All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

While Tottenham star Harry Kane continues to hunt down the goal-scoring record for England, one of his Three Lions teammates could well have been playing alongside him at club level: Ollie Watkins.

The 26-year-old was initially reported to be of interest for Spurs back in the summer of 2020 when Jose Mourinho was still in charge, and Football.London’s Alasdair Gold admitted at the time that the striker’s arrival in north London would tick a lot of boxes.

He said: “This makes more sense than the Benrahma links, with the 24-year-old Englishman having struck 26 goals in the Championship this season for Brentford.

“With his homegrown status he ticks a few boxes and could prove to be an exciting back-up or partner for Kane. As with Eze though, it would be all about that game time and other Premier League clubs would be able to offer more. Brentford reportedly value him and Benrahma at more than £25million each which would put off Spurs.”

Watkins would of course instead make the switch to fellow Premier League side Aston Villa where he has blossomed into a star earning international honours with England – the striker was of course on the score-sheet against Ivory Coast in mid-week when he started in place of the rested Kane.

In September of 2021, it was suggested that Spurs were back in for the Three Lions ace as they looked to bolster their attacking options, but once again, couldn’t strike a deal for the 26-year-old.

The striker was a key reason behind Villa’s successful campaign last year, bagging 16 goals in all competitions and netting in home and away fixtures against Liverpool (including a hat-trick at Villa Park) and also against Arsenal.

This season has seen him continue to be a fine performer for Steven Gerrard’s side, netting seven times in the top-flight, and scoring against the likes of Manchester City and Spurs themselves.

Dubbed a “machine”, the £75k-a-week earning Watkins has proven himself to be a fine Premier League striker in his time at Villa Park, and it certainly comes off as a bit of a disaster that Spurs saw two attempts at signing him fail to materialise.

The £34m-rated star would have been a perfect foil for Kane at Spurs.

AND in other news – Left for £0, now worth £40m: Spurs suffered huge howler over “very explosive” U21 star

Former Aston Villa man Alan Hutton has been reacting to an update regarding Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Villa interest

Steven Gerrard is preparing for a first full season in charge at Villa Park and seemingly has his eye on a move for Phillips.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/aston-villa-latest-developments/” title=”Aston Villa latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Reports towards the end of March suggested that Villa are leading Newcastle and West Ham in the race to sign the England international and are willing to pay Leeds £60m for his services.

Villa are also prepared to pay the 26-year-old a whopping £10m a year in wages, with Phillips now in the process of changing agents.

The Latest: Hutton reacts to update

The Telegraph revealed last week that contract talks between Leeds and Phillips have stalled. Hutton, who contributes for Sky Sports News, had this to say to FI on that news and Villa’s interest, believing Leeds fans ‘won’t be happy’.

“I can’t see it, if I’m totally honest. Leeds fans won’t be happy with that.

“But in this situation at the moment, they’re eight points outside the relegation zone. There are still teams below them with games in hand.

“I think they’ve done enough and I think they will stay up. But for Kalvin Phillips, as a footballer moving forward, he’s very capable of taking a step up.

“He’s a fully-fledged international player. If he wants to keep that spot, he needs to be playing at a high level.

“Are Aston Villa at that level at this moment in time? No, they aren’t, but that’s where they’re trying to get to.

“To get to that next stage, they have to be looking at players like Kalvin Phillips to make them better. I totally understand why they’re going for him. It’ll be interesting to see if they could get over the line.”

The Verdict: Coup

Bringing Phillips to Villa Park over the coming months could be a major coup by NSWE. He was named England’s Player of the Year for 2020/21 and has starred in the Premier League for the Whites.

Leeds have struggled without their star midfielder in recent months, who had to watch on from the sideline as Villa strolled to a 3-0 win at Elland Road last month.

He may have been impressed with Villa that night, and with just two defensive midfielders on the books at Bodymoor Heath, bringing in the Leeds man could be a wise move as NSWE prepare to back Gerrard this summer.

In other news: Gerrard tells another Aston Villa star he can leave in shock Bodymoor Heath development. 

[ad_pod ]

Liverpool fans are gearing up for another transfer saga, after Lille manager Christophe Galtier dropped a cheeky hint over the future of Nicolas Pepe.

Pepe will be one of the hottest prospects on the market this summer, as the winger has slammed in 16 goals and eight assists in 25 Ligue 1 appearances this season.

The 23 year-old has electric pace and has developed quite the eye for goal, and he has already been linked with several top clubs, most notably Arsenal, while the Reds have also been tenuously linked.

Roberto Firmino has thrown a party themed around the colour of his teeth! Watch the video below to find out what we’re talking about…

Liverpool fans are now hoping they are in the race after Galtier’s comments, as the manager said Pepe will play in red next season.

“He has to go to a club in the Champions League. In my view, he does not need an intermediary step to go to the highest possible level,” Galtier said, as reported by GFFN.

“I could see him playing for a team who plays in red that likes having wide players playing on the wing of their weaker foot.”

Of course, Liverpool play in red and use Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah on “the wing of their weaker foot” as Galtier put it, so fans are all over this one.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Newcastle United are facing a major setback before their Premier League clash against Aston Villa this weekend.

What’s the story?

Eddie Howe’s side registered an impressive 3-1 victory at home to Everton in mid-week, with Kieran Trippier scoring a sublime freekick. However, the England international did appear to pick up a little niggle, and was forced off in the final few minutes of the contest.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Magpies boss said: “I think Kieran’s got a slight calf issue. He motioned that he needed to come off, so we’ll have to see how that is.

“It would be devastating to lose him in the form he’s in.”

Big blow for Howe

Aside from the superb free-kick against the Toffees, Trippier has brought a steely resolve and leadership at the back for Newcastle – something they desperately need in the second-half of this Premier League season.

While it is only a small sample size of three Premier League games, as per Whoscored, his average match rating of 7.88 is by far the highest of any Newcastle player this season.

He also ranks top for tackles and interceptions made per game, and is also right at the top for key passes too – the kind of all-action displays from right-back that have had the St James’ Park faithful purring.

And, speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Pete O’Rourke admitted that being without Trippier for a significant amount of time would be a major blow for the Magpies.

He said: “I think it would be a big blow to Eddie Howe. Trippier has come and really slotted straight into the team. He has been a big improvement on what they’ve got.”

With momentum well and truly on their side, Howe will be desperate to keep things going when his side take on Villa, and being without Trippier for that game, and potentially longer, would leave him very worried indeed.

Meanwhile, Newcastle must finally sell this star…

Former England striker Kevin Phillips expects West Brom to sign a tailor-made replacement for goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Johnstone on the move?

The 29-year-old has been a brilliant servant for the Baggies, standing out as one of his side’s best players in recent years and earning a call-up to the England squad.

While West Brom have had a season to forget in 2021/22, Johnstone has again stood out at times, starting 36 Championship matches in total.

With the Englishman’s contract expiring at the end of the season, it is widely expected that he will leave the Hawthorns, with Tottenham strongly linked with a move.

The Latest: Phillips expects replacement

Speaking to West Brom News, ex-Baggies man Phillips, who also works as a pundit for Sky Sports, admitted he expects a replacement for Johnstone to come in, even if it isn’t necessarily a priority:

“I think there is enough there. There’s a statement to be made there, one top keeper goes out and you replace him with another one. It’s just whether you want to use the funds to strengthen in other areas, which I think, whoever in charge will probably do that.

“I’m sure they would look at another keeper to bring in if one fell in their lap, but I don’t think it will be a priority to get one immediately.”

The Verdict: Signing must come in

In truth, not replacing Johnstone with an equally adept ‘keeper would feel negligent by West Brom, given the influence that a top-quality stopper can have.

They can make a huge difference in a season, as the likes of Alisson and Ederson show at Liverpool and Manchester City, and the Baggies’ current squad options are not at their current No.1’s level. David Button hasn’t started more than 20 league games in a season since 2017/18, for example.

It would be a huge surprise if West Brom trusted those playing second fiddle and it is imperative that someone of a similar standard to Johnstone comes in instead.

In other news, West Brom are set for talks with one player over a summer move. Read more here.

Manchester City appear to have won the race for long-term Aston Villa transfer target Julian Alvarez.

That’s according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, and a number of Villa fans have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

Villa have been linked with the River Plate attacker since the summer, with the player’s agent Fernando Hidalgo reportedly planning to speak to the Midlands club over a potential move. However, it is Pep Guardiola’s side who look set to announce an €18.5m (£15.43m) transfer for the 21-year-old, who scored 24 goals and registered 18 assists in 2021.

Romano revealed on Tuesday evening that an agreement has been reached with the Premier League champions, and Alvarez will pen a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium before returning to River Plate on loan until the summer.

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply to Romano’s post regarding Alvarez, with many of them not exactly thrilled and some thinking it could be a mistake not landing him over the summer.

“Being violently sick right now.”

Credit: @AVFCFaithful_

“Nothing to be said, we bottled it. Now we must get Aaron Hickey in the summer before City do.”

Credit: @ZM_AVFC

“Made a big mistake signing others over him”

Credit: @Jamie_UTV

“I hope it’s because he was never going to sign for us. Otherwise, yeah. Nauseating.”

Credit: @nallivdam

“He won the Ballon D’or for us in my FIFA 21 Villa career. I thought it was a sign when we were linked to him.. clearly not”

Credit: @charliepowellm1

“We had a chance and bottled it.”

Credit: @MogarFinley

In other news: ‘Yessss’ – Many Villa fans buzzing as John Percy shares ‘amazing’ transfer news

Leeds United are ‘stepping up their interest’ in colossal FC Koln defender Timo Hubers, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Leeds links

The Whites are thought to be planning a defensive overhaul this summer ahead of Jesse Marsch’s first full season in charge after conceding 68 times in 32 Premier League games.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-42/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Robin Koch has been linked with an Elland Road departure, while Hubers has been name-checked as a potential target.

Leeds are one of five Premier League sides who are thought to be tracking the 25-year-old, who is at the top of his game with a career-high £2.7m Transfermarkt valuation, and it looks as if Victor Orta and co are increasing their interest.

The Latest: Source shares update

FI shared a story on Sunday morning regarding Leeds and Hubers after being informed by a recruitment source.

They claimed that Leeds officials watched the 6ft 3 defender in action for Koln on Saturday, scouting who Hubers has a £6.3m release clause in his current deal.

The Verdict: Whites possibly left impressed

Hubers actually scored an own goal in a 3-1 win for Koln, however, as per SofaScore, he was the best-rated defender on the pitch.

The German, labelled as an ‘exemplary’ professional by Hannover 96’s sporting director Gerhard Zuber, won seven duels, made five clearances, three interceptions and blocked two shots.

He also had more touches than any other player on the pitch, so Leeds scouts could have left Germany impressed with Hubers ahead of a possible £6.3m summer swoop.

In other news: Phil Hay: Marsch now eyeing Leeds move for ‘quality’ rising star alongside Aaronson. 

Everton defender Nathan Patterson once again impressed for Scotland last night, with BBC Sport Scotland naming him man of the match after the Tartan Army drew 1-1 with Poland in an international friendly.

A 68th-minute goal from Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney appeared to be enough to secure a victory, but despite Krzysztof Piatek’s 94th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot, the performance was encouraging for Scottish fans, and also Evertonians who will be buzzing to see their £16m man shine for his country.

Former Scotland manager Craig Levein said during BBC’s live coverage of the game: “I really like when Scotland come down the right. Nathan Patterson has got the better of his opposite man, we just need to keep feeding him the ball. He’s had two shots, a couple of crosses, and been very effective.

“His attacking skills are probably the best part of his game. In a game with wing-backs where you’re trying to attack down the sides, he’s very, very useful.”

Given 33-year-old Seamus Coleman’s inconsistent form, which has seen him average a poor 6.5 Sofascore match rating in the last four games, it is hugely surprising that Patterson has made just one appearance for the Toffees so far, particularly as he is viewed to be the Irishman’s successor.

The Guardian journalist Ewan Murray spoke of the 20-year-old’s continued omission by Frank Lampard after the Scotland match on Thursday night, saying: “Nathan Patterson’s absence from the Everton team is even more bizarre when you watch him playing like this.”

It’s hard to disagree with that statement after the former Rangers prospect terrorised Spezia left wing-back Arkadiusz Reca, also working Bologna shot-stopper Lukasz Skorupski, having had three shots on target and sending in a number of teasing crosses.

Lampard will surely have taken note of the 20-year-old’s “mobile and aggressive” performance, in the words of Patrick Boyland, with a view to giving him an opportunity in the first team – which you could argue is severely lacking mobility and aggression as they continue to flirt with the relegation zone.

In other news: Everton make contact with “complete” £16.2m-rated star, Lampard desperately needs him

David Moyes’ West Ham United side secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with what can only be described as an embarrassing 2-1 victory against National League North side Kidderminster Harriers after extra time on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, a 91st-minute Declan Rice strike levelled the tie with essentially the last kick of normal time after Alex Penny had given the hosts a well-deserved lead in the first half. Jarrod Bowen then replicated his team-mate’s feat in extra time, with the 25-year-old’s 121st-minute winner with what was practically the last kick of the game just about enough to get the Hammers over the line.

However, as is to be expected after such a narrow victory against a team 113 places below them in the English football pyramid, a number of Irons players turned in extremely underwhelming performances against their non-league opponents. Issa Diop, who was hooked at half-time; Nikola Vlasic, who spent the afternoon in Penny’s pocket; and Andriy Yarmolenko, who yet again offered nothing going forwards, were arguably the worst of a bad bunch.

While both Diop and Vlasic will certainly be hoping to put their displays behind them as quickly as possible, it was Yarmolenko’s disasterclass which stood out the most this afternoon. The 32-year-old’s performance on the right wing was undoubtedly one of his worst in his time with West Ham, which is saying something in itself given his atrocious season so far.

Lost the ball every 3.6 touches

While it is true that the forward’s wayward strike ultimately led to Aaron Cresswell squaring the ball for Bowen to tap home the last-gasp winner, this was certainly not a conscious decision, although it was the only thing of note that the £100k-per-week Ukrainian offered his team at Aggborough Stadium.

Indeed, over the course of his 120 minutes on the pitch, the £3.15m-rated winger had 40 touches of the ball, just four more than Alphonse Areola between the West Ham sticks. He completed a mere 24 passes – 44 fewer than Rice, who came on at half-time – and ceded possession on 11 separate occasions, meaning the 32-year-old lost the ball once for every 3.6 touches.

The Ukraine international also failed to have a single shot on target, failed to find his man with his one attempted long ball and his three attempted crosses, won just two of his four duels and attempted to win his team a penalty with one of the most shameful dives imaginable – with Dion Dublin labelling this incident as “embarrassing.”

These returns saw Yarmolenko earn a disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.7, Considering that he was up against a non-league centre-back playing out of position on the left in Caleb Richards, that rating is completely unacceptable.

Indeed, if we were in Moyes’ shoes, the former Borussia Dortmund attacker would be getting nowhere near a matchday squad for the remainder of the current campaign, before being sold to the first bidder this summer. Yarmolenko simply does not deserve to play for the Hammers again after Saturday.

In other news – “All I can say is”: Moyes finally addresses transfer failures, West Ham fans won’t be happy

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Kalvin Phillips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that Antonio Conte is a big fan of the Leeds United defensive midfielder, with the 26-year-old believed to be on Fabio Paratici’s list of targets ahead of the upcoming transfer market.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-martinez-dybala-spence-conte-2” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

However, the report goes on to state that it is questionable whether Daniel Levy would be willing to offer the England international a similar salary to the one Manchester United will likely put forward to the Whites academy graduate.

Conte’s dream signing

Considering just how impressive Phillips has been for Leeds in recent years, in addition to the midfielder possessing a skill set that would appear to suit Conte’s brand of football seamlessly, it is easy to see why the 52-year-old would be keen on a deal for the deep-lying playmaker this summer.

While injury has seen the 26-year-old make just 14 Premier League appearances this season, Phillips proved last season that he is undoubtedly one of the best holding midfielders currently playing the game.

Indeed, over his 29 top-flight fixtures last term, the £45m-rated talent was the Whites’ standout performer, making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 2.6 tackles, 1.7 clearances and winning 5.3 duels – at a success rate of 52% – per fixture.

The £38k-per-week Englishman also highly impressed in a creative capacity, bagging one goal, providing two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as completing an average of 1.2 key passes, 4.7 long balls, 41 passes and 0.7 dribbles per outing.

These returns saw the player who Nigel de Jong dubbed a “baller” and Adam Crafton labelled “stunning” average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.21, not only ranking him as Leeds’ best performer in the league but also as the ninth-best midfielder in the division as a whole.

Indeed, with Phillips being a tough-tackling, tireless and incredibly creative defensive midfielder, it is clear to see just how well the England sensation would fit into Conte’s tactical setup at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As such, it would appear highly advisable for Paratici to do all he can to convince Levy to stump up the 26-year-old’s £60m asking price, as Phillips would certainly be Conte’s dream signing for Spurs this summer.

AND in other news: “100%” – Fabrizio Romano drops Spurs transfer claim that will leave supporters buzzing