Leeds United were dealt a late transfer blow on deadline day, it has emerged…
What’s the word?
According to The Athletic, West Ham boss David Moyes blocked their move for veteran goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who would’ve arrived at Elland Road as a solid backup to first-choice Illan Meslier.
Aston Villa were also keen but the Irons’ third-choice shot-stopper will now be resigned to a seat in the stands for the remainder of the season.
Bolstering the goalkeeper department was surely one of many priorities for Victor Orta and co during the winter but in the end, the Yorkshire giants failed to sign a single player.
Frustrating blow
After the departure of Kiko Casilla in the summer, manager Marcelo Bielsa was left with a lack of options between the sticks. The French glovesman is clearly the no.1 man in west Yorkshire but he has no capable backup behind him.
Vastly-inexperienced 21-year-old Norweigen Kristoffer Klaesson arrived from Valerenga as part of the academy setup during the off-season but has been named on the bench in the Premier League throughout the campaign.
He is the only other registered goalkeeper in the squad right now.
Elsewhere in the window, Leeds snubbed the opportunity to sign either Donny van de Beek from Manchester United or Spurs midfielder Harry Winks after being offered the pair of them, whilst they enquired about the possibility of landing Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino and Chelsea winger Kenedy, too.
They also saw two bids rejected for mooted top target, RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson.
Frustrating.
Randolph would’ve hardly been the man to get the Elland Road faithful roaring every week but he’d have been a solid depth option and one that Bielsa may well need in the future, especially given how bad injuries have been this season.
Once dubbed “outstanding” by former teammate Jonathan Woodgate, the 34-year-old would have added some much-needed experience to Leeds’ goalkeeping department.
Bielsa was already probably angry enough to have missed out on any arrivals but to be dealt a blow that late is certainly going to leave him livid heading into the second half of the season.
AND in other news, Phil Hay reveals huge Leeds United injury boost…
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan allrounder, has filed an appeal against the one-year ban from the national team, and the Rs. 2 million fine imposed on him by the PCB
Cricinfo staff08-Apr-2010
Naved-ul-Hasan: “Performing well in all the matches is not in the hands of a player”•Getty Images
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Pakistan allrounder, has filed an appeal against the one-year ban from the national team, and the Rs. 2 million fine imposed on him by the PCB.Naved is the third player after the Akmal brothers – Kamran and Umar – to file an appeal, following the punishments meted out by the board following Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia.”What I was told by the cricket board was that my performance in the Twenty20 match against Australia was not up to the mark,” Naved told reporters. “I don’t think it is such a big crime and I hope I will get justice. Performing well in all the matches is not in the hands of a player.”Naved scored one run off nine balls and played out a maiden over from Mitchell Johnson in the closing stages of that match, as Pakistan fell short by two runs.Naved’s appeal will be scrutinized by the three-member appellate tribunal appointed by the PCB, which comprises two retired supreme court judges, Munir Sheikh and Jamshed Ali Shah, and former high court judge Irfan Qadir. PCB has set Apr. 16 as the deadline for all the players to file appeals.Meanwhile, Shoaib Malik, who is in India for his planned wedding, sent a legal notice to the PCB but he is also likely to be asked to lodge a formal appeal. Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi have previously sent letters to the PCB inquiring about their punishments but have been told by the board to lodge formal appeals. “All the penalised cricketers have already been informed in detail under which rules and laws they were penalised. Now they can appeal against the punishments, in the way to challenge the verdicts and pray to waive it,” PCB’s legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi told .
Lots of Everton fans have been left gushing over some off-field news that has emerged.
As per 90min, the Goodison Park faithful are now ‘keen’ on Brighton and Hove Albion technical director Dan Ashworth, who has previously been linked with a job at Newcastle United.
He already has plenty of pedigree, having been a key figure as his work at the Football Association (FA) helped lead to England winning the U20 and U17 World Cups, in addition to the U19 European Championships, back in 2017.
In 2019, Ashworth became the technical director with the Seagulls, and thus oversaw the appointment of Graham Potter, who has become a great success in guiding them to the top half of the Premier League table, and has since been touted for the Manchester United job.
Nonetheless, he seems to be an appointment that would be very popular among Merseyside club supporters.
Everton fans on Ashworth news
These Toffees gushed as the Ashworth news was shared on Twitter:
“Now we’re talking.”
Credit: @PeterFearns
“YES!!!”
Credit: @PortlandToffee
“Please. Oh my god”
Credit: @jlgg94
“That’s more like it”
Credit: @AlwaysBlue7
“IN MY DREAMSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS”
Credit: @Cryptys
“If this happened, this would be the best thing to happen to Everton Football club in literally the last 6 or 7 years.”
Credit: @RyanSoccerAA
In other news, find out what manager update has Blues buzzing here!
Everton have made their second signing of the transfer window, with Nathan Patterson joining the club in a deal worth £16m, as Rafa Benitez continues to put his stamp on the struggling side.
The 20-year-old right-back has been making a name for himself in Scotland, with an incredible performance in the national team scoring a goal and assisting teammate Che Adams against Moldova in a World Cup Qualifier that secured Scotland a play off place for the Qatar World Cup.
He also made five appearances in Steven Gerrard’s invincible title-winning Rangers side last year in the Scottish Premiership and scored one goal in their Europa League game against Young Boys too.
With the signing secured, it could be an opportunity for Rafa Benitez to finally axe Everton veteran and current club captain, Seamus Coleman, from the side, with the Irishman now 33-years-old, Patterson could be integrated into the starting team over the next few months to replace him.
Coleman signed for the Toffees back in 2010, offering up 364 appearances, 26 goals and 32 assists during his time with the club, becoming skipper in August 2019, following Phil Jagielka’s departure, but whilst currently in his 13th season for the club, his time could be coming to end.
Former sporting director, Marcel Brands, had already begun putting into place a plan for the right back to stay with the club in a role off the pitch when he decides to retire from playing in the side, speaking last year at an Everton USA live event:
“I’m now already in talks with him to get him involved in, let’s say, things off the pitch. He’s definitely someone I really want to keep in the club after he finishes his career. He’s a great example for everyone.”
The £68k-per-week gem who was hailed the “full package” by former Toffees boss, Sam Allardyce, has not had the best season in the Everton side so far, according to SofaScore the defender has lost the ball on average 17.3 times per game, and has only made 1.3 interceptions on average over his last 14 appearances in the Premier League.
It will be interesting to see how Benitez will handle the task of phasing out Coleman whilst integrating Patterson into the side, whether he will just drop the Everton captain or ease the young new addition in the side over the last 18 months of his predecessor’s contract.
With Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips out for an extended spell, Marcelo Bielsa will be desperately searching for ways to ensure his side doesn’t miss their midfield talisman too much.
While it may be a bit of a leap for the Whites boss to chuck in a wholly unproven 19-year-old, Lewis Bate could well be the surprise answer to Leeds’ problem.
In fact, according to Ram Srinivas, co-founder of football analytics consultancy MRKT Insights, Bate has all the hallmarks of being someone to take over from Phillips in years to come.
He said: “Bate is a well-rounded deep-lying midfielder; he’s well capable of helping a team control possession, acting as a metronome to keep things ticking over as well as being very productive in build-up. He’s very positive in his passing and shows good awareness of the spaces opening up around him and team shape, which helps his team play out of a press and also attack the opposition in transition.
“All in all he’s just a multi-faceted midfielder whose biggest weakness is probably just his size but he more than makes up for it with his other qualities. He’s very well-suited to Bielsa-ball and probably capable of serving as an understudy to Kalvin Phillips.”
Dubbed as “very gifted” by The Athletic’s Phil Hay and as a “lovely passer” too, the 5 foot 8 Bate has predominantly spent the most of his time this season with the club’s U23s side in the Premier League 2 – out of the 14 games the Whites have played, the midfielder has completed the full 90 minutes in all but one.
The 19-year-old has featured mainly as either a central midfielder for the U23s and in a more holding role, and with a busy festive schedule for the first-team, may well fancy his chances of making the step-up.
While the January transfer window gives Bielsa the perfect opportunity to bring in players from the outside to strengthen his options in the middle of the park, giving Bate the chance to shine could turn out to be a masterstroke.
Meanwhile, Leeds could sign a Rodrigo upgrade in this star…
An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Malian striker Moussa Marega…
What’s the talk?
According to Foot Mercato, the Magpies are preparing an offer to sign the centre-forward permanently from Al-Hilal this month.
The report claims that fellow Premier League side Everton are also keen, whilst it remains to be seen what the player’s intentions are.
Ba 2.0
Eddie Howe could find Newcastle’s Demba Ba 2.0 in a deal for the forward. He has earned the nickname ‘terminator’ and this is what he could be for the Magpies with his lethal finishing in front of goal potentially helping them to avoid relegation down to the Championship.
Marega has 105 career goals to his name and 72 of those came during a terrific spell with FC Porto in Portugal. He managed 72 goals and 33 assists in 190 games for the Portuguese giants, which works out at a goal contribution every 1.8 matches on average.
The 30-year-old also played for Maritimo and Vitoria in Liga Bwin and produced an impressive 77 strikes and 37 assists in 180 matches in the division for the three clubs combined. This works out at a goal contribution every 1.57 games.
Demba Ba, meanwhile, managed 29 goals and seven assists in 58 games for Newcastle. This means that he popped up with a goal or assist every 1.61 outings on average, which is a remarkably similar rate to the one Marega produced in the Portuguese top-flight – suggesting that he could have a similarly big impact on Tyneside as the Senegalese forward.
Marega was once hailed by Porto boss Sergio Conceicao, with the coach saying:
“A lot of people criticize Marega because they think his technique is not the best, but for me that’s what technique is, the movement he makes, being in the face of the goal with incredible ease, the way he catches the ball when shooting on goal. For me that’s what counts in a player and not juggling, that this is in the circus and we are a football team.”
Newcastle could land their new Ba and goalscoring ‘terminator’ by securing a deal for Marega and Howe must ensure that PIF are able to get a move over the line before the end of the month. His goals and assists could win crucial points for the Magpies and help them in the battle against the drop.
AND in other news, “I’m hearing…”: Journo drops exciting NUFC transfer claim that’ll have fans buzzing…
Writing for 90min, reporter Toby Cudworth has shared a promising update on West Ham United and their pursuit of Sparta Prague sensation Adam Hlozek.
The Lowdown: West Ham in Hlozek chase…
The Irons have been linked with a move for the exciting Czech Republic striker since the summer transfer window, with a previous report from 90min detailing that lengthy talks were held.
[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-developments-2/” title=”West Ham developments” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]
That interest carried on past the summer window, with Cudworth taking to Twitter in a September update and claiming West Ham still very much had their eyes on the 19-year-old.
Since Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky completed the purchase of a 27% minority stake in West Ham earlier this month, links to Hlozek have only intensified given the magnate’s ties to Sparta.
In a fresh update, it appears West Ham are now set to follow through with an offer.
The Latest: West Ham prepare offer…
According to 90min journalist Cudworth, the Hammers are ‘preparing a bid’ to sign Hlozek which could see him move to the London Stadium on loan with a mandatory purchase option.
They add that the teenager is ‘ready’ to move on from his current club amid West Ham’s interest alongside other clubs, which include European heavyweights Juventus, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Kretinsky’s presence could be key as co-owner of Sparta and given he holds a 40 per cent share in the club, putting West Ham in ‘good stead’ to potentially do a deal.
The Verdict: Exciting times…
After the billionaire’s off-field move to buy a share in West Ham, it appears supporters may now be about to see it pay dividends as this exciting claim emerges.
Hlozek is without a doubt one of the most exciting young forwards in world football, as evident by his goal record from last season and interest from a plethora of big sides.
He bagged 15 goals and eight assists in just 19 Fortuna Liga appearances for Sparta over 2020/2021, highlighting just how clinical he could be in front of goal for David Moyes.
The talented teenager comes with plenty of sell-on value at such a young age and is highly rated by those close to him.
His agent, Pavel Paska, has described Hlozek as ‘world class’ and ‘extraordinary’ in recent interviews and it’s safe to say West Ham could land themselves a real talent if Sparta accept their offer.
In other news: ‘Oh yes’, ‘Steal’, ‘Top of my wish list’…West Ham fans rave as Newman eyes ‘baller’ new target, find out more here.
Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez would be a ‘fantastic’ signing for Aston Villa in the January transfer window, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.
The Lowdown: Villa linked with Gomez move
Steven Gerrard continued his flying start as Villa manager on Sunday, as his side picked up a fully deserved 2-1 win at home to Leicester City.
Despite the club’s upturn in fortunes, January reinforcements could be required in order to stave off any threat of relegation, instead allowing them to push towards a top-half finish in the Premier League.
One player who has been linked with a move to Villa Park is Gomez, who has struggled for minutes at Liverpool this season, not starting a single league game.
The Latest: Journalist talks up transfer
Speaking to Give Me Sport, Hatfield claimed the 24-year-old would be an ideal addition, having been hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by Trent Alexander-Arnold in the past:
“Oh yeah, for sure. He’s a quality player, obviously an England international pre-injury. He would be a fantastic signing for Villa.”
The Verdict: Would Liverpool let him go?
As Hatfield alludes to, Gomez could be an outstanding signing for Villa, considering he is a Premier League and Champions League winner at the age of just 24, not to mention winning 11 caps for England.
That being said, it is extremely difficult to see Liverpool letting him leave at this point in his career, even though he is behind Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate in the pecking order currently.
Assuming he overcomes serious injury problems, he has the ability to be a regular for Liverpool again eventually, with Van Dijk and Matip both now 30 and suffering injuries of their own in recent times, meaning the doors may soon be open for Konate and Gomez to lead the way at Anfield.
In other news, some Villa fans slammed one player’s performance against Leicester. Find out who it is here.
According to Transfermarkt, Southampton have a number of players in the current squad, including Alex McCarthy, Fraser Forster, Shane Long and Harry Lewis, who are set to see their current contracts at St Mary’s expire in the summer.
In addition to that quartet, Jack Stephens is also due to see his contract running out at the end of June.
Despite a report from Hampshire Live in September claiming that the defender will be given a new contract to keep him on the south coast for the foreseeable future, there has yet to be any official confirmation from the club on the matter.
If by any chance the club doesn’t have any plans to offer Stephens a new deal before the summer, we think this should be atop their list of priorities.
Overall, he has made a total of 139 appearances for Southampton across all competitions, with six goals and five assists under his belt, playing his way through the club’s youth ranks after signing from League One club Plymouth Argyle for a reported fee of £150k all the way back in 2011.
This season has seen the defender, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £48k-per-week according to Spotrac, play every minute of Premier League action for the Saints before he unfortunately picked up a knee injury in their 0-0 draw against Manchester City in September, highlighting how much trust Ralph Hasenhuttl has placed in him. He has also been hailed as a “brilliant character” by Saints captain James Ward-Prowse.
Moving forward, we feel that it would be a big positive for Southampton if current majority shareholder Gao Jisheng ties down Stephens to a new deal rather than seeing him potentially leave the club and spend his peak years elsewhere in a similar fashion to what Sadio Mane has done at Liverpool since he left St Mary’s. That would be nothing short of a disaster for the Saints.
In other news: Ralph must unleash Saints’ £100k-p/w “full package” tonight, he could destroy Villa
Six sessions remain in which the destination of the Ashes will be decided, and England must surely believe that the litany of surprises that have been strung out across this summer have finally run their course
Andrew Miller at The Oval22-Aug-2009
Jonathan Trott: “There are so many variables in the game of cricket, it’s never a foregone conclusion at all”•Getty Images
It’s happening again. That nagging, gnawing, pit-of-the-stomach doubt that only the most gripping Test series can serve up. Six sessions remain in which the destination of the Ashes will be decided, and England – with every single historical precedent weighted in their favour, including one from their most recent victory at Lord’s – must surely believe, deep down, that the litany of surprises that have been strung out across this summer have finally run their course.But where there is uncertainty, English pessimism is sure to take root, and having watched their own lower-order tee off to contemptuous effect on a pitch supposedly prepared by Doctor Faustus, the sight of Australia’s openers following suit to the tune of 80 runs in 20 overs was all too much for the umbrella-chewing fraternity of English sports-fans.The 2009 Ashes has lacked the class, the 24-7 tension, and, yes, the unfettered jingoism that made the 2005 summer so unforgettable, but the peaks and troughs on display have, if anything, been all the more marked. Which is all the more reason to wonder if a world-record chase – another 466 required in a minimum of 180 overs – could somehow prove attainable.They thought it was possible back in July after all, when Australia were set a hefty 522 to extend their 75-year hegemony at Lord’s, and thanks to a battling partnership from Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin, reached 313 for 5 at the close of the fourth day before Andrew Flintoff stormed in on the fifth to up-end them 115 runs short. But Flintoff has not been the same force since – his only subsequent wicket in nearly 50 overs was the No. 11, Ben Hilfenhaus, in Australia’s first innings on Friday – and 233 runs per day is not a big ask in any version of international cricket.Jonathan Trott has done an astounding job at dispelling the doubters this week – nobody in their wildest imaginations could have predicted he would exactly maintain his season’s average of 80 in his maiden Test performance – but when he was asked if an England victory was in the bag, all of his soothing powers had clearly been expended at the crease.”Until you’ve taken the tenth wicket in the second innings it’s always a game of the unknown,” he said. “There are so many variables in the game of cricket, it’s never a foregone conclusion at all. We want to do as well as we can, break it down, and have a good first hour tomorrow to set the game up from there.”To be fair, England as a unit were not especially downcast as they left the field on Saturday evening. Seeing as Steve Harmison had bowled a grand total of four overs in the first innings, the shiny hard new ball was never likely to be their most incisive weapon, especially when Stuart Broad beat, and then found, the edge with a brace of offcutters in his first over. Australia survived all the same, but as Marcus North – the unlikely star of their bowling performance – admitted, they had seen little to suggest that they’ve got the measure of the conditions.”History is against us,” said North. “It’s too early to look that far ahead, because there’s a lot of cricket to be played. What you’ll see tomorrow is 11 guys who have got a lot of character to show, and they are going to give everything for every contest for every over. Hopefully that can lay the foundation to give us a chance.”The first objective was to get through tonight unscathed and Simon and Watto did that superbly,” he said. “To walk off at 0 for 80, it’s the position we needed to be in, if we can start well tomorrow, get to lunch, and reassess things from there. It’s a massive target to get, but the best thing we can do is not look too far ahead. We’ve given ourselves the opportunity to have that target in sight at some stage.”As for Lord’s, that performance will doubtless weigh on the minds of England’s fans on a packed fourth day at The Oval, but can Australia go one better than that heroic endeavour? “We can take a lot out of all our innings through the series,” said North. “We batted well at Lord’s with some big partnerships, and laid some foundations to give us some opportunity to chase that target down.”But this is a different Test, different conditions, and again we’ll have to show some character,” he said. “Clarke and Haddin did that in that Test, and we’ll have to show some of the same courage and determination tomorrow. Everyone has got the same attitude that I’ve got. The guys are as positive as they can be. It’s a huge task ahead. It’s small steps at a time.”But if omens are what Australia seek – and frankly, in the circumstances, why on earth wouldn’t they – then they can turn for inspiration to two first-class fixtures of contrasting fortunes. In the former, in February 1992, Australia’s current chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, hit a century, and their coach, Tim Nielsen, shared in the winning stand, as South Australia chased 506 to beat Queensland in the Sheffield Shield. And then, 12 years later in Gurgaon, England A failed to defend 501 against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy. Kevin Pietersen was a member of that beaten team, as was England’s current wicketkeeper, Matt Prior. It’s all stacked up, but is it ready to topple?