Category Uncategorized

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has only just had his squad bolstered by the signings of Arnaut Danjuma and Pedro Porro, although the serial-winning coach and Fabio Paratici may well already have one eye on the summer window and the prospect of further new recruits at N17.

Whether or not the Italian does remain at the helm – amid doubts over his future beyond the end of the season – the north Londoners would seemingly be wise to take the advice of former striker Louis Saha, with the now-retired Frenchman having tipped the club to make a move for Newcastle United speedster, Allan Saint-Maximin.

Having been discussing the 25-year-old’s future at St James’ Park, Saha suggested that Spurs – or bitter rivals Arsenal – could be an ideal destination for the fleet-footed maverick:

“It’s unbelievable because last season Saint-Maximin was unreal and nobody would have been thinking about the prospect of Newcastle United selling him. He’s been unlucky this season with injuries, but he’s a top player and he could potentially find a move to one of the ‘big six’ clubs. I could see Arsenal or Tottenham having a player of Saint-Maximin’s quality and style.”

Reports during the summer had claimed that Tottenham – as well as Chelsea – had made an enquiry regarding the prospect of prising the former Nice man from Tyneside, amid suggestions that the Magpies were open to a £50m exit for the winger.

The £70k-per-week maestro has since endured a rather frustrating, injury-hit campaign in which he has failed to secure a regular role in Eddie Howe’s side, having scored just once and provided three assists after making only five starts in all competitions.

With reports linking the player with a move away during January, it remains to be seen what the one-time Monaco man’s long-term future is at his current side, opening up the possibility for Conte and co to pounce come the end of the season.

Despite his recent struggles, Saint-Maximin is a figure who is simply “unplayable” on his day, according to ex-Everton boss Frank Lampard, with the frightening, “wing wizard” – as lauded by journalist Graeme Bailey – notably ranking in the top 1% for dribbles completed among his European peers.

The hope will be that if he is to make the move to the capital in the near future, the 5 foot 8 ace can emulate the success of another Frenchman to have traded Newcastle for Spurs in the form of David Ginola.

The one-time Paris Saint-Germain ace arrived in north London from the northeast side back in 1997, going on to quickly cement himself as something of a talisman for the Lilywhites in the years that followed, having been ‘pure box office’ due to his ‘movie star looks and style both on and off the pitch’, as per the club’s official website.

Like Saint-Maximin, the now-retired gem was a truly devastating threat down the flanks when in his pomp, with Manchester United legend Gary Neville previously admitting that he was left “nervous” at the prospect of facing up against the forward, such was Ginola’s technical and physical brilliance.

Those traits were laid bare by the fact that even in the year in which the Red Devils claimed the treble during the 1998/99 season, it was Ginola who swooped the PFA Player of the Year award in that campaign, having also guided Spurs to League Cup glory that season.

A figure etched into Tottenham folklore, the 56-year-old would seemingly be a hard act to follow for Saint-Maximin, although the latter man appears to have the confidence and the quality to emerge as the club’s next, talismanic presence.

Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko was lauded by The Athletic pundit Jack Collins for one  ‘very special’ moment during Arsenal’s 3-2 victory against Manchester United on Sunday.

The Lowdown: Huge win for Arsenal

The Gunners once again proved their mettle in a huge match against in-form United, with Eddie Nketiah striking late to send his team five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

There were flashes of individual brilliance throughout the match, with both Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka netting from outside the penalty box, and Zinchenko was also singled out for his role in Nketiah’s equalising goal in the first half.

The Latest: Zinchenko lauded

While Saka will no doubt receive plenty of plaudits for his remarkable solo effort, Collins lauded the Ukrainian for his pass in the build-up to Nketiah’s header, which drew Arsenal level midway through the first half.

The pundit tweeted: “What a game already. Great ball from Xhaka, great movement from Nketiah, but Zinchenko’s composure in the recycling of that corner, and ability to pick the non-obvious pass, is very special.”

The Verdict: Impressive display

Not only was the Ukraine full-back vital in Arsenal’s first goal, he also put in another solid display in a defensive sense, making two interceptions, two tackles and winning the one aerial duel that he contested (Sofascore).

The 26-year-old displayed his ability to pick out the right pass for the first goal, and he continued to look comfortable on the ball throughout the 90 minutes, completing 57 of the 65 passes that he attempted (88% accuracy).

It will not get any easier for Arsenal next time out, as they travel to Manchester City in the FA Cup on Friday night, but Mikel Arteta will know that his side stand a great chance of another victory if Zinchenko and the rest of the team perform at the same level as they did today.

Aston Villa are still pursuing a potential move for experienced Real Betis left-back Alex Moreno in the January transfer window, according to reports from Spain.

The Lowdown: Moreno linked with Villa

Unai Emery is highly likely to add to his squad this month, with funds available to bring in reinforcements and bolster their Premier League ambitions.

One player who has been linked with a move to Villa of late is Moreno, with the left-back starting 14 matches in LaLiga this season.

A fresh update has emerged, and it’s one which suggests that the Villans’ interest is not going away.

The Latest: Villa in a hurry for Moreno

According to Spanish outlet AS [via Sport Witness] on Thursday, Villa are attempting to ‘speed up negotiations’ with Moreno, with Emery keen on bringing him in this month.

Betis are hesitant to part with the 29-year-old, though, and will likely only sell him if a club matches their valuation of the player.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/aston-villa-latest-news-4/” title=”Aston Villa latest news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Verdict: Good competition for Digne

Moreno would be an ideal January addition for Villa, providing Lucas Digne with healthy competition at left-back and allowing Emery more quality and depth in that position.

The Spanish defender has vast experience at a high level, having made 145 appearances in LaLiga, so he would be considered a safe pair of hands at this point in his career.

Whether or not Villa and Betis are able to agree on a fee remains to be seen, but at this point, it feels as though Moreno could be one of Emery’s first signings at Villa Park.

[freshpress-quiz id=“418895″]

The Daily Mail’s northeast reporter Craig Hope has revealed that Jonjo Shelvey has not had his one-year contract extension activated at Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Contract expiring

The 30-year-old’s contract at St James’ Park is set to expire next summer, with the option of a one-year extension.

The midfielder has recently been ruled out for up to eight weeks with a calf injury and had also struggled with a hamstring problem earlier this season.

The Latest: Extension not activated

Taking to Twitter, Hope has revealed that Shelvey’s one-year extension on his contract has not been activated amid his latest injury setback, which suggests that he could leave Newcastle once it expires.

The journalist tweeted: “Jonjo Shelvey now facing 6-8 weeks out with calf injury. As far as I understand, his one-year contract extension has not yet been activated.”

[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: Time to go?

There is no doubt that Shelvey has been a great servant under Eddie Howe, who labelled the 30-year-old a ‘huge player’ for him having been a regular under the Newcastle boss last season, even being given the captain’s armband on occasion (Transfermarkt).

However, he has picked up far too many injuries over the years, and at 30, his best footballing years are probably behind him now.

Nonetheless, the Magpies can already call upon the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Joe Willock in Shelvey’s position, or alternatively sign another midfielder if they feel that one is needed.

There is a glaring issue within the Liverpool squad which if the club are to achieve anything this season, simply has to be addressed in the January transfer window.

That, of course, is in the middle of the park where the Reds have struggled significantly.

Jurgen Klopp and FSG ignored that third of the pitch until transfer deadline day in the summer, bringing in Arthur Melo.

Sadly, the Brazilian has only made one appearance since joining as a result of injury. That factor has plagued the squad this term, leaving Klopp rather hamstrung when it comes to his midfield options.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are both out of contract at the end of the current season while Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Thiago Alcantara are now all in their 30s.

Although the latter will never lose his class, injuries have also troubled him throughout the current term.

After the World Cup, the name on the lips of most Liverpool fans will certainly be Jude Bellingham.

Clubs the world over will be queuing up for the teenager’s signature next year but the Reds could find an alternative in Enzo Fernandez.

The Argentine has also caught the eye in Qatar, scoring a delightful goal in their win over Mexico before assisting in the victory against Poland.

Reports in recent days suggest that the Reds already have a pre-agreement in place with the Benfica midfielder over a possible deal in 2023, with any such move potentially costing in the region of a whopping £103m.

Dubbed a “cheat code” by one source for his performances on the big stage this autumn, he has all the hallmarks of being the club’s perfect Thiago replacement.

The Spaniard possesses plenty of poise and grace, sitting in the top 8% of positionally similar players across Europe’s top five leagues for pass completion (89.4) while he also ranks in the best 2% of midfielders for passes completed per 90 minutes (82.66) and the top 1% for progressive passes per 90 (7.34).

These stats are incredibly similar to Fernandez, albeit the 21-year-old is compared to those in the world’s next-best eight leagues outside of the big five by FB Ref.

Across those divisions, the Argentina international is in the top 11% for pass completion (87.1%). That is slightly below Thiago but in the other metrics already assessed, the Spaniard is actually defeated.

Compared to Liverpool’s classy number 6, Fernandez completes a whopping 96.83 passes per 90, 9.50 of which are progressive passes. Both of those figures mean the talented youngster ranks in the very best 1% of players.

Couple that with his ability to score goals and create for his teammates, numbers seen by his three goals and five assists this term, and you have a rather fine player.

Given the sheer lack of depth in central areas for the Reds, the pair could well play together. That said, with Thiago not getting any younger, it feels as though Julian Ward would be signing the Spain international’s natural heir.

Leeds United have been dealt a potential setback to their hopes of securing a move for reported transfer target Raphael Guerreiro. 

The Lowdown: Leeds’ interest in Guerreiro

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Whites are planning to make an approach to sign the full-back from Borussia Dortmund during the upcoming January transfer window.

With the World Cup in Qatar around the corner, this will give the Yorkshire club the chance to potentially see Guerreiro in action for Portugal ahead of the winter market opening for business.

However, it appears that the Elland Road outfit have been dealt a potential blow to their chances of signing the defender.

The Latest: West Ham join Guerreiro transfer race

According to a recent report from Jeunes Footeux, West Ham United have joined the race to sign the 28-year-old from Dortmund in January.

The report adds that the German club have offered a new deal to Guerreiro, who is set to see his current contract expire at the end of June.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-copy/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Leeds must be ruthless

Across 206 appearances for Dortmund, Guerreiro has scored 37 goals and delivered 39 assists in the process.

Across his 12 Bundesliga outings this season, he has racked up the third-highest number of key passes (14) and third-highest number of shot-creating actions (32) at the club, highlighting how much of an attacking threat he can offer.

From a defensive point of view, Guerreiro – who has been described in the past by Michael Zorc as being in “exceptionally good shape” – has the fourth-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (35) in the Dortmund squad.

This showcases just how effective the full-back can be up and down the pitch, which is presumably why Dortmund are keen to keep hold of him and why the likes of Leeds and West Ham want to sign him.

Taking all that into account, we feel that Guerreiro would be a very smart signing for Jesse Marsch’s side and that the club will need to be ruthless in their attempts to sign him in January if they are to prevent the Hammers from beating them to the punch.

After their disappointing defeat to Leicester City over the weekend, it became abundantly clear that Everton were severely lacking additional firepower.

Although the midfield underperformed, and the front line looked toothless, what often hinders the Toffees most is their lack of offensive drive from the full-backs; especially in the absence of Nathan Patterson.

Seamus Coleman and Vitaliy Mykolenko were both solid against the Foxes, but a lack of speed and quality delivery holds them and the rest of the team back so much.

That could therefore explain Frank Lampard’s interest in Inter Milan left-back Robin Gosens, who could offer something completely different to the solid if unspectacular Ukrainian.

With the report suggesting competition from just Bayer Lervukusen, it should certainly be a doable deal for the Premier League giants.

In the German, who ordinarily has featured as a left midfielder for both Inter Milan and Atalanta, they would be gaining a versatile ace with a wide range of abilities.

Despite having yet to score or assist this Serie A campaign for the former, the £17.5m-rated talent still seems poised to travel with his nation to the upcoming World Cup. His powerful runs or silky dribbles could be the main factor behind that, as despite his lack of cutting edge the space he demands due to these drives would likely massively benefit his team.

He is averaging a 67% dribble success rate this season.

Having scored twice and assisted four during his 14 caps, he offers a huge creative threat as a bombing wing-back.

His displays have led Joachim Low to label him “amazing” after his side’s win over Portugal in Euro 2020, before journalist Josh Bunting suggested he had given Nelson Semedo “nightmares” in that encounter. There is every reason to believe he will once again find that level form in Qatar in a few weeks’ time.

Funnily enough, Gosens could once again provide that at Goodison Park.

Should the 28-year-old make the switch, Lampard will be hopeful of getting something close to his form at Atalanta, where he scored 29 and assisted 21 in 157 appearances.

This marks a huge improvement in Mykolenko, who has fewer goal contributions in his entire career thus far. 

For Lampard, this would add further depth to his squad which has shown in recent weeks just how lacking in game-changers they are. A tired performance against Leicester could not be altered despite all five substitutes being used.

With Gosens however, it would add further attacking prowess in an area that has gone without since the departure of Lucas Digne. Indeed, his eye-catching attacking ability could well give Premier League defences ‘nightmares’ if he moves to Merseyside this winter.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has confirmed that Kemar Roofe is in the squad for Glasgow Rangers ahead of their Premier Sports Cup clash at Ibrox tonight.

The Lowdown: In training

Van Bronckhorst has confirmed that Roofe is back in full training with the team, after a long-term injury has kept him out of the whole of this season so far.

The striker has not featured for the club since May, and has been working hard behind the scenes to try and get back up to full fitness.

The Latest: In the squad

Speaking to the media in his pre-game press conference ahead of their match at home to Dundee tonight, Van Bronckhorst has confirmed that Roofe is in the squad, and is ‘ready’ to get minutes for the first time this campaign:

“Roofe is in the squad for tomorrow, he is ready for minutes which we will try to give him.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/rangers-news-5/” title=”Rangers news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Big boost

Having Roofe back in the squad for the first time this term is a big boost for an Bronckhorst and his team.

Given the 16 goals in all competitions last season, third in the squad behind James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos, is a reminder of how deadly he can be in front of goal.

The Premier Sports Cup gives him the perfect opportunity to regain his match sharpness, and so the Gers should consider playing him from the start if he is ready.

Glasgow Rangers enjoyed a busy summer of business in the transfer window as Ross Wilson looked to improve a number of positions in the team.

The Light Blues sporting director backed Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the market by signing John Souttar, Ridvan Yilmaz, Malik Tillman, Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence, Antonio Colak, and Rabbi Matondo.

This means that they brought in a player in every position other than right-back and goalkeeper, with the latter perhaps coming as a surprise after Allan McGregor’s performances last season.

The veteran shot-stopper showed signs of his age catching up with him in the Premiership in 2021/22 as he made four errors directly leading to shots or goals and only saved 66% of the shots against him, compared to one error and a save percentage of 85% in the title-winning campaign the year prior to that.

His form dropped massively between those two seasons and, after turning 40 in January, supporters could be forgiven for thinking that he should have been replaced in the window.

Instead, he was handed a new contract and made the number two behind Jon McLaughlin, who was already at Ibrox, for the start of this season.

The former Burton man failed to step up to the mark in the first six outings in the Scottish top-flight this term as he averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.50 and made one error directly leading to a goal whilst conceding from 50% of the shots against him.

With question marks over both McLaughlin and McGregor, it is time for van Bronckhorst to finally unleash 24-year-old Robby McCrorie between the sticks.

He was recently called up to the Scottish national squad and manager Steve Clarke claimed that he is “improving” as a player, despite being in a difficult situation as the third choice at Ibrox.

Journalist Josh Bunting tipped him to be Scotland’s future number one and described him as a “big talent” last year, which he showed signs of when he was called into action against Celtic with Steven Gerrard at the helm at the start of last season.

The 6 foot 4 colossus kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win in the Old Firm, saving all three of the shots against him and earning a SofaScore rating of 7.4. He also kept a shutout in a Europa League qualifier, which means that he has not conceded a single goal in any of his first-team appearances for the club.

Therefore, the £3.7k-per-week gem must finally be given an extended run in the team to show that he has what it takes to be a consistent number one for the club.

McGregor and McLaughlin are struggling between the sticks and it could be time for a natural changing of the guard in goal for the Light Blues, with the Scottish youngster taking over the gloves this season.

Former Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone is at the Academy of Light ahead of a shock deadline day return to the club, according to talkSPORT journalist Phil Spencer.

The Lowdown: Mannone’s nomadic career

Having left Ligue 1 outfit Monaco this summer after a two-year stint at the club, the 34-year-old is now a free agent going into deadline day.

The Italian made 67 Premier League appearances for the Black Cats during a four-year spell at the Stadium of Light between 2013 and 2017, after appearing eight times for Arsenal in the Champions League.

Sunderland remain the club where the shot-stopper earned his largest number of appearances, having played for the Wearsiders on 80 occasions in total.

The Latest: Spencer’s news

With the Black Cats looking to bring in another goalkeeper to add to their squad depth, Spencer has now revealed Mannone is closing in on a return to northeast.

Taking to Twitter, the talkSPORT journalist claimed:

“It’s been suggested to me that Vito Mannone is at the Sunderland training ground with a view to completing a return to the club.”

The Verdict: Great experience

Having made 70 clean sheets in 268 appearances throughout his career, Mannone has a wealth of experience at his fingertips.

With Sunderland’s only two keepers being aged 24 and under, the 34-year-old’s arrival on Wearside will provide much needed know-how to Tony Mowbray’s squad.

Anthony Patterson, who is the Black Cats’ current no.1, will learn a lot from the Italian, and his return to the club seems to be a clever bit of business by the Wearsiders.