All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

A surprise name has emerged in West Ham’s hunt for a new forward this summer…

What’s the word?

According to Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, the Irons are keeping tabs on Aleksandar Mitrovic’s situation at Fulham, who were relegated back to the Championship earlier this week.

It’s claimed that David Moyes is a big fan of the Serbian powerhouse and believes he “can succeed” at the London Stadium under his stewardship.

Konur also suggests that “formal contacts” are expected to be made between the two clubs at the end of the season.

It remains to be seen how much the 26-year-old would cost the Hammers, though CIES Football Observatory currently value him at €20m (£18m), whilst he’s also earning reported wages of £60k-per-week at Craven Cottage.

Worst since Haller?

David Gold, David Sullivan and Karen Brady must reject Moyes’ desire to land Mitrovic at all costs as they will be making their worst mistake since splashing the cash on Sebastian Haller.

The Ivory Coast striker cost the East London outfit a club-record £45m but was sold after 18 months, having only found the net 14 times, and they made a net loss of around £20m on him – a disastrous turn of events.

It’s no secret that Moyes desperately needs an alternative option to the injury-prone Michail Antonio, if not a perfect foil to partner him but he’s barking up the wrong tree by targeting the Fulham flop.

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

Mitrovic has never delivered in the Premier League consistently and that has to be a major cause of concern.

In 104 top-flight appearances across spells with the Cottagers and Newcastle United, the 6 foot 2 attacker has only scored 24 goals, which is actually a far worse games-per-goal ratio (4.3) than Haller (3.7).

Whilst Mitrovic has also always carried an element of controversy wherever he’s been.

During a win over Huddersfield Town in the Championship in August 2019, fans lambasted him as “embarrassing” and “shameless” for feigning an injury whilst more recently, Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe slammed him for an elbow on Ben White, calling it “really naughty.”

His former boss at the Magpies, Steve McClaren, added his thoughts soon after, and claimed (via Leeds Live): “That’s how he is, that’s what he was like as a kid when we signed him for Newcastle. He’s so aggressive, he bullies you. That’s what he did. The first five games he played, I think he got sent off twice for us. He has to calm down, he has to control his emotions and play the game.”

That should be enough to put any manager off, let alone his three league goals this campaign.

GSB must absolutely steer clear of Mitrovic this summer, no matter how badly Moyes wants him at the club.

AND in other news, Sullivan could land West Ham “another Antonio” with bargain swoop for 16-goal finisher…

West Ham fans no longer have to fear the worst after one of the most reliable sources around the London Stadium delivered an update on manager David Moyes and those links to Manchester United…

What’s the word?

Reports emerged over the weekend suggesting that the Red Devils hierarchy had asked Irons co-owner David Sullivan for permission to speak to the Scotsman after they axed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following their 4-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday.

However, trustworthy insider ExWHUemployee has poured cold water on such claims in a recent post on ‘The West Ham Way’ Patreon website.

“There are reports emerging today that David Sullivan has turned down an approach from Manchester United to talk to David Moyes about the vacant manager post at Old Trafford. I can confirm that this is rubbish and no such approach has been made to the club.”

Going nowhere

It is easy to see why United would be keen on their former manager, even despite his disappointing spell at Old Trafford during the 2013/14 season, but he has arguably been the main man behind the Irons’ incredible transformation in recent times.

He was handed some of the severest pressure a manager could ever imagine in replacing Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout for the very first time. You’d think that had that not happened, then he would surely be a front-runner for the vacancy right now.

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

Not to mention his transformation of Jesse Lingard last season – he’s gone from nine goals and five assists in 16 appearances to warming the bench once more.

And the fact that he signed a length contract extension in the summer.

Despite, arguably, their worst performance of the season against Wolves this weekend, the Hammers still find themselves in the running for a top-four finish, having secured Europa League qualification last term – a competition they have since made the knockout stages in.

It was only around 18 months ago that they avoided relegation with one game to spare, so that shows you how much the 58-year-old has changed their fortunes in such a short space of time.

Losing Moyes would certainly be a devastating blow to their ever-improving fortunes. That said, it’s hard to envisage him wanting to leave considering he’s on a club rising on an upward trajectory, whereas United have gone from the most-feared team in the division to one that relegation favourites Watford can beat on their day.

All in all, these promising claim from Ex is sure to leave everyone around east London absolutely delighted, though it could be a matter of time before other teams come calling, given his impressive recent track record.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee delivers major Jesse Lingard update that’ll leave West Ham fans buzzing…

Having joined Wolverhampton Wanderers’ youth setup back in 2018, Theo Corbeanu is a player who very quickly began to catch the eye at the Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground.

Indeed, after a rather quiet first season with Wolves U18s, scoring one goal and registering one assist over 14 Premier League U18 appearances in 2018/19, the versatile centre-forward really started to find his feet in the following campaign, bagging six goals and providing one assist over 17 fixtures for the U18 side, as well as making his first appearance for the U23s.

This form led to the Canada international being promoted to the U23 side on a permanent basis last season, during which the £900k-rated man scored seven goals and registered two assists over 21 Premier League 2 appearances, in addition to making his Premier League debut for the first team – coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in May.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering his impressive rise through the Wolves youth ranks, the opinion of Corbeanu is extremely high at Molineux, particularly in the eyes of U23 head coach James Collins.

Speaking about the potential of the 19-year-old, Collins said: “He’s athletic, tall, can head it, can defend, can dribble past people and score, he can shoot, he can pass, he’s both footed, he’s got a bit of everything.”

The boss continued: “Theo can be anything he wants to be. He’s an outstanding prospect.”

This assessment of the youngster’s ability is sure to excite Wolves fans, as Collins’ description could also quite easily fit the club’s current first-choice centre-forward, Raul Jimenez – of whom Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said: “For a striker, he is so mobile, but also physically so good and talented technically on the ball.”

However, despite his obvious promise, after being sent on loan to Sheffield Wednesday this summer, Corbeanu’s rise appears to have slowed somewhat, as the striker has so far made just four appearances for Darren Moore’s side – all of which have come from the bench.

Indeed, Tim Spiers recently stated in an article for The Athletic that, with both Lincoln City and Crewe Alexandra thought to have been interested in signing the forward this summer, should the 19-year-old still not be receiving regular game time at Hillsborough by the time January comes around, Wolves could well look to move the youngster to a new club for the second half of the season.

And, should Bruno Lage wish to give Corbeanu the best possible chance of going on to fulfil his undoubted potential, this would appear an extremely wise move. The 19-year-old certainly has the potential to not only become Jimenez’s long-term successor at Wolves, but he could also save Fosun millions of pounds in transfer fees as a result.

In other news: Nixon drops worrying claim on “authoritative” £62k-p/w ace, Wolves fans will be gutted

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Sven Botman to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who revealed in a recent post on The West Ham Way that David Moyes’ side have made an enquiry with LOSC Lille ahead of a potential move for the centre-back in the winter window.

The Hammers insider went on to claim that the French market is one that West Ham will be looking to take advantage of in January, as a number of Ligue 1 sides are suffering from considerable financial difficulties this season.

In his post, ExWHUemployee said: “We have made an enquiry [to] Lille [for] 21-year-old centre back Sven Botman. As revealed previously we are very much looking at the French market as there are a number of clubs suffering financial difficulties.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering the sheer amount of potential Botman quite clearly possesses, in addition to the fact that both Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna look set to spend a considerable amount of time sidelined due to injury, the news that West Ham are interested in a move for the 21-year-old defender is sure to have left fans of the club buzzing.

Indeed, over his 37 Ligue 1 appearances last season, the £27m-rated centre-back helped his side keep a whopping 20 clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.5 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 60.6 passes and winning 68% of his duels per game.

These returns saw the Netherlands U21 international who Kevin Phillips dubbed a “Van Dijk-like signing” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.08, ranking him as Lille’s joint third-best player in the top flight of French football on their way to securing the Ligue 1 title.

As such, should West Ham be able to get a deal for the £18k-per-week defender over the line this January, it would undoubtedly be a major coup for the Hammers, as well as a signing who would greatly increase the club’s chances of securing a top-four finish in the league come next May.

However, with it being reported that Lille are demanding a figure of around £40m in order to part with the youngster this January, whether or not the West Ham board cough up the funds very much remains to be seen.

In other news: Forget Ogbonna: WHU must seal swoop for £65k-p/w “monster” who’s “absolutely insane”

Aston Villa must seize their perfect chance to sign Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard in this summer’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent months have linked Dean Smith’s side with a move for the Frenchman, and now there has been a major update on his long-term future at Celtic Park.

Eurosport claim that “Edouard is being touted to clubs across England ahead of a potential summer transfer but there seems to be little concrete interest.”

It’s added that a deal to land the striker would be around the £20m mark, and while “it had been expected that there would be a tussle to sign him…at this stage that does not seem to be the case”.

Dean Smith will be buzzing

In Edouard, Villa would land themselves someone who’s been incredibly prolific in his fledgeling career. As well as bagging 20 goals in just 34 games this season – and that too for a Celtic side in turmoil and way off the pace behind Rangers – he’s scored 82 goals in 179 senior games in total.

His former boss at Celtic, Neil Lennon, has raved about the kind of importance he holds at Celtic Park, showering him with praise after one real stand-out display against Ross County.

He said: “He’s hugely important (to us), he’s an outstanding footballer, talismanic almost, he’s so talented, so cool and he had two great finishes. He’s up there with some of the best we’ve had over the last 20 odd years.”

Given Villa have been so heavily reliant on Ollie Watkins up top – he’s played in every single Premier League game thus far this season – bringing in Edouard would lift a massive burden off the striker’s shoulders.

With the suggestion that teams aren’t falling over themselves just yet to sign Edouard, it’s all perfectly set up for Villa to have a clear run at the Frenchman and get a deal done.

And landing him this summer would surely have Smith buzzing at having another top-quality striker in his ranks.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa played a blinder in signing this star…

Numerous Aston Villa supporters have been reacting to Tammy Abraham’s recent social media activity.

As reported by Birmingham Live, Abraham, who scored 26 goals for Villa in a season-long loan during the 2018/19 season, still keeps an eye on his former club.

Aston Villa posted on Instagram to congratulate forward Ollie Watkins for scoring on his England debut against San Marino, which led to the Chelsea man commenting with clapping and fire emojis.

Abraham, valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, has been linked with a return to Villa Park earlier this month after falling out of favour under new Blues boss Thomas Tuchel.

The 23-year-old has been in-and-out of the Chelsea team since January, scoring once following the German’s arrival.

Villa fans react

Birmingham Live shared their story on social media on Friday evening, teasing a possible partnership between Abraham and Watkins.

This is what these Villa fans had to say, with one believing the acquisition of Abraham could help Jack Grealish remain at the club.

“If Villa buy Tammy then Jack stays, if they then change the system to play Tammy & Ollie up top, with Jack behind them as a 10, we could really threaten this league!”

Credit: @chris1974jones

“Please x”

Credit: @thevillaboys_

“I genuinely believe having Tammy back home up top with Ollie will fire us into the top 4 with a couple of other creative additions”

Credit:@UTViIIa

“Smith will make him average”

Credit: @bltashcroft

“no it equals a dream for us all. but how many times do we need to keep being teased with this story”

Credit: @derekhi45270958

“Nope nope I get his tongue but this is not where we need to strengthen right now we have way more vastly important roles that need to be put straight”

Credit: @starblind1988

In other news: Villa worried over £16.2m-rated star who is difficult to manage, find out more here. 

A transfer claim regarding Manchester United’s chances of signing Frenkie de Jong this summer has emerged…

What’s the word?

Super-journalist Fabrizio Romano provided an update on United’s pursuit of the former Ajax starlet, ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

Romano took to his Twitter page to relay the claim which read: “Barca manager Xavi shuts down rumours on Frenkie de Jong leaving & Man Utd links.”

The Italian’s tweet contained quotes from Xavi on the potential departure of de Jong, with the Barcelona manager saying this: “Frenkie’s a very important player for me and for the club. He has to mark an era.

“I’m happy with him. If it were up to me he’ll continue for many years at Barca.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-man-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more-nunez-ten-hag-nkunku-richarlison” title=”Read the latest Man United news!”]

Ten Hag will be gutted

With Ten Hag’s recent appointment at Manchester United amidst fluctuating game-time for Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona, it looked like this reunion was written in the stars for the Old Trafford side.

Since departing Ten Hag’s Ajax back in the summer of 2019, the Netherlands star has continued his development across his total of 136 appearances for the Blaugrana.

With Paul Pogba’s rumoured departure, a move for the 24-year-old looked like a sure-fire switch, with the Dutch coach enjoying unlimited success with de Jong – winning the Eredivisie title and Dutch Cup – in a season that saw Ajax reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019.

The signing of the midfield maestro would have been the epitome of the next chapter for United, with the £63m-rated midfielder offering something completely different in the Red Devils’ engine room.

De Jong is quite simply a pass master, averaging an insane 90% pass completion total per 90, with an average total of 56 passes per match.

The Netherlands international is forward-thinking. His passing is productive and allows his side to progress the ball forward, whilst also creating a number of chances for his teammates – with his shot-creating actions total of three per 90 reflecting this.

Though, his style is much more offensive than defensive, with his metrics for the latter looking poor, considering his position.

As such, United may have had a lucky escape, as it is no secret that the lack of defensive solidity across the midfield has been one of the biggest issues for the side this season.

United need to identify a well-rounded and unselfish central midfielder who can cover both aspects of the game, as well as an outright central defensive midfielder who sits back and acts as the metronome.

It would have been nice to see de Jong reunite with Ten Hag, and although he may not be what the Red Devils need, it will be a big blow to the new boss nonetheless.

AND in other news: Ten Hag can instantly get OT rocking as MUFC plot bid for “top-class” £13.5m-rated gem – opinion

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Newcastle United midfielder Rob Lee reacted to Charlie Austin’s claim on talkSPORT that Manchester United opted to sign Victor Lindelof instead of Virgil van Dijk.

Former Southampton striker Austin said the Red Devils turned down the chance to sign Van Dijk, revealing a chat he had with the 29-year-old during their time at St Mary’s.

The highly-rated Dutch defender, who had attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs including United, handed in a transfer request to push through a move to Anfield, only for the deal to initially fall through after Liverpool publicly apologised for an alleged illegal approach for him in 2017.

But the Reds would not be dissuaded and renewed their efforts to sign him from the Saints in a then-world record deal worth £75m.

Of course, United would go on to complete the signing of Lindelof for £31m from Benfica several months later, as former manager Jose Mourinho sought to bolster his defensive options in the summer.

Whilst Lee wasn’t so easily convinced, he does believe that Van Dijk is a class above the rest of his competitors. He was asked about Austin’s comments by Football FanCast editor James Beavis this week and shared his thoughts on the subject.

He told FFC: “Well, they’ll be gutted if that’s true. Listen, Charlie Austin, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but you can’t compare the players.

“Van Dijk cruised the Scottish league, absolutely cruised it. I’m amazed no one bigger than Southampton came in for him.

“But again, it’s very difficult to judge how they play in different leagues to how well they will adjust to playing in the Premier League.

“Van Dijk, before his injury, and I’m sure once he comes back, is the best centre-back in the world by a million miles.”

It’s hard to argue otherwise, isn’t it? Van Dijk has established himself as a regular starter under Jurgen Klopp and gone on to make over a hundred appearances for Liverpool, helping them to Champions League and Premier League honours.

Lindelof, meanwhile, has struggled to make much of an impression at Old Trafford, as he is battling with Eric Bailly to bag a spot alongside Harry Maguire.

With United’s shock defeat to Sheffield United still fresh on his mind, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be forgiven for wondering how things might have panned out if Van Dijk had joined their ranks instead of Lindelof in the summer of 2017.

AND in other news, Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes let Ole Gunnar Solskjaer down in 2-1 defeat…

According to The Sun, Daniel Levy is desperate to hire Brendan Rodgers as the new Tottenham manager, with the Leicester City boss even said to have always been Spurs’ first choice.

The Lowdown: Spurs continue manager search

Jose Mourinho are without a permanent manager after Jose Mourinho was sacked last month – Ryan Mason remains in interim charge.

As such, Levy continues to explore all possible options ahead of next season, with countless names linked with the role in the last few weeks.

The Latest: Levy wants Rodgers

It is now being reported that Levy and Spurs are eager to appoint Rodgers, who has always been their preferred choice for the job.

They are hoping that a Tottenham win against the Foxes this weekend will convince Rodgers to make the move to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, given that it would place both teams into the same European competition.

The Verdict: Aim high

Rodgers has done a fantastic job with Leicester. He led them to the first F.A Cup trophy in their history earlier this month as they beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final at Wembley, while they remain in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League going in to the final day of the Premier League campaign.

He has won eight trophies throughout his career, with seven coming at Celtic in his previous job. He was also on the verge of winning the Premier League with Liverpool in 2014 – quite frankly, he has more than enough credentials to be given the Tottenham job. A Spurs victory this Sunday could be crucial in more ways than one.

In other news, Levy planned for Harry Kane’s departure months ago.

Norwich City are interested in a deal to bring Tosin Adarabioyo to Carrow Road this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Sky Sports, who claim that the Canaries are prioritising the signing of a centre-back in the upcoming transfer window, with Stuart Webber thought to be keeping a close eye on the situation of the 23-year-old Fulham defender.

The report goes on to state that Norwich scouts have been mapping the progress of the centre-back over the course of the Cottagers’ Premier League campaign ahead of a potential move this summer.

Farke would love him

Having joined Fulham from Manchester City in what was a £1.49m last October, Adarabioyo impressed in his debut season at Craven Cottage, despite the west London side ultimately suffering relegation to the Championship.

Over his 33 Premier League appearances, the £27k-per-week defender helped his side to keep nine clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 1.1 tackles and 5.8 clearances per game.

The former Manchester City man also impressed with his range of passing, successfully completing an average of 49.8 passes per match, with a success rate of 86%, in addition to completing an average of 3.6 long balls and 2.3 chipped passes per appearance.

These metrics saw Adarabioyo earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Scott Parker’s ninth-best performer in the top flight.

As such, the addition of the £9m-rated defender to the Norwich City backline would appear to considerably boost the chances of the Canaries improving upon the whopping 75 goals they conceded in their 2019/20 Premier League campaign.

So, it would seem highly advisable for Webber to follow up on his interest with a bid for the player Tony Mowbray dubbed “immense” this summer, as Adarabioyo would not only bring Premier League experience to the City backline, but he would also appear to be the type of defender the German manager would love.

In other news: Transfer claim emerges on “top-class” 19 y/o gem, it should leave Norwich fans gutted – opinion