All posts by z3u9t.icu

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming at Wednesday night’s EFL Cup exit on penalties to Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux.

In Nuno Espirito Santo’s second return to Molineux since leaving the Wanderers in May, Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Kane stormed Spurs into a 2-0 lead in the first half, in which they dominated.

Leander Dendoncker and Daniel Podence scored either side of half time to level the scoring though and Bruno Lage’s side were the better team in the final stages of the cup tie, but they were defeated on penalties after Ruben Neves, Dendoncker and Conor Coady all missed their spot-kicks.

The defeat now wipes out a possible route to European football for Wolves next season and rubbishes any chances of them winning the trophy for the first time since 1980.

It also means Wolves have still only won two of Lage’s seven opening games in charge of the club, with Southampton coming up on Sunday evening.

Wolves fans react to EFL Cup exit

These Wolves fans took to Twitter to vent their anger at the Wanderers’ early cup exit, with one fan even claiming ‘Lage Out’ following the defeat.

“They are a complete bunch of bottle jobs.”

Credit: @cpj93070

“Frustrating but expected tbh”

Credit: @bgreenpl

“Another loss!! Lage out!!”

Credit: @W4768721431

“We can’t even score from 12 yards from the penalty spot. Only positive we scored 2 goals and our defence is diabolical”

Credit: @satsomboon

“whats new?”

Credit: @TooRiskyIam

“What a surprise!”

Credit: @inlandtaipan1

In other news, many Wolves fans have been left fuming over this emerging news revolving their players. Find out more here.

Aston Villa journalist Luke Hatfield reckons Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings playing up front together is a possibility for Dean Smith’s side this season.

Following Watkins’ outstanding first campaign at Premier League level in which he scored an impressive 14 goals, eyebrows were raised when Villa made the shock signing of Ings earlier this month.

The pair haven’t yet been given the opportunity to play in the same team, with a knee problem keeping Watkins out of Villa’s opening two league matches and their Carabao Cup win at Barrow.

The former Brentford man could return after the international break, which means Smith will have a dilemma having opted for Ings to lead the line against Watford and Newcastle.

Should the Villa boss stick with his usual 4-3-3, the obvious choice would see Watkins move out wide and play on the left, a position he played regularly during his Brentford days.

But Hatfield failed to rule out the possibility of Smith going with two strikers. He told The Transfer Tavern:

“He’s played there before for Brentford under Dean Smith, so that is a role he can play, although he was fantastic as a central striker last season, so it wouldn’t shock me to see two up top for Villa.”

Jim Goodwin has commented on the future of Watford transfer target Jamie McGrath…

What’s the talk?

St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin has admitted that Watford transfer target Jamie McGrath could leave the club on a pre-contract agreement next near.

The midfielder is out of contract in the summer of 2022 and Goodwin has said that the player is ‘within his rights’ to sign a deal with a new club in the winter window ahead of leaving at the end of the season.,

He told the Scottish Sun:

“There was serious interest in him – I’m delighted he’s still here. Jamie would be well within his rights if he signed a pre-contract with another club in January.

“Equally, if someone comes in with an outrageous bid for him we’d need to decide what’s best for all concerned. Ideally, we’d like to tie him down on a long-term contract but, realistically, that’s not going to happen.”

Delight

Watford fans will be delighted by these comments from Goodwin as they open the door for McGrath to arrive at Vicarage Road for free next summer. The Hornets could land the Irish talent without having to pay a transfer fee, with Goodwin suggesting that St Mirren are now resigned to the possibility of him departing on a free.

Hornets fans will also be delighted because of the quality of player this news opens them up to getting. Goodwin has given an exceptional reference for the 24-year-old’s talents, saying:

“He had been pigeonholed as a No 10 at Dundalk and people looked at him as a luxury player, but I had a very good conversation with Jamie and his representatives and explained that I saw there was more to him than that.

“My belief was that he could become a No 8 and be a box-to-box player and I think he’s shown he can do that.

“He’s not one to fly into tackles, but he gets close to opponents, he’s fit, he’s quick and his composure on the ball is incredible. His creativity and bravery when in possession is second to none.”

McGrath was directly involved in 20 goals for St Mirren in all competitions from midfield last season, with 14 goals and six assists in 41 games.

This shows that the 24-year-old has the ability to score and assist goals at a decent rate in Scotland.

Bringing him in for nothing would be a worthwhile gamble for Watford.

Fans will be buzzing if Xisco Munoz is able to sign McGrath on a free transfer, especially if the Irish wizard starts scoring and assisting goals in the Premier League.

AND in other news, Signed for £18m, now valued at £3.6m: Watford endured transfer nightmare with dud…

A report claiming Wolverhampton Wanderers had made a £10million bid for Divock Origi was ‘utter nonsense’, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce. 

Journalist Ekrem Konur tweeted on Tuesday that Bruno Lage’s side had tabled the offer for the Belgian forward, but Pearce says club sources strongly rebuffed that claim.

Back in 2018, he recalls, Wolves agreed a £22million fee for Origi, only for the player to decide against the move.

Does Origi have a future at Liverpool?

Pearce believes the Reds would be willing to accept around £15million for the 26-year-old, whose contract still has three years to run.

Origi, the scorer of Liverpool’s game-clinching goal in the 2019 Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur, was limited to 19 appearances last season. He found the net on just one occasion – a 7-2 League Cup rout of League One Lincoln City in September.

The possibility of an attacking signing at Anfield may depend on whether Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri stay put, Pearce adds.

Fan feed LFC Transfer Room relayed the latest, and here’s what supporters made of it.

These Liverpool fans want to see the back of Origi

“That’s painful to hear”

Credit: @treyfontaine81

“I’m speechless, I feel sick”

Credit: @antisocialex_13

“Divock please…”

Credit: @jhs49381

“Divock is the cult hero that stayed long enough to become the villain”

Credit: @NoKopOuts

“I feel sick”

Credit: @LFCLiamGrimshaw

“This guy has no ambition. Am sick of him and his antics.”

Credit: @BagsmanEra

In other news, fans flocked to this update on a potential transfer windfall. 

Graham Roberts has exclusively told Football FanCast that Harry Kane will be raring to go against Manchester City, amid a report from The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath that Nuno Santo will make a final decision on Saturday night.

Having reportedly skipped training ahead of his return for pre-season last Monday, the England captain looked to have possibly played is final game for his boyhood club.

But after releasing a statement on Friday which said he would never miss training and confirmed he would be returning to Hotspur Way the following day, Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has revealed that the striker is available to face Pep Guardiola’s side.

Kane hasn’t played competitively since the Euro 2020 final against Italy more than four weeks ago and will only have a handful of days training under his belt by the time the champions visit north London this weekend.

Having started all but one of Spurs’ five pre-season games together, Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura and Heung Min Son are likely to be the front three, but Roberts is confident Kane will play some part.

He told FFC:

“I don’t think he’ll start. Knowing Harry Kane how I know him, he would have been training when he was away, in the gym working hard.

“He won’t leave any stone unturned. He’ll be fit, but won’t be match fit, but he’ll be ready to go. It will be great if he does get on the pitch – if he does start or comes off the bench and scores the winner, that will be even better.”

Frank McAvennie has claimed that Glasgow Rangers may be making a ‘mistake’ if they end up signing Joey Veerman in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Veerman wanted

As per The Athletic, Veerman is one of the top targets for Steven Gerrard’s team to sign this summer.

However, the Dutchman feels as if he is being priced out of a move from Heerenveen, claiming that they are making it ‘very difficult’ for him by demanding a ‘crazy’ £8m (Scottish Sun).

The Latest: McAvennie on Veerman

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie, a pundit who of course played in the Scottish Premiership, has claimed that Veerman will leave, but doubts that the Ibrox faithful will be able to spend £8m on him, and added that they do not need to sign him anyway:

“The boy will leave.

“Even Celtic with their finances, will they go out and spend £8million on a player?

“I’m not sure Rangers can do that. I don’t think they have the financial strength. It could be a mistake.

“They have enough midfield players, that’s one position they don’t need to spend £8million on.

“A forward or a centre half I can understand, they are overwhelmed there.

“I don’t think the fans will be happy if they spend £8million, a huge fee, on a player who might only be a bit-part.”

The Verdict: Avoid

Having already brought in John Lundstram from Sheffield United, the Gers already have an abundance of options in the centre of midfield, and so signing Veerman, especially for £8m, would seem like a waste of money.

The 22-year-old would end up being their third-most expensive signing of all time, when really RFC should be looking to spend their money in other areas of the pitch.

Nonetheless, a deal may not easily be done anyway given the club’s stance on the player, and so Rangers should not be looking to waste their time with the new 2021/22 season fast approaching.

In other news, find out what club announcement has Gers talking here!

Flocking to Twitter, many Tottenham Hotspur fans have erupted over a claim involving Serie A defender and long-time target Takehiro Tomiyasu.

The Japan international has been on Tottenham’s transfer radar for some time now, with Sky Sports lifting the lid on a rejected £12.9m (€15m) offer, plus an extra £2.6m (€3m) in add-ons.

The Athletic, following on from that development, claimed Spurs found common ground with Bologna and were even finalising terms – but there have been few updates since then.

Now, a claim from Italy has emerged which could come as welcome news in the race to sign Tomiyasu this summer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-updates-copy/” title=”Tottenham latest developments…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Indeed, Calciomercato.it now say that an agreement has been reached ‘in principle’ for his signing from Bologna and the deal can go through after Tomiyasu finishes his stint at the Olympic games.

Flocking to this news, with personal terms having also been agreed for a while, it’s safe to say that most Lilywhites supporters are overjoyed.

One even called it ‘fantastic news’ and many more have erupted in response to The Spurs Express and The Spurs Web.

Find all of their best verdicts down below.

Tottenham fans erupt over Tomiyasu claim

“Fantastic news at last!!”

Credit: @ColinWindell

“Niceeee”

Credit: @dele_tubbies

“yesss happy”

Credit: @IamSAMI75

“Finally a proper RB”

Credit: @BoltDest

“Finally, some good news”

Credit: @darkchild99

“GET INNNN”

Credit: @ParisLizzie

“Wow”

Credit: @DattareyaC

“This could be a right back cover sorted and bye bye Aurier”

Credit: @Jasonsnell17

In other news: Talks underway: Nuno green lights yet another Spurs exit as N17 news emerges, find out more here.

Nottingham Forest have made an offer to try and bring Sandro Kulenovic to the City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Croatian media outlet Sportske Novosti, who claimed that Dinamo Zagreb have confirmed they have received an offer of a loan with an option to buy from Chris Hughton’s side regarding the centre-forward.

The report added that, while the offer has not been accepted by the Croatian champions at present, it would appear as if the transfer has a good chance of going through this summer.

Major coup

Considering just how much Kulenovic impressed on loan at Rijeka last season, it would be difficult to argue against the potential signing of the 21-year-old being a major coup for chief executive Dane Murphy and the Forest hierarchy.

Indeed, over his 31 1.HNL appearances last term between his loan club and parent outfit – 17 of which came as starts – the £900,000-rated man scored seven goals, registered four assists and created three big chances for his teammates, along with averaging 1.5 shots and 0.8 key passes per game. These returns saw the Croatia under-21 international earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.98.

The forward also impressed in the Europa League, scoring one goal and providing two assists over his six appearances in the qualifying and group stages of the competition, bringing his total haul for 2020/21 to eight goals and six assists.

As such, with Hughton in desperate need of attacking reinforcements this summer, with only Derby County scoring fewer than Forest’s 37 league goals last time out, Kulenovic would very much appear to be a fantastic player for the club to bring in ahead of their upcoming Championship campaign, having already proven himself as a consistent goalscorer at a high level.

Also, with the striker still being only 21 years of age, it is likely that he will only improve as he develops and gains experience in the English game, something which could bode very well for Forest in the future.

In other news: Imagine him & Grabban: Murphy must seal Forest swoop for £36k-p/w “leader” this summer

Millwall are interested in a deal to bring Liam Delap to The Den this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Express, who claim that Gary Rowett’s side, as well as a host of other Championship clubs, are keeping tabs on the Manchester City centre-forward ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window.

The report continues by stating that City are expected to be willing to loan the 18-year-old out next season in order to provide the youngster with valuable first-team experience, leaving the door open for Millwall to swoop in.

Rowett must move

Considering just how much potential Delap appears to possess, it is an easy argument to make that the Lions landing the striker this summer would be something of a coup of the club.

Indeed, over his 20 Premier League 2 appearances for Manchester City’s U23 side last season, the England U20 international scored a whopping 24 goals and registered five assists, winning the league’s Player of the Season award and helping his team lift the Premier League 2 trophy.

The centre-forward also scored two goals in two appearances in the FA Youth Cup, as well as scoring three goals and providing one assist over two appearances in the EFL Trophy.

And, with Millwall’s top league goalscorer last season being Jed Wallace, who bagged 11 Championship goals, should Rowett wish to improve on his side’s impressive 11th place finish in the league next time around, the addition of a prolific hitman would certainly be a step in the right direction.

As such, considering how impressive the man Jacek Kulig dubbed a “phenomenal” talent has been for City’s youth side this season, it would appear highly advisable for the 47-year-old Millwall boss to do everything he can to get a deal over the line for the young forward this summer, as the £5k-per-week Delap could well prove to be the spark that ignites a promotion push at The Den next season.

In other news: Transfer update emerges on “explosive” £10k-p/w Millwall target, Rowett will be gutted

An update has emerged regarding Arsenal’s interest in free agent defender Sergio Ramos.

What’s the talk?

According to Goal.com, the Gunners have been keeping tabs on his situation as they weigh up a swoop for the centre-back, who has recently left Real Madrid and is now a free agent ahead of next season.

The report claims that Ramos is keen on sealing a switch to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, but he is also open to moving to the Premier League. Chelsea and Arsenal are named as the two English clubs showing an interest in the Spaniard’s services.

Fans would be frustrated

Arsenal sporting director Edu must avoid making a grave error with Ramos. The Brazilian should abandon any attempts to bring him to the Emirates Stadium and pursue other options to bolster Mikel Arteta’s squad throughout the remainder of the transfer window.

His wages are a major concern. According to Le10Sport and Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, Ramos wants a £13.7m-per-season (€16m) contract and a signing-on bonus worth £17m (€20m) following his departure from Real Madrid. This equates to roughly £260,000 per week of a package coming to roughly £44.2m in total in a two-year deal should Arsenal go through with any potential move.

That would make him Arsenal’s top earner and one of only three players earning more than £200,000 per week at the club. Thomas Partey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£250,000-a-week each) would be the only current Gunners close to the Spaniard’s pay packet, so the money it would take to land the centre-back would be astronomical and make him – in monetary terms – the club’s most important player.

Arsenal would not get value for money out of the deal due to Ramos’ age and recent injury woes. Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, the former Sevilla man has been out for eight separate spells due to injury or illness, restricting him to 15 appearances in La Liga in that time. This suggests that the north Londoners could be taking a huge risk with him as he may not be able to feature in many games next season.

Former AC Milan and Italy defender Paolo Maldini once hailed the enforcer as being “powerful” and quick, praising him as one of the best defenders in the world, saying: “He is young and has everything to become my heir. He is quick, powerful and has technique. He is young and has plenty of time ahead of him.

“I’d say yes, Ramos is the best defender in the world, not just this season but for the past years.”

This shows why Arsenal may be interested in him and why Ramos has been able to maintain his place at Real Madrid for so many years. However, he is 35 now and is coming towards the end of his career, which means that he may not have much of that quality left to give, while his injury record in recent months is frightening. This is why Arsenal must avoid making a mistake by bringing him in on high wages this summer.

AND in other news Premier League news, Romano delivers update on £6.3m-rated gem that’ll surely leave Southampton fans fuming…