All posts by z3u9t.icu

Eddie Howe rejected the chance to join Celtic as he has his heart set on taking over at Southampton, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Hoops’ long-standing interest in Howe

Celtic were after Howe for a number of weeks following Neil Lennon’s resignation, but talks between the two parties collapsed at the end of May.

Dermot Desmond first met the 43-year-old in London at the beginning of April, and reports even suggested that a move was all but complete prior to the breakdown in discussions.

The Hoops have since moved on to Ange Postecoglou and have reportedly agreed compensation terms with Yokohoma F Marinos for the 55-year-old.

The Latest: Why Howe turned down Celtic

A source with knowledge of Howe’s situation informed Football Insider on Saturday that the Englishman has set his sights on a move to St Mary’s.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is currently in charge of the Saints, but Howe is willing to bide his time in regards to a return to the dugout, with location believed to be crucial to his next move.

He isn’t thought to be in the frame for the vacant roles at Everton or Tottenham and his strong roots on the south coast appear to be why he snubbed a move to Glasgow.

The Verdict: Did Howe lead Celtic on?

If this latest report is accurate and Howe is keen on staying in and around the English south coast, it seems as if he led the Hoops on over a Parkhead move. Celtic waited until Bournemouth’s season was over in a bid to bring his desired staff members with him, but it now seems that he was never really sold on moving north.

In hindsight, it could turn out to be a dodged bullet, for if he took over at Celtic and failed to settle, it could have impacted performances on the pitch.

It looks as if Postecoglou is now Celtic’s man and hopefully he’ll be fine with swapping Australia for Scotland for the long-term.

In other news: Alan Nixon drops worrying Director of Football hint, find out more here. 

Everton’s game against West Ham on Sunday afternoon should be a captivating one.

The Hammers are in the race for Champions League football, while Carlo Ancelotti’s men are vying for a place in the Europa League.

Both potential achievements would be just desserts for their impressive campaigns but Everton will have to play a lot better than they did last weekend.

On the chalkboard

Ancelotti’s side suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa last time out and one of the biggest reasons was due to Mason Holgate’s lacklustre defending. He surrendered possession to Ollie Watkins inside his own half before the Villa striker found the back of the net.

However, the defender wasn’t the only poor performer on the day – Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes was also particularly abject, but not for the first time since returning from injury. The former Barcelona man was lumped off with 20 minutes to go against Arsenal after turning in a lightweight performance which saw him win only two tackles.

That has been a theme of his performances when playing against some of English football’s big boys. Gomes won just one of his 12 ground duels against Liverpool back in February and three of 14 duels against Chelsea in March. He was equally as bad when the Villans beat Everton at Goodison last time out.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-everton-transfer-news-coutinho-ancelotti-hawng-sarr” title=”Read the latest Everton transfer news!”]

The midfielder lacked physicality again and prevailed in only two of his nine defensive duels throughout the contest, losing 78%. Therefore, Ancelotti must take the ruthless decision to axe him from his starting XI against West Ham this afternoon.

The £140,000-per-week earner isn’t up to speed and the Toffees are now bolstered by the return of Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Dangerous Doucoure

The Frenchman was back in full training this week after missing a period of seven league games dating back to the beginning of March.

Doucoure has been absent due to a small fracture in his foot but that now looks to have healed sufficiently for him to be ready for action.

It would be a gamble to start him given his fitness issues but he’d likely offer a lot more physicality in the middle of the park compared to Gomes. The ex-Watford general has won 1.8 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game this season, compared to 1.4 tackles and 0.4 interceptions per match from his Portuguese colleague.

This should be a straightforward decision for the manager to make. Out with Gomes and in with Doucoure against David Moyes’ Irons.

AND in other news, Imagine him & DCL: Everton must swoop for £24.9m gem who gives oppo “sleepless nights”…

Aston Villa are lining up a £7m offer for Celtic midfielder David Turnbull, according to The Scottish Sun.

The Lowdown: Turnbull’s award-winning campaign

The Hoops may have not had the season they wanted, but Turnbull certainly made an impact in his first campaign as a Celtic player.

He netted nine times and provided eight assists in 35 appearances, booking his spot at this summer’s European Championships as a result.

Turnbull was also named the PFA Scotland’s Young Player of the Year recently, and it seems as his displays have caught the eye at Villa Park.

The Latest: Villa readying offer

The Scottish Sun claim that Villa manager Dean Smith is looking to add to his creative midfield ranks ahead of the 2021/22 season and has received glowing reports regarding Turnbull.

Villa representatives have watched Turnbull on numerous occasions and now thought to be readying a £7m bid.

Turnbull’s Transfermarkt valuation stands at just £1.62m, so the Hoops look set to be tested with a bid over four times that figure.

The Verdict: Hoops must keep Turnbull

Unless a club-record bid comes in (£24.3m), we think Celtic should reject all offers for the 21-year-old this summer.

There looks set to be a Parkhead rebuild both on and off the pitch this summer, and Turnbull has shown he can be an integral part of Celtic’s future with his displays in a struggling Hoops side this season.

He starred on his European debut, netting the winner against Lille and completed more key passes than any player in the Scottish Premiership (80), as per WhoScored.

On that basis, we think Celtic need to keep hold of the midfielder, who Frank McAvennie described as ‘incredible’, going forward and should snub a proposed £7m offer.

In other news: Celtic transfer U-turn comes to light; decision made at the end of the season, find out more here.

Charlton Athletic will be looking to return to winning ways on Tuesday as Nigel Adkins leads his team into the final four games of the regular season – next up are 15th-placed Crewe Alexandra.

The south London side slipped to a 1-0 defeat against second-placed Peterborough United at the weekend, but the Addicks now face an easier test on paper, with Crewe languishing in the bottom half of the League One table.

A win this evening is essential in ensuring that Charlton keep pace in the race for a top-six finish, even though they still hold games in hand over their nearest challengers, but will Adkins be tempted into any changes?

Here’s our predicted XI, along with the latest team and injury news from The Valley…

With Adkins having a number of players returning from the sidelines, as well as one new injury to deal with, the 56-year-old has some big decisions to make ahead of Tuesday evening’s game. As a result, we’re expecting there to be two changes to the line-up from the game against Peterborough three days ago.

The Addicks manager confirmed that Diallang Jaiyesimi will miss the clash due to a hamstring pull he suffered on Saturday, but Ryan Inniss – who was holding his left knee before being replaced against Posh – and Ian Maatsen – who has missed the last three games due to a hip injury – are both available for selection.

As such, Maatsen looks set to be a straight swap for Jaiyesimi on the right-hand side of the Charlton attack, while Inniss retains his place in the heart of defence after recovering from his knock against Peterborough.

The only other change sees 28-year-old Conor Washington come in for Jayden Stockley in attack, as the latter put in a disappointing performance on Saturday, missing a penalty and receiving a SofaScore match rating of just 6.4 for his efforts, ranking him as Charlton’s worst player on the day.

Elsewhere, Adkins’ midfield and defence from the Peterborough game should remain untouched, meaning that Adam Matthews keeps his place at right-back ahead of Chris Gunter.

In other news: Charlton suffer “big blow” ahead of Crewe clash, Adkins will be gutted – opinion

A journalist has dropped a promising transfer claim involving Newcastle United and their pursuit of Kristoffer Ajer.

Replying to a fan in a Q&A session with the Eastern Daily Press, Norwich City reporter Paddy Davitt was asked about their interest but claimed that the St. James’ Park faithful have been ‘touted’ for the potential signing of the Celtic central defender, and also added that ‘if it comes down to shoot outs’ with rivals from the Premier League, then the Canaries ‘won’t compete on financial terms’.

The Magpies have been heavily linked with Ajer in recent times, via Football Insider.

Newcastle must sign Ajer

Given that NCFC will be in the top flight with them in the 2021/22 term, assuming that the North East club do not get relegated this season of course, the Magpies will not be abel to blow Norwich away with the added incentive of Premier League football that they can offer to Ajer.

However, given the history and stature of the Tyneside club, as well as being financially better off as Davitt has claimed, the Toon should hold all of the cards for his signature if they want to follow through on their interest.

Standing at a mammoth six-feet-six-inches tall, Ajer could be a menace in both boxes for Steve Bruce’s team – winning over three aerial duels per game this term –  and at just 23 years of age, he will only get better.

Former Toon star Lee Clark, who managed the Norway international during a loan spell at Kilmarnock, described him as an ‘outstanding’ player back in March, which is very high praise.

Nonetheless, NUFC may not get a better chance to sign Ajer than this summer as his contract is ticking down (expires May 2022) and the Hoops could be forced to cash in, and it is one that they should take with open arms.

In other news, find out who has been named as a potential Bruce successor here!

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has tipped Aston Villa to enjoy a massive summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

Dean Smith’s side are enjoying a very impressive second season back in the top-flight, finding themselves in the top ten in the Premier League. And, Preece has now revealed that he expects the Midlands club to have a “big summer”, with the owners ready to back to the manager with a spending spree.

In a conversation with The Birmingham Mail, he said: “Aston Villa want European football, they might not get it this season, but they really want to kick on. I am expecting a big summer in that regard, and Johan Lange is working away behind the scenes to identify a list of players to sign to bolster the squad.

“Villa need to make a statement this summer and make that statement to Jack Grealish to say that they mean business, it could be a very exciting window. They have gone big the last two summers, I think £200m combined with £88m last summer on five players. They have gone for quality over quantity, and I can that same mantra again.

“There will 2-4 players and it will mirror last summer, upgrading key positions. The owners mean business, we know that. They will go big again and they will be working on the transfer priorities now. I can see £80-100m being spent on improving the squad.”

Dean Smith will be buzzing

Given how Villa have had an impressive campaign after a summer of significant squad strengthening, the latest news that the likes of Lange is already “working away behind the scenes” will no doubt be music to the ears of Smith.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-aston-villa-transfer-rumours-and-news-copy-copy” title=”Latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news”]

The Villa boss has worked miracles in getting a side that just narrowly avoided relegation back to the Championship last season, to genuinely battling it out for European football this campaign.

Smith deserves to be rewarded for his work in turning Villa into a truly competitive Premier League side, and Preece’s update on the club’s transfer stance will have him absolutely buzzing.

Meanwhile, Villa could strike gold by signing this Championship sensation…

Adam Forshaw probably won’t play this season or even at the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign, according to former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan.

Forshaw has suffered terrible misfortune fitness-wise, suffering a hip injury early last season and not playing a single minute since.

It means he has been missing for almost 19 months, during which time Leeds have of course secured promotion back to the Premier League.

Forshaw has been working hard on his recovery, however, and Marcelo Bielsa recently hinted that the midfielder could prove to be useful between now and the end of the season, while also heaping praise on the player for making a ‘massive’ effort to overcome his issues.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Whelan provides bleak Forshaw prediction

Whelan is less optimistic about the Whites star’s future, however, telling Football Insider that he has serious doubts about how much he will play moving forward:

“It’s a really strange one. Two years now…I do fear for his career after two years without football.

“There’s a big question mark on him. No one has any idea where he is. There’s been nothing coming out of the Leeds camp. They are very closed off about it.

“There is never a definitive answer about his fitness. I would be very surprised if he kicked a ball again this season or even at the beginning of next season.

“I think we’ll sign another midfielder in that area so unless he has some kind of miraculous recovery, I can’t see him getting back into the Leeds side.”

Transfer Tavern take

In an ideal world, Forshaw would return the all-action player he was before, becoming a key man for Leeds and ridding himself of his injury woes.

Sadly, though, the severity of his problem and length of his absence means it is hard to see him ever being an important figure again, especially as Bielsa’s men have gone up a level in the last year or so.

Forshaw’s contract expires in 2022, so it may be that Leeds let him see it out before moving on.

In other news, one pundit has made a big claim about Leeds’ starting lineup against Fulham – read more here.

Reports by Todo Fichajes earlier this week claimed Everton are keeping tabs on Martin Braithwaite’s situation at FC Barcelona, as well as that of Miralem Pjanic, but Marcel Brands must block a move for the striker to head to Goodison Park this summer.

The Toffees are understood to be eying a raid on the Camp Nou to improve Carlo Ancelotti’s squad, having built a strong relationship with the European giants through their deals to sign a string of the Catalan natives’ outcasts in Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne.

Braithwaite completed a controversial €18m (£15m) move to Barca last February, having been given permission by La Liga to leave CD Leganes outside of the winter market after injury ruled Ousmane Dembele out of action for six months.

Braithwaite has faced uncertainty over his long-term future at the Camp Nou ever since his arrival, despite having a €300m (£251m) release clause in his four-year contract, as Barcelona made the 29-year-old available for a transfer last summer to recover the fee they paid.

Reports by Sport claimed West Ham United approached Barca to open negotiations over the 46-cap Denmark international in the off-season but baulked at the £15m asking price, and again snubbed a deal at £13mduring the recent winter market.

The Irons were not alone in probing Braithwaite’s situation in January with West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United also sounding out his availability, despite the £105,000-per-week attacker having no interest in leaving Catalunya.

Everton now seem to be giving Braithwaite yet another route back to England after his two years on the books at Middlesbrough, where he only scored nine goals in 40 games across all competitions.

Braithwaite found some form in front of the net with Leganes after a permanent move to the Estadio Municipal de Butarque in 2019 following an initial loan spell, netting six goals in 24 La Liga fixtures before moving to the Camp Nou where he has three goals in 34 league games to date.

It remains to be seen how highly Barcelona intend to value Braithwaite in the upcoming summer market, when his services are again expected to be touted around as new President Joan Laporta strives to begin reducing the club’s debt of more than €1.1bn (£942m).

But, regardless of Barcelona’s asking price, Brands must step in and block any deal for Everton to sign Braithwaite at the end of the season, as the Danish dud – with a TransferMarkt valuation of £8m – will not improve Ancelotti’s options at all.

The 29-year-old rarely fashions chances to score when on the field with just 0.7 shots a game, and he rarely creates chances for his teammates with a mere 0.5 key passes from a woefully low nine accurate passes a game, per SofaScore.

Those efforts have also seen Braithwaite miss seven clear-cut chances to find the back of the net, which is the seventh-most across the entire Spanish top-flight, despite only playing an average of 46 minutes a game having started just 11 of his 23 outings to date.

Convert Braithwaite’s record into shots per 90 minutes and his average increases to 1.7 with 0.6 on target, per WhoScored, which would be enough to rank fifth at Everton for total attempts but with 0.9 fewer than Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the Premier League, who has provided 14 of his side’s 40 goals.

With Joshua King yet to score since his Deadline Day arrival on Merseyside last month and endless speculation on Moise Kean’s future, the Blues may be looking into signing a new striker this summer.

But they will not improve with a deal for Braithwaite, even if Koeman has praised the attacker as he has “worked hard” to earn his chances to feature at the Camp Nou this term.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti has set his eyes on bringing a £59m flop to Everton…

Members of the Newcastle squad are considering ‘face-to-face talks’ with Managing Director Lee Charnley as the threat of relegation looms larger, according to Football Insider.

The report claimed that the players were anticipating Steve Bruce’s dismissal in the wake of their desperately poor defeat at the hands of Brighton on Saturday night.

When it was revealed the following morning that Mike Ashley would once again stand by Bruce, there was apparently a feeling of ‘genuine shock’ among many of the players.

Newcastle in dire straits

The Magpies went down 3-0 at the Amex Stadium after a lifeless display which saw them amass an xG of just 0.09. They are precariously hovering just two points above the relegation zone with nine games to play.

Newcastle are also without a win in their last six matches, and at least some of the players are said to have ‘lost all faith’ in Bruce.

It should be stressed that these talks with Charnley wouldn’t be to demand that the 60-year-old be sacked outright, however. Instead, the players would pursue ‘more general answers about what can change’ as they look to stave off a return to the Championship after four years in the top flight. [Football Insider]

Transfer Tavern verdict

With fan action restricted in lockdown, the Toon Army will probably be pleased to see a group of players trying to hold the club’s hierarchy to account.

They are surely wondering what reasons Ashley and co. have to justify their consistent backing of Bruce, who is already a deeply unpopular figure among many Newcastle supporters and now, it seems, faces a possible backlash from some players too.

In other news, one Newcastle player’s season could be over.

With Neil Lennon finally gone, there is renewed positivity surrounding Celtic and their future heading into next season.

For the Parkhead faithful, this has been a diabolical campaign but fortunately, they’ve not had to be in the stadium to witness such terrible results. They are 15 points off the top and any chance of securing a tenth SPFL crown in a row is all but done.

John Kennedy has since been placed in interim charge of the Bhoys but Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell will surely look for more attractive suitors before the season is up.

He may have won his first game in charge over Aberdeen, but with some of the managers linked with the job, it would be quite something if he was handed the reins permanently.

One coach touted with taking on the vacancy is Roberto Martinez. The 47-year-old is currently in charge of Belgium so would be a surprising appointment, especially with the Euros on the horizon. That being said, it’s certainly not out of the picture.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Dean Windass said: “I think that would appeal to him, yes. I’ve worked with him and he’s a gentleman.

“Shaun Maloney’s there too (at Belgium). So that would be a good fit – that would be a very good fit.”

Indeed, if Desmond can lure the Spaniard to Glasgow, it would be a thrilling appointment, one that could even rescue the future of one of their star men.

Kristoffer Ajer has continuously been linked with the exit door and with his deal expiring in 2022, leaving this summer may be a genuine option. Though, the arrival of a big-name coach in Martinez could sway him towards staying at Celtic.

That’s because of two things. One, the development of John Stones under Martinez at Everton, and two, the possession-based style of football that the Belgium manager likes to operate with.

For Ajer, a ball-playing centre-half, playing under a manager who likes to keep the ball on the ground would be a dream.

The Norwegian has a habit of breaking through the lines from defence and picking out a teammate with ease. You only need to look at his pass success rate of 88.3% this term to understand how comfortable he is with the ball at his feet.

Leon Osman revealed the Everton side under Martinez would “live and die” for possession football and it was because of the Spaniard that Stones rose to prominence. Another ball-playing centre-back, he’s become a key component of Pep Guardiola’s great Manchester City side, keeping an incredible haul of 18 clean sheets in just 23 outings this term.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-on-celtics-managerial-vacancy” title=”Check out the latest on Celtic’s managerial vacancy!”]

His playstyle, something that was developed by Martinez, is one of the primary reasons he’s now one of the most impressive centre-backs in the English Premier League.

Ajer could see this is a major plus point in terms of his development, certainly at the age of just 22. With that in mind, there’s no reason he couldn’t stay for a bit longer at Parkhead before earning an even bigger move in a few years time.

Martinez could be the manager to extract even more from him. The defender has to stay if the former Everton manager walks through the door.

AND in other news, “He’s a big name in the game” – Exclusive: Pundit shares why former PL manager could join Celtic…