All posts by z3u9t.icu

Steven Gerrard is one of Aston Villa’s top targets to replace Dean Smith in the Villa Park dugout.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Rob Dorsett, with the journalist revealing in a recent report for Sky Sports that the Rangers manager is a very strong candidate to take over the vacant role as Aston Villa’s manager.

Dorsett continued to state that, although it would be a difficult task to prise the 41-year-old away from the Scottish Premiership champions, Christian Purslow’s close relationship with the former Liverpool captain could help to facilitate Gerrard’s switch to Villa Park.

Speaking about Villa’s interest in Gerrard, the journalist said: “Roberto Martinez and Steven Gerrard are two very strong candidates that are on Aston Villa’s shortlist of possible candidates to replace Dean Smith.

“When it comes to Steven Gerrard, it might not be easy for Villa to prise him away from Rangers, although, the chief executive [at Villa], Christian Purslow, was the managing director at Liverpool and worked very closely with Steven Gerrard – the two men are pretty close, as I understand it.”

Fans surely buzzing

While questions may be asked as to whether Gerrard boasts enough experience in professional management to take on the job at Villa Park, upon the 41-year-old’s initial link with a move to the club, large swells of the Villa fanbase appeared more than happy with the prospect of the Rangers man making a move to their side.

Indeed, one fan stated their belief on Twitter that Gerrard is a “perfect fit” for Villa, while another claimed that the former England international “would accept nothing less than 100% from the players” – something that is clearly an admirable trait in a manager.

Furthermore, in a poll ran on Football FanCast recently, the majority of Villa fans made it clear they would prefer the 41-year-old ahead of another of the club’s reported managerial targets, Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhuttl.

It is not difficult to see why fans would be happy to welcome Gerrard to Villa Park, as, following his appointment at Ibrox back in 2018, the Liverpudlian has already guided Rangers to their first league title in a decade, as well as reaching the last 16 of the Europa League with the Light Blues last season.

As such, Dorsett’s claim that Gerrard is indeed one of the club’s primary targets to replace Smith is sure to have left Villans buzzing, as is the suggestion that Christian Purslow’s relationship with the Gers boss could be a deciding factor in securing a deal for the Liverpool legend.

In other news: “Appt’ expected..”: Gregg Evans drops fresh AVFC manager claim which will delight fans

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have been left talking after reliable club insider ExWHUemployee’s claim involving new shareholder Daniel Kretinsky.

The Czech billionaire recently completed his purchase of a 27% stake in West Ham, which some believe to be the first domino falling of an eventual full takeover from GSB.

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Kretinsky’s investment into the club, said to be worth over £180 million, has been tipped by reliable reports to bolster manager David Moyes’ transfer backing – even if it won’t be a lavish spending spree (Evening Standard).

As the January transfer window approaches, it will certainly be an interesting period as all eyes turn to whether Moyes will indeed see his targets come in mid-season.

ExWHUemployee, sharing news on how Kretinksy could make this happen, has now dropped a promising claim on his West Ham Way Podcast.

He claims it is said that the magnate’s investment means there will certainly be funds available for transfers – not huge amounts, but more than West Ham have dealt with in previous seasons.

West Ham fans talk…

In response, it’s safe to say many West Ham fans are overjoyed by this update whilst sharing who they’d like the club to target for Moyes.

Find all of their best verdicts down below.

“Tarkowski

COYI”

Credit: @mark9726

“Lingard is a must.”

Credit: @charlie16658058

“We are MASSIVE. We don’t even need a lot. Hlozek, Lingard and a CB would be class. Anything else is the best window ever.”

Credit: @SweeneyWestHam

“As fans this is all we’ve been asking for. Not nation-state owned amounts just reasonable investment for Moyes to take us as far as he can.”

Credit: @jjscoyi

“Lingard is happening”

Credit: @KyronWhu

“Don’t mind this cause spending loads of money isn’t always the answer imo. But spending wisely is”

Credit: @RockyWhu

“He’s loading the £300m war chest for the summer window”

Credit: @1bbyWHU

In other news: West Ham readying offer to sign 33-cap World Cup ace as Newman sets sights on brand new target, find out more here.

Former West Ham star Trevor Sinclair has told Jim White live on talkSPORT that he would have ‘loved’ to join Celtic during his playing career.

The Lowdown: Sinclair’s final years…

The versatile winger made close to 200 appearances for the Hammers, while also making significant contributions for Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City.

The former England international spent his final season as a player with Cardiff City in 2007/08, helping the Bluebirds reach the FA Cup final.

However, it seems as if his last year as a player could have been with Celtic, with Sinclair opening up to White on talkSPORT on Wednesday.

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The Latest: Sinclair’s comments

Sinclair was wearing a Celtic shirt on talkSPORT, revealing it was one he kept after a pre-season game against the Hoops with West Ham.

He admitted that he will be wearing it for the Glasgow Derby against Rangers in January, comments that left White stunned: ‘Celtic fans, there he is,’ the presenter joked.

Sinclair then went on to add that a ‘little regret’ of his playing career was not being able to turn out for Celtic, as his father was from Glasgow and a massive Hoops fan.

He believes if social media was available back then, he could have informed the Bhoys over his wishes to make the move to Scotland.

The Verdict: What could have been…

Celtic enjoyed a successful 2007/08 campaign under Gordon Strachan, winning the Scottish Premiership and reaching the last 16 of the Champions League.

However, the majority of Strachan’s wingers at the time were fairly young, so Sinclair could have been a shrewd addition who may have helped a young Aiden McGeady during his early years.

Sinclair would’ve been 34 years of age at the time in 2007 and he only contributed to three goals in 25 games with Cardiff, so perhaps it wasn’t the end of the world that a move north failed to materialise, but his experience and quality may well have elevated the Hoops that bit further in their European campaign.

In other news: Ange now wants to sign another forward for Celtic in January; came through same academy as Rogic. 

The first game of Eddie Howe’s reign as Newcastle United’s manager was a six-goal thriller at St James’ Park which saw the Magpies rescue a point against Brentford with a 3-3 draw.

Newcastle opened the scoring with a goal from Jamaal Lascelles at the 10-minute mark before Brentford equalised just a minute later. The Toon then went behind twice and equalised twice with goals from Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin, leaving them still without a win in the Premier League with 12 games played.

One player who featured against Thomas Frank’s side but didn’t exactly prove himself to Howe on this occasion was Fabian Schar.

Before being replaced in the 71st minute by Sean Longstaff, the defender failed to even make one tackle, lost 87.5% of his duels, lost the ball on 10 occasions (four more times than Ciaran Clark), gave away four fouls and completed just 16 of his 26 passes. He earning an uninspiring overall match rating of 6.6/10, making him the joint-second lowest rated outfield player on the day for Newcastle according to SofaScore. Only Callum Wilson and Clark ranked lower among the outfield starters.

One saving grace for the Switzerland international was the fact that he managed to make an off-the-line clearance to deny the visitors another goal.

With those figures in mind, it’s safe to say that the 29-year-old would have hoped to put in a better performance to prove to Howe that he should be in the team going forward.

With Newcastle’s next game in the Premier League taking them to visit Arsenal next weekend, Schar will undoubtedly be hoping that his manager will keep faith in him and give him the opportunity to put in a better performance than he managed to today. If not, he could find it difficult to get into the side as the season progresses.

In other news – “Huge” Newcastle monster with 11 duels won showed his quality to Howe against Brentford

Celtic are reportedly closing in on the signing of Kawasaki Frontale defender Reo Hatate as the January transfer window approaches.

What’s the story?

According to the Daily Mail (as relayed by the Daily Record), the Hoops are expected to bring the 24-year-old to Glasgow on a free transfer at the beginning of 2022.

Hatate’s contract is set to expire in January and he was left in tears as he said farewell to Frontale fans after their most recent title success, indicating that an imminent exit is on the cards.

Talks between Celtic and the attack-minded left-back are said to be “well down the road” as Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou continues his rebuild at Parkhead.

He would be a dream transfer for Ange

Securing Hatate’s signature could be a dream transfer for Postecoglou after the 56-year-old admitted that further reinforcements are needed following Thursday’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

He said: “There is no doubt. We are still just four or five months into building a team and it was never going to happen in one transfer window.

“We know that we need more depth and players in certain areas that I think can help us to bridge the gap. You look at the Leverkusen side and they have quality all the way through.

“What we want to do is be able to compete at that level and we need to continue to look to improve our squad and add depth so that we can compete in lots of competitions.”

When taking into account just how impressive Hatate has been for Kawasaki Frontale in recent months, the former Japan under-21 international appears to be an ideal fit for Celtic’s ongoing revolution.

In his 29 J-League appearances throughout 2021, the £720k-rated gem bagged five goals and laid on a further two assists for his teammates, creating three big chances and providing 1.1 key passes per game along the way.

The player who Opta analyst Sacha Pisani claimed “has a rocket of a left foot” also impressed in the defensive aspect of his game, averaging 1.4 interceptions and 1.3 tackles per league match, while winning 5.3 duels per fixture.

Therefore, he could be an ideal acquisition over the winter as Celtic seek to reclaim their Premiership crown and end Rangers’ reign as Scottish champions.

In other news… Lost possession 21 times: £4.5m-rated Celtic passenger badly failed his manager v Leverkusen

Celtic’s attempted swoop for Gamba Osaka midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi could be complex, according to journalist Dan Orlowitz.

The Lowdown: Celtic links

The Hoops appear to be after three Japanese additions in the New Year, with Ideguchi’s name the latest rumoured following links to Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda.

Celtic have reportedly made an ‘offer’ for the former Leeds United midfielder, who is currently plying his trade with Gamba Osaka.

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The 25-year-old never played for Leeds but has made 41 appearances in 2021, with the majority of those coming in a central midfield role.

The Latest: Orlowitz’s claim

The Daily Record shared Orlowitz’s comments to Sky Sports regarding Ideguchi in a story on Tuesday afternoon.

Orlowitz had his doubts on if Ideguchi is ready to break into Ange Postecoglou’s side right now and even suggested that Ideguchi may not even qualify for a work permit in Scotland at this moment in time.

“I don’t know, Ange clearly sees something in him.

“Maybe he saw the amazing goal Ideguchi scored against Australia in the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

“But is he a player that can break into the Celtic first team right now? I don’t know.

“Is he a player who can even qualify for a work permit in Scotland? That’s a very open question right now.

“We don’t know if he has the caps or would be able to get an exception.

“If Celtic see him as a project then, low risk high reward, if he joins and settles in well he has a lot of upside.”

The Verdict: Trust Postecoglou…

Reports last month suggested that the club are working on two new midfield additions for January, so Ideguchi could be one of those alongside Hatate.

Potential work permit issues aside, the Hoops should trust Postecoglou’s judgement when it comes to a possible swoop for Ideguchi, especially after reaping the rewards of Kyogo Furuhashi’s move over the summer, a player plenty of local fans and media wouldn’t have known much about beforehand.

Orlowitz may have his reservations on if the midfielder could hack it in Glasgow straight away, but he does have plenty of experience for his current employers and at international level.

He can also play in an attacking role and has plenty of trophies to his name, so if Postecoglou feels Ideguchi could bring something different to Celtic’s midfield options, then the Hoops should back him.

In other news: Joseph drops huge transfer update with Celtic now set to make most-expensive signing of Ange era. 

Noel Whelan has tipped West Ham to fight for a Jarrod Bowen contract extension amid interest from Liverpool and believes that the Hammers’ league position will determine the outcome, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Liverpool long-term admirers of Bowen

The Liverpool Echo have claimed that Liverpool are long-term admirers of the West Ham winger, and they will continue to scout the 24-year-old with a potential move on the cards in the summer transfer window.

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Bowen has had an impressive start to the 2021/22 campaign; he currently leads the Hammers in assists in the Premier League, having produced five this season.

The English attacker has also gained valuable experience on the European stage. Bowen has appeared in five games in the Irons’ Europa League campaign, adding an extra goal and assist to his tally for the season.

The Latest: Whelan issues verdict on potential exit

According to a Rush Green source at Football insider, West Ham are planning on offering Bowen a new and improved contract, despite his current deal running until summer 2025.

And Whelan claims that the Hammers will make an effort to do anything to keep the player at the club, insisting that the team’s league position at the end of the season will determine the outcome of Bowen’s future. Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “This is what happens when players are standing out in a team that’s been very successful like West Ham.

“He’s a player that I enjoy watching. His energy, his quality on the ball, he can play down the middle, on the right and left. He’s a player that you would fit the Liverpool bill of what they want across that front three.

“Would West Ham let him go? I think they’ll do everything possible to keep him at West Ham, quite frankly. I think it’ll all come down to how successful West Ham are at the end of the season. Where they are in the league.

“It’s going be interesting. I admire him, he’s a great player, he really is. That energy, that quality on the ball, the link-up play he has.

“I can see why Liverpool would be tempted and interested in a player like that.”

The Verdict: Bowen could stay following recent success

With West Ham’s magnificent start to the season landing them in fourth place, the Hammers are well and truly in the running for Champions League qualification – they have already beat Liverpool and Chelsea, which shows exactly how competitive they can stay amongst the league challengers.

According to Whelan, this could sway Bowen into signing a contract extension and ultimately commit his career to the club.

The former Hull starlet has of course received lots of praise this season – Gary Neville has commented on how the winger “is a bundle of energy” and that ‘he is brilliant to watch”.

Perhaps to Hammers fans’ dismay, Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has continually praised him over the past year too, culminating with the German saying: “I like Bowen a lot.”

Many Everton fans have been left erupting over some early team news that has emerged ahead of their game away at Chelsea in the Premier League tonight.

As per The Times journalist Paul Joyce, Lucas Digne has said that he is ‘ill’ and so will now miss the clash at Stamford Bridge, after Rafa Benitez initially had him in his staring eleven having trained with the team.

This comes after the Frenchman reportedly had a row with his manager, which led to him missing their last two games in the Premier League.

However, it seems as if they have patched things up given that Benitez was going to play him, but now Digne’s illness means that he will miss a third match in a row.

Nonetheless, the Goodison Park faithful now have a mammoth task ahead of them against the European champions, as they will have to try and get something without their only senior left-back in the squad.

Everton fans on team news

These supporters of the Merseyside club erupted as the team news was shared on Twitter, with one Toffee even going as far as to claim that it was ‘unreal’:

“We’re a shambles hahahaha”

Credit: @lukeblack85

“What a shambles Everton Football Club is from top to bottom”

Credit: @WhatKCSaid

“Unreal this now”

Credit: @notJoth

“I’m scared”

Credit: @NSwann12

“Comedy club”

Credit: @Adam95H

“You couldn’t make it up really…”

Credit: @rob_fisher_efc

In other news, find out what club news has Blues fuming here!

Following on from their crushing 7-0 defeat against Manchester City in midweek, Leeds United are back at Elland Road this evening for their latest Premier League fixture. They face Arsenal, who have won their two previous league games, scoring five and keeping two clean sheets in the process. 

In terms of which players Marcelo Bielsa could pick in his starting XI, one man who didn’t start against City but should be in the team to face the Gunners is Mateusz Klich, who is currently earning £34k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

Klich must start

Despite not starting in midweek, the midfielder still got a significant number of minutes under his belt after coming on for the injured Jamie Shackleton shortly before half-time and seeing out the remainder of the match.

Even though the Poland international only had 32 touches of the ball, he still did his best to try and drive Leeds forward, and he contributed defensively as well. As well as completing 19 of his 23 passes, the 31-year-old also had one shot at goal whilst winning three duels and making two successful tackles and one interception.

This performance ultimately earned the midfielder an overall match rating of 6.4/10, higher than many Leeds players who started the game, according to SofaScore.

With this in mind, if Klich does start today and is given the freedom to roam forward and cause problems for Arsenal’s defence whilst helping out at the back for Leeds, he could be a frightening prospect for Mikel Arteta’s players to come up against.

Described as a player “who runs more, more intense movements and makes more movements at maximal speed” according to Bielsa, the 31-year-old has made 12 league appearances for the Whites so far this season, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process.

As well as Shackleton, Leeds have  Kalvin Phillips out injured, so Bielsa may have little choice but to play Klich this evening. However, with an average of 1.1 key passes and 1.6 shots at goal per game in the league so far this season, the Polish beast could be just what the Whites need to secure a result after their two defeats over the past week.

In other news: Leeds handed much-needed injury boost ahead of Arsenal clash which will leave fans delighted

Sky Sports have weighed in on the latest rumours surrounding Celtic’s move for Yokohama F. Marinos striker Daizen Maeda.

*Celtic have now announced the triple signing of Maeda, Hatate and Ideguchi*

The Lowdown: Reports in Japan…

Celtic were first credited with an interest in Maeda back in October, with the Hoops confident of bringing the 24-year-old to Parkhead.

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Since then, Ange Postecoglou has been linked with moves for Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi and has reached agreements for both players.

Recent rumours from Japan have suggested that is now the same for Maeda, who netted 23 J League 1 goals in 2021 and is valued at £990,000 by Transfermarkt.

The Latest: Sky Sports post

Sky Sports took to Twitter to provide an update on the swoop for Maeda.

They backed the news from the player’s homeland, claiming that ‘Celtic have reached an agreement in principle’ to sign the versatile forward on what will be an ‘initial loan deal’.

Sky Sports’ story adds that the Hoops will have the option to make a move permanent in the summer, however, they don’t say for how much.

The club’s Japanese social media accounts have since added even more fuel to the fire with a promotion video implying a deal is close.

The Verdict: January business coming along nicely…

With agreements now seemingly reached for all three Japanese targets, Celtic may well have finalised all the groundwork on their winter window business and may now turn their attentions to making Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers’ loan moves permanent.

Postecoglou will be bolstering his midfield ranks with Hatate and Ideguchi, whereas Maeda will be able to provide an option in attack or out wide.

Hopefully, the trio will hit the ground running just like Kyogo Furuhashi did following his summer switch, and if they do, Celtic may have a real chance of pipping rivals Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title.

In other news: Parkhead source says Celtic will definitely look to sell ‘stupid’ ace who Ange ‘doesn’t like’ in January.