All posts by z3u9t.icu

According to a report by Calciomercato.it, via City Xtra, the Sky Blues and sporting director Txiki Begiristain are in ‘pole position’ to sign Sporting Lisbon defender Nuno Mendes despite interest from AC Milan, Juventus and Napoli – prompting many supporters to buzz at this news.

Mendes has been a regular in defence for the Portuguese giants this season, starting 19 Liga NOS matches and managing an impressive 1.6 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per 90 (WhoScored).

Indeed, the promising 18-year-old has intercepted more passes than any City player on average this season, including current first choice left-back options Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo, leaving little wonder why one Sky Blue believes he could be a ‘fantastic signing’.

Flocking to this claim on Mendes, who could well become a part of City’s stellar Portuguese contingent, many supporters buzzed at this claim that Begiristain and Pep Guardiola are leading the race.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

Man City fans go wild over Mendes claim

“Great talent. Big teams wants him and will be for some reason. Young, defending and going forward like Pep likes really well. Will be fantastic signing. Another great Portuguese at City can not be bad. Just do it City.”

Credit: @jdiazm11

“Yesssss get it done”

Credit: @Prince_Ederson

“Please be true”

Credit: @BluuMoonRising

“Great let’s get it done”

Credit: @AdamKDB123

“YASSSSSSSSSSSSS”

Credit: @FAZZAAAAAHHH

“YESSSSSS”

Credit: @Delap9ii

“Don’t hype me up”

Credit: @MysticalMendy

“LETS GOOOO”

Credit: @KZN22_

“Born winner for City!”

Credit: @JMC_Official

In other news: Man City fans were also livid at this rumour, find out more here.

Liverpool have been linked with a summer move for on-loan Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard, with the Reds keen on signing him.

The 22-year-old joined the Gunners on a temporary basis from Real Madrid in January, heading to the Emirates Stadium for the remainder of the season.

Odegaard has found an impressive level of form for Arsenal, scoring in their recent north London derby win over Tottenham and also netting once in the Europa League.

The Norwegian is not guaranteed to be moving to the Gunners permanently this summer, though, and a number of clubs are believed to be eyeing him up.

Reds keen on Odegaard move

According to the Daily Star, Liverpool are one of the teams keen on a move, with fellow ‘big six’ Premier League club Chelsea and Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain also mentioned in the report.

Odegaard has been linked with the Reds in the past and it may be that Jurgen Klopp still sees him as an exciting option moving forward.

Transfer Tavern take

The Norwegian is a very talented footballer who could be worth taking a punt on, considering he is still just 22 years of age.

He hasn’t made the grade at Real Madrid, having arrived as a teenage wonderkid back in 2015, but he is showing at Arsenal what he is capable of producing when given ample scope to impress.

Sealing a permanent move elsewhere would allow Odegaard to settle and move on to the next chapter in his career, with Anfield an ideal place for him to go up another level, working alongside Klopp and some world-class players.

In other news, Liverpool have been dipped to make two key signings this summer – read more about it here.

David Moyes must find a suitor willing to buy Felipe Anderson this summer, amid claims FC Porto will snub a permanent transfer for the West Ham United winger.

What’s the word?

According to Pedro Almeida, Anderson has failed to convince Porto executives to pursue a full-time deal following his season on loan at the Estadio do Dragao.

The Brazilian is instead expected to return to the London Stadium, but will not be a part of Moyes’ plans next term with a move away from England looking likely.

Anderson has struggled to establish himself in the Liga NOS under Sergio Conceicao, with the 46-year-old coach only fielding the two-cap international in the starting line-up for five of his nine appearances across all competitions.

Fiorentina are noted to be one club that has shown an interest in signing Anderson, although the Serie A side’s position on a permanent or loan deal is not disclosed.

La Viola were linked with a potential loan move for the 28-year-old during the winter market when it was suggested that West Ham could recall Anderson from Porto.

The Hammers considered bringing the Brazilian back to east London in order to secure a new loan destination where he would feature, in order to better protect his market value ahead of a likely summer sale.

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

It is not clear if Almeida was referencing Fiorentina’s interest in Anderson from January, or if the former Lazio star has retained a place on the Stadio Artemio Franchi natives’ shortlist of potential attacking targets.

Should West Ham sell Anderson?

Moyes noted after Anderson sealed his move to Porto that West Ham did not expect to lose the forward, but had claimed just weeks earlier that he needed to see the Brazilian deliver more consistent performances after being left underwhelmed by his efforts.

“I’ve got to say, the two of them are great to work with, the two of them are really good lads – I like them a lot. Felipe is a terrific lad, so is Seb [Haller],” the Irons boss said, via quotes by the Evening Standard.

“But what I want them to be is terrific players every time they play, and I want them to make a difference. They were bought by the club to make a difference, one to be a major goalscorer and one to be a major assist maker.”

West Ham spent a then club-record £36m to sign Anderson from Lazio in 2018, but would only see the forward offer one assist and two goals in 12 appearances under Moyes following the former Manchester United head coach’s appointment in December 2019.

Anderson’s output meant he struggled to gain a frequent starting role before joining Porto, and his difficulties in the Liga NOS now leave the Irons in a challenging position trying to sell him this summer when the attacker will only have a year left on his contract.

Previous reports have suggested West Ham will have to accept a mammoth hit on the fee paid to Lazio, with claims that Anderson – who Frank McAvennie dubbed a “wonderful talent” – is now only worth £17m.

Selling for that figure would see Hammers co-owner David Sullivan accept losses of at least £28.8m, having awarded Anderson an £85,000-per-week deal that Porto agreed to cover during his loan stay.

Anderson was in east London for 116 weeks before moving to Portugal, earning £9.8m in wages, and would be due a further £4.4m if he spends the final year of his contract at the London Stadium.

Sullivan and Moyes must work tooth and nail to avoid Anderson spending the last year of his deal in claret and blue, having proven to be a disaster under the Scot and for Porto this season.

AND in other news, David Moyes could discover his Jesse Lingard replacement in a “gifted” £18m-rated maestro…

David Moyes faces a potential goalkeeper crisis with Lukasz Fabianski and Darren Randolph both injury concerns ahead of West Ham hosting Leeds United in the Premier League on Monday night.

Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites visit the London Stadium to round out the weekend’s action, after the Irons landed a nine-day break between fixtures since losing 2-1 at Manchester City last time out.

The Hammers were strong for much of the Etihad Stadium affair but fell to goals from centre-backs Ruben Dias and John Stones, while a wait for action has seen the east London natives slip to seventh in the standings but with at least one game in hand on each of the sides above them bar Everton.

The Toffees visit fourth-placed Chelsea earlier on Monday night with a view to moving inside the Champions League place previously occupied by West Ham. So, as Moyes strives to keep West Ham in the top-four race, here’s a potential line-up that the Scot could field against Leeds…

Republic of Ireland international Randolph opened the action as West Ham lost 2-1 to Manchester City last time out after Fabianski was ruled unfit the day before, having developed an elbow injury following an accidental training ground collision.

Unfortunately for the Irons, Randolph suffered a minor recurrence of a recent thigh injury at the Etihad that has required further treatment, but Moyes was hopeful that at least one of his shot-stoppers will be passed fit ahead of tonight’s clash with Leeds.

“I think we’re pretty much as we were,” Moyes said on Friday while discussing his side’s fitness. “Lukasz Fabianski hasn’t trained yet [this week], but he’s got a chance of playing.

“Darren Randolph’s got a little bit of a problem with his hip. He’s doing a bit of work in the gym. We’ve got a little bit of a consideration with both of our goalkeepers, but I’m hoping that I’ll have one of them fit for the game on Monday night.”

Should both be deemed fit, Fabianski will be expected to take over duties between the sticks, having kept eight clean sheets in 24 Premier League games this season to Randolph’s one shut out in two top-flight outings to date.

Ben Johnson endured a challenging afternoon against Manchester City having returned to the starting line-up to occupy the left-back spot in Moyes’ five-man defence, and will be expected to fall to the bench at home to Leeds.

The versatile defender taking a seat on the sidelines will, in turn, see a return to the four-man defence of Aaron Cresswell, Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Vladimir Coufal as West Ham continue to await the return of Angelo Ogbonna from a high ankle sprain.

Declan Rice and eight-goal top-scorer Tomas Soucek will anchor the midfield to continue their run of playing every minute of Premier League football this season.

Jesse Lingard has played all but eight of an available 450 minutes since joining West Ham on loan from Manchester United in January, and will strive to continue his run of scoring or assisting a goal in his last three outings in claret and blue.

The Red Devils-owned playmaker will be expected to feature more centrally against Leeds than he did against Manchester City, having offered little defensive support on the left-wing at the Etihad.

Lingard moving back into the central position would allow Moyes to recall £23,000-per-week playmaker Said Benrahma, who has not started either of the Irons’ last three league games despite penning his fifth assist of the season across all competitions in last month’s 3-0 win over Sheffield United.

Pablo Fornals will be expected to maintain his recent run in the starting line-up after returning at home to Tottenham Hotspur and impressing against both Jose Mourinho’s side and Manchester City.

Michail Antonio will hope to add his eighth goal of the Premier League campaign at home to Leeds after scoring in each of his last two outings.

AND in other news, West Ham are monitoring a nine-goal 21-year-old but face a huge hurdle to strike a deal…

West Ham United may already have their Sebastien Haller heir in academy striker Mipo Odubeko after the Under 23s star scored a brace against Southampton on Friday.

The Irons have been scouring the transfer market across Europe all month after the unexpected departure of Haller, with the decision to cash-in on the Ivory Coast international leaving Michail Antonio as boss David Moyes’ only recognised senior striker.

Talks are said to be ongoing with RB Leipzig over a loan deal for Hwang Hee-Chan, but West Ham are sweating over the move collapsing amid rival interest from 1.FSV Mainz 05.

The interest in the South Korea international comes after they failed to reach agreements with Stade de Reims for Boulaye Dia or Sevilla for Youssef En-Nesyri among a plethora of other names, with Josh King now said to be their top target according to talkSPORT, although he’d reportedly cost £10m according to The Athletic’s Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers.

But Moyes may not have to fear failing to secure a centre-forward in the winter market given Odubeko’s impressive return to action, having scored twice to push West Ham’s U23s into a controlling lead over Southampton on Friday night in what was his first Premier League 2 outing of the season.

The 18-year-old broke the deadlock with a simple finish after Oladapo Afolayan unselfishly squared the ball and soon doubled his account again from close range, before also assisting Dan Chesters midway through the second half to round out the scoring.

Odubeko had sustained a serious hamstring injury last term that, as well as the coronavirus situation, saw the forward sit out much of the past six months, making only one EFL Trophy appearance before earning his senior debut in the FA Cup at Stockport earlier this month.

Moyes has since named the former Republic of Ireland U17 international on the bench for two Premier League fixtures and, while he is yet to introduce Odubeko to the action, has declared that he and West Ham have “big hopes” for what he can achieve in east London.

Moyes has been tipped to look fondly on Odubeko if West Ham fail to sign a new striker this month, with the Irons boss thought to be keen on seeing what the teen star can offer the first-team after his impressive developments since joining the club in October 2019.

The Scot has even noted that opportunities will be there for Odubeko, adding “we will try and bring him along and [use] him at the right time,” and there should be few concerns that the youngster can prove beneficial having clearly not lost his touch despite months out of the game.

Odubeko knew where to be to cause Southampton problems on Friday, and showed true poacher’s instincts to tap home his second when Allan Tchapchet’s clearance fell invitingly into his path.

He now has five goals in three U23s games to his name after scoring nine in seven for the U18s, and it surely will not be long before Odubeko has a senior goal to his name. Especially given all the attributes Bernard Byrne, who was Odubeko’s head coach for St Joseph’s, rallied off while describing the “special” talent to The Athletic:

“He’s the reason why people will go to football games. He’s fast, dynamic, strong, he can score all sorts of goals and he’s good in the air. He’s a proper centre-forward. He’s a player that West Ham fans will be excited about.”

GSB could save millions here then by using Odubeko and Michail Antonio as their striker options across the remainder of the campaign.

AND in other news, West Ham eye late loan for teen gem who “makes the game look easy”…

While Leeds United may have gotten back to winning ways against Southampton last time out, Marcelo Bielsa must consider unleashing Helder Costa when Aston Villa make the trip to Elland Road on late Saturday afternoon.

The Whites ran out 3-0 winners over the Saints in the Premier League, but the scores were locked level at 0-0 before a second-half salvo knocked the wind out of the home side’s sails.

And one man who was instrumental in changing the complexion of that game, was Costa.

The £10.8m-rated star has been on the periphery of things in the Premier League this season, after initially starting the first eight games of the campaign. Since then, both Jack Harrison and Raphinha have nailed down the starting wide positions, with the 27-year-old Costa left looking in from the outside.

But after coming on at the break for Harrison against Arsenal, the exciting winger has shown flashes of being back to his best. He delivered an emphatic finish at the Emirates to pull one back against the Gunners as Leeds tried to mount a second-half fight-back, while he was equally impressive against the Saints, this time picking up an assist after again coming on for the same player.

Against Southampton, he attempted more dribbles, provided more key passes and won more duels than Harrison, while his quick feet and trickery also saw him earn four free-kicks for his side – the joint-most of any player on the day.

Speaking earlier this season, his former manager at Wolves, Nuno Espirito Santo, waxed lyrical about his fellow Portuguese man, saying: “When we arrived in the Championship, Helder was injured. They were major injuries and it took a lot of time for him to recover. So that season was not the best for him, but in the first season we were in the Premier League, Helder was immense and had a huge impact on the team.

“He’s a very talented player, but things happen naturally, players move from here to another place. It happens in football. Honestly, I’m delighted he’s showing his quality and enjoying his football.”

With his long-term future up in the air, Costa doesn’t appear too much time to really stamp his mark on Leeds and prove to Bielsa that he deserves to remain at Elland Road.

But given his recent performances from off the bench, he’s absolutely deserving of a rare start when Aston Villa come to town on Saturday afternoon. He could well be the Leeds boss’ game-changer if given the opportunity.

Southampton have been linked with a move for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham recently, and if he were to join the Saints, he could perhaps be the key to unlocking Che Adams’ potential under Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Whilst the former Birmingham City man has now found the net in each of his last three games, before that, he had endured a run of 16 games without a goal in all competitions, with a lack of consistency having been a key issue for the 24-year-old during his time on the South Coast.

Of course, you could argue that he has had to play second fiddle to Danny Ings for most of his time at Southampton and that his hard work in attack often goes unnoticed because of the former Burnley man’s proficiency in front of goal.

However, with the 28-year-old reportedly looking to join a Champions League club in the near future, whilst his contract is set to expire at the end of next season, it is looking increasingly likely that he could depart Southampton this summer, so it is no surprise to see them already being linked with potential replacements, such as Abraham.

Whilst the England international is a goalscorer in his own right, having regularly shown his ability to find the back of the net during loan spells with Aston Villa and Bristol City, before establishing himself as a first-team regular at Chelsea, his style of play could really improve Adams’ goalscoring potential.

Southampton lack any sort of target man in their side, with Ings and Adams being two very similar players, which can sometimes make them predictable and easy to defend against, which has, unfortunately, proven to be the case regularly during the recent terrible run of form for Hasenhuttl’s side.

Abraham is six foot three and averages 1.9 aerials won per game in the Premier League this season, with only centre-back pairing Jan Bednarek and Jannik Vestergaard averaging more in terms of the current Southampton squad, which emphasises that they lack any sort of aerial threat in attack.

The 23-year-old, who reportedly earns £65k per week at Chelsea, could prove to be a focal point in Hasenhuttl’s side, with the £13.5 million-rated Adams making runs beyond him from flick-ons or playing off him if Southampton were to play the ball to his feet.

Rather than dropping deep, it could also allow Adams to use his pace more effectively and play on the shoulder of the last man, which would hopefully lead to more goalscoring opportunities for the Englishman.

Therefore, if Ings does leave in the summer, then Abraham could be a great replacement for Southampton to bring in, as it could really change the way they attack and help Adams evolve into a much more consistent goalscorer.

And, in other news… Semmens must avoid VVD repeat with £13.5m-rated “role model” who Ralph loves

Carlo Ancelotti must be reunited with Adrien Rabiot at Everton during the January transfer window amid rumours of negotiations to sign the Juventus midfielder on loan.

What’s the word?

According to TodoFichajes, the Toffees are in discussions with Juve over a potential deal for Rabiot to move to Goodison Park until the end of the season with an option to buy.

Everton are considered the best-placed side to hire the Frenchman in the mid-season market with Ancelotti keen to work with the 25-year-old again following their time together at Paris Saint-Germain.

Ancelotti is claimed to have instructed the Blues hierarchy to pursue a deal for Rabiot this month, with Andrea Pirlo preparing to reshape his Juventus squad with several players touted for uncertain futures.

Rabiot has struggled to establish himself under Pirlo at the Allianz Stadium this season and is expected to be made available for a transfer, having started only nine of his 12 Serie A appearances and three of five outings in the Champions League Group Stage.

The £29m-rated maestro has provided one goal thus far this term, coming in a 4-1 win away to Spezia Calcio, and has two-and-a-half-years remaining on the £176,000-per-week contract signed in 2019.

Everton were linked with interest in Rabiot last summer whilst he faced an uncertain future in Turin, having been placed high on Juventus’ shortlist for potential sales amid needs to balance the books just a year on from joining.

Time to reunite

Everton could end January with the addition of two Juventus midfielders with talks to sign Sami Khedira still said to be underway, but their Director of Football Marcel Brands ought to shelve any plans to land the German and focus his efforts on reuniting Ancelotti with Rabiot.

Rabiot featured just nine times under Ancelotti during the 2012/13 campaign as the midfielder sought to breakthrough into the PSG first-team, but has gone on to become a widely-lauded talent with six Ligue 1 trophies, plus Serie A, French Cup and French Super Cup honours in his trophy cabinet.

The 11-cap France international has also been praised by Italy great Gianluigi Buffon as an “incredible” player, who offers Juventus a real blend of abilities.

“He is a fantastic mix, he has the physical strength of [Paul] Pogba, who is like a wardrobe, has the personality of [Arturo] Vidal and potentially the dynamism of [Claudio] Marchisio,” Buffon told Corriere dello Sport, via quotes by Goal.

“He is incredible, extremely strong. He needs to improve his timing when approaching the opponent’s penalty area, but he can become a player with 10 goals per season.”

Rabiot may have only scored once thus far this season but has contributed 1.0 shots per Serie A game, and would serve as an upgrade on Andre Gomes at Goodison Park with the Everton midfielder taking just 0.2 efforts on goal during Premier League fixtures.

Gomes also offers fewer successful dribbles (1.1 to 1.5), successful tackles (1.1 to 2.3), interceptions (0.1 to 1.7) and duels won both on the ground (2.5 to 4.3) and in the air (0.6 to 1.1), per SofaScore.

AND in other news, Everton can reach a new level by signing a “complete” £31.5m-rated maestro in January.

Leeds United are preparing to face their next Premier League hurdle as they travel to Goodison Park to take on Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton this evening. There’s just five points between the two sides in the table and a win for the Whites will be a huge statement after they recently suffered back-to-back 4-1 defeats.

Their last result against Arsenal saw them grab a point after a hard-fought draw and Marcelo Bielsa will be carrying that energy into today’s clash.

However, if Leeds want to bag the win, they must silence Ancelotti’s attack. But it’s not Dominic Calvert-Lewin they need to be worrying about.

Leeds must contain Richarlison

Key Everton man Richarlison returned to action against Fulham last time out after missing three games due to picking up a red card. But despite starting the match, he couldn’t find his groove and was left out of the goalscoring action. He will want to make amends for this tonight.

Richarlison is a very dangerous player who links up extremely well with Calvert-Lewin up front. Last season, the former Watford man finished with 13 goals and three assists in the Premier League alone (via Transfermarkt). His speed always proves difficult for defences to handle and Leeds will need to be prepared to stop him from making those dangerous runs forwards.

The added threat of James Rodriguez will make the Toffees even more tough to handle. Playing opposite Richarlison will cause a lot of problems for Bielsa’s full-backs, so they must be prepared to stay back and guard their goal. Former Everton manager Sam Allardyce believes that the Brazilian is “one of the best” forward players in the league right now, which paints a big worry for the Whites.

The two centre-backs will have DCL covered, but it’s down to Luke Ayling to ensure Richarlison doesn’t have chance to flex his muscles and do what he does best.

In other news, Predicted Leeds XI vs Everton – preview, team and injury news…

Liverpool have been linked with a January move for Lille centre-back Sven Botman recently, which could prove to be bad news for young Rhys Williams.

French news outlet Foot Mercato have claimed that Liverpool have expressed interest in signing the 20-year-old and even contacted his representatives in November.

The six-foot-four centre-back has impressed for Christophe Galtier’s side so far this season, having made 17 appearances in the top-flight, averaging a superb 7.13 rating.

Therefore, it is no surprise to hear that Liverpool are reportedly taking an interest in the £9 million-rated defender, especially considering their current injury woes.

Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are both out for the foreseeable future, whilst Joel Matip has been injury-prone throughout his time with the Merseyside club, meaning Jurgen Klopp has been left without a senior centre-back for much of the season.

Fabinho has done a superb job filling in there, whilst both Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams have impressed when called upon by the German manager.

However, if the Reds were to sign Botman in January, it could harm Williams’ chances of featuring in the first-team for the rest of the season, as you would imagine that the German manager would rotate between Botman, Fabinho and Matip until Gomez and Van Dijk are fit to return.

This could spell trouble for Williams’, as despite his impressive performances at times this season, he is still very inexperienced, having only played senior football for Kidderminster Harriers before breaking into the Liverpool first-team this season.

The academy graduate was heavily praised by Klopp for his display against Atalanta in the Champions League, with the manager saying:

“We can start with Rhys – exceptional. I cannot imagine being 19 years old and playing my second professional football game in the Champions League against [Atalanta striker Duvan] Zapata, it’s incredible! I would have been nervous like hell, but the boy was not.”

Whilst he also caught the eye in the recent 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur, you worry that when Liverpool’s senior defenders return to full fitness, he could struggle for game time in this Liverpool side, especially if they were to sign Botman in next month’s transfer window.

It will be interesting to see if the Reds opt to add reinforcements at centre-back in January, or whether Klopp decides to keep faith in the likes of Williams and Phillips, in the hope that they can help deliver a second successive Premier League title.

And, in other news… Exclusive: Carlton Palmer refuses to rule out Liverpool move for £162m-rated magician…