All posts by n8rngtd.top

Crystal Palace are reportedly lining up a sensational swoop for former Arsenal and current Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

According to journalist Nicolo Schira, the Eagles have enquired about the Welsh international, requesting information about a potential switch to Selhurst Park.

His arrival at the club would certainly be a statement of intent and one which Steve Parish might follow through on.

Owing to his huge Premier League and European experience, Ramsey would almost certainly be one of the first names on the team sheet at Selhurst Park.

The 30-year-old has made 262 appearances in the top flight of English football, scoring 40 goals and providing 51 assists.

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery praised the midfielder in his final season at the Emirates Stadium, highlighting his “amazing” attitude and performances.

Even though Ramsey has not had the best time of things in Turin, only starting 32 matches in his year-and-a-half with the club, his statistics would still see him rank above any current Crystal Palace midfielder, including captain Luka Milivojevic.

According to WhoScored, the Welshman is averaging 1.3 shots, 1.3 key passes and 0.6 dribbles per match. This is considerably higher than the Serbian’s 0.6, 0.6 and 0.3 respectively for those metrics. Ramsey also keeps the ball far better than his opposite number, averaging an 85.8% pass completion rate to Milivojevic’s 82.5%.

It makes a lot of sense, therefore, for the Welsh ace to replace the former Olympiakos man in the heart of the Crystal Palace midfield. With James McArthur and James McCarthy also set to depart Selhurst Park come the end of their deals this summer, the arrival of Ramsey would certainly compensate for their losses and more.

Rated at just £18m and with only two years remaining on the big-money deal he signed at the Juventus Stadium, Palace might well be able to afford bringing the midfielder back to London.

It would certainly be a sensational move from Parish and the Eagles, and one which they must prioritise.

AND in more news, read why Palace must avoid signing an alternative midfielder currently plying his trade in Serie A…

Adam Hlozek is amongst the forwards West Ham are taking a keen eye on ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport’s Dean Jones, the Sparta Prague gem is on their list of priorities, whilst French outlet Foot Mercato claim the Irons are confident of securing his signature despite rival interest.

It is thought that the 18-year-old wonderkid is available for around £15m to £20m but last season’s champions, Liverpool, have been mooted with interest too.

The Hammers have around £35m to spend on a new striker and Hlozek fits the bill as someone who could be great value for money.

Forget Arnautovic

Tammy Abraham and Ivan Toney are two other names that have been mooted with a switch to the London Stadium ahead of the upcoming window, whilst there has also been talk of a sensation return for Marko Arnautovic.

Bologna newspaper Il Resto del Carlino (via The Sun) claims David Moyes could look to bring the 32-year-old back to the Irons for free as Shanghai Port want him off the wage bill.

This is a move that the club should absolutely avoid as you’re not going to get much out of the Austrian considering his age, and it’s been several years since he was last competing in genuinely competitive and high-quality surroundings.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-west-ham-transfer-rumours-gossip-team-injury-news-gsb-update” title= “Read the latest West Ham news, transfer rumours, gossip and more!”]

Hlozek would offer West Ham an instant solution to their striker nightmare and one that will be around for years to come, to the point of potentially earning them a cushty profit.

The Prague sensation has had his season hampered by injury but that hasn’t stopped him from delivering 11 goals and nine assists in just 21 appearances. He’s averaging a direct goal contribution every 84 minutes, as per Transfermarkt.

It’s no wonder his manager Pavel Vrba has hailed him “hugely talented” whilst Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig has previously lauded him as an “elite talent,” “a phenomenal player” and one that is “destined for greatness.”

Hlozek is widely thought to be the Czechs best talent since Tomas Rosicky, though Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal may have a thing or two to say about that.

For around £15m, GSB must forget about getting Arnautovic back and look to seal the future star this summer.

AND in other news, GSB must block West Ham swoop for 22-cap flop who “plays like he’s on roller-skates”…

Liverpool could be set to lose one of their main stars for the start of next season as Mohamed Salah is being sounded out for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Egypt boss Shawky Garib reportedly wants the Liverpool star involved in the Games, having sent the nation’s itinerary to Anfield in hope of ensuring his inclusion and also already naming him in their preliminary squad.

Whilst Salah’s decision over whether he wants to participate remains to be made, should he elect to go, it would certainly be a big blow for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp.

With the tournament taking place in Tokyo between July 23rd and August 8th, the Egyptian is almost certain to miss the entirety of pre-season ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, with the Premier League season getting underway just under a week later on August 14th.

Whilst this may not be a catastrophic problem with Salah likely to maintain his fitness whilst participating in the Games, the sheer amount of football could either see him sustain injury or indeed suffer from burn-out.

Either way, Liverpool are surely not set to see the £200k per week forward, or indeed his best form at the very least, for the first few weeks of next season should he elect to represent his country in Japan.

It goes without saying that should that situation transpire, he would be a huge miss.

Salah has by far and away been Liverpool’s best player this season having netted 29 goals in all competitions throughout the campaign.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news%2c-transfer-rumours-and-moreozek-suarez-ward-correa-klopp-super-league-watkins” title=”Read the latest Liverpool news, transfer rumours and more…”]

With Liverpool aiming to re-establish themselves at the top of the table next season following a bitterly disappointing campaign this time around, they simply cannot afford to be missing their best players at the start of next term or they will be left playing catch-up once more.

If Salah does play in the Olympics, it could have dire consequences on the start of The Reds’ 2021/22 campaign.

AND in more news, take a closer look at Fabinho’s woeful performance in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle…

Some Manchester City fans were livid with the performance of Nathan Ake during their 4-3 win over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Friday night.

The Citizens’ status as Premier League champions was confirmed following Manchester United’s defeat to Leicester City on Tuesday, meaning Pep Guardiola came into this game with the opportunity to give chances to his fringe players. Some of them, such as hat-trick hero Ferran Torres, took advantage of the opportunity given to them.

Ake, though, was not part of that group. He was named in the staring line-up, but looked shaky at the heart of the back four along with Eric Garcia as City conceded an unexpected three goals. The Netherlands international even gave away the penalty that allowed Joelinton to level things up at 2-2.

The City supporters were far from happy with that they saw from the £31.5m-valued former Bournemouth man (Transfermarkt), and they took to social media platform to share their thoughts.

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

“And Ake in my opinion has to leave with Mendy this summer. We don’t need him and he’s not at Dias Stones and Laporte’s level .”

Credit: @FuryV3

“No agenda, just observations. Ake is so shockingly bad that’s it’s so funny. Mendy is awfully bad and I don’t say anything cause we all know it.”

Credit: @jamalilloo

“Ake had a stinker tonight, unfortunately”

Credit: @Dakk_MCFC

“Ake sounds like he is having a ‘mare tonight”

Credit: @AndrewAndyc0463

“This Aké disasterclass man”

Credit: @JeerryMCFC

“Ake is Wilfred Bony’s defence clone. Sell sell sell”

Credit: @ChildDannyc1

In other news, Man City fans were worried by these Guardiola comments.

Steve Bruce has dropped an injury blow for Newcastle United ahead of their game at home to West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against David Moyes’ team, the former Aston Villa and Sunderland boss confirmed: “Ryan’s not fit. He’s got a groin problem that he picked up when he was with Scotland. It’s been frustrating for him and we’ve never really got him up to speed. It’s been stop start and we’ve not seen the best of him with the problems he’s had.”

Newcastle will miss Fraser

The North East club will certainly miss Fraser when they take on the Hammers, who are chasing a spot in the UEFA Champions League for the 2021/22 term, at St. James’ Park.

The pace and directness that the former AFC Bournemouth ace possessed could have caused the East London club a lot of trouble down the wing, and with his former Cherries teammate Callum Wilson back from injury, he would have been able to feed off of Fraser’s supply.

The Scotland international has averaged more key passes per game (1.4) than any of his teammates in the top flight so far in the 2020/21 season (Whoscored).

With Allan Saint-Maximin back as well along with Miguel Almiron, the link-up play with Fraser could have caused the Irons lots of problems, especially on the counter attack.

Nonetheless, the Tyneside club will have to try and find a way to get something out of the match without the 27-year-old.

In other news, find out what definitive relegation claim Liam Kennedy has dropped on the potential takeover here!

Crystal Palace have been handed a significant defensive injury boost, with left-back Tyrick Mitchell ready to return to action.

The young defender has not played a single minute of Premier League action since the 2-1 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion in late February.

However, Eagles boss Roy Hodgson revealed the news of his return in a press conference, stating that Mitchell is “fully fit and available to play”.

His return will certainly be welcomed by Palace as the season enters its final stretch. Since breaking into the first team at Selhurst Park, the 21-year-old has developed a reputation as one of the most promising young defenders in the Premier League.

He has gone on to make 18 appearances for the Eagles, with his early performances being labelled as “excellent” by Hodgson.

The left-back has certainly been missed this season, too, having been absent for eight of Palace’s Premier League matches, whilst having been selected on the bench a further nine times (Transfermarkt). In matches where he has played, Hodgson’s troops have racked up a 38% win percentage in the Premier League and conceded on average 1.5 goals per game.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-crystal-palace-news%2c-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Latest Crystal Palace news, transfer rumours and more… “]

Meanwhile, when Mitchell has been restricted to the sidelines, whether that be through injury or suspension, that win rate falls dramatically to 29%, with a further 1.6 goals conceded per game.

Even when comparing him to left-back rival and experienced campaigner Patrick van Aanholt, the youngster comes out on top. According to WhoScored, Mitchell produces far more tackles (3.6 to 1.6) and more clearances (2.5 to 1.6) per game in the Premier League this season than the Dutchman.

Judging by his statistics, the youngster’s return to fitness should be a big boost to Crystal Palace as the season enters the final stretch and the Eagles aim to secure a top ten finish.

AND in more news, take a look at which European giant has provided a big clue as to who the next Palace boss could be…

Everton have landed a huge boost in the race to sign Kalidou Koulibaly, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that the Napoli defender “would be interested” in a reunion with Carlo Ancelotti.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Give Me Sport, transfer guru Romano has claimed that Koulibaly may consider a move to the Premier League this summer.

The Senegalese star has been widely linked with a switch from the Serie A, with Everton said to have marked Koulibaly as their top defensive target and that Ancelotti is willing to sell Yerry Mina to fund a deal.

Napoli are expected to hold out for €50m (£42.5m) to sell Koulibaly, who also has suitors in Bayern Munich and Manchester City, having lowered their £89m asking price from last summer to ward off interest from Manchester United.

Romano notes that Koulibaly was close to joining Manchester City in 2020, but adds that the opportunity to be reunited with Ancelotti may prove more attractive.

“I think he would be interested because he’s always had this attractive situation with the Premier League,” Romano said, when asked if Koulibaly would consider a reunion.

“He’s always been attracted by the Premier League clubs.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-everton-news-gossip-and-views” title=”The latest Everton news and views!”]

“Also, last summer, he was really close to Manchester City, so his agent is strong with Premier League clubs.”

Should Everton sign Koulibaly?

Romano claiming that Koulibaly would be interested in a move to Goodison Park and being reunited with Ancelotti will come as a huge boost for Everton, given the 29-year-old is noted to be the Toffees’ top defensive target for the summer market.

However, Everton still have a relative mountain to climb in order to obtain the 43-cap enforcer’s services in the off-season due to the rival competition, plus the Merseyside outfit’s need to first sell Mina in order to raise the necessary funds.

Finding a suitor for Mina should now become priority number one for Marcel Brands, so that the Blues’ Director of Football can limit the opportunities for the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City to strike a deal.

Ancelotti was a huge advocate of Koulibaly’s talents during his time in charge of Napoli, so it is no wonder that the Italian is now seemingly keen to acquire the £195,000-per-week titan amid questions over his best defensive pairing.

The Toffees manager described Koulibaly as “the best defender in the world” back in 2019, and strongly believes that the 6 ft 1 centre-back owns a place among the greats of the game.

“Koulibaly belongs to the category of [Paolo] Maldini, [Lilian] Thuram, Thiago Silva and Sergio Ramos. He’s very intelligent,” Ancelotti once told La Stampa, via quotes shared by Football-Italia.

“Usually those who are as strong and quick as him think nothing else is needed to resolve problems. I divide players into optimists and pessimists. He’s a pessimist, he knows that [pace and strength] isn’t enough, so he’s very attentive and he has a strong character.”

It remains to be seen if that character will be on show in the Premier League wearing royal or sky blue next season, but Romano’s comments will undoubtedly come as a boost for Everton.

Click here to see the full interview with Fabrizio Romano.

AND in other news, Everton can potentially save £13m by turning to this Max Aarons alternative…

Sunderland have a real chance to move into the League One automatic promotion spots this weekend.

They will need to see off the challenge of Bristol Rovers first and foremost before hoping that Peterborough suffer defeat.

Their little hiccup against Blackpool in midweek has made the race for promotion even more intense.

The Mackems are one of the most in-form sides in the division, so you’d be hard-pressed to bet against them taking all three points again on Saturday.

They come into this clash having won seven of their last nine matches in League One.

With that in mind, there is surely little room for change in the Black Cats starting XI? That being said, we’re predicting two to be made from the team which drew with Lincoln.

We think that Johnson will continue with the 4-3-3 formation he adopted against Lincoln. That means a trio of Lynden Gooch, Aiden McGeady and Charlie Wyke start in attack.

There is one change in midfield, where the £13,000-per-week Grant Leadbitter drops out. We’ve already labelled the problems with his game in recent weeks, so now feels like a timely occasion to put him back on the bench. Consequently, Josh Scowen starts in the middle of the park.

We’ve also championed the need for Ollie Younger to get more minutes. He started against Rochdale and, with another game against a relegation-threatened side, Johnson should put him in at right-back today.

Conor McLaughlin has only just returned from a hernia operation and should be rested as he continues his comeback trail.

Sunderland are still without a number of players heading into this clash. The match will come too soon for Bailey Wright, while Tom Flanagan remains sidelined.

Also out is Jordan Jones – Johnson gave him a 30% chance of being ready for this match so he is a major doubt.

AND in other news, Forget Willis: SAFC must unleash rarely-seen 21 y/o, Johnson said he’s a “great kid”…

Leeds United favourite Stuart Dallas is reportedly set to be offered a ‘double your money’ deal at Elland Road following some influential performances this season.

The Whites have enjoyed an excellent campaign, sitting ninth in the Premier League and rarely looking relegation-threatened at any point. Therefore, it is no surprise to see Victor Orta and co already planning for next season and beyond.

There have been a number of standout performers for Marcelo Bielsa’s side and Dallas has certainly been one of them, excelling with his versatility and influence. The 30-year-old has scored seven goals and registered two assists in the league, with his match-winning double away to Manchester City particularly memorable.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Leeds to offer Dallas new deal

According to Football Insider, Leeds are willing to offer the ‘underrated’ Dallas a ‘big-money new contract’ as a reward for his performances, likely double his current £23,000 per week.

A Leeds source has told the outlet that negotiations are set to take place once this season reaches its end, with the Northern Ireland international’s current deal expiring in 2023, in what looks to be the latest of a long line of popular Orta decisions.

Transfer Tavern take

Giving Dallas a new contract is a no-brainer, considering the nature of his displays this season and his enduring importance to this Leeds side. Only Patrick Bamford has scored more in the Premier League for them this season, while his tackling record is the fifth-best in Bielsa’s squad too (WhoScored).

Every squad needs a player of his ilk – someone who can often be unheralded but is cherished by his teammates, a little like ex-Whites man James Milner, who ironically has also performed both in midfield and at left-back.

Dallas may not be getting any younger, but his fitness levels remain superb and there is no reason why he can’t continue to shine for several more years.

In other news, a big-name rumoured Leeds target has reportedly made a key decision over his future. Read more here.

A number of Liverpool fans have been left stunned by an incredible goal by promising Reds youngster Mateusz Musialowski, with some excitedly comparing him to the legendary Lionel Messi.

Jurgen Klopp’s side won 1-0 away to Wolves on Monday evening in what was their final game until next month, with almost three weeks without a match to endure.

Diogo Jota’s strike was enough to earn Liverpool a much-needed victory at Molineux, keeping their chances of a top four finish just about alive.

In many ways, it could be that the Reds will benefit from a rest in the coming weeks, as they look to be in prime condition for an assault on the Champions League.

[freshpress-poll id=“348883″]

Away from first team action, there has been some absolute magic on show in recent days, with Musialowski highlighting why he is so highly-rated at the academy.

The 17-year-old Pole has been earning rave reviews after some influential performances and he was at his brilliant best at the weekend as Liverpool’s under-18s won 3-0 away to Newcastle United’s youngsters.

Musialowski’s wonderful slaloming run and finish was the standout moment of the game and one of the best goals by any Reds player this season.

Liverpool fans laud sensational Musialowski goal

Here’s how some Liverpool fans reacted to Musialowski’s “special” piece of individual brilliance on Twitter, with many left gobsmacked by its quality.

“The Polish Pele”

Credit: @lfcfdan_

“Wow, he might just be a bit special”

Credit: @RleEllis

“You love to see it!!! YNWA”

Credit: @darrenjaxon77

“Messi regen”

Credit: @Nicoroskifte10

“Special”

Credit: @ben_LFC6

“Baller”

Credit: @ftblbeard

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been responding to a shock transfer rumour that has emerged. Read about it here.