All posts by h716a5.icu

Danny Mills has slammed Glasgow Rangers’ lack of due diligence after they appeared to block Ianis Hagi from competing at the Olympics for Romania.

The Lowdown: Hagi will not play in Tokyo

It appeared Hagi would be selected to appear for his country in the football tournament at the Olympics in Tokyo this summer, but the Gers have refused to let him go (The Scottish Sun).

Romanian football legend Mircea Lucescu was livid at Rangers’ decision not to release him for the competition.

The Latest: Mills slams Gers lack of due diligence

Speaking to Football Insider, Mills does not appear to agree with the club’s decision. He said:

“[Lionel] Messi played in it, [Sergio] Aguero played in it.

“If you sign a talented under-23 player who’s possibly going to be in the Olympics, if the Olympics goes ahead, then you’ve got to be prepared for that.

“You can’t sign a player that plays for one of the African Cup of Nations teams and then go ‘I don’t want him to be away in January.’

“You can’t sign Son Heung-min who plays for South Korea in the Asia Cups and the military service and all the rest of it…

“Surely you have to do your due diligence and know that’s going to be a possibility. If you’re player’s good, he’s going to get called up.

“I get that they’re trying to persuade their players and say ‘Do you really need to go?’

“But it’s the opportunity to play in an Olympics. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Why would you not want to go and represent your country?”

The Verdict: Difficult decision

You can understand both sides of the argument here. From Hagi’s perspective, it is not hard to understand why he would want to travel to Japan. Representing your country at the Olympics is a huge opportunity, and it would be a hard one to pass up.

However, the tournament will coincide with Rangers’ Champions League third qualifying round. The Ibrox outfit will be desperate to make it to the group stages, and they clearly believe £5.4m-valued Hagi (Transfermarkt) has a role to play in that quest, and a FIFA directive means they have more authority to block players from taking part in Tokyo. Hagi will be hoping he is at least heavily involved at the start of next term for his club.

In other news, Rangers are planning a bid for this 21-year-old.

Manchester United have been dealt a devastating injury blow ahead of their final four games of the season…

What’s the latest?

According to The Sun, Red Devils skipper Harry Maguire faces a race to be fit for the Europa League final after sustaining an ankle injury in the late stages of their clash with Aston Villa at the weekend.

The 28-year-old centre-back has been ruled out of facing his former club Leicester City this evening and United’s arch-rivals Liverpool on Thursday, whilst his involvement against Fulham and then Wolves on the final day of the season seems rather doubtful at this stage.

Major blow

This will come as hugely disappointing news for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Manchester giants, especially as they still have a slim chance of pipping City to the title. A win against the Foxes this evening would see them move to within seven points of Pep Guardiola’s league leaders, with nine points left on offer this month.

It would also solidify their spot in second place and ensure that neither Chelsea nor tonight’s opponents can catch them, which could prove to be pivotal in the summer in terms of prize money payouts.

Maguire is a big part of this United side, having played every minute of every game in the Premier League since his £80m move in 2019.

As per WhoScored, the England international ranks sixth for average rating (7.04) and tops the charts for aerial duels won (four) and interceptions (1.8) per game at Old Trafford, proving to be one of their best defenders, particularly in terms of stature.

Solskjaer’s other options aren’t as reliable, either. Eric Bailly has regularly contended with injury troubles and Victor Lindelof is some way off matching his impressive levels, with a 6.72 average WhoScored rating, half the number of aerial duels won and only one interception per match.

The £36m-rated colossus has been lauded as a “monster” by Forbes journalist Liam Canning this season and dubbed “the beast” by teammate Paul Pogba in the past.

All in all, Maguire is crucial to Solskjaer and his team, so to be without him tonight and for the remainder of the season will be worrying, if not hugely gutting.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Paul Parker drops massive claim on Donny van de Beek situation…

The National Selectors announced the 14 man squad that will represent Argentina at the ICC Trophy competition to be held in Toronto, Canada in June and July, 2001

Grant Dugmore14-May-2001The National Selectors announced the 14 man squad that will represent Argentina at the ICC Trophy competition to be held in Toronto, Canada in June and July, 2001.Guillermo Kirschbaum (captain)
Hernan Pereryra (vice-captain)
Gaston Arizaga
Martin Cortabarria
Alejandro Ferguson
Pablo Ferguson
Donny Forrester
Tomas Francis
Diego Lord
Lucas Paterlini
Matias Paterlini
Andres Perez Rivero
Christian Tuñon
Malcolm Van Steeden
Reserves:
Agustin Casime
Esteban MacDermott
Martin Siri
Gerben Zwaga
Nine of the fourteen selected were in Malaysia representing Argentina at the previous ICC Trophy in 1997.For Kirschbaum, Pereyra and Forrester, this will be their fourth ICC Trophy, having debuted at the 1990 tournament in Holland.Amongst the reserves is Agustin Casime, at 16 years of age, the youngest player amongst the eighteen players named.The side will travel under manager Ricardo Lord, coach Grant Dugmore, from South Africa, and American trainer Tom Burton.Argentina’s representative umpire will be David Gibson, who officiated in the 2000 Americas Championship.

According to a report by club insider Claret & Hugh, via West Ham Central, there is a concern among Manchester United scouts that Declan Rice is too ‘slow’ with a belief emerging that he is in fact no better than Nemanja Matic.

The Red Devils have been heavily linked with a move for the Irons’ star asset in midfield, even prompting GSB to value him at around £100 million.

However, as per this C&H update, United scouts are starting to have major concerns over a swoop for Rice who they believe isn’t pacy enough to be worth acquiring for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The 22-year-old, starting 29 Premier League games for West Ham this season, has managed the most interceptions out of any Irons player this season and has been key for boss David Moyes (WhoScored).

As a result, this strange alleged stance on a move for Rice comes as music to the ears of many Hammers fans on social media – with one calling it the ‘best news’ he’s heard in a while.

Find a flavour of their best verdicts from Twitter down below.

West Ham fans erupt over Rice claim

“Music to my ears”

Credit: @WHUHarry1

“Huge if true”

Credit: @MalmbergMelvin

“Best news I’ve heard for ages”

Credit: @Kennycandb

“Honestly that’s brilliant news there scouts clearly see something we all don’t so let them tell that to UTD and we’ll keep the best CDM in the prem.”

Credit: @shyland1988

“Excellent. Let them believe that!”

Credit: @AntonyBrisley

“Siuuuu

I hope this is true”

Credit: @whufcdp

“Thank god their scouts clearly ain’t up to it then lol. Great news for us Declan staying”

Credit: @olliebruton

“All ours then”

Credit: @Reece_WHU_

In other news: West Ham want this ‘absolutely crazy’ striker, find out more here.

Wayne Rooney’s Derby County head into their penultimate fixture of the Championship season this Saturday knowing that a win would represent a massive step in securing their survival in the division.

Following their 2-1 home loss against Birmingham City last week, the possibility of the Rams dropping down to League One next season remains a possibility, with Rooney’s side sitting in 21st place in the table, just four points above both Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday, with the Millers having the bonus of a game in hand.

However, a win against Swansea City this Saturday would see Derby take a huge step in securing their mathematical safety – potentially even clinching it today if the two teams immediately beneath them both lose.

So, will Rooney make any changes to the XI which started against Birmingham? Here’s our predicted XI, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Rooney being without long-term absentees of Lee Gregory, Teden Mengi, Jack Stretton, Curtis Davies and Krystian Bielik, in addition to the recent casualties of Andre Wisdom and Beni Baningime, there is not much room for manoeuvre ahead of the Swansea clash.

However, we still expect that the Rams boss will make two changes from the line-up which started against Birmingham last week.

Firstly, David Marshall could be set to return following Kelle Roos’ poor performance against the Blues, while Lee Buchanan could also find himself dropped to the bench for Patrick Roberts in order to provide the Rams with greater attacking impetus down the left-hand side of the pitch. The 24-year-old Manchester City loanee averages more shots, key passes and dribbles per game than his younger team-mate.

Otherwise, the team remains unchanged, meaning that Martyn Waghorn and Colin Kazim-Richards both look set to start in attack as Derby go in search of a potentially season-saving victory.

In other news: Rooney must sanction Derby County swoop for “faultless” £4k-p/w ace this summer – opinion

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has urged Tottenham to sign Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, who he thinks would start for Jose Mourinho’s team.

The Portuguese currently has four centre-backs at his disposal, but has been unable to find a settled pairing throughout the campaign, with Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld and, more recently, Joe Rodon sharing the burden at the heart of the Spurs defence.

But many of Tottenham’s struggles this season has been down to their defensive issues, with widespread reports hinting that a centre-back is the priority for Mourinho this summer.

On-loan Fulham centre-back Joachim Andersen has already been mentioned as a potential addition to Mourinho’s squad, but Windass thinks that someone in the Dunk category is exactly what the north London outfit need, following a report from Football.London’s Alasdair Gold that he has admirers at Tottenham.

Dier and Rodon started Sunday’s game against Manchester United, although more defensive lapses in concentration saw Tottenham’s Champions League hopes suffer another massive blow, leaving them six points behind fourth.

“People like Lewis Dunk, who’s been at Brighton, are a seven or eight out of 10 every game, Windass told Football FanCast. “They’re born defenders, they’re nothing special, but they know how to defend.

When asked if he’d start for Tottenham, Windass added:

“Without a doubt. He’s captain of Brighton and wants to go and play at the next level. Players like that are easy on the eye because you know what you’re going to get from them.

“But the trouble with Mourinho is he goes down the foreign player route.”

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who scored 45 goals for Newcastle United, believes Eddie Howe becoming his former club’s manager wouldn’t make any sense.

As revealed by Frank McAvennie to Football Insider, Howe has held talks with Newcastle about potentially becoming their new manager, despite Steve Bruce seemingly turning the Magpies’ fortunes around of late.

Howe has been in discussions with Celtic for several weeks, however he has left them in the dark over a decision as the former Bournemouth continues to have doubts.

Speaking on why Howe wouldn’t become Newcastle’s manager and how going to Newcastle over Celtic makes no sense, Lee told FFC:

“My question for Eddie Howe would be, why is he taking that job? Surely he’s got to look at the managers Newcastle have had in the past and see and how they’ve all struggled with the same problems. Why would he want that job instead of the Celtic job?

Eddie Howe has been out of work since he stepped away from being Bounrmemouth’s manager following their relegation from the Premier League last year.

Bruce was expected to be sacked after Newcastle’s 3-0 defeat against Brighton before the international break, however since that game the Magpies are unbeaten having taken seven points from the previous nine available.

The prospective appointment of Eddie Howe as Celtic manager would ‘make no difference’ for Odsonne Edouard, who intends to leave the club this summer.

That’s according to a report from Football Insider on Monday morning, as they claimed that the 23-year-old ‘has made it clear’ to the Hoops’ board that he wants out in the upcoming transfer window, irrespective of whether or not Howe is appointed.

Celtic have apparently made repeated efforts to commit Edouard to a new deal, but to no avail.

The Frenchman is approaching the final year of his contract, so Celtic will be under pressure to sell this summer if it’s clear that he won’t extend his deal.

It emerged at the end of last week that the Hoops were closing in on appointing Howe, but Edouard is said to have firm Premier League ambitions.

The Daily Mail reported at the beginning of March that Champions League-chasing Leicester City were eyeing the France under-21 international as a long-term replacement for Jamie Vardy for a purported fee of £15m.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Three years on from becoming Celtic’s record signing, Edouard has scored 81 goals in 162 appearances in green and white, with his former manager Neil Lennon hailing some ‘magnificent’ performances.

It has felt inevitable for some time that he would take the next step in his career, but the real disappointment for the Hoops is that they probably won’t turn a huge profit given his contract situation.

Edouard proved an ideal replacement for Moussa Dembele three years ago. Can Celtic unearth another such gem if the 23-year-old moves on in the summer?

In other news, could Eddie Howe bring this striker to Glasgow if appointed?

Celtic’s recruitment in recent years hasn’t exactly been flooded with success stories. From the current crop at Parkhead, there are few that spring to mind.

The club’s top scorer Odsonne Edouard has been a triumph for obvious reasons while Kristoffer Ajer has developed from a boy to a man during his time in Glasgow.

That being said, plenty have walked through the door, played very little football, and then been sent packing again.

That could happen to quite a number of Celtic’s current playing squad. Vasilis Barkas cost £4.5m last summer but has started just 13 league games.

As for Albian Ajeti, he’s only started ten SPFL outings after arriving from West Ham. It’s clear that Nick Hammond and the Hoops hierarchy haven’t always got things spot on.

That being said, there are also errors from the Brendan Rodgers era we can delve into; namely Eboue Kouassi.

Rodgers brought the defensive midfielder to Scotland in 2017 but he featured on only 12 occasions in the league during his three years at the club.

Stuck behind Scott Brown in the pecking order, Rodgers failed to find many opportunities for him in the starting XI. After all, in domestic action, there was no chance a team as dominant as Celtic’s needed two holding players.

He eventually left the Hoops last summer as he completed a permanent switch to Genk. However, in the process, they ultimately lost the heir to Brown’s throne.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-roy-keane-nicky-butt-jesse-marsch-scott-brown” title=”Latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

The skipper has announced that he’ll leave Celtic on a free transfer at the end of the season when his contract in Glasgow expires. He is set to join Aberdeen as a player-coach and thus, will leave a pretty glaring gap in the Hoops squad behind.

Ismaila Soro feels like the most natural successor but in Kouassi, they had someone primed and ready to take on that duty.

Talking about the Ivorian in 2018, Rodgers tipped him to eventually succeed Brown in the middle of the park: “Eboue’s brilliant in training, he does everything, and longer term he will certainly fulfil that role when Scott moves on,” he said.

Unfortunately, that prophecy won’t ever come true. Kouassi was shipped off quicker than you could mutter the word Celtic.

He was moved on loan to Genk within a year of Lennon being there and he never got an opportunity to prove himself to the Northern Irishman.

The 23-year-old took his leave without ever really making an impact in Glasgow. It’s a shame because the midfielder clearly had lots of talent.

When he burst onto the scene for Russian club Krasnodar, he regularly completed over one tackle per game. A stern and combative player, Rodgers did rate him highly.

“He has good ability and hopefully can come back strongly from injury and show he has a big part to play,” he commented in January 2019.

“Eboue can play here though. That’s the reason such a young player cost a couple of million Euros. He has a talent and in the Europa League games played well,” the former Celtic boss added.

Ultimately, it was fitness doubts and injury concerns that ensured he never got a consistent opportunity at Parkhead.

Kouassi had his ankle problems and spent the second half of the 2018/19 campaign out with a cruciate ligament injury. Had those problems not occurred, he may now be in with a chance of succeeding Brown. Instead, he’s no longer at the club.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Edouard: Celtic must swoop for 28-goal “sensation” who’ll “go to the very top”…

According to recent reports, West Ham United will have to battle a Premier League rival in order to land the summer signing of Adam Armstrong.

The report by The Sun claims that Armstrong, who is valued at £25m by Blackburn Rovers, is attracting interest from both West Ham and Brighton & Hove Albion, with the Seagulls said to be “desperate for a finisher” in the summer transfer window as Graham Potter’s side have massively underperformed on their xG in the Premier League this season.

It is also reported that David Moyes’ side are “reluctant” to pay the Championship club’s valuation of the 24-year-old as the striker will have just 12 months remaining on his contract this summer, posing another obstacle to a move going through.

However, The Sun claimed that Brighton “may go close” to Blackburn’s asking price, adding that the former England under-21 international’s wages would “not be too high” for the south coast club.

Transfer Tavern Take

Armstrong has certainly impressed over his 32 Championship appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side this season, with the 24-year-old bagging 19 goals and providing three assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.02 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the second tier.

However, despite the centre-forward’s impressive form this season, that he will enter the final year of his deal at Ewood Park this summer does make his £25m asking price appear rather steep.

Also, with Brighton’s interest now reported, it would seem unlikely that Blackburn will budge on the striker’s valuation, raising the question as to whether a move would make financial sense for West Ham.

In other news: Many West Ham fans responded to this club update, find out more here!