All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Leading journalist Liam Kennedy has urged Newcastle United fans to be cautious ahead of the club potentially changing hands.

The Magpies are due to be involved in an arbitration case against the Premier League later this month, although the governing body has yet to supply the club with a date.

Amanda Staveley, the financier leading the takeover bid by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has insisted she has not been deterred in the bid to buy Newcastle.

Staveley, who is fronting the bid alongside her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi and David and Simon Reuben, also urged members of the Toon Army and MPs to keep calling for the £340million takeover to be pushed through.

The Magpies have also released a statement calling for transparency in the arbitration case against the Premier League.

Mike Ashley, the club’s current owner, is keen for the process to be played out in public, but it requires the Premier League’s approval.

Kennedy, of the Shields Gazette, insists supports should not get ahead of themselves.

He told Football FanCast: “I would urge caution. There is a lot of confidence.

“The buying side have gone relatively quiet but the selling side are drumming up this confidence. It’s the selling side who are driving both the arbitration, which is an internal Premier League process, and the cat case which has been pushed forward through a different avenue.”

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.

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.

Rangers have identified Zander Clark as a potential replacement for Allan McGregor, according to The Daily Record. 

The lowdown

McGregor’s contract expires at the end of the season, and there’s a possibility that the 39-year-old will choose to retire.

The ‘magnificent’ veteran has already established himself as an Ibrox legend, with Steven Gerrard declaring him ‘one of Rangers’ best ever’ goalkeepers. Last season, he was named SPFL Player of the Year for his part in the club’s unbeaten run to the Premiership title.

Meanwhile, the £405,000-rated Clark has racked up 140 appearances in the Scottish top flight, keeping 49 clean sheets (via Transfermarkt), and St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson labelled him  ‘phenomenal’ last month.

The latest

The Daily Record’s report states that Rangers are ‘closely’ monitoring Clark’s contract situation, as his current deal is up in the summer, raising the prospect of a free transfer.

St Johnstone have initiated talks over an extension, but the Gers, along with a number of second and third-tier English clubs, are circling.

Clark is one of the ‘keepers that Rangers believe could compete with Jon McLaughlin and Robby McCrorie if McGregor decides to move on or hang up his gloves for good.

The verdict

Clark has earned a call-up to the Scotland squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, a testament to his impressive form. Indeed, Rangers know first-hand just how good he is after he made two penalty shoot-out saves to deny them a place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals last season.

However, you could question the wisdom of having three goalkeepers compete for the one place, which is seemingly Rangers’ intention, rather than having an established first-choice with two reliable deputies. Also, if Clark is to swap Perth for Glasgow, he might not be content with continually being rotated in and out of the team.

In other news, how does Steven Gerrard feel about possibly taking the Aston Villa job? 

Wolves are currently sitting in eighth place in the Premier League table, two points below Manchester United and West Ham United directly above them.

With 32 games played, the Old Gold have won 15, drawn four and lost 13, showing how unpredictable their results have been throughout the campaign.

One fairly noticeable statistic is the fact that Bruno Lage’s side have only managed to score 33 league goals throughout the season.

This leaves only Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Watford and Norwich City having found the back of the net on fewer occasions.

The Old Gold did have the chance to add some extra firepower to their squad during the previous January transfer window having been mentioned with a move for Flamengo striker Gabriel Barbosa – also known as Gabigol.

However, as many Wolves fans will be aware, this transfer didn’t end up happening, and the club may now be paying the price for it.

Moving forward, should the Molineux outfit end their latest season in the Premier League with a whimper in terms of their ability to find the back of the net, they should definitely reignite their interest in signing the Brazilian.

Labelled as a “quality” player by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Barbosa has racked up a combined total of 179 goals and assists throughout his career with clubs such as Flamengo, Benfica, Inter Milan and Santos.

With ten goals to his name in 15 appearances this season, the 25-year-old certainly knows how to score goals on a regular basis, which is something that Wolves desperately need in their side.

Having also been described as a figure that “has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history,” according to Zico, the Old Gold must call an end to his time in Brazil and see if he can be as clinical for them as he has been for his current side.

Taking all of this into account, with the upcoming summer transfer window on the horizon, this is a deal that Jeff Shi must complete if he wants to make Lage’s side a deadlier attacking team.

If the club aren’t able to bring in a regular goalscorer or get their current attacking players to start finding the back of the net on a consistent basis, this could put an end to their hopes of playing in Europe.

In other news: Sky Sports: Wolves may now lose “sensational” £36m-rated “maestro”, Lage surely fuming

Aston Villa winger Bertrand Traore appears to have suffered a fresh injury while on international duty with Burkina Faso, as reported by Birmingham Live.

As to be expected, a number of Villa supporters have been reacting to the news on social media.

The 26-year-old has struggled to get his 2021/22 campaign going after suffering a hamstring injury in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Liverpool back in August.

He is yet to start a Premier League game this season but did feature against Everton and Tottenham as a substitute prior to the current international break.

However, it seems as if Traore has picked up a new problem, with Birmingham Live claiming that he missed Burkina Faso’s 2-0 win over Djibouti on Monday due to injury.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful shared the news regarding Traore on Twitter on Monday afternoon. Here is what these fans had to say in reply, with many frustrated and one labelling the winger as a ‘class player’ while lamenting his injury record.

“Here we go again”

Credit: @deep_645

“Oh”

Credit: @DG_Avfc_2

“Is our whole squad just broken”

Credit: @roberton_sj

“Class player… Made out of Weetabix.”

Credit: @STRACH_AVFC

“No luck fc”

Credit: @buendiazboyz

“El Ghazi to the rescue!”

Credit: @hafizstar

In other news: Smith looking to pip Arteta again as Aston Villa eye move for ace who has the same agency as Mings

Queens Park Rangers centre-back Conor Masterson has secured a temporary move away from the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium this summer.

What’s the latest?

In a statement posted on the QPR website, the club confirmed that the 22-year-old has joined League One side Cambridge United on loan until January 6th.

The move comes shortly after Mark Warburton revealed there was a considerable amount of interest in the Republic of Ireland U21, with the 58-year-old suggesting that he would only be sanctioning the departure of the defender if he was satisfied that the bidding club would help further the youngster’s development.

The manager said: “There’s interest in Conor. He’s done well for us at Championship level and if he goes out on loan, it’s got to be the right move for his development.

“Clubs are well aware of Conor. Les will work on the right move. It has to be right – you don’t just send a player out willy-nilly. You have to make sure it’ll be right for his career development path.

“If that opportunity arises for Conor then we’ll take it. If not, then we’re very happy to have him here.”

Warburton will be delighted

Considering the QPR manager’s comments regarding Masterson’s loan move, it would appear as if the 58-year-old believes that Cambridge are a side that meet all of his criteria in order to sanction the temporary departure of the centre-back, something that will undoubtedly delight the former Glasgow Rangers boss.

While the £270k-rated man’s game time has been limited since joining the Rs back in 2019, with the 22-year-old making just 20 first-team appearances for the club, Masterson has nevertheless demonstrated that he is a player with a significant amount of potential.

This is something the £3.4k-per-week defender has already proven at Cambridge, as, after being parachuted straight into the U’s starting XI following his arrival, he helped his new side keep a clean sheet, as well as making five clearances, winning six duels and completing 18 passes in their 3-0 win over Burton Albion.

These returns saw the player Warburton himself dubbed an “excellent” talent earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.00, ranking him as United’s joint fourth-best player in the fixture.

As such, should Masterson continue this level of performance during his spell at the Abbey Stadium, he will undoubtedly come back to QPR in January as a much more well-rounded defender, something that would please Warburton greatly.

In other news: Lost 75% duels: £810k-rated QPR flop who lost possession 10x failed Warburton vs Tykes

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

Taking to Twitter, 90min reporter Toby Cudworth has hinted at a West Ham United advantage in the race to sign Sparta Prague striker Adam Hlozek.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye bid…

As per recent reliable reports, West Ham seem set to make an attempt to sign the 19-year-old in January.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-developments-2/” title=”West Ham developments” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

90min first claimed that David Moyes and recruitment chief Rob Newman are eyeing a loan-to-buy bid in the winter window, a report somewhat backed by insider ExWHUemployee.

The Irons source, via his website The West Ham Way, said that the club are ‘set to place a concrete offer’ for his services in January.

Sharing another update, Cudworth has made a claim on Twitter and hinted at a West Ham advantage in the race for the Czech youngster.

The Latest: West Ham may be in pole position…

According to the reporter, West Ham are continuing their chase for Hlozek, but a ‘stack of big clubs’ also want him. However, the Hammers may hold a trump card over their competitors thanks to shareholder Daniel Kretinsky’s connections to Sparta Prague.

Cudworth explained:

“#WHUFC also continuing pursuit of Adam Hlozek. A stack of big clubs around Europe want him but the Kretinsky connection may sway things.”

The Verdict: Boost for West Ham?

Given Kretinsky’s status as co-owner and president of Sparta, his recent acquisition of a 27% stake in West Ham certainly comes as a boost in more ways than just financial.

Hlozek is one of Europe’s most promising strikers, racking up 15 goals and 11 assists in just 19 Fortuna Liga appearances last season as he burst on to the scene.

It’s little wonder the teenage talent is attracting so much interest, with his agent Pavel Paska calling him ‘world-class’, and we believe he could be a brilliant signing for West Ham if they can get it done.

Kretinsky’s connection between the two clubs could certainly help in this regard as the Irons aim to continue their growth both on and off the pitch.

In other news: ‘Begging’, ‘Newman finally doing his job’…West Ham fans flock to ‘exciting’ offer claim, find out more here.

Aston Villa are expected to land Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe on a season-long loan, according to Sky Sports.

Well-known Villa page @villareport shared the news on the defender, which left many Villa supporters delighted.

Sky Sports claimed live on Wednesday that Tuanzebe is set to sign a one-year contract extension at Old Trafford before moving to the Midlands for a third loan spell.

The 23-year-old spent the second half of the 2017/18 season at Villa Park and the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign, helping the club earn promotion to the Premier League.

He’s made a total of 35 appearances for Villa and it appears as if he will link up with Dean Smith once again on a temporary basis.

Tuanzebe looks set to become Villa’s fifth summer signing and will more than likely provide cover to Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa, while also having the ability to play at right-back if required.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared Sky Sports’ claim regarding Tuanzebe on Wednesday afternoon. This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with one ‘buzzing’.

“And the transfers are flowing in now”Credit: @will_avfc”Get in!”Credit: @Schlippertysch1″Yessss”Credit: @Shy_Rhy”Buzzing for this one”Credit: @CozzaAVFC”All over this”Credit: @Shans_louisee”Class backup! Good move for everyone”Credit: @VillaJaake

In other news: ‘All happening’, ‘Alongside JWP?’ – Many Aston Villa fans react as ‘great’ news is confirmed.