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An insider from Tottenham Hotspur is now expecting starlet Charlie Sayers to sign for the north London club soon.

The Lowdown: Impressed

Spurs are reportedly ‘impressed’ with the Southend United left-back, who has spent the last few weeks on trial with the Lilywhites, according to club insider John Wenham.

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Wenham, who runs the social media channel Lilywhite Rose, was ‘told’ that Sayers was starting on trial for Tottenham’s under-18 side away to Fulham in the Premier League Cup on 27 November.

He has played in six games for Southend in the National League so far this season, and at just 17 years of age, he is an up-and-coming prospect.

The Latest: Expected to sign

Speaking to Football Insider, Wenham is now expecting Sayers to sign for Tottenham soon after impressing them while on trial. He revealed:

“Tottenham have very good links with Southend.

“People are asking why a first-team player at Southend is coming for a trial at Tottenham.

“He trained with the Under-23s last week and if he has anything about himself he will be looking to take the left-back spot in the 23s.

“This comes after the departure of Dennis Cirkin last summer (2021), there is a space for a natural left-footer in that side.

“Does he see a move to Tottenham’s Under-23s with the chance of breaking into the first team at a later date as a risk worth taking?

“I think he probably does. I’m also told he’s a massive Spurs fan.

“I’m sure Tottenham and Southend will soon come to an agreement to take over the rest of his contract.

“The club are impressed with him, they wouldn’t have offered him a trial if they weren’t.”

The Verdict: One for the future

At 17, Sayers is certainly a player for the future, and Tottenham clearly hold him in high regard for him to be taken on trial.

Of course, Antonio Conte currently has Sergio Reguilon and Ben Davies as options at left-back in his senior squad, but the latter has been playing as a central defender in the past few matches in the Italian’s new system, so there may just be an opening up for grabs in the squad.

It will no doubt be interesting to see what Spurs’ plans are for Sayers should they end up signing him as expected, whether they use him in the first team, the academy or send him out on loan, but it certainly seems as if the 17-year-old has a bright future ahead of him.

In other news, these were Spurs’ three worst players against Brentford

Leeds United have had a bid knocked back for Brenden Aaronson this week, according to reports.

The Athletic claim that RB Salzburg have rejected the Whites’ offer of £15m for the 21-year-old midfielder and also believe they are intent on signing him before deadline day on January 31st.

Historically, the Austria Bundesliga champions have rarely hesitated to cash in on their biggest and brightest stars but they remain in the Champions League and Aaronson’s influence to the side makes him invaluable right now.

Therefore, the Yorkshire giants may need to turn their attention elsewhere and it’s another name that they have been linked with that could prove the be the perfect solution.

Forget Aaronson

Just last week, Foot Mercato editor-in-chief Sebastien Denis claimed Leeds were one of several teams looking at a potential move for RC Lens midfielder Seko Fofana

And what a signing he would be.

Soon after these links, the Ivory Coast powerhouse captained his side to a last-gasp victory over Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1, where he bagged the winner in one of his typical box-to-box runs.

It was his eighth goal of the campaign.

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One of these strikes came during a 1-1 draw with financial giants Paris Saint-Germain, where he bullied Mauricio Pochettino’s engine room, leading to journalist Zach Lowry describing him as a “phenom”.

Fofana is currently Lens’ second highest-rated player (7.09), per WhoScored figures, whilst he’s averaged a squad-high 2.8 shots, 2.2 dribbles, 1.3 key passes, 0.8 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game.

That only goes to show how well-rounded he is – not only is he getting forward and contributing in the final third with cutting-edge passes and an incredible ability to carry the ball but he is also putting in the dirty work in his own half, as evident above.

It’s no wonder his manager Franck Haise dubbed him “the most complete player.”

“On the pitch, he is able to stay organized to adjust the team’s balance. At the same time, he has a great ability to create and to be decisive on the last pass. He is also capable of scoring a few goals in a season,” he said (via Newcastle World).

Having begun his professional career at Manchester City, there have been interesting comparisons made to his former youth coach Patrick Vieira, who was an absolute box-to-box machine in his day at Arsenal, as well as Yaya Toure.

He’d only need to be half of either to be an instant hit at Elland Road. All of his attributes point towards him being an exciting fit for Bielsa and his high-intensity system.

Just imagine the £16.2m-rated dynamo sitting in front of an anchorman like Kalvin Phillips. He could really get forward to help Leeds in the final third, knowing that he has an international quality defensive midfielder behind him.

That’s a mouthwatering partnership that could bring the Yorkshiremen so much success.

As such, Victor Orta and co must turn their attentions to Fofana before deadline day in a little over a week’s time.

AND in other news, Leeds could welcome back key injured duo earlier than expected…

Jose Mourinho has ‘entered the race’ to take over as Celtic boss.

That’s according to a report from The Sun, who claim that the 58-year-old has now become a possible candidate for the vacant Parkhead position after being sacked by Tottenham on Monday, even though Eddie Howe is still the favourite to take over.

Mourinho was sacked by Spurs, who face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, after 17 months in charge.

He’s insisted he doesn’t need a break from football, however, the report claims ‘his wages, line of suitors and past honours make it an extremely farfetched scenario’, 14 words that could stop Celtic’s interest dead in its tracks.

Transfer Tavern take

We didn’t think it would be long following Mourinho’s Spurs exit for the Portuguese boss to be linked with a move to Scotland, but those 14 little words in the report are indeed likely to be what kills this rumour.

Mourinho was on a lucrative £15 million-a-year contract in London, over six times the amount Neil Lennon was on during his second stint as Celtic boss.

The Hoops, in our view, don’t have the financial power to lure Mourinho to Parkhead, so a move for either Roy Keane or Howe, who have both been linked, could be a more realistic appointment.

That said, if Mourinho could be convinced to lower his wages then a move would be exciting – he has immense respect for Steven Gerrard (Goal) and the pair of them duelling it out for the title next season would be a fantastic advertisement for Scottish football.

In other news: Bad news for Celtic as £3.15m-rated Hoops ace’s fate sealed; manager doesn’t want him, find out more here. 

Everton currently find themselves in an unnatural territory as they bid to avoid being relegated out of the Premier League and into the Championship.

With six games left to play, the Toffees need as many points as possible and hope the teams directly above them can slip up and fall behind.

However, it seems as though talks have been going on behind the scenes to try and secure one potential deal for the upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Independent, Everton have had “productive meetings” with the representatives of Nottingham Forest midfielder Brennan Johnson over a potential summer transfer.

The same source suggests a fee in the region of £25m could be enough to secure his services.

Johnson has all the ingredients

As a product of Forest’s youth system, the 20-year-old has made a total of 105 appearances across their U18 and senior side as well as for Lincoln City, who he had a loan spell with last season.

In those appearances, the Welshman has racked up a combined total of 56 goals and assists, having found the net 33 times and delivered 23 assists for his teammates.

With 15 goals and ten assists to his name in this current Championship campaign, no other Forest player has been able to provide as many goal contributions as the youngster.

In fact, only six other players in the second division have managed to score more times than Johnson.

Labelled as a “special” player that is “destined for the top,” by Glenn Murray, Johnson has also received praise from Wales youth coach, Paul Bodin, who had this to say about the young talent.

He said: “He’s got all the ingredients, he’s got the right attitude, he’s got great family support, so the world is his oyster.”

Thinking about how Everton have struggled to score goals at times this season, with 11 league games in which they have failed to find the net, a player like the 20-year-old could be the exact sort of spark the Toffees need to freshen up their attack for next season.

Taking all of this into account, it’s easy to see why Everton have been in contact with Johnson’s representatives over a potential move to Goodison Park.

Whether the Toffees end the season in the Premier League or Championship, they should definitely do all they can to secure the Forest sensation’s signature in the summer.

In other news: Huge blow: Everton now dealt worrying injury setback, it’s terrible news for Lampard

Celtic legend John Hartson has called the customary guard of honour gesture ‘nonsense’.

The Hoops saw their run of nine consecutive league titles officially come to an end last weekend as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Dundee United.

There are still six matches left to play and they are set to meet arch-rivals and newly-crowned champions Rangers at Parkhead on 21 March.

‘Celtic don’t need to be told that they have deserved it’

Hartson said that ‘mutual respect’ is important, but adhering to the football tradition of applauding their rivals onto the field that day would be a step too far in his opinion.

He told the Daily Record: “Why would you start it now? And where do you stop it? There is respect between players.

“Celtic don’t need to be told this season that Rangers have deserved it. And the players will appreciate just how well Rangers have played and how consistent they have been.

“But the guard of honour thing is just a nonsense really. They are rivals and there has to be mutual respect but you can have that without needing to go down the guard of honour road.”

Celtic will be looking to send a ‘next season starts now’ message when the two sides face off on Sunday week. Rangers have won on their last two visits to Parkhead, having previously gone nine years without tasting victory on the Hoops’ turf.

Transfer Tavern verdict

You can’t help but be reminded of the debate over whether Manchester City should adhere to the tradition ahead of their meeting with champions Liverpool last summer.

Whilst there is a degree of humiliation involved, this can serve as a source of motivation to strike back, and Pep Guardiola insisted that his team show respect to their rivals (via Sky Sports).

Of course, the antipathy in Glasgow is on a vast scale, and you would ultimately expect neither team to agree to pay homage, behind closed doors or otherwise.

In other news, find out which England-based manager is reportedly being groomed for the permanent Celtic job.

Rangers’ hopes of signing IF Elfsborg defender Joseph Okumu this summer look to be over as he is reportedly in Belgium finalising a deal with KAA Gent, which could well prove to be a huge loss for Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox outfit.

Rangers have been regularly linked with the Kenyan centre-back in recent months, with the Gers’ Old Firm rivals also credited with an interest in the young defender.

However, it seems as if Gent have won the race to sign him this summer, with Goal reporting that negotiations with the Belgian Pro League side are ongoing and if everything is agreed on he will sign a deal in the near future.

The Kenyan international has won a lot of admirers during his time playing in Sweden and could’ve been a great addition for the future in Gerrard’s side next season, had he opted to make the switch to Ibrox instead.

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Elfsborg’s sporting director Stefan Andreasson certainly rates Okumu highly, as he sang his praises earlier this year, saying:

“Okumu has been talked about a lot since he came to us.

“We understood that this was a very good player, then he showed maybe the whole of Sweden last year, and also Europe. It is clear that Okumu is one of the best.

“I have said it once before, that he is the best centre-back that has ever been in the Allsvenskan – you can say that sometimes.

“He is destined to have a career outside Scandinavia, which is positive. We must enjoy him as long as he’s here.”

Considering current Rangers centre-back Filip Helander once featured in the Swedish top-flight and was a key player for Gerrard’s side last season as they won the title, it is difficult to argue that Okumu wouldn’t have been a success had Rangers won the race for him this summer.

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Therefore, Rangers fans should be gutted that their side has missed out on a player of Okumu’s obvious ability and potential, especially to a side that could only muster a seventh-placed finish in the Pro League last season.

And, in other news… Linked in 2020, zero goals since: Rangers dodged a bullet with “outstanding” flop

Everton managerial favourite Rafael Benitez has given the club the ‘green light’ to launch a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers skipper Conor Coady, according to Football Insider.

The lowdown

Coady came through the youth set-up at Everton’s local rivals Liverpool, making two senior appearances before a move to Huddersfield Town.

From there, he was snapped up by Wolves in 2015 for a fee of £2.5million.

He’s gone on to make 275 appearances for the club and started all but one of their Premier League matches in 2020/21.

Coady only signed a contract extension at Molineux last September, committing to the club until 2025.

The 28-year-old is valued at £22.5million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Football Insider’s Toffees source states that a move for Coady was proposed in earlier talks with former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo and discussed again with Benitez.

The Spaniard offered his approval, paving the way for an Everton bid to bring yet another former Red to the Blue side.

Wolves apparently need to sell ‘some of their star men’ in order to raise funds for ‘major summer purchases’, and so they could be open to offers for Coady.

The verdict

Signing Coady could only be considered sensible if the fee was around £15million and if the new manager intends to play a back three.

Coady has thrived in that system at Wolves but, equally, has looked uncomfortable when deployed in a back four.

Everton do need a centre-back in this window, but fans may justifiably wish to see the club aim a fair bit higher than a man who ranked as the 13th-best player in a team who finished below the Toffees this season.

In other news, fans were left fuming after this James Rodriguez update. 

Southampton have reportedly been scouting Bristol City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley recently and if he were to join the Saints, he could become their next Kelvin Davis.

According to the Bristol Post, Southampton have had scouts in attendance at recent fixtures at Ashton Gate and have been keeping an eye on Bentley, as well as Antoine Semenyo, Tyreeq Bakinson and Han-Noah Massengo.

The former Southend United man has established himself as one of the top ‘keepers in the Championship during his time with Brentford and Bristol City and is currently valued at £3.6 million, which ranks him as the third-most valuable shot-stopper in the second tier, behind just David Raya and on-loan Newcastle United man Freddie Woodman.

If he were to make the move to St Mary’s this summer, he would presumably compete with Fraser Forster and Alex McCarthy for the number one spot in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad and if he could establish himself as first-choice, then he could enjoy a lengthy spell with the Saints.

There are definitely similarities between the deal that saw Southampton sign Davis from Sunderland in 2006 and any potential deal for Bentley.

The shot-stopper was brought in for around £1 million from Sunderland just a year after joining the Black Cats from Ipswich Town and would end up finishing his career on the South Coast, retiring in 2016 after 10 years with the club.

During that time, he would make 298 appearances for the club and was a crucial part of the side that won back-to-back promotions in League One and the Championship in 2011 and 2012.

Considering Bentley is just 27-years-old, there is no reason why he couldn’t also spend a decade with the Saints in a similar manner to Davis, and go on to become a legend with the club, albeit in the Premier League rather than the lower leagues.

Like Davis, Bentley would be joining from a Championship side and would likely arrive for a relatively low fee, so if he does make the switch to St Mary’s this summer, there seems no reason why he can’t emulate the Southampton legend.

And, in other news… Sold for £15m, now rated at £31.5m: Southampton were robbed blind with “phenomenal” beast

According to reports in Romania (via The Daily Record), Glasgow Rangers will prevent Ianis Hagi from representing his country at the Olympic Games in Tokyo later this year.

The Lowdown: Olympics loom

Despite a state of emergency being extended in Japan due to the pandemic (The Japan Times), the Olympics are set to go ahead as planned in the capital. With Romania having qualified for the football tournament at the event, Hagi could have been in line to travel.

From a Gers point of view, that could be an issue as the third Champions League qualifying and play-off rounds will take place at the same time.

The Latest: Gers to stop Hagi from playing

This latest update suggested the Gers have made a decision in regards to the 22-year-old.

It says Rangers will prevent Hagi from joining up with the squad as a recent FIFA directive allows to them to do just that.

The Verdict: Dilemma

From Hagi’s perspective, this could come as a huge blow. Given his criticism of Romania manager Mirel Radoi last year following the Tricolorii’s defeat against Norway (Digisport), it is clear he is passionate about his country. Hagi’s thoughts on participation at the Olympics are not clear, but it would not be a surprise if he were eager to make the trip.

On the other hand, if Rangers are unwilling to let him depart, it shows Steven Gerrard believes he has a big role to play at the start of next season.

The 55-time Scottish champions will have to get through two rounds if they want to reach the promised land of the Champions League group stages, and the former Genk man’s 14 assists across all competitions this season (Transfermarkt) illustrate his creative ability. By the looks of it, Hagi could have an important role to play.

In other news, Rangers fans are livid at this journalist’s comments.

An update has emerged on Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury, regarding Newcastle’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to Telegraph reporter Luke Edwards, Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury is closing in on a loan move to Newcastle on deadline day.

It was reported by John Percy on Monday that the holding midfielder is expected to depart from the King Power on a temporary deal, with Newcastle now poised to sign him.

Delight

Leicester fans will be delighted by this news as it means that Choudhury will finally be sealing his exit from the club. The Englishman wanted to leave in the winter window during the 2020/21 campaign, before ultimately staying and fulfilling his role as a squad option for Brendan Rodgers.

Earlier this year, Rodgers admitted that the player wanted to leave the club in January. He claimed that Leicester were prepared to let him leave if they signed a replacement, although that failed to materialise and he remained in the Midlands. Rodgers said:

“I said earlier in the window that he wasn’t a player that we wanted to lose. He’s a very important player for our squad, but of course, all players want to play.

“We were going to grant him that possibility if we could get someone in.

“I said to him on the Monday after training and framed it for him: ‘You may not get out, and if you don’t, you’re playing on Wednesday night, and that shows you how important you are to us, you’re going to play in our next Premier League game.”

This shows that Choudhury has had an exit on his mind for a while and the fans will not want to see a player in the squad who does not want to be there.

It is in the best interests of everyone involved to get him out of the door, albeit only on a loan deal at this point, as there is no point in keeping an unsettled player at the club as it could lead to issues in the dressing room.

Last season, the 23-year-old only played 10 games in the Premier League and averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.19. The previous campaign was only slightly better for Choudhury, as he averaged a score of 6.35 in 20 league matches for the Foxes. This shows that he has not been able to perform to a high enough standard when given the chance, which is another reason why Leicester fans will be delighted that he is being shipped out on loan.

If he fails to catch the eye on loan at Newcastle then there could be a decision to make for Leicester next summer in terms of his long-term future at the club. A permanent exit could be the ideal move for all parties if he does not have a realistic chance of breaking into Rodgers’ XI.

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UPDATE: As per Luke Edwards, this deal for Choudhury may not be signing. He tweeted at 11:11am: “Someone now appears to be briefing that Choudhury is not signing and business is done in this window. That would mean Bruce has been denied a loan he thought he could have. Whatever you think of him, this is scandalous. Leicester thought this was happening. So did player #nufc”

And in other news, Leicester agree a Deadline Day deal for star forward…