All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Newcastle United target Nicolas Pepe would be interested in a move to St James’ Park, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Pepe’s Arsenal career

Having failed to live up to expectations following his club-record £72m move from French side Lille to Arsenal in 2019, the £140,000-per-week forward has fallen out of favour at the Emirates Stadium under Mikel Arteta.

According to a report by 90min, Newcastle have been offered the opportunity to sign the Ivory Coast international, whose meagre tally of 681 top-flight minutes last season has led to speculation surrounding his future with the Gunners.

The Latest: Jones’ claim

With the 27-year-old likely to seek a move away from Arsenal given his lack of minutes on the pitch, Jones believes that an ambitious club like Newcastle could meet the player’s criteria.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the transfer insider claimed: “I think that midtable clubs are interested in him, but I don’t think he’s interested in playing at that level of the Premier League, although Newcastle would interest him because they’re going to challenge for the top six.”

The Verdict: Could reprise his career

When looking at Pepe’s underlying statistics, it is easy to see why Eddie Howe’s side could be excited about the prospect of reigniting the winger’s Premier League career.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe over the past year, the attacker ranks in the 98th percentile for touches in the attacking penalty area, the 96th percentile for aerial duels won and the 91st percentile for non-penalty expected goals.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig previously claimed that Pepe “destroyed Ligue 1”, and his statistics from his final season with Lille back up that statement. During the 2018/19 campaign, the Ivorian racked up 22 goals and 11 assists in 37 starts for Les Dogues.

Therefore, if Howe is able to reinvigorate Pepe to reprise that kind of form for the Magpies, the 27-year-old could end up being a great prospective signing for Newcastle.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele is attracting interest from France…

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Athletic journalist Charlie Eccleshare, who delivered a fresh update on the 25-year-old’s situation at Hotspur Way as Spurs plot a fifth exit of the summer.

He told GIVEMESPORT:

“Obviously he went to Lyon in the second half of last season, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen again, that’s my understanding. There are other clubs in France who are interested, Marseille for instance, but that’s one again where the buying or loaning club can wait.”

Bye-bye Ndombele

It is certainly encouraging news to see that clubs are indeed keen on the £55m club-record flop as he could prove to be a difficult player to shift on, not only due to his excessive price tag back in the summer of 2019 but also because of his extortionate £200k-per-week wages.

That’s the same money that Harry Kane is on at Tottenham, though Ndombele has been nowhere near the same level as the England striker, in terms of importance, consistency and overall quality.

Across three years and 91 appearances, the Frenchman has only been able to provide ten goals and nine assists, as per Transfermarkt. His attitude has often been questioned, if not lambasted by those in the press, too.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-transfer-news-gossip-rumours-conte-paratici-premier-league” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!”]

One of Ndombele’s last efforts in a Spurs shirt saw him booed off the pitch by the fanbase and with the team losing to lower league Morecambe at the time, former pro Alan Hutton slammed him to Football Insider.

“It’s attitude. He was very lazy, he wasn’t doing much at all,” he said. “For the fans to boo, then he slows down, takes his time and runs straight down the tunnel. It’s not good enough. It shows you it’s petulant, it’s a bad attitude, it’s not what you want moving forward. Conte won’t stand for that.”

Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher once dubbed him a “disgrace.”

“His performance was nothing short of a disgrace in terms of his effort off the ball. On the ball, he was very good, but off the ball, you can’t believe what you’re seeing,” he claimed (via talkSPORT).

It’s clear that Ndombele has no future at Tottenham under Conte, so it would make sense for sporting director Fabio Paratici to push ahead with plans to offload him, even if it’s on an initial loan.

His time is up at Hotspur Way, so Spurs must seal his exit with interest now emerging for his signature.

AND in other news, Spurs struck gold with £110k-p/w “absolute monster”, he’s been “better than” Luis Diaz…

Transfer insider Dean Jones has now dropped some new details on Everton and Frank Lampard’s search for a new striker.

The Lowdown: Striker needed

Following Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s injury, the Goodison Park outfit are in desperate need of a new striker up top.

They have sold Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur, and have let both Ellis Simms and Nathan Broadhead go out on loan to Sunderland and Wigan Athletic respectively, so they are extremely short in that area of the pitch at the moment.

The Latest: Premier League striker wanted

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones has shared that Lampard ‘wants’ the striker that the Merseyside club choose to bring in to be from the Premier League, so that he is familiar with them and can work with them straight away:

“I was told Lampard specifically wants to know a fair bit about whichever striker he ends up signing because he wants to have somebody that he knows he can get the best out of pretty early on.

“So, on the back of that, he pretty much wants a Premier League striker. He wants someone that’s been around the league.

“Even if they haven’t been a regular, he wants to have seen them and understand what they’re about. So I think he’ll probably look for someone that’s on the fringes already at a Premier League club.”

The Verdict: Understandable

The Toffees need to bring in a centre-forward that can hit the ground running quickly, and so it is understandable that Lampard wants them to be from the top flight.

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

This perhaps narrows their search for a new number nine, with Chelsea’s Armando Broja and Southampton’s Che Adams two of the names who have been linked with a move to the Blues.

Nonetheless, the foreign market could also prove fruitful, and may be cheaper then buying directly from a rival, but Lampard seems to know exactly what he wants.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their pursuit of a new midfielder in the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

According to TuttoJuve, the Magpies are one of the clubs eyeing up a potential swoop to sign Arthur Melo from Juventus. 

The report claims that the Toon and West Ham are both interested in a deal to sign the Brazil international after Valencia confirmed that they do not have the money available to afford him.

It has been previously reported that he has a price tag in the region of €40m (£34m), although it remains to be seen how much Newcastle are willing to pay for him.

Jonjo Shelvey replacement

The club could find the dream replacement for their English metronome by snapping up a deal to sign Arthur in the coming weeks.

Shelvey has been ruled out for around 12 weeks with a hamstring injury and this has the potential to be a big blow to the side in the first half of the campaign. 

In the Premier League last season, Allan Saint-Maximin was the only non-January signing with a higher average SofaScore rating than the central midfielder. Including the winter recruits, the ex-Liverpool man ranked fifth in the squad for ratings out of all players with 10+ appearances.

His passing ability was key to that as he completed 9.35 long passes per 90 – placing him in the 90th percentile in Europe’s top five leagues. He completed 80.2% of his passes in total as he dictated play for Howe from the middle of the park.

Arthur, meanwhile, completed 11.05 long passes per 90 for Juventus in the Serie A – placing him in the 97th percentile. He also had a pass completion success rate of 91.6% whilst also playing 7.39 passes into the final third – placing him in the top two percent of players in his position – compared to Shelvey’s 4.31 per 90.

The 26-year-old’s ability in possession has earned him high praise in the past, with former teammate Lionel Messi once stating:

“Those who came are very good. Arthur, I didn’t know that much about but he seems similar to Xavi. He’s very safe and trustworthy. He has the La Masia style. Playing short passes, without losing the ball, and he grasped it quickly, the dynamic of the team.”

This suggests that the Brazilian could be an upgrade on Shelvey because of his superior ability on the ball, with the midfielder proving in Italy that he is highly reliable on the ball whilst being able to progress it into dangerous areas and spread the play with longer passes.

Therefore, he could be the dream replacement for the Englishman whilst he misses the next few months due to his hamstring injury.

West Ham United remain interested in signing Chelsea duo Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Hammers interest

As widely reported earlier in the window, the Hammers were close to securing the services of the 20-year-old Albania international after submitting a £30m bid for the player, with an agreement over personal terms not proving to be an issue in negotiations.

However, after a series of complications, the Irons pulled out of the deal, instead opting to sign Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo for £35.5m.

Earlier this month, West Ham were also reported to have made a loan enquiry for England international Gallagher, but Chelsea responded claiming the 22-year-old does not want to leave Stamford Bridge this summer.

The Latest: Jones’ news

Jones believes Gallagher and Broja still remain on West Ham’s transfer wish-list, with GSB hoping to make further additions before next Thursday’s deadline.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the journalist even said that Gallagher is being looked at as their new Jesse Lingard:

“They are still waiting in the background to hear on various situations ongoing at Chelsea – Broja is one of them but also Conor Gallagher really interests them. They feel his energy and ability would bring a similar lift to when Jesse Lingard came in.”

Indeed, Gallagher has been constantly praised for his energy and even dubbed a player who’s ‘got a bit of Poch-era Dele Alli’, so could be an exciting capture.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates-2/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Fantastic signings but unlikely

The arrivals of the two Chelsea youngsters at the London Stadium would illustrate a huge signal of intent at West Ham, with the club making it evident they have learnt from previous failures in the transfer market.

However, with Gallagher having featured in all three Premier League games so far this season, and with Broja currently the only out-and-out number nine in Thomas Tuchel’s squad, the chance that they both sign for the Hammers this summer appears to be increasingly slim.

If Chelsea end up making further additions in those positions before September’s deadline, this may open up the possibility for serious negotiations and some dramatic late window business.

Manchester United are reportedly plotting an audacious move for Newcastle United star, Allan Saint-Maximin, as manager Erik ten Hag looks to bolster his attacking options before the window slams shut.

What’s the word?

According to Media Foot, the Red Devils are ‘considering’ an approach for the fleet-footed Frenchman and have not ruled out a move before the September deadline, having yet to add to their forward line so far this summer.

The report suggests, however, that it could prove difficult to prise the 25-year-old from St James’ Park with four years still to run on his existing deal, with the Magpies themselves having also failed to acquire an attacking addition in the current window.

That being said, there had been reports earlier this summer that Eddie Howe and co were potentially willing to part ways with the former Nice man – who joined the Tynesiders on a £16.5m deal three years ago – with a fee of around £50m having been mooted.

Cantona-esque

As United’s move for Ajax winger Antony continues to drag on, turning to Saint-Maximin could well be a viable alternative, with the explosive talent having already proven himself in the Premier League.

Although his attacking output could no doubt be better – with just 11 goals and 15 assists in his top-flight career to date – the £38k-per-week menace is a simply unique asset and one that would provide sheer, box office entertainment to the United faithful.

An at times “unpredictable” wideman – according to teammate Matt Targett – the £28.8m-rated ace possesses that innate ability to bamboozle the opposition with his relentless speed and dribbling ability, notably ranking in the top 1% among those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues in that latter metric.

For all the naysayers doubting his consistency, including pundit Noel Whelan, it is hard not to revel in watching the dynamic forward in full flow, having most recently run champions Manchester City ragged in the 3-3 draw on Sunday.

Those at United would no doubt have been forced to sit up and take notice at the manner in which the 5 foot 8 sensation toyed with the typically reliable Kyle Walker, leaving the Englishman for dead in the build-up to Callum Wilson’s first-half effort.

Such an impact proved that the one-time Monaco man can provide the telling end product when required to go with his majestic brilliance, although beyond goal contributions and statistics he is simply a figure to whom eyeballs are glued; a true “showman”, in the words of pundit Charlie Nicholas.

That is a phrase that can well be attributed to one of the finest figures to have taken the Old Trafford turf in Eric Cantona, with the hope being that Saint-Maximin can replicate the impact of his iconic compatriot.

For all the sublime that that has adorned the red jersey throughout the modern era – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes among others – it is Cantona that remains arguably the most beloved of them all.

A controversial and at times bizarre figure, the one-time Leeds United man was a true legend at the Theatre of Dreams in every sense of the word, proving the catalyst for change as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side romped to glory in the early Premier League era.

His 126 goal contributions in just 156 league games aside, it was his instinctive, off-the-cuff style and refreshing arrogance that saw him become such a legendary figure among supporters, having provided that much-needed x-factor to an already talented team.

Much like with the forward’s move from Elland Road 30 years ago, eyebrows would no doubt be raised were Ten Hag and co to pursue Saint-Maximin as deadline day approaches. But, then again, much like with Cantona, the Newcastle starlet has the brilliance to prove the doubters wrong.

The Old Trafford stage awaits…

Everton made a late enquiry for Leeds United winger Dan James, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Dramatic deadline day

The Whites were involved in the most chaotic story of deadline day with a move for Bamba Dieng. Leeds moved to Dieng after missing out on PSV’s Cody Gakpo and appeared to be edging closer to a deal.

Andrea Radrizzani even welcomed the player on Twitter, however, the forward then opted to undergo a medical with Nice, one that he failed.

Victor Orta’s phone was ringing from a number of sides for James as well, adding to the pressure of a manic 24 hours.

The Latest: Everton enquiry

According to FI, Everton made a late approach for James’ services on deadline day.

As we now know, the Toffees got rejected, with James’ only preference being a move to Fulham on a season-long loan, with FC Zurich forward Wilfried Gnonto arriving at Elland Road.

The Verdict: Under the radar…

It looked as if it was between Fulham and Tottenham when it came to James, so it is interesting to see that Everton also fancied signing the Wales international.

Hailed by Wales boss Robert Page as ‘unbelievable’ and ‘talented’, James failed to hit the heights at Elland Road, however, he was used more as a centre-forward than his preferred position as a winger in Yorkshire.

Hopefully, he’ll play regularly with Fulham, and who knows, that could result in a return to form for Leeds for the 2023/24 campaign as he is still under contract until 2026.

Tottenham Hotspur saw their latest summer transfer window draw to a close last night following a hectic period of incoming and outgoing deals.

In terms of the new players Spurs secured deals for, in addition to the likes of Destiny Udogie, Ivan Perisic and Clement Lenglet, the north London club also brought in a number of players from fellow English clubs such as Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Djed Spence.

One other name from an English club that was linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that ultimately ended up not joining Antonio Conte’s side on deadline day was Adama Traore.

Not landing a late transfer deal for the Spaniard is, in our view, a blessing in disguise for the north London club and their managing director, Fabio Paratici.

Having made a total of 158 senior appearances for Wolves, the winger has only managed to score 12 goals and provide 18 assists in the process.

In the loan spell there last season, Traore failed to find the back of the net on even one occasion.

With 20 Premier League appearances under his belt for Wolves before jetting off to Barcelona in January, the attacker only managed to successfully complete 245 of the 329 passes he attempted, leaving him with one of the lowest pass success percentages in the Wolves squad (74.5%).

Similarly, having had 23 attempts at goal, only six of them were on target, once again leaving him with one of the lowest percentages for shots on target (26.1%) at the Midlands club.

This shows just how careless he is on the ball and lack of any clinical edge he has when put in goalscoring situations.

Even from a defensive point of view, he didn’t offer much for Bruno Lage’s side as he could only muster up a combined total of 16 tackles and interceptions, which is fewer than the majority of his teammates at Molineux.

Despite being previously labelled as an “animal” by Xavi, and having a rather insignificant reported price tag of £10m, it’s safe to say that Paratici dodged a rather big howler by not signing Traore this summer, which is something that Conte should be rather relieved about.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Robinson has been left astounded by new Tottenham Hotspur signing Richarlison so far this season.

The Lowdown: Tottenham move

Having arrived at Hotspur Way earlier this summer in a deal worth £60m, Spurs manager Antonio Conte has eased the Brazil international into the starting XI, with his first four appearances coming off the bench.

However, Richarlison was handed his first start in a Lilywhites shirt at the weekend in Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over Fulham.

As quoted by football.london, the Italian praised the 25-year-old for his ‘amazing’ performance against the Cottagers, in which he played the full 90 minutes.

The Latest: Robinson’s comments

Robinson, who works as a pundit for Sky Sports, has sung Richarlison’s praises for how well he has adapted to life in N17.

Speaking with Football Insider about the Brazil forward, the former Spurs goalkeeper claimed: “Wow, he is looking like a top-class signing.

“I was really impressed with him at the end of last season for Everton. He was playing well in a side that was really struggling. He scored some important goals. When it really mattered, he stood up to be counted.

“Now we are seeing him be better with better players around him. He is getting the service and the interaction. Players are seeing his runs quicker.

“He is looking like a top-class player at the moment. I have no doubt that he is going to prove to be a great signing.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-developments-2/” title=”Tottenham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Great signing

When looking at Richarlison’s underlying statistics, it is no wonder why Conte wanted to bring him to Hotspur Way this summer.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe over the past year, the 25-year-old ranks in the top 2% for blocks, the top 4% for tackles and the top 5% for pressures.

On Saturday, he achieved the joint-highest Sofascore rating of any Spurs player (7.7), winning nine duels and four tackles while also providing the assist for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s opener and seeing a late goal of his own chalked off by VAR.

Having scored 53 goals in 152 appearances for Everton, Richarlison is certainly a Premier League proven talent who can be relied upon to finish his chances in the final third.

Therefore, with more rotation possibly now expected for Dejan Kulusevski as the Champions League gets underway, the Brazilian could become a crucial player for Spurs as they head into a busy schedule this season.

Huddersfield Town and chairman Dean Hoyle by extension are set to announce the appointment of Mark Fotheringham as their new manager, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Schofield’s sacking

Former boss Carlos Corberan handed in his resignation back in July to take charge at Olympiacos, with Danny Schofield having since taken over the reins.

However, after a disappointing start to the new Championship season, the 42-year-old was relieved of his duties, and following a fresh update, it sounds like a new arrival in the dugout at the John Smith’s Stadium could be imminent.

The Latest: Fotheringham set to join

Taking to Twitter, O’Rourke claimed that Huddersfield are all set to confirm the appointment of Fotheringham, with an official announcement expected any minute now. He wrote:

“Huddersfield Town are poised to make Mark Fotheringham their new manager and a deal could be done inside the next 24 hours.”

The Verdict: Risk worth taking

Fotheringham being appointed would be a huge risk given he’s never held a managerial position before, but it could well be one worth taking.

David Wagner also never held a prominent first-team role before taking on the challenge at Huddersfield, but his spell in charge more than paid off and there’s no reason as to why the Scotsman couldn’t have the same level of success.

Having been assistant boss at Hertha Berlin, the 38-year-old will have backroom experience and will know what it takes to become manager, and Dean Hoyle is clearly ready to take a chance on his man.