All posts by z3u9t.icu

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Leeds United have apparently entered the race to sign Ovie Ejaria, according to Reading Chronicle journalist Courtney Friday. The Liverpool man spent last season out on loan at both Rangers and Reading.

He left the Scottish giants after just a few months having struggled to settle, whereas his performances at Reading were promising if not exactly earth-shattering, producing one goal and two assists in 16 games.

Therefore, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that Leeds are chasing him, especially heading into a season where anything other than promotion would be regarded as failure for the Whites having come so close last year and managed to hang onto the services of Marcelo Bielsa.

Ejaria is a relatively unproven quantity with limited experience, but he could come good in a side where he feels more comfortable.

So, should Leeds swoop for Ejaria this summer? Three of Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts on Leeds’ alleged interest in the 21-year-old below…

Matt Dawson

“Ejaria is a handy player and he showed as much on loan at Reading last season. His canny dribbling ability, completing 2.3 per match on average for the Royals, was impressive and if he’s to make an impact at Leeds that’s likely to be one of the main ways in which he does so. A loan deal would be decent business overall – a permanent move would be too much of a gamble at this largely unproven stage of his career – but Leeds will need a bit more from the youngster if they’re to achieve promotion, after he managed to find the net just once in the Championship throughout 2018/19.”

Billy Meyers

“I think this could be a smart signing by Leeds, although it definitely comes with some risks. Ejaria couldn’t settle at Rangers and while he simply may have got a bit unlucky in that instance, you have to question his mentality as well – elite players should be able to adapt and focus on their football. That being said, there is clearly some ability within him – Ejaria is a quick and powerful presence who played as both a winger and a central midfielder at times last season, so he’s got something to offer his apparent suitors. It’s just a case of whether Bielsa’s guidance can take him up to another, more consistent level.” 

James Beavis

“Bielsa has shown in the past that even if you are arriving at Leeds from a high-profile club, you still have to earn your place in the starting XI. As an example, a season-long loan move for Chelsea’s Lewis Baker last summer failed to work out well with the 24-year-old deciding to leave United in January having failed to break into the side under the Argentine. Given Ejaria’s own temporary spell with Rangers was also ended early after he failed to settle in Glasgow, alarm bells should be ringing before the Yorkshire outfit consider bringing him to Elland Road this time around – one goal and two assists in 16 appearances in a separate spell with Reading in 2019 isn’t hugely encouring either.”

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West Ham United Director of Football Mario Husillos is involved in protracted negotiations with Celta Vigo over the transfer of Maxi Gomez and is likely to remain as such until the final days of the transfer window, sources have told Football FanCast.

The Hammers are attempting to restructure their squad this summer and Manuel Pellegrini is keen to secure at least one striker in this transfer window.

Pablo Fornals has already been signed from Villarreal to add depth to the attacking midfield positions but the Irons currently have just Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez as their senior forwards.

Chicharito, however, has been made available for transfer and if he departs, the club will be left with just Arnautovic and utility man Michail Antonio as their striking options.

As such, Pellegrini has instructed the club to once again pursue a deal for Gomez, who has a €50m (£44.7m) release clause in his contract.

The Hammers initially identified the Uruguay striker as a target in January amid concerns that Arnautovic could leave for China.

Of course, he ended up signing a new contract and that development put paid to their plan of signing Gomez, with the money recouped from selling the Austria international set to be reinvested, wholesale, into the acquisition of the 22-year-old.

He scored 13 goals in La Liga as Celta avoided relegation – if they had gone down, his release clause would have halved – and Husillos is now attempting to negotiate a deal that could see Gomez link up with Arnautovic in east London.

However, sources have confirmed to Football FanCast that the Irons first face the issue of Gomez’s release clause, with his current club keen to see his asking price paid in full.

Secondly, the player would prefer to remain in Spain and there is a belief at the Hammers that Celta are merely holding out in the hope that a rival bidder will emerge. Valencia tabled an offer earlier this summer but it was not entertained, while West Ham had a £25m bid rejected.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Gomez, sources have said, would like to play for one of Spain’s “big three”: Barcelona, Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.

However, West Ham do not believe that the trio will register any sort of interest in him, and are confident that negotiations can be drawn to a favourable conclusion, eventually.

Indeed, one source within the club told FFC that they expect the deal to drag into the final few weeks of the transfer window, with another even claiming that it may be done on deadline day.

It remains to be seen if a compromise can be reached over a fee but there is a belief that Husillos can strike an agreement for a lower figure than the £45m clause in Gomez’s deal.

Pellegrini has explicitly requested the signing of the forward and FFC has been told that “what Pellegrini wants, Pellegrini gets”.

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Liverpool fans can’t believe a Telegraph report claiming that Leicester City want to receive as much as £100m for defender Harry Maguire amid interest from Manchester United.

Liverpool, of course, currently have the most expensive defender in world football, having paid £75m for Virgil van Dijk when they signed him from Southampton.

But United could eclipse that if they decide to meet the Foxes’ reported valuation for the England international.

Indeed, the Telegraph claim that no offers below £90m will even be considered by Brendan Rodgers’ side; the report also states that the figure may need to reach £100m.

And Reds fans can’t believe that United, who have signed Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in this transfer window, are considering paying such a fee for the 26-year-old.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, the majority of them believe that Van Dijk is a much superior player to Maguire.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle could potentially lose out to former boss Rafa Benitez and his new side Dalian Yifang in the race to sign West Brom striker Salomon Rondon – West Ham also remain interested.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Magpies only recently lost Benitez after the Spaniard walked away from his post following the expiry of his contract at St James’ Park – he declined the offer of an extension.

This was news that was not received too well by these Newcastle fans, and the situation could be about to get a whole lot worse with Benitez interested in the Venezuelan at his new cash-rich employers.

“The club is in a state!”… The Playmakers give their first impressions on receiving the sudden news of Rafa Benitez’s departure from Newcastle United. See what they have to say here…

Benitez apparently views Rondon as the perfect centre-forward to build his new team around.

Potential double blow for the Magpies & these fans won’t be happy

Rondon absolutely excelled for the Magpies last term and enjoyed his best statistical campaign on a personal level since arriving in England back in 2015.

The former Zenit man scored 11 goals and set up seven more in the Premier League, whilst his efforts saw him named as the Tynesiders’ Player of the Season.

For Benitez to leave and then snatch the player who some fans would assumingly want to see bought to the club the most this summer would be a real double blow for Newcastle were it to happen.

Additionally, these supporters specifically would not be very happy. Lots of Magpies fans were calling on their beloved club to sign the 6 foot 1 powerhouse when his parent club West Brom were knocked out of the play-offs, and have done so more times over the last few months.

Most recently, some fans were calling for his arrival as part of a swap deal with Dwight Gayle – one thing is for certain, a lot of the supporters just want to see Rondon signed on a permanent basis.

For them to be potentially scolded by the man who has just left them in the hunt for a player they are visibly desperate for would be a real kick to the teeth.

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Leicester have had a busy few days, breaking their transfer record twice to bring both Ayoze Perez and Youri Tielemans to the King Power.

The Foxes confirmed the addition of Perez for a fee of £30m last week before the Belgian arrived on a permanent transfer for £40m.

But now the two deals have gone through, how could Leicester shape up?

Plan A

The first plan they could put into action would be to utilise Perez on the right with Tielemans playing directly behind Jamie Vardy.

Towards the back end of last season Brendan Rodgers started to field James Maddison on the left-hand side, a position of the pitch he caused Ainsley Maitland-Niles countless problems in when Leicester beat Arsenal.

He was particularly impressive as he was able to get the young Gunners man sent off in the process.

Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The former Norwich star and Tielemans struck a particularly good partnership in that game with the pair even combining for a goal.

Therefore, it could be a similar sort of formula that Rodgers utilises again in 2019/20.

Perez played as a right inside forward during the back end of last season, scoring six in five games as he and Miguel Almiron played just behind Salomon Rondon. That system could potentially be replicated behind Vardy.

Plan B

The second plan in order to cram all of their creative players into the same side would be to move Tielemans slightly further back.

He started his time with Leicester playing as a central midfielder, as opposed to a No.10, which could then allow Maddison to play in a role he was particularly impressive in throughout most of the last season.

He played 100 key passes throughout the previous term so it may seem foolish to upset the rhythm he developed there.

Could Daniel Sturridge be set to reunite with Brendan Rodgers? Check out the video below to find out…

As a result, Harvey Barnes could come in at the expense of Hamza Choudhury, giving them a more direct option on the right wing than Maddison would perhaps offer.

Considering the number of options Leicester have in central areas, this formation again sees Perez shifted out to the right-hand side.

If you take into account the threat Maddison and Tielemans offer in the middle, it’s difficult to see how their new Spanish signing would fit in unless it’s in a wider role.

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Rangers have “reluctantly but respectfully” allowed Daniel Candeias the chance to talk to Genclerbirligi, Steven Gerrard has told The Daily Record.

What’s the story?

The Daily Record reported that the winger has concerns about becoming a squad player under Gerrard. And with the Turkish top-flight side’s interest clearly quite concrete, the Portuguese ace is said to be considering their offer.

Gerrard has plenty of wide options at the moment, with Jake Hastie, Sheyi Ojo, Greg Stewart, Jordan Jones and Scott Arfield, so can’t guarantee game time for Candeias. That depth of talent looks like it could be a blessing and a curse.

Despite being open to the offer from Genclerbirligi, Candeias has reported to training today, as Gerrard gets his squad ready for Progres Niederkorn in the Europa League qualifiers. This could be a sign that the 31-year-old is yet to make a decision on where his future lies.

Keep Morelos happy!

Candeias and Alfredo Morelos have made no secret of their bond off the pitch. With the Colombian striker unable to speak English fluently, he’s lent heavily on Candeias and the two have grown close.

The 22-year-old is “shattered”‘ at the prospect of potentially losing his close friend from Ibrox, according to Football Insider. As well as being good friends off the pitch, the two have brought the best out of each other on the park too.

The duo were two of three big constants at the club in Gerrard’s debut campaign as a gaffer, with captain James Tavernier also performing excellently in the same period.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Candeias might not be guaranteed as much football this year and he will be 32 by the end of the next campaign, but he did muster up 12 assists last season, so losing him would harm the creativity that helps contribute to Morelos’ monster goals tally.

If the Gers want to do everything they can to both keep Morelos happy off the pitch and smashing goals in on it, then selling Candeias could well turn out to be one huge mistake.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

So, it looks as if Idrissa Gueye has finally got his wish as a move to Paris Saint-Germain nears completion.

The Everton No.17 submitted a transfer request back in January after the Parisians’ opening offer of £21.5m was rejected, although both clubs now seem to have agreed on a sum of £28.7m.

The Senegal international will now have a medical with the French champions.

As a result, the Toffees’ search for a replacement must move up a gear.

If various reports are to be believed, Everton have identified Mainz 05’s Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Toulouse midfielder Ibrahim Sangare as potential replacements – another name you may know in Chelsea’s Tiemoue Bakayoko has also been linked.

Whilst you may wonder how good the Frenchman actually is after being shipped out on loan by the Blues last term, he would definitely offer the Toffees something a little different to Gueye.

As you can see from the stats above, Gueye is the better ball winner by a considerable margin in terms of winning it with his feet. He averages 4.3 tackles per game compared to Bakayoko’s 2.3, and also completes 0.6 more interceptions on average.

However, the 24-year-old Chelsea midfielder is far better in the air – winning more than twice the amount of aerial duels as the Everton man he could end up replacing.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below…

Bakayoko endured a torrid debut season at Chelsea following his £40m move from Monaco, before spending last term on loan with AC Milan where he enjoyed somewhat of a mini-resurgence.

Marco Silva opted to play with Andre Gomes and Gueye in a midfield two for most of last term, so any replacement for the former Aston Villa man is likely to play alongside the Portugal international.

If that is to be the case, the 6 foot 2 France international would provide the Toffees with some real steely physical presence next to the more slender Gomes, but would help Silva’s side perform better against teams who look to use their aerial presence and play off knock downs.

As good as Gueye is, he can never help out in this way against huge opponents as a result of his 5 foot 9 frame.

And that difference in both players could become most prevalent at set pieces. Everton conceded the most goals of any Premier League club in such situations last season, 16, but Bakayoko can provide that extra layer of protection to reduce what became a fundamental weakness for Silva’s side.

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Last season it took until November 3rd for either of Newcastle United’s first choice strikers Ayoze Perez or Salomon Rondon to get off the mark. By that time Dwight Gayle had scored eight though admittedly in the Championship.

This disparity was particularly pertinent of course because earlier that summer Rafa Benitez had decided to – temporarily at least – dispense with Gayle’s services opting to send the 28-year-old to West Brom for the season and bring in the Baggies’ Rondon in an unusual loan swap deal. By the autumn surely he was regretting this. The guy he let go was firing in goals for fun. The guy he brought in was misfiring on a weekly basis.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Fast forward to the present day and though Benitez has now departed the Magpies seem intent on repeating their mistake, that of under-valuing the prolific nature of a striker they have under contract, and all while being in desperate need of fire-power.

A move to Stoke for the forward who scored 24 league goals last term by its conclusion has fallen through, but its Newcastle’s intention to sell Gayle in the first place that is most revealing.

Meanwhile, due to the recent £30m sale of Perez to Leicester and the ending of Rondon’s loan – not to mention a reunion with Benitez in China – this has left Newcastle extremely light in their striking department. At the recent Asia Trophy they used peripheral personnel in the form of Yoshinori Muto and the previously untried teen Elias Sorensen and this despite Gayle – a proven goal-scorer – being part of the travelling party. Since then of course they have signed Joelinton from Hoffenheim but nobody should be under any illusions to what extent this fixes matters for the North-East giants. They still remain woefully short of options up front.

Watch 3 reasons why Newcastle should sign Andy Carroll below…

And yet, they’re not. Not really. In their ranks they possess a player who scored 23 goals in Newcastle’s promotion-winning season of 2016/17 – becoming the first forward at St James’ Park  since Alan Shearer to bag 20+ in a campaign – and though admittedly the Walthamstow-born hit man then only notched six in 23 starts in the top flight prior to being loaned out he still undoubtedly has qualities much needed at his present employer. He has experience. He knows where the goal is. His movement is sharp and shrewd and troubles defenders.

So why then is he once again finding himself surplus to requirements? If the distrust from Benitez can perhaps be attributed to Gayle’s drop in prolificacy once Newcastle reached the promised land – it can be guessed that Gayle was viewed as one of those players who thrives in the Championship but struggles at the highest grade – that isn’t applicable anymore with the Spaniard’s departure.

It’s all very odd. Newcastle United desperately need a striker who can fire precious, priceless goals for them in what could be a gruelling season. They have one. But they don’t want him.

[long_read][ad_pod ]So, the new season is already upon us, and with that comes a lot of debuts for those who arrived in the Premier League this summer.We’ll get to see what Tanguy Ndombele can bring to the table. Can Christian Pulisic replace Eden Hazard?Another exciting new arrival on these shores is 19-year-old starlet Moise Kean, who rocked up at Everton in a £29m deal from Juventus in what could arguably be labelled one of the best signings of the summer.[ad_pod ]The teenager has burst onto the scene to be regarded as one of Europe’s brightest prospects, netting six goals in just five league starts last term, and the Toffees have a real gem on their hands.Let’s take a look at some of the youngster’s best moments from his time with Juventus…[snack_break title=”Record-breaking Serie A debut”]Kean became a record-breaker when he made his first Serie A appearance against Pescara at the age of just 16 years, eight months and 24 days, becoming the first millennial to appear in Italy’s top flight.He helped the Turin-based side to a 3-0 win after coming on in the 84th minute.[snack_break title=”Record-breaking (once again) Champions League debut “]

Once more, the Italian wonderkid broke another record when making his first appearance in the Champions League.

At 16 years and 267 days old, Kean became the first player born this millennium to feature in Europe’s prestigious club competition, and helped his side turn a 1-1 scoreline into a 3-1 win despite coming on with just six minutes left.

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Having endured whistles and monkey chants throughout the entirety of Juventus’ away trip to Cagliari, Kean stood tall in the face of the hate after netting the second goal in what turned out to be a 2-0 win.

It showed his strong character and defiance to stand up against racism, and he was widely praised for what he did.

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Making his full debut in a European Championship qualifier against Finland, Kean became the youngest player to score in a competitive game for the Azzurri.

You won’t believe which of Liverpool’s Champions League winning side of 2005 is still playing in the video below…

He doubled his tally just days later against Liechtenstein, scoring in each of his first two starts for the Italian senior team.

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Kean showed off his skills with this audacious touch in a Serie A game against Udinese for Juventus, proving that he isn’t just an out-and-out goalscorer.

We hope to see this type of flair in the Premier League this year, although we don’t expect opposition defences to share that sentiment.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

After winning the Champions League at the end of last season, Liverpool really do seem proud of their players.

So proud, it seems, that the Reds are banking on those same players to do it all again next season after a quiet summer window – actually, they’re relying on less players after allowing Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno to leave.

Only Adrian – signed as Simon Mignolet’s replacement – as well as teenage duo Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg have been brought to the club, so no new faces who will directly influence the starting XI, it seems.

So, Jurgen Klopp will need some of his existing players to step up – let’s take a look at who they could be…

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Xherdan Shaqiri

After an initial bright start, the Switzerland international barely featured after the turn of the year.

Shaqiri made just 11 appearances in 2019, with only four of them coming as starts. The former Stoke man has a bundle of talent in his locker, but needs to become less of a peripheral figure at Anfield and begin making more significant contributions on the pitch.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

We are by no means saying that the England international needs to step up based on his form last season, as the bulk of last term was plagued by injury and his consequential recovery from a serious knee issue.

However, Oxlade-Chamberlain does need to step up in the sense that he must rediscover the form from his debut campaign at Liverpool that made him such a key player in Klopp’s system.

Yasser Larouci 

A name that some of you may not have heard until this summer is Yasser Larouci, but you may be hearing a lot more about him soon.

The teenager impressed for the Reds in his five pre-season games this summer, and drew praise from Klopp for his performances.

Whilst other impressive youngsters at the club may not get a first-team chance this season, Larouci could be one to watch due to the shortage of left-backs currently at Liverpool – Andy Robertson is the only senior option in this position.

The Scot is remarkably healthy and rarely misses games, but Larouci must step up so he can be on standby if something happens.

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