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Journalist Jacque Talbot has revealed that a deal to take Roger Fernandes to Newcastle United may now be ‘going on’ behind the scenes.

The Lowdown: Rumours resurfaced

Rumours of the youngster potentially moving to St James’ Park resurfaced on Wednesday, after reports emerged last week.

The transfer window is seemingly heating up on Tyneside. With the Magpies having already secured the permanent signing of Matt Targett from Aston Villa, they remain in talks to sign both Sven Botman and Hugo Ekitike, and could well add to that duo as the summer progresses.

The Latest: Fernandes too?

Taking to Twitter, Talbot has revealed that a deal may now be ‘going on’ behind the scenes at Newcastle for Fernandes.

The journalist stated in that regard: “Did hear that there might be something going on.”

The Verdict: Exciting

These are certainly exciting times for the Toon Army, as  Newcastle could be pursuing up to three deals at once, which would make four summer signings in total after Targett if those all come off.

Fernandes is one which should get pulses racing. At just 15 years of age, he became the youngest player to feature in the Portuguese top flight; now 16, he has already scored three goals in 11 first-team matches for Braga (Transfermarkt).

The winger is already playing senior football at a high level, so it is scary to think how good he could become, especially if he starts to play his trade on Tyneside.

In other news, NUFC are now ready to splash the cash for this defender

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has now shared a ‘positive update’ for supporters as some exciting Hotspur Way news emerges.

The Lowdown: Spurs prepare…

The Lilywhites, having finished 2021/2022 in strong fashion, are gearing up for what will be manager Antonio Conte’s first full Premier League season in charge.

Conte guided Spurs to a place in the top-four, sealing qualification for the 22/23 Champions League campaign and gaining all the riches that come with it.

Tottenham are now set for what is, arguably, their most significant season so far this decade with two summer signings having already been confirmed in both Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic on Bosman deals.

Conte will also be hoping his injury-ridden stars, like midfielder Oliver Skipp, will be raring to go for a crucial season.

The Latest: Gold shares ‘positive’ Skipp update…

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As per Gold, sharing a ‘positive update’ on Skipp, the reliable football.london journalist has some exciting news for supporters on the 21-year-old’s rehabilitation.

According to the journalist, the Englishman is now ‘in good shape’ and ‘raring to go’ for Conte’s first pre-season in less than a month’s time.

Gold also goes on to claim that Skipp is ‘available to hit the ground running’ and Tottenham’s head coach has ‘high hopes’.

The Verdict: Exciting news…

News of Skipp’s full recovery from a pubis injury will come as music to the ears of both supporters, those behind-the-scenes at Tottenham and Conte.

The Spurs starlet’s availability is a big boost for the north Londoners who were without his contribution for the last three months of 221/22.

According to WhoScored, no other Tottenham man averaged a higher passing accuracy than the composed midfield engine, who found teammates with 90.1% of his attempts.

Conte’s midfield will now be reinforced with the dependable solid options of Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – in front of his back four – potentially making them a real challenge to break down defensively.

In other news: ‘Better and better’ – Insider says Tottenham could make announcement ‘in the coming days’…find out more here.

Liverpool are reportedly willing to sanction the departure of Ben Davies this summer, according to Football Insider. 

The lowdown: A transfer misfit

Signed as part of a double deadline day swoop in January 2021, he arrived on Merseyside alongside Ozan Kabak as Jurgen Klopp addressed the urgent need for defensive reinforcements.

However, following his £1.6m move from Preston North End having seemingly been bound for Celtic (Sky Sports), the 26-year-old only made the bench on eight occasions, failing to even be handed a senior debut for the Reds.

Despite being talked up by Klopp, the lesser-seen centre-back was subsequently sent on loan to Sheffield United for the 2021/22 campaign and looks certain to leave Liverpool permanently this summer…

The latest: Liverpool happy to let Davies leave

As per a ‘Liverpool source’ for Football Insider, the Merseyside club have already informed Davies that he will be free to leave Anfield in the upcoming transfer window.

It’s claimed that the Reds will ‘listen to permanent and loan offers’ for the man who was described as ‘really good’ by Klopp following his arrival at the club last year.

The report claimed that a loan switch is ‘more likely’ due to Davies being under contract until 2025 (Transfermarkt), whilst also earning a lucrative £60,000-per-week salary.

The verdict: Simple decision

Coming into the job amidst the exit of Divock Origi, a backdrop of Sadio Mane exit rumours and contracts shrouded in speculation, new sporting director Julian Ward at least has one simple decision to make when it comes to Davies’ future at Liverpool.

Having been overlooked in favour of Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams initially, the English defender was rendered further surplus to requirements by the return to fitness of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, as well as the sensational debut campaign from Ibrahima Konate at Anfield.

During 2021/22, Davies earned a 6.97 average Sofascore rating from 22 Championship outings, form which will hopefully have sufficiently impressed any prospective suitors to drum up interest in signing the £2.25m-valued man on a permanent basis.

In other news: A fresh transfer rumour has emerged about a possible replacement for Mane

Manchester United have been linked with Real Madrid ace Marco Asensio recently and the Spain international could be the ideal man to replace Juan Mata in Erik ten Hag’s side at Old Trafford.

What’s the word?

According to reports from Spain, Asensio’s agent Jorge Mendes wants to bring his client to Old Trafford this summer as he eyes a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ten Hag will surely be in the market for attacking reinforcements given the departures of Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Mata so far this summer, as well as Mason Greenwood’s absence, and Asensio could provide some much-needed quality in attack.

The Red Devils managed just 57 goals in the most recent Premier League season and finished with a neutral goal difference, so the signing of Asensio would perhaps take some of the pressure off Bruno Fernandes as the chief creator in United’s midfield.

Mata 2.0

Mata joined United from Chelsea in January 2014 and went on to make 285 appearances during his time at Old Trafford, contributing 51 goals and 47 assists.

The Spaniard was capable of playing on either wing and as an attacking midfielder, which is where Asensio has mainly been deployed during his time at Madrid, so the similarities are clear to see.

WhoScored suggests that both Mata and Asensio’s strengths include their ability to pass and hold on to the ball, while the Madrid man is also adept at shooting from range.

Transfermarkt currently values the 26-year-old at £36m so he wouldn’t come cheap, but Madrid may be keen to move him on given that his contract is set to expire at the end of next season.

Last season saw the former Mallorca man make 31 appearances in La Liga for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, in which he contributed ten goals.

The Champions League-winning manager was full of praise for Asensio after his winning goal against Granada last season, saying:

“Asensio is very important for us. He has quality and commitment. He’s a very important player for us and we’ve won tonight via his greatest quality, his shooting.”

Given that recently departed interim manager Ralf Ragnick was critical of a number of players’ commitment at United, Asensio seems like exactly the sort of player Ten Hag will need if he is to improve his side’s fortunes next season.

Although Mata didn’t feature too much in his final season at Old Trafford, he will certainly leave a hole in the squad and Asensio might just be the man to fill it.

And in other news… United in ‘direct contact’ with former ten Hag favourite 

Rangers defender Connor Goldson has signed a new contract at Ibrox in a huge blow to Nottingham Forest’s transfer plans.

The Lowdown: Goldson pens new deal

The 29-year-old first completed the switch to Glasgow from top-flight side Brighton and Hove Albion back in 2018, where he put pen to paper on a four-year deal, making a staggering 222 senior appearances for the club since that time.

The centre-back’s spell with Gio van Bronckhorst’s side looked to be coming to an end this summer, but the Gers shocked fans on Wednesday by announcing a four-year extension.

The Latest: Forest were about to move

The Scottish Sun revealed late on Monday night that the Reds were about to ‘step up’ their interest in Goldson.

Steve Cooper is said to be ‘huge fan’ of the player and the Premier League new boys were ‘ready to make their move’.

The Verdict: Huge blow

The 1-0 victory against Huddersfield Town in the play-off final at Wembley last weekend will see the club receive an astonishing £170m cash boost for making the jump up to the top division.

Goldson, once dubbed an “incredible” player by former Gers boss Steven Gerrard, would have been a superb way to start off their summer business, immediately granting Cooper one of his top targets without paying a penny on transfer fees due to his contract situation.

Averaging 3.3 clearances and 1.2 tackles per league game this season, via WhoScored, he’s been an absolute rock in Rangers’ back-line, also racking up 13 Europa League appearances.

A reunion with Joe Worrall would have provided Cooper with a truly solid pairing of two colossal defenders ready to take the top flight by storm, but the manager will now have to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcements, and it’s extremely unlikely he’ll find one he likes so much on a Bosman deal.

Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs interested in signing Lyon striker Moussa Dembele, according to a report from French outlet Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness). 

The lowdown: Career so far

A product of the youth system at Paris Saint-Germain, Dembele first arrived in senior football at Fulham before making his name north of the border as a prolific Celtic frontman.

The powerful former France Under 21 international netted 51 goals in 94 appearances for the Scottish giants before returning to France in 2018.

Since then, the 25-year-old has spent time on loan at Atletico Madrid but found his best form with his parent club, directly contributing to 85 goals in 144 outings for Lyon.

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Heading steadfast towards the final 12 months of his deal in the south of France (Transfermarkt), Dembele could be set for a return to the Premier League this summer…

The latest: Spurs mentioned

As per Foot Mercato, translated by SW, Tottenham are cited among a host of clubs believed to be keen on signing the 59 times capped ex-France youth starlet.

The report claims that Manchester United, Arsenal, Sevilla and multiple Italian clubs are interested in the centre-forward whilst Spurs are ‘still there’ having previously been linked.

It’s stated that the ‘door isn’t closed’ on the man dubbed ‘unstoppable’ by Barry Ferguson whilst tearing up the Scottish Premiership in Glasgow, and Lyon have priced their goal machine at €25m (£21m).

The verdict: Worth the risk

Despite only making two goalless appearances in the Premier League, Dembele has proven himself to be a relentless goal-getter in France and Scotland as well as a regular contributor in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

Entering the peak of his powers, during 2021/22 the Frenchman scored 22 times and provided five assists in 36 appearances for Lyon, taking 2.9 shots and finding the target with 1.5 efforts on average per Ligue 1 game whilst earning an impressive 7.11 Sofascore rating.

Sharing stylistic similarities to star names such as Romelu Lukaku, Patrik Schick, Victor Osimhen and Erling Haaland (Fbref), it’s clear to see why both Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici would be eyeing up Dembele as a target to supplement and perhaps play alongside Harry Kane, particularly at the mooted affordable price point.

In other news… Sky Sports have shared an ‘interesting’ live TV update for Tottenham supporters

19-year-old Wolves striker Fabio Silva is reportedly the subject of interest from Real Madrid.

That’s according to reports in Spain via Caught Offside, who claim that the Spanish champions are looking to add a young striker to their ranks this summer with Karim Benzema entering the final years of his career.

The West Midlands outfit broke their club-record transfer fee to lure Silva from FC Porto to Molineux as an 18-year-old for a whopping £35.6m in September 2020, a transfer that Tariq Panja of the New York Times journalist described as “baffling.”

However, that price tag is yet to be justified.

Wolves can allow Silva to leave

Since becoming another of many talents to leave Portugal for Wolves, Silva has made 61 appearances for Wolves, although the striker averages 41.2 minutes per appearance.

In that time, the teenager has scored four goals and registered six assists. However, all of the goals and half of the assists came last season with the forward yet to find the back of the net this term.

Although he didn’t sign Silva, Bruno Lage has shown evidence of being a fan of the youngster, handing him plenty of opportunities in the second half of the season.

Moreover, the Portuguese was voted as Wolves’ player of the month for April despite Wanderers losing three in a row and the forward failing to register a goal or an assist.

Of course, at a very young age, Silva has an abundance of potential, hence why Wolves paid the serious money that they did. It is just a case of demonstrating that quality in matches for the 19-year-old.

Goals have been at a serious shortage for Lage’s side this term, with just three sides scoring fewer than their 37, two of which have already been relegated in Watford and Norwich City.

Therefore, investing in high quality forwards that can score will certainly be a priority, something that Silva hasn’t shown many signs of doing over his two seasons.

If Real Madrid were to offer similar money to what Wolves spent on the striker, they could be tempted to allow the forward, who was labelled as a “hindrance” by journalist Liam Keen, to depart after a frustrating spell at Molineux.

However, there is also the suggestion that if Wolves cut ties with Silva early, they may find themselves regretting their actions in years to come.

Based on what the striker has shown in a Wolves shirt thus far though, the West Midlands outfit can afford to allow him to depart.

AND in other news: Wolves can get summer off to a blinder with “unplayable” £46k-p/w brute who Lage wants

Celtic have the chance to end to their season with one last victory this afternoon as they welcome Motherwell to Parkhead for their last Premiership match of the campaign.

The Hoops clinched the league title after their 1-1 draw against Dundee United in midweek but will still want to bow out with a win in front of their home crowd this time around.

With that in mind, here’s how we feel Ange Postecoglou could line his side up for their final game of the campaign.

In goal, having kept 19 clean sheets in 34 league appearances this term, it seems likely that Joe Hart will start once again to see if he can add another shutout to his tally.

For the back four, we predict that Postecoglou will stick with the same quadruple which started in midweek, with Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers as the two centre-backs, leaving Greg Taylor on the left and Anthony Ralston on the right.

Moving on to midfield, it seems a certainty that club captain Callum McGregor will lead his side out one more time this season.

Elsewhere throughout the tam, we think that the 56-year-old Hoops boss will make five changes in total from Wednesday night.

For the two remaining midfield places, we predict that David Turnbull will replace Matt O’Riley to see if the Scotsman can add to the five goals and five assists that he has delivered this season in the league.

Praised in the past by Alan Hutton for his “phenomenal” performances, Turnbull certainly has what it takes to secure a win for his side with his knack for scoring and creating goals.

For the final midfield position, after the club recently announced that Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton will be leaving Glasgow after today’s match, we can see Postecoglou giving the Australian his final start for the club.

This would lead to Reo Hatate coming out of the side. Having been slammed in the past for a “nasty” tackle that he committed earlier in the season by former referee Steve Conroy, the Japanese midfielder could be used as a substitute on this occasion or just given an early rest.

In attack, we think that the Celtic boss will make even more changes and completely swap out the three who started on Wednesday.

Therefore, we predict that Jota and Daizen Maeda will start on the wings on either side of Kyogo Furuhashi through the middle.

In other news: Postecoglou must axe wasteful £14.5k-p/w Celtic ace, he’s holding the team back

Celtic have been handed a fitness boost after Ange Postecoglou confirmed that James McCarthy is available for selection to take on St. Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

The Lowdown: McCarthy’s Shakhtar absence

The Hoops earned a well-deserved 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League during midweek and will now be hoping to take this same level of performance to the SMISA stadium.

The 31-year-old missed the European trip to Poland due to coming down with an illness, meaning that he didn’t travel with the rest of the team, though the midfielder is now set to return to the match-day squad this weekend.

The Latest: Postecoglou’s fitness update

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday, Postecoglou revealed that McCarthy has been back in training and is in contention for the St. Mirren clash.

“At this stage, everyone’s sort of pulled up okay from Wednesday night so no real issues coming out of that.

“Aside from that, McCarthy missed Wednesday night, he had a bit of an illness but he was back training today.

“Carl Starfelt is obviously out until after the international break. Everyone else should be okay.”

The Verdict: Boost for Ange

Despite only making two appearances for Celtic this season, McCarthy still provides an excellent option from the bench and the boss will no doubt be happy to have him back at his disposal.

The Irishman, dubbed a ‘class act’ by his former Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson, has scored 13 goals and provided 12 assists throughout his career (WhoScored).

McCarthy evidently has the quality in his locker but just needs to be given a decent run to show it, and he will be hoping that he gets his opportunity with the Bhoys starting on Sunday.

Manchester City could eventually opt to re-sign midfield gem Romeo Lavia by triggering his £40 million buy-back clause, hints BBC Radio pundit Alan Hutton.

The Lowdown: City sell future star…

Southampton came knocking with real intent in the summer transfer window, offering up a deal which could reach £14 million to sign the Belgium Under-21 international.

City agreed to their terms and sold Lavia despite his glowing reputation at Eastlands, but as is common place with sporting director Txiki Begiristain, a buy-back clause was inserted into the agreement.

The Premier League champions can apparently opt to re-sign the 18-year-old for around £40 million, and going by his start to life at St. Mary’s before a recent injury, that could well be one to watch out for in the next few seasons.

The Latest: Hutton makes Lavia transfer hint…

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Scotland international has hinted that City may activate his buy-back option if Lavia continues to shine on the south coast.

He explained, when asked if Pep Guardiola’s side will take up that option:

“They might that’s why they put it in there.

“They obviously see the potential they boy’s got. He obviously wasn’t ready for the City team at this moment in time but they see that he possibly could in the years to come and that’s why they entered that in there.

“They’ll just bide their time and see how he develops and if it’s right for City and the player then he’ll go back.“

The Verdict: Keep an eye…

The teenager has truly dazzled for his age since completing a top flight move to Southampton, being called a ‘special talent’ by members of the press and ranking as one of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s top five best-performing players according to WhoScored.

He’s also averaged a higher pass accuracy (88.4%) than any Saints man with more than one start this season whilst also making their joint-highest rate of interceptions in the middle of the park (WhoScored).

Going by his performances so far, it’s hardly a surprise Guardiola apparently rates him ‘very highly’, so a reunion for Lavia in the next few seasons may well be possible.