All posts by z3u9t.icu

As Leeds United continue to browse the transfer market this month, they find themselves linked to left-back Jordan Amavi.

According to French outlet Foot01, the Whites are amongst those interested in the £9million-valued Marseille star, who is now available for pre-contract negotiations. Amavi looks set to leave the Ligue 1 outfit and Leeds were reported to be very much in the race for his signature.

However, a recent Phil Hay update could hint that a deal is off for the out of favour 26-year-old. The Athletic reporter tweeted that the Whites are in talks with Egzjan Alioski over new terms on his current £55,000 per week contract.

With both the Macedonian and Leif Davis on the books, it could now mean that Victor Orta and co are making a U-turn on their reported interest in Amavi. If Alioski signs a new deal, he may well continue to be Marcelo Bielsa’s first choice left-back, with 21-year-old Davis still to fully break into the first team squad.

According to Transfermarkt, Alioski has contributed two goals and six clean sheets in his 17 Premier League appearances so far this season. Leeds have hit a dip recently but their 2-1 win over Newcastle sees them return to positive form in their returning top flight campaign.

Transfer target Amavi has made just nine Ligue 1 appearances for Marseille this season, due to a red card suspension and recent injury. He is currently suffering a torn muscle injury and has missed ten matches across all competitions because of it, according to Transfermarkt.

Whilst Leeds looked to be a potential destination for Amavi, there may not be any room for him at the inn if the Whites keep hold of Alioski. Despite the attraction of not having to pay a transfer fee, having three left-backs all fighting for the same spot would be an unnecessary headache Bielsa does not need to have.

In other news, Bielsa made huge mistake rushing Diego Llorente back…

Glasgow Rangers had been expecting a fairly quiet January and that’s near enough exactly what they got, although Steven Gerrard did manage to conduct some transfer business before Monday’s deadline day.

Apart from a few outgoings, albeit mostly on loan, there wasn’t too much for Rangers fans to get excited about in the winter transfer window.

However, that didn’t stop Ross Wilson from signing Scott Wright and Jack Simpson before the close of play on deadline day, with Simpson’s teammate Nnamdi Ofoborh following suit from Bournemouth before immediately leaving on loan for Wycombe Wanderers.

And now, all eyes will be on the summer to see what business Rangers will carry out before the start of next season, with one name who could very much be in the frame.

Rangers-linked Fashion Sakala is set to become a free agent after rejecting a move to Europa League rivals Royal Antwerp, according to reports.

The 23-year-old has made 22 Jupiler Pro League appearances so far this season for Oostende and has 12 goals to show for his 21 starts, with Oostende currently outside Europa League contention at the halfway point of the campaign.

The Zambian international has attracted interest from clubs across Europe, including Anderlecht, Newcastle and West Ham, but seems to be keen on a move to Ibrox after he dropped a big hint about his future on Instagram.

Voetbalkrant revealed Oostende tried to offload Sakala in the January window, although this came to no avail, as a move failed to materialise.

His contract with De Kustboys is set to expire at the end of this season, leaving him free to move in the summer, and when the time comes to take the next step, it’s highly likely he’ll have no shortage of suitors.

A return of 12 goals sees him ranked sixth in the Jupiler Pro League overall. For context, that’s more than current Rangers outcast Greg Stewart has managed in his past three seasons alone.

With great risk often comes greater reward and this could ultimately play into Ross Wilson’s hands, as signing the soon-to-be free agent would give them some added firepower upfront and aid them in their quest for domestic and European success.

Given that he could join on a free transfer, it would be an absolute bargain from Wilson.

AND in other news, Exciting Rangers wonderkid Kai Kennedy is making waves in the Championship…

Celtic may not have fully utilised the January transfer window, but they can revisit their shopping list when the summer rolls around. The reigning Premiership champions have had a torrid holding season and will give up their title to neighbours and rivals Rangers at the end of the campaign.

They were also ejected from the Europa League in the group stages after finishing with just four points out of a possible 18.

Whilst they stay linked to potential new signings, the list of likely outgoings continues to pose a worry.

Losing the likes of Kristoffer Ajer would be a blow, but the man they’d arguably miss the most is star striker Odsonne Edouard. The Frenchman has been linked to a move to Arsenal for some time now and the Daily Express reports that his price tag has been slashed to as low as £15million.

This is a huge drop from the initial £40million they slapped on the goal-getter to avoid interested parties coming knocking. However, due to the current financial climate, prices are dropping and players are being moved around for cheap.

Edouard is having another blinder of a season for Celtic, notching 16 goals and four assists in the Premiership so far. He is following on from his blistering 2019/20 term, in which he finished with a total of 28 goals and 19 assists across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Losing Edouard’s services will be a huge blow to Celtic who have struggled to find the back of the net on several occasions throughout this season. Although, whilst his price tag continues to drop, it’s wise that Celtic cash in whilst they can, and it could help their much-needed summer rebuild.

The 23-year-old has just 18 months left on his current contract and if the Hoops wait any longer, they risk losing him for next to nothing, or on a free contract. Peter Lawwell will be appreciative of making back the £9million he initially paid for his and then some.

In other news, Lennon must prioritise starting Ismaila Soro over Scott Brown…

Many Southampton fans were not impressed with winger Nathan Redmond during his side’s Premier League clash against Chelsea at St Mary’s.

The 26-year-old made his seventh start of the season after playing a bit-part role in Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side during the 2020/21 campaign.

Redmond started alongside Takumi Minamino in attacking midfield with Danny Ings playing as the tip of the Saints’ attacking force, replacing Che Adams who has failed to score since December.

The English trickster found himself struggling down the right-hand side due to Chelsea’s adventurous fullbacks out wide, coming out second best in the majority of his individual duels – as per Sofascore, he lost a whopping nine of his ten 50/50s.

He did however play a part for the Saints’ goal before the break, providing the assist for Takumi Minamino’s strike.

That action didn’t see him escape the wrath of supporters, who were furious that the £16.2m-rated Redmond was selected ahead of Adams and did not sugarcoat their words when making their feelings clear on social media.

Redmond fails to impress these fans

Can we take off Redmond already please, can’t hold the ball to save his life #saintsfc”

Credit: @LiamEyre25

Back four. Still, no idea where Redmond fits into this team ahead of Adams. At least give Ings something to work with… Prove me wrong, Redz. #saintsfc

Credit: @StMarysMusings

I can take McCarthy in goal, I can take Djenepo at Rwb but what has Redmond done in the last few games to warrant starting at ST #SaintsFC

Credit: @mattcw0410

“Never seen a more disinterested team! #SaintsFC Redmond out for a Sunday jog, Ings not chasing down the keeper like he usually does!”

Credit: @SaintsFCFanZone

“Redmond giving @SouthamptonFC nothing. Useless every week. Get him off and give others a chance #SOUCHE #SaintsFC #COYR #redmondoff thank you minimino!”

Credit: @TheKingydelay

“Need to put on Kayne Ramsay & Che. Take off Djenepo & Redmond. Redmond in particular has done nothing and I can’t for the life of me understand why Ralph is playing him upfront”

Credit: @ODagogo

In other news, Mark Halsey reacted to controversial Southampton incident – EXCLUSIVE.

According to a report by Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur, led of course by chairman Daniel Levy, are plotting to sell Serge Aurier this summer – with coaching staff even said to regard him as ‘uncoachable’ behind the scenes.

Aurier, who enters the final 12 months of his current deal this summer, with talk previously touting a bumper new contract (Football Insider), now looks more likely to leave north London at the end of the season as Levy and co plot a sale.

Tottenham plotting Aurier sale

Indeed, a Tottenham source has explained to Football Insider that talk surrounding a fresh contract appears unlikely at this stage – with Spurs now plotting to offload the 28-year-old despite a much improved season at points.

He has mostly kept summer signing Matt Doherty out of the side when it comes to Premier League appearances – evidenced by the defender starting 14 league matches compared to his counterpart’s 9.

Speaking to Football Insider at the end of last year, pundit and former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell even hailed him as a ‘top class player’ for some of his showings this season.

Transfer Tavern take

Despite this, Tottenham are keen to offload Aurier in the summer given his contract situation coupled with the danger he could leave as a free agent upon it’s expiry.

The coaching staff are even said to regard him as ‘uncoachable’ despite Aurier featuring regularly for Mourinho.

Time will tell what comes of this report or who could lodge a bid for the right-back this summer, but Levy and Spurs are said to be eager for a summer sale.

In other news: Alasdair Gold has lifted the lid on this ‘phenomenal’ Tottenham youngster, find out more here.

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to the latest transfer update on Premier League target John Lundstram.

The midfielder, who currently plays for Sheffield United, has been linked with the Eagles on multiple occasions, most recently in the January transfer window. According to The Mirror, and as tweeted by @CPFCTransfersHQ, several clubs in England’s top flight are monitoring the player, whose contract expires at the end of a season, and Palace are among those. However, this link hasn’t gone down too well with some of the Palace fan base, with one supporter even calling him ‘useless’.

The Blades midfielder has failed to score in 23 league appearances this season, accruing six yellow cards and committing 0.8 fouls per game (WhoScored). Only one Palace player has been booked more often, while Eagles defenders Gary Cahill and Scott Dann have both found the net this term (WhoScored).

Palace  arguably have a decent midfield with a fair amount of depth, but this could look very different in the summer.James McArthur is nearing the end of his career at the age of 33 (Transfermarkt), whilst James McCarthy’s contract expires in the summer. This emphasises that Lundstram could be the ideal signing for Palace, especially due to the fact that, as things stand, the £7.2m-valued player could be picked up on a free transfer in the summer, with his contract expiring at the end of June.

Many Eagles fans weren’t too pleased with the Lundstram links, although there were some views in favour of such a move:

Here is how Palace fans reacted to the update:

“Already 27 years old, no thanks! I’d rather get Gallagher, Cantwell or Brooks.”

Credit: @TheGoverner99

“Whyyyyyyyyyy”

Credit: @sam_palace

“No thanks…. useless lump”

Credit: @Tushydog

“Perfect midfielder for a club like us, everyone’s always complaining about getting a macca replacement, this would be it.”

Credit: @cpfc_sean

“It’s so boring”Credit: @Kevbartleyy”Please no”Credit: @letstalkpalaceIn other news, many Palace fans react to this club update!

Whilst Harry Kane will steal the headlines after his impressive brace for Tottenham in the 2-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday night, the performance of Serge Aurier at right-back should not be overlooked, with the Ivorian giving Jose Mourinho a big decision to make ahead of the North London derby at the weekend.

The former PSG man didn’t feature in Spurs’ recent league wins against Fulham and Crystal Palace but made his return to the side against the Croatian league leaders and, after an excellent performance, Mourinho may well be tempted to start him at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

As per SofaScore, the 28-year-old earned an impressive 8.4 rating for his performance, with only Kane earning higher of any player who featured in the game.

During the 90 minutes, Aurier made three clearances, four tackles and four interceptions, which is more impressive than the numbers he has posted in the Premier League this season, where he averages 2.8 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 2.4 clearances.

Whilst the right-back is usually more renowned for his ability going forward than in defence, he was superb defensively, as he won all five of his aerial duels and seven of his nine ground duels, which emphasises that he nearly always had the better of the Dinamo attackers.

In fact, Dinamo’s Mislav Orsic, who has been one of their better performers this season, earned the lowest rating of any player on the pitch with 5.9/10, as he failed to complete a single dribble and lost every single one of the 12 duels in which he was involved during the game.

This demonstrates that Aurier, who reportedly earns £70k per week at Spurs, was almost unbeatable down the right-hand side, and he also played a big part in Spurs’ second goal as his volleyed cross wasn’t cleared, allowing Kane to fire home.

Therefore, after a superb display, Mourinho may well be tempted to keep faith in Aurier for the game against Arsenal at the weekend, despite the recent impressive form of Matt Doherty.

And, in other news… Mourinho masterclass: Jose has revitalised Spurs ace with one simple tactical change

Many Everton fans have been left stunned at Gareth Southgate’s decision to omit Michael Keane out of the latest 26-man England squad.

As per the official Twitter page of the Three Lions, Southgate has decided to go with Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings and John Stones as options in the centre of defence instead, while Keane’s Goodison Park teammate Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been selected as one of the forward options up top.

The former Burnley man has been enjoying a fine season with the Merseyside club so far in the 2020/21 term, winning no fewer than 3.8 of his duels per game in the Premier League while also averaging 4.6 clearances and 1.4 interceptions a match (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, Southgate clearly thinks that there are better options for him at centre-back than Keane.

Everton fan reaction to Keane omission

These Toffees supporters were stunned at his omission on Twitter, with one Blues fan admitting that he was ‘shocked’ while another described it as ‘incredible’:

“Keane robbed”

Credit: @JoeEFC_1878_

“How has Michael Keane not been selected?”

Credit: @megxefc

“Pleased for young Dom. No Keane is incredible if you look at who he’s picked.”

Credit: @CoachSteveRich

“Dier over Keane wow even Spurs fans would be shocked by that”

Credit: @willow_71uk

“How is Michael Keane not in it????”

Credit: @TBRANDINIO

“Michael Keane, scored more goals this season than any other England defender, and he isn’t even selected!”

Credit: @Joewillo180

In other news, find out who EFC face Premier League competition to sign here!

Liverpool are reportedly closing in on the signing of centre-back Ezequiel Garay this summer in a surprise transfer story.

The Reds have had a disastrous season in the injury department, losing a host of key players throughout the campaign. Jurgen Klopp has been particularly hampered at centre-back, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all expected to be out until the summer.

It could be that the Liverpool manager eyes up reinforcements in that area during the summer transfer window, but a shock rumour is now doing the rounds.

[freshpress-quiz id=“313155″]

Liverpool eye up move for Garay

According to El Gol Digital, the Reds are even at the advanced stage of negotiations with Garay, who played for Argentina in their 2014 World Cup final defeat to Germany.

The 34-year-old is currently a free agent, having left Valencia last year following a four-year stint with the La Liga side. He has made 466 club career appearances, 43 of which have come in the Champions League (Transfermarkt).

Transfer Tavern take

Despite his considerable pedigree, Garay would be a strange addition, considering he turns 35 later this year and is approaching the end of his career.

On top of that, he hasn’t played consistently at the top level for years and has had endless injuries of his own, so a deal makes little sense for Liverpool.

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a summer move for a 19-goal striker this summer. Read all about it here.

Aston Villa are reportedly worried they have made a mistake regarding midfielder Morgan Sanson.

That’s according to an exclusive report from Football Insider, who have been informed from a club source that the Villa hierarchy feel they “haven’t done their homework” over the Frenchman.

Sanson difficult to manage

Sanson joined in the January window on a four-and-a-half-year deal from Marseille but has made just two starts under Dean Smith.

The 26-year-old has made eight appearances in total, picking up three yellow cards in just 224 minutes of Premier League action so far.

The report claims that the midfielder is very difficult to manage, with two of his former agents deciding to let him go.

Transfer Tavern take

Smith was hoping Sanson would improve his midfield ranks, however, he’s struggled to really make his mark in the Midlands so far.

Valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, it’ll be interesting to see what Villa decide to do with Sanson, should these inside sources prove accurate.

Who knows, the club may even decide to cash in on him less than 12 months into his Villa Park career if they feel they have made a big mistake.

In other news: Villa open to offers for 25-year-old this summer, find out more here.