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Celtic have made a €4m (£3.4m) bid for left-back Aaron Hickey, according to Il Resto del Carlino, as relayed by Video Celts.

The Lowdown: Links gathering pace

Hickey was set to sign for the Hoops last summer, but as we know, he made the move to Bologna in Italy instead.

Celtic have been credited with an interest in the defender again in recent months, though, with reports back in May claiming a move could be made.

The 19-year-old has recently admitted he is ‘fully aware’ of the fresh links, and it seems as if the Hoops have now made an official bid for his services.

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The Latest: Italian claim

The print newspaper of Il Resto del Carlino, as cited by Video Celts, claimed that Celtic have offered Bologna €4m for Hickey’s services. That converts to £3.4m, which is just over £1m off his £4.5m Transfermarkt valuation.

Hickey has three years remaining on his contract with the Serie A club and it remains to be seen if the bid will be accepted or rejected.

The offer for the 19-year-old, who Gazetta dello Sport described as ‘quality’ following his debut, comes days after Celtic announced a deal for defender Osaze Urhoghide.

The Verdict: Sign

Celtic have Greg Taylor and Boli Bolingoli as senior left-back options at this moment in time, although the latter has recently been linked with a permanent move to Turkish side Altay SK.

Should Bolingoli depart, Hickey could be the perfect addition under Ange Postecoglou. He’s still just a teenager, already has experience of playing in two top leagues and can also cover at centre-back and at right-back.

If Celtic’s £3.4m bid is accepted, it could prove to be a steal in the long run.

In other news: ‘Yaaaaassss’, ‘This is outstanding’ – Many Celtic fans erupt at ‘quality’ club post, find out more here.

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side head into Saturday afternoon’s Premier League fixture in rather dire straits, having picked up just one win in their last five league outings, as well as being in the midst of a considerable injury crisis.

Indeed, all of Rodrigo, Robin Koch, Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper look set to miss the trip to Chelsea due to various knocks, leaving the Whites manager with a threadbare squad to face Thomas Tuchel’s third-placed Blues.

How will the Argentine line up his team at Stamford Bridge this afternoon? Here’s how we think the Leeds starting XI could look.

With the Whites’ aforementioned injury woes somewhat forcing Bielsa’s hand today, we predict that the 66-year-old will make three changes to the team which started the 2-2 draw against Brentford last time out.

In the back four, 22-year-old Pascal Struijk is thrown straight back into the side following his own recovery from injury, taking the place of Cooper alongside Diego Llorente at centre-back, while Junior Firpo and Luke Ayling start at left-back and right-back respectively.

The middle of the park also sees one change, with the stricken Phillips making way, Adam Forshaw dropping back into the England international’s usual role in front of the back four and Mateusz Klich coming into the side alongside Stuart Dallas in the central midfield two.

In attack, Daniel James and Raphinha retain their places on the left and right flanks, while Tyler Roberts is replaced by Joe Gelhardt up front, with Bielsa dubbing the 19-year-old a “human wrecking ball” who can do serious “damage” in the opposition penalty area. Those traits will almost certainly be needed if Leeds are to have any chance of securing a result at Stamford Bridge.

In other news – He’s ready: Bielsa must unleash “outrageous” Leeds beast today, he can terrify Chelsea

Everton manager Frank Lampard has revealed a massive team news boost ahead of the Toffees’ clash against West Ham on Sunday.

What’s the latest?

Taking to Friday’s press conference ahead of the clash at the London Stadium, the 43-year-old provided an update on Dominic Calvert-Lewin which will be music to Evertonian ears.

Speaking to the club’s official website about the 25-year-old, Lampard said: “He’s in a really good place. The break has been positive for Dominic (Calvert-Lewin).

“We’ve worked well, really closely with him over the past couple of weeks. Without putting unnecessary pressure on him, because it’s tough to be a striker with expectation. He’s in a really good place.”

Huge boost for Everton

Lampard’s latest update regarding Calvert-Lewin comes as a huge boost for Everton. The Toffees have often struggled in front of goal this season and, with just 29 goals in the Premier League, find themselves ranked as the joint-fourth lowest scorers in the top flight.

It is clear that Everton have missed their 25-year-old talisman this season, as indeed any team would be badly affected if they had to do without a player who netted 16 goals in his most recent league campaign and began this term with three in as many matches before injury struck.

Extra clarification of how poor Everton’s goalscoring numbers have been this season comes in the form of Liverpool superstar; Mohamed Salah. So far this season, the Egyptian has 30 goal contributions to his name, in the form of 20 goals and 10 assists. In other words, he has been involved in more goals on his own than Everton have scored as a team this season, a stat which will no doubt infuriate Toffees fans.

Lampard’s side find themselves in a precarious position in the table and will need all help they can get if they are to avoid relegation to the Championship.

Calvert-Lewin’s return also adds some enhancements which cannot be quantified, such as his ability to act as a focal point and create space for a team-mate, or his ability to hold up the ball in the attacking third; giving his team-mates the chance to make runs out wide. Whilst his end product should certainly aid Everton in their hunt for Premier League survival, his playing style as an out-and-out physical striker could indeed prove to be the difference between staying up and going down for the Toffees.

His impending return is undoubtedly a huge boost for Everton and will eave Lampard ecstatic ahead of a testing fixture this weekend against Europa League quarter-finalists West Ham.

In other news – Everton must finally unleash £19.8m “freak of a talent” who has been “destroyed”

Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur ‘insider’/club source John Wenham has shared his thoughts on a recent development involving Inter Milan star Stefan de Vrij.

The Lowdown: de Vrij emerges as Conte target…

As per numerous claims from Italian, Spanish and English media, Nerazzurri defender de Vrij is very much on new manager Antonio Conte’s list of targets.

The 29-year-old is apparently one of many Serie A big names who could be targeted by the Spurs boss and managing director Fabio Paratici, with Calciomercato.it listing him among six others in Federico Chiesa, Matthijs de Ligt, Marcelo Brozovic, Alessio Romagnoli, Dusan Vlahovic.

Meanwhile, Fichajes believe that things are slightly more advanced – claiming last week that the Dutch international is edging ‘closer and closer’ to signing for Spurs as Conte seeks to solve his major defensive problems.

Last but not least, Football Insider have the most recent development, stating de Vrij is personally open to the idea of a Spurs move – wanting more information and telling friends he is ‘very keen’.

The Latest: Insider backs realistic Spurs chance…

Speaking to FI, in reaction to these developments, insider Wenham believes that the centre-back is indeed a ‘realistic signing’ if the Lilywhites can negotiate a reasonable fee – certainly not his reported £40m valuation.

“He’s clearly a player Conte trusts. if he does want De Vrij then that is a deal I can see us doing,” said the Spurs source.

“He’s an international player with 55 caps, he’s a trophy winner and he’s an instant improvement on Ben Davies.

“The £40million fee is a bit steep for a player who doesn’t have that long left on his contract.

“I think Tottenham would look for a discount there, a £25million deal seems fair to me.

“Especially if you look at his age as well. He is a more realistic signing.

“If Conte really wants him then the club have to back that decision.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

If Tottenham can indeed whittle his price down to around £25m, even despite his age, we believe it is certainly a deal worth pursuing.

Racking up over half a century of caps for the Netherlands, de Vrij has not only played in two major international tournaments, but also possesses lots of Champions League and Europa League appearances at club level.

Making 44 cameos across the continent’s most elite European competitions since 2010/2011, de Vrij’s wealth of experience on the biggest stages in football could be invaluable to Conte and Spurs.

A remarkable ball-playing centre-back, de Vrij averaged a higher pass accuracy (93.8%) than any Tottenham player last season as Inter ended Juve’s stranglehold on the Scudetto (WhoScored).

We believe his composure and assurance would complement Cristian Romero to superb effect and potentially educate Tottenham’s relatively young defender in the process.

Lauded as a ‘worldbeater’ by pundit Noel Whelan, this could be one major potential coup for Spurs.

In other news: ‘Understand’, ‘In recent weeks’…Alasdair Gold shares exciting development out of Hotspur Way, find out more here.

Planning should be underway for Newcastle United’s targets for the summer transfer window as Eddie Howe looks to take his team to the next level.

The Toon have been linked with a seemingly endless stream of players in recent months and one gem who has been tipped to make a return to the club is Spanish international Mikel Merino.

Last week, reports from Spain claimed that the Magpies – and Liverpool – are interested in signing the midfielder and are plotting a bid for his services this summer.

He reportedly has a £50m (€60m) release clause in his current contract, with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City also said to be monitoring him.

He’d get St. James’ Park rocking

PIF can get St. James’ Park rocking by securing a deal to sign the midfielder this summer as the fans would surely love to see him back in the black and white strip.

FFC published an article earlier this year explaining why the sale of the Spaniard to Real Sociedad in 2018 was a huge blunder from Mike Ashley at the time. He has come on leaps and bounds since departing from Tyneside and supporters would be over the moon to see PIF right Ashley’s wrong by bringing him back to England.

Merino played 25 matches in his single season for the club before heading to Spain and he has played 147 matches back in his home country to date, earning himself 11 caps for the national team along the way.

He was hailed “the best player in the league” by Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil earlier this season and this illustrates how well he has performed in La Liga this term. The midfielder has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.07 across 27 matches in the Spanish top-flight, making 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game and chipping in with five direct goal contributions.

Meanwhile, Bruno Guimaraes’ average SofaScore rating of 6.95 is the highest of any Newcastle player in the middle of the park. Joe Willock and Joelinton have averaged scores of 6.71 and 6.74 respectively and this suggests that Merino would be a major upgrade on what Howe currently has to work with in his position.

Therefore, the Spaniard would be a fantastic signing and PIF must work hard to ensure that they can bring him to the club this summer. They can finally give the 25-year-old the St. James’ Park career he deserves, instead of having just one season to show his quality, and his arrival would leave the stadium rocking with excitement.

AND in other news, Howe must boldly axe NUFC’s “breathtaking” £93k-p/w “jewel” who drives Shearer “mad”…

Adama Traore’s ‘next adventure could be at Liverpool’, according to a report from elnacional.cat. 

Jurgen Klopp, a keen admirer of the Spain winger, is said to be waiting at Anfield ‘with open arms’ ahead of the January transfer window. Traore, for his part, feels he would be well-suited to the Reds’ style of football and ‘would not say no’ to an offer from the six-times European champions.

Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, who are of course managed by former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, are also said to be interested in the 25-year-old, who is renowned for his pace and power but has a less than stellar scoring return.

A long-term Liverpool target?

This isn’t the first time Traore has been linked with a move to Merseyside. Back in August, 90min reported that he was on Liverpool’s shortlist as they looked to sign another forward option before the end of the transfer window.

No such move materialised, so perhaps it’s still a priority for the side currently second in the Premier League.

Fan feed LFC Transfer Room relayed the report, and here’s what supporters made of it, with one complaining that Traore’s finishing is worse than that of former Reds winger Raheem Sterling, who has been maligned over that particular attribute.

“The guy can’t even get into the first team of Wolves, he might know how to run fast, and have big muscles but he doesn’t do much else it feels! I don’t see this as a good move for LFC.”

Credit: @Viral_Advocates

“I’m assuming they haven’t seen his final ball”

Credit: @claydencows

“hope not, not a big fan his, dangerous but finishing worse than Sterling’s”

Credit: @lfc_lew_08

“Hell no. It is just a bulk fast version of Ox, one without football brain can never be top.”

Credit: @Ericccccccc2

“Quality dribbler but we need end product so no thanks”

Credit: @SznKonate

“We don’t need someone who can’t do anything besides run fast”

Credit: @the_czar_

In other news, many LFC fans were delighted with this contract development

Southampton suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season last weekend in their 3-1 loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, leaving Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side still without a win.

Heading into the game against Thomas Tuchel’s men, Hasenhuttl gave Saints winger Theo Walcott his first start since recovering from an injury.

On The Chalkboard

During the match, Walcott, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £75k-per week, the highest of any Southampton player according to Spotrac, had very little impact on the game in an attacking sense for the Saints.

Before being replaced at halftime by Ibrahima Diallo, the winger had just 17 touches of the ball, failed to have any shots on target and missed one big chance, ultimately earning himself a rather uninspiring overall match rating of 6.6/10 according to SofaScore. Furthermore, he could only manage a measly nine passes.

What made his outing even worse was the surprising nature of Walcott’s selection. Southampton writer Glen de la Cour noted: “I was absolutely stunned that Walcott came straight back into the team.”

Early in his playing career, Walcott worked his way through Southampton’s youth academy before making his senior debut for the club in August 2005 in a 0-0 draw against Wolves in the Championship under former Saints boss Harry Redknapp.

The speedster then left the club for a move to Arsenal in January 2006 before eventually returning on a loan deal from Everton in October last year and ultimately signing back to the Saints on a free transfer during the recent summer transfer window.

Overall, the 32-year-old, who is currently valued at £4.5m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 50 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, bagging eight goals and providing three assists along the way.

Moving forward, with Southampton set to take on Leeds United in their next league fixture after the international break, we feel that Hasenhuttl would be better off dropping Walcott for this game and perhaps start Mohamed Elyounoussi instead.

The Norwegian has more game time under his belt this season having played 90 minutes on four occasions in the league.

However, with Southampton having failed to score a goal in three of the four games that Elyounoussi has played the full 90 minutes in, this could potentially put some doubt in Hasenhuttl’s mind as to which winger he decides to start against Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

With that in mind, we feel that Walcott didn’t do enough in the Chelsea match to show he should be starting against Leeds.

In other news: Signed for £0, now worth £28.8m: 26 y/o gem has become a Southampton masterclass – opinion

Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has dropped a Newcastle United update that is sure to leave Steve Bruce buzzing.

What’s the story?

While the Magpies are closing in on the signing of Joe Willock from Arsenal on a permanent deal, it appears they have received a significant windfall from a player they let go a couple of years ago.

Former Newcastle academy graduate Adam Armstrong saw his move to fellow Premier League side Southampton confirmed, and Downie has revealed the positive implications it has for Bruce and Newcastle.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “Southampton agree a fee with Blackburn for striker Adam Armstrong. Newcastle to net 40% of the profit from their £1.8m sale three years ago. Personal terms not expected to be a problem.”

Bruce will be buzzing

It was only a few months ago back in May that reports had suggested Bruce had been informed by the Newcastle hierarchy that he would have a transfer kitty of less than £10m to work with this summer.

It was even suggested that the budget ruled out any potential chance of signing Willock permanently, unless the Magpies cashed in one of their prized assets.

But now, with the club close to sealing a deal for Willock, the good news doesn’t seem to end there.

Confirmation of Armstrong’s switch to St Mary’s sees the Tyneside club net a very healthy sum of money as part of the 40% clause that Downie claims was inserted into the deal to sell him in the first place.

With reports claiming that the fee Saints are paying Blackburn to be in the region of £15m, and Newcastle having initially sold him for £1.7m, the Magpies stand to make a fee in the region of £5m for Armstrong.

While the striker’s departure from St James’ Park may not have gone down too well with supporters, the fact they’ve made a good chunk of money on him years later, and at a time when they could desperately do with the cash to strengthen their own squad, is sure to have Bruce delighted.

That extra bit of money could be crucial in landing another signing after Willock.

Meanwhile, Newcastle could sign a dream partner for Joe Willock in this star…

Tottenham Hotspur may swoop for AS Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo in next summer’s transfer window, according to Calciomercato. 

The lowdown

The attacking midfielder was heavily involved for Roma at the start of the season but has not started either of their last two matches (via Transfermarkt), while there was apparently some light ‘bickering’ with his manager, former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, in training last week.

Zaniolo is yet to register a goal or an assist this season but he is certainly a highly-rated talent. Roma legend Daniele de Rossi marvelled at the 22-year-old’s ‘incredible natural physique’ and backed him to become ‘a great player’.

According to FBRef, he boasts a similar statistical profile to Wolves’ Adama Traore, Brighton’s Leandro Trossard and in particular Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha.

The latest

With Zaniolo an unused substitute for Roma’s 2-0 victory over Genoa on Sunday, alarm bells are ringing and his future is in doubt.

As per Calciomercato, there have apparently been ‘several’ approaches already, ‘especially’ from Juventus.

The report noted that Zaniolo’s contract runs until 2024 and revealed that he’s currently valued at around €40m, equating to £33.5m. That’s a sum which could well ‘intrigue’ Tottenham.

The verdict

What made Mourinho’s snub all the more significant was that he turned to 18-year-old Felix Afena Gyan rather than Zaniolo when assessing his options. In fairness, the teenager did go on to score two goals, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a damning decision without the benefit of hindsight.

He continues to pose a threat in the final third, averaging 2.2 shots and 2.2 successful dribbles per game in Serie A. Those returns would put him third and second in Tottenham’s squad respectively, highlighting how transformative he could be to their attack.

Indeed, now might actually be a good time to invest in Serie A’s one-time Young Player of the Year. He might not be on top form, but he has just returned from a serious injury and he may soon remind the footballing world of his abilities, considerably increasing his price tag in the process.

In other news, read Fabrizio Romano’s claim regarding Antonio Conte

Leeds United are continuing to monitor Sampdoria powerhouse Omar Colley, although they are now set to face significant transfer competition for him.

What’s the story?

It has been suggested in recent weeks that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are interested in signing the Gambia international in the upcoming summer transfer window as they look to strengthen the centre of their defence.

Italian publication Il Secolo XIX had claimed (via Sport Witness) that Leeds’ scouts have been left impressed by Colley and that they are now serious about signing him.

SampNews24 have now revealed that, along with the Whites, the likes of Newcastle and West Ham are also said to be monitoring the defender, and Sampdoria could look to cash in on him in order to raise funds for signings elsewhere.

Imagine him and Llorente

Given that Leeds signed two established centre-backs in the shape of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente just last summer, it seems somewhat surprising that Victor Orta and co are looking to sign another proven central defender – especially when they also have club captain Liam Cooper and the likes of Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk, both of whom can fill in there too.

Last season saw Colley win 2.6 aerial duels per match, which would hypothetically rank him second among Leeds’ squad for 2020/21, with only Cooper averaging higher with 3.8 per game.

The 1.92m (6 foot 3) monster appears to have the kind of defensive strengths which would make him a formidable opponent for opposition attackers to overcome – indeed, his average of only being dribbled past 0.3 times per game is better than any current Leeds outfield player last season.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Serie A expert Conor Clancy delivered his backing behind a potential move, saying: “I don’t think he’d be starting ahead of him but he might be a good partner to Llorente. With Sampdoria, he really, really struggled, but with Maya Yoshida beside him, he’s looked a much better player.

“I think you can put that down to Yoshida just being that calming presence, that person who’s able to talk him through games a little bit.”

A partnership of Llorente and Colley at the back would give Leeds a perfect blend of qualities, with the former the ball-playing defender capable of playing passes into midfield, and the latter offering more defensive solidity alongside him.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay claims Leeds are interested in this starlet…