All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

According to a report by Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur are now planning talks with Nuno Espirito Santo behind the scenes and it is even said that managing director Fabio Paratici is personally leading the pursuit.

The Lowdown: Spurs manager search takes twist…

After failed talks with Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso, Spurs are back to square on in their hunt for a new manager and must re-evaluate the list of candidates.

As such, links have re-emerged to the likes of Graham Potter and Nuno in recent days, with talkSPORT reporter Ian Abrahams even stating it is a two horse race between the pair for Tottenham’s hotseat.

The arrival of new managing director Paratici is also a crucial factor in Tottenham’s manager search with the Italian set to oversee their on-field sporting operations.

The Latest: Tottenham planning Nuno talks…

As per Football Insider, Tottenham are now plotting talks with Nuno behind the scenes in what they call a ‘shock twist’.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-2/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The club’s stance on appointing the Portuguese has apparently changed due to a series of collapsed talks, with Spurs seemingly lurching from one disaster to the next.

A Spurs source has now told the outlet that Nuno is a contender to replace Jose Mourinho and negotiations are now expected with the ex-Wolves gaffer.

Paratici is also believed to be personally leading the pursuit for him after the north Londoners conducted background checks.

The Verdict: Great candidate?

Lauded as an ‘outstanding manager’ by talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan recently, who wanted him at Spurs, it is little wonder given what he accomplished at Molineux before an emotional farewell.

Winning a Championship title with Wolves and gaining promotion back to the Premier League, Nuno went on to guide them to two consecutive seventh-placed finishes in the top flight and a run to the Europa League quarter-final stages (BBC).

Wolves also narrowly just missed out on an FA Cup final in 2019 after losing their Wembley semi to Watford, with his four years in the Midlands described as an ‘unquestioned success’ (BBC).

Spurs could certainly do far worse in their hunt for a new manager, but we believe fellow candidate Potter is a better shout due to his more open, attacking style.

In other news: ‘Tottenham have renewed their interest’…Sky Sports reporter shares news coming out of N17, find out more here.

Many Everton fans have been left to fume as a transfer update emerged on Randal Kolo Muani.

As per a Foot Mercato journalist, the Goodison Park faithful have checked Muani as a player to potentially strengthen their attack, as they look for a possible replacement for Moise Kean, who may join PSG on a permanent deal.

The striker scored nine goals and made a further nine assists in 39 games in total over all competitions for Nantes in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt), but some members of the Merseyside club faithful feel that these stats are not good enough to be playing for them.

Muani is still only 22 years of age, and so has potential, but it seems as if several Toffees would prefer a more experienced and ready-made forward to come in and support Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Everton fans on Muani transfer update

These Blues fumed as the transfer update was shared on Twitter, with one EFC supporter even going as far as to claim that his stats were ’embarrassing’:

“9 goals in a season is embarrassing”

Credit: @joshua_eardley

“I can score more than that! Need better than that”

Credit: @fifasavedmylife

“Not good enough”

Credit: @hawksworth1966

“End interest now”

Credit: @hammermurp

“We’ve already got enough players with poor returns ….why buy more dross?”

Credit: @RobColes11

“Why? Another waste”

Credit: @coltsblues12

In other news, find out what transfer update has left Toffees buzzing here!

Southampton have been linked with a move for Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie recently, and his potential signing could be a repeat of the deal which saw Stuart Armstrong join the Saints in 2018.

According to The Scottish Sun, Southampton are targeting the attacking midfielder ahead of the summer transfer window as they look to add a goalscoring midfielder to their ranks next season. The report from Alan Nixon suggests that Christie’s contract with Celtic is set to expire at the end of 2021, so they are keen to cash in on him this summer instead of potentially losing him for nothing.

Norwich and Burnley are also said to be interested in the 26-year-old, but a move to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side may appeal to the Scotland international as he could link up with his former clubmate and current international colleague Armstrong.

Since joining the Saints three years ago, the 29-year-old has gone on to make 104 appearances for the south coast club, contributing 14 goals and 11 assists.

The Scottish midfielder was one of the standout performers for Southampton in 2020/21, with Saints legend Terry Paine full of praise for his campaign in the recent end of the season awards, saying: “I’ve been highly impressed with him, in terms of his effort and output, and the fact that he has played in multiple positions. He’s shown that bit of spark, and he’s got that burst of pace that can make a real difference.”

Given that Southampton signed him from Celtic, where he predominantly featured as an attacking midfielder, there are many similarities between Armstrong and Christie.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-southampton-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Southampton transfer rumours and news!”]

The 26-year-old Scotland international has contributed an impressive 40 goals and 41 assists in 142 appearances for the Hoops, which included four goals and eight assists in the Premiership last season as he averaged a superb 7.33 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Celtic legend Chris Sutton was full of praise for the midfielder after his goals helped Scotland qualify for Euro 2020, saying: “You have to admire his attitude as well as his versatility, to be able to play so many positions at such a high level…he gives it absolutely everything. We all know he can produce moments of magic, but he combines it with a ferocious work rate. Christie is a manager’s dream.”

Therefore, it certainly seems as if Christie could be a superb addition to Hasenhuttl’s squad, and if he can have the same impact that Armstrong has made during his time on the south coast, then signing him could be another masterstroke by Southampton CEO Martin Semmens if the Saints pull it off.

In other news… Southampton can sign their ideal Ings heir in “explosive” £10m beast

Paul Stewart has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that Harry Wilson must leave Liverpool to progress his career.

The Wrexham-born attacker came through the academy at Anfield but has made just two first-team appearances for the Reds – the second of which came against Arsenal earlier this season in the Carabao Cup.

As a result, Wilson has spent the previous four seasons out on loan in both the Championship and Premier League.

The last of those was back in his native Wales with Cardiff City where he scored seven times, including an exquisite hat-trick against Birmingham in their penultimate game earlier this month, and added 12 assists, in the latest in a long spell of loan spells for the 24-year-old.

Wilson showed two years ago at Bournemouth that he’s more than capable to competing at Premier League level, although a career at Liverpool doesn’t appear likely.

The Athletic recently reported that Wilson has no future on Merseyside, and Stewart believes that he must leave Liverpool to further his own career having been continuously overlooked by Jurgen Klopp.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

“I actually thought at one point that he was doing so well on loan that he could come back and maybe have a future at Liverpool.

“But for him to progress in his own career he’s maybe got to look at leaving Liverpool, otherwise, if he stays, he’s probably going to be loaned out and not be a fixture in the team.”

Southampton produced an extremely disappointing display as they fell to a 3-0 defeat against Europa League-bound West Ham on the final afternoon of the Premier League season.

Two goals from Pablo Fornals and one from Declan Rice secured a comfortable win for David Moyes’ side, whilst the Saints missed plenty of chances and produced some woeful defending, which ensured that they would finish the season in 15th.

One man who was getting plenty of stick for his performance on Twitter during the game was Nathan Redmond, but in reality, he was one of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s best performers at the London Stadium.

As per SofaScore, the former Norwich City man would earn an impressive 7.4/10 rating for his performance, which was the best of any Southampton play to feature on Sunday.

During the game, the 27-year-old winger would have 53 touches of the ball and would complete 26/30 of his passes, resulting in a solid 87% pass accuracy, which is an improvement on the 76.8% accuracy he averaged in the Premier League across the season.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-southampton-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Southampton transfer rumours and news!”]

Impressively, seven of those passes were key passes, as he was definitely Southampton’s most creative player against the Hammers, as this was only one less than the rest of the team combined, and is also significantly more than the one key pass he averaged per game this season.

The winger looked very dangerous at times, as he completed five out of his seven dribble attempts and also impressively won seven of his duels, whereas Stuart Armstrong on the opposite flank would contribute two key passes, two dribbles and three successful duels, yet he is rarely criticised by the Southampton faithful.

Therefore, it definitely seems fair to suggest that Redmond is often scapegoated by Southampton fans, as whilst he has had a poor season overall, his performance against West Ham on the final day should be praised rather than criticised.

And, in other news… Just 10 passes: Southampton star was awful vs WHU, Hasenhuttl surely fuming

Rangers are well and truly the gift that keeps on giving this season as Steven Gerrard continues to engineer triumph after triumph at Ibrox.

The Gers have been the best team in the country by a mile this term and their win on Sunday afternoon provided plenty of evidence as to why.

Gerrard’s men were ruthless on the counter-attack and managed to stifle their opposition at regular intervals.

Rangers have already wrapped up the SPFL but this was perhaps one of their best moments of the season; knocking Celtic out of the Scottish Cup and commending them to a trophyless campaign.

Much of the performance has to be owed to the manager as Steven Davis and an own goal from Jonjoe Kenny earned them a 2-0 win.

The shining light in the team has to be a certain Nathan Patterson, rather than goalscorer Davis who was so often the heartbeat in the middle.

Gerrard had a big call to make this weekend with skipper James Tavernier back in the matchday squad.

The full-back has been absent for a number of weeks now with a knee injury and missed the last Old Firm derby. Though, after the performance of Patterson today he may well miss the next one too.

The young full-back was a rampant ball of energy down the right-hand flank and was unlucky not to score, firing the ball into the side netting on 29 minutes. He consistently had the beating of Diego Laxalt, a man who was described as “abysmal” by The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin.

Patterson was impressive in possession of the ball and used it to play quick passes before advancing on the overlap, providing to be a livewire on the flanks.

The £4.9k-per-week earner was intelligent and put in a seamless performance in what was his very first Old Firm start. Taking to Twitter during the 90 minutes, Chris Graham wrote: “You won’t see better than that in the first 45 mins from a young player. Absolutely brilliant.”

The 19-year-old quietened in the second half but proved he was able defensively with the Teddy Bears forced to sit back and defend their lead late on.

That being said, he put in a clinic in how to attack from defence in the first half. Speaking during the interval, David Weir said on Premier Sports’ live coverage that he was “outstanding.”

Weir then added: “He was playing with no fear today.”

That typifies the youngster; he is a fearless ball of energy. Today Patterson showed that he can rise to the task even when the stakes are high.

Watch out Tavernier; you have competition on your hands.

AND in other news, Forget Yates: Wilson must seal Rangers deal for “phenomenal” goal machine this summer…

Danny Ings is the latest striker to be linked with a move to West Ham ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to talkSPORT’s transfer guru Alex Crook, the Irons have an interest in the 28-year-old Southampton talisman, he revealed:

“They’ve got an interest in Danny Ings at Southampton as well, although, my understanding is that he has a gentleman’s agreement with Saints that he will only leave if either of the two Manchester clubs come in for him.”

Ings will enter the final year of his current £75k-per-week deal this summer and the upcoming window could present an opportunity for the south-coast side to cash in before risking losing him for free.

He is currently valued at €20m (£18m) by CIES Football Observatory, whilst it remains to be seen what sort of fee could tempt the Saints into a sale.

Statement signing

With the Hammers firmly in contention to qualify for Europe this season, it is no secret that David Moyes will want reinforcements if they are to give a good account of themselves next term.

It is even more obvious that a new striker is required after the club’s owners – GSB – failed to provide the 58-year-old with a replacement for Sebastien Haller, who departed for Ajax in January, leaving Michail Antonio as the only senior forward in the squad.

That decision has already proved disastrous as the 31-year-old is facing further time on the sideline, as usual, and he cannot be relied upon for the entire duration of one season.

Tammy Abraham is one name that has been firmly linked with a move to the London Stadium in recent weeks.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-west-ham-transfer-rumours-gossip-latest-moyes-gsb-london-stadium” title= “Read the latest West Ham news, transfer rumours, gossip and more!”]

Club legend Trevor Sinclair claimed to talkSPORT that the Chelsea outcast “would be a great match for West Ham,” and that “it’s what they need with Antonio’s injuries.”

Whilst the 23-year-old has plenty of goalscoring credentials and is a top player in his own right, it is thought that the Blues will aim to raise around £40m from his departure in the summer, which is double what Ings is currently worth and it’s the Saints man who has proven his ability over a larger timeframe.

Of course, age is not on his side but the 5 foot 10 marksman has found the net 11 times this term, more than any Hammers star, and has bagged 44 goals in only 96 appearances since joining Southampton.

Ex-Premier League forward Clinton Morrison once compared Ings to Robbie Keane for his “first-class” movement, whilst his current manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has lauded his exploits as “unbelievable”.

Also dubbed a “monster” with “confidence flowing in his veins,” a player of Ings’ calibre could be exactly what’s needed in East London to take the Irons onto that next level.

Moyes must ensure this season wasn’t a one-off and he will need a prolific and consistent goalscorer to aid that goal. David Sullivan and co must not let him down this summer and sanction a move for the former Liverpool star.

He should be a far cheaper option than Abraham and that’ll undoubtedly tempt GSB’s tight pockets.

AND in other news, Irons handed major injury doubt ahead of run-in, Moyes will be hugely concerned…

Eddie Howe has been handed an early transfer blow in regards to a potential summer signing ahead of possibly becoming the new Celtic manager.

Reports have suggested that the former Bournemouth boss has verbally agreed on a move to Parkhead, with a potential start date in the summer.

Cook’s contract twist

The Sun claimed that the 43-year-old will target Cherries centre-back Steve Cook as a key addition ahead of the 2021/22 season. They revealed that the 29-year-old would be available on a free transfer when his contract expires in June, with Transfermarkt also stating that his deal is up at the end of the campaign.

However, according to the Daily Echo, Cook’s contract actually runs until 2022, meaning the Hoops would more than likely have to pay a fee for the experienced defender.

Celtic have also been linked with the 29-year-old’s former Cherries team-mate Josh King this week, but renowned fan site 67 Hail Hail pointed out that the Norwegian’s wages could prove to be a stumbling block towards securing a move to Glasgow.

Transfer Tavern take

Securing Cook’s services on a free transfer could have been an excellent move. He has 168 appearances in the Premier League under his belt and isn’t far off reaching 400 games as a Bournemouth player.

Howe would know all about Cook from his time on the south coast, and with Christopher Jullien injured, Shane Duffy set to return to Brighton and Kris Ajer linked with a move away from Celtic, defensive reinforcements could be required as a matter of urgency.

In other news: Celtic make contact with Howe alternative, find out who it is here. 

Rangers return to Premiership action on Sunday as they take on Hibernian at Ibrox, with Steven Gerrard’s side still in with a chance of finishing the league season unbeaten.

The 40-year-old manager rang the changes for his side’s 4-0 win against League One Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup last time out, so will likely be back at full strength for the game against Hibs this weekend and the bookies featured at bookmaker-ratings.com have reflected this in their odds on the Champions picking up three points.

Unfortunately for Scott Arfield, that should see him drop out of the team, as his performances in recent fixtures have been far from good enough and you could definitely argue that Joe Aribo, Glen Kamara and Steven Davis are all ahead of him in the midfield pecking order on current form.

The Canadian international started the game against Cove Rangers but failed to provide a goal or an assist in the 90 minutes to continue his recent barren run. The 32-year-old’s last goal contribution came in the 3-2 win against Standard Liege back in December, meaning he has failed to register a single goal or assist in 2021 thus far.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/rangers-news-ibrox-steven-gerrard-ross-wilson-gers-rfc” title=”Latest Rangers news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The former Burnley man has made 25 appearances in the Premiership so far this season and has averaged a less than impressive 6.65 WhoScored rating for his performances, which ranks him as the worst performer in Gerrard’s squad of those who have made at least five starts in the Scottish top flight.

Despite his poor run of form, Gerrard was full of praise for Arfield earlier this year, saying: “Scott epitomises what we want. Out of possession he shows grit, he shows fight, he’s there for you and in possession, he’s always available.

“He stands up to be counted at important times, so we’re extremely happy with Scott at the moment.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

However, the former Liverpool captain will surely be aware that the midfielder’s performances have declined in recent months and therefore he should drop him against Hibernian in order to give his team the best chance of picking up all three points and continuing the unbeaten run.

In other news… Sold for £1m, now in League One: Rangers axed one of their “top performers” at the perfect time

According to reports, Leeds are still interested in Reading’s Michael Olise ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports back in January suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were very much interested in bringing the 19-year-old to the Premier League, and now Football Insider have delivered a major update on the situation.

The report claims that the Whites are still closely monitoring Olise, but are facing strong competition from a number of Premier League clubs, including the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.

Game-changer for Bielsa

With five goals and ten assists, Olise has been an absolute revelation in the Championship for Reading this season, and it’s no surprise that so many of the Premier League’s biggest clubs are keen on seeing him play at a higher level.

His teammate at Reading, Sam Baldock, said early last year: “Michael is a real talent, he’ll get on the ball in any situation. He’s fearless, if you ask him today I’ll guarantee that he had no nerves. He’s a lively character and one who I’ve noticed a real change in the last couple of months.”

Hailed as “super talented” by Reading boss Veljko Paunović, the 19-year-old has already earned rave reviews for his ability, with his former manager at the Royals, Jose Gomes, adding: “Michael is really special. He can see, even before receiving the ball, more options than regular players. His technical ability and speed, decision capacity is really, really good.”

His tally of ten assists is significantly higher than anything that any of Leeds’ players have produced this season, and given his ability to play as a number ten or even out wide, could be a real game-changer for Bielsa.

Not only would he offer support for the likes of Raphinha and Jack Harrison, but he could really give Rodrigo a run for his money for that attacking midfield role.

As those who know him well have attested to, Olise has got that ability to take players on and create a moment of magic. And that’s exactly the kind of match-winning quality Bielsa would surely love to have in his side.

Meanwhile, Bielsa should unleash this Leeds starlet next season…