All posts by h716a5.icu

Sunderland fans are delighted by comments from new owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus after he spoke to the Fan Collective last Wednesday.

Louis-Dreyfus has been received fantastically after he recently took over the club. That may be largely down to the fact that the man previously in his position, Stewart Donald, was particularly unpopular upon Wearside, but the fact Louis-Dreyfus has access to a trust of $2bn (The Sunderland Echo) may be another reason for that.

Last week, he spoke with a fan collective to discuss the future of the Black Cats and answer a number of the supporters’ questions (via Roker Report). He talked about several topics, including the development of the club’s footballing philosophy, as well as the desire to embrace data and technology.

The contents of the discussion were shared on Twitter by @RokerReport, and they attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Louis-Dreyfus below

“Great to see some professionalism coming back to the club, a good read, it’s been a long time since we were heading in the right direction”

Credit: @jamesnaisbett

“This is definitely worth your time! Some fascinating information about the plans for the future. Great to see the fan engagement really stepping up!”

Credit: @Phillip_RJ89

“Important reading for those who care about the current restructuring of the club. Read it. Read it and understand it. We’re going places.”

Credit: @RoGairReport

“Sounds like good stuff on the lasses. Do wonder if they suffer from playing where they do.”

Credit: @gyrwum

“It has been so long since we had some transparency with the Owner and fans”

Credit: @BrandonFeeley97

“Actions speak louder than words of course, but you can’t help getting enthused about the future of SAFC when you read stuff like this from our new owner.”

Credit: @martin_wanless

In other news, Sunderland fans love this club video.

According to a report by the Daily Mail, via City Xtra, Manchester City are planning to make attempts for both Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland and Aston Villa star Jack Grealish this summer – with the pair topping sporting director Txiki Begiristain’s transfer wish list.

Haaland has continued to be heavily linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium after a fine season in the Bundesliga, scoring a phenomenal 21 goals in 20 German top flight starts (WhoScored).

Grealish, meanwhile, is thought to have attracted interest from City through his performances for Villa over the 2020/2021 Premier League campaign – bagging six goals and 10 assists from midfield under Dean Smith (WhoScored).

Despite the latter star being sidelined for the last six weeks with a leg injury (Sky Sports), both men have enjoyed the form of their lives overall this season, leaving little wonder why the Sky Blues have been linked.

In a development on these rumours, however, the Mail claim that City are now planning attempts to sign both players – and their estimated combined transfer fees would be expected to total around £200 million.

Flocking to this major claim that City are weighing up moves for both men, it’s far to say there were plenty of reactions from Sky Blues.

Find all of their verdicts here.

Man City fans erupt over Haaland and Grealish claim

“Spicy summer inbound”

Credit: @BernardoControl

“VAMOSSSSSSS JACK”

Credit: @MCFC_67

“Hahahahhah yesssss”

Credit: @MCFCBaller

“imagine the tears from rival fans lol”

Credit: @ArpJann

“hahaha go on txiki”

Credit: @finciteh

“Oh my god”

Credit: @KDBallondor

“Yaasss”

Credit: @hellohimancity1

“Wow wow wow wowww!”

Credit: @muhr1dwn

In other news: Man City fans also flocked to a contract claim, find out more here.

Former Leicester City star Keith Gillespie believes that Caglar Soyuncu’s head could be turned by interest from Liverpool, telling the Transfer Tavern exclusively that the Foxes need to work hard to keep him at the club.

Reports last week linked the Reds with a move for the central defender, who has developed into a superb player under the management of Brendan Rodgers at the King Power Stadium.

Soyuncu has made 73 appearances for the Foxes since his move to the club in 2018 and The Daily Mirror has reported that he is on a shortlist of potential central defensive acquisitions for the Reds, with Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s transfer chief, impressed with him.

Leicester have sold players to bigger clubs at huge fees in recent years, extracting £80m from Manchester United for Harry Maguire, £45m from Chelsea for Ben Chilwell, and £60m from Manchester City for Riyad Mahrez.

And while Gillespie accepts that the Turkey international could be interested in a move to Liverpool, he believes Leicester really need to ensure he stays at the club beyond this summer.

He told TT: “When a club like Liverpool come knocking, players heads can get turned. It’s up to Leicester to try and keep hold of him because he is a very, very good player.”

Gillespie has been impressed with the level of defenders at Leicester, and is unsurprised that a big club would be interested in Soyuncu, having seen Maguire move to Old Trafford.

He added: “You think about the problems that Man United have had defensively, they plucked a Leicester defender, now we’re talking about another three Leicester centre-halves in terms of how good they are so they’re doing something right at Leicester in terms of bringing through centre-halves.”

Southampton are one of a number of Premier League clubs reportedly taking an interest in Barnsley youngster Callum Styles, and the 21-year-old could be an excellent addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

According to Football League World, Southampton, Leeds United and Norwich City are all keen on the Barnsley man, who has been a key part of their impressive season in the Championship.

After featuring as a midfielder earlier in his career, Styles has been converted to a left wing-back this season by Barnsley boss Valérien Ismaël and has enjoyed a lot of success in his new position.

This season has seen the former Bury youngster contribute four goals and two assists in 36 Championship appearances, whilst he has averaged a solid 6.86 WhoScored rating for his performances.

Although Styles is contracted at Barnsley until 2023, you would imagine that unless they can pull off a shock promotion to the top flight, he will depart the Tykes this summer, given that all three of Southampton, Leeds and Norwich are looking highly likely to be in the Premier League next season.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/southampton-saints-ralph-hasenhuttl-martin-semmens-st-marys” title=”Latest Southampton news, transfer rumours and more”]

During his time with the Yorkshire club, Styles earned himself the nickname of ‘The Bury Baggio’ from supporters, with the club themselves regularly likening their young defender to the Italian legend on Twitter.

Given that Ryan Bertrand is yet to sign a new deal at Southampton, it seems clear that the Saints are looking into bringing a left-back to the club this summer, and Styles’ superb performances with Barnsley this season certainly suggest that he would be a worthwhile addition.

Hasenhuttl is renowned for loving versatile players and therefore he should definitely appreciate someone such as Styles, who is comfortable playing in midfield and defensive roles.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

Therefore, vice-chairman Martin Semmens should certainly consider bringing the 21-year-old Barnsley ace to St Mary’s this summer, as he looks destined to be playing in the Premier League next season.

In other news… Southampton could sign a Diallo upgrade in £4.05m-rated “class act”

For the first time in his Manchester United career, David de Gea’s position as the Red Devils’ number one is under serious jeopardy.

The Spaniard, who was signed from Atletico Madrid in 2011, has seemingly been usurped in the starting XI by Dean Henderson, restricted to just a solitary appearance in the UEFA Europa League since the start of March.

In fact, Dean Windass believes that the £19.8m-rated stopper’s “days are over” at Manchester United, as revealed in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Despite that, De Gea still has time to save his Old Trafford career.

Now aged 30, it’s been quite the journey for the Spaniard at Manchester United.

He bounced back from a tricky debut campaign under Sir Alex Ferguson to then play a key role in the Red Devils’ last title triumph.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-man-united-transfer-rumours-and-news-old-trafford-macheda-solskjaer-lingard-ousmane-dembele-anthony-martial-injury-rabiot-van-de-beek” title=” The latest Man United transfer rumours and news from Old Trafford…”]

As a matter of fact, he has gone on to claim 123 clean sheets in the Premier League, even scooping the division’s Golden Glove award for his 18 shutouts over the course of the 2017/18 campaign.

Even Windass himself has hailed De Gea’s immense “quality” for his performances at Old Trafford.

In fact, when looking deeper into the statistics, it could be argued that the United stopper has somewhat recovered from his poor form. According to SofaScore, he has averaged 2.4 saves per game in the Premier League this season.

Whilst this total is not his highest and is somewhat lower compared to Henderson’s 2.9, it is considerably higher than the 2.1 he managed throughout the 2016/17 season.

If he can get his current numbers back up towards that of Henderson and his own personal peak of 3.2, then there is no reason as to why he cannot be a viable option in between the sticks at Old Trafford once more.

After all, he has already once proved the doubters wrong earlier in his United career, so there is no reason why he could not do it again.

AND in more news, now is the time for the Red Devils to finally secure a long-term transfer target…

Southampton produced a performance that nowhere near befitted the occasion on Sunday evening as they crashed out of the FA Cup at the semi-final stage, losing 1-0 to Leicester City in a game low on quality.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side failed to muster a single shot on target in the 90 minutes and bar a five-minute spell after Kelechi Iheanacho’s opening goal, they failed to show any real urgency or willingness to attack.

Whilst there were plenty of poor performances from the Southampton players at Wembley, one man who particularly disappointed was Nathan Redmond.

As per SofaScore, the former Norwich City man would earn a shocking 6.4/10 rating for his performance, with only Moussa Djenepo (6.1) and Fraser Forster (6.3) rated lower.

During his 59 minutes on the pitch, Redmond would have just 21 touches of the ball, which was less than half the number of touches Forster would have (43) during the game.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/southampton-saints-ralph-hasenhuttl-martin-semmens-st-marys” title=”Latest Southampton news, transfer rumours and more”]

The £16.2m-rated winger also contributed a measly nine passes during the game, which was the fewest of any player other than Danny Ings who featured in the game.

It is also significantly fewer than the 22.9 passes he has averaged in the Premier League this season, which emphasises just how below par he was at Wembley.

Despite being involved so little, the 27-year-old would lose possession on nine occasions at Wembley, as he regularly made poor choices and ran into trouble instead of looking for a pass.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

He also failed to contribute a single shot or key pass, so it was no surprise to see Hasenhuttl axe him shortly before the hour mark, with it clear that Redmond was one of several players to let the Austrian down at Wembley on Sunday.

And, in other news… Southampton were robbed with “world-class” star, his value has risen 265% since leaving

An industry expert has dropped a claim on the demise of the European Super League (ESL) and what it means for the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

All six clubs in the Premier League who had already signed up to the proposal have since withdrawn from the league after heavy backlash from football people all around the country.

In a meeting between the other 14 top-fight teams before the collapse, it was discussed to bind a commitment to the principles of English football into the division’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test (ODT).

As per The Chronicle, an industry expert has since had their say on the ESL collapse and what it may mean for the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group:

“It’s still very fresh. The dust will settle on this and the ramifications could be huge for football in the country.

“The feeling is that the basis of the case – the separation of PIF from the state – is unchanged but the sands have shifted around it now. While it may not directly impact arbitration, the pressure for transparency will be there and you could argue lobbying from the ‘big six’ might not be quite as readily heard.

“On the other hand, will there be pressure to keep out another foreign owner with deep pockets who might look to do something similar?

“In the short-term, Nick de Marco and his team will have to prove the same things they were looking to prove before. But if the arbitration doesn’t win, this probably opens up other avenues.

“I’m sure the lawyers will be examining everything that’s happened in the last few days very keenly.”

Newcastle takeover can learn from ESL demise

The proposed new owners of the St. James’ Park faithful could certainly learn from the demise of the ESL.

They will now more than ever have to show that they are fit and proper people to be running the Tyneside club in the North East, as per the ODT.

On top of that, it could also offer them hope that they can negotiate their way through this, with the expert claiming the whole ordeal ‘probably opens up other avenues‘.

Nonetheless, the pending arbitration case between the Magpies and the PL should answer a lot of questions in terms of whether the potential takeover can still be revived under the proposed new owners.

In other news, find out which speedster NUFC have made contact to sign here!

Watford are interested in signing Joe Pigott this summer, according to recent reports…

What’s the word?

That’s the word according to The Mirror’s Sam Elliot, who tweeted that the AFC Wimbledon centre-forward is “likely” to be Watford’s first signing since they secured their return to the Premier League.

Elliot also claims that the 27-year-old would earn “six times his current wage” – which is reported to be £2,100-per-week – if a move to Vicarage Road is completed, meaning that Pigott would earn around £12,600-per-week at Watford.

Astute signing

So far this season, Pigott has highly impressed over his 42 League One appearances for Mark Robinson’s side, with the striker scoring 18 goals and registering five assists, as well as averaging a rather remarkable WhoScored match rating of 7.20 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the third tier.

What makes the former Charlton Athletic striker’s haul even more impressive is that he is currently playing in a quite poor Wimbledon team, as the Dons are currently sitting just five points above the League One relegation zone in 19th place.

And, with Troy Deeney having been sidelined for long spells of this season due to injury, something that could become a more regular occurrence as the 33-year-old grows older, it would be a smart move for Watford to begin their search to replace the club captain.

As such, despite there being an obvious difference in standards between the third tier and the Premier League, Pigott would nonetheless appear to represent an extremely astute signing for Xisco Munoz’s side, not only because of his evident eye for goal, but also because of the finances involved in a potential transfer.

With the 27-year-old’s contract up at the end of the current campaign, the only fee Watford would be required to pay for Pigott would be the striker’s wages and a signing-on fee, meaning that there is not much risk for the Hornets if they do complete the signing of a player who former Wimbledon manager, Wally Downes, once dubbed as “magnificent”.

In other news: Forget Sarr: Watford must complete blockbuster deal for ‘fantastic’ gem this summer – opinion

Aston Villa must avoid selling John McGinn at all costs this summer after Lee Hendrie’s transfer claim.

What’s the story?

Amid Dean Smith’s side’s impressive performances this season, Jack Grealish remains hot property, with Premier League leaders Manchester City said to be preparing a money-spinning offer.

Hendrie has followed up on that by saying that if Grealish were to depart this summer, then that could in turn convince some of Villa’s other key players, like McGinn, to potentially leave too.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “I don’t know how it’s going to affect the players (a potential Grealish sale) and that’s my big worry. I hope that if Jack does end up going, that it doesn’t affect McGinn and he wants to go because I know that he’s been linked away from the club as well.”

Dean Smith must stand firm

While naturally all the attention seems to be surrounding whether Grealish will stay or go, rival clubs in the Premier League are also keeping a close eye on some of Villa’s other main stars.

According to West Ham insider ExWHUemployee, the Hammers are interested in signing McGinn this summer, saying: “Players who Moyes is interested in when he was at the club before…McGinn of Aston Villa. We haven’t made any offers for them. Moyes liked him before and Moyes still likes him. There are realistic expectations that we could go for him.”

With two goals and six assists in the Premier League this season, McGinn has been a permanent fixture in Smith’s starting line-up, failing to play the full 90 minutes in just one game, and even that was down to suspension.

It’s no surprise then that the Scottish ace has earned rave reviews for his performances, with Sky Sports and Match of the Day pundit Micah Richards waxing lyrical about him.

He said: “This season he’s been absolutely incredible, back to the John McGinn I know. A lot of shine goes off of him because of Grealish because Grealish does the little bits that make people stand up on their chairs, but in terms of hard work, putting in tackles, goals and assists, John McGinn is a top, top player.

“Villa have been a successful side largely down to him as well and his work-rate in there.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-aston-villa-transfer-rumours-and-news-copy-copy” title=”Latest Aston Villa transfer rumours and news”]

And, speaking last summer, former Villa ace Allan Evans hailed what the midfielder offers to Smith’s side, saying: “John has really been a saviour for Aston Villa. They were in a difficult situation and he was exactly the kind of guy they needed to get out of trouble. John has been a real star for the club.”

Make no mistake about it, Smith would be making a major blunder by cashing in on the £35m-rated dynamo.

Meanwhile, Villa have suffered a fresh blow as huge Bodymoor Heath news emerges…

Many Everton fans have been left to gush as a Sunday report from The Athletic was shared following football’s social media boycott by @EvertonNewsFeed on Tuesday.

As per the report, the Goodison Park faithful are preparing a bid for Ivan Toney in the summer transfer window, but may find themselves in competition with Leicester City to sign the Brentford striker.

The 25-year-old has been nothing short of exceptional in the EFL Championship so far in the 2020/21 term, notching up no fewer than 30 goals and a further 10 assists in 44 games in total (Transfermarkt), and is clearly ready to make the move up to the Premier League.

The Merseyside club are in desperate need of some depth and firepower to challenge Dominic Calvert-Lewin up top come the start of next season, and Toney could very well be that man.

Everton fans on Toney transfer update

These Toffees supporters gushed as the news of the transfer bid was shared on Twitter:

“Get him in, raid the Championship for promising young, players who are prepared to graft and appreciate their opportunities.”

Credit: @ctayts

“Said for ages we should be all over this guy.”

Credit: @sarahmallory88

“Get it done Everton.”

Credit: @josh_smith10

“Yes please Everton”

Credit: @finn_noone

“Yes. Yes. Yes.”

Credit: @bittertoffee

“It’d be mad if we can pull this off. I’ve followed Brentford all season and he’s some forward”

Credit: @mannie_efc

In other news, find out whose display was slammed versus Aston Villa here!