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Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a move for Atalanta goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, as their search for a goalkeeper intensifies [Calcio Mercato via The Boot Room].

The Lowdown: Tottenham get busy ahead of 2021/22

Moving towards 2021/22, many onlookers up and down the country will be excited to see how newly appointed boss Nuno Espirito Santo intends to bring success to North London.

In terms of recruitment, things are looking promising after Spurs agreed personal terms with Bologna’s Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Could they be set to delve deep into negotiations with a familiar face within English football following recent developments?

The Latest: Spurs eye up move for ex-Villa keeper

Tottenham are said to be eyeing up a move for ex-Aston Villa goalkeeper Gollini [The Boot Room].

In need of reinforcements between the sticks, the Lilywhites are looking to secure some positional clarity this summer, with Hugo Lloris reaching the twilight years of his career.

Everton, Inter Milan, Lazio, AC Milan and Roma are all also rumoured to be monitoring the Italian’s situation [The Boot Room].

The Verdict: Gollini would be a solid signing

Any move for the 6 foot 4 in colossus would be an astute one by the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy.

In 2020/21, he enjoyed a successful season at the heart of the Atalanta backline, registering 13 clean sheets in 32 appearances for the Serie A outfit [Transfermarkt], on route to securing Champions League qualification.

His age would also come as a positive, as at 26 years of age he could be number one for some time to come at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, due to the shelf-life of the modern goalkeeper.

Looking ahead, Spurs should look to tie up a deal for the Italy cap as soon as possible if he is indeed the man Nuno wants to challenge Lloris.

In other news, Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks with a 6ft 6in defender.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s interest in Ajax gem Nicolas Tagliafico…

What’s the talk?

According to Sky Sports journalist Matteo Moretto, both the Magpies and Chelsea are both looking into the possibility of a swoop for the Eredivisie full-back.

The report claims that he will be allowed to leave the Dutch giants in the January transfer window and he could be on his way to England.

Major issue

The left-back position has been a major cause for concern this season and the signing of Tagliafico can solve this problem for Howe, which is why Newcastle must seal a deal for the Argentine international.

Jamal Lewis is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, after finally being given a chance following Steve Bruce’s exit from the club, and no one else has managed to perform well in that area of the pitch.

Javier Manquillo was given the nod against Manchester United earlier this week and produced a woeful performance, although it could be somewhat excused by the fact he is a right-back by trade.

Howe should not be forced into playing a right-footer at left-back and this highlights why this is a position that needs to be addressed in January.

Matt Ritchie has averaged an unimpressive SofaScore rating of 6.66 in the Premier League, showing that he has not been able to perform to a good standard consistently.

Tagliafico, meanwhile, has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.17 or higher in each of his four full Eredivise seasons for Ajax. This suggests that the £44k-per-week gem is able to put in excellent displays week-in-week-out, which could make him a reliable option for Howe to call upon at left-back, solving their key problem.

Former Premier League forward Kevin Campbell previously hailed the gem when asked if he would be a good addition to Leeds’ squad. He told Football Insider:

“He is a top-quality player. He’s got lots of experience in the Champions League and on the international stage so I think it would be a smart signing.”

It is now down to Howe to ensure that Newcastle are able to beat Chelsea, or whoever else wants Tagliafico, to his signature in order to bolster his squad in January.

The 29-year-old could then compete alongside Lewis for a spot in the team when the Northern Irishman is back from injury and Manquillo and Ritchie will not be needed to play.

AND in other news, Howe must work his magic with NUFC dud whose value has plummeted £8.1m in 2 years…

Brazilian outlet UOL have provided a fresh update on Barcelona’s attempts to sign Leeds United star Raphinha this summer.

The Lowdown: Second bid for Raphinha…

Raphinha has been heavily linked with a move to the Nou Camp following his fine campaign in 2021/22, with the 25-year-old the top of the charts at Elland Road for goals, assists and chances created. [BBC]

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According to Spanish outlet Sport, Barcelona are readying a second bid worth an initial €40m (£33.9m) with various add-ons.

The Whites star will be available for just €25m (£20.9m) in the summer should the club suffer relegation, with Barcelona fully aware of that potential release clause.

The Latest: Deco jets out

UOL columnist Bruno Andrade dropped an update on Raphinha on Monday afternoon, revealing that his agent, Deco, flew out to Barcelona over the weekend to progress discussions.

They added that the former Portugal midfielder was expected for talks on Tuesday as they look to thrash out a possible contract with the Catalan giants until June 2027.

The Verdict: Leeds hold the cards…

Leeds aren’t expected to enter talks with Barcelona over a possible deal until the summer due to their Premier League position.

Jesse Marsch’s side have picked up seven crucial points in their last three games, leaving them eight clear of the relegation zone. All their focus will be on guaranteeing a third successive season of Premier League football, which could also give them control over a possible exit for Raphinha.

They will be able to demand way more than the £20.9m relegation release clause if they stay up, and a possible big-money fee that they may receive could fund plenty of summer arrivals ahead of Marsch’s first season in charge at Elland Road.

In other news: ‘Bad news from Elland Road…’ – Big Leeds injury update emerges on Joe Gelhardt

An update has emerged on PSG striker Mauro Icardi, regarding the chances of him signing for Newcastle in January…

What’s the talk?

According to Foot Mercato, the Argentine striker has been offered to the Magpies, along with Barcelona, Tottenham and Juventus as he attempts to leave the Ligue 1 outfit.

The report claims that he would like to find a ‘quieter’ club where he can be an important player for the side, rather than being a small fish in a big pond in France.

Complete Howe’s attack

The signing of Icardi could complete Howe’s attack by allowing him to deploy his favoured 4-4-2 formation. At the moment, the Magpies do not have two natural strikers who can effectively play alongside each other at the top end of the pitch, with Joelinton finding more success elsewhere and Allan Saint-Maximin at his best out wide.

Callum Wilson could find a dream partner in the Argentine striker, who has proven that he can score goals at the top level. In 296 games for Inter and PSG, he has scored a whopping 160 goals and provided 39 assists – showing his quality as a finisher.

Juventus and Italy centre-back Giorgio Chiellini lauded the Argentine in his autobiography, comparing him to French icon David Trezeguet. He said:

“Among the great attackers I have faced, I highly value Icardi, who inside the area is almost impossible to mark. Mauro against Juve has often scored, it hurt me.

“He’s a world-class centre-forward, even if he lacks something in the collective game, he’s a Trezeguet but with different characteristics, lethal in the aerial game but perfectible outside the surface.”

Trezeguet scored 34 goals in 71 caps for France and 171 goals in 320 games for Juventus during his playing days as a striker, which emphasises how highly Chiellini rates the Argentina international as he has been willing to compare him to such a legend of the Turin club.

This, along with his statistics for Inter and PSG, shows why the £31.5m-rated beast could be able to complete Howe’s attack at St. James’ Park.

Having a lethal finisher with a proven track record of scoring goals could take some of the pressure off Wilson and allow him to thrive, with defenders potentially offering him more space as they pay attention to Icardi. It would also leave Saint-Maximin and Joelinton to play out wide in midfield, with Ryan Fraser and Miguel Almiron also pushing to start.

Therefore, Howe must ensure that Newcastle are able to get a deal over the line for Icardi in January to bolster their striking options and complete his attack heading into the second half of the season.

AND in other news, Discussions underway: NUFC must land £100k-p/w beast compared to “Ballack” and “Gazza”…

Rangers could find Steven Gerrard’s perfect heir at Ibrox after being mooted with a move for someone who’s already spent some time with the Gers in Glasgow.

What’s the story?

Gerrard was formally announced as Aston Villa’s new boss after a successful two-and-a-half-year stint in Scottish football, leading to intense speculation over who will take over the reins.

The Sun journalist Bruce Archer took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon as doubts over Gerrard’s future grew, saying: “Think I’d go for Gio or Paulo Fonseca #RangersFC,” when addressing who he would appoint as his successor. 

A report from the same outlet, meanwhile, claims the former defender is even keen on coming to Scotland.

While Fonseca would be an extremely intriguing option, Van Bronckhorst’s past experience with the Glasow giants could make him the ideal replacement.

Steven Gerrard’s perfect heir?

The 46-year-old enjoyed a hugely successful playing career at both club and international level, making 106 appearances for the Netherlands and turning out for Feyenoord, Rangers, Arsenal and Barcelona at left-back.

Van Bronckhorst won two league titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup during his three-year stay with the Gers between 1998 and 2001, before going on to claim further silverware in north London.

After joining the Gunners in a big-money move, he secured one Premier League title and two FA Cups with the capital club, and then also enjoyed two league title victories and one Champions League success at Barca and two Dutch Cups with Feyenoord.

He retired in 2010 having helped the Netherlands reach the World Cup final and was appointed as Ronald Koeman’s assistant manager at De Kuip a year later, eventually replacing his compatriot at the helm in 2015.

In just his first year in charge, Van Bronckhorst guided Feyenoord to the KNVB Cup and followed that triumph up by winning the Eredivisie in 2016/17.

It was the Rotterdam outfit’s first top-flight title in 18 years and they continued their quest for silverware by claiming the Dutch Cup once again in the subsequent campaign, illustrating his true credentials as a top-class manager.

The Dutchman’s fairytale time at his boyhood club came to an end in 2019, and when discussing Van Bronckhorst’s decision to leave Feyenoord, the club’s former technical director Martin van Geel lauded his work.

“Gio has done more than fantastic here and he continues to do well. So we would have liked to sit down with him next month, as planned, to start talking about any contract extension,” Van Gaal said.

“Gio is really someone who follows his heart and if he feels he wants to do something else after this season, we can only respect that. We are incredibly grateful to him, already, for the great contribution he has made to the club’s recent unprecedented successful period.”

A spell at Chinese outfit Guangzhou followed in 2020, but Van Bronckhorst has been out of work since, but judging by his previous accomplishments, he may well be the perfect heir to carry on Gerrard’s excellent work at Rangers.

Both as a manager and a player, he has a history of winning titles on a consistent basis. With that in mind, it feels like a match made in heaven for the trophy-hungry Gers.

And, in other news…Bye-bye Stevie: Rangers could land dream Gerrard successor in “excellent” 50 y/o boss

After managing to secure their first Premier League win of the season in their previous match against Leeds United where they won 1-0 thanks to a goal from on-loan striker Armando Broja, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side face another opportunity to pick up all three points with Burnley set to travel to St. Mary’s at the weekend for their latest league clash.

In preparation for the arrival of Sean Dyche’s side, Southampton have been handed a big injury boost ahead of the match.

What’s the news?

After missing the Leeds match as a result of an injury he picked up whilst away with Scotland during the recent international break, Che Adams has returned to first-team training prior to their game with Burnley, which should be pleasing for the fans and huge for the match at the weekend.

Since joining Southampton from Championship club Birmingham City back in the 2019 summer transfer window for a reported fee of £15m, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £18m according to Transfermarkt, has made 83 appearances for Hasenhuttl’s side in which he has managed to score 13 goals and provide ten assists along the way across all competitions, proving himself as a useful attacking outlet for the team.

Even though Adams has yet to score a goal in the Premier League so far this season, the striker has still managed to rack up an average of 1.4 shots per game, showing he has been a threat for the team going forward.

Hasenhuttl’s headache

If Adams is fit enough to be included in Southampton’s squad this weekend, we feel that the manager will have a big decision to make as to who he picks to start up front against Dyche’s side.

Given how Broja managed to score the winning goal against Leeds in his first league start for the Saints, we feel that he has definitely put himself in the running to start on Saturday.

However, given how Adams has a lot more experience of playing in the Premier League with 71 matches under his belt, perhaps this could sway Hasenhuttl into putting him back into the side if he’s deemed fit. After all, that added expertise of the top-flight could give Southampton the best chance of beating Burnley, who are still looking for their first league win of the campaign.

Moving forward, whether Hasenhuttl chooses to start Adams or not, we feel that this match against the Clarets is a great opportunity for the Saints to pick up another win and put their poor start to the campaign behind them, especially given how their opponents have managed to concede 13 goals so far this season.

In other news: 3 assists: “Exciting” Saints gem thriving on loan, he could cause Ralph a big dilemma – opinion

Crystal Palace will be hoping to claim just their second Premier League victory of the season when they host Newcastle United this afternoon.

The Eagles have made a promising start to life under new manager Patrick Vieira, putting in several exciting and entertaining performances in the opening weeks of the campaign.

Draws against the likes of West Ham United, Leicester City and Arsenal have come either side of a famous victory over Tottenham Hotspur, but the south Londoners will be left disappointed by their tally of eight points from eight games.

That’s because the Premier League table could have looked a whole lot healthier for Palace if they hadn’t conceded last-minute equalisers against both Brighton and Arsenal.

The string of frustrating results puts extra pressure on the Eagles to claim all three points when the managerless Magpies come to Selhurst Park this afternoon, with Newcastle sitting 19th in the table and without a win to their name.

As a result, Vieira must go with a more attacking lineup than he has in recent weeks, providing his charges with more firepower in the final third of the pitch.

Schlupp could terrify Newcastle

One effective way to do so without putting Palace’s defensive shape and structure at risk would be to unleash versatile midfielder Jeffrey Schlupp, who hasn’t started in the league since the visit of Brentford in August, at the expense of the more cautious Luka Milivojevic.

The outstanding performances of Conor Gallagher and James McArthur make the pair virtually undroppable in Vieira’s engine room, but the latter is more than capable of taking over Milivojevic’s defensive duties, allowing his teammates the freedom to push forward.

With Schlupp in the side, Palace would have a far greater attacking threat through the middle of the pitch, as last season’s underlying numbers show.

As per WhoScored, the Ghana international recorded three assists in the Premier League – the third-highest tally in the squad – and averaged 0.7 key passes, 0.7 shots and 1.1 dribbles per league game, bettering or matching Milivojevic’s respective totals in each metric.

He was labelled “incredible” by his former manager Roy Hodgson following an outstanding performance against Manchester United in September 2020, and now it’s time for Schlupp to show Vieira what he’s capable of; the French tactician just needs to be brave enough to select him from the off, as the enterprising 28-year-old could terrify a Newcastle side bereft of confidence and form.

In other news… Parish must sanction bargain Palace swoop for 6 ft 2 colossus, Vieira needs him 

Former Football League star David Norris insists that Todd Cantwell would cost Aston Villa crazy money in this transfer window.

Villa have been linked with a move to sign the Norwich winger after selling Jack Grealish to Manchester City for £100m.

They had embarked on an aggressive recruitment strategy prior to his exit, signing Danny Ings from Southampton, Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen, Ashley Young on a free transfer, and Axel Tuanzebe on loan from Manchester United.

In addition to those four, Villa have already raided Norwich to sign Emiliano Buendia for a fee of just over £34.5m.

However, reports claim that the club could still go back to Carrow Road to bring Cantwell into the club too.

He enjoyed a fantastic season last term, scoring six goals and laying on seven assists in the Championship, and Norris has cited the example of Ben White, who moved to Arsenal for a fee of £50m, as evidence for an inflated transfer market. Cantwell is valued at £19.8m by Transfermarkt.

Speaking to Football FanCast, he said: “Yeah I think you’ll see that quite a bit, the money’s gone crazy.

“The Brighton centre-half going for big dough, and I think with younger players, and what’s happened traditionally in the past especially if their British, the price seems to be even higher.”

Sunderland are back in League One action tonight with a home clash against Morecambe, who are currently 15 places and 17 points below the Black Cats in the league table. 

Their previous league game saw Sunderland take an early lead against Oxford United through Leon Dajaku, only for the away side to equalise before halftime with Johnson’s side then unable to find a winner in the second half, ending with 1-1 draw.

Given the significant gap between Sunderland and tonight’s opponents, Johnson and everyone else at the club will definitely be hoping that they can pick up a win and get closer to the top of the table.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Johnson could pick to be in his starting XI on this occasion, one player that started the match against Oxford that should not be in the team on this occasion is Lynden Gooch.

Despite managing to provide an assist in their 2-1 win over Cambridge United last month, the American’s performance against Oxford left a lot to be desired.

With 78 touches of the ball in total, Gooch only managed to complete 19 of the 37 passes he attempted, misplacing five crosses and ten long balls, losing possession on 28 occasions in total.

As well as his wastefulness on the ball, he didn’t have much of an impact in an attacking sense either with just one key pass and one shot at goal which was off target.

Labelled as an “emotive” player in the past by Johnson, this performance was anything but that and ultimately earned the attacker an uninspiring overall match rating of 6.6/10, making him one of the lowest-rated players on the day according to SofaScore.

With this in mind, perhaps it could be time for Johnson to bring Gooch’s run in the team to an end on this occasion to give his side the best chance of securing a win.

However, with the plethora of injury issues that Sunderland have at the moment, Johnson could be forced into having to stick with Gooch, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £5k-per-week according to Salary Sport, for the time being.

If this turns out to be the case and Gooch does start tonight, he’ll have to make sure he puts in a better and more impactful performance to make sure Sunderland don’t slip up and come away without a win.

In other news: Johnson must seal Sunderland swoop for “aggressive” £1.8m-rated beast – opinion

Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Austin Samuels is headed for Oldham Athletic on loan, according to Adam Millington.

The lowdown

The 20-year-old has yet to make his senior debut for Wolves but does have experience at first team level, having spent the first half of the 2020/21 season on loan at League Two outfit Bradford City.

He was limited to six league starts, and his only goal for the Bantams came in a 7-0 FA Cup victory over Tonbridge. Wolves opted to cut the loan short in January.

Samuels has netted a total of 29 goals for Wanderers at under-18 and under-23 level. After he scored twice in a 4-0 win over Newcastle under-23s in April, coach James Collins hailed him as “excellent” and noted the “poacher’s’ instinct” he had displayed.

Samuels featured for the first team as a late substitute in a 1-0 friendly defeat against Crewe Alexandra on 17 July.

The latest

Millington tweeted: “I understand that #wwfc’s Austin Samuels is set to join #oafc on loan.

“Pacy striker who signed a contract extension with Wolves in the summer. Spent some of last season on loan at Bradford City.”

Prior to the contract extension that Millington noted, Samuels’ deal had been due to expire at the end of the season.

The verdict

The key for Samuels is to force his way into the starting line up. It’s far harder to build rhythm and make an impact when limited to runouts from the bench, which was often his lot at Bradford.

Wolves will also hope that he can find the net in more competitive fixtures against high-calibre opposition, with his only previous senior goal coming against a National League side.

If his goal return is minimal, then it’s very hard to see him making a breakthrough at Molineux despite his strong form at youth level. Samuels could face a pivotal spell at Oldham over the months ahead as he seeks to prove himself to his parent club.

In other news, these Wolves fans react to the possibility of a £45m exit from Molineux.