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Wolves could still sign a replacement for outgoing winger Adama Traore in the next two days, according to journalist Ryan Taylor.

The Lowdown: Traore off to Barcelona

The Spaniard is on the verge of completing a return to Barcelona, having initially spent time in the club’s academy before making four first-team appearances.

Traore will join the Catalan giants on loan initially but the deal could become permanent at the end of the season (Sky Sports).

With the winger leaving Molineux and no replacement lined up yet, it could be argued that Wolves are looking light in attacking areas between now and the end of the season.

The Latest: Journalist talks up new signing

Speaking to Give Me Sport, however, Taylor claimed a new face could still arrive before deadline day ends on Monday:

“If Traore completes his move, he’ll (Bruno Lage) probably push for another signing within the final days of the window.”

The Verdict: Is it needed?

In an ideal world, a ready-made replacement for Traore would arrive in the coming days, ensuring Lage isn’t left with a lack of attacking depth.

That being said, Traore wasn’t a key starter for Wanderers – he has started 10 out of 21 Premier League matches this season – and the returning Pedro Neto could feel like a new signing after a long injury absence.

Should Traore leave permanently in the summer, they should receive big money for him, at which point it is vital that Wolves use the funds effectively on new signings. Perhaps that would be better than rushing into a January deal.

In other news, Wolves have suffered a transfer blow regarding one player. Find out who it is here.

Leeds United have again been linked with a move for Cagliari and Uruguay midfielder Nahitan Nandez, as the Whites eye up a potential January transfer.

The Lowdown: Nandez a constant target

The 25-year-old was linked with a move to Elland Road during the summer transfer window, as Marcelo Bielsa looked at players to bolster his midfield. Reports even went so far as to reveal Victor Orta had flown out to Sardinia to chase a deal.

Nandez ended up remaining at Calgiari, however, where he was again been an influential figure, making 15 starts in Serie A and registering two assists.

With Kalvin Phillips out injured for the foreseeable future, it is paramount that a midfield replacement is signed next month and it looks as though Leeds are pushing hard for the Uruguay international.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Another rumour emerges

According to FCInterNews [via Sport Witness], the Whites have again identified Nandez as a target after the injury to Phillips, ‘returning to the office’ with another attempt to acquire his signature.

It is stated that the midfielder has been ‘promised’ to Inter Milan, however, potentially acting as a big blow to Leeds.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-29/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Perfect January addition

Nandez’s quality is plain to seen, with his expertise from a defensive midfield seeing him shine for both Cagliari and Uruguay, so he would be a superb addition at Leeds.

He is strong in both his on and off-the-ball work, with an average of 1.5 dribbles per game in the league this season nicely complemented by 2.4 aerial duel wins and 2.0 tackles, with his defensive contribution the biggest strength to his game.

The fact that a Champions League outfit in the shape of Inter appear to be in the race is a concern, though, and if Leeds do miss out on their man, it is vital that someone else of a similar calibre comes in and solves Bielsa’s midfield issue.

In other news, Phil Hay has provided a key update on Raphinha’s Leeds future. Read more here.

After securing a loan deal for Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, it didn’t take Aston Villa long to set their sights on trying to secure another incoming transfer this month with Everton left-back Lucas Digne heavily linked with a move to Villa Park.

With this in mind, it seems as though the Villa fans may not have to wait for too much longer to see the Frenchman join Steven Gerrard’s side.

What’s the latest?

In a recent Twitter post from French Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, he revealed that Newcastle United have “raised their offer” to sign Digne but that a medical with Villa “could take place in the next two days” and that a move to the Midlands club is “close” to being done.

Gerrard would love him

Since joining the Merseyside club back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Barcelona in a deal worth £18m, the 28-year-old has gone on to make 127 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions, cementing himself as an important figure in the team.

Digne also proved himself as a useful attacking outlet for Everton by chipping in with six goals and 20 assists, which explains why Villa have been looking to sign him this month.With Digne having racked up a higher average of key passes per game (1.7) in the Premier League than current Villa left-back Matt Targett (1.2) as well as more crosses per game despite playing four games fewer than the Englishman this season, it provides an indication as to why Gerrard would love to have a player like Digne in his squad.Not only would he provide extra defensive attributes and experience, but he’d add a vital attacking presence in his team down the left-hand flank in the process.Labelled as an “exceptional” player by pundit Jamie Redknapp in the past, Digne’s potential arrival would prove once again just how serious Villa’s owners are about strengthening the squad and pushing the team forward. That would supply Gerrard with the fuel required that this was indeed the right decision to move to the Midlands.However, with Everton manager Rafa Benitez accusing Digne, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £110k-per-week according to Salary Sport, of prioritising his own interests above the interests of the team after a reported falling out between the pair last month, the Liverpudlian boss will have to make sure that this sort of situation doesn’t happen under his watch at Villa if the defender does join the club.In other news: Gerrard can repeat AVFC’s Coutinho masterclass by signing “relentless” 69-goal machine – opinion

Following Newcastle United’s first league win of the season last weekend against Burnley, Magpies boss Eddie Howe will be keen to have a fresh bill of health as they travel to face a Leicester City side who may be short on confidence on Sunday afternoon.

Newcastle defender Fabian Schär set up Callum Wilson’s winner against the Clarets as well as keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory. However, the 29-year-old required treatment during the game and missed training earlier in the week.

What’s the latest?

When speaking ahead of the trip to the King Power Stadium, Howe stated that there were a “couple of knocks and niggles” in the squad and that Schär “had a rib problem earlier in the week and missed a bit of training” but “hopefully he’ll be ok.”

The Swiss international has started all four of Howe’s games in charge of the Toon Army thus far, having previously not featured since late August, and has already proved to be a key asset for the new manager.

Granted, the defender had a quiet game against Burnley, making three clearances and blocking one shot according to SofaScore. Schär may have had an assist but also posted a passing accuracy of just 42% and lost possession 20 times in what was a mixed performance.

However, having played just six times this season, Schär is still bound to be rusty and could well be a key player for Howe once he reaches his peak form.

United are also set to welcome back Ciaran Clark from suspension after the Irishman was sent off early in the 1-1 draw with Norwich City, further boosting Howe’s defensive arsenal this weekend.

With Jamaal Lascelles also fit after his recent return from suspension, Howe suddenly has the welcome luxury of deciding which centre-back out of the three now available will be dropped, with the formation of a strong defensive partnership key to United’s survival hopes this season.

Either way, the Toon Army will be surely buzzing to hear that Schär could be good to go this weekend, especially given his recent resurgence under the new manager.

In other news – Forget Fraser: Howe must unleash £74k-p/w Newcastle beast whose energy is “infectious”

Aston Villa correspondent Gregg Evans was one of the first to share news of a further Covid-19 outbreak at Bodymoor Heath.

And a number of Villa fans were quick to give their thoughts to the update on social media.

Villa suffered a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon, and less than 24 hours later, decided to cancel a Sunday training session for a handful of players following a number of positive cases at the club.

At the time, only one positive case was thought to be a player, however, Gerrard confirmed on Monday that two more players have returned a positive result and will miss the trip to Norwich City this evening.

A number of training ground staff have also tested positive, however, it looks as if the meeting at Carrow Road will go ahead as planned despite Villa’s outbreak.

Villa fans react

Evans shared the news regarding Villa’s Covid-19 outbreak on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply…

“Can today get any worse”

Credit: @davejje

“Oh here we gooo.”

Credit: @lewastbury

“Don’t be Emi, don’t be Emi…”

Credit: @Hotwheels_1978

“So it begins”

Credit: @Jord210993

“Football is gonna get paused again isn’t it?”

Credit: @CalFergie

“Oh no.”

Credit: @ClaretVillans

In other news: ‘Excellent’ ace thinks his Villa career ‘is over’; he’s now eyeing a permanent exit. 

West Ham have arguably some of the best players in the league right now, considering their top-six finish last season and current run of form seeing them just four points off topping the table.

Declan Rice has been one of the Hammers’ outstanding achievers in the side, and has become a household name after his impressive performances saw the star midfielder play in the Three Lions’ first international tournament final since 1966, with Teddy Sheringham comparing Rice’s movement to a “Rolls Royce”.

Playing in central midfield, Rice commands the ball with ease and leads his midfield with dominance, qualities that have helped West Ham achieve fantastic form and the opportunity to play European football this season.

West Ham teammates are in awe of the £63m-rated central midfielder’s quality and talent, with West Ham midfielder, Jarrod Bowen, singing the player’s praises recently in an interview;

“Dec’s gone on to another level,” Bowen told The Times, via the Standard. “The sky’s the limit for him. You saw it in the Euros, and you’ve seen it again this season, he’s starting to score more.”

David Moyes has also spoken highly of the 22-year-old, after West Ham valuated Rice at £100m, the Scottish manager claimed that the price tag was a ‘bargain’, after Manchester United took interest in the Summer.

Moyes told Sky Sports: “There was a bargain to be got with Declan at £100million. That bargain has now gone.”

With the young midfielder only developing further, showing attacking qualities and adding versatility to his game this season for West Ham with three goals and three assists in fifteen games so far from his central position, West Ham will have to pull something big out of the bag to keep hold of the rising star.

He has been linked with a whole host of clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea so it won’t be easy to make him stay in east London.

There is one way that Moyes and West Ham could keep hold of their talented midfielder, however, and that is by qualifying for Champions League football.

Every player aspires to play at the highest level and if the east London club can guarantee a Champions League spot for the first time in their history, there is more reason for the defensive midfielder to stay and compete on the biggest continental stage with the club he has made a name for himself at.

West Ham will be hoping to continue their amazing push for European football as the Premier League returns this weekend.

In other news: Antonio & Lingard link up could spark top four for West Ham

The potential sale of Newcastle United target Luis Diaz could be the biggest deal in both FC Porto and Magpies history, according to a report from A Bola (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

As it stands, the departure of Eder Militao is Porto’s most lucrative. The Brazilian moved to Real Madrid for £45million ahead of the 2019/20 season.

The Portuguese outfit have somewhat made their name from farming and selling big talents in recent years, including James Rodriguez to Monaco for around £40m, Radamel Falcao to Atletico Madrid for £36m and Pepe to Real Madrid for £27m (Transfermarkt).

Now, Diaz has the suitors queuing up after netting 11 goals in his first 16 appearances of 2021/22.

He’s won some pretty lofty praise from his team-mate Sergio Oliveira, who labelled him ‘extraordinary’.

The latest

The report from the Portuguese newspaper, translated by SW, states that Diaz’s potential sale could eclipse that of Militao.

He has a release clause of €80million – about £67.6million – but Porto may be willing to accept lower offers, and Newcastle are one of a host of clubs in the race to land the Colombian.

Fellow Premier League sides Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea are also named, along with two continental giants in Real Madrid and AC Milan.

Liverpool and Milan have clearly been impressed by Diaz when coming up against him in the Champions League group stages.

The verdict

It may not only be the Militao record that falls here. Newcastle’s biggest signing remains £39.6million buy Joelinton.

It surely won’t be long until they surpass that under their new regime, one of the wealthiest in the game, as the new owners will surely want to make a splash before too long in order to signal their ambition to the Toon Army.

But the bigger challenge comes in persuading Diaz to join, when he might also have offers from sides that have already established themselves in European competition.

In other news, Newcastle are ready to offer this target ‘huge money’.

Understandably, Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is the talk of the town at the moment after scoring 15 goals in 12 appearances across all competitions for the Reds.

However, one winger at the Merseyside club that we feel is and has flown under the radar in recent times is Sadio Mane.

Liverpool signed the attacker back in the 2016 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Southampton in a deal worth a reported fee of £34m.

Since then, the 29-year-old, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £100k-per-week according to Spotrac, has made a total of 230 appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side in which he has managed to rack up an impressive total of 103 goals and 43 assists in the process.

So far this season, Mane has managed to score six times in 12 appearances across all competitions. In addition to this, the winger has managed to rack up an average of 3.4 shots at goal per game, showing just how much of an attacking threat he is in the team alongside Salah.

All of this has seen his market value rise considerably. In August 2016, shortly after joining the Reds, Transfermarkt had Mane’s value listed at £27m, whereas it now stands at a massive £76.5m, highlighting a massive increase and how much he has progressed and thrived at Liverpool under Klopp.

His rather mesmeric performances saw him star against Barcelona last term which led to him being described as “unbelievable” for his exploits in Merseyside by Liverpool coach Peter Krawietz.

Also, this says to us just how much of a great buy he has been from Liverpool’s owners FSG who have certainly delivered an absolute star to the club.

With the Senegal international’s current contract at Anfield set to expire in 2023, we feel that the club should definitely try and get him signed to a new one to keep him at the club for the foreseeable future to see if he can continue scoring goals and providing assists on a regular basis.

If he does put pen to paper on a new deal, even though he’s reaching the age of 30, we feel that Mane’s overall market value could go up even further if he keeps performing well for the team.

Either way, there’s no denying that he’s been a brilliant signing for the Reds.

In other news: Never mind Salah: “Intense” £90k-p/w LFC gem who made 2 key passes was vital yesterday – opinion

Writing for Eurosport, Dean Jones has shared news on West Ham United and their hunt for a new forward.

The Lowdown: Moyes in forward hunt…

Over the summer, it is absolutely no secret that manager David Moyes was actively scouring the market for a new striker and alternative to Michail Antonio.

The Jamaica international has been in red hot form for West Ham this season, scoring six goals and assisting three others already and winning the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for August.

However, his injury history is always a niggling concern for Moyes and co as the Hammers eye fresh forward additions to provide support.

The club are competing on more fronts this season and may need to make serious moves for a back up option sooner rather than later, with Jones now sharing who they could sign.

The Latest: Jones makes Hlozek claim…

Writing for Eurosport, the reporter has shared who West Ham could feasibly bring in for Moyes and Sparta Prague striker Hlozek has emerged as a serious option.

The Czech Republic international, who has been sporadically linked with a move to London, could now be an ‘interesting option’ due to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s advanced talks to buy a 27 per cent stake in West Ham.

His ties to Sparta, as explained by Jones, could now open the door for Rob Newman to sign Hlozek and a move ‘could be on the horizon’.

The Verdict: Exciting talent…

Scoring 32 goals in all competitions over his Sparta Prague senior career so far and 15 in the league alone last season, Hlozek arguably stands out as one of the most exciting attacking talents in Europe.

Lauded as ‘world class’ by his agent Pavel Paska (90min), he’s also valued at a meagre £15.3 million by Transfermarkt – a potential bargain fee for someone his age.

The teenager would come with the potential for a huge sell-on, not to mention bags of ability, but the only drawback could be his lack of experience in a tough, major division like the Premier League.

In other news: ‘Woohoo’, ‘Going for the title’…ExWHUemployee’s transfer claim has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

Many Arsenal fans have slammed the performance of Takehiro Tomiyasu in their 0-0 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening.

The Japan international endured a pretty torrid time up against Marc Cucurella in what was the firstgame where he has struggled since arriving from Bologna in the summer transfer window.

Tomiyasu lost out on five of his duels and also failed to block any shots or make any tackles, dribbles, key passes or crosses from right-back (Sofascore).

He also lost possession of the ball on 13 separate occasions in the match, the joint-fourth most of any of his teammates (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, with the international break coming up, Tomiyasu will now be able to take his mind away from the Gunners and then come back stronger when they face Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium in their next Premier League fixture on 18 October.

 Arsenal fans on Tomiyasu display

These Gooners on Twitter slammed the 22-year-old’s performance at the Amex Stadium, as one Arsenal supporter claimed that he was ‘exposed’ by Brighton:

“Tomiyasu was exposed today.”

Credit: @cuthie23

“Tierney, Tomiyasu, White were awful today. Gabriel was solid again. Tierney normally our best player but was poor today.”

Credit: @___13245

“Tomi worst game for Arsenal today. Had 3 brilliant games for his first 3 but was really poor today. Cucurella ripped him apart in the 1st half but he’s still young still adapting to the league. Let’s just hope its a one off and not a regular theme.”

Credit: @IREAFCreviews

“Tomiyasu had his WORST performance by far, Cucurella ran past him anytime he wanted.”

Credit: @_BurgessP

“Tomiyasu zero. Can’t defend and lost the ball every time he got it”

Credit: @JackyLanis

“Tomiyasu was dreadful, how did he lock up Son and then perform like that”

Credit: @rafifreeman

In other news, find out whose display against Burnley was slammed here!