Category Uncategorized

Watford striker Troy Deeney looks increasingly likely to leave Vicarage Road ahead of Tuesday’s deadline and it could be a huge mistake to let him go.

What’s the word?

The Athletic have suggested that the Hornets are willing to terminate Deeney’s contract in order to let him join Birmingham City this month, with both sides keen to reach an agreement.

Deeney might well be regarded as a Watford legend but he looks unlikely to play regularly in the Premier League for Xisco Munoz’s side this season and therefore a move to St Andrew’s, to play for the team he supports, would make a lot of sense for the 33-year-old striker.

A mistake to let him go?

Although you could argue that the likes of Emmanuel Dennis, Josh King, Joao Pedro, Cucho Hernandez and Ashley Fletcher are all ahead of Deeney in the pecking order at Vicarage Road, you can’t underestimate the influence that he has at the club.

During his time with the Hornets, the striker, who reportedly earns £65k per week, has contributed 140 goals and 62 assists in 419 appearances, playing a huge part in Watford reaching, and staying in, the Premier League in the past 11 seasons.

Even last season, when he was a fringe player in Xisco’s squad, he managed seven goals and three assists in 19 appearances and you feel that he would be a good player to keep around this season as they look to avoid relegation from the top-flight, as he certainly still has the ability to pop up with important goals.

At 33, Deeney will undoubtedly be a huge part of the dressing room at Watford and you feel that, if the Hornets were dragged into a relegation battle this season, the striker could have played a huge part both on and off the pitch, so it feels like a mistake to let him leave for nothing.

However, Lee Bowyer clearly wants him at Birmingham, calling him a “winner” when questioned about him last week and you feel that it could prove to be a big mistake to let someone like that leave when this could be a tough season for the Hornets.

And, in other news…  Forget Fletcher: Watford gem with 4 key passes was the star vs CPFC

Leeds United left-back Niall Huggins is on the verge of completing a move to Sunderland, with the youngster undergoing a medical at the Stadium of Light on Thursday.

The Lowdown: Leeds’ summer clearout

Marcelo Bielsa and Victor Orta may have sealed some exciting incomings this summer, most notably signing Junior Firpo from Barcelona, but there have also been plenty of outgoings.

A total of nine players have departed, either permanently or on loan, including experienced fan favourites like Pablo Hernandez and Ezgjan Alioski, and it now looks as though Leeds have cleared another name from their squad.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Huggins set to join Sunderland

According to Football Insider, Huggins is extremely close to sealing a permanent move to Sunderland, with his medical taking place on Thursday morning after the two clubs agreed terms on a deal.

The 20-year-old only signed a new Whites contract last December, but it appears as though Bielsa has U-turned and sees no long-term future for him at the club.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-13/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Right time to leave

At 20, Huggins will no doubt be keen to enjoy regular playing time and that wasn’t going to come his way at Leeds.

With Firpo coming in as the Whites’ new first-choice left-back, and Leif Davis a strong long-term option, it is hard to see where he would fit in.

Huggins will hope to become a key man at a Sunderland side amongst the favourites to be promoted from League One this season, forging a strong career for himself away from Leeds.

It is not yet clear if there is a buy-back or sell-on clause in the deal, but one would have to assume Orta would be clever enough to add something along those lines.

In other news, Leeds have reportedly made contact with a Premier League player over a move to Elland Road. Read more here.

Although Zimbabwe Cricket might be refusing to play Kenya, it has nevertheless unveiled its preparations for the coming year

Cricinfo staff16-Aug-2008Although Zimbabwe Cricket might be refusing to play Kenya, it has nevertheless unveiled its preparations for the coming year, which includes series home and away to Sri Lanka and, perhaps optimistically, a home series against New Zealand.The main series are part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, but Zimbabwe have also penciled in another tour to Bangladesh. As the country are suspended from Test cricket, they will only play one-day internationals and three and four-day first-class games.The first tour will be to Zimbabwe by Sri Lanka, set for November, although ZC has indicated it would like this brought forward to October. The return leg, as well as the Bangladesh series, will be in the New Year.However, there will be little other cricket for the Zimbabwe side. The bilateral agreement with South Africa, which enabled various teams to participate in domestic first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket there, was shelved in June as a result of the deteriorating social and political situation inside Zimbabwe.Despite numerous offers from Kenya, ZC has repeatedly stalled and declined to tour there. Insiders claim there is a fear that should the side lose to the Kenyans then it would further undermine Zimbabwe’s international standing.There will also be doubts over the New Zealand tour scheduled for July 2009. Zimbabwe’s last series in New Zealand was cancelled after the authorities refused to grant the team entry visas, and the NZ government is a staunch critic of the Mugabe regime and vociferously opposes sporting contact with the country.

Express & Star reporter Luke Hatfield feels Aston Villa’s new signings could make the Midlands club even harder to stop despite the departure of Jack Grealish.

Grealish was so key for Villa last season, providing the most Premier League assists in Dean Smith’s side, and they have already lost their first match without him, a 3-2 defeat to Watford.

However, new signings Danny Ings and Leon Bailey were able to make an immediate impact, with the former managing to score from the penalty spot and the latter able to register an assist.

Ultimately, while Villa’s post-Grealish era has not got off to a good start, Hatfield is backing the club’s recent recruits to come good and is confident the team can evolve without their former captain.

“They’ve got these exciting signings, not to mention the likes of Ollie Watkins, who’s already there, Bertrand Traore and Anwar El Ghazi. He’s another one who’s scored goals for them,” the Aston Villa journalist told FFC.

“If they can get them all balanced and producing some really good football, then it may actually be harder to stop Villa without Grealish.

“It might take some time for them to adapt to life without Grealish, but they could be more balanced for it”

In terms of scoring goals, with the likes of Ings and Bailey, Villa do look like they could be hard to stop. Defensively, though, they obviously need to avoid repeating what happened at Vicarage Road.

Paul Robinson believes that Odsonne Edouard will be concerned about getting injured at Celtic this summer during the current transfer window [Football Insider].

The Lowdown: Postecoglou gears up for challenging 2021/22 rebuild at Celtic

In the midst of a sizeable rebuild on the green side of Glasgow, newly appointed manager Ange Postecoglou will be under no illusions as to the scale of re-structuring necessary, in order to cultivate a Scottish Premiership title challenge this term with his side.

Some players have ambitions of departing from Parkhead this summer, including Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie, who have both signalled their appetite for respective new challenges in recent times.

One man who Robinson also believes could fall into that category is Edouard, who has reportedly told friends he expects to leave Celtic this summer.

The Latest: Robinson details ‘massive concern’ for Edouard this summer

Speaking in an interview with Football Insider, the ex-England international detailed his apprehension surrounding the possibility of the Frenchman sustaining an injury during pre-season at Lennoxtown, stating:

“Injury is a massive concern for players in Edouard’s position.

“It’s such a blow if you are looking to leave and then get injured during the transfer window.

“You do not want to play with that at the back of your mind. It is very difficult playing and trying to avoid injury. You’re in fact more likely to get injured if you’re trying to avoid injury than if you are playing at your maximum.

“It is a very difficult situation for player and club and it is one that needs to be resolved quickly. If he is to stay at Celtic for another season then that needs to be ironed out this month.” [Football Insider].

The Verdict: Celtic should look to sell Edouard

Correctly, Robinson identifies that the 6 foot 2 maestro may face challenging thought processes, as he bids to stay injury-free and keep his chances of a move alive.

In 2020/21, the Hoops talisman enjoyed an extremely productive campaign as he registered 28 goal contributions in 40 appearances; 22 goals and six assists [Transfermarkt].

Furthermore, his capacity to regularly threaten opposition backlines is evident, recording a huge average of 3.5 shots per game in the Scottish Premiership last season [WhoScored].

Moving forward, the Celts should be working with the Frenchman to try and recuperate a profit as soon as possible, in order to avoid losing him for free when his contract in Scotland expires at the end of May 2022.

In other news, Noel Whelan has dropped his verdict on a Celtic winger.

Noel Whelan believes that Glasgow Rangers will sell several fringe players this summer as they aim to resolve a sizeable gap in the club’s finances.

The Lowdown: £14m funding gap emerges

A recent article in The Athletic has revealed the Gers have a £14m funding gap to plug.

That comes after £40m was invested into the playing squad in recent years, and there have been no lucrative sales to counteract that outlay.

The Latest: Whelan hints at sales

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan hinted that there could be several departures from Ibrox in this transfer window. He said:

“We do know that every club has been financially hit by Covid.

“There’s no doubt about that. I don’t care if you’re a Manchester City, a Chelsea, a Rangers or a Celtic. Everyone’s been hit by it hard.

“I think there might be a few that are going to be surplus to requirements. Who that may be, we don’t know.

“If it is a big signing somewhere along the lines that needs to go, Steven Gerrard will have the last word on that.

“If that is the case and they need to bridge that gap of £14million, I’m guessing it could be chopped by half, with some fringe players.”

“Steven Gerrard might say: ‘He’s not that important to the team.

“‘We can get along nicely without him with players we already have. Players who are more important in certain positions.'”

The Verdict: Money to be made

Unfortunately, it seems that Rangers are in a position where they must sell a few players this summer – managing director Stewart Robertson suggested this would be the case as far back as December (BBC). However, their Premiership success and potential Champions League run could mean that they might not need to move on any of their star players.

At the moment, the Gers have a large squad – there are 32 players in the first team roster as it stands (Transfermarkt) – and they are particularly saturated up front and at centre-back. If the Gers do need money, Ross Wilson and co have a number of players they can try to offload in order to make some quick cash.

In other news, Dave King slams Rangers fans after this development.

West Bromwich Albion fans have been reacting angrily to a post on Twitter, as the Baggies issued an update signifying that tickets for their trip to Walsall on Tuesday the 27th July are now on general sale [West Bromwich Albion FC Official].

Due to take place at Bank’s Stadium, the Baggies will face off against the Sky Bet League Two side in a 19:30 kick-off slot [West Bromwich Albion FC Official].

Of course, the West Midlands outfit have already made a flying start to pre-season, after consecutive wins away to Woking and Sheffield Wednesday.

West Brom will also take on Premier League side Watford at Vicarage Road on the 24th July.

Despite the positivity surrounding fans getting back into stadiums up and down the country, many West Bromwich Albion diehards took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the difficulties with the process of acquiring tickets.

West Brom fans react:

Replying to the official West Bromwich Albion Twitter account, here is what some supporters had to say about recent developments, as fans suffered through website crashes, payment issues and error codes…

“What a total shambles! Again! Order is cancelled due to a website crash! We seem to have gone backwards! Please can this new system be sorted out, all I want is to simply buy tickets!!!!!!”

Credit: @MattLewis82″Farce and half!! Utter shocking! Same has happened to me twice. What happens now do we try again and probably get charged twice? And this is preseason”Credit: @kingofchezo_WBA”EVERYONE TRYING TO GET TICKETS! There’s a tick box next where you put your card details in, no text next to it, tick it and your order will go through! What a mess #wba”Credit: @ethdaleaf”I’ve bought 0 tickets, 20 tickets or anything inbetween depending on error codes. And now I’m back in the queue to try and check. What a farce”Credit: @BenWBAJones”I got the same error as well, kept asking for Photographic ID and even though I uploaded it, it wouldn’t save. The system is a shambles, I tried to buy tickets and eventually lost it and had to find a different area.”Credit: @Baggie_KS”This is ridiculous I have keep adding tickets to my basket and it errors every time you click buy then after 4 minutes of this constantly happening it then kicks up out to rejoin the queue to enter the website!! Sort it out Albion”Credit: @haychapperzIn other news, a West Brom star has been targeted by a Premier League giant.

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that he can see Manchester United’s Anthony Martial joining Tottenham this summer.

Martial’s game time is in danger following the arrival of another attacker in Jadon Sancho, with United confirming on Thursday that they had reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund to sign the England star.

It leaves someone like Martial, who was not always an automatic starter under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last season, sweating on his place. And Windass can now imagine the Frenchman at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about the possibility of Martial joining Spurs this summer, the ex-Hull City forward said:

“I could see that happening. They probably know [Harry] Kane’s gone now anyway. That’s probably a done deal with whoever it’s with.

“Martial will be a great fit, bit less pressure on Martial I think. Listen, great player, by the way. I just think his days are numbered at Man United.

“I think he’d be a great fit for Tottenham – bit less pressure on the kid. He’ll probably want to go and enjoy his football.”

Last season was not Martial’s best in front of goal, with the 25-year-old scoring just four times in the Premier League.

But in the words of compatriot Kylian Mbappe, he is still a “talented” player. The France international averaged 1.6 dribbles per league game in the 2020/21 campaign, one of the highest averages in United’s squad (via WhoScored).

KARACHI, Sept 8: Pakistan were Sunday disallowed late changes in their squad for this week’s ICC Champions Trophy in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo

By Our Sports Reporter09-Sep-2002KARACHI, Sept 8: Pakistan were Sunday disallowed late changes in their squad for this week’s ICC Champions Trophy in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.A spokesman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the International Cricket Council (ICC) barely agreed to make one substitution but rejected more than that.That meant Azhar Mahmood made the way for Misbah-ul-Haq while the Saeed Anwar and Imran Nazir escaped the axe. But in the entire scenario, Imran Farhat was the unlucky lad when he was held back in Lahore despite being booked on a Sunday flight for Colombo.Two more changes were made in the team management when Sikander Bakht and Dr Aamir Siddique were sent back. It was in lieu of ICC’s playing conditions in which 14 players and two officials are allowed.”According to ICC’s rules, no changes can be made after the deadline for submission of teams. Changes are only allowed in case of any injury to any player,” the spokesman said.The ICC had set Aug 30 as deadline for all participating teams to finalize and submit their respective squads.Insiders said the Pakistan team management pleaded that Azhar was not cent percent fit as he was struggling with a shoulder injury.”The discussions (with the ICC) were going on for some days as we wanted to make a couple of changes in the team. But our request was spurned,” the spokesman said.ICC’s stand proved to be a blessing in disguise for at least Saeed Anwar who is a class act but has been struggling for form recently. He has aggregated just 151 runs from eight matches – a performance that contradicts his talent and potential. Nevertheless, form is temporary and class is permanent and there is no reason why Saeed cannot bounce back and show his magical touch that is so very crucial to Pakistan’s chances in the tournament.Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the tournament opener Thursday.Squad: Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Rashid Latif, Abdul Razzaq, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami.Officials: Yawar Saeed (manager), Mudassar Nazar (coach), Dennis Waight (physio/trainer) and Riaz Ahmad (doctor).

Many Wolves fans have been left buzzing as a claim emerged on Conor Coady from Steve Holland.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference before England beat Denmark 2-1 after extra time at Wembley in the Euro 2020 semi-final on Wednesday night, the Three Lions assistant manger claimed (via Talking Wolves): “My player of the tournament so far is Conor Coady. He’s not got on the pitch yet but on the training pitch he gives everything, in the dressing room before the game he speaks like he’s captain.”

Coady has not played a single minute at the tournament so far for Gareth Southgate’s team, despite them making it all the way to the final, where they will face Italy on Sunday night.

Nonetheless, the defender is clearly a great player to have in and around the dressing room judging by Holland’s praise, and he is a big character and a leader, as illustrated by his status as captain at Molineux.

The verdict that he ‘gives everything’ in training means that he is setting the standard for other members of the England squad, which can only benefit them come matchday.

Wolves fans on Coady claim

These Wolves supporters on Twitter were buzzing as Holland’s claim emerged, with one describing Coady as ‘immense’:

“Yes Coady”

Credit: @Jessy_Wolves

“Conor Coady is immense off the field. He represents his country the same way as he represents @Wolves. A highly popular member of the @England squad.”

Credit: @gjp12775

“Big future ahead no matter what, I think, I just hope he stays around football, seems an infectious character”

Credit: @goldenballwolf

“So proud that he’s our captain”

Credit: @bishop_darran

“Heard him say that. That’s some acclaim”

Credit: @MrAndyLowe

“He’s a class act”

Credit: @Cundy79

In other news, find out which ‘exciting’ ace Wolves could be in line to sign