All posts by z3u9t.icu

David Moyes should have no regrets over West Ham United selling Josh Cullen amid claims the midfielder is now worth three-times what RSC Anderlecht paid only last year.

What’s the word?

According to Sport/Foot Magazine, via Sport Witness, Cullen’s sensational start to life in Belgium has seen his market value skyrocket in the five months since his West Ham exit.

The Hammers allowed the 24-year-old to move to Lotto Park on Deadline Day in October for around £500,000, as he’d failed to earn a place in Moyes’ plans.

Cullen was on the books at the London Stadium for 15 years before joining Vincent Kompany’s Pro League outfit, yet only ever made 10 first-team appearances of which just one came during his final three seasons with the club.

Kompany has been vastly more forthcoming with senior minutes for the Republic of Ireland international, with Cullen starting 18 of his 21 outings in all competitions to date, but he is yet to register a single goal or assist.

Though Kompany has been awash with praise for the Hammers product, having helped the Mauves et Blancs to sit fourth in the Pro League standings and contend for a spot in next season’s Champions League.

“He is never called the Man of the Match, but he is the most popular in the squad,” Kompany told DH Les Sports+ last month. “Those who admire him the most for his work are his teammates. He has only one thing in mind: the team. His own person comes after, in the background. If the team wins, it’s because he did a lot of jobs that the others couldn’t do.

“An anecdote: against Genk, he hit his head and they put a bandage on him. As I know he is of Irish descent and tough as iron, I slapped him on his bandage and said with a laugh: ‘Are you okay? Come on, run then, and stop making excuses.’ The same against Charleroi: he took a big tackle on the ankle, but I knew he would continue, even if his leg was cut in half.”

Should West Ham regret selling Cullen?

Kompany clearly thinks highly of Cullen and so do Anderlecht, with the Belgian club said to value him at three-times what they paid West Ham only five months ago.

But Moyes should not have any regrets over Cullen’s departure, as there were no guarantees his move to Belgium would be a success with him having failed to make the grade at the London Stadium between several loan spells away.

Moyes would have received plenty of reports of his progress while with Charlton Athletic for the past two seasons, but the Westcliff-on-Sea-born talent clearly did not impress the Irons enough over his 66 games with the Addicks.

The Hammers boss was not the only one to pass up on his potential, either, as Moyes handed Cullen six of his 10 West Ham appearances, while Manuel Pellegrini never opted to give the four-cap international a single chance.

Cullen took a punt on himself by moving to Belgium last year over the safety of another spell in the Championship, and it is clearly paying off for him. In the long-run, it could pay off for West Ham a bit more, too, having included a sell-on clause in their deal with Anderlecht.

But, right now, West Ham should have no regret over calling time on their investment in a talent failing to breakthrough, and enjoy what success Moyes is delivering on the pitch.

AND in other news, David Moyes has made a £25m forward his top target to fill Seb Haller’s void at West Ham…

West Bromwich Albion fans are far from happy with the news Hal Robson-Kanu broke protocol while away on international duty with Wales.

Robson-Kanu has played a bit-part role for the Baggies so far this campaign. This term, he has appeared just 13 times in the Premier League and has failed to score a single goal (Transfermarkt), although he did net twice in three matches in the League Cup. That is a large contrast from last term, when he netted 10 goals in 39 Championship games as the Midlands outfit were promoted to the top flight.

Still, despite his poor recent form, he was still called up to the Wales squad. However, he has now been sent home along with Tyler Roberts and Rabbi Matondo after they broke a curfew at their squad hotel (via The Athletic).

The fans were far from happy with the news of the forward’s poor behaviour, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Robson-Kanu below

“Why can’t our players go abroad and behave? always misbehaving”

Credit: @Luke_Hewings

“Why are footballers so dumb that they can’t follow a simple set of rules OR think they don’t have to? I’m genuinely astonished each time they display such a lack of basic intelligence.”

Credit: @rob_myatt

“So immature”

Credit: @Ronnie96261839

“Make him isolate until his contract runs out”

Credit: @wbarenno

“Well that’s disappointing to say the least”

Credit: @BigAjayi

“Pretty pathetic isn’t it. He’s not a kid.”

Credit: @Alan4NewportSal

In other news, West Brom eye this 24-year-old.

Brighton & Hove Albion have joined the race for Celtic managerial target Eddie Howe.

That’s according to a report from Football Insider, who have been informed from a Seagulls source that current manager Graham Potter’s position at the Amex is under scrutiny.

Therefore, Albion are keeping tabs on Howe, who has also spoken to Crystal Palace ahead of potentially replacing Roy Hodgson.

Celtic’s Howe hopes have diminished

The report adds that the Hoops, who reached a verbal agreement with Howe, have seen their hopes of appointing the 43-year-old diminished considerably over the last seven days.

Howe’s representative admitted that the former Bournemouth boss doesn’t plan to return to the dugout until the summer, and it seems as if the race for his services is now heating up.

Transfer Tavern take

To us, Celtic now have to be proactive in their hunt for Neil Lennon’s replacement, with so many sides looking at Howe.

Should they put all their eggs in Howe’s basket and miss out on his signature, they could be back at square one ahead of a crucial 2021/22 campaign.

Reports have suggested that the club have made contact with former Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre following Howe’s summer plans, implying they are indeed taking active measures to avoid a meltdown if they lose out on Howe.

Celtic previously offered Lennon the managerial role on a full-time basis in the shower, so at least the club are taking a more professional approach this time around, as they could have handed the job to interim boss John Kennedy by now, as he is still unbeaten in temporary charge.

In other news: Celtic looking at Football League starlet ahead of summer window, find out more here. 

One positive in appointing Darren Moore is that it’ll give Sheffield Wednesday something they’ve never really had – a manager that’ll trust and develop youth prospects.

This could become a paramount tactic should the Owls be relegated to League One as their already precarious finances will be depleted even more.

The Hillsborough-based outfit can clearly produce talent as seen in Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide, who have both become regular members of the first-team setup this season.

We also got a glimpse of some of the other young Owls hopefuls in the FA Cup earlier in the campaign as then-caretaker boss Neil Thompson handed the reins to several of academy prospects.

One of which was left-back Ryan Galvin, who arguably stole the show in their 2-0 victory over League Two outfit Exeter City in the third round.

The 20-year-old won 83% of his duels, made five tackles and had three interceptions, via SofaScore, in what was his senior debut for the Yorkshire giants, leading to YorkshireLive reporter Dom Howson waxing lyrical.

He wrote in his post-match ratings: “Assured display from the left-back on his pro debut. Did not look out of place at all, delivering a bright, energetic performance. A day he will remember for the rest of his life.”

Considering former Owls boss Tony Pulis once claimed that he didn’t have a left-back at the club, it is perhaps worth considering Galvin as a long-term option in the role – even more so under the stewardship of Moore.

At Doncaster Rovers, the 46-year-old had one of the youngest squads in the division (average age of 24.6), which is a stark contrast to the ageing cohort of players at Hillsborough (27.1).

Galvin has been pulling up trees in the youth system, with academy coach Andy Holdsworth dubbing him one of the U23s’ “star performers,” he added: “Ryan Galvin came in and he didn’t put a foot wrong.”

The young defender certainly fits the mould in what Moore would be looking for, former Wigan coach Nick Chadwick told The Athletic: “He’s direct, quick and has a terrific crossing ability. He can dribble with the ball at his feet and is as good at that as he is without it, and in terms of his attacking game, there was not much more we could add.”

Clearly, Matt Penney isn’t too fancied at the club as he’s started only ten league games, whilst Liam Palmer is entering the final 18 months of his current deal – and the interest in free-agent Danny Simpson speaks volumes.

Therefore, the Owls could save themselves thousands ahead of next season by promoting Galvin into the first team. They won’t need to sign a new option, whether that be permanently, through a loan or on a free transfer – all of which will undoubtedly stack up financially.

AND in other news, Moore can solve season-long nightmare with move for £450k-rated “demon”…

Sheffield Wednesday reporter Joe Crann has shed light on the latest goings-on concerning Erik Alonso’s Sheffield Wednesday takeover bid in a recent article for The Sheffield Star.

Crann confirmed that Alonso, who is a former member of the Yorkshire club’s board, has tabled a bid to take over Wednesday, however, the journalist also suggested that the bid won’t be successful.

Dejphon Chansiri’s Sheffield Wednesday valuation

Crann shared his article on this development via a tweet, in which he explained that Alonso’s Owls takeover bid was worth “around £30m” before he went on to state: “My understanding is that it’s nowhere near Dejphon Chansiri’s valuation of the club.”

The journalist also cast some doubt over the likelihood that Alonso may be successful in buying the Owls if he increases his offer, explaining that, at present, Chansiri is “not considering a sale at all.”

Transfer Tavern take

Per The Guardian, Chansiri bought Sheffield Wednesday for £30m back in January 2015, however, based on what Crann has revealed about Alonso’s Owls takeover bid, it’s clear that the Thai businessman either feels he got a great bargain or the club has grown exponentially in value since then, with the journalist explaining that the Wednesday owner feels £30m is “nowhere near” enough to buy the club now.

While Crann has suggested that Chansiri is not interested in selling up, perhaps the comments that the Owls owner has made within the last year about potentially selling the club paint a different picture.

As explained by YorkshireLive, in early-November, Chansiri declared that he doesn’t “see any future in football,” while on New Year’s Eve, he briefly touched on potentially selling the club, saying: “If you don’t want me, I don’t mind. It must be reasonable,” which may suggest that he would actually be open to selling for a price he deems “reasonable.”

So, perhaps the possibility of Chansiri selling the club to Alonso if he returns with a better second offer shouldn’t be completely ruled out and it will be interesting to see if the ex-Owls board member does return with an improved bid.

In other news, many Sheffield Wednesday fans were frustrated with Dom Howson’s Massimo Luongo update.

During the January transfer window, there was seemingly only one thing on Wolves’ mind; signing a new striker.

Raul Jimenez has been out since November while as fights back from a sickening fractured skull and the squad have never truly recovered from losing the Mexican.

What’s the word?

Wolves targeted a number of forwards in January from Olivier Giroud and Divock Origi to Willian Jose, the man they eventually signed on loan from Real Sociedad.

Andy Delort was another player on the club’s radar and it’s recently been revealed by Jeunes Footeux that the Premier League outfit were incredibly close to signing him from Montpellier last month.

The article took an in-depth look at the players linked with a move away from the Ligue 1 club and it was Delort who was seemingly the most sought-after.

This is the second time Wolves have tried to sign Delort after Kenny Jackett attempted to add him to the Old Gold’s ranks back in 2014.

Forget Jose

On paper, Jose looked every bit the perfect Jimenez replacement. He is tall, can hold the ball up and as his record of 62 goals at Sociedad tells you, he can also find the net.

Truth be told, Wolves have been better since his arrival. They have tasted defeat just once in the league after he was signed but unfortunately, he’s not found the net himself.

Jose has six Premier League appearances to his name and although he’s offered a greater presence in attack than either Patrick Cutrone or Fabio Silva, he’s not exactly getting himself in the right positions to score.

With that in mind, should Delort have been signed instead? Quite possibly.

The 29-year-old is enjoying a brilliant season in France where he’s netted ten goals in 21 outings, taking his overall Montpellier tally to 36 strikes. In the process, Delort has registered seven assists this season too.

Like Jimenez, he is adept at bringing others into play and for a man who professes he is “crazy about scoring,” he’s rather selfless.

Delort has everything you’d want in a forward. He can rattle the back of the net consistently, has pace that usurps Kylian Mbappe and he’s also supreme in the air.

He’s won 4.1 aerial duels per game this season, a statistic that defeats everyone at Wolves; even Willy Boly and Leander Dendoncker.

The Frenchman typifies a dynamic forward and judging by his array of qualities, surely would have suited the Premier League. Time will tell whether it was a mistake to bring Jose in over Delort.

AND in other news, Wolves may already have next Coady in rarely-seen 19 y/o who’s “always had potential”…

Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer knocked back the idea of Carlos Carvalhal returning to Hillsborough in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Carvalhal, who managed Wednesday from 2015-2017, revealed he would like to return to the Yorkshire club one day and can see it happening.

The Portuguese coach is currently in charge of Braga and has a contract at the Portuguese outfit until 2022, meaning who could soon be available again. Palmer, though, is not too sure about a homecoming for the former Owls boss.

When asked whether he would like to see Carvalhal return to the Hillsborough dugout, the ex-Wednesday player told FFC:

“Well, Carlos did well, I mean, did really well. I mean, they went to the play-off final with Carlos and then into the play-offs [the following season]. So, yeah, never say never. But I always think once you’ve moved on, you’ve moved on. Do you know what I mean? Even Sir Alex Ferguson going back to Manchester United wouldn’t be the same. I think once you’ve moved on, you’ve moved on.”

Carvalhal certainly did a good job during his time at Wednesday, leading the Owls to the 2015-16 Championship play-off final, where they narrowly missed out to Hull City in a 1-0 loss at Wembley.

The 55-year-old was also able to take Wednesday to the play-offs the following season, this time losing out at the semi-final stage to Huddersfield Town.

Since then, Carvalhal has gone on to manage Swansea City and Braga, adding to an extensive CV that also features the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Besiktas and Istanbul Basaksehir.

Liverpool have recently been credited with an interest in RB Salzburg striker Patson Daka and the Zambian could prove to be the Reds’ next Sadio Mane.

What’s the word?

According to the Express, West Ham have been offered the chance to sign the forward for just £25 million this month and the report also suggests that he is a target for Liverpool and Arsenal, whilst Spurs have been linked with him in the past.

The Reds were certainly in the market for a pacy striker such as Daka during the summer transfer window, as they were heavily linked with Timo Werner before his move to Chelsea, so if they were to sign the 22-year-old Salzburg man, he could add a different dimension to Jurgen Klopp’s attack.

Klopp’s next Mane?

Daka, who can also play on either wing, has admitted previously that he wants to emulate fellow African stars, Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mane, so he clearly holds the Senegalese international in high regard.

He also mentioned the former Southampton man, as well as Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino, as players who have featured for RB Salzburg before going on to bigger things, so perhaps we could see the Reds benefit again by signing Daka from the Austrian side.

Certainly, his goal record in the past two seasons suggests that he is ready to make the step up, as he has managed 49 goals and 20 assists in just 100 appearances for Salzburg in his career thus far.

Last season saw him impressively hit 24 goals and eight assists in 31 league appearances, and he is well on track to beat that total this season, having managed eight goals and three assists in just eight appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga so far this campaign.

Considering he is valued at £18 million, Liverpool paying £25 million for him this month seems a fair price, especially when you take into account his exceptional start to the 2020/21 season.

The Reds’ decision to sign Mane from Southampton for £34 million in 2016 certainly proved to be a good one, as he has 90 goals and 34 assists for the Merseyside club in the four and a half years since.

Football manager Herve Renard is certainly a big fan of Daka, and sung his praises in 2020, saying:

“It’s a modern, fast-paced centre [forward] that is able to make an effort and make a difference because he is skilful and has a sense of movement. You really have to write down his name, because he’s very, very promising.”

Therefore, Michael Edwards should part ways with the £25 million required to sign Daka this month, as he looks destined for a great future in the game and could be a huge success in this Liverpool side.

And, in other news… Edwards must swoop for £90m-rated LFC target after he provided seven key passes in one game

Glasgow Rangers defender George Edmundson faces an uncertain future as Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard has been given a huge injury boost, if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the word?

According to The Daily Record, Nikola Katic is expected to make a full recovery from his long-term injury in January. The Croatian sustained an injury in training before the start of the season which has ruled him out of action for several months.

Gerrard brought in Leon Balogun as emergency cover in the summer and the Nigeria international has turned out to be a real bargain so far. But Katic is targeting a return from rehab for some time in January.

His agent Ives Cakarun said, as quoted by The Daily Record: “All is going well.

“We hope Nikola will be ready for January. It was a big operation, cruciate ligaments and both meniscus.”

The timing couldn’t be any better for Gerrard, as Balogun somewhat survived unscathed during the international break after a minor injury scare, which would have left him with only two viable centre-back options in Connor Goldson and Filip Helander, as Edmundson has been handed a lengthy suspension after breaking coronavirus protocols to attend a party with people from outside his household.

The Daily Record revealed both Edmundson and Jordan Jones have been hit with seven-game bans by the SFA for breaching COVID rules, which means they will only be available for selection by the end of December. So Gerrard and Ross Wilson must rid themselves of the Oldham Athletic academy graduate when the transfer market reopens in the winter as this is surely the final straw.

Get him gone, Wilson!

When trust is broken in a relationship, that is in essence where the problem lies. Gerrard, ever the consummate professional during his heydays at Anfield, will have been appalled by the fact that they couldn’t adhere to COVID regulations like the rest of their teammates.

Anyone who has watched The Last Dance will remember the time when Dennis Rodman went partying in Las Vegas during the NBA season. The trouble is, Edmundson isn’t Gerrard’s Michael Jordan, let alone Dennis Rodman. If anything, he’s a bit-part fringe squad player at best, someone who is often on the outside looking in. He has only made one appearance in the Europa League qualifying rounds so far this season, playing the full 90′ minutes against Lincoln Red Imps, before being left out of the squad along with Jermain Defoe and Jones for the group stage matches.

In two games in the Europa League last season, the 23-year-old made 6 clearances per game, but only managed 0.5 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game, via WhoScored. On the other hand, Katic, who is only one year older than his clubmate, managed 2 tackles per game in the European competition last term, as per WhoScored.

Former Celtic centre-back Gary Caldwell believes Edmundson, who reportedly earns wages worth £4,200-per-week, has made a “terrible” decision after the COVID breach. He told BBC Sportsound, as quoted by The Daily Record: “It’s terrible. Steven Gerrard will have something to say about it.

“If you can’t trust the players to adhere to Covid regulations, how can he trust them on the football park? To mark a man from a set-piece?

“It’s disappointing for Rangers but also disappointing for Scottish football.

“The situation clubs find themselves in financially, they’re going to need help at some point so we need to be showing Scottish football in the best light and unfortunately we didn’t do that.”

He burst onto the scene after a strong showing against Hamilton Academical at Ibrox last season, but will have hardly done himself any favours whatsoever with his latest blunder.

If everything plans out as is expected, it’s likely we will see Edmundson heading for the exit, either by way of a loan move or on a permanent basis, as Katic will probably battle Balogun, Goldson and Helander for a place in the starting line-up. You have to set an example, one way or another.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard must put his faith in Ianis Hagi after “super” verdict from Romania U21 boss Adrian Mutu…

It appears that Southampton sold Jay Rodriguez at the perfect time when he left the Saints in 2017, as he has failed to find the back of the net for Burnley so far this season.

The striker would make 126 appearances for the South Coast club, in which he contributed 35 goals and 14 assists, having joined from Burnley in 2012.

After five years with the club, he joined West Bromwich Albion, before returning to the Turf Moor outfit in the summer of 2019.

In his last season with the Saints, Rodriguez would grab five goals and two assists in 24 Premier League appearances but this clearly wasn’t enough to see him stay with the club and after another fairly poor goalscoring return the next season, he enjoyed his best season to date with the Baggies in the Championship, notching 22 league goals.

This saw him return to the top-flight with Burnley and whilst he was able to score 11 times last season, this campaign has not been a happy one for the 31-year-old so far, as he has failed to find the back of the net in 11 appearances so far this season.

Therefore, it could definitely be argued that Southampton did well to sell the Englishman for around £12 million in 2017, as he has failed to consistently score goals in the top-flight since the 2013/14 season under Mauricio Pochettino, having suffered a serious injury.

His value has decreased in his time since leaving the Saints, as when he left he was valued at £9 million, whereas now he is valued at just £5.4 million.

Unfortunately for the forward, he has also struggled with injuries at times during his career, notably when he missed 50 games with the cruciate ligament rupture in 2013/14, which makes the fee Southampton received for the forward even more impressive.

His performances for Burnley this season have been disappointing, with Rodriguez averaging a 6.21 rating for his performances in the top-flight, reinforcing the point that Southampton sold him at the perfect time, as since his departure, they have certainly progressed, with the likes of Danny Ings and Che Adams now leading the line up front.

Hopefully, for Rodriguez, it isn’t too long until he gets himself back on the scoresheet for the Clarets.

And, in other news… Southampton handed transfer boost in pursuit of electric winger likened to Lionel Messi