All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Rangers could be set to lose their influential left-back Borna Barisic this summer after three Premier League sides joined the race to sign him, which is surely a huge blow to Steven Gerrard’s hopes of keeping him at Ibrox ahead of next season.

According to Football Insider, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Wolves have all joined the race to sign the Croatia international this summer and plan on watching him at the Euros.

Leeds United have also previously been credited with an interest in the former Osijek man, who has established himself as a key player under Gerrard since joining the club in 2018.

The 28-year-old has gone on to make 112 appearances for the Gers, in which he has contributed seven goals and 32 assists, which is an impressive return for a left-back.

He was instrumental in the title win last season, with one goal and eight assists in 33 league appearances, whilst his performances in the Europa League were also superb, as he managed three goals and three assists in just 10 appearances.

His performances in the first 30 league games of the season, before the meisterrunde, earned him an excellent 7.35 rating from WhoScored, which was the fifth-highest of any player in Gerrard’s squad, which emphasises just how important he is at Ibrox.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-rangers-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Rangers transfer rumours and news!”]

Whilst the “terrific” Barisic is currently valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt and is contracted until 2024, suggesting that he would fetch a hefty fee should he depart this summer, it would still be a massive blow for Rangers to lose one of the most creative and consistent players in the squad ahead of the return to the Champions League next season.

Unfortunately, with Rangers’ reportedly paying him £15k per week, he may well be tempted by a switch to the Premier League, where he would almost certainly earn a lot more playing for any of the aforementioned interested sides next season.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776″]

Gerrard would surely be gutted to lose the Croatian defender after a brilliant campaign, but his performances were perhaps always likely to attract interest from the English top-flight, and now that fallen giants such as Arsenal and Aston Villa are showing an interest, alongside Leeds, it is difficult to see him staying at Ibrox this summer.

Gerrardm whilst understanding that every player has a price, would surely be gutted to lose such a key member of his squad.

And, in other news… Rangers should seal swoop for £6.3m-rated “menace”, he won’t cost a penny

Newcastle United could offload Allan Saint-Maximin this summer in order to raise some much-needed funds for the transfer window.

What’s the story?

Football Insider has claimed that a Newcastle source revealed that Bruce ‘may be forced to raise his own transfer funds by selling top stars, with the most likely to be Saint-Maximin’.

The report added: ‘The mercurial winger, 24, is one of the Magpies’ most valuable assets and is under contract until 2026. However, Bruce knows his sale could significantly boost his budget heading into the summer window.’

Fans would be furious

Make no mistake about it, in a period which has been one of the most disappointing of Newcastle’s Premier League era, Saint-Maximin has been one of the rare bright sparks to inspire the club and its supporters.

While a record of seven goals and 12 assists in 56 games is hardly anything to write home about, his personality and willingness to be direct and take the game on has been a real breath of fresh air at St James’ Park. This season once again saw him rank highly in the dribbling categories, with only Wolves’ Adama Traore managing more than his 3.8 per game in the entire division.

It’s no surprise that so many Newcastle fans have gone on record to publicly hail the exciting Frenchman on numerous occasions, and it’s why his earlier comments about his ambition would have been deeply worrying.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the Frenchman said: “I have to be honest, sometimes you have to think about yourself. The most important thing is the team, of course, but you have to think sometimes about your future and that’s why I say I don’t want to fight for one more year to be safe.

“So I hope we try to do everything to have more ambition and to win a trophy and fight for the first place, it can be great.”

The news that the Magpies could sell their French star to fund other new signings will surely have many fans of the Tyneside club absolutely furious – while money might be tight, you don’t progress as a team by selling your star players, and there’s absolutely no guarantee that Newcastle would spend the money wisely in any way either.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/newcastle-steve-bruce-premier-league-transfer-gossip-rumours-news-st-james-park-joelinton-shelvey-max-aarons” title=”Read the latest Newcastle transfer rumours and news!”]

This latest transfer update from Darsley Park is one which could have the Newcastle crowd riled up.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are risking another Andy Carroll-esque disaster…

Dean Windass believes that David Moyes would be Everton’s number one managerial target should they have it their own way.

Moyes spent 11 years at Goodison Park between 2002 and 2013, taking the club from relegation candidates to top six regulars.

He even managed to get Everton into the Champions League for the first time in their history, although their play-off defeat to Villarreal meant they failed to reach the group stages.

But Moyes did a tremendous job during his time on Merseyside, and only left his role as manager to become the new Manchester United boss.

His time at Old Trafford was a brief one, and after spells with Real Sociedad and Sunderland, the Scotsman has made his way to West Ham – and took them into Europe in his first full campaign in his second spell.

Moyes, who’s approaching 1,000 games in management, hasn’t yet signed a new deal at the London Stadium, and Windass thinks he would jump at the chance to return.

He told Football FanCast:

“I think David Moyes would love to go back. He had a wonderful 11 years and was very successful after Preston. If it were Everton’s choice, they would go for David Moyes.

“He would be their number one choice with Big Dunc as his assistant.”

West Ham United will be looking to bolster their claims for a place in Europe next season when they head to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League this evening.

David Moyes’s side have lost three of their last four games and have dropped to sixth place, but they know that three wins in their final three games will be enough to secure at least a Europa League berth.

Last time out, they were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Everton at the London Stadium, but they should be buoyed by the fact that the Seagulls have nothing left to play for and will be without several players through injury.

Of course, the Irons have had their own problems in recent months, so what sort of line-up could we see from Moyes on the south coast? Here’s our predicted XI, along with the latest team news from Rush Green…

There could be three changes from last weekend’s defeat, with Moyes welcoming back two players from injury.

According to the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee Declan Rice “should play” after missing their last six matches with a knee problem sustained during international duty. He could come straight back into the lineup, taking the place of Manuel Lanzini, who was withdrawn with a muscle issue during the first half against Everton.

Angelo Ogbonna was named on the bench for the game last weekend but, having enjoyed an extra week of preparation, he may also return to the heart of the Hammers’ defence, with Moyes opting for a centre-back three.

On the left, Aaron Cresswell should recover from a dead leg, whilst Vladimir Coufal is preferred to Ryan Fredericks on the right.

In midfield, “special talent” Rice – in the words of Mark Noble – will likely partner Tomas Soucek, whilst Jesse Lingard keeps his place from Sunday.

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

There’s no place for Said Benrahma or Pablo Fornals, however. After failing to hit the target once against the Toffees despite all their domination (68% possession), Moyes could look to freshen things up with the inclusion of Jarrod Bowen, who makes his first start in three outings.

The former Hull winger will have a point to prove and could be a decent gamble to make over the 25-year-old Algerian this time around. Meanwhile, Michail Antonio will lead the line as usual.

AND in other news, Sullivan must seal West Ham swoop for “silky” 10-goal “genius” who’s shades of Payet…

Former Rangers star Michael Ball has told The Transfer Tavern that the club should keep Jermain Defoe at the club this summer.

At the age of 38, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker has been used sporadically this season.

He has made 20 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals and laying on two assists in a season in which Rangers have gone unbeaten and won the title at a canter.

Defoe’s contract expires at the end of the season but Ball believes that he should remain at the club next season, given the way that he looks after himself.

Indeed, Ball has expressed his surprise that the star even ended up at Rangers in the first place, given the finances involved in doing such a deal.

Speaking exclusively to TT, Ball has backed the former England star, who won 57 caps for the Three Lions and scored 20 goals, to sign a new deal.

Asked if he should be kept at the club, he said: “Oh, yeah. I think he’s another one who Steven brought to the club and it probably shocked a lot of people, who didn’t think it could happen for financial reasons but also his age.

“But it’s proved that it’s worked. It’s what Steven needed, he knows how Jermain is. He’s a fantastic professional, looks after himself.”

Fulham suffered late heartbreak at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon as Eddie Nketiah’s dramatic equaliser earned Arsenal a point and left Scott Parker’s side with a significant mountain to climb if they are to avoid relegation this season.

The Lilywhites had led thanks to Josh Maja’s second-half penalty but came unstuck in the final minute of injury time, with Nketiah poking home after a corner caused chaos in the box.

The result leaves Fulham six points behind 17th-placed Brighton, who have two games in hand, with all the teams around Fulham continuing to pick up positive results.

One man who disappointed in the draw against Arsenal was right-back Ola Aina, with the Nigerian international struggling to have any real positive impact on the game.

As per SofaScore, the 24-year-old defender would earn a poor 6.3/10 rating for his performance, which was the second-worst of any player who started the game from either side, with only Frank Zambo-Anguissa rated lower (6.2).

During the game, Aina would have just 38 touches of the ball and would complete just 12/20 of his passes, resulting in a less than impressive 60% pass accuracy.

For context, Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola would have 42 touches of the ball and would complete 19 passes during the game, which goes to show just how little Aina was involved.

The Torino loanee has averaged 47.9 passes per game and a 78.4% pass accuracy in the Premier League so far this season, which emphasises how below-par he was at the Emirates.

Despite being involved so little, the £6.3m-rated defender would still manage to lose possession 14 times, whilst none of his six attempted long balls were accurate, so he was extremely wasteful on the rare occasions he did have the ball at his feet.

Whilst Aina can’t be blamed for Arsenal’s late equaliser, had he and his teammates managed to hold on to possession more effectively at the Emirates, then perhaps they would have managed to keep Arsenal at bay and earn an important three points.

Writing for football.london and backing up reports made through the media, reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold has stated that Tottenham Hotspur and chairman Daniel Levy hold an interest in Brighton manager Graham Potter.

Gold backs reports of Tottenham interest in Potter

Indeed, the reporter insisted that Potter is on Spurs’ growing list of managerial candidates to replace the recently-sacked Jose Mourinho, alongside Julian Nagelsmann, Brendan Rodgers, Erik ten Hag and Massimiliano Allegri.

Potter, who has been called a ‘genius’ by one unnamed Swansea City player who worked under him (The Athletic), is apparently earning a number of admiring glances from Premier League clubs for his work at the Amex Stadium.

This includes Tottenham, and Gold said there is a ‘growing belief’ that the 45-year-old can transfer his methods to a larger club with little adaptability needed. The Daily Mail recently reported that Potter could emerge as a managerial target, with Gold now backing those reports in his own update.

Transfer Tavern take

As well as being called a genius, the former Ostersund gaffer has been hailed as an ‘excellent manager’ by esteemed members of the press for his tenure on the English south coast (Miguel Delaney).

Operating on a relatively small budget for Premier League level, Potter has also earned praise from Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola as ‘the best English manager right now’, known for playing an attractive brand of football.

For these reasons, we also believe he is an attractive outside candidate for the Tottenham job, even if Spurs are rightfully tipped to primarily target Nagelsmann.

In other news: Journalist lifts lid on what Mourinho told Spurs players after sacking, find out more here.

Leeds could sign Marcelo Bielsa’s perfect player in Sevilla winger Lucas Ocampos.

Reports in recent days have suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are very much interested in bringing the Argentina international to the Premier League this summer, and when you look at his style of play, it’s very much a perfect match with the Whites boss.

As La Liga Lowdown’s Sevilla correspondent Gregor Chappelle reveals, the £70k-a-week earning Ocampos’ quality at both ends of the pitch have been very impressive.

He said: “I was surprised by how good he’s been, turning into one of the most important players in the team. He obviously enjoys playing in Lopetegui’s system and he takes a lot of confidence from being the main man.

“But Ocampos also works really hard defensively. He’ll drop back to cut out quick balls out wide, while the full-back on his side will press the opposition to try and force an error. He’s got a great engine on him as well as physicality and strength, so he provides good defensive cover and gives as good as he gets in 50/50 challenges.”

It’s no surprise, then, that Ocampos has some very impressive defensive numbers in particular, with his tally of 1.3 tackles per game in La Liga this season actually ranking him in the top ten among all of Leeds’ players – in fact, out of Bielsa’s more attacking options however, only Jack Harrison makes more tackles per match with 1.6.

As Chappelle says, the Argentine is also someone who battles hard in the 50/50s, and as per Sofascore, wins a mammoth 7.1 duels per game at an impressive success rate of 57%.

To put that into context, even the likes of Kalvin Phillips and Robin Koch win fewer duels than him, despite playing in holding midfield and as a centre-back respectively.

Given how he’s not only impressive with the ball, but also hard-working off it, the “electric” Ocampos appears to be the archetypal Bielsa player.

Everything the Argentine does seems to be with his full heart into it, and that should see him fit in perfectly at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Leeds must surely regret selling this goal-scoring star…

Former Manchester United man Keith Gillespie believes that Jack Grealish will eventually leave Aston Villa amid links with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, telling Football FanCast that he will have ambitions of playing in the Champions League.

The attacking midfielder has developed into one of the best attacking midfielders in the country this season.

Dean Smith’s side have enjoyed an excellent season and are currently in the top half of the Premier League table, having avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth last season.

They have already surpassed the 40-point mark that is often said to guarantee survival and much of that has been down to the form of Grealish, who has scored six goals and laid on 12 assists this season.

It has been a phenomenal return from the 25-year-old, who is valued at £54m by Transfermarkt, and one has to imagine it would be higher if he had not picked up an injury that has ruled him out of Villa’s last seven games. It is telling that they have won just two of those.

And Gillespie believes that he will eventually want to move to a Champions League club as he looks to enhance his international reputation, amid debate over his possible selection for England at the European Championships.

He told FFC: “Somebody like Jack Grealish will want to be playing Champions League football. There’s no doubt about that, that’ll help him with England as well. It’s the old thing that happens, when you go to that bigger club, more recognition comes in terms of playing for your country, so I would imagine there will be a period where he does move on, whether it’s next season or the season after.”

Gillespie also believes that Grealish will move to either Manchester City or Manchester United when he does decide his time at Villa is over.

He added: “I’d imagine it being one of those two (Man City or Man United) because somebody of Grealish’s quality wants to be playing on the highest stage in club football and that’s obviously the Champions League.”

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to make it into the quarter-finals of the Europa League this evening when they head to the Croatian capital with a two-goal advantage over league champions Dinamo Zagreb.

But Jose Mourinho will surely be wary of the dangerous and cliched 2-0 scoreline, so there will certainly be a temptation to stick with a strong starting XI.

Though, given Spurs’ quality, the Portuguese boss should be able to rotate adequately and still put up a resounding display.

Which is why we’re backing Dele Alli to start tonight…

On the Chalkboard

The 24-year-old is still heavily out-of-favour in north London but has featured more frequently since his collapsed move to Paris Saint-Germain in January.

Alli has featured in five of their last six league outings, though just one of those has seen him start from the off. Whilst in Europe, the £26m-rated gem has started all three of their knockout matches, including a masterclass against Wolfsberger AC in the last round which saw him deliver one goal and two assists, via Transfermarkt.

“To have Dele back at this level is amazing,” said Mourinho after the match.

It’s often easy to forget that the attacking midfield still has a lot to give as he’s seemingly been around forever – he joined from MK Dons for just £5m in 2015 as an 18-year-old.

Throughout his career, he’s been likened to many a Premier League and England great, ranging from Steven Gerrard to Frank Lampard.

Spurs legend Darren Anderton dubbed Alli a “freak of a talent” in quotes, via Goal, whilst Roberto Carlos once claimed he was good enough to play for Real Madrid, as per The Sun (via Eurosport).

One player who did the reverse of that switch was Rafael van der Vaart, when joining Spurs from the La Liga giants in 2010 and he agreed with the aforementioned statement.

“He is still so young and already so eager, I like that a lot. He is fast, fluid and has a great skill set. He is special and if he keeps enjoying himself and the game, he may become a true great.”

Despite his lack of game time, Alli is putting up some good attacking returns with two goals and three assists in the Europa League alone, whilst his 1.4 key passes per game in the competition is only bettered by Harry Kane and Heung-min Son in the Premier League, so maybe Mourinho could do with utilising such creativity in the league more often.

Especially considering that was something they severely lacked during the north London derby on Sunday. Spurs managed only three shots on target and failed to create a big chance – Tanguy Ndombele was hooked just after an hour, having failed to make a key pass, via SofaScore.

Tonight’s encounter gives Mourinho a chance to rest the Frenchman, who has had fitness troubles in the past, and similarly, Lucas Moura could probably do with a rest after featuring as a no.10 in his last three appearances.

It also hands a rare opportunity to Alli to prove he can still be a major game-changer for Spurs.

AND in other news, why Mourinho must axe “very poor” Spurs calamity tonight…