All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Erik ten Hag has been appointed as the new Manchester United manager to join the club this summer and to say he has some work to do at Old Trafford is an understatement.

Ralf Rangnick’s side conceded their tenth defeat of the season, and the third in their last five Premier League fixtures against Arsenal yesterday, with the team continuing to look uninspiring whilst potentially squandering their chances of securing Champions League football for next season, now six points adrift of the top four.

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Man United have now conceded seven goals in less than a week, and despite the German coach’s good intentions to freshen up the backline by dropping captain Harry Maguire to the bench, it didn’t pay off and leaves a huge concern as to how Ten Hag can fix the poor defensive play next season.

One player who featured in both the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool, and the 3-1 loss at the Emirates yesterday was Alex Telles, and when you consider his performances there is no doubt that Ten Hag must ruthlessly axe the left-back next season.

The £78k-per-week dud was brutally shamed as “abysmal” by BBC Sport journalist Alex Turk following his horrific performance against the Gunners yesterday tweeting:

“United the more threatening but let down by two more abysmal pieces of defending by Telles.”

As well as recklessly giving away a penalty in the first half when he nudged Bukayo Saka in the box, Telles lost the ball every 3.2 touches and only made 29 accurate passes throughout the game.

The penalty was his second committed in little over a month when the Brazilian made a huge blunder to assist Tottenham Hotspur in taking the lead back in March when he outstretched his arm following a cross into the box from Dejan Kulusevski.

These mistakes could cost Manchester United dearly and his performance yesterday may play a huge part in the failure to qualify for Champions League football in Ten Hag’s first season at the club.

With that being said, the Dutch coach must decide to not only focus on improving the defence this summer but must get rid of players who are not playing in the best interests of the team to ultimately take positive results, and Telles should be made a top priority to be replaced.

AND in other news: Man Utd plot bid for “special” 52-goal “wizard”, it’s an instant ten Hag masterclass

Manchester City currently boast the best defensive record in the Premier League this season, having conceded just 21 goals in 34 games.

The Manchester club’s four main senior centre-backs of John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte have all played a part in this impressive feat throughout this campaign.

While the Citizens still have a handful of massive games ahead of them that could see Pep Guardiola’s side end the season potentially with the Premier League and Champions League, it seems as though the club already have their eye on the upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the news?

According to journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano in his latest podcast (via City Xtra), City are scouting Villarreal defender Pau Torres, who apparently has a €55m – €60m (£46.3m – £50.5m) release clause in his current contract.

It has also been reported in the past that the La Liga club would look for a fee of £43m to sell their defensive gem.

As a product of Villarreal’s youth system, the centre-back has gone on to make a total of 129 senior appearances for the Spanish club across all competitions.

In those appearances, the Spaniard has chipped in with ten goals and four assists along the way.

Guardiola’s dream player

From a defensive point of view, the 25-year-old has the second-highest number of interceptions and clearances to his name at Villarreal in La Liga this season.

Furthermore, no other defender in Unai Emery’s side has been able to complete as many passes as Torres has in this campaign, showing just how capable he is on the ball as well as off it.

This makes it easy to see why a team like City with a manager such as Guardiola would have their eyes on the player.

Looking at this Premier League season, three of the top five passers in the league are City defenders, which highlights just how much talent is needed in terms of being in possession and moving the ball around the pitch to be a defender in this side.

Labelled as a player that has a “tremendous ease of playing passes through the lines [and] always finding the free player,” by Miguel Alvarez, Torres has shown he has what it takes to fit this sort of profile that the City boss demands from his defenders.

This, therefore, could make the Villarreal star a dream player for Guardiola should the Manchester club end up signing him.

In other news: “In the coming days..”: Romano drops exciting MCFC transfer update, it’s great news

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is attracting interest from Manchester City ahead of the expiry of his contract, The Daily Mail reports.

The lowdown

United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick said last month that Pogba is likely to leave the club at the end of the season.

According to The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, the Red Devils offered the Frenchman a £400,000-per-week deal last summer, but he left it ‘sitting there’.

In addition to City, Pogba’s former club Juventus and Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are also thought to be keen.

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The latest

Journalists Mike Keegan and Sami Mokbel write that City are exploring the possibility of signing Pogba ahead of his impending free agency.

Keegan said on Twitter it would be an ‘explosive’ move between the two local rivals.

The Frenchman features on Guardiola’s list of candidates as he looks to add another ‘versatile central midfielder’ to his ranks.

Pogba would at least ‘consider the option’ of making the move to The Etihad despite his current allegiance to United.

While clubs abroad have been able to negotiate with Pogba since January, City can’t table a formal offer until the end of the season.

The verdict

Is there a precedent for cross-Manchester moves? Perhaps the highest profile recent example is Carlos Tevez’s switch to City in 2009.

Tevez had spent two seasons on loan at United but turned down the offer of a permanent deal at Old Trafford and instead joined Mark Hughes’ side.

Pogba is already a divisive figure at the club, with some supporters booing him as he was substituted against Norwich City last month.

And he can expect an almighty, unanimous backlash if, after eight years and two spells at United, he agreed to play for City.

In other news, Manchester United have made contact with this Bundesliga star. 

When Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy spent £22m on the signing of Son Heung-min back in the summer of 2015, Spurs fans would have been forgiven for not being overly aware of the talent the then-23-year-old forward possessed.

The South Korea international had shown flashes of brilliance during his time in Germany – scoring 20 goals and registering three assists over 78 appearances for Hamburger SV, as well as bagging 29 goals and providing 11 assists over 87 outings for Bayer Leverkusen – although few would have predicted the winger would go on to become the player he is today.

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Indeed, since his move to north London, the now-29-year-old has developed into one of the most efficient and effective wide attackers in world football, scoring an enormous 129 goals and registering an incredible 74 assists over 324 fixtures for the Lilywhites – boasting a record of one direct goal contribution every 109 minutes of football played for Spurs.

The £72m-rated talent has particularly impressed over the last 12 months, with FBref ranking the forward in the top 3% of wingers and attacking midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90 minutes, as well as the top 5% for npxG, the top 20% for xA, the top 7% for npxG+xA and the top 24% for shot-creating actions over the last 365 days.

Son has also been in breathtaking form in Antonio Conte’s attacking trio over his 34 Premier League outings this season, scoring 21 goals, registering seven assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.3 shots, making 2.1 key passes and completing 1.5 dribbles per fixture.

These returns have seen the £140k-per-week sensation average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.49, not only ranking him as Tottenham’s best performer in the top flight but also as the third-best player in the league as a whole – behind only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

As such, when taking into account the returns of the player who Adam Smithy dubbed “one of the most underrated players in world football” and an “unreal” talent, in addition to the fact he is now worth £50m more – a 227% increase – than the £22m Levy coughed up for his signing, it is clear to see that the Spurs chairman very much hit the jackpot when bringing Son to north London almost seven years ago.

AND in other news: Fabrizio Romano relays major Spurs update that will leave supporters buzzing

Tottenham Hotspur could find a new midfield monster in Ibrahim Sangare…

What’s the word?

According to Darren Lewis of the Mirror, the north London outfit are among the Premier League teams interested in the PSV Eindhoven star heading into the summer transfer window.

Chelsea and Manchester United are also linked with interest by the report, which also claimed that the Ivory Coast international is valued at around £30m.

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Dembele-like tank

The 6 foot 3 powerhouse has made a name for himself in the Eredivisie, impressing with his calm composure on the ball and impressive ball-winning skills.

As per WhoScored, Sangare averaged a whopping 3.3 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game in the Dutch top-flight, the most of his team by quite some margin, whilst he also registered a passing accuracy of 86.1% from over 70 attempts each outing.

He’s also capable of driving the ball forward from the engine room, averaging 1.7 dribbles and 1.5 shots per match, too.

Such performances highlight his ability as a Mousa Dembele-like beast in the heart of the pitch. It’s true that Spurs have solid options with the likes of Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg all impressing under Antonio Conte.

But none compare to Sangare.

Dembele was very much a ball-winning animal, one that was hard to dispossess as he carried the ball up the pitch, and this is exactly what the Ivorian would offer Tottenham.

By comparison, as an example, Hojbjerg averages 2.2 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game in the Premier League.

Sangare has been likened to two Premier League greats in terms of playing style by African journalist Alpha Balde to Goal.com, where he claimed:

“Physically, he’s like Yaya Toure but he reminds me of Michael Essien.

“I saw Essien at the start of his career and they had the same physical strength at an equal age. Sangare is also passionate, and I think that Toulouse supporters will enjoy his fighting spirit and desire to move forward.”

Also lauded as “very complete” and capable of playing a variety of midfield roles, it would make sense for Spurs to secure an upgrade if it became available and in Sangare, Conte could well find the next Dembele.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano issues Spurs transfer update…

Wolves have joined West Midlands and Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the race to sign former Leicester City and current Rangers left-back Calvin Bassey this summer.

What’s the story?

That’s according to the Daily Record, who claim that as well as Villa, Fulham and Brentford are all keen on acquiring the 22-year-old this summer.

The Nigerian has been a revelation for Rangers since making the move to Ibrox in 2020, playing 65 times for the Glaswegian outfit, including last Wednesday night’s Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and Saturday’s Scottish Cup victory against Hearts.

Now it is believed that Wolves are amongst the frontrunners to sign the defender who may well cost around the £20m mark this summer according to Kenny Miller.

Wolves must sign Bassey

Having earned his stripes with Rangers after failing to make the breakthrough at Leicester, it appears as though Bassey is now ready to play in the Premier League.

The Nigerian never made a senior appearance for Leicester despite playing just shy of 100 games for the Foxes’ youth sides and City’s loss could be their Midlands rivals’ gain.

With Marcal confirmed to depart this summer upon the expiration of his contract, Bruno Lage will certainly be looking to add a left-back to his squad with Jonny currently his only senior option.

In the Europa League this season, Bassey has been a colossal contributor to his side’s run to the final which saw the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Braga and RB Leipzig toppled before a cruel defeat on penalties in the final.

Claimed to be “like van Dijk” as well as being “superb” by Jamie O’Hara on TalkSPORT, the left-back averaged 37.4 passes a match at an 83% accuracy whilst making 61.1 touches.

Defensively, the £6.4k-per-week earner also produced 1.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and 1.6 clearances as well as winning 60% of his duels.

As for Jonny in the Premier League, the Spaniard has averaged slightly fewer touches at 60.3 as well as fewer passes with 32.6 with an 83% accuracy too.

Defensively though, Bassey has recorded the more impressive statistics with the Wolves wing-back providing 0.8 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 0.4 clearances a match.

Lage will be keen to see his side improve on this season and push for a European spot with the West Midlands outfit’s poor run at the end of the season costing them a place in Europe for next season.

Therefore, adding a player of Bassey’s quality will certainly be a must this summer.

AND in other news: Great news: Huge Wolves transfer development emerges; supporters will be ecstatic

Leeds United are closing in on signing RB Salzburg attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Final day survival

Jesse Marsch, who has previously worked with the 21-year-old in Austria, guided the Whites to survival on the final day after a dramatic 2-1 win at Brentford. Goals from Raphinha and Jack Harrison were enough in west London as Burnley fell to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle.

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Andrea Radrizzani has now promised to improve the squad ahead of Marsch’s first full campaign at Elland Road, and a move for long-term target Aaronson appears to be edging closer.

The Latest: Romano’s update

Romano took to Twitter in the early hours of Monday morning, revealing that the Whites are closing in on a deal worth £28m for the 21-year-old.

The transfer expert said that a full agreement has been reached with personal terms already agreed, and final paperworks are now to be prepared over a move to Elland Road.

The Verdict: Exciting

Leeds’ last permanent midfield addition was Adam Forshaw back in 2018, so a new marquee midfielder is long overdue.

Victor Orta has also been in talks with Aberdeen right-back Calvin Ramsay in recent weeks, so it looks as if the club are looking to get their business done as early as possible.

Aaronson, who has been labelled a player with a ‘monster mentality’, contributed to 12 goals in 25 games under Marsch at Salzburg, so hopefully he can have the same sort of immediate impact in Yorkshire as Leeds look to improve on what was a disappointing 2021/22 campaign.

In other news: Leeds have also made contact over ‘outstanding’ forward; Orta not messing around

To suggest that affairs at Manchester United over the last year have been a mess would be putting it lightly.

Fortunately for those of a United persuasion, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

What’s the word?

When the going gets tough, the Red Devils’ hierarchy tends to look into their bank account and find the largest sum available to spend on new players.

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that another spending spree looks set to be sanctioned this summer.

One of the club’s targets in Darwin Nunez looks likely to arrive in the Premier League this summer and according to Dean Jones’ sources, a deal is close.

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Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the transfer insider said: “One source described this deal to United to me as being ‘extremely close’.

“They consider Atletico Madrid as their main rivals to sign him, from what I hear, but obviously, loads around Europe are looking. If Darwin does move to Old Trafford, it will be a brilliant signing for the Ten Hag era.”

Previous reports suggest he could cost the new manager around £50.6m.

The new Forlan?

Last summer’s business from Man United was incredibly impressive with Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane all arriving in the northwest of England.

However, judging by their dreadfully frantic season in 2021/22, supporters may well have to be a little more reserved when assessing ten Hag’s first signings at Old Trafford.

Yet, in Nunez, he’d surely uncover a gem for the Red Devils.

In fact, the Benfica striker has already been dubbed a “diamond” by Steve McManaman, and it’s clear to see why.

This is one of the most clinical forwards in world football at the moment, scoring 34 In 41 appearances across all competitions this term.

Based on that scoring record and his Uruguayan nationality, he could well become the club’s next Diego Forlan.

The veteran never really lit up Old Trafford but after leaving United behind he became one of the most feared and rampant attacking products around.

Ten Hag and the club’s supporters would certainly hope he betters Forlan’s record of 17 goals in 96 matches for the Premier League outfit but his record later on in his career is comparable to Nunez, an offensive revelation capable of bullying goalkeepers around the world.

A special talent with speed, robustness and confident finishing ability, Nunez really does feel like the type of player who could inspire United back to greatness.

He is bang in form, relatively cheap in today’s market for his goal tally and he’s still very young at 22.

It would take some player to live up to Forlan but at the same age, you sense that the Benfica star has a much higher ceiling.

It would mark ten Hag’s first major move of the window but there would be no real greater statement of intent than by signing the Uruguay international.

AND in other news, Man United now closing in on “sensational” £50m signing, he’s the next Paul Scholes…

Nottingham Forest are now about to embark on one of their most important transfer windows in decades as they have been promoted back into the Premier League, and there has been a new claim made on the future of one particular target.

What’s the latest?

According to The Express journalist Ryan Taylor, there could be a “strange” transfer twist this summer if Tottenham Hotspur manage to secure the signing of Djed Spence over Nottingham Forest.

When asked if Spurs could loan Spence back to Forest next season, Taylor told GIVEMESPORT;

“I could see that happening, but the only thing I’d sort of say on that is given Royal, although he’s improved a lot recently, and Doherty, haven’t nailed down that right wing-back spot, it would be slightly strange to sign a player that could compete with them to then offload them.”

Supporters will be divided

Nottingham Forest are reportedly keen to make the permanent signing of their Championship loanee this summer, so if the club were to concede defeat by loaning him back instead of signing the player it could divide supporters.

The fans of the club will likely want to see a team built for the future that can maintain their Premier League status to become a top-flight club for years to come, so loaning the player instead of securing permanent contracts could put Forest at risk if the full-back was recalled by Spurs should he sign for them this summer.

However, some supporters may feel that acquiring players in the short term who understand the system and work well under Cooper should be retained at any cost in their first season back, whether that runs the risk of losing them mid-season or not.

Either way, the 21-year-old has been a standout performer in Nottingham Forest’s Championship campaign and play-off challenges to gain promotion back into the Premier League for the first time in 23 years.

The defender has scored two goals, delivered four assists and created six big chances during an impressive term with Forest.

He’s also made 1.4 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 1 key pass on average per game, winning the majority of his duels and proving successful in the majority of his dribbles too, so it’s no wonder that Cooper is keen to keep him on for the next chapter at the club.

Ultimately, the decision on Spence’s future is out of the hands of the newly-promoted side and they will have to wait and hope that the player wants to be part of the project and the future at Forest, whether that is by penning a permanent deal or returning to The City Ground on loan next season.

AND in other news: Nottingham Forest eye summer move for “fantastic” £10m gem, Cooper will love him

Sky Sports punditSky Sports pundit Alex McLeish has suggested that Tottenham Hotspur starlet Harry Winks could be targeted by Premier League new-boys Nottingham Forest this summer.

The Lowdown: Winks’ Spurs journey

The 26-year-old is an academy product of the Lilywhites having worked his way up through the ranks since joining the club ten years ago, to now being a member of the first team where he’s made a total of 203 senior appearances.

Even though the midfield maestro still has another two years remaining on his current contract which is set to expire in 2024, Football Insider revealed earlier this week that Spurs are willing to listen to offers for the midfielder during the upcoming transfer window and are looking to receive a fee somewhere in the region of £20m.

The Latest: McLeish drops £20m claim

McLeish claims that freshly promoted sides like Forest would be interested in securing the signing of someone like Winks, but suggests that the asking price could be too much. He told Football Insider:

“There will only be a certain club who will pay that sort of money.

“It’s possible that teams who have come from the Championship, Nottingham Forest might look at Harry Winks or someone like that.

“He’s certainly got the good experience for some of the teams at a lower level than Tottenham.

“But £20million seems quite high, especially for a guy who’s been out the team for almost the entire season.”

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The Verdict: Best option for both parties

Steve Cooper’s side made the jump up to the Premier League after securing a 1-0 victory against Huddersfield Town in the Championship play-off final at Wembley last month, meaning that they will now be playing their football in the top division for the first time in 23 years.

The Hemel Hempstead-born talent played 28 times in all competitions throughout the 2021/22 season, but only 15 of those outings were starts, via WhoScored, and it appears that Conte obviously doesn’t view the club graduate as part of his long-term vision.

Making the move away from N17, whether that be to the City Ground or not, would be the best option for both parties, as Winks could find some much-needed game time elsewhere and the Italian could use his transfer fee to fund any new signings that he brings in as he continues to revamp his squad ahead of the start of the new campaign.

In other news… Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Spurs are now in negotiations over a potential new loan signing.