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Speaking to Football Insider, a Tottenham Hotspur source has shared that Ligue 1 giants Paris-Saint Germain are now ‘close’ to securing a full agreement for the transfer of right-back Serge Aurier.

The Lowdown: Aurier and the exit door…

The Ivorian has been the subject of speculation and widely tipped to be one of the names leaving Tottenham this summer.

Indeed, reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold had touted him as one of the favourites for departure – while the player himself then candidly admitting it is time to move on after reaching the ‘end of a cycle’ (L’Equipe).

Tottenham will need to adopt a sell-to-buy policy this summer to fund marquee additions, with Football Insider now bringing a big development on Aurier’s future.

The Latest: PSG now ‘close’ to securing full agreement…

As explained by FI’s ‘Tottenham source’, PSG are now ‘close to securing a full agreement’ for the player and ‘will meet the conditions of sale’.

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It is also claimed that the 28-year-old has agreed personal terms over a return to the French capital with a Tottenham exit ‘edging closer’.

The defender has been in talks with PSG since last month in a move that would see him reunite with former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino at the Parc des Princes.

Indeed, Aurier has apparently accepted the offer of a ‘lucrative’ four-year deal and will leave regardless of any new stance from an incoming Spurs manager.

The Verdict: Time to go…

Aurier enjoyed a brief spell of brilliant form at the start of last campaign, as highlighted by his particularly excellent display during Tottenham’s historic 6-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The 66-cap international ace also started more Premier League games than 2020 summer signing Matt Doherty at right-back (WhoScored), but we believe his time in north London is definitely up.

Given his age (28) and contract situation, Spurs need to cash-in and fund a major summer overhaul – with a new centre-half desperately required in particular.

In other news: Spurs offered chance to sign ‘sensational’ £120,000-per-week powerhouse, find out more here.

Rangers find themselves with an excellent group of academy players coming through the ranks at Ibrox at the minute, with Alex Lowry and Charlie McCann really showing their promise.

One of the most talked-about youth prospects is centre-back Leon King, who at just 18 years old, has featured on the Premiership sides bench a few times already this season and could be ready for a step-up next season.

King signed a new long-term deal in January which will take him up to May 2024, with Ross Wilson explaining that he was “delighted” the young defender will continue his journey at Rangers.

The move to offer him a new deal was a smart one, as his performances in the B team haven’t gone unnoticed, he was linked with a move to both Manchester United and Newcastle United before pledging his future to the Gers.

Steven Gerrard was the first to offer hints that King could be a key part of the Ibrox side’s future when the then 16-year-old was included in the first-team squad for their trip to Belgium to face Standard Liege in the Europa League in October 2020.

Since then, he went on to make his official debut against Falkirk in a League Cup tie before featuring for the Gers in league duty against Livingston in May 2021, long after the side had won the Premiership title.

This led Giovanni van Bronckhorst to promote him to the first-team squad in January and this experience will surely stand him in good stead.

The player has all the attributes to become the side’s next Richard Gough, a stalwart at the heart of defence who eventually went on to make over 300 appearances in Rangers blue. With former coach Gerrard labelling him as “superb” then the sky really is the limit for the talented defender.

Van Bronckhorst could save millions by utilising him in the next few seasons in what is an exciting time for the youngster.

AND in other news, Body blow: Van Bronckhorst now set for huge Rangers disaster over £27k-p/w “rock”…

Leicester City were handed an embarrassing defeat on Friday evening as they were humbled 4-2 by Newcastle United.

Whilst the result itself alone was humiliating for Brendan Rodgers’ men in their race for a UEFA Champions League place, their embarrassment was compounded by the fact that their former transfer target, Callum Wilson, scored two goals.

According to The Sun back in 2019, Leicester were eyeing a move for the then AFC Bournemouth striker ahead of a potential £40m switch to the King Power Stadium.

They must sorely regret not sealing his signature at the time and letting him instead move to St James Park just 12 months later.

Since those reports, Wilson has scored 24 Premier League goals for both the Cherries and Newcastle, taking his record to 53 strikes in the top-flight of English football.

That record includes three in his last four appearances against Leicester in the Premier League. Meanwhile, he has only ever scored more goals against the likes of Everton, West Ham United and Huddersfield Town across his career.

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Whilst Wilson has certainly been prolific since being linked to the Foxes, it will wrangle that he has outperformed a few of the Foxes’ current striking options.

In comparison, in the time since those initial reports, the in-form Kelechi Iheanacho has scored just 16 Premier League goals, whilst Ayoze Perez has contributed just 18 for both the Magpies and Leicester.

It goes without saying then that Rodgers’ current striking options would have been far stronger had Jon Rudkin had brought Wilson to the King Power Stadium in the summer of 2019.

That regret will certainly have been felt far stronger having seen the Englishman net twice and deal what could be a damaging hammer blow to the club’s Champions League aspirations ahead of next season.

AND in more news, take a closer look at which Leicester star failed to turn up against Newcastle…

Birmingham City are interested in a deal to bring Brandon Baiye to St. Andrew’s this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Mike McGrath, with The Telegraph journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that the Blues have submitted an enquiry regarding the availability of the Clermont Foot defensive midfielder ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window.

McGrath goes on to claim that 2. Bundesliga side Hamburg have also registered their interest in the 20-year-old with the Ligue 1 side, however, it is not said whether Clermont would be willing to discuss a deal – be that temporary or permanent – for the Belgium U21 international this summer.

In his tweet, McGrath said: “Birmingham have enquired over Belgium Under-21 midfielder Brandon Baiye, 20, at Clermont. Bundesliga2 club Hamburg have also shown interest.”

Fans will be buzzing

Having already secured a number of impressive loan and permanent signings in the summer transfer window, with the likes of Jordan Graham, Chuks Aneke and Ryan Woods joining on free transfers and Dion Sanderson, Juan Familia-Castillo and Tahith Chong arriving on temporary deals, the news that Lee Bowyer does not appear to be finished with his summer transfer business just yet is sure to have Birmingham fans buzzing.

Indeed, despite his tender age, the £315k-rated man impressed over his 28 2. Liga appearances while on loan at SC Austria Lustenau last season, scoring four goals and registering three assists for the Austrian side.

As such, despite predominantly being a defensively-minded player, it is obvious from his returns that the midfielder also possesses a keen eye for goal, as well as being useful from a creative perspective.

Furthermore, with defensive midfield being an area of the pitch in which Lee Bowyer lacks a bit of depth, the addition of Baiye ahead of the upcoming Championship campaign would appear to solve this particular problem for the 44-year-old in the short term, as well as the Belgian seeming to boast a considerable amount of potential for the future.

So, while Baiye may be something of an unknown quantity to many Blues fans, considering how well things have gone for Bowyer at St. Andrew’s thus far, it would seem wise for the club’s fanbase to once again place their trust in the 44-year-old’s judgement regarding the Clermont starlet.

In other news: BCFC confirm transfer development on “superb” £135k-rated beast, Bowyer surely buzzing

Nigel Adkins’ Charlton head into their clash with Oxford United in League One this weekend in need of a positive result.

The Addicks began their league campaign with a fairly uninspiring 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend before losing 1-0 to AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup in midweek, which represents a subdued start to their season.

They now face an Oxford side who were held to a 1-1 draw by Cambridge in their opening league match and beat Burton Albion on penalties in the Carabao Cup.

On the Chalkboard

With Charlton finding goals hard to come by so far, Adkins has the opportunity to dip into his squad to shake things up against Oxford on Saturday.

Diallang Jaiyesimi played the full 90 minutes out wide against the Owls and struggled to catch the eye. He received a WhoScored rating of 6.46, failing to create a single chance for his team-mates whilst also being dispossessed four times and losing the ball three times through poor control. This suggests that he does not deserve his place in the side on merit heading into the next match.

Therefore, Adkins should unleash the club’s latest signing Charlie Kirk on Saturday. The attacker joined on a permanent deal from Crewe earlier this week and he should be handed his debut against Oxford to try and solve a key issue for the former Southampton boss, namely the lack of goals from Charlton.

In Kirk’s official unveiling, Adkins commented on the signing by stating that the 23-year-old is an exciting ‘forward-thinking’ addition to the squad.

He told Charlton’s official website: “I am delighted that Charlie Kirk is joining us. He is a very talented and exciting, young, forward-thinking player and I’m really looking forward to working with him over the coming years.”

Adkins also added in his pre-match press conference that the winger will want to get involved as soon as possible. The manager said: “He’s been at the training ground this afternoon. We’ll just take stock of the whole thing. We’re delighted he’s with us and he’ll be wanting to play as quickly as he can.”

Charlton must bring him straight into the starting XI for Jaiyesimi in order to alleviate their goalscoring woes, as the ex-Norwich man was unable to score a goal himself or provide his teammates with a chance to do so. Meanwhile, Kirk racked up six goals and eight assists for Crewe in League One last season, which suggests that he has the quality to make things happen at this level.

Between his record for Crewe last term and Adkins’ effusive praise of his talents, the evidence is there to suggest that Kirk could help solve Charlton’s goalscoring problems against Oxford this weekend. That is why he should be handed his debut for the club tomorrow.

AND in other news, Just 7 passes: Charlton disaster who lost 67% of his duels surely left Adkins livid…

Southampton’s former vice-chairman Les Reed has revealed the reason behind Wesley Hoedt’s failure at the club in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Saints paid £15m to sign Hoedt from Serie A club Lazio in 2017, with the Netherlands international signing a five-year contract at St Mary’s.

At the time, Reed said that the defender was “one of the most promising young defenders in Europe” but he struggled to make a real impact on the south coast.

Hoedt made 45 appearances for Saints in total, making 23 appearances under Mark Hughes and 22 under Mauricio Pellegrino.

He never played a single minute under the management of Ralph Hasenhuttl and he is now back in Serie A, playing for Lazio on loan, the club from whom he joined the Saints.

Reed felt that the deal was a good one when he arrived at the club, but that a mistake early in his Saints spell ultimately destroyed his confidence.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “Wesley was on our radar in Ronald’s reign, although we bought him in Puel’s reign because Ronald wanted a left-sided centre-half and we didn’t have one. And he was playing for Lazio in the Champions League and was in the Dutch national team.

“At the day of purchase, he was a good buy.

“But having got in the building, Claude, who wanted a left-sided centre-half because of the way he wanted to play, he did make an incredible error that led to a defeat, and that was it, wiped off. Destroyed the player’s confidence and then it gets very difficult to pull that back.”

Amanda Staveley has revealed to an ITV journalist that she is still ‘committed’ to the Newcastle United takeover deal.

The Lowdown: Staveley call

Staveley, who is part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium looking to take over at St James’ Park, has recently spoken to Sky Sports referencing a letter that she wrote urging both the UK government and football regulators to ensure that the upcoming arbitration case against the Premier League is made public.

This follows a statement from the Tyneside club calling for the same thing, as the top flight are now under pressure to follow in their footsteps.

The Latest: Staveley ‘committed’

In a recent interview with ITV journalist Chris Conway, Staveley claimed that she remains ‘committed’ to the deal, adding that she thinks the investment is ‘really important’.

The businesswoman and head of PCP Capital Partners also touched upon the ‘thousands of letters’ that the consortium have received from members of the Toon Army, and reiterated that she does not want to let those supporters down.

The Verdict: Consortium not going away

Staveley’s battle cries in her last two interviews suggest that she and the consortium are certainly not going away with regards to the potential takeover at Newcastle.

With the arbitration hearing set to take place later this month, they will be more than confident of achieving a positive result, which in turn could speed up the takeover process for the club.

Nonetheless, all eyes will be on the forthcoming proceedings, which should paint a much clearer picture over the direction of where the takeover is heading.

In other news, find out what promising Mike Ashley insight Lee Ryder has dropped on the potential takeover

Loads of Liverpool fans have been left furious on Twitter as reports claim a number of Reds superstars could miss as many as eight games due to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been in simply blistering form so far this season, as the former became the first Reds player in history to score in nine consecutive matches thanks to his brace in Madrid on Tuesday.

The Egypt international has now bagged 12 times and added four assists in all competitions this term, while Mane has been no slouch either, chipping in with six goals.

Of course, fears have been prevalent amongst the Liverpool fan base about how many matches the pair could miss this winter, along with Naby Keita, and now The Athletic are reporting that number could be as many as eight.

According to the report from Adam Leventhal, AFCON participants will leave their Premier League clubs soon after the final whistle blows on the Boxing Day fixtures due to FIFA rules, and may not return until the second week of February.

With Harvey Elliott injured, this will leave Jurgen Klopp with few options in attack during the hectic winter fixture period, likely having to rely on the likes of Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino to deputise through January.

Reds fans erupt at AFCON update

Unsurprisingly, these Liverpool fans had plenty to say about the news as it was shared on Twitter by James Pearce, with one supporter calling it an ‘absolute joke’…

“2 games they said? Whats this 8 games rubbish, AFCON is a disgrace playing during normal leagues,every year”

Credit: @jaymgs12

“If it’s actually 8 games you might as well throw the season away”

Credit: @youraverag1

“So Salah and Mane likely to miss 6 PL games! Just concentrate on the Champions League then i guess. No way we’re coping without Salah especially for that long”

Credit: @AKayani07

“In a season where Mo is the best player in the planet and Mane isn’t far behind, them two leaving for the afcon will have the biggest negative impact on our title challenge, ever. We don’t have enough depth to lose both for over a month. But what alternative do we have ?”

Credit: @guycalledting

“What an absolute joke this is. Makes it even worse we didn’t bring in an attacker in the summer. Why on earth is this taking place in the middle of a league season”

Credit: @LFJFT96

“our season is finished we aren’t winning anything this season and will finish 4th”

Credit: @lfcd25

In other news, you won’t believe who the referee is for Liverpool vs Man United this weekend…

There are plenty of ways for Rangers to raise money to fund transfers to bolster their squad, whether by winning trophies or securing sponsorship deals or ticket sales.

One of the most lucrative ways of raising funds in football is player trading, signing and selling players and attempting to make a profit to then sign upgrades further down the line.

This is why Ross Wilson’s role as the club’s sporting director is integral to the long-term success at Ibrox, as he needs to ensure that he is planning for the future with his signings as well as for the here-and-now for Steven Gerrard.

Wilson masterclass

Wilson has pulled off a masterclass in this respect with the signing of Fashion Sakala from Belgian club Oostende in the summer. The Zambia international ticks a number of boxes for Rangers in terms of what they should be looking for in a signing – young, potential, cheap, on the up.

His contract expired at the end of last season and Rangers were able to swoop in and snap him up on a free transfer, with the 24-year-old putting pen to paper on a five-year deal.

The Belgian outfit signed him from Spartak Moscow’s reserves in 2018 and he produced 11 goals in his first 52 league appearances for the club. By the end of his second season, Transfermarkt valued him at a measly £1.08m.

He then managed 16 goals and five assists in 34 games for Oostende in the 2020/21 campaign, culminating in his transfer to Rangers, and his value soared between last October 2020 and this month. At the time of writing (30/10/21), Transfermarkt value him at £3.6m, which means that his valuation has soared 233% in just one year, proving that he is a player on the rise and growing in value.

Wilson hailed the attacker as determined and humble in Rangers’ official unveiling of Sakala’s arrival at the club in the summer.

The sporting director said: “Fashion has had an excellent season in Belgium and we believe he will develop further still working with all of our staff at the training ground. Fashion is a determined, humble and positive guy and we are sure he will fit the group here.

“We wanted to add more pace and power to the group across January and the summer and I am pleased that we have done that, firstly with Scott Wright and now with Fashion Sakala. I know Steven and the coaches are excited to work with Fashion and I am sure that he will further enhance his growing reputation here with Rangers.”

The 24-year-old has shown signs of promise in his early Rangers career. He has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.77 across seven Premiership appearances, including two starts, with one goal and one assist to date. This suggests that there is potential there for him to become a useful player for the Gers in the future.

Therefore, Wilson has pulled off a masterclass with Sakala as he has been able to bring in a player on a free transfer whose value has been soaring over the past 12 months, whilst also having the ability to make an impact on the pitch for Rangers. This could duly aid the club in the future if they are able to get the best out of him while at Ibrox and perhaps make a huge profit on him further down the line.

AND in other news, Gerrard could unearth Charlie Adam 2.0 in Rangers gem with “great future in the game”…

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has dropped a Leeds United update involving the club’s improvements to both the training ground at Thorp Arch, and at Elland Road too.

What’s the story?

Writing for The Athletic, he said:

“Leeds were committed to overhauling their Elland Road pitch this summer, replacing all the drainage and lower layers at a cost of more than £1.5m. The stadium will have a full-spec hybrid surface next season and Leeds requested that their first game of the new term be away from home to allow the pitch as much time as possible to bed in. The work will also see the old dugouts replaced, in line with Premier League requirements.

“As preparations were made to lay the surface, Bielsa made another suggestion. If Leeds were playing on a specific hybrid pitch at Elland Road, would it not make sense for them to train on identical grass too? That way the players would enjoy some continuity.

“The club agreed and at his insistence, another substantial sum of money was set aside to install the same surface at Thorp Arch. He wanted other, more aesthetic, changes to the complex too but an enhanced training pitch was the big idea, a route to more marginal gains.

“These, for Orta and the club’s board, are the surest signs of where Bielsa is mentally: still fixated, still banging the drum for improvements, still glued to his office.”

Bielsa will be buzzing

Amid a superb Premier League season that saw Leeds finish in the top half of the table in their first campaign back in the top-flight, one of the big concerns for Bielsa and the club was the state of the pitch at Elland Road.

At times, it simply didn’t look fit for purpose, and would have looked out of place even in the lower leagues, let alone the top-flight.

When pictures first emerged of the work being done, former Leeds man Noel Whelan said: “They’re going to spend a lot of money on getting the surface right at Elland road. I think when you think about the style of play that we like to play, it’s imperative that you get the pitches, training pitches, everything that’s going to give you that extra edge over other teams. 

“The surface is a massive part of it, the way we play. So we need to have our pitches right, you need to have that surface right. Hence why teams play at the training ground with the same dimensions as the first-team ground. You get a feel of it and for progression of players, this is what you need to have now. You know you need to have those standards set high on and off the field.”

Whelan’s comments are a snapshot of just why the extensive work being done is such exciting news for Leeds and why Bielsa will be buzzing. As Hay says, those “marginal gains” are what could translate into points over the course of the season that potentially sees the Whites finish in a European place for example.

The Leeds boss’ meticulousness needs to be matched off-the-field as well, and the fact the club have taken his ideas on board so seriously and have looked to address some of the big problems from last season, shows the level of backing and support they have for him.

A newly renovated pitch at both Elland Road and on the training ground is sure to have Bielsa delighted.

Meanwhile, Leeds United have reignited their interest in this star…