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Leicester City could land their next Harry Maguire this summer in the shape of Stoke City defender Nathan Collins.

What’s the story?

According to the Daily Express (via Leicestershire Live), the Foxes are interested in signing the 20-year-old over the upcoming transfer window after impressing throughout 2020/21.

The report also claims that fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Burnley are keen on the £15m- rated Collins as the race for his signature intensifies.

Next Harry Maguire

Brendan Rodgers has already made significant steps to try strengthen his squad in recent weeks, with deals for Boubakary Soumare and Odsonne Edouard nearing completion.

Another young star who the former Liverpool and Celtic boss reportedly wants at the King Power Stadium is Collins.

The Republic of Ireland under-21 international impressed at Stoke last season, making 27 appearances in all competitions, becoming the club’s youngest-ever captain in the Carabao Cup win over Wigan and achieving a respectable WhoScored rating of 6.82 in the process.

A serious injury in February cut short the youngster’s maiden campaign in senior football, but it doesn’t appear to have put off any potential suitors.

The 20-year-old showcased his versatility last term, featuring at right-back on 10 occasions, making him an ideal signing for Rodgers, who likes to alternate between a back four and a back five.

Collins’ magnificent displays at the Bet365 Stadium earned high praise from team-mate and compatriot James McClean, illustrating the quality and potential of the Leicester target.

“The lad has a big future in the game. Being a teammate of his at Stoke it’s great for Stoke, and at international level, it’s good for Ireland going forward,” said the 32-year-old winger.

“Without putting too much pressure on him, I think he’ll have a big career.”

The last time the Foxes took a gamble on an imposing British centre-back plying his trade with a Championship club, things worked out pretty well.

Harry Maguire was a Leicester player for just two seasons, joining after Hull’s relegation in 2017, but he made the club around £65m in profit. If Collins can get anywhere near the level of the current Manchester United captain, then his potential arrival at the King Power will surely go down as another hugely astute purchase from Jon Rudkin.

In other news… Massive transfer revelation revealed over “magnificent” £18m gem, fans will be buzzing 

Sunderland provided a huge response following their midweek stalemate with Plymouth Argyle by taking an impressive 5-1 victory from Cambridge United yesterday.

Alex Neil and his team are now on a 12-game unbeaten run, with the Scottish manager only losing once since he arrived at the club in February, and they now find themselves fourth in the League One table albeit only one point safe in the play-off position.

The Black Cats put in a phenomenal attacking performance that was boosted when Cambridge went down to ten men in the 12th minute of the game, with Lloyd Jones getting red-carded awarding their hosts a penalty which Ross Stewart scored to make it 1-0 a minute later.

Sunderland were dominant throughout the game holding 75% possession, making ten more shots on target and over 400 more accurate passes than their opponents on Saturday afternoon.

Elliot Embleton, Danny Batth and Nathan Broadhead all joined Stewart in getting on the scoresheet delivering five goals in total, and Embleton, in particular, was an absolute force in the attacking threat his team imposed on Cambridge and offered an unrivalled presence.

The 23-year-old who was labelled “complex” by former manager Lee Johnson, made an impressive 141 touches, 113 accurate passes, four key passes and was successful in the majority of his long balls and crosses (12/21).

Embleton has been integral in Sunderland’s play-off charge as of late and has delivered in the moments when it has been needed most, grabbing his opportunities to impress his new manager following a lack of game-time since the Scotsman took over at the Stadium of Light.

Neil had been playing the midfielder off the bench, but he has now finally integrated him back into the starting eleven over the last two games following an assist to the last-minute winning goal against Gillingham and scoring the winner against Oxford in the final moments in the following game, with his contribution earning the Black Cats six points in just 27 minutes of play.

The fight for a play-off place isn’t over with the North-East club safe by just a point with one game in hand over their competitors inside the top six, and with no room for error in the last two games, Sunderland must continue their unbeaten form to boost their chances of potential promotion.

AND in other news: Speakman howler: SAFC may now be on the verge of repeating brutal Hugill disasterclass

West Ham have been linked to an array of strikers ahead of the summer transfer window, although there is one name that could be of great appeal to David Moyes…

What’s the word?

Last month, TEAMtalk claimed the Irons were one of several Premier League teams monitoring Barnsley’s loan sensation Daryl Dike and that the Championship outfit could struggle to keep him permanently as a £17m option-to-buy seems out of their financial reach, unless promoted.

Competition for the 20-year-old appears fierce with top-flight giants Manchester United and Chelsea among the sides interested in the Orlando City striker, as well as Everton, Leeds United, Wolves and Newcastle United.

Shades of Yakubu

Over the course of Moyes’ lengthy managerial career, we’ve seen many different types of forward lead his line but there is often a recurring theme as he clearly likes a big, powerful presence up top – you only have to look at Michail Antonio in this current squad and perhaps most famously, Duncan Ferguson at Everton.

At 6 foot 2, Dike fits the bill as another prototype for the 58-year-old to develop into a goalscoring beast in attack. He has been in electric form since joining the Tykes in January, scoring nine Championship goals in just 17 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

His form recently led to former Salford boss Richie Wellens heaping praise on him. He dubbed the striker a “revelation” to Football League World.

The young Orlando gem offers more than just brute force, too. American site SBNation describe him as a ‘physical striker’ who has a ‘delicate touch and high levels of technical ability.’

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-west-ham-transfer-rumours-gossip-latest-moyes-gsb-london-stadium” title= “Read the latest West Ham news, transfer rumours, gossip and more!”]

Furthermore, his former college coach George Gelnovatch waxed lyrical about his mentality on and off the pitch, he told ESPN: “One of the things about him that nobody ever talks about is relentlessness. He is a relentless competitor, a ruthless guy on the field. You put that inside a body like his, and it’s pretty impressive.”

This all hugely reminiscent of Yakubu, who enjoyed four lucrative seasons under Moyes at Goodison Park, where he found the net 33 times in 107 appearances.

Dike has been compared to Romelu Lukaku, a player the former Everton boss was once desperate to sign, and is also cut from the same cloth as his cousin, Emmanuel Emineke, the former Hammers loanee.

If you throw Yakubu into the mix as those two, then you’ll soon see they are all a similar sort of presence upfront.

He was a natural finish and one that was capable of destroying the opposition with his pace and strength and that’s exactly what Dike seems like in the Championship right now.

Whilst a step-up to the Premier League is a big ask, Moyes would surely relish having a player of that ilk at his disposal, especially when Antonio struggles to play more than 22 matches each season due to injuries.

GSB must make a move for the two-time USA international.

AND in other news, Hammers must still rue Bilic’s 2015 failure to sign “big-game” beast…

Newcastle United are reportedly favourites to sign Axel Tuanzebe in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Centre-back wanted

The St. James’ Park faithful have recently been linked with moves for the likes of Phil Jones and Boubacar Kamara, and so it is clear that they are looking for a new central defender.

However, with the new 2021/22 Premier League season only a couple of weeks away, they need to act fast to bring new players in.

The Latest: Favourites for Tuanzebe

As per The Chronicle, the North East club are in ‘pole position’ to sign Tuanzebe on loan from Manchester United.

Steve Bruce worked with him while he was at Aston Villa, and is said to believe that he has a ‘bright future’ ahead of him.

The Tyneside club are ‘leading the race’ for his signature, and both Tuanzebe and his camp have been left feeling ‘delighted’ by their interest.

The Verdict: Sign

Given that Bruce has already worked with Tuanzebe before, he will know how to get the best out of him, and the fact that he is ‘delighted’ by the Magpies’ interest in him suggests that he would give his absolute all for the Toon Army.

Described as ‘outstanding’ by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after an impressive UEFA Europa League performance against Granada back in April, he has the capabilities to reach the very top.

The six-foot-one colossus already has the experience of playing in the top flight, and can play in a wide range of different positions (Transfermarkt), the kind of versatility that would be very useful to Bruce’s squad.

Nonetheless, at just 23 years of age, Tuanzebe certainly has a lot of potential, and can really develop as a player at the Toon, should they be able to sign him.

In other news, find out what ‘bitter blow’ NUFC have suffered involving their takeover case here!

Paul Stewart admits he was left bewildered after Nuno Espirito Santo made Pierluigi Gollini his first signing since taking over as Tottenham Hotspur’s new head coach.

Nuno, who left his post at Wolverhampton Wanderers by mutual agreement at the end of last season, was confirmed as Jose Mourinho’s eventual successor after a lengthy managerial hunt.

The Portuguese has made improving Spurs’ defensive record a priority after the club only qualified for the upcoming season’s Europa Conference League thanks to a poor record at the back.

But rather than bring in a central defender to beef up the backline, Nuno’s first acquisition was 26-year-old Atalanta goalkeeper Gollini on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy for £12.9million.

Gollini, who has experience in English football having made 20 Championship appearances while on the books of Aston Villa, will provide competition for first choice shot-stopper Hugo Lloris.

Stewart believes Nuno has failed to get his priorities right.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, the former Spurs man said: “It bewilders me because it’s another position where we didn’t really need anyone.

“I know it’s competition but we need a defence that can stop leaking goals. That would be what I’d be concentrating on more than a goalkeeper.

“He must be happy to play second fiddle but I wouldn’t want to move from another club and sit on the bench.”

According to a report by journalist Kevin Palmer, via Anfield Watch, the form of defender Nathaniel Phillips over these last few months has done enough to convince Liverpool he has a big role to play next season – prompting many Reds to react as one called it ‘brilliant news’.

Phillips has been forced to stand in for injured first team figures at the back like Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and the colossal Virgil van Dijk (inews).

The 24-year-old has started 13 Premier League matches under Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp as a result, making the most clearances per 90 (4.6) out of any Reds player in the squad (WhoScored).

Palmer now reports that Phillips has done enough to convince the club he can play a big role next season as the Reds seek to rebuild after what has been a title defence to forget.

While some Reds lavish this update, with one calling it ‘brilliant news’, others were also sceptical that Phillips is ready for a bigger role under Klopp next season.

Find all of their best verdicts from social media down below.

Liverpool fans flock to Phillips news

“Wow. Big respect for what he has done this season. But I’m not sure about using him next season. He is very good at winning headers, which is good when LFC face teams like Burnley and palace. Not up to the mark in passing though. But Klopp is a person who believes in training”

Credit: @SociallySober

“Great to hear, we still need to sign Konate but Phillips has absolutely earned his place in the squad”

Credit: @X29Fred

“He absolutely deserves it! Well earned! Can’t wait to see him next to Big Virg, a formidable defence in the making.”

Credit: @JaeTask

“He’s done the job well, very happy to see him be rewarded with a role for next season.”

Credit: @Adam1Marj

“Madness…. sell him while he’s at his highest, u make Him play 4th fiddle his value decreases massively.”

Credit: @pete8837

“Defo excellent player not just for the future but the present YNWA”

Credit: @roysie55

“Yeah he’s been outstanding”

Credit: @EdoFirst

“Buzzing to see this very well deserved”

Credit: @leightxn1

“Are people actually slating him? He’s been a solid 7-8 out of 10 for pretty much all season and it’s his first season in the prem? I think this is brilliant news that he’s gonna play a part next season!”

Credit: @cal_smxth

In other news: Liverpool fans now want this ace out of Anfield, find out more here.

An update has emerged on Southampton target Adam Armstrong, regarding Blackburn’s stance on his current situation.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, Blackburn are looking to cash in on Southampton target Adam Armstrong this summer, as he only has one year left on his contract with the club. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are said to be interested in a deal for the forward, who has been compared with current star Danny Ings.

The report claims that Southampton are some way off completing a deal for the Championship attacker. However, there is interest from the south coast club and a move could materialise at some point this window.

Ralph needs him

Martin Semmens must sanction a deal for the forward if Blackburn are open to cashing in on him. The second-tier side are stuck in a difficult position as he only has 12 months left to run on his current deal and they could risk losing him on a free transfer if they do not sell him before the end of August.

This means that now is the best time for them to receive a fee for his services, which they could then reinvest back into their own squad to attack the Championship next season.

Armstrong could be a terrific addition to Southampton’s squad following his exceptional form for Blackburn in recent seasons. Former Rovers midfielder Richie Smallwood once called Armstrong as a “special” player and admitted that the attacker has the ability in his locker to cause damage to any team in the division. He told the Lancashire Telegraph:

“He’s a special player with the ability to hurt any team in this league.”

This shows that his teammates rate him highly and believe that he is a top-class player. His statistics for Blackburn also back that thought process up, with the £17k-per-week goal machine having scored 44 goals in the past two Championship seasons for Tony Mowbray’s side. In the 2020/21 campaign, Armstrong found the back of the net an astonishing 28 times and was named PFA Fans’ Player of the Year for the second tier.

Hasenhuttl only had three players in his squad who managed more than four league goals last season, with James Ward-Prowse, Che Adams and Danny Ings his only regular contributors in front of goal.

This suggests that he is in desperate need of more players who can be a threat at the top end of the pitch, which is why he needs Armstrong at St. Mary’s next season. Hopefully, Semmens could swoop in and get a deal over the line for the ex-Newcastle man to bolster the Austrian’s squad.

AND in other news, Semmens must sanction Saints swoop for “exceptional” 24 G/A wizard, Ralph needs him…

It was an important result for Southampton on Saturday where they managed to secure their first league win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United.

A second-half goal from Armando Broja was enough to secure the three points for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, putting them in 15th place in the league table with seven points prior to Sunday’s fixtures.

Despite the victory, there was one player that was involved against Leeds that failed to impress.

The player in question was Saints winger Mohamed Elyounoussi, who started the game against Marcelo Bielsa’s side before being taken off and replaced by Nathan Tella late on in the match.

During his time on the pitch, Elyounoussi failed to even have one shot on target while he was also unable to provide one accurate cross or long ball.

His dismal afternoon was capped off by a miss at the back post where he was unable to get his head to what would have been a simple tap in. What made matters worse was the fact he lost possession on 19 occasions and won just ten out of the 21 duels he was involved in. That ultimately earned him a rather disappointing overall match rating of 6.3/10, making him the lowest-rated Southampton player on the day that started the match, according to SofaScore.

Given how Elyounoussi, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, was taken out of the starting XI in Southampton’s 3-1 defeat against Chelsea, we feel as though the winger failed to repay the faith that Hasenhuttl showed in him to put him back in the starting XI against Leeds.

Southampton signed Elyounoussi back in the 2018 summer transfer window from FC Basel before sending him out on loan to Scottish club Celtic in the next summer window.

Overall, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £10.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made just 26 appearances for Hasenhuttl’s side, scoring four goals and providing two assists along the way.

During his time at Celtic, Elyounoussi was once described as being a “passenger” by Hoops podcaster Paul John Dykes, which is how we feel he was like in the game against Leeds.

Moving forward, if Hasenhuttl decides to stick with Elyounoussi in the starting XI for their upcoming Premier League clash against Burnley next weekend, the winger will have to put in a solid display to show that he is worthy of being a regular starter for the club, or else he could find himself back on the bench, potentially for an extended period of time.

In other news: Forget Broja: £60k-p/w Southampton beast who made 6 key passes stole the show vs Leeds – opinion

When Celtic signed Dedryck Boyata for a fee of £1.5m back in the summer of 2015, it very much appeared as if the Bhoys had secured something of a bargain.

Indeed, the centre-back had made 35 appearances for Premier League giants Manchester City after graduating from the Citizens’ academy, had been capped at international level by Belgium and was described by the former Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle – under whom Boyata spent a season on loan – as a “wonderful young talent.”

Coyle’s belief turned out to be accurate, as the now 30-year-old highly impressed during his four-season spell at Parkhead, making a total of 135 appearances for the Bhoys, scoring 15 goals and registering nine assists, as well as winning four consecutive Scottish Premiership titles and six domestic cup competitions with the Hoops.

However, after reportedly falling out with then Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at the start of his final year while contracted with Celtic, and despite Neil Lennon’s hopes that the centre-back would pen a new deal, Boyata ran down his contract in Glasgow, joining Hertha Berlin on a free transfer in the summer of 2019.

Since his move to Germany, Boyata has further enhanced his reputation as a top-level defender, so far making 54 appearances for the Bundesliga side, being made club captain and seeing his Transfermarkt value rocket from £1.8m at the time of leaving Celtic to £7.2m today.

As such, Celtic’s decision to allow Boyata to enter the final year of his contract at Parkhead without tying down the £42k-per-week man to fresh terms appears to have been rather costly for the club. As, should the Bhoys have indeed convinced the centre-back to stay on in Glasgow, they would more than likely have received a significant transfer fee for his services – such as the £9m Fulham offered for him back in 2018.

However, with the Hoops now at least £7.2m out of pocket on the defender, it is a fairly easy argument to make that the club endured something of a nightmare when waving goodbye to a player who Jan Vertonghen dubbed an “immense” talent for absolutely nothing two years ago.

In other news: Forget Jota: Celtic’s “orchestra conductor” who made 2 key passes stole show vs ‘Well

Nuno Espirito Santo could make measures to solve one of Tottenham Hotspur’s biggest problems amid emerging reports…

What’s the word?

According to Tuttosport, Spurs are among the clubs interested in Juventus centre-back Merih Demiral, and the Serie A outfit are prepared to sell him if their €35m (£30m) asking price is met.

The north Londoners face competition from Premier League rivals Everton, as well as Italian side Atalanta.

Bye-bye Sanchez

Nuno has a mighty task on his hands if he’s to clean up the mess at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He has inherited a squad which has underachieved in the past 18 months, resulting in their worst-placed league finish in over ten years.

Many of their issues boil down to their problems in defence. A combination of an abundance of individual errors and a lack of leadership resulted in Spurs conceding more goals than any of the other traditional ‘big six’ in 2020/21.

Some could argue that Jan Vertonghen was never replaced last summer, whilst the performances of regulars like Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez were way below par – especially the latter, who could be forced out before next month’s transfer deadline.

The Athletic believes that the club will listen to offers for the £42m flop, and his agent Nestor Villarreal remained coy on his client’s future in north London when speaking to Colombian outlet Gol Caracol.

Throughout the 2020/21 campaign, Sanchez was described as a “real liability” and was dubbed as part of the worst central defensive partnerships in the league, so clearly that’s the big issue that Nuno needs to remedy.

He could do just that by signing Demiral, who has been touted for some big things. The 23-year-old, who is currently valued at £26m, is said to be in similar stature to former Premier League beast Nemanja Vidic, a player on whom he has modelled his game.

“The Turkish international towers above most players, is physical, strong in the air and surprisingly technical with the ball for such a big man. He is a natural leader and cool under pressure,” claimed Turkish-football.com founder Emre Sarigul.

Demiral is the perfect combination of brute force, intelligence and deft touch, having averaged 2.8 aerial duels won, 4.2 clearances, 1.6 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and an 87.4% passing accuracy per game throughout his career to date, as per WhoScored.

Also lauded as an “absolute beast”, the 6 foot 3 titan would surely be a considerable upgrade on Sanchez and would arguably be one foot in the right direction in fixing Spurs’ long-standing defensive issues.

For £30m, it has to be done.

AND in other news, Spurs could swoop for £16m-rated “leader” who bullied Kane at Euro 2020…