All posts by z3u9t.icu

Fans of Southampton have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed a report that claims Saints are interested in a summer swoop for Fernando Pacheco.

According to a recent report by Spanish outlet Gol Digital, both Southampton and Leeds United are keeping tabs on the Deportivo Alaves goalkeeper ahead of a potential summer move, with the La Liga side reported to be asking for a fee of around €10 million (£8.6 million) for the shot-stopper.

The report continues by stating that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side “would be willing to pay” the asking price of Alaves, however, that it is Leeds who are more in need of an addition to their goalkeeping department, as Marcelo Bielsa is looking to replace Kiko Casilla.

And, after Southampton Page relayed the report on Twitter, fans of Saints flocked to have their say on the matter, with some appearing delighted at the prospect of their club making a move for the 28-year-old, while others seemed to think the club have other priorities this summer.

So, what exactly did these Southampton fans have to say in reaction to the report regarding their interest in Fernando Pacheco?

“This would be sick.”

@sfcmaxx

“Would be a very good signing… but another club will definitely get him.”

@Danny1ngs

“Ayo yes.”

@sfcrxbbo_

“£8.5m, won’t happen. £8.50 is our budget.”

@stevebr27075195

“It’s about the only position we do have a bit of depth in.”

@fennzza

“I feel like we should be concentrating on other positions rather than spending £8.5m on a position that we have well covered.”

@shikarifan

“I know we should be focusing on other positions but for £8.5 million that’s an absolute steal IMO.”

@_majesticmaya

In other news: Southampton have enquired about this Premier League striker – find out more here!

If anything summed up Wolves’ chaotic season so far, it would be their 2-1 win over Arsenal in midweek.

The Old Gold tasted victory for only the fourth time in their last 14 outings and it came in the strangest of ways.

A penalty and two red cards told a sorry story for the Gunners but Nuno Santo won’t care; he has finally ended the diabolical rut his team were on.

On the chalkboard

Most pleasing for Nuno last Tuesday was not just the win but the performance of Joao Moutinho. The Portugal international hadn’t scored all term before that victory but fired home a rasping drive from long-range that ultimately won the game for the Old Gold.

Going forward they were a threat but it was the same old story defensively. Wolves have kept a solitary clean sheet in the league since October and they were given a torrid time once again by Nicolas Pepe.

That was largely down to the performance of Nelson Semedo. The right-back was abject at the back and let Arsenal players surpass him all too easily.

Semedo set the tone when Cedric got past him in the opening exchanges. His fellow Portuguese full-back danced a merry jig past the former Barcelona defender but it only got worse.

Pepe flew down the left-hand side in a similar fashion to Cedric and then with a lovely piece of tricky advanced past Semedo with absolute ease. The Ivorian was then able to find the net in unerring fashion.

The summer signing was absolutely bullied down the right-hand side, losing 67% of his duels, but this is hardly surprising judging by previous performances in recent weeks.

He has been letting his side down for weeks, being branded a “liability” by journalist Tim Spiers for his mediocre performances in defence.

The 27-year-old put in a similar performance when Everton came to Molineux in January. He was caught out of position for Alex Iwobi’s opener and failed to get tight enough to Lucas Digne. The Toffees full-back was able to deliver a large haul of six crosses that day, something that only demonstrates Semedo’s ineptness in recent months.

Nightmare inbound?

With that in mind, he could be given a torrid time by Leicester on Sunday. Jamie Vardy is in contention to return while Harvey Barnes has been a rampant force down the left-hand side for the Foxes this term.

He’s scored seven Premier League goals while registering three assists in the process. With that in mind, perhaps Nuno could benefit from picking Ki-Jana Hoever?

The youngster established a valuable connection alongside Conor Coady when Wolves suffered a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United in December. The skipper was barking orders at Hoever and it very nearly worked.

The Molineux outfit held on until injury time in a game where Hoever stood out on his first Premier League start.

Having dealt comfortably with the likes of Marcus Rashford you sense he could do a similar job against Barnes. After all, Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken said after that United game that Hoever “didn’t put a foot wrong.”

It’s time to axe the £73k-per-week Semedo and bring in Hoever.

AND in other news, Wolves could finally axe Moutinho by signing “intelligent” £13m gem Keogh once bullied…

With Celtic’s season essentially done and dusted, they can begin preparing for the next campaign.

It will be a crucial campaign too with the Hoops no doubt aiming to usurp Rangers again. That being said, who will be part of the squad attempting to do just that?

What’s the word?

Jonjoe Kenny is Celtic’s current option at right-back but it looks as though they have other plans to fill that spot in 2021/22.

The Englishman signed on loan in January to replace Jeremie Frimpong but Celtic are now reportedly eyeing a move for a different full-back on a permanent basis.

That happens to be ADO Den Haag defender Milan van Ewijk. Dutch outlet VI reported the news suggesting that the Hoops were one of a number of sides vying for his signature.

German outfits Schalke, Hamburg, and SV Darmstadt are all in the race to land the 20-year-old, as are Gent.

Promising player

Losing Frimpong to Bayer Leverkusen in the January transfer window wasn’t an ideal situation for the Bhoys. The Dutchman was a vibrant young prodigy, one described by Neil Lennon as being the best youngster he’s ever coached.

Though, they could replace him in some style with a move for Van Ewijk. Like Frimpong, he loves to get forward but importantly, he’s significantly more adept defensively than the former Celtic man.

Speaking about his own game, Van Ewijk once said: “I am a fierce right back who can attack well, but also defend and I have a good condition. I can certainly also be found in the front. Last season I also gave a number of assists. I’ll show the rest during the matches.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-hunt-stories-wagner-marsch-martinez-lennon-news” title=”The last stories on Celtic’s hunt for a new manager!”]

Indeed, we’ve seen as much this term. The young defender has played 24 times for Den Haag, contributing to three goals in the process. His defensive statistics are phenomenal; producing 3.3 successful tackles a match on average. That’s the fifth-highest success rate of anyone in the Dutch top-flight.

His 80 tackles this season are also more than any other player in the Eredivisie. In one instance this term, Van Ewijk made as many as nine clean challenges in a solitary game. It’s a remarkable number, one that reminds us of Ismaila Soro.

The Ivorian is Celtic’s chief operator in that area of the field. Soro has won two tackles per outing in the SPFL, while he possesses a tally of 3.7 challenges a match in the Europa League.

When it comes to breaking up the play, there are few better in the Celtic squad. Thus, just imagine the brute force they could play with if they fielded Soro and Van Ewijk in the same starting XI.

Neither would shy away from a tackle and judging by some of the performances we’ve seen from the Bhoys this term, that can be no bad thing.

AND in other news, Desmond may sway Edouard’s Celtic future by hiring 43 y/o with “a science to football”…

What a revelation Ismaila Soro has been for Celtic.

Since coming into the starting line-up for the first time in the Scottish Premiership against Kilmarnock earlier this month, the 22-year-old has looked completely at home in that holding midfield role.

He was given the chance to start again in the 3-0 win over Dundee United on Wednesday afternoon, and he absolutely delivered on his manager’s faith.

As well as scoring a superb long-range strike to open the scoring and setting up David Turnbull’s goal, Soro put in an exceptional display in the middle of the park to both stop Dundee United making any headway, and keeping things ticking over for the Hoops too.

As per Sofascore, he boasted an incredible 96% pass accuracy, provided two key passes, and made two tackles. That’s not to mention he also completed both of his attempted dribbles, and won five out of his eight total duels.

Speaking after the game, Lennon said: “He played brilliantly. I thought he passed the ball really crisply. It means a lot to him to get his first goal. I’m really pleased with his contribution.”

Such was Soro’s exceptional performance, that many Celtic fans took to Twitter to insist that the midfielder is “undroppable”, and it’s fair to say he delivered an emphatic statement to his manager.

With the Old Firm clash against Rangers on the horizon, Lennon has been sent a major message by one of his rising stars. Anything other than Soro being on that starting team-sheet at the weekend would be an unforgivable disaster.

Many West Bromwich Albion supporters swooned over midfielder Matheus Pereira after his side’s stunning 3-2 victory against Wolves on Saturday.

The 24-year-old converted two penalties as the Baggies got their first victory over their arch-rivals since 2012 – the last time the two teams faced each other in the Premier League.

Pereira’s spot-kicks and Semi Ajayi’s second-half header ensured that Sam Allardyce’s side left Molineux with full bragging rights of the Black Country.

The Brazilian shone on the day – as well as his goals, he provided two key passes, accumulated a pass success rate of 83.3% and received the second-highest match rating out of the West Brom players with 7.6 (Whoscored).

Because of this, supporters were overjoyed with Pereira in what was such a crucial game for them, making their feelings clear on social media.

Fans gush over Pereira

“Bartley was incredible today. Pereira was incredible today. Snodgrass was impressive today. Robinson showed so much heart today. All of the team were incredible. That’s premier league. That’s how it’s done.”

Credit: @WBAFC_Cam

“Fully deserved win, best performance in ages and great to see some character for once. Snodgrass looks likes a great addition and Pereira is now in Albion folklore”

Credit: @JThurstance

“Everyone was asking Pereira to deliver today against the Dingles and he did just that. Showed great composure from the spot after missing against Blackpool and had an absolute blinder #WBA”

Credit: @JamieTheo2

“Pereira proving he’s the best player in the Black Country, Bartley putting his body on the line. You love to see it. Up the Albion #wba”

Credit: @lewis_harbon

“Pereira’s little sparks of quality were important. But special means for Bartley and Robinson. Immense performances”

Credit: @ianmurphy89

“Hilarious we’ve managed to beat the Dingles with our team/form going into the game. Some big performances from Bartley, Ajayi, Snodgrass and Pereira #boingboing #wba”

Credit: @Rob_Norms

In other news, Slaven Bilic identifies ‘significant problem’ at West Brom for one reason.

After seeing their win streak snapped by Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford, Manchester United may have entered the London Stadium with a degree of apprehension.

United beat Everton and West Brom, before avenging their humbling defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir in a 4-1 win at the Theatre of Dreams, then edging the high-flying Saints in a 3-2 thriller at St Mary’s.

But the loss to Thomas Tuchel’s side stopped the Red Devils in their tracks, and ahead of the trip to West Ham at the weekend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have been forgiven for feeling a little anxious.

It looked like Solskjaer’s side were in for a long night when the unmarked Tomas Soucek headed in from a corner in the first half, before Pablo Fornals hit the post and Sebastien Haller slipped at the last second when he looked destined to score.

However, the introduction of Bruno Fernandes changed the course of the game, as the Portuguese magnifico inspired the spirited comeback against West Ham after replacing the out-of-sorts Donny van de Beek at half-time.

Confident in possession and comfortable on the ball, the 26-year-old pulled the strings from the midfield alongside Paul Pogba, despite the fact that he didn’t even register a single shot.

As per SofaScore, he took 45 touches of the ball, provided 33 out of 39 passes (85%) and produced eight key passes, which is more than any other player on the pitch managed in the entire game.

Having started every Premier League fixture so far this season prior to the clash with West Ham, it was somewhat of a surprise to see Fernandes start from the bench.

But with a well-drilled RB Leipzig up next – although they have conceded nine goals in 10 Bundesliga games, three of those came during a 3-3 draw with defending champions Bayern Munich – the midfield maestro’s creativity could be key to unlocking their defence once again.

Sky Sports pundit and former Arsenal player Paul Merson has reserved special praise for Fernandes in the past, insisting he is better than the players they had before, and adding that he can bring the best out of Martial, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford.

He said: “He’s come in, has started off flying, and everything is great. You only start passing the ball backwards and sideways when your confidence goes, but at the moment, he’s playing well and doing everything right. It’s about how he reacts to having a couple of bad games, but nobody will know that until it happens, and at the moment, he’s ticked every box.

“He has a lot of pace in front of him, in Martial, James and Rashford. He’s also playing with Mata, who is on the same wavelength as him, and Matic, who will give him the ball simply when he knows better players are in front of him.”

In five appearances in the Champions League this season, the Portugal international, who currently earns wages worth £100,000-per-week, has scored three goals and supplied an assist so far, whilst he is averaging 3 shots and 2.2 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

United signed Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon on a five-and-a-half-year deal for £47m with performance-related bonuses. Since then, it’s fair to say that he has turned out to be an absolute gem, with 22 goals and 14 assists in 38 games in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

Bringing Fernandes back into the fray could prove pivotal to picking up a huge result at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night.

AND in other news, Forget Rashford: Paul Pogba steals the show as Manchester United fight back to beat West Ham…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former England midfielder Carlton Palmer has warned Tottenham Hotspur to not rush into a contract decision over Serge Aurier despite taking his game to a new level.

According to Football Insider earlier this month, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is planning to hand fresh terms to the 27-year-old after an impressive turnaround in form this season.

It is claimed that the tough-negotiating chief would like to resolve his future before he enters the final 12 months of his deal next year, in order to not suffer a similar situation to Christian Eriksen.

In the summer, the Ivorian right-back very nearly left the club with Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan keen on his services following the £15m arrival of Matt Doherty.

But under Jose Mourinho, Aurier has quickly established himself as the first-choice in the Premier League.

Speaking to FFC, Palmer revealed his worry about improving the former PSG star’s £120k-per-week wages on the basis of just four to five months of positive performances.

He said:

“I think it’s too early myself. I think that there’s no panic to be giving anybody a new deal. If you’re Spurs at the moment – and they’re flying high and doing as well as they are – you just keep the players being hungry, and at the right time, then you give them the contract.

“You’ve got to be very careful because you can dive in, depending on the player, as soon as you improve his wages, sometimes you put them back in the comfort zone.

“You see we’re a bit too quick in the UK, not just in football but everything – somebody shines and all of a sudden, they’re the best thing since sliced bread, and then they don’t do so well and we’re all of a sudden knocking them down.

“I’d like to see [Aurier] do that for another two or three seasons before we talk about [a new deal]. I do think he has taken his game to another level, but I’d like to see him do it for two or three seasons about how great he is.”

Indeed it has been quite the revival for Aurier.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, and even at times under Mourinho last term, he was lambasted as a “liability” – something that former Spurs striker Darren Bent once dubbed him as well as supporters too.

The £23m arrival has contributed to two goals in seven starts, whilst also averaging a whopping squad-high 4.1 tackles, 3.6 clearances, and 1.3 interceptions per game, via WhoScored.

Maybe Palmer is right, Levy and co should wait to see if the 27-year-old can keep this up going into 2021 first.

AND in other news, Levy could find Mourinho’s next IBRA in “tireless” 6 foot 6 workhorse…

After picking up a hugely impressive 1-0 win against Manchester United at the weekend, Arsenal return to Europa League action when they take on Molde on Thursday night.

The Gunners have secured two wins from two in the competition, beating both Rapid Vienna and Dundalk. They could take another huge step to securing qualification from the group stage with a win at the Emirates, and boss Mikel Arteta will know the importance of ensuring there are no slip-ups and that momentum is continued.

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With the chance to rotate players ahead of a Premier League clash against Aston Villa at the weekend, Arteta will surely ring the changes. And with that in mind, below is a look at how the Gunners might line up.

In goal, Runar Runarsson should make his second ever appearance in an Arsenal shirt, after making his debut against Dundalk last week. In front of him, Arteta is likely to freshen things up even more, with the likes of Sead Kolasinac, Shkodran Mustafi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming into defence.

Having seen Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey run themselves into the ground in that 1-0 win over United, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Arteta decides to rest them both on Thursday. That could see the return of familiar faces Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos.

And after a pair of impressive displays last time out, the likes of Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock should get themselves another opportunity. Fellow academy product Folarin Balogun may fancy his first start in an Arsenal shirt after coming off the bench last week, and that could give the Gunners a very exciting attack.

Predicted XI: Runarsson; Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Gabriel, Kolasinac; Ceballos, Xhaka; Pepe, Willock, Nelson; Balogun.

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson must consider axing Danny Graham from the Sunderland starting line-up immediately after questioning the striker’s desire following defeat to Mansfield Town in the FA Cup.

The Black Cats were beaten 1-0 at home to the Stags on Saturday as Parkinson rang the changes to protect his favoured players for crucial League One fixtures, as he strives to guide Sunderland out of the third-tier.

Graham could not repay his manager’s faith by impressing at the Stadium of Light, however, as the 35-year-old twice hit the woodwork with Sunderland’s best chances of the game, which both came inside the opening 10-minutes.

Parkinson was fuming at the full-time whistle with the performance he’d seen from his attacking players, who allowed League Two Mansfield to secure their first win of the season in any competition and begin Nigel Clough’s reign in the best way possible.

He felt the Black Cats had produced enough chances to score at least one goal, having seen 38 crosses delivered into the box despite making eight changes to the starting line-up.

“I picked a team that I felt was capable of winning,” Parkinson said, via quotes by the Chronicle. “There were players who were injured who didn’t figure and there were some who we chose not to play because they had played a lot of football, while others needed games.

“The team was strong enough to win and over the course of the game, we’ve put enough quality deliveries into the box to have won the match. Ok, our decision-making wasn’t always great and the quality wasn’t always great, but there were enough over the 90 minutes.

“Our desire and movement to get across people and get something from those moments wasn’t good enough. The one cross Mansfield put in, the lad [George Lapslie] has got in with real desire, got between two of our defenders and headed it in.

“I’ve just sat down and gone through all the deliveries that we put in and there were more than enough to have won the game comfortably.”

Parkinson’s comments, while not naming any players directly, show a clear displeasure to the performance given from Graham, who has now scored just one goal in 10 appearances across all competitions since returning to the Stadium of Light this summer – a pretty awful record for a man of his calibre.

Black Cats CEO Jim Rodwell’s decision to sanction the 35-year-old’s comeback is now appearing more of a horror by the day after defeat to Mansfield, and Parkinson must consider axing the striker Blackburn Rovers released when his side travels to Fleetwood Town in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.

Sunderland could have benefited nicely from a run in the FA Cup, but that is now not to be after the likes of Graham – who previously scored just once in 42 games for the Black Cats – failed to offer anything worthwhile.

AND in other news, Phil Parkinson has confirmed a major blow for a Sunderland gem he begged to “let his football do the talking”.

David Moyes could be set for a double transfer coup by accepting Chelsea’s rumoured offer to sign Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in exchange for West Ham United star Declan Rice.

What’s the word?

According to the Transfer Window Podcast, Chelsea are preparing to offer West Ham the chance to sign Rudiger and Loftus-Cheek ahead of Monday’s Deadline Day as Frank Lampard strives to add Rice to his ranks despite already spending more than £200million this summer.

Rudiger and Loftus-Cheek have fallen out-of-favour at Stamford Bridge in recent times, while the arrivals of Brazil veteran Thiago Silva and German wonderkid Kai Havertz have further pushed the pair down the order.

Both misfits are thought to be eager to land moves away from south west London before the transfer window slams shut in the hopes that any transfer would increase their likelihood of earning selection for their respective countries’ Euro efforts next year.

However, West Ham are not thought to be a destination that appeals to Rudiger at present. Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, is more open to a transfer as he strives to move on from frequent spells on the Chelsea medical table that restricted the 24-year-old to just seven Premier League appearances last season.

Further reports by the Mirror, as cited by the Daily Star, also suggest Moyes is confident West Ham will be able to secure a loan deal for Loftus-Cheek before Monday’s deadline, and reckons a deal can be struck without the need to sell Rice to Chelsea as well.

Why sell Rice, then?

While West Ham are understood to have once again informed Chelsea that Rice is not for sale, accepting the Blues’ offer that includes Rudiger and Loftus-Cheek would give Moyes two valuable upgrades in a window that has been scarce of development thus far.

Barring the Irons’ taking up their option to purchase Tomas Soucek following his loan spell in east London, Moyes is yet to greet a single new addition to his squad and time is running out for things to change.

Now signing Rudiger, should Moyes be able to change the 32-cap German international’s opinion, would offer the Scottish manager a highly-experienced centre-half who would instantly improve the backline at the London Stadium and with a point to prove following his fall from grace under Frank Lampard.

Rudiger is yet to step foot onto the pitch in the new season and has been omitted from the matchday squad on four occasions across all competitions, despite starting six of the Blues’ nine league fixtures post the restart.

As for Loftus-Cheek, the 24-year-old England international will be desperate to establish himself again after a lengthy spell out, and can offer Moyes a powerful technician who works from box-to-box driving play from defence to offence – something the Hammers cannot say is offered by their current options on a regular basis.

Losing Rice will be a huge blow, but it is almost inevitable that the £30,000-per-week midfielder will move on one day and West Ham must secure the deal that will improve their squad the most once that day comes and this could be it.

AND in other news, West Ham have submitted an offer to sign David Moyes’ top striker target.