All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

According to a report from Turkish outlet Fanatik (via the Liverpool Echo), Liverpool are interested in signing Getafe striker Enes Unal. 

The lowdown: Career so far

The 24-year-old has taken a rather nomadic path to stardom having moved to Manchester City from Bursaspor for £2million in 2015 (Sky Sports).

Since then, Unal has spent time on loan at Genk, NAC Breda and FC Twente before making a permanent switch to Spain. Having initially signed for the Reds’ UEFA Champions League semi-final opponents, Villarreal, the Turkey international was loaned to Real Valladolid ahead of a move to current club Getafe.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-30/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Now, after finally finding some career stability, another move could be forthcoming for the well-travelled star…

The latest: Liverpool interested

As per Fanatik (via the Liverpool Echo), the Anfield club are believed to be keen on signing Unal as Jurgen Klopp prepares for life after popular cult hero, Divock Origi.

It’s claimed that the 26-cap Turkey ace is the ‘most suitable name’ on the list of targets as incoming sporting director Julian Ward attempts to replace the enigmatic Belgian in the Liverpool squad.

Described as ‘very good’ by legendary Brazil frontman and Real Valladolid president Ronaldo, Unal is currently under contract until 2025 (Transfermarkt).

The verdict: Worth the risk

This season has been a coming of age campaign for the Turkish ace and Liverpool have certainly developed a knock of plucking out the hottest talents just as they enter their prime, most notably the signing of previous Premier League flop Mohamed Salah.

So far this term, Unal has scored 15 times and provided one assist in 32 La Liga outings whilst also earning an impressive 7.04 average Sofascore rating in the process – the highest out of the entire Getafe squad.

Standing marginally over 6 foot, unsurprisingly Unal possesses strong aerial ability as well as finishing, long-range shooting and defensive contribution (WhoScored), making the Turkish centre-forward an ideal addition to Klopp’s ranks as a direct replacement for super-sub Origi.

In other news, an expert has made a Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.

In an exclusive interview with Transfer Tavern, Rob Lee, who made 280 Premier League appearances, has claimed that Dominic Calvert-Lewin should remain at Everton despite having a good season.

Manchester United have reportedly enquired about the England international and the Toffees have slapped an £80 million price tag on their star striker, who has scored 15 goals this season.

Calvert-Lewin started the season as one of the most in-form players in the Premier League as he scored 11 goals in 11 games but injuries have disrupted his second half of the season.

Speaking on whether Calvert-Lewin should leave Everton this summer and what he must do before getting a move away, Lee exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“Not at the moment no, but I think he had a great start to the season scoring 11 in 11 but he needs consistency and that’s what teams will be looking for, consistency, especially for the amount of money that Everton would demand for him.

“I don’t see the point in him going or the point in Everton letting him go. He might as well have another season there and if he does as well as he started this season then in a year’s time, I’m sure that there’ll be clubs after him.”

The 24-year old was signed from Sheffield United in 2016 for just £1.6 million so the Toffees would make a comfortable profit on the striker if he was to leave.

Everton still have a chance of qualifying for the Europa League this season as they find themselves just four points behind Tottenham Hotspur in sixth.

If you’re a young player at Wolves, it’s incredibly likely you’ll get an opportunity to shine in the first-team.

Jeff Shi’s mantra since purchasing the club has been to buy players at a young age and progress them towards reaching their high ceiling.

Diogo Jota and Pedro Neto are two of Wolves’ biggest success stories since Fosun completed their takeover at Molineux but others continue to come through the ranks.

As well as buying for the first-team, the Old Gold have been keen to strengthen their options from an academy point of view.

They broke their record fee for an academy player by signing Christian Marques after they beat Bayern Munich to his signature. Another of their finest captures at youth level is Luke Matheson.

Amidst studying for his GCSE’s, the teenager scored at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup for Rochdale.

It’s a moment that has made his career as he broke into their first team at the tender age of 16.

What followed was a move to Wolves, who have yet to blood him at senior level.

However, it surely won’t be too long before he earns his opportunity under Nuno Santo. After all, he already has a taste for first-team action and has all the qualities that perfectly suit Wolves’ style of play.

Unfortunately, he does have plenty of players ahead of him in the pecking order. The Old Gold signed two right-backs last summer in Nelson Semedo and Ki-Jana Hoever.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-rumours-and-news-soumare-dias-dembele-marques-nuno-santo” title=”Read the latest Wolves transfer rumours and news!”]

That said, Semedo has been a liability at times this season and has now been linked with a move to Roma.

If Wolves decided to cash in just a year after buying him, they should look to finally unleash Matheson at Molineux.

Speaking during his debut campaign at Rochdale, the teenager earned plenty of praise from manager Brian Barry-Murphy: “Luke is an exceptional guy. He is one player you would have no problems staying grounded and true to his family.”

The 18-year-old hasn’t developed as rapidly as many thought he would when he scored against Manchester United but he still possesses plenty of eye-catching traits.

After he signed for the club, scouting writer David Alexander Hughes told Birmingham Live: “In terms of his defensive work, the defender is exhibiting a strong tactical understanding of the game, reading opposition attacks well and making a decent amount of interceptions and possession recoveries per game.”

Hughes continued: “Matheson’s abilities in progressing the ball and providing a threat in the attacking third make him an ideal candidate to feature as a wing-back for Nuno’s side.”

He added: “Wolves have recruited a young and exciting defender who looks to have a very high ceiling. To be a regular within League One at just 17 is a true testament to his ability.”

Matheson is maturing all the time but after an unsuccessful loan spell with Ipswich, is now back in the U23s at Compton.

Nuno has always had a keen eye for young talent at Molineux; the 18-year-old must surely be near the top of his priorities, however.

AND in other news, Nuno must wield the axe on “uninspiring” £30k-p/w Wolves flop, he’s done at Molineux…

Aston Villa have not been reluctant in bringing new players to the Midlands during the January transfer window, with Lucas Digne, Robin Olsen, Calum Chambers and Philippe Coutinho all making their way to Villa Park in the past few weeks.

However, it appears as though the Villans have put an end to the possibility of one particular deal being struck before the 11pm deadline arrives.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent report from the Daily Mail, Villa have “decided against pursuing a deal” for Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma this month.

Having been linked with the Mali international earlier this month, with a reported bid of £25m rejected by the Seagulls for their midfielder, it seems as though the Midlands club will not be making any further attempts to try and lure him to Villa Park before the end of the transfer window.

Furthermore, with Brighton reportedly wanting a fee in the region of £50m for Bissouma, this could be a factor as to why Villa have seemingly given up their attempts to sign the 25-year-old after already splashing out £25m to bring in Digne from Everton.

NSWE are taking a big risk

Even though it would take a club-record transfer fee from Villa to sign Bissouma this month, it would be a big risk in the short-term for the club owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris not to secure the Brighton maestro given how Marvelous Nakamba is out of action through injury, and after missing out on signing Rodrigo Bentancur this month as well.

Thinking on a long-term basis, with Bissouma being young but experienced in the Premier League and recent reports casting speculation over the futures of Douglas Luiz and Carney Chukwuemeka, adding the Brighton star to their ranks could be a great investment for the Villans for the foreseeable future.

With that in mind, depending on how Villa’s midfield situation looks at the end of the season, they should definitely try and make a move to bring Bissouma to the Midlands during the summer transfer window, if Brighton would be willing to negotiate a suitable deal for him.

In other news: Gregg Evans drops big AVFC deadline day update which will surely leave fans thrilled

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!

Everton are interested in SL Benfica and Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic, according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

Seferovic enjoyed a fine 2020/21 season, directly contributing to 29 Liga NOS goals (22 goals, seven assists) in only 24 starts.

He finished as the second top-scorer in the division behind Sporting Lisbon’s Pedro Goncalves (23 goals).

Seferovic has gone on to find the net three times at the European Championships, netting a double as the Swiss stunned world champions France in the Round of 16.

Everton may be about to bolster their striking ranks this summer after 29 year-old Josh King left the club at the end of his short-term deal.

The latest

The report states that Everton have ‘collected references’ about Seferovic and may yet make a formal offer for the 29-year-old.

But they could face Premier League competition for his signature from Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.

Seferovic, who has three years left on his Benfica contract, will apparently cost in the region of €25million (£21.4million).

The verdict

Seferovic struggled initially at the European Championships before coming alive and underlining his ability to the watching world. He found the kind of form he’d been displaying domestically, and it was pretty devastating.

Everton do need a player who can provide cover and competition for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the summer transfer window, and perhaps a seasoned goalscorer is the way to go.

The problem is the price tag. Everton probably shouldn’t be splashing that kind of money on someone who’ll be playing second fiddle. There are more sensible deals out there for younger players with more room to grow.

In other news, the manager of this Everton target expects him to leave.

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.

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.

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.”

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