All posts by z3u9t.icu

Many Everton fans have been left rejoicing as some news emerged on Andros Townsend.

As shared by the official Twitter page of the Goodison Park faithful, the former Crystal Palace winger has now won the Premier League Goal of the Month (GOTM) award for September for his long-range strike in their 3-1 home win against Burnley.

It was an exceptional effort and fully deserved in the end, which just typifies how his career at the Merseyside club is going so far.

Townsend has now scored no fewer than five goals and made a further three assists in nine games in total over all competitions so far this season (Transfermarkt), and will be hoping for more rockets like the one against the Clarets to come.

Everton fans on Townsend news

These Toffees supporters were left rejoicing as the news was shared on Twitter, with one Blues fan going as far as to claim that the 30 year-old is a ‘baller’:

“Well deserved”

Credit: @Bigblueattack

“What a goal that was”

Credit: @steefcGT4

“So humble, a player who gets Everton”

Credit: @HarryJ_94

“Was a great goal to witness live in the flesh”

Credit: @LilMermEFC

“Well in Andros”

Credit: @Addo1878

“Baller!”

Credit: @trevor_p_malco

In other news, find out what Bramley-Moore Dock footage has Evertonians gushing here!

Adam White has dropped a claim regarding Celtic’s interest in a deal to bring Zinedine Ferhat to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

In a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, the journalist stated his belief that the Nimes winger – who has been heavily linked with a move to Parkhead this winter – would be an extremely impressive signing for Ange Postecoglou to get over the line, with White going as far to state that the 28-year-old would be one of the best players in the Premiership.

Speaking about the Celtic-linked forward, the journalist said: “He’d be a really good option. He can play as a number 10, can also play out wide and as an attacking midfielder, very graceful, creative, and I think he’d improve Celtic’s team and would be one of the better players in the SPFL.”

Bye-bye Johnston

While the likes of Jota, Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi have been in deadly form for Celtic so far this season, with this trio having already scored 35 goals and registered 19 assists between them in the current campaign, Postecoglou’s backup options have been rather less impressive.

One such player is Mikey Johnston, the £10k-per-week 22-year-old who has so far failed to score a single goal over his 18 outings in all competitions this season, with Willie Miller going as far to describe the winger’s performance against Hibernian in the League Cup final as “pathetic.”

And, with the academy graduate being linked with a move to Aberdeen this January, it would seem a very wise move for Postecoglou to allow the winger to depart for Pittodrie, and subsequently make a move to bring Ferhat in as his replacement.

Indeed, over his 33 Ligue 1 appearances for Nimes’ last time out, the £4.05m-rated forward was in astonishing form, scoring six goals, providing ten assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, as well as an average of taking 1.9 shots and making 1.6 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £13k-per-week Algeria international earn a sensational seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.07, ranking him by far and away as his side’s best performer in the top flight of French football.

As such, it would indeed appear as if the Nimes winger would be a huge upgrade on many of Postecoglou’s current options out wide – Johnston included – leading us to hold the belief that the 56-year-old must make a move for the player who has 82 career assists to his name before the end of the month.

In other news: Huge blow: Worrying behind the scenes Celtic update emerges, Postecoglou surely fuming

Crystal Palace enjoyed a stellar summer transfer window, successfully overhauling their ageing first-team squad with a raft of exciting youngsters.

The last-minute arrival of Odsonne Edouard in a £14 million deal from Celtic added to the likes of Marc Guehi, Connor Gallagher and Joachim Andersen, putting the gloss on an extremely productive few months for the Eagles.

And now new manager Patrick Vieira has a selection headache that every football boss craves. The strength in depth at Selhurst Park will leave the Frenchman with some big decisions to make over the international period, with many stars pushing for a place in his best starting XI.

With that in mind, this is how Football FanCast expect the 45-year-old to line up his best XI following the conclusion of the summer transfer window…

The ever-reliable Vicente Guaita will keep his spot in goal after continuing to put in some impressive performances at the start of the new campaign.

In defence, the new centre-back partnership of Guehi and Andersen are set to be flanked by 22-year-old Tyrick Mitchell and the experienced Joel Ward, who will be tasked with bringing some Premier League knowhow to a young backline.

A new-look central midfield partnership of Gallagher and Will Hughes should provide the excitement, goals and energy that’s been missing from the Palace engine room in recent years, while Luka Milivojevic’s presence ensures it remains a solid and stable force.

Ahead of them is set to be an entertaining and skillful attacking trident of Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Edouard, relegating the £8.1m-rated Christian Benteke to the bench as he’s been a liability in recent years due to a lack of goalscoring prowess.

Eberechi Eze’s return to fitness following an Achilles injury will give Vieira even more food for thought, although the former England Under-21 international is set for an extended spell on the sidelines.

And, in other news…Palace suffer major blow in pursuit of “explosive” 19-y/o prodigy, Vieira will be gutted 

Southampton have been credited with an interest in Gary Cahill recently and the experienced centre-back could be a superb addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad.

What’s the word?

According to Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach, the 35-year-old centre-back is on a shortlist of names who could replace Jannik Vestergaard in Hasenhuttl’s side this summer following the Denmark international’s £15m move to Leicester City earlier this week.

Cahill is a free agent following his Crystal Palace exit earlier in the summer, and whilst he would be a short-term option for the Saints, he could add a wealth of experience to their backline.

Considering Southampton conceded 68 goals in the top-flight last season, and began their 2021/22 campaign with a 3-1 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park following a second-half collapse, it seems clear that they need to make defensive changes if they are to improve on the woeful run of form they have endured in 2021 thus far.

Would Cahill be a good signing?

Despite Cahill being 35, he was a regular in Crystal Palace’s side last season, making 20 appearances for the Eagles in the Premier League, averaging a 6.57 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Although he perhaps wouldn’t be signed as a first-choice centre-back, he could offer Hasenhuttl some excellent squad depth in defence, whilst also offering the likes of Mohammed Salisu advice on defensive positioning, which based on yesterday’s defeat against Everton, is something the 22-year-old needs to improve on.

Cahill was highly rated by former Palace manager Roy Hodgson, as he sang his praises last season, saying:

“First of all he’s a very, very good defender.

“His position is very good, he’s exceptionally good in the air, he’s a strong challenger for the ball and a very good blocker of the ball. These are the defensive qualities we don’t talk about every day… They’re the qualities that get you the clean sheets.

“He’s also brought us leadership qualities, he’s been very good leadership-wise. He’s the best type of leader; he’s the quiet leader people don’t see from Row Z in the stand. He’s the leader we see in training week to week.”

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Therefore, he could also add some real leadership to a relatively inexperienced Southampton defence, which could go a long way to amending their issue of conceding soft goals this season.

And, in other news… Tom Leach drops Saints transfer update on £7.2m-rated “monster”

With West Bromwich Albion heading into Friday night’s Championship clash off the back of a highly impressive 4-0 win at Cardiff in midweek, a result which shot the Baggies to the top of the table, the Frenchman will certainly be hoping for yet another dominant display against Stoke City this evening.

However, with Michael O’Neill’s Potters side having also started their 2021/22 campaign in fine form, picking up 18 points from their opening 10 fixtures of the season and sitting fifth in the table, a win at the bet365 Stadium is by no means guaranteed for Ismael’s men.

Indeed, the 45-year-old will need to ensure that he selects the strongest possible starting XI for the fixture, something which has been considerably boosted by the early return of Matt Clarke, with the centre-back set to once again be available after missing the club’s last six Championship fixtures due to a hamstring injury.

Forget Bryan

While Kean Bryan was brought in to help cover the absence of centre-back duo Clarke and Dara O’Shea, the return of Clarke should see the Brighton loanee jump ahead of the former Sheffield United man in the centre-back pecking order. The 24-year-old has struggled to get up to match fitness since joining the club, having played just one minute of Championship football this season.

Indeed, over his three Championship appearances for the Baggies this term, the £2.7m-rated Clarke has averaged 2.3 interceptions, one tackle and 2.7 clearances and has won a highly impressive 7.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the defender who Graham Potter dubbed a “quality” talent earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Albion’s ninth-best performer in the second tier.

As such, with a tricky – and potentially very physical – game against Stoke coming up for Ismael and his side, it would seem advisable for the Frenchman to throw Clarke back into his starting line-up against the Potters. The £21k-per-week loanee has already proven with his statistics during his time at The Hawthorns that he can be something of a game-changer in the Baggies’ back three.

In other news: Sources reveal West Brom development on “committed” £28k-p/w ace, Ismael surely gutted

Last season Wolves were rocked by significant injury blows throughout the season.

As the Old Gold collapsed to a 13th-placed finish, they witnessed a campaign play out without Raul Jimenez for the vast majority of it. Jonny, Fernando Marcal, Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto were further players to pick up nasty injury problems.

Although Jonny and Neto are set to miss the opening weekend’s clash against Leicester, Wolves have received good news on the injury front. That’s because Jimenez is fully fit and ready to take on the Foxes at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference yesterday after being asked whether the Mexican was ready to return, Bruno Lage revealed: “Yes. We worked for six weeks very well. Progression OK with the doctor. No problems. He is fit and ready to go.”

This news will come as a monumental boost to Wolves’ hopes of winning their first match under the new management team.

Jimenez has been missing since fracturing his skull towards the end of November, when the Midlands outfit took on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The striker wasn’t seen again until pre-season when he finally made a sufficient enough recovery to return.

When he was on the sidelines, Wolves struggled significantly. Pedro Neto and Ruben Neves ended the campaign as the club’s joint-top scorers in the league but they amassed just five apiece.

Club-record signing Fabio Silva could only find the net on four occasions while Willian Jose beat the goalkeeper just once after his six-month loan deal from January onwards.

All of that culminated in a dismal end to the season for Wolves. Their ambition of achieving European football swiftly faded away as they finished in the bottom half of the table for the first time since being promoted in 2018.

Jimenez has scored an impressive 48 goals in 110 outings for the club, which means he is undoubtedly their star man up top, so to have him fit for the start of the campaign should leave Lage absolutely delighted.

AND in other news, Wolves could find their own Pedri in “outstanding” rarely-seen 17 y/o weapon…

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte is closing in on his first transfer window at the club and will have the opportunity to make his own signings to bolster his squad.

Spurs are seventh in the Premier League as it stands, winning eight and losing five of their 15 league matches to date.

The Italian head coach may want to make some additions to the side to aid their attempts to sneak into the top four and secure Champions League football for next season.

Key issue

One area in which he must strengthen is the number nine position. Scoring goals has been a key issue for the club this term and Harry Kane’s lack of form has highlighted Tottenham’s overreliance on him for putting the ball in the back of the net.

They have only scored 18 goals in the top-flight and Kane has contributed with two of those. This has caused major problems for Spurs because the England international is the only recognised centre-forward in the entire squad, with winger Heung-Min Son the solitary player with more than two league goals.

It was recently reported that Saussolo forward Gianluca Scamacca is of interest to Spurs as a potential Dusan Vlahovic alternative and Conte must ensure that a deal is done for his fellow countryman. He is a young striker with potential who could come in and offer support and competition to Kane in the Premier League, which could help the academy graduate to find his best form with his place under threat.

Scamacca has made a name for himself in the Serie A with an impressive strike rate over the past 18 months. He scored eight goals in 13 league starts for Genoa in the 2020/21 campaign and has bagged himself five goals in eight starts for Saussolo this term.

This means that he has scored 13 goals in 21 Serie A starts since the start of last season, taking his senior tally to 32 strikes, showing that he has the quality to score goals on a consistent basis at the top level. Therefore, he could arrive at Spurs and provide a much-needed attacking boost to Conte’s squad and solve a key issue in the short-term – their lack of an alternative option to Kane – and that is why the Italian must secure a move for him.

He could also have the potential to be an excellent signing for the future. Ex-Italy U21 coach Luigi Di Biagio previously heaped praise on the young striker, saying:

“He can become a very high-level centre-forward.”

“He has the technique of a 1.75 m tall player and the physicality of a 1.95 m tall player, like him. And then he is complete: right foot, left, head, he attacks from deep, but also plays on the edge for his teammates.”

At the age of 22, the beast has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and Conte could look to mould him into the perfect striker for his system.

He has already shown that he has the maturity in his game to be a regular goalscorer, albeit he will need to show he can adapt to English football, and his age and pedigree suggest that he could grow into a top player in the years to come.

AND in other news, Conte must axe “awful” £28.8m-rated Spurs flop in January, he’s a “liability”…

Transfer ‘insider’ Graeme Bailey has shared some West Ham United transfer news involving Brentford attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye new playmaker?

As reported, it is believed that the Irons’ manager David Moyes and head of recruitment Rob Newman have their eyes on an attacking midfielder/playmaker this summer.

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Most notably, the Hammers have been linked once again with a move for long-time target and Manchester United ace Jesse Lingard as he enters the final few months of his contract at Old Trafford.

A free agent in the summer, West Ham could significantly boost Moyes’ options for zero cost, leaving little surprise that the likes of Lingard have been mentioned as targets.

However, as per ‘insider’ Bailey, it appears that Newman and Moyes have their eyes on another playmaker in Eriksen, with the Dane also available on a Bosman this summer as things stand.

The Latest: West Ham look into Eriksen offer…

According to Bailey and fellow journalist Sean Walsh, writing for 90min, West Ham are now among a number of clubs ‘looking into offering Eriksen a contract this summer’.

The east Londoners are joined by Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle, Tottenham and even Fulham in showing an interest in the 30-year-old.

The Verdict: Get it done?

A proven Premier League star, Eriksen has been one of the fairytale stories of 2021/22 given his comeback after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

His seemingly unwavering mentality could be a real pull for Moyes, along with his obvious quality, with Brentford manager Thomas Frank praising the ‘unbelievable’ attacker in recent weeks.

Once valued at £100m by his former club Tottenham, signing him for free would undoubtedly be a coup for the Irons this summer, although they face plenty of competition.

In other news: West Ham could strike fast agreement as Moyes eyes ‘world class’ new striker target! Find out more here

Leeds United piled more misery onto Norwich City to move out of the Premier League relegation zone on Sunday afternoon.

After a lacklustre first half, the game fired into life when tricky winger Raphinha fired the visitors in front at Carrow Road with a sublime solo effort. He weaved past three Canaries players before slotting the ball home past Tim Krul.

Norwich hit back within two minutes after Andrew Omobamidele headed home from a needless corner before the Whites managed to wrap things up with another touch of class, this time Rodrigo firing in from range.

The home side remain winless on two points at the foot of the table, whilst the Yorkshire giants leapfrogged Burnley to move into 17th place. And Marcelo Bielsa has his Brazilian winger largely to thank as he clinched the ‘Man of the Match’ award down in Norfolk.

However, he wasn’t the only key player on the day after Pascal Struijk put in a monstrous display in their three-man backline.

Only two other players recorded a better rating than the Dutch colossus (7.2), one of which being the goalscorer, Raphinha, and that goes to show that the defender was rather influential indeed.

Daniel Farke’s side recorded more shots (14) than Leeds (13) and even had five more corners, so they enjoyed their fair share of chances and thanks to Struijk, they remained solid at the back.

Even more importantly, he played a major role in both of their goals scored, particularly the first after he drove the ball out from defence before playing a perfect ball into Dan James’ feet, who then fed Raphinha out wide.

“Struijk instrumental in the build-up to both goals,” described BBC journalist Adam Pope at full-time.

Furthermore, the 22-year-old recorded a joint-high five tackles, on top of one block and one tackle, whilst he also won 100% of his seven duels contended, both in the air and on the ground, as per SofaScore.

On that evidence, the Canaries really found it hard to get past the 6 foot 3 titan throughout the 90 minutes.

The £18m-rated beast arguably stole the show at Carrow Road as he not only looked resolute in his defensive duties but he also looked to create things and start attacks, and ultimately, that led to both Raphinha and Rodrigo scoring.

AND in other news, Sold for £10m, now a Championship outcast: Leeds had a blinder with “special” 24 y/o…

West Ham United could have another Rio Ferdinand in their academy ranks right now.

David Moyes has so far maintained the Irons’ fine progress under his stewardship despite losing two key centre-backs in Angelo Ogbonna, who was ruled out for the season with an ACL tear back in mid-November, and Kurt Zouma, who could also be absent with an ankle problem until the summer.

The Scotsman turned to Issa Diop and Craig Dawson for their impressive victory and clean sheet against Lyon last week and the pair kept their place for the 1-1 draw with managerless Burnley at the weekend.

But without another alternative available or even on the bench, perhaps Moyes should turn to the youth system, where he will find a promising talent in Jamal Baptiste.

He knows the 18-year-old defender well, having handed him his senior debut in the FA Cup before unleashing him for the full 90 minutes in a Europa League group game earlier this season.

According to some that have been around the youngster, Baptiste is one of the top prospects at Rush Green.

“One of the finest young prospects at the club without any doubt is 15-year-old Jamal Baptiste, who believe me is going to be a monster player in the Issa Diop mould,” once claimed former academy chief Terry Westley to Claret and Hugh back in 2019.

“He’s got everything, height, power, pace and is already, at such a young age, making a serious impact on the under 23s.”

But perhaps the most glowing endorsement has come from Carlton Cole, who is part of the academy set-up at the Hammers these days – speaking to the ‘Irons Inside’ podcast, he likened the teenage colossus to both Ferdinands, Anton and Rio.

“He’s going to be the next Anton Ferdinand hopefully or the next Rio, so hopefully we can these boys on the right track and help them transition into being a professional footballer full-time,” he said, before also lauding him as a “massive prospect.”

Even when Ogbonna, 33, does return, there will be doubts over his potential to gain his starting place back, whilst Dawson, 31, isn’t getting any younger either, so transitioning someone like Baptiste into the first-team squad over the coming months could be hugely beneficial in the long run.

The more experience he gets alongside these veterans, the better, and as such, he could save GSB and West Ham millions of pounds in upcoming transfer windows.

It would be a very wise decision indeed.

AND in other news, GSB must seal West Ham deal for “sensational” £70k-p/w colossus, he’s “solid as a rock”…