All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Following the announcement of Nuno Espirito Santo being appointed as Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager, attentions have now turned to what system he will use and the signings he could look to make, and Spurs legend Graham Roberts would go all out to sign Wolves defender Conor Coady.

When Nuno was appointed as Wolves manager back in 2017 he moved Coady from the centre of midfield into the middle of a back three and has never looked back, even earning himself several England caps and call-ups.

Therefore, reports have suggested that Nuno will look to link up once again with the defender who served him so well during his time at Molineux making 158 appearances in the league under the new Spurs manager.

Check out the latest Football Manager 2022 news, features, steam keys, wonderkids, release dates and everything we know on the GMS hub

It would be a signing that made sense as Nuno and Coady clearly work well together and Spurs are in need of a leader at the back, someone who will organise the defence and hold people accountable, and that’s why Roberts would pay up to £45 million for the defender, as he spoke exclusively to Football FanCast:

“If he costs you £45 million then you go and buy him because that’s what he costs. You’re not going to get players like Conor Coady for £11 million.

“He’s a good talker and that’s what we don’t have in the team, we don’t have any talkers and he’s also a leader.”

Coady was signed during Wolves’ time spent in the Championship so he has been with the fans during their whole experience of rising from the second tier all the way to qualifying for the Europa League.

Newcastle United have suffered a major injury blow over Federico Fernandez ahead of their Premier League clash against Liverpool on Thursday night.

What’s the story?

Eddie Howe’s side take on the Reds at Anfield looking to bounce back from their resounding 4-0 defeat against Leicester last weekend, but will have to do so without the services of Fernandez.

Writing on Twitter, Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie said: “Federico Fernandez has a thigh injury and will miss the next couple of weeks for Newcastle. Eddie Howe doesn’t expect to be able to to select the defender over the festive period.”

Big miss for Newcastle

The Argentine has played just the seven times for the Magpies in the Premier League this season, and was named only on the bench against Leicester in the Tyneside club’s previous outing.

Last season, as per Whoscored, Fernandez was the club’s best performing centre-back via average match rating, and it was no surprise that he earned rave reviews for his performances.

Naming him as his player of the year for Newcastle in December 2020, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh said: “Federico Fernandez, the immovable object at the heart of Newcastle’s defence, deserves this accolade due to his consistent excellence. He is never flashy, but the 31-year-old is one of the few dependable performers – goalkeepers Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow also made this imaginary shortlist – and embodies the admirable resilience of this side.

“He may not offer a highlight reel of pyrotechnics like Saint-Maximin, but Newcastle fans take just as much pleasure out of watching compilations of Fernandez’s tackles, headers, interceptions and blocks as they do their forwards’ goals.”

With the Christmas schedule set to take its toll, Fernandez picking up a muscle injury is a very bad sign of what could potentially happen to the Magpies – even more so when you consider the fact they’re in a perilous relegation battle.

The last thing Howe needs is players dropping out with injuries just when he needs them, and with games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all before the New Year, he can’t afford to lose any more.

Magpies fans will surely be gutted with the latest injury news on Fernandez.

Meanwhile, Newcastle have made an enquiry for this star…

Celtic are closing in on a deal to bring Cameron Carter-Vickers to Parkhead on a permanent basis this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Record, who claim that, despite the increased interest in the centre-back’s signing – with the likes of Burnley, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City all believed to be keeping a close eye on the situation of the 24-year-old – Celtic are now in pole position to land the Tottenham Hotspur defender at the end of the season.

The report goes on to state that Ange Postecoglou’s transfer team are currently locked in negotiations with the Premier League side concerning the activation of their £6m option to buy clause for the USA international – a deal which could eventually rise to £10m with add-ons.

Finally, it is claimed that, with Champions League football all but secured ahead of next season, people close to Carter-Vickers believe that Celtic Park is the best place for the American to continue his progression in the game.

Huge coup for Celtic

Considering just how impressive Carter-Vickers have been for Celtic since his season-long loan switch to Glasgow last summer, it is unsurprising to learn that a number of Premier League sides, as well as the Hoops, are keen to secure the centre-back’s signature at the end of the current campaign.

Indeed, over his 27 Premiership appearances this season, the £2.7m-rated defender has been flawless in the Celtic backline, helping his side keep 14 clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 4.4 clearances and winning six duels – at a success rate of 68% – per game.

The £22k-per-week American has also chipped in for the Bhoys in an attacking capacity, bagging four goals – one of which was the winner against Rangers on Sunday – and registering one assist, as well as taking an average of 0.6 shots and making 0.3 key passes per fixture.

These returns have seen the 24-year-old average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.36, ranking him as the fifth-best player in the top flight of Scottish football in the current campaign.

As such, it is clear for all to see why there is so much interest in Carter-Vickers this summer, as well as why sealing his permanent switch to Parkhead would be something of a major coup for the runaway Premiership leaders.

AND in other news: Postecoglou drops huge behind the scenes update, it’s great news for Celtic

Wolverhampton Wanderers could sell Conor Coady for as little as £17m in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to the Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield, who claimed in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that, following Newcastle United’s reported interest in the centre-back ahead of the winter market, Jeff Shi could decide to cash in on the 28-year-old for a figure as low as £17m.

Speaking about the Magpies’ interest in Coady, Hatfield said: “If an offer of between £17m and £20m came in, I think a lot of Wolves fans would probably look at that and say it might be worth doing.”

Fans would be fuming

Considering just how important a part of the Wolves team Coady has proven himself to be in recent years, in addition to the fact that Bruno Lage is already extremely short of options in the heart of his defence, should the club indeed part with the England international for a figure as low as Hatfield states, fans would surely be fuming.

Indeed, over his 10 Premier League appearances this season, the £22.5m-rated defender has helped his side keep two clean sheets and has chipped in with one goal, as well as making an average of one interception, 0.9 tackles, 2.7 clearances and winning 2.1 duels per game.

These returns have seen the player who Fabio Silva dubbed an “amazing guy” average a SofaScore match rating of 6.95, ranking him as Wolves’ eighth-best performer in the league.

Furthermore, with both Willy Boly and Romain Saiss looking unlikely to be unavailable for Wolves in January as a result of their potential involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations, in addition to summer signing Yerson Mosquera suffering a high-grade hamstring injury towards the end of September, Coady could very realistically be one of only two options Bruno Lage could call upon at centre-back come the turn of the year.

As such, considering the sheer turmoil Coady’s departure would cause, £17m appears to be an extremely low valuation of the defender – with £30m, at the very least, sounding an amount that is much more likely begin temping Shi into the sale of the £62k-per-week club captain.

In other news: Shi plotting Jan bid for “irresistible” £51k-p/w gem who’d solve Wolves’ biggest issue

Newcastle United have seen many players join the Tyneside club over the years on permanent transfers or loan deals.

The previous January transfer window showed just how capable the Magpies and their new owners are when it comes to spending significant amounts of money to bring in new faces to try and strengthen their squad and push the team forward.

Taking a look back down the years, one figure that the club were supposedly pursuing on two different occasions that they will undoubtedly regret not buying is Luka Modric.

According to Planet Football, former Toon boss Kevin Keegan was eager to sign the midfielder back in 2008 when Modric was at Dinamo Zagreb. They also claimed that Sam Allardyce wanted to sign the Croatian a year prior during his tenure at St James’ Park.

The former Magpies and Everton manager said: “I was then on the way to getting Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb, but by then, Mike saw the scale of the full debut and put the clamps on, so I had to make do with Geremi from Chelsea.”

After scoring 22 goals and providing 21 assists in 73 appearances for Dinamo Zagreb, the midfielder did end up making a move to England, but it was Tottenham Hotspur who secured his signature in the summer of 2008 rather than Newcastle for a fee of around £20m.

Having played in 160 games for the Lilywhites across all competitions, finding the net 17 times and delivering 26 assists, the midfielder found himself on the move again, this time to his current club Real Madrid in 2012.

During his time in Spain, the 36-year-old has scored 31 goals and provided 69 assists in 427 appearances, winning four Champions League titles among many other trophies including numerous individual awards such as the Ballon d’Or and UEFA’s Best Player in Europe, both in 2018.

Labelled an “extraordinary” player by Carlo Ancelotti and a “mental monster” by journalist Dermot Corrigan, Modric has been sold for a combined total of just over £51m throughout his time in football according to Transfermarkt and racked up 186 goals and assists throughout what has been a shining career.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Keegan and Allardyce both had howlers over not convincing the hierarchy at Newcastle to launch a substantial move for the midfield maestro when they were pursuing him before his move to Spurs.

In other news – NUFC dealt yet another crushing injury setback; it’s bad news for Howe

Everton have been linked with a move for Borussia Monchengladbach attacker Marcus Thuram as new manager Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his forward line.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet CalcioMercato, the Toffees are one of three sides interested in signing the highly-rated 24-year-old over the coming months, with Borussia Dortmund and Inter also listed as potential suitors.

With just two years remaining on his current contract, Thuram could be available for a reduced price next summer if Everton are prepared to wait that long.

Everton could finally replace Lukaku

After arriving on German shores back in 2019, Thuram has established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s most exciting young stars.

In his 40 appearances for Monchengladbach last season, the £25.2m-rated gem bagged 11 goals and provided a further 12 assists in all competitions, but his contributions didn’t stop there.

He also created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of two shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

These returns saw teammate Denis Zakaria brand Thuram a “phenomenal” talent and earned him a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as Monchengladbach’s tenth-best performer in the top flight of German football.

The versatile striker also impressed during his brief appearance for France at Euro 2020, making one key pass, completing one dribble and winning one duel in the 3-3 draw with Switzerland, with his display earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.2.

His impressive performances for club and country led to Movistar commentator Alain Valnegri telling El Pais that Thuram reminded him of Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku, saying: “He can be dominant and allow him to act as an offensive terminal, Lukaku style.”

A serious knee injury has limited Thuram to just 46 minutes of action in the current campaign, though, and he’s set to be sidelined until the new year, making a January move a potentially risky one.

Nevertheless, Everton’s hierarchy must sanction a move for the youngster, adding some much-needed strength in depth to Benitez’s attacking options and potentially finding their next Lukaku in the process.

And, in other news…Everton increasingly likely to sign £187k-p/w gem, fans surely buzzing 

Kevin Phillips has expressed surprise at Everton’s reported interest in Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff. 

The former Premier League Golden Boot winner was speaking to Football Insider.

The lowdown

The Liverpool Echo’s Phil Kirkbride reported last week that new Everton manager Rafael Benitez was keen on a reunion with Longstaff at Goodison Park.

The midfielder made his breakthrough under Benitez during the 2018/19 season. Within weeks of his Premier League debut against Liverpool, he earned a run of eight straight starts which was only halted by injury.

Benitez left the club at the end of that campaign but ‘preliminary discussions’ have now taken place over a possible swoop for the 23-year-old.

Longstaff made 15 league starts under Steve Bruce last season, averaging 2.3 accurate long balls, 1.4 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game (via WhoScored).

With less than 12 months remaining on his contract at St James’ Park, he is valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Phillips pointed out that Benitez has already rekindled one relationship at Everton, having brought in former Magpies winger Andros Townsend.

However, even though the Spaniard ‘obviously likes’ Longstaff, the ex-Sunderland striker cast doubt on the wisdom of pursuing the deal.

Phillips told Football Insider: “Do I think Everton need him? Possibly not. Benitez is going down that route though, he’s already signed Andros Townsend and he had him at Newcastle.

“Longstaff hasn’t played loads of Premier League games but he does have that experience.

“I’m surprised Benitez is in for him but he obviously likes him and Longstaff played well under him,” he continued.

“It’s a surprising one, I’m not sure Everton need him.”

The verdict

In Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure, Everton already have an excellent midfield.

Clearly, they also need depth: a pair of muscle injuries befell Allan last season and the Blues looked considerably weaker in his absence.

However, Jean-Phillipe Gbamin has now returned from his long injury absence, and he may be a more natural replacement for Allan than Longstaff. Tom Davies can also be called upon in that role.

You can therefore understand why Phillips would question the decision to spend potentially more than £10m to sign another central midfielder, particularly when Everton are under such tight financial constraints this summer.

In other news, some Everton fans react to reported interest in this Euro 2020 star.

With Everton having lost six of their last eight Premier League games, manager Rafael Benitez has come under immense pressure in recent weeks, with his job at Goodison Park seemingly under threat.

Even though club owner Farhad Moshiri recently sent a message to Jim White saying that the 61-year-old’s job is safe for the time being, there has been a recent update which could throw the Spaniard’s future back into the realm of uncertainty, which could be very exciting for many Toffees fans.

What’s the latest?

According to The Mirror (via Daily Express), Moshiri has reportedly demanded a meeting with Benitez before Everton’s next league match against Arsenal on Monday and apparently “wishes to speak to both Benitez and members of the board to discuss what is going so wrong.”

The former Liverpool manager got his tenure at Everton off to a reasonably good start by winning four of their opening six league games of the season, but since the start of October, their results have been very worrying.

In fairness to Everton and Benitez, the Toffees have had to deal with some unfortunate injury issues, with the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes all sidelined at the moment.

Even though Moshiri has apparently said in his message to White that Benitez “needs time to have his mark on the squad” and that he will be “supported to add depth to the squad,” this could well be a smokescreen for the time being before their reported meeting, which could well lead to a very different outcome if Moshiri thinks Benitez isn’t the right person to lead the team.

Taking into account the fact that a lot of Everton fans are not particularly happy with Benitez at the moment given the team’s dismal run of form, as some of them were before he even joined the club in the summer, it would be safe to presume that many will have their fingers crossed that Moshiri will change his tune about the manager when he flies in from the USA to have his meeting with Benitez.

Indeed, speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Paul Brown noted that the 66-year-old businessman is not “particularly patient” with managers at Goodison Park when things begin to turn sour. This development could excite those Everton supporters who would gladly see the back of the Spaniard.

Taking into account their poor run of form, it does seem as though something needs to change at the Merseyside club to get their season back on track.

With the January transfer window on the horizon and their current injury woes, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the club do some business in the window rather than get rid of Benitez to see if he can turn their fortunes around.

In other news – Forget Coleman: Everton lightweight who lost 91% duels may have just cost Benitez his job…

Tottenham Hotspur are ‘ready’ to fight for the signature of Braga striker Vitor Oliveira, according to Calciomercato. 

The lowdown

The youngster appears to be making his first team breakthrough at Braga, having featured in four of their last five league matches and earned his Europa League debut.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-developments-2/” title=”Spurs developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Last weekend, he emphatically made his case to be a regular going forward with a four-goal haul against Santa Clara in a 6-0 Taca de Portugal mauling.

The 21-year-old, who has three years left on his contract, is presently valued at just £450,000 by Transfermarkt.

The latest

According to Calciomercato, Oliveira’s form for Braga is said to have attracted the interest of ‘numerous foreign clubs’.

Spurs are among them, but so are their London rivals West Ham United, so the stage is set for the two capital clubs to do battle for his signature in 2022.

The verdict

Oliveira has also earned international recognition this month, making his Portugal under-21 debut in a European Championship qualifier against Cyprus.

The signs are that what looks like a modest price tag might about to be skyrocket after his flying start to the season, which has seen him hit seven goals in nine first team appearances for Braga.

However, one possible consideration for Spurs when buying young strikers is the impact on Dane Scarlett, whose path to the senior team could be blocked if Oliveira is signed. The Spurs starlet has plundered in 23 goals in as many matches for the under-18s, so you could question the need to look at emerging strikers elsewhere.

In other news, Conte has made this transfer request to Paratici.

Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to the new that Jordan Jones is closing in on a move to Wigan Athletic on loan.

The Gers kicked off their Premiership campaign last Saturday with a 3-0 win over Livingston thanks to goals from Ianis Hagi, Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe. Jones, who returned to the Ibrox outfit following the end of his loan spell at Sunderland, was not even included in the matchday squad and it appears he has no immediate future with the 55-time Scottish champions.

The latest news on his future suggests he could be about to spend the next season on loan with Wigan – that is according to news from The Guardian journalist Will Unwin.

With 15 goals and 29 assists throughout his career (Transfermarkt), he still has some ground to make up to become prolific from the flank – the Latics could be the place to see him do that.

The news was shared by Unwin via his Twitter account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Rangers supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Jones news below

“What a job Ross Wilson is doing. That lot are releasing their best centre mid and we’re finding clubs for deadwood”

Credit: @manno1990

“Wish we could get rid of him permanently sadly his rumoured 8k wage with us makes it impossible to move him on”

Credit: @bkerr72

“Surely if he’s not going to feature in our squad by now its time to cash in?”

Credit: @rockthekasbah88

“He’s like a verruca, Nightmare to get rid of”

Credit: @csljm84

“I’d rather we just sold him”

Credit: @BillyGers90

“Can they just take him permanently please”

Credit: @38821090G

In other news, Rangers fans were livid with this journalist’s tweet.