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Manchester United are reportedly thinking of making a move for free agent Paulo Dybala, should Cristiano Ronaldo leave Old Trafford.

The Lowdown: Eriksen agreement

The Red Devils have finally made a transfer breakthrough ahead of Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge, with left-back Tyrell Malacia becoming the first signing of the summer.

Another could be on the way soon in free agent Christian Eriksen, dubbed ‘world-class’ by former Brentford teammate Pontus Jansson, who has reportedly verbally agreed to join Ten Hag’s side.

Dybala is another player without a club after his Juventus contract expired. Rumours of a move to Manchester have popped up again with Ronaldo reportedly wanting to leave the club over the coming months.

The Latest: United eyeing Dybala

Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb shared an update regarding Dybala on Tuesday lunchtime.

They claimed ‘decisive days’ for Dybala’s future are ahead and have found rumours from England in the last few hours over a possible move to Old Trafford. The report adds that United are thinking of Dybala to come in for Ronaldo, with Ten Hag a fan of the available Argentine.

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The Verdict: Time to act

Both AC Milan and Inter Milan were also name-checked in the latest Dybala report, so United chiefs may need to act fast if they want to sign the 28-year-old.

Described as ‘world-class’ and ‘phenomenal’ by former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson, Dybala has scored 147 goals for club and country during his career and can play anywhere in attack.

That versatility could come in handy at Old Trafford, however, the Red Devils may not have the luxury of moving Ronaldo on before approaching Dybala, as he may already agree on terms with a new club.

According to Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth, Flynn Downes is currently undergoing a medical at West Ham ahead of completing a move to the London Stadium.

The Lowdown: Irons facing competition

The 23-year-old only joined Swansea City from Ipswich Town last summer, but after an impressive debut season in Wales, has caught the eye of two Premier League clubs in particular.

Earlier this week, The Athletic reported that the Irons had registered interest in the midfielder, but were set to face competition from Crystal Palace, who at the time were favourites to secure his signature.

Following a fresh development though, it now looks as if the Brentwood-born talent is instead on his way to link up with the Hammers, who have already brought in Nayef Aguerd and Alphonse Areola on permanent deals.

The Latest: Downes having West Ham medical

Taking to Twitter, Sheth revealed on Wednesday that Downes was ‘close’ to tying up his switch to West Ham, writing:

“West Ham United close to finalising a deal for Swansea City midfielder Flynn Downes. Fee under discussion believed to be worth £12m. Told West Ham “increasingly confident” of completing move.”

The journalist then delivered a new update on Thursday morning, confirming that the maestro’s medical is now underway:

“This one is accelerating! Downes having second part of his medical.”

The Verdict: Noble replacement?

The Hammers are one midfielder down after Mark Noble retired at the end of the 2021/22 season and will be looking for a suitable replacement for their former captain, and Downes might be just the man that they need.

Last term, the starlet, who was dubbed an ‘incredible’ player by Swansea boss Russell Martin, achieved a pass success rate of 92.6%, higher than anyone else in the Championship, potentially a key factor as to why David Moyes has identified him as the perfect candidate to take control in the centre.

Downes, a boyhood West Ham fan, looks set to be unveiled in the capital soon and will become the Scot’s third signing of the summer, providing an option in a variety of midfield roles.

Nottingham Forest have long been linked with a permanent move for Djed Spence following his successful loan spell at the City Ground, but there has now been a less than encouraging update from a reliable source on the player’s future.

What’s the latest?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has stated that the Middlesbrough full-back has completed his move to Tottenham Hotspur.

The transfer insider tweeted: “Djed Spence has just completed his medical in London. He’s gonna sign his long-term contract as Tottenham player, just waiting for final details and official contracts. Here we go confirmed.”

“Middlesbrough will receive £12.5m fixed fee plus add-ons, bit less than £20m.”

Supporters surely gutted

There is no doubt that Forest supporters will be gutted to see Spence go to Spurs this summer, especially when you consider his amazing output which ultimately contributed to the club’s promotion back to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years.

The 21-year-old scored two goals, delivered four assists and created six big chances, making one key pass, 1.4 tackles and 1.5 interceptions and winning 5.8 duels per game over 42 Championship appearances, proving that he is both an attacking threat and a reliable defender.

He spoke out on his future following the victory in the play-off final at Wembley, telling Nottinghamshire Live: “[This club] means everything to me. We lose together and win together. We’re going up together. This means everything to me.”

“I would love to stay, but it’s not in my hands. We’ll see what the future holds.”

Steve Cooper will likely be as gutted as the Forest fan base, although he was clearly prepared for the possibility of Spence taking his talents elsewhere as the club signed right-back Neco Williams this month to come in as a replacement if the 2021/22 Reds loanee did not stay at the City Ground.

The Forest manager will be hoping that the former Liverpool full-back can emulate or even improve upon Spence’s performances when the team make their Premier League return next month.

With that being said, the newly-promoted club have shown their determination to focus on the future at Forest by not waiting around to see if they could seal a permanent deal for Spence, and ultimately it was the right decision now that the player is heading for north London.

AND in other news: Paul Taylor issues huge transfer claim that’ll excite Forest supporters

Everton have seen one of their top attacking talents wave goodbye to the Merseyside club this summer, as Richarlison joined Tottenham Hotspur in a deal worth a reported fee of £60m.

Having scored 53 goals in 152 appearances for the Toffees, it’s safe to say that the club will need to find a suitable replacement for the Brazilian that can find the net on a regular basis.

One figure that the Goodison Park outfit have been linked with recently that could fit this particular bill is Inter Milan striker Edin Dzeko.

With 681 club appearances to his name, the 36-year-old has 308 goals and 141 assists to his name, highlighting his clear goalscoring credentials.

In fact, with 36 Serie A appearances to his name last season, only Lautaro Martinez racked up more shots at goal and shots on target than the centre-forward at Inter.

Bearing in mind how Everton already have Dominic Calvert-Lewin in their squad that has what it takes to be a consistent goalscorer for the team, a move for the former Manchester City star could give Frank Lampard the opportunity to form a deadly partnership between the two strikers.

Having already had the experience of what it takes to play, and be successful, in the Premier League during his days with City, this could make it easier for the veteran to settle back into the rhythm of the top division should he make a return to England with Everton this summer.

Furthermore, with Lampard having played with the Bosnian when they were both at the Manchester club, the Everton boss will know just what the striker can offer the team.

In addition to this, the vast experience that Dzeko has of being a talented goalscorer in England, Germany and Italy, would surely be helpful for someone like Calvert-Lewin in learning to become a better striker.

Hailed as a “world-class” player by Steve McLaren, Dzeko could be a very smart bit of business for Everton this summer as a reliable attacking option that could not only score goals for the team but bring out the best of Calvert-Lewin and form a menacing duo at the same time.

If the Inter striker would be willing to make a return to England and play under his former City teammate, Everton should do all they can to bring him to Goodison Park and help the team attack their upcoming Premier League campaign.

AND in other news: “Trying to..”: Behind-the-scenes transfer claim emerges, it’s bad news for Everton

Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update on the remaining transfer business of Leeds United this summer.

What’s the latest?

Speaking on the Que Golazo YouTube show, the Italian journalist revealed that, despite Victor Orta still being linked with moves for a number of players prior to the closure of the current market – including left-backs such as Nicolas Tagliafico, Sergio Gomez and Josh Tymon – he believes the director of football will make just one further addition to Jesse Marsch’s squad this summer – a new centre-forward.

Regarding the remainder of Leeds’ summer business, the transfer insider said: “I see Leeds signing one more player – one more striker, I would say.

“They already signed many players, we have to mention that [Andrea] Radrizzani and Orta did many, many deals this summer. So they just need maybe something in [the] attacking position and this will be the last one for Leeds this summer, probably.”

Supporters will be gutted

Considering just how short Junior Firpo’s latest injury setback has left Marsch at left-back, in addition to the Elland Road faithful clearly believing that the Whites could do with an upgrade on the former Barcelona defender this summer, Romano’s claim that the signing of a new striker could be Orta’s final deal of the window is sure to come as gutting news to supporters.

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Indeed, the £10.8m-rated full-back endured something of a torrid debut campaign over his 24 Premier League appearances in 2021/22, helping his side keep just one clean sheet, scoring no goals and missing one big chance, as well as being beaten by an opponent an average of 1.2 times, losing possession 9.2 times and committing 1.6 fouls per game.

These returns saw the £55k-per-week defender average an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of a mere 6.60, ranking him as the Whites’ seventh-worst performer in the top flight last time out.

As such, it is not difficult to understand why Leeds supporters are keen for Orta to make a move for a new left-back this summer, nor it is hard to see why Romano’s latest update on the Spaniard’s remaining targets is sure to come as devastating news to the Elland Road faithful.

AND in other news: Orta plotting Leeds bid for “underrated” £40m sensation, he “will play for England”

Glasgow Rangers got their 2022/23 Premiership campaign off to a solid start on Saturday afternoon, securing a 2-1 away victory in their opening game of the new season.

The Gers found themselves behind with just five minutes on the clock after Joel Nouble opened the scoring for Livingston.

Things were starting to look worrying for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s outfit as they were still without a goal by the 70-minute mark.

However, in the space of two minutes, Rangers got themselves ahead thanks to goals from Scott Arfield – after he replaced Glen Kamara in the second half – followed by a goal from captain James Tavernier, who saved the day for the Light Blues.

Despite the victory, there will have been aspects to the game and his side’s performance that Van Bronckhorst will not have been pleased with.

One example could be the performance of summer signing Antonio Colak, who made his league debut for the club following his £1.8m arrival from PAOK earlier this month.

Having played the full 90 minutes of this afternoon’s clash, the striker only managed to have nine touches of the ball in total, which is 20 touches fewer than goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin had.

In those nine touches, the 28-year-old could only register one shot at goal and complete three of the four passes he attempted.

He also managed to catch himself offside on one occasion and commit a foul that saw him pick up a yellow card.

Even though he’s a centre-forward, the Croatian didn’t make a single tackle, interception, block or clearance for his new side.

This debut display ultimately earned the summer arrival a disappointing overall match rating of 6.4 from SofaScore, making him the joint-lowest Rangers player to step foot on the pitch, alongside John Souttar.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that the striker failed the first test given to him by Van Bronckhorst.

However, with it still being extremely early into the season and his time at the club, Colak has time ahead of him to improve and show the Rangers support why the club chose to sign him in the first place.

Although, if he continues putting in performances like he did today and barely gets a touch of the ball, he could well find himself out of the team.

AND in other news: “New deal..”: Reporter drops transfer claim that’ll leave Rangers supporters gutted

Fulham gave their supporters a lot of goals to celebrate as the west London club cruised back to the Premier League from the second division last season.

With 46 games played, the Cottagers racked up an impressive total of 106 goals, as well as more shots at goal (738) and shots on target (277) than any other side in the division.

One player in the squad that made a rather small contribution to Fulham’s impressive goal haul last season was Ivan Cavaleiro.

Despite making 18 league appearances throughout the campaign, the winger could only score two goals, both of which came during Fulham’s second game of the season where they beat Huddersfield Town 5-1.

With a few weeks left until the summer transfer window closes, this period could give the west London club and Marco Silva the chance to potentially bring in someone that can be an upgrade on Cavaleiro and have a better chance at becoming an important figure for the team in the Premier League.

One figure that has been mentioned with a move to Craven Cottage recently that could fit this bill is AS Roma winger Justin Kluivert.

With 220 club appearances to his name at senior and youth levels, the 23-year-old has 47 goals and 47 assists to his name, which shows just how dangerous he can be in terms of not only scoring goals but setting them up for his teammates as well.

Having done it with clubs in countries such as the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy, the winger, who has been hailed as a “limitless” player in the past by Nick Mercadante, has shown how capable he is of adapting to playing in different leagues and teams but still being an attacking threat.

To further highlight his attacking talent, in addition to scoring four goals and providing five assists in 27 Ligue 1 appearances with OGC Nice where he spent the season on loan, the Dutchman also racked up the second-highest number of successful dribbles (33) and more crosses (81) than any other player at the French club.

With Cavaleiro only delivering 28 crosses in the Championship last season, this would be one significant area where Kluivert would be an upgrade on the current Fulham attacker.

If the west London club are able to secure a deal for the winger before deadline day, this would not only further add to their attacking options but also put to bed any concerns there may have been about having to rely on Cavaleiro to help them through the season.

Celtic are interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley this summer, according to BBC journalist Fraser Fletcher.

The Lowdown: Barkley’s absence

In recent years, the 28-year-old has been largely absent from the Chelsea team at Stamford Bridge.

The former England international has played just 14 times for the Blues under current boss Thomas Tuchel, making a mere six appearances in the Premier League on the 48-year-old’s watch.

With limited playing time on the cards in west London, Barkley has been linked with a number of moves away from Chelsea, having reportedly been offered to former clubs Everton and Aston Villa.

The Latest: Fletcher’s claim

Fletcher has shared an update on the interest in Barkley, name-dropping Celtic as one of the clubs in the race for the midfielder.

Taking to Twitter, the journalist claimed: “Celtic do have interest in Ross Barkley, I’m told he’s been discussed. However, the Chelsea man is of interest to multiple clubs in PL and in Europe.

“Loan deal being sought by most parties. Barkley has been told he can leave this summer.”

The Verdict: Go get him

Having fallen out of contention at Chelsea, Barkley needs a lifeline elsewhere in order to revive his career. Therefore, a switch to the Premiership could be the perfect move for both him and Celtic.

During the 2021/22 season, the 28-year-old averaged 1.3 key passes and 1.2 dribbles per game in the Premier League (via WhoScored), often showing a desire to move the ball forward.

Tuchel has hailed Barkley for his commitment to the west London club and his performance in the last game of the 2021/22 season, despite a lack of game-time throughout the campaign.

Bagging a last-minute winner against Watford, the German said of the midfielder: “He behaved so well throughout the season and got a lot of difficult decisions against him, so I’m happy he could show his quality.

“He was excellent in the no.10, very dangerous, involved in every dangerous attack when he came on, so I’m happy when he scored.”

Therefore, with such an established player available in the market this summer, Celtic should do all that they can to secure Barkley’s signature.

Leeds United are hesitating over a deal for Paris Saint-Germain striker Arnaud Kalimuendo, Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross says. 

The lowdown

According to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs, Leeds have already been made aware of PSG’s demands for Kalimuendo.

The French giants want £22million, with Football Advisor Luis Campos apparently ready to let him leave.

And Leeds are after another striker, having lost out to AC Milan in the race for Charles de Ketelaere (via The Athletic).

Moves for Martin Terrier of Rennes and Che Adams of Southampton have been considered too.

The latest

Addressing fans in a Leeds Live forum, Cross said that Kalimuendo has ‘clearly been good enough on the pitch’ to catch Leeds’ eye, but says all of the ingredients may not be there for the transfer.

Rather than launching a move, the Whites seem to be pausing and considering their options.

“Kalimuendo is certainly a name Leeds are giving thought to, but there must be something putting them off going all in for him,” he said.

“He is at the right age and has clearly been good enough on the pitch to warrant their attention, but all of the pieces in the puzzle may not quite be there if they haven’t gone in for him as yet.”

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The verdict

What could be causing Leeds to hesitate? Well, a report from The Daily Mail in June may have already told us the answer.

PSG apparently want to include ‘a number of clauses’ in the deal, one of which would given the option to buy Kalimuendo back for a stated fee.

Now, it’s possible that Leeds are against that kind of arrangement altogether, or it could be that the sum PSG are proposing is deemed too low.

In theory, accepting a buy-back clause wouldn’t necessarily seem to be at odds with Leeds’ model of buying players fairly young and then selling them for a hefty profit.

But equally, you could see why they wouldn’t want to be at the whim of PSG.

Arsenal still remain interested in Youri Tielemans, according to transfer insider Dean Jones…

What’s the word?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT this week, the journalist said:

“We know that Arsenal have a genuine interest and they’ve got all of the background work done on him and they’ve even got their proposed terms set up for if they were to go ahead with this one.”

The Belgium international is thought to be available for around £25m, with Leicester City needing to sell before they can buy anyone to bolster Brendan Rodgers’ squad.

Arteta dream

Aside from another winger, further depth in the engine room is just what manager Mikel Arteta needs before the transfer deadline on September 1st as the north London giants are playing a risky game with their lack of squad depth.

Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey appear to be the Spaniard’s first-choice duo at the base of the engine room, with last season’s summer signing Albert Sambi Lokonga their only ‘true’ backup.

Martin Odegaard could drop deeper with the arrival of Fabio Vieira from Porto but that would be at the detriment to his creative exploits. Therefore, it makes a world of sense for Edu Gaspar and his side to line up a move for Tielemans.

Oleksandr Zinchenko can also feature there but his strongest games have come at left-back, which is where he started on the opening day against Crystal Palace.

The Foxes star, though, would be something of a dream signing for Arteta.

Think of the calibre of midfielder that he had at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s assistant. Ilkay Gundogan springs to mind as a comparable player, someone capable of influencing the game at either end of the pitch when you have Rodri for the anchorman role and Kevin De Bruyne as the creator.

Tielemans is capable of playing as a no.6 or no.8 and acts as a deep-lying playmaker, having once been dubbed the “creator” of Rodgers’ side by The Athletic’s Rob Tanner.

Also lauded as a “phenomenon” by ex-Sweden midfielder Par Zetterberg, the Belgian provided six goals and four assists from 29 league starts last season, where he also averaged 2.3 tackles and 1.8 shots per game as Leicester’s fifth-best performer, as per WhoScored figures.

This merely highlights his capability to win the ball back, drive forward and either look to find the right pass or get off an effort himself, making him a rather dangerous presence in one of the most important parts of the pitch.

Defensively, Arteta has Partey or Xhaka and in the attack, Odegaard, Vieira or Emile Smith Rowe will be the advanced option, so Tielemans could slot right in as that Gundogan-type figure instantly.

He cost the Midlands outfit a whopping £40m back in July 2019, so to land him at nearly half that price is certainly a bargain for Edu and he now must follow up all his groundwork with a formal offer.

It’s time to get this deal done before September 1st.

AND in other news, Enquiry made: Arsenal eyeing swoop for £50m “huge talent”, he’s clear of Pepe…