All posts by z3u9t.icu

Nuno Santo will surely be nervously waiting for Tottenham Hotspur to make it through the January transfer window as a worrying report emerged this week…

What’s the word?

According to Spanish publication Defensa Central, La Liga giants Real Madrid are keen to try and bring Sergio Reguilon back to the Bernabeu but want to renegotiate their buy-back clause.

It’s thought that the current deal allows them to secure his return for around €40m (£34m), though that expires at the end of the current campaign and the Spanish outfit want to reduce that by around €10m (£8m), as per the report.

Madrid veteran Marcelo has lost his place to Ferland Mendy, whilst backup Miguel Gutierrez is vastly inexperienced, so the league leaders are considering a move for their former youth graduate.

Both Los Blancos president Florentino Perez and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy have done plenty of business in the past, despite the latter’s tough reputation when it comes to transfers.

Hammer blow

Heading into 2022, this is surely enough to leave Nuno and co absolutely sweating, for a number of reasons.

It is believed that Spurs are targeting attacking reinforcements in January, as per The Athletic, so it would be considered a setback to have to find a new left-back on top of these much-needed additions.

Creativity and goal threat in the final third has perhaps been their biggest Achilles heel so far this term.

Whilst, Reguilon is a key player under the Portuguese coach, having started and played the full duration in all seven of their Premier League outings this term.

His backup, Ben Davies, is far from inspiring and offers a lot less of an attacking threat than the Spanish international. Similarly, third-choice Ryan Sessegnon has been dealing with injuries and has been rarely utilised since his £25m move from Fulham a little over two years ago.

Reguilon is currently Spurs’ fourth highest-rated player (6.96) on the season and he has proven to be a major influence at either end of the pitch for Nuno, having averaged a squad-high 2.4 interceptions, on top of 2.1 tackles and 0.9 key passes, via WhoScored.

Therefore, the fact that Madrid are snooping around for his signature is cause for concern. They can activate that clause at any point between now and the end of the season, so Spurs must be praying that doesn’t happen as they’ll lose one of their key stars.

It’ll leave much of the Lilywhites faithful worried, concerned and probably a bit angry that the club even made such an agreement as his impressive form would have undoubtedly kept the La Liga outfit keen.

Whether the Spanish side do come calling or not very much remains to be seen at this stage.

AND in other news, Signed for £15m, now worth 200% more: Levy played a huge blinder with Spurs’ “monster”…

Everton have already interviewed Vitor Pereira and Fabio Cannavaro, but have still not announced the next manager to lead the Toffees into their last few months of the season, with a fresh twist emerging on the manager search.

What’s the word?

Reliable journalists, Chris Bascombe and John Percy have put together a report in The Telegraph to confirm that Frank Lampard will have a second interview on Thursday afternoon.

According to the report, the ex-Chelsea boss remains in serious consideration for landing the role at Goodison Park, despite interviewing and refusing to officially rule out Pereira from the role after his shocking Sky Sports News interview on Wednesday afternoon.

Duncan Ferguson has been appointed as interim manager at the club until Farhad Moshiri and the Everton board have made a decision on who will take over the challenge at the club for the rest of the season.

Fans will be buzzing

Everton fans have made it very clear who they want as manager, storming Goodison Park on Wednesday night to protest against the owners and their potential appointment of Pereira, with fans spray painting a message on the walls of the stadium saying ‘Pereira out, Lampard in’ and supporters have been vocal on social media too.

One fan tweeted: “Today is the day to announce Lampard to lift the fanbase. Plus it’s time to finally say goodbye to the Vitor once and for all #Everton.”

Lampard has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in January 2021, and although offering less experience than some of the candidates, his work at Derby County by getting them to the playoff final and knocking Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup can’t go unrecognised.

That’s along with his commitment to developing young talent like Mason Mount, who was given his Premier League debut by Lampard, and went on to win the Champions League with the club last summer.

This could be a real opportunity for Moshiri to make amends with the fans and employ the manager that the fanbase clearly wants to see at the club.. However, it will be interesting to see what direction the Everton board do decide to go in over the next few days.

In other news: Alan Myers drops two-word update on Everton manager search

Kevin Phillips has lauded the confirmed news that Newcastle United have signed Joe Willock on a permanent deal.

The Lowdown: Willock confirmed

The St. James’ Park faithful have confirmed the signing of Willock permanently from Arsenal after a successful loan spell in the 2020/21 season.

He was not registered in time to take any part in their 4-2 opening day loss at home to West Ham United on Sunday afternoon, but he was unveiled in front of the Toon Army and should be able to play in their next fixture.

The Latest: Phillips lauds Willock signing

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League striker now pundit Phillips has lauded the signing of Willock by the North East club, but has warned that he should not be put under too much pressure to perform to the levels that he did during his loan spell on Tyneside:

“One word, brilliant.

“Bruce will be delighted, it’s a great signing. We know he was the priority.

“Willock clearly loves playing up there and the fans are back so that will be a whole new experience for him.

“There is a certain amount of pressure, there will be people who expect him to carry on that goal scoring form.

“He’s a quality player and he will score goals but you can’t put too much pressure on him to repeat what he did last season.”

The Verdict: No-brainer

It was certainly a no-brainer to bring Willock back to the Magpies as he made such a big difference when he came into Steve Bruce’s team. The prospect of a link-up between Willock, Allan Saint-Maximin and a now fully fit Callum Wilson is mouthwatering.

The Englishman scored no fewer than eight goals in 14 games in the top flight last campaign from midfield (Transfermarkt), helping them pull away from the relegation zone and finish comfortably in mid-table.

It will be hard to replicate that kind of form once more, but Willock will now feel that he has a point to prove and show the Toon Army just how good of a player he is.

In other news, find out who NUFC are now interested in signing here!

Tottenham Hotspur are blessed with a very promising academy set-up.Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga are the latest names to breakthrough into the first team, joining the two Harry’s – Winks and Kane – as recent success stories at the Hotspur Way base.One of the key criteria that chairman Daniel Levy was reportedly looking for in his next manager post-Jose Mourinho was centred around the development of the club’s emerging youth talents, and so far, Nuno Santo has ticked those boxes.But who could be next in line, in the near future?The Portuguese boss is pretty stacked in the wide department but you can forget about Jack Clarke and Ryan Sessegnon for the time being, neither are products of the Spurs system.Instead, it may well be J’Neil Bennett who emerges as the Lilywhites’ next Andros Townsend.The 19-year-old gem has been sent to League One outfit Crewe Alexandra on loan and has already made an instant impact, scoring an absolute scorcher.

Bennett made his senior bow earlier in the season, coming off the bench for a nine-minute cameo in Spurs’ first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying clash with Pacos de Ferreira.

But he’s a player that has been touted to have a big future in north London, having been a constant source of goals in the youth set-up. Across all levels, he has bagged 22 goals and 13 assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Speaking about his deadline day loan move, football.london reporter Alasdair Gold waxed lyrical about the young winger. “Great move for J’Neil Bennett until January. The 19-year-old has got plenty of talent,” he tweeted. “Really looking forward to seeing what he can do with first team football.”

The ever-reliable journalist has also dubbed Bennett as a “livewire” in the past, as if his record in front of goal wasn’t enough to be excited about.

If this loan spell away from N17 proves to be a success, then we could well see the promising teenager accelerated into the senior side this time next year.

Spurs surely have a future star on their hands in Bennett.

AND in other news, Forget Dier: Spurs could find Romero’s dream partner in swoop for £45m-rated “monster”…

According to The Athletic, Tottenham can sack Nuno Espirito Santo on the cheap if they fail to finish in the top six this season.

The Lowdown: Mixed start to the season

Spurs have so far had a mixed start to the campaign. They started well, winning their first three Premier League matches 1-0, including a victory over champions Manchester City (Sky Sports).

However, they then lost three league games in a row, conceding three goals in each, before returning to winning ways on Sunday against Aston Villa.

The Latest: Levy’s backup plan

As per The Athletic, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has a contingency plan in case things do not go as they hope with their current manager.

The report stated: “The Athletic has learned that chairman Daniel Levy succeeded in reaching the agreement on his terms, notably including a clause that would benefit Spurs if their season does not go to plan.

“It is understood that should Nuno fail to deliver a top-six finish, Tottenham would be able to sack the 47-year-old midway through his two-year deal without having to pay any compensation.”

The Verdict: Great news

While there was little fanfare around the hiring of Nuno, it looks like Levy has pulled off an impressive deal here. It is a win-win situation for the north London outfit – should they finish in the top six, the season will be a success; if they fail, they can bring in another manager without it costing them an arm and a leg.

In Nuno’s case, they do have a manager with Premier League experience who has twice finished in the top seven with Wolves. To get such a deal for a solid manager is impressive from Levy and illustrates his ability to find value in the market.

In other news, this man turned down the chance to manager Spurs in the summer.

Nigel Adkins’ Charlton head into their clash with Oxford United in League One this weekend in need of a positive result.

The Addicks began their league campaign with a fairly uninspiring 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend before losing 1-0 to AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup in midweek, which represents a subdued start to their season.

They now face an Oxford side who were held to a 1-1 draw by Cambridge in their opening league match and beat Burton Albion on penalties in the Carabao Cup.

On the Chalkboard

With Charlton finding goals hard to come by so far, Adkins has the opportunity to dip into his squad to shake things up against Oxford on Saturday.

Diallang Jaiyesimi played the full 90 minutes out wide against the Owls and struggled to catch the eye. He received a WhoScored rating of 6.46, failing to create a single chance for his team-mates whilst also being dispossessed four times and losing the ball three times through poor control. This suggests that he does not deserve his place in the side on merit heading into the next match.

Therefore, Adkins should unleash the club’s latest signing Charlie Kirk on Saturday. The attacker joined on a permanent deal from Crewe earlier this week and he should be handed his debut against Oxford to try and solve a key issue for the former Southampton boss, namely the lack of goals from Charlton.

In Kirk’s official unveiling, Adkins commented on the signing by stating that the 23-year-old is an exciting ‘forward-thinking’ addition to the squad.

He told Charlton’s official website: “I am delighted that Charlie Kirk is joining us. He is a very talented and exciting, young, forward-thinking player and I’m really looking forward to working with him over the coming years.”

Adkins also added in his pre-match press conference that the winger will want to get involved as soon as possible. The manager said: “He’s been at the training ground this afternoon. We’ll just take stock of the whole thing. We’re delighted he’s with us and he’ll be wanting to play as quickly as he can.”

Charlton must bring him straight into the starting XI for Jaiyesimi in order to alleviate their goalscoring woes, as the ex-Norwich man was unable to score a goal himself or provide his teammates with a chance to do so. Meanwhile, Kirk racked up six goals and eight assists for Crewe in League One last season, which suggests that he has the quality to make things happen at this level.

Between his record for Crewe last term and Adkins’ effusive praise of his talents, the evidence is there to suggest that Kirk could help solve Charlton’s goalscoring problems against Oxford this weekend. That is why he should be handed his debut for the club tomorrow.

AND in other news, Just 7 passes: Charlton disaster who lost 67% of his duels surely left Adkins livid…

Newcastle United have reportedly now made an offer in excess of £84m to sign Dusan Vlahovic in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Vlahovic stock rising

Vlahovic’s stock is continuing to rise as he makes a name for himself in the beautiful game, with market value now at a record £45m and surely set to inflate more.

The Serbia international is currently averaging more than a goal contribution a game at Fiorentina, with no fewer than 17 strikes and a further three assists made in just 19 matches in total over all competitions so far this season (Transfermarkt).

Given that he is a striker who is just 21 years of age, the Italian media are inevitably comparing him to Erling Haaland, as they claim that he is a ‘force of nature’ just like the Borussia Dortmund star.

The Latest: Big offer

Speaking to passioneinter.com (via Calciomercato), journalist Filippo Grassia has now claimed that the St. James’ Park faithful ‘have made a three-figure offer’ to try and sign Vlahovic, meaning a sum in excess of €100m (£84m).

It would be a ‘considerable temptation’ for Fiorentina to take that kind of money, but it is not clear whether Vlahovic himself would want to move to the North East.

The Verdict: Unlikely

Despite the riches that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium have at their disposal, it seems very unlikely that Vlahovic would move to Tyneside, especially in January.

His growing pedigree in the game means that big clubs in Europe are poised to try and pounce on his signature, and the Magpies cannot offer him any form of European football at the moment, only a relegation battle that he may not be interested in.

That is not to say that he would’t be a great signing not just for the Toon but for the Premier League as well, with his six-foot-three frame bound to terrorise any defence, as his 2.1 aerial duels won per game in the Serie A this term would currently rank him as the joint-fourth highest in Eddie Howe’s squad.

However, he just seems too difficult a signing to make at this moment in time.

In other news, find out which ‘phenomenal’ Prem star NUFC have now been urged to sign here!

Every day of every week somewhere in the world, football matches are being played to the delight of football fans all over the globe. This is also something that makes avid football gamblers happy. For the most avid football gamblers in the UK, having an opportunity to bet on football matches every day is a dream come true.

Unfortunately, too much online betting on too many football games could lead to gambling addiction. Yes, there are people in the online sports betting world who have trouble controlling their online gambling activities. By some estimates, that could be about 6% of the online gambling population in the UK, even around the world.

In the worst of gambling addiction cases, treatment and counselling would be the right call. Almost all addicts have something they need to sort out before they can set aside their addictive behaviours. Once they get the help they need, they should restrict themselves from ever gambling again.

Of course, online problem gambling issues don’t always lead to gambling addiction. Sometimes a problem gambling issue is nothing more than a sign that may be a break from online gambling would be a good idea.

Taking a Break with GamStop

As the UK’s number one gambling regulator, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) works hard to make sure the UK gambling industry is doing its part to protect kids and vulnerable problem gamblers. Within the online gambling community, the UKGC’s GamStop Self-exclusion scheme sits front and centre in the nation’s effort to deal with gambling addiction.

The beauty of the GamStop program lies in its simplicity. For UK online gambling operators, GamStop membership is mandated by the UKGC as a condition of licensing. To become a compliant member, operators only need to pay a subscription fee and place an accessible link on their respective websites.

For UK online gamblers, the voluntary registration process is free and only takes a few minutes to complete. All they have to do if they want help taking a break from their online gambling activities is to provide some basic personal information and choose a self-exclusion period with options ranging from 6 months to 5 years.

Once registration has been completed, the registered GamStop gambler will get the break they need. There is nothing that will stop the football online gambler from settling in as nothing more than a football fan. That is unless they decide self-exclusion is not for them. If and when that happens, the GamStop football gambler will have to make decisions.

Getting Around UK Self-Exclusion

Since GamStop registration is voluntary and a short-term self-exclusion option, there is nothing that prevents the GamStop gambler from changing their mind. If they change their mind, they will immediately have to face the fact that using licensed UK gambling websites won’t be an option. They will also find out there are ways to get around GamStop scrutiny until their self-exclusion period ends.

Leading the way of non GamStop alternatives would be UK gambling sites that are not GamStop members and or are not licensed by the UKGC. The reality is they are lots of non GamStop UK betting sites for online wagering available to gamblers trying to avoid GamStop scrutiny. Even better many of these sites are terrific alternatives because they are reliable and work hard to maintain stellar reputations.

If a GamStop gambler isn’t comfortable with this option, they might find other options more appealing. Here are some other non GamStop options worth mentioning:

Crypto-only casinos do not do much in the way of customer verifications Other offshore jurisdictions are quite welcoming of UK gamblers (VPN might be needed) Some operators have weak account verification protocols Retail gambling establishments in the UK have no connection to the GamStop scheme It’s acceptable to open new accounts under other identities with the permission of the new accountholder

For the avid football fan who decides to take a GamStop break, the hope is a short break will be all that’s necessary before they can safely start betting on football matches again. They may do so with licensed UK sports betting operators and their self-exclusion period expires.

Photo by Unsplash

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left fuming over some news that has emerged involving their Non-Fungible Token (NFT) scheme.

The Ibrox faithful announced the new scheme earlier this month, which has been set up to commemorate their 2020/21 title-winning campaign.

The tokens allow supporters of the Teddy Bears to be entered on a blockchain ledger of payments, of which there are 1,111 in total, so that they can purchase various items related to their title success.

The Light Blues have now made the items in the ‘Rangers FC Champions NFT Collection’ available to buy on their official website, with NFT’s that have to be purchased in order to give the supporters a chance of winning them.

While taking the Scottish Premiership title off of the hands of bitter rivals Celtic was a triumph at the time, it seems a lot of Gers just want to concentrate on this season now, following their 3-1 loss at home to Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Others see it as nothing more than a money-making scheme, given that you would have to buy a significant amount of tokens to give yourself the best chance of winning.

Rangers fans on NFT news

These RFC fans fumed as the news was shared in an official club post on their Twitter page:

“No. Just no.”

Credit: @MobRoolz

“Who do the club actually think wants these things???”

Credit: @ECMcElhatton

“Going from bad to worse Rangers”

Credit: @RampantRyanJack

“Stop scamming fans!”

Credit: @gordmatheson

“This ain’t it”

Credit: @EG_72_

“Shut up about last season, it’s done”

Credit: @GilmertonLoyal

In other news, find out what ‘catastrophic error of judgement’ Giovanni van Bronckhorst has made here!

A number of West Ham supporters are delighted after Vladimir Coufal was pictured back in training ahead of the Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

The Hammers are back in league action on Sunday afternoon, travelling to the Midlands to face Dean Smith’s side.

David Moyes’ team sit fourth in the table going into the match knowing that victory would take them level on points with champions Manchester City.

One player who looks set to be available for the hosts is Coufal, with the right-back pictured in training in a tweet shared by the club’s official Twitter account on Saturday.

The Czech Republic international has had injury problems of late, not playing in the league since the defeat to Brentford on October 3. He had been an ever-present up to then and illustrated his importance to the side by winning 2.1 tackles per game, the third-highest average in the Irons’ squad.

West Ham fans react to Coufal images

These West Ham fans took to Twitter to show their delight at Coufal’s return to the fold, having made a late appearance against Man City in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

“This guyyyy”

Credit: @beccaaaxx_xx

“Play him instead of Cresswell, he needs his break”

Credit: @T59281592

“Good to see him back”

Credit: @Markwake141

“Love Vlad”

Credit: @bobballardsport

“Is Vladimir Coufal playing v Aston Villa tomorrow afternoon? Great to see him back on the training ground and he looks fit now judging by those photos lovely jubbly eh! Ben Johnson on the subs bench I would have thought if David Moyes decides to play Vladimir Coufal? COYI!”

Credit: @Michael28183223

“He should play tomorrow”

Credit: @splasjyWHU

In other news, an expert has made a hugely exciting claim regarding West Ham’s finances. Read more here.