All posts by z3u9t.icu

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers target Hirving Lozano looks as if he will be available to sign in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Get Italian Football News), who claimed that, with Napoli on course to sign Dinamo Batumi winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia this summer, the Mexico international could be put up for sale by the Serie A title challengers.

This could see Jeff Shi reignite his interest in the 26-year-old, with Calciomercato reporting back in the March 2020 that Wolves were one of three Premier League clubs – alongside West Ham United and Everton – contemplating a move for the former PSV Eindhoven starlet.

Furthermore, Lozano himself appears to be open to a move away from the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium this summer, with the forward revealing in November: “The truth is that I would like to go and play in another club, bigger.”

Better than Ocampos

With Bruno Lage looking as if he could experience something of a mass exodus in the wide attacking positions of his Wolves squad at the end of the current campaign, it would appear a very wise move for Shi to revisit the possibility of signing Lozano this summer.

Indeed, with Francisco Trincao recently revealing that he does not want to remain at Molineux beyond the completion of his season-long loan deal, Adama Traore looking certain to move onto pastures new this summer and Paris Saint-Germain plotting a move for Pedro Neto, Lage could well be left with only Daniel Podence and Hwang Hee-chan as options on the flanks ahead of next season.

While it is true that Lozano has somewhat struggled to live up to his club-record €42m (£35m) transfer fee over his two-and-a-half year spell in Naples, the Mexican has nevertheless shown in flashes that he is still a player who boasts a huge amount of talent.

Indeed, over his 32 Serie A appearances last season, the £31.5m-rated winger was in deadly form for Gli Azzurri, bagging 11 goals, registering four assists and creating 10 big chances for his teammates, along with taking 1.8 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £112k-per-week attacker, who journalist Bolarinwa Olajide dubbed a “sensation”, average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.04, ranking him as his club’s seventh-best player in the Italian top flight.

As such, with the futures of Trincao, Traore and Neto all appearing to be somewhat up in the air at present, and with goalscoring being something of an issue for Wolves this season – with Lage’s side finding the net just 33 times in the Premier League – a swoop for Lozano could well be the answer to the Old Gold’s problems.

Furthermore, with Sevilla reportedly demanding an eye-watering €90m (£75m) in order to part ways with Wolves’ target Lucas Ocampos this summer – a player who has registered one direct goal contribution for every 208 minutes of football played for Sevilla, compared to Lozano’s record of one direct goal contribution every 160 minutes at Napoli – it is clear to see that the Mexican would be a signing who represents much better value for money.

AND in other news: Lage could unearth Wolves’ next £100m talent as Fosun plot offer for 19-year-old “missile”

Thomas Tuchel has now revealed how close Harry Kane was to leaving Tottenham Hotspur and joining him at Chelsea.

The Lowdown: Chelsea preferred Kane

Chelsea reportedly preferred to sign Kane over Romelu Lukaku in the summer transfer window, but while his future was still unclear at Spurs they opted for the Belgium international instead.

Manchester City were also firmly in the running to sign the England international captain, but in the end he stayed in North London.

The Latest: Tuchel on Kane

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against the Lilywhites, Tuchel revealed (via Fabrizio Romano) that he thought that Kane would go to City, but admitted that they also had ‘some information’ on the striker, but a move to take him to Stamford Bridge was ‘never that close’:

“I thought Kane to Man City deal would happen. We never had a list with his name on it – but the club sorted out the situation. We had some information about Kane. But it was never that close that we had to experience the rivalry”.

The Verdict: Relief

It is certainly a welcome relief for Nuno Espirito Santo and everyone associated with the Lilywhites that they managed to keep hold of their talisman, despite interest from top teams in the Premier League.

There have been a number of reports recently suggesting that Kane would now be open to talks over a new deal, which would be vital in terms of keeping him at THFC for as long as possible.

Nonetheless, Tottenham now have to match his ambition, and by keeping him at the club they will have the best possible chance of success.

In other news, find out who Fabio Paratici has set his sights on signing here!

Southampton fans are far from happy after a report revealed the Saints’ transfer policy for the future.

The Saints kicked off their Premier League season last Saturday with a 3-1 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park, but they have been somewhat busy recently in the transfer window, bringing in five new players in Romain Perraud (southamptonfc.com), Danyl Simeu (chelseafc.com), Valentino Livramento, Armando Broja and Adam Armstrong – all of them are below the age of 25.

As per Tom Leach, that is to be Southampton’s transfer policy moving forward. The journalist says the club will look to sign young players, help them develop and then sell them on for a bigger fee in the future.

he Southampton fans do not seem too happy with that news at all, taking this as a sign that the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit see themselves as a selling club with low ambition.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Saints supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the news below

“Sounds like we’ve accepted relegation”

Credit: @dazstevnson1973

“Sounds like the club know where we are heading”

Credit: @JoshSFC13578

“such a dangerous game”

Credit: @Steveba35151963

“That just sounds sad”

Credit: @olliesaints7

“This business model is not sustainable in the long term. Everyone in football knows eventually you run out of good young players to sign and you end up where we are now.”

Credit: @centristjim1

“So we are always a stepping stone, not a destination. OK got it.”

Credit: @DB_247

In other news, Southampton could make a move for this 4-time league winner.

Manchester United are reportedly in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to bolster his first team squad.

What’s the story?

According to the Daily Star, United are one of two Premier League clubs interested in signing the highly-rated 18-year-old, with fierce rivals Liverpool also credited with an interest.

The report states that Dortmund are expected to demand around £80m for Bellingham’s services and that the Merseysiders are currently in pole position for the youngster.

Manchester United fans will be buzzing

Bellingham was first linked with a move to Old Trafford last summer, but he eventually decided to snub the advances of the 20-time English champions, instead deciding to join Dortmund in a £25m move.

Despite having no previous top-flight experience, the box-to-box midfielder made 46 appearances for BVB in 2020/21, scoring four goals and providing a further four assists in all competitions and earning a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2020.

Bellingham’s sudden rise to the senior setup was fully justified following his incredible displays at the Signal Iduna Park, and the national team boss was full of praise for the youthful maestro after his selection.

“Jude is phenomenal. Just in training in the last couple of days, to have a 17-year-old, who wants to compete with senior players, not only has the technique but the competitiveness and maturity… he’s a hugely exciting player,” gushed Southgate.

He has also started the current campaign in fabulous fashion, contributing to four goals in just five outings for Dortmund, before running the show against Andorra in England’s World Cup qualifier over the weekend.

Therefore, reports of United’s interest in Bellingham will surely leave many of the club’s supporters buzzing with excitement.

Paul Pogba has entered the final year of his contract with the Red Devils and could depart on a free transfer in 12 months’ time, leaving a sizeable gap in Solskjaer’s engine room.

However, the arrival of Bellingham would significantly soften the blow of the World Cup winner’s potential exit, allowing Solskjaer to continue his progress at the Theatre of Dreams.

In other news… Man Utd suffer big selection setback pre-Newcastle, Ole will be gutted 

Sheffield Wednesday have gathered a rather mixed bag of results in their current League One campaign so far, winning four, drawing two and losing three of their opening nine league games of the season. That has left them in ninth place in the table with a home clash against Oxford United coming up this Saturday.

The Owls’ latest league match saw them beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 at the DW Stadium, ultimately knocking their opponents off top spot in the table.

Despite Darren Moore’s side managing to take all three points in midweek thanks to an own goal from Max Power and a second half strike from Callum Paterson, there was one Owls player in the game who did not have a particularly successful night.

On The Chalkboard

Left-back Jaden Brown, who played in a more advanced role against Wigan and has done throughout the season so far, lost possession 12 times and ultimately earned himself a rather disappointing overall match rating of 5.8/10, making him Wednesday’s lowest-rated player on the night according to SofaScore.

Since joining the Owls on a free transfer from Championship club Huddersfield Town during the summer transfer window, the 22-year-old – who is currently valued at £450k according to Transfermarkt – has made six appearances across all competitions for Wednesday, but has yet to score a goal or provide an assist for the team.

Looking ahead to the match against Oxford, we feel that it would be the best if Moore were to drop Brown from the team on this occasion and give Olamide Shodipo – who recently defended Moore and Wednesday’s start to the season – a chance to see if he can be a better fit for the team on the left of midfield.

Moving forward, if Moore decides to stick with Brown in that position, the 22-year-old will need to vastly improve upon what he delivered on the pitch against Wigan, or else he could soon find himself out of the team as the season progresses.

In other news: “Unpredictable” £4.8k-p/w ace drops promising transfer hint, SWFC fans will be buzzing

Former professional footballer David Norris believes that if Manchester City can add both Jack Grealish and Harry Kane to their squad, it would take them to another level.

City completed the £100m signing of the former England international earlier this month, following plenty of speculation throughout the summer months.

Whilst that deal is completed, another name that City have been linked with is Tottenham striker Harry Kane, with the club’s Athletic correspondent Sam Lee suggesting that the Premier League champions are confident of sealing a deal before the transfer window closes on August 31st – it remains to be seen whether the England captain starts against the club that want him on the opening day of the season tomorrow.

If the Cityzens can follow up the Grealish deal by signing Kane, Norris believes it will take the club to another level, telling Football FanCast: “To take them two, just to add to what they have already got, you can’t see past them then. 

“With the other teams, Man United are getting better and were good, but they are still a little bit inconsistent for me. Liverpool had a bad season so it will be interesting to see how they come back but they’re going to need to bring in a few.

“It looks like it will just be Man City, they already have their way of playing, a settled group of players and they’re just topping it up with pure quality.”

After adding another Premier League title and Carabao Cup last season, City will be hoping that they can defend their titles this coming season and also mount another serious charge for the Champions League.

According to reports out of Spain, a major Tottenham Hotspur transfer update has come to light involving Inter Milan defender and top target Alessandro Bastoni.

The Lowdown: Spurs shortlist Bastoni…

Sharing some midweek transfer news, Tottenham correspondent Jack Pitt-Brooke took to Twitter with a list of top Fabio Paratici transfer targets.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Bolstering the left-centre-back position is apparently a ‘top summer priority’ for Antonio Conte and co with four big names on their radar ahead of a crunch transfer window.

This list includes Joško Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Sven Botman (Lille), Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg) and Bastoni.

The latter central defensive ace, who Conte knows very well from his time at Inter, is allegedly now at the centre of a marquee bid from Tottenham.

The Latest: Lilywhites table marquee offer…

According to Spanish sources, Tottenham have now lodged a marquee €50 million (£42m) bid to sign Bastoni ahead of this summer.

It is believed that Conte has personally set his sights on the Italy international with the report also claiming Spurs’ head coach ‘undoubtedly falls in love’ Bastoni.

The Verdict: Top defender…

Signing the 22-year-old would come as a real statement of intent for Spurs this summer.

Bastoni could be earmarked as a long-term international replacement for the likes of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini with both Azzurri stars now well into their twilight phase.

The Nerazzurri starlet could be a pivotal figure for Italy over years to come with his characteristics/reputation indicating there is real potential for Bastoni to be successful at Spurs.

Standing at a lofty 6 foot 2, he has the physicality, and Serie A critics have pointed out just how excellent Bastoni has been at the San Siro.

Get Italian Football News journalist Kaustubh Pandey has lavished the colossal centre-half as a ‘world class’ player with it being clear as day why Conte is eager to sign him.

In other news: Tottenham eye agreement ‘in the coming weeks’ as they make offer for exciting midfielder, find out more here.

Craig Hope has revealed that Belgium boss Roberto Martinez is now in the frame to take over the vacant manager’s job at Newcastle United.

What’s the story?

As was to be expected, a number of names have already been linked with the job left by Steve Bruce earlier on Wednesday, with former AS Roma manager Paulo Fonseca among those to be touted.

But, while Hope indicated that Fonseca has been spoken to by the club, Martinez has now also emerged as a possible contender, and that the early signs are that he would be interested in becoming the new Magpies boss.

He said: “One thing said to me y’day re next NUFC boss is that odds on Fonseca are reflective of fact they’ve spoken to him, but that could change if/when they speak to others. Roberto Martinez also in frame. He’s interested & it would cost less than £2m to buyout Belgium contract.”

Fans will be fuming

While Martinez may be leading the world’s number one ranked side in Belgium, that hasn’t actually translated into any considerable trophy success.

They lost in the semi-finals of the World Cup back in 2018 which was his first tournament in charge and were defeated 2-1 by Italy in the quarter-finals of the EUROs earlier this summer.

His record at domestic level is arguably even more worrying and what will really cause Magpies fans to be up in arms.

Despite winning the FA Cup with Wigan, he did get the Latics relegated from the Premier League, while a period of lavish spending in his next job at Everton couldn’t deliver any trophies there.

His best-placed finish at Goodison Park was fifth, but he ended up losing his job on Merseyside in May 2016 after leaving them 12th in the table with just one game remaining.

Martinez’s record as manager isn’t something to really shout home about, and the fact he’s been out of the club scene for a number of years now is surely an asterisk too.

Hope’s update on the Spaniard being in the frame for the job at St James’ Park is surely not going to have Newcastle fans happy.

Meanwhile, a “favourite” has emerged for the Newcastle United job…

A fresh Rangers transfer development has emerged regarding the future of Wales international Aaron Ramsey… 

What’s the talk?

According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, the Gers are planning to hold talks with Juventus over a deal to sign him on another deal this summer.

The report claims that the Glasgow giants are keen to keep hold of the midfielder beyond the end of his current loan spell.

Juventus agreeing on a new contract with him is said to be the most likely scenario, with his current wages reported to be £175k-per-week, before attempting to find him a new club before next season.

This all comes after TEAMtalk reported earlier this week that Rangers had not ruled out the possibility of snapping him up ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Bouncing

This update will surely leave Ibrox bouncing for multiple reasons.

Firstly, the supporters will be buzzing with the Italian club’s desire to let him go. It would surely increase the chances that Ross Wilson will be able to negotiate a fresh deal for Ramsey, along with his new contract at Juventus hopefully lowering the wage demands which will be forced upon the Gers.

They will also be delighted as it shows that the Light Blues’ sporting director is being proactive by already planning a transfer meeting to secure a swoop for the midfielder. Instead of waiting until the end of the campaign to decide whether or not they want to bring him in, they have seemingly made their mind up and want to make it happen.

This also shows big ambition from the Gers, as Ramsey is a player with a huge pedigree and signing him for a second stint would be a big coup for the club. He is starting to prove his worth on the pitch this season as he has scored two goals in his last two appearances against Dundee and Celtic.

Ramsey has a vast wealth of experience at the top level, and signing him ahead of clubs competing in Europe’s top five leagues would be a masterclass from Wilson. He has played more than 400 games for Arsenal and Juventus combined, scoring or setting up 142 goals in the process, and this illustrates why it would be a coup to land him as he has proven himself at the top level.

Therefore, Ibrox will be bouncing with Wilson’s plan of action and the fans will be buzzing with the ambition being shown to sign the Wales midfielder.

AND in other news, 100% duels lost: Rangers dud who lost the ball every 1.8 touches v Braga failed his manager’s big test…

There is a willingness to get transfer business done at Leeds United this month, according to reliable journalist Beren Cross.

What’s the word?

The LeedsLive reporter delivered an exciting update to supporters in a recent Q&A on the website, where he was asked about whether the Yorkshire giants were more focused on the summer, rather than now.

“I wouldn’t say more focused on the summer because their focus is on January right now. Victor Orta wants to strengthen at Elland Road this month, as hard as that may be,” he responded.

“The board will always have one eye on the future though and will know there always has to be an element of doubt around Bielsa’s future because of his contract situation.”

Bielsa surely buzzing

It’s certainly going to come as a huge source of encouragement to those around Elland Road that their director of football is keen to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s playing squad this month.

The Argentine head coach is in desperate need of additions before deadline day on January 31st.

Despite moving eight points clear of the relegation zone, Leeds are still in a perilous position both on and off the pitch – the two teams below them have games in hand and the injuries are never-ending.

Heading into this weekend’s Premier League encounter with West Ham United, the 66-year-old is set to be without as many as nine first-team stars, including key midfield cog Kalvin Phillips and skipper Liam Cooper.

He has also been without leading talisman Patrick Bamford for the majority of the campaign, and though he is set to return this weekend, it’s clear that the England international does not have sufficient backup in attack.

Not only is a forward needed but also a midfielder and perhaps another option at the back. He does only have one senior left-back, for example.

Bielsa should, therefore, be absolutely delighted by this fresh update.

AND in other news, Leeds eye 1st January signing in “dominant” 37-cap titan, he could be another Lasogga…