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Arsenal have been handed a late boost in their bid to sign Yves Bissouma this January transfer window…

What’s the word?

The Gunners were linked with a move for the Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder earlier this month by The Sunday Mirror (09/01, p71), whilst they have seemingly held a long-term interest in signing him.

Now, according to The Times, the Seagulls are prepared to let him go before Monday night’s deadline for a fee of £50m.

Arsenal have missed out on some key midfield targets this window, including Arthur Melo, whose potential loan move from Juventus fell through, and Bruno Guimaraes, who is set to join top-flight rivals Newcastle United.

Arteta needs him

A new central midfielder must be among the many priorities around the Emirates Stadium but time is quickly running out, which is why a move for a player already based in the Premier League makes the world of sense.

Brighton have made their willingness to conduct business very clear, so the door has opened for Edu Gaspar and his recruitment staff to strike. It would be unforgivable not to.

The Gunners have offloaded as many as five players this month already, all without making a single signing, leaving Arteta light on options in the engine room.

It doesn’t help that Thomas Partey and Mo Elneny have been away on international duty but even with them around, there’s a serious lack of depth in midfield.

Bissouma has already proven his credentials in England and would be a fine addition indeed.

As per WhoScored, he’s averaging a whopping 3.6 tackles per game, which sees him top the entire division in this regard, whilst also managing 1.9 interceptions and 1.7 dribbles per outing, too.

He’s evidently an absolute beast in the heart of the pitch, one capable of not only winning the ball back but also driving it forward into the final third. Perhaps exactly what Arsenal are missing.

Former Aston Villa star Lee Hendrie once said: “I did a chat with myself and Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday a few weeks ago talking about Bissouma, and we highlighted what he actually does. I mean, his stats are absolutely phenomenal, the way he breaks the game up, his forward play.”

By comparison, the erroneous Granit Xhaka – who plays a similar role in north London – averages a lower 1.7 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 0.4 dribbles per match, via WhoScored.

Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old Mali international has been described as a “wonderful talent” and likened to Yaya Toure in terms of playing style.

Arteta could really do with Bissouma before tomorrow night’s deadline, so it will certainly be an interesting final 24 hours or so.

AND in other news, “I’m told..”: Reliable journo drops huge transfer claim as Arsenal make Prem star their no.1 target…

Celtic have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Scottish League Cup semi-final.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Football Scotland, who revealed that Celtic centre-back Stephen Welsh had to be withdrawn late on in Scotland U21s’ 2-0 defeat to Belgium on Tuesday evening.

The report went on to state that the 21-year-old looked to pick up a knock in a collision with one of his Belgian counterparts, before limping out of the UEFA U21 Championship qualifier at Tannadice.

Ange will be fuming

Considering the fact that Carl Starfelt is already a doubt for Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final clash against St. Johnstone, the news that the Sweden international’s stand-in now also appears to be ruled out of the fixture is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou fuming.

Indeed, not only does Welsh’s injury leave the 56-year-old manager extremely short of options at the back, the Bhoys boss also appears to have lost one of his most promising young talents at Parkhead.

Over his five Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £1.08m-rated man has helped his side keep two clean sheets and registered one assist, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 2.2 clearances and winning 6.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the Scotland U21 international average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.12, ranking him as Postecoglou’s joint 11th-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

As such, the 21-year-old’s injury will undoubtedly come as a major blow to the Greek-Australian’s chances of securing a victory against St. Johnstone, a result that Postecoglou will be desperate for in order to have a shot at picking up the first trophy of his tenure as Celtic manager.

In other news: Ange could repeat Josh Adam disaster with 15 y/o Celtic prodigy, it’d be a big blow

West Brom face another test in the Championship tonight with a home clash against Nottingham Forest to try and get their season back on track after weeks of mixed results.

Their previous league outing saw them draw 0-0 against Blackpool, leaving the Baggies without a win in their last three games.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players West Brom manager Valerien Ismael could pick for his starting XI to take on Forest, one man who featured in the draw against Blackpool but should not be in the team on this occasion is Cedric Kipre.

In the match at Blackpool in midweek, the centre-back – who is currently earning a weekly wage of £14k-per-week according to Salary Sport – was something of a liability at the back for the Baggies, even though they managed to keep a clean sheet on the day.

In this regard, the 24-year-old managed to get dribbled past on two occasions, gave three fouls away (which led to him being handed a yellow card), lost possession 13 times, misplaced 11 passes and lost seven of his 12 duels.

This performance ultimately earned the centre-back, who has been previously described as an “assassin” by former Baggies manager Slaven Bilic, an underwhelming overall match rating of 6.5/10 from SofaScore, making him the joint-lowest rated West Brom player on the day alongside Karlan Grant.

Looking ahead to tonight’s match, perhaps it could be the best option for Ismael to take Kipre out of the team so that he doesn’t end up potentially costing the Baggies the game, especially when they could really do with a win to keep them in the race for promotion by the end of the campaign.

In terms of who Ismael could utilise instead of Kipre tonight to help Albion to another clean sheet, perhaps it could be the right time for Semi Ajayi to come back into the team after being an unused substitute for their four previous league games.

In other news: West Brom could soar to promotion by signing this MLS star

After a decent start to their Premier League campaign, West Ham United have stumbled in recent weeks with just one win in their previous six top-flight games.

With the January transfer window opening in a matter of days, journalist Paul Brown has dropped a claim on a potential piece of business that the Hammers could look to execute as they aim to end the season in the top four of the Premier League table.

What’s the news?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Brown was discussing the possibility of West Ham making a move to try and sign Sparta Prague striker Adam Hlozek, with whom the club have been linked in recent weeks, in the upcoming window

He said: “It might be that kind of profile they look for. Yeah, I could see that. That kind of transfer being one they do more than [Andrea] Belotti or a [Anthony] Martial who would cost a lot of money and expects to play every week.”

As a product of Sparta’s youth academy, Hlozek has gone on to make 111 senior appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 33 goals and providing 33 assists along the way, which is very impressive considering that he’s only 19.

Even though he may not have the experience of the likes of Belotti (238 appearances for Torino) or Martial (268 appearances for Manchester United), the teenager has still shown what an exciting goalscoring prospect he is.

Fans could be buzzing

With West Ham having signed the likes of Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Alex Kral, all of whom come from the Czech Republic, Hlozek could be the next in line to follow in their footsteps and become a potential future star at the London Stadium.

If West Ham were to sign the teenager in January ahead of the likes of Martial and Belotti, the youngster could be just what the Irons need given how Michail Antonio hasn’t scored since their 1-0 win over Tottenham back in October, especially if the Czech youngster can hit the ground running in a goalscoring sense.

Moving forward, with January around the corner, the Hammers should definitely explore the possibility of signing Hlozek to see if he can relieve the scoring burden on sole centre-forward Antonio. A coup like this would leave the fan base buzzing, not least when looking at the 19-year-old’s excellent scoring record.

In other news: GSB could solve Moyes’ big issue at West Ham with move for “unbelievable” £19k-p/w “monster”

Loads of Wolves fans have been talking about the latest tweet from Joe Edwards that recently emerged on social media, as the journalist shared news of Romain Saiss’ extended deal.

Edwards recently tweeted about Saiss, sharing an article about his contractual situation at the club. The versatile Frecnhman is now set for a a new 12-month deal at the club and that has been triggered by how many matches he has started this season for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

The journalist’s tweet described Saiss to be a key member of Nuno’s side while revealing that he will remain in the Midlands for at least 12 more months. The defender’s current contract at Wolves runs out in the summer transfer window and the club had the option to extend it by another year based on his impact this term, which has proved to be significant. One supporter described it as ‘great news’.

He had arrived at Wolves in the summer of 2016 from Ligue 1 side Angers, and the 30-year-old is now the longest-serving Wolves player after Conor Coady, who has been at the club since 2015.

Edwards’ tweet about Saiss’ contractual update drew the attention of lots of Wolves fans, who made their views clear about the player.

What did Wolves fans make of Edwards’ tweet?

“The guy is awesome pleased for him definitely rate him I reckon there’d be a queue for him if he was put up for sale.”

Credit: @DaveJon36562654

“Love the bloke, deserves his new contract and is an invaluable member of the squad but he can’t be part of our strongest starting 11 if we want to move forward next season.”Credit: @witdawit”Extended increase our value for him, he’ll move on.”Credit: @t_j_mcg”Great squad player to have, but needs upgrading in the summer.”Credit: @Russt_29″Great news.. great player to have around..”Credit: @davidellerton”Get in.”Credit: @cal_wolvesfc”Vital player. Sort of person we need to keep. Versatile and happy to play here and there.”Credit: @gav_dhaliwalIn other news, Wolves have been linked with a move for a former player – read more here.

Newcastle United are reportedly in pole position to sign Joe Willock on a permanent deal from Arsenal – if they do not get relegated from the Premier League.

That is according to journalist Mark Douglas, writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, who claims that the on-loan Arsenal man has made a good impression on the coaching staff and has enjoyed his time so far at St James’ Park.

Newcastle should sign Willock if possible

The opportunities for Willock at the Emirates Stadium may continue to be limited if he returns to Mikel Arteta’s team, meaning that there may be an incentive for the Gunners to cash in on what is still a young player with a lot of potential.

If Newcastle manage to avoid being relegated to the Championship, then they could well pounce for the youngster.

Willock has settled in quite well in the northeast, with Magpies legend Alan Shearer even going as far as to call him ‘magnificent’ after he scored on his debut in the 3-2 home win over Southampton back in February. Also, no team-mate has recorded more tackles or interceptions per game so far this term (WhoScored).

At just 21 years of age still, the central midfielder could be a smart investment by Newcastle, providing that they manage to stay in the Premier League come the end of the season.

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

Rangers were dealt a big blow earlier this month when the news dropped that striker Alfredo Morelos will miss the rest of the season through injury.

In the Colombian’s absence, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has had to rely on Kemar Roofe to fill in and lead the line for his side.

Even though the Gers have some important games left to play before the season draws to an end and the summer transfer window opens, it seems as though the club are in the mix to sign one player that could potentially bring an end to Roofe’s time at Ibrox.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football League World, Rangers are interested in signing Stoke City striker Jacob Brown.

Since joining the Championship club back in September 2020 from Barnsley, the Scotsman has gone on to make 95 appearances for the Potters across all competitions.

Bad news for Roofe

This season has seen the 24-year-old Brown really make a name for himself as a dangerous goalscorer.

In 42 league appearances, the striker has found the back of the net 12 times and provided four assists along the way.

Labelled as a “versatile” player by Michael O’Neill and as a “bright talent” by journalist Alan Biggs, Brown has racked up more shots at goal (80) than any other Stoke player.

Also, no other forward has been able to match the same number of tackles (24) or interceptions (16) that Brown has, showing how he can defend from the front.

This shows just how much of an all-around useful player he is on the pitch for his side, who would surely be gutted to see him leave.

Even though Roofe has only played half the number of SPFL games that the £2.7m-rated Stoke striker has this season in the Championship, it seems rather difficult to get him to do much defensive work.

With 21 league games played, the Jamaican has only made two tackles and four interceptions for the Gers.

Taking this into account and the age difference between Brown and the 29-year-old Rangers figure, Stoke’s sharp-shooter could be an ideal long-term upgrade on Roofe at Ibrox.

Moving forward, if the opportunity to sign the 24-year-old arises during the summer, Van Bronckhorst’s side should be doing everything they can to bring the centre-forward to his home country and give him the chance to win titles with the Gers.

In other news: GvB can unearth Rangers’ next Aribo in rarely-seen 18 y/o who’s “unlike anyone else”

This has been a rather troubled January for Leeds United. They have won just once and have failed to strengthen their ranks in the transfer window.

Though, despite Marcelo Bielsa insisting he’s happy with his squad, rumours of potential incomings are swirling around.

On the chalkboard

One of the names linked with Leeds in recent days has been Nottingham Forest youngster Brennan Johnson.

The winger is currently on loan at Lincoln City where he’s been tearing League One to shreds with five goals and six assists in 20 outings.

It’s an impressive record for a 19-year-old who is doing all the right things in terms of his personal development.

The Whites haven’t been afraid to strengthen their youth ranks in recent years and that was evident last summer. Victor Orta brought in the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Cody Drameh and Crysencio Summerville.

Though, with a host of young attackers in their midst, signing another even if they are talented, fails to make much sense.

Unleash Poveda

There is no doubting the supreme talents of Johnson. However, rather than spending on new recruits this month, Leeds must look at unleashing someone already in their ranks.

That happens to be Ian Poveda. The 20-year-old signed from Manchester City a year ago but has only made one senior start since.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-leeds-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Leeds news!”]

He has appeared ten times as a substitute in the Premier League this term but is yet to play from the off. Poveda’s only chance to shine from kick-off was against Crawley in the FA Cup.

Of course, that was a dismal affair for the Whites as they lost 3-0. However, the English winger was a ball of energy and if anyone could come away from the game with credit, it was him.

He was devastating in the final third and a wonderful piece of trickery in the first-half summed up his game. Poveda attempted four dribbles – two of which were successful – and also provided a key pass all within 58 minutes.

For various reasons, he hasn’t been given a regular chance in the Premier League but we reckon that should change in the back half of the campaign. After all, he possesses qualities that can frighten defenders.

Discussing the youngster earlier this season, Noel Whelan said: “You can see now when you talk about people changing games and bringing a different dimension, he’s very, very quick, got great feet, very tricky, likes to run at players. Very much like Raphinha as well.”

If Leeds really do have another Raphinha in their clutches, it can only be a good thing. The Brazilian has been a radiant ball of attacking quality since signing from Rennes and with three goals and three assists, is improving all the time.

It’s time Poveda was given a similar platform to try and do the same. Leeds would only harm his development further by bringing a player like Johnson to the club.

They must ignore him and unleash their own young players.

AND in other news, 3 new signings, Bielsa favourite axed: How Leeds’ XI could look after deadline day…

Paul Dummett is a product of Newcastle United’s academy having made his debut in 2013 under Alan Pardew, and Rob Lee, who was signed by Kevin Keegan in 1992, has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that the Newcastle fans want to see him stay at the club.

There have been reports suggesting that the Magpies are set to activate the extra one year option in Dummett’s contract as the former Wales international’s current deal is set to expire at the end of the season.

Since returning from injury back in March, Dummett has started the last 10 Premier League games as Steve Bruce has opted to play the 29-year old as a centre back, something he appears to be revelling in as he got his first goal in five years against Leicester City recently.

Dummett netted his first-ever goal for the Magpies in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool back in 2013 and since then he has only scored another three times, but the fans love seeing one of their own dons the black and white shirt, that is what Lee thinks as he exclusively spoke to The Transfer Tavern:

“He probably has been at the club since he was three knowing Paul Dummett, but he’s a good player and he does a very good job for the club every time he plays.

“I’m sure he’d love to stay and I’m sure the fans would love him to stay because he’s a Geordie. That’s one thing Newcastle fans love, seeing one of their own play for their team so I don’t see what the problem is in giving him a new deal.”

The Magpies have an important summer ahead of them as they have six players set to be out of contract with a number of those players having been at the club for several years.

If Bruce decided that the £35,000 per week defender’s best position is as a centre back then it may not be surprising to see them sign another left-back this summer, and former loanee Jetro Willems has been linked with a move as he will be a free agent next month.

Wayne Rooney has been dealt a blow to his hopes of keeping Martyn Waghorn at Derby County this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claimed that a recruitment source has revealed that Cardiff City are monitoring the situation of the £1.8m-rated centre-forward ahead of a potential summer swoop.

The report added that Derby are desperate for the 31-year-old to sign a new deal at the club in the coming weeks, with his contract at Pride Park set to expire at the end of June.

Rooney will be gutted

While Waghorn did not have the best of seasons by anybody’s standards in 2020/21, the striker undeniably proved his worth to Rooney’s side in the final round of Championship fixtures.

With Derby needing to match Rotherham United’s result against Cardiff City in their own fixture against Sheffield Wednesday to survive relegation, the £7,900-per-week forward proved the catalyst in getting the Rams over the line at Pride Park, scoring two goals and providing one assist to secure a 3-3 draw with the Owls and subsequently keeping his side in the second tier at their opponents’ expense.

Over the rest of the season, Waghorn only managed a further three goals and three assists, as well as averaging a rather disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.67 – ranking him as Derby’s joint 17th-best performer in the Championship.

However, if the reports are to be believed, Rooney is clearly keen to keep the 31-year-old on the club’s books this summer, and as such, the news concerning Mick McCarthy’s interest in his former Ipswich Town player is likely to come as a huge blow for the 35-year-old Derby boss.

With the Bluebirds finishing in eighth place in the Championship, McCarthy will undoubtedly be hoping to mount a push for a play-off spot next season, something which could be quite appealing to Waghorn as the potential of playing Premier League football with the Welsh club appears to be much greater than if he were to stay at Derby this summer.

Indeed, with time running out on his contract at Pride Park and no sign as yet that he will be putting pen to paper on a new deal, things do not look too promising regarding Rooney’s chances of holding onto the striker – whom Kenny Miller dubbed a “fantastic” player – this summer.

In other news: Rooney must sanction £1.5m Derby County swoop for “fantastic” 22 G/A beast this summer – opinion