All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has revealed that Aston Villa star Bertrand Traore has suffered an injury while on international duty.

What’s the story?

The winger has played four times in the Premier League for Dean Smith’s side, but that has totalled just 53 minutes worth of first-team action.

And now, it appears that he’s set for another spell on the sidelines following an injury he picked up during his time with Burkina Faso in the last week.

Writing on Twitter, Preece said: “I’m told Bertrand Traore has a thigh injury & has missed Burkina Faso’s two encounters with Djibouti. Another blow for the #avfc winger who was out for a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain earlier this season.”

Dean Smith will be gutted

Since joining Villa last season, the former Lyon star has struggled to get consistent game-time but has shown flashes of the “immense talent” that Smith has hailed – his debut campaign in English football saw him manage a respectable total of seven goals and seven assists in the Premier League, albeit with a frustrating lack of consistency.

His performance in the Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out defeat against Chelsea earlier this campaign showed signs that he could be ready to make his impact in his second full season at the club.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Birmingham Mail, Preece gave him a seven, saying: “Started on the right of a three behind Archer and the Burkinabe was dangerous. Traore had a hand in Archer’s two first-half chances, the second one a nice weighted ball into the teenage striker after running from the halfway line.

“Traore was nice on the eye and soldiered on after taking a knock to the neck in the first half. Linked up nicely with Sanson in the middle prior to the Frenchman’s withdrawal. Traore also had a couple of tame, low efforts saved by Kepa.”

But now, just when he would have thought of really pushing on and trying to nail down a first-team place, he’s been hit with injury, and could be set for an extended spell on the sidelines.

What will make his task even more difficult is how soon fellow teammate and winger Leon Bailey makes his return from injury, and that would just push him further down the pecking order.

Smith will no doubt be gutted at losing Traore.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has delivered an update on Ollie Watkins’ future…

Rangers recent stumbles continued on Sunday afternoon as they were unable to get maximum points from thier game at Ibrox.

The champions were unable to break Motherwell down in the Scottish Premiership clash, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Graham Alexander’s side.

Steven Gerrard’s team came into the game off the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in the Europa League last Thursday and were unable to return to winning ways in domestic action.

Fashion Sakala opened the scoring in the first half with his first goal for the club, with a second-half equaliser from Motherwell ensuring the game ended square.

One player, in particular, who struggled in the match and contributed to the Gers failing to pick up all three points was central defender Jack Simpson.

Gerrard dropped experienced, reliable, centre-back Leon Balogun to give Simpson a chance to show that he can perform at this level. Instead, the defender provided the head coach with a reminder of why he is not a first-team regular at the moment as he failed to grasp his opportunity.

Simpson was not at the level required to make a positive impact on the match. For the Motherwell goal, the defender allowed a player to dribble the ball past him in the box with relative ease as the defender stuck a lazy leg out and failed to cut out the danger. The forward failed with his attempt but the rebound then fell to the eventual goalscorer, who was able to prod home.

His all-around defensive play was also poor. Per SofaScore, the lightweight lost 67% of his duels on the pitch, losing six of his nine battles in total. He was also dribbled past three times, one of them being for the goal, and only made two tackles, whilst making zero interceptions. This shows that he was ill-prepared for what Motherwell had to throw at him.

On the ball, he was composed, albeit uninspiring. Per SofaScore, he completed 86% of his passes and gave possession of the ball away seven times in the 90 minutes. He failed to register a shot at goal when coming up for set-pieces and did not create any chances for his teammates or complete any dribbles, showing that he did not step out from defence to push the side up the pitch.

Therefore, Gerrard will be feeling let down by the defender as he put his faith in Simpson to step in for Balogun and perform. Instead, he was partially to blame for the equalising goal and struggled with the physical side of the game against Motherwell.

AND in other news, Wilson must make key decision over 28 y/o Rangers “warrior”, Gerrard needs him…

Arsenal produced their best performance of the season to beat Tottenham in the north London derby at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.

Mikel Arteta’s side got off to the perfect start, racing to a three-goal lead before half-time, thanks to strikes from Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka.

And while Heung-min Son pulled a goal back late on, there was only ever one winner in the contest, with the Gunners sealing an impressive victory to move ahead of their rivals in the Premier League on virtue of goal difference.

But despite their attacking players clicking and firing on all cylinders, it was arguably their defence, and in particular, Takehiro Tomiyasu who really caught the eye.

The summer signing from Bologna started once again at right-back after being a part of the team that had kept two consecutive clean sheets in the top-flight against Norwich and Burnley respectively.

Facing inarguably his stiffest test of the new campaign against Son down his right-hand side, the Japanese ace imposed his will on the Spurs winger, never letting him have any space or time whatsoever.

As per Sofascore, he won five of his eight duels on the day, including four of five in the air, while he also made one tackle, one interception and three clearances to boot too.

He was also a reliable presence going forward too, boasting the most amount of touches of any player on the pitch with 67, and putting in two crosses too.

There were a number of times where he received the ball deep inside his own half with Spurs players looking to close him down, but his ability to play with both feet ensured the Gunners could beat the press with ease.

Such was the dominance that Tomiyasu imposed on Son, that Nuno Espirito Santo felt compelled to bring on Bryan Gil and have both him, Son and Sergio Reguilon trying to attack down the Japanese ace’s flank in order to somehow beat him.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for Football.London, Kaya Kaynak gave him an eight, saying: “Another really good performance from the Japanese international who looks unbeatable in the air. Looking more technically confident with each game as well and contributed to the attack on occasion.”

It was no surprise that Gunners fans voted him as their man of the match via their official Twitter account, and that’s a real indication of the kind of battling display he put on – despite seeing two of their Hale End academy graduates score, it was the Japan international’s performance at the back that they tipped their hat off to the most.

Dubbed as “magnificent” and a “shrewd signing” by Arsenal legend Ian Wright, Tomiyasu broke Spurs’ spirit with his commanding display. Edu seems to have pulled off a transfer masterclass for the Gunners by bringing him in this summer.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are eyeing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s successor in this star…

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson says a loan move for Liverpool’s Ben Woodburn is ‘almost done’ as the Reds prepare to take on Burnley at Anfield on Saturday. 

The lowdown

Woodburn wrote himself into the Liverpool history books on just his second senior appearance. His goal in the 2-0 League Cup win against Leeds United at Anfield in November 2016 made him the club’s youngest-ever scorer, eclipsing Michael Owen’s record (via BBC Sport).

He’s made nine further appearances for the Reds’ first team and also earned ten Wales caps, though he did miss out on their squad for the European Championships (via Transfermarkt).

Woodburn, who will turn 22 in October, is now set for his fourth loan spell away from Anfield after previous stints at Sheffield United, Oxford United and Blackpool. He’s now into the final 12 months of his contract, and it’s unclear if he’ll remain on Liverpool’s books beyond next summer.

Club legend and former youth team coach Steven Gerrard has showered praise on Woodburn in the past, labelling him an ‘excellent’ player with a ’10 out of 10′ attitude.

The latest

Speaking ahead of Hearts’ Scottish Premiership clash with Aberdeen on Sunday, Neilson revealed the transfer is on the verge of completion and expressed his excitement.

“We are still negotiating with Liverpool,” he said. “We are almost done with it, it’s just a case of trying to get things finalised.

“He is still a Liverpool player at the moment and he is one we are really interested in taking here.”

The verdict

Woodburn will hope to build on an impressive pre-season when he heads to the Scottish capital. Above all, he looked physically stronger than ever before, ready to truly thrive in the men’s game.

It seems unlikely that he’ll forge a career at Liverpool, having been leapfrogged by fellow youngsters like Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, but there should be plenty of opportunities available elsewhere.

With the World Cup coming round pretty soon after the Euros – it’s pencilled in for the end of next year – Woodburn’s focus in the short to medium term should be on forcing his way back into Wales contention.

In other news, this Liverpool squad player has been tipped to make a ‘very difficult’ decision. 

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge has raised the prospect that full-back Borna Barisic may have a move away from Rangers lined up ahead of the transfer deadline on Tuesday.

The left-back has been heavily linked with a potential move to Italian club Roma in this transfer window.

Barisic has been heavily involved at the start of the season for the Scottish club and has played five times in all competitions.

He was also involved versus Celtic in the Old Firm derby at the weekend and provided an assist in the 1-0 win.

Bridge has pointed out the Croatia international lingered on the pitch after the final whistle and wonders if he may have been saying goodbye ahead of a potential exit from the club prior to Monday’s deadline.

Barisic has been with Rangers since 2018 and has a contract until 2024, making a total of 117 appearances and scoring seven goals, while providing 33 assists during his time in Scotland.

Bridge said: “There is one interesting one. The Sky cameras picked it up, the very last shot, he was the last player to leave the pitch, Croatian left-back, excellent left-back, called Borna Barisic.

“He kissed the ground and looked sort of quite tearful, so I don’t know if he’s lined up a move anywhere. He’s quite injury prone but when fit, he’s a really, really good left-back.

“I’d say he’s a Premier League top 10 left-back. I don’t know if anyone’s come in for him. Nothing’s come out today but it was a very interesting reaction for a player.

“I know they’d just beaten Celtic but even so, it was a bit of a strange reaction, kissing the ground.”

French football expert Adam White has alleged that Chelsea are set to beat a host of rivals to the signing of Jules Kounde as an agreement is already in place.

The Champions League holders, according to Spanish media outlet Orgullo de Nervion, are closing in on the signing of France international Kounde. The report states the deal is almost complete and the central defender will more than double the salary he currently boasts at La Liga outfit Sevilla if he exits for Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea are keen for Kurt Zouma to leave the club, with West Ham United failing to entice the 26-year-old to London Stadium, head coach Thomas Tuchel has made signing a central defender a top priority.

Despite plying his trade at the heart of the back four, Kounde displayed his capabilities in the opposition penalty area by scoring four goals and registering one assist in 49 Sevilla appearances last season.

The highly-rated 22-year-old’s fine form in Spain resulted in him being called up for France’s Euro 2020 squad, where he featured once.

Get French Football News’ White insists Kounde would bolster Chelsea’s chances of building on their Champions League success in the upcoming campaign.

He told Football FanCast: “I love Kounde as a player – he’s fantastic. I think that every major club is interested. I have a feeling that he is on the radar of Chelsea, all of the traditional top six in the Premier League, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus. He is that good.

“Chelsea seem to have acted at the right time and it sounds like a contract has been agreed. He would be a great signing for Chelsea if they can get it over the line.”

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has earmarked Leeds United starlet Joe Gelhardt as one to watch in the Premier League this season.

What’s the story?

The 19-year-old has yet to make a first-team appearance at Elland Road under Marcelo Bielsa, but Hay has tipped the teenager to be the club’s surprise package.

During a Q&A for The Athletic, the journalist name-checked the likes of Jamie Shackleton and Cody Drameh, but reserved special praise for Gelhardt and said he could be the man to make the biggest impression.

He said: “Possibly Shackelton. I’d like to think Drameh might get a chance if Ayling gets injured or has to relocate to centre-back. But Gelhardt is the one, I feel. So much talent there. Everyone talks about it.”

Bielsa should give him a chance

The former Wigan starlet only arrived at Elland Road last summer but has since made a big impression behind the scenes at Thorp Arch, with Hay previously revealing that the club feel they pulled off an absolute steal.

He said: “He’s been hugely impressive in the (Under-23s). Every time I see him, he looks like a massively talented player. Leeds have been quite honest in saying that the money they paid for him, around about £700,000 up front, from what I was told, is a small fee for somebody with massive amounts of talent.”

With 11 goals in just 18 games at Premier League 2 level, including a stunning hat-trick in a 5-0 win over West Brom last season, Gelhardt is doing everything he can to make waves at academy level.

Bielsa has just Patrick Bamford as a recognised striker option to call upon, and with the Whites yet again not bringing in a new striker to add some competition, it’s surely the perfect time for Gelhardt to be brought into the fold.

The 18-year-old made it onto the bench for the Premier League games against Manchester City and Liverpool towards the back end of last season, but wasn’t brought on.

With Hay claiming that Gelhardt is highly-rated inside the club, this season seems like the perfect chance for Bielsa to give him a chance in the first-team.

Fans will surely be excited with Hay’s prediction that the 19-year-old could be Leeds’ surprise package this season in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped a Leeds United transfer update…

Crystal Palace have leapfrogged Tottenham in the race to sign Lyon centre-back Joachim Andersen, according to Mike McGrath of The Telegraph.

And, as to be expected, a number of Palace supporters have been sharing their thoughts to the news on social media.

McGrath claims that Palace have now joined the race for the 25-year-old and are the favourites to sign the defender.

Spurs were monitoring Andersen, who spent last season on loan at Fulham, but now appear to be more focused on other defensive targets, opening the door for Palace.

Patrick Vieira has already brought in Marc Guehi from Chelsea to bolster his defensive ranks, and landing Andersen would be viewed as a transfer coup by those in charge at Selhurst Park.

Palace fans react

Both @cpfc_xtra and @CPFCtransfersHQ shared The Telegraph’s claims regarding Andersen on social media. This is what these Eagles fans had to say in reply, with one describing it as ‘the dream’.

“We are massive”Credit: @OutYanks”Eat that Nuno”Credit: @Goala93730986″The dream! Please”Credit: @oliver_panter94″Yes please this guy is amazing! Single handed made Fulham much better”Credit: @FPL_Banana”Yes please”Credit: @SameOldPalace05″What happened with the guy from Copenhagen?”Credit: @alffy1977

In other news: ‘We riot’ – Many Palace fans fume as exit news emerges.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his forward line for the upcoming campaign.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, the Reds are one of three Premier League clubs interested in signing the 22-year-old this summer, with Chelsea and Arsenal also credited with an interest.

The report claimed that Real Madrid are set to demand €50m (£42.7m) for Odegaard following impressive loan stints at Real Sociedad and the Emirates Stadium in recent campaigns.

Imagine him and Mohamed Salah

Odegaard arrived in the Spanish capital to much fanfare back in 2015 after being dubbed the ‘Norwegian Messi’ by many due to his slight stature and magnificent dribbling skills. However, the Scandinavian talent initially struggled to live up to those incredibly high expectations and was loaned out to Eredivisie sides Heerenveen and Vitesse.

His time in Dutch football came with mixed reviews, but it was upon his return to La Liga where Odegaard finally started to fulfil his early promise. In the 2019/20 campaign, he bagged seven goals and provided a further nine assists in 36 appearances for Sociedad, playing a pivotal part in their eventual Copa del Rey success.

Despite his impressive performances at the Reale Arena, Odegaard struggled to break into Madrid’s starting lineup upon his return to the Bernabeu, featuring from the off on just five occasions in the first half of last season.

A short-term loan move to Arsenal followed, resulting in a string of glowing reviews for his solid displays, including from Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

“I’ve been very impressed with his leadership. He looks a little bit calm and reserved, but on the pitch, he’s got something about him. I’ve been really impressed with him,” said the Spanish tactician.

“When I talk about leadership, it’s how he talks to his teammates, how he commands, for example, the high press. And then there’s the personality he shows every time an opponent is close to him, he still wants the ball in the right areas, his decision-making is really good. He’s a really intelligent player.”

A move to Liverpool this summer would see the Norway international line up alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah at Anfield, a prospect which would surely intimidate Premier League defences.

As per WhoScored, Odegaard recorded 1.4 key passes per league game last term, more than any other Arsenal player. Meanwhile, the Egyptian plundered 22 top-flight goals despite the Reds’ struggles in 2020/21, so imagine how lethal he could be if he had the Norwegian’s creativity from which to benefit.

Therefore, Liverpool director of football Michael Edwards must swoop for the Real Madrid youngster, providing Salah with a top-class creative talent capable of setting up golden opportunities on a regular basis.

In other news… Liverpool could finally replace Coutinho with £34m gem, he has an “unlimited ceiling” 

A number of Liverpool supporters have been left excited by an official club post showing Mohamed Salah returning to pre-season training.

Euro 2020 has taken centre stage over the past month, but it’s time for the focus to return to the Reds. Jurgen Klopp’s men are back in pre-season training on Monday as they prepare to try and wrestle back the Premier League title from Manchester City.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

The 2020/21 campaign was a draining one at Anfield, with injuries and the absence of fans for most of the season taking its toll, but the hope is that Liverpool return to their best this time around.

Someone who will clearly be key to the Reds’ chances is Salah, who was comfortably their Player of the Year last season, scoring 31 goals.

On Sunday, the club’s official Twitter account posted a photo of the 29-year-old back in the fold as he looks to wreak yet more havoc as he enters his fifth season as a Liverpool player.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-6/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans react as Salah returns

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to express their delight at seeing Salah back for pre-season.

“Things I love to see”

Credit: @pearlserery

“Another Golden Boot charge, let’s gooooo”

Credit: @ChrisHPE

“This is content. Back to normal”

Credit: @Airsculpture

“Exciting times”

Credit: @Masibanda01

“Yes Mo! Roll on the Prem”

Credit: @craigdono_lfc

“Our one season wonder ready to boss a 5th.”

Credit: @OldSwanBob

In other news, some Liverpool fans are happy with a Reds exit rumour that has emerged. Read more here.