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Reports by The Sun (7/2, p. 60) earlier this month claimed Newcastle United are planning to offer Federico Fernandez a new contract, but suggested the defender may be willing to ditch St. James’ Park for a Premier League rival.

Fernandez is keen to see his performances return a new, two-year deal having now entered into the final six-months of his current terms, only to be met with a stumbling block by the Toon only being willing to activate their option to extend his existing deal by a further year.

The 31-year-old would be willing to walk away from Tyneside if the Magpies refuse to offer him the additional 12-months he desires, which would see Fernandez’s United career run into a fifth season.

And if Newcastle are unwilling to meet Fernandez’s demands, the £4m-rated titan would want to stay in the Premier League having moved to England with Swansea City in 2014 and proven to be a stable regular in the division since.

Fernandez moved to the North East in 2018 for £6m and has gone on to make 67 top-flight appearances for the Toon, including starting all 16 of his outings this term but has not been seen on the field since losing 1-0 to Sheffield United on January 12.

The 32-cap Argentina international was one of the several Newcastle players who tested positive for Covid-19 amid an outbreak at Darsley Park in November, and is still yet to fully recover from the virus.

Bruce will now feel his absence even more after losing Fabian Schar for several months, after the centre-half sustained a torn knee ligament in the 75th-minute of Saturday’s 3-2 win over Southampton.

The Magpies had already been forced into fielding holding midfielder Isaac Hayden beside Schar for the Saints’ trip to St. James’ Park, with captain Jamaal Lascelles out with a hamstring injury and Paul Dummett only deemed fit enough for a seat on the bench.

Bruce would surely love to have Fernandez available to fill in at the back against Chelsea when Newcastle visit Stamford Bridge next Monday, with his efforts so far this season often at a consistent level above the performances of Schar, Lascelles, Dummett or Ciaran Clark.

Only Hayden, across the 25-year-old’s four outings at centre-back this term, has managed to average a greater number of successful tackles a game (2.8) than Fernandez (1.5) but from a marginally worse success rate of 84.6% to the Argentine’s 85.7%, per WhoScored.

But Fernandez is first when it comes to clearances (5.6), with an average that sees the 31-year-old rank seventh across all Premier League players when keeping things simple to protect their respective goals.

Fernandez again comes out strongly to protect Karl Darlow’s net with a Toon-high 1.3 shots blocked per game, and is far safer in retaining the ball with Clark (0.7), Hayden (0.5) and Lascelles (0.5) all recording a greater number of unsuccessful touches (0.2) in a part of the pitch where mistakes are punished the most.

It is also those aspects that make it a no brainer for Bruce to urge Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and Managing Director Lee Charnley to present the £47,000-per-week colossus with the two-year deal he desires, as it would be foolish to let Fernandez leave St. James’ Park this summer.

AND in other news, a serious injury blow for Newcastle may allow a £25k-p/w outcast to earn himself a new contract…

Steve Bruce shouldn’t rue Crystal Palace holding preliminary talks to sign Newcastle United target Radu Dragusin of Juventus.

What’s the word?

According to the Evening Standard, Eagles chiefs have held preliminary discussions with Dragusin to sound out the defender’s interest in a pre-contract agreement.

The 19-year-old is set to leave the Allianz Stadium as a free-agent this summer and thus is able to begin negotiating potential deals with would-be suitors, of which the Selhurst Park natives are not alone.

Corriere dello Sport, via Sport Witness, reported earlier this month that Newcastle and Bundesliga side RB Leipzig are also keen on the centre-half, who has earned Andrea Pirlo’s backing at Juventus despite his low ranking in the Turin pecking order.

The Old Lady are also said to be confident that a potential new contract can be thrashed out, and that an agreement to stay with the Serie A giants can be achieved quickly.

However, the Evening Standard add that Dragusin is keen to play more regularly having only made four first-team outings for the Bianconeri this term, of which his mere two starts each came in the Coppa Italia before being benched for both Semi-Final legs against Inter Milan.

Pirlo handed Dragusin his senior debut against Dynamo Kyiv during a Champions League Group Stage tie in December, before awarding the Romania U19 international a one-minute cameo at Genoa CFC for his only taste of Italian top-flight action to date.

Should Newcastle sign Dragusin?

Pirlo played with some of the best centre-backs in modern football history in Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Thiago Silva and Giorgio Chiellini, so he knows a good defender when he sees one, thus Dragusin must at least have some potential to catch the Italian’s eye.

However, there can be no guarantees that Dragusin is either ready to make the step-up to first-team football or if he will make the step up successfully, having only played 231 minutes of senior action to date in his, albeit brief, career.

The teenager’s appearances in the Coppa Italia were also heavily focused on the right-hand side of the pitch rather than through the centre, and saw Dragusin offer little consistency to merit a place in either Semi-Final encounter with Inter Milan.

Against Genoa, Dragusin impressed over the full 120 minutes as the tie went to extra-time, with a 100% duel success rate thanks to winning all five ground contests and each of his three aerial challenges, per SofaScore. He also took a mammoth 111 touches, completed 89% of his 92 passes, made four successful tackles and four interceptions, while never committing a foul.

Yet against SPAL, as Juve won 4-0, Dragusin could only win one of his six ground duels and was beaten in the air during his only contest, while completing just 38 of 45 passes. He further made just one successful tackle and was dribbled past three times, committed a foul and offered two interceptions.

Among Newcastle’s current crop of defenders, only Jamaal Lascelles (0.79), Fabian Schar (0.75) and Paul Dummett (0.67) offer less than one successful tackle per game in the Premier League, while Dragusin would rank first for interceptions and second for fouls committed. Federico Fernandez (2.25), Schar (2.13) and Ciaran Clark (1.71) offer the highest number of ground duels won by Toon centre-backs.

So, if Palace are moving to beat Newcastle to the punch and sign Dragusin, there’s no guarantee that he would be able to make the move a successful one. Instead, he could be just another Achraf Lazaar.

Newcastle released Lazaar at the close of the recent winter transfer market, having made just 10 first-team appearances in four-and-a-half-years at St. James’ Park following a £2m move from Serie A side Palermo.

AND in other news, Newcastle eye free-transfer of electric live-wire chased by several Premier League sides…

After clinching a superb 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road at the weekend, Aston Villa make the trip to Sheffield United on Wednesday night.

Dean Smith’s side took home all three points thanks to a first-half goal from Anwar El Ghazi, and with tonight’s opponents currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, back-to-back wins is very much on the cards.

The Villa boss could look to freshen things up slightly both in midfield and in attack, and with that in mind, below is a look at how Smith’s side might line up when they take on the Blades.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez can close the gap on Manchester City shot-stopper Ederson in the race for the Premier League’s Golden Glove award, with the Argentine just two clean sheets behind.

The back-four should also remain unchanged, with veteran full-back Ahmed Elmohamady once again filling in for the injured Matty Cash.

Both Marvelous Nakamba and Jacob Ramsey – who was outstanding in particular against Leeds – should keep their places in midfield, but January signing Morgan Sanson is surely now pushing for his first start in the top-flight after yet another cameo at the weekend.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Sheffield United, Smith said: “If you throw people in they can find it hard very early and it can hamper them for the rest of their progression. I’ve been lucky I’ve been able to feed him in gradually but he’s certainly ready to start games now and I know we’ve got a very good player on our hands.”

And in the front-line, the 46-cap Trezeguet could get his first start in a long while and replace Bertrand Traore on the right-hand side, with the Egyptian perfectly suited to combating the Blades’ wing-back system.

It would certainly be a bold call to make two key changes to his winning side, but Smith will want his players as fresh as possible given the quick turnaround in games.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Elmohamady, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Sanson, Nakamba, Ramsey; Trezeguet, Watkins, El Ghazi.

Meanwhile, Villa should unleash this £9m-rated star tonight…

Some Liverpool fans have been bemoaning the Reds’ profligacy in front of goal, despite their eventual victory over RB Leipzig.

Jurgen Klopp’s side won 2-0 against the Bundesliga outfit on Wednesday night, sealing a place in the Champions League quarter-finals in the process.

It was an excellent performance by Liverpool, who controlled the game throughout and responded impressively to last weekend’s dire 1-0 defeat at home to Fuham.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane scored the goals for the Reds, as was the case in the first leg at the Puskas Arena, but the match remained goalless until past the midway point in the second half.

Liverpool were guilty of missing a number of huge opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, with Salah, Mane and Diogo Jota all culpable at different points.

Despite Klopp suffering from a defensive injury crisis this season, their attacking woes have also been a big issue, with too much wastefulness often on show.

During Wednesday’s game, The Athletic‘s James Pearce tweeted after Jota missed a sitter, at a time when frustration was building among Reds supporters.

The tie was far from dead and buried at that point and the thought of Liverpool crashing out of Europe didn’t bear thinking about.

Liverpool fans frustrated by wasteful Reds

Here are some of the best reactions to Pearce’s tweet.

“Shocking how Liverpool regularly spurn counter attacks now. It’s been happening for some time”

Credit: @Timotei365

“The level of bad finishing is just unbelievable now.. more like a curse”

Credit: @berthzzenth

“Ridiculous”
Credit: @Spacejockey3000

“How many chances do they want!”
Credit: @reina_raila
“Should be at least 3-0 up”Credit: @stylishfella“This should be game over so wasteful”Credit: @KingBerty1992In other news, a number of Liverpool fans loved Marko Grujic’s antics against Juventus. Read about them here.

Southampton are one of the sides being linked with a move for Slavia Prague striker Jan Kuchta, and the 24-year-old could well prove to be the man to replace Danny Ings in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

According to Football Insider, West Ham, Southampton, Newcastle United and Brighton are all keeping a close eye on the forward after his impressive exploits with Slavia this season.

Two of West Ham’s most impressive performers this season, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, were signed from Slavia and it appears as if the Czech side are quickly gaining a reputation for helping produce top talents.

Kuchta has impressed this season having contributed 11 goals and five assists in just 17 league appearances, whilst he also has two goals and two assists in the Europa League.

The forward is a new arrival at Slavia, having only joined from Slovan Liberec last summer but he looks to have quickly found his feet with his new club, and could soon be on the move again if a Premier League side comes knocking in the summer.

Considering he is currently valued at just £900k by Transfermarkt, Kuchta could represent a real bargain for Southampton as they look to improve their attacking options in the summer, and although it would be a lot of pressure for the former Czech U’21 international, he could be the man to fill Ings’ shoes should he depart in the summer.

The 28-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from Southampton in recent months after admitting that he would love to play for a team in the Champions League.

Southampton are keen to tie him down to a new contract but it seems as if negotiations aren’t going too well, and with his current deal set to expire at the end of next season, the South Coast club may well be forced to cash in on him this summer in order to avoid losing him for a minimal fee, or nothing, a year later.

Therefore, should Ings leave, Kuchta could represent a very cheap option as a replacement for the England international, so Martin Semmens should definitely consider a move for the 24-year-old if he maintains his impressive form in the Czech Republic.

And, in other news… Semmens must avoid VVD repeat with £13.5m-rated “role model” Hasenhuttl loves

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has hailed Aston Villa assistant head coach Craig Shakespeare for the impact he has had at the club.

Shakespeare, who has spent time working with Leicester City and the England national team, was added to Villa’s backroom staff by manager Dean Smith in August 2020 as the 49-year-old looked to add more experience to his coaching team.

That coaching team, of course, also includes former Chelsea and England captain John Terry, and Palmer believes the ex-central defender and Shakespeare have played a massive part in Villa’s defensive improvement this season. He told FFC:

“Conceding goals was a major thing that they had to address. I think he’s [Smith] done a fantastic job, he really has. I think his recruitment of Craig Shakespeare… been number two to Nigel Pearson, number two to Sam Allardyce at Everton, fantastic. He really is a fantastic coach.

“So he’s done well recruiting that and, of course, he’s got an ex-England international centre-back there. So obviously that will help with the defensive side of things.”

Without a doubt, the Villans have been exceptional in defence this term. In 27 league games, Smith’s men have conceded just 28 goals (per WhoScored). Only Chelsea (25) and title favourites Manchester City (21) have managed to register better records in that department.

It is quite the shift from last season, with Villa conceding 67 goals by the end of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, the second-worst record in the division.

The Midlands club have also managed to keep 14 clean sheets this term, a number that only Chelsea (15) and Manchester City (16) can once again beat, really putting into perspective how solid they have been since last September.

Flocking to comments posted by talkSPORT, many West Ham United fans have reacted to a caller’s take suggesting Scott Parker or Brendan Rodgers would be better managerial candidates to get the club into a top four qualifying place over current boss David Moyes.

Moyes, who has guided the Hammers to within touching distance of a possible European finish, which was arguably unprecedented at the start of the campaign, has been praised for his job at points this season by the wider media.

In contrast, a caller speaking on talkSPORT has dropped his take that it’s likely West Ham will blow the opportunity to qualify for a Champions League spot – whilst insisting they would in fact get there if Rodgers or Parker were at the helm.

Given Moyes’ job whilst operating with a limited budget this season, it’s safe to say many supporters aren’t in agreement – reacting to the comments on social media.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

West Ham fans react as comments emerge

“Madness to say Moyes out but would take Rodgers any day of the week!”

Credit: @DarrenBell23

“Convinced you pay actors to ring up and spill this rubbish out. So strange”

Credit: @TalkinWestHam

“What a joke, with the squad depth we have we’d be lucky to finish in the top 5 man like we’re punching way above where we thought we would”

Credit: @colbyjaytait

“As a West Ham fan I’m embarrassed by comments like this. Must be getting paid to say this”

Credit: @j_hoey

“LOOL no way this is a genuine call”

Credit: @Louie_h6

“I am West ham fan. Moyes has done a great job. This is our best season since 1986. Some fans are deluded. Why can’t people just be happy and enjoy it. We will give any team a game and fear no-one. Every player puts a shift in every time they play this season. COYI”

Credit: @sw41977

“Some of our fans are just embarrassing”

Credit: @dan_whu

In other news: West Ham fans flocked to this club footage, find out more here.

Sunderland’s season has been quite the adventure so far.

From sacking Phil Parkinson and hiring Lee Johnson, to finding new owners and winning the Papa John’s Trophy, drama has never been far away from the Stadium of Light.

On the chalkboard

Sunderland’s chances of securing promotion to the Championship look as good as they have done at any point in the last few years.

Johnson has engineered seven wins from their last nine in League One and after Peterborough lost to Blackpool in midweek, the Mackems will have an opportunity to go second on Saturday.

Sunderland will have to hope that Posh drops points again and that they consequently beat 21st placed Bristol Rovers.

In order to elevate their chances of doing so, they must begin to move on from Grant Leadbitter. The midfield has been a loyal servant to the Mackems, but since returning from a dislocated shoulder, he has been holding them back.

Leadbitter’s display at Wembley in the Papa John’s Trophy final was far from disastrous but with Tranmere enjoying the better spells in the first half, he was made to look rather slow by their constant counter-attacks.

Unfortunately, the 35-year-old looked off the pace in the 1-1 draw with Lincoln as well. He was hooked off with around 20 minutes remaining having lost 67% of his duels and being dribbled past on two occasions.

That has been a familiar tale for Leadbitter in the last few weeks.

The solution

Carl Winchester and Josh Scowen showed the value of being more athletic in Sunderland’s 2-0 win over Portsmouth a few weeks ago.

With Leadbitter missing, the midfield duo stepped up the plate admirably. During that clash, the pairing won a combined 12 defensive duels but it was Winchester who really stood out, completing 100% of his take-ons and proving successful with 82% of his passes.

On top of that, no one won more than his four ground duels throughout the entire match.

With that in mind, Johnson could do far worse than pairing the two together once again against Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

Failing that, he could finally bring Luke O’Nien into the middle of the park. He has been featuring at centre-back over the last few months but looked strangely out of sorts in that position against Lincoln. He made a mistake in the first half and then could have done better for the equaliser.

With Leadbitter faltering, perhaps he could finally move forward? Only time will tell.

AND in other news, Rarely-seen “local lad” could rival Diamond for a place at SAFC, Dickman loves him…

According to recent reports, West Ham United are one of a number of clubs tracking Sparta Prague centre-forward, Adam Hlozek, ahead of a potential summer transfer.

The report by Tuttosport (via Sport Witness) claims that a number of clubs, such as Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan and West Ham, are considering a summer move for the 18-year-old Hlozek, who has recently recovered from a long spell on the sidelines due to injury.

However, despite missing a large portion of the season, the Czech Republic international has still impressed over his 10 appearances in all competitions for Sparta Prague, scoring four goals and providing six assists.

In total, despite his tender age, the forward already has 72 first-team appearances under his belt for the Fortuna Liga side, scoring a total of 17 goals and providing 18 assists along the way in his senior career.

And, according to the reports, Hlozek would have already made a move to a top European side if it were not for his injury, with it previously being reported that Sparta Prague would demand at least €15 million (£13 million) to part with the striker.

Transfer Tavern Take

With David Moyes in rather desperate need of a new striker at West Ham this summer, having failed to replace the outgoing Sebastien Haller in the January transfer window, it would certainly appear as if Hlozek is an exciting candidate for an addition to the Scot’s attacking arsenal.

However, with a great number of top-level clubs also reported to be keeping an eye on the 18-year-old, a deal for the Sparta Prague starlet is not likely to be an easy one to get over the line for the West Ham board in the summer market.

In other news: This pundit dropped a claim on GSB’s £82k-p/w West Ham summer target – find out more here!

Celtic are reportedly concerned that Crystal Palace could scupper their bid to bring Eddie Howe to Glasgow with a move of their own.  

As to be expected, the latest twist has had plenty of Eagles fans talking on social media.

According to an exclusive report from Football Insider, a Hoops source admitted the Scottish club are concerned that Palace could ambush a move, which has reportedly been verbally agreed.

The south Londoners are thought to be in the market for a new manager, with Roy Hodgson’s deal expiring over the coming months.

Burnley’s Sean Dyche is another man who has been linked with a move to Selhurst Park, and the Eagles have reportedly made contact with the Clarets boss.

However, it seems as if Howe is another man on the club’s radar, but it appears as if they face a race against time should they wish to snatch the former Bournemouth boss from Celtic’s grasp.

Palace fans react

@CPFCtransfersHQ shared the news from Football Insider on Saturday afternoon, and here is what some Eagles fans had to say in reply…

“I feel sick to the stomach”

Credit: @DonnyToIiver

“Howe and Dyche ping pong. We end up with Lampard.”

Credit: @Alitheeagle1

“If we wanted him we could have him. The Luton job is more attractive than Celtic. Winning an egg race playing the same League One standard sides each week whilst two clubs hog all the wealth? Pass. I’d go to Luton”

Credit: @CPFC_Puffin

“I’m saying nothing”

Credit: @cjbearcpfc

“BuT CeLtIc ArE a MuCh BiGgEr ClUb”

Credit: @jamessinman

“April fools was 2 days ago”

Credit: @JA9GOAT

In other news: These Palace fans react as club contact versatile forward, find out more here.