All posts by z3u9t.icu

Newcastle United saw many players come and go from the club during Mike Ashley’s tumultuous reign in charge of the Magpies.

However, one player who was mentioned with a move to St James’ Park but didn’t end up joining the Tyneside club that many fans may now be wishing had signed on the dotted line is Mohamed Salah.

Back in 2011, the then-19-year-old Egyptian apparently expected to see himself make the move to Newcastle on loan after impressing in the Under-20 World Cup.

On the potential move to Tyneside, Salah said: “Newcastle will soon make an official offer to sign me for one season. I don’t think Contractors will refuse to let me play in the English Premier League. It’s a dream for any player to play in one of the strongest league competitions in the world.”

As many Toon fans will be aware, the winger didn’t end up joining the club and instead made the move to Basel in the 2012 summer transfer window.

In 2017, after having spells with Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma once his stint in Switzerland came to an end, the attacker joined his current club Liverpool in a deal worth a reported £34m.

Since joining the Merseyside club, the 29-year-old has gone on to become a certified superstar by racking up 153 goals and 57 assists in 239 appearances across all competitions, prior to the Reds’ Premier League match against Watford this afternoon.

Labelled a “ridiculous” player in terms of his attacking output by Rio Ferdinand, and a “physical monster” by Jurgen Klopp, the £90m-rated winger has won the Premier League, Champions League and an assortment of individual awards throughout his career.

To further highlight how much of a standout player the Egypt international has become in England, he is currently listed as the highest-rated player in the Premier League based on his performances this season according to WhoScored, with an overall rating of 7.71/10.

Taking all this into account, as if the Newcastle fans needed any more excuses to dislike Ashley, not securing a deal which would have seen Salah join the Magpies has turned out to be a major howler from the club, and one over which they will now be having nightmares.

In other news: NUFC can finally replace Cabaye with “phenomenal” £34m gem, he has “magical powers”…

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Brendan Rodgers has jumped the gun in relation to the signing of Maryan Shved.

What’s the word?

The Karpaty Lviv winger watched Wednesday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone after undergoing his medical.

Since presenting Maurice Johnston as a signing in 1989, two months before he turned up on the other side of the city, Celtic have been cautious over the timing of signings.

The Hoops completed three deals in the first fortnight of the transfer window but with just a few hours remaining there has been no further additions to the first team squad.

Perhaps caught a little off guard, Rodgers said as quoted by The Evening Times: “Marian Shved was at the game and I spoke to him beforehand.

“He is delighted to be here and his medical is all complete. Marian will go back to Ukraine and finish off his season there with his club.

“He will then come back to Scotland around April and get involved with the training, before being ready to go in the summer.”

These days any signing requires a social media introduction, with a brief video clip usually the way to make an announcement.

Shved has already spent a season and a half in Spain with Sevilla’s youth side but all of his effective playing days have been in the Ukraine.

Stockpiling wingers

On the surface it seems that Celtic are stockpiling wingers. Scott Sinclair and James Forrest are clearly the men in possession with Mikey Johnston and Jonny Hayes both waiting patiently for the chance to deputise.

Shved has an impressive reputation and decent first team experience for a 21-year-old but adapting to the Scottish game, coming to terms with the demands on Celtic players and breaking into a highly successful first team is a tall order. Just ask Lewis Morgan.

Celtic have come back fighting this season after a campaign in 2020/21 that was plagued with issues at Parkhead.

The Hoops relinquished their control of Scottish football to their arch enemy but Ange Postecoglou has arrived at Celtic Park and reinvigorated a club that looked rather lost.

He has brought in a number of new signings, completely revamping the playing squad and changing the way they play.

The quadrant of Jota, Kyogo, Liel Abada and Giorgos Giakoumakis have contributed to 79 goals between them while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josip Juranovic and Carl Starfelt have all made themselves at home in the heart of the defence.

Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate also made an instant impact after arriving in January, all scoring already in the famous green and white.

However, there are a couple of purchases that have to be questioned. Yosuke Ideguchi has spent plenty of time on the treatment table since penning terms over the winter but the biggest concern has to be James McCarthy.

Indeed, RTÉ analyst Eamon Dunphy dubbed him a “terrible flop” earlier this season and it’s rather hard to argue with that assessment.

The Irishman arrived on big wages, £14k-per-week in fact, and he’s not done a lot to justify that salary. Hailing from Ireland, he appears to be cut from the same cloth as his international colleague, Shane Duffy.

He arrived from Brighton on a season-long loan deal last term and picked up a sizeable wage. However, like McCarthy, he had a torrid time in Glasgow despite previously thriving in the Premier League.

It’s difficult to grasp why the duo have both struggled so much, but one theory puts it down to the intensity of Postecoglou’s training sessions.

The Athletic reported last year that the former Crystal Palace midfielder had been finding life difficult in training as the pace of the manager’s sessions and the demands he placed on his players were simply too much for him to cope with.

As a result, it’s hardly a surprise that McCarthy has barely featured this campaign. The central midfielder has played 20 times in total, of which only eight appearances have come in the Premiership.

Consequently, there have been hints for him to be axed from the squad this summer. Alan Hutton told Football Insider: “You look at the ground Hatate covers, even McGregor. They’re workhorses. They get up and down the pitch, they make things happen and that question mark is over James McCarthy.

“Is he capable of doing that for 90 minutes? At the moment, I’m not so sure.”

He has only been at Celtic for just under a year but when you consider the sheer number of options Postecoglou boasts in his engine room, it’s tough to see McCarthy ever making it at Celtic.

It might just be time to cut ties with the Irishman.

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

Liverpool are reportedly among a number of top clubs set to ‘position themselves’ for a possible summer move for Porto midfielder Vitinha.

The Lowdown: Vitinha impressing for Porto

The 22-year-old is maturing into a formidable player in his homeland, proving to be an increasingly crucial figure for a table-topping Porto side.

Vitinha has made 20 Primeira Liga starts this season, along with six appearances in the Champions League, averaging a 90.2% pass completion rate in the Portuguese top flight. The youngster also enjoyed a loan spell at Wolves last season, appearing 19 times in the Premier League.

The Latest: Reds linked with Vitinha move

According to O Jogo [via Sport Witness], the ‘siege begins to tighten’ regarding interest in Vitinha this summer, with Liverpool one of the clubs keen on a move for the 22-year-old.

The Reds’ assistant manager Pep Lijnders is ‘keeping a close eye’ on the midfielder, whose variety of suitors has ‘skyrocketed’ in recent times.

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The Verdict: Could be ideal

Midfield seems to be the one area of the pitch where Jurgen Klopp could do with refreshing this summer, with James Milner rapidly approaching the end of his career and both Jordan Henderson and Thiago also now in their 30s.

Vitinha could be an ideal option to come in and become a strong squad player, boasting a better ball retention rate than any regular starter at Anfield this season and also offering a long-term option in the Reds’ midfield.

As mentioned above, has experience of playing in the Premier League which would be an added bonus, and he has been hailed by Porto manager Sergio Conceicao as ‘fabulous’ and a player with ‘fantastic technique’.

There are plenty of good reasons for Liverpool to explore the possibility of bringing the 22-year-old back to England.

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly not in the race to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Everton are renowned for making howlers when it comes to their transfer business, and following the appointment of Frank Lampard on Deadline Day, a signing made on the same day has yet again failed to improve upon the team’s problems as they continue to battle against relegation this season.

Lampard signed Dele Alli from Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the winter transfer window, in a two and a half year deal that is reportedly worth up to £40m, and it hasn’t been an easy ride so far for the midfielder.

Since making the switch to Goodison Park in January, Alli hasn’t been given the opportunity to make an impact on game days with on average 28 minutes played over his six appearances, with no goals and no assists so far, which leaves a huge question mark over Lampard’s trust in the player.

The attacking midfielder competes for a position with a number of players including Abdoulaye Doucoure, Donny van de Beek and Andre Gomes to name a few, but even when injuries and suspensions weakened the centre of the pitch, Lampard opted to play defender Mason Holgate in midfield over deploying Alli, which again speaks volumes.

The 25-year-old, who has previously been described as a “freak of a talent” by Darren Anderton, has gone downhill significantly and was branded a “waste of time” by Simon Jordan, in a scathing review of Alli on talkSPORT last week:

“He’s been there for two months, he’s a complete and utter waste of time,” Jordan claimed.

“He was a waste of time at Tottenham for two years, he’s been a waste of time being signed for Everton. It was a waste of time signing.”

However, the clause in the £19.8m-rated flop’s contract could put Everton in a great position if the former Chelsea boss decides to sell the player in the summer following his disappointing move so far.

When looking into the finer details of the deal, the Toffees would only have to pay Spurs £10m for Alli once he makes 20 appearances for the club, with the amount increasing to up to around £40m depending on his team performance and involvement according to Fabrizio Romano.

With that being said, if the reports are accurate Farhad Moshiri could potentially make a profit on the player this summer if they sold him for more than £10m, owing to the fact that there are just eight games left available for Alli to potentially take part in, which if he played every one would only put his appearances at 15.

Ultimately, Lampard must learn a lesson from this particular transfer if he manages to keep the club in the Premier League, by making sure he makes better decisions in the summer transfer window when choosing players to come in to inspire a better outcome next season for Everton.

In other news: 100% duels won: Frank could save EFC from relegation by unleashing £92k-p/w “leader”

Aston Villa are keen on signing Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma, according to Sky Sports.

As to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

The Midlands club have already finalised their first marquee addition of the January transfer window by agreeing on a loan deal with Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho.

Steven Gerrard and Johan Lange now appear to be turning their attention to a holding midfielder, with Marvelous Nakamba recently undergoing knee surgery.

Bissouma has just 18 months remaining on his contract with the Seagulls, with Villa seemingly willing to take advantage of that situation this month. The 25-year-old has been with Brighton since 2018 and has made 111 appearances for the club, 15 of which have come in the current campaign.

The Mali international is renowned for his effective distribution of the ball and his tough-tackling nature. No player who has started a top-flight match for Villa this season can better his 88.8% passing success rate, while his match average of 3.6 tackles is well clear of anyone in Gerrard’s squad (John McGinn leads the way with 2.7 per game).

Villa fans react

Well-known Twitter feed @villareport shared Sky Sports’ claim regarding Villa’s interest in Bissouma on the social media website.

Here is what these supporters had to say in reply, with many buzzing over the development and one describing a potential deal as ‘huge’.

“OH MY, STEVIE IS GOING CRAZY.”

Credit: @Jack_Hurley_R

“If we get him, wow”

Credit: @GW_94

“We are huge, man”

Credit: @TommmForddd

“Incredible if we pull this off as well”

Credit: @jack_gatehouse

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Would have a bigger impact on the team overall than Coutinho”

Credit: @trading2b3

“DON GERRARD WHAT IS GOING ON”

Credit: @Finleysurrell1

In other news: ‘Oh my god’ – Many Villa fans erupt at who West Ham now want to sign

Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic is a major injury doubt for the Hoops’ crucial Scottish Premiership clash with Rangers next month, according to a new update.

The Lowdown: Huge clash looms

Ange Postecoglou’s side have taken control of the title race in recent weeks, with their 2-1 victory at Ibrox arguably the most significant result of the season to date.

It means Celtic have a six-point lead over their rivals at the top of the table, and with only five matches remaining, they are hot favourites to regain their league crown.

There is still a massive meeting between the pair at Parkhead on May 1st which could swing things back Rangers’ way however, and an injury update has emerged ahead of that game.

The Latest: Celtic receive injury blow

According to Football Scotland, Juranovic is a ‘major doubt’ for the match, having been forced off with an injury against Rangers in last weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat.

Taking to Twitter, journalist and writer of the article, Mark Hendry, described it as a ‘big blow’:

“A big blow for Celtic as Juranovic has been excellent this season.”

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The Verdict: Potential big loss

This is a potentially significant setback for Celtic ahead of a game that could yet have such a huge bearing on who walks away Scottish champions this season.

Juranovic has been a model of consistency for the Hoops this season, making 20 appearances in the league and also scoring twice in three Europa League appearances.

His experience will be a loss if he is unavailable for the Rangers game but the hope is that Postecoglou’s men still have enough to get over the finish line, with even a defeat still putting them in pole position if they win their other games.

In other news, a pundit has made a key Celtic injury claim. Read more here.

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will run the rule over loaned-out Frederic Guilbert in the summer, The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece says. 

The lowdown

Villa paid £4.5million to sign Guilbert, a right-back, from SM Caen back in 2019, and he made 25 Premier League appearances during their first season back in the top flight.

Last January, half a season on from the arrival of Matty Cash from Nottingham Forest, he sealed a loan move to RC Strasbourg.

That spell in Alsace was extended in the summer and will run to the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

Guilbert, who’s valued at £5.4million by Transfermarkt, has featured in the Ligue 1 outfit’s last 17 games, starting 14.

His £40,000-per-week Villa contract has 18 months left to run.

The latest

Preece was asked in a fan Q & A whether Gerrard would give Guilbert a chance to challenge Matty Cash ahead of the 2022/23 season.

“He’ll have a good look at him in the summer before a decision is made,” he replied. “He’s been doing well in France!”

The verdict

Guilbert could be worth a try. Since his switch to Strasbourg a year ago, he’s impressively laid on seven assists in 33 matches.

Compare that to Cash, who’s in the midst of something of a barren run in that department. His last Premier League assist came way back in December 2020.

Gerrard may want more production from full-back, which was a key part of his success at Rangers.

And that could open the door for the 27-year-old, who may still harbour hopes of resurrecting his Villa career.

In other news, Tyrone Mings reacts to this huge Villa boost.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher tore into Crystal Palace defender Joel Ward following a ‘huge mistake’ in the first half of their Premier League clash with Brighton and Hove Albion on Friday night. 

The lowdown

Palace played out a 1-1 draw with their rivals at the Amex Stadium as a late Joachim Andersen own goal cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s opener.

Patrick Vieira gave right-back Ward his sixth start in succession and his 19th of the season on the south coast.

But the Englishman was guilty of an error just 11 minutes into the game, heading the ball straight to Marc Cucurella after a long ball forward from Brighton. Cucurella then set Leandro Trossard through on goal, only for Palace ‘keeper Jack Butland to deny him.

The latest

Speaking during Sky Sports’ coverage of the game, Carragher said Butland had bailed Ward out.

“Huge sigh of relief from Joel Ward, [who] made an absolute mess of it,” Carragher said.

“[He] has his goalkeeper to thank. It’s a huge mistake. You’re just praying that your goalkeeper can help you.”

The verdict

The error rather set the tone for Ward, who had a difficult night against The Seagulls.

In the Crystal Palace starting XI, only Will Hughes (6.1), who gave away a penalty and picked up a yellow card, recorded a lower SofaScore rating than Ward’s 6.2.

He was dribbled past twice, winning only one of his three ground duels.

The 32-year-old also finished the game with a passing accuracy of just 59%, having failed to find a team-mate with any of his six long balls. He lost possession 19 times overall.

In other news, fans flock to this important news from the club.

Newcastle United are poised to make a bid for Brazilian centre-back Gleison Bremer this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), the Magpies are lining up a bid for the Torino defender, with the report suggesting an offer would need to be around €50m (£41m).

However, further reports suggest that Newcastle will have competition from at least one other Premier League club, with Arsenal also thought to be interested in securing the signature of the 25-year-old this summer.

A big upgrade

Eddie Howe kicked his work in rebuilding and improving the Newcastle squad with key signings in January – with the likes of Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier making an instant impact on the team following their arrival during the winter window.

However, there is still work to be done in making sure that the Magpies continue to push further up the Premier League next season, and a quality centre-back signing would surely be the key to a better defensive record.

And, considering just how impressive Bremer – who was hailed an “animal” by Torino winger Mergim Vojvoda – has been in Serie A this season – winning 51% of his ground duels, as well as making an average of 3.4 interceptions, 1.4 tackles, and 3.9 clearances per game – it is clear to see the defender would be a fantastic signing for PIF to get over the line.

Indeed, these statistics prove that Bremer is an absolute nightmare for opponents trying to break down Torino’s defence.

And, with the Brazilian’s former teammate, Luca Mezzano, stating his belief that “he can play in any team” in the world, the £18k-per-week defender would surely not find it difficult to fit into Howe’s backline at St James’ Park.

Despite contract talks reportedly being opened with Fabian Schar, the Switzerland international is currently set to be out of contract in June, meaning there is still a chance he doesn’t commit to a new deal.

This would represent a great opportunity for the club to make a move for the 6ft 1 Bremer, whose signing, aside from being a huge upgrade on Schar, could see Howe form a deadly centre-back pairing alongside Burn next season.

Newcastle will need to make the defender a solid offer in order to tempt him away from the stern competition for his services this summer, and the promising ongoing project at the club could be enough to convince Bremer to become a part of it.

AND in other news: Bid made: PIF in negotiations for £83m “diamond”, he’d be a huge coup for Newcastle