All posts by n8rngtd.top

Ralph Hasenhuttl has been handed a surprising, yet very welcome, boost at Southampton this week, after it was revealed that Oriol Romeu has returned to training after injury.

The Spaniard was expected to be out for the season after breaking his ankle in a 3-0 defeat against Leeds United back in February but Hampshire Live has confirmed that he is back on the pitch at Staplewood and could even return for some of Southampton’s remaining fixtures.

The Saints have five games remaining of the Premier League season and whilst they are not yet mathematically safe, Fulham would need to pick up at least 10 points and hope that Southampton pick up none, if they are to catch up to Hasenhuttl’s side.

To have Romeu back before the end of the season would be a huge boost for the Austrian manager, as he and James Ward-Prowse formed a superb partnership in midfield earlier in the campaign, which was a significant factor in their impressive start to the season.

The 29-year-old, who joined for £5m from Chelsea in 2015, has averaged an impressive 6.97 rating across his 20 appearances in the top-flight this season, which ranks him as the third-best performer in Southampton’s squad so far this campaign.

Southampton have seriously struggled in his absence, with Ibrahima Diallo flattering to deceive as his replacement, which has forced Hasenhuttl to play Armstrong in central midfield on occasion, which doesn’t suit the Scottish international.

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Therefore, if they can welcome back Romeu then the South Coast side can revert back to using the midfield which helped them briefly go top of the Premier League back in November and hopefully, they can finish the season strongly after a shocking run of form in 2021.

Romeu’s influence cannot be underestimated as, ahead of their meeting in December, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the defensive midfielder, saying:

“He (Hasenhuttl) has experience at the back and has one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, Romeu.”

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Romeu’s return ahead of schedule is certainly some good news for Southampton and hopefully, they can get him fit enough to feature in some of the remaining Premier League fixtures, as it would be a huge boost to have him back on the pitch.

And, in other news… Semmens disaster: Southampton missed out on “brilliant” PL gem perfect for Hasenhuttl

Whatever you think of Jorge Mendes and his methods, you can’t help but laud the things he’s done for Wolves.

Since Fosun became involved with the Midlands outfit, they have established a friendly relationship with one of the most powerful football agents in the game.

The club’s manager, Nuno Santo is a client of Mendes’ Gestifute agency while several of their playing staff are also on his books. To name a few, he leads negotiations for the likes of Pedro Neto, Nelson Semedo, Ruben Neves and Fabio Silva.

Ties to Mendes have even led to incredible links regarding a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. His arrival at Molineux is far-fetched but one that shouldn’t have been a few years ago was Bruno Fernandes.

The Manchester United star is one of the super agent’s biggest clients and managed to pave the way for one of the most game-changing transfers the Premier League has seen in recent years.

He was signed for a considerable £47m from Sporting Lisbon but if Mendes had noticed his talent quicker, a move to Wolves could have occurred.

That’s the word of club legend Steve Bull anyway. Speaking exclusively to FFC’s sister site, Transfer Tavern, he said: “I think he went under the radar for [Jorge] Mendes otherwise, I think he would have definitely been on our scale and we definitely would have had him all day long.”

He would have been enthralling capture for Wolves, and Fosun must be cursing Mendes after missing out.

Fernandes is now valued at £81m by Transfermarkt and has become one of the most impressive attacking midfielders in world football.

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Speaking about him recently, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel commented: “The impact he has since he arrived in Man United is indescribable. Unbelievable.”

The Portugal international has scored a mighty 23 goals this term, providing a further 14 assists in 46 outings. That adds to his tally of eight goals and seven assists in 14 Premier League matches last season after moving in January 2020.

Evidently, he could have been a real star in this Wolves team. That’s not just because of his antics in terms of creativity and goals, but because of his mentality and leadership.

“Bruno Fernandes is not really a tackler, but he leads by example because he works really hard and he’s brilliant on the ball,” Bryan Robson admitted this week.

“But I always see him talking and shouting to players and he is always either trying to encourage or having a bit of a go at players if they are not in the right position,” the Man United legend added.

Fernandes has very quickly become a star of European football and besides Ronaldo, he is Mendes’ diamond.

AND in other news, Shi will regret awful call on “intelligent” £75k-p/w ace, Wolves could have signed him…

Southampton have been linked with a move for Manchester City midfielder Yangel Herrera recently and if he were to make the move to St Mary’s this summer, it could prove to be a repeat of the deal that saw Oriol Romeu join the Saints in 2015.

According to El Universal, both West Ham and Southampton are interested in signing the Venezuelan midfielder following his impressive loan spell at Granada.

Despite this, his future at City remains uncertain, and Pep Guardiola’s side could cash in on the 23-year-old for as little as £13m ahead of next season.

Herrera joined Man City from Atletico Venezuela in 2017 but work permit issues have meant that he has spent all of the last four seasons out on loan, with New York City FC, SD Huesca and Granada for the past two seasons.

He has been impressive for the Nazaríes so far this season, averaging a solid 6.89 rating across 26 appearances in La Liga, where he has contributed three goals and one assist.

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The Venezuelan international has also been a huge part of Granada’s excellent run in the Europa League, with two goals and one assist to his name in nine appearances, which has helped him average a superb 7.06 rating.

If he were to join Southampton, there would be a lot of similarities with the deal that saw Romeu join from Chelsea in 2015.

The Spanish midfielder struggled for game time at Stamford Bridge, making just 33 appearances, and spent time out on loan at Valencia and VFB Stuggart before his move to the South Coast.

He has since gone on to make 211 appearances for Southampton and was one of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s top performers earlier in the campaign before his season-ending injury.

WhoScored suggests that some of Herrera’s main strengths include his defensive contribution, aerial threat, tackling and interceptions, so there certainly seems to be similarities between him and Romeu.

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Therefore, the 23-year-old, who was recently described as “outstanding” by La Liga expert Terry Gibson, could prove to be an excellent signing for Southampton this summer if Martin Semmens can bring him to St Mary’s.

And, in other news… Imagine him and JWP: Saints should swoop for “amazing” £19.8m-rated gem

Southampton fans are far from happy with comments from Nathan Redmond ahead of their F.A Cup semi-final this weekend.

The Saints will travel to Wembley on Sunday to play Leicester City for a place in the final. Despite losing 3-0 to West Bromwich Albion on Monday, the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit will at least be happy to be playing a side who themselves are struggling for form in the Foxes – they have lost their last two games (lcfc.co.uk).

Redmond was speaking ahead of the clash, and he was discussing the contrast with Southampton’s last semi-final appearance in 2018. On that occasion, they were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea, and the £16.2m-valued 27-year-old (Transfermarkt) said that at the time there was no aspiration for success amongst the Saints players, although now they are in a far better position to prevail.

These comments were shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it is fair to say the fans were disappointed. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Redmond below

“Appreciate his honesty but what a disgrace. In a semi final and no aspiration to succeed?!!”

Credit: @saintdansmith

“Behave”

Credit: @BuildABonfire

“This is throwing it on the line. Saying how up for it everyone is and how good the atmosphere is after a 3-0 spanking by a poor team means if we don’t turn up then we have some very big questions to answer.”

Credit: @Andrew_Stokes_

“He knows people actually watched the West Brom match right!?”

Credit: @JamesBrooksAP

“Imagine saying that out loud in any other job? Let alone a well paid one.”

Credit: @papaschmoo

“how can he say this after the wba game”

Credit: @jahgsvlayso

In other news, Southampton fans slammed this man against West Brom.

Celtic youngster Vincent Angelini has been linked with the likes of AC Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Manchester United in recent months.

However, it is Premier League strugglers Brighton who are now making a serious attempt to snap up the 17-year-old goalkeeper in quite the turn of the events considering the massive names mentioned above.

According to the Daily Record, Angelini has ben invited to train with the Seagulls and is waiting to be given the green light by the Hoops.

Angelini snubs new Celtic deal

The report claims that the shot-stopper has turned a new deal at Parkhead and looks set to quit the club.

Celtic will be due a compensation fee, should Angelini leave. Brighton want to see the teenager train with their own development squad before agreeing a fee with the Hoops.

Transfer Tavern take

Although the club are looking to land some of the UK’s top young talent ahead of the summer window, the number of teenagers heading the other way appears to be a concern.

Another young goalkeeper in Liam Hughes left Celtic for Liverpool earlier this year, and attacking starlet Karamoko Dembele also looks set for a Parkhead exit this summer.

It appears as if Angelini will be the latest to call time on his young career in Glasgow, and a move to the south coast with Brighton could well materialise, should he impress on trial.

In other news: Italian giants join race for Celtic star, find out more here. 

In a recent interview, former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips discussed West Ham United’s reported interest in a summer move for Tammy Abraham.

The forwar dhas endured something of an up-and-down campaign for Chelsea so far this term, with the 23-year-old scoring six goals and registering two assists over his first 14 Premier League appearances of the season, before going on a run of six league games without either a goal or assist, as well as finding game-time increasingly hard to come by under Thomas Tuchel of late.

Indeed, it has been reported that the German manager remains unconvinced by the £36m-rated striker, with West Ham thought to be closely monitoring the situation of the England international ahead of a potential summer move.

Speaking recently to Football Insider, Phillips stated his belief that the £82,000-per-week Chelsea forward would be a good fit for David Moyes’ side.

He said: “I could see him there, definitely. The way West Ham are playing at the moment, he’d get chances. As a striker, you want to be playing regularly because we live on confidence.

“To play a few games then get left out, for a striker, that’s not great. I can see him at West Ham. They’ve got creative players that would create opportunities for him and he likes to play on that last man. If he was to be sold by Chelsea there’ll be a few clubs chasing him because he’s still got a long career ahead of him.”

Transfer Tavern Take

With Moyes currently only having the option of Michail Antonio as an out-and-out centre-forward in his first team squad, a move for a striker is likely to be a priority for the Scot in the summer transfer window, something which surely won’t be lost on the club’s GSB ownership.

Considering that Abraham has impressed when being awarded a start this season, scoring seven goals in 15 games when he has been picked in the starting XI for Chelsea, perhaps the 23-year-old would indeed be a good addition to Moyes’ attacking arsenal this summer, as Phillips suggests.

However, whether or not the Blues will be open to selling the centre-forward to a Premier League rival, particularly one currently sitting just two points behind them in the league standings, remains to be seen.

In other news: This West Ham summer target dropped a big hint on his future – find out more here!

Two Leeds United stars in Pascal Struijk and Raphinha have been attracting interest, but former Whites striker Noel Whelan believes that they won’t be going anywhere in the summer.

Whelan discusses Leeds duo

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said: “Take it from me, Leeds United won’t sell any players. They won’t sell Struijk, they won’t sell Raphinha.

“We’re not a team that’s desperate, we’re not a club that’s desperate. We’re in a really good healthy position with a good chairman and we’re building a side here.
“It’s not a side that we’re going to take apart after one year. This is a side that’s going to be together for four to five years, I’m very sure of that. That’s the plan in progress and the long term future for Leeds United. We don’t delve into the market to bring someone in for one season.”

The club need to keep hold of their star players

Whelan is right when he says the club don’t need to sell. They are already battling for a top half finish in their first season back in the Premier League (SofaScore). They also have a big history and the signings of players like Rodrigo emphasise that they have the pull to bring European stars to the club.
They also have an astute manager in Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentinian was nominated for ‘The Best’ FIFA men’s coach, emphasising the quality of manager Leeds have, and it was quite an achievement to get him at the club in the first place.
Hopefully the Whites keep their vital assets like Struijk and Raphinha – if they get their transfers in the summer right, then they could be in a great position to push on even more in the top flight next season.

In other news, one pundit has discussed one Leeds player following his latest setback. Have a read here!

Celtic must make a ruthless decision on Odsonne Edouard’s long-term future at the club and sell him in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports over the summer suggested that Premier League sides like Arsenal were interested in signing him, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the deadline.

Since then, Neil Lennon’s side have been unable to tie down Edouard to a new contract to stay at Celtic Park, and now Football Insider have revealed that the Frenchman has “switched agents in a development that is set to have a massive bearing on his Celtic future”.

Celtic must sell

With 11 goals in 23 games this season, Edouard certainly hasn’t been awful at all for the Hoops, but there’s been a drop-off in his performances.

Former Scotland international, Alan Hutton, said earlier last month: “We had all the talks about Edouard at the start of season wanting to leave – has his head been on it? Has he been the same player that he was last year? No.

“Whether he’s got someone in his ear saying: ‘Play your way, do your thing up until January or the summer and then we’ll move you on,’ I don’t know if those conversations have happened. He’s a massive asset, he will be worth a lot of money but it looks like he wants to move on.”

The longer Edouard stays at Celtic without his long-term future being resolved, the bigger the headache becomes for Lennon. Is the £13.5m-rated Frenchman someone the Bhoys can rely upon going forward? Or will he be looking for a quick exit the moment an offer comes in?

That uncertainty is bound to have an impact on how he plays on the pitch, no matter how good someone is at blocking out the outside noise. Celtic could move on for the better by calling time on Edouard’s stay at the club.

Speaking to Football Insider, talkSPORT regular Gabriel Agbonlahor has been wowed by Jarrod Bowen and has admitted he fully deserves a pay rise in reaction to claims from The Athletic over an increase to his salary – going on to say is it is a ‘great bit of business for West Ham’. 

Bowen has been a mainstay for David Moyes since arriving in 2020, starting 16 Premier League games in total this campaign alone, and reliable journalist David Ornstein claims the attacker has received a significant increase in salary after passing 30 appearances in all competitions for the Irons.

Agbonlahor hails Bowen business

In reaction to this development, Agbonlahor has heaped praise on the ‘great bit of business’ for West Ham with Bowen whilst claiming he will be a ‘star’.

“For me, he’s a quality player,” explained the talkSPORT regular to Football Insider. 

“The pay rise he’s got he deserves because he’s been outstanding this season.

“I’m sure now he just wants to get a few more goals and assists now to back up these great performances because he’s definitely going to be a star.

“It’s a great bit of business for West Ham.”

Transfer Tavern take

Given Bowen’s contribution for the Hammers this season, scoring four times and grabbing two assists (Whoscored), it’s hard to argue with the former Premier League striker’s assessment – and he is fully deserving of his reward.

Time will tell whether he does become a star for Moyes, but you wouldn’t bet against it based off this season.

In other news: West Ham fans reacted to these ‘unbelievable’ links, find out more here.

This has been a rather troubled January for Leeds United. They have won just once and have failed to strengthen their ranks in the transfer window.

Though, despite Marcelo Bielsa insisting he’s happy with his squad, rumours of potential incomings are swirling around.

On the chalkboard

One of the names linked with Leeds in recent days has been Nottingham Forest youngster Brennan Johnson.

The winger is currently on loan at Lincoln City where he’s been tearing League One to shreds with five goals and six assists in 20 outings.

It’s an impressive record for a 19-year-old who is doing all the right things in terms of his personal development.

The Whites haven’t been afraid to strengthen their youth ranks in recent years and that was evident last summer. Victor Orta brought in the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Cody Drameh and Crysencio Summerville.

Though, with a host of young attackers in their midst, signing another even if they are talented, fails to make much sense.

Unleash Poveda

There is no doubting the supreme talents of Johnson. However, rather than spending on new recruits this month, Leeds must look at unleashing someone already in their ranks.

That happens to be Ian Poveda. The 20-year-old signed from Manchester City a year ago but has only made one senior start since.

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He has appeared ten times as a substitute in the Premier League this term but is yet to play from the off. Poveda’s only chance to shine from kick-off was against Crawley in the FA Cup.

Of course, that was a dismal affair for the Whites as they lost 3-0. However, the English winger was a ball of energy and if anyone could come away from the game with credit, it was him.

He was devastating in the final third and a wonderful piece of trickery in the first-half summed up his game. Poveda attempted four dribbles – two of which were successful – and also provided a key pass all within 58 minutes.

For various reasons, he hasn’t been given a regular chance in the Premier League but we reckon that should change in the back half of the campaign. After all, he possesses qualities that can frighten defenders.

Discussing the youngster earlier this season, Noel Whelan said: “You can see now when you talk about people changing games and bringing a different dimension, he’s very, very quick, got great feet, very tricky, likes to run at players. Very much like Raphinha as well.”

If Leeds really do have another Raphinha in their clutches, it can only be a good thing. The Brazilian has been a radiant ball of attacking quality since signing from Rennes and with three goals and three assists, is improving all the time.

It’s time Poveda was given a similar platform to try and do the same. Leeds would only harm his development further by bringing a player like Johnson to the club.

They must ignore him and unleash their own young players.

AND in other news, 3 new signings, Bielsa favourite axed: How Leeds’ XI could look after deadline day…