All posts by h716a5.icu

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Mikkel Damsgaard this week, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

Club Doria 46 claimed that the north Londoners are ‘always watching him with interest’ ahead of the summer transfer window and, whilst Sampdoria have no intention of selling the winger, the player himself would like to play in the Premier League.

It’s also suggested that Damsgaard’s value has already tripled from €6m (£5m) to €20m (£18m) in the space of a year.

In the past, Spurs have been said to be ‘crazy’ about the 20-year-old sensation, as per La Repubblica (via Sport Witness).

Forget Bale

Speculation surrounding the wide positions at Spurs is only going to increase as we head towards the end of the season. Jose Mourinho could lose two players in the position, in Real Madrid loanee Gareth Bale as well as Erik Lamela.

The latter has been linked with a return to the Serie A, with Bologna confirming their interest in the past week, whilst Bale’s future is a little more unclear. He has one year to run on his current contract at the Bernabeu and cast doubt over a potential return to Spurs next season.

“My plan is to go back, that’s as far I have planned. I think the main reason I came to Spurs this year was to play football first and foremost. Going into the Euros I wanted to be match-fit,” said the Wales international.

Damsgaard would be an intriguing contender to sign instead. Under the guidance of Premier League-winning manager Claudio Rainieri, the Danish dynamo has thrived and emerged as one of the most promising attackers in Italy right now.

In just 13 starts, the 20-year-old has delivered six direct goal contributions (two goals, four assists) and sits amongst Sampdoria’s highest-rated players (6.67), as per WhoScored.

The former Leicester boss believes his winger has a “big future” in the game, whilst he’s not the only fan – international teammate and ex-Spurs star Christian Eriksen collared him after their encounter with Inter Milan for a chat.

Damsgaard revealed in an interview with TV2: “We talked together after the match. He praised me for the situation around my assist. He is a really nice person and really sweet to talk to. It was just nice that he wanted to talk to me after the match.”

The 20-year-old gem has a nice skillset which should fit Mourinho down to a tee. Not only is he a threat against the opposition in the final third, where he averages a squad-high 2.9 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, he can also contribute defensively, managing an average of 2.6 completed tackles per 90, via WhoScored.

TV2 SPORT’s football expert Martin Mikkelsen lauded such ability, claiming Damsgaard was a “magical” player who is “dynamic and can go both ways,” and is “creative.”

You can forget about a return for the £600,000-per-week Bale – Spurs chairman Daniel Levy should pull out all the stops for the Sampdoria hotshot instead.

AND in other news, Sold for £17m, now worth just £1.8m: Levy played a blinder over 26 y/o Spurs disaster…

Carlo Ancelotti will be anxiously awaiting the return of Ben Godfrey from international duty after the Everton defender failed a late fitness test.

That’s according to the Liverpool Echo, who note that Godfrey and Tom Davies were both unable to represent England’s Under 21s against Croatia on Wednesday.

The Young Lions medical team carried out late checks to see if either of the Toffees duo could feature in the Euro 2021 win, which dumped Aidy Boothroyd’s side out of the competition at the Group Stage.

Godfrey had played the full 90 minutes as England faced Portugal on Sunday to earn his ninth U21s cap, but required treatment during the 2-0 loss.

The 23-year-old centre-back had featured for the full fixture as England were beaten 1-0 by Switzerland last Thursday, too.

Only Tottenham Hotspur’s Oliver Skipp and Swansea City’s Marc Guehi also played all 180 available minutes among England’s outfield options over the defeats to Switzerland and Portugal.

Davies had started each loss but was withdrawn early in the second half against Switzerland and approaching the final quarter of an hour against Portugal, when earning his 23rd Young Lions cap.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-everton-news-gossip-and-views” title=”The latest Everton news and views!”]

Ancelotti will now be very concerned over the prospect of being without Godfrey and Davies when Everton host Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Monday, looking to end a three-game losing streak across all competitions.

The Toffees have only won one of their last five games at home thanks to a 1-0 result over Southampton on March 1, while losing to Fulham, Burnley and Manchester City twice.

Ancelotti goes into the Eagles clash without star summer signing Abdoulaye Doucoure after the £20m former Watford midfielder was ruled out likely for the remainder of the season with a fractured foot.

Fabian Delph has also been sidelined of late and while Jean-Philippe Gbamin has returned to training, it remains to be seen if the 25-year-old will be called on to play his first game since August 2019.

Losing Godfrey will come as a huge blow to the Toffees in defence, having started nine of the Merseyside outfit’s last 10 fixtures in the heart of the backline – including eight of the last nine Premier League matches prior to the international break.

Everton have kept three clean sheets in the 11 top-flight matches that Ancelotti has fielded Godfrey in a centre-back role this season, which came in a three-game run against Liverpool, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.

To now be without the former Norwich City enforcer will be particularly problematic for Ancelotti, who is said to consider the Toffees’ £20m summer signing as the best of his central defensive options.

Ancelotti will be expected to call on Michael Keane, Mason Holgate or Yerry Mina to protect Jordan Pickford’s goal against Crystal Palace, should Godfrey fail another fitness test.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a £17m striker with “a wealth of talent”…

A number of Liverpool supporters have been left fuming at Martin Tyler’s commentary for Mohamed Salah’s goal against Arsenal.

The Reds produced one of their most complete performances of the season on Saturday, cruising to a 3-0 victory away to the Gunners. Jurgen Klopp’s men dominated the match from the first minute to the last, impressing both defensively and in their attacking play.

Substitute Diogo Jota scored twice for Liverpool, continuing his wonderful first season at Anfield, while Mohamed Salah’s strike was sandwiched in between.

The Egyptian’s goal was a typically well-taken effort, with the 28-year-old racing through and nutmegging Bernd Leno to put the Reds 2-0 up. It was a moment which deserved a memorable piece of commentary, but instead Tyler gave it a low-key response in the seconds afterwards.

This appears to be a recurring theme these days, with the once-great commentator no longer producing brilliant soundbites which stand the test of time.

It may simply be that age is catching up with Tyler – there isn’t a Liverpool bias going on with him – and it may be time to move him on in the near future.

Liverpool fans unhappy with Tyler

These Reds supporters took to Twitter to voice their frustration with the commentator over his relatively muted reaction to Salah’s goal at the weekend.

“Martin Tyler should be banned from commentating on Liverpool games, he’s shocking”Credit: @ScouserChrisLFC”The disappointment in his voice”Credit: @Itsnotmeitsthe1″Yes he is brutal”Credit: @swinter100″Totally agree time for him to retire, he puts people off football. Boring out and out of date. Time for some new commentators on all the channels”

Credit: @Nuj752

“Remember ‘Rooooooooooooooooooooooneeeeyyyy’ when ever the lad touched the ball. He is too old now”

Credit: @CrosbyDark

“Says it all when Gary Neville sounds more upbeat when Liverpool score. Would love to hear Peter Drury commentating instead”

Credit: @SHovendenKeane

In other news, one Liverpool player came in for criticism from supporters against Arsenal – find out who it is here.

The run is finally over. Sunderland have launched a phenomenal assault towards promotion but for the first time since early February, they tasted defeat.

The Mackems were unbeaten in 14 matches heading into their pivotal match with Charlton but unfortunately for Lee Johnson and his men, they lost 2-1.

This was always going to be a tough test for the Black Cats but this was arguably one of the most lacklustre displays of football we’ve seen from a Johnson team since he took over.

On a normal day, Sunderland would have played some wonderful free-flowing football. We’ve already seen them dominate the likes of Portsmouth and Lincoln under this manager’s watch but they were miles off the pace on Saturday.

It was a defeat that broadened the gap between themselves and Peterborough in second place to five points. Sunderland do have a game in hand but they may well now have their work cut out in order to achieve automatic promotion.

Aiden McGeady stepped up to the plate again by completing five key passes from the wide positions while Josh Scowen scored a rare goal.

However, the vast majority of individuals were poor. That can be especially said for Lynden Gooch.

The American has been with the Black Cats for nine years now and has witnessed the rise and fall in the north-east. He has Premier League appearances to his name for the club and helped them to win their first trophy in 48 years.

Gooch was on the score sheet at Wembley a number of weeks ago in the EFL Trophy final but the fact is, his performances have been rather inconsistent of late.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-transfer-rumours-and-news-grigg-denayer-louis-dreyfus-sanderson-melamed” title=”Latest Sunderland transfer news and views!”]

The winger was dragged off just after the hour mark on Saturday but it was hardly a surprise. Gooch have a very minimal impact on proceedings, taking just 28 touches of the ball. That happened to fewer than goalkeeper Lee Burge (33).

The 25-year-old offered little threat in the final third, registering only nine passes in the entire contest, completing a measly 64% of those he attempted.

He didn’t have a single shot and managed just one key pass and one dribble. On this evidence, you wouldn’t have thought Gooch’s best trait was to beat a man.

From his 28 touches, the attacker also managed to lost possession on 12 occasions. With Jordan Jones absent from the starting XI this weekend, Gooch had a real opportunity to stake his claim.

Unfortunately, he didn’t take it. This was a performance that will have left the manager seething.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Jones: SAFC must swoop for “clinical” 13-goal gem, he makes fans “gasp”…

Lee Ryder has claimed that Jonjo Shelvey ‘did not rise to the occasion’ for Newcastle United in their 3-2 win over West Ham United at Saturday lunchtime.

Writing in his latest player ratings piece for The Chronicle, the football journalist slammed the former Liverpool and Swansea City man for picking up a ‘needless’ yellow card very early on in the first half, and gave him a measly 6/10 overall rating, the joint-lowest with Sean Longstaff in terms of Magpies players to have started the game at St. James’ Park.

Shelvey did not have his best game for Newcastle

Shelvey would have been thanking his midfield teammate Joe Willock for bailing Steve Bruce’s team out in the end late on in the second half to give the Tyneside club all three points in the North East.

The 29-year-old lost out on 100% of his duels (six) in the match, and also failed to record a single shot on goal, dribble, tackle, key pass, cross or accurate long ball, as he also lost possession on eight separate occasions (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, Shelvey will have to perform a lot better than what he showed if he is to keep his starting place in the side from now until the end of the 2020/21 term, as the magpies look to cement their spot in the Premier League for another season.

In other news, find out what big claim has been dropped on the potential takeover involving the EPL here!

Manchester United could be handed considerable encouragement in their pursuit of Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga this summer.

The Red Devils have been linked with a swoop for the Frenchman in the past, with AS reporting that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is interested in the player but would have to beat competition from the likes of Real Madrid in which to secure him.

Now, The Athletic indicate that the 18-year-old is set to reject a new contract at his current club in the aim of forcing through a move in the near future.

With his current deal at Rennes set to expire in the summer of 2022, this could see Camavinga sold by the club this year or indeed released on a free transfer at the end of next season, which may give the Red Devils considerable encouragement over whether a deal can be conducted sooner rather than later.

The £54m-rated midfielder would certainly be an excellent addition for United should they decide to profit from Camavinga’s decision.

Even in his tender years, the youngster has racked up a number of appearances for Rennes, appearing a total of 77 times for the club and harnessing a reputation as one of the most dominant defensive midfielders in world football – hence the interest in his signature from the likes of United and Real Madrid.

Whilst to be expected, even the player’s agent has been talking Camavinga up, predicting that the midfielder is going to be a “superstar” in the future.

With just one year left on his deal, signing the Frenchman could also well end up being considerably cheaper than his £54m transfer rating.

It goes without saying then that his preference to leave the Roazhon Park within the next couple of years has handed United and Solskjaer a big boost in their respective transfer plans.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-man-united-transfer-rumours-and-news-old-trafford-macheda-solskjaer-lingard-ousmane-dembele-anthony-martial-injury-rabiot-van-de-beek” title=” The latest Man United transfer rumours and news from Old Trafford…”]

AND in more news, Dean Windass has suggested that David De Gea’s Manchester United career is “over”…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Sheffield United striker Brian Deane has questioned his old club’s reported interest in John Terry.

The Yorkshire outfit are on the lookout for a permanent successor to Chris Wilder following his exit last month and it appears their search has taken them to Terry.

According to the Mirror, the Aston Villa assistant head coach is on Sheffield United’s shortlist to replace their former boss as the club prepares for life back in the Championship.

Terry has spoken in the past about his desire to become a manager, meaning this opportunity in the Bramall Lane dugout may appeal to him.

Deane, however, has sent a word of warning to his old side, picking up on Terry’s lack of managerial experience. On the subject, Deane told FFC:

“The club has to decide what direction they want to go in and part of that direction is, you know, do they want to go down a route where more of the club structure and infrastructure is club owned?

“Do they want to go down the route of kind of giving somebody an opportunity to come in and manage their club, you know, with relatively no understanding or no experience of the area, of what the fans expect, what kind of football? I don’t know what kind of football John Terry likes.”

The Mirror also reports that Villa are well aware of Terry’s ambitions to manage one day and will support him in his efforts to land the top job in a dugout, so it should not be too hard for Sheffield United to get him out of Villa Park.

Writing on Twitter, reliable club insider ExWHUemployee has dropped a big West Ham injury update before the Irons’ crunch clash with Chelsea this evening, believing that Arthur Masuaku is very unlikely to make his return today.

ExWHUemployee drops big injury update pre-Chelsea

Masuaku, who was out of action for the Hammers’ last Premier League encounter with Newcastle United, is also set to miss West Ham’s big game against their London rivals.

Indeed, the insider claimed that the 27-year-old is a ‘severe doubt’ for West Ham amid the current crop of injury issues for David Moyes, with star men Michail Antonio and Declan Rice also out.

Speaking in his press conference yesterday, the manager remained cryptic as ever in regards to timeframes and didn’t provide any clue as to when Masuaku may return.

However, ExWHUemployee has now shared a big update on the left-back’s situation through Twitter – dropping the seven-word message “He is a severe doubt I think.”

Transfer Tavern take

Even though Moyes refused to rule out a return for Cresswell today, news that Masuaku is more than likely to miss the Chelsea game could come as a blow for the Hammers.

Today’s match could be pivotal to West Ham’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League at the end of the season, and the Irons boss may well be itching to get as many first team regulars back as possible.

Today could also be a big afternoon for youngster Ben Johnson, who started against the Magpies last week, and Hammers fans will also be praying he has a solid outing if he is selected this evening.

In other news: West Ham have been handed this injury boost, however – find out more here.

Rangers were heavily linked with a move for BSC Young Boys striker Jean-Pierre Nsame last summer and after another exceptional campaign from the Cameroonian international, it seems that Steven Gerrard and Ross Wilson made a mistake in not bringing him to Ibrox.

His performances in recent seasons have seen him being linked with several Premier League sides in recent weeks, with teamTALK suggesting that Newcastle, Southampton, West Ham and Celtic all said to be interested.

This season has seen the 27-year-old contribute 25 goals and nine assists in all competitions for the Swiss Super League side, so it certainly seems fair to suggest that he would have been an excellent addition to Gerrard’s side last summer.

Whilst the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe have impressed this season, Cedric Itten has struggled and Jermaine Defoe has featured a lot less, so having a prolific goalscorer such as Nsame in the squad could have resulted in Rangers prolonging their cup runs.

It is something of a surprise that Young Boys were able to keep hold of him last summer, as he scored a remarkable 41 goals in all competitions.

His manager, Gerardo Seoane, was full of praise for the striker after his extraordinary season, saying:

“Jean-Pierre Nsamé has had an extraordinary season. He has really progress especially in terms of taking responsibility in the team. He is very physical, with an unbelievable ability in front of goal. He is very present in the penalty area and all the balls that comes, he puts them in the back of the net, thanks to his technic and strength.

“Jean Pierre (Nsame) is a great personality, with a great character and mentality. He is also present and hard-working and put his all for the team. He is not egoistic. He always puts the team first, that’s what I like so much about him because it is a big human quality and above all he is very humble and I’m very certain that he will have a great career.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

The £6.3m-rated striker certainly seems as if he could be on the move this summer and if he goes on to impress in the Premier League, or even in the Scottish Premiership with Rangers’ rivals Celtic, then Wilson’s failure to sign him last summer should definitely go down as a disastrous decision.

And, in other news… Wilson set to hand Gerrard huge boost as £2.25m-rated beast’s Ibrox deal edges closer

If and when Celtic finally announce the appointment of a new manager, the man in charge will walk into a football club that is in dire straits.

The Hoops have lost their dominance on Scottish football and Parkhead will have no trophy from the 2020/21 season to celebrate.

They will also have to manage a massive rebuild of the playing squad. Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard are two potentially high profile exits while there will be a leadership void when Scott Brown heads to Aberdeen.

Leigh Griffiths could also leave while Tom Rogic and Ryan Christie have been linked with exits.

Consider Jonjoe Kenny, Moi Elyounoussi, Diego Laxalt and Shane Duffy will have to return to their parent clubs and the squad will be depleted.

If the new manager is Eddie Howe he needs to build his team around a very certain set of players. One player he simply has to unleash is Stephen Welsh.

With Ajer potentially heading for the departure lounge, the 21-year-old has the opportunity to become the real focal point of a much-maligned defence.

They have been a disaster this season and if anything sums that up it would be their 4-1 defeat to Rangers last weekend.

Welsh wasn’t at his best during that game. He was turned inside out by a 38-year-old Jermain Defoe late on as the Englishman rolled back the years to score their final goal.

[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!”]

It was a moment to forget for the young centre-half but it’s crucial to keep in mind just how inexperienced he still is. Give Welsh a manager who can grow young players and he could become a real star at Paradise.

After all, the 6 foot 3 brute has already negotiated one of the toughest tests in world football; Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

After featuring in the Europa League earlier this term, Welsh commented: “In the European games, the quality you come up against is world-class.”

The Scot added: “You look at Ibrahimovic, he is a brilliant player, he doesn’t move a lot but the quality shines through in the end.”

This has been a breakthrough campaign for the youngster but unfortunately, it will be one he is keen to eradicate from his mind swiftly.

Fortunately, the arrival of Howe could be game-changing. After all, you only need to look at the way the 43-year-old developed Nathan Ake at Bournemouth.

Ake signed for the Cherries on an initial loan deal before he was snapped up by Howe in a whopping £20m deal from Chelsea.

The Dutchman went on to play 121 times under Celtic’s potential new manager and he credits much of his development at centre-back for what Howe did with him.

Speaking in 2019, Ake said: “Even if you have a few good games, stuff like that, he makes sure that we watch clips together and look for little, little things – even if I’d had a good game – he will find something to help me get better.

“That’s perfect for me because, at my age, there’s still so much more to come and he’s the right man to help me improve.”

The defender is still particularly young but it was the guidance and tuition he received from Howe that ultimately made him a player that Manchester City wanted to spend £40m on last summer.

It would be quite something if Welsh was ever worth that much but the player and manager could forge a special bond if he finally pens terms in Glasgow.

Howe has repeatedly shown himself to be a developer of young talent and so with that in mind, he must unshackle and find a way to make Welsh better.

He has a first-class attitude and will give his all for the club, a trait that plenty in the squad certainly doesn’t possess right now. “He can give it out, he competes for everything, and when it doesn’t go his way, he takes that well too. He gets back up on his feet and he’s ready to go again,” Chris Sutton once recalled.

Given how poor the Hoops have been this season from a defensive point of view it will undoubtedly serve the manager’s best interests to play him.

AND in other news, Celtic set for huge boost as Lennoxtown news emerges, McKay & Desmond will be buzzing…