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Birmingham City are reportedly eyeing a move for former Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli, according to Alan Nixon in The Sun on Sunday (18th July 2021, page 61)

What’s the story?

Bettinelli is currently a free-agent after his time with Fulham came to an end upon the conclusion of his contract at Craven Cottage.

The 29-year-old shot-stopper made 120 appearances in total for the London-based club, but found regular minutes hard to come by with the Cottagers towards the end of his time with them.

He spent part of the 2020/21 season out on loan with Championship side Middlesbrough, and made 42 appearances for Neil Warnock’s side, as they finished tenth in the second-tier standings.

Birmingham City are reportedly eyeing a move for Bettinelli this summer, as they look to solve their temporary problem between the posts.

It’s a smart move

The Blues finished 18th in the Championship table last term, and there were positives to take for the club’s supporters, after some improved displays towards the end of that league campaign.

They had previously been in serious danger of being relegated into the third-tier of English football, and Lee Bowyer will be hoping to see his side make a positive start to the new Championship season.

He could be facing a dilemma ahead of their season opener against Sheffield United on Saturday 7th August though, with current first-choice goalkeeper Neil Etheridge recently being released from hospital after being struck with Covid-19.

It remains to be seen as to when the shot-stopper will return to training, but it’s far from ideal preparation during pre-season for Bowyer.

So it makes sense for the Blues to target another goalkeeper this summer, and Bettinelli could turn out to be a smart signing by Birmingham City.

The goalkeeper played an important role in both of Fulham’s promotion-winning seasons in 2017/18 and 2019/20, but he hasn’t been given the opportunity to impress much in the Premier League with the Cottagers.

But for Championship standard, Bettinelli has certainly shown that he can perform to a more than good enough standard for a team that are challenging for promotion into the top-flight.

He stands at 6 foot 3, and kept 14 clean sheets from his 30 appearances in Fulham’s 2017/18 promotion-winning campaign, and you’d fancy him to replicate those impressive showings whilst with Bowyer’s men.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Birmingham City making a surprise push for promotion into the Premier League this term, with Bowyer already making a number of additions to his squad, with the likes of Ryan Woods, Chuks Aneke and Tahith Chong being among those to arrive at St. Andrew’s this summer.

If Bettinelli was to follow them through the door, then it could turn out to be a shrewd move by Bowyer, especially as he’s got proven success in the second tier and would not cost a penny.

A major update has emerged regarding Newcastle United’s pursuit of Sevilla defender Diego Carlos…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Pete Graves has revealed that a bid has been placed by the Magpies, with Eddie Howe looking to improve his defensive options this month.

The journalist tweeted: “On #nufc centre back search… Diego Carlos firmly in clubs sights. Substantial offer made – remains on table – player (very) intrigued. Definitely one to watch.”

Fans will be delighted

Newcastle fans will be delighted with this claim from Graves as it shows that the club are making serious moves for players. They are not going into the market and making offers which aren’t worthwhile for other clubs to even consider purely to make it look like they are trying to do something, instead submitting sizeable bids which will test the resolve of clubs being targeted.

PIF are offering substantial amounts of money for players in order to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad, and the supporters will love that as it could give Newcastle the best possible chance of avoiding relegation to the Championship. The current group of players have proven themselves to not be good enough for where the Magpies want to be.

They are 19th in the Premier League table and have the second-worst defensive record, with bottom club Norwich – who have played a game more – the only team to concede more goals than Howe’s side so far this season. This highlights the huge issues the Magpies have in the defensive third of the pitch and highlights why fans will be particularly delighted with this news, as Carlos could solve some of their problems in that regard.

The Brazilian enforcer has been in fine form for Sevilla in La Liga this season and has been able to perform consistently to a high level, with an average SofaScore rating of 7.14. Although it is impossible to guarantee that he will be able to do the same in the Premier League, it shows that there’s a strong chance of him joining and discernibly improving Howe’s team.

Newcastle fans will also be buzzing to read that the player is keen on the move. It shows that the 28-year-old is willing to come in and help the team scrap for survival, rather than being put off by their precarious position and potentially needing to be convinced to complete the transfer.

AND in other news, “Pushing behind the scenes”: Keith Downie drops on-air NUFC update which will excite fans…

Tottenham must swoop for Roma winger Nicolo Zaniolo this summer as manager Antonio Conte looks to bolster his squad in his first summer transfer window in charge of the north London club.

What’s the talk?

Reports from Italy have suggested that Spurs are following the 22-year-old closely, with Corriere della Sella (via Sport Witness) suggesting that the Italian knows that ‘decision time is approaching.’

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The Roma star’s contract expires in 2024 and is yet to renew, meaning that the Serie A outfit may have to sell this summer, with a fee being quoted at around €80m (£66m).

Manager Antonio Conte is believed to be a big fan of the 22-year-old, having assessed the winger during his time as Inter Milan manager, as is Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici.

Tottenham must sign Zaniolo

Despite a season that has seen a managerial change, an early exit from the Europa Conference League and yet another campaign without silverware, Tottenham’s season could end with success with the Lilywhites still firmly in contention for a top-four spot.

Conte’s side are fourth with six games to go in the Premier League and will undoubtedly be a more attractive proposition for Zaniolo and other potential targets if they can offer Champions League football.

The 22-year-old has netted seven goals and assisted another eight in 35 appearances across all competitions this term whilst averaging a 7.31 match rating in the Europa Conference League.

In Serie A, the Italian’s rating is lower at 6.7, with the winger averaging a 78% passing accuracy whilst completing just under half of his dribbles at 49%. Moreover, Zaniolo likes to get forward, producing 2.6 shots a game.

Moreover, the 22-year-old has been integrated into the senior Italy set-up, earning nine caps and scoring two goals for the Azzuri.

There is plenty of excitement in Italy regarding the Roma starlet, with club legend Francesco Totti praising the winger back in 2018 by saying: “Zaniolo is explosive and he plays with an unusual ease. If he continues this way he could become a great player.”

With the Italian a right-sided winger, Zaniolo could complement the left-sided Heung-Min Son perfectly.

The South Korean has netted a whopping 17 Premier League goals this term as well as registering seven assists in the top-flight, numbers that Spurs will hope the 22-year-old can one day reach should he swap Rome for London.

Granted, £66m will be a significant fee for Spurs to pay to secure Zaniolo’s services, however, with Conte a big fan, the deal could prove to be well worth it in the long run.

AND in other news: Lost the ball every 2.6 touches: “Quiet” 9-pass THFC passenger let Conte down vs BHAFC

Rangers put their early Europa League group stage woes to bed as they ran out 2-0 winners at Ibrox against Brondby on Thursday night.

Steven Gerrard’s side were beaten 2-0 and 1-0 by Lyon and Sparta Prague respectively in their first two matches, but they finally got off the mark against the Danish outfit this week.

Kemar Roofe and Leon Balogun scored the all-important goals for the Gers as they put on a dominant display in front of their home fans at Ibrox.

However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows as one player in particular struggled to show off the best of his abilities on the night – John Lundstram.

The summer signing from Sheffield United endured a difficult night on a personal level as he struggled to make his mark on the game. He lined up alongside Steven Davis and Joe Aribo, taking up the central position in the midfield as he looked to dictate the flow of the game.

However, he offered next to nothing defensively. As per SofaScore, he lost 100% of his contested duels in the match. He ended the game with one interception and zero tackles, blocks or clearances as he failed to provide defensive steel in the middle of the park.

In comparison, his midfield companion Aribo won 10 of his 15 duels and made four tackles and one interception against the Danish side. This shows how slack Lundstram’s defending was as the Nigerian was able to stand out by imposing himself on the opposition and winning the ball back to keep Rangers on the front foot.

Offensively, the 27-year-old did not fare much better. As per SofaScore, he failed with 100% of his dribble attempts and did not manage a single effort on target. He did, however, complete 97% of his passes and create one chance in the match, showing that he was reliable on the ball, albeit unimaginative.

Lundstram showed that he has the quality to perform well at this level in the defeat to Lyon earlier this season. As per SofaScore, he won five of his eight duels, made three tackles, three interceptions and completed 100% of his attempted dribbles that night.

Therefore, he let Gerrard down with his performance as he was unable to stand out in midfield like he did in the clash with Lyon. His manager will surely want consistency from the player and the 27-year-old’s display against Brondby was far from his best.

In other news – Gerrard masterclass: Rangers dynamo has seen his value soar 420% since January…

Speaking to Give Me Sport, journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones of Eurosport has dropped an encouraging update on West Ham United’s links to Aston Villa defender Kortney Hause.

The Lowdown: West Ham talks held…

According to Football Insider, sharing news in the past week, there has been a development in manager David Moyes’ hunt for a centre-half as the Irons and transfer chief Rob Newman target Villa’s defender.

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As per their information, preliminary talks have been held over signing the 6 foot 3 powerhouse before January 31 with a reunion in east London now ‘on the cards’ if both the Villans and West Ham can reach an agreement.

In another update, FI state that Hause himself is ‘keen’ to link up with Moyes at the London Stadium with insider Jones now sharing what he knows on the situation.

The Latest: Insider makes encouraging claim…

According to Eurosport’s reporter, in an interview with GMS, a West Ham move to sign the 26-year-old is ‘definitely possible’ as he backs that the club hold an interest.

“It’s definitely possible,” he explained.

“It’s one that West Ham are looking at, I think in the last week it’s one that’s become clearer.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

The towering homegrown defender is also able to fill various roles across the backline, including at left-back (WhoScored), potentially strengthening Moyes’ options in an array of positions.

Still fairly young, Hause may also be an astute option to have at West Ham for years to come and it’s little wonder both Newman and the club are apparently weighing up a bid.

Valued at around £4.5 million by Transfermarkt, the left-footed ace has proven dependable and reliable when slotting in as a back up option for Villa this season – winning the second-most aerial duels per 90 on average out of their squad (WhoScored).

He’s also received praised for his cameos in the Premier League over 2021/2022 with Villa journalist Ashley Preece calling Hause ‘incredible’ (Claret & Blue podcast via This is Futbol).

We believe he could certainly come as a shrewd option for Moyes this transfer window.

In other news: ‘Please please please’, ‘Baller’, ‘Perfect’…West Ham fans rave as GSB eye ‘fantastic signing’, find out more here.

Many West Ham fans were far from happy with Kortney Hause’s poor challenge on Pablo Fornals during the 4-1 victory against Aston Villa on Sunday.

The Hammers enjoyed another fantastic afternoon against the Villans during what has been a fantastic season for David Moyes’ side. The comfortable victory, which came thanks to goals from Ben Johnson, Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice, sees them move three points clear of fifth place in the Premier League table (Sky Sports).

It was all sweetness and light for the Irons, however. Fornals was the subject of an incredibly strong challenge from Hause, who caught the Spanish midfielder in the face with a stray arm. The Villa defender was not sent off for the tackle, although it is hard to see why he did stay on the pitch, especially when Ezri Konsa was almost immediately dismissed for a less physical infraction.

A video of the “disgraceful” incident was shared on Twitter by @central_louis and it attracted plenty of attention from Irons supporters. These fans took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts on Hause taking out Fornals.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Hause’s challenge on Fornals

“GBH. Nasty. A Red all day long…”

Credit: @RycraftTim

“Mental this wasn’t a red card…”

Credit: @camwestham

“this needs addressing surely”

Credit: @JohnW50065546

“A brutal assault and should have been a red card!”

Credit: @William37729473

“Looks worse every time I see it. Should have gone as well”

Credit: @ajarv19

“He’s lucky not to be more seriously hurt. That was disgraceful.”

Credit: @KillerHeels_UK

In other news, Darren Lewis has made this big Daniel Kretinsky claim

It’s safe to say Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is having a rather brilliant start to the season at Anfield having managed to score nine goals in nine appearances for the Reds across all competitions.

One other Liverpool winger who has not had such a fruitful time at the Merseyside club is 24-year-old winger Sheyi Ojo, who is currently on loan with Championship club Millwall.

Since originally joining Liverpool’s U18 side back in 2011, the winger has been on his fair share of loan deals at clubs such as Wigan Athletic, Wolves, Fulham, Stade Reims, Rangers, Cardiff City and now Millwall.

During his time with Millwall so far, Ojo, who was once described by Cardiff manager Neil Harris as “unpredictable” while he was on loan with the Welsh club, has made just four appearances for the east London club in the Championship in which he has managed to provide just one assist which came during their 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest last month.

Looking at his latest appearance for Millwall in their 1-0 win over Barnsley, Ojo, who started the match but was taken off after 70 minutes only managed to register just one shot on target, fail to make even one key pass, win just three out of the 10 duels he was involved in and lose possession on 10 occasions, ultimately earning himself a rather disappointing overall match rating of 6.6, making him one of the lowest-rated Millwall players on the day according to SofaScore.

Taking all of this into account, it seems as though Ojo’s latest loan spell has not started the way everyone would have hoped it would have.

In our view, if Ojo can’t make the best use out of his loan spell with Millwall after all the chances he’s had at other clubs, then Liverpool should seriously consider letting him go elsewhere on a permanent deal rather than just stringing his career along from club to club on loans.

If the Reds don’t see Ojo being capable of potentially breaking into their first team anytime soon, which admittedly looks like a particularly hard job given the form of Salah this term as mentioned earlier, they should look to see if any other club would be willing to sign Ojo permanently so everyone can move on.

In other news: £180k-p/w Liverpool “problem” sees his value crash £45m in nearly 2 years under Klopp – opinion

Carlton Palmer has urged Sam Johnstone to get his head down as he continues to struggle to secure a move away from West Bromwich Albion.

Johnstone has been linked with an immediate return to the Premier League after he was unable to stop the Baggies from suffering relegation to the Championship last season.

Among the goalkeeper’s suitors were West Ham United, who saw a £10million bid turned down last month.

The Hammers have since moved on to other targets and signed Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper Alphonse Areola on a season-long loan deal, which has the option of making the transfer permanent, instead.

As a result, a switch to London Stadium looks increasingly unlikely and the 28-year-old has made two appearances since West Brom’s new campaign got underway earlier this month.

Although Baggies head coach Valerien Ismael has admitted he expects Johnstone to depart the Hawthorns, it is now becoming more likely he will remain at West Brom beyond deadline day.

Ex-Albion midfielder Palmer is adamant Johnstone should not be disheartened by a lack of transfer activity as he will win promotion back to the Premier League by sticking with his current employers.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Palmer said: “Sam’s got to be professional, get his head down and keep playing.

“What he doesn’t want to do is be out of the side and then be out of the England set-up. He signed a contract at the football club and the club decides whether they want to sell you or not and what price they want for you. If none of that works, then you get your head down and play your football.

“At the end of the day, he is a fantastic goalkeeper and I think West Brom will be back in the Premier League come the end of the season, so he will be back where he wants to be.”

A number of Liverpool supporters are delighted after new photos showing Harvey Elliott recovering from his serious injury emerged.

The Reds have had to make do without the talented 18-year-old since the middle of September after he suffered a broken ankle away to Leeds United.

It was a cruel blow for Elliott, who had made a hugely promising start to the season, making three Premier League starts in the early weeks of the campaign.

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The midfielder has been making admirable progress in his recovery, however, and it now looks as though he could even feature as soon as next month.

On Monday, Liverpool’s official Twitter account posted photos of Elliott in action on the training pitch, suggesting his recovery is going swimmingly, as he is even working with a ball already.

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Liverpool fans love Elliott images

These Reds fans took to Twitter to provide their reactions to the images, showing their delight in the process.

“Yeah boiiiiiiiii”

Credit: @LilLoubieLou

“Great to see”

Credit: @Ricky_Gr8ness

“Inter are not ready for the Salah, Trent, Elliott link up triangle”

Credit: @fishtoes22

“Things you love to see in your timeline”

Credit: @lubomerkov

“What a sight”

Credit: @lfc_ali21

“Harvey Elliott will save our season during AFCON”

Credit: @NoSwearingHere7

In other news, Fabrizio Romano has given an update on a possible Liverpool transfer. Read more here.

Rafael Benitez has identified Atletico Madrid’s Mario Hermoso as a potential defensive target for Everton, according to Fichajes.

The lowdown

Atletico signed the 26-year-old from Espanyol ahead of the 2019/20 season for a fee of £22.5m and he has gone to make 61 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side.

He averaged two clearances, 1.8 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game in La Liga last season (via WhoScored) as he played his part in Los Rojiblancos’ title triumph.

The 26-year-old is primarily a centre-half but was also used at left-back on seven occasions over the course of the campaign.

The latest

The report from Fichajes stated that any move for Hermoso won’t be ‘easy’ because Atletico aren’t under pressure to sell the player, although they would be willing to consider offers from the €35m (£29.6m) mark.

Everton are one of three Premier League clubs said to be in the frame for his signature. Benitez has been ‘following’ the 26-year-old closely and has wanted defensive reinforcements ‘from the first moment’ he took the reins at Goodison Park.

Aston Villa, who have a ‘significant sum of money to strengthen’ their squad following the £100m departure of Jack Grealish; and Arsenal, who have already signed Ben White this summer, are the other clubs mentioned as prospective suitors for Hermoso.

The verdict

Bringing in a top-quality centre-back could help to propel Everton up the table as they seek to improve upon the tally of 48 league goals conceded from last term.

Hermoso, a title winner last season with Atletico, would appear to be an excellent addition and is a player who still has plenty of years left at the top level while also coming into his peak now. His tackling record in 2020/21 matched that of Ben Godfrey and was twice as good as Yerry Mina’s, while only four Toffees players bettered his interceptions per game average (WhoScored).

Everton have ‘next to no wiggle room’ when it comes to Financial Fair Play after years of ‘significant losses’, but they also have an abundance of deadwood. Clearing it could enable a balancing of the books and help to facilitate prospective new signings such as Hermoso, but that is of course easier said than done.

In other news, many Everton fans were left raging by this transfer update.