All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

With West Bromwich Albion heading into Friday night’s Championship clash off the back of a highly impressive 4-0 win at Cardiff in midweek, a result which shot the Baggies to the top of the table, the Frenchman will certainly be hoping for yet another dominant display against Stoke City this evening.

However, with Michael O’Neill’s Potters side having also started their 2021/22 campaign in fine form, picking up 18 points from their opening 10 fixtures of the season and sitting fifth in the table, a win at the bet365 Stadium is by no means guaranteed for Ismael’s men.

Indeed, the 45-year-old will need to ensure that he selects the strongest possible starting XI for the fixture, something which has been considerably boosted by the early return of Matt Clarke, with the centre-back set to once again be available after missing the club’s last six Championship fixtures due to a hamstring injury.

Forget Bryan

While Kean Bryan was brought in to help cover the absence of centre-back duo Clarke and Dara O’Shea, the return of Clarke should see the Brighton loanee jump ahead of the former Sheffield United man in the centre-back pecking order. The 24-year-old has struggled to get up to match fitness since joining the club, having played just one minute of Championship football this season.

Indeed, over his three Championship appearances for the Baggies this term, the £2.7m-rated Clarke has averaged 2.3 interceptions, one tackle and 2.7 clearances and has won a highly impressive 7.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the defender who Graham Potter dubbed a “quality” talent earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Albion’s ninth-best performer in the second tier.

As such, with a tricky – and potentially very physical – game against Stoke coming up for Ismael and his side, it would seem advisable for the Frenchman to throw Clarke back into his starting line-up against the Potters. The £21k-per-week loanee has already proven with his statistics during his time at The Hawthorns that he can be something of a game-changer in the Baggies’ back three.

In other news: Sources reveal West Brom development on “committed” £28k-p/w ace, Ismael surely gutted

Leeds United’s 1-0 win over Watford without Patrick Bamford was ‘massive’ for Marcelo Bielsa and co, according to former Scotland manager Alex McLeish.

The Lowdown: First win of season

England international Bamford was absent for the victory over Watford due to an ankle injury, leaving Bielsa with no choice but to select Rodrigo as his striker.

Diego Llorente’s first-half header was the difference at Elland Road as Leeds earned their first win of the season against Watford in what was Xisco Munoz’s final game in charge of the club before being replaced by Claudio Ranieri.

The victory lifted Leeds clear of the relegation zone, now three points ahead of Burnley in 18th.

The Latest: Big boost for Leeds

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish admitted his concerns about Leeds’ form, but insisted the victory over the Hornets will provide a huge boost that they can win without their number nine.

“Certainly there was a lot of entertainment again from Leeds.

“To be honest, it’s brilliant news for Leeds because in recent weeks I’ve been worried about them.

“Thinking back to last season, they were winning, losing, winning, losing winning. They were keeping a kind of momentum.

“This time they’ve lost two or three. Could they come back in this one against a Watford team who you know are in the lower half of the table and toiling a wee bit?

“We’ve got to think about the levels they’re playing at. For Leeds to win that game, I think was a massive surge for them and their mentality, for the players to realise they can win without Patrick.”

The Verdict: Goals from elsewhere

Leeds’ reliance on Bamford since their return to the top flight has been evident. Last season, he netted 17 goals and grabbed eight assists as Leeds finished ninth in the Premier League.

This season, it is no surprise that Leeds’ poor start to the season has coincided with Bamford’s lack of goals. His only strike of the campaign came in the 1-1 draw with Burnley and he has only managed 0.8 shots on target per game.

Bielsa simply must discover other sources of goals going forward – just look at reigning champions Manchester City, who have 11 different goalscorers in the top flight already this term.

In other news, Leeds have agreed personal terms with one of their targets for 2022. Find out more here.

Nuno Santo has hinted that Tottenham Hotspur have some injury doubts ahead of their return to Premier League action on Sunday…

What’s the latest?

Spurs head to the northeast to face Newcastle United at St James’ Park for their first game back after the international break, having won last time out when defeating Aston Villa 2-1.

That put an end to a run of three successive heavy league defeats, though the pressure is surely still on the Portuguese boss. The Magpies will be no easy test either after their long-awaited Saudi-backed takeover was finally announced last week.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference, the Lilywhites head coach told reporters (via football.london): “After the international break, there are always huge issues that happen. We have problems but I will not say before the game.”

Potential blow

This will come as worrying news to the Spurs faithful, even if it’s anyone’s guess as to who Nuno is on about.

The north London outfit had plenty of their first-team stars out on international duty during the past week or so.

Argentina duo Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, Brazil right-back Emerson Royal and Colombia centre-back Davinson Sanchez are all on their way back, having played their final matches on Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday. They will be assessed upon their return to England.

Harry Kane featured for England, Heung-min Son was in goalscoring form for South Korea, and club captain Hugo Lloris won the Nations League with France.

Sergio Reguilon and Bryan Gil (Spain), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Denmark), Matt Doherty (Northern Ireland), Joe Rodon and Ben Davies (Wales) and Oliver Skipp (England U21) were all also involved in some form of international action in recent days, too.

The vast majority of these are first-choice starters for Nuno, so it’ll certainly be a blow to Spurs if any have returned with an injury or even a knock.

Supporters may be feeling a little anxious heading into kick-off now. We will soon see who – if any – is missing when the teamsheet is announced on Sunday afternoon.

AND in other news, 87 touches, 89% duels won: “Phenomenal” Spurs beast has now handed Nuno a huge dilemma…

Some Sheffield Wednesday supporters have criticised Joe Wildsmith’s performance in the Owls’ frustrating 2-2 draw away to AFC Wimbledon.

Darren Moore’s side travelled to London on Saturday afternoon looking to build on their 1-0 win at home to Bolton Wanderers from last week.

For much of the game, it looked as though Wednesday were on their way to an impressive victory, with Lee Gregory opening the scoring and then doubling the visitors’ lead from the penalty spot.

Unfortunately, the Owls once again dropped points from a winning position, with AFC Wimbledon nabbing a point thanks to goals from Nesta Guinness-Walker and Jack Rudoni.

One player who seemingly didn’t impress the masses was Wildsmith, who started in goal for Wednesday but struggled to produce a convincing showing. He lost possession 18 times and had a woeful passing accuracy rate of just 51%, as per Sofascore.

Sheff Wed fans criticise Wildsmith’s performance

These Owls supporters took to Twitter to lambast the goalkeeper’s “comedy” display at Plough Lane.

“Wildsmith looking shaky again”

Credit: @BonningtonAlex

“Wildsmith looks as solid as ever. Comedy keeper”

Credit: @geebeeowl

“All the hard work undone by players falling asleep, Wildsmith, Wing and Brown poor”

Credit: @LockStar9

“No pressure on the crosser with 4 players within 10 yards watching him. Not good enough from Brown on the far post. And why didn’t Wildsmith come for the cross??”

Credit: @therealbirchy

“Tome has been the best gelled side all season. Brown didn’t impress me and I thought Fis off for Berahino was a poor decision. But it’s a point but for me a better gelled dude, still not sure about Wildsmith. Today was Wednesday all over 6/10”

Credit: @rmctom380

“1. How on earth have we let him have so much space…4 players watching. 2. Why’s the keeper not come to collect it? 3. Look at the marking at the back post…shocking that”

Credit: @hinster86

In other news, some Sheff Wed fans have hailed one player’s recent award win. Find out who it is here.

As West Ham United eased past Genk 3-0 at the London Stadium last night, many Hammers fans marked out winger Andriy Yarmolenko for criticism after his display.

David Moyes’ side have now taken full control of Group H in one giant step towards finishing top.

As per the new Europa League format, only first place will guarantee West Ham an automatic Last 16 spot with all second-placed sides having to go through a play-off format.

Alas, the Irons’ thumping victory on Thursday evening puts one foot into the next round and there were many standout performers.

Goals from Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen gifted West Ham all three points as they go six points clear – but one man supporters weren’t impressed with was Yarmolenko.

Indeed, he finished the 90 minutes among West Ham’s lowest-rated players on SofaScore and didn’t manage a single shot on target.

As well as this, the Ukraine international lost the vast majority of his ground duels against Genk and it’s safe to say Irons fans weren’t particularly pleased with their club’s second-highest earner.

Find all of their Twitter verdicts on his display down below.

West Ham fans slam Yarmolenko…

“Yarmolenko is shocking oh my days”

Credit: @whuabi

“I’ve backed Yarmolenko but he’s been a disgrace tonight”

Credit: @xDellisOfficial

“Yarmolenko is such a painful player to watch”

Credit: @c_friend1

“30 minutes in and I’m done with yarmolenko again. Pony”

Credit: @Aaron_Parris

“Yarmolenko is actually dog water”

Credit: @MuseTheHammer

“Yarmolenko plays like someone who just spams the left stick on fifa to do skills”

Credit: @whuTaylor_

“Yarmo is awful get him gone”

Credit: @hdhshhehshen

“I’d take 17 quid for Yarmolenko at the moment”

Credit: @DaveHeathy

In other news: ‘Yes yes yes’, ‘No brainer’…West Ham fans buzz as contact made to sign ‘big’ striker, find out more here.

Roberto Martinez is ‘open’ to the idea of taking over at Newcastle United but there are obstacles in the way of his appointment, The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder reports.

The lowdown

Newcastle have yet to appoint a successor to Steve Bruce, who was relieved of his duties on 20 October.

According to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, they want to conclude that process prior to the upcoming international break, giving the new manager additional time to prepare for his first Premier League match.

Martinez is currently the manager of the Belgian national side and has led them to two major tournaments. They were knocked out of the World Cup and the European Championship by eventual champions France and Italy respectively.

Last month, they took on the French once again in the Nations League semi-finals and surrendered a two-goal lead. The Spaniard has also had two stints in Premier League management with Wigan Athletic and Everton.

The latest

As per The Chronicle, Martinez is willing to take the job but Newcastle are aware that appointing him will necessitate paying a release fee.

Belgium are said to be reluctant to change manager before their World Cup qualifying campaign has been completed. They are due to round off the group by facing Estonia and Wales this month.

His contract expires in the summer, but it’s ‘unclear’ whether the Red Devils have an option to extend it to cover the World Cup in just over 12 months’ time.

The verdict

The outstanding issue here is the timing. Newcastle want the new manager installed before the international break, but Martinez already has commitments, so the Magpies may not be inclined to wait this one out.

The release fee shouldn’t prove to be too big an issue for one of the richest clubs in world football and the claim that he’s open to taking the reins on Tyneside suggests that he probably isn’t envisaging himself taking charge of Belgium in Qatar next year.

This one could potentially happen, but only if the Magpies are willing to compromise.

In other news, the stats show that these were Newcastle’s worst players against Chelsea

Newcastle United’s top choice before Unai Emery to be their next manager has now been revealed as Zinedine Zidane.

The Lowdown: Curveball

When it looked as if Emery was all set to become the next manager at St. James’ Park, he threw a curveball by releasing a statement saying that he is committed to Villarreal and so would not take the job if it was offered to him by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

That means that the race is now wide open again, with the likes of Roberto Martinez, Eddie Howe and Paulo Fonseca named as potential candidates in recent days.

Nonetheless, it looks as if Graeme Jones will now be taking charge once more at the weekend in the Premier League against Brighton and Hove Albion, unless the new owners can get someone through the door fast.

The Latest: Zidane was top choice

As per El Espanol, Zidane was the new ownership’s top choice before Emery, but the former Real Madrid coach did not fancy managing in the North East.

He is reportedly waiting to see if the Manchester United or France job becomes vacant, and is the ‘big favourite’ to take over from Didier Deschamps for their national side.

However, if the new ownership on Tyneside can sell their long-term project to him, then he could be persuaded to change his mind.

The Verdict: Move on

With the Magpies currently in a relegation battle at the moment, it just seems too unrealistic that Zidane would join them now.

This is a manager who has won the UEFA Champions League no fewer than three times with Madrid, as well as many other major accolades (Transfermarkt).

Described as ‘phenomenal’ for what he achieved with Los Blancos by pundit Kevin Phillips, the legendary former playmaker is likely to want his next job to be with another big name in world football.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Toon are simply not there yet compared to the likes of Manchester United, but their time may come with the embarrassment of riches at their disposal, so perhaps this is one to keep an eye on down the line, if the Toon can establish themselves as challengers for European competition.

Nonetheless, one has to admire the ambition of the new owners for making Zidane their top choice.

In other news, find out what live update Keith Downie has dropped on one NUFC manager target here!

Many Everton fans have been left fuming over some news involving Financial Fair Play (FFP).

As per an article from earlier this week by The Daily Mail, which has since been shared by The Everton End on Twitter, it is now estimated that the Goodison Park club will have no ‘wiggle room’ when it comes to spending in the January transfer window due to FFP, as they would have to make another £35m in profit before they can start to spend.

They are the only club in the Premier League with a negative figure in terms of ‘wiggle room’, as Tottenham Hotspur top the list with an estimated £400m available to potentially spend on new players before they need to start thinking about FFP.

Aside from this summer, Everton have forked out a lot of money on transfers in the last few seasons but have seen little success come from it, finishing no higher than seventh place in the top flight since 2016/17.

It suggests that the board have not been smart with their transfer business over recent years, which has left them in a pretty messy situation for January 2022.

Everton fans on FFP news

These Toffees fans fumed as the news was shared on Twitter, with one supporter describing it as a ‘shocking state of affairs’:

“Incompetence.”

Credit: @nebula1979

“Staggering mismanagement. Things have come to a pretty pass at Everton Football Club.”

Credit: @newcleardays

“Shocking state of affairs”

Credit: @skjones505

“You reap what you sow, terrible managerial appointments since Moyes, ineffective scouting and recruitment, director of football role not well defined. Club needs a re-boot”

Credit: @PeterLaing74

“Run by a bunch of amateurs”

Credit: @davidroberts51

“We are a disgrace. Club is completely not interested.”

Credit: @BT_1878

In other news, one man may want a loan move away from Everton

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Jordan Larsson to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

According to reports from Sweden (via the Daily Record), Spartak Moscow are open to the possibility of parting with the 24-year-old in the winter market, with Celtic believed to be one of the club’s keeping an eye on the situation of the son of the club’s legendary striker, Henrik.

The report goes on to state that the Russian Premier Liga side have previously demanded a fee of £13m in order to part with the centre-forward, although it is believed that the club would now be willing to accept an offer much lower than this figure for the Sweden international.

Dream transfer

Putting aside the romance of Larsson’s potential move to Parkhead, the forward has also proven during his time at Spartak that, regardless of his status as Henrik’s son, he could be something of a dream signing for Michael Nicholson to get over the line in January.

Indeed, after joining the club in what was a £3.6m deal back in the summer of 2019, the £12.6m-rated man has gone on to score 26 goals and register nine assists over his 76 appearances for the Russian giants.

Perhaps the striker’s best returns for Spartak came over his 29 Premier Liga appearances last season, in which the 24-year-old scored 15 goals, registered five assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots and making two key passes per game.

These metrics saw the man who Marcus Allback dubbed a “strong” player earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.32, ranking him as the joint seventh-best performer in the Russian top flight.

Furthermore, the Swede has also amassed impressive hauls at the likes of Helsingborgs IF, IFK Norrkoping and NEC Nijmegen, bagging 35 goals and 18 assists over 145 appearances for these three teams, taking his total career returns to 61 goals and 27 assists.

As such, not only would the centre-forward’s signing give Celtic fans another chance to watch a Larsson on the Parkhead pitch, the 24-year-old would also appear to make an extremely prolific addition to Ange Postecoglou’s attacking options.

In other news: Outrageous stat proves £1.8m-rated “menace” is closing in on 242-goal Celtic legend

A promising update has emerged on Rangers’ managerial pursuit, regarding Gio van Bronckhorst’s discussions with the club.

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports News have reported that Gio van Bronckhorst is holding further talks with the Gers over a potential move to the club, having spoken with the club last weekend.

Journalist Haley McQueen has revealed that the two sides are meeting to discuss a deal, although there are other candidates who remain in the mix.

The presenter said on Sky Sports News (16/11/21), via Football Daily:

“A bit of breaking news comes from Scotland concerning Rangers.

“Sky Sports News have been told that Giovanni van Bronckhorst is having further talks with Rangers about the vacant managerial position since, of course, Steven Gerrard left to take up the position at Aston Villa.

“It’s understood he is not the only candidate, though.

“The club are pleased with the progress they are making.”

Fans surely happy

Rangers fans will surely be happy with this update as it shows enthusiasm from van Bronckhorst to hold more talks with the club, whilst it also proves that the club are making real progress in their search for a new boss.

The Dutchman does not appear to view this job as a favour towards anyone due to his previous spell in Glasgow with the initial signals indicating that he is genuinely interested in the job and wants to be a success, given that he is now in a second round of talks.

Van Bronckhorst has an impressive C.V in Dutch football and could, potentially, earn himself a high-profile gig in his home country, but instead, he’s wanting to branch out and return to Scotland, showing his appetite for a challenge.

The ex-Gers defender spent four seasons with Feyenoord in the Netherlands and ended his tenure with an excellent haul of five trophies, with one Eredivise and four cups. He averaged 1.99 points per game across 176 matches in charge of the club, showing that he was able to consistently set his team up to win points more often than not, leading to his success in the silverware department.

This is another reason supporters should be pleased with this update, as it suggests that Rangers are serious about moving forward with a manager whose C.V indicates he’d be a shrewd appointment.

Irrespective of whether or not a better coach ends up getting the job, for now, the fans will be happy that a promising, successful, manager is firmly in the running and eager to take on the role.

It will be interesting to see where Wilson does go from here. As it stands, van Bronckhorst remains in contention for the job, but no final decision has been made on the new manager of Gers and the next few days could be exciting for supporters following events as the other candidates are potentially revealed.

AND in other news, “I’d be surprised”: Rangers insider makes manager claim that’ll leave fans frustrated…