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An update has emerged on Leeds target Dan James, regarding Manchester United’s plans for him. 

What’s the talk?

According to The Sun, Manchester United are set to keep hold of Dan James and reject any interest in his services this summer.

The report claims that both Leeds and Brighton are keen on a deal for the forward and would be willing to sign him permanently or on loan. However, United intend to turn away any offers and use him in their first-team squad despite the recent arrival of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.

Fans will be gutted

Leeds fans will be gutted by this news as it seemingly rules out any chance of James arriving at Elland Road before the end of the window. The attacker has been a long-term target for Lillywhites boss Marcelo Bielsa, which makes this news all the more frustrating as they have been waiting for a number of transfer windows to seal a deal for his services.

Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, the titular journalist said this about Bielsa’s interest in James: “That’s a question for Bielsa because Bielsa is forever interested in Dan James, and you probably remember last summer that before they did the deal for Raphinha, they were looking into the possibility of bringing Dan James in on loan from Manchester United. I don’t think it was ever really a possibility because it didn’t seem as though Solskjaer wanted him to go.”

This shows that missing out on the £15m dynamo would be disappointing for the Argentine coach, as he clearly wants to work with the winger. The supporters will also be gutted as he could be an excellent addition to the squad and strengthen the club’s options out wide.

Speaking to Manchester United’s official website last season, Brazilian midfielder Andreas Pereira lavished praise on the Whites target, labelling him as “explosive and so fast”.

James put that explosive pace to good use at the European Championships for Wales this summer. The 23-year-old averaged an impressive 2.5 key passes and 1.5 dribbles completed per game across four starts at the major tournament, showing that he was able to use his speed to beat defenders before providing a killer pass to set up a chance.

Therefore, he could have been an exciting signing for Leeds as he is a player who is able to make things happen and get supporters up off their seats in anticipation. This is why the fans will be upset that a deal is now reportedly out of the question, for now.

AND in other news, “Poised to fly to England”: Phil Hay drops Leeds transfer update that’ll excite fans…

Leeds have been handed a potential transfer boost, regarding their pursuit of Brest left-back Romain Perraud.

What’s the talk?

According to A Bola, as transcribed by Sport Witness, Southampton have been in contact with Benfica over a potential swoop for left-back Nuno Tavares, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side possibly ready to firm up their interest in the fullback this summer.

This could come as a boost to Leeds in their pursuit of Brest defender Romain Perraud. Earlier this month, it was claimed that Southampton were on the verge of sealing an £8.5m deal for Perraud, amid interest from Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds and fellow Premier League side Newcastle. However, nothing has moved forward since this update and now Southampton are being linked with another left-back in Tavares. This could open the door for Leeds to swoop in and snap up Perraud whilst they have the chance.

Perraud admitted earlier this year that he does not have a “handbrake” in his play as he likes to play at a high tempo throughout the entire 90 minutes for his club. He told French outlet MadeInFoot:

“I work with a lot of energy.

“It can sometimes be a fault because I want to be hyperactive so much sometimes I get a little confused. When I was at Paris FC, I gave so much during the first 70 minutes I had no gas left to finish the game. But I like it.

“This system (at Brest), it doesn’t slow me down. The coach lets me play, attack, participate in the offensive side of the game. Of course, I have rules on the defensive aspect, but there isn’t too much of a handbrake.”

Orta must pounce

With Southampton looking at alternative options Leeds could have the perfect opportunity to swoop in and pounce on the defender. Victor Orta needs to make sure that he is on high alert and ready to secure a deal for Perraud if Southampton have left the door open for Leeds to come in. Perraud could be an excellent addition to Leeds’ squad and be a boost to Marcelo Bielsa ahead of next season.

The 23-year-old enjoyed a terrific season in Ligue 1 for Brest and showed enough to suggest that he could thrive at Leeds. Perraud averaged a solid WhoScored rating of 6.84 and was directly involved in an impressive 10 goals for Brest, with three goals and seven assists from left-back to go with his three tackles and interceptions per game in the top-flight of French football. His quotes regarding his lack of a handbrake and intensity on the pitch could also make him the perfect fit for Bielsa’s style of play, making him an ideal target for the club.

Perraud’s arrival at Leeds, if Orta is able to secure a deal for the £8.5m man, could be crucial for Bielsa as Ezgjan Alioski’s situation remain unclear. He is out of contract at the end of the month but is reportedly still in talks with the club over a potential extension after a move to Turkish giants Galatasaray fell through. If Alioski does depart from Elland Road for nothing, Perraud could come in and take his spot at left-back in Leeds side, which is another reason as to why Orta must pounce on Southampton’s dallying.

AND in other news, Orta must sanction Leeds swoop for “world-class” £31k-p/w dynamo, Bielsa needs him…

Everton star James Rodriguez was ‘on course to be fully fit’ for the start of the Copa America in June. 

That’s according to Danny Donachie, the club’s Director of Medical.

The Colombian Football Federation announced at the weekend that James is to be omitted from the squad given that he was ‘not at the optimum level of competition’.

But Donachie described the injury that ruled James out of Everton’s last two Premier League matches as ‘very small’.

And he said the club had ‘no issues’ with him jetting off for the tournament, which is scheduled to begin on 13 June.

The ‘only discussion’ they had with the Colombian FA was whether the pre-tournament World Cup qualifiers would come too soon for the 29-year-old.

Everton’s advice was to allow James to miss those games to prepare himself fully for the group stages.

Intriguingly, Donachie also revealed that he had seen the tests Colombia carried out and insisted that there was ‘nothing in them’ to cast doubt on James’ availability.

The Toffees expected him to be in ‘top condition’ by the time his country got their campaign underway against Ecuador, and loads of fans have been reacting to these claims after they were confirmed by the Toffees on Twitter.

Everton fans react to Medical Director’s James revelations

“The plot thickens”

Credit: @MainManMina

“Why are we briefing against our own player? Be thankful he’s getting a full summer without footy and get him ready for next year. Why add fuel to da fire? This club man.”

Credit: @AbelSouthall

“This is hysterical”

Credit: @ellieq

“Just have him fit for the start of next season”

Credit: @JayMagee6

“I’m glad he’s not playing for Colombia honestly. He really needs rest and a vacation.”

Credit: @djfsnow

“OK, Great. Is this the same person who manages Mina, Bola’s, Gbamin’s recovery!!!!”

Credit: @Tw1ttr1

“Don’t see the point in this article to be honest only gets people against our best player”

Credit: @shaungt

In other news, read fans’ reaction to links between this star player and a European heavyweight. 

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece has dropped an exciting Aston Villa transfer claim about Southampton and England midfielder James Ward-Prowse.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that Dean Smith’s side are lining up a swoop for the Saints star, having already confirmed an early window deal for Norwich’s Emi Buendia.

And now, via his official Twitter account, Preece said: “Villa and NSWE looking to strike while the iron’s hot! Dean Smith has spoken of his PL, British-based “sweet spots” re summer additions. FK bossman JWP on Villa’s radar acc to good mate @Paul_Doyle. #AVFC always want business done early. Interesting!”

Villa fans will love it

With eight goals and seven assists in the Premier League last season, Ward-Prowse would not only bring his set-piece specialty, but also the leadership that comes with being Southampton’s captain.

And on that, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “You have to walk out there and always be the role model of what we are standing for. When you see him running and him fighting for everything in every game then this is what a captain should do.

“Not speaking in the dressing room or telling people how it works, but showing it on the pitch how it works. For me, this is how a captain should be.”

And after links emerged about Villa’s interest in the midfielder, some fans of the club already made it clear just how much of a good signing it would be, with some of them already dreaming of how he could team up with Jack Grealish at Villa Park.

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So, Preece’s latest claim that Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are “looking to strike while the iron’s hot”, and that Villa “always want” their “business done early” is surely music to the ears of Villa supporters as the pursuit for Ward-Prowse heats up.

Meanwhile, a major update has emerged on Carney Chukwuemeka…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has praised ex-Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson for the “fantastic” job he did at Selhurst Park.

Hodgson, who looked like he was going to be replaced by Lucien Favre, took over at Palace back in 2017 and found the south London club in an absolute mess.

After a disastrous start to the 2017/18 Premier League campaign under Frank de Boer, Palace found themselves in 19th place with zero goals to their name before the Dutchman’s dismissal.

However, they were able to finish in 11th after Hodgson managed to put out all of the fires in SE25, making his appointment a success on that season alone.

On the former Palace and England boss, Palmer told FFC:

“You look at the job Roy did there, it’s fantastic. He not just kept them in the Premier League, they’ve not struggled to stay in the Premier League, and he did that on a shoestring budget.”

Indeed, under Hodgson, Palace have never really looked in danger of being relegated.

Following that 2017/18 campaign, he was able to guide the Eagles to 12th in 2018/19, 14th in 2019/20 and 14th again in 2020/21. Simply put, a job well done.

Plenty of Aston Villa fans were left disappointed after defender Ezri Konsa was left out of Gareth Southgate’s provisional England squad for this summer’s European Championships.

Southgate named Tyrone Mings, Jack Grealish and Ollie Watkins in his 33-man squad, with no room for Konsa or Matt Targett.

That squad will have to be trimmed down to 26 players over the coming days, but plenty of Villa supporters were baffled at Konsa not making the initial 33.

He missed just two Premier League games all season and was key in a Villa defence that kept 15 clean sheets during the 2020/21 campaign.

Konsa, who can also represent Portugal, has turned out for the Three Lions at Under-21 level, but a maiden senior call up will, unfortunately, have to wait.

Villa fans react

Villa shared the news on Mings, Grealish and Watkins on their official Twitter page on Tuesday afternoon.

However, these supporters wanted to talk about Konsa’s exclusion, with one describing the decision to overlook him as ‘terrible’.

“Disgusting that Konsa hasn’t gone”Credit: @Harry34740948″How Konsa hasn’t been named is a travesty. He’s our best defender and a Rolls Royce of a player. He only called up Jack after major pressure from fans/pundits and squad injuries. No doubt he’ll bin off Ollie too later for his favourites.”Credit: @Scott84764090″Konsa robbed”Credit: @joshkentx”How konsa hasn’t gone is terrible”Credit: @harry79050597″justice for konsa I say”Credit: @catrinedwards18″Feel for Konsa. Deserves a chance.”Credit: @JayVtid

In other news: Many AVFC fans buzz at Emiliano Buendia latest, find out more here. 

A fresh report has linked Newcastle United with 22-year-old Vitesse Arnhem defender Danilho Doekhi.

Football Insider reported in April that Newcastle were in the race for the Dutch centre-back.

And now native publication De Telegraaf have named the Magpies as an interested party in their print edition (via Sport Witness).

They could face competition from relegation rivals Fulham and newly-promoted Norwich City. The report also identifies Atalanta and Rangers as possible suitors.

Newcastle target Doekhi profiled

The Dutch Under-21 international has played all but two of Vitesse’s Eredivisie matches this season.

They sit fourth in the table, having conceded just 29 goals – the second-best record in the division behind champions Ajax.

Doekhi also helped Vitesse progress to the final of the KNVB cup, where they were beaten 2-1 by de Godenzonen.

The 6 foot 2 defender has averaged 2.1 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, three clearances and three successful aerial duels per 90 minutes this season (via WhoScored) – that is more tackles and interceptions than any Magpies player not named Isaac Hayden.

Manager Thomas Letsch has hailed him as ‘one of the best centre-backs’ in the league, adding that Doekhi ‘makes almost no mistakes’ and is a ‘very calm player’, who ‘coaches other players very well’.

Doekhi could be available for small fee

Despite his promise, Doekhi is valued at just £1.8million by Transfermarkt.

That’s partly down to the fact he’s only got one year left on his contract at Vitesse.

A bidding war could drive the price up, but Newcastle may still be set for a bargain deal due to his contract situation.

Transfer Tavern verdict

This could be an excellent piece of business for Newcastle – Doekhi’s numbers are impressive, and based on his manager’s appraisal, he has exactly the right temperament to keep his head in the fast-paced and often frantic Premier League.

For a small fee, the Toon could secure a long-term replacement for out-of-contract Federico Fernandez, who is 32 and will need to pass the torch sooner rather than later.

In other news, read the latest on Fernandez’s future. 

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy must look to offload Serge Aurier this summer amid interest in his signature.

In the past few days, several clubs have emerged as a potential destination for the divisive £18m-rated right-back.

According to RMC Sport (via Get French Football News), Spurs are keen to move him on for around €10m (£9m), with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid keeping tabs on his situation, whilst Foot Mercato have surprisingly claimed that even Real Madrid have enquired about a move.

If he leaves for that sort of money, then Levy would have lost around £14m on the Ivorian in the four years that he has been at the club, having originally joined from PSG for around £23m in August 2017.

Aurier will enter the final year of his current £120,000-per-week contract at the end of the season but, even if he had several years to go, Spurs should be seeking to push him out the door at all costs.

Saturday’s defeat to Leeds United was another small reminder that he costs the north London giants more than helps them, and perhaps it’s now a step too far to rely on him for much longer.

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During the game, former Lilywhites player Jamie O’Hara, now a pundit at talkSPORT, blasted the 28-year-old for his performance. “Aurier is just an absolute liability,” the 34-year-old wrote on Twitter just half an hour into the match.

That comment is merely just one of many we’ve seen in recent weeks, and perhaps throughout the entire time that Aurier has been a regular for Spurs.

After their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City only two weeks ago, Sky Sports analyst Jamie Carragher piled into the 66-cap Ivory Coast international (via talkSPORT) and said: “Aurier is maybe one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football and is a player who would possibly put you off management with the amount of crazy decisions he makes.”

Despite all of these scathing verdicts of the right-back, he has still started 19 times in the Premier League this season and even usurped Matt Doherty to be Jose Mourinho’s, and now Ryan Mason’s, first-choice option in the role.

However, with defensive mistakes being the defining theme of Spurs’ turbulent season, it would be wise for Levy to cash in on the 28-year-old before the next manager arrives to give him one less headache to worry about.

If any bids come in for Aurier, then Spurs must take what they can get for him.

AND in other news, Levy could repeat his fatal Hoddle mistake if Spurs appoint “intelligent” 40 y/o…

In what appears to be the never-ending saga of Newcastle United and their potential takeover, the Reuben Brothers, who only wanted a 10% stake in the club, would be brilliant for the Magpies, according to former defender Steve Howey.

They already own several properties in Newcastle as well as the horse racing track, so are already familiar with the area and after their wealth reportedly increased by over £5 billion in the last 12 months, fans questioned why they didn’t buy the club outright themselves?

Mike Ashley also did not fare too badly on the Sunday Times’ UK rich list which was released last week, as he saw his wealth increase by a staggering £769 million, despite most of the high street being hit very hard during the COVID pandemic.

Whoever eventually gets handed the keys from Mike Ashley will have to run the club properly and invest sufficiently. Those are the thoughts of Howey, who spoke exclusively to Football FanCast:

“If the Reuben Brothers bought the club, then brilliant, as long as they invest and look after the club. That’s the same for PIF because ultimately, they might own it on paper, but it’s not their club.

“Basically, owners are just custodians, looking after the club. Football clubs belong to the fans, even though they don’t own it. So any owners that come in, you just want them to look after the club as best as they possibly can.”

Despite being in a relegation battle for the second half of the season, Steve Bruce managed to guide the Magpies to an impressive 12th place finish, the highest they have finished since the 2017/18 season when they finished 10th.

All the talk on Tyneside is for once, not about relegation or the takeover, but more focussed on what the club do with Joe Willock in the summer with fans and Bruce eager to bring the Arsenal youngster back to Tyneside for next season after his impressive eight goals in 14 appearances.

David Sullivan will risk a major blunder if he fails to see West Ham sign loanee Jesse Lingard from Manchester United permanently this summer.

The Irons have been backed to do whatever it takes to keep the England international at the London Stadium by Barry Fry, who has been speaking exclusively with Football FanCast.

Peterborough’s Director of Football believes David Gold and Sullivan will pull out all the stops to keep Lingard in claret and blue, should they receive the green light from manager David Moyes.

Reports by Claret & Hugh have previously claimed that Moyes has marked retaining Lingard and the arrival of a new centre-forward to support Michail Antonio as his priorities for the summer market.

West Ham face paying Manchester United as much as £30m for Lingard, despite the £100,000-per-week dynamo entering the final year of his contract at Old Trafford this June.

Lingard also has interest from elsewhere in the Premier League and from abroad, with The Sun citing Arsenal as plotting a potential rival bid and ESPN listing Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain among a host of European suitors monitoring his situation.

But Fry does not expect outside influences to detract Gold and Sullivan from signing Lingard if the midfielder is Moyes’ man.

“Knowing the West Ham owners, I think they will try their best if David Moyes wants Lingard permanently,” he told FFC. “I think they do everything in their power to get him at West Ham.

“He’s obviously got a relationship with David Moyes, otherwise he wouldn’t have gone there in the first place.

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“He’s been absolutely fantastic. He’s got back in the England squad and showed his worth and he’s been outstanding for West Ham. Lingard’s special.”

Lingard, for his part, is not yet thought to have decided where he wishes to play his football next season, but the 28-year-old is expected to prioritise a club that has Champions League action to offer.

The England international’s goals have helped fire West Ham into the conversation of a top-four finish, with Moyes’ side sitting fourth in the Premier League table and only a point behind Leicester City on level games played with the Foxes plus rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

West Ham were five points behind Liverpool when Lingard made his Irons debut away to Aston Villa, but have enjoyed an eight-point swing since thanks to the playmaker’s eight goals and three assists in only nine appearances.

His double against Leicester on Sunday to help to a 3-2 win at home to the Foxes was particularly vital, yet Moyes argued after the game that “he has been crucial before that”.

It is no wonder, then, that Sky Sports reported earlier this month that West Ham are willing to ‘do whatever it takes’ to keep Lingard at the club, and why Fry has since seemingly supported that claim.

Sullivan would surely risk a major blunder by now failing to get a deal to retain Lingard over the line, and seeing the midfielder replicate his exploits elsewhere while having to pay a similar or even higher fee to find a replacement who can consistently offer the same output or better.

AND in other news, David Moyes eyes a summer reunion with £75k-p/w enforcer who looked “like he’s on roller-skates” in 2020…