All posts by z3u9t.icu

Tottenham have endured a very topsy-turvy start to the season with Nuno Santo overseeing three wins on the spin and then winning Premier League manager of the month.

However, after overseeing a wonderful August, Spurs were back in the dumps throughout September as they won just once in the league.

What’s the word?

What hasn’t helped Nuno’s men is a lack of goals from star man Harry Kane.

Tottenham managed to keep hold of the England captain despite rife speculation over the summer but he is yet to find the net in the top-flight during 2021/22.

His future at the club is still unclear but recent reports in Italy claim Spurs could sign Alvaro Morata as Kane’s replacement.

Currently valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, it would presumably be an expensive move to sanction.

Morata is currently on loan at Juventus from Atletico Madrid but the Old Lady don’t want to see him become a permanent part of the furniture. Thus, it opens the door for Spurs to move in and swoop.

Soldado 2.0

Cast your minds back to the summer of 2013 and Tottenham fans will crawl up into a ball of fear.

The club sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid after using a portion of the eventual fee they received on acquiring Roberto Soldado.

The Spanish forward arrived in a then club-record deal worth £26m but it was a humungous waste of time and money.

Soldado struggled significantly in English football and only netted 16 times in 76 outings. His time in north London is a constant source of anguish for the striker who hardly spoke glowingly of his time there.

In an interview with The Guardian, he said: “I always say if there is one period of my career I’m not happy with, it’s my time at Tottenham.”

The forward continued: “I also had Harry Kane’s boom to contend with.”

Sadly, Morata is also a player who’s attracted fierce criticism for his performances, especially in England.

During his time at Chelsea, the attacker regularly missed simple opportunities to score, a habit that has continued throughout his time elsewhere on the continent.

He scored just 12 times in 34 outings for Atletico in 2019/20 and then bagged only 11 goals in 32 matches for Juve last season.

His form at the European Championships was also questionable. Like Soldado, he struggled in front of goal and was given quite the hammering by Gary Neville.

The outspoken pundit remarked: “He’s got that vulnerable look about him, almost like he needs a cuddle.”

“It’s like he apologises to the ball before he makes contact with it, ‘Sorry, I’m gonna have to kick you here!’ There is just no belief.”

Also described as “fragile” by Maurizio Sarri, Morata clearly lacks the ability to be a constant threat.

Considering he could act as a replacement for Kane, this is a disaster waiting to happen. If they do end up selling, they can’t afford to replicate the situation that unfolded when Bale walked through the exit door.

Morata is someone that Daniel Levy simply has to forget about.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Hojbjerg: Spurs eye move for £19.8m-rated “machine”, Nuno would love him…

Leeds United turned down interest from Barcelona in Rodrigo last summer, according to reliable journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Rodrigo’s Leeds struggles

The Spaniard joined the Whites in the summer of 2020, coming in as the most expensive signing in the club’s rich and illustrious history.

However, Rodrigo has struggled to match the expectations of him when he arrived, scoring just nine goals in 45 appearances and finding himself in and out of the team because of injuries.

It has now emerged that the 30-year-old could actually have left Elland Road in last summer’s transfer window.

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The Latest: Barca made summer move for Rodrigo

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic prior to Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United, Hay claimed that Barcelona tried to snap him Rodrigo on loan in 2021, only for Leeds to turn down their interest, and the journalist didn’t completely rule out the notion that the La Liga giants remain keen.

Hay outlined: “Barca looked at him very late in the last window (loan bid) but Leeds said no. It doesn’t seem to have resurfaced yet but they clearly have, or had, an interest in him”.

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The Verdict: Better to keep hold of him

While Rodrigo has been a disappointing signing overall, it is still better that Leeds have him in the squad than not, given the quality that he can offer. The Spain international has shown sporadic glimpses of his brilliance, including a last-gasp equaliser in a Man of the Match performance at home to Wolves earlier in the season.

Granted, Rodrigo needs to go up a gear if he is to become an unqualified success at Elland Road, especially given his age. However, with Patrick Bamford out injured and Leeds lacking any other potent centre-forward as they try to move clear of a relegation battle, it is crucial that the Spaniard is still around between now and the end of the season.

In other news, one rumoured Leeds transfer target could be available this summer. Find out who it is here.

Speaking in a football.london Q&A, Tottenham Hotspur reporter Rob Guest has made a claim about highly-rated youngster Dane Scarlett.

The Lowdown: Scarlett set for stardom?

The 17-year-old made his competitive Spurs debut against Ludogorets in the Europa League last season, becoming their youngest ever player to do that (Goal).

Following another cameo against Wolfsberger in the same competition, former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho lauded the forward as a ‘diamond’ whilst backing him to become a ‘fantastic player’ (BT Sport via The Sun)

The Portuguese also likened Scarlett to Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, with Guest now making a claim about the Tottenham teenager.

The Latest: Guest makes Scarlett claim…

Speaking in the Q&A, Guest said that the promising talent ‘should get plenty of minutes’ under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo this season.

Meanwhile, the reporter also said that Scarlett is ‘rated extremely highly’ within the club.

“Scarlett is rated extremely highly at the club and he should get plenty of minutes in Europe and the cup competitions,” Guest replied when asked exactly how much faith is being put in the youngster at Spurs.

“Chances will also more than likely be there for him in the league going on the lack of another out-and-out striker. However, he just needs to be eased into action given his age.”

The Verdict: Exciting times in the academy…

As well as Scarlett, there seems to be plenty of hype surrounding the likes of Oliver Skipp and Alfie Devine to name a few.

Tottenham’s thriving youth prospects have always been a major talking point at N17 and there have been no sign of that slowing down over the last two or three seasons.

Scarlett in particular, now Spurs’ youngest ever debutant, will have eyes on him this year and it will be very interesting to see just how much he will feature under Nuno.

In other news: ‘Finished article’…Sky pundit in awe of Spurs starlet who’s an ‘improved version of Ndombele’, find out more here.

Liverpool are believed to be in the market for another forward player in the current transfer window, but the club have been tipped to make a move for Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland next summer.

What’s the story?

The Reds are one of many clubs  to have been credited with an interest in the Norway international in recent months, and with a reported £70m release clause becoming active in 12 months’ time, a move could well be on the cards.

Former Dortmund star Michael Rummenigge believes that Anfield is a likely destination for the highly-rated 21-year-old, also stating his belief that Kylian Mbappe could end up plying his trade in the Premier League.

“Yes. They (Haaland and Mbappe) could get there. We’ll have to wait and see where he goes after this season. Real and Barca have financial problems, so I could imagine him moving to England. His father used to play there too,” Rummenigge said in an interview with Sport1.

“I could well imagine Liverpool for Haaland. Haaland is an exceptional phenomenon. There is a player like that every 30 or 40 years. I don’t know what his career plans are, but for Dortmund, it’s great that he’s still wearing the black and yellow jersey this season.

“He is an absolute goal machine, his opponents only fly away to the right and left when he starts running. I’ve never seen anything like him at that age. The only drawback in his size is his headers. He doesn’t score enough goals. Otherwise, Haaland is a perfect player,” he concluded.

Jurgen Klopp would love him

Haaland has showcased his incredible, truly world-class potential on a regular basis since moving to Signal Iduna Park in January 2020, bagging an astonishing 62 goals in 61 games for the German giants and winning the DFB-Pokal along the way.

The youngster has also notched up 18 assists for his teammates, illustrating how he can also play the role of provider as well as a finisher when needed.

He is set to become one of football’s poster boys of the next generation once Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi finally call it a day, and Klopp – just like any manager – would love to be able to call upon his services.

The normally dependable attacking duo of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino struggled to exert their usual levels of influence over proceedings last term, and Haaland’s significantly reduced price tag next summer could make him a realistic target for the Anfield outfit.

Many other Premier League and European clubs will also have the £117m-rated monster in their sights, though, so Liverpool’s director of football Michael Edwards may have to pull off another masterclass to get this deal over the line.

In other news… Report reveals exciting Liverpool update which will have Reds fans absolutely buzzing 

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Arsenal were completely outclassed by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a fixture which Mesut Ozil played no part despite being available on the substitutes bench.

What’s the word?

The future of Mesut Ozil has been a topic of rife discussion in north London this season.

Aaron Ramsey’s imminent summer move to Juventus has already provided Emery with one significant body blow, but comments from former Arsenal forward Ian Wright hint that Ozil will follow the Wales international out of the exit door.

Indeed, Emery left Ozil on the bench against the Premier League champions despite the fact his side were hopelessly devoid of creativity in the second-half, opting instead to hand Denis Suarez his debut against his former club.

While speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day 2 show (via Goal), Wright had this to say about Ozil: “Captain one week, next week he plays a left-back in midfield ahead of arguably our most creative player.

“Doesn’t look very good for him.”

Emery’s biggest setback yet?

To say it doesn’t look very good for Ozil is an understatement; the writing is firmly on the wall after Emery’s latest snub.

Whether Emery has personally fallen out with Ozil behind the scenes or if his decision-making is purely football orientated remains unclear, but the enigmatic playmaker’s position at the club right now is markedly more transparent: Emery simply doesn’t trust him.

While there is no room for friction and distracting sub-plots in Emery’s endeavour to help Arsenal progress into a positive future, the fact the club look set to wave goodbye to another immensely talented senior player in the summer is hugely concerning.

Not only would losing a player of Ozil’s ability represent a blow to Arsenal’s long-term ambitions on the pitch, it would also represent a metaphorical setback for the club.

The departure of Alexis Sanchez in 2018 and the imminent exit of Ramsey have already set a dangerous precedent for the future regarding their most indispensable players, and Ozil’s decision to follow them out of the Emirates will further compound the regressive theme which has emerged at Arsenal.

Wright’s assessment of Ozil’s position at Arsenal is a damning indictment of how tentative the situation is between player and manager right now, and one can only assume that Emery’s latest selection decision is just another sign that a bitterly disappointing summer departure is looming on the horizon.

With a price tag of £54m, Naby Keita is currently the third most expensive player Liverpool have signed behind Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.

However, the midfielder’s time at the Merseyside club has not been a particularly smooth ride as of yet, with many injury issues damaging his playing time with the Reds.

Since arriving from German club RB Leipzig back in the 2018 summer transfer window, Keita, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £120k-per-week according to Spotrac, has made a total of 82 appearances for the Reds across all competitions. During his time in Merseyside, he has managed to chip in with eight goals and four assists.

In terms of his transfer value, Transfermarkt had his market value listed at £58.5m back in December 2018 but since then, it has dropped dramatically. Now it stands at £28.8m, which proves how disappointing the majority of his time at Anfield has been. It also suggests that the decision to lure him to Liverpool was a poor one from Michael Edwards.

Moving forward, it seems as though the key to unlocking Keita’s potential and getting the best out of him is if he could stay fit for a consistent period of time and gets the chance to play to show why Liverpool chose to splash such a significant amount of cash to bring him to the club.

Until that happens, it seems unlikely, in our view that his market value will be getting anywhere near where it was when he originally left Leipzig to join Liverpool. However, everyone at the Merseyside club will undoubtedly be more concerned over his fitness and playing time rather than his market value.

Given how Liverpool currently have Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliott out injured, we feel that this is one of the times where they could do with having Keita fit and available consistently to give Klopp an extra option in midfield.

That, however, seems farfetched. A big reason behind his decrease in value is his fitness issues. Since moving to Englan,d the Guinea international has had 14 different spells on the sidelines, missing 54 matches as a consequence.

Looking ahead to the future, with the midfielder’s current contract at Liverpool set to expire in 2023, it would be intriguing to see whether the club would be willing to offer him a new deal. In our view, if he keeps missing games through injury, the club should consider letting him go if they can’t rely on him.

In other news: FSG currently face one of their biggest Liverpool dilemmas, they must act soon – opinion 

Tottenham Hotspur are set to ramp up their pursuit of Antonio Rudiger in the coming days, according to an inside source…

What’s the word?

As revealed by Football Insider this week, the north London outfit are in the race to sign the £100k-per-week Germany international after he rejected a new Chelsea contract, meaning he is currently free to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, it is thought that Spurs have planned discussions behind-the-scenes in an effort to persuade the 28-year-old to swap the Blues for their capital city rivals in 2022.

Lilywhites sporting director Fabio Paratici is said to be pushing hard to get an early agreement in place but they will face a battle to secure him as foreign teams can seal him on a pre-contract agreement as early as January, something that Spurs do not have the luxury of.

Statement signing

This would be quite an outlandish move from Spurs, considering their west London rivals won the Champions League last summer and are quite some way ahead of them on and off the pitch.

However, the fact that Antonio Conte is in charge boosts their chances of landing the 6 foot 3 colossus as the pair worked together when the Italian was at the helm.

45 of his 172 appearances for the Blues came under Conte as they won the 2017/18 FA Cup together, leading to the German describing the 52-year-old as a “very good coach” to reporters.

Rudiger has been one of Chelsea’s standout performers under Thomas Tuchel over the past 12 months, with BT Sport pundit and Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand a big fan.

“Look at Rudiger, he’s arguably, since Tuchel has been there [at Chelsea], been the best defender in the Premier League,” he told his podcast (via the Metro). “Him or [Ruben] Dias in that time. He’s been unbelievable, he’s like an animal.”

Indeed, the German is just one of two players to have played every minute of every Premier League outing for the Blues this term, where he has averaged a second-most 2.2 aerial duels won, 1.1 tackles and an 86.9% passing accuracy when managing over 70 attempts per game, as per WhoScored.

Evidently, Rudiger is an efficient ball-playing defender and one that would instantly improve Spurs’ backline, not just because of his trophy record at Stamford Bridge.

The vastly-experienced defender would be quite the signing to make next year and it would certainly reveal the ambitions of the club under Conte. As such, many around N17 must be absolutely excited by this latest development.

Spurs fans would surely love Rudiger at the club, so this update should provide some huge encouragement heading into January.

AND in other news, Paratici eyes Spurs bargain after “courting” £18m-rated maestro, Conte would love him…

Newcastle United journalist Dominic Scurr has now shared some ‘positive’ injury news involving both Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson.

The Lowdown: On the sidelines

Both players have endured significant spells on the sidelines, with Trippier not playing since December.

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The Magpies have nonetheless climbed 10 points above the relegation zone without the pair, but they will no doubt want them back as soon as possible in order to help them mathematically guarantee safety.

The Latest: Trippier and Wilson close to comebacks

Taking to Twitter, Scurr has shared that the duo are ‘close to returning’ after ‘positive’ results in their rehabilitation process.

Sharing a corresponding article from The Shields Gazette, he stated: “Trippier and Wilson are close to returning for #NUFC. A well-managed rehabilitation process has seen neither player rushed back.

“And positive results mean they will return without the lingering fear or pressure to deliver in a relegation scrap.”

The Verdict: Big boost for Newcastle

Having both players back for the run-in will no doubt be a big boost for Eddie Howe and the Toon Army.

Trippier is currently ranking as Newcastle’s best performer in the Premier League so far this season, while Wilson remains their top scorer with six goals (WhoScored).

Howe will feel that his team are not quite safe yet, especially with games against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal to come, following on from Leicester City at the weekend, but having two of his key players back for at least some of those matches should help the Magpies to get the points that they need.

Nonetheless, the Tyneside club will likely continue not to rush them back, and Howe will probably only pick them if they are 100% ready to play, given how the team has managed in their respective absences and given the length of time for which both players have been sidelined.

In other news, find out which three stars NUFC are now targeting this summer

With 11 Premier League games played, Crystal Palace have found the back of the net on 15 occasions, which is more than several teams above them in the table have managed.

Nevertheless, it seems as though the south London club have their eye on securing a new attacking talent to add to their squad.

What’s the news?

According to Spanish journalist Rocio Rodriguez (via Sport Witness), Palace are interested in making a move to sign Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral after apparently following the player since the previous summer transfer window.

As a product of Los Blancos’ youth academy, the 24-year-old has made 33 senior appearances for their first team, scoring seven goals and providing four assists in the process.

The Spaniard, who has been praised by former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane after delivering a “complete” performance in the past, is currently on a two-year loan deal with Italian club AS Roma, which is set to come to an end in the summer.

During his time with Jose Mourinho’s side, the 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £12.6m by Transfermarkt, has scored 17 goals and provided eight assists in 52 appearances across all competitions.

Despite that decent return, his meagre tally of three appearances for them in Serie A so far this season – all coming off the substitutes’ bench – suggests that he is not a crucial player for the Giallorossi. That could potentially allow Palace to make a move for him in the summer when his loan spell comes to an end.

Also, given how current Palace striker Christian Benteke is now 30 and that his current contract at Selhurst Park set to expire in the summer of 2023, Mayoral could well be an ideal long-term replacement for the Belgian if the Eagles can secure a permanent deal for him in the summer.

This could well be a dream transfer move for Palace boss Patrick Vieira to pull off by the time the summer window comes around given the goalscoring experience that Mayoral has accumulated at a fairly young age.

In other news: Palace dealt potential injury setback ahead of Burnley, Vieira would be gutted

So far in the January transfer window, Aston Villa have said goodbye to Axel Tuanzebe, who has had his loan spell at Villa Park cut short, as well as seeing Wesley return from his loan at Club Brugge only to then be loaned back out again, this time to Brazilian club Internacional.

In addition, Villa have managed to secure a loan deal for Barcelona’s former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho until the end of the season, with an option to sign permanently.

What’s the news? 

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT prior to the signing of the Brazil playmaker, journalist Dean Jones had his say on what he thinks Villa’s plan will be during the current transfer window in terms of potential incomings.

He said: “I do think that a central midfielder is the number one priority. That’s what they’re looking at first before they get onto those other slots that will just strengthen up the squad.”

Fans will be buzzing

Given how current Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba picked up a serious knee injury last month which will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future, it would make sense for the club to try and bring another midfielder in this month to help fill the gap left by the Zimbabwean’s unfortunate absence.

Douglas Luiz and John McGinn have been regular figures in Villa’s midfield this season with a combined total of 32 league appearances. Aside from them, however Gerrard only has Morgan Sanson, who has struggled with injuries since his arrival at Villa Park, and Carney Chukwuemeka, who only has seven Premier League appearances under his belt, as bona fide central midfielders who he can currently call upon.

This suggests that it could be worth targeting a reliable and experienced central midfielder to come in and add strength and depth to that area of the squad, and it would surely delight a lot of fans to see that the club aren’t just going to settle with Coutinho and what they already have at their disposal.

Moving forward, with an agreement in place to sign the 29-year-old, this should allow Villa to now focus on targets in other areas of the pitch such as central midfield, and possibly then another defender with Tuanzebe gone.

In other news: Gerrard must seal AVFC deal for “sensational” £85k-p/w beast as Fabrizio Romano update emerges