All posts by z3u9t.icu

Celtic are closing in on naming Manchester City man Fergal Harkin as their new director of football.

That’s according to an exclusive report from Football Insider, who shared the strong links between the two clubs on Friday morning, backing up their claim that a deal is ‘90% done’ to attain a new Hoops DoF.

Harkin a Celtic fan

A Celtic source revealed that Harkin played a key role in helping Peter Lawwell’s son, Mark, join the City Football Group eight years ago.

Harkin, who is thought to be a “massive Celtic fan”, also recommended Ronny Deila to the Hoops back in 2014.

The latest report claims that Harkin’s pending arrival may be just the start of a ‘stampede of arrivals’ at Parkhead from the Etihad.

Transfer Tavern take

With Harkin expected to fill the newly-created DoF role, attention could soon turn to the vacant managerial position.

Roy Keane is reportedly set to be offered the job, which, should he accept, could see two Irishmen working closely together in Keane and Harkin.

This summer will be crucial in the club’s bid to win back the Scottish Premiership from rivals Rangers next season.

Plenty of outgoings and incomings on the pitch could well materialise ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, and it looks as if Harkin will be central to plenty of those decisions.

In other news: Keane’s possible No.2 revealed as news emerges, find out more here. 

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed “unbelivable” footage of the Hammers’ right-back Vladimir Coufal.

Following West Ham’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday – a game in which, despite the loss, David Moyes’ side more than held their own against the runaway league leaders – footage emerged of the club’s £7.2m-rated defender visibly upset by the result.

After West Ham United relayed the clip of the 28-year-old on Twitter, fans of the Irons flocked to have their say on the matter, with many heaping a considerable amount of praise on the £31k-per-week right-back, both for his display in the City fixture as well as his performance in general since joining the club last October.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to the footage of Vladimir Coufal?

“I love this man so much. He’s barely been here 6 months and a narrow loss to the best in Europe is making him this sad. Hopefully, we use this energy for a win against Leeds.”

@ScoutSoucek

“This guy is becoming my favourite player at an alarming rate.”

@jackgambardella

“This man has so much of my respect. What an incredible person. Any club would be beyond proud to have someone like him in their squad. To see how much it matters to him is such a rare thing to see in today’s day and age.”

@LaRoseanne

“I actually love the two Czechs. Totally transformed the team – brilliant signings.”

@leeroy_acko1

“Loved that. Like he had lost a cup final! So nice it means so much to them out there.”

@Nobby_1977

“If you showed me this video at the beginning of the season, I would’ve thought we just got relegated. Shows how far we’ve come.”

@Icevain7

“Superb mentality.”

@j22oph

“We love to see this kind of attitude in a player.”

@philosophinator

“This man is immense. Best signing ever.”

@s60ttb

“What a player. Unbelievable attitude.”

@sfeehan27

In other West Ham United news, fans wanted this Premier League ace after a contract claim, find out more here!

Manchester United head to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon for a Manchester derby that looks key to their fleeting title hopes.

The Red Devils can reduce the gap between themselves and current leaders Manchester City to 11 points, and in the process halt their neighbours’ march to the title.

They were frustrated last time out, being held by Crystal Palace.

How different could their line-up look from the stalemate at Selhurst Park?

There could be as many as three changes for Sunday’s match, the majority of them enforced.

Dean Henderson is set to continue in goal in the absence of David De Gea – the Spaniard travelling back to Spain for the birth of his child.

One alteration will take place in front of him. Victor Lindelof has fully recovered from his back problem so will be reintroduced into the starting lineup in place of Eric Bailly. The £21.6m-rated Swede will join Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw in defence.

Having played the full 90 minutes at Selhurst Park, it appears unlikely that 32-year-old Nemanja Matic will start consecutive games within a couple of days. Scott McTominay, who was on the bench against the Eagles, is likely to be restored as United go with what appears to be their strongest midfield against the champions-elect.

Meanwhile, Solskjaer has a slight dilemma in attack, with Edinson Cavani ruled out. This could see the United boss move Mason Greenwood into the No. 9 role, with Daniel James coming into the starting line-up on the flank.

Elsewhere, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes are both almost guaranteed to start the game.

AND in more news, make sure you read why we think it’s time for Amad Diallo to make his full Red Devils debut against Manchester City…

Glasgow Rangers will have been thrilled with Kai Kennedy after he earned rave reviews during his Raith Rovers debut on Saturday.

Kennedy only moved to Stark’s Park at the start of the month having agreed a new two-year deal which will keep him at Rangers until 2023.

Despite appearing to be heading for the Ibrox exit in the summer, Ross Wilson hailed his “maturity” after he reiterated his commitment to the club.

On loan at John McGlynn’s Rovers, Kennedy has already made a big impression at Kirkcaldy so far as he set up a goal against Heart of Midlothian in his first start for the Championship club.

But that’s not all, as the young winger delivered a man-of-the-match performance for Rovers, providing two assists as they stunned Hearts at Tynecastle to move fourth in the table.

A puppyish bundle of energy and power, Kennedy earned the visitors’ second penalty before he teed up Regan Tumility to put Raith 3-0 ahead shortly after halftime.

Kennedy has enjoyed a fruitful spell since the start of this season, and the attacking midfielder has so far set the tone for the rest of the year in terms of productivity.

Since leaving Ibrox on a temporary basis in pursuit of more game time, the 18-year-old has proven to be a potent threat, providing four combined goals and assists in 11 appearances across all competitions.

After being criticised for his poor attitude, the left-winger has proved those doubters wrong and continues to go from strength to strength as he tries to gain some more experience.

With one goal and three assists in 11 games in 2020/21, Kennedy, who earns wages worth £31,200-per-year, has already nearly matched his tally from 2019-20, despite seeing just 775′ minutes of action first-hand.

If we take a closer look at the numbers, he contributes to a goal on average every 193′ minutes. Or, in other words, it roughly equates to a goal every two games.

In actual fact, the Scotland U19 international has been directly involved in more goals than Brandon Barker this season, which suggests that recalling Kennedy could provide an immediate upgrade on the 24-year-old.

This is further evidenced by the fact that Barker has contributed to just two goals and zero assists in 13 appearances since Kennedy left the club, which shows that the teenager has been more effective in the final third.

Furthermore, Barker has been deemed surplus to requirements by Steven Gerrard and seems set for the Ibrox exit. Kennedy, therefore, could be a fine addition to the first-team squad when he returns.

However, Rangers seem to be in no rush to hurry his development, as he will spend the rest of this season on loan at Rovers in the Championship and use that time to improve and come back as a better player.

AND in other news, Filip Helander proved a point to Steven Gerrard with his performance against Ross County…

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly considering a move for Napoli centre-back Nikola Maksimovic and if he were to join the North London club, he could be an upgrade on Eric Dier.

According to Italian news outlet Spazio Napoli (via FourFourTwo), Jose Mourinho is keeping tabs on the Serbian defender, who is out of contract at the end of this season.

Spurs could even complete a cut-price deal for 29-year-old this month, although they are currently free to begin negotiations with Maksimovic with the view to signing him on a free transfer in the summer.

Mourinho’s side struggled from a defensive point of view in their defeat against Liverpool on Thursday night, with both Dier and young Joe Rodon making mistakes that led to goals, which suggests that defensive additions are necessary if the Portuguese manager does want to challenge for the title this season, or next.

Maksimovic could represent a cheap, experienced option, as he has managed 86 appearances for Napoli in his career thus far, including plenty of appearances in the Europa League and Champions League.

The Serbian’s performances in Serie A this season have earned him a 6.69 average rating, although he has been limited to just five starts, whilst Dier has averaged a 6.73 rating in the Premier League from 18 starts.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-spurs-news-and-transfer-rumours” title= Read this week’s latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more…”]

However, when given a consistent run of games in the Europa League, the Napoli centre-back has averaged a stronger 6.89 rating for his performances.

Maksimovic also scores much higher when it comes to passing when compared with Dier, registering a 94.8% pass success rate in Italy’s top-flight, whereas Dier has managed a much lower 82.2% pass accuracy on average.

The Serbian has also managed more tackles, more interceptions and fewer fouls on average than the England international, which suggests that he would be a strong addition to Mourinho’s squad.

Therefore, if Daniel Levy can complete a bargain deal for the 6 ft 4 centre-back this month, he could be the man to replace Dier in this Tottenham side, which based on recent performances from the former Sporting Lisbon man, can only be a good thing.

And, in other news… Forget Di Maria: Levy can sign Jose a goalscoring winger and he won’t cost a penny

Following on from their ‘quadruple treble’ victory on Sunday, Celtic will be looking for nothing less than a win in the Premiership this afternoon. The Scottish Cup champions will host bottom of the table Ross County as they continue their mission of chasing down runaway league leaders Rangers.

It’s an extremely tall task considering Steven Gerrard and his men are now 16 points clear, but the Hoops can use their three games in-hand to pile on the pressure and maybe force some errors from their local rivals.

As they prepare to face the Staggies, Football FanCast has predicted how Celtic will line up this afternoon…

Since he keeps churning out impressive performances, it would be criminal not to start Conor Hazard today. The Hoops have not lost a single match since Lennon opted to replace Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas with the rising talent. His solid efforts have all but guaranteed him a spot in the Celtic lineup for the foreseeable future.

Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull have also earned their spots in the team-sheet thanks to their hard work in the engine room. The latter especially has impressed the boss thanks to his impressive return of three goalscoring contributions in three appearances, as per Sofascore.

The summer signing will once again act as support to creative playmakers Mohamed Elyounoussi and Ryan Christie, who have both been key members of Lennon’s squad this season. However, the boss should change up his choice in the No.9 slot.

Leigh Griffiths played just 15 minutes in the Scottish Cup final, but that’s all he needed to have an impact on the match. The £1.8million-rated outcast found the back of the net to give Celtic the lead again before Hearts struck back to force penalties.

He may not be Lennon’s favourite player, but nothing can take away from the effort he puts into his performances. Griffiths deserves to start a match after all the work he has put in, especially since Odsonne Edouard has scored just two goals from open play in his last ten appearances for Celtic.

Griffiths could provide a fresh injection of energy up front for Lennon as he hopes for a miraculous turn of luck in their title chase.

In other news, Signing David Turnbull was a stroke of genius from Hammond…

Grady Diangana has found life tough since making his permanent switch to West Brom this summer.

Indeed, the enigmatic winger has struggled to replicate the lucrative returns that saw him help the Baggies to promotion last season.

On Albion’s way to the Championship runner-up spot, the then on-loan Diangana delivered eight goals and seven assists from just 23 starts, via Transfermarkt.

Everyone at the Hawthorns got a glimpse of what was to come when he bagged himself a brace on debut against Luton Town, so it’s no wonder that sporting and technical director Luke Dowling pulled the trigger on signing him for the long-term.

The 22-year-old cost the Midlands outfit an initial £12m, which could rise to £18m in add-ons, according to the Express & Star.

That sum was a considerable chunk of their summer transfer budget. Karlan Grant cost the exact same fee, but one that is spread out in £2m instalments over six years, whilst they accounted for the permanent £9m addition of Matheus Pereira.

As a result of such an outlay, you’d want a huge bang for your buck – well, Diangana’s just not delivered in the big time.

Despite featuring in 15 of their 17 league outings this term, the 5 foot 11 attacker has contributed just one goal and has certainly struggled to repeat his attacking output from the second-tier.

Per WhoScored, Diangana has regressed from 2.4 dribbles, 1.6 shots and 1.4 key passes per game in 2019/20 to a pathetic 1.5 dribbles, 0.8 shot and 0.3 key passes per match.

This suggests that he’s struggling to combat the rise in quality of opposition as he’s clearly not been able to beat his man with his dribbling ability and as a result, he simply has not bee able to get near the goal to fire off chances.

Once dubbed an “explosive” threat who’s a “total nightmare” to play against by Sky Sports pundits Lee Hendrie and Keith Andrews, the young wide man has been wholly ineffective and is now bordering on becoming one expensive flop.

In some ways, it draws serious comparisons to that of Nacer Chadli, whose spell at the Hawthorns was disastrous – the irony being that he was once voted the ‘Flop of the Year.’

After splashing out a club-record £13m to Premier League rivals Spurs for his signature, the Belgian winger scored only six goals in 38 appearances before being relegated. An all too familiar position to that of Diangana and Albion right now.

The £10.8m-rated former Hammers ace is in grave danger of becoming another Chadli as a rate of two goal contributions in 32 top-flight appearances is currently way worse than even the ex-Baggies disaster achieved.

AND in other news, WBA must OFFLOAD £50k-p/w flop once dubbed a “manager’s dream”…

David Sullivan can land David Moyes an ideal January signing amid reports West Ham United could look to sign Chelsea’s out-of-favour hitman Olivier Giroud this winter.

What’s the word?

According to Claret & Hugh, Giroud is keen to secure a move away from Stamford Bridge during the upcoming transfer market, having seen his spot in the French national side come under threat after playing just 33 minutes in the Premier League this season.

Frank Lampard added German internationals Timo Werner and Kai Havertz to the fold in south west London this summer, resulting in Giroud falling further down the pecking order and only being given game time from the bench in three top-flight fixtures to date.

Giroud has featured from the start in just one of the Blues’ Carabao Cup ties, as well, while earning his 27 minutes of Champions League action as a late substitute on Matchday 3 at home to Stade Rennais once the tie had already been settled by a Werner brace.

Should Giroud decide he must leave Chelsea to secure his spot on the plane to next summer’s postponed UEFA European Championships, his decision is expected to alert key officials at the London Stadium given West Ham’s prior interest in the forward.

The Irons strived to land the 34-year-old in 2017 amid doubt over his future with Arsenal, and were again touted as a potential suitor this summer with Chelsea open to offers worth just £7million.

Arsene Wenger noted at the time of Giroud’s Arsenal exit that he quit the Gunners through his determination to play for France in the 2018 World Cup, which could now result in history repeating itself for Chelsea.

“Olivier wanted more playing time – and wants as well to go to the World Cup,” Wenger said, via quotes by the Independent. “That is why I opened the door. But he was massively popular here.”

An idyllic January hitman

Sullivan reviving West Ham’s prior interest in Giroud could see the Hammers co-owner land Moyes an idyllic hitman this January, as the Frenchman has consistently thrived when given a chance – as evident by his eight Premier League goals last season each coming in the final 12 matches after struggling to earn game time until February.

Wenger lauded Giroud’s ability to always be ready whilst the Frenchman was with Arsenal, noting in 2016 via The Guardian: “I have a big respect for him. When you are a football player, you have to be always ready, that’s part of the job.

“When you’re selected, it’s fantastic. When you’re not selected, you have to be ready and the players that are always ready, when they get that chance, they are there and the players that feel sorry for themselves, they give you one more reason to justify why you didn’t select them, and the fighters are always ready.”

Giroud’s fighter-instinct and a knack for scoring could easily see the veteran forward be an idyllic January addition for Moyes, having struck home 86 goals in his Premier League career, been touted as one of the all-time great super-subs and been praised for his awareness to latch on to crosses.

West Ham are among the top-flight’s most-productive outfits in terms of crosses this season, having averaged 22 a game – only Fulham (23) are delivering a higher number into the box, per WhoScored.

The Irons are also registering 57 long balls a match and rank second for shots taken inside the six-yard box with 14% of their total efforts, two aspects were Giroud thrives.

AND in other news, West Ham have been given the ideal chance to sign a “phenomenal” £20m David Moyes target.

Carlton Palmer has revealed his admiration of Crystal Palace playmaker Wilfried Zaha and is surprised he is still at Selhurst Park.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast correspondent Tom Ward, the former England international can’t believe a top six club didn’t sign the winger in the summer.

Zaha’s Palace future has been shrouded by transfer speculation for quite some time whilst he submitted a transfer request in an attempt to engineer a move away from Selhurst Park before the start of the season.

However, a move failed to materialise, after Roy Hodgson’s side rejected approaches from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Everton.

But Palmer believes that something isn’t quite right behind the scenes.

“I’m a big fan of him, I’m a big fan of Zaha. I am surprised that none of the other top clubs have had a bat at him. £50 million is a lot of money, but as I say, I’m surprised that none of the other top clubs have had a bat at him.

“There must be something that they know or something that they’re aware of that they don’t want to go near.

“But he’s been Crystal Palace’s talisman for years and years and years and he’s a talented, talented player, that’s for sure.”

It goes without saying that the 28-year-old is the club’s best player as Palace have lost 15 out of the last 17 Premier League games he has missed for various reasons.

In eight appearances in the Premier League so far this season, Zaha has scored five goals and supplied two assists, whilst he is averaging 2.3 shots, 1.6 key passes and 1.4 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

However, whilst there’s no questions about Zaha’s ability, his attitude has been been a bit of a problem in the past, which is perhaps where the problem lies.

Valued at £45m via Transfermarkt, the highly-rated Ivory Coast international started his career at his boyhood club, before he left for Premier League giants Manchester United in 2013, until he returned to Selhurst Park under acrimonious circumstances just two years later after a frustrating stint at Old Trafford.

But this has done little to dissuade potential suitors, with both Arsenal and Everton credited with an interest in the versatile forward in the summer, amid links abroad to European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco.

If and when that day does come, there’s no doubt his inevitable departure will be a huge loss for the Eagles.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish should reward Jairo Riedewald with a new contract…

Tottenham Hotspur’s youth academy is arguably in the best place it’s ever been at the minute.

The two Harry’s, Kane and Winks, are the best two examples of Spurs success stories right now but in recent times, the likes of Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp have also broken through.

But it’s not always been the case as some players have failed to live up to the hype – none more so than Nabil Bentaleb, who went from being a favourite of Tim Sherwood’s to a forgotten man under Mauricio Pochettino.

“I think he’s been great. I know Bentaleb, I know what he possesses. He trains like every day is the last day in the world and that’s a great trait to have for a young kid,” once explained Sherwood.

He wasn’t the only one to tout his potential though, Michael Cox, who is now The Athletic’s tactical guru, once likened him to a legendary defensive midfielder, he said: “Bentaleb is happy to push up the pitch and make quick interceptions to recover the ball immediately, in a manner reminiscent of Sergio Busquets.”

Having played 29 times for Sherwood, Bentaleb could only muster up another 46 appearances, primarily in cups rather than the Premier League, under Pochettino, who would quickly send him out on loan to Schalke 04.

Where is Bentaleb now?

After enjoying a successful stint on loan, the Bundesliga outfit sanctioned a permanent move for the Algerian powerhouse with Spurs raking in a whopping £17m, all of which is profit as he came through the ranks at Hotspur Way.

It has to be said, Daniel Levy played a blinder with that deal.

The 25-year-old has twice been dropped from their first-team squad due to disciplinary issues.

According to Bild reporter Marc Siekmann, the midfielder has a problem with leadership from above and often ignored the demands of his manager.

Such problems led to a loan move back to the Premier League during the January transfer window where he joined Newcastle United, playing alongside Danny Rose again for the second half of the campaign.

The fact that the Magpies didn’t turn that deal into a permanent one speaks volumes – per WhoScored, Bentaleb averaged 1.6 fouls, 1.9 tackles and only 0.7 key passes per game from his 12 league appearances.

Now valued at a miserable £3.6m by Transfermarkt, Spurs have clearly been the winners in this deal. A true masterclass from the tough-negotiator, Mr Levy.

AND in other news, Spurs can land Jose Mourinho his new Nemanja Matic next summer…