All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Manchester City have been linked with a move for Wolves winger Pedro Neto recently and the 21-year-old could prove to be a superb addition to Pep Guardiola’s side should he make the switch to the Etihad Stadium.

What’s the word?

According to Duncan Castles on the Transfer Window podcast, Manchester United, Juventus and Manchester City hold an interest in the Portuguese international after his impressive performances in recent seasons.

It is claimed that City were originally scouting Adama Traore as a potential replacement for Leroy Sane after his move to Bayern Munich, and that is when the Citizens started to take note of Neto’s excellent performances and perhaps realised that he would be a better fit in Guardiola’s line-up.

Would he be a good signing?

Neto has impressed with the Old Gold since joining from Lazio in 2019, having contributed 10 goals and nine assists in 77 appearances thus far.

The 21-year-old has been one of the standout performers in Nuno Espirito Santo’s side so far this season, with five goals and four assists to his name in 29 Premier League appearances, resulting in an excellent 7.13 WhoScored rating over the course of the campaign.

This ranks him as Wolves’ best performer so far this season in the Premier League, whilst he is also their joint-top scorer, having stepped up impressively in the absence of Raul Jimenez, who has unfortunately been absent for much of the season after suffering a fractured skull.

Neto first gained recognition from across Europe when he scored in the Liga NOS for Braga when he was just 17 years old, becoming the youngest-ever player to score in Portugal’s top flight, a record previously held by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo.

WhoScored suggests that Neto’s main strengths include his ability to cross, dribble and play key passes, so it certainly seems as if he would be a good fit in Guardiola’s team on the wing.

The youngster is currently valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt and is contracted with the Old Gold until 2025, so he certainly won’t come cheap; but considering his superb performances in a struggling Wolves side this season, there seems no reason why he wouldn’t be an excellent addition at Manchester City.

Therefore, sporting director Txiki Begiristain should try and convince the player to move to the Etihad this summer, or risk losing him to Juventus or rivals Manchester United instead.

In other news… 5 big chances missed: £99m-rated beast might not be the saviour Man City need

Manchester United cut the gap to neighbours City at the top of the Premier League with a memorable 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw understandably stole the headlines, netting early in each half to secure success for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils.

One man who perhaps flew under the radar during the game but who was equally as pivotal in United securing three points and reclaiming second in the table was Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

First and foremost, it was never going to be an easy afternoon for the £36m-rated right-back as he was faced up against 13-goal Raheem Sterling. To completely embrace a pun, the former Crystal Palace man did a sterling job, limiting the England international to just two shots throughout the entire game.

According to WhoScored, Wan-Bissaka racked up 11 defensive contributions during the 90 minutes – the most of any player who took to the pitch.

Included within this, he contributed three tackles, three clearances and a fantastic five interceptions, statistics that are even more impressive considering that he only committed a solitary foul.

The right-back sits top of the Premier League tackles chart with 75 – four clear of closest rival Luke Ayling, and he proved exactly why that’s the case on Sunday.

This ensured that Sterling could not get into his stride at all, hugely limiting City’s attacking impetus.

Surprisingly, Wan-Bissaka was also one of the most involved on the ball for the Red Devils on Sunday.

He had 56 touches throughout the game, that count was only bettered by midfielders Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes, whilst he was never dispossessed or caught on the ball a single time.

Whilst Shaw was praised for his attacking intent and adventurousness against Man City, and rightly-so, Wan-Bissaka’s defensive discipline and excellence ensured that the Red Devils remained firm at the back to claim a morale-boosting victory.

AND in more news, take a closer look at Shaw’s impressive attacking showing for the Red Devils at the Etihad…

Loads of Everton fans have been lauding an update from the Goodison Park faithful as Tom Cannon has signed a professional contract with the club.

As per the official website of the Merseyside club, the 18-year-old has signed a two-year deal that will keep him at the Toffees until the end of June 2023.

Cannon has impressed both at U18 and U23’s level for the Blues, scoring no fewer than 23 goals and making a further eight assists in 41 games in total over all competitions across the last three consecutive terms (Transfermarkt).

Carlo Ancelotti will certainly be keeping an eye at youth level for any talent that he can promote to the senior team, and the striker is one that will eventually be looking to break into the squad with more good performances for the rest of this season.

Everton fan reaction to Cannon update

These EFC supporters lauded the update on Twitter, with one fan even going as far to claim that Cannon is a ‘proper talent’:

“Congratulations Tom, well deserved for you and all the family…hard working starts now!!”

Credit: @PeterCronin00

“Got a bit of a swagger about him.”

Credit: @bernieo63

“This lad is a proper talent. Congrats mate!”

Credit: @NTylerVI

“Welcome Tom. Only the best is good enough.”

Credit: @gill_mcmahon

“Well done Tom, hopefully see you soon.”

Credit: @1878Johnny

“Best of luck Tom – what a great achievement”

Credit: @greenie1878

In other news, find out what early news before Burnley has left fans fuming here!

It was always going to be a hard task, as illustrated by the odds at Betiton.com/en-ie/sport/, but a young Sheffield Wednesday side crashed out of the FA Cup at the fourth round stage on Sunday evening.

Several of Neil Thompson’s current Owls stars gave a good account of themselves against Premier League opposition, though ultimately, it’s back to Championship duty and the small task of surviving in the league from here on out.

The south Yorkshiremen were dominated by Everton at Goodison Park with Carlo Ancelotti’s side having 63% possession as well as racking up a total of 21 attempts at Joe Wildsmith’s goal.

Owls’ goalkeeper was a busy man all night after he recorded the seventh most amount of touches (33) of any visiting player, which means four other out-field starters were largely ineffective.

None more so than the man deployed up top, Callum Paterson.

In 60 minutes of action, he managed only ten touches, meaning he was involved just once every six minutes. He also lost possession 50% of the time from those touches, via SofaScore.

The 26-year-old Scotsman was hugely disappointing in what was an anonymous outing. You could forgive him as he was up against much of a starting top-flight defence, but his failure to link the midfield to the attack meant the Owls literally had next to no chance whilst he was on the pitch.

Paterson also managed the lowest number of passes (five) from any starting player and even then, he only made 50% of his passing attempts (ten), via SofaScore.

YorkshireLive’s Dom Howson graded the forward a 5/10 in his post-match ratings column – the lowest of any Owls player – he wrote:

“As industrious as ever but no sights at goal. Was unable to effectively link the midfield and attack, although there were times when he was forced to feed off scraps.”

With Jack Marriott back from Derby, Josh Windass back from injury and Jordan Rhodes waiting in the wings, Thompson may want to think twice over giving Paterson another runout, especially with another game coming in less than 72 hours.

The £16.5k-per-week ace badly let the Owls caretaker down.

AND in other news, “intimidating” 52 y/o would surely be Sheffield Wednesday’s dream appointment

When Joao Moutinho chose to come to Wolves in 2018, it raised a few eyebrows.

The Molineux outfit had just been promoted to the top-flight but that didn’t seem to matter for one of Portuguese football’s most consistent playmakers.

The bearded midfield general has been outstanding since signing for the Old Gold and has become one of Nuno Santo’s go-to men.

He has scored just two goals for Wolves but crucially, he has 21 assists in his two and a half years at Molineux. When you think of the word ‘consistent’, you usually associate it with the 34-year-old.

Normally, age has been no burden for Moutinho but unfortunately in 2020/21, it’s proving detrimental.

Wolves have now won just three of their last 13 matches in all competitions and their dismal form this campaign can be, in part, attributed to the abject performances of Moutinho.

It’s been hard to pick bones with the experienced performer in the past but this season, he’s been a passenger in Wolves’ midfield. It was no surprise that without him in the team in midweek, they looked a lot better.

Nuno’s men drew 0-0 with Chelsea in a solid display all-round but when he returned to the side on Saturday, they suffered another defeat – this time by a one-goal margin to Crystal Palace.

Moutinho was slow, he struggled to read the pace of the game and was given a torrid afternoon by the energetic Ebere Eze. His goal proved to be the difference between the two teams, but such was the vibrant counter-attacking nature of Palace, that Moutinho was dribbled past on four occasions.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-wolves-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Wolves news”]

That’s a rather horrific statistic, one that proved to be the worst of anyone on the Wolves team on Saturday. As a result, he was far from prolific in defensive situations. The Portugal international won only 37.5% of the duels he competed in, looking way off the pace in the middle of the park.

Writing at full-time, Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken said: “A surprise selection ahead of his compatriot Neves and didn’t really justify his recall. He didn’t take any risks with the ball and contributed to a passive Wolves performance.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Moutinho has let his team down in recent months. In fact, he’s pretty much been a passenger all season, failing to score or provide a single assist. His key passes per game this term are down 0.9 from last season, while he’s making more fouls per match in the Premier League this campaign.

In recent months, he has been especially poor. Against Everton, earlier this January, the former Monaco man won just 25% of his duels and versus another Merseyside outfit, Liverpool, he committed four fouls and won only 33.3% of the defensive battles he competed in. Nuno’s side consequently lost 4-0.

It’s clear that Moutinho is struggling and with Wolves needing a desperate improvement in their play, they require someone fresh and mobile in their midfield, not the Portuguese veteran.

Only last week, Tim Spiers revealed this could be his final campaign as a regular. On this evidence, The Athletic reporter isn’t wrong. With just a day of the window remaining and Wolves in such poor form, this whole situation is turning into a nightmare for the manager.

They were dreaming of European football this season, but partly due to Moutinho’s struggles, they currently sit in 14th place.

AND in other news, Shi must reignite Wolves swoop for 23 y/o “Rolls-Royce of a player” who bullied Traore…

Sheffield Wednesday boss Tony Pulis is eyeing key reinforcements ahead of the January transfer window as he looks to defy the odds and stave off the threat of relegation.

Maybe it is time to revisit someone available for free…

What was the word?

According to The Sun on Sunday back in October (4th, page 59), the Owls were considering a move for out-of-work winger Andre Green, who is still without a club.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has since provided an update on the former Aston Villa graduate, he told fans in a recent mailbag:

“It’s a case of waiting for the right club. Green has been a little unfortunate with previous loan spells that haven’t quite worked out for him. He’s had a couple of injuries that knocked him off track, too.

“He would also likely need to take a significant pay cut to drop into the Championship or League One, particularly given the COVID-19 situation means clubs are tightening their belts.”

So should Pulis be eyeing him up?

Squad depth option

It is thought that the 62-year-old is wanting at least four new faces in at Hillsborough before the end of January, and there are certainly plenty of gaps to plug – none more so than upfront.

Only Jordan Rhodes is an out-and-out centre-forward.

But Pulis ought to consider his squad depth on the wings too, as it is only really Kadeem Harris and Adam Reach capable of producing regularly.

In reality, loan star Jacob Murphy was never replaced by Garry Monk in the summer, and now they’re being made to pay for it. One injury to either of the aforementioned pair would spell serious trouble.

Green may have been out of the game for a while, as well as not doing himself any favours at Preston last season, but could be well worth the punt as it won’t cost Dejphon Chansiri a penny – a good thing given the situation regarding players being paid on time.

He’s racked up 55 appearances in the Championship, where he has delivered four goals and two assists, via Transfermarkt.

During a spell at Charlton Athletic at the end of last term, Green’s striking partner Lyle Taylor lauded the forward as a “real handful.”

It could be well worth taking a bargain punt on the free-agent ahead of January.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Pundit reveals what Josh Windass has told him about Tony Pulis’ squad…

One of Daniel Levy’s summer transfer decisions has turned out to be an absolute stroke of genius for Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs needed a back-up striker to play second fiddle to Harry Kane before the 2020/21 season got underway and as a result, they were mooted with many names across Europe.

Indeed, the north London outfit suffered in the Englishman’s absence last term – following his injury on New Year’s Day, they crashed out of both the FA Cup and Champions League and only won three of eight matches in the Premier League.

On his return, he bagged seven goals, five of which coming in the final three matches to launch Spurs into European qualification.

So to ensure that didn’t happen again, a new forward was high on the agenda – eventually, they settled with a very wise loan-to-buy deal involving Benfica colossus Carlos Vinicius.

His hat-trick in the FA Cup last weekend showed exactly why they got the decision right. In resting Kane, the Brazilian powerhouse stepped up to the plate, making it six goals and three assists from only ten appearances this campaign, per Transfermarkt.

But it could’ve been so much different as Spurs were among the names linked with a move for former Gent talisman Jonathan David.

After scoring 23 times last term, it’s no surprise to see why so many teams were keen to sign him, including the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, though it would be Ligue 1 outfit Lille that won the race, splashing out a record €30m (£27m).

Levy can count his lucky stars that he didn’t sanction that sort of transfer as he’s quickly become a massive flop. David has clearly struggled with the difference in quality between the Belgian top-flight and one of Europe’s elite five leagues.

He has scored just twice all season and has failed to bag in the Europa League despite starting all six group games, per Transfermarkt. The 21-year-old has seen a decrease in shots and dribbles per game in the competition too, which reinforces the above viewpoint.

We’ve seen in recent windows that the likes of Wesley and Mbwana Samatta struggled to hit the ground running in the Premier League, so it is certainly a bullet dodged for Spurs.

Despite being dubbed a “phenomenon” by former coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck, David has cost Lille around £14m per goal, when also factoring in his reported £46.5k-per-week wages.

A total waste of money.

Even Vincent Janssen was more worth his salt despite a tumultuous stint in N17 – in a largely bit-part role, he scored six goals in 42 appearances having cost a fraction of the price at £17m.

Could you imagine if Levy pulled the trigger at £27m only for him to struggle behind Kane?

That would have been devastating, all in comparison to the shrewd acquisition of Vinicius, who is only costing a €3m (£2.7m) loan fee upfront with an option of €45m (£40m) as per Benfica’s official statement, via The Sun.

Six goals for just £2.7m upfront looks a masterstroke in comparison to David costing Lille £14m per goal thus far.

Levy certainly dodged a massive bullet in not following through with Spurs’ interest in the Canadian flop this summer.

AND in other news, £140kp/w “revelation” was SO costly in Spurs’ draw with Fulham…

West Ham United cannot afford to gamble on David Moyes’ future at the London Stadium amid lavish praise from Jarrod Bowen and Anton Ferdinand.

What’s the word?

Bowen and Ferdinand have been full of praise for the work Moyes has carried out since returning to the London Stadium to succeed Manuel Pellegrini, following an expensive but unsuccessful 18-months under the Chilean.

Pellegrini was behind West Ham’s four-most expensive purchases in club history, but was ultimately sacked in December of last year after a run of nine defeats in 12 games, leaving the east London outfit just a point above the Premier League relegation places.

Moyes ultimately returned to West Ham to steer the ship back to safety and has since gone on to register the Hammers’ best start to a top-flight season since 2015/16 – when they ultimately finished seventh – with the club currently eighth and four points behind the top four.

Bowen believes West Ham’s strong start, featuring wins over Wolves, Leicester and Sheffield United, was sprung by Moyes’ work in securing safety last term, having instructed a struggling side to push their limits.

“The Gaffer wants us to run until we can’t run any more,” Bowen told West Ham’s official club website. “He doesn’t want us to have an easy day and that’s what we need. Since the games when we restarted after lockdown, that hunger, that desire has come through in our performances. It helped us get out of the relegation battle that we didn’t want to be in, and we’ve started this season like how we ended last year.

“The manager’s been really good since I’ve joined, speaking to me about all sorts of things. What I need to improve on the pitch, or what I could do in the gym, what I could do in my spare time. To have the arm around your shoulder from the manager brings the best out of you. The way he’s been with me and dealt with me has been really key to how I’ve settled in.”

Bowen is not alone in lauding the work Moyes has done in 2020, either, with West Ham product Ferdinand a clear advocate of the Scottish coach’s credentials.

“Can I just say David Moyes and his staff have done a fantastic job since coming back,” Ferdinand noted on Twitter. “He’s bought players that work hard first but can still play! Also getting the best out of players like [Arthur] Masuaku, [Pablo] Fornals and [Angelo] Ogbonna.”

GSB can’t afford to gamble on Moyes’ future

The praise flowing Moyes’ way from the likes of Bowen and Ferdinand will leave the West Ham ownership of David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady with no room to gamble on the Scottish coach’s future with his initial 18-month contract set to expire next summer.

Talks over a new deal were said to be ongoing last month but with no signs or urgency, as neither party were in a rush to put pen to paper. Yet progress must come soon, as Moyes has proven himself to be the one to take West Ham forward after the failings of a former Premier League winner in Pellegrini.

As Ferdinand also says, Moyes has managed to get the best from the likes of Masuaku, Fornals and Ogbonna, who all failed to hit any heights under Pellegrini.

Ogbonna has helped West Ham to keep four clean sheets in the league thus far this season, having opened all nine matches and played all bar the final 27 minutes of the 1-0 win over rivals Fulham following a groin injury.

The Italian was only able to help toward eight clean sheets in his 34 starts over 38 league appearances under Pellegrini, while Fornals has matched his top-flight goal return (one goal, three assists in 18 games) under the Chilean in half as many matches this term (two goals, two assists in nine games).

AND in other news, West Ham can ease David Moyes’ fear by signing an “exemplary” gem who may not cost David Sullivan anything.

A lot of talk has been swirling around Neil Lennon’s future as the manager of Celtic Football Club. The Hoops have endured a difficult season in which they currently see themselves trailing to arch rivals Rangers in the league.

Their Glaswegian neighbours are running away with it at the top of the table and have a hefty 13-point lead over Celtic. Although the reigning champions have two games in-hand, it doesn’t look like they have much chance of catching the Gers, who are yet to lose a match.

The Bhoys are also out of the Europa League, having won just one match in their group stage. This came on Thursday when they managed to come out on top of a 3-2 win over Lille to end their European run.

Many believe that if (or more likely when) Celtic finish second in the league this season, Lennon will be shown the door and the hunt will start for a replacement.

Speaking to FootballFanCast editor James Beavis, former Premier League midfielder Rob Lee discussed potential names to replace the current Celtic boss, including Roy Keane.

Lee tipped Eddie Howe to be a good potential fit for the Hoops, but snubbed the idea of Keane making the move to Parkhead.

“Roy Keane was a fantastic footballer but I think he’s good as a pundit, he’s a great pundit. Pundits these days are so limited to what they can say but I think Roy breaks that trend. I think he says exactly what he thinks.

“He probably wants to be a manager but I think he should stay as a pundit.”

In other news, Exclusive: Pundit rubbishes idea of Sam Allardyce replacing Neil Lennon at Celtic…

Everton dodged a bullet by not signing Club Brugge forward Emmanuel Dennis this summer, after the Toffees emerged as one of several top European clubs said to be battling it out to land the Nigeria international’s services.

What’s the word?

According to CaughtOffside, the Goodison Park natives strove to bolster Carlo Ancelotti’s offensive weaponry this year with a raid on the Belgian top-flight for Dennis after he struck nine goals in 33 games across all competitions last season.

Dennis stole the headlines at the Santiago Bernabeu in October 2019 after his brace saw Brugge earn a shock 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League Group Stage, as Philippe Clement‘s side went on to end the round winless.

Brugge continued their European adventures in the Europa League but fell at the first hurdle when matched with Manchester United in the intermediate stage, losing 5-0 without Dennis in the second-leg as the 22-year-old was forced to sit out through an ankle injury.

The forward’s versatility and expected future accomplishments saw that Dennis was eventually courted by an array of clubs this summer, including Arsenal, Leeds United and Everton plus Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig and Inter Milan.

Manchester United were also monitoring the two-time international’s availability at one stage, but cooled their interest whilst Brugge rebuffed several offers from around Europe as they held firm in their €40million (£36.1m) asking price.

Everton would have faced a major obstacle in acquiring Dennis, too, as the centre-forward’s preference was to join a Champions League outfit, yet appear to have dodged a bullet by his struggles in the 2020/21 campaign thus far.

Lucky escape

Dennis has previously been heralded by former Nigeria international and 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner Sunday Oliseh for his imposing presence at the top of the Brugge attack, with the 46-year-old noting on Twitter: “He is extremely talented, fast, technical, strong and scores goals!”

Goals have not been easy to come by in the current campaign however, as Dennis has managed to strike just once in eight appearances across all competitions, coming in a 2-1 Champions League Group Stage victory over Zenit St. Petersburg earlier this month.

Brugge boss Clement has even been open to benching the Nigeria attacker for Jupiler Pro League fixtures, too, with Dennis missing four of a possible 10 matches and left to watch on as an unused substitute whilst his teammates succumbed to a 2-1 loss at Oud-Heverlee Leuven last Saturday.

It was the second time this season that Clement has not seen reason to utilise Dennis’ talents when Brugge are trailing in league games this term, giving Everton plenty of reasons why they should be glad they opted against pursuing a deal for the 22-year-old.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti must take care as a £40.6m ace once dubbed a “weak-link” is wanted at Everton.