All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

West Bromwich Albion’s summer business is going right down to the wire with the domestic transfer window deadline set to pass later this evening.

The Baggies have finally landed themselves a new striker with Karlan Grant walking through the door at the Hawthorns, but there could yet be departures.

One of which will surely be Kenneth Zohore – that’s if Albion chief Luke Dowling makes a cut-throat decision on him before it’s too late.

The 26-year-old is wanted by Championship duo Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday with the latter side thought to be the front-runners to secure his signature.

Although there has been one major hold-up with West Brom wanting more than half of his £50k-per-week wages (The Sun, 27 September, page 61) accounted for, according to Alan Nixon.

However, at this point, the Midlanders should take what they can for their three-goal flop as clearly they’re not going to get an improved deal and that’s going to be far better than having him sit in the reserves, playing down his contract without playing again.

Dowling ought to accept his mistake and cut his losses before it becomes an even bigger financial nightmare – the very fact that a couple of clubs still want Zohore after a shocking season in front of goal is a miracle in itself.

Now valued at a meagre £3.15m by Transfermarkt, the Danish forward hasn’t even been named in a single matchday squad for Albion this season yet is under contract until 2023.

He was even once lauded as a “manager’s dream” by former Cardiff boss Neil Warnock, though clearly he’s been far from that for Bilic.

The best thing that can happen here is that he goes out on loan, puts himself in the shop window and then Dowling can recoup whatever he can for him at a later date.

Zohore’s move to Wednesday must be sanctioned before the end of the day.

AND in other news, Bilic favourite has just given the Baggies boss plenty to think about in woeful showing…

Glasgow Rangers had a great last week on the pitch, but it has not been quite as positive off of it.

The Gers won the Veolia Trophy after beating both Lyon and Nice 2-0, which allowed them to continue their pre-season preparations ahead of their first competitive match of the season against Aberdeen on August 1st. However, racial issues have reared their ugly head for the Ibrox outfit.

Firstly, portions of the Gers fanbase were outraged by the fact that the players decided to take the knee before kick-off in those clashes. Then, it emerged that Alfredo Morelos had been the subject of racial abuse, and the police were leading an investigation into the issue.

The Glasgow Times’ Catriona Stewart put together an article slamming the Gers’ response to the issue, saying that it took them too long to condemn the abuse of their player, whilst also insinuating it was the Gers fan themselves who dished out the disgusting comments. The 54-time Scottish champions were far from happy with this, especially with her saying that she has no interest in football in the piece – one fan even called the article “vile”.

The fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think below!

Leicester are looking to strengthen their attacking options ahead of the new season and could be set to raid their Premier League rivals Burnley. 

Sky Sports have reported that the Foxes are interested in a summer swoop for Clarets winger Dwight McNeil. The 20-year-old has attracted a lot of attention in this window and Leicester will face competition from the likes of Wolves, AC Milan and Juventus.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have secured Europa League football after an impressive run in the league last season. However, the Foxes ran out of steam towards the end of the campaign to drop out of the Champions League positions during the final couple of weeks and the Irishman is eager to bring in some new attacking personnel to boost their chances of another title race.

McNeil was a strong influence at Burnley last term, featuring in every Premier League game and notching two goals and six assists. The England youth international finished level with Ashley Westwood with the highest assists tally for the Clarets (via BBC Sport).

Sky Sports have acknowledged that, following his six-assist season, the 20-year-old has become the youngest player since Raheem Sterling to achieve 10 assists in England’s top flight.

Leicester are looking for a left-footed talisman to add to their attack and support Golden Boot winner Jamie Vardy up front. McNeil fits the description and would challenge Harvey Barnes, who is the only left-footed attacker currently on the Foxes’ roster.

Despite the 22-year-old having an impressive Premier League run with six goals and eight assists, Barnes only started in 24 of the 36 appearances that he made. On one occasion, he was reduced to a seven-minute cameo against West Ham back in December (via Transfermarkt).

It seems as though Rodgers may not fully trust Barnes to become an ever-present figure in this Leicester side. The manager’s interest in McNeil could potentially put the Englishman’s place in the team at risk with a younger player in the same position on the radar.

Whilst an official transfer fee is yet to be revealed, McNeil’s current Transfermarkt value is £22.5m, but Burnley may demand more given his young age.

Do you think Leicester should sign Dwight McNeil this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Fulham are expecting a further £10m from Liverpool following the transfer of Harvey Elliott.

The two clubs are set to hold a tribunal in order to establish compensation for the deal and the Cottagers are holding out for a healthy sum of money from the Premier League leaders (via Daily Mail).

Elliott signed for the Reds last summer and has already made his senior debut with the Merseyside outfit. This season, the teenager has tallied four goals and nine assists across all competitions and has featured for Liverpool’s first team seven times (via Transfermarkt).

Elliott made history during his Premier League debut, marking himself as the youngest-ever player to feature in the top flight at 16 years, five months and 22 days (via LFChistory).

The news, relayed via @AnfieldEdition, has attracted a lot of speculation from Reds fans. After the club failed to sign transfer target Timo Werner, many are worried about Liverpool’s finances. One supporter has even tweeted that they think the Reds will be “bankrupt after this”.

Read more replies from the Anfield faithful here:

Do you think Harvey Elliott will become a Liverpool star in the future? Have your say in the comments below…

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

The 2009/10 season was a rather good one for Glasgow Rangers.

In Scotland, the race for trophies is really between two clubs, and the Gers were victorious that campaign in two of the three competitions on offer, winning the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup. That year, they were comfortably ahead of their fierce city rivals Celtic, with them finishing a huge six points ahead in the league.

However, not everything was good about that year – the Gers also spent £450,000 on the one-year loan signing of Jerome Rothen. In the end, it didn’t really cost them, but the capture of Rothen was one that many at Ibrox will want to forget.

By the time he made the short-term switch to Glasgow, Rothen had already had a successful career in France. He had made 180 appearances for PSG in all competitions, providing 36 assists, whilst he had also appeared in a Champions League final with Monaco. Whilst he may have been edging towards the end of his career by the time he moved to Scotland, it looked like a wise investment.

It proved to be anything but. He ended up making just eight appearances throughout his spell and provided a solitary assist – he just didn’t take to the game north of the border. The club even wanted to send him back to France in December, but PSG did not want him to return as that would mean they would have to pay an extra 50% of his wages – the Gers paid half of his salary on top of that initial loan fee.

Considering he was on £36,000 a week in Paris, that meant the Gers were paying £18,000 every seven days to a player they didn’t really want. Fortunately, they were able to move him on by January 28th, as he moved on loan to Ankaragucu in Turkey, but that still meant they paid half his wages for 21 weeks – that equated to £378,000.

All in all, considering the deal cost, in total, £828,000, every appearance from Rothen cost the club £103,500. A truly monumental error from the Gers.

Let us know what you think below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking on talkSPORT, Alan Brazil has insisted former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino would be able to get more out of this current Manchester Unite side.

What did he say?

The Red Devils have had a difficult start to the campaign this season, already finding themselves nine points off the Premier League’s top four. That form has seen speculation Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is fighting for his job at Old Trafford, and recent developments at rivals Spurs – their sacking of Pochettino and appointment of Jose Mourinho – has only served to increase the spotlight on the United boss.

And now, Brazil has suggested Pochettino would be perfect for the Red Devils, and that his “big name” would give the players some extra motivation to play for.

He said: “I think Poch, if he’s not too tired (from his time at Tottenham). He’d get more out of them. They were shocking in the first-half (against Sheffield United). Shocking. It’s horrible to say because he (Solskjaer) has been great for the club and he’s a lovely guy by all accounts, so I want him to do well. I just think they need a big name, who the players will sit up to and play (for).”

Years in the making

Even before Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham, the Argentine has long been linked as a potential United manager. But now that he is out of a job, it seems like the perfect time for the Red Devils to finally appoint the man they have seemingly had their eyes on. His end in north London should not tarnish the fine work he did for the club in his several years as manager there, culminating in reaching the final of the Champions League last season.

And with the Red Devils still a considerable distance away from the top four at the moment, a managerial change may be the perfect dose of medicine that United are in need of. Pochettino could come in and help lift spirits, and he would no doubt have a point to prove to his former employers. It’s a move that makes total sense.

Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went from hero to zero with his second-half substitutions against Sheffield United.

After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s promise to blood some of Manchester United’s talented youngsters this season, fans of the Red Devils have witnessed the likes of Mason Greenwood, James Garner and Brandon Williams take centre-stage. The former in particular has almost carried the torch for the academy, netting in starts against Rochdale and FC Astana in the Carabao Cup and Europa League respectively.

But whilst those who have already made the breakthrough in the first-team continue to impress on a weekly basis, there are still an abundance of prospects staking their claim in the club’s academy sides. One of those being Largie Ramazani. The 18-year-old has been in scintillating form at youth level this season, netting nine times in 14 games – whilst he also made an appearance away at Astana in late November.

A real test for any fan: Can you name all of these obscure Man Utd signings?

And in United’s U23s’ 3-1 victory over West Brom, Ramazani was at it again, scoring a sublime goal to help the Red Devils secure a comeback win and reaching double figures in the process. After watching his display, fans of the Manchester side flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their young starlet.

Some fans clamoured for him to be given a chance in the first-team, with one fan in particular urging for him to make the line-up for United’s Europa League clash on Thursday.

A few supporters drew comparisons between the teenage forward and Marcus Rashford, claiming that they may just have another promising star on their hands.

At just 18, Ramazani has plenty of time on his hands and Solskjaer will be keen not to rush his development. The Red Devils already have Greenwood knocking at the door, so having the 18-year-old waiting in the wings too proves just how fortunate the club are to boasting two seriously talented forwards. If he can continue his progress with the youth sides, he’ll surely be in the reckoning for the first-team sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer embraced his inner Jose Mourinho with his in-game management against Manchester City.

West Bromwich Albion losing yet another one of their young academy prospects. We’ve heard it plenty of times before.

The next player they seem destined to let slip through the grasp is defender Nathan Ferguson.

He is yet to sign a new contract despite being offered a long-term deal and amidst interest from some elite-level teams – Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, and Atletico Madrid – the west Midlands club could well be forced to sell him in January before they lose him for peanuts at the end of the season.

Just this summer, Albion were powerless as Louie Barry joined Barcelona and Morgan Rogers departed for the Premier League champions, Manchester City.

The Baggies support has heard it all before, but they do not seem too angry about the 19-year-old following the trend in the winter transfer window.

One member of the Hawthorns faithful simply told the club to ‘get rid’ as he clearly doesn’t want to stay while another believed it was about time West Brom did something like this as it will allow them to maximise value.

Ferguson has started 13 matches this season, playing on both sides of the back four, and has only been absent in recent weeks due to a three-game suspension.

A further fan claimed the youngster’s last two performances proved that he still has a long way to go with one more claiming he isn’t yet deserving of a big contract.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to ESPN, Manchester United are considering making a January move for AS Roma centre-forward Edin Dzeko.

What’s the word?

The Red Devils have attracted some serious criticism this season for allowing the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave the club in the summer, and their goal-scoring troubles have simply compounded the issue. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have mustered just 16 goals in their first 12 Premier League games, with even 17th-placed Aston Villa finding the back of the net more times (17).

Reports in recent weeks have claimed United are keen to address this issue by swooping for a striker when the winter window opens up, with Mario Mandzukic and Callum Wilson said to be high up on the short-list. Now, ESPN claim the Red Devils are keen on former Manchester City star Edin Dzeko after “identifying the need for experienced reinforcements to the squad’s attacking options”.

The report adds that following Mandzukic’s lack of game-time – he has yet to play for Juventus this season – United have turned to Dzeko as an option considering his Premier League experience, with Ed Woodward ready to “sanction the signing of a seasoned forward”.

Proven quality

While some United fans have expressed their approval behind a possible move for Mandzukic, Dzeko would be an undeniable upgrade on the Croatia international. The 6 foot 4 powerhouse has a remarkable goal-scoring record for a number of different clubs throughout the years, including the likes of VfL Wolfsburg, AS Roma and City.

[ad_pod ]

And it is his experience with the latter that makes a swoop for Dzeko incredibly shrewd. In his time at the Etihad, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international racked up an impressive 72 goals in 189 games – particularly fine work considering Sergio Aguero’s presence in the squad.  Of his total goal tally, 50 of them came in the Premier League alone, and the 33-year-old’s first-hand knowledge of the top-flight would stand him in good stead at Old Trafford.

The veteran wouldn’t need to adjust to the different pace and intensity from arriving from Italian football like Mandzukic would – the Croatian hasn’t even’t kicked a ball yet this season, let alone playing in England. Dzeko meanwhile has already played 15 times, whilst his previous City experience would allow him to hit the ground running in mid-season for United. It would mean Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wouldn’t need to worry about slowly bedding him in, and as such, it’s a move that makes perfect sense for the Red Devils.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former England international Danny Mills believes Mason Holgate must leave the club if he wants to find more game time.

What did he say?

Holgate started the away defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion because of the injury to Yerry Mina, whilst he kept his place against Watford as Michael Keane was rested. The 23-year-old has not been a regular for Everton and has only been seen more recently because of injuries.

In fact, Keane has started every league game, whilst the trip to the Amex was Mina’s first time missing out in the league this season. As a result of his lack of minutes, Mills believes Holgate must leave Goodison Park.

When asked if Holgate has lived up to expectations, Mills told Football Insider: “No, maybe he needs another loan spell or whatever to get out and play consistently, week in, week out.

“There’s a lot of players at Everton, they’ve brought in a lot of quality, have they performed to their best? Have they performed under the pressures that they need to do? I’m not sure many of them could say yes.”

Not a youngster anymore

Holgate is 23 now and simply has to be playing on a consistent basis, whether that be on loan or at Goodison Park. The days of settling for a sporadic role in the side and playing in the domestic cup games to gain experience have passed.

As Mills suggests, at his age he must be playing on a regular basis, especially if he has any future dreams of  making a statement to Gareth Southgate for England.

For example, players such as Keane have been regulars for teams for a number of years. Prior to his move to Merseyside, the former Manchester United man was a big player for Burnley, missing just five league games over two seasons.

Now, Keane has found his way into the England setup and become a regular at the back for Everton. Holgate could do the same, as he has proven in the past two games he is a man with quality and potential to hold is own against Premier League opposition.

His assist against Brighton and his goal and a clean sheet against Watford prove that he can be a great asset, but he needs to continue playing on a regular basis to maximise his potential.