All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Manchester City fans have laughed off the idea that Bayern Munich will not have to pay over €100m for Leroy Sane.This comes after it was reported by Christian Falk that the president of the club does not believe he will have to pay that amount.Sane joined City for £37m and has since become a vital player in the club’s dominance of English football.The German has bagged 20 goals and provided 25 assists over the past two Premier League seasons, establishing himself as a wanted man in his homeland in the process.However, fans are unhappy with the idea that Bayern may try and pay less than €100m to prize the winger away from Manchester. One fan stated it was a “disgraceful pursuit”, whilst another supporter simply said it is “not up to the buyer to set the price”.Sane has been a target for the German giants for some time to the point in which Bayern had to squash the rumours over the summer.

Recently, Sky Germany reported that the club are still seeking his signature, with Mikel Oyarzabal lined up as a replacement for City.

Here’s how the fans have reacted to Bayern’s latest pursuit of the 23-year-old…

Some Charlton fans have taken to Twitter to reveal that they want Macauley Bonne to start against Derby on Saturday.

The 23-year-old has had to make a big step, having been signed from the National League back in the summer, and has been a bit of a revelation after jumping up through so many divisions.

Bonne has started just three of Charlton’s eight Championship games this term, but has netted two goals in those three starts.

Impressively, the quality of the opposition he has netted against is eye-catching, and deserves praise given how many divisions Bonne has risen through.

The 5 foot 11 forward scored the winner against Leeds, and also netted a crucial goal against Fulham to help Lee Bowyer’s men to a 2-2 draw against a promotion favourite, making him a bit of surprise package this season – we doubt many fans expected their non-league signing to be bagging against some of the biggest clubs in the division.

As a result of his spirited showings, a number of Charlton fans on Twitter have called for the No.17 to start this Saturday’s game against Derby…

Some Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to reveal that they think Roy Hodgson should’ve utilised Christian Benteke better against Manchester City.

The former England boss only subbed the Belgium international onto the field in the 76th-minute, giving him little time to truly make an impact.

In his 14 minutes on the pitch, Benteke forced Ederson into a world-class save with his first touch of the ball, coming on to head an effort towards the top corner, only to agonisingly see it tipped onto the bar by the Brazilian.

The 28-year-old also won three aerial duels, and some Palace fans below have highlighted the fact that City had two midfielders – Rodri and Fernandinho – at centre-back, a duo who may have struggled to deal with Benteke’s physicality.

As a result, some Eagles supporters on Twitter have been speaking about how the 72-year-old should’ve used his 6 foot 3 asset more effectively…

[ad_pod ]

Rangers take on Livingston on Wednesday night in their Scottish League Cup quarter-final and it’ll be a competition that the Gers will feel that they can win.

Though the Light Blues are in four competitions, realistically they can only win three this season – the Europa League likely being beyond them – and the Scottish League Cup provides the first chance of the season to try and earn a trophy.

Indeed, with the chance to break Celtic’s domestic stranglehold also at stake, it’s a game that Steven Gerrard and co. will be determined to win, with his attacking aces once again coming to the fore at the weekend.

Both Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe hit the back of the net last time out for the Ibrox outfit and whilst we wait to see which one gets the starting berth in the Cup, it’s clear the two have a decent relationship.

Indeed, the Gers posted this GIF of the South American forward revelling in Defoe’s late double against St Johnstone, and it’s caused Rangers fans to take to Twitter to express their joy at what they’ve seen…

Well, it’s not as if we weren’t warned beforehand.

Perhaps the biggest talking point coming out of Leeds’ defeat to Millwall on Saturday, was the host’s first goal and the sending off of Gaetano Berardi in the process.

Whilst it may have looked like a bit of a soft one in the eyes of those associated with the visitors, perhaps Berardi’s past preceded him a little bit, because he’s not exactly the most disciplined of players.

The Italian defender had already been sent off seven times during his time at Elland Road, and that might have played a part in the referee’s decision to show the red card.

So when @LUFCData put up his history of red cards in a Leeds shirt, it gave a large part of the fan base a little something to think about, and it’s fair to say that they were less than impressed.

With this weekend’s card being his eighth, you wonder if those at Elland Road are just treating him like a cat, and now he’s on his final ‘life’ as it were before they decide to ship him out.

Here’s some of the comments that were shared about the Swiss defender on Saturday.

Although the vast majority of the reaction surrounded how bad Berardi was, there were a couple of fans who were somewhat sympathetic to his plight, given that they felt this latest one wasn’t entirely his fault.

[ad_pod ]

Manchester United will be desperate to put a dent in Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge when the two teams meet at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

And United will need a big performance from left-back Luke Shaw if they are to overcome a team that has only lost once in the league during the 2018-19 campaign.

The Chalkboard

Shaw has been around for so long that it is easy to forget he is still so young.

Indeed, the full-back will not turn 24 until July, but saw the early stages of his United career harmed by a number of injuries.

Shaw is comfortably enjoying his most productive campaign for the Red Devils, already making 28 appearances in all competitions, which is nine more than he managed in the entirety of last season.

The defender scored his first ever Premier League goal earlier this season, but has contributed just one assist in all competitions, whilst it would be fair to say that he still needs to offer more in an attacking sense.

The eight-time England international is certain to start at left-back against Liverpool and will need to put in a strong performance if United are to triumph.

What is required from Shaw on Sunday?

Well, the number one priority is to be solid defensively, but there is no getting away from the fact that is an area of weakness for the Red Devils.

Shaw will be directly up against Mohamed Salah, who has 20 goals to his name in all competitions this season.

Quite how the defender deals with the Egyptian could have a huge say on the outcome, but Shaw also needs to contribute down the other end.

Roberto Firmino has thrown a party themed around the colour of his teeth! Watch the video below to find out what we’re talking about…

The full-back has not been afraid to break forward this season, but too often his crossing has been wayward.

Anthony Martial could well return from injury to start and the fact that the Frenchman loves to come inside will leave so much space for Shaw when United are on the attack.

And the former Southampton youngster must put in a strong performance at both ends of the field if his team are to collect a huge three points.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Should Rangers manager Steven Gerrard play Glen Kamara or Scott Arfield in the midfield position left vacant by Ryan Jack’s injury? The Scotland star picked up a knee problem on international duty, leaving a vacancy in the centre of the pitch.

What do they bring to the team?

Steven Davis and Joe Aribo would appear to be nailed on given their selection in Rangers’ biggest games so far this season, but there is space for one more.

Kamara is the more defensive-minded of the two and would play a deeper role, protecting the space left by either full-back in unison with Davis, leaving Aribo to play further up the park and link play.

Arfield, as displayed against Livingston on Saturday, would be more attack-minded; he was unlucky not to score with a left-foot strike that hit the underside of the crossbar while another drive was well saved.

He showed that he is willing to shoot on sight, and his goal-scoring record compared to Kamara backs that up. Kamara has just three goals in 153 domestic appearances throughout his career, whereas Arfield has scored two already this season in 11 games.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

What should Gerrard do?

Arfield should be selected in his more familiar attacking role so that Rangers can control the midfield area, with Kamara then coming in to anchor the midfield.

With Arfield playing narrower, Gerrard’s side will look for width from their full-backs James Tavernier and Borna Barisic. Although Arfield might not be involved in the first phase of a counter-attack, his late runs into the box and central support of the striker should give him the opportunity to be involved further up the pitch.

He did his best work in the position last season and ended up with 12 goals and seven assists.

Rangers will have to be at their best to get a result against Feyenoord and Arfield could be the most important player on the park, through his ability to support the attack with goals and assists.

But Kamara’s defensive qualities will have a crucial role to play as well, as someone who can break up attacks before distributing the ball to the likes of Arfield in front of him.

A key update has emerged on Rangers and their attempts bring John Souttar to Ibrox during the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Daily Record reporter Andy Newport has revealed that the Gers have had an offer turned down for the centre-back on deadline day.

He tweeted: “Hearts knock back a bid of around £400k from Rangers for John Souttar.”

Devastated

Rangers fans will be devastated by this news for several reasons.

Firstly, it has come far too late into the window. They will be frustrated by the club’s lack of speed in trying to secure a deal for him this month, having secured the pre-contract agreement on January 14. Ross Wilson has had just over half of the month to snap him up before the summer and has now waited until deadline day to make an offer which still is not good enough to be accepted.

Therefore, the supporters will be devastated with the club’s weak attempts to sign him to bolster Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad immediately. If Wilson was serious about landing him in January, then the offers should have been made as soon as a pre-contract was in the bag, rather than in the final days of the window, leaving Hearts with no time to replace him.

The fans will also be devastated as it means that they will not be able to watch him boss the defence in Glasgow for the Light Blues before next season. He is a top-quality Premiership player and could have improved the club’s backline in the weeks and months had he joined on a permanent deal this month.

Souttar has averaged a brilliant SofaScore rating of 7.40 so far this season, showing off his ability and consistency at this level as he has been able to turn in superb performances week-in-week-out in the Scottish top-flight. This is why the Ibrox faithful will be far from pleased that they will need to wait until later in the year to see him play.

AND in other news, Wilson heading for last-gasp Rangers blunder as Jordan Campbell drops big D-Day update…

Crystal Palace recovered from an early setback to draw 1-1 with Norwich City on Wednesday evening.

Patrick Vieira is still waiting for a first Premier League victory in 2022, with the Eagles now winless in their last four top-flight fixtures.

Wilfried Zaha equalised with a brilliant strike in the second half to cancel out Teemu Pukki’s opener after 38 seconds, however, he then failed to convert from the penalty spot to put the visitors in front.

We’ve used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst Palace outfield performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were.

In total, these three players lost the ball a whopping 35 times, were second best in 60% of their aerial and ground duels and made just three tackles all evening… could these players be worried about their place in the XI ahead of the trip to Brentford?

Joachim Andersen – 6.7/10

First up is centre-back Andersen, who lost the ball 15 times. He also lost four of his five duels and was unsuccessful in nine of his 14 long passes.

Andersen was the only Palace defender who didn’t record a rating of more than 7/10, with the 25-year-old making just one tackle all evening. It was a night to forget for the promising defensive stalwart.

Jean-Philippe Mateta – 6.7/10

Next up is Mateta, who also recorded a rating of 6.7/10 in what was his first league start after making his loan move at Selhurst Park permanent last month.

The striker didn’t celebrate his move in the best fashion, though, having just 23 touches of the ball in his 80 minutes on the pitch. Mateta lost five of his eight duels, gave the ball away eight times and registered just one shot all night.

Jeffrey Schlupp – 6.9/10

Last up is Schlupp, who was one of a number of players to end with a score of 6.9/10.

Playing alongside Will Hughes and Conor Gallagher in a three-man midfield, Schlupp lost the ball on 12 occasions and was second-best in six of his 12 duels.

He was brought off by Vieira with 10 minutes remaining having made more fouls than he did tackles (3-2).

In other news: Palace handed more injury woes as Matt Woosnam shares news on ‘very good’ player. 

Crystal Palace have been enjoying a great start to their season so far, with the side signing a number of young players who have been important to their good form in the Premier League, and the good business could continue into the January transfer window if Patrick Vieira can make an important decision.

What’s the word?

According to MailOnline, Burnley are interested in signing Christian Benteke from Crystal Palace to replace Chris Wood, who left the club this week to join Newcastle United, leaving Sean Dyche’s side in a weak position whilst battling relegation this season.

The report suggests that Burnley have made an enquiry for the Palace striker and the South London club are open to selling Benteke during January, but are only interested in a fee of between £10m-£12m.

Vieira must axe Benteke to sign Nketiah

The Eagles have been strongly linked to signing Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal this month, but with Mikel Arteta trying to squash the rumours by insisting he will stay with him at the Emirates, the move could be set back until the summer when the 22-year-old will be out of contract unless Palace are in a position to offer a high bid for the striker.

They could discover the money to do exactly that by axing Benteke before the window closes.

The £120k-per-week Palace forward has been subject to his fair share of criticism over his time at the club with former Eagles midfielder, John Salako, claiming Benteke “can’t do anything” back in 2019:

“I really feel for the lad to a point because he just can’t do it. It’s like he’s got his boots on the wrong feet. He just can’t do anything right; it’s amazing.”

Benteke has been a loyal player to Palace with 37 goals and 12 assists in 168 appearances, but at 32-years-old, it could be the perfect opportunity for Vieira to move him on and inject further youth into the squad, developing the future of the team by giving more opportunity to the likes of Michael Olise and using the money made on the sale to Burnley to purchase a young striker in Nketiah.

The Clarets will surely be keen to sign a striker as soon as possible to boost their chances of survival after losing Wood, so the French manager must make an important decision quickly on whether he cashes in on Benteke or not.

In other news: Aaron Ramsey to Crystal Palace is feasible