All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Journalist Phil Hay has confirmed that Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw has only picked up a minor injury, hailing the update as ‘good news’.

The Lowdown: Forshaw limps off at West Ham

The Whites secured a brilliant 3-2 win away to West Ham on Sunday afternoon, in what was arguably one of their best results of the season.

Forshaw limped off in the first half at the London Stadium with a hamstring injury, however, and it was feared that he would be missing for a chunk of action given his previous woes.

With Kalvin Phillips already sidelined, as well as numerous others, it was a blow that Marcelo Bielsa could do without.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Hay confirms positive news

Thankfully, Forshaw took to Instagram on Monday to confirm that the issue is only a minor one, with Hay reacting to it on Twitter:

“Good news from Forshaw on the hamstring front. Looks to have avoided a bad one.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-31/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Big boost for Leeds

This is a rare positive in the injury department for Leeds this season, with Forshaw claiming in his post he could potentially even be back for Saturday’s visit of Newcastle United in the Premier League.

The 30-year-old has been a revelation since returning from an extremely lengthy injury absence, starting ten league games and averaging 2.3 tackles per game, a tenaciousness in midfield they would be desperately lacking without him and Phillips.

Forshaw will remain a crucial figure in the middle of the park until the England star returns, as his hugely pleasing comeback from a career-threatening situation continues.

In other news, Hay has also given another positive Leeds injury update. Read more here.

With so many players currently out injured at Sunderland, the Wearside club have finally been handed some good news regarding one of their players which will surely please a lot of fans and Lee Johnson.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Northern Echo, Black Cats midfielder Luke O’Nien has undergone a successful operation to fix a shoulder injury which has affected him for a significant period of time.

Last month, Johnson revealed that the success of the surgery would be a big factor in when the 27-year-old will be able to return to action. Given how well his surgery went, it seems as though there can be some hope that he will be back sooner rather than later, which would be a big relief for everyone at the Stadium of Light.

O’Nien’s performances in his 16 League One games for Sunderland this season earned him an overall rating of 7.16/10, making him their second highest-rated player after Ross Stewart according to WhoScored. That just goes to show how important he is to the team and why it’s good to hear that he may only be out for three months rather than until the end of the season as previously feared.

Those performances have seen the 27-year-old prove his worth to Johnson’s side by averaging 1.4 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and three clearances per game.

Also, prior to his surgery, O’Nien stepped out of his usual defensive midfield role to play in the left-back position for Sunderland’s games against Ipswich Town and Shrewsbury Town, in which he scored one goal and set up another. This shows how versatile he is as a player and how much faith Johnson had in him to deploy him there with the likes of Denver Hume and Dennis Cirkin injured.

Moving forward, even though the 27-year-old will still likely spend the next three months on the sidelines, plenty of positivity can be taken from the reports that his surgery went well and that he is now on the road to a full recovery.

If O’Nien can get back to action as soon as possible, he could be the difference between Sunderland securing promotion and spending another season in League One given his defensive talents and versatility.

In other news: KLD can spark Sunderland’s promotion charge with big winter decision, fans would be thrilled

Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis OBrien would ‘jump at’ the chance to join Leeds United in the January transfer window, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: O’Brien constantly linked with Leeds

The 23-year-old spent the summer continually being linked with a move to Elland Road – Terriers chairman Phil Hodgkinson even confirmed the interest – and stories have now begun to emerge ahead of next month’s window.

O’Brien has continued to be a key player for Huddersfield this season, starting 22 Championship matches and being handed WhoScored‘s Man of the Match award four times, in all competitions.

While the midfielder only recently signed a new deal at his current club, it appears as though a move could happen in the coming weeks.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Journalist talks up transfer

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke claimed it wouldn’t take much for O’Brien’s head to be turned, as he hinted at the move happening in January:

“He signed a new contract at Huddersfield but I’m sure if the opportunity came to go to Leeds, it would be something that he would jump at.

“Let’s see if Huddersfield are able to turn down any offers for the midfielder.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-29/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: One of two midfielders?

Such has been the regularity of the O’Brien links that it seems as though Leeds’ interest is genuine and he could be a strong addition to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad.

Admittedly, he isn’t at the level of Kalvin Phillips, but he is a young player who is maturing all the time, averaging 2.9 tackles and 1.6 dribbles per match in the league this season. No Whites player has averaged more tackles, with Stuart Dallas topping the pile with 2.6.

If he was one of two midfielders to come in, with a more experienced head also making the switch to Leeds, it should leave them well-stocked in Phillips’ absence.

In other news, one Leeds player has been linked with a move to a fellow Premier League club. Find out who it is here.

Manchester United’s attempts to secure a replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have taken a significant blow after both Luis Enrique and Julen Lopetegui were ruled out of the running. 

What’s the story?

The Spanish pair were believed to be part of an extensive list of managerial targets being considered by the Old Trafford hierarchy, but it appears as though they will now have to turn their attention to alternative targets.

According to well-known journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, neither Enrique or Lopetegui are interested in joining United, with both men focussed on their current positions.

He tweeted: “Luis Enrique won’t be involved in any talk with Manchester United. He’s only planning for the World Cup with Spain and he’s not gonna change his mind. #MUFC Sevilla manager Jules Lopetegui also denied Man Utd job chance: ‘It seems absurd to me’.”

Man Utd fans will be gutted

News that both the Spanish national team manager and Sevilla boss aren’t interested in taking charge of the Red Devils will leave large sections of the club’s fanbase feeling wounded.

Enrique and Lopetegui have cultivated enviable reputations as highly-regarded tacticians for their impressive work in their homeland, but the lure of Manchester isn’t what it once was.

The duo join Ajax boss Erik ten Hag in exiting the race to become Solsskjaer’s successor, with the whole affair threatening to turn into a rather embarrassing circus for the Glazers and co.

It was recently reported by ESPN that United have had an initial approach rebuffed by Paris Saint-Germain as they attempt to prize Mauricio Pochettino away from the French capital, meaning an interim manager is now likely to take the reins.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-manchester-united-news-manager-solskjaer-pochettino-enrique-rodgers-psg” title=”Check out the latest Man United manager news!”]

Several intriguing candidates such as Ralf Rangnick, Ernesto Valverde and Rudi Garcia have emerged as favourites for that particular role, but that approach is unlikely to go down well with the supporters.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013, the 20-time English champions have been through six temporary and permanent managers. The time for stability and long-term planning has now arrived.

Therefore, Romano’s latest revelation regarding Enrique and Lopetegui will be hugely disappointing for everyone associated with United, and they’ll be hoping for a quick resolution to their managerial conundrum.

And, in other news…Big Man United manager update issued live on Sky Sports, fans will be concerned 

Flocking to Twitter, many Manchester City supporters have been left worried following an injury update on midfield star Phil Foden ahead of their weekend clash with Wolves.

Pep Guardiola’s side ended their Champions League Group A campaign top of the pile, albeit closing the curtain with an underwhelming 2-1 defeat away to RB Leipzig, but the biggest cause for concern was arguably Foden and defender Nathan Ake’s withdrawals.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/man-city-latest-updates-2/” title=”Man City latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Ake was taken off a few minutes from full time with back problems while Guardiola replaced Foden at half time in a safety move following issues with his ankle (The Mail).

The 21-year-old, a majorly key player for the Sky Blues last season, only just returned from the same injury last week and The Daily Mail have now provided an update.

As per their information, despite Guardiola saying he withdrew Foden as a precaution, City are ‘left sweating over the fitness of Foden’ amid his ‘latest setback’.

City fans livid…

City’s boss is due to provide an update on both men during his Friday lunch time press conference and but it’s safe to say Sky Blues are concerned about Foden’s condition.

The England starlet, picking up a nomination for the 2021 senior men’s Ballon d’Or, was a revelation under Guardiola and for City over last campaign – playing a major role in their run to the 2021 Champions League final.

As Guardiola’s has had to cope with player ’emergencies’ recently, the last thing fans want is yet more time on the sidelines for their fan favourite.

Here’s how Citizens reacted to the Mail’s claim down below:

“Returned too early probably, really should stop rushing him back like this”

Credit: @jdp433

“Kompany, Aguero and now Foden. All world class players being ruined by Manchester City because they pick up an injury and this club is too impatient to let them fully recover. They re-aggravate it again and again until it becomes permanent.”

Credit: @mcfcleo_

“The coach must take the blame. Still can’t understand why he started all those players when we have already topped the group. Why didn’t he play the kids?”

Credit: @Muhd_Shafie02

“Oh come on man”

Credit: @Dvdsm3

“Absolutely livid ngl”

Credit: @BernardoTouch

“I’m done”

Credit: @lg_h99

“NOOOOOOOO”

Credit: @izmcfc

“oh you have to be kidding me”

Credit: @EklavyaChawla16

In other news: ‘Oh my days’, ‘I love this club’…Man City fans buzzing over ‘best news’ out of Eastlands, find out more here.

Aston Villa officially brought in Steven Gerrard from Rangers as their new manager on Thursday.

Liverpool took to Twitter to share the news regarding their former midfielder and captain, which has caught the eye of a number of Villa fans.

Gerrard penned a three-and-a-half-year deal at Villa Park as he replaces Dean Smith, who was sacked on Sunday. Villa paid Rangers between £3.25m and £4m in compensation for the services of the 41-year-old and his backroom staff, with his first game in charge against Brighton following the international break.

Gerrard has been linked with taking over from Jurgen Klopp to Anfield, with reports in the week even going as far as to say that the German would have a say on the Scouser’s move to the Midlands.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful quote-tweeted Liverpool’s official post on Gerrard taking over at Villa and were baffled as to why they did it. Here is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with a few other fans concerned.

“This is my least favourite part of this whole saga. I am sick of my Liverpool mates saying that they will be watching.”

Credit: @ScottieCoops

“getting a bit worried they’re getting too involved with us, just me I think though”

Credit: @RpmFifa

“What an odd tweet by the chaps up north”

Credit: @brummingham

“It’s cringe”

Credit: @steavfc1991

“Because we’re massive”

Credit: @ChrisTrotter161

“I don’t mind it. Clearly relevant news to them and let’s be honest – we all know the deal here. If he does well with us he’s off to Liverpool in 3 years. It is what it is.”

Credit: @_porsalin

In other news: Villa could now swoop for Rangers beast who Gerrard called a ‘Rolls Royce’

Fabrizio Romano believes Tottenham Hotspur are very much still interested in Dusan Vlahovic, despite sporting director Fabio Paratici claiming otherwise…

What’s the word?

Earlier this week, the Italian supremo poured cold water on Spurs’ mooted interest in the Fiorentina talisman, claiming to Festival dello Sport (via Romano): “Dusan Vlahovic is appreciated by many clubs, it’s normal – he’s not in our plans, for now.”

However, the transfer guru has dropped a fresh claim during a recent episode of the ‘Here We Go’ podcast that seems to refute such comments.

“Vlahovic is a bit different. The feeling I have because what he [Paratici] said is that ‘he is not in our plans for now’ and in Paratici language that means he is pursuing the player,” revealed the Italian journalist.

“We know about it because last summer, Tottenham were really interested in Vlahovic. They were looking at him as [a] potential Harry Kane backup, not [a] replacement.

“Tottenham are still following this boy, as are Atletico Madrid and other English clubs, and Italian clubs, so there will be a big fight for Vlahovic. Let’s see if it’ll be January or next summer but he is leaving Fiorentina.”

Sneaky Paratici

This latest development should leave much of the Lilywhites faithful on the edge of their seats and whilst it may come as a surprise, it is well-known Paratici operates in this manner.

Harry Kane has struggled for goals in the Premier League so far this campaign, failing to find the net in five starts, but he still does not have a viable senior backup behind him, with Nuno Santo sometimes turning to 17-year-old gem Dane Scarlett in other competitions.

Vlahovic is a firm contender to fill such a void and it would certainly give the Portuguese coach another valuable option to either start alongside the England talisman or to replace him from the bench.

The 21-year-old scored a whopping 21 goals in 37 appearances in the Serie A side last season and has continued such form into the new campaign, where he has found the net a further six times in just eight matches, as per Transfermarkt.

La Viola’s goal machine has been compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which is hardly a surprise given his 6 foot 3 slender frame, whilst former Italy international Christian Vieri believes he’s the strongest young forward in Europe, behind Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

Dubbed a “complete number nine” by Italian football expert Conor Clancy to This is Futbol, Vlahovic could well be in Spurs’ sights despite Paratici trying to throw off the scent and that ultimately should leave many supporters thrilled.

AND in other news, Nuno may have his own Varane in “talented” 18 y/o gem who can help Spurs save millions…

Tottenham Hotspur’s ‘second XI’ put in another pathetic display as they were beaten by Dutch outfit Vitesse in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday evening.

Nuno Santo left the bulk of his first-team stars back in north London but it is now a decision that looks rather questionable in hindsight as Spurs slipped to third in Group G.

The home side’s Maximillian Wittek converted from the edge of the box in the 78th minute to condemn the Lilywhites to their first defeat in the competition.

Whilst the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Tanguy Ndombele rested, the Portuguese head coach still had some senior professionals in the starting line-up, including Dele Alli, Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso.

The latter took plenty of pelters on social media for his performance but at least he was one of the more influential members of the lineup, having recorded the most touches (108) and key passes (one).

Alli, however, was disappointing yet again. It’s no wonder he has been dropped from Nuno’s Premier League starting XI ever since that opening 45 minutes against Arsenal in their north London derby defeat.

As per SofaScore, the Englishman was Spurs’ lowest-rated player (5.8), a stark comparison from the Argentine (7.0), who was their second-best player on the night.

The 25-year-old midfielder won just one of his nine battles (11%) in the engine room, whilst he was also dribbled past twice and he lost possession 14 times.

This suggests that he was far from an influence in the middle and if anything, he was lightweight and one of the reasons why Vitesse fired off over double the number of shots at goal than Tottenham.

Alli was certainly lacklustre in the attack, having failed to record a successful dribble from two attempts, nor did he have a shot on target or create a key chance.

‘Dele Alli disappears’ is how the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick described the display from the £27m-rated star. ‘Back at no.10 but hard to remember a meaningful contribution in the attacking third until a late run and shot, which deflected into the goalkeeper’s arms,’ he also wrote.

On the above evidence, Alli badly failed his manager yet again and it could be quite some time before we see him back in the starting XI, and that would certainly be very justified going by that performance.

AND in other news, “Matter of time”: Gold drops big claim on “underrated” Spurs gem, fans will be buzzing…

Norwich are set to appoint Dean Smith as their new head coach at Carrow Road imminently.

In the meantime, it will be interesting to explore the possible starting eleven that the former Villa boss will set up with in his first fixture when the Canaries host Southampton next Saturday afternoon.

Daniel Farke lost his job at Norwich after the side gained their first three-pointer against Brentford last weekend, with pressure mounting on the German coach after an abysmal start to the season that has left the side sitting at the bottom of the table.

Possibly the most notable and unpopular decision that Farke made when setting up his Norwich side this season, was the snub of two young and promising players that have been destined for greatness in their careers – Todd Cantwell and Billy Gilmour.

Norwich loan player, Gilmour, has been hailed “world-class” by former Rangers boss Mark Warburton whilst Cantwell has been on the radar of top Premier League clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool for some time now.

Smith is sure to have his eyes on both promising players to place into his starting eleven, as both possess qualities that emulate those of Smith’s Aston Villa prodigy, Jack Grealish.

This would see the likes of Kieran Dowell and Kenny McLean potentially axed from the side if Smith did decide to go with the two popular youngsters, however, it may be the right move considering the lack of presence and possession Norwich have displayed in their Premier League campaign so far. Heading into the latest international break, they’d enjoyed just 43.3% of the ball in the top-flight.

With that in mind, this is how Football Fancast predicts Smith’s best starting XI could be once he’s settled in at Carrow Road…

With a typical Norwich 4-3-3 formation, we predict that Smith will line up in a similar, if not identical, set up as his 11th place finishing Aston Villa side of last season.

The ex-Villa boss has never really played with ball-playing defenders with his first choice at Villa being Mings and Konsa, which as a result, we predict that he will drop Ozan Kabak out of his team.

Instead, their incoming boss may opt to play a pairing of Grant Hanley and Ben Gibson who offer more experience and defensive qualities than the young Turkish centre back, especially in a regulation dog fight.

The 50-year-old ex-Brentford boss is yet to confirm his acceptance of the new role but is expected to become head coach in a matter of days with a rumoured two and a half year contract on the table.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Smith: NCFC can save their season with 58 y/o who’s been “top marks”…

Kieran Devlin says there will be ‘conversations’ to be had at Christmas if Ange Postecoglou continues to struggle. 

The lowdown

A 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday compounded Postecoglou’s misery.

It leaves Celtic point-less after two Europa League matches, and things aren’t looking particularly rosy domestically either.

Having followed up a defeat at Livingston with more dropped points against Dundee United, they’ve slipped to sixth in the Scottish Premiership table, already six points behind reigning champions and archrivals Rangers.

The latest

In The Athletic’s fan discussion around the Bayer Leverkusen game, Devlin was asked by a supporter ‘at what point… we say Angeball just doesn’t work with these players’.

In reply, he urged fans to wait until both first-choice full-backs return from injury ‘at the earliest’.

Anthony Ralston’s ‘limitations’ and Adam Montgomery’s ‘inexperience’ are apparently clear at Europa League level.

Josip Juranovic and Greg Taylor are both sidelined at the moment, and ‘given the importance of the full-back roles, that’s a problem’.

However, he adds that ‘if it isn’t working by Christmas, you have that conversation’. By that point, the Hoops’ injury woes should have abated.

The verdict

It’s still too early for Postecoglou’s position to really be questioned. He’s implementing a change of philosophy, and often that will involve incurring short-term pain in the pursuit of long-term benefits.

The injuries are a pretty significant mitigating factor too, of course, while the massive amount of turnover in the squad this summer has played its part.

Celtic should be viewed as a club in transition right now and, as tough as it may be for a club and fans base so used to winning, expectations ought to be lowered for the time being.

In other news, there’s been a transfer development at Celtic Park.