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According to a recent report from ESPN, Ben Chilwell’s future at Leicester City appears far from certain. The England international came up through the ranks at the Premier League outfit and has since become a regular under Claude Puel, with his mightily impressive efforts for the Foxes seemingly attracting the interest of City manager Pep Guardiola.

And that’s because a recent report from ESPN suggests that the Citizens are eyeing up a summer move for the Leicester defender, which should prompt Puel’s Foxes to prepare for his possible exit by launching a move for fellow left back Patrick van Aanholt, valued at £8.1 million by Transfermarkt.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while it took Chilwell some time to convince some sections of the Leicester faithful of his capabilities, the 22-year-old appears to have completely banished those doubts in recent times such have been his incredibly high-level displays for the Foxes in the last 12 months.

The Englishman, capped five times by his country at senior level in 2018, initially struggled to regularly dislodge the experienced Christian Fuchs from the starting eleven in the 2016/17 season, appearing only 12 times in the Premier League, only for the arrival of Puel to pave the way for the young defender to become the number one left back at the King Power Stadium.

And that’s because the 22-year-old appeared 32 times in all competitions for the Foxes last term as they finished ninth in the Premier League under the Frenchman, while he has missed only one league game so far this time round to underline his consistently high-level efforts for the Midlanders – there’s a reason he has forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s England reckoning.

And with Benjamin Mendy’s recurrent injury issues leaving Guardiola short in the left back ranks at Man City, a move for Chilwell this summer makes complete sense – and were that to indeed happen, Leicester have to be prepared by bringing Crystal Palace’s van Aanholt to the Midlands outfit.

The Netherlands international has proven to be one of the most impressive left backs in the Premier League over the years for both Sunderland and indeed Palace, with his exit from the former for the latter in January 2017 somewhat consigning the Black Cats to relegation that season.

Up until then, the 28-year-old had been a regular at the Stadium of Light and started the 2016/17 campaign well before Palace came calling, where he has since continued to produce the goods with 68 appearances for the Eagles, in which time he has netted nine times and laid on three assists.

Yes, there have been some question marks about his defensive capabilities in Roy Hodgson’s side, but one does not play 149 times in the Premier League at left back if one does not have adeptness at the back – add in his dynamism in getting forward and helping out in attack, and van Aanholt appears to be exactly what Leicester need were Chilwell to indeed leave.

As such, with City reportedly (as per ESPN) keen on the young Foxes defender, Leicester themselves have to be ready for such exit by launching a move for Palace’s van Aanholt.

Leicester fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Manchester United have reportedly entered the race to sign Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic ahead of the upcoming January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to talkSPORT (who cite the Daily Mail), the Red Devils are now one of several sides keeping close tabs on the highly-rated 21-year-old following a string of impressive displays.

The original report states that: “Manchester United have entered the race to sign highly sought-after Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic. Sportsmail understands that the Red Devils have been watching the £70million-rated striker, who has impressed in Italy this season.

“United have now joined multiple clubs in tracking Vlahovic with Tottenham, Newcastle, Juventus and AC Milan all monitoring him.”

Rangnick can become instant hit

With new manager Ralf Rangnick officially confirmed as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s successor at Old Trafford, the 63-year-old could become an instant hit by securing Vlahovic’s signature.

The Serbia international has gone from strength to strength since making the switch from boyhood club Partizan Belgrade to Florence back in 2018, firmly establishing himself as one of the most exciting and promising youngsters in European football.

Last season, the £45m-rated star bagged an eye-watering 21 goals in 40 appearances for La Viola as they languished in the bottom half of the Serie A table.

However, Vlahovic has been even more destructive this time around, notching a remarkable 13 goals in just 15 outings for Vincenzo Italiano’s charges, earning rave reviews from several impressed onlookers in the process.

The youngster’s outstanding exploits in Italy have seen him dubbed a “complete number nine” by Serie A expert Conor Clancy, while talent scout Jacek Kulig labelled him a “machine,” highlighting his truly top-class potential.

With Edinson Cavani out of contract in the summer and 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo lacking the mobility to become the pressing forward that Rangnick desires, a move for Vlahovic could be on the cards.

Whether football director John Murtough can see off the extensive competition for the 6 foot 2 forward’s signature remains to be seen, but the lure of Rangnick may tip the contest in United’s favour.

And, in other news…Forget AWB: Man Utd lightweight who lost 60% of his duels let Carrick down vs Chelsea

As per Foot Mercato, Tottenham Hotspur, and by extension Antonio Conte, have been offered the chance to sign Paris-Saint Germain striker Mauro Icardi.

The Lowdown: Icardi wanted at Spurs…

This isn’t the first time Spurs have been linked with the Argentine amid Fabio Paratici’s search for a centre-forward alternative to Harry Kane.

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Even before Conte’s arrival at the club, Tottenham’s transfer chief had supposedly rejoined the race to sign Icardi after chairman Daniel Levy made an offer to sign from Inter Milan in 2016.

The 28-year-old has cut a frustrated figure at the Parc des Princes under former Lilywhites manager Mauricio Pochettino, starting a handful of games over 2021/22. As a result, it is believed that Icardi wants to move away from PSG due to becoming a ‘luxury’ stand-in for the club’s starting trio of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe (Foot Mercato).

The Latest: Spurs offered chance…

As per another update by the French source, Icardi’s entourage have now offered Spurs, as well as Newcastle, Barcelona and Juventus, the chance to sign the Argentina striker.

They describe the subject of his future as PSG’s ‘biggest issue’ in the January transfer window, and while a return to Italy is more plausible, they hint that Tottenham or a move to the Premier League shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.

The Verdict: Ideal Vlahovic alternative…

Icardi comes as an ideal alternative to Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic if Tottenham can’t get a deal done for the Serbian.

The PSG forward, who earns a reported £165,000 per week, has been described as ‘world-class’ by Italy defender Georgio Chiellini, while his goal record speaks for itself.

Racking up a 171-goal senior career total, the player is certainly adept at finding the target despite his recent lack of minutes, and he would certainly provide some serious competition for Kane in N17.

In other news: Tottenham in contact over signing ‘phenomenal’ star as directors spotted in London, find out more here.

Newcastle United could look to bring Georginio Wijnaldum back to St James’ Park in the latter part of the January transfer window, according to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards. 

The lowdown

The Magpies brought the Dutch midfielder to England from PSV Eindhoven in a £14.5m deal back in 2015. He made 40 appearances for the club, scoring 11 goals, before moving on to Liverpool following the Tynesiders’ relegation to the Championship.

After five years at Anfield, he joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last summer, but he has found it difficult to nail down a place in the team under Mauricio Pochettino. He has started just nine out of a possible 19 Ligue 1 matches and was selected for three of the six Champions League group games.

The latest

Edwards reported in The Telegraph that a move for Wijnaldum isn’t a primary objective for Newcastle, but it could be a deal that they explore ‘later in the window’ if they miss out on their top midfield targets.

In a tweet, he added that this information was ‘based on conversations on the phone with people who know what’s going on’.

The verdict

Intriguingly, Wijnaldum admitted earlier in the season that he wasn’t ‘completely happy’ with his situation in Paris, and Sky Sports reported at the start of last month that he was open to leaving the Parc des Princes on loan. They did add that PSG ‘appear unlikely to let him leave’, but there’s time for that stance to change.

Wijnaldum earns £180,000 per week in the French capital, but Newcastle should be able to live with any wage arrangement.

In addition to Kieran Trippier, the ‘sensational’ Wijnaldum, as hailed by his former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, would inject Champions League quality into the Newcastle ranks, having played in the tournament for the last five seasons and won it in 2019.

In other news, this veteran forward is also an option for the Magpies

With just over two weeks left until the current January transfer window closes, Celtic have been rather busy with their activity in the market so far with a number of players making their way to the Parkhead club to strengthen Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the window, it seems as though a current Celtic player has been touted for a move away from the club that would surely not go down well with a lot of fans if it were to happen.

What’s the latest?

Speaking to Football Insider, Alan Hutton had this to say about Celtic defender Stephen Welsh, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £3.6k-per-week according to Salary Sport and his immediate future at the Parkhead club.

He said: “He deserves the praise that’s coming his way. I think for the player, he’ll be thinking about it, a chance to move. He will have seen the likes of Aaron Hickey going there, Jack Hendry going abroad.

“They’re doing really well, getting moves and progressing in their career.”

Welsh had recently been linked with a move to Udinese in Italy, a nation where former Celtic academy gem, Hickey, is currently enjoying his football in.

Transfer calamity

As a product of Celtic’s youth system, the 21-year-old has gone on to make 41 senior appearances for the club across all competitions, chipping in with three goals and one assist along the way.

Having been praised for his “superb” performances for Celtic in the past by fellow teammate Greg Taylor, Welsh has been a fairly regular figure in Postecoglou’s side across all competitions this season with 19 appearances under his belt and nine of them coming in the SPFL.

His performances have shown why it would be a disaster for Celtic to let him go as well with WhoScored giving him an overall season rating of 7.03/10, making him the ninth-highest rated player that’s currently in Postecoglou’s squad.

That shows he is more than capable of playing in this current Celtic team at a decent level and why it would be a calamity to see him leave.

With Postecoglou recently claiming that Welsh’s immediate future will be at Celtic Park, it’s safe to say that the fans would be more likely to take his word about the situation over Hutton’s.

Therefore, any worries about the defender potentially making a move away from Parkhead could be quashed, especially when you consider the fact that his current contract isn’t set to expire until 2025.

In other news: Big boost: Ange drops huge Celtic injury update that’ll surely have fans delighted – opinion

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard is reportedly seeking a reunion with Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara in January, with the 41-year-old apparently a “big fan” of the Finland international.

What’s the story?

The Rangers star was managed by Gerrard at Ibrox up until last month and the Englishman is reportedly keen to bring the 26-year-old down to England. This comes after Aston Villa were linked with a move for Rangers winger Ryan Kent.

Kamara, who has been capped by his native Finland 40 times, has apparently been on Villa’s radar for some time, with the possibility of a £6m bid being weighed up back in August before Gerrard’s arrival.

Despite being valued by Transfermarkt at £5.4m, it seems likely that Villa would have to pay well over that figure to secure the 26-year-old’s services, with the Daily Record reporting that the midfielder could cost £15m given that his contract at Ibrox doesn’t expire until 2025.

Furthermore, Kamara has stated in the past that “it would be a dream” to play in the English top-flight, suggesting that it wouldn’t prove a tricky task to lure him to the West Midlands, should Villa be happy to pay Rangers’ asking price.

Kamara would add needed depth

With Steven Gerrard preferring a three-man midfield in a 4-3-3 setup, the Villans could do with extra numbers in the midfielder department as back-up.

It appears as though the 41-year-old has a preferred trio with Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Marvelous Nakamba starting the last three Premier League games together. The more they play together, the harder it would be for someone to break into that partnership.

However, Villa seem light on reserves should one of those three pick up an injury or suspension, with Jacob Ramsey the only other player to have started in central midfield under the Englishman.

According to SofaScore, the 26-year-old has a 90% pass completion rate in the Scottish Premiership this term, averaging 1.4 key passes per game, showing the outstanding attributes he could add to Gerrard’s midfield.

Reports have suggested that Villa plan to invest this coming window and, although links with big-money superstars are exciting, Johan Lange will have to add depth to the squad and a move for a player such as Kamara, who has been previously dubbed “fantastic” by Gerrard would certainly provide more options.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Michael Bridge of Sky Sports has made a transfer claim involving Tottenham and AC Milan star Franck Kessie.

The Lowdown: Spurs eyeing Kessie move…

As reported by numerous sources, Spurs are one of the clubs in contention to sign one of Milan’s prize assets as his contract at the San Siro steadily winds down.

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The Ivory Coast star could leave at the end of 2021/2022 for free as it stands with the Italian giants still yet to agree a contract extension, putting many clubs on high alert.

One of them is Tottenham, with reports even recently suggesting that it is far more advanced than simply interest.

La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Get Italian Football News) claimed that the Lilywhites were in very advanced talks to sign Kessie while reporter Rudy Galetti even stated that a Spurs agreement was ‘close’ (Twitter).

While not exactly backing those audacious updates, Sky reporter Bridge believes Spurs’ interest isn’t going anywhere.

The Latest: Bridge makes Kessie to Spurs claim…

Speaking to GMS, sharing what he’s heard from Italy, the journalist relays that Antonio Conte has apparently given the ‘thumbs up’ for his new club to swoop for Kessie – green lighting a move.

He explained:

“The talk of Kessie at AC Milan is not going away. There’s talk in Italy that Spurs really want him and Conte’s given the thumbs up.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

Given his new deal situation, managing director Fabio Paratici and Conte could secure a real bargain for Tottenham by signing him on a pre-contract in January.

Valued at a sky-high £49.5 million by Transfermarkt, Spurs could bypass that fee entirely and snap up a proven Serie A star who has attracted all sorts of praise.

European football specialist Nicky Bandini lavished Kessie as ‘extraordinary’ on ESPN, for example, while the player’s manager, Stefano Pioli, called Kessie ‘sumptuous’.

An all-round midfield star, the African racked up an impressive 13 goals and four assists in 36 Italian top flight starts last season despite being a natural defensive midfield player (WhoScored).

Meanwhile, this campaign, he’s averaged a higher pass accuracy (92.2%) than any of Tottenham’s midfielders – indicating he would add real class and composure in the middle of the park under Conte.

Taking all this into account, we quite simply urge Spurs to get a deal done.

In other news: Spurs agreement to sign £200,000-per-week star possible as Paratici makes exciting plea to club chiefs, find out more here.

Leeds United embark on a trip to the capital to kickstart their FA Cup campaign.

It’s the first of two successive matches against Premier League rivals West Ham United for Marcelo Bielsa’s men but they head into kick-off full of confidence after last weekend’s impressive victory over Burnley.

However, the Argentinian head coach has since suffered further injuries to his already-depleted Whites squad, so it will be interesting to see how seriously he takes the competition, given their top-flight struggles this term.

What sort of lineup could we see at the London Stadium? Here’s what Football FanCast are predicting…

There could be just two changes from the win against the Clarets.

Tyler Roberts picked up an injury during that encounter and is unavailable and his likely replacement, Joe Gelhardt, suffered a blow during Thursday’s training session.

Patrick Bamford is expected to return to the squad today but it would be a risk to start him, especially for the entire 90 minutes. Instead, Bielsa might hand an opportunity to promising U23 hopeful Sam Greenwood, who continues to light up the academy with goals.

According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, both he and Lewis Bate are likely to be involved in some capacity – the latter may have to settle for a place on the bench though.

The other change comes out wide as leading goalscorer Raphinha earns a rest ahead of next weekend’s important league clash. In his place, we could see Crycensio Summerville after the 20-year-old’s impressive performance for the U23s in midweek.

It means Illan Meslier remains between the sticks, with a backline of Junior Firpo, Diego Llorente, Robin Koch and vice-skipper Luke Ayling also unchanged.

Stuart Dallas would continue in midfield alongside Adam Forshaw – who will continue in the Kalvin Phillips role – and Mateusz Klich.

As a more experienced member of the squad, Jack Harrison could support Greenwood and Summerville in the attack.

Predicted Leeds XI (4-1-4-1): Meslier; Firpo, Llorente, Koch, Ayling; Forshaw; Harrison, Klich, Dallas, Summerville; Greenwood

AND in other news, Bielsa suffers fresh Leeds injury blow ahead of Hammers cup clash…

Everton have another chance of trying to pick up some much-needed points in the Premier League this afternoon.

Frank Lampard’s side are back in action in front of their home fans as they welcome Manchester United to Goodison Park.

The Toffees’  previous league outing saw them throw away a 2-1 half-time lead in their 3-2 midweek defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor, leaving Sean Dyche’s side just a point behind Everton on the edge of the relegation zone.

Looking ahead to today’s showdown against the Red Devils, it seems as though the home team could be set to welcome back a key figure to their ranks.

What’s the news?

Speaking in his latest press conference on Friday, Lampard talked about the current fitness situation surrounding Everton’s club captain, revealing: “We’ve got Seamus Coleman – who on Wednesday night was feeling the effects of not being well and wasn’t fit to play – in consideration, so that’s a nice boost for the game tomorrow.”

With 22 league appearances under his belt in the current campaign, only Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane and Abdoulaye Doucoure have played more minutes than the Irishman, showing how important he is to the team.

From a defensive point of view, only Allan (104) has racked up a higher number of combined tackles and interceptions than Coleman (98).

Given how Everton didn’t have either of those on the pitch in midweek, this may go some way to explaining why they conceded three goals against a team which had only found the net 22 times all season before Wednesday’s clash.

Also, no other Everton player has completed more tackles in the attacking third (11) or defensive third (31) than the 33-year-old, showing how useful he is at both ends of the pitch.

Great news for Everton

Even though the Republic of Ireland international has been a part of Everton’s disappointing season, potentially having him back on the pitch to take on Ralf Rangnick’s side will still give Lampard and co a boost.

Having lost 10 of their past 12 league games, it’s safe to say that the Toffees could do with any fillip which may come their way.

Looking ahead to this clash, the fact that United have racked up a rather inconsistent run of results since January should give the Everton players some confidence that they can go out and grab a positive result this time around, particularly if the Toffees’ reliable skipper will be back in action.

In other news: Kenwright calamity: Everton had a nightmare over “unbelievable” 166-goal “superstar”

With the long two weeks of the international break now behind us, Premier League football was back in the offing for Leeds United supporters on Saturday afternoon, with Jesse Marsch’s side holding Southampton to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road.

The fixture could not have gotten off to a much better start for Leeds, with the Whites dominating the early stages of the game before Jack Harrison poked home to give them the advantage after 29 minutes. However, after growing into the match before half-time, Saints were level just four minutes after the break thanks to a trademark 25-yard James Ward-Prowse free-kick.

While both teams had chances to steal all three points in the closing stages, neither could ultimately break the deadlock, with a draw probably being the fairest outcome of the match.

While there were a number of fine performances on display at Elland Road, Luke Ayling and Illan Meslier both had games to forget on Saturday afternoon, with the latter arguably being the most below-par against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s outfit.

68% passes completed

While it should be noted that the 22-year-old did make four important saves and two high claims over the course of the 90 minutes against Saints, there is perhaps an argument to be made that the goalkeeper should have done better for Ward-Prowse’s free-kick.

However, there was one area of the France under-21 international’s game which was – to put it bluntly – particularly shocking on Saturday afternoon, namely his distribution.

Indeed, the £18m-rated shot-stopper found his intended target with only 19 of his 28 passes – a success rate of just 68% – which often invited a great deal of pressure onto his team, such as the phase of play leading up to Southampton’s equaliser.

So poor was the £41k-per-week goalkeeper’s distribution that Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross tweeted during the fixture that Meslier’s kicks were “all over the place” and were “not relieving any pressure” on the Whites’ defence.

This was reflected in the journalist’s player ratings as he awarded the Frenchman a five, stating: “Very good stop to deny Che Adams from close range in the first half, but question marks over his goalkeeping for James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick and his poor distribution throughout the match which rarely seemed to relieve pressure on the side.”

As such, while the youngster is undoubtedly a very talented ‘keeper who has been Leeds’ undisputed number one for two years now, he will certainly need to up his game over the Whites’ remaining seven fixtures of the season if he is to give his team the best possible chance of avoiding the drop.

AND in other news: Orta can finally replace Leeds’ £19k-p/w “demon” with “extraordinary” 19-year-old “talent”