All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Speaking to Polish news outlet Meczyki, West Ham United mainstay Lukasz Fabianski has made an intriguing comment involving Primeira Liga giants Benfica.

The Lowdown: Fabianski ‘untouchable’…

Despite the summer signing of Paris-Saint Germain shot stopper Alphonse Areola on a season-long loan with the option to buy, Hammers veteran Fabianski has remained one of the first names on manager David Moyes’ team sheet domestically.

This is despite a previous claim from Football Insider that the Scotsman was planning to steadily phase Areola into his starting eleven and eventually replace the ‘untouchable’ 36-year-old on a more regular basis.

Indeed, since signing from Swansea City back in 2018, the keeper has gone on to make 111 appearances in all competitions – but he has had opportunities to make a move elsewhere in that period.

The Latest: Fabianski drops Benfica admission…

Speaking to Meczyki, the former Arsenal man has lifted the lid on direct contact once made to sign him from Portuguese giants Benfica.

When asked about rumours of the specific offer from Portugal, Fabianski confirmed they were in fact real.

“Yes it’s true. It was after the first season at West Ham,” he explained.

“The people from Benfica contacted me directly and said they were interested in me.

“They wanted to discuss the details so I redirected them to my agent. He already had further talks, but to be honest I did not take this proposal seriously.”

The Verdict: Interesting admission…

Given Fabianski had opportunities to move elsewhere, as now confirmed by the man himself, the fact he chose to remain in east London, even during some of the darker days, should only endear him to Irons supporters more.

The keeper has gone on to become a good servant for Moyes and some fans may even be hoping he decides to extend his stay past 2022.

Whether that would be as a back-up to Areola or another new signing remains to be seen.

In other news: ‘Incredible’, ‘Bargain’…Pundit blown away as West Ham eye ‘very, very good signing’ for Moyes, find out more here.

Newcastle journalist Liam Kennedy has made a claim on Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli, regarding a potential January swoop.

What’s the talk?

When asked about whether or not the England international is a player the Magpies could target, the reporter told GIVEMESPORT:

“He’s exactly the profile of player they’ll be targeting in the first couple of windows.”

This comes after Danny Mills tipped the midfielder to leave Tottenham in January in order to recapture his best form. He told Football Insider:

“Yes, I think he needs a fresh challenge of some description.

“Don’t forget he was on fire, he was absolutely outstanding in his younger days, when he first came to Spurs.

“Somehow he needs to rediscover that mojo. That could well be a new club, a new challenge, a new set of fans, whatever it might be, to re-energise himself.”

Imagine him & Wilson

PIF must secure a deal for Alli in January because he could form a dream partnership with Callum Wilson at the top end of the pitch.

Wilson has scored 16 goals in 29 Premier League starts for the club since joining from Bournemouth at the start of last season, proving that he has the quality to be a regular goalscorer at this level. Imagine how many goals he would score if he had a playmaker behind him capable of providing him with a higher quality of service – that player could be Alli.

The Tottenham midfielder has enjoyed three top-flight seasons with nine or more assists and has 67 goals and 61 assists in all competitions for the club in 263 appearances. This shows that, at his best, he is able to score and create goals in the final third.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-newcastle-pif-news-martinez-ward-prowse” title= “Read the latest Newcastle news!”]

Ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino once claimed that Alli is a ‘fighter’ and that his mentality is not affected by his minutes on the pitch. He said:

“Dele is not one to be affected if he plays or if he does not play.

“He’s so strong, he is a fighter, very competitive.”

These comments suggest that he could stand up to the challenge of a relegation battle in the second half of the campaign. His quality in the number 10 role could help the Magpies avoid the drop, whilst creating a dream partnership with Wilson, proving in the past that he has the ability to regularly provide assists and the former Bournemouth man has shown that he can score goals.

Therefore, PIF must secure a deal for the £100k-per-week England international. If they could strike an agreement to sign him on loan with the option to make it permanent if they stay in the division, it could be an ideal transfer for all involved.

AND in other news, “Sources telling”: Journo drops major NUFC manager update that’ll leave fans ecstatic…

A report has shed further light on Fulham’s deadline day deal to bring Domingos Quina to Craven Cottage.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, Marco Silva’s side fought off competition from the likes of Southampton, LOSC Lille, Swansea City, AFC Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest in order to land the 21-year-old on the final day of the summer transfer window – with the Cottagers securing a season-long loan deal for the central midfielder, while also holding the option to purchase the Portugal U21 international next summer.

Major coup

Considering the sheer amount of potential Quina quite clearly possesses, the fact that Silva managed to fight off what appeared to be some extremely strong competition for the signing of the youngster this summer represents something of a real coup for the Championship side.

Indeed, with both Real Madrid and Barcelona having enquired about signing the 21-year-old prior to his move from West Ham United to Watford back in 2018, the £2.7m-rated man is a player who boasts impressive positional versatility – having been deployed at left-back, defensive midfield, left midfield, central midfield, right midfield, left-wing, right-wing and at centre forward during his time with the Hornets – the ability to score a variety of goals from almost any position around the penalty area and incredible athleticism – particularly his speed.

As such, while it may take a little while for the man Slaven Billic dubbed a “talented” player to establish himself as a first-team regular under Silva, having only played a handful of games over the past few seasons, it would undoubtedly appear as if the youngster could go on to play a key role for Fulham in the not too distant future, with his signing looking to be a very exciting one indeed.

In other news: Fulham issued warning on “fantastic” gem, Silva may be heading for unforgivable error

Crystal Palace have already given up hope of turning Conor Gallagher’s stay at Selhurst Park permanent next summer, according to pundit Carlton Palmer.

What’s the story?

The 21-year-old has impressed since joining the Eagles on a season-long loan back in July, playing a pivotal part as Patrick Vieira’s charges have risen to 12th in the Premier League table.

However, it now appears unlikely that Gallagher will be plying his trade in south London next term following a string of eye-catching performances, with ex-England international Palmer believing a return to parent club Chelsea is on the cards.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think they’re resigned to the fact that they won’t sign him permanently, that is for sure.

“I don’t believe that Chelsea will let him go permanently, so you’ve always got to be in the hunch and looking for good players.”

Crystal Palace fans will be gutted

Vieira made Gallagher one of his first acquisitions after arriving at the capital club, and his performances in the opening period of the campaign have illustrated why the 45-year-old tactician was so keen to secure his services.

Since being ruled out of action against Chelsea on the opening day of the season, Gallagher has started every league game for Palace, bagging six goals and laying on a further three assists in his 15 appearances.

The £17k-per-week gem’s outstanding performances at club level caught the eye of Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate, who rewarded him with his first senior England cap during the 10-0 thrashing of San Marino.

Therefore, with Gallagher’s growing importance to this improving Palace side, the club’s supporters will be extremely gutted about Palmer’s latest revelation.

He put pen to paper on a new five-year contract at Stamford Bridge last year following a breakout campaign on loan at West Bromwich Albion, meaning any potential suitor would have to pay a substantial fee to prise him away from his boyhood club.

It remains to be seen where Gallagher’s long-term future lies, but Palace will want to make the most out of the youngster during the limited time they have him at their disposal, before signing a worthy replacement ahead of 2022/23.

And, in other news…“Unbelievable” £30k-p/w beast is already solving Vieira’s big CPFC conundrum

Former All Leeds TV pundit Joe Wainman insists that Raphinha will end up playing for a club with ambitions of reaching the latter stages of the Champions League, and has tipped him to star for Brazil following his call-up this week.

Raphinha enjoyed an excellent first season in the Premier League following his £17m move from Rennes.

The flying winger made a total of 30 appearances in the top-flight and scored six goals, while also registering nine assists.

The 24-year-old has subsequently been linked away from the club, with Liverpool touted with an interest, and Wainman is unsurprised that big clubs are already exploring Raphinha as an option.

Indeed, he does not believe that he will be remaining with Leeds for the duration of his career, and thinks he will eventually move on to a truly elite club.

Raphinha has also yet to make an appearance for any Brazilian team, even at youth level, but that could changed after he received his maiden call-up this week.

The JustJoe Football Show host said: “I think he will be playing in a team that plays regularly in the Champions League, in the latter stages as well, I think he is that good.

“I still think it’s mad he’s only just been called up by Brazil. I think there’s something amiss there.

“I can understand why clubs are looking at him, why wouldn’t you? And £17 million? Wow.”

Liverpool are reportedly rivalling Barcelona for a deal to sign Lille midfielder Renato Sanches, according to Fabrizio Romano. 

The lowdown

Liverpool have reportedly held an interest in signing Lille midfielder Sanches this summer, and the midfielder could be available if the French club’s valuation of the 23-year-old are met.

Sanches has been with Lille since 2019, and has made 60 appearances in total for them. The Portugal international played his part in the club’s title-winning campaign last term, and it appears as though his showings haven’t gone unnoticed.

Liverpool will be looking to add depth to their midfield options in the near future, with the Reds struggling with injuries last season and having lost Georginio Wijnaldum this summer.

The latest

Speaking on the ‘Here we go podcast’, Romano has confirmed that Liverpool and Spanish giants Barcelona are interested in a deal to sign Sanches this summer.

Romano has also claimed that the price tag that Lille are looking for is in the region of €40million, with Liverpool having to sell players to fund new signings ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

“It’s Barcelona and Liverpool that are interested in Renato Sanches – but the price tag is around 40 million euros so we will see what happens in the coming days. For Liverpool, it’s important to sell players to sign new players.”

The verdict

Sanches could be the ideal replacement for Wijnaldum, who departed Anfield in favour of a move to French giants PSG.

Additional strength in depth is certainly needed within the Liverpool squad this term, as injuries were a major reason as to why they failed to retain their Premier League title from the 2019/20 campaign.

Sanches had an average Whoscored rating of 6.41 from the 2020/21 season, and at the age of 23, he could turn out to be a shrewd signing for the Reds in the long-term.

Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique labelled Sanches as a ‘great player’, before predicting that Jurgen Klopp could help him become a ‘world class’ player in the future.

“He always been a great player. If I’m not wrong he was named best player of the Under-21 tournament that he was involved.

“The problem he had is like many young players he had everything too quick and until he settled it took him few years, but it looks like the type of player that I believe Klopp can help him become a world class player.”

Many Glasgow Rangers fans were far from happy with the performance of Jordan Jones during their 1-0 pre-season defeat to Tranmere Rovers.

The Gers continued their pre-season plans with a match against Tranmere, who currently play in the English League Two. The Ibrox outfit beat Partick Thistle 1-0 in their first warm-up game last Monday, but they succumbed by the same scoreline on Merseyside as Kieron Morris scored the only goal of the game.

Jones played for the Gers against on Saturday, and it was fair to say that he did little to impress Steven Gerrard in this clash. Aside from creating a half-chance for Cedric Itten, the Northern Irishman appeared to have little impact on proceedings at Prenton Park (rangers.co.uk).

The 26-year-old spent the second half of last term on loan at Sunderland after he was banned for seven games for breaking lockdown regulations (BBC), and he has done little to repair his reputation so far.

These Rangers fans were disappointed with what the Northern Ireland international offered against Tranmere, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Jones

“I might get some stick for this but Jordan Jones will never be good enough to play for Rangers”

Credit: @HWGTerryMunro

“Kelly’s loan has clearly done him a world of good. The others not so much. Jones, Middleton, Edmundson, Barker, don’t see a future for any of them at Rangers”

Credit: @SasaHans89

“Jones and Barker didn’t show much again. Will be surprised if they are still Rangers players going into the season.”

Credit: @Conroy24948717

“I’d definitely agree. Jones, Edmunson, Barker and Itten all very wasteful.”

Credit: @DavRfc

“I would take that, Middleton shouldn’t be getting wrote off but Jones, Barker and Edmundson should definitely be sold”

Credit: @PocaDolly

“Again laid out for all the ‘give him a chance’ patrol. Jones – Not Good Enough Edmundson – Not Good Enough Barker – Not Good Enough”

Credit: @BMCRangersRants

In other news, Dave King slams some Rangers fans after this development.

Crystal Palace will look to make it back-to-back wins when they take on Liverpool at Anfield this afternoon.

The Eagles shocked Tottenham Hotspur last time out, securing an impressive 3-0 victory following Japhet Tanganga’s petulant red card, and new manager Patrick Vieira will be hoping to build on that result against the Reds.

However, Palace’s chances of doing exactly that suffered a blow when the Frenchman that confirmed Jeffrey Schlupp is ruled out of action through injury.

“Jeffrey Schlupp is getting better but is not going to be involved tomorrow,” Vieira revealed in Friday’s press conference.

“He didn’t have enough training with the squad, so will stay behind and do a session tomorrow, before getting with the team on Monday morning.”

At least the versatile midfielder is currently the only player sidelined through fitness concerns aside from long-term absentees Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson, providing Palace hope of pulling off another surprise result this weekend.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects Vieira to line up at Anfield, with two changes from the side which started against Spurs…

The dependable Vicente Guaita will keep his place between the sticks after a strong start to the season, ensuring that Jack Butland remains on the bench.

In front of the Spanish shot-stopper is set to be a back four which has shown plenty of promise over the last three Premier League fixtures.

Tyrick Mitchell, Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen and Joel Ward have kept two clean sheets in the three games that they’ve started together, showing signs of a potentially formidable defensive unit.

The midfield may see one change made from last weekend’s win, with Luka Milivojevic coming in for the £5.4m-rated Cheikhou Kouyate – who came in for criticism from some fans for his performance against Spurs – completing a hard-working trio including Conor Gallagher and James McArthur.

Completing the starting XI should be talisman Wilfried Zaha, Jordan Ayew and summer signing Odsonne Edouard after the Frenchman bagged a brace against Spurs despite coming on as a late substitute. He should start today in place of former Liverpool marksman Christian Benteke.

In other news… Signed for £26m, released for free: Parish endured a Palace nightmare over 31y/o dud 

With Bruno Lage now sitting comfortably in the Wolves hot seat, it’s time for the new manager to pick out some fresh faces.

He knows the Old Gold will have to act shrewdly in the transfer market so don’t expect too many marquee arrivals.

What’s the word?

One way Wolves could get around their limited finances is by signing players on loan or via a free transfer.

Back in January, the Old Gold were touted with a switch for Diego Costa. He’d left Atletico Madrid by mutual consent but a move was ultimately a non-starter due to his hefty wages.

However, according to Brazilian outlet UOL, Wolves are interested in acquiring the 32-year-old again.

Lage is targeting a more detailed internal evaluation of the striker in an attempt to work out whether a deal would be viable financially.

In recent weeks, Costa has been contacted by Benfica and Saudi club Al Nassr.

A boost for European hopes

Costa hasn’t played any football for the best part of six months now but it would be hard to turn down a man of his qualities.

The bullish Spain international is one of the biggest threats in European football, combining an expert way of finding the net with an aggressive and abrasive style of play.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-news-alena-dike-neves-barisic” title=”Real the latest Wolves transfer news!”]

Described as an “animal” by Jose Mourinho during his time with Chelsea, there is no better way to describe the way in which he plays football.

Capable of finding the back of the net on a regular basis, Costa is a player fit to fire Wolves back into Europe.

They ended last term in 13th place, far away from their goal of Europa League football. Nuno Santo was missing Raul Jimenez from November onwards while he recovered from a fractured skull but Costa would beef up the new manager’s options significantly.

After all, he is one of the most potent around. During his previous spell in England, the veteran racked up a tally of 52 goals in 89 Premier League appearances.

A large portion of those strikes helped Chelsea to two title wins; initially in 2014/15 and then in 2016/17.

Costa knows the aggressive nature of the Premier League inside out and is perfectly suited to succeed in English football.

Like Jimenez, he is capable of linking the play and his experience is exactly what Lage needs during his first campaign in the job.

There is no guarantee that Jimenez will return in the same vein of form so landing another forward is no bad idea.

AND in other news, Wolves eye swoop for “extraordinary” 23 y/o Mendes client, he may be their new Jimenez…

Many Everton fans have been flocking to a transfer update on Nikola Vlasic.

As per Bobsoccer.ru, a Russian news outlet, the Goodison Park faithful are considering buying him back from CSKA Moscow, after he was sold to them for £14.13m back in the summer window of 2019.

Vlasic has come off of the back of a great 2020/21 season, scoring no fewer than 12 goals and making a further six assists in 34 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

At 23 years of age, the Croatia international still has a lot of potential to fulfil, and given that he is an attacking midfield player, perhaps he can fill in for James Rodriguez when the Colombian is absent from the team.

The former Real Madrid superstar missed a fair chunk of last term through injury.

Everton fans on Vlasic transfer update

These Merseyside club supporters flocked to the transfer update as it was shared on Twitter, with one Toffee even going as far as to claim that Vlasic is a ‘class’ player:

“Terrible decision to sell him. Bought Lookman and Vlasic for good prices and then never made use of them.”

Credit: @marchy27

“We shouldn’t of sold him in the first place. Fully open to him returning”

Credit: @_NateTweets

“Absolute class he is, wasn’t given a chance when he was here”

Credit: @PHardwit

“Boss player btw, just a mad story”

Credit: @ShoeyEFC1234

“Didn’t get a proper chance at us! Same with Moise Kean! Get him back!”

Credit: @TurpoEFC

“Why did we actually sell him? We didn’t need to sell him, we could see that he was going to be a good player and he is only 23 now”

Credit: @hmmmm123456543

In other news, find out which PL-winning manager the Toffees have contacted here!