All posts by z3u9t.icu

Celtic are thought to be closing in on a move for Yokohama F. Marinos forward Daizen Maeda, according to reports in Japan, as relayed by Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Maeda profiled

The 24-year-old is under contract with his current employers until 2024, as per Transfermarkt, and has just come off the back of his best goalscoring year.

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Capable of playing as a centre-forward, second striker or as a left winger, the Japan international netted 23 times and registered five assists in 36 J1 League appearances.

He has previously worked under Ange Postecoglou, and it seems as if he could reunite with the 56-year-old, as well as international teammate Kyogo Furuhashi, at Parkhead.

The Latest: ‘Final stages’

The Daily Record cited reports from Japan in a story on Tuesday afternoon, claiming that a move for the 24-year-old is in the ‘final stages’.

The report claimed that Maeda, labelled a ‘tireless worker’ by Kieran Devlin, could join on a permanent deal or a loan-to-buy move.

The Verdict: Ange not hanging around…

Postecoglou will know just what Maeda could bring to Celtic’s attacking ranks, and it seems as if a winter move to Scotland is edging ever closer for the 24-year-old.

Like Furuhashi, the forward will be able to occupy a central role or ply his trade from the left, and his energetic attributes should see him fit right in at Parkhead.

Giorgos Giakoumakis has struggled to get going in Glasgow, whereas Albian Ajeti could be on the way out, so adding another attacker seems to be a shrewd move.

It seems that the Hoops manager isn’t hanging around when it comes to January signings, and Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi could also be jetting over from Japan along with Maeda by the looks of it.

In other news: Sky Sports share more Celtic news with £20k-p/w colossus now ‘open’ to Parkhead exit

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Lawrie Sanchez has described Sheffield United boss Slavisa Jokanovic as a “golden ticket” to the Premier League.

Jokanovic arrived at Bramall Lane at the end of May, replacing Chris Wilder and taking over from Paul Heckingbottom, who had been in temporary charge of the Yorkshire club.

United will start the 2021/22 season in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League but, with Jokanovic in charge, Sanchez does not think they will be in English football’s second tier for too long.

Discussing United’s decision to appoint the 52-year-old in an interview with TT, the former top-flight manager said:

“I was surprised actually. Although, to be fair, Jokanovic got Watford up. I mean, to get two teams to the Premier League, he’s a golden ticket.”

Indeed, having taken both Watford and Fulham from the Championship to the Premier League, Jokanovic looks like a really smart appointment by United.

Of course, there are going to be some tough teams in the second division fighting for promotion next year.

West Brom and Jokanovic’s former club Fulham were, of course, also relegated, while the likes of Swansea City and Bournemouth have shown they are capable sides under Steve Cooper and Jonathan Woodgate respectively, both reaching the play-offs.

But given Jokanovic’s history, the Blades will surely fancy their chances under the Serbian.

Sunderland fans appear to be very happy after Lee Johnson revealed ahead of the Blackpool clash that Dion Sanderson will not miss the rest of the season as initially expected.

The Black Cats’ hopes of automatic promotion are in trouble following a couple of disappointing results. First, they were beaten by Charlton Athletic 2-1 before losing by the same scoreline to Wigan Athletic, who are currently struggling to stay in League One. They currently trail second-placed Peterborough United by five points with six games left to play (BBC).

They were then hit with another blow when it appeared Sanderson would miss the rest of the season due to injury (Roker Report). However, prior to the Wearside outfit’s clash with Blackpool this weekend, manager Johnson has revealed Sanderson should be fit before the end of the season (James Hunter).

The news appeared to please the club’s supporters, and they were quick to take to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter when the news broke.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Sanderson news below

“Just save Sanderson until the play offs. No need to risk him in the next 6 games”

Credit: @SAFCNewsFeed

“Needs to get himself to Seaham hall for a couple of weeks”

Credit: @AdrianMagson

“Ah – so him being out for the season was just a lie? Gotcha.”

Credit: @LeBenjiboo

“better off resting him than trotting him out there injured…looked off the last 2 matches”

Credit: @Spina13Colada

“Oh thank goodness for that”

Credit: @bamgboyeolu

“YESSSSSS”

Credit: @KINGMAGUIRE1

In other news, Kevin Phillips is delighted with this Kyril Louis-Dreyfus update.

Aston Villa can afford to part ways with left-back Matt Targett, currently on loan at Premier League rivals Newcastle United, with the Englishman looking to leave the West Midlands outfit permanently this summer

What’s the latest?

The 26-year-old recently spoke publicly of his desire to make his stay in the North East permanent, saying: “I’m sure and hope they can sort something out for me.

“For sure [decision time] is coming closer so, at the moment, I am really enjoying my time here and loving playing in front of the Geordie fans here.”

Toon boss Eddie Howe was made aware of those comments after Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Leicester City and reacted by stating: “If that’s what he said then it’s a lovely thing to hear from our perspective that he’s happy at the club and enjoying everything Newcastle has to offer.

“I’d be surprised if there was any other feeling from him because he’s looked so happy and settled in well.

“There are still games to play this season and opinions to be fully formed but I think he’s done very well. He’s fitted into the team and the group very well. He’s been very consistent with his performances.”

The Englishman made the move to Tyneside in January in an attempt to guarantee playing time after Villa’s £25m purchase of Lucas Digne from Everton.

Now, with the Frenchman undoubtedly Steven Gerrard’s first choice, it seems as though Targett will have to leave the West Midlands club permanently for regular game time in the top-flight.

Villa can afford to part ways with Targett

Despite a tricky start to life in claret and blue for Digne with numerous injury issues, the 28-year-old will start next season as Villa’s favoured left-back.

As a result, Targett has every right to seek a new challenge, particularly after an impressive three months as a Newcastle player.

Whether or not the North-East outfit’s expected heavy investment for high-profile talent this summer will shut the Englishman out of a permanent move is yet to be seen. However, from a Villa perspective, they can let Targett go with few consequences.

Granted, the Villans will have to seek a new backup left-back with 36-year-old Ashley Young’s contract set to expire this summer but this shouldn’t prove to be too tall a task.

The 26-year-old has proven to be a solid purchase for two-and-a-half seasons of service after his move from Southampton in 2019.

However, this campaign had since mixed displays from the left-back in claret and blue, with his opening day performance in the 3-2 defeat at Watford particularly alarming.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans tweeted on the day: “Feeling a little bit for Matt Targett here. 14 mins in and Sarr is causing him all sorts of problems. Hard to watch.”

Even with injury issues, Digne has performed slightly better for Villa than the 26-year-old had prior to his move to St.James’ Park, according to SofaScore, with Targett’s average rating standing at 6.84 whilst Digne’s has been 6.9.

With Villa, like Newcastle, looking to make the next step up, the £59k-per-week Englishman may have to seek a completely different alternative when it comes to a permanent move. However, it won’t be a loss for Aston Villa.

AND in other news, Cost £0, now worth £19.8m: Villa struck gold on £15k-p/w gem who “demands attention”…

Patrick Bamford may potentially have only suffered a dead leg in Leeds United’s draw with Chelsea, according to The Athletic’s Phil Hay.

The Whites drew 0-0 at home to Thomas Tuchel side’s on Saturday afternoon in what was a hard-fought Premier League contest at Elland Road.

Leeds more than held their own against a Chelsea team with top-four aspirations and they had to make do without Bamford for much of the game.

The striker was replaced after just 35 minutes, sustaining a leg injury and failing to carry on despite attempting to soldier through for a short period.

Hay offers hope over Bamford injury

Although there were concerns that the 27-year-old could miss a sizeable chunk of action after going off, beginning with Friday night’s clash against Fulham, Hay has tried to allay those fears with an encouraging update.

Speaking in a Q&A on The Athletic after Saturday’s game, the journalist stated that Bamford’s injury is possibly nothing more than a dead leg:

“Hopefully a dead leg. [Marcelo] Bielsa should be starting his presser shortly.”

Transfer Tavern take

Bamford has been a hugely important player for Leeds this season as their leading scorer, so it would be a huge boost if his injury is nothing serious.

He has 13 goals and five assists in his 28 Premier League appearances to date, with his goal tally more than double that of Jack Harrison (six) in second place.

Bamford’s form has been one of the feel-good stories of Leeds’ season and the hope is that he is fit to continue until May, possibly even forcing his way into England’s Euro 2020 squad. Hay’s update offers reassuring hope that his knock on Saturday won’t be a long-term one.

In other news, Leeds are believed to be eyeing up a move for a Premier League defender this summer. Find out who it is here.

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly eyeing a transfer move for Cristian Romero in the summer window.

The Lowdown: Centre-half needed

Spurs conceded as many as 45 goals in the Premier League in the 2020/21 term, which is a rate of more than a goal a game and more than all four teams who secured Champions League football, so they could do with signing a shiny new centre-back for the new manager to build the team’s spine around.

Toby Alderweireld is also not getting any younger at 32 years of age, and so they should be looking to replace the Belgium international sooner rather than later and perhaps sign a long term partner and leader for Joe Rodon, who is impressing at Euro 2020.

The Latest: Spurs eye Romero

According to  L’Eco Di Bergamo (via Sport Witness), the North London club reportedly have their ‘eyes open’ with regards to potentially signing Romero.

The news outlet also mentions that Fabio Paratici bought him for Juventus, and so clearly rates him very highly.

The Verdict: Good option

Romero would certainly be a good option to bolster the squad for whoever the new manager may be – Serie A expert Conor Clancy explained this month how the defender is ‘phenomenal’ but ‘deceptively dirty’, praising his quality on the ball as well as off it.

At just 23 years of age, the Argentina international certainly has room to grow too, and could perhaps tone down that beastly side – he averaged 2.3 fouls per game in Serie A and picked up ten yellow cards this term – and become more streetwise with more experience.

Having already played at the highest level with Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League last season, and helping qualify for the elite European competition for the next campaign, he is a player who knows how to perform in big games.

Currently rated at £27m by Transfermarkt, signing Romero could turn out to be a shrewd piece of business by the Lilywhites – he scored three goals last season and more importantly was a colossus in front of his own goal, averaging 2.6 tackles and 4.3 interceptions per game.

In other news, find out which ‘outstanding’ talent THFC are interested in here!

Reports by TuttoMercatoWEB over the weekend claimed that Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey could make a return to the Premier League at Everton this summer, which may see Carlo Ancelotti fix a key flaw of his side.

Juventus are plotting a raft of changes at the Allianz Stadium after a tepid Scudetto title defence under Andrea Pirlo, with the Turin outfit 10-points behind leaders Inter Milan.

Ramsey’s performances are felt to have been decidedly inconsistent this season to raise the potential for a move away, just half-way through the £400,000-per-week, four-year contract that the Welshman’s penned on his arrival in 2019.

Everton are claimed to have made an enquiry to sound out Ramsey’s potential availability ahead of the summer market, but so have Merseyside rivals Liverpool and fellow top-four hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool had already been linked with the Arsenal icon who won three FA Cups during his time in north London, with the Reds allegedly viewing Ramsey as the ideal replacement for soon-to-be free agent Georginio Wijnaldum.

West Ham have also emerged as a potential destination for the 30-year-old, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his time in Turin with Ramsey suffering 11 separate lay-offs with various issues.

Ramsey’s relentless injuries are said to have pushed him closest to the exit door at Juventus, as it is becoming increasingly harder for Pirlo to continue justifying his absences after a low-grade rectus femoris issue ruled him out against Cagliari and in Wales’ World Cup qualifiers.

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With Juventus also hit hard financially by the pandemic, they may now look to cut their ties with the Welshman at the end of the season, having only seen him deliver six goals in 61 games across all competitions since arriving as a free agent.

Ramsey’s long list of injuries may prove worrisome for some of his potential suitors, but Ancelotti should back the £18m-rated maestro to prove his fitness like he did with James Rodriguez and bring him back to the Premier League.

Rodriguez joined Everton on a free transfer from Real Madrid last summer after playing just 14 times in his final season at the Santiago Bernabeu due to various injuries that dogged his career in the Spanish capital.

Yet the Colombian has been a highly influential presence at Goodison Park, with Lucas Digne the only Toffees player to be credited with more assists (6) in the top-flight this term than Rodriguez (4), who also ranks third on the scoring charts with five in 18 games.

But Ancelotti has been unable to correct a key issue in his side through Rodriguez, as Abdoulaye Doucoure is the Blues’ leading scorer from a deep-lying or central midfield position with two goals in 25 games.

Andre Gomes, Allan and Tom Davies are yet to score in the Premier League this season, and so has Fabian Delph who has played just 90 minutes outside of the defence thus far.

Ramsey departed Arsenal in 2019 on the back of scoring four times and providing six assists in 28 Premier League games, to leave England with a career 40 goals and 51 assists to his name.

That talent has not gone away overnight, with Gunners icon Robert Pires fully behind the 30-year-old.

“Every time he plays, he is very consistent, has excellent technique and is often well-positioned to score as happened on Saturday against Sampdoria,” Pirlo told Tutto Juve last month. “He made an excellent choice.

“I maintain that he is making a difference here too, because it is not easy to play in such a quality midfield. I think he can help the team and be decisive like Arsenal.”

It remains to be seen if Everton move for Ramsey and if Juventus are open to selling him, but the former Arsenal star could be the answer to Ancelotti’s problems.

AND in other news, Everton can potentially save £13m by turning to this Max Aarons alternative…

Leeds United could be set for an exciting transfer window this summer as news emerges from Thorp Arch about the club’s plans.

What’s the story?

With the Premier League season now in its closing stages, all eyes will now slowly be turning towards the start of the transfer window, and Marcelo Bielsa will no doubt be very keen to get the ball rolling with new signings as soon as possible.

According to Football Insider, a Leeds source has revealed “that the club are finalising a shortlist of forward targets capable of slotting into the first team next season”.

The report added that “the profile Marcelo Bielsa is looking for is a versatile forward in the 18-23 age bracket who can play out wide and down the middle, is quick and has an eye for goal.”

Bielsa will be buzzing

Make no mistake about it, the news that Victor Orta and co are in the process of “finalising” a shortlist of striker targets should be music to the ears of Bielsa, who has had to heavily rely upon Patrick Bamford for the bulk of Leeds’ goals this season.

The burden on the English striker has been immense, and he has started every single one of the Whites’ Premier League games – the toll that takes on a player both physically and mentally is huge and must be exhausting.

While he has handled that pressure pretty well – he’s bagged 15 goals in the league alone – there’s no questioning that he could do with someone to just lighten the load.

It’s exactly why bringing in a new, younger and quicker striker who can provide Bamford with much-needed competition and be rotated with him is necessary for the club to go forward.

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Given how the likes of the 24-year-old Raphinha has settled in at Elland Road (he was 23 when he first signed for the club last summer), news that the club are once again targeting that age range is exciting.

This latest transfer update will surely have Bielsa buzzing.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign Bielsa’s new pet project in this star…

Peterborough United Director of Football Barry Fry believes that Graham Potter is a realistic target for Tottenham Hotspur, and has hailed the football he plays at Brighton & Hove Albion in an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern.

Spurs are trying to appoint a new manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho earlier this season, with Potter one of head of recruitment Steve Hitchen’s top targets, as per The Daily Mail.

Ryan Mason is in charge on an interim basis at this point in time, but is unlikely to get the job on a full-time basis.

Potter has somewhat struggled at Brighton at times this season and they are currently 17th, although they have achieved Premier League safety.

Per UnderStat, however, Brighton should be 7th in the table based on their xG, and Fry believes that Brighton simply don’t have the goalscorer required to climb the table.

However, he has been impressed with the way Brighton play, and thinks that the signing of a clinical striker would see them climb the table.

He told TT: “He arguably plays the best football in the Premier League but unfortunately, for me, they haven’t got a goalscorer.

“So no matter how much football you play, no matter how many chances you create, unless you’ve got someone to stick it in the back of the net, you’re never going to do it.”

Fry believes Daniel Levy will be keen to bring Potter into the club, as Spurs will thrive on the chances Potter usually creates.

He added: “I can understand Daniel Levy going for somebody like that and obviously Spurs will have, no disrespect to Brighton, better players in forward positions to finish those chances that he creates.”

An update has emerged regarding Liverpool’s interest in Sampdoria winger Mikkel Damsgaard.

What’s the talk?

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Reds have made an initial enquiry over a deal to sign the 21-year-old from the Serie A outfit ahead of tonight’s transfer deadline.

The report claims that Jurgen Klopp’s side could come in with an offer for the Denmark international, but the Genoa-based club want to keep him.

Parting gift

Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards is reportedly due to leave the club at the end of the season and he must ensure that he seals a deal for Damsgaard as his parting gift to Klopp.

Edwards has been the architect of the Reds’ excellent transfer business in recent years, with the likes of Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah coming in under his stewardship, and Damsgaard could be his final masterstroke.

He would still have the January transfer window to complete deals before leaving in the summer of 2022, but if he can bring the Danish starlet to Anfield on deadline day, that could alleviate the need for any business in the winter and make this his final move. The mastermind must now reach an agreement with Sampdoria to tempt them into changing their minds.

Xherdan Shaqiri left the club earlier this month and Edwards could replace him by landing the Sampdoria winger in the final few hours of the window. The 21-year-old Dane has caught the eye for his country this year, with four goals and three assists in his last six starts for Denmark.

Earlier this year, Danish football expert Martin Mikkelsen hailed Damsgaard as being ‘magical’ and outlined some of the forward’s best assets.

He told TV2 Sport: “It’s the season’s assist. Isn’t that where we are? He’s magical – what a speed! It is fantastic improvisation, and he just finds Balde in the field, as they both know what is going to happen.

“It is a free space he has, as he is not so locked. He is dynamic and can go both ways. He is creative but also so mature in his decisions. Was it something we dreamed of? It’s awesome.”

In five European Championship appearances, Damsgaard scored two goals and set up one goal for his teammates as he averaged an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.28. This shows that he has the quality to step up and perform on one of the biggest stages, which suggests that he could have the potential to join Liverpool and be a success.

At the age of 21, he also has plenty of time left to develop as a player. He could improve under Klopp’s coaching and be a project on whom the German can work over the course of a number of years.

This is why he could be the perfect parting gift from Edwards to the manager, as he would be leaving Klopp with a promising player with the scope to go on and achieve great things.

In other news: Liverpool must secure 2022 agreement for “special” £36m-rated gem, fans would love him