All posts by z3u9t.icu

[ad_pod ]Earlier this month, Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech announced that he hasÂdecided to call time on his career and will no longer represent the North London club – as a player, at least – when he hangs up his gloves at the end of the season.

The former Chelsea shot-stopper will go down as a Premier League legend but under Unai Emery, Cech has lost his starting spot to summer signing Bernd Leno and featured just seven times in the Premier League this season.

Without his services to bank on for much longer, Arsenal will have to start plotting potential additions to fill Cech’s void next season. With that in mind, Football FanCast provide four suggestions on who should become Cech’s successor at the Emirates Stadium.

Pl>ymaker FC believes Arsenal fans won’t have to wait long to see Unai Emery’s long-term ambitions for the club come to fruition. Watch the video below to find out why…

Radoslaw Majecki

Legia Warsaw’s Radoslaw Majecki may be a fairly unheard of name but not amongst the scouts at Arsenal, with the Gunners sending their men to watch the teenager’s progress throughout the current campaign – as reported by London Evening Standard in December.

The 19-year-old only broke into the senior side this year in Poland, but is currently being assessed to determine his suitability to the English game. He would certainly need further time to develop, but with Leno the current number one Arsenal are able to afford him it.

Jan Oblak

While Leno may be the first choice at the moment, the summer signing has not been a terrific acquisition. In fact, the 26-year-old has only managed three Premier League clean sheets so far.

An option to consider if Emery wishes to bring in an immediate first-choice goalkeeper is Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak.

A move for the 26-year-old would be expensive, to say the least, with the Slovenian unlikely to leave the Spanish capital for anything less than his £90millionÂrelease clause – as documented by FourFourTwo. After that, Arsenal would have to impress Oblak enough to convince him to join.

Thomas Strakosha

Given the Gunners’ need to strengthen across the pitch, Emery will likely shy away from splurging the budget on one marquee addition this summer.

Albanian international Thomas Strakosha, however, would unlikely break the bank but still offer a decent alternative to Leno, provided Lazio remain willing to sell as Calcio Mercato claimed during the summer.

The 23-year-old has been the established first choice for Lazio since the 2016/17 season, and has made 20 Serie A appearances already this term.

Emiliano Martinez

There may be a magnitude of potential goalkeepers in world football that could be brought to North London to fill Cech’s void, but one man already at the club will certainly be hoping the veteran’s retirement gives him the chance to become a first-team regular.

Emiliano Martinez joined Arsenal back in 2010 and has been on the fringes of the first-team ever since his debut in the League Cup two years later.

Unfortunately for the Argentine, he has never featured in more than six games in a single season for the Gunners, yet has kept a clean sheet on seven occasions, including against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

So, Arsenal fans, who do you see as the perfect Cech successor? Let us know by commenting below…

An update has emerged on both Trincao and Adama Traore’s future at Wolves.

What’s the news?

According to a number of reports in Spain, Barcelona will only sign Adama Traore permanently if Wolves sign the Portuguese winger permanently – leading to the La Liga giants’ club president Joan Laporta claiming that a deal could be completed if Trincao is used as a makeweight.

“I think a swap deal with Wolves between Francisco Trincao and Adama Traore could be a very good option,” said Laporta.

Must avoid for Wolves

Wolves’ woes in front of goal have continued on from Nuno Santo’s time in charge of the team, into the Bruno Lage era – having scored the fifth-lowest amount of goals in the Premier League this campaign.

Not helped by Raul Jimenez and Hwang Hee-chan’s total goal haul of 11 for the season so far between them, as well as £36m signing Fabio Silva failing to add any at all in the top flight – Lage will likely be looking to overhaul his attack in the summer – or at least improve it.

With Pedro Neto returning from injury, he can finally replace loanee Trincao as the starting inverted right winger in the team, after the Barcelona-owned youngster has failed to establish himself as a Premier League quality forward since joining last summer.

As a result, signing Trincao permanently next summer would not make much sense with the forward, who was dubbed “toothless” by Nathan Judah, scoring just one goal and assisting only one more in 22 appearances for the West Midlands side.

If they are to have European ambitions, the £19.8m-rated flop is not the player to take them forward and must be axed this summer. There is simply no point in bringing a player who is on £131k per week to the club to play back-up.

Instead, Lage would benefit more from spending the Adama money on other positions in the squad, and promoting one of the exciting young prospects in the academy – like left-footed Canada international Theo Corbeanu.

In other news: £1.35m-rated Wolves flop who has “developed in every way” now proving Lage very wrong

With recent transfer rumours linking Adama Traore with a transfer move away from Wolves to fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, journalist Pete O’Rourke has dropped a behind-the-scenes claim over what the current state of play is between the player and Wolves which will surely have some fans concerned.

What’s the news?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about Traore’s current situation at the Midlands club and what his immediate future could look like, O’Rourke had this to say on the matter.

He said: “Traore doesn’t look too happy at Wolves. I think maybe it’s time for both parties to move their separate ways.”

Traore joined Wolves in the 2018 summer transfer window from Championship side Middlesbrough in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m.

Since then, the 25-year-old has gone on to make 152 appearances for the Old Gold across all competitions, scoring ten goals and providing 18 assists in the process.

Fans sweating

Despite not managing to score a goal or provide an assist in 18 Premier League appearances so far this season, the Spaniard has still managed to earn himself an overall performance rating of 6.96/10, making him Wolves’ third-highest rated player according to WhoScored, highlighting the quality he has on the pitch.

His latest appearance came during Wolves’ recent 3-0 win over Sheffield United in the FA Cup where Traore earned himself an overall match rating of 7/10 from Birmingham Live and recognised the uncertainty around his future at the club by saying that “Traore could leave this month, but Wolves must do everything within their power to keep him before that happens.”

Having been previously reported that efforts from Wolves to get Traore to sign a new deal at Molineux have been unsuccessful, his apparent unhappiness at the club at this moment in time could well spell the end for him in a Wolves shirt.

With his current contract set to expire in the summer of 2023, it will be up to the club to see if they can get what they see as a suitable transfer fee for Traore rather than keep hold of him for the next year or so while he’s unhappy and lose him as a free agent when his deal runs out.

If Tottenham do make an approach to Wolves this month to sign Traore, it could be worth Wolves picking up a transfer fee for him and using that money to potentially sign another attacking player to replace him so Bruno Lage’s squad doesn’t lose any depth to it.

That said, it certainly won’t stop supporters from sweating over the speedster’s future at Molineux. Despite his lack of goals, he is still a mightily important player to the Old Gold.

In other news: Bid rejected: Wolves dealt blow in chase for 6 ft 4 colossus, fans surely gutted – opinion

Albian Ajeti is among the players who could leave Celtic during the January transfer window, according to The Daily Record’s Scott Burns. 

The lowdown

Celtic kicked off the window with three incomings in the form of Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate, but it looks like Ange Postecoglou also intends to trim the excess from his Hoops squad this month.

Ajeti has made 17 appearances so far this season, but only three of those have been Premiership starts. Celtic paid £4.5million to sign this Swiss marksman from West Ham in August 2020, but he has only managed to score nine goals in his 48 outings since.

The latest

Burns wrote in The Daily Record that Celtic are ‘open to deals’ for Ajeti, Boli Bolingoli and Vassilis Barkas.

He added that Ismaila Soro ‘could also come into that equation’ after falling out of favour at Parkhead.

The verdict

If Celtic can offload all four players permanently, they could generate a healthy sum. Combine their Transfermarkt valuations – £1.35m each for Barkas and Bolingoli, £810,000 for Soro and £2.25m for Ajeti – and it comes to £5.76m.

That would put them comfortably in the black for January given that their J1 League triple swoop only cost them £2.06m overall.

Looking at it another way, it could finance the prospective permanent signing of Cameron Carter-Vickers from Tottenham Hotspur. Celtic have an option to buy the on-loan American for £6m, and Spurs may be willing to negotiate.

In other news, Celtic have been linked with this Bundesliga talent.

An exciting Sunderland transfer update has emerged regarding veteran striker Jermain Defoe…

What’s the talk?

Journalist Dharmesh Sheth has revealed that the Black Cats are among a number of clubs keen on a short-term deal for the forward after his departure from Rangers, with the 39-year-old also interested in taking up a coaching role further down the line.

He told Sky Sports News’ The Transfer Show, via This is Futbol: “He said on the show last week that his phone was red-hot, it wouldn’t stop ringing – lots of interest in Jermain Defoe. We’re told today, Sunderland, Ipswich, Charlton Athletic and Oxford all interested in signing Jermain Defoe on a short-term deal that will take him until the end of the season.

“Now, he’s also got coaching offers as well, which is why he hasn’t fully made his mind up whether he’ll continue playing until the end of the season. I think that would be his preference, but if a coaching offer came along that he couldn’t refuse, it would be something that he would definitely have to think about.”

Delight for Lee Johnson

Lee Johnson will be delighted with this news for several reasons. Firstly, it shows that Sunderland are right in the mix for his signature as a player alongside other League One clubs who do not have a pre-existing relationship with him heading into this transfer window.

This means that the Black Cats could have a slight edge over the likes of Charlton, Ipswich and Oxford, as Defoe has already played at the Stadium of Light and knows his way around the area. The striker could find this appealing if this is to be his final season of playing, so being in a position where he can hit the ground running instead of needing time to settle in could be a key factor in deciding his next move.

The England international scored an impressive 37 goals in 94 games for Sunderland during his time at the club previously. This included 30 Premier League goals in his final two seasons on Wearside, illustrating how enjoyable a spell he had at the club from 2014 to 2017.

Johnson will also be buzzing with this update, as it suggests that Defoe could be willing to take on a coaching role from next season. The 39-year-old has more than 200 career goals to his name, along with 57 caps for England, and his experience could make him a valuable addition to the head coach’s backroom staff from the start of the 2022/23 campaign.

Whilst he could offer quality on the pitch in the short-term, having scored 32 goals in 74 games for Rangers in recent years, the coaching he could provide Sunderland moving forward is another reason why this could be a fantastic signing for the club if they can fend off their League One competitors.

AND in other news, Sunderland training ground development emerges which will leave fans buzzing…

The Athletic’s Celtic correspondent Kieran Devlin has claimed that a ‘fair few’ January exits are on the cards at Parkhead.  

The Lowdown: Betis beaten

Ange Postecoglou made 11 changes to his line-up in an impressive 3-2 win over Real Betis on Thursday, with summer signings Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw making their long-awaited debuts.

Stephen Welsh, Ewan Henderson and David Turnbull were the scorers against the La Liga side, with the likes of Albian Ajeti, Scott Bain, James McCarthy and Ismaila Soro all receiving rare starts.

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It now seems as if multiple members from that line-up could be on the way out in the New Year, though, as Postecoglou continues the rebuilding job at Parkhead.

The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin ran a Q&A on The Athletic ahead of Celtic’s clash with Motherwell on Sunday, which ended in a 1-0 win for the Hoops

He replied to one fan regarding Thursday’s display and the overall squad depth, to which he said:

“Understand that a fair few of the Thursday players are being pencilled for loan or permanent moves in January anyway, so I’m personally still a little hesitant of saying admirable performances against Betis means squad depth is not as poor as it was beforehand.”

The Verdict: Who could leave?

From Celtic’s latest Europa League starting line-up, there could be multiple exits, either on loan or in permanent deals, so who may depart?

Ajeti has been linked with a permanent exit with the Hoops ready to cut their losses, while loan moves for Urhoghide and Shaw have also been mooted.

Bain could remain at the club with Vasilis Barkas open to a permanent or temporary exit, and should Celtic seal moves for midfield targets Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi, perhaps Soro could move on as well.

Only time will tell, but it seems as if it could be a very busy start to the New Year at Celtic Park, especially if Devlin’s premonition materialises.

In other news: Celtic allegedly now looking at signing 34-assist ace in January; he’s his agency’s biggest star

Tottenham insider John Wenham thinks there could be ‘movement soon’ regarding the club’s interest in Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Big-money

Tottenham’s current record transfer stands at £54m in the deal that brought Tanguy Ndombele to north London, but it appears as if that could well be broken soon.

Recent reports have suggested that Spurs are the favourites to sign Vlahovic, who has netted 10 times this season, for £68m.

The 21-year-old recently turned down a new contract with his current employers, and despite being wanted by multiple sides, it seems as if Tottenham could well end up winning the race.

The Latest: Wenham’s comments

Wenham was talking to Football Insider regarding Vlahovic in a story shared on Monday lunchtime.

The Spurs source reacted to ‘reports overnight’ of the Lilywhites winning the race, and although he’s not quite convinced on that, he certainly seems confident about an eventual move…

“The situation with this was that I thought links were being made after.

“Vlahovic was on a very long list of Spurs targets.

“Having looked at his contract details and the fact that Fiorentina have said he won’t sign a new deal, they are preparing to sell in January.

“This is their last chance to recoup what he’s worth. That has now become far more interesting.

“It’s a deal Tottenham have looked at doing historically. I think there could be some movement soon.

“It’s one to look at certainly. There were reports overnight that Tottenham have beaten off competition to sign him and stuff about a club-record fee.

“There are no leading publications reporting that and there are no direct quotes in that piece so I wouldn’t get too excited yet.

“But it is a deal I can see Tottenham doing. He looks a brilliant player.”

The Verdict: January move needed?

The Athletic suggested last month that Spurs may not move for Vlahovic until the summer, but the fear is that he might have a new club by then with a number of clubs interested along with his recent contract snub.

On that basis, the January window could make or break Spurs when it comes to their interest in Vlahovic. Cough up a club-record fee in the New Year and Antonio Conte may have another prolific striker to partner Harry Kane in his favoured system using two strikers.

However, the longer they wait and try to negotiate, the riskier it becomes and Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici could end up with egg on their faces.

In other news: ‘Complete and utter nonsense’ – 48 y/o fumes at ‘ridiculous’ thing Conte has done at Tottenham. 

Journalist James Pearce has explained Harvey Elliott’s recent omissions from Liverpool senior matchday squads, having spoken to Jurgen Klopp about the situation.

The Lowdown: Elliott axed for City clash

The Reds drew 2-2 away to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon as another thrilling Premier League clash between the pair took place at the Etihad Stadium.

Elliott wasn’t part of the occasion, though, with the 19-year-old left out of the squad entirely, despite being hailed as ‘fantastic’ by Ian Wright after his goalscoring return to action in February.

It isn’t the first time that the teenager has been snubbed by Klopp in recent weeks – his last appearance came against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup last month, while he hasn’t been in a league matchday squad since 12 March – and even though the midfielder has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Anfield, this omission may still have raised some eyebrows.

The Latest: Pearce explains Elliott situation

Writing in a Q&A for The Athletic before Sunday’s game, Pearce provided his thoughts on the situation, playing down any kind of potential issue between player and manager:

“I asked Klopp recently and he said it was just down to the sheer competition for places. Origi and Minamino not on the bench either.

“Plus, quite common for someone coming back from a bad injury to have a lively initial period back, adrenaline pumping etc, but then experience a lull. Elliott still has a big future at LFC.”

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The Verdict: Completely understandable

There is no need for this to be made into a bigger deal than it is, with Liverpool having no current injuries and therefore arguably the most impressive squad in the club’s history.

It is simply a case of Elliott not quite being deemed good enough to get into the matchday squad for a huge encounter – the same applies to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Divock Origi, for example – which is no great surprise, given his inexperience.

As Pearce has referenced, the teenager also suffered a dislocated ankle earlier this season and needs to be managed carefully, so there should be no concern over his future at the club whatsoever.

In other news, Liverpool are ‘convinced’ they should sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Speaking live on Selecao SporTV (via Sport Witness), Globo Esporte reporter Cahe Mota has broken some West Ham transfer news involving Flamengo striker Gabriel Barbosa.

The Lowdown: West Ham hold ‘Gabigol’ transfer talks…

According to Sky Sports, West Ham have already started making moves to sign a striker this January as they recently lifted the lid on transfer talks to sign red hot Selecao star Barbosa.

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As per the reliable broadcast giant, Flamengo’s star forward is keen on a move to England and the Premier League as he feels this is the best chance to be selected for Brazil’s 2022 World Cup squad.

He also watches every West Ham game and is an admirer of how manager David Moyes has transformed the Irons into top four contenders.

Breaking more news on Moyes’ links to Barbosa, South American reporter Mota has now shared his own update with slightly different information.

The Latest: Mota breaks Barbosa to West Ham latest…

According to the journalist’s information, as he explained live on Selecao SporTV (via SW), West Ham already had a bid rejected at the start of December.

Indeed, Flamengo apparently refused their initial proposal of €6 million (£5.013m) for a loan until the summer of 2023, plus an option to buy.

They considered West Ham’s first offer ‘absurd’, but according to Mota, there is an ‘expectation’ that Moyes’ side will return with a fresh bid to sign Barbosa.

However, if the Irons are going to sign Flamengo’s ace, they will need to pay his €33 million (£27.5m) release clause.

The Verdict: Worth it?

News that the Brazilian Serie A giants are refusing to budge on Barbosa’s release clause will come as a blow to West Ham, but given they are expected to make a fresh offer, we believe the 25-year-old could in fact be worth the investment.

Still fairly young, the prolific striker would come to England with real potential for sell-on value and the rumour he is keen on a move could work in Moyes’ favour.

Scoring 29 goals over 2021 alone, there is little doubting Barbosa knows how to find the back of the net consistently and numbers like that point to a very prolific option for below £30m.

Given West Ham’s real need for a striking back up to Michail Antonio, especially given the Jamaican’s worrying injury record, we believe Moyes and recruitment chief Rob Newman should at least consider paying Flamengo’s release clause.

In other news: West Ham set for imminent move to sign ‘phenomenal’ powerhouse as reporter drops exciting Twitter message, find out more here.

Following on from their disappointing 3-2 defeat against West Ham United before the international break, Liverpool have another tough test on their hands this evening when Arsenal arrive at Anfield for their latest Premier League clash.

On the chalkboard

In terms of who Jurgen Klopp could select in his starting XI to take on Mikel Arteta’s side, one player who featured in the defeat against the Irons but should not be in the team on this occasion is Joel Matip.

Since joining the Merseyside club on a free transfer from Schalke 04 back in 2016, the 30-year-old – who is currently valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt – has made a total of 136 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, chipping in with six goals and three assists along the way.

After being an unused substitute in Liverpool’s two previous league games prior to the defeat at West Ham, Matip failed to repay the faith shown in him by Klopp after not only conceding three goals but also failing to make one tackle and block a single shot on the day. He was also dribbled past on one occasion and lost possession of the ball 11 times, ultimately earning himself a disappointing overall match rating of 6.4/10, making him Liverpool’s lowest-rated defender in east London according to SofaScore.

With this in mind, perhaps it could be the best option if Klopp were to take Matip, who the German has labelled “unbelievable” in the past, out of the team on this occasion and save him for their Champions League match in midweek against Porto.

In terms of who Klopp could utilise instead of the Cameroonian on this occasion, perhaps this could be a good opportunity for Ibrahima Konate to show what he’s capable of and stake his claim in the side after keeping clean sheets in his first two league games of the season against Crystal Palace and Manchester United.

Whether or not Klopp chooses to go with Matip this evening, the Reds boss will undoubtedly be hoping that his side will be able to pick up all three points against Arsenal, who have won their three previous league games and would leapfrog Liverpool if they leave Anfield with victory.

In other news – Big blow: Liverpool handed another potential injury setback, fans will be worried