All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Some Liverpool supporters are hugely excited after a fresh report claimed the Reds are showing strong interest in RB Salzburg forward Karim Adeyemi.

Jurgen Klopp’s men are in incredible form at the moment, winning 5-0 at Manchester United on Sunday, not to mention beating Atletico Madrid away and thumping Watford at Vicarage Road, too.

Mohamed Salah is in the form of his life, but fellow attackers Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino are all producing impressive performances, too.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

That being said, there will be the need for another top-class attacker to be signed at some point, with Salah and Mane both 29 and Firmino recently turning 30.

According to LAOLA1 [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter], Liverpool are seriously interested in snapping up the prodigious 19-year-old Adeyemi, who has scored 10 goals in 11 Austrian Football Bundesliga appearances for Salzburg this season.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-9/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans love Adeyemi latest

These Reds fans took to Twitter to react positively to the rumour, with one supporter haling the potential signing as ‘great’.

“YESSSSS”

Credit: @jayleje

“January please @LFC”

Credit: @MritalkApple123

“Yemi-Bobby-Jota in January then”

Credit: @ItsEronG

“He could be the next Mo! We really must get him signed up now so he can learn from the Egyptian King”

Credit: @JFKh2K

“Please. Especially with Mo and Mane at AFCON in January. Front-three of him, Jota and Bobby would be great”

Credit: @NanaMshengu2

“Don’t do this, don’t give me hope”

Credit: @JoshuaTreharne2

In other news, James Pearce says there is pressure on FSG for one key reason. Read more here.

Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is being targeted by a number of top European clubs ahead of a potential summer transfer, including La Liga giants Barcelona.

The club haven’t yet been linked with too many potential replacements for the Portuguese star, and that could be good news for some of the younger midfielders in the club’s academy, including 19-year-old Joe Hodge.

A youth international from the Republic of Ireland, the defensive midfielder arrived at the club at the start of the season from Manchester City, but wasn’t able to make his debut for the U23 team until recently, after suffering a serious back injury over a year ago.

Since returning to fitness, he has earned the praise of Wolves U23 Head Coach James Collins, who has been blown away by the impact Hodge has already had on the team.

Collins said: “He’s had such a tough run with injuries, so we all had our fingers crossed that he would get back and then we had our fingers crossed that we hope he’d get through the first few training sessions and first few minutes unscathed.

“He’s been a really good addition to the group, a good addition to the team and he’s the right type of character for us.

“He’s a top guy, he shows exceptional leadership skills on and off the pitch and works his socks off on the training pitch and he’s taken that into the games. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.”

Having already scored one goal in just three Premier League 2 appearances, Hodge will be hoping that pre-season gives him a proper chance to impress Wolves manager Bruno Lage, particularly if he loses Neves.

Now with the Ireland U20 squad going into the international break, he has an opportunity to gain some valuable international experience at youth level to take back to the club, going into the final few months of the season.

In other news: Contact made: Wolves place enquiry to sign “extraordinary” £25m wizard, Lage needs him

Sheffield United are interested in a deal that would bring Siriki Dembele to Bramall Lane.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Darren Witcoop, with the Reach journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Slavisa Jokanovic is keen on a move for the Peterborough United winger, although the 53-year-old needs to offload some of the United deadwood before he can sanction a move for the 24-year-old.

In his tweet, Witcoop said: “Sheffield United keen on Peterborough’s Siriki Dembele but need to offload players first.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how poorly Sheffield United have started their 2021/22 Championship campaign, with the Blades having scored a single goal and picked up just two points over their opening five fixtures of the season, the fact that the club are believed to be interested in a player as exciting as Dembele is sure to have United fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his 42 League One appearances for Posh last season, the £1.08m-rated man scored 11 goals, registered 10 assists and created a whopping 17 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.8 shots and making 1.5 key passes per fixture.

These returns saw the player Barry Fry dubbed an “exciting” talent earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.06, ranking him as the club’s joint seventh-best performer in the third tier of English football.

Furthermore, the 24-year-old looks to have continued this fine form after making the step up to the Championship, having already scored two goals over his four appearances in the league, in addition to averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.95 – ranking him as Darren Ferguson’s second-best player in the second tier.

As such, it would very much appear as if the signing of the £2.6k-per-week Dembele could well help solve Sheffield United’s obvious lack of creativity and goalscoring edge so far this term, with his arrival potentially being the boost Jokanovic needs to finally kickstart the Blades’ season.

In other news: Jokanovic heading for grave Sheffield United transfer error over £225k-rated flop

Former Premier League star Nigel Jemson does not believe that Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma has the right profile to play for Liverpool amid links with the star.

Bissouma has emerged as a star at the Amex Stadium, since his arrival from Lille in the summer of 2018.

Brighton paid a total of £15m to bring him in from the French club and he has become an undisputed starter under the management of Graham Potter.

The Mali international has gone on to play 101 times for Brighton in defensive midfield and he has recently claimed that he believes he is the best midfielder in the Premier League.

Liverpool have been linked with a potential swoop, as have a variety of top English clubs.

Bissouma’s contract expires in 2023 and he is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, but Jemson does not think that he has the right profile to go into the Anfield squad.

Indeed, Liverpool already have a number of midfielders who could be termed as industrious, such as Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, he said: “You look at Wijnaldum. For me, I think he was a very good player and very underrated because he could do both, he could break up play and score goals as well. I don’t think they need one of those sorts of players right now.”

Rangers will look to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership as they travel to face St Mirren on Sunday.

Heading into the weekend, the Gers sat at the summit of the table on 20 points, whilst tomorrow’s opponent’s were seventh and have only lost two of their opening nine matches.

Steven Gerrard’s team come into the game off the back of a 2-0 win over Danish side Brondby in the Europa League on Thursday night, so will he make any changes to the starting XI? We believe that one player he should bring into the fold is central midfielder Scott Arfield.

The experienced Scottish-born Canadian impressed during his cameo off the bench on Thursday, recording a SofaScore rating of 7.00 in 12 minutes. As per SofaScore, he won both of his duels, made one tackle and one interception, and provided one key pass as well as hitting the post with a good effort on goal.

It is time to forget about Steven Davis starting against St Mirren and Gerrard to unleash Arfield in midfield for the Gers. We published an article explaining why the 36-year-old should be axed from the starting XI after his disappointing performance against Brondby.

Arfield is a proven performer for Rangers and could come in to give the Northern Irishman a rest. Last season, the 32-year-old averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.85 in 28 games as he chipped in with four goals and five assists in the Premiership

During the campaign, Gerrard lauded the midfielder for what he offers in and out of position in the middle of the park, which hints at what he could bring to the side this weekend against St Mirren.

The Gers boss said: “Scott epitomises what we want. Out of possession he shows grit, he shows fight, he’s there for you and in possession, he’s always available. He stands up to be counted at important times, so we’re extremely happy with Scott at the moment.”

This highlights why Gerrard must unleash the £16k-per-week beast on Sunday to show what he can do with a first league start of the season. It would allow an underperforming Davis to have a rest and focus on getting back to his best in training, whilst also throwing a bone to Arfield to see if he can stake a claim for a regular starting berth for the Gers.

AND in other news, Gerrard could unearth McGregor 2.0 in Rangers gem who has shown “excellent progress”…

Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser has told The Transfer Tavern that Jesse Lingard is adamant that he wants to remain at Manchester United – making a late move to West ham extremely unlikely.

Following his outstanding loan spell in the second half of last season, David Moyes has been desperate to bring Lingard back to the London Stadium on a permanent basis this summer.

However, Lingard, who made his first Premier League appearance for United for 12 months against Southampton last weekend, wants to fight for his place under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Despite only being introduced for the final few minutes at St Mary’s, Lingard was called up for the England squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers by Gareth Southgate, which would appear a blow to West Ham’s chances of signing him.

Rosser didn’t completely rule out one last-ditch attempt from West Ham to try and re-sign Lingard, but told The Transfer Tavern that his love for his boyhood club United has dampened the Hammers’ chances:

“I think he wants to keep Manchester United – he’s adamant he wants to stay there. Him being in the England squad won’t help West Ham.

“If you can get in the England squad from playing 10 minutes against Southampton, then I think he’ll be fairly confident he can stay at United.

“You wonder whether that you could change over the weekend, but he’s been at the club a long time and loves the club.”

Wolves manager Bruno Lage has revealed the latest on injured defender Willy Boly’s status, with the Ivory Coast international having made just one appearance under the Portuguese this season.

What’s the latest?

Boly endured an injury-stricken 2021, playing just 11 games in all competitions across the calendar year and is yet to appear in the Premier League this season, having made just one appearance in the EFL Cup.

The 30-year-old most recently made the squad for Wolves’ 1-0 win at Brighton in mid-December, although another setback has ruled the defender out of action for the Golden Boys as well as for his native Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.

Speaking to the media about Boly’s situation, Lage said: “He has some muscular problems and sometimes doesn’t feel comfortable with it. That’s why sometimes he is ready to play, then he starts training and feels a little pain.

“It’s important when you are in that position you feel ready and confident.

“This situation is not good for Boly, it’s not good for me and it’s not good for the club,” the 45-year-old added. “Every time he comes, he goes. He needs time to work, to prepare himself, because he was important in the past and can help the team to be better.

“He has a contract with us, and he’s a top player, and he stayed with us instead of going to the national team – it means something. He preferred to stay with us and recover. This is a good signal.”

Wolves fans will be gutted

The Ivorian is certainly a popular figure amongst the Molineux faithful, having played a major part in getting the West Midlands club back to the Premier League in the 2017/18 campaign, in which he made 36 Championship appearances.

Moreover, the 30-year-old was vital in Wolves’ first campaign back in the top-flight as he missed just two of their 38 league matches.

However, it now appears as though there is little room for the centre-back in the starting line up, that is with everyone available.

The regular trio of Conor Coady, Max Kilman and Romain Saiss has been a revelation this campaign, with Wolves the Premier League’s second-best defenders behind league leaders Manchester City, having conceded just 15 goals in 20 matches.

Boly will have to find a solution to his reoccurring issues, if not, it may prove to be the end of his tenure in the West Midlands. Considering his popularity among the fanbase, this is an eventuality that would leave the Molineux faithful gutted.

In other news – £33k-p/w Wolves gem, who created two big chances, stars in victory over Southampton

Newcastle United defender Emil Krafth was an unsung hero for manager Eddie Howe in their win over Leicester City in the Premier League.

The Magpies’ fine run of form under the Englishman continued as they took another big leap towards safety with a 2-1 victory over the Foxes, courtesy of a last-gasp winner from winter signing Bruno Guimaraes, who bagged a brace on the day.

He cancelled out Ademola Lookman’s 19th-minute opener on the half-hour mark before heading home a bounced ball from Joe Willock in stoppage time late in the second half at St James’ Park.

The Brazilian powerhouse will take much of the plaudits but it really was a team effort from Howe’s men, with the Swedish defender arguably standing out amongst his peers.

He was an absolute colossus defensively and tried to contribute going forward from the right-back role, too.

Shields Gazette reporter Dominic Scurr waxed lyrical about Krafth’s input in his post-match ratings column, where he graded the 27-year-old an eight out of ten – the same as Guimaraes, and wrote:

‘Had a couple of shaky moments but more than made up for them with some crucial blocks and challenges to keep Leicester at bay. His best performance of the season. Booked.’

Indeed, no Magpies player had more touches than the former Amiens man as he registered 61 touches, some eight more than the next best, Joelinton (53).

Meanwhile, further back, Krafth registered a whopping seven tackles, which was more than anyone else on the pitch in the northeast, and he also recorded three interceptions, one clearance and he won 80% of his battles, as per SofaScore.

The £57k-per-week ace also drew further praise from other journalists following the match – Newcastle World reporter Liam Kennedy dubbed him “immense”, whilst ChronicleLive’s Mark Carruthers claimed he had a “really solid game” up against “two tricky opponents.”

On the above evidence, the Sweden international was certainly one of the unsung heroes for Howe against the Foxes. He, and the Magpies faithful, can be proud of that display, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Bid made: PIF in negotiations for £83m “diamond”, he’d be a huge coup for Newcastle…

As per Calciomercato, there has been a development in the chase for a long-time Tottenham Hotspur target as the Lilywhites continue to eye a move Norwich City defender Max Aarons.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye Max Aarons move…

The 21-year-old has been on Tottenham’s radar for quite some time now and links can be traced back all the way to the beginning of Jose Mourinho’s tenure in charge in N17.

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

Indeed, Football Insider claimed back in April 2020 that Spurs and Mourinho were primed for talks to sign Aarons as they made the youngster their top defensive target.

Spurs maintained that interest through to 2021, with Sky Sports revealing that transfer chief Fabio Paratici had renewed their interest amid their summer search for a right-back.

Now, despite the signing of Emerson Royal in that position, it appears that they haven’t quite abandoned their chase for the Canaries player.

The Latest: Spurs in pole…

As per Calciomercato, it appears that Tottenham are in pole position to sign Aarons, with Antonio Conte’s side apparently having the ‘greatest chance’ of signing him above the likes of Roma, Borussia Dortmund and Everton.

Norwich value the young ace at around €22m (£18.7m), almost half of what they were demanding for his services earlier this year when Bayern Munich came knocking. As per Sky Sports, the Canaries slapped a £35m price tag on Aarons’ head earlier this year, but it now appears that they are willing to let him go for a much lesser amount.

However, that still doesn’t mean they are willing to part ways easily, with Norwich apparently rejecting Roma’s proposal to sign him on loan with an obligation to buy.

The Verdict: Needed addition?

Given the presence of Emerson, along with versatile defensive youngster Japhet Tanganga and Matt Doherty, we believe that Tottenham have bigger priorities than the right-back position.

For instance, the Lilywhites would be better placed prioritising a swoop for a senior centre-forward alternative to Harry Kane, with Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic apparently on the agenda.

A top-class centre-half to come in as an option to partner the in-form Eric Dier or Cristian Romero (when he returns from injury) wouldn’t go amiss either, especially either one of Matthijs de Ligt or Stefan de Vrij, who are both said to be targets (Football Insider).

Tottenham’s need to spend money wisely cannot be overstated, especially given that they recently announced an £80.2m pre-tax loss for the last financial year, taking their overall club debt to £706m (The Guardian).

Despite Aarons being lauded as the ‘the perfect right-back’ by pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor (Football Insider), his signing is simply a luxury given other pressing positions.

Indeed, Paratici needs to weigh up more important targets with the transfer kitty he is granted by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

In other news: Talks ongoing: Spurs in contact to sign ‘incredible’ £29.9m man, club open to temporary move…find out more here.

Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford is expected to be fit for the final two Premier League fixtures, according to The Yorkshire Evening Post.

The Lowdown: Injury woes

Bamford has missed large parts of the 2021/22 season with a number of different injuries.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-04-02T155252Z_391313781_UP1EI421841M9_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-SOU-REPORT.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The latest issue came against Wolves last month in what was his second start following a three-month layoff. Bamford ruptured his plantar fascia after stretching for a through ball at Molineux and has been ruled out for six weeks.

Luckily, the 28-year-old didn’t need surgery on the problem, and it looks as if he will be available next month.

The Latest: May 15 return

The Yorkshire Evening Post shared a story on Monday afternoon, looking at the Whites’ injury list in full.

When it came to Bamford, they claimed he is expected to be back in time for the final home game of the season against Brighton on May 15 and the trip to Brentford a week later.

The Verdict: Boost

Jesse Marsch will be hoping that Leeds are safe by the time they take on Brighton and Brentford, however, knowing that he’ll be able to call upon Bamford is a huge boost.

Leeds have had a 16-day mini-break between the win over Watford and trip to Crystal Palace, time which will hopefully prove handy as they look to pull clear of the bottom three.

Relegation rivals Everton and Burnley both play twice before Leeds travel to Selhurst Park, so they’ll have a better understanding of if Bamford may be needed later in the season over the next six days.

In other news: Leeds and Orta want ‘extraordinary’ ace in Bosman move; same agent as Bamford.