All posts by z3u9t.icu

Celtic have reportedly agreed a deal with Russian outfit Rubin Kazan for the signing of defender Carl Starfelt.

What’s the story?

According to the Daily Record, the Hoops have agreed a £4.5m deal for the 26-year-old but are now waiting to see when they can get him into the country due to the current travel restrictions.

The report claims that the Celtic hierarchy have moved quickly to finalise a deal for Starfelt as he’s seen as a direct replacement for Brentford-bound Kristoffer Ajer.

It also states that the Sweden international has agreed a long-term contract with the Glasgow giants after passing his medical in Moscow last week and is now waiting for his work visa to see when he can travel to the United Kingdom.

Big upgrade on Duffy

Celtic endured a horrendous 2020/21 campaign, surrendering their top-flight crown to fierce rivals Rangers without a fight, and many of their troubles were down to issues at the back.

While Steven Gerrard’s men conceded just 13 goals in their 38 league fixtures, the Hoops leaked 29, highlighting the gulf in quality between the two sides’ defences.

One man who was particularly underwhelming throughout last season was Brighton and Hove Albion loanee Shane Duffy.

The Republic of Ireland international arrived at Celtic with high expectations after some impressive performances on the south coast, but he was unable to adapt to the game north of the border.

While Duffy ended up cutting his loan spell short, returning to the Amex Stadium early, Starfelt is expected to arrive at Parkhead with high hopes of his own.

New manager Ange Postecoglou is known to favour a passing style of play, recently emphasizing that he wants his team to play one or two-touch football during an open mic training session.

Therefore, Starfelt should offer a significant upgrade on Duffy and fit into the Australian tactician’s tactical plans perfectly.

As per WhoScored, no player in the Russian top-flight had a higher success rate than the 6 ft beasts 91.4% last season, dwarfing Duffy’s 82.9% as well.

His arrival would be welcomed by the Celtic faithful as they hope for significant improvements next season and Starfelt could play a pivotal part in any success Postecoglou has at the 51-time Scottish champions.

And, in other news…Celtic could find their new Christie by signing 44-goal gem with the “style of Robben” 

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa is interested in signing his fellow Argentine Pedro de La Vega this summer.

What’s the story?

According to Depo, the Whites are keen on landing the versatile 20-year-old winger, with the likes of Aston Villa, Fiorentina and Atalanta also said to be in the running to land him.

The report adds that the starlet is expected to leave Lanus this summer due to the amount of transfer interest in him.

Bye-bye Helder Costa

With Football Insider having recently claimed that Leeds are open to offers for the £70,000-a-week Helder Costa this summer, the Whites would surely be better off cashing in on him and bringing through De La Vega.

Costa endured a nightmare campaign in the Premier League last season for Bielsa’s side, scoring just three times and providing only three assists in 22 games in the division. That has prompted former Leeds players like Noel Whelan to brandish him a “massive flop”, and it’s hard to argue against that assessment.

In De La Vega, they would be getting an exciting young talent who can play on the right like Costa, as well as the opposite flank and through the middle.

A profile from Goal read: “Playing out wide does seem to favour him, however, with his footwork and ability to both play a killer pass and provide the finishing touches to moves having led to him being compared to Angel Di Maria in some quarters, albeit a right-footed version of the Paris Saint-Germain star with slightly more skill than agility.”

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Dubbed as a “real talent” by South American football writer and podcaster Tom Robinson, the £9m-rated gem actually averaged more dribbles than Leeds star Raphinha last season – 2.8 per game compared to the Brazilian’s 1.9.

At just 20, De La Vega could turn into a real superstar under his fellow Argentine in Bielsa.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has dropped a major Leeds update…

An exciting new claim has emerged in Tottenham Hotspur’s search for a new manager…

What’s the word?

According to the ever-reliable Alasdair Gold at football.london, Spurs are receiving plenty of fresh – and strong – candidates for their vacancy, and chairman Daniel Levy will attempt to meet them face-to-face rather than over Zoom in the summer.

Writing in a recent column, Gold revealed: “football.london understands that strong new candidates for the vacant managerial post are constantly emerging at the moment and making their interest known.

“Tottenham will attempt to speak to all of their top candidates face to face rather than over Zoom once the season ends, when currently employed managers are out of their club bubbles.”

An exciting development

Several names have been linked with the north London outfit since Jose Mourinho’s shock departure just over a month ago.

RB Leipzig’s Julian Naglesmann and Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers quickly emerged as the two top targets, although the former was soon confirmed as Bayern Munich’s next boss whilst the latter wants to remain at their Premier League rivals – perhaps even more so after winning this season’s FA Cup.

The Athletic have since claimed that there are four names on the shortlist – Roberto Martinez (ex-Everton, currently with Belgium), Graham Potter (currently at Brighton), Ralf Rangnick (ex-Leipzig, currently unemployed) and Erik ten Hag (currently at Ajax and recently signed a new two-year extension this off-season).

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-managerial-latest-update-transfer-rumours-gossip” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”]

Gold’s latest claim throws shade on this as it suggests that Levy has been fielding applications from more than just those four managers, and that should excite fans immensely as it opens up the pool of potential candidates even more – especially if they are ‘strong’ options, as he has suggested.

You can make a case against all four of those names above, so if other coaches are keen, then it should only help the Lilywhites chairman truly find the most suitable appointment.

Martinez failed at the Toffees, with some suggesting that systemic problems were the reason for his downfall.

Potter is vastly inexperienced, with this being only his second campaign in the Premier League. He does play the attacking brand of football that Spurs are thought to be seeking, but the Seagulls only narrowly escaped a relegation battle this term.

Rangnick, widely regarded as a pioneer of the gengenpress, has been out of a managerial role since the 2018/19 season and has never coached outside of Germany. Similarly, Ten Hag’s only senior management jobs have been in the Netherlands, with Ajax dominating perenially.

Therefore, the fact that new – and strong – names are still continuing to come in means that Levy can secure the right man to appease the fanbase.

This latest development is hugely encouraging news.

AND in other news, Levy could seal bold hire in “brave” 38 y/o who’d bring Klopp-like intensity to Spurs…

Alan Hutton believes that Lewis Ferguson would be ready to snub a move to the Premier League to instead join Glasgow Rangers.

The Lowdown: Gers eye Ferguson

The 21-year-old recently handed in a transfer request at Aberdeen (BBC), and as such, the Gers are said to be interested in his services (The Scottish Sun).

However, the midfielder’s agent has suggested that it is the youngster’s dream to play in the English top flight, with Watford believed to circling.

The Latest: Hutton believes Ferguson wants Ibrox move

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton believes that Ferguson will be eager to make the move to Ibrox. He said:

“We know the ties he’s got family-wise. He’d be desperate to follow in their footsteps also and play for Rangers.

“It didn’t work out for him as a kid there. Sometimes that gives you that little chip on your shoulder to go back and prove yourself. 

“You say the word legacy, that’s exactly what it is with his dad and obviously Barry as well, who was the captain. You want to continue that. He obviously tried as a kid and it didn’t quite work out. Maybe it made him the player he is today.

“It’s like anything, you look at Aberdeen, he’s possibly outgrown them now. He wants to go to Rangers, he wants to improve again. The opportunity, hopefully, will be there and then he’s still young, he can then move on from there.

“It would be nice for him to continue that Ferguson legacy through Rangers because it means so much to them as a family. The bottom line is he’s good enough to play within that team, in my opinion.”

The Verdict: Don’t baulk

Ferguson has enjoyed a good campaign with Aberdeen. The Scotland under-21 international scored 10 goals and provided five assists in all competitions (Transfermarkt), showing his attacking threat from the middle of the park. Given that his father Derek and uncle Barry both appeared for Rangers, it makes sense for him to heavily linked with a move to the 55-time Scottish champions.

Former Aberdeen defender Willie Miller reckons that the Dons will be looking for at least £4m to part ways with their young asset (Evening Express), which is a considerable sum in the Premiership. However, with the Gers targeting a Champions League campaign, they cannot afford to baulk at such prices, so hopefully they can attract Ferguson to Ibrox if the price is right and if that is what he wants.

In other news, this Rangers man has refused to rule out an exit from Ibrox.

According to Calciomercato, Fabio Paratici has already tried to sign Italy number one shot stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma for Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Paratici appointment…

The 48-year-old has been confirmed as Tottenham Hotspur’s new sporting director, working under chairman Daniel Levy.

Paratici has a good reputation in masterminding some noteworthy transfers at former club Juventus, including the certain acquisition of superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo (The Athletic).

As such, there have been no shortage of reports detailing his transfer plans for Spurs, with Calciomercato now dropping a huge claim involving Donnarumma.

The Latest: Paratici tried to sign Donnarumma…

As per the Italian outlet, he has already made an attempt to sign the star keeper for Spurs this summer.

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However, Paratici was rebuffed in his efforts despite making ‘several’ phone calls to agent Mino Raiola.

In the ‘last few days’, he apparently made repeated attempts to negotiate with Donnarumma’s representative over a possible move to north London.

There was also strong interest from Barcelona, but it now looks like the 22-year-old is destined for Paris-Saint Germain and a link up with former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Currently away at the Euros with Italy, Donnarumma will apparently undergo his PSG medical ‘next week’ after the Azzurri take on Switzerland (Fabrizio Romano).

The Verdict: Big loss…

As Spurs contemplate the future of long-time number one Hugo Lloris, a swoop for Donnarumma certainly would have been quite the coup.

He conceded just 38 goals in 37 Serie A matches over 2020/2021, keeping an impressive 14 clean sheets in that time (Transfermarkt).

AFC Bournemouth keeper Asmir Begovic also raved over his capabilities in an interview with the Guardian last year, calling him ‘phenomenal’ and a ‘huge talent’ who has enjoyed a ‘remarkable’ rise.

Indeed, the colossal keeper could have even joined Spurs on a free deal given his AC Milan contract expires at the beginning of next month.

Alas, Paratici’s bold attempt ended in failure with PSG and Pochettino reportedly winning the race – a real shame as Spurs aim to start a rebuild.

In other news: ‘Sources close…’ – Journalist lifts lid on exciting Tottenham transfer development, find out more here.

Leeds United have been handed a major boost over summer transfer target Matthew Sorinola.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are one of a number of interested Premier League clubs in the versatile left-winger, and that they have made checks on him since the start of the campaign.

Now, TEAMtalk have provided a major update on the situation, saying that the 20-year-old has rejected the offer of a new contract and is set to leave the League One club.

Bielsa’s new Kalvin Phillips

While Sorinola doesn’t play the same position as Kalvin Phillips, he is the kind of young starlet that Bielsa may feel he can mould into a fully-fledged England international just like he has done with Leeds’ main man.

Sorinola appears to have all the tools in his locker to grow into a first-class player, and what Bielsa will be most impressed about is the kind of mentality he possesses even at such a young age.

His manager at MK Dons, Russell Martin, spoke highly of the teenager’s impressive aptitude for defending despite it not really being his natural strong suit. He said: “He’s technically right up there with anyone in the squad – he wants to play. I love his calmness too – for a young lad, he’s so composed. He defended really well.

“People may question his size but when you’re as brave as he is to play with the ball and get in people’s faces and shut them down, he has so much ability and potential.”

That fearlessness and intent to give everything for the cause will be music to the ears of Bielsa, who has worked his magic in turning a promising Phillips into a star at international level.

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Sorinola has got the versatility – he can play at left-back and out wide on the right too – to be a real weapon for the Leeds boss, and quite crucially, has the attitude to buy into Bielsa’s methods and workings.

Meanwhile, Leeds United handed a huge boost as major Elland Road news emerges…

Lee Johnson has revealed Aiden McGeady’s chances of appearing for Sunderland against Accrington Stanley this weekend are 50-50.

Johnson provides McGeady update

McGeady missed the Black Cats’ match against Hull City during the week with an ankle issue as his side managed a 2-2 draw.

Speaking prior to this weekend’s clash against Accrington, Johnson provided an update on the 35-year-old. He said (via The Northern Echo):

“I’d put Aiden at 50-50 (for the weekend). He’s tough, like I’ve said, so he wants to play. He’s still very bruised, but at the same time it is a superficial injury.

“It’s not anything bone-related or ligament-related, so if he can handle the pain of smashing one in from 25 yards, hopefully in the top corner, then he can play. It’s as simple as that.”

Save him for the play-offs

Even though he is approaching the end of his career, McGeady is enjoying a fantastic season, especially since the arrival of Johnson. In his last 24 League One appearances, he has managed four goals and 12 assists (Transfermarkt), helping the Black Cats chase their dream of automatic promotion.

Unfortunately, results over the last few weeks mean Sunderland are likely to have to make do with the play-offs if they want to move up to the Championship. As such, it makes no sense to rush McGeady back into the action too quickly. They will need him for the last few games of the campaign – it is then that he can make a real difference to his side’s fortunes.

In other news, Kevin Phillips has made this worrying transfer claim.

Brendan Rodgers is among Tottenham Hotspur’s top managerial targets, according to The Telegraph…

What’s the word?

On Tuesday, the north London outfit were dealt a devastating blow as Daniel Levy’s mooted first-choice option Julian Nagelsmann was confirmed as Bayern Munich’s next manager ahead of the summer.

Just two days ago, 90min revealed that Spurs were prepared to pay the Leicester City boss in excess of the £15m that Jose Mourinho took home each year while at the club.

Rodgers has downplayed reports linking him to the vacant role, claiming that Spurs is a “huge club”, but you’d imagine the money Levy could offer is a rather tempting figure.

According to Dean Windass, who spoke to Football FanCast exclusively this week, “he wouldn’t turn it down” either.

Is he the one?

Levy will undoubtedly be reeling from missing out on Nagelsmann, but he should move on quickly and prepare to launch all he has at the Foxes chief, as he could be the one to turn around their fortunes in N17.

Right now, you could consider Spurs a step down from Leicester. After all, the Midlands side are comfortable in third place, aiming for another crack at the Champions League, whilst the Lilywhites are battling for those places underneath them.

They’ve even won the Premier League more recently than Spurs have won a major trophy, but in this day and age, money plays a big factor and Levy is prepared to pay Rodgers £5m more per year than what he’s currently thought to be earning.

It would be a very wise investment, too.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-managerial-update-transfer-rumours-levy-mourinho-sacked-gossip” title= “Read the latest Spurs manager updates, transfer news, gossip and more!”]

Rodgers has completely transformed Leicester both on and off the pitch. Every single year they lose their best players to big fees, such as Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City (£60m), Harry Maguire to Manchester United (£80m) and Ben Chilwell to Chelsea (£50m).

Firstly, Spurs have not sold a player for more than £50m since the departure of Kyle Walker in 2017 and he’s the only one since Gareth Bale before that to garner such a huge profit.

Secondly, the Foxes have barely felt the loss of such key players, all thanks to the shrewd recruitment and subsequent coaching of the 48-year-old Northern Irishman. For example, Timothy Castagne cost just £18m and has replaced Chilwell, while Caglar Soyuncu cost only £20m and has replaced Maguire. Both have been seamless transitions.

Among all this adversity, he looks set to guide the Foxes to back-to-back European campaigns and has also managed to keep a win rate of 55.2%, which is hugely impressive.

Furthermore, Rodgers’ development of Kelechi Iheanacho has been game-changing – Windass even called it “unbelievable” when speaking to FFC – not to mention Mourinho’s glowing endorsement of the former Liverpool boss.

“He’s very talented, he was and probably still is a guy who likes to study, learn and improve,” the Portuguese told reporters (via The Argus). “He’s creative, he knows what he wants.”

Iheanacho had looked like a player not ready to fulfil his undoubted potential until this season; now he’s bagged 17 goals in all competitions – a whopping 46% of his career total for the Midlands outfit since joining in the summer of 2017.

When you consider the regression of the likes of Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn, and the huge potential of youngsters such as Oliver Skipp and Dennis Cirkin, on top of his phenomenal record in the transfer market, then surely Rodgers is a match made in heaven for Levy and Spurs.

He’s the one who can rejuvenate this faltering club.

AND in other news, Levy could hammer another nail in Spurs coffin by hiring 47 y/o with a 30.5% win rate…

Many Everton fans have been left to fume as a transfer update emerged on their pursuit of Neto.As per Sport, the Goodison Park faithful are interested in signing the goalkeeper from FC Barcelona once the summer transfer window opens.The Catalan giants are looking for a fee in the region of €16m (£13.8m) to prize him away from the Nou Camp.Given that the Merseyside club already have Jordan Pickford and the upcoming Joao Virginia on their books, as well as Robin Olsen, who is currently on loan from AS Roma but may seek a permanent move to the Toffees, it would be a strange idea to spend that amount of money on what could be a back-up ‘keeper, when there are other positions that Carlo Ancelotti should look to be strengthening.At 31 years of age as well, Neto is on the decline, and so it would surely be better to invest elsewhere. Everton fans on Neto transfer update

These Blues fumed as the update was shared on Twitter, with one EFC supporter even going as far as to claim that it was ‘weird’:

“Waste of money get a centre forward who can control and bring other’s players into the game”Credit: @abbot551″Why? + we should sign another player with the name Neto instead”Credit: @jonesyefc”Goalkeeper is the last of our worries a new winger, midfielder and RB should be the priority”Credit: @jay_smith1″£16 mill for a back up keeper haha”Credit: @Grantos888″Weird one that, not needing any keepers.”Credit: @IamFidgell”Should just have the best no 1 you can afford and have a young understudy as a no 2. Why have 2 expensive keepers when you can only play 1 just doesn’t make sense”Credit: @chefmainiaIn other news, find out who was blasted for his display versus Wolves here!

Many Sunderland fans were far from happy with the performance of Callum McFadzean during their 1-1 draw with Peterborough on Monday.

The Black Cats were playing their second game in four days over the Easter weekend, and they will no doubt be happy with a point away at Posh considering they are one of just two teams above the Wearside outfit in the League One table. Siriki Dembele had put the home side ahead, but Aiden McGeady was on hand to level things up and keep Sunderland’s automatic promotion hopes alive.

However, some supporters were not happy with the display of McFadzean. He started at left-back but was arguably at fault for Peterborough’s goal and was even hauled of with 19 minutes remaining.

McFadzean was deemed Sunderland’s worst performer by SofaScore, who rated him at 6.5 as he lost possession 13 times and failed with eight of his 32 passes.

With Denver Hume now once again available, his position in the starting line-up could be under threat.

These Sunderland fans were disappointed in the 27-year-old’s “poor” performance and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about McFadzean below

“Cracking result, McFadzean needs hauling though. Responsible for far too many of our goals conceded”

Credit: @Fantanafest73

“No more McFadzean.”

Credit: @KevReah1

“Defo a canny result, aye. They were just starting to get on top (without creating clear-cut chances) b4 the goal and McFadzean was getting tore to shreds down our left. That was very preventable imo. Game of fine margins I suppose, his subs defo had an impact.”

Credit: @Kevsol

“Watch the game back lad. McFadzean is easily the worst footballer in our history. I lose count of the times he’s nutmegged. Always hopelessly out of position. Slower than a sloth. He is supposed to be a left back and always has been. Power is a CM filling in at RB.”

Credit: @bradsafc

“@sunechosafc Player ratings pretty fair One worry is McFadzean 4 Poor control, not strong enough in the tackle which led to their goal. Nice to see Hume back McGeady. Still in our hands 8 games 24 points to be won.”

Credit: @scotti1973

“For me having Hume back is huge. McFadzean is really bad, nowt against the lad, he’s just not good enough.”

Credit: @marrs_jordan

In other news, many Sunderland fans loved these Kyril Louis-Dreyfus comments.