All posts by z3u9t.icu

Newcastle United are now reportedly targeting a move for Mauro Icardi after the takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium went through.

The Lowdown: Game time limited

The 28-year-old is currently enduring a tough time at Paris Saint-Germain, where he has seen his game-time becoming limited following the arrival of Lionel Messi from Barcelona.

Icardi has only managed to play the full 90 minutes on two separate occasions so far this season, with many of his appearances coming as a substitute.

The Latest: Icardi targeted

As per Calciomercato, Newcastle are now targeting a move for Icardi ahead of the January transfer window coming up.

However, they will reportedly face competition from both Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus for his signature.

The Verdict: Sign

As money is no object to the new owners, the Tyneside club should be looking to sign the £31.5m-rated Icardi. He should be relatively easy to acquire given his lack of game-time at PSG, and he may be a player who they would consider selling for the right price.

At 28 years of age, the Argentina international is a goalscorer in his prime, and with no fewer than 172 senior goals to his name for club and country combined, he certainly knows how to find the back of the net.

The striker would certainly be a statement signing which should hopefully persuade other global stars to follow him to St James’ Park.

In other news, find out which ‘phenomenal’ ace Newcastle are also eyeing

Leeds United continue to be interested in Brenden Aaronson ahead of January 31st…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claim that the Yorkshire giants are preparing another bid for the RB Salzburg midfielder after having a £15m bid knocked back by the Austrian champions.

The 21-year-old has only been at the club for a year but his impressive performances have caught the eye of many across Europe, though it is the Premier League that he dreams of playing in one day.

Aaronson’s running stats are amongst the highest around the continent, so it’s no wonder Marcelo Bielsa is hugely keen on securing him.

Shades of Gallagher

Leeds have long been looking for a central midfielder capable of driving the team forward in the final third, especially as it has now been four years since they signed someone in the role, that being Adam Forshaw from Middlesbrough in January 2018.

The Whites failed with their attempts to sign promising Chelsea starlet Conor Gallagher during the summer after his impressive loan stint at West Brom, with the England U21 dynamo opting for top-flight rivals Crystal Palace instead.

However, there are shades of the 21-year-old Eagles loanee in the 15-cap American sensation.

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“Typically an attacking midfielder, Aaronson is best described as a half-winger, capable of playing out wide or centrally in the third line of Salzburg’s 4-2-2-2 formation. During games, Aaronson is expected to cover ground in central spaces, as well as supporting attacks via the channels,” claimed journalist Joe Donnohue to LeedsLive recently.

Indeed, the bustling Salzburg gem ranks amongst the top 1% of midfielders in Europe for pressures, having averaged 27.84 pressures per 90 and he also forces the opposition into losing the ball 8.55 times per 90, with those figures coming in the Champions League, via FBRef.

This is right up Bielsa’s street as he loves a player who can press high up the pitch, just as Gallagher has proven to do during his time at the Hawthorns and Selhurst Park.

Nicknamed the ‘Medford Messi’, Aaronson has been dubbed “highly talented” by talent scout Jacek Kulig and “silky” by ex-USMNT international DeMarcus Beasley.

His returns of ten goals and 12 assists from only 51 appearances in Austria make him a very exciting young talent indeed. As such, Victor Orta and co must push ahead with plans to sign him as soon as possible.

Bielsa could finally be getting his Gallagher-like midfield presence.

AND in other news, Journalist drops huge Leeds United transfer claim ahead of deadline day…

Celtic’s stance about the European Super League has now been revealed in a report from Sky Sports.

Andy Walker has recently stated that even though Celtic fans wouldn’t want their club to join the Super League – like Manchester United and Liverpool fans don’t – the club’s board members may well be attracted to the idea.

News has since emerged about Celtic’s potential interest in the competition, and it contradicts Walker’s suspicions.

Lawwell against ESL

Sky Sports have released a report detailing the Old Firm clubs’ interest in the Super League, claiming that while the two Old Firm rivals have previously considered moving to England and joining the Premier League, it has never become a concrete idea.

The piece also reveals some information about Celtic’s stance on the Super League, stating that even though Peter Lawwell is a member of the European Club Association board and was part of the ECA emergency call recently, Celtic are one of the clubs who are against the Super League breakaway.

Despite all the money they could earn, it appears as though Desmond, Lawwell and the club are completely against any opportunity to join up with England’s ‘big six’ in this venture.

Good news for Celtic

In the recent Premier League game against involving Leeds and Liverpool, fans protested against the creation of the Super League and accused the Reds’ owners of being greedy. Fans of the two Manchester clubs have also protested against the move in the last 24 hours, and it seems that any club participating in the ESL is now tarnished even in the eyes of their own supporters.

Of course, the conversation surrounding moving Celtic and Rangers into a competition where they can compete more regularly with England’s elite has popped up regularly, but this isn’t the way to do it.

With the Hoops entering an uncertain time with a new manager and new roles off the pitch, the last thing they will need is a massive fan backlash. By refusing to sell their soul, the new manager and Director of Football will be free to focus on what really matters.

In other news, Chris Sutton picks out three players for new Celtic boss to build around

West Brom have been handed a double blow ahead of tonight’s crucial Midlands derby, the first of three matches against their nearby rivals…

What’s the latest?

Ahead of kick-off against third-placed Leicester City, Albion boss Sam Allardyce has revealed that he will be without the services of two Baggies stars, who have been ruled out through injury.

He told reporters (via BirminghamLive):

“We’re very good, the staff here in all areas have kept the squad virtually fully fit and that’s a great help to me when it comes to choosing systems and who we’re playing against.

“It’s just Robert Snodgrass and Kieran Gibbs who have slight injuries, not too bad, but they won’t be involved in the squad on Thursday night.”

On the former, he added: “The epidural is working, but not as quickly as we’d expected, so I would think that by the beginning of next weekend, he’d be fit to train and be selected.”

Double blow

Despite both players being on the fringes lately, it will still come as a huge setback ahead of what is one of their biggest games of the season.

Snodgrass has endured a troublesome time at the Hawthorns since joining from West Ham as Big Sam’s first signing back in the January transfer window.

The 33-year-old veteran was expected to play a big role on the pitch, with his leadership, attitude and versatility all key reasons to why the 66-year-old wanted him signed up.

But injuries have hampered his playing time, though when the Scotsman has featured, he’s delivered. Snodgrass instantly came in and improved on Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers’ output in midfield by averaging 2.1 tackles per game, via WhoScored.

Snodgrass’ vast experience would be an added bonus in games like this, as well as the next two, so Allardyce will surely be gutted that he’s not available for selection – even despite back-to-back wins in his absence.

Gibbs, on the other hand, has been usurped in the pecking order by Conor Townsend and has not featured since the 2-2 draw with Fulham at the end of January.

Now losing the former Arsenal man isn’t as gutting but if Big Sam’s first-choice gets injured tonight, then they have no out-and-out left-back ready to step in and fill the void.

Putting square pegs in round holes is probably the last thing a side fighting for their lives needs to do, so the sooner Gibbs is back, the better.

The 31-year-old will leave the Hawthorns at the end of the season to join David Beckham’s Inter Miami side, ending a four-year stint at the Baggies.

Without the duo, West Brom do appear to be a little weaker than they’d like and Allardyce will surely be hoping that they do not pick up any more setbacks between now and the end of the season.

A win tonight would put them to within six points of safety, with four games left to play after that.

AND in other news, Albion could find perfect Big Sam successor in “outstanding” gem with 61% win rate…

Rangers return to European action tonight as they travel away from Ibrox in the first leg of their semi-final clash in Germany.

The Gers are in with a shot at reaching the final of the Europa League and can put one foot through the door with a win tonight.

Gio van Bronckhorst’s men come into the game off the back of a 3-1 win against Motherwell in the Premiership at the weekend, with an own goal from Liam Kelly and strikes from Scott Wright and James Tavernier securing the three points.

Despite the comfortable win, the Dutch head coach may look to make changes to his XI to get the best possible team out to face RB Leipzig. In doing so, one player he must brutally axe from the side is underperforming loanee Amad Diallo.

The Manchester United man started out on the right against Motherwell and only lasted 31 minutes before being substituted after Leon Balogun was sent off. In his short time on the pitch, he missed one ‘big chance’, lost all three of his duels and lost possession five times – suggesting that he struggled to make the most of a rare opportunity.

In the Premiership this season, Diallo has averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.32 across six appearances in the division – starting three of those games.

Earlier this year, journalist Andrew Dickson suggested United want to “toughen” him up and criticised his lack of strength for the Gers as he dubbed the £28k-per-week dud’s decision to back out of a challenge as “really poor.”

His weak play off the ball for Rangers has been a clear issue since arriving in Glasgow. He has lost a whopping 74% of his duels in the league and averaged 0.4 tackles and interceptions, which shows that he is being dominated by opposition defenders and he is not getting stuck in to help his own defence out enough.

Therefore, van Bronckhorst will surely not want to start Diallo in a massive European clash tonight. He cannot rely on the Ivorian to put the graft in for the team and his one goal and zero assists in the Premiership do not suggest that he has the attacking quality to make up for him being a liability out of possession.

So, Diallo must be brutally axed from the starting XI in favour of Joe Aribo on the right. The Nigeria international registered two assists in his last Europa League outing against Braga and has contributed directly to 13 goals domestically for the Light Blues, showing that he carries more of a threat than the teenager.

AND in other news, Huge boost: Gvb issues UEL injury claim that’ll leave Rangers supporters buzzing…

Manchester United are reportedly lining up an audacious move for Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Pedro Neto.

According to The Sun, the Red Devils want to bolster their right-flank and are interested in the Portuguese winger, with him being on their transfer shortlist.

Should he arrive at Old Trafford, he could certainly emulate the type of impact that his compatriot and international teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, had at United..

Whilst the 21-year-old still has some way to go to even come close to matching the levels of the current Juventus superstar, the signs are extremely promising.

Signed from Lazio at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, Neto had an extremely encouraging first season, notching five goals and racking up six assists in all competitions.

He has almost matched those numbers already during the current campaign under Nuno Espirito Santo, scoring five goals and notching four assists in the Premier League alone, highlighting his considerable progress.

Neto has certainly been a key player for Wolves, with the young winger contributing to 32% of his team’s entire goal haul this season.

He also got his international career off to the best possible start, scoring on his senior international debut in a 7-0 rout of Andorra.

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It could be said then there is a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders but he is certainly taking that in his stride.

Of course, should the £31.5m-rated winger sign for the Red Devils, there will certainly be inevitable comparisons to Ronaldo, but they do make some sense.

According to WhoScored, Neto is averaging two key passes, and 2.1 dribbles per game this season which are statistics that are interestingly higher than Ronaldo’s numbers of 1.1 key passes and 1.6 dribbles per game respectively.

Whilst Neto still has some way to match the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s meteoric five shots per game in all competitions, he is still up with the best in Wolves’ current squad, with only striker Raul Jimenez overcoming him.

With Nuno labelling Neto as a “very talented” player, he will surely loath losing him to a Premier League rival but the young Portuguese ace could certainly be the right-winger that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United are searching for.

AND in more news, take a closer look at Donny van de Beek’s awful showing in the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat against Leicester…

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts believes that a number of players ought to leave the club this summer.

Spurs are continuing their chaotic search for a new manager after a week filled with twists and turns.

Spurs reportedly broke off talks with the former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, and were then reported to have approached former Italy international Gennaro Gattuso, before breaking off talks less than 24 hours later.

One appointment that has been confirmed is that of Fabio Paratici as the club’s new managing director of football.

Part of his remit is to both bring new players into the club and move them on, and Roberts believes that various first-team players need to move on.

He has cited Erik Lamela, Harry Winks and Lucas Moura as potential departures as the summer rolls on.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Roberts was asked if he would cash in on Lucas were a good offer tabled and replied: “Would I let him go? If the money was right, yes I would.

“You’ve got to get money in to spend, so yes there will be a few people on their way. Lamela, I think he’s another one, he’s had his time here now, you’ve got Harry Winks, I think Harry Winks needs to find somewhere else. There’s a few, Aurier too.”

Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena SER (via Sky Sports), Sevilla president Jose Castro has lifted the lid on a ‘dizzying’ offer made by Tottenham Hotspur for manager Julen Lopetegui.

The Lowdown: Tottenham search continues…

Spurs have seen a host of managers come and go out of contention when it comes to the hot seat.

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The Lilywhites have most recently botched talks for Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso – with the quest for a new manager seemingly showing no sign of ending.

Now, lifting the lid on another managerial offer made by Tottenham, Sevilla’s president has come out with a major claim.

The Latest: Castro lifts lid on Spurs offer…

Speaking to Cadena SER (via Sky), Castro explained that Lopetegui himself revealed the offer from Tottenham in a phone call – describing it as a ‘dizzying’ one.

“Julen rang me and told me. He said he’d received offers he’d not listened to in addition to a dizzying one from Tottenham,” explained the Los Nervionenses chief.

“But he said he doesn’t forget things and that he is very motivated here. We believed and believe in him, giving him a two-year contract extension, and I’m sure he will bring much more to the club.

“You see his ability and leadership every day. Some coaches are more driven by economic factors but Julen is very clear that he is happy here and he even said it would be very difficult to find a better place to work than here.”

The Verdict: Yet another sucker punch…

Described as a ‘very serious’ and ‘hard-working’ manager overall by president Castro in another interview (via The Athletic), this latest revelation comes as another managerial blow for Spurs.

The £2.5 million-per-year boss has enjoyed a rebirth since unceremoniously leaving the Spanish national team for Real Madrid, where he was sacked after just four and a half months.

Lopetegui would have fitted Tottenham’s desire for a manager who encourages open, attacking football – with the Spaniard’s teams known for their excellence in possession and patience in the build up (The Coaches’ Voice).

It appears now that the Spurs hunt continues, but chairman Daniel Levy is slowly running out of options.

In other news: Levy offered chance to sign ‘extraordinary’ £120,000-per-week ‘genius’ in Tottenham transfer discussions, find out more here.

Some Manchester United fans have been left to fume at an update from Fabrizio Romano on the contract situation of Paul Pogba.

As per the Italian football journalist and transfer guru (via utdreport), there are currently no talks or agreements in place by the Red Devils to extend the former Juventus star’s deal at Old Trafford, and he is still looking for a new club.

While Pogba has certainly split opinion among the current fanbase, the central midfield player has upped his game in recent weeks, including scoring the winning goal at the San Siro against AC Milan to send Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team through into the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Europa League.

He can still be world class on his day, and MUFC should seriously consider trying to keep hold of the 28-year-old France international at all costs if they want to push on to try and win the Premier League and Champions League in the near future.

Manchester United fans on Pogba update

These Man Utd supporters fumed upon reading the update on Twitter:

“Stupid club, Bruno will wake up and leave soon once he realise we are going nowhere”

Credit: @UnclePogbaJr

“Man this club is gonna be the end of me, he’s going on a free isn’t he?”

Credit: @faruoeQ

“We’re so finished”

Credit: @muchuichris_

“Pain”

Credit: @ELLIS22SZN

“the end is near.”Credit: @Jimgroom92″We’re in the mud”Credit: @ksenguptaaIn other news, find out whose display against Milan was slammed by United fans here!

Sheffield Wednesday bounced back from their 1-0 loss to Morecambe at the weekend with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Newcastle’s under-23 side in the EFL Trophy.

The Owls swept the young team aside with relative ease as they picked up their first win in the group stage of the competition. Liam Palmer, Sylla Sow and Marvin Johnson scored the goals for Darren Moore’s side, whilst Joe Wildsmith was able to come away with a clean sheet after the game.

There were plenty of positives to take from such a spirit-lifting win, but there was one player who failed to show the best of his talents – Theo Corbeanu.

The winger, on loan from Wolves, was handed an opportunity by Moore to start on the right-wing and show that he is capable of being a regular starter this season. Instead, he struggled to catch the eye and may have come away from the game feeling that he could have done more on the pitch.

As per SofaScore, Corbeanu lost the ball 23 times from just 59 touches. This means that he was lost possession once every 2.5 touches of the ball, showing that he was unable to sustain attacks.

He was unsuccessful with six of his nine attempted dribbles, failed with six of his seven crossing attempts and had four shots without scoring. This is somewhat promising in the sense that he was active in the game, trying to get involved in the final third, but the quality of his actions was far from good enough.

Defensively against Newcastle, he lost eight of his ground duels on the pitch, winning the other eight. Along with that, he made zero interceptions, zero clearances and zero blocks, whilst only making two tackles to help out his full-back on the night. This shows that he was average, at best, in his duels and disappointing with his defensive work rate to ease the load on Liam Palmer.

Therefore, Corbeanu let Moore down with his performance against the Magpies. He did not have the desired impact in the attacking areas and was average-to-poor defensively. This display seems unlikely to convince the manager that he is deserving of a chance to start in League One, which means that he may now need to bide his time and prove his quality in substitute cameos.