All posts by z3u9t.icu

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has been a huge success at Ibrox since arriving at the club in 2018, leading his side to the Scottish Premiership title last season.

He coached his side through the entire season unbeaten, racking up 102 points and only conceding 13 goals in 38 games.

One area at which he could improve, however, is in bringing young players through into the first-team and making them regular starters. Nathan Patterson’s tally of four was the highest number of appearances made by a young academy player in the Premiership last term.

In the pipeline

Whilst a lack of involvement from academy graduates did not do anything to lessen the achievement of last season, fans would enjoy seeing young players get more chances in the first-team at Ibrox. Seeing someone rise through the ranks before becoming a key star in the Premiership would be a rewarding feeling for supporters, particularly those who follow the youth/reserve set-ups.

One player who fans could look out for in the future is Irish central midfielder Charlie McCann. Rangers signed him from Premier League giants Manchester United earlier this year for less than £1m, with McCann putting pen to paper on a three-year contract.

The 19-year-old can play as a defensive midfielder or in a box-to-box role, which could liken him to current first-team player Glen Kamara. Gerrard has placed his faith in Kamara in recent years, with the Finland international a regular fixture in the midfield.

He has, however, been linked with a move to the Premier League and that could mean that Rangers are looking for a replacement for him in the not too distant future.

Instead of splashing out big money to replace him, Gerrard could unearth his Kamara 2.0 by giving McCann a chance to show what he can do at senior level.

Rangers’ head of academy, Craig Mullholland, lauded McCann as having an ‘excellent personality’ upon his arrival at the club in the summer. He told the club’s official website:

“He has an excellent personality which, having met his parents, is driven from a strong family unit and this will allow Charlie to embrace the high quality environment, staff and provision we now have at Rangers. We all wish Charlie well as he starts his exciting Rangers journey.”

This suggests that he has the mindset required to keep progressing and developing as a footballer, to give him the best shot of making it in the first-team. He was a regular for Manchester United’s under-23’s and has been called up by Ireland and England at youth level, which indicates that he could have the potential to go far in the game.

Therefore, the versatile midfielder could be Kamara 2.0 waiting in the wings should the Finn leave for pastures new. He could be the reliable presence in the Rangers midfield that Kamara has proven himself to be, but it is now down to Gerrard to offer him an opportunity in the first-team and then for McCann to show that he can thrive at senior level.

AND in other news, Gerrard masterstroke: Rangers colossus has seen value rise 650% since joining the club…

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have been left excited by the club’s announcement of their deadline day capture of Czech Republic international Alex Kral (whufc.com).

The midfielder, who was linked with a move to east London very early in the transfer window, emerged back on West Ham’s radar during the very final stages.

Kral appeared for the Czechs at Euro 2020, playing four matches and recovering nine balls (uefa.com), but some sources believed his sub-par outings made David Moyes and co re-think signing him this summer (The Athletic).

The 23-year-old, however, seemingly never left West Ham’s thinking with the club managing to secure him in the final hours on transfer deadline day.

Kral joins the Hammers on a season-long loan deal with the option to make his move permanent.

Reliable sources, like The Evening Standard, believe West Ham can sign him indefinitely at the end of 2021/2022 for around £12 million, with £7 million in add-ons.

Left excited by this announcement, many Irons supporters flocked to Twitter and had their say – find all of their best responses to the club’s official account down below.

West Ham fans excited by Kral signing…

“Announce the title”

Credit: @BG3QWERTY

“Stop signing players, I can’t cope.”

Credit: @Scriv007

“Happy”

Credit: @CheeSammy

“Yessssss”

Credit: @WestHam05610307

“GET INNNNN!!!!!!”

Credit: @veryupsetfan

“Vamos”

Credit: @adidasboy_11

“Wow this has actually turned into a decent transfer window for us”

Credit: @kenny8bit

“No messing about from us”

Credit: @OliDrumm0nd1

In other news: ‘Yayyyy’, ‘Ooooo’, ‘Actually mental’…West Ham fans are raving over this ‘fantastic news’, find out more here.

Manchester City will be hoping to kick off their Champions League campaign with a win as they face off against RB Leipzig on Wednesday night.

Pep Guardiola’s side failed at the final hurdle against Chelsea in May and their ambition will be to go one better this time around. To do that they will need to, first, progress out of the group and Leipzig represent their first challenge.

City come into the game off the back of a 1-0 win over Leicester away from home in the Premier League. Bernardo Silva scored the only goal of the match in the second half, taking them to three wins out of four domestically.

Will Pep make any changes to the team? Here is our predicted XI for the match…

We are predicting that Manchester City will make four changes to the team that beat Leicester, with Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and John Stones coming in.

Starting in the defence, we believe that Guardiola will rotate his centre-back options by bringing Stones into the mix for Aymeric Laporte. The England international is yet to start a competitive game for City this season after playing a starring role for his country at the European Championships, whilst Laporte has started the last three league matches.

Therefore, it could be Stones’ chance to come in and show what he is capable of doing. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year last season and he will be hoping to prove that he can produce a similar level of performance again, starting against Leipzig in the Champions League.

We have published an article detailing why de Bruyne could be named in the starting XI, due to his quality and lack of minutes thus far in the campaign. However, we also think that Guardiola will change out his two wide players on either side of Ferran Torres.

Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish both started against Leicester and we are predicting that Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling will be handed a chance to impress the head coach ahead of a return to Premier League action at the weekend.

Mahrez, the £120k-per-week gem, managed four goals and two assists in 12 Champions League appearances last season and has one goal and one assist from only one Premier League start this campaign. His lack of starts this term suggest that he is in need of minutes and Guardiola could give Jesus, who played at Leicester after featuring for Brazil, a rest to give the Algerian an opportunity.

The same goes for Sterling, who has also only started once in the league. Grealish has started all four of Man City’s Premier League games, scoring one and assisting one, and it could be time for him to drop out of the XI for a match to give Sterling the chance to fight for his spot in the team.

We are predicting the rest of the team to stay the same, with Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and Torres filling out the side.

AND in other news, Pep must unleash Man City’s “complete footballer” against Leipzig, he’s a match-winner…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans were livid after Richard Keys urged supporters to tune in for an interview with the club’s disgraced former owner Charles Green.

The Gers may have won the Premiership last term and are currently in a healthy position, but it hasn’t always been that way over the last decade.

In 2012, they were demoted to the fourth tier of the Scottish football pyramid after entering administration (BBC), and they were than purchased by Green. However, he lasted less than a year in charge before stepping down as CEO, and was then charged with fraudulently acquiring the club.

He has now been speaking to Keys and Rangers supporter Andy Gray in an exclusive interview taking aim at a number of people (via The Daily Record). He labelled current Ibrox chairman Douglas Park a ‘lunatic’, tore into former Gers owner Dave King, defended his notorious kit deal with Sports Direct and even levelled criticism at Ibrox stalwart Allan McGregor and Steve Davis.

Keys took to Twitter to promote the interview, but it appears that many Gers supporters have no interest in listening to what Green has to say for himself.

These Gers fans took to the social media platform to let their feelings be known about the interview.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the interview with Green

“Absolutely no chance. Won’t waste my time on that garbage”

Credit: @Macky1048

“Plenty of lies too I suspect”

Credit: @andi_dunn

“Talk about clueless. This is like telling Liverpool fans to read The Sun for an exclusive on their club.”

Credit: @jonathonmills

“A tissue of lies from a charlatan and fantasist. Very disappointed Andy Gray had anything to do with this. He should have known better.”

Credit: @wavydot

“It’s quite sad how 2 presenters who used to be at the top of the game are now reduced to literally scraping the dregs from the barrel”

Credit: @davetait1981

“You spelled ‘moon howling Celtic fans’ incorrectly. Andy Gray should know better.”

Credit: @scottberwick

In other news, this man has been partially blamed for Rangers’ Champions League exit.

Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma is not an unrealistic target for Wolves, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Midlands club recently had a proposal knocked back by the player, according to Julien Maynard of Telefoot, as they look to strengthen their backline.

Zouma made 36 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea last season, featuring five times in the Blues’ successful Champions League campaign.

The 6 ft 3 Frenchman is quite clearly capable of playing at a very high level, explaining why Tottenham and Jose Mourinho, now manager of AS Roma, are also interested in him.

Even so, Hatfield does not believe Zouma is the kind of player who is out of reach for Wolves. On the club’s interest, he told FFC:

“If Wolves want to carry on improving after a season which was, you know, pretty poor in their respects, it’d be a really good signing – particularly if they’re going to a four at the back.

“I don’t think it’s an unrealistic target. In the same respect, I think there’ll be a fair few teams after him, so it could be a bit of a battle if he is up for sale.”

From Zouma’s perspective, joining a Premier League side like Wolves does not sound like the worst idea.

The £28.8m-rated France international lost his starting place at Chelsea following Thomas Tuchel’s appointment, so he probably will not have a big role at the west London club this season if he does remain there.

Furthermore, if Wolves come back in again, perhaps he should give their proposal some serious consideration.

Arsenal could turn to Marco Asensio in their search to find a creative midfielder…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Calciomercato, who claim that the Gunners are considering a move for the Real Madrid attacker after the Tokyo Olympics.

It comes just days after reports in Spain (via The Sun) suggested that the North London giants were leading the race to sign him in a £34m deal ahead of arch-rivals Spurs and fellow Premier League side Liverpool.

Asensio’s Spain side will face Brazil for the gold medal on Saturday, so once that has been finalised, Arsenal could push ahead to sign the 25-year-old.

Shades of Nasri

Edu Gaspar and co have already splashed in excess of £75m on three new additions but they still lack a replacement for Martin Odegaard, who was a temporary option following the departure of Mesut Ozil.

Asensio has struggled with injuries in recent seasons but remains a fan favourite, having returned to the side with seven goals and two assists in 48 appearances during the 2020/21 season.

That form has continued into the Olympics, where he has been a regular and reliable option for his national side.

Unlike an Odegaard or an Ozil, Asensio is a very versatile utility man. He played the majority of his appearances on the wing – 75%, to be precise – but this shouldn’t put off Mikel Arteta from a swoop as he offers plenty of creativity from the role and can play on the inside if needed.

In some ways, he could become a James Rodriguez type, as he often dictated the game for Everton from the right flank under Carlo Ancelotti.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-arsenal-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more” title= “Read the latest Arsenal news, transfer rumours, gossip and much more!”]

This would bear some similarities to the way Arsene Wenger utilised Samir Nasri. By no means was the Frenchman an enigmatic winger but rather someone who could cut inside and pull the strings in midfield.

Across 125 appearances, Nasri provided 27 goals and 16 assists from midfield and was arguably one of their most gifted players of that time.

Asensio has delivered very similar returns in a Real Madrid shirt, having contributed 37 goals and 22 assists in 193 matches, as per Transfermarkt.

The £34m-rated dynamo is someone who regularly looks to be the playmaker for his side, as he revealed during an interview, via Defensa Central. “I always try to make the difference,” Asensio claimed.

Once tipped to win the Ballon d’Or, the Spaniard is an incredible player on his day and one who has been described as “magical” by Los Blancos teammate Casemiro, whilst ex-Premier League midfielder Joey Barton once dubbed him a “special talent”.

An average of 1.6 key passes per 90 minutes throughout last season further suggests his suitability to becoming a creative influence in a Gunners shirt, especially with Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe topping the charts with 1.4 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

Edu must look to secure Asensio this window. He could go on to become the Gunners’ new Nasri – a versatile and creative beast from out wide.

AND in other news, Better than Odegaard: Edu must sanction Arsenal swoop for £60m-rated “special talent”…

Many West Ham United fans are far from happy with the news that PAI Capital will make a second bid to purchase the club this week.

The Hammers are in a good place at the moment on the pitch – they are in the Europa League group stage after finishing sixth in the Premier League last term. However, there has been a distinct lack of transfer business conducted this summer, and owners David Sullivan and David Gold are far from popular at the London Stadium (talkSPORT).

There appears to be interest in purchasing the club from PAI Capital, which has been backed by a number of former players (Daily Mail). As per The Telegraph, another bid will be lodged this week, but that does not appear to have pleased some supporters who believe that the delay in the takeover is damaging their transfer prospects. Indeed, a few think it could even be an excuse from the current owners for the lack of new arrivals.

The news was shared on Twitter by @central_louis, and it attracted plenty of attention from West Ham supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the news

“Here is our excuse for not doing any transfer business:”

Credit: @westhamtransfer

“There goes any hope of us getting signings then”

Credit: @NathWHU_

“Don’t want them to. Circus act”

Credit: @garywilliam_

“What company gets Ex players to try and drum up support, this is so West Ham shambolic. This is getting in the way of us getting players in such bad timing, can’t believe I’m saying it but I’d rather stick to what we have.”

Credit: @MarkCocklin1

“I don’t recall Roman Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour releasing tidbits to the press about an upcoming bid (or 2nd bid), they just went and bought Chelsea and Manchester City. This is all a distraction and excuse for the lack of transfer activity”

Credit: @mattwhu999

“PAI capital ruined our summer transfer. ORRR GSB set this up not to bid for any players”

Credit: @WestHamUtdFC2

In other news, West Ham are said to be interested in this Brazil international.

Many West Ham United fans want the club to sign Clement Lenglet after they were linked with a move for the Barcelona defender.

David Moyes deserves huge credit for leading the Hammers to a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League last term, especially as the Irons battled relegation during the 2019/20 campaign. As such, they will be competing in the Europa League this coming campaign.

However, the Irons hierarchy cannot expect him to repeat such heroics without the necessary squad improvements – West Ham are yet to make a new signing in this transfer window.

However, according to Ekrem Konur, they are in talks to sign a new centre-back, albeit on loan. That man is £22.5m-valued Lenglet (Transfermarkt), who plays for Barcelona and France – he appeared for Les Bleus at Euro 2020 was a regular in the Blaugrana’s line-up at club level in 2020/21.

News of the Irons’ interest in the 26-year-old was shared on Twitter by Konur and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. These took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, with one fan describing Lenglet as a “baller”.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Lenglet links

“85 rated on FIFA, get it done!”

Credit: @OC02_

“He was amazing for Sevilla! I’d happily take him!”

Credit: @Sam6WHU

“I’d happily have him, either with Ogbonna in a back 4 or if we do a 5/3 then Diop, Lenglet and Ogbonna. He could also help develop Diop further.”

Credit: @sam_lummis

“I hope people realise that ‘not good enough for Barcelona’ means that he’ll still be one of our best players”

Credit: @alanrzepa

“Don’t know much but if it’s a loan I would take it”

Credit: @oliver90820149

“Yeah tbf, baller!”

Credit: @SeanLiggett96

In other news, some West Ham fans were fuming over this transfer bid.

Many Wolves fans have been left to fume as a transfer update emerged on Dani Ceballos.

As per El Confidencial, the Midlands club are interested in signing the Real Madrid man in the summer window, however, he is not thought to be keen on a return to the Premier League, after he spent the past two seasons on loan at Arsenal.

Given that the Molineux faithful already have the likes of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker and Morgan Gibbs-White as options in the centre of midfield, it may not be a wise idea to buy Ceballos as well, and instead strengthen in other positions.

The Spain international was not exactly inspiring with the Gunners either, scoring no goals and making just three assists in 40 games in total over all competitions in the 2020/21 season (Transfermarkt).

Wolves fans on Ceballos transfer update

These WWFC supporters fumed as the transfer update was shared on Twitter:

“Oh my god pls no”

Credit: @cal_wolvesfc

“NEXT”

Credit: @AzzaSahota

“Yeah hell no”

Credit: @YasWWFC

“Doesn’t want to return to the Premier League? Oh that’s a shame. NEXT!!”

Credit: @SamclarkUk

“Only pops up for 10 mins a game.”

Credit: @Tofts8

“Nah”

Credit: @haydenbd_

In other news, find out who Bruno Lage has asked the Wanderers to sign here!

Kevin Phillips has backed Leeds United to sign Nottingham Forest starlet Brennan Johnson.

The Lowdown: Leeds get ready for the 2021/22 campaign

Moving into the 2021/22 season, it will be fascinating to see how Marcelo Bielsa’s men go about improving upon their ninth-placed finish last term.

Making moves swiftly in the transfer market, the Whites have completed deals for Jack Harrison and Amari Miller respectively so far [The Athletic].

BBC pundit Phillips has now tipped the Yorkshiremen to acquire Nottingham Forest youngster Johnson and then loan him out after he spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Lincoln City.

Leeds are reported to be interested in the Wales international since last month and he is currently valued at around £10m by his current employers [The Athletic].

The Latest: Phillips backs Leeds for potential Brennan swoop

Enthralled by what he has witnessed from the 20-year-old attacker, Phillips told Football Insider: “He impressed me when he played in the playoff games against Sunderland. Especially in that first game. He looked very direct and got the goal so he’s not afraid to get forward.

“He travels well with the ball and he’s only young. From a Leeds point of view, can you sign him then loan him out?

“He’s definitely got a lot of talent. If he goes to Leeds he won’t be in the first team plans, I’m sure of it.

“Bielsa can get the best out of players like that, watch this space with that one.”

[web_stories_embed url=“https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-7/” title=“Latest Leeds United news!” poster=“” width=“360″ height=“600” align=“none”]

The Verdict: Brennan would be an excellent acquisition

Phillips correctly points out Bielsa’s ability to maximise the output of players within his high-octane system.

In 2020/21, the versatile prodigy, who can play anywhere across the front four, made a startling impact as he registered 27 goal contributions from 48 appearances, with 13 goals and 14 assists [Transfermarkt].

He also demonstrated his fearlessness in shooting from any angle, averaging the highest shots per game average in the entire Imps squad with 2.3 per match [WhoScored].

Possessing the ability to develop into a top attacking player in years to come, Leeds could do a lot worse than to approach Nottingham Forest regarding a potential deal for Johnson.

In other news, Leeds United’s Premier League rivals have been left ‘stunned’ after the Whites finalised a transfer deal.