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West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone is reportedly ‘very keen’ to join West Ham and remain in the Premier League ahead of next season.

The Lowdown: Star performer for West Brom

The Baggies were relegated back to the Championship after a disappointing campaign, with Sam Allardyce unable to steer them away from the drop.

Johnstone stood out as one of West Brom’s most consistent performers starting 37 out of 38 league games and being hailed as ‘magnificent’ by Allardyce.

Focus now turns to planning promotion back to the top flight, but the Baggies may have to do that without the England international.

The Latest: Johnstone keen on West Ham move

According to Football Insider, Johnstone is keen on the idea of moving to West Ham this summer, potentially replacing Lukasz Fabianski as first choice.

The Hammers are believed to be ‘lining up a bid’ for the 28-year-old, with Tottenham and Manchester United also linked with him in the past.

The Verdict: Big loss for Baggies

There seems an inevitability about Johnstone moving on, considering that he is part of England’s provisional Euro 2020 squad and wants to be playing at the top level.

While it would be a huge bonus to keep hold of him beyond the summer, West Brom must accept the likelihood that their star players might not be content to be playing in the second tier of English football.

That being said, assuming Johnstone does leave, it would generate funds to spend on new signings, as likely new manager Chris Wilder looks to make a strong start to life at The Hawthorns.

In other news, one attacking player has been linked with a return to West Brom – find out who it is here.

Aston Villa must go back in for Norwich City star Emi Buendia this summer amid a major transfer update from Sky Sports.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested that the Argentine is a target for Dean Smith’s side, with Buendia helping to fire the Canaries back into the Premier League for next season.

Sky Sports have now claimed that both Villa and top-flight rivals Arsenal are ready to renew their interest in the diminutive playmaker, with both clubs making enquiries about potentially signing him this summer.

The report added that Smith “has a long-standing interest in Buendia since first switching to Villa from Brentford”.

Imagine him and Grealish

The £20,000-a-week earner has enjoyed a tremendous season for the Canaries, scoring 15 goals and providing an incredible 17 assists in the Championship alone.

His teammate Max Aarons has raved about Buendia’s abilities, saying: “He’s not really a player who will get on the ball and take you on as a full-back. His game is more about getting into pockets, playing neat passes and creating things.

“When you’ve got someone, who wants to run at you, then it’s easier to lock them down whereas someone like him is quite intricate so it’s hard to get near him. He’s tenacious and very strong. He’s got a lot of attributes.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/villa-dean-smith-transfer-gossip-rumours-news-premier-league-buendia-berge-mcneil-trezeguet-villa-park” title=”Read the latest Villa transfer rumours and news!”]

Dubbed as a “very special talent” by Norwich’s Ben Gibson, Buendia would bring the kind of creativity and goal threat from midfield which Villa probably thought they were getting from Ross Barkley when they signed him on loan from Chelsea last year.

Partnering him alongside Jack Grealish would give Villa a legitimate twin threat which could provide constant ammunition for Ollie Watkins to convert into goals. The club captain has 12 assists to his name this season, while the ex-Brentford striker has 16 goals, illustrating how fruitful they can be in tandem with one another.

Adding Buendia’s creativity into the mix is truly a mouth-watering prospect.

Meanwhile, Villa are eyeing a summer move for this Scottish star…

Alex McLeish has dropped a big claim on Roberto Martinez amid links to being the next manager at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Martinez wants Tottenham job

As reported by Football Insider on Monday, the former Everton boss is making a ‘huge play’ behind closed doors for the job at Spurs and is willing to quit his current role as coach of the Belgium national team after the Euros are finished.

Martinez is apparently a front runner in terms of the list of candidates after his enthusiasm for the position caught the eye of chiefs at the North London club.

They are going to hold talks over the next few days, with Martinez featuring more prominently on their list.

The Latest: McLeish lauds Martinez

Speaking to Football Insider after that update emerged, McLeish, who himself has managed before in the Premier League, has lauded Martinez and suggested that he would be a very good appointment by the Lilywhites should they decide to hire him:

“I think he’s a brilliant coach, world class.

“To go and coach a Belgium team at that level is incredible coaching and mentality. I believe that he could go anywhere in terms of the top divisions in Europe. He could certainly come back to England and take a top club.

“He’s obviously done a good job in the past for smaller clubs like Wigan, keeping them in the Premier League. It didn’t go forever but again, it’s down to the quality of the personnel that you have on the field.

“I definitely believe he’s a superlative coach.” 

The Verdict: Tottenham should hire Martinez

If Martinez is interested in taking on the job after the Euros have ended, then THFC should jump on the opportunity to hire the Spaniard.

He has a vast amount of experience managing in the top flight with both Wigan Athletic and the Toffees, and has also managed Swansea City, highlighting his knowledge of the English game.

Tottenham need a man to come in and end their trophy drought, and Martinez has all of the credentials, having masterminded the Latics to a 1-0 FA Cup win over Manchester City in the 2013 final.

Nonetheless, at 47 years of age as well, Spurs could well hire a manager that would at least give them some stability.

In other news, find out which manager Mauricio Pochettino dubbed a ‘genius’ THFC are eyeing a move for here!

Australia and Pakistan begin psychological warfare tomorrow in the first of two NatWest Series encounters rendered meaningless before the teams meet in the final at Lord’s on June 23

CricInfo15-Jun-2001Australia and Pakistan begin psychological warfare tomorrow in the first of two NatWest Series encounters rendered meaningless before the teams meet in the final at Lord’s on June 23.England’s run of defeats means that the remainder of the qualifying games are largely irrelevant although there will no doubt be some mind games played at Chester-le-Street tomorrow.And Australian coach John Buchanan has hinted that there could be some experimentation from both sides.”It is nice to be in the final. That being the case, there will be a littlebit of room for some experimenting along the way – but certainly we want to keepthe winning run going,” he said.”With the future in mind, it is important for us to continue to have a lookat Pakistan. I dare say they will put on the field a couple of players who we have not seen before, so that will be useful.”He added: “There is the luxury of having got to the final, which means wecan maybe look at one or two different things we would like to try.”We may take a few more liberties than we would normally do. We will betrying to play our best cricket but we will also have an eye on the future.”Australia’s renowned rotation system means tomorrow Glenn McGrath will be rested for the first time in the series, to be replaced by Brett Lee. Ricky Ponting is given a day off while Damien Fleming is back after a minor calf injury.Waqar Younis, who has said he believes it is essential his team wins at least one of the two clashes with Australia before the final, has a fully fit squad to choose from – but offered no further clues as to who would be taking the field.Australia: M Waugh, A Gilchrist (wkt), M Hayden, M Bevan, S Waugh (captain), DMartyn, A Symonds, S Warne, B Lee, J Gillespie, D Fleming.Pakistan (from): Salim Elahi, Shahid Afridi, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq,Abdur Razzaq, Waqar Younis (captain), Rashid Latif (wkt), Saqlain Mushtaq,Younis Khan, Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood, Saeed Anwar.

Such is the clamour for new state coaches that Tasmania’s decision today to appoint Brian McFadyen will arguably assume as much importance in the short-term in Victoria as it will further south.

John Polack16-Apr-2002Such is the clamour for new state coaches that Tasmania’s decision today to appoint Brian McFadyen will arguably assume as much importance in the short-term in Victoria as it will further south.From the time that the hunt for a potential successor to Mick O’Sullivan began nearly three months ago, McFadyen hadassumed status as one of the frontrunners for the Bushrangers’ top job. An increasingly important figure in Victoriancricket in his role as its elite coaching co-ordinator over recent seasons, he looked well placed to inherit even greaterresponsibility in his home state next summer.But an outstanding early track record in coaching – and an application that was understood to have included a glowingreference from current Australian coach John Buchanan – also attracted the eye of selection committees in both Queenslandand Tasmania.His decision to accept the Tigers’ head coaching role accordingly comes as a major blow to Victorian administrators inthat it robs them of one of the most-highly fancied candidates to pilot their team into a new era.In something of a quirk of fate, the Tasmanian Cricket Association’s decision not to re-engage outgoing coach GregShipperd also has direct ramifications in Victoria.Shipperd, who is among those to have been shortlisted by the committee responsible for choosing the Bushrangers’ coach,was extensively interviewed for the Victorian position as recently as early last week.Interest in his claims is now likely to intensify in the wake of the Tigers’ announcement, although attention is nowunderstood to be most closely focused on the candidature of former state captain Jamie Siddons and local cricketand football identity Matthew Drain.Wayne Phillips, currently a coach at the Australian Cricket Academy and the man in control of Australia’sunbeaten run through the recently-completed Under-19 World Cup tournament in New Zealand, is also believed to be inthe reckoning.The fallout from Victoria’s disastrous 2001-02 season has already extended to include a shake-up of the state team’sselection panel, with long-time members Shaun Graf and Neil Buszard both stripped of their positions last weekfollowing elections.A Victorian Cricket Association spokesman confirmed today that deliberations on the new coaching appointment areunlikely to be concluded until the end of this month.

Steven Gerrard’s hopes of keeping Rangers centre-back Filip Helander at Ibrox this summer look to have taken a blow, as recent reports suggest that he wants to test himself in the Premier League.

According to Football Insider, Rangers could sell the Swedish international for £6m this summer, as he wants to play in England.

The former Bologna man has been linked with a move to both Aston Villa and Leicester City in recent months, so it seems as if Gerrard faces a battle to keep one of his top centre-backs at Ibrox ahead of next season.

Whilst the 40-year-old has a plethora of options at the back, with Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun having both impressed there this season, whilst Nikola Katic and Jack Simpson are also likely to become regulars, Helander has been one of the key reasons behind Rangers’ impressive defensive record this season.

The Light Blues have conceded just 12 goals in 35 top-flight fixtures this season with their superb defence one of the main reasons why Gerrard’s side remain unbeaten with just three league games to go.

Helander, who reportedly earns £10k per week at Rangers, has made 21 appearances in the Premiership this campaign, in which he has contributed one goal and averaged an impressive 7.11 average rating.

This ranks him as Gerrard’s seventh-best performer in the top-flight, ahead of every other centre-back option bar Goldson, which emphasises that he would be a big loss should he leave this summer.

There is no guarantee that Katic will return to his former self after his season-long injury, whilst Balogun is 32 and was only handed a one-year extension to his contract by the club recently, so perhaps he isn’t seen as a long-term solution in that position, so unless new signings are brought in, Gerrard could find himself short of quality options at centre-back.

Back in 2019, Gerrard described Helander as a “leader” and the last thing he will want to do before their Champions League campaign next season is lose players that have that quality, so it would undoubtedly be a blow if a Premier League club were to make an official approach for him and turn his head.

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Considering Helander and Goldson have been the most effective centre-back partnership in this title-winning season, Rangers fans would surely be devastated to see him leave, especially if he departs before they can officially return to Ibrox.

And, in other news… Wilson disaster: Rangers missed out on “unbelievable” 34 G/A beast last summer

Rangers can take another huge step towards achieving an invincible league season on Wednesday night as Steven Gerrard’s side travel to Almondvale Stadium to take on Livingston.

The Ibrox outfit are now just two matches away from finishing the league season unbeaten as they face David Martindale’s side in midweek before the final game against Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon.

Gerrard’s side only just scraped past the Lions in their last meeting, with Alfredo Morelos’ late winner earning the Gers a 1-0 win which edged them closer to the Premiership title, so it certainly won’t be an easy encounter for the Light Blues on Wednesday.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Gerrard to line up his team, with two changes from the side which started in the 4-1 Old Firm derby win last time out…

Allan McGregor keeps his place in goal as Rangers look to continue their superb defensive record with another clean sheet at Almondvale.

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There is one change in defence, as the injury suffered by Borna Barisic in the Old Firm derby win rules him out, whilst Calvin Bassey is still suspended. That could see 19-year-old left-back James Maxwell make his Rangers debut, having returned to Ibrox after a successful loan at Queen of the South.

Glen Kamara and Steven Davis continue their partnership in midfield, with Kemar Roofe supporting Alfredo Morelos in an attacking-midfield position after his brace against Celtic.

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Finally, Ryan Kent keeps his place on the left wing, whilst Ianis Hagi comes in for Joe Aribo on the right-hand side, in the hope that their trickery and pace can unlock the Livingston defence on Wednesday night.

In other news… Forget Wright: Gerrard can sign his true Kent heir in £3.42m-rated wizard

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Sam Allardyce will leave West Brom this summer should they get relegated.

The former England boss replaced Slaven Bilic back December, but has managed just three Premier League victories from his 18 matches in charge of the Baggies, leaving them on the brink of an instant return to the Championship.

West Brom have enjoyed a mini-revival in recent weeks, following up their shock win at Stamford Bridge earlier this month by sweeping aside Southampton nine days later to boost their survival hopes.

But the Baggies are still nine points from safety with just seven games remaining, with Big Sam needing a minor miracle to continue his record of never having been relegated as a manager.

Allardyce hasn’t managed in the second-tier since winning the play-offs with West Ham nine years ago, and Windass doesn’t expect that to continue next season.

“I can’t see him staying if they go down, he told Football FanCast. “Can you see Big Sam managing in the Championship? Not him, he doesn’t need it.

“He looks at himself as a Premier League manager, so I can see Sam leaving.”

Barry Ferguson has suggested that Glasgow Rangers winger Ryan Kent is worth at least £20m in today’s market.

Ferguson discusses Kent

Kent was in terrific form for the Gers against Celtic in the Scottish Cup fourth round on Sunday, forcing an own goal from Jonjoe Kenny as the Gers won 2-0. His performances this season have attracted interest from Leeds, who are said to be ready to offer £15m for the 24-year-old (The Scottish Sun).

Writing for the Daily Record, Ferguson believes that Kent is worth £20m at least. He said:

“How much could we be talking for the Englishman? No less than £20million for a player who has time on his side.”

Massive increase on market value

Kent is currently valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt – £20m would therefore represent a 192% increase on that figure, which is a considerable amount. With 11 goals and 13 assists in all competitions, this has been the former Liverpool man’s most productive season as a professional footballer.

The reported interest from Leeds could well be matched by a number of other clubs during the summer transfer window. As Ferguson says, Kent has plenty of years ahead of him and has already shown bags of promise.

As per WhoScored, he has been the Gers’ second-best performer this season, while only James Tavernier has a higher tally of goal contributions in the Premieship among Steven Gerrard’s squad.

The likelihood is that he will end up in the English Premier League at some point in the future. Whenever he departs Ibrox, Ross Wilson and co must make sure that they get the right price for him.

In other news, many Rangers fans lauded this man’s performance against Celtic.

Some Liverpool fans have been providing their thoughts on the latest news surrounding Rodrigo de Paul, as the Reds continue to be linked with the Udinese midfielder.

This summer promises to be an interesting one at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp looks to further enhance his playing options. Despite this disappointment of this season, Liverpool’s squad doesn’t need too many tweaks, with injuries still the main reason for their shortcomings.

That being said, Klopp will know that a few new faces are needed in order to take the Reds to another level and continue competing with Manchester City.

De Paul is one player who has been linked with Liverpool in the past, with the Argentine scoring six goals and registering five assists in Serie A this season.

In truth, midfield isn’t an area of the pitch which needs too many changes made given the wealth of options, although Gini Wijnaldum’s potential exit to Barcelona could alter that.

According to Tutto Udinese, Liverpool will need to pay more than £40m if they want to acquire De Paul’s signature, which could be a stumbling block for the often-frugal Anfield club.

Liverpool fans react to De Paul latest

A number of Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to give their thoughts on a possible move for De Paul.

“Would be worth every penny if we decide to sign him”

Credit: @OmegaFalcon19

“How about 25 mil plus Harry Wilson included? Seems fair”

Credit: @Md_Arif02

“We absolutely neeeeed to buy him”

Credit: @jephersyn

“Pay it, stop playin”

Credit: @SirXabi

“Barcelona need to go for Wijnaldum and leave De Paul to us”

Credit: @1892LFC1

“What about 10M + Origi?”

Credit: @andligator

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly close to signing a Premier League player with awful statistics this season. Find out who it is here.