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According to a report from German outlet Kicker (via Sport Witness), Liverpool are interested in signing RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer. 

The lowdown: RB pathway

The 24-year-old came through the ranks at Red Bull Salzburg before taking the well-established route to German Bundesliga side Leipzig in 2017.

Since then the decorated ace, who was named Salzburg’s Player of the Season in 2016/17, has gone from strength to strength whilst racking up 154 appearances.

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Now, the highly-rated Austria international could be about to take another familiar career path and follow in the footsteps of Naby Keita and Ibrahima Konate.

The latest: Reds’ linked

As per Kicker, as translated by SW, Liverpool are said to be ‘looking’ at Laimer ahead of the summer transfer window.

Arch-rivals Manchester United are also cited as potential suitors with German giants Bayern Munich also in the mix to land the 20-cap Austria ace.

Out of contract in 2023 (Transfermarkt), Laimer – who was tipped to have a ‘huge future’ by compatriot Marko Arnautovic – currently ‘wants to focus’ on the end of the campaign and potential Europa League glory before deciding on his next move.

The verdict: Bellingham alternative…

So far this season Laimer has scored five times and provided six assists in 36 appearances and actually stacks up as the closest likeness in terms of playing style and output to widely reported Liverpool target, Jude Bellingham, when using FBref’s comparison tool.

Valued at £23.4million and in the final 15 months of a contract, any quest to sign the Austrian for new Anfield transfer chief Julian Ward would be a wholly more affordable option than the mooted £101million fee required to land Bellingham.

Believed to have idolised Kop legend Steven Gerrard as a child, Laimer has clearly paid close attention to the ex-Liverpool captain and possesses impressive tackling, passing and long-range shooting ability (WhoScored), making the Austrian the perfect addition to Jurgen Klopp’s ranks.

In other news, the finance expert details potential Liverpool windfall. Find out more here.

Celtic’s off-field chaos may end up preventing them from signing Crystal Palace’s James McCarthy.

Sources close to Give Me Sport have provided an update on the club’s pursuit of Eddie Howe and midfielder McCarthy.

The report claims the Hoops are an ‘absolute mess’ behind the scenes with ‘mixed messages all over the place’ coming out of Celtic Park in regards to a new manager.

A deal for Howe could still go through, but the delay in a managerial announcement is holding up the club’s proposed move for McCarthy.

There is thought to be a slight reluctance from the Hoops hierarchy to force through a pre-contract agreement just in case Neil Lennon’s long-term successor does not want him.

McCarthy’s Palace contract expires in a matter of months, so the club are in a position where they could make the 30-year-old an early signing ahead of the summer.

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Transfer Tavern take

It seems as if the club’s wait for a new boss could end up hurting their summer recruitment.

However, in our opinion, the Hoops are doing the right thing by refusing to sign off a deal without the new manager’s permission.

McCarthy, who is also wanted by Newcastle, is on £50,000-a-week at Selhurst Park, so you’d expect he could become one of the club’s top earners if he moved to Parkhead.

There could be a situation where the new man in charge doesn’t rate McCarthy, which may result in the club forking out a huge salary for a player who is hardly featuring, similar to what they have done with loanee Shane Duffy this season.

Who knows, we may still see McCarthy in Glasgow for the 2021/22 campaign, but for now, it seems as if the club’s priority is a new boss, and we feel that is absolutely the correct decision after last summer’s shambolic recruitment.

In other news: Premier League giants tracking Celtic midfielder, find out more here. 

Where do you begin to trace the root of Celtic’s diabolical season?

The Hoops have been plagued with issues throughout 2020/21 and when you dig deep enough, you’ll realise that there are problems far greater than Scott Brown’s dwindling performances or Odsonne Edouard’s questionable mindset.

It stems far deeper than Jonjoe Kenny’s inability to concentrate or Diego Laxalt’s hopeless defending. It also runs further back than last summer’s shambolic recruitment.

Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti have been a huge waste of money, setting the club back a sum of £9.5m. The former has barely played after being usurped in the pecking order by Scott Bain while Ajeti has only six goals to his name.

Coincidentally, that significant financial investment nearly equates to the amount of money Celtic received for Brendan Rodgers.

Back in February 2019, Leicester City managed to prise the Northern Irishman away from Paradise in a deal that goes down as one of the most expensive manager transfers of all time.

The Foxes paid a compensation fee of around £10m two years ago but that money has rather evaporated.

Rodgers engineered a tremendous amount of success in Glasgow, winning seven trophies in total but they failed to replace him sufficiently when he headed south of the border.

That decision was taken by the much-maligned Peter Lawwell. The CEO is set to retire at the end of the season and be replaced by Dominic McKay but it’s his lack of ambition back in 2019 that is the root cause of Celtic’s current downfall.

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With that in mind,  you can hardly blame the numerous protests that have occurred outside Parkhead this season.

Speaking on ACSOM after Celtic were drubbed 4-1 by Rangers last Sunday, presenter Paul John Dykes said: “So we make around £10m when he [Rodgers] goes to Leicester and what do we do with it? We bring in Neil Lennon. Now, that is on Peter Lawwell and that performance today if you really want to track it back is on Lawwell.”

Dykes continued: “The suggestion that Peter Lawwell will still be at the club in some capacity going forward, Celtic fans should be frightened about that. He is the reason we have fallen so disparagingly short this season.”

It’s particularly hard to disagree with that assessment. Lawwell had £10m to spend on a top-quality manager but instead looked towards the past.

Lennon returned for a second bite of the cherry and despite winning the treble last term, everything has disastrously fallen apart in 2020/21.

His management left a lot to be desired and the fact he was still using Rodgers’ training methods at Lennoxtown says it all.

£10m is a lot of money for a club like Celtic but it was thrown down the drain with their shoddy recruitment in the transfer window summing things up.

That £9.5m last summer would have been better sitting in the bank, especially after the way Lawwell refused to spend it on an able replacement over two years ago now.

With Celtic in such a dominant period in their history, attracting a manager shouldn’t have been a particularly arduous task.

At the time, they were linked with Slaven Bilic, David Moyes, Steve Clarke and Roberto Martinez. Any of those coaches will have been more inspirational than someone who had already taken on the job once.

As the hierarchy are proving now, it’s difficult to find a new head coach when the future of the football club is so unclear.

Their search has gone on for ten weeks and is still devoid of a solution. All of this is on Lawwell; he has a lot to answer for. The fans should be particularly enraged right now.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Desmond can transform Celtic by hiring “brave” 48 y/o who wowed Guardiola…

A new loan ruling that is set to be implemented next season could have a big impact on Wolves, according to reliable journalist Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: New loan ruling

According to The Athletic, clubs will be limited on the number of international players they can have out on loan in the future.

From next season, teams will only be allowed to have eight players on temporary moves elsewhere and that number will drop to six by 2024.

Wolves currently have ten players out on loan, highlighting how clubs will be affected by the new venture moving forward.

The Latest: Spiers reacts to claim

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Spiers gave his thoughts on the news, discussing how it will impact on Wanderers’ business:

“New loan rules coming in next season which will impact Wolves, who had 10 players on loan overseas in the first half of the season (max of 8 next year then max 6 from 2024) and four at Grasshoppers (max 3 at one club).”

The Verdict: Good decision

In truth, it is healthy to see this ruling introduced, with the report correctly stating that it is a good way of preventing clubs from ‘stockpiling talent’.

It is good to see that players aged 21 and under won’t be affected, however, as loan moves can be healthy for their development, such as Wolves forward Theo Corbeanu, who is currently at MK Dons.

It will make teams think more about recruitment in general and potentially ensure they get the most out the players already in their ranks, rather than stockpiling players for purely financial reasons.

In other news, some Wolves fans have reacted to an exit rumour regarding one player. Find out who it is here.

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Atalanta defender Christian Romero as the summer transfer window approaches.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet Eco Di Bergamo (via Sport Witness), the Old Trafford outfit have already made a “super offer” worth €45 million (£38.5m) for the 23-year-old.

The aforementioned fee would make Romero Atalanta’s record sale, and the local paper claim it would be impossible for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side to turn down the offer.

Imagine him and Maguire

Centre-back has been a problem position for the Red Devils for a number of years now, with several expensive flops failing to have the desired effect upon the United backline.

While club captain Harry Maguire has slowly won over the majority of the club’s supporters, putting in consistently impressive displays for many months now, the England internationals string of partners have left a lot to be desired.

Victor Lindelof has shown glimpses of star quality, but those performances have been undermined by lapses in concentration, and his limited physical attributes are a constant source of problems for the 20-time English champions.

The likes of Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones have also done little to convince Solskjaer, or the fans, that they’re capable of being Maguire’s long-term partner at the heart of defence – either through a lack of form, injury issues, or both – and therefore a new centre-back is believed to be high up on United’s wish list this summer.

Romero could be the answer to the club’s defensive woes after impressing throughout the 2020/21 campaign. The Argentine beast made 31 league appearances, achieving a 7.14 WhoScored rating as Atalanta finished third in Serie A.

He combines the traditional, tough-tackling duties of a centre-back with the role’s modern responsibilities to perfection, often launching into tackles before picking himself up and playing a composed pass.

Although this style leads to frequent bookings – he picked up 15 in all competitions last season – it’s something which can be worked on, and the positives to Romero’s game certainly outweigh the negatives.

The South American’s pace, ability with the ball at his feet and love for a challenge would make him the perfect partner for Maguire and should see him adapt to the demands of the Premier League with ease.

It’s a move that Ed Woodward must sanction over the coming months if United want to challenge for major honours again and could prove to be the final piece in the jigsaw for Solskjaer’s side.

In other news…Man Utd must swoop for £18m-rated beast this summer, he has “outstanding quality” 

Milwall are closing in on a deal to bring Benik Afobe to The Den this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by The Sun journalist Justin Allen, who revealed in a post on Twitter that the signing of the Stoke City centre-forward on a season-long loan deal will be confirmed by Gary Rowett’s side at some point on Thursday.

The Lions manager had previously made it clear he was looking to bring in attacking additions to his squad in the summer transfer window, in order to bolster his options ahead of Millwall’s upcoming Championship campaign.

Big mistake

While Rowett’s intentions regarding adding greater depth to Millwall’s front line this summer are all well and good, it is an easy argument to make that Afobe is not the most prolific of forwards the 47-year-old could have brought The Den ahead of next season.

Indeed, over the 28-year-old’s 28 Super Lig appearances while on loan at Trabzonspor last term, the £1.62m-rated man scored five goals, registered no assists and created no big chances for his teammates, as well as missing two big chances and taking an average of just 0.3 shots on target per game.

These metrics saw the £30k-per-week striker earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.74, ranking him as Abdullah Avci’s eighth-worst performer in the top flight of Turkish football.

This poor return of goals would not appear to be a one-off for the man Nuno Espirito Santo dubbed an “important” player, with Afobe having only reached double-figure league goals in a season on one occasion in his entire career, scoring 10 goals over 22 League One appearances for Milton Keynes Dons in the first half of 2014/15, before bagging 13 goals over 21 Championship appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers after moving to the club in January of 2015.

As such, considering his extremely hefty weekly wage, a figure that, should Millwall be paying 100% of, will rank him as the club’s biggest earner next season, there may well have been both cheaper and more efficient goalscorers available to Rowett this summer, leading us to believe the striker’s signing could well be a mistake on the part of the Lions manager.

In other news: Rowett must sanction Millwall swoop for “phenomenal” £5k-p/w machine this summer

Noel Whelan reckons that Harry Kane will almost certainly depart the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this window [Football Insider].

The Lowdown: Kane crucial to Spurs success in 2021/22

Plenty of onlookers, Spurs fans or not, will be intrigued to see what shirt Kane is wearing come the start of the season.

Despite being a boyhood supporter of the club, long-standing reports have linked the England international with a ground-breaking move to Premier League rivals Manchester City [Manchester Evening News].

Given his alleged desire to leave, Lilywhites fans could be in for a tumultuous few weeks once Kane returns from England duty.

The Latest: Whelan reckons Tottenham have ‘no chance’ of keeping their star man

Former Leeds striker Whelan has backed Kane to jump ship this summer in a recent interview with Football Insider. Commenting on the goal machine’s prospective future aspirations, the 46-year-old stated:

“They have no chance of keeping Kane. I know Tottenham fans will hate to hear that but it is the truth.

“Kane has made it quite clear why he wants to leave and his reasons are good enough for me.

“Spurs are not going to win anything significant in the next few years. They will be playing in this Europa Conference League next season, that is not place for Harry Kane.

“This taste of the European Championships will only deepen his desire to leave Spurs. He wants to compete at the top level every week. He wants to be in the Champions League and competing for the Premier League.

“His career has been amazing but he has nothing to show for it yet. I cannot see him staying there, not for the new manager or the new director of football.

“Kane wants to win things and Tottenham are miles off it at the moment.” [Football Insider].

The Verdict: Hard to disagree…

On balance, Whelan correctly points out the temptation that could creep into the Tottenham skipper’s head should interest in his services continue to develop in prominent circles.

As Tottenham Hotspur prepare for life in the UEFA Conference League, he may envisage testing his European credentials at a higher level.

One of the best players in the Premier League, he registered an unbelievable 50 goal contributions from 49 appearances for the Lilywhites [Transfermarkt] last season.

Further illustrative of his abilities, he recorded the highest rating out of the WhoScored Premier League 2020/21 team of the season, averaging 7.8 out of 10 across the 20/21 campaign.

Only time will tell with regards to Kane’s eventual decision, but you feel Tottenham will have to show some incredible ambition in the transfer market to convince him to stay.

In other news, Tottenham Hotspur have opened talks with a 28-year-old defender.

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to extend their lead at the top of Group G in the UEFA Conference League later this evening.

Nuno Santo will take a much-changed squad to the Netherlands to face Vitesse and they head into kickoff on the back of three straight wins in all competitions, including a 5-1 whitewash against NS Mura in this very competition last time out.

Spurs defeated Newcastle United on Sunday to go fifth in the Premier League standings but none of the starting XI are expected to feature today.

But what sort of lineup could the Portuguese head coach select? Here’s what we are predicting…

As already mentioned, there could be a whole new 11 starting in Holland.

Between the sticks, club captain Hugo Lloris is replaced by Pierluigi Gollini, who has started all four of their matches in this tournament, whilst there could be a new back four of Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga.

They come in for first-choice quartet of Sergio Reguilon, Eric Dier, Cristian Romero and Japhet Tanganga. The latter of which gets the nod over Matt Doherty, despite the Northern Irishman featuring regularly in this competition as he misses out through injury, along with Ryan Sessegnon.

Giovani Lo Celso was one player who did not see any minutes on the pitch at St James’ Park, so he is likely to come in to partner Harry Winks, with Dele Alli also coming back into the starting XI, likely as captain, despite being snubbed in their last two league outings.

Nuno has already confirmed that Steven Bergwijn will be back after injury, so he lines up on the right over Lucas Moura, as 20-year-old “big talent” Bryan Gil takes the place of Heung-min Son on the other flank.

Teenage starlet Dane Scarlett is in line for an opportunity as the only other centre-forward available to the manager. His involvement means Harry Kane is rested ahead of the weekend.

The likes of Dilan Markanday, Nile John, Jack Clarke and Harvey White could be involved from the bench.

AND in other news, Paratici could fix Nuno’s biggest problem with Spurs swoop for £31.5m-rated “animal”…

New Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira could return cap in hand to former club Arsenal this summer after being linked with a move for winger Reiss Nelson.

What’s the story?

According to The Sun, the Eagles want to sign the 21-year-old on loan over the coming months as they continue to overhaul their first team squad.

Nelson struggled for game-time last term and is not expected to be part of Mikel Arteta’s plans at the Emirates Stadium this time around, meaning that an imminent exit could be on the cards.

Heir to Andros Towsend

The England under-21 international burst onto the scene in 2018/19 when he contributed to nine goals in 31 appearances for Hoffenheim during a season-long loan spell with the Bundesliga outfit.

However, Nelson failed to reproduce his impressive performances upon his return to north London, finding himself behind the likes of Nicolas Pepe, Willian and Bukayo Saka in the Arsenal pecking order.

In 39 outings over the last two seasons, the £8.1m-rated wing wizard has found the back of the net on just six occasions, laying on a further four assists, not the sort of return which is going to force himself into the Gunners’ starting line-up.

Despite his struggles at his boyhood club, Nelson has shown glimpses of his lofty potential in an Arsenal shirt, drawing praise from Arteta.

“We have pace in a few players up front. Reiss (Nelson) is a special player and can eliminate players one on one. He’s been out for a while, but he’s back now, and he showed what he’s capable of doing,” said the Spanish tactician following an impressive 2-0 FA Cup win at Portsmouth in March 2020.

Last summer, fellow Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette also chimed in with high praise for his team-mate, saying: “He is a big talent and does a lot of work behind [the scenes]. I trust in him, he is working a lot in every training session.”

With Andros Townsend departing Selhurst Park on a free transfer following a five-year stint in south London, the Eagles are on the search for his successor to fill the right-wing berth, and Nelson could be the ideal candidate.

He’s young, fast and exciting, perfectly fitting the bill for the new profile of player the Eagles are targeting in the current window and giving them a much-needed option on that side of the pitch.

The likes of Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen and Conor Gallagher have already joined Vieira’s new-look Palace ahead of the upcoming campaign, and hopefully Nelson can be the next fresh face to arrive at the capital club.

In other news… Parish must sanction Palace swoop for 23 y/o wizard with “unbelievable quality” 

While Leeds United will no doubt be hoping Kalvin Phillips will remain playing at Elland Road for the years to come, Marcelo Bielsa may already have the Whites’ new talisman in one of their academy stars: Nohan Kenneh.

The 18-year-old has already admitted to modelling himself on Phillips, while he also added that he’s a fan of Arsenal Invincible Patrick Vieira too. He said: “Currently I look up to Kalvin Phillips as (we) both play in a similar position, but I occasionally watch videos of Patrick Vieira for his qualities in midfield.”

The Athletic’s Phil Hay dubbed the teenager as “supremely gifted”, and he’s capable of playing in holding midfield as well as further back in central defence.

Also, at a imposing 6 foot 2, he seems to have the physical attributes to hold his own at Premier League level.

Describing himself as someone who is “aggressive and hard-working who likes to break down play”, but also likes “getting forward and scoring long-range goals”, Kenneh seems like he could thrive in the anchor man role if given the chance by Bielsa.

And, speaking on The Roaring Peacock Youth Pod, Matty Ingham, said: “One of the biggest prospects in the academy if we’re being honest. Big, physical presence, can carry the ball and he’s powerful and quick.”

Last season saw him spend all of his time with the club’s academy side, making 11 appearances at Premier League 2 level and helping them clinch the Division 2 title.

While this campaign has seen him play his first couple of games at centre-back, Kenneh could be moulded into Leeds’ next Phillips with a bit more training and coaching from the likes of Bielsa.

With those raw physical attributes, the Leeds boss could give Kenneh the kind of footballing education that he won’t be able to get anywhere else, and build the perfect holding midfielder at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, this Leeds ace has seen his market value decrease dramatically…