All posts by z3u9t.icu

Rotherham have been dealt with a transfer blow, regarding Cambridge United striker Paul Mullin.

What’s the talk

According to Football League World, Championship side Blackburn Rovers are considering a swoop for Cambridge forward Paul Mullin. Blackburn are concerned about the possible exit of Adam Armstrong this summer and are looking at Mullin as a potential replacement for the former Newcastle man.

The Sun on Sunday (via The 72), reported last month that Rotherham are keen on a deal for Mullin. He is out of contract at the end of this month and Rotherham could attempt to pounce on him to bolster their League One squad.

Last November, Cambridge boss Mark Bonner lavished praise on the “exceptional” forward after he won a Player of the Month award in League Two. He told In Your Area:

“He’s had an outstanding start to the season.

“To be nominated in month one and then win it in month two is a real credit to him. He’s continued that momentum.

“He’ll be the first one to credit players around him for creating opportunities and everything else, but his goal return has been exceptional in the short period that we’ve played so far, and his overall contribution to the games have been excellent.”

Warne will be gutted

Rotherham manager Paul Warne will be gutted by this news as it could lead to his side potentially missing out on a deal for the forward.

Blackburn, of course, play in a higher division than Rotherham and could offer him the chance to jump up to the Championship instead of playing in League One with Cambridge or Rotherham. Therefore, Rovers could be a more attractive prospect in comparison to the Millers and their interest in Mullin may dampen the chances of Warne being able to call upon him.

The striker position could be crucial for Rotherham this summer with Michael Smith touted with an exit from the club. Bristol City are reportedly keen on Smith and Rotherham are willing to sell him for the right price if a good offer comes in, which will leave a huge gap in Warne’s side.

Smith was Rotherham’s top goalscorer in the Championship with 10 goals and Mullin could be an excellent replacement for him if they are able to bring him to the club.

The £800-per-week beast found the back of the net 32 times in League Two for Cambridge in the season just gone, whilst also providing four assists for his teammates. He proved that he can score at an impressive rate in League Two and that suggests that he could have a good chance of being able to score consistently at League One level.

That said, the jump to the Championship with Blackburn could be a huge test. If Blackburn are seriously interested, though, it would be a huge blow for Rotherham.

AND in other EFL news,  Major update emerges on “excellent” Sunderland target that will leave fans buzzing…

It has been three arduous months since Neil Lennon left Celtic behind but they may finally have a resolution to their woes.

That’s because the Hoops are on the verge of appointing Eddie Howe as their new manager at Parkhead.

What’s the word?

Celtic have had to wait patiently for Howe with advanced discussions thought to be occurring towards the beginning of April.

Though, despite a move now being on the verge of completion, the hierarchy would be foolish if they didn’t still have a few other options up their sleeve.

The Bhoys have already interviewed Lucien Favre and Roy Keane for the role but they also have an interest in former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.

That news was revealed by Ian McGarry on the Transfer Window podcast this week.

He said: “I don’t believe that Lampard is necessarily rushing to get into another manager’s job. He is enjoying his time with his young family. That’s not to say that he’s not open to an interesting offer.”

McGarry added: “There is certainly interest from Celtic, but I don’t think that he is in a position where he will necessarily go into a project that he doesn’t think he has a good chance of progress or succeeding in.”

Better suited than Howe?

Lampard and Howe have two very different managerial backgrounds.

The latter led Bournemouth from the brink of relegation in League Two to a place in the Premier League but Lampard’s had things a little easier.

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He impressed during his stint with Derby in the Championship, developing the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount, two players he then coached when in charge of Chelsea.

The 42-year-old also led the Blues to Champions League football despite the club working under a transfer embargo throughout the 2019/20 campaign.

The former midfielder was eventually sacked from his position but the qualities he demonstrated when at Stamford Bridge means he could be more suited to the position in Glasgow.

Speaking about Lampard last season, ex-Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers claimed he was “really impressed” with what he’d achieved.

“Frank understands the policy at the club, how it works and will be looking to bring in some of the young players which he has done. He has given them an opportunity. You have to admire that,” he said.

It’s the effort he made with the younger players in west London that demonstrates why he could be a perfect fit at Celtic.

The former England international took players like Mount and Tammy Abraham under his wing, not only making them key players for Chelsea, but also helping them to earn recognition in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions.

Celtic are at a point now where they need to look towards the future. They require a manager who can blood young talent, something Lampard is particularly adept at doing.

The Hoops have a number of promising players coming through with Adam Montgomery making his first-team debut a fortnight ago and Karamoko Dembele bagging his first senior goal.

What those young individuals need is someone like Lampard who can use all of his experience in the game to not only make them better players, but to help them become key at Paradise.

AND in other news, Report claims £7.2m “horror show” will never play for Celtic again, fans surely elated…

Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier will be wanted by a host of top clubs this summer, according to former Whites stopper Paddy Kenny.

The Lowdown: Key performer for Leeds

Marcelo Bielsa’s side had a brilliant season back in the Premier League, with a host of players starring throughout the campaign. Meslier was undoubtedly one of them, proving to be a hugely consistent performer between the sticks and being hailed as ‘superb’ by Darren Bent.

The 21-year-old Frenchman has unsurprisingly been linked with a move elsewhere in recent weeks, given his potential as a long-term prospect.

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The Latest: Kenny discusses Meslier’s future

Speaking to Football Insider, Kenny admitted that Meslier’s head could be turned by a move to a bigger club this summer if there is concrete interest in him. The Irishman warned:

“I think there will possibly be clubs looking at him. I think he needs a bit more experience yet. It’s a tough one because if a big club comes in for you, how can turn them down? But you can move too early in your career.

“He’s only 21 so he should get two or three seasons behind him in the Premier League. But as I say, can you turn it down if an offer does come in? It might never come again.

“He’ll definitely be tempted, I know that. But he’s still a baby really in goalkeeping terms.”

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The Verdict: Whites must keep youngster

Meslier is a massively influential player for Leeds, keeping 11 clean sheets in 35 Premier League games, and it would appear to be vital that they keep hold of him moving forward in order for them to continue on their current trajectory.

His ball-playing ability from the back (4.8 accurate long passes per game, 77.1% passing success rate) is integral to the Whites’ playing style, and at the tender age of 21, he could be a key figure at Elland Road for many years to come.

It could be difficult to eventually keep hold of Meslier, though, with some European giants possibly viewing him as one of the most promising players in Europe in his position. As Kenny has hinted, there could be a few clubs around the continent with intentions to tempt the Frenchman away from Yorkshire.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with a summer move for a midfielder – find out who it is here.

Roy Hodgson continues to remain coy on his Crystal Palace future despite being out of contract this summer…

What’s the word?

Speaking ahead of their Premier League clash with Southampton on Tuesday evening, the 73-year-old veteran wouldn’t be drawn into speculation about his future.

“I think that’s been going on in the background all the time anyway. It is not like that at a football club that you wait for a moment in time and suddenly you make big decisions,” claimed Hodgson. “As far as I’m concerned the next games coming up are the most important things, certainly as far as my future and what I intend to do.”

London News Online claim it is ‘highly likely’ that Hodgson will step down from his role upon the expiry of his contract, with several names linked to the Selhurst Park post, including Frank Lampard, Sean Dyche, and Eddie Howe.

Parish boost

There are only four matches left to play in the 2020/21 season and the Eagles are mathematically safe, so it does seem rather strange that no announcement has come forth, especially as his one-year extension was already confirmed by the end of March last term.

This certainly does seem to hint towards it being his final few games in charge of the southeast London side, having been appointed at his boyhood club back in September 2017.

Currently, his record stands at 53 wins from 158 matches, a win rate of just 33.5%, per Transfermarkt.

Hodgson’s 364th top-flight game in charge will come on the final day of the season against one of his former teams, Liverpool, in what would be a fitting way to go out at Palace.

All of these developments point towards a new era and that should delight both chairman Steve Parish and the fans alike as it means they can now get underway with their future plans.

The Eagles CEO will know that he either needs to find his next manager as a top priority or start drawing up transfer plans for the summer, with similar names like Eberechi Eze the main focus.

Given it seems likely that Hogdson is departing next month, you’d imagine that Parish has already met with several potential successors – Football Insider claim Dyche is his number one target, whilst Howe has reportedly held talks with the Palace hierarchy too.

Much of the Eagles faithful have every reason to get a little more excited heading into next season, now and the fact that Parish can get a new, fresh manager in without having to sack Hodgson is a win for him, both in terms of a PR move and also financially.

AND in other news, Fresh claim emerges on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace future, would be bad news for fans…

Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff City side have set their stall out regarding the Bluebirds’ centre-forward Kieffer Moore ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Wales Online, who claim that Cardiff will not accept an offer of anything less than £15m for the 28-year-old centre-forward this summer, in a desperate attempt to keep hold of the 15-time capped Wales international.

Fans will be buzzing

Having only moved from Wigan Athletic to Cardiff in what was a £1.98m deal last summer, Moore has already proven during his short time at the Cardiff City Stadium that he can play a huge role in Mick McCarthy’s side putting together a push for promotion next term.

In the season just past, the £6k-per-week striker highly impressed over his 42 Championship appearances for the Bluebirds, scoring a whopping 20 goals and registering one assist, as well as taking an average of 2.5 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game, culminating in a remarkable average SofaScore match rating of 7.28 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the second tier.

As a result of these impressive displays, it would hardly be surprising if a number of the Championship heavyweights, or even a couple of Premier League sides, were tempted into making an offer for the former Rotherham United forward this summer.

However, after Cardiff confirmed that they will accept nothing less than a £15m bid for the 28-year-old this summer, this is highly likely to put a number of clubs off of a move for the hitman, which, in turn, provides Cardiff’s promotion ambitions ahead of next season with a rather substantial boost.

As such, with Moore looking extremely likely to still be playing his football in the blue of Cardiff next term, things very much seem to be on the up for the Welsh side, something that will undoubtedly leave fans of the club buzzing.

In other news: Tan must seal Cardiff deal for “outstanding” £15k-p/w star, he’s crucial to McCarthy – opinion

Celtic’s plan to bring Eddie Howe to Parkhead in a bid to replace Neil Lennon has taken more twists and turns than a helter-skelter.

The Bhoys are still without a new boss and as time goes on, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that Howe won’t be the man sitting in the dugout next term.

What’s the word?

In a sensational twist to the tale last week, it was revealed that Howe wouldn’t be returning to management until the summer.

Since then, we’ve been given a number of reasons as to why he may be stalling over his future.

A fresh reason may be down to his family and a major change of scenery, moving across the border to Glasgow.

That’s according to Paddy Kenny who was speaking to Football Insider over the weekend: “I heard that he struggled with his family moving to Burnley. So to move to Scotland, that’s a long, long way,” he began.

“Maybe he’s umming and ahhing about moving that far north and has got a sniff of something more local in the Premier League. It could be Crystal Palace.

“But there could be more to it. We don’t know. If he’s spoken to his Mrs, maybe it’s something to do with that,” Kenny concluded.

Desmond pulling his hair out

As each day passes by, it feels like Celtic’s majority shareholder is handed yet more bad news in Celtic’s hunt for Howe.

Negotiations were thought to be at an advanced stage for the 43-year-old but a number of issues have arisen since.

Firstly, Desmond won’t be able to appoint the former Bournemouth coach until the summer, while there are also issues regarding Howe’s backroom staff.

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After Nick Hammond departed, Celtic were in discussions to bring Fergal Harkin to Paradise in a new role as their director of football.

A deal was reportedly 90% done but Howe has had other ideas. He doesn’t want Harkin calling the shots on the transfer front and instead wants to bring Richard Hughes with him.

They worked together at Bournemouth but he is also facing the problem that his family don’t want to come to Scotland.

The fact that this issue has arisen is leaving Desmond in a very difficult situation. He does have an alternative in the form of Lucien Favre but Howe is evidently the hierarchy’s first choice.

This saga feels like one that will continue to rumble on for weeks.

AND in other news, Celtic hero sees value soar by 257% after leaving, Rodgers called him a “big talent”…

A source has reportedly shared some insight on the potential takeover of Newcastle United involving an expert in the Middle East.

As per the Daily Mail, Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked Middle East expert and Downing Street strategist Lord Eddie Lister back in September if there was any news on the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group, to which he replied that a call was being set up and that the deal would hopefully be signed that week.

Mr Johnson then responded ‘brilliant’ when receiving the news in what is some very interesting insight into what may have been for the St. James’ Park faithful.

What might have been for Newcastle

The exchanges between Lord Lister and the PM suggests that the takeover deal was close, although the Premier League eventually decided to fail the bid.

Nonetheless, the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and their bottomless pits of money would seemingly bring more wealth to the North East if the takeover were eventually to go through, perhaps why Johnson was seemingly so gleeful at the prospect of a deal.

The pending arbitration case between the North East club and the top flight should give a much clearer indication over the direction in which the potential takeover is heading, and a positive result there could lead to its possible resurrection.

In other news, find out what big claim has been dropped on the potential takeover involving the EPL here!

Liverpool are reportedly closing in on a move for Wolves winger Adama Traore, with the Reds looking to sign him this summer.

The next transfer window may not be a particularly busy one at Anfield, but that’s not to say that some new faces won’t come in.

Jurgen Klopp will be looking to freshen up his squad and keep competition for places strong, with an additional attacker potentially coming in.

Traore is a player who has been linked with a move to Anfield in the past and the rumour has now returned.

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Liverpool linked with Traore move

According to El Gol Digital, Liverpool are actually on the verge of signing the flying Wolves forward, seeing him as someone who could be a strong backup to the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

Wolves plan to sell the flying winger to raise funds for a move for Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos, amongst others.

Traore has struggled massively in the Premier League this season, however, not scoring a single goal or registering even one assist in 28 appearances.

Transfer Tavern take

Considering Wolves will demand a lot of money for Traore’s services, it would be a surprise to see Liverpool sign someone who has been so poor with his end product recently.

Jurgen Klopp looks for wide players who deliver on a consistent basis, as Salah and Mane have shown, but the Spaniard doesn’t fit into that category.

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly in a strong position to sign a hugely exciting attacking player this summer. Read more about it here.

According to a report Italian news outlet Calciomercato, as relayed by West Ham News & Views on social media, Juventus midfielder and former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey likes the idea of joining the east Londoners amid links to David Moyes’ men.

Ramsey, touted with a possible move to West Ham in the press recently, has endured a mixed season overall under Juve boss Andrea Pirlo – with recent reports indicating he is up for sale this summer.

Starting 12 Serie A matches, the Welshman has missed several matches through injury over 2020/2021 but has managed two goals and four assists over the games he has played so far (WhoScored).

In response to this report from Italy that Ramsey is keen on the idea of joining West Ham, many Irons didn’t share the same fondness on Twitter, blasting the development with an array of verdicts.

The main bone of contention among supporters appear to be his unreliable fitness record and big wages, with lots of supporters pleading with the club not to take alleged recent further.

Find all of their comments down below.

West Ham fans erupt over Ramsey development

“Jack Wilshere all over again!

We never learn… “

Credit: @d0nkeydr0p

“Please don’t do this would be super unnecessary. Sign a striker and I’d say a decent goalie fab can mentor till he leaves and we could give fab a break every once in a while.”

Credit: @ItsMaddog0607

“No way ! Mega wages with a permanent sickness..”

Credit: @GilpinLee

“please no”

Credit: @c_bianco_

“Jack Wilshere 2.0”

Credit: @jarno_aalderink

“I bet he likes the idea of signing for us probably had Wilshere in his earhole.

No thanks wouldn’t touch him with a bargepole”

Credit: @RichardGSBOUT

“This would be another injury prone player on a fat contract with big wages. Sign a striker”

Credit: @Thehammerone1

“Of course he does, one last paycheck for another sicknote.”

Credit: @DJS97_

In other news: West Ham are eyeing a move for this 6 foot 3 powerhouse, find out more here.

According to a report by Mundo Deportivo, via City Xtra, Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero would be ‘happy’ to sign for Barcelona – and the Argentine’s agent has already informed the Catalans’ president Joan Laporta of his client’s willingness to play in La Liga. 

Aguero, who has often been left largely unused by manager Pep Guardiola since his return to full fitness, failing to come on during City’s 2-0 derby defeat to Man United at the Etihad, is now at the centre of speculation surrounding his future once more.

The 32-year-old’s current contract expires at the end of the season alongside fellow club favourite Fernandinho, and Mundo Deportivo claim that the forward would be ‘happy’ to sign for Barcelona.

Indeed, as per this report, Aguero is aware that he would have to lower his salary expectation but has requested a signing bonus as compromise.

Responding to this news, City supporters had their say on social media – with many appearing unhappy over the situation surrounding Aguero.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

Man City fans erupt over Aguero news

“I cant believe we are giving this club a world class striker for free..”

Credit: @Mcfc_king

“All our fault”

Credit: @joaocxncelo

“and then there was none”

Credit: @jassi_47

“I hate this club”

Credit: @CallMeColin

“The way we’ve treated Aguero is actually embarrassing and disgraceful tbh”

Credit: @SilkyCyrus_74

“This is it though isn’t it, it’s the end”

Credit: @SophieAtk

“Oh no”

Credit: @fussball_purist

“Nooo”

Credit: @kbillz9

In other news: Man City fans were also baffled by these comments, find out more here.