All posts by n8rngtd.top

Aston Villa are already planning to strengthen their right-back ranks, with Frederic Guilbert’s Villa Park future hanging by a thread. 

According to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans, the club are monitoring the Frenchman’s progress out on loan at Strasbourg.

Guilbert has already registered two assists in Ligue 1 and scored an injury-time winner against Monaco earlier this month.

However, Evans goes on to add that the 26-year-old, who is attracting interest from English sides, is unlikely to get another chance to feature for the club.

Villa will reportedly head back into the market this summer for an additional right-back to provide competition for first-choice Matty Cash, as well as keeping a close eye on teenager Kaine Kesler in the academy.

Transfer Tavern take

Guilbert, on £27,000-a-week, signed for Villa back in January 2019 for £4.5m and has made 31 appearances for the club to date.

His Transfermarkt valuation has dropped from a career-high of £8.1m in December 2019 to £4.5m just 12 months later.

So, based on that, it will be interesting to see how much Villa receive for the full-back, should they decide to cash in. Guilbert’s Villa Park deal currently runs until 2023 and with unnamed English clubs keen, Villa could still make a profit on the Frenchman.

In other news: Plenty of Villa fans have been buzzing at a simple club post earlier this week, find out more here.

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been giving their thoughts over a potential permanent deal for Ross Barkley on social media.

That’s after Marlon Harewood shared his views on the attacking midfielder, with the former Villa striker believing Barkley will want to make his move permanent in the Midlands.

Barkley initially impressed at Villa Park but he’s managed just one goal involvement in his last 11 Premier League appearances and has had to make do with a place on the bench in recent weeks.

Chelsea’s huge asking price

Reports last month suggested that Villa would need to smash their transfer record, which stands at the £28m plus add-ons deal to bring Ollie Watkins to the club, to land Barkley on a long-term basis.

Chelsea will ask for a fee in the region of £40m this summer, with Thomas Tuchel’s stance on Barkley not yet known.

However, Harewood, talking to Football FanCast, gave Villa the green light in regards to a permanent deal for Barkley.

Harwood’s comments were shared on social media in a story by @AVFC_News on Thursday evening, who asked supporters if a deal will happen.

Villa supporters not keen

“Hopefully not. Will cost us 20-30 million as well. Really needs to step up his game. He hasn’t proven himself yet imo”

Credit: @SSaultyyy

“Ramsey over Barkley anytime and spend the cash elsewhere…”

Credit: @Mrb47016877

“#nothanks”

Credit: @villa_vernon

“He needs to step up then if he wants the move. Imo he’s not done enough for us since joining”

Credit: @villaman101

“Very much doubt it if he can’t even retain his place in the starting line-up.”

Credit: @joeinpoole

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Credit: @AstonZillaFC

In other news: Many Villa fans have hit out at Dean Smith for his training ground comments, find out more here.

Alex Iwobi may need to keep an eye over his shoulder at Everton next season after Real Madrid forward Lucas Vazquez was reportedly offered a move to Goodison Park.

What’s the word?

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Toffees are one of a clutch of European sides putting plans in place to sign Vazquez as a free agent once his Los Blancos contract expires in June.

Vazquez has rejected the offer of new terms at the Santiago Bernabeu and remains no closer to having his future resolved approaching his end of March deadline.

The £13.5m-rated winger had set the Galacticos a target of the end of March to present him with a new offer more attuned to his expectations.

While Real are yet thought to have offered Vazquez improved terms, the 29-year-old has received contract proposals from Everton plus Serie A duo SSC Napoli and AC Milan.

It is not suggested how the £113,000-per-week maestro responded to the approaches, but this report follows claims from Spain that Vazquez had named Everton as his preferred destination in order to be reunited with Carlo Ancelotti.

The Toffees boss is thought to have been viewing Vazquez as a potential summer target to help appease James Rodriguez, as the Colombian had become unsettled in the Premier League.

Vazquez rejected Real Madrid’s proposed new contract as the nine-time Spain international did not feel the terms represented a player of his standing, having opened 19 of his 22 La Liga appearances this term from a possible 28.

A problem for Iwobi

Reports surfacing of Everton presenting Vazquez with a contract is the latest signal of the strength of Ancelotti’s interest, in a move that could carry heavy consequences for Iwobi at Goodison Park.

While Ancelotti never fielded Vazquez for a single second during his time in charge of Los Blancos, the Italian tactician clearly thinks highly of the versatile forward who can offer the Toffees an option at right-back as well as on the wing.

But in signing the forward, whom Zinedine Zidane has praised as a “very reliable” player who “gives everything on the pitch”, Iwobi may have to look over his shoulder given the heightened competition for places.

The Nigerian was linked with a move away from Merseyside last summer during Ancelotti’s first off-season at the Goodison Park helm, with the new commander willing to listen to offers just a year after Marco Silva had spent up to £34m to sign Iwobi from Arsenal.

With Iwobi’s form and place in the Everton side mixed this season, to say the least, it would not be too much of a surprise for the 24-year-old – who has started just 15 Premier League fixtures this term – to face a fraught future again.

Iwobi was fast becoming a key man for Ancelotti over the winter through his performances in the absence of Rodriguez, but has fallen back to the periphery of late and failed to repay the Everton coach’s trust against Burnley earlier this month.

Ancelotti had stated that he would play Iwobi where he wants to, after the forward seemingly hit out at being played out of position, but the experiment only lasted half an hour before the Gunners product was sent back to the wing.

Iwobi lacked the authority and assertive presence to pull the strings from the centre against Burnley, and would undoubtedly have to look out for Vazquez if the Real Madrid maestro was also contending for the wide-role next season.

AND in other news, an “exceptional” Everton figure is being eyed by a Premier League rival…

Celtic have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Eddie Howe this week…

What’s the word?

According to The Scottish Sun, the incoming Hoops boss has already started work on summer transfer targets, with the 43-year-old making Joshua King one of his first signings.

The pair were together at AFC Bournemouth and it is thought that Howe sees his former talisman as an ideal successor to Odsonne Edouard, who is unlikely to stick around at Parkhead past the current campaign.

King has struggled for game time at Everton since his January deadline day move, failing to start a single match and could well depart at the end of his £45k-per-week contract, opening the door for a reunion in Glasgow.

Source of encouragement

Howe is yet to be confirmed as Neil Lennon’s successor but is expected to be announced as early as next week, though he may not take the helm until the summer.

The former Cherries genius has a huge rebuild on his hands – long-serving skipper Scott Brown is following CEO Peter Lawwell out the door, four loan players are set to return to their parent clubs and several key stars are either entering the final 12 months of their contracts or are wanted by other teams.

So it’s hugely encouraging that he’s already ‘working flat out behind the scenes,’ as per the aforementioned report. This will please majority shareholder Dermot Desmond immensely, especially after the mooted setback earlier this week.

It suggests that Howe is set on taking the job, and that means Desmond has got his man, barring that official announcement, having been questioned over his own status recently.

He won’t be selling his shares as he’s clearly wanting to be a big part of this new era that Celtic Park is about to embark on.

Incoming CEO Dominic McKay will be taking up his role three months earlier than expected, so it’s now a case of getting Howe through the door sooner rather than later.

But the fact that the ex-Bournemouth manager is already eyeing up a target in King will prove to be music to the ears of many. It’s hugely encouraging and surely means the deal is all but done.

He’ll need to hit the ground running this summer and getting ahead now could be a masterstroke in the long run.

AND in other news, Howe and McKay could instantly save Celtic millions this summer…

If anything summed up Wolves’ chaotic season so far, it would be their 2-1 win over Arsenal in midweek.

The Old Gold tasted victory for only the fourth time in their last 14 outings and it came in the strangest of ways.

A penalty and two red cards told a sorry story for the Gunners but Nuno Santo won’t care; he has finally ended the diabolical rut his team were on.

On the chalkboard

Most pleasing for Nuno last Tuesday was not just the win but the performance of Joao Moutinho. The Portugal international hadn’t scored all term before that victory but fired home a rasping drive from long-range that ultimately won the game for the Old Gold.

Going forward they were a threat but it was the same old story defensively. Wolves have kept a solitary clean sheet in the league since October and they were given a torrid time once again by Nicolas Pepe.

That was largely down to the performance of Nelson Semedo. The right-back was abject at the back and let Arsenal players surpass him all too easily.

Semedo set the tone when Cedric got past him in the opening exchanges. His fellow Portuguese full-back danced a merry jig past the former Barcelona defender but it only got worse.

Pepe flew down the left-hand side in a similar fashion to Cedric and then with a lovely piece of tricky advanced past Semedo with absolute ease. The Ivorian was then able to find the net in unerring fashion.

The summer signing was absolutely bullied down the right-hand side, losing 67% of his duels, but this is hardly surprising judging by previous performances in recent weeks.

He has been letting his side down for weeks, being branded a “liability” by journalist Tim Spiers for his mediocre performances in defence.

The 27-year-old put in a similar performance when Everton came to Molineux in January. He was caught out of position for Alex Iwobi’s opener and failed to get tight enough to Lucas Digne. The Toffees full-back was able to deliver a large haul of six crosses that day, something that only demonstrates Semedo’s ineptness in recent months.

Nightmare inbound?

With that in mind, he could be given a torrid time by Leicester on Sunday. Jamie Vardy is in contention to return while Harvey Barnes has been a rampant force down the left-hand side for the Foxes this term.

He’s scored seven Premier League goals while registering three assists in the process. With that in mind, perhaps Nuno could benefit from picking Ki-Jana Hoever?

The youngster established a valuable connection alongside Conor Coady when Wolves suffered a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United in December. The skipper was barking orders at Hoever and it very nearly worked.

The Molineux outfit held on until injury time in a game where Hoever stood out on his first Premier League start.

Having dealt comfortably with the likes of Marcus Rashford you sense he could do a similar job against Barnes. After all, Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken said after that United game that Hoever “didn’t put a foot wrong.”

It’s time to axe the £73k-per-week Semedo and bring in Hoever.

AND in other news, Wolves could finally axe Moutinho by signing “intelligent” £13m gem Keogh once bullied…

Glasgow Rangers like making life difficult for themselves, don’t they?

Ross Callachan scored with the last kick of the game to give Scottish Premiership strugglers Hamilton a well-deserved draw with the runaway league leaders.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard made three changes to the side which secured a midweek win over St Johnstone and it backfired almost immediately as the Gers struggled to gain a foothold in the game, with the Accies going close on several occasions only to be denied by the outstretched arms of the in-form Allan McGregor.

Having arrived from French Ligue 2 side Amiens on a short-term loan deal until the end of the season, Bongani Zungu was the shock inclusion as he started ahead of regulars Steven Davis and Ryan Jack.

But it was nothing short of an alarming performance from the Bafana-Bafana midfielder. He has plenty of experience in European competitions, but he was badly caught out of possession with a string of poor passes, particularly in the first half, with former Rangers winger Neil McCann criticising him on BBC Sportsound.

He said: “Zungu’s had a number of slack passes today, his distribution has been poor. He doesn’t look sharp out there and I think McGregor just gave him a little reminder to waken up.”

Left on the bench against Saints, Zungu missed a carbon-copy chance this afternoon to stake his claim for a place in the starting line-up.

SofaScore graded the 28-year-old as one of the worst players on the pitch with a low 6.9 rating, that being bettered by Davis (7) after his introduction in the second half.

Zungu’s struggles were obvious throughout the contest and despite being at the centre of the supply chain, he was rarely involved, as he took fewer touches than Ianis Hagi, as per SofaScore, who also endured a torrid time against the Accies.

Defensively, he failed to put much pressure on the opposition, having won just three out of eight duels overall (37%), and didn’t register a single tackle either.

Gerrard introduced Davis late on in an attempt to try to rescue the game and it’s perhaps telling that the Northern Irishman made a noticeable difference after he orchestrated the opening goal by combining with Borna Barisic down the left flank.

Despite being on the pitch for just over 10′ minutes, the contrast was stark, as Davis was still more effective. He attempted the same amount of dribbles as Zungu and also completed a tackle as well.

An unconvincing performance like this should show Gerrard that he can’t start games without Davis and Jack in the midfield. Zungu was a liability against the Accies on Sunday afternoon and should be dropped for the next game against Kilmarnock.

AND in other news, Glen Kamara has become virtually undroppable for Glasgow Rangers…

West Brom could be about to fill a long-standing void, if latest reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, the Baggies are one of several teams eyeing up a move for Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy as the Irishman is out of contract in the summer.

The Eagles are yet to begin talks over an extension, so he could be free to leave Selhurst Park, thus putting the likes of Celtic, Burnley, West Ham, Brighton, Bournemouth and of course, Albion on high alert.

It is thought that the 30-year-old is on around £50k-per-week at Palace.

A new Brunt?

Whilst it is no secret that Sam Allardyce needs a new holding midfielder – something that McCarthy is not – he could do no wrong in finally replacing a former West Brom stalwart.

After 13 years at the club, veteran Chris Brunt left the Hawthorns in the summer and really, Slaven Bilic never replaced him.

It was the right decision to move the 36-year-old on, but someone of his influence would have certainly been needed as the Baggies are deep in a relegation battle.

Over the course of his Albion career, Brunt averaged 1.6 tackles, 1.6 key passes, 1.5 clearances, and 1.4 shots per game, via WhoScored, proving to be valuable at either end of the pitch.

McCarthy is almost a carbon copy, if not a better defensive option than the Hawthorns legend as throughout his career, the 30-year-old has averaged 2.6 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, only one other current starter (Conor Gallagher) has managed more tackles per game this campaign, whilst it is only Darnell Furlong that can top his interception figures, also per WhoScored.

So the 42-cap international may play further forward than an anchorman, but evidently, he’s still a hard man to bypass in the middle, which ultimately is something Big Sam needs to find as his defence has enough pressure on their heads having leaked more goals (43) than any other Premier League side this term.

Indeed, earlier this season, McCarthy was praised for his ability to break up Manchester United’s attacks, Jermaine Jenas told Match of the Day (via Pundit Arena):

“When United players get the ball, McArthur is there on to him, and his partner in crime James McCarthy is there backing him up. They’re never that far apart. They knock you out of your rhythm. It’s James McCarthy getting the block and stopping the attack.”

The Baggies boss knows him well from his time at Everton too, once lauding him as their “shining light” whilst ex-Albion manager Roy Hodgson has also dubbed him a “class player” who “deserves an awful lot of credit.”

And just like Brunt, he’s vastly-experienced in the big time after surpassing over 260 top-flight appearances this campaign.

If Big Sam can strike a deal this window, in a similar way to that of Robert Snodgrass, he should absolutely encourage the board to do it as West Brom could finally replace Brunt and get that brute force back into their engine room.

AND in other news, West Brom dealt potential transfer boost in striker pursuit

Mauricio Pochettino may reportedly sign Tottenham Hotspur ace Hugo Lloris for PSG, according to Football Insider.

As per the news outlet, the former Spurs boss may be looking to raid his former club for his ex-captain, as he assesses his squad and identifies his own transfer targets.

Lloris is now into the final 18 months of his current deal at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, with a new contract not being agreed as of yet, so he runs the risk of only having a year left when the summer transfer window comes about.

This may well give Poch the perfect opportunity to pounce on the 34 year-old, who has been dubbed as his ‘best friend’.

Lloris is ‘top-class’

Lloris has proven time and time again that he is a ‘top-class’ goalkeeper, evident by being a key figure in France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup win, in which he captained his country to glory.

He has also been a mainstay in the Lilywhites’ team for the last nine consecutive terms during his time in North London, playing in no fewer than 346 games in all competitions and keeping a very impressive 119 clean sheets in the process (Transfermarkt).

The French veteran would certainly be missed at THFC if he were to make the switch to Paris Saint Germain.

In other news, find out which Southampton star Spurs have been tipped to swoop for here!

If anything summed up Wolves’ season, it would be the last couple of weeks.

Throughout February, the Old Gold were brilliant as they bounced back from some relegation talk to go through the month unbeaten.

Nuno Santo has been nominated for the Manager of the Month award while Ruben Neves is in the conversation to be crowned Player of the Month.

However, the cracks are starting to appear in Wolves’ armoury again. They are now winless in three successive outings with their performance against Aston Villa on Saturday providing very few positives.

Nuno’s men drew 0-0 as they lacked ruthlessness in front of goal. It has been the same story in their last two matches, drawing 1-1 with Newcastle and being battered 4-1 by Manchester City.

It has been a poor week for the Midlands outfit and nothing typifies that more than their ability or lack of it rather, to find the net.

Willian Jose is still yet to score in a Wolves shirt while Adama Traore’s goal drought goes on. It would seem that they’re beginning to rely on their defenders to score the goals.

Conor Coady netted in midweek, while he and Romain Saiss had their best chances against Villa on Saturday.

Pedro Neto whipped in a mean ball from the right during the second half which found its way to Coady at the back stick. He hit the post and then with the goal at his mercy, Saiss somehow missed an open goal from a matter of yards.

Tim Spiers claimed the effort “defied the laws of physics” and it’s hard to argue with that point. The Moroccan just needed to tap the ball home but instead skied it miles over the bar. It was a moment that ultimately cost Wolves the game and left every Old Gold player in the camera shot with their head in their hands.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-news-on-wolves-from-molineux” title=” Check out the latest news on Wolves from Molineux!”]

It was a bewildering miss, one that might just go down as the worst of the Premier League season. Though, it was an incident that just about summed up a woeful night for Saiss; a player who never got going at Villa Park.

The £22k-per-week defender has been inconsistent this term and his display on Saturday evening proved that very point. Nuno likes his defenders to be able to play out from the back but he failed in that department, achieving a pass success rate of just 70%.

That tally happened to be the worst of any Wolves outfield player. It was also a number that was 12% worse than his seasonal average of 82% this term.

The Express & Star were rather damning in their assessment of the defender at full-time, saying; “Headed the ball with authority, however, his passing was inconsistent throughout. But it’s the miss of the season that will cause the Moroccan international some sleepless nights.”

Saiss was kept busy by the likes of Trezeguet and Ollie Watkins but he often came out second best, winning just a solitary tackle in the entire match. In addition, the centre-back surrendered possession on 15 occasions.

It was an uncharacteristically poor performance from Saiss, someone who should now be wary of his place in the team.

With Willy Boly back among the substitutes, Nuno must consider wielding the axe on his place in the starting XI and replacing him with a more reliable defender. Boly is certainly that.

AND in other news, Wolves gem who made just 23 passes let Nuno down a lot, Spiers said he “offered nowt”…

For Sunderland, they are staring at a streak where three games have been postponed.

It’s not exactly how the players saw their Christmas turning out, but it might bring some light relief to a squad that have been through the wringer over the last few years.

That being said, the club’s hierarchy should still be busy on the transfer front.

What’s the word?

Lee Johnson has made it clear that he’s looking for players that can stretch the play in January.

As a result, it’s incredibly likely that Sunderland will dip their toes into the attacking market next month. One player linked so far is Barnsley’s Luke Thomas.

However, if William Storey seals a deal to buy the club from Stewart Donald, there could be a whole host of new targets.

Speaking to The Chronicle this week, he opened up on the club’s transfer strategy and name-dropped former Black Cat Fabio Borini as an example of someone they could sign.

He stated: “There are financial fair play rules which we have to adhere to, so clearly in the early days in terms of getting new talent in, there’s a big requirement for new players, we would look to be doing various deals with either free agents – and I quoted [Fabio] Borini as an example – and there are multiple players who are available that I think would inject some excitement into the club.”

Disaster for Sunderland

Storey is quite right that in the early days of his potential reign at Sunderland they’d have to look at cost-effective deals.

Borini would certainly be an exciting signing for a League One club, but the fact of the matter is that his wage demands would surely be too big, especially when you consider the EFL’s salary cap for players over the age of 21.

When he was still at Verona last season, the Italian was on a wage of £79k-a-week. Alarm bells immediately start ringing when you see Sunderland interested in a player like that.

You only need to look at the huge burden Jack Rodwell had on the wage bill when he was still earning £70k-a-week at the Stadium of Light when they were in the Championship.

Furthermore, Aiden McGeady still earns around £31k at the Mackems.

Of course, Borini would take a wage cut but there is no way they would be able to reduce it to sensible terms. The Italian is a player with “big energy” according to David Moyes so certainly fits the type of profile that Johnson wants but financially, this would be a disastrous deal.

Not even in the Championship should the Black Cats consider Borini. They need to take their transfer strategy in a different direction.

AND in other news, Sunderland must unleash ace who “ran his socks off” under Coleman…