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Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley is making a shrewd decision as it has been revealed that the club are not looking to sign QPR right-back Todd Kane this summer.

What’s the talk?

London Football News had reported that Portsmouth were one of the clubs trying to sign Kane from QPR. Sunderland and Charlton were also named in the report, with Kane set for an exit from the London-based club in the upcoming transfer window after losing his place in the starting XI earlier this year.

Hampshire Live have cleared up the situation by revealing that Kane is not a player Portsmouth have on their list at the moment.

Whilst Pompey are pursuing the market in search of potential additions to their squad for the 2021/22 campaign, Kane is not one of the players they are considering. It remains to be seen whether or not Charlton and Sunderland’s interest in the defender is genuine or not.

Shrewd call

Kane’s performances in the Championship in the past three seasons have been dismal. In three campaigns for Hull and QPR, Kane highest average WhoScored rating was 6.52. In 2018/19, he averaged a score of 6.48 in 39 appearances for Hull, before dropping to a shocking 6.33 in 32 games for QPR.

His best score came in the season just gone, averaging a score of 6.52 in 28 games, which shows how low of a bar he has set himself since leaving Chelsea in 2019. QPR dropped Kane to deploy Osman Kaykay at right-back as they clearly felt he was not performing at a high enough level to start for them.

Pompey already have Callum Johnson in their squad going into next season. The 24-year-old started 37 of Portsmouth’s games at right-back in League One, recording a solid WhoScored rating of 6.76. Johnson has also been able to fill in at wing-back and centre-back, showing off his versatility to go along with his steady displays at right-back for Cowley’s side. 26-year-old James Bolton has also been able to provide back-up and competition to Johnson.

Therefore, Cowley is making a shrewd call by not pursuing Kane, who is on £7k-per-week at QPR. Kane’s statistics at QPR and Hull do not suggest that he is a good performer at Championship level and that is the division Pompey should be aiming to get to.

Portsmouth will need players who have the quality to shine in League One with the potential to play in a higher tier and Kane has already proven that he does not have the latter. At the age of 27, it is unlikely that he will be able to improve much further beyond his current level, so it is a good call by Portsmouth to avoid this move.

AND in other news, Pompey could be heading for disaster as 14-goal star could leave

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

Luke Edwards has dropped some interesting insight on arbitration and the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

As per a tweet from the Daily Telegraph journalist, the Premier League are ‘extremely confident’ that they will win the pending case against the Tyneisde club, which they believe is ‘watertight’.

He also claimed that it is a ‘hit and hope’ and a ‘long shot’ for Mike Ashley, adding that he has ‘never been confident’ himself that the Magpies can win the legal battle.

Newcastle takeover worry

If the Premier League are as confident as Edwards claims that they are, then it is certainly a worry for Newcastle going into the hearing.

A negative result for the Magpies in this case could well kill the hopes of a potential takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group once and for all, but conversely a positive one may pave a pathway for the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to come back onto the table – if they are willing to do so.

Nonetheless, everything is all speculation up until this point, and Newcastle should now be focusing on making sure that they copper-fasten their Premier League status for next season.

In other news, find out what big claim on the potential takeover Ben Jacobs has been dropped!

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

Sunderland fans want to re-sign Victor Anichebe after the 33-year-old was pictured at the Black Cats’ pre-season friendly against Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday.

The Stadium of Light outfit were in action against Tranmere at Prenton Park as they continue their preparations ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. The match ended 0-0, which perhaps illustrates Sunderland’s struggles upfront – the loss of last term’s top goalscorer Charlie Wyke (BBC) to Wigan Athletic (wiganathletic.com) is a huge blow to Lee Johnson and co.

Anichebe, who used to play for Sunderland amongst other clubs in the Premier League, has been retired for a number of years. During his career, he managed just 42 goals during 267 matches (Transfermarkt), which is far from prolific, but his physicality make him a difficult proposition to play against in his heyday.

A photo of Anichebe at the match was shared on Twitter by Sunderland’s official account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the former Nigeria international.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Anichebe below

“Announce Him I beg he will tear up league 1 with his physicality”

Credit: @safcreportt

“Sign him up can’t be worse than grigg”

Credit: @Alex16793

“Sign. Him. It’s simple, pay as you play big target man up front”

Credit: @Hawko88

“Swap him for Grigg asap”

Credit: @SuperkevFTM

“Sign him, hasn’t played for 3 years but still walks into our team”

Credit: @GazJFisher

“Jokes aside, it’s impossible to do worse than what we’ve got up front, get him signed”

Credit: @15jgilmore

In other news, Sunderland fans were far from happy with this ex-player’s comments.

Rangers have been linked with both Joseph Okumu and Danilho Doekhi recently, but who would be the better addition to Steven Gerrard’s side at Ibrox this summer?

Joseph Okumu

According to Football Insider, Rangers are considering a move for the Elfsborg centre-back, who has impressed in Sweden since joining in the summer of 2019.

The 23-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.08m by Transfermarkt, has gone on to make 38 appearances for the Allsvenskan side but has certainly earned himself a lot of plaudits during his brief time there, with Elfsborg sporting director Stefan Andreasson full of praise for him recently, saying:

“We understood that this was a very good player, then he showed maybe the whole of Sweden last year, and also Europe. It is clear that Okumu is one of the best.

“I have said it once before, that he is the best centre-back that has ever been in the Allsvenskan – you can say that sometimes.”

Therefore, it seems clear that Okumu could be a very good addition to Gerrard’s side this summer if they can win the race to sign him.

Danilho Doekhi

According to a report from the Netherlands, via Glasgow Live, Rangers are also keen on the Vitesse centre-back and are willing to offer him a contract.

The 22-year-old is also attracting interest from Fulham and Newcastle United, having played a key part in Vitesse’s impressive season in the Eredivise, making 30 appearances and averaging a solid 6.90 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

The Netherlands U21 international is currently valued at £1.8m by Transfermarkt but it seems as if Vitesse will be forced to cash in on him this summer, so he could prove to be a bargain option for Ross Wilson.

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Doekhi’s manager Thomas Letsch was full of praise for him earlier in the season, saying:

“Danilho is extremely important. He is one of the best centre-backs in the league.

“He already played fantastic last year and this season he has performed at the highest level in every game.”

Who would be better?

Although both could prove to be excellent options for Gerrard next season, Doekhi has more experience playing at a higher level and is younger than Okumu too, so, for us, he would be the better option for the Gers this summer.

The fact that he’s already played at a better level than Okumu, and has flourished at that level, should give Gerrard the confidence that he is better equipped to succeed if he does take the step up to join Rangers. We think the Ibrox boss would love to work with such a talented, promising young player.

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Therefore, Wilson should forget about signing Okumu for now and instead focus on bringing the in-demand Doekhi to Ibrox ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

And, in other news… Rangers dealt big blow amid huge claim on “top talent”, he could leave Ibrox

Graham Smyth has delivered an update on Leeds United left-back Gjanni Alioski amid recent speculation he could sign a new contract at Elland Road.

What’s the story?

Writing initially on Twitter, Smyth said: “One more outing in the shop window for Gianni Alioski today before be decides his Leeds United future. The club’s position is unchanged.”

And then, adding via The Yorkshire Evening Post, he said: “The 29-year-old has had interest from elsewhere, including clubs in Turkey, but Leeds, who felt their post-season discussions with Alioski were positive, are adamant he remains very welcome to stay and would be open to further discussions with the player and his representatives.

“With Leeds in the market for a new left-back and quietly confident they can land their prime target, Alioski’s game time is under threat.”

Fans will be buzzing

While Alioski had his moments of madness and questionable performances last season in the Premier League, the North Macedonia international certainly put it all on the line for Leeds while playing in that left-back role – something Alex McLeish has praised him for.

He said: “For me, he’s been amazing, that guy. Alioski was like a jumping jack, a firework, the way he would do some really clever things, run at people and get balls in the box. Then all of a sudden he’s been asked to become a defender and a wing-back.

“I’ve got to say Leeds’ season was a big success and he was one of the players that helped to make it a big success. He’s had a cracking season. He’s probably short of being a top-class wing-back but he’s made certainly made a great attempt at it. Alioski is a player who’s surprised me very much in the wing-back role.”

Alioski played 36 of the 38 Premier League games last season, with the only two fixtures he missed coming in the opening five matches – the versatile ace even chipped in with three assists in the last eight games in the top-flight too as Leeds enjoyed a superb end to the season.

Given the way he’s transformed himself into a starting left-back for Bielsa, and how he’s endeared himself into the hearts of supporters with his all-action performances, Leeds fans will surely be buzzing at Smyth’s latest update.

Whites supporters have already made their feelings clear about wanting Alioski to stay, so this news should have them delighted.

Meanwhile, Graham Smyth has revealed Leeds United’s transfer plans…

Rangers have a rare weekend off from competitive action as international matches take over this week ahead of a return to the Premiership against Hearts on 16 October.

Whilst Gers fans may be twiddling their thumbs waiting for their club to play again, the international break provides an opportunity for them to watch players in a different setting whilst playing for their countries.

It also affords the players a chance to show Steven Gerrard, assuming he keeps track of their international performances, that they deserve a place in the Rangers XI. One player who may have needed this boost is attacking midfielder Ianis Hagi, who has failed to register a goal or assist in his last three appearances for the Scottish giants.

The 22-year-old lined up for Romania against European giants Germany in a World Cup qualifier on Friday night and put in a superb performance to put himself firmly in Gerrard’s thoughts ahead of next weekend.

The Gers playmaker was unable to help his team to victory as Romania succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, but his performance stood out as he scored the opening goal and caught the eye with the rare moments he had on the ball throughout the match.

He stunned the home crowd with a sensational goal to open the scoring on the night. He weaved inside and out of several Germany players, nutmegging Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger, before unleashing a pinpoint left-footed effort into the bottom corner past the despairing dive of Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen. This meant that he completed 100% of his attempted dribbles in the game, picking his moment with perfection to punish Germany.

Along with his goal, Hagi put in lots of hard work defensively. As per SofaScore, he won 75% of his duels as well as making one interception, one clearance and one tackle for Romania. This shows that he was not afraid to track back and put his foot in despite playing out wide, proving that he has a willingness for the more industrious side to the game.

Gerrard will surely have been impressed with this performance from Hagi as it shows what he can do in matches where his team may not dominate possession, in the Europa League for example. The 22-year-old proved that he can produce moments of magic whilst also being disciplined defensively, which could increase his chances of starting at Ibrox next week.

AND in other news, “From what I hear”: Insider drops big Rangers injury update, Gerrard will be buzzing…

David Norris doesn’t think that signing Lewis O’Brien would excite the Elland Road faithful and believes that it would be a risky addition.

Marcelo Bielsa has already added highly-rated Barcelona left-back Junior Firpo to his squad, whilst he finally secured the permanent services of Jack Harrison from Manchester City following three previous loan spells.

And according to The Sun, the Argentine is looking to add Huddersfield midfielder O’Brien to his squad after impressing in the last two seasons since coming through the ranks for the Terriers.

Leeds desperately need a player to cover for Kalvin Phillips, and whilst O’Brien has never played in the top-flight, he’s held his own at Championship level – and could be available on the cheap given he’s out of contract in 2022.

O’Brien scored and assisted three times in 44 Championship appearances last season, although with Leeds looking to challenge for Europe next term, Norris exclusively told Football FanCast that he would be an underwhelming signing:

“Whether he can come in and have as big an impact as Kalvin [Phillips], would be a little bit of a risk, and I’m not sure it would get fans excited, but as a young player with potential, it would be a good signing.”

Leeds United have been handed a golden chance to sign Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien amid a recent transfer update.

What’s the story?

Journalist Alan Nixon had previously revealed via Twitter that O’Brien was “very near” to the top of the shortlist for Marcelo Bielsa’s side this summer as they look to strengthen their midfield options ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

And now, according to The Daily Mirror (print edition, page 64, August 22, 2021), the Terriers will sell the midfielder for around £8m.

And former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell has delivered his seal of approval over a potential late move for O’Brien this summer.

He said: “They are weaker without Kalvin Phillips in there, for sure.

“The Man United game, I thought they’d have lost without him anyway. But he is so important to them and it is massive for Leeds to have him back. But O’Brien does stiffen that midfield up. He’s a really, really good player. I think they will definitely look to strengthen.”

He’s better than Klich

In O’Brien, Leeds could find someone who could be a real upgrade on Mateusz Klich in the middle of the park, with Huddersfield Town writer Steven Chicken raving about the 22-year-old’s ability to cover ground and put his foot in.

He said: “O’Brien is a left-footed, tough-tackling central midfielder. Former Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley often praised O’Brien as being ‘like having two players’, with the midfielder receiving particular praise from his manager and fans alike for his ability and willingness to rush back and win the ball with a clean sliding tackle whenever his side were caught on the counter-attack.

“He certainly has the potential to be (a Premier League player), if he’s not already.”

Former Huddersfield goalkeeper, Matt Glennon, added to those sentiments by saying: “He closes down until the 95th, 96th minute, still running to the corners, stopping defenders, he’s got unlimited energy.

“Lewis O’Brien wants to put the hard yards in and wants to be at the very top of where he can get to. He’s one of those lads who works ridiculously hard which, for me, is your minimum in any league, but he’s got that quality, the drop of a shoulder, that strength to keep people off him, a low centre of gravity to glide past people, arm aloft when they try to knock him off the ball.”

And, when you look at the key stats between O’Brien and Klich, it’s the Terriers ace who comes out on top.

As per Whoscored, O’Brien averaged more tackles, interceptions, dribbles and fouls won per game last season than his Polish counterpart, and given the fact he is several years younger – almost a decade in fact – he should come on leaps and bounds over the coming campaigns.

His tally of three goals and three assists – compared to Klich’s four and five respectively – came in a campaign which saw him play a number of different positions including holding midfield and left-back, so there’s real potential for him to develop that end product even further.

The Whites could sign a real upgrade on Klich by landing O’Brien this summer, and the latest transfer update on his future has gifted them a golden chance to do so.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this Premier League record breaker…