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Newcastle United have reportedly now made ‘official enquiries’ over Mitchel Bakker ahead of a potential move before the January transfer window shuts.

The Lowdown: Defence needs work

The St. James’ Park faithful did well to bring in Kieran Trippier from Atletico Madrid earlier on in the window to fill the right-back position, but now they need to strengthen in the centre of defence and at left-back.

They have conceded no fewer than 43 goals in the Premier League so far this season, the second-most behind Norwich City, and so the defence needs to be tightened if they have any hopes of avoiding relegation down to the Championship.

Bakker is a player who is comfortable at centre-back and left-back, and so it is no surprise to see the North East club strongly linked with him.

The Latest: Bakker enquiries

Craig Hope reported this week that a deal looks ‘unlikely’, but according to De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), the Tyneside outfit have now made ‘official enquiries’ with regards to a potential move for Bakker, and he has ‘been informed’ of their interest.

Bayer Leverkusen are apparently asking for a price of €12m (£10m) to let him go, lower than the £16m tag first reported by Hope, and if a deal is agreed, this report claims the player would be ‘willing’ to discuss terms with Eddie Howe and the Magpies.

The Verdict: Bargain

If the new owners can get Bakker in for just £10m, then it would certainly be a bargain.

He is playing at a high level in the Bundesliga, having also played for established European clubs in PSG and Ajax, and at 21 years of age, he still has so much potential left to fulfil.

Described as someone who has ‘pace and strength’ as well as ‘footballing ability’ (via The Chronicle) by Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller, Bakker has everything needed already for a modern day full-back, and the fact that he can play at centre-half too makes the deal a no-brainer for the Toon, who are in desperate need of both.

In other news, find out what big transfer twist involving two NUFC targets has emerged here!

With 25 strikes conceded in the Premier League so far this season, Aston Villa have let more goals in than Burnley, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Taking this into account, the upcoming January transfer window could provide the Midlands club and Steven Gerrard with the opportunity to bring some reinforcements into the club, particularly in the defensive areas.

One deal that the club could look to do to strengthen the squad up at the back is by signing Rangers centre-back Connor Goldson, who Villa are reportedly in the frame to sign in January according to journalist Peter O’Rourke.

It was previously reported that Goldson had rejected the chance to sign a new deal with the Scottish club in an effort to join a Premier League club, which could pave the way for Gerrard to reunite with the defender after the 29-year-old made a total of 182 appearances under the current Villa boss at Rangers, scoring 17 goals and providing five assists in the process.

Labelled as a player with “incredible leadership” on and off the pitch by Gerrard, signing Goldson in January could be a dream move for the Villa manager to help give some guidance to Villa’s younger defenders such as Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe.

Since joining Rangers back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Brighton in a deal worth a reported fee of around £3m, Goldson has gone on to make 188 appearances for the club across all competitions, showing how vital he has been for the team since his arrival and why they would presumably prefer to keep hold of him for the remainder of the season.

This season has seen the defender, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £27k-per-week according to Salary Sport, play in all but two of Rangers’ games across all competitions, completing the full 90 minutes in all of them, highlighting him importance to the club.

With Villa also linked with a move for Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez, Goldson could be a much cheaper alternative than the England international.

That’s when you take into account his advanced age and the presumption that the Reds would want more money for their player than Rangers would want for their asset, especially with his contract set to run out at the end of the season.

In other news: Lange must avoid transfer catastrophe at AVFC over “magnificent” £28.8m-rated machine – opinion

Everton have had a rather dismal season in the Premier League under Rafa Benitez with just five wins, four draws and nine defeats under their belt after 18 games played.

One figure that hasn’t been a particular regular player for the Toffees in the league this season that has failed to impress on the occasions that he has played is midfielder Andre Gomes.

With just seven league appearances and two starts under his belt in this current campaign, Gomes has only managed to earn himself an overall performance rating of 6.2/10 from WhoScored, making him the lowest-rated Everton player to have started more than one league game.

Despite scoring a goal and putting in a respectable performance in their recent FA Cup win over Hull City at the weekend, one good outing against a Championship club may not be enough to convince the fans that he’s good enough to continue in an Everton shirt, even though his current contract at Goodison Park isn’t set to expire until the summer of 2024.

Having been linked with a move to Benfica during the previous summer transfer window, Gomes’ days at Everton could be numbered if he doesn’t fix up his form in the Premier League and help the team turn their fortunes around throughout the remainder of the season.

With the Goodison Park outfit reportedly interested in Manchester United’s 20-year-old midfielder James Garner, who is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest and was part of the team that beat Arsenal in the FA Cup, this potential move could pave the way for Rafa Benitez to axe Gomes and replace him with a young prospect that could be a long-term figure for the Toffees.

Labelled as an “aggressive” player on the pitch by Red Devils midfielder Bruno Fernandes, Garner has proven himself to be more of a useful midfield option for Forest than Gomes has for Everton this season with the loanee racking up a higher average of passes per game and pass succession than the Portuguese international has managed to do in the Premier League according to WhoScored.

While it could be seen as a risk to sign the youngster when his loan deal at Forest ends in the summer given his small amount of experience in the Premier League, it could end up being a risk worth taking for Benitez if he can push Gomes out the door and hit the ground running at Goodison. Should that happen, then the Everton manager will have undoubtedly struck gold in the transfer market.

In other news: “My understanding is”: Alan Myers drops EFC transfer claim that’ll have fans buzzing – opinion

Leeds United have suffered another injury blow ahead of their Premier League game against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

What’s the story?

Having been sidelined previously, Patrick Bamford admitted that his recovery from injury was dragging out longer than he initially expected, revealing: “It’s okay. It’s a little bit slow. It is (getting better), day by day. It’s just taking a little bit longer than I first thought.

“I think the thing that has got under my skin a little bit this time is that I anticipated I would be back in four weeks and the fact that it has taken longer than that is a little bit hard to get my head around. But now I am seeing improvements.”However, following his comeback and last-gasp equaliser against Brentford last week, it appears that his return has been very much short-lived, with a statement on the club’s website calling into doubt his status for the match at Stamford Bridge today.It read: “Patrick Bamford suffered a hamstring injury during last Sunday’s Premier League game against Brentford at Elland Road. The evolution of the injury is subject to daily assessment.”Huge blowGiven that Bamford was Leeds’ top scorer last season with 17 goals, it’s no surprise that the Whites have really struggled in the final third to start this Premier League campaign – they’ve managed just 15 goals from their opening 15 top-flight games in 2021/22.Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan recently voiced his concern about the kind of impact that Bamford’s absence from this side would have. He said: “It was one of my biggest fears. How can we live life without Patrick playing from when he’s the one player that really strings everything together up front?”He runs in behind, he runs the channels, takes centre-halves out of positions. His energy, his work right across the backline in the opposition’s defence. There’s not a player like him at the club. That was my worry, if anything did happen, which it has done now. We have seen that difficult side of the game going forward.”The £35k-a-week earner’s absence is a massive blow just a week after marking his return with a priceless goal. not least with Leeds travelling to face one of the Premier League title contenders in Chelsea.Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa must finally give this starlet a chance…

Antonio Conte may have to turn to Ryan Sessegnon as his Tottenham Hotspur side return to Premier League action this evening…

What’s the word?

The north London outfit have seen their last two matches postponed following an outbreak of the virus at the club’s training base last week but the Italian’s depleted squad have been back in training since Sunday in preparation for this game.

It remains to be seen who is available but one player that isn’t expected to feature is Sergio Reguilon, who according to football.london’s Alasdair Gold is still out injured.

“I am told that Sergio Reguilon is not fully training yet after that one (his injury against Norwich City), he is on his way back but I just wonder if Thursday might come too soon,” he revealed to his YouTube channel this week.

Sessegnon chance

It leaves Conte light on options, especially as he utilises Ben Davies as a left-sided centre-back, so it’s likely that Sessegnon is gifted a rare chance to shine – he must take it.

The 21-year-old dynamo has played only 17 times since joining from Fulham in a £25m deal back in the summer of 2019 and was sent off in his first start under the Italian but here he has a chance at redemption.

Once dubbed a “big, big talent” by former Cottagers teammate Stefan Johansen, the young dynamo has the attributes to thrive in Conte’s system as he can contribute at either end of the pitch, as seen during his loan stint at Hoffenheim last season.

As per WhoScored, he provided two goals and three assists, whilst averaging two tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 0.7 key passes per game in the German top-flight.

The £16.2m-rated must fill the void left behind by Reguilon, who leads the squad for creativity, managing three assists and one key pass per game.

In replacing the former Real Madrid star in the win over Norwich last time out, Conte urged Sessegnon to do better. He told reporters (via football.london):

“I’m sure that he can do much better and he has quality. He has quality as a player with great power, he’s strong physically and he needs to take confidence. He needs to take confidence from the atmosphere and the stadium. Sess is a young player but if you stay in the Tottenham squad it means that you deserve to be here and you have to deserve this. He played a good game but he has to improve, like the other players.”

Conte must give him another chance to impress now.

AND in other news, Journalist drops exciting behind-the-scenes Antonio Conte claim…

James Tarkowski is one of the players that Newcastle United have a realistic chance of signing in January, according to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards. 

The lowdown

Edwards and Telegraph colleague Mike McGrath reported in October that Newcastle would have a budget of around £50m for the mid-season transfer window.

The Magpies find themselves 19th in the Premier League after picking up only five points from their first 11 matches and Eddie Howe, whose appointment was confirmed on Monday, has been tasked with keeping them in the top flight.

The latest

Tarkowski will be into the final six months of his contract in January and has been told that he can leave if Burnley’s valuation is met.

Edwards also names four other potential options, including Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard, who he feels would be an ‘excellent addition’. Meanwhile, Harry Winks is ‘the sort of defensive midfield player Eddie Howe liked at Bournemouth’ and is a peripheral figure at Tottenham Hotspur.

A loan move for Chelsea’s Ross Barkley could also interest the new manager, while Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier is ‘very keen’ to come back to England and would represent a ‘major upgrade’ on the existing full-back options, according to Edwards.

The verdict

If you add up the Transfermarkt valuations of the five players mentioned, it comes to £93.6m.

Loan moves for players like Barkley and Lingard could be possible, but it’s clear that the Mapgies will need to prioritise if they are to keep to that aforementioned budget.

Their biggest concern should be strengthening defensively given that their goal concession record is the second-worst in the Premier League. Adding top-flight proven players in Tarkowski and Trippier, as well as the protection of Winks, could be enough to keep them up if they can provide greater solidity to Newcastle’s back line.

In other news, one of Newcastle’s top Director of Football targets has reached a decision

Celtic will be aiming to advance into the final of the Scottish League Cup when they take on St Johnstone at Hampden Park this evening.

The Hoops are currently enjoying an eight-game unbeaten run under the tutelage of Ange Postecoglou and they’ll be hoping to continue their good form at the national stadium.

In-form centre-back Stephen Welsh declared himself fit after being substituted due to a knock in Scotland under-21s’ 2-0 defeat to Belgium in midweek, so he will be available for selection against the League Cup holders this weekend.

Postecoglou shouldn’t have any fresh fitness concerns to contend with, leaving him with some pleasant selection headaches ahead of kick-off.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects the 56-year-old to line up his team against the Saints, with two changes from the side which started last time out…

In goal, former England number one Joe Hart is expected to keep his place between the sticks after an impressive start to life in Scotland, keeping both Scott Bain and Vasilios Barkas on the sidelines.

Ahead of the veteran shot-stopper will be a familiar back four which has put in some improved performances of late. Josip Juranovic, Welsh, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Stephen Ralston have started to gel as a defensive unit in recent weeks, although Celtic have conceded four goals in their last two outings, something that Postecoglou will surely be keen to address.

The midfield could see an experienced head make a rare appearance from the off, given the occasion. Summer signing James McCarthy has only started three times throughout 2021/22, but he could replace the £14,000-per-week Nir Bitton at the base of the engine room, providing a calming influence behind Callum McGregor and David Turnbull.

Attackers Jota and Kyogo Furuhashi have been in scintillating form this season, bagging a combined 19 goals already in all competitions. The devastating duo may be joined by 30-year-old James Forrest along the forward line, with his previous experience in semi-finals potentially pivotal in this intriguing clash.

In other news… Ange must unleash “incredible” £2.7m-rated Celtic maestro, he’s a “class player” 

Ajax manager Erik ten Hag has been urged to turn down any advances from Newcastle and only consider offers from ‘clubs like Manchester City or Manchester United’. 

The lowdown

The Northern Echo’s Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson reported over the weekend that the Magpies had sounded out the possibility of appointing the 51-year-old, as well as his sporting director Marc Overmars.

Ten Hag, who has previously turned down Tottenham Hotspur, is still under contract at the Johann Cruyff ArenA for another two years, so Newcastle would need to pay a compensation package if they are to entice him to Tyneside.

The 51-year-old led Ajax to the semi-finals of the 2018/19 Champions League, claiming the scalps of Juventus and Real Madrid along the way. He has also steered the team to two Eredivisie titles and twice been named the Dutch league’s manager of the year (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

Speaking on Studio Voetbal, Dutch journalist Arno Vermeulen admitted that he was baffled by the links and feels that the ‘much smarter’ move for Ten Had would be to wait for an offer from a club which has already ‘established’ itself at the top level.

“Why in God’s name would he go to Newcastle, I wonder?” he said, as quoted by Ajax Showtime. “He’s really smart. He started working at Ajax in the top of the Netherlands.”

Vermeulen later added: “Wouldn’t it be much smarter to wait for clubs like Manchester City or Manchester United? Clubs that are established. If you win prizes with that for a few years, that is very valuable.”

The verdict

The attraction of Newcastle is clear. It’s a transformative project being bankrolled by immensely wealthy owners, and while they may not be ‘established’ now, they may well have the means to be challenging for the top prizes by the end of the decade.

Will Ten Hag be interested in the job? It’s almost surprising that he’s still at Ajax more than two years on from that incredible Champions League run, but this might be the opportunity which tempts him away from Amsterdam. His CV certainly makes for good reading.

In other news, read this major update on an another managerial candidate

Despite managing to keep their winning run in the Champions League going with a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid in midweek thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane, it wasn’t a perfect night for Liverpool in one regard in particular.

What’s the news?

After replacing Mane at half time, Reds attacker Roberto Firmino went off with an injury in the 78th minute and was replaced by Divock Origi.

In a tweet from Liverpool journalist James Pearce, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp reportedly revealed that the Brazilian had suffered a hamstring injury that forced him off the pitch in the second half.

The reporter wrote the following seven-word update: “Klopp says Firmino has a hamstring injury.”

Big blow

So far this season, Firmino has made 11 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to score six goals and provide one assist in the process, which makes this a huge blow for the Reds if he’s going to be out of action for a significant period of time.

Liverpool also have Naby Keita and James Milner out with hamstring injuries so it’s safe to say that this latest update via Pearce will have a lot of Liverpool fans gutted, especially considering they have a big Premier League match against West Ham United to prepare for.

The Irons are only two points behind the Reds in the league table so having Firmino available would have been a sizeable advantage for the Merseyside outfit.

Since joining the Reds in a deal worth a reported fee of £29m, the 30-year-old, who is currently valued at £36m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 303 appearances for the Reds across all competitions. In that time he’s beaten the goalkeeper on 93 occasions, supplying 70 assists and proving himself as an important figure for the team.

While it’s a shame that Firmino has picked up this injury, at least Liverpool have Jota, who has five goals and two assists under his belt so far this season, to potentially fill in for the Brazilian for the time being.

That said, with the Reds progressing in the Champions League and Carabao Cup, whilst remaining in a close title race at the top of the Premier League table, Klopp and everyone else at the club will undoubtedly be hoping that Firmino gets back to full fitness as soon as possible.

In other news: Forget Mane: “Outstanding” LFC dynamo who made 4 key passes stole the show vs Atletico – opinion

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has reacted to a big claim coming out of West Ham United involving Declan Rice.

The Lowdown: GSB plot Rice sale…

As per Football Insider, it appears that a significant update has emerged in the last few days regarding Rice’s future in east London.

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Indeed, according to their information, GSB and West Ham are now planning to sell the 22-year-old for around £90m while his stock his high after the player refused to pen fresh terms at the London Stadium.

While they were hoping to get around £100m originally, Rice rejecting offers of a new deal from West Ham will force the club to sell for less.

The Latest: Hutton reacts…

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Premier League defender has dropped his take and believes that the England international could leave if it suits all parties.

When asked if Rice could leave West Ham, Hutton replied: “Probably. I think so.

“I love what West Ham have done. They’ve done really well in the transfer market, the manager has done a fantastic job.

“But Rice is at a level now, like Kalvin Philips, he’s an England international now, his profile is massive.

“The big teams are hovering so it could be time to cash in. I mean, if we’re talking the best part of £100million, that’s a lot of money.

“Just like Leeds, the big thing is can David Moyes get that money to reinvest in the squad?

“He’s done a great job so far so if he can get that in, I think it’s one of those ones where they’ll part ways and everybody could be happy.”

The Verdict: Irreplaceable…

Even for a figure around £90m, if West Ham do indeed to sell for that amount, you can make the argument that Rice is simply irreplaceable to manager David Moyes.

The mainstay, who has started every Premier League game for the Irons so far in 2021/22, has eclipsed all of his West Ham teammates in terms of interceptions per match (2.3), even managing an incredible 94.4% pass accuracy in that time (WhoScored).

It’s little wonder that defender and team-mate Craig Dawson believes Rice is ‘unbelievable’ and a ‘quality’ player (West Ham Q&A), and we certainly think that letting him go could be a big risk, no matter the cost.

In other news: West Ham source: GSB have now set sights on signing ‘outstanding’ star for Moyes, talks already held…find out more here.