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Weston goal for Rangers B vs East Kilbride

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been lauding a goal scored by Tony Weston for the club’s B team on Saturday.

The striker opened the scoring for the young Gers away to East Kilbride in the Lowland League, but it was not enough as the hosts eventually won 2-1 in the end at K-Park.

Nonetheless, it was yet another goal for Weston, who had scored five goals in eight games across all competitions this season prior to his latest strike (Transfermarkt), as he really starts to hit top form.

If the 18-year-old keeps on scoring goals for Rangers B, then he will surely catch the eye of Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who may want to start thinking about promoting him to the first team sooner rather than later.

Rangers fans laud Weston goal

These Gers fans were left lauding Weston’s goal as news of it was shared by the club’s Academy channel on Twitter, despite the team’s loss:

“It’s that man again”

Credit: @JM5472

“What a season the kid is having.”

Credit: @RangersBanter17

“Main man doing main man things”

Credit: @HeartandHutts

“To the surprise of nobody, well in Tony”

Credit: @grumpyhaggissss

“Goal machine”

Credit: @LBeattie92

“Get in there Tony”

Credit: @harryhastings

In other news, find out what injury news has been bemoaned by many Gers fans

Liverpool could sell Kostas Tsimikas

Liverpool are prepared to let Kostas Tsimikas leave the club this summer after he struggled to make an impact last season.

What’s the story?

According to well-known journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano (as reported by the Liverpool Echo), the 25-year-old is deemed surplus to requirements on Merseyside and could depart after a single campaign with the English giants.

Tsimikas joined Jurgen Klopp’s charges in an £11.75 million deal from Greek outfit Olympiakos 12 months ago but found opportunities extremely limited thanks to the performances of Andrew Robertson.

Fans will be buzzing

After struggling with multiple injuries in the first half of the campaign, Tsimikas then found himself firmly behind Robertson upon his return to fitness.

This combination limited the Greece international to just three starts in all competitions throughout 2020/21 and just five minutes of Premier League action.

Although his handful of cameo appearances may not be enough to judge the full-back’s talent, a large section of the Liverpool supporters will be buzzing to hear Tsimikas’ nightmare spell may already be coming to an end.

Romano stated: “Let’s see what happens with Tsimikas. He can leave the club,” on a recent edition of his Here We Go podcast, and the revelation may lead to a boost in the club’s transfer budget for the current window.

With the ongoing pandemic continuing to limit the spending power of teams at every level, selling some fringe players appears to be the logical solution to supplement the coffers.

The likes of Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi and Harry Wilson have been linked with a Liverpool exit as a result, and it seems as though Tsimikas is the latest flop to be put up for sale.

It remains to be seen if any side comes in for the unwanted full-back but the departure of the £7.2 million-rated Tsimikas could allow Klopp more room to manoeuvre in the transfer market over the coming months.

With the versatile and experienced James Milner in his ranks, the German tactician may be comfortable not directly replacing the defender, allowing Director of Football Michael Edwards to focus funds on reinforcements in central midfield and up-front instead.

And, in other news…Edwards could find LFC’s new Salah with swoop for 17-goal gem who has lit up the EUROs 

McAvennie: Whole Celtic team should be sold

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Frank McAvennie has blasted the Celtic squad by saying the club should sell them all.

The Hoops are 23 points behind Rangers in the league after their 4-1 thrashing on Sunday, whilst they suffered an embarrassing League Cup exit to Ross County and crashed out of the Scottish Cup to the Gers earlier this month to ensure their first trophyless season since 2009-2010.

Celtic have already confirmed that captain and legendary midfielder Scott Brown will be leaving for Scottish Premiership rivals Aberdeen, whilst Mohamed Elyounoussi, Shane Duffy, Diego Laxalt and Jonjoe Kenny will all return to their parent clubs.

Meanwhile, Leigh Griffiths, who’s scored more than 100 goals in a Celtic shirt, hasn’t been offered fresh terms and is out of contract this summer, with his deal expiring in two months’ time.

When asked who should be sold this summer, the former Celtic striker told Football FanCast:

“I think the whole team. Ajer is going to go, he’s got to go, I like Jonjoe Kenny, but I can’t see him staying. Luckily, the team is going to break up.

“These guys have done great, but it’s time to move on and that whole team has got to go. From the keeper to the centre-forwards, they have got to go. It’s the same old faces.”

Neil must drop Stewart for Sunderland

Sunderland have dropped out of their position in sixth following a draw with Plymouth Argyle on Monday night, with the League One play-off battle extremely tight, the Black Cats can’t afford to drop any more points.

Following the loss to their play-off position rivals, the top six has changed yet again with Wycombe Wanderers matching the Mackems for points on 77 with one more game played in sixth, whilst Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth take place in fourth and fifth matched for 79 points.

With that in mind, Alex Neil must consider the changes needed in his squad and the impact needed to ensure that his team can secure a chance at promotion to the Championship at the end of this season with just three games remaining.

After the defeat to Argyle, the Black Cats manager came out to respond to concerns over Ross Stewart’s lack of goals in the last eight games:

“We’ve flogged Ross Stewart in particular into the ground this year.

“To expect a lad to come to this level and churn that out repeatedly for that amount of time, having done what he has done for us already, you are asking a lot of anybody.”

The £2.7k-per-week striker who has been claimed to be “fatigued” by Echo journalist Phil Smith, is the club’s top goal-scorer so far with 22 goals, starting every single league game only being subbed off four times in the second half over the entire season, so it is no wonder that there are concerns about the Scotsman being tired.

It would be a huge risk and a bold call to drop their star man, but if Neil does decide to axe Stewart from the starting line-up for the next game against 12th place Cambridge United on Saturday afternoon, it could ultimately pay off in the closing stages of the season.

Should Sunderland find themselves successful in finishing in the top six, there will be three huge additional games on top of the last three league games to secure promotion, so surely resting the striker against Cambridge United could be Neil’s last opportunity to allow Stewart to revive his goal-scoring form.

AND in other news: Speakman howler: SAFC may now be on the verge of repeating brutal Hugill disasterclass

LUFC: Orta could land Vazquez for £50k-p/w

According to recent reports, Leeds United could land their reported summer transfer target, Lucas Vazquez, on a contract worth just £50,000-per-week.

The report by Spanish publication Sport (via Sport Witness) claims that Vazquez is demanding a salary of €3 million-per-year (£2.6 million-per-year, or £50k-per-week) after tax in his contract negotiations with Real Madrid, and that if Los Blancos do not offer him this amount, the winger has made it clear that he will be leaving upon the end of his current deal at the Santiago Bernabeu, which expires this summer.

This is where Leeds come in, with Victor Orta thought to be keeping a very close eye on the negotiations between Vazquez and Madrid, with the Whites director reported to be keen on landing the £13.5 million-rated 29-year-old on a free transfer in the summer transfer window.

Transfer Tavern Take

The fact that Madrid appear to be hesitant in offering Vazquez the wage the winger is demanding comes as slightly surprising news, as the Spain international has been one of Zinedine Zidane’s better players this season.

Over his 22 LaLiga appearances this term, the 29-year-old has scored two goals and provided four assists, as well as averaging a highly impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.17 – ranking him as Madrid’s fourth-best performer in the Spanish top flight.

As such, should Leeds go on to secure a deal for Vazquez this summer, it would appear as if Marcelo Bielsa will be welcoming the addition of a very fine player to his squad, as well as the potential move representing something of a bargain for Orta, who would reportedly have to pay the winger just £50,000-per-week after tax.

In other news: Leeds United have been urged to sign this “highly sought-after” £31k-p/w star this summer – find out more here!

Barry Fry claims Tottenham have everything needed to succeed

It hasn’t been a great 12 months for Tottenham Hotspur as they failed to qualify for the Europa League, have no manager and could be set to lose Harry Kane, but despite this Peterborough’s Director of Football Barry Fry has claimed that Spurs have everything in place to succeed.

There is no secret in the fact that Spurs have been turned down or failed to offer anyone the manager’s position with the likes of Antonio Conte and Paulo Fonseca all failing to agree on terms and a plan to be at the club.

Their squad is a mixture of top-class players and ones that have failed to live up to expectations over the last 12-18 months, but with arguably the best stadium and training facilities in Europe it is quite bizarre that they have failed to fill the void left by Jose Mourinho earlier this year.

From the outside looking in, it appears that Spurs could be in a bit of trouble this summer if they can’t get a manager in place soon to bring in new players and convince Kane to stay, however Fry believes that they have everything in place and necessary to succeed, as he told Football FanCast exclusively:

“They’ve got the best stadium in the world and one of the best training grounds in the world so they’ve got everything in place but they’re not getting it right on the pitch.”

Spurs appeared to be set for a prolonged period of time challenging at the top of the Premier League after they came close to winning the league in 2016, and then made the Champions League final in 2019, but since Mauricio Pochettino’s departure the club has been spiralling down the league.

Despite having a top stadium and training facilities, they may struggle to attract the best players with the only European football they have to offer is the newly-formed Europa Conference League which does not seem appealing to many clubs or players.

Pundit can see Anthony Martial joining Tottenham

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that he can see Manchester United’s Anthony Martial joining Tottenham this summer.

Martial’s game time is in danger following the arrival of another attacker in Jadon Sancho, with United confirming on Thursday that they had reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund to sign the England star.

It leaves someone like Martial, who was not always an automatic starter under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last season, sweating on his place. And Windass can now imagine the Frenchman at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about the possibility of Martial joining Spurs this summer, the ex-Hull City forward said:

“I could see that happening. They probably know [Harry] Kane’s gone now anyway. That’s probably a done deal with whoever it’s with.

“Martial will be a great fit, bit less pressure on Martial I think. Listen, great player, by the way. I just think his days are numbered at Man United.

“I think he’d be a great fit for Tottenham – bit less pressure on the kid. He’ll probably want to go and enjoy his football.”

Last season was not Martial’s best in front of goal, with the 25-year-old scoring just four times in the Premier League.

But in the words of compatriot Kylian Mbappe, he is still a “talented” player. The France international averaged 1.6 dribbles per league game in the 2020/21 campaign, one of the highest averages in United’s squad (via WhoScored).

Ancelotti impressed by Everton’s Price

Carlo Ancelotti could discover his dream midfield pairing by unleashing Isaac Price as the Everton product seemingly nears his senior debut.

The 17-year-old was named on the bench at Brighton & Hove Albion as the Blues were held to a draw on Monday night for his first taste of a first-team matchday, as Ancelotti sought to manage an injury-ravished squad.

But while injuries may have helped his sudden promotion, the Liverpool Echo have claimed that Ancelotti would not have included Price if he did not believe the teenager was ready for the challenge.

Ancelotti is understood to have been impressed by how Price has been performing in first-team training sessions ever since he first joined the Italian’s fold earlier this month, and sought to reward those efforts with a seat on the bench at the Amex Stadium.

It marked the latest step in a continued rapid rise for the Northern Ireland youth international, who only signed his first professional contract just over six months ago.

Price impressed club figures with his efforts in Paul Tait’s Under 18s quickly enough that he was awarded his U23s debut by David Unsworth this January, and is already now pushing the fringes of the first-team fold.

The U17 international, who represented England at U15 level, has only made eight appearances in Unsworth’s side thus far, with his latest coming in a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers last Friday.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-everton-news-and-views” title=”Latest Everton news and views!”]

Price also has a further keen supporter in Everton legend Leighton Baines, who is noted to have helped the leggy midfielder settle both socially and professionally as he made the step up from U18s to U23s and now the first-team.

Unsworth now expects Price to be given further opportunities to impress Ancelotti, and is excited to see how the youngster continues to develop.

“Isaac is a box-to-box midfielder. He is a great passer, he’s got a bit of everything,” Unsworth said. “He still has to develop physically, as you can see, he’s not the finished article physically, but that will come.

“That’s just time, hours and hours in the gym, which he already does on his own individual programme. That’s something that will come naturally in time.

“Another pre-season will help him, whether that is with us or the first-team, it really doesn’t matter. It’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to working with him next season.”

But Ancelotti looking to unleash Price much sooner than the summer could see the Everton boss begin to discover potentially his dream midfield unit, and realising that his ideal Andre Gomes upgrade is already at Finch Farm.

The characteristics that Unsworth praises Price for in being a box-to-box presence with “a bit of everything” echoes similar claims that Ancelotti has previously laid at Abdoulaye Doucoure, his £20m summer signing from Watford.

“Abdoulaye is a fantastic midfielder, a complete midfielder,” Ancelotti said, via quotes by FourFourTwo, earlier in the season. “He can defend well. He is a box-to-box midfielder. He can bring energy to the club and a different quality.

“We don’t have midfielders with his kinds of characteristics. We have midfielders with quality and midfielders who are tactically good. He is the only one who is box-to-box.”

Ancelotti may soon get the chance to see a pairing of Doucoure and Price in training with the Frenchman expected to overcome his fractured foot to play again this season, which could see the Everton boss discover a box office unit if the youngster is unleashed.

AND in other news, an “outstanding” talent is keen to join Everton this summer, but there’s a hitch…

Why Everton need Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa

If Everton don’t qualify for Europe next season, this summer could have a very different feel to it.

Their spending power will be influenced and it may also dictate Carlo Ancelotti’s future in Merseyside. The Italian has been keen to get the Toffees back to the continental stage but, with Real Madrid and Barcelona courting his services, there could be a changing of the guard.

On the chalkboard

One area where Ancelotti has strengthened significantly since he walked into Goodison Park is the midfield. They’ve gone from a lightweight pairing of Andre Gomes and Tom Davies to one full of physical qualities.

Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure have been two of Everton’s landmark additions with the 61-year-old at the helm but the Toffees have struggled when one of those has been injured.

Doucoure recently missed a period of seven matches with a fractured foot and Gomes hardly set the world alight in his absence. The Portuguese was feeble in defensive battles and won just two tackles before being dragged off against Arsenal.

In matches against Liverpool and Chelsea in February and March, Gomes won only three of the 26 duels that he contested. He then proceeded to lose seven of nine duels in the defeat to Aston Villa earlier this month.

With that in mind, Everton could do with another body in the middle of the park.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-everton-transfer-news-lukaku-leao-bissouma-berge-antony” title=”Read the latest Everton transfer news!”]

With Fulham relegated from the Premier League, they shouldn’t look too much further than Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. The Mirror reported a few weeks ago that the Toffees were considering a move for the Cameroon international with a fee of £25m potentially being on the line.

In bringing him to Merseyside, he’d not only offer more physicality than Gomes, but he’d also offer immense ball carrying skills.

Speaking this season, Zambo Anguissa’s teammate Joachim Andersen said: “He’s a top player. He’s a machine in the midfield. He’s winning so many balls and driving forward with it.”

Indeed, only Adama Traore (150) and Allan Saint-Maximin (96) have completed more dribbles in the entire top flight this season than the Fulham powerhouse (95).

He’d offer more dynamism on the ball than Gomes, and his defensive stats are also considerably better. Gomes has won just 1.3 tackles and 0.4 interceptions per match this season. That’s compared to Anguissa’s 2.2 successful challenges and 1.6 interceptions an outing.

He also knows how to perform in the big games, an area where Everton’s Portuguese midfielder has been found wanting. During Fulham’s clash with Manchester United last Tuesday evening, the 25-year-old made nine ball recoveries and seven interceptions, while completing five take-ons and winning four aerial duels.

It was a mountainous performance from a player who would offer plenty to Everton if he swaps west London for Merseyside.

AND in other news, Toffees could be set for huge blow after Everton news emerges, fans should be gutted…

Emiliano Martinez attracting interest

Atletico Madrid could target Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez if Jan Oblak is sold, according to Spanish outlet La Razon. 

The lowdown

Villa paid £17million to sign Martinez from Arsenal ahead of the 2020/21 season and committed him to a four-year contract. Transfermarkt now value the 29-year-old at £31.5m.

Martinez kept 15 clean sheets in his debut season at Villa Park – a tally bettered only by Ederson (19) and Edouard Mendy (16), ‘keepers for the Premier League and European champions respectively (via Premier League).

The latest

The report from Spain states that Atletico find themselves ‘on the brink of the salary limit’ after bringing Antoine Griezmann back to the Wanda Metropolitano from FC Barcelona. As a result, they could be forced to offload one of their ‘stars’ next summer.

Oblak, whose contract runs until 2023, could be the one to go if he doesn’t pen an extension. Atletico are aware that he may be open to the possibility of a ‘change of scenery’.

Martinez is already being considered as a potential replacement, with his performances having caught the eye of Diego Simeone.

The reigning La Liga champions recognise that it would take ‘a significant financial outlay’ to prise him away from Villa, but are confident Oblak’s sale would more than cover the cost.

The verdict

It’s no surprise that Martinez has caught the eye. His displays for Villa, and during his final season at Arsenal, have put him amongst the elite bracket of goalkeepers in the English top flight – some pundits even had him in their team of the season last term.

The prospect of competing for titles and playing Champions League football will surely tempt Martinez, but expect Villa to present Atletico with an almighty price-tag as they look to keep hold one of their best assets.

In other news, fans react to this award nomination. 

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