All posts by h716a5.icu

Tottenham Hotspur had something of a hit-and-miss record in the transfer market while Daniel Levy was primarily responsible for the club’s signings, with the chairman striking gold on the likes of Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderweireld, while moves for players such as Clinton N’Jie, Tanguy Ndombele and Roberto Soldado did not work out quite as well.

And, while there was a great deal of excitement amongst Spurs supporters at the time of Davinson Sanchez’s then-club-record £42m move from Ajax back in August of 2017, unfortunately for both Tottenham and the 26-year-old centre-back, he now finds himself alongside N’Jie, Ndombele and Soldado in the latter category of Levy’s signings for the north London side.

Despite a decent start to life in England during his debut campaign at Tottenham in 2017/18 – with the £21.8m-rated talent averaging an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.00 over his 31 Premier League appearances – Sanchez has seen his game time become increasingly more limited in recent campaigns, starting just 13 top flight fixtures under Antonio Conte last season.

It has been a similar story for the £65k-per-week defender so far this term, being given the nod from the off just five times in Spurs’ 2022/23 Premier League campaign – despite the fact that Conte sets his side up with a three-man backline.

Furthermore, talk in the summer suggested that the Italian manager would be willing to part with the player who John Wenham dubbed “reckless” if a suitable offer was made, with AC Milan reported to be keen on the Colombian centre-back.

However, no bid ultimately arrived for Sanchez, although, considering the defender now has a market valuation that is roughly half of the figure – 48%, to be exact – Tottenham paid Ajax for his services a little over five years ago, it would appear extremely unlikely that, even if an offer were made for the 26-year-old, it would be anywhere near the club’s initial £42m outlay.

As such, while there is still time for the former Ajax starlet to come good in north London, considering just how much Levy paid to bring the 50-cap international to the club, coupled with his largely disappointing returns and drastic drop in value, it is clear to see that the 60-year-old chairman had a financial shocker when signing Sanchez back in the summer of 2017.

QPR manager Michael Beale looked likely to take over the vacant Wolves post before turning down the job and the 42-year-old could have been the ideal man to get the best out of Ruben Neves.

Reports have suggested that Wolves asked QPR for permission to speak to the Englishman, who has impressed at Loftus Road since taking over during the summer.

Having only previously worked in assistant manager roles at Sao Paulo, Rangers and Aston Villa, Beale made his first step into the managerial hot seat during the summer.

With QPR top of the Championship following their 3-0 win over Cardiff City on Wednesday night, it is easy to see why those at Molineux were willing to take a gamble on Beale, as while he has taken charge of just 15 games in the Championship, he has won eight and drawn three, giving the Hoops a real identity as they sit top of the tree.

Despite Beale being impressed by the quality of Neves, it seems as if he wants to continue with QPR, with reports now suggesting that he has turned down Wolves’ approach.

In 2019, he tweeted: “Ruben Neves passing has been superb today. Taking over from Fabregas as the midfielder in the PL that looks for his forwards at every opportunity. Pepijn Lijnders has been telling me about him for 4-5 years after working with him at Porto. He wasn’t wrong!! He is a top player!”

While Neves is undoubtedly one of the best players in Wolves’ side, there is an argument that a player of his quality has been wasted in recent seasons, notably by Bruno Lage.

Last season saw Neves, who joined Wolves for £15.8m, average a 6.85 rating from WhoScored for his performances in the Premier League, contributing four goals and two assists in 33 top-flight appearances.

As Beale suggests, Neves is a top player on the ball and likes to look forward, so why is he struggling so much for assists? In his Wolves career, the Portugal international has managed just 12 assists in 223 appearances, which seems baffling when you consider the quality he possesses.

Perhaps Beale could have utilised him in a similar way to Cesc Fabregas, who lit up the Premier League with Chelsea and Arsenal, contributing 119 assists in total.

Unfortunately for Wolves fans, Beale looks set to remain with QPR, so they will have to hope that whoever does replace Lage can get the best out of Neves, a man who was even rather bizarrely fielded at centre-back this term by the former boss.

Indeed, Neves is certainly much more than that and has the potential to become more of a goal and assist threat for the Old Gold. It’s just a shame that won’t be realised under a manager who admires him so much in Beale.

Sunderland have had a torrid last decade or so, with desperation to stay in the Premier League eventually melting into back-to-back relegations.

Only recently have they had more to celebrate, following their return to the Championship and a strong start to the current campaign.

One of the success stories from their recent form is academy graduate Lynden Gooch, who has become something of a utility man under Tony Mowbray.

During a time when the Black Cats were lacking in the full-back department, the winger has produced plenty of magnificent displays at wing-back.

His emergence into the first team and fine performances across the pitch have unsurprisingly seen an upshoot in value, but just how big of a growth he has yielded will shock even the staunchest Sunderland supporters.

Just four months ago, the USA international was worth a mere £450k. This has now increased by 100% to £900k (via Transfermarkt)

He truly has become one of the Black Cats’ most important players, having featured 227 times for the club now.

This season alone, before injuries scuppered his involvement earlier this month, he had played every single minute of their Championship campaign. Across these 14 appearances, two goal contributions from the wing-back mark a solid return.

The 26-year-old has shown incredible maturity to master a new position and is well worth his sizeable increase in valuation. As journalist Ray Locker once dubbed him, he is truly “Sunderland’s young US star”.

His former boss Alex Neil is another to have heaped praise on him, saying in light of an impressive performance from Gooch: “His quality yesterday was really top-notch. The one thing I will say about Goochy is that he works his socks off every single day.

“You talk about people wearing their heart on their sleeve for this club, and he is right up there. I don’t think anyone internally at the club would have any doubts about Goochy. He’s a warrior and he’s desperate to do well here.”

Gooch has finally found some consistency now, and this desperation has materialised in his fine run of form.

His value is sure to increase even further as he hopefully helps to push Sunderland further up the league table.

Tottenham Hotspur now ‘refuse to confirm’ their current European Super League stance after pulling out of the competition last year, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Super League backlash…

The Premier League big-six’s attempts to sign on to the controversial Super League in 2021 was met with ferocious backlash from a wave of their passionate supporters.

Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City all originally agreed to join the proposed breakaway division which could have financially crippled the English football pyramid by stealing away real revenue.

One by one, each side pulled out of the movement following mass protests, but abroad, European heavyweights Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus all remain part of the Super League project.

Liverpool have already moved to confirm they will never be taking part again, yet according to reports, there has been an interesting response from Spurs.

The Latest: Spurs ‘refuse to confirm’ stance…

When contacted for comment on their stance of potentially re-joining the Super League for a new 2024/2025 launch, the Lilywhites remained tight-lipped.

According to Football Insider, Tottenham ‘refuse to confirm’ whether or not they’re considering the 24/25 plans and ‘refuse to comment’ when given an opportunity to state they’re not interested.

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A22 Sports Management, after appointing new CEO Bern Reichart, are targeting 2024 for a Super League reintroduction but are apparently not so hopeful about the involvement of English clubs.

The Verdict: Keep it in the past…

Spurs’ denial of comment is no indication they’re considering the proposal, yet moving to swiftly confirm their lack of involvement could’ve done wonders to alleviate any fears from supporters.

Tottenham fans rightly made their feelings clear when chairman Daniel Levy and co attempted to join the Super League last year and surely there is no possible pathway to attempting the move again.

Everton trio Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye will have scans on injuries picked up against Leicester City, according to Paddy Boyland.

The Lowdown: Everton beaten by Leicester

Frank Lampard’s side were looking to pick up an important three points at home to the Foxes on Saturday night, in what was a key Premier League clash.

Instead, Everton produced a poor performance at Goodison Park, with goals from Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes sealing the win for Leicester.

Not only did the Blues lose but there were also injury concerns surrounding Calvert-Lewin, Onana and Gueye, all of whom suffered fitness issues.

The Latest: Injury update emerges

Taking to Twitter within the last 24 hours, Boyland confirmed that the trio would have scans on Monday to determine the severity of their respective injuries:

“DCL (hamstring), Gana (quad) and Onana (ankle) all to undergo scans on Monday.”

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The Verdict: When it rains, it pours

To lose at home to a team near you in the table is bad enough, but to suffer several injuries just compounds the misery for Lampard, who will be sweating over their fitness.

The hope is that none are serious, but with the World Cup now fast approaching, it could be that they have all played their final game before Boxing Day in the worst case scenario.

Calvert-Lewin’s injury is particularly frustrating, with the striker unable to stay fit for long periods these days and his place in England’s World Cup squad surely in jeopardy.

Glasgow Rangers are seemingly eyeing a January swoop for Bristol City striker Antoine Semenyo, according to recent reports.

What’s the word?

As per SportsWorldGhana, the Ibrox outfit are reportedly ready to fork out a fee of around £5m in order to land the 22-year-old in the winter window, with the forward’s current side wary of losing the Ghana international for nothing next summer with just a matter of months left on his existing deal.

The report suggests that the Robins have already made plans regarding a potential replacement for the highly-rated asset, with the Championship outfit unwilling to see the Chelsea-born menace depart on a free.

The exciting asset was notably linked with the Gers’ Old Firm rivals Celtic throughout the recent summer window.

Ditch Morelos

The three-cap speedster – who has been named in the Black Cats’ provisional squad for the upcoming World Cup – has warranted such interest amid his explosive form over the past 12 months or so, having scored eight goals and provided 12 assists in England’s second tier last term.

That form under Nigel Pearson has continued this time around, with the dynamic asset having scored four goals and provided one assist in 17 games in all competitions so far this season, having become a leading presence for the Ashton Gate outfit.

The “clinical” marksman – as described by Owuraku Ampofo – also offers the ability to feature on the flanks if needed, while his strength and speed has ensured he is a “nightmare to play against”, according to his manager.

Bringing in such a youthful and direct attacking recruit could well allow Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst the chance to finally move on misfiring dud, Alfredo Morelos, with the Colombian hotshot currently enduring a real miserable run of form in Glasgow.

The 26-year-old had previously been something of a talisman for the club in recent seasons since joining from HJK Helsinki in 2017 – with his total tally for the Scottish giants standing at 115 goals and 52 assists in 242 games – although the polarising figure has been unable to maintain that form this term, scoring just three times in 19 games in all competitions.

The 11-cap brute was notably described as looking like a “pub amateur” by journalist Graham Spiers following his limp showing against Serie A high-flyers Napoli at the end of last month, amid lingering doubts over his long-term future at the club with his current contract set to expire at the end of the season.

It could well prove time to cash in on the £33k-per-week man in the New Year in order to recoup a potential fee, with that exit likely to only be enhanced by the arrival of Semenyo.

The start of the 2022 World Cup is now on the horizon, so we’ve created a Celtic-related quiz regarding the Hoops’ involvement in the tournament.

Ange Postecoglou’s side finished the first part of their season in positive fashion last weekend, securing a 2-1 win at home to Ross County in the Premiership.

It’s now time for a breather for most of Celtic’s squad, though, with only a handful of players heading off to Qatar to represent their respective countries.

With the World Cup getting underway on Sunday, we have made this quiz relating to Celtic in the competition – now it’s up to you to showcase your knowledge.

Best of luck…

Tottenham Hotspur are among the teams interested in Yeremy Pino…

What’s the word?

That’s according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who has provided an update on the situation to Caught Offside. He said:

“I’m aware of some recent Tottenham and Chelsea transfer rumours and I can say it’s normal that many clubs in England including London clubs are following Yeremi Pino.

“He’s a top talent and he’s represented by Stellar Group which is super strong in Premier League. At the moment there are no advanced talks yet, we will see in 2023; I’m not sure he’s going to leave in January unless a big proposal arrives.”

During the summer transfer window, the Yellow Submarines wanted around €50m (£43m) for his signature, despite an €80m (£69m) release clause, and that will only soar, should he feature for Spain at the World Cup.

Pino can emulate Mbappe

Indeed, the 20-year-old gem was perhaps a surprise inclusion in Luis Enrique’s squad in Qatar but it’s very much deserved for his fine form and as such, this tournament could see a breakthrough on the biggest stage – just like Kylian Mbappe back in 2018.

The Paris Saint-Germain star, then aged 19, was the star in Russia with four goals as France clinched the trophy over Croatia.

Pino could be the next big thing to come from Spain. Romano has also described him as a “special talent” in the past, whilst scout Jacek Kulig has dubbed him “incredible.”

The Villarreal dynamo delivered seven goals and four assists across 40 appearances last season and whilst he’s failed to continue such rich form into the new campaign, with just two direct contributions, he’s still offering more than just numbers on a sheet.

As per FBref, who liken him to energiser bunny Conor Gallagher of Chelsea, the £50k-per-week gem ranks in a league of his own, when compared to his positional peers across Europe’s elite divisions – he sits in the top 1% for non-penalty goals, the top 3% for progressive passes received and the top 12% for successful dribbles.

This would suggest that he’s a dynamic and dangerous threat in the final third and that’s exactly what Spain are lacking with no real centre-forward monster within the squad.

If given the opportunity to start matches, Pino could really make a name for himself, especially with games against Germany and Japan on the horizon and if he manages to do so, then he could certainly emulate Mbappe’s rise at such a young age.

AND in other news, Conte may be about to ditch £100k-p/w Spurs “legend” for “mad” £18m-rated “liability”…

Reported Everton transfer target Sasa Lukic could be beyond the Toffees’ price range, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Everton linked with Lukic

The Serbia midfielder, who started all three of his country’s games at the World Cup in Qatar, has been linked with a move to the Merseyside club in recent weeks.

Reports from Italy stated that Everton are in a direct fight with Premier League rivals Leeds in the race to lure the 26-year-old away from Torino, with his departure from the Serie A club in January deemed probable.

However, according to O’Rourke, it won’t be Goodison Park to which the Serbian makes tracks in the winter transfer window.

The Latest: Lukic too expensive for Everton

The journalist told Football FanCast that Torino will likely demand £30m for Lukic, which he feels could be just beyond reach for Everton next month.

O’Rourke said: “The only problem for Everton right now is probably the transfer fee, I think it might be out of their reach for January for Lukic. I don’t think Torino will be willing to sell for anything less than £30m and I don’t think Everton could go to that right now.”

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The Verdict: Could’ve been an ideal option

Having spent £33m to sign another central midfielder in Amadou Onana over the summer, it’s a pity that a similar outlay on Lukic appears to be beyond Everton’s January budget, judging by O’Rourke’s claim.

The Serbian, who has been dubbed “excellent” by former Torino team-mate Gleison Bremer, could offer something different from the middle of the park in comparison to Onana and Idrissa Gueye.

As per FBRef, Lukic has averaged 3.4 shot-creating actions per game, far more than Onana (1.04) and Gueye (1.59), while he has also made more key passes this season (12) than the Everton midfield pair combined (nine).

His skill set could have nicely complemented those of the Toffees duo, in particular the industrious Gueye, but it looks like Everton will need to turn their attention elsewhere if they want to bolster their midfield next month.

Leeds United could finally bring long-term transfer target Ryan Kent to Elland Road at the end of the current campaign.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Leeds Live, who claim that, having been heavily linked with a move for the Glasgow Rangers winger ever since the Whites’ return to the Premier League back in 2020, Victor Orta could finally land the 26-year-old next summer – when the attacker’s current contract at Ibrox is set to expire.

The report goes on to suggest that, while the Scottish Premiership side are likely to do all they can to tie the former England U20 international down to a new contract between now and the end of the season, a move to the top flight of English football on a free transfer could fit perfectly with the forward’s plans heading into his prime years.

Absolute steal

Considering just how impressive Kent has been for Rangers in recent seasons, coupled with the fact that Leeds have been linked with a £20m move for the winger for the past two years, should Orta manage to seal the signing of the 26-year-old on a free next summer, it would undoubtedly represent an absolute steal for the Premier League side.

Indeed, the £15m-rated talent has been a continuous source of goals and creativity for Gers over the past four and a half years, hitting the back of the net on 31 separate occasions and providing his teammates with a further 53 assists over his 196 appearances for the club – averaging a direct goal involvement every 189 minutes of football played for the Light Blues.

The £52k-per-week winger particularly impressed over his 37 Premiership outings in Rangers’ title-winning campaign back in 2020/21, scoring ten goals, registering nine assists and creating nine big chances for his side, in addition to taking an average of 2.3 shots – 0.9 of which were on target – making 1.8 key passes and completing 1.9 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the player who Andrew Dickson dubbed “completely unplayable” and “on a different level altogether” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.23, not only ranking him as Steven Gerrard’s fourth-best performer in the league but also as the seventh-best player in the top flight of Scottish football as a whole that season.

Furthermore, over the forward’s 1465 Champions League minutes in the current campaign, despite his side’s disastrous showing in football’s most prestigious club competition, FBref still rank Kent in the top 8% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s big five leagues for dribbles competed per 90 – highlighting just how effective the 26-year-old is with the ball at his feet.

As such, it is clear to see exactly why Kent has been a long-term target of Orta and Leeds, as the winger would undoubtedly make an exceptional addition to Jesse Marsch’s current wide attacking options at Elland Road – especially on a free transfer.