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Newcastle United’s transfer window thus far has been fairly underwhelming, but Eddie Howe does have a couple of weeks left to thrash out a couple of high-quality signings which could steer the club back into Europe.

The Magpies have been showing interest in Chelsea winger Noni Madueke recently, as Howe aims to bolster his attacking options.

The youngster has impressed since joining in January 2023, scoring nine goals and grabbing three assists in just 46 matches.

With the Blues signing Pedro Neto however, it looks as though the Englishman may be allowed to leave.

He isn’t the only winger Newcastle are tracking. Could Howe land an even better player than Madueke by signing another Premier League winger?

Newcastle keen on signing former Man Utd starlet

According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Newcastle have added Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga to their shortlist of potential attacking targets.

O’Rourke, while speaking on the Inside Track podcast, stated that the Magpies have opened discussions over multiple deals which could see the former Man United gem make the trip north in the coming weeks.

He certainly has experience in the Premier League and would give Howe much-needed quality on the right flank.

Could he be a better option than Madueke, however? Both starred for their respective sides last season.

Anthony Elanga’s season in numbers

The Swede made his debut for the Old Trafford side during the 2020/21 campaign, going on to make a total of 55 appearances in all competitions for the club.

It was time for a change of scenery last summer, hence the move to Forest, where the 22-year-old really came out of his shell.

In the Premier League, Elanga started 25 matches out of 36, scoring five times while chipping in with nine assists. This worked out as a goal contribution once every 2.5 matches.

Madueke, on the other hand, averaged a goal involvement every 3.2 games for Chelsea in the league last term.

Not only that, but Elanga also averaged a greater shot-on-target percentage last term (40.7% vs 38.7%), generated more shot-creating actions (70 vs 51), took more touches in the opposition penalty area (122 vs 77) and registered more progressive carries (98 vs 76) in the Premier League, albeit in more minutes on the field.

Madueke may well be playing at a bigger club but it's Elanga who has proven himself to be a more consistent outlet since moving away from Man United.

Further boasting "frightening speed" – something he was praised for by Journalist Laurie Whitwell during his days at United – this trait could be a key asset to Howe during the 2024/25 campaign.

Anthony Gordon has shone on the left flank for the Magpies, but now a quality right-winger is required which could help the club return to Europe.

Injuries may have given Howe some breathing space, but a second consecutive season without continental football won't be tolerated on Tyneside, that’s for sure.

Newcastle chase dream Isak partner who could be an "£80m or £100m player"

They have linked up in the professional careers already

By
Joe Nuttall

Aug 10, 2024

Chelsea are meticulously planning for a 7,000-mile round trip to Kazakhstan in -11 degrees weather for their Conference League clash with Astana.

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• Chelsea gearing up to travel to Kazakhstan
• Testing conditions await them in Almaty
• Maresca likely to rotate heavily for ECL clash

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, typically serves as the venue for Astana FC's home matches. However, due to ongoing renovations at their primary stadium, the game against Chelsea has been relocated 1,200 kilometres south to Almaty. The new location and its sub-zero conditions, ranging between -6 and -11 degrees Celsius, add another layer of difficulty for the Premier League side.

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  To optimize their travel plans, Chelsea have received special permission from UEFA to conduct their pre-match press conference and training session in Surrey. This adjustment eliminates the need for pre-match events to take place in the host country, allowing Enzo Maresca's team to focus on their preparations before embarking on the arduous journey.

• WHAT MARESCA SAID

  Maresca has been proactive in managing his squad amid the packed fixture schedule. Following Chelsea's impressive 4-2 win over Tottenham on Sunday, Maresca gave the players a much-needed day off on Monday. The Italian is expected to rotate his squad heavily for Thursday’s game, maintaining his pattern of making significant changes between matches.

  "Some of them will be here and some of them will fly with us. More or less, we try to manage in the same way we have done before today," he said.

  "We have many young players, 17 players with us, and the rest will be here with us. Eight hours is not a normal time for a game, you know, but we have to go there, we have to play, try our best and thinking also about the next game."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Chelsea’s trip to Almaty will involve an eight-hour direct chartered flight. The route has been carefully planned to avoid airspace over conflict zones, including Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East. Despite the significant time difference – Kazakhstan being five hours ahead of the UK – the team plans to stick to their home time zone. The match, set for 8:30 p.m. local time, will be treated as a 3:30 p.m. kickoff for the players to minimize disruption to their routines.

Chelsea insiders have refused to rule out the possibility of Todd Boehly signing a £162,000-per-week star as well as Samu Omorodion, coming after the club reached an agreement with Atletico Madrid over Conor Gallagher's sale.

Conor Gallagher agrees terms to join Atletico Madrid

The west Londoners actually shook hands on a fee with Atletico last week, but it was Gallagher holding up the deal, as he decided whether to accept the La Liga side's advances and leave boyhood club Chelsea.

Boehly now working to sell "the future of Chelsea" after £21m signing

The west Londoners have offered him out across Europe.

1

By
Emilio Galantini

Aug 3, 2024

It was never a foregone conclusion that the 24-year-old, who was a mainstay under Mauricio Pochettino last season, would leave Stamford Bridge easily. Aston Villa had a club-record bid for Gallagher accepted in June, but the England international opted to stay, and could've chosen to reject Diego Simeone as well.

However, over the weekend, news broke that Gallagher agreed terms with Atletico Madrid on a five-year contract, with the former Crystal Palace loanee rejecting enquiries from two clubs in the Premier League top six to make the move to Spain.

"Conor Gallagher is flying to Madrid today after agreeing terms with Atletico Madrid on a five-year contract," said journalist Ben Jacobs on Monday.

"Chelsea have given him permission to travel and undergo a medical after clubs agreed a €40m fee. Both #CFC and Atletico had given Gallagher until the end of the weekend to make a decision.

"Understand two other top six clubs made enquiries in the last few days, but Gallagher wanted to either move to Atleti or extend at Chelsea. 2+1 extension remained on the table. With only one year left, Chelsea intent on resolving Gallagher’s future this window."

Reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano backs Gallagher is set to sign for Atletico, while it is also believed that a player of theirs could well be heading the other way. After Chelsea had a bid rejected for Omorodion earlier in the window, Romano claims they're closing in on a £35 million deal for the striker.

Chelsea had been in talks with Napoli over Victor Osimhen since last week, but the move for Omorodion may not actually have an impact on it.

Chelsea could sign Osimhen as well as Omorodion

According to a report in The Telegraph and by journalist Matt Law, Chelsea insiders have refused to rule out signing Osimhen alongside Omorodion before deadline day on August 30 – which is fairly promising news for Enzo Maresca.

The £162,000-per-week striker has been one of Serie A's most prolific scorers since joining from Lille in 2020, and the Blues are attempting to strike a deal which would see Romelu Lukaku head the other way and sign for Antonio Conte.

Chelsea want Osimhen on an initial loan deal, believing they can carry three strikers into next season if Nicolas Jackson plays more out wide. This move could impact their search for a right-winger, though, if they do decide Jackson can feature on the wing so they can get Osimhen through the door.

Sporting CP's form has suddenly dipped after Ruben Amorim left them for Manchester United last month.

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• Amorim left Sporting CP in November
• Lost three games in a row since
• Fans demand sacking of Pereira

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Amorim, who joined the Portuguese giants in 2020, parted company in November as he replaced Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. Sporting CP had a dream start to the 2024-25 campaign under Amorim and were on an eight-match winning streak by the time he left. Joao Pereira replaced him at the helm and guided the team to a 6-0 win over Amarante in his first game, but things have gone south since then as they have now lost three matches in a row.

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  Sporting's 1-0 loss to Moreirense on Thursday marked their third consecutive loss across all competitions. This is the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Liga Portugal club have embarked on such a streak – they lost to PSV Eindhoven first in the Champions League, followed by back-to-back defeats against Famalicao and Rio Ave in the league at the time.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Pereira has been in charge of Sporting for less than a month and has managed just four matches. However, according to , fans have already grown impatient and travelling supporters on Thursday waved white handkerchiefs in the stands demanding the sacking of the 40-year-old.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR SPORTING CP?

  The Lions will aim to get back to winning ways on Tuesday as they take on Club Brugge in the Champions League, with pressure increasingly growing on Amorim's successor.

Manchester United have reportedly made contact with a new midfield target with his club prepared to sell.

Ratcliffe and Ashworth’s first summer at Man Utd

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Dan Ashworth are into their first summer transfer window at Old Trafford as co-owner and sporting director, and it has been a productive one so far.

A number of players have departed the Red Devils, whereas deals for Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro from Bologna and Lille respectively have been secured.

Zirkzee and Yoro could be joined by further first-team additions before the deadline, whereas the club look set to bolster their academy ranks with the signing of teenage forward Chido Obi Martin after he departed Arsenal.

Senior targets include Bayern Munich duo Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt in deals that would strengthen Erik ten Hag's right-back and centre-back ranks.

Meanwhile, a new midfielder is also wanted at Old Trafford before the end of the month, with Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte arguably the most heavily linked target in the middle of the pitch.

He's like Rodri: Man Utd looking at £34m "box-crasher" to replace Casemiro

Manchester United looking for their answer to Rodri

By
Connor Holden

Aug 5, 2024

However, there were internal talks held over a move for Burnley’s Sander Berge, and it looks as if Ratcliffe and Ashworth have stepped up their interest in recent days, with an approach made to the target.

Man Utd make contact with Berge

According to The Athletic, Man Utd, and by extension Ashworth, have now made contact with Berge’s camp, with the Burnley man a surprise option for the Red Devils.

It is claimed that Burnley are prepared to sell Berge after spending £12m on his services last year, with the Norway international standing at 6 foot 5.

Despite his tall frame, Berge is extremely quick and hit a top speed of 35.90km/h, the 10th fastest of all top-flight players last season. He made 40 appearances in all competitions under Vincent Kompany in 2023/24 but couldn’t help Burnley avoid the drop back to the Championship.

However, he did come in for praise from Kompany back in December, with the former Burnley boss saying: “Sander obviously had a year of Premier League experience already and he’s an international. He’s shown he can play at this level.

“His performance at Arsenal was outstanding, against Crystal Palace and West Ham but the progress of the team is lined up with his progress as well, which is completely normal. That’s why you go into the transfer window, to hopefully make the team better.”

With Storm Darragh bringing winds of up to 90mph across the UK, how have the Premier League and EFL been impacted?

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• Merseyside derby postponed
• Winds of 90mph across UK
• Clubs provide updates

• EVERTON VS LIVERPOOL

  Status: Postponed

  The Merseyside derby – the final one to be played at Goodison Park – was postponed on safety grounds.

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• ASTON VILLA VS SOUTHAMPTON

  Status: Going ahead

  The fixture in Birmingham will proceed as planned, with Southampton making the journey to the Midlands.

• BRENTFORD VS NEWCASTLE UNITED

  Status: Going ahead

  Brentford's game at home to Newcastle will go ahead.

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• CRYSTAL PALACE VS MANCHESTER CITY

  Status: Going ahead

  Pep Guardiola's side will get the chance to make it two wins in two after travelling to London.

Manchester United are reliant on player sales to form a January transfer budget for Ruben Amorim, with Antony an 'obvious' candidate to be sold.

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• Man Utd struggling to find transfer funds for Amorim
• Could make sales in January as they need new players
• Antony 'most obvious' choice to be sold

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Manchester United spent over £180 million (€216m/$228.6m) on players in the summer having acquired Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui. This spending spree came after a rather disappointing 2023-24 season as INEOS looked to give Erik ten Hag more firepower. However, after an abysmal start to the season, the Red Devils sacked the Dutchman and have now brought in Amorim.

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  Amorim's appointment has seen calls for greater investments to support the Portuguese coach, but their summer spending has left them short on any transfer budget for January. As such, the Red Devils are now looking to make sales this winter to bring in funds for their new head coach.

• Getty Images
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  As per , Antony would be the 'most obvious' candidate to be sold this winter. The Brazilian has not performed well since his mega-money move to Old Trafford in 2022, and Amorim has been trying to reshape him into a wing-back. However, if United can find a buyer ready to pay enough, an exit seems to be the most likely scenario. They would likely have to take a loss on the £82m (€98.5m/$104m) investment they paid to sign him from Ajax.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ANTONY?

  Having played against Bodo/Glimt as a right-wing-back, Antony was not terrible but did not have as much influence as Amorim would have been hoping. He is unlikely to start when Everton head to Old Trafford on Sunday.

With over a month still to go in the summer transfer window, West Ham United supporters must be pretty happy with their outfit's ambition, having provided new head coach Julen Loeptegui with the tools to succeed.

Yet to part with any of last season's first-team regulars, West Ham have signed talented Brazilian winger Luis Guilherme, 18, from Palmeiras and have strengthened at the back with Max Kilman, who played under Lopetegui at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Uncertainty around Lucas Paqueta's future continues to rumble, while a host of players may yet be sold, but there's one star who simply has to be plying his trade at the London Stadium come September – after all, he's so valuable, he's worth more than two prospective Irons signings combined.

West Ham's transfer plans

West Ham aren't resting on their laurels, having addressed two key points of concern already this summer. Indeed, as per Fabrizio Romano, the east Londoners are circling in on signing Jhon Duran from Aston Villa after protracted negotiations.

But moreover, as Sky Sports' Florian Plettenberg reports, the long-standing pursuit of a right-back appears to be coming to a head, with an agreement reached with Bayern Munich for the transfer of Noussair Mazraoui in a deal rising to €20m (£17m).

If technical director Tim Steidten is able to get said transfers over the line, this would be a bona fide success for a United side solely focussing on the domestic front next year, with both players more than capable of cementing starring spots in the first team.

Altogether, the signings will come in at around £60m, with Mazraoui's fee rising to £20m and the package involving Lewis Orford heading to Villa Park totalling £40m all told – which is a significant outlay for a side that has already spent big on Guilherme and Kilman.

Another sale or two might be necessary, but it certainly mustn't be Mohammed Kudus, who is still being linked with a move to Liverpool.

Why Mohammed Kudus must not be sold

Kudus has only been with West Ham for one year, joining from Ajax for £38m last year, but he's definitely left his mark on English and European football since the move, with his deadly attacking skills and electrifying ball-carrying ability earning him plenty of acclaim.

With 14 goals and six assists to show for his maiden campaign in England, Kudus is rightly the most valuable player in the West Ham squad, with his current market value, in Steidten's eyes, surpassing that of Duran and Mazraoui combined by a significant amount.

He's a marvellous player, one of the very best dribblers in the business, even described as a "generational talent" by journalist Gary Al-Smith, and he's ranked among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons per 90 too, as per FBref.

If a team like Liverpool does wish to sign him, they would have to pay an astronomical fee. Claret & Hugh claim to have recently spoken with a high-ranking Hammers official, who has flat-out rejected any notion that the Ghana international will be sold.

In the infinitesimal chance that Kudus does indeed leave this summer, it would require a record fee surpassing the £105m that Arsenal paid to secure Declan Rice's services one year ago.

Kudus is a brilliant player, one of West Ham's finest wingers in a long time. A raw, athletic bundle of brilliance, he would cost an arm and a leg to pull away from the club, easily worth more than Duran and Mazraoui combined.

Imagine him & Kilman: West Ham very keen on "exciting" defender

West Ham looking for perfect Kilman partner

By
Connor Holden

Jul 24, 2024

talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has dropped a West Ham transfer update.

What’s the word?

The update concerns Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis with Crook recently speaking to GIVEMESPORT to give an update on West Ham’s reported pursuit of the player, saying:

“Now they’ve got Scamacca, I wonder if they’ve done some background checks on him because, from what I’m told, maybe he’s not necessarily the type of character that David Moyes wants to bring into the dressing room.”

It appears that Moyes and West Ham have dropped their interest in the 24-year-old following this update and it could be a decision that the manager regrets.

Moyes needs another striker

West Ham opened up their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City. Erling Haaland grabbed a double for the away side and although Moyes won’t be able to recruit players of his calibre, another striker is required if they are aiming to build on last season’s success.

The club has signed Italian frontman Gianluca Scamacca from Serie A side Sassuolo, but this still just leaves the Hammers with two senior centre forwards in their ranks. With another demanding campaign ahead with continental fixtures, injuries will be commonplace and thus, not signing Dennis could be a decision they live to regret.

A move for the striker looked to make a lot of sense. He wouldn’t break the bank, with Watford valuing him at £20m and he has top-flight goalscoring experience.

The Nigerian international scored ten goals and grabbed a further six assists for Watford last season as they were relegated from the Premier League. With West Ham relying on wingers Said Benrahma (11) and Jarrod Bowen (17) and Michail Antonio (13) for goals last season, its clear that further additions to the front three are required.

Moyes could regret not signing Dennis as the 24-year-old generated more shot-creating actions per match than Antonio last season (3.17 to 3.09) and had a higher percentage of shots on target (44.3% to 32.5%), showing that he could have been a worthwhile addition to the West Ham squad.

Moyes will look at other targets, yet this decision might not be one of his wisest moves.

Injury expert Ben Dinnery has delivered his ‘worrying’ response to the issue suffered by Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw. 

The lowdown: Cruel blow

Having returned to the fold last season after missing 71 games with a long-standing hip problem, Forshaw was ruled out of the final weeks of the 2021/22 campaign after fracturing his knee cap during training at Thorp Arch.

The 30-year-old missed six matches in the run-in as the Whites beat the drop on the final day and was looking to build up fitness ahead of the new term when picking up an injury in the 1-1 pre-season friendly draw against Crystal Palace, an encounter that also saw summer signing Luis Sinisterra limp off with a hamstring problem.

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After the match, Leeds boss Jesse Marsch confirmed that the cultured midfielder had ‘tweaked his knee’ following numerous collisions, although the nature of this latest problem is less of a concern than the ongoing trend for one knowledgeable onlooker…

The latest: ‘More worrying…’

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery – who runs the Premier Injuries site and regularly contributes to Sky Sports – suggested that Forshaw could be suffering on a ‘personal level’ after picking up another injury.

He said: “The injury itself isn’t such a concern but the background at Leeds is more worrying. We will have to wait and see on the severity of the injury. We sometimes don’t want to read too much into what we see in pre-season. You hope that this was more of a precautionary measure.

“It will be gutting for him on a personal level. We are on the cusp of a new season and he missed the last four or five weeks of last season. He would have been hoping to get off to a good start, but this could impact that.”

The verdict: Problem solved?

After losing Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City and Forshaw to a spate of injuries, Leeds wasted little time in bolstering the engine room of the Elland Road ranks, signing an abundance of conventional midfield options in Marc Roca, Tyler Adams and Darko Gyabi, essentially dealing with the potentially problematic area immediately.

Despite the reinforcements, Marsch will hope to have the £1.8million valued man at his disposal when the season gets going against Wolves and indeed thereafter.

Last season, Forshaw – who was described as a ‘class player’ by Leeds reporter James Marshment upon making his return to the side – made 26 appearances across all competitions for the Whites and will no doubt be viewed as an important member of the first team plans given his 300 matches worth of experience.