Category Uncategorized

After Manchester City secured a crucial 2-1 victory in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie away to Paris-Saint Germain on Wednesday night, star midfielder Ilkay Gundogan sent a message to supporters alleviating injury fears.

A stunning second half performance from the Sky Blues gifted City a major advantage for the second leg in Manchester next week.

Marquinhos originally gave PSG a first half lead as the Ligue 1 giants caused Pep Guardiola’s side all sorts of problems.

However, over the next 45 minutes, City stamped their authority and dominated the play – with Kevin De Bruyne’s looping delivery finding it’s way past Keylor Navas for a deserved equaliser.

Riyad Mahrez then fired a free-kick through a leaky PSG wall to gift City a huge lead in Paris and two away goals.

After the full time whistle, some supporters were concerned for midfielder Gundogan after a poor tackle from opposition midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye.

The ex-Everton ace was sent off for a late challenge on Gundogan in what was a careless clattering into the back of his achilles.

Writing on Twitter, the German alleviated concerns of a serious injury by confirming he is in fact fine and ‘all good’ after the incident.

Reacting to this message, many Man City fans were rightfully overjoyed – find all of their verdicts down below.

Man City fans buzz over Gundogan news

“I love you”

Credit: @daraghreville

“So glad you’re ok Ilkay. You are a magnificent player and a magnificent human being, we’re so lucky to have you.”

Credit: @chrisbluemoon52

“YESSSSS”

Credit: @Priceless_Silva

“Great news. Top performance tonight from you and the team”

Credit: @1cornishblue

“LET’S GO SILKY ILKY”

Credit: @AarxnMCFC

“amazing news Gundo we love you, keep pushing and fighting to the finish”

Credit: @TendzzXO

“Thank goodness! Stay safe”

Credit: @MattMCFC3

“Big news Gundo can’t wait to see you play irl soon”

Credit: @Humaidshakir1

In other news: Man City fans raved over this ‘underrated’ ace after the win at PSG, find out more here.

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Graham Roberts has told The Transfer Tavern that he believes chairman Daniel Levy already has a new manager lined up after sacking Jose Mourinho.

The Spurs chairman made the decision to dispense with the Portuguese on Monday after a slide to seventh in the Premier League table.

Ryan Mason has been placed in interim charge of the team and he oversaw a win in his first game in charge, as Spurs came from behind to win 2-1.

Spurs have been linked with a number of potential appointments after Mourinho’s sacking, foremost among them RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann.

Roberts believes that the German is the favourite for the job, though he also believes that Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has a genuine chance of taking the role.

And he has little doubt that Levy is already engineering the next appointment behind the scenes.

Speaking exclusively to TT, he said: “I think that’s the way he works. You don’t just sack people for the sake of it.

“The Jose one, Pochettino went at 11 o’clock and Mourinho was in charge at one o’clock. Jose was out of a job but the two managers that I think are in pole positions are in jobs.”

Roberts does think that the appointment will likely come at the end of the season, especially if it is to be either Rodgers, who has guided Leicester to the FA Cup final, or Nagelsmann, who is currently second in the Bundesliga with Leipzig.

He added: “One of them (Rodgers) has got a cup final at the end of the season and Nagelsmann’s trying to get into the Champions League. I’m sure they’ve had conversations.”

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been reacting to Dean Smith’s comments on Wesley Moraes on social media.

The 24-year-old made his first appearance of the season in the 2-2 draw with West Brom on Sunday evening.

Smith described Wesley’s long-term absence due to a cruciate ligament injury as one of the most significant injuries he’s seen in football.

The Villa boss revealed that the Brazilian, who joined in a deal worth £22.5m back in 2019, received a round of applause from the Villa players after he named the squad in training for the clash with Sam Allardyce’s side.

Wesley has made a total of 22 career appearances for Villa so far, scoring on six occasions and registering a single assist.

Villa fans react

Villa shared the footage of Smith talking about the striker on Monday lunchtime on their official Twitter page.

Several supporters gave their views on his comments, with a selection available to view below.

“Is this man going to take us any further or do you think it is the end of the road”

Credit: @Dylanjo70365265

“my heart”

Credit: @fokkos2

“Love that”

Credit: @nickgd99

“I love this club soo much utv”

Credit: @Marco60921015

“Keinan may have scored the equalizer, but it was Wes who made the impact. Big lad like him in the box for the last minutes, well, we all saw the chaos it caused for West Brom. More options in attack, nice to have him back !”

Credit: @JarkkoKyn

“Man like big Wes! Cannot wait to see him back fully fit. Support him lads! It was a massive injury.”

Credit: @jSG50

In other news: £47k-a-week Aston Villa man a shock target for Premier League giants, find out more here. 

Celtic’s hunt for a new manager is approaching a month now but we’re still no closer to discovering who’ll be sitting in the Bhoys dugout next season.

Roy Keane was thought to be the favourite but in recent days Lucien Favre and Thierry Henry have both emerged on their radar.

What’s the word?

Another manager who had been on Celtic’s radar in the last few weeks was Chris Wilder.

The Englishman left Sheffield United with his team rock bottom of the Premier League and he now has no shortage of suitors.

Celtic were dealt a blow in their chase of Wilder last week when it was revealed that a potential sticking point in their pursuit would be his pay-off. The former Blades boss is set to receive money from the club over the next six months, a sum that would get smaller if he finds a new job.

However, in a fresh twist to the tale, they have been dealt another almighty blow. That’s because according to The Daily Mail, Burnley have now entered the race for Wilder.

Fortunately, that will only happen if Sean Dyche decides to finally leave his post in the summer.

The outlet claims that Wilder is set to become one of the hottest properties over the next few months, meaning Celtic will have to move quickly if they want him.

Bad news for the Hoops

Dermot Desmond hasn’t particularly had the easiest few weeks in the Celtic hierarchy.

Questioned over his future in Glasgow last week, he will be left tearing his hair out at the repeated setbacks in their quest to find a new manager.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-roy-keane-nicky-butt-jesse-marsch-scott-brown” title=”Latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Jesse Marsch has already been ruled out of the running in what was the biggest blow to their aspirations yet. The American revealed he was honoured to be linked with the job but he has now been linked with Borussia Monchengladbach.

It seems as though the coaches that Celtic target are all in demand. Fortunately, however, they do have some breathing room between now and next season.

Wilder should have been one of the names at the top of their wish list though. He is a canny thinker, is astute defensively and has plenty of success under his belt; he took Sheffield United from League One to the Premier League.

Desmond will have to hope that Wilder doesn’t become one who got away.

AND IN other news, Reliable journo shares six-word update on Celtic manager hunt, fans should be buzzing…

Celtic are still yet to announce a deal for Eddie Howe as their next manager, despite reports claiming he verbally agreed on a move to Glasgow last week.

And now, according to a report from Football Insider, the Hoops are fearing the 43-year-old is having second thoughts over a move to Parkhead.

Howe put off by Celtic pressure?

They have been informed by a Celtic source that Howe has received a ‘wonderful’ offer from the club, however, they have concerns he may be having second thoughts about the vacant post.

One reason mentioned is the demands of winning every game in Scotland, with Howe not used to that pressure during his previous stints at Bournemouth and Burnley.

Transfer Tavern take

Even though Football Insider are sharing the club’s fears over Howe’s stance on a move, we aren’t as concerned over a proposed deal falling through.

The Sun have suggested that both parties are reluctant to rush negotiations, which, in our view, is the right decision.

A potential start date, along with certain assurances may still need to be agreed between both Howe and Celtic, so as long as the two parties are on the same page throughout, we’re confident a move will still be finalised.

In other news: Premier League side set to bid for Celtic midfielder, find out more here. 

Ralph Hasenhuttl named a much-changed side for Southampton’s trip to league leaders Manchester City on Wednesday night and saw his side emphatically beaten 5-2.

The Saints started well at the Etihad before Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring, although James Ward-Prowse equalised soon after with a penalty.

Goals from Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan put the Citizens 3-1 up at half-time before Mahrez added another in the second half.

Che Adams then immediately grabbed a goal back but it would only be a consolation as De Bruyne scored a fifth for City, and Pep Guardiola’s side could and perhaps should, have scored more against a worryingly open Southampton defence.

One man who disappointed with his performance at the Etihad was Ryan Bertrand.

The 31-year-old featured as a right-back against City but struggled in an unorthodox position, with SofaScore rating him a 5.7/10 for his performance – the worst of any player on the pitch.

The former Chelsea man was constantly tormented by Phil Foden down the left-hand side, as the youngster picked up an 8.1 rating for his display; playing three key passes, completing four dribbles and registering two assists during his time on the pitch.

Bertrand, who reportedly earns £70k per week at Southampton, would make just one tackle and two interceptions during the 90 minutes, whereas Mohammed Salisu, who was playing at left-back, would make five tackles and two interceptions, which emphasises how much the Englishman struggled.

The defender would also manage to win just 3/8 of his duels during the game, resulting in a less than impressive 38% success rate, which was comfortably the worst of any Southampton defender on the night.

Bertrand was also wasteful when he had the ball, as none of his three attempted long balls were accurate, whilst he wouldn’t attempt a single cross in the 90 minutes.

Hasenhuttl put his faith in the experienced defender to perform at right-back in the absence of Kyle Walker-Peters, who was rested after only returning from injury at the weekend, but he clearly failed to repay the Austrian manager’s faith in him, as he produced a woeful display at the Etihad.

And, in other news… Deadwood: Hasenhuttl should axe £10.8m-rated flop if he wants to rebuild this summer

With just one defeat in their last six league outings, this was the ideal opportunity for Wolves to lay down their credentials.

By all accounts, this has been a torrid campaign for the Old Gold. Nuno Santo has rarely had many difficulties in his Molineux tenure, but this season has been full of them.

With injuries aplenty and his attack misfiring, Nuno’s men have been closer to relegation than achieving their ultimate goal of European football.

Against a timid Newcastle side, it was a performance that demonstrated everything that’s gone wrong with this Wolves team. Last season, they surely would have pushed the Magpies aside.

Their quick counter-attacking style of football would arguably have been no match for a rigid Steve Bruce team. Though, his side stood firm on this occasion and even took the lead.

It took Ruben Neves’ fourth goal in ten matches for Wolves to take a solitary point after drawing 1-1, but if there was a positive beyond that, it had to be Adama Traore.

In an otherwise tame display, the winger was rampant and is now beginning to creep towards his best form again. The Spaniard caused the goal against Leeds just over a week ago, thundering a fierce effort off the bar that came off Illan Meslier and then found the net.

Although he failed to score at St James’ Park, his performance typified the skills he’s brought to the Premier League since joining from Middlesbrough.

We know Traore has what it takes to beat a man but even he defied his usual standards on Saturday evening. In total, the 25-year-old succeeded with a total of 14 dribbles from 19 attempts. That tally happened to better his season’s best of nine dribbles in a game.

He had Toon right-back Emil Krafth in a spin as he was surpassed past on no fewer than four occasions by the rampant Traore.

It was a day to forget for the Swedish defender who found life incredibly difficult against the Spain international.

That wasn’t the sole positive from his outing, though. Traore set the tone for a remarkable display with four key passes leading to goal scoring opportunities, a tally that once again happened to be his best of the campaign.

The forward is often a bulldozer on the wing and he used his frightening levels of strength to maraud his way past opponents. During the contest, he won a colossal 19 ground duels, a tally that surpassed Wolves’ next best player (Jonny) in this department by a total of 13.

This was a mesmerising outing from Traore, one that signified he is now well and truly back.

All the Wolves star needs now is to find the back of the net. Amazingly, he is yet to do so in the Premier League this season.

AND in other news, Forget Gibbs-White: Nuno must unleash rarely-seen Wolves 18y/o who “scores every week”…

Many Everton fans have been left tormentd as Paul Joyce relayed an injury update on Abdoulaye Doucoure.

As per a tweet from The Times journalist, Carlo Ancelotti has said that the former Watford man could be out injured for between eight and ten weeks with a small fracture in his foot.

It means for the Goodison Park faithful that unfortunately he is most likely going to miss the rest of the 2020/21 campaign in what is a big blow to the Merseyside club.

The central midfielder has been nothing short of immense ever since his move to the Toffees from the Hornets in last summer’s transfer window, winning no fewer than 4.3 of his duels per game in the Premier League so far this season as well as averaging 1.8 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per match (Sofascore).

Everton fan reaction to Doucoure update

These Blues fumed upon reading the update on Twitter, with one Everton supporter even going as far as to claim that it was ‘typical’ of the Toffees’ luck with injuries throughout the season:

“Nooooo”

Credit: @The_Bin_Man77

“Pain. Immense pain.”

Credit: @rossEFC95

“This season man”

Credit: @NathSJones1

“Oh man, not our top 4 chances!”

Credit: @TheGriff91

“We can’t have nice things, can we?”

Credit: @TimmyMieldezis

“Just when we get Allan back. All so typical of our historical bad luck with injuries. Not going to get to see the Davies, Doucoure, Allan midfield three I spoke of with @PlanetFPLPod after all. Not this season anyway.”Credit: @spirit_bluesIn other news, find out what early team news before Burnley has been lauded by some Everton fans here!

According to a report by Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur, led of course by chairman Daniel Levy, are plotting to sell Serge Aurier this summer – with coaching staff even said to regard him as ‘uncoachable’ behind the scenes.

Aurier, who enters the final 12 months of his current deal this summer, with talk previously touting a bumper new contract (Football Insider), now looks more likely to leave north London at the end of the season as Levy and co plot a sale.

Tottenham plotting Aurier sale

Indeed, a Tottenham source has explained to Football Insider that talk surrounding a fresh contract appears unlikely at this stage – with Spurs now plotting to offload the 28-year-old despite a much improved season at points.

He has mostly kept summer signing Matt Doherty out of the side when it comes to Premier League appearances – evidenced by the defender starting 14 league matches compared to his counterpart’s 9.

Speaking to Football Insider at the end of last year, pundit and former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell even hailed him as a ‘top class player’ for some of his showings this season.

Transfer Tavern take

Despite this, Tottenham are keen to offload Aurier in the summer given his contract situation coupled with the danger he could leave as a free agent upon it’s expiry.

The coaching staff are even said to regard him as ‘uncoachable’ despite Aurier featuring regularly for Mourinho.

Time will tell what comes of this report or who could lodge a bid for the right-back this summer, but Levy and Spurs are said to be eager for a summer sale.

In other news: Alasdair Gold has lifted the lid on this ‘phenomenal’ Tottenham youngster, find out more here.

Sunderland fans were far from happy with comments from Max Power after their side’s 2-1 defeat to Shrewsbury on Tuesday.

The Black Cats actually took the lead through Aiden O’Brien, but that was as good as it got for the north-east side. Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Harry Chapman netted in the second-half to earn the Shrews all three points – the result sees Sunderland remain outside the play-off spots.

After the match, captain Power was interviewed by the club’s media team. He mentioned that many teams see Sunderland as a big scalp, insinuating that they are more motivated when playing the Wearside outfit than other teams.

Power has come in for criticism in the past (Football League World), and this was another opportunity for the fans to let their feelings on the £540,000-valued midfielder (Transfermarkt) be known. The video was shared on the club’s official Twitter account, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

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

“Yey another season in League One.”

Credit: @PAJUK19

“No words, too long been a Black Cat, seen the highs and lows”

Credit: @DeBradley2

“Even if it it’s true, and there may be something to it, Sunderland AFC know and expect this and should be able to deal with it. To trot this line out time after time, now for the third season in a row, is admitting that this squad is incapable of dealing with it.”

Credit: @VinnytheMackem

“Captain Clueless”

Credit: @1879SAFC

“Still not taking ownership I see. Still playing the opposition raise their game against Sunderland card. We’re a big scalp etc.. Rubbish. We’re a mid table L1 side now and have been for 3 seasons, accept it and take ownership of your own performance. Mindset all wrong.”

Credit: @SAFC_73

“He is just the meaning of disappointing, one of them players who just hoofs the ball forward never adds anything to the team”

Credit: @RCawley01

In other news, Sunderland fans slammed this man against Shrewsbury.