Champions League, slipped from their grasp as they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the final in Porto on Saturday.

Preparations for the next season have already seen Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia depart City for Barcelona, and it now appears that Pep Guardiola wants a player to go in the other direction. As per Sport [via Sport Witness], City have made contact with 29-year-old Roberto, who Guardiola’s admires due to his professionalism.

However, as the news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, it became clear that numerous City supporters don’t share the manager’s view on a right-back who endured an injury-plagued 2020/21 campaign in which he was limited to 15 appearances.

They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, with some still fuming at Guardiola following Saturday’s Champions League anguish.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Sergi Roberto links

“We are finished”

Credit: @Pepoholicc

“Pep Guardiola wants to slowly bring this club death”

Credit: @Mescudy

“No”

Credit: @Ethan4707

“What rubbish is this”

Credit: @emperor_teejhay

“no way, how bad he is”

Credit: @HiVutam

“Stop this. Stop this now”

Credit: @BernardoTouch

In other news, some Man City fans slammed this man’s performance in the Champions League final.

Manchester United travel to London in a clash against their top-four rivals Arsenal, that could make or break their pursuit for Champions League football next season.

Ralf Rangnick’s side have the opportunity to make some progress in the Premier League if they can seal a victory over the Gunners this afternoon – with the Red Devils currently sitting in 6th, three points behind both Tottenham and Arsenal.

With that in mind, the interim boss must get into the game early and select the right players to give Manchester United the best chance of taking all three points from The Emirates home today, and one player who should not be near the starting line-up is Marcus Rashford.

Rashford was shocking in the midweek clash at Anfield, with the 24-year-old making just 11 passes and having no attempts at goal over the 90 minutes of the humiliating 4-0 defeat – with this performance not being a one-off for the winger this season.

The £180k-per-week flop was dubbed “absolutely terrible” by Glen Waddle following Man United’s exit from the Champions League last month: “Marcus Rashford looked absolutely terrible when he came on. Why do they keep playing him when he doesn’t want to be there, supposedly? I don’t get that.”

Rashford has only managed four goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, while averaging a shocking 0.5 shots on target per game, losing the majority of his ground and aerial duels (65%) and missing two big chances in his 23 appearances, proving that there is no way Rangnick should be relying on the winger in the game today.

Luckily, the German coach confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will be available for selection and is back in training following compassionate leave, which means Rangnick can deploy a front three of Jadon Sancho, Ronaldo and Anthony Elanga instead – leaving Rashford on the bench.

The return of Ronaldo will surely give this lacklustre Man United team the vital boost they need to have an advantage in getting the victory in North London this afternoon, and the opportunity should not be squandered to close the gap on their opponents in the league table by starting players who can’t be relied on in this important clash.

AND in other news: Ten Hag targeting £42m talent as his first MUFC signing, it could be bye-bye Maguire

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has revealed that Raphinha is a “major doubt” for Leeds’ clash against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

The Brazilian missed the 1-1 draw against Liverpool last time out in the top-flight after being forced to limp off in the closing stages of the game against Manchester City.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side secured an impressive result against the Reds without him, but there no doubt would have been major hopes that he could make his return for the visit of United.

However, Hay has now revealed via Twitter that the winger is yet to actually train with the first-team since picking up his injury, and is now considered a major doubt for the game at Elland Road.

Given that he is yet to get at least some kind of training in before United, it seems highly unlikely now that Bielsa will be able to count on Raphinha, who has been an absolute revelation for the Whites this season.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson said: “He’s full of energy, he’s got a (good) work ethic as well where he works for the team, he just does everything right.

“I’m a big fan of his and the recruitment there to find that player, because for £17m, there will be people now scratching their head going ‘why didn’t we get him?'”

Raphinha’s performances even led to teammate Patrick Bamford raving about him after the game against Crystal Palace earlier this year, saying on Sky Sports: “I think, to be honest, he has been a steal for Leeds. I am surprised. As soon as he came in, you saw him in training, you know sometimes with players whether they are good or they are top class, and he really was. He stood out straightaway.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Latest Leeds transfer rumours and news”]

“I am surprised that bigger teams, more established Premier League teams I should say, haven’t taken a punt on him because he really is someone special, and he is young.”

Given that he is set to miss out yet again for Leeds, Bielsa will no doubt be gutted that his talisman isn’t available to play against United this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Leeds must unleash this “absolutely outrageous” U23s starlet…

Conor Hourihane would be a great signing for West Brom if he joined this summer, according to former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Hourihane linked with move

Valerien Ismael is looking to mastermind the Baggies’ return to the Premier League next season, following their relegation last time around.

One player the new manager has been linked with bringing in is Hourihane, who only played a bit-part role for Aston Villa last season before he was loaned out to Swansea.

The midfielder could leave Villa Park during the summer and a permanent drop down to the Championship could make perfect sense for him.

The Latest: Pundit talks up midfielder

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan waxed lyrical over the 26-time capped Republic of Ireland international, admitting plenty of clubs would benefit from having him in their team:

“He is a professional player and a professional person. Someone that’s got that fight and desire and the leadership qualities you want in any side.

“But also the quality to go along with it. He can determine the outcome of a match. We’ve seen that many, many times.

“He’s a great set-piece taker as well. He’s somebody who can drive the team forward. He looks like a bit of a talker and a leader out there on the field as well.

“If he’s not needed at Aston Villa and I’m a Championship club right now,I’m looking for somebody that could determine the result of a game.

“Somebody that players want to speak to in the changing room, a leader and an example for everybody else. I wouldn’t look any further than Hourihane.

“I think he has been exceptional at every club that he’s been at and shown that right attitude as well.”

The Verdict: Perfect summer addition

Hourihane may not arguably be good enough to make the grade in the Premier League, but he is a top-quality Championship player, as proven during 145 appearances in the competition.

He helped Villa earn promotion to the top flight back in 2018/19 and both his experience and quality in the middle of the park could be a great boost for West Brom.

Hourihane’s current contract expires next summer, so Dean Smith may believe now is the right time to let him go and if he does, West Brom should be at the front of the queue.

In other news, West Brom are believed to have approached one player regarding a summer move. Find out who it is here.

Crystal Palace fans should not judge Ainsley Maitland-Niles on West Brom’s relegation, says The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam.

Maitland-Niles is thought to be a target for Palace, with football.london reporting last month that the south London club have asked Arsenal about the player’s availability this summer.

He spent some of last season out on loan at West Brom, joining the Baggies during the winter transfer window, but was unable to help prevent them from getting relegated to the Championship.

Woosnam, however, does not think that should be a stain on the 23-year-old midfielder and has told supporters not to hold it against him.

“With Maitland-Niles, I guess you could get swept up in looking at well, you know, West Brom went down last season, so why are we sort of signing those when they’re not the best young players?” the Crystal Palace journalist said in a chat with FFC.

“But I think he’d be a good option for Palace.”

West Brom as a whole were not good enough last season as they finished in 19th, so it probably would be unwise to make an assessment on Maitland-Niles based on that campaign.

The likes of Leicester City and Southampton have also been credited with an interest in Maitland-Niles, so Palace could face a battle to sign the England international.

Tom Davies put in a solid performance as Everton won away to West Ham United on Sunday.

Having played just four minutes in the win over Arsenal and then watched on from the bench as Everton lost to Aston Villa, Davies was recalled to the starting line-up at the weekend as Andre Gomes dropped to the bench.

How did Davies fare at the London Stadium?

Davies earned a SofaScore rating of 7.0 for his display at the London Stadium, completing 23 of his 26 passes – an accuracy of 88% – and both of his long balls found their target. The 22-year-old won three of his six ground duels and pitched in with two clearances, two interceptions and one block.

The victory, secured by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first-half strike, moved Everton to within a point of seventh-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand, and Davies will be hopeful of keeping his place for their trip to Villa Park on Thursday evening.

Everton’s official account tweeted ‘VIVA TOM DAVIES’ on Monday morning, and here’s how supporters reacted, with many calling out Carlo Ancelotti for overlooking the 22-year-old in recent fixtures.

Tom Davies proves a point to Ancelotti

“Yet Gomes will start over him against Villa. VIVA TOM DAVIESSS”

Credit: @S34nR

“Should never have been dropped recently over Gomes”

Credit: @Neilo_m

“Yep! Shouldn’t have been dropped, especially for Delph. Get in”

Credit: @nikki_harg

“Should never ever ever have Gomes or Delph ahead of him”

Credit: @Bill_adelphia

“Has to start every game”

Credit: @TMRushton1

“Baffling how he’s sat out for weeks while Delph was the midfielder of choice off the bench then Davies starts over him today. Makes no sense”

Credit: @Poggymac87

In other news, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been advised on his Everton future…

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed to temporarily waive their Marcus Edwards’ sell-on clause, according to a report from Portuguese newspaper A Bola (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

Edwards made only one senior appearance for Spurs – a 15-minute EFL Cup runout – before leaving to join Vitoria Guimaraes in 2019.

Spurs inserted a 50% sell-on clause into the deal for the 22-year-old winger, who made 33 Liga NOS appearances last season, 21 of which were starts. He scored three goals, provided one assist and averaged 2.2 successful dribbles per game (via WhoScored).

Edwards is currently valued at £9m by Transfermarkt, having been rated as low as £2.88m in April 2020.

The latest

Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon are said to have opened talks with Vitoria over signing Edwards, having been impressed by his performances, but Tottenham’s clause has proven to be a stumbling block in their negotiations.

As a result, the London outfit have struck an agreement with Sporting. They will instead bank 50% of the transfer fee whenever Edwards leaves Lisbon further down the line.

The verdict

Although Spurs could miss out on a decent cash injection this summer by delaying the receipt of the sell-on fee, you could argue that this is a shrewd move from Daniel Levy, the club’s chairman and transfer negotiator.

Edwards’ value is only rising, and the proposed move to Sporting should inflate it even further. If he lives up to the potential he’s showing, Spurs’ eventual intake could easily more than double.

At that point, it would look a very smart decision indeed to forego the sell-on payment for now and instead reap it whenever he moves on from Sporting.

In other news, this manager is open to the Spurs job.  

Aston Villa are ‘in the queue’ to sign wantaway Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah in January, according to Ekrem Konur. 

The lowdown

Nketiah has yet to make the matchday squad for a Premier League game this season, having picked up an ankle injury just before the campaign started.

His only first-team minutes have come in the Carabao Cup clash with AFC Wimbledon, a game in which he scored.

Last season, the England Under-21 international was limited to just four Premier League starts.

Significantly, his contract is up come the end of the season and, according to a report from David Ornstein in August, ‘there is no sign’ of a forthcoming extension.

Arsenal may, therefore, be under pressure to sell their £14.4million-rated asset in January amid the risk of losing him for free.

The latest

Nketiah ‘plans to leave’ The Emirates at the turn of the year because he ‘wants regular first team football’, Konur says.

Villa can expect to face competition from newly-promoted Brentford and from Leeds United, where Nketiah had a spell on loan during the 2019/20 season.

The verdict

It certainly looks as if Nketiah will be leaving the Gunners, but it’s hard to see Villa being his next destination.

If he wants to be playing week-in, week-out, then he surely won’t go to a club where he’ll be behind two other strikers – Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins – in the pecking order.

Perhaps Villa should look in-house if they want to bolster the first team’s attacking ranks. Cameron Archer has been particularly impressive.

In other news, fans flocked to this update on Leon Bailey.  

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has said that West Ham United would be one of the first teams to use the £1bn lending facility which could be available to Premier League clubs in the future.

The Lowdown: Pandemic hits hard

The global pandemic has hit hard across the world, and football is no exception.

Clubs across the world have lost millions due to loss of matchday revenue. David Sullivan has confirmed that the pandemic has cost West Ham £70m and the club are now £150m in debt (Hammers News). Given the problems that many clubs have faced, there have reports that a £1bn credit line could be available to ease cash flow issues (Financial Times).

The Latest: Maguire makes claim

Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire has made a claim with regard to GSB and the lending facility. He said:

“This would be appropriate for West Ham.

“There is reluctance from the owners to put money in. They are pursuing a different model to some other owners.

“If you contrast them to, say, Everton, the owners have extracted millions of pounds in interest charges.

“They are currently charging about 4.25 per cent interest. If the club could borrow at a cheaper rate from the Premier League fund, they would use it.

“Some owners in the Premier League have lent at zero per cent interest, but Gold and Sullivan are not among them.

“For those owners, utilisation of the fund would cost the club more, whereas for West Ham it would cost the club less.”

The Verdict: New owners on the card?

GSB are far from popular with many West Ham supporters (via The Evening Standard), and this news is unlikely to improve their relationship with the Irons’ fanbase. Many fans believe that the club should be run in a better way, and reports that the Hammers would be eager to take advantage of more loans are hardly indicative of them being run efficiently.

In recent weeks and months, it has emerged that PAI Capital are eager to buy the club from the current owners (via The Times), but so far their offers have been rejected. Many supporters will undoubtedly be eager to get rid of those now in charge, and if that comes to fruition, maybe this line of credit will not be needed for West Ham.

In other news, West Ham fans love this Declan Rice news.

Everton are the latest Premier League side to be linked with a move for Sampdoria star Mikkel Damsgaard after his superb performances at Euro 2020 for Denmark, and the 21-year-old could be a superb addition to Rafa Benitez’s side this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Italian news outlet Calcio Mercato, Everton are showing interest in the winger this summer, along with fellow Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, West Ham United, Liverpool and Leicester City.

Damsgaard was a relatively unknown quantity before the European Championships but stepped up superbly after Christian Eriksen’s incident which ruled him out of the rest of the tournament, playing a huge role as Kasper Hjulmand’s side reached the semi-finals before the 2-1 defeat against England.

The youngster would contribute two goals and one assist in five appearances for Denmark, including a superb free-kick against England at Wembley earlier this week, which helped him average an impressive 7.28 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Would he be a good signing for Everton?

With the likes of Bernard and Alex Iwobi struggling to perform on the wing for the Toffees last season, you could definitely argue that Benitez needs to add some attacking quality out wide if Everton are to challenge for a European spot next season, and Damsgaard looks to be a great option for the future.

Although he managed just two goals and four assists in 35 Serie A appearances last season, his performances for Denmark emphasise just how dangerous he can be when given starting opportunities, and there seems little to suggest that he wouldn’t be a success in the Premier League.

Danish teammate Kasper Schmeichel was full of praise for the 21-year-old after he played a starring role in their 4-1 win against Russia, which secured their place in the knockout stages, saying:

“There is no one to replace Christian Eriksen, but Mikkel .. Shut up, what a player. We have seen it in training, and the fact that he produces what he produces in the matches, it is fantastic.

“I told Mikkel Damsgaard that I had the feeling that he would score. He was so close to Belgium and played such a fantastic match, so I thought it was the perfect time for him to get his goal. Yes, he was phenomenal today.”

Therefore, Everton sporting director Marcel Brands should definitely consider a move for the £11.7m-rated Damsgaard this summer, as he looks to have a huge amount of potential and could be a quality addition to Benitez’s side for next season.

The new Toffees boss could strike gold for his new side with the Denmark international.

And, in other news… Ball tips 24 y/o outcast to succeed at Everton under Benitez