All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

When West Bromwich Albion signed Conor Townsend for £750k back in 2018, it would have been safe to assume that the left-back was brought to The Hawthorns as back up to the England international, Kieran Gibbs.

At the time of his arrival, the 28-year-old had just enjoyed a fantastic season with Scunthorpe United, scoring four goals and registering five assists over his 32 appearances in League One, while Gibbs – who had joined Albion from Arsenal in a £6.75m deal a year earlier – was the club’s undisputed number one in the position, having featured 33 times for the Baggies in the Premier League in 2017/18.

This remained the case throughout Townsend’s debut season in West Bromwich, with Gibbs highly impressing over his 38 Championship appearances, scoring four goals and registering four assists, while the newcomer had to make do with just 12 second-tier fixtures.

However, the tide began to turn in the following campaign, with the £14k-per-week Townsend featuring in 27 Championship fixtures, over which he provided one assist and averaged a SofaScore match rating of 6.89. In comparison, the £30k-per-week Gibbs was awarded just 14 league appearances, over which he averaged a SofaScore match rating of 6.76.

Townsend’s usurping of the 32-year-old was complete last season, when, despite the Baggies’ ultimate relegation from the top flight, the 28-year-old highly impressed over his 25 Premier League appearances – helping his side keep five clean sheets, registering two assists and earning a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.86. Meanwhile, Gibbs averaged an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.53 over his ten top-flight fixtures – before being released on a free transfer at the end of the season.

This term, the former Scunthorpe man has ensured that his reputation as a first-class left-back has continued to grow, having already helped his side keep five clean sheets, registered two assists and created three big chances over his 12 Championship appearances – with these returns seeing the defender average a SofaScore match rating of 7.01.

Furthermore, the player who Thierry Henry once dubbed “amazing” has also seen his Transfermarkt value rocket from £180k at the time of his signing to £1.8m today – a 10x increase – which, coupled with his ever-improving level of performance, proves that West Brom struck gold when signing the 28-year-old.

In other news: “Confident” West Brom dynamo who lost possession 32x stole the show vs Birmingham

Many Sheffield United fans have been left fuming on Twitter, following an awful performance from goalkeeper Michael Verrips in their 4-0 humbling by West Bromwich Albion [BBC].

In what was evidently a one-sided affair, the 6 foot 5 Dutchman was at fault for at least two of the goals, one of which was a routine corner which he spilled into the path of Dara O’Shea, who duly prodded home.

Furthermore, Verrips disappointed immensely within his distribution, losing the ball on 23 occasions, only completing 30 out of 53 pass attempts during the fixture [SofaScore].

Coming in as a stand-in for number one goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who looks to be on is way out of Bramall Lane, no wonder loads of Sheffield United diehards took to Twitter to scorn his exploits on Wednesday night.

SUFC fans react:

Posting their disdain on Twitter, here is what some fans had to say about what they witnessed from Verrips:

“Can’t do any worse pal verrips for a big keeper was shocking”

Credit: @markriley0802″Verrips is an absolute car crash an all. Get a number 1 in ASAP.”Credit: @1_Kendall_”Verrips doesn’t put a Blades shirt back on for me”Credit: @S66Quack”Sat here laughing at the fact Verrips is a goalkeeper #sufc”Credit: @sufc03511924″Feel for Verrips. Disastrous for him”Credit: @Berge174″Hope the Olsen rumours are true as Verrips wasn’t very confident. 2 goals very questionable and the 2 disallowed were also questionable. #sufc”Credit: @1984_mjbIn other news, the Transfer Tavern’s EFL spy has recommended a player the Blades should target this summer.

Southampton’s Premier League season has been a bit hit and miss so far, but there is an answer to their problems and his name is Armando Broja.

The Albania international is currently on loan from Chelsea for the season and has been impressive in his displays at St Mary’s Stadium, scoring five goals since joining in the summer. Add to that the fact he has scored three times for his national team too, it’s fair to say that Broja is the in-form striker at the club currently.

Despite that though, Ralph Hasenhuttl is yet to really put 100% of his faith into the 20-year-old forward.

Broja has so far started just four times in the Premier League this season, with a further seven appearances coming off the substitutes bench. In his two starts in the Carabao Cup the 6 foot 3 hitman found the target on both occasions, so why is he not starting more regularly in the league?

Hasenhuttl has opted for Che Adams as the first-choice striker this season, as they look to replace the goalscoring burden left behind by Danny Ings’ departure to Aston Villa during the summer transfer window. Ings scored 34 of the 98 Premier League goals the Saints have managed in the previous two campaigns but so far this season they have only managed to find the net on 14 occasions in 15 games.

The Scotland international has so far only managed three goals in 11 starts this season in the league, while summer signing Adam Armstrong has managed just two himself in 12 starts.

Broja is currently averaging his goals from just 1.4 shots per game on average, while Armstrong has less from almost double the number of shots at 2.7 and Adams’ 1.8 shots a match. Stylistically the player dubbed “excellent” by Micah Richards has previously been likened to Diego Costa by Chelsea fans who were impressed with his displays in pre-season.

He is strong, a willing runner, powerful and a very good finisher. Considering the Saints’ high energy style of play and his good record, it’s time for Hasenhuttl to unleash his new beast in the hunt for more goals to avoid yet another relegation battle. In the process, his battling attributes could just terrify an Arsenal team scared by the events of Goodison Park on Monday.

AND in other news, Southampton handed ElYounoussi boost.

Wolves winger Adama Traore isn’t good enough to be a successful signing for Liverpool in January, according to former England international Danny Mills.

The Lowdown: Traore linked with exit

Bruno Lage’s side lost 1-0 at home to the Reds on Sunday, with Divock Origi’s stoppage-time winner breaking Wanderers’ hearts.

Traore played most of the game and was a menace to Liverpool’s defence, having recently been linked with a move to Anfield in January.

It has been claimed that the Spaniard could be available for as little as £18m, slashing his asking price by £32m from an initial £50m, with Jurgen Klopp potentially seeing him as a good squad option.

The Latest: Mills unsure over move

Despite this, someone who doesn’t think a move would be good for Liverpool is Mills, who told Football Insider that Traore simply doesn’t deliver consistently enough:

“Can he be unlocked? It’s going to be difficult.

“He had one great season where he’s been off the charts. We know he’s got incredible pace and for a little while, he had a bit of an end product. Then that dissipated and he had a couple of very average seasons for Wolves.

“Can Klopp get anything better out of him? I’m not sure.

“Also you’re bringing him into the first-team squad, so who do you leave out? Who do you drop? That’s the problem Liverpool would have. You wouldn’t drop any of their attacking players for him.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“375704”]

The Verdict: Squad player at best

For all Traore’s incredible speed and strength – Klopp himself has hailed the 25-year-old as ‘undefendable’ in the past – his lack of end product backs up Mills’ claim.

The winger is still searching for his first goal or assist in the Premier League this season, despite starting nine and featuring in 14 of Wolves’ 15 matches.

It could be argued that Klopp could nurture him and make him a greater force, but at 25, he has had enough time to mature as a player and show he can add more substance to his game.

Wolves are possibly better off without Traore in their starting lineup, too, using him as an impact substitute and using Francisco Trincao and Hwang Hee-chan as wide men, with the former a younger option and the latter delivering four league goals this season.

In other news, some Wolves fans slammed one player’s performance against Liverpool. Find out who it is here.

An exciting claim has emerged over West Ham’s prospective takeover bid this week…

What’s the word?

PAI Capital, the investment group behind a recent £400m offer for the East London outfit, have provided some insight into their offer and plans.

Last month, the Daily Mail first reported the interest, with sources claiming that the proposal would hand manager David Moyes with significant transfer funds, and help transform the London Stadium and the surrounding areas.

This was rejected by the Irons’ majority shareholder David Sullivan. He told The Athletic that the informal approach was “derisory” and “vague”, also suggesting that PAI Capital “had zero interest in the football side and saw it as a property move.”

Now they have broken their silence through a representative, who spoke to Hammers News.

“PAI Capital’s plan is to develop the club within a viable business model that guarantees long term to compete at the top level of English football,” they revealed.

“In case our takeover is successful, there will be a budget allocated to strengthen the squad. The scale of the follow-up investment directly depends on the price we will end up paying for the purchase of the club.

“PAI Capital has an experienced and solid team that developed a clear vision for the club going forward in case our take over is successfully completed.

“We will release more information and the vision in due course.”

Time to go, GSB?

Well, that certainly starts to rebuff the claims from Sullivan, especially with further news likely in due course.

There are a couple of key takeaway points from this statement that should leave many around the London Stadium absolutely buzzing. Firstly, it appears they are very committed to this deal and are likely to pursue it as much as they can – unlike previous takeover bids.

Secondly, whilst they still have a lot to prove, there does seem to be some footballing reasons behind the bid, especially as they would back the manager in the transfer market.

That’s yet to really happen this summer, with the Hammers only signing one senior player, which is amongst the lowest in the division.

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

GSB’s relationship with the West Ham fanbase has been rocky for several years now. Last year, fans protested against the board before games against Everton and Liverpool.

Some of the banners read: “Run like a circus – Owned by clowns” and “GSB out – Sold a dream, delivered a nightmare.”

That was a direct consequence of their relegation battle in 2019/20 but by the end of the subsequent summer, the Irons faithful were up in arms against Sullivan, David Gold and Karen Brady once again following the sale of promising starlet Grady Diangana.

Therefore, if PAI are as serious as they seem to be, then there’s reason to get excited because it’s one foot in the right direction, in terms of finally getting rid of GSB.

The two parties may be far apart in their respective valuations of the club but this is merely the beginning. You can’t help but feel there is plenty more to come in this saga – and that’s certainly a good thing.

AND in other news, Moyes could land West Ham another Antonio in 22-goal “machine” once likened to Mbappe…

Celtic are interested in a swoop for FC Famalicão defender Riccieli, as reported by Celtic Now and Forever.

The Lowdown: Celtic gear up for 2021/22 as transfer rumours swirl

As Celtic move towards 2021/22, they will be hoping to hit the ground running as they bid to reclaim to Premiership title at the first attempt.

Although Ange Postecoglou hasn’t dipped hit toes into the transfer market as of yet, the Celts have been heavily linked with moves for Charlie Wyke and Mat Ryan respectively [Football Insider].

However, it seems that the Hoops could be interested in an alternative transfer target as their rebuild begins in earnest.

The Latest: Celtic ‘make contact’ with Riccieli’s agency over potential deal

The Hoops are said to have ‘made contact’ with Riccieli’s agency D20 Sports about bringing the centre-back to Glasgow, as relayed by email to Celtic Now and Forever.

Many other clubs are rumoured to be interested in the 22-year-old [Celtic Now and Forever], who has a market value of £1.35m according to Transfermarkt.

Kristoffer Ajer looks set to leave Parkhead this summer amid attention from Newcastle United [Glasgow Times], so the Celts must act quickly in order to secure his prospective replacement.

The Verdict: Riccieli would be a good addition to the Parkhead ranks this summer.

Someone of Riccieli’s ilk would be an ideal addition to the Celtic fold this window. Plying his trade in Liga NOS, he made 26 appearances and contributed one goal to his team in 2020/21 [Transfermarkt].

Strong in the air (2.1 headers won per game last season) and with a match average of 1.6 interceptions matching Celtic’s best performers in that regard, he could be seen as an agreeable fit for the Hoops due to his sell-on value and scope to develop as a player further down the line.

He is also capable of filling in at right-back, potentially providing some depth in what has been a problem position in recent years for the Scottish giants [FotMob].

With Champions League qualifying set to begin for Celtic next month, the Hoops should be doing all they can to push the deal over the line quickly.

In other news, Celtic are in talks to bring a 31-goal striker to Glasgow this summer.

Leicester City will be hoping to make it three wins from a possible four in the Premier League when they welcome Manchester City to the King Power Stadium this afternoon.

A victory over Norwich City saw the Foxes bounce back from a crushing 4-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham United and give them confidence coming into this one.

Brendan Rodgers’ charges have received some huge selection boosts following the international break, with Jannik Vestergaard, Jonny Evans, Ricardo Pereira and Ryan Bertrand all making significant progress in their recoveries from injury and illness.

“Ryan Bertrand will be back and available. Jonny Evans and Jannik Vestergaard are progressing very well. We’ve had a good international break with players increasing their fitness levels,” Rodgers revealed in his press conference on Thursday.

“Hopefully, all those players should be fit and available. (Ricardo) trained today. He was out on the pitches yesterday and came through a session today and looked very good.”

On Evans and Vestergaard, the manager: “They’re not going to be 100 per cent. We only have three substitutes so there’s a strategy going into the game, so we have to be as sure as we possibly can in terms of how long the players can last. We’ll see where we’re at before we finalise the team.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects Leicester to line up at the King Power Stadium, with four changes from the side which started against Norwich last time out…

In goal, the virtually ever-present Kasper Schmeichel will keep his place between the sticks after making a solid start to the new season, and he could be called upon on several occasions when the current champions visit.

Ahead of the Denmark international, there is expected to be a rather unfamiliar-looking backline. Bertrand should replace 20-year-old Luke Thomas at left-back, while a string of errors for club and country could result in Vestergaard coming in for the £40.5m-rated Caglar Soyuncu.

Daniel Amartey and Timothy Castagne are likely to complete the defensive unit, with Rodgers set to bring Evans and Pereira back into the starting XI over the coming weeks as the latter gives way to the Belgian on this occasion.

The engine room will be made up of the usually dependable duo of Wilfried Ndidi and Youri Tielemans, who will provide a solid base for the more attack-minded James Maddison.

Completing the lineup will be Harvey Barnes, Jamie Vardy and Ademola Lookman. The RB Leipzig loanee should replace Marc Albrighton on the right wing, providing more pace on the counterattack for the Midlands outfit.

In other news… Rodgers could beat Man City again by unleashing Leicester’s “top talent” 

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has been left in awe of West Ham United’s signing of Croatia international Nikola Vlasic.

The Lowdown: West Ham finally land attacker…

From the beginning right through to the very end of the summer transfer window, West Ham were linked with bolstering manager David Moyes’ attacking options ahead of a long season.

The striking position was a hot topic among Irons supporters, as was as the possible signing of an attacking midfield player, with Moyes managing to bag one at the very last gasp.

West Ham allegedly turned their attention away from Jesse Lingard after learning of his £30 million asking price, going on to target former Everton man Vlasic.

As a result, the club secured a £25.7 million deal plus £7.7 million in add-ons for the attacker on deadline day (The Athletic).

The Latest: Hutton in awe of move…

Speaking to FI, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender waxed lyrical over this swoop and believes Vlasic could come good in the east end.

Hutton says that the 23-year-old comes as a sound alternative to Lingard.

“When you look at age and stuff comes into it. If you’re paying £30 million for someone that’s touching 30, yes he’s proven in the Premier League and had a great season last year,” the Scotsman explained when asked about Lingard vs Vlasic.

“But Vlasic, anybody that’s in the Croatian national team, you know they’re technically gifted. They prove this all the time.

“He’s got that experience, he’s young, he’s going to get better. Playing at a higher level, as in the Premier League, we’ll hopefully see the best of him.

“If you look at Moyes’ transfers that he’s made over recent seasons, it’s been unbelievable. He’s yet to miss if we’re totally honest.

“This is one I’m looking forward to seeing. The little bits I have seen of him have been very good. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does in a high-flying West Ham team.”

The Verdict: Moyes masterclass?

Going by the numbers, Vlasic certainly looks like a real bargain on paper.

For an initial £25.7m fee, West Ham may have just landed one of the coups of the window given he notched a prolific 11 goals and five assists in 26 Russian Premier League starts (WhoScored).

As well as this, Vlasic sensationally averaged 4 shots on goal per 90 in that time and 2.8 key passes – far eclipsing the numbers of every West Ham player in the Premier League last year (WhoScored).

While you could make the argument that his fine form came in an inferior division, his threat is there for all to see as he did impress at Euro 2020.

In other news: ‘Yayyyy’, ‘Oooooo’, ‘Actually mental’…West Ham fans raving over ‘fantastic news’, find out more here.

Some Manchester City fans have been reacting to the news that Bernardo Silva is determined to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer.

The Citizens completed the signing of Portugal international from Porto in 2017 for £43m (Sky Sports). He has proven to be an important player for Pep Guardiola’s side over the last four years – he has made 201 appearances in all competitions, scoring 35 goals and providing 44 assists (Transfermarkt) – while he even won Manchester City’s Player of the Season award in 2019.

However, it seems that he is not content at the Etihad Stadium. According to Duncan Castles of The Times, the 26-year-old wants to leave the Citizens to further his career in another country. Indeed, the report claimed that he expects to change clubs during this summer’s transfer window.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from City supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the matter, with one insisting that rumoured target Jack Grealish is signed if Bernardo moves elsewhere.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Bernardo Silva news

“heartbreak.”

Credit: @bratkevic

“Don’t leave us Bernardo”

Credit: @TheDiasDynasty

“lool everyone is leaving”

Credit: @jjustjjam

“what’s going on”

Credit: @LangleyBen

“No excuses not to get Grealish then”

Credit: @SilkyCyrus_74

“We shouldn’t lose this guy”

Credit: @RockyRhymes3

In other news, some Man City fans react to this Harry Kane news.

Sunderland have now been dealt a fresh blow before they play Cambridge United at home in League One on Saturday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Big game

The Stadium of Light faithful currently find themselves out of the play-off places, and so need a result against Cambridge to get themselves back in contention.

With title-chasing Rotherham United to come on Tuesday night, this is a big game that they really need to get all three points from.

The Latest: Dajaku illness

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match, Alex Neil has revealed (via The Chronicle) that Dajaku is still suffering with illness, and so will not be available for his team:

“Leon is still ill, so he won’t be available.”

The Verdict: Blow

It is certainly a blow for the Wearside club that they will be without Dajaku once more.

The Union Berlin loanee has played more often than not this season, and has contributed four goals and four assists in League One so far (Transfermarkt).

Dajaku has also picked up one man-of-the-match award, and ranks highly among his teammates in terms of average shots, dribbles and crosses per game (WhoScored).

Nonetheless, his creativity and directness would have been useful in helping unlock the door against what could be a stubborn Cambridge side away at the Stadium of Light.

In other news, find out who SAFC’s three worst performers were against Shrewsbury Town here!