All posts by z3u9t.icu

There were high hopes when Rangers signed Eros Grezda from NK Osijek in 2018 but his time under Steven Gerrard at Ibrox turned into something of a nightmare, and he departed less than two years later.

Mark Allen, the Gers’ sporting director at the time, worked with Gerrard to sign the Albanian international for £2m, with the winger becoming the 14th signing of that summer following the former Liverpool captain’s appointment as the new manager of Rangers.

Although a lot of the players signed by Gerrard have gone on to become successful with the Light Blues, Grezda was unfortunately not one of them, as he managed just two goals in his brief time with the club, meaning that Rangers effectively paid £1m per goal for his services.

Considering that Grezda made 17 appearances in all competitions for Rangers, it was disappointing that he only managed to contribute two goals and one assist, all of which came in a 7-1 win against Motherwell.

Although injuries clearly played their part, with knee and ankle problems keeping him out for much of that season, his performances clearly weren’t much to write home about.

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On the few occasions that Grezda was fit, Gerrard seemingly wasn’t particularly impressed with the winger, as he was allowed to rejoin his old club in January 2020 after failing to feature at all for the Rangers first team in the first half of the 2019/20 campaign.

Osijek will no doubt be laughing all the way to the bank with regards to their transfer negotiations with Rangers for the 25-year-old, as they cashed in on him after a decent season where he managed eight goals and three assists in all competitions, before bringing him back for a fraction of the fee they received from Rangers.

However, he has barely featured this season so far for Osijek, which suggests that he may well have continued his form from his time at Ibrox with the Croatian title hopefuls.

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Certainly, you could argue that Allen made a big error in bringing Grezda to Ibrox, as he really struggled to impress in his brief spell with the club.

In other news… Gerrard handed huge potential Rangers transfer blow with “outstanding talent”

According to reports, Aston Villa are interested in signing Bournemouth starlet Ajani Burchall in this upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

The 16-year-old has burst onto the scene with the Cherries this campaign, making his first-team debut at the back end of December when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 5-0 win over Huddersfield. The occasion was even marked by former Manchester City striker Shaun Goater, who lauded his fellow Bermudan, calling him “the future”.

Now, Football Insider claim that Villa have joined the race to sign the teenage starlet this summer, with the likes of West Ham and Arsenal also said to be interested in the winger.

The report adds that Burchall has rejected a scholarship deal with Bournemouth, with a move to a Premier League club now very much on the cards.

A new Jack Grealish?

Bournemouth’s official club website has written that Burchall is “predominantly plays wide and is an exciting forward player who likes to take opponents on and has an eye for goal, while also being a hard-working, tough-tackling winger”.

Meanwhile, Burchall’s teammate at the Vitality Stadium, Steve Cook, said after his debut: “You could see how special a player he is. His first involvement was checked his shoulder, cut across a player and won his foul. For a 16-year-old, that awareness, that knowhow, I think the club have produced a really good player.

“On Saturday we had a few players who have come through the youth system, so it’s terrific. The club’s been known for that and I think Ajani has got great talent. He obviously can’t train with us day-to-day because he’s at school! But I’m sure he’s got a very good future and a very proud moment for his family.”

Given his ability to beat players one on one, his “eye for goal” and also predominantly playing off the left flank, there’s a lot of similarities between Burchall and Villa talisman Jack Grealish.

At just 16, Burchall has got the world at his feet and has got all the time in the world to grow and develop, and there’s surely no better place than Villa Park, and no better person to learn from than Grealish.

Meanwhile, Villa struck gold with this player signed by Suso…

According to a report by El Confidencial, via Sport Witness, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho is ‘on the brink’ in north London – but chairman Daniel Levy is allegedly holding out for a ‘miracle’ before thinking about replacing him.

This claim comes after Tottenham suffered another disappointing result at the weekend, with Mourinho’s men following up the dismal draw at Newcastle with a home defeat against top four rivals Man United.

Jose Mourinho claim emerges in update for Spurs

After the match, reports circulated of yet more pressure on Mourinho as Tottenham and the Lilywhites become linked with possible managerial replacements.

Alongside the likes of Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers (Daily Record), Maurizio Sarri has recently been touted (Ciro Venerato via Area Napoli) – but El Confidencial has now provided an update on Levy’s stance of sacking the Portuguese.

They claim that while Mourinho is ‘on the brink’ at Spurs, the chairman is said to be ‘obliged’ to stick with him at least until the end of this campaign as he hopes for a Tottenham ‘miracle’ in qualifying for the Champions League.

Winning the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City later this month could also go a long way for Mourinho, but this report remains unconvinced over his future.

Transfer Tavern take

A lot was expected of Tottenham after an arguably brilliant and very clever 2020 summer transfer window (Alasdair Gold), with Levy only failing to address the centre-back position with a star name.

However, as Spurs fall further away from a place in the top four with London rivals West Ham six points clear of them (BBC), questions are right to be asked regarding Mourinho.

The Lilywhites enjoyed a great run of form under the 58-year-old earlier this season and were briefly top of the league, perhaps a taster of things to still to come with the right investment and time to build a stronger squad this summer.

Acquiring a centre-half and stable defensive head could go a long way to reinforce Mourinho’s team, and he arguably still has more to prove in north London.

In other news: Tottenham make enquiry for £225,000-per-week star, find out more here.

Bleacher Report’s transfer insider Dean Jones has had his say on the rumours linking David Moyes with a move to Celtic.  

The West Ham manager has emerged as a candidate to replace Neil Lennon, with the Hoops reportedly keen to on a possible switch.

Moyes has been in charge at the London Stadium since December 2019, leading the Hammers on an unlikely push for Champions League football during the current campaign.

The 57-year-old’s contract is actually up at the end of the campaign, but there have been suggestions West Ham are ready to offer him a new contract, due to concerns that other clubs are interested in his services.

Talking on a recent episode of Touchline Talk, cited by This is Futbol, Jones shared his views on the ‘leaks’, believing the Scot may have ‘been sounded out by a third party’.

“There’s been a little bit of talk about David Moyes – I think it’s possible that he’s been sounded out by a third party just to see what he’s thinking right now.

“Obviously, his contract at West Ham is running down and I think he probably will sign a new contract at West Ham, but it wouldn’t surprise me even if the leaks have come from that end of things, because he wants to make sure that he gets what he wants at West Ham. He’s done such a good job, he should pretty much get to decide what happens from here.

“They should give him a couple more years and look to build on this, because it’s not very often that West Ham have had this kind of stability and such a strong position to build on. I’d be amazed if they didn’t assign David Moyes to a new contract, but I can definitely see why Celtic will be looking at that situation.”

Transfer Tavern take

Moyes took over from Manuel Pellegrini with West Ham flirting above the relegation zone in 2019. The transformation since then has been brilliant, and it seems as if a similar transformation at Parkhead is needed following this season’s disappointing displays.

Whether or not he would be interested in a return to Scotland remains to be seen, but with things in London going so well for Moyes, it could surprise many if he decided to make the move north.

In other news: Celtic manager target who’s had 16 jobs in 18 years makes sharp U-turn as comments emerge, find out more here.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former England international and football pundit Steve Howey has explained how Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane could leave north London at the end of this season. 

Kane has arguably been one of Spurs’ shining lights this season, alongside the likes of Son Heung-min and Tanguy Ndombele, with the Englishman proving pivotal over these last few campaigns for Tottenham.

Howey claims Kane could be ‘prised away’ from Spurs

The 27-year-old has also been tipped to potentially break Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record (The Athletic), and Howey believes that he could be ‘prised away’ from Spurs at the end of this season if Jose Mourinho’s side continues on this run of form.

“I wouldn’t be massively surprised if he was prised away at the end of the season if Tottenham struggle,” explained the former Newcastle United and Manchester City defender.

“It must be frustrating for him. He knows he’s at the top of his game and it just depends on what he wants out of his playing career.

“He’ll want to score goals and he’ll want to break Alan Shearer’s record but he would surely want to win things as well.

“Unless Tottenham change and Mourinho is allowed to bring in more top-quality players, I think it’s going to be another season

where they look good, but don’t actually do anything.”

Transfer Tavern take

Whether or not Kane does opt to depart remains to be seen, but he has been touted with a move away to the likes of Man City very recently (talkSPORT).

He could want to have an end to his career laden with silverware and Tottenham may well face losing him if they cannot provide that competitiveness to compete for major honours.

In other news: Spurs star return is ‘not even close’ according to Mourinho, find out more here.

Crystal Palace will be looking to avoid getting dragged towards a relegation battle when they face Manchester United at Selhurst Park.

Palace shared the spoils in a goalless draw with Fulham last time out in a game where Roy Hodgson’s side were somewhat lucky to get a point.

That result leaves them 10 points above the Cottagers and that gap will still feel a bit too close for comfort.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the south Londoners, as their tally of 33 points from 26 games is their highest points haul since the 1991/92 season.

Today’s match is one of three tough upcoming games for the Eagles, as after facing United they travel to Champions League-chasing Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, before welcoming relegation-battling West Bromwich Albion to Selhurst Park on 13th March.

So how do we expect Palace to line up?

Hodgson is still without ex-Man United man Wilfried Zaha with a thigh injury and the match away at Tottenham Hotspur looks like a more realistic return date for the Eagles’ talisman.

But on the flip side, Connor Wickham and Jeffrey Schlupp are both in contention to feature once again, with the latter recovering from a thigh problem.

After coming off the bench to score in Palace’s 2-1 win away at Brighton & Hove Albion, Christian Benteke kept his place in the side for the draw with Fulham, but Hodgson could rotate again and restore Jean-Philippe Mateta to the starting line-up.

The Frenchman endeared himself to the Palace faithful with an audacious back-heeled finish in that aforementioned win at Brighton and he would offer plenty of energy in that lone frontman role.

Other than that, we expect an unchanged Palace side, who could be in line for a tough evening against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s counter-attacking Man United team.

And in other news, Mostafa Mohamed linked with £22 million move to Crystal Palace

Celtic had a real opportunity this weekend to give their fiercest rivals a reminder that they’re still here.

This has been a torrid campaign for the Hoops and it didn’t get much better on Sunday afternoon, as they drew 1-1 at Parkhead.

It’s not often an Old Firm derby has little on it but because of the circumstances, this was one that was lacking in drama and ferociousness. Scott Brown wasn’t his usual bullish self and Alfredo Morelos’s discipline was near perfect.

It was a tale of two headers as Mohamed Elyounoussi’s diving leap opened the scoring before Morelos netted a tap in for the equaliser.

Elyounoussi was particularly vibrant and deserved his goal. He was playing off the wing but found himself in a central position to score a clinical header from a few yards out.

It was an inch-perfect assist from Odsonne Edouard, who delivered the cross, but besides the Frenchman and Elyounoussi, they lacked much in terms of attacking threat from other sources.

Unfortunately, it was yet another defensive mishap that cost Celtic. It’s been the story of their season to date and on this occasion, it was Jonjoe Kenny at fault.

His back pass went out for a corner from which Morelos scored and he didn’t cover himself in too much glory with his marking either.

Yet, if we are searching for positives we need to look no further than Stephen Welsh. When Christopher Jullien was ruled out for nine months, the Bhoys needed someone to step up.

Welsh has been that man. He is still relatively inexperienced but he’s struck up a fantastic partnership with Kristoffer Ajer that provides hope for the future. He has rarely put a foot wrong during his Celtic career and he was convincing once more on Sunday.

The 21-year-old was near flawless defensively, winning 85.7% of the duels he competed in. That meant the centre-back prevailed in two tackles, one interception and three clearances.

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On top of that, Welsh didn’t make a single foul, nor was he dribbled past by a Rangers player. On a day where his partner to the right, Kenny, looked out of sorts, the young centre-back managed to keep things watertight from his perspective.

Welsh was assured in possession, completing 90% of his passes while he even found room to make one of them a key pass which led to a shooting opportunity.

The central defender has only recently come into the team this year but he rose to the task of an Old Firm derby with ease. Long may his form continue.

AND in other news, Celtic must ruthlessly axe £15k-p/w “enigma” this summer, Lenny hated him…

Many Manchester United fans have been left slamming Victor Lindelof as he was named in the starting XI versus Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield.

The Sweden international was brought in to the starting line-up by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the expense of Eric Bailly who dropped to the bench, which did not go down very well with several members of the Old Trafford faithful.

The 26-year-old was a key player in getting the Red Devils a clean sheet away at Burnley last time out in the top flight, blocking three shots and making two interceptions, the highest out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch (Sofascore).

His pace would have surely been a good asset to have as well against the likes of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, but Lindelof is not as quick and paired up with Harry Maguire, it may well spell trouble for his team come the final whistle.

Manchester United fan reaction to Lindelof starting

These Man Utd supporters slammed Lindelof on Twitter after learning that he would start the match, with one fan even going as far as to claim that the central defender is ‘dreadful’:

“Not sure how Lindelöf starts he’s dreadful. would of liked Cavani up top but hopefully get a result! come on lads! #MUFC”

Credit: @adambray1996

“Ole knows Bailly will put in WORK in this match and definitely get injured. He’d gladly lose this match and Bailly remain FIT. LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE. THIS MATCH WILL EXPOSE LINDELOF.”

Credit: @Abaku_T

“As Ole included Lindelöf in the line-up, my confidence vanished, Eric Bailly is way better tbh”

Credit: @dotunadeoye11

“What’s Lindelöf doing in our line-up ohh lord have mercy on us”

Credit: @NMukabwaa

“I have no problem with Fred and McTominay though…It’s Martial (as CF) and Lindelof I have a problem with”Credit: @Abaku_T”Ole is a disappointment! With this line-up featuring Martial and Lindelof, Man United should forget winning today’s match”Credit: @Muhamma74344469In other news, find out who was slammed by MUFC fans for his display against Burnley here!

There’s a lot of focus at Liverpool right now on whether or not Georginio Wijnaldum will sign a new deal with the Merseyside club before the end of the season, but those at the club should not forget about Nathaniel Phillips.

The young centre-back’s contract with the club is set to expire at the end of the current season and his recent performances in the first-team warrant him a new deal.

Following the injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez earlier in the season, the 23-year-old was handed a rare opportunity to start by Jurgen Klopp in the Reds’ 2-1 win against West Ham United.

The academy graduate was solid in that win, earning a 6.91 rating from WhoScored for his performance, whilst Klopp was extremely complimentary of the defender following the game, saying:

“He’s a brilliant guy, smart guy, intelligent, everything.

“He’s not easy on the eye, he’s not Messi but who cares? In the air, he’s a monster! He was incredible. For the first game, I think everyone can imagine how nervy that must be after a long wait.

“It’s a crazy story, three years ago he was on his way to America to go to college.

“Twelve Championship teams wanted him and to me it was clear he was going, and I was fine with that – and it didn’t work out for whatever reason, and it’s great!

“Tonight he was spot on, helped the team incredibly.” (per talkSPORT)

Liverpool’s injury woes have eased somewhat since then, with Fabinho and Joel Matip forming a partnership at the heart of the Reds’ defence, so he has been limited to just one further appearance for the Reds this season.

However, he showed his quality in that game, as he earned a superb 7.57 rating for his performance in the 1-1 draw against Brighton in late November.

Therefore, it would be a shame to see him leave Liverpool on a free transfer at the end of the season, as he has already shown that he can be relied upon to do a job in Klopp’s first-team when required.

It would be a surprise if Phillips doesn’t make any more appearances between now and the end of the season, considering the severity of Gomez and Van Dijk’s injuries, so if he can help Liverpool retain the Premier League title, he will surely go down as a hero at the club.

So, whilst the focus may well be on Wijnaldum and whether or not he commits his future to the club, Michael Edwards and co. must ensure that Phillips’ excellent performances so far this season are rewarded with a new deal at the club.

And, in other news… Liverpool can offload dressing room favourite by signing 20 y/o replacement on a free transfer

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt has been left blown away by teenage record-breaker Dane Scarlett’s progress.

The 16-year-old became the youngest-ever player to feature for Spurs after Jose Mourinho brought him on as a second-half substitute in their 4-0 win over Ludogorets in the Europa League last month, surpassing John Bostock’s 11-year record.

Scarlett has been in fine form for the academy set-up this season having scored 13 goals in 10 matches in the U18 Premier League, and his form has earned him a call-up to the U23 squad, where he has scored in his only appearance, which came just two weeks ago, as per Transfermarkt.

On Saturday afternoon, the teen prodigy was omitted from the youth squad entirely, which could signal Mourinho’s intention to play him this evening as they head to Stoke City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

He may not start with Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale both pushing for minutes, but he may well feature from the bench should things go to plan against the Championship outfit.

And Mabbutt has been taken aback by his rapid progression…

Speaking to FFC, he said:

“Of course, I mean, 16 years of age and he’s playing in the Spurs first team!

“That must have given him so much confidence and proof to him of what he can achieve.

“He’s been doing fantastically in the U18s, and yes, the manager is prepared to give youngsters a chance if you prove yourself. As I said, it is all about proving yourself and having that desire to be the best.

“It’s [a] competition. It is a constant competition. Every single day of your life as a player, you are proving yourself and that you are worthy of being in the first XI.”

Indeed, when you are sticking three or four goals past some top academies at youth level, you’re going to get noticed, and after the ‘Special One’ took a keen look at him in pre-season, it’s obvious that he’s seen something in the young gem.

There now won’t be a better chance to see Spurs’ future in action than in this very competition with the side advancing through into the Europa League knockout stages and battling for a place in the Premier League’s top four.

AND in other news, Forget Aurier: £85k-p/w Spurs star who lost possession 24 TIMES vs Leicester let Mourinho down abysmally…