All posts by n8rngtd.top

Tottenham Hotspur have ‘intensified’ their efforts to sign Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar this summer, according to reports. 

Tanguy Ndombele continues to be linked to some of the biggest clubs in Europe but Tottenham have no intention of selling the club’s record signing any time soon, despite reported interest from Inter. It is understood that any potential transfer will be treated separately.

According to Tuttosport, as cited by Football.London, Spurs have stepped up their efforts to sign Skriniar in the summer.

The 31-cap Slovakian international has been a colossus at the back for Antonio Conte’s side this season, supplying two assists in the Serie A, making 1.2 tackles and 2.6 clearances on average per game (via WhoScored).

FCInterNews claimed, as relayed by Ricky Sacks, that Tottenham will try to convince the centre-back to move to north London before the transfer window closes in October.

Jose Mourinho rates Skriniar highly as the Portuguese seeks to strengthen his defence this summer and Inter will allow the 25-year-old to leave as long as Conte can find a suitable replacement.

The Lilywhites have already been linked with a number of centre-backs including Atletico Madrid’s Stefan Savic and Norwich City captain Ben Godfrey. However, Mourinho needs to fill the void left by former Spurs star Jan Vertonghen and Skriniar is a player who can get the job done, as indicated by his 2019/20 statistics.

Standing at 1,88m tall, the Slovakian is an imposing figure who commits himself to a tackle, with strong levels of concentration and the ability to spray passes left and right.

Conte has given the green light to let Skriniar leave the San Siro which is a bit of a surprise as he has been in brilliant form this season. However, Daniel Levy must take full advantage of the situation or face a bidding war for the defender, who is in hot demand in the summer transfer window.

Tottenham fans, do you think Levy should sign Skriniar this summer? Let us know your views in the comments below!

The future of Glasgow Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos remains up in the air.

The Colombia international has been continually linked with a move away from Ibrox this summer, with Lille said to be leading the race for his signature – the 24-year-old has reportedly already agreed personal terms with Les Dogues, whilst Lille president Gerard Lopez has confirmed they have already had a bid rejected.

Should he depart, the Gers could well look to bring in a replacement for him and, according to Bill Young of the Talking Football podcast, the 54-time Scottish champions could look to Dundee United’s Lawrence Shankland to come in for him. The £585,000-valued 25-year-old (as per Transfermarkt) is a prolific goalscorer – he has 89 goals in his last 107 games.

This link has attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters, and it seems they would be quite happy to have Shankland at the club. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

Aston Villa appear to be doing bits this transfer window and they can round off an impressive-looking attack with one more addition…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans, the Midlands outfit remain in talks to sign Werder Bremen forward Milot Rashica with Dean Smith keen to add him to his ranks this summer.

Last week it was reported in Germany that the 24-year-old was open to a move to the Premier League and the club were now prepared to pay the €25m (£23m) asking price.

Villa have already broken their club-record to bring in Ollie Watkins from Brentford and are on the verge of signing former Chelsea winger Bertrand Traore from Lyon in a £19m deal.

Attack complete?

You’d imagine this would very much signal Smith’s intentions to play skipper Jack Grealish through the middle as a front three of Rashica (left), Watkins (middle) and Traore (right) is enough to have you salivating from the mouth.

The west Midlanders struggled for goals across the board last season with pretty much everything coming through the Englishman – only Kevin De Bruyne created more chances last term.

Rashica bagged himself eight goals and five assists and averaged 2.6 shots, two dribbles, 1.4 key passes and one cross per game for the Bundesliga outfit, via WhoScored.

His playing style is very much akin to a prime Alexis Sanchez (when he used to be on it for Arsenal at least). According to Bundesliga.com, this is because of his “ice-cold” finishing and having “pace to burn.”

The Kosovan’s head coach, Florian Kohfeldt, claims that “he makes scoring look easy,” so almost overnight, Villa’s attack has become something that’ll strike fear into other teams in the division.

Smith is clearly trying to avoid another relegation dogfight and the addition of Rashica alongside Traore is quite the statement from Johan Lange and co.

AND in other news, Aston Villa eyeing move for Serie A colossus…

Former Preston player Chris Humphrey says that Glasgow Rangers target Daniel Johnson is one of the best players he has played with, and that he could be the difference for the Gers in their attempts to win their first Premiership title since 2011.

The Gers have been heavily linked with Johnson, with reports even saying that they had agreed a deal with the English side – that now appears not to be the case. The 27-year-old scored 12 goals and created a further eight last season in the Championship, and Humphrey believes he would be a fantastic addition to the Ibrox outfit.

He said: “I would put DJ up there as one of the best number 10s or attacking midfielders I have played with – and I’ve played with some really good players.

“He is unbelievable and in that league he would be unreal. He’d be good for Rangers in Europe as well. He is excellent technically, scores goals and has pace. He drives forward with the ball and can play a pass.

“His all-round game is phenomenal. I’d say he’s probably got the best left foot of any player I’ve played with. Above all else DJ loves his football and is a very good professional.

“If a deal went through then he would love the challenge of the Old Firm. He would thrive in that atmosphere when the fans are allowed back in.

“He can also play in the centre of midfield because he has the fitness. And if Daniel gives the ball away I’m wondering ‘what’s happened there?’. He very rarely gives the ball away.”

When asked if he could be the difference for the Gers this term, Humphrey, who is now the manager of Kendal Town said: “Yes, 100 per cent. Rangers have one hell of a manager to learn from if you are a midfielder that likes to attack.

“Who better to learn off for DJ? He is only 27, he looks about 50! But it’s a great age and he can still learn. Gerrard would take his game to another level.”

High praise indeed from a player who was able to not only play with him, but also got to see him in training every single day. As Brian Laudrup has said, the Gers could do with another creative player in the middle of the park, and Johnson looks like he could be that man.

It has been said that Preston would demand more than £4m for his services, but by the sounds of it, that would be a snip for the Jamaican.

Let us know what you think below!

Speaking in a YouTube video (uploaded 5pm, September 28, 25:15), reliable Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold has questioned whether January star signing Steven Bergwijn fits the mould in north London – going on to state that the attacker was ‘not the player [Jose] Mourinho wanted’ at the start of this year. 

As the summer transfer window deadline looms, with all business beyond the UK having to be concluded by October 5, Tottenham are debatably running out of time to secure their desired two additional signings before the congested 2020/2021 Premier League season continues.

Previous reports indicate that Daniel Levy and co wish to acquire a new defender and back-up striker to Harry Kane before calling time on what has been the most noteworthy few transfer dealings at Spurs in recent memory.

Sergio Reguilon joined in a £25 million deal nearly a fortnight ago, alongside a headline-grabbing loan swoop for club icon Gareth Bale – with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Joe Hart and Matt Doherty putting pen-to-paper beforehand.

Now, to cap off some excellent moves by the club, Tottenham want two more signings – but journalist Gold has now questioned the acquisition of Bergwijn back in January given he wasn’t Mourinho’s first choice or debatably fits the mould, even if he did brand him ‘fantastic’ last season.

Using the Dutchman as a potential warning to future business, stating the importance of signing a player the Portuguese does in fact want, Gold believes that a could-be reason for the lack of Bergwijn match action may be that Mourinho doesn’t see him as a crucial enough asset for his system.

Imploring the club to avoid a similar error before deadline day, Gold could be right in claiming that Spurs must be cautious and clear in their next transfer approaches.

Tottenham fans, should Spurs have signed Bergwijn? Have your say in the comments down below…

Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard has revealed he came close to leaving the south coast side in January, but was focused on their efforts amid interest from West Ham United this summer.

What’s the word?

West Ham had toyed with the idea of signing Vestergaard on loan this summer, with the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope touting interest in late September after Burnley refused to lower their £50million valuation of James Tarkowski.

Vestergaard had fallen out of favour at St. Mary’s last season, with manager Ralph Hasenhuttl initially favouring the 19-cap Denmark international over the opening months but only awarding him six starts in the Premier League following the turn of the year.

The Irons ultimately did not strike a deal with the Saints, and soon turned attentions to failed bids to sign Olympique de Marseille’s Duje Caleta-Car and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah before settling on Watford’s Craig Dawson following the closure of the international transfer market.

Southampton only valued Vestergaard at in excess of the £18m they paid to Borussia Monchengladbach for his services in 2018 when Leicester City were courting his services this January, having identified the centre-half as a £15m target.

Vestergaard, who has opened two of Southampton’s four league games this term, has now revealed he came close to leaving the south coast back in the winter but was focused on the Saints this summer.

“I won’t lie and say a move hasn’t been in my thoughts,” Vestergaard told Goal. “I came close [to leaving] in January, but the club and the manager told me they wanted me to stay and then I stayed.

“This summer there has been some contact from interesting clubs, for example in Spain, but only my agent knows the details, not me. I have been dedicated to the idea of continuing at Southampton, and I certainly feel my manager believes in me and my qualities.

“I wanted to stay, just like other players chose to stay this summer, because we want to be a part of the great project going on here.”

Better than Dawson?

After Vestergaard seemingly snubbed a move to the London Stadium and West Ham’s other ventures failed to materialise, the Irons struck a one-season loan for Dawson whilst taking a £2m option to buy the Watford man next summer.

Of the pair, Vestergaard performed marginally at a higher level than Dawson in some respects during last season’s Premier League campaign, but the Hornets loanee also had some redeemable qualities.

The Saints’ and Hornets’ aces recorded the same number of tackles a game (1.0) as each other in the top-flight last term, but Vestergaard eclipsed Dawson for interceptions (1.37 to 1.17) and clearances (5.11 to 3.83), per SofaScore.

Vestergaard further recorded a greater number of ground duels won (1.63 to 1.45) and aerial duels won (4.26 to 3.52), though Dawson came out on top in terms of shots blocked (1.1 to 0.47), times dribbled past (0.48 to 0.89) and errors leading to shots (0.0 to 0.11).

Given how comparable the two are, Dawson’s initial arrival on loan and option to buy for £2m next year suggests West Ham were able to save themselves £16m, should Southampton have pushed for a permanent deal to be included in any loan agreement.

Dawson also offers Moyes what the Irons coach feels to be a “fantastic” professional, who brings 182 career Premier League appearances to the London Stadium.

“I’m delighted to welcome Craig to the club,” Moyes told West Ham’s official website. “He is a fantastic professional with proven quality and experience in the Premier League.

“I know he will be a great addition to the dressing-room – he is a committed and determined character. We wish Craig all the best during his time here and I look forward to working with him for the rest of the season.”

AND in other news, David Moyes is facing a selection dilemma against Tottenham Hotspur but the West Ham boss must see clear solution.

Glasgow Rangers target Jack Wilshere has been discussing his next move with BBC Sport, and has admitted he is open to a switch wherever.

Free-agent Wilshere on the move

Wilshere recently left West Ham United by mutual consent, which now means he is a free agent and he can move wherever he likes.

The Ibrox outfit have been heavily linked with a move for the 28-year-old, but as of yet he is still available. He has recently been speaking to the BBC about his future and he said:

“It is important to find a club where I am going to play, be an important player and be happy. I don’t want to rush into anything. It has to be the right team in the right country.

“I am open to Europe or wherever.

“I am the type of player who wants to have the ball. I understand there is another side to the game and I enjoy that but I would like to be in a team who has the ball.

“I am not naive enough to think I am going to sign for a club and play straight away. There is a process to it. You have to train with the team, get to know your team-mates, maybe come off the bench a couple of times. I want to get that process going but it has to be the right thing.”

Stunning player

In regards to Rangers, Wilshere may be right about his potential playing time. The 54-time Scottish champions have had a fantastic start to the new campaign, going unbeaten in their first 15 matches. Steven Gerrard has put together a squad hungry for success, so there is little need to change things too much right now.

However, they will always be on the lookout for top quality, and Wilshere should bring just that. Yes, injuries have hampered his career, but this is a player who has been continually praised by legends of the game such as Xavi Hernandez. Kevin Phillips even previously told Football Insider that the ex-Arsenal midfielder would “dominate” in the Premiership.

On a free transfer, there is little risk for Ross Wilson and co. It remains to be seen where the £4.32m-valued England international (Transfermarkt) ends up.

In other news, Alan Hutton believes this Gers scapegoat has wasted his big opportunity at Ibrox. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Nottingham Forest are still unbeaten in the league under Chris Hughton, but three draws in four games under their new manager doesn’t make for the most inspiring start imaginable.

As frustrating as these continuous draws have been, Forest have to feel lucky to have escaped with a point against Luton on Wednesday evening as they navigated half of the match with 10-men.

To make matters worse, the Reds were behind for the majority of the match, falling behind in the 22nd minute before Nicolas Ioannou’s dismissal in the 44th minute left them with a real mountain to climb.

Fortunately, they were able to climb that mountain and one man was responsible for their resilient fight back.

Of course, we’re talking about Ryan Yates.

The midfielder made sure that Forest weren’t affected by the red card as he covered every blade of grass during this game, making four interceptions and winning seven duels throughout the match.

Yates then played a part in the Reds’ equaliser arriving at the back post attempting a diving header that put the Luton Town defender under enough pressure to force him to put it into his own net.

It shouldn’t come as much of a shock to see Yates forcing the issue like this, he has been described by Sabri Lamouchi as one of the Reds’ most important players in the past and commended for his workrate.

“He is strong and he can make a difference. He scored important goals last season — he is always on the move and he can be like a bulldozer,” His former manager said.

The bulldozer analogy is certainly a fitting one after his acrobatic header attempt forced Glen Rea into a mistake that cost the Hatters all three points.

Forest do need to pick up more wins in the coming weeks if they’re going to move up the table, but if Yates keeps playing like that, it shouldn’t be too difficult a task.

Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that James Rodriguez has been passed fit to face Manchester United on Saturday, but the Colombian attacker will not be the only change Everton make.

The Blues welcome Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s struggling Red Devils to Goodison Park looking to bounce back from successive Premier League defeats, having been beaten at Newcastle United last time out after tasting a first loss of the season at Southampton.

Everton have only dropped points on home soil once this season in October’s Merseyside Derby draw with Liverpool, and will be hoping to maintain Goodison’s fortress nature against United who last won on the blue half of Stanley Park in January 2018.

Solskjaer’s visiting side have struggled to secure all three points in any of their top-flight fixtures this term, too, with the Red Devils slumped just above the drop zone having taken just two wins in six.

But in Ancelotti’s search for a first Premier League victory since beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-1, the Italian will need to rotate the starting line-up that lost to Newcastle as he welcomes Rodriguez as one of many back into the side.

So, as Everton plan vast changes across the board in hope of beating Manchester United, here’s a predicted XI the Italian could favour…

Ancelotti offered a surprise twist to the starting line-up at Newcastle by benching goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in favour of summer arrival Robin Olsen, though confirmed that the AS Roma loanee would only be featuring on Tyneside as he rested his regular choice.

“There is no technical reason,” Ancelotti noted, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo. “I wanted to give him a rest for this game [and] give the opportunity to Olsen to have minutes. Jordan will be back for the next game against United.”

It was the first time since Pickford joined Everton from Sunderland in 2017 for £25m rising to £30milllion that the England international did not start a Premier League, ending a run of 120 straight appearances between the sticks.

His return will place Pickford in the defence alongside compatriot Michael Keane and Colombia’s Yerry Mina, while joined by left-back Lucas Digne following the Frenchman’s one-match suspension after being sent off at Southampton.

Jonjoe Kenny featured at right-back against Newcastle but may find his place under threat at home to Manchester United, with Ancelotti confirming that captain Seamus Coleman has been passed fit following a hamstring injury.

“We have practically all the squad apart from Richarlison and [Fabian] Delph,” Ancelotti stated. “All the others are available. It is important to have James back, Coleman back and Digne back to have a better team and a better squad.”

Delph’s absence has been put down to a “little problem” that will sideline the former Manchester City midfielder for a few days, opening a slot for Andre Gomes to move back to a more natural position after playing a supportive forward role at Newcastle.

That said Gomes may find he is dropped alongside Kenny, Olsen and Niels Nkounkou, as the Portuguese ace picked up a slight injury at St. James’ Park that required his withdrawal in the 60th-minute.

Losing Delph and Gomes could allow Gylfi Sigurdsson to retain his place after offering five shots and two key balls against Steve Bruce’s Magpies, or create room for Tom Davies to earn his first Premier League start since the Brighton affair last month.

Sigurdsson would otherwise have found his place under threat with the return of Rodriguez, who SofaScore mark as the second-best performing player in the top-flight this term thanks to an average 8.15 match rating, achieved through a combined three assists from 18 key balls and five big chances created, plus 70 accurate final third passes, 16 successful dribbles and 10 shots for three goals.

Ancelotti continues to face a selection dilemma on the left-channel, however, as Richarlison’s final match suspended following his red card issued against Liverpool ensures the Brazilian cannot take over the duties Alex Iwobi and Gomes failed to cover at Southampton and Newcastle respectively.

Everton boss Ancelotti may feel Iwobi’s slack efforts at St. Mary’s, where he was hauled off at half-time after failing to record any key balls or shots on target, do not warrant another appearance, and may edge in favour of Bernard after overlooking the Brazilian at Newcastle.

Bernard is yet to start a Premier League match this season, but was told Ancelotti wanted to keep him at Goodison Park this summer amid interest from AS Roma as the 28-year-old is a valued member of the first-team.

Ancelotti has also hailed the former Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker as a useful addition to his Everton side when playing at home, noting in March: “Maybe, for the fact, that at Goodison we have more possibility to control the ball, he is really good with the ball and he did really well against Crystal Palace where he scored the first goal.

“When the game is in balance, it is more difficult for him to prove his quality. When we have control of the game, for him it is easier for him to prove his quality. Maybe, for this reason, I put him [in the team] at home and not away.

“He doesn’t have to convince me, I am already convinced he is a good player and helpful for us.”

Ancelotti has the chance to prove how useful he believes Bernard can be against Manchester United on Saturday, in one of what could be five changes to the side that lost at Newcastle.

AND in other news, Everton missed the boat with an “amazing” talent who could have filled the void of a club legend.

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan produced a superb display in Germany’s 3-1 win against Sweden on Saturday night.

As per SofaScore, the former Borussia Dortmund man earned an excellent 7.4 rating for his display in the victory but it was his passing that will have impressed Pep Guardiola the most.

During the 90 minutes, Gundogan had 118 touches of the ball and was able to use it extremely effectively, with 97/104 of his passes finding their mark, resulting in an impressive pass accuracy of 93%.

He was also able to complete 7/10 long balls and one key pass.

He was also showed the other side of his game during the win, as he was able to win 4/5 of his ground duels and his only aerial duel, resulting in an all-round dominant display.

Since joining from Dortmund in 2016, the German midfielder has gone on to make 171 appearances for the Citizens, contributing 24 goals and 22 assists (per Transfermarkt).

Whilst he struggled with injuries in the past, other than a cruciate ligament rupture in his first season with the club, his time with City has been relatively injury-free, and Guardiola will surely be delighted to see him impressing on the international stage.

However, his performances in the Premier League this season have been a lot less impressive, as he has averaged a disappointing 6.33 rating across his four appearances so far.

His performances in the Champions League demonstrate that he is still a top-quality player though, as he has scored two goals in three appearances in that competition, resulting in an excellent average rating of 7.44 (per WhoScored).

The Spanish manager suggested last season that Gundogan “gets the credit from all of us, not just myself. He’s an exceptional player. Also, he knows how good he has to play, as there are many others in that position.” (per Bleacher Report)

Hopefully, Gundogan can use this impressive international display to build his confidence and start performing to a higher level in the Premier League.