All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Liverpool could well be on course to win their first Premier League title this season, with Jurgen Klopp’s men in a fierce battle with Man City for top honours.

The Reds have been superb for the most part this campaign, and the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah have excelled with their form.

However, with a squad full of quality like Liverpool have, there are always going to be those players who simply fall by the wayside somewhat, and we here in the Tavern feel that Adam Lallana is one of those players who might be left behind at Anfield.

Granted, Lallana has had his injury issues, but he has never really made a massive name for himself in a Liverpool shirt, and you get the feeling he might shine more at a club with less pressure on a weekly basis.

Lallana is of course a big talent, and a player who on his day can cause havoc in opposition defences, but Liverpool have moved on, and at the level they are now at, there has to be questions around Lallana’s ability to break into the starting XI on a regular basis.

A summer move might make perfect sense for the former Southampton man, and there would be plenty of clubs willing to take a punt on him.

Injury free, he can be a fine Premier League midfielder, but those injuries could well have robbed him of his best years at Anfield.

Nonetheless, it would be great to see the England man depart with a Premier League winners medal after playing a big part in the revolution of the club in the last few years.

Manchester United are reportedly one of several Premier League clubs who have enquired about Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix as the January transfer window fast approaches.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet AS, the Red Devils are interested in securing the highly-rated 22-year-old’s services over the coming months, although there is set to be a four-way tussle for his signature.

The report states that fierce rivals Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle United are also keen to prise Felix away from the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, with the Magpies currently offering the highest fee following their Saudi-backed takeover.

Joao Felix could be outstanding for Man Utd

Felix burst onto the scene during 2018/19 after rising through the ranks at Benfica, scoring 20 goals and providing a further 11 assists in just 43 appearances as he fired the Eagles to the Primeira Liga title.

His outstanding exploits for the capital club saw him claim the Golden Boy award at the end of the year, awarded to the most promising player under the age of 21, seeing off competition from Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz.

It capped a magnificent year for the Portugal international, who also became the fifth most expensive player in history behind Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele after sealing a €126 million (£113m) switch to Atleti in July 2019.

However, the youngster has struggled to replicate his best form since switching to Spain, replicating his goals and assists output from his Benfica days in over double the number of outings.

Despite his struggles, though, Felix has still shown flashes of his truly world-class potential, with manager Diego Simeone hailing a particularly eye-catching display as “complete”, while Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp dubbed him “outstanding” ahead of a Champions League clash.

But there is no denying the fact that the £63m-rated gem has fallen down Simeone’s pecking order at Los Rojiblancos over the last 18 months.

During Atleti’s title-winning campaign last term, Felix started just 14 La Liga fixtures, and the return of Antoine Greizzman has seen his game time reduced even further this time around, opening the door to an imminent exit.

A fresh start at United under the tutelage of Ralf Rangnick could be the ideal scenario to get Felix’s career back on track then, and there’s no doubt he could flourish once more at Old Trafford due to the German tactician’s reputation with young stars.

And, in other news…Forget Greenwood: Man United beast who won 82% duels took his chance vs Young Boys

As per Allnigeriasoccer.com, yet more contract news has come out of Tottenham Hotspur as talks reach an advanced stage with youngster Tobi Omole.

The Lowdown: Spurs tying up new deals?

Already this week, The Athletic broke news that Tottenham had entered talks over fresh terms for first team mainstay and long-serving goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, with his current deal set to expire in 2022 as things stand.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-5/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Manager Antonio Conte and transfer chief Fabio Paratici have been linked with finding his replacement with the latter man even bringing in Atalanta shot stopper Pierluigi Gollini on a season-long loan with the option to make his stay permanent.

As well as Lloris, Spurs are thought to be contemplating a new deal for midfield gem Oliver Skipp after his impressive performances this season (The Athletic).

Now, as per an African source, more contract news has come out of Hotspur Way as a development emerges involving highly-rated starlet Omole.

The Latest: Omole talks advance…

According to the outlet, Spurs have tabled a new contract offer for the 21-year-old as he enters the final six months of his current deal.

Negotiations over his renewal are said to be at an ‘advanced stage’ with the club keen to tie him down as Omole pushes for a first team breakthrough.

It is even said that Conte has been watching the centre-half at ‘close quarters’ as he contemplates handing him a first team senior debut before the end of 2021/2022.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Standing at an imposing 6 foot 2, the young defender is said to be highly thought of by Spurs coaches and is adept at playing in a variety of positions – including as a full-back, left-sided centre-back and even in front of the back four (Transfermarkt).

The former Arsenal academy man has been a fixture for the Lilywhites’ Under-23s this season, making 12 Premier League 2 appearances and even getting on the scoresheet twice (Transfermarkt).

Former boss Nuno Espirito Santo clearly saw something in Omole, having called him up to the senior squad on three separate occasions for matches against Rennes, NS Mura and Crystal Palace – highlighting how he has turned heads at Tottenham.

Tying him down is clearly the right move, especially given how left-footed centre-backs are currently a valuable commodity in the game.

In other news: Spurs in pole position to sign ‘perfect’ player for Conte after price tag drops by nearly half, find out more here.

Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw looks likely to sign a new deal at Elland Road, according to an update from reliable journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Forshaw enjoys brilliant comeback

The midfielder has endured an injury nightmare in his career, missing nearly two years of action with a career-threatening hip problem.

Thankfully, Forshaw made his return earlier this season and has looked as good as ever, proving to be an influential performer and making 11 appearances in the Premier League.

The 30-year-old’s Leeds contract expires at the end of the season but an update on his situation looks positive.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Phil gives positive update

Writing for The Athletic on Saturday, Hay confirmed that the Whites are in ‘active discussions’ with Forshaw’s representatives over a new deal and ‘want to avoid a scenario where they lose him for nothing.’

The midfielder has made 66 appearances for Leeds overall but that tally would be far higher had it not been for his aforementioned injury woes.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-30/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Richly deserved

Forshaw’s return has been one of the most pleasing aspects of a disappointing season for Leeds so far, with the Englishman not looking a lesser player, having been hailed as ‘excellent’ by Noel Whelan back before his injury nightmare started.

He has enjoyed an 82.8% pass completion rate in the league in 2021/22, as well as averaging 2.5 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per match, highlighting his ability on and off the ball.

Tying Forshaw down to a new deal not only makes sense in terms of simply keeping Leeds’ options strong but it also negates the issue of losing him on the cheap in the near future.

In other news, Leeds have been backed to sign one player – find out who it is here.

ExWHUEmployee has claimed that West Ham United “will try” once again to sign Jesse Lingard in this final week of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to earlier reports from The Evening Standard, David Moyes remains keen on exploring a potential January deal for Lingard, and with fellow Premier League side Newcastle seemingly out of the running now, the race has opened up for the Hammers.

Via his Patreon, Ex said: “The club, on the back of the Lingard situation with Newcastle (although we do expect Newcastle to try again), will try another attempt at a deal but Manchester United are very reluctant to deal with us and there are issues to resolve still with his former stay here. We hope to have more details on this deal later.”

Moyes will love it

With Newcastle potentially out of the picture, the chances of the Hammers making a late swoop for Lingard is now very much a realistic prospect.

If the London club can work out some of the issues Ex says exists from Lingard’s previous loan deal at the London Stadium, then it would be a superb late window coup for Moyes.

After joining West Ham back in the January transfer window on a short-term loan, the attacking midfielder notched an impressive nine goals and four assists in just his first ten Premier League games for the club – it was no surprise then that he was lauded as being “absolutely phenomenal”.

His performances with the Hammers showcased the kind of impact the £75k-a-week earning star can have when he’s on song and the confidence is flowing through his veins.

With West Ham still very much in the mix for a Champions League spot this season, adding that extra sprinkling of goals and dynamism in Lingard could well prove to be the difference-maker when it comes to those big moments and big games.

After seemingly looking like Newcastle would trump them in their chase for Lingard, making a fresh move to land the England ace’s signature would surely have Moyes buzzing.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update on this reported West Ham transfer target…

Luke Hatfield is keeping his ‘fingers crossed’ that Aston Villa can fend off interest in Emiliano Martinez, who he called ‘one of the top goalkeepers in world football’.

The lowdown

The Daily Star’s Harry Pratt reported over the Christmas weekend that the Argentine’s name featured on Manchester United’s shortlist of potential replacements for David de Gea, adding that the Red Devils are apparently willing to shell out £50m on a player Villa bought for only £20m last year.

They’re not the only Champions League club eyeing Martinez as a possible successor to their incumbent number one – Atletico Madrid reportedly view him as a worthy heir to Jan Oblak.

Villa fans voted the 29-year-old as their player of the year for 2021 in a recent poll carried out by The Birmingham Mail, and they’ve already seen one of their stars lured away in recent times, with Jack Grealish sealing a £100m switch to Manchester City in the summer.

The latest

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Hatfield suggested that interest in Martinez is inevitable, but he spotted something in the win over Crystal Palace in late November which left him hopeful that the Argentine is committed to the club.

The journalist outlined: “Martinez was one which was always kind of a little bit of a worry because of the performances he’s putting in have made him one of the top goalkeepers in world football at the moment.

“But his reaction to the Crystal Palace game when he went over to the fans and kissing the badge. I mean, it shows that players are enjoying playing for Villa at the moment and enjoying their time under Gerrard, so fingers crossed they can keep the group together.”

The verdict

If Villa can persuade Martinez to stay, Gerrard’s appointment may prove to be crucial. The club had slipped to 16th by the time Dean Smith was sacked earlier in the season after a worrying drift, but under the new boss they’ve climbed to 11th, their only defeats coming against the top three in the Premier League.

They now look like legitimate top-half contenders again, and some Villa correspondents are optimistic of a European push in the near future, so the club’s ambition may well please Martinez.

On an individual level, though, the Argentine wants to establish himself as the best goalkeeper in the world, and Gerrard needs to persuade the player that he can achieve that goal at Villa Park.

In other news, many Villa fans reacted to this update on a reported Gerrard target

Taking to Twitter, these Sunderland fans slammed the performance of attacker Aiden O’Brien as their side dropped vital points away to Shrewsbury Town.

Lee Johnson’s men travelled to Montgomery Waters Meadow in search of a victory as Sunderland aim to continue their chase for promotion and finally climb out of England’s third tier.

The Black Cats got off to a fine start mid-way through the first period when Alex Pritchard opened the scoring and originally put Sunderland in cruise control of the contest.

However, as the contest progressed, Sunderland failed to put the result beyond all doubt and Shrewsbury came back into it – with attacker Daniel Udoh netting a 64th minute equaliser.

Sunderland fans slam O’Brien…

Sunderland went on to drop points in their quest for promotion as supporters unleashed on social media, with some taking aim at O’Brien during the contest.

According to SofaScore, the 28-year-old ranked in as their lowest rated player on the night (6.3) whilst taking the least touches out of any outfield player – leaving little wonder some supporters thought he was ‘anonymous’.

The forward also completed just one out of four dribble attempts, managing zero shots on target and winning just 1/6 ground duels (SofaScore).

Here’s how supporters reacted to his display on Twitter:

“I’d have Bailey Wright at 7, Gooch 5, Broadhead 5 and O’Brien 4. Otherwise we would have beaten 10 men surely!! Gooch tried but other than that left foot effort saved by the keeper nothing came off, Broadhead and O’Brien completely anonymous. Subs terrible.”

Credit: @mikesmith145

“Not sure where he’s supposed to be playing he’s been that quiet”

Credit: @Tony_young78

“I’m going to stand outside on Saturday and tell Lee Johnson I work hard, seems to work for O’Brien despite being a totally useless footballer”

Credit: @davis0688

“O’Brien is never the answer”

Credit: @AnderGrim

“O’Brien off for Evans. Not been a great afternoon for the former”

Credit: @SpeakSAFC

“Aiden O’Brien totally anonymous”

Credit: @SPEZIAL73

Over recent years, Aston Villa have not been shy when it comes to spending money on new players to help strengthen their squad.

They signed the trio of Danny Ings, Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia in the previous summer transfer window for a combined total of £89.84m according to Transfermarkt, and followed that by splashing £25m on Lucas Digne this month.

With that in mind, there’s no doubt that the Midlands club is capable of paying vast sums of cash in the transfer market when they think they need to.

Looking ahead to the remainder of this current window or even towards the summer window, one figure that Villa could look to bring in that would certainly add an extra attacking dynamic to Steven Gerrard’s team is Bayer Leverkusen’s 18-year-old attacking-midfielder Florian Wirtz, who Villa have been linked with in the past.

Despite his young age, the teenager, who is currently valued at a whopping £63m by Transfermarkt, has made 70 senior appearances for Leverkusen across all competitions, managing to score 17 goals and provide 20 assists along the way, highlighting the attacking talents he has.

Labelled as the “total package” by Germany head coach Hansi Flick in terms of his ability on the pitch, Wirtz has managed to rack up five goals and nine assists in 17 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Furthermore, he’s earned an overall performance rating of 7.41/10, making him Leverkusen’s second-highest rated player according to WhoScored, which would also comfortably make him Villa’s highest-rated player by the same metric.

With previous reports claiming that Villa’s current teenage attacking-midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka will not be signing a new deal at the Midlands club due to his lack of game time, his potential exit from Villa Park could pave the way for the club to launch a move for Wirtz to see if he would have a better chance of competing for a place in Gerrard’s side than Chukwuemeka.

Given the goals and assists he’s managed to deliver for Leverkusen so far in his short career, it wouldn’t be too difficult to see Wirtz getting regular playing time if he can have a similar sort of attacking impact in the Midlands.

In other news: Sky Sports drop fresh Aston Villa transfer update, Lange could be making a big mistake – opinion

Writing for inews, reliable journalist Mark Douglas has delivered an interesting transfer update regarding Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen. 

The lowdown: Fairytale comeback

The 30-year-old was an icon in north London prior to moving to Inter Milan in 2020, scoring 69 times and providing an astonishing 90 assists in 305 outings for the Lilywhites.

Having won the Serie A title in Italy under Spurs boss Antonio Conte, Eriksen’s career at the San Siro came to an abrupt end when Italian regulations meant the Danish star couldn’t return to the club following a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-copy/” title=”Tottenham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Since then the cultured midfielder has signed for Brentford on a short-term deal and made a successful return to the international fold, scoring in the most recent international break.

The latest: Reunion on the cards?

Citing his report on Twitter, Douglas stated that Tottenham are amongst the clubs ‘queuing up’ and ‘keen’ to sign Eriksen this summer.

Out of contract at the end of this season (Transfermarkt), it’s claimed that Spurs are ‘interested in a reunion’ with the 111-cap ace as Conte attempts to bolster the ranks.

As per senior sources at inews, there have been ‘no talks’ of an extension with Brentford at present and while Manchester United and Newcastle also watch on with interest, Tottenham are ‘paying the closest attention’.

The verdict: No-brainer

Back in 2019, Spurs placed a minimum eye-watering £100million price tag on the creative Dane (The Times), a reflection of the class and indeed importance of Eriksen to Mauricio Pochettino’s side at the time.

Since returning to competitive action, the man recently hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by manager and compatriot Thomas Frank has scored once and provided one assist in four Premier League outings.

Having proven to still be a first-class operator, both Fabio Paratici and Conte should be pushing hard to bring Eriksen to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, particularly as a free agent in order to leave the budget untouched for elsewhere in the squad.

In other news: Tottenham favourites to sign England man, find out more here.

Aston Villa have always been rather active in the transfer market over the past number of years, whether they’ve been in the Premier League or Championship.

Numerous players have moved in and out of the Midlands club either on loan or permanent deals.

However, one player the Villans were linked with that didn’t end up donning a Villa shirt is Wesley Sneijder, someone they quite clearly made a huge mistake over.

Back in the 2009 summer transfer window, it was reported that the Midlands club were favourites to sign the Dutchman from Real Madrid after his agent revealed that Inter Milan, who were also after him at the time, were quite some way from offering the sort of money that the Spanish side were looking for.

Unfortunately for Villa, the midfielder did end up joining the Italian club that summer after racking up a total of 246 appearances for Madrid and his original club Ajax, scoring 69 goals and providing 57 assists along the way.

During his time with Inter, Sneijder found the back of the net 22 times in 116 appearances, delivering 35 assists in the process.

In the 2013 January transfer window, the 37-year-old, who has been described as a “monster” by journalist Grant Wahl, then moved to Turkey after signing with Galatasaray where he delivered 89 goal contributions in 175 games.

He then went on to have spells in France with OGC Nice and Al-Gharafa in Qatar before retiring in 2019 having won numerous trophies in Spain, Italy and Turkey.

Labelled as a “lethal” player in terms of his dead-ball ability by the official Copa90 Twitter account following his induction to Inter’s Hall of Fame, Sneijder ended his playing career with a total of 295 club goals and assists to his name.

Having also racked up an accumulative transfer fee of £44.6m from his moves to Real, Inter and Galatasaray according to Transfermarkt, Villa and their then-owner Randy Lerner certainly made a mistake by not splashing the cash when they had the chance and bringing the Dutch maestro to England.

Bearing in mind this was a player that claimed he could have been on the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of talent, having a figure of his footballing calibre in a Villa shirt could have been a sight to behold for the fans.

In other news: Huge boost: Gregg Evans reveals fresh Villa development, it’s great news for Gerrard