All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been dealt an injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash.

What’s the latest?

In pre-match press conference comments cited by Express & Star journalist Liam Keen, Bruno Lage revealed that left-back Fernando Marcal will once again be unavailable for selection for the visit of Everton on Monday night, as the 32-year-old is yet to recover from a calf injury which ruled him out of last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United.

In his tweet, Keen said: “Bruno Lage presser is underway and we start with injury news: ‘Boly is back but Marcal is not ready’.”

Lage will be gutted

While it is indeed true that Rayan Ait-Nouri impressed while filling in for Marcal in the draw at Elland Road last week, the Brazilian very much appears to be Lage’s first choice at left wing-back, so his absence on Monday is sure to have left the 45-year-old feeling gutted.

While further Premier League game-time for Ait-Nouri will undoubtedly help in the 20-year-old’s development as a first team regular, it would be naive to suggest that Marcal has not impressed over his eight top-flight fixtures so far this season.

Indeed, the £1.62m-rated man has helped his side to keep two clean sheets, as well as making 1.5 interceptions, 2.9 tackles and 1.9 clearances and winning five duels per game, as per SofaScore.

These returns have seen the £29k-per-week left-back earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.86, ranking him as Wolves’ joint 11th-best performer in the Premier League.

As such, Marcal’s injury will certainly come as a blow to the Portuguese boss, who will undoubtedly be hoping to put right the disappointment of conceding a last-minute equaliser against Leeds when Everton come to Molineux tomorrow night.

In other news: Wolves handed major boost over “special” £41k-p/w beast, Bruno Lage will be buzzing

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has revealed that he met Christian Eriksen last weekend and wouldn’t rule out a future move for the Brentford man, Alasdair Gold reports.

The Lowdown: Eriksen links

Eriksen signed for Brentford last month on a six-month deal until the end of the season.

Spurs insider John Wenham wouldn’t rule out a return to Tottenham days before the January window opened, though, whereas pundit Paul Robinson also believed a north London return could be on the cards.

Described as a ‘ruthless playmaker’ by Jamie Redknapp, Eriksen may well be a free agent once again in July, with Spurs having already made the former fan favourite a target ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, per The Daily Mail.

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

The Latest: Conte’s comments

Reliable reporter Gold took to Twitter on Wednesday lunchtime, sharing a link to a football.london story where Conte discussed Eriksen.

This is what he had to say in his social media post, revealing the pair have met and that a future move hasn’t been ruled out.

“Antonio Conte bumped into Christian Eriksen at the weekend, at the hotel they’re both staying at, and the Spurs boss would not rule out managing the Dane at Tottenham after this season.”

The Verdict: One to watch

Eriksen may well make his Bees debut this weekend when Thomas Frank’s side hosts Crystal Palace, and with Conte refusing to end speculation over the former Spurs star, a summer move could be one to keep a close eye on.

Should he impress for Brentford in their final 14 Premier League games, Conte may well decide to explore a free transfer, especially as he doesn’t have an attacking midfield option on the books after Dele Alli left for Everton.

It would be an incredible return, should it materialise, with Eriksen contributing to 159 goals in 305 games during his first stint as a Tottenham player.

In other news: £110,000-per-week ‘monster’ eyeing move to England as Spurs make contact! Find out more here.

After seeing the summer transfer window shut on Tuesday night, Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa will be glad to have gotten one final signing over the line in the shape of Manchester United’s Dan James.

But, one area in which the Whites failed to strengthen is in central midfield, with a move for Huddersfield Town’s Lewis O’Brien seemingly falling on its head.

In response to a question from a fan about whether the Whites would pursue a late move for the midfielder on transfer deadline day, The Athletic’s Phil Hay said on Twitter: “Not a matter of time. They’re not stretching to £8m+ for O’Brien.”

While Leeds may have baulked against paying that kind of fee for O’Brien, they may take some comfort in the return from injury of Adam Forshaw.

The midfielder has endured a difficult spell at Leeds for well over a year now, with injuries seeing him miss the entire Premier League season – in fact, his only appearance of 2020/21 came at Premier League 2 level when he was given a runout against Aston Villa’s under-23s back in mid-April.

Speaking towards the end of last season, Bielsa himself said of the 29-year-old: “He has basically been not playing for two seasons and to be able to play 90 minutes at a high competition after being healthy – there is still a while to go before you’re ready for that.

“He’s healthy, and has two months left of the season to prove that he is finally over his issues. We all hope it will be like this, because he is a very important player and he has made a massive effort to overcome the situation that he’s been through.”

With Leeds lacking natural cover for Kalvin Phillips, and a new central midfielder not arriving through the door, Forshaw’s comeback from injury is a timely one.

Writing for The Athletic, Phil Hay backed Forshaw to enjoy a redemption season this year, saying: “Can his body hold up? Could he adapt quickly to the pace of the Premier League? The thing about Forshaw is that he is one of Bielsa’s favourite players at Leeds; someone who Bielsa has genuinely been heard to describe privately as having the right attributes for a Champions League side.”

The £60k-a-week earning midfielder has been dubbed as “class” by former Leeds man Noel Whelan, while Bielsa himself has previously admitted just how influential he can be.

He said: “Forshaw is a player who, when he has played, he is always between the better players of the team.

“He has a feature that is very difficult to get. He defends similar to Kalvin, he attacks similar to Klich. What he does close to Phillips doesn’t impede, it is not a problem for him when he goes close to Klich to attack. You are not going to find a lot of players with this kind of characteristic.”

That is high praise indeed from Bielsa, and he will be hoping that this campaign could be the making of the 29-year-old at the top level.

Now that O’Brien isn’t here and the transfer window has closed, it’s finally time for Bielsa to unleash Forshaw in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay dropped a Leeds United update on deadline day…

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming as some news emerged on their FIFA 22 player ratings.

As shared in screenshots by Wolves Esports, the official ratings for all of the squad in the video game have now been confirmed ahead of its release.

The Midlands club have received more downgrades than upgrades in terms of their FIFA 21 ratings, most notably Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore decreasing in rating.

However, Pedro Neto and Yerson Mosquera have seen their ratings increase significantly, while there are also some new faces for the Molineux faithful to enjoy.

Nonetheless, it seems as if a lot of WWFC supporters have been left very unhappy at the overall ratings, with Jimenez the highest-rated at 83.

To put this into context, Lionel Messi is rated at 93, the highest in the game.

Wolves fans on FIFA 22 news

These Wanderers fumed as the news was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it is ‘disgraceful’:

“We’ve been scammed”

Credit: @MM6Games

“Sorry what?”

Credit: @ILJHI

“Nothing to get excited about really is it?”

Credit: @C7Burton

“Disgraceful”

Credit: @CrockfordJack

“Jokers”

Credit: @poorplatformxd

“We have been done so dirty here”

Credit: @WolvesNumber37

In other news, find out who which player Wanderers are fuming at here!

While things at Wolverhampton Wanderers have undoubtedly improved under the leadership of Bruno Lage in recent weeks, with the club picking up ten points from a possible 15 over their last five Premier League fixtures, Ruben Neves’ injury prior to Saturday’s 1-1 draw highlighted something of a problem for the 45-year-old manager.

Indeed, with Lage currently only having the options of Neves, Leander Dendoncker, Joao Moutinho and the injured Bruno Jordao in central midfield, the position is one in which the Portuguese boss lacks significant depth.

However, rather than spending big in the January transfer window on a fresh face in the middle of the park, it would be wise for Lage to consider recalling Connor Ronan from his loan spell at St. Mirren, as the midfielder has highly impressed during his temporary stint at the SMISA Stadium.

Indeed, over the 23-year-old’s six Scottish Premiership appearances for Jim Goodwin’s side, the £405k-rated man has scored three goals and registered one assist, as well as taking an average of 1.5 shots and making 1.3 key passes per game. That’s led to Goodwin describing him as “outstanding.”

And, while the Scottish top flight is undoubtedly a completely different standard to Premier League football, Ronan’s return of three goals and one assist would nevertheless rank him as the top scorer and joint top assist maker out of Wolves’ current midfielders, while his average of 1.5 shots and 1.3 key passes per game would also rank him first and second in the Wolves midfielder rankings.

Furthermore, it is not only the number of goals the £4.4k-per-week academy prospect has bagged that have made him stand out, but also the quality of his strikes – as his most recent finish against Rangers earned praise from both Tim Spiers and Talking Wolves on Twitter, with the latter dubbing the midfielder’s long-range thunderbolt as a “beauty.”

As such, with Wolves lacking in both goals and assists from the middle of the park, it would indeed appear smart for Lage to consider bringing the 24-year-old back to Molineux this winter, as Ronan could end up saving Fosun millions in transfer fees.

In other news: Nixon drops worrying claim on “authoritative” £62k-p/w ace, Wolves fans will be gutted

Everton fans on social media have been left pleased with their third round draw in the Carabao Cup.

As shared by the official website of the Goodison Park faithful, they have been drawn away from home to Queens Park Rangers for a place in the fourth round of the competition.

Considering that teams from the Premier League who are involved in Europe came into this next round, along with the many other sides from the top flight they could have drawn, the Merseyside club have done well to draw a club outside of the top flight.

They should be favourites to get through against QPR, and thus hopefully progress into the next round and really go for the trophy in order to try and give new manager Rafa Benitez some silverware in his debut season.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-updates-5/” title=”Everton updates! (5)” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Everton fans on cup draw

These Toffees supporters were left pleased as the Carabao Cup draw was announced on Twitter, with one Blue claiming that they were ‘happy’ with it:

“Winnable. Can’t ask for anything more. Hopefully a few new faces in for it”

Credit: @ItsOnlyJk

“Sounds good to me. Keep it going!!”

Credit: @DarthVGaming

“COYB”

Credit: @AlexClerc_EFC

“What a draw that is”

Credit: @jamietierney_78

“I’m happy with that draw”

Credit: @Adamefc95

“Got lucky with this one”

Credit: @IAToffees

In other news, find out which confirmed exit has Evertonians fuming here!

Leeds United are among the teams taking a look at Aaron Ramsey this month, according to reports…

What’s the word?

90min claim the Wales international is available for a transfer having fallen out of favour under Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus this season, and despite having 18 months to run on his current contract, the Serie A giants are prepared to let him leave for nothing.

Premier League rivals Newcastle United are also keen, whilst Everton, Wolves and Leicester City are mentioned too.

It’s thought that the former Arsenal maestro, who is valued at just £4.5m by Transfermarkt, is earning over £200k-per-week at the Allianz Stadium.

Pablo Hernandez 2.0

It would not be the first time that Whites boss Marcelo Bielsa has had a vastly experienced and ageing playmaker in attacking midfield.

After nearly five years at the club, Spanish maestro Pablo Hernandez departed Elland Road at the age of 36 last summer. He played an integral role in their rise up into the Premier League and it could be argued that the Argentine misses his presence in the final third.

There has been a serious lack of creativity and goalscoring this season. Only Raphinha (eight goals) has found the net more than twice for Leeds in the top flight, whilst no player has provided more than two assists either, as per WhoScored.

Ramsey was one of the Premier League’s most feared midfielders during his time at the Emirates Stadium.

The 31-year-old provided 65 goals and 65 assists in 371 matches in north London, in which he recorded a career-best tally of 13 goals and ten assists during the 2013/14 campaign, via Transfermarkt. That’s not to mention his three FA Cup winners medals, too.

Such form earned comparisons to Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, whilst another former Gunner in Martin Keown has previously waxed lyrical about his ability and leadership qualities.

“He continues to mature as a player and develop. He’s a real leader now in this Arsenal team,” he said to BT Sport in April 2019 (via the Daily Mail). “Playing in a deeper role, as he did under Arsene Wenger – I think that’s the best role for him. If you want Ozil and him in the same team. He’s so imp to everything to do. It’s the energy – the box to box energy. He’s become an outstanding technician.”

Capped 71 times by Wales, Ramsey could well become Bielsa’s new Hernandez in west Yorkshire should Victor Orta and co win the race to sign him on a bargain free transfer this month.

AND in other news, Leeds eye £20m midfield “machine” who’s “so powerful”, he’d be Bielsa’s dream signing…

Journalist Rahman Osman believes Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira could drop Vicente Guaita to stick with Jack Butland against Chelsea this weekend.

The Lowdown: Palace’s run to the semi-final

Palace have enjoyed a solid and sometimes exciting first season under Vieira and are now preparing for a Wembley showdown with their London rivals.

The Eagles have defeated Millwall, Hartlepool United, Stoke City and Everton on their way to the last four, conceding just twice.

Butland has played every minute of domestic cup action this season, with Guaita first choice in the league, and Osman thinks the Spaniard, who Roy Hodgson labelled as ‘excellent’, will be dropped following the 2-1 loss to Leicester last time out.

The Latest: Guaita to be axed?

Osman shared a story on London World on Wednesday, looking at three Palace stars Vieira may leave out this weekend.

One of those was Guaita, with the reporter believing Vieira will ‘break the heart’ of the 35-year-old by sticking with Butland at Wembley.

The Verdict: Right decision?

Some managers decide to bring back their first choice ‘keeper in the latter stages of cup competitions, but it only seems fair for Vieira to leave Guaita out and stick with Butland – just look at how Caoimhin Kelleher rewarded Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final this year.

Butland made a big blunder against Millwall in the third round but hasn’t been troubled much in the FA Cup since then, though he could be a much busier man on Sunday.

We will soon find out what Vieira decides in regards to selection, however, bigger calls may have to be made outfield, especially with injury concerns to Tyrick Mitchell and Michael Olise.

In other news: Vieira now wants Parish to bring 25-assist star to Palace; club preparing to lose their player

Celtic have been handed a major boost in their attempts to bring Jota to Parkhead on a permanent basis this winter.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Portuguese publication A Bola (via Sport Witness), who claim that Benfica would be more than happy for Celtic to activate their €7.5m (£6.5m) option to buy clause for the 22-year-old winger in the January transfer window.

Previous reports have suggested that, as a result of the Portugal U21 international’s success in Glasgow, Ange Postecoglou is eager to tie up the permanent signing of Jota this winter, in a bid to ensure the forward is not tempted by a more enticing offer from another club come the end of the season.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how important a part of the Celtic side Jota has become since his switch to Parkhead this summer, the news that Benfica appear to be more than willing to wave goodbye to the winger on a permanent basis is sure to have left Bhoys fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his 11 Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £3.15m-rated man has scored five goals, registered four assists and created two big chances for his teammates, while, over his five Europa League fixtures, the £7.1k-per-week winger has bagged a further two goals, two assists and created four big chances.

These returns have seen the player, who Postecoglou dubbed an “unbelievable” talent, average a SofaScore match rating of 7.38 in the league and 7.40 in Europe, ranking him as the Hoops’ fifth-best and best performer in the respective competitions.

And, while it is true that Benfica’s stance on the forward’s potential transfer is not overly important – as Celtic can activate their option to buy clause without the Portuguese side’s permission – should the Liga NOS club have informed Jota that he could be in line for a starting spot at the Estadio da Luz next season, this may well have influenced the 22-year-old’s decision as to whether or not he would be willing to accept Celtic’s offer of a permanent deal.

As such, the news that Benfica will not stand in the way of Celtic’s swoop for the player who Postecgolou “wants to keep” is sure to come as a major boost for everyone involved with the club, as the Portuguese starlet remaining at Parkhead beyond the end of the current campaign is something that bodes incredibly well for the Bhoys’ future.

In other news: Ange could unearth Celtic’s new Robbie Keane with swoop for “bright” 18 G/A machine

Everton manager Rafa Benitez needs to turn things around quickly at Goodison Park to avoid being sacked, according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown.

What’s the story?

The Toffees got off to a sensational start under the 61-year-old’s tutelage, losing just one of their opening seven Premier League games to move into a European qualification spot.

However, significant injuries to key players sparked a dramatic drop-off in results and performances in recent weeks, with Benitez’s charges picking up just a single point from a possible 12 over the last month.

And Brown believes the Spanish tactician will have until the festive period to mastermind an upturn in fortunes before he gets relieved of his duties by the Everton hierarchy.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “Unless Benitez turns it around quickly in the next couple of games, by Christmas, if they are at the wrong end of the table fighting and struggling, I don’t think the owner can allow it to go on for very long because it’s too big a season financially for them to be struggling.”

Everton fans may be worried

Although Benitez wasn’t a universally popular appointment amongst the Everton fanbase due to his previous connections with fierce rivals Liverpool, a large section of the club’s supporters may be worried about his potential departure if Farhad Moshiri takes the ruthless decision to axe yet another head coach.

Throughout his career, the experienced boss has showcased his ability to claim the sports most coveted prizes, claiming one Champions League crown, two La Liga titles, one FA Cup, one Italian Cup, one UEFA Cup, one Europa League, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

Benitez’s success at Valencia, Liverpool and Napoli, in particular, have cultivated an enviable reputation and given time, he could achieve similar things at Goodison Park.

His fast start illustrated what could be to come throughout his reign, and with the lack of stability that Everton have experienced in the dugout in recent years, Benitez is likely to have a lot of supporters hoping he turns things around soon. Moshiri deciding to sack him after such a long managerial saga only a few months ago would surely only cause more worry at Goodison.

And, in other news…Brands could find Rafa’s next Pablo Aimar at Everton in “very clever” £22.5m-rated ace