Tag Futebol

Exciting West Bromwich Albion teenager Harry Whitwell has signed his first professional contract at The Hawthorns, as per reliable journalist Lewis Cox.

The Lowdown: Whitwell impressing at West Brom

The 17-year-old is seen as one of the most highly-rated youngsters in the Baggies academy, impressing with his performances in recent times.

Whitwell has already made nine appearances for West Brom’s under-21s, despite only just turning 17 this week, also winning six England caps across various youth levels.

The midfielder has not only had a birthday to celebrate in recent days, but also the first major milestone of his football career

The Latest: Whitwell signs new deal

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Cox expressed his delight that Whitwell has signed his maiden professional deal at West Brom until 2025, in what is a big moment in his fledgling career.

The journalist tweeted:

“Great to see Harry Whitwell mark week of his 17th birthday with a first pro contract. Been very impressive when I’ve seen him play this season and rated very highly. An Eng u18 international too as of this season. Signed till 2025.”

The Verdict: One for the future

While Whitwell may not yet be part of Carlos Corberan’s first-team plans at The Hawthorns, this is undoubtedly great news for the club, given his evident potential.

Having top-quality homegrown talent coming through is important for any football club, and the 17-year-old is someone who could hopefully end up making the grade at West Brom, earning them good money for his services further down the line too if he is sold on at a profit.

The key now is for Whitwell is keep knuckling down and progressing, becoming an even more prominent player for the under-21s and hopefully maturing into a first-team regular for the Baggies as the years progress.

West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta is expected to be ‘available’ for the World Cup, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.

The Lowdown: Injury concerns

The Brazilian made his £51m arrival at the London Stadium from Lyon over the summer and has taken quickly to the Premier League, but he was dealt an unfortunate fitness setback early on in his Irons career.

The 25-year-old sustained a shoulder injury during the 1-1 draw at Southampton last month and hasn’t featured since, with reports at the time suggesting that he may only be sidelined for two weeks.

The Latest: Sheth’s update

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Sheth highlighted that there had been conflicting reports regarding the length of Paqueta’s absence, but revealed that the 25-year-old is on course to be fit to make the trip to Qatar.

The journalist said: “It has been a bit of a blow to have lost him. I’m sure there was conflicting reports on how long he was going to be out for.

“The latest prognosis is that he should be available for the World Cup at the very least. West Ham, I’m sure, will be hoping that he can play some part before that World Cup break.”

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

The Verdict: Boost for Moyes

David Moyes has since announced in his pre-match press conference that Paqueta has rejoined training and could be involved when West Ham face Crystal Palace on Sunday, which is a huge boost for the Hammers.

The Brazil star has two assists to his name this season, and prior to his injury he was averaging 2.5 shots and 1.8 successful aerial duels per top-flight game, placing him first and third in the squad respectively for those metrics (WhoScored).

West Ham have slowly started to turn their form around after a difficult start to the campaign, and with three matches left before the mid-season break, they now have the chance to gather some momentum with the help of Paqueta’s highly anticipated return.

Leeds United could be set to emulate a disaster that still remains fresh in their memory, suggesting that despite having new owners and a new manager, little has changed around the club.

Who else are Leeds United signing this summer?

Last summer marked a frustrating one for the fanbase, who saw Jesse Marsch wholeheartedly backed despite his obvious weaknesses as a manager. As such, those failures were quickly exacerbated, and the American was sacked in February.

It marked a decision made too little too late though, as he had also been allowed to dictate the January transfer window, leaving Javi Gracia and later Sam Allardyce with an uphill battle that they would both fail to overcome.

Read the latest Leeds transfer news HERE…

Of all those failed signings brought in by the former RB Salzburg boss, few stand out like Brenden Aaronson.

Therefore, the fact that they are once again in for an American will send harrowing flashbacks reverberating around Elland Road, as journalist Simon Jones wrote in his exclusive Mail+ article. He suggests that the Whites are weighing up a move for Norwich City forward Josh Sargent, who has just two years left on his £12k-per-week deal.

How good is Josh Sargent?

Having also made the switch to English football during that aforementioned summer, it is fair to say that the 23-year-old failed to hit the ground running after trading Germany for Carrow Road.

Just two Premier League goals in 26 appearances marked a toothless return for the centre-forward, who offered little aid to prevent the Canaries' relegation. Whilst that figure would improve the following season, scoring 13 in the Championship, it seems that he is far from the requisite level needed to lead them into a brighter, more sustainable future back in the top flight.

At the very least though his goals would aid in their pursuit of promotion, with Slaven Bilic having sought to praise the former Werder Bremen ace back in October: "Sargent is an electric player. He reminds me of Giggs; pace, brave and everything. I like him."

That is more that can be said for Aaronson, who not only offered little as the Yorkshire outfit sought to escape the drop but jumped ship at the first time of asking.

Signed for a mouth-watering £24.7m fee, Marsch saw fit to unload a significant amount of money to bring the tricky attacking midfielder with him from RB Salzburg. Then, having scored in their early-season demolition of Chelsea, things looked promising for the young creator who seemingly had talent and work ethic in abundance.

However, the 22-year-old would endure a decidedly profligate spell following that strike, which would actually be his only goal in the league all season, despite making 36 appearances.

He earned particular scorn in February for one awful showing against Everton, with pundit Jon Newsome telling BBC Radio Leeds: "I feel he’s very lightweight. There were a couple of occasions when the ball was there to be won and he actually jumped out of the way. That, for me, is really disappointing."

Then, to make matters worse, he is one of many to have fled on loan this summer, joining Union Berlin.

Although Sargent seems a far better option than Aaronson does and did, especially given the level they now find themselves in, few will want to repeat their failures of the past, especially when they are so glaring and have had such a catastrophic effect on the club.

Leeds United U21s continued their fantastic start to their Premier League 2 campaign on Monday evening, with Michael Skubala’s youth side running out 1-0 winners against Sunderland, extending their unbeaten run to eight games in 2022/23.

However, after scoring 20 goals over their last four outings in all competitions, three points were much harder to come by at the Stadium of Light, with Wilfried Gnonto’s second-half strike being all that separated the two teams on the night.

Although, while the Italian forward was once again a livewire for the U21s, it was arguably the performance of Cody Drameh that will have most made Jesse Marsch sit up and take notice on Monday evening, as the right-back turned in yet another fine display.

Indeed, while £10m summer signing Rasmus Kristensen has looked solid in a defensive capacity so far this season, the Denmark international has not exactly contributed in an attacking capacity – being yet to score, register an assist or create a big chance over his seven Premier League appearances, as well as completing an average of just 0.3 crosses per game.

And, considering how impressive Drameh was going forwards against Sunderland, should Marsch wish to add a bit more attacking impetus on the right of his backline in the coming weeks, the 20-year-old would appear well worth consideration.

Indeed, the Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Joe Donnohue described the full-back as “a threat on the attack with some good, aggressive runs” against the Black Cats, something the England U21 international demonstrated when picking the ball up on the edge of the opposition penalty area before unleashing a furious drive against the post early in the second half.

Following the match, Skubala also took the time to praise the youngster, stating (via Leeds Live): “Cody, [who] I think goes under the radar, he’s had three really top games and against a good winger [Jewison Bennette] – Cody was controlling him.”

The £2.7m-rated talent also proved his ability in a creative capacity in the 4-0 win over Stoke City last time out, registering two assists against the Potters – the first of which was a dangerous low cross that Mateo Joseph turned home, before once again setting up the Spaniard with an inch-perfect cutback after a bursting run down the wing.

As such, should Marsch wish to add slightly more attacking edge to his wide defensive positions in the coming months, the £4.4k-per-week full-back who Steve Morrison dubbed a “Duracell Bunny” would appear something of a perfect fit for the American – with the 20-year-old’s display on Monday once again suggesting that the full-back is first-team ready.

For many people who follow football, the end of a season is something of a downer, and summer is alleviated only by one thing: transfer gossip. Although many of the top teams arrange their transfer business well in advance these days, transfer windows have become entertainment in and of themselves, with pages of coverage given over to alerting us to who is signing whom, who has issued a “Come and get me” plea, and who has been made surplus to requirements by a major move.

The winter window, for its part, is often a more idiosyncratic affair. Teams who have made a less than promising start to the season will scour the world’s leagues to find a player who will help them reignite their form. Players who have been out of favour at their clubs will look for at least a loan move to get their stalled career going again. And the sense of desperation that surrounds it all is now a part of following football. This season, that window comes hot on the heels of a World Cup, which means we could be in for perhaps the most frenetic January in recent football history. Let’s look at what could be in store.

At least one relegation-threatened club will sign multiple World Cup players

When a team starts the season in shaky form, the winter window represents a final roll of the dice to try and change the picture. There is a certain degree of difficulty in pulling this off – the best players out there aren’t going to move to a team that could be playing in the lower divisions within six months. There’s a good chance that Leicester City, who are believed by almost every betting resource to be in the relegation fight already, will take the tough decision to sell either Youri Tielemans or James Maddison, or both. This will fund a squad overhaul, which is likely to see a few defenders or midfielders fresh from a few impressive games in Qatar arriving at the King Power.

Mutliple players from a “dark horse” country will get big moves

There’s next to no chance that Kylian Mbappe or Harry Kane will cash in on an impressive World Cup by changing their clubs in the middle of a potentially successful season. However, a World Cup is always a chance for players from mid-tier nations to announce themselves to a football world and its player agents. Romania’s wonderful cameo in 1994 saw Gheorghe Hagi, Dan Petrescu and Ilie Dumitrescu, among others, make big moves. Although many “lesser” national teams already have players at top clubs these days – scouting is more extensive than ever – it would be no surprise to see Ghana, for example, go on a run to the last eight and several of their players win moves off the back of it.

Someone will get a move solely on World Cup performance and it won’t go well

Harking back once more to 1994, the Golden Boot in that year’s tournament was shared by Hristo Stoichkov, who played for some of Europe’s top clubs across the decade, and Oleg Salenko, who didn’t. Salenko scored six times during the tournament, with five of them coming against an ageing Cameroon side. These exploits won him a move to Rangers, where he barely featured before moving away just as quickly to Istanbulspor. It’s always tempting to move for someone off the back of a breakout tournament, but when most of that breakout happened in one game, it might not be the smartest move.

Photo by Unsplash

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in a deal to bring Lucas Paqueta to north London this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Ryan Taylor’s latest report for The Express, in which the journalist claimed that, despite Dharmesh Sheth recently revealing that West Ham United have submitted a €40m (£34m) offer for the Olympique Lyonnais attacking midfielder, Spurs remain interested in pursuing a deal for the 24-year-old in the coming days.

Taylor went on to state that Fabio Paratici is a particularly big fan of the Brazil international, before suggesting that, with Tottenham actively targeting the signing of a new attacker after agreeing to loan Bryan Gil to Valencia, the Italian sporting director could look to hijack the Hammers’ move for Paqueta prior to September’s transfer deadline.

“Perfect” for Spurs

As previously mentioned, with it being well known that Antonio Conte is hoping to add a new attacking midfielder to his Tottenham squad before the end of the window, considering just how impressive Paqueta has been in France, it is not difficult to understand why Paratici could yet make a late move for the 24-year-old this summer.

Indeed, over his 35 Ligue 1 appearances last season, the £59m-rated talent was one of the few bright sparks in a largely underperforming Lyon side, scoring nine goals, registering six assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.5 shots, making 1.2 key passes and completing 2.3 dribbles per game.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-paratici-conte-levy-gossip-more” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and so much more!”]

These returns saw the 33-cap international average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.13, ranking him as Peter Bosz’s joint fourth-best performer in the top flight of French football last time out.

The £53k-per-week playmaker also caught the eye over his nine appearances in the Europa Conference League in 2021/22, bagging two goals, providing one assist and creating six big chances, as well as taking an average of 2.7 shots, making 1.6 key passes and completing 1.8 dribbles per fixture.

These metrics saw the player, who Rudi Garcia dubbed “decisive” and Fabrizio Romano claimed is “perfect” for the Premier League, average a SofaScore match rating of 7.13, ranking him as OL’s eighth-best player in their run to the quarter-finals of the competition.

As such, considering his clear eye for goal, ability to play a killer pass and his abundance of creative talent, the argument that Paqueta is a perfect fit to Conte’s requirements for his attacking midfield target is an easy one to make – leading us to believe that Paratici must do all he can to snatch the 24-year-old away from east London in the coming days.

Wolves are desperately looking to sign a new striker before the transfer window shuts and it seems as if Southampton’s Che Adams is one man on Bruno Lage’s shortlist.

What’s the word?

According to The Daily Mail, Wolves, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Everton are all considering a move for the Scotland international, who could be set to leave St Mary’s this summer.

Lage sanctioned a loan move for Fabio Silva, while Raul Jimenez picked up an injury in pre-season, which has left the Portuguese manager extremely short of options up front.

Attacking reinforcements were always going to be necessary this summer after Wolves managed just 38 goals in the Premier League last season, the fewest of any side to remain in the top flight.

So far, Lage has added Valencia winger Goncalo Guedes to his side, but with just a few weeks of the transfer window remaining, they still look extremely short up front.

Would Adams be a good signing?

Adams enjoyed a prolific spell in the Championship with Birmingham City, scoring 22 goals in the 2018/19 campaign before his move to the Premier League.

Since then, he has made 110 appearances for the Saints, in which he has managed just 21 goals and 12 assists for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, including seven goals in the top flight last season.

While his goalscoring form hasn’t been the best in recent seasons, the Scottish forward would add energy and physicality to Lage’s attack, evidenced by Hasenhuttl keeping his faith in the forward when he struggled to break his goalscoring duck in his debut campaign at St Mary’s.

He said: “He is a guy who is one day a little bit frustrated when he sees he doesn’t play but then when the game comes, he shows up immediately and this is fantastic.

The Austrian also described him as a “role model”, suggesting that he had gone from “zero to hero” when he did eventually find the net.

Given Wolves’ need for strikers, Adams would represent a solid, experienced Premier League option for Lage, and the Portuguese manager should definitely consider bringing him to Molineux as their fourth signing of the window this summer.

Cadena SER journalist Xavi Jorquera Márquez has now shared an exciting update on Manchester City’s links to colossal Villarreal defender Pau Torres.

The Lowdown: Sky Blue summer overhaul…

The Premier League champions, in terms of both incomings and outgoings, have been one of the busier sides in England this summer as a plethora of big names come through the door whilst long-serving stars move on to new chapters.

Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko, following on from club legend Fernandinho’s return to Brazil, come as the high-profile Etihad Stadium exits of this window so far alongside departures for many promising youngsters.

Meanwhile, the arrivals of Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega and Julian Alvarez have gone some way to replacing them with City also in talks to sign Brighton star Marc Cucurella.

The Latest: Marquez makes exciting Torres claim…

Indeed, it’s safe to say that there has been plenty of movement in east Manchester over the course of this hectic window.

However, according to Spanish reporter Marquez of Cadena SER, City and manager Pep Guardiola may not be done there.

Taking to Twitter, he explains that the Sky Blues are currently ‘best positioned’ to sign marquee Villarreal star Torres – who is said to have a £55m release clause.

Marquez explained:

“The best positioned club that offers Pau the best conditions is Manchester City

I’m not going to put a percentage because we already know what this is like…”

The Verdict: Finalise move?

Depending on the conditions of a potential transfer, should City push and finalise a move given they’re seemingly favourites.

Journalist Graeme Bailey backs his quality, having called Torres a ‘Spanish star’, yet we believe the signing of a new centre-back should only be considered if one of John Stones, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias or Aymeric Laporte end up leaving.

Guardiola is well stocked at centre-half and adding another world class option could arguably just upset the applecart.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in signing HSV Hamburg defender Mario Vuskovic this summer but face competition from three clubs in the Bundesliga.

What’s the story?

According to German outlet MOPO, some reports suggesting the player was travelling to Wolves to complete a medical are untrue, but the club remain interested in the player.

Other Bundesliga clubs are interested in the player with the price tag for him currently standing at €10m (£8.4m). The Wanderers are considering whether to contact Hamburg over the transfer, but the player is currently happy in Germany so wouldn’t push for a move away.

The 20-year-old is highly rated and has been described as “exceptional” by Aleksander Holiger.

Imagine him and Coady

One player that he would line up alongside if he did make the move to Molineux would be fellow defender and club captain Conor Coady. The Englishman has been an influential part of Wolves’ back line for several years now and Vuskovic could learn a lot from him.

Vuskovic made 24 league appearances last season as Hamburg secured a return to the Bundesliga via the play-offs. He was key to their promotion success so it’s not surprising that he’s attracted interest from others.

When you compare both players statistically they score similar in some areas. Both made 0.8 tackles per game in the league last season, but it’s the Croat who made more interceptions per game with 1.1 compared to Coady’s 0.7.

Vuskovic also won a higher percentage of his duels last season at 65% compared to the Wolves’ skippers 53%, proving that he doesn’t shy away from a battle.

Obviously if he was to make the move to the Wanderers then the Premier League would represent a much tougher challenge, but if he can replicate the numbers he’s shown previously then it will be a great signing.

At such a young age he has great potential also, so the club would definitely be getting their money’s worth if he signed a long-term deal.

If Wolves want to make improvements and get stronger defensively then moving for Vuskovic, who ticks almost every box, would make the most sense and provide Bruno Lage with all he needs.

IN other news: Bruno Lage plotting bid for £15m “goal king”, he’d be a “phenomenon” for Wolves…

An update has emerged on Sunderland and their interest in Daniel Ballard during the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

According to journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, the Black Cats are one of the teams pursuing a deal to sign the centre-back for the 2022/23 campaign as Kristjaan Speakman plots a swoop for the 22-year-old.

The report claims that a number of Championship sides are now looking at the Arsenal man as a target after Burnley pulled out of the race.

Vincent Kompany’s outfit agreed a fee with the Gunners and the player arrived to complete a medical before the move broke down due to personal terms.

Alex Neil needs him badly

Speakman must get a deal over the line for the defender in the coming weeks as he would be an excellent, much-needed, addition to the squad.

Journalist Josh Bunting has claimed that the machine would be an “outstanding” player for the club and explained why the head coach needs him, tweeting: “Good ball player out from the back something that Alex Neil requires in a player of that position.”

The gem has proven that he has the quality to be a consistent performer in the Championship after an impressive season on loan at Millwall.

In the 2021/22 campaign, Ballard averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.95 across 31 appearances as he established himself as a regular fixture at the back.

He made 3.5 tackles and interceptions and 3.4 clearances per game as he showcased his ability to read the game and his positioning week-in-week-out in the second tier. The youngster also showed off his physical strength as he won 64% of his duels throughout the campaign – dominating the opposition the majority of the time.

Ballard also caught the eye in the recent international break as he impressed in the Nations League for Northern Ireland. In three games for his country, he averaged a brilliant SofaScore rating of 7.17 and won a whopping 72% of his duels.

The 22-year-old also completed 88% of his attempted passes and has proven that he can be reliable in possession of the ball. As Bunting pointed out, Neil needs a centre-back who can pass the ball and Ballard has shown that he can do that, whilst also being a strong defender at Championship level.

Therefore, the head coach needs him badly as he would be a superb signing to bolster his options at the back and Speakman must now work hard to get a deal done.

AND in other news: Speakman eyeing SAFC swoop for “fabulous” £5.1k-p/w titan, just imagine him & Batth…