All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Roy Hodgson will be buoyed by the fact that Crystal Palace thrashed Leeds United in a thrilling 4-1 win at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.

However, if there is any real negatives to take away from such an emphatic performance, it’s the fact that the Eagles once again failed to keep a clean sheet after Patrick Bamford fired home what would turn out to be a mere consolation into the bottom corner past the helpless Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

Palace have made a solid start to the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, with four wins from a possible eight games, but if you had to pick holes in Hodgson’s side, they’ve conceded 13 goals in 8 games so far this season, with their last clean sheet coming in the 1-0 win over Southampton at home at the start of the season, which is pretty grim reading.

It’s hard to pin the blame solely on Guaita but he has hadn’t the best of starts in recent weeks, whilst his problems were compounded by another poor performance against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Per SofaScore, the Spaniard received an average rating of 6.5 for his efforts – he made two saves, but didn’t register a single punch or run out throughout the entire game, whilst he only managed to make one high claim.

The veteran has started every league game this season so far, but it will be interesting to see if that remains the case when the Eagles face Burnley after the international break. With the win fresh in his mind, new recruit Jack Butland is the ideal option to start instead of the 33-year-old in Hodgson’s side.

Standing at 196cm tall, Butland, who’s market value is estimated at £3.15m via Transfermarkt, is actually 6cm taller than his teammate, whilst Guaita is six years his senior.

Once hailed as an “excellent” shot-stopper by former Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren after a standout display stopped the Magpies from securing victory at St James’ Park in 2015, the 27-year-old made 168 appearances for Stoke City, keeping 50 clean sheets in all competitions, via Transfermarkt. By comparison, Guaita has only managed to save 21 clean sheets in 67 games for the Eagles.

If the Palace boss is to give his first-choice goalkeeper a rest, that better way for Butland to earn his stripes than by squaring off against Hodgson’s mooted successor? He should be one of the first names on the team sheet after making a full recovery from coronavirus, that’s for sure. There arguably isn’t a better time to hand him his first-team debut than against a Burnley side who have largely failed to find the back of the net so far this season.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace dynamo Eberechi Eze was Hodgson’s most vital cog against Leeds United…

Name: Thomas Partey

Club: Atletico Madrid

Date of Birth: 13 June 1993

Position: Defensive midfielder

THOMAS PARTEY – HIS CAREER SO FAR

As is quite often the case, Diego Simeone finds good defensive players and then turns them into world-class superstars. Pretty much the same thing can be said about Thomas Partey, Atletico Madrid’s academy graduate that had to work hard to get where he is right now. For the 27-year-old defensive midfielder, it all started back home in Ghana where he played for the local Odometah FC in their youth ranks.

But already by 2011, a big club came calling as the youngster was showing a lot of promise. Atletico Madrid signed him up and then, a year after that, he joined their academy as a very young lad. Still, despite the talent he clearly possessed, it took quite some time to become as established as he is right now. From 2013 and all the way to 2015, he was officially part of their B side but would only manage to tally 33 appearances for them, scoring four goals in the process as well.

This is mostly because he was sent out on two different loans in that same time period. First, in 2013, to Mallorca and then, in 2014, to Almeria. Still, both stints ended up being quite productive for Partey, giving him both adequate game time and a stage to fully develop and break out of his shell. At the former club, he would register 38 appearances with five goals and two assists, while at the latter, 32 appearances with two goals on the side.

Needless to say, upon his eventual return to Atletico Madrid, he was a much more developed player, ready to take on the next challenge in his career. The first team bow arrived in November 2015 when he came on as a substitute in a 1-0 win against Espanyol. This was indeed a start of a special journey that is still on an upward spiral. The 27-year-old penned a new contract with Rojiblancos on 14 February 2017, tying him down at the club until at least 2022, but that was subsequently extended to 2023 in 2018.

And now, he has already played in 185 games for Atletico Madrid, even scoring 16 goals and providing 12 assists despite that being far from his role on the pitch. But with his rapidly increasing popularity and status, other clubs are bound to be interested and this is especially true for some Premier League titans.

Partey is in his prime and could very well be making a big switch rather soon.

TRANSFER LATEST

According to the latest transfer news, Arsenal are quite interested in securing the 27-year-old’s signature in the ongoing summer transfer window. Of course, this was all before their official statement outlining some financial difficulties at the club. Needless to say, if the Gunners really wanted to go after Partey, they would have to splash the cash.

As of right now, no other Arsenal transfer news or transfer rumours are saying they won’t go for the midfielder but it could indeed be a slightly more complicated deal to get over the line. Atletico Madrid don’t exactly want to part with a player of his calibre but with the right offer and some persuasion, everything is possible.

PLAYER PROFILE

Partey is a defensive midfielder by trade and as such, he often acts both as a facilitator and a destroyer. Some of his best qualities are certainly his ball-retention skills and the ability to snuff out danger even before it happens. He’s usually one of the deeper-positioned players in the Atletico Madrid squad but also has enough technical quality to start transitions and even more importantly, play out of the opposition’s press.

At 27 years of age, he is now in his prime and playing some of the best football of his career. Of course, just being part of Simeone’s system, he has exceptional work-rate but can even offer support going forward when needed. It is very difficult to pinpoint the exact area of his operation because he is mostly all over the pitch, which is also one of his best qualities.

He can be insecure on the ball at times but that’s a minor blip on an otherwise stellar resume and something that can certainly be ironed out in the immediate future.

Aston Villa appear to have been handed a clear shot at signing one of their mooted summer transfer targets after fresh reports emerged this week…

What’s the word?

The Midlands outfit have been linked with a move to sign former Dean Smith sensation Said Benrahma on more than one occasion this window but they’ve faced competition from some of their Premier League rivals.

One of which is Crystal Palace, who have seemingly ruled themselves out of signing the 25-year-old. Speaking to Football.London, manager Roy Hodgson claimed his focus was on adding another striker to his squad and claimed “a lot has to happen” before he moves for Benrahma.

Earlier this month, the Daily Mail claimed Villa were keen on signing the Bees frontman but it would cost around £25m to secure him.

Worthwhile boost?

Now that the door has seemingly opened for Smith, it would be a massive mistake on Johan Lange’s part if he were to not try to sign the impressive Algerian wizard.

During Brentford’s agonising playoff campaign, Benrahma provided 17 goals and nine assists, which is far greater than what any Villa player managed last term.

He’s so good that Sam Saunders, B team coach, claims the winger could “nutmeg a mermaid” whilst Bees boss Thomas Frank has previously lauded him as “magnificent.”

Benrahma also averaged a whopping 3.8 shots, three dribbles and 2.1 key passes per game, via WhoScored, so he’s more than just a goal threat on the wings.

The biggest benefit from this signing would undoubtedly be the familiarity that Smith already has with him having been the man to originally bring him to the Bees.

In the past, the Villa boss has lauded him as an “energetic” player who “has everything” whilst journalist Neil Dunsworth claims that “Smith obviously likes him,” so it would only make sense to secure him this summer.

For just £25m, this should absolutely be done.

AND in other news, Villa must steer clear of “unprofessional” £5m man…

Celtic have been linked with a rather puzzling move for a Premier League flop this week and it’s probably one Nick Hammond must avoid if he has any sense at all.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the door has opened for the Scottish champions to sign West Ham forward Albian Ajeti in the summer with the east London club willing to accept an offer of £5m for him.

It’s also claimed that he could leave the Hammers on a season-long loan with his future in extreme doubt.

The report also suggests that the Hoops have opened talks over a potential deal with Neil Lennon in the market for a new striker to bolster his attacking armoury.

There are major doubts over Leigh Griffiths’ presence amongst the squad due to fitness and disciplinary issues occurring throughout pre-season.

Forward flop

However, if Hammond or Lennon thinks Ajeti is the right replacement for the 29-year-old, then they have another thing coming.

West Ham splashed £8m on him last summer and they already want to get rid? That says an awful lot for a start. When he’s been handed an opportunity, he’s failed to deliver.

The Swiss international has failed to score in 12 appearances for the club and he’s played merely four minutes since the Premier League’s restart last month, via Transfermarkt.

Moyes has pretty much slammed his chances of featuring again, he said: “I think he had a chance against Newport. Was it Newport he played? I think you had a chance to watch him in a few of those games.”

Newport are several divisions below West Ham. It speaks volumes.

Meanwhile, Griffiths, despite all of his baggage, still contributed nine goals in just 879 minutes of league action as Celtic won a ninth straight title.

Lennon is far better off putting his support behind the Scotsman instead of plumping for a player that’s struggled to cope with a big move.

AND in other news, Celtic fans happy to sell this Bhoys regular…

Sunderland are showing interest in Kosovo international Arbenit Xhemajli, according to a report by the Chronicle Live. 

Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson will undoubtedly be keen to bolster his squad options this summer after failing to gain a promotion to the Championship and finishing eighth in the League One standings.

Whilst uncertainty continues to grow around the ownership of the Wearside club, transfer links are starting to develop with Xhemajli the latest name to be linked with a move to the Stadium of Light.

Xhemajli, who is valued at £765,000 by Transfermarkt, was born in Switzerland but represents the Kosovo national side and his impressions have seemingly left a mark on Sunderland boss Parkinson.

The 22-year-old began his playing career with Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax having spent a number of years through his youth development with Zurich.

Making 22 appearances in the 2019/2020 season, Xhemajli contributed with two goals and one assists from his accustomed centre-back position, whilst helping his team keep three clean sheets in the Swiss Super League.

His potential arrival would give Parkinson a further defensive options having just sealed a deal for Australian Bailey Wright.

The signing of Wright and interest in Xhemajli will be music to the ears of Sunderland fans, who will be desperate to see an improvement next season. Indeed, centre-back was an area that they needed to target having lost Jack Baldwin, Joel Lynch and Alim Ozturk following the conclusion of the 19/20 campaign.

Whilst the Kosovo international is relative unknown, his talents have obviously caught the eye of Parkinson. As already alluded to, whilst he is a defender by trade he certainly has an eye for a goal too, having netted nine times in his club career for both his current team and whilst in the Zurich youth sides (Transfermarkt).

Whether they can get a deal over the line remains to be seen.

Do you think Arbenit Xhemajli would be a good signing for Sunderland? Let us know in the comments section below…

Celtic fans have taken to Twitter following Sunday afternoon’s Betfred Cup final win over Rangers, and they have an abundance of praise stored up to lavish on Jeremie Frimpong.

The 18-year-old right-back – who signed from Manchester City back in the summer – has made 11 appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys this season, and doing so in impressive fashion having been involved in four goals during that time.

Frimpong – a Netherlands U20 international – was actually sent off in the 63rd minute for a foul on Alfredo Morelos inside the penalty area, but luckily for the young full-back, the Colombian saw his effort saved by Fraser Forster.

Also luckily for Frimpong, his teammates managed to keep Steven Gerrard’s side at bay for the remaining half-an-hour or so as they kept a clean sheet in the Betfred Cup final.

Despite putting his side’s chances of lifting the trophy at risk, Frimpong has come in for some praise from a number of Celtic fans on Twitter for his performance and overall attitude.

One fan – despite claiming that they were not exaggerating – wrote a slightly over-emphatic tweet stating that the teenager is the best right-back of all time.

Another asked if the club could keep the Dutchman until he retires, stating that they don’t think they could handle the heartbreak when he eventually leaves.

Elsewhere, this supporter said that Frimpong “makes you love football again”, which is lofty praise indeed for someone so young.

Another fan even went and compared Frimpong to Kieran Tierney, stating that while the current Arsenal left-back was a good prospect, their new Dutch wonderkid seems like a great one.

To round off the Frimpong love-in, one fan said that he was the only outfield Celtic player who “got pass marks” against Rangers, and stated that there may be a new fan favourite at Celtic Park.

Lastly, another supporter said that they think the former Manchester City man showed that he should be starting on a weekly basis with his showing against the Gers.

In other Celtic news, these fans made a huge transfer demand to the board following the Betfred Cup final…

Name: David Brooks

Club: Bournemouth

Age: 8 July 1997

Position: Winger (Right)/Midfielder

David Brooks – his career so far

At the age of 22, David Brooks can already boast with a pretty colourful career to date. The versatile attacking-minded ace is currently a part of Bournemouth’s first-team squad but has had his fair share of transfers, loans and various spell elsewhere before he finally settled at his current club.

Brooks’ first exposure to football and what would eventually open a pathway for him towards the big leagues was actually his stay at Manchester City’s academy when he was aged just seven. But in 2014, he already swapped shirts and joined Sheffield United, signing his first professional contract with the club the following year.

After spending some time in their U18 squad, Brooks quickly became part of the senior team, tallying 37 appearances for them and scoring three goals while also assisting further eight on the side as well.

We should also mention that there was an extremely short loan spell mushed in between his performances for Sheffield United as he recorded five appearances for FC Halifax Town between August and September 2015, scoring and assisting one goal in the process.

He ended up joining his current team, Bournemouth, in the summer of 2018 and has been at the club ever since. So far, he can boast with a total of 33 appearances with seven goals and five assists to his name as well.

Unfortunately, a large portion of the 2019/20 season has been a bust for the young player as a serious ankle injury sidelined him for a total of 35 games, basically derailing the whole campaign for both him and his club in the process.

But with football being put on hold anyway, he will get the time to heal and come back stronger once life also gets back to normal.

Transfer latest

There have been some transfer rumours linking Brooks with a potential exit towards none other than Manchester United but it seems that, according to some reports, Bournemouth have no intention of selling their gem just yet.

But interestingly enough, that is not the only piece of transfer news surrounding the young player, which is no surprise, especially now that there’s no football and various transfer rumours are coming thick and thin.

In fact, there were some completely contrasting reports that the Cherries have seemingly changed their mind and would actually be open to letting Brooks go for the right price.

Seeing how we’re talking about a big talent who’s wanted by the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Man United, this might not be the Bournemouth news the fans will like to see. Even though his 2019/20 was practically non-existent, losing such a big talent would undoubtedly be a big hit for the club.

Let’s see what ends up happening as he still has a valid contract until 2022.

Player profile

Unfortunately, with his long-term ankle injury, Brooks’ 2019/20 season has been completely scrapped, leaving him with some minutes in the pre-season tournament leading up to the new campaign back in the summer of 2019.

For that reason, we’ll have to focus on his 2018/19 season with Bournemouth and build his player profile according to that. His first season with the Cherries was still a very successful one since Brooks managed to present himself as a great finisher and a lethal presence in the opposition’s box.

Seven goals and five assists can attest to that statement and he seemed to be fairly selective in his shooting, often opting to let loose only when presented with a good opportunity to actually rattle the inside of the opposition’s net, as evidenced by only 1.71 shots per 90 minutes last season.

Brooks is also quite creative and technical on the ball, averaging 5.06 dribbles and 1.62 through balls per 90 minutes in 2018/19. He has a tendency of cutting inside and acting as more of an inverted winger, pulling defenders out of their shape and swapping places with his teammates.

This makes him tactically flexible as he is not chained to one specific area of the pitch, as also demonstrated by the fact he can be deployed on numerous different positions, both in wide and central areas.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Speaking to the club’s official website, Everton’s director of football Marcel Brands has revealed that Richarlison is closing in on signing a new deal with the club.

What’s the word?

The Brazil international arrived at Goodison Park from fellow Premier League side Watford, and has quickly established himself as a mainstay of the first-team.

The £45m-rated ace has featured 54 times for the Toffees across all competitions, scoring 19 goals and providing a further four assists.

https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x7kxxll

His promising form has led to suggestions in recent weeks that some of the Premier League’s big hitters have been watching his development, including the likes of Manchester United.

But now, Brands has delivered an encouraging update on the long-term future of the forward. He said (as quoted by The Liverpool Echo): “We have to look at the positives ahead and one of the positive thing this week is that we are now busy with the last details of extending a new contract with one of our key players, Richarlison, until 2024. So that is something positive for the long-term.”

Encouragement

At times as dark as these for Everton, news of Richarlison potentially committing his long-term future to the club is very positive news. With just 14 points to their name from their opening 13 Premier League games, things have gotten so bad for the Toffees that a shocking return for former manager David Moyes has even been mooted.

[ad_pod ]

Despite their struggles, it’s undeniable that the Merseyside club have some talented players on their books, not least the likes of Richarlison. The fear surely would have been there that he may have started looking for pastures new if Everton couldn’t arrest their slide down the table. But with Brands’ update on his future, it can allow fans of the Toffees to rest slightly easier knowing that one of their brightest performers still retains belief in the project moving forward.

Don’t miss out on MASSIVE savings with Fan Deal Drops – shop now for the latest deals (USING LINK HERE) on TVs, laptops, football shirts & much more.

Having arrived in a mammoth £80m deal from Leicester in the summer, much would have been expected of Harry Maguire at Manchester United. The England international however has endured a generally disappointing start to life at Old Trafford, with Whoscored giving him an average match rating of 6.91 in the Premier League this season.

The centre-back even came under criticism from sections of the United support for his performance against Tottenham in mid-week. But just days after that reaction, Maguire produced a commanding display at the heart of the Red Devils’ defence against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon. As per Sofascore, he made an incredible ten clearances, made three interceptions and also completed two tackles too.

And after seeing his display, fans of the Manchester side took to Twitter to voice their approval of their big-money summer signing.

A few United fans insisted that he proved he is fully worth the massive amount of money the club spent on him in the summer, with one supporter in particular dismissing claims that Leicester replaced him with a better defender.

Such is the nature of football, you can go from zero to hero really quick. And the opposite is true. Having been criticised by fans just a few days ago, Maguire is the talk of the town now. It will be up to the 26-year-old to prove he can deliver on a consistent basis now.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans have lauded this ace who made eight clearances against Manchester City.

Pablo Fornals played 64 minutes of West Ham United’s Premier League clash with Burnley on Saturday afternoon, and it was a tough match for the Spain international.

According to WhoScored, the midfielder did not make a single tackle, have a single shot or complete a success dribble at Turf Moor.

What’s more, the summer signing from Villarreal boasted a pass success rate of just 77%, which is not exactly terrific for a player operating in a midfield position.

To be honest, it was a rotten afternoon for the Hammers in general as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Sean Dyche’s side.

Fornals’ performance particularly disappointed the club’s fans, though, and it does appear that many are fast losing patience with the former Spain Under-21 international.

It is now no goals or assists in 11 Premier League appearances this term, and a number of West Ham supporters have shown their disappointment on social media.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: