All posts by z3u9t.icu

Paddy Kenny says links between Everton midfielder Tom Davies and Crystal Palace are ‘really strange’.

The lowdown

Football Insider reported last week that Palace were monitoring Davies’ situation with a view to a possible move.

Davies has found first-team football hard to come by under new boss Rafael Benitez.

He’s played only 16 minutes across Everton’s first six Premier League matches.

His contract is up in less than two years’ time and there’s apparently been ‘no progress’ towards an extension.

Palace, meanwhile, may need another midfielder if Conor Gallagher returns to Chelsea at the end of his loan spell.

The latest

Kenny has urged Davies to fight for his place at Goodison Park rather than countenance a ‘big drop down’.

He reckons the Scouser has all the support he needs to succeed at his boyhood club.

“For me, that’s a big drop down anyway,” he told Football Insider. “No disrespect to Palace, but Everton are a bigger club. So it’s a really strange one, this.

“Surely he’d want to do his utmost best to try and stay at Everton and get himself into that first-team.

“He’s got the backing of the crowd and the support of all the staff there as well. That means a lot.”

The verdict

It really isn’t all that difficult to understand. Davies is struggling badly for game time at an upper mid-table outfit, so he could move to a lower mid-table side where his prospects should be significantly better.

Yes, it’s perhaps more complicated because he’s a local lad, but he shouldn’t be criticised if he chooses to put his career first, and there is also the prospect of playing under one of the greatest centre-midfielders in Premier League history at Sehurst Park.

It’s certainly hard to see him agreeing to a new deal if the current trend continues.

In other news, Palace have been linked with this Championship ace. 

A number of West Ham supporters have been hailing a host of Hammers youngsters after they played against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.

David Moyes’ side faced a dead rubber contest in Europe on Thursday evening, having already secured qualification into the knockout stages.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

It afforded Moyes the luxury of naming a much-changed starting lineup at the London Stadium but it was one that had more meaning to it than normal.

During the night, a total of eight academy graduates took to the field, while there were also five full debutants and two debutants, as highlighted by an official club post.

It was further proof that West Ham are going in the right direction both on and off the pitch, despite the 1-0 defeat, as the latest batch of Hammers youngsters look to mark their mark.

West Ham fans hail youngsters

These fans took to Twitter to react to their efforts.

“My club”

Credit: @darrenpasley79

“Wow what a picture!”

Credit: @jackcoyi1

“Future is bright”

Credit: @deskamiya

“Massive”

Credit: @Razek_76

“Proud of the boys, COYI”

Credit: @MarcinPochojka

“Brilliant display from majority of them tonight so proud”

Credit: @RyanHil98488904

In other news, a reliable reporter has made a transfer claim regarding one West Ham target. Find out who it is here.

Journalist Michael Graham was left stunned by footage of the goal scored by Elliot Embleton for Sunderland at home to Shrewsbury Town in League One this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Bright start

Alex Neil’s team made a very bright start to the game at the Stadium of Light, with Embleton and Nathan Broadhead putting them 2-0 up within 13 minutes.

However, they were pegged back to 2-2 in the second half through goals from Josh Vela and former Black Cats central defender Tom Flanagan, before Broadhead popped up with his second of the game in second-half stoppage time, taking Neil’s side three points clear of seventh.

The Latest: Embleton strike

Footage of Embleton’s half-volley from outside of the area was shared on Twitter, and Graham was thrilled to give his immediate reaction.

The journalist, who is also an SAFC supporter, was stunned by Embleton’s technique, calling it ‘outrageous’.

The Verdict: Great finish

Of course, it was a wonderful finish from Embleton, as that kind of technique is very difficult to execute, especially from outside of the box.

He was perhaps unfortunate to be taken off in the 62nd minute for Corry Evans, as he had a solid game in general.

The central midfield player also made one key pass and three accurate long balls, maintaining an 85% pass completion rate, one of the best recorded out of his teammates (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, Embleton should be confident that he will keep his place in the starting eleven for when the Wearside club play Plymouth Argyle away from home next.

In other news, find out what big Sunderland injury boost has now emerged here!

Despite managing to score more goals than both Burnley and Norwich City, Newcastle United have only managed to win one of their 18 Premier League games so far this season, drawing seven and losing ten along the way.

With new ambitious owners in place and a manager aiming to avoid getting Newcastle relegated from the Premier League, the January transfer window could see the Tyneside club splash the cash to strengthen their squad to make sure they don’t end up in the Championship next season.

One name that Newcastle apparently think they have a chance of signing in January is Chelsea attacker Timo Werner according to journalist Christian Falk.

Prior to joining Chelsea back in the 2020 summer transfer window, Werner racked up a total of 95 goals in 159 appearances for German club RB Leipzig.

Since joining the west London club, the 25-year-old, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £268k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has scored 17 goals and provided 17 assists in 66 appearances across all competitions, winning the Champions League in the process.

Labelled as an “unpredictable” player by fellow Chelsea and Germany teammate Kai Havertz, Werner has played in 14 games for Thomas Tuchel’s side across all competitions with five goals and two assists under his belt.

In terms of a potential move to Newcastle in January, with the German international having racked up an average of four shots at goal per game in the Premier League so far this season and two key passes per match, Werner could slot into Newcastle’s attacking line nicely alongside the likes of Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin who have contributed to 50% of the Toon’s Premier League goals this season.

Even though Newcastle have conceded more times in the league than any other team in the division and the focus in January should mainly be on bringing in defensive players to fix their leaky defence. That said, given the player’s pedigree and knack for scoring, a move for Werner could stun plenty of Toon fans if the club were able to bring him to St. James’ Park.

However, with Chelsea pushing for the Premier League title and gunning to win the Champions League for a second year in a row, it would presumably take a lot from Newcastle to convince the German international to leave Stamford Bridge halfway through the season to help Howe’s side avoid relegation instead. That only adds to the stunning nature of this potential deal if it was concluded by PIF.

In other news: Hammond could save NUFC’s season with “colossal” £24k-p/w beast, “nothing fazes him” – opinion

An update has emerged in Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Adama Traore this week…

What’s the word?

According to the Telegraph’s Matt Law, Spurs are hoping to sign the Wolverhampton Wanderers star on loan with an obligation to buy in the summer.

It’s thought that the Midlands outfit may be forced into accepting such a deal as the 25-year-old wide man has entered the final 18 months of his current contract, though they would prefer a straight £20m deal.

The north Londoners’ willingness to offload Steven Bergwijn could help fund a permanent move before deadline day.

Traore is believed to be manager Antonio Conte’s first-choice to fill one of the three positions – right wing-back – that the club have prioritised this month.

Imagine him and Kane

Spurs have certainly been lacking in the final third this season, with leading talisman Harry Kane horribly out-of-sorts in the Premier League. He has scored only four goals in 17 games, as per Transfermarkt.

That accounts for 17.4% of all their goals scored – compare that to last season and the England skipper produced a whopping 33.8% of their goals.

With wing-backs ever so crucial to Conte’s system, there is a need for him to find the right option in order to provide Kane with sufficient service to get him back firing again.

This is where Traore fits the bill immensely.

A combination of his brute strength and dribbling ability make him a lethal threat along the flank. There have been concerns with his end product but ultimately, you aren’t being played at right wing-back to deliver goals.

He leads the Premier League on the ball, averaging a massive 4.5 dribbles per game – by comparison, Conte’s current first-choice option, Emerson Royal, manages just 0.8 successful attempts per outing.

Former Manchester United defender turned pundit Rio Ferdinand once dubbed the Wolves man as a “machine” to BT Sport (via BirminghamLive). “I was watching him pre-game and he could be a powerlifter or a cruiser-weight boxer – he’s huge,” he added.

It’s his physicality that makes him a terrifying prospect for any Premier League defender, which is why Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has previously deemed him to be “unplayable” and “undefendable.”

Therefore, sporting director Fabio Paratici could form quite the lethal duo in N17 as Traore could be the attacking wing-back that Conte desperately needs to bring the best back out of Kane.

It’s no wonder the £25.2m-rated Spain international is a priority this month.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold drops worrying behind the scenes Antonio Conte claim…

[ad_pod ]According to BBC journalist David Ornstein, Arsenal have made an approach to sign Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic on a loan deal with a £35 million option to buy.

What’s the story?

A loan move is seemingly the only option for the Gunners at this stage, as Unai Emery recently admitted that the club are not in a position to make any permanent signings in this January transfer window (BBC).

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it’s given him a chance to show off his new accesory. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

However, Emery’s squad certainly lacks depth on the wings, especially in light of Danny Welbeck’s long-term injury (Independent). Alex Iwobi is currently the only senior natural wide player available for selection.

A move for Perisic would be a smart one on the part of the north London club, in the short term at least.

An injection of experience

The 29-year-old has been in decent – but not spectacular – form so far this season. According to Transfermarkt’s stats at the time of writing, he has registered three goals and two assists in Serie A.

The 78-cap Croatia international would bring some much-needed quality depth to Arsenal’s ranks, but his experience could also be a key factor behind Emery’s pursuit of the forward.

The Gunners have made a habit of signing experienced players recently, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sokratis and Stephan Lichtsteiner all having arrived in the last year. Perisic would bring yet more top level experience to the Emirates Stadium, which could help Arsenal become a more competitive, steely and combative unit under Emery.Â

However, £35 million is a huge price to pay for a player coming towards his latter years. A balance must be struck at Arsenal between buying in experience and building for the future.

Nuno Santo must turn to Tottenham Hotspur gem Bryan Gil in a bid to spoil Newcastle United’s party at St James’ Park this afternoon.

The Magpies crowd will be in full force following their long-awaited takeover by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium and even though Steve Bruce remains in the dugout, the atmosphere is expected to be electric.

Spurs know that they need to build on their victory against Aston Villa last time out, especially as they had lost the previous three in a heavy and embarrassing fashion.

For all of the positives against the Midlands outfit, there were still problems bubbling beneath the surface. The north Londoners remain amongst the least creative teams in the top-flight and that has got to change sooner rather than later.

As per WhoScored, the Lilywhites rank second-bottom for average number of shots per game, managing only 10.4 attempts, which is lower than all of the teams currently occupying a spot in the relegation zone.

Similarly, Spurs are amongst the bottom three in the Premier League for expected goals, registering an xG of just 7.25, via Understat. Only basement boys Norwich City and Watford have recorded fewer.

Truth be told, the club haven’t really filled the void left behind by Christian Eriksen, who left N17 for Milan in January 2020.

Neither Tanguy Ndombele nor Giovani Lo Celso have stepped up in his absence, having both been signed in the previous summer, whilst Dele Alli’s struggles have been well-documented.

However, there could well be a solution already at the club, largely thanks to the transfer dealings of Italian sporting director Fabio Paratici. He secured a shrewd move for Gil in the summer, shipping the injury-prone Erik Lamela to Sevilla in return.

The 20-year-old magician is still adapting to life in England but has been touted to achieve big things in his career. After all, he’s already picked up four caps for Spain and is also valued at a whopping £27m by Transfermarkt.

Gil averaged 1.7 crosses and 1.9 key passes per 90 in La Liga last season, via WhoScored, proving to be a creative influence in attacking midfield.

“I think we’re going to see a very talented young player coming to the fore. He’s kind of got a bit of everything: he can pass, he can dribble, he’s very creative, he has clever movement,” explained football.london’s Alasdair Gold.

“They’ve just got to decide, is he a guy that can ultimately become the new Eriksen, because the more and more I watch him play, I think the ability’s there to do that. Some have even made a Modric comparison and said, maybe he could end up coming even deeper and becoming that kind of player.”

On that evidence, you can see exactly why he could be the man to usurp the likes of Ndombele and Lo Celso for the no.10 role.

Also lauded for having “unbelievable amounts of technique” by ESPNUK editor David Cartlidge, Gil’s technical ability and flair could be exactly what Nuno needs this afternoon.

The Portuguese boss must unleash the youngster, who football scout Jacek Kulig dubbed a “big talent”, at St James’ Park as he has the ability and skillset to ruin the Magpies’ afternoon.

AND in other news, Nuno Santo hints at Spurs injury blow ahead of Newcastle clash…

With Leeds United having the second-youngest squad in the Premier League with an average age of 24.8 according to Transfermarkt, it seems as though the Yorkshire club could be looking to add a player to their squad that could offer them a lot of Premier League experience.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Calcio Mercato (via Sport Witness) Leeds are interested in signing Juventus and former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey on a loan deal in the upcoming January transfer window.

Before jetting off to Juventus back in the 2019 summer transfer window, Ramsey made a total of 371 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions, scoring 65 goals and providing 65 assists in the process.

With 262 of those appearances coming in the Premier League, this shows just how much experience the Welshman could offer Marcelo Bielsa’s side if he does leave Juventus next month and fancies a return to England with Leeds and play alongside some of his Wales teammates such as Dan James and Tyler Roberts.

Labelled as an “outstanding technician” in the past by pundit and former Arsenal star Martin Keown, Ramsey could definitely offer some creativity and goals to this Leeds side who have only managed to score 15 times in as many games so far this season.

Additionally, with Leeds only having four central-midfield options in their squad at the moment, this backs up why signing a midfielder such as Ramsey, who is currently valued at £9m according to Transfermarkt, would be a good idea for the Yorkshire club to do in January to give Bielsa that bit of extra depth in that area of his squad.

The report does claim, however, that Leeds would look for a loan deal for Ramsey whereas fellow Premier League club Everton could be willing to make a permanent deal for the 30-year-old, which might be more appealing to Juventus rather than a loan deal and therefore put the Whites on the backfoot in the chase for his signature.

Either way, with January around the corner, Leeds and Victor Orta should definitely explore the option of signing Ramsey either on a loan deal or permanent basis if they can, as it would definitely start their transfer window with a bang given his pedigree at the top level.

In other news: Huge setback: Leeds struck with double injury blow that’ll surely have Bielsa fuming – opinion

This forms part of The Transfer Tavern’s Loan Watch series, where we analyse how a player from one club is doing on loan.

The Lowdown: Hendrick’s January move

Newcastle decided to send Jeff Hendrick out on loan to Queens Park Rangers in the January transfer window after playing a mere 70 minutes for them in the Premier League this season.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-4/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

In the Championship, the Republic of Ireland international has had plenty more minutes, missing just two games for the R’s so far.

The Latest: QPR struggles for Hendrick

Hendrick played 68 minutes for QPR in their 1-0 loss at Sheffield United in the Championship on Tuesday night before he was hauled off by manager Mark Warburton.

Unfortunately for him, he struggled to make any real impact in the match, failing to record a single shot on target, dribble or cross. Defensively, he lost out on four of his six duels in total, while he also made no clearances, interceptions or tackles and was guilty of giving the ball away four times (SofaScore).

The Verdict: Will be sold

Given Hendrick’s latest display, coupled with the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes at St James’ Park from Lyon in January, it now seems likely that the Irishman will be sold by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) in the summer.

Last night’s display wasn’t an aberration, either – as per WhoScored performance metrics, he ranks a lowly 19th among 26 players to have featured for QPR this season, which suggests that he has been largely unconvincing since his move to west London.

It may be the best time to cash in on the 30-year-old, whose market value only looks to be depreciating from here on in, as the Magpies already have plenty of options in his position.

Performances like the one he had for the Hoops at Bramall Lane last night will only make PIF’s mind up sooner, as he ultimately failed to send a positive message out to the new owners at Newcastle.

In other news, find out which ‘Rolex player’ NUFC are now considering signing

Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Cody Gakpo to The Emirates in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Dutch media outlet Voetbal International, who claim that Mikel Arteta’s side are currently leading the race for the PSV Eindhoven forward, while the likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City are also believed to be keeping a close eye on the situation of the 22-year-old – who the Eredivisie side reportedly value at around £42m.

The next Dennis Bergkamp

Considering the sheer amount of potential Gakpo quite clearly possesses, it is easy to see why Mikel Arteta is plotting a move to bring the Netherlands international to Arsenal this summer.

Indeed, over his 20 Eredivisie appearances this season, the £22.5m-rated winger has been in sensational form for PSV, scoring eight goals, providing 13 assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making three key passes per game.

These metrics have seen the £7.4k-per-week forward who journalist Agragami dubbed a “serious talent” average an astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.58, ranking the 22-year-old as the fourth-best player in the top flight of Dutch football.

However, it has not only been in the league that Gakpo has impressed, with the PSV starlet bagging a further eight goals and registering two more assists over 17 appearances in domestic and European cup competitions, taking his haul for the current campaign to a whopping 16 goals and 15 assists over 37 fixtures.

As such, while the two players do not particularly occupy the same position on the pitch – although Gakpo is capable of operating just off a centre-forward, as well as up top himself – should the Dutch prodigy be able to continue his remarkable goalscoring and creative form after a switch to north London this summer, the youngster could well go on to become the Gunners’ next Dennis Bergkamp – a player if the same nationality who bagged 113 goals and registered 94 assists over his 410 appearances for the club.

However, before we get too carried away with the comparisons between Gakpo and both a Dutch and Arsenal legend, Arteta must ensure that he beats off the competition from Bayern, Liverpool and Manchester City for the 22-year-old – as it is clear for all to see that the winger could be a transformative signing for the Spaniard this summer.

AND in other news: Arteta can finally axe £27m-rated “practice dummy” as AFC bid for “sneaky” £13m dynamo