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Premier League champions Liverpool will reportedly offer Celtic Divock Origi plus cash in a summer deal for Odsonne Edouard.

That’s according to an exclusive report from Anfield Central, who claim that the Reds are hoping they can get the Belgian to head to Celtic Park in a permanent move.

Klopp eyeing Edouard

Edouard, 23, has scored 20 goals in 34 appearances this season for the Hoops, and it seems as if Jurgen Klopp is the latest manager to have his eye on the Frenchman.

Reports earlier this month claimed that Leicester City were closing in on a £15m deal for Edouard, however, Celtic seem to value the forward, who has just over 12 months left on his Parkhead deal, at the £20m mark.

Transfer Tavern take

The potential inclusion of Origi is certainly an interesting one. Charlie Nicholas actually urged Brendan Rodgers to bring the Reds man to Glasgow in 2019.

Origi is valued at £14.4m by Transfermarkt, £900,000 more than Edouard’s valuation. Still just 25 years of age, the Belgian, should he be open to a reported move, could thrive in the Scottish Premiership.

He’s struggled for regular game time on Merseyside in recent seasons but has still notched up over 150 appearances for the Reds, scoring 35 times.

Becoming first-choice at Parkhead could well be just what he needs at this point in his career, but only time will tell if a reported player-plus-cash move appeals to him.

In other news: 23 y/o Celtic ace keen on summer exit, find out more here. 

Nikola Milenkovic is on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer radar ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, Spurs are making the arrival of a central defensive leader their top priority when the window reopens, and the 23-year-old Fiorentina star is among their targets.

His contract is set to expire 12 months after the current season ends, meaning the Serie A outfit would have to cash in if they are to make any money on his signature.

The Serbia international is currently valued at €30m (£26m) by CIES Football Observatory, whilst reports emerged last month suggesting La Viola’s asking price was around €35m (£30m).

Solid Spurs unit

Gold also claims that, despite Tottenham having the third-best defensive record in the Premier League, there has been a clear lack of cohesion and leadership at the back.

Spurs have dropped 13 points from a winning position, with individual defensive mistakes clearly a major problem, and this is where Milenkovic could be the solution.

Much of Tottenham’s defensive record may well be attributed to the arrival of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who has been a rock-solid presence in front of Mourinho’s ever-changing backline.

Of all of Mourinho’s regular starters (20 or more starts), he leads the squad for tackles (2.8) and interceptions (1.3) per game, proving to be an industrious workhorse and contributing far more to stopping the opposition compared to the likes of Eric Dier, who has started the most matches of any centre-back in the league. He has managed only 0.8 tackles and 0.9 interceptions, via WhoScored.

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

At 6 foot 5, Milenkovic has drawn comparisons to arguably one of the greatest defenders to grace the English top flight in Nemanja Vidic.

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

If Spurs want a colossal presence to lead them out from the back, then they shouldn’t look much further than the Fiorentina titan.

Only Franck Ribery has performed better in Serie A for them this season, with the Serbian recording an average WhoScored rating of 6.83. In terms of key defensive attributes, he is performing exceedingly well too, managing 1.4 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 3.5 clearances per game.

This shows that, despite his towering height, he’s an equally hard man to defeat on the ground – just as much as in the air – and he clearly has a great ability to read the game and then snuff out any danger.

That is something his former Partizan boss Ivan Tomic has pointed out before, as he said: “Milenkovic has [the] physical characteristics of a beast. He reads the game well, plays the ball, and should have a great career ahead of him.”

Daniel Levy ought to swoop this summer if he is to vastly improve Spurs’ defence, and in doing so, he could begin to create a dream spine for several years.

Milenkovic would be a fine addition to Spurs.

AND in other news, 19x possession lost: Spurs gem drops int’l disaster, Mourinho claim proving to be true…

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo abriu as portas para a Seleção Brasileira antes da final da Olimpíada, sábado, contra a Alemanha, no Maracanã. A equipe canarinho treinou no Ninho do Urubu nesta quinta-feira e voltará ao centro de treinamento rubro-negro na véspera da decisão.

Além disso, o Fla preparou presentes para alguns jogadores. Os meias Renato Augusto e Rafinha, que passaram pelo clube, e o atacante Neymar, que recentemente mandou “beijos para a nação rubro-negra” em entrevista coletiva, ganharão camisas oficiais do clube.

O craque da Seleção receberá também uma peça para o filho, Davi Lucca, mas não posará para fotos com o uniforme devido a conflito de patrocinadores. No Ninho do Urubu, ele posou para foto no vestiário ao lado de uma imagem de Alan Patrick, meia com quem atuou no Santos e é seu amigo.

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Rafinha jogou no Flamengo apenas na infância, mas já demonstrou carinho pelo Rubro-Negro. Renato Augusto, por sua vez, foi revelado no clube carioca, ganhou dois Cariocas e uma Copa do Brasil, e afirma ter sido torcedor da equipe na infância.

TRABALHO LEVE
Os titulares da Seleção não foram a campo no treino no Ninho do Urubu, que contou somente com a presença de reservas e atletas do time sub-20 do Flamengo, que completaram a atividade.

O zagueiro Luan também foi poupado. Ele sentiu dores no joelho direito, mas não teve lesão constatada em exames. Assim, ele ficou juntamente com os titulares na academia.

A Seleção encerra a preparação para a final olímpica na tarde desta sexta.

MatériaMais Notícias

A briga pela camisa 9 do Vasco está muito séria. Se em 2015, o técnico Jorginho teve problemas para achar um centroavante que fizesse gols, nesta temporada tanto Thalles, quanto Riascos vem dando conta do recado. Após um mês fora por lesão, o colombiano saiu do banco na última quarta-feira para empatar o clássico diante do arquirrival Flamengo. E o bom desempenho dos atacantes deixa o treinador bem feliz.

– Esperamos o momento certo para colocá-lo em campo por ter parado 15 dias. Até pensamos em deixar os dois em campo, porque o Thalles estava bem, mas íamos nos expor muito. Mudamos a forma de jogar e o Riascos foi muito bem. Entrou e decidiu, foi fundamental. Mostrou que tanto ele quanto o Thalles estão em excelente momento. Em alguma situação, os dois vão estar juntos. É bom ter essas opções. Para quem sofreu com a falta de gols no ano passado, nos alegra muito ter essas opções. Tê-los confiantes – explica Jorginho.

Os gols e a boa fase, no entanto, não devem segurar Riasco em São Januário. Valorizado pelas boas atuações, o jogador está emprestado pelo Cruzeiro e o Vasco vive um momento delicado financeiramente para fazer um investimento tão alto. Para ele ficar, a Raposa teria que aceitar uma extensão do empréstimo.

Já Thalles tem contrato até março do ano que vem e a diretoria cruz-maltina já negocia para ampliar esse vínculo.

MatériaMais Notícias

É quase um consenso entre os jogadores e comissão técnica tricolor: a equipe esteve muito abaixo e sofreu no clássico do último domingo. Falta maior entrosamento, comunicação entre os setores… Levir Culpi sabe que terá muito trabalho neste início no Fluminense até conseguir ter, de fato, um conjunto.

Primeiramente, a produção ofensiva precisa melhorar. Diego Souza quase não participou do clássico, mesmo sendo referência da equipe. Marcos Júnior e Osvaldo até apareceram pro jogo, mas sem a intensidade necessária. Gustavo Scarpa esteve abaixo do que pode render. Na defesa, Marlon teve uma das melhores exibições da temporada. Renato Chaves foi mal e mereceu a substituição por Gum, que ganhou pontos pelo poder de decisão no clássico.

O meio segue espaçado, e os volantes também são culpados por isso. Cícero não rende o que se espera na posição e Edson, pelo menos, volta a dar maior pegada no setor. Contudo, não tem a qualidade necessária para melhorar a saída de jogo do time. O jovem Douglas – destaque na vitória contra o Criciúma, pela Primeira Liga – pede espaço entre os titulares. E merece a chance.

Como Levir disse na coletiva, a semana livre para trabalho será importante para o time ganhar um corpo. Até porque, não terá jogo fácil. Flamengo no domingo que vem e Internacional na outra semana, pela Primeira Liga. No primeiro ‘grande’ teste, ficou se evidenciado os problemas da equipe. Mas quando o time ganhar o dedo do técnico, a tendência é melhorar. A conferir.

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Many Arsenal fans were left furious at the display of Alexandre Lacazette in their away trip to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.

The France international could not really impose himself on the game as he really struggled against Dean Smith’s stubborn defence.

He lost out on no fewer than 86% of his duels in the match and also failed to record a single shot on goal, dribble or cross, as he only managed to have a mere 30 touches of the ball in total, the fewest out of any outfield Gunners player to have started the clash (Sofascore).

With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back in the squad now, Lacazette may be fearing for his starting place under Mikel Arteta if he continues to put in underwhelming performances like these.

Arsenal fan reaction to Lacazette display

These Gooners slammed the performance of the 29-year-old striker on Twitter, with one member of the Emirates Stadium faithful even going as far as to describe him as ‘anonymous’:

“What’s the point in Lacazette being on the pitch? What does he actually offer??”

Credit: @KieranF10

“Lacazette looks sluggish”

Credit: @GoonerBeReal

“Is Lacazette in this game at all?”

Credit: @oochay_ndu

“I am trying to make sense of where Lacazette is playing cos it’s like we don’t have a striker…”

Credit: @codaigh10

“The Lacazette gas never sat well with me cause games like this he’s just anonymous. Where’s the complete playmaker forward gone?”

Credit: @OTbutInTweets

“Lacazette is not in this game”

Credit: @DANNYOHSO

In other news, find out who else was slammed for his display here!

Like many others around the world, Manchester United experienced something akin to a wild ride during 2020.

The Red Devils didn’t get off to the best of starts and it seemed all hope was lost after they suffered two defeats and one draw in their first three fixtures of the year but they soon bounced back shortly after the arrival of Portuguese magnifico Bruno Fernandes.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had made Borussia Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho his top transfer target in the summer but had to settle for Amad Diallo, Facundo Pellistri, Alex Telles and Donny van de Beek instead, although Ed Woodward should be given credit for signing former Paris-Saint Germain striker Edinson Cavani as a free agent, as it’s safe to say the 33-year-old has turned out to be a total revelation ever since he first set foot inside Old Trafford.

Not to be outdone by all of the new signings, Marcus Rashford was awarded a MBE for his services to vulnerable children across the UK during the coronavirus pandemic, and the 23-year-old forward finished the year as the club’s top scorer for the 2020/21 season across all competitions.

United currently sit second in the Premier League, with three points between them and league leaders Liverpool, although they still have a game in-hand over their bitter arch-rivals.

Who knows where United will end up at the end of the season, but there’s one thing for sure, that shouldn’t take anything away from what has been another step in the right direction. How well can you remember United’s 2020? Try your hand and test yourself to the very limit with Football FanCast’s Big Fat Quiz of 2020!

Tottenham Hotspur slipped to a second Premier League defeat in five days earlier this afternoon.Jose Mourinho’s struggling side were well-beaten by Leicester City in north London as they sunk six points adrift of the league leaders.Jamie Vardy opened the scoring for the visitors from the spot after Serge Aurier brought down Wesley Fofana on the stroke of half-time before Toby Alderweireld made matters worse by turning the ball into his own net on the hour mark.Both Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko were the key disappointments from a Spurs perspective, but so was Eric Dier, who is usually a player that the ‘Special One’ has been able to hugely rely on this term.Journalist Alasdair Gold was particularly critical in his post-match ratings for football.london, grading his performance a five out of ten, he said:”Would have been caught out for Maddison’s ruled-out goal. Again some really sloppy moments in possession and dithering on the ball, including gifting Leicester a chance late on.”Indeed the England colossus, who earns around £85k-per-week in N17, was wasteful to the point of costing Spurs dearly.The 26-year-old lost possession a whopping 24 times, which was more than any other player on the pitch, via SofaScore.Dier also made just 75% of his 92 passes, had 103 touches without any positive influence, and made just three of 14 of his 12 long ball attempts (21%) – that practically handed the possession back to the Foxes.Despite Brendan Rodgers’s side registering 12 of their 17 shots from inside the box, the long-serving Spurs defender could only muster up one tackle and two blocks all game.The £27m-rated powerhouse truly let his manager down, especially as he struggled to thwart a player he should know all too well in Jamie Vardy.

Dier was rather lucky that it was only a two-goal defeat, as had James Maddison’s finish counted, the spotlight would quite rightly have been thrust onto him, instead of Sissoko, Aurier or even Alderweireld.

He was abysmal today.

AND in other news,ÂSpurs exclusive: Pundit baffled by latest contract update…

What a strange time this is for Sunderland.

The Black Cats are at the centre of a potential takeover and they have just hired a new manager in Lee Johnson.

However, they now won’t play for a fortnight with their next three games were postponed.

On the chalkboard

Just as the positivity had been reinstalled at the Stadium of Light after their 4-0 win over Lincoln, proceedings in the north-east have become rather depressing again.

Because of an outbreak of COVID-19 within the squad, the Academy of Light has been shut until December 27th with a variety of players now having to self isolate.

Four players have tested positive for the pandemic which has only added to an ongoing list of fitness concerns within the squad.

Denver Hume is currently out injured while Luke O’Nien has a dislocated shoulder and is out until the New Year.

However, they received another damaging blow this week when Johnson revealed that Josh Scowen could miss as many as seven weeks with a shin injury.

It really does feel as though Sunderland players are dropping like flies at the moment.

The solution

Fortunately for the Black Cats, they do have a number of midfield players available to them. With Max Power ruled out against Wimbledon, George Dobson came back into the XI and was paired next to the ever-reliable and ever-consistent Grant Leadbitter.

Though, with Scowen missing they needed to find another midfielder from somewhere.

That happened to be Elliot Embleton, a man who usually prefers to play in more advanced roles. The 21-year-old had a serious hamstring injury last season which meant he didn’t play at all for Sunderland and to this day, he has still only featured on 16 occasions for the first-team.

He’s never truly had a consistent run to establish himself as a regular but now with a host of players out and lacking fitness, his chance could arrive.

It’s unfortunate the youngster never really got an opportunity under Jack Ross or Phil Parkinson. After all, the former held him in high esteem. “Embleton has been terrific since he came back for pre-season. You can see what he can provide in the final third, so I was pleased with that,” Ross commented in July 2019.

Of course, his season was ruined by injury last term but he is now fully fit and has developed nicely.

Against Wimbledon, the midfielder was assured and composed as he completed 88% of his passes, created two chances and had two shots.

If we see more of that, it’s likely Embleton will be in the team more. He definitely deserves a run.

In other news, Johnson must unleash Sunderland talent with “magic feat”…

Leeds United still have just over a week to get any domestic signings through the door at Elland Road.

The Whites have previously been linked to the likes of Said Benrahma and Emi Buendia, but the strongest link recently has been to Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell.

Cantwell is undoubtedly a fantastic player, netting six Premier League goals last season, and he’s had glowing reviews from people who have worked with him, with his former Norwich youth coach Darren Huckerby describing him as an incredibly gifted footballer:

“He was always the most gifted, but needed more work mentally than the others. He would admit it himself he could get intimidated by other players, and it’s great to see where he is now, because five years ago you might have said it would be touch and go,”

Indeed, Leeds have re-opened talks for the midfield maestro after bidding for him last month, but while Cantwell is certainly a talented player, he may be one signing too many for the club.

With United spending almost £100m since the end of last season already, splashing out another £20m on Cantwell may be hard to finance, especially with RB Leipzig chasing their £18m for Jean-Kevin Augustin.

That’s not the only problem either. Marcelo Bielsa has always been keen to work with a small squad, making that point incredibly clear during his tenure at Leeds, and with Cantwell potentially being United’s eighth first-team signing of the season, the squad may soon be oversaturated. To be honest, it probably already is.

Just look at the positions where Cantwell would want to fit in – Pablo Hernandez, Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts are already battling it out for the number 10 spot, while Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison are competing on the left-wing, a position that Helder Costa and Stuart Dallas can also play in.

Bielsa will just be left with a massive selection headache if Cantwell is added to the team, and with the quality Leeds already have in these areas, you have to wonder if he’s even needed.

Signing the Norwich man could ultimately do more harm than good if it affects Bielsa’s squad dynamics.