All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

When Odsonne Edouard finally packs his bags and departs Celtic, a huge void will be left behind by the Frenchman.

The striker is one of the most lethal forwards we’ve seen at Parkhead but his future is in enormous doubt.

Edouard has been consistently linked with a move to English shores and it would appear that a deal is on the verge of going through.

A switch has been agreed with Leicester for the 23-year-old to leave in a reported £15m deal.

It’s not huge money, particularly when you consider his importance to the club. He scored 22 goals last term and has racked up 83 strikes in 168 games for the Bhoys.

Therefore, trying to replace him this summer will be incredibly hard for Ange Postecoglou.

He could do so temporarily by luring Liam Delap to the club on loan.

Manchester Evening News claimed this week that Postecoglou’s appointment in Glasgow could open up an avenue for Manchester City’s most vibrant young players to head to Celtic for match experience.

Jason Denayer and Patrick Roberts’ loan moves a number of years ago have led to an existing relationship between the two clubs, one that could be extended given Guardiola’s words for the Australian previously.

Speaking after a pre-season friendly between City and Yokohama Marinos, the Spaniard said: “Yokohama played some incredible football and they were an incredible test for us. I knew how good they were and it was tough for us.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-news-faria-postecoglou-howe-elyounoussi” title= “Read the latest Celtic news!”]

MEN suggests that Delap is one of the players that could be made available to Celtic and judging by his record this term, he’d be a marvellous capture.

In simple terms, the 18-year-old is a goal-scoring sensation. Described as a “phenomenal” player by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the teenager is a “machine” in the box according to the same football figure.

Delap only made three appearances for City’s senior side this term but he was in devastating form during youth football, scoring 24 times in 20 Premier League 2 outings.

His overall tally for the campaign ended at a whopping haul of 30 goals.

Possessing pace and athleticism, Delap has the ability to burst beyond the defence in a scintillating fashion. His physical attributes are incredible for a player of his age, also housing the ability to hold the ball up and head.

The youngster is the definition of a complete forward and should definitely be considered by Postecoglou this summer.

Replacing Edouard will be an arduous task but Delap’s track record to date is incredible; he could well revive the Hoops’ fortunes next term.

AND in other news, McKay must seal Celtic swoop for 58-cap “beast” who’s “always loved” Ange Postecoglou…

Celtic have seen many players come and go out of the Parkhead club over the years throughout the numerous transfer windows that have gone by.

While a significant number of players that end up in a Celtic shirt have gone on to be successful with the Hoops, not every deal that was completed ended up being worthwhile.

One deal, in particular, that ended up falling into this unfortunate category is the club’s 2011 swoop for winger Mohamed Bangura.

Having previously been rather optimistically touted as “the next Henrik Larsson” by his agent, the then 22-year-old was also recommended for the Hoops by their Swedish hero.

He said: “Celtic called and asked me, so I told them what I thought about him. I spoke to Neil and Johan Mjallby. I said that Mohamed is a clever, intelligent player. He is quick and strong, even if he isn’t even 180cm tall (5ft 9in). And most importantly – he knows how to score.”

Despite Larsson claiming that the Sierra Leone winger knew how to score goals, it seems as though Bangura failed to bring that knowledge with him to Celtic Park.

Signed from AIK Stockholm for a fee of £2.2m in the 2011 summer transfer window, the winger made just 16 appearances for the Bhoys across all competitions and failed to find the back of the net on even one occasion.

After having a loan spell back with his previous club and one with IF Elfsborg, the attacker left Celtic in February 2014 for a free transfer to Istanbul BBSK.

To highlight how disappointing the now 32-year-old was during his time in Scotland, with ten appearances to his name throughout the 2011/12 SPFL season, he only registered three shots on target.

As well as his lack of attacking prowess, injuries also hampered his time in Scotland.

In terms of how much of a financial blow signing Bangura was for the club, every appearance the now 32-year-old made for them cost £137.5k based on the transfer fee they splashed out to bring him to Parkhead.

While this deal ended up being a complete waste of time and money for the Hoops, it at least taught them to not rely on Larsson’s player recommendations.

In other news: Sold for £1.3m, now worth £107k: Celtic hit the jackpot on “selfish” 28 y/o “villain”

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League manager Lawrie Sanchez has urged Tottenham Hotspur to bring back Mauricio Pochettino this summer.

The Argentine was sacked and then replaced by Jose Mourinho 18 months ago, but with the latter also recently relieved of his duties in north London, Spurs are once more searching for a new manager.

Pochettino himself is currently managing PSG following his appointment in January, although his first campaign in the French capital is hanging in the balance.

PSG are facing an uphill battle to progress from their Champions League semi-final tie with Manchester City after their first-leg defeat, whilst their hopes of winning a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title are dependant on leaders Lille slipping up in their three remaining matches.

And Sanchez, who managed Fulham during an eight-month spell back in 2007, believes that Daniel Levy should make a sensational move to reappoint Pochettino.

He told Football FanCast:

“If I was Tottenham, I would go back and get Pochettino. I’d say ‘look, we’ve made a major mistake, we love what you have done here, come back’.

“Let him win his trophy with PSG. Having left, he realised that he wasn’t as hot as thing as he thought he was. He didn’t get the Manchester United job or any of the top jobs. He’s ended up at PSG – a one-club country.”

Many Wolves fans have been left lauding the performance of Rafa Mir as Spain beat Ivory Coast 5-2 at the Olympic games in Tokyo.

As per Sky Sports, the striker was substituted on and scored a late equaliser to force extra-time against the Ivorians, and then went on to score two more to complete a very impressive hat-trick.

Mir has reportedly rejected a new deal at the Midlands club, and as such a number of teams around Europe are interested in his signature before the summer transfer window shuts.

However, his recent display has shown what he is capable of, and as such several members of the Molineux faithful applauded the 24-year-old and have called for him to stay.

Wolves fans on Mir hat-trick

These WWFC supporters lauded Mir as details of his performance for his country were shared by Talking Wolves on their Twitter page, with one even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘baller’:

“He’s actually a baller, shame we probably won’t keep him”

Credit: @OliRobinson26

“Wow”

Credit: @wwfcglover

“Woah”

Credit: @AdamWWFC_

“What are Wolves playing at? Bring him back!”

Credit: @IrishWolvesFans

“Beast”

Credit: @xavier34087714

“HAS to be above Fabio Silva in the pecking order. #WolvesAywe”

Credit: @bradwilko1

In other news, find out what Bruno Lage comments Wanderers are worried by here!

Dean Windass reckons that Jesse Lingard will be like a new signing for Manchester United.

Lingard didn’t play a single minute in the Premier League for his boyhood club in the Premier League last season, which appeared to mark the end of his Old Trafford career.

However, following one of the more memorable loan spells in recent seasons at West Ham during the second half of last season, the 28-year-old is back in Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer’s plans.

Lingard scored nine times, more than any of his United teammates during that period, and laid on five assists to help the Hammers qualify for the Europa League.

David Moyes’ side have tried to re-sign Lingard permanently this summer, with his deal at United in the final 12 months.

However, Lingard’s been heavily involved in pre-season and is likely to remain with Solskjaer’s men for the upcoming campaign.

He won’t be available for United’s season-opener against rivals Leeds this weekend after testing positive for COVID-19, but Windass believes he’ll be a great option for the United manager.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“He’ll be like a new signing for Ole. They will get him in the office and say, ‘you’ve gone and done that for West Ham, go and do that for us. We know how good a player you are, you’ve gone out on loan and proved me wrong, if you do well by Christmas, you’ll get a new contract’.”

Southampton have been linked with Reims left-back Ghislain Konan recently, and he could be the ideal man to replace Ryan Bertrand in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad.

According to the Daily Mail, via TEAMtalk, both Southampton and Aston Villa are interested in the 25-year-old defender this summer, with the report suggesting that he would cost around £5.1m. It added that Konan is keen on a move to the Premier League and would come cheap due to only having a year left on his contract at the Stade Auguste-Delaune.

This immediately marks him out as someone who would be a viable option for the Saints this summer, as Hasenhuttl has already confirmed that his side will be targeting players who cost £10m or less in the transfer window ahead of next season.

The Austrian will be desperate to add a left-back to his squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, following the news that Ryan Bertrand would leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Konan could prove to be the 31-year-old’s ideal heir on the south coast, as he has plenty of experience in Ligue 1 and in the Portuguese top flight with Vitoria Guimaraes, whilst he has also earned 11 caps for the Ivory Coast.

This season has seen the left-back make 30 appearances in the French top flight, in which he has contributed two goals and one assist, averaging a solid 6.75 rating from WhoScored.

[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!”]

Bertrand, by comparison, contributed no goals and just one assist in the Premier League for Southampton this season, earning a much less impressive 6.41 rating for his performances from WhoScored.

Konan is very similar to Bertrand when it comes to defensive metrics such as tackling and interceptions this season, but the former seems to have the edge from an attacking perspective, averaging a better passing accuracy, more dribbles and more key passes per game than the 31-year-old.

This is where the Englishman has been weak at times in recent seasons, so Konan’s arrival could give Southampton much more of an attacking threat down the left-hand side, similar to Bertrand’s first few seasons at the club when he provided a lot more going forward.

Therefore, it looks as if Konan could be the ideal target to replace Bertrand at Southampton this summer, and given his low asking price, Saints vice-chairman Martin Semmens should definitely try and bring him to St Mary’s.

In other news… Hasenhuttl handed golden chance to axe £13.5m flop, Gao surely buzzing

Liverpool ‘have now agreed’ a £1.3million fee with Swiss side FC Basel for forward Liam Millar, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The lowdown

Millar joined Liverpool from Fulham back in 2016 and has since been loaned out on three occasions.

He had two spells in the Scottish Premiership with Kilmarnock, for whom he scored two goals and provided three assists in 36 appearances.

The Canadian then joined Charlton Athletic, this time posting nine direct goal contributions (three goals, six assists) in the latter half of the 2020/21 campaign.

When he was Liverpool Under-18 boss, club legend Steven Gerrard hailed Millar as an ‘athlete’ with ‘turbo pace’.

The latest

In a ‘good deal for all involved’, the Reds have been able to negotiate a 20% sell-on clause.

Millar’s move could kick-off what’s ‘expected to be a busy few weeks’ of sales on Merseyside.

Pearce has previously reported that, after the £35million signing of Ibrahima Konate, Liverpool will have to fund further moves through outgoings.

The verdict

Liverpool have done some good business here. During his time at The Valley, Millar underlined his promise, and at the age of 21 he can still make huge strides.

But the Reds have staved off any potential regret through that hefty sell-on clause, and he was unlikely to ever make a major impact in the first team given the quality of attacker at Jurgen Klopp’s disposal.

Attention must now turn to more lucrative sales, though those could depend upon more realistic price-tags. Otherwise, New York Times journalist Rory Smith has warned the club that ‘they’re in for a real shock’.

In other news, fans raged at this transfer update.

Even though Liverpool currently have a hefty number of central-midfielders in their senior squad at the moment, some of them, such as Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson and James Milner have all hit or gone past the age of 30.

One player that the club currently have in their youth system that we feel could well go on to be a suitable replacement for one of those previously mentioned senior midfielders is 18-year-old Tyler Morton.

As a product of Liverpool’s youth academy, Morton, who is currently valued at £270k according to Transfermarkt, has made 23 appearances for Liverpool’s U18 side in which he has managed to score six goals and provide seven assists in the process.

Morton has also made 24 appearances for Liverpool’s U23 side, scoring five times and supplying four assists along the way, proving himself as a rather useful attacking option from midfield.

The midfielder made his senior debut for Liverpool during their 3-0 win over Norwich City in the Carabao Cup last month in which Reds manager Jurgen Klopp said Morton put in a “confident” performance in his first senior outing for the Merseyside club.

Opening up on the midfield general, the German boss explained: “Tyler, really, he gave us the opportunity to connect again, because he just played simple, passed the ball in the right spaces, defended the right spaces.”

In addition to this, Morton was given an overall match rating of 7/10 for his performance against Norwich from the Liverpool Echo who said that he “slotted into the defensive midfield role impressively” after replacing Naby Keita.

The teenager has managed to rack up an average of three key passes per game based on the two performances he’s put in for Liverpool’s U23 side in the Football League Trophy this season, which is considerably more than Henderson (1.1 key passes per game) has done in the Premier League so far this season.

We feel that if Morton continues to play well for the youth team and take any opportunity that comes his way to play in Klopp’s side, such as their upcoming Carabao Cup clash against Preston North End later this month, then he could well see himself as a possible regular first-team player in the next few years, in the same way Curtis Jones has done.

Looking ahead to the future further down the line, even though he signed a new deal over the summer, we could see Morton potentially being a long-term replacement for Henderson if he ends up leaving when his current deal expires given his age.

Like the skipper, he is defensively astute and capable of carrying the ball forward. He’s certainly one to watch.

In other news: Imagine him & Thiago: Klopp must secure LFC move for “incredible” £36m-rated machine – opinion

After humiliating Manchester United 5-0 in their latest Premier League match, Liverpool now have a different challenge on their hands in their next game with a clash against Championship club Preston North End at Deepdale in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.

On the chalkboard

One player that wasn’t involved in the victory at Old Trafford that we think should be in the starting XI in midweek is 26-year-old winger Takumi Minamino.

Minamino has only made two appearances for Liverpool across all competitions so far this season, one of which came during the Merseyside club’s previous Carabao Cup match which saw them beat fellow Premier League side Norwich City 3-0, with Minamino scoring two of them.

Taking this into account, we feel that Minamino would be a good option to start against Preston given the fact he hasn’t played that much but has shown he is capable of putting in a decent shift when given the chance as he did against Norwich.

In that match against the Canaries, in addition to scoring two goals, Minamino managed to earn himself an overall match rating of 8/10 from the Liverpool Echo who said that he was “always a danger” in the match, showing how useful he can be when called upon even though he hasn’t played regularly so far this season and how he could destroy Preston with his attacking talent on the pitch.

Liverpool signed Minamino, who has been described as “outstanding” by Jurgen Klopp in the past, back in December 2019 from Austrian club RB Salzburg after they triggered his £7.25m release clause.

Since joining the Merseyside club, the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £10.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made just 33 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, scoring six goals and providing two assists in the process.

Back in February, Minamino joined fellow Premier League side Southampton on a loan deal where he managed to net two goals in ten matches before returning to Merseyside.

Looking ahead to the Preston clash, we feel that this game could be another good opportunity for the £72k-per-week earner to show what he is capable of and why he deserves to be in the Liverpool squad rather than away on another loan deal.

In other news: Never mind Salah: “Intense” £90k-p/w LFC gem who made 2 key passes was vital yesterday – opinion

New Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou will take control of his first competitive game in charge of the Hoops on Tuesday evening when FC Midtjylland arrive at Parkhead.

The Danish outfit will be looking to cause an upset in their Champions League second qualifying round first leg tie after losing their opening match of the new season over the weekend.

Postecoglou will be boosted by the return of several first team players following fitness concerns and off-field incidents, although some high-profile names won’t be available.

Brentford-bound Kristoffer Ajer appears to have played his last game for the Glasgow giants, while speculation continues to grow regarding the future of Olivier Ntcham.

The duo have been left out of Celtic’s Champions League squad, but Leigh Griffiths, James Forrest, Ryan Christie, Nir Bitton and Ismaila Soro will all be ready to play some part.

It’s set to be a tough task for the 51-time Scottish champions, and with so much riding on the outcome of this encounter, we expect few surprises from Postecoglou, albeit with some alterations from the team which started the weekend’s friendly defeat to Preston.

Here’s what we’re predicting…

Neither Vasilis Barkas nor Scott Bain covered themselves in glory last season, and both goalkeepers will be hoping for an opportunity to stake their claim to be first-choice in this one. We fancy Barkas to get the nod, and he could be called into action on a regular basis.

That’s because a very inexperienced back four is set to start in midweek. The departures of loanee full-backs Jonjoe Kenny and Diego Laxalt mean that Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston will likely feature from the off against Midtjylland, but a very inexperienced centre-back partnership could cause Celtic supporters even more concerns.

The absence of £6.3m-rated Ajer due to his imminent exit and Christopher Jullien through injury has left two 21-year-olds as Postecoglou’s only available options. Stephen Welsh and Osaze Urhoghide are set to start the crucial qualifier on what will arguably be the biggest evening of their fledgling careers.

A much more familiar-looking trio will occupy the Celtic engine room, though. Newly-appointed club captain Callum McGregor and the highly-rated David Turnbull could be selected to start either side of Soro, who impressed in the final few months of last season.

While the presence of Christie and Griffiths should come as a big boost to Celtic, the duo are likely to start on the bench, with Odsonne Edouard, Forrest and Albian Ajeti leading the line. Getting a positive result to take back to Denmark could prove pivotal to the Hoops’ chances of progression, and Postecoglou will be hoping that this talented trio come up with the goods.

In other news…Celtic receive boost in pursuit of “different class” £60k-p/w gem, Ange will love him