All posts by z3u9t.icu

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Christian Pulisic this summer and now a new update has emerged on the potential signing for the Kopites.

What’s the latest?

talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook has confirmed that Liverpool have a genuine interest in signing Chelsea forward Pulisic ahead of next season but also details this could change with the completion of the signing of Darwin Nunez.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Crook told GIVEMESPORT:

“I think Liverpool’s interest is genuine, or it was before the Darwin Nunez deal really accelerated. So, whether they need another attacking player now, probably, I would say no.”

Imagine him & Nunez

Although Crook takes the view that Liverpool may not make the move for Pulisic should they complete the signing of Nunez, if they did act upon their interest it could bring another fresh perspective and form a new well-oiled attacking partnership at the club between the two players in the forward line.

It is no surprise that the Reds are linked with a move for Pulisic, as Jurgen Klopp is a huge admirer of the former Borussia Dortmund star, reserving high praise for him in an interview following his brace against Liverpool in 2018 (via FourFourTwo): “He’s a fantastic skilled boy, and it’s not a surprise to see.

“He’s a smart player, and unfortunately the USA needs more of these players.”

The £42m gem who was dubbed “wonderful” and a “leader” by Jurgen Klinsmann has struggled to get consistent game time during his time at Chelsea but has shown glimpses of his talent in front of goal when given the opportunity to.

Pulisic scored six goals, delivered two assists and created one big chance, while taking 1.3 shots on goal and winning 3.5 duels on average per game over 22 Premier League appearances.

Klopp will need to prepare for the inevitable blow of Sadio Mane’s departure alongside the contract expiration of Divock Origi, and Taki Minamino is expected to be sold too summer.

With that being said, by only making the signing of Nunez it could leave Liverpool with a weakened squad in terms of goal scoring players, however, if they did make the signing of Pulisic it could be a great opportunity for Klopp to add an experienced attacking mind to bolster his forward line.

AND in other news: “I’m told..”: Romano drops behind-the-scenes Liverpool update that’ll upset supporters 

Leeds United are bracing themselves for the departure of Kalvin Phillips during the summer transfer window, according to The Athletic. 

The lowdown

Leeds midfielder Phillips is attracting interest from some of the top sides in the country.

Premier League champions Manchester City have reportedly identified him as their primary target to replace the departing Fernandinho. Runners-up Liverpool, meanwhile, are also said to be eyeing the 26-year-old.

And Manchester United are even supposedly ‘working on a deal’ too, having picked out Phillips as a cheaper alternative to West Ham’s Declan Rice.

The Englishman has two years left to run on his contract at Jesse Marsch’s side, but no significant progress has been made towards an extension.

The latest

Writing in a mailbag piece, journalist Laurie Whitwell shared insight from figures close to Leeds – ‘sources say’ Leeds are increasingly resigned to losing Phillips in the next couple of months.

There is, at least, a ‘strong sense’ that a move to ‘bitter rivals’ Man. United is off the table.

Phillips apparently knows that making the switch could effectively ruin his reputation at Elland Road.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-4/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The verdict

This is worrying for Leeds fans given Phillips’ importance to the side.

Last season may have been heavily disrupted by injury, but he started all but five games when he was fit and available.

Marsch says it was clear from the moment he arrived that Phillips has a positive ‘effect on the group’ because of ‘his personality, his quality [and] what he means to being part of Leeds United’.

And the club’s supporters voted him their second-best player of 2021, only behind Raphinha.

The reality is that Phillips, England’s reigning Player of the Year, may want to be playing European football, rather than battling for survival as he did with Leeds last season.

The challenge for Leeds now is to extract the maximum price tag – they apparently want £60million – and to nail the replacement. Work is already underway, with Marc Roca of Bayern Munich identified as a possible successor.

In other news, read this expert’s reaction to two big Leeds transfer developments.

The summer transfer window is officially underway and Rangers boss Gio van Bronckhorst may be looking to add to his squad in the coming months.

John Souttar has already arrived on a free transfer and he could be the first of many arriving at Ibrox as Ross Wilson and the Dutch head coach plot moves to improve the team.

Gers legend Ally McCoist has had his say on who he wants the Premiership outfit to sign as he has tipped the Light Blues to pursue a player who was once the most expensive signing in history.

He recently urged the club to go and make a move for out-of-contract winger Gareth Bale, saying: “If I was Rangers, I’d go offer him something as well.

“Listen, he’s at a stage in his life he wants to enjoy himself. We all know he’s a big golf fan, we’ve got the best golf courses. I’d bring him up here and say: ‘Look, have a year up here’. The fans will love him, absolutely love him.”

“I know the argument would be there was disappointment with Aaron Ramsey, he wasn’t 100 per cent fit, I get that.”

Paul Gascoigne 2.0

In completing a deal to sign Bale, Rangers can land their new Gascoigne at Ibrox as he is a player who has proven himself at the very top level and can now enjoy a spell playing in Glasgow as he heads towards the end of his career.

After playing in the English top-flight for Tottenham and Newcastle, Gascoigne signed for the Gers in 1995 and scored 30 goals in 64 league starts as he impressed for the Light Blues.

Rangers can now get Ibrox rocking by signing Bale as he can come in and have a similar impact to the former England international.

He has enjoyed a stellar career at the top level with 221 senior goals for club and country throughout his time playing for Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and Wales. The attacker left Real Madrid after scoring 106  times in 258 appearances, winning the Champions League on four occassions.

Bale has been labelled as an “unstoppable” player by journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke and his career statistics back that up as he has been able to plunder goals for one of the biggest teams in Europe – Real – on a regular basis. 

Therefore, he can get the ground rocking with his ability to make a significant impact in the final third, much like Gascoigne did during his time in Scotland. This is why Rangers must take McCoist’s advice and swoop for the Wales international.

AND in other news, “Was told..”: Journo makes big Rangers transfer claim that’ll leave supporters excited…

Manchester United are one of several Premier League clubs to be credited with an interest in West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen, and the Englishman could solve a big headache for Erik ten Hag ahead of next season.

What’s the word?

According to 90min, the Hammers are set to offer the 25-year-old a bumper new deal following his England call-up, as they look to fend off interest from the likes of United, Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea and Liverpool.

While Bowen may be reluctant to swap West Ham for the Red Devils considering the respective success of their 2021/22 campaigns, the Glazers and the Old Trafford hierarchy will nonetheless be hoping to convince Bowen to make the move north.

Bowen can solve big issue for United

Last season saw Bowen contribute 12 goals and 10 assists in 36 Premier League appearances for David Moyes’ side, averaging an impressive 7.15 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This would’ve ranked him as the top performer for Manchester United if he had replicated those statistics for the Red Devils last season, while his 12 goals would have been second only to Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

United managed just 57 goals in the top flight last season, 42 fewer than rivals Manchester City, and they cannot afford to be so reliant on Ronaldo again next term if Ten Hag is to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga managed just nine top-flight goals between them last season, and the Dutchman will surely be looking for more goal contributions from out wide in the 2022/23 campaign.

The new United manager will also be without the services of creative players such as Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba, all of whom are about to depart Old Trafford following the expiry of their contracts, so he will surely be looking to add some attacking reinforcements if the Red Devils are to push for a Champions League spot next year.

Bowen has been a superb performer for West Ham since his £22m move from Hull City in January 2020 and his form earned him the praise of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp last season.

The German said: “Unbelievable. We saw him as well at Hull and he was really good at that time. I’m not sure a lot of people expected this jump, but unbelievable player.”

Given the disappointing performances of United’s wide players last season, an in-form winger such as Bowen is exactly what Ten Hag needs in order to improve the attacking output at Old Trafford in the 2022/23 campaign.

In other news… Ronaldo 2.0: Man United must swoop for 22 y/o phenomenon with a “big career ahead of him”

Aston Villa have reached an agreement with Sevilla for the transfer of centre-back Diego Carlos, with Sky Sports sharing the development live on air.

The Lowdown: Quick start

NSWE and Steven Gerrard have made a head start on their summer business and have already secured permanent moves for Philippe Coutinho and Boubacar Kamara.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/aston-villa-latest-updates-2/” title=”Aston Villa latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Villa have turned Coutinho’s loan move into a full-time deal, while Kamara will officially be on the books in the Midlands from July 1 when his Marseille contract expires.

It now looks as if Carlos will be the next to officially sign despite links only first emerging on Wednesday morning.

The Latest: Carlos agreement

Villa confirmed on their official website on Thursday evening that they have reached an agreement with Sevilla for Carlos.

The Brazilian still needs to complete a medical and finalise personal terms though, and Sky Sports shared live on air that Villa are ‘on the verge’ of completing those finer details.

The Verdict: Big

Carlos is valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, but it looks as if Villa will pay just £26m for his services in what appears to be another big coup and a huge £14.5m saved.

Gerrard is clearly now at the heart of a major Villa Park rebuild, and it seems as if Carlos will have a big role to play in his first full season. The 29-year-old has bundles of experience at the top level in France and Spain as well as in the Champions League and Europa League.

His arrival could spell trouble for either Ezri Konsa or Tyrone Mings, with their futures thought to be up in the air, so Villa’s focus could soon be on exits before any more signings.

In other news: After Carlos: Sky Sports journo reacts as Villa close in on ‘phenomenal’ star; Gerrard’s ‘a fan’. 

West Ham United seemed to be in holiday mode as they ended the season badly by being defeated by Brighton and Hove Albion 3-1. Despite having the lead at half-time, Brighton came out and scored three second-half goals to claim victory.

The result means that The Hammers finish seventh and will compete in the Europa Conference League next season. Had they won they would have leapfrogged Manchester United into sixth and claimed a Europa League place.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-west-ham-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more” title= “Read the latest West Ham news!”]

One player who has been a star for West Ham all season but had a nightmare of a game today was Jarrod Bowen. The Englishman ended the season as the club’s top scorer with an impressive 18 strikes. It’s his performances throughout the campaign that have taken West Ham to where they finished in the league and to the latter stages in Europe.

However, today he was nowhere to be seen. He made fewer touches than goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with 29 compared to 42. Not only did he not have an impact on the game, when the ball did find him it wasn’t long before he gave it back to the opposition.

Bowen lost possession ten times which is an average of every 3 touches he had. It was a day to forget for him and The Hammers, and manager David Moyes will be disappointed they couldn’t end it on a high.

Despite this, what the club have achieved this season is nothing short of remarkable. Making it to the semi-finals of a European competition and still managing to keep up your form in the league is never easy, especially for a West Ham side that aren’t used to it.

The 25-year-old also failed to register a shot at goal and didn’t attempt any dribbles throughout 90 minutes. He was given the lowest rating out of everyone on the pitch by SofaScore at 6.1.

It was a bad day at the office for him and may raise doubts over his ability to consistently form at the top level. It’s what would be required of him if he were to secure a big move.

He’s proven that he has exceptional abilities as an attacker, but he needs to make sure that performances like today don’t happen too regularly going forward.

IN other news: “It’s my understanding…”: Ex drops big WHU summer update, supporters will be buzzing…

Manchester City secured their fourth Premier League title in five years yesterday as they came back from 2-0 down to secure a dramatic 3-2 win over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

With the summer transfer window around the corner, this will once again give Pep Guardiola the chance to strengthen his squad and put them in the best shape possible to try and secure as many trophies as they can moving forward.

Looking back to the previous summer window, City grabbed headlines by securing a club-record £100m deal for Jack Grealish.

During his debut season with the Citizens, the Englishman scored three goals and provided three assists in 26 league appearances whilst predominantly playing on the left wing.

Despite the inconsistency of his goal contributions, the England international still proved himself to be a deadly attacking figure for City as only Kevin De Bruyne (5.68) ended the campaign with a higher rate of shot-creating actions per 90 minutes than Grealish (5.17) in the entire league.

Looking ahead to this summer window, one figure that has recently been linked with a £30m move to the Etihad is Brighton left-back Marc Cucurella.

With 35 league appearances to his name throughout the season, no other outfield player at the AMEX Stadium played more minutes than the 23-year-old, highlighting just how important he has been for the south coast club.

His overall performances in those appearances have earned him a season rating of 6.94/10 from WhoScored, making him the third-highest rated player at the club.

The Spaniard has now ended his debut campaign at Brighton with more passes completed, tackles, interceptions and successful pressures than any of his teammates.

Taking into account how City have averaged more possession and pass success percentage than any other team in the top flight this season, a player such as Cucurella who is comfortable on the ball and very efficient when it comes to winning it back, could be the ideal signing for the recently crowned league champions.

He also has the third-highest number of shot-creating actions per game in Graham Potter’s squad, showing that he is a very capable all-around full-back up and down the pitch.

Labelled as a “refreshing” player by former Brighton star Dan Burn, Cucurella could potentially make a deadly pairing with Grealish on the left-hand side of the pitch for City given the duo’s attacking talent and the full-back defensive capabilities.

With those defensive talents, he could potentially give Grealish more license to get forward more so he can start racking up more goals and assists.

In other news: In talks: Man City eye “special” £54m-rated “phenomenon”, just imagine him & Dias

The representatives of Dominic Calvert-Lewin have reportedly now held talks over a potential move away from Everton in the summer.

The Lowdown: Exit bound?

Transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that there is a ‘decent chance‘ that the 25-year-old will end up leaving Merseyside in the summer, with Arsenal thought to be among the clubs who are interested in his signature.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-5/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Goodison Park outfit find themselves in a relegation battle, and if they were to go down to the Championship, then it seems inevitable that the striker would be allowed to exit.

The Latest: Talks held

As per Football Insider, a source from St James’ Park has revealed that early talks have now taken place with Calvert-Lewin’s representatives and Newcastle over a potential move to Tyneside.

The striker’s future at Everton is thought to be ‘up in the air’, even if the Toffees stay up.

The Verdict: Depends on price

Hailed as an ‘amazing’ striker by team-mate Salomon Rondon, there is no doubting Calvert-Lewin’s importance to the Toffees, having scored more than 50 goals during his time with the club so far.

However, he has been hit with injury problems this season, and Frank Lampard’s side will not want that to continue going into the 2022/23 campaign.

Nonetheless, given that he is an England international and a good age at 25, they could demand a hefty transfer fee for him, especially from the mega-rich Newcastle owners, which could then be used to reinvest in the squad.

In other news, Everton now battling Liverpool to sign £9m-rated workhorse for free this summer

Liverpool have been heavily linked to signing Aurelien Tchouameni, and now a promising update has emerged on the chances of the Monaco midfielder moving to Merseyside this summer.

What’s the latest?

French TV presenter and journalist Gregoire Margotton has given an update on the current speculation surrounding a move for Tchouameni to the Premier League at the end of the season.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Margotton tweeted out to his 340k followers two images, one of Tchouameni and one of Anfield accompanied with the following quotes:

“I hear the immense talent on the left could move into the legendary house [Anfield] on the right shortly. Joy. Congratulations. Happiness.”

Xabi Alonso 2.0

The signing of the £50m star who was hailed a “monster” by France U21 boss Sylvain Ripoll would be a major coup for Liverpool, with Manchester United and Arsenal both reportedly interested in securing the youngster’s signature in the upcoming transfer window.

With Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara and James Milner all well into their 30s at this point, it would be a cunning idea for Jurgen Klopp to add some young blood in the more central and defensive midfield roles in the team, with Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliot already offering youth into the more advanced midfield roles in the team.

Tchouameni has been making impressive strides in Ligue 1 and could emulate a similar role and progress at a similar level to Liverpool and Real Madrid legend Xabi Alonso if the deal can get done to bring him to Anfield.

Just like Alonso, the 22-year-old is most effective in a central midfield role with both outstanding defensive and pressing attributes that have seen him become an absolute nuisance for his opponents at Monaco.

According to One Versus One, Tchouameni ranks number one for pass interceptions and has made the fourth most tackles in the opponent’s half, and the fifth most tackles in his own half in the entirety of the French top-flight. That’s accompanied by an impressive three goals and one assist in 37 appearances.

Ultimately, it is looking likely that FSG and the Liverpool manager will be able to beat off the competition to sign the Monaco star this summer and can become an extremely exciting prospect for the club and supporters next season.

AND in other news: FA Cup final blow: Liverpool rocked by “massive problem” that’ll leave Klopp gutted

Sunderland have the chance to finally make their way into the Championship and out of League One as the play-offs are set to begin in the coming days.

Having played 46 games in the league so far this season, the Black Cats have won 24, drawn 12 and lost ten, scoring 79 goals and conceding 53 in the process.

One player that has been a particularly prominent figure for the Wearside club this season is defender Callum Doyle.

Since arriving at the Stadium of Light back in the previous summer transfer window on loan from Manchester City’s U23 side, the centre-back has made 41 appearances across all competitions.

After only missing two league games between the start of the season and March, the 18-year-old has only made three appearances since then.

Despite this lack of regular action in recent weeks, the teenager has still shown what a capable player he is at such a young age and why the club should try and sign him on a permanent deal in the summer.

With the highest number of interceptions (48) to his name in the squad, Doyle also has the second-highest number of tackles (40) under his belt behind Carl Winchester (63).

This shows just how much of a talented defender the £3.4k-per-week gem is off the ball.

In terms of his work on the ball, the youngster has also shown his effectiveness on the pitch by racking up a higher average of passes per game (47.1) than any other Sunderland player to start more than eight league games.

Back in August, the Englishman was on the end of some high praise from journalist James Copley who said that “if you could build the perfect centre-back in a laboratory, the end result would look a lot like Callum Doyle.”

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that bringing the City youth prospect has been a solid move from the Black Cats.

Moving forward, with the summer transfer window on the horizon, whether the club end up moving into the Championship or staying in League One, they should definitely make an approach to the Premier League club to try and see if they would be willing to allow Doyle to leave on a permanent basis and continue his journey with the Black Cats.

Should the Wearside club secure his signature on a permanent deal in the summer, it would surely blow fans at the Stadium of Light away when you consider his performances and enormous potential in the game.

In other news: Neil must finally unleash SAFC’s rarely seen 19y/o prodigy who’s got a “bright future”