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Wolves are interested in signing young Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile in the January transfer window, according to a new report.

The Lowdown: Badiashile an exciting prospect

The 20-year-old has emerged as an exciting player in Ligue 1, making nine starts in the league and enjoying a pass completion rate of 88.5%. He has also averaged 4.3 aerial duel wins per game in the Europa League this season, which is more than any Wolves player has managed in the Premier League.

Badiashile appears to be a man in demand, and Molineux could potentially be his next destination.

The Latest: Wolves linked with move

According to Sky Sports News [via Talking Wolves on Twitter], Wolves are interested in making a move for the Frenchman, as Bruno Lage looks for centre-back reinforcements.

The £25.2m-rated defender’s current Monaco deal expires in the summer of 2024.

The Verdict: Ideal centre-back alternative

Central defence does look like one area where an addition would be welcome at Wolves this month, with too much reliance on the availability of Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss. Indeed, the latter is currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Willy Boly would invariably be a strong backup for the trio but he continues to be plagued by medical issues, highlighting the need for a new signing at centre-back.

At 20, Badiashile would be considered a long-term acquisition who could fill in when required this season before hopefully growing into a key figure at Molineux over the next few years.

In other news, Wolves have been handed a potential transfer blow. Read more here.

Speaking to Wett Freunde, reputable Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur will pursue a deal for Internazionale striker Lautaro Martinez in the summer transfer window. 

The lowdown: Plenty of suitors…

Unsurprisingly, the potential availability of the 23-year-old has caused a stir across the continent as Atletico Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool have all previously been linked with a move.

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Spurs have also been regularly tipped to swoop for the dynamic Argentinian frontman, who boasts an impressive 111 career goals for club and country.

As the transfer window looms, Martinez is once again being indexed with a possible exit from the San Siro.

The latest: North London bound?

Di Marzio has told the German outlet that the Lilywhites will ‘go after’ the 37-cap Argentina star.

It’s also stated that Tottenham ‘wanted him’ last summer amidst speculation linking Martinez away from Italy and could reignite interest in order to ‘plan for the future’ without Harry Kane.

The journalist describes both Spurs and Atletico Madrid as the ‘perfect destinations’ for the Inter star, who currently earns £180,000 per week (Wage Indicator).

The verdict: A no-brainer

Having already worked with Antonio Conte, scoring 40 times and providing 19 assists whilst lifting the Serie A title under the Italian manager, Martinez is the ideal candidate to bolster the attacking deportment at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Enjoying another stellar campaign with 16 goals and two assists in 39 appearances across all competitions (Transfermarkt), the Argentine frontman is certainly operating at the very peak of his powers.

As for replacing Kane, we feel a move for the £63million valued star should instead be viewed as a method of offering support and indeed an alternative option.

Predominantly operating alongside a more physical strike partner in the shape of Eden Dzeko and previously Romelu Lukaku, Martinez would have no problems forging a partnership with the England captain, who already links up so effectively with Son Heung-min.

In other news: Paratici eyeing move for EFL starlet, find out more here

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side head into Tuesday evening’s Premier League fixture in the midst of a worrying run of form, with the Whites having won just two of their last ten league outings – leaving the 66-year-old’s team languishing down in 15th place in the top-flight standings.

On top of this, the Argentine coach is having to deal with something of an injury crisis at Elland Road, with the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford, Robin Koch and Rodrigo Moreno having all missed the 3-2 loss to Chelsea on Saturday, and once again look set to be sidelined for the trip to Manchester City this evening.

As such, Bielsa will undoubtedly be nursing a rather large selection headache as he attempts to fit a number of square pegs in round holes in his starting XI against Pep Guardiola’s side, however, one player who would appear to be a shoo-in for a start at the Etihad is 19-year-old centre-forward Joe Gelhardt.

Gelhardt could give Guardiola nightmares

Despite having been handed just one Premier League start this season, Gelhardt has nevertheless proven he is something of a game-changer in the Leeds United attack.

Indeed, after being brought on with 27 minutes remaining against Wolverhampton Wanderers back in October, with his side trailing the visitors 1-0, the £1.17m-rated man single-handedly turned the course of the game on its head, first by drawing a fantastic save from Jose Sa between the Wolves sticks, before surging into the opposition penalty area in the dying moments and winning his side a penalty – which Rodrigo tucked home to secure Leeds a share of the spoils.

More recently, after being brought on in the closing stages against Chelsea last weekend, the 19-year-old who Conor McGilligan dubbed “predatorial” once again changed the game, drawing Leeds level with his first touch of the ball – fantastically sliding home Tyler Robert’s low cross past a helpless Edouard Mendy.

As such, it is an incredibly easy argument to make that, in the absence of Bamford, Bielsa simply must unleash the £16.5k-per-week Gelhardt from the off this evening, as the England U21 international undoubtedly has the ability to cause Guardiola and his side nightmares on Tuesday.

In other news: LUFC must avoid disaster on £22k-p/w gem who “transmits security”, MB would be furious

Fabrizio Romano claimed on Saturday that Poland are ready to approach Aston Villa’s Matty Cash over a possible switch of nationalities.

And a number of Villa supporters have been giving their thoughts to the update on social media.

Cash, who qualifies for Poland through family on his mother’s side, had been reluctant to turn away from England as he has hopes of turning out for England.

The 24-year-old hasn’t featured for The Three Lions at any level, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier all seemingly ahead of him in Gareth Southgate’s right-back ranks.

According to Romano, Cash is ‘open’ to the opportunity of playing for Poland and is waiting for a passport to go through.

Villa fans react

Romano posted the news regarding Cash on Twitter on Saturday afternoon, hours before he netted his first Villa goal in a 3-0 win over Everton.

This is what some Villa fans had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘interesting’.

“I think he should accept it. I don’t see there is much of a chance he would get into the England squad as there are approximately 4178.9 RB that’s capable to be in the England squad right now.”

Credit: @rico_chong

“great move for him he’d be their starting rb”

Credit: @luke1874_

“Hope he goes for it. England are stacked in that position.”

Credit: @JayVtid

“interesting”

Credit: @Kim_UTV

“makes perfect sense really”

Credit: @avbiIly

“Looks like our all English back 4 is coming to an end. Understand why Cash has done it. England has so many good RB !”

Credit: @seanlangley94

In other news: Source says Lange wants 40-goal ace on £25k-p/w for Villa; he’s scoring a goal per game. 

After the club confirmed Tottenham Hotspur will open 2021/22 season ticket renewals on Monday 12 April, chairman Daniel Levy has sent a message to Lilywhites supporters as Spurs anticipate finally welcoming supporters back for next campaign. 

As part of the government’s plan to ease the country out of lockdown, clubs across England have been announcing season ticket renewal options for 2021/2022 as Premier League sides hope to be boosted by the welcome return of income from matchday revenue.

Levy sends message to Tottenham fans

Tottenham have now confirmed their renewals will open on Monday next week, and after the official club development, chairman Levy has sent a message to supporters in gratitude for their patience.

In a teasing declaration on the club’s website, Levy explained as part of his statement: “We are proud of our passionate and loyal fanbase and we cannot wait to see you back in the stadium where you belong as soon as possible.

“This vision has seemed like a distant possibility on so many occasions, yet we have never given up hope that we would one day be in a position to say, with a degree of certainty, it is time to welcome you all back home.”

Transfer Tavern take

Spurs supporters were briefly allowed back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as part of the old government tier system, with 2,000 fans in attendance for the north London derby back in December.

It has been over a year since the stadium has been at full capacity, however, and the Lilywhites potentially welcoming back supporters properly next season comes as a big boost for the club financially and for fans who want to see their team live.

In other news: Tottenham turn to ‘very talented’ unseen Spurs youngster after blow, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a fourth defeat in five league outings on Saturday night after they were well-beaten by Premier League leaders Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Jose Mourinho’s men were more than holding their own until the 23rd minute and once again, a defensive mistake swung the game against them completely.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg brought down Ilkay Gundogan inside the area before Rodri stepped up to slot home the opener despite Hugo Lloris getting a palm to it – the German would go onto complete the rout with a second-half brace.

The Spurs boss kept his faith in Erik Lamela after an encouraging pair of matches in the past week – indeed, the Argentine had been a rare positive amid their rotten form but the 28-year-old winger failed to repay his manager as he put in an abysmal showing in Manchester.

Lamela drew the second-lowest rating of any player to feature in the match, being graded a 6.1 by SofaScore, and it’s easy to see why.

No Spurs player lost as many battles as he did.

The €30m (£26m) ace could only win three of 11 duels at a success rate of 27%, which means he was largely dominated by the City midfield as he was initially deployed in the no.10 role before switching to the right at half-time.

Every City player on his side of the pitch was graded at 7.5 or better by SofaScore and that tells the whole story.

Though he wasn’t just lightweight and weak – at times, you could be forgiven for thinking that Lamela was playing in blue instead of Spurs’ dodgy undertones of green.

Lamela committed four fouls, which was double what anyone else on the pitch could manage, meaning he proved to consistently be a liability as he was handing City golden opportunities from set-pieces.

As described perfectly by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, it was a ‘typically chaotic and infuriating Lamela display’ – both he and football.london’s Alasdair Gold rated him a measly 5/10.

Given the 25-time Argentina international is among the club’s highest earners at a whopping £85k-per-week, he really should be doing better, especially as he was trusted to start only his fourth league game of the campaign.

Lamela badly let Mourinho and Spurs down on the night with an absolutely shambolic display.

AND in other news, £60k-per-week Spurs calamity endured nightmare display vs Man City…

Glasgow Rangers beat Royal Antwerp 5-2 (9-5 on aggregate) at Ibrox to book their place in the Europa League last 16 for the second season in a row.

Even with a strong team, Steven Gerrard’s side didn’t have it all their own way, as Antwerp pushed them to their very limit on Thursday.

Goals from Nathan Patterson and Ryan Kent appeared to have restored order after Alfredo Morelos’ opener was cancelled out by Antwerp’s Lior Refaelov in the first half.

But Didier Lamkel Ze pulled a goal back for the Belgians to cause a brief moment of panic, before Borna Barisic’s penalty strengthened their lead, leaving Cedric Itten to wrap up proceedings shortly before the final whistle blew in stoppage time.

Whilst Morelos will receive most of the plaudits for arguably his best performance of the season with the Colombian striker playing a starring role in the famous victory, it was perhaps the performance of his teammate Kent that stood out the most on the night.

As per SofaScore, Kent earned a high match rating of 8.6 for his efforts, that being the second-highest out of almost every player on the pitch and bettered by none other than Morelos himself.

Back on home soil, Gerrard’s side were looking to make a real statement, helped by a virtuoso performance from the 24-year-old as the visitors were run ragged.

Antwerp were punished for some sloppy passing as Kent set up Morelos to put Rangers in front after nine minutes, then just 40 minutes later the English winger gave the Gers a two-goal lead after combining with the Colombian to score his 10th goal of the season.

Kent, who reportedly earns £18,000-per-week at Ibrox, took four shots in total, including two on target, which was the most of any player for either side, and at least two more than Morelos, while he also recorded a superb 24 out of 28 passes, earning an impressive 86% pass accuracy.

As a result of Kent’s constant pressure, Antwerp were rarely able to trouble Rangers, with their first goal only coming after a mix-up between Connor Goldson and Allan McGregor.

The former Liverpool man currently averages 20.6 passes per game this season thus far, which suggests that he was performing a level above his best at Ibrox on Thursday night.

But it wasn’t just his attacking output that caught the eye, either, as he also diligently carried out his defensive duties to deny their opponents several chances on the night. He won four out of his seven duels overall (57%), while he also made one tackle and one interception, the latter of which is more than his season’s average of 0.6 per game.

While Morelos may have terrorised the Antwerp defence on the night, it was Kent’s overall contributions that stood out for Gerrard.

AND in other news, Rangers suffer devastating injury blow as Steven Gerrard confirms Ryan Jack will miss Royal Antwerp…

Newcastle United enjoyed a fantastic January transfer window as they made a number of key additions to Eddie Howe’s squad.

PIF brought in Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett and Chris Wood and they have all played a part in the club’s revival in the second half of the season.

The Magpies are now 14 points clear of the bottom three and look set for another campaign in the Premier League, with central defender Burn playing a huge role in their recent success.

He joined from Brighton in January and has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 7.01 in the top-flight this season for the Toon and the Seagulls combined.

Forget Dan Burn

Whilst the giant Englishman has been an excellent addition to the team, the Magpies now have the chance to sign a player who will make the fans quickly forget about him.

German outlet Bild recently reported that Newcastle are interested in signing Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka, who is valued at £24m (€28m).

The French tank can be the club’s new defensive leader and be an upgrade on Burn or play alongside him as he has proven his quality in Germany this year.

Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter previously showered the gem with praise, saying: “I honestly have to say that I was surprised by his development. Evan has developed phenomenally. He’s very attentive in the analysis of his own game. He’s very modest and always takes a lot on board.”

The centre-back has also received applause from former Frankfurt player Alexander Schur as he claimed the Frenchman “shows no nerves” and “plays with great authority.” 

In the Bundesliga this season, Ndicka has averaged a fantastic SofaScore rating of 7.14. He has made an impressive 3.4 tackles and interceptions per game and won 60% of his duels, showing that he has been putting in consistent performances and dominating opposition attackers throughout the campaign.

Ndicka also ranks higher than Burn for progressive passes, progressive carries, dribbles completed and pass completion per 90 mins over the last 365 days. This means that the Frankfurt man would be an upgrade on the current Toon star in terms of what he offers in possession, whilst his statistics in the Bundesliga in comparison to Burn’s in the Premier League suggest that his all-round displays would also be better.

Therefore, Howe can land a new defensive leader for Newcastle by bringing him to the club this summer. He has shown that he has the quality to be a major player at St. James’ Park and he has the potential to improve further at the age of 22, which means that he would be a sublime signing for now and for the future.

AND in other news, Bid planned: Howe must seal NUFC deal for £30m “monster” whose “simplicity is genius”…

Despite Southampton picking up a 2-1 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday night, the performance of Theo Walcott may leave Ralph Hasenhuttl concerned.

Danny Ings’ late penalty earned the Saints all three points, as they came from behind to earn victory against Graham Potter’s side, getting a result that leaves them fifth in the Premier League.

However, Walcott, who joined on loan from Everton during the summer, never really got into the game on Monday evening and struggled to have make any real impact during his time on the pitch.

As per SofaScore, the 31-year-old had just 23 touches of the ball during his 69 minutes on the pitch, which was fewer than goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who had 36 touches.

The former Arsenal man also earned a 6.4 rating for his display. which was the joint-worst of any Southampton player who started the game.

Walcott also managed to complete 11 of 14 attempted passes during the game on Monday, resulting in a pass accuracy rate of 79%, suggesting that he was never really able to get involved in Southampton’s attacking play.

Despite being involved so little, the winger still managed to lose possession on eight occasions, whilst he also failed to win any of his six duels during the game, showing that even when he had the ball, he was very disappointing.

There is a lot of relief, therefore, that Ings, who returned from injury as a half-time substitute, was able to win the game for Southampton, and based on Walcott’s disappointing display, it would not be a surprise to see the former Liverpool striker start ahead of him in the Saints’ next Premier League fixture, which sees them take on Sheffield United at St Mary’s.

And, in other news… Semmens must avoid Southampton Hojbjerg repeat by breaking the bank with 28 y/o

It’s fair to say that Ross Barkley hasn’t exactly enjoyed the greatest times of Aston Villa this season.

The midfielder has been on loan at Dean Smith’s side from fellow Premier League outfit Chelsea and has managed just three goals all season in the top-flight.

Speaking in his post-match press conference after the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday, the Villa manager confirmed that no talks over a permanent deal had taken place with Chelsea.

He said: “Ross Barkley came in on loan at the start of the season. Obviously, Frank was the manager at the time we did a deal to bring him in on loan. That’s where it was. He’s got another two years left on his contract at Chelsea and that’s not been discussed at all.”

In letting Barkley go in the summer and signing Jesse Lingard from Manchester United instead, Johan Lange could help to build a dream attack for Smith.

Reports in recent days have suggested that Villa are now ready to battle West Ham in the race to sign the £13.5m-rated ace from Manchester United this summer, and it’s a move which could pay off big time for Smith.

Since joining the Hammers, Lingard has been “absolutely phenomenal”, racking up an incredible nine goals and four assists in just ten Premier League games.

The England international’s ability to break the lines with his movement and constant running is something which has added a different dimension to West Ham’s game, and is a trait that Michael Carrick was quick to praise back at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils coach said of Lingard: “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.”

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With Ollie Watkins and Jack Grealish being the main sources of goals and creativity respectively this season for Villa, bringing Lingard into the side would go a long way towards building a devastating attack.

The 28-year-old could be the man to support Watkins and break beyond him into the box whenever the striker holds up the ball or runs the channels, while Grealish should also love playing with someone who will constantly move off the ball looking for pockets of space into which to run.

A revitalised Lingard seems like a perfect fit for Smith, and someone who could easily replace Barkley at Villa Park.

Meanwhile, Villa could face major transfer misery over this maestro…