All posts by h716a5.icu

Fabrizio Romano has relayed a huge update concerning the future of both Tottenham Hotspur centre-forward Harry Kane and Spurs manager Antonio Conte.

What’s the word?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Italian journalist and transfer insider relayed recent comments made by the 28-year-old regarding his future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in which the England captain also went on to suggest that – despite recent reports linking the Italian with a move away from north London this summer – the 52-year-old could also remain at Spurs next season – saying he was looking forward to 2022/23.

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In his tweet, Romano said: “Harry Kane tells Standard Sport: ‘I’m a big fan of Conte, it’d be great if he stays. We really enjoy working with him. We look forward to the next season with a great manager. But it’s Conte’s decision – and I’m sure he will talk to the club and decide on his future’.”

Supporters will be buzzing

Considering just how important both Kane and Conte are to Tottenham, the former’s suggestion that both he and the 52-year-old could remain at the club next season is sure to have left the Spurs faithful buzzing.

Despite the centre-forward getting off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the season – scoring just one goal and registering one assist over his first ten Premier League fixtures in 2021/22 – ever since Conte’s appointment in the Tottenham dugout back in November, the 28-year-old has burst into life.

Indeed, over his 27 appearances under the management of the Italian, the £90m-rated forward has scored 15 goals and registered seven assists, with these returns seeing the £200k-per-week hitman average a quite incredible SofaScore match rating of 7.34 – not only ranking him as Spurs’ second-best performer in the league but also as the joint eighth-best player in the division as a whole.

However, it is not only Kane who the former Inter Milan boss has had a positive impact on, as Tottenham’s general level of performance has also drastically increased since the time of the Italian’s arrival at the club – with Spurs climbing from ninth to fourth in the league standings under the 52-year-old, picking up a very impressive 53 points over his 27 league games in charge.

As such, should both men remain in north London heading into 2022/23, the future would appear to be extremely bright for Spurs – something that is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with the club.

AND in other news: Paratici must brutally axe £32m Spurs flop, he’s “nowhere near good enough” for Conte

The EFL have issued a huge Sunderland ticket update ahead of the club’s upcoming League One play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers on May 21.

The Lowdown: Extra ticket allocation

The Black Cats have set up a meeting with Gareth Ainsworth’s side at the end of the month after securing a 2-1 aggregate victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-final, and so will obviously want to have as many fans there backing them as possible.

The Wearside outfit sold an allocation of 43,960 tickets in just a few days, so an additional 2,500 were made available for purchase on Wednesday, with the club confirming that this would be the final distribution.

The Latest: EFL release statement

Despite the capacity of Wembley being approximately 90,000, Wycombe have so far only sold 22,000 tickets, meaning that there is set to be a huge number of empty seats around the ground.

However, in a new update, the EFL have revealed that due to the segregation of supporters, they are unable to offer any more to the Black Cats. As quoted by Sunderland Echo, the statement read:

“Following discussions with Sunderland AFC and Wembley National Stadium over the past 48 hours, the EFL is pleased to confirm that an additional allocation of approximately 2,500 tickets will be made available to Sunderland supporters for this Saturday’s Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final.

“The configuration of Wembley Stadium presents a number of challenges for the event organisers that must be considered while implementing the requirement for the segregation of supporters, but this final allocation ensures that there will be in the region of 46,000 Sunderland supporters attending this fixture.

“The EFL acknowledges that it will be incredibly frustrating for fans who have been unable to secure a ticket to see a number of empty seating blocks on show at the weekend, but the decision by Wembley National Stadium to make this the final allocation of tickets has been taken in the primary interest of supporter safety.”

The Verdict: Positive track record

If Alex Neil’s men manage to sell out their extra allocation, this would mean that there would be over 46,000 fans inside the ground on the day urging their team to try and gain promotion to the Championship.

Sunderland have got a good track record against their opponents, having secured a 3-1 win at the Stadium of Light earlier in the season, followed by a 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture.

Yet to be defeated by Wycombe this campaign, the Black Cats should be going into this game with the confidence that they are more than capable of pulling off another big result on the one day that it matters most, and the only shame is there won’t be even more Wearsiders down South to enjoy it in the flesh.

In other news… a former Sunderland captain has backed his old side to join him in the promotion party.

Manchester City broke their transfer record last summer when they spent £100m to bring Jack Grealish to the Etihad Stadium from Aston Villa.

With 39 appearances across all competitions in his debut season at City, the England international scored six goals and delivered four assists.

Now that the season has drawn to a close and City got their hands on a fourth Premier League title in five years, the upcoming transfer window could give Pep Guardiola the chance to further strengthen his squad.

With the transfer window set to open in a matter of weeks, the Sky Blues could replicate last summer’s big-money move for Grealish by securing a deal for Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka.

Saka could be Grealish 2.0 for Man City

A recent report from The Sun named City as potential suitors for the Gunners star should he find himself looking for a move away from north London this summer.

A product of Arsenal’s youth system, like Grealish was for Villa, the 20-year-old has made 183 appearances for the club across their under-18, under-23 and senior teams. In that time, the winger has found the net 45 times and supplied 46 assists, showing just how capable he is of not only scoring goals but creating them as well.

This is a similar output to Grealish, who has 49 goals and 63 assists to his name throughout his club career at youth and senior level.

Labelled a “phenomenal” player by Paul Merson, Saka is currently valued at £100m by CIES, which suggests that it could take a similar sort of fee that City paid for the former Villan to bring the Arsenal gem to the Etihad this time around.

Having played in all 38 of Arsenal’s league games this season, the England international racked up more shots at goal (95) than any of his team-mates, also leading the way for shot-creating and goal-creating actions.

This shows just how much of an attacking threat he is and why he could be a good fit to potentially flourish in a team like City, who have ended their title-winning season with more goals scored (99) than any other side in the Premier League.

If the opportunity to sign Saka becomes available for the recently-crowned champions, City should definitely be in the mix to secure his signature and continue their trend of signing England’s top talents.

In other news – “Work in progress”: Romano relays big Man City transfer claim, it’s awful news for Pep

Crystal Palace want to sign Conor Gallagher on a permanent deal from Chelsea this summer after his loan spell at Selhurst Park was a major success.

What’s the word?

That’s according to journalist Dean Jones writing for GIVEMESPORT, who claimed that Palace will be remaining in touch with Gallagher over the summer with manager Patrick Vieira in no doubt about wanting him back at the club. It’s said he would be a dream signing for The Eagles.

However, he could get a chance to prove himself at Chelsea, with manager Thomas Tuchel recently confirming that the player will join up with the squad for pre-season where a decision on his future will then be made.

Vieira needs him

Gallagher is vital to Palace’s progression, and his contribution to the team will be hard for Vieira to replace if they can’t land him on a permanent deal.

Of course there is the possibility of another loan, but the player is likely going to want to leave Chelsea permanently if he isn’t guaranteed game time at Stamford Bridge.

If that happens you would fancy Palace to be his first choice, however other clubs will be in the race, with recent reports saying that Everton are interested in the player. For Chelsea, it may be a case of whoever is willing to pay the most.

He is rated at £22.5m, but given his impressive performances over the past season, it wouldn’t be surprising if his parent club want more.

In 39 appearances for The Eagles he had 13 direct goal contributions, scoring the second most in the team, after Wilfried Zaha.

His overall statistics are impressive. When you compare him to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues over the last year, he ranks in the top 1o% for goal creating actions.

The England international has been described as a “gem” by podcaster Reev who thinks he should be “on the plane to Qatar”.

The 22-year-old also has an incredible work rate. When compared against the same group he ranks in the top 3% for pressures in the attacking third and top 6% for tackles in the attacking third.

With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that another podcaster in the form of Dan Cook described him as “outrageous”.

If he’s producing numbers on those levels right now, just imagine how good he can become as he develops. Wherever he ends up playing he will be a huge asset to the team.

Palace and Vieira will be hoping he stays with them and helps improve on their solid 12th place finish.

IN other news: Contact made: Vieira now plots CPFC move for £27m-rated gem, he’s a “tackling machine”…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Romelu Lukaku to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Calciomercato journalist Fabio Bergomi, who revealed in a recent interview that Antonio Conte submitted an offer to Chelsea regarding a move the centre-forward, however, the 29-year-old rejected the offer of a switch to Tottenham in favour of attempting to secure a return to Inter Milan.

The journalist went on to state that the Serie A side are looking to pay around €80m-€90m (£68m-£77m) for the Belgium international, a figure that it is likely Fabio Paratici would have also submitted to Thomas Tuchel’s side in Conte’s pursuit of the striker.

Regarding Lukaku’s future, Bergomi said: “I won’t be able to say everything because I can’t, but there is total convergence on Lukaku. The news has been silenced, he only wants Inter, he doesn’t want any other solution. I give you a total gem: he also rejected Conte’s Tottenham.

“He wants the Nerazzurri because he would be the leader. The formula that I learned today is that of a very high onerous loan, Chelsea want at least a €20m [loan with an option to buy]. Inter want to take him around €80m-€90m, paying €20m and postponing the rest over the years.”

“Huge impact”

While it would appear as if Lukaku is very firmly in favour of a switch to the San Siro ahead of one to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, considering Inter’s well documented financial difficulties, it would appear as if there is still a chance of Conte being able to convince his former pupil of a reunion in north London.

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And, while it is true that, following his £97.5m move to Chelsea last year, the Belgian forward has not exactly set the world alight since his return to the Premier League, when taking into account the “huge impact” – in the words of Tuchel – he had upon linking up with Conte at Inter, if there is any coach who knows how to get the best out of Lukaku it is undoubtedly the 52-year-old.

Indeed, over his 95 appearances for the Italian manager, the £350k-per-week hitman scored a whopping 64 goals and registered an impressive 17 assists – averaging a direct goal involvement every 96 minutes of football played during his two-year stint in Italy.

These returns saw the player who Andy Brassell dubbed “unreal” and Siavoush Fallah labelled a “monster” play a crucial role in Inter winning the Scudetto in 2020/21, with Lukaku’s 24 goals, 11 assists and 10 big chances created over 36 Serie A outings seeing him average a SofaScore match rating of 7.32 – ranking him as the Nerazzurri’s best player in their title-winning campaign.

As such, should his proposed move back to Inter fall through this summer, it would seem extremely advisable for Conte to do everything he can to convince the 29-year-old of a switch to Tottenham, as the prospect of Lukaku refining this level of form alongside the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski in the Spurs attack is certainly an extremely mouthwatering one.

AND in other news: Paratici now closing in on the “heir to Jan Vertonghen”, it’d be a huge coup for Spurs

West Bromwich Albion have already made their first signing after securing a deal for John Swift in their pursuit to overhaul the squad this summer and now they could be set to make their next signing as a new transfer target has been reported.

What’s the latest?

According to TEAMtalk, West Brom are one of the clubs interested in signing Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien.

As per the report, the Baggies join a number of clubs who are huge admirers of the player with Leeds United and Sheffield United both also named as potential suitors, with O’Brien’s release clause currently speculated to be set at just £12m.

Fulham, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth also have taken an interest in the Yorkshire club’s vice-captain too.

Morrison 2.0

West Brom want to compete for promotion back to the Premier League following a disappointing first season back in the Championship and signing players like Lewis O’Brien will certainly put them in good stead to compete.

The £3.1m-rated gem who was hailed as a “very special” player by Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan has offered the output of a complete midfielder this season.

He has scored three goals, contributed three assists and created four big chances, making one key pass and registering 2.2 tackles on average per game. That’s on top of winning the majority of his duels combined (56%) being successful in completing the majority of his dribble attempts in his 43 Championship appearances.

It is no wonder that the powers at the Hawthorns see him as a desirable candidate to take West Brom back to the Premier League next season as his performances at Huddersfield Town this season reflect similar attributes to former Baggies midfielder and club legend James Morrison, as they both have dominated the centre of the pitch confidently.

Like Morrison, he offers similar versatility with the pair proving adept at playing in the middle of the park or out on the wings.

With that being said, Steve Bruce will need to offer the Terriers star something special to convince him with a move to Albion.

He’ll need to sell the project he is working on to the player as O’Brien currently has tempting interest from clubs that are already in the Premier League.

AND in other news: Bruce can finally axe “disappointing” £18m WBA flop in deal for “unbelievable” dynamo

With a good 2021/22 campaign behind them, it is going to be another big summer for Liverpool and manager Jurgen Klopp in the transfer window if they are looking to better this year’s exploits.

Having almost run Pep Guardiola’s expensively assembled Manchester City right down to the line, Liverpool lost out by a single point owing to the events in the final ten minutes of both sides’ final game of the season – despite at one point trailing them by 14 points – the joy at lifting both domestic Cups earlier in the season (the EFL Cup and the FA Cup) was eventually tempered by that disappointment, added to losing out on the Champions League Final to Real Madrid.

It could also shape up to be a disappointing summer when it comes to outgoing’s. Some fans are already preparing themselves for Mohamed Salah’s exit when his current contract expires next summer, but the Egyptian ace has already committed to staying for at least the final year of his deal, however, Senegal star Sadio Mane has seemingly been angling for a move to German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and former Liverpool striker David Mellor was recently chatting to BookiesBonuses.com about what might happen this summer.

Liverpool have already rejected two offers from the side, the last coming on Wednesday and reported to be in the region of £30 million, but speculation suggests they are holding out for around £42.5 million and that would certainly explain the up tick in transfer rumour mill reports linking us with an interest in young Uruguayan international striker Darwin Nunez.

The 22-year-old Benfica talent is apparently valued at around the £85 million mark and the signing would undoubtedly be a coup for Klopp, particularly if Liverpool’s future does see Mane head out this window, followed quickly by Salah in 12 months time.

Mellor certainly feels his arrival at Anfield would be a tantalising prospect and a good statement to make given all the out going talk at the moment.

“What a player! I watched him in the Champions League for Benfica and I was thinking, ‘Wow!’ He’s only young – what is he, 22? He’s an international already with Uruguay. I watched him, and I was thinking he’s an absolute handful. He’s got the lot in terms of the movement, the finishing, and the pace as well. He is an exciting young talent, and there’s no doubt about it – he is going to be in big demand this summer, so whoever is his most likely option – I think there is a big player and a big future there for him. I was impressed with what I saw. If Liverpool are in for him, then Liverpool are an appealing option for any top young player at the moment, and he would certainly be one of those.”

Nunez, of course, is not the only attacker linked with a switch to Klopp’s side. The club have already completed the capture of highly rated Fulham talent Fabio Carvalho, and having looked very bright in his recent England debut, 25-year-old West Ham United attacker Jarrod Bowen in another potential name being linked given his own impressive Premier League goalscoring record, and Mellor believed a big pull for him will have been in seeing what Klopp helped turn Mane into following his own arrival at the club a few years ago.

“The manager improves these players. We talked about Mane – taking him from a top player to a world-class player – Liverpool give these players the platform to do that and it’ll be so appealing for so many players to want to come to Liverpool. Bowen has been outstanding for West Ham – a very important player for West Ham – they’re not going to want to lose him. But it’s a question of who the manager would want through the door because there is no doubt about it – Liverpool are a very appealing option for players in Europe at the moment.”

It is going to be a good few hectic weeks for fans with the window now open, but whatever happens, few will doubt that Liverpool will be looking to improve further this window and go into the next campaign stronger in the search for more success.

Photo by Unsplash

Eddie Howe has rejuvenated Newcastle United since arriving at the club last November, steering them to an impressive 11th-place Premier League finish.

The onus now is for the Magpies to improve on this and challenge for the European places next season, something which should be an annual ambition for a club of their size.

With one signing already confirmed in Matt Targett, and with deals to bring Kilmarnock youngster Charlie McArthur and Reims striker Hugo Ekitike to St James’ Park close to completion, Howe is a man on a mission.

This surely won’t be the last of the club’s spending in the summer transfer window as they aim to overhaul the squad to the manager’s liking.

One player who could be an excellent fit is Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca, who according to Chronicle Live has been watched by Newcastle scout Steve Nickson.

A move for the player could be expensive, though – with Arsenal having had a £35m offer rejected, the Serie A club now want more than that for him.

Nonetheless, with Luigi Di Baggio describing the striker as “complete”, he could be a major upgrade on Callum Wilson going forward.

Scamacca scored 16 times in Serie A last season, eight more than Wilson managed in the Premier League (albeit in fewer matches), while also having more shots per 90 than the Newcastle marksman (3.27 to 2.08).

For a player who is still maturing and with plenty of years left before he hits his peak, the 23-year-old doesn’t shirk defensive duties for his club either. In 2021/22, the Italian won 17 tackles and made 16 blocks, showing the all-rounded nature of his game, and these returns are much better than Wilson’s six tackles won and nine blocks.

With no Newcastle player hitting double figures for goals last season, it seems clear that Howe is looking to enhance his attacking options. In Scamacca, the 44-year-old might well land a striker who could get close to 20 goals a season for the foreseeable future, which the Magpies boss would absolutely love to see.

AND in other news, Deal close: Keith Downie relays huge Newcastle transfer news that supporters will love

Arsenal are believed to be ramping up their pursuit of Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus, having recently confirmed the signing of Porto’s Fabio Vieira.

What’s the word?

As per Goal’s Charles Watts, the Gunners are said to be ‘firmly in the hunt’ to land the Brazil international, with talks now said to be at a ‘critical stage’ as the north London side seek to prise the 25-year-old from the Etihad.

The report suggests that ‘there is hope’ on all sides that an agreement can be struck swiftly, with City believed to value the former Palmeiras man – who they signed on a £27m deal in 2016 – at around £50m.

The report goes on to add that the player’s representatives are on their way to England in order to try and speed up negotiations, albeit with rivals Tottenham Hotspur also believed to be keeping an eye on potential developments.

Supporters will love

Much to the delight of the club’s supporters, it would appear that the Emirates outfit are moving ever closer to securing the signing of the £91k-per-week marksman, with the player’s potential arrival set to represent a major coup for manager Mikel Arteta.

The Spaniard had coached the £45m-rated speedster during his spell working under compatriot Pep Guardiola at City, with the hope being that he can draw on that connection in order to tempt the forward into leaving the Premier League champions.

With the arrivals of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez adding even further competition to Guardiola’s squad, it would appear that the serial-winning coach is willing to sanction Jesus’ departure, with the player having just a year remaining on his existing deal.

Their loss will undoubtedly be Arsenal’s gain, however, with the versatile ace having proven himself a lethal attacking presence since joining his current side five years ago, going on to score 95 goals and provide 46 assists in 236 games in all competitions.

Despite somewhat falling out favour in the most recent campaign – making just 21 Premier League starts – the 5 foot 9 star still recorded an impressive haul of eight goals and eight assists in the top-flight, with only Bukayo Saka having provided more goal contributions among the Gunners squad.

With Alexandre Lacazette having returned to Lyon, Jesus will seemingly be the ideal fit to lead the line moving forward, while his flexibility to feature on either flank will also make him an invaluable asset.

Such quality additions with Premier League experience don’t come available too often, with supporters undoubtedly thrilled that they may be able to poach such an impressive talent from one of their ‘Big Six’ rivals.

Equally, any move will prove a real statement of intent after the disappointment of last season’s top-four failure, with Arteta and co seemingly set to invest heavily again in an attempt to end their lengthy Champions League absence.

IN other news, Arsenal now plotting record-breaking bid for £100m gem, he’d be a “superstar” signing

A big Newcastle United claim has emerged on Karl Darlow and his status at the club beyond the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has revealed that the shot-stopper’s place in the squad is not under threat after the arrival of Nick Pope from Burnley this month.

The reporter claims that the Englishman has been assured of his position on Tyneside and has questioned what that means for the current number one.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “My understanding is that Karl Darlow has been told he’s got a future at the club, so that leaves a bigger question mark over Martin Dubravka. There was a little bit of talk over him leaving in January, but it didn’t materialise at the time.”

Supporters will be gutted

The Toon supporters will be gutted by this claim from Downie for multiple reasons.

Firstly, they will be frustrated by the prospect of Darlow being the number two again next season, as it seems unlikely that he would be happy to be third-choice and not even making the bench.

The former Nottingham Forest man was the back-up throughout the 2021/22 campaign and let Steve Bruce down when he was needed to play in a spell of games.

He made eight appearances in the Premier League and averaged a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.47 – making one error directly leading to a goal and giving away one penalty.

On Match of the Day, Magpies icon Alan Shearer criticised him for his performance against Brentford, saying: “There were so many mistakes all over the place. Darlow there, it’s a basic error, he had a really poor game. He looked really nervous.”

These comments and his dreadful statistics in the top-flight illustrate why supporters would not be best pleased with him remaining at the club as he was nowhere near good enough when called upon, whilst they will also be gutted by the prospect of Dubravka departing.

The 33-year-old shot-stopper enjoyed a solid campaign last term as he averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.88 and kept eight clean sheets in 26 appearances. He did not make a single error directly leading to a goal as he proved that he is a better option in the Premier League than Darlow.

Fans would, therefore, prefer to see him stay to compete with Pope and watch the ex-Forest man depart, rather than the other way round.

AND in other news: Offer made: NUFC in talks to sign “world-class” 110-goal “magician”, Howe needs him…