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Speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, former England international Steve Howey has stated that he does not want to see Newcastle United turn into the next RB Leipzig.

This follows reports by The Athletic that claimed that Joseph DaGrosa could look into purchasing the Toon should a deal to buy Southampton fall through.

DaGrosa is thought to have told Saints majority shareholder Gao Jisheng to lower his asking price for the south coast side, or he’ll take his and Kapital Football Group’s business elsewhere in the Premier League with the Magpies and West Ham two possible options.

Gao wants £160m for his shares in the St. Mary’s natives after paying between £180-200m for an 80 per cent controlling stake in the club back in 2017, while Mike Ashley values Newcastle at £300m.

Kapital are looking to purchase a mid-table Premier League side as they see it to be the foundation of a potential football empire, akin to the City Football Group consisting of Manchester City, New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among others, or Red Bull’s consisting of RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

When asked if he’d liked to see Newcastle become a franchise in the same mould, Howey told FFC:

“Me personally? Probably not. You want them to be the club that’s Newcastle and they’ll buy players as like, well they haven’t done over the last God knows how many years, just like any other club.

“You see these foreign owners with these clubs and foreign [partner] clubs, and they loan out to this club, but it’s part of that club [that] is actually partnered with this club and that club, like Udinese and Watford and all that kind of thing that went on.

“I have to be honest, it’s not my thing. But that kind of thing, it’s so much speculation, really, and it’s like: ‘Well, he’s off to Southampton but if that one falls through, then he’s got all this’ and I think you just think: ‘Well, if you’re not your first choice, well, then what’s the [point]?’

“You want somebody that’s like: ‘I want Newcastle. It’s as simple as that. And when I get them, I’m gonna do everything that I can to make them a superpower,’ i.e., a Chelsea-esque or a Man City-esque and spend a vast amount of money on players, not somebody that’s like: ‘Oh, well, if I can’t have Southampton and I suppose I could maybe go for Newcastle.’ That doesn’t sit right with me.”

Dominik Szoboszlai became the latest player to join RB Leipzig from RB Salzburg when the rumoured Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur target joined the Bundesliga side for an initial £18m in January.

RB Leipzig also signed Dayot Upamecano from Salzburg for €10m (£9m) in 2017 and have now agreed to sell the Chelsea and Liverpool target to Bayern Munich in the summer, after the Bavarian powerhouse triggered his €42 (£37m) release clause.

Watford previously used their relationship with Udinese to exploit a loophole in Football League rules to sign 10 players on loan from the Serie A club, who shared an owner with the Hornets in the Pozzo family, during a failed promotion push during the 2012/13 season.

AND in other news, a £47k-p/w colossus is weighing up his future at Newcastle United…

Sunderland fans are absolutely delighted after it was revealed the club’s CEO James Rodwell has decided to step down from his role at the club.

It has been a busy few days for the Sunderland. On Thursday, it was finally confirmed that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus had completed his takeover of the Black Cats from former owner Stewart Donald – the latter still retains a minority stake in the club (Sky Sports). The former regime was extremely unpopular amongst the supporters (Chronicle Live), so there is no doubt the change in ownership will have delighted the fans.

Things are changing fast, it seems, with Rodwell now leaving the club. Given his ties to Donald, it is no surprise to see the fans are enjoying the news of his exit.

The update was shared on the club’s official Twitter account, and the fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Rodwell below

“should have happened ages ago. What a disaster”

Credit: @Rokermark30

“The week that keeps giving #safc”

Credit: @AticaSi

“Good riddance”

Credit: @anorthernbullet

“Couldn’t run a raffle”

Credit: @nricho68

“What a start to Friday. More deadwood out the door”

Credit: @al_smith11

“Bain mark 2 gone”

Credit: @2ndoneout

In other news, Sunderland fans hammer this man against Lincoln City.

As the midpoint of the Premier League season approaches, it’s important that clubs across the division look forward to the summer as the biggest transfer window of the season opens. As time has passed, player recruitment has become integral to a club’s success and it’s in this area where Arsenal have appeared to struggle for the last few seasons. The backroom staff have undergone several changes, even more so than the on-pitch personnel, which has left the club in a poor place. Here’s what’s needed to take the club forward in the midfield areas.

The likes of Xhaka and Partey are good defensively but there’s a distinct lack of a creative spark to get the ball rolling from counter-attacks. Welsh maestro Aaron Ramsey was the key to unlocking defences for most of his tenure before leaving on a free to do the exact same at Italian giants Juventus. Since then, the club has looked stale when handling the ball in those central areas, apart from the odd fancy flicks and runs from the on-loan Spaniard Dani Ceballos. Mesut Özil would have been the man to help with this if Arteta hadn’t have frozen him out and just let him run his mega-contract down from afar.

Julian Brandt would be an interesting option to sort this crisis out; with years of Bundesliga and European football under his belt for the likes of Dortmund and Leverkusen, it could be said that Brandt is a natural fit into the Arsenal mould. He’s quick, mobile and can certainly dribble and finish, and is thought of as a young heir to the Marco Reus throne by some.

The Gunners were, of course, in for Lyon’s midfield orchestrator Houssem Aouar and the move in the last summer transfer window looked promising. Aouar has all the Ramsey-like qualities that Arsenal would need in a midfielder; he’s a true box-to-box with good stamina and real technical quality, as has been stated by the likes of Pep Guardiola. Given that the last Lyon to Arsenal transfer was Alexandre Lacazette who was, at the time, another French superstar, the move for Aouar certainly has great potential.

Signings such as Brandt and Aouar could help Arsenal push up the table and take the team back to where they once were for several consecutive years, namely within the Champions League places. Currently, they are 14/1 in the football betting on Space Casino to finish in the top four, so major signings are needed if they want to bridge that significant gap. However, they may find it tough to attract top talents without the incentive of Champions League football, so a significant improvement is needed to make sure they are at least pushing for those places. The Europa League could be key for them this season due to the Champions League spot it provides for the winner.

For Arsenal, the summer transfer window is going to be the most integral time to do some worthwhile business. If the board and Arteta can get their act together and spend wisely, then the right business could propel the club into the Champions League for the first time in several years. The positions and usefulness of some personnel such as Willian does need to be considered and if a fire sale occurs in order to fund some big moves, then it could be the best thing they do all season.

You can somewhat forgive Sunderland for not being at the races right now.

After having four games postponed and a squad ravaged by the ongoing pandemic, it will take Lee Johnson’s men a few weeks to get back up to speed.

However, what will be so frustrating is a second consecutive draw. Equally annoying, is the 1-1 result against Hull on Saturday evening. Time and time again the Mackems achieve that result and it’s now becoming a tiresome affair for supporters.

In front of the Sky television cameras on Saturday, Johnson’s men were quite poor, something that was typified by an error from goalkeeper Lee Burge. The former Coventry man spilt the ball from a free-kick and as a result, Reece Burke had a tap in.

A ‘keeper’s mistake is always elevated because it normally leads to a goal, but one man in the middle of the park made even more errors; Max Power.

The skipper has been inconsistent this season and this display demonstrated exactly why. In simple terms, he let Johnson down and the manager will have expected a much better performance from someone who should be leading by example.

Power was abject in midfield and was desperately poor in possession of the ball. The 27-year-old lost it on 23 occasions which for someone playing in a central role, is particularly abject.

On top of that, he made just two tackles and to add to Power’s woes, he completed only 69% of the passes he attempted.

In a normal situation, you’d assume that Johnson would take a long hard look at his position in the side. However, because he’s captain, Power has to be one of the first names on the team sheet.

It’s hard to neglect that he cost his team considerably on Saturday, though. If he played with more tempo and energy, taking greater care in control of the ball, it may have led to improved impetus in the final third. As such, there was no real link between defence and attack.

This was not the skipper’s finest 90 minutes. He has to improve.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Grigg: Speakman can boost SAFC promotion bid by signing “terrific” 12-goal gem…

Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Brentford this evening, Jose Mourinho has been dealt some worrying news…

What’s the latest?

According to the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, attacking midfield maestro Giovani Lo Celso is now set to miss the whole of January through injury.

The 24-year-old was withdrawn early during Spurs’ 2-0 defeat to Leicester City last month and did not feature against Wolves or Leeds United.

Lo Celso has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the festive period after he was pictured breaking strict tier-4 Covid regulations, along with teammates Sergio Reguilon and Erik Lamela.

Although this news comes at a bad time for Mourinho too.

Attacking midfield worries

The Portuguese tactician has labelled tonight’s match his biggest game since arriving in north London over a year ago, and he’ll have to steer his side to victory without one of his best players.

Lo Celso has contributed to six goals in all competitions this season and has been their most creative midfielder in the Premier League, averaging 0.8 key passes per game, which is more than Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli.

Only Harry Kane and Heung-min Son have managed more (of any player that has started four or more matches).

The duo combined for their 13th goal of the season, tying a top-flight record, but if Mourinho is to successfully negotiate the busy fixture list, he’ll need to find inspiration from elsewhere.

And without Lo Celso that is so much harder. The £28m (€32m) signing has been noted for his creative output before – Alasdair Gold lauded his urgency and desire back in September, whilst Harry Winks dubbed the gem “technically gifted” and “exciting.”

He clearly doesn’t fancy Dele Alli, who has been snubbed from the matchday squad in ten of 16 Premier League matches. He’s also been linked with an exit following Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment at Paris Saint-Germain.

Ndombele also carries question marks as he won’t be able to cope with the additional workload in Lo Celso’s absence as he’s barely able to complete a full 90 minutes – something he has accomplished only twice in 21 appearances this term.

This all leaves Mourinho with quite the headache, and he’ll have every right to be fuming given the lack of alternatives ahead of such a big game.

AND in other news, Spurs could find their own VVD with swoop for £36m leader…

Manchester United suffered a humiliating defeat at RB Leipzig as the Red Devils were dumped out of the Champions League and will want to make amends when they take on Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will be looking to get their campaign back on track, as they have failed to keep a clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion, having lost two out of their past three games in all competitions.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Solskjaer confirmed Anthony Martial is set for a return to action after recovering from injury, with Edinson Cavani facing a race against time to prove his match fitness.

He said: “Anthony will definitely be involved. Edinson has been on the grass but I’ll make a decision later.”

Here’s our starting line-up for this afternoon, which sees the club legend make three changes from the defeat to RB Leipzig.

Despite being criticised for his performance against RB Leipzig, David de Gea will most likely be given the gloves to face Pep Guardiola’s side, which means Dean Henderson will have to settle for a place on the bench.

Maybe Luke Shaw could keep his place, but it’s hard to imagine any changes to the back four that have served Solskjaer so well in the league, with Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Alex Telles and Aaron Wan-Bissaka likely to start.

In midfield, Solskjaer has an abundance of options at his disposal, with Donny van de Beek, Fred, Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba all vying for a place in the starting line-up.

Asking Matic to play again may be a step too far, so recalling Fred and bringing Pogba back into the midfield is surely a no-brainer at this stage, whilst Bruno Fernandes will be deployed in the advanced playmaker position.

We said earlier this week that Pogba has to be given the time to shine and the stage is set for the Frenchman to prove his worth at Old Trafford.

Saturday’s game may come too soon for Cavani, so Martial will likely lead the line, with Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood forming the rest of the front three.

AND in other news, Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must unleash this under-fire star vs City…

Somehow, it has gone from bad to worse for Celtic.

The Hoops have now won just twice in their last 11 outings and their display against AC Milan summed things up.

In the final third, they were exceptional as the Hoops took a 2-0 lead. However, as 2020/21 has dictated, they were shocking defensively.

Neil Lennon can take all the slack he likes but this time it was on his backline, four players who contributed to yet another appalling night in Europe.

Eventually losing 4-2, it meant that they have conceded 12 times in their last three European outings. For a side who has dominated domestically for so long, this is nothing short of pathetic.

Vasilis Barkas was one of the main culprits – making a succession of mistakes – but arguably there was someone that had a poorer performance; Hatem Elhamed.

The Israeli stepped in for Jeremie Frimpong at right-back a week ago versus Sparta Prague but in making two individual errors that led to goals, it was a night to forget.

Similarly, he was nothing but mediocre when he played at the San Siro.

Time and time again Elhamed was a pushover, being shoved about and beaten to countless balls by the relentless Milan attack.

Remarkably, he did actually prevail in six tackles but over the course of the 90 minutes, he failed to win a single interception or make a block. Meanwhile, the right-back also lost the ball a mighty 15 times and failed to pick out a man with any of his four crosses.

Feeble at the back and average going forward, pretty much every aspect of Elhamed’s game was anonymous on Thursday evening.

To sum things up, three of the host’s four goals came down his side of the pitch. This was a real opportunity to stake his claim to Lennon but instead, he let his manager down.

It could cost him his place in the XI.

In other news, here’s how Celtic can fix their HUGE problem with Scott Brown…

To suggest sacking a manager just six points off the automatic promotion spots would be slightly harsh.

However, when assessing Sunderland it merely seems common practise.

Phil Parkinson was unable to get the Black Cats promoted last season and indeed, it would appear that the former Bradford boss is struggling again.

Sunderland are eight points off top spot and any thought of gaining entry to the Championship automatically is already fading.

In simple terms, it sums up what Sunderland have become. This is a team who at the very least should be competing at the top of the Championship. If you look at their facilities and stadium you’d instantly assume they were a Premier League outfit.

The reality, though, is that they’re languishing in the third tier of English football.

So what has to change? Well the arrival of Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus could give the business side some fresh ideas and impetus.

However, it will be no easy task. It’s already been reported that Dreyfus is not aware of the financial complications at Sunderland and thus, he could be in for quick a shock once he gets his hands on the keys to the club.

Things could be worsened with a move for Nigel Pearson, someone linked with the north-east club this week. The former Watford boss was described as “incredible” by Pep Guardiola for the work he did last season in nearly keeping the Hornets up and has a reputation for getting teams promoted, both as a player and as manager.

He achieved it twice with Leicester, taking them from League One to the Premier League and that’s the kind of experience Stewart Donald will be lusting for.

That being said, it would surely be nothing short of a huge financial gamble to bring him to the Stadium of Light. The fact of the matter is that they’d presumably have to give Pearson a pretty hefty pay packet.

After taking the Foxes to the top-flight, it was claimed that Pearson wanted to take his £750k-a-year salary to £3m-per-annum. That would have been an absurd £57k-a-week. Clearly, he is used to taking jobs on for a comfortable salary.

Even if he replicated the £750,000 annually he received in the Midlands at Sunderland, it would mean that Donald or Dreyfus would have to pay him just over £14k-a-week.

For context, Sunderland defender Bailey Wright is currently on £13k-a-week so it seems manageable. However, it’s important to remember that Pearson’s latest job was in the Premier League, a role where he earned £1m in bonuses alone when he left Watford.

This seems like too much of a financial burden and if Sunderland brought him in before the takeover is done, Dreyfus would be walking into nothing short of a financial disaster.

One of the most important things Sunderland have thought about in the last 18 months is the sustainability of the football club from a financial point of view.

On the pitch, Pearson would more than likely deliver results but if the Mackems fail in terms of promotion again, it would not have been worth the risk on spending so much.

Donald has already taken a gamble on Will Grigg which didn’t work out. He needs to make sure he doesn’t take the same financial punt once again.

Meanwhile, some very BAD NEWS has emerged for Sartori and Dreyfus in their takeover attempt…

West Ham United have been handed a major boost in the east London side’s pursuit of Kai Wagner after the defender stated he’s ready to leave Philadelphia Union.

What’s the word?

While speaking with German magazine Kicker, Wagner has noted how he feels ready for a move to one of Europe’s top-three leagues after reflecting on the emerging interest in his services.

The 23-year-old full-back has materialised into a highly sought-after option for the upcoming winter transfer market, with West Ham, Fulham and a clutch of Bundesliga outfits understood to be keen on the star of Major League Soccer.

Union are only said to value Wagner at close to £3.5million, which fits nicely with the budget the Hammers are expected to operate with in January as boss David Moyes strives to improve a key weakness in his squad.

Wagner has started all 18 of his appearances in 2020 while providing two goals and an assist, and believes now could be the time to test his luck back in Europe after leaving Bundesliga 2 side Wurzburger Kickers in 2019.

“I’ll be 24 in February, so I think I’ll have to change soon. I have left an impression here and am ready for one of the top-three leagues in Europe. Bundesliga, Premier League or Spain, if you like. I want to be a regular there and maybe even make the leap to the national team.

“There aren’t that many good left-backs in the world, so many clubs have needs there. I want to move back to Europe in January or in July at the latest. But first, and this is particularly important, I want to win the MLS Cup with Philadelphia. After that there is still enough time to deal with the future.”

A “special” warrior for the Irons

Union’s 2020 MLS Cup campaign came to an end on Tuesday night after a 2-0 loss at home to New England Revolution, in which German national Wagner contested nine ground duels, four aerial duels, made four clearances, one tackle, delivered three crosses and took 78 touches, per SofaScore.

Wagner’s warrior nature ensured Union boss Jim Curtin could rely on the left-back to be a combative member of his plans and justify Philadelphia Sporting Director Ernst Tanner’s decision to sign the defender last year.

“I’ve known Kai since he was a youth, and I was checking so many left full-backs and it was always the question of what you could get and what you want to sign. It made him in a way so special, and I’m always looking out for players that can do that next stage in their development. And that’s the reason I went for Kai,” Tanner told The Athletic.

Aurelien Collin, a veteran defender with years of MLS experience before becoming a mentor, is also full of praise for Wagner, and lauded the former Schalke prospect’s mental strength.

“He has the mentality,” Collin said. “He’s young. He’s a fighter. He’s not scared of the contact, which is something very important in this league, and I think that’s why, right now, he’s adapted very well.”

Curtin has often been able to rely on Wagner to show a willingness to contest for the ball, with the 23-year-old averaging 4.4 duels won a game in MLS this year for a 52% success rate, spread over 2.6 ground battles and 1.8 aerial contests, per SofaScore.

Moyes would no doubt be left in awe if the defender could build on those efforts at the London Stadium, where Arthur Masuaku has nailed down the role this term with 6.1 duels won per Premier League appearance but has no competition with Aaron Cresswell playing centrally.

AND in other news, a “commanding figure” could be set to leave West Ham in the January window.

It’s only taken a few months for Tottenham talisman Harry Kane to make a complete mockery of Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson’s claims after a 1-1 draw against Manchester United last season.

“When Jose took the job I worried for Harry Kane. He played under Pochettino and Tottenham sort of had a go wherever they went. There were goals, there were crosses, there were shots. (But now) he’s going to be playing up front on his own and it is going to be hard work. In the end he’s trying to hit 60-yard passes just to be involved in the game. That’s not Harry Kane.

“I think he’ll have a serious think at the end of the season, I really do. I don’t see him getting 25-30 goals next season with the way Jose will want to play. And Jose won’t want to play like he did when he first got in there and it was 4-2 and 5-3, no way. He’ll like those games like Friday night, 1-1.”

Fast forward to the beginning of October, and the England international has been directly involved in 27 goals in just 26 games under Jose Mourinho, including a truly remarkable tally of seven goals and six assists in his seven matches this season.

But whilst Kane has been enjoying a truly astonishing run of form in front of goal, the most awe-inspiring thing has been the way he has created chances for others.

Heung-min Son enjoyed a field day against Southampton a few weeks ago thanks to Kane’s vision and timing of passes, and it was noticeable that he was dropping more and more deeper in that game to catch Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side off guard.

A look at his heatmaps last season and the 2017/2018 campaign saw a noticeable difference in where the 27-year-old was picking up the ball, with less emphasis on being inside the box and being a predatory striker.

With Gareth Bale working his way back from fitness, Mourinho should seriously consider starting the Welshman up top, and dropping Kane into a number ten role and leaning on him as more of a goal-scoring playmaker, than a play-making goal-scorer.

Described as someone with a bit of “magic” by teammate Ben Davies, this season could see Kane transform into one of the Premier League’s leading assist-producers, and really bring the best out of a returning Bale.