Category Uncategorized

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing Slavia Prague sensation Abdallah Sima, in what could be an exciting piece of business.

The Lowdown: Sima shines for Slavia Prague

The 19-year-old is seen as a hugely talented young attacking player, catching the eye for the Czech giants this season.

Sima has scored 11 goals in just 15 starts in the Czech First League this season, outlining his potential and showing why he has been compared to Premier League legend Thierry Henry.

The Latest: Leeds keen on signing Sima

According to Football Insider, the Elland Road outfit are in the mix to sign the teenager this summer, following his ‘remarkable rise’ during 2020/21.

It is stated that a number of Premier League clubs are showing an interest in Sima, however, suggesting it won’t be easy to acquire his signature.

Everton, Arsenal, Manchester United and West Ham are the top-flight teams mentioned in the report.

[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: Worth a punt?

It is vital that Leeds make reinforcements in the summer, ensuring they don’t sit still and fail to kick on from an impressive campaign.

At 19, Sima may still be raw, but in Marcelo Bielsa, he would have a hugely experienced, respected manager who knows how to nurture young talent – just look at how Patrick Bamford has taken to top flight football this term.

The list of clubs he is being linked with speaks volumes about his potential, so Leeds should consider taking a punt on the Czech starlet, especially considering how prolific he already looks in front of goal.

He could play second fiddle to the likes of Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo to begin with, potentially usurping them over time.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with another winger, as Bielsa looks to make a summer addition in that area. Find out who it is here.

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been giving their thoughts on right-back Frederic Guilbert on social media regarding his future at Villa Park.

The 26-year-old spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan at Ligue 1 side Strasbourg. Guilbert made 14 appearances for the French side, scoring once and registering four assists.

He’s now set to return to Villa, where he has just over two years remaining on his current contract, worth £40,000-a-week.

The right-back took to Instagram to thank the Strasbourg supporters, with Birmingham Live relaying his post in a story.

They suggested that Guilbert is expected to return to Bodymoor Heath and challenge Matty Cash for the 2021/22 campaign, with Ahmed Elmohamady set to leave on a free transfer.

Villa fans react

@AVFC_News shared Guilbert’s social media activity in a story on Tuesday evening, asking fans if they feel the full-back has a future in the Midlands.

The responses seemed to be split, with a selection of replies available to view below.

“No. Smith doesn’t like him”Credit: @Harry34740948″He really should have a future at VP did nothing wrong was let down by the management way better than Elmo. Should come back and fight it out with Cash next season.”Credit: @DavidWinter81″No, it’s time to sell Guilbert”Credit: @Trev_villaboy”Definitely. We need someone to compete with Cash and Fred was coming along nicely until we sidelined him. And we know that Cash is a bit injury prone and not a stranger to a yellow card, so we need a good alternative.”Credit: @stevesanderstax”Defensively he’s shocking.”Credit: @will_avfc”Yes 100%. I think he was let down truthfully, Elmo needs to go and he needs to come.”Credit: @escapeinpixels

In other news: Many AVFC fans buzz at Emiliano Buendia latest, find out more here. 

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Graham Roberts has told The Transfer Tavern that interim coach Ryan Mason must give Gareth Bale more chances in the Spurs starting XI.

The Wales international was used sparingly at best by ex-manager Jose Mourinho, who was sacked on Monday.

Indeed, Bale made just six starts under Mourinho in the Premier League, with his seventh of the campaign coming against Southampton on Wednesday.

He was in exceptional form as he came off the bench against West Ham United in February, a game Spurs still lost 2-1, and was then given a run of games, as he started against Burnley, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Arsenal.

He scored four goals in those games, laying on one assist, but he struggled against the Gunners and was substituted after 57 minutes, and has played a mere 10 minutes since.

And Roberts says that he wasn’t given enough of a chance by Mourinho, while hoping that can be rectified between now and the end of the season – starting on Sunday after it was reported that Harry Kane is a doubt having failed to train on Friday.

Speaking exclusively to TT, the former UEFA Cup winner said: “No, give him a chance now. Look what happened when we played West Ham.

“He came on and totally changed the game at half-time and then he played well for the next three or four games. We played Arsenal, everybody was garbage, because of his tactics, and we haven’t seen him since.

“He’s been on that bench again, warming the bench.”

West Ham United dodged a bullet with their failed pursuit of Josh Maja in January as the Girondins de Bordeaux striker has proven to be a flop at Fulham.

The Irons were credited with an interest in a move for Maja before the Frenchman joined Scott Parker’s relegation-threatened Cottagers on loan, with the Sunderland product targeted as a replacement for Sebastien Haller.

David Moyes held a keen awareness in the 22-year-old as he faced an uncertain future in Ligue 1 after falling out of favour at the Matmut Atlantique, where Jean Louis Gasset had awarded Maja only 11 starts in 17 top-flight appearances this term.

Fulham eventually came to his rescue and offered Maja a move to the Premier League on Deadline Day, and would seal his signature on a half-season loan that carries a £9m option to purchase.

It remains to be seen if the south west Londoners intend to buy the one-time Nigeria international, but his form across the capital will have given West Ham confidence that they made the right decision by walking away from negotiations with Bordeaux.

Maja made his 11th outing for the Cottagers on Sunday as they held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw thanks to the London-born forward converting from the spot inside a quarter of an hour of the second half, after Gabriel Magalhaes was deemed to have fouled Mario Lemina.

It was only the third goal that Maja has scored for Parker’s side since his arrival after a brace at Everton in February, after being given the first start in the Premier League of his career at Goodison Park.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-west-ham-news%2c-views-and-gossip” title=”Latest West Ham news, views and gossip!”]

He has since started just a further seven top-flight games but failed to have any direct involvement in the scoring, and has only helped Fulham to clinch nine additional points in their quest for survival.

Parker expected Maja to boost the Cottagers’ threat in the final third when his signing was finalised, as “the boy’s a finisher” and he settled into his new club quickly.

Parker said, via quotes by the Independent: “I’m very pleased we’ve got him with us and have got him on board, and I’m looking forward to seeing his qualities and working with him.”

But Maja has proven to be an underwhelming signing for Fulham that West Ham did well to avoid, having directed just 0.5 shots on target per Premier League game and offered little offensive creativity for his Cottagers teammates with 0.5 key passes, per WhoScored.

Haller may not have set the world alight in claret and blue with three goals in 16 Premier League games this term, but had offered West Ham a marginally superior option with 0.7 on-target efforts and 0.6 key passes on average a game.

Antonio, meanwhile, has seven goals in 21 appearances this term thanks to striking one of his average 2.4 shots on target per game, and has offered the second-most assists (5) at the London Stadium from an average of one key pass an outing.

If West Ham had been the ones to unveil Maja as a Deadline Day signing, he would likely have spent the following months sitting on the bench waiting for his chance, having proven to be a flop at Fulham where minutes have been more regularly forthcoming.

AND in other news, a £4.5m-rated West Ham enforcer is being lined up for a summer move out of east London…

كشف خالد مرتجي أمين الصندوق بمجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي ورئيس بعثة الفريق بالإمارات المشاركة في كأس العالم للأندية، عن حديث جياني إنفانتينو رئيس الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم بشأن المارد الأحمر بعد التتويج ببرونزية المونديال.

وقال مرتجي في تصريحات تلفزيونية بفضائية “أون تايم سبورتس”: “جياني إنفانتينو قال لي اليوم عقب المباراة إن (وشه حلو علينا)، الأهلي أعظم ناد في إفريقيا ويُشرف القارة، هذه جملة تكفي عندما تسمعها من رئيس الاتحاد الدولي”.

تنسف تكافؤ الفرص.. الأهلي يرفع لـ فيفا 4 نقاط غير عادلة في كأس العالم للأندية

وأردف: “كما أن مالكة نادي بالميراس البرازيلي أشادت بفريق الأهلي وقالت تمتلكون فريقًا جيدًا، أمور تجعلني أقول ارفع رأسك أنت أهلاوي”.

وواصل: “كان كرمًا كبيرًا من الكابتن محمود الخطيب أن يجعلني أقف على منصة التتويج بدلًا منه وأن أتشرف بالوقوف بجانب العظماء لتكريم العظماء أيضًا”.

وتابع: “نملك فريقين ولا يوجد أساسي واحتياطي، جميعهم أساسيين ويعرفون الأهداف وهي أن الأهلي رقم واحد”.

واستطرد: “الخطيب أبلغني أنه بعد أن نصل إلى القاهرة سنغلق صفحة مونديال الأندية ونركز في المشوار الإفريقي وإن شاء الله نحقق الحادية عشر”.

وأتم: “لا يوجد شك أن المدرب يحقق إنجازات، وقرار مصيره يعود لمحمود الخطيب ولجنة التخطيط، لكن بالورقة والقلم لا يوجد شك إنه حقق إنجازات كبيرة”.

The lawyer of Glasgow Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara believes the police now have enough evidence to charge Ondrej Kudela for “racially aggravated conduct”.

Kamara lawyer discusses case

Aamer Anwar is representing Finland international Kamara after he accused Kudela of racist abuse during the Europa League round of 16 clash between the Gers and Slavia Prague at Ibrox.

Speaking about the progression of the case, Anwar said (via The Herald):

“The police have now gathered evidence including CCTV as well as statements from witnesses that we believe would corroborate sufficient evidence for a criminal charge of a ‘racially aggravated conduct’ by Kudela – in that it is alleged he intended to cause Glen Kamara alarm or distress and his conduct was motivated by malice and ill-will because of Glen’s race.

“If Police Scotland believe there is sufficiency of evidence, then they can swiftly move to a charge of a Section 50A(1)(b) offence under Criminal Procedure Scotland Act 1995, that would mean that Mr Kudela would be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

“Mr Kudela could then be served with a citation to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at a later date and ultimately at a trial if he does plead guilty in advance.”

FinallyFinally, it seems that we may be close to some sort of outcome in regards to this case. Since the game was played on March 18th, there have been accusations thrown back and forth – Slavia have accused Kamara of striking Kudela on the back of the head in the tunnel (slavia.cz), while there have also been suggestions Nicolae Stanciu received abuse from a Rangers player (eFotbal.cz).It remains to be seen whether Kudela is actually found guilty, but putting together a strong case is a start. The result of the impending trial is important – whatever verdict is reached will send out a message in regards to the fight against racism.In other news, Rangers are said to be interested in this 27-goal striker.

Darren Moore may not have been in attendance on Saturday afternoon, but Sheffield Wednesday star Adam Reach badly let his manager down yet again, as their survival bid took another damaging twist.

It was always going to be a hard task for the Owls, though their performance warranted some sort of result down in the capital.

The South Yorkshire outfit were defeated 1-0 by automatic promotion-chasing Watford, courtesy of an own goal from Wednesday veteran Tom Lees just seven minutes into the encounter.

That proved to be the only difference in this top versus bottom clash at Vicarage Road.

Owls coach Jamie Smith filled in for the absent Moore, and he won’t have many positives to report back to the 46-year-old over Reach, who was also a negative in the win over Barnsley before the international break, as explained by Football FanCast here.

Once again deployed as a left wing-back, the 28-year-old star was graded among Wednesday’s worst performers with a mediocre 6.5 rating per SofaScore – by comparison, Lees, who scored that own goal, did better at 6.9, as did Josh Windass (6.8), who managed only one shot all game.

So that speaks volumes already.

In his 90 minutes on the pitch, he struggled immensely to combat the threat on offer from Ismaila Sarr, picking up a yellow card before half-time for his troubles. He failed to win a single duel from four attempts against the Hornets speedster, adding to his nightmare afternoon.

As a wing-back, Reach needed to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Well, he struggled in attack, just as much as he did defensively.

Per SofaScore, the former Boro man only found an Owls player with 50% of his crossing attempts, whilst he also didn’t contribute a key pass, shot or dribble along that flank.

Reach also failed to provide a tackle or interception, and was dribbled past once.

YorkshireLive correspondent Dom Howson rated the Owls dynamo as their worst-player and was less than impressed in his post-game reaction column.

He wrote: ‘Caught under the ball for Lees’ own goal. Struggled throughout to stifle the attacking threat of Sarr and carried little attacking threat. Another different afternoon.’

When Moore returns to the dugout, he may want to think twice about trusting the long-serving utility man again after back-to-back disappointments.

The Owls are now seven points adrift of safety, with only eight games left to play and are now without that game in hand. Had the lightweight Reach done better for the goal and for his performance on the whole, then maybe their task would’ve been made a little easier.

AND in other news, Chansiri heading for Sheff Wed mistake over £10k-p/w gem who’s “trained like a Trojan”…

Leicester City have reportedly made an offer to sign Florian Thauvin, according to Estadio Deportivo.

The report claimed that the East Midlands club offered him a four-year deal and a salary of €3.5m (£3m) per season, but Thauvin has not yet made a decision over his future at Marseille.

Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma and Napoli are also closely following any further developments with the player, but it has not been ruled out that he may leave in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Leicester should sign Thauvin

Brendan Rodgers’ team could do with a player like Thauvin in their ranks in order to boost the numbers in their squad for the 2021/22 season.

The 28-year-old has a lot of pedigree in the beautiful game, having won the World Cup with France back in 2018. He has been enjoying a good campaign so far, with no fewer than eight goals and a further nine assists in 37 games across all competitions (Transfermarkt).

Football legend Paolo Maldini described him as a ‘high level’ player back in November of last year, which is noteworthy praise given the Italian’s glittering CV.

Currently rated at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, the French winger is certainly a player who the Foxes should be looking at signing come the end of the season.

In other news, find out which ‘outstanding’ ace Leicester are eyeing!

Newcastle United reportedly face competition from other clubs in the Premier League to sign Jan Kuchta, according to Football Insider.

As per the news outlet, the St. James’ Park faithful as well as West Ham United, Southampton and Brighton and Hove Albion watched the Slavia Prague ace in their 1-1 draw at home to Rangers in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening.

Newcastle should sign Kuchta

The North East club should be looking to sign Kuchta in the summer transfer window and thus beat off all competition from their rivals for his signature.

The 24-year-old has no fewer than 20 goal contributions already so far in the 2020/21 term, with 13 goals and a further seven assists in total in just 25 games over all competitions (Transfermarkt).

With a six-foot frame as well, he should have no problems adapting to the physical demands of the top flight, and can take immense encouragement from just how well both Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal have done at the Hammers having come from the same club as him.

Nonetheless, Kuchta is certainly a striker that the Tyneside club should be keeping an eye on, as he is more than capable of easing off the goal scoring burden off of Callum Wilson.

In other news, find out whose display against Aston Villa was slammed by Lee Ryder here!

Many Everton fans have been welcoming the news that the South American FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to take place in March have been cancelled.

As per Sky Sports, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has decided to suspend March’s double header of qualifiers for Qatar 2022 amid concern over the impact of the global pandemic and quarantine restrictions.

The tightening lockdown and quarantine regulations mean that numerous European-based players will be unable to travel, which may come as a benefit for the Goodison Park club.

The likes of Allan, James Rodriguez, Richarlison and Yerry Mina would have all joined up with Brazil and Colombia if not for the restrictions, which now means that they will all get two weeks’ worth of rest instead.

It means that the Merseyside club will be able to have all of their players fresh and ready for the end of the 2020/21 campaign as Carlo Ancelotti’s men look to chase automatic qualification for the Champions League for next season.

Everton fan reaction to South America news

These Toffees supporters lauded the news on Twitter, with one Blues supporter even going as far as to excitedly claim that it was the ‘best news ever’:

“Yaaaas.”

Credit: @JohnDiazTheOne

“Perfect”

Credit: @cjohno1001

“Huge. Absolutely huge, for our season.”

Credit: @GrantyBoy78

“Wonderful! They could all use a rest and get fully fit!”

Credit: @MrSherminator8

“This is a blessing”

Credit: @ComedianConn

“Best news ever!”

Credit: @Eric_Howell

In other news, find out which two Champions League aces Ancelotti wants to sign!