All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Southampton are reportedly one of the Premier League sides interested in signing Birmingham City striker Amari Miller this summer and the 18-year-old could prove to be the next Nathan Redmond in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

What’s the word?

According to Birmingham Live reporter Brian Dick, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur have joined the race to sign the teenager this summer, with Leeds United and Everton also credited with an interest.

The 18-year-old forward made several promising cameo appearances for Lee Bowyer’s side towards the end of the Championship campaign but his contract at St Andrew’s is set to expire this summer and whilst the Blues have offered him a deal, any Premier League club could sign him for a minimal tribunal fee this summer.

Southampton’s next Redmond?

Although Miller is very early in his career, Birmingham clearly have a lot of belief in his ability as he featured five times in the Championship last season, despite Bowyer’s side being embroiled in a relegation battle for much of the season.

Bowyer has already praised his “fearless” approach to playing in the Championship and the St Andrew’s outfit will surely be desperate to keep hold of him this summer, but a move to Southampton where young players are always given a chance may well appeal to Miller.

If he were to make the move to St Mary’s ahead of next season, he could prove to be the next Redmond at the South Coast club.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-southampton-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Southampton transfer rumours and news!”]

Like Miller, Redmond started his career at Birmingham City before joining Norwich City in 2013, where he would make 123 appearances before completing a switch to Southampton in the summer of 2016.

He has since gone on to make 199 appearances for the Saints, contributing 27 goals and 21 assists, so if Miller could replicate the former England international, then he would surely prove to be a solid addition at St Mary’s.

Like Redmond, Miller can also feature on either flank and could perhaps be re-trained to feature as a striker in Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2 setup in the future.

Considering Miller won’t cost much at all, it would be well worth the risk for Martin Semmens to try and bring him to St Mary’s this summer, although it appears as if he will face stiff competition from other Premier League sides.

Given Hasenhuttl has been very effusive in his praise of Saints’ young talents, and has already done well in bringing through the likes of Nathan Tella, Miller could be the latest crown jewel for the St Mary’s boss.

An exciting young winger who’s “fearless” appears to be the ideal fit for someone to learn his trade under Hasenhuttl, and it’s exactly why the Saints boss would surely love to sign him.

And, in other news… Reed disaster: Saints missed out on “unbelievable” beast with more goals than Ings

In a recent interview, Manchester United defender Harry Maguire admitted that he chose a move to Old Trafford over a switch to the Etihad Stadium in 2019, despite receiving a personal phone call from Pep Guardiola.

The England international completed an £80m move from Leicester City to Manchester United in 2019 but could have very easily ended up with the Citizens.

When speaking to Gary Neville for The Overlap, the centre-back revealed: “I grew up watching Manchester United, no disrespect to Manchester City… so I always had my heart set on this club.

“I spoke to Pep and obviously the football they play and what he’s done for the club… (I have) great respect for him and what he’s done for football, but my heart was set.”

Since joining United, the 28-year-old has become club captain and has gone on to make 107 appearances for the Red Devils, contributing five goals and five assists.

Whilst he has come under a lot of criticism at times, his performances this season were a key factor in United finishing second behind City, and their drop-off in form in recent fixtures in his absence emphasises just how important he is to Solskjaer’s side.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-manchester-city-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Manchester City transfer rumours and news!”]

In 34 Premier League appearances in 2020/21, the centre-back contributed two goals and one assist, earning an impressive 7.04 average rating from WhoScored, which is higher than the average ratings of Man City centre-back duo Ruben Dias (6.91) and John Stones (7.03).

Guardiola is clearly a big fan of Maguire, having called him to try and convince him to join the Spaniard at the Etihad, whilst the 50-year-old also sung his praises earlier in the season, dubbing him “one of the best central defenders in the world.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“577936″]

Therefore, whilst Maguire claims that he had his heart set on joining United, it is a shame that City couldn’t complete a deal for the £36m-rated defender, as he could have been an excellent addition at the Etihad.

In other news… Bye-bye Laporte: Txiki should seal MCFC swoop for “amazing” £45m-rated beast

Despite winning May’s player of the month award and scoring seven goals in seven games and eight goals in 11 starts, former Newcastle United defender Steve Howey has exclusively told Football FanCast that he would not pay £30 million for Joe Willock.

Willock won the last player of the month award after scoring four goals in four games and after saying an emotional farewell, there has been mixed speculation regarding the midfielder’s future at the Emirates.

There is an expectation on Tyneside that the Magpies are still likely to lodge a £20 million bid for Willock despite Mikel Arteta claiming that the Gunners will plan for the future with Willock.

Newcastle have not had a player like him since Georginio Wijnaldum as none of their other midfielders have a willingness to get forward and score goals, however Howey does not believe Steve Bruce should blow £30 million on the 21-year old:

“He’s impressed me massively but I wouldn’t spend £30 million on him even though I do think that he did superbly well at Newcastle.”

Depending on which reports you trust then it appears that Arsenal are wanting to either receive £20 million or £30 million for their academy graduate and with Steve Bruce’s budget reportedly being £10 million, it paints a bleak picture.

Willock was Bruce’s one and only signing last January when he joined on deadline day and with not many people expecting too much from him, he netted on his debut against Southampton and never looked back.

Leeds United will have to battle Liverpool for the signature of Rodrigo de Paul this summer, according to a fresh report which has emerged from Italy.

The Lowdown: Constant interest in De Paul

The Udinese midfielder has been linked with a move to Leeds numerous times in recent months, as Marcelo Bielsa eyes up some key reinforcements.

The 26-year-old has shone in Serie A this season, registering nine goals and assists apiece, while scout and analyst Dan Altman once described him as a ‘great fit’ for Marcelo Bielsa’s style due to his ability to contribute end product and also cover lots of ground.

The Latest: Fresh link emerges

Now, a new link has emerged from Il Milanista [via Sport Witness], which claims that Leeds and Liverpool will lock horns for the signing of De Paul.

It is stated that the two clubs are in the ‘first row’ of potential suitors, providing ‘fierce competition’ to AC Milan, who may not be able to pay the required €40million (£34.4m) for him.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-2/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Sprinkling of stardust

Leeds certainly don’t need numerous additions this summer, but De Paul is a player who could take Bielsa’s team up another level.

He is a midfielder who is primarily attack-minded but also savvy defensively, averaging 1.2 dribbles per game in Serie A this season, but also exactly the same number of tackles.

De Paul can be that sprinkling of magic who gives Leeds’ midfield an extra dimension, potentially elevating those around him in the way Bruno Fernandes has at Manchester United.

In other news, Leeds have been handed a boost after a rumoured target rejected a new deal at his current club. Find out who it is here.

Leicester City’s hopes of finishing in a Champions League qualification place were extinguished on Sunday afternoon after they fell to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

It was a desperately disappointing end to an otherwise outstanding campaign for the Foxes, who lifted their first-ever FA Cup crown just a few weeks ago.

For much of the season, it seemed inevitable that Brendan Rodgers’ men would finish inside the Premier League’s top four and return to Europe’s elite cup competition for the first time since 2016/17, but defeats to Newcastle United, Chelsea and Spurs in their final four league games saw them end up in fifth place.

It’s the second consecutive campaign where the Midlands outfit have missed out on a Champions League spot on the last day of the season, however, this one may hurt Rodgers even more, given Leicester led on two occasions over the weekend.

Chelsea’s defeat to Aston Villa meant three points would have seen the 2016 Premier League champions leapfrog the Blues in the top-flight table, and it seemed as though that would be the case with under 15 minutes of action remaining.

That was until a rare goalkeeping howling from Kasper Schmeichel badly let Rodgers and his teammates down. The 34-year-old shot-stopper punched the ball into the back of his own net when attempting to clear a corner, levelling the scores in the 79th minute.

As per SofaScore, the Denmark international received a rating of 5.4/10, by far the lowest score awarded to any player on the King Power pitch.

The big error topped off an underwhelming display from the usually dependable keeper. He let in four goals, he only had a passing accuracy of just 68%, and managed to pick out a teammate with only four of his 11 attempted long balls.

Fortunately for the Foxes, this kind of display is certainly infrequent as far as Schmeichel is concerned, and he received the backing of his manager after a mistake against Burnely a few months back.

“He’s been brilliant for me in my time here, there’s moments where it looks like it’s going to be a goal and he pulls off a save,” said Rodgers. “His concentration and his desire to stop the ball going in the net is so good.

“He always produces for us, he’s absolutely outstanding when he had to be here. That’s why he’s one of the top keepers at this level.”

The Leicester fans will surely forgive their great Dane on this occasion, given his past heroics, but it will still be a disappointing way to end 2020/21 nonetheless and it was, all in all, a hopeless performance from one of the club’s modern-day legends, a performance that cost his side a Champions League place.

And, in other news…Lost 60% of his duels: £21.6m-rated Leicester City lightweight badly let Rodgers down 

Wolves have opened negotiations with Valencia for Goncalo Guedes, according to Portuguese journalist Pedro Almeida.

An offer between €20-25 million will apparently be enough to tempt the La Liga side to part with the 24-year-old, despite him having an absolutely remarkable release clause in his current deal.

Nuno’s side look to have stolen a march on West Ham and Everton, also named by Almeida as interested parties.

Valencia could make loss on Guedes

Valencia paid £36million to make Guedes’ loan deal permanent in August 2018 and tied him down to a six-year deal (via BBC Sport).ÂThat contract included an eye-watering £270million release clause.

But it looks as if Los murcielagosÂare now entertaining realistic offers, with Guedes only able to contribute two La Liga goals this season and the financial impact of the pandemic hitting the club hard.

In all, he has been directly involved in 42 goals in 128 Valencia matches (20 goals, 22 assists).ÂHe’s also been capped 22 times at senior level for Portugal, having last been called up in September.

Transfer Tavern verdict

It’s worth noting just how much Valencia have struggled this season. Last year, they made it to the Champions League of Round 16, but there’s no prospect of European qualification this time around with Javi Gracia’s side languishing in 13th.

So Guedes shouldn’t be written off just because his own statistics are a little underwhelming – Cristiano Ronaldo is such a big fan of his compatriot he allegedly wanted him to replace Gareth Bale at Real Madrid.ÂIf Pedro Neto were to be prised away, Guedes could be an excellent replacement.

In other news, fans flocked to another transfer update on Monday.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp faced the microphones on Monday night after the club’s owners agreed in principle to join the European Super League.

The Reds were subject to boos and angry chants as they arrived at Elland Road to face Leeds United, seemingly from both sets of supporters.

After the game, which finished 1-1, Klopp was critical of Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.

The German said he ‘understands’ the backlash and admitted he ‘doesn’t like’ the idea, having been kept in the dark by the ownership, but he felt Neville’s comments about Liverpool were ‘not okay’.

The Manchester United legend had accused the club’s hierarchy of ‘pretending’ to adhere to the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ motto and labelled them an ‘absolute disgrace’.

Everton News Feed relayed the Reds’ manager comments, adding: ‘He’s not really understanding it is he?’

The European Super League plans, which would see the ‘big six’ qualify every year, have been denounced at Goodison Park.

Everton are above Arsenal and only a point behind Spurs with a game in hand in the current Premier League standings.

Klopp slammed for post-Leeds comments

“Had the opportunity to make a statement but instead he whinged about Leeds’ T-shirts and Gary Neville the bottle job.”

Credit: @samhargreaves94

“Totally knew about it too. As if he didn’t.”

Credit: @Mr_Jampot

“Did I hear that right. The owners are good people haha. They tried to furlough their staff until there was an outcry. Good people hahahahahahahahahahahah.”

Credit: @ElTelTheToffee

“They knew about it, possibly explains their terrible form lately. Needs to put his own house in order before he starts on Neville though.”

Credit: @pshughes10

“Oh he is, just deflecting the main question so he doesn’t have to answer it! I am very surprised, thought he would do something like Milner!”

Credit: @ianjacques68

“Is it just me or doesn’t he always seems kinda spineless and full of excuses as soon as things get kinda heated?!”

Credit: @killenpabanken

“At least Pickford isn’t getting blamed for this super league idea.”

Credit: @Paul34088722

In other news, this Everton star broke the first-team’s silence on the Super League.

Tottenham Hotspur are thought to be among the front-runners for RB Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer this summer.

According to Sport Bild, there is a “75% chance” that he joins the north London outfit after the current campaign, though Spurs do face competition from Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester United.

The 27-year-old’s contract is set to expire in 2022, so the Bundesliga side do not want to lose him for nothing and as a result, have put a €42m (£36m) valuation for signature.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has previously lauded his fit in the current Spurs set-up, claiming he’s “perfect for Jose Mourinho” whilst as Leipzig skipper, he’d arrive with plenty of leadership attributes.

That’s not to mention his ability to score from midfield too, having notched 23 goals across the past two seasons, as per Transfermarkt – it’s no wonder his manager, Julian Nagelsmann, has dubbed him a “goal threat.”

But with this interest comes a consequence, as Mourinho will not be able to fit so many midfielders into his matchday squad, let alone the starting XI every week.

One player who appears to be most at risk is Harry Winks, who has become a forgotten man in N17, having started only seven league games all term.

A lot has been made about the 25-year-old’s future at Spurs. Ahead of January, Winks revealed his frustration at a lack of game time, he told Sky Sports: “Definitely, my situation at Tottenham is difficult at the moment.”

And since then, there have been reports suggesting that he’ll ‘insist’ on a departure in the summer. That’s according to Sport (via Sport Witness), who believe Winks is enticed by the idea of playing in Spain.

Overall, this could be the best thing for all parties because the Englishman has failed to live up to the lofty expectations once set by former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Speaking to the Evening Standard in 2018, Pochettino compared Winks to the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi. He said: “Harry has the profile of the perfect midfield player. His characteristics are perfect. When we talk about midfielders like Xavi and Iniesta, he’s like this type of player.”

The £20m-rated maestro has never really hit the ground running for the Lilywhites anyway. In five straight Premier League seasons, Winks has struggled to surpass an average rating of 6.57, whilst this campaign, no player with seven or more starts has been worse (6.38).

In terms of productivity, he’s offered very little.

Defensively, he ranks amongst Spurs’ worst performers, managing only 0.8 tackles per game despite playing in the engine room. By comparison, this is the same number as Heung-min Son and only 0.1 ahead of Harry Kane, who are both a key source for scoring goals, rather than keeping them out.

Similarly, in attack, Winks isn’t doing anything of note in the final third, managing only 0.3 key passes, 0.3 shots and 0.1 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

Sabitzer would certainly be an upgrade in both senses too.

On top of his impressive goalscoring record, he’s managed to chip in at the back with 1.4 interceptions and 1.1 tackles, proving to be a tough force in midfield to win the ball back, whilst the Austria international is also averaging two shots and one key pass per game, as per WhoScored.

Daniel Levy could end Wink’s north London nightmare with a swoop for Sabitzer, and that’s surely in Spurs’ best interests.

AND in other news, Spurs eyeing “next Zlatan” Ibrahimovic in teen prodigy…

According to The Scottish Sun, Glasgow Rangers are interested in signing Morecambe winger Carlos Mendes Gomes.

Rangers eye Gomes

The Gers are said to be interested in signing 22-year-old Gomes, who was previously part of Atletico Madrid’s youth set-up.

The Ibrox outfit are believed to have watched the winger on a number of occasions this season, and have even made an enquiry in regards to his availability. He will be out of contract at the end of this campaign (Transfermarkt).

Another bargain deal

It seems the 55-time Scottish champions are continuing to look for bargain deals as they plan ahead for the next campaign. Scott Wright, Jack Simpson and Nnamdi Ofoborh all joined Rangers during the January transfer window as their contracts were set to run out at the end of the term.

Gomes has been in impressive form for the Shrimps this season, scoring 12 goals in 37 games in League One (Transfermarkt) – he had managed just two strikes throughout his career before that. On a free transfer, this would make perfect sense for Ross Wilson and co, and would allow them to allocate funds elsewhere for bigger-name signings that would be more expensive. Mainly, though, it is positive to see the Gers look to do their business early, rather than panicking late in the summer.

In other news, Rangers fans are livid at this journalist’s comments.

Newcastle United have teased the return of Callum Wilson with an update on their official Twitter page.

The St. James’ Park faithful tweeted a handful of photos of the former AFC Bournemouth ace back in training with the added caption ‘back soon’.

Wilson has missed the last five games for the North East club in the Premier League with a hamstring injury that he unfortunately picked up in the 3-2 home win over Southampton back in February, and since then they have not managed to win a single match, losing two and drawing their last three (Transfermarkt).

Newcastle need Wilson back

The story of the past few fixtures is that the Tyneside club have struggled badly without Wilson in the team, scoring a mere three goals in the last five games without their star striker (Transfermarkt).

His 10 goals in the top flight so far in the 2020/21 term are more than double the next highest scorer for Steve Bruce’s side in Miguel Almiron (four), while his impressive tally of five assists is also the most out of any Magpies player (Whoscored).

With the Toon currently lurking ever so dangerously above the drop zone at the moment, NUFC clearly need the England international back as soon as possible, with a real threat of relegation on their hands.

In other news, find out what claim an arbitrator has dropped on Michael Beloff ahead of the pending takeover case here!