All posts by z3u9t.icu

Arsenal could turn their attentions to a new target after suffering a devastating blow in their bid to sign Emiliano Buendia this week…

What’s the word?

The Gunners have lost the race to clinch the Norwich City playmaker after he opted to join Premier League rivals Aston Villa in an initial £33m deal but the North London outfit reportedly have a fresh name in mind.

According to CBS Sports journalist James Benge, AC Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu is on their shortlist, he tweeted:

“Another target who Arsenal are understood to have broached internally is Hakan Calhanoglu, out of contract with AC Milan this summer. He is an option, not clear how high on the list he might be but [the] expectation is he’s an alternative to Odegaard.”

Forget about Buendia

The 27-year-old, who is rated at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, is an intriguing solution to Mikel Arteta’s attacking midfield woes, not at least because he won’t cost Stan Kroenke and KSE a single penny in terms of a transfer fee.

And that could be important if Arsenal are to bolster the playing squad right across the pitch as we’re yet to see what sort of damage their failure to qualify for Europe will do to their finances.

Thus, signing a quality player on a free makes the world of sense to do right now, especially as he appears to fit a lot of criteria that Arteta is currently lacking.

Martin Odegaard was always going to be a short-term option, as much as the club want to keep hold of him, whilst Mesut Ozil was on a rapid decline prior to his long-awaited departure.

Calhanoglu has emerged as one of Milan’s star performers after registering nine goals and 12 assists across 43 appearances in all competitions this season, via Transfermarkt.

But perhaps more interestingly, his ability to progressively move the ball forward is what makes him most appealing.

The Gunners ranked 12th in the league for average number of shots per game (12.1) whilst they scored the second-fewest number of goals from set-pieces (six), as per WhoScored.

Calhanoglu averaged 7.92 progressive carries per 90 minutes (FBRef) and created a whopping 50 chances from dead-ball situations alone with a further 48 taking him to a total of 98 for the season (WhoScored).

By comparison, Bukayo Saka was Arteta’s most creative influence with 36 key chances created – some margin off the 56-cap Turkey international.

It’s no wonder the 27-year-old’s head coach Stefan Pioli has waxed lyrical about his talents, he told reporters (via MilanNews.it):

“Calhanoglu is a leader of this team. He’s a leader on the pitch, he’s an intelligent player. Lately, we have faced teams that have closed the spaces and therefore, sometimes, I have had to lower him even though I want to keep him high.

“He knows how to marry perfectly with the game of his teammates. I have great respect for him and with intelligent players, you can play great games. He has the qualities to have some more goals.”

Also lauded as “generous and exceptional,” it’s evident that Calhanoglu would be a massive upgrade to Arsenal’s attacking midfield department and even though they missed out on Buendia, Edu Gaspar and co can alleviate the pain by landing the 5 foot 10 wizard for nothing.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Xhaka: Edu must seal Arsenal swoop for “unbelievable” £36m-rated “pure talent”…

Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony has confirmed conversations over a new deal for Celtic target Siriki Dembele have begun.  

The Lowdown: Celtic’s interest

Celtic have been credited with an interest (Give Me Sport) in the 24-year-old in recent months.

Reports have suggested that a move for Dembele, who is the older brother of Celtic’s young talent Karamoko Dembele, could be part of a plan from the Hoops to keep the 18-year-old at Parkhead.

The Posh striker scored 11 times and registered 12 assists in 42 League One appearances this season, helping Peterborough win promotion to the Championship.

He’s out of contract this summer, however, MacAnthony is now looking to tie him down at London Road.

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The Latest: MacAnthony’s Twitter post

MacAnthony was answering various questions on Twitter on Tuesday, and one involved Dembele.

He was quizzed if the club are close to agreeing on contracts with Dembele, Nathan Thompson and Dan Butler, to which he replied:

“Conversations now beginning with them all yes.”

The Verdict: A shrewd addition?

In our opinion, Celtic should be exploring a possible cut-price deal for Dembele. Not just because that may help keep his younger brother, who has been linked with a move away, at the club (although that may help), but because of his qualities.

The Peterborough man played in three positions during the current campaign, impressing in all of them.

He made 15 appearances as a centre-forward, 13 as a left-winger and 13 as an attacking midfielder, registering goals and assists in all areas.

That could come in handy under the new Hoops boss next season, especially with striker Patryk Klimala recently sealing an exit and winger Mohamed Elyounoussi set to return to Southampton following his loan spell.

In other news: ‘Told from very reliable sources’ – Bournemouth reporter drops huge Eddie Howe to Celtic claim, find out more here. 

Queens Park Rangers are close to confirming the signing of Andy Lonergan.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun on Sunday (via Football League World), who claim that Mark Warburton’s side have almost completed a deal to bring the 37-year-old goalkeeper to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium this summer.

It is reported that the former Liverpool shot-stopper will provide backup to the Rs’ first-choice ‘keeper Seny Dieng after the club released Joe Lumley, who has subsequently joined Middlesbrough.

Warburton heading for disaster

While the argument could be made that the signing of Lonergan will add experience to the goalkeeping department at QPR, there are a number of reasons why bringing in the 37-year-old as Dieng’s number two could be something of a disaster for the club.

Firstly, the £225k-rated ‘keeper has made no league appearances since the 2018/19 season, in which he featured seven times for Rochdale in League One.

In fact, the Preston-born man has made just one appearance in total over this period, which came for Stoke City in a 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup quarter-finals in December of 2020.

As such, the 37-year-old does not appear to have been anything other than an emergency solution for his most recent teams, meaning that, should Dieng pick up a long-term injury, Warburton may come to learn that he will not be able to trust the ‘keeper for an extended period of time.

Secondly, with Lonergan reported to have been earning a weekly wage of £5k while at Liverpool last season, the shot-stopper could well demand a salary of a similar amount at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium in order to join QPR, a figure that would be more than the £4k-per-week that Dieng takes home.

Finally, with the likes of Joe Walsh – whom Warburton himself claimed has done “exceptionally well” since linking up with the Rs’ first-team – coming through at the club, the signing of Lonergan could well stunt the growth of the youth prospect in west London, by taking his potential game-time away in cup competitions.

As such, Warburton should not make a move for the ‘keeper whom Klopp dubbed a “brilliant character” this summer, as he would not appear to be a valuable member of the first-team playing squad, while also being relatively costly in wages and an obstruction to the club’s young talent.

In other news: Bhatia confirms huge QPR transfer news which will surely have Rs fans buzzing – opinion

Many Everton fans have been left to fume as the Goodison Park faithful have announced a kick off time for their game at home to Wolves.

As per the official website of the Merseyside club, the match, which is set to take place on Wednesday 19th May, will kick off at 6pm.

This will be the only fixture of the 2020/21 term that Toffees will be allowed into their stadium to watch Carlo Ancelotti’s team, but several supporters have voiced their rage at the decision to make it a 6pm kick off.

The ground may be a struggle to get to given fans’ situations with work and their families, and so it has come as a big disappointment given Blues have not been able to go to Goodison Park for a long time.

Everton fans on Wolves kick off time

These EFC supporters fumed as the update was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it was ‘absolutely ridiculous’:

“First game back with fans and it’s been moved it 6pm proper thinking of the fans there”

Credit: @Fordy1EFC

“Awful times again….”

Credit: @nickgartland

“All these stupid kick-off times best binned when grounds can be full again.”

Credit: @IanG1878

“Allow supporters back then schedule a match for 6pm on a weekday. Absolutely ridiculous @premierleague”

Credit: @NeilSolan

“6pm kick off. How the hell are fans getting to that game midweek? Joke.”

Credit: @80sEFC

“6pm midweek kick off when fans are allowed back is a poor decision. TV before fans again”

Credit: @kev83mav

In other news, find out what transfer update has left Toffees buzzing here!

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Barry Bannan has revealed the one positive to come from the Owls’ catastrophic season.

What’s been said?

In a statement written by the Wednesday club captain following the club’s relegation to the third tier of English football, the 31-year-old looked back on the Owls’ disastrous Championship campaign, before suggesting that Darren Moore will be key to ensuring the club bounces straight back next season.

He said: “It’s been a hard few days, nobody wants to get relegated, especially a big club like this. We gave our all but we came up short, and that’s been the story of the season, to be honest. There’s no doubt about the commitment side of things, but the quality has let us down during parts of the season when we needed it.

“I think it’s a massive boost for the club to have Darren Moore as manager. If there are any positives to take from this season, he would probably be the biggest one. His staff have been unbelievable too, they’ve been one of the best sets of managers and coaches I’ve worked with. Their ideas and how they want to go about things are second to none and it’s a big positive for the club moving forward.”

Fans will be buzzing

With fans of Wednesday having to endure a miserable season following the club, the words of Bannan regarding Moore are likely to give the Hillsborough faithful some hope for the future.

Indeed, since the 47-year-old arrived at the club back on 1 March, Wednesday went on to win three, draw four and lose six of their 13 fixtures under the manager, picking up 13 points – results which left the club in 19th place in the Championship standings over this specific time frame.

This is even more impressive when taking into account that Moore was absent for a large spell of his short time at the club due to being seriously ill, with his assistant Jamie Smith leading the side in his absence.

And, with something of a clearout looking likely for Wednesday ahead of their League One campaign, as a number of players will become out of contract in the coming weeks, Moore should be afforded a considerable amount of wage budget to play with in order to help build a team in his image this summer.

This would indeed appear to be a positive step for the Owls, as, as Bannon suggests, Moore looks to have been a highly astute appointment for the club, with the manager’s ideas and obvious coaching talent giving him a great chance of being the man who can finally turn Wednesday’s fortunes around.

As such, despite the club’s disappointing 2020/21 campaign, with a squad Moore helped to shape and a full pre-season behind them, in addition to Bannan’s beliefs regarding the manager, things could start to get better very quickly at Hillsborough, something that would undoubtedly delight fans of the club.

In other news: Chansiri heading for another grave Sheffield Wednesday mistake, fans will be furious – opinion

Carlo Ancelotti is right to look to sell Cenk Tosun in the summer transfer market, should the striker return to Everton from a loan spell with Besiktas.

What’s the word?

According to the Liverpool Echo, Tosun is among a clutch of players facing uncertain futures at Goodison Park with Everton willing to listen to offers for the Turkey international.

The Blues are not expected to part with any of their prized assets at the end of the season, as Ancelotti strives to build on a challenge for European football.

But some sales are on the cards, with Moise Kean, Bernard and Tosun potentially available should significant interest be shown in the trio.

Everton would look to use any funds raised from Kean’s departure to fund Ancelotti’s efforts to sign a handful of reinforcements, while Bernard and Tosun’s exits would clear significant parts of the club’s wage bill.

The Toffees are also due to part with Theo Walcott and Yannick Bolasie at the end of the season when their respective £100,000 and £75,000-per-week contracts expire.

Bernard is the joint-highest earner at Goodison Park on a £120k-p/w deal, while Tosun nets £100k-p/w on terms struck following his £27m arrival from Besiktas in 2018.

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Tosun is currently back in Istanbul on loan with the Black Eagles, after scoring once in seven appearances under Ancelotti following his return from cruciate ligament surgery.

Should Everton sell Tosun?

Sam Allardyce was a huge advocate of Tosun’s talents when he signed off on a move for the German-born centre-forward in his first and only window at the Goodison Park helm, and lauded him as “the best in Europe” for the price Everton paid Besiktas.

But after scoring five goals in 14 games under the former England head coach, Tosun’s career nosedived and he has only found the back of the net a further six times in 44 appearances under Marco Silva and Ancelotti.

Ancelotti was rarely willing to give Tosun a chance to improve his contribution with just a single start given following his return from injury, before sanctioning a half-season deal to send the 45-cap Turkey international back to Besiktas on loan.

Doing so has saved Everton from having to pay Tosun to take up a seat on the bench with reports that the Vodafone Park side are covering his salary, in a move that is not thought to include any loan fee.

Crystal Palace also covered Tosun’s wages whilst he was at Selhurst Park following a £1m loan move in January 2020, though his time in south London only lasted two months.

Altogether, Tosun’s struggles for form and premature return from Roy Hodgson’s Eagles has seen Everton waste £42.2m through the striker’s arrival, with £15.2m spent on wages to date.

Tosun was at Goodison Park for 105 weeks before joining Crystal Palace on loan and spent a further 47 weeks on Merseyside before re-joining Besiktas, for a combined 152 weeks with Everton paying his vastly lucrative contract.

Ancelotti is thus right to look to boot Tosun out of Goodison Park for the final time and potentially save Everton a further £5.2m before his terms lapse next summer, and will likely be hoping that Besiktas see enough to pursue a permanent deal after his loan expires.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a £17m striker with “a wealth of talent”…

Many Liverpool fans have been left to slam the display of Sadio Mane in their 0-0 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The former Southampton man did not have the best of games by his usual high standards as Jurgen Klopp’s men were guilty of missing a lot of golden opportunities on the night at Anfield, and in the end went out 3-1 on aggregate to the La Liga giants.

Mane lost out on 11 of his duels, more than any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch, as well as failing to record a single shot on target, while losing possession of the ball on no fewer than on 23 separate occasions in the match, the second-most out of any outfield player (Sofascore).

Liverpool fans on Mane display

It’s fair to say Mane has had a poor season by his standards, and these Reds supporters slammed his latest performance on Twitter, with one LFC fan claiming that the Senegal international was ‘ineffective’:

“Sadio Mane has lost his pace, intensity and footballing ability. People said after the Crystal Palace game in December, “a world class player always comes back”. We are still waiting, it’s April. | #LFC”

Credit: @LFCApproved

“Firmino has lost too much of his pace..no idea what happened to Mane but he has been awful this entire season. Didn’t see much of Thiago this season. Only Fab and Hendo can play in that midfield. Summer needs big decisions..#lfc”

Credit: @8558Dhiraj

“The #LFC forward line has to take 75% responsibility for the relative debacle this season. Yesterday Mane was completely ineffective — not for the first game this season Bobby – not sure what he stands for anymore Salah – missed gilt edged chances as he seems to do so often”

Credit: @Manavaggar

“Wondering if there are any #LFC fans out there still defending Mane. Not only has his skill level dropped but his work rate, team work and attitude. Failed to even celebrate Trent’s winner on the weekend”

Credit: @TanneSaul

“The real Sadio Mane has been invisible all season. Not seen him once this year. What on Earth has happened to him? #LFC”

Credit: @DyerThomas

“Sadio Mane not good enough. His form has declined, no more the supermane that we saw in the previous years #LFC”

Credit: @azkizzle

In other news, find out what Liverpool ace Leicester have been linked with signing here!

Olivier Ntcham has had an eventful few months after finally sealing a Celtic Park exit in the winter window.

The French midfielder joined Ligue 1 side Marseille on deadline day in the winter window, a move which led to Andre Villas-Boas’ exit as manager.

Ntcham’s woeful Marseille form

Ntcham has made five appearances in total in recent months for his new club, three of which have been starts. However, in those three matches, the 25-year-old has been subbed at half-time.

French outlet Foot Mercato, cited by Sports Witness, has now provided an update on the player’s future.

Marseille have the option to make Ntcham’s loan permanent in a deal in the region of €5-6m, but Foot Mercato claim ‘nothing guarantees’ the clause will be triggered in the summer.

Transfer Tavern take

It’s safe to say Ntcham hasn’t made the impact Marseille were hoping for, which could result in a Parkhead return ahead of the 2021/22 season.

Out of the 31 members to feature for the Ligue 1 side this season, statistically, Ntcham has been the fifth-worst rated player, as per WhoScored.

Ntcham’s Hoops deal will still have 12 months left to run in the summer, so Celtic may have to make a serious decision on the Frenchman in the upcoming window, should Marseille refuse to trigger their permanent clause.

In other news: Major manager update emerges from Celtic source, find out more here. 

Sheffield Wednesday are potentially less than nine games away from knowing their fate.

But recently-appointed Owls boss Darren Moore has an even tougher task ahead of him this summer, irrespective of which division the south Yorkshire fallen giants find themselves in.

No fewer than 12 players are out of contract at the end of the season, which is the vast majority of the current team, meaning there’s a likely rebuild ahead for the 46-year-old coach.

One of those names is Kadeem Harris – someone who has played a key role in this campaign. Letting him run down his deal is not only a dangerous game to play but is also going to make Moore’s job much harder.

Wednesday chairman Dejphon Chansiri is on the verge of making another contract mistake here – the likes of George Hirst and Liam Shaw spring to mind, albeit they were much younger prospects with huge potential.

Harris has been a frequent presence in the starting XI under Garry Monk, Tony Pulis, Neil Thompson and now Moore, having started 27 league games – only three other players have managed more this term.

The 27-year-old winger has been a major source of creativity too, recording three assists – one fewer than Owls playmaker Barry Bannan.

Again, it is only the skipper (1.6) who is managing more key passes per game than Harris (0.8) and as their set-piece taker, it’s easy to see why he’s putting in more crosses (1.1) than the former Cardiff ace (0.7) too, as per WhoScored.

What this does suggest, however, is that Harris is an integral player on the flank and without him, the Owls would certainly suffer from a lack of service.

Pulis once claimed that he was their only danger man during a drab 0-0 draw with Stoke City, he said (via The Star): “He’s taken us down the pitch, he’s been a threat, and he was probably the one threat that Michael (O’Neill) will have been worried about during the game.”

The £1.35m-rated dynamo won’t be short of suitors either, as according to YorkshireLive, Championship rivals Middlesbrough are huge admirers, whilst the likes of Reading, Watford and Stoke are said to be interested ahead of the summer.

Boro boss Neil Warnock has had him before, and despite being the man to let him depart for Hillsborough, still waxed lyrical over his ability.

“He’s given them directness, pace and power,” said the veteran. “He’s got every attribute. I can’t praise him highly enough. We had a chat last year, around Christmas time, and he trained like a Trojan. We have been blessed with good wide players and he just couldn’t get a long run.

He must be doing something right, in what has been a diabolical season for Wednesday.

Letting the £10k-per-week wide man leave for nothing would be a disaster, and that ultimately falls at the feet of Chansiri, who appears to be making yet another catastrophic blunder here.

AND in other news, Owls must axe Luhukay dud this summer, Bannan once dubbed him “perfect”…

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Jamie Vardy is suffering without James Maddison, but has still tipped Leicester to finish second.

Vardy has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season, but hasn’t found the net since Maddison suffered a hip problem against Aston Villa last month.

Leicester themselves have picked up just four points from their three Premier League games since winning at Villa Park, and were dumped out of the Europa League by Slavia Prague.

Their injury problems went from bad to worse when both Jonny Evans and Harvey Barnes were forced off against Arsenal earlier this month – with the latter expected to be ruled out for at least six weeks following knee surgery.

But Windass believes that Leicester, who lie in third just one point below Manchester United, will avoid a repeat of last season when they collapsed post-lockdown to finish fifth.

He told Football FanCast:

“We’re talking about Vardy, Maddison and Barnes. Two out of the three are injured. Yes, Iheanacho scored a wonderful goal against Burnley, but is he going to get you another six or seven goals? I’m not so sure. Maddison is a big miss for Vardy.

“I always had a midfield player or a winger that if they didn’t play, I didn’t get as many chances, and I think that Jamie Vardy will be thinking, ‘come on Maddo, get fit please, quickly’. Nine times out of ten, Vardy’s goals come from Maddison.

“But it’s a definite that they’ll get in the top-four, I actually think they’ll get in the top-two.”

Maddison and Vardy have struck up an excellent partnership since the former joined from Norwich almost three years ago, and as Windass says, the striker isn’t the same without Maddison behind him.

The pair have combined on a number occasions in recent years, and the quicker Maddison returns, the better Leicester’s chances are of finishing in the top-four.