All posts by z3u9t.icu

Liverpool had a rather busy season that ended with the Reds winning the FA Cup and Carabao Cup as well as making it to the Champions League final and running close to securing the Premier League title.

One figure who wasn’t really a key part in Jurgen Klopp’s squad this term was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Despite making 29 appearances across all competitions, the midfielder only started 17 of them, with just nine of those starts coming in the Premier League.

In fact, his final league appearance of the season came all the way back in February during the Reds’ 3-1 win over Norwich City at Anfield.

This suggests that the 28-year-old, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £125k-per-week at the club, is not particularly high up the pecking order.

Combine that with the fact that he will be entering the final year of his contract at the end of the month, this could now be an ideal time to move him on.

One player Liverpool have been linked with recently that could replace Oxlade-Chamberlain is Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

Having played in 49 Premier League games throughout his two seasons in the top-flight with the Whites, the 26-year-old certainly has enough experience in him to be a ready-made first-team option for Klopp.

Labelled by Barry Douglas as a player that has “unbelievable attributes,” Phillips could offer Liverpool a lot on the pitch in terms of his work without the ball.

For example, according to FB Ref, Phillips ranks in the elite 98th percentile for his pressures, which would make him a good fit for the Reds and Klopp’s high-tempo style of play.

He also has a rating in the high 90s for his tackles and blocks, making him a very useful defensive option in midfield.

In comparison to Oxlade-Chamberlain, his ratings for defensive attributes aren’t close to the Leeds star.

Even Fabinho’s ratings don’t match up to the England international when it comes to his defensive output.

Moving forward, while it may need Liverpool to stump up a whopping £60m to sign him, adding a very capable player like Phillips to their squad would be a smart move for the Reds, especially if they’re able to get Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the club.

In other news: Imagine him & Nunez: Liverpool can form a scary duo by signing “exceptional” £50m gem

Leeds United could move for Sporting Lisbon’s Gonzalo Plata, according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo. 

The lowdown

Plata spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Real Valladolid in Spain’s second tier, helping them to finish second and win promotion back to La Liga.

The 21-year-old is predominantly a right winger, although he is also capable of playing on the left.

It may be significant that his agency Wasserman also represents Leeds players Crysencio Summerville and Adam Forshaw.

The Whites are seemingly set to finalise their second signing of the summer in Rasmus Kristensen, and Plata may be their next target.

The latest

Real Valladolid, whose club president is Brazil legend and Ballon D’Or winner Ronaldo, would like to sign Plata permanently.

They have the option to do so for €10m (£8.5m) but are hoping they can snap up him for a reduced fee. Sporting have thus far held firm and refused to entertain a cut-price sale.

Leeds are said to be ‘attentive’ to the situation and could see the stand-off as an opportunity to step up their interest in the 21-year-old.

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The verdict

Plata started 23 La Liga 2 games last season, scoring six goals and providing five assists. He found the net or set up a team-mate more than once every two matches (171 minutes, to be precise), a very respectable record.

Even though he is still quite young, he has amassed 27 senior caps for Ecuador and notched nine goal contributions for his nation.

After helping his country reach the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup in 2019, he was awarded the tournament’s Bronze Ball.

However, given that he was playing his football in the Spanish second tier in recent months, you’d imagine that he would initially be a rotational option at Leeds rather than a consistent starter.

In other news, read this big Lewis O’Brien transfer claim

Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update on reported Leeds United transfer target Rasmus Kristensen.

What’s the talk?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Italian journalist revealed that, following reports of Jesse Marsch’s interest in a move for the Red Bull Salzburg right-back this summer, Victor Orta has now prepared an opening offer for the 24-year-old.

The transfer insider goes on to state that negotiations between the Premier League side and Austrian champions are currently ongoing concerning a fee for the defender, while personal terms with the Denmark international are not thought to be an issue.

In his tweet, Romano said: “Leeds have an opening bid ready for Rasmus Kristensen. Talks ongoing with RB Salzburg, negotiations are concrete. Personal terms not an issue – Leeds want Kristensen after Aaronson deal completed with RB Salzburg.”

Supporters will love Romano’s claim

Considering how exciting a talent Kristensen evidently is, in addition to the fact that both Luke Ayling and Stuart Dallas are both facing lengthy spells on the sidelines due to injury, Romano’s suggestion that Leeds have already made a move to sign the Salzburg right-back is sure to be an update the Elland Road faithful will love.

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Indeed, over his 29 Austrian Bundesliga fixtures this season, the £13.5m-rated Dane proved just how much of an attacking threat he can be on the right of a backline, bagging seven goals, providing four assists and creating seven big chances, in addition to taking an average of 1.4 shots, making 1.2 key passes and completing 1.3 dribbles per game.

The £14k-per-week full-back also returned impressive defensive metrics, helping Matthias Jaissle’s side keep 13 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.3 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 1.4 clearances and winning 5.7 duels – at a success rate of 60% – per appearance.

These returns saw the 24-year-old average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.31, not only ranking him as his club’s second-best player in the division but also as the fourth-best in the Bundesliga as a whole.

As such, should Orta manage to get a deal over the line for Kristensen in the coming weeks, it would very much appear as if the sporting director will have secured a considerable upgrade on Ayling – who scored two goals, registered two assists and averaged a SofaScore match rating of just 6.61 over 26 Premier League appearances this season – ahead of the Whites’ 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news: Leeds now plotting bid for “unbelievable” £15m target, he “could be the real deal”…

Manchester United had their fans jumping for joy last summer when they announced that Cristiano Ronaldo would be making a return to Old Trafford.

Despite the 37-year-old finding the net 18 times in 30 Premier League appearances this season, he couldn’t carry his side to a top-four finish.

With 58 points on the board, the Red Devils finished sixth, having scored (and conceded) just 57 goals in 38 league games, a lower return than the likes of Leicester City and West Ham United.

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One other Portuguese figure who could be seen as a bright light in a dark season for the Manchester club is Bruno Fernandes.

No other outfield player at United ended up playing more minutes than the midfielder, who scored 10 goals and delivered six assists in 36 appearances.

To further highlight his importance to the team, none of his team-mates came close to equalling the number of shot-creating actions (145) that Fernandes made throughout the campaign.

Now that the season has mercifully drawn to a close, the focus for the club and their new manager Erik Ten Hag can move on to the summer transfer window.

To make the Red Devils a deadlier team in an attacking sense, one player with whom they have been linked and who could do just that, potentially forming a scary duo with Fernandes, is Jonathan David.

Imagine him and Bruno

In 179 appearances between his previous club Gent and his current side Lille, the £45m-rated striker has scored 69 goals and supplied 20 assists across all competitions.

With 38 league outings to his name in Ligue 1 this season, the 22-year-old has racked up the highest number of shots on target (30) and the joint-highest number of successful dribbles (34) at his club.

This shows just how dangerous he can be in an attacking sense and illustrates why he could be a deadly figure for United if he has Fernandes feeding him with plenty of chances to score.

Labelled a “ruthless” player by Mark-Anthony Kaye, David is exactly the sort of player that the Red Devils need in their team to make them a scary attacking force again.

With all that in mind, the prospect of having an attacking duo of Fernandes and David should be enough for Ten Hag to launch a move for the striker in the coming weeks and months.

In other news – Bid incoming: Sky Sports journalist drops MUFC transfer update, Ten Hag will be thrilled

West Ham United manager David Moyes is now ‘ready’ to offload another member of his Premier League squad this summer, according to reports.

The Lowdown: West Ham exodus begins?

As per the Evening Standard, the 59-year-old seems to be orchestrating a significant summer overhaul as he steps up transfer talks, with the club already confirming four departures.

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Ryan Fredericks, Andriy Yarmolenko, David Martin and the retiring Mark Noble will all leave the London Stadium upon the expiry of their contracts, with speculation also continuing to surround Tomas Soucek’s future.

According to recent claims, West Ham could listen to offers for the Czech Republic midfielder, with club insider Claret & Hugh now claiming that Moyes is ‘ready’ to offload another player.

The Latest: Moyes ready to axe Vlasic…

According to their information, the Scotsman ‘appears to be ready to cut his losses’ on 2021 summer signing Nikola Vlasic and will ‘try to recover whatever he can’ from selling the Croatian.

The club, and by extension GSB, have allegedly ‘sanctioned his potential sale’ as they give the green-light for the 24-year-old to leave.

The Verdict: Right call?

Despite a phenomenal season with former club CSKA Moscow before joining the east Londoners, Vlasic’s lack of opportunities under Moyes during his debut campaign with West Ham is perhaps an indicator that he just doesn’t quite cut it at Rush Green.

Over the 2020/21 season, he averaged a brilliant rate of four shots at goal per 90 in the Russian Premier League whilst racking up 11 goals and five assists (WhoScored), standing out as a consistent threat.

However, starting just six top-flight matches for West Ham over 2021/22, he hasn’t been given much of a chance to replicate his CSKA form for the Irons, and it may be best for both player and club to agree an amicable departure.

In other news: Offer ready: West Ham leap ahead of European giants in race for £21m forward! Find out more here.

Aston Villa will be looking to spoil Manchester City’s party this afternoon with the Premier League title still to be won on the final day of the season.

Either City or Liverpool will be crowned champions of England today, with former Reds captain Steven Gerrard undoubtedly keen to give his boyhood club a helping hand as he takes his Villa team to the Etihad.

But how will Gerrard opt to set up his team this afternoon, having played as recently as Thursday when the Villans drew 1-1 with Burnley? Here is how Football FanCast expect the West Midlands outfit to start at the Etihad:

Aston Villa XI vs Man. City: Martinez, Digne, Mings, Chambers, Cash, Ramsey, Luiz, McGinn, Buendia, Ings, Watkins

There are no changes in goal or in defence with Calum Chambers once again filling in for Ezri Konsa who has been ruled out for up to 16 weeks with a knee injury.

Moreover, there had been concerns regarding Martinez’s fitness prior to the clash with the Clarets, however, the Argentine recovered in time and appears set to make his 37th league appearance of the season, missing just one league game this term.

The same applies in midfield with the regular trio of Jacob Ramsey, Douglas Luiz and John McGinn all linking up.

However, could this be the last time the three all start together in the Premier League with plenty of talk regarding new midfielders coming in at Villa Park this summer?

The only change comes in attack with Carney Chukwuemeka dropping out for Danny Ings.

Labelled as “elegant” by former Villa player and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson, the £2.2m-rated 18-year-old undoubtedly has an exciting future ahead of him.

However, having been given the opportunity to impress from the start against Burnley, it seems incredibly likely that Gerrard will send him back to the bench against such a quality-ridden side like Manchester City. After all, his performance in midweek was hardly convincing.

On the other hand, Chukwuemeka’s teammate Ings has plenty of experience playing against quality sides like City with the 29-year-old in decent form for Villa.

It’s been an uneventful first season in claret and blue for the £100k-per-week Englishman claimed to be “outstanding” by former manager Jurgen Klopp, but he will certainly be looking to end on a high having scored twice in his last four starts.

Taking points off City will certainly be a monstrous task for Gerrard’s side, however, it would be the ultimate gesture to his former club if the West Midlands outfit can end the season with a result.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Villa dealt double injury setback ahead of MCFC, Gerrard will be worried…

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is ‘hard at work’ eyeing up new signings for the Hoops in the summer transfer window, according to Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: Memorable season for Celtic

It has been a memorable season for Celtic, with Postecoglou’s men sealing Scottish Premiership title glory in midweek after an initially stuttering campaign turned into a dominant one.

The Hoops have wrestled back their crown from Rangers and been deserving champions, also winning the Scottish League Cup for good measure.

With Champions League football sealed next season, the money will be available for Postecoglou to add to his squad in the summer.

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The Latest: Ange not waiting around

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie claimed Ange will already be working hard to bring in reinforcements, believing a deal for Mohanad Jeahze is all but done:

“Ange is already hard at work on getting new players in. It looks like this defender (Jeahze) is going to come in, from reading around it looks like that is almost done.

“Let’s get some of these deals done as soon as possible. There is no point in waiting around. We are back in the Champions League and that is just a magnificent achievement, we need more bodies.

“If we get this guy in then we have Ralston, Taylor, Juranovic and Jeazhe who can play left-back. That’s the kind of depth we need if we are to be a bit better in Europe next season.

“Hopefully we can get this one over the line and a few more after that.”

The Verdict: Big summer ahead

This feels like a particularly pivotal summer for Celtic, in terms of Postecoglou building a truly formidable squad that can battle on all fronts.

The manager already has a strong group of players at his disposal, as proven by their title triumph, but a sprinkling of magic is still required in certain areas to battle against Europe’s elite next term while maintaining domestic dominance.

Tying down Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota to permanent moves would be an ideal place to start, while even more firepower in attack may be required, with no one player scoring more than ten league goals this season.

In other news, a pundit has predicted an imminent Celtic signing. Read more here.

Manchester United failed to make any new signings in the January transfer window, and it could be something the board live to regret after it was revealed that a fierce rival signed one of Ralf Rangnick’s targets, who has been flourishing since he arrived in the Premier League.

Liverpool signed Luis Diaz from Porto for an initial fee of £37m on a five-and-a-half year deal on Deadline Day, and Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that the German interim coach was refused the opportunity to sign the winger.

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Romano tweeted: “Ralf Rangnick reveals he wanted a new striker at Man Utd in January: “But the answer from the board was: ‘No’. There were Luís Díaz, who is now at Liverpool; Julián Álvarez, who will be at Man City in the summer; and Vlahovic, who at the time was still with Fiorentina.”

Following the dismissal of Rangnick’s player wish-list back in January, the Man United board are surely rueing their decision not to sign the Columbian forward who has made a huge instant impact just a few miles down the road.

In the short time since joining Liverpool less than five months ago, the 21-goal star who is now believed to be worth £60m has established himself as a starter pushing Diogo Jota out of the starting line-up, tallying up five goals and three assists which is a better goal contribution than Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga in less than half a season.

Diaz has also created two big chances, making 1.5 key passes on average per game, as well as being successful in the majority of his dribbles (66%) and completing an average pass accuracy of 88%, proving that he is not afraid to impose himself on his opponents, links up play well and has become an absolute nightmare for anyone he comes up against in the Premier League.

A player just like the left winger is exactly what Manchester United have been crying out for all season, with Rashford failing to hit the ground running throughout the season, and with speculation mounting about the winger’s future, Diaz would have been the ideal replacement should the Mancunian forward leave this summer.

The United board and Erik ten Hag cannot afford to miss the chance to snap up a player of this calibre again and must identify players this summer that can make a similar level of impact that Diaz has made at Liverpool this season if they stand any chance of competing for trophies next season.

AND in other news: Forget McTominay: MUFC must brutally axe “pathetic” dud who won 0 duels v Brighton

Former Premier League striker Kevin Campbell has lauded the team spirit that Ange Postecoglou has created at Celtic this season.

The Lowdown: Ange’s superb first season at Celtic

The 56-year-old took charge at Parkhead last summer and has been an immediate hit for the Hoops, impressing with his all-round management at the club.

Celtic already have a Scottish League Cup to their name and the Premiership title is now within touching distance with three matches remaining.

It has been a wonderful season after the disappointment of last term, and it is now a case of getting the job done to round off a tremendous campaign for the manager and the club.

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The Latest: Campbell praises Celtic’s team spirit

Celtic’s team spirit has shone through since August, with Kyogo Furuhashi speaking out about the support that he received while he was injured.

Campbell waxed lyrical over that intangible quality to Football Insider as he gushed:

“They clearly have a great dressing room mentality. The team spirit is there. When a player is injured he often feels left out.

“It sounds like the players at Celtic have the right attitude under Postecoglou. The manager has done an excellent job there. Kyogo embodies that. He is a brilliant player and character by the sounds of it.

“The dressing room culture is right at Celtic and that is so important if you want to achieve success.”

The Verdict: Good times for Celtic

It certainly feels as though something potentially special is building at Parkhead, with Postecoglou transforming matters after Neil Lennon’s ill-fated second reign as manager.

The hope is that this is only the beginning, with a likely return to the Champions League next season hugely exciting, not to mention the possibility of new signings that it could attract.

Celtic’s team spirit has increasingly stood out as the season has gone on, as illustrated by the Furuhashi example above, and it is clear that this is a group of players all pulling the same direction. As Campbell has hinted, success can only be achieved if you have that harmony within your group.

In other news, one pundit has dropped a worrying Celtic transfer claim. Read more here.

Journalist Matt Law of The Telegraph has now shared a big Tottenham Hotspur managerial update in the last 48 hours, and it involves Brighton boss Graham Potter.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye Pochettino reunion?

Since rumours started to emerge of Paris-Saint Germain’s interest in bringing Spurs head coach Antonio Conte to the French capital, a potential return to N17 for Mauricio Pochettino has been touted by the press.

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A sort-of managerial swap deal between Conte and the Argentine is allegedly on the cards despite club hierarchy having reservations over bringing Pochettino back to Hotspur Way.

However, the 50-year-old isn’t the only coach on Spurs’ mind if they do in fact their current boss, with Law now sharing an interesting update.

The Latest: Law makes big Potter claim…

According to The Telegraph’s reliable source, Seagulls boss Potter is now emerging as a favourite to replace Conte if the latter man were to leave.

Lilywhites chiefs view Potter as an alternative to Pochettino and it is believed that the Premier League manager could be prompted to ‘consider an approach’ from Tottenham.

This is due to the potential exits of star Brighton duo Marc Cucurella and Yves Bissouma with sporting director Dan Ashworth also already gone.

The Verdict: Standout?

While Pochettino is arguably the most obvious target given his proven top level experience, knowledge of Spurs and affection for the club – we believe Potter stands out as the best alternative if Conte does leave.

Lauded as a ‘world class’ manager by former Liverpool star Adam Lallana, the 46-year-old has worked wonders yet again this season at the Amex with Brighton comfortably safe from relegation yet again.

He’s also received lofty praise for his open, exciting brand of attacking football down south with Man City boss Pep Guardiola having waxed lyrical over the ‘gentleman’ Potter and his brilliant tactical set up (The Argus).

Alasdair Gold, commenting on Spurs’ links to the Englishman after Jose Mourinho’s dismissal, revealed that members of the Lilywhites squad actually hold Potter in high esteem – with Brighton’s style of play leaving a ‘lasting impression’ (Twitter).

We believe supporters certainly shouldn’t discount him as an option.

In other news: ‘Expected to leave’ – Fabrizio Romano says Conte could lose ‘monster’ Spurs player, find out more here.