All posts by z3u9t.icu

Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of a landmark appointment as the North London outfit are expected to announce former Juventus talent-spotter Fabio Paratici as their new sporting director this week, according to the BBC.

It’s a role that has not been filled since Franco Baldini left in 2015, so it certainly presents a new approach from chairman Daniel Levy and the Spurs hierarchy after what has been an abysmal 18 months or so.

Not only will the Italian be tasked with finding their next manager but he will likely have a huge rebuild on his hands to get the Lilywhites back to their best.

Football FanCast have assessed the task at hand and provided an insight into how the 48-year-old can transform their fortunes in just one transfer window.

Get rid of the deadwood

Finances will be tight at the club unless Levy sanctions the £150m exit of Harry Kane, so it’s widely believed that Spurs will have to sell before they buy. And there are several candidates surely on the chopping block this summer.

Serge Aurier, deemed “one of the biggest liabilities in the Premier League” by Jamie Carragher this season, is surely one name who can raise a wedge of cash. Paris Saint-Germain have been linked with a £20m-plus move for the right-back.

Whilst defensive partner Davinson Sanchez could return to Ajax in a bid to recoup some of the £42m the club wasted on him.

Similarly, the likes of Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli must be mulling over their futures in N17 having rarely featured throughout the 2020/21 campaign.

Meanwhile, wing duo Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela have both been linked with exits in recent weeks. That’s a good six or seven names that could generate Paratici and the next manager funds.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-manager-gossip-transfer-rumours-team-and-injury-updates-and-much-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, manager gossip, transfer rumours, team and injury updates and more!”]

Bolster the backline

One of the Italian’s top priorities has to be sorting out the defence, where a combination of individual mistakes and a serious lack of cohesion were the two major causes of their downfall.

It’s no wonder that reports have suggested the club will look at signing two new centre-backs, and this is where Paratici can help Spurs. It’s thought that the former Juventus man will look to bring the vastly-experienced Leonardo Bonucci with him to North London.

Whilst Joachim Andersen is a name that simply cannot go away. Spurs could clinch the Lyon colossus for just £25m after an impressive season at relegated Fulham in the English top-flight.

If Aurier does leave, then another right-back could be needed and the Lilywhites have been linked with a move for Lille right-back, who is valued at a bargain €15m (£13.5m), as per the Evening Standard.

Spurs could also do with a goalkeeper but given investment in other areas, the next manager may have to stick with club captain Hugo Lloris, back-up Joe Hart and a third-choice from the academy.

Add quality in attack

Kane should remain a Spurs playing barring an absolutely irresistible offer. But he and Heung-min Son will need reinforcements behind them to enjoy another fruitful campaign in front of goal.

Someone who could hold the keys to unlocking many a Premier League defence is long-time Tottenham target Marcel Sabitzer, who back in late March was said to have a ‘75% chance’ of joining the north London outfit by Sport Bild (via GMS).

He ended 2020/21 with nine goals and seven assists in all competitions, adding to his 27 direct goal contributions a season earlier. He could cost around £38m.

Gareth Bale could also be kept on, depending on if the new manager wants him to stay.

Potential 25-man Spurs squad for the 2021/22 campaign…

Goalkeepers: Lloris, Hart, Whiteman

Defenders: Doherty, Tanganga, Celik, Dier, Andersen, Bonucci, Alderweireld, Reguilon, Davies, Sessegnon

Midfielders: Hojbjerg, Ndombele, Lo Celso, Sabitzer, Skipp, Moura, Bale, Bergwijn

Forwards: Kane, Son, Scarlett, Parrott

AND in other news, Spurs handed fresh twist on their “ideal candidate” that’ll surely leave fans buzzing…

Many Everton fans have been revelling in delight as some early team news emerged ahead of their clash against Sheffield United in the Premier League tonight.

As per the Toffees’ official website, Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that James Rodriguez is set to be fit and available to play against the Blades at Goodison Park.

The former Real Madrid star would likely add that extra bit of creativity needed against what could be a stubborn defence, and his six goals and nine assists in 25 games over all competitions so far this season (Transfermarkt) shows how important he has been to the team.

Based on those figures, will no doubt be a welcome boost for the Toffees if the Colombia international is on the pitch tonight.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-updates-2/” title=”Everton updates! (2)” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Everton fans on Rodriguez update

These Everton fans were delighted as the update was shared on Twitter, with one supporter claiming that the possible return of Rodriguez could be ‘huge’ as they chase a European finish:

“This is huge. Will be the difference of getting Europe.”

Credit: @siewakes20

“Thank the lord”

Credit: @Lj9Liam

“Great news: hope we will secure a place at Europe next season”

Credit: @Jesudian15

“Hallelujah we may win a game”

Credit: @efcdoyley

“Best news I’ve seen all week”

Credit: @taylor_davies77

“Get in!!”

Credit: @Toffeegirl13

In other news, find out which £34.2m-rated star Everton are keen on signing!

Leicester have suffered a major blow in their pursuit of Atalanta full-back Robin Gosens after reports revealed La Liga giants Barcelona have entered the race for his signature.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Sport, Barca are looking at the Germany international as they step up their search for a new left-back.

The report claims that the transfer of Gosens to Leicester was taken for granted but that the 26-year-old has not signed anything with the Foxes, leaving the door open for Ronald Koeman’s charges to pounce.

Fans will be gutted

It was previously reported by Calciomercato that contracts had been drawn up between the Midlands outfit and the defenders’ representatives, implying a move to the King Power Stadium had all but been secured.

With James Justin expected to remain on the treatment table for several months following a serious knee injury, and the experienced Christian Fuchs departing over the summer, Brendan Rodgers is targeting a new left-sided defender to bolster his ranks.

After scoring an outstanding 22 goals and providing a further 16 assists in all competitions over the previous two campaigns, Gosen has attracted the attention of some of the continent’s top clubs, and it seemed as though Leicester had won the race for his signature.

However, the circumstances appear to be rather different in the present day. With Jordi Alba entering the twilight years of his illustrious career and Junior Firpo linked with a move away from the Camp Nou, the Catalan club are also on the search for a solution to their left-back conundrum.

Gosens has played a pivotal part in Atalanta’s incredible success in recent seasons, helping Gian Piero Gasperini’s men to three consecutive third-place finishes in Serie A, as well as a run to the Champions League quarter-finals in 2019/20.

The £31.5m-rated (as per Transfermarkt) beast has just 12 months left to run on his current contract and would, therefore, be available at a reduced price over the coming months, making him the ideal target for Leicester.

But Barca’s ambitions to take the powerful German to Spanish football may ruin those plans and leave Leicester’s supporters gutted.

And, in other news…Leicester City eye move for “magnificent” 22-goal gem, fans will surely be buzzing 

Once a football club falls into a trap of poor results it’s easy to blame those at board level; that’s certainly been the case at Celtic this season.

The Bhoys have dominated for so long at the top of Scottish football with Parkhead constantly being filled with new trophies.

However, as we know, all good things must come to an end. A historic ten in a row has escaped the Hoops and they’ve now been usurped by their biggest and fiercest rivals.

Celtic may have won the treble last term under Neil Lennon but you can trace back their disastrous 2020/21 campaign to when he was appointed. Peter Lawwell and the boardroom weren’t ambitious enough and used a £10m compensation fee for Brendan Rodgers to lure Lennon back to the club instead.

His management was poor this term but Lawwell has hardly covered himself in glory either. The same goes for the recently departed Nick Hammond.

He left his role with Celtic a few weeks ago and is set to be followed by Lawwell who will retire from his duties as CEO in the summer.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/celtic-manager-transfers-eddie-howe-jesse-marsch-ryan-christie-siriki-dembele” title=”Read the latest Celtic managerial updates, transfer news, rumours and gossip!”]

Dominic McKay is due to replace him but the former Chief of Scottish rugby has already begun his work behind the scenes.

Celtic’s hunt for a new manager has accelerated since he walked through the door but unfortunately, McKay is already on the verge of his first major mistake in the transfer market.

This has been an area of the club that they’ve fallen short in during recent years. Hammond and Lawwell brought both Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti to the club last season for instance.

The former has been a disaster between the sticks after a £4.5m move while Ajeti has found the net on just six occasions following the completion of a £5m deal.

Though, it would appear that Celtic never learn their lesson. The latest on the transfer front is that they are trying to finalise a swoop for Crystal Palace midfielder James McCarthy.

The Irishman has been on their radar dating back to last summer and now the Hoops hierarchy are in advanced discussions to sign him.

McCarthy is out of contract in a few months so won’t set them back in a similar way that Barkas and Ajeti did but it still doesn’t make it a worthwhile move.

Scott Brown will be leaving a heap of experience behind when he goes to Aberdeen but Celtic already have younger options to fill his spot. Ismaila Soro has been chomping at the bit for more minutes while Luca Connell hasn’t earned a single first-team appearance since signing from Bolton in 2019.

Add Liam Shaw into the equation and you have a trio of young midfielders ready to make an impact in the Bhoys midfield.

McCarthy is now 30 years of age and hasn’t played much football at all this season. The Palace general has featured on 13 occasions in the English Premier League, providing evidence that he hasn’t really set the world alight.

Brown has been one of Celtic’s biggest problems this season, being surpassed by quick and dynamic forwards on a regular basis. Take Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos last weekend for example who ran riot up against the midfield stalwart.

The last thing Celtic need right now is another ageing player taking up a high proportion of wages.

The Hoops are at a point where they need to look at younger alternatives for their squad, not players like McCarthy.

AND in other news, Imagine him under Howe: Celtic must unleash 6 ft 3 brute who “competes for everything”…

Writing on Twitter, sharing the latest in a piece for football.london, reliable Lilywhites correspondent Alasdair Gold has dropped a major Tottenham Hotspur managerial update.

The Lowdown: Tottenham manager hunt in motion…

Since the sacking of former boss Jose Mourinho last month, Spurs and chairman Daniel Levy have been linked with a host of new gaffers to take the role in north London.

Names such as Julian Nagelsmann (now taking the Bayern Munich role), Brendan Rodgers and Erik Ten Hag (The Telegraph) have been followed up by the likes of Graham Potter, Scott Parker and Roberto Martinez (Evening Standard).

Spurs allegedly have their criteria for a new boss as they eye contenders who promote open, attacking football – as well as a ‘young’ and ‘dynamic’ boss wanted by technical performance director Steve Hitchen (The Daily Mail).

The Latest: Gold drops major Tottenham managerial update

Writing on social media, sharing the latest developments from within Spurs, Gold has dropped a major update – with Tottenham now completing their managerial shortlist.

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

Indeed, as explained by the journalist, Tottenham have compiled their dossier of candidates for the managerial vacancy and ‘will be pushing forward’ to hold talks for those in contention.

“Understand Spurs now have their shortlist for their next manager and will be pushing forward to hold talks.” he explained (via Twitter).

As explained by the reporter, there will be unknown names due to the secrecy of Tottenham’s hunt, but those believed not to be in the running are Italian quintet Simone Inzaghi, Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Gian Piero Gasperini and Massimiliano Allegri.

This report reiterates Martinez, Rodgers, Parker and Potter as managers also catching attention from Spurs chiefs.

The Verdict: About time…

football.london recently claimed that Tottenham are aiming to announce their new manager by the end of the season, and we were starting to grow concerned this just wouldn’t be possible.

Sky Sports even dropped an opposing update, stating Spurs looked set to take their time and make an appointment in the summer after Ajax boss and former target Ten Hag signed a new contract.

They urged supporters to not expect an announcement before the end of 2020/2021, but this Gold update could provide hope of seeing a new manager in N17 before the European Championships.

As a result, this update comes as a major one as the Spurs manager hunt lingers on.

In other news: Tottenham told to target this ‘demon’ of a boss, find out more here.

Many Rangers fans have been left to feel very happy with the latest update coming out of Ibrox, involving the ruling by the Scottish Football Association (SFA).

As per a tweet from Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, the Glasgow club have appealed the bans that were given by the SFA to Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey, Bongani Zungu, Dapo Mebude and Brian Kinnear for breaching lockdown rules by attending a party.

A hearing date has not yet been confirmed, but it seems as if Steven Gerrard wants to get them back playing as soon as possible.

Even though the Gers are already champions of the Scottish Premiership, the Liverpool and England legend will still want his team to finish off the rest of the 2020/21 term as strong as possible, and may need to rely on the five players to maintain their unbeaten run in the league – perhaps allowing those who will star in a possible cup run to rest in league fixtures.

Rangers fans on SFA update

These RFC supporters lauded the update on Twitter, with one fan claiming that they were ‘so happy’ while another even went as far as to call it ‘brilliant’:

“All season RFC have been systematically abused by the biggest corrupted football association in Europe, disgusting treatment of Morelos from SFA and other clubs, I’m so happy they have appealed, so many players all over UK broke rules along with government officials, EQUALITY”

Credit: @Russell0716

“Brilliant innit”

Credit: @AlanMc290376

“We run Scottish football. We are the champions. Yasssssss”

Credit: @Dug99278121

“Get in”

Credit: @LouisWeb_72

“Love it, well played @RangersFC. Got them all on string”

Credit: @P3D__55

“Outstanding”Credit: @lewishobbsxIn other news, find out which EFL star Rangers have been urged to sign here!

According to recent reports, Southampton are interested in the summer signing of Newcastle winger, Jacob Murphy.

The report by Football Insider claims that a Newcastle United source has revealed that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, along with Rangers and Watford, are keeping tabs on Murphy ahead of the summer transfer window.

It is then reported that, in order for Newcastle to part with the £25,000-per-week winger, any interested party will be required to pay the Magpies’ £3 million asking price for the former England U21 international.

However, Football Insider also claim that Steve Bruce is yet to make a decision on whether or not he would actually be open to selling the former Norwich City man, and could even offer Murphy a new deal in the summer.

Transfer Tavern Take

So far this season, Murphy has found his game time somewhat limited at St James’ Park, with the 26-year-old starting just 10 Premier League fixtures, as well as making a further nine appearances from the bench.

Over his total of 19 appearances, the winger – who has often been utilised at wing-back – has scored two goals and provided two assists, hardly a bad return for a square peg in a round hole playing in a struggling side.

As such, should Hasenhuttl wish to add greater depth to his wide options at the club this summer, for a fee of just £3 million, Murphy could prove something of an astute and cost-effective addition to the Saints squad, although, perhaps more as an option from the bench rather than a starter.

In other news: ‘Give him a lifetime contract’, ‘Love that’ – Many Saints fans gush at ‘brilliant’ contract talk – find out more here!

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 280 Premier League appearances during his career, believes it could be best for Steve Bruce to stick with his underperforming experienced players instead of blooding youngsters such as Matty Longstaff and Elliot Anderson.

Newcastle United find themselves two points above the relegation zone with nine games left in the Premier League and Lee believes their best chance of staying up is opting for experience over enthusiasm, following Mark Douglas’ claim on Twitter earlier this month that surely the likes of Longstaff and Anderson could be no worse than some of the senior players.

Matty Longstaff has not been handed any minutes since he featured in four out of five games over the festive period when Newcastle faced Manchester City, Leicester, Liverpool and his final appearance was against Arsenal.

Speaking on what he believes to be Bruce’s best option to get some points on the board and what it may do to the young players if they are given the chance to start, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“There’s always two ways of looking at it. There’s the way of do you put the youngsters in and hope they rise above the pressure of playing? Or, there’s the other way of thinking, do you potentially destroy them by putting them in at this stage of the season?

“Are they going to give you more than what you’ve got? In some areas, yes. However, in other areas, they won’t.

“I think most people would go for the experienced players in this sort of situation. However, the thing is our experienced players have got to play better – we’ve been saying this for a long time and that’s the problem.”

Steve Bruce has mostly opted for a midfield trio consisting of Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden alongside one of Joe Willock or Jeff Hendrick, with the former being favoured since arriving from Arsenal in January.

The Magpies have underpropped this season, especially since December, and Bruce will be looking to lean on his experience to get them out of trouble.

Former Wolves striker Steve Bull has exclusively told Football FanCast that he would welcome the potential return of Matt Doherty with open arms.

Republic of Ireland right-back Doherty left Wolves to join Tottenham last summer, but his time in north London has been difficult to say the least.

He started six of Spurs’ opening eight Premier League games ahead of Serge Aurier, who looked set to leave after his arrival, but ended up staying and has established himself as the club’s first-choice right-back ahead of Doherty, rated at £16.2m by Transfermarkt.

The-28-year-old won his place back earlier this month, but a wretched afternoon in the north London derby led to him being dropped from the squad for Tottenham’s win at Aston Villa.

And reports have circulated in recent weeks that Wolves would be open to re-signing Doherty this summer, regardless of whether current right-back Nelson Semedo leaves.

Doherty was regarded as one of the Premier League’s most feared full-back’s prior to his Spurs move, and Bull has urged his former side to bring the defender back to Molineux.

He told Football FanCast:

“I don’t get why you sell someone who you think is a great asset to a club that might hardly use him. He’s been a bit injured, but he’s a talented player.

“If Wolves did go back for him, I would chop your arm off tomorrow.”

Wolves winger Adama Traore and his chances of being picked for the Spain squad for Euro 2020 are faltering, according to reports.

Bad to worse for Traore

The 25-year-old has failed to register any goal contributions of any kind during the 2020/21 campaign and is without a goal since October 2019.

Despite this, Traore still managed to score four times and provide nine assists last season – which saw him pick up his first cap for his country.

However, Spanish news outlet ABC revealed that Traore is in a losing battle to be selected to represent Spain in the European Championships this summer.

Described as a player who is “hard to stop” by manager Nuno Espirito Santo, Traore continues to be trusted by his manager despite some fans wanting him to leave last month.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Those concerns of his chances of further international duty are, unfortunately, justified at this stage.

There has been a lot of talk about Traore’s future despite his slump in form, with the likes of Liverpool, Leeds United and Manchester City all interested in his services.

As it stands, Traore will have to go on a mammoth scoring run to be considered both by his national manager and by the aforementioned clubs in the transfer window.

In other news, Wolves fans react to Tim Spiers’ claim on Nuno’s squad implementation.