All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

According to an update by BILD football chief Christian Falk, via onefootball, Spurs are monitoring the situation of Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng alongside north London rivals Arsenal – with Daniel Levy and co still on the hunt for a new centre-half. 

Boateng, who has enjoyed a decorated career at the Allianz Arena, will be out of contract at Bayern next summer – with the player and club still yet to agree terms on a potential new deal.

Boateng on the move?

As the January transfer window looms, if Boateng does not put pen to paper, he could sign a deal to leave as a free agent in the summer with no profit going towards the Bavarian giants.

Bearing this in mind, selling the 32-year-old could be an ideal course of action, with both Spurs and Arsenal having a better chance than ever to finally secure him.

Tottenham have monitored the defender since 2017, and now Levy could sign the 6 foot 4 colossus who is valued at a bargain £10.8 million by Transfermarkt. 

Transfer Tavern take

Jose Mourinho failed to sign a top-class centre-half over the summer window, with talks breaking down over a deal for Milan Skriniar, and Joe Rodon is largely seen as one for the future.

Spurs could have a stable quick fix in Boateng despite him reaching the twilight stages of his career, and he dropped a huge hint over potentially moving clubs.

As reported by the Guardian, Boateng claimed he ‘would not say no’ to a Premier League move – with Tottenham among those who could snap him up after that declaration.

If Mourinho manages to land this ‘excellent’ ace, it’s safe to say he would provide some much-needed solidarity and experience.

In other news: Spurs fans reacted to Mourinho’s strange comments, find out more here. 

According to reports, Tottenham can potentially sign Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira this summer.

What’s the word?

As clubs across Europe continue to feel the pinch of having no fans at stadium and the finances involved with that, a lot of teams are proactively trying to offer a whole host of their first-team players in a bid to raise some much-needed crash.

And now, Gazzetto dello Sport has claimed that Juventus’ sporting director, Fabio Paratici, traveled to London earlier this week to meet with high-ranking officials from Premier League clubs, with the first supposedly being Tottenham.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…



World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The report claims that the likes of Douglas Costa, Federico Bernardeschi and Alex Sandro were on the table during those discussions, with another Italian publication, Sport Media Set, claiming that Sami Khedira was another player amongst that group.

The key to unlocking Tanguy Ndombele

As the Tanguy Ndombele saga continues to rumble on, Khedira’s arrival at Tottenham might well be the key to unlocking the Frenchman’s true potential at the club.

The former Real Madrid man has seen it and done it all at club and international level, winning multiple Champions League and domestic titles whilst at the Santiago Bernabeu, and lifting the World Cup trophy with Germany back in 2014 too.

Having that kind of presence and leadership around a talent like Ndombele can help bring the best out of him, making sure he’s applying himself in the right way during training and in matches. You only have to look back to Mourinho and Jamie Carragher’s stinging criticism of the midfielder’s professionalism and application during the Premier League clash against Burnley last season to see that it’s an attitude he needs to change quickly.

And just like the recent signing of Joe Hart, Spurs can bring in a player with trophy-winning experience to a squad that has a complete lack of it. It no doubt helps that Khedira himself has recently insisted in the last couple of months that the most “impressive” coach he has worked under remains Mourinho, and that he still has an “amazing relationship” with him.

Out of the players Juventus’ sporting director may have raised during his meeting with Spurs, the 6 foot 2 Khedira may be the kind of unsung signing that could reap rich rewards for the north Londoners.

West Ham United may be about to stumble across someone who could help unlock the keys to success for Sebastien Haller at the London Stadium…

What’s the word?

According to Calciomercato, the Hammers could be a potential destination for out-of-favour Napoli winger Adam Ounas this summer after the 23-year-0ld changed agents.

He is now represented by the same person who controls Spurs’ Moussa Sissoko and he is keen to get the Algerian to the Premier League – and in particular, West Ham.

It’s claimed that a permanent switch to east London could cost around €15m to €18m (£13.5m to £16m) and that the Serie A outfit want to sell him.

Haller help

Given the news that the Irons have been dealt earlier this week surrounding Grady Diangana, this could well be a small saving grace.

The club are set to offload the young starlet to West Brom for an initial £12m despite their struggling striker praising his performances during preseason, he said:

“We are all happy to have him here and we are going to try to use his quality and strength, me most of all. Hopefully, he will be giving me even more assists in the future!”

Well, Ounas can plug that gap. Scouted Football describes the Napoli winger as an “attacker who could help create more shots” as he “disrupts defences and opens up space with electric dribbling.

The 23-year-old provided two goals and four assists in just 14 starts for loan club Nice last season where he also averaged 2.8 dribbles, 1.6 key passes and 1.9 long balls per game, via WhoScored.

This only goes to show the sort of upside he has at his disposal.

Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti used him at the Serie A club and believed that he’s one of a few that could “do special things” to “create something out of nothing”.

Moyes needs someone exactly like this to help bring the best out of Haller, who only managed to net seven times last season.

Whilst he’s not the Diangana many have been crying out for, Ounas seems like the perfect replacement, especially for just £16m too.

AND in other news, West Ham swoop for illustrious 28 y/o star could be shades of Jack Wilshere…

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho wants to fill the gaps in his team’s defence as soon as possible. 

Spurs have conceded more goals than Arsenal, Manchester United and Premier League champions Liverpool this season. Mourinho is in the market for a new left-back, as Ryan Sessegnon has struggled to get to grips with the position, while Ben Davies is their only specialist in that role.

Danny Rose believes that his Spurs career is over, which could be good news for Mourinho.

Last month, The Athletic revealed that Rose has extended his loan at Newcastle United until the end of the season.

The England international only made five appearances for Mourinho before being sent out on loan to Tyneside back in January. It is no secret that there is no love lost between them after the manager froze him out of his parent club.

The Magpies have made it clear that they want to keep him for as long as possible, as he has impressed for Steve Bruce’s side this season, winning two tackles per game and completing 1.4 clearances on average, with a passing accuracy rate of 76.5% (via WhoScored).

Rose feels that he is playing for his future because he doesn’t see a way back to Tottenham anytime soon. The 30-year-old, who is out of contract next summer, is keen to stay at St James’ Park.

Rose has admitted that his “days are numbered” at Spurs and it seems his 12-year spell in north London is finally coming to an end. Mourinho has insisted that he will not be a part of his plans for the future (via The Northern Echo).

As it stands, the 30-year-old, who is currently valued at £14.4m via Transfermarkt, will likely be sold in the summer. In turn, Mourinho may use the funds to find a suitable replacement to bolster his defence before the start of next season.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sell Danny Rose? Let us know in the comments below!

Portsmouth chief executive officer Mark Catlin has revealed that the club have been forced to accept a ‘limited’ fee as part of Brandon Haunstrup’s move to Kilmarnock.

With the 2019/20 season over for League One side Portsmouth, defender Haunstrup opted to leave Fratton Park and make a move to Scotland with Killie.

The 23-year-old full-back, whose contract ended in June, was said to have rejected fresh terms shortly after the play-off penalty shoot-out defeat to Oxford.

Signing a two-year deal with the Scottish side, Haunstrup – who is valued at £45,000 by Transfermarkt –  will likely expect to gain regular first team football at his new club.

Despite the move being a free transfer due to Haunstrup’s contract expiry with Pompey, the League One club were still due to receive compensation for his development over the last few seasons.

However, Haunstrup’s deal is slightly different in the fact that, due to him moving to a club across the border, a deal which falls under FIFA training compensation regulations, Portsmouth will receive a lower fee.

Pompey CEO Catlin spoke to Portsmouth News about the compensation package, saying:

‘All fees and negotiations between the clubs are confidential, however, given Brandon’s age and moving to Scotland, any compensation is limited.‘If you offer a player an improved contract and they move to another club within England, you are protected by English compensation rights.‘However, by going abroad in football terms – Scotland – it doesn’t apply. You see it every year at clubs.‘Instead, you go into FIFA training rights. Historically, they are more of a fixed level and totally different should Brandon have gone to another English club.‘How much we receive depends on his future performance, there is no fixed fee in regards of the move itself.‘It’s based on when they move again, what level they move to, it’s so complicated. It really only starts to be worth any type of money if Brandon plays at a very high level.’

Any potential compensation fee will depend solely on Haunstrup’s development and the standard at which he goes on to play during his career.

Given that he has signed for Kilmarnock from Portsmouth and not a team in the Premier League or Championship, this means that Pompey officials should not be expecting a large sum any time soon.

Do you think Haunstrup should have stayed at Portsmouth? Let us know in the comments section below…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

It is going to be a busy end to the month for Liverpool.

The Reds may be flying at the top of the Premier League table, but they will participate in four competitions before the calendar year is out. Along with the Premier League, they face RB Salzburg in the Champions League in midweek, whilst they will also play in both the League Cup and the Club World Cup as well.

The many fixtures mean they will be forced to play two matches in the space of 24 hours, with the domestic semi-final being played before the Anfield outfit take the field in their first match in Qatar. As such, two totally different XIs will start in each match.

It has been confirmed that for the clash against Aston Villa, Neil Critchley will take over whilst Jurgen Klopp and the entirety of the first-team squad travel to the Middle East. That therefore means that the club’s youngsters will need to step up at Villa Park.

Whilst this is not the best news for the Merseyside team, it should be music to the ears of Dean Smith and co. They will therefore face a team with next to no experience at the highest level, and it could even be the first taste of professional football for several of their opponents. The Midlands side, meanwhile, will be able to field their strongest XI, and at home to boot.

As such, it is essential that they are not complacent, and they must be absolutely ruthless. This is a fantastic opportunity for the Villans to make the semi-final of a cup competition, and therefore be within touching distance of a trip to Wembley.

Yes, it could be argued that their way to the next round has been made an awful lot easier, but with the likes of Leicester City, Manchester United and Manchester City still in the competition, they will likely have the chance to prove their true ability later on.

Red Herring or Real Hero: Only hardcore Villa fans will get all of them right….

Villa have been handed a gift by Liverpool’s success. They must not waste it. Should they make it to the final, they can prove their true talent there against either Everton or Leicester City. First though, they must take full advantage of the situation and put the Reds to the sword.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa fans praise one former striker.

Name: Neco Williams

Club: Liverpool

Date of Birth: 13 April 2001

Position: Right-back

Neco Williams – His career so far

Neco Williams is a young defender who was given a big chance by Jurgen Klopp in their famous Cup victory with a squad full of youngsters and even without the German gaffer out in the sidelines.

But the talent was certainly there all along and the Welsh international has been showcasing it through all academy ranks at Liverpool. He first joined the Reds at the U9 level but his progress has been quite rapid and he made his big debut with the U18 team in the 2016/17 season when he was still just a schoolboy.

By that point, however, he was already a well-established presence at the right-back position and it was clear he would make it his own regardless of the level he was playing at. The first part of the following 2017/18 campaign, unfortunately, started with an injury but following his return to action later that season, Williams debuted for the U23 squad where he is currently playing his football.

2018/19 was quite a season for him as well and he recorded appearances for all three of U18s, U19s and U23s. Probably the biggest moment of his youth career came in that same season as he was part of the victorious FA Youth Cup squad and he even netted a penalty during the dramatic shootout triumph over Manchester City in the grand final.

On October 30 in 2019, Williams made his first-team debut against Arsenal in the League Cup fourth round at Anfield, providing that big assist for Divock Origi.

Since then, he has played four more games for the seniors, boasting with a final tally of five games – four in the FA Cup and one in the EFL Cup – with three assists under his name as well.

Transfer latest

There have been a couple of interesting transfer rumours concerning the 18-year-old Liverpool prodigy at the very moment. The big Liverpool news the Kopites will want to hear is the fact that he is reportedly set to be granted a big contract extension after clearly impressing Klopp with his performances.

The Anfield academy product’s deal should be prolonged so that it reflects his growing importance and status within the club.

But interestingly enough, there’s also a piece of quite contrasting transfer news out there as well since Williams has actually been tipped by Paul Robinson to spend the following season out on loan to ensure sufficient playing time and proper development.

Of course, having Trent Alexander-Arnold to compete with is not really an ideal situation for the youngster but having two reliable right-back options is definitely quality Liverpool news the fans can get behind.

It remains to be seen, however, what the future holds for the youngster.

Player profile

In so many ways, Williams indeed does look like a possible replacement or at least a worthy substitute for Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool. After all, their player profiles are quite similar as both full-backs have the tendency to be a consistent and reliable presence in attack.

Just by observing Wyscout’s heatmap for the youngster, we can already see that he spends an approximately equal amount of time in the opposition’s and his own half of the pitch, highlighting this aggressiveness we’ve mentioned.

And while comparisons with his teammate are necessary if he is to progress even further, Liverpool’s first-choice right-back is still a much more confident passer of the ball and he takes much more risk than Williams himself.

In 2019/20, the youngster is averaging 7.6 long passes per 90 minutes and deploys 5.65 crosses per 90 minutes as well, indicating both his tendency to switch play and contribute to the attack.

But it’s really interesting to see that he averages 5.96 dribbles with 60.3% success and also attempts 1.95 shots per 90 minutes too. Finally, we have to mention some of his defensive traits such as 5.9 interceptions and 8.32 defensive duels per game with a success rate of an impressive 60.5%.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to the latest update coming from The Independent, Real Madrid are aware of the fact that Borussia Dortmund like Achraf Hakimi and could use that to their advantage in the race to land Manchester City target Jadon Sancho.

What’s the word, then?

It seems that Borussia Dortmund are slowly but surely accepting the possibility of Sancho leaving the club in the not so distant future.

The same source reports that the young player was once again late to report for a team briefing and training sessions ahead of Wednesday’s loss to Barcelona, and the situation is beginning to get out of hand.

Watch Spanish Football Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

For that reason, the German team are finally ready to do business with a plethora of teams prowling around the English starlet but could still ask for a sum upwards of £100m.

Real Madrid, however, have another ace up their sleeve and could use Hakimi as a bargaining chip to soften Borussia Dortmund’s stance.

But that move would be like shooting their own foot.

Not worth it

Hakimi is currently on loan in the Bundesliga but he is very much still a Real Madrid player.

And so far, he’s been having an incredible season over at Borussia Dortmund, especially in the Champions League.

Even though he is a defender by trade, the 21-year-old has already bagged six goals and three assists in a total of 20 games played across all competitions, with four of those strikes coming from five Champions League clashes.

[ad_pod ]

Needless to say, he is developing at an incredible rate and Real Madrid should not be looking to sacrifice him for a player that would only be a luxury at their team.

After all, Los Blancos have enough wingers in the form of Eden Hazard, Rodrygo Goes and Vinicius Junior and adding another to the pile would not change much.

Letting go of a highly-talented right-back would very much be a bad move on their part.

Not to mention that they might be going head to head with Manchester City, who, as The Independent report, are looking at Sancho as a possible replacement for Leroy Sane.

Pep Guardiola could sure use a young, up and coming player like the Englishman to further bolster his squad and that transfer does make sense when everything is said and done.

For Real Madrid, however, it just might prove to be too big of a price to pay.

Elsewhere, Barcelona might be contesting Manchester United for a player that could become Sergio Busquets’ replacement in the future…

Newcastle have been without some key performers at the back this season but those who have come in to replace them have stepped up to the plate in remarkable fashion.

Steve Bruce could have been forgiven for fearing the worst after Jamaal Lascelles was ruled out until January 2020 a few weeks ago and though they lost the following game against Aston Villa they have bounced back empathically.

Federico Fernandez has played a big part in that, as the Argentine has barely put a foot wrong and has conducted himself with composure at the back, which is much-needed with the captain’s absence.

He is working very well alongside Ciaran Clark and fans are beginning to recognise their importance, though perhaps the credit ought to be directed at Bruce for his organisation and motivation of the players.

Regardless, Fernandez is a worthy target of praise considering he has averaged 6.9 clearances per league game this term and kept Lys Mousset quiet against Sheffield United.

Fernandez has worked hard to get into the position he’s in but he may need to work even harder if he is to maintain his place in the team, as Newcastle have several other capable centre-backs who will challenge his place once they are fully fit.

He has proved to Bruce that he can be relied upon though and he is key to Newcastle’s defensive style, as they invite a lot of pressure and balls into the box, which he is capable of dealing with if you look at his clearances stat.

The 30-year-old has now swayed the thinking of some Magpies’ fans too as they doubted him when he first joined, only to become one of their better and more important defenders.

Newcastle fans also took time to praise another star performer after the Sheffield United match, here is what they have had to say.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

It’s the story that just won’t go away.

Of course, we’re talking about QSI’s potential investment in Leeds United.

This rumoured deal was first reported back in the summer and with details still emerging it seems as though we’re edging ever closer to Qatari investment in the Yorkshire club.

L’Equipe posted an interesting article this week that outlined QSI’s ambitions if they end up getting involved with the club.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

What’s been said then?

The French outlet noted a quote from a QSI representative which read:

“It’s an opportunity, it’s interesting and it’s a big name in English football that we can develop and bring back [to the Premier League]. [it’s] A very beautiful brand with which we can recreate a story.”

Exciting and reassuring

This quote is in equal measures as rousing as it is reassuring.

Of course, the prospect of billionaire investors getting involved in your club with the goal of getting back to the Premier League is incredibly exciting as United’s fortunes on the pitch would almost certainly improve with the type of investment that the Qatari based company can bring.

After all, the total revenue they earned during the 2017/18 season was as much as €542m (£466m).

We mastered the trick in the video below in 8 attempts… could you do better?

However, there are multiple positives to take away from this quote as it seems that the PSG owners also respect the history of the club.

They say that they can recreate a story at Leeds, seemingly hinting that they want to restore them to their former glories, and shows that QSI have an understanding of what Leeds are about as a club.

Many supporters in the summer were worried that investment from the Middle East would strip the club of its identity, but these quotes make it seem as if that isn’t the case at all.