All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Southampton have been linked with Manchester United left-back Brandon Williams and Brentford left-back Rico Henry in recent weeks but which of the duo would be the better addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side?

Brandon Williams:

According to The Athletic, after seeing a January move break down for the Manchester United defender, Southampton will look to sign the 20-year-old on loan next season.

The United academy graduate can play as both a left-back and a right-back and has seen his progress with the Red Devils stifled this season as a result of the impressive form shown by Luke Shaw, as well as the summer arrival of Alex Telles.

The youngster has managed just two substitute appearances in the top-flight so far this season but has experience in both the Europa League and Champions League, whilst a loan deal could give Hasenhuttl’s side the opportunity to make him a permanent signing in the future if he impresses on the South Coast.

Rico Henry:

According to the Evening Standard, Southampton are currently leading the race for the Brentford defender, who is expected to be a Premier League player next season regardless of whether the Bees can earn promotion to the top-flight or not.

The former Walsall man has established himself as one of the top left-backs outside the Premier League during his time with Thomas Frank’s side, making 121 appearances and contributing two goals and eight assists.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/southampton-saints-ralph-hasenhuttl-martin-semmens-st-marys” title=”Latest Southampton news, transfer rumours and more”]

This season has seen the Englishman make 30 appearances in the Championship, contributing one goal and two assists, which has helped him to a solid 6.84 rating, whilst he featured in every game for the Bees last season as they reached the playoff final.

Current Aston Villa manager Dean Smith suggested he was “special” and destined for the top during his time with Walsall and the 23-year-old could live up to those expectations by making the switch to Southampton this summer.

Who would be better?

Whilst Williams is younger and would initially be cheaper than the £4.5m-rated Henry, Southampton should be looking for a more permanent replacement for Ryan Bertrand this summer, and there is no guarantee that Williams would want to stay after what would presumably be a loan from Manchester United next season.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

Henry has plenty of experience in the lower leagues and deserves his chance in the Premier League after some impressive seasons in the Championship, so we feel that Martin Semmens should forget about Williams and instead focus on bringing Henry to St Mary’s this summer.

And, in other news… Southampton could sign their next Romeu in “outstanding” PL gem

Eddie Howe won’t be able to take former Bournemouth colleague Richard Hughes with him to Celtic Park, according to a report from Football Insider.

They have been informed by a Celtic source that the Hoops are ‘wary of appointing Bournemouth technical director Hughes after Nick Hammond’s wretched rein’ – 12 words which could have major implications on the club’s pursuit of Howe.

The 43-year-old wanted to bring Hughes with him to Glasgow during talks with the Celtic board, but it looks as if the Hoops are closing in on Manchester City’s Fergal Harkin to fill the newly-created director of football role.

Hammond left his role as football operations chief last month and it doesn’t look as if Celtic want to bring in a replacement for him any time soon.

Transfer Tavern take

In our view, this development could be massive in regards to Howe’s possible Parkhead switch. Celtic don’t look like bowing to his demands regarding a reunion with Hughes, which may possibly scupper the prospective deal completely.

Reliable reporter Alan Nixon has stated that Howe also wants to bring in his own coaches, but they are still in work with Bournemouth at this moment in time. Reports have named Cherries coaches Stephen Purches and Simon Weatherstone as men wanted by the 43-year-old, but it doesn’t look like Hughes will be moving north any time soon.

That could possibly be the deal-breaker which ends Celtic’s chances of giving Howe the manager’s job.

In other news: Celtic have £4.35m bid for defender turned down, find out more here. 

Lucas Moura put on a show as Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways after a disastrous week.

Jose Mourinho made a statement with his team selection, dropping the likes of Eric Dier and Gareth Bale following two abysmal defeats in key fixtures.

Spurs first lost the North London derby without putting up much of a fight and then were embarrassingly knocked out of the Europa League to Dinamo Zagreb, who mounted a stunning three-goal comeback in Croatia on Thursday.

But this win over Aston Villa in the Premier League moved them back into European contention and sixth place, and centre to it all was the Brazilian.

Talismanic striker Harry Kane got on the scoresheet once again – taking him to the top of the goalscoring charts – but he also provided a key involvement in their opening goal, finding Moura before he fired across the goal for Carlos Vinicius to tap home.

He will reap the rewards and take much of the plaudits, as he often does, though the £22.5m-rated dynamo was fully in control of this match in an unfamiliar no.10 role.

As per SofaScore, Moura was graded among Spurs’ best performers with a rating of 7.9 – only Tanguy Ndombele got close (7.7).

The 28-year-old attacker was heavily involved in every attack, as seen by the sheer number of touches he had on the ball.

His 85 touches was only bettered by one player, and by one touch too, in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (86). The pair were a good 20 touches ahead of any other Spurs star, so that speaks volumes on his influence in the match.

Similarly, Moura proved to be a major source of creativity, managing four key passes from his 35 successful passing attempts (80% accuracy rate) and five successful dribbles. Both of which will have contributed to Spurs’ attacking returns substantially.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-spurs-news-mourinho-levy-gossip” title=”Read this week’s latest Spurs news, rumours and more!”]

By comparison, the rest of the Spurs squad could only combine for three key passes between them – one each from Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon and Kane.

Villa could barely stop him, as he drew a whopping six fouls, three more than Kane, who is the most fouled player in Mourinho’s squad, as per WhoScored statistics.

Moura also put in a great shift defensively, and that’s the sort of attitude Mourinho would have been looking for in response to their nightmare of a week.

He won 14 duels from 21 battles, both on the ground and in the air, and even recorded four clearances and one tackle. Joe Rodon, who started at centre-back, didn’t clear the ball from danger as much as Moura whilst only three other players managed more tackles.

The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick dubbed the £110k-per-week winger his ‘star man’ and added: ‘Easy to see why Mourinho loves him after an excellent display offensively and defensively. Ran tirelessly, with and without the ball and got a superb assist for Vinicius.’

Kane may have bagged the winner, but based on the evidence above, Moura absolutely stole the show at Villa Park.

AND in other news, Levy could seal a perfect Winks upgrade with Spurs swoop for £65k-p/w “amazing talent”…

Chris Sutton believes Glasgow Rangers ‘stink of hypocrisy’ and have ‘betrayed’ George Edmundson and Jordan Jones following their treatment of Calvin Bassey, Nathan Patterson and Bongani Zungu.

Sutton hammers Gers

Bassey, Patterson and Zungu all broke coronavirus regulations earlier this month to attend a house gathering (Sky Sports). However, all three were named in the squad to face Royal Antwerp on Thursday, while Patterson and Zungu came on from the bench.

That is in stark contrast to what happened to Jones and Edmundson after they committed a similar breach towards the end of last year (BBC) – neither played again for the 54-time Scottish champions after the incident and have since been shipped out on loan.

Former Celtic striker Sutton has slammed the Gers for their reaction. He wrote in The Daily Record:

“I’ll tell you one thing, if I were Jordan Jones and George Edmundson, I’d be feeling betrayed. 

“Those two were hung out. Suspended by the club pending an investigation we were told on an official statement. Punted down the road to England.

“Yet the other boys did the same thing and were put straight back into the squad as soon as their isolation period was up. 

“It absolutely stinks of hypocrisy and double standards.”

Change in circumstances

Sutton does make a good point – the Gers have changed their tune in the matter of a few months. Edmundson and Jones were treated as pariahs, but Zungu, Patterson and Bassey have been forgiven in double-quick time.

The differing circumstances is probably behind the decision to bring them straight back into the fold. While Jones and Edmundson weren’t really part of the first-team, the other trio are all likely to have a role to play between now and the end of the season. Not only that, the transfer window has been and gone, leaving the Gers no chance to move them on even if they wanted to.

As Patterson scored against Antwerp in midweek, Gerrard’s faith has been repaid.

In other news, Rangers fans slammed this man against Antwerp.

Oladapo Afolayan may have played his final game for West Ham United already after the striker addressed the chances of signing for Bolton Wanderers permanently.

What’s the word?

In quotes by The Bolton News, Afolayan has stated that he is focused on helping the League Two side in their push for promotion during his time on loan at the UniBol, and that any talks over his future will have to wait.

The 23-year-old is out of contract with parent club West Ham at the end of the season but could be offered a permanent move to Bolton, with head coach Ian Evatt making no secret of his desires to keep the forward.

“He’s a good, young player with a lot of talent and a lot of ability. His work ethic is there as well,” Evatt said earlier this month. “He’s a bright one for the future and hopefully we can keep him at Bolton Wanderers for the long-term, that’s what we want to do.”

Afolayan had strived to secure a loan move for the second half of the 2020/21 season to play regular first-team football after an injury-ravished year in the Hammers’ academy, and has impressed during his nine fourth-tier outings to date.

Building on those appearances is the focus for now, with Bolton travelling to relegation-threatened Port Vale on Saturday looking to better solidify their Play-Offs position.

“Playing regularly is something that I’ve needed for a while now,” Afolayan said. “I’ve not had it for a few years. I’ve had injuries and things like that, and I’ve worked hard in the U23s at West Ham this season and in and around the first-team, and in January looked to go out on loan and get some regular football.

“It was an easy decision to come here once I’d spoken to the manager and seen everything the club wanted to do. It’s a really good club and I’m really enjoying my football here and to be honest, I’m just working hard and trying to help this team get promoted this season and then I’ll reassess my options after that.”

Exit signals

Afolayan stating that he will reassess his options at the end of the season could mark a signal to a future away from West Ham, where his only first-team action to date came in a 20-minute cameo during January’s FA Cup victory over Doncaster Rovers.

Afolayan scored from the bench eight minutes into his introduction at the London Stadium, but he is yet to find the back of the net for Bolton – although he is “not too worried” by his only goal involvement thus far being an assist in the second of his nine appearances.

Evatt does not seem concerned, either, and stated following Bolton’s 2-0 win over Scunthorpe United last month how he sees the “excellent” forward being able to operate across the Whites’ frontline.

“I just thought that Dapo likes to go and hunt the ball and dribble and because Scunthorpe were 4-4-2, we thought that having Dapo as the extra player in midfield, as the number 10, that he could really cause problems and create things from that position,” Evatt explained.

“He’s improving with every game, he’s getting fitter and stronger. He’s still a young player and people can’t forget that.”

But Afolayan’s progress at the University of Bolton Stadium may ultimately be for the Wanderers gain and not West Ham’s, unless David Moyes can convince him to sign a new contract.

Given that he’s keen to play regularly, it seems like he may well prefer a move to Bolton over sticking at West Ham where he’s unlikely to get much of a look in.

AND in other news, West Ham face a £43m asking price to land a 24-y/o ace who “never gets tired”…

Dwight Gayle committed his future to Newcastle United despite having ‘grown frustrated with how he has been used by Steve Bruce’, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh reports.

Waugh’s colleague David Ornstein revealed on Monday that Gayle had agreed to a new three-year contract at the club on reduced terms.

Gayle considered moving abroad amid Galatasaray interest

His contract was set to expire in June, meaning he could have left the club as a free agent. Gayle was apparently ‘receptive’ to the idea of moving overseas ‘in search of a lucrative final contract’.

Galatasaray were said to be said one of the clubs interested in acquiring his services (via Chronicle Live), but Waugh has claimed that the financial consequences of the pandemic made those options less attractive for the 31-year-old, who has not at any stage decisively pushed to leave.

Gayle on the periphery at Newcastle

The Englishman, who was out injured from the start of the season until December, has made 11 Premier League appearances this term (via Transfermarkt).

However, only two of those have been starts, and both have come as a winger – he lined up on the right away at Chelsea and on the left against Aston Villa – rather than through the middle.

Newcastle not preparing for the Championship

Gayle is a prolific Championship marksman, enjoying 23-goal campaigns in the second tier in 2016/17 and 2018/19 (via Transfermarkt), but Newcastle are not thought to be planning for relegation. Waugh insists that they would have sought to agree fresh terms with Gayle even if they were safe.

As it stands, they are two points clear of the bottom three with a game in hand.

A new deal for an out-of-favour forward who has already turned 30 reflects the challenges of the present market for clubs and players alike.

In other news, Newcastle fans have ranked their preferred alternatives to Steve Bruce.

West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice was David Moyes’ real hero against Fulham on Saturday as the two London sides played out a drab goalless draw at Craven Cottage.

The Hammers had the chance to move into the top-four of the Premier League table with a win but instead were forced to settle for a point, with Michail Antonio spearheading a toothless attack with a lethargic display.

Moyes’ men were often passive and clearly off the pace in south west London after beating Aston Villa 3-1 in midweek, to allow Scott Parker’s side to look the more inventive outfit as they searched for only their third top-flight win of the season.

Aaron Cresswell injected brief moments of excitement into West Ham’s attack with his deliveries frequently causing the Cottagers problems, only for Jarrod Bowen to fail at the final hurdle by rushing in too late to meet the full-back’s most enticing cross of the day.

Vladimir Coufal, Craig Dawson, Angelo Ogbonna and Cresswell all stood well in protecting Lukasz Fabianski’s goal, too, but no visiting player was as important to the Irons securing a point than Rice.

The England international, playing the full 90 minutes for the 62nd-straight time in the Premier League, protected West Ham’s goal idyllically but also had the vision to set the tone for the Hammers when in possession and offer a creative touch.

Rice was the epitome of calm on the ball and produced a delightful cross for Coufal early in the second-half, only for the Czech Republic right-back to smash the crossbar with his header.

His performance came after former West Ham striker Tony Cottee urged the London Stadium natives to hand Rice a new contract, as the club should be rushing to improve his £60,000-per-week terms and fend off interest from the top clubs.

“What are they waiting for? Give the man a three or four-year contract,” Cottee told the Mirror. “If they can offer him European football or win a trophy, it would send a clear signal to Declan Rice that he doesn’t have to go to Chelsea or Manchester United – because he can fulfil his ambitions as the heir apparent [to Mark Noble] in claret and blue.”

While Antonio struggled to get going on Saturday, Rice wasted no time and registered West Ham’s second shot of the day with one of two strikes at Fulham. Only Cottagers trio Ruben Loftus-Cheek (5), Ademola Lookman (5) and Ivan Cavaleiro (3) struck more in the game, per WhoScored.

Rice also boasted the Irons’ only shot directed on target with Bowen, Cresswell, Coufal, Dawson and Tomas Soucek all sending their efforts wide or onto the woodwork to leave Alphonse Areola without any work to do.

The Hammers leaned on Rice to set the tone when in possession, too, with the 22-year-old recording a team-high 71 touches – the fourth-most of everyone in the game – and completing a team-high 45 passes. Only Joachim Andersen (78), Harrison Reed (67) and Tosin Adarabioyo (67) completed more for the hosts.

Yet Rice was not afraid to drive possession up the field, with the £49.5m-rated beast offering one of West Ham’s mere four successful dribbles – no one offered more than one – while Antonio lost possession with each of his two attempts and Said Benrahma in two of his three.

And defensively, Rice eclipsed most of his Irons teammates with a joint-high two successful tackles with Coufal but from a higher success rate at 67% to 50%. He further offered two clearances, a joint game-high two interceptions, never committed a foul and was never dispossessed.

West Ham may have felt the strain of carrying an underperforming and arguably unfit Antonio against Fulham with no alternative on the bench, but they would absolutely fear the prospect of life without Rice.

AND in other news, David Moyes can give a £3.5m-rated outcast a new lease of life at West Ham with one decision…

With the festive period in full swing, eyes will soon turn to the January transfer window.

Spurs have found themselves in an unlikely title race and thus signing new players could give them a huge boost in their quest to finally win the Premier League.

On the chalkboard

One of the names linked with Spurs over recent days is 26-cap Serbia international Nikola Milenkovic.

That’s courtesy of Italian media who claim that Tottenham are interested in signing the Fiorentina centre-back once the market opens next month.

His current side are trying to tie him down to a new deal and if that can’t be sorted then Daniel Levy might be able to wrap up a cut-price transfer of around €25m (£22.5m). They will, however, have to battle Manchester United for someone who could be the next Nemanja Vidic.

Speaking about Milenkovic, Serbian journalist Dejan Stankovic once said: “Milenkovic is better than Vidic with the ball at his feet, and he is much calmer on the field. He is the most talented centre-back Serbia have had since Vidic, and they definitely have one thing in common, both are fearless.”

That’s very fine praise for someone who could slot seamlessly into Jose Mourinho’s set-up.

Disaster for Dier

Spurs’ defence has been far more resolute this campaign. Before they took on Wolves, the Lilywhites had conceded just 14 goals – the second-fewest in the whole division – and had kept three clean sheets in their last six.

A big part of that has been Eric Dier, a man who has rediscovered his confidence this season. The England international isn’t a centre-back by trade but has been impressive, winning 2.8 aerial duels per game and completing over 82% of his passes.

Unfortunately for him, the acquisition of a new centre-back, particularly one as good as Milenkovic could spell disaster.

After all, the 23-year-old has been impeccable in Serie A this term. The defensive titan has won a mammoth 3.6 aerial duels per match which is rather unsurprising when you consider his height of 6 foot 5.

Despite that, there is a certain grace to his play too. The Serb has completed over 86% of his passes and has produced 1.6 tackles a game. For context, that’s more than Dier.

Mourinho’s backline doesn’t necessarily need much improvement but it would only benefit from having a more natural centre-half alongside Toby Alderweirald.

This would be a smart addition from Levy.

AND in other news, Levy must swoop for £31.5m-rated beast who “always plays well”… 

Many Manchester United fans have been left slamming Victor Lindelof as he was named in the starting XI versus Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield.

The Sweden international was brought in to the starting line-up by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the expense of Eric Bailly who dropped to the bench, which did not go down very well with several members of the Old Trafford faithful.

The 26-year-old was a key player in getting the Red Devils a clean sheet away at Burnley last time out in the top flight, blocking three shots and making two interceptions, the highest out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch (Sofascore).

His pace would have surely been a good asset to have as well against the likes of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, but Lindelof is not as quick and paired up with Harry Maguire, it may well spell trouble for his team come the final whistle.

Manchester United fan reaction to Lindelof starting

These Man Utd supporters slammed Lindelof on Twitter after learning that he would start the match, with one fan even going as far as to claim that the central defender is ‘dreadful’:

“Not sure how Lindelöf starts he’s dreadful. would of liked Cavani up top but hopefully get a result! come on lads! #MUFC”

Credit: @adambray1996

“Ole knows Bailly will put in WORK in this match and definitely get injured. He’d gladly lose this match and Bailly remain FIT. LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE. THIS MATCH WILL EXPOSE LINDELOF.”

Credit: @Abaku_T

“As Ole included Lindelöf in the line-up, my confidence vanished, Eric Bailly is way better tbh”

Credit: @dotunadeoye11

“What’s Lindelöf doing in our line-up ohh lord have mercy on us”

Credit: @NMukabwaa

“I have no problem with Fred and McTominay though…It’s Martial (as CF) and Lindelof I have a problem with”Credit: @Abaku_T”Ole is a disappointment! With this line-up featuring Martial and Lindelof, Man United should forget winning today’s match”Credit: @Muhamma74344469In other news, find out who was slammed by MUFC fans for his display against Burnley here!

According to The Daily Record, Rangers midfielder Jamie Barjonas’ proposed move to USL side Orange County is hanging by a thread.

What’s the word?

When it comes to those players who have emerged from the Rangers academy in recent years, there are a handful of names that will immediately spring to mind.

Billy Gilmour is one, Kai Kennedy is most definitely another, although his football has been somewhat limited under Steven Gerrard, but it can’t be any worse than Barjonas’.

The midfielder has made nine appearances for his boyhood club but unfortunately, he hasn’t played a single game for the Gers this season thus far as they push towards the Scottish Premiership title and that inactivity has cast doubts over his future at Ibrox.

According to The Daily Record, the 22-year-old is ready to leave his boyhood club on loan in search of regular game time, amid interest from several Scottish Championship clubs.

Get rid of him

Unfortunately for Barjonas, however, it seems his hopes have been dashed, as talks between Rangers and American club Orange County have reportedly stalled over a possible move.

The former Scotland U19 international came through the ranks at the 54-time Scottish champions but has failed to break into the first team at Ibrox and embarked upon a series of loan spells including time at Bury, Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle.

Barjonas has seen the likes of Bongani Zungu, Steven Davis and Ryan Jack picked ahead of him, while he couldn’t even earn a spot on the bench when Rangers travelled to take on Falkirk in the Betfred Cup. Instead, youngsters Ciaran Dickson and Leon King were named on the bench instead.

Considering he’s now 22, it’s hard to believe he is still on their books as his last appearance for the club came in 2019.

If Ross Wilson can’t find a solution in the meantime, maybe the next best thing would be to send him back to the reserves.

The Gers have already secured the signature of Nnamdi Ofoborh and must now start to think about clearing out the deadwood. It sounds incredibly harsh, but they may as well start with Barjonas. He just isn’t good enough for the Gers and Gerrard clearly has no intentions of using him anytime soon.

AND in other Rangers news, Ross Wilson must prioritise giving Glen Kamara a new contract…