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An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Dutch centre-back Sven Botman…

What’s the talk?

According to Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards, the defender is interested in a move to St. James’ Park in the January window. Lille, however, are keen to keep hold of their man after holding initial discussions with the Magpies over a potential £30m deal.

The reporter quote Tweeted his article with this claim: “Also contains some better news on Trippier, update on Wijnaldum and Tarkowski too. Based on conversations on the phone with people who know what’s going on. It’s going to be a very long month.”

Elation

Newcastle fans will surely be left elated by this news for multiple reasons. For starters, Edwards claims that people in the know have provided these updates, suggesting that Botman is genuinely interested in making the switch to Tyneside in the coming weeks.

This shows the pull that the takeover from PIF has given the club, as he is now prepared to leave the reigning Ligue 1 champions to fight relegation in England. It proves that the Magpies can attract quality players this month, which should give supporters hope that Nick Hammond and Eddie Howe will be able to complete key deals to strengthen the squad before the window ends.

Fans will also be buzzing as Botman could be a brilliant signing for the side. He has been in fine form for Lille in Ligue 1, averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.02, and could come in and improve the defence. The centre-back has shown that he can perform consistently in the French top-flight and that suggests that he could be a strong performer for the Magpies, should he be able to adapt to English football.

Newcastle have conceded the most goals in the Premier League (42), joint with Norwich, this season and are in dire need of an improvement at the back. This is why the signing of Botman could be a major piece of business by the club and fans will be delighted to read that the Dutchman is interested in the potential switch.

Supporters will now need to cross their fingers and hope that Hammond can iron out a deal with the Ligue 1 giants to bring Botman to St. James’ Park. The window still has a few weeks left to run and Newcastle have time to convince Lille to part ways with him.

AND in other news, “Expecting” – Pete Graves drops Newcastle transfer claim that’ll leave fans delighted…

Leeds United’s need to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window is ‘blindingly obvious’, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Leeds short in midfield

It has been a disappointing first three months of the season for Marcelo Bielsa’s men, who are threatening to get sucked in a Premier League relegation battle.

One area where have been lacking is in midfield, with Kalvin Phillips perhaps relied upon too much and the Leeds hero missing three of their league games, with the team yielding just one point from those matches.

The likes of Jamie Shackleton, Mateusz Klich and Adam Forshaw have operated there, but with the latter not long back from a two-year injury layoff, the centre of midfield is a position where the Whites are rather threadbare.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Hay calls for new signing

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic on Tuesday ahead of Leeds’ clash at home to Crystal Palace, Hay implored the club to try and bring in another player in the middle of the park during the January transfer window.

He wrote: “As for recruitment, I said last week that some business in January would make sense. It doesn’t have to be huge amount or hideously expensive but it’s been pretty comprehensively shown, for example, that without Bamford it’s not clear who should be at nine. And they do need another [in] midfield. That’s blindingly obvious.”

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The Verdict: Makes perfect sense

Central midfield is a vital area of the pitch for any team in terms of controlling the game, so as Hay has hinted, it is imperative that reinforcements are made in that area at Leeds, or at least that valid attempts are made at doing so.

Someone like reported transfer target Nahitan Nandez, who has won 49 caps for Uruguay and averaged 2.1 tackles per game for Cagliari in Serie A this season – more than Klich (1.3) – would be an ideal addition, bringing more quality and depth to Leeds’ midfield.

With Phillips’ long-term future also up in the air, the Elland Road may need to be eyeing up possible replacements for him as well, sad as that may be to accept.

In other news, Danny Mills has criticised one Whites player. Find out who it is here.

Wolves have reportedly been given the green light to sign Lille-midfielder Renato Sanches after Bruno Lage failed to bring the Portuguese to Molineux in the summer.

The 24-year-old has been subject to interest from a wide array of clubs across Europe, with AC Milan, Arsenal and Wolves some of the clubs reportedly keeping tabs on the midfielder.

Sanches joined the reigning French champions from Bayern Munich in summer 2019 and recently admitted that when he joined Bayern from Portuguese outfit Benfica, he “was too young” but now feels “ready for a big club.”

Due to a meniscal injury, the £27m-rated midfielder missed a month of action at the start of the season but has made 13 appearances across Ligue 1 and the Champions League this term.

Imagine him & Neves

The Lille star has played in the Premier League before, enduring a torrid loan spell at Swansea City in the 2017/18 season, featuring just 15 times as the Welsh outfit was relegated from the top-flight.

However, the 24-year-old now appears ready for a return to England amid links to Wolves and Arsenal, should a deal be sorted.

Branded as a “complete” talent by Lille president Oliver Letang, Sanches really would be a statement signing if Lage was able to lure his fellow countryman to the West Midlands.

Wolves have seriously struggled for goals from the middle of the park, with Ruben Neves the only central midfielder to score in the Premier League this term.

Moreover, the currently preferred central trio of Neves, Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho certainly isn’t sustainable, particularly given the fact that Moutinho is now 35-years-old. Investment in the midfield will be necessary.

Bruno Lage’s side have had a decent start to the campaign, sitting in the top half. However, they are currently the league’s second-lowest scorers with just 12 goals. Thus, the addition of Sanches, who has been dubbed an “absolute engine” by scout Jacek Kulig, would be perfect.

His ability to drive forward and create, combined with Neves’ more tough-tackling approach should be a sumptuous thought for Wolves supporters.

That said, it’s a squad that certainly needs investment in January. You could argue that, given the clubs he’s been linked with, Wolves would be a backwards move. If Lage was able to secure a deal for Sanches, it would certainly be a major statement of intent and one that could help forge a formidable partnership in the middle of the park.

Celtic have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Scottish League Cup semi-final.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Football Scotland, who revealed that Celtic centre-back Stephen Welsh had to be withdrawn late on in Scotland U21s’ 2-0 defeat to Belgium on Tuesday evening.

The report went on to state that the 21-year-old looked to pick up a knock in a collision with one of his Belgian counterparts, before limping out of the UEFA U21 Championship qualifier at Tannadice.

Ange will be fuming

Considering the fact that Carl Starfelt is already a doubt for Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final clash against St. Johnstone, the news that the Sweden international’s stand-in now also appears to be ruled out of the fixture is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou fuming.

Indeed, not only does Welsh’s injury leave the 56-year-old manager extremely short of options at the back, the Bhoys boss also appears to have lost one of his most promising young talents at Parkhead.

Over his five Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £1.08m-rated man has helped his side keep two clean sheets and registered one assist, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 2.2 clearances and winning 6.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the Scotland U21 international average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.12, ranking him as Postecoglou’s joint 11th-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

As such, the 21-year-old’s injury will undoubtedly come as a major blow to the Greek-Australian’s chances of securing a victory against St. Johnstone, a result that Postecoglou will be desperate for in order to have a shot at picking up the first trophy of his tenure as Celtic manager.

In other news: Ange could repeat Josh Adam disaster with 15 y/o Celtic prodigy, it’d be a big blow

Everton put on yet another disappointing display against Premier League Champions Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Rafa Benitez’s side put in a defensive disaster-class at the Ethiad, losing 3-0 to the title challengers, and never really establishing any attacking threat in the entire duration of the game.

Another injury blow was dealt to the Spanish manager, as winger Demarai Gray went off injured in just the 16th minute of the game.

Manchester City could’ve opened proceedings much earlier in the game, in the 33rd minute, when a penalty shout was luckily overturned by VAR when Michael Keane clashed with Raheem Sterling.

However, it wasn’t long for Pep Guardiola’s side to score, with a fantastic ball from Joao Cancelo put onto Raheem Sterling’s foot in front of goal which he converted in the 44th minute to put the City side ahead 1-0.

Everton continued to come undone and showed no signs of getting back into the game after half time, when the Toffees conceded two further goals in the 55th minute and then once more in the 86th minute.

Overall, the Merseyside club had a shocking 22% possession over the 90 minutes, which is a real reflection of how poor and reluctant the Everton side looked to get into the game and move the ball in important areas of the pitch.

One player that stuck out like a sore thumb in Everton’s defence is Michael Keane, who looked lost in many moments of the game today, which reflected in his individual match statistics that saw the centre back have less touches (36) than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Everton fans took to Twitter to scold the £22.5m-rated rated centre back;

One fan tweeted; “The sooner we move on Michael Keane the better, diabolical defender”

Another wrote; “Michael Keane’s movement for the third goal and his meek reaction as the ball went in says it all. When things are tough, they play within themselves. No character, no leadership, nothing.”

To make matter worse, he only completed 76% of his passes and made just two tackles despite an offensive onslaught from the opposition.

This disastrous defensive performance is hard proof that Rafa needs to either add players in the January transfer window, or pray for a return to full fitness from centre back Yerry Mina, as the side falls further away from getting back into the top half of the table.

Everton will now look forward to a game at Goodison Park against Brentford next weekend, and Benitez will surely be hoping he has some more players back from injury in an effort to win some points before a tough run of fixtures against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. If he does, then Keane simply has to be axed after his feeble showing in Manchester.

Crystal Palace take on London rivals Arsenal in an enticing Premier League clash on Monday night as both teams aim to extend their recent good runs of form.

The Eagles have lost just one of their last five top-flight fixtures under the stewardship of new manager Patrick Vieira, earning a memorable 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the process. The victory against Spurs was made even sweeter after summer signing Odsonne Edouard came off the bench to bag a brace on his debut for the south London club.

The 23-year-old Frenchman marked his arrival in English football in emphatic fashion, firing past compatriot Hugo Lloris just 28 seconds after entering the field of play before wrapping up the three points deep into injury time.

However, the former France under-21 international has come back down to reality after his dream start to life at Selhurst Park.

In his subsequent three appearances for Palace against Liverpool, Brighton and Leicester, Edouard has failed to find the back of the net or provide an assist for one of his teammates.

His lack of output has contributed to Vieira’s charges picking up just two points from a possible nine in recent weeks, and the former Nice manager may be tempted to change up his forward line against the Gunners as a result.

However, the 45-year-old must keep faith in Edouard for the trip to the Emirates Stadium on Monday night, as the striker’s underlying numbers indicate that he is still putting in some solid performances.

As per SofaScore, the former Celtic ace has produced three key passes, four shots on target and completed all three of his attempted dribbles successfully across his last three outings.

Although he is currently struggling to apply the finishing touches to Palace’s attacks, Edouard is still making a substantial contribution to the south London outfit in the final third, which suggests that he could be their game-changer against Arsenal.

In other news… “He was raving about..” – Tom Barclay drops CPFC claim which should delight Eagles fans 

Crystal Palace must revive their interest in OGC Nice defender Youcef Atal over the January window as new manager Patrick Vieira aims to complete the rebuild of his first-team squad.

What’s the story?

The versatile 25-year-old was linked with a move to the Premier League outfit in the summer after working under Vieira during their time together in the south of France.

However, a move never materialised for Atal, and he stayed put at the Allianz Riviera, where he’s continued to impress in the opening weeks of the current campaign.

But, with his contract set to expire in the summer of 2023, the winter window may be the last opportunity for Nice to secure a fair price for the Algeria international, meaning an imminent exit could be on the cards.

Vieira would love him

Vieira oversaw a successful overhaul of his squad during his first few months in the Selhurst Park hot seat, with the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise replacing several experienced campaigners.

However, one area that wasn’t addressed was right-back. Although Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne are adequate options, journalist Tom Barclay believes the capital club will be looking for an upgrade in that position over the coming months.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Barclay said: “On the right-hand side at the moment, Joel Ward is a fantastic servant, very reliable, fantastic defensively, but is probably not technically the most gifted.

“And I imagine going forward, in this process that Vieira is trying to put in, they probably want a more creative, technically better right-back playing in that position.”

Vieira is clearly a fan of the defender after signing him from KV Kortrijk in 2018, stating he believes that right-back is also Atal’s best position in a previous interview.

“What you need is trying to find the balance of the team. For Youcef, of course, he can play different positions,” the Frenchman told media back in 2019. “It is true that the one I prefer is also right back, I’m very happy with his performances when he plays in front.”

So far this season, Atal has achieved a SofaScore rating of 7.01 out of 10 after scoring one goal and providing one assist in seven Ligue 1 outings.

The £13.5m-rated beast also created one big chance, averaged 0.6 key passes per game and 0.9 successful dribbles, highlighting his attacking prowess in the final third of the pitch.

He’s a player that Vieira would surely love to be reunited with at Selhurst Park, and Palace chairman Steve Parish must sanction a swoop for him, adding one of the final pieces to the club’s revamped side.

And, in other news…Signed for £0, now worth £10.8m: Crystal Palace struck gold with £28k-p/w monster 

Manchester City extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven games as they beat Chelsea 1-0 away from home on Saturday.

The Cityzens have now kept five clean sheets in six Premier League matches this season, with the only goal they have conceded in the campaign coming on the opening day against Tottenham.

Gabriel Jesus’ deflected shot won Pep Guardiola’s side the match against Chelsea, with the Brazilian turning in the box and seeing his effort swerve off a Blues body and into the bottom corner past a helpless Edouard Mendy.

Forget Jesus, though, as another player ran the show for City at Stamford Bridge – Spanish international midfielder Rodri.

City ended the match with 59% possession of the ball away at one of their title challengers and Rodri’s sublime midfield performance played a large role in their dominance throughout the match.

Defensively, the midfield beast was immense. Per SofaScore, he won 71% of his duels, winning four of his six on the ground and his one aerial battle, whilst also making three tackles, two clearances and one interception to stop Chelsea attacks.

On the ball, his quality allowed City to dictate the flow of the match. Per SofaScore, he had 91 touches of the ball and completed a whopping 95% (75/79) of his passes. He also completed five of his six long pass attempts and only gave possession of the ball away five times throughout the 90 minutes, highlighting how secure he was with the ball at his feet.

The midfield beast was able to run the show for City against Chelsea. The likes of Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante were unable to get the better of him on a regular basis at either end of the pitch and that allowed City to control the game and win the midfield battle, which was the foundation for the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Jesus, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden to then work their magic in the final third.

Therefore, Guardiola will have been left delighted by Rodri’s performance, particularly after calling upon the Spaniard following his spell out on the sidelines. It is now down to him to maintain that level of display in the holding midfield role to ensure that he keeps his place in the side for the rest of the season.

Steven Gerrard has built a strong Rangers squad full of talented players to compete for places in the starting XI at Ibrox throughout the course of the season.

One position where the Gers have had a strong battle is the left-back spot. Calvin Bassey and Borna Barisic have both started four Scottish Premiership matches each as they continue to fight to be the regular starter on the left side of Gerrard’s defence.

Bassey has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.10 with 1.8 key passes per game and 63% of his duels won. Barisic, meanwhile, has averaged a score of 7.40 with 2.3 key passes per game and 58% of his duels won, suggesting that he has a slight edge over the ex-Leicester man when it comes to creativity.

The international break has given some players a rest and others an opportunity to show Gerrard that they deserve to start against Hearts next weekend by impressing for their country. Barisic falls into the last category as he caught the eye in a 2-2 draw for Croatia against Slovakia on Monday night.

He played the full 90 minutes of their World Cup Qualifying match and was handed an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.1 for his performance. Outside of Luka Modric and Andrej Kramaric, the two goalscorers, only Marcelo Brozovic (7.6) was given a higher rating.

Defensively, he was solid. Per SofaScore, he made one clearance and two tackles as he won an eye-catching seven of his 11 duels on the pitch, including 100% of his aerial battles. Along with this, he was not dribbled past once in the entire game, showing that he didn’t allow himself to be beaten easily down the flank.

In possession, Barisic was excellent. The Croat completed 96% of his passes, including four of his five attempted long passes. The left-back was also successful with 100% of his attempted dribbles and created one chance for his teammates, as he enjoyed 85 touches of the ball on the night.

This shows that he was superb in possession and efficient with his passing selection, whilst he was also able to beat his man with his athleticism to get the side up the pitch.

His performance will surely have caught Gerrard’s eye ahead of Rangers’ clash with Hearts this weekend. Barisic’s excellent display for Croatia may well have secured his place in the starting XI ahead of Bassey too.

AND in other news, Big update emerges on crucial Rangers figure that should leave fans concerned…

Kevin Phillips has signalled that Aston Villa signing Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones would be a ‘big coup’ for the Midlands outfit, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Villa were interested in Jones this summer

Jones registered nine goal contributions in 34 appearances last term, with four goals and five assists as he featured regularly for Jurgen Klopp’s side [Transfermarkt].

In light of this, late summer interest presented itself from Aston Villa, with reports of the club readying a £15m bid towards the end of the transfer window [Daily Express].

The prospect of the 20-year-old pitching up at Villa Park has now prompted the club’s former striker Phillips to drop his insight on the situation.

The Latest: Signing Jones ‘would be a big coup’ for Aston Villa

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Football Insider, Phillips was very complimentary over the impact the youngster could have at Aston Villa if he were to make the move, claiming:

“It would be a big coup if they can get a player like Jones out of that Liverpool side.

“He performed in that team last season so he would be a massive signing for Dean Smith and the supporters.

“Jones certainly has a lot of quality. He has played in big games for a big club so he would not be overawed by a move.

“It would be a really exciting signing for the fans because it is probably an area they would like to see another player come in.

“He has similar attributes to Grealish. Every team in the Premier League wants a ball carrying midfielder and he is certainly a player that can do that.”

The Verdict: Aston Villa should continue monitoring Jones

With Jones possessing the quality to dictate play in midfield, Phillips builds an excellent case for Aston Villa to keep their attentions firmly on acquiring the 20-year-old, whose apparent similarities to Jack Grealish might go a long way to helping Villa supporters get over the enormous loss of the England playmaker to Manchester City.

Carrying himself with distinction in the Premier League last season, Jones managed a passing accuracy rate of 92.2% over the campaign [WhoScored]. The best that any player who started a league game for Villa in 2020/21 could do was 87.2% from Conor Hourihane [WhoScored].

Jones’ defensive attributes shouldn’t go under the radar when assessing his capabilities, either. Last season, the 6 foot 1 maestro managed to successfully complete 80 ball recoveries [Premier League], in sync with Dean Smith’s preference to adopt a hard press across the pitch.

Aston Villa should look to continue keeping an eye on the 20-year-old’s situation as the season progresses.

In other news, Aston Villa are eyeing a move for a Serie A ace in January. Find out more here.