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Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Stefan de Vrij to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla (via Sport Witness), who revealed that, with Inter Milan pursuing a deal for Torino centre-back Gleison Bremer, the Serie A side have decided they would be willing to part with De Vrij at the end of the season.

Pedulla goes on to state that the centre-back himself has also come to the conclusion that he will not renew his current deal at the San Siro, something that is sure to come as a huge boost to Antonio Conte – who is reported to have requested the 30-year-old’s signing this summer.

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Speaking about the future of the Netherlands international, the journalist said: “In January, [Bremer] gave his word to Inter; there is a fictitious and unpublicised clause for the transfer at €25m-€30m (£21m-£25m). In my opinion, it should cost at least €40m (£33m) or more.

“I don’t know if there will be any quid pro quo, but the choice has been made, as has the transfer with De Vrij. There have been evaluations, and Inter have chosen Bremer. De Vrij will not renew his contract; we’ll see if he has requests from Tottenham or other teams.”

Conte’s dream Spurs signing

Considering the amount of success Conte enjoyed with De Vrij in the heart of his Inter Milan defence, the argument that the centre-back’s signing would be a dream deal for Fabio Paratici to get over the line this summer is a rather easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 32 Serie A appearances under the 52-year-old manager last season, the €30m (£25m) Dutchman was a key player within Inter’s title-winning side, helping the Nerazzurri keep 11 clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 2.9 clearances, 57.4 passes and winning 3.3 duels – at a success rate of 60% – per game.

These metrics saw the £116k-per-week man who journalist Deep Dastardly dubbed a defender “in the Vertonghen mould” average a very impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Conte’s 10th-best player in the Italian top flight last time out.

And, with it being reported that a left-sided centre-back – the position in which De Vrij featured for the Spurs coach at Inter – will be Paratici’s priority in the summer transfer window, the suggestion that the 30-year-old will be available to sign is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with Spurs – not least Conte himself.

AND in other news: Time’s up: Gold drops update on “embarrassing” £115m Spurs talent, Conte must now act

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer believes Rafael Benitez could be the manager to get the best out of Alex Iwobi at Everton.

Iwobi joined Everton for big money after signing from Arsenal in a £34m deal back in 2019.

However, the 25-year-old has not quite lived up to that price tag, often finding himself in and out the team while not having the best goal record (as per WhoScored).

According to the Liverpool Echo, though, Benitez has been impressed with what he has seen from Iwobi in training and is eager to help him transfer that to Goodison Park and other Premier League grounds.

And Palmer thinks the Spaniard is the manager to help the Nigeria international to do just that.

“You go to a club like Everton, which is a completely different style of play to the way that Arsenal have played and education, but by now you’d think he would understand the way that Everton play and what he’d be required to do,” the ex-Leeds United player said.

“He is a pacey winger, so let’s see. Rafael is a very, very good coach – we all know that – so maybe he can get the best out of him.”

Getting in and staying in that Everton starting XI is not going to be easy, though, with recent goalscorers Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend bang in form.

Southampton could be in for a major boost in their pursuit of Joe Worrall after former Nottingham Forest frontman Nigel Jemson suggested the defender is itching for a Premier League move.

Saints have been heavily linked with Forest centre-half Worrall as the transfer deadline nears, although reports suggest the 24-year-old is also on the radar of Premier League rivals Brentford, Burnley, Norwich City, Crystal Palace and West Ham United.

Southampton’s interest comes following the departure of Denmark international Jannik Vestergaard, who completed a £15million switch to Leicester City having entered the final 12 months of his contract at St Mary’s Stadium.

Worrall, who is yet to feature for Forest this season due to a calf injury, made 33 appearances for Forest last term and caught the eye with some impressive displays.

While he is yet to taste Premier League football, Worrall boasts experience in Scotland’s top tier thanks to a spell with Rangers.

Jemson is confident Worrall would make the grade at Southampton.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “Joe is a local lad who has done really well. He went up to Rangers and played under a great manager in front of a big amount of fans at Ibrox. He learnt his trade there and came back a better player for it.

“He has come into the first team at Nottingham Forest on a regular basis and performed at a very good level.

“He’s going to attract attention. Every player’s dream in the Championship is to play in the Premier League and I’m sure Joe is no exception to that.”

Buying and selling players in football always comes with a risk attached to it. What if they struggle to adapt or they go on to greater things after leaving? There are always concerns but that comes with the territory of the transfer window and Rangers are no strangers to that.

One player who the Gers brought in before selling on at a later date was American holding midfielder Matt Polster.

Polster joined Rangers on a free transfer from Chicago Fire but failed to make his mark in Scotland. He ended up playing 10 senior matches for the club before his departure, six of which came in the Scottish Premiership – failing to score a goal and providing one assist. SofaScore rated four of his appearances in the 2019/20 campaign, with Polster achieving a score of 7.0 or higher in three of his four matches.

He then joined MLS side New England Revolution for a fee of £297k in the summer of 2020. So, how has he fared since departing from Ibrox?

In 2021, he has played 23 games in the MLS and averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.03. He has averaged 3.2 tackles and interceptions per game for Revolution and won 59% of his duels, showing defensive steel in the middle of the park.

This has seen his market value on Transfermarkt soar to £900k. This is a 203% increase on the fee Rangers sold him to Revolution for and the highest his value has been in his career – with his market valuation rising steadily ever since he joined the MLS side.

At the age of 28, it could continue to rise as he plays out his peak years as a footballer, with his experience and growth helping him to develop his game and improve his performances. This does beg the question ‘why Rangers did not give him more time?’

His quality performances in the MLS and his soaring market value suggest that Rangers may have sold him at the wrong time and that he deserved more of a chance to show what he could do. It can take time to adapt to a new league and he was only given six attempts to crack the Scottish Premiership.

Perhaps he could have fulfilled his potential if Steven Gerrard gave him a few more opportunities to showcase his qualities, although that is all hypothetical now. We will never know how it would have gone, with Polster now making the most of his chance in the MLS.

AND in other news, Rangers transfer claim made on “perfect” £6.2k-p/w beast, it’ll leave fans delighted…

Taking into account the plethora of domestic trophies that Manchester City have managed to win and records they’ve broken over the past few years, it’s safe to say the club have their fair share of elite players in the squad.

Additionally, with a total market value of £969.57m, City have the most valuable squad out of any Premier League club at the moment according to Transfermarkt.

Away from their senior squad, one player that the Manchester club have in their youth ranks that we feel has the capability of becoming a future first-team star for them is 18-year-old attacking-midfielder James McAtee, who has recently been described as being an “intelligent player” by the City U23s manager Brian Barry-Murphy.

As a product of City’s youth system, McAtee has made 34 appearances for their U18 side, scoring 15 goals and nine assists as well as making 35 appearances for their U23 side in which he has managed to score 19 goals and provide 14 assists in the process, showing just how much of an impressive attacking outlet he has been.

McAtee has also made one appearance for City’s senior side which came during the club’s 6-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup last month where he came on as a substitute in the second half.

Recently, it was reported that the Manchester club rejected an £8m bid from fellow Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion for McAtee, with Crystal Palace and West Ham also apparently keeping tabs on the teenager, which just goes to show how eye-catching he has been in terms of what he’s been doing on the pitch.

Looking ahead to the future, we feel that McAtee, who is currently valued at £450k according to Transfermarkt, definitely has the ability to continue his development at City and become a regular player in the senior team.

With the number of goals and assists McAtee has managed to provide City’s youth teams, as well as being able to play in the central-midfield and centre-forward positions, we feel that the Englishman could well be a decent future replacement for Kevin De Bruyne. He has shown how much of an attacking threat he is for the club after scoring 69 goals and providing 107 assists in 269 games for City across all competitions, whilst also being able to play in similar positions as McAtee.

However, with De Bruyne’s current contract at City not set to expire until 2025, perhaps McAtee will have to make do with some sporadic first-team appearances for the time being, following a similar path as Phil Foden has done in terms of gradually making more first-team appearances as time goes on.

In other news: Man City handed double injury blow ahead of Liverpool clash, Guardiola will be gutted – opinion

Many Southampton fans are far from happy after the Saints were linked with another loan move for Takumi Minamino this summer.

Less than a week separates the Saints from their first Premier League match of the season against Everton at St Mary’s, and Ralph Hasenhuttl and co will be hoping to improve on their 15th-placed finish in the top flight last time out.

The departure of Danny Ings to Aston Villa (avfc.co.uk) means that Southampton are light in the centre-forward position. As such, according to talkSPORT, the south coast outfit are interested in re-signing 26-year-old Minamino on loan from Liverpool.

The Japan international spent the second half of last season on loan at St Mary’s, scoring two goals in 10 matches (Transfermarkt), but it seems that plenty of Saints supporters were not really happy with what they saw from him. He averaged a modest 6.42 match rating from WhoScored while at the club and drew criticism from some fans over a few performances.

The news of Southampton’s renewed interest in Minamino was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra and it attracted plenty of attention from supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on his possible return to St Mary’s.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Minamino links

“better not be true. He was useless for us after a promising two goals to start”

Credit: @fletchsfc

“Minamino? No, no, no and no!”

Credit: @DG_StroM

“No, please no”

Credit: @BensBanter

“Just stop trolling the fans please #saintsfc, our blood pressure can’t take this!”

Credit: @Stumando28

“I wouldn’t even take him back on loan”

Credit: @IsaacPollard12

“please no”

Credit: @xmaiisie

In other news, Southampton want this Ligue 1 defender.

Lots of Everton fans have been left gushing over some transfer news that has emerged on Bruno Guimaraes.

As per Football.London journalist Chris Wheatley, the Goodison Park faithful, as well as both Newcastle United and Arsenal, are now ‘monitoring’ the Brazil international ahead of a potential move in the January transfer window, although a summer exit from Lyon is ‘more likely’.

Guimaraes has been a mainstay in the Lyon team for the past two seasons, and has recently been adding assists to his game (call-ups to the Brazil squad.

Comparing his stats to both Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan in their respective domestic leagues this term, Guimaraes is currently averaging more dribbles and key passes at a higher success rate (WhoScored), suggesting that he would be an upgrade for the Merseyside club in the middle of the park, at least in attacking sense.

Everton fans on Guimaraes transfer news

These Toffees supporters gushed as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one Blue saying they are ‘really excited’ by the news, while another said that he would be a ‘top signing’:

“Would be a top signing if we cant sort it”

Credit: @evertonfanatic

“Much needed”

Credit: @Rixzuh

“Now this would get me really excited very talented player indeed”

Credit: @toffee18781

“Ahhh about time we want one of Kia’s good clients. He’d be an excellent buy and would work perfectly alongside Allan and Doucoure in a 3.”

Credit: @siewakes20

“What a signing that’ll be”

Credit: @maxhornby14

“Now this player is superb.”

Credit: @BT_1878

In other news, find out what transfer update has Evertonians buzzing here!

Norwich City are considering an approach to appoint Russell Martin as the club’s next manager.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Telegraph which claims that City’s sporting director Stuart Webber is contemplating a move for the Swansea City coach in his search to appoint Daniel Farke’s successor at Carrow Road.

However, it is then stated that the 37-year-old is also interested in a number of managers in the European market, something which could see the former MK Dons boss overlooked for the role.

Martin is a perfect fit

While it is true that the 35-year-old Swansea manager does not have much experience behind him in football management, let alone to the standard the Premier League – with Martin’s 100 fixtures as a boss all coming in League One and the Championship – stylistically, it would be difficult to argue that the former Scotland international would not be a perfect fit for the Canaries.

Indeed, during his time at MK Dons, the young coach transformed his side into a possession-based team, continuously looking to dominate the ball regardless of their opponent, while they also topped the possession x progressive passes per 90 minutes chart last season – demonstrating their highly efficient use of the ball.

Furthermore, the 35-year-old’s side also pressed extremely aggressively, allowing their opposition a minimal number of passes before triggering a defensive action, with their PPDA (passes per defensive action) ranking as the fifth-lowest in the league last term.

However, not only did he successfully impose his “attractive, attacking style” in the words of CEO Julian Winter at MK Dons, Martin also achieved results, taking over a side that occupied 21st in the League One standings and guiding them to safety with a 19th place finish in his first season in charge, before leading the Dons to a highly impressive 13th place finish last season.

As such, considering that almost all of Martin’s traits as a manager align with Daniel Farke’s own philosophies, it would indeed appear that the 35-year-old would fit Webber’s brief for his next appointment perfectly.

Having said that, whether or not the Swansea boss possesses the experience the sporting director would like in his next manager is another matter entirely, although, considering the fact the man who Pete Winkelman dubbed a “serious manager” played 309 games for Norwich during his career, perhaps this is all the experience of the club Martin would require.

In other news: Webber could land dream Farke replacement at Norwich in “unbelievable” 43 y/o boss

Manchester United are currently in the middle of trying to appoint their new manager to take over at Old Trafford this summer, however, it hasn’t stopped the transfer interest from continuing with another player potentially set to join the club this summer.

What’s the word?

Journalist and transfer insider, Dean Jones, claims that Pau Torres is on the list of players Manchester United would like to sign this summer.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Pau Torres has always remained on the list, he just hasn’t been as talked about as some others in recent times, but they’ve always wanted him to be considered.”

Maguire upgrade

It has been no secret that Harry Maguire has come under a lot of criticism since he joined Man United, and with a new manager coming into the club this summer, it might be the perfect opportunity to move on the defender and bring in a younger centre-back.

According to Squawka, when you compare Torres to the Red Devils’ captain, the Villareal player has made more ball recoveries, completed more passes, won more ground duels and kept a higher number clean sheets this season. That’s all on top of the Spaniard scoring three more goals.

The £45m-rated monster who was hailed “brutal” by Santi Cazorla, is also the second most successful dribbler and is seventh for pass completion in La Liga this season, which is incredibly impressive when you consider he is amongst the likes of Toni Kroos and Vinicius Junior in La Liga.

When you consider his statistics compared to Maguire, signing the player would clearly be an upgrade for the Man United backline and could have a great impact on the improvement needed in the squad to get the club back to competing for and winning trophies.

Torres is currently excelling in Europe too this season, with Villareal progressing to the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, beating the German giants 1-0 in the first leg with a huge chance of reaching their first semi-final in the competition since 2006.

United are not currently looking likely to qualify for the Champions League following their defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, with Tottenham Hotspur moving six points clear of the Red Devils, which could have an impact on the players they can attract this summer, including Torres.

In other news: Man United suffer big setback in ten Hag chase, supporters will be fuming

Frank Lampard wants Duncan Ferguson to be part of his team at Everton, according to The Times’ Paul Joyce. 

The lowdown

Lampard has been appointed as the Toffees’ new manager, according to Sky Sports, and he will be the permanent successor to Rafael Benitez, who was sacked on 18 January.

Ferguson was placed in temporary charge of the team while the search was ongoing, and he oversaw the recent 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa.

The latest

Joyce tweeted on Monday morning that ‘Lampard has asked’ Ferguson to remain at Goodison Park and be a part of his backroom staff.

The verdict

It looks like Ferguson will be accepting the 43-year-old’s offer, with journalist Alan Myers assuring Everton fans that the ex-Toffees striker would be ‘going nowhere’ after talks with the new boss.

The former Derby County and Chelsea manager will likely want to bring fresh faces to the Goodison Park dugout as he looks to implement his vision. Indeed, The Telegraph’s Matt Law said that the likes of Ashley Cole and Paul Clement could form part of Lampard’s backroom staff.

However, perhaps the new manager realises that keeping Ferguson on will score him some early points with Everton supporters, many of whom idolise the 50-year-old. After all, the Scotsman is something of a legend at Goodison Park, having made 260 appearances, scored 68 goals and won the FA Cup.

In other news, Everton have made a move for this Champions League star