All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

A big Newcastle United transfer update has emerged, regarding their efforts to sign Jesse Lingard in the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, the Magpies are set to ‘throw everything’ at Manchester United to land the midfielder this month.

The reporter claims that sources have told him that the confidence over a deal being done has been growing over the weekend, with the window slamming shut in less than ten days.

Elation

This will surely leave Newcastle fans elated for several reasons. Firstly, they will be delighted to read that PIF are willing to make a huge effort to sign Lingard and that they will do whatever it takes to bring him to St. James’ Park.

It shows that they are willing to go the extra mile to land a key target and supporters will be happy with the club’s attempts to strengthen the attacking midfield position, albeit there may be frustration at the lack of progress in the centre-back department.

The fans will also be buzzing with this news simply because of the prospect of Lingard playing in black and white in the second half of the campaign.

He is a proven top-flight player and he could add some much-needed goals and assists to the side.

No Newcastle central midfielder has managed more than two combined goals and assists, after all, with Jonjo Shelvey, Sean Longstaff and Joelinton all on two.

Meanwhile, Lingard has two goals in 89 minutes of football in the Premier League this season and produced nine goals and four assists in the division on loan to West Ham last term.

Former Manchester United coach Michael Carrick once lauded the midfielder, saying: “I think his movement is excellent. It’s something that sounds quite simple, but it’s difficult to defend against.

“He senses where the space is and how to use it. I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s a dribbler with skills and tricks but he’s dynamic. How he plays, he is unique in some ways. You don’t see so much of that now as everyone wants to get on the ball. Off the ball, he’s very effective.”

This suggests that the England international could come in and score the goals that Howe has been lacking in the midfield areas.

Therefore, he could be a fantastic addition to the side and one that will leave fans feeling elated, due to his proven quality at this level.

AND in other news, Player keen: NUFC can find their new Demba Ba in £34m powerhouse who’s “like a train”…

Aston Villa will consider signing a new midfielder during the January window following the injury to Marvelous Nakamba.

That’s according to reliable reporter Gregg Evans, which as to be expected, had a number of supporters talking on social media.

Nakamba had been a regular under new manager Steven Gerrard, however, the Zimbabwe international suffered a knee injury against Liverpool on the weekend and missed the win over Norwich City on Tuesday.

His 2021/22 season may well be over as a result, and Villa now look set to act with the 27-year-old sidelined by considering a midfield addition in the winter window.

Evans didn’t name-check any possible targets but did appear to rule out a move for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, who was wanted at Villa Park over the summer but ended up signing a new contract at St Mary’s.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared Evans’ claim on Tuesday evening. This is what these fans had to say in reply, with a few name-checking Rangers’ Glen Kamara and another sharing their ‘love’ regarding the update.

“Glen Kamara incoming”

Credit: @villaparkpod

“No messing around”

Credit: @tomavfcyates

“Love it”

Credit: @ViIlaI_

“Villa just buying all the midfielders now what’s going on”

Credit: @Thedolphin2

“Kamara or Doucoure cheers”

Credit: @_AVFCOlly

“KAMARAAAAAAAAAA COME TO MEEEEEEEE”

Credit: @DG_Villa1

In other news: ‘Unbelievable’ – Lots of Villa fans flock to John Percy’s exit rumour

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Zinedine Ferhat to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Foot Mercato (via Daily Record), who claimed that Ange Postecoglou has identified the Nimes playmaker as a potential target in the winter market, with the 28-year-old believed to be available on a cut-price deal due to his contract with the Ligue 2 side expiring at the end of the current campaign.

The report added that, as a result of his contract situation, the forward is expected to move onto pastures new in the January transfer window, with French duo Montpellier and Saint-Etienne also reported to be interested in the wide midfielder.

He loves to “turn on the style”

While Ferhat has not been in the best of form so far this season, having failed to score a goal or register an assist over his seven Ligue 2 appearances, it is undeniable that, should Postecoglou manage to seal a deal for the Algeria international this month, it would still be something of a major coup for the Bhoys.

Indeed, over his 33 Ligue 1 appearances in Nimes’ 2020/21 campaign, the £4.05m-rated man scored six goals, registered a whopping 10 assists and created nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.9 shots and making 1.6 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £13k-per-week winger who he himself claimed loves to “turn on the style” earn a rather astonishing 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 is clear to see that the Algerian forward would make a fantastic addition to Celtic’s current options out wide, leading us to believe that Postecoglou must do all he can to seal a swoop for Ferhat in the January transfer window.

In other news: Celtic confirm major transfer update which will leave Bhoys fans buzzing

Newcastle United are reportedly targeting four moves in the January transfer window – for Jesse Lingard, Harry Winks, Ross Barkley and Kieran Trippier.

The Lowdown: Premier League experience needed

With the St James’ Park outfit currently in a relegation scrap, they need to prioritise bringing in players in January who know the Premier League well and therefore would have the quality that it takes to keep them in the division..

Lingard, Winks and Barkley are all currently playing in the top flight with Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea respectively, while Trippier has also played for Spurs as well as Burnley.

Therefore, it is no surprise at all to see the Magpies targeting these kinds of players in order to help them in their fight against relegation.

The Latest: Targets revealed

Writing in his latest piece for The Telegraph, Luke Edwards has revealed that Lingard, Winks, Barkley and Trippier are all targets for Newcastle next month.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-2/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Whether they would be able to bring them all in is another question, but what is clear is that they are targeting players with experience of playing in the Premier League.

The Verdict: All-in

Newcastle need all the help they can get, so going all-in with all four of these players would be a smart move.

Eddie Howe will know all of the players well having managed in the top flight before with Bournemouth, in particular Trippier, with whom he has a great relationship from their mutual time at Burnley, and thus would know how to get the best out of him.

Barkley is a player that Callum Wilson especially admires, dubbing him ‘unbelievable’ and ‘unreal’, and one with whom he would like to play, on The Super 6 podcast (via The Chronicle) earlier this year. He may well get his wish if the Magpies can get these deals over the line next month.

In other news, find out who Mohammed bin Salman is also eyeing for NUFC

Despite having a rather rocky start to their season with just three wins from their 15 Premier League games so far in this campaign, drawing seven and losing five in the process, one player who has been a regular figure for them is midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

With the England international having been linked with a move away from the Yorkshire club during the previous summer transfer window, it seems as though there has still been some talk of whether Phillips’ long-term future could be at Elland Road or elsewhere.

In a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, journalist Paul Brown had this to say about fellow Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool being interested in signing Phillips.

He said: “There may even be others who come in, but for the moment those two are the prime candidates.”

As a product of Leeds’ youth system, Phillips has gone on to make a total of 226 appearances for the Whites across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and providing 13 assists in the process.

Taking into account how Leeds lost seven out of the nine league Premier League games in which Phillips was not involved last season, this highlights just how important he is to the team and why Orta could be condemning the Whites to a potential future relegation if they lose the midfielder next summer.

In the league games that he did play in last season, Phillips proved himself as a crucial figure for Bielsa’s side, particularly from a defensive point of view by racking up an average of 2.6 tackles, 1.7 clearances and 1.6 interceptions per game.

Labelled as a “powerful” player by former Whites boss Neil Redfearn, Phillips, who is currently valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, has made 131 appearances under Bielsa for Leeds, leaving just Mateusz Klich (145) and Jack Harrison (142) with more under the Argentine.

Even though the player’s current contract isn’t set to expire until the summer of 2024, Orta should be working his socks off to get Phillips to sign an extension to his current deal and pledge his future to the Yorkshire club, which would surely be a massive weight off the shoulders of lots of Leeds fans who may be concerned about Phillips potentially moving away from the club.

In other news: Leeds can start January with a bang if Orta signs “outstanding” £9m-rated “technician”

Flocking to Twitter, many Nottingham Forest supporters were left unimpressed with the performance of winger Alex Mighten despite their comfortable 3-0 win over Preston North End on Saturday.

Steve Cooper’s men have been on a solid run of form lately, having lost just once in their last 10 Championship outings, recording six victories in that time after a very lacklustre start to 2021/22.

They have been steadily climbing up the table and, after two successive draws, they sealed another win as they fired three past Preston at the City Ground. Two goals from Lewis Grabban and one from Jack Colback secured a routine three points in what was a positive afternoon for Forest and Cooper.

However, one man who didn’t impress some fans was Mighten after his largely anonymous display – especially going by his statistics.

Before being hooked off midway through the second half, the 19-year-old took fewer touches (25) than any Forest starter on the day – including goalkeeper Brice Samba with 40 (SofaScore).

Attracting criticism from some Forest fans for being a ‘weak link’, Mighten lost the majority of his ground duels and came in as the joint lowest-rated player (6.6) to start against Preston alongside Phillip Zinckernagel (SofaScore).

It’s little wonder these supporters took to Twitter to voice their criticism of the teenager given his ineffective performance.

Forest fans slam Mighten

“Formation not working. Yates lost – Mighten doing nothing”

Credit: @FirstCenobite

“Not impressed with Mighten again…needs a decent loan because he’s nowhere near ready for us yet”

Credit: @red_till_death

“Lolley on for me, been saying for a while Mighten has all the skills but not the strength yet, too lightweight”

Credit: @OwenWil92121971

“What did Cooper see as a weakness in #PNE to bring Mighten in? Again he’s been largely ineffective. Needs a season in League 1.”

Credit: @copper_throwing

“Bring on Joe Lolley. Not sure what Mighten offers to this Forest team.”

Credit: @TomWardleMusic

“Yet to be convinced by Mighten”

Credit: @MedCLJS

“Not convinced with Alex Mighten. He is a good dribbler but still too weak. Oli Burke was a man, Mighten is a boy. Think a loan spell could do him some good”

Credit: @_JoshuaMann

“Forest playing well. Mighten weak link. Loses the ball too much”

Credit: @BoxingNffc

“Yeh and Mighten didn’t do anything but the team won, ok but Mighten didn’t do anything, he was rubbish”

Credit: @NffcOscar

Ex-Feyenoord head coach Gio van Bronckhorst is reportedly closing in on a deal to take over at Rangers to replace Steven Gerrard.

Aston Villa poached the ex-Liverpool man from the Gers last week and Ross Wilson is now moving swiftly to get a new man in the dugout for the clash with Hibernian next weekend.

Upon his arrival, van Bronckhorst will have a number of key decisions to make, regarding team selections, formations and transfers.

Time’s up

One decision he will need to make is whether or not to extend Scott Arfield’s contract at Ibrox. The 33-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and van Bronckhorst will need to decide on what to do with his future, whether he will allow him to leave as a free agent or keep him at the club for another year.

Based on his performances in the Premiership for the Gers this term, Arfield should be let go by the club. He has not shown enough on the pitch this season to prove that he is deserving of a new contract and the Dutchman must wield his axe and make a call that could make him an instant hit in Glasgow.

Gerrard handed Arfield six appearances in the Premiership this season and two in the Europa League. Whilst he has not been a regular in the side, eight appearances in the two main competitions for Rangers by this point in the campaign suggests that the former Anfield hero saw value in him.

However, he has not shown enough back in his displays to warrant his inclusion. Per SofaScore, he has lost a whopping 71% of his duels on the pitch in the league and averaged a rating of 6.66. He has also only created two chances, whilst scoring one goal and missing two big chances.

The £1.8m-rated Canadian international averaged a rating of 6.85 and lost 63% of his duels in the 2020/21 campaign, whilst only averaging 0.4 key passes per game. This suggests that his performances have been declining over the past 18 months and now could be the perfect time for the club to part ways with him.

Therefore, one of van Bronckhorst’s first tasks as Rangers manager, should the appointment be made official, is to axe Arfield from the squad and sell him in the January window.

AND in other news, Wilson must avoid instant stitch up for GVB over Rangers gem with “terrific quality”…

Liverpool fans want to sign Franck Kessie after the Reds were linked with a move for the AC Milan midfielder.

Over the past few years, 24-year-old Kessie has evolved into one of the best midfielders in Serie A. He started out at Atalanta, where he scored seven goals and provided three assists in 31 appearances for the club (Transfermarkt). That earned him a move to Milan, one of the biggest clubs in the country. He has continued to impress, missing just 10 league matches since making the move in 2017.

However, his contract is set to run out at the end of the season. And, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Reds are prepared to pay the €8m-a-year (£6.8m) contract the Ivory Coast international is looking for.

The news was shared on Twitter by @AnfieldEdition, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the rumour, with one fan claiming Kessie is ‘perfect’…

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Kessie news below

“The Wijnaldum replacement. Not bad tbh decent player”

Credit: @Gho1stR7

“Masterclass”

Credit: @GxlDeSalah_

“Hed be a perfect signing.”

Credit: @joshambrown_

“Hopefully we can get him.”

Credit: @Seyjith

“Would be a quality player for us”

Credit: @ShayTreanor2

“Good player and still relatively young. Free transfer? Surely fsg are interested.”

Credit: @umxr168

In other news, Liverpool fans want this man to leave the club.

Frank McAvennie has offered his thoughts on Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo’s situation ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

The retired Scottish forward has backed the Nigeria international to ditch Ibrox to join a Premier League club halfway through the season if an offer comes in for him.

Crystal Palace are reportedly keen on the attacking midfielder and McAvennie believes that the 25-year-old could do well in the English top flight.

He told Football Insider: “I think he’s gone up a level this season. He seems to be a vital player for Rangers now.

“He’s very versatile and that would serve him well in the Premier League. I have said this for years, if an offer from the Premier League comes in, you take it.

“It doesn’t matter who it is, it’s change your life money. No disrespect to Rangers, that’s just the way it is. Is he good enough for the Premier League? That’s a different question.

“Let’s see what happens in January.”

Fans would be livid

Rangers chief Ross Wilson must avoid a transfer disaster with Aribo in the January window. The club cannot allow one of the key players in the squad to leave midway through the season as it could cause major disruptions for Steven Gerrard’s side in the second half of the campaign, duly infuriating supporters.

Aribo has started all 12 of the Gers’ league matches this season and averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.97, scoring twice and providing one assist from midfield. His former Charlton teammate Ezri Konsa once compared him with Manchester City icon Yaya Toure, saying: “Having Gerrard as his manager at Rangers, that has made him go up another level.

“Joe’s style is unique. When I was with him at Charlton he did remind me for a while of a left-footed Yaya Toure. But you don’t get a lot of midfielders like Joe, there aren’t many around.

“Like Toure, for a tall guy he’s got such great feet. But that languid style he’s got is actually fairly unique in the game.”

The midfielder was also integral for Gerrard last season. He averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.13 in 31 league appearances, chipping in with seven goals and four assists. This highlights his importance to the side and shows why selling him in January would be a mistake, leaving fans to question the planning going on behind the scenes at Ibrox.

Wilson must convince Aribo to stay until the summer at least. This would then give Rangers an entire pre-season to bring in a replacement and give them time to adapt to Gerrard’s style of play and the demands he puts on his players, instead of rushing it midway through the campaign and potentially scuppering the chase for silverware.

AND in other news, 87.5% duels lost: Rangers dud with zero key passes let Gerrard down against Motherwell…

Many Everton fans tore into Alex Iwobi during the first half of their Premier League clash with Norwich City on Saturday afternoon. 

Everton were looking to get back to winning ways after falling to a 3-0 defeat away to Aston Villa last weekend.

Norwich, meanwhile, resumed their search for their first points of the campaign, having lost 3-1 to relegation rivals Watford last time out.

Recapping Iwobi’s first half

Rafael Benitez made only one change from the trip to Villa Park, with the fit-again Jordan Pickford replacing Asmir Begovic in goal.

That meant Iwobi kept his place at left midfield in Benitez’s 4-4-1-1 formation.

The Nigerian touched the ball 27 times over the course of the first 45 minutes and lost possession on nine occasions.

Everton did lead at the break courtesy of Andros Townsend’s penalty, awarded by referee David Coote after consulting the pitchside monitor.

But here’s what Blues fans on Twitter had to say about Iwobi’s display.

Iwobi under fire from Toffees faithful

“Iwobi is the worst player I’ve ever seen ‘play’ football”

Credit: @ElliotBeard

“Iwobi is so frustrating to watch”

Credit: @IckleWessels

“I am convinced Iwobi won a raffle to be a professional footballer”

Credit: @EoinKavanagh400

“Alex Iwobi is your classic example of a guy that trains like peak Zidane but on match days becomes a sub par Mr Bean”

Credit: @EFC_JP

“Get Iwobi off”

Credit: @lucas1878__

“Iwobi gets paid to play football, so don’t ever give up on your dreams”

Credit: @_RyBrown

In other news, fans flocked to this stadium news.