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Manchester United have been linked with a move for Nicolo Barella as they look to add further reinforcements to their engine room.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, the recruitment team at Old Trafford are already beginning to plan for the January transfer window and beyond as their troubles on the pitch continue to mount.

They claim that a new central midfielder is high up on the United hierarchy’s wishlist and the Inter Milan midfielder is their priority target after a string of standout displays from the highly-rated 24-year-old for both club and country in recent months.

Fans will be buzzing

With Paul Pogba’s future at Old Trafford far from secure, a large section of the club’s supporters will be excited to learn that the Red Devils are reportedly in the market for Barella.

The Italy international has established himself as one of Serie A’s most influential stars over the last couple of campaigns, playing a pivotal part in Inter’s first league title victory in 11 years last term.

His impressive performances have earned several plaudits in his homeland, including former Juventus star Claudio Marchisio.

Barella then carried his incredible club form onto the international stage during the European Championships, scoring one goal and laying on a further two assists in six outings as the Azzurri claimed the Euro 2020 trophy over England.

Therefore, Red Devils football director John Murtough must consider a swoop for the £58.5m-rated beast over the coming months as he’ll be providing the 20-time English champions with one of the best young central midfielders in Europe right now.

And, in other news…Reliable journo drops big update on Solskjaer’s future, Man Utd fans will be intrigued 

Frank McAvennie has been left blown away by some Glasgow Rangers transfer news that he has now heard from Ibrox involving Alex Lowry.

The Lowdown: Premier League interest

It has been reported that both Newcastle United and Manchester City are now interested in signing Lowry in the summer, after holding talks with his camp.

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He has reportedly rejected a three-and-a-half-year deal at Ibrox, and his current contract expires in 2023, casting a doubt over his future.

The Latest: McAvennie reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Scottish Premiership striker now pundit McAvennie has since given his reaction to the news, and was left wowed by the Magpies and City’s interest:

“It’s hard to turn down but he won’t be getting game time down there either.

“If you’re not getting in the Rangers team, you won’t be getting in either of their teams.

“He should be going somewhere where he can play every week, 100%.

“They could arrange to loan him back to Rangers. But he needs to impress between now and the end of the season if he’s going to get into that team, because he’s nowhere near it.

“If Man City and Newcastle are interested, then wow – he’s gonna get a bit of money there.

“But he needs to go somewhere where he can realise that potential, and I don’t think it’s going to be at either of those clubs.”

The Verdict: Keep

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team really need to be keeping hold of Lowry if they can, despite what could be tempting financial packages from the mega-rich Premier League clubs.

He is highly thought of at the Teddy Bears, having played four senior games already this season at the age of just 18, as former manager Graeme Murty has even hone as far as to call him ‘remarkable‘.

Nonetheless, with uncertainty over the futures of the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent, there could already be a pathway paved for Lowry to get more minutes in the first team, which will only help his development as he looks to make a mark on Scottish football.

In other news, find out what ‘huge blow’ for the Gers has now emerged here!

Aston Villa are leading the race to sign Rangers star Glen Kamara as Steven Gerrard looks for reinforcements in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to TEAMtalk, the Gers are contemplating making a big sale next month after failing to make it out of the Champions League group stages, with Kamara among those players potentially being allowed to go.

And, the report adds that it’s Villa are who are currently at the front of the queue for the Finland international as Gerrard plots to reunite with his former midfielder at Villa Park.

Forget Nakamba

With Marvelous Nakamba ruled out through injury, Villa are in real need of a midfielder who can play that anchorman role, and in Kamara they can find someone who Gerrard knows very well indeed from his time at Ibrox.

The Villa boss dubbed Kamara as a “class act” following an impressive display against in a Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock, and will be well aware of how to get the best out of him should he sign him for Villa.

And, Neil McCann, Kamara’s former manager at Dundee, said: “He looks small but he’s strong and he’s a playmaker. When Rangers signed Glen, I sat there thinking he would smash it. Glen will end up back in the English Premier League. I’ve no doubts about that.”

McCann added: “He isn’t a big, physical lad but he’s made of iron and really strong. I knew immediately that he could handle the ball under pressure and not give it away, so he was perfect. He’s a special talent.

“He’s lightning-quick but he doesn’t show it. He’s a player who takes instruction well.”

The 40-cap Kamara could be exactly what Villa need in midfield, and with McCann saying that the Finn will end up back in the English top flight – he was once on the books at Arsenal – Villa Park could be an ideal destination for him.

Meanwhile, Villa could sign a new Gareth Barry in this star…

According to reliable Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold, Sevilla are keen on signing Giovani Lo Celso over the coming days.

The Lowdown: Chelsea exclusion

Hailed as ‘magnificent’ by former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, the Argentine has made just 10 starts in all competitions this season.

Antonio Conte decided to leave him out of the matchday squad against Chelsea on Sunday, with the 25-year-old taking to Instagram to clarify that he was 100% fit for the trip to Stamford Bridge.

It now seems as if Lo Celso could be the latest player to seal an exit from north London before the end of the month, which could leave Conte short of midfield options if reinforcements don’t arrive.

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The Latest: Sevilla interested in Lo Celso

Gold took to Twitter on Sunday to share a link to a football.london story. He covered a range of topics, including the future of Lo Celso, who he revealed is wanted by Sevilla.

The journalist said in his tweet: “A piece on Antonio Conte’s Spurs selection calls at Chelsea and the final week of the transfer window, including the decision on Lo Celso who I understand Sevilla are keen to sign, Paratici’s love of Weston McKennie and Traore, plus Ndombele, Dele & more.”

The Verdict: Midfielders needed

Should Lo Celso move to Sevilla and Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli also depart following recent rumours, Conte would be left with just Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks as central midfield options.

The trio all started in the dramatic 3-2 win over Leicester City last week, so the club will need to bring in reinforcements before Monday’s deadline, possibly exploring swap deals as mentioned.

One midfielder who has reportedly snubbed Spurs is Franck Kessie, and if the club struggles to bring anyone else in, then perhaps it could make sense to keep at least one of the three linked with a late January exit.

In other news: Check out this morning transfer development from Fabrizio Romano with Spurs now ‘confident to complete’ key signing.

Alex Crook has revealed a fresh development in West Bromwich Albion’s potential appointment of Steve Bruce.

What’s the talk?

In a recent post on Twitter, the talkSPORT journalist revealed that, alongside the 61-year-old, Alex Bruce and Stephen Clemence also look set to join the Albion coaching staff upon the appointment of the former Newcastle United manager.

In his post, Crook said: “Understand Alex Bruce could be part of dad Steve’s WBA backroom team having recently completed his coaching badges. Stephen Clemence tends to be by his side at most clubs so would anticipate him coming too.”

Fans will be fuming

With Baggies fans appearing extremely unhappy at the prospect of Bruce being appointed as Valerien Ismael’s successor at The Hawthorns, the news that the veteran coach is planning on bringing his son into a coaching role at the club is sure to have left supporters fuming.

Indeed, in two polls ran on Football FanCast in recent days, West Brom fans first proved that they do not think the 61-year-old would be a good choice as the club’s next manager, before revealing in a second poll that the reasoning behind this is due to Bruce’s style of football.

As such, when adding into the mix the likely arrival of Alex Bruce as part of the Baggies’ new first-team coaching staff, there will undoubtedly be questions raised about the former Birmingham City and Aston Villa manager’s reasoning for appointing a completely inexperienced coach to help train a squad that is chasing promotion to the Premier League this season.

Indeed, with Albion fans not best pleased with Bruce’s impending arrival in the first place, the former Manchester United centre-back’s son also making a move to The Hawthorns is not likely to make matters any better for Albion supporters.

In other news: “I’m told…”: Sky Sports journo reveals WBA want 41 y/o boss, fans will be buzzing

Rangers managed to put in a dominant performance against Kilmarnock in their Scottish Cup fifth round replay last night as they secured a 5-0 victory. 

The Bluenoses currently find themselves trailing in the race for the Scottish Premiership title, with the Hoops holding an eight point lead having been dominant in recent times.

One player who may be of interest to Rangers is Lawrence Shankland, who has been in sublime form in Scotland in the current campaign having produced an incredible 30 goals and eight assists in 30 games.

Interestingly, the 23-year-old told the BBC’s Off the Ball radio show that he would like a second shot at succeeding at Rangers after spending time at the club as a youngster. So, it would make perfect sense for Steven Gerrard to move in for the forward as his contract is set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

Gerrard has managed to secure a number of impressive signings since taking over as Rangers boss, including the likes of Jermain Defoe, Ryan Kent, Joe Worrall and Scott Arfield. So, many supporters will be eager to see what the 38-year-old’s next move will be, with Jordan Jones already set to rock up at Ibrox at the end of the season.

Indeed, the Rangers boss can pull off another masterstroke by securing the services of Lawrence Shankland on a free transfer as he’s arguably one of the most prolific attackers in Scottish football, and he has pretty much his whole career ahead of him so there’s still plenty of time for him to develop into a star.

What do you think Rangers fans?

Crystal Palace shared footage on their official Twitter channel of defender Joachim Andersen from Saturday’s win over Wolves, with numerous Eagles fans duly reacting to the tweet.

The Danish defender has been a regular under Patrick Vieira this season following his £15.75m move from Lyon over the summer.

He made his 11th Premier League appearance of the campaign prior to the international break, helping Palace to a fourth clean sheet of the season and three points at Selhurst Park.

The 25-year-old, who recently withdrew from Denmark’s squad due to a minor injury, was Palace’s best-rated defender against Wolves, completing 11 of his 15 attempted long balls, as per SofaScore.

One of the most impressive of those came in the first half when he received the ball from Vicente Guaita before switching the play with an inch-perfect pass to Odsonne Edouard.

Palace fans react

Palace posted the clip of that long ball on their Twitter channel Wednesday morning, and here is what these Eagles supporters had to say in reply…

“Ridiculous”

Credit: @Hey_Eurydice

“That is just so ridiculous, I audibly gasped while watching.”

Credit: @Nick_CPFC

“Between the turn and the ping there was 0.1 seconds, that is unreal vision/passing”

Credit: @CPFC_WH

“This is absolutely incredible btw. Couldn’t quite believe the ease he did it when I saw this live”

Credit: @SamuelMargo

“I remember this passage of play, from the other day, and just thought wow, this really encapsulates what this team is capable of now”

Credit: @tashkat81

“His best moment from his best game for us so far. Was absolutely brilliant”

Credit: @Jackpierce88

Journalist Paul Brown has now dropped some fresh Everton transfer news involving Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin, claiming a deal for the winger is ‘out of reach’.

The Lowdown: £50m claim

As per The Daily Mail, the Magpies are now willing to listen to offers of around £50m for Saint-Maximin in the summer, as Eddie Howe looks to freshen up his squad ahead of the new season.

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The Goodison Park faithful are reportedly just one of a number of clubs who are interested in his signature, but that is assuming that they manage to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The Latest: Brown update

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Brown has now claimed that a move for Saint-Maximin to the Merseyside club ‘looks out of reach at the moment’, but admitted that he would have been an ‘ideal’ signing under former manager Rafa Benitez:

“It looks out of reach at the moment. I’ve thought since last summer, when we found out that Rafael Benitez wanted to play quick, counter-attacking football with wingers, that Saint-Maximin was ideal for that kind of role.”

The Verdict: Unlikely

It just seems very unlikely that Saint-Maximin would leave the long-term project at St. James’ Park for a club currently entrenched even further in the relegation dogfight.

He is clearly a key player for the Magpies, having averaged more shots and dribbles per match in the division than any of his teammates, while no Toon player has come close to his six man-of-the-match awards.

Nonetheless, it is very difficult to see the Toffees paying anything close to £50m for the Frenchman anyway, given their financial troubles.

In other news, find out which Ronaldo-like star the Blues are now eyeing here!

Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain are still in talks over a loan move for club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele, and the Lilywhites are considering various options as a direct replacement for the midfielder, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Ndombele exiled from Spurs

Spurs manager Antonio Conte has exiled the 25-year-old at N17, leaving the Frenchman out of the matchday squads for their previous two games against Leicester and Chelsea, even forcing him to train alone at Hotspur Way.

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Tottenham have been looking to offload the midfielder after a series of disputes and lacklustre performances since his arrival in 2019. PSG are said to have been in talks with the north London club over the possibility of a transfer, with former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino keen to reunite with the player.

There has even been talks of a swap deal, as Jason Burt of The Telegraph claimed that Tottenham have been ‘offered’ midfielder Leandro Paredes in a straight swap.

The Latest: Romano provides Ndombele update

According to a recent update by Romano, Tottenham and PSG are still in talks over a loan move for Ndombele.

When questioned over the potential transfer, the Ligue 1 club’s boss Pochettino said: “I’m not talking about Ndombele because he’s not in our club. PSG are open to progress, to improve”. According to Romano, the Argentine added: “I think everything is open, one week left”.

The journalist provided a further update on the Ndombele transfer saga, claiming that Tottenham are considering options to replace the Frenchman if the transfer does go through before the end of the month.

Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat is one of many candidates on Spurs’ list, although nothing has been decided or agreed upon as of yet.

The Verdict: Departure seems inevitable

Since asking to leave the club last summer, many Spurs fans may have lost any hope they had of Ndombele regaining the sensational form he showed during his tenure with Lyon. That talent has been seen in flashes during his time in north London, but there has also been criticism of his application.

Romano’s claim that Fabio Paratici is drawing up a list of potential replacements would seem to indicate that the deal with PSG is close to being done, with the former Ligue 1 star is set to return to the division where he made a name for himself.

Letting him go now seems inevitable following his recent omissions and the frosty reception he got from Spurs fans after his strop against Morecambe earlier this month, and it may be best for all parties involved if the 25-year-old calls time on his spell in N17.

In other news: Spurs are hoping to offload one of Ndombele’s team-mates on a swap deal

Celtic’s Tom Rogic should be available for Sunday’s SPFL clash with Aberdeen, according to The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin. 

The Lowdown

Celtic will be looking to bounce back from Thursday’s Europa League defeat against Bayer Leverkusen, which knocked out of the competition, when they host The Dons.

Rogic has missed Celtic’s last five matches in all competitions as a result of the hamstring injury he sustained against Hibernian at the end of October (via Transfermarkt).

Manager Ange Postecoglou has raved about his ‘brilliant’ compatriot and the ‘extra special qualities that he brings’.

The Latest

Addressing a supporter in The Athletic’s matchday discussion on Thursday night, Devlin wrote that, while Rogic wasn’t ‘ready’ to face Leverkusen, he thinks he ‘should be for Sunday’.

The Verdict

What do the stats say about Rogic’s importance to Celtic? Well he’d started six of the last seven league games prior to his injury, suggesting he’d established himself as a key man under Postecoglou.

He also stands out in the squad because of his dribbling ability. He’s averaging 2.3 successful dribbles per 90 minutes and his nearest challenger (with more than three starts) is Jota on 1.3.

More generally, it’s crucial that Postecoglou has plenty of options at his disposal between now and the end of the year. Celtic are due to play 10 games in 34 days during that period.

In other news, this trio were Celtic’s poorest performers against Leverkusen.