All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Chris Wilder is reportedly still in the running to replace Sam Allardyce as West Brom manager, despite claims suggesting otherwise.

The Lowdown: Wilder among the front-runners

Allardyce was unable to keep the Baggies in the Premier League last season, swiftly leaving after their final match of the campaign. West Brom have since been on the lookout for a new manager, with former Sheffield United boss Wilder widely considered the front-runner until recently.

Michael Appleton has seemingly jumped ahead of him in the race, but a new update suggests that it is far from a done deal.

The Latest: Fresh update arrives

According to the Express & Star’s Joseph Masi, Wilder is ‘still under consideration’ for the manager’s job, with the 53-year-old also ‘keen’ on taking charge at The Hawthorns.

It remains to be seen whether West Brom will go with him or someone else, but his stance appears to be quite clear.

The Verdict: The man for the job?

Although Wilder struggled with the Blades last season, he did an outstanding job overall and has every chance of doing similar with the Baggies. He turned Sheffield United into a top-half Premier League team having taken over them in mid-table of League One, playing an enterprising brand of football and getting the very best out of some long-serving players.

Wilder is both experienced and still young enough to be a shrewd addition – Appleton has one top-flight game under his belt as Leicester’s caretaker boss – and he would bring a freshness to the squad and a knowledge of how to succeed in the Premier League, and indeed in getting teams up from the Championship.

In other news, West Brom are believed to be lining up the signing of a player set to appear in Euro 2020 this summer. Read more here.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein, a reliable source, has revealed that Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus is a target for Arsenal ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window. 

The lowdown: Doubts emerge?

Signed for £27million from Palmeiras in 2016 (Sky Sports), the Brazilian has scored 93 times in 230 outings for the Citizens.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/man-city-newest-updates/” title=”Man City newest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Despite the impressive return the Brazilian has struggled to hold down a regular place in Pep Guardiola’s first team and as such has only started on 22 occasions in 35 outings across all competitions this season.

Jesus put on a Man of the Match display at Eastlands on Saturday afternoon with a remarkable four-goals and one assist in a 5-1 demolition of Watford – but his long term future at the Etihad is in question…

The latest: Ornstein makes transfer claim

Taking to Twitter on Friday, journalist Ornstein of The Athletic stated: “Arsenal exploring possibility of signing Gabriel Jesus from Man City. Clubs yet to speak but talks between Edu + reps for months. 25yo open to idea, #AFC current favourites. Calvert-Lewin among options @TheAthleticUK #MCFC #EFC 1st reported @jorgenicola.”

Out of contract in 2023 (Transfermarkt), Arsenal are billed as the ‘current favourites’ to sign the man hailed as an ‘unsung hero’ by Guardiola back in March 2021 following a brace against Wolves.

The verdict: No deal

This shouldn’t even be under consideration for City as Jesus’ astonishing form, when given the opportunity by Guardiola, has backed just how useful he can be for the Sky Blues – as evident by his ridiculous performance yesterday.

So far this term the versatile forward has scored 11 times and provided 12 assists, importantly proving to possess the Midas touch when it comes to big game showdowns with Liverpool.

Even with the potential arrival of Haaland, Jesus has proven to be a top-level operator for the Sky Blues and should be kept on in rotation with or as an understudy for the Norwegian. Albeit Arsenal would be an attractive proposition for the player and a palatable one for Guardiola given the links to Mikel Arteta, selling to a Premier League rival must be out of the question.

In other news: Pep falls out with ‘world class’ Man City star behind-the-scenes, he could now leave…find out more here.

After a superb run of results against the Premier League’s big boys, Leeds were brought crashing back down with a timid 2-0 defeat to Brighton on Saturday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side had remained undefeated in clashes against Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, even earning a win against Pep Guardiola’s league leaders.

But against the Seagulls at the weekend, the Whites looked nothing like their usual energetic selves, having far fewer shots on goal than the home side, and just looking off the pace.

One man who Bielsa would certainly have been fuming at is Patrick Bamford.

The striker has been one of the shining lights of the Premier League season for the Yorkshire club, firing in 14 goals and providing another eight assists in the top-flight alone.

But lately, he has just gone completely off the boil, and his latest blank against Graham Potter’s side now means he has gone five matches without a goal.

It wasn’t just his shooting boots that were missing on Saturday, however, with his all-round game also virtually non-existent coming up against a formidable Brighton back-line who completely overwhelmed him.

As per Sofascore, his 15 touches and 11 successful passes were both far lower than what goalkeeper Illan Meslier even managed, and a damning statement on just how anonymous he was – the forward just got snuffed out by the Seagulls’ back-three.

He also failed to register a single shot on goal, something even defenders Diego Llorente and Luke Ayling did, while he won just one out of the measly two duels that he contested.

Bamford just couldn’t get himself involved in the game, and it wasn’t even that surprising that Bielsa decided to take him off before the hour-mark for Rodrigo.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him a 4/10, adding: “Barely had a kick. As he was in the first game, he was swamped by the three centre-backs. The latest in a long line of frustrating matches for the striker with any Golden Boot hopes long gone.”

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

Those thoughts were echoed by The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth who said: “No touches anywhere near the Brighton goal, no impact in the game. Much of that was down to a lack of service but he didn’t impose himself at all.”

Bielsa would have been livid with his centre-forward’s lack of involvement in the game, and would no doubt have been expecting far more from a player who has been leading the charge for Leeds this season.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing a record-breaking move for this star…

Tottenham insider John Wenham believes defender Joe Rodon could seal a north London exit in the final days on the January window, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Rodon under Conte

Rodon is one of five senior centre-backs on the books in north London but has hardly featured under Antonio Conte.

The 24-year-old has made just one appearance under the Italian, coming against Morecambe in the FA Cup earlier this month. He’s been a regular in Conte’s Premier League matchday squads but hasn’t managed to make a cameo off the bench.

Leeds were name-checked with an interest in Rodon ahead of the January window, with reports suggesting that Spurs were likely to give the green light to a temporary exit. However, Alasdair Gold recently admitted that Spurs are yet to receive any official offers for the Wales international.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-5/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Wenham’s comments

Wenham was talking to Football Insider regarding Rodon and a possible exit this month.

Here’s what he had to say, labelling it a ‘surprise’ that no offers have come in but backing Rodon to seal an exit ‘in the last days of the window’.

“It is a surprise there have been no offers.

“He might not have played much this season but he did really well at the Euros, clubs must know how good he is.

“A lot of clubs should be looking for a centre-back with plenty of Premier League experience, is capable of playing in a two or three at the back and a full international.

“It does surprise me that it has been reported there have been no offers. I think this is one of those things that might ramp up in the last days of the window.

“Maybe it’s one where clubs will look to sign him after they have been snubbed by their preferred targets.

“I still expect him to leave.”

The Verdict: Will Conte need him?

If Rodon doesn’t seal a Spurs exit before the end of the month, it may not be the end of the world for Conte. That’s because the Spurs boss could be down to the bare bones at the back with Cristian Romero and Eric Dier injured and Japhet Tanganga linked with a move to AC Milan.

Should the latter of the three depart and no defensive reinforcements arrive, Rodon would be one of two fit centre-backs available, meaning the Italian may be forced to use him over the coming weeks.

Things could change between now and the end of the month of course, so the Welshman’s future could be one to keep an eye on.

In other news: Spurs make 11th-hour attempt to dramatically scupper rivals’ move for £40.5m-rated ‘beast’. 

Many Wolves fans have been left buzzing over a transfer update involving Okay Yokuslu.

As per Sky Sports, both the Midlands club as well as Watford are interested in signing the Celta Vigo ace before the summer window shuts.

He is valued at just £5m and is keen on a return to the Premier League, after impressing while on loan at West Brom in the 2020/21 season.

Yokuslu ranked highly among his Albion teammates in terms of average tackles (2.4), interceptions (2.2), dribbles (1.2), passes (33.1) and pass success (82.5%) per game in the top flight (Whoscored), and could be a very handy option in the centre of midfield for Bruno Lage should the Molineux faithful sign him, especially for a price as little as £5m.

Nonetheless, they will have to fend off the Hornets for his signature.

Wolves fans on Yokuslu transfer update

These WWFC supporters buzzed as the transfer update was shared on Twitter, with a couple even going as far as to claim that he is ‘class’:

“He’s class honestly I wouldn’t mind him for £5m”

Credit: @lewis__wwfc7

“I was very impressed with him. Would love to get him. He is what we need.”

Credit: @atulbalaji2

“I’m here for it, he’s class and only £5 mil”

Credit: @Harley_V12

“Yes yes yes get this done now”

Credit: @CiaranG09

“This has to happen please @Wolves”

Credit: @NormWolves1877

“Absolute no brainer this. Decent player who improves our squad without having to break the bank.”

Credit: @adamwwfc03

In other news, find out what exit rumour has Wanderers gushing here!

Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch had something of a shocker on Wednesday evening as Sunderland slipped up in their play-off semi-final first leg.

Having picked up four points against Lincoln City over their two meetings in the regular League One season, with a thumping 4-0 victory at the LNER Stadium back in December and a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light in March, Lee Johnson’s Sunderland side could well have gone into Wednesday’s clash against Michael Appleton’s outfit believing they held the upper hand over the Imps.

However, this was far from the case in the fixture itself, with second-half goals from Tom Hopper and Brennan Johnson securing a hugely important 2-0 win for Lincoln, and leaving the Black Cats with it all to do in the second leg of the tie if they are to have any hope of playing Championship football next season.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering the result, a number of Lee Johnson’s players did not fare particularly well in the match, although, Lynden Gooch’s performance stood out as one of the worst on the night.

Deployed in the middle of an attacking midfield three, just behind centre-forward Charlie Wyke, Gooch was extremely ineffectual for the Black Cats in an offensive capacity, managing no shots on target and completing just one of his four attempted dribbles.

The £5k-per-week midfielder failed to ever really get a foot on the ball either, with his 47 touches over the 90 minutes only being more than that of Charlie Wyke, Jordan Jones and Denver Hume of Sunderland’s starting outfielders – with the latter of this trio being withdrawn after 11 minutes due to injury.

And, on the occasions the £540k-rated man did have the ball at his feet, he was extremely reckless with it, losing possession a whopping 20 times in the match, with no other Black Cats player losing the ball more often than the USA international.

Furthermore, Gooch also committed four fouls – with no player from either side making more – and won just three of his 11 duels – with a 27% success rate – while his overall SofaScore match rating of 6.3 was the joint-worst of any of Johnson’s starting XI.

As such, if Sunderland are to have any chance of overturning their deficit in the second leg of the semi-final, Gooch will undoubtedly have to up his game – if, that is, Johnson opts to stick with the 25-year-old in his starting XI.

In other news: Nixon drops big SAFC claim over £653k-rated “wizard” that’ll surely leave fans gutted – opinion

Leeds United are set to miss out on Stade Brest’s Romain Perraud as another Premier League side swoops in.

What’s the story?

According to previous reports from The Athletic’s Phil Hay, the Whites were eyeing a summer transfer move for the 23-year-old, before The Mirror’s David Anderson poured cold water on that suggestion by claiming recently that Bielsa’s side had actually moved on from their chase of Perraud, and that the Yorkshire club were “no longer trying to sign” him.

Then, according to French publication L’Equipe (via Get French Football News), it was suggested the Whites were actually in talks with Brest over a deal for Perraud, but that they were set to face significant competition from the likes of Newcastle and Southampton.

Now, The Athletic have claimed that it’s the Saints who are closing in on the signing of Perraud and that “Ralph Hasenhuttl has met with the left-back and it’s understood that Perraud has made it clear he wants to sign for the south-coast side”.

Bielsa will be gutted

Given reports had suggested that Leeds had identified Perraud as their “leading target” to replace Gjanni Alioski at left-back this summer, and that this decision had come after recruitment meetings between Bielsa and Victor Orta, it’s surely a major blow for the Whites to miss out on the Frenchman

Writing a profile piece for The Athletic, Hay previously said: “Perraud, 23, played for France up to under-20s level and his performance data shows characteristics which would meet Bielsa requirements: a creative edge and a high number of dribbles and shots for a player at his position, combined with a very active role in pressing defensively.”

And, as per WhoScored, Perraud outshone Gjanni Alioski in numerous key categories both offensively and defensively last season, averaging more interceptions, key passes, shots, dribbles and crosses, while also being dribbled past only half as often as the Leeds full-back.

While Junior Firpo’s arrival would offset Perraud moving to Southampton, Bielsa will surely be gutted at missing out one of his prime targets this summer.

Meanwhile, Adam Pope has dropped an exciting Leeds United transfer update…

With Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side heading into Saturday’s Premiership clash in an excellent run of form, the  Bhoys manager would undoubtedly have been hoping for another positive performance when St Johnstone visited Parkhead.

The 56-year-old would not be disappointed, as goals either side of half-time from Georgios Giakoumakis and Josip Juranovic capped a dominant display by the Hoops, with the 2-0 win moving Postecoglou’s side to within one point of the Premiership leaders.

As is to be expected after such a result, a number of Celtic’s players turned in very impressive performances over the course of the 90 minutes this afternoon, with the two aforementioned goalscorers particularly impressing.

However, it may be Carl Starfelt who is most pleased with his display against the Saints, as the centre-back ran the show from the heart of the Hoops’ defence.

Won 16 duels

Despite enduring something of a shaky start to his Celtic career, the Sweden international has really started to come into his own in recent weeks, with his performance against St Johnstone arguably being his best for the Hoops to date.

Indeed, over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £2.7m-rated defender played a key role in his side keeping a clean sheet, making three tackles, three interceptions and four clearances and winning a monstrous 16 duels.

The 26-year-old also saw a significant amount of the ball, enjoying a whopping 152 touches, the most of any player to feature in the match; completing 127 passes – again, the most of any other player – and picking out a team-mate with two of his three attempted long balls.

These returns saw the player who the Everything Celtic Twitter account described as “solid” receive a SofaScore match rating of 8.0, with no player from either side earning a better score than the £14k-per-week defender.

As such, it would certainly appear that the more experience Starfelt has of playing under Postecoglou, the better the 26-year-old is getting. That would appear to bode very well indeed for everyone involved with Celtic.

In other news: £1.9m out of pocket: Lawwell had a mare on “exemplary” Celtic sensation, he’s thriving

Former Manchester City left-back Michael Ball believes Jack Grealish must join the Premier League champions if he wants to ensure a starting berth in Gareth Southgate’s England side ahead of Qatar 2022.

Pep Guardiola has been keen to sign Aston Villa captain Grealish this summer, with reports suggesting City are set to offer £100million for the attacking midfielder.

Grealish, who was England’s poster boy during their run to a first-ever European Championships final earlier this month, is Villa’s highest-paid player and has four years remaining on his £120,000-per-week deal.

As a result, Villa are not in a position where they need to sell their talisman and hold a strong negotiating position should City firm up their interest.

The 25-year-old made 27 appearances last season, contributing seven goals and 12 assists.

Ball feels Grealish needs to leave his boyhood club if he wants to become a member of Southgate’s preferred England starting line-up ahead of next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Ball said: “We know how much he is a Villa fan but, at the end of the day, he’ll want to break into that England side for the World Cup and he wants to be one of the key players.

“I feel for him to improve, so Gareth Southgate has no doubts as to whether to play him, he has to move on. What better manager is there to play under than Guardiola?

“If Manchester City come calling, he’s got to go. If that move happens, he is the number one pick for the World Cup.”

A lot Manchester City fans were pleased to see some of their international stars rested on Saturday evening.

Portugal were victorious over Qatar in Hungary with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from Andre Silva, Otavio and Bruno Fernandes.

On Wednesday, City trio Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva all started for their country as Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 89th and 96th minute to beat Republic of Ireland 2-1 and send Portugal level on points with Serbia in their World Cup qualifying group.

As Saturday’s fixture against the 2022 World Cup hosts was only a friendly, Fernando Santos opted to rest the three City players ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Azerbaijan, as tweeted by @cityreport in the build-up to the match.

Dias was brought on midway through the second half, whereas Silva and Cancelo both sat out out the full match, with the right-back rested after playing every minute of Manchester City’s opening three league games of the season.

Pep Guardiola’s side travel to Leicester City next weekend following the international break, and having all their key players fresh available for a busy September, which includes trips to Chelsea and PSG, will be most desirable.

City fans glad to see Portugal trio benched

These City fans on Twitter were glad to see the club’s Portuguese trio benched for the Qatar friendly on Saturday:

“So Portugal is gonna lose this friendly, I’m glad they’re benched, they should rest up for Man City’s next fixture next Saturday”

Credit: @MarohOdiku

“Awesome, good for our club”

Credit: @salliem019

“Sweet”

Credit: @Fredijeh4

“Best place for them, safe and sound on the bench”

Credit: @lang_kev

“Sending them back to Manchester”

Credit: @jgedeon1717

“Dias is finally getting some rest”

Credit: @clinicaljack

In other news, lots of Man City fans are excited about an academy player update. Find out more here.