Everton angry at Newcastle takeover

Many Everton fans have been left raging as some news emerged on the recent takeover of Newcastle United.

As per The Daily Mail, the Merseyside club were one of the most angry and vocal Premier League teams in a call to discuss the takeover on Tyneside, along with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

There was a belief among others that their anger centred around the prospect of increased competition for spots in the UEFA Champions League, hinting at potential jealousy of what the Magpies could now achieve with the money that they have available.

The news has certainly left a bitter taste among several Toffees supporters, who were disappointed with the way that the Blues allegedly acted in the call, and generally feel as if the takeover is none of their business.

Everton fans on Newcastle takeover news

These EFC fans were left raging as the news was shared on Twitter, with one Evertonian even going as far as to claim that it was ’embarrassing’:

“Meh, Moshiri is probably just angry out of jealousy. He had his chance to invest in us properly but let Steve Walsh waste hundreds of millions. So it’s his fault.”

Credit: @Evertxn

“Don’t really see why we should have been so incensed. If it’s because of our dislike of the Saudis, we are on a terribly slippery slope. Who are we to decide whether MBS is better or worse than e.g. President Xi – who approves all of China’s material foreign investments?”

Credit: @mitdevani

“I have to say as an Everton fan I find it a little embarrassing to be fair. Why we complaining? We’re scared of Newcastle doing what we all thought Farhad was going to do for us by spending millions and building a team to challenge at the top.”

Credit: @ianefc73

“Is this to distract from the Sky 6? Blame someone else. No club would’ve turned this type of takeover down. Newcastle are the beneficiaries, there you go.”

Credit: @DCT1962

“It’s none of our business…”

Credit: @MikeNSNO1878

“Vocal because it will be an 8th-place finish at best instead of 7th for us”

Credit: @bluetom77

In other news, find out what news before West Ham United has Toffees fuming here!

Man City fans erupt over Wirtz update

Flocking to Twitter, lots of Manchester City supporters have gone wild over news coming out of Eastlands involving Bayer Leverkusen sensation Florian Wirtz.

The 18-year-old, who is now emerging as of the hottest prospects in European football, has enjoyed a stellar start to the new season, with four goals and four assists in just three Bundesliga starts (WhoScored).

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

His sensational run of form has attracted attention from top Premier League clubs, and Man City appear to be one of them.

Despite the plethora of attacking midfield talent already at the Etihad Stadium, manager Pep Guardiola appears to have his sights set on another as Bild journalist Christian Falk shared news (via Sport Witness).

The German insider claimed that Guardiola has personally sent scouts to watch the 18-year-old ‘time and time again recently’ with the Sky Blues ‘very specifically’ interested among the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

As news of City’s intense interest emerges, these Sky Blues supporters have gone wild and pleaded for sporting director Txiki Begiristain and co to get a deal done, with one of them calling it the “best news” they had heard today.

Check out some of their verdicts from Twitter below.

Man City fans go wild over Wirtz news…

“Serious baller”

Credit: @emperor_teejhay

“I beg we get this done”

Credit: @McfcRobbo23

“Yes please”

Credit: @Centurion_City

“Praying”

Credit: @hipyjon

“YESSSSSSS”

Credit: @XeVeYT

“Best news I’ve read this morning”

Credit: @SatieMCFC

In other news: ‘Insanity’, ‘No way’…Man City fans erupt as Txiki sets sights on £103.5m ‘machine’ who is ‘better than Lewandowski’, find out more here.

Gers’ Morelos not expecting Porto offer

According to The Daily Record, sources close to Glasgow Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos are not expecting an offer from Porto this summer.

The Lowdown: Speculation

So far this summer, there has been speculation surrounding the future of Morelos, with Portuguese outfit Porto believed to be the main side interested in his services.

The £10.8m-valued Colombia international (Transfermarkt) was even said to have agreed personal terms with the two-time Champions League winners (Antena 1), but nothing official has materialised.

The Latest: No Morelos bid expected

Now, as per this latest report, Morelos and co are not expecting an offer during this transfer window from Porto.

At the moment, at least, it seems as though he could be staying at Ibrox.

The Verdict: Still up in the air

Of course, Steven Gerrard and co will be eager to hold on to Morelos. The midfielder has managed 95 goals in 184 games for the club (Transfermarkt), while he showed even in the Gers’ 2-1 Champions League defeat to Malmo on Tuesday that he still knows where the back of the net is.

The problem is whether the Gers can match Morelos’ ambitions. He has previously stated his desire to play in a more prestigious league (Goal.com), and has revealed he dreams of playing in the Premier League (Radio Caracol).

The Champions League is also likely to be a big objective of his – the Gers will now not be competing in that competition this term. Even if Porto do not want to make a move for his services, another European outfit might.

In other news, Rangers fans rage at this SPFL move.

Newcastle predicted XI to face Brentford

Newcastle go in search of their first Premier League win of the season as they host Brentford at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Eddie Howe will be in the dugout for the first time since being named as the permanent successor to Steve Bruce and he will be looking for a reaction from the players on the pitch.

The Magpies were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton last time out in the top flight, with Graeme Jones in charge that evening, and the former Bournemouth boss could look to stamp his personality on the side following that result.

How many changes will Howe make to the team? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make three alternations to the team which started at Brighton, with Jamal Lewis, Fabian Schar and Joe Willock all coming in today.

Along with the change in personnel, Howe could deploy a 4-3-3 formation. Jones lined up with a 5-4-1 against Brighton and looked to set up defensively. However, the ex-Cherries boss may want his side to be on the front foot and trying to attack the opposition, which is why 4-3-3 could be implemented from the start.

With this formation, a change in defence will be required. We published an article explaining why Fabian Schar must be unleashed against the Bees and this means that two of the centre-backs who started against Brighton need to be dropped – Ciaran Clark and Emil Krafth, neither of whom has been especially convincing of late. This leaves Schar and captain Jamaal Lascelles as the two centre-backs to start Howe’s reign at St James’ Park.

At left-back, Jamal Lewis could come in for his first start of the season in place of Matt Ritchie. The Scottish defender played under Howe at Bournemouth but he has been in patchy form of late – with SofaScore ratings of 6.4 and 6.3 against Tottenham and Chelsea respectively – and it could be time for Lewis to get a chance to shine.

The former Norwich man has only made one appearance in the league this season, which came off the bench, and Howe’s arrival has provided a clean slate for him. He could be given an opportunity to come in and show that he can perform to a higher level than Ritchie of late, with the £44k-per-week dud set to be axed from the starting XI.

Finally, Joe Willock could return to bolster the midfield, coming in to replace Krafth and facilitate the change in formation. The ex-Arsenal man scored eight Premier League goals during his loan spell on Tyneside in the second half of last season and could provide a goalscoring threat from midfield to improve Newcastle’s chances of finding the net, which is why he could be selected in the team today.

AND in other news, Sissoko 2.0: Howe could solve major NUFC problem in gem “inspired” by Yaya Toure…

Celtic eyeing Byrne swoop

Celtic are interested in signing Nathan Byrne this summer according to a fresh report.

What’s the talk?

Via the Daily Record, the Hoops have identified the Derby County right-back as a potential signing to bolster their defensive options this summer.

The report claims he has been singled out by the scouting department as a player who could be a good addition to the group, but Ange Postecoglou has not given the green light as of yet.

Ange needs him

Postecoglou needs Byrne this summer following Jonjoe Kenny’s return to Everton after his loan spell with the club during the second half of last season.

The Toffees full-back was brought in after Jeremie Frimpong joined Bayer Leverkusen in January and Byrne could finally be the ex-Man City man’s replacement ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Frimpong averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.86 in the Scottish Premiership last term for the Hoops, providing one goal and two assists; this highlights what Postecoglou is missing in his squad. Byrne, meanwhile, achieved a score of 6.81 in the Championship for Derby, failing to score but providing four assists for his teammates.

Derby journalist Ryan Conway once praised the development he has made in an attacking sense. He said:

“Again, Nathan Byrne was excellent again, really, really good – and out there, he was very vocal out there as well.

“What has been so pleasing about Nathan is when he first came to Derby, he was much more of a defensive-minded right-back. His final product and his attacking qualities weren’t great; they were okay, but he was much more of an accomplished defender than he was an attacker.

“As the season’s gone on, Nathan’s got really, really good at getting quality crosses into the box, and he did that again [against Millwall].”

This shows that the Englishman could be an apt replacement for Frimpong and be a solid addition to Postecoglou’s team. He is a reliable defender and proved that with his 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game for the Rams in the second tier of English football.

He also offered plenty of attacking threat down the right.

The £11k-per-week dynamo has racked up 14 assists in the past three seasons combined, showing that he can get forward from defence and put in quality crosses to aid the attack. Therefore, Celtic must ensure that they get a deal done for the full-back.

AND in other news, Postecoglou may be on the verge of his first Celtic howler, fans would be furious…

Howey: Haaland a better option than Kane for Manchester City

Former Manchester City defender Steve Howey has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that Erling Haaland would be a better option than Harry Kane for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Kane continues to be linked with a move away from Tottenham, with The Athletic recently claiming that the England international has his “heart set on a move to Manchester City” this summer.

Meanwhile, 27-goal forward Haaland is thought to be interested in a move to Chelsea, even if he has to wait a year before leaving Borussia Dortmund for the European champions.

Discussing the two strikers, Howey told TT:

“He [Haaland] certainly knows how to score goals. He would be a better option than Kane for me, even though Kane’s a class act, because this lad’s still got years and years ahead of him.”

Haaland is still only 20, turning 21 next month, so it is a very good point. However, getting him out of Dortmund before next summer, when his release clause becomes active, is looking like mission impossible.

The German club continue to insist that Haaland is going nowhere, with sporting director Sebastian Kehl telling Sport1 (via The Telegraph) last month that their talisman will still be wearing black and yellow once the new season starts.

Romano: Arsenal close in on new signing

Arsenal are now on the verge of completing a deadline day signing…

What’s the word?

According to renowned Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners have agreed on a deal to sign versatile Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

“Takehiro Tomiyasu to Arsenal, agreement reached and here we go! Personal terms agreed and Bologna will receive €20m plus €3m add ons,” he tweeted.

“Medical during the afternoon and then official announcement. Here-we-go.”

Here we go!

Heading into the final day of the summer transfer window, it was widely believed that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was seeking the addition of a new right-back, even despite the multitude of options at his disposal.

However, the long-serving Hector Bellerin appears to be on the way out, whilst Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been left upset after his move to Everton fell through. That would have left just Calum Chambers and Cedric Soares for that one spot and given their defensive issues so far this season, that’s a worrying prospect.

Tomiyasu is a hugely exciting signing and one that could solve this problem, especially as he can play both right-back and in the middle. And we know that the Spaniard likes to sometimes go to a back-three, so this move makes a ton of sense.

The £18m-rated Japan international featured at the Tokyo Olympics this summer and has previously been described as a “true warrior” by fellow Bologna defender Mitchell Dijks.

Last season, the Bolgona star averaged 1.5 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 2.9 aerial battles won per league game, via WhoScored, which shows he’s quite the physical threat.

By comparison, Cedric, who has started two of the Gunners’ three Premier League fixtures has only managed 0.5 interceptions per game and is yet to win an aerial battle, per WhoScored.

It’s clear that Arsenal will be getting a signing in a much-needed position and that should give a small glimmer of hope to the Emirates Stadium faithful heading into the international break.

The Gunners would also be beating arch-rivals Spurs to his signature, so that should give them something extra to shout about, too.

AND in other news, Arteta suffers gutting Arsenal transfer blow as Edu heads for another ghastly mistake…

Wainman: Brownhill can be a Gallagher alternative for Leeds

JustJoe Football Show host Joe Wainman believes Leeds United have found their Conor Gallagher alternative in Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill.

Leeds had been interested in signing Gallagher on loan from Chelsea but were beaten to the punch by Crystal Palace.

It leaves manager Marcelo Bielsa needing to look elsewhere if he still wants to bring in a new midfielder before the transfer window closes.

And according to TEAMtalk, that elsewhere could be Burnley and Brownhill, with the outlet recently claiming that Leeds have made an enquiry about the player.

On the Yorkshire club’s reported interest in Brownhill, Wainman told TT:

“I think he’s very much in the mould of someone who can get up and down the pitch, box to box, a bit like Conor Gallagher, a bit like Lewis O’Brien.

“When I initially saw the Brownhill link, I thought maybe it was a bit of a ploy to push through the Lewis O’Brien deal at Huddersfield, but we’re still no further along with that. But it’s clear that Leeds are looking at that type of midfielder.”

Certainly, with links to Gallagher, O’Brien and now Brownhill, it does look like Bielsa is keen to add another midfielder to his squad.

Brownhill, though, is such an important player for Burnley, featuring in just over 35 appearances in all competitions for them last season. Will they be willing to sell him so late in the window?

Roberts urges Levy to appoint Rodgers

Graham Roberts insists that Tottenham Hotspur have to appoint Brendan Rodgers as their next manager, in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Spurs beat Leicester City 4-2 on the final day of the season on Sunday to confirm a seventh-place finish and deny the Foxes qualification for the Champions League.

Rodgers has reportedly already rejected a move to Spurs already, as he looks to remain with the Foxes, with whom he has won the FA Cup this season.

Still, Roberts is convinced that Tottenham need a new project as they look to rebuild after a dispiriting campaign played primarily under the management of Jose Mourinho.

Roberts believes that Spurs need to appoint “another Pochettino” and he has made the claim that Rodgers is absolutely the best option still out there and has urged Daniel Levy to pull out all the stops to get him to north London.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “I think we do need to rebuild. We need another five year plan, we need another Pochettino and I think Brendan Rodgers would be the ideal person to come in, use some of the youngsters and say ‘we might not finish in the top six next year but we’re building for the next 10 years’.

“I think Brendan Rodgers is the right choice, for me. You have to do everything in your power, if you want somebody, you can get them but you have to go with all guns firing.”

Leicester lost their final two games of the campaign and subsequently missed out on a top four finish for the second successive season.

Latest Ruben Neves update emerges

Another update has emerged regarding Ruben Neves’ future at Wolves, with a summer move to Barcelona once again popping up in the press this week.

The Lowdown: Neves on his way?

The 24-year-old has matured into arguably the Wanderers’ most influential player over the years, providing endless quality in the middle of the park.

Sadly, Neves is being continually linked with a move away from Molineux this summer, with Barcelona looking like the front-runners to snap him up.

The Portuguese may feel the need to move on to pastures new, having possibly outgrown the club after their push for European football faltered.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/all-the-latest-from-wolves-4/” title=”All the latest from Wolves!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Latest: New rumour emerges

According to Sport [via Sport Witness], Neves ‘creates absolute consensus’ at Barca among those high up at the club, being seen as a primary summer target within the Catalan board.

His agent, Jorge Mendes, has been given the job of ‘reformulating everything’, with the La Liga giants ‘willing to study ‘ the move ‘carefully’.

It is also stated that the Portugal international is ‘crazy to join’ Barca, who see him as a long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets.

[freshpress-poll id=“388780″]

The Verdict: Time to plan for life without him

With each passing week, the more it looks like a matter of time until Neves leaves Wolves – the key now is to use the funds wisely and replace him with a top player.

He will leave a gaping void in the middle of the park, having averaged 2.3 tackles per game and registered six goal contributions (four goals and two assists) in the Premier League this season, with rumoured target Joao Palhinha someone who could offer similar, having averaged 3.1 tackles in the Primeira Liga.

It is hard to begrudge Neves a move to Barca, given the magnitude of the club, but it is now vital that Wolves’ positive trajectory continues without him

In other news, Wolves are reportedly eyeing up a move for an exciting player. Find out who it is here.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus