All posts by z3u9t.icu

The Celtic departure lounge is beginning to become a busy social hub right now.

Kristoffer Ajer is on the verge of heading to England, while Odsonne Edouard could still move towards the exit door.

What’s the word?

The Hoops are in danger of losing a number of players this summer, with Callum McGregor also appealed by the opportunity of moving south of the border.

Another player linked with a move to the Premier League is Ryan Christie. The Scotland international is fielding interest from Crystal Palace, but fresh reports dictate that they’re not the only club vying for his signature.

According to The Scottish Sun, Christie is set to receive a ‘life-changing’ offer from Saudi club Al-Hilal. His contract expires in January and he is essentially free to leave the Hoops without much money being involved.

Time to go

After the arrival of Liel Abada this week and the potential signing of Kristijan Lovric, this feels like the ideal time for Celtic to part company with Christie.

The attacking midfielder has been a wonderful servant to the club, scoring 40 goals and registering 41 assists in 142 outings. He was on fire in 2019/20, finding the net on 20 occasions.

However, much like Celtic in general, he endured a torrid 2020/21 campaign. Christie only beat the goalkeeper seven times last season and was relentlessly hounded by a number of supporters.

It was easy to see why. Although he was fielded out of position on the wing, the Scotland international had a nasty habit of attempting shots on goal from long-range instead of taking the smarter option of finding a closer teammate.

Talking about his form last season, Frank McAvennie told Football Insider: “He’s stopped chasing the ball, he looked so eager at the start of his career. Now he doesn’t look bothered.

“He’s lost his hunger, his appetite. That said, he was playing out of position last season.

“He became a bit of a laughing stock, he was just picking the ball up and shooting but he deserved some slack.”

With that in mind, it would be a surprise if the £12,000-per-week earner had any role to play under new manager Ange Postecoglou.

With a bid from Al-Hilal in the pipeline, Christie must use it as his excuse to finally leave Glasgow behind. Last season showed us that it’s time for Celtic to sever relations with the 26-year-old.

AND in other news, Postecoglou can seal his best Celtic signing yet in “exciting” 48-goal animal…

England legend Ashley Cole has suggested that Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips is a limited player in terms of his creativity in the middle of the park.

The Lowdown: Phillips shines for Leeds

Few players, if any, have been more influential for Leeds during the Marcelo Bielsa era, with the 25-year-old playing exceptionally in a deep-lying role.

Phillips’ form has seen him called into England’s squad for Euro 2020 this summer, with manager Gareth Southgate hailing him as ‘fabulous’ in the past. The Whites ace could even start the Three Lions’ opener against Croatia on Sunday, especially if Jordan Henderson isn’t deemed fit enough.

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The Latest: Cole casts doubt over Whites hero

Speaking on ITV [via MOT Leeds News] after England’s 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday, in which Phillips started, Cole claimed that he and Declan Rice lacked the vision of Henderson, saying: “That’s his strength [Henderson], that ability to play a bit longer which I don’t think the other two have in their locker.”

The 2012 Champions League winner later took to Twitter to defend his comments after a Leeds fan page, vexed by the criticism of Phillips, sent the 40-year-old a video of the Whites player executing an inch-perfect long pass.

Cole retorted: “Now show me where he’s doing that in and around the halfway line to put someone in or create a goal-scoring opportunity? Another question, does Kalvin Phillips play the same or similar role when playing for Leeds as he does for England?”

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The Verdict: Hugely unfair criticism

This is hugely unjust criticism from Cole, even if Phillips doesn’t always spray the amount of long-range passes Henderson does.

One pinpoint ball found Jadon Sancho in the first half against Romania, prior to the Borussia Dortmund winger firing over the bar, and he has shown numerous times for Leeds how good he is in possession.

As a comparison, Henderson played an average of 0.7 key passes per game in the Premier League last season, whereas Phillips averaged 1.2, suggesting he is actually the more inventive of the two on the ball.

In other news, a former Leeds player is keen for the Whites to bring in a Premier League attacker this summer. Find out who it is here.

Sunderland have been handed a huge boost in their bid to bring Jonson Clarke-Harris to the Stadium of Light this summer.

What’s the talk?

In a recent interview with Transfer Tavern, the Peterborough United director of football Barry Fry admitted that he is resigned to losing the services of the Sunderland transfer target in the upcoming window, and would not stand in the way of the 26-year-old centre-forward leaving if an acceptable offer was made – with reports suggesting a fee of around £8m should be enough to land the striker.

Fry said: “How can you stand in their way? Because it not only affects their life, it affects their families, their parents and grandparents. It is life-changing and we must do it.

“Obviously, we would like to keep all our players – Dwight Gayle, Britt Assombalonga, Ivan Toney, Jack Marriott – what a team we would have had. We would have had 10 centre-forwards and no defenders!”

Fans will be buzzing

With Sunderland’s own top league goalscorer Charlie Wyke being linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light at the end of the season, if the Black Cats somehow managed to bring Clarke-Harris to the club as the 28-year-old’s replacement – something that appears all the more possible after Fry’s latest comments – fans would undoubtedly be buzzing.

Over the £6.1k-per-week hitman’s 45 League One appearances for Posh this season, he scored a whopping 31 goals, registered three assists and created 11 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.9 shots and making one key pass per game, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 7.24 – ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in the third tier.

As such, it goes without saying just how good of a signing the £225k-rated man would be for Lee Johnson’s side, particularly if the Black Cats do go on to lose Wyke this summer.

However, with Peterborough earning automatic promotion to the Championship this season, it would seem a highly unlikely scenario that Clarke-Harris – whom Barry Fry previously dubbed a “fantastic” player – would be willing to take the step back down to a club who are still playing their football in League One.

And, with Sunderland currently trailing 2-0 to Lincoln City in their play-off semi-final, at present, it would very much seem as if Johnson’s side will remain in the third tier of English football as of next season – something that could well rule them out of the running of a move for Clarke-Harris.

In other news: Nixon drops big SAFC claim over £653k-rated “wizard” that’ll surely leave fans gutted – opinion

Noel Whelan isn’t convinced Tyler Roberts will remain a Leeds United player moving forward, as his Whites career hangs in the balance.

The Lowdown: Not a key man for Leeds

Leeds were superb back in the Premier League last season, with individuals such as Kalvin Phillips, Stuart Dallas, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford standing out, among others.

One player who was more of a peripheral figure was Roberts, with the Welshman only starting 14 out of 38 league games for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

He has been linked with a move to Newcastle United this summer, but a new contract has also reportedly been offered to him at Leeds.

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The Latest: Whelan discusses Roberts’ future

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan expressed doubts over Roberts’ worth moving forward, saying he finds it hard to see him becoming a regular:

“Yeah, that’s the thing with these international tournaments.

“They put people on the map and you can either make it or break it. With Leeds this season, he’s been given a long spell of games to convince Bielsa he’s worth keeping.

“In my opinion, I’m still undecided. I don’t think he affected the game during his time on the field.  As a number ten, you have to do more than he did. This is a massive tournament for him.

“The only thing tempting me to keep him at Leeds is the fact that he’s young. He may still have a bit of growth to come.

“If there’s interest from Newcastle and the contract isn’t signed, he might feel he needs a new start in his career. It’s massive to leave a club like Leeds.

“But once he comes back to Leeds I doubt he’ll start considering how Rodrigo finished the season.”

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The Verdict: Time for a change?

At 22, Roberts still has time to mature as a player, but it does feel as though a fresh challenge could end up suiting all parties.

The Wales international, who Tony Pulis once described as ‘very talented’, could start for a lesser Premier League team, but that looks increasingly difficult at Leeds.

Bielsa will likely be looking to bring in even more attacking quality this summer, which could send Roberts further down the pecking order.

In other news, one pundit believes Leeds could make one bargain signing this summer. Find out who it is here.

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt yet another blow in their bid to appoint a new manager at The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett, who revealed in a post on Twitter that Michael Appleton has informed the Baggies hierarchy that he does not wish to take on the vacant role at The Hawthorns.

According to Dorsett, the 45-year-old Lincoln City manager wants to remain with his current side in order to see through his ongoing project with the Imps, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship under the former West Brom U23 coach last season.

Silver lining

It’s been rather challenging to keep up with all the managers who have reportedly turned down the offer of becoming Sam Allardyce’s successor at The Hawthorns this summer, with Appleton being the latest addition to a list that includes the likes of Roy Hodgson, Frank Lampard and David Wagner.

In addition to this glut of rejection, the club’s owner, Guochuan Lai, and the Baggies chief executive, Xu Ke, now appear to be conducting the search for their next manager on their own, following the recent departure of the club’s sporting and technical director Luke Dowling.

However, when looking for a positive in all this mess, one thing that stands out is the rapidly reducing size of Lai’s shortlist, with the businessman ruling out the likes of Swansea City’s Steve Cooper and Barnsley’s Valerien Ismael due to the fact he would have to pay compensation to bring them to the club.

As such, one of the only viable candidates left remaining is the former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder, a candidate whom the West Brom owner had originally vetoed the Championship side making a move for.

However, the possibility of Lai making a u-turn on his decision regarding the 53-year-old could well be put to the test in the coming days, and likely depends on how firmly against paying a fee to bring in the club’s next manager the owner really is.

If he sticks to his guns, in addition to all of the other available managers rejecting the club’s advances, Lai may not have a choice to appoint Wilder at The Hawthorns, something that would very much appear to be a considerable silver lining to Appleton’s rejection.

In other news: Lai could have just made his biggest West Brom mistake to date, fans are rightly livid

Carlo Ancelotti shouldn’t have to make too many changes to his side when Everton face Sheffield United on Sunday.

The Blades have already been relegated and are one of the worst sides defensively in the whole Premier League.

On paper, Dominic Calvert-Lewin should have a field day against his former employers.

The striker has scored 21 goals this term and is back in form having bagged two goals in his last three outings.

On the chalkboard

During the Toffees’ 0-0 draw with Aston Villa last time out, a few players let the manager and coaching staff down.

Seamus Coleman had a troublesome afternoon down the right while Allan was bypassed on a regular basis in the middle of the park.

Another player who should be sweating over his place in the side is Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Bought for £45m, it’s hard to argue the Iceland international has ever truly been worth that sum of money. He is their joint chief creator on nine assists but he has put in a number of sluggish displays in a row now.

Sigurdsson scored twice against Spurs back in April but he’s not been involved in a single goal since; that’s a run stretching to four matches.

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He lost 75% of his duels against Villa and has completed just three key passes and one dribble during those aforementioned four outings.

His influence in the final third has waned significantly so it wouldn’t be a great surprise if Ancelotti turns to someone else on Sunday.

Everton should have enough quality to defeat the Blades but they’d be better off without the 31-year-old in their side on Sunday.

Sigurdsson has had a productive campaign, finding himself involved in 17 goals, but he now hasn’t created a goal since the middle of March. That simply isn’t good enough for a team chasing European football.

With that in mind, their manager should turn to James Rodriguez and axe his £100k-per-week attacking midfielder.

The Colombian is back from an injury that’s ruled him out of the last three matches and he should return to the fray immediately. With nine assists to his name, James could bring some much-needed creativity from the flanks.

AND in other news, Everton must swoop for £300k-p/w “outstanding technician”, he’s shades of Tim Cahill…

Young Boys striker Jean-Pierre Nsame is on Newcastle United’s list of targets ahead of the summer transfer window, according to TEAMtalk.

The 27-year-old is also said to be on the radar of Southampton, West Ham and Celtic.

No surprise prolific Nsame is being eyed by PL sides

The Cameroonian has scored 25 goals and assisted a further nine in 38 appearances this season (Transfermarkt). Four of those goals have come in the Europa League, with Young Boys progressing to the round of 16 before they were eliminated by Ajax.

Nsame is just three short of a century of goals for the Swiss Super League outfit, having made 167 appearances (Transfermarkt). In 2020, only Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Ciro Immobile bettered his tally of 33 goals among Europe-based players (via FIFA.com).

Nsame says he takes inspiration from Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, who operates as ‘a focal point for breaks or clearances due to his technical precision’.

How much would Nsame cost?

Transfermarkt value him at just £6.3m, and Young Boys may decide that a sale this summer is wise given that he’s about to enter the final two years of his contract.

Of course, there’s a possibility that rival offers from the likes of Southampton and West Ham could drive up the fee, but remember that Newcastle once paid £40m for Joelinton so they’re not averse to splashing the cash.

Transfer Tavern verdict

This has the hallmarks of a bargain deal. Nsame may not be playing in one of Europe’s elite leagues but his goalscoring record remains remarkably impressive.

It’s not as if he’s only been filling his boots against minnows, either. He scored in both Europa League group stage meetings with Roma, who are about to take on Manchester United in the semi-finals.

If Newcastle were to be priced out a move for Tammy Abraham, Nsame could be a shrewd alternative.

In other news, an Arabian journalist has made this claim about a possible Newcastle takeover date.

West Ham United could make their third signing from Slavia Prague in the space of 18 months.

According to a report from insiders Claret & Hugh, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal ‘could easily be joined’ by striker Abdallah Sima this summer.

19-year-old Sima has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season. Four of those goals came during Slavia’s run to the last eight of the Europa League, in which he scored at the King Power as they stunned Leicester at the end of February.

‘Clubs notice’ talents like Sima

Premier League legend Petr Cech claims ‘there aren’t many players like’ Sima in Europe.

“When a player appears who, at such a young age, succeeds in senior football, starts scoring goals and produces in Europe, clubs notice,” he said, speaking to iSport.

The Senegalese international is valued at £9.9million by Transfermarkt, and Manchester United are also said to be monitoring him.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It’s clear that West Ham are looking to repeat the trick here – Soucek and Coufal have both been revelations since they moved to the London Stadium.

The former made his move permanent in the summer for a fee of £15million and he’s impressively netted 12 goals from defensive midfield in 49 appearances for the club (via Transfermarkt).

Coufal joined at the end of the window for just £4.5million and the right-back has been almost an ever-present, playing 90 minutes in all but one match, and has contributed five assists (via Transfermarkt).

Breaking The Lines’ James Lloyd wrote that the right-back could be considered ‘the bargain of the summer’.

The Irons may just have hit on a hugely effective recruitment strategy.

In other news, West Ham have made an enquiry for this ‘keeper.

New York Red Bulls director Kevin Thelwell has recently revealed that some at Celtic wanted to keep forward Patryk Klimala at Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Klimala’s big-money deal and wage increase

Klimala made the move to the MLS last month, ending his Celtic Park career after just 15 months.

The 22-year-old cost the Hoops £3.6m back in 2020, however, Celtic sold the striker for £3.93m despite the Pole scoring just three times in 28 appearances.

Reports have suggested add-ons could take the deal up to £5m, with Klimala now on around $22,000-a-week (£15,500) stateside.

The Latest: Thelwell’s claim on the forward

New York Red Bulls director Kevin Thelwell was recently talking about Klimala to The Atheltic and admitted that some at Parkhead actually ‘didn’t want to let him go’ – an intriguing six-word admission.

“I had outstanding references on him at Celtic. There were some people there who didn’t want to let him go, didn’t feel he had the opportunity perhaps he should have done and were also saying if he did get the opportunity Celtic would have been a lot better for it.

“These are people I trust and people we trust within our network.”

The Verdict: An offer too good to turn down

Let’s be honest, the offer from New York Red Bulls was just too good to turn down. Celtic have ended up making an immediate £330,000 profit on a player who averaged a goal every nine appearances.

He failed to become a mainstay in the Hoops side and had to deal with cameo appearances from the bench.

If the bid from New York Red Bulls was less than £3m, we could understand the Hoops rejecting it and keeping faith with the forward.

However, that wasn’t the case and we don’t feel that Celtic have made the wrong decision, even if some inside Celtic Park feel they might have.

In other news: ‘Howe wants…’ – Alan Nixon drops Celtic managerial demand which could be good news for Dom McKay, find out more here. 

Steve Bruce has dropped a very worrying piece of early team news as Newcastle United play Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match at St. James’ Park against the North London club, the former Aston Villa and Sunderland boss claimed: “I wouldn’t have thought Callum will be available.”

Newcastle need Wilson

The North East club will need Wilson to be back onto the pitch as soon as possible in order to give them the best possible chance of avoiding being relegated from the top flight down to the EFL Championship.

The former AFC Bournemouth ace has emerged as their main man so far in the 2020/21 term, as he has scored more goals and made more assists than any other player at the Tyneside club in the league, with 10 and five respectively (Whoscored).

He offers more than just his goals and assists as well, as he is able to stretch defenders with his pace and movement and thus allow other players like Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron to thrive in attacking areas.

Nonetheless, the Magpies may have to try and find a way of beating Spurs without their talisman, which will not be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

In other news, find out which former EPL manager is the leading contender to replace Bruce if he leaves here!