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Leeds United have a lot of areas that need strengthening in the upcoming transfer window, but none may be as crucial as the goalkeeper position.

Kiko Casilla has been a tremendous flop since joining the club in January, and he may be on his way out of Yorkshire after just six months, while Bailey Peacock-Farrell doesn’t seem competent enough to be trusted as the number one for a team battling for promotion.

The latest rumour is that Marcelo Bielsa’s side will target Mark Travers as their new stopper as United are set to look into a loan signing for the 20-year-old.

The youngster is a largely unproven quantity at this level, having made just two Premier League appearances last season. Of course, he could be quality if he joins, but Leeds aren’t in a position where they can take any risks.

Football FanCast’s writers have attempted to dissect this story and deliver their verdict as to whether or not Leeds should sign him.

Matt Dawson

“With Kiko Casilla potentially leaving then bringing in a new goalkeeper must be at the height of Leeds’ priorities. However that being said, it’s difficult to work out whether Travers would be a good signing for the Yorkshire club. He’s a promising stopper and as we’ve seen with the likes of Ward, Henderson and Johnstone in recent years, signing relatively inexperienced ‘keepers on loan from Premier League clubs can work wonders. This seems like a positive step in the right direction.”

Billy Meyers

“Mark Travers was in heroic form against Tottenham on what was just his first Premier League appearance towards the end of last term. He showed real top-flight ability in that game, and appears to have the potential to become a very good glovesman – Leeds would be making a shrewd move if they sign Travers.”

James Beavis

“Yes, they should. Mark Travers impressed in his two Premier League appearances for Bournemouth towards the end of the 2018/19 season, and he clearly has the ability to seriously challenge Kiko Casilla next term. Marcelo Bielsa clearly isn’t convinced by Bailey Peacock-Farrell having not brought him back into the XI even when his Spanish teammate was struggling, so it is clear that a new face is needed. Travers ticks all of the boxes for what Bielsa needs, and he would be an excellent loan addition.”

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Steven Gerrard does not see a future for four first-team players at Rangers, according to The Scottish Sun.

What’s the story?

With Rangers heading to Portugal this weekend for a pre-season training camp, four players that had been expected to make the trip are in fact missing.

The Scottish Sun say that Kyle Lafferty, Graham Dorrans, Eros Grezda and Jason Holt have all been left behind in Glasgow and told to find new clubs.

The paper reckon that Gerrard has made it clear to all four he does not consider them part of his plans at Ibrox as they attempt to end Celtic’s dominance and win trophies next season.

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

The right call?

The writing was on the wall for Jason Holt as early as last summer when he was sent on loan to Fleetwood Town in mid-June, with the then incoming Gerrard barely having the chance to consider his talents before axing him.

Kyle Lafferty and Eros Grezda were summer signings last year, but both attacking talents were massive disappointments, scoring just eight goals between them despite being given opportunities by the Gers boss.

Neither have much to offer moving forward, especially in light of new arrivals such as Greg Stewart, Jake Hastie, Sheyi Ojo and Jordan Jones.

Dorrans meanwhile has suffered from real injury problems since making the switch to Ibrox in 2017, managing just 23 appearances in two seasons.

He clearly doesn’t have the required fitness to feature regularly for the Gers and Gerrard has bolstered his midfield significantly in his absence with moves for Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield.

Rangers won’t miss any of the players and the sooner they leave Ibrox, the better for the club.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Tottenham Hotspur are confident of announcing the signing of Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon next week, per Football Insider.

What’s the word?

The France international has been linked with a move to Spurs throughout the summer transfer window.

And the aforementioned report claims that the north London club have “made a breakthrough” in talks with the Ligue 1 side as they look to seal a £60m deal.

The overall deal, Football Insider claim, will be worth £55m plus £5m in add-ons despite Lyon’s desire to receive a fee of nearer £70m.

Ndombele, of course, would then become Spurs’ record signing, eclipsing the £42m paid for Davinson Sanchez in 2017.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A relative bargain

This is a huge deal for Spurs and it appears that chairman Daniel Levy has played a blinder.

Ndombele has been linked with a number of other clubs this summer including Manchester United and PSG – Football Insider claim that he only wants to move to north London, however, despite mooted interest from Juventus – and yet Levy is snapping him up for a relatively low fee in the current climate.

Compare this deal, for example, to Manchester United’s reported pursuit of John McGinn, a player who was featuring for Aston Villa in the Championship last season: the newly-promoted club are said to want £50m, just £10m less than the overall cost of the Ndombele deal.

Likewise, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has just cost United an initial £45m – he’s a right-back who has never played senior international football or featured in European competitions.

It is clear that this would be a statement signing that would send a serious message from Spurs. That they’re doing it for such a fair price, too, is incredible. Even once the full £60m is paid, Tottenham will still have a lesser club-record fee than Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United and Man City.

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According to Portuguese outlet Diario de Noticias, Southampton defender Cedric Soares is still likely to leave the club this summer despite being handed a surprise lifeline by manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, with Arsenal, Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain among the clubs interested in him.

What’s the word, then?

DN report that the 27-year-old, who is now into the final year of his deal at St Mary’s, is ‘almost certain’ to be on his way during this window.

They say that this is Saints’ final chance to sell the Euro 2016 winner for a fee given his contract situation, and that Arsenal, PSG and Monaco are all keen and have made initial contact with the south coast outfit.

Southampton’s new man Moussa Djenepo divides opinion amongst fans in the video below…

The fact that Cedric was named in the 26-man squad for the pre-season tour to Austria earlier this week was certainly a surprise in many ways.

Why is that?

He was quickly bombed out of the club following Hasenhuttl’s appointment in December having mainly filled in at left-back for the injured Ryan Bertrand, joining Inter Milan on loan for the remainder of the campaign having been usurped in the starting XI by Yan Valery on the right.

Watch Southampton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

DN report how he fell out of favour with the Austrian prior to his departure to the San Siro, while The Telegraph reported last month that Southampton were ready to listen to offers for him this summer, along with the likes of Guido Carrillo.

Given the Argentine striker failed to make the cut for the overseas trip this week, along with Charlie Austin and Mario Lemina among others, it was certainly surprising that the Portuguese man did given his overall situation right now.

The 27-year-old appears to be a well-liked member of the squad, but with Saints looking to raise funds and to find some flexibility within their wage structure so Hasenhuttl can bring in further new signings, it would be no surprise if DN are right and that he will depart.

If the aforementioned trio of clubs firm up their interest, the south coast outfit look ready to cash in and it is a no-brainer for them given Valery’s rise and the fact that Cedric has largely failed to stand out in the previous two seasons.

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As the Paul Pogba transfer saga heats up, Manchester United are rather unsurprisingly being linked with a host of names to potentially replace the World Cup winner for next season.

Reports in recent weeks had suggested the Red Devils could revive their interest in long-term target Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer and it now appears United could be kicking their pursuit of the Serbian into gear.

According to Sky in Italy, United are ready to offer £72m for the 24-year-old in a bid to bring him to Old Trafford, but it has been claimed Lazio’s president Claudio Lotito wants £90m instead.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After hearing the news the club could be ready to make a move for the Serbia international, United fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the matter.

Many urged the club to get a deal done for the midfielder and even insisted that they would be getting a “big upgrade” on Pogba, were they to sell the Frenchman.

Others however were far more reluctant to see Milinkovic-Savic join the club and pointed back to the midfielder’s rather underwhelming campaign last year as a major reason why they should perhaps turn their attentions elsewhere.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

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Kieran Tierney could miss Celtic’s opening game of the Scottish Premiership season next month, as reported by The Daily Record.

What’s the story?

Tierney had to undergo a hernia operation at the end of last season, which he is currently rehabbing from, and manager Neil Lennon has revealed he is still suffering from a pubic injury that requires time and patience to be sorted, with no current time frame on his return.

It means the left-back could miss the majority of Celtic’s qualification games for the UEFA Champions League this summer.

How can Celtic improve next season? A Hoops fan tells us how in the video below…

As quoted by The Daily Record, Lennon said:

“KT is still having problems with the pubic injury, we will need to get to the bottom of that.

“In terms of the double hernia, that’s all sorted. But he’s still saying he’s a bit sore to start running.

“I don’t think it gets any worse but there’s just a constant dull pain there. Eventually, you can mature out of it. I have seen that. But right now, he still feels a lot of discomfort with it.

“The rest won’t do him any harm at all. He will benefit from it. We don’t want him to be out for too long but we need to get him right.”

Worrying ongoing issues

Tierney opened up on the pain he suffers on a daily basis back in May and for it to still be continuing on is certainly a bit of a worry for Celtic. It’s becoming a chronic issue with the situation ongoing for over six months.

Watch Celtic Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Making 170 appearances for the club since breaking through as a teenager, he’s been a key part of the team that has won successive trebles in recent years, but the 22-year-old missed over 20 matches last season.

Tierney in full flow adds a lot to the team and the club are reported to value him at £25m, which could make him their most expensive outgoing player ever.

He’s a big asset and even though Boli Bolingoli has arrived to provide competent back-up, the Hoops will be hoping to get the left-back on the pitch as soon as possible.

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According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Barcelona are closing in on a €27m (£24.1m) deal to sign Real Betis left-back Junior Firpo, who has been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Marca had previously reported that the Reds were interested in a move for the dynamic Spain Under-21 left-back, who enjoyed an extremely impressive 2018/19 campaign in La Liga for Betis – The Guardian reported that Liverpool were ‘undismayed’ by the player’s £45m release clause.

Firpo netted three goals and set up four more for his teammates last term, showcasing how dangerous he can be going forward – at 22 years of age, he also has a lot of time on his side to get even better.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were linked with the 6 foot full-back along with Manchester United, but Barcelona seem to have stolen a march ahead of the Premier League duo according to Di Marzio.

A potential transfer blow for Liverpool 

With less than two weeks left before deadline day, the Champions League winners are yet to sign a single player for the first-team – 17-year-old Sepp van den Berg is the only new face to have arrived.

After Alberto Moreno’s exit, Klopp has no senior backup for Andy Robertson. Academy prospects Adam Lewis and Yasser Larouci are the only options as cover for now, which would be problematic for Liverpool if the Scot were to suffer a serious injury given the inexperience of the pair.

The Liverpool Echo have reported that Klopp is happy to start the season with Joe Gomez and James Milner as cover for the left-back role if no opportunity in the market arises.

But after a serious injury to Nathaniel Clyne, the aforementioned duo will also presumably be considered as cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold too as both of them played in the role at times last season  – the squad could very easily become stretched.

Reported left-back targets have been few and far between for the Merseysiders, so to see one of their few options close in on another club leaves them with one less target to consider between now and the deadline.

Time is running out for the Reds to bolster their ranks.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Wolves’ transfer window finally looks as though it’s kicking into life with various reports suggesting they could be about to add to their slim squad.

Patrick Cutrone has been linked per Express & Star as Wolves look to lift some of the burdens from Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota’s shoulders.

Given the fact the pair of them contributed to 27 goals between them in all competitions, the attack shouldn’t really be their first concern, even if they do have a lack of options.

Defensively, however, there are still some questions lying around who can play at right centre back.

Ryan Bennett was entrusted with playing the majority of the season there but Romain Saiss never convinced hugely, having a particularly poor game against Southampton as he let Nathan Redmond get a march on him before scoring.

Therefore, the potential addition of Ruben Dias could be game-changing.

The Benfica defender has a release clause of £57m in his current contract with the Portuguese giants but Express & Star claim Wolves are interested in his services.

How much he’ll actually cost remains to be seen, but if the ten cap international does indeed join, he can provide the club with similar traits as Conor Coady.

One of the Wolves skipper’s key traits is his ability to play out from the back and play between the lines, something Dias is also exceptional and arguably better in.

Based on the 22-year-old’s pass success rate, he is better than Coady who despite making fewer passes per game, also completes less overall, Per WhoScored.

The latter was ever-present in Nuno Santo’s Premier League side last term as he played on average 44.4 passes per game.

In the video below, find out which former Chelsea star could be set to challenge Raul Jimenez as top dog at Wolves…

Dias, on the other hand, made 58.3 on average each match.

The Benfica man was a regular at the heart of their defence last term, playing as the right central defender which could be incredibly beneficial if Wolves land him.

One area where Coady is better, however, is in terms of the long balls he plays forward.

He preferred to play the ball off the floor as opposed to his potential new teammate who appeared to keep things more simple.

As a result of their similar traits, a fascinating battle could play out between the two.

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Football FanCast‘s News articles summarise the biggest stories in world football, based on information from other sources.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has provided an update on whether the club will make any more signings before today’s transfer deadline during his pre-match press conference for the opening day trip to Burnley on Saturday.

He told southamptonfc.com: “We still have a few players in our mind. Maybe one is coming in”.

The south coast outfit have already completed deals for Che Adams and Moussa Djenepo this summer with Danny Ings’ loan move also becoming permanent, but they are yet to strengthen in defensive areas despite a centre-back being labelled as a priority by The Telegraph when they signed Adams.

It appears as though a struggle to offload players they were willing to listen to offers for – such as Guido Carrillo, Mario Lemina, Cedric Soares, Wesley Hoedt and Fraser Forster – has ultimately hindered their efforts to bring in anyone else as of yet, but Hasenhuttl clearly isn’t giving up hope of getting at least one more before the Premier League campaign gets underway.

Verdict

While signing nobody else would be far from a disaster for Saints given the size of their squad – they currently have five senior centre-half options as well as youngster Christoph Klarer, and Jake Vokins and Cedric Soares as back up to Ryan Bertrand and Yan Valery respectively in the full-back areas – it has to be a worry if the window shut and they added no new faces to what was a leaky backline last term.

When they were without Oriol Romeu for the pre-season friendly away at Feyenoord, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and James Ward-Prowse struggled to bring that protection for the defenders behind them, which suggests that is another weak area in the team.

Nevertheless, Southampton look to have plenty of firepower and were boosted with last season’s player of the year Nathan Redmond penning a new contract on Thursday, so perhaps if they don’t get another signing before 5pm they can simply aim to win every game 4-3!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Despite clinching three signings who will improve the side no end, Manchester United are left to wonder simply what could have been. All summer, talk was raging about the superstars and high-profile players who would be plying their trade at Old Trafford, but instead, the club opted against such an approach.

Daniel James’ arrival in a £15m deal from Swansea should be considered as astute business from the Red Devils. Whilst the Welshman may have only shone in the Championship, his raw qualities of pace and directness will help to give the side some much-needed explosiveness from out wide. The best United teams of recent years have all been blistering on the break, and James certainly fits that profile.

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Completing a protracted deal for Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace gives the Red Devils a right-back who could quite conceivably turn out for the club for the next decade. The England U21 international is that rare breed of full-back who defends better than he attacks, and is more than a worthy replacement for Antonio Valencia.

Alongside him in defence, Harry Maguire’s world-record move was long and drawn-out, and showed the weaknesses of United’s negotiating skills.

Leicester refused to budge from their valuation of the centre-back, and yet United appeared intent on driving a hard bargain, but in the end paid exactly what the Foxes wanted in the first-place. The price tag will inevitably raise the expectation on the level of performance the 26-year-old produces, but he has shown in his time with both Hull and Leicester that he has the presence to cope with it.

Having failed to bring in anyone else despite continued links to the likes of Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes, much of United’s summer revolved around the futures of Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba. Lukaku’s departure to Inter brought Solskjaer’s side big-money, but a lack of replacement for the Belgian means the side are desperately short of proven goalscorers.

Indeed, with the window in other major European leagues not yet closed, Pogba could still be on his way out of Old Trafford. What has been a rather disappointing summer on the whole, would be compounded into absolute misery were the France World Cup winner to make his departure.

So whilst United’s only three signings are promising, the questions of ‘what if’ surrounding who they could have signed, and who could still yet leave, makes this another window the United hierarchy have gotten wrong.

Transfer Window Rating: 5/10

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