All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

West Ham United will be looking to bounce back from successive Premier League defeats when they return to the London Stadium later this evening.

David Moyes’ side welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to east London with their spot in fourth place still intact but he will need to see a reaction, having lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers and defending champions Manchester City in the past week-and-a-half.

It is, however, the Irons’ third game in the space of seven days, so there could be some tired legs and they do have the tough test of rivals Chelsea on Saturday to contend with, too.

The Scot has plenty of selection decisions to consider heading into kick-off, one of which is surely whether or not he includes Jarrod Bowen in his starting XI after axing him at a wintery Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Bowen, valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, has been in mixed form as of late, but on his day, he is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous players in this Hammers squad.

He has scored three goals and provided five assists in 18 appearances across the top-flight and Europa League this campaign, and only ranks second to Declan Rice (7.35) for average WhoScored rating (7.25) in the league.

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No player has provided more assists (four) and he also leads the way for dribbles (two per game), as he proves to be a threat in the final third.

During his time at Hull City, the side he signed from in a £22m deal back in January 2020, he was labelled an “unplayable” attacker on his day and since then, he has earned even more praise, with talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan dubbing him a “world-beater”.

Interestingly, 40% of the Seagulls’ attacks come down Bowen’s side on the right flank, so he could expose the gaps left behind by Graham Potter’s left-sided wing-backs, and that has got to be a mouth-watering prospect for Moyes ahead of kick-off.

In addition to that, 15% of all their shots conceded are from that side too, and with the 24-year-old averaging 2.2 attempts per outing, he could well feast at the London Stadium tonight.

Recently lauded as “an absolute manager’s dream” by Paul Merson, Bowen must be let off the leash against Brighton this evening.

AND in other news, West Ham handed January transfer boost over £9m-rated “real force”…

West Brom have been fairly active in the transfer market whenever they get the chance, bringing players in either on loan or permanent deals.

However, one deal that the Baggies had the chance to complete and will now be regretting is one for Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

According to an article from the Express & Star, the Midlands club were watching the centre-forward back in 2011 while he was on loan at Saint-Etienne from AC Milan.

The article also claimed that the Baggies had the chance to bring in the Gabon international on loan but opted against the move.Shortly after being scouted by West Brom in 2011, the striker ended up joining Saint-Etienne on a permanent deal in the 2012 January transfer deal.Since that point, the attacker has had spells at Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal before making a move to Barcelona during the previous January window.According to a report from Football Espana, the former Gunners star took a significant pay cut from the £300k-per-week wages he was on at the Emirates, to complete his move to the Nou Camp, where he is reportedly now earning a weekly wage of just over £96k-per-week.Having been praised for his “phenomenal” form at the north London club by Mikel Arteta, Aubameyang has hit the ground running in Spain by racking up nine goals in 11 appearances across La Liga and the Europa League.Throughout his entire career, the 32-year-old has scored 305 goals in 592 senior and youth club appearances across all competitions in England, Italy, Germany, France and now Spain, winning several trophies in the process.One other award the striker picked up during his time in England was the Golden Boot in the 2018/19 Premier League season, having found the back of the net 22 times.Taking all of this into account, it’s seems as though the Baggies made the wrong call in not choosing to sign the Gabon star on loan when they had the chance.Had they done so and Aubameyang managed to impress, there would have been a chance that the club could have secured him on a permanent deal, thus sealing their own goalscoring superstar.However, the club will now have to live with their mistake and move on from the matter rather than reminiscing over what could have been.In other news: Sold at £13m, now worth £49.5m: WBA will have nightmares over 6ft4 “beast of a man”

Aston Villa have been rather proactive when it comes to bringing new players to the club during the current January transfer window with the likes of Robin Olsen, Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho making their way to Villa Park.

However, it seems as though there could be a late twist in the coming days with Villa having to try and keep hold of one of their current players.

What’s the talk? 

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, transfer insider Dean Jones had this to say on the possibility of Watford making a move to sign Ashley Young before the end of the month.

He said: “A new era at Watford under Roy Hodgson and maybe an old face returning to their squad, from what I’m hearing. Ashley Young is emerging as a potential transfer option from Aston Villa, a return to the club where he began his career.”

As a product of Watford’s youth system, Young eventually joined Villa in 2007 before making the move to Manchester United in 2011.

The 36-year-old returned to Villa during the previous summer transfer window as a free agent after a stint with Inter Milan.

Overall, the Englishman has racked up a total of 203 appearances for Villa across all competitions, scoring 37 goals and providing 61 assists along the way.

Gerrard would be furious

Despite not appearing in any of Villa’s four previous league games, Young is highly valued at the Midlands club, especially by Gerrard with the Liverpudlian praising the veteran for his “leadership and standard-setting” qualities.

This suggests how unhappy the Villa boss would be if they were to let him leave this month, especially to another Premier League side. He is evidently a massive player in the dressing room and his experience plays a key part in setting the tone for Gerrard’s ever-improving squad.

As well as his leadership qualities and ability to offer guidance to some of Villa’s younger players due to his vast experience, the former Watford figure is a useful squad option for Gerrard on the pitch due to his versatility across numerous positions.

As a result, Villa should definitely be trying to keep hold of Young and draw him out of Watford’s clutches given how much of an asset he is for them in different aspects.

Looking ahead further, with his contract at Villa set to expire in the summer, it could also be worth the club approaching the 36-year-old to see if he would be willing to extend his stay there as a player or even in a different capacity.

In other news: Gregg Evans has dropped an exciting Villa transfer update…

Leeds United could still make a move for Derby County midfielder Jason Knight in the January transfer window, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Knight impressing at Derby

The Rams may be experiencing a torrid time off the pitch at the moment, with the future of the club even in doubt, but Knight has been a rare positive this season.

The 20-year-old has become a key figure at Pride Park, scoring two goals and setting up another two in 20 Championship appearances, not to mention captaining the team on a handful of occasions.

Leeds have been linked with a move for the Republic of Ireland international as they eye up midfield reinforcements this month.

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The Latest: Journalist talks up Leeds move for Knight

O’Rourke believes that this motted transfer could potentially happen, telling GiveMeSport that Knight could be a player who flourishes under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds.

The journalist claimed: “He’s one that maybe could fit the bill for Leeds. If they get him now, they could then mould him into the type of player that Bielsa wants.”

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The Verdict: Strong long-term addition

Knight may not be the big-name midfield signing that Leeds are seeking in the final week of the transfer window, but he would be a long-term addition who can already add quality to the squad.

Derby manager and England’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney has even compared the youngster to himself as a player, which speaks volumes, and the fact that he is already captain of a Championship team at 20 says a lot about his maturity. Indeed, the Rams boss quipped of the youngster: “His attitude in training and his performances have been first-class.”

Knight is someone who could initially come in and make up for the loss of Kalvin Phillips to injury, perhaps becoming an eventual replacement for the England midfielder further down the line.

In other news, Phil Hay has confirmed a serious injury for one Leeds player. Find out who it is here.

Everton will return to action today at Goodison Park hosting Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round, with newly appointed manager Frank Lampard leading his first starting eleven out in front of the home fans.

There are a number of injuries to take into consideration, with both Abdoulaye Doucoure and Fabian Delph confirmed to be out for at least a month in a club statement and in his pre-match press conference the new Toffees boss has revealed the first blow to his squad as Dominic Calvert-Lewin has picked up a knock and won’t be available for the game this afternoon.

Lampard also faces another blow to his squad, as both Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli remain cup tied, but it could be a blessing in disguise as they will be raring to go when the side take on Newcastle United in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

With that being said, this is how Football Fancast expects Lampard to line up his first team against Brentford…

We expect to see four changes from Duncan Ferguson’s line up that lost to Aston Villa in the Premier League before the winter break, with Jonjoe Kenny axed from the side in place of youngster, Nathan Patterson.

Patterson, who was hailed “amazing” by his Scotland team mate Che Adams, could make his debut in the first team for Everton today after he was spotted in Lampard’s initial training sessions this week.

This could be the perfect opportunity for the 20 year old to make his mark on the team and make a good first impression on his new manager, who is renowned for developing and giving debuts to young players with potential.

We predict that due to the two cup tied new signings being unavailable, Andre Gomes will play alongside Allan in the deeper midfield roles to cover for Doucoure’s absence through injury and Anthony Gordon will take the 10 role behind Richarlison who is pushed up front in place of an injured Calvert-Lewin.

This season’s joint top goal scorers for the Toffees so far, Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray, are expected to be on hand to link up with Richarlison to seal goals and cause problems for the Brentford defence today.

Lampard will be hoping he can give something to the fans that they can be happy about after a number of protests took place just before his arrival and progressing in the domestic competition could really help to build confidence in the players going forward ahead of important must win Premier League games, where they need to pick up points to avoid a relegation battle.

In other news: Lampard must unleash Anthony Gordon against Brentford

West Ham United are in the hunt for Borussia Monchengladbach centre-back Matthias Ginter ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas, who claims that the Hammers are watchingÂthe defender – who is also subject to interest from Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus – ahead of a potential swoop this summer.

The 28-year-old would be available on a free transfer ahead of the expiration of his contract with the Bundesliga club at the end of the current campaign.

The East London outfit currently have just two fit senior centre-backs after first-choice Kurt Zouma sustained an ankle injury last weekend, which could rule the Frenchman out for the remainder of the campaign.

Issa Diop and Craig Dawson were excellent on Thursday night as the Irons remarkably beat Lyon 3-0 in the south of France to advance to the semi-finals of the Europa League, with the latter scoring the Hammers’ first goal.

However, both have been subject to inconsistency in claret and blue, particularly Diop – who has been criticised heavily at times this term, particularly after a poor performance in the FA Cup against National League North side Kidderminster Harriers – with Jack Rosser dubbing the Frenchman “shocking” in this fixture.

By signing Ginter, West Ham would certainly be bolstering their defence whilst it could also provide an opportunity to finally part ways with the £61k-per-week flop.

West Ham must sign Ginter

Although they’ve juggled four competitions excellently this term, particularly managing the new experience of European football, the east London side could certainly do with a bigger squad next season – especially if they are to compete in Europe once again.

However, the Irons’ defence has been a cause for concern at points this term, with Moyes’ side ranking joint 10th in the Premier League for clean sheets with seven in 32 matches, despite being sat in sixth place.

By landing Ginter, the Hammers would be adding quality as well as experience to their backline, something that will be vital if they are to continue progressing into a regular competitor in continental competition.

The Germany international is still a regular fixture in his country’s squads, having been part of the World Cup-winning side in 2014 whilst racking up 46 caps.

In terms of the current campaign, the 28-year-old has also been a regular for Gladbach, missing just three Bundesliga matches all season.

However, in general, it’s been a disappointing campaign for the North-Rhine outfit – who currently sit 11th in the German top flight with European football looking extremely unlikely next term.

The £21.6m-rated centre-back currently averages a whopping 80.2 touches per league game, whilst completing 84% of his passes and making 1.3 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and three clearances per game.

To put that into context, Diop’s league numbers are considerably worse in some areas. The 25-year-oldÂmakes almost half the amount of touches at 40.5, whilst making 0.5 interceptions, 0.8 tackles and 3.1 interceptions per fixture.

In fairness, the Frenchman’s passing is slightly better at 85%, but he also makes just 28.3 accurate passes a match compared to Ginter’s 56.2.

Although, something which could be a cause for concern is that the 28-year-old has, aside from Gladbach, only played for Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg – perhaps suggesting it would take him a while to adapt to the Premier League.

However, the centre-back has established himself as a quality defender in the German top-flight, with Germany legend Lothar Mätthaus even comparing Ginter to Sergio Ramos.

“Ginter has become a leader at the back, in a similar way to Ramos at Real,” Matthaus said to Sky Germany. “He doesn’t just give instructions to his teammates, but leads them as well. That’s what Ginter is doing really well at the moment. He reminds me of Ramos.”

There’s clear evidence that the German defender would be a quality addition to West Ham’s backline. Moreover, to secure the 28-year-old on a free transfer would be an excellent bargain with the deal being low risk.

AND in other news: Forget Rice: WHU’s £52k-p/w “set piece savant†with 67% duels won was “superb†vs Lyon

It’s safe to say that Giovani Lo Celso’s time at Tottenham Hotspur has hardly been inspiring.

After joining in a club record-equaling £55m deal from LaLiga outfit Real Betis in the summer of 2019, his career has been blighted by injuries and inconsistencies.

At the time, the 25-year-old was widely touted as a ready-made replacement for Christian Eriksen, who had entered the final year of his deal before joining Inter Milan later that winter.

If that was the case, then he has certainly failed to live up to the same standards set by the playmaking Dane.

As per Transfermarkt’s figures, Lo Celso has provided just five assists in 79 appearances, also finding the net eight times. That’s a direct contribution once every 338.5 minutes – nearly once every four outings.

Irrespective of Eriksen’s record, those sorts of returns are quite frankly abysmal, but for context, the former Ajax gem delivered a goal or assist 151.6 minutes across 305 appearances.

The contrast is alarming.

However, the Argentina international, who teammate Cristian Romero solely credits for their Copa America success this summer, could be in line for a lifeline under Antonio Conte as Spurs are crying out for someone capable of providing some much-needed influence in the final third.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-latest-team-injury-team-news-updates-transfers-gossip-rumours-antonio-conte-thfc” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Only Norwich City (10.7) have averaged fewer shots per game than the north Londoners (10.9), whilst they rank inside the bottom seven for expected goals, despite being only two points adrift of the top four in the overall standings.

When delving into the deeper numbers, Lo Celso has actually been one of the more creative options this season. He just isn’t getting any results from the service he’s been providing – hardly a surprise when Harry Kane has bagged just the one Premier League goal all season.

As per WhoScored, the Argentine maestro, who Jose Mourinho once lauded as “phenomenal”, has averaged 2.1 key passes per 90 minutes, which currently leads the squad and is even more than Heung-min Son (1.8) and Lucas Moura (1.5).

That would certainly back up the point that the £70k-per-week flop been somewhat unlucky and deserves a run in the side with Spurs struggling so much in the final third.

Given that the English top-flight has barely seen his talents in the past two-and-a-half years, Lo Celso could well emerge as a secret weapon, particularly if he can get someone on the end of the aforementioned service.

AND in other news, Spurs could find their next Mousa Dembele in “complete” £27m-rated “playmaker”…

Manchester United lost 1-0 to Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon, leaving their chances of a top four finish and Champions League football next season in serious doubt.

The Toffees are currently the fourth-most out-of-form in the Premier League over the last six matchdays, and after today’s defeat the Red Devils have become the seventh-most out-of-form, losing their eighth top-flight game of the season.

Despite having 67% possession, more shots on target and over twice as many passes completed today, United could not take anything from their clash on Merseyside, with players such as Alex Telles summing up their wastefulness on the ball, losing possession a team-high 28 times.

The Toffees took the lead in the 27th minute when Anthony Gordon’s shot deflected off Harry Maguire into the back of the net behind David de Gea. The visitors had more than hour to redeem themselves but failed to impose themselves successfully on Frank Lampard’s resilient Everton side.

One player who put in yet another nightmare performance for the Red Devils was Marcus Rashford, who failed to make a sufficient impact in the game, perhaps becoming more of a hindrance than a help.

According to SofaScore, United’s golden boy – who Gary Neville called “terrible” – was the worst-rated player on the pitch (5.9) and for good reason, losing all seven of his ground duels and 87.5% of his duels overall.

The forward also lost possession of the ball every 2.7 touches and failed to complete any of his three dribbles before he was hooked by Rangnick in the 64th minute, being replaced by Anthony Elanga.

It has been reported that the 24-year-old is intending to leave Old Trafford this summer after coming through the club’s academy and breaking through into the first team; and when you consider the season he is having, it would be no surprise if his desire to leave the club will be heard and delivered by United.

Rangnick will need to hope that the teams immediately ahead of them suffer the same fate during their fixtures this weekend to give his side a slight chance of redemption to keep their Champions League chances intact. One thing is for sure; Rashford did not do United’s top-four push too many favours today.

In other news – “Erik ten Hag has..”: Romano drops exciting Man Utd update this morning, it’s great news

West Ham United remain interested in a deal to bring Layvin Kurzawa to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by French media outlet Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness), who claim that David Moyes’ side remain in the race for the Paris Saint-Germain left-back this month, although the 29-year-old is not believed to be near the top of the 58-year-old’s list of targets in the current market.

The report goes on to state that the likes of Lazio, Inter Milan and Napoli are all also interested in a move for the France international, while Chelsea are believed to have rejected the chance to sign the former AS Monaco defender.

He’d be a huge upgrade

While Kurzawa may not be high on Moyes’ list of priorities in the January window, with the Irons manager prioritising the signing of a centre-back and centre-forward this month, considering the experience and ability the signing of the 29-year-old would bring to the left of the Hammers’ backline, it would appear highly advisable for the boss to indeed make a move for the PSG defender this month.

While it is true that the £8.1m-rated man has struggled to hold down a starting spot in the PSG side in recent seasons, he has nevertheless demonstrated previously that, when given the opportunity to do so, he can be an extremely useful player for a side challenging at the top of the league table.

Indeed, over his 19 Ligue 1 appearances in his debut campaign following a £22.5m move from AS Monaco back in 2015, the £89k-per-week left-back scored four goals, registered five assists and created six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

The defender also impressed in metrics more typical of his position that season, helping his side keep seven clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 3.3 interceptions, 2.7 tackles, 2.2 clearances, 43.4 passes and winning 7.2 duels per fixture – with a success rate of 62%.

These returns saw the player who labelled himself as a little “crazy” earn a rather astonishing seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.49, ranking him as the fourth-best player in the entirety of the French top-flight that year.

As such, should Moyes be able to help Kurzawa refind this form following a potential switch to West Ham this winter, the 29-year-old would not only appear to be a huge upgrade on Arthur Masuaku, but he could well push the Hammers’ first-choice left-back, Aaron Cresswell, for his starting spot at the London Stadium.

In other news: Moyes must now launch WHU bid for £46k-p/w “phenomenon” as key transfer twist emerges

Newcastle put in a valiant display on Monday night as they held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park in the Premier League.

It was a result which ended a run of three successive defeats for the Magpies, having lost to Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City in recent weeks.

Allan Saint-Maximin handed Eddie Howe’s side the lead in the first half as he improvised a stunning finish into the top corner whilst falling off balance. However, Edinson Cavani equalised in the second half for the away side as he collected a rebound from his own shot to slice an effort into the corner, with Martin Dubravka given no chance to save it.

Both teams had chances to win the match, with Jacob Murphy hitting the post and David de Gea producing a stunning save from Miguel Almiron, whilst Cavani fluffed an opportunity to score after Dubravka dropped the ball at Jadon Sancho’s feet in the penalty box.

Lightweight

Despite an impressive showing from the Magpies, one player who let Howe down on the night against Ralf Rangnick’s team was Javier Manquillo, who lined out at left-back.

For the equalising goal, the Spaniard was dragged out of position initially by Cavani and was left scrambling to get across to Diego Dalot on the switch. He then failed to stop the cross as he turned his body and allowed the Portuguese full-back to produce a cutback to the Uruguayan striker, who eventually turned the ball into the back of the net.

This shows that the 27-year-old was partly to blame for Newcastle failing to pick up all three points as he was unable to stop Dalot from creating the goal. However, this was not the only error in his game as his all-around performance was lacking in quality.

Defensively, he was poor throughout. As per SofaScore, he lost six of his 11 duels and was dribbled past a whopping four times in the match. This shows that he was a lightweight in his physical battles and was nowhere near good enough in his defending as he allowed himself to be beaten in the dribble on four separate occasions.

He also offered little in possession. As per SofaScore, he only completed 72% of his passes, with a mere 13 overall. He also failed to complete a single cross and failed with two of his four attempted dribbles. This aspect of his performance could be excused as he was playing on his weaker side, usually lining out at right-back, but it was a disappointing display from Manquillo all the same and he let Howe down with his performance.

AND in other news, Forget ASM: Newcastle’s “unplayable” beast who won 8 duels stole the show vs Man Utd…