All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

One of the biggest areas of concern heading into the new campaign for Everton is in defence.

The Toffees ended last season with the third-worst defensive record in the Premier League’s top ten. With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise they failed to usurp some of the best team in England.

On the chalkboard

One player who Everton have targetted relentlessly throughout the summer window is Denzel Dumfries. The Dutch full-back lit up Euro 2020 by scoring twice from defence and he now finds himself with a long list of suitors.

Everton are reportedly his next destination but a move is far from certain until we see the robust full-back posing with the blue shirt.

He would be an exceptional signing for the Toffees, combining pace and power with an unrelenting desire to burst into the final third.

The Netherlands gem is not your archetypal defender and that’s precisely why many clubs, including Bayern Munich, have also shown an interest.

Alternatives?

If a move for Dumfries falls through, then Rafa Benitez should look no further than Lille defender Zeki Celik.

The right-back was tremendous under former Everton manager target Christophe Galtier last season as his side capped a remarkable title-winning campaign. In pipping PSG to the Ligue 1 crown, the £18m-rated Celik was undeniably one of the most impressive full-backs in the division.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-everton-news-benitez-kamara-romero-dumfries” title= “Read the latest Everton transfer news!”]

Speaking to Football Transfer Tavern about the Turk recently  Adam White of Get French Football News said: “He has been great for Lille and been so consistent. He is great at both ends of the pitch, very accurate with his crossing and is good defensively.

“Seamus Coleman is an extremely underrated player and has been for a decade. It would be a step up to the Premier League for Celik, which is always a difficult one, but he is certainly talented enough to slot into that role at Everton.”

Coleman’s contract expires in a year’s time so it certainly makes sense for Benitez to dip his toes into the market to uncover a potential replacement.

However, Celik could actually be more in the mould of Ben Godfrey, a player who can feature across the back four, primarily at centre-back and right-back.

The Lille ace has featured in both positions already in his career and looks up to Kyle Walker, a player with similar positional sense. Celik once commented: “I’ve been watching him (Walker) since he played in Tottenham. Sometimes Guardiola also plays him as a centre-back – something I have done myself.”

Last season, the Turkey international produced 2.5 tackles per game, which for context was more than any Everton player besides Allan. Celik is also an incredibly hard-working player and keen to play on the front foot, just as Godfrey does.

For Ligue 1 right-backs over the last year, he ranks in the 87th percentile for progressive passes while he sits in the 91st percentile for passes into the final third according to FB Ref. Furthermore, he is in the 88th percentile for successful pressures and ranks at 98% for pressures in the middle third of the pitch.

With that in mind, he would be an exquisite capture by Benitez and Marcel Brands.

AND in other news, Rafa could discover Everton’s new Kanchelskis by signing “wonderful” £50m dynamo…

Everton’s season hit a new low this afternoon as they lost 2-1 to Norwich City, who came into the match with just two wins and eight goals from their 20 Premier League games this season.

Frankly, it was an embarrassing performance from the visitors at Carrow Road – experienced players like Andre Gomes, Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford all ranked lowly according to Sofascore – and it was one which could get Rafael Benitez the sack.

Everton put the ball in the net to break the deadlock, but it was at the wrong end of the pitch, with Michael Keane scoring an own goal in the 16th minute. Adam Idah quickly doubled the lead to put the home team comfortably in front in Norfolk.

Richarlison returned to action for the Toffees in the second half, giving the visiting fans some hope with an impressive overhead kick in the 60th minute, but it wasn’t enough for the Toffees to push on and take a point, with the game ending 2-1 to Dean Smith’s side.

Keane disasterclass

Keane had an absolute nightmare performance in particular, scoring an own goal and failing to redeem himself over the rest of the game, lacking in defensive impact and quality throughout his performance.

According to SofaScore, the £69k-p/w flop lost 66% of his duels, gave away four fouls and picked up a yellow card as a souvenir for his awful efforts, along with losing the ball 11 times. This horrific display from the Everton defender could have just cost Benitez his job at Goodison Park.

Rafa out?

Benitez has been treading a tightrope ever since he took the job at Everton due to his previous success at Liverpool, and after losing their 10th game out of 19 in the Premier League this season against a team who were bottom of the table, it is hard to see how the Spaniard can recover from this result.

Many of the away fans at Carrow Road today made clear their dissatisfaction with the 61-year-old, with the fume also evident on social media as some called for Benitez to be sacked. Inside the ground, one Everton fan invaded the pitch in an attempt to confront the Toffees manager.

Indeed, talkSPORT have reported that Benitez could be sacked as early as tonight, so it will be interesting to see what steps will be taken in the coming days, or whether Moshiri will stick by the Spaniard due to the ongoing transfer window.

If this is to be the 61-year-old’s last match in charge of Everton, Keane’s dismal performance will have been a significant contributing factor to the downfall of his boss.

In other news: Benitez could form a deadly duo at Goodison by making a fourth signing this month

Jesse Marsch should attempt to lure Sergino Dest from Barcelona to Leeds United, according to transfer insider Dean Jones. 

The lowdown

In the words of ESPN senior writer Tom Hamilton, the 48-year-old has become ‘the most successful American coach in Europe’ and a ‘pioneer’ for his country.

He led Red Bull Salzburg to two league titles and two Austrian cups before earning a move to RB Leipzig, who were Champions League semi-finalists in 2020. The former New York Red Bulls coach is now taking on the Premier League with Leeds, having succeeded Marcelo Bielsa at the end of February.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-41/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-04-02T155252Z_391313781_UP1EI421841M9_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-SOU-REPORT.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Leeds are reportedly looking at 21-year-old Dest, with 17 caps for the United States, in addition to compatriot Brenden Aaronson, and the Whites believe that the former would be an ‘excellent addition’.

He is represented by ICM Stellar Sports, whose clients also include Elland Road duo Patrick Bamford and Dan James.

The latest

Jones told GiveMeSport that Leeds face some pretty daunting competition for Dest, who made a ‘dream’ move to Barcelona in 2020, but he thinks that Marsch may be able to exert some pulling power.

The journalist claimed: “Sergino Dest has much bigger clubs interested in him right now. He’s got huge ambition and doesn’t even want to leave Barcelona because it was his dream move.

“But if Jesse Marsch has got any pull over him, then he should give it a go.”

The verdict

Dest started 10 of Barcelona’s first 11 La Liga matches this season, but since Xavi took over in November, the American has only been named in five starting line-ups. Injury problems have played a part, but his place looks considerably less secure than it did under Ronald Koeman.

If Marsch could tempt the £16.2m-rated wide man and Leeds could make an offer to Barcelona’s satisfaction, then there would be cause for celebration at Elland Road.

Dest, who can operate in both full-back positions and as a winger, was Ajax’s Talent of the Year in 2020 and also featured in the IFFHS Under-20 Team of the Year alongside the likes of Alphonso Davies, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Ansu Fati, so his potential is huge.

Indeed, Barcelona team-mate Dani Alves declared that ‘he has everything to be one of football’s greats’, so if Marsch does have any sway over possibly enticing the 21-year-old to Leeds, he absolutely must utilise it.

In other news, this Leeds man could leave the club after Marsch spoke to him about his behaviour. 

Crystal Palace have been linked with a transfer move for West Bromwich Albion striker Reyes Cleary as the January transfer window fast approaches.

What’s the story?

According to the Daily Mail, the Eagles are one of a number of sides interested in securing the highly-rated 17-year-old’s services, with several Premier League and Bundesliga clubs listed amongst his potential suitors.

The report states that: “Cleary has been compared in style to a young Romelu Lukaku. He is quick, strong and has a goalscorer’s instinct and, as Sportsmail reported, has already been drawing interest from Crystal Palace, Schalke, Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim.”

German giants Bayern Munich and the newest members of football’s financial elite Newcastle United are also believed to be tracking Cleary ahead of a potential offer, meaning Palace chairman Steve Parish may have to move quickly in order to secure his target.

He’s just what Patrick Vieira needs

Cleary has been in sensational form in the opening weeks of the current campaign, finding the back of the net on 14 occasions in just 12 appearances after bagging another brace against Leicester City last weekend.

It’s believed that Munich sent a contingency to watch the stocky striker in action against Stoke City Under-23s last month and are planning on further scouting missions as interest in him continues to grow.

But with Cleary yet to sign a professional contract, an imminent Hawthorns exit could be on the cards, and the youngster may be just what Patrick Vieira needs at Palace.

The French tactician has made a successful start to his squad rebuild in south London, bringing in Odsonne Edouard from Celtic in order to bolster his forward line.

However, with both Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew approaching the twilight years of their careers and Jean-Philippe Mateta failing to impress, Vieira is expected to delve back into the transfer market for further attacking reinforcements.

As a result, Cleary could be the ideal addition for the capital club. The teenage prodigy has been compared to Lukaku, would arrive for a relatively small fee, and has plenty of room to grow while Edouard continues to lead the line.

It remains to be seen whether Parish can convince the Englishman to join Vieira’s revolution at Palace, but it’s a deal that would signal the Eagles’ intentions in the years ahead.

And, in other news…61 duels won, 25 tackles: Palace “warrior” has been Vieira’s unsung hero this season

Wolves’ transfer business over the last two seasons has been astute, to say the least.

The club are setting themselves up to challenge for European football season on season and their strategy in the transfer market is a big factor in the stability of their squad.

The Old Gold currently sit in eighth place in the Premier League standings, as well as boasting the fourth-best defence in the league with just 28 goals conceded.

A large part of this defensive discipline shown by Bruno Lage’s side is through their stability in midfield, with Ruben Neves one of the main components for Wolves when out of possession.

However, with the Portugal international looking as if he could be moving on to pastures new this summer, Wolves may well need a viable replacement for the 25-year-old.

What’s the word?

With Neves’ future at Wolves uncertain, the Old Gold need to find a well-rounded replacement who is as defensively capable as the aforementioned Portuguese maestro.

And, according to a recent report by Brazilian media outlet Globo Esporte, Wolves believe they could have found their answer in the form of the 17-year-old midfielder, Andrey Santos.

Santos has caught the eye of several big clubs across Europe, with the likes of Barcelona having already made a proposal.

There is a small caveat though. The young Brazilian has only made four appearances this season for Vasco, with all of his minutes coming as a substitute.

This has not put off the likes of AC Milan, Monaco, Benfica and Wolves, however, who are all reportedly keeping tabs on the €30m (£25m) talent ahead of a potential summer swoop.

Repeating Success

If reports are to be believed, it looks as though Wolves will continue down the same path that they trod when signing a young, relatively unknown defensive midfielder by the name of Ruben Neves.

It was an approach that paid dividends for the Old Gold last time, so do not be surprised if they use the same strategy again.

Especially due to the fact that there could be an option of a cut-price deal for Santos, with reports suggesting that Vasco Da Gama would be willing to sell their starlet for between €6m-€7m (£5m-£6m), despite his £25m buyout clause.

For a fee as low as £5-£6m, Wolves would be wise to take a risk on a youngster who could turn out to be Ruben Neves 2.0.

In other news: Fosun must finally sanction Wolves move for “quality” 179 G/A gem who “has everything”

Liverpool fans were livid with the performance of Jordan Henderson during their 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

The Reds were in action in Madrid in the Champions League, and they picked up an important three points away from home in a thrilling encounter.

Going 2-0 up early on thanks to goals from Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah, a brilliant brace from Antoine Griezmann levelled things up. The France international was then sent off, however, and Salah grabbed the winner to given Jurgen Klopp’s men the victory.

Captain Henderson started in the middle of the park, but he did not put in his best display. He won the ball back in just one duel in his entire 90 minutes on the pitch (SofaScore), and lacked the usual leadership and composure we have become used to seeing from him, surrendering possession ten times.

The fans were from happy with the performance of the England midfielder, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Henderson below

“Henderson was horrible and was worse than Keita In fact.”

Credit: @ninawiththe9

“Henderson was atrocious. he should’ve been cutting off the line of pass to griezmann but was caught behind the ball. As a no.6 for the game he didn’t recognise his role and was all over the place and poor in possession.”

Credit: @i98NDK

“Both goals came from the right side, are you not gonna say anything about TAA? What can you say about Milner and Henderson who were equally shambolic. As for the defining game for his career at LFC, not your call, you are not Jurgen.”

Credit: @LNdzabe

“Henderson has been garbage and Milner is an old man. Both should be replaced down the line.”

Credit: @AlucardKing7

“Henderson should never have gotten a contract”

Credit: @LFCShafic

“He was overplayed. Guy played all of his international team games and the game at Watford. Henderson was also very poor.”

Credit: @TemnoLFC

In other news, these were Liverpool’s best three players against Atletico.

Wolves haven’t been too active in the transfer window but after failing to score in their first two league matches of the season, there is a sense that Bruno Lage needs to spend more money.

Fortunately, the Old Gold still have six days of the market in order to wrap up their business.

What’s the word?

After Lage admitted last week that the Wolves first-team squad consisted of just 15 senior players it came as a huge concern for supporters.

However, after smacking Nottingham Forest 4-0 on Tuesday evening, there is a sense of positivity starting to manoeuvre through Molineux.

If Wolves finish the transfer window well then it’ll lift spirits further ahead of an exciting season under their new manager.

One player they are considering before the deadline is Cardiff City’s Kieffer Moore.

Football Insider suggests they are weighing up a bid for the Welshman, news that was supplemented by The Athletic’s Tim Spiers.

He said on Twitter: “Busy week ahead for Wolves who are working on a number of deals. Am told Cardiff and Wales striker Kieffer Moore is on their radar but no bid made yet. CB, CM and another striker priority positions.”

Good signing

With Wolves in desperate need of adding more bodies to their squad, Wolves supporters should be excited by the idea of signing Moore.

His record over the last year has been phenomenal and if anyone can play second fiddle for Raul Jimenez, it’s the Wales international.

After all, like the Mexican, he can score goals and also hold the ball up. In fact, Moore is arguably better in that second facet.

Last season, the 29-year-old won an incredible 10.5 aerial duels per game. That is absolutely streets ahead of anyone in the Wolves squad with Willy Boly topping the charts at 2.7 battles per match.

On top of that, Moore has goals in his armoury. He scored 20 of them for Cardiff last term as he dominated Championship defences.

Wolves will know all too well how a player can compete at that level and then drop off at Premier League level, though. The likes of Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro caught the eye in the second tier but then dropped off once they were promoted with the Old Gold.

Moore, however, would arrive as a squad option. There would be little pressure on his shoulders and vitally, he knows English football well.

The same cannot be said for Fabio Silva and Willian Jose last season. That’s why signing a player like the Cardiff star is key.

AND in other news, Wolves eye move for £9.9m-rated gem with “unbelievable quality”, he may replace Traore…

‘Several’ Premier League clubs will be keen on Rangers star Ryan Kent, journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed. 

The lowdown

Former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard reportedly wants to make Kent the first signing of his tenure at Aston Villa and is clearly a huge admirer of the winger, having dubbed him ‘top class’ during his time in Glasgow.

Meanwhile, Leeds United have ‘long been admirers’ of the winger and failed in an attempt to sign him last summer.

The former Liverpool man is in the penultimate season of his £18,000-per-week contract at Ibrox.

Transfermarkt value the 25-year-old at £12.6million.

The latest

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke warned Rangers fans to brace themselves for significant interest in Kent.

“I think that Kent will definitely be a target for several clubs in the Premier League,” he said.

The verdict

Losing Kent would be a bitter blow for Rangers. Since he joined the club, he’s scored 28 goals and provided 34 assists in 143 appearances – a direct goal contribution every 2.3 matches on average.

This season, he’s started every Scottish Premiership game for which he was available.

He’s averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.25 in those games, ranking him as the fourth best player in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad.

What’s more, he may not be the only high-profile departure in the near future. Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun are out of contract in 2022, while Morelos and Aribo are only committed until 2023, so news of interest in Kent is the last thing fans need.

In other news, Noel Whelan is worried by this Ibrox source reveal.

Alasdair Gold has dropped a worrying update on the current state of the Tottenham Hotspur squad.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Football.London journalist revealed that a number of Antonio Conte’s side have fallen ill as a result of the ongoing global pandemic, something which would appear to jeopardise Spurs’ UEFA Europa Conference League fixture against Stade Rennais on Thursday evening, as well as their Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.

In his tweet, Gold said: “Understand that Spurs have indeed had a [viral] outbreak in their camp this week.”

Conte will be outraged

While Gold revealed in his follow up article for Football.London that, at present, it is understood Tottenham would be able to fulfil their European tie on Thursday evening – as the rules for the competition state that, as long as a club has 13 registered players available for selection, the fixture will be played – the fact that Conte’s preparation for the fixture has been thrown into disarray will have undoubtedly left the Italian incredibly worried.

Indeed, the 52-year-old is known for his incredibly meticulous training sessions, something that would very much appear to be under threat following a number of Tottenham’s first-team players and staff falling ill.

Furthermore, with Spurs needing a result against Rennes if they are to progress to the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League, the fact that Conte could be missing a number of key first-team players, as well as some of his coaching team, will undoubtedly come as a huge blow to the former Inter Milan manager’s chances of picking up all three points against the Group G table-toppers.

As such, Gold’s update is undoubtedly a worrying one for all involved with the North London side, who will be hoping that their current predicament will be clarified upon further testing that is being carried out on Tuesday.

In other news: Paratici can sign Conte’s next Hakimi at THFC with “special” £19m gem who “gives 100%”

Lots of Wolves fans have been left buzzing as a transfer update emerged on Joao Palhinha.

As per A Bola (via Sport Witness), the Midlands club have made approaches to try and sign the Portugal international, offering fees of between €15m and 20m (£12.8m-£17m).

He is reportedly free to leave Sporting Lisbon before the summer window shuts, but not for anything less than his €60m (£51.1m) release clause.

Described as a ‘special’ player last season by his manager Ruben Amorim, Palhinha was key in Sporting’s 2020/21 title win, winning no fewer than 9.1 of his duels per game, as well as averaging 3.3 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 1.2 clearances per match (Sofascore).

A fee of £51.1m would be extortionate for the Molineux club to pay, but if they can negotiate that price down with the Liga NOS champions, then Palhinha is certainly a player worth pursuing.

Wolves fans on Palhinha transfer update

These Wolves supporters were buzzing as the transfer update was shared on Twitter, with one fan saying that it would be ‘class’ if they were to sign Palhinha and another urging chairman Jeff Shi to act:

“No brainer, do it now”

Credit: @adenwwfc_

“Worth it, @wolves do it”

Credit: @Millenwwfc

“Get him in!!!”

Credit: @Dan__Vincent

“This would be class!”

Credit: @xEz_Acex

“Please let this happen. Neves and Palhinha, come on Jeff”

Credit: @Dom00714

“Get him in and quick!”

Credit: @asitis4

In other news, find out what transfer update has left these Wolves fans fuming