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Craig Hope has revealed what he has now heard about Newcastle United’s move to sign Jesse Lingard in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Midfielder wanted

The St. James’ Park faithful have been linked with the likes of Christian Eriksen and Yves Bissouma, suggesting that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium now want to bring in a midfield player after signing defender Kieran Trippier and centre-forward Chris Wood.

All of the players mentioned above have had previous experience in the Premier League, and so a move for Lingard before the deadline would make sense in this regard.

The Latest: Lingard update

As per The Daily Mail journalist Hope, the North East club are now ‘working’ on a loan deal to sign Lingard, but sources are saying that Manchester United are ‘reluctant’ to let him go at the moment:

“I’m told NUFC are working on a loan deal for Jesse Lingard, as per @samuelluckhurst, but sources say Man Utd are reluctant to let him go, as it stands.”

The Verdict: Sign

Getting in Lingard on loan would be a great piece of business from the new owners, as there would only be a minimal fee involved, plus they may have a chance to sign him for free in the summer when his contract expires, should he impress on Tyneside.

He has already shown what he can do when given the opportunities, scoring diamond’.

Nonetheless, with minimal game time at Old Trafford this season, and having recently been left completely out of the squad in the 3-1 win away at Brentford (Transfermarkt), the Englishman will want to prove his qualities once more, and the Magpies should give him that chance.

In other news, find out what big NUFC transfer news has been dropped live on air here!

Aston Villa are set to make a formal approach to Steven Gerrard regarding the vacant managerial post at Villa Park.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to John Percy’s recent report for The Telegraph, in which the journalist revealed that Villa’s owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, view the 41-year-old manager as the perfect figurehead for their project at Villa Park.

Percy continues to suggest that the Rangers manager would be open to the possibility of a move to the Premier League side, who are hoping to appoint a new coach before the club’s next league fixture on November 20.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering the overall level of support the prospect of appointing Gerrard has generated amongst the Villa fanbase, the news that the club look set to make an official approach for the 41-year-old, in addition to the fact that the former Liverpool captain appears keen on a move to Villa Park, is sure to have left Villans buzzing.

Indeed, according to two polls recently ran on Football FanCast, Villa fans would prefer Gerrard to both Belgium national team coach Roberto Martinez and Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl – both of whom are also reported to be leading candidates for the position at Aston Villa.

Furthermore, a number of fans have also been expressing their desire for the former England international to be given a shot at Villa Park on Twitter, with one claiming that Gerrard’s passion and winner’s mentality is “what we need” at Villa, while another stated that they would “love to give Steve Gerrard a go” at their club.

It is not difficult to see why so many fans would like Gerrard to succeed Dean Smith, as, since his appointment in Glasgow, the 41-year-old has highly impressed, steering Gers to the league title last season without losing a single game – and stopping their bitter rivals Celtic securing ten consecutive Scottish Premiership crowns in doing so – as well as guiding the club to the last 16 of the Europa League in back to back campaigns.

As such, Percy’s latest update is sure to be very well received by many of the Aston Villa fanbase, as it would certainly appear as if, at present, all things point to Gerrard’s arrival in the second city in the not too distant future.

In other news: NSWE could seal dream AVFC appointment with 64 y/o tactician dubbed “one of the best”

Aston Villa are interested in a deal to bring Nathan Patterson to Villa Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by 90min, who claim that Steven Gerrard has informed Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens that the 20-year-old right-back is one of his top transfer targets ahead of the winter market.

The report goes on to state that, while the 41-year-old manager does not want to ruin his relationship with Rangers by raiding his former side of their most promising talents, the former Liverpool captain nevertheless believes that a number of players at Ibrox are capable of making the step up to Premier League football, and will look to offer them a chance to do so at Aston Villa.

NSWE must move

Considering the remarkable talent Patterson developed into under the leadership of Gerrard at Rangers, in addition to the fact that Villa are somewhat short of cover for Matty Cash on the right-hand side of their defence, it would seem highly advisable for NSWE to grant Gerrard’s wish of signing the 20-year-old in January.

Having been handed his debut in professional football by Gerrard back in January 2020, Patterson has since gone on to make 22 appearances for the Gers first team, as well as having already been capped six times by Scotland at international level.

And, while the right-back’s game time has undoubtedly been limited by the fact that club captain James Tavernier is currently ahead of him in the pecking order at Ibrox, the £1.17m-rated youngster has nevertheless impressed when given the opportunity to do so, having already provided one assist and created one big chance over his three Scottish Premiership appearances this season.

The £4.9k-per-week defender has also highly impressed over his four World Cup qualifying fixtures for Scotland, scoring one goal, registering one assist and helping his side keep two clean sheets in their group, with Southampton striker Che Adams stating after Patterson’s goal in Scotland’s 2-0 win over Moldova last Friday: “Nathan’s an amazing player and a great guy off the pitch so I’m delighted for him.

“He’s a good young prospect coming through for the nation and hopefully he can continue and keep adding goals as well. These guys give us hope for the future. To keep getting club minutes is important, to keep building and growing as a player and learn their craft.

“But that’s what they’re doing. They’re delivering on cold nights in Moldova, so there’s no reason why they can’t do it anywhere else.”

As such, it is clear for all to see that Patterson is an exceptionally exciting talent, and one who there would very much appear to be room for in Steven Gerrard’s first-team squad at Villa Park, as the signing of the Everton-linked defender would undoubtedly be a big coup for Aston Villa.

In other news: Lange could transform Gerrard’s AVFC by signing “frightening” £20m gem likened to Mane

Manchester United could form a formidable duo after being linked with a move for RB Leipzig defender Nordi Mukiele ahead of the upcoming January transfer window.

The Red Devils have struggled defensively in the opening weeks of the current campaign, conceding 24 goals in their opening 14 Premier League fixtures.

Heavy defeats against the likes of Liverpool and Watford ultimately led to the dismissal of former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and his replacement Ralf Rangnick addressed the issue in his first press conference.

“The major target for me is to bring more balance into the team,” said the 63-year-old on Friday. “Even yesterday we conceded two and needed three to win. We concede on average two a game and this is too much.

“I want to bring more balance and more control. Yesterday’s game, for me as the future coach, they are not the games you need. I will try and bring these outstanding, talented players away from their own goal.”

As a result, Rangnick may want to bring in some defensive reinforcements over the coming months, and RB Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele has been identified as a potential target.

Rangnick previously signed the versatile defender for the Red Bulls back in 2018 and lauded the youngster’s talents.

“Extremely excited to be able to bring in one of Europe’s top defensive talents – despite a lot of competition,” he said, before adding that Mukiele “fits exactly what we’re looking for in a player and in a person.”

According to 90min, the highly-rated 24-year-old could be reunited with the German at Old Trafford as the new man in charge looks to immediately firm up his backline.

“90min understands that Rangnick has identified the player as a target who could not only come in and improve the team straight away but also over the course of the next few years,” reads Graeme Bailey’s report.

With Rangnick renowned for prioritising a high-pressing game revolving around quick, vertical passes and winning the ball back high up the pitch, it’s clear that Mukiele is a perfect fit for his philosophy.

As per FBref.com, the £40,000-per-week gem has produced 5.85 progressive passes, 14.5 pressures and 2.44 tackles per 90 minutes this season, bettering Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s tallies in each metric.

The current first-choice right-back at United has racked up meagre totals of 2.38, 10.8 and 2.08 respectively, highlighting his inefficiencies for Rangnick’s gegenpressing setup.

If United’s football director John Murtough can lure Mukiele to the Theatre of Dreams over the winter window, it will allow the France international the opportunity to strike up a frightening partnership with compatriot Raphael Varane.

Since arriving at Old Trafford over the summer, the right-sided centre-back has established himself as a key player in defence, achieving a WhoScored rating of 6.90.

Therefore, Murtough must make a move for Rangnick’s former player in January, adding some much-needed reinforcements to the Red Devils’ porous backline.

And, in other news…Ralf can get MUFC firing with “intelligent” £42.3m-rated gem, he has “no weaknesses” 

Liverpool’s Premier League woes continued on Sunday afternoon as they suffered a sixth consecutive home defeat, this time at the hands of Fulham.

Jurgen Klopp swept the changes for his line up at Anfield but the gamble did not pay off, with Mario Lemina’s goal enough to see the visitors claim victory on Merseyside.

Not a single Red imposed themselves on the game with Xherdan Shaqiri one of those who faced criticism from a section of the fanbase.

However, it was one of the regular stars though, Mo Salah, who let the side down with a drastically poor performance.

Starting the game on the right-hand side of the Reds’ attack, he earned the lowest WhoScored rating of anyone on the pitch at just 5.32 – an inexplicable drop-off from his season average of 7.07.

Currently the Premier League’s top scorer with 17, the Egyptian did not look like he was going to get on the scoresheet at all, rarely even threatening Fulham’s staunch defence.

Throughout the 90 minutes, he could only get one shot on target and produced only a solitary dribble – statistics that do not do his £108m rating justice.

He also looked on a completely different wavelength to his teammates, completing just 23 passes throughout the game, which is again the lowest of all of the starting Liverpool players, including goalkeeper Alisson.

Salah’s frustration continued to grow throughout the game as he was also personally caught offside twice, which is the same as every player on the pitch combined.

To make matters even worse, he was dispossessed on three separate occasions – one of those giveaways even leading to the Fulham goal. As Salah attempted to turn on the ball in his own box, Lemina was just far too strong, stole the ball and fizzed it into the bottom corner of the Liverpool net.

For a player usually so composed and threatening, the Egyptian was a liability to his side on the day.

Jurgen Klopp will certainly be expecting more from his mercurial wideman. He maybe hoped that taking Salah off against Chelsea would have fired the forward up, but judging on this performance, it may have done the opposite.

AND in more news, take a look at why Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is a must-buy for the Reds in the summer…

David Moyes should urge West Ham United to launch a summer swoop to sign the perfect target for Aaron Cresswell in VfB Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Kalajdzic has emerged as a potential centre-forward for the Irons to target in the off-season as Moyes continues his search for Sebastien Haller’s replacement.

The towering 6 ft 6 target man is considered to be a cheaper option than Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham or Slavia Prague’s Abdallah Sima, with Stuttgart expected to make Kalajdzic available for around £15m at the end of the season.

Moyes is weighing up a move for Kalajdzic as he strives to find a striker who can hold up the ball and be a threat from set-pieces, with the 23-year-old noted to be a very mobile and technically strong player despite his build.

Kalajdzic, who has scored 12 goals and provided four assists in 23 Bundesliga outings this season – of which he’s only started 13, has been likened to former England international Peter Crouch for being ‘a big man with good feet’. He has also been dubbed as ‘the next Mario Gomez’ in Germany.

West Ham are not alone in monitoring Kalajdzic’s situation at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, with Bundesliga title-hopefuls RB Leipzig and Serie A side AS Roma also said to be keen on the Austria international of Serbian descent.

Other Premier League clubs are also claimed to be compiling scouting reports on the two-cap striker, who does not consider himself to be a classic number nine.

“I’m not a classic No.9, maybe something between a nine and a 10, something like that maybe. A nine and a half,” he told Bundesliga.com following a return of three goals in three games to start the league season after helping Stuttgart gain promotion last season.

Should West Ham sign Kalajdzic?

Depending on what Moyes has placed the greatest emphasis on in his search for Haller’s replacement, West Ham moving to land Kalajdzic in the summer could prove to be a well-thought-out transfer by signing a proper hold-up player for Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and co. to operate off.

Kalajdzic is also scoring freely in the Bundesliga right now, with the £7,500-per-week striker hitting home seven goals in his last six outings having overcome a dip in form after his rapid break out of the blocks.

A decline in output was always expected after the 23-year-old missed much of Stuttgart’s promotion-clinching 2019/20 2. Bundesliga campaign due to a cruciate ligament rupture, which restricted the Wien-born forward to just six appearances across all competitions.

But Kalajdzic has responded magnificently and having a target man of his calibre could also prove to provide Cresswell with his best option, with the full-back a leading creator at the London Stadium through his set-piece deliveries and his eye for a cross.

Cresswell has averaged a team-high 1.7 accurate deliveries and 4.2 unsuccessful crosses per game in the Premier League this season, along with 1.6 accurate free-kicks from 2.1 – only goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (1.8/3.4) offers more, per WhoScored.

The 31-year-old defender also provides a team-high 0.9 accurate corners per game, which is the most by a Hammers player to date. He further ranks fifth across the division for accurate crosses per game, with more than the likes of Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson (1.6), Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne (1.6) and Everton’s Lucas Digne (1.6).

With six of Kalajdzic’s 12 Bundesliga goals coming from headers, Cresswell could be in dreamland with a target man like him occupying a place in the box.

AND in other news, West Ham are monitoring a nine-goal 21-year-old but face a huge hurdle to strike a deal…

Leeds United are among the Premier League teams interested in signing Alex Scott this summer…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Football League World, who claim that the Yorkshire giants are now facing competition from Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur for the 18-year-old’s signature following his impressive breakthrough at Championship outfit Bristol City.

Earlier this month, the Mirror reported that both the Whites and Spurs had scouts in attendance of the Robin’s Good Friday clash with Stoke City, where the promising teenager played the full game at right wing-back.

He is thought to be valued at around £10m.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

The next Jack Grealish?

The versatile talent is capable of playing in a variety of roles, including out wide as a wing-back or winger, though his best position is thought to be as a creative midfielder or no.10.

Born and signed from Guernsey, Scott has emerged as a key player for former Leicester City and Watford boss Nigel Pearson, having made 36 appearances in the second tier.

He has provided four goals and two assists from those matches, with the bulk coming from an attacking midfield position.

Given his sparkling form and capability to play wide and centrally, it’s no wonder the Bristol City gem has already earned plenty of comparisons to Manchester City and England star Jack Grealish, to who he is thought to be very similar to.

‘The Guernsey Grealish’ could be an intriguing option for Whites boss Jesse Marsch and the squad heading into next season and for just £10m, it could be quite the steal indeed.

Scott has more than held his own at Ashton Gate this term, ranking as Pearson’s seventh-best player in the Championship – an average of 1.6 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game suggests he can do some defensive work, just as much as he likes to get forward, having also averaged 0.8 key passes and dribbles per outing too.

“Not only is he a very creative midfielder but he is incredibly hard-working, especially out of possession, and that’s one of his stand-out qualities,” claimed City’s player pathway manager Brian Tinnion to the BBC.

He also added in another interview: “His work rate and his desire to learn has been unbelievable.”

Whether Leeds will make their move for Scott this summer remains to be seen but the prospect of sealing the next Grealish-like talent for such a small figure should be too good to ignore.

AND in other news, Journo reveals where Leeds will look strengthen this summer…

According to reports, Arsenal are exploring a potential loan deal for Real Madrid star Isco in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Mikel Arteta’s side have struggled this season in the absence of a creative spark, particularly with the Gunners manager leaving out Mesut Ozil from his Premier League squad – the north London side have managed just 16 goals in 16 league games.

Now, Goal claim that Arsenal’s priority in the January transfer window will be to secure an attacking midfielder, with Spain international Isco a target.

The report adds that loan deals are likely to be the way forward for the Gunners this month, and that with the European Championships coming up, Isco is “keen to leave to get more regular minutes during the second half of the campaign”.

No better than Ozil

If this was a few years ago, when Isco was a rising star, then Arsenal should absolutely be all over it.

But the sad fact is that the Spaniard is just nowhere near those kinds of standards anymore, and his lack of game-time at Madrid is a testament to just how low his stock has fallen.

He has yet to complete the 90 minutes in any of Zinedine Zidane’s side’s games this season, and has managed no goals whatsoever and provided just one assist.

It is a far cry from a few years ago, when international football journalist Peter Staunton declared Isco a “100 times better than Ozil” in a Transfer Talk episode.

Both Isco and Ozil are outcasts at their respective clubs, and just what sense would it make for Arsenal to go after another declining, highly-paid (the former earns around £230k-a-week) star? The Gunners simply have to steer clear.

Graham Roberts has exclusively told Football FanCast that Daniel Levy should be knocking on Mauricio Pochettino’s door to try and convince him to return to Tottenham this summer.

The Argentine was sacked by Spurs back in November 2019 before returning to management when he was appointed as the PSG boss back in January.

But Pochettino’s reign in Paris hasn’t gone to plan, with the French giants in danger of failing to win the Ligue 1 title, whilst their hopes of reaching a second consecutive Champions League final were ended by Manchester City on Tuesday evening following their 4-1 aggerate scoreline.

Meanwhile, Spurs have missed out on their top three managerial targets in Julian Nagelsmann, Brendan Rodgers, and Erik ten Hag, meaning the north London outfit are still looking to appoint a replacement for Jose Mourinho, who was sacked last month.

Former midfielder Ryan Mason has been placed in interim charge for the remainder of the Premier League season, with recent reports suggesting that the 29-year-old might be considered for the full-time position.

But there’s only one man that Roberts wants to see in the dugout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season.

He told Football FanCast:

“We were up the top for years. If it was me, because Pochettino is out of the Champions League, I’d be knocking on his door to come back.”

Frank McAvennie has exclusively told Football FanCast that he hopes West Ham keep Said Benrahma but has warned the Algerian international to improve his discipline.

The attacker joined from Brentford last summer on loan with a view to a permanent deal, which was then confirmed as being part of a £20m swoop in January of this year.

However, the arrival of Jesse Lingard later that month has reduced Benrahma’s opportunities for West Ham, making just four Premier League starts since then.

And despite scoring 17 times in the Championship for Brentford last season, he’s yet to get off the mark in claret and blue, although he’s contributed six assists in 29 appearances in all competitions.

McAvennie recognises his talent, but told Football FanCast that he must take David Moyes’ instructions on board:

“It depends on his attitude. He was losing possession in the wrong areas and that’s what David, it was well known, had to talk to him about. David is good at talking to people.

“But I would like him to stay because, you need a good squad and he’s undoubtedly a good player, but sometimes he has got to learn when to go on his mazy runs, which is good for the crowd but not good for the manager.”