All posts by z3u9t.icu

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith is eyeing a move for Southampton and England midfielder James Ward-Prowse in the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

After tying up a deal for Norwich City star Emi Buendia recently, fending off competition from Premier League rivals Arsenal in the process, it appears Villa are keen on getting their transfer business done early.

According to The Guardian, Smith is keen on making a move for Ward-Prowse, and that would tie in with what the Villa boss recently had to say about the club’s transfer plans.

He said: “In terms of our recruitment, we talk about the sweet spots that we’re looking for, which is that the players have Premier League experience and are (ideally) British because there is no adaptation risk at all.”

Dean Smith would love him

Dubbed a “machine” by his teammates at St Mary’s, the £27m-rated star enjoyed a superb campaign in the Premier League last season, netting eight goals and providing a further seven assists in the top-flight alone – including scoring twice and setting up another in that thrilling 4-3 win over Villa back in November.

At just 26, Ward-Prowse is another young leader and captain like Jack Grealish is, and that kind of combination of youth and experience should have Smith absolutely raving, just like Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Speaking about Ward-Prowse’s influence, he said: “You have to walk out there and always be the role model of what we are standing for. When you see him running and him fighting for everything in every game then this is what a captain should do.

“Not speaking in the dressing room or telling people how it works, but showing it on the pitch how it works. For me, this is how a captain should be.”

Ward-Prowse’s set-pieces are a thing of beauty, with Pep Guardiola even calling him the best free-kick taker he’s ever seen. And, after watching him produce an impressive display against his side, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was equally effusive in his praise.

He said: “We played some fantastic football and created so many chances. We must have had five or six clear-cut opportunities but they had Ward-Prowse! You can’t stop him.

“It’s just one of them where you hope you don’t give set-pieces away. He’s got the quality and it’s one of them, you can’t blame anyone.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/aston-villa-dean-smith-transfer-window-premier-league-villa-park-emi-buendia-gregg-evans-gossip-rumours-update-news” title=”Read the latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news!”]

Given his leadership and ability to score goals and to create them, Ward-Prowse seems like the perfect next signing for Villa after the capture of Emi Buendia.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith could sign a new Christian Benteke in this star…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 157 appearances for Newcastle United, has urged the Magpies to appoint an English manager if Steve Bruce leaves this summer.

Bruce was on talkSPORT earlier this week and he claimed that his future is for other people to decide and not himself, as speculation grows whether or not he will remain in the dugout at St James’ Park next season.

This comes after reports earlier in the year that Mike Ashley would be offering Bruce a new contract at the end of the season if he managed to keep Newcastle in the Premier League, which he has managed to do.

Speaking on why he would like Newcastle to appoint another English manager after Bruce and how there are a lot of good managers in this country, Howey exclusively told FFC:

“I think we’ve got some very good managers in this country but for some reason we always want to go foreign, and there are some very good foreign managers don’t get me wrong, but it puzzles me.

“For some reason clubs always want to go foreign first, and that’s their prerogative, but I would always look at home first.”

Bruce appeared to be in danger of losing his job after Newcastle’s 3-0 defeat away to Brighton earlier this season with even some players thinking he was about to be sacked, but he stayed in the hot-seat and has turned the club away from relegation.

A name that has been linked with taking over from Bruce if he was to depart this summer is Gennaro Gattuso, who has recently managed AC Milan and is currently in charge at Napoli.

Liverpool have been handed a huge boost for tonight’s clash against Burnley after Jurgen Klopp confirmed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in contention and that James Milner may also be fit enough to make a return.

The Reds travel to Turf Moor this evening to take on Sean Dyche’s men in what could prove to be a pivotal encounter for their Champions League qualification hopes.

Klopp’s charges are currently sitting in the fifth position in the Premier League standings, just three points behind fourth-placed Leicester City. However, the six-time European champions have a game in hand over the Foxes, and their superior goal difference means Liverpool are in control of their own destiny.

A dramatic win last time out against West Bromwich Albion, courtesy of goalkeeper Alisson Becker’s injury-time effort, has kept the Anfield outfit’s top-four dreams alive, and now they’ve been handed another significant lift.

In a press conference on Tuesday (as reported by the Liverpool Echo), Klopp revealed experienced midfielder Milner was set to take part in training, while Oxlade-Chamberlain had recovered from illness.

“Milly will train today but is that enough to be involved tomorrow? I will see,” he said. “Ox was ill. Ox is back.”

The potential return of the duo is bound to have Klopp buzzing after having to cope without several key players throughout the current campaign due to injury.

It would allow the enigmatic German manager to field Fabinho in the centre of defence if he so wishes knowing he has experienced heads to call upon to fill the gap left in the engine room, or simply offers him more experienced options from the bench should he require them.

Liverpool’s season hinges on tonight’s result against Burnley, but the return of Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain is certainly a big boost to their chances, whether either of the duo start or are able to come on from the bench, as tonight has the feel of a game where experienced stars will be more beneficial than raw youngsters.

And, in other news… Asking price set: Edwards must act to sign Reds target with a pass accuracy of 87.1%

Dom Howson recently claimed that Sheffield Wednesday could struggle to keep hold of Josh Windass this summer…

What’s been said?

According to Howson’s post on Twitter, should Wednesday suffer relegation to League One come the end of the season, the club will “have a job on their hands” in keeping the attacking midfielder at Hillsborough.

Howson also claimed in an article of his for Examiner Live that it would be unlikely the 27-year-old will be short of suitors in the summer transfer window, with West Bromwich Albion being credited with an interest in Windass back in January.

Owls must not sell

Sheffield Wednesday fans will require no explanation as to how important Windass has been to their side this season, with the £1.44 million-rated midfielder scoring nine goals and providing five assists over his 39 Championship appearances, as well as creating seven big chances and making an average of 0.7 key passes per game.

Additionally, the former Rangers man’s performances have seen him average a SofaScore match rating of 6.80 – ranking the 27-year-old as Wednesday’s sixth-best player in the second tier – with Sue Smith claiming that the midfielder is a “constant threat” for the Owls’ attack.

Furthermore, the appointment of Darren Moore as the club’s manager back in March appears to have improved the midfielder’s game significantly, with Windass scoring four goals and providing four assists over the 12 games the 47-year-old has been at the club.

As such, should Wednesday go on to suffer relegation to League One this summer, retaining Windass ahead of next season would undoubtedly boost the Owls’ chances of an immediate return to the Championship, particularly under the guidance of Moore.

However, whether or not the midfielder himself would be open to staying at Hillsborough after relegation is another matter entirely, particularly if a team such as West Brom declares their interest, although even if that is the case, the club should be doing everything in their power to keep the 27-year-old on their books as if he does leave, Moore will surely be gutted to lose such an influential player ahead of what will be a massive season.

In other news: Forget Borner: Shocking Sheff Weds star who lost possession 30x badly let Moore down – opinion

Tottenham Hotspur have Jerome Boateng atop their summer transfer wishlist…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Sport Bild, who claim the 32-year-old is attracting interest from Spurs ahead of the expiry of his contract at Bayern Munich next month.

Boateng will be free to join any club he wants in the upcoming window and it is believed he would accept a substantial pay cut to his reported £210k-per-week wages, though he desires a lengthy three-year contract.

Last month, Sky Germany suggested the German international had held ‘concrete talks’ with the North London outfit.

Short-term fix

It seems apparent that reinforcements in defence will be the priority for Spurs, regardless of who is in charge next season.

Alasdair Gold at football.london believes they are particularly looking for a centre-back with leadership qualities and ideally, he would be one of two additions in the role.

Hardly a surprise given defensive mistakes and inconsistencies have been the defining theme of Spurs’ tumultuous season.

A move for Boateng could well be an interesting option to consider as it will cost Levy nothing in terms of a transfer fee, and that will save a ton of money when it comes to finding that other central defensive signing.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-manager-update-gossip-transfer-rumours-daniel-levy-enic-mason-mourinho-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”]

It would also fulfil their desire to find that leader at the back.

The 6 foot 3 colossus is a vastly experienced defender that has won multiple trophies, including a World Cup, nine Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues.

Back in 2015, Boateng was considered one of the very best in the world. “He has stabilised his play and now he is a complete player,” claimed former German international Matthias Sammer. “There’s no question that he is the best defender in the world.”

Despite not being offered an extension at the Allianz Arena, he has regularly featured for the Bundesliga champions, playing 37 times in all competitions and remains one of their best ball-playing options, with an average passing accuracy of 88% in the German top-flight.

He’s also not really regressed, so there shouldn’t be many doubts over his suitability to perform for Spurs. As European football expert Kevin Hatchard told talkSPORT this week:

“He is very much back this season. Hansi Flick is a big supporter of Boateng, he’s played him in the vast majority of the games and he wanted to keep him,” before adding: “I think he would be a good short-term option for Spurs. If he shows the form he’s shown this season then he could do well. And he’s free.”

The 76-cap beast would be a fine short-term fix to Spurs’ defensive issues and if Levy can tie him down to a smaller length contract, then it would certainly be a masterstroke.

AND in other news, Levy spends £60m on 3 new signings: How Spurs’ XI could look if Scott Parker is hired…

After their last swap deal involving Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan ended in disaster, the Red Devils may have been cautious to complete such transfers once again.

However, TuttoSport have suggested that the Red Devils could send the lesser-seen Donny van de Beek to Juventus in order to facilitate a move for current Bianconeri midfielder Adrien Rabiot.

It’s a move which would make perfect sense, albeit in the process admitting that bringing the Dutchman to Old Trafford was a mistake.

When comparing the two players, Rabiot comes out on top in most, if not all, facets of the game.

According to WhoScored, the former Paris Saint-Germain ace has attempted more shots per game this season – 0.8 to 0.1 – than van de Beek. Those numbers are justified in their respective outputs with Rabiot having scored twice to the Dutchman’s once.

Whilst that lack of goal threat could be a direct consequence of van de Beek’s lack of action and the fact that his position is occupied by Bruno Fernandes, there is not a single attacking statistic in which the former Ajax man is victorious.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-man-united-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=” Latest Man United transfer rumours and news!”]

He completes fewer key passes and fewer passes in general, whilst the only positive he has on his Juventus counterpart is that he only has 0.7 unsuccessful touches per game to Rabiot’s 1.3.

Meanwhile, the Frenchman has a far better pass success rate and contributes 3.3 greater defensive contributions per appearance than van de Beek.

They are certainly statistics which could suggest that Rabiot is a fantastic all-around midfielder, a sentiment echoed by Old Lady boss Andrea Pirlo, who has labelled him as a “complete player”.

It appears that Manchester United would be getting a far better player in return, so Ed Woodward should certainly consider jettisoning van de Beek in exchange for Rabiot in a deal which could potentially be far more profitable than the disastrous Sanchez and Mkhitaryan swap.

AND in more news, take a look at which Red Devils legend has saved the club “millions”…

David Sullivan must block all approaches for Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek this summer, after Keith Gillespie claimed the West Ham duo are perfect for Manchester United.

The Red Devils product has been speaking with This Is Futbol, and suggested the Irons duo would “walk into” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad.

Reports by 90min have linked the Old Trafford natives with a move for Rice this off-season, but the England international is a player of interest for a host of top Premier League sides.

Manchester United have allegedly revived their interest in Rive over recent months, as club chiefs believe the 22-year-old can fill a hole in midfield and provide cover at centre-back.

Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea – who were quoted £80m last year – are also said to be tracking Rice, but Gillespie agrees with talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara in that he can see the West Ham product wearing the red of his former side in the future.

“I’m really impressed. I probably agree, they probably would walk into Man United’s team,” Gillespie said. “That probably shows how badly they need midfielders.

“You’ve got [Nemanja] Matic, who’s coming towards the end. You’ve got Fred, who – for all his hard work and endeavour – gives the ball away too much. You’ve got [Scott] McTominay, who at times looks the part and at times doesn’t.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-west-ham-news-and-views-2″ title=”The latest West Ham news and views!”]

Any side wishing to sign Rice this summer faces having to pay £100m, while Soucek is expected to have a list of suitors after proving to be a crucial part of West Ham’s surprise push for a European qualifying berth.

But even at £100m for Rice and however much the Irons demand for Soucek – who has a TransferMarkt valuation of £36m – Sullivan should be blocking all approaches, as the pair are too key to what David Moyes is building at the London Stadium.

The reports of Manchester United’s interest in Rice also claimed that players like Nemanja Matic and Phil Jones had come up in discussions of a part-exchange potentially involving Jesse Lingard, but West Ham would be taking a step back by accepting those terms.

“When you look at say, Liverpool, and you had Fabinho that would play that role for Liverpool and do that really well – sit and let other people go forward. I’d put N’Golo Kante in that bracket, that’s what Declan Rice does for West Ham,” Tony Cascarino told talkSPORT following news he had sustained a lateral knee ligament injury.

“He sits, he picks things, he can see things, the players trust him around him and he does the A,B,C’s of football – the simplistic things that affect a team – really well. He keeps the ball, so it is a huge blow; it is that N’Golo Kante, it’s that Fabinho role that he does brilliantly well. Fine lines, small margins make massive differences.”

Meanwhile Soucek has helped to transform the engine room at the London Stadium by adding a box-to-box machine, capable of offering defensive support and the final touch with a team-high nine goals in 30 Premier League games this term.

“He has been awesome. He has transformed West Ham, he really has. What a player he’s been for them,” O’Hara told talkSPORT last month. “A great signing that went under the radar, but his performances have been absolutely exceptional.

“If you’re Soucek and you’re having the season you are and say Man United come along, because Man United need a player like him, he’d walk into their team with his energy, his runs and scores goals.”

But no matter how much Manchester United need players like Soucek and Rice, Sullivan should put an endless stream of hurdles between them as cashing-in would no doubt break Moyes and the plans he has developed.

AND in other news, West Ham land major boost in race to sign “complete” £11m-rated target for free…

Speaking to Football Insider, a Tottenham Hotspur source has revealed Daniel Levy’s multiple exit offers for Danny Rose with the club having tried to get him off the wage bill by buying out a significant portion of his contract – but the Englishman has snubbed the proposals and will leave this summer instead.

The left-back, who has been omitted by manager Jose Mourinho this season and left without a squad number, knocked back Levy’s proposals to terminate his deal early with negotiations grounding to a halt as he wanted his contract paid off in full.

Tottenham source reveals multiple Levy exit offers for Rose

Levy allegedly only offered to pay off a ‘significant portion’ of his £70,000-per-week deal, with the 30-year-old now set to leave in the summer as a free agent instead when it properly expires.

Rose could have left in January as Football Insider also explain that he tried to secure a permanent move to Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor – and a long term offer was ‘on the table’.

However, due to COVID-19 regulations, Trabzonspor pulled out at the eleventh hour – leaving Rose at Tottenham and giving Levy and co no choice but to seek other means of an early exit.

Transfer Tavern take

As these attempts are revealed, the Lilywhites chairman could be ruing the fact he couldn’t manage to find a permanent buyer for him.

Rose has been an amazing servant for the club down the years, but he’s certainly milked the chairman for all he can this season.

In other news: Alasdair Gold slammed this ace for his performance against Zagreb, find out more here.

Leicester City have, in recent years, earned a reputation as one of the masters of the transfer market.

That title is well-earned too, with the Foxes having unearthed a few bargains and earned a considerable amount in big-money sales.

As a matter of fact, pundit Jason Cundy has reserved special praise for the recruitment department at the King Power Stadium, stating that there is an “endless list” of success stories.

Whilst that is tough to disagree with considering the bargain fees that it has taken to bring the likes of Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N’Golo Kante and many others to the East-Midlands, the Foxes’ list of recruitment failures is even more shocking.

Since the club earned promotion to the Premier League in 2014, they have produced an outlay of approximately £480m in the transfer market, with a lot of the more expensive players making little to no impact at the club.

A long list of strikers including Andrej Kramaric, Islam Slimani and Ahmed Musa were all then club-record signings following their respective arrivals. Costing just over £55m between them, they could only score 23 goals at a cost of approximately £2.3m per strike.

That poor recruitment continues into midfield where the likes of Gokhan Inler, Vicente Iborra and Adrien Silva have all been secured at huge expense, the latter being even costlier considering his inexplicable and infamous late registration. Embarrassingly, both the Portuguese ace and Inler were let go on free transfers.

Even the cheaper arrivals such as Yohan Benalouane, Ron Robert-Zieler, Bartosz Kapustka, Filip Benkovic and Rachid Ghezzal all must go down as poor buys.

Whilst it is somewhat unfair to have expected every transfer at the King Power Stadium to have been a success, Leicester’s list of failures is quite extensive, accumulating approximately £135m in wasted fees. Whilst that is not the most extortionate amount compared to Premier League rivals, it is simply unsustainable for a club the size of Leicester.

The East-Midlanders may well be deserving of their transfer market masters tag and indeed Cundy’s praise but this “endless list” of successes that he mentions is accompanied by an equally lengthy list of poor purchases too, which should not be overlooked.

AND in more news, have a look at which Barcelona star the Foxes need to look into signing again…

Sunderland were halted in their tracks in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon.

A 2-2 draw felt like daylight robbery for a Mackems side severely off the pace when they travelled to Gresty Road to face Crewe.

On the chalkboard

This was a performance that was completely out of tune with how the last few weeks have been.

Lee Johnson has made this Sunderland side a force to be reckoned with, recently seeing off fellow promotion hopefuls, Doncaster.

He has made the Black Cats’ attack infinitely better with Charlie Wyke and Aiden McGeady among the most prolific in their position in the league. The former is League One’s second top scorer while nobody has more assists in the entire division than McGeady. That stat defies belief when you consider he didn’t play until December.

Though, there are still issues lingering. McGeady’s utterly anonymous performance last weekend proved that when he’s not providing chances for Wyke, Sunderland really struggle.

The fact that Sunderland’s left winger was not his usual self was made all the more worse by Callum McFadzean’s performance. He completed a woeful 54% of his passes and lost possession 26 times.

The solution

So, how does Johnson solve a problem like this one? It’s been a difficult area for him to try and paper over.

McFadzean has shown plenty of times that he can be a liability this season; namely giving away a penalty against Wimbledon back in December. Though, the arrival of Jake Vokins has hardly helped proceedings either.

He was beaten time and time again on his debut in the 2-2 draw with MK Dons and he’s looked sluggish since. With Sunderland also struggling for creativity last Saturday, the case for Jordan Jones to start on the left has become even more appealing.

The Rangers loanee has started just one league game since his arrival in January but he’s shown with vibrant cameos off the bench in recent weeks that he simply has to be part of the XI.

Jones gave us a brief glimpse of what he could offer when he was brought on against Burton. The winger was only on the field for 23 minutes but managed three key passes – the second-highest number of anyone in a Black Cats jersey – and finished the clash with a pass success rate of 100%.

A mazy dribbler, he then truly burst onto the scene in a Sunderland shirt a few days ago. Alongside Chris Maguire, the 26-year-old formed part of a rescue act, scoring a tremendous strike from long range that helped Johnson’s men come back from 2-0 down to draw the match.

His performances should hardly be a surprise, though, especially to Glasgow Live reporter Mark McDougall who spoke about Jones when he first arrived at the Stadium of Light: “In all honesty, he should stroll League One if his attitude is right when he goes down there.”

The journalist added: “He can be a joy to watch when he’s on his game because of how direct and tricky he is.”

Indeed, supporters have already seen glimpses of that tricky nature. It’s now down to Johnson to unleash those qualities on a regular basis. He has to start more often; Vokins and McFadzean cannot be trusted.

AND in other news, Sunderland flop who lost possession 26x is becoming a huge problem…