All posts by z3u9t.icu

Glasgow Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst and sporting director Ross Wilson have several huge decisions to make on contracts heading into the summer of 2023.

The Light Blues have a host of players whose deals expire at the end of the current campaign and the powers that be will need to decide whether or not to cash in on them in January, attempt to pin them down to extensions, or allow them to leave for nothing.

Scott Arfield, Ryan Jack, Filip Helander, Alfredo Morelos, and Ryan Kent are just a few of the first-team gems who could depart on free transfers ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. Meanwhile, Malik Tillman and James Sands are both on loan and Rangers must make a call on whether or not they will take up their options to sign them permanently.

The club may have to deal with the possibility of some of the players they want to keep deciding that they would like to explore opportunities elsewhere. For example, Kent may opt to depart, in January or next summer, in the hope of landing at a club in the Premier League, if that is something he decides that he wants to do.

Irrespective of where he ends up, the Englishman is out of contract next summer and will leave if a new deal cannot be agreed, which is why van Bronckhorst must look to the future and life beyond the ex-Liverpool man.

His departure would leave a hole in the squad in the wide areas, which could tempt Wilson into entering the transfer market to snap up a replacement. However, the Light Blues may already have the heir to Kent’s throne on the left wing in the form of B team player Ross McCausland.

The gem, who journalist Josh Bunting once described as a “superb talent”, has demonstrated his ability in front of goal this season with three strikes in nine Lowland League appearances.

Last term, he produced seven goals in the Lowland League and managed three goals in five UEFA Youth League appearances for the B team.

Head of the academy Craig Mulholland previously claimed that one of his strengths is that he is “dominant” in one-on-one duels and this suggests that he has the quality to breeze past opposition players down the flanks, in a similar fashion to Kent with his marauding runs.

McCausland, who is a Northern Ireland U21 international, also offered a glimpse of the creativity he can provide from out wide as he registered an assist on his Premiership debut for the club last season, despite only playing 29 minutes off the bench.

The 19-year-old is capable of scoring and assisting goals whilst playing on the left or right wing and this suggests that he could be the long-term heir to Kent, who has scored 30 goals and assisted 50 in 184 matches for Rangers, if he is able to make the step up to playing regularly at first-team level.

Therefore, van Bronckhorst must offer him more opportunities in the senior squad this season to see if he has the consistency, and quality, to replace the Englishman in the 2023/24 campaign.

Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson is ‘doing everything’ he can to get himself fit and ready to play, according to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie.

The Lowdown: Wilson’s injury

After a strong start to the Premier League season saw the 30-year-old net twice in the Magpies’ opening three games, the Toon’s number nine picked up a hamstring injury in the 3-3 draw against Manchester City last month.

The striker was in contention to make Eddie Howe’s squad for their previous league game against Bournemouth but the manager decided against risking his fitness, instead opting to go with August arrival Alexander Isak as the team’s lone centre-forward.

As a result, the Englishman has missed Newcastle’s last four top-flight matches with his hamstring injury.

The Latest: Downie’s claim

Downie has now shared news of Wilson’s attempts to get back to full fitness at Darsley Park.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the Sky Sports reporter claimed: “By all accounts Wilson’s doing everything behind the scenes to get himself back involved as soon as he can.

“I mean he’ll probably be looking at the England squad last week and seeing Ivan Toney getting called up and thinking, you know, if I kept myself fit and maybe scored a couple of goals, that could have been me.

“So, a difficult situation for him but he’s been there and he’s done it before and I think he’s strong minded enough now that he’ll just kind of want to get back as soon as he can.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-7/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Could be a big boost for Newcastle

Wilson’s career has been plagued by injuries, meaning that he has been unable to reach his full potential in the Premier League.

For example, the attacker netted eight goals in 18 games last season, a tally which could easily have been much higher if various long-term injuries did not get in his way.

Having played just 49 games for the Magpies since his arrival in 2020, the former Cherries marksman has bagged an impressive 22 goals, illustrating his natural goalscoring ability in the final third.

Therefore, if Wilson can get a run of games behind him without succumbing to yet another injury, his return to fitness will surely come as a huge boost for Howe and Newcastle.

Rangers’ hopes of Champions League progression were all but extinguished last night, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s outfit slipped to a third successive defeat in the competition at Anfield.

Up against a Liverpool side who have hardly been in the best of form of late – having been held to a 3-3 draw by Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend – the Old Firm side were simply unable to lay a glove on their opponents, registering just two shots on target in the game in total.

A stunning, early free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold and a second-half spot-kick from Mohamed Salah sealed a deserved win for the hosts on the night, with the Scottish giants having had veteran stopper Allan McGregor to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable, the 40-year-old making eight saves in what was a brilliant individual performance.

Elsewhere, however, there were notable villains for the Glasgow side, with summer signing Malik Tillman one such figure who distinctly underwhelmed, recording just 18 touches in his grim, 66-minute outing.

The 20-year-old forward lost possession on seven occasions and won just two of his five ground duels, while also proving ineffective in an attacking sense as he failed to complete a single dribble nor provide a single key pass.

The £5k-per-week man’s frustrating showing was epitomised just before the hour mark as his sliding challenge inadvertently played in opposition forward Diogo Jota, with the Gers thankfully seeing the aforementioned McGregor tip the Portugal international’s effort over the crossbar.

The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell was particularly critical of the youngster’s performance, suggesting at one stage that the playmaker “couldn’t be bothered making an option” for teammate Ryan Kent, with the journalist going on to state that the two-cap menace needs to be more “energetic.”

Pundit Neil McCann echoed that view in his post-match analysis, brutally stating that:

“Tillman at times was shocking, absolutely. I can forgive him for having bad touches, I can forgive him for making wrong decisions or passes. But I can’t forgive him for not trying. At times tonight it looked like he wasn’t trying.

“He has shown that already this season. I said he could be one of the players of the season and I think he has ability to show he is a top player but you can’t just walk around the park and turn it on when you feel like it. That is unacceptable.”

That accusation of putting in a lack of effort is not one that any player will want to be on the end of, although the on-loan Bayern Munich man seemingly does need to do a lot more to make an impact in games, with just two goals and two assists to his name in 14 appearances in all competitions so far this term.

Having been on the bench in recent weeks in the Scottish Premiership, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the German-born starlet recalled to the starting lineup for the clash with Jurgen Klopp’s side, although he has seemingly played his way out of the team again for this weekend’s meeting with St Mirren.

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a huge injury boost ahead of their Champions League meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday evening.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Premierinjuries.com (via London World), who report that Harry Kane has a 75% chance of featuring in tomorrow evening’s European fixture, despite the fact the 29-year-old was withdrawn in the 1-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday after taking a knock to his ankle.

Speaking after the weekend’s win, the England international said of his injury: “The ankle is OK, no twist or anything, so I’m pretty sure it’s fine.”

Great news for Conte

Considering the remarkable form Kane has been in for Spurs this season, in addition to the fact that a win against Eintracht would put Antonio Conte’s side in a very strong position to go on and qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, the news that Kane is more likely than not to be available for the fixture is undoubtedly a huge boost for the Italian.

Indeed, over his nine Premier League appearances so far in 2022/23, the £70m-rated centre-forward has been in sensational form, having already scored eight goals, provided one assist and created three big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 3.4 shots – 1.8 of which have hit the target – and making 1.9 key passes per game.

Not only do the £200k-per-week attacker’s return of eight goals rank him by far and away as Tottenham’s top goalscorer in the current campaign – with Son Heung-min second on three – but his average SofaScore match rating of 7.47 also sees the 29-year-old rank as his club’s best overall performer in the league.

Furthermore, while Kane is yet to find the back of the net over his three Champions League outings this season, the striker has still taken an average of four shots per game – the most of any Spurs player in Europe’s most prestigious club competition – proving that the 75-cap international is very much still his side’s most dangerous attacking threat.

As such, it is clear to see that the news Kane has a 75% chance of being fit to feature against Tottenham’s Bundesliga opposition on Wednesday evening is great news for Conte and his side, as, even if the Italian decides to leave the centre-forward on the bench as a precaution, the 29-year-old undoubtedly possesses the ability to change the game upon his introduction.

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has mooted a potential new deal for Harry Kane after recent news out of Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Kane exit links…

In recent weeks, it has been reliably reported that Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich hold a serious interest in signing Spurs’ in-form striker and big name superstar.

Sky Sports reporter Gianluca Di Marzio has backed reports of Julian Nagelsmann’s side keeping tabs on Kane with his deal still set to expire in 2024.

Next summer, as things stand, he will be entering the final year of his contract and chairman Daniel Levy may have to try his upmost to get fresh terms signed by Kane or consider selling before he leaves for free.

Recently, some Tottenham news came to light on a possible new contract for Kane, with Football Insider claiming the 29-year-old agreeing terms will rest on manager Antonio Conte’s own stance over extending his stay in north London.

The Latest: Hutton moots possible Kane deal…

Speaking to FI, ex-Lilywhites defender Hutton has now mooted a possible new deal for the Englishman if Conte puts pen to paper on a new deal.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-3/” title=”Tottenham latest news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

He explained:

“It doesn’t surprise me to hear that he’s waiting to see what Conte does – I’ve always said he’s an elite manager.

“Kane probably sees this as an opportunity for the club to finally go and win something. So if the manager’s tied down, why would he not want to be a part of that?

“That’s what he’s wanted his whole career with Tottenham. And with Conte, he can finally see that happening.

“If Conte signs a long-term deal then I’m pretty sure Kane will follow.”

The Verdict: Crucial few months…

These next few months will undoubtedly be crucial for the futures of both men.

Conte will want similar reassurances to Kane, that Spurs can compete for major silverware at the highest level and will be backed financially by club owners ENIC and Levy.

Starting with Newcastle today, the north Londoners must now put their recent loss to Man United behind them and gain some crucial momentum before the World Cup in Qatar.

Football pundit Paddy Kenny has claimed that Matt Doherty won’t be at Tottenham Hotspur next season, despite the right-back’s recent resurgence.

The Lowdown: Doherty’s minutes this season

Following Emerson Royal’s red card against Arsenal earlier this month, the Republic of Ireland international came off the bench for the last 18 minutes as Spurs fell to a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium. It marked his first league appearance since the opening day win over Southampton.

Due to the Brazilian’s three-match suspension, the 30-year-old has been thrown into Antonio Conte’s starting XI, having since played the full 90 minutes in recent wins against Brighton and Everton.

When given the opportunity this season, Doherty has demonstrated his ability to perform at the top level when required, having produced 7.1 and 7.0 Sofascore ratings respectively in his last two appearances.

The Latest: Kenny’s comments on Doherty

Despite the defender’s recent displays, Kenny doesn’t think that his fellow Irishman will be a part of Conte’s Spurs squad in the long run, amid reports that Tottenham had listened to offers for Doherty during the summer.

Speaking with Football Insider, the former Sheffield United goalkeeper claimed: “Emerson is the first choice right-back, and he is obviously Conte’s main man for that wing-back role he prefers.

“Spurs signed Djed Spence for the future and paid a lot of money for him – £20million. So, they will look to develop him and get him used to Conte’s system this season. He’s young and has room to improve.

“Doherty is the odd one out here. He has the kind of experience that Conte likes, and there is no doubting he understands the Premier League.

“But he struggled last season and has not shown enough for the club to want to make him a regular and keep him long-term.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-3/” title=”Tottenham latest news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Unfair assessment

When looking at Doherty’s underlying figures, it can be argued that Kenny’s assessment of the right-back is somewhat unfair.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe over the past year, the defender ranks in the top 1% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 3% for shots taken and the top 4% for touches in the attacking penalty area. This shows that he is a full-back who loves to bomb forward and make an impact further up the pitch.

Having earned stylistic comparisons to Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries and Atalanta’s Joakim Maehle, the £74,000-per-week Irishman has rightfully earned his status as a Premier League-proven player.

Therefore, if Conte does decide that the 30-year-old is surplus to requirements next season, it would be harsh on Doherty but he shouldn’t have too much trouble finding another club.

Liverpool reporter for The Athletic James Pearce has shared an injury update on Darwin Nunez ahead of their game away at Nottingham Forest.

The Lowdown: Injury concern

Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Nunez ‘felt something’ in their 1-0 win at home to West Ham United in midweek, as he was substituted before the hour mark.

The Uruguay international grabbed the only goal of the game in the first half with a well-placed header, and would have likely stayed on for longer if he did not pick up his injury.

The Latest: Treatment needed

Taking to Twitter on Friday afternoon, Pearce shared an update from Klopp on Nunez, as he confirmed that the striker has had ‘treatment’ on a tight hamstring, and is now a potential doubt for the match at Forest:

“He had treatment yesterday so we will see.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/https-www-footballtransfertavern-com-liverpool-fc-news-liverpool-premier-league-mohamed-salah-news-updates-klopp/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Would be a big blow

It would certainly be a big blow for Klopp and his team if Nunez is unavailable to play against Forest.

The 23-year-old looks like he is starting to find his feet after getting himself sent off earlier in the season, with three goals in his last four matches in all competitions (Transfermarkt).

With both Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota injured as well, Klopp’s options in the forward line are limited at the moment, and losing Nunez as well would not be ideal, as the Anfield outfit need to keep on winning to put pressure on the top four.

David Moyes has been handed a potentially big boost ahead of West Ham’s game against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, with Jarrod Bowen reportedly set to undergo a late fitness test.

What’s the word?

The England international was forced off in Monday night’s win against Bournemouth through injury and missed out entirely when the Hammers bested Silkeborg in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

However, the Irons will seemingly make a late decision on the former Hull City man on Sunday as they prepare for the trip to Old Trafford, where Moyes’ side will be looking to continue their recent upturn in form.

According to a Claret and Hugh source, Bowen has “a minor ankle injury which is, hopefully, ok but will take a last-minute fitness test.”

Worrying news for Man United

Although the winger is yet to achieve the levels he showed for West Ham last season in the Premier League when he hit 12 goals and ten assists, with only two goals and no assists to his name so far this campaign, he is still undoubtedly an important player in Moyes’ squad.

WhoScored suggests that Bowen has been the eighth-best performer at the club so far this season which shows that even when he is not at his best, he still offers a lot to the Irons, and surely it is only a matter of time before he starts finding the net with the regularity he showed last season.

Indeed, before his injury, the England international was beginning to find his footing with three goals in his last six.

Given that West Ham won at Old Trafford in the FA Cup last season, Erik ten Hag will already be expecting a tough game on Sunday when Moyes returns to his old club with the Hammers, and the potential return of Bowen will no doubt worry the Red Devils even more.

No player in the Hammers’ squad has scored more goals in the top flight this season, while only Lucas Paqueta has averaged more shots and only Aaron Cresswell has averaged more key passes per game in the Premier League, which emphasises how much of a threat he can be in the attacking third.

The Red Devils have only conceded one goal in their last five, and they will have to be at their best again if they are to prevent a West Ham side with Bowen starting.

Moyes will be hoping that the wide man passes his fitness test and is fit to feature in Manchester, as he could be the difference maker at Old Trafford.

An update has emerged on Leeds United and their interest in signing Pape Gueye ahead of the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to Jeunes Footeux, the Whites are one of the clubs eyeing a swoop to sign the Marseille gem as Victor Orta plots potential moves to improve the squad at the start of 2023.

The report claims that several, unnamed, European teams and fellow Premier League side Southampton are also interested in a deal for the 23-year-old.

It is stated that Leeds and the Saints are keen on signing him on loan for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign with an option to sign him permanently next summer.

Imagine him and Tyler Adams

Marc Roca and Tyler Adams have been superb additions to Leeds’ midfield as they have formed an instant partnership in the Premier League, with both players currently sitting in the top four performers for the club on average SofaScore ratings.

However, they do not have much competition for their places as Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich rank 19th and 18th in the squad respectively when it comes to average ratings. This suggests that they are not piling the pressure on the current first-choice options and that there would be a big drop off in quality if Adams or Roca picked up an injury or suspension.

Therefore, Leeds should bring in Gueye as he could provide excellent competition. Klich and Forshaw have averaged ratings of 5.55 and 5.53 respectively in the Premier League, whilst the Marseille enforcer has averaged a score of 6.75 or higher in each of the last three Ligue 1 seasons.

Migouel Alfarela, a former teammate of the midfielder’s, previously hailed the gem by saying:

“We both exchange regularly. When I left HAC, he hardly played in the first team but it showed that he had something extra and that he was going to succeed.”

Meanwhile, journalist Josh Bunting has previously described him as being “fantastic” at breaking up play and his statistics in Ligue 1 last season back that up.

He made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game whilst winning 56% of his individual duels, including 62% in the air, and this shows that he was consistently winning the ball back for his side and won the majority of his battles in the middle of the park.

Adams, meanwhile, has won 55% of his duels and made 5.4 tackles and interceptions per match in the Premier League for Leeds.

This shows that both players have a similar level of efficiency but the Whites machine is more active in engaging in duels, which is something Jesse Marsch could push Gueye to match in his system.

Now, imagine the Senegal international coming in to replace Roca, due to injury or suspension, and being a rock in midfield next to Adams instead of the underperforming Klich and Forshaw struggling in the middle of the park.

West Ham United continued their poor run of Premier League form away from the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with David Moyes’ side narrowly losing out 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

However, much like the 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield earlier this month, it was arguable that the Hammers deserved at least a point from the meeting with Erik ten Hag’s side – if not all three – with David De Gea making a series of world-class saves late on to deny the Irons a share of the spoils.

And, despite Sunday’s result making it five losses from seven games away from home in the league this season, there were nevertheless a number of eye-catching performances on display for the visitors, with Declan Rice typically running the show from the middle of the park and Saïd Benrahma again looking lively on the left wing.

However, while both Rice and Benrahma were impressive, it was arguably the performance of Kurt Zouma that will have most pleased Moyes on Sunday afternoon, as the centre-back was very much at his imperious best at Old Trafford.

Indeed, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £26m-rated Frenchman was near faultless in a defensive capacity, making five clearances and winning one aerial duel – keeping Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes largely quiet in the first half.

And, after the interval, the £125k-per-week centre-back also proved to be one of the Hammers’ most dangerous players going forwards, launching a number of counter-attacks through his three long balls and 43 completed passes, as well as taking two shots at the United goal – most notably being denied a late headed equaliser by a sensational De Gea save.

These efforts saw the 55-touch “machine” earn a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.9, while football.london’s Jonty Colman awarded the 28-year-old an eight in his own player ratings – the best of any West Ham player on the day – with the journalist going on to state of the 11-cap international’s performance:

“Hardly put a foot wrong before half-time, making countless interceptions and winning anything that came at him aerially. Keen to start counters as often as possible and gained plenty of yards when getting forward. Was a great attacking threat late on and forced David De Gea into an excellent diving save with a header with just over five minutes remaining. Very impressive throughout.”

As such, while it is true that the Hammers ultimately left Old Trafford empty-handed, Zouma’s performance in the heart of defence will have greatly encouraged Moyes, while it is also likely that the France international’s display will have boosted his chances of securing a late spot in Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad this winter.

The defender has been capped 11 times by his country but hasn’t been seen in the French set up now for nearly a year, suggesting that he will need to produce a few more performances like this in order to earn a place in the squad.