All posts by n8rngtd.top

Aston Villa have been busier than most other clubs in the January transfer window in terms of bringing new players in, with the likes of Lucas Digne brought in on a permanent deal worth a reported fee of £25m from Everton as well as loan deals completed for Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen.

While there may only be a few days left until the window closes, Villa still have enough time left to end the month on a high note and bring one more player in that would really add some depth and extra quality to Steven Gerrard’s squad.

Having been mentioned with a move for Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah in recent weeks in a report from The Athletic by Villa journalist Gregg Evans, a late swoop for the 22-year-old could bring an end to the club’s latest period of spending and deliver Gerrard with an extra attacking option to his ranks.

Having racked up 69 goals in 154 club appearances throughout his career at Arsenal in their senior and youth sides as well as during a loan spell with Leeds United, the Englishman has shown he is capable of finding the back of the net when given the chance to play.

This, though, has not really been the case for the £9m-rated attacker this season, particularly in the Premier League with just four substitute appearances under his belt for Mikel Arteta’s team, showing that he’s not seen as much of an important player at the north London club despite being labelled as a “threat” in terms of his goalscoring ability by Aidy Boothroyd in the past.

With that in mind and the fact that his current contract at Arsenal is set to expire at the end of the season, this could convince the Gunners to sell him before the end of this month so they can get a fee for him if he doesn’t have any intentions on signing a new deal there.

Taking all of this into account, it could be worthwhile for Villa to try and work out a deal for Nketiah in the coming days to see if he could try and stake a claim in Gerrard’s side, which 68% of voters in a recent poll ran by Football FanCast would like to see happen as another potential transfer masterclass from the Midlands club.

Gerrard has also already shown his capability in the transfer market and bringing a hardworking offensive player with plenty of potential to the club from one of the biggest sides in the division would undoubtedly be a coup for the Villans.

With his fairly young age, the Arsenal striker could well become a future long-term replacement for Danny Ings who is considerably older than Nketiah and has only managed to score four goals in 17 appearances for Villa this season.

In other news: “I’m hearing”: Insider drops “emerging” AVFC transfer claim, Gerrard would be furious – opinion

Transfer insider Dean Jones believes that a Celtic swoop for Ahmed Kendouci would be the ‘icing on the cake’ for their January transfer window, as per GiveMeSport.

The Lowdown: Transfer request submitted

Kendouci has been linked with a move to Parkhead this month, despite Ange Postecoglou already adding to his midfield ranks with the signings of Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O’Riley.

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The 22-year-old, who has scored 18 goals for Algerian club ES Setif, has even handed in a transfer request following links of a move to Celtic Park.

The Hoops’ crosstown rivals Rangers have also been name-checked with an interest in Kendouci, who can play as a central, attacking or left midfielder.

The Latest: Jones’ comments

Transfer insider Jones was talking to GiveMeSport regarding a possible late January move to Celtic for Kendouci.

He believes that a late move for Kendouci could continue the ‘positive’ steps taken under Postecoglou and labelled as potential late deal as the ‘icing on the cake’, saying:

“They don’t want to lose everything they’ve built, in terms of momentum, up to this point.

“Since Ange came in, almost everything has been a positive. I think this would be the icing on the cake if they could get someone of his quality through the door.”

The Verdict: Not vital

Even though another new face would be exciting for Hoops supporters heading into a crunch period of fixtures, not signing Kendouci this month wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Celtic are now well-stocked in the middle of the park following their January business and still have David Turnbull to come back into the frame from injury.

However, it seems as if the Hoops are keen on the versatile midfielder, and getting one up on their Glasgow rivals could be nice ahead of the Old Firm derby next week, so it may be one to keep an eye on ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.

In other news: Kieran Devlin has claimed that another Premier League club are now ‘in for’ this Celtic gem

Everton have held talks with Ashley Cole over a potential coaching role in Frank Lampard’s Goodison Park set-up. 

That’s according to an on-air update from Sky Sports News, which was shared via Football Daily on Twitter.

The lowdown

Lampard’s appointment as Rafael Benitez’s permanent successor was confirmed by Everton on Monday.

He spent 13 years of his playing career at Chelsea (from 2001 to 2014) and was a team-mate of Cole for more than half of that time (2006-2014). Together, they won the Premier League in 2010, the Champions League in 2012 and the Europa League in 2013.

Cole then played under Lampard at Derby County in his final season before retirement, and the then-Rams boss said that the defender’s ‘experience’ was a ‘really good’ asset, hailing him as a ‘machine’ (via Goal).

The latest

Sky Sports News reporter Hayley McQueen revealed on-air on Tuesday morning (via Football Daily) that Lampard had set about adding Cole to his backroom team. The former England left-back is set to decide whether to accept or reject the offer this week.

McQueen stated: “Little bit of news just coming into us, Frank Lampard wants Ashley Cole to join him as part of his coaching staff at Everton.”

Her colleague Jo Wilson then added: “We understand discussions have taken place to bring Lampard’s former teammate on board at Goodison Park, with a decision expected to be made in the next few days.”

The verdict

Lampard has asked the likes of Duncan Ferguson, Leighton Baines and Alan Kelly to remain at the club, but he will see Cole as a fresh face who can help to implement his vision at Goodison Park.

The 41-year-old’s presence could be invaluable. Cole has honed his coaching skills working with Chelsea’s youth teams and the England under-21 side.

A player of his stature – he has been nominated for a place in the Premier League Hall of Fame – should also command great respect from the Everton players, so it seems a sensible move from Lampard to try and instigate a reunion with his former club and international colleague.

In other news, Matt Law was stunned by this Everton transfer revelation

A major update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele…

What’s the talk?

Express journalist Ryan Taylor has revealed that the Magpies have submitted a contract to the forward ahead of the summer transfer window. The former Rennes winger’s deal with the Spanish giants expires in the summer and he is set to become a free agent, with PIF now looking to pounce on him.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “From what I understand, they’ve already made an offer to his agent for a pre-contract agreement, quite a big one as well. So, there is interest in Dembele.”

Buzzing

Eddie Howe will surely be left buzzing by this update, as the prospect of the French international arriving at St James’ Park is an exciting one.

Dembele has a wealth of experience in top-level football for club and country and still has plenty of time on his side to develop further, which is why he could be an excellent prospective addition to Newcastle’s squad. The winger played 50 games for Borussia Dortmund in Germany and has racked up 129 appearances for Barcelona, whilst also being capped 27 times by France along the way.

In that time, he has won a World Cup, two La Liga titles and two Spanish Cups – all by the age of 24. This highlights the quality and experience he could bring to the club despite his age, which is why he could be an exciting signing for fans to anticipate at the end of the season as he knows what it takes to win major silverware.

Dembele has racked up 31 goals and 23 assists for Barcelona, following on from 32 direct goal contributions in 50 matches in Germany. This shows that he has the ability to score and set up goals at the top level and suggests that he could make an impact in the final third for the Magpies next term, as he has proven it in both the Bundesliga and La Liga.

Therefore, Howe will be buzzing with the prospect of having him in his squad for the 2022/23 campaign. The ex-Bournemouth boss will also be delighted with PIF’s attempts to sign Dembele, as Taylor’s comments suggest that they are making a huge effort to bring in the Frenchman and are sparing no expense. He will now be hoping that they are able to pull a deal over the line in the coming months to lure the 24-year-old to Tyneside in July.

AND in other news, Huge blow: Newcastle facing major setback before Aston Villa, Howe will be worried…

A major claim has been made on the current ownership of Sunderland and what it means for them moving forward… 

What’s the talk?

The Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope has revealed that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is not the sole person responsible for making major decisions at the Stadium of Light.

The trust fund billionaire recently admitted that Stewart Donald & co hold the majority share in the club and Hope has now confirmed that this split in the shares has a big impact on their finances.

He tweeted: “Madrox members having to sign off on financials of key club business (such as manager appointments) & contributing to funding on a pro-rata basis would, it appears, significantly limit SAFC spending power. The “new era” is far from what we thought it would be.”

Sunderland fans will be livid

Sunderland fans will surely be left livid with this update for multiple reasons.

Firstly, they will be fuming that the previous owners are still making calls after the takeover. Louis-Dreyfus’ arrival at the club may have brought a sense of optimism and hope for the supporters as they strive for a brighter future outside of League One, but it now appears as though it has not been the fresh start that they may have been expecting it to be.

Madrox still have a major role in the club and this could frustrate fans who thought they would not be involved in the day-to-day business. This may be compounded by the disappointing recent form of the team in League One, as they have lost three of their last four games.

They lost two of those matches with an interim manager in place as the club spent almost two weeks attempting to replace Lee Johnson, eventually settling on Alex Neil. With this revelation that Madrox still have to rubber-stamp decisions, fans may be livid that they could have been the cause of the delay in making an appointment.

The supporters will also be fuming with the claim that their involvement ‘significantly’ limits spending power. This suggests that Sunderland could have been more active in the January transfer window to improve their squad without the limitations that this split ownership of the club appears to have brought.

Fans may be particularly incensed as this recent run of results has left the team seven points off the top two in the league table, having played more games than both of them. Automatic promotion now appears to be unlikely and the confusion around the ownership is just another issue the fanbase are having to deal with.

AND in other news, “We believe…”: Journo drops major Sunderland setback that’ll leave Neil livid…

Leeds United’s woes continued on Wednesday night as manager Marcelo Bielsa publicly admitted his side were “fighting relegation.”

The Yorkshire outfit were thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool at Anfield, making it eight defeats from their last 11 outings across all competitions, in which they have leaked a whopping 36 goals – nearly 3.3 goals per game.

But as poor as the Whites were defensively once again, it was Raphinha’s shocking outing that caught the eye.

After all, there was only one senior centre-back named in the starting XI in Pascal Struijk as the likes of skipper Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente were all missing through injury.

“He’s not been on it at all,” said YEP journalist Graham Smyth of the Brazil international during the game, whilst LeedsLive reporter Beren Cross graded the 25-year-old his worst performer on the night in his post-match column.

‘Continues to look a shadow of himself. Teammates asked questions as he let Andy Robertson run away from him in the run-up to Dallas’s handball. A lack of discipline in straying offside for his disallowed goal and then a petulant kick out at Robertson in a later phase of play. Attacking play did not make up for his defensive failures,’ he wrote.

As written there, the winger appeared to play a damning role in a few of the Reds’ many goals and even displayed his disappointing attitude. Of course, there is always going to be an element of frustration when you’re being trounced but there’s a line and he crossed it.

His demeanour has looked a little awry ever since he returned from the international break and after a January transfer window full of speculation, you could argue that his head has been turned.

The £36m-rated dynamo was also graded unfavourably by SofaScore, who handed him a 5.9. Hardly a surprise, given he managed only 33 touches across the 90 minutes, some 21 fewer than goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

But that doesn’t tell the full story of his ineffective he was as he also registered only one shot, made just 55% of his 20 passing attempts and he failed to create a single key chance.

Elsewhere, he was hugely lightweight, winning only one of six duels (14%), being dribbled past four times and losing possession 14 times, meaning he handed the ball back to Liverpool once every 2.4 touches, also via SofaScore.

On the above evidence, it was an absolutely disastrous outing from the Brazilian. It’s no wonder he was dropped from the starting XI at the weekend. His place may well be at risk ahead of their clash with Spurs on Saturday.

The Whites lightweight was shocking at Anfield.

AND in other news, Orta could make “huge statement” at Leeds by hiring 37 y/o “leader” to replace Bielsa…

Phil Hay was unimpressed with Leeds United’s first-half display in the Premier League clash with Tottenham, with the unfamiliar sound of boos echoing around Elland Road.

The Lowdown: Leeds being thumped by Spurs

The Whites were hoping to bounce back from their 6-0 drubbing away to Liverpool on Wednesday night, with a relegation battle looking increasingly on the cards.

It didn’t pan out that way in the opening 45 minutes against Spurs, though, with Antonio Conte’s side going 3-0 up before the half-hour mark in front of a stunned Elland Road crowd.

Leeds’ defending yet again left a huge amount to be desired and understandably the home faithful grew increasingly restless as the minutes ticked by.

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The Latest: Hay fumes at Leeds’ performance

Taking to Twitter during the first half, Hay bemoaned Leeds’ performance and made the telling observation that boos were ringing around the stadium, something he hadn’t heard at Elland Road all season until today despite the Whites’ struggles.

Just after Dejan Kulusevski gave the visitors a 2-0 lead, the journalist lamented: “Confidence, judgement…it’s all taking a hammering. A few boos after that second goal which is the first time we’ve heard that at ER this season. You can’t concede goals as easily and regularly as this.”

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The Verdict: Hugely worrying times

Leeds are arguably the most out-of-form team in the Premier League currently, with goals being conceded by the bucket load – they have now let in three or more in each of their last five league games – and confidence looking shot.

Having also lost 4-2 to Manchester United last Sunday, Marcelo Bielsa’s team have conceded 13 goals in less than 144 hours – for context, Manchester City have shipped 17 in the league since the start of the season in August.

Question marks could be raised about Bielsa’s current performance as manager, with his tactics naive and the players seemingly not showing the same levels of hunger and belief.

There is still time for results to change, with the likes of Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford hopefully returning soon, but a drastic improvement is needed quickly to get the disillusioned fan base back on side.

In other news, one Leeds player has hinted at a potential move away from Elland Road. Find out who it is here.

As new Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch settles into life at Elland Road, the American will no doubt already be assessing the state of his first-team squad.

The Whites have a number of exciting players both available and currently side-lined, but one who’s really fallen by the wayside recently, is Tyler Roberts.

The Wales international has endured a nightmare campaign thus far, scoring just once and providing only one assist for Leeds in 22 games in the Premier League, while he has quite a dismal record of just nine goals in 107 games in total for the club.

It was even telling that towards the end of Bielsa’s tenure at the club, Roberts saw his game-time for Leeds become increasingly limited, playing just over 100 minutes of Premier League football in the past seven top-flight games.

Despite seeing him sign a new three-year deal to stay at Elland Road last summer, Marsch simply has to make a ruthless call on someone who’s been underperforming for the Whites for a number of seasons now.

Former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor has previously insisted that the Welshman hasn’t shown enough in the Premier League to suggest that he’s cut out for this level – he managed just one goal in 27 top-flight appearances last season, and even that came in the penultimate game against Southampton.

Abgonlahor said: “For me, he is not good enough for Leeds or Premier League level. He has some decent touches and gets in good positions, but his passing and decision-making keeps letting him down.

“It must be frustrating to watch for Leeds fans as moves keep breaking down when Roberts is on the ball. It’s shocking how often that happens. I don’t see him as the answer for Leeds, even though Marcelo Bielsa has a lot of faith in him.”

Towards the end of the January transfer window, The Athletic’s Phil Hay mooted the idea of a potential loan move away, claiming that it would take him “out of the firing line” and that things are “not clicking” for him in Yorkshire.

At 23, Roberts is still young enough to come good eventually, but there have just been no signs of that at all for the Whites to even hedge their bets on.

A permanent move away would allow Marsch to focus on this new era he is looking to build at Elland Road, and get rid of a real deadweight.

Meanwhile, Marsch could become an instant crowd favourite by unleashing this Leeds academy talent…

Rangers will face Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur in a pre-season friendly at Ibrox this summer.

The lowdown

Rangers will likely be preparing for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first full season at the helm. In addition to drawing up transfers, they’ll also have to arrange friendlies to help the squad build fitness for competitive fixtures.

If Rangers finish second in the Scottish Premiership and fail to win the Europa League, then they’re likely to enter the second round of Champions League qualifiers, scheduled for the second half of July.

Meanwhile, the start of the SPFL season is pencilled in for the weekend of 30/31 July.

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The latest

Football London’s Alasdair Gold writes that Rangers held talks with Spurs this week over a potential summer meeting at Ibrox.

The Lilywhites are due to jet off to South Korea for two matches, and wanted to line up a game in Glasgow on their return.

And those efforts have been a success, with the ‘excited’ Spurs officially confirming the fixture for Saturday July 23.

The verdict: Exciting indeed

This can only be good news. Rangers’ players get the chance to test themselves against elite opposition, and the added intensity should be of benefit to Van Bronckhorst’s side.

Last summer, when they faced Spurs’ North London rivals Arsenal, they could only welcome 2,000 spectators amid coronavirus restrictions, but this year, there’s no reason why they can’t get close to a full house and generate considerable funds too.

And the club hierarchy will be looking for alternative revenue sources this pre-season after backing out a friendly against Celtic in Australia following a backlash from fans.

In other news, read this journalist’s concerning Alfredo Morelos claim. 

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that incoming Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will be looking to add a new centre-back to the Old Trafford ranks this summer.

The lowdown: United’s defensive struggles

This season has been a wholly forgettable one for the Red Devils and much of the hardship has come from an inability to shore up a leaky defence.

So far this term, United have conceded 52 goals in the Premier League, more than every other club in the top nine and more than Liverpool and Manchester City combined.

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Therefore, it’s unsurprising the central defensive department has already been earmarked as a position in need of strengthening over the summer…

The latest: Torres could be a target for Ten Hag

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke named one man who is already on the minds of the Old Trafford hierarchy in terms of centre-back reinforcements.

He stated: “I think ideally Ten Hag will be looking maybe at a centre-half; Pau Torres from Villareal has been mentioned. And a defensive central midfielder will be required with Matic leaving and Paul Pogba set to move on as well.”

Torres has previously been linked with a move to Manchester, but it appears that the Red Devils will face serious competition from Manchester City for the capture. As per Fabrizio Romano, the 25-year-old’s release clause of €55m-€60m (£46.3m-£50.5m) ‘will be valid this summer’.

The verdict: Reinforcements needed

Despite appearing relatively well-stocked at centre-back when Raphael Varane arrived from Real Madrid for £41m (Sky Sports), neither Ole Gunnar Solskjaer nor interim boss Ralf Rangnick have managed to get the best out of the decorated Frenchman in his injury-plagued first season at Old Trafford.

The 29-year-old has made 27 appearances across all competitions in the current campaign, whilst Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof have achieved a combined 74 outings, highlighting an inability to find a settled partnership at the back.

Meanwhile, Torres has amassed 42 appearances this term for Villarreal, helping to guide the Yellow Submarine to a Champions League semi-final in the process. The 25-year-old has been described as an ‘extraordinary talent’ by former La Liga midfielder Javi Calleja and has so far lived up to expectations.

Boasting a 7.07 Sofascore rating, the Spain international has won four duels, made 3.2 clearances and completed 54.6 accurate passes on average per game. With figures like that, he would make a superb addition to the United ranks in a position where more consistency is certainly needed.

In other news: Man Utd star could make sensational summer exit…find out more here