All posts by z3u9t.icu

Lee Ryder has shared an important update on Newcastle United’s Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) takeover case against the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Ashley’s claims

Mike Ashley has launched two separate claims against the top flight the CAT lawsuit over the decision-making process in the failing of the deal between him and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium, and the arbitration case, which is set to take place this month.

Liam Kennedy, journalist for The Shields Gazette who has been following the latest developments in the whole takeover saga closely, has also claimed that the division’s attempts to have the CAT case thrown out ‘seem to have failed’, while the push for a private hearing, and more delays, ‘goes on’.

The Latest: CAT update

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder has shared that the St. James’ Park faithful’s CAT claim against the Premier League has been delayed once more until July 12th.

The Hon. Mr Justice Roth, in court documents (via The Chronicle) has stated: “The Defendant is granted an extension of time in which to file and serve its evidence in reply until 5pm on 12 July 2021.

“I am satisfied that the requested short extension of seven days will not prejudice the listing of the hearing of the Jurisdiction Application and is reasonable given the concurrent demands on the Defendant in preparing for the arbitration proceedings.”

The Verdict: Delay tactics

It certainly seems that the top flight are trying to delay the CAT case from happening, given that their attempts to have it thrown out ‘seem to have failed’, as per Kennedy.

This would be in line with an accusation made by Mehrdad Ghodoussi, the husband of consortium member Amanda Staveley, who claimed that the division are using ‘delay tactics’.

This could be seen as the Premier League losing confidence over whether they would be able to win the case, and so delaying it further would give them more time to prepare for it.

Nonetheless, with the arbitration hearing set to take place this month too, it is certainly set up to be quite the legal battle between them and the North East club.

In other news, find out what takeover sources have said about arbitration recently here!

With 2021 coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the year that Wolves have had a fairly eventful year, firstly under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo before Bruno Lage came in during the summer to take charge of the Old Gold.

After ending the 2020/21 season in 13th place in the league table with just 45 points, Wolves made the managerial change after Espirito Santo took on the role as Tottenham Hotspur manager.

Prior to Wolves’ upcoming Premier League away clash against Arsenal, Lage has managed to deliver a very mixed bag of results with seven wins, four draws and seven defeats.

After a disappointing campaign last time out, it would be a great boost for everyone at Wolves if Lage and the players were able to finish in a European place this time around, which they are well in the running for.

How well do you remember Wolves’ 2021? Test your knowledge with our Big Fat Wolves quiz of the year to find out!

Eddie Howe has been handed a huge behind-the-scenes boost over Newcastle full-back Kieran Trippier’s recovery from injury…

What’s the latest?

The Toon defender has been out of action since February and is now taking steps forward towards making his return to the first-team squad before the end of the season.

Journalist Miles Starford Tweeted: “Kieran Trippier close to injury ‘handover’.”

This Tweet was in relation to Howe’s comments on the defender’s current situation. Speaking about Callum Wilson and Trippier, the head coach said: “They’ll definitely be stepping it up.

“I don’t think they’ll be with us at all, so they won’t train with the group. There will be a handover period for Kieran, I think, where he’ll go with our sports science guys.”That might happen at some stage soon. It’s not happened yet. Both players are still with physiotherapists.” Howe will be buzzing

Howe will surely be buzzing with Trippier’s recovery and the pace at which he is going through it. These comments suggest that he is making good progress and stepping up the work that he is doing at Darsley Park to get himself back in contention to play in the Premier League.

The Toon boss will be keen to see him back out on the pitch in the coming weeks to make sure that he heads into the summer with a good base of fitness under his belt.

If he fails to play any minutes before the end of the campaign then that will mean that he will have gone around six months without competitive minutes by the start of 2022/23 and that is not an ideal way to start a season. Therefore, getting him back in for the last few matches would be a big boost ahead of the summer.

Howe will also be delighted with his return to action because of the quality he has on the pitch. In the top-flight this term, he has scored two goals in four matches and made a whopping 6.0 tackles and interceptions per game from right-back since joining from Atletico Madrid.

The England international has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.67 for the Magpies so far and this is why the head coach will be keen to have him back in the squad. He is a joy to watch with his sublime performances in defence, as he was able to showcase his attacking and defensive quality prior to his injury against Villa.

AND in other news, NUFC could finally axe shocking £80k-p/w flop with “insane” £40m “star in the making”…

Tottenham Hotspur could launch a surprise move for Eric Bailly in the January transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles. who delivered the stunning claim on this week’s edition of ‘The Transfer Window’ podcast, where he said:

“Conte, one of the things he’s asking for in January is not one, but two starting centre-backs, this isn’t a big surprise when you look at what the two previous managers thought of the centre-backs. [Mauricio] Pochettino and [Jose] Mourinho wanted significant upgrades there, while [Nuno] Espirito Santo also wanted further upgrades on top of Cristian Romero.

“Look at what [Antonio] Conte has been doing, this weekend he started with Ben Davies and Japhet Tanganga alongside Eric Dier who was picked ahead of Davinson Sanchez, who should be a starter given the significant amount spent on him.

“Conte feels it’s fundamental to improve at centre-back to get his back-five system working properly.

“Options, one of the individuals they’re in discussions about, although as I understand it, there’s been no offer made at this point, is a Manchester United player, Eric Bailly, he’s someone Conte likes and he looked at him as a possible recruit at Inter.”

Big mistake

This could be a disastrous decision from the Spurs boss and Fabio Paratici’s recruitment team this winter, as the Manchester United defender is an injury-prone and inconsistent defender who probably wouldn’t solve their defensive problems.

It is true that the north Londoners need further additions, even more so with Conte electing for a back-three, but with Romero facing a serious stint on the sidelines, the Italian is left with several players that he may not be able to trust.

He was already having to play a left-back in the middle and now he has to choose between the three centre-backs who played their part in Thursday’s embarrassing defeat to NS Mura to feature alongside Dier and Davies.

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An injury-prone Bailly is far from the solution, with the Lilywhites in need of reliable quality to improve their terrible goal difference – they have the worst such record of any Premier League side ranked 16th or above.

“My only issue with Eric Bailly has always been his fitness, he can never stay fit. He’s always injured or a game away from an injury, and that’s a problem,” once claimed Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand. “You don’t get that consistency of performance or get to know each other.”

Valued at just £9m and thought to be earning wages of around £80k-per-week at Old Trafford, the Ivory Coast colossus has missed a total of 99 matches since arriving in Manchester in £30m move from Villarreal back in June 2016.

When he has been on the pitch, he has very rarely delivered.

“He’s a rash defender and he seems like he’s always got a mistake in him,” suggested Trevor Sinclair on talkSPORT in recent weeks. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and the ship has sailed for Bailly. He’ll never be the composed defender Man United need.”

The Hotspur Way faithful should be hugely worried by the prospect of wasting money on the 27-year-old flop at the turn of the year.

Therefore, a move for Bailly in January would seem like a disaster waiting to happen for Conte and co. They must steer clear of him at all costs, as there are much better and more suitable options out there.

AND in other news, Antonio Conte could repeat Cesc Fabregas trick with “unplayable” Spurs star…

Antonio Conte is expected to be in the dugout for his first-ever match in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, having been appointed as their new manager on Tuesday afternoon.

And he’s been thrown straight into the deep end as Spurs welcome Vitesse to north London in the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they occupy third place with only three games remaining.

The Lilywhites’ second-string were defeated 1-0 by the Dutch outfit two weeks ago and you’d imagine that the 52-year-old won’t be making the same mistake that Nuno Santo made by leaving the bulk of his starting lineup at home.

Instead, the Italian coach will want to kickstart his reign with a convincing result, so we should expect a pretty strong starting XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Their defeat to United on Sunday ultimately cost Nuno his job but it highlighted another massive concern as the struggles in the final third continued – Spurs have not registered a shot on goal in the league or in Europe since the first half against West Ham.

Conte won’t have had time to implement his ideas and tactics at all yet but he can certainly help himself by picking the right players and as such, he must call upon Tanguy Ndombele this evening.

The £34m-rated midfielder has been quite the enigma throughout his time at the club, having cost a club record of £55m, so he’s always going to come under scrutiny for his performances.

Not only can he take a game by storm on his day, but Spurs also play a lot better when he’s starting.

In terms of carrying the ball forward, only Lucas Moura (3.6) is averaging more dribbles per game than Ndombele (1.8) in the Premier League, whilst the Brazilian, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane are the only ones ahead of shots per game (1.5) too, as per WhoScored.

“I said to Joe, how good is he?,” revealed BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand during Spurs’ FA Cup clash with Wycombe Wanderers last season. “And he said ‘this kid is a world-beater, he can do anything.’ He just turned around during the game and said ‘this kid is unplayable’.”

On that evidence, Conte will surely want to start the Frenchman this evening, whatever the system is. He could be a game-changer and his influence may help steer the Italian to an impressive debut victory.

AND in other news, Conte demands Paratici to sign £45m-rated “monster”, he’d solve a major Spurs problem…

After tasting their first win of the Premier League season against Watford last time out, Leeds United will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories when they take on Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side claimed all three points against the Hornets thanks to a goal from Diego Llorente, and the Whites manager will have some big decisions to make before today’s clash against the Saints.

Along with a number of injury issues, Bielsa also has to contend with uncertainty over Raphinha’s availability following his exploits with Brazil on international duty.

With that in mind, here is a look at how Leeds might line up for the clash against Southampton at St Mary’s later this afternoon.

In goal, Illan Meslier will be looking to keep his second successive clean sheet after shutting out the Hornets, while Bielsa should look to keep faith in 22-year-old Jamie Shackleton, who impressed against Watford by winning four tackles.

Further up the pitch, the Leeds manager will be desperately hoping that Kalvin Phillips is passed fit for the game, while he could also make a big call by dropping the underperforming Stuart Dallas from his starting line-up.

That could see a potential opportunity for Tyler Roberts to come into the team, while if Raphinha fails to come through in time, Jack Harrison should come in from the bench to start today.

With Patrick Bamford out once again like he has been for the past couple of games, Rodrigo will once again be tasked with leading the line.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has confirmed an encouraging Leeds boost over Kalvin Phillips…

Keith Downie has now revealed what Newcastle United’s January transfer plans are as the club’s takeover was confirmed on Thursday evening.

The Lowdown: It’s happening…

The proposed takeover of the St. James’ Park faithful by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium is finally happening, after a breakthrough on Wednesday led to confirmation of the deal on Thursday evening.

It will finally bring an end to the reign of Mike Ashley, while a likely restructuring of the board brings the futures of the likes of Steve Bruce, Graeme Jones and Lee Charnley under question.

The Latest: Transfer plans

Downie has now told Sky Sports that ‘I do expect’ the North East club to spend money on the playing squad in the upcoming winter window, although he did not specify how much.

The journalist also claimed that spending on infrastructure will be the priority for the new owners first of all, and the stadium and academy will need improving as well.

The Verdict: Intriguing

It will certainly be intriguing to see how much money the Tyneside outfit will have to spend in January, assuming that the new owners are settled in and prepared to splash the cash immediately.

It will also be interesting to note the calibre of player that they will be able to attract, which could help them survive relegation from the Premier League, given their position in the table at the moment.

Nonetheless, it is only a matter of time before we can see just how much financial muscle they can flex now that the deal is through.

In other news, find out what big arbitration update Craig Hope has dropped here!

Some Liverpool supporters have been left frustrated after it emerged that rumoured Reds transfer target Harvey Barnes is set to sign a new deal at Leicester City.

Jurgen Klopp has had a quiet summer in the transfer market, with only two pieces of business standing out. Ibrahima Konate joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig early in the summer, while Gini Wijnaldum traded Anfield for Paris Saint-Germain.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

It doesn’t look as though much more business is going to be done between now and the end of the transfer window, although Saturday’s 3-0 win at Norwich City would suggest that is no great issue.

One player who has been linked with a move to Liverpool is Barnes, who has shone for Leicester, scoring 21 goals and registering 15 assists in 101 appearances and netting against the Reds in a 3-1 win for the Foxes back in February.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, however, the 23-year-old is expected to extend his stay at the King Power Stadium, so the Reds will most likely miss out on him this time around.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-copy-4/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans fume at Barnes update

These Liverpool fans on Twitter reacted to the update from Ornstein and they swiftly took out their anger on club owners FSG, whose frugality has often irked the fan base in the past.

“Liverpool always have interest but never buying. Ugh”

Credit: @Shyntefen

“That’s a big blow given our long term interest in Barnes. Fee would be huge now if we were to try & get him”

Credit: @Jay82_LFC

“We are really going to be stuck with Bowen aren’t we?”

Credit: @I_Am_Artanis

“Yeah that’s us dead in the water in terms of signing him”

Credit: @dylan_the_kid_

“All we do is admire. Embarrassing football club”

Credit: @cfjayden

“FSG sleeping lol”

Credit: @AminurAbid1

In other news, some Liverpool fans are delighted with one major piece of news that has emerged. Read more here.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is set to remain at the club beyond the January transfer window after becoming enthused at the prospect of working under Ralf Rangnick.

What’s the story?

The 28-year-old has entered the final year of his contract at Old Trafford and has so far rejected the club’s offer of a new deal, opting instead to wait until the end of the season to weigh up his options.

Pogba’s current situation would allow him to reach a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club over the coming months, though, ensuring his United exit six years after re-signing for his boyhood club.

However, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the World Cup-winning midfielder is not expected to enter talks with any interested party, instead focussing on his return from injury and working under Rangnick at United.

Ornstein’s report states that: “The midfielder continues to rehabilitate in Dubai but is said to be enthused by the idea of working under Rangnick, having received positive feedback about the 63-year-old from contacts in the game.

“The Athletic is told that he is highly unlikely to do so (sign with another side in January) as he focuses on football and considers all options heading towards the summer.”

Ralf Rangnick will be elated

News that Pogba is set to remain at the club at least until the end of the campaign will leave Rangnick feeling elated, given his importance to the side.

The engine room operator has already racked up seven assists in his 13 appearances for the Red Devils throughout 2021/22 and his underlying numbers are also indicative of his influence over proceedings.

As per WhoScored, Pogba has averaged 1.7 key passes per league game this term, two dribbles and 4.8 long balls, placing him in the top three for each metric when compared to his teammates.

With Rangnick set to implement a new style and philosophy upon the 20-time English champions, he will need his best players available, and Ornstein’s latest revelation will be warmly welcomed by everyone at the Theatre of Dreams. This is evidently a huge boost for United as they aim to hit the ground running under their new tactician.

And, in other news…MUFC can get rocking again with “absolutely exceptional” £33m gem who Rangnick loves

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Graham Roberts insists that Milan Skriniar would have been one of his top targets this summer, although it does not appear that he will be joining the club.

Spurs are reported to be in talks to sign Cristian Romero from Atalanta for a fee of around €55m (£46.8m).

They are also reported to be pursuing Takehiro Tomiyasu of Bologna, who can play as a right-back and a centre-back, as well as a defensive midfielder.

Spurs were reported to be interested in Skriniar last summer, with Steve Hitchen travelling to Italy in an attempt to strike an agreement.

It remains to be seen if Spurs will make a potential move for the Inter Milan defender this summer but it seems unlikely given the pursuit of separate defenders.

But Roberts believes that Skriniar, who is valued at £54m by Transfermarkt, would have been an excellent signing, and admits that he would have placed him at the very top of his shortlist.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “I think last year we could probably have got him for 40 million. I know Inter need to sell because they’ve had to get rid of Conte and people like that because of the money situation.

“You never know but I would say he would have been one of my top targets, I don’t believe we need to start messing the team up.”