All posts by h716a5.icu

David Sullivan could deliver David Moyes a complete forward with a move to sign AC Sparta Prague’s in-demand Adam Hlozek this summer, after reports by Tuttosport, via Sport Witness, earlier this week claimed that West Ham United are among the hunt.

Hlozek has suitors all across Europe after catching the eyes of scouts with his efforts in the Fortuna Liga, and would likely have already taken the step to join an elite side were it not for a metatarsal fracture.

It is alleged that half of Europe and a quarter of Italy chased the 18-year-old sensation last year, and that he continues to have a wealth of admirers after returning to fitness this month.

Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are understood to be keen on offering Hlozek a move to the Bundesliga, while AC Milan, Juventus and SSC Napoli are eager to see the forward take the next step of his career in Italy.

West Ham are now the latest side to have eyes on Hlozek as he begins to prove his potential once again, after opening the season with four goals and five assists in six Fortuna Liga games before being consigned to the treatment room.

There are not thought to be many doubts over the 18-year-old regaining his form, while Juventus hope Pavel Nedved – now the Vice-President at the Allianz Stadium – can have an influence over his compatriot’s future.

Hlozek is likely to be the focus for many sides in the next transfer window with his current contract set to enter its final 12-months in June, although Sparta are already working on awarding the two-time Czech Republic international a new deal.

“We have already started negotiations on the extension of the contract,” Sporting Direct and former Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky told iSport recently.

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Hlozek has been a first-team player for Sparta Prague since 2018 and already has 78 appearances to his name, in which the forward has offered 17 goals and 18 assists across all competitions.

The 18-year-old needs to add one more goal to his tally to make the current regular Fortuna Liga campaign his most prolific to date, while penning a current-best eight assists last term.

Rosicky has previously lauded Hlozek as a “great talent” not only for Sparta but also the Czech national side, and believes the attacker can grow into becoming a successful player as he has the ambitions to go far in the game.

Hlozek is not afraid to say no to tempting offers, either, having snubbed opportunities to join Bayern Munich and Arsenal in his youth, even though a trial with the Bundesliga side at the age of 15 left such an impression on the Bavarian powerhouse that they considered it to have been one of the best ever from a player so young.

He is now considered to be one of the top-50 young talents in world football and described by iSport as a ‘complete player’ worth 324 million Czech Krona (£10.5m). A fee that would be higher were it not for his lengthy spell out injured.

Reports by Tuttosport also describe Hlozek as ‘one of the most promising strikers in Europe’, with his powerful physique, good technique and excellent shot creating ‘exponential’ room for growth.

It remains to be seen if West Ham move for Hlozek in the summer and can edge-out the vast rival interest, but Sullivan would seemingly deliver Moyes a truly promising young forward.

AND in other news, West Ham have been tipped to sign a 12-goal striker who is “Moyes’ type”…

According to reports, Aston Villa are interested in signing Bournemouth starlet Ajani Burchall in this upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

The 16-year-old has burst onto the scene with the Cherries this campaign, making his first-team debut at the back end of December when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 5-0 win over Huddersfield. The occasion was even marked by former Manchester City striker Shaun Goater, who lauded his fellow Bermudan, calling him “the future”.

Now, Football Insider claim that Villa have joined the race to sign the teenage starlet this summer, with the likes of West Ham and Arsenal also said to be interested in the winger.

The report adds that Burchall has rejected a scholarship deal with Bournemouth, with a move to a Premier League club now very much on the cards.

A new Jack Grealish?

Bournemouth’s official club website has written that Burchall is “predominantly plays wide and is an exciting forward player who likes to take opponents on and has an eye for goal, while also being a hard-working, tough-tackling winger”.

Meanwhile, Burchall’s teammate at the Vitality Stadium, Steve Cook, said after his debut: “You could see how special a player he is. His first involvement was checked his shoulder, cut across a player and won his foul. For a 16-year-old, that awareness, that knowhow, I think the club have produced a really good player.

“On Saturday we had a few players who have come through the youth system, so it’s terrific. The club’s been known for that and I think Ajani has got great talent. He obviously can’t train with us day-to-day because he’s at school! But I’m sure he’s got a very good future and a very proud moment for his family.”

Given his ability to beat players one on one, his “eye for goal” and also predominantly playing off the left flank, there’s a lot of similarities between Burchall and Villa talisman Jack Grealish.

At just 16, Burchall has got the world at his feet and has got all the time in the world to grow and develop, and there’s surely no better place than Villa Park, and no better person to learn from than Grealish.

Meanwhile, Villa struck gold with this player signed by Suso…

Newcastle medics fear that the after-effects of Covid-19 have hampered Federico Fernandez’s recovery from injury.

That’s according to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh, who offered an update on the Argentine on Tuesday afternoon.

Fernandez was a regular for Newcastle during the first half of the season, his only absence down to a positive coronavirus test back in December.

He then strained his thigh muscle, keeping him out from the middle of January until the beginning of March.

Fernandez setback gives Bruce headache

The 32-year-old returned to the bench for the goalless draw at West Bromwich Albion and remained among the substitutes for the Aston Villa and Brighton matches.

But there was no sign of him in the matchday squad last Sunday as Newcastle faced Spurs. He’s clearly struggling to build-up to full match fitness.

His return can’t come soon enough for the Magpies. Steve Bruce was forced to select Emil Krafth and Paul Dummett, two full-backs by trade, either side of Jamaal Lascelles in a back three at the weekend.

Krafth in particular found it a real struggle – Lee Ryder rated his performance a mere four out of ten, with Waugh commenting on The Athletic that Fernandez has been “huge miss”.

Transfer Tavern verdict

If Newcastle feel they can’t rely on Fernandez, it raises real doubts about his future. His contract is up in the summer, and at 32 a renewal seems unlikely if these problems persist.

It’s clear that we don’t yet fully understand the toll the pandemic is taking on certain players, and fans will be hoping the former Swansea man is back at full fitness as soon as possible.

In other news, Noel Whelan made this claim about a possible Steve Bruce replacement.

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, Steve Bull, who scored 306 goals for Wolves, has claimed that West Ham should value Tomas Soucek around £35-40 million.

Soucek originally joined the Hammers on loan for the second half of last season but was quickly snapped up on a permanent deal after impressing David Moyes in helping turn West Ham’s fortunes around.

Moyes has admitted that West Ham may have to listen to offers for both Soucek and Declan Rice this summer, even if they do qualify for the Champions League, with Rob Lee telling Football FanCast that the latter is worth £100 million.

Speaking on how much Soucek could cost for any team looking to sign him and how Moyes could be tempted to cash in, Bull told The Transfer Tavern:

“If he is good enough then somebody will approach West Ham and try to prise him away for around £35-40 million.

“Someone will tempt West Ham with an offer because he’s a very good player.”

During the latest round of international fixtures, the £62,000 per week midfielder continued to impress as he netted the perfect hat-trick for the Czech Republic as they beat Estonia 6-1.

West Han are currently in pole position to qualify for the Champions League but have been rocked by the recent injury blows to both Rice and Michail Antonio.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who made 333 appearances for Newcastle United, does not believe any of the recent takeover claims and rumours regarding the ongoing saga involving Amanda Staveley and PIF.

There have been some big claims made by national newspapers in the last week with some of them involving Boris Johnson, who was asked to intervene with the deal by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salaman.

PCP Capital Partners opened negotiations with Mike Ashley and his representatives about buying the club over 12 months ago now, however, they are further away than ever before with a legal battle in front of any takeover now.

Speaking on why he doesn’t listen to any rumours or talk about the takeover and questions how anyone knows what Boris Johnson and Prince Bin Salaman have spoken about, Lee spoke exclusively to FFC:

“Where have they got that from, and how do they know that? If somebody was close with the Prince or Boris Johnson then fair enough, but come on, it’s just people making things up now.

“This has been going on for over a year now so you’ve got to wonder if it’s actually going to happen. I don’t believe any of this stuff when it comes from friends of friends or people say ‘I’ve heard this’, because unless it comes from Ashley I won’t believe a word.”

Mike Ashley thought he had finally found a group of buyers who were serious about taking Newcastle off his hands, only for Staveley’s consortium to pull out of a deal when it came to the owners and directors tests.

Any potential buyers will be hoping Steve Bruce can keep Newcastle in the Premier League because if they are relegated to the Championship it could scupper any deal in the future.

What defines a scapegoat? According to the dictionary, it’s a person that’s blamed for the mistakes and wrongdoings of others.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be politically correct to suggest that Callum McFadzean was Sunderland’s.

He may be targeted considerably by fan blogs for his poor performances but the fact of the matter is that for the most part, he deserves the criticism. After all, he is the man making the errors.

McFadzean is a committed professional and is a handy full-back when it comes to the offensive phases of play. Though, when he’s faced with a tricky winger he looks way out of his depth.

We have seen that on multiple occasions this term. Whether it was giving away a penalty against Wimbledon last year or being run ragged by Otis Khan in the EFL final at Wembley, he’s had plenty of moments to forget in 2020/21.

During that clash, he was beaten by Khan on four occasions while he was also led what Sunderland reporter James Hunter described as “merry dance” by Olamide Shodipo when the Black Cats faced Oxford United.

Though, none were arguably worse than what occurred against Hull City on Tuesday evening.

On paper, a 2-2 draw with their fellow promotion hopefuls was a good result, but consider three straight defeats before that and their chances of automatic promotion appear to be fading by the day.

McFadzean owes a great apology for his role in the defeat to Hull.

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Playing at left-back, he was terrorised by Mallik Wilks, one of League One’s best players this season.

The Hull winger has netted 16 goals this term while providing six assists for his teammates in the process. He didn’t find the net on Tuesday but he did create both goals after skinning McFadzean down the right.

Bailey Wright may have been unable to pick up Josh Magennis who bagged both strikes inside the area but if Sunderland’s left-back had been stronger and more adept he’d have been able to stop the source of the delivery.

In total, McFadzean lost a whopping 80% of his defensive duels as he committed two fouls and was dribbled past on three occasions. He was only able to make one tackle during his time on the field too.

Wilks was a constant threat, producing four shots, four dribbles and two key passes for the Tigers.

Against one of the most dangerous players in the third tier, the Mackems full-back was caught napping on several occasions.

Lee Johnson has been keen to stick with him in recent weeks while Denver Hume steps up his recovery from injury but his performance this week that should have left the manager seething.

He needs to drop him permanently from the starting XI during the run-in.

AND in other news, Forget Stewart: SAFC must swoop for 16-goal beast, Jack Ross thinks he’s “terrific”…

Celtic’s hunt for a new manager has become a rather arduous task as the Bhoys attempt to replace the outgoing Neil Lennon.

The Northern Irishman hasn’t been in the dug-out for a fair few weeks now but the Hoops are yet to find a resolution to their woes.

What’s the word?

Roy Keane became the early favourite to become the Celtic manager but he has since been surpassed by Eddie Howe in the running.

Keane supposedly had an interview about the job but in the days that followed, he suddenly became unlikely to arrive at Paradise.

That being said, the Hoops hierarchy have now performed a major U-turn. With Howe stalling over the role, they have reignited their interest in the Manchester United legend.

With that, it looks as though Celtic are closing in on three separate landmark appointments.

According to Football Insider, the Irishman already has his backroom team in mind.

Keane not only wants to bring Nicky Butt with him to Celtic but he also wants former Scotland striker Ian McParland with him in the dug-out.

There appears to be growing support for the former Sunderland boss amongst the boardroom and now there is a very realistic chance he comes to Scotland.

Desmond will be delighted

After several arduous weeks searching for a new manager, this news will be enough to delight a certain majority shareholder; Dermot Desmond.

The businessman has faced plenty of critics this season but issued a defiant response last month claiming he wouldn’t sell his shares.

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This has also been a difficult time in his bid to find a successor to Lennon. On a constant basis, he has been dealt setbacks over their quest for Howe.

He doesn’t want to return to management until the summer while he’s now taking the interest of Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Brighton.

There are also issues surrounding his backroom staff. One source has revealed that the 43-year-old wanted to bring the “kitchen sink” to him with Parkhead which hadn’t been received well by those in the board room.

Coaching roles don’t appear to be an issue with Keane, though.

With that in mind, this would represent the easy way out for Desmond given they’ve targeted the likes of Howe and the eye-catching Lucien Favre.

The duo have both been linked with moves elsewhere but Keane hasn’t taken the fancy of any other suitors.

It would seem the chips are beginning to fall into place for the former midfielder.

AND in other news, Worse than Kenny: Celtic star who made just 15 passes should be finished at Paradise…

According to a report by Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb, Tottenham Hotspur are ‘working’ to sign Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard but face stiff competition from Serie A giants AS Roma and Juventus.

Tottenham working to sign Vestergaard

Indeed, as reported by TuttoMercatoWeb, Spurs are one of the clubs competing to land the 1.99m (6 foot 6) colossus but Roma should be meeting with the player’s representatives next week. As well as the Giallorossi, Tottenham will also have to compete with Juventus, who have Vestergaard very much on their agenda for next season.

Spurs and chairman Daniel Levy are maintaining a keen interest, however, and may well compete for his signing this summer as the 28-year-old becomes a figure in high demand.

There has been no shortage of teams eyeing a move for the Saints defender, with Spurs now said to be working on his possible acquisition this summer.

Transfer Tavern take

Speaking earlier this season, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl described Vestergaard as ‘absolutely phenomenal’ due to his physicality and prowess in the air. Also, former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood called him ‘outstanding’ for his form earlier in the campaign in an interview on Sky Sports (via Anfield Watch).

All these plaudits, plus his average of 4.1 clearances per game in the Premier League this season, point to him being a potentially fruitful acquisition for Tottenham if they can land him.

He is valued at a meagre £16.2m by Transfermarkt in what could be a bargain price for such an experienced, capable defender.

In other news: What Mourinho told Tottenham players after being sacked, find out more here.

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Erik Lamela’s days at Tottenham are numbered.

The Argentine was once Spurs’ record signing, but hasn’t ended up making the impact some thought he might make following his move from Roma eight years ago.

Whilst Lamela appeared a favourite of both Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho, his constant injury problems have never quite allowed him to reach his full potential.

£80,000-a-week man Lamela has missed more than 130 matches through injury, 12 of which came earlier on in the campaign due to a calf problem.

He’s appeared in 14 of Tottenham’s last 15 Premier League fixtures, but he’s about to enter the final 12 months of his deal in north London, meaning Spurs might opt to cash-in to prevent him from leaving for nothing next summer.

And Windass told Football FanCast, that’s what he expects to happen:

“For a winger, he’s a brave winger because he puts his foot in. He’s got all of the quality in the world, you can see that, and Mourinho liked him.

“He played ahead of Gareth Bale, but I think his days will be over now.”

The takeover of Derby County has been plunged into doubt after a concerning report regarding Erik Alonso emerged.

What’s the latest?

According to the Daily Mail, complications have arisen in Alonso’s bid to purchase Derby from the current owner, Mel Morris, as the Spanish football agent intends to buy the club with money borrowed against Pride Park.

The attempt to secure the finances against Pride Park, as well as the length of time it takes to arrange a report on the value of Derby’s stadium, is reported to be the source of the delay in the takeover attempt – which had been agreed with Morris around a month ago.

However, the Daily Mail now claim that, because of these latest developments, the deal could head in a similar direction to the failed takeover attempt of Dubai-based Bin Zayed International.

Fans will be furious

Considering the miserable season that Derby have endured on the pitch, something that could still be made worst if the club lose to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, as the result would relegate the Rams to the third tier of English football, this latest development in the club’s proposed takeover is not likely to come as welcome news to fans.

Indeed, when taking into account the fact that Mel Morris agreed to sell the club a month ago, with the hope of a swift changeover to Alonso’s No Limits Sports Ltd, the amount of time that the deal has sat awaiting the EFL’s approval would not appear to bode well for the takeover.

However, it could be argued that, if Alonso does not actually possess the money to purchase the club in the first place, and instead needs to take a loan out on Pride Park to fund the takeover, he may not be the right person to be in charge of the club – as this would indicate he does not have funds readily available to invest in Derby County.

Either way, the news is certainly not good for the Derby fans who were hopeful of the club heading in a rather more positive direction under new ownership, and the future of the Rams now appears, once again, worryingly uncertain.

In other news: Rooney must avoid Derby swoop for 29 y/o flop who “plays like he’s on roller-skates” – opinion