All posts by n8rngtd.top

A number of Liverpool fans have been reacting to the latest update on Kylian Mbappe, as the forward’s future continues to dominate the headlines.

The 22-year-old is one of the world’s best players currently, performing at a consistently world-class level for Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe has now scored 116 goals in just 157 appearances for the Ligue 1 champions, outlining why he is seen as such a special talent for years to come.

The £162million-rated (Transfermarkt) superstar’s contract expires at the end of next season and he is yet to agree a new deal at PSG, raising doubts over his future.

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Both Liverpool and Real Madrid have long been considered the front-runners to snap up the France international, with a potential summer switch on the cards.

Now, a fresh update has been provided, with L’Equipe [via Sport Witness], claiming that the Reds have a ‘real chance’ of getting their man.

Mbappe is still believed to be ‘taking his time’ over signing a new contract, giving Jurgen Klopp and Michael Edwards hope of a deal happening.

Liverpool fans reacts to Mbappe update

Here’s how a selection of Liverpool supporters reacted to the news on Twitter, with skepticism the general order of the day.

“Don’t give me hope”

Credit: @JamesHegarty28

“On 500k a week, don’t think so”

Credit: @NeloSean

“We don’t qualify for champions league, don’t see this happening”

Credit: @SadaMichaell

“Whoa whoa whoa wait. Swear LeEquipé is like the French version of sky… But wont believe it until Fabrizio Romano says it’s happening”

Credit: @RF9LFC1

“He’s an intelligent boy and he knows there isn’t a better coach to make him a world world class player”

Credit: @IshimweSteve1

“No Champions League unless we win it. It’s not happening unless he just wants to win the league next year with us then Champions League year after”

Credit: @swgharry

“It’s the hope that kills. I’m 99.99% sure it won’t happen”
Credit: @AdamLFC87

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming about the referee appointment for Monday’s clash with Wolves. Read all about it here.

Leicester City could be set to miss out on a long-term transfer target with FC Porto midfielder Otavio apparently edging closer towards securing a stay in Portugal.

The Brazilian international is out of contract at the end of the season, with recent reports suggesting that the Foxes were interested in swooping for his services on a free transfer.

However, Gianluigi Longari of TuttoMercatoWeb has now reported that the midfielder has been offered a new four-year deal with the Dragons, an offer which he is considering, potentially killing any chances of a deal with Leicester.

Despite the fact that the Foxes would be missing out on a supremely talented player, there could well be a benefit at the King Power Stadium, and that is concerning the future of Sidnei Tavares.

Having recently been awarded with his senior debut in the East-Midlands in the respective absences of James Maddison and Dennis Praet, he could further establish himself in the squad should he continue to impress.

So far, he has made three appearances for Leicester, two in the Premier League and a further cameo against Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League.

With Otavio potentially not arriving, that could, in theory, give him far more opportunities in the Foxes set-up next season should they not look for an alternative in the transfer market.

It would of course be no surprise to see that happen considering that boss Brendan Rodgers has already been waxing lyrical about Tavares’ “big potential”.

Increased opportunities then, could even convince him to sign a new contract with the club, with the Portuguese’s current deal also expiring at the end of the campaign.

So, whilst missing out on long-term target Otavio might wrangle with Rodgers and the hierarchy at the King Power Stadium, Tavares could actually see it as his opportunity to stake a claim at the club.

AND in more news, take a look at which Foxes’ misfit is deserving of a second chance at the King Power Stadium next season…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans are delighted after the club appeared to quash rumours that kitman Jimmy Bell will be leaving.

Bell is a part of the furniture at Ibrox. He has been involved with the 55-time Scottish champions for almost 40 years and has therefore been with them through thick and thin. He has become somewhat of a cult hero for many Gers supporters despite being part of the backroom staff.

Over the past few days, rumours had emerged that Bell may be leaving the club (Daily Record) after former Morton star Jim McAllister joined the backroom staff (The Scottish Sun). However, on Saturday night, the Gers’ official Twitter account shared a photo of Bell with Morelos celebrating their latest triumph with the caption: “Jimmy Bell – Still going strong and going nowhere”.

The pic attracted the attention of the Gers supporters and left them delighted. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Bell news below

“Better news than 55”

Credit: @andynmarshall1

“YAAAS!”

Credit: @EuanBuchanan

“Oh yes Mr Rangers”

Credit: @smithy_1872

“Better news than winning the league”

Credit: @snedco1

“Things that make me happy”

Credit: @jb55champions

“He’s a legend, plain and simple! Jimmy’s here for 56”

Credit: @IainWatson16

In other news, some Rangers fans are livid at this Old Firm news.

What forms a recipe for a transfer at Molineux? Well, first of all, you have to be a fine cheese, a player capable of maturing over time and developing as each year passes by.

Secondly, you quite often have to hail from Iberia. Add a light sprinkling of Gestifute, Jorge Mendes’ agency, into the equation and you have a classic culmination.

Of course, Wolves do explore other areas but they have no fewer than eight of their players on the books of the so-called super agent. It’s hard to forget that Nuno Santo is also a client of Mendes.

Close ties to an agent as powerful as him leads to a lot of transfer rumours and one of the freshest to emerge regards Goncalo Guedes.

Football Insider revealed earlier this month that Wolves were trying to beat West Ham to the attacking midfielder’s signature. Again, he is a player with all the ingredients Jeff Shi loves.

He is Portuguese, he is young enough to develop at 24, and he’s a client of Mendes.

With seven goal involvements to his name in 2020/21, he’d be a shrewd addition for Wolves and crucially could give them a bit of added spice in the final third. After all, it’s something they’ve lacked enormously this term.

Fabio Silva has netted just twice while Willian Jose is yet to score for the Old Gold, something Steve Bull attributes to a lack of service.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said last week: “I can relate to where he’s [Jose] coming from because I’d be as frustrated as he is, and I’d want to get the wingers and strangle them and say get that ball in the box.”

Guedes is someone who can bring a bit of extra creativity to this Wolves side, possessing the ability to play on the wing and in behind the striker.

Though, as well as aiding Wolves’ frontline, he could make up for the loss of a certain Pedro Goncalves. The Portuguese sensation played a matter of minutes for the Molineux outfit before being sold to Sporting Lisbon with very little fanfare.

However, his development has been meteoric, now being linked with high-brow moves to clubs like Liverpool after scoring 15 goals and claiming five assists this term.

Guedes might not be as prolific as that, but he certainly knows where the net is and he comes with a glowing recommendation from none other than Luis Figo; “Guedes is a fast, irreverent and unpredictable player, who himself builds actions for his teammates and is also able to finish well,” the former Ballon d’Or winner said.

Building chances for others and finishing adeptly bears great similarity to Goncalves, a player Wolves must now be cursing their luck over.

Guedes has scored 20 times during his time at current club Valencia and due to the positions he occupies on the field, could be their inadvertent replacement.

AND in other news, Wolves must swoop for £74k-p/w beast this summer, Spiers once dubbed him “superb”…

Former Manchester United academy product Keith Gillespie has told Football FanCast that Nicky Butt could link up with Celtic as speculation continues to swirl over the potential appointment of Roy Keane as manager.

Reports suggest the Scottish giants have opened talks with Keane over the vacant position, following the resignation of Neil Lennon earlier this season.

Celtic have watched on as Rangers have won the Scottish Premiership title, and they are currently 20 points behind their Old Firm rivals.

Butt has left United after nine years spent working with the club’s academy, and United released a statement claiming that he was seeking a “new professional challenge”.

That has heightened speculation he could link up with Keane at Parkhead as Celtic look to revive their fortunes and challenge Rangers once again.

Football Insider have reported that Butt could move to become Keane’s assistant.

And Gillespie thinks that his former team-mate will have something lined up, and he believes there could be a chance he is heading north of the border.

He told FFC: “I think with Nicky leaving the academy, he’s obviously got something lined up. So who knows? It could be that.

“We could just be barking up the wrong tree like happens too often. But I’d say that there’s maybe a bit of truth in it, the fact that the timing of Nicky leaving then all of a sudden, there’s this mention of Celtic. So I’d say that there probably is something in it.”

Butt spent 12 years at United, playing in central midfield, winning six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Champions League.

Following a recent development that Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy will be working on a £25 million sale for Dele Alli (Football Insider), nearly half of his January price tag, pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor expects him to leave this summer.

Indeed, speaking in an interview with Football Insider on Wednesday evening, the same outlet who reported Alli’s price drop, Agbonlahor believes that Alli will ‘100%’ be leaving north London at the end of the season following this news.

Levy, according to the report, valued him at around £45m last year but has since changed his stance – with Tottenham apparently willing to offload him for just £25m.

Agbonlahor expects Alli exit from Tottenham

Reacting to this development, Agbonlahor believes his exit is now a certainty.

“I think he 100 per cent leaves,” Agbonlahor told Football Insider.

“It would suit both the player and the club. He’s not getting much game time, Mourinho doesn’t look like he’s having him.

“For £25million, there will be a lot of clubs after Dele Alli. I just hope he gets the move he deserves.

“There will be a lot of clubs looking to sign him.

“His next club will get the best out of him because he’ll be hungry when he leaves.”

Alli has been out of favour under manager Jose Mourinho for large spells of the campaign, with the Englishman barely making a league appearance over the first half of this season.

Transfer Tavern take

That prompted a January transfer saga between the Lilywhites and Paris Saint-Germain, who wanted to sign Alli on loan, but no deal could be agreed without a replacement (Fabrizio Romano).

News that Levy is willing to offload Alli for less than the permanent fee wanted in January could be an indication that an exit this summer is extremely likely, as expected by Agbonlahor.

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville (via the Focus) called Alli an ‘outstanding player’ even despite his poor form but insisted he must do more, and only time will tell whether it will be with another club.

In other news: Alasdair Gold dropped a big Tottenham stadium naming rights update, find out more here.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has criticised Newcastle United’s Miguel Almiron after the Paraguayan attacker stated that he would like to play for a team that “fights more”, prior to the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Almiron’s controversial comments came in a recent interview with Paraguayan radio station ABC Cardinal and, according to Football Insider, that interview has now left several of his Newcastle team-mates fuming.

In what has been a disappointing season for the Magpies, Almiron has arguably been one of few positives at the club. The 27-year-old has come up with some important goals for Steve Bruce’s side, netting in wins against Southampton and relegation rivals West Brom.

Discussing the comments made by Almiron in an exclusive interview with FFC, Palmer said:

“If I was Steve Bruce, I would be absolutely annoyed and angry. There’s too much, there’s too much coming out of Newcastle at the moment. I mean, the manager’s had a flare-up with one of the players, which is an everyday occurrence at football clubs up and down the country.

“Whether it’s between player and player or between player and manager, whether it’s a big player and a coach, there’s always a disagreement, but why that gets into the public domain…”

The ex-Sheffield Wednesday player also added:

“Him making that comment now is going to create more problems within the dressing room because players are going to turn around and say, ‘well you’re accusing me of not fighting then for the club?'”

With Newcastle battling for Premier League survival, Almiron’s comments are the last thing Bruce needs, especially after all the fallout from the Daily Mail’s Matt Ritchie story.

Leeds should look at a summer move for Harry Winks after Paul Robinson claimed he would be a “great signing” for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

What’s the story?

The £25m-rated England international has struggled for game-time in the Premier League this season with Spurs, making just ten appearances in the top flight.

Robinson has suggested that Bielsa’s side could be an ideal destination for Winks to rejuvenate his career, and insisted that he remains a “great player”.

The former Whites goalkeeper said: “Harry Winks would be a great signing, I’d love him to come to Leeds. He’s a great player, I rate him really highly. He’s been unlucky at Spurs not to get more game time because I think he could get in any of the top-six sides. He’s a great player.

“If he came to Leeds it would be a real coup. Harry Winks and Ben White would be a great start to the summer and I expect Leeds to spend big again.”

Midfield technician for Bielsa

The £50,000-a-week earning Winks has fallen off the radar somewhat in recent seasons, having been a firmly established player at both club and international level when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge at Spurs.

The former Lilywhites boss made it clear just how much he rated the 25-year-old, saying back in September 2018: “The characteristics are perfect to play football. When we talk about midfielders – because you like to use Spanish midfielders like Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta – he’s like this type of player, this capacity but please he needs to take in a very positive way my words.”

While that Xavi comparison certainly seems far-fetched given how the Spurs midfielder’s career has stalled, Winks still hasn’t lost his calmness in possession and has averaged a superb career passing accuracy of 90.2% – far better than any Leeds player who has played more than 90 minutes this season.

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Being able to retain possession and keep things ticking over in the middle of the park would give Bielsa’s side a bit more control in the engine room and help them build out from the back to feed the likes of Raphinha and Jack Harrison further forward.

Victor Orta could strike gold in the Spurs gem this summer.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign a real upgrade on Patrick Bamford in this star…

Celtic’s resounding 6-0 win this weekend will have breathed fresh life into the Bhoys and its entire staff.

It’s not often the Hoops have managed to record convincing victories this term but it was a wonderful statement from their interim boss.

What’s the word?

John Kennedy is currently in temporary charge of the Hoops and the win he engineered over Livingston on Saturday was a big message to the hierarchy.

He is by no means the favourite to become their new manager with the coach facing competition from Eddie Howe.

That being said, there have been a number of twists and turns. Frank McAvennie doesn’t think he’ll land the job because of complications regarding Fergal Harkin and Richard Hughes.

Howe wants Hughes instead of the former as his director of football which has led to Celtic considering Lucien Favre as their manager instead.

In a fresh batch of news, McAvennie told Football Insider the latest:

“There are names pinging about all over the place up here, they don’t know who’s coming or going.

“But if Howe says no, they haven’t put all their eggs in one basket and I’m told by my sources if they have to start again, they can.”

Positive news

The Celtic hierarchy have had a habit of getting things wrong this season.

Take last summer’s recruitment for instance. They spent £4.5m on error-prone Vasilis Barkas while they also splashed out £5m on Albian Ajeti, a forward who has scored just six times since arriving from West Ham.

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Their failure to sack Neil Lennon led to protests from the Green Brigade outside of Parkhead and Dermot Desmond has been questioned in recent weeks over his role too.

He was asked whether he would sell his shares before issuing a defiant statement; he was going nowhere.

The Hoops haven’t particularly covered themselves in glory over their manager hunt either. Roy Keane was the favourite before rumours of his entrance evaporated in swift fashion.

They are now failing to get Howe through the door, either. Thus, news that they’re happy to start again and look elsewhere should come as encouraging news.

Desmond clearly has other irons in the fire and they evidently have contingency plans. The very fact that Favre is in the picture as well tells the story.

With Howe previously in advanced discussions, it looked as though they had placed all their eggs in the 43-year-old’s basket. That, however, certainly isn’t the case.

Celtic supporters should be pleased by the meticulous nature of the board. After all, a failure to appoint the right man could lead to another disastrous season chasing Rangers’ tail.

AND in other news, Sold for £2m, now worth £25.2m: Celtic will rue terrible call on “superb” £50k-p/w gem…

Heading into Leeds’ titanic Premier League clash against Liverpool on Monday night, the one major concern Marcelo Bielsa has surrounds the fitness of Raphinha.

The Brazilian has been the shining light of the Whites’ Premier League campaign thus far, scoring six goals and providing a further six assists in his debut season in English football.

The winger was forced off towards the end of Leeds’ historic 2-1 win over Manchester City, and there remain doubts over whether he will make it back in time for the game against the Reds at Elland Road.

If Raphinha is out, then Bielsa must turn to Jack Harrison.

The English ace missed out the win against his parent club City last week due to the terms of his loan agreement, but must surely be in contention to come straight back in against Liverpool.

Former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson has waxed lyrical about what Harrison brings to the table, and insisted that he’s become a key figure under Bielsa.

He said: “I think the player he has developed into, not just on the field, but his stature and physical fitness, I think he’s becoming an all-round key component of this Bielsa side.

“I like Jack, he’s got a lot of talent, he’s got speed, he’s direct, scores goals, creates goals and for that price tag, I think it’s an absolute no-brainer. They have to make that signing.”

Robinson added that the £40k-a-week earning Harrison “creates, he scores, (and) he offers Leeds something else”, and has been one of Leeds’ most prolific campaigners this season with seven goals and five assists in 29 Premier League games for the club.

In fact, only Patrick Bamford has scored more than him, while only Raphinha and Leeds’ number nine is ahead of him in the assists charts.

Dubbed as “under-rated” by pundit Adrian Clarke, Harrison has fond memories of playing Liverpool already this season, having been the scorer of a wonderful individual goal in the reverse fixture at Anfield.

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The winger will fancy his chances of doing something similar at Elland Road tonight, and will be keen to try and be involved himself in another major Leeds scalp.

As Robinson says, Harrison “offers something else” and could well be Bielsa’s game-changer when Liverpool come to town.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing a summer swoop for this European star…