All posts by z3u9t.icu

According to Calciomercato, AC Milan have set a €50m (£43.2m) asking price for Everton transfer target Rafael Leao.

Milan set Leao price

The Toffees have previously been linked with a move for the Brazilian, who made the move to the San Siro from Lille two years ago.

Calciomercato have now claimed that Milan are looking for €50m (£43.2m) for the striker, while the article also mentioned Wolves’ previous interest.

Expensive, but potential

That is no doubt a considerable fee for a player who has just 23 senior goals to his name so far (Transfermarkt). However, he is just 21 years old and is still learning his trade.

Tiago Fernandes, who coached Leao during his time at Sporting Lisbon, previously that said he is comparable to legendary Brazilian forward Ronaldo – high praise indeed – while he also suggested that the Milan ace could play for Real Madrid or Barcelona (Tuttomercatoweb, via One Football).

The Toffees’ experience with highly-rated young strikers is not the best in recent times. Moise Kean struggled to adapt to the Premier League after signing from Juventus, and it would therefore be a risk for Carlo Ancelotti and co to part with such a big fee for a player who remains largely unproven.

However, Leao certainly seems to have considerable ability, and if Everton could negotiate a smaller fee, the youngster could well be an interesting option.

In other news, this Everton youngster came in for criticism over the weekend.

Southampton are reportedly interested in signing Hatayspor forward Aaron Boupendza this summer and, if he makes the move to the south coast club, he could prove to be their next Sadio Mane.

According to a report from 90min, a host of Premier League clubs including Southampton, Spurs, Leicester City, West Ham, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Wolves are interested in signing the 24-year-old this summer, whilst Rangers and Celtic are also said to be keen.

The report suggests that Boupendza’s priority is to move to the Premier League and that the Turkish club would be willing to sell if anyone meets their asking price of £8.5m.

The Gabon international is a relatively new arrival at Hatayspor, having joined on a free transfer from Bordeaux last summer, but it appears as if he could be on the move again this year after an impressive debut campaign in Turkey.

In 26 league appearances, the forward – who can play as both a left-winger and a striker – has managed an impressive 18 goals, so it is no surprise that he is attracting interest from across Europe.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have been extremely reliant on the goals of Danny Ings and Che Adams for the past two seasons, and although James Ward-Prowse steps up with the occasional goal from midfield, the goal contributions from the wingers are far from good enough.

The two main culprits here are arguably Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo, with the two left-wingers having scored just two Premier League goals between them this season.

A prolific winger is something Southampton have arguably lacked since Mane was sold to Liverpool in 2016, with the Senegalese forward having contributed 25 goals and 14 assists in 75 appearances during his time at St Mary’s.

There are a lot of similarities between the transfer which saw Southampton sign Mane and the potential deal for Boupendza, as the Liverpool man moved to RB Salzburg after a disappointing spell in France before completing a £20m move to the Saints after impressing in a fairly obscure footballing league.

Like Mane, Boupendza likes to cut in from the left, with WhoScored suggesting that his dribbling and finishing are two of his main strengths, so again it is easy to see the likeness to Mane.

Therefore, CEO Martin Semmens should definitely push for Southampton to sign the Gabon international this summer, as it could prove to be a masterstroke if they end up with a player similar to Mane on their books.

In other news… Southampton potentially signing 11-goal beast could be bad news for 22 y/o Ralph loves.

A number of Liverpool fans have been reacting positively to the news that Roberto Firmino is back in training after injury.

The Reds will be approaching almost three weeks without a game by the time they visit Arsenal on Saturday night as they make a welcome return to action.

It may not have been the season that Jurgen Klopp and his players envisaged back in the summer, but there is still plenty to fight for, with a top four finish and Champions League glory not out of the question.

Liverpool’s struggles in 2020/21 have been mainly down to injuries, with an endless list of players absent at different times and centre-back trio Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all out until the summer.

The Reds’ woes have been easing slightly in recent weeks, however, and they have now been given a further boost.

Firmino was back in training on Monday after missing the last three matches with a knee problem, putting him in contention to start against Arsenal.

Liverpool fans react to Firmino update

While the Brazilian may not have been in the best of form this season, these supporters took to Twitter to express their happiness at Liverpool’s number nine returning to the fold.

“Yessssss Bobbinho, glad you’re back from injury, let’s beat Arsenal and get our revenge on Madrid once and for all”

Credit: @Runisheen02

“Man I got time for Bobby. Squad is getting back to its normal level with so many fit players. Timing is perfect for the next few matches as well”

Credit: @BamzTindo

“Need a no look goal the weekend please Bobby”

Credit: @MrChadZA1

“Arsenal ain’t ready for this sauce”

Credit: @Zweli_Energy

“There is something that the kop want you to know…”

Credit: @danrumfa1

“Our number 9. Nuff said”

Credit: @janrye72

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly keen on signing a fellow ‘big six’ Premier League player – find out who it is here.

Allan thrived on his return to Premier League action to prove that Carlo Ancelotti was right to start the Everton midfielder during Monday night’s 1-0 victory over Southampton.

The Brazilian had not featured for the Toffees since December’s 2-0 win away to Leicester City, having sustained a hamstring injury late in the first half at the King Power Stadium.

Ancelotti had recalled Allan to his matchday squads at home to Fulham and against Liverpool last month, but opted against introducing the 30-year-old to the action until he was confident of no lingering fitness concerns.

Allan looked like he had never been away on Monday night, slotting straight back into the holding role of Everton’s engine room alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure and Andre Gomes.

The £70,000-per-week enforcer covered almost every blade of grass in midfield as he mopped up loose balls, took the challenge to Southampton and set Everton on the attack.

Ancelotti needed Allan to deliver a fine performance on his return having lost the Brazilian’s stand-in Tom Davies ahead of the Saints visit to Goodison Park, with the Blues product sitting out Monday’s game due to a minor knock.

The Italian opted against risking Davies with Everton in action two more times in the next seven days, with a Thursday night trip to West Bromwich Albion followed by a trip to top-four rivals Chelsea next Monday.

Davies had been one of the Blues’ form men of the moment in recent weeks, with Ancelotti praising his performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and his efforts following last month’s 3-3 draw with Manchester United.

“The only thing I said to him is to simplify his work and his style of play,” Ancelotti said, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo, after the Old Trafford affair. “He plays in a position where, tactically, you have to be really focused.

“Watching the game against United, I think tactically he was perfect. With the ball, he has maybe not the quality of a top midfielder but in that position, we need to play simple passes, you don’t need to over-complicate.”

Allan made sure his return did not come at Everton’s expense on Monday night, with a performance Blues fans have come to expect of their £21m summer signing from Serie A side SSC Napoli.

The Brazilian delivered three successful tackles against Southampton, only Lucas Digne (5) offered more for the Blues, along with one clearance and one interception, per WhoScored.

Allan further attempted four dribbles to help drive Everton up the field, close to twice his average (2.4) achieved in the Premier League so far this season.

His three successful tackles from four attempts also offered a higher hit-rate than before his injury, having averaged 3.4 successful attempts from 5.8 challenges. The midfielder’s sole interception and clearance matched his average scores of one and 0.8 respectively.

Ancelotti may look to rest Allan against West Brom so that he is ready to go at peak fitness against Chelsea, but his return to action could not have gone much better.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a prolific 15-goal winger backed to reach another level…

Wolves could capitalise on Schalke 04’s woes to sign midfielder Omar Mascarell for a knockdown fee, CaughtOffside have reported. 

The report claimed that the Bundesliga club’s ‘struggling finances’ and their likely relegation from the German top flight could force them to accept an offer of as little as £4m.

Schalke are 11 points from safety with 10 games to go and have managed just win one all season (Transfermarkt).

Who is Omar Mascarell?

The Spaniard began his senior career at Real Madrid at 2013. He has experienced English football before, having gone on loan to Derby County during the 2014/15 season. He made 28 appearances for a Rams side who missed out on the play-offs by a single point.

Mascarell left Madrid permanently in 2016 to join Eintracht Frankfurt before making the switch to Schalke two years later.

According to WhoScored, he is a well-rounded midfielder who passes the ball well but can also break up play and win headers.

Another key asset is his versatility – while predominantly a defensive midfielder, he can also be deployed as a central midfielder or centre-back.

Transfer Tavern verdict

This looks like it would be a shrewd deal for Nuno Espirito’s men.

Mascarell is apparently available for a very small fee and could be a very solid squad player. You would imagine he would be a rotation option if Ruben Neves or Leander Dendoncker needed a rest.

The 28-year-old’s reputation has seemingly survived Schalke’s bruising season, and that is no mean feat.

In other news, this devastating striker is apparently on Wolves’ list of targets.

Southampton are reportedly interested in signing Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles this month as they look to add reinforcements in defence but look to have been handed a blow in their pursuit of the 23-year-old, as he prefers a move to West Brom.

According to Sky Sports, Southampton and Arsenal entered preliminary talks over a six-month loan deal that would see the England international move to St Mary’s, but it is West Brom who are currently leading the race.

Maitland-Niles wants to play regular football, in midfield, which is perhaps something Ralph Hasenhuttl cannot offer at present, due to the form of James Ward-Prowse and Ibrahima Diallo, with Oriol Romeu also set to return from injury.

If he were to join Southampton, you would imagine he would play second fiddle to both Ryan Bertrand and Kyle Walker-Peters in the full-back positions, having played there regularly during his time at the Emirates.

He has previously admitted that he is a midfielder rather than a full-back, so you can understand why he might favour a move to relegation-threatened West Brom, where is more likely to get minutes in his favoured position.

However, this comes as a blow to the Austrian, who has already allowed back-up left-back Jake Vokins to leave on loan this month, whilst Yan Valery is currently the only fit right-back, with Walker-Peters sidelined through injury at this moment in time.

Maitland-Niles would have been an excellent player to have, therefore, as he can cover both right-back and left-back, and has plenty of experience doing so, having made 121 appearances for the Gunners in his career thus far.

Therefore, unless Hasenhuttl can convince him to make the move to St Mary’s, it looks as if the Austrian will have to look elsewhere for defensive cover, and considering that time of the window is running out, that is undoubtedly a blow for the Saints.

And, in other news… Saints transfer stance on 23 y/o is baffling for two reasons; he surely could’ve helped Ralph

Manchester United’s recent slump in poor form means Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must be brave now to drop Victor Lindelof for their Europa League game against Real Sociedad.

Right now the Red Devils’ defence remains their Achilles heel, and there may soon come a point where he may find it almost impossible to explain why he has left certain players out.

United sat at the top of the table last month after embarking on a remarkable 13-game unbeaten run before they were stopped in their tracks by a resilient Sheffield United at Old Trafford.

Since then, they have drawn 0-0 at Arsenal, thumped Southampton 9-0, been held to a 3-3 draw by Everton and stumbled against Premier League strugglers West Brom on Sunday to stay second behind Manchester City.

But now Solskjaer must dare to be bold again and put his faith in those who have repaid his trust in the past.

Take Axel Tuanzebe, for example – widely considered to be one of the club’s hottest prospects – the towering robust central defender sat on the bench as United toiled in vain against West Brom at the Hawthorns.

Having impressed against Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League, he has already started to ask the question just what more does he have to do to make the starting XI regularly and Solskjaer will know his excuses are starting to wear thin.

Whilst Solskjaer himself was effusive in his praise for Tuanzebe’s “tremendous” performance following the 2-1 win over PSG, the home-grown centre-back has had to patiently bide his time when waiting for his opportunities, with just one start to show for his six Premier League appearances so far this season.

However, it may be time for the club legend to consider rotating his squad ahead of tonight’s trip to the two-time La Liga champions, and he may not have to look much further than their leaky defence. United have now conceded four goals in their past three fixtures in all competitions.

But it’s important to get the balancing act of juggling both domestic and European competitions absolutely spot-on as they enter the business end of the season, so giving players like Tuanzebe the chance to stake their claim for a spot in Solskjaer’s starting XI could be key to their chances of success.

In fact, if you compare the performances of Tuanzebe and Lindelof this season, it’s no surprise to see the 23-year-old is streets ahead in almost every area.

Tuanzebe makes 1.2 tackles per 90 in the Premier League while Lindelof has managed just 0.8 in the top flight this term. Perhaps crucially, the young defender boasts a better positional sense of awareness, as he made 2.2 clearances per game in the Champions League. Lindelof, on the other hand, could only muster two.

It’s becoming increasingly apparent that he has to be afforded more opportunities and should start against Real Sociedad on Thursday evening.

AND in other Man Utd news, Man Utd must seal swoop for Victor Lindelof replacement in Sven Botman…

On Sunday’s evidence, Leeds are clearly in need of more depth.

Marcelo Bielsa picked a range of youth and experience when the Whites met Crawley but the stand-in players hardly did a good job.

The Yorkshire side fell to a 3-0 defeat and in the process, completely embarrassed themselves in the FA Cup.

Leeds chose to go with a three-man backline but Jamie Shackleton was given a torrid time alongside Kalvin Phillips at right-wing back. He was dominated by Nick Tsaroulla down the left who opened the scoring and completed 100% of his dribbles.

Of course, the usual nominees for that third of the pitch – Stuart Dallas and Luke Ayling – both weren’t playing. The latter has been playing as a makeshift centre-back in recent weeks but what Shackleton’s display demonstrated was that they need an extra body capable of filling in on the right.

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Fortunately, that could be forthcoming. Last week it was reported by The Daily Mail that Leeds had held discussions among their recruitment team about signing Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez.

The nine cap Spain international is capable of playing on the right wing and at right-back, and he shone in that defensive position against Osasuna, keeping a clean-sheet and showing the type of attributes we’ve become accustomed to seeing from Dallas in recent years.

Real boss Zinedine Zidane said at the beginning of the year: “What he’s doing right now doesn’t surprise us. Not only do I like him, we all like him because he is always on the job and reliable. He always gives everything on the pitch and we appreciate that.”

Those attributes typify Dallas and we saw it all when Real drew 0-0 at the weekend. Vazquez made an eye-catching six tackles and also completed 91% of his passes.

He was stern in the tackle but was also calm and composed in possession of the ball. Vazquez was well-disciplined, not committing a single foul and winning eight of the duels he contested.

This was a performance that went under the radar but like Dallas, he deserves special praise for doing things safely and securely.

If Leeds have a chance to sign the 29-year-old this month, they must do so.

AND in other news, 0 passes all game: Leeds set for more misery over £30k-p/w flop, Orta surely fuming…

Photo by Unsplash

Life post-Phil Parkinson hasn’t got off to an ideal start at Sunderland.

Amid the ongoing news that Stewart Donald has agreed a takeover of the club with Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, they are now looking for a new manager too.

Before the Black Cats took on Burton on Tuesday evening, Phil Parkinson was given the boot after a succession of poor results. It was unsurprising, especially given the unrelenting views from supporters.

Parkinson missed out on promotion last term and thus, patience was already wearing thin on the ground for the former Bolton boss.

Though, whoever comes in next will have their work cut out. Sunderland are now six points off top spot and the new manager may be without Luke O’Nien, Charlie Wyke and Lynden Gooch through injury.

Furthermore, he will have a big decision to make between the sticks. Lee Burge began the season as Sunderland’s number one but in recent games, it was Remi Matthews that Parkinson favoured.

The duo worked together at Bolton so clearly had previous affinities, but caretaker manager Andrew Taylor persevered with Matthews against Burton.

It was a costly decision, one that came back to bite Taylor and his side disastrously. That’s because the 26-year-old made a horrendous error that allowed the Brewers to take the lead at the Stadium of Light.

Joe Powell unleashed an effort from outside the box which bounced just in front of Matthews who spilt it straight to Charles Vernom. The Burton winger was left with a tap in and couldn’t miss from just a matter of yards out.

With promotion on the line, those types of mistakes simply cannot afford to happen. Throughout the course of the match, Matthews made just 12 passes and two saves. Only six of his 17 long balls found a teammate too.

Not only was the goalkeeper poor with his distribution but he also struggled to stamp down his authority in the penalty area. Sunderland need someone who is far more commanding.

One thing is clear when the new manager arrives – Burge has to come back into the XI.

Meanwhile, Sunderland MUST hand more minutes to one young striker…

Glasgow Rangers are on the march and they are well and truly in the mood to win multiple honours.

They are currently 13 points clear of Celtic and it looks incredibly unlikely that the Hoops will go and win the title.

It would be a remarkable accomplishment for the Gers, ending a ten-year period in which they have been utterly dominated.

What’s the word?

With the transfer window just around the corner it will be interesting to see how Rangers think they can strengthen their title ambitions.

Gerrard will be all too aware what happened at the turn of the year in 2019/20. Alfredo Morelos struggled to find the back of the net and before this season he’d found the net just once in the whole calendar year.

Thus, he could potentially do with some added depth to ensure the same doesn’t happen again. A rather remarkable suggestion came about courtesy of Danny Murphy on talkSPORT this week.

Speaking on the radio station, he tipped Tottenham’s Dele Alli to move to Ibrox: “I thought maybe Gerrard and Rangers could persuade him,” he began.

Murphy continued: “He’d play every week, score loads of goals, get his confidence up. Maybe playing under Stevie would be something he’d enjoy.”

This would be an incredible deal, not just because he’s been linked with the likes of PSG, but also because he’s on a colossal wage of £100k-a-week.

Shades of Gazza

An English attacking midfielder with attitude, charisma and a cocky belief – does that sound familiar to you?

It could either be Dele or it could be former Rangers man Paul Gascoigne.

If you had the assessment that Alli wouldn’t join because of his reputation then you only need to look at Gazza’s time at Rangers and how he performed while still an England regular.

In Glasgow, he scored 39 times in a three-year stay from 1995-1998. At the same time, the great England midfielder made over 20 caps for his country in the process.

It turned out to be an international swansong as Gazza made the last of his England caps the same year he departed Rangers but he was absolutely superb for both club and country during those three years.

Of course, it’s difficult to tell how Dele would do but their personalities are very similar.

Teddy Sheringham commented in 2016: “He had that aura about him in Berlin that Paul Gascoigne had about him at the beginning of his career. It was almost if Dele Alli was saying: ‘Come and try and get the ball off me.’

“Gazza used to do that. It had a lovely feel to it – I was very impressed. You can’t coach that kind of mentality and self-belief. It was in Gazza and Dele Alli seems to have something similar.”

You suspect that playing under someone like Gerrard would only benefit the 24-year-old too, someone described as special by Owen Hargreaves. This could be a match made in heaven and Ross Wilson must do everything he can to bring him to Scotland.

Unfortunately, it’s incredibly unlikely it’ll ever happen.

In other news; Forget Morelos: Gerrard must unleash Rangers ace with “incredible physical strength”…