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Leeds United are among a host of clubs interested in signing Club Brugge attacking midfielder Noa Lang this summer, according to a fresh transfer rumour.

The Lowdown: Lang linked with Leeds switch

The 22-year-old has continued to enhance his reputation as one of the Netherlands’ brightest young players, producing consistently influential performances for Club Brugge in Belgium, for whom he has scored six goals and registered 11 assists in all competitions this season.

The Dutchman has been linked with a move to Leeds recently, and the rumour shows no signs of going away.

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The Latest: Interest still remains

According to De Standaard [via Sport Witness], Leeds have ‘stuck their nose at the window’ as they attempt to lure Lang to Elland Road.

The midfielder is still weighing up his options ahead of a likely summer exit from Brugge, though, and the Whites’ current on-pitch struggles could work against them.

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The Verdict: Brilliant summer signing

Lang seems to be a great talent who could add so much to this Leeds side, with his all-round game potentially flourishing under a manager of Marcelo Bielsa’s ilk.

His aforementioned quality on the ball is clear to see but he is also a feisty player off it, picking up six yellow cards and one red in the Jupiler Pro League this season, along with averaging 1.3 tackles per game in the Champions League.

That work ethic and will to win without the ball suggests that he could thrive for Leeds, where Bielsa demands an incredible physical effort from his players. Plus, they will be in need of more guile in the summer, especially if 2021/22 top scorer Raphinha leaves the club amid reported interest in his services from elsewhere.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly eyeing up a move for one in-form starlet. Find out who it is here.

Rangers defender Connor Goldson is a potential transfer target for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa, Pete O’Rourke has told GIVEMESPORT. 

The lowdown

Gerrard has been linked with a host of his former Ibrox players since he opted to move south of the border, including Ryan Kent, Glen Kamara and Borna Barisic, but Goldson’s case is unique because his contract is due to expire at the end of this season.

It’s possible that January will be Rangers’ last chance to cash in on the 29-year-old, who will otherwise be free to negotiate a pre-contract agreement ahead of the summer transfer window.

Football Insider have previously reported that, as per Ibrox sources, the former Brighton centre-back Goldson wants another crack at the English top flight.

The latest

O’Rourke thinks that Gerrard may deem Goldson to be Premier League standard and could look to engineer a reunion with the player in the Midlands, adding that the defender’s contract situation could lend itself to a ‘relatively cheap’ move in January.

The journalist told GIVEMESPORT: “One of the names in the frame would be Connor Goldson, who is yet to sign a new deal at Rangers. I think his contract is up in the summer, so Villa might be able to get him for relatively cheap in January.”

The verdict

There’s no escaping the reality that Goldson would be a big loss for Rangers as they look to retain their Premiership crown.

He has started 18 of their 19 league matches so far this season, and his average SofaScore rating of 7.19 ranks him fifth in the Rangers squad, indicating that he’s a hugely dependable performer.

Goldson helps the Gers to build attacks with his ‘next level’ passing, and Gerrard was also keen to point out his intangible attributes, such as the ‘incredible leadership’ he provides. Therefore, it’s little wonder that the 41-year-old wants to team up with the defender once more, so Rangers best be ready for an approach to come their way.

In other news, some Gers fans were buzzing over this news ahead of the upcoming Old Firm derby

A Newcastle United transfer claim has been made regarding their business in the window in the coming days…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Pete Graves has dropped an exciting update which promises a huge week for those associated with the Magpies.

He tweeted: “Expecting transfer breakthroughs at #nufc this week. Been fairly amused by some of the names mentioned in certain places recently, however there are players under serious discussion that haven’t been mentioned anywhere yet.”

Fans will be delighted

Newcastle fans will be delighted with this update as it suggests that they are in for an exciting week of action in the transfer market.

The Magpies are in a desperate situation in the Premier League and new additions could be vital to their efforts to remain in the top flight. They are 19 games into the season and have mustered a measly 11 points, just one more than bottom-placed Norwich, with a mere one win to their name so far.

Dean Smith’s Canaries are also the only team who have conceded as many goals as the Toon (42) in the league, highlighting their fragility at the back. Eddie Howe’s side have conceded far too many goals, during his tenure as well as under Steve Bruce and Graeme Jones, and that could need to be addressed this month.

Their struggles on the pitch over the course of the first 19 games suggest that the current playing squad is not good enough to save their top-flight status. The lowest points tally to secure Premier League survival in the competition’s history has been 33 and the Magpies are currently on course to end with 22, falling well short of what is required to remain in the division.

This is why strengthening the squad with new signings this month could be crucial to Howe’s chances of avoiding the drop. Therefore, fans will be delighted that the club are expecting ‘breakthroughs’ in negotiations in the coming days, for it suggests that players will be coming in to bolster the squad as soon as possible.

Supporters will surely not want any deals dragging out until late in the month, particularly near deadline day, and they will be buzzing to see some business being done early. It means that they may be able to relax during the latter stages of the month instead of watching the club rush around and potentially make panic buys which do not make sense from a footballing or financial point of view.

AND in other news, “I am told…” – Journalist drops big Newcastle transfer claim which will deflate Toon fans…

According to a report in the print edition of the Sunday Mirror, a shock West Ham transfer update has emerged involving Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard.

The Lowdown: Moyes in forward hunt…

Irons boss David Moyes has set his sights on improving West Ham in January as they become linked to many new attacking additions.

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Antonin Barak, Jesse Lingard and Adam Hlozek have been mentioned most recently with West Ham now having to compete in Europe as well as on the domestic front.

The Evening Standard claim West Ham will be backed to bring in a new striker, top centre-half and potentially Lingard but it’s the Mirror who have now come out with, what perhaps is, the news of the day.

The Latest: West Ham ‘leading chase’ for Hazard…

As per their information, West Ham and Everton are ‘leading the chase’ for Hazard as he gets told to pack his bags and leave in January.

Real are desperate to get his £416,000-per-week wages off the books, so much so they are willing to accept half of their original £43 million asking price for the player.

Indeed, if any club can convince him to join on loan in January with an obligation to buy later, they will accept a final fee of £21m.

The Verdict: Get it done?

Signing Hazard for just £21m would have been unthinkable a few seasons ago, with West Ham legend Tony Cottee dubbing him ‘unplayable’ back in 2018 (Sky Sports).

However, after a spell of injury woes and failing to rekindle his previous Premier League form (The Mirror), the Belgium international is now in a totally different spot.

So much so, we believe West Ham are actually better placed looking elsewhere, especially considering the 30-year-old winger has been accused of laziness and a bad attitude in training by former teammates (John Obi Mikel to beIN Sports via Sky).

The last thing Moyes needs is a player of this nature disrupting the harmony of his squad, no matter his obvious quality in past seasons.

In other news: Journalist hints West Ham now in pole position to sign ‘world class’ striker, find out more here.

Newcastle failed to escape the bottom three as they were swept aside 4-0 by Leicester City at the King Power on Sunday.

Jamaal Lascelles was adjudged to have brought James Maddison down in the box and Youri Tielemans stepped up to fire the ball into the top corner from 12 yards out.

Patson Daka then doubled the lead in the second half as he tapped into an empty net after brilliant work from Maddison and Harvey Barnes. Tielemans and Maddison both then found the back of the net in the final 10 minutes to complete the scoring.

Whilst it was a dismal afternoon for the Magpies and many players struggled, one player who failed to pull their weight was striker Callum Wilson.

Newcastle fans know how good he can be on his day, but he was unable to make a positive impact on the game. He has scored six Premier League goals this season, showing that he can make the difference in the final third at this level, but came away from the King Power without getting his name on the scoresheet.

Against the ball, he was a liability for the Magpies. As per SofaScore, he lost eight of his 12 duels – including all four of his aerial battles against the Leicester defenders. He also gave away two fouls and completed two tackles, which meant that he was successful in 50% of his challenges. This shows that he was too weak off the ball as he was shrugged out of the way too easily by the opposition.

The forward, who had fewer touches (23) than goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (35), was disappointing on the ball. Via SofaScore, he gave possession away 10 times from his 23 touches, resulting in just six completed passes out of nine attempts. He failed to create a single chance or manage a shot on the Leicester goal, whilst also failing with his one attempted dribble.

Given his goalscoring record and what is he capable of delivering at the top end of the pitch, this worrying performance will surely have left Howe feeling frustrated.

He was not the sole problem with the team’s display, given it was a 4-0 loss, but he did not do enough up front to drag them back into the game or cause Wilfred Ndidi and Caglar Soyuncu any real problems to deal with.

AND in other news, “Seriously interested”: Romano drops fresh NUFC transfer claim which fans will love…

Lots of Manchester United fans have been blasting the performance of Bruno Fernandes in their 2-0 loss at home to Manchester City on Saturday.

The former Sporting Lisbon maestro was not his usual self on the pitch and could be blamed for the first goal the Red Devils conceded as he failed to show enough effort to stop the cross which led to Eric Bailly heading the ball into his own net.

Fernandes lost out on five of his duels and failed to record a single shot on target, dribble, key pass or accurate cross in the game, while he also lost possession of the ball on 13 different occasions, the most out of any of his teammates (SofaScore).

At least he will be able to have a break with Portugal over the next fortnight before he gets back to playing for United, for whom he will hope to rediscover his best form.

Man Utd fans on Fernandes’ display

These Red Devils fans blasted Fernandes’ performance on Twitter, with one MUFC supporter even going as far as to claim that the 27-year-old was ‘shocking’ in the derby:

“When Fernandes gets frustrated he is horribly ineffective”

Credit: @MKnelmes

“If I was Ole I would find it very difficult not to strangle Bruno Fernandes. Shocking performance”

Credit: @UglyBear___

“Fernandes is supposed to be our attacking outlet and he can’t place a pass at the moment.”

Credit: @MarkXA

“All Fernandes has done is not stop crosses coming in and giving away possession.”

Credit: @stabestweet

“Lazy from Bruno!! You’ve got to stop that cross and get out to him”

Credit: @Nathan5483

“Fernandes like so many of his teammates has been so poor today.”

Credit: @FullMentalDevil

In other news, find out whose display against City was also slammed by numerous United fans

Giovanni van Bronckhorst officially starts his job as Rangers manager today and will have his first chance to assess his squad ahead of his first match in charge against Sparta Prague on Thursday.

The Dutch head coach takes over from Steven Gerrard and will be looking to carry on the Liverpool legend’s great work by sealing the Scottish Premiership title this season.

He will need to get the best out of the players he has available, with the transfer window not open until January, and a player who could be his main man is Alfredo Morelos.

Dream deal

Rangers secured a dream deal when they snapped the Colombian forward up from HJK Helsinki for a reported £1m in the summer of 2017.

They signed a promising young forward for a paltry sum of money and he has gone on to have a major impact at Ibrox in the subsequent years. He has played 203 games for the club to date and scored a whopping 101 goals, whilst also providing 45 assists, which means that he has averaged a goal almost every other game for Rangers over the past four-and-a-bit years.

Former Finland international Aki Riihilahti previously labelled the attacker as ‘brutally ruthless’. He told The Athletic:

“You could see he was a fighter. He was never shocked by anything, he just adapted. It was immediately obvious that he was way more talented and was a unique player in that even if he was having an off game, he was still dangerous. He was brutally ruthless.”

He has scored seven goals and provided two assists in all competitions this season and has the ability to be the main man for van Bronckhorst in the coming months, just as he was for ex Gers boss Steven Gerrard. The former England international once lauded him after his 21st European goal for the club in 2020. He said:

“Alfredo’s a top-class player, a top-class goalscorer, and it’s fantastic that he’s still here.”

At the time of writing (21/11/21), Transfermarkt value him at £10.8m. This is a significant increase on the £1m they initially paid for him and suggests that the club could make a gigantic profit on him if they ever decide to cash in during the next few transfer windows.

Therefore, the Gers secured a dream deal for him in 2017 and will surely be looking back at the signing as one of their best, given what he has achieved for the club since.

AND in other news, Gio handed first big Rangers boost as news emerges that’ll surely leave fans delighted…

A number of Aston Villa supporters have criticised Ollie Watkins’ ineffective performance against Arsenal in his side’s 3-1 defeat on Friday night.

Dean Smith’s side produced a lifeless showing at the Emirates, as they were deservedly beaten by the Gunners.

Thomas Partey gave Mikel Arteta’s men the lead and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty on the stroke of half-time doubled the hosts’ advantage.

The game was effectively ended as a contest when Emile Smith Rowe added a third in the second half, and while Jacob Ramsey scored a wonderful consolation, there was very little to celebrate from a Villa perspective.

One player who really struggled all evening was Watkins, with the striker failing to complete a dribble or play a single key pass during the game, making 14 fewer successful passes than his own goalkeeper, Emi Martinez.

Villa fans lambast Watkins display

The 25-year-old’s performance didn’t go unnoticed by these Villa fans on Twitter, who took to the social media platform to lay into him.

“Watkins is doing nothing. AGAIN!”

Credit: @razorrudd

“Tyrone is slow, sloppy and arrogant. The same system doesn’t work against every opponent. Our midfield looks tired and out of ideas. Watkins is bang out of form. We have a very good squad but absolutely no identity”

Credit: @JosephBrimson

“Wouldn’t mind seeing the back of Watkins for the right price tbh”

Credit: @avfcdvd

“Watkins’ work rate has dropped off massively and you take that from his game you are left with a distinctly average player”

Credit: @dicktonksy

“Watkins looks defeated this season. Buendia must be better than what we’ve seen, right? With the personnel in the squad it’s blindingly obvious that there is only space for 1 striker in Villa’s best team. Worrying how Villa now ship goals like 19/20 when 20/21 they were “

Credit: @BannisterMonty

“Watkins. Where is our Ollie? Totally lost this season. Bailey. Changes the game for us. Ramsey. Energy. Buendia. Struggled this evening. Axel. Doesn’t work in a back 3. Targett. Poor & left flanks empty. Smith. Caught out and stubborn. Needs to improve. Quick.”

Credit: @amc89avfc

In other news, another Villa player’s performance against Arsenal was also criticised. Find out who it is here.

After arriving at Celtic on a season-long loan deal this summer, things did not get off to the best of starts in Cameron Carter-Vickers’ career at Parkhead, with the Bhoys winning just one of the centre-back’s opening three league games for the club, as well as suffering defeat in his first two Europa League appearances.

However, things have improved considerably for the defender in recent weeks, with the 23-year-old appearing to be much more settled within Ange Postecoglou’s side – something which had contributed to Celtic winning four consecutive fixtures in all competitions prior to Wednesday night’s trip to Hibernian.

And, in the game at Easter Road, the USA international once again proved exactly why the Bhoys wanted to sign him this summer, with the centre-back turning in arguably his best performance in a Celtic shirt to date in the 3-1 win over Jack Ross’ side.

Proved Ange right

Having earned SofaScore match ratings of 6.8 in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Aberdeen, 7.8 in the 2-0 win over Motherwell, another 7.8 in the 2-0 win over Ferencvarosi TC and a 7.6 in the 2-0 win over St. Johnstone last weekend, it is clear to see that the centre-back is in an incredibly fine run of form at present – something that certainly continued against Hibs.

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £1.8m-rated man bossed the Celtic backline, blocking two shots, making nine clearances, three interceptions and not being dribbled past by an opponent once, as per SofaScore.

That’s not to mention his goal in the 14th minute to hand the Hoops a two-goal advantage.

Carter-Vickers, who Johnathan Woodgate once dubbed an “important” defender, also won three of his five aerial duels, completed 44 of his 46 attempted passes (96.7%).

These returns saw the £20k-per-week Tottenham loanee earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.9, with only David Turnbull receiving a higher rating than the American on Wednesday evening.

Ange is getting his just desserts for his continued faith in the Spurs loanee.

As such, should Carter-Vickers be able to maintain this level of form over the coming weeks and months, he will undoubtedly play a huge role in Celtic’s push to reclaim their Scottish Premiership crown this season – something that is looking increasingly likely, as the 3-1 win against Hibs took the Bhoys to within two points of the top of the table.

In other news: Ange confirms Nicholson negotiations with “huge” talent, Celtic fans will be buzzing

Liverpool could finally replace departed winger Xherdan Shaqiri after being linked with a move for Porto ace Luis Diaz.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet TodoFichajes (as relayed by CaughtOffside), the Reds are one of several sides interested in securing the highly-rated 24-year-old’s services.

The report also lists Bayern Munich, Barcelona and AS Roma as potential suitors for Diaz, while his current club are thought to value their prized asset at a minimum of £43m.

Edwards must sanction Liverpool move

Colombia international Diaz arrived at the Estadio do Dragao from his homeland back in 2019 and quickly established himself as a key player for the Dragons. In 106 appearances for Sergio Conceicao’s charges, he has bagged 30 goals and provided a further 14 assists for his teammates, playing a pivotal part in their domestic double in 2019/20.

He then featured heavily for his nation last summer in the Copa America, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with four strikes.

Diaz scored the winning goal for Colombia as they won 3-2 in their third-place play-off with Peru, earning the praise of teammate Juan Cuadrado, with the former Chelsea man insisting that Los Cafeteros wouldn’t have won without the skillful forward.

“We won because of Lucho, he has an excellent level, and he will achieve great things,” Cuadrado said after the game.

With former Liverpool attacker Shaqiri departing for Lazio in the previous window, manger Jurgen Klopp is currently light on options in the final third of the pitch.

Therefore, director of football Michael Edwards must sanction a swoop for Diaz, providing the German with a plethora of options across the front three, allowing him to rest and rotate his star performers.

Although Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have started the new campaign in impressive fashion, the pair are approaching their 30th birthdays and Diaz’s arrival at Anfield could ensure Liverpool remain a potent attacking force for years to come.

In other news… Report reveals exciting Liverpool transfer update, fans will be absolutely buzzing