All posts by z3u9t.icu

Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, as reported by Sunday World.

Enjoying another productive season for the Blues, the 23-year-old striker managed to contribute with 18 goal contributions in 32 appearances; 12 goals and six assists [Transfermarkt].

Despite finishing as joint-top Chelsea scorer alongside Timo Werner in 2020/21 [BBC], Abraham may jettisoned as the Champions League winners look to raise funds to acquire high-profile targets [Caught Offside].

As a consequence, it is said that Palace are now firmly in pursuit of the England international [Sunday World]. Needing to rebuild after the release of 22 players last week [The Sun], the Eagles could look to make the Englishman a priority as the Selhurst Park club enter a new era.

In light of these latest developments, loads of Crystal Palace supporters took to Twitter to express their feelings on the Abraham rumours.

Palace fans react: Replying to popular fan outlet @cpfc_xtra, here is what they had to say: “This would be really good business”Credit: @erictwigs”Dead rumour. Won’t happen.”Credit: @mainstand_eagle”Yes please”Credit: @jdhrecruiter”Wow a managerless signing!!!”Credit: @LacAlan”Lol like we’ll pay anywhere close to what Chelsea want get real!”Credit: @PMor240301″Yes”Credit: @longlivewilliamIn other news, Crystal Palace have released a former £9 million signing.

Former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that he would be very surprised if Paul Heckingbottom landed the Sheffield United job full-time.

Heckingbottom is currently on a five-man shortlist of managers to replace Chris Wilder following his departure from Bramall Lane back in March.

The 43-year-old has been filling in on a caretaker basis but now looks to be in contention for the role permanently.

Having stepped in after Wilder’s exit, Palmer believes it is only fair for him to be interviewed, but the ex-Sheffield Wednesday player admitted he would be surprised if Heckingbottom ended up as Wilder’s permanent successor.

Speaking exclusively to TT about Sheffield United’s search for a new manager, Palmer said:

“I’d be very surprised if Paul’s in the front running for that job, very surprised. But, you know, you put him in until the end of the season, I think it’s only fair to give him an interview for the job.

“But the results and the performances, really, for me, would not warrant him getting the job full-time.”

It has also recently emerged, via The Sun, that United have made an approach for Slavisa Jokanovic – who could be a much safer bet for the club.

The Serbian has won promotion to the Premier League before, taking both Fulham and Watford from the Championship to English football’s top flight.

The Derby County takeover bid lodged by Erik Alonso is no longer being considered by the club, while Mel Morris has entered into new talks regarding the sale of the Rams.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a statement posted on the Derby County website, in which the club’s CEO Stephen Pearce confirmed that the board are no longer considering the takeover bid of No Limits Sports Limited.

However, Pearce added that Mel Morris is actively discussing the sale of the club with a number of interested and credible parties.

He said: “An announcement was made in April that a deal was agreed between Mel Morris and No Limits Sports Limited, but subsequent developments mean the deal is no longer an option.

“However, Mel Morris is in touch with a number of credible parties in respect to purchasing both the football club and Pride Park Stadium.”

Fans must be buzzing

Considering just how much Derby fans have had to endure this season – with their team narrowly avoiding relegation from the Championship, the frustration of two takeover attempts ending in failure and knowing their side face a points deduction for breaking Financial Fair Play rules – Pearce’s clarification on the current situation regarding the sale of the club is likely to leave the Pride Park faithful buzzing.

Indeed, with a number of concerning issues coming to light regarding Alonso’s bid for the club, it could easily be argued that Derby may well be better off without the Spanish businessman becoming their new owner.

Furthermore, with Pearce confirming that there are a “number of credible parties” interested in purchasing Derby, the prospect of the club being sold appears to have some potential ahead of next season.

As such, if the sale of the club is completed this summer, this would allow Derby and their fans to start looking forward to the future with a new owner who could back Rooney in the transfer market in the 35-year-old’s bid to build a team capable of pushing for promotion and duly putting this year’s disappointments firmly in the past.

In other news: Derby dealt big transfer blow over “fantastic” £1.35m-rated gem, Rooney will be gutted – opinion

Tottenham Hotspur have just been dealt a major setback in their pursuit of Julian Nagelsmann…

What’s the word?

According to Fabrizio Romano, the RB Leipzig boss is set to be confirmed as Bayern Munich’s next manager, replacing the departing Hansi Flick, who is widely expected to be swapping the Bundesliga champions for the German national side.

He claims that the 33-year-old gem has turned down Spurs amongst other clubs and will soon be announced as the Bavarian’s new boss on a five-year deal.

Munich and Leipzig are negotiating the final fee as the former Hoffenheim boss is under contract at the Red Bull Arena until 2023.

Hammer blow

This news comes as a devastating and crushing blow to Spurs as it was thought that the young German mastermind was amongst their top targets, if not Daniel Levy’s no.1 choice.

As revealed by the Telegraph at the end of February and then again following the sacking of Jose Mourinho last week, the Leipzig boss was Levy’s ‘preferred option’ to replace the Portuguese in north London.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-managerial-update-transfer-rumours-levy-mourinho-sacked-gossip” title= “Read the latest Spurs manager updates, transfer news, gossip and more!”]

It’s easy to see why he would be, despite his age, he has emerged as one of the most exciting and progressive coaches in the game, earning lofty comparisons to Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

“Julian is the biggest German coaching talent. He’s very mature for his age and has already come very far,” explained ex-Leipzig director of football Ralf Rangnick to SID (via Bulinews). “If he keeps developing like this, he can reach the level of Klopp and Guardiola.”

Nagelsmann became the youngest-ever coach to reach a Champions League semi-final and at one stage had Leipzig genuinely challenging Bayern for the Bundesliga title, which would have been some feat.

In 90 games in charge of the Red Bull-owned outfit, he has recorded a 58.8% win rate, which would have been a vast improvement on Mourinho’s 52.3% in 18 months in N17.

But now Levy is left back at square one.

His mooted preference to take the helm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be joining a Champions League and perenially-winning club in Bayern, leaving him with a tough decision to make.

Some of the other names linked to the gig have been wholly uninspiring, namely England chief Gareth Southgate, ex-Chelsea nemesis Maurizio Sarri and Wigan’s FA Cup hero Roberto Martinez.

Romano’s latest update is a devastating hammer blow to Spurs, so it would not be a surprise if Levy was left reeling and furious in his office upon hearing this news.

AND in other news, 0 dribbles, 0 tackles: £36m-rated Spurs passenger badly let Mason down again vs City…

Steven Gerrard’s reported hopes of signing Joseph Okumu for Rangers this summer appear to have been handed a boost after the confirmed that the Elfsborg centre-back wanted to leave the Swedish club, which should surely increase the chances of him ending up at Ibrox ahead of next season.

Rangers were initially linked with the 23-year-old by Football Insider back in March, with the report suggesting that the Light Blues were preparing for the exits of Filip Helander and George Edmundson this summer and are duly keen to add another centre-back to their ranks.

Whilst links with Okumu have slightly died down in recent weeks, with the Gers having also been heavily linked with Vitesse centre-back Danilho Doekhi recently, it would appear that Okumu could well be on the move this summer.

The Kenya international admitted earlier this week that he “definitely” wants to leave Elfsborg for another European club this summer, which will surely put Rangers on high alert as they prepare for next season.

He was also heavily praised by Eflsborg’s sporting director Stefan Andreasson recently, as he suggested that the 23-year-old was the best defender the Allsvenskan has ever seen, saying: “Okumu has been talked about a lot since he came to us.

“We understood that this was a very good player, then he showed maybe the whole of Sweden last year, and also Europe. It is clear that Okumu is one of the best.

“I have said it once before, that he is the best centre-back that has ever been in the Allsvenskan – you can say that sometimes.

“He is destined to have a career outside Scandinavia, which is positive. We must enjoy him as long as he’s here.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

Therefore, it certainly seems as if he is resigned to losing Okumu this summer; and given that the Kenyan has been so highly rated, Ross Wilson would be foolish to not at least try and bring him to Rangers ahead of next season.

In other news… £94k per start: Gerrard is making the right call by axing Rangers dud, he will quickly be forgotten

Rangers eased through to the Scottish Cup fourth round on Sunday with a comfortable 4-0 win against Cove Rangers but there was a cause of concern for some Rangers fans after Steven Gerrard left Jack Simpson out at Ibrox.

With Filip Helander having featured twice for Sweden during the international break, Sunday’s game seemed the ideal time for Gerrard to hand Simpson his first start for Rangers following his January move.

However, the 40-year-old manager stuck with his tried and tested partnership of Helander and Connor Goldson, leaving Simpson on the bench despite taking a 4-0 lead into half-time.

The 24-year-old centre-back was initially going to join Rangers on a pre-contract deal ahead of next season but was brought to Ibrox ahead of schedule in the winter transfer window.

However, he has made just two substitute appearances totalling 35 minutes since then and after being left out against significantly inferior opposition in Cove Rangers, you worry that Gerrard might have already written him off.

Upon his arrival, Simpson’s former youth coach Tim Davies waxed lyrical about his ability to The Scottish Sun, he said: “He can play in a back three, in a two or as a holding midfielder. Jack is excellent on the ball. He’s also left-footed and so many managers crave that as he offers balance.”

Of course, Simpson was always going to struggle to break into Rangers’ defence this season, when you consider that the Gers have conceded just 10 goals in the top-flight so far this season, with the likes of Goldson, Helander and Leon Balogun all impressing at the back.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-rangers-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Rangers news, transfer rumours and more!”]

However, with Helander being linked with a move away in recent weeks, whilst Balogun’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, you would have thought that Sunday’s game against Cove Rangers would have presented an ideal opportunity for Gerrard to test Simpson out in his side, and see whether he has what it takes to step up next season.

The Light Blues also have Nikola Katic and George Edmundson to return this summer, with the Croatian edging closer to full fitness after his season-long injury, whilst the Englishman will be hoping to push on at Ibrox after a loan spell at Derby County.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776″]

Therefore, there is already a lot of competition at centre-back in Gerrard’s side and unless Simpson can start to show a lot more training, which you feel is the only reason why he would have been omitted against Cove on Sunday, you worry that his time at Ibrox may well already be cut short.

And, in other news… Wilson should sanction Rangers summer swoop for 20 y/o gem dubbed “one of the most talented”

Noel Whelan believes Glasgow Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara may not get too many more opportunities to make a move from Ibrox to the Premier League.

Whelan discusses Kamara

Leeds have been linked with a move for the Gers man (TEAMtalk), although there appears to have been no concrete approach as of yet.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Elland Road man Whelan has suggested the Finland international may not get many more opportunities to move to a big Premier League club. He said:

“He’d definitely add something to Leeds United but it depends on whether they’re going to allow him to leave. That’s the problem. 

“When you’ve got a Champions League side in Rangers, would a player want to leave or would he want to give it a shot there? It’s difficult because how far they are going to make it in the Champions League we’re not so sure.

“To come and play for a big club like Leeds in the Premier League, those opportunities don’t come around too often.

“He’s an absolutely fantastic player and we know Steven Gerrard wanted him to sign a new contract. That’s not happened as of yet.

“We need to strengthen in that department. There is gonna be an abundance of players who Leeds are on the lookout for in the summer.”

Champions League is the Gers’ joker

Indeed, a move to the Premier League is probably the dream of a number of players at Rangers, and Kamara is towards the front of the list in terms of those who have earned a move south of the border. With 44 appearances in all competitions this term (Transfermarkt), he has more than played his part in what has been a successful campaign for the Gers as they have clinched the Premiership title.

As Whelan suggests though, the possibility of playing in the Champions League next season may be enough to keep him at Ibrox for another 12 months. In fact, some impressive performances in that competition may even convince clubs higher up the English top flight to make a move for the 24-year-old. Either way, Ross Wilson and co are likely to be fielding plenty of enquiries for the former Dundee man this summer.

In other news, Rangers fans are livid at this broadcaster’s comments.

After a long, long wait, Leeds United finally ended their London hoodoo with a 2-1 victory over Fulham in the Premier League on Friday night.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side had a wretched record in the capital heading into the clash at the capital, having lost 13 of their past 14 games there in all competitions.

However, goals from Patrick Bamford and Raphinha were enough to ensure the trip back north was a far more positive one this time around, with the Whites now heading into the international break in much better spirits.

One man who arguably outshone Bamford, though, was Diego Llorente.

After missing a large part of the season through injury, the £18m-rated Spain international is finally beginning to show why Leeds brought him in last summer, with the centre-back now having played the full 90 minutes in the past five games in the top flight.

His performance against the Cottagers on Friday was one of his best, completely dominating Fulham’s front men and once again showing why he appears to be a perfect, ball-playing centre-back for Bielsa.

As per Sofascore, Llorente completed 88% of his passes on the night, which was by far the highest of any starter for Leeds, and found a team-mate with four out of his six attempted long balls.

That extra bit of composure in bringing the ball out of defence shone through for the Whites, while he also stuck to his task defensively. Only Gjanni Alioski won more than his seven duels, while his tally of four tackles was the second-highest of any Leeds player (Sofascore).

Writing in his post-match player ratings, Leeds Live’s Beren Cross gave the Spaniard a seven, saying: “Took Josh Maja out of the game and forced him off at the break. Aleksandar Mitrovic was similarly impotent. Reading the game so well and acting on it. Assertive in breaking out from the backline too.”

In a post-game tweet, the BBC’s Adam Pope raved about Leeds’ display and hailed Llorente in particular as being “imperious”.

While Bamford may have been involved in both goals, the 27-year-old’s calmness at the back was vital to ensuring that Fulham barely laid a glove on Leeds – even with the scoreline remaining so close at 2-1, Scott Parker’s side only managed two shots on target in the entire second half despite trying to chase an equaliser.

Llorente’s return to fitness has been a welcome boost for Bielsa, and his performances in recent weeks must surely have Leeds fans nodding in approval too.

Meanwhile, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa should urge a move for this Premier League star…

Fabrizio Romano has handed Aston Villa a major boost in their chase to sign Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent months have linked Dean Smith’s side with a move for the striker, and now Romano has delivered a decisive update on his long-term future with the Hoops.

Speaking exclusively to GiveMeSport, Romano confirmed that Edouard is likely to leave Celtic Park this summer: “I think, yes. Now it’s time for him to decide on a new club, and we’ll have to see if the right bid arrives. Obviously if you want to sign a player like this, you have to pay.

“There are lots of opportunities for him, but I think yes, this summer there will be chances for him to leave. They (Celtic) will love to keep him, but probably with big and important bids, they need to sell him.”

Time for Sawiris

While Celtic will understandably look to get big-money in Edouard, Villa must surely seize this opportunity to go after Edouard. The Frenchman has been in outstanding form for the Hoops once again this season, netting 16 goals in just 26 league games.

His former boss at Celtic, Neil Lennon, has raved about the kind of importance the £13.5m-rated talent holds at Celtic Park, and was particularly effusive in his praise after a win against Ross County.

He said: “He’s hugely important (to us), he’s an outstanding footballer, talismanic almost, he’s so talented, so cool and he had two great finishes. He’s up there with some of the best we’ve had over the last 20 odd years.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-aston-villa-transfer-rumours-and-news-copy-copy” title=”Latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news”]

Given Romano’s update on the situation, it’s surely now time for Villa’s co-owners of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens to get their cheque-books out and strike a deal for Edouard this summer.

Click here to see the full interview with Fabrzio Romano

Meanwhile, Villa’s key backroom appointments will surely have Dean Smith buzzing…

Celtic have been dealt some tough hands over the years. They’ve missed out on some great new signings and one that must particularly sting is the Ivan Toney near miss.

The Hoops were heavily linked to a move for the striker back in the summer, but talks fell through and he eventually made his move to Brentford, where he is currently flying.

Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan has discussed the failed move and thinks Celtic will be furious that they couldn’t reach an agreement for his signature and tipped Toney and Odsonne Edouard to be a “mouthwatering” partnership.

Indeed, the 24-year-old has been in blistering form this season, netting a mammoth 25 goals in 32 appearances in the Championship so far. He leads the league’s top goal-scorers by a large margin, with Blackburn’s Adam Armstrong behind him on 19 goals, as per BBC Sport.

Edouard is capable of racking up similar numbers to Toney and currently boasts 16 goals in 24 Premiership games this season. Last term, he finished with a whopping 28 goals and 19 assists across all competitions, according to Transfermarkt.

With Celtic’s lacklustre 2020/21 season coming to a close, Nick Hammond and co will be looking back at their failed summer business and cursing themselves. Had they brought the clinical Toney to Parkhead, he and Edouard would have been an unstoppable force at the forefront of Celtic’s attack. Both Neil Lennon and John Kennedy have been deploying two strikers up top, so it’s not a tactic the Hoops haven’t seen recently.

Stephen McGowan recently revealed that Toney was in fact “in the building” last summer and was eager to put pen to paper and sign for Celtic from Peterborough. The fact that he slipped out of the net after being so close will have the members of the board, and perhaps the departed Neil Lennon, kicking themselves.

With the attacking prowess of two lethal strikers, the Bhoys could have had a much better shot at retaining their Premiership crown and keeping Rangers away from the top spot.

In other news, Dean Windass makes claim over Odsonne Eduard future under potential new Celtic manager…