All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Tottenham Hotspur are keen on signing Leicester City forward Harvey Barnes for new manager Ange Postecoglou, according to reports.

Who could Spurs sign this summer?

Spurs supporters have finally seen their club's long, drawn out manager search come to an end with former Celtic boss Postecoglou set to start work on July 1.

The Australian, fresh off the back of a domestic treble win at Parkhead, is tasked with the almighty challenge of transforming Tottenham into a major force again.

“Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play," said chairman Daniel Levy upon his appointment."He has a strong track record of developing players and an understanding of the importance of the link from the academy – everything that is important to our Club. We are excited to have Ange join us as we prepare for the season ahead."

Spurs missed out on European football for the 2023/2024 campaign, making the summer transfer market a challenge both financially and in terms of attracting star players.

However, reports suggest that the north Londoners and Levy are still determined to back Postecoglou, with the club ready to rival Newcastle for Leicester City star James Maddison.

According to The Times, however, Maddison isn't the only player being targeted from the King Power Stadium. Indeed, their forward Barnes is also wanted at Spurs, with Levy and co apparently being "keen" to sign him.

As well as the aforementioned duo, Southampton star James Ward-Prowse is another relegated star who is attracting interest.

Who is Harvey Barnes?

The Englishman, who is expected to cost around £40 million this summer, has been revered for his speed and stood out as one of Leicester's star players last season.

As per WhoScored, Barnes finished 2022/2023 as Leicester's top goalscorer in the Premier League with 13 – backing how he could inject some real threat into Tottenham's forward line.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, commenting on the 25-year-old in 2021, even heralded him as an "unbelievable player".

"They do good business, full-back, centre-half, all these things," said Klopp on Leicester at the time."Up front, [Marc] Albrighton, looks like he doesn’t get older, [Jamie] Vardy the same."Barnes is probably one of the biggest talents, I’m not sure if he is respected or appreciated as much as he should be, he is an unbelievable player to be honest, a proper Leicester product."

Given he is likely to want an immediate return to the top flight, ir is reasonable to believe he could also be open to joining Tottenham.

West Ham United are safe. An inconsistent, erratic, and stressful season has seen the Irons occasionally flirt with the devastating fate of relegation.

However, the Hammers finished relatively comfortably in 14th position and have the Europa Conference final next week.

Whatever the result of that European showdown, the east London outfit will undoubtedly be active in the summer transfer window, especially when considering their £179m outlay prior to this campaign.

For the quality of the squad, their league place was unflattering, and their underwhelming nature in front of goal hindered their progression.

David Moyes’ side netted an uninspiring 42 Premier League goals in 38 outings, drawing blanks in 32% of their domestic fixtures.

Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma were the club’s top scorers, sharing six goals a piece, to underline a mind-boggling lack of potency.

As a result, the Guardian has reported that West Ham are interested in Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes, which would be a huge statement of intent to resurrect their offensive woes.

Why should West Ham sign Harvey Barnes?

The Englishman is deliciously talented and has offered fantastic levels of output in a hideously disjointed Leciester team that suffered relegation back to the Championship after Everton defeated Bournemouth.

The one-cap international scored 13 goals this season, which is more than Phil Foden, Son Hueng-Min, and Roberto Firmino.

From a wider perspective, this is even more impressive as the former West Brom loanee ranks in the top 6% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for non-penalty goals, which begs the mouthwatering question of what the winger could achieve in a more functional team.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has previously heaped noticeable praise on the £35k-per-week star and said: “Barnes is probably one of the biggest talents, I’m not sure if he is respected or appreciated as much as he should be, he is an unbelievable player to be honest, a proper Leicester product.”

Barnes’ explosive style of play, combined with his ruthless productivity and commendable judgement of when to run in behind is reminiscent of Bowen’s feats last term.

Although not exactly at the race this season, scoring just six league strikes, during the 2021/22 season, the 26-year-old was utterly phenomenal, recording 22 goal involvements in 34 starts, as he was an integral part of a Clarets side that came sixth and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.

For the Irons to produce a more fruitful return in front of goal and reclaim a spot in the top half of the league, then the signing of £35k-per-week Barnes could be a stroke of genius and one that replicates Bowen, just from the opposite flank.

Newcastle United may be interested in a move Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer, journalist Alex Crook has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

According to The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder, Eddie Howe is ‘exploring his options in terms of livening up the competition’ for Martin Dubravka’s number one spot next season.

The Slovakian missed the start of the 2021/22 campaign through injury but returned against Arsenal in November and started every Premier League match thereafter.

Sommer is valued at just £4.5m by Transfermarkt, with only 12 months remaining on his deal at Borussia Park.

The latest

Crook said that he has learned that Sommer may be one of the options under consideration at St James’ Park, telling Newcastle supporters to ‘keep an eye on that one’, with the Magpies potentially sensing the opportunity for a bargain deal for the 33-year-old.

He told GiveMeSport: “The name I was given this week was Yann Sommer at Monchengladbach, the Swiss international. He’s got a year left on his contract so wouldn’t cost a lot of money. I’d definitely keep an eye on that one.”

The verdict

Sommer is a vastly experienced goalkeeper, having made 262 Bundesliga appearances and racked up 74 caps for Switzerland.

He has earned some prestigious individual honours along the way, featuring in the 2019/20 Bundesliga Team of the Season and winning his country’s Player of the Year award in 2021.

There were rave reviews for the Monchengladbach man at last summer’s European Championship, with journalist Zach Lowy called the ‘amazing’ stopper ‘one of the most underrated goalkeepers of the past decade’. At the finals, he denied Kylian Mbappe from the spot as Switzerland knocked out France on penalties and made a string of saves in the quarter-final against Spain.

Dubravka could well have an almighty fight on his hands to keep his place if Sommer were to arrive on Tyneside.

In other news, this pundit reacts to significant injury news involving a Newcastle target 

Everton are reportedly now eyeing up a move to sign Armando Broja after a deal for James Tarkowski is wrapped up.

The Lowdown: Tarkowski medical

The Athletic have reported that Tarkowski is having a medical at Goodison Park ahead of a free transfer from Burnley.

He is expected to sign once his contract expires at Turf Moor and become Frank Lampard’s first summer signing, then the Merseyside club can concentrate on other business as the window progresses.

The Latest: Broja eyed

As per The Daily Mail, Lampard’s and Co are now eyeing a move for Broja, after he returned to Chelsea from his loan spell at Southampton last season.

However, they will face competition from West Ham United, Newcastle United, Napoli and Inter Milan, and he could cost in the region of £25m.

The Verdict: Sign

Broja has proven that he can handle the Premier League, with six goals and one assist last season (Transfermarkt) despite being just 20 years of age in a struggling Saints side.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-5/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Hailed as ‘dangerous‘ by Ralph Hasenhuttl, and a player with ‘incredible pace and strength‘ by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, the six-foot-three colossus certainly has all of the attributes to thrive in the top flight, and the Toffees can provide him with that platform.

Nonetheless, with the fierce competition for his signature, the Blues would do well to snap him up.

In other news, find out what exciting EFC update this transfer insider has now ‘heard’ here!

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold was one of the first to react on Twitter to news that right-back Emerson Royal was a victim in an attempted armed robbery.

The Lowdown: Emerson involved in incident

The Brazilian first made the switch to the Premier League when he joined the Lilywhites on a five-year contract from Spanish giants Barcelona for a fee believed to be £25.8m. He has since made 41 appearances in all competitions for Antonio Conte’s side during his first season in north London.

News was broken by football.london reporter Rob Guest that in the early hours of Friday morning, the 23 year-old defender had successfully managed to escape an attempted armed robbery.

The article states that there were ’29 shots fired’ between police and the assailant, but the Spurs star has assured people that he is safe and well and will speak out about the incident soon.

The Latest: Gold reacts to Emerson update

In a new post on his personal Twitter account, Gold reacted to the shocking revelation he’d heard involving Emerson and wrote:

“This sounds horrible. Thank goodness Emerson is ok.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-developments-2/” title=”Tottenham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Relief

It will come as hugely positive news to not just his family and friends, but also to everyone associated with Tottenham to know that the six-cap international is unharmed.

The £22.5m-rated starlet has been a regular feature in Conte’s starting XI this season, making 31 top-flight outings, scoring one goal and providing one assist during that time, via Transfermarkt.

Royal is said to have returned to his home country for a short break following the conclusion of the season, but will obviously now need to be given the appropriate time to recover from the incident before even considering making a return to the football pitch ahead of the start of the new term.

In other news… Fabio Paratici has reportedly opened talks over the possibility of signing a ‘scary’ new player.

Brighton and Hove Albion would be willing to sell reported Aston Villa target Yves Bissouma if ‘a decent offer’ arrived. 

That’s according to journalist Alex Crook, who was speaking to GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has described Bissouma as Villa’s ‘top target in defensive midfield’ after a pursuit lasting two transfer windows.

After seeing a £35million bid turned down in January, Evans reported that Villa would ‘consider another push’ for the Malian in the summer.

On Monday, Villa announced that they had secured the signature of Boubacar Kamara following the expiry of his Marseille contract.

Kamara can play as a defensive midfielder, but Steven Gerrard may yet to look to deploy him as a centre-back.

Indeed, Football Insider have previously claimed that the Villa boss is dissatisfied with one of his existing options in Ezri Konsa, while Kamara is a capable defender.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/aston-villa-latest-updates-2/” title=”Aston Villa latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The latest

Crook urges Villa supporters to ‘keep an eye on’ the 25 year-old Bissouma ahead of the summer transfer window.

He tells GMS that Brighton have potential replacements at their disposal already and so may be open to letting him leave for the right price.

“Yves Bissouma’s one to keep an eye on, because I think Brighton, if they get a decent offer from someone like Aston Villa, they would be willing to sell, because they’ve got Caicedo, who’s come into the team at the end of the season and played quite well,” he said.

“They’ve got Mwepu, who they think can have a decent second season as well.”

The verdict

Kamara and Bissouma are different players. Based on their respective WhoScored profiles, Bissouma is markedly more combative, and while he can dribble effectively, passing isn’t as big a part of his game.

The signing of one, then, doesn’t necessarily preclude a move for the other, especially if it’s on favourable terms for Villa.

With his contract due to expire in 2023, Brighton’s negotiating position is getting weaker.

The £31.5million-rated Bissouma showed Gerrard and his staff just how good he can be in the manager’s first game in charge back in November.

Villa may have run out 2-0 winners that day, but Bissouma picked up the highest SofaScore rating of any player in the Brighton side after he won ten out of 14 ground duels, produced a whopping seven tackles, completed all three dribbles he attempted and misplaced just four passes. It was a midfielder masterclass Gerrard would be proud of himself.

In other news, Gregg Evans heaps praise on one Villa star after what he did vs Man City.

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira must place his trust in Eagles youngster Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, amidst his latest injury setback.

What’s the latest

Crystal Palace will be without their French sensation Michael Olise for the remainder of the season, after he picked up a knock that saw him miss the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.

Asked about the injury in the post-match press conference, as per Football.London, Vieira said: “Michael was injured. He had a step back and he’s not going to play again this season.”

Eberechi Eze started in place of Olise, whilst versatile Ghanian international Jeffrey Schlupp took up the right-wing position with just 12 minutes to go – scoring the all-important equaliser, having been on the pitch for just three minutes.

Opportunity Knocks

Having recently been named Crystal Palace’s U23 player of the season, Rak-Sakyi deserves a chance in the absence of Olise.

The 19-year-old has already spoken of his desire to impress Eagles boss Vieira before the end of the season, and with just two games left, he will need to stake his claim sooner, rather than later.

Last week, Vieira revealed that some of the U23s would train with the first team until the end of the season. Of course, Rak-Sakyi, who has been in and around the first team – having made the match-day squad on several occasions – is one of these players, having hit 15 goals and a further five assists in just 24 appearances in Premier League 2.

The 19-year-old, who has been described as a “standout” player by Dan Gibbs, has praised his manager for the number of opportunities he is willing to give to youth players.

As per Winsford Guardian, Rak-Sakyi said: “He [Vieira] is a great manager. I would say that he really trusts the youth. It just shows that if we work hard and we just put in the work in training and games then there are opportunities here.

“I have just got to work hard, keep training hard and hopefully I will get more minutes.”

With Olise out, Rak-Sakyi should be given the opportunity to make his second, and hopefully third, Premier League appearances in what are the final two league games for Palace.

In other news: Imagine him & Guehi: CPFC can save millions with 19 y/o starlet who’s “full of energy”