Leeds United are currently attempting to fight their way out of the Championship at the second time of asking, after they just fell short last term.

The Whites lost 1-0 to Southampton in the play-off final, after finishing third in the division, and are currently sitting in third place once again, in the final international break of the calendar year.

Daniel Farke has a few players in his squad whose respective futures may depend on what happens between now and the end of the season, as Junior Firpo and Sam Byram are both set to become free agents next summer.

With this in mind, perhaps, Leeds are reportedly looking into the market to find a new left-back option to come in and bolster their playing squad.

Leeds interested in English full-back

According to TEAMtalk, Leeds are interested in Gent left-back Archie Brown and are one of a number of clubs eyeing the young dynamo up.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The report claims that the Whites, Brentford, West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur, and Chelsea are all lining up moves for the 22-year-old ace ahead of the January transfer window.

It states that he is on the radar of the aforementioned clubs but does not reveal how much the Belgian giants would demand in order to part ways with Brown, who was once dubbed “complete” by former head of scouting Samuel Cardenas, midway through the season.

TEAMtalk adds that Leeds may need to earn promotion to the Premier League to win the race for his signature, which could mean that they need to hope that the left-back remains at Gent until next summer.

If they can secure a deal to bring the former Derby County man to Elland Road, whether that is in January or next summer, then he could form an exciting partnership with Largie Ramazani.

Why Leeds should sign Archie Brown

The 22-year-old, who scored the winner against Molde in the Europa League recently, is six years younger than Firpo and nine years younger than Byram and this means that he has far more long-term potential for Leeds than the two players who are out of contract next year.

This means that he could be the first-choice left-back for the club for many years to come, and the Englishman could develop alongside fellow youngster Largie Ramazani, 23.

The summer signing from Almeria, who is currently out injured, has scored three goals and provided one assist in six Championship starts on the left flank this term, and is another player – like Brown – who is young and has plenty of potential to develop and improve.

Appearances

14

Goals + assists

3

Tackles + interceptions per game

2.1

Dribbled past per game

0.4

Duel success rate

55%

As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old ace has been in fine form for the Belgian side at left-back in the Pro League this season, rarely being dribbled past and winning the majority of his physical duels.

This suggests that wingers find it difficult to get the better of him and he could, therefore, provide a solid platform for Ramazani to then thrive going the other way, knowing that he has a solid defender behind him to deal with opposition forwards.

Given their respective ages, Farke could have his starting left-hand side for many years to come by bringing in Brown to play behind the Belgian starlet, which is why they could be an exciting duo, full of potential, for the Whites.

Leeds sold a "magician" who's now worth more than Rutter & Summerville

The former Leeds United star’s value has soared since his move from Elland Road.

ByDan Emery Nov 12, 2024

MatériaMais Notícias

Em excelente fase, o meia Raphael Veiga disse, em entrevista à TV Gazeta, que apesar de oPalmeiras ser colocado como um dos grandes favoritos aos títulos da temporada nacional ao lado de Flamengo e Atlético-MG, é necessário justificar esse status dentro de campo.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasPalmeiras mantém ingressos a preço baixo para clássico contra o SantosPalmeiras05/03/2022PalmeirasPalmeiras vence o Atlético-MG e estreia no Brasileirão Feminino com o pé direitoPalmeiras04/03/2022PalmeirasDudu se torna atleta com mais títulos no século pelo Palmeiras e mira marca de ídolo históricoPalmeiras04/03/2022

-Hoje em dia, se for ver, você vai jogar contra qualquer equipe e sempre tem jogo difícil. Há times grandes sendo eliminados em campeonatos. Lógico que, hoje, a gente, Flamengo e Atlético-MG, pelos títulos que ganhamos nos últimos tempos, a imprensa fala que estamos um passo à frente. Mas sabemos que, no campo, não é assim que sempre funciona.

Segundo Veiga, a bagagem adquirida com as disputas internacionais recentes do Verdão credenciam a equipe para fazer um bom Campeonato Brasileiro nesta temporada.

-A gente tem que jogar para saber se vai realmente ganhar, não dá para ganhar o jogo antes. Nossa equipe está muito madura com tudo que temos vivido, com os jogos importantes. A gente tem tudo para fazer um bom Campeonato Brasileiro.

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Yorkshire have endured a rancorous winter, with racism allegations to the fore, but victory in their opening match of the season will sustain the belief that on the field they are in good order. They overhauled a target of 211 in 60 overs with six wickets and 11.5 overs to spare, and have looked a happy and confident unit throughout. Their MD of cricket, Darren Gough and coach Ottis Gibson can take considerable credit for creating that mood of positivity, but ultimately matches are won on the field and until Dawid Malan took charge with a run-a-ball 65, the outcome felt as if it might be tighter.In an awkward chase, the sight of Malan at the crease conveys the impression that the grown-ups are in charge, and he fashioned the task with the professional air of a man who had done it countless times in the past, finally seeing off Gloucestershire’s challenge after four days of hard-fought cricket which showed the Championship in a favourable light.When Yorkshire enticed Malan from Middlesex in time for the 2020 season, they imagined they had made a perfect signing, a high-class player who possessed international pedigree, but whose England career – for all his ambition – might well be over. Best-laid plans and all that. Days later, Malan hit the fastest T20 hundred in England’s history, won an IPL contract with Punjab Kings and then regained his Test place.Two years later, with Malan now 34, Yorkshire will hope once again that he can be the ever-present, dominant figure in their middle order, not that it would be wise to tell him as much. He got on with the job unfussily and, by the time he was fourth out, slog sweeping to deep midwicket, Yorkshire’s confidence that they could chase down another 65 in 23 overs was cemented in.That was the perfect scenario for Harry Brook’s unbeaten half-century, a succession of blissful drives and two successive pulls against the left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar to reach his 50. Harry Duke even had the luxury of practicing some cheekie-chappie paddle scoops. They had Malan to thank for that.Harry Brook played two excellent innings•Getty Images

“Winning in the way we did is fantastic, especially under new leadership and new direction,” Malan said. “The pitch became a little bit dead, but because the boundaries were quite short on one side and there was a wind, we were able to target their quicker bowlers, which we did quite well. The original plan was to just bat and see where we were with 20 overs to go, but I managed to find a bit of momentum and just went with it. It’s up to us senior professionals to bring the younger ones along. We’ve seen that with Harry Brook in this game. He is learning how to play certain situations and is fast becoming a senior player himself.”Gloucestershire hung in there determinedly until the final session – showing the same resolve as in their nail-biting draw against Northants last week. But gnawing away at their self-belief would be the knowledge that counties like to chase at Bristol, where the pitches can encourage bowlers on the opening day but which become overly placid, lacking pace and turn, in the later stages of the match. Lancashire’s Kyle Jarvis and Imran Tahir, for Derbyshire, are rare examples of bowlers who has pulled off a match-winning fourth-innings display on this ground in the past decade.Gloucestershire had little leeway if they were to avoid defeat, but their challenge wilted markedly after tea. They will find optimism, however, as far as their bowling attack is concerned, in the six wickets in the match for Ajeet Singh Dale, who looked lively throughout.Yorkshire’s chase was cagey until tea, 53 on the card for the loss of Adam Lyth and the debutant, James Wharton, and only two boundaries managed in 23 overs. Lyth fell at fine leg, hooking Matt Taylor from well outside off stump when a cut would have been a better option. Wharton, who might have fallen to Taylor from the first three balls he faced, was bowled through the gate by Singh Dale.A wearing fourth-day pitch, with turn for Gohar, would have made Yorkshire’s chase more challenging, and his immediate introduction into the attack when Malan came to the crease appeared to be an intended match-up, but there was no purchase to be had. Malan soon had the upper hand. George Hill, a patient soul, was also showing signs of opening up when he overbalanced and clipped a half-volley from Singh Dale to midwicket.Gohar exhaled in disbelief when Malan lobbed one over his head, but it was to be his last scoring shot. The next ball, he slog-swept Gohar to the longest boundary where Ryan Higgins, on the line and at full stretch, calmly knocked the ball up to complete the catch at the second attempt.Related

• James Bracey rediscovers his focus but Yorkshire eye path to victory

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Gloucestershire, six down for 253 overnight, and the second new ball only four overs old, resisted gamely until the sixth over after lunch, adding another 106 runs. Another half hour might have been enough. The dominant figure was again James Bracey, who resumed on 112 and who was last out for a career-best 177, a valiant but ultimately unavailing innings spanning more than seven-and-a-half hours, when he drove Steve Patterson to short extra. Patterson is 38 now, one of the slowest third seamers around, not much above 70mph, but he bowled with great nous and control for his 3 for 43.What does this mammoth effort say about Bracey’s suitability for England? There is no doubt that he is in form, as hundreds in the first two matches of the season testify. He is one of the most disciplined top-order batters around and such attributes among top-level players are in short supply.But slow county surfaces such as these can only reveal so much and do not provide ideal preparation for a Test career; in that, Bristol is no different to many squares up and down the country. Most disconcertingly perhaps is that Bracey was struck on the helmet for a second time by the one bowler in the match with true pace, Haris Rauf. Saturday’s blow was full-on when he failed to hook. On this occasion, he ducked, calmly enough but not quite low enough and the ball skimmed the top of his helmet.As he tired, Rauf caused him more trouble than most. Just before the physios came on with his third helmet of the match, he survived a vociferous appeal for a catch at the wicket – the ball brushing his trouser pocket – and almost chipped up a catch down the leg-side off his hip, the ball falling just short of a scrambling wicketkeeper. Two emphatic pulled sixes against Rauf in a calculated final assault will have been confidence-restoring.Rauf gives Yorkshire’s attack an extra dimension. He has scant first-class experience, but he maintained an impressive pace and, at the very least, could mop up a few tails in quick succession before his stint comes to an end.

It’s the most fear-inducing fixture of the season. Of any season. Real Madrid will meet Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, with Anfield desperate for revenge against the Spanish giants.

Liverpool’s track record against the La Liga and Champions League holders is, admittedly, not great. Across eight recent meetings, the Reds have been beaten seven times and drawn once, with that goalless affair merely the second leg of a quarter-finals tie that had already seen a 3-1 loss inflicted.

Arne Slot’s Liverpool, however, stand as good a chance as any iteration from the past decade in ending the hoodoo and continuing their perfect start to the Champions League campaign, with four victories claimed from as many group stage matches.

Los Blancos, conversely, have lost two of their opening matches in Europe’s elite competition and will be desperate to claw their way back into the ascendency with a statement win on Merseyside.

The visitors are nursing a host of injuries to key players, but Liverpool have some absences of their own to contend with.

Liverpool team news

First, the negatives. Alisson Becker is not yet ready to return from his injury layoff, but then Liverpool have a more-than-able deputy in Caoimhin Kelleher. Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota’s continued absences will weaken the Reds’ frontline too.

Left-back Kostas Tsimikas has picked up a knock in training so Andy Robertson will retain his starting role despite flattering to deceive against Southampton on Sunday. Trent Alexander-Arnold, however, has trained and could play a part.

In any case, it’s not like Real don’t have issues of their own. Namely, Vinicius Junior has picked up a hamstring injury and faces several weeks out. Carlo Ancelotti will put Kylian Mbappe in his favoured left wing role though, so there’s a debate to be had if that area of the field is actually weakened.

Liverpool will look to exploit the absence though, and while Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez should form two parts of the attacking triptych, and though Luis Diaz would love to start, Cody Gakpo could retain his berth, especially since he could serve the visitors with a reminder of Vini due to his style of play.

Cody Gakpo is Slot's own Vinicius Junior

According to FBref, Real Madrid’s Brazilian sensation is one of Gakpo’s most tactically similar players, albeit the 24-year-old is operating at a higher level than Liverpool’s Dutch forward.

Cody Gakpo vs Vinicius Junior (past 365 days)
Stats (per 90)	Gakpo	Vinicius Jr.
Goals scored	0.44	0.61
Assists	0.26	0.31
Shot-creating actions	4.44	4.44
Pass completion	78.5%	73.2%
Progressive passes	4.15	2.99
Progressive carries	2.79	6.98
Successful take-ons	1.80	3.21
Tackles + interceptions	2.06	0.95
Stats via FBref

Both left-sided players capable of performing in a central striking role, Gakpo’s fluency and tactical intelligence have seen him go from strength to strength under his compatriot Slot this season, only posting six goals and two assists across 18 matches in all competitions but receiving just nine starts.

Conversely, Vini has obliterated Spanish and Champions League grounds over the past several months, claiming 12 goals and eight assists from 18 matches.

Gakpo’s dynamism, his protean attacking threat, could provide the Anfield spectacle with the Vini-esque figure to set it alight. Once hailed for his “special skill set” by former Reds assistant manager Pep Lijnders, the Netherlands international has the talent and big-game aura to step up and make the affair his own from the left.

Like Vinicius Jr., Gakpo’s blend of technical soundness and fast pace could exploit the Madrid side’s lack of options at right-back. Dani Carvajal is out for the season with an ACL injury and Fede Valverde played there in a makeshift role during the 3-0 victory over Leganes at the weekend, scoring and producing the kind of creative display that would cause problems.

However, he’ll have to contend with issues of his own, should he be pitted against Gakpo. As it is, Lucas Vasquez, 33, would be the defensively-sounded choice, but even so, this is hardly ideal for the away team.

Mbappe will pose a real threat, and you can’t shake the feeling this might be the match he targets to make his true introduction to life in Real white, but Slot’s frontline is as good as it gets.

He's like Saka: Liverpool looking to sign incredible £85m Salah replacement

Mohamed Salah appears to be pushing for a new contract at Liverpool, but FSG have a replacement in the works.

By
Angus Sinclair

Nov 26, 2024

Liverpool have made an enquiry about signing one of world football’s most revered young midfielders, and his club are worried, according to a new report from Germany.

Liverpool transfer news

Liverpool are flying high at the top of the Premier League and Champions League, but Arne Slot isn’t ready to rest on his laurels heading into the second-half of the season. The Dutchman is reportedly looking to strengthen his squad, with a number of names already being linked.

Among those being touted for a potential move to Anfield are Fulham’s American full-back Antonee Robinson, Sporting star Geovany Quenda and even Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk.

Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram is also interesting the Reds, according to Calcio Mercato, which claims the Merseyside club are are eyeing Thuram, the son of France legend Lilian Thuram, as a possible replacement for Darwin Nunez, who has been tipped to leave Anfield in the near future.

The 27-year-old is Serie A’s second-top scorer this season with 10 goals in 15 games, and has previously been described as “an exceptional player of the highest international class” by his former Borussia Monchengladbach manager, Daniel Farke.

Simons enquiry leaves loan club worried

According to a new report from Sport Bild, Liverpool are also one of a number of clubs interested in signing RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons. The Dutchman is currently on-loan at Leipzig from Paris Saint-Germain, and Bild claim that the German club are exploring the possibility of making the move permanent following an impressive season-and-a-half at the Red Bull Arena.

The publication says that Leipzig want to open talks with PSG as soon as possible, but that they will face two major roadblocks in their pursuit to land Simons permanently. The first is that PSG are expected to demand around £67 million for the 21-year-old, a figure which is outside of Leipzig’s budget.

The second is that a host of major European clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Inter Milan, also want him, and have all recently made contact to find out about his future plans.

Bild claims that moving forward Simons wants to play Champions League football and have a chance at winning titles, neither of which Leipzig can guarantee, leaving the Bundesliga outfit worried about losing their star man.

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Simons has earned praise from all corners of the footballing world for his performances for Leipzig, former club PSV Eindhoven and the Dutch national team. Earlier this year, Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund described him as an “exceptional” player.

“He is a very good player. He had a very good European Championship and a great season with Leipzig,” Freund said. “He’s developed really well. I think he’s going to have a really good career at the highest level. He has everything, mentality, character.”

Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, meanwhile, once said of Simons: “The drive he has, the passion with which he conquers balls and recognises situations are top. His enormous drive as well – that is almost un-Dutch. I think you can see that he was trained abroad. He almost has a southern European doggedness in his game.”

Mats Hummels has apologised to Roma fans for dashing their Europa League dreams, with the veteran German defender admitting: "I f*cked up."

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• World Cup winner moved to Italy in 2024
• Vast experience being put to good use
• Endured moment of madness in Bilbao

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  World Cup winner Hummels stepped out of a professional comfort zone in his homeland for the first time in September 2024 when making his way to Italy. The 36-year-old centre-half signed a 12-month contract as he moved to the Italian capital.

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Roma were hoping to put Hummels’ vast experience to good use, but saw an uncharacteristic mistake from the former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund star cost them dear in a continental clash with La Liga outfit Athletic Club.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Roma had entered the second leg of their last-16 encounter leading 1-0. A moment of madness from Hummels was, however, to turn the tie on its head. He was sent off just 11 minutes into a crucial clash in Bilbao, with a stray pass forcing him to dive into a last-ditch tackle that resulted in a straight red card – despite appearing to get a toe on the ball.

• WHAT MATS HUMMELS SAID

  Athletic Club went on to win the game in question 3-1, allowing them to progress 4-3 on aggregate. Hummels has posted on social media of contributing to Roma’s demise: "I am sorry! want to apologize to our fans and my teammates. I let everyone down today with a mistake that was simply stupid and horrendous. These games used to be the games my team could rely on me, now i fu**** up and cost the whole club the dream of winning the Europa League. Don’t know what else to say, I am as disappointed in me like all of you."

Coach says he is proud of how long they were able to stay in the game in conditions that actively favoured the chasing team

Shashank Kishore01-Apr-20222:39

Lynn: There is no X-factor in Chennai’s bowling line-up

It’s the 19th over of the chase. Lucknow Super Giants need 34. The ball was reduced to a bar of soap. Chennai Super Kings knew it was a massive gamble bowling Shivam Dube’s medium pace and yet couldn’t have done anything different as they took on the punishing task of defending a total in the face of heavy dew.Until he came on, Dube had averaged less than one over per game in his 25-match IPL career across three seasons and two teams. He knew his cutters wouldn’t work, because the ball was skidding through, so he went yorker length and ended up bowling into Evin Lewis’ hitting arc. The West Indies batter used the depth of the crease superbly to convert really full deliveries into half-volleys as he teed off, raising a 23-ball half-century to help LSG secure their first win.Related

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The Super Kings still had a combined five overs left from Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja but head coach Stephen Fleming reasoned that dew made the contest lopsided and completely took their spinners out of play.”If you looked earlier on, spinning options were taken out of play,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference. “Because of the wetness, they played well. So, it was very hard for one: to grip the ball for a spinner and two: to be effective. Early on, we were one over short, but they played well.”We always knew we had to pick an over somewhere. We were hoping to be able to create enough of a run rate towards the end that we could squeeze someone in. Whether that was another spinner or a medium pacer, the decision was made in the middle to use Dube and they countered it well. We always knew that one over was going to be pivotal. I think they did as well.”With the bat, it was another innings very unlike the Super Kings. They used to be the consolidate-early-build base-accelerate team but have now got enough resources to start hitting out from ball one. For all their batting prowess though, Fleming knew 210 was just “about par in conditions that at the moment very much favour the team batting second”.Stephen Fleming said CSK were realistic that it was going to ‘get harder as the night went on’•BCCI

“We did well to get to 210, but we were always realistic that it was going to get harder as the night went on. We worked very hard to stay in the game. Defensively, I thought we were great. After 10 overs, we knuckled down and were fantastic to stay in the game. It’s pretty hard fielding second at the moment.”We knew we had to be really accurate. At no stage did we feel comfortable. And that showed in our fielding as well, the conditions were really wet. The guys hung in there defensively very well, proud of the effort.”Much of CSK’s tactics over the years, especially at home, where they haven’t played since 2018, have revolved around spinners applying the choke in the middle. But injuries to key players have forced them to look for a plan B.Deepak Chahar is recovering from a quadricep tear that could take several weeks to heal. Chris Jordan is injured, as is Adam Milne. The team handed a debut to Mukesh Choudhary and the 25-year-old left-arm seamer bowled with the new ball alongside Tushar Deshpande, who is also relatively inexperienced at the IPL level.Choudhary, Maharashtra’s highest wicket-taker, was recommended by Ruturaj Gaikwad, his state captain, following an excellent Vijay Hazare Trophy where he took 10 wickets in five games. A bowler capable of hitting the deck hard and nipping it back into the left-hander, Choudhary had the unenviable task of bowling the final over with nine to defend. Ayush Badoni needed all of three balls to finish the game off, with Choudhary’s figures on debut reading 3.3-0-39-0.”I think we’ve got some young guys in there,” Fleming said. “Mukesh was playing for the first time, Deshpande has played before. I thought it was really tough. You can’t appreciate how wet that ball is, and the outfield is. It’s difficult to get any aggressive play. I think we were bowling defensively from about 10 overs onwards. I thought they hung in really well and started really well in tough conditions.”Would he have held back one over of Dwayne Bravo at the end, while bowling Dube or one of the spinners for another over in the middle?”It’s hypothetical,” Fleming thundered. “You go back and do 20-30 of these scenarios. After the spinners were ineffective, we knew we had a hole. We did very well to push it as far as we could. I’m not one to dissect the game like that. I’ll back the decision-makers in the middle, who did the best job they could.”

شهدت الجولة 32 من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، حدثًا تاريخيًا للعرب خلال مواجهات اليوم الأحد وتحديدًا بماراة ولفرهامبتون وتوتنهام.

المباراة التي بدأت في تمام الثالثة عصرًا، شهدت حدثًا تاريخيًا بعد ثوانٍ معدودة، بتسجيل رايان آيت نوري هدف التقدم في شباك ديوك لندن.

الهدف الذي سجله آيت نوري بصاروخية من داخل منطقة الجزاء في شباك توتنهام، هو الأسرع في تاريخ ولفرهامبتون في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

طالع أيضًا: فيديو | بأسيست رائع من محمد صلاح.. لويس دياز يسجل هدف ليفربول الأول أمام وست هام

النجم الجزائري يلعب في ولفرهامبتون منذ صيف 2021 بعدما انضم من أنجيه الفرنسي بعد عام من الإعارة للذئاب، قبل تفعيل بند الشراء.

هذه المباراة الـ21 للاعب الجزائري مع ولفرهامبتون هذا الموسم في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، مع تسجيله رابع الأهداف وصناعته 5 سابقًا بقميص الذئاب. هدف آيت نوري في مباراة توتنهام وولفرهامبتون

آيت نوري يٌهدي وولفرهامبتون هدف السبق مبكراً#الدوري_الإنجليزي_الممتاز#PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/E9dKuhE43T — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) April 13, 2025

Newcastle United are set to make a massive move to sign a new forward in 2025, according to a former Premier League scout.

Newcastle keen for additions

It was a tough summer for Eddie Howe and Newcastle United, and that has translated into a difficult start to the 2024/25 campaign too.

A 3-3 draw against Liverpool in their most recent outing was one of their best performances of a season that has otherwise been inconsistent, with the Magpies having managed just a point more than Manchester United at this point, though the congested nature of the league means that they remain just three points outside the top five.

With a favourable run of fixtures ahead, they will be hoping that they can finally string together a run of form to push back towards the top of the Premier League, but there is concern that they will struggle to strengthen in January amid financial fair play concerns and hefty prices.

Brentford (Away)

Leicester City (Home)

Ipswich Town (Away)

Aston Villa (Home)

Manchester United (Away)

Howe’s demands have been clear since the summer, with the Newcastle boss wanting at least another centre-back and a right-winger added to his side. So far this season, Anthony Gordon has been asked to play on the right flank this season, while Dan Burn has been repurposed in central defence, but neither are long-term solutions at St James’ Park.

There is a hope that the club can move Miguel Almiron on to raise some funds, and now they have been tipped to secure a massive deal in the summer.

Newcastle want to make statement signing

That is according to former Manchester United scout Mick Brown, who has claimed that the Magpies are looking to complete a summer deal to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford.

The Bees attacker enjoyed an excellent start to the season under Thomas Frank, with eight goals to his name, leading to the Brentford boss labelling him a “top” player.

“For me, he’s a top player. I’m convinced one day he will play for a bigger club; I will definitely buy him if I was at a bigger club”, Frank explained.

Now, it is Newcastle that want to secure the Cameroon international, who they believe could be the perfect upgrade on the right-side of attack in the wake of a potential Almiron departure.

According to Brown, Mbeumo is “definitely their top target for the position”, but that it would “take a huge fee” to get him out of the G-Tech Stadium.

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“It won’t happen in January, I’m fairly certain of that, because Newcastle are restricted in what they’ll be able to spend”, he added, pointing to a summer deal being far more likely.

Brentford are not prepared to let Mbeumo leave in January unless a massive offer is tabled for him, something that Newcastle may struggle with midseason. However, the forward has just 18 months left to run on his £45,000 a week deal in London as things stand, and the summer could be the last time for the Bees to land a serious fee for the talent.

His potential summer arrival could finally provide Howe with balance in attack, and allow Gordon to return to his favoured left-wing position while providing a massive upgrade on Almiron for the Magpies.

Chelsea could now be set to offload three more members of their squad alongside the heavily reported Ben Chilwell in January, according to fresh reports, with Enzo Maresca ready to greenlight their departures.

Chelsea chasing Premier League title

Though Blues boss Maresca continues to downplay Chelsea’s chances of winning the Premier League, their 2-1 win over Brentford moved them to within just two points of Liverpool, who have a game in hand on the Blues.

Goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson ensured that Chelsea picked up all three points against their London rivals, a result which moved them four points clear of Arsenal in third and left them as Liverpool’s primary challenger for the title after a weekend where all of Arsenal, Manchester City and Arne Slot’s side dropped points. Despite this, Maresca refused to get carried away with his side.

“It’s not about how many games we win. It’s about being realistic. There are things we have to do better. That’s why I said for me we are not ready,” he explained after the game.

The Blues have an excellent chance to continue piling the pressure on their fellow challengers in the coming weeks though, as they face a favourable fixture list on paper, while their two squad system has negated the potential fatigue that European competitions often add to domestic fixtures.

Everton (Away)

Fulham (Home)

Ipswich Town (Away)

Crystal Palace (Away)

Bournemouth (Home)

Despite their impressive start to the season, however, there are still issues to sort out in the January transfer window, which is shaping to be a busy one for the Blues.

Four players set to leave

It is already widely accepted that Chilwell will leave the club in January should he be able to find a suitor, with the Chelsea defender yet to feature in the Premier League this season despite no injury concerns and having failed to complete a move away in the summer. But now, a fresh report suggests that he will be joined by three more players, with all of Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei on the chopping block.

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Dewsbury-Hall only arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer, joining Maresca in making the switch from Leicester City. Though Maresca has insisted that he is “very happy” with the midfielder, the Englishman has yet to start a Premier League game for his new club, and is behind all of Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia in the pecking order.

According to a report from TEAMtalk, he could be on the move as soon as January, while Carney Chukwuemeka and Casadei could both join him, having also barely featured for the Blues this campaign and with the club now ready to sell all three midfielders midway through the campaign.

Any permanent deals are likely to be complicated by wage demands, with the trio taking home around £188,000 a week between them, about £10m per year, while Chelsea will be keen to recoup as much of the close to £60m outlay on the trio too.

However, the Blues are open to loan deals for the trio too, which could help accelerate their departures from west London, with all three attracting interest from across Europe.