All posts by n8rngtd.top

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to north London this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Il Messaggero (via Get Italian Football News), who claim that, despite the reported interest of Spurs, Manchester United, Arsenal and Juventus, SS Lazio are yet to receive an official proposal for the €60m (£51m) valued central midfielder in the summer transfer window.

As a result, in a bid to deter any potential suitors for the 27-year-old, Maurizio Sarri’s side are now believed to be preparing the offer of a new contract to put in front of the Serbia international – something which, should Milinkovic-Savic put pen to paper on, would all but end Fabio Paratici’s hopes of landing the playmaker in the coming days.

Paratici must move

With it being well-known that Antonio Conte is hoping to add a new forward-thinking midfielder to his current Spurs squad prior to September’s fast-approaching transfer deadline, it is not difficult to see why Paratici would be keen on a deal to bring Milinkovic-Savic to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the course of the next week.

Indeed, the £63m-rated talent has consistently been one of the most deadly midfielders in Serie A over his seven complete campaigns, scoring 48 goals – hitting double figures in 2017/18 and 2021/22 – and registering 42 assists – once again hitting double figures in 2020/21 and 2021/22 – over his 233 appearances in the Italian top flight.

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

As can be seen above, the £96k-per-week Serbian particularly impressed last season, with FBref ranking the 27-year-old in the top 4% of midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues and European competitions for non-penalty goals per 90, as well as the top 2% for non-penalty xG, the top 3% for shots, the top 4% for assists and the top 9% for shot-creating actions over the last 365 days – proving just how effective and efficient Milinkovic-Savic is in the final third of the pitch.

The 34-cap international also impresses in possession of the ball, with FBref ranking the player who David Amoyal dubbed “unreal” in the top 11% of midfielders for passes attempted per 90, in addition to the top 14% for dribbles completed, the top 2% for touches in the opposition penalty area, the top 3% for progressive passes received, the top 29% for progressive passes and the top 30% for progressive carries over the past 12 months – demonstrating his ability to both progress the ball and play a killer pass.

Considering these quite remarkable metrics, it will perhaps come as no surprise that FBref list two of Milinkovic-Savic’s most comparable players as Borussia Dortmund and England star Jude Bellingham and Manchester City and Belgium playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.

As such, with there being absolutely no question concerning the 27-year-old’s status as one of the best attacking midfielders currently playing the game, it would appear highly advisable for Paratici to do everything in his power to seal a deal for Milinkovic-Savic in the coming days, as the Serbian sensation would undoubtedly be an “insane” – in the words of Hesham Bilal-Hafiz – signing for Tottenham ahead of the bulk of their 2022/23 campaign.

The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland has shared some positive Everton Team News before they take on Brentford away from home in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Davies injury

As per The Times journalist Paul Joyce, Davies picked up an injury to his groin during the warm-up before their 1-0 win away at Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Demarai Gray took his place in the starting line-up, as the central midfielder had to watch on from the sidelines.

The Latest: In contention

Taking to Twitter, Boyland shared the latest injury news on Davies, as he ‘should be in contention’ to play against the Bees this afternoon despite injuring his groin:

“Tom Davies should be in contention against Brentford. Felt groin in warm-up.”

The Verdict: Boost

It is certainly a boost for Frank Lampard and his team to have Davies back and available for the match.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-7/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

This season in the Premier League, he has ranked highly among his teammates in terms of average tackles, interceptions, shots, passes and long balls per game (WhoScored), and has generally been solid when called upon by Lampard.

Nonetheless, given the injuries to both Abdoulaye Doucoure and Andre Gomes in the middle of the park, Davies will offer the Toffees another handy midfield option, as they look to chase down their first win of the new top-flight season against Thomas Frank’s side.

Journalist Paul Brown has hailed Everton full-back Nathan Patterson and said that the youngster needs to ensure that this is his breakthrough season in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Patterson’s game-time

Last January, it was announced that the Toffees had signed the 20-year-old from Rangers in a deal worth £16m.

The Scotland international got off to a difficult start in Merseyside, having played just 45 minutes of senior football in the second half of the campaign before undergoing ankle surgery.

However, the right-back has since established himself as a mainstay in Everton’s starting XI, having played the full 90 minutes in every Premier League game so far this term.

The Latest: Brown’s claim

Whilst Brown believes that Patterson is under pressure to maintain his role as a regular in Frank Lampard’s favoured team, he also acknowledges the huge talent that the youngster possesses.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the journalist claimed: “I think it needs to be his breakthrough season. He didn’t play much after he came in last time around for various reasons.

“He clearly has huge potential. I think he’s going to be, at his age, a little bit inconsistent.

“He’s had one stinker already this season but, in the derby, he was absolutely tremendous. It was a really phenomenal performance, and he was one of the best players on the pitch.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-7/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Big talent

Hailed as a ‘diamond’ and a ‘terrific young player’ by pundit Danny Murphy for his emphatic performance in the Merseyside derby recently, Patterson’s underlying statistics illustrate his desire to work hard for the team.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, the 20-year-old ranks in the 96th percentile for tackles and the 90th percentile for pressures, illustrating that he is a hard-working defender who puts in the graft out of possession.

Rated as Everton’s third-best player so far this season by Sofascore with a fantastic 7.05 average match rating, Patterson clearly has the potential to go on and have an illustrious career at Goodison Park.

Therefore, Toffees fans will be hoping that the youngster can maintain this fine form for the remainder of the campaign and, as Brown has stated, enjoy a genuine breakthrough season in the Premier League.

Wolves are ‘still in contact’ with free agent Jason Denayer, according to reports in Belgium.

The Lowdown: Costa in

Wolves have managed to bolster Bruno Lage’s attacking ranks after summer signing Sasa Kalajdzic suffered an ACL injury on his debut. Free agent Diego Costa has now penned a deal until the end of the season with Wolves, where he will wear the No 29 shirt.

Denayer could well follow Costa through the door at Molineux after holding talks with the Midlands side on deadline day.

The Latest: Denayer next?

Sports Witness relayed an update from Belgian outlet Het Nieuwsblad on Tuesday regarding Wolves and Denayer.

They claimed that Wolves, and therefore technical director Scott Sellars, are ‘still in contact’ with the free agent but added that ‘negotiations are difficult’, mainly because of the defender’s attitude.

The Verdict: One to watch

Denayer, hailed as a “powerful” player by Lyon recruitment chief Florian Maurice, left the French side over the summer and has previous Premier League experience with Sunderland.

He also has plenty of pedigree at the highest level in a number of other countries and European competitions, while also racking up 35 appearances for Belgium.

Therefore, after signing one centre-back over the summer and losing three, it could be a wise move if Wolves can get another cut-price deal over the line by bringing in Denayer.

Transfer insider Dean Jones has confirmed reports that Liverpool are ‘monitoring’ Southampton centre-back Armel Bella-Kotchap ahead of a potential move.

The Lowdown: Van Dijk heir?

As per Spanish sources, the Anfield outfit are one of three clubs monitoring Bella-Kotchap’s situation at the Saints, with both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich also thought to be considering a potential move.

The central defender is apparently considered to be the long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk once he leaves Merseyside, and Jurgen Klopp is an admirer of the youngster’s game.

The Latest: Liverpool ‘monitoring’

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones has confirmed the reports that the Reds are ‘monitoring’ Bella-Kotchap, adding that he has been ‘so impressive’ in the Premier League so far this season:

“He’s certainly on a steep climb right now, called up for Germany and also linked to Liverpool.

“I don’t think it’s a surprise they would be monitoring him at this stage because the way he has adapted to the Premier League has been so impressive. He’s only 20 and I think he will end up at a top club within two years.”

The Verdict: Big future

Having recently been given his first senior call-up to the Germany squad ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, 20-year-old Bella-Kotchap certainly has a big future ahead of him.

He currently ranks as Southampton’s best performer in the Premier League so far this term, and has won more aerial duels and averaged more interceptions and clearances per game than any of his teammates (WhoScored).

Of course, there would be a lot of pressure on him to succeed Van Dijk should he move to Liverpool, but Bella-Kotchap is certainly showing a lot of potential at the moment.

Everton have had success in promoting their legendary players to managerial positions at Goodison Park with Duncan Ferguson enjoying a long career off the pitch in the senior management team, but sometimes the idea of something is better than the reality.

When Rafa Benitez was finally given the boot back in January it wasn’t long before, at the time, Derby County manager Wayne Rooney’s name was thrown into the hat.

There was plenty of speculation surrounding a potential return to his boyhood club but it didn’t ultimately happen.

Although the idea of being led to better things by Rooney would have been a fairytale for the Goodison Park faithful, the reality is that England’s all-time top goal scorer is extremely inexperienced, and has had an unstable managerial career so far with no Premier League experience on his CV.

The 36-year-old who was dubbed a “fool” by talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan for leaving behind Derby County after being relegated from the Championship, has joined his former teammate turned manager Phil Neville over in MLS to continue developing his managerial skills and experience.

Over his career on the sideline so far, Rooney’s record isn’t the greatest with 46.32% of his results ending in defeat and only 28.42% victories since taking on the managerial challenge. He has also picked up just 1.11 points on average from his time at DC United and Derby combined.

On the other hand, current Everton boss Frank Lampard has a much more attractive profile when it comes to churning out results with a 47.06% win rate and only 31.76% of his results have ended in defeat. Furthermore, he’s got plenty of Premier League experience as a manager at Chelsea before taking on the difficult role with the Toffees.

Interestingly, both managers have held the reins at Pride Park early into their managerial careers but Lampard had the role in much brighter circumstances than Rooney, with financial problems plaguing the club throughout the current DC United boss’ tenure.

Indeed, it would not be surprising to see the former Manchester United striker manage the Toffees one day but at the time when the job became available the team was in a very sticky relegation scrap at the bottom of the table and if unsuccessful his reputation could have been in ruins.

With that being said, when you consider Lampard’s improvement this season in the Premier League already with Everton it was likely the right decision to put the club’s fate into slightly more experienced hands at the time. That said, there is no doubt that the idea of Rooney leading the Toffees to victory and trophies one day will be a dream for supporters.

Celtic could be in line for a possible injury blow ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig, following an update regarding the fitness of defender, Cameron Carter-Vickers.

What’s the word?

Speaking after Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Motherwell, manager Ange Postecoglou – as per Football Scotland – was unable to provide a positive update regarding the United States international, with the centre-back seemingly facing a race against time to be fit for the midweek trip to Germany.

Asked about any potential returnees for that upcoming meeting, the 57-year-old gave an insight into the potential availability of the former Tottenham Hotspur man – and striker Giorgos Giakoumakis – stating:

“Any players coming back for Leipzig? We’ll see. Hopefully Giakoumakis should be okay. The reports I’ve had so far, and Cameron Carter-Vickers we’ll just sort of see day to day proposition.”

In the case of Carter-Vickers, the 24-year-old has been absent since the draw against Shakhtar Donetsk away in Warsaw prior to the recent international break, ultimately keeping him out of the defeat to St Mirren and this latest victory over the Steelmen.

Postecoglou should be worried

The title-winning coach will likely be sweating over the fitness of the £6.3m-rated gem at present, particularly with the club already somewhat stretched defensively amid a further injury concern regarding Carl Starfelt.

The Sweden international – alongside Carter-Vickers – had been integral to the club’s Scottish Premiership success last term, with the pair forming an “immense” centre-back partnership, in the words of ex-Hoops striker, Chris Sutton.

It was the latter man who particularly impressed in that pairing, however, with teammate Greg Taylor notably suggesting that he attempts to steer clear of the menacing colossus in training, such is his quality and brilliance in the backline.

Prior to his recent absence, the 6 foot 1 titan had again looked imperious as the real solid foundation in Postecoglou’s side in the early weeks of the new season, recording five clean sheets from his opening six league games and winning an impressive 64% of his total duels.

In his absence, the Old Firm outfit looked particularly shaky in the loss to the Buddies two weeks ago, with the youthful duo of Moritz Jenz and Stephen Welsh having been “all over the place”, in the words of journalist Josh Bunting.

While that pairing were able to help secure victory last time out, it may be somewhat of a worry to have to deploy the same defensive unit for the upcoming clash with Marco Rose’s men, as the Glasgow side look to contend with a ferocious Leipzig forward line containing the likes of Timo Werner and Christopher Nkunku – the two men netting a brace apiece in their triumph over Bochum yesterday.

Having Carter-Vickers in tow would likely make it far easier to meet that challenge, although it is now a nervous wait to see if the ten-cap powerhouse can feature against the Bundesliga side.

Sheffield Wednesday correspondent Joe Crann believes Plymouth Argyle captain Joe Edwards was lucky to avoid a red card on Tuesday evening.

The Lowdown: Injury-time heartbreak

The Owls made the long trip back from Home Park empty-handed after an injury-time goal from Sam Cosgrove gave the hosts all three points.

Liam Palmer cancelled out Ryan Hardie’s opener in the first half in a lively top-of-the-table encounter, with Darren Moore bringing off Barry Bannan and Josh Windass with 20 minutes remaining – a decision that puzzled some.

The result leaves Wednesday four points off the automatic places and five off table toppers Plymouth in League One.

The Latest: Edwards tackle

Reece James was on the receiving end of a challenge from Edwards just before half time, with the Plymouth man shown a yellow card.

However, taking to Twitter, Crann said that it ‘looked REALLY bad on the replay’, believing the player may have seen red if VAR was in use.

The Verdict: Not good

James was forced off at half time for Dominic Iorfa as a result of Edwards’ challenge, and it seems as if the Plymouth man was lucky to avoid a red.

Wednesday impressed at Home Park and on another evening would have come away with three vital points, however, attention may turn to Moore’s substitute decisions and the failure to take chances.

Hopefully, the Owls will get back to winning ways against Cheltenham on Saturday and James can make a swift recovery.

West Ham United insiders now believe untouchable defender Kurt Zouma is in danger of being axed when Nayef Aguerd returns from injury.

The Lowdown: Hammers return to form…

After their torrid run of Premier League results throughout August and September, it appears manager David Moyes’ side are returning to form at the right time.

Since the beginning of October, West Ham have started to return to form, winning three games out of three in all competitions including impressive top flight victories against Wolves and Fulham.

In the build up to November’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the east Londoners simply must build upon this momentum and continue this streak after murmurs that Moyes was at one point facing a fight for his job.

The Latest: Zouma facing axe?

As the Scotsman continues to weigh his best options week-by-week behind the scenes, an interesting claim has surfaced on who Moyes could drop in the near future.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-news-5/” title=”West Ham latest news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Insider sources, speaking to Claret & Hugh, say there are ‘some concerns’ over centre-back Zouma’s performances this campaign as he’s lost a ‘yard of pace’.

While there is no feeling that Moyes is ‘unhappy’ with the Frenchman, summer signing Aguerd’s fight to full fitness has left Zouma ‘looking over his shoulder’ and ‘sweating’ over his place in the West Ham starting eleven.

Once every member of the squad is a fit, there is a ‘suggestion’ Aguerd and fellow summer acquisition Thilo Kehrer could become the new first choice pairing.

The Verdict: Right call?

The 27-year-old Zouma has played every single minute of the Irons’ top flight campaign so far with Moyes even branding him a ‘colossus’ back in September.

Moyes also went on to state that Zouma was playing ‘really really really’ well at the time, expressing that it wasn’t his form which made him miss out on a place in France’s squad for their UEFA Nations League qualifiers.

It’s clear West Ham’s manager does have faith in the former Chelsea star, so it will be interesting to see if Zouma is in fact axed from the starting eleven.

Wolves have held talks with their former manager Nuno Espirito Santo over a possible return to the club, but there’s a twist.

The Lowdown: Wolves continue manager search…

The Old Gold are continuing their search for a new manager after they sacked former boss Bruno Lage at the start of October.

A 2-0 loss at West Ham saw Wolves slip into the Premier League relegation zone and resulted in the Portuguese being shown his marching orders by the Molineux hierarchy.

Since then, many top coaches have been linked with the job, including former Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui and Nuno, with claims even surfacing that the latter has already travelled to Wolverhampton.

Reliable journalist Liam Keen has now shared an update on the interest in the former Tottenham manager.

The Latest: Keen shares Nuno talks update…

According to the Express and Star reporter, talks have ‘taken place’ between Wolves and the ‘representatives’ of Nuno as the club consider re-hiring their former manager.

He is one of the candidates being considered, but Keen also backs that the 48-year-old is no longer an outright first choice for the role, with QPR head coach Michael Beale also being considered.

The Verdict: Reconsider?

Perhaps Nuno’s return wouldn’t be the most outlandish appointment given that he already knows the club and has been a proven success them in the past.

Wolves won the Championship title in his first season at the helm and then finished seventh for two top-flight campaigns running, with the Portuguese also earning praise from some prominent figures in football.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has called the tactician ‘excellent’, with Spurs striker and England captain Harry Kane also branding Nuno ‘great’.

Wolves need stability amid their current battle against Premier League relegation, and Nuno has certainly delivered that before.