All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

We are now over two weeks into the transfer window and rather unsurprisingly, it has been a chaotic one for Newcastle United.

The reasons are clear; they are desperate for players to ensure Premier League survival and they are now famously known as the richest football club on earth.

What’s the word?

The Magpies have bolstered their squad with two marquee additions in recent weeks with Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood arriving.

However, there is still a considerable amount of work to be done, namely in bringing a centre-back to St James’ Park.

The club have failed in their efforts for Sven Botman while a deal is seemingly on the table for Diego Carlos.

It’s thought another striker is wanted by the club’s new Saudi owners and Newcastle’s recruitment team but a name who definitely won’t be joining has been revealed by transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

He issued the following update on Twitter: “Rumours linking Mario Balotelli with a move to Newcastle in January are wide of the mark. ‘Fake news’ – comment from sources.”

Fans will be delighted

Although the Toon Army will be desperately craving new acquisitions between now and January 31st, the idea of Balotelli penning terms is unlikely to have been welcomed well by the club’s fanbase.

Of course, he is a hugely experienced character and is also someone who would add plenty of humour and character to the dressing room.

However, with Howe’s men engulfed in a severe relegation battle, winning just one game all term, the last thing you’d want to do is sign someone as controversial as Balotelli.

After all, the Italian is not a regular goalscorer anymore and he’s also now aged 31, past the peak of his powers.

The former Manchester City forward currently plays his football in Turkey for Adana Demirspor where he has found the net on eight occasions this term.

That isn’t a bad tally at all, but the fiery striker has failed not once but twice in English football, enduring a controversy-hit spell at City and then bagging just four strikes in 28 outings for Liverpool.

Right now, Howe needs a player capable of hitting the ground running, either boasting successful Premier League experience or being a player with elite potential – like Sevilla centre-back, Carlos.

As a consequence, Newcastle are right to swerve a move for the ex-Italy international this month and as a result of doing so, the St James’ faithful should be rather delighted with the decision making of Nick Hammond and co.

AND in other news, “I’m told”: Craig Hope issues major NUFC transfer claim that’ll get fans excited…

West Ham have had a club-record bid rejected for Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to The Telegraph.

The Lowdown: Preparing for Rice’s departure?

West Ham have received vast interest surrounding the possibility of a transfer for Declan Rice. According to SofaScore, Rice has been the Hammers’ best player of the current league campaign by some distance, averaging a phenomenal 7.25 match rating, illustrating his importance to David Moyes’ side.

This season the 22-year-old became the youngest player to reach 150 top flight appearances for West Ham. Currently, he is on track to beat the record of club-legend Mark Noble, who has made 407 Premier League appearances for the club to date.

However, with his impressive form for club and country, having already secured 27 caps for England, Rice has received numerous interest from teams across Europe, the most prominent of which has been from the Premier League.

West Ham have valued the defensive-midfielder at £100 million and it is said that Manchester United are keen on signing the player in the summer, with further interest coming from Chelsea and Manchester City.

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

The Latest: Leeds reject Irons’ club-record bid

Phil Hay of The Athletic stated previously that Leeds are ‘not open to offers’ and Phillips ‘won’t be leaving before the deadline’, and the latest news seems to have confirmed his claims.

According to a report by The Telegraph, the Hammers have had a club record £50million bid for Phillips officially rejected by Leeds.

The Verdict: Highly unlikely this month

As Phillips is arguably one of Leeds’ most important players, having been described as a ‘rock’ in the midfield by Italian legend Andrea Pirlo, it seems highly unlikely that West Ham will sign the 26-year-old before the 11pm deadline – the Whites cannot afford to lose him in the midst of a relegation fight.

However, this activity could indicate that Rice may be off in the summer for an extortionate fee, as recruitment chief Rob Newman is willing to break the club-record bid for a very similar player.

As much as Irons fans would love to keep Rice forever, it feels extremely unlikely Newman would be going in for Phillips if the Hammers hero is planning to stay long-term.

Therefore, it could be possible that the Irons reprise their interest in Phillips in the summer window, when the West Ham man’s future at the club becomes clearer.

In other news: Irons interested in Christian Benteke

Everton have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their FA Cup clash this weekend, with Frank Lampard confirming in his pre-match press conference that Dominic Calvert Lewin is injured, but it could now be an opportunity for Richarlison to step up.

The Toffees have been plagued with injuries to key players this season. The Brazil forward has been sidelined twice, Abdoulaye Doucoure is now in his second period of absence with an injury picked up in their last Premier League game, and Calvert-Lewin missed a large chunk of the season with a quadriceps injury. After returning at the beginning of January, the England striker has now picked up another knock and won’t be available for the match on Saturday afternoon.

Richarlison has failed to make a consistent impact on the side during his game-time this season, with only four goals and two assists so far. He has been unable to inspire this Everton team, with only four wins from his 13 appearances in the Premier League.

However, with Calvert-Lewin injured the Brazilian now has the opportunity to steal the show under Lampard by helping the Toffess to progress in the FA Cup and working with the new manager to change the course of Everton’s season by climbing the Premier League table when they return to top-flight action against Newcastle United on Tuesday.

The £49.5m-rated star, who was called “crazy” by his team-mate Demarai Gray, can use the opportunity of potentially playing up front in Lampard’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation to form a partnership with new signing Dele Alli. The Englishman would likely play in his preferred number 10 role just behind the striker and could potentially save Everton’s season if the pair can link up well and deliver upon their proven capability to score goals.

Alli has scored 91 goals and bagged 76 assists in his club career so far, whilst Richarlison has 98 goal contributions during his club career. If the ex-Chelsea manager can get it right at Everton, the attacking output that the pair could produce in the remaining months may inspire a huge turnaround for the team to finish the season in a much more comfortable position than their current placing of 16th.

In other news: Lampard must axe this flop after the arrival of Dele

Patrick Boyland has singled out Donny van de Beek for praise despite Everton losing 3-1 away at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

The Lowdown: Bad result

After tasting victory against Brentford in the FA Cup, Frank Lampard was certainly brought back to reality when he saw his team lose to a fellow relegation rival.

Indeed, the result leaves them just one point above the Magpies now, and only three above the relegation zone, with another huge game against Leeds United set to come this weekend (Premier League).

The Latest: van de Beek a positive

While there were many negatives to come out of the match for the Goodison Park faithful, The Athletic journalist Boyland pointed out van de Beek as one silver lining when he came on:

“Van de Beek has at least made a bit of a difference in terms of Everton being able to retain some ball.

“Little threat to their play right now though.”

The Verdict: Start against Leeds

Van de Beek already showed enough quality in the half an hour after he came on to warrant a starting spot against the Whites at home on Saturday afternoon.

He yielded an impressive 93% pass accuracy, more than any of his teammates on the pitch, while his 43 touches of the ball were more than starters Richarlison and Jordan Pickford (SofaScore).

Indeed, as Boyland alludes to, any Ajax graduate is going to be clever with the ball, and the numbers in his short cameo suggest he could help the Blues dictate the tempo more against Marcelo Bielsa’s high-intensity set-up.

The Manchester United loanee was also successful with both of his long ball attempts at St James’ Park, suggesting that he is more than capable of bossing play from the middle of the park for the Merseyside club in what is another crucial match at the bottom of the table.

In other news, find out who the Toffees’ three worst players were here!

Eddie Howe made it two wins in a row for the first time as Newcastle manager with a 3-1 win over Everton on Tuesday night.

The Magpies beat Leeds 1-0 last night and have now moved out of the bottom three with a huge win over the Toffees in the Premier League.

They had to come from behind, though, as Jamaal Lascelles scored an unfortunate own goal as a clearance off the line came back off him and into the back of the net.

Everton’s Mason Holgate returned the favour within a minute as he bundled the ball into his own net after a Lascelles’ header hit the crossbar before Ryan Fraser put the Toon ahead with a close-range finish in the second half.

Kieran Trippier then rounded off the scoring with his first goal for the club. He whipped in a stunning free-kick from distance to beat Jordan Pickford and seal the three points.

Set St. James’ alight

Never mind Fraser on the right wing, the real magic came from Allan Saint-Maximin out on the left flank as he set St. James’ Park alight with his electric performance.

He was sublime throughout the match as he was a constant threat to the Everton defence. The Frenchman worked hard off the ball and then had the quality to deliver end product when he had the ball at his feet in the opposition half, getting fans off their seats in anticipation whenever he had possession.

Defensively, he put a shift in. As per SofaScore, he won an impressive 14 duels, whilst also making one tackle and one interception. This shows that he did not shy away from physical battles and was able to win his fair share of them, stopping Everton from breaking down his side at times which offered protection to Matt Targett on his debut for the club.

However, his attacking play is where the magic came from. Via SofaScore, the gem completed a staggering ten of his 13 attempted dribbles. This shows that he was able to build excitement within the stadium as he was committing defenders and progressing up the pitch with the ball by using his dribbling ability.

He was also able to provide end product to go along with it as he ended the match with three key passes. The French forward also put in a deflected cross that resulted in Fraser’s goal, which did not go down as a chance created but could be classed as an assist due to the work he put in to work the opening.

This shows that he put in a sublime display against Frank Lampard’s Everton side and was a real menace for the Magpies. Hopefully, he will continue his fine form throughout the rest of the campaign and lead the side to safety.

AND in other news,Forget Trippier: £80k-p/w NUFC gem with 12 duels won kickstarted his season last night… 

Leeds United have already begun pre-summer talks to sign January target Brenden Aaronson in the next transfer window, according to a fresh transfer claim.

The Lowdown: Aaronson a primary target

No player has been more strongly linked with a move to Elland Road in recent months than Aaronson, having initially emerged as a January target.

While the 21-year-old remained at RB Salzburg during the last window, Leeds’ interest in him hasn’t gone away after two separate bids in the winter window, with constant reports tipping him to join the Jesse Marsch revolution.

Now, a new update suggests Aaronson could indeed join the Whites in the coming months.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Leeds in pole position

According to Football Insider, a recruitment source has informed them of a ‘major update’ – the midfielder is Victor Orta’s ‘number one priority’ this summer and talks are already underway to sign him.

A deal worth between £21million and £25million is mooted, with the player apparently keen to join.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-40/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Tick all the boxes

There is an inevitability about some signings and that seems to be the case with Aaronson, with so much pointing towards him becoming a Leeds player.

Perhaps most significantly, he played under Marsch at Salzburg, meaning the Whites boss knows all about his qualities, in terms of fitting into his system at Elland Road.

Aaronson is also exactly the type of midfielder Leeds crave too, with a lack of guile in a No.10 role this season often leading to a decreased goal threat in attack, especially with Patrick Bamford so often sidelined through injury.

In February, the USA starlet became the youngster player since Lionel Messi to create five chances in a Champions League knockout game.

He and the Whites feel like a match made in heaven, and if they missed out on signing him now, it would be a big blow to Marsch and his plans, with Premier League survival perhaps paramount in that respect.

In other news, an injury expert has made a key claim over one Leeds player. Read more here.

Crystal Palace are in fantastic form at the moment from picking up a place in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Chelsea later this month to going unbeaten in their last five Premier League games, the side has gone from strength to strength under Patrick Vieira.

The individual quality in the Palace team has not gone unnoticed by outsiders either, with Marc Guehi, Connor Gallagher and Tyrick Mitchell all earning their first senior England national team caps this season too, which is an incredible achievement for the trio.

Thanks to the spotlight being so brightly shone upon the youngsters in Vieira’s side it has led to speculation from journalist Pete O’Rourke predicting that 22-year-old Mitchell could potentially be snapped up by another Premier League club in the summer transfer window.

With that being said, if the scenario of Mitchell leaving became a reality, the French manager could already have his next rising star ready to break into the first team with Tayo Adaramola.

Speaking on Adaramola, O’Rourke told GIVEMESPORT:

“It’s a good place for Palace to be right now because they might have a ready-made replacement for Tyrick Mitchell if they do decide to cash-in on him.”

Despite not making any Premier League appearances so far this season, Adaramola made his debut in a four-minute appearance under Vieira in the FA Cup fourth round against Hartlepool and clearly impressed his manager during the short performance, as the left-back was selected again in the victory over Stoke City in the fifth round and given 65 minutes to shine.

Vieira showered the young talent with praise following his performance against Hartlepool where he nearly scored. He said:

“He is a young player so full of energy,”

“He likes to go forward and has been doing well with the academy. This was the right time to give him a couple of minutes. He was close to scoring his first goal.”

The 18-year-old has also made 13 appearances with one goal and one assist in the Premier League 2 this season, but after having a taste of success in the senior team during his game time in the FA Cup there is no doubt he will be desperate to break through into a more regular spot in the side, especially if Mitchell does leave in the summer.

In other news: CPFC’s £70k-p/w “massively important” gem stole the show vs Arsenal

Leeds United are hoping to wrap up a deal for RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson, according to The Daily Mail.

The Lowdown: Aaronson bids

The Whites were after the USA international in January and submitted two bids to RB Salzburg. As we know, Aaronson remained with the Austrian giants beyond the winter window but he has been missing in recent weeks with a knee injury.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-04-02T155252Z_391313781_UP1EI421841M9_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-SOU-REPORT.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The attacking midfielder, labelled as a player with a ‘monster mentality’ by Salzburg manager Matthias Jaissle, still appears to be a player of interest at Elland Road, and it looks as if the club are looking to finalise a move in advance of the summer window.

The Latest: Latest report

The Daily Mail shared a story on Friday evening, sharing Leeds’ interest in Hoffenheim midfielder Florian Grillitsch.

Towards the end of their report, they added an update on Aaronson,  admitting the Whites are looking to ‘wrap up’ the signing of the USA international.

The Verdict: Time to finalise a deal?

It looks as if Jesse Marsch is on track to guide the club to another season in the Premier League, which could result in him receiving significant backing over the summer when it comes to signings.

Although a deal cannot be officially confirmed until the summer, it could be wise for the Whites to get everything in place for Aaronson before the end of the season, especially with Marsch not having a senior out and out attacking midfielder on the books at this moment in time.

The 49ers recently increased their stake in the club to 44%, so it would be a first major deal since then. Andrea Radrizzani will also know Aaronson’s agency well as they represent six Leeds players, and with Marsch now in charge, a deal could be fairly straightforward if Salzburg are willing to talk.

In other news: Leeds and Orta want ‘extraordinary’ ace in Bosman move; same agent as Bamford. 

Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis has been officially passed fit for the Hoops’ vital Scottish Premiership clash with Ross County this weekend.

The Lowdown: Celtic face another big game

Ange Postecoglou’s men return to league action on Sunday action, with title glory within their reach after opening up a lead over rivals Rangers.

Celtic still have plenty of work to do, however – they meet the Gers once more at the start of May – and victory at fifth-place Ross County may not be easy.

Ahead of the game on Sunday though, the Hoops have received a big injury boost.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/key-latest-celtic-updates-3/” title=”Key latest Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Giakoumakis passed fit

Taking to Twitter on Friday, reliable journalist Alison Conroy confirmed that Giakoumakis is officially back after recovering from a hamstring issue, delivering an emphatic four-word verdict:

“Giorgos Giakoumakis is back.”

The Verdict: Big boost for Hoops

This is an enormous positive for Celtic, who missed Giakoumakis’ firepower in last weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers at Hampden Park.

The Greek goal machine has averaged a goal  every 96 minutes for the Hoops this season, netting nine times in 16 league appearances, and a potentially tight game on Sunday could require him to take one chance with aplomb.

A win at Ross County would feel like another significant step towards the title and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the returning Giakoumakis be the match-winner.

In other news, a financial expert has made a key Celtic claim. Read more here.

Manchester City are weighing up a move for West Ham star Declan Rice, though the club are wary of another Harry Kane-style saga, claims the Daily Telegraph’s Matt Law.

The Lowdown: Rice’s situation

According to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano, the 23-year-old has rejected the Irons’ third contract offer and is instead open to a move away from east London at the end of the season.

Despite this, David Moyes has made it clear that the midfielder is “untouchable” in the summer.

This has been supported by a report recently issued by The Athletic, who claim that that Hammers are determined to keep hold of Rice this summer. However, it is also reported that West Ham have now conceded to the fact that they will have to sell him in 12 months time.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/man-city-latest-developments-2/” title=”Man City latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Law’s news…

Taking to Twitter, Matt Law shared the news linking Man City with a move for the England international. He claimed: “Manchester City weigh up Rice move but are wary of Kane-style saga.”

In the adjacent article, Law revealed that West Ham’s minimum £150m price tag could put a number of the midfielder’s potential suitors off, including Pep Guardiola’s side.

However, it is reported that Rice remains high on City’s radar.

The Verdict: Great addition

The Citizens boss is certainly a big fan of the 23-year-old, having previously labelled him an “exceptional player”.

With a reported weekly salary of just £62,000, Rice would not break the current wage structure imposed at City, even if that number were increased two-fold. However, the staggering transfer fee would offset this, blasting the club’s £100m record signing of Jack Grealish out of the water.

Furthermore, with Rodri being rated as City’s fifth best player this season with an impressive 7.31 SofaScore rating, the addition of Rice could prove to be overkill in that position.

Therefore, however great this signing would be for Guardiola, it may not be entirely feasible.

In other news: Manchester City: Worrying training footage emerges before Real Madrid