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Lee Ryder has confirmed that Newcastle United are interested in signing Matthew Bondswell on a free transfer.

However, as per a tweet from The Chronicle journalist, the proposed deal has not quite been completed yet, and the St. James’ Park faithful face competition from other teams in the Premier League.

Ryder also confirmed that the North East club have been in talks with both the player and his representatives in order to try and get the deal over the line.

Bondswell one for the future

The signing of Bondswell is certainly one for the future for the Tyneside club. The 18-year-old has played at youth level for German giants RB Leipzig and has played in no fewer than 12 games in total for England for the U16, U17 and U18 sides.

Bondswell has also played in senior men’s football already despite his young age, with six matches played in so far for FC Dordrecht in the 2020/21 term in the Dutch second division, where the left-back has won 3.7 of his duels a game and also averaged one interception per appearance, helping his side keep two clean sheets in the process (Sofascore).

He is certainly a talent that Steve Bruce’s team can nurture and grow into a real top player, and on a free transfer, there is very little risk involved in getting the deal done.

In other news, find out what former Bellagraph Nova Group figure has dropped a big claim on the potential Saudi takeover here!

Speaking exclusively to FootballFanCast, former Premier League ace Rob Lee has slammed Arsenal star Willian.

The £220k-a-week earning star joined on a free transfer from London rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window, and enjoyed a superb debut for Mikel Arteta’s side by assisting two goals in a opening day 3-0 win over Fulham.

Since then however, things have gone downhill for the Brazil international, with the 32-year-old still yet to score for the club and only adding one more assist to his total.

That has seen the winger drop out of the starting line-up in recent weeks, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Nicolas Pepe firmly ahead of him in the pecking order on that right-hand side.

And when asked about how Willian has done this season for Arsenal, Lee delivered a scathing verdict on the Gunners’ summer signing.

He said: “Awful. For someone of his ability, you can see why Chelsea didn’t want to give him a long contract. Could have been Frank’s (Lampard) decision or could have been someone else’s decision, but you can see why they weren’t going to give him a longer contract.

“Willian has got so much talent and so much ability, but again, I don’t know, he just seems he’s not bothered. If he plays great, then great. But if he doesn’t, then not really bothered.”

The idea that Willian hasn’t been particularly bothered at Arsenal this season echoes the kind of problems the Gunners have had with Mesut Ozil, who also has that similar languid style – in fact, The Athletic recently claimed that “some feel that, not unlike Ozil, Willian is not helped by his relaxed body language”.

With the Gunners’ young guns like Saka and Emile Smith Rowe showing the way in recent weeks, Willian’s performances have just been scrutinised even more. And given he still has more than a couple of years left on his contract, it feels like a bad signing already.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could sign another Kieran Tierney in this starlet…

Leeds United face their second test in the space of 96 hours on Tuesday night and they could use all the squad depth they can get, but Diego Llorente is still a doubt to make a return following his injury.

The latest on Llorente

The Spaniard has been trying to recover from a hamstring injury, but Sky Sports believe that although the defender is closing in on a return, Tuesday’s game comes too soon.

This will be frustrating for Bielsa and Leeds

The defender, who is valued at £18m on Transfermarkt, will be wanting to make his return as soon as possible, but you cannot afford to rush a hamstring injury. He has been on the sidelines for a while now and has only made two appearances in the division since joining because of his struggles.

Described as “fantastic”and as a “top player” in the past, supporters of the club should be excited to hear that he will be available in the near future, however to have such a player unavailable will be frustrating, especially when the club are trying to halt a two-game losing skid.

The good thing for Marcelo Bielsa is that he can use the same pairing that he used against Wolves with Luke Cooper and Pascal Struijk available to play for him at the back, but the Argentinian will definitely be wanting his depth back in the centre of defence as soon as possible with the games coming thick and fast.

In other news, a former Premier League star has tipped one player to be playing in the Euro’s!

Liverpool travel to Selhurst Park on Saturday for the early kick-off and Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to key in the Reds’ chances of taking away all three points.

The England international returned from injury recently and helped the Reds move back top of the table with a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

However, he is in for another tough game on Saturday, as he likely be up against Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha on the left-wing, with the former Manchester United man’s recent performances certainly catching the eye.

The 28-year-old has seven goals and two assists in 11 appearances in the top-flight so far this season, which has seen him average a superb 7.10 rating.

This means that he has already beaten his goal tally of four from the whole of last season, with the winger having seemingly added goals to his already dangerous all-round play for Roy Hodgson’s side.

It is clear that he is extremely important to the way the Eagles play, with 45% of their attacks coming down the left-hand side, which is the most of any team in the Premier League.

Therefore, Alexander-Arnold will have to be at his best if he wants to keep Zaha quiet on Sunday but if he can, he will give Klopp’s side an excellent chance of picking up maximum points, which would see them remain top of the Premier League table at Christmas.

The 22-year-old has been impressive at times this season, although has enjoyed a lot more success in the Champions League, where he has averaged a 7.10 rating, compared to his arguably disappointing 6.68 average in the Premier League.

However, there is no doubting his extraordinary talent, with fellow superstar Kylian Mbappe lauding the youngster after he was asked about Alexander-Arnold mimicking his celebration after scoring in a win against Leicester City last season, saying:

“Yeah, I saw! I’m proud. This guy is amazing.”

So, if the Liverpool academy graduate can perform to the best of his ability, from both an attacking and defensive point of view, he will give the Reds a good chance of winning the game at Selhurst Park, especially if he is able to limit Zaha’s influence on the game.

And, in other news… The emergence of “extraordinary” talent at LFC could spell trouble for injury-prone liability

Ever since Thomas Partey signed from Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window, the hope has been that the Ghana international could be the one to transform Arsenal’s midfield.

And since his arrival, there have been games where he’s done exactly that, not least in a superb 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford – a game that led Roy Keane to hail Partey as the Gunners’ potential Patrick Vieira successor.

But injuries have disrupted his progress, and whilst his return to first-team training recently is a welcome boost, there’s a real question about who should be the man to partner him in central midfield.

And that is exactly why Mikel Arteta’s side might be wise to bring in Stade Rennes midfielder Steven Nzonzi.

Reports in recent days have suggested that the 6 foot 5 Frenchman has remained of interest to the Gunners, and whilst at 32, fans might question whether he’s past his best, his performances this season in Ligue 1 suggest he’s got plenty to offer.

And perhaps more than that, his game could be the perfect compliment to the £45m-rated Partey.

At Atletico Madrid, the Ghanaian was used more as a holding midfielder, someone to break up the play and pass it off to those in front of him.

That naturally restricted the kind of talent he actually has going forward, with Owen Hargreaves speaking earlier this season about how he’s got so much more to his game than being the classic anchor man.

He said: “This guy has everything you need from a modern midfielder. He can do everything. His whole repertoire, he just has everything. He can play every pass. Play it long, play it short, put it on a plate.

“We’ve seen the defensive side which is what he’s going to bring, the long range passing, and the shooting from distance to get goals. He’s the perfect modern midfield player.”

The key for Arteta is to actually unleashing the more box-to-box dynamism that he possesses, rather than weighing him down with the responsibility of protecting Arsenal’s defence.

Nzonzi’s arrival can allow him to do that. In Ligue 1 this season, the Frenchman has averaged an impressive 4.6 duels won per game, whilst he only gets dribbled past 0.6 times per match.

That extra solidity would open up Partey’s game even more, and become much more of a game-changer for this Arsenal side. Letting the Ghanaian work his “magic” like Hargreaves says when going forward would add an extra dimension to Arteta’s men.

It’s why signing Nzonzi, even now at 32, could be a real coup for the Gunners.

Marlon Harewood has exclusively told Football FanCast that Aston Villa midfielder Ross Barkley would have been a “very good” signing for his former side West Ham United this summer.

Barkley joined the Villans on a season-long loan from Chelsea in a deal boss Dean Smith believed represented “a real coup” for the Birmingham-based outfit, who staved off the threat of relegation to remain a Premier League side on the final day of last season.

The 26-year-old had featured three times for Chelsea this term prior to leaving Stamford Bridge, but has gone on to be a regular for Aston Villa with six starts from six top-flight fixtures while providing a goal and an assist.

Smith is expected to be without Barkley for Aston Villa’s trip to West Ham on Monday night after the 2018/19 Europa League winner sustained a hamstring injury in the first minute of last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The blow will prevent Barkley from displaying his talents front and centre under David Moyes’ watch, who has held a long-standing interest in reuniting with the 33-cap England international he previously worked with at Everton.

Moyes failed to land Barkley’s services this summer before the midfielder joined Aston Villa, with West Ham said to have rejected the potential of a swap deal involving the Chelsea talent and Declan Rice.

Harewood firmly believes the Hammers would have acquired an ideal option in Barkley had a deal been struck with Chelsea, as the £19.35m-rated star is perfect for what the east London outfit hope to achieve.

“He would have been a good player for West Ham to sign,” Harewood told Football FanCast. “I don’t know how close they were, [or] what the situation was there, but he would have been a very, very good player for West Ham to go forward in what they want to achieve.”

Barkley has certainly enjoyed his start to life with Aston Villa having played every minute of top-flight football on offer before limping off early on at home to Brighton last weekend, while providing a hand in two goals.

Only Jack Grealish (22) has played more key balls (17) than Barkley in the Premier League among the Villans’ first-team thus far this season, too, while ranking third behind Grealish (161) and Matt Target (93) for accurate passes in the final third (80), per SofaScore.

Barkley’s efforts would be enough for the 26-year-old to rank second to Aaron Cresswell among all West Ham players for key balls (18) and third to Cresswell (91) and Rice (85) for accurate final-third passes.

Only Arthur Masuaku (21) and Michail Antonio (13) have registered a higher number of successful dribbles (12), as well, while Antonio (9) is the sole man to better Barkley for shots on target (6).

So, going by his numbers at Villa Park, Barkley would certainly have made a useful addition to Moyes’ squad this summer.

AND in other news, David Moyes would not be getting his next Tomas Soucek in a £16m West Ham target likened to David Luiz.

Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips has revealed that he has been given a hint that that his former side could be set to sell two huge names in January.

Phillips reveals transfer information

The Black Cats duo of Aiden McGeady and Will Grigg were the two individuals that were named, with the Irish winger having just seven months to run on his contract, from which he is earning £19k-per-week at the Stadium of Light (Salary Sport).

His Northern Irish teammate’s current deal ends in 2022 and he is currently taking home £6k-per-week from the North East outfit (Salary Sport).

Both players have started just five games between them this season and speaking to Football Insider, Phillips said that he believes that both could be offloaded in January to cut the wage bill.

“It is tough for McGeady,” he said.

“I imagine a conversation has been had with McGeady. I think he has asked whether he still wants to play for the football club and he must have liked what he heard.

“Right now it is a case of, ‘Give me what you can and I will bring you off.’ It backfired last week because they did not get the result that they wanted but this week…

“McGeady is a tough one. You could cash in on him in January and bring in a younger player.

“I heard last week that the club is starting from scratch again. That could mean getting rid of a Grigg and a McGeady or bringing youth players in.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

It will be a big call for Johnson to make to let the duo go, but could turn out to be a sensible one from Sunderland.

High wage earners are no use to anybody if they are just keeping the bench warm, and their salaries are eating into the club’s budget and those funds could be used on other assets.

That being said, time will tell what Johnson ultimately decides to do. Having recently taken the hot seat, he will have time to imprint his identity to his squad and make his decisions about possible outgoings in January

In other news, Sunderland supporters criticise Lee Johnson for benching key asset vs Lincoln City.

Having left Newcastle permanently in the summer of 2018, it’s fair to say Adam Armstrong has gone from strength to strength at Blackburn Rovers.

The striker initially arrived at Ewood Park on a short-term loan earlier in that year, and after netting nine goals in 21 games for them, it was a no-brainer that Rovers looked to tie him up permanently.

The striker made just 21 appearances in total for Newcastle before then manager Rafa Benitez took the decision to let him go, and it’s a call that has surely seen the Magpies regret it ever since.

Callum Wilson’s arrival in the summer transfer window has appeared to finally be the solution to their striking woes, but the likes of Joelinton and Andy Carroll over the past couple of seasons have been nothing short of disasters.

Armstrong’s form at Ewood Park just makes a mockery of the fact that the Tyneside club let him go, and when you look at the kind of start he has enjoyed to the new season this year, it just makes it all the more galling.

In eight games across all competitions, he’s scored six goals, including netting a stunning hat-trick in a 5-0 thrashing of Wycombe in the Championship. That performance led to Rovers boss, Steve Mowbray, to wax lyrical about his centre-forward, saying: “He’s playing down the middle after spending two years playing off the left wing for us, but we’ve always known that he can score goals and will score goals.

“Adam’s another one who’s a real joy to have, a low maintenance footballer who just wants to play, score and win. The attributes he possesses are fantastic and he was disappointed that he didn’t score one or two more against Wycombe at the weekend. But he got the hat-trick, he got the matchball and he’ll be delighted with that. We’ll have to keep rolling with him and keep improving him.”

Newcastle had a top-class, young English striker in their ranks, and all they needed was to show a bit of patience. Instead, they made the hasty decision to cut their losses, and Armstrong has since proven them wrong big-time.

Another game week is upon us, and it follows a weekend of some great football which included Everton losing their first game of the season to Southampton, as well as a 3-0 thumping for Aston Villa from Leeds.

Liverpool were triumphant over Sheffield United, whilst Manchester United and Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw – all of which made for an interesting weekend of Premier League football that changed the shape of the table after six games in.

This weekend, however, sees some great matchups – with Wolves vs Crystal Palace on Friday night, Liverpool vs West Ham on Saturday, and Manchester United vs Arsenal on Sunday. This is followed by Leeds vs Leicester on Monday Night Football, a great set of games for GW7 – so without further ado, let’s make our predictions for the weekend with Premier Picks! Make sure you make your predictions here ahead of GW7, and good luck…

Wolves 2-1 Crystal Palace

So far this season, Roy Hodgson’s side have had a positive start, with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses from their opening 6 games. This Friday sees them matchup against Wolves, who are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games. I’ve predicted a 2-1 victory for Wolves, simply due to their positive run of form as of late, after a stalled start to the season with defeats to Manchester City and West Ham.

Wilfried Zaha will likely get himself on the score sheet again, after scoring 5 goals with 1 assist. Wolves themselves have some impressive fire-power up top, with Raul Jimenez scoring four goals so far this season – either way, it will be a great game to watch.

Sheffield United 0-3 Manchester City

Manchester City have had a tough start this season, with just 2 wins from their first 5 games, including 2 draws and 1 loss to Leicester City. The tale can be said the same for The Blades, who are yet to win a game this season with 5 losses and 1 draw – a 1-1 vs Fulham.

The game will be a strange one, due to the poor start to the season that both teams have had, but I expect the Cityzens to come out on top – last season Pep Guardiola’s men came out on top during both games, with a 2-0 win at home and a 1-0 win away, hence my prediction of a 3-0 win for Manchester City.

Burnley 1-2 Chelsea

Chelsea’s season is yet to take off how their fans may have hoped – just 2 wins in 6 games has left them 10th place in the table. Burnley have had a poor start to this campaign, yet to win a game with 4 losses and 1 draw under their belt – and they will be hoping to change this coming Saturday.

Sadly, I can’t see it going their way, and I’m going for a 2-1 win in Frank Lampard’s favour – mainly due to their high scoring games this season, and Burnley’s lack of fire-power up top. The Blues have scored 13 goals this season to Burnley’s 3, so expect to see Chelsea come out on top.

Liverpool 4-2 West Ham

The Reds, like many other teams so far this season, have had a strange start. Despite being joint at the top of the table with Everton, Jurgen Klopp’s men have seen themselves lose to Aston Villa, as well as a 2-2 draw against the Toffees.

West Ham have seen themselves enjoy a positive start to the season, with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, which include victories of Wolves and Leicester, as well as draws against Tottenham and Manchester City – a fine haul of results given the opposition. This game will look to be an interesting one, with Mo Salah on scoring form these past few weeks with 6 goals in 6 games in the league this season.

I predict a win for Liverpool this weekend, and I’m going for a 4-2 victory.

Aston Villa 2-2 Southampton

Aston Villa have enjoyed one of their best starts to a season for some years now, beating Liverpool and Leicester, winning their opening four games of the league season.

Their last game, however, ended in a 3-0 defeat to Leeds for Dean Smith’s side, their first loss of the campaign. Southampton’s start has been rather up and down, but as of late are unbeaten in their last four games, with a 2-0 win over Everton last weekend – setting them up nicely for this game against the Villans. Both sides are looking in form, and I can’t see a definitive winner in this game, so I’m going for a 2-2 draw.

Newcastle 1-1 Everton

The Magpies have had a mixed start to this campaign, with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses. The clubs to goalscorer, Callum Wilson, has 4 goals to his name this season but has failed to convert in his last 2 games against Manchester United and Wolves. Everton enjoyed their best start to a Premier League season ever, winning their opening 4 games.

Recently, the Toffees have lost to Southampton, and will be looking to return to winning ways – but I feel the Toon won’t make that easy for them, and I’m going for a 1-1 draw between the two.

Manchester United 2-3 Arsenal

I’m not really sure what is it that is making me think that Arsenal will win this game, but in a world of tactics, I feel Mikel Arteta has the upper hand on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Manchester United haven’t enjoyed the greatest start to their Premier League season, with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses from their first five games.

Arsenal the same, with 3 wins and 3 losses, making this match up anyone’s game for the taking. I’m going for a 3-2 win in the Gunners favour, simply due to the fact I feel Arteta will know how to grind this one out.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Tottenham’s opening game of the season didn’t quite go to plan for the Lilywhites, but since their opening day 2-0 loss to Everton, they are unbeaten in their last 5 games. Brighton have shown real quality this season, but have been unlucky with some of their results.

Despite this, I still feel Spurs will come out on top after their fine form in the league this season, and I’m going for a 2-1 win in their favour. Harry Kane and Heung-min Son will likely find their way on the scoresheet again, with the Englishman with 5 goals and 8 assists, and the South Korean recording 8 goals and 2 assists this season.

Fulham 1-1 West Brom

Maybe one of the least exciting games of the weekend comes in the form of Fulham vs West Brom – with both sides failing to record a win in the league this season.

The Baggies have found themselves the better off of the two sides, with 3 draws against Chelsea, Burnley, and Brighton – but The Cottagers have only managed 1 point so far this campaign. With both sides failing to show any winning dominance, I’m going for a 1-1 draw.

Leeds United 0-0 Leicester City

I feel this will be a fantastic game to watch, with both Marcelo Biela and Brendan Rodgers showing the quality that both their sides possess this season.

Despite some recent high scoring games for both teams, I feel this one ending in a stalemate with a 0-0 draw. Leeds are coming off the back of a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa last weekend, with the Foxes also beating Arsenal 1-0 in the last gameweek – but with both sides proving themselves defensively, I can see this one being split down the middle.

According to The Evening Standard, West Ham are targeting a move for Bologna powerhouse Takehiro Tomiyasu.

What’s the word?

The Hammers have had a fairly quiet start to the transfer window thus far in terms of incomings, with the big piece of news revolving around Grady Diangana’s imminent £18m exit to newly-promoted West Brom.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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However, The Evening Standard claim that following Diangana’s move, West Ham are ready to back David Moyes in the transfer market, and that the funds that they get from that sale will be reinvested.

The report adds that Bologna ace Tomiyasu is one name they are looking at, although they are set to face competition from Newcastle for his signature.

Imagine him and Declan Rice

Whilst the 6 foot 2 Tomiyasu has predominantly played at right-back in Italy, he does have the versatility to play as either a central defender or even holding midfielder.

And it’s his potential partnership with Rice in midfield that really stands out as becoming the Hammers’ future.

Last season, he averaged an impressive 1.4 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game, and if Tomiyasu sits a little deeper to protect the back-line, that could allow Rice to become more of a threat going forward as a box-to-box midfielder.

The Japan international has previously gone on record to say that he idolised former Hammer Javier Mascherano, and has since revealed his ambition to become a “leader at the back” for Bologna.

If Moyes is looking for someone to bring a bit of solidity to their starting line-up, then the 21-year-old Tomiyasu can offer that in abundance.