All posts by z3u9t.icu

This has been an incredibly difficult campaign for Celtic Football Club.

It was meant to be a fresh start for the Hoops who were finally rid of Neil Lennon and Peter Lawwell.

Ange Postecoglou has been appointed as the club’s manager but he’s overseen their worst start to a campaign for 23 years.

After seven matches, they have just ten points and without some of their key men due to injury, appear to be a sinking ship.

Kyogo Furuhashi, Greg Taylor, Callum McGregor, James Forrest and Giorgos Giakoumakis are all currently out.

Any side would struggle without those faces but what only adds insult to injury, is the players they lost over the summer.

Odsonne Edouard has already scored twice for Crystal Palace while Olivier Ntcham and Ryan Christie are starting to perform admirably for Swansea and Bournemouth respectively.

Another player that’s now thriving away from Parkhead is Jeremie Frimpong. Anthony Ralston looks a useful replacement and Josip Juranovic will prove his worth eventually but the full-back areas are a position where Celtic are particularly light for options.

Indeed, that problem came about because of Frimpong’s surprise £11.5m departure to Bayer Leverkusen last January.

The 20-year-old was a vibrant prospect in Glasgow and was dubbed as one of the best young talents he’d worked with by Lennon.

Celtic were given a nice sum of money for the right-back but given his potential and performances for Leverkusen now, it might be seen as somewhat of a blunder from Lawwell to get rid.

Coincidentally, the Bhoys take on his new employers in the Europa League this week.

The German outfit will travel to Glasgow for the second match in the group stages of this competition and it wouldn’t be a great shock if Frimpong runs rampant.

He has been nothing short of sublime for the Bundesliga side this season, assisting four goals in eight outings.

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One of his best displays came during the first group stage match where he supplied two goals against Ferencvaros.

Frimpong was also in vibrant form last weekend as his side defeated Mainz.

The defender created another goal for his teammates in what was a complete performance from an offensive point of view.

The former Celtic man took 106 touches of the ball and with that, he used it to devastating effect. Frimpong was successful with three dribbles while he also played a trio of key passes.

He did surrender possession on 25 occasions but given the result, that shouldn’t matter to their head coach Gerardo Seoane.

That’s certainly one area he’ll have to improve in upon his return to Scotland on Thursday.

AND in other news, Forget McCarthy: Celtic gem who lost possession 20x cost Postecoglou on Sunday…

Leicester City’s summer transfer window was undoubtedly a success. Brendan Rodgers addressed all the major weaknesses in his squad without losing any star players, but one target who got away may give the Northern Irishman some sleepless nights.

What’s the story?

Following the departure of former loanee Cengiz Under, the Foxes were heavily linked with a new right-winger in recent months, with PSV Eindhoven’s Noni Madueke reportedly high up on their wish list.

However, despite extensive speculation that the highly-rated 19-year-old was set to return to his homeland, the England under-21 international signed a new long-term contract at the Philips Stadion, committing his future to the club.

Nevertheless, despite putting pen to paper on fresh terms, Madueke has admitted in a recent interview that he hopes to play in the Premier League in the future after being released by boyhood club Tottenham Hotspur aged 16.

Leicester City fans will be buzzing

When asked if he has ambitions to play in the Premier League (as relayed by the Leicester Mercury), Madueke said: “Yeah, definitely”.

He continued: “The Premier League is the best league in the world and every young English player wants to be there. But also, I am not someone who is afraid to venture elsewhere, so whatever is best for my development, whichever country, I am a person who won’t be scared to take the leap.

“When I was 16, I didn’t want to go into that under-21 system,” Madueke added. “I wanted to go out and play and be involved in a first-team as quickly as possible.

“I didn’t want to play under-23 football as a talented 16-year-old when I felt I was ready for the first team. I backed myself 100 per cent. I am very impatient.”

After bagging nine goals and providing eight assists in 32 appearances for Roger Schmidt’s charges last season, former PSV ace Tommie van de Leegte labelled Madueke “explosive” following his electric displays.

The youngster has started the new campaign in even more impressive fashion, contributing to seven goals in 10 matches in all competitions, highlighting his top-class potential.

Therefore, Leicester fans will surely be buzzing to learn that Madueke is eager to grace the Premier League in the near future, giving them hope that he could be tearing up the King Power Stadium soon if the Foxes maintain their apparent interest in him.

In other news… Report sheds light on Leicester’s deadline day development, Rodgers will be gutted 

Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips is attracting a significant amount of transfer interest from the reigning Premier League champions.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Spanish media outlet Fichajes (via Leeds Live), who claimed that Pep Guardiola is lining up a move for the England international as a long-term successor to Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho.

The report added that the 25-year-old would be available to sign for as little as €30m (£25.5m), and he is seen as a perfect option for the Spaniard following his development under Marcelo Bielsa.

However, Leeds Live claimed that, due to the player’s contract situation at Elland Road – with his current deal running until 2024 – as well as his happiness at the club, the figure that Fichajes claim would be enough to sign the midfielder appears extremely low.

Orta’s biggest mistake

While it would appear an extremely unlikely scenario that Victor Orta would be willing to part with a player as important to Leeds as Phillips for £10.5m less than his current Transfermarkt valuation of £36m, it would undoubtedly be the director of football’s biggest mistake since his appointment at the club if he were to sanction the sale of the England midfielder..

Since Bielsa’s arrival at Leeds back in 2018, Phillips has been transformed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the English game, consistently turning in highly impressive performances for the Whites during their ascent back to the Premier League.

Indeed, over the £35k-per-week man’s 42 Championship appearances back in 2018/19, the midfielder averaged a SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as the club’s joint eighth-best performer that season.

The 25-year-old improved on these returns in Leeds’ promotion-winning campaign the following year, averaging a match rating of 7.28 over 37 second-tier fixtures, ranking him as the Whites’ second-best player in the league.

Phillips subsequently took the step up to the Premier League comfortably in his stride, averaging a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.21 over his 29 top-flight appearances last season, ranking him as Bielsa’s best performer in his debut campaign in the top tier of English football.

As such, it is unsurprising to learn of Manchester City’s interest in the midfielder, as it is clear that Phillips boasts the ability to improve the majority of teams in the country. That is exactly why Orta must resist the urge to cash in on the England star, and why Bielsa would be livid with the Leeds director of football should he indeed sell the 25-year-old.

In other news: Huge blow: Phil Hay reveals details on Leeds setback, fans will be very worried

Celtic’s options from an offensive point of view at the beginning of the season are healthy.

Kyogo Furuhashi has signed and hit the ground running in red-hot fashion, scoring four times in his opening three matches.

Liel Abada and Ryan Christie are also on the right track with eight goal involvements between the pair of them.

However, one player who has endured a topsy-turvy start to the new campaign is Odsonne Edouard.

So often Celtic’s go-to man in a crisis, he only has one goal to his name this term which happens to be a penalty against Dundee last weekend.

The Frenchman has been named among the substitutes in successive games but in a match where he may start, the striker is now a doubt.

The Hoops face Jablonec in the second leg of their third-round Europa League qualifying tie on Thursday but they now may well be without his services.

That’s according to The Scottish Sun who claims Edouard picked up an injury after Dundee last weekend.

Those named on the bench and not in the matchday squad played a 5-a-side game together post-match but he limped away with an ankle problem.

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With Furuhashi in such good form, this is not the biggest of blows. After all, if this eventuality had occurred in 2020/21, Celtic would have been in huge bother.

It’s still a concern for Postecoglou, though, who may have turned to him so he could rest the club’s new Japanese star ahead of their League Cup clash against Hearts this weekend.

Edouard is still one of the club’s leading lights, having found the net on 22 occasions over the last 12 months so to not have him in the squad will be a frustrating occurrence.

Celtic have a 4-2 lead heading into tonight’s clash so rest and rotation could be the order of the day. However, with Edouard potentially having to sit on the sidelines, Furuhashi will probably start upfront.

It’s unlikely Postecoglou would trust Albian Ajeti in a European clash after he scored just six times in all competitions last term.

AND in other news, Celtic open talks to sign 6ft1 gem who’s “one of the very best”, he could be Kyogo 2.0…

Crystal Palace announced on Wednesday that young striker Victor Akinwale has signed his first professional contract with the club.

And, as to be expected, a number of Eagles supporters have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

Akinwale, who recently turned 17, has been with the club since the age of 12.

The centre-forward has made 30 appearances for the club’s youth sides since the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign, scoring 10 times and registering three assists.

He has now followed in the footsteps of youngsters such as David Omilabu and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi in penning a first Selhurst Park deal.

Palace are looking to add two forwards to Patrick Vieira’s first-team squad before the end of the window, but it looks like they have now tied down a potential future first-team striker in Akinwale.

Palace fans react

Palace posted the news regarding Akinwale’s deal on their official Twitter page. These Eagles fans were all delighted, with one labelling the teenager a ‘baller’.

“Things you just love to see”Credit: @CTuckey99″Get innnnn”Credit: @bazbrown123″Great news”Credit: @baz_cansell”Baller”Credit: @James_cpfc06″Decent centre forward prospect. Leads line well. Strong. Scores goals. Good luck to the lad. A long way to go but another significant step on the journey.”Credit: @bradman1967″Well done keep banging in the goals!!!!”Credit: @cjbearcpfc

In other news: ‘Make it happen’ – Many CPFC fans react to transfer update on ‘magnificent’ forward. 

Sunderland are interested in a deal to bring Stephen O’Donnell to the Stadium of Light this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that Lee Johnson’s side are ready to make a move for the Motherwell right-back in the summer transfer window, with Kyril Louis-Dreyfus holding the belief that a deal would cost the Black Cats less than £500k.

The League One side have been linked with a number of players in the 29-year-old’s position in recent weeks, most notably Nottingham Forest’s Jordan Gabriel.

However, with Blackpool also thought to be keen on the 22-year-old, Sunderland now look to have turned their attention in the market towards the Scotland international, who has two years left to run on his contract at Fir Park.

Major coup

Considering just how short Johnson’s squad currently is in options at right-back, in addition to how impressive the Motherwell captain has been for both his club and country in recent seasons, it is unsurprising to learn of Sunderland’s interest in a move for O’Donnell.

Indeed, over his 34 Scottish Premiership appearances for Graham Alexander’s side last term, the £810k-rated man helped his side keep 11 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, two clearances and winning 4.5 duels per game.

The defender also helped his side out in an attacking capacity, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.9 key passes per match.

These returns saw the £1.2k-per-week man earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.73, with his performances playing a key role in his club securing survival in the top flight of Scottish football.

This league form saw O’Donnell earn a call up to Steve Clarke’s Scotland side for Euro 2020 this summer, with the 29-year-old highly impressing for his country, most notably in the 0-0 draw with England.

In the stalemate, the right-back made two tackles, one clearance, two key passes and won three duels, seeing him earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.2 – the second-best of any Scotland player on the day.

As such, it would certainly appear as if the defender would be quite a major coup for the Black Cats ahead of the new League One season, leading us to believe Louis-Dreyfus should do all he can to get a deal over the line for O’Donnell in the coming days.

In other news: Alan Nixon drops two-word Sunderland transfer update that will have fans buzzing

Eberechi Eze’s Achilles injury absolutely “rocked” Crystal Palace, says Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge.

Eze sustained the injury in training at the end of last season and could now be out of action until 2022.

The 23-year-old attacker joined from Queens Park Rangers last year and really impressed during his debut campaign at Selhurst Park.

He came up with 10 goal contributions in total in the Premier League and managed to record an average of 1.9 dribbles per game – more than any other Palace player, including Wilfried Zaha (via WhoScored).

On Eze’s injury, Bridge told FFC:

“It really rocked Palace, it really rocked them. Just before the season finished, Eze was playing some sublime stuff.

“Palace finally found a player… no offence to them, they would agree to this I’m sure, they were a one-man team under Wilf Zaha. But no longer did they have to rely on one man. Eze was really, really impressive.

“Andros Townsend said it on the radio the other day. There was tears at the training ground when he had that injury because he’s such a popular boy.”

Patrick Vieira will be desperate to have Eze up and running again, but Palace’s attack still looks in decent shape heading into the new season.

Star man Zaha is still at the club and could soon be joined by Blackburn Rovers striker Adam Armstrong.

According to Sky Sports, Armstrong, who bagged an impressive 28 goals in the Championship last season, is a player Palace are currently trying to bring in.

Chris Hughton’s Nottingham Forest side have received a number of offers for Jordan Gabriel.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that both Sunderland and Blackpool have submitted an offer for the Forest right-back, with Dane Murphy’s side believed to be considering whether or not to sanction the sale of the 22-year-old.

The report goes on to touch on the fact that the defender only penned a new four-year deal at The City Ground prior to joining the Tangerines on a season-long loan deal last summer.

A previous report also claimed that Portsmouth are considering a move for Gabriel, before adding that Hughton is assessing the right-back in pre-season before deciding whether or not the youngster will feature in his first-team plans as of next season.

Big mistake

Having only joined Forest earlier this month, deciding the future of Jordan Gabriel is a rather big call for Dane Murphy to make so early in his career as the CEO of the club.

And, considering how much potential the 22-year-old appears to possess, as well as the fact that the Reds are not exactly blessed with depth at right-back, it is a very easy argument to make that it would be something of a mistake by the chief executive to let him go.

Indeed, over his 29 League One appearances for Blackpool last season, the £225k-rated man helped his side keep a whopping ten clean sheets, as well as making an average of 0.8 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 1.5 clearances and winning 4.6 duels per game.

The £1.2k-per-week Englishman also impressed in an attacking capacity, providing one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.7 key passes per league fixture.

These metrics saw the man Matt Scrafton dubbed an “important” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.75, playing a key role part in helping his side achieve promotion via the play-offs.

Furthermore, with Cyrus Christie having returned to Fulham following the expiry of his loan deal at The City Ground, as well as Carl Jenkinson looking set to leave the club this summer, Gabriel could well end up being the Garibaldi’s only option at right-back as of next season.

As such, taking all of the above into account, unless Murphy has plans to bring in two new players at right-back this summer, letting the 22-year-old leave the club could well prove to be a huge mistake by the new CEO.

In other news: Forest dealt knockout blow over “influential” £14k-p/w dynamo, Hughton’s surely gutted

Rangers captain James Tavernier has been linked with a move to the Premier League, and it would be a massive blow for Steven Gerrard if the defender were to leave Ibrox this summer.

According to 90min, Manchester United, Arsenal, Brighton and Norwich City are all keen on signing the 29-year-old after his sensational performances for Gerrard’s side last season.

Despite the former Wigan Athletic man signing a new contract back in April, it may be difficult for Rangers to turn down an offer from the likes of Manchester United or Arsenal this summer, whilst the wages on offer in the Premier League may well be enough to turn Tavernier’s head.

The right-back has been in superb form since joining the club in 2015, making 289 appearances in all competitions, in which he has contributed a very impressive 65 goals and 90 assists.

Last season saw the Englishman manage 19 goals and 16 assists from right-back, so it is no surprise that he is attracting serious interest from the Premier League this summer, as it seems clear that the Scottish Premiership is below his level.

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The offer of Champions League football at Ibrox next season might previously have been enough to convince him to stay, but if Manchester United make an approach for him, then Rangers may well be forced to cash in on the £7.2m-rated defender.

It would be a devastating setback to lose such an influential player ahead of the Gers’ title defence and Champions League return next season, as he was their top goalscorer and assists provider last season. His performances before the season split earned him an incredible 7.75 rating from WhoScored, which was comfortably the best of any player in Gerrard’s squad.

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Therefore, Rangers should do all they can to keep Tavernier – who was described by Gerrard as a “powerhouse” last season – at Ibrox this summer, as it would be a huge blow to their squad if they were to lose him to a Premier League club this summer.

In other news… Rangers dealt huge blow with “phenomenal” star who could’ve replaced Morelos

Keith Downie has dropped the latest on Newcastle United’s reported pursuit of Will Hughes in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Hughes talks

As per The Sun, Steve Bruce is reportedly in talks with Watford to sign the 26-year-old for a deal which would be worth in the region of £12m.

The Hornets are willing to let him go in order to bring in some new players, and they are interested in a move for Isaac Hayden, who could be used as part of a potential swap deal.

The Latest: Downie on Hughes

Taking to Twitter, Sky Sports journalist Downie has dropped the latest on Newcastle’s reported pursuit of Hughes, claiming:

“There’s no Newcastle interest in Watford’s Will Hughes I’m told, and the club have no intention of allowing Isaac Hayden to leave either.”

The Verdict: Blow

It would certainly be a blow for Newcastle if they are not able to sign Hughes, as he could turn out to be a very useful squad player for them.

The midfielder played a big part in Watford getting promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, making 30 Championship appearances last term and scoring two goals (Transfermarkt).

The fact that he is English is a bonus in terms of the Tyneside club filling their homegrown quota, and at 26 years of age, he has probably not reached his peak yet.

It would certainly seem to be a smart buy from the Magpies if they were able to lure Hughes away from Vicarage Road.

In other news, find out what Kieran Maguire has said about the latest takeover development