All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Forgotten Leeds United man Rafa Mujica could seal a permanent move to Las Palmas this summer, with the Spanish club keen on completing a deal.

The Lowdown: No Leeds future for Mujica

Mujica has had a nomadic career in recent years, having loan spells at the likes of Extremadura, Oviedo and Las Palmas. It is quite clear that Marcelo Bielsa doesn’t see a long-term future for the 22-year-old at Leeds, with the Argentine surely showing trust in him by now if that wasn’t the case – the Spaniard hasn’t even made a matchday squad for a competitive Whites fixture.

That is despite him impressing some of the Elland Road faithful during a pre-season fixture in 2019, only for it to prove a false dawn.

Mujica is currently at Las Palmas, where he has only managed four Segunda Division appearances this season and not made a single start.

The Latest: Las Palmas keen on permanent signing

Despite that, AS reported [via Sport Witness] that the Spanish club ‘show interest’ in signing the forward on a permanent basis this summer.

Las Palmas have an option to buy and it appears as though they are willing to take Leeds up on the offer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Time to move on

In makes perfect sense for Mujica to leave Leeds at the end of the season in order to settle at a club and begin the next chapter of his career. Bouncing from club to club is not benefiting anyone, in truth, and with his Leeds deal expiring in the summer, a new contract is highly unlikely to come his way.

The Whites are now at a point where they should be aiming for the the European places next season, in which case they need a higher calibre of player than Mujica.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly battling some heavyweight clubs for the signing of one player. Find out who it is here.

Flocking to Twitter, a number of Manchester United fans have erupted over news involving Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.

It is now official as the Red Devils parted company with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this morning following a run of dismal results, with a 4-1 humiliation at hands of minnows Watford seemingly cementing the Norwegian’s fate.

United severed ties with Solskjaer more than two-and-a-half years after they appointed him on a permanent basis to succeed Jose Mourinho.

The club legend vacates the Old Trafford managerial seat having guided United through 168 games in all competitions, winning 92 of them, drawing 35 and losing 41 – averaging around 1.85 points per match (Transfermarkt).

As such, their search seems set to begin as club chiefs decide best how to take the Red Devils forward whilst making the most of their star-studded squad.

Links to Zinedine Zidane, Mauricio Pochettino and Brendan Rodgers have surfaced in recent weeks but it is the latest update on Ten Hag which has fans excited.

According to CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs, writing on his personal Twitter feed, Ajax’s boss is ‘in the mix’ to succeed Solskjaer as Red Devils manager. Jacobs added that United ‘made contact’ with ‘multiple candidates’ even before their loss to the Hornets on Saturday – including Ten Hag.

Man United fans go wild for Ten Hag…

Taking into account his plaudits, style of play and managerial record, it’s little wonder that so many United fans have raved over this news.

A title winner in the Netherlands and a Champions League semi-finalist in 2019, Ten Hag’s impressive points average of 2.08 per match eclipses that of Solskjaer and the 51-year-old even has admirers in some high profile Premier League coaches.

For example, Jurgen Klopp branded him ‘one of the most exciting coaching talents in world football’ (Planet Football) – perhaps evidence that the Dutchman could be just what United need.

Plenty of Red Devils fans certainly believe so judging by these excited Twitter reactions, with one supporter even calling him a ‘perfect fit’.

Check out more of their verdicts below:

“Ten Hag timeeeeee”

Credit: @Ixrisldn

“Ten Hag, I’m on my knees”

Credit: @casperorace

“Tears in my eyes”

Credit: @_M0J

“Bring him home”

Credit: @Showman_ke

“Get this man inside!”

Credit: @KgosiAkeem

“YEEEEEESSSSSSS”

Credit: @RASHYFORDSZN

“Perfect fit”

Credit: @juxkwabena

In other news: ‘Needs transfer listing’, ‘Shocking’ – These Man Utd fans slam ‘awful’ player who lost the ball 15 times v Watford

Many Everton fans have been left buzzing as some news emerged involving Richarlison.

The Goodison Park faithful tweeted a few images of the former Watford ace, confirming he is ‘back in full training’, in what has of course come as a mighty relief to a lot of Merseyside club supporters.

Given that Rafa Benitez has been dealt a double blow with the latest injury news on both Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, it is certainly positive to hear of Richarlison’s return.

The Brazil international has been such a not yet scored for his new club.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-6/” title=”Everton news! (6)” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Everton fans on Richarlison news

These Blues were left buzzing as Richarlison’s return was revealed on Twitter, with a few EFC supporters claiming that it is ‘good news’:

“Things you love to see”

Credit: @JMarleyWrites

“Good news from Everton. Inject it”

Credit: @mannie_efc

“Finally some good news”

Credit: @EFC_Eve

“At last, some good injury news!”

Credit: @BlueAndy81

“Proper sight for sore eyes that!”

Credit: @RockfallDCUO

“The league is shaking right now”

Credit: @RicharlisonR9

In other news, find out what transfer news has Evertonians fuming here!

As per football.london reporter Tom Clark, an update has emerged on West Ham United’s plans for Burnley defender James Tarkowski in January.

The Lowdown: Tarkowski targeted…

The 29-year-old, according to reports, is one of a handful of central defenders being targeted by manager David Moyes as he seeks to solve an emergency following injuries to both Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Tarkowski is also out of contract at Turf Moor next year, meaning he could leave at the end of 2021/2022 for free unless Burnley opt to sell on the cheap in January.

This has alerted West Ham with Moyes in particular thought to be a long term admirer of the Clarets mainstay.

The Latest: Journalist shares update…

As per Clark, some news has emerged on West Ham’s transfer plans, with the club and by extension head of recruitment Rob Newman now ‘contemplating a £5m bid’ for his services next month.

While Burnley are unlikely to accept this offer, it is believed that a ‘deal is thought to be possible’ if the right offer arrives for Tarkowski.

The Verdict: Get it done?

As West Ham also weigh moves for both Nathan Ake and Nathaniel Phillips as alternative targets, we believe either of this duo would come as better options than Tarkowski – despite Sean Dyche calling him ‘superb’.

Phillips, just 24-years-old, has already signalled his openness to leave Liverpool and could be available for as little as £10 million – a bargain price for someone who averaged more Premier League clearances per 90 than anyone in Jurgen Klopp’s side last season (WhoScored).

Ake, meanwhile, is just two years older than Phillips and has played more often for Man City under Pep Guardiola so far this season – with the Spaniard calling him ‘intelligent’, ‘concentrated’ and a ‘joy to have’ (mancity.com).

The Netherlands international can also play at left-back and in front of the defence alongside his natural position as a centre-half.

Tarkowski, meanwhile, doesn’t command much sell-on value and is approaching the twilight phase of his career – so we believe he should only be prioritised if Burnley opt to accept a very cheap fee.

In other news: ‘We are back’, ‘What I wanted to hear’…ExWHUemployee’s ‘best news’ has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes it was the ‘correct’ decision to only award Leeds United’s Tyler Roberts a yellow card against Chelsea.

Leeds drew 0-0 at home to Thomas Tuchel’s in-form Blues side last Saturday, in what represented a good point for Marcelo Bielsa’s men.

They went toe-to-toe with their big-spending opponents throughout at Elland Road, with the draw meaning they currently sit 12th in the table.

[freshpress-poll id=“348945″]

One of the key decisions of the game saw Roberts receive a booking after a challenge on Jorginho in the second half, a punishment befitting of the crime according to Halsey.

Halsey believes right decision was made in Leeds-Chelsea clash

Speaking to This Is Futbol, Halsey claimed Kevin Friend was right not to send the Leeds ace off, with the correct decision ultimately made:

“It wasn’t violent conduct; you knew it straight away. It’s just his follow-through and he’s gone onto the back of his calf so for me, in that instance it’s not violent conduct, I think the yellow card was correct.

“I think that had it been a serious situation, VAR would have got involved in that situation.”

Transfer Tavern take

Halsey is right in his assessment, with Roberts’ tackle no doubt a little on the reckless side, but certainly not malicious and warranting a sending off.

If players are receiving their marching orders for challenges of that ilk, the number of red cards will be off the scale before too long.

In other news, Leeds are ‘thinking seriously’ about making an addition in one key area this summer. Find out more here.

According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur have identified three potential summer replacements for Spurs goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris.

The report by The Sun claims that Daniel Levy and his Tottenham transfer team have all three of Dean Henderson, Nick Pope and Sam Johnstone on their shortlist as Hugo Lloris replacements, should the £100,000-per-week 35-year-old leave north London in the summer transfer window.

Indeed, Lloris has been heavily linked with a reunion with the former Spurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino, at Paris Saint-Germain, with The Sun claiming that the Frenchman would be open to the possibility of a return to Ligue 1 at the end of the season.

Transfer Tavern Take

With it being reported that Henderson would be keen to leave Manchester United this summer unless he is installed as the first choice ‘keeper at the club, should this not come to pass, it would indeed appear as if Tottenham could be presented with an opportunity to land the 24-year-old, for whom Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are thought to be demanding around £40 million to part with.

Meanwhile, with both Pope and Johnstone facing the possibility of relegation from the Premier League with their respective clubs this season, should either Burnley or West Bromwich Albion ultimately drop down the Championship, Tottenham could again have a clear path to signing one of the ‘keepers.

However, it should be pointed out that, while Lloris remains at the club, all of these links would seem to be purely theoretical, for now.

In other news: Sources have revealed that Daniel Levy will be “all over” one club targeting multiple Spurs transfers this summer – find out more here!

Leeds United still have a significant number of players in their squad who were part of the team that won promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.

One of those players that has proved to have been a particularly good bit of business from the Yorkshire club is Pascal Struijk.

Signed back in the 2018 January transfer window from Ajax’s U19 side, the defender has gone on to make 60 senior appearances for the Whites across all competitions.

With 24 league appearances to his name in this latest campaign, the Dutchman has been a rather prominent figure in the team at the back.

In terms of what he offers the Whites, the 22-year-old has racked up the joint-third highest number of tackles won (31), the third-highest number of blocks (49) and the second-highest number of interceptions (58) in the Premier League out of anyone in the Leeds squad.

The £29k-per-week figure also has the third-highest number of clearances (76) in the league from Jesse Marsch’s outfit, behind only Liam Cooper (96) and Diego Llorente (84).

To further highlight his defensive attributes, only Cooper and Junior Firpo have a higher average for aerial duels won than the former Ajax youth star – out of players that have been involved in more than 10 duels.

Even though the Elland Road outfit have conceded more goals (68) in the league than any other top-flight side this season, it’s safe to say that things would have been a lot worse had Struijk not been around.

Back in October 2020, Transfermarkt had the defender’s market value listed as £675k, whereas it now stands at £13.5m – a whopping 1900% increase – highlighting the significant rise it has taken as a result of his actions on the pitch.

Having been touted to become a “supreme centre-back” for the club in the future by Leeds journalist Beren Cross, it seems as though Struijk has the tools to do just that.

Even though the colossus hasn’t started in Leeds’ previous two league games against Southampton and Watford, he will surely be an important squad option for Marsch heading into next season and beyond – something that leads us to believe Victor Orta hit the jackpot when landing Struijk back in 2018.

AND in other news: Leeds heading for disaster on “wonderful” £38k-p/w “talent”, Marsch would be fuming

Jake Vokins made his first Premier League appearance of the season against Arsenal on Tuesday night but was far from good enough defensively during his time on the pitch.

The Southampton academy ace was selected at left-back in the absence of Ryan Bertrand, who was suspended for the game against the Gunners.

Unfortunately for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, Stuart Armstrong’s early goal was as good as it got against their North London opposition as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at St Mary’s, with the Austrian criticising his team’s defending post-match.

Vokins was one of Southampton’s poorer performances on the night statistically, and was substituted just after the hour mark with Ibrahima Diallo moving to left-back to replace him.

As per SofaScore, the 20-year-old would earn a disappointing 6.1 match rating for his display, which was the joint-worst rating, with Yan Valery, of any outfield player on the pitch.

During his time on the pitch, the left-back would contribute no tackles or interceptions, and lost all three of his ground duels during the game, suggesting that the Saints really missed Bertrand against the Gunners – especially in defensive areas.

Vokins was very rarely involved, as he had just 23 touches, which was far fewer than the 43 touches goalkeeper Alex McCarthy had during the game.

Unfortunately for the academy ace, he would manage just 11 passes during the game, whereas opposition left-back and former Saints man Cedric would have 81 touches, and contributed 24 passes, showing his influence on proceedings.

The Saints defender struggled against Bukayo Saka, as he got past him for Arsenal’s second goal, with the Gunners ace picking up a 7.8 match rating, suggesting that he had the better of Vokins throughout his time on the pitch.

Fortunately for Hasenhuttl, Bertrand has now served his one-match ban, so will most likely be back for the game against Aston Villa at the weekend. However for Vokins this was perhaps evidence that he is not ready to be a starter in the Premier League just yet, as he clearly struggled against Mikel Arteta’s side on Tuesday night.

And, in other news… “What a player” – Exclusive: Pundit “surprised” that Hasenhuttl fave is still at Southampton

Brian Deane has exclusively told Football FanCast that goalkeeper Sam Johnstone would be a good signing for West Ham.

With the Baggies’ relegation back to the Championship now confirmed, Johnstone already has a number of Premier League sides interested in his signature, with the Hammers one of them.

And recent reports believe that they’ve now moved ahead of Tottenham in the race for the England shotstopper, who was rewarded for his outstanding form this season with his first call-up by Gareth Southgate for March’s World Cup qualifiers.

The 6 ft 4 Johnstone, who former England manager Glenn Hoddle labelled as ‘outstanding’ earlier this year, has not only made the most saves in the Premier League this season but has managed six clean sheets and even an assist from his 35 appearances.

West Ham have three senior goalkeepers currently at the club, but number one Lukasz Fabianski has just one year left on his contract and has been short of form of late, whilst his back-up, Dave Martin, will become a free agent this summer having failed to make a single first-team appearance this season.

And the former Hammers striker Deane told Football FanCast that he’s been impressed with Johnstone’s form:

“He’s saved more than anyone else in the league and certainly when I’ve seen him, he’s looked a very good player. I think he would be a good candidate.

“He’s not let anybody down at West Brom and that could be a good move.”

Southampton have been linked with Santiago Moreno recently, and if he were to join Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this summer, it could spell bad news for Moussa Djenepo.

According to The Telegraph, the Saints, Leeds United and Rangers are all keen on signing the 21-year-old from Deportivo de Cali this summer. The report suggests that his style of play has been compared to former Saints winger Sadio Mane, whilst he is expected to be able to adapt to the demands of Premier League football.

During his time with the Liga Dimayor side, the young winger has contributed 10 goals and seven assists in just 49 appearances, which suggests that he can add a goalscoring threat in Hasenhuttl’s team next season should Martin Semmens bring him to St Mary’s this summer.

This could spell trouble for Djenepo, who has struggled to perform consistently since his move from Standard Liege in the summer of 2019, with just four goals and two assists to his name in 51 appearances for Southampton.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-southampton-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Southampton transfer rumours and news!”]

This season has been particularly disappointing for the Mali international, as he has managed just one goal and no assists in 27 Premier League appearances, earning a less than impressive 6.37 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This ranks him as the 17th-best performer in Hasenhuttl’s side this season, which suggests that the 22-year-old could soon find himself surplus to requirements should another winger arrive at St Mary’s this summer.

Considering that Nathan Tella has perhaps already moved ahead of Djenepo in the pecking order at Southampton, whilst Theo Walcott’s loan move has been made permanent, it seems likely that the Malian will struggle for game time with the Saints next season unless his performances drastically improve.

Therefore, the addition of a young exciting winger such as Moreno, who seems to have much more of an eye for goal than Djenepo, could spell serious trouble for the latter’s future in Hasenhuttl’s side.

In other news… Semmens can end Hasenhuttl headache with Saints swoop for “explosive” beast