All posts by z3u9t.icu

Wolves players haven’t exactly flooded the ongoing European Championships with enormous quality.

Molineux’s Portuguese contingent of Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho tasted defeat in the last 16, while Adama Traore has managed just one substitute appearance with Spain.

However, they have been attracted by a number of players currently lighting up the Euros. Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic has caught their eye, while they’ve also been left impressed by Leicester and Wales stopper Danny Ward.

One player with whom the club were previously linked has been having an outstanding tournament. That happens to be Premier League-winning left-back in Oleksandr Zinchenko.

The Manchester City defender has been making history this summer with Ukraine, taking them to the quarter-finals, where they’ll meet England on Saturday evening.

Wolves made a bid of £19m for Zinchenko 12 months ago but that was rejected. However, after a starring role in recent weeks, they must consider another move for him.

The 24-year-old started Ukraine’s group games in the middle of the park but he was nothing short of outstanding after being moved to left wing-back when they beat Sweden after extra time in the last 16.

Zinchenko scored a sweetly-struck opener from inside the penalty area before providing a peach of a cross deep into the second half of extra time which supplied the winning goal.

The City gem was left crying on the pitch at full-time, embraced by his teammates after turning up for his country in one of the biggest moments in their football history.

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Described as “incredible” by Pep Guardiola, he initially arrived in England as an attacking midfielder but has been turned into a left-back under the Spaniard.

As well as possessing a mean delivery of the ball, his defensive attributes appear to be improving all the time. No Swedish player managed to dribble past him last Tuesday evening as Zinchenko completed 86% of his passes, won seven of eight defensive duels and attempted seven tantalising crosses.

He was an enormous threat and should now be pursued by Wolves more closely. The Old Gold have negotiated a deal to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri for £10m but they could find better alternatives elsewhere.

Zinchenko’s price tag has likely risen since starring for his country over the last month but his performances demonstrate he deserves to be first choice for his club. At the Etihad Stadium, that is unfortunately never likely to happen, but Bruno Lage could grant him the starring role he needs at Molineux.

For those who have doubted him since coming to England, they have now been silenced after his displays this summer.

Zinchenko is increasingly becoming an ever-reliable performer. Wolves supporters would surely love not only his versatility but his passion and work rate; he has talent in abundance.

AND in other news, Lage could discover his new Ruben Dias at Wolves in “phenomenal” £62k-p/w beast…

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”…

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!

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

Express & Star reporter Luke Hatfield has called for Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign Goncalo Guedes even if Adama Traore fails to seal his exit.

Wolves appear poised to make a big-money bid for Valencia winger Guedes ahead of the transfer window closing next week.

Bruno Lage, who was appointed as Wolves’ new head coach in June, worked with the 24-year-old during his time in Benfica’s youth system.

Guedes has started both of Valencia’s La Liga fixtures so far this season, although both of those outings have come in the centre forward role.

The interest comes while rumours of Adama Traore heading to Tottenham Hotspur continue to rumble on, with reports suggesting ex-Wolves chief Nuno Espirito Santo is looking to reunite with the Spain international by striking a loan deal with the view to a permanent £40million transfer.

But Hatfield has urged Lage to push through the move for Guedes regardless of whether Traore remains at the club.

He told The Transfer Tavern: “He has shown quality abroad and I think he’d be a good signing regardless of whether Traore was to leave Molineux.

“He fits the bill in terms of being an exciting, attacking player. The football Wolves have played at the start of the season has certainly given fans hope of a bit more excitement.

“I think he would be a fantastic signing for Wolves even if Traore doesn’t go.”

ExWHUemployee has delivered a fresh West Ham United transfer update this week…

What’s the word?

“An interesting development on Instagram is that a definite target of ours (as reported a number of times on the podcast) has started following West Ham, as well as Seb Haller,” he revealed to The West Ham Way’s Patreon site.

“Wout Weghorst is a 6 foot 6 Dutch international forward currently playing in Germany for Wolfsburg. He has a great scoring record in the Dutch and German league.

“Whilst you cannot read too much into this at this stage it is an interesting move for a player that we have had a definite interest in before.”

Sign him up, Newman!

This latest claim from one of the most reliable sources when it comes to all things around the London Stadium is sure to leave much of the Irons’ faithful absolutely buzzing with excitement.

It’s no secret that the Hammers are in desperate need of a striker this winter, having gone two years without replacing Sebastien Haller. Such a decision has left manager David Moyes with only one senior centre-forward in an injury-prone Michail Antonio, 31, who has been out of sorts as of late.

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With a new head of recruitment in Rob Newman in place at the club, they would be foolish to not find an alternative option who could provide the perfect foil to the West Ham star, who has scored just once in his last eight games across all competitions.

Weghorst is a proven goalscorer in Europe, and at 6 foot 6, he would present a new type of threat in Moyes’ squad.

The £27m-rated forward scored 25 goals in 41 appearances last season and has since added a further five goals this term, taking his tally for the Bundesliga outfit to 68 in just 135 matches, as per Tranfermarkt.

“Whether it’s because he’s Dutch or not, he’s got similar attributes to Van Nistelrooy,” once claimed Get German Football News editor-in-chief Daniel Pinder. “He’s tall, strong, even though he’s really tall, possesses a great touch – his movement is underappreciated in the Bundesliga. His threat inside the area, his work ethic in pressing the opposition defence.”

Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Bundesliga expert Raphael Honigstein dubbed him “Holland’s taller, chunkier answer to Jamie Vardy.”

If the Irons want to continue their impressive progression on the pitch, then they must find Moyes a new frontman in January, and they ought to look no further than Weghorst, who would be quite a coup.

Newman and his staff could excite the London Stadium faithful with a move for the 29-year-old talisman.

AND in other news, West Ham “monster” who had 99% passing accuracy hands Moyes one big headache yet again…

An update has emerged regarding Everton’s pursuit of Burnley winger Dwight McNeil.

What’s the talk?

According to the Liverpool Echo, the Toffees remain interested in a deal for the 21-year-old and could battle it out with Aston Villa for his signature this summer.

The report claims that Burnley do not want to sell the winger but realise that he will leave to join a bigger club in the near future. Earlier in the window, a fee of £25m was touted for the England under-21 international.

Bernard’s replacement?

Everton are in the market for a left winger with Bernard leaving the club earlier this month, and McNeil could be the perfect addition to the squad. He is proven in the Premier League and still has plenty of scope to develop further, whilst he would also suit the style of play Benitez wants to employ.

Earlier this summer, the Spaniard outlined his aim for the transfer window by pointing out that Dominic Calvert-Lewin – a scorer of seven headed goals last season – requires quality crosses from out wide. The manager said: “We have to be ambitious and we have to manage the situation. It is very easy to see that we have a great centre-forward. He’s very good in the air, he can score goals. But we have to provide him with good crosses, good passes.

“So the objective is to add the players to improve. We can improve in these areas and, from the wide areas, the crosses will come. When we can do that, the team will be better.”

Farhad Moshiri could therefore land a coup for the Toffees if he is able to secure a deal for McNeil, who is adept at crossing. WhoScored lists it as his biggest strength and he has provided 16 Premier League assists in the past three seasons for Sean Dyche’s side. This means that he could be able to routinely put balls into the box like Benitez wants, which is why he could be a terrific signing for the Blues.

His current Burnley teammate Ashley Westwood hailed him as a special talent and highlighted his progression since coming into the first team. He said: “He’s really mature. I think the world of him; he’s a special talent. It’s been good to see him grow up because when he first came training with us, he was really quiet.

“He’s already racked up more than 50 games in the Premier League now, which at his age is phenomenal. He’s producing as well, so if he keeps doing that and we all keep doing what we’re doing then there will be teams circulating.”

Therefore, he could be a superb addition to Everton’s squad and he might be exactly what Benitez needs to fulfil his ambitions of providing Calvert-Lewin with the service he requires to keep scoring goals in the Premier League. It is now down to Moshiri to get on the phone to Burnley in order to reach an agreement for the 21-year-old.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Godfrey: Benitez must seal dream Everton deal for £124k-p/w “monster”…