All posts by n8rngtd.top

Celtic have had a steady start to their latest summer transfer window in terms of the deals they’ve managed to complete.

With permanent deals secured for Jota, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Daizen Maeda, the Hoops have also brought in Alexandro Bernabei and Benjamin Siegrist.

Should Ange Postecoglou look to add a new attacking figure to his ranks before the season starts and the window closes, one rather recognisable name that has been linked with a move to Parkhead recently that would cost the club a penny to sign is Jordan Larsson.

After recently seeing his contract at Spartak Moscow expire, the son of former Celtic legend Henrik Larsson, is now available to sign as a free agent.

In 83 appearances for the Russian club, the striker found the net 27 times and delivered nine assists in the process, highlighting the clear attacking talent the £7.2m-rated 25-year-old has.

Labelled as a “versatile” player by ex-Sweden international Marcus Allback, the player would certainly be a useful addition to Postecoglou’s squad.

In fact, to further expand on the sort of player he is and what sort of figure he could become for the Hoops should he make a move to Parkhead this summer, the Swedish attacker has been compared to former Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery, who is included on a list of similar players to Larsson according to Football Transfers.

With 627 club appearances under his belt, the Frenchman, who is still playing at the age of 39, has scored 150 goals and provided 220 assists throughout his illustrious career.

Taking this into account, the prospect of having their own version of Ribery in the shape of Larsson would be a mouth-watering one for the Bhoys, especially if he can go on to have a similar sort of career that the former Bayern star has had.

In terms of a potential move to Celtic Park this summer that would see him follow in his father’s footsteps, it seems as though this move would go down rather well with a significant number of Hoops fans, as 74% of them voted in a recent poll ran by Football FanCast that they would like to see the former Spartak star in Postecoglou’s squad.

Moving forward, with the striker now a free agent, bringing him to Parkhead this summer is a move that could benefit all parties from a financial and a footballing point of view.

AND in other news: Imagine him & Gia: Ange can form “wonderful” Celtic duo by signing “massive” £2m gem

Everton journalist Chris Smith has revealed that Kevin Thelwell is now ‘in contact’ over the potential signing of Jesse Lingard this summer.

The Lowdown: Busy window?

After the capture of James Tarkowski and the sale of Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur, it seems as if the Goodison Park outfit are in for a busy July.

Thelwell was appointed as their Director of Football in February, and this is the first transfer window where he is taking the strategic lead for recruitment, so the 48 year-old will want to leave his mark and impress both Frank Lampard and the supporters.

The Latest: Lingard ‘contact’

Taking to Twitter, Smith, Blues correspondent for 90min, has revealed that Thelwell and the Merseyside club are now ‘in contact’ over Lingard, but he is one of ‘many’ targets:

“Everton are in contact with Jesse Lingard, but he’s one of many targets. The club would ideally like to have Richarlison replaced before they head to America.”

The Verdict: No-brainer

Given that Lingard is out of contract, and is currently rated at £16.2m on the market, signing him on a free is surely a no-brainer for the Toffees.

Hailed as a ‘special’ player by David de Gea before leaving Manchester United, Lingard accumulated over 200 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 35 goals and making a further 21 assists (Transfermarkt).

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-7/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

He caught the eye in his loan spell at West Ham United in the 2020/21 season, where he managed a total of nine goals and five assists in just 16 Premier League games (Transfermarkt).

If he can rekindle that kind of form for the Blues, then the Englishman would no doubt be a shrewd pickup on a Bosman deal, saving the Richarlison cash for other investments.

Everton have been linked with a move for Christian Eriksen in recent weeks, and now a new update has emerged on the club’s progress in their pursuit of the player this summer.

What’s the latest?

According to The Times, Everton have now submitted an official offer to sign the out-of-contract attacking midfielder.

As per the report, Eriksen has a whole host of offers from a number of Premier League clubs, with Newcastle United, Everton, Leicester City and current club Brentford all named.

Fabrizio Romano also tweeted on Sunday afternoon that the midfielder will make a decision on his future in the coming days and hours: “Christian Eriksen’s decision on future club now finally getting closer. He’s gonna communicate with his agent in the next hours/days to make a final decision.”

Lampard’s own De Bruyne

If the powers at Goodison Park could pull off the signing of Eriksen this summer, it would be a major coup for the Toffees as the Danish midfielder has proven several times that he is a top-quality player and demonstrated that yet again during his six-month contract at Brentford.

The Bees had just one win in eleven games before Eriksen was brought into the team, before the £24k-per-week maestro played his first full 90-minute Premier League game against Norwich City and Thomas Frank’s side then went on to win the next five games on the bounce when the midfielder played.

In fact, Brentford only lost twice in the 10 games in which the former Spurs star featured from the off, and lost once again when he wasn’t in the squad, proving that he really was the key difference in their team, scoring one goal and delivering four assists in total.

The 30-year-old has been the recipient of high praise, as Jamie Redknapp hailed the Denmark international “exceptional” whilst appearing as a pundit on Sky Sports during Brentford’s draw with Spurs:

“He was exceptional again. Since he came to Brentford, he’s been magnificent in that area. Spurs gave him so much space, there was almost too much respect for him. He was just picking passes out, he’s a magician.”

Everton are desperate to identify players that can make an instant impact to get off to a good start next season following a disastrous relegation scrap in their last Premier League campaign, and Lampard could have his very own Kevin De Bruyne on his hands if they can sign the £18m-rated Eriksen this summer.

According to FBref, the Man City star is the second most comparable player to the Brentford star and, despite Eriksen playing 19 fewer league games, there are some close comparisons to be drawn.

De Bruyne had a 75.5% pass completion rate, whilst Eriksen had 74.4%, although the latter had a better pass completion on both long (60.9%) and medium (81.8%) passes.

Again, the pair were close in their goal-creating actions last season too, with Eriksen just leading the Belgian midfielder’s 0.57 to 0.67 GCA per 90 minutes.

With that being said, Farhad Moshiri must do everything he can to tempt the midfielder with a move to Merseyside this summer, as he would be a major asset to the Toffees if he can emulate the impact he has had on Brentford.

AND in other news: Lampard must seal Everton swoop for “cold” £75k-p/w dynamo, won’t cost Moshiri a penny

Nottingham Forest are interested in Ajax full-back Nicolas Tagliafico, according to The Daily Mail. 

The lowdown: Career so far

Signed from Independiente in 2018, Tagliafico has been nothing short of sensational for the Dutch Eredivisie champions since making the switch from South America.

The marauding 29-year-old full-back has directly contributed to 36 goals in 167 outings, lifting five major honours during his time in Holland.

Having previously been unsettled amidst speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona, Forest could now be set to land the Argentina international…

The latest: On the radar

As per The Daily Mail, Forest have ‘registered an interest’ in signing Tagliafico this summer as they look for more deals after Taiwo Awoniyi.

It’s claimed that the 40-cap ace is ‘set to leave’ Ajax in the transfer window despite still having two years remaining on a deal with the Dutch giants (Transfermarkt).

The report states that Steve Cooper is looking for ‘other reinforcements’ in defence and views the man dubbed a ‘superb player’ by football talent scout Jakek Kulig as a potential candidate.

The verdict: Class act

Adding a player of Tagliafico’s calibre to the Forest ranks would be an exceptional capture for the Forest hierarchy, especially after turning their attentions elsewhere following the £5million price tag being placed on the head of Max Lowe by Sheffield United.

The refusal to push to bring Lowe back to the Midlands and the imminent release of Gaetan Bong leaves only Jack Colback as a senior candidate to operate at left wing-back, a position Cooper’s system relied heavily upon during promotion last term.

Last season, Tagliafico scored three times and provided a further three assists in 29 appearances across all competitions, and also boasts elite top-level experience having made 25 UEFA Champions League outings to date.

Valued at £9.9million and fast approaching the final year of a contract in Holland (Transfermarkt), signing Tagliafico would be an affordable venture in terms of asking price and could potentially come down to salary as the board decide whether to match or exceed the Argentine’s current £44,000-a-week deal – a sum considerably higher than Forest’s current top earner Lewis Grabban.

Manchester United have reportedly submitted a contract offer to Christian Eriksen and the Danish midfielder could potentially form a superb partnership with Frenkie de Jong in Erik ten Hag’s side next season.

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, United have made an offer to the 30-year-old, who is available on a free transfer as his contract with Brentford is set to expire at the end of this month.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man returned to action with the Bees last season after signing a six-month contract in January and helped Thomas Frank’s side to a 13th-placed finish with one goal and four assists in 11 appearances, but it appears as if he is targeting a side playing European football next season.

Eriksen said: “I have different offers and options, which we are considering, and then we make a decision.

“I would love to play Champions League football again. I know how much fun it is, but it isn’t essential for me.”

Imagine him and De Jong

Although United can’t offer Champions League football after finishing sixth last season, they still have impressive pulling power and new boss Ten Hag would surely appreciate a player of Eriksen’s obvious quality in midfield.

The Athletic suggest that De Jong is still the Old Trafford outfit’s top midfield priority this summer, with the Red Devils hoping to take advantage of Barcelona’s dire financial straits in order to bring him to England.

If they were to convince De Jong and the “world-class” Eriksen to join ahead of next season, then Ten Hag would have two of the best passers in world football at his disposal.

Last season saw the Dutch midfielder average a 91.3% pass accuracy in La Liga, which was the seventh-best of any player in Spain’s top flight, while Eriksen’s 2.7 key passes per game average in the Premier League was only bettered by Kevin De Bruyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Goalscoring was a real issue at times for United last season, as they managed just 57 in the Premier League, and if Ten Hag could add Eriksen and De Jong’s creativity alongside Bruno Fernandes’ obvious qualities in attack, they would surely be much more potent going forward.

Therefore, United fans will be hoping that Eriksen accepts the club’s offer and forms a superb partnership alongside fellow former Ajax man De Jong in Ten Hag’s midfield next season.

And, in other news… Ronaldo 2.0: MUFC eyeing deal for “extraordinary” £68m predator, he’d be “world-class” 

Leeds United could be set to see Kalvin Phillips wave goodbye to his boyhood club during the current summer transfer window.

What’s the news?

A recent report from The Athletic by Phil Hay, alongside Manchester City journalist Sam Lee, had this to say about the current situation regarding Phillips’ immediate future amid links to Pep Guardiola’s side.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more” title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The report says: “Sources on both sides of the Pennines believe an offer for Phillips from City is coming.

“City visualise a closing agreement of between £45 million and £50 million and there is confidence in Manchester that Phillips would push to take up the opportunity to join them if it’s presented.”

“City would tick the right boxes. It’s a move Phillips would be open to, and a move Leeds would struggle to resist.”

Leeds fans will be gutted

Having only ever played for the Yorkshire club throughout his career, the 26-year-old has made 234 appearances for the Whites across all competitions.

In those appearances, the Englishman has scored 14 goals and delivered 13 assists along the way.

Taking into account just how much Phillips has done for the club and how he’s helped them get into the Premier League after a 16-year absence and helped them stay there over the past two seasons, it’ll surely be gutting for the Leeds fans to see him leave.

To highlight his importance to the team, particularly from a defensive point of view, in the 49 Premier League games he’s played, the 26-year-old has won 87 tackles, made 342 successful pressures, made 103 blocks, 83 interceptions and 89 clearances.

With that in mind, it’s safe to say that without Phillips in their ranks, Leeds could well have been back in the Championship by now.

If the England international were to make a move to the Etihad Stadium this summer, earning the chance to play alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, Leeds may have to then rely on reported incoming signing Marc Roca to step into Phillips’s shoes.

While some Leeds fans may be accepting of the prospect that their youth graduate will leave the club to potentially be successful at one of Europe’s top sides, there will undeniably be others that would be heartbroken to not see him donning a Leeds shirt.

In other news: Orta now eyeing Leeds move for “electrifying” £11m starlet, he’s their next Dan James

Crystal Palace are interested in Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien, according to the print edition of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner (via Football League World).

The lowdown

Palace and manager Patrick Vieira appear to be in the market for a new midfield player during the summer transfer window.

Conor Gallagher is returning to Chelsea after starting 33 of the Eagles’ 38 Premier League matches last season, and the future of out-of-contract option Cheikhou Kouyate has yet to be resolved.

Palace are reportedly working on a deal for Lens midfielder Cheick Doucoure, while they’re also said to be seriously considering a swoop for Rangers’ Joe Aribo.

O’Brien, 23, is predominantly a central midfielder but he can also play in a more withdrawn role.

Last season, he started 46 out of 49 Championship matches for the Terriers, playing the full 90 minutes as they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the play-off final.

The latest

Palace are one of three Premier League sides keen on O’Brien, along with West Ham United and Southampton, says the report.

All suitors have the option to trigger the £12million release clause in the player’s contract, at which point it would be down to him to pick his preferred move.

The verdict

O’Brien would be a solid, reasonably-priced addition for Palace.

He has a well-rounded skill-set, directly contributing to six goals (three goals, three assists), and averaging one key pass, 2.1 dribbles and 2.1 tackles per game (via WhoScored).

These numbers stack up well against Gallagher (1.1 key passes, 1.3 dribbles, two tackles), though he would perhaps have to score more goals if he was to adequately fill the void, with the Chelsea man bagging eight over the course of the season.

O’Brien was, of course, playing in a lower division, but he showed top-flight class in the second tier. Indeed, journalist Mark Douglas believes the ‘terrific’ midfielder is ‘destined’ to play at the highest level.

And manager Carlos Corberan has heaped praise on one of his star players, dubbing him ‘special’ and ‘exceptional’.

In other news, read the latest update on a key Palace target.

Manchester City are keen on signing Rafael Leao from AC Milan amid uncertainty over his future, according to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna. 

The lowdown

The Premier League champions have already kicked off their summer business with the £51.2m addition of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund, but it seems that Pep Guardiola might want to bolster his attacking options even further.

Leao operated as a left winger for Milan last season but has actually played most of his games up to this point as a striker.

The 22-year-old is a key player for the Rossoneri, with Stefano Pioli selecting him for 34 out of 38 Serie A matches and four of their six Champions League games in the recently-concluded campaign.

Valued at £45m by Transfermarkt, Leao has just over two years to run on his contract at San Siro.

The latest

Aouna tweeted on Monday evening that Leao had ‘an extension offer on the table’ from the newly-crowned Serie A champions but wasn’t guaranteed to stay put at the San Siro.

‘Several clubs are interested’ in the Portuguese attacker, ‘including Man City’, who apparently ‘started talks a few weeks ago’ with Leao’s representative Jorge Mendes.

Mendes’ other clients include Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo and Ederson, so the Etihad Stadium club have experience of working with him previously.

The verdict

Leao won Serie A’s MVP award and it’s no surprise in light of his excellent headline numbers.

The five-cap Portugal international was directly involved in 26 goals across all competitions in 2021/22, scoring 14 goals and registering 12 assists.

Beyond those eye-catching figures, he’s also highly adept at running with the ball, ranking in the 90th percentile among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries and the 96th percentile for dribbles completed (via FBRef). Furthermore, his presence in the 81st percentile for aerial duels won suggests that he can more than hold his own physically.

In terms of profile according to FBRef, he is similar to Riyad Mahrez, who found the net 24 times for Guardiola’s side this season.

Journalists have been raving about Leao, with Mina Rzouki describing him as ‘ridiculously brilliant’ and Maxi Angelo dubbing him ‘completely unstoppable’ and ‘truly magical’.

On that evidence, he could be a brilliant long-term investment for City if they bring him in.

In other news, read this big Aurelien Tchouameni claim involving City.

Aston Villa have reportedly exited the race to sign Rangers defender Calvin Bassey following the signing of Sevilla centre-back Diego Carlos.

That’s according to TEAMtalk, who claim that Villa are likely to be out of the race for the Nigerian, who can play at both left-back and centre-back, having signed the Brazilian for £26m.

It is believed that Rangers value the 22-year-old at a figure in excess of £25m, having been a vital cog in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side this term with the Glasgow outfit winning the Scottish Cup and reaching the final of the Europa League.

Even though the West Midlands outfit have already made an exciting signing at the back in Carlos, that shouldn’t halt their pursuit of Bassey.

Villa must stay in the race for Bassey

It’s no secret that Villa boss Steven Gerrard is planning an overhaul of his squad this summer with the upcoming transfer window the 41-year-old’s first summer window in charge at Villa Park.

Having managed Bassey at Rangers, the Englishman is reportedly keen on a reunion with the former Leicester City youth product, who BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves claimed to be “astonishing.”

The Villans proved inconsistent throughout the campaign, with the 3-2 defeat to Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League season a good example of how the entire campaign has gone for Aston Villa.

Having been 2-0 up with 15 minutes to go after an excellent display, a capitulation saw Gerrard’s men concede three goals in five minutes to lose the match.

Finishing 14th, NSWE will be planning for their side to enjoy a more successful campaign next term with the Villans finishing 17th, 11th and now 14th since returning to the Premier League.

It’s been 11 years since Villa last secured finished a top-half finish in the top flight and that will undoubtedly be the minimum requirement next season.

However, in order to achieve that feat, Gerrard must improve his defence with both Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa proving unreliable at times.

Bassey could provide a further solution to those problems, on top of bringing in the Sevilla colossus. He averaged 1.6 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and an 85.2% passing accuracy across the SPFL and the Europa League, as per WhoScored.

None of Villa’s current first-choice central defensive options registered more than 0.9 tackles per game, whilst only Mings bettered his interception rate and Konsa his accuracy rate.

The West Midlands club have done excellently to recruit Carlos, but their efforts to improve the defence mustn’t stop there, with Bassey an exciting prospect and one that would undoubtedly improve a Villa side that conceded 54 goals in the league.

AND in other news: Fabrizio Romano reveals “official talks” have started, Villa supporters will be gutted 

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou ended his debut season in charge of the Parkhead club by taking the Hoops to the Premiership title.

The Bhoys did it in style, too, ending the campaign with more goals scored and fewer conceded than any other team in the league.

However, one man who didn’t play a huge part in Celtic’s title-winning season is Ismaila Soro.

Soro an outcast at Celtic

With 19 appearances to his name across all competitions this term, the midfielder only played in eight league games, starting just one of them. That came right at the outset of the campaign, when he played the full 90 minutes in their 2-1 defeat against Hearts.

Since October, the 24-year-old was included in just six league matchday squads and only played three minutes of Premiership action. This makes it quite clear that the £10.5k-per-week outcast is not that high up in the pecking order under Postecoglou.

Now that the season has ended and the summer transfer window is set to open soon, this could give the Hoops the opportunity to get rid of the Ivorian.

Should they end up parting ways with Soro, one player with whom the club have been linked recently and could be an ideal replacement for him is Christopher Scott.

Axe Soro, sign Scott

After working his way through Bayer Leverkusen’s youth ranks, the midfielder joined Bayern Munich’s under-19 side in January 2020.

With 115 appearances to his name at senior and youth levels, the 19-year-old has scored 44 goals and provided 17 assists in the process, showing that he has a knack for scoring and setting up goals.

Described as a “very aggressive accurate passer” according to Bhoys Analytics on Twitter, Scott could be a very exciting prospect for Postecoglou to unearth and to offer a platform to play regular senior football.

Taking into account how Soro only managed a pass success rate of 86.9% in the league this season, having a sharp passer such as Scott in the team could make him the ideal upgrade.

As he is out of contract at the end of June, securing a deal for the German teenager could end up being a great bit of business from Celtic, especially if they’re able to cash in on Soro at the same time.

In other news – Terms agreed: Celtic close to signing “outstanding” ace permanently, Ange will love it