All posts by n8rngtd.top

When Mikel Arteta first arrived at Everton to play in front of the beloved Goodison Park faithful, he was a player who lacked physicality.

A diminutive character, David Moyes was scared to play him in a natural number 10 position that he’d thrived in while coming through the ranks at Barcelona.

The Toffees initially fielded him in a role on the wing but his career was changed for the better due to a striker shortage in Merseyside.

With Everton unable to play with a centre-forward, Moyes moved the Spanish magician inside to provide them with dynamism in the middle of the park.

It worked a treat as Arteta quickly became one of the most impressive midfielders in the top-flight.

He created goals on a regular basis, was a nuisance for the opposition and would pop up with a plethora of goals. A master of the set-piece, he could also strike a ball incredibly well from long range.

During the 2006/07 season, only Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas assisted more goals than his nine while is he is one of the most fouled players in Premier League history.

The current Arsenal manager had a canny ability of arriving late in the penalty area to score goals, or tip-toeing between defenders with his quick feet.

Everton may have the dancing shoes of James Rodriguez in their side now but they don’t have a midfield playmaker like Arteta.

With that in mind, they should consider signing Aaron Ramsey this summer, someone linked with a move a few months ago.

Described as “outstanding technician” by Martin Keown, the 67-cap Wales international is cut from a similar cloth. His ability to arrive on the scene at the nick of time to score a goal is uncanny.

Flash through Arteta’s highlights reel at Everton and you’ll notice the Spaniard popping up on the edge of the area time and time again. This was a quality synonymous with Ramsey’s time at Arsenal.

He scored 16 times in one season, eventually ending his stay in north London with 65 goals and 65 assists in all competitions.

Both players have a career average of 1.2 key passes per game and they do their bit from a defensive point of view as well.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-everton-news-benitez-kamara-romero-dumfries” title= “Read the latest Everton transfer news!”]

Arteta eventually became a holding player after moving to the Gunners, using his incredible game intelligence to his advantage. Ramsey has played in a quarterback role as well but he’s now more of a box to box playmaker, just as his former teammate was when he played in the royal blue.

It’s been a considerable period of time since Everton have had a midfield player capable of scoring goals and assisting them in equal measure. Ramsey, however, could bring that vibe back to Merseyside.

In the process, he could provide a similar style of play to Arteta.

AND in other news, Alan Myers delivers 11-word Everton transfer update, fans will be delighted…

Aston Villa announced on Wednesday afternoon that their ticket allocation for the club’s first pre-season friendly with Walsall has sold out.

And a number of Villa supporters have been reacting to the news on social media.

Villa begin their preparations for the new season next Wednesday, taking on the League Two side across the Midlands at the Banks’s Stadium in a 7:30 pm kick-off.

Walsall, Dean Smith’s former club, gave Villa 3,425 tickets for the friendly next week, which went on sale to season ticket holders at lunchtime on Wednesday.

The club posted the details on Twitter, and in less than four hours, posted again to say tickets were sold out.

After the meeting with Walsall, Villa still have friendlies with Stoke City, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Sevilla ahead of the new campaign.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa supporters had to say after learning tickets for the meeting with The Saddlers was sold out…

“Are you having a laugh? Why don’t you put some aside for people who can’t afford season tickets?”

Credit: @villanshub

“Oh”

Credit: @Tom_Price_AVFC_

“Wow!!! Could have done with this!! Oh well, will probably have to wait for the season to start before I can get to a game.”

Credit: @GMP4AVFC

“First away day, pre-season friendly match at Walsall, modest resident of League Two (English D4). 3,425 spaces in the visitor parking lot. Places all sold in less than 4 hours, without even going through the box sale to the general public. My club”

Credit: @quentin_gsp

“Class”

Credit: @Astonxii

“Didn’t take long. Was hoping to go too”

Credit: @Jannetts_

In other news: Source claims Villa are now keen on record-breaking ace; decorated coach called him ‘quality’. 

Despite being relatively unknown to Premier League followers, Paul Stewart is hopeful that incoming Tottenham defender Takehiro Tomiyasu can be a success in north London.

According to The Athletic, the Japanese centre-back is on the verge of becoming Nuno Espirito Santo’s first signing as Spurs boss, with the 22-year-old expected to sign from Serie A side Bologna.

Following a wretched campaign defensively under Jose Mourinho, Santo has taken his steps to improving his defence, with Tomiyasu able to play anywhere across the back-four.

He’s made huge strides since moving to Italy from the Belgian league and has progressed well at international level, not only racking up 22 caps for Japan, but has been named in their squad for the Tokyo Olympics.

But whilst the games will further Tomiyasu’s experience, it’s likely to rule him out of the opening few weeks of the Premier League season, with the final taking place the weekend before Tottenham host Manchester City on the opening-day.

Not many would have heard of the defender prior to his links with Spurs, but Stewart reckons he could spring a surprise.

He exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“If Nuno’s had his guys looking at him at Wolves, then he’s making the decision. You can nick players that stand out. You only have to look at Kante from French division two.

“I’m hoping that Nuno has been looking at him for some time and was looking at him for Wolves and is now looking at him for Spurs – that’s what you would hope.”

Everton’s transfer window has burst into life during the last 24 hours with Rafa Benitez finally getting to work in the market.

Andros Townsend has arrived on a free transfer to bolster their wide options while Asmir Begovic has signed as a back-up in the goalkeeping department.

What’s the word?

With Richarlison and James Rodriguez mooted as potential departures from Goodison Park this summer, Benitez needs to continue searching for offensive players in the window.
Demarai Gray has been a name on their shortlist but another name has now come to the centre of their attention.
According to The Athletic, Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze is interesting Everton.
They suggest that the Toffees have ‘extensively assessed and have garnered positive feedback’ on the 22-year-old.
However, they will hope to negotiate a lower fee than his buy-out clause of £55m.

A player to set Everton on fire

Chukwueze’s numbers for goals and assists don’t point to an enormously productive player but judging by his talent and ability, he’d be a wonderful capture for Everton.
The youngster has immense potential and showed against Arsenal in last season’s Europa League that he can dominate Premier League defences.
He limped off injured in the second leg of the semi-final between the two teams but was a rampant threat in the first match.
[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-everton-news-benitez-kamara-romero-dumfries” title= “Read the latest Everton transfer news!”]
Chukwueze supplied the opener for Manu Trigueros while attempting nine dribbles and providing two key passes.
He is a wily character who is capable of tormenting even the very best defenders. He recorded 2.4 dribbles per match in Europe last term, a number that usurps every player at Goodison.
Described as “exciting” by ex-footballer Mutiu Adepoju, he’s also rapid. He’s been recorded at a speed of 34.58 km/h which would put him among the quickest players in Benitez’s side. For context, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been tracked at 35.1 km/h.
With dribbling and speed as eye-catching as that, he could whip up a storm in offensive areas for Everton.
Quotes from West Brom defender Semi Ajayi also put him in a particularly good light. He once said:
“I’m on the B team [at Nigeria], not in the starting lineup, and Samuel Chukwueze is in my team and he destroyed the whole first team on his own, just give him the ball, he kept destroying them to the point the coach changed his mind, that he doesn’t think it’s three at the back, it won’t work.
“These times, the pitch that we were on, one pitch in Asaba, the pitch is terrible, anyone that plays for Nigeria would tell you how bad the pitch is, you cannot dribble on it.
“Chukwueze got the ball at his feet, dribbling around people as it’s nothing, like he’s playing at Old Trafford.”
With 17 senior career goals to his name, he does need to improve in that department but that will come with time. At the moment, he is still an incredibly dangerous player.
Supporters should relish a potential opportunity to see him in Merseyside next season.

AND in other news, Rafa could discover Everton’s new Leon Osman by signing “special” 34-cap maestro…

Napoli have been urged to swoop for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz…

What’s the talk?

Former Napoli coach Gianni Di Marzio has urged the Italian giants to sign Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz this summer as he would be perfect addition to their squad.

The 81-year-old has claimed that the Brazilian would be available for £17m (€20m) this summer and could have the potential to be a £68m (€80m) player in the future.

He told Radio Marte, via Sport Witness:

“Would Douglas Luiz be a good buy? Perfect, I’d take it right away! He’s very strong: he defends well, he has imagination, he’s bad. He can do everything.

“If you take such a footballer, he can be sold for €70-80m in a few years. Now, however, he would cost you a maximum of twenty million.”

Smith would be furious

Johan Lange must avoid a Villa nightmare following these comments from Di Marzio. He cannot allow Luiz to leave Villa Park this summer, let alone for a fee as low as £17m. Transfermarkt value his services at £31.5m and this shows that the £17m fee touted would be nowhere near enough for Lange to be tempted into parting ways with him.

Dean Smith would be furious if the club cashed in on Luiz, for any price, this summer as he is an important member of the squad and could be a key figure in his midfield again next season. The Athletic journalist Gregg Evans once said of him: “He’s an absolute joy to watch now and I never thought I would be saying that. Villa have got a fantastic player in Douglas Luiz now, he looks like an absolute star, he could have played in that Man United team.

“He was better than (Paul) Pogba, I thought. I thought he was brilliant, hardly did anything wrong, hardly put a foot wrong. He won so many interceptions and made so many important blocks. When he gets the ball, he passes it nicely. He’s the best player in that Villa team at the moment because it’s just not working for John McGinn.”

Luiz averaged a solid WhoScored rating of 6.71 in 23 starts as a defensive midfielder for the club last term, with a score of 6.67 across 33 appearances in the Premier League overall. This shows that he is a reliable, consistent, player for Smith and that is why he would be fuming if Lange sold him in the coming months, whether that be for the derisory £17m touted or any other figure within reason.

At the age of 23, the midfield maestro still has plenty of potential left to fulfil and Villa fans will surely want to see him develop in a claret and blue shirt. Smith will love to continue to work with him on the training ground to improve his game whilst being able to see the fruits of his labour on matchday in the Premier League.

AND in other news, Aston Villa launching bid for 21 y/o who “every coach would love”, fans surely buzzing…

Steve Howey believes losing Youri Tielemans would come as a bigger blow to Leicester City than seeing James Maddison depart this summer.

Belgium international midfielder Tielemans, who scored the winner as the Foxes got their hands on the FA Cup for the first time in their history in May, has been attracting interest from Liverpool.

Reports published by Belgian media outlet Voetbal24 suggest the 24-year-old is keen to leave Leicester for Anfield.

However, Brendan Rodgers’ side have made keeping Tielemans, who has two years remaining on his current deal, a priority this summer and they are eager for him to pen a new contract.

Meanwhile, creative midfielder Maddison is being courted by Arsenal, with the Gunners looking to bounce back after a disappointing season which means they will not be involved in European football for the first time since 1995.

Howey, the former Leicester defender, feels the Foxes would be more inclined to let Maddison depart instead of Tielemans.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “Tielemans would be the bigger loss, for me.

“Maddison is an excellent player but I think there were a couple of issues off the field last season. We all make mistakes, so I haven’t got a problem with that.

“Sometimes players just feel as though they could do with a move to give their career another spark. He might fall into that category. But, if I were him, it would have to be a very good offer from a very good club to tempt me away from Leicester.”

This has been an extremely busy week for Celtic in the transfer market.

The Hoops needed new bodies and Ange Postecoglou has achieved that by welcoming Joe Hart and James McCarthy to Parkhead.

On the chalkboard

Those two additions are incredibly important to Celtic with problems emerging in both areas.

Ismaila Soro has endured a poor start to the season so McCarthy now stands a brilliant chance of becoming the club’s heir to Scott Brown in the middle of the park.

As for the goalkeeping position, both Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas have already made mistakes in the opening three competitive matches of the new campaign.

In fact, defensive errors as a whole have been rife as the Bhoys pick up the mantle from how they closed out the 2020/21 term.

Nir Bitton was sent off in the Champions League and then put in a torturous performance against Hearts last weekend. That said, debutant Carl Starfelt didn’t escape the negative headlines either.

A lack of match action may attribute to his poor performance, but there was no excuse for playing a dangerous back pass in the second half that nearly had shades of Jonjoe Kenny in his first Old Firm game last season.

Defenders needed

With such a disastrous start to the campaign from a defensive point of view in mind, Postecoglou desperately needs to sign Hart’s ex-teammate Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Reports in June claimed that Celtic were interested in signing the Tottenham defender.

Talks got underway and now according to the Record, the Hoops have ramped up their plans to sign the centre-back.

That being said, with 12 months remaining on his deal in north London, Celtic will need to stump up a £5m fee rather than signing him on loan.

If Postecoglou does bring him to Paradise then it would be an excellent piece of business, even at the asking price touted.

Dubbed “incredible” by his manager Graeme Jones during a loan spell with Luton, the United States international has qualities that would suit the coaching department in Glasgow.

First and foremost, his ability to play out from the back will be vitally important. Carter-Vickers completed 91.6% of his passes in the English second tier during a stay with Swansea, the best tally of any player in the entire division.

With that kind of passing in mind, he could form quite the partnership with Carl Starfelt, another composed ball-playing defender.

Furthermore, Carter-Vickers prevailed in 2.8 aerial battles per game last season, a number that was slightly down from the 3.8 he won with Luton Town in 2019/20.

It’s evident that he’d be a fantastic addition to the Celtic ranks; Postecoglou must make him the club’s latest signing.

AND in other news, Celtic must do everything to sign 24-cap “animal” who Rodgers dubbed “outstanding”…

Queens Park Rangers’ Championship campaign of did not get off to the best of starts on Saturday afternoon as Mark Warburton’s men were held to a 1-1 draw at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

An 11th-minute Jed Wallace strike gave Millwall the lead in the fixture before Rob Dickie levelled for the home side just after the half-hour mark.

However, despite dominating possession of the ball – 59% to be precise – taking more shots, winning more corners and stringing together nearly 150 more passes than the Lions, the home side failed to make their superiority count, with the fixture finishing all square.

Neither of QPR’s starting front two particularly impressed, with Charlie Austin and Lyndon Dykes managing just one shot on target between them, receiving SofaScore match ratings of 6.6 and 6.5 respectively, but arguably the club’s worst performer on the day was new signing Moses Odubajo.

The former England under-20 international made two key passes over the course of his 90 minutes on the pitch, but in almost every other department, the 28-year-old badly let Warburton down.

Indeed, the £7.5k-per-week man was wasteful with the ball, completing just one of his four attempted crosses, one of his four attempted long balls and losing possession for his side on a whopping 17 occasions.

His metrics from a defensive standpoint do not provide any better reading, with the £630k-rated right-back winning just one of his nine duels, being dribbled past twice and conceding one foul.

All in all, Odubajo’s performance saw him earn a SofaScore match rating of 6.0, the worst of any player from either side to feature in the game.

As such, should the former Sheffield Wednesday man wish to keep his place in Warburton’s starting XI going forwards, he will undoubtedly have to improve on his debut display against Millwall, which certainly left a lot to be desired.

In other news: Bhatia masterclass: QPR confirm major development that will leave fans buzzing

Celtic took a while to get manoeuvring in the transfer market but they are now making strong approaches to strengthen their ranks.

The Hoops added Joe Hart and James McCarthy to the squad last week while they are now on the verge of signing a big-money striker in the form of Thomas Henry.

However, their efforts won’t stop there.

What’s the word?

As well as making attempts to bring Aurelio Buta and Josip Juranovic to Parkhead, Celtic are exploring the chance to sign Bright Osayi-Samuel from Fenerbahce.

The Bhoys have been intrigued by the idea of bringing the Englishman to Glasgow for a while now but it would appear that a move is beginning to materialise.

That’s according to journalist Ekrem Konur, who revealed the following news on Twitter this week:

“Celtic and Glasgow Rangers are closely monitoring Osayi Samuel’s situation. A rental (loan) offer may come with an option to purchase.”

Must sign him

Although Celtic have already bolstered their attacking ranks, adding Osayi-Samuel to a side that includes Kyogo Furuhashi is surely a recipe for success.

The Japanese striker has amassed four goals in just three outings for Celtic, combining lightning speed and clever movement with an eye for goal.

Coincidentally, Osayi-Samuel has similar traits.

Although not a centre-forward, the former QPR star is still a lively threat in the final third. Speaking about the 23-year-old’s game, Mark Warburton once said: “He’s working so hard. He’s got that sheer pace which terrifies defenders and when he uses it wisely like he did today he looks a real handful.”

The winger only scored once for Fener after a January move from the English Championship but he’s still been a colossal threat in Turkish football.

Possessing 19 career goals, Osayi-Samuel’s dribbling ability is simply marvellous. He achieved 2.8 dribbles per match for QPR last season before managing two per game after his move to the Super Lig.

That first statistic is ahead of every player at Celtic last term, while it also tops the dribbling charts for the Hoops in 2021/22 as well.

Based on that, he’d be a tremendous acquisition for Postecoglou and co. Celtic must sign him.

AND in other news, Celtic put 46-goal gem who can “sprint like Mbappe” on their radar, Ange must sign him…

Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer believes that Sylla Sow is a good signing for the Owls. 

The 25-year-old signed on a free transfer following his departure from Eredivisie side RKC Waalwijk at the end of last season.

Sow can play on either wing, as well as down the middle as a central striker, and featured for RKC Waalwijk 28 times in the Dutch top-flight last term, scoring three goals and assisting a further three.

And Palmer believes Sow is a good signing for the Hillsborough outfit, exclusively telling Transfer Tavern: “It’s a good signing, it’s a good signing for them. He is a good age and he’s athletic, he can play through the middle, he can play out wide, so it’s in keeping with what Darren’s doing.”

It’s been a busy transfer window for the Owls, as Sow became the 13th signing of the summer and, on the same day that Sow arrived, Josh Windass also put pen to paper on a contract extension with the club.

Sheffield Wednesday have made a great start to their League One campaign as they have picked up four points from a possible six. After a goalless draw on the opening day against Charlton Athletic, the Owls beat Moore’s former side Doncaster Rovers 2-0 over the weekend.