All posts by h79snht.top

Newcastle have expanded their transfer search by targeting PSV’s Cody Gakpo, according to French outlet Foot Mercato.

What’s the word?

The Magpies have been keen to add a forward player this month as Steve Bruce acknowledged it was on his list of priorities, along with a new striker and midfielder.

Ademola Lookman has been targeted but the club has been dealt a setback with RB Leipzig seemingly unwilling to entertain offers similar to what they paid six months ago – £22.5m.

As a result, it is being reported that Newcastle have turned their attention to Gakpo, who is also wanted by Lyon and Stade Rennais.

That could make things tricky for the north-east outfit, and possibly cause his asking price of €10m (£8.5m) to rise, if PSV choose to play each club off of each other.

Alternative to Lookman

Newcastle are currently well-stocked on the flanks with Miguel Almiron finding form having scored three goals in three games.

Allan Saint-Maximin may still be currently sidelined but he has dazzled with 4.5 dribbles per game and therefore the young Gakpo could struggle to displace either player in the team.

A football legend: Can you get over 80% on this Gazza quiz? Find out now…

However, he could fulfil the role of striker, and even if Bruce decides to continue with Joelinton after his goal against Rochdale the 20-year-old may be willing to act as a valuable back-up option.

That is one reason why he may be a better option for the Magpies than Lookman, as the Leipzig man was previously desperate to move away from Everton due to a lack of game time – making only 14 starts for the Toffees in three years.

Added to that, at an estimated £8.5m Gakpo would be a much cheaper alternative yet he is currently in better form, providing 13 goal contributions for the Dutch outfit this campaign, whereas Lookman is without a goal or assist this term – though he has only featured four times.

Gakpo, therefore, is likely playing with greater confidence, and that is what has made Newcastle’s wide players flourish so far, as well as what the team will need if they are to stave off the threat of relegation.

In other transfer news, Newcastle fans should start to feel excitement at the news that another big deal has taken a positive development…

According to a fresh report from the London Evening Standard, Liverpool have already rejected two offers for Xherdan Shaqiri, one of which was from Sevilla, but would be open to selling their ace in the summer.

What’s the word, then?

With Liverpool still fighting on all fronts in the current 2019/20 campaign, Jurgen Klopp has no intention of allowing Shaqiri to leave mid-season, regardless of the bidder.

The same source explains that both Roma and Sevilla have failed in their attempts to snatch the 28-year-old on loan for the remainder of the season.

Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

However, Klopp would be open to selling Shaqiri in the summer but would demand at least €30m (£25.5m), which is double the amount that has been mentioned in previous reports, as London Evening Standard explain.

With Sevilla somewhat struggling under Julen Lopetegui, this will definitely be seen as a blow.

Verdict

The 28-year-old ace has mostly been a bit-part player under Klopp in the ongoing season.

Both injuries and the incredible form of the Reds’ front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah have limited the Switzerland international to just 256 minutes across ten games in all competitions.

But even with that being said, he still managed to net one goal in his 174 minutes in the Premier League and we know from his stay at Stoke – during which he scored 15 and assisted 15 in 92 games – that he still has an eye for goal.

And even though Sevilla are currently fighting for those top spots in La Liga, they are somewhat struggling in the attacking sense, only scoring 25 goals in the competition while Barcelona have managed double that figure.

Still, £25.5m that Standard are reporting would trump the Andalusians’ transfer record that stands at £22.5m so it will be interesting to see their reaction to this update from the Reds.

Elsewhere, Liverpool fans were ecstatic after young superstar’s latest comments on their team…

According to a fresh report from Football Insider, Everton have rejected two offers for Mason Holgate.

Newcastle United were credited with interest last month ahead of a potential January bid, though it remains unclear if one of the rejected offers came from Tyneside.

Still, it seems that his recent rise in form following his return from loan has warranted interest from various suitors.

But looking specifically at Newcastle, it does feel like they should probably be aiming a little higher.

If we compare Holgate’s figures so far this campaign to one of the Magpies’ most established centre-backs in Fabian Schar, we can see that the youngster’s fundamental defensive output is inferior to that of the Switzerland international.

Both players have registered a similar amount of minutes in the 2019/20 Premier League season – with 1262 for Schar and 1368 for Holgate.

In general, we can immediately see that Newcastle’s centre-back is very much rock-solid when it comes to tackling and intercepting the ball, averaging 2.2 and 2.1 per game respectively and successfully edging out the 23-year-old in both categories.

Holgate is not that far behind with 1.7 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game but if Newcastle truly want to reinforce their squad, they should be aiming to bring players in who would represent upgrades on their current options.

Granted, the talent with the current Everton ace is often visible in his aesthetic style and composure in possession, and he also can rival Schar from a statistical perspective in some categories.

When it comes to aerial duels the pair both record 1.7 per game and Holgate actually boasts a better record when facing up to a rival attacker, with players bypassing him on just 0.4 occasions per game compared to 0.9 for the former La Liga man.

Naturally, with Schar 28 and Holgate 23, it could be argued that the latter could eventually go on to become a better player if he fulfils his potential.

And Steve Bruce’s somewhat pragmatic approach to games should also be taken into consideration as that may well be inflating his player’s defensive figures.

For that reason and if we assume they are looking for someone who could immediately add to their squad, this failed bid just might have been a dodged bullet after all.

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed in The Athletic’s January Transfer Tracker that the south Londoners are considering making an offer for Adil Rami before Friday’s deadline.

The 36-cap France international was sacked by Marseille back in August after appearing on TV on a game show called Fort Boyard, despite telling his club that he was injured – he then joined Turkish side Fenerbahce.

Rami – who was pursued by Arsenal and his former boss Unai Emery in the summer – has only made five appearances for the Turkish outfit this season, and is hoping to complete a switch to the Premier League before the transfer window ends.

Derby County are believed to be leading the race for the 6 foot 2 man’s signature ahead of another unnamed Championship side, although Crystal Palace are considering making an offer for the 34-year-old who split from Pamela Anderson last year.

It would be a strange move from the Eagles, seeing as they already have five centre-backs on the books in Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins, Gary Cahill, Martin Kelly and Scott Dann.

Let’s see how the Crystal Palace fans on Twitter reacted to the news…

To kick off the reaction to the Rami news, sarcasm was the flavour of the day from these two supporters named Ciaran and Nav.

Ciaran sarcastically thanked Sporting Director Dougie Freedman after mocking the amount of ageing centre-backs currently on the books at Selhurst Park – Hodgson has 34-year-old Cahill, 30-year-old Tomkins and 32-year-old Dann amongst his options.

Nav then jokingly said “why not?” before sarcastically saying that one thing the Eagles are short of is “over experienced centre backs”.

Elsewhere, a fan named Mike asked if Rami would be a replacement for Sakho, who Fanatik have linked with a move to Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor, where Alexander Sorloth is currently on loan.

Meanwhile, Max simply tagged Steve Parish’s Twitter account and said “don’t do this” – safe to say this supporter doesn’t want Rami in SE25.

Lastly, these two fans also offered their thoughts.

Ben mentioned that the Eagles have been linked with moves for Yannick Carrasco, Jamal Lewis and Nathan Ferguson, but believes Rami will be the one “who we sign”.

Someone’s got to own them: Who do these incredibly unwanted PL records belong to?

Also, @theNikeman1 said, if anything, the former Marseille defender “increases our handsomeness” and they’ll take it – they’re not wrong.

In other news, Dominic Fifield has delivered two fresh nuggets of information on the club’s hunt for Yannick Carrasco…

According to a recent report from ESPN, Willian would prefer to stay at Chelsea rather than move to Barcelona in the summer when his contract officially expires.

What’s the word, then?

The Brazil international will officially become a free agent this summer but would still like to continue working under Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge and sign a new contract if possible, as per the same outlet.

ESPN also explain that the 31-year-old forward has no agreement in place with the Catalan giants as his first choice is very much to remain in the Premier League where both he and his family are settled.

Mourinho’s produced some incredible footballing stars – how much do you know about them?

There might be a slight problem, however, as the same source states the Blues would only be willing to offer the Brazilian a two-year contract while he believes he has the fitness to warrant a three-year one.

Still, for Barcelona, this might be good news after all.

Verdict

While there’s no denying that Willian – despite being 31 years of age at this point – is still a quality player, it doesn’t feel like he’s someone Barcelona need right now.

Granted, currently their forward line is heavily depleted with the injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele and with the departure of Carles Perez to Roma, but adding more ageing forwards into the squad, even if they are free, should not be their priority.

The likes of Alex Collado and Ansu Fati look like great options for the future and could offer squad depth, while Barcelona can then focus on more pressing matters if they choose to do so in the summer.

Willian has netted five goals and provided five assists in the ongoing campaign across all competitions, but with him ageing and reportedly hoping to stay, it just doesn’t feel like it’s worth the trouble for the Blaugrana.

Elsewhere, Barcelona were extremely desperate to land a striker in January and were even willing to sacrifice their loanee to do so…

Steven Bergwijn enjoyed an exceptional debut for Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester City on Sunday.

On the chalkboard

The January signing from PSV Eindhoven started the game against Pep Guardiola’s side and had an instant impact.

Bergwijn controlled Lucas Moura’s clip into the box, taking a touch on his chest before volleying into the bottom corner and beyond goalkeeper Ederson.

The 22-year-old enjoyed an excellent display throughout the game, having 32 touches of the ball and routinely sprinting up and down the pitch, per WhoScored.

His only shot was his goal, while he also completed one dribble, won one aerial duel and won one tackle, while also making two interceptions.

Of course, Spurs struggled for possession, having just 32.6% of the ball, but whenever Bergwijn had it, he used it effectively.

Money talks: How much did Levy pay for each of these Spurs stars?

Only going to get better

The Netherlands international is only going to get better.

Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas said on Twitter prior to the clash with City that he had been “awesome” in training since his arrival and one feels that he can only grow.

He scored with his only shot on goal, taking the chance that came his way, and if he is given the chance to have the ball, he can successfully influence games throughout.

The City game is not really instructive of the form that he can show but it is a start.

His goal was a touch of class, a supremely gifted finish; one can only get excited over the prospect of him having the chance to take more than one shot per game.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have reacted to one Mourinho moment!

Rangers travel to Kilmarnock this evening with the pressure perpetually rising in the race for the SPFL title.

The Gers go into the clash seven points adrift of league leaders Celtic – albeit with a game in hand – and will be aiming to keep the pressure on their Glasgow rivals by clinching another three points.

Since returning from the winter break in Dubai, Steven Gerrard’s side have struggled to emulate the level of intensity and attacking verve they were regularly displaying at the end of 2019, and with that said it’s vital that he establishes his strongest starting XI as soon as possible.

Considering Rangers have only beaten Kilmarnock three times in their past ten visits to Rugby Park, this is unlikely to be anything other than a tricky 90 minutes of football for the travelling outfit.

The title chasing outfit secured their passage into the quarter final of the Scottish Cup on Sunday but FFC are expecting Gerrard to make two key changes to the side that beat Hamilton 4-1.

The two changes involve Andy Halliday and Ryan Jack, who come into the side to replace Borna Barisic and Glenn Kamara respectively.

Gerrard has claimed the Croatia international is “50-50” to be involved tonight and is likely to face a late fitness test before a decision is made.

With that in mind, it’s likely that an alternative option will need to fill in at left-back, and Halliday’s involvement on Sunday suggests he’ll get the nod over Jon Flanagan.

Ryan Jack, however, is fit to play and could return to the starting XI in place of Glenn Kamara, who has struggled for form in recent weeks.

Providing balance and defensive solidity in a midfield pivot role, Jack should lend Ianis Hagi greater freedom to express himself in the final third.

Tottenham Hotspur reignited their claim for Champions League football next season with another victory in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Jose Mourinho’s side defeated Aston Villa 3-2 in the Midlands after Heung-min Son turned zero-to-hero in added time as he slotted home the winner with seconds to spare.

He had earlier missed a penalty before bagging from the rebound but suffered a frustrating afternoon with a total of seven shots at goal.

However, there were much worse culprits on the pitch in the white colours of Spurs, such as Dele Alli, who must’ve put in one of his worst performances for the club.

If you think Son was in misfiring form at Villa Park, then think again as the Englishman squandered four big chances and failed to score from five shots at goal, per SofaScore, whilst he also lost possession eight times, managed to successfully pull off just half of his dribbles and picked up the lowest rating on the pitch of 5.5.

The 24-year-old looked a revitalised figure when Mourinho arrived by helping the Portuguese boss to make an instant impact with scoring three goals and two assists from the opening four top-flight matches under his tenure, but now he’s horribly out of sorts which is epitomised by this performance.

Via Transfermarkt, Alli has managed just two goals in his last ten matches, and he’s started in all of them.

Therefore, it’s time for Mourinho to act cold and drop the midfielder, especially when there is Giovani Lo Celso, Gedson Fernandes and Tanguy Ndombele waiting on the bench.

Alli, who is valued at £81m by Transfermarkt, must do much more to justify such a hefty price tag, and with Euro 2020 soon on the horizon, he’s hardly convincing anyone that he should be on the plane.

Calling all Tottenham fans: How much do you really know about Spurs’ new hero? Find out below…

In just half an hour of action, Lo Celso showed why he’s a better option through the middle, recording double the amount of key passes that Alli could muster up, as well as managing a better passing success rate – and he even created one big chance, rather than wasting one (or four).

It’s time for Jose to bench the 6 foot 2 midfielder after this flop of a display ahead of this week’s Champions League first-leg against RB Leipzig.

And in other news, Spurs fans now look rather silly after berating ace they claimed had a SHOCKER and was a DISGRACE…

Here, we take a look at three of the biggest stories to emerge from the footballing world on Tuesday, including Manchester United’s drop in revenue, the Red Devils’ interest in Jack Grealish and Newcastle’s rumoured pursuit of Ricardo Horta.

United revenue falls by almost 12%

United have long been the commercial kings in the Premier League – they even registered a record revenue £627m last July, which had them at number three in the Deloitte Money League – but the lack of Champions League football this season has seen their finances take a hit in the six months to December.

Their six-month number is £303.8m, which represents a 12% loss.

For the year of 2020, they expect the total revenue to be somewhere between £560m and £580m. Whilst the overall figure may have decreased, there was at least some good news for the clubs bosses – commercial revenue rose by 6.5%.

Speaking about the numbers, executive vice-chairman Ed Woordward said: “We are pushing for a strong finish in the Premier League, the Europa League and the FA Cup as we enter the final third of the season.

“We have continued to make progress on our squad rebuild, with many changes in terms of players that we have brought in and players that have come through our academy”.

If the Old Trafford outfit want to get back to where they were on a financial level, a return to European football’s premier club competition will be paramount.

United step up Grealish interest

The 20-time English champions were said to be interested in Jack Grealish during the January transfer window, but the Aston Villa captain ended up staying at Villa Park. The 24-year-old has been in excellent form so far this campaign, managing seven goals and providing six assists in 25 starts in the Premier League.

It seems that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and co have not given up in their pursuit of Grealish, with the Manchester Evening News even saying that they are preparing to step up their interest. It is believed that United are keen to execute their summer business early, and the Villa man is one of those they are targeting.

The player reportedly has a £45m release clause in his contract with the Midlands outfit.

Newcastle to return for Horta

Braga have been in stunning form in Portugal in recent weeks, losing just one of their last 13 matches in all competitions – that run has included victories over the country’s traditional big three of Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon – and Ricardo Horta has been a vital part of that.

In 39 games in all competitions so far this season, he has scored 18 goals and provided seven assists, playing either as a left or right winger.

According to Tuesday’s print edition of Record (via Sport Witness), the Magpies were willing to part with €12m (£10m) in January to take the Portugal international to St. James’ Park, but that was not enough for Braga.

He has a €30m (£25.1m) release clause in his contract and, although they may be willing to sell for less, it is unlikely the Portuguese outfit will be happy to accept an offer as low as €12m.

The Athletic’s Everton journalist Patrick Boyland has claimed that he wants to see more of winger Bernard, per The Blue Room podcast (March 1st, 16:28).

What’s he said?

The Toffees drew 1-1 with Manchester United at the weekend, with manager Carlo Ancelotti picking Theo Walcott to start on the right flank.

He was substituted in the 63rd minute as the Italian introduced Bernard off the bench, but Boyland believes he should be starting regularly.

Indeed, the Brazilian has made just 12 starts in the Premier League this season, scoring three goals and providing two assists in that time.

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

And Boyland has urged Ancelotti to get the South American, rated at £18m by Transfermarkt, into the side more regularly.

He said: “I always feel a bit disappointed when I don’t see Bernard on the team-sheet. He’s one of those players who gets you off your seat, and he’ll always do two or three things in a game that you’ll enjoy watching.

“I think he is important when he plays in tandem with (Leighton) Baines or (Lucas) Digne. He’s probably the most intelligent of our players on the left in terms of releasing that full-back, (who) will know when to go himself.

“I’d like to see more of Bernard, I think he’s been hardly done to.”

Not wrong

Bernard hasn’t really been given a proper chance at Everton this season.

He has played the full 90 minutes just three times in the top-flight; the last time that happened came against West Ham United in October, and he scored in a 2-0 win.

The following game against Brighton & Hove Albion saw him play just 30 minutes and then, unfortunately, he sustained a knee injury that saw him miss three games before returning to the bench against Leicester City.

Since then, he has had just six starts in 14 games and was even left out of the squad entirely for the clash with Manchester City.

Giving him a chance makes sense as he is a tricky, pacey dribbler who could cut inside from the left or the right flank and make chances for his team-mates.

As it is, he is offering nothing on the bench, through no fault of his own.

Meanwhile, a journalist has drooled over the performance of one man!