Weah, Lainez and the players to watch at the Under-20 World Cup
A host of potential future superstars will be on show in Poland as teams from around the globe look to emulate 2017 winners England
A host of potential future superstars will be on show in Poland as teams from around the globe look to emulate 2017 winners England
The France international leads the charts after finalising an €80 million (£68m/$90m) move, but who else ranks near the top?
Speaking to Football Insider, after it emerged that GSB and West Ham are keeping tabs on Torino star Andrea Belotti (Corriere Granta), pundit and Sky Sports regular Paul Robinson has been wowed by the Irons and their progress as a club as they target more prestigious players.
Belotti, who has been at the centre of interest from the likes of Tottenham in recent years, is now reportedly on the radar of West Ham as GSB weigh up striking options for next season.
Scoring 27 goals so far over the last two Serie A campaigns (WhoScored), the Torino captain has a €100 million (£86.4m) release clause but Football Italia claim he could be made available for around £30m as he enters the final year of his deal.
After it emerged that West Ham are now one of the clubs weighing up a move, Robinson heaped praise on the Hammers whilst believing it is evidence of how far they have come as a team this season.
“Belotti would be a great signing,” explained the former England international to Football Insider.
“The fact that we are even talking about this tells you that West Ham are a different proposition in the transfer market under David Moyes.
“They have an identity now, they look like a completely different team and they are no doubt an attractive proposition for any player.
“West Ham are a team that will be challenging for the top-five, top-six spots now and it means they will be looking at a different level of player.
“I think Spurs were looking at Belotti shortly before they signed Vinicius.”
Whether or not West Ham end up landing the 32-cap Italy international remains to be seen, but Robinson could be correct in his verdict about the Irons.
The fact they now seem to be targeting more prestigious players could come as evidence as to how well they have done under Moyes this season.
If they manage to secure the dream in Champions League qualification at the end of the campaign, we can expect more similar reports to emerge.
In other news: West Ham fans erupted at this ‘fantastic news’, find out more here.
Ahead of Saturday's final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev, Goal looks back at the most disappointing aspects of this season's tournament
According to Football Insider, Newcastle United are interested in signing on-loan Sunderland defender Dion Sanderson.
Sanderson has spent the campaign on loan at the Stadium of Light and has impressed as the Black Cats eye promotion to the Championship. Such has been the level of his performances, they are even said to have opened talks with parent club Wolves over a potential permanent deal – the Premier League outfit are believed to be looking for £2m (Daily Mail).
However, it now seems that Sunderland’s bitter northeast rivals Newcastle are also interested in the 21-year-old.
As much as Sunderland fans may hate to admit it, Newcastle will be a more exciting proposition at the moment. After all, they are in the top flight and, with the right manager, they have the tools to move up the Premier League table.
However, Lee Johnson will no doubt be looking to do all he can to make sure Sanderson is still at Sunderland next term. In the 25 League One matches he has played for them this season, they have managed 11 clean sheets, and his introduction to the starting XI on a regular basis has coincided with the Wearside outfit staking a real claim for promotion (Transfermarkt).
Sanderson’s future at the club may be linked to Sunderland’s performances. If they are unable to move up to the Championship, there will be little reason for him stay – but promotion could well change that.
In other news, many Sunderland fans slammed this man’s performance against Charlton.
Aston Villa must seize their perfect chance to sell Bjorn Engels amid reported transfer interest from Royal Antwerp.
The £55,000-a-week centre-back has been a complete outcast at Villa Park this season, barely featuring for Dean Smith’s side in the Premier League – in fact, he’s yet to make a single competitive appearance in any competition in 2020/21.
His time at the club could soon be over, with Belgian publication Voetbalkrant saying (via Sport Witness) that Antwerp are eyeing a summer move for the 26-year-old as they look to bring him back to his native Belgium.
The report added that a deal for Engels to leave is “inevitable”, and that Antwerp are at the front of the line for a deal. It was even suggested that Villa would be prepared to sell him for very little just to get him off their books.
It comes as no surprise, then, that former Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that Engels’ career at the club is over, insisting that he just doesn’t have the qualities needed to succeed in the Premier League.
The 34-year-old said earlier this year: “It’s time for him to move on. The problem with the Premier League now is you have to have pace in defence. Unless you’re an unbelievable defender and you can read the game unbelievably you need to have the pace at the back.
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“That’s what Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause allow you. If they make a mistake they’ve got the pace to make up for it. If they’re left one-on-one they’ve got the pace to stop the attacker.
“The problem with Engels is that if he’s left one-on-one he hasn’t got that pace so he’s going to get found out a bit. That’s what it is, it’s one of those things.”
With Antwerp now showing interest in taking him off Villa’s hands this summer, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens will surely be buzzing that one of the club’s highest earners could well be off their books way before his contract comes to an end in the Midlands.
Given that he’s yet to play at all this season for Smith, letting him go for whatever fee is presented just seems like the perfect eventuality for all parties concerned.
Meanwhile, Villa must sell this first team ace in the summer…
To suggest Albian Ajeti has had a torrid few years would be putting it lightly. The Celtic striker was a hero in Switzerland but he has been nothing short of abject for nearly two years now.
After signing for West Ham from Basel, he played on just 12 occasions and failed to score a solitary goal.
For a forward who had managed 21 strikes in 43 outings during the 2018/19 season, it was rather remarkable that he’d failed so badly.
However, since a £5m move to Parkhead, he has also been pretty dismal. Ajeti initially hit the ground running with five goals in his first ten outings but he has only found the net once since September.
A mini-revival looked as though it may take place towards the back end of Neil Lennon’s tenure. He fielded the Swiss attacker against Kilmarnock and not only did he win a penalty, but he also scored a quite brilliant strike after turning and then firing past the goalkeeper.
Unfortunately, Ajeti hasn’t been able to capitalise on that moment. In fact, he’s not played a single minute of football since John Kennedy was placed in interim charge and then he was left out of the entire matchday squad for the Old Firm derby.
It would appear that the writing is on the wall for Ajeti, a player who Alan Hutton described as “anonymous” a few months ago.
If there was ever a word to describe the 24-year-old’s last few years, it would be that. He has been hung out to dry by a number of managers now and clearly isn’t good enough.
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With his absence in mind, the £16k-per-week earner is now surely heading for the exit door. Lennon didn’t give him many opportunities and now he can’t even get in the squad.
We shouldn’t be too surprised though. After being an unused substitute against Aberdeen a few weeks ago, Noel Whelan claimed he could be leaving: “It is damning for Ajeti’s future”, he told Football Insider. “It seems as if he won’t be at the club next year,” Whelan concluded.
Ajeti has unfortunately been attracting criticism all season. Frank McAvennie suggested the striker doesn’t look as though he cares whether he plays after unleashing the following attack:
“I would love to have been in the room with whoever justified paying £5m for him. How can you justify spending £5m on a player like that, a player who strolled about at West Ham and is now doing the same at Celtic?”
Indeed, with just the six Celtic strikes to his name, he has nearly cost the Bhoys £1m per goal. On that evidence, you can certainly see why the hierarchy may look to cash in.
Glasgow Rangers legend Ally McCoist believes the Gers could lose a couple of important players ahead of the next campaign.
The Gers have already been confirmed as Premiership champions and are in with a chance of reaching the Europa League quarter-finals.
However, McCoist believes one or two players could depart at the end of the term. He told BT Sport (via Ibrox News):
“Recruitment is key, he’s (Steven Gerrard) intelligent enough and been in the game long enough to know you don’t stand still, you’ve got to move forward.
“You’ve got to plan. It’s one thing getting there, you’ve got to stay there, you’ve got to improve.
“Performances in the Europa League have been fantastic but the Champions League is a different ball game.
“I’ll be interested to see players coming in and I don’t want to tempt fate but [Gerrard] might lose one or two because of the success that they’ve had…it wouldn’t surprise me.”
Unfortunately, McCoist may well be right. This has been a successful campaign so far, and the Gers do have a shot at Champions League football to offer to their stars, but the fact of the matter is that the Scottish Premiership lacks the glamour, finances and competitiveness of the Premier League and several other top European divisions.
For the Ibrox outfit, at least, they are now in a position to demand higher fees for their star men. Long gone are the days when they could be signed for bargain fees – their performances both domestically and on the continent mean that is no longer possible. They will be in demand, and Ross Wilson and co must use that to their advantage.
In other news, Rangers fans react to this Sky Sports news.
Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Premier League footballer Carlton Palmer discussed Gareth Bale’s form since his summer return to Tottenham Hostpur.
After leaving Spurs for Real Madrid in what was an £85 million world-record deal back in 2013, Bale went on to feature 251 times for Los Blancos, scoring 105 goals and providing 68 assists, helping the Spanish giants to win a remarkable four Champions Leagues, two La Ligas, four FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, two Supercopa de Espanas and one Copa del Rey.
Half a season into his return to Spurs, Bale has so far started just one Premier League game for Jose Mourinho’s side, playing just 160 minutes over a total of four appearances in the top flight, in which he has managed one goal.
“On the Gareth Bale situation, if that wasn’t at Tottenham, that would be an absolute catastrophe move and I thought it was inspired at the time,” Palmer told The Transfer Tavern. “But it’s not looking to be that way at the moment and Tottenham are lucky that he’s not become a main player for them, or not needed to be a main player, because it’s not worked out at the moment.”
He continued: “I knew he needed time to get his fitness up and get up to speed and whatever, but he should be ready to be playing an active part in the first team and delivering. Considering the wages they’re paying out to him at the moment, that’s turning out to be a bad, bad deal. At this moment, he’s been a waste of money because he’s not playing.”
Indeed, as Palmer suggests, Bale’s performances have not exactly been sensational for Tottenham so far this season, with the 31-year-old averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.67 in the Premier League and a rating of 6.85 in the Europa League, ranking him as the club’s 11th-best performer in both competitions.
And, while Madrid are reported to be paying around 60% of the Welshman’s £600,000 weekly wage, Bale’s presence at Spurs is still costing the club around £240,000 per week, enough to rank him as Tottenham’s highest-paid player.
As such, it would appear that Palmer is entirely justified in dubbing Bale a “waste of money” at present, as, considering Harry Kane has 12 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League, while Son Heung-min has 12 goals and six assists in the top flight, both of whom earn less than Bale, it is easy to argue that the 31-year-old has not yet proved anywhere near good value for money for Spurs.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs have been linked with this French striker, find out more here!
When a new Astroturf pitch was built at Wolves’ Compton Academy in 2019, it didn’t mean a great deal, certainly at first glance.
Though, the money that financed such a development came courtesy of the undisclosed fee paid for a Portuguese player at Wolves.
You can take your pick from the plethora of Iberian stars plying their trade at Molineux but this was one who’d made just a solitary appearance for the first-team; a man who replaced Elliot Watt in a Carabao Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday.
It’s fair to say that none of this can be counted as a landmark moment. Yet in the process of selling the Portuguese sensation, Wolves have arguably made a mistake.
The man in question, of course, is Pedro Goncalves. He was a star for the U23 team that won Premier League 2 and under Rob Edwards’ stewardship, was “outstanding” in the words of the Wolves coach.
Clearly, he wasn’t good enough at that time to earn a better deal in the Midlands. He departed for Famalicao and then joined Sporting Lisbon last summer.
Since then, he’s been dubbed the new Bruno Fernandes and has now been linked with a £50m move to none other than Liverpool. This is a classic tale of transfer woe for Wolves. They have let a diamond slip through the net and judging by their performances this season, they should regret it.
Losing Diogo Jota to Liverpool last summer was far from ideal, but in Pedro Neto they have someone capable of replacing him. They don’t, however, have someone capable of succeeding Goncalves. The attacking midfielder, who can also play on the right, has scored 14 goals in just 18 league appearances this season.
He is a mesmerising footballer but to Edwards, this will come as no surprise. The 22-year-old usurps plenty of Wolves players this season, no less than in the goals department.
Goncalves has registered more shots per game (2.7) than anyone at Molineux while his 1.6 key passes a match is only bettered by the aforementioned Neto.
On the face of it, Wolves will live to regret this decision. Selling him in 2019 didn’t seem like a bad idea but his development from that moment onwards has been astonishing.
If they can take any solace from the deal, it’s that they’ll take up 20% of whatever fee Sporting receive for his services. That means they’d take a cool £10m. Not bad business at all from a financial point of view.