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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.

Watford are reportedly close to completing the signing of Sporting Lisbon winger Jovane Cabral, who could prove to be a superb addition to Xisco Munoz’s side ahead of next season.

What’s the word?

According to Italian news outlet Tutto Mercato Web (via Sport Witness), the Cape Verde international is very close to sealing a switch to Vicarage Road following the Hornets’ promotion back to the top-flight.

Whilst no fee is mentioned in the report, the 23-year-old is currently valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt and has two years left on his contract with the recently-crowned Portuguese champions, which suggests that he won’t have come cheap.

Will he be a good signing?

Cabral was something of a bit-part player at Sporting Lisbon last season but he was very impressive when he was given opportunities to feature in the Portuguese top-flight, as he managed five goals and four assists in 24 appearances, of which just six were starts for Rúben Amorim’s side.

This helped him average a solid 6.72 rating from WhoScored for his performances, although he emphasised his quality in the final game of the campaign on a rare start, as he contributed two assists in a 5-1 thrashing of Maritimo, which helped him earn a superb 8.81 rating from WhoScored.

Given that Munoz is relatively short of options on the wing in his squad other than star man Ismaila Sarr and newly-signed teenager Kwadwo Baah ahead of next season, you could definitely argue that this is a position where the Spaniard needs to strengthen ahead of the Premier League’s kick-off in August, so Cabral could prove to be an excellent addition.

WhoScored suggests that the young winger excels at through balls, dribbling and finishing, so he may well excel in the counter-attacking football Munoz may be forced to deploy next season should the Hornets avoid immediate relegation back to the Championship.

Therefore, Watford fans will surely be delighted with the reported news that Cabral is close to joining, as he looks to be a very exciting prospect and at 23, he still has plenty of time to improve and establish himself as a threat in the Premier League.

And, in other news… Munoz can seal serious Watford upgrade with swoop for 25 y/o “Rolls Royce” 

Leeds United rejected a number of bids for youngster Sam Greenwood this summer, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Greenwood impresses for youth team

The 19-year-old has caught the eye hugely at youth team level at Elland Road, scoring 13 goals in just 21 appearances for Leeds’ Under-23s.

Greenwood has also made one first-team appearance to date, and the hope is of course that he could make far more in the future.

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The Latest: Numerous bids rejected

According to O’Rourke on Twitter, the Whites ‘rejected multiple bids’ for the striker prior to the summer transfer window closing shut.

That claim is backed up by Football Insider, who state that as many as six Championship clubs tried to acquire Greenwood’s signature.

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The Verdict: One for the future

The fact that Leeds turned down so many offers for Greenwood speaks volumes about his potential – he has been compared to Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in the past, highlighting his ability.

Marcelo Bielsa’s decision not to bring in a new striker in the transfer window is seen as a reason for the youngster staying put and it would be great to see him get more minutes this season.

It may be that Bielsa trusts Greenwood in the domestic cup competitions, but if he catches the eye enough, Premier League action could even come his way.

In other news, Leeds have suffered a transfer blow regarding one rumoured target. Read more here.

Everton’s negotiations with FC Porto for winger Luis Diaz have stalled, according to journalist Ryan Taylor.

The Lowdown: Diaz links

Rumours regarding a Merseyside switch for Diaz appeared to be positive on Friday.

Taylor claimed that discussions over a deal for the 24-year-old were on the right track, however, the involvement of James Rodriguez in a potential transfer has now complicated things on deadline day.

It now seems as if Rafa Benitez will miss out on the Colombian altogether on deadline day.

The Latest: Taylor’s twist

Taylor took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to provide four pieces of Toffees-related transfer news, one of which was on Diaz.

He claimed that negotiations have stalled and a move would have to be revisited down the line.

“Everton transfer update… #EFC – Salomón Rondón deal reportedly close, chasing confirmation. – Ainsley Maitland-Niles staying at #Arsenal. – Luis Díaz negotiations stalled. Could be revisited in future. – Niels Nkounkou undergone Standard Liege medical, straight loan.”

The Verdict: Not ideal

It’s clear that Diaz was a player Everton wanted to bring in this summer, so missing out on him isn’t exactly ideal, with little depth on the wings for Benitez now.

Salomon Rondon could well be the club’s only late addition, which would take the total tally of signings to five, and take some pressure of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The Toffees haven’t spent much at all this summer though and a move for Diaz could have been useful alongside Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend, but it seems as if that now won’t be happening.

Is the addition of Rondon as some depth up front enough to satisfy the Goodison Park faithful?

Find out how James Rodriguez’s involvement has complicated things with Diaz here…

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa is said to be eyeing a record-breaking move for Hertha BSC star Matheus Cunha.

What’s the story?

According to recent reports from German publication Bild (via Sport Witness), Bielsa’s side have already expressed their interest in signing the forward, and that a move could be on the cards after the 22-year-old received approval from Hertha to leave.

Now, The Berliner Kurier claim that Leeds are set to face significant competition from the likes of Napoli, AS Monaco and Atalanta, and that Cunha’s price could be driven to the €40m (£34m) mark because of the added interest.

Fans will be buzzing

After smashing their club record to bring Rodrigo to Elland Road last summer for around £27m, it appears Bielsa is intent on doing the same this time around for Cunha.

At the reported £34m mark, that would blow the Rodrigo deal out of the water, and signal another statement of intent from the likes of Andrea Radrizzani and co that the club mean business and are willing to back Bielsa big-time in the transfer market.

Dubbed as “something special” by former Hertha BSC boss Bruno Labbadia, the £55k-a-week earning Cunha enjoyed a superb campaign in the Bundesliga last season, scoring eight goals and providing another eight assists in all competitions.

At 22, he has still got plenty of time to realise his potential, and Bielsa will likely feel that the versatile forward could thrive under his leadership.

But most importantly for him and the club’s fans, a record-breaking deal would be a real indication of the kind of big step Leeds want to take next season and will surely have everyone buzzing.

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Actions speak louder than words of course, and if Radrizzani dips into his pocket to sign off on a £34m deal for Cunha, then it would really capture the imagination of the Elland Road faithful.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa is surely buzzing with this Victor Orta transfer update…

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Michy Batshuayi to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by TEAMtalk, who claim that, with the centre-forward’s current contract at Stamford Bridge set to expire in June of 2023, Chelsea have now greenlit the 28-year-old’s departure this summer, in order for Thomas Tuchel’s side to recoup some of the £33m fee they paid for the Belgium international back in 2016.

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The report goes on to state that this has caught the attention of the likes of Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Everton, Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as unnamed teams in Germany, Italy and Spain, who are all said to be plotting moves for the striker at the end of the current campaign.

“Loves scoring goals”

While it is true that, since Batshuayi’s 2016 move to west London, the centre-forward has failed to ever hold down a place as Chelsea’s first-choice number nine – making just 77 appearances over his five and a half year stay at Stamford Bridge – it is undeniable that, when given the opportunity, the 28-year-old is very much a player who knows how to find the back of the net.

This is something he has proven over his 28 Super Lig outings on loan at Besiktas this season, with the £9m-rated forward scoring 14 goals, registering five assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 3.3 shots – the second-most in the league – and making one key pass per game.

The £87k-per-week hitman dubbed a “beast” was also in devastating form over 14 fixtures in a temporary spell with Borussia Dortmund back in 2017/18, bagging nine goals and providing one assist for BVB – a record of a direct goal involvement every 117 minutes of football played.

Indeed, it is clear to see that Batshuayi is a player who loves finding the onion bag, something which the centre-forward’s former manager, Frank Lampard, confirmed back in November of 2019:

“He has been very good for us so far, and that positive spirit when you’re not playing regularly is not just important for him, cause that’s tough sometimes, but it’s important for the group. He deserves extra praise for that.

“He’s positive, hard-working, loves scoring goals. That might sound simple for a striker but I’ve seen some who don’t love it quite as much. He loves scoring in training, he always stays out to do extra practice. I’m thankful to have him in the squad.”

Furthermore, upon Leeds’ links with a move for the Belgian back in 2021, the former Leeds midfielder, David Norris, also stated his belief that the Chelsea striker would make an excellent addition to the Whites’ options up top:

“He’s big, strong, powerful and can score goals but also, anyone coming in is going to have to fit in with the way they play and the dressing room because that seems really close, but I think he’d be a great signing.”

And, with Jesse Marsch known to favour a formation that features two centre-forwards, the prospect of Batshuayi linking up with Patrick Bamford at Elland Road will certainly be a mouthwatering one for Leeds supporters.

Indeed, Victor Orta’s signing of the 28-year-old could easily be the formation of a deadly duo in the Leeds attack, one that could very well fire the Whites back to the top half of the Premier League standings next season.

AND in other news: Marsch could unearth Leeds’ next £60m talent in “wonderful” £1.8m-rated sensation