All posts by z3u9t.icu

Manchester City’s hopes of signing Andre Silva this summer are over after the Portuguese international agreed on a move to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.

According to football journalist Fabrizio Romano, the striker will join RB Leipzig from fellow German side Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, following a superb campaign that saw him hit 29 goals in all competitions.

Only Robert Lewandowski scored more goals than the 25-year-old in the German top-flight last season, so it was no surprise when Manchester City were linked with his signing, as a potential alternative to the more expensive options of Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.

City are very much in the market for a striker this summer as they look to replace the legendary Sergio Aguero after he joined Barcelona, and Silva could well have added the instinctual finishing tht Guardiola’s side lacked on a number of occasions last season.

Whilst they ran away with the Premier League title and sealed their customary Carabao Cup trophy, they fell short in the FA Cup and Champions League and arguably need a more clinical finisher than Gabriel Jesus next season if they are to achieve their aspirations in Europe.

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After signing permanently from AC Milan last summer following an impressive loan spell, the “phenomenal” Silva was in sensational form last season, contributing 28 goals and five assists in just 32 Bundesliga appearances, averaging a superb 7.51 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This was enough to rank him as the fifth-best player in the German top-flight last season, so certainly could have been a strong addition to Guardiola’s side this summer, especially when you consider that Ilkay Gundogan finished as City’s top scorer in the Premier League with just 13 goals.

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Unfortunately for Guardiola, Silva will be plying his trade at the Red Bull Arena next season, and the Spanish manager will surely be gutted that another of City’s potential striker targets is no longer available.

And, in other news… Man City dealt huge injury blow with “world-class” star, Pep surely fuming

West Ham United could find another Tomas Soucek in Hans Vanaken in the January transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to Belgian outlet Voetbal24, the Irons are amongst the leading candidates to sign the Club Brugge midfielder, having held a long-term interest in signing him.

Back in the summer of 2020, the east Londoners reportedly saw a £13m bid rejected for him, via Sky Sports, with the Jupiler Pro League outfit demanding more. Almost 18 months on, it remains to be seen what sort of price tag he would command.

Transfermarkt currently value the Belgium international at a slightly higher price of £14.4m.

Shades of Soucek

The attacking midfielder, who stands at a whopping 6 foot 5 inches, has all the hallmarks to be another Soucek for David Moyes at the London Stadium, as the similarities go behind their position and towering physical presence.

Vanaken is capable of providing plenty of goals from the engine room, too, having scored eight times and provided five assists in 25 appearances this term, thus taking his goal total tally to 94 for the Belgian giants.

That includes valuable strikes against the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Impressive.

As we know with Soucek, he is one of Moyes’ major goal threats aside from players like Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen. Indeed, he shared the club’s top scorer award with the 31-year-old talisman in the Premier League last season.

Interestingly, Vanaken is equally adept with the ball at his feet despite his tall and thin stature.

“The special thing about Hans is that he has the footwork of a player of 1m 70. You can say that it is not nice to watch, that he is a bit slow, but he has an extraordinary intelligence,” claimed former teammate Onur Kaya to Sport Voetbal Magazine. “To be honest, I think he is stronger than a Dele Alli at Tottenham. He’s skinnier and less pretty to look at, but for me, he has his place at 16 of the 20 Premier League clubs.”

Meanwhile, journalist Peter Vandenbempt once claimed that “Vanaken gets better every year. He has everything Club Brugge wants: vision, technique, the right mentality and scoring ability.”

The Club Brugge colossus could be a shrewd addition for Moyes, in which he could find another Soucek-like presence to help dominate Premier League midfields and defences into the second half of the current campaign.

Vanaken could well be the next goalscoring midfielder to grace the London Stadium, should Rob Newman and co seal his signature this time around.

AND in other news, West Ham fans will love “unbelievable” Irons star’s 5-word hint after latest Moyes snub…

Celtic have had a number of successful academy graduates make their way through to the first team at Parkhead over the years.

Callum McGregor and James Forrest are two great examples of players who have been able to rise through the ranks and establish themselves as key stars for the Hoops at senior level.

However, some talented prospects can slip through the cracks and that is what happened with left-back Aaron Hickey in Glasgow. He was brought to the club from Hearts in 2017 and did not make a single first-team outing as a teenager before Brendan Rodgers sanctioned his exit back to Tynecastle for nothing in the summer of 2018.

Two years later, Italian side Bologna snapped him up from the Scottish side and he is now attracting interest from England.

Fabrizio Romano recently reported that Premier League side Newcastle United are eyeing up a deal worth up to £20m for the youngster, which means his value has risen astronomically in the space of around four years. The Magpies are looking to snap him up this summer after watching him catch the eye in Italy this season.

In the Serie A, he has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 6.89 across 27 appearances. He has been able to showcase his attacking flair from full-back with four goals and one assist, whilst creating 0.5 chances per game.

Defensively, he has been solid throughout the campaign. Hickey has averaged 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game and has only been dribbled past 0.3 times per match, winning 60% of his overall duels in the Italian top-flight. This shows that he is a strong defender who also offers quality in possession, which makes him a modern-day full-back who can make an impact at both ends of the pitch.

At the age of 19, he also has the potential to improve further. He is in the infancy of his professional career and has plenty of time to develop further and progress as a left-back. If he is able to continue growing and raising his standards on the pitch then that £20m may start to look like a bargain and Celtic could rue their decision even more as time passes.

His former manager Daniel Stendl previously labelled him as an “extraordinary talent” and the youngster’s statistics in the Serie A at such a young age back that up. 

Hickey’s form since leaving Celtic and his immense potential as a player prove that Rodgers made a huge blunder by not offering him a route to the first-team and allowing him to leave fo nothing. He slipped through the now-Leicester boss’ clutches and the Hoops will surely be wondering what could have been, as they look set to watch him seal a potential mega-money move this summer.

AND in other news, £3m wasted: Celtic had a shocker on £7.9k-p/w “loner” who rinsed Desmond for 129 weeks…

Aston Villa have been handed a potential blow in their bid to bring Harry Souttar to Villa Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Alan Nixon’s report for The Sun, with the journalist claiming that Everton are ready to step up their interest in the Stoke City centre-back after watching him in action for the Potters last week.

Further reports have revealed that both Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are also keeping a close eye on the situation of the defender ahead of the winter market, however, it would now appear that the Toffees are leading the race for the 23-year-old.

Lange must act

While it is undeniable that Dean Smith already possesses rather impressive depth in the heart of his defence, with all four of Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe being incredibly strong options for the 50-year-old to be able to call upon, Tuanzebe’s likely return to Manchester United following the completion of his loan spell at Villa Park means that Johan Lange is correct to be planning ahead for the position.

And, considering just how impressive Souttar has been for Stoke so far this season, making a move for the defender in January, as well as before Everton manage to secure a deal for the youngster, would appear to be a very wise move by the Aston Villa director of football.

Indeed, over his 13 Championship appearances, the £3.6m-rated man has helped his side keep three clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.9 interceptions, two tackles, 5.8 clearances and winning a whopping 7.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the player who Joey Barton dubbed “exemplary” average a SofaScore match rating of 7.19, ranking him as Michael O’Neill’s third-best performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, it would very much appear as if the £5.2k-per-week Souttar boasts the ability to make an immediate impact within the Aston Villa first team, as well as being a player who will only improve with time and experience of playing at a higher level.

So, it would indeed appear a wise move for Lange to do all he can to beat the Toffees to the 23-year-old’s signing, or else Villa could find themselves lining up against the Australia international in the second half of the season.

In other news: Imagine him & Ings: Lange must seal AVFC deal for 4 G/A beast with “mindset of a lion”

West Brom could make centre-back Matt Clarke’s move to the Hawthorns permanent in the summer transfer window, according to a fresh rumour.

The Lowdown: Clarke shines for West Brom

The 25-year-old joined the Baggies on loan last summer, with permanent home Brighton deeming him surplus to requirements.

Clarke has been an important figure and rare silver lining in a frustrating season at the Hawthorns, starting 29 Championship matches and averaging 1.4 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game – he is the third highest-rated player in the squad and leads the way in the latter statistic.

It is unknown whether or not the Englishman will remain at West Brom after his loan spell but a new update suggests that could be the case.

The Latest: Key report emerges

According to The Express & Star, the Baggies are confident that Clarke’s temporary move will become permanent, with Steve Bruce now ‘set to hold talks’ with him.

It is stated that an overhaul will take place at the club and other defenders will leave, but he is seen as an important figure.

The Verdict: No-brainer for Baggies

Clarke has been a rare positive at West Brom this season, as they have fallen way short of the standards expected of them in August when many felt they were among the favourites for automatic promotion.

For that reason, it makes complete sense to sign the man hailed as ‘big, strong and aerially dominant’ by Brighton correspondent Richard Mills on a long-term deal in the summer, with his age meaning he should still have many years left at his peak.

It seems unlikely that Graham Potter sees Clarke as a key player for Brighton moving forward so this would surely be a transfer that suits all parties, exciting fans ahead of what is hopefully a far more successful campaign next term.

In other news, Steve Madeley has made a big West Brom claim. Read more here.

Aston Villa defender Kortney Hause has been included in EA Sports’ FIFA 22 Team of the Week for his performance against Manchester United last weekend.

Villa shared the news on Wednesday evening via their official Twitter channel, which led to a number of fans giving their positive thoughts on social media.

The 26-year-old marked his 50th Villa appearance with a late winner at Old Trafford, heading to the net from Douglas Luiz’s corner.

Hause’s man of the match display against United earned him a place in the FIFA 22 Team of the Week, with Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus and Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe the other Premier League inclusions.

The centre-back now has an in-form card rated at 81, six higher than his 75 base card which is available to find in packs for a week.

Villa fans react

Aston Villa posted Hause’s card on their official Twitter channel on Wednesday evening. Here is what these Villa fans had to say in reply regarding the £25,000-a-week defender, with many happy over the recognition from EA Sports.

“Omg yes in my villa team utv!!!!”

Credit: @undead_villian

“Get in!!! UTV”

Credit: @chipelibiza

“Siuuuu”

Credit: @AlexLeeXXI

“No one deserves it more! Get in there @Kortney_30”

Credit: @Villa4LifeAlex

“Well deserved”

Credit: @Lingwo0147

“My CB”

Credit: @h3_n7

In other news: ‘Believe it or not’ – Preece shares worrying under-the-radar update on Villa ace who Smith loves. 

Tottenham Hotspur are the latest team to be linked with a move for Ismaila Sarr this month…

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport, Spurs have registered an interest in the Watford sensation and will now look into his availability ahead of the transfer window’s deadline on August 31st.

Sources have indicated that the 23-year-old is not for sale, with his value expected to be north of £50m.

Over the past few windows, he has attracted the attention from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, though the Hornets will fight to keep hold of their impressive winger.

Traore 2.0

Spurs’ mooted interest in Sarr comes as a surprise but he fits the mould of the sort of wide man that manager Nuno Santo absolutely loves. You only have to look at the transformation of Adama Traore at Molineux to see that.

And whilst the Spaniard is built like a brick wall in comparison to the Watford star, there are plenty more similarities that could hint towards him being an ideal fit under the Lilywhites head coach.

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane waxed lyrical about his compatriot, describing him as “rapid” to The Athletic in the summer of 2019. “I think defenders will struggle,” he added.

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“Last time I was speaking to Robbo (Andy Robertson) I said, ‘Watford have a really good player. I will need to help you more otherwise Ismaila Sarr will kill you, because he is a good dribbler and very, very fast.

“He has a very big facility to win penalties. So I will be telling the Liverpool defenders to take care because he is very quick and can change the game by winning penalties because he is a very clever player. This is one of his strengths.”

Explosive speed and acceleration is certainly an attribute that Nuno reaped the rewards from with Traore over the past few seasons.

Sarr enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in North London last season, registering a career-high 13 goals and four assists as Watford won promotion from the Championship.

It’s widely believed that Spurs are seeking some creativity in attack and that’s what the Senegal international could bring in abundance. He averaged 2.2 shots, 1.1 key passes and 3.9 crossing attempts per 90 minutes, via WhoScored, which suggests that he would fit the criteria the club is clearly looking for.

Furthermore, Sarr’s former teammate Abdoulaye Doucoure, who is now at Everton, has previously tipped him to achieve on the biggest stage, claiming to talkSPORT:

“I’ve told him as a joke that he’s a Champions League player, but I really think it’s because I know he has exceptional qualities. He’s not just quick, he’s incredible at finishing, he can find space, keep the ball and I hope he’ll go very far.”

On the above evidence, Nuno could turn to Sarr to be his new game-changer from the right-flank and just like his former star Traore, he has the capability to play a little deeper as an attacking wing-back.

The Portuguese would surely love to seal a move for the £18m-rated speed demon.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Ndombele: Spurs must sign £12m-rated “great talent” who’s “similar” to Eriksen…

Bruno Lage has led Wolves to exceeding expectations in their Premier League campaign so far.

The Black Country club currently sit sixth in the Premier League table ahead of Manchester United and Tottenham to name of a few of their top six contenders currently trying to break into the Europa League spots.

Despite this surprising success in the top half of the table so far, Wolves are not without their needs to add quality and fresh legs to their side, with a couple of injury problems plaguing the side currently.

Pedro Neto, Jonny Otto and Yerson Mosquera are all notably missing from the side, without any sign of an imminent return to the squad.

One strike of luck is the return of Raul Jiminez, who suffered a horrific fractured skull injury that kept him out of the side until the start of this season, who bagged his third goal of the season in a win over West Ham at Molineux Stadium this weekend.

Wolves are not struggling to find the goal, but their defensive record is highly problematic, only keeping their first clean sheet at home against West Ham a few days ago, which could be due to a lack of squad depth and availability for rotation in their defensive line.

Lage spoke out on the defensive issues recently saying;

“It’s easy to concede chances against us, so we need to continue to work to help our players and improve the little details that cost us.

Journalist, Luke Hatfield, has blown the lid on a potential incoming transfer for Wolves, which could definitely solve Lage’s problems at the back. He told GIVEMESPORT:

“I imagine that they’ll be keen to revive their interest in Botman if it can be done. It’s an area they probably need to look at.”

The £25.2m-rated centre back has been previously linked with a move to the club, and the January transfer window may be the perfect time for the club to pounce on the opportunity whilst sitting in a very attractive position in the Premier League.

Former Lille boss, Christophe Galtier, has hailed Sven Botman as a “leader” which is something Wolves could use to tighten up their backline to make them more aware and focused.

“In football, you have leaders who are vocal, ones who gesticulate and ones who shake the team up… I have a few of those,” said Galtier. “But you also have people who lead by example, through their performances, and it’s true that Sven is emerging as this type of leader.”

Wolves could swoop in to secure the signature of the Dutchman in January, if Lage is given the freedom to add players into his team during the winter transfer window, it really could make or break their battle for European football.

Liverpool were unbeaten in all competitions the last time they had a game in the Champions League. Since then, they’ve only lost to West Ham but made up for it in an incredible performance that saw the side score four goals against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

The Reds remain unbeaten and at the very top of the tree in their Champions League group, with the maximum 12 points and seven points clear of second-place Porto, who coincidentally are their opponents on Wednesday evening.

This unbeaten run in Europe has put Liverpool through to the last sixteen, and for this reason, we expect a much different side to the starting eleven we saw against Arsenal on Saturday evening.

Jurgen Klopp confirmed in his press conference that we would see changes in tonight’s game;

“We always respect the competition but we have to think about ourselves, our schedule and the situation of our players first,”

With that in mind, here is Football Fancast’s predicted XI for Liverpool vs Porto…

With seven changes to the starting line up, we predict that Liverpool will bring in many players that we only see in domestic cup tournaments, but Klopp will leave an element of first-team experience in each line of play, with Joel Matip, James Milner and Diogo Jota all starting.

The changes will see fan favourites like Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah axed from the line up, in an attempt to give them a rest before an important Premier League game against Southampton at the weekend, where Klopp’s side will look for an opportunity to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester City.

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Taki Minamino will take the place of Mane, and will be hoping to have further impact on Liverpool’s season after he scored the fourth goal of the game against Arsenal at the weekend.

We expect to see some young players get minutes as well this evening, with Ibrahima Konate, 19-year-old Tyler Morton and Neco Williams predicted to join the side. All three will be hoping to make an impact to impress their German coach in the game.

Klopp will certainly not go into this game with the mentality of allowing a loss, so it is likely we could see him strengthen the side with more experienced players like Trent Alexander Arnold or Jordan Henderson in the second half, but only if the starting team is getting eaten alive by a Porto side who are in need of a win to push Atletico Madrid and AC Milan further away from qualification.

In other news: Liverpool must secure new deal for Sadio Mane

Crystal Palace are said to be in the hunt for Midtjylland midfielder Jens Cajuste, as their summer recruitment drive intensifies [SportExpressen via Sport Witness].

Primarily a holding midfielder, the 21-year-old enjoyed a commendable season for the Danish runners-up, making 39 appearances and registering one goal and two assists in that time [Transfermarkt].

Now attracting attention from Premier League clubs, he could have choice to make on his future sooner rather than later.

The Eagles are said to have ‘concrete interest’ in the Swedish youngster, alongside Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and Newcastle United [Sport Witness].

Furthermore, Cajuste was pulled from his current employers’ UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Celtic yesterday, with murmurings suggesting Midtjylland may not want to ‘risk anything because a big sale may be imminent’ [Sport Witness].

In light of this, no wonder loads of Crystal Palace diehards took to Twitter to express their thoughts on the latest news.

Crystal Palace fans react:

Replying to popular Crystal Palace fan outlet PALACE XTRA, here is what some fans had to say about recent reports:

“Very talented box to box midfielder, great vision, good on the ball. PL ready just yet? Maybe not but great potential. He was the second youngest player in our Euro squad, only featured once as a sub though. But he is likely to play a bigger part in the Qatar WC in 2022.”

Credit: @FIFA_hakke”Would take him over any of the other rumoured transfer targets”Credit: @getcomeuppance”Yes please”Credit: @longlivewilliam”Jens Cajuste’s stats last season: Minutes Played: 649 Assists: 1 Key passes: 4 Chances Created: 5 Accurate passes: 166 (78%) Dribbles succeeded: 7 (78%) Blocked shots: 3 Interceptions: 9 Clearances: 8″Credit: @cpfcgoaat”We have more pulling power then them, if we go strong we get him, Vieira will want who he wants and he will get them.”Credit: @Kevbartleyy”No young midfielder will turn down working for one of the best midfielders of all time”Credit: @cpfcharlie0In other news, Crystal Palace fans react to an Andros Townsend update.