All posts by n8rngtd.top

Manchester United and Manchester City have a transfer battle on their hands to land Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic this summer.

What’s the word?

The Red Devils previously sent scouts a couple of years ago to watch Milenkovic in action for Fiorentina in a Serie A match against Bologna prior to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time in charge at Old Trafford.

United have long been on the lookout for defenders despite boasting several centre-backs among their ranks.

Reports resurfacing in Italy have now credited Manchester City with an interest and they are set to join the race to sign him in the summer.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport (Thursday print edition), as relayed by Sport Witness, the 23-year-old has been tipped to make the switch to a Premier League side when the transfer window re-opens in a few months’ time.

Milenkovic has been in impressive form for Fiorentina this season, having made 23 appearances across all competitions, per Transfermarkt.

He is contracted with La Viola until 2022.

The next Nemanja Vidic?

United let Chris Smalling leave for Roma in the summer and Victor Lindelof’s poor form has raised concerns about the team’s defensive options.

Solskjaer currently has five centre-back options at his disposal, in the form of Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe, but have just one natural left-sided central defender in the club captain after Smalling left the club last year.

In Milenkovic, United could find an enforcer who has often been described as “the new Nemanja Vidic,” and the comparisons don’t stop there, either.

Like his fellow Serbian before him, Milenkovic has developed quite the reputation over the past few years for being a fearsome tackler who takes no prisoners with his no-nonsense approach to defending. He’s been dubbed as “fearless” for his style of play, and even hailed as being better on the ball than Vidic too.

Standing at 6 ft 5 in tall, the towering colossus – who is currently valued at £25m via Transfermarkt – would afford the likes of David de Gea and Dean Henderson with a level of protection that has not be seen at Old Trafford for quite some time, while WhoScored lists him as an indirect set-piece threat, as his natural height also makes him something of a powerhouse inside the box.

It’s no surprise to see he has shown a willingness to get stuck in, either, as evidenced in his 1.7 tackles per 90 in Serie A during his time under Cesare Prandelli this season. For context, Lindelof has only been able to muster 0.8 per game in the Premier League.

A lack of experience in the Champions League or Europa League shouldn’t deter potential suitors. Yes, it means he hasn’t played at the highest level, but if he can offer a fraction of the form from his past few seasons with Fiorentina, then the youngster can prove to be a very shrewd addition to Solskjaer’s side.

Milenkovic would fit the bill at Old Trafford, as an accomplished defender and a powerful threat in the air. Ed Woodward, therefore, should sanction a swoop for one of Europe’s hottest prospects in the summer, although he may have to break out the cheque book in order to do so.

AND in other news, Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly was colossal against Real Sociedad…

West Ham United have been dealt a transfer blow in their pursuit of Youssef En-Nesyri as 90min have reported that Sevilla are set to offer him a new deal.

The London Stadium faithful had reportedly tabled an offer for the Morocco international worth €35m (£30.3m), and the East London club also made an enquiry to sign him in the January transfer window.

However, the La Liga side are set to offer him a new contract and thus reject any interest from the Premier League, or at least drive the price way up if he is to leave.

Sevilla immediately rebuffed advances from David Moyes’ team to sign him in January when they registered their interest, with the Spanish club now keen to agree a fresh new deal with a big pay rise.

Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan are also taking an interest in his current situation, and both Liverpool and Manchester United have been informed.

En-Nesyri would be an ideal signing for West Ham

Given that the Hammers are really lacking in sufficient back-up to Michail Antonio, En-Nesyri would be an ideal signing for them.

The striker has scored no fewer than 17 goals in total over all competitions so far in the 2020/21 term, including four in the UEFA Champions League (Transfermarkt).

However, it looks as if a move from the Irons is increasingly unlikely given the hopes of Sevilla that the 23-year-old will sign a new deal.

In other news, find out what claim on a potential takeover of WHU has been made here!

With just one defeat in their last six league outings, this was the ideal opportunity for Wolves to lay down their credentials.

By all accounts, this has been a torrid campaign for the Old Gold. Nuno Santo has rarely had many difficulties in his Molineux tenure, but this season has been full of them.

With injuries aplenty and his attack misfiring, Nuno’s men have been closer to relegation than achieving their ultimate goal of European football.

Against a timid Newcastle side, it was a performance that demonstrated everything that’s gone wrong with this Wolves team. Last season, they surely would have pushed the Magpies aside.

Their quick counter-attacking style of football would arguably have been no match for a rigid Steve Bruce team. Though, his side stood firm on this occasion and even took the lead.

It took Ruben Neves’ fourth goal in ten matches for Wolves to take a solitary point after drawing 1-1, but if there was a positive beyond that, it had to be Adama Traore.

In an otherwise tame display, the winger was rampant and is now beginning to creep towards his best form again. The Spaniard caused the goal against Leeds just over a week ago, thundering a fierce effort off the bar that came off Illan Meslier and then found the net.

Although he failed to score at St James’ Park, his performance typified the skills he’s brought to the Premier League since joining from Middlesbrough.

We know Traore has what it takes to beat a man but even he defied his usual standards on Saturday evening. In total, the 25-year-old succeeded with a total of 14 dribbles from 19 attempts. That tally happened to better his season’s best of nine dribbles in a game.

He had Toon right-back Emil Krafth in a spin as he was surpassed past on no fewer than four occasions by the rampant Traore.

It was a day to forget for the Swedish defender who found life incredibly difficult against the Spain international.

That wasn’t the sole positive from his outing, though. Traore set the tone for a remarkable display with four key passes leading to goal scoring opportunities, a tally that once again happened to be his best of the campaign.

The forward is often a bulldozer on the wing and he used his frightening levels of strength to maraud his way past opponents. During the contest, he won a colossal 19 ground duels, a tally that surpassed Wolves’ next best player (Jonny) in this department by a total of 13.

This was a mesmerising outing from Traore, one that signified he is now well and truly back.

All the Wolves star needs now is to find the back of the net. Amazingly, he is yet to do so in the Premier League this season.

AND in other news, Forget Gibbs-White: Nuno must unleash rarely-seen Wolves 18y/o who “scores every week”…

Ozan Kabak and Roberto Firmino should both be back in contention for Liverpool’s Champions League round of 16 second leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The pair were missing on Sunday as Liverpool slumped to a sixth consecutive home defeat against Fulham. However, their injuries were understood to be minor, and Jurgen Klopp should have them available again as he plots a route into the last eight of the competition.

Liverpool’s domestic path to Champions League qualification is narrowing, and so they might have to win the competition to avoid the huge financial blow of missing out on it next season. They carry a 2-0 lead into the second leg, nominally their ‘home’ fixture.

Firmino and Kabak both started the first meeting in Budapest three weeks ago. The struggling Brazilian has yet to score in Europe this season, while Kabak is battling to win over some doubtful Reds fans, as well as his manager, as the club decide whether to exercise their option to buy the on-loan defender.

Liverpool fans take little encouragement from Firmino/Kabak return

“Is it compulsory for Kabak to play in that Liverpool squad…”

Credit: @mister_laolu

“We will still lose…”

Credit: @No4troublemaker

“Firmino? NO”

Credit: @lcfpxnj

“Start Nat and not Kabak, he’s been brilliant”

Credit: @harooncr171

“So you’re saying we’ll lose again”

Credit: @NewhouseT

“Firmino hasn’t been fit for over 2 years.”

Credit: @T_bird_6

“And what changes?? Trash”

Credit: @Manlikegidi

In other news, some Liverpool fans were critical of one midfielder during Fulham clash

Jurgen Klopp has heaped huge praise on Nat Phillips, following a superb performance from the centre-back against RB Leipzig.

The Reds were excellent in their 2-0 win over Julian Nagelsmann’s side on Wednesday evening, cruising into the Champions League quarter-finals.

After a frustrating first half saw Liverpool dominate but miss endless good chances, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane eventually put the tie to bed with well-taken finishes after the break.

There were a number of strong performances on show at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, with Fabinho magnificent back in midfield and Phillips shining at the back.

“Oh my god” – Klopp lauds brilliant Phillips

It was the latter who came in for enormous praise after the game, with Klopp telling reporters (via Paul Gorst) that he was delighted with the 23-year-old’s performance:

“Phillips…oh my god! What a night for him. Absolutely great. Concentration level he shows is incredible. In the air, a monster, but football-wise not bad, I couldn’t be happier than I am for Nat. A great game.”

Transfer Tavern take

Phillips is more than worthy of such a glowing review, having put together such a dominant all-round showing against a team fighting for the Bundesliga title.

The defender may have his limitations as a player, but he has really stepped up to the plate in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

At a time when many Liverpool players have been under-performing, Phillips has been blameless a lot of the time and is arguably showing he could be a good fourth-choice option at centre-back next season.

He is out of contract in the summer of 2022 (Transfermarkt), meaning he could be snapped up for free next year, and perhaps performances like this one will convince the Reds hierarchy to extend that deal.

In other news, Liverpool have been boosted in their attempts to sign Kylian Mbappe this summer. Read about it here.

There is going to be a changing of the guard at Celtic this summer. A fresh manager will arrive, alongside their new CEO in Dominic McKay and also potentially a director of football.

With those manoeuvres in place, it appears as though the Hoops are taking their recruitment in a different direction.

They are seemingly targeting young players on pre-contract deals from England. They missed out on Ben Pearson who they were trying to lure to Scotland, but they now have other targets in mind.

Wigan Athletic’s Kyle Joseph and Rochdale’s Kwadwo Baah have both been linked with a switch to Glasgow. Though, they’ve already had success in luring another English talent to Parkhead; Liam Shaw.

The 19-year-old has agreed to join the Bhoys on a free transfer in the summer from Sheffield Wednesday.

Capable of playing in defence or as a holding player, his arrival could mean a host of things for the club. First and foremost, it will prove the club is still a hotbed for the best young talent around; something Celtic have needed to prove for a while.

Secondly, it could finally bring down the curtain on Scott Brown’s stay at Paradise.

The Celtic captain is out of contract in the summer and has been touted with taking on a coaching role in Glasgow or at Aberdeen. It would be a timely way for his stay at Celtic to come to an end.

After all, this could be their first season without silverware in a considerable period of time. Brown’s performances have been dwindling and not even a goal and an assist against Killie can convince us he’s sufficiently turned a corner.

The 35-year-old has put in some laboured displays this term and nothing typifies that more than the red card he received after just five minutes on the field against Livingston. Moving to replace him as swiftly as they have done here, therefore, is nothing short of magic from Nick Hammond.

If Brown had any hope of continuing his playing days at Celtic, then signing Shaw has surely dealt a mighty blow to those aspirations. The Hoops haven’t always got their recruitment spot on, but landing a player as talented as the Wednesday midfielder for absolutely nothing is risk-free.

Celtic need to drive themselves in a new direction after this torrid season. The perfect way to do that would be by waving farewell to their divisive captain and bringing in a young and hungry midfielder. Shaw is exactly that.

AND in other news, Soro should be fuming if Celtic sign £50k-p/w brute this summer, he’s a “class player”…

According to 90min.com, Newcastle United are interested in signing Aaron Boupendza from Turkish side Hatayspor.

Toon eye Boupendza

Newcastle are said to be one of 11 clubs interested in signing striker Boupendza, who has been in impressive form in the Super Lig so far this campaign.

Hatayspor are believed to be looking for £8.5m to part ways with the Gabon international.

Potential bargain

Boupendza has been on fire for Hatayspor so far this season. In 28 matches in all competitions, he has managed 18 goals (Transfermarkt), and he even leads the Turkish top flight’s goalscoring charts by three strikes (ESPN). At 24, he is still likely to improve further in the coming years.

Steve Bruce is currently struggling in terms of striking options. While Callum Wilson has done well, managing 10 Premier League goals in his first season at St James’ Park, Joelinton has just one in 22 league outings, while Andy Carroll has managed the same tally in 16 games.

Their lack of goals is one of many reasons why the Magpies are struggling at the wrong end of the table – only four teams have managed to hit the back of the net less often in this season’s Premier League (Sky Sports). The signing of Boupendza could rectify that – as long as they stay in the top tier, that is.

In other news, Steve Howey has backed this man to leave Newcastle.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has expressed his disappointment over Louie Barry’s lack of appearances at Villa Park this season.

Barry, who joined Villa last year after spending time in the youth ranks of Barcelona and West Brom, made his senior debut for the Villans against Liverpool in the Third Round of the FA Cup and did not disappoint.

The 17-year-old, part of a very young Villa team on the day, scored a well-taken goal as he kept his composure when through on goal. It ensured that the Midlands club went into half-time level after going 1-0 down to Jurgen Klopp’s side, and was a moment that showed Barry’s incredible potential.

Since then, however, the attacker has not been given any more opportunities, something that has left Hendrie feeling frustrated. The ex-Villa player told FFC:

“I’m really disappointed that he hasn’t featured, not even really on the bench since that Liverpool game with the fabulous goal that he scored. He reminds me of a young Michael Owen in the fact that he’s very slight, small, but he’s very quick, and I’m surprised that he hasn’t been given a bit more of a chance since that game.”

Elaborating further on that Michael Owen comparison, Hendrie added:

“Michael Owen wasn’t very big and he wasn’t very strong, but because of his pace, you know, he was hard to deal with and I feel that’s similar with Louie Barry. I just feel that he should now be getting into the first-team squad, being on the bench and getting thrown on for the last 20 minutes, relieving a bit of pressure, just because he’s got that pace that he can burn off.”

If his display against Liverpool was anything to go by, then Barry definitely looks like he could offer something to this Villa side, especially in this moment of time.

Dean Smith’s team have had to play without captain Jack Grealish recently, something they have not managed to cope with well. They have won just one of their last five games in the absence of the England international, suggesting that perhaps some fresh impetus could have been helpful.

Some Everton fans have been left to react to a transfer update on Adrien Rabiot from Tuttosport.

As per the Italian news outlet, the Goodison Park faithful is a place that has ‘never faded’ as possible destination for the Juventus ace, currently valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt.

Of course, Carlo Ancelotti has managed the 25-year-old before when he was playing at Paris Saint Germain a few campaigns ago, and so will know how to get the best out of his former player, while he is also someone who would add to his current options in the centre of midfield at the moment.

However, Rabiot has no previous experience of playing in the Premier League, and may demand a big wage having come from one of the most decorated clubs in football.

Everton fan reaction to Rabiot transfer update

These Toffees were split on Twitter on whether they should sign Rabiot, with one Blues supporter claiming that the France international is ‘super’ with his ball retention:

“He’s good, gents. Creative? More of a holding player, super with ball retention, very active when they have the ball, a bit of what we need for sure. Definitely a different level than everyone else we have in CM/DM IMO.”

Credit: @RyanSoccerAA

“And importantly this would be real depth at CM not something we have been blessed with for a long time”

Credit: @sludvigs

“I’d take him if true”

Credit: @jay_smith1

“Doesn’t do enough for me you know Sean and I’ve seen him a lot as I regularly watch Juve. At times he looks disinterested too.”

Credit: @bracewellsboots

“Type of player we really don’t need, we need dynamic midfielders, not another Gomes type”

Credit: @efcBuggi

“Why? Just don’t think he’ll improve us at all”
Credit: @JakeC98__
In other news, find out what Paul Joyce update has been lauded by EFC fans here!

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer has tipped his old side to challenge for the top six under manager Marcelo Bielsa next season.

The Whites have had a great campaign this term following their promotion from the Championship. After 29 games, they currently sit in 11th place on 39 points, all but securing their status as a Premier League outfit.

Undoubtedly, things are going well for Bielsa and Leeds, and Palmer is expecting them to push on if the Argentinian manager is backed in the summer transfer window.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about what Leeds could achieve next season, the ex-England international said:

“I would think that if Bielsa stays next season at Leeds United, he will have been guaranteed funds to push Leeds United. I would think next season, he’d be looking to push Leeds United in the top six, top seven.”

Last summer, the Yorkshire club brought in the likes of Raphinha and Diego Llorente, with the former impressing particularly. In 24 league appearances, the Brazilian has scored six goals and provided five assists and is now being linked with a move to rivals Manchester United. If Leeds can acquire similar quality in the next window, then they may be able to go up another level.

Next up for them in the Premier League is a home clash against bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United.