All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Pundit Frank McAvennie has urged Newcastle to launch a move for Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Alli to leave, Newcastle in contact

A Spurs source has informed Football Insider that the club are willing to move Alli on in the January window, with the 25-year-old not in Antonio Conte’s plans.

Alli has featured in just two minutes of Premier League action under Conte, with Tottenham allegedly open to loan, loan-to-buy or permanent transfers.

Reports from Teamtalk have revealed that the Magpies have been in contact with Spurs regarding a move for Alli and would want an option to buy, as long as they avoid relegation.

The Latest: McAvennie’s claim

McAvennie was talking to Football Insider regarding the news on Alli.

He appeared to urge Newcastle to follow through with the approach and launch a move for the attacking midfielder, although he did have one concern in regards to being involved in a relegation battle.

“He’s a good player, there’s no doubting that.

“Going to Newcastle? What an asset he would be to them if he got his form back.

“If he plays as well as we know he can, he is the man to save them.

“What concerns me is whether you want him in the trenches with you.

“Is he going to put his foot in and do the dirty work in a relegation fight?

“I’m not saying he won’t or can’t. We have just never seen it before.

“If the option is there for Newcastle and they have already secured the new defenders they need.

“I think they could do a lot worse than getting Alli in, even on loan.

“He can be phenomenal on his day.”

The Verdict: Sign

A loan with an option to buy next season, as long as Eddie Howe keeps Newcastle in the Premier League, seems to be a smart move.

Howe has just one senior attacking midfielder on the books at this moment in time in Miguel Almiron, with the 27-year-old yet to contribute to a goal in 14 league appearances.

Alli has 88 Premier League goal contributions in 179 games, so would add that attacking threat and experience that could prove priceless in the second half of the season.

In other news, find out which ‘sensational’ signing NUFC are now ‘closing in’ on here!

Speaking in a Q&A for football.london, Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has made an encouraging transfer claim.

The Lowdown: Sell-to-buy…

It is set to be a strange summer at Tottenham, with the club needing to offload players before properly finalising player moves in this window.

Of all the names linked with a summer exit from Spurs, only Juan Foyth has managed to complete a permanent move away so far and help to bolster Tottenham’s transfer kitty.

The other players linked with departures, including potentially Harry Winks, Serge Aurier, Erik Lamela and Moussa Sissoko (football.london), are all still on Spurs’ books.

The Latest: Gold drops encouraging transfer claim…

Speaking in a football.london Q&A, Gold has now explained what Spurs will definitely do if they manage to sell a particular player.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-2/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Indeed, the journalist says that Tottenham will move for a new right-back if wantaway ace Aurier can secure a departure this summer.

“It’s quite simple with Aurier,” Gold says.

“He wants to go, Spurs would be happy for him to go, but they need a reasonable bid (not as high as the 20m euros reported in France last week).

“Tottenham will move for a new right-back if he does head out of the exit door.

“Tottenham like Aarons and they need some homegrown signings but it’s all on Paratici now.”

The Verdict: Encouraging…

Tottenham have long been linked with a new right-back, with reports of interest in Max Aarons dating as far back as last summer.

Spurs were also tracking Turkey international defender Zeki Celik last year and those links have re-emerged over 2021 as well. 

If the Lilywhites are going to initiate a major summer overhaul, supporters may be encouraged by this claim that Spurs will move to immediately replace Aurier if the Ivorian can seal his exit.

In other news: ‘Crazy’ – Fabrizio Romano shares manager update with ‘new name’ now contacted, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt another managerial blow after another mooted target ruled himself out of the running this week…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Daniel Levy’s top two choices to replace Jose Mourinho were RB Leipzig boss Julian Naglesmann and Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers.

The former has now been confirmed as Bayern Munich’s next manager, taking over from Hansi Flick in the summer, and the latter has played down his chances of swapping the Midlands for north London – even despite reports suggesting Spurs would hand him a contract worth in excess of £15m-per-year.

After the Foxes’ win over Crystal Palace in midweek, Rodgers revealed:

“I’m at a world-class training facility, the project we’re in here, we still want to develop, we still have a lot of work to do here. I have a great connection with the players and the board, and we have plans to keep progressing

“While I have that energy and the happiness and I see that challenge continue here, I am very happy to be here. You can’t stop gossip, and you can’t stop speculation. I don’t think about it.”

Hammer blow

Levy will surely be gutted that two of his preferred targets have been crossed off the list, especially as he’s reportedly wanting to make a quick appointment in order to avoid a drawn-out process that hinders the new man’s preparation ahead of next season.

Spurs undoubtedly need to bounce back, having endured a nightmare campaign.

They crashed out of the FA Cup and Europa League early, lost yet another final – being defeated by Man City in the Carabao Cup – and are facing a fight to make the top four, and possibly the top six. It’s that competitive.

[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 would have been a very interesting candidate, given the job he’s done at the King Power Stadium and in all fairness, it’s no surprise he’d rather stay as they are set for another spell in the Champions League, whereas the Europa League or worse seems likely for the Lilywhites.

The 48-year-old was lauded by his former player, Jamie Carragher, on Monday Night Football (via the Leicester Mercury) this week.

“I think it goes under the radar with what he’s done at Leicester. It’s phenomenal the job he has done. It really is.”

Similarly, Rodgers’ transformation of Kelechi Iheanacho – one of many examples of impressively developing young stars – has drawn further praise, as Dean Windass told Football FanCast exclusively that it was “unbelievable.”

The Foxes have lost some big names in recent years, namely Harry Maguire, Ben Chilwell, Riyad Mahrez and Ngolo Kante, but you’d never know as the former Liverpool man’s recruitment has been second to none.

It’s another setback in Spurs’ quest to quickly replace Mourinho, Levy will be far from pleased with this news.

AND in other news, Defensive shake-up, Alli and forgotten star make comeback: How Spurs’ XI could look under Erik ten Hag…

Norwich have joined Nottingham Forest in the race to sign Aston Villa striker Keinan Davis, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Davis at Forest

The 24-year-old left Villa Park to join Forest on loan at the beginning of the year and hasn’t looked back.

Davis, who has scored just six goals in 86 appearances for Villa, has starred in 2022, already netting five times in 13 games at the City Ground.

He has also provided three assists for the Reds, helping them into the Championship playoffs. Unfortunately though, Davis has now been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a hamstring problem.

The Latest: Source shares update

Football Insider shared an update regarding Davis’ future on Monday lunchtime after being informed by a recruitment source.

They claim that Norwich, managed by former Villa boss Dean Smith, are now ready to rival Forest for Davis’ services. A loan or a permanent exit are both options, with Villa expected to be open to offers for the forward over the coming months.

The Verdict: Right decision?

A £4m figure was included in the recent report, with Davis under contract for a further two years. He has shown at Forest that he can become a regular goal scorer, however, things have never really worked out for him in the Midlands under both Smith and Gerrard.

The current Villa boss was thought to be a big fan of Davis when he arrived at Villa Park from Rangers, but he never featured under Gerrard and now looks set to move on.

On that basis, a permanent exit could be best for all involved over the coming months, so it could be one to keep a close eye on.

In other news: Gregg Evans: AVFC chiefs very excited over midfielder now set to sign at Villa Park

The upcoming international break marks five years since Danny Drinkwater made his England debut whilst he was a player at Leicester City.

Fresh off of the Foxes’ title triumph and at the peak of his powers, he has since endured a dramatic fall from grace following his move to Chelsea.

His switch to Stamford Bridge is a chief example of the mastery and excellent decision making from Director of Football Jon Rudkin that has seen Leicester City become one of the transfer market masters in recent years.

Since earning promotion to the Premier League in 2014, the Foxes have raked in approximately £323m in transfer fees by selling key players all whilst seemingly still managing to improve their squad.

The Foxes sold Drinkwater for approximately £35m in 2017, then a club transfer record for Leicester – a fee which has consequently been eclipsed by the sales of Riyad Mahrez and Harry Maguire.

For context, it only took £40m for the Foxes to bring Youri Tielemans in from AS Monaco just two years after the Englishman left for the capital.

The two midfielders have certainly had completely different career trajectories since.

Whilst the Belgian has been key to the Foxes’ assaults on the UEFA Champions League places, Drinkwater has failed at Chelsea and has endured poor loan spells at Burnley and Aston Villa. He now finds himself stuck in the wilderness of the Turkish Super Lig with relegation-threatened Kasimpasa – about as far out of the England picture as it is possible to get.

Since his big-money move from Leicester, he has played just 34 matches. Tielemans meanwhile has taken to the pitch more than that in just the 2020/21 season alone.

From his reported £35m transfer fee, Drinkwater is now rated at just £2.88m – a dramatic fall for a player who is just 31 years of age.

Leicester then will be delighted that they elected to sell to Chelsea when they did, showing the type of timing that has only enhanced their sparkling reputation in the transfer market, especially as sellers, five years on from Drinkwater’s international bow.

AND in more news, have a look at which Foxes star could worry Rodgers with a potential absence from his national side…

Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has warned Valerien Ismael about the club’s board, suggesting they have too much of a say on football matters.

West Brom confirmed the appointment of Ismael as manager on Thursday, with the ex-Barnsley boss signing a four-year contract at The Hawthorns.

Baggies chiefs stole the headlines for the wrong reasons last season when they sold central defender Ahmed Hegazi to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad behind Slaven Bilic’s back just before a Premier League fixture, a decision that left the Croatian fuming.

And now Palmer has warned Ismael that managers at West Brom are not getting enough of a say on matters.

“The chairman [ and board] has too much of a say on what’s going on and the manager doesn’t have enough say,” the ex-West Brom player said in an exclusive interview with FFC.

“Bilic’s picked his team on the day of the game [practically] and then when it comes to teatime, that player is not able to play because the chairman sold him. Now, you can’t be having that as a manager.”

Indeed, the whole thing was a strange ordeal, with Sky Sports confirming that Hegazi was set to start in that Monday night clash against Brighton.

From Ismael’s perspective, he will surely be hoping for owner Guochuan Lai and chairman Li Piyue to not make any similar decisions like the above as he looks to take West Brom back to the Premier League.

Patrick Vieira has agreed to become the new manager of Crystal Palace, according to Sky Sports.

In what is an unforeseen turn of events in South London, the former Arsenal captain looks set to take the reigns at Selhurst Park, bringing the curtain down on their drawn out managerial hunt [Sky Sports].

Lucien Favre looked favourite this time last week to land the role, however, talks collapsed with the former Borussia Dortmund man as he wanted to take more time out of football [BBC].

Seemingly re-entering the fray as a manager, Vieira has had previous spells in charge of New York City FC alongside OGC Nice [Transfermarkt]. Now, the 45-year-old will manage in the Premier League for the first time

As you can imagine, loads of Crystal Palace diehards took to Twitter to voice their frustration at these recent developments, as they worry over his inexperience.

Crystal Palace fans react:

Replying to popular Crystal Palace outlet PALACE XTRA, here is how some Eagles fans summarized the latest news:

“Will get behind him if it’s him but for such an inexperienced manager being given a job of this size is too risky, screams absolute desperation and cheapness from the board and completely uninspiring won’t be surprised if we are down by Christmas.”

Credit: @CPFCwill20″Feels like death”Credit: @cpfc_sean”Yeah safe prem we going down NOT MY MANAGER”Credit: @CPFCtomm”No”Credit: @LaFapickle”Townsend defo just got a new 3 year deal”Credit: @cpfcjude”Were do these rumours come from next we will be linked with Mark Hughes”Credit: @MarkDre44138040″I feel sick”Credit: @palacesamIn other news, Crystal Palace have received a boost in a reported transfer pursuit.

Carlo Ancelotti should ruthlessly axe Yerry Mina from the Everton starting line-up as the Colombian centre-half may actually hold his side back against Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Toffees travel to the Amex Stadium on Monday night striving to regain ground in the race for European football, after a run of three defeats and a draw left the Merseysiders eight points down on fourth-placed West Ham.

Ancelotti’s men hold at least two games in hand over each side above them in the Premier League standings ahead of their south coast trip, which can see the Blues move to within a point of fifth-placed Chelsea.

Mina opened Everton’s last top-flight fixture in the heart of a three-man centre-back core alongside Mason Holgate and Michael Keane, but was unable to prevent Michy Batshuayi from scoring an 86th-minute equaliser for Crystal Palace.

The Goodison Park natives had appeared in control for much of the game and were set to win only their sixth league game on home soil this term after a 56th-minute strike from James Rodriguez, as the Colombian returned from a calf injury.

But the Eagles rallied in the closing stages and made their surge of late pressure count when Batshuayi combined with Jeffrey Schlupp before firing past Robin Olsen, to see that Everton were punished for poor performances from Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Ancelotti cannot afford to see his side be punished in the same manner at Brighton if Everton are to qualify for a UEFA competition this season, so must alter his line-up to be aggressive and attacking in hopes of snapping the Toffees’ torrid run of form.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-everton-news-and-views” title=”Latest Everton news and views!”]

Mina is likely to be the victim of Ancelotti’s need for offensive changes, having been the least involved of the Italian’s centre-backs against Crystal Palace irrespective of his vocal presence and an important block to deny Wilfried Zaha in the early stages.

While Holgate attempted four tackles, winning three, and Michael Keane took possession with each of his two challenges, Mina only attempted to and won the ball once, per WhoScored.

He also offered no interceptions while Keane snuffed out two Palace moves, while Holgate split the Eagles’ defence with a precise lofted through ball to Calvert-Lewin that deserved a better finish.

Calvert-Lewin has now scored just once in his last six Premier League appearances and Richarlison has failed to find the back of the net since a run of four in four games came to an end in early March.

Ancelotti cannot afford to see neither of his strikers flourish at Brighton, where Leicester City had to leave it late to seal a 2-1 win last month after heading to the Amex without a number of players including key forwards Harvey Barnes and James Maddison.

It meant the Foxes had to live off scraps as they struggled for creativity, a prospect Everton could face if Ancelotti decides to be defensive in his team selection by starting Mina again.

The defender may feel hard done by to fall out of the line-up having not put a foot wrong against Crystal Palace, but the Toffees’ desperation for a positive result must come first for Ancelotti.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands could deliver Everton’s own Virgil van Dijk with £17.5m summer swoop…

According to a report by Portuguese news outlet Correio da Manhã, via West Ham Fan Zone, the Irons are eyeing FC Porto manager Sergio Conceicao as a possible replacement for David Moyes, prompting bafflement from many supporters. 

Indeed, West Ham are apparently interested in appointing Conceicao despite Moyes’ fine job at the London Stadium this season.

The Hammers could qualify for the 2021/22 Europa League if they clinch a point from today’s encounter with Southampton, coming after West Ham finished a lowly 16th last term.

Correio de Manhã reported that the Liga NOS manager is attracting such interest from West Ham that GSB are promising a ‘millionaire’s investment’ to the 46-year-old this summer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-rumours-and-gossip-two-electric-boogaloo-copy/” title=”West Ham updates” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

It is said that they want a boss who has experience in competing at the highest level in Europe (Conceicao took Porto to the Champions League quarter-finals this year), which contradicts reports that Moyes is apparently close to signing a new deal at the London Stadium (Evening Standard).

As a result, these Irons supporters are baffled by the news about the purported managerial change – check out some of their verdicts below.

West Ham fans baffled by Conceicao claim

“That would be horrible on David Moyes, he’s the only reason we are where we are now”

Credit: @keirankeyse

“This can’t be true”

Credit: @AlexBicknell89

“This is 100 percent a Sullivan idea”

Credit: @AidanWHU

“Replacing Moyes for a fancy name. Didn’t go too well the first time”

Credit: @WHUJack_

“It’d be an absolute disgrace if David Moyes was to be shown the door again especially this time around considering the job he’s done this season and back end of last. Sullivan will forever be attracted to fancy names but with no real plan, just shows he is main problem.”

Credit: @AzamWHUFC

“Don’t believe it”

Credit: @HHickford

In other news: West Ham now leading race to bag potentially ‘perfect signing’, find out more here.

Perform well in the famous green and white Hoops of Celtic and it’s likely that another club will come calling to prise you away from Parkhead.

Supporters at Paradise will be all too familiar with that eventuality, especially this summer.

The Premier League was once again the destination for some of Celtic’s best players with Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer heading for Crystal Palace and Brentford, respectively.

Enigmatic Scottish attacker Ryan Christie also travelled south of the border as he joined Bournemouth.

More often than not, it’s been Southampton who have dialled the phone. Whether it be Virgil van Dijk, Stuart Armstrong or Fraser Forster, many have forged successful careers in England.

However, one who didn’t enjoy quite as much triumph in England was Victor Wanyama. He went from being a brute of a player with Celtic and Southampton to falling off the wagon somewhat at Tottenham.

Sadly, he’s now remembered more for a tweet about spaghetti, than he is his performances.

During his stay in Scotland, he was nothing short of outstanding after being signed by Neil Lennon all the way back in 2011.

He scored a famous goal against Barcelona in the Champions League when they remarkably beat one of the best sides we’ve seen in European football.

The Kenyan wasn’t just about that moment, however. His tough-tackling nature saw him nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2012/13.

A £12.5m move to the Saints followed and then he earned a richly deserved switch to Tottenham. He was described as “fantastic” during his time in north London by Christian Eriksen but ultimately the midfielder struggled to become a key cog in the wheel.

He had to overcome a plethora of knee problems and in four years, played on average 24.5 matches per season. For a club that are regulars in Europe as well, it’s not the most outstanding number.

Now aged 30, Wanyama should still be in the prime of his career, especially as a defensive midfielder.

Instead, he’s playing in MLS for Montreal Impact and his market value has plummeted since leaving Scottish football behind. The Kenya international is now valued at a measly £5.8m via Transfermarkt after moving to Canada on a free transfer.

With that in mind, it would appear that Celtic sold him at exactly the right time.

AND in other news, Celtic could find another Van Hooijdonk by signing colossal 10-goal monster…