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Newcastle United now “really like” a £20m Premier League player who may look to leave his current club in 2025, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
The Magpies have now agreed to sell goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, with the 35-year-old set to exit St. James’ Park this month, meaning Eddie Howe is now tasked with bringing in a replacement.
Howe is left with a decision to make, as he could choose to bring in an experienced back-up goalkeeper, or a player capable of challenging Nick Pope for a starting spot in the not-so-distant future.
A goalkeeper that falls into the latter category is Burnley’s James Trafford, with Newcastle expected to make a move for the 22-year-old this year as a long-term replacement for Pope.
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Trafford is showing promising signs for Burnley in the Championship, but if Howe wants to bring in an alternative goalkeeper who has already proven himself in the Premier League, then there is another option on the table.
Speaking on the Fully Loaded Transfer Show, Jacobs has now stated that Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is of interest to the Magpies, and a deal could be possible if he falls down the pecking order further at Anfield.
The journalist said: “Kelleher at Liverpool is another [goalkeeper] that Newcastle really like. There is a market opportunity there because Mamardashvili is coming in, Alisson may well stay and Mamardashvili might not be the number one next season.
“There is no indication so far that Liverpool plan on loaning Mamardashvili out to keep it as Alisson and Kelleher next season.
“So Kelleher suddenly is likely to become a number three which is not something he is comfortable with. He doesn’t really want to stay as a number two either.
“We heard some reports that Chelsea might come in the mix for Kelleher, but I am told there is some substance to Newcastle and Kelleher.”
Kelleher has done a remarkable job filling in for the injured Alisson at times this season, being lauded as “outstanding” by members of the media, which indicates he is ready to be the first-choice goalkeeper at a big Premier League club.
There are signs the Irishman could be capable of immediately coming into Newcastle and challenging Pope for a starting spot, as displayed by his performance on some key goalkeeping metrics over the past year.
|
Statistic per 90 |
Caoimhin Kelleher |
Nick Pope |
|
Goals against |
1.0 (91st percentile) |
1.44 (43rd percentile) |
|
Save percentage |
75.8% (84th percentile) |
70.5% (52nd percentile) |
|
Clean sheet percentage |
31.8% (72nd percentile) |
18.8% (30th percentile) |
At 26 years old, the £20m-rated shot-stopper is still relatively young for a goalkeeper, and Pope will be 33 years old by the end of the campaign, so it is clear that a long-term replacement will be needed soon.
Kelleher’s performances for the Reds have been top drawer, playing a huge part in keeping his side at the top of the table while Alisson was absent, and he is ready to take the next step in his career by becoming a regular starter elsewhere.
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Sheffield United are now closing in on one of the biggest signings of the January transfer window so far, according to an update from reliable journalist Alan Nixon.
The Blades face another hugely important Championship game this weekend, as they welcome Norwich City to Bramall Lane, having won 2-1 away to Watford in their most recent league assignment, prior to being knocked out of the FA Cup at home to Cardiff City last weekend.
Chris Wilder’s side go into the action just one point off top-of-the-table Leeds United and level on points with second-place Burnley, highlighting the importance of the match.
New signings in the January window could be essential, in order to give them the best possible chance of sealing a quickfire return to the Premier League, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain recently emerging as an exciting target – they are reportedly in talks with the former Arsenal and Liverpool man.
United have also been backed to complete the loan signing of Shea Charles, which would be a controversial transfer, considering Southampton have only just recalled him from a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month.
According to Nixon on Patreon [via The Bladesman], Sheffield United have agreed a fee with Leicester to sign Tom Cannon, with a bid of £13m including bonuses accepted.
The Leicester City striker is a wanted man this month, with Sunderland among those who are interested in acquiring his signature on loan, but it looks as though the Blades are the clear favourites to get their man, as they now move on to try and agree personal terms with the player.
United fans will likely be buoyed by this update, considering Cannon is a young footballer with so much quality, being hailed by Liam Rosenior back in 2023: “I thought Tom Cannon was outstanding, one of the best we’ve played against by far.”
The Englishman has done well for Stoke this season, scoring nine goals in 22 Championship appearances, showing that he knows how to score at an impressive rate in the division.
|
Tom Cannon’s Championship stats at Stoke this season |
Total |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
22 |
|
Minutes played |
1863 |
|
Goals |
9 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Shots per game |
2.5 |
|
Tackles per game |
0.6 |
|
Key passes per game |
0.5 |
Cannon is also now a two-cap Republic of Ireland international, making the step up to representing his country, and there is still so much more to come in his career.
For United, there are going to be tight games between now and the end of the season when one moment of attacking brilliance could turn a draw into a win. For that reason, snapping up Cannon for the remainder of the campaign could make all the difference in the promotion battle.
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Should the young striker help inspire the Blades back into the Premier League, they could even look to sign him on a permanent basis in the summer window.
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Manchester City have held back with their spending in the January transfer window. A terrible run of form between October and December meant the Citizens are only fourth in the Premier League, with 38 points to their name. The 12-point gap between them and Liverpool seems like it could be too big to close.
Yet, that has not stopped them from spending copious amounts of money to try and fix the issues. Two of those have been defensive signings, bringing in Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens for £33.6m plus add-ons. Brazilian talent Vitor Reis also joined the club from Palmeiras for £29.6m.
Not only have they brought in some defensive reinforcements, but City have also added some attacking depth to the squad, notably signing Omar Marmoush.
The deal for City to sign Marmoush was confirmed on Thursday morning, just hours after their 4-2 defeat away to Paris Saint-Germian in the Champions League. The Egyptian forward cost an initial £59m, with City set to pay an extra £4.2m in add-ons.
It has been a really impressive season for the 25-year-old so far. The forward has 20 goals and 14 assists in just 26 games across all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt, registering a goal involvement in all but seven matches.
Perhaps the best contribution from the Egyptian this term came against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. He scored twice and assisted once in a 3-3 draw versus Vincent Kompany’s side, a hugely impressive performance against one of Europe’s heavyweights.
Although he can play out wide or as a second striker, Marmoush has mainly played as a centre-forward this term. That is exactly what the Citizens need, with Erling Haaland the only recognised number nine in the first-team squad.
However, if the 2022/23 treble winners had put their faith in the academy talents they produce, there is another player who could have seamlessly fitted into the City squad this season.
The player in question here is Ipswich Town striker and former City academy star Liam Delap. It has been an extraordinary season so far for the 21-year-old, since making a £20m move to East Anglia over the summer.
Delap was part of a golden generation in the City academy, which included the likes of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers. There is certainly an argument to say that City should have kept all of those players, given what they have gone on to achieve. However, selling Delap should be right up there given they sold Julian Alvarez last summer.
So far this season, the England U21 international has eight goals and two assists in 21 games for the Tractor Boys. That is impressive in itself, but even more so when you consider how much Kieran McKenna’s side are struggling; they currently sit 18th in the Premier League.
The former City star has scored and assisted in the same game three times this season, including matchwinning contributions away to Tottenham Hotspur and at home against top-four contenders Chelsea.
He has proven why he is a “top striker in the making”, as football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him.
His underlying numbers via Sofascore this term are impressive. Like Marmoush, he is clearly a clinical striker, with a 22% conversion rate to go along with his eight goals. Delap also works hard off the ball, winning 4.5 duels per game.
|
Delap stats in 2024/25 PL season |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Number |
|
Starts |
20 |
|
Goals |
8 |
|
Expected goals |
6.36xG |
|
Conversion rate |
22% |
|
Assists |
2 |
|
Big chances created |
2 |
|
Duels won per game |
4.5 |
|
Stats from Sofascore |
|
Valued at a reported £50m by Ipswich according to journalist Simon Phillips, the striker’s trajectory this season has been immense. Whilst his numbers are not on the same level as Marmoush, he is playing for a side threatened with Premier League relegation.
Perhaps Pep Guardiola’s side could have saved themselves the money and kept Delap rather than buying the Egyptian striker. Although the Frankfurt talent joins the club on the back of some good form, maybe the Citizens should have put trust in a key member of their 2020 FA Youth Cup-winning side.
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Even with the distraction of the transfer window rolling into its final few frantic hours, Sunderland and Middlesbrough still managed to play out a Championship classic at the Riverside Stadium on Monday night.
Indeed, the near neighbours would share the goals out for the majority of the entertaining clash, only for Regis Le Bris’ men to then clinch a decisive winner late on courtesy of a Ryan Giles own goal to pick up a chaotic 3-2 away win.
There were various standout performers for the Black Cats, but it was Enzo Le Fee who lapped up the most plaudits come the full-time whistle.
It’s fair to say the French midfielder finally announced himself to the English game properly with this standout display at Boro, having shown brief flashes of his pedigree in other Championship contests to date.
At the Riverside, however, Le Fee oozed class from minute one, with a sublime first touch helping Sunderland bundle home that dramatic late winner.
Away from this moment of audacious quality, Le Fee managed to run experienced EFL face Luke Ayling ragged all night long down the left flank with 100% of his dribble attempts successfully completed, whilst also picking up an assist when Wilson Isidor fired Le Bris’ side into a 2-1 lead.
Winning seven duels as a battler for his team too, it was an extremely well-rounded display from the ex-Lorient man who is more than living up to his billing as a £19m worthy footballer.
But, Le Bris will be aware he isn’t the only star in his side who could make him some big bucks down the line, with another of his standout assets causing Boro all sorts of bother yesterday evening.
The star in question here is the aforementioned Isidor, who has been letting his football do the talking in recent matches after that disastrous two-penalty miss game versus Burnley.
Indeed, since that Turf Moor horror show, the Black Cats number 19 has had two goals to shout about from his next three Championship encounters, with an ice-cold strike at the Riverside to gift his side a slim lead making new Boro goalkeeper Mark Travers look very foolish.
Despite amassing just eight touches of the ball, it was a display that showcased exactly why the Mackems forked out £3.3m in January to land his services permanently, with the striker also successfully winning 100% of his duels on the night.
If that does come to fruition, Isidor will no doubt see this price tag go up and up in value, to potentially the same heights as Le Fee’s bumper valuation.
|
Isidor’s league numbers (24/25) |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Isidor |
|
Games played |
27 |
|
Goals scored |
10 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Shots per game |
2.4 |
|
Big chances missed |
14 |
|
Big chances created |
5 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
Frighteningly, there could be even more to come from the skilful striker if everything slots into place between now and the end of the campaign, with Isidor squandering a hefty 14 big chances away from his promising goal return of ten league strikes from 27 contests.
Labelled as a “ridiculous” striker by football data analyst Ben Mattinson after his stylish strike against Michael Carrick’s men, Isidor could soon turn into an even more accomplished performer for his side if his game is refined just that little bit more, with both the 24-year-old and Le Fee no doubt key cogs in the Sunderland machine moving forward if promotion is to be reached.
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Liverpool lost in the Champions League for the first time under Arne Slot as they were beaten 3-2 by Dutch side PSV in the last game of the league phase.
The Reds put out a relatively makeshift side, without the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, and Mohamed Salah, and were narrowly beaten by the Eredivisie giants.
Slot can now turn his attention back to the Premier League and the race for the title, before the knockout stages of the Champions League, as well as the January transfer window.
The market slams shut next Monday and Liverpool are reportedly eyeing a player from one of their top-flight rivals, although it is one that is more likely to happen in the summer.
According to TEAMtalk, the Premier League leaders are one of a number of clubs lining up a summer swoop for Brentford sensation Bryan Mbeumo.
The report claims that Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United all have a concrete interest in the Cameroon international, who has caught the eye in England this season.
It states that the Bees winger is currently due to be out of contract in the summer of 2026 and that his club could be forced to consider a sale at the end of this season if he does not put pen to paper on an extension by then.
If Liverpool do win the race for the left-footed marksman, who is reportedly valued at up to £60m, then Slot could secure his own version of Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers, who stepped into the spotlight on Wednesday night.
The Villans second striker scored a hat-trick, all from open play, against Celtic in the Champions League, whilst playing in the hole behind Ollie Watkins.
Rogers, who made his England debut earlier this season, is a versatile and dynamic forward who plays through the middle or out wide and contributes with goals and assists, just like Mbeumo.
Per FBref, the Villa star is one of the most similar players to the Brentford ace, based on their statistics throughout the Premier League season so far. The chart above shows that they spike in similar areas, but Mbeumo is far more productive as an attacking threat per 90.
The Bees winger, who was once described as “unplayable” by Thomas Frank, has played 74 matches as a second striker or centre-forward in his career, whilst right-wing is his usual role, and this shows that he can operate in similar areas to Rogers.
|
24/25 Premier League |
Morgan Rogers |
Bryan Mbeumo |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
22 |
23 |
|
xG |
3.72 |
7.67 |
|
Goals |
6 |
14 |
|
Big chances created |
8 |
10 |
|
Assists |
4 |
3 |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, Mbeumo has been far more productive in the final third with a whopping 24 goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in 23 matches.
The Cameroon international has been a star in the Premier League and could come in during the summer window as Slot’s own version of Morgan Rogers, whilst also being an even bigger talent than the English sensation.
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