All posts by z3u9t.icu

Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur ‘insider’ and club source John Wenham has made an exciting claim on young talent J’Neil Bennett.

The Lowdown: Barely seen at Spurs…

The 19-year-old, whilst currently shining out on loan at Crewe Alexandra, has only made one senior competitive appearance for Spurs.

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Indeed, Bennett even scored his first goal for The Railwaymen last weekend – marauding down their left hand-side and driving an arrowed shot into the far corner against Burton Albion.

Despite not amassing many chances at Tottenham, it appears the teenage talent is making plenty of impressions elsewhere on his temporary stint away, with Lilywhites insider Wenham now making an exciting claim.

The Latest: Spurs source makes Bennett claim…

Speaking to FI, the club source, who regularly breaks news on his Lilywhites Rose social media page, has been left blown away by Bennett and insists he is ‘very gifted’.

“J’Neil is a really interesting player,” he explained.

“He came onto my radar as a 15 or 16-year-old, he was playing up with the Under-18s. He is very, very gifted.

“I have been really impressed with him. He has a signature move where he runs down the left, cuts in and bends it into the far corner.

“He went on trial to Crewe earlier in the summer and clearly impressed them, which is why he joined. He has such an unpredictability about him.

“I’m really pleased for him, I hope next season he can come back and maybe get another loan into the Championship or maybe challenge in the squad.”

The Verdict: Exciting times for Spurs academy…

By the sounds of Wenham’s exciting claim, Bennett can be added to the long list of talents emerging from Spurs’ academy.

There have been no shortage of them, either, with Oliver Skipp, Dane Scarlett, Nile John, Joshua Oluwayemi all turning heads in recent times.

Given Tottenham’s struggles financially due to COVID, posting losses of around £63.9 million last year alone, they may be more reliant than ever when it comes to their starlets breaking through and saving millions in transfer fees.

In other news:  Spurs now want ‘outstanding’ 29 y/o who Pochettino wanted to make one of his highest earners, find out more here.

Gio van Bronckhorst is in with a chance of securing a treble of trophies with Rangers before the end of the season as we enter the clutch stage of the campaign.

The Gers are second in the Premiership as it stands and are in the semi-finals of the Europa League and the final of the Scottish Cup. This means that the Dutchman can end his debut term at Ibrox in glorious style if they can get over the line on multiple fronts.

He is looking to carry on the excellent work done by his predecessor, who won the Scottish top-flight title ahead of their rivals last season.

Steven Gerrard led the Light Blues to glory in 2020/21 as he enjoyed an unbeaten league campaign, with his sublime work in the transfer market playing a big role in that success.

One signing he played a blinder with was the addition of English winger Ryan Kent, who joined on a permanent deal in 2019 – after initially arriving on loan a year earlier.

At the time of the move, he was valued at just £1.58m by Transfermarkt as he finally left Liverpool after a number of loans away from Anfield.

Gerrard previously labelled Kent “a constant threat” while others have claimed he’s “the Mbappe of Scottish football” and it is easy to see why when you look at his statistics for the club over the years.

In 2020/21, the Englishman produced ten goals and 11 assists in the Premiership to help the side secure the title and he has carried his fine form over into this season. Under Gerrard and van Bronckhorst combined, the forward has three goals and 17 assists domestically and in Europe.

Kent has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.14 in the league this term and this shows that he has been consistently delivering superb displays throughout the campaign. He is a reliable player for the Dutch head coach and has gone from strength to strength since making the switch from Merseyside.

At the time of writing (21/04/22), Transfermarkt value him at a whopping £12.6m, just over £11m more than his price tag in 2019. This highlights his incredible progression in Glasgow over the years as he has been able to drastically raise his market value by performing on the pitch for the Light Blues.

Bringing him to Ibrox was a sensational piece of business by Gerrard and it will be interesting to see where his career goes from here, whether that be at Rangers or elsewhere – hopefully the former.

AND in other news, Sources: Shock Rangers transfer claim emerges that will leave Wilson excited…

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has a gigantic task on his hands to pull the club out of the relegation zone in the Premier League this season.

The Magpies are rock bottom of the table and are yet to win a match in the top-flight, with the transfer window still a month away from opening.

With a number of games to be played before Howe can make any signings, he could look to change things up by offering a chance to some of the talented young players in the academy set-up.

Nolan 2.0

One player who could have the quality to come through and make an impact at senior level is attacking midfielder Elliot Anderson, who could be Kevin Nolan 2.0. He has already caught the eye of the new coaching set-up. Howe’s assistant Jason Tindall has pointed to his potential, saying:

“He’s certainly a bright talent from what we’ve seen on the training ground. He’s got very good potential.”

The 19-year-old has shown promise in the youth set-up on Tyneside for a number of years. He scored seven and assisted five in 22 under-18 games before moving onto the U23 side and finding his best goalscoring form with 16 strikes and three assists in 31 matches. This includes an impressive five goals in six league outings this term.

He has already played twice for the first team, having been handed his debut by Steve Bruce. The Ex-Magpies boss previously claimed that the midfielder has a big future, whilst gushing with praise of his talents. He said:

“A big positive. I thought the kid was very, very good. He’s been with us and knocking on the door for a while now so it was good to see the young lad making his way. He’s got a big future ahead of him hopefully.

“As soon as he comes onto the pitch, he accepts the ball, receives the ball. He’s got that lovely way of never looking like he’s rushed. It’s effortless to him and easy.

“So we hope he’s got a big future. He’ll remember his debut today, he could have scored in the last minute, couldn’t he. What a wonderful debut that would have been but I’m very pleased with his progress and he’s one that we hope can do us a good turn over the season.”

Anderson could be likened to ex-Newcastle midfielder Nolan, who was known for scoring from the middle of the park. The former West Ham man found the back of the net 30 times in 91 matches for the club and the fresh Magpies academy product could be the next goalscoring sensation from midfield if Howe offers him a chance in the first-team this season.

The 19-year-old wizard’s statistics for the club’s youth teams suggest that he has the potential to step up and be a goalscorer at senior level, but it is down to him to live up to his own hype and perform consistently. If he can do that then he could be Nolan 2.0.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Dubravka: NUFC flop who lost 62.5% duels let Howe down badly…

Brighton and Hove Albion correspondent Aden-Jay Wood reckons that Dan Ashworth is likely to join Newcastle United as their new Director of Football (DoF). 

The lowdown

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Monday that the Seagulls had given Newcastle permission to speak to Ashworth about fulfilling the position.

Initial contact has been made, and formal talks are ‘likely to happen in due course’. It apparently isn’t the ‘style’ of the south coast club to deprive their employees of appealing opportunities when they arise.

Newcastle have previously been linked with former Chelsea and AS Monaco technical director Michael Emenalo. The Telegraph reported (via Sky Sports) that he had turned down The Magpies, although co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi insisted this was not the case.

The latest

Wood took to Twitter to provide the latest on Ashworth being linked with the DoF role at St James’ Park and is resigned to the 50-year-old departing Brighton.

He tweeted: “If Dan Ashworth goes (which I think he will), it will be a huge shame. Ashworth has almost singlehandedly changed Brighton’s approach both on and off the field and would be very, very difficult to replace.”

The verdict

Perhaps in an ideal world, Newcastle would have got their new DoF installed in time for the start of the January transfer window, but that appears very unlikely now.

They have at least managed to appoint Nick Hammond, the former Celtic and Reading director of football, in a temporary consultancy role. He may oversee signings designed to try and keep the Magpies in the Premier League, with Ashworth then taking the reins to guide them forward from thereon.

Ashworth did tell The Athletic in February 2020 that he hoped to be at the Amex Stadium for ‘many years to come’, but perhaps the Newcastle project would simply be too good to turn down given the sheer extent of wealth at their disposal.

In other news, Newcastle have offered this Brazilian beast a contract

Pete Graves has now dropped a Newcastle United transfer claim from the new owners.

The Lowdown: Wood confirmed

The St. James’ Park faithful confirmed the signing of Chris Wood from Burnley for an undisclosed fee on Thursday morning, and he has signed a two-and-a-half year deal.

He has been registered in time for their crucial game at home against Watford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and joins Kieran Trippier to be their second signing in the January transfer window so far.

Nonetheless, there promises to be more on the way, with the likes of Marcos Senesi and Benoit Badiashile recently being linked with a move to the North East and a desperate need for additions in the heart of defence – the Magpies have the second-most goals conceded in the league.

The Latest: Transfer claim from owners

As per Graves, the new owners feel as if Premier League experience will be ‘key’ in their battle to avoid relegation down to the Championship, and so following the signing of Wood, they may go down that route again for their other targets:

“There’s a feeling amongst key members of the ownership that Premier League experience will be key in survival battle.”

The Verdict: Ideal, but not vital

Of course, signing players that have past experience in the top flight is ideal, as they know what to expect and some, like Wood, may have even faced a relegation battle before.

However, you can find unknown gems from outside of the division, and they would often come cheaper, given that you would not be buying directly from one of your rivals – Feyenoord’s Senesi is a prime example, valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt.

Nonetheless, whatever strategy the new owners use, it has to be perfect if they are to give Eddie Howe a chance of keeping them up, and signing Trippier and Wood, who both have experience in the top flight, is certainly a good start.

In other news, find out who NUFC are in ‘advanced talks’ to sign here!

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Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to record a 2-1 win over Watford in Wednesday night’s Premier League clash at Wembley.

Craig Cathcart sent Watford into a first-half lead, but Son Heung-Min came up with an 80th-minute leveller before Fernando Llorente struck late on for the hosts.

It was a huge result for Spurs and despite their struggles, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are now just two points adrift of second-placed Manchester City in the table.

There does seem to be a real issue at right-back at the moment, however, with Kieran Trippier’s form questionable to say the absolute least.

Serge Aurier was deployed in a right wing-back role against Watford, but the Ivorian did not fare much better and his performance has been slammed by the Tottenham fans.

It has not quite happened for Aurier since his move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 and it surely seems unlikely that the defender will have a long-term future at the club.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Spurs supporters can be seen below:

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

A number of Liverpool supporters are frustrated that Atletico Madrid will have more time to prepare for their Champions League clash with the Reds.

Jurgen Klopp’s side returned to Premier League action on Saturday lunchtime, making the trip to Watford in what was Claudio Ranieri’s first match in charge.

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The Reds now don’t have much time to rest after the game, however, with a testing trip to Atletico looming on Tuesday night.

Diego Simeone’s side will have a nice rest before the match, with it being confirmed [via Anfield Watch on Twitter] that their La Liga clash with Granada has been postponed, due to their players’ international commitments.

The reigning Spanish champions are in good form, winning three of their last four matches.

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Liverpool fans react to Atletico postponement

These Liverpool fans have reacted angrily to the news on Twitter, suggesting the Premier League could take a leaf out of La Liga’s book.

“Postpone should be banned”

Credit: @Supermarriott88

“They can postpone fixtures just because they got a UCL match??? The league is not serious”

Credit: @bruhstfu6969

“I don’t understand why the Premier league couldn’t do this”

Credit: @icy7_YNWA

“And us? Of course, it’s about money we’ll not get anything from the PL…”

Credit: @Seyjith

“JUST WOW!”

Credit: @zubinofficial

“Absolute farce scheduling when South American qualifiers finish early hours Friday morning & LFC given a 12:30 kick-off Saturday! Alisson & Fabinho probably missing, while over in Spain Real & Atletico Madrid have Sunday games postponed to help them with midweek UCL games…”

Credit: @SportsPaulH

In other news, some Liverpool fans flock to Fabrizio Romano update. Read more here.

A number of Liverpool supporters are fuming after James Pearce claimed the Reds are unlikely to sign anyone in the January transfer window.

Jurgen Klopp had a quiet time of things in the summer, with Ibrahima Konate the only player coming in and the likes of Gini Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri leaving the club.

There may be the need for January reinforcements to come in, though, especially with Naby Keita, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane departing to the Africa Cup of Nations.

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Next month could be a pivotal one in Liverpool’s season and whether or not they do any transfer business may end up proving key to their success.

According to The Athletic‘s Pearce [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], however, the Reds are unlikely to make any new signings in January, ‘barring an injury crisis or a change of heart’.

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Liverpool fans fume at James Pearce claim

It isn’t an update that has gone down well with some Liverpool fans on Twitter, with these supporters providing their thoughts.

“Tell us something we DON’T know James”

Credit: @andrefening

“Seriously, I love klopp and wouldn’t change him for any other manager but he cannot moan about congestion fixtures and then not sign any players”

Credit: @braham_shay

“Sorry can’t do this”

Credit: @StartJoeGomez

“Is this ever going to end?”

Credit: @jono1018

“Wow, what a shock. Come early Feb we will be linked with players again….. At least it wont be Sancho again lol”

Credit: @jayellcee7791

“The article on February 1st… ‘Liverpool are gearing up for a very expensive summer where they look to spend £200m+’…. The article on September 1st… ‘The new Anny Road development has gone over budget that’s why reinforcements could not be bought in!'”

Credit: @sjlfc2005

In other news, some Liverpool fans have flocked to an exciting transfer update. Read more here.

Celtic could already be discussing an extension to Tom Rogic’s current deal at Parkhead.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Alan Hutton, who stated his belief in a recent interview with Football Insider that, with the attacking midfielder’s contract set to expire in the summer of 2023, he would not be surprised if behind the scenes talks were already ongoing concerning the extension of the 29-year-old’s stay in Glasgow.

Speaking about the contractual situation of the Australia international, Hutton said: “You’d hope Celtic have learned their lesson. You don’t really want any of your kind of top assets to be walking away for next to nothing or running down contracts.

“He’s been a good servant and I think he’s come back into form since the new manager’s come in. He obviously trusts him.

“You’ve also got other players within the squad to come back, the likes of [David] Turnbull and these sort of guys. They’re in a good place right now but again, moving forward, you never want to lose a top player.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if there were talks going on in the background to try and tie him down to a longer deal. I’m kind of interested to see where it goes and what Celtic’s thinking is.

“Do they stick with the likes of Rogic? Or do they have somebody else in mind to really transform that midfield? It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Ultimately, I still think you need someone like that in your squad.”

Postecoglou must seal Rogic deal

As Hutton suggests, considering how impressive Rogic has been since Ange Postecoglou’s arrival at Parkhead last summer, it would indeed appear something of a must for Celtic to tie the midfielder down to a new deal in the coming months.

Indeed, over his 26 Premiership appearances this season, the £1.35m-rated maestro has proven himself to be a key player for the 56-year-old, scoring six goals, registering six assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 1.7 key passes per game – with these returns seeing the £21.5k-per-week Aussie average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.02.

However, it was during the recent 2-1 Old Firm victory in which Rogic truly proved his worth to Celtic, taking four shots at the Rangers goal, completing two dribbles, making one tackle and winning five duels over his 62 minutes on the pitch – not to mention bagging the Hoops’ equaliser in the seventh minute.

These metrics saw the attack-minded midfielder earn a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.4, ranking him as the fourth-best player to feature in the match, while Rangers legend Ally McCoist also took the time to praise the 29-year-old’s performance, stating:

“The one player that really made the difference was Tom Rogic, particularly in the first 45 minutes. He was playing in pockets in front of the Rangers back four, he was picking the ball up, I thought he was different class.”

As such, while the 51-time capped international is undoubtedly getting into the twilight years of his career at the top level of Scottish football, it is clear for all to see that the player Marvin Bartley dubbed both an “absolute dream” and “magic” still has much to offer Celtic – leading us to believe that Postecoglou simply must secure the services of Rogic beyond the summer of 2023.

AND in other news: Sources: Deal now agreed for potential “£20m-plus” talent, it’s bad news for Celtic

Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update on the future of Tottenham Hotspur centre-forward Harry Kane.

What’s the talk?

In a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast, the transfer insider stated his belief that, should Antonio Conte remain at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, the centre-forward also looks likely to continue his career in north London beyond the summer transfer window.

Speaking about the future of the 28-year-old, Romano said: “I want to say again – if Conte will stay at Tottenham, as their manager next season, my feeling is Harry Kane will be there. Harry Kane will be a Tottenham player again.

“Antonio Conte wants this winning mentality, wants this ambition – and ambition means the top player, Harry Kane has to stay. So, if Conte will stay, I see also Harry Kane staying at Tottenham in the summer. And, at the moment, Tottenham are absolutely not planning to sell him.”

Spurs supporters will love Romano’s update

Despite having initially struggled to hit his usual levels of form towards the beginning of the current campaign – scoring just one goal and registering one assist over his first 13 Premier League outings this season – Kane has proven in the time since that he is still very much one of the best centre-forwards in world football.

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Indeed, over his subsequent 16 league fixtures, the £90m-rated striker has bagged a further 11 goals and provided five assists – form which saw the England captain named as the Premier League Player of the Month in March, the record-equalling seventh time the £200k-per-week hitman has picked up the award.

And, despite his early-season slump, Kane’s recent returns have seen him average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.29 over his 26 Premier League appearances, not only ranking him Spurs’ second-best performer in the league but also as the 18th-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, it is clear for all to see that retaining the services of the 243-goal forward is an absolute must if Tottenham are to become a serious title contender under the management of Conte next season, leading us to believe that Romano’s latest update is sure to be news that Spurs supporters will love.

AND in other news: Conte must ruthlessly axe “pathetic” £25m-rated Spurs passenger, “he is the worst”