All posts by z3u9t.icu

Newcastle United are leading Celtic in the race to sign Wigan Athletic striker Kyle Joseph.

That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claimed that the teenager’s representatives held talks with the Hoops back in February ahead of a potential pre-contract agreement.

Newcastle’s greater offer

However, it seems as if St James’ Park is a more likely destination for the 6ft 1in forward, with the Magpies stepping in with a greater offer.

Celtic could have paid a compensation package of just £230,000 for the 19-year-old, but Newcastle are willing to pay around £850,000 to try and force through a move.

Joseph has scored five goals in 14 League One games this season, with three of those coming in a 4-3 win over Burton Albion back in December.

Transfer Tavern take

In the long run, this latest development could prove to be a blow.

Celtic have already secured a pre-contract agreement with Sheffield Wednesday’s Liam Shaw, with the Hoops looking to target UK-based prospects with high upside potential on a pre-contract or for a nominal fee.

Joseph appears to fit that mould, but it seems as if Celtic could well miss out on the Wigan ace following this latest development.

In other news: Celtic star tells club he doesn’t want to play for the Hoops again, find out more here. 

Speaking to football.london, West Ham United boss David Moyes has dropped an exciting hint that club legend Mark Noble could potentially become a part of the staff after his retirement – going on to say he has ‘no doubt’ that the Englishman’s future will be somewhere with the Hammers.

Noble, who will be set for his 400th Premier League appearance if he plays against Leicester City on Sunday afternoon at the London Stadium, has been a mainstay for the Irons since making his debut in 2004.

Moyes drops exciting hint on possible Noble appointment

A product of the club’s youth academy, the 33-year-old has made 523 appearances for the club in all competitions over a near 17-year stay so far (Transfermarkt), with Noble recently announcing that next season will indeed be his last after signing a one-year extension (BBC).

Much speculation has arisen over whether he will continue at West Ham in an off field role past his retirement, with reliable club insider ExWHUemployee recently claiming ‘there is talk’ he would be given a ‘coaching role or some ambassadorial role’ (West Ham Way Podcast).

Now, Moyes has come out with his take on the situation, dropping an exciting hint that Noble could well be appointed as future West Ham staff in some capacity.

“I do see Mark [Noble] becoming part of the staff in the future,” explained the Scotsman (via football.london).

“While he is still playing well and contributing on that side of it we want him in that area.

“But I have no doubt Mark’s future career will be somewhere at West Ham, what that exactly is I don’t know but I have no doubt he will be in and around the club.”

Transfer Tavern take

Given all he has contributed over his plethora of West Ham appearances in the last decade, appointing someone with great knowledge and experience of the club seems like a no brainer.

His son is also apparently part of the Irons academy, giving him all the more reason to stay in east London and possibly become a big part of the coaching team behind the scenes.

As West Ham club staff possibly keep their eye out for another Noble-esque talent who can serve the club over a great period of longevity, hiring the beloved midfielder in a non-playing role after his retirement could be a wise decision.

The decision will rest with the player himself, however, and Hammers supporters are surely hoping he remains a servant of the club long after he hangs up his boots.

In other news: ExWHUemployee has shared another priority signing for Moyes, find out more here.

It isn’t often that news from Leicester City and the King Power Stadium catches supporters off-guard.

Indeed, rumours of a new signing or indeed of an extended deal usually begin developing days or even weeks before anything is usually confirmed by the club.

That is not quite exactly what happened on Thursday, however, with Danny Ward having penned a new contract at the club – and quite a lengthy one at that, with the former Liverpool stopper now tied down until the summer of 2025.

Whilst there was a real lack of any fanfare for Ward’s new deal, it was a shrewd move from Brendan Rodgers, and one which could allude to the Welshman being the natural successor to the now 34-year-old Kasper Schmeichel.

Despite having only appeared on 14 appearances for the Foxes since his 2018 arrival under Claude Puel, Ward has performed very well. In those limited appearances, he has racked up eight clean sheets, whilst only conceding eight goals in total throughout those matches.

His best performance arguably came in his first season at the club as he saved three penalties in a shootout victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.

Even current Leicester teammate Marc Albrighton is fully aware of Ward’s abilities despite his limited game time, labelling him as “incredible” following the aforementioned win against Wolves.

Considering that ability, it certainly made sense to keep Ward at the club as a hugely competent backup to regular number one Schmeichel.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leicester-city-news%2c-transfer-rumours-and-more-soumare-soyuncu-edouard-jakupovic-lookman” title=”Latest Leicester City news, transfer rumours and more… “]

Whilst the Dane has expressed no intention of stepping away at any point yet, Ward – who is seven years his junior – could definitely be his replacement should the inevitable moment come that the long-serving Schmeichel retires.

The 27-year-old’s new deal could be the first steps in preparation for the long-term future and is an extremely shrewd move from Leicester despite catching most off-guard.

AND in more news,  Leicester have been handed a considerable injury boost ahead of the FA Cup semi-final…

Noel Whelan has said that Glasgow Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack will be distraught to miss out on the European Championships with Scotland as Steven Gerrard confirmed that the 29-year-old won’t play a part in the tournament.

Whelan says Jack will be distraught

Prior to the Gers’ Scottish Cup fourth round clash on Sunday, Gerrard revealed that Jack will miss the rest of the season and will also be unavailable for Euro 2020 (BBC).

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said Jack will be gutted to miss the competition, although there may be a silver lining from a Rangers perspective. When asked whether it may be a blessing in disguise, he said:

“On one side, yes. Don’t tell me he won’t be absolutely gutted though that he is not at the Euros.

“They don’t know when they’re going to qualify again. It was maybe a one-off opportunity that he might get to play in the Euros.

“It’s come to a point where it needs to be rectified. He may have got through the Euros with this niggle but, you can never take a risk on an injury like that.

“It’s hard to be competitive, it puts far too much strain on the body.

“Your calf muscle takes a lot of stress and strain when you’re running and putting your body weight on it and pushing off and so on.”

Better in the long run

Jack has been struggling with this calf injury for a while (Transfermarkt) and has missed a number of games – he has made just 24 appearances in all competitions so far this term.

A spell on the sidelines may well allow him to return next season with full fitness and could even prolong his career. He has been an important player for Rangers and has played his part in a successful 2020/21 for the club, scoring twice to take his career tally to 22 strikes.

However, whether he will get another chance to compete in a major tournament with his country is unlikely. This is the first time Scotland have reached a major finals since 1998, after all – it is far from a common occurrence. Although it may be a sensible long-term decision not to play at the Euros, it will be a bitter pill for Jack to swallow in the short-term.

In other news, many Rangers fans lauded this man’s performance against Celtic.

Donny van de Beek’s struggles at Manchester United this season have certainly been well-broadcast.

The Dutchman, who was signed from Ajax last summer, has only gone on to make 12 starts in all competitions for the Red Devils since his arrival, scoring just a solitary goal and providing just one assist.

That is certainly not the output that Ed Woodward or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have been expecting or anticipating from a player who has on occasion been talked up as “perfect” by former Red Devils midfielder Owen Hargreaves.

That poor form has on occasion seen his signing called into question. However, a real indicator is the sheer amount of funds that United appear to have wasted on Van de Beek.

Rated as high as £49.5m by Transfermarkt in December 2019, the £35.7m fee that United then agreed with Ajax could have been perceived as a bargain.

Nevertheless, the 23-year-old’s rating has dropped even below that throughout his Old Trafford career with Van de Beek now rated as low as £31.5m – a huge fall of £18m since his peak.

Considering that the substantial dip has occurred in just a year-and-a-half, it really indicates how little of an impact the Dutchman has had since his arrival at Old Trafford.

Whilst it is somewhat too early to label Van de Beek as an outright failure at Manchester United, the dramatic fall in his transfer rating coupled with his peripheral involvement at the club should certainly be a worry for the Red Devils and specifically Ed Woodward.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-man-united-transfer-rumours-and-news-from-old-trafford-lingard-de-gea-pogba-bailly-johnstone” title=”The latest Man United transfer rumours and news from Old Trafford…”]

It remains to be seen whether he will be afforded more opportunities between now and the end of the season, but the 19-cap Dutch international will surely be keen to recover his reputation sooner rather than later.

AND in more news, find out why the Red Devils need to return to a Premier League rival for one of their summer signings…

Keith Gillespie has told Football FanCast that Manchester United must buy a striker this summer, because Anthony Martial isn’t good enough to play through the middle for the club.

Martial has struggled at times this season, though he has been ruled out for the last five games with a knee injury.

Still, the France international has not managed to score a goal since February, when he netted twice in the 9-0 win over Southampton.

That means he has two goals in his last 10 games, while in total, he has scored four times in 22 league games in 2020/21.

Gillespie doesn’t think he’s anywhere near good enough to be the main striker at United.

And he has urged the club to make it a “priority” as the club look to strengthen the squad this summer.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, Gillespie has claimed that Martial has been given plenty of chances to become the out-and-out striker at Old Trafford, but simply hasn’t done enough to make it stick.

He said: “I think it is a priority, because nobody thinks Martial is the answer.

“Given his poor return this season in terms of goals, but also his performances anyway have been very poor at times.

“He’s been there a while, you want him to have that chance of being that number nine. And he hasn’t taken it.”

Martial did enjoy a decent season last term, scoring 23 goals in all competitions, but Gillespie thinks he has been in a real rut this season.

He added: “I think last season, he had a good season in terms of returns of goals that he scored, but this season just hasn’t happened for him.”

Is the hunt to find Celtic a new manager finally coming to an end? It’s the news that everyone at Parkhead has been waiting for but it’s so far eluded the Bhoys.

Neil Lennon departed over nine weeks ago now but the club have struggled to complete a deal for his successor.

What’s the word?

A deal to finalise Eddie Howe’s move to Glasgow has been in the pipeline for the best part of a month now.

News emerged in early April that Howe was in advanced discussions with Celtic over a move to the club but things have stalled considerably in the last few weeks.

He doesn’t actually want to return to management until the summer while issues relating to his backroom staff have been lingering.

The 43-year-old wanted to bring Richard Hughes with him to Glasgow to make him the club’s new director of football but the Hoops want Fergal Harkin instead.

It looked as though hopes were beginning to fade in terms of Celtic’s pursuit of Howe a few days ago. That said, a major update from The Daily Mail on Wednesday says otherwise.

The print version of the newspaper claims that Howe is close to coming to an agreement with Celtic and he is now speaking to people he wants in his backroom team.

Desmond will be delighted

After the arduous two months that Celtic’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond has had with Celtic’s manager hunt, this will come as fantastic news.

So many issues have plagued their chase of Howe, namely with the manager’s agent and his backroom staff.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-howe-lampard-klimala-ajer-gossip” title= “Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

One source revealed last month that the former Cherries boss wanted to bring the ‘kitchen sink’ with him to Paradise but with a move now heading towards its final stages, one of the parties must have loosened the grip on their demands.

Earlier this week, it was claimed that Hughes was no longer a pivotal part of the deal so perhaps it was Howe who finally broke during negotiations, rather than Celtic.

Either way, getting a deal over the line as quickly as possible will be imperative.

Dominic McKay has already got to work on behind-the-scenes matters but without a first-team manager, they cannot carry out a number of important tasks.

Their campaign is done and dusted so they can begin to think about player recruitment and sales.

It’s a crucial point of transition for the Hoops, one they’ll have to absolutely nail if they want to compete alongside Rangers again.

Two of their best players in Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard look likely to leave the exit door while Scott Brown is departing for Aberdeen.

There is also the threat that fringe players Leigh Griffiths, Tom Rogic and Ismaila Soro exit too. That’s without considering the number of players due back at their parent clubs after loan spells.

The sooner Celtic can get Howe to put pen to paper, the quicker they can start correcting their incredibly patchy squad. They cannot take any decisions without a manager present.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Celtic should hire jaw-dropping 47 y/o instead, he’s shades of Rodgers…

Newcastle could acquire a dream upgrade on Fabian Schar by signing Vitesse starlet Danilho Doekhi.

What’s the story?

The Magpies have endured another difficult season in the Premier League defensively, conceding 56 goals in their 34 games thus far – only Southampton, and the bottom two sides West Brom and Sheffield United have let in more.

Now, Dutch publication De Telegraaf claim that Steve Bruce’s side are keen on reinforcing the centre of defence this summer, and are eyeing up a potential move for 22-year-old Doekhi.

The report adds that the centre-back has just one year left on his contract with Vitesse, and that the Eredivisie side will be under pressure to sell him unless he signs an extension at the club.

Upgrade on Fabian Schar

After getting himself sent off after coming on as a substitute against Arsenal, Fabian Schar pretty much underlined the problems the Magpies have faced at the back this season – some poor, reckless individual mistakes, and collectively disorganised too (the fact only three sides have conceded more than them in the Premier League is evidence of that).

But in Doekhi, Bruce could find someone who is as solid as a rock, and has got the defensive discipline that they desperately need at the back.

Vitesse manager Thomas Letsch dubbed him “one of the best defenders” in the league, and waxed lyrical about the kind of progress he has made at the club, saying: “Danilho is a class player, a great player, for us. He already played fantastic last year and this season he has performed every game at the highest level. Danilho makes almost no mistakes and is an absolute team player, a very calm player. Although he can be emotional, but he has developed in that area as well.”

And, when you compare Doekhi’s stats to Schar’s this season, then you can see why the Magpies are very interested in signing him this summer.

As per Whoscored, the 6 foot 3 Dutchman averages far more tackles and interceptions per game than Schar, and commits less fouls and gets dribbled past far few times than the Newcastle man too.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/newcastle-steve-bruce-premier-league-transfer-gossip-rumours-news-st-james-park-joelinton-shelvey-max-aarons” title=”Read the latest Newcastle transfer rumours and news!”]

That’s not to mention the 22-year-old is also superior when it comes to his work on the ball, which has always been lauded as one of Schar’s biggest strengths. Doekhi averages more passes and at a better accuracy compared to the Swiss ace, and appears to be the kind of ball-playing centre-back who should fit in well in the modern game.

Doekhi is just stronger across the board compared to Schar, and given that he “makes almost no mistakes” too, appears like the sort of central defender Newcastle need.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are eyeing a summer move for this Championship star…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Spurs legend, Graham Roberts, has revealed that Mauricio Pochettino was told he had to win the Champions League this season with PSG.

Pochettino saw his side fail to trouble Manchester City during the second leg of their Champions League semi-final as Angel Di Maria saw red for a stamp on Fernandinho during the second half.

PSG reached the final of Europe’s elite competition last season but they were outclassed and ultimately, beaten by Bayern Munich and their league form is also concerning, with the Parisians one point behind Lille with just three games left.

Speaking on how Pochettino will already be under pressure at PSG and what Levy must now do, Roberts exclusively told FFC:

“I’ve been told that Pochettino had to win the Champions League this year and don’t forget that they could lose the league for the first time in years this season so they’re not going to be happy.

“If it was me, I would drive over to France and ask him to come back.”

Pochettino reached the Champions League final with Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 but were beaten by Liverpool, and the Argentine was sacked by Levy the following November.

Spurs’s chief scout, Steve Hitchen, is reportedly set to recommend Brighton’s Graham Potter to Levy as his number one choice for the job.

Manchester United have been dealt a devastating injury blow ahead of their final four games of the season…

What’s the latest?

According to The Sun, Red Devils skipper Harry Maguire faces a race to be fit for the Europa League final after sustaining an ankle injury in the late stages of their clash with Aston Villa at the weekend.

The 28-year-old centre-back has been ruled out of facing his former club Leicester City this evening and United’s arch-rivals Liverpool on Thursday, whilst his involvement against Fulham and then Wolves on the final day of the season seems rather doubtful at this stage.

Major blow

This will come as hugely disappointing news for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Manchester giants, especially as they still have a slim chance of pipping City to the title. A win against the Foxes this evening would see them move to within seven points of Pep Guardiola’s league leaders, with nine points left on offer this month.

It would also solidify their spot in second place and ensure that neither Chelsea nor tonight’s opponents can catch them, which could prove to be pivotal in the summer in terms of prize money payouts.

Maguire is a big part of this United side, having played every minute of every game in the Premier League since his £80m move in 2019.

As per WhoScored, the England international ranks sixth for average rating (7.04) and tops the charts for aerial duels won (four) and interceptions (1.8) per game at Old Trafford, proving to be one of their best defenders, particularly in terms of stature.

Solskjaer’s other options aren’t as reliable, either. Eric Bailly has regularly contended with injury troubles and Victor Lindelof is some way off matching his impressive levels, with a 6.72 average WhoScored rating, half the number of aerial duels won and only one interception per match.

The £36m-rated colossus has been lauded as a “monster” by Forbes journalist Liam Canning this season and dubbed “the beast” by teammate Paul Pogba in the past.

All in all, Maguire is crucial to Solskjaer and his team, so to be without him tonight and for the remainder of the season will be worrying, if not hugely gutting.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Paul Parker drops massive claim on Donny van de Beek situation…