All posts by z3u9t.icu

Leicester City’s early-season struggles continued on the south coast as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Foxes fell behind thanks to a controversial penalty dispatched by Neal Maupay before Danny Welbeck doubled the hosts’ lead with a glancing header.

Jamie Vardy’s third goal in five Premier League appearances brought Leicester back into the contest on the hour mark, but they couldn’t find an equaliser.

Both Ademola Lookman and Wilfried Ndidi had late efforts ruled out after Harvey Barnes strayed offside, condemning the Midlands outfit to their third defeat in just five top-flight fixtures.

And one player who struggled more than most at the Amex Stadium was James Maddison. As per SofaScore, the 24-year-old received a match rating of just 6.3 out of 10, the joint-lowest total amongst his teammates.

He was unable to provide the creative spark on the south coast as Leicester found chances hard to come by, and his underlying numbers are evidence of this.

Maddison failed to make any key passes, couldn’t create any big chances and recorded an awful passing accuracy of just 63%, highlighting his inability to carve open the opposition defence or simply find a teammate with any regularity when in possession.

His underwhelming performance against Brighton extended his run to 17 games without a goal or assist in all competitions, but it’s his overall displays that may be of more concern to Brendan Rodgers.

The one-cap England international was hauled off at half-time by his manager after only having 19 touches in the opening 45 minutes, failing to pick out a teammate with either of his two crosses, and winning just one of his four duels.

Rodgers and Maddison alike will be hoping the attacking midfielder can turn his form around in midweek when Leicester take on Championship outfit Millwall in midweek as the Carabao Cup returns.

And, in other news…Lost every single duel: Leicester lightweight badly let Rodgers down against Brighton 

Many Everton fans have been reacting to reports that the club are looking to sign Salomon Rondon before the end of the transfer window.

The Toffees have so far brought in four fresh faces to Goodison Park this summer in Demarai Gray, Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Andy Lonergan (Transfermarkt), and the former two in particular have played a role in Everton’s impressive start to the season. The Merseyside outfit have won two and drawn one of their opening three Premier League games (Sky Sports), with Gray scoring two goals and Townsend providing one assist (WhoScored).

In terms of centre-forwards, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the only real viable option for Rafael Benitez, but it seems that the Toffees are looking to bring in a new striker to provide competition for the 24-year-old. According to journalist Alan Myers on Twitter, Everton are in talks to sign 83-cap Venezuela international Rondon from Dalian Professional.

The news has been doing the rounds on social media and it attracted plenty of attention from Everton supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the matter.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Rondon links

“We could do with a good back up for DCL”

Credit: @thetomgibbons

“Inevitable really, but also makes a lot of sense.”

Credit: @sunscreemer

“Great like for like back up for Dom, and endeared himself to me after McCarthy’s leg break too be fair, was inconsolable”

Credit: @Sean84628518

“We were signing Isco a few months ago, the life of an Evertonian”

Credit: @jeffwintersok

“Sound. We don’t have any backup for Dom and we can’t afford to spend tens of millions getting one. He’s not exactly top drawer, but as a cheap short term fix, he’ll do.”

Credit: @Geof17773624

“I really don’t get this rant. Rather than focus on how well we’ve been playing, the focus is turned on to how bad we’re going to be. I’m sorry, but that makes no sense to me. What happened to just enjoy the moment?”

Credit: @NTylerVI

In other news, Everton want to sign this Premier League ace.

Burnley have been offered the chance to sign Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, who is a target for Tottenham Hotspur, with the Clarets said to have submitted a loan offer for his signature [Sky Sports].

The Lowdown: Weston McKennie profiled

Emerging as one of the brightest talents to come out of the United States, the 23-year-old has excelled in Italy since joining up with the Old Lady in 2020.

Last term, he showed his ability in to mix it at the elite level, registering nine goal contributions in 46 fixtures for his current employers; six goals and three assists [Transfermarkt].

In a surprising twist of fate, he could now be set for a move to Turf Moor  after constant links to north London in the last couple of weeks – some reports even suggested he was keen to reject interest from West Ham to join the Lilywhites instead.

The Latest: Burnley offered chance to sign McKennie; loan offer submitted

Burnley are said to have been offered the chance to acquire the USA international, with one source revealing that the Lancashire club have submitted a loan bid for the 6-foot ace [Sky Sports].

Of course, Tottenham have retained an interest in McKennie this window, being linked with a £40 million swoop last week for the anchor man to shore up their midfield ahead of the deadline [The Independent].

The Verdict: Losing out on McKennie to Burnley would be a sore one to take for Tottenham

In the market for a midfielder after the departure of long-serving ace Moussa Sissoko to Watford, the news that McKennie could be going elsewhere in England will come as a body blow to the Spurs hierarchy.

Carrying the requisite qualities to dictate play in central areas, he recorded an impressive pass accuracy average of 85.4% per game during the 2020/21 Serie A season [WhoScored].

McKennie has earned plenty of praise for his talents in the past, once being labelled as ‘outstanding’ by former Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel after scoring his first competitive goal for the club [Schalke 04 Official].

Should McKennie move to Burnley, he may turn out to be one that got away for Tottenham, as they could do with some reinforcements in midfield.

In other news, a Tottenham Hotspur ace has performed a u-turn on leaving the club. Find out more here.

Nottingham Forest are interested in a deal to bring Morgan Rogers to the City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that Forest are showing a considerable amount of interest in the Manchester City winger ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window.

The report continues by stating that, despite the fact it would take a bid totalling £9m in order to secure the permanent transfer of the 19-year-old, Dane Murphy could be planning to test the waters with a heavily structured offer.

Finally, it is claimed that the new Forest CEO is extremely keen to sign young players with high ceilings for the Reds, with the England U19 international fitting this criteria perfectly.

Imagine him and Johnson

With The Athletic reporting that Rogers came onto Forest’s radar when the club were monitoring the progress of Brennan Johnson’s loan at Lincoln City, where the Manchester City youngster also spent last season on loan, the prospect of the duo reuniting at the City Ground this summer should certainly be a mouthwatering prospect for both Chris Hughton and fans of the club alike.

Indeed, over his 28 League One appearances for Michael Appleton’s side last time out, the £1.17m-rated Rogers scored six goals, registered two assists and created nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

These returns saw the man the Lincoln boss dubbed an “outstanding” talent earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.09, ranking him as the Imps’ second-best performer in the third tier of English football.

Meanwhile, over Johnson’s 43 League One appearances for Lincoln last term, the 20-year-old bagged 11 goals, provided 12 assists and created four big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.3 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the Forest youngster an average SofaScore match rating of 6.98, ranking the winger as Appleton’s sixth-best performer in the third tier.

As such, should Murphy go on to secure a deal for Rogers this summer, it would undoubtedly be a massive coup for Forest, with the signing of the £19k-per-week starlet not only helping to solve the club’s goalscoring issues of last season – with only Derby County scoring fewer than Forest’s 37 league goals last term – but also creating a partnership with Johnson that could well mark the beginning of a new and incredibly exciting era at the City Ground.

In other news: Bye-bye Bong: Murphy must sanction NFFC swoop for £8.9k-p/w gem, he won’t cost a penny

Forget Odsonne Edouard because Celtic have a brand new hero in the form of Kyogo Furuhashi.

The Hoops recorded an emphatic 6-0 victory on Sunday and in the process, Ange Postecoglou was left revelling in his Japanese gem.

Furuhashi scored a quite brilliant hat-trick but he could still be joined by another attacking recruit at Paradise.

What’s the word?

Edouard’s fate has now surely been sealed. He has been dropped to the bench for the last two games and even if he did score from the spot against Dundee, Furuhashi’s form has shown there’s no need for him anymore.

The Frenchman has been linked with the Premier League but if he does exit, they will need cover in offensive areas.

One man mooted with a switch to Parkhead in the last few weeks is M’Baye Niang. The Rennes forward has spent time in the UK before with Watford but could be set for a move further north this week.

Speaking to This is Futbol, it was a move that Ligue 1 expert Adam White seemed to think would pay off.

“He could be a great signing for Celtic,” White began.

“He’s proven in Ligue 1. He got double figures the season before last when he was first choice and Rennes had a decent season.

“He’d score goals basically in any team, I think to some extent, and given the opportunities. He’s kind of a finisher, holds the ball up nicely and is good in the air. I think he’d be a real handful for Scottish Premiership defences.”

Imagine him and Kyogo

With the ability to play through the middle or out on the flanks, there is a possibility that Furuhashi and Niang could play in the same side together.

If that prospect does become a reality then they have the potential to cause plenty of damage in the SPFL.

Furuhashi has electric pace and has shown remarkably clever movement and game intelligence in his two starts so far.

He occupies clever areas and also seems to know how to get across his marker in order to give himself the best possible chance of scoring.

The Japanese dynamo has relished lining up alongside two direct players in the form of Ryan Christie and Liel Abada who helped to supply his stunning hat-trick against Dundee.

Throw Niang into the equation and he could score even more goals. They may even become a devastating two-prong attack for Postecoglou to utilise.

Niang only found the net on one occasion last term but during his Rennes career, the 26-year-old has scored 30 goals in 92 outings.

That’s an impressive tally for a player who has pace, drive and an aerial ability that could prove pivotal for a smaller player like Furuhashi.

Standing at 6 foot 2, his ability when the ball is off the ground is arguably better than any other forward player in Celtic’s ranks. He won 3.4 aerial duels per game during his final full season for Rennes, a number that usurps every Bhoys striker by some margin last term.

With that in mind, a classic little and large partnership could be established here. It would be an exciting one for supporters too.

They must sign Niang in order to boost their hopes this season.

AND in other news, 121 touches, 104 passes: Ange’s “outstanding” Celtic beast ran the show on Sunday…

Sunderland are reportedly interested in signing Celtic forward Leigh Griffiths on loan for the 2021/22 campaign, according to The Scottish Sun.

What’s the story?

Griffiths has been with Celtic since 2014, and has gone on to feature heavily for the Bhoys in recent seasons, with the 30-year-old scoring 123 goals in 262 appearances in total for the club.

But he has found regular minutes hard to come by in recent seasons, with Griffiths making 26 appearances in last year’s campaign, as they lost out to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

He did sign a one-year deal with Celtic, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped Sunderland from offering him a temporary route out of Celtic Park this summer.

The Black Cats are in the market for a suitable replacement for Charlie Wyke, who left the club when his contract expired, before going on to sign for League One rivals Wigan Athletic soon after.

Could be the missing piece

Sunderland have been somewhat of a ‘sleeping giant’ for far too long now, with this year’s campaign set to be their fourth consecutive season in the third tier of English football.

The Black Cats narrowly missed out on promotion into the Championship last term, as they were beaten by Lincoln City in their play-off semi-final, which condemned them to another season in League One.

Charlie Wyke will leave a sizeable void in their team next season though, with the forward netting 30 goals in 53 appearances for Lee Johnson’s side, so you can understand why the Sunderland boss is keen to find a replacement for the 28-year-old at the earliest of opportunities.

Griffiths could be the answer to that problem position for Johnson, with the forward already showing that he can score goals on a consistent basis, when presented with the opportunity.

The Scotsman netted 40 goals in the 2015/16 season, as Celtic won the Scottish Premiership, and Griffiths can feel slightly aggrieved not to have featured as much in recent years for the Bhoys.

In an interview with Football Insider, former Celtic forward Frank McAvennie hoped that Celtic wouldn’t let Griffiths depart back in April, whilst also labelling him as ‘terrific’.

“When he gets those chances, nine out of ten he’ll put away but he’s not been playing that much so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

“It just shows you what a terrific player he is because he’s created chances and got in the danger area but he couldn’t take them.”

Griffiths’ potential wage demands might be a slight concern for Sunderland though, with Salary Sport revealing that the forward is on weekly wages of £15k-per-week, which could be hefty for a club in the third tier of English football.

Sunderland need a player that knows where the back of the net is, and Griffiths certainly fits that description at this moment in time, and it would be somewhat of a coup for the Black Cats to secure a player of his quality, especially given his goalscoring record during his professional career.

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, former Liverpool player Paul Stewart has expressed his concerns over his old side signing West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen.

According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, Liverpool are interested in bringing Bowen to Anfield this summer as Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his forward options.

Last season, the 24-year-old impressed for West Ham, contributing to 13 of their Premier League goals. He also won 1.4 fouls per game, the second-highest average (via WhoScored) in the Hammers’ squad, helping his side to win free kicks.

Based on that, Bowen looks like he could bring something to Liverpool’s own squad. Stewart, though, has his doubts.

“It’s almost a bit like [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain,” Stewart told TT. “I was surprised when he went, players you see as bit-part players. And listen, he’s done well at West Ham, but would he get a game week in, week out at Liverpool? I don’t think so.”

Bowen has not really been linked with Liverpool before; this one has sort of come out of the blue.

A move to Anfield? It would probably be enticing for the Englishman. But as Stewart alluded to, it is going to be difficult to get regular game time ahead of the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach has shared an update on Southampton’s reported interest in Borussia Dortmund Thomas Delaney, an update which will be disappointing for a lot of Saints fans.

What’s the word?

Southampton were linked with a move for the Denmark international earlier in the summer, with a report from Sky Germany (via Sport Witness) claiming that the Saints, along with Norwich City and Crystal Palace, were interested in signing the 29-year-old ahead of next season.

However, in a recent Q and A session with Saints fans, Leach has suggested that Southampton won’t be signing Delaney this summer, saying:

“I asked Hasenhuttl about the player directly to which he kindly told me that the club are not in for a central midfielder this summer, effectively ruling out any interest.”

Would Delaney have been a good signing?

Delaney might have lost his regular spot in Dortmund’s first-team last season, making just 14 starts in the Bundesliga, but he still has a huge amount of experience in the German top-flight and the Champions League.

He was also a regular in Kasper Hjulmand’s Denmark side this summer as they reached the semi-final of the European Championships, making six appearances, scoring one goal and averaging an impressive 6.96 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-southampton-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Southampton transfer rumours and news!”]

Reports have also suggested that Dortmund are willing to sell him this summer and that he would be available for just €10m (£8.4m), which fits in with the budget that Hasenhuttl set out for Southampton before the transfer window.

Former Dortmund boss Edin Terzic was full of praise for Delaney last season, saying:

“Thomas Delaney always performs well, not just in the last two games. He is definitely a very important player who stabilises our defence and is always capable of destabilising our opponents. That is very important in this position. We are lucky to have a player like him in the squad.”

Therefore, he seems like exactly the sort of player who could’ve challenged James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu in Southampton’s midfield next season, as he would’ve been an experienced, cheap option for Hasenhuttl to have, so Saints fans will rightfully be gutted that their club seemingly aren’t keen on signing him.

And, in other news… Hasenhuttl should axe “outstanding” Southampton star this summer

Aston Villa and West Ham have both made contact with Young Boys over a possible swoop for centre-back Mohamed Camara.

The Lowdown: Villa’s busy summer

Villa haven’t wasted any time in the current transfer window, with two big signings already sealed.

Emiliano Buendia joined in a club-record deal from Norwich City, while Villa pipped Burnley and Watford to bring Ashley Young back to the club on Thursday.

England’s Under-16 captain Josh Feeney could also be making the move from Fleetwood Town, and it seems as if Camara may well be Johan Lange’s next big target.

The Latest: Source shares Camara contact

According to Sports Witness, who were told by a source, both Villa and the Hammers have asked for information on the 6 foot 3 defender.

Camara extended his deal with the Swiss side just last month, however, the report claims they would sell the Guinea international if a convincing offer comes in.

The 23-year-old, who has five international caps to his name, made 39 appearances in all competitions last season.

The Verdict: A possible Engels replacement?

Should Villa firm up their interest with a convincing offer that appeals to Young Boys, Camara could end up replacing the outgoing Bjorn Engels.

The Villa defender is set to move to Royal Antwerp after a deal was agreed between the two clubs on Friday, so you’d expect Dean Smith will look to bring in another senior centre-back alongside Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause.

Camara’s Transfermarkt valuation stands at just £2.7m, but it appears as if it will take a lot more than that to bring him to Bodymoor Heath.

In other news: Many AVFC fans buzz as inside NSWE info emerges, find out more here. 

Kerr Smith has hinted he will not be making a move to Villa Park this summer amid rumours of Aston Villa’s interest.

What’s been said?

In comments recently made in an interview with The Courier, the centre-back claimed that he is solely focused on getting more game time under his belt in the Scottish Premiership with Dundee United next season, rather than worrying about any speculation regarding his future.

The 16-year-old has been linked with a move to the likes of Aston Villa and Manchester United in the past, while The Sun recently reported that Dean Smith’s side, as well as Leicester City, are once again considering a move for the defender this summer, with Dundee United thought to be demanding a fee of £500k to part with the youngster.

However, if Smith’s recent comments are anything to go by, a summer transfer would appear to be the last thing on his mind, with the starlet stating: “To get five games in the Premiership at 16-years-old is a pretty good return, but I want to get more. I’m looking to get 10-15 games a season.

“I think the gaffer [Micky Mellon] has got a lot of trust in me because he’s coached me for a long time now through the U18s. I’ve just got to keep working hard in training because nothing is definite.

“If I don’t train well then I’m not going to deserve to play but, for me, that’s not going to happen. I’m going to go in there and earn my place.”

Smith will be gutted

Having already gone on to make five appearances for the Dundee United first team at just 16 years of age, it is clear that Micky Mellon believed Smith had a fantastic future ahead of him in the game during his time in Scotland.

Indeed, with centre-back being a position in which great physical strength, perfect concentration and fantastic discipline are required, the fact that Dundee United feel the youngster is already capable in all of these qualities would appear to indicate that Smith boasts a tremendous amount of potential.

And, considering the reported interest of teams such as Manchester United, Leicester City and Aston Villa, this would appear to be a perspective that is shared by a number of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

As such, the centre-back’s latest comments – while they do not categorically rule out a move this summer – are sure to have left Dean Smith gutted, as, if the man whom Mark Connolly dubbed a “fantastic” talent does indeed remain in Scotland this summer, before going on to have an impressive breakthrough campaign next term, the interest in his services is only likely to increase – something that could ultimately rule Villa out of a move.

In other news: Lange must sanction Villa swoop for “phenomenal” £45m-rated beast who Smith would love