Tag Futebol

Boasting one of the most prolific academies in recent history, Southampton have produced some of the greatest talents that the Premier League has ever seen.

Gareth Bale went on to win it all for Real Madrid, whilst Matt Le Tissier was a supreme playmaker and goalscorer who would play his whole career on the south coast.

But arguably their most impressive export has to be Alan Shearer, with the Newcastle-born marksman going on to earn and still hold the record for most Premier League goals of all time.

To think that the record is held by a Saints academy graduate is incredibly impressive, and in Dominic Ballard they might have a man who could somewhat replicate the goalscoring exploits of the legendary striker.

Although to compare him with the greatest goalscorer England has ever seen is high praise, his lethal finishing and relentless hunger to find the back of the net for the youth sides make him a natural comparison.

This season alone, playing far above his age group in Premier League 2, he already has six goals in eight games, and upon earning his first-ever call-up to the senior squad, he capped his appearance in the EFL Cup with a goal too.

His display sparked the former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl to shower the 17-year-old in praise, noting that he is a “positive mentality player” who “likes to score goals”.

Promotion into the ‘B team’ at St Mary’s was certainly warranted too, after he had scored 15 goals and assisted four in 19 games for the U18s as a 16-year-old, and in the same season took his opportunity with aplomb by scoring five goals in eight games in his first outing in the Premier League 2.

Ballard is a pure goalscorer, who finds a way to finish no matter the opposition.

It is this lethal instinct that could liken him to Shearer, who consistently found the net enough to form a tally so insurmountable that it is yet to be overtaken.

However, should Nathan Jones choose to give him extra involvement soon, this young finisher could begin his journey towards getting somewhere close to the infamous 260 goals needed.

Aston Villa have been given the price they will need to pay in order to land Unai Emery’s top target…

What’s the latest?

As per 90min, Villarreal are reportedly braced to lose their star man Pau Torres.

The Spanish club are noted as willing to sell, and despite seeming unlikely to demand his full release clause of £55m, will want upwards of £40m.

This news will prick the ears of Johan Lange, who will have to battle with a whole host of top clubs to attain him. The report namedrops Tottenham, Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan all as interested parties.

Perhaps the connection the manager holds with him could give the Villans a boost in the chase for Torres.

A huge statement of intent

Under Steven Gerrard, it was widely believed that his summer acquisition of Diego Carlos would be the big turning point in his tenure.

Having spent £26m on the Brazilian, to see him struck down inside two games was arguably the catalyst for the 42-year-old’s downfall.

Now, the new manager could make a similar move by bringing in his own defensive reinforcements to revolutionise the clear weak spot in the team.

The £125k-per-week centre-back is a fine defender and has been for some time for the Yellow Submarine. He has an instrumental part of a defence that last season conceded just 37 goals in 38 La Liga games.

However, it is his ability with the ball at his feet that makes him such a sought-after commodity in world football.

He ranks in the top 5% of defenders in Europe’s top five leagues for dribbles competed, and the top 13% for progressive passes. There are few defenders in the game that boast such impressive statistics, that are integral to the way the modern game is often played.

His inclusion in Spain’s World Cup squad is a further testament to his importance to not only his club side but the national team too.

Luis Enrique, who will lead his country to Qatar this winter, has been full of praise for the 25-year-old: “I like everything about Pau, I like players who have the ball out. I like his tactical sense, he’s tall, handsome, a good boy.”

With his talents now renowned across Europe, there was expected to be a host of competition for his signature.

Thus, should Villa be the club to land him, it would mark a huge statement of intent from Emery and boost his already impressive start to life in the Midlands.

Leeds United would consider making an approach for Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou if they sack Jesse Marsch, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Marsch still under pressure

The Whites may have won 2-1 away to Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend but it still seems that Marsch is under pressure in Yorkshire.

Not even that result could stave off reports that the American is on borrowed time at Elland Road, a feeling which would only grow if the Whites fail to follow up that result with a win over Bournemouth this afternoon.

Indeed, Jones has suggested that Leeds could be looking north of the border for a new manager if they decide to part with the 48-year-old.

The Latest: Postecoglou move could be lined up

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said that Postecoglou is a possible contender to take over from Marsch at Elland Road if the latter is relieved of his duties.

The journalist said:

“If they do have to change manager, it’ll be the names that get linked with all the other jobs at the moment, and Postecoglou, and people like that, will probably be in the frame too.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-10/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Could be a brilliant option

Postecoglou has done a superb job at Celtic, winning the Premiership title last season while also getting his hands on the Scottish League Cup and guiding the club back into the Champions League group stage.

Furthermore, the Australian has had the Hoops playing some excellent football along the way, not to mention quickly endearing himself to the Parkhead fan base for his actions away from the pitch as well as the on-field results.

Although Postecoglou hasn’t yet proven himself in a major European league, he would be an intriguing option who could connect with Leeds’ fans in a manner not dissimilar to Marcelo Bielsa in terms of his down-to-earth nature.

Everton have had many talents rise through the ranks of their youth academy with Wayne Rooney, John Stones and Eric Dier all polishing their skills at the Merseyside club, and current manager Frank Lampard is a huge fan of developing youth talent.

The former Chelsea boss played his part in giving Reece James, Mason Mount, Armando Broja, Tariq Lamptey and Marc Guehi their Premier League debuts at Stamford Bridge, all of whom have gone on to be star players in their own rights.

Lampard’s eye for rising stars will have certainly excited the youth prospects at Goodison Park upon his arrival at the club at the beginning of this year, and will all be working hard in the hope of their golden opportunities to impress the Toffees boss.

One player who has the potential to catch Lampard’s eye is 19-year-old Luke Butterfield, an Everton U21s midfielder who signed a brand-new three-year contract to remain at Goodison Park just this week.

The talented youngster is currently recovering from a knee injury but has been a consistent and reliable contributor to the youth teams over his time at the club which has led to praise from the club’s director of football, Kevin Thelwell.

Thelwell hailed Butterfield  “very talented” when the player penned his new deal:

“Luke is a very talented young player and we are delighted he has signed this new contract.

“As well as having a lot of strong technical attributes, he has an excellent attitude and a real desire to learn.”

The Yorkshire-born talent has made 60 appearances at youth level for Everton, scoring three goals, mostly being deployed as a defensive midfielder showing glimpses of his talent in last season’s EFL trophy for the U21s.

Butterfield made two appearances in that competition, where he demonstrated a wide array of skills, showcasing his immense set of attributes. He completed a bullish three tackles and one clearance per game, while winning 69% of his duels and completing 50% of his dribbles, proving that he knows how to beat a man, as well as how to dispossess them.

With that being said, Lampard could unearth his next prodigy in Butterfield and if he continues to shine at youth level, the teenager will certainly add depth and a fresh perspective to the senior squad’s midfield options.

Aston Villa won only their second Premier League match of the season with a crucial 1-0 victory over Southampton at Villa Park last night.

In truth, it was a scrappy game, and Villa didn’t have to be at their best to take all three points. Jacob Ramsey scored the only goal four minutes before half-time and that’s how it remained.

Southampton were well below par and Ralph Hasenhuttl will be understandably irritated that his team couldn’t pose more of a problem for the home side.

It was a vital three points for Steven Gerrard’s men nonetheless, and a welcome clean sheet to go with it, their first since April. Despite Ramsey scoring the winner and impressing throughout, it was Tyrone Mings who was perhaps the real saviour overall for Villa.

Mings was Gerrard’s saviour

The Englishman has come under criticism in recent weeks due to a series of poor performances, but he was excellent at the heart of Villa’s defence in last night’s win.

He received a rating of 7.4 from SofaScore for his performance, which was the joint-third highest on the pitch behind Ramsey and Lucas Digne, who each scored 7.8.

The former Ipswich defender made two tackles and six clearances while also winning an impressive 100% of his duels (two ground, four aerial) as he stood firm and prevented Southampton from scoring.

With 53 touches and one key pass during the match, Mings didn’t just revert to keeping the Saints at bay – he wanted to get involved and create opportunities from defence as often as he could.

Michael Hincks described the 29-year-old as a “rock” following the final whistle and gave him a rating of eight in the i Paper, also stating that the centre-back was “instrumental in leading” the Villa defensive cause.

Having been snubbed by Gareth Southgate when the England squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures was named in midweek, this was very much a performance which might have proved a few people wrong.

There is still time to impress before the World Cup squad is announced, and if Mings puts in more excellent displays like last night, then he could give his national team boss plenty to ponder.

Celtic are set to miss out on the signing of Maccabi Haifa’s Mohammad Abu Fani, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Hoops scout Abu Fani

The Hoops have been on the lookout for a new midfielder for the majority of the window to fill the void left by Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton, and the 24-year-old had previously been identified as a serious transfer target.

Reports even claimed that the Scottish Premiership side sent out scouts to watch the Israel international in action, but it sounds like any potential move to Glasgow is off after news of a swap deal has come to light.

The Latest: Celtic to miss out on Abu Fani

Sport 5 (via The Daily Record) state that Abu Fani now looks ‘set to join’ one of his country’s rivals in a ‘blockbuster’ exchange which would see two players moving in opposite directions.

The 5 foot 6 star is likely to be ‘on the way’ to Hapoel Beer-Sheva, who are ‘open to swapping’ Hatem Elhamed for the Bhoys target.

It’s confirmed again that Hoops had been ‘heavily linked’ with the wizard as Ange Postecoglou ‘searches for a midfield enforcer’, though they are now set to miss out.

The Verdict: Blow for Celtic

Celtic failing to land Abu Fani is a setback, and it’s a real concern that the Australian boss still hasn’t been able to capture a new midfielder with just a week of the transfer window remaining.

The 14-cap gem, dubbed ‘a thing of beauty’ by BBC journalist Sanny Rudravajhala, made 12 goal contributions in all competitions for Maccabi last season, showing how much of a creative impact he can have.

The Parkhead outfit have signed Aaron Mooy but he doesn’t naturally play in a defensive position, so Celtic now need to re-enter the market and find a suitable Bitton replacement, perhaps the recently linked Jani Atanasov.

Tottenham Hotspur are eyeing a potential move for Napoli defender Kim Min-Jae this summer, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Tottenham’s interest

Antonio Conte has already signed Clement Lenglet on a season-long loan from Barcelona, but with uncertainty surrounding the future of Japhet Tanganga, the boss appears keen to bolster his ranks further.

The Lilywhites have been linked with a deal for the South Korean for the majority of the window, and whilst he still has a solid three years remaining on his contract with Luciano Spalletti’s side, could be on his way to the Premier League after details of a buyout clause have emerged.

The Latest: Spurs plotting Min-Jae move

Football.London report that Conte ‘would like to add depth’ in that central defence position, and therefore ‘could go for’ Min-Jae.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-3/” title=”Tottenham latest!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The source states that the 25-year-old ‘has a £40m release clause’ in his deal at Napoli, and is a ‘firm favourite’ of the Spurs boss.

It’s claimed that the north London outfit ‘could still dip’ into the transfer market as the manager ‘searches for a new centre-back’ before September 1.

The Verdict: International advantage

Son Heung-Min is an international teammate of Min-Jae having played together for South Korea, so this existing relationship could help Spurs fend off any competitors and get a deal over the line.

The 6 foot 2 colossus, labelled ‘impressive’ by his colleague Alessandro Chanoly, averaged an outstanding 4.1 clearances, 2.3 interceptions and 1.5 tackles for Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super Lig last season, via WhoScored, highlighting how much of a rock he can be at the heart of a backline.

Min-jae has also been called ‘amazing’ by members of the media who particularly highlighted his partnership with Attila Szalai at Fenerbache over 2021/2022.

Tottenham are expected to announce the signing of Destiny Udogie imminently, and there’s a chance that Min-Jae could follow in his footsteps and be the next to walk through the doors at Hotspur Way in the weeks ahead.

BBC pundit Alan Hutton has sent a warning to Celtic that their move for Cameron Carter-Vickers could be hijacked.

The Lowdown: Celtic in negotiations

The American first made the switch to the Scottish Premiership to join the Hoops on loan from Tottenham Hotspur last summer, where he’s enjoyed a hugely successful spell in Glasgow having made 46 appearances across all competitions under Ange Postecoglou.

As part of the move, the club does have an option to buy, with the Daily Record reporting just last week that the Bhoys are currently in the process of trying to negotiate a transfer fee with Spurs, with the newspaper suggesting that they have until June 15 to trigger the centre-back’s £6m purchase clause.

The Latest: Hutton sends Hoops warning

Hutton has warned the Scottish giants that a transfer rival could come and take him off their hands if they take too long trying to reach an agreement. He told Football Insider:

“I think this is why you should always have it sorted before.

“I believe if you’re taking a player on loan with aspirations of signing him after that loan, you should really get the figure in place before.

“I’ve seen it happen with millions of players. Tyrone Mings, when he came to Aston Villa, was outstanding. Then all of a sudden, the fee went up. That happens all the time and the club that you’re on loan from just takes advantage of the situation.

“It’s somewhere he’s been happy and enjoying his football. I think it’s a transfer that will happen as long as it doesn’t take weeks. If it goes on and on, somebody can just steal the march on you.

“If somebody is willing to go higher than Celtic, Spurs will accept that.”

The Verdict: Get it done

Realistically, there’s no chance that Carter-Vickers would get into the Tottenham starting XI if he returned to his parent club, so it makes complete sense for them to let him go.

The 24-year-old has been a rock at the heart of the Parkhead backline though, having averaged 4.2 clearances and 1.2 interceptions per league game, as well as winning 4.2 of his aerial duels each match, via WhoScored, showing the physical presence he depicts both on the ground and in the air.

When it comes to negotiations, the Parkhead outfit obviously won’t want to cough up more than they feel necessary, but if it means that they can secure the future of their star defender for years to come, it really may be a case of just biting the bullet.

In other news… a BBC pundit has been reacting to a worrying Celtic injury update.

Celtic had one of their busiest ever summer transfer windows last year when they saw a wave of players make moves in and out of Parkhead.

One player the Hoops brought in during that period was Liel Abada, who joined from Israeli club Maccabi Petah Tikva in a deal worth a reported fee of £3.5m.

During his debut season at Parkhead, the winger went on to make 54 appearances for the Bhoys across all competitions, showing that he was certainly a prominent figure for Celtic throughout the campaign.

In those appearances, the 20-year-old scored 15 goals and delivered 11 assists in total.

Taking this into account, it’s safe to say that the Hoops were right to bring the young attacker to the club and give him the chance to shine.

Now that the summer transfer window is set to open for business tomorrow, this upcoming period could give the club the chance to replicate a similar sort of masterclass that they pulled off with Abada.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Hoops have been scouting Maccabi Haifa midfielder Mohammed Abu Fani with a potential summer swoop in mind.

As a product of Haifa’s youth system, as Abada was from Petah Tikva, the midfielder has made 99 appearances for the Israeli club across all competitions, scoring ten goals and delivering seven assists along the way.

For his country, the midfielder has made 45 appearances across their youth and senior teams, finding the back of the net on six occasions.

In January, journalist Sanny Rudravajhala quote-tweeted a now-deleted video clip of the 24-year-old keeping possession of the ball for his side during a game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, which he described as being a “thing of beauty”.

Moving forward, with Celtic and Ange Postecoglou showing just how beneficial it can be for the club to dip into the Israeli transfer market in terms of their move for Abada, if a move for Abu Fani can bring a similar sort of success to the side, then this should be a deal that the Hoops look to secure as soon as possible.

In other news: Postecoglou can seal his own Dembele as Celtic eye move for “prolific” 74 G/A wizard…

Liverpool have reportedly held a long term interest in West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen, and now a new update has emerged on the club’s intentions to make a move for the player this summer.

What’s the latest?

According to transfer insider Dean Jones, Liverpool are “keeping an eye” on Bowen ahead of the summer transfer window.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Right now, it will be Declan Rice that gets all the transfer headlines, but Liverpool have been linked with Jarrod Bowen in the last year and they’re keeping an eye on that situation and I think other clubs in the top four or five would like to have him in their squad going forward.”

Klopp loves him

The signing of Bowen has been one that has been highly anticipated for a long time with the player linked to Liverpool back in the summer transfer window last year, and since then the player has only got better following an impressive season with the Hammers.

The 25-year-old star has scored 18 goals and contributed 13 assists in all competitions, with a goal involvement every 131 minutes which is an incredible attacking output that would put him in a position to compete for a spot in the Liverpool team, with a better G/A than Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota this season in fewer appearances.

His talent has not gone unnoticed by the Reds boss who holds Bowen in high regard praising him when given the opportunity to in a pre-match press conference when Liverpool played West Ham earlier this season.

Klopp told the press (via Mirror Online): “Bowen, what a player he became.

“He was at Hull as well but I don’t think anybody expected this kind of jump. Unbelievable player.”

With that in mind, the German coach would surely love to sign him in the future.

It is unlikely that the player’s current club would be happy to let Bowen leave for a reasonable amount as he has been a key player for him over the last few seasons, and reports suggest Liverpool would need to pay somewhere in the region of £75m.

Ultimately, at the moment it would be hard to see how Bowen could fit into the already heavily rotated forward line after the signing of Luis Diaz in January, but if he was to sign for the Kopites it would be a huge coup for Klopp and could add even more strength to an already dominating attacking threat on Merseyside.

AND in other news: Forget Tchouameni: FSG can get Anfield rocking with LFC deal for “dangerous” £21m tank