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An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips…

What’s the talk?

According to The Mirror, the Magpies are preparing to make a move for the defensive midfielder in the summer transfer window, with Manchester United also keeping tabs on the England international.

The report claims that the Toon are able to offer him £120k per week, which is a significant bump from the £25k-a-week he is currently earning at Elland Road.

Leeds are said to want a fee in the region of £50m for their star midfielder but it remains to be seen whether or not Newcastle are willing to meet that amount.

Rock

Italian legend Andrea Pirlo previously dubbed Phillips a “rock”, and that is exactly what the 26-year-old would be for Eddie Howe at St James’ Park next season.

The Leeds midfielder was once described as a “destroyer” by Steve McClaren, and his impressive statistics in the Premier League back up that praise. In the top flight last term, he averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.21 for the Whites across 29 appearances. 

He averaged a monstrous 4.2 tackles and interceptions per game, also winning 5.3 individual duels per match in the middle of the park. Over the last 365 days, Phillips ranks in the 99th and 97th percentiles for pressures and blocks per 90 respectively in Europe’s top five leagues, which further goes to show how strong he is at the defensive side of his game in midfield.

The Leeds machine is exceptional at screening the back four, as shown by his impressive statistics, and that is why he can be Howe’s rock next season. Phillips could sit at the base of the midfield and provide protection for the likes of Dan Burn and Fabian Schar, with Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, for example, having more license to get forward and join in with the forwards.

Along with his ability to cut out opposition attacks, he has also shown that he can start some of his own with his passing quality. Last season, he created 1.2 key passes per game and created a whopping five ‘big chances’ despite playing in a number six role.

With 4.7 long passes per match in 2020/21, he has the passing range to open up defences with his creative play, which shows that he offers quality at both ends of the pitch. Therefore, he would be a fantastic signing for the Toon, and he would surely be a player that Howe would love to have on Tyneside for the foreseeable future.

AND in other news, NUFC had an “absolute steal” with £13m “colossus” whose value has doubled in 3 months…

West Ham United have a number of attacking players in their squad that have all contributed to getting the side to where they are at this moment in time.

The trio of Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals have scored 21 goals between them in the Premier League and provided 16 assists along the way.

The Hammers also have Michail Antonio, who has found the back of the net eight times and delivered seven assists for his teammates in 31 league appearances.

While there is still some time left until the season ends, it seems as though the east London club may have already got their eye on adding another attacking figure to their squad.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi and the potential interest that West Ham have in signing him.

“I’m sure West Ham scouts have been alerted to him. He’s a big, strong, pacey forward who could definitely come into that team and improve the West Ham options as well, and I think he’s got all the tools to be a success in the Premier League.

“So, I think West Ham, as well as several other Premier League clubs, will be keeping tabs on him this summer.”

Deadly duo inbound?

After originally joining his current club on loan from Liverpool back in September 2020, the 24-year-old signed on a permanent deal last summer.

In 59 appearances for the German side, the striker has managed to score an impressive 22 goals and provide eight assists along the way.

With 26 league appearances under his belt this campaign, the former Liverpool youngster has found the back of the net 12 times, showing why Mergim Vojvoda called him “an excellent player with great qualities.”

In those appearances, the centre-forward has created three big chances and racked up an average of 2.1 shots and 0.8 key passes per game.

This also backs up why Steffen Baumgart labelled the attacker as a “dangerous” player on the pitch.

In comparison to Antonio, the Jamaica international has racked up 2.3 shots and 1.4 key passes per game, showing just how dangerous he can be in terms of scoring and creating goals for his side.

With all of this in mind, if West Ham were to strike a deal to bring Awoniyi back to England in the summer, this could undoubtedly give Moyes the chance to form a deadly attacking duo at the London Stadium to potentially push the team even further.

In other news: Huge blow: West Ham dealt fresh injury setback ahead of Lyon, Moyes will be sweating

According to a recent report from The Sun, Andreas Christensen’s future looks far from certain heading into the last knockings of the January transfer window. The 22-year-old currently plays his football at Premier League heavyweights Chelsea having come up through the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge, although struggles for regular game time under new Blues manager Maurizio Sarri has called his future at the West London club into question.

And a recent report from The Sun suggests that Borussia Dortmund and Juventus are interested in landing the Denmark international this month, with Chelsea reportedly seeking a £6 million loan fee for the defender to thus sanction his departure this month.

And for just £6 million, which is next to nothing in modern-day footballing terms, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl should make a move for Christensen – a move which could go some way to helping shore up his Saints backline.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while there is little doubting that the arrival of the Austrian on the South Coast last month has improved Southampton’s fortunes, having won four Premier League games under the former Red Bull Leipzig chief, just one clean sheet in that time suggests they do need to tighten up defensively.

In fact, the Saints have shipped 40 goals in their 23 league matches this term which is more than 13 other teams in the English top-flight – significantly, it is more than all but two sides currently above them in the table to suggest that, if they harbour ambitions of climbing the division, they have to be better at the back.

And a late January move for Chelsea’s Christensen, who excelled for the Blues last season under Antonio Conte, could be exactly what Southampton need to shore up their backline.

The 22-year-old may well have struggled to convince new Blues boss Sarri of his capabilities this term, having only appeared 13 times in all competitions for the West Londoners, but one mustn’t forget the role he played in the Chelsea side last time round under the guidance of title-winning boss Conte.

Prior to last season, the Danish sensation had only featured three times for the Blues, but Conte put great faith in his ability last term by selecting him on 27 occasions in the Premier League and 40 overall in all competitions, helping the club finish fifth in the top-flight, and indeed reach the last-16 of the Champions League.

Yes, there were a few unconvincing moments and thus errors from Christensen last time round, but on the whole he did a fine job coming into a backline that the season before had dominated English football – he certainly didn’t look out of place.

And that should surely be of interest to Southampton manager Hasenhuttl, not only because the 22-year-old would add another accomplished option to his defensive ranks, but also because Christensen excelled in a back three last term, a system the Austrian has used at St Mary’s in recent times.

And for just £6 million for the rest of the season, it could prove to be an absolute bargain, and one that could go some way to shoring up the Southampton rearguard, in turn keeping them in the Premier League.

Southampton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Everton’s precarious position in the Premier League is likely to be a persuading factor among a number of their key players to leave the club this summer, along with their financial troubles.

If the Merseyside club survive and extend their stay in the top flight, manager Frank Lampard will likely face the toughest rebuild he has had to undertake during his coaching career, and there will likely be a strong emphasis on youth.

The £12.6m signing of Nathan Patterson in January from Rangers proved the club’s preference for signing younger talents to help rejuvenate the squad, and another hot prospect could be about to arrive at Goodison Park from the Scottish club this summer, 16-year-old Rory Wilson.

What’s the news?

According to the Daily Record, the Toffees had scouts watching the exciting Scotland U17 international, in their game against Germany U17s last week, as well as Celtic youngster Ben Doak.

The report also claims that the Rangers starlet was the focus of attention for Aston Villa and Brighton in a 6-1 thrashing of Georgia, which helped seal the Scots place in this summer’s U17 European Championship finals, scoring his third goal in three qualifying games.

Who is he?

Standing at 6 foot tall with plenty of time to grow even bigger, Wilson is potentially developing into a similar type of player as 6 foot 2 Dominic Calvert-Lewin – using his size, strength and athleticism to win duels and get into goalscoring positions.

The striker has scored seven goals in eight appearances at his current youth level for his country, showing signs of his enormous potential and demonstrating his prolific instincts in front of goal.

He has earned plenty of praise in his short time in the limelight, most notably from his international manager Brian McLaughlin, who believes he has an exciting future.

McLaughlin said after the Georgia victory: “Rory is another who can play again in the next campaign. We have been brave enough to go really young at this age group.

“So Rory is leading the line as a 2006 against big powerful 2005s.

“But he is a clever player, his touch is good, his attitude is superb and his finishing .. for a young boy to be able to finish the way he can finish, just clinical and calm in front of goals.

“It was another top performance from him and even when we put him on the left to give another young boy a chance off the bench it wasn’t a problem because he knows he can score off the left.”

With the likes of Thomas Cannon and Lewis Dobbin also proving to be exciting young prospects already within the Everton youth team, Wilson would likely start behind them in the youth academy for at least a little while, but neither of them have made the same kind of impression on the international stage that Wilson has, and if the Toffees sign him, he will surely develop into a top talent.

Tall and devastating in front goal, having bagged 40 goals this season, he could certainly be their next Calvert-Lewin too.

In other news: Signed for £0, then became worth £35m: Everton struck gold over “king of blunders”

Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg has revealed Aston Villa have made contact over a deal for Borussia Monchengladbach defender Matthias Ginter.

The Lowdown: Ginter profiled

Ginter has been with Monchengladbach since 2017, making 177 appearances for his current employers.

The 28-year-old, who shares the same agent as Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey, is out of contract at the end of June.

The World Cup winner can also turn out as a right-back or in a holding midfield role, and it looks as if Steven Gerrard is keen on Ginter’s services.

The Latest: Plettenberg’s post

Plettenberg took to Twitter on Monday evening to provide an update on Ginter’s future. He revealed that Gerrard wants the centre-back, with Villa officials contacting the player’s representatives.

“News Ginter: Gerrard wants him! Aston Villa officials have spoken to his management. But Ginter has not made a decision yet. He waits for other options.”

The Verdict: Shrewd move?

It looks as if Gerrard is going to be in need of multiple defensive reinforcements over the summer, with recent reports suggesting that both Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa could be made available for transfer. Should both depart, Villa would be left with just Calum Chambers and Kortney Hause as senior centre-back options.

A move for Ginter could be a shrewd one due to his international and Champions League experience, something that could help Gerrard as he looks to take Villa to the next level in his first full season in charge.

Who knows, a deal may also be fairly straightforward, should the player want to move to England, as his agency was in positive talks with Villa last year when Ramsey penned a new long-term deal at Villa Park.

In other news: Gerrard and Lange ready to accept PL giants’ bid for Villa star who’s ‘a joy to watch’. 

With Aston Villa having signed the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne during the current January transfer window, it seems as though they could have a challenge on their hands when it comes to the next summer transfer window and trying to keep hold of one of the key players in Steven Gerrard’s squad.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Telegraph, Villa midfielder John McGinn has been identified as a summer transfer target for fellow Premier League side Manchester United.

The report also claims the United’s technical director Darren Fletcher is apparently a big fan of McGinn and would welcome his potential arrival at Old Trafford.

Fans would be fuming

Villa signed McGinn from Scottish club Hibernian back in the 2018 summer transfer window when they were still in the Championship.

Since then, the midfielder has gone on to make 129 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing 21 assists along the way, highlighting how much of an important figure he has been for the team.

The £27m-rated dynamo has been an ever-present figure for Villa this season as well, with Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa being the only outfield players to have racked up more minutes in the Premier League than McGinn.

The Scotland international has also been the subject of heavy praise by Gerrard as well with the former Rangers boss describing McGinn’s passing ability in their 2-1 win over Leicester City in early December as “outstanding.”

With WhoScored currently listing the 27-year-old as the highest-rated Villa player to have started more than one Premier League game this season with an overall rating of 7.14/10, this backs up why he’d be a big miss for Villa if he were to leave in the summer.

Taking all of this into account, it would be nothing short of a disaster if the Midlands outfit were to sell the Scot this summer to United given how important he is to the side, especially just months after losing fellow talisman Jack Grealish. To lose both in such a short space of time, would understandably leave supporters rather angry.

Moving forward, with his current contract not set to expire until the summer of 2025, it could be worth Villa’s owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris encouraging McGinn to stick with Villa and help them reach the club’s aspirations of securing European football in the future.

In other news: Deal agreed: Fabrizio Romano delivers Villa transfer update, Lange is working wonders – opinion

Leeds United had a fairly busy previous summer transfer window in terms of the deals that took place at Elland Road.

Not only did the Yorkshire club secure permanent deals for the likes of Dan James, Jack Harrison and Junior Firpo, but they also saw numerous players leave on loan or free transfers.

However, one player that the Whites were linked with over the summer that they will now be regretting not being able to sign is Conor Gallagher.

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Having spent last season on loan with West Bromwich Albion from his parent club Chelsea, the midfielder found himself on the move again last summer.

A report from the Daily Mail claimed that Leeds were in the mix with Crystal Palace and Newcastle United for the Englishman’s signature.

Eventually, the Chelsea youngster stayed in London but ended up at Selhurst Park with the Eagles on loan until the end of the campaign.

Unfortunately for Leeds, the 22-year-old has shown just how much of a mistake the Whites made by not making sure it was them who Gallagher joined in the summer.

With 28 league appearances to his name, the England international has scored eight goals and delivered three assists, leaving only Wilfried Zaha with more goal contributions for Patrick Vieira’s side.

One of those goals ended up being labelled as “outrageous” by Palace podcaster Dan Cook on Twitter.

As well as his efforts in front of goal, Gallagher’s overall performances have been mightily impressive as well.

So much so that WhoScored have him listed as the highest-rated player in Vieira’s squad, as well as the seventh-highest rated player in the entire Premier League excluding Liverpool and Manchester City players.

In comparison to Leeds attacker Rodrigo, the Palace loan star has made more big chances and played more passes into the final third than the Spaniard this season.

To further highlight how imposing the £17k-per-week Englishman has been in terms of creating chances, he’s racked up more shot-creating actions than the likes of Raheem Sterling, Diogo Jota, Phil Foden and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Taking all of this into account and with some of the difficult results that Leeds have picked up at times this season, having a player like Gallagher – who is now reported to have an asking price of £50m – in their ranks could have been a massive boost for the Whites.

AND in other news: Leeds heading for disaster on “wonderful” £38k-p/w “talent”, Marsch would be fuming

Many Everton fans have been left fuming over a fixture change that has been shared by the Goodison Park faithful.

As per the official website of the Merseyside club, their Premier League game away at Tottenham Hotspur is now scheduled to take place on Monday 7th March at 8pm to be shown live on Sky Sports, after originally being scheduled for Saturday 5th March at 3pm.

Of course, this now makes it a lot more difficult for away supporters to attend the match, given the travel restrictions for a midweek fixture with a late kick-off time, and the fact that the majority would have work the next day, so it is no surprise at all to see so many Toffees left furious after reading the update.

Everton fans on fixture change

These Blues were raging as the news of the fixture change was shared on Twitter, with one EFC supporter even going as far as to claim that it was ‘disgusting’:

“Absolute disgrace that”

Credit: @efcjosh___

“Joke”

Credit: @FitzyA83

“Rotten”

Credit: @jackfairhurst17

“Absolute weekend wrecker”

Credit: @bennywel999

“Disgusting”

Credit: @NolanBarnes75

“Unbelievable when the last train back has well gone before the game ends. Don’t know why it angers me anymore, known for years the match going supporter is worthless these days”

Credit: @priceyefc1

In other news, find out what big Everton manager update has emerged here!

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of German international Robin Gosens…

What’s the talk?

According to Sky Italy, the Magpies have agreed personal terms with the full-back and are now hoping to strike a deal with Atalanta for his services.

The report claims that the Toon are set to triple his current wages by handing him a €3m-per-season contract (£2.5m) at St. James’ Park.

Elation

This news will surely leave Howe feeling elated for several reasons. Firstly, it suggests that Newcastle are closing in on their third signing of the window with almost half of the month left to go.

PIF are working hard behind the scenes to improve the head coach’s squad and three signings with half of the window gone would be an impressive effort, considering Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood have both arrived on permanent deals.

There is no hiding away from the club’s need to strengthen their team further as the lack of quality in the group was exposed again on Saturday. They let a lead slip in a crucial relegation six-pointer against Watford as they were held to a 1-1 draw after Allan Saint-Maximin handed them the lead, with Joao Pedro equalising for the away side to leave the hosts 19th in the table.

Therefore, Howe will be buzzing for further additions to his team, particularly if one of them comes in the form of Gosens. The German international has been sensational in the Serie A in recent seasons, showing off his quality and versatility in Italy – playing at left-back, left-wing and in central midfield.

In the 2020/21 campaign, he produced an outstanding 11 goals and six assists in 30 starts, averaging a WhoScored rating of 7.19. Whilst contributing in the final third, he almost made 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game, showing that he can make an impact at both ends of the pitch.

This suggests that he could come in and improve Newcastle both in attack and in defence, with his ability to defend his own goal and cause problems for defenders in attack. Therefore, he could be a superb signing for the Toon and that is why Howe will be elated with the club agreeing terms with him and now pushing to make him their third signing of the window.

AND in other news, PIF plotting Newcastle offer for “perfect” £22.5m dynamo, he’d be a major upgrade…

Journalist Pete O’Rourke believes it would be a ‘big coup’ if Leeds bring Barcelona’s Sergino Dest to Elland Road this summer, GiveMeSport report.

The Lowdown: Dest links

Leeds were linked with a move for Dest at the end of March, with sources suggesting that the right-back is on Victor Orta’s radar alongside RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson.

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The 21-year-old has played as a full-back and winger on both flanks this season but is primarily a right-back.

The USA international still has over three years remaining on his Nou Camp deal, and O’Rourke has been having his say on a possible deal for the £16.2m-rated defender.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s comments

Talking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke said that ‘it would be a big, big coup’ if Leeds managed to land Dest over the coming months, believing that he may be a man in demand this summer.

“I can see Leeds monitoring his situation. It would be a big, big coup if they were able to bring him to Elland Road in the summer.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of clubs looking at Dest, who has performed well for the United States over the last couple of years, especially if Barcelona are willing to sell him.”

The Verdict: Interesting…

Raphinha has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, so Leeds could look to enquire over bringing Dest to Yorkshire plus receiving cash in a deal for the Leeds star – it may even give them a head start on other sides looking to sign Dest.

Some supporters may be cautious, though, with Junior Firpo not exactly starring in his first campaign after signing from the Catalan giants last summer.

Dest does look like a promising talent who is also extremely versatile, so a move to link up with fellow countryman Jesse Marsch could be one to watch over the coming months.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano reveals big transfer blow for Leeds as key 21 y/o target now set to move elsewhere