All posts by n8rngtd.top

West Ham United are ‘willing’ to offer Paris-Saint Germain goalkeeper Keylor Navas a ‘higher salary’ to move to the Premier League, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Hammers making moves…

The Hammers and manager David Moyes are reported to be busy behind-the-scenes ahead of the summer transfer window’s closure on September 1.

Bids have gone in and talks are underway for multiple players, including Club Brugge star Hans Vanaken and Chelsea left-back Emerson Palmieri (ExWHUemployee).

As head of recruitment Rob Newman identifies and begins negotiations for targets, it appears a new one has come on to West Ham’s radar.

The Latest: West Ham ready to make bumper Navas salary offer…

Indeed, according to reports out of Italy, there has been a development involving PSG shot stopper Navas.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-news-4/” title=”West Ham latest news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

La Repubblica, via West Ham Zone (Monday, 15:04), claim the Irons ‘undermine’ Serie A giants Napoli in the race for Costa Rica’s international star and there is ‘strong interest’ from Moyes’ side.

As well as this, West Ham are ‘willing to pay the player a higher salary’ to join them – potentially threatening to hijack Napoli’s deal for Navas.

The Verdict: Get it done?

Having just signed Alphonse Areola on a permanent deal, signing the 35-year-old arguably makes little sense when other areas of the squad need reinforcements badly – like defence for instance.

That being said, if West Ham do wish to sign Navas, his quality is evident with journalist Matteo Bonetti speaking very highly of him this month.

He claimed PSG’s ace is a ‘world class goalkeeper’ who ‘guarantees you extra points’ (Twitter), and it will be interesting to see if West Ham do indeed leapfrog Napoli in the race for his signature.

Pete O’Rourke has issued his thoughts on whether Everton should accept the mammoth bid tabled for one exciting prospect…

What’s the word?

Speaking to Football FanCast, the journalist gave his views on the Toffees’ stance on Anthony Gordon, who has attracted huge interest from Premier League giants Chelsea. The west London club reportedly had a £45m bid rejected earlier this week.

O’Rourke stated: “Yeah it would be a huge blow to lose him”, adding: “He’s a boyhood Everton fan. He’s somebody who connects with the fans as well and after losing Richarlison, if they were to lose Gordon as well that would be a real bad signal sent out from Everton to lose their best players this summer.”

It could be Ross Barkley 2.0

Everton have had a rich history of losing their best players to richer clubs, especially in recent times as they have suffered from the lack of Champions League football or any trophies of note.

Romelu Lukaku and John Stones are two of the more notorious exits, but it is Ross Barkley’s move to Chelsea which is drawing excruciating parallels with this transfer saga.

Coming off the back of a fine 2016/17 season in which Everton finished seventh, the England midfielder had been instrumental as he featured 36 times in the top flight, scoring five goals and setting up nine. He was the Toffees’ talisman, and the fans adored him.

However, Barkley’s controversial move to the capital, as he left for just £15m despite rumours swirling around the previous year that Manchester City were preparing a £50m bid, left many Evertonians furious. Some felt that he had left the club short-changed, and despite being a boyhood blue himself, that the had sold the club out for his own career.

Gordon has just had arguably his breakout season, when 35 league appearances yielded four goals and two assists.

Although would be heart-wrenching for Everton to lose their star youngster, to gain such a huge financial boost would make the move much easier to take than Barkley’s exit back in 2018.

What the £10k-per-week “beast” – in the words of journalist Jeff Wallner – gives to Everton is an exceptional work rate, sitting in the top 4% among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues for both pressures and tackles.

However, FBRef suggests that the winger he most resembles in playing style is Toffees summer signing Dwight McNeil, so the blow of potentially selling Gordon could be softened by the 22-year-old’s arrival from Burnley.

Regardless, to lose a young Scouser who has done so well for the club would bring back painful memories of the Barkley sale, and that is something that Everton fans would surely not want to see happen again.

Chelsea may have made a mouth-watering offer, but as O’Rourke claims, Gordon’s connection with the fans could be priceless.

West Brom crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the second round on Tuesday night as they lost out 1-0 to Derby County at Pride Park.

Louie Sibley’s early goal was enough for Liam Rosenior’s side to progress against the Baggies, who missed a host of chances to equalise against their lower league opposition.

One man who disappointed in the defeat was former Sheffield Wednesday winger Adam Reach.

The 29-year-old was handed a rare opportunity to impress Steve Bruce after starting on the bench in each of the Championship fixtures thus far, but failed to take that opportunity.

As per SofaScore, Reach would earn a poor 6.2 rating for his performance on Tuesday night, which was the second-worst of any player on the pitch, with only Matt Phillips (6.1/10) rated lower.

The match did not start well for Reach as he was played in over the top in the opening minutes with Derby goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith in no man’s land, but he sent his effort way over the top.

During the game, Reach would lose possession a remarkable 22 times, which was the most of any player on the pitch by some distance, which emphasises how wasteful he was with the ball.

Bruce was relying on his wingers to provide quality crosses into the box but just one of Reach’s five crosses on Tuesday night would find its mark, while he was also successful with just two of his dribble attempts as he was regularly thwarted by Derby’s Kwaku Oduroh, who earned a strong 7.5 rating for his performance at right-back.

Reach was out-battled on a number of occasions, winning just five of his 15 duels in the game, resulting in a very disappointing 33% success rate.

The experienced attacker offered very little from an attacking perspective, with no key passes and no shots on target, which was lower than last season’s average of 1.1 key passes per game.

Therefore, it is clear that Reach wasn’t good enough on Tuesday night, and it would be a surprise to see him keep his place when Bruce’s side take on Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon.

Manchester United’s long-running pursuit of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong could well be coming to an end, with the Dutchman “unlikely” to make the move to Old Trafford before the transfer window closes.

What’s the word?

That’s according to journalist Sam Pilger, who stated on Twitter: “#MUFC remain great admirers of Frenkie de Jong but now accept it is highly unlikely he will join the club in this transfer window.”

Concrete reports of the Red Devils’ interest in the 25-year-old first emerged in May, although there has been little movement since then with regards to bringing the playmaker to England, despite agreeing an €85m (£72m) fee with the La Liga giants last month.

Issues over deferred payments had reportedly been holding up the deal, although the 44-cap gem’s apparent reluctance to join the Premier League outfit has also seemingly proven crucial, despite his current club’s desire to sell.

Huge setback

First and foremost, the inability to tempt the midfield maestro into making the move represents something of an embarrassment for those at United, with the club’s hierarchy having allowed the saga to drag on throughout the past few months.

As pundit Alan Smith recently suggested, the situation has become somewhat “humiliating” for the likes of technical director John Murtough and manager Erik ten Hag, having continually pursued a player who appears set against making the move.

The Red Devils’ head coach has repeatedly professed a commendable desire to get the “right” players through the door, hence the decision to wait on De Jong, although there could well be a feeling that this ultimately doomed pursuit has potentially impacted the club’s other transfer dealings.

Equally, it is also a notable setback that Ten Hag won’t be able to get a player through the door who had previously been pivotal to his impressive Ajax side during that remarkable Champions League run in the 2018/19 season.

The 5 ft 11 ace scored three goals and provided four assists in 52 games in all competitions in that campaign, with his manager notably lauding him for his standout displays, saying: “His quality is that he makes the forwards perform better. He is a wanderer, an adventurer, he’s always on the move, like a shark.”

The addition of the £54m-rated sensation would likely have helped to ease the transition to life in England for the 52-year-old, with having a familiar face in tow likely to have made his task of implementing a new playing style far easier.

Although the club have acted to secure the signing of Casemiro from Real Madrid in a £70m deal, the defensive-minded Brazilian is a different profile of player to De Jong, with both potentially needed to help spark a United revival.

The latter is arguably one of the foremost players in his position in Europe, notably ranking in the top 7% for progressive passes (as per FBRef) to illustrate his exceptional forward-thinking approach, with the much-maligned pairing of Scott McTominay and Fred ranking in just the top 60% and top 32% respectively for the same metric.

Alas, it would appear that any lingering hopes of agreeing a deal are now at an end, with that potentially set to prove a real setback as Ten Hag attempts to reshape an underperforming squad in his image.

The Liverpool Echo journalist Keifer MacDonald has shared yet another injury blow for the Reds involving Curtis Jones.

The Lowdown: Injuries piling up

Injuries are really starting to pile up for the Anfield outfit, with Jordan Henderson now reportedly out for around three weeks with a hamstring problem.

That, on top of the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita also being ruled out, means that they have somewhat of a midfield injury crisis ahead of their trip to Napoli in the UEFA Champions League, even despite the return of Thiago.

The Latest: Jones injury

Taking to Twitter, Echo journalist MacDonald has now shared yet another injury blow for Jurgen Klopp’s side, as the German manager confirmed that Jones ‘felt’ a ‘stress reaction’ in a specific bone around his tibia ‘again’, which in turn forced him out of team training:

“Klopp on Curtis Jones: ‘Curtis had a stress reaction in a specific bone around the tibia. He was absolutely fine, but he felt it again. Not as bad as the first time but serious enough to miss team training.'”

The Verdict: Big blow

Of course, now losing Jones as well is another big blow for the Kop faithful in terms of trying to field a fully firing midfield in Naples.

It leaves them with just the returning Thiago, Fabinho, Harvey Elliott, James Milner and new signing Arthur to choose from, with the latter still needing to get up to speed and used to how the team plays having only just joined from Juventus on Transfer Deadline Day.

Nonetheless, they are really starting to look short in that area of the pitch now, despite Arthur’s signing, which may leave Klopp forced to play some players out of position until others start to recover from their respective injuries.

When Tottenham Hotspur decided to sell up-and-coming right-back Kyle Walker-Peters to Southampton for £12m back in the summer of 2020, many involved with Spurs may well have wondered exactly why Daniel Levy decided to cash in on the defender.

Indeed, speaking to Football FanCast following the 25-year-old’s sale, former Tottenham defender Gary Mabbutt stated his belief that the north London side were making a grave error in parting with Walker-Peters, stating:

“I was a Kyle Walker-Peters fan. I thought, when he was coming through the ranks, he was a player who could stake a claim for that position. It didn’t really happen as I expected it was going to. There are a lot of things that managers will get to know that you’ll never know and the fans will never know.

“I thought it was strange that a player of his ability was leaving the club, but we were bringing other players in who it was clearly felt could do a job they were needing more of in that position. But I think he’s got a great future ahead of him, and for Southampton fans, I think he’s a great acquisition for them.”

And, considering just how impressive the £26m-rated full-back has been since joining Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, in addition to how much Spurs have struggled with right-backs over the past few seasons, the argument that it was a mistake for Levy to let the academy product leave the club is a very easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 32 Premier League appearances last season, Walk-Peters was in excellent form for Saints, helping his side keep six clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 1.8 tackles, 1.3 clearances and winning 6.1 duels – at a success rate of 58% – per game.

In comparison, over Tottenham’s best-performing right-back’s 15 Premier League fixtures in 2021/22, Matt Doherty failed to help his side keep a single clean sheet, while he also made an average of just 0.9 interceptions, 1.2 tackles, 1.3 clearances and won 2.9 duels – at a success rate of 56% – per game.

The £50k-per-week Southampton talent also impressed going forwards last time out, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.8 key passes, taking 0.8 shots and completing 2.0 dribbles per fixture.

As such, it is not difficult to understand why Ian Wright also criticised Spurs’ decision to move the right-back – who Chris Miller dubbed “unreal” – on, with the Arsenal legend stating of the 25-year-old following his call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad earlier this year (via the Daily Mail):

“Kyle Walker-Peters. It’s great to see him [in the England squad]. I remember watching him at Tottenham and I’m thinking, ‘they got rid of him and brought in Serge Aurier?’ When I watched Serge for a couple of games I’m thinking, ‘I’m sorry, Kyle Walker-Peters is a better player.’

“They brought Emerson Royal in and I’m saying, ‘I’m sorry, [Walker-Peters is] a better player.’ And even with Doherty, who does great stuff going forward, I’ve watched Walker-Peters and I’m glad he’s got the call-up.

“I’m thinking why have Tottenham got rid of him when you see how he plays? Moving from Tottenham – would he have really wanted to? He probably had to because they wanted him out. He’s gone to Southampton – not so fashionable – and continued with great form and he’s been rewarded.”

Indeed, when taking into account the fact that Southampton reportedly placed a £40m asking price on the 25-year-old’s head this summer – 233% more than the £12m Spurs received for the defender just two years ago – coupled with just how impressive the England international has been on the South Coast, Levy must surely regret his decision to move Walk-Peters on when he did.

Everton reportedly sent scouts to watch Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk play for Ukraine ahead of the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Bid rejected

Former player and Shakhtar sporting director Darijo Srna confirmed that the Goodison Park outfit had a bid of €30m (£26.4m) rejected by the Ukrainian club in the summer.

Now, it looks as if they could try their luck again in January, after sending scouts to watch him in action on international duty.

The Latest: Scouts sent

Writing in his latest piece for 90min, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has revealed that scouts from the Merseyside club were in attendance to watch Mudryk in action for Ukraine in their 3-0 defeat away to Scotland in the UEFA Nations League on Wednesday night.

However, other Premier League scouts were also at the game, including from Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Leeds United, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Wolves, Arsenal and Chelsea.

The Verdict: Look elsewhere

It is very likely that Mudryk’s value would have increased significantly since the transfer window closed, and so Frank Lampard’s side are unlikely to be able to afford him in January.

They face competition from teams who can offer him European football, which he will be more inclined to accept after a red-hot start to his first proper campaign on the continental stage.

Hailed as an ‘absolutely unreal‘ talent by football presenter and pundit Jack Collins, Mudryk has five goal contributions in five matches already this season, including four in the UEFA Champions League (Transfermarkt), and so it would be a real shame to miss out on his signing.

Newcastle United are currently relishing life under their new ownership, although PIF are still seemingly having to pay for the mistakes of the much-maligned Mike Ashley, with the former owner having made notable costly decisions over the years.

One issue that has reared its head in recent times is the hefty wages that the Englishman dished out to players at the club, with a recent report from the Telegraph having showcased that the Magpies are still having to cough up funds to pay the salaries of players who are no longer at St James’ Park.

Midfielder Isaac Hayden is one such name on that list, with the Englishman still something of a financial burden for the northeast side, despite having sealed a loan move to Championship side Norwich City over the summer.

The report suggests that the Premier League outfit are still having to pay around £20k-per-week of the 27-year-old’s £50k-per-week salary, with that a rather sizeable figure for a player who seemingly has no future back at his parent club.

The hope will be that the Tynesiders will be able to finally move the former Arsenal man on at the end of the season, with the Canaries set to have to make the temporary deal permanent if they secure a return to the top-flight, although that is not a foregone conclusion.

Newcastle may well be lumbered with the £5.4m-rated man beyond next summer if those at Carrow Road are unsuccessful in the promotion journey, with Dean Smith’s side potentially unlikely to pursue a permanent move in that scenario, with Hayden having yet to feature for the club so far this term due to injury.

There is a very real possibility that he could return to the Magpies at the end of the current campaign, with manager Eddie Howe likely to struggle to move on a player who still has just under four years remaining on his existing deal at the club.

In all his wisdom, the aforementioned Ashley had sanctioned a new six-year deal for the defensive-minded asset back in 2020, with that a rather head-scratching commitment for a player who had been a reliable, yet unspectacular figure at the club since joining back in 2016.

The 6 foot 2 midfielder scored just seven goals and provided only ten assists from his 171 games for the club in all competitions, having notably missed much of last season with a knee injury that saw him excluded from Howe’s Premier League squad.

With the club currently thriving in his absence – having lost just one of their opening eight league games – it is hard to see the one-time Hull City man having a role to play moving forward, hence the frustration that the club are still financially tied to him.

As pundit Noel Whelan suggested, Hayden – as well as fellow loanees Ciaran Clark and Dwight Gayle – have “served their purpose” at St James’ Park, with the hope being that they can be moved on permanently sooner rather than later.

Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt was left confused by his lack of game time last season, according to Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Villa absence

Gelhardt made five of those came from the start.

The 20-year-old managed to contribute to 720 minutes of top-flight action and was used more from December onwards due to Patrick Bamford’s continued injury issues.

The forward has started one league game under Jesse Marsch during the current campaign but was left out of the squad entirely last time out against Aston Villa despite being fit and available for selection.

The Latest: Hay’s claim

Leeds correspondent Hay shared an in-depth story on Gelhardt for The Athletic on Friday. He stated that Gelhardt ‘would have liked more minutes last season and that certain occasions when he wasn’t used, particularly as a substitute, confused him as much as others watching’.

The reporter even mentions the possibility of cashing in on the player down the line: “Gelhardt, for a snip from Wigan, was the sort of signing which could hardly go wrong; the sort of signing which could, quite easily, earn a club a killing competitively or financially.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-52/” title=”Latest Leeds United news” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: January loan?

Sunday’s selection against Aston Villa seemed to show that deadline-day signing Wilfried Gnonto is now above Gelhardt in Marsch’s attacking pecking order, with the Italy international getting the nod on the bench.

Gelhardt responded by netting twice for the U21s in a 5-3 EFL Trophy win over Tranmere Rovers in the week, so it’ll be interesting to see if he features against Crystal Palace this weekend.

If he doesn’t, then you could make an argument for a January loan move to the Championship being beneficial, so his situation may well be one to watch closely over the next six weeks.

When Jose Fonte left Crystal Palace for Southampton in 2010, few Eagles fans would have predicted that the centre-back would still be playing at the top level 12 years later.

Fonte joined Palace from Sporting Lisbon in 2007 and was a regular during his time at Selhurst Park, making 92 appearances, in which he contributed six goals and seven assists.

However, he was sold to Southampton, who were in League One at the time, in a deal worth just £1.2m in 2010, a move which really helped the Portugal international propel his career towards the top.

He would help the Saints to two successive promotions in order to reach the Premier League, where they have remained ever since, with Fonte a regular at St Mary’s until his exit seven years later.

The centre-back would make 288 appearances for Southampton in total, contributing 15 goals and nine assists, and he will undoubtedly be fondly remembered by Saints fans.

In 2017, he joined West Ham and endured a less successful time with the Hammers, making just 24 appearances before he was sold to Chinese Super League side Dalian Professional the following year.

While he struggled for form during his time at the London club, teammate Darren Randolph was full of praise for his impact in training, saying:

“It is only going to add to the quality that we have and to the squad as well. I have already seen in training that he is a leader. He is loud and vocal and organises well. It should be a good addition.”

His time in China was no more than a dalliance and in 2018 he would make the move to Lille, where he has gone on to make 172 appearances, scoring eight goals and contributing five assists during arguably the most successful spell of his career.

Indeed, the £28k-per-week brute played a key role in Lille’s remarkable title-winning season in 2021, making 36 appearances in the French top-flight as they toppled PSG in order to claim top spot.

Even now, aged 38, Fonte remains a regular in Lille’s first team and has made nine appearances so far this season in Ligue 1.

While it is impossible to say if he would have reached the same level had he remained with Palace, his impressive career since leaving suggests that they made a rather big mistake in selling him for just £1.2m in 2010.