All posts by h716a5.icu

Arsenal are feeling confident that influential attacker Bukayo Saka will sign a new contract at the club, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Saka on fire for Gunners

The Gunners are flying at the moment, sitting top of the Premier League, and Saka’s form has been a big reason for Mikel Arteta’s side’s current success.

The 21-year-old has registered four goals and assists apiece in ten league appearances this season, being described as a ‘world-class’ player by journalist Terry Flewers.

Saka’s current Arsenal deal expires in the summer of 2024, however, so there is clearly an urgency to nail down his future after summer interest from Manchester City.

The Latest: New deal likely

According to Romano on Twitter, things are progressing well in that respect, with the club hopeful that the Englishman will extend his stay at the Emirates:

“Arsenal are still feeling optimistic on Bukayo Saka’s new deal. Talks have been ongoing for months — it’s a top priority for the club.

“Negotiations will continue in order to reach full agreement.”

The Verdict: Simply have to keep him

Saka represents both the present and the future at Arsenal, already performing at such a high level but having the potential to be one of Europe’s best attacking players.

The thought of him leaving and not signing a new deal doesn’t bear thinking about for Gunners supporters but it would be a big shock if that happened.

There is always the threat of someone like Manchester City coming in with a huge offer but Saka is Arsenal born and bred and must feel that the club is heading in the right direction under Arteta.

Steven Gerrard was sacked as Aston Villa manager last week but some of his decisions will no doubt have an impact on Unai Emery’s time in charge at Villa Park.

One which may well frustrate the Spanish coach was the decision to send out Keinan Davis on loan to Watford in the Championship, despite his impressive displays with Nottingham Forest in the same division last season.

The 24-year-old forward was never really given a chance by Gerrard but is once again showing his worth in the second tier, with four goals in his first 10 appearances for a struggling Watford side.

His last performance epitomised what he could have offered Villa in the Premier League, as he scored a fantastic goal in a 4-0 derby win over Luton, earning a strong 8.03 rating from WhoScored for his display.

Davis’ four goals are more than any player in Villa’s squad has managed in the league so far this season, with the Villans’ woes in front of goal one of the major factors in Gerrard’s departure.

Danny Ings currently leads the way for goals in the top flight with just three, two of which came after Gerrard’s exit in the 4-0 win against Brentford at the weekend.

The on-loan Davis has also averaged more shots per game (2.4) than any of the players in Villa’s squad, which suggests that he could have aided their goalscoring problems this season had Gerrard opted to keep him at Villa Park.

Nottingham Forest were the beneficiary of Davis last season, as he made 18 appearances in the Championship for Steve Cooper’s side, scoring five goals and averaging a solid 7.16 rating from WhoScored.

Steve Cook was full of praise for his former teammate last season, saying:

“Keinan has been outstanding. He’s probably a bit of an unsung hero for us at the moment because he’s doing the hard work.

“He’s bullying defenders and he’s connecting the play from back to front, without scoring the goals he probably would have liked so far. He’s looked such a threat.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“659225”]

However, Gerrard clearly wasn’t a fan of Davis, as he failed to make a single appearance under the former Liverpool man, which seems a baffling decision given his performances with Forest last season.

Hopefully, for Davis, his new manager will give him more chances to impress at Villa as he continues to prove his worth in the Championship.

Aston Villa owners NSWE will back new manager Unai Emery with investment in the playing squad in 2023, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Emery announced

Villa officially confirmed on Monday evening that Emery will take over as head coach. The club didn’t reveal the length of contract for the 50-year-old, however, they did add that Emery ‘will take over from November 1st after his work permit formalities are completed’.

A move for the Spaniard has moved extremely quickly, and Romano has shared what he knows on the appointment.

The Latest: Romano’s post

Romano took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to share further ‘details’ on Emery following the announcement. He stated that it is a long-term project and that Villa paid Emery’s €6m (£5.2m) release clause to Villarreal.

The transfer expert stated that there will be ‘investments in 2023 to improve the squad’, with Emery set to pick up a yearly salary of around €7m (£6.1m).

The Verdict: Exciting

NSWE haven’t taken long to find Steven Gerrard’s successor, and Emery arrives off the back of a successful period with Villarreal, where he won the Europa League.

It is exciting to know that the owners are set to back the new manager in the transfer market even though they have spent over £400m since returning to the Premier League in 2019.

It will be interesting to see where Emery wants to strengthen in 2023, and he’ll have plenty of time to assess his new squad during the break for the World Cup which starts next month.

Leeds United are set to lose their appeal over the transfer of Jean-Kevin Augustin, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: 48 minutes

Augustin arrived at Elland Road on loan with an obligation to buy back in 2020 after Eddie Nketiah returned to Arsenal. The Frenchman failed to hit the heights in Yorkshire, though, and played just 48 minutes of action in the Championship.

Leeds eventually won promotion to the Premier League, and an off-field saga regarding an obligation to buy payment has been ongoing ever since.

The Latest: Augustin update

FI reporter Adam Williams revealed an update on the situation regarding Leeds and Augustin in the last 48 hours.

He stated that the Whites look set to lose their appeal and ‘that there is next to no hope that it will be good news for Leeds when CAS announce their verdict’. The Whites will therefore seemingly have to pay RB Leipzig around £17.7m with an extra £300,000 in interest.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-10/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Bad to worse

Should Leeds be required to pay Leipzig £18m for Augustin, it will surely go down as the worst piece of transfer business in the club’s history – working out at £375,000 for every minute the forward was in a Leeds shirt.

The Whites are having their struggles on the pitch and are currently in the relegation zone, so this huge off-field update won’t be welcomed by Leeds chiefs.

Augustin is currently with FC Basel and has scored three goals in nine games, holding a Transfermarkt valuation of £1.35m, if you wanted to know.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst is already planning for January despite current questions over his future in charge of the club, says former Ibrox man Alan Hutton. 

The Lowdown: Pressure on Van Bronckhorst

Recent question marks have emerged over Van Bronckhorst’s long-term position at Ibrox.

On Wednesday, talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan claimed that the Dutchman’s job hinges on Rangers’ upcoming league results and how they fare in their games against Old Firm rivals Celtic, hinting he would be out of the job by New Year’s Eve.

This comes after the Ibrox club crashed out of the Champions League after failing to pick up a single point in any of their six group games.

The Latest: January transfer plans

Despite this tough period for the manager, one former Rangers figure believes that Van Bronckhorst is fully preparing to be in charge come the turn of the year.

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton had this to say on the situation:

“I think there is a few positions at this moment in time that he will be looking to strengthen. He will definitely have a plan in mind. He will see who can get back first and foremost and look to strengthen for the next half of the season.”

The Verdict: Back the manager

While it will undeniably be disappointing for the club and the fans to see how the team fared in the Champions League, we feel this should not push the hierarchy at Ibrox to sack Van Bronckhorst.

If the 47-year-old does have plans for potential recruitment, he’ll have to make sure that whoever comes through the door can fit in and hit the ground running immediately or that would only serve to turn up the heat.

In terms of what areas of the squad the Dutchman could look to strengthen in January, the fact that Rangers have scored far fewer goals than Celtic (31 vs 42) this season suggests some reinforcements to support top scorer Antonio Colak could be in order.

Liverpool are reportedly eyeing up an ambitious double swoop for Napoli attackers Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia next summer.

The Lowdown: Exceptional talents

Both players are exceptional talents in a Napoli side who are unbeaten in their first 14 games in Serie A and sit comfortably at the top of the table.

They also topped Liverpool’s Champions League group, with Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia playing a part in their 4-1 win over the Reds in Naples two months ago.

The Nigeria striker won himself a penalty in the first half, although he missed it, and some Liverpool supporters would have been relieved to see him come off injured after Napoli raced into a 3-0 lead in the first half. Meanwhile, the Georgia winger grabbed an assist and was also a general menace in the Azzurri frontline (SofaScore).

The Latest: Liverpool interest

As per Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Liverpool have ‘observed’ both Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, and Napoli would consider selling the pair for around €100m each in the summer, so €200m (£175m) in total.

However, they will face competition from big rivals Manchester United for their signatures, as well as the current Champions League holders and their next opponents in the competition Real Madrid.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-35/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Highly unlikely

Signing even one of Osimhen or Kvaratskhelia, let alone both, seems highly unlikely for Jurgen Klopp’s side at the moment.

Napoli are flying in the Champions League and at the top of Serie A, while the Merseyside club are outside of the top four in the Premier League going into the break for the World Cup in Qatar.

Before today’s clash against Udinese, the Napoli pair had accumulated no fewer than 14 foals and seven assists between them in Serie A, while they also shared six goal contributions in the Champions League (WhoScored). They are only 21 and 23 years of age respectively as well, so their potential is scary.

Where Liverpool are at this moment in time compared to Napoli, they will likely find it very difficult to get any deal done for either Osimhen or Kvaratskhelia.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has requested to sign Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries, according to reports over the last 48 hours.

The Lowdown: Reinforcements needed

The Premier League giants currently have Emerson Royal as their first-choice right-back, but with Matt Doherty and Djed Spence failing to make an impact, the 53-year-old is understandably on the lookout for reinforcements.

Dumfries still has nearly three years remaining on his deal at the San Siro but Simone Inzaghi’s side are believed to be open to a sale in 2023, with his price tag having now been revealed.

The Latest: Spurs monitoring Dumfries

According to Rudy Galetti (via Sport Witness) on Thursday, Spurs are just one of several clubs ‘chasing’ Dumfries, with the signing being a personal ‘request’ from Conte.

The report states that the Tottenham manager is ‘not convinced’ by Emerson, with the 26-year-old Dutchman identified as a suitable ‘alternative’.

Inter are willing to consider offers in the region of €30m (£26m), with Chelsea and Manchester United also holding a strong interest, duly creating big competition for the Lilywhites.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-3/” title=”Tottenham latest news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Emerson replacement?

Tottenham clearly aren’t sold on Emerson and are only playing him because he’s the best of a bad bunch, but having been hailed as a ‘big threat’ by Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell, Dumfries would certainly appear to be an upgrade.

The Rotterdam native already has two goals and two assists to his name across all competitions this season and is currently averaging 1.3 shots and 1.1 key passes per league game (WhoScored).

For comparison, Dumfries exceeds all three of Spurs’ senior right-back options for all of those metrics (WhoScored).

For someone with such experience and fantastic ability as the Dutchman, Fabio Paratici splashing out £26m shouldn’t even be up for debate, with his existing connection to Serie A potentially handing Tottenham an advantage in this transfer pursuit.

Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Denzel Dumfries to The Emirates in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Italian media outlet CalcioMercatoWeb, who claim that the Gunners are one of a number of Premier League clubs keeping a close eye on the Inter Milan wing-back ahead of a potential move this winter, with the Serie A side believed to have placed a €40m (£35m) asking price on the 26-year-old’s head.

However, the report goes on to state that Edu would only be willing to offer a figure in the region of €35m (£31m) for the defender, while Tottenham Hotspur are also reported to be keen on a swoop for the Netherlands international in January.

Bin Cédric, sign Dumfries

Considering just how impressive Dumfries has been in Italy since his €14m (£12m) move to the San Siro last summer, it is not difficult to understand why Mikel Arteta would be interested in a deal to bring the full-back to north London.

Indeed, over his 33 Serie A appearances – only 21 of which came as starts – last season, the £44m-rated talent was in breathtaking attacking form, scoring five goals, providing four assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per game.

It has been a similar story over his 15 league outings in the current campaign, with the £54k-per-week defender having already scored one goal, registered two assists and created eight big chances, in addition to taking an average of 1.3 shots – 0.5 of which have been on target – making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.3 dribbles per fixture.

And, with Cédric Soares having so far played a total of 119 minutes of first-team football for Arsenal this season, it is clear to see that, should Arteta wish to give his side the best possible chance of mounting a serious title charge over the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign, signing an upgrade on the £75k-per-week right-back would appear an extremely wise move this winter.

As such, it is easy to understand why Arsenal would be interested in a move for the “difference maker” Dumfries in January, as the player who was directly involved in more goals last season – nine – than the Portugal international has been over the course of his three-year career at The Emirates – seven – would very much look to represent a huge step up from the 31-year-old.

Leeds United will ‘closely observe’ Serbia midfielder Sasa Lukic at the World Cup, according to Calciomercato.

The Lowdown: Lukic links

The Whites have been linked with a move for the Torino man in recent weeks, with reports suggesting that Leeds have ‘not hidden their interest’ when it comes to the 26-year-old.

Lukic has said that he has ‘big ambitions’ following interest from Elland Road, and he’s been predicted to start for his country against Brazil in Group G later today.

The Latest: Leeds update

Calciomercato shared an update regarding Lukic on Tuesday evening, where Leeds were once again mentioned. They claimed that Roma and Leeds admire the midfielder, with the Whites set to ‘closely observe’ Lukic during the World Cup in Qatar’.

The report adds that there are no negotiations between Leeds and Torino at this moment in time, but Jesse Marsch’s side are ‘on the trail’ of Lukic.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-updates-copy/” title=”Latest Leeds United updates” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: One to watch

Some Leeds fans may have been planning to watch Brazil take on Serbia, mainly to watch former Elland Road star Raphinha in action.

However, it looks as if Lukic, labelled as ‘outstanding’ by journalist Josh Bunting, will be another player to keep an eye on, with a future move to Yorkshire possibly on the cards.

He’ll be looking to make his 33rd appearance for Serbia, where he has played in holding, central and attacking midfield roles, so his versatility could be something that appeals to Marsch and Victor Orta.

Glasgow Rangers recently found their replacement for Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst as they announced the arrival of Mick Beale as their new head coach.

The 42-year-old Englishman has rejoined the club after previously working at Ibrox as an assistant manager prior to his first job in senior management south of the border.

Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that the new Light Blues boss has been promised funds to bolster his squad during the upcoming January transfer window and this means that Beale will be given an almost immediate chance to stamp his own mark on the side.

One player he must swoop for is Bulgarian international forward Kiril Despodov, who the Gers were reportedly keen on signing earlier this year.

The head coach must reignite Rangers’ interest in the attacker at the start of 2023 as he could be a fantastic addition to the squad heading into the second half of the campaign.

He could be Beale’s own version of the legendary Hristo Stoichkov as Despodov was once likened to a young version of the ex-Barcelona dynamo by Georgi Dimitrov-Jackie.

The iconic winger, who scored 37 goals in 83 caps for his country, scored 117 goals in 255 matches for the Spanish giants and won Bulgarian Player of the Year five times, whilst also lifting the Champions League once and La Liga title five times during his career.

Stoichkov was a terrific goalscoring wide attacker and Despodov, 26, has shown that he can offer plenty of quality at the top end of the pitch, albeit he has not proven himself in a major European league as his compatriot did.

The Ludogorets forward, who was once dubbed “impressive” by journalist Josh Bunting, has shown flashes of what he is capable of on the European stage with one goal and two ‘big chances’ created in three starts in the Europa League this season, whilst he also scored two goals in six Champions League qualifiers.

Domestically, he has scored seven goals and provided five assists in 14 outings this term. This comes after he plundered seven goals and 16 assists in 28 appearances in the league and cup during the 2021/22 campaign.

He also plundered 25 goals and 26 assists in 80 matches for CSKA Sofia earlier in his career and his statistics at club level show that he has the potential to make a huge impact in the final third for the Gers.

Despodov, who has scored nine goals in 35 caps at international level, could, therefore, be Beale’s own version of Stoichkov at Ibrox as his form for Sofia and Ludogorets shows that he could be Rangers’ goalscoring and creating Bulgarian machine on the wing.

This is why the club must reignite their interest in the 26-year-0ld attacker in the upcoming window, as he could be a terrific addition to the attacking ranks.