All posts by z3u9t.icu

With Mark Warburton’s Queens Park Rangers side having suffered a rather dramatic dip in form in recent weeks, with the Rs falling to three consecutive Championship defeats in their last three fixtures, the 59-year-old manager will certainly be hoping to get back to winning ways at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Tuesday evening.

However, with Birmingham City looking a much-improved outfit under the guidance of Lee Bowyer this season, with the Blues currently sitting in 12th place on 12 points in the league standings, behind QPR on goal difference alone, Warburton will have to ensure he gets his team selection spot on in order to have any chance of picking up three points in the fixture.

So, will the Rs’ boss make any changes to the team that started last time out against West Bromwich Albion? Here’s how we think QPR could line up against Birmingham, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Warburton recently confirming that Sam McCallum looks set to remain sidelined for a number of weeks as a result of a hamstring injury, as well as suggesting that both Stefan Johansen and Jordy de Wijs are both doubts for Tuesday evening’s fixture due to fitness concerns, we predict that the 59-year-old will make two changes to the side that started against West Brom last time out.

In defence, Yoann Barbet drops into the back three having started at left wing-back against the Baggies, in order to accommodate for the absence of the 26-year-old De Wijs, while Jimmy Dunne retains his place in the backline.

On the left, with both McCallum and Lee Wallace currently sidelined, Warburton has not been left with much choice other than to once again field the £720k-rated Albert Adomah at wing-back, however, the 33-year-old has proven in recent fixtures that he is more than a capable option in the position.

In the middle of the park, Ilias Chair drops back from attacking midfield to sit alongside Dominic Ball in order to replace Johansen, while Charlie Austin comes in up top alongside Andre Gray, which leads to a slight tweak in formation from a 3-4-2-1 to a 3-4-1-2.

In other news: Warburton must unleash £13k-p/w QPR beast tonight, he would cause BCFC “real trouble”

West Ham have moved one step closer to securing their second signing of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

It’s believed that the Irons have agreed on a €30m (£25.7m) deal to sign Kurt Zouma from Chelsea and that the 26-year-old has also accepted personal terms, as per The Athletic.

And according to ExWHUemployee, the French international has completed his medical in Paris ahead of his proposed move to the London Stadium.

“I have heard that Zouma has completed his medical in France but as I suspected would happen, they want to verify the results with doctors that are based in London and have completed our medicals before,” he revealed to ‘The West Ham Way’ Patreon site.”Should Zouma sign he will become the highest-paid player at the club, so the chairman wants to make sure that he is getting complete value for money.”Therefore despite the ‘done dealers’ calling it, the move will not be confirmed today but could be tomorrow.”As said in the last update though he will probably not be available for the Palace game anyway so the race to beat the deadline is irrelevant because the player will stay in France due to his international call up.” Exciting news

It remains to be seen exactly how much Zouma will be earning in east London, with fringe winger Andriy Yarmolenko thought to be the current top-earner at the club on a reported £115k-per-week, via Sportrac.

As a player with 200 appearances across the Premier League and UEFA’s European competitions, two league titles and a Champions League to his name, the salary is very justifiable.

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He should walk straight into David Moyes’ starting XI when he does arrive at the Hammers and that experience will be crucial during their imminent Europa League run.

This latest update from Ex will leave much of the Irons faithful absolutely buzzing as it means they’ve not just finally signed another player but also got the manager his top central defensive target.

We know from signings like Jesse Lingard on loan, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal that when the Scotsman likes a player, he should be trusted.

A lot of supporters were also very keen to see this one over the line – as relayed by Hammers.News, for example, one fan pleaded with the board to pay up to sign him, whilst another claimed Zouma would be a “big upgrade” on current first-choice Craig Dawson.

It may only be a small sample size but that is the general consensus around West Ham right now, so given this news that the signing is on the verge of being announced, many fans will be ever so thrilled.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Rice: West Ham must seal bargain move for “unplayable” £60k-p/w colossus…

The Celtic Way reporter Anthony Haggerty believes it is going to be a busy transfer deadline day at Parkhead, with the signing of Josip Juranovic whetting the appetite among fans.

Since taking the reins in June, boss Ange Postecoglou has bolstered his squad by welcoming nine fresh faces to Glasgow.

Among the most recent arrivals is Croatia international right-back Juranovic, who has joined from Polish outfit Legia Warsaw for a reported fee of £2.5million.

The 26-year-old made his Bhoys debut in the narrow defeat to reigning Scottish Premiership champions and arch-rivals Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday.

He has made the move to Parkhead having been involved in two of Croatia’s Euro 2020 clashes during the summer.

Postecoglou has also signed Liam Scales from League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers in recent days, but there could still be outgoings with Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie linked with moves away.

Haggerty would not be surprised to see more arrivals before the transfer window slams shut.

He told Football FanCast: “I think Juranovic’s arrival shows Celtic’s intent because most Celtic supporters would say they are still short of a left-back, centre-half, midfielder and centre forward.

“If the supporters are seeing that and Ange is filling in those gaps then that fills you with confidence that he is seeing what you’re seeing.

“I think it was good to get the Juranovic deal over the line for Celtic supporters because they’ve struggled to identify a right-back and they’ve signed a decent one now.”

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has delivered a promising update on Aston Villa star Leon Bailey.

What’s the story?

The Jamaica international is one of a number of stand-out arrivals this summer at Villa Park for Dean Smith’s side, but has yet to join in with first-team training at his new club due to protocols.

But now, Preece has dropped an update on when that could happen, and even tipped the former Bayer Leverkusen flier to “be back” for the Premier League clash against Newcastle on August 21st.

He said: “Bailey training alongside his brother Travis; all I’ve been told is his isolation period is ending and he’s joining up with Villa ‘real soon’. Smith will give the lowdown tomorrow at his presser. Expect Bailey to be back for the big one vs Newcastle at VP. As for squad numbers, they’re due to be released imminently.”

Fans will be excited

Given the amount of signings that Villa have made – and quality ones at that too – it’s only natural for the club’s fans to want to see them in action as soon as possible.

Pre-season has already seen the likes of Emi Buendia, Danny Ings and Ashley Young take to the field in their new colours, but Bailey has been a notable omission given he’s had to stay away due to isolation.

And while he may not be available for this weekend’s opener against Watford at Vicarage Road, Preece’s update that he will be joining up soon with his new teammates, and that the clash against Newcastle a week later could be a real possibility for him to be back for, is one that will excite Villa fans a lot.

Bailey will get the chance to make his competitive debut in front of his own fans at Villa Park, and that should make for a rousing reception from the home support.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans has dropped an Aston Villa transfer update…

Leeds United’s prospective move for goalkeeper Kristoffer Klaesson is a risk, according to former England striker Kevin Phillips.

The Lowdown: Leeds close in on Klaesson move

It was reported last week that Leeds were in advanced talks to sign the 20-year-old from Valerenga, who they look to make their third signing of the summer.

The Whites are looking for a replacement for veteran ‘keeper Kiko Casilla, with the Spaniard sealing a season-long loan move to Elche.

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The Latest: Phillips unsure about Klaesson

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips admitted that he has doubts over Klaesson being the right backup to Illan Meslier, mainly due to his lack of experience. He said:

“Yeah, it’s a risk. You always want that backup keeper who’s a bit more experience.

“Meslier isn’t the oldest player in the world. They may go for another goalkeeper just to have that Premier League experience.

“It’s always hard coming to the Premier League if he was to be thrown in. If I’m a Leeds fan, I’m concerned. I think it’s a bit of a risk.”

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The Verdict: It’s a fair point

While Klaesson is a young ‘keeper with bags of potential, Phillips does make a good point in terms of his lack of experience at the top level. Almost all of his first team appearances thus far have been in Norway’s top flight, which is ranked 22nd in UEFA’s association club coefficient.

Should Meslier – still a young player himself – get injured, there would be huge pressure on the Norwegian’s shoulders to fill in and shine in the Premier League.

It is a bold move to back a youngster, although they got it right with the acquisition of Meslier at 19, and astute purchases such as Raphinha have shown that the club deserve to be trusted in the transfer department.

In other news, Leeds are keen on making a move for a Premier League ‘big six’ player this summer. Find out who it is here.

Crystal Palace will be a bit more expansive and attacking under new manager Patrick Vieira, suggests The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam.

Last season, Palace had exciting dribblers to call upon in star man Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze.

In fact, they were the top two dribblers in the Eagles’ squad, the former averaging 1.8 dribbles per league game and the latter 1.9 (via WhoScored).

Despite this, Palace’s football was not always easy on the eye under ex-boss Roy Hodgson, something some fans criticised the Englishman for.

With Vieira now at the helm, though, Woosnam is expecting a more exciting brand of football at Selhurst Park.

“Under Vieira, I think it’s going to be a bit more expansive, a bit more attacking, well significantly more compared to Roy Hodgson,” the Crystal Palace journalist told FFC.

“If you go by what he’s done before, he tends to be a little bit more attacking even if there were criticisms of him at Nice, for example, of not being able to sort of put a stamp on his particular style of play.”

As previously mentioned, some Palace fans were discontent with what they saw from the team under Hodgson at times, so hearing that Vieira could be bringing a more offensive game to SE25 will surely delight them.

It will now be interesting to see if the Frenchman can actually implement that successfully with the current squad of players he has.

Liverpool have received a significant boost ahead of the new campaign after Virgil van Dijk extended his contract with the club until the summer of 2025.

What’s the story?

A report on Sky Sports revealed that the 30-year-old centre-back had put pen to paper on fresh terms after he announced the news on Twitter.

Van Dijk is the latest Liverpool star to commit his future to the Anfield club, with Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Trent Alexander-Arnold also signing new deals over the summer.

Liverpool fans will be absolutely buzzing

The Netherlands captain became the world’s most expensive defender when he moved from Southampton to Liverpool in a £75m transfer back in January 2018.

Since arriving on Merseyside, Van Dijk has undoubtedly lived up to his price tag, establishing himself as one of the best central defenders in the modern era. He became a crucial cog in Klopp’s setup, scoring 13 goals and providing six assists in 130 appearances for the Reds, inspiring them to a maiden Premier League title and sixth Champions League crown while finishing second in the Ballon D’Or in 2019.

However, a serious knee injury sustained in last season’s Merseyside derby ruled Van Dijk out for nine months, meaning that he missed the majority of 2020/21. With fellow centre-backs Joe Gomez and Joel Matip also sidelined with long-term injuries, it left Klopp needing to cobble together a plethora of previously untried defensive partnerships.

Liverpool’s title defence duly collapsed, with an unprecedented six-game losing streak at Anfield over the winter taking hold in Van Dijk’s absence.

However, after making his comeback to first-team action in pre-season, the former Celtic ace is looking forward to what the new campaign brings.

“All the hard work we’ve put in so far continues, and I am looking forward to what the future brings together with Liverpool. I’m delighted, very happy and proud,” Van Dijk said.

“Since day one, when I joined the club, I felt so much appreciation from the fans and from my teammates and the staff, that I could be a very important member of this football club.

“It has been going well; unfortunately last season for me personally has been a season to forget, to learn from and take with me, but I have enjoyed my time here and will keep enjoying it in the next couple of years altogether with all of you,” he concluded.

Liverpool kick off their new season with an away fixture against newly-promoted Norwich City on Saturday evening, and Van Dijk is excited to get going again.

“I feel like I am ready for the weekend, so we’ll see what the manager decides. It is going to be a totally different atmosphere and mindset for me personally as well,” he added.

The club’s supporters will be absolutely buzzing that their talismanic defender has signed a new contract, giving them a new wave of hope and optimism ahead of the upcoming campaign.

In other news…Liverpool must axe “unbelievable” £7.2m-rated beast this summer, he’s not good enough 

Everton could reportedly face a bidding war with Inter Milan to sign Denzel Dumfries in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Dumfries interest

As per PSV journalist Rik Elfrink, the Goodison Park outfit, along with Inter Milan and a number of other clubs, remain interested in signing the Netherlands right-back.

An offer to sign him is ‘expected soon’, and it could well come from the Merseyside club.

The Latest: Bidding war?

According to Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), PSV are hoping that a bidding war starts between the Toffees and Inter for Dumfries, and his agent Mino Raiola is currently working to make it happen.

The Netherlands international is expected to cost in the region of €30m (£25.6m), and Rafa Benitez’s side are currently ‘following him’, although it is also reported that he would prefer a move to Italy.

The Verdict: Worth every penny

If the Blues can land Dumfries for £25.6m, that would be a very good price for such a promising player.

He scored two goals in the group stage at Euro 2020 despite playing as a right-back (Sofascore) and was a general menace on the flank, with former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson recently claiming that the 25-year-old was ‘brilliant’ in the tournament.

Dumfries has also impressed at club level, scoring four goals and supplying nine assists in 41 games across all competitions in 2020/21 (Transfermarkt), and he shows real leadership qualities as PSV’s captain.

Indeed, at 25 years of age, the Dutchman has probably not even reached his peak yet, and he would seem a hugely astute purchase for Everton, especially with Seamus Coleman well into the latter part of his career.

In other news, find out which Everton target’s move is now reportedly ‘impossible’ 

After three superbly successful loan spells at Leeds United, it appears that Jack Harrison will eventually make it a permanent switch from Manchester City.

Despite being often overshadowed by Patrick Bamford and Raphinha last season, former Whites star David Norris doesn’t think he is going under the radar anymore.

Harrison is a fully trusted member of Marcelo Bielsa’s side and despite not many people talking about him entering the Premier League, he took it by storm with eight goals and eight assists and potentially made Man City regret agreeing to sell him this summer for such a low fee.

It has been reported that Leeds are set to sign Harrison this summer for no more than £10 million and that would potentially be the signing of the summer, especially when you look at how expensive players like Adama Traore are potentially going to cost.

Harrison is very much more highly rated now he has had one full season in the Premier League and heading into the new campaign when he should be a Leeds player permanently, he will no longer be an underrated part of the side, according to Norris who spoke exclusively to Transfer Tavern:

“I think he has gone under the radar from the outside looking in, but Leeds fans knew what he was about, and the fans I’ve spoken to love him and were raving about him.

“I think he’s gone under the radar in terms of getting the big headlines, but not really within the club and I think he’s going to cost £10 million, so if you can get a player at that price who’s proven himself then it’s a no-brainer.”

Leeds already have a solid squad especially going forward to build upon this summer and it would not be unsurprising to see them pushing the top half of the table once again if Bielsa can add some solid additions.

Liverpool are closing in on the signing of Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez as the Reds step up their efforts in the transfer market.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish publication La Razon, the reigning La Liga champions have agreed to sell the 26-year-old to the Reds this summer after extensive talks.

Saul is believed to carry a £60 million price tag, although Atleti are reportedly willing to negotiate a lower fee, given they are open to letting him move to Merseyside.

Imagine him and Thiago

Jurgen Klopp is believed to be in the market for a new central-midfielder after Gini Wijnaldum moved to Paris Saint-Germain last month.

The Dutch international featured in all 38 Premier League games for Liverpool last season, so his departure has left a sizeable gap in the club’s engine room.

And after impressing in the Spanish capital in recent years, Saul has been outlined as a prime candidate to replace Wijnaldum at Anfield.

In 337 appearances for his boyhood club, the dynamic maestro has bagged 43 goals and provided 19 assists for the Rojiblancos, winning the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey crown along the way.

His impressive performances have caught the eye of several pundits in the past, including former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

“What a player. I’ve been harping on about Saul Niguez for a few years now. I think he’s a major player. He’s composed, calm, great left foot, lovely conductor, he can score goals, tactically he’s very aware,” said Ferdinand.

“You can see (Diego) Simeone, he gets his teams really well set up, and he’s in the middle orchestrating and dictating things.”

However, after missing out on a place in Luis Enrique’s squad for Euro 2020, Saul is keen to begin a new chapter in his career next season.

After making just 22 league starts throughout 2020/21, Saul is set to seek pastures new over the coming months, and he could be lining up alongside compatriot Thiago in the near future, providing a Spanish core to the site, one that possesses so many qualities.

Liverpool struggled in the recently concluded campaign, finishing in third place in the Premier League standings and a whopping 17 points behind champions Manchester City.

If the club’s director of football Michael Edwards wants to get the Reds firing again, then bringing in Saul would be a popular choice, and the club’s supporters will surely be urging him to get this deal over the line.

And, in other news…LFC handed transfer boost over “unplayable” 22 y/o dynamo, Klopp will be buzzing