Category Uncategorized

Manchester United made no signings in the January transfer window and with a top-four race, FA Cup challenge and qualifying for the Champions League round of 16, Ralf Rangnick must look to his weakened squad to deliver success in the latter stages of the season.

The side currently sits fourth in the table during the winter break, with a game in hand over West Ham United who trail behind by just one point in fifth, so it is really important for the Red Devils boss to capitalise on the opportunity to break away from their competition by securing a run of winning form.

When it comes to form, there are certain players who have been unable to deliver on the expectations that were made of them when they joined the side in the summer, with Jadon Sancho a prime example.

The 21-year-old has been unable to emulate his success at Borussia Dortmund during his time at Old Trafford so far, with just 16 goals and 21 assists in 38 appearances, there has been a clear decline in his performances.

One player who has been a huge talking point during the transfer window is Jesse Lingard, who was tipped to go to Newcastle United or West Ham several times over the last month, but it was reported that the board blocked the move, and now the 29-year-old who was hailed “unique” by Manchester United legend, Michael Carrick, will see out the last five months of his contract at his boyhood club.

With that being said, it could be the perfect opportunity to unleash Lingard back in the team to assist with the top four race and multiple competitions still in sight for the club, especially when his attacking output is better than Sancho this season with two goals and one assist in just 273 minutes of game time, which is almost 1000 minutes less than Sancho so far.

We also saw the impact that the £80k-per-week maestro had on West Ham during his loan stint, helping the Hammers secure a place in Europa League football with nine goals and five assists in just 16 appearances in the final months of last season, and this consistent attacking output is something that Rangnick desperately needs to ensure he can end the season on a high for the club during his first eight months in charge as interim.

Manchester United will take on Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Friday evening, and it could be the perfect opportunity for the German coach to give Lingard the chance to shine and play a pivotal role in ensuring that the side can move into the next round with ease, giving the club a chance to pick up their first silverware in almost five years.

In other news: Rangnick must sign Antonio Rudiger

Sunderland ended the January transfer window on a high as they secured a deal to bring Jermain Defoe back to the club on a free transfer.

The Black Cats were busy throughout the month as they brought in a number of players to bolster the squad in their attempts to secure promotion back to the Championship

Trai Hume, Patrick Roberts, Danny Batth, Jack Clarke and Jay Matete all came through the door permanently or on loan over the course of the window alongside the former England international.

Forget Defoe

Whilst it was great to see the ex-Rangers man back at the Stadium of Light, Kristjaan Speakman did endure a deadline day howler as he sanctioned an exit for centre-back Tom Flanagan and failed to bring in a replacement.

Terence Konogolo was reportedly a player of interest to the club but they were unable to get a deal over the line for the former Fulham defender. This meant that they allowed Flanagan to leave and left themselves short on options at centre-back heading into the second half of the campaign.

The Northern Ireland international played a major role in Sunderland’s success in League One heading into deadline day. He started 25 of their 29 matches and averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.10, showing that he was able to regularly deliver quality performances at the back in the third tier.

Flanagan made an outstanding 5.1 clearances, 1.5 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game. The centre-back was a defensive wall for the club at times and his statistics back this up, as he was able to consistently win the ball back for his side whilst also defending his own box with key clearances.

This shows the level of quality Sunderland have lost by selling him to Shrewsbury on deadline day, with no direct replacement coming in. The £3.6k-per-week “leader” was able to perform to a high-level week-in-week-out for the Black Cats and it is impossible to guarantee that anyone will be able to replicate that.

Batth came in earlier in the window and is yet to convince that he is the long-term answer to any of the club’s issues at centre-back. In his second appearance for the club, he scored an own goal and recorded a dismal SofaScore rating of 5.9 in a 6-0 defeat to Bolton, which comes as a worrying sign given that he could now be expected to step up and fill Flanagan’s spot in the team.

Therefore, Speakman endured a deadline day howler with his decision on the centre-back and it could be a call that he lives to regret at the end of the season if Batth does not hit a run of form to help the team secure an automatic promotion place.

Liverpool reporter Carl Markham has shared a somewhat pessimistic update on the Reds’ pursuit of Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho. 

The lowdown

Sky Sports’ Vinny O’Connor reported on Sunday that Liverpool had tabled a £5m bid for the Fulham starlet, and Fabrizio Romano followed that up by revealing that Jurgen Klopp’s side would hold fresh talks with the Cottagers on Monday morning.

According to Markham, though, it’s ‘now or never’ for Liverpool as the clock winds down towards the transfer deadline.

Carvalho is out of contract at the end of the current season, so the transfer fee would be determined by a tribunal if the 19-year-old leaves in the summer. The club know that any European suitors would be ‘in a much stronger position’ to snap him up at that point.

The latest

Markham tweeted at 11am Monday morning: “As it currently stands completing a deal for Fabio Carvalho today looks less likely than it may have done 24 hours ago.”

This followed on from an earlier tweet of: “Seems like it is now or never in @LFC’s chase of Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho. Club not keen to go through the compensation tribunal process again in the summer, especially with European clubs in a much stronger position to sign player for a fraction of cost of any fee set by a panel”.

The verdict

How much will Liverpool push for Carvalho? Does they view this as an opportunity they can’t afford to miss? That’s what we’ll find out in the coming hours.

Liverpool have already offered Fulham some concessions, reportedly agreeing to send him back to west London on loan for the remainder of the season so that he can aid the Cottagers’ promotion push. On top of that, though, they may need to fork out more money.

You wonder if Fulham are adding a premium to their demands after receiving just £1.7m for Harvey Elliott in 2019. Indeed, his Transfermarkt value has since risen to £13.5m, so the Championship leaders may have wised up after the last time they sold a teenage starlet to Liverpool.

In other news, Neil Jones dropped several transfer claims on the morning of Deadline Day.

Udaya Wickramasinghe, the former Sri Lankan international umpire, has died at the age of 70 following a sudden illness

Sa'adi Thawfeeq15-Apr-2010Udaya Wickramasinghe, the former Sri Lankan international umpire, has died at the age of 70 following a sudden illness.Wickramasinghe officiated in three home Tests between 1987 and 1997, against New Zealand (1987), Australia (1992) and Pakistan (1997) where he stood with the England umpire David Shepherd, and in 10 ODIs. Wickramasinghe became the first overseas umpire to qualify as an official instructor of the Association of Cricket Umpires (England) in 1988.A friendly and knowledgeable person, Wickramasinghe umpired for three decades having begun in 1969. He is best remembered for giving three consecutive lbw decisions against India which enabled Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed achieve a hat-trick on his way to world record ODI figures of 7 for 37 in the Sharjah final in 1991.KT Francis, a long standing colleague of Wickramasinghe, said: “Wicky was a top-class umpire and one of the leading umpires during Sri Lanka’s early years as a Test nation. He will be greatly missed.”A product of St Peter’s College and Dharmapala College, Wickramasinghe worked as an Immigration Officer in the Immigration Department throughout his career and after retirement he joined Sri Lanka Cricket as assignment umpire. He also officiated as a match referee.

Aston Villa are hopeful of adding another goalkeeper to their ranks this month, The Athletic’s Gregg Evans says. 

The lowdown

On Friday, Villa announced that they had agreed a deal to make FC Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho the first signing of the Steven Gerrard era, but it doesn’t look like they’re stopping there.

In terms of goalkeepers, Gerrard currently has Emiliano Martinez, Jed Steer, 20-year-old Viljami Sinisalo and teenager Filip Marschall at his disposal.

Martinez is the clear no. 1, but he was rested for both of Villa’s EFL Cup matches and was unavailable for the Premier League trip to Chelsea, with Steer standing in.

The latest

After they Johan Lange wrapped up the Coutinho loan, Evans tweeted that ‘Villa also want’ a ‘keeper and ‘may send younger stoppers out loan’.

They’d also like to bring in a full-back, with Bologna’s Aaron Hickey a target.

The verdict

It’s hard to imagine that Martinez is under any real threat. After all, this is a goalkeeper who was nominated the Yashin Trophy last year.

Instead, it seems more likely that Villa want an upgrade on Steer, someone who can push Martinez just that little bit more.

The Englishman wasn’t overly impressive when he got his chance in the league, conceding three goals at Stamford Bridge against a post-shot expected goals of only 1.8.

As a result, Villa may not be confident in him if Martinez is missing for a stretch of games.

In other news, this man is nearing a move away from Villa. 

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is sure to look towards his former club Rangers for potential new signings in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

The former Liverpool skipper was appointed as Villa’s new manager following Dean Smith’s exit, and has presided over a superb turnaround in form, with their latest victory coming in the shape of a comeback win against Leicester in the Premier League.

Now, O’Rourke has suggested that with the January transfer window around the corner, Gerrard will be looking north of the border at some of his former players.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “He will definitely have his eyes on players from Rangers. These are players he knows, he can trust, he knows how they work, and they know how Gerrard works, so it would probably be attractive for them if they want to move to Aston Villa.”

Hitting the ground running under Gerrard

Given that Gerrard has taken over at Villa Park midway through the season – hardly the perfect time for any new manager given that they have no pre-season to work with the players – it’s absolutely imperative any business that does get done in January is able to hit the ground running.

Signing players who the new Villa boss has already worked with at Rangers would allow them to acclimatise far better and far quicker than anyone else, while the chances of that signing going horribly wrong also gets drastically reduced.

The last thing Gerrard needs is a Morgan Sanson-esque signing whereby they arrive as a complete newcomer to the Premier League and with no previous connection to the manager. Sanson has been a drastically poor signing, featuring on just 12 occasions following his arrival 11 months ago.

January signings always carry that element of risk, and Gerrard targeting players from Rangers would go a long way to neutralising that.

Villa fans will surely be excited by O’Rourke’s transfer claim.

Meanwhile, Villa are eyeing this French midfielder…

After securing a 1-0 win over West Ham United last weekend, Wolves are back in action today with an away clash against Norwich City. 

Speaking ahead of the match in his latest press conference, Wolves manager Bruno Lage revealed that the club have been dealt some negative injury news as Willy Boly will be absent today after suffering a muscular injury.

With this in mind, here’s how we feel Wolves could line up to take on the Canaries this afternoon, with two changes from last Saturday. 

In goal, considering that he’s played in all of their league games so far this season, it seems likely that Lage will stick with Jose Sa to see if he can keep another clean sheet this time out. 

For the back three, we can see the 45-year-old sticking with the same trio which managed to keep a clean sheet against West Ham, with Max Kilman and Romain Saiss on either side of Conor Coady. 

Then for the wing-back positions, we think Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait Nouri will keep their places in the team, with the same pairing of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho in central midfield. 

Although we reckon Raul Jimenez will keep his place in the side to see if he can add to his goal tally for the season after scoring the winner against David Moyes’ Irons last weekend, we think Lage will make a couple of attacking changes to freshen up his team slightly. 

The first of those sees Adama Traore come back in on the left wing instead of Hwang Hee-chan, who didn’t have a shot at goal against West Ham. Also, Francisco Trincao comes in for Daniel Podence, who is currently earning a wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, to see if he can help Jimenez in the attack. Despite Podence setting up the winner seven days ago, Trincao has had a higher WhoScored rating overall for the season and could be restored today.

With Norwich having struggled in the league so far this season, this is a great opportunity for Wolves to secure another win and push themselves higher up the table. 

In other news: One man is edging closer to a significant deal with the club

An insider at Tottenham Hotspur has now dropped some insight on their new signing Charlie Sayers.

The Lowdown: Sayers signs

As confirmed on Tuesday afternoon on the official website of the Spurs faithful, Sayers has now joined the Academy from Southend United on a scholarship programme.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-5/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The North London club were reportedly ‘impressed’ with the young left-back, who has spent the last few weeks on trial with them, as per Lilywhites insider John Wenham.

He had played in six matches for Southend in the National League earlier this season, before making his debut for THFC’s U18s (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Wenham on Sayers

Speaking to Football Insider, Wenham has now given some insight into Sayers, and claims that he could be promoted to the U23s soon:

“I knew he was going to sign as soon as he captained the Under 18s last week.

“We wouldn’t have given him the armband if he was still on trial.

“From what I understand he’s already trained with the Under 23s as well.

“Everything else I have heard about him is really exciting. He’s already played for Southend’s senior side.

“He can carry that experience into the Under 18s and he will be looking at a space in the Under 23s too.

“Dennis Cirkin left and joined Sunderland in the summer and we haven’t replaced him.

“So, is there a chance for him to go even further straight away? I wouldn’t rule it out.

“This is a really exciting move and I can’t wait to follow Sayers’ development.”

The Verdict: Bright future

The fact that he is only 17 years of age and could be promoted to the U23s already suggests that Sayers has a bright future on his hands.

Having already played senior football with Southend, he would have learned a lot from his experience, and playing in those physical games will only speed up his development.

If the Englishman can now impress with the U23s as well as the U18s, he should certainly catch the eye of Antonio Conte, who could use some cover for Sergio Reguilon at left-back, given that Ben Davies has been playing as a central defender in his new system.

Nonetheless, Sayers is a player that you can see coming through the Academy and into the senior squad at a later date.

In other news, find out which ‘unique’ ace could be leaving Tottenham in January here!

دخل البرازيلي فينيسيوس جونيور، جناح فريق ريال مدريد، تاريخ النادي الملكي، بعد هدفه في شباك ريال مايوركا بالدوري الإسباني.

وكان ريال مدريد انتصر على ريال مايوركا، بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدف، عصر اليوم الأحد، في اللقاء الذي أقيم على ملعب “سانتياجو برنابيو”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الخامسة بالدوري الإسباني.

وسجّل فينيسيوس الهدف الثاني لريال مدريد في الدقيقة 72، بعد تمريرة من رودريجو جوس، وبمهارة رائعة تمكن من هز شباك الضيوف.

وأصبح فينيسيوس جونيور بعمر 22 عامًا و61 يومًا، أصغر لاعب من ريال مدريد يسجل في 4 مباريات متتالية بالدوري الإسباني؛ وفقًا لما ذكرته شبكة “أوبتا” العالمية للأرقام والإحصائيات.

وكان آخر من فعل ذلك مع ريال مدريد كان الأرجنتيني جونزالو هيجواين بعمر 21 عامًا و346 يومًا في 2009. شاهد أهداف مباراة ريال مدريد ومايوركا

Everton have reportedly stepped up their pursuit of Stoke City defender Harry Souttar as they prepare for Yerry Mina’s potential departure.

The Toffees were first linked with the highly-rated 23-year-old after it was revealed Duncan Ferguson had personally scouted the youngster ahead of a possible move.

And now, with Mina believed to be keen on a transfer to Serie A next summer and Inter amongst the clubs interested in his services, it appears Everton have already begun making plans to bring in his successor.

Spanish outlet Fichajes reported towards the end of last month that the Merseyside outfit are keeping a £20m sum aside as the January window approaches in order to convince Stoke to part ways with their prized asset as Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his defensive ranks.

Heir to Yerry Mina

Standing at a whopping 6 foot 7, Souttar certainly has the stature and physical prowess to replace the sizeable Mina in Everton’s backline.

But despite his imposing frame, the Australia international is also capable of carrying out the expectations placed upon a modern-day centre-back.

Potters boss Michael O’Neill has been quick to get this point across in the opening weeks of the campaign, praising Souttar’s ability on the ball in a post-match interview.

“I think Harry’s got a lot to offer,” he said. “The most pleasing thing for me is that Harry has made us better in terms of starting games from the back.

“People might just see 6ft 7in and think it’s all about the aerial side of the game but if anything it’s not like that for Harry. He’s a quality footballer, and I think he’s adapted to the Championship really well.”

After spending 2019/20 on loan at Fleetwood Town, Souttar has since established himself as a regular starter at the heart of Stoke’s defence over the last 18 months, and he’s currently enjoying a stellar campaign.

As per WhoScored, he’s averaged a whopping 5.8 clearances per league game this term – the highest total amongst his teammates – and also managed 1.9 tackles and 1.9 interceptions – the fourth-highest tallies compared to his colleagues.

Whether he’s able to make the step up to the Premier League remains to be seen, but the Everton supporters would surely love to see another promising young talent take to the Goodison Park pitch, especially if he possesses similar qualities to Mina.

And, in other news…Everton could replace James with “dynamic” £25.2m-rated “playmaker” who fans will love