All posts by z3u9t.icu

Loads of Glasgow Rangers fans have been left confused by some exit news that ahs emerged involving Stephen Kelly.

As per the official Twitter page of the Ibrox faithful, the central midfield player has now joined English League Two club Salford City on a loan deal for the rest of the season.

He had only made two senior appearances for the Light Blues all campaign, and so has moved in search of more regular game time.

While a loan move is good for the 21-year-old’s development, a lot of Teddy Bears are confused over his move to Salford, claiming that he can play at a better level.

He has played for Scotland many times at youth level, including nine caps with the U21s, and perhaps a move to another team in the Scottish Premiership would have benefitted him better, if another offer came through.

Rangers fans on Kelly loan

These Gers were confused as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one RFC supporter claiming that they were ‘baffled’, while another even went as far as to say that it was an ‘awful’ move:

“Makes no sense he’s at a miles higher level than that”

Credit: @ggh1992

“Why?”

Credit: @mrmorton_man

“I’m baffled by this”

Credit: @kennyd9

“So much better than the 4th tier of English football.”

Credit: @cccc18721972

“League 2?!!!”

Credit: @WilliamGrimes_

“That’s an absolutely awful loan move for him.”

Credit: @Newcoinvestor

In other news, find out what other club update has Gers buzzing here!

Aston Villa could be about to sign their own version of Gonzalo Higuain after they were linked with a move for River Plate striker Julian Alvarez.

The 21-year-old Argentine striker has been on fire this season, scoring 17 goals and registering seven assists in 20 appearances in the Argentine top flight to push them to the top of the table after 24 games.

His fine form has seen him likened to Manchester United and Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo in the past, but it’s his former teammate Higuain who has been singing the praises of the young striker.

Both Alvarez and Higuain came through the famed River Plate academy and the former Chelsea loanee has revealed that he sees a lot of himself in the striker who has so far earned five caps for the Argentina national team.

Speaking to ESPN Higuain declared: “He is the best striker that River Plate has. He has scored 20 goals and half of Europe wants him.

“I saw how he moves, how he uses both feet. I see him similar to me in terms of his hunger, the desire to make it, the desire to learn.

“I love him in every way, how he plays, his humility… it makes me very happy that he is doing well.”

Combine that with his goal record and it’s there is every reason to believe that he could become as devastating as Higuain was in his career. After all, he’s also been compared to some other great South American strikers. River manager Marcelo Gallardo once said: “He is constantly hungry and I see that in players like Suarez, Cavani and Julián Alvarez.”

The forward has a €2om (£17m) release clause in his contract with the Argentine giants but they are hopeful of tying him down to a long-term contract.

Aston Villa currently have both Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins as central striker options, but with Ings turning 30 later this season there is no harm in looking ahead to the future. Watkins has been fielded on the wing at times this season and like Alvarez, became a striker after initially breaking through on the flanks.

It would also take the pressure off those two in front of goal and would allow Gerrard to be more flexible tactically, possibly playing two up front on occasion and still having a spare forward for the bench. The options in the squad will allow Alvarez plenty of time to adapt and bed in without too much pressure, while also bolstering the squad and adding firepower to a team that has only managed 21 goals in 15 games so far this season.

AND in other news, Aston Villa not regretting decision to reject £110k p/w “liability” last summer.

Newcastle’s abysmal Premier League campaign continued as they lost 4-0 to Manchester City at St James’ Park on Sunday.

The game got off to the worst possible start as miscommunication between Martin Dubravka and Ciaran Clark allowed Ruben Dias to nod in from close range. Joao Cancelo then scored a thunderbolt from distance to double the lead, before goals from Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring.

Lightweight

One player who let Eddie Howe down badly in the game was Joe Willock. He was left out of the starting XI against Liverpool in midweek and was brought back into the limelight by the ex-Bournemouth manager, but the 22-year-old was unable to repay his boss’ faith as he put in a poor display against Pep Guardiola’s side.

The summer signing from Arsenal was hooked at half-time with the score at 2-0, with Howe seemingly not happy with the midfielder’s performance.

Defensively, he offered next to nothing. As per SofaScore, he lost 80% of his individual duels in midfield. He was also dribbled past twice, whilst failing to complete a single tackle, block or clearance and making just one interception.

This shows how lightweight he was in the middle of the park, as he was too easily beaten by Manchester City players off the ball. He did not get his foot in to make a successful challenge and was taken out of the game by the opposition dribbling past him with ease.

On the ball, Willock also struggled. As per SofaScore, he had far fewer touches (13) than Magpies goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (42). He also completed just seven passes and failed in his one attempted dribble. This shows that he did not do enough to make himself available in possession to get Newcastle up the pitch whenever they got the ball back off the visitors.

The 22-year-old let his manager down with a disappointing display as he failed to make a positive impact either on or off the ball, leading to his withdrawal at the start of the second half. He will need to drastically improve his performances if he wants to be a regular starter throughout the rest of the campaign, as this was a dreadful outing for the Arsenal academy graduate.

AND in other news, Journalist drops transfer news which will leave NUFC fans buzzing, he can be the next Shearer…

Many Everton fans have been left reacting to some comments that have emerged from Rafa Benitez on Fabian Delph.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of their match away at Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, the Spaniard said (via Toffee TV) with regards to the player: “He has the right mentality, the right attitude. I have to stop him in the training sessions because he’s pushing very hard.”

The comments came as a bit of a surprise to some members of the Goodison Park faithful, given that he has not really lived up to the £8.55m price tag that they paid City to sign him for, missing a lot of games through injury and only managing to make a mere 33 appearances in total over all competitions across the last three seasons, scoring no goals and making no assists (Transfermarkt).

As such, some supporters of the Merseyside club have previously called for him to be sold, and so the comments about his mentality and attitude in training have come as a shock.

Everton fans on Delph comments

These Toffees gave their reactions to the comments as they were shared on Twitter:

“Are these the same training sessions where Iwobi is a world beater?”

Credit: @martinhughgreen

“Lol, he’s just trolling us now”

Credit: @melbourne1973

“Is this because his contract is up in the summer?”

Credit: @danblue1980

“That’s who’s injuring everyone then”

Credit: @Hawthorne_EFC

“He will have to be a one man hurricane THIS weekend. It’s the hope that…”

Credit: @Botony

“Here we go”

Credit: @Tommy_D_1878

In other news, find out what early team news has Blues raging here!

Celtic have been dealt a late fitness concern ahead of their upcoming Europa League clash.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Jo Hendry, Ange Postecoglou revealed that Georgios Giakoumakis’ knee injury requires further investigation, something which could rule him out of Celtic’s trip to Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday evening.

According to the journalist, the 56-year-old manager said: “Giakoumakis [is set] to have further investigation on a knee issue.”

Fans will be gutted

Considering how impressive Giakoumakis was in the Netherlands last season, the fact that the centre-forward has played so few minutes since his summer switch to Celtic, as well as looking likely to miss out in the crucial Europa League clash with Bayer this evening, is sure to have left fans gutted.

Indeed, despite VVV-Venlo’s relegation from the Dutch top flight last term, the £2.25m-rated man highly impressed over his 30 Eredivisie appearances, scoring 26 goals, registering one assist and creating three big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 3.2 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player who journalist Jeroen Kapteijns dubbed a “phenomenon” earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.35, ranking him not only as his club’s best performer but also as the joint sixth-best player in the division.

As such, once he is fully fit and firing, Giakoumakis would very much appear to be a player who could easily become a pivotal cog in the Celtic attack.

However, with the 26-year-old once again looking unlikely to feature in Germany, fans’ patience regarding the striker’s fitness may be beginning to wear rather thin.

In other news: Ange must unleash “brilliant” £15k-p/w Celtic dynamo vs Bayer, he “always shows up”

A new deal for Mohamed Salah could affect Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino’s Liverpool futures, according to journalist James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Salah’s future still up in the air

The Reds were simply incredible in their 5-0 win away to Manchester United on Sunday, with Salah scoring a hat-trick to further add to his place in legend.

The Egyptian King is still yet to sign a new contract with Liverpool, which is causing some concern, considering his status as arguably the world’s best player at the moment.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

The Latest: Pearce makes big claim

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic before Sunday’s game, Pearce claimed that a massive deal for Salah could have a knock-on effect for Mane and Firmino, in terms of one potentially leaving.

In response to a query from one fan on the situation, the journalist replied: “Yes I’d say the outcome of the contract talks with Salah will have an impact on what happens with Mane and Firmino. I would be surprised if all three get new deals. Salah clearly the priority currently.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-8/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Salah HAS to sign

Keeping Mane and Firmino is clearly important for Liverpool, but Salah is the man they must tie down, even if it means bad news for one of the others eventually.

He is becoming an all-time Reds great before our very eyes, currently enjoying an outstanding season and making himself one of the club’s greatest-ever goalscorers, and at 29 he should still have four or five years at the very top, particularly given the way he looks after himself.

Losing Salah in his prime doesn’t bear thinking about and FSG would likely never be forgiven if they don’t give him exactly what he wants.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are excited about one transfer rumour doing the rounds. Read more here.

Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips is at risk of picking up a recurrence of his recent injury problem, according to expert Ben Dinnery.

The Lowdown: Phillips suffers injury woes

Phillips strutted into the new season with his stock never higher, following his exceptional performances for England at Euro 2020.

Unfortunately, the 25-year-old has suffered an injury-plagued campaign to date, only starting six of Leeds’ nine Premier League games and not always looking at his sharpest when he has played.

Phillips’ lack of availability has led to the Whites sitting 17th in the table currently, with concerns over a relegation battle growing by the week.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Expert makes worrying claim

Speaking to Football Insider, injury expert Dinnery has claimed that Phillips risks suffering the same injury if he isn’t careful, which could rule him out for a longer period:

“Kalvin Phillips has been in training for a while. Bielsa spoke about how he could have been available in game week eight but he wasn’t comfortable.

“He might not have been at his best with regards to a lack of fitness. Then he also missed out on game week nine when he chose to put him on the bench.

“Is there a chance of injury recurrence? Yes, as always. Sometimes we don’t even know why. That, of course, would be awful news for Leeds.

“Players may surpass their baseline testing and exceed every metric. However, the moment they step foot on the pitch, they could suffer a setback.

“Sometimes there’s just no explanation. We know that Bielsa looks to make sure the club is doing everything within its power to minimise that risk.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-22/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Handle him with care

While Marcelo Bielsa is clearly desperate to have Phillips on the pitch as much as possible, it is vital that he doesn’t aggravate the injury.

If Leeds were suddenly without the England international for months rather than weeks it could be a monumental blow, given his vast influence in recent years – the Whites lost seven of the nine Premier League games he missed last season.

Only Liam Cooper (2.4) has averaged more tackles per game in the league than Phillips (2.3) this season, despite his fitness issues, and he also has the fifth-highest pass completion rate (84.6%) in the squad, highlighting his quality on both sides of the ball.

In other news, Phil Hay has made a claim regarding three Leeds players. Read more here.

Liverpool are reportedly amongst a host of clubs monitoring the situation of Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to strengthen his engine room options.

What’s the story?

According to reliable journalist Christian Falk, who is the head of football for German outlet Sport Bild, the Reds have joined fellow Premier League sides Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in taking a close look at the highly-rated 18-year-old.

However, Falk also revealed that Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are leading the race for Wirtz’s signature ahead of a possible move in 2023.

He tweeted: TRUE @ManCity scout Florian Witz (18) intensely. Also @ChelseaFC @LFC @ManUtd and @Arsenal are interested. But: @FCBayern is leading the race for a Transfer in 2023″.

Jurgen Klopp would love him

Wirtz was awarded his first-team debut at just 16 thanks to his natural physical prowess and immense talent and has gone from strength to strength ever since, scoring 14 goals and providing 12 assists in 53 appearances for Leverkusen.

The youngster appears to have taken his already impressive game to another level this season, though. In just six outings for Gerardo Seoane’s charges, the attacking midfielder has bagged five goals, laying on a further four assists for his teammates.

His outstanding displays for the BayArena outfit have attracted the attention of several sides, although Wirtz’s immediate future appears to lie with the eternal bridesmaids as Wirtz is reportedly happy to stay at Leverkusen in the short term.

Nevertheless, with Liverpool’s squad in need of some younger, fresher legs and Klopp preferring to work with a smaller squad full of versatile players, the German tactician would surely love to bring his compatriot to Anfield in the near future.

Wirtz is comfortable in a variety of positions having played as a No.8, No.10, left-winger and striker throughout his short career, an attribute which will be extremely appealing to Klopp.

It remains to be seen whether director of football Michael Edwards can pull off another transfer masterclass and secure Wirtz’s signature, but if he can, it would surely go down as one of his best pieces of business.

And, in other news…3 key passes: Liverpool beast who took 100 touches excelled on the European stage 

Many Sheffield United fans have been left slamming Robin Olsen for his role in Millwall’s opening goal in Tuesday night’s clash in the EFL Championship.

Jed Wallace scored what looked to be a cross as the ball looped over the Sweden international and into the back of the net to put the Lions 1-0 up at Bramall Lane early on in the first half.

Olsen should not have been beaten from that kind of angle, and Slaviša Jokanović will certainly view it as a very cheap goal to give away.

Nonetheless, it is no surprise at all to see so many Blades supporters voicing their anger and frustration at the goalkeeper for letting that one past him, and he will no doubt be hoping that he can make amends in the second half.

Sheff Utd fans on Olsen display

These SUFC fans slammed Olsen as the goal was conceded on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he is ‘awful’:

“Olsen has got to do better. Full of mistakes for us so far him”

Credit: @tomjackson2511

“Literally was saying after Stoke match not sold on Olsen whatsoever”

Credit: @sufcgaz

“Awful awful there from Olsen.”

Credit: @RedSheffield

“I’m sorry but Olsen is not good enough”

Credit: @Parf23

“Shocking start this Blades. Olsen. Wow.”

Credit: @AshleyBranche

“What on earth is Olsen doing there?”

Credit: @Redwood0114

In other news, find out what international incident involving one of their players had Blades fuming here!

Considering how impressive West Bromwich Albion had looked under the new leadership of Valerien Ismael so far this season, with the Baggies having picked up 13 points over their opening five fixtures of the 2021/22 Championship campaign, the Frenchman must have been expecting more of the same from his Albion side on Saturday.

Indeed, with the visitors to The Hawthorns, Millwall, having won one, drawn two and lost two of their first five league games, few football fans, West Brom or otherwise, would have predicted anything but a comprehensive Albion win in the fixture.

However, despite their underdog status, Gary Rowett’s side turned in a highly impressive display against the Baggies, bettering Ismael’s side in terms of total shots, shots on target and big chances created, as well as enjoying 44% of possession – a rather extraordinary feat away from home at one of the second tier’s big hitters.

As such, the Lions were well worth the 1-1 draw they left West Bromwich with, and perhaps were unfortunate they did not seal all three points in the clash.

On the flip side, perhaps unsurprisingly, a number of the West Brom players had games to forget, with Semi Ajayi, Cedric Kipre and Sam Johnstone all turning in below-par performances, however, it will undoubtedly be Karlan Grant most disappointed with his display on Saturday.

Fewer touches than Johnstone

Indeed, prior to his substitution in the 59th minute of the fixture, the £7.2m-rated man proved particularly ineffective on the left-hand side of Ismael’s attack, with his only shot – either on or off-target – in the game coming late in the first half, when Bartosz Bialkowski comfortably saved his penalty.

Aside from his spot-kick miss, the 23-year-old also won just two of his five duels, lost possession of the ball on nine separate occasions, failed with his one attempted cross and completed just 11 passes.

The £30k-per-week forward also touched the ball a grand total of 25 times, 20 times fewer than the West Brom shot-stopper Sam Johnstone.

These returns saw Grant earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.2, with no player from either side who featured in the game receiving a lower score than the former England U18 international.

As such, should Albion have any hope of getting back to winning ways against Derby County on Tuesday evening, Grant will undoubtedly have to up his game from the Millwall clash, as the striker was simply not good enough on Saturday.

In other news: Ismael drops fresh update on West Brom duo which will have Albion fans buzzing