Tag Futebol

Queens Park Rangers have made an approach to bring Jordan Archer to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, who revealed in a post on Twitter that Mark Warburton’s side are looking to push a deal through for the recently released Middlesbrough goalkeeper in the coming weeks.

Nixon goes on to state that one of the current QPR shot-stoppers, Liam Kelly, appears to be heading to Scotland, having been linked with both Motherwell and Dundee United this summer, with Archer appearing to be the 25-year-old’s replacement in west London.

Warburton will be buzzing

While Archer has not featured a great deal for a number of his most recent clubs, making four Scottish Premiership appearances for Motherwell and five Championship appearances for Middlesbrough last season, the 28-year-old boasts a wealth of Championship experience, as well as impressing for Millwall when given a shot as a team’s first choice ‘keeper.

Indeed, over his 45 second-tier appearances for the Lions back in 2017/18, the £270k-rated man kept a whopping 18 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 2.9 saves and making 0.2 successful runs out per game, in addition to stopping a total of 131 shots over the course of the season.

These metrics saw the man Neil Harris dubbed an “excellent” player earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.81, ranking him as Millwall’s 13th-best performer in the Championship that year, playing a huge role in the club securing a highly impressive eighth-place finish.

As such, while Seny Dieng looks likely to be Warburton’s first-choice goalkeeper for the Rs next season, the addition of the £4.1k-per-week Archer would appear to provide the 26-year-old with both fantastic competition and back up for his spot between the sticks, something that will undoubtedly leave the 58-year-old QPR boss buzzing.

In other news: QPR transfer update emerges on “explosive” £10k-p/w machine, Warburton would love him

Derbyshire’s acting captain Matthew Dowman had a dream day as their match with West Indies A builds towards a fascinating finish

Sean Beynon27-Jun-2002Derbyshire’s acting captain Matthew Dowman had a dream day as their match with West Indies A builds towards a fascinating finish.Dowman, an occasional medium-pacer, picked up career best figures of 4-38 asthe West Indian innings fell apart in spectacular style. He then thrashed aquickfire 71 to compound the tourists’ misery. Two late wickets from MarlonBlack kept West Indies A in the game.West Indies A lost their last five wickets for 32 runs, three batsmen failing to score, as they threw away a potentially advantageous position. Then, after nipping out Derbyshire’s openers, their bowlers lost all accuracy under Dowman’s onslaught.The 28-year-old hit 12 boundaries, taking particular advantage of Black andJermaine Lawson. Andrew Gait made only nine in a 56 run stand with the skipper. It was left to Sulieman Benn’s left-arm spinners to keep a modicum of control.Black returned to get his man, giving Keith Hibbert – the day’s other hero -his fifth catch of the match. He restored some balance with the late wicketof night-watchman Lian Wharton, bowled for a duck. Derbyshire closed the day on 112/4, with Dominic Hewson (24*) and James Pyemont (0*) at the crease. They lead by 130 runs.Hibbert’s belligerent 83 had earlier carried West Indies to 220, givingDerbyshire a first-innings lead of 18. Hibbert crashed 16 boundaries in his 148-ball knock, which was a welcome antidote to stubborn early batting. TheJamaican added 83 for the fifth wicket with teenager Lendl Simmons, (42) asWest Indies looked set for a big lead.After Simmons was bowled by Wharton, Runako Morton (22) joined Hibbert and set about the bowlers with typical zeal. 20 minutes and four boundaries later, Morton was caught close by Dowman, and the wheels began to come off.Black, two places too high at number eight, was clean bowled. Benn and Lawson lasted eight balls between them, bewitched by Dowman’s seamers. Paul Aldred returned to dispatch Reon King as the innings subsided.Debutant pacer Neil Gunter picked up the two early wickets of Donovan Pagon (12) and Dwayne Bravo (0) after the visitors had resumed on 23-1. Dowman’sfirst wicket was vital, terminating Daren Ganga’s two hour vigil. The skipperhad made only 26, again getting himself set before giving his wicket away.With two days to go, the match looks destined for a positive result. A defeat for the touring side would harm an already fragile outfit.

MatériaMais Notícias

O sétimo reforço do Vasco foi confirmado no início da noite desta quinta-feira. O atacante Andrés Escobar, mais conhecido com Manga, assinou contrato de empréstimo com o clube válido até o fim deste ano, com opção de compra após o vínculo. Ainda não há confirmação se o clube conseguiu inscrevê-lo a tempo no Campeonato Carioca – o prazo para regularização era até às 19h desta quinta e, depois disso, apenas poderão ter duas modificações e se algum dos já registrados na competição rescindir o contrato ou se lesionar.

A data de apresentação do Manga ainda não foi confirmada pelo Vasco – isto por conta de o time às 21h desta quinta-feira fazer a sua estreia na Copa do Brasil, diante do Santos-AP, em Natal (RN), e o time comandado pelo técnico Cristovão Borges tem a vantagem do empate para se classificar (por outro lado, uma derrota elimina os vascaínos). Além do atacante, o Vasco contratou antes Jean, Gilberto, Muriqui, Escudero, Wagner e Kelvin.

Manga é da Colômbia e desembarcou no Rio de Janeiro na segunda-feira passada. Por dois dias realizou exames médicos. Tem o costume de fazer transmissões ao vivo em seu Instagram para conversar com os seus torcedores. Na última, nos primeiros minutos desta quinta-feira (assista abaixo) arriscou algumas palavras no português para explicar o caso de sua negociação, no qual se aguardava a chegada do documento internacional.

RelacionadasFutebol NacionalGoverno do RJ aprova propostas para o MaracanãFutebol Nacional09/02/2017Humor EsportivoEscalação Mil Grau – Vasco x Santos-AP – Copa do BrasilHumor Esportivo09/02/2017Futebol NacionalJornalista Haroldo Habib morre no Rio de Janeiro aos 76 anosFutebol Nacional09/02/2017

Cria da divisão de base do Deportivo Cali (COL), Manga em 2011 foi vendido para o Dinamo de Kiev, mas não se firmou. A partir de 2012, passou a ser emprestado para diversos clubes: Evian (FRA), Dallas (EUA) e Nacional de Medellín (COL).Na temporada de 2016, o atacante defendeu as cores do Millonarios, também da Colômbia.

Manga ao vivo. De volta ao Rio, diz que nesta quinta chega o documento para assinar com o Vasco. Arriscou no português. Dá o play! #lanceVAS pic.twitter.com/G7scfvMf9J

— David Nascimento (@daviddcn) 9 de fevereiro de 2017

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to CaughtOffside, the Reds are interested in acquiring the 22-year-old’s signature over the summer after impressing in the last couple of campaigns.

The report also claims that fellow Premier League giants Manchester United are keen on Chukwueze, who has a £69 million release clause in his contract.

Bye-Bye Shaqiri

Jurgen Klopp’s charges recovered admirably to finish third in the top-flight table after a string of season-ending injuries to several key players decimated their title defence.

However, the German manager is expected to shake up his first-team squad over the coming months as the Anfield outfit shape up for another assault on the Premier League summit.

Many fringe players have been linked with a move away from Merseyside in recent weeks, with the likes of Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri likely to make way for some fresh faces.

Much was expected of Shaqiri after his £13m move from Stoke City back in 2018, but injury issues have kept the former Bayern Munich and Inter ace sidelined for much of his Liverpool career.

Many of Liverpool’s problems throughout 2020/21 were caused by the absence of central defender Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, yet a huge drop-off in form from both Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino was equally to blame for their struggles.

The usually deadly duo scored a combined 20 league goals in the recently concluded campaign, a significant drop off from the 27 they recorded in 2019/20 and the 34 the pair managed in 2018/19.

While Mohamed Salah has continued to put the ball in the back of the net with alarming regularity, his two strike partners have suffered a steady decline.

Without sufficient strength in depth, Klopp was rarely able to change personnel throughout the season in order to try and find a solution to Liverpool’s attacking conundrum but signing a player once lauded by Samuel Eto’o may just solve that particular problem.

“He is an incredible player who is growing in leaps and bounds,” said Eto’o, adding that improving his end product is Chukwueze’s next challenge.

“He is a quality player, and he needs to score more goals, but he has the quality and ability to be more than just a goal-scoring forward. Once he gets all of that he will be top.”

While the £18m-rated (as per Transfermarkt) forward’s goals and assists return may not be overly impressive – bagging just 17 goals and laying on a further 17 assists in 119 appearances for the Yellow Submarine – he’s clearly got bags of talent and potential.

Signing Chukwueze as Shaqiri’s replacement may be the perfect start to Klopp’s rebuild as he looks to restore Liverpool to their scintillating best.

And, in other news…Liverpool tipped as club who could move for £650k-p/w liability, Edwards must avoid 

The working committee meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) at New Delhi yesterday made a decision that has beenwidely viewed as the first step in a long drawn battle with the IndianGovernment. Following the Government’s ambiguous stance on playingagainst Pakistan, the BCCI has decided not to take part in any eventsinvolving Pakistan. This includes fixtures conducted under the aegisof the International Cricket Council (ICC) like the ICC KnockOutTrophy and the World Cup.”In the absence of clear-cut guidelines in this matter, the Board hasdecided to play only in bilateral or triangular series involving Testplaying countries. We will not participate in tournaments such as AsiaCup, ICC Knock-out series (2002) and the 2003 World Cup because we donot know whether we would be able to play certain sides, likePakistan, or not,” said Board President AC Muthiah. Only recently, theIndian Government issued a directive to the BCCI prohibiting them fromtaking part in tournaments in certain offshore venues includingSharjah, Singapore and Toronto. Citing the reason that these venuesfostered irregularities like betting and matchfixing, the Governmentmade a unilateral decision not to play in these venues for threeyears.The agenda for working committee meetings of the BCCI is always laidout well in advance. In this case, there was no mention of thiscrucial decision prior to the meeting although the BCCI made it clearthat it would discuss a host of issues, including the irregularitiesin ticket sales at Goa where the last One-Dayer against Australia tookplace, the appointment of the BCCI media manager and the affiliationof four new states to the BCCI. The fact the Board President came outwith this announcement soon after the meeting took reporters andanalysts by surprise.It is quite clear the BCCI has not taken kindly to the Governmentclipping its wings in this regard. After withdrawing from thetriangular series in Sharjah, India came up for a lot of criticism ininternational fora. As is to be expected the Pakistan Cricket Boardcame out strongly against the BCCI and went to the extent of askingthe ICC to take some disciplinary action. With the ICC ruling out thepossibility of any disciplinary action on the basis that the Sharjahtourney was not an ICC endorsed event, the controversy subsided.However the latest decision taken by the BCCI has put the Governmentin a spot. Only recently, India put in a strong bid to host the ICCKnockOut Trophy which is scheduled for September next year. Thehosting of the event was already in doubt, with the Indian Income Taxauthorities not withdrawing tax exemptions that were earlierprevalent. The BCCI is doing its best to secure the tax exemption andhas suggested that it would even go to the courts if necessary. ICCPresident Malcolm Gray has given the BCCI time till April 30 to securethe tax exemption. If the BCCI fail to secure the exemption, the eventwill be shifted elsewhere.In case the BCCI does secure the right to host the ICC KnockOut, theGovernment will be in a strange and very embarrassing predicament. TheBCCI has said it will not take part in the tournament unless theGovernment comes up with a “clear-cut” stance on the matter. It’s notoften that a team hosts an ICC event without taking part. Indeed,would be a case of throwing a party without taking part in theoccasion…

Valerien Ismael managed to transform Barnsley from relegation candidates into promotion hopefuls and that earned him at least one vote for manager of the year, according to former Derby County manager, Paul Jewell.

West Brom finished the Premier League season 19th and 13 points from safety and as they prepare for life in the Championship they will be on the hunt for a new manager with Sam Allardyce confirming he will not be remaining at the Hawthorns.

They have been linked with several managers including Chris Wilder, who parted ways with Sheffield United earlier this season, and Ismael has also been tipped for the job after impressing at Oakwell.

Ismael’s impressive style of football and ability to squeeze everything out of his squad has proved what the Barnsley manager can do when given a chance, and Jewell expanded on this as he spoke exclusively to The Transfer Tavern:

“They possibly could go for him and I voted for him as my manager of the year because I think he’s done an unbelievable job. Especially when you look at the resources he has had at Barnsley, the man has done a terrific job.

“There are a lot of people who only look at the Premier League but there are a lot of managers out there who have done brilliant jobs and are just desperate for a chance.”

Ismael has also been touted as a potential candidate for the vacant Crystal Palace job with Roy Hodgson leaving Selhurst Park after four years and the Barnsley manager knows Palace well having spent a year with the club as a player.

It appears that Wilder could be the front runner to be appointed as the Baggies’ next manager and there may be few better candidates than the former Blades manager who guided them to back-to-back promotions from League One and into the Premier League.

Ange Postecoglou isn’t even in the building at Parkhead yet but he’s already set to taste the bitter pill of one of Celtic’s best players leaving.

The Australian is in advanced talks with the Hoops and all being well, he should become the club’s new manager.

However, as the Eddie Howe saga tells you, expect the unexpected.

What’s the word?

Postecoglou will have to manage a mass upheaval of the playing squad this season but as soon as he walks through the door, he may have to sanction the exit of Kristoffer Ajer.

The Norwegian has been linked with the exit door for a number of months now with Norwich and Newcastle monitoring his situation.

It would appear that the Magpies are now closing in on his signature, although the fee will fall someway short of Celtic’s initial expectations.

According to the Sunday Mirror (30/05, pg 76), Ajer looks set to become Steve Bruce’s first summer signing in a deal worth as little as £6m.

The Hoops reportedly wanted around £16m in order to let him go but their hand may have been forced with just 12 months remaining on his current contract.

Huge blow

To lose your best player is always negative but to lose the glue and stability of your side is a catastrophic blow.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-ajer-howe-lampard-wilshere-gauld” title=”Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Edouard is the man who’s been scoring the goals but without Ajer in the defence, their shoddy backline would have conceded even more.

From a defensive point of view, this was a simply disastrous season for Celtic. The Bhoys conceded goals on a regular basis and let in a grand total of 19 goals during their shambolic Europa League campaign.

They were made to bemoan some ghastly goalkeeping errors in Europe but domestically, it was the likes of Shane Duffy and Diego Laxalt who consistently let the coaching staff and supporters down.

You only need to look at the six goals they conceded in two outings with Rangers towards the end of the campaign.

Laxalt was caught out by Joe Aribo on two occasions while Jonjoe Kenny was run ragged by Ryan Kent on the opposite side.

With Christopher Jullien set to miss the start of next season through injury, losing Ajer to the Premier League will only make them look worse at the back.

Celtic have Leo Hjelde to bring into the team following his loan at Ross County but at the tender age of 17, he is not ready to be thrown into the deep end.

He could become Ajer’s eventual successor but he needs to mature before being given consistent first-team opportunities.

Postecoglou will need to find a replacement in a swift fashion or Celtic will be staring down the barrel of another unsuccessful campaign.

Either way, supporters will be fuming that they’ve had to relinquish Ajer at such a small price; he is far more important to them than £6m.

AND in other news, Celtic buy McCann in £13m spending spree, Edouard axed: How Postecoglou’s XI may look…

Illan Meslier only signed for Leeds United permanently last summer but David Norris, who made 36 appearances for Leeds, has exclusively spoken to Football FanCast about how the 21-year old has surprised everyone with his performances.

Meslier was dropped for Leeds 2-0 win against Southampton as Marcelo Bielsa axed the young shot-stopper for just the first time in the Premier League, with Kiko Casilla keeping his first league clean sheet of the season.

The French goalkeeper made his debut for his former club Lorient in 2018 when he was still just 18-years-old, and his performances for the French side convinced Bielsa to sign him on loan last season.

During Leeds’ title-winning season Meslier kept four clean sheets in 10 appearances and his performances have continued to impress people, something that has surprised Norris, who spoke exclusively to FFC:

“He’s surprised me and made that number one spot his own. You never know what you’re going to get from foreign keepers, especially young ones, but he looks like he’s just come in and settled really well.

“It gives so much confidence to the players in front of him who will know they’ve got a keeper who can produce what he has this season, and it looks like he’s got that spot nailed down.”

The 21-year old has impressed this season managing to keep 11 clean sheets in a Bielsa side that always wants to think about attacking over trying to defend.

Before he signed for Leeds on loan in 2019, Meslier had been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea were impressed by his performances at such a young age.

After a major announcement on Tuesday afternoon, with AS Roma officially appointing ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho for the 2021/2022 season, journalist Dan Kilpatrick has reacted on social media whilst claiming it is ‘potentially good news for Spurs’ (Twitter).

Journalist reacts as ‘potentially good news for Spurs’ emerges

Mourinho, who was sacked by the Lilywhites last month after nearly a year and a half in the job, was then placed on gardening leave and the club could have been forced to keep on paying his reported £10.5 million-per-year salary for up to 18 months (football.london).

However, in an announcement which could greatly benefit Tottenham financially, AS Roma have announced that they have hired Mourinho for the 2021/2022 campaign – with the Portuguese’ time on gardening leave now set to be short.

Journalist Kilpatrick, of the Evening Standard, was stunned by the promptness of the appointment and also believes this comes as a boost for Spurs – writing an emphatic message on Twitter in reaction to the major news.

“Wow – Jose wasting no time getting back in work,” he explained.

“And potentially good news for Spurs in terms of a payoff.”

Transfer Tavern take

In uncertain times, chairman Daniel Levy and the club will be grateful for any financial break given the toll caused by coronavirus over this past year.

Spurs announced an ‘irrecoverable’ £63.9 million loss late last year (Evening Standard) and still haven’t found a lucrative deal for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium naming rights – with chief commercial officer Todd Kline understood to be working behind the scenes (football.london).

Tottenham will apparently only have to keep paying Mourinho’s full salary until he starts the job at Roma this summer, and it certainly comes as a boost given his wages would have been a considerable drain on the club’s kitty until next summer.

In other news: Tottenham enter race for this electric defender, find out more here.

Writing for Sky Sports, journalist Kaveh Solhekol has shared that West Ham will still do ‘whatever it takes’ to sign Jesse Lingard this summer on a permanent deal, despite the worrying rumours of a possible price hike.

Lingard, who has been a revelation for the Irons since signing on loan with the club in January, has been at the centre of much speculation linking him with a permanent move to east London.

Sky journalist shares promising Jesse Lingard update

His latest dazzling display came away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday evening, with Lingard playing a major role as the Hammers cemented another victory in the quest to qualify for European football.

The 28-year-old scored a wonderful solo goal and was central in the build up to West Ham’s next two strikes on the night.

In the latest update on a permanent deal for Lingard, Sky journalist Solhekol has shared a promising update that West Ham United ‘will do whatever it takes’ to sign him this summer.

Transfer Tavern take

News that the Hammers are willing to go above and beyond to make this happen is certainly a promising update for supporters.

Reports have indicated that Man United could hike the price for Lingard due to his sensational run of form, but both Irons fans and GSB will be hoping he is still within their reach.

Pundit Ian Wright, speaking to Premier League productions recently (via C&H and HITC), labelled the attacker ‘devastating’ – leaving little wonder why West Ham are keen to tie him down in east London.

In other news: West Ham want this 6 foot 4 powerhouse, find out more here.