All posts by z3u9t.icu

Lots of Everton fans have been left very pleased by an official announcement from the Goodison Park faithful on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

As per the official website of the Merseyside club, the 24-year-old has been called up to the latest England squad for their upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland.

Calvert-Lewin has been enjoying a very good season for Carlo Ancelotti’s team so far, scoring no fewer than 19 goals and making a further four assists in 30 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

His form for the Toffees has yielded another call-up to the Three Lions by Gareth Southgate, as he will be hoping to help his country get off to the best start possible in the next set of games.

Everton fan reaction to Calvert-Lewin call-up

These Blues showed their appreciation for Calvert-Lewin’s call-up on Twitter after the club shared the news, with one EFC supporter saying that he was ‘pleased’ for the English striker:

“Well deserved, my man please go and come back to us injury free”

Credit: @PROSPER29011663

“My striker @CalvertLewin14”

Credit: @everton_now

“Let’s goooo DCL much deserved.”

Credit: @SirThaddeus

“YES DCL!!!!”

Credit: @BazTastic77

“Pleased for young Dom. No Keane is incredible if you look at who he’s picked.”

Credit: @CoachSteveRich

“So happy for DCL, shocked how neither Godfrey or Keane haven’t made it – yes I know Godfrey is in the U21”

Credit: @KPrxdiigyy

In other news, find out what potential injury boost Everton have received before Manchester City here!

Dwight Gayle committed his future to Newcastle United despite having ‘grown frustrated with how he has been used by Steve Bruce’, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh reports.

Waugh’s colleague David Ornstein revealed on Monday that Gayle had agreed to a new three-year contract at the club on reduced terms.

Gayle considered moving abroad amid Galatasaray interest

His contract was set to expire in June, meaning he could have left the club as a free agent. Gayle was apparently ‘receptive’ to the idea of moving overseas ‘in search of a lucrative final contract’.

Galatasaray were said to be said one of the clubs interested in acquiring his services (via Chronicle Live), but Waugh has claimed that the financial consequences of the pandemic made those options less attractive for the 31-year-old, who has not at any stage decisively pushed to leave.

Gayle on the periphery at Newcastle

The Englishman, who was out injured from the start of the season until December, has made 11 Premier League appearances this term (via Transfermarkt).

However, only two of those have been starts, and both have come as a winger – he lined up on the right away at Chelsea and on the left against Aston Villa – rather than through the middle.

Newcastle not preparing for the Championship

Gayle is a prolific Championship marksman, enjoying 23-goal campaigns in the second tier in 2016/17 and 2018/19 (via Transfermarkt), but Newcastle are not thought to be planning for relegation. Waugh insists that they would have sought to agree fresh terms with Gayle even if they were safe.

As it stands, they are two points clear of the bottom three with a game in hand.

A new deal for an out-of-favour forward who has already turned 30 reflects the challenges of the present market for clubs and players alike.

In other news, Newcastle fans have ranked their preferred alternatives to Steve Bruce.

According to reports from Germany, the Southampton manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl, is attracting the interest of the Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich.

The report by Munich based newspaper Tz (via Sport Witness) claims that, with Hans-Dieter Flick’s future at Bayern looking increasingly uncertain, the German side are beginning to consider options to replace the 56-year-old this summer.

And, despite the RB Leipzig manager, Julian Nagelsmann, being stated as the favourite to replace Flick, second on the list of Tz is Hasenhuttl, with the paper explaining that the Saints boss is “no stranger to Bayern” after spending time with the club’s B-team in the early 2000’s.

Furthermore, Tz claim that the Bayern hierarchy appreciate Hasenhuttl’s philosophy and playing style, and believe that the 53-year-old would be a “good match” for the club, however, it is also mentioned that the Austrian’s lack of silverware could be a problem, with the report finally giving Hasenhuttl a 15 per cent chance of landing the job at the Allianz Arena.

Transfer Tavern Take

While it can easily be assumed that Nagelsmann would be Bayern’s first choice to replace Flick, with the Leipzig manager denying that any talks have taken place with Munich regarding the position, perhaps there is a genuine cause for concern among Southampton fans about losing Hasenhuttl this summer.

With it not even being certain that Flick will be leaving the Bundesliga side at the end of the season, Saints fans should not worry too much about the prospect of losing their manager, for now, but if the vacancy is there come summer it will surely be tempting.

Despite a couple of humiliating defeats under his watch, we suspect Saints fans will be desperate for the club to ward off Bayern’s approach, if and when it arrives.

In other news: Sources claim Southampton are eyeing £25k-p/w gem; Hasenhuttl could seal a move for just £3m – find out more here!

David Moyes must push West Ham United to agree to new contracts with both Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek amid doubts about the midfield stars’ long-term futures at the London Stadium.

That’s the view of Jason Cundy, who has told talkSPORT (9/3, 09:00) that he expects interest to emerge in the upcoming summer transfer market due to their sensational form.

Rice and Soucek, along with Aaron Cresswell, are the only Irons players to have featured for every minute of the Premier League season so far, with 100% appearance records to their names after 27 games.

The pair’s fast-established relationship in the year following Soucek’s initial loan switch, before a £19m move from Slavia Prague in the off-season, has them dictating the Hammers’ game plan from the engine room and leading a Champions League qualification charge.

West Ham sit just a point outside of the top-four after beating Leeds United 2-0 on Monday, but hold what may be a crucial game in hand over Chelsea. And Cundy expects UEFA football could be the Irons’ only hope of keeping Soucek and Rice this summer.

“They are going to struggle to hold on to them, the two midfielders,” the former Tottenham defender said. “If big-money bids come in, West Ham will possibly – unless they are in the Champions League – find it hard to hold on to them because huge money is going to come in for those two.

“Soucek has been brilliant; there is not a lot he can’t do! He can win the ball, he scores goals, he’s good in the air, he’s defensively solid… all round, they’ve got a little bit of everything, Rice and Soucek.

“They’re possibly the best two in the country, the best midfield partnership. If there’s anyone out there better than those two, there ain’t many better than them.”

As well as being mainstays of Moyes’ plans, Soucek is West Ham’s top-scorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals, while Rice is the on-field general in the absence of captain Mark Noble.

West Ham will surely be able to hold firm in demanding vastly lucrative sums for Soucek and Rice at the end of the season, having rebuffed Chelsea’s advances for the latter last summer with an £80m asking price when Frank Lampard sought to land the England international.

Moyes has even stated recently that he believes Rice is now worth “far, far more than £100m,” which is the valuation slapped on the former Blues trainee by the Irons’ owners amid alleged approaches from Manchester United and Liverpool to his agent.

But Moyes stating publicly how highly he is worth could see Rice grow unhappy with still being on the same £60,000-per-week contract struck back in December 2018, before claims emerged in The Sun last October of a £120k-p/w deal being likely after Lampard’s advances.

It was thought Rice was due to be rewarded with a double-your-money pay rise as recognition of his standing at the London Stadium, and a similar sentiment was touted for Soucek in December amid claims of interest from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

Rice and Soucek’s partnership and importance at the London Stadium has only continued to grow with almost every fixture, to see them lauded for tirelessly running Leeds into the ground on Monday and adding a sense of calm into the occasional chaos.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had also claimed there is no better box-to-box midfielder in the Premier League than Soucek before the Whites visited east London.

“When we’re talking about box-to-box midfielders, there’s nobody better in the Premier League right now than Soucek,” he said on Sky Sports, via quotes by talkSPORT.

“The goals stand out massively – that is huge for a midfield player and is a big reason why West Ham are where they are.

“Aerial duels won is just off the scale. No midfielder in the last ten years has managed that many… since Marouane Fellaini!”

Soucek, who currently earns £67k-p/w, has won (155) and contested (258) more aerial duels than any other player in the top-flight this term and he – plus Rice – will surely need new contracts offered if Moyes is to keep both at West Ham beyond the end of the season.

AND in other news, West Ham eye summer swoop for £35k-p/w gem with “boundless energy”…

This hasn’t exactly been an easy January for Leeds United to negotiate. Heading into their clash with Newcastle this week, they’d yet to score or win in 2021.

On top of that, they’ve also failed to strengthen in the January transfer window.

On the chalkboard

Fortunately, things are getting better for Leeds. They defeated the Magpies 2-1 on Tuesday and now it looks as though enigmatic left-back Gjanni Alioski is heading for the exit door.

A report from Fotosport (via Sport Witness) claim that with Alioski’s contract expiring in the summer, he has reached an agreement with Galatasaray in Turkey to move there in the next transfer window.

Players are free to discuss a pre-contract arrangement with foreign clubs from this month onwards if their deal expires in six months and thus, it appears the North Macedonian is set to bring his stay at Elland Road to an end.

This wouldn’t be a huge loss for Leeds, however, who are bound to be frustrated with some of his performances. He was torn apart by Manchester United and Daniel James last month while he put in another unconvincing performance against Newcastle this week.

Previously described as a “liability” by Noel Whelan, it’s unlikely he’ll be missed too much in Yorkshire.

The solution

Leeds have had a problem at left-back for a number of years now. Ever since Charlie Taylor departed for Burnley, they have been found wanting in that area of the pitch. Gaetano Berardi deputised there for a period but he has one of the worst disciplinary records in the club’s history, being red-carded on seven occasions.

Stuart Dallas has played there and so too has Alioski. Though, the fact of the matter is that neither are natural left-backs. The former is used to playing on the right while the latter is a winger by trade.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-leeds-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Leeds news!”]

It’s hard to suggest Barry Douglas’ time worked out either. He’s now at Blackburn on loan and failed to score for the Whites despite being a set-piece wizard for Wolves before arriving.

Thus, there is a pretty large problem to solve – one that can be fixed by signing a proper left-back.

In Josh Doig they could well find that. The Hibernian youngster has been linked with a move to Sunderland, Leeds, Manchester City and Celtic in recent days in a switch that could cost £1m.

Not only would this be a bargain for Victor Orta, but it would also help to replace Alioski perfectly. That’s because they possess similar qualities.

In Goal’s report about Doig this week, they wrote the following about the 18-year-old: “Scouts have noted Doig’s attacking output as a huge part of his game, with his crossing ability and tireless running two of his key attributes.”

That sounds an awful like Alioski, someone who loves to stride forward and provide goals and assists. Fortunately, however, Doig is also very capable defensively.

The teenager was only given his first taste of senior football this season but has since played on 17 occasions in the Scottish Premiership. He has become a regular under Jack Ross and is incredibly strong in the tackle.

Doig has won a colossal 2.1 tackles per game this season, a tally that not only usurps Alioski (1.8) but also a great deal of Leeds’ team. In fact, the Hibs defender would be placed fifth for that certain statistic out of United’s regular starters.

Leeds have lacked a defender with the ability to do the simple things right from a defensive point of view for a while and that’s exactly why they need to sign Doig. Add that to the fact he’d cost just £1m and this would be the perfect deal for Marcelo Bielsa.

AND in other news, 3 new signings, Bielsa favourite axed: How Leeds’ XI could look after deadline day…

After Kalvin Phillips was ruled out with a calf problem against Arsenal in the Premier League last week, Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa turned towards young starlet Jamie Shackleton as one of the players to be thrown into the starting line-up.

The 21-year-old started the game at the Emirates in an unfamiliar role at right-back, before being asked to play in central midfield in the clash against Wolves.

Though both games ended in a Leeds defeat, there were promising signs from Shackleton, with Leeds Live declaring that his passing against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side showed decision-making and maturity beyond his years as he operated in a more no.6 role.

But with Bielsa confirming that Phillips is once again set to miss another Whites game, this time at home to Southampton on Tuesday night, the Leeds boss may be more inclined to unleash Shackleton as a more box-to-box presence.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the Saints tonight, Bielsa said: “I believe in Shackleton as an important alternative for Leeds United. He’s in a similar process to that of Pascal (Struijk).

“The only thing is that Pascal has a continuity that Shackleton hasn’t been able to have. I conisder him a player that I can trust and I’m satisfied with what he has brought to the team. Apart from that, he is a very serious player, very applied and very conscious of what is needed to play at this level.”

Against Wolves, it was Mateusz Klich operating in that box-to-box role, but Shackleton’s youthful energy and dynamism could be exactly what is needed to pose the opposition a slightly different threat than the ones they’ve faced over the past couple of games.

Speaking after his cameo in that 5-0 win over West Brom earlier this season, the Leeds boss said of the 21-year-old: “Good organisation, energetic, he’s quick, he can surprise opponents, plays in a position which has many varieties as a box-to-box midfielder.”

And, after he produced an energetic display against Aston Villa, Leeds Live’s Beren Cross wrote: “Settled in so quickly and linked up the play between midfield and attack beautifully. So important for his confidence and visualising himself in this team going forward. Tireless running and helped Klich win that midfield battle with McGinn and Barkley.”

Allowing him more licence to roam and join up with Leeds’ attacks may be the third successive different role that Shackleton has been used in over the past week or so, but it could be the key to getting the best out of him, and in turn change the Whites’ fortunes.

Bielsa desperately needs something to click in Phillips’ absence, and giving Shackleton the chance to break free from his more defensive-minded shackles and keeping things simple against Wolves, could be a real game-changer for tonight.

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that long-term absentee Robin Koch has returned from injury and is ready to make his comeback to Premier League action.

Speaking ahead of Leeds’ clash against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon, Bielsa confirmed: “Jamie Shackleton is available now, Robin Koch also, Gaetano Berardi also. The players not available are Pablo Hernandez, Adam Forshaw and Pascal Struijk.”

The return of the £17m-rated Koch is particularly significant given that he started the first 11 Premier League games of his Leeds career, with Bielsa clearly already taking to the German newcomer.

Since then, the likes of Struijk and Luke Ayling have had to do jobs at centre-back given the injury problems suffered by the likes of Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente as well, so it really has been a makeshift back-line for the Whites for a large part of this campaign.

Vincenzo Grifo, Koch’s former teammate at Freiburg, waxed lyrical about his ability to The Athletic, saying: “He’s very vocal at the back and he loves to have the game in front of him. He’s an outstanding organiser. His improvement is incredibly rapid, including in the national team, and he’s on a path to become a world-class player, a monster centre-back.”

Former Whites defender Tony Dorigo dubbed him the “rock” in Leeds’ central defence earlier in the season, and so it must have been seriously frustrating for Bielsa to be without one of his key personnel for so long.

His return to fitness will undoubtedly have Bielsa buzzing, and whether it’s coming on for one of Cooper or Llorente, or being a part of a back three, the added option will be music to the ears of the Leeds manager.

Meanwhile, Leeds should drop this £70k-a-week disaster against Chelsea…

Southampton have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their game against Leicester City on Saturday, as Danny Ings has been ruled out after testing positive for the current viral outbreak.

Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed in his pre-match conference on Thursday that the England international would be forced to sit out the game against the Foxes after a positive test, as he will now have to self-isolate due to the government’s guidelines.

This comes as a big blow for the Austrian as he saw his side fail to score in three games over the Christmas period that Ings missed through injury before the former Liverpool man returned to score the winner against his old side in the Saints’ last Premier League fixture.

It is an important game against Brendan Rodgers’ side on Saturday evening, with both sides having enjoyed an impressive start to the season which sees them challenging for a top-four spot, so to have your top scorer missing is obviously a huge blow for the South Coast club.

So far this season, the 28-year-old has managed seven goals and three assists in just 13 top-flight appearances for Southampton, averaging a superb 7.17 rating.

The Englishman is picking up where he left off last season, where he finished as the second joint-top scorer in the Premier League, despite a disjointed season so far where injuries, and now the current viral outbreak, have ruled him out of matches.

Last season, Eddie Howe was full of praise for the striker, saying:

“The most impressive thing about Danny is, of course, he’s an outstanding player.”

“Technically he’s very good, plays with real intelligence and the way he’s come back from his disappointments, the injury setbacks he’s had, the way he’s fought back and kept his mental strength has been hugely impressive.”

Hasenhuttl will surely be frustrated to have his top goalscorer missing for the game against Leicester and he now faces a dilemma on who to select up front alongside Che Adams, who should return after missing the game against Liverpool with a concussion.

And, in other news… Southampton signing England U21 gem would cast doubt over the future of Hasenhuttl favourite

When it comes to Celtic’s unearthed gems, the mind automatically goes to Virgil van Dijk. The Netherlands international went from joining the Hoops for £2.6million to becoming one of the best centre-backs on the planet. He is now worth a gargantuan £72million after his move to Liverpool saw him scoop a Champions League and Premier League title.

In this sense, no other player comes close when it comes to Celtic success stories. But another man who left the club and has gone on to do well for himself is Teemu Pukki.

Celtic wrong to cash in on Pukki

Hindsight is a beautiful thing and if the Hoops knew the Finnish striker would become such a prolific player, they may not have opted to cash in. It can’t even be argued that the money made from his sale was worth it. As reported by Transfermarkt, the Premiership outfit took a loss on Pukki in order to seemingly grab a quick cash deal back in 2o15.

They signed him initially for £3million from Schalke and offloaded him for a mere £600,000. Celtic gave the forward just one season in Glasgow before he was loaned out to Brondby, where he eventually moved to permanently before his transfer to Norwich City.

Since Pukki left Celtic, he has flourished into a typical target man. With an astonishing 106 goals under his belt since his Parkhead departure, the 30-year-old quietly goes about his business as very much an underrated striker. His best season came in his debut campaign for the Canaries, netting 30 goals and contributing a further ten assists across the Championship and EFL Cup (as per Transfermarkt).

Neil Lennon is currently facing what could turn out to be a disastrous situation with his attacking options. Star player Odsonne Edouard continues to be linked to an exit at the end of the season and Mohamed Elyounoussi is only at the club on loan. If the manager is without both key players next campaign, it will leave him with just Leigh Griffiths and makeshift forward Albian Ajeti.

Had the club kept hold of Pukki, they could have banked a reliable goal poacher who can create as well as hit the back of the net.

In other news, Celtic must withdraw interest in potential club record signing Omar Colley…

What a strange time this is for Sunderland.

The Black Cats are at the centre of a potential takeover and they have just hired a new manager in Lee Johnson.

However, they now won’t play for a fortnight with their next three games were postponed.

On the chalkboard

Just as the positivity had been reinstalled at the Stadium of Light after their 4-0 win over Lincoln, proceedings in the north-east have become rather depressing again.

Because of an outbreak of COVID-19 within the squad, the Academy of Light has been shut until December 27th with a variety of players now having to self isolate.

Four players have tested positive for the pandemic which has only added to an ongoing list of fitness concerns within the squad.

Denver Hume is currently out injured while Luke O’Nien has a dislocated shoulder and is out until the New Year.

However, they received another damaging blow this week when Johnson revealed that Josh Scowen could miss as many as seven weeks with a shin injury.

It really does feel as though Sunderland players are dropping like flies at the moment.

The solution

Fortunately for the Black Cats, they do have a number of midfield players available to them. With Max Power ruled out against Wimbledon, George Dobson came back into the XI and was paired next to the ever-reliable and ever-consistent Grant Leadbitter.

Though, with Scowen missing they needed to find another midfielder from somewhere.

That happened to be Elliot Embleton, a man who usually prefers to play in more advanced roles. The 21-year-old had a serious hamstring injury last season which meant he didn’t play at all for Sunderland and to this day, he has still only featured on 16 occasions for the first-team.

He’s never truly had a consistent run to establish himself as a regular but now with a host of players out and lacking fitness, his chance could arrive.

It’s unfortunate the youngster never really got an opportunity under Jack Ross or Phil Parkinson. After all, the former held him in high esteem. “Embleton has been terrific since he came back for pre-season. You can see what he can provide in the final third, so I was pleased with that,” Ross commented in July 2019.

Of course, his season was ruined by injury last term but he is now fully fit and has developed nicely.

Against Wimbledon, the midfielder was assured and composed as he completed 88% of his passes, created two chances and had two shots.

If we see more of that, it’s likely Embleton will be in the team more. He definitely deserves a run.

In other news, Johnson must unleash Sunderland talent with “magic feat”…