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Tottenham have been exploring a swap deal for Giovani Lo Celso, according to a report by The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

The Lowdown: Absence from London derby

Lo Celso’s absence from Spurs’ matchday squad in Sunday’s London derby against Chelsea provoked some fans to question the Argentine’s transfer status ahead of deadline day, with just a week remaining of the window.

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Amid rumours over whether he was able to play against the Blues, the 25-year-old took to Instagram to share that he was in “100 per-cent good physical condition”, meaning he was available for Antonio Conte’s selection.

During the Italian’s post-match conference after his side suffered a 2-0 defeat, the manager was questioned about Lo Celso’s future, with his response sparking further speculation as he said: “I selected the players for this game and this question is one for the club to answer.”

The Latest: Spurs looking for Lo Celso swap deal

According to Ornstein for The Athletic, Spurs have been exploring the possibility of a swap deal for the Argentina international as the club look set for a busy end to the January transfer window.

It is becoming increasingly evident that Conte is looking to reshape his midfield this season as a myriad of transfer rumours involving Tottenham players in that position have arisen, including the mooted departures of Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli.

The Verdict: A failed hefty transfer?

Having suffered knee and shinbone injuries, Lo Celso has struggled for Premier League game-time this season, with just two starts and seven substitute appearances thus far.

The midfielder arrived on a £15m loan fee in 2019 before the transfer was confirmed on a permanent basis, as the Lilywhites splashed out an extra £27.3m in a bid to build a stronger midfield, also bringing in club-record signing Ndombele three years ago.

Despite the hefty transfer fee, Lo Celso has been unable to make a considerable impact since arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and with Conte set for a midfield overhaul, the Argentine could be added to the list of potential departures.

If a swap deal has not been completed before the January deadline, the midfielder could be waving goodbye in the summer unless his first team prospects drastically improve in the meantime.

In other news: Journalist shares another big exit update involving Spurs

Manchester United could finally strengthen their midfield over the coming months after being linked with a transfer move for Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara.

What’s the story?

According to The Athletic’s transfer expert David Ornstein, United a keeping close tabs on the 22-year-old’s situation after he decided to leave the Stade Velodrome as a free agent at the end of the season.

Kamara’s current deal is set to expire in the summer of 2022 and is not expected to extend his stay in the south of France, opening the door to an imminent exit.

The report states that: “There are suggestions that Marseille could yet make a last push to secure fresh terms but The Athletic understands Kamara has now opted to leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

“He is under consideration at one of the traditional top-four Premier League clubs and Manchester United are also across the situation as they weigh up possibilities to bolster their midfield.”

Rangnick must seal Man Utd move

Given United’s recent struggles at the base of their midfield, new interim manager Ralf Rangnick must seal a move for the former France U21 international.

After rising through the ranks at his boyhood club, Kamara has made 141 appearances for Les Olympiens in all competitions, illustrating his top-class credentials in a variety of positions.

Comfortable at the base of midfield, centre-back and right-back, the £46,000-per-week gem shone from an early age, catching the eye of former teammate Rolando.

“This kid is a phenomenon,” said the defender. “When he started training with us, he was 15 years old. And from day one, I said, no, but this little one is going to be a great player.

“He’s the kind of central defender I like. He is full of qualities and, above all, he works, he listens. It is out of the ordinary.”

But it’s in a holding role at the foundation of the engine room where Kamara has truly excelled this season, elevating his game to new heights under Jorge Sampaoli.

As per FBref.com, the 6-foot dynamo has recorded 1.59 tackles won per 90 throughout 2021/22, 6.02 successful pressures and 1.50 interceptions, bettering Scott McTominay’s totals in each metric.

The United ace has produced tallies of 1.32, 3.77 and 1.40, respectively, highlighting how Kamara’s arrival would improve the Red Devils’ midfield options.

Therefore, Rangnick must sanction a swoop for the promising maestro, kickstarting United’s new era under his watchful eye with an extremely astute acquisition.

And, in other news…“As things stand..”: Romano drops intriguing Man Utd update, fans will be ecstatic

Tottenham Hotspur’s long wait for silverware seems likely to go on after they were well-beaten in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash against Antonio Conte’s former club, Chelsea, on Wednesday evening.

The north Londoners were dominated from the first minute and looked a world away from truly competing against the Champions of Europe at Stamford Bridge.

Conte named a largely full-strength side with just two changes from the New Year’s Day triumph over fellow capital city rivals Watford – Japhet Tanganga replaced Eric Dier, who was not even in the matchday squad, whilst Matt Doherty made a rare appearance at left wing-back over Sergio Reguilon.

After being the goalscoring hero on Saturday, Davinson Sanchez endured a nightmare down in west London, proving to be at fault for Kai Havertz’s opener before conceding a comedy own goal after the returning Tanganga headed the ball off Ben Davies’ shoulder and it flew past a helpless Hugo Lloris.

However, it was the £10.8m-rated Ireland international that was hooked at the break after another shocking outing in the Lilywhites colours. A rather damning move from Conte as the 29-year-old has been linked with a move away from Spurs this transfer window.

Perhaps that ought to be his final game for the club.

Across his 45 minutes on the pitch, he registered the fewest touches of any starter (20), which was even fewer than goalkeeper Lloris (34) and his replacement Tanguy Ndombele (24). Meanwhile, he also made only nine accurate passes, as per SofaScore.

As a wing-back, he would be expected to contribute in the final third, too, but it seems as if he struggled to have an influence there, failing to register a single dribble or cross.

Tanganga and Sanchez received quite the criticism from reporters after the game but it was Doherty who was consistently rated as Conte’s worst performer on the night.

‘Out of position on the left and often looked out of his depth. Struggled to make any inroads down his flank, and frequently lost the ball,’ wrote the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, whilst Alasdair Gold at football.london graded him a dismal three out of ten.

On the evidence above, the defender – who earns a reported £74k-per-week in N17 – must never play for Tottenham again. Fabio Paratici and co must look to sell him as soon as possible, there is surely no way back now.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops major Hugo Lloris update at Spurs…

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming over some news which has emerged involving their January transfer plans.

As per The Daily Mirror, the club have no plans to spend significantly in the upcoming transfer window, despite pleas from Bruno Lage to do so.

The Wolves manager wants to bring in at least three new faces, but Fosun are not likely to grant him any major funds.

That is because the owners want to make the club self-funding and are mindful of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

Wolves do not have a particularly big squad and also have plenty of injuries, so it would be strange if Fosun do not dig deep into their pockets in order to help Lage, otherwise his squad could be depleted even further.

Wolves fans on transfer news

These Wanderers fans were left fuming as the news on their January transfer plans was shared by Talking Wolves on their Twitter page:

“#FosunOut”

Credit: @Gary_Poynton

“So short-sighted. Tell the fans one thing and do another”

Credit: @Ianph61

“Long may the pain continue”

Credit: @ChriWoodward

“We will be relegated next season if the squad is not improved in the next 2 windows. Heard it here first!”

Credit: @aimstocks2021

“Spend bottom half, get bottom half”

Credit: @Ashley19345299

“Really? Surely they won’t let him down again.”

Credit: @WolvesFirst

In other news, one Wolves player’s pre-Liverpool comments went down well with many supporters

Antonio Conte’s Tottenham were left feeling frustrated as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Liverpool at home in the Premier League on Sunday.

Spurs took the lead through Harry Kane in the first half as he latched onto a brilliant through ball from Tanguy Ndombele before rolling the ball into the bottom left corner.

However, headed goals from Jota and Andrew Robertson put Liverpool in front either side of the half-time break in north London.

Heung-Min Son was gifted the chance to equalise as Alisson raced out and completely missed the ball, with the forward able to tap the ball into an empty net. That was the last goal in the game, although Robertson was sent off for a horrible challenge on Emerson late on.

Worse than Alli

Dele Alli may have missed a huge chance to score and fluff his lines when passing to Kane in the second-half, but another Spurs player was worse than him on the day – Ben Davies. The former MK Dons man was given a SofaScore rating of 6.3 for his display, whilst the Welshman was given a 5.7.

The left-back, playing as a central defender, struggled badly throughout the game and let Antonio Conte down as he failed to match Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez’s impressive showings.

Defensively, he was all over the shop. As per SofaScore, the lightweight lost 75% (6/8) of his duels on the pitch as he failed to impose himself physically upon the Liverpool attackers. He was also unable to make a single block, tackle or interception in the match, but was dribbled past once.

This shows that he was not good enough defending his own goal, which was typified by his error for Jota’s header – taking a poor touch that was pounced upon by Robertson before he teed up the ex-Wolves man. He should have taken a better touch or taken no risks and smashed the ball clear, instead of gifting the ball to the Liverpool full-back on a plate.

On the ball, he offered nothing. As per SofaScore, he only completed 69% of his attempted passes and was unsuccessful with all of his long passes. He also failed 100% of his attempted dribbles and gave away possession of the ball 17 times.

Therefore, he let Conte down badly as he was a liability both on and off the ball for Spurs and made an error for the Liverpool equaliser from Jota. The Italian head coach will surely be hoping for better performances from the Welshman in the coming weeks, as this display is not a standard he will want to replicate.

AND in other news, Levy preparing huge Spurs offer for “absolute leader”, he’d be “outstanding” for Conte…

Junior Firpo is unlikely to start for Leeds United in their Premier League clash with Leicester City, according to journalist Beren Cross.

The Lowdown: Leeds host Leicester

The Whites are back in Premier League action on Sunday afternoon, welcoming Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes side to Elland Road.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side picked up a much-needed three points away to Norwich City last weekend but this is likely to be a sterner test.

That being said, Leicester are yet to get going this season and their limp defeat at home to Arsenal last time around means all is far from perfect for Rodgers and co – they currently sit 11th with a negative goal difference.

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The Latest: Firpo unlikely to start

Firpo could return to the matchday squad for Leeds after injury, but speaking in a Q&A for Leeds Live on Wednesday, Cross claimed the left-back is unlikely to start, with Bielsa being careful with him:

“Based on Bielsa’s argument for leaving [Kalvin] Phillips out of the Wolves game, Firpo will surely have had too little time on the pitch in order to start against Leicester on Sunday.”

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The Verdict: Big test of Whites’ form

It makes sense for Firpo to be eased back in, with Stuart Dallas continuing at left-back in what is an intriguing league encounter – the latter man was solid against Norwich, earning a 7.4 match rating from Sofascore, the second-best on the pitch behind Raphinha.

The Northern Ireland international also ranks 6th in average match rating for the entire season at Elland Road, while Firpo is all the way down in 17th, so this feels like a pretty smart prediction from Cross.

This is likely to tell us a lot more about where Leeds are at currently, with Norwich the worst team in the division, with all due respect.

Victory over Leicester would suggest that the Whites truly have turned a corner but defeat would mean those same doubts start creeping in again.

In other news, a Leeds transfer target has turned down a new contract. Read more here.

Wolverhampton Wanderers ended West Ham’s run of fantastic form this afternoon and also managed to keep a clean sheet at Molineux for the first time this season.

Securing the three points today has put Wolves in a fantastic position in the Premier League, elevating them above Manchester United and Brighton into sixth, two points clear of the aforementioned duo.

Bruno Lage’s team dominated in almost every area of the game, with 53% possession and more completed passes and more shots on target compared to David Moyes’ side. Raul Jimenez championed this dominance with a second half strike which finally burst West Ham’s bubble, notching his third goal of the season to decide the match in Wolves’ favour.

Lage will be delighted with the result and performance from his team today, in particular his decision to put his faith in Portuguese forward Daniel Podence, who made his first start since the win at Southampton nearly two months ago.

The £52k-p/w winger played an important part in the win today, with three key passes, two shots on target and an assist for Jimenez’s goal, fully justifying his manager’s decision to start the 26-year-old over Adama Traore.

Podence has been challenging both the Spain international and Barcelona loanee Trincao for a place in the line-up but has given those players a pushback after such a fine attacking display this afternoon.

SofaScore rated Podence at 7.0/10 today as he put on an attacking masterclass against an impressive West Ham side, showing how much of a threat he can be in the final third.

Lage spoke after the match about the 26-year-old and how his ability to find space in a tight game, saying: “We needed to find different spaces and we found it. The way Saiss and Max found the spaces to Podence or Hwang, and how Ruben and Joao control the game with the ball… We controlled everything”.

Wolves will be hoping to continue their winning ways to push for European football next season, and more performances like this one from Podence should give them every chance of embarking on a continental tour in 2022/23.

In other news: Wolves have been dealt a big transfer setback

Newcastle United could now hire Erik ten Hag as their next manager, if Marc Overmars is appointed the new Director of Football (DoF) at St. James’ Park.

The Lowdown: Manager search

The North East club have been linked with the likes of Roberto Martinez, Steven Gerrard and Matias Almeyda in recent days, as their manager search continues following the departure of Steve Bruce.

Graeme Jones will be taking temporary charge of the next couple of games until the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium find the person that they want.

The Latest: ten Hag and Overmars combo

As per De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), Overmars, who is currently the DoF at Ajax, would be ‘comfortable’ taking the same role on Tyneside, and ‘will poll’ ten Hag if he is appointed.

It will be interesting to see which role the new owners of the Magpies fill in first, as one could well dictate who is hired for the other.

The Verdict: Get both in

There is no doubt that a lot of the recent success Ajax have had is down to Overmars and ten Hag.

Off of the pitch, the former has been responsible for selling players for big profits and then helping rebuild with quality replacements, while ten Hag has won five major trophies during his time at the club, and famously guided them to the UEFA Champions League semi-final in the 2018/19 season.

Jurgen Klopp dubbed him as an ‘exciting’ manager back in December, which is high praise indeed, and getting both in would prove to be a real coup from the Toon.

In other news, find out which ‘extraordinary’ ace NUFC are ‘preparing’ a £67.7m bid for here!

Everton could face a battle to keep manager Rafa Benitez at the club over the coming months as Newcastle United have reportedly refused to give up hope of enticing the Spaniard back to St. James’ Park.

What’s the story?

The 61-year-old spent three years at the helm of Newcastle between 2016 and 2019 and was a firm fans favourite in the North East after guiding the Magpies back to the Premier League in his first full season in charge.

However, Benitez departed due to a lack of investment from previous owner Mike Ashley, but the retail entrepreneur has now sold the club to a Saudi-back consortium, allowing them to join football’s financial elite.

Newcastle’s newfound wealth has already led to Steve Bruce’s sacking and brought questions over his potential successor, with Benitez believed to be at the top of their wishlist.

A report from Football Insider states that: “Newcastle United have not given up all hope of luring Rafael Benitez into a sensational return, Football Insider understands.

“The Spaniard, 61, has long been the favoured choice of the Saudi-led regime to take over as manager, and that remains the case nearly a week into their search for a Steve Bruce replacement.

“A Newcastle source has told Football Insider there is an inkling of hope Benitez could be persuaded to leave Everton even though he has publicly ruled it out.”

Everton fans may be worried

Although Benitez’s appointment at Everton wasn’t a universally popular one due to his previous connections with fierce rivals Liverpool, a large section of the club’s supporters will still be worried over his potential exit.

The tactician has made a solid start to life at Goodison Park, picking up 14 points from his first nine top-flight fixtures to leave the Toffees just three points outside of the Champions League qualification places.

Coupled with the fact that Benitez is Everton’s sixth permanent manager since David Moyes’ exit in 2013 – and that the ex-Real Madrid boss has won one Champions League, two La Liga titles and one FA Cup crown throughout his career – it’s likely that many supporters will be desperate for some stability and success under the current regime.

The Toffees impressive start to the 2021/22 campaign under Benitez this season has seen the Spaniard win plenty of supporters around Merseyside over despite his chequered past in charge of their arch-rivals.

As such, this latest update could leave many rather worried, particularly as any departure would leave them looking for their second boss in as many seasons.

And, in other news…”Finally some good news…”: Fabrizio Romano’s Everton update will have fans buzzing

After only managing to get a point against Leeds United last week, Newcastle will be hoping to finally pick up their first win of the new Premier League season when they face Watford on Saturday afternoon.

Steve Bruce’s side were involved in an action-packed clash against the Whites which saw Allan Saint-Maximin net a superb solo goal to ensure that the Tyneside club didn’t come away empty-handed.

However, with the Magpies still firmly in the relegation zone heading into the game at Vicarage Road, they could desperately do with adding some more attacking intent – starting with giving Saint-Maximin a partner in crime.

Since joining from Bournemouth on a free transfer back in September 2020, it’s fair to say that Ryan Fraser hasn’t exactly set the world alight at St James’ Park.

The £9m-rated Scotland international has struggled for both form and fitness on Tyneside, making just 27 appearances to date and scoring only one goal for his current club.

In his real standout campaign with Bournemouth back in 2018/19, though, Fraser racked up seven goals and a whopping 14 assists, proving that he can perform at Premier League level when he’s on song.

His former Bournemouth teammate Eunan O’Kane said: “Ryan has got the world at his feet.He has taken him time to settle, but he has learnt a lot in the six months he has been here.For me he is a dream. I just give him the ball and stand behind him and let him do what he does. He is an outlet and can run with the ball and gives us a different option.”

Meanwhile, former Celtic ace Charlie Nicholas added: “What I like is that he is a little pocket dynamo. He is quite an old-fashioned type of player – what we used to call a tanner ba’ – from the days when Scottish players were very popular. He has a little bit of that.”

The 59-year-old continued: “What he does understand is when he gets the ball and is allowed to run at people and be expressive. That is when he is at his finest. It is nice to see a Scot with this kind of creative, natural talent that we don’t obviously have enough of at international level.”

Given the incredible reliance that Newcastle put on Saint-Maximin to be their main goalscorer and creator, having Fraser in the starting line-up would give the Frenchman some much-needed support.

It could be the kind of game-changing move which finally swings things Newcastle’s way.

Meanwhile, Newcastle could sign a major Sean Longstaff upgrade in this ace…