All posts by n8rngtd.top

West Ham United could be about to miss out on another top target if reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

Taking to Twitter, Fabrizio Romano issued the following update on Eintracht Frankfurt wing-back Filip Kostic: “Juventus will be in direct contact with Eintracht during the weekend to complete Filip Kostic deal.

“West Ham are aware of player’s priority to join Juventus as soon as possible. Kostic has reached full agreement on personal terms with Juve – clubs are in contact.”

Moyes needs him

The news that West Ham seem set to miss out on a target who they could have wrapped up by now will be a gut punch for David Moyes, who hoped to enhance his team’s left-hand side with the man who terrorised the Hammers in their Europa League semi-final tie last season.

It was this competition which saw the Serbian impress on a continental platform, with his performances broadcast onto a much bigger stage than Bundesliga matches.

However, Kostic excelled in whatever competition he played in last season, with his eye for a goal, speed down the wing and wicked delivery making him a “dangerous” prospect for all who faced him, in the words of RB Leipzig manager Domenico Tedesco.

Seven goals and 15 assists across 42 European and Bundesliga appearances from what is technically a defensive position makes for astounding reading and dwarfs the figures accrued by Aaron Cresswell.

With just two assists and three goals for the 32-year-old in the Premier League last term, including two red cards in key moments of their Europa League run, it could be argued that the time had come to replace the Englishman.

With Kostic seemingly available, to miss out on him will be sorely disappointing for Moyes.

The £43k-per-week wing-back also created a mouth-watering 16 big chances last season in the Bundesliga, which suggests that the likes of Michail Antonio (13 goals in 2021/22) and Gianluca Scamacca (16 goals) would have had a feast with his deliveries from out wide.

With Cresswell’s powers waning and no obvious positional alternative, Moyes is in desperate need of someone to either step up or come in and take the 32-year-old’s place at left-back.

Kostic could have been the perfect replacement, but this latest update suggests that it may not come to fruition for the Hammers.

Pete O’Rourke has dropped a claim concerning Celtic’s reported interest in signing Bristol City striker Antoine Semenyo.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to Football FanCast, the journalist and transfer insider had this to say on the matter: “Semenyo has been linked with Celtic for a long time now. He’s somebody that’s been on their radar for the last couple of transfer windows as well.

“Obviously, I think he’s carrying an injury at the minute so that’s maybe stalled a potential move on this one, but I’m sure Celtic will be maintaining a close brief on his return to fitness.” 

With 136 senior club appearances to his name throughout his career, the 22-year-old really made a name for himself throughout his latest season in the English Championship.

Celtic fans will be buzzing

Having made 31 league appearances for Bristol City in 2021/22, the striker found the net eight times and delivered 12 assists in the process, which shows just how capable he is of scoring goals and setting them up for his team-mates.

He also posted a higher rate for shots on target per 90 minutes (1.14) than any other Robins player last season, along with the highest average for dribbles per game (1.2) at Ashton Gate.

This makes it easy to see why the Hoops have had their eye on the player and what he could offer to Ange Postecoglou’s side.

As O’Rourke mentioned, the striker suffered an injury in June which will reportedly keep him out of action until September.

With that in mind, it could make a move for him in this summer’s transfer window rather difficult to complete.

However, with the Ghanaian’s contract set to expire next June, the forthcoming January transfer window could be an ideal time for the Hoops to finally make a move for the player, as it could be the only chance that Bristol City get to cash in on him if he doesn’t sign a new deal.

Now that O’Rourke has claimed that Celtic could be still keeping an eye on the player, this would surely have a lot of Hoops fans buzzing and hopeful that their club will make a move for the 22-year-old in January.

AND in other news: Journalist drops big behind-the-scenes transfer update, it’s bad news for Celtic supporters

Everton are closing in on their second signing of the summer with Ruben Vinagre set to make the move to Merseyside, and now a reliable source has given an update on a long-term target that has given the club the green light to seal a deal.

What’s the latest?

Italian journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Juventus have released Aaron Ramsey.

Romano tweeted:

“Official. Juventus and Aaron Ramsey have just parted ways by terminating the contract, agreement has been signed today.

“Ramsey will now be available as free agent.”

Everton have been heavily linked with a move for Ramsey since the January transfer window, according to the Mirror (via The Top Flight).

He can be Cahill 2.0

It is no secret that Everton are in desperate need of reinforcements this summer following a difficult relegation battle at the bottom of the table over last season, and the former Arsenal star could be the key to unlocking the experience and talent needed at Goodison Park.

Ramsey is best known for his football at Arsenal where the Welshman scored 65 goals and delivered 65 assists over 371 appearances, with a goal contribution every 185 minutes from his attacking midfield role, however, since leaving the Emirates the grass has not been greener on the other side.

The 31-year-old star joined Juventus in February 2019, and it hasn’t been plain sailing with his game-time dwindling and constant injury issues plaguing the midfielder’s move to the Serie A, tallying up just 69 appearances with six goals and six assists.

Ramsey who was hailed an “all-round player” by Arsene Wenger made just three appearances in the first half of last season, before making the move to the Scottish Premiership where he scored two goals in 13 appearances, but again his entire season was plagued with muscular problems.

Frank Lampard is a huge fan of the Wales international, lavishing praise on Ramsey, having hailed him as “class” in an interview back in 2018.

“He is class when at his best and I do feel there is another level for him to strive for. He showed great quality at the 2016 European Championships.”

If Ramsey could stay fit there is no doubt that he wouldn’t be able to make a positive impact in midfield for the Toffees and could even be their very own Tim Cahill 2.0 – given his ability to add goals and assists from midfield – if he can get a good run of games and work with Lampard to get the very best from his talent.

With that being said, the signing of Ramsey would a great piece of business for Everton as he is available for a free transfer and could save Farhad Moshiri millions amid financial troubles, but it would be a risk as the player’s injury problems could be an issue.

AND in other news: Thelwell eyeing Everton swoop for “world-class” £28k-p/w gem, Lampard would love him

An update has emerged on Sunderland and their interest in Nathan Broadhead in the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

According to the Shields Gazette, the Black Cats are keeping tabs on the Welsh centre-forward, who spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at the Stadium of Light.

The report claims that he has gone on tour with Everton to the USA and this does not indicate that a transfer is imminent for him.

It is not stated whether or not Sunderland are prepared to make an offer for the Welshman and Alex Neil currently has one senior striker – Ross Stewart – at his disposal.

Dream duo

By bringing Broadhead back to Wearside this summer, the Black Cats can form a dream duo at the top of the pitch in the Championship next season.

Neil can pair the £2.9k-per-week gem with Stewart to create a deadly forward line in the second tier, with a view to them firing the club to safety.

In League One last term, both players were superb and played a huge role in the team’s promotion to the second tier, with the loanee from Everton catching eyes with his displays.

The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland previously hailed the gem’s talents, Tweeting: “A lot to like. Mobile, finishes well, can play across the front line.”

Kristjaan Speakman has also praised the attacker this year, saying: “Look, he’s had some incredible moments and he’s been an inspiration in many respects in terms of some of the goals he’s scored. It has been harder for him of late because of injury but you can’t take away from the fact that he has got all the attributes to go and play at Championship level.”

The Welshman scored an impressive ten goals, whilst also creating two ‘big chances’ for his teammates in 15 League One starts. Stewart, meanwhile, fired in 26 goals, and created nine ‘big chances’, in 49 starts.

These statistics show that both players were goal machines in League One and both deserve an opportunity to show that they can produce in the Championship.

They have a pre-existing relationship and Broadhead’s silky, dynamic, forward play complements Stewart’s classic number nine style. Now, imagine both of them lining up as a double act in the second tier next season – scoring goals and creating chances for each other.

It would be a dream partnership if they can both make the step up…

AND in other news, SAFC hit with big blow over gem they were “seriously” eyeing, Alex Neil will be gutted…

According to a French source, West Ham have been gifted the chance to sign Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum this summer.

The Lowdown: West Ham monitoring Wijnaldum

Despite securing the signing of Flynn Downes from Swansea City, David Moyes is clearly keen to bolster his central midfield ranks even further, and the former Liverpool maestro is one of the most recent names to have been linked with a move to the London Stadium.

90min reported at the end of June that the Irons were keeping a close eye on the 31-year-old’s situation with the French giants, and after a fresh update, GSB may now have been granted the perfect opportunity to make their move and bring him back to the Premier League.

The Latest: Wijnaldum set to leave PSG

According to French outlet L’Equipe (via The Daily Mail), Wijnaldum has been ‘put on the transfer list’ by PSG after failing to ‘have an impact’ at the Parc des Princes.

The source claimed that the Ligue 1 champions’ board have ‘made the decision’ to exclude him from the club’s pre-season tour of Japan and have told him that he will ‘not play a part’ next season.

West Ham were name-checked as prospective suitors in The Daily Mail’s report and are said to be ‘interested’ in a potential move this summer, alongside top-flight rivals Everton and Leicester.

The Verdict: Noble replacement

With Mark Noble officially hanging up his boots, the Hammers need to find a replacement who can bring a wealth of experience to their midfield, and Wijnaldum has plenty of that.

During his time with Liverpool, the Dutchman made an impressive 237 appearances, with 179 of those coming in the top flight (via Transfermarkt), and he was dubbed a ‘legend’ by his former manager Jurgen Klopp upon his exit from Anfield 14 months ago.

Even though he’s probably older than the age profile that Moyes would typically go for, Wijnaldum will already know what it takes to compete against the big boys in the Premier League and would be a fantastic addition to the Scot’s starting XI in east London.

A winner of some of football’s biggest prizes and a scorer of 143 goals for club and country, the 31-year-old would undoubtedly bring a glittering CV to the London Stadium.

Everton have been linked with signing Barcelona striker Memphis Depay recently and the Dutch forward could be Frank Lampard’s own version of Karim Benzema at Goodison Park.

The Toffees have regularly been linked with a move for the Netherlands international in recent days, as the club weighs up potential replacements for Richarlison following his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.

Reports have suggested that it would cost just £17m to prise him away from the Nou Camp, with the former Lyon man seemingly surplus to requirements in Xavi’s side, as he will likely welcome Robert Lewandowski before the transfer window shuts.

However, Everton could be the ones to benefit by signing the 28-year-old after a mixed debut season with the Catalan club, which saw him make 37 appearances in all competitions, contributing 13 goals and two assists.

Depay’s performances in La Liga last season were generally very good. He averaged a 7.10 rating from WhoScored, featuring either as a central striker or on the left-hand side.

Although Depay’s first spell in the Premier League with Manchester United didn’t go to plan, he was a lot less experienced and was playing in a toxic club atmosphere at the time, so would return to England a much more accomplished player.

If he were to sign for Lampard’s side this summer, then he could perform a similar role to Benzema, who enjoyed an extraordinary season as Real Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League.

According to FbRef, the Frenchman is the ninth-most similar player to Depay in terms of style of play, as both players like to drop deep and influence the attack, emphasised by the Barcelona man’s superb rate of progressive carries and progressive passes per 90 minutes.

[freshpress-quiz id=“638086″]

WhoScored suggests that both Depay and Benzema’s strengths include holding onto the ball, passes, playing key passes and long shots, while both like to do layoffs and offer a counter-attacking threat.

Therefore, the similarities between the two players are clear to see and considering Benzema will be one of the favourites for the Ballon d’Or after his performances last season, Farhad Moshiri would be foolish to turn the “world-class” Depay down.

AND, in other news: Moshiri plotting Everton bid for “extraordinary” £152k-p/w target, it’d be a huge coup

Liverpool will look to secure new contracts for Diogo Jota and Naby Keita this summer, according to a report from The Mirror. 

The lowdown: Ward at work

Following the departure of highly-regarded sporting director Michael Edwards, the passing of the baton to Julain Ward has seemingly proved to be a seamless transition.

So far in his first summer in the role, the 41-year-old has already secured the arrivals of Fabio Carvalho, Calvin Ramsay and the big-money capture of Darwin Nunez, the club’s record signing at £85m.

Ward has also overseen the departures of Takumi Minamino, Sadio Mane and the imminent exit of Neco Williams, along with successfully completing contract negotations for Joe Gomez and Mohamed Salah.

It now looks as though the man behind the deals is setting his sights on securing the future of two more current Reds…

The latest: Keita and Jota next

As per The Mirror, Liverpool are now turning their attentions to contract extensions for midfielder Keita and forward Jota.

It’s claimed that the Anfield club will look to open discussions in the ‘coming weeks’, with the Merseysiders ‘keen to extend’ the stay of the £22.5m-rated Guinea captain, who is already into the final 12 months of his Reds deal.

The report added that £54m-rated Jota, who was branded ‘exceptional’ by pundit Tony Cascarino earlier this year, is also ‘in line to receive a bumper pay rise’ following a brilliant start to life under Jurgen Klopp which has seen the 25-year-old score 34 times in 85 outings.

The verdict: Show of faith

Handing former Wolves star Jota a fresh contract is somewhat of a no-brainer, given the remarkable impact he has had since arriving at Liverpool, surpassing the expectations of most.

However, the decision to offer Keita a renewal at this juncture could still be considered a risk when taking into account the Guinean’s wretched injury record, having missed 62 matches following his move from RB Leipzig in 2018.

While there were signs of a marked improvement in terms of availability last season as the dynamic midfielder made 50-cap midfielder during the upcoming campaign.

That said, securing the futures of those within first-team plans will add to the stability that Klopp himself has enhanced when signing his own contract extension in April, and this is just another sign of the German getting his ducks in arow for the long-term at Anfield.

Liverpool have discovered the asking price required to sign Fenerbache youngster Arda Guler, according to a report from Turkish outlet Aksam. 

The lowdown: Hot prospect

Part of the youth system at Fenerbache since 2018, Guler has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence through the ranks in his homeland and has already made great strides at senior domestic level.

Having provided 27 direct goal contributions in just 30 outings for the Turkish club’s under-19 side, the 17-year-old was handed a first-team debut in August 2021, providing an assist in a three-minute cameo against Antalyaspor on his Super Lig bow.

Previously linked with a move to the Reds, the Anfield giants have once again been credited with an interest as the fee required to sign Guler seemingly comes to light…

The latest: Asking price revealed

As per Aksam, Fenerbache would demand offers in the region of €25m (£21.5m) to sell their homegrown wonderkid.

It’s claimed that Liverpool, Arsenal and Lyon have all ‘made transfer offers’ to sign the 10-cap Turkey under-17 sensation previously.

The report added that Guler is ‘followed by many teams’ but it’s ‘especially Arsenal and Liverpool’ who have taken the most interest in the teenager tipped to become a future ‘world star’ by compatriot and former Premier League maestro Mesut Ozil.

The verdict: On trend

While Liverpool’s business for the summer is expected to focus predominantly on outgoings and contract renewals, allowing Julian Ward to snap up another talented youngster, particularly one who has seemingly been on the Anfield radar for some time, would be no surprise.

Recently, the Reds have shown a desire to sign the most prodigious young talent on the market, with the recent captures of Fabio Carvalho, Marcelo Pitaluga and Kaide Gordon just some examples of the future-proofing in order to strengthen the academy ranks while forming a smooth progression plan for years to come.

After scoring three goals and providing another three assists in 12 Turkish top-flight games last season, Guler certainly appears to be one for the future while also being of use in the present.

Therefore, Jurgen Klopp and co would be well advised to consider pulling the trigger on the newly-reported asking price.

Nottingham Forest are still trying to seal the signing of Liverpool youngster Neco Williams, according to BBC journalist Natalie Jackson.

The Lowdown: Williams expected to leave Liverpool

The 21-year-old looks likely to leave Anfield on a permanent basis this summer following the arrival of Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen earlier this month as right-back cover for stalwart Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Williams’ playing time is set to be very limited at Liverpool, and it was for that very reason that he was sent out on loan to Fulham for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, a decision that his national team coach Robert Page described as “brave” by the youngster.

Forest have been strongly linked with a move for the 21-cap Wales international recently, and it looks as though they could snap him up imminently.

The Latest: Forest working on Williams deal

Taking on Twitter on Saturday, Jackson claimed that the newly-promoted Premier League club are making a significant effort to sign Williams from Liverpool.

She said that Steve Cooper’s Forest are “doing everything they can to sign Liverpool defender Neco Williams” over the coming days.

[freshpress-quiz id=“398089″]

The Verdict: Ideal summer move

This would be a perfect summer move for Williams, allowing him to be a regular for a Premier League team ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

While Liverpool is arguably a level too high for him, given his sparsity of game-time, Forest could be an ideal destination, playing a rich brand of attacking football which allows their full-backs to get forward, as Djed Spence showed last season by chipping in with six goal contributions and averaging one key pass per game.

[freshpress-poll id=“399042″]

There is no reason why Williams can’t blossom into a formidable player at the City Ground, and it would benefit all parties for the transfer to be completed as soon as possible.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Armando Broja in the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

Journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that the Magpies are eyeing up a potential deal to sign the Chelsea centre-forward, who may be available for £25m, ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

The English-born Albanian international spent last season on loan at Southampton and Dan Ashworth is now hoping to bring him to St. James’ Park.

He tweeted: “Some NUFC news. Botman announcement imminent following arrival in Newcastle. Ekitike deal is now off. Newcastle frustrated by agent demands. PSG interest in French forward is genuine. Newcastle looking at Broja along with West Ham. Tuchel wants to assess him first in pre-season.”

Eddie Howe would love him

The Toon head coach would love to have the Blues striker at the club on a permanent deal as he would be an exciting addition to the squad in the short and long term.

In the immediate future, Broja can provide another goalscoring option for Howe to call upon. The Magpies struggled to find consistent scorers last term, with Callum Wilson the only player able to find the back of the net more than five times in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, the 20-year-old produced nine goals in all competitions for Southampton, including six strikes in 21 top-flight starts.

Albania’s assistant manager, Sergio Porrini, was previously full of praise for the attacker, saying: “From last year to this he has grown a lot, and at Southampton, he has exploded.

“His greatest qualities are in progression, especially the ball and chain. (He’s) less good, on the other hand, with his back to the goal, in the construction of the action. But, in the spaces, he is devastating!”

These comments suggest that Broja is still developing and this means that Newcastle would be bringing in a player with the potential to become better. Whilst six goals in the Premier League may not give fans hope that he will be the go-to man up front next term, he is growing and can improve over time and can be someone Howe works with to help him hone his skills.

Hopefully, he can gain more experience in the top flight and develop into a player who is capable of scoring 15-20 goals, given that he has already shown promise at such a young age.

Howe would surely love to have the chance to coach a promising, young, talent like Broja at St. James’ Park and it is now down to Dan Ashworth to get a deal over the line.

AND in other news: Offer made: NUFC in talks to sign “world-class” 110-goal “magician”, Howe needs him