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Newcastle United reportedly ‘would like’ to sign Lazio shot-stopper Thomas Strakosha on a free transfer this summer.

The Lowdown: Out of contract

Strakosha is out of contract in the summer, having not been able to agree a new deal with I Biancocelesti.

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This means that he will be able to leave as a free agent, and given that he currently holds a market value of £6.3m, signing him could represent a real bargain for any club looking to secure his signature.

The Latest: Strakosha eyed

As per Corriere della Sera’s Roma edition (via Sport Witness), the St. James’ Park faithful ‘would like’ to sign Strakosha once his contract expires, and they are one of a few ‘admirers’ in England.

It does not look like a new deal with Lazio will be struck, as manager Maurizio Sarri wants ‘someone else’ between the posts, and so this is a move that could well happen should they manage to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The Verdict: No-brainer

With the chance to sign Strakosha for free, it is surely a no-brainer for the North East club.

Crucially, he is just 27 years of age, and so would hold a healthy sell-on value, even if it does not quite work out on Tyneside.

Nonetheless, there is no reason why it should not work out, given how highly he is regarded in Italy, with former Lazio goalkeeper Silvio Proto once dubbing him as ‘explosive’ and a ‘phenomenon’.

At six-foot-four, the Albania international is a colossus, and with Martin Dubravka now 33, Strakosha is a worthy and cheap replacement, allowing the new owners on Tyneside to splash their cash in other areas of the pitch.

In other news, find out which £51m-rated star who outshone Cristiano Ronaldo NUFC are now eyeing here!

Liverpool have a multitude of attacking players in their squad who have contributed to keeping the Reds in the race to win the Premier League title, along with securing the Carabao Cup earlier in the season.

One figure who hasn’t been as active in the Premier League as some of his attacking team-mates this season is Roberto Firmino.

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With 17 league appearances under his belt, the Brazilian has only started nine times, which shows that he hasn’t always been a first-choice pick for Jurgen Klopp at times this season, in addition to having some injury issues.

Despite scoring five goals and providing three assists in the league, the 30-year-old’s overall performances have earned him a disappointing season rating of 6.84/10 from WhoScored, making him one of the lowest-rated Liverpool players to start more than three league games.

With this in mind and the £180k-per-week attacker’s contract at Anfield set to expire in the summer of 2023, it seems as though the Merseyside club could have identified a potential future long-term replacement for the Brazil striker.

According to a recent report from Record (via Sport Witness), the performance from Benfica striker Darwin Nunez against the Reds in their recent Champions League meeting impressed the hierarchy at Liverpool and a number of their players.

In 79 appearances for the Portuguese club, the 22-year-old has racked up 42 goals and provided 15 assists across all competitions.

Labelled a “tenacious” player and a “monster” on the pitch by journalist James Dodd, the £36m-rated attacker not only scored against Jurgen Klopp’s squad in midweek, he also made two key passes and completed all four of his dribbles, highlighting what a tricky player he is for opponents to handle.

Also, the Uruguayan has twice as many shots per game on average (2.8) in the Portuguese league this season compared to Firmino in the Premier League (1.4).

Taking all of this into account, if the 30-year-old ends up leaving Merseyside in the near future, signing Nunez as his replacement could be just what the Reds need to keep their lethal attack ticking over nicely.

In other news: FSG could replicate Elliott masterclass as LFC plot bid for “special” teenage sensation

Recent comments by Everton winger Bernard shows just why manager Marco Silva is the right man to steer the club to better results and ultimate success.

The Brazilian revealed to Portuguese outlet Record (via the Liverpool Echo) the squad is still fully dedicated to Silva’s structures at the club and have complete confidence in his style of coaching and managing.

The former Watford manager has been under a huge amount of scrutiny since the start of the New Year, following a bad string of results.

One win in their last six matches in all competitions has seen the manager change his team in almost every encounter and their FA Cup defeat at Millwall certainly raised question marks over Silva’s capabilities as the man in charge.

But, Bernard’s comments on how Silva prepares for every match and the detail he focuses on proves why he needs a little bit more time to get the best out of the Everton players.

According to the 26-year-old, Silva is excellent in his preparation before matches and provides a lot of insight into set-pieces, an aspect of the game where the Toffees have been really poor at this season.

Patience and maybe one or two more transfer windows could finally lead to Everton achieving new heights under the Portuguese manager.

The comments by Bernard should also be encouraging to Evertonians, who might have feared that Silva had lost the dressing but that clearly isn’t the case.

The off-weekend might also have been just what the club needed to regroup and get their campaign back on track with a Premier League clash against Cardiff City at Goodison Park coming up next week.

The encounter with Neil Warnock’s men could be the ideal opportunity for Everton to hit their stride again and get an all-important win under their belt.

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch confirmed to talkSPORT on Tuesday that Junior Firpo was expected to make a return to training.

The Lowdown: Firpo’s absence

The American, who told talkSPORT that he inherited a Whites squad which had been ‘over-trained’, lost Firpo to a serious knee injury in just his second game in charge.

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The left-back hasn’t been seen since the 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa, with Leeds picking up 10 points from a possible 12 during that time.

Stuart Dallas has filled in for Firpo during those four matches, but it looks as if the summer signing could be in line for a return when Leeds travel to Crystal Palace on April 25.

The Latest: Marsch’s comments on Firpo

Speaking live on talkSPORT, Marsch was quizzed about the injury issues at the club.

He confirmed on air that Firpo was ‘likely to be in training’ on Tuesday and took the blame for Patrick Bamford’s setback against Wolves last month.

The Verdict: Good news for Leeds

Leo Hjelde also returned to the squad against Watford last time out, so Firpo’s availability for the run-in will bolster Marsch’s defensive options even further, which can only be viewed as yet more good news for the manager.

The 25-year-old hasn’t had the best of debut seasons at Elland Road, missing 13 Premier League games throughout the season and receiving more yellow cards than any other Leeds player.

However, he has shown his quality in stages during his first year in England, posting the squad’s joint-third best tackling average, so hopefully he can remain fully fit under Marsch going into the American’s first full season in charge at Elland Road.

In other news: ‘I know’ – Journalist says Orta now ‘thinking’ of signing 28-goal midfielder alongside Aaronson

Phil Hay has dropped a promising injury update concerning Leeds United centre-forward Joe Gelhardt.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic journalist suggested that the 19-year-old was left on the bench for the 3-0 win over Watford on Saturday afternoon as a precaution, as the England U21 international had only returned to first-team training on Friday after recovering from a dead leg.

In his post, Hay said: “Gelhardt only returned to training yesterday [on Friday].”

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Great news for Leeds

Considering the fact that Leeds’ first-choice centre-forward, Patrick Bamford, will remain out of action for around another four weeks, the news that Gelhardt is back in training with Jesse Marsch’s squad, as well as the suggestion that the teenager was only left out of the Watford win as a precaution, is undoubtedly great news for the Whites.

Indeed, the £4.5m-rated youngster has become a regular feature in Leeds’ first team this season, having been selected in the Whites’ 20-man matchday squad on 25 occasions, going on to make 14 appearances – two of which have come as starts.

However, the £16.5k-per-week prodigy has far from just made up the numbers for Jesse Marsch’s side, as he has often had an important impact within games, bagging two goals and registering three assists in the top flight this term.

As such, while the Whites’ victory over Watford afforded the club some much-needed breathing space between themselves and the relegation zone, with the 48-year-old manager being well aware that his side need at least three more points to ensure their Premier League survival this season, the news that – barring any further setbacks – Gelhardt will be fit to face Crystal Palace on April 25 will certainly have come as a huge boost to the American and his side.

AND in other news: Leeds plot £20m bid for “unplayable” £52k-p/w “magician”, it could be bye-bye Harrison

Rangers will look to continue their unbeaten start to life under Gio van Bronckhorst as they prepare for Premiership action on Saturday.

The Gers face off against Ross County away from home in a lunchtime kick-off this weekend as they look to maintain or extend their lead at the top of the table, depending on how their Glasgow rivals get on in their match at 3pm.

Scott Arfield scored the only goal of the game as Rangers beat Livingston 1-0 in their last outing on Wednesday night, leaving them on 55 points after 22 games and four points clear of their nearest rivals.

Unleash him

One player who must be unleashed from the start on Saturday is new signing Amad Diallo. The youngster joined on loan from Manchester United this week and Van Bronckhorst has already confirmed that he is available for selection.

He said in Friday morning’s press conference: “Diallo will also be in the squad for tomorrow.

“Diallo is a young player who wants to play games, we are bringing him to our club to add value to our team. Like any other player in the squad, he has to perform to play but I am full of confidence that he will deliver.”

Instead of using him off the bench, the Dutchman must throw him in from the start in order to axe Scott Wright from the starting XI. The ex-Aberdeen man was poor against Livingston as he regularly wasted the ball in the final third, completing 0% of his dribbles and 25% of his attempted crosses.

Diallo coming in could allow Van Bronckhorst to drop Wright for this match against Ross County, with the Ivorian having the potential to be a game-changer for the Gers – that is why he must start.

Former Manchester United winger Dan James previously lauded his then-teammate as “unbelievable”, while Papu Gomez, another who played alongside the 19-year-old, once compared him to a current PSG forward, saying: “There are defenders in the first team that sometimes cannot stop him. To stop him in training, we have to kick him! He plays like Messi.”

This highlights the technical quality of the £28k-per-week Ibrox gem, which is backed up by his exceptional record at youth level. He scored six goals and provided four assists in just five games for United’s under-23s, having managed 37 goals and 24 assists in 96 appearances for Atalanta’s youth teams.

Diallo also scored once and produced one assist in nine first-team matches for the Red Devils, showing promise at the top level. This suggests that he has the potential to come in at Rangers and be a big player for Van Bronckhorst, and that could start with him being named in the starting XI against Ross County on Saturday…

AND in other news, Rangers could find Kent 2.0 with “intelligent” maestro who has a G/A every 0.95 games…

Aston Villa are on course to seal the permanent signing of goalkeeper Robin Olsen.

What’s the Word?

That’s according to Football Insider, who claim that a source has revealed that Villa are in advanced talks to sign Olsen on a permanent deal from AS Roma – the 32-year-old shot-stopper who has been at the Premier League side on loan since January.

With just over a year left on his Roma contract, Gerrard could secure the services of Olsen on the cheap and he would provide solid cover for Emiliano Martinez next season.

Robin Olsen would provide excellent cover at Villa

During the first half of the campaign, Olsen was plying his trade at Sheffield United in the Championship, turning out 17 times for the Blades whilst only keeping one clean sheet.

This didn’t stop player John Egan from boosting the £13k-per-week keeper’s confidence, stating in the media that the Swede had a “big presence” and that they “were lucky to have him”.

Massive praise for someone who often let in too many goals during his tenure in the Championship. However, his international experience plus his age could well prove to make him a huge coup for Gerrard and Johan Lange.

Despite not making a first-team appearance for the side since his arrival, he has obviously impressed Steven Gerrard and the coaching staff. The Swede does have prior experience in the top flight, however, featuring for Everton on 11 occasions in the 2020-2021 season.

With further progress needed to show the board that he is moving in the right direction; Gerrard will be aiming to utilise his funds carefully and not squander vital cash on poor signings.

European football must be the aim and that is why the board went all out to secure his services from Rangers in November. The former England captain faces a huge summer ahead.

AND in other news: Gerrard now plotting AVFC bid for £46k-p/w “phenomenon”, he’s better than Phillips

Everton are reportedly now in ‘pole position’ to land Steve Hitchen as their new Director of Football (DoF).

The Lowdown: Hitchen leaves Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur announced the exit of Technical Performance Director Hitchen on Wednesday evening, and football.london journalist Alasdair Gold revealed that he sent a heartfelt email to staff at the North London club explaining why he left.

The move was apparently due in part to the presence of new Spurs transfer guru Fabio Paratici, whose ex-Juve fingerprints are all over their deadline day moves for Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski.

With the Goodison Park faithful rapidly making changes of their own, as both Marcel Brands and Rafa Benitez have already left midway through this season, Hitchen is now being eyed for a role in Merseyside.

The Latest: Everton favourites

As per The Athletic journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke, Hitchen is now in ‘pole position’ to land the DoF job at the Toffees following his resignation from Spurs:

“Steve Hitchen in pole position for Everton DoF job after resigning from Spurs.

“- Signed Suarez for Liverpool in 2011

– Returned to Spurs 2017, close bond with Poch

– Convinced Poch to sign Lucas Moura. Got him Ndombele

– Tried to get Poch back in 2021.”

The Verdict: Shake-up needed

With the Blues lurking just outside of the relegation zone in the Premier League and the mood around the club at an all-time low before Benitez’s exit, a real shake-up is needed on the pitch and at boardroom level.

Described as a ‘shrewd operator’ by Pitt-Brooke, Hitchen does not seem to someone that would take anything lightly at EFC, and so could be the exact kind of character that they need to come in and shake things up from the outside.

Gold has claimed that he had little involvement in the Lilywhites’ last two transfer windows, with Paratici doing most of the work. Given the north London outfit’s failures to sign both Adama Traore and Luis Diaz in January, perhaps Hitchen is someone who should have been given more trust with regards to recruitment, something Everton in particular have been heavily criticised for in recent years.

In other news, find out which seven players will miss Brentford here!

West Ham United’s bid to secure a deadline day deal to bring Darwin Nunez to the London Stadium is off.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who revealed in a recent post on The West Ham Way that the Irons’ bid to sign the Benfica centre-forward is officially over, with the Portuguese outfit having rejected David Moyes’ offer for the 22-year-old.

In his post, the Hammers insider said: “We have had a brief update from our main source on transfers: Nunez is unfortunately off. [Benfica] have turned down our offer and don’t want to do any deals until the summer on him- which we could do then.”

Moyes is in huge trouble

With it very much appearing as if West Ham had put almost all of their centre-forward eggs in the Darwin Nunez basket this month, the news that the striker will now not be making a move to east London has undoubtedly left Moyes in huge trouble.

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Indeed, the 58-year-old stated himself that a second central attacking option was one of his main priorities in the January transfer window, with Michail Antonio currently being West Ham’s only out-and-out centre-forward.

However, with only a matter of hours until the market closes, Moyes looks as if he is back to square one in his bid to bring a new striker to the club, which very much raises the question as to why he decided to leave his transfer business until the final day of the window.

Indeed, if Moyes fails to land a centre-forward in the next few hours, it would appear to severely dent West Ham’s chances of securing a top-four finish this season, which could ultimately lead to the likes of Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen seeking moves away from the London Stadium this summer.

In other news: “It’s all down to..”: Ex reveals new twist in WHU deadline day saga, fans surely livid

A big Newcastle United transfer update has emerged, regarding their efforts to sign Jesse Lingard in the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, the Magpies are set to ‘throw everything’ at Manchester United to land the midfielder this month.

The reporter claims that sources have told him that the confidence over a deal being done has been growing over the weekend, with the window slamming shut in less than ten days.

Elation

This will surely leave Newcastle fans elated for several reasons. Firstly, they will be delighted to read that PIF are willing to make a huge effort to sign Lingard and that they will do whatever it takes to bring him to St. James’ Park.

It shows that they are willing to go the extra mile to land a key target and supporters will be happy with the club’s attempts to strengthen the attacking midfield position, albeit there may be frustration at the lack of progress in the centre-back department.

The fans will also be buzzing with this news simply because of the prospect of Lingard playing in black and white in the second half of the campaign.

He is a proven top-flight player and he could add some much-needed goals and assists to the side.

No Newcastle central midfielder has managed more than two combined goals and assists, after all, with Jonjo Shelvey, Sean Longstaff and Joelinton all on two.

Meanwhile, Lingard has two goals in 89 minutes of football in the Premier League this season and produced nine goals and four assists in the division on loan to West Ham last term.

Former Manchester United coach Michael Carrick once lauded the midfielder, saying: “I think his movement is excellent. It’s something that sounds quite simple, but it’s difficult to defend against.

“He senses where the space is and how to use it. I wouldn’t necessarily say he’s a dribbler with skills and tricks but he’s dynamic. How he plays, he is unique in some ways. You don’t see so much of that now as everyone wants to get on the ball. Off the ball, he’s very effective.”

This suggests that the England international could come in and score the goals that Howe has been lacking in the midfield areas.

Therefore, he could be a fantastic addition to the side and one that will leave fans feeling elated, due to his proven quality at this level.

AND in other news, Player keen: NUFC can find their new Demba Ba in £34m powerhouse who’s “like a train”…