All posts by z3u9t.icu

Leicester City will be aiming to make history this weekend by booking their place in the last four of the FA Cup for the first time in just under 40 years.

The Foxes head into their quarter-final meeting with Manchester United in positive form and can welcome back a key returnee in the form of Belgian midfielder Dennis Praet.

Praet has been ruled out of action since suffering a hamstring injury against Stoke City in January. With him now back fit, Rodgers must restore him to the starting line-up against the Red Devils.

When analysing the candidates of those who would drop out of the team, the initial answer would be Ayoze Perez.

Despite the Spaniard notching his third goal of the season in the 5-0 thumping of Sheffield United last time, Praet would surely be a better option than the former Newcastle man.

Deployed alongside the regular midfield duo of Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi, the former Sampdoria man could dramatically reduce the amount of available space in midfield.

This, in turn, would negate the space for the Red Devils in the centre, potentially limiting the creativity and goal threat from the likes of Paul Pogba and the inspirational Bruno Fernandes.

After all, the key to beating the Red Devils could be to halt the Portuguese ace, considering that he has contributed to 46% of his team’s Premier League goals this season.

Indeed, in the 19 games that Fernandes has not had a direct goal contribution, the Red Devils have only won six, failing to score in nine of those matches.

Whilst the £18m-rated Praet would be extremely useful in limiting the space that the visitors can operate in, his composure on the ball could also be extremely useful. When compared to Perez, the midfielder is dispossessed on far fewer occasions, whilst racking up a greater pass success rate of 82.4% compared to 75.2% according to WhoScored.

It goes without saying then that limiting United of considerable possession in midfield could potentially be a huge factor in terms of Leicester winning the game.

Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers has already labelled Praet as “wonderful” ahead of the match, so he will be hoping the midfielder has an equally wonderful performance as Leicester pursue history against Manchester United.

AND in more news, take a look at which Leicester star has handed Brendan Rodgers a devastating injury blow ahead of the Manchester United clash…

Manchester City have been linked with a move for Wolves winger Pedro Neto recently and the 21-year-old could prove to be a superb addition to Pep Guardiola’s side should he make the switch to the Etihad Stadium.

What’s the word?

According to Duncan Castles on the Transfer Window podcast, Manchester United, Juventus and Manchester City hold an interest in the Portuguese international after his impressive performances in recent seasons.

It is claimed that City were originally scouting Adama Traore as a potential replacement for Leroy Sane after his move to Bayern Munich, and that is when the Citizens started to take note of Neto’s excellent performances and perhaps realised that he would be a better fit in Guardiola’s line-up.

Would he be a good signing?

Neto has impressed with the Old Gold since joining from Lazio in 2019, having contributed 10 goals and nine assists in 77 appearances thus far.

The 21-year-old has been one of the standout performers in Nuno Espirito Santo’s side so far this season, with five goals and four assists to his name in 29 Premier League appearances, resulting in an excellent 7.13 WhoScored rating over the course of the campaign.

This ranks him as Wolves’ best performer so far this season in the Premier League, whilst he is also their joint-top scorer, having stepped up impressively in the absence of Raul Jimenez, who has unfortunately been absent for much of the season after suffering a fractured skull.

Neto first gained recognition from across Europe when he scored in the Liga NOS for Braga when he was just 17 years old, becoming the youngest-ever player to score in Portugal’s top flight, a record previously held by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo.

WhoScored suggests that Neto’s main strengths include his ability to cross, dribble and play key passes, so it certainly seems as if he would be a good fit in Guardiola’s team on the wing.

The youngster is currently valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt and is contracted with the Old Gold until 2025, so he certainly won’t come cheap; but considering his superb performances in a struggling Wolves side this season, there seems no reason why he wouldn’t be an excellent addition at Manchester City.

Therefore, sporting director Txiki Begiristain should try and convince the player to move to the Etihad this summer, or risk losing him to Juventus or rivals Manchester United instead.

In other news… 5 big chances missed: £99m-rated beast might not be the saviour Man City need

According to recent reports, Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a summer move for Nick Pope should Hugo Lloris leave at the end of the season.

The report by the Daily Mail claimed that, with the Spurs captain being heavily linked to join Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain this summer, Jose Mourinho’s first choice to replace Lloris would be Burnley shot-stopper Pope.

Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels is also mentioned as a potential target, but a move for the 28-year-old would only be likely to materialise if Spurs were priced out of a move for Pope, for whom Burnley are thought to be demanding a fee of around £30m.

Transfer Tavern Take

Despite Burnley’s lowly league position, Pope has impressed over his 29 appearances for Sean Dyche’s side so far this season, with the 28-year-old helping his side to keep nine clean sheets and making a total of 107 saves, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 7.08 – ranking him as the Clartes’ third-best performer in the top flight.

In fact, comparing this rating to that of Lloris’ average of 6.91 would appear to indicate that, despite the Frenchman plays for a ‘big six’ club, Pope has actually been outperforming the 34-year-old this season.

Indeed, following a 1-1 draw with Liverpool last season, Jurgen Klopp heaped a considerable amount of praise on the England international for his string of fine stops at Anfield, describing Pope as “sensational”.

As such, should PSG make good on their apparent intention to sign the £100,000-per-week Lloris this summer, and should Spurs go on to replace him with Pope, the Frenchman’s departure could actually be something of a blessing in disguise for Mourinho’s team.

In other news: ‘It may be’ – Spurs target drops huge hint on transfer; Mourinho fascinated by ‘remarkable’ star – find out more here!

Former Premier League defender Danny Mills believes that Celtic defender Jack Hendry could work his way into the new manager’s plans for next season.

Hendry’s possible return

The 25-year-old is currently on loan at Belgian Jupiler League outfit Oostende for the second season running after being edged out of the Hoops’ starting XI following a serious knee injury which saw him sidelined for a significant amount of time.

Hendry found himself heavily scrutinised by many of the Parkhead faithful during his time in Glasgow and told the BBC that he is open to any opportunity for the 2021/22 campaign, saying: “I’m open to anything that comes my way.

“It’s vital that wherever I choose next season, I need to play every week to continue my development. If Celtic want to keep me, that’s something they would need to make a decision on.”

However, after Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Dundee United confirmed Rangers as this season’s champions, Celtic can now turn their focus to what will be the most important summer in recent years.

Speaking to Football Insider, Mills believes that Hendry could play a key role for Celtic if allowed to stay at Parkhead next season. The former England defender said:

“There’s always a chance when a new manager comes in. New brush, sweeps clean and all that. Everybody’s got a fresh start and a new chance. There’s always an opportunity.

“I would always say to players coming back use the summer very wisely. The first thing a new manager is going to look at is attitude, the second thing he’s going to look at is fitness.

“If you come back in pre-season in fantastic shape and you’ve got a great attitude that doesn’t half go a long way to making a huge impressing on a new manager.

“Any player that wants to have a chance and do anything like that, that would be my recommendation. Get yourselves in great shape because first impressions make a huge difference.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

This might not be the news that many disparaging Celtic supporters will want to hear if this turns out to be the case, with the much-maligned Hendry often overlooked for even a substitute’s place over the last couple of years when he has been at the club.

We don’t expect any decisions to be made regarding the new manager until Dominic McKay takes his seat in his new position as chief executive, but Mills raises a good point that all players deserve to be considered fairly regardless of what has gone on before.

Time will tell whether Hendry’s future lies at Celtic or elsewhere.

In other news, ‘Players will become better’ – Pundit urges Celtic to secure ‘incredible’ manager target.

Fans of Everton have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed comments made by the former Toffees manager Ronald Koeman.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Koeman – who spent 15 months as Everton boss between 2016 and 2017, averaging 1.48 points per match over his 58 games in charge of the club – discussed his time on Merseyside, rather brutally taking aim at the Everton fan base for their high expectations, as well as claiming that the club was living in the past.

He said: “Everton are a club, and also the fans, who expect sometimes too much. I think sometimes they are still living in the past about the great seasons that they had at Everton.”

Of course, the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti was met with similar scepticism from pundits, as the likes of Jermaine Jenas and Chris Sutton questioned whether Everton was a high enough level for the Italian – criticism he has since proven to be unfair.

After The Everton End relayed the Koeman’s comments on Twitter, fans of the Blues flocked to have their say on the matter, with many left furious by the 57 year-old’s remarks.

So, what exactly did these Everton fans have to say in reaction to Ronald Koeman’s comments?

“Never disliked an ex-manager as much as him. Don’t even dislike Big Sam as he did a job for us. Koeman was not even liked by the people working in the club.”

@IptvZombie

“Arrogant. Is he on another holiday on the ale? If anyone is living in the past, surely he is a case in point living off his own playing days. Treating Messi like he treated Barkley and Niasse. Shocking man-manager should just stick to coaching free kicks.”

@goodysonx74

“Everton are a club still suffering as a consequence of the atrocities made during his tenure. Ok, 100% of the blame cannot be pinned on Koeman but we could have been closer to reaching our fans ‘high expectations’ if we weren’t carrying the burden of the ‘Koeman and Walsh’ days!”

@camaustin28

“Disrespect from him. No idea how he’s had so many jobs.”

@LeaPortelli

“Shocking, to say the least. He was supposed to take over from Martinez. But he sent us back.”

@Sagar_Milanista

“Terrible manager”

@salemmohalesh75

“Ooh Ronald, sounds like sour grapes that, mate. You obviously didn’t ‘get’ our club or its fan base at all. We don’t expect immediate success; that takes time and a plan. Sadly, you seemed bereft of ideas and ultimately you were not up to the job.”

@nccarson

“Another stain on our history, the list is endless these last 5 years.”

@grantlothian1

“Mate you can’t manage Barcelona. Stay in your lane.”

@DGBeswick1

In other Everton news, the club’s bid to save £6.2m-per-year collapsed at the 11th hour, find out more here!

In what has been an abysmal season all round for West Brom, there has been one shining light in goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

However, with his impressive exploits comes an interest in his services ahead of the summer transfer window, especially with the Baggies staring down the barrel at an instant return to the Championship.

According to The Sun, the 27-year-old is a target for Spurs should Hugo Lloris leave the club, which may become an increasing possibility as he’ll be in the final year of his contract come to the end of the current campaign.

Despite holding the worst defensive record in the division, Johnstone has performed immensely – no goalkeeper has faced more shots on target and none have matched his impressive 96 saves, as per FBRef.

Former PL veteran Paul Robinson has also backed him to remain in the big time, he told Football Insider:

“He has had a fantastic season. He is knocking on the door of an international call-up. I genuinely think he will stay in the Premier League if West Brom go down.”

And now The Athletic’s Steve Madeley believes academy product Alex Palmer would be the ‘obvious’ choice to step-up, even despite having the vastly-experienced David Button on their books, adding that he’d be a ‘perfect’ understudy to the U23 shot-stopper.

The ever-reliable journalist claims that the Baggies have always had a long-term plan for the 24-year-old and that it would be a natural move to play in the Championship next season, for Albion or for somebody else.

Indeed, the Midlands club, who have battled with poor finances all season, could save themselves millions this summer if they were to follow that exact path.

Palmer is a natural and cheap heir to Johnstone’s throne.

As outlined by Madeley, the young glovesman has done everything asked of him across loan spells in League One and League Two, the latter of which saw him gain a glowing endorsement from Plymouth boss Ryan Lowe.

“Alex is a terrific goalkeeper. He has got ambitions of playing at the highest level. He has come here to help us but he has also come here ultimately to get into West Brom’s team,” he told the Argyle Chat podcast (via the Plymouth Herald), before adding: “He’s an outstanding talent.”

Palmer is now impressing for Michael Appleton’s league-leading Lincoln City side, where the Baggies loanee ranks fourth in the division for save percentage (76.7%) whilst no other ‘keeper has managed as many as his 13 clean sheets, as per FBRef.

He only has one more clean sheet to make to match his tally for Argyle the season before.

If Sam Allardyce is still in charge this summer, then he could save the club millions – should Johnstone depart – by promoting Palmer into the first-team fold, evidently, he’s in a similar mould to the Albion no.1 and has been groomed with this very moment in mind.

That time will come if the former Man U man keeps up his impressive form.

AND in other news, U23 gem could be the perfect Matheus Pereira heir

The perilous wait for the Premiership winners to be crowned is over and, unfortunately for Celtic, they are no longer the dominant force in Scottish football.

It’s an eventuality which could cause havoc with the club’s plans. Will the likes of Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard stay? It feels unlikely.

On the chalkboard

Edouard has been a player who has been at the forefront of Celtic’s success in recent years. After signing during the 2017/18 season, the Frenchman has racked up an almighty tally of 81 goals in 161 outings.

The forward has been catching the eye for a while now and it was perhaps a surprise that he didn’t leave Parkhead last summer.

He has stuck around, however, and is now being linked with the Premier League once more. The likes of Leicester, Arsenal and West Ham have all been mentioned as possible destinations, so keeping hold of him won’t be easy.

Edouard has been a revelation in Glasgow but, with Celtic finally relinquishing their grasp on the title, now seems like the ideal time for him to leave in search of a new challenge.

With that in mind, the Hoops would need to sign a replacement in the summer window.

The solution

It’s easier said than done but finding someone who can score goals on a regular basis will be how they replace Edouard. After all, the likes of Albian Ajeti and Patryk Klimala have hardly proved able deputies this term. They have just nine goals between them in the league while their French star has 16 on his own.

One man with whom they could replace him should he leave is Genk striker Paul Onuachu. Speaking on A Celtic State of Mind podcast last week, Celtic pundit Colin Watt touted him as someone who the Bhoys should target, saying:

“One that I think people should go and take a look at [is] Paul Onuachu. He’s a Nigerian striker that plays for Genk; he was formerly of FC Midtjylland, and he’s scored almost 100 goals in five seasons, 6ft 7in tall. Roughly, the going price for him is about £7-10m.”

His colossal height means he’s a fearsome striker to come up against, and when you add pace and the ability to score goals into the equation, he’d make a fine Edouard successor.

Onuachu has found the net on 26 occasions this term in Belgium, using his frightening power to smash opponents to one side. He has always had a natural gift and, when considering his height, it’s no surprise to see him prove so successful in the professional game.

FC Ebedei’s talent spotter Churchill Oliseh, once said: “As soon as I saw him, I knew he was special.” Oliseh knows a talent when he sees one; he was the man to spot Obafemi Martins and bring him into the limelight for instance.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-hunt-stories-wagner-marsch-martinez-lennon-news” title=”The last stories on Celtic’s hunt for a new manager!”]

Onuachu could just be his proudest capture yet. Oliseh continued: “For a player with his height, he has good dribbling ability. People of his height only rely mostly on their aerial strength, but he can play, both in the air and on the ground. And he has speed.”

Combine dribbling with goalscoring ability and you have a defender’s nightmare. His mere presence is enough to have opponents running for the hills. In the Belgium Pro League this term, the 26-year-old has won 108 aerial duels.

That’s an obscene tally, one which should have Celtic’s recruitment team foaming at the mouth. He would seem a very capable replacement for Edouard.

AND in other news, Celtic could find their next Turnbull in 19 y/o weapon never-seen in the first-team…

Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho is chasing Ivan Perisic once again this month, according to reports…

What’s the word?

Foot Mercato claim the Spurs boss is eyeing a loan move for the Croatian international before the end of the January transfer window.

Mourinho was keen on bringing Perisic to Manchester United in 2017, as per the Guardian, and he revealed to Russia Today (via the Metro) exactly why he was so keen a year later, he said:

“Perisic is the kind of winger that is different to the others. Normally you look at wingers and they are just fast and creative. But he is also physical, very physical. Fantastic in the air.”

Ibra-esque masterstroke

The Inter Milan attacker may be the wrong side of 30, but Mourinho has shown in the past that he’s not afraid to ignore players entering the twilight years of their career.

None more so than Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had a massive impact for the Red Devils. He too arrived in England having never featured in the Premier League but proved pivotal on their way to winning the EFL Cup and Europa League that season.

34 at the time, the Swedish colossus contributed towards a whopping 38 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt. That’s a remarkable impact considering the doubts over his advancing years.

Perisic is very much in a similar mould to Ibrahimovic, given Mourinho’s aforementioned comments about his aerial ability.

He has also shown that he can still very much compete at an elite level, contributing to five goals so far this season, which includes a strike against Real Madrid and an assist against their arch-rivals, Milan.

During his time on loan to Bayern, their chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was full of praise, claiming Perisic wasn’t “spectacular” but was “very reliable.”

The winger, valued at €20m (£18m) has also been lauded for leadership qualities by former Inter boss Luciano Spalletti, as per Mediaset Premium (via Goal), a key attribute often bandied about with Ibrahimovic too.

Perisic is thought to be on around £120k-per-week at the San Siro, so it would be a gamble to bring him in among Spurs’ highest-earners, though it’s a calculated risk given it’ll only initially be on loan rather than a transfer.

With Spurs in the Carabao Cup final, Mourinho could well repeat another masterstroke with the addition of the 31-year-old this month. He could well provide that Ibra-like edge in their hunt for a first trophy since 2008.

AND in other news, Spurs should CASH IN on Harry Winks after “future captain” emergence…

Aaron Cresswell has a mountain to climb if he is to earn an England call-up after David Moyes tipped the West Ham United defender for Gareth Southgate’s plans.

What’s he said?

Moyes has been waxing lyrical over Cresswell’s start to the season at the London Stadium, which has seen the 30-year-old open eight of his nine Premier League appearances at centre-half after an early change to his role.

Cresswell’s efforts have been among the most important of any West Ham player, too, having assisted more goals (3) than anyone else in claret and blue while recording a higher number of successful tackles (13) than Angelo Ogbonna (10), Fabian Balbuena (10) and Issa Diop (2), per WhoScored.

Moyes believes Cresswell’s successful switch from left-back to centre-half has been at such a high level that the £50,000-per-week ace ought to be in contention for an England call-up, three years on from the third and last of his Three Lions appearances.

“Cresswell has been excellent for us,” Moyes told West Ham’s official club website. “He’s getting to the age of maturity where he’s understanding the game better and his reading of it, and he’s playing very well.

“Because he can play a couple of roles and he’s left-sided, it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if Gareth Southgate called him up for England. If he keeps up the form he’s in, he’ll certainly be getting watched – I have no doubt about that.”

A mountain to climb

While there can be no argument to Cresswell’s importance to West Ham’s early season form this term, the 30-year-old still has a mountain to climb if he’s to earn a fourth England cap.

Southgate awarded Cresswell his Three Lions debut from the bench in a friendly with Spain in 2016, but it was not until a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania in October 2017 that the Irons ace earned his first competitive outing and first start.

Cresswell has not been seen on the international stage since those 90-minutes at left-midfield against Edgaras Jankauskas’ side, either, despite Southgate handing England debuts to centre-backs Fikayo Tomori, Joe Gomez, Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady since.

Tomori could easily be regarded as less deserving of a future England call-up than Cresswell at present, having only played 44 minutes of Premier League football this season, but the Chelsea man is not the one the West Ham ace is truly contending with.

Although Chris Basham (23) and Ben White (21) are the only English centre-halves to have recorded a higher number of successful tackles than Cresswell (15) in the top-flight this term, White (17), Harry Maguire (16), Basham (16), Adam Webster (13), Michael Keane (12) and Kyle Bartley (9) all have more interceptions (8), per SofaScore.

Eric Dier (44), Ezri Konsa (42), Jamaal Lascelles (37), Basham (34), Bartley (34), Maguire (31) and Mings (30) also have more clearances than Cresswell (29), who has blocked fewer shots (4) than Lascelles (9), Dier (7), Bartley (7), James Tarkowski (6), Mings (6), White (6) and Konsa (5).

Cresswell’s efforts will likely have caught Southgate’s attention, but are not yet at the level where he is nailed on for a return to England duty three years on from last representing his country.

AND in other news, David Moyes would not be getting his next Tomas Soucek in a £16m West Ham target likened to David Luiz.

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to get back on track this afternoon in yet another top-of-the-table Premier League clash.

Jose Mourinho’s men were defeated by defending champions Liverpool in midweek and now find themselves six points behind their victors in third place.

Now they welcome fourth-placed Leicester City to north London later today.

The Foxes also lost earlier in the week after they were beaten 2-0 by Everton, so they too will be looking to bounce back with a result at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And Mourinho has plenty to consider as he will undoubtedly want to spark a reaction.

Sergio Reguilon could return to replace Ben Davies at left-back, whilst there is a headache over who to start between Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso – but why not start both?

The ‘Special One’ should really be looking to axe Moussa Sissoko after a disappointing display at Anfield, as ruthless as it would be.

Per SofaScore, the French midfielder made only 56% of his passes, failing to provide a single key pass, whilst he also lost possession 16 times, won 38% of his duels and was dribbled past on one occasion.

Sissoko should be dropped as a result, especially as Ndombele didn’t even feature from the bench.

Speaking to Football Insider, Michael Brown was left shocked by his position, he said:

“We’ve seen Sissoko go out wide, so looking at it, they actually stunned Liverpool. He’s been a real dominant force for Jose and that flexibility to go out on the right-hand side, you’re thinking: ‘That’s not him,’ but he just did well with it.”

The 31-year-old, who cost £30m in 2016, has become one of Mourinho’s favourites in midfield having started ten games but he’s awfully one-dimensional and with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the side, he isn’t really a must.

0.6 dribbles and 0.2 key passes per game is hardly inspiring for a box-to-box midfielder – even more so when he’s yet to record a single shot this season, via WhoScored.

Mourinho must show no mercy and drop the £80k-per-week maestro this time around. The Foxes have some impressive options in the middle themselves with James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi surely set to start.

There are obvious replacements for Sissoko in the squad, so it should be a simple alteration to make.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Pundit backs Spurs to secure “UNBELIEVABLE” move for £30m star…