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When Sunderland signed Connor Wickham in June 2011, he was seen as the next big thing to come out of the English Football League.

The striker was moving from Ipswich at the age of just 18 for a price of £8.1m. In total, the deal had the potential to rise to around the £12m mark.

If it did reach that fee, then Wickham would have left the Stadium of Light just four years later having set the club back almost £1m per goal.

The forward was nothing short of a flop in the north-east, ultimately scoring just 15 times in 91 outings. The promise he’d shown with the Tractor Boys wasn’t and still hasn’t been fulfilled.

When he first penned terms, Steve Bruce admitted that he was delighted that the teenager had chosen the Black Cats. That was understandable too.

Wickham had been chased by Arsenal at a similar time but he chose the north of England instead of a switch to the capital.

It was the Gunners who had the last laugh, however. Evidently, Wickham has not lived up to expectation and it’s likely he’d have failed even more if he’d moved to the Gunners.

Speaking about the attacker back in 2011, Bruce’s first words were: “He’s still very young but at 6ft 3in he’s a physical presence. With his height and style of play he’ll offer us a threat in front of goal and complement our existing strikers.”

Unfortunately, very rarely was Wickham a threat in front of goal. It’s remarkable to think that Sunderland were able to make a profit on him.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-transfer-rumours-and-news-grigg-denayer-louis-dreyfus-sanderson-melamed” title=”Latest Sunderland transfer news and views!”]

The Mackems sold him to Crystal Palace in 2015 for a fee of £9m. Finally, the striker had got his move to London, but it hasn’t paid dividends.

Wickham has played just 50 times in nearly six years at the club, scoring only 11 goals in the process. He has been left wanting in front of goal but ultimately, it is his horrific injury record that’s got the better of him.

Since joining the Eagles, he’s had 11 separate fitness issues, keeping the striker out for a combined 143 games and 1,004 days.

The worst injury was a cruciate ligament rupture back in 2016/17, an injury that kept him out 62 matches and 470 days.

All of this has seen Wickham’s market value dramatically decrease. From being sold for £9m, he is now worth just £900k at Selhurst Park by Transfermarkt.

It’s a rapid fall of around 90% from what Palace rated him at nearly six years ago.

Wickham is still only 28 so could make a career for himself elsewhere. That being said, his best days look behind him. Horrific injury luck has unfortunately derailed his career.

From being a plucky goal threat as a teenager, he’s spent more time on the treatment table than scoring goals as his career has progressed.

AND in other news, SAFC could re-enter the Championship with a bang by signing “real class” 9-cap wizard…

Swansea City’s automatic promotion hopes are all but over after a 1-0 defeat against QPR at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

The late concession, combined with Watford’s 1-0 win against Norwich City, means that Steve Cooper’s side have to win all three of their remaining games, and hope that the Hornets lose all three of theirs if they want to finish in second place.

The Swans were second best for much of the game, with QPR hitting the woodwork twice before finally taking the lead with 89 minutes gone, with Lyndon Dykes smashing home from Albert Adomah’s clever through ball.

One man who particularly disappointed for Swansea at the Liberty Stadium was Wayne Routledge.

As per SofaScore, the 36-year-old veteran would earn a 6.8/10 rating for his performance, with only Ryan Bennett (6.6) and Kyle Naughton (6.6) rated lower of the players who started the game.

The winger, who was featuring up front in the absence of Andre Ayew, blew a great opportunity to give Swansea the lead in the first half when he hit the post, whilst he was extremely wasteful when played through on goal by Jamal Lowe, as his heavy touch allowed the goalkeeper to snatch the ball when he was one-on-one.

During the game, the veteran attacker would have just 28 touches of the ball and would only manage to complete 7/13 of his passes, resulting in a less than impressive 54% pass accuracy rate.

Not only is this far below the 64% rate he has averaged in the Championship this season, but it was also the fewest passes played by anyone on the pitch, with both goalkeepers completing twice as many.

Routledge was caught offside on three occasions which highlighted his lack of attacking positioning, whilst the fact that he managed to lose possession on nine occasions, despite being involved so little, will surely frustrate Cooper.

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To compound a miserable display, Routledge would win just 4/11 of his duels during the game and failed to hit the target with any of his shots, so you could definitely argue that he let Cooper down when the manager was relying on his experience to help see his side through what was a must-win game for the Swans.

And, in other news… Winter could sign Swansea their ideal Ayew heir in £225k-rated beast, Cooper would love him

According to a report by Spanish media outlet Fichajes, West Ham United have a ‘closed agreement’ to sign Napoli powerhouse Nikola Maksimovic upon the expiry of his contract – and if nothing goes wrong, he will become the Irons’ first signing for next season. 

West Ham have agreement for Makismovic signing

Maksimovic, standing at a towering 1.93m (6 foot 4), will allegedly not continue at Stadio San Paolo as talks over a new deal break down – and this report has made an emphatic claim that West Ham already have a solid agreement in place for his signature.

The 29-year-old, who could be seen as a worthwhile replacement for Hammers defender Fabian Balbuena as his contract is due to expire at the London Stadium, is apparently all but set to join West Ham in the summer.

Fichajes describe the agreement as being ‘total’, with it looking like he will become David Moyes’ first signing for next season as it stands.

As well as this, the news outlet stated that manager Moyes personally tabled Maksimovic as a new defensive option and has even prioritised him before other players.

Transfer Tavern take

Despite starting just 10 Serie A matches this season, the centre-back displays a cool head on mature shoulders and stands out as a supreme ball-playing defender.

He has averaged an impressive 92.4% pass accuracy out from the backline this season, even being given the nod by Gennaro Gattuso to start every Europa League game for the Azzurri before they were knocked out by Granada in the round of 32 (WhoScored).

West Ham apparently have an agreement in place to sign him for free this summer, and he could be a worthwhile coup.

In other news: West Ham fans erupted at this news, find out more here.

Carlo Ancelotti could discover Everton’s next box-to-box star in River Plate midfielder Nicolas de la Cruz, only a year after signing Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford.

De la Cruz, while speaking with Sport 890 earlier this week, via ESPN, revealed he is open to leaving his Argentine side during the European summer transfer window, despite only just penning a new contract that runs through to December 2022.

The 23-year-old was due to be a free agent in a matter of months’ time but has put pen to paper on new terms to secure his immediate future, after seeing the coronavirus pandemic put any transfer hopes on hold last year.

De la Cruz expects to be inundated with offers in June regardless of his new contract, having been linked with a move to Europe earlier in the year with Marca citing Everton and Manchester City as potential destinations in England or Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon.

The Uruguay international is a fundamental piece of River Plate’s midfield, starting 30 of his 31 appearances throughout the 2019/2020 season outside of injuries. He has also opened four and scored three goals in Los Millonarios’ fixtures during the 2020/21 campaign so far.

He is untested outside of South America, having only played for his boyhood side Liverpool before joining River Plate in 2017, but has frequently demonstrated his potential in the Copa Libertadores.

During the 2020 edition of the competition, De la Cruz started all 11 of his appearances and was listed in the Team of the Week on four occasions, per SofaScore. He further contributed three goals from 2.5 shots per game and two assists from 2.8 key passes a game, while missing five big chances and creating five clear-cut chances to score.

The £16m-rated enforcer was a brute defending Los Millonarios’ goal, as well, offering 1.6 successful tackles, along with 1.1 interceptions and winning a mammoth 5.5 ground duels a game.

Only Allan (3.42) and Doucoure (1.78) have won as many successful tackles per game in the Premier League this season among Everton’s midfielders, while Tom Davies (1.5), Doucoure (1.26) and Allan (1.1) offer a similar or higher amount of interceptions.

Allan is further the only Toffees engine room member to win as many or more ground duels (6.58), with double the amount of second-ranked Davies (3.19). No Everton midfielder offers more than one shot per game, while Gylfi Sigurdsson (who is first for shots with 0.91) offers the most key passes (1).

If Everton were to put their interest into action and move to sign De la Cruz in the summer, Ancelotti’s coaching techniques could see the Italian turn the four-cap international into his next Doucoure.

The Blues landed Doucoure from Watford last summer for £20m and have seen the Frenchman quickly establish himself at Goodison Park, while earning rave reviews for his “remarkable fitness” and “non-stop” running.

Doucoure says he’s learning a lot from working under Ancelotti, too, as the ex-Chelsea and SSC Napoli head coach is a “great” manager to work with.

“I always dreamed to play under a great manager like Carlo Ancelotti,” Doucoure told EvertonTV. “He’s one of the nicest guys in the world of football. He’s given me a lot of confidence and a lot of advice and I’m very happy to play under him.

“I think it’s one of the best times to be an Everton player. I think a lot of players would want to be in that team and I’m very happy to be in that team.”

De la Cruz may be more of a rough diamond, but his exploits in South America suggest he could be a Doucoure 2.0 on Merseyside under Ancelotti’s tutelage.

AND in other news, Everton are likely to sell a £6.5m-rated dud this summer after pricing him out of a January move…

Kevin Phillips has been discussing Illan Meslier after his agent spoke quite openly on Leeds United podcast LUFCFANZONE recently.

Phillips fumes at Meslier

The goalkeeper’s agent insisted there are some “big clubs” taking an interest in the 21-year-old Whites ace. Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips retorted: “It is funny how his agent is saying things and not the player himself. I wouldn’t take a blind bit of notice. His agent is trying to stir things up.”

“If I am Bielsa I would be fuming. I would be telling Meslier to tell his agent to shut his mouth. The kid looks very happy at Leeds and it looks like Leeds are moving in the right direction. They are getting linked with top players. It is exciting times, so why would you want to leave?”

Meslier needs to talk to his agent

Meslier has been inconsistent this season, making two errors leading to goals in his first campaign in the top flight, but showing superb form at other times.

In the 26 appearances he has made in the Premier League, he has helped the club pick up 11 wins as he has made 102 saves and kept eight clean sheets (Premier League), hardly a poor start at top-flight level for such a young player.

He is only 21 years old, which is quite young for a goalkeeper, but Marcelo Bielsa clearly has complete faith in him by selecting him every week.

Phillips is quite right to be disappointed in the agent as well – the £10.8m-rated Frenchman is in a great position playing consistently in the Premier League, and so his agent should be a bit more careful with what he says next time.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with this Championship player!

Exeter City manager Matt Taylor has hinted at an exit for recent Celtic target Joel Randall.

The Hoops were linked with a move for the winger back in the January window and were even thought to be preparing a seven-figure bid.

However, even though the Celtic board were convinced he has the talent and attitude to play at a higher level, a winter window move never materialised.

Randall has impressed in the South West this season, scoring 10 goals and registering five assists in 35 appearances in all competitions.

As per a report by Devon Live, Taylor admitted the Grecians will continue to look to sell their young players over the next few years.

“We have the next ones on the list to sell and the transfer line to speak, and it will keep on happening if we keep investing in the academy and giving our youngsters the opportunity, and whoever it is next, they will have had an opportunity.

“Some people don’t like it as you are sacrificing success to give opportunity to young players but we are still fighting towards the top of the League Two table when giving players the opportunity, and we might have another Ollie Watkins in our midst at the moment.

“No-one has mentioned that but it you look at what Joel Randall has done, Josh Key has done, if they keep improving next season and beyond, then someone will buy them, and it will be a good club that buys them, and you never know where they might end up.”

Transfer Tavern take

Randall, who can play on either flank, could be a shrewd addition at Celtic Park, should the Hoops go back in for the player this summer.

It seems as is if Randall also fits one of two Celtic transfer policies of being a UK-based prospect with high upside potential available either on a pre-contract, or for a nominal fee.

Charlton were eyeing a £300,000 move in January, so the Hoops may well be able to snap up his services for under seven figures.

In other news: Celtic could be offered £14.4m-rated ace this summer, find out more here. 

Yan Valery has been something of a forgotten man at Southampton since Kyle Walker-Peters arrived on loan with the South Coast club last January.

The former Spurs man quickly established himself as the first-choice right-back in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side and his signing was made permanent during the summer.

The 23-year-old has subsequently played every single minute of the Premier League this season, having become a key player for the Austrian manager in defence.

However, Walker-Peters has now been ruled out of Southampton’s match with Arsenal on Tuesday night, meaning that Valery will likely step in as his replacement against the Gunners.

The 21-year-old only made his first appearance of the season in the 1-0 win against Liverpool earlier this month, having been with the Southampton B team for much of the campaign.

He did make his first start in the FA Cup win against Shrewsbury Town but was relegated to the bench for the game against Arsenal on Saturday, showing that Walker-Peters is very much first-choice at the moment.

Valery had established himself as something of a regular in this Southampton side during the 2018/19 season, as he made 23 top-flight appearances, contributing two goals and one assist.

However, the signing of Walker-Peters, combined with the Frenchman suffering from glandular fever, has meant that game time has been hard to come by in the past two seasons.

Back in 2019, after an impressive goal against Manchester United, Hasenhuttl was full of praise for the young defender, saying:

“That’s something you demand from a young player. He gets the trust from us and then I want to see a brave player who is believing in himself and Yan made a fantastic development until now.

“Defensively he is better now and also offensively that’s exactly the way we want to go. I’m very happy for him that he scored for the first time, it was a fantastic goal and to shoot like this at Old Trafford shows how confident he is.”

The Austrian will be desperate for the Frenchman to produce a similar display when the Saints face Arsenal on Tuesday night, therefore, and hopefully, he can start showing some of his potential again with the South Coast club.

It is a rare chance for Valery to play and it is an opportunity he must make the most of if he wants to compete with Walker-Peters for the right-back spot in Hasenhuttl’s side.

And, in other news… “What a player” – Exclusive: Pundit “surprised” Hasenhuttl fave is still with Southampton

Manchester City continue to be linked with Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland and the 20-year-old wonderkid can be the man to solve a big problem for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

The Citizens look set to lose legendary striker Sergio Aguero in the summer when his contract expires, although injury problems in recent seasons have suggested that he is no longer the threat he once was.

City have kept faith in Gabriel Jesus in recent seasons, perhaps in the hope that the Brazilian could become Aguero’s natural successor, but his goal return this season, in particular, has been nowhere near good enough.

The 23-year-old has just three goals in 10 appearances in all competitions this season, whilst he has failed to find the back of the net in any of City’s last five games in the Premier League.

In the Citizens’ most recent game with West Bromwich Albion, in a game where Guardiola’s side created a whole host of chances, Jesus failed to register a single shot on target, which again emphasises his lack of predatory instinct.

Therefore, it could definitely be argued that City would be a lot more free-scoring if they were able to sign a natural goalscorer such as Haaland, as they are currently underperforming when it comes to the number of goals they have scored in relation to their ‘expected goal’ tally.

Since joining Dortmund from RB Salzburg, the Norwegian international has featured 32 times for the Black and Yellows, in which he has contributed an incredible 33 goals and six assists.

The prolific 20-year-old is likely to attract interest from the majority of Europe’s elite, but if City can secure his signing, he would surely help them become a lot more clinical in front of goal.

Haaland’s old teammate, Maximilian Wober, was full of praise for the young striker after he scored a hattrick on his Champions League debut back in 2019, saying:

“He is phenomenal. With his height, to be so nimble and have such command of the ball. It’s really hard to play against him in training – you just have to foul him. Once again he proved why he’s definitely going to become one of the best strikers in the world.”

Therefore, perhaps the £90 million rated star can be the man to bring an end to what has been something of a nightmare for Guardiola with Jesus at City in recent times, with the Brazilian nowhere near the level he needs to be when it comes to scoring goals for the Citizens.

And, in other news… 100% duels won: MCFC beast was Guardiola’s one positive vs WBA

Many Wolves fans couldn’t get enough of attacker Adama Traore after their 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace last night.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side advanced to the next round of the FA Cup for the first time in two seasons in what was a professional performance by the hosts at Molineux, and the 24-year-old made the difference on the night thanks to his first-half strike.

Traore was the second-highest rated Wolves player on the night and played a key part in Wolves’ success.

Per Sofascore, Traore completed 100% of his dribbles, completed all of his long balls and accumulated a pass success rate of 87%.

With this in mind, supporters were delighted to see the Spaniard back amongst the goals, who are looking to see what else he can produce during the rest of the 2020/21 campaign.

Fans laud Traore

“Adama is unstoppable, fantastic and key player to anyone particularly to Wolves that really need a stronger ST to take advantage of all his power!”

Credit: @Chris_dreamX

“Love the passion”

Credit: @04kibra

“Back with a bang”

Credit: @bashenga3334

“Thunderbolt and lightning”

Credit: @bowen_07

“Fantastic shot”

Credit: @gorgon205

“Gorgeous goal”

Credit: @ChudPhoto

In other news, ‘Unplayable’ Wolves star wants Molineux exit with interest coming from a familiar face.

Carlo Ancelotti should hand Michael Keane a vote of confidence by starting the Everton defender against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup after his key error in Saturday’s draw with Manchester United.

Keane returned to the Toffees line-up for his side’s trip to Old Trafford at the weekend after being benched for the 2-1 win at Leeds United, where Ben Godfrey had partnered Yerry Mina at the back.

The England defender had been a mainstay of Ancelotti’s plans for much of the season with Keane rarely taken out of the XI, while playing the full 90 minutes in 22 of his 25 appearances in all competitions.

He was hardly missed at Elland Road with Godfrey and Mina offering a composed partnership, with the summer signing from Norwich City rarely putting a foot wrong while the Colombian offered a towering presence to repeatedly head danger clear.

Yet Keane returned against Manchester United only to be caught out by the flight of the ball and leaping too early, allowing Edinson Cavani a simple and unchallenged header at the back post to open the scoring on Saturday.

Marcus Rashford came close to punishing the £25m-rated titan in the second-half, as well, with Keane too focused on the ball sitting at Cavani’s feet to see the run of his unmarked England teammate, whose eventual shot was hit straight at Robin Olsen.

No blame could be directed at Keane for Manchester United’s second and third goals, with Bruno Fernandes majestically lifting the ball over Olsen from the edge of the box in the first half and Scott McTominay heading home in the second period whilst the defender guarded the back post.

Ancelotti now has the chance to offer Keane a vote of confidence in the FA Cup by keeping the 28-year-old in his starting line-up against Tottenham, looking to guide Everton into the Quarter-Final of the competition for the first time in five years.

Ancelotti has previously praised Keane for his ability at centre-back after his efforts to keep top-four hopefuls Leicester City quiet earlier in the campaign.

“Simply because he’s a good defender and a good player,” the Everton boss told The Athletic after the 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium. “He’s focused defensively, really intelligent tactically and that’s why he’s doing well.”

The Italian now has a chance to give Keane a vote of confidence and show the defender that he believes he can bounce back from an up-and-down performance at Old Trafford, as Everton will not need a player like Mina and his aerial excellence against Tottenham.

Spurs rank 15th among all Premier League sides for accurate crosses this season, with Jose Mourinho’s men finding a teammate with just 3.1 of their 13 deliveries a game. That is also the lowest average attempts, with no side taking fewer than 14 a game, per WhoScored.

The north London side have also only scored five of their 36 goals in the top-flight this term from set-pieces, meaning Everton can make do without Mina and his 3.3 aerial duels won per game – the 14th-best average by a centre-back to have played five or more games – and give Keane a chance to rebuild his confidence.

AND in other news, Everton have been tipped to sign a £2m-rated veteran this summer after a 2020 deal collapsed…