All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Celtic are in a good position to secure the Scottish Premiership title at the end of the season under the management of Ange Postecoglou.

With 33 games played, the Hoops have won 26, drawn four and lost three, putting them six points clear at the top of the league table.

The Bhoys also boast the best attacking and defensive records in the league, with more goals scored than any other side as well as the fewest conceded.

However, moving into the latter stages of the campaign, it seems as though Celtic may have to get through their next round of fixtures without one player who has contributed to both the Hoops’ impressive attacking and defensive output this season.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football Scotland, Josip Juranovic will struggle for fitness before mid-May as a result of a knock he picked up during Celtic’s recent Scottish Cup semi-final defeat against Rangers.

The report also claimed that the full-back is a “major doubt” for the Old Firm Derby between the two Glasgow clubs next month.

Terrible news for Postecoglou

Since arriving at the Parkhead club last summer, the right-back has gone on to make 35 appearances across all competitions for the Bhoys.

Over these outings, the defender has scored five goals and provided two assists, showing what a useful attacking presence he can be in the team.

To further highlight how impressive the Croatian has been for his new club, no other Celtic player has managed to win more tackles (28) in the league than Juranovic, who also has more shots at goal (36) than any other Hoops defender.

This shows just how effective the 26-year-old is up and down the pitch and why it will be a major blow for Postecoglou to potentially have him out of action for the next few weeks.

Moving forward, with the full extent of the defender’s injury is yet to be established, everyone at the Parkhead club will undoubtedly have their fingers crossed that it’s not an overly serious issue, and that he will be able to recover as soon as possible to help his side in their bid secure the league title.

AND in other news: £2.2m wasted: Celtic had a mare over 32 y/o once dubbed “the next Henrik Larsson”

Following on from their 2-1 defeat against Oxford Town at the weekend in their latest League One match that saw an injury-time winner snatch the points away from the Yorkshire club, Sheffield Wednesday now turn their attention to the Papa John’s Trophy for a clash against League Two club Mansfield Town.

For the match, we expect Owls manager Darren Moore to make some changes to the team that started against Oxford.

On The Chalkboard

One player that started against Oxford that we feel should be dropped from the team in midweek is Owls defender Dominic Iorfa.

The defender failed to make any tackles or block any shots at the weekend in what was a far from productive outing.

Furthermore, he was poor with the ball at his feet, only completing 18 out of the 36 passes he attempted and lost possession on 19 occasions, ultimately earning himself a rather underwhelming overall match rating of 6.4/10. That made him Wednesday’s joint-lowest rated outfield player on the day according to SofaScore alongside Dennis Adeniran.

Consequently, we feel it could be beneficial if Iorfa were to sit out the game against Mansfield.

Wednesday signed Iorfa back in the 2019 January transfer window from Premier League club Wolves for an undisclosed fee.

Since then, the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.35m according to Transfermarkt and described as “unbelievable” by teammate Barry Bannan, has made 81 appearances for Wednesday across all competitions in which he has managed to score five goals and provide three assists along the way.

Back in August, the defender put pen to paper on a new deal that will now see him stay at the club until 2023.

So far this season, Iorfa has played 90 minutes in all of Wednesday’s league games and played 68 minutes in their previous Papa John’s Trophy match against Newcastle United’s U23 side. Yet, after his shoddy performance, it’s perhaps time for a night off.

Looking ahead to the match against Mansfield, a team who have struggled in their League Two campaign so far this season having won just two of their opening 10 league games, we feel that due to Iorfa’s disappointing display against Oxford, Moore should consider keeping the defender out of the firing line.

That would give the manager a chance to rest him so he’s fully ready for Wednesday’s next league outing against Bolton Wanderers at the weekend. After all, the centre-back is still key to their promotion hopes this term.

In other news: Bannan axed, £5.3k-p/w gem starts in 6 changes: Predicted Sheff Weds XI vs MTFC – opinion

West Ham United face fresh competition over one of their latest striker targets…

What’s the word?

Over the weekend, the Irons were linked with a move for former Premier League frontman Salomon Rondon, formerly of Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion.

The Daily Mail believe the east Londoners are one of several teams eyeing up a return for the Venezuelan international.

And now, according to Sky Sports’ Transfer Centre (29th August, 18:19), Rondon’s former manager Rafa Benitez is thought to be lining up a swoop for his old striker in a bid to add some depth to his attack.

The 31-year-old is currently on-loan to Russian side CSKA Moscow but talks are said to be ‘ongoing’ with the Toffees.

Sullivan must act

If the Hammers are to end David Moyes’ striker nightmare, then it’s time for the club’s majority shareholder, David Sullivan, to take matters into his own hands to provide his boss with the tools he requires.

It’s no secret that the Scotsman is absolutely desperate for a new forward. He may well have remained coy about the prospects in recent interviews but you have to imagine he’s a little nervous heading into a potential 50-plus game campaign with only one senior option – Michail Antonio.

And whilst the 31-year-old talisman has started the season like a house on fire, with four goals and three assists to lead the goalscoring charts in the Premier League, many will be expecting his injury problems to come to the surface at some point.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-west-ham-news-transfer-rumours-the-latest-gossip-and-much-much-more-2” title= “Read the latest West Ham team and injury news, transfer rumours, gossip and much, much more!”]

Since the 2017/18 campaign, Antonio has failed to surpass 24 league starts, per WhoScored, and that’s all down to persistent niggles and knocks.

Last season, for example, he missed ten matches through injury yet still finished at Moyes’ joint-top goalscorer on ten goals. His presence is certainly needed in this squad but a solid backup option would be very beneficial.

Rondon isn’t a name that’s going to have fans at the London Stadium super excited but at the very least, it should allow Moyes to rotate his line-up in competitions such as the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Europa League in a bid to improve on last season’s incredible sixth-place finish.

The 83-cap international has a respectable record in the English top-flight, where he has delivered 35 goals across four straight seasons for the Magpies.

His form up north earned the tag of him being a “swashbuckling” centre-forward with qualities similar to that of Les Ferdinand by Lee Clark, via ChronicleLive in 2019.

At 6 foot 1 with target man qualities – he has an average of 2.8 aerial duels won per game throughout his career – the towering colossus would also offer Moyes something different in attack, so he too could change matches in the Premier League.

Valued at just £4.5m by Transfermarkt, Rondon could be the perfect, easy and cheap stop-gap solution to the Irons’ ongoing striker situation. But given interest from his former boss Benitez, GSB will have to act fast.

AND in other news, West Ham “unlikely” to move for this mooted target, fans won’t be happy…

Football Insider pundit Kevin Phillips has been reacting to Celtic and Rangers’ reported interest in Millwall star Jed Wallace.

The Lowdown: Wallace links

Football League World shared a report regarding Wallace just a day after Dominic McKay left his position as Celtic CEO.

They claimed that a number of English clubs, as well as Celtic and Rangers, were all interested in securing Wallace’s services.

The 27-year-old is out of contract next summer and has already been involved in six Championship goals in eight appearances this season.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-13/” title=”Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Latest: Phillips reacts

Phillips was asked by Football Insider if right-midfielder Wallace would be a good signing for either Celtic or Rangers.

The former forward labelled Wallace as a ‘top’ player and backed him to ‘shine’ if he moved to Scotland.

“Wallace has been a top player for Millwall over the past few years. He has proved to be a good signing for them.

“I think he would shine if he went up there. He has all of the attributes to move up to Scotland, settle in quickly and do really well.”

However, the 48-year-old then went on to name-check Rangers ahead of Celtic, labelling a possible free transfer as a no-brainer.

“We know he possesses a lot of quality so if he goes up to Rangers, which I can see happening, Steven Gerrard will be getting a player who can slot into that squad quickly.

“On a free it really would be a no-brainer.”

The Verdict: January battle?

Both Glasgow sides could hold an advantage over interested English clubs due to cross border rules.

Should Wallace’s situation remain the same, both the Hoops and the Gers would be able to discuss pre-contract terms with the Englishman in the New Year, something clubs down south wouldn’t be able to do.

On that basis, a winter window battle between Celtic and Rangers could be on the cards.

In other news: 12 games out – Ange handed more Celtic injury problems as update emerges.

Loads of Liverpool fans have been left furious on Twitter as reports claim a number of Reds superstars could miss as many as eight games due to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been in simply blistering form so far this season, as the former became the first Reds player in history to score in nine consecutive matches thanks to his brace in Madrid on Tuesday.

The Egypt international has now bagged 12 times and added four assists in all competitions this term, while Mane has been no slouch either, chipping in with six goals.

Of course, fears have been prevalent amongst the Liverpool fan base about how many matches the pair could miss this winter, along with Naby Keita, and now The Athletic are reporting that number could be as many as eight.

According to the report from Adam Leventhal, AFCON participants will leave their Premier League clubs soon after the final whistle blows on the Boxing Day fixtures due to FIFA rules, and may not return until the second week of February.

With Harvey Elliott injured, this will leave Jurgen Klopp with few options in attack during the hectic winter fixture period, likely having to rely on the likes of Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino to deputise through January.

Reds fans erupt at AFCON update

Unsurprisingly, these Liverpool fans had plenty to say about the news as it was shared on Twitter by James Pearce, with one supporter calling it an ‘absolute joke’…

“2 games they said? Whats this 8 games rubbish, AFCON is a disgrace playing during normal leagues,every year”

Credit: @jaymgs12

“If it’s actually 8 games you might as well throw the season away”

Credit: @youraverag1

“So Salah and Mane likely to miss 6 PL games! Just concentrate on the Champions League then i guess. No way we’re coping without Salah especially for that long”

Credit: @AKayani07

“In a season where Mo is the best player in the planet and Mane isn’t far behind, them two leaving for the afcon will have the biggest negative impact on our title challenge, ever. We don’t have enough depth to lose both for over a month. But what alternative do we have ?”

Credit: @guycalledting

“What an absolute joke this is. Makes it even worse we didn’t bring in an attacker in the summer. Why on earth is this taking place in the middle of a league season”

Credit: @LFJFT96

“our season is finished we aren’t winning anything this season and will finish 4th”

Credit: @lfcd25

In other news, you won’t believe who the referee is for Liverpool vs Man United this weekend…

Aston Villa must keep hold of Frederic Guilbert in this summer transfer window despite Gabby Agbonlahor’s recent claim.

What’s the story?

The 26-year-old spent last season on loan at Ligue 1 side Strasbourg and has since then reintegrated himself back into Dean Smith’s squad, even starting in the Carabao Cup second-round clash against Barrow on Tuesday night.

Despite that, former Villa man Agbonlahor has suggested that Guilbert could be one to depart in the final few days of the transfer window.

He said: “Dean Smith will want to keep a big squad of players. With Conor Hourihane, if you look at the midfield, there’s no reason why he cannot break into the team. He’s got the quality and done it in the Premier League before. Everyone knows how good Conor is.

“Maybe Guilbert might be one that goes out. You do have Tuanzebe as cover for Matty Cash and Ashley Young can play there. But apart from that, I don’t see any other players leaving.”

Would be a big mistake from Dean Smith

The £40k-a-week earning ace was a stand-out presence in Villa’s 6-0 thrashing of Barrow in mid-week, looking a constant threat down the right-hand side, and helping himself to a goal and an assist to boot too.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for The Birmingham Mail, Ashley Preece gave him an eight, saying: “Always keen to provide an outlet down the right, Guilbert didn’t always get it right – but when he did, the goods followed. One low cross in the first half was too close to the keeper, but his stood up ball for El Ghazi’s second goal was on the money. Took his goal superbly.”

Guilbert showed the kind of attacking instincts and energy that you wouldn’t necessarily get from someone like Tuanzebe who’s a centre-back by trade, or even a Young who at 36, is hardly going to be bombing up and down the flank.

The Frenchman seems like the most natural cover to Cash now that Ahmed Elmohamady is left, and were he to leave even on a loan deal this summer, it would leave Villa very short of quality options at right-back.

It could prove to be a costly mistake.

Meanwhile, Villa could sign their new Benteke in this star…

Under the new ownership of Serbian media mogul Dragan Solak and his company Sport Republic, Southampton could see some new investments being made to their squad in the near future to improve Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

However, it seems as though the south coast club could have a fight on their hands to keep hold of one of their star players.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Spanish media outlet Fichajes, fellow Premier League clubs Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing James Ward-Prowse in the next summer transfer window.

As a product of Southampton’s youth system, Ward-Prowse has gone on to make a total of 344 senior appearances for the Saints across all competitions, scoring 39 goals and providing 45 assists along the way, easily cementing himself as a crucial figure for the club and prove that Hasenhuttl would not be pleased to potentially see him go to another club.

Saints calamity

His latest appearance for Hasenhuttl’s side saw the Englishman score a brilliant free-kick in their 3-1 defeat against Wolves at the weekend and although they lost, it defined the captain’s importance to the squad.

Having scored 12 Premier League free-kicks in his career, Ward-Prowse’s previous efforts have been labelled as “unbelievable” by Darren Ambrose and thus, seeing him leave would be quite the disaster.

Interest in the midfielder isn’t new either, with the Saints turning down a bid of £25m for the 27-year-old last summer from Aston Villa last summer showing just how reluctant they were to let him go even before he signed a new contract.

This suggests that it would take a massive amount of money for any club to sign Ward-Prowse, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £100k-per-week according to Salary Sport, anytime soon but still be a worry for them if it were to happen.

With that in mind, this should ease any worries the Southampton supporters may have about the club captain’s future at St. Mary’s.

If Ward-Prowse did join another Premier League club in the future in the same way that the likes of Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Jannik Vestergaard and Danny Ings have done in recent years, this would surely be something that would leave Hasenhuttl enraged.

It’s safe to say this would not be a good start to the Solak ownership on the south coast.

In other news: Solak could land the next Broja at Southampton with swoop for £3.6m-rated beast – opinion

Rumoured Wolves transfer target Donny van de Beek will leave Manchester United in January, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Van de Beek linked with Wolves move

The Dutchman has endured a hugely disappointing United career, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seemingly not rating him as a player. Van de Beek has appeared in the Premier League for just 15 minutes this season and it looks as though his future lies away from Old Trafford.

Wolves have been linked with a move for the 24-year-old, with Bruno Lage seeing him as someone who could add undoubted quality to his squad.

The Latest: Romano gives significant update

Taking to Twitter over the weekend, Romano confirmed that Van de Beek is likely to leave United in January unless his current situation changes

The journalist claimed: “Donny van de Beek situation is so clear. He loves the club and he’s still super professional in training, doing his best for Man Utd – but if the situation remains the same, he will leave Manchester United in January.”

It isn’t specified whether a loan or permanent exit could be on the cards, but either way, it could alert Wolves.

The Verdict: Snap him up, Wolves

Van de Beek’s stock has understandably fallen in recent times but he is still someone who could be an excellent signing for Wolves, not least because of the attacking threat he offers. He plundered 28 goals and 21 assists in his final three Eredivisie campaigns at Ajax – by comparison, Wolves’ entire midfield registered six goals and two assists in the 2020/21 Premier League.

The Dutchman also has three goals to his name for the Netherlands and was a key part of a wonderful Ajax team which so nearly reached the Champions League final back in 2019, scoring in the semi-final first leg against Tottenham.

Van de Beek might just need an arm around his shoulder and some regular playing time – if Bruno Lage could offer that, English football may suddenly see the best of him as he adds another dimension to Wolves’ midfield.

In other news, a worrying Wolves transfer update has emerged. Read more here.

Leeds United have been handed a boost over the fitness of midfielder Adam Forshaw…

What's the story?

Speaking after the win against Watford, Leeds boss Jesse Marsch said via Leeds Live that he thinks the player might be in training this week following a little calf issue and could play against Crystal Palace.

Now, former Whites ace Noel Whelan has delivered an update on the midfielder following his own sighting of him at Thorp Arch.

Speaking to Football Insider he revealed that he saw the player at coaching last night and appeared to have a big smile on his face.

He hailed the player’s in form status and stated that Forshaw had been doing a really good job in the centre of the pitch.

Meanwhile former manager Marcelo Bielsa himself has previously admitted just how influential he can be.

He said via Yorkshire Evening Post that Forshaw is a player who has always been one of the better players on the team and defenders in a similar way to Kalvin Phillips but is also quite similar to Mateusz Klich as well.

Given the kind of injury troubles he has sadly had over the last few seasons seeing him back on the pitch has been one of the real highlight stories of a difficult campaign for Bielsa.

It’s exactly why news that he looks fit and healthy should be greeted with a huge sigh of relief.

Leeds United are expecting to receive major offers for star man Kalvin Phillips this summer, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Return to training

The 26-year-old has missed the last six Premier League games with a hamstring injury but has now returned to training alongside Liam Cooper.

Leeds shared images of the pair all smiles at Thorp Arch in the week, with Phillips the subject of late interest in the January transfer window.

West Ham had a £50m bid turned down by Elland Road officials for Phillips late in the winter window, but Leeds are already bracing themselves for even bigger offers.

The Latest: Source shares update

Football Insider shared a story on Saturday where pundit Alan Hutton was giving his thoughts on Phillips’ future.

The outlet added that they were informed by a Leeds source the club are expecting major bids for the midfielder in the summer which are likely to exceed West Ham’s rejected bid.

The Verdict: A worry

Phillips revealed before the January market opened that he wants a new deal at Elland Road, however, as we know, that is yet to materialise.

His current contract is thought to be worth around £25,000-a-week and he hasn’t been handed improved terms since the club’s promotion to the Premier League. That could be a worry for the Whites, especially with interest now mounting in England’s Player of the Year.

Leeds fans will be hoping that Phillips remains in Yorkshire, however, the longer it goes on without a new deal, along with the recent update regarding big summer bids, means there may well be growing concern at Elland Road going into the 2022/23 campaign.

In other news: Leeds beast who Harvey Elliott recently praised may now leave permanently in summer – journalist.