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Leeds United remain interested in a deal to bring Cody Gakpo to Elland Road this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Ryan Taylor, who revealed in a recent article for The Express that, despite Victor Orta looking set to seal a £22m deal for Feyenoord winger Luis Sinisterra in the coming days, the Spanish director of football could still pursue a move for a further wide-attacking player this summer.

Taylor goes on to state that one such target could be PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo – the 23-year-old forward with whom Leeds have already been linked with a €40m (£35m) move – as, unlike Sinisterra, the Netherlands international is predominantly right-footed, making him an ideal replacement for the outbound Raphinha.

“Beautiful” duo

Considering just how exciting a talent Sinisterra appears to be – with the 23-year-old scoring 23 goals and providing 14 assists over 49 appearances for Feyenoord last season – should Orta also manage to get a deal over the line for Gakpo this summer, the Spaniard would have undoubtedly formed an incredibly exciting attacking duo in Jesse Marsch’s squad ahead of 2022/23.

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Indeed, over his 27 Eredivisie appearances last season, the £27m-rated talent was in breathtaking form, scoring 12 goals, registering 13 assists and creating 11 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 3.0 shots, making 2.6 key passes and completing 2.9 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the £7.4k-per-week forward average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.51, not only ranking him as Roger Schmidt’s best performer in the division but also as the fourth-best player in the league as a whole.

Furthermore, the player who Josh Bunting dubbed a “beautiful talent” and Wierd Duk labelled an “enormous” prospect also impressed over his combined 15 appearances in Champions League qualifying, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League last time out, scoring seven goals and providing one assist over all three competitions.

As such, the prospect of Gakpo linking up with Sinisterra in LS11 next season will undoubtedly be an incredibly tantalising one for the Elland Road faithful – leading us to believe that Taylor’s latest update on the club’s continued pursuit of the flying Dutchman is sure to have left Leeds supporters buzzing.

AND in other news: Offer made: Orta in Leeds talks for £32m “elite signing”, he’s the “complete package”

Reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano has shared the latest news involving Raheem Sterling’s medical ahead of his proposed move from Manchester City to Premier League rivals Chelsea.

The Lowdown: Sterling’s Chelsea move

According to a report by The Athletic, Thomas Tuchel’s side have reached an agreement with City to sign the 27-year-old winger in a deal worth £47.5m. The England international has agreed to a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge, with the option of a further 12 months also included.

Following the arrivals of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund and Julian Alvarez from River Plate, Sterling and Gabriel Jesus were allowed to leave the club, with limited playing time now on the table.

The Latest: Romano’s news

Romano has now shared the latest news regarding Sterling’s proposed move to Chelsea.

Taking to Twitter, the journalist claimed: “Medicals already scheduled for Raheem Sterling in London in order to complete his move to Chelsea on a permanent deal. #CFC

“Sterling signs with Chelsea until June 2027 with an option for further season. Contacts started and the end of May, deal now completed.”

The Verdict: Big loss

When analysing the forward’s underlying statistics, it is easy to see why City fans would consider the 27-year-old’s departure a huge blow for the club.

When compared with positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, Sterling ranks in the 99th percentile for non-penalty expected goals, the 98th percentile for touches in the attacking penalty area and the 97th percentile for non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists (via FBRef).

With the England star having featured 337 times for the Sky Blues, his exit from the Etihad Stadium will likely come as a major disappointment to City’s squad, as they are losing one of the most experienced players in the Premier League currently.

Everton are reportedly now preparing a new bid to sign Wolves central midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Lowdown: Bid rejected

Taking to Twitter, Midlands reporter for The Daily Telegraph John Percy revealed on Monday afternoon that the Goodison Park outfit have had a bid in excess of £20m rejected from Wolves for Gibbs-White.

Both Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are also interested in signing attacking midfielder, who only has two years left on his contract at Molineux.

The Latest: New bid prepared

As per journalist Pete O’Rourke, the Merseyside club are now ‘growing in confidence’ over signing Gibbs-White, and are preparing a new bid for the Englishman:

“Everton are growing in confidence of landing Wolves midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and are preparing a new bid for the England U21 international.”

The Verdict: Get it done

The Toffees are jetting off to the United States for pre-season, and Frank Lampard will likely be unsatisfied with the squad that he has at his disposal, having sold Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur and James Tarkowski being the only notable incoming.

With an impressive 12 goals and ten assists on loan at Championship outfit Sheffield United last season (Transfermarkt), subsequently being named as their Player of the Year, Gibbs-White will be hungry to prove that he can play at the highest level in the Premier League.

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The Liverpool Echo journalist Chris Beesley believes that he could become ‘Lampard’s Tim Cahill’, a player who managed 68 goals and 29 assists in 278 games for the Toffees over eight consecutive campaigns (love affair with the club and its supporters.

Nonetheless, this is a deal that should be very popular with Evertonians.

Everton are one of four clubs scrapping for the signature of Tottenham Hotspur’s Japhet Tanganga, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Goodison News).

The lowdown

The Toffees have already strengthened their defensive ranks this summer with the signing of James Tarkowski, but the Spurs gem’s versatility could still appeal to Frank Lampard. The 23-year-old is predominantly a centre-back too but has also played 19 games at right-back in his fledgling career.

In 2021/22, he was restricted to 19 appearances, suffering a season-ending knee injury in January. Up to that point, he had started 10 Premier League games and been left on the bench seven times.

The arrival of Clement Lenglet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on a season-long loan from Barcelona may push the Spurs academy graduate further down the pecking order.

The latest

The report in Gazzetta dello Sport’s Sunday print edition (17 July, page three) stated that Tanganga could seek to leave Tottenham because he would like to be playing more football.

Everton are interested but face domestic competition from Brentford, while Serie A champions AC Milan and La Liga outfit Valencia are also keen on the 23-year-old.

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The verdict

Tanganga started against Manchester City, the eventual Premier League champions, on the first day of last season and helped his side to claim a 1-0 victory with a man-of-the-match display.

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville felt that the youngster handled two ‘exceptional’ dribblers in Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish ‘brilliantly’ down City’s left-hand side, declaring it a ‘really special’ exhibition of the art of ‘one-on-one defending’.

There’s no shame in not necessarily being a first-choice option for a team as good as Tottenham, who will be playing Champions League football this season.

However, that performance against Pep Guardiola’s team suggests that the £23k-per-week defender can still be an excellent Premier League player in his own right, and he might truly blossom at Everton if the Toffees can entice him to Goodison Park.

Paolo Bargiggia has dropped an update on reported Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Nicolo Zaniolo.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Corriere dello Sport journalist revealed that, following a number of reports linking Fabio Paratici with a move for the AS Roma attacking midfielder this summer, the Spurs sporting director has now made contact with the 23-year-old’s agent, Claudio Vigorelli, concerning the potential of a switch to Tottenham ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Bargiggia went on to state that Spurs are still evaluating a move for the Italy international – for whom Jose Mourinho’s side are said to be demanding a €50m (£42.5m) fee in order to part with – while Juventus appear to have fallen behind Antonio Conte’s outfit in the race for the former Inter Milan starlet’s signature.

In his tweet, the Italian journalist said: “Spurs are evaluating the situation of Nicolo Zaniolo at a time when Juventus have loosened their grip a bit. At the beginning of the week, there was a telephone conversation between Paratici and Vigorelli, the player’s agent.”

Conte will love Bargiggia’s update

With it being reported that Conte is hoping to add a new attacking midfielder to his first-team squad ahead of the new season, Bargiggia’s update concerning Paratici’s attempts to land Zaniolo is sure to be one the 52-year-old manager will love.

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Indeed, the versatile forward played a starring role in Roma’s Europa Conference League-winning campaign last time out, scoring five goals, registering four assists and creating three big chances over his 10 appearances in the competition – seeing him average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as the Giallorossi’s sixth-best player in the tournament.

Furthermore, despite suffering a number of £34m-rated talent also caught the eye in domestic competitions last term, bagging a further two goals and providing six assists over 32 appearances in Serie A and the Coppa Italia in 2021/22.

As such, with Zaniolo quite clearly being an incredibly creative and clinical option in the middle of the park, the argument that the nine-cap international would make something of a perfect addition to Conte’s Tottenham side ahead of the upcoming campaign is an easy one to make – leading us to believe that Paratici must do all he can to seal a £42.5m deal for the 23-year-old this summer.

AND in other news: “Tottenham will..”: Sky Sports journo drops transfer claim, supporters will be buzzing

Manchester City youngster Liam Delap is in ‘advanced talks’ regarding a loan move to Stoke City this summer, according to an update shared by Fabrizio Romano. 

The lowdown: Rising star

Joining the Cityzens’ youth system following a move from Derby County as a fledgeling teenager, the 19-year-old has made 54 appearances for the Sky Blues’ youth teams, directly contributing to a remarkable 61 goals in the process.

The England youth international made his senior debut for Pep Guardiola’s side in September 2020, scoring against Bournemouth in a 2-1 Carabao Cup victory, before getting his Premier League bow just three days later.

Despite having made six outings for City’s first team, Delap is unlikely to force his way into Guardiola’s immediate plans. As such, numerous clubs – including Brighton, with whom City have been in discussions regarding Marc Cucurella – have been linked with the striker, but it appears that Stoke could be about to win the battle for his signature…

The latest: Stoke in ‘advanced talks’ for Delap

Taking to Twitter, reliable reporter Romano has relayed an update from The Athletic’s Dan Sheldon that the Championship outfit have beaten off competition from Southampton and Newcastle to land the England under-19 starlet.

The Italian stated: “Stoke City are in advanced talks to sign Liam Delap, favourites to find full agreement with Man City. #MCFC Been told City will only let Delap go on loan. Southampton £16m official bid and Newcastle approaches have been rejected. Stoke, on it – as per @dansheldonsport.”

The verdict: Sensible move

Rejecting permanent approaches and instead opting to send Delap out on loan to further his development must be regarded as a shrewd move from City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain.

Still under contract until 2026 at the Etihad Stadium (Transfermarkt), the talented marksman – who was described as an ‘absolute beast’ by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – certainly has time on his side to make the grade in Manchester. A loan spell at Stoke, where he should get regular competitive senior action, can only be a positive for the Premier League champions.

Last season, Delap scored eight times and provided two assists in 15 appearances across all competitions for various City teams, proof of a keen eye for making his presence in the final third count which will make the £1.35m-valued starlet one player to keep a close eye on should this loan move indeed be confirmed.

Wolves are keen on signing Strasbourg striker Ludovic Ajorque but aren’t alone in showing an interest, according to Sky Sports News man Kaveh Solhekol.

The Lowdown: New striker needed

The start of the new Premier League season is now just days away, with Bruno Lage’s side making the trip to Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.

Wolves look light in attack ahead of the 2022/23 campaign after loaning out Fabio Silva, and their current plight hasn’t been helped by a long-term injury to star striker Raul Jimenez.

It is crucial that another potent marksman comes in during the remainder of the summer transfer window and it looks as though Wanderers are now pushing for that to happen.

The Latest: Wolves linked with Ajorque move

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Solhekol claimed that Wolves are one of a host of clubs keen on signing Ajorque:

“A player who we could be hearing a lot more from in the next couple of weeks played against Liverpool for Strasbourg at the weekend.

“He’s a striker called Ludovic Ajorque, 6ft 6in striker with a very good scoring record for them, is available for £18m.

“I’m told the clubs that watched him yesterday were Wolves, Everton, Leicester, West Ham, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Newcastle. He’s someone we might be hearing a lot more from.”

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The Verdict: Sign him up

Ajorque has the potential to be an intriguing signing by Wolves if they get an £18million deal over the line, with the giant Frenchman labelled a ‘beast physically’ by Daily Express writer Alessandro Schiavone, who pondered why no one has tried to sign the target man in the past.

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He registered 20 goal involvements in Ligue 1 last season (12 goals and eight assists) and has netted 50 times for Strasbourg in total, with his current deal expiring in 2024.

Ajorque’s towering physique could be the perfect foil for Wolves’ more pacy wingers, allowing them to provide ammunition for him, while at 28, he would represent a younger alternative to Jimenez.

Southampton are reportedly looking to secure a deal for Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi before the end of the current summer window.

What’s the news?

In a recent Twitter post, journalist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano had this to say on the matter.

“Excl: Callum Hudson-Odoi could now leave Chelsea for regular game time. Southampton have already asked for CHO on loan, now pushing.”

Could he replace Walcott?

With 187 appearances to his name for the west London club across their senior and youth sides, the 21-year-old has found the net 47 times and delivered 40 assists along the way.

Last season saw the Englishman make 28 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions in which he scored three goals and provided six assists in the process.

In his 15 league appearances last season, the attacker racked up 51 shot-creating actions, which is more than the likes of Romelu Lukaku (44), Christian Pulisic (33) and Timo Werner (26) managed to make, an impressive accomplishment given their respective qualities.

In fact, only Ross Barkley (9.05), ended the campaign with a higher rate of shot-creating actions per 90 minutes than Hudson-Odoi (4.77), which shows just how dangerous he can be in the final third.

Having played in numerous midfield and attacking positions for the west London club last season, this sort of versatility could make him a very useful addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad.

Described as a “monster of a talent” by Nizaar Kinsella, it very much appears as if when he’s in form, he has the world at his feet.

Despite this move potentially only being on loan, his potential arrival at St. Mary’s could push one of their current attacking options out the door.

Having been linked with a move away from the south coast club back at the start of the summer, Theo Walcott’s performances last season showed why adding a player like Hudson-Odoi would be a smart move from the Saints.

With no goals or assists to his name in nine league appearances, the £72k-per-week winger ended the campaign as the lowest-rated Saints player in terms of overall performance rating, with WhoScored giving him a measly rating of 6.09/10.

Taking this into account, it could be said that the Chelsea attacker may not have too much trouble in terms of getting regular game time at St. Mary’s.

In comparison to Hudson-Odoi, the Southampton winger lacks any form of threat, ranking in the worst 92% of players in the same position across Europe’s top five leagues for shot-creating actions in 2020/21.

With that in mind, most players would be an upgrade on him, but the lively Chelsea youngster should be the man to finally push him through the exit door for the second time in his Saints career.

Pete O’Rourke has revealed that Harry Winks would make a great Rangers signing as a potential heir to Steven Davis.

What’s the news?

Pete O’Rourke was speaking to the Transfer Tavern regarding the Tottenham Hotspur player and why he would make a solid Ibrox signing, saying:

“He’d be a great signing. If they can get someone like Harry Winks, just a few years ago Harry Winks was in the England squad. And obviously, it has not worked out for him at Spurs under the last couple of managers, but he’s still a very talented player.”

Unfortunately, Steven Davis won’t be around at Rangers forever, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst needs to figure out a contingency plan to eventually replace his presence in the midfield.

Winks could be ideal Davis heir

Tottenham offered Rangers the opportunity to sign Winks back in June, as reported by 90min but there were a host of Premier League sides also keen, such as Everton and Leicester. Nothing has yet materialised for the £91k-p/w star however and there are less than three weeks left of the transfer window.

Winks has experience at the highest level, playing 128 Premier League matches while also being capped for England, and could be the perfect replacement for Davis, with this season looking likely to be his last at Ibrox.

Although Winks didn’t have the most productive of seasons last term, playing only 19 Premier League matches, his attributes over the course of his career have shown that there is clearly talent there, but he might need to move away to further develop.

The Englishman has a pass success rate of 89.7% over the course of his senior career while averaging 0.4 aerials won per game and compared to Davis, whose pass success rate is 85%, then he would be more than able to hold his own in the middle of the Gers midfield.

He was once likened to Spain greats Xavi and Andres Iniesta by his former head coach Mauricio Pochettino, who also dubbed him the “perfect” midfielder, only backing up why Winks would be a ‘great signing’ for the Scottish giants.

The Dutchman expects his side to be able to circulate the ball well in order to craft opportunities and starve the opposition of the ball, Winks certainly could fit this style well. a permanent move might be a bit too much, but a loan move with the option to secure the player at a reduced price could be a viable option as the dying embers of the transfer window approach.

Former Celtic frontman Frank McAvennie has revealed his ‘delight’ after on-loan defender Moritz Jenz hinted at a permanent move to Parkhead. 

The lowdown: ‘Long-term’

Signed from French Ligue 1 outfit Lorient on a season-long loan with an option to buy, Jenz has already made himself a fan favourite at Celtic Park with a goal in each of the two opening Scottish Premiership fixtures.

The 23-year-old German central defender was formerly part of the Fulham youth system and is looking to rekindle a stalling career north of the border.

Albeit currently only a temporary stay, Jenz has already suggested a ‘long term’ stay in Glasgow could be on the cards and one heavily invested pundit has reacted joyously…

The latest: ‘He wants to stay’

Speaking to Football Insider, ex-Hoops striker McAvennie has given his verdict on the possibility of Jenz extending his stay.

He said: “Jenz has already said he wants to stay beyond his loan period. It just shows you the influence of the fans. That can only be good for Celtic.

“And he looks the part. I’m delighted. I kept saying last year that they needed a strong centre-half and he looks as if him and [Cameron] Carter-Vickers is going to be a good partnership.”

The verdict: Fingers crossed

Celtic have an impressive recent track record of persuading impressive loan stars to stay beyond their initial spell having landed Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers on a permanent basis this summer.

Having seemingly ousted Stephen Welsh in the pecking order, the Berlin-born talent has made a strong start to life as part of the Lennoxtown ranks.

Whilst it remains early days, with an outstanding average Sofascore rating of 7.55 whilst winning 5.5 duels per game and completing 85 per cent of all passes, Ange Postecoglou could be excused for beginning to consider the prospect of tying down the 6 foot 2 centre-back beyond this season.

Hailed for a ‘great’ debut performance against Ross County by the Bhoys’ boss, the £2.25million valued youngster seems to have acclimatised himself with ease to life in Scotland and McAvennie is right to be pleased with the prospect Jenz become a Celtic player long term.