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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…

Following on from their 1-0 win over Hull City in midweek thanks to a second half strike from Karlan Grant, West Brom face into a home clash against Middlesbrough today as the next assignment in their promotion-chasing campaign.

Speaking ahead of the match against Neil Warnock’s side, who are currently 14th in the table after losing 3-1 against Luton Town in midweek, Baggies manager Valerien Ismael revealed that defender Kean Bryan isn’t likely to feature this afternoon after being forced off with an injury in the first half of the Hull game.

With this in mind, here’s how we feel West Brom could line up against Middlesbrough this afternoon, with two changes anticipated from Wednesday night’s starting XI.

Given how he’s played in all but one of West Brom’s Championship games so far this season, we see no reason why Ismael wouldn’t stick with Sam Johnstone in goal.

In a back three, considering that Bryan will be unavailable, we think Ismael will bring Semi Ajayi back into the team alongside Cedric Kipre and Matt Clarke, who both played the full 90 minutes in midweek and helped the Baggies to a clean sheet.

For the wing-back positions, we think the Baggies boss will stick with Conor Townsend on the left and youngster Taylor Gardner-Hickman on the right to see if the latter can replicate the type of performance he put in against Hull, which earned him an overall match rating of 8/10 from Birmingham Live.

In midfield, we feel that Ismael will stick with the central duo of Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore, with midweek goalscorer Grant and Callum Robinson keeping their places up front. One change sees Matt Phillips, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £20k-per-week according to Spotrac, drop out after a poor performance against Hull, being replaced by Grady Diangana to freshen up the attack slightly.

In other news: Steve Madeley drops fresh West Brom transfer claim that’ll leave Baggies fans fuming

With the latest international break now over, Everton can turn their attention back to finally ending their four-game winless streak in the Premier League.

A 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur prior to the two-week stoppage halted a run of three consecutive defeats, but a return of one point from a possible 12 still makes for grim reading.

However, the Toffees’ recent form has been in sharp contrast to their early-season exploits.

Rafa Benitez’s charges climbed up into a European qualification place after losing just one of their opening seven top-flight fixtures, sparking hope that they could finally challenge the top teams in the upper echelons of English football.

Nevertheless, a string of injuries to key players such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Yerry Mina and Abdoulaye Doucoure soon brought the Merseyside outfit crashing back down to earth.

With summer signing Salomon Rondon failing to find the back of the net, and Mason Holgate struggling at the back, Benitez’s problems spread throughout the pitch, but arguably none have been as big as his engine room woes.

Doucoure was in the form of his life prior to his fitness setback, scoring two goals and providing a further four assists in just eight outings as he catapulted the Blues up the Premier League standings.

His enforced absence left Benitez with a set of problems to solve, and the 61-year-old has so far struggled to come up with the answers.

Tom Davies was first trialled alongside Allan in central midfield against Watford, and despite his early goal, was sacrificed the following weeks after the Hornets handed out a humiliating 5-2 thrashing.

The unfortunate Jean-Philippe Gbamin then got his chance in the trip to face Wolves, but he looked every bit a player who had featured just four times in the last two years in the opening 45 minutes at Molineux and was substituted at half-time.

Former England international Fabian Delph was his replacement, and the tough-tackling dynamo has certainly been an improvement on his predecessors.

Delph’s commitment, tactical intelligence and full-blooded nature have helped Everton to stop the rot, yet his physical and technical attributes remain far inferior to that of the £22.5m-rated Doucoure’s, limiting Everton’s attacking threat in the final third of the pitch.

Therefore, with the box-to-box “revelation” approaching his return to full fitness, Benitez must unleash Doucoure as soon as is safe to do so.

The former France U21 international has the ability to revive Everton’s season and resurrect dreams of a top-six finish, his manager just needs to be brave enough to throw him back in at the deep end.

And, in other news…Everton could find a new Holgate in £50k-p/w dud who’s an “accident waiting to happen” 

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

Leicester City will be aiming to recover from back-to-back defeats as they travel to Turf Moor to take on Sean Dyche’s Burnley on Wednesday.

The Foxes have endured a tough week having been eliminated by Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League before being batted aside by Arsenal at the weekend.

Defeat to the Gunners also came at a cost, with Harvey Barnes and Jonny Evans being withdrawn through injury.

So with that in mind, what starting line-up will Brendan Rodgers select against Burnley?

There are likely to be at least three changes to the Foxes side that fell to defeat against Arsenal – most of them enforced.

19-year-old left-back Luke Thomas was given a torrid time at the weekend – Nicolas Pepe routinely getting the better of him. As a result, Rodgers is likely to select more experience and have Timothy Castagne in an orthodox left-back role.

Another change in the backline could see centre-back Evans drop out and replaced by Daniel Amartey. The Northern-Irishman aggravated a calf injury and is doubtful to play.

The Foxes’ midfield will have more of a familiar look to it, with the partnership of Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans deployed once again.

Most of the sweeping changes will occur further up the pitch with Barnes set to miss out with a knee injury that looks likely to rule him out for a number of weeks. He will be replaced by Marc Albrighton on the left-flank.

The final alteration is set to be £20.7m-rated AS Roma man Cengiz Under, who is likely to take position on the right, allowing Ricardo Pereira to slot in at right-back. It would be only the Turk’s second Premier League start of the campaign.

Slowly but surely, Crystal Palace are starting to look like better bets to stay in the Premier League.

Of course, their 4-1 battering at the hands of Tottenham on Sunday evening provided evidence to the contrary but a period of three unbeaten games before that must have pleased Roy Hodgson.

The Eagles have been incredibly inconsistent this season and that shone through in north London over the weekend. Spurs haven’t been particularly swashbuckling in recent months but the effervescent trio of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Gareth Bale all ran riot on Sunday.

How Hodgson would love for three players of their quality. Bale looks back to his best and in the process of scoring twice, was a lively energetic threat.

The same cannot be said for Palace’s right-hand side where Andros Townsend severely disappointed. The winger began his career at Spurs where he played for 16 years, starting out as a young schoolboy to becoming a senior professional.

Yet, on Sunday evening, he showed exactly why he never made a name for himself at the very top of the game.

Townsend was devoid of much quality and very rarely had a chance to threaten the Spurs backline. Of course, there are better litmus tests for this Eagles attack but the 29-year-old did little to try and haunt his former employers.

He was hauled off after just 65 minutes having had a minimal impact on proceedings. Townsend touched the ball on just 40 occasions which was the lowest tally of any outfield Palace player to start the match.

On top of that, the winger made only 13 passes during his time on the field. That was fewer than goalkeeper Vicente Guaita and only more than Hodgson’s three substitutes; Wilfried Zaha, Jeffrey Schlupp and Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Townsend clearly isn’t as creative and hustling as he once was. The attacker managed a solitary key pass and when faced with the likes of Sergio Reguilon and Son in the channels, he often came out second best; winning just 37.5% of his defensive duels.

The fact that Hodgson took him off so early into the game spoke volumes, especially when it was the defence who were being given the biggest runaround.

Townsend did his best to inject a slice of energy into proceedings, and as he always proves, he was willing to work hard for the team. Yet, the forward’s end product was ultimately missing.

With Zaha now back from injury, the former England international better be wary. His place in the team could soon be under threat.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Mateta: 22-goal Palace target could create dream attack for Hodgson…

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

Carlo Ancelotti is set for a huge Everton blunder amid reports the Italian does not see Gylfi Sigurdsson as part of his long-term vision at Goodison Park ahead of the January window.

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport, Everton are to prioritise strengthening Ancelotti’s midfield in the winter market after deeming the position to be an area of concern despite the form of Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez following their summer arrivals.

The Toffees are monitoring the situations of Tottenham Hotspur duo Harry Winks and Dele Alli in case Jose Mourinho grants either a move away from north London in January, while Sami Khedira has been in contact with Ancelotti as he looks to secure a move away from Juventus.

Everton are tracking several central midfielders after Sigurdsson and Tom Davies were deemed to no longer have long-term futures at Goodison Park, with future exits now on the cards.

Sigurdsson has repeatedly been linked with a move away from Merseyside since Ancelotti’s arrival, with the Iceland international said to have headed a vast clear-out as the Italian sought to stamp his mark on Marco Silva’s squad.

But the £16.2m-rated playmaker remained at Goodison Park in both the January and summer windows, and has been given frequent game time this season after moving ahead of Andre Gomes in Ancelotti’s pecking order.

Ancelotti’s set for a blunder

Ancelotti looking to sell Sigurdsson in January or next summer would see the former Chelsea head coach set himself up for a blunder, having begun to witness the Toffees’ £45million former record purchase begin to rediscover his form this term.

The 31-year-old had lost his way under Silva, going from the Blues’ “shining light” in the 2018/19 Premier League campaign with six assists and a joint-team-high 13 goals to a shadow of himself the following season with just one goal and an assist in 15 outings before the Portuguese’s sacking.

“He doesn’t look pretty, but he can finish and smell a goal. He’s the shining light for them all season. He’s been the only one that has kept his form together,” former Aston Villa striker Dean Saunders told talkSPORT (21/04/2019, 18:40).

Sigurdsson managed to rediscover some of his form upon Ancelotti’s arrival with a goal and two assists, but has come on leaps and bounds this term by delivering two of his best performances for a long while in wins over Chelsea and Leicester City.

And while Ancelotti believes there’s still more to come from the former Swansea City maestro, he, too, was impressed by how Sigurdsson offered six of Everton’s seven key chances while captaining the side in the 1-0 win over Frank Lampard’s Stamford Bridge natives.

“I agree, he did really well, supported the team offensively and defensively. He hasn’t started a lot of games, but he has played a lot of parts of games. I am satisfied,” Ancelotti said, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo. “He can improve his level. But, in this moment, he is ok.”

AND in other news, an £18m-rated Everton ace once an automatic pick for Carlo Ancelotti faces a huge hurdle to regain his place at Goodison Park.

In an exclusive interview with Transfer Tavern, Tottenham Hotspur legend, Paul Stewart, has claimed that Spurs should’ve sold Harry Winks in January when Valencia were interested in the midfielder.

Winks has been with Spurs his whole career having made 170 appearances since making his debut in 2014 but there were reports that Valencia wanted to sign the 25-year old in January.

Former manager, Jose Mourinho, made it clear that he did not want Tottenham to sell Winks in January as he needed him in the squad to provide competition and depth to the midfield.

Speaking on why it would’ve been smart for Spurs to sell Winks in January and how he is not a fan of what Winks brings to the team, Stewart exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“I’d have taken the money for him in January, because I think it would have been good business.

“I’m a Tottenham fan but I have probably been one of Winks’ biggest critics.”

The £50,000 per week midfielder burst on the scene back in 2016 when he made 21 Premier League appearances and the midfielder earned his first England call up in 2017 but he was omitted from Gareth Southgate’s latest squad.

Spurs are on the hunt for a new manager which could allow Winks to prove himself and become a regular for Tottenham next season, as he’s only managed seven league starts this season.

Southampton have been linked with a move for Metz centre-back Boubakar Kouyate recently and he could be an upgrade on Jan Bednarek in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side should he make the move to St Mary’s this summer.

According to French news outlet L’Equipe (via The Pink Un), both Southampton and Norwich City are considering moves for the 24-year-old defender this summer, as they look to strengthen their squads ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign.

The £4.5m-rated defender has enjoyed an excellent debut campaign with Metz having joined from Ligue 2 side Troyes last summer, so it is no surprise to see him attracting interest from the Premier League ahead of next season.

In 24 appearances in the French top-flight, Kouyate has averaged an impressive 7.10 rating from WhoScored for his performances, with one goal and no assists to his name.

If we compare him with Bednarek, who has struggled immensely in recent weeks for Southampton, there is a clear winner, which suggests that should Kouyate arrive at St Mary’s in the near future, he could oust the Poland international from the first-team.

As per WhoScored, Kouyate has averaged 2.4 tackles, 2.3 interceptions, 5.3 clearances and 3.8 aerials won per game in Ligue 1 this season.

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For comparison, Bednarek has managed just 1 tackle, 2.4 interceptions, 3.8 clearances and 2.8 aerials won per game in the Premier League this season, averaging a less impressive 6.83 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This gives Kouyate the edge in every defensive aspect other than interceptions where Bednarek has a slight edge, which suggests that the Mali international could help solidify Southampton’s leaky defence next season.

Only relegated West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United have conceded more goals than Southampton in the English top-flight this season, which suggests that defensive additions are a must this summer, and given their respective performances, it seems clear that Kouyate would be a better option than Bednarek in Hasenhuttl’s side.

Therefore, vice-chairman Martin Semmens should definitely look at bringing the 24-year-old to the South Coast this summer, thus beating Norwich to the punch.

And, in other news… Southampton gem’s future looks bleak after Hasenhuttl admission, he’s the “weak link”