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Leeds United have confirmed the signing of Chelsea midfielder Lewis Bate on a three-year contract [Leeds United FC Official].

The Lowdown: Leeds United look to cover all bases ahead of the new season

As anticipation builds ahead of the new Premier League campaign, Marcelo Bielsa will be desperate to cover all bases in order to continue the steady levels of progression seen at Elland Road in recent years.

Acquiring ready made first-team figures will be key to prospective success. However, bringing in quality young stars can also be an intelligent method of recruitment with longer-term benefits.

Interestingly, the Whites have now tapped into the latter category with their latest move.

The Latest: Bate signs three-year deal

Keen to poach top talent, Leeds United have now successfully acquired Bate on an undisclosed fee from London giants Chelsea [Leeds United FC Official].

The Blues had been itching to tie him down to a new contract, however he decided to stall on putting pen to paper at Stamford Bridge, paving the way for interest in his services [Evening Standard].

Faced with the prospect of losing the anchor man for free upon the expiration of his contract in 12 months-time, the Blues had little choice but to let the youngster make the move north to Yorkshire.

The Verdict: Bate is an astute piece of business by the Elland Road hierarchy

Keeping a keen eye on the future, Bate possesses the qualities to make a real impact in Bielsa’s style of rapid counter-attacks.

Prominent in the transition from defence to attack, his ability to drive with the ball at considerable pace has seen him become a shining light in the Chelsea youth academy in recent years.

In 2020/21, the London-born midfielder made 26 appearances combined for the Chelsea Under-23 and Chelsea Under-18 sides, scoring once [Transfermarkt].

His passing ability has been lauded through his time in the ranks at the Cobham Training Centre, in keeping with Bielsa’s high-octane style of football.

Poised to initially link up with the Whites Under-23 set up, Bate now has an ideal platform to harness his talents as he bids to make a first-team breakthrough in the future.

In other news, Leeds United have been linked with a Bundesliga ace.

An update has emerged on Burnley winger Dwight McNeil, amid interest from Aston Villa. 

What’s the talk?

According to Burnley publication Pendle Today, Burnley are yet to receive an enquiry or offer for Aston Villa target Dwight McNeil this summer. No club has touched base with the Premier League side over a potential deal for the England under-21 international, who Burnley are said to value at £30m.

Football Insider reported last month that Dwight McNeil is a player who is of interest to Villa. Dean Smith was said to be preparing an offer for McNeil, who is reportedly one of the club’s top transfer targets this summer.

Back in 2020, Burnley manager Sean Dyche hailed the “outstanding” winger and labeled him as one of the best young players in England. He told the Burnley Express:

“On a platform like today, I thought Dwight McNeil was outstanding.“He has got to be one of the top talents in the country for me at the moment. The game is getting away from you and it is a hard day at the office, and he was different class.“You could give him the ball and he was dribbling past three or four different players and carrying it.“He was absolutely different class for me.” Fans would love it

Johan Lange must now firm up Aston Villa’s interest in McNeil as fans would love it if the club managed to snap him up. Villa have already secured a deal to sign Emi Buendia from Norwich and McNeil could further strengthen their attacking unit behind Ollie Watkins, with Bertrand Traore and Jack Grealish already at the club. The Burnley winger could offer a different option to the likes of Traore and Grealish in the wide areas, as they tend to drift inside onto their stronger foot, whilst McNeil is a left-footed player who plays out on the left.

This means that McNeil could drive Villa up the pitch and get to the byline to put crosses in to Watkins and whoever else makes a run into the box, be it John McGinn, Traore or Douglas Luiz. Dean Smith would then have the option to switch up how Villa want to attack their opponents, be it from the start or off the bench, and this is why McNeil could be an excellent addition. McNeil has proven himself at Premier League level, with four goals and 11 assists since the start of the 2019/20 campaign for Burnley.

Villa now need to test the water and see how receptive Burnley are to any offers. As the initial report claimed, Burnley have not been tested as of yet and there is no harm in Villa putting out the feelers with an offer for the youngster. Worst case scenario, Lange wastes a few hours and then moves on to other targets. Best case scenario, Villa are able to tempt Burnley into a sale and Smith gains another talented forward player.

AND in other news, Lange must sanction Villa deal for “outstanding” 65-cap “leader”, Dean Smith needs him…

Tottenham’s Serge Aurier has revealed that he intends to leave the club this summer.

The Lowdown: Heavily linked with an exit

The 28-year-old has been heavily linked with an exit away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with his former club Paris Saint-Germain believed to be particularly interested in his services (Le Parisien).

The 66-cap Ivory Coast international himself has now spoken out on where he sees himself over the coming months.

The Latest: Aurier wants to leave

In an interview with French outlet L’Equipe, Aurier revealed his plans for the future, saying:

“Everyone is aware that if I wanted to extend my deal at Tottenham, I would’ve done so already. I’m not going to do it in six months.

“I’ve reached the end of a cycle and it’s time to look elsewhere. The two parties, Tottenham’s board and my agents, have agreed upon the conditions. We’ll see after that.

“I’ve never hidden my desire to return to PSG one day. It’s the club of my heart, the one that I support and I feel free to speak about it.”

The Verdict: The end of the road

Aurier’s time at Tottenham has been a mixed one. Of course, he was part of the squad which reached the Champions League final in 2019, and he has managed 110 games for the club in all competitions, scoring eight goals and providing 17 assists (Transfermarkt). However, he has also come in for criticism for a few of his performances (Football Insider).

With just one year left on his £68,000-a-week contract, now would be the perfect time for Spurs to sell Aurier. He is still valued at £18m (Transfermarkt) and could therefore bring in a healthy sum which could go towards new signings. If he has no desire to stay in north London, then frankly he is of no use to anyone at Tottenham.

In other news, Tottenham eye this Bundesliga midfielder.

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Graham Roberts has urged the club to try to bring Kieran Trippier back this summer.

The right-back was sold by Mauricio Pochettino and left the club in 2019 to join Atletico Madrid for a fee of £20m.

He has gone on to win La Liga with Diego Simeone, becoming another player to depart Spurs and win a trophy.

Trippier spent four years at Spurs, emerging as their first-choice right-back following the departure of Kyle Walker to Manchester City.

In total, the ex-Burnley defender made 114 appearances for Spurs, scoring twice and laying on 24 assists.

Roberts thinks that Spurs need to sign a right-back this summer, after Matt Doherty’s struggles in 2020/21, and Serge Aurier claiming that he has come to the end of his time in north London.

Trippier has been linked with an exit from Atletico, with Manchester United seen as a possible landing spot, but Roberts thinks that the club should insert themselves into the race and try to bring the 30-year-old back to north London.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Roberts said: “A decent right-back is going to cost you £30 million or £40 million.

“If I was a coach now, I would say to Kieran Trippier, ‘come back’, he knows how to be a right-back.”

Fabio Paratici is thought to be the driving force behind the latest name to be linked to the Tottenham Hotspur vacancy…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the newly-appointed director of football is pushing hard to make Nuno Santo the next manager of Spurs, in what has been described as a “major coup.”

This comes as a significant U-turn as the club’s hierarchy ruled out making a move for the Portuguese very early on in their process, which began some nine weeks ago.

The 47-year-old has been out of work since leaving Premier League rivals Wolves by mutual consent at the end of the 2020/21 campaign and has been linked to the roles at Everton and Crystal Palace.

Worrying news

Since the arrival of the Italian in North London, the names mooted with the Spurs job have hardly been inspiring.

Initially, Paratici looked to have sealed an instant candidate in former AS Roma boss Paulo Fonseca, who has interestingly been replaced by Jose Mourinho at the Stadio Olimpico.

That was until talks collapsed at the eleventh hour, leading his charge for the controversial Gennaro Gattuso. He left Fiorentina after less than three weeks in charge but the club were forced to abandon that pursuit after backlash from supporters.

It’s not the first time that the Lilywhites fanbase has vented their frustrations against the board and chairman Daniel Levy. Tottenham’s role in plans for a new European Super League led to protests outside the ground towards the end of last season.

Truth be told, this was merely the culmination of angst that had built up for several seasons, largely due to a lack of ambition and a lack of success. Spurs are still without a trophy since 2008, after all.

Names like Fonseca, Gattuso and now Nuno will do Levy, the ENIC Group and now Paratici no favours whatsoever.

The 47-year-old former goalkeeper, who played under Mourinho at Porto, is already up against it from plenty of Spurs supporters, who have expressed their disappointment on social media before he’s even walked through the door.

“This just goes from bad to worse,” exclaimed one fan. “Paratici Out,” said another whilst a further member of the Hotspur faithful questioned whether these links were a joke and that’s just three of many reactions, as relayed by This is Futbol.

If these latest reports are to be believed, then Spurs are only risking further fury heading into the 2021/22 campaign.

AND in other news, Spurs have been dealt yet another cruel blow to their manager seatch…

Jon Newsome has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that he’s expecting some high-profile names to leave Sheffield Wednesday this summer.

The Owls were unable to overturn their six-point deduction last season, with their final-day draw at Derby not enough to save them from relegation.

They were just one goal from surviving and replacing Derby above the dotted line, but ended up finishing bottom of the Championship table, which means they’ll be playing in the third tier for the first time since 2012.

Wednesday have several players out of contract at Hillsborough next month, whilst loanees Izzy Brown and Jack Marriott will return to their parent clubs.

Amongst those set to become free agents are both Kadeem Harris and Adam Reach, whilst top goalscorer Josh Windass has already been linked to a number of Championship sides having been a rare positive in an otherwise wretched 12 months for the Owls.

Those three are among some of Wednesday’s highest earners, and Newsome believes that having dropped into League One, the Hillsborough outfit might need to get that trio off the wage bill.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

“Adam Reach, Josh Windass, Kadeem Harris, they’ll all be on serious money… big, big, big, big wages, and I don’t think the club can sustain that anymore.”

West Ham United are one of the clubs who ‘have asked’ about Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski, according to Italian transfer journalist Nicolo Schira.

Schira reported back in February that Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund had expressed an interest.

But he’s now delivered an update, revealing that West Ham and their Premier League rivals Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have entered the race.

Dragowski’s contract at Fiorentina expires in 2023, Schira wrote, and the Serie A outfit are hopeful of agreeing an extension.

But an offer in the region of €20million could be enough to prise him away from the Artemio Franchi Stadium.

The lowdown on West Ham target Dragowski

Fiorentina signed Dragowski from Jagiellonia in Poland for a fee of £2.25million in 2016. Having spent time on loan at Empoli, Dragowski has racked up 85 Serie A appearances. In that time he’s conceded 131 goals and kept 18 clean sheets (via Transfermarkt).

The 23-year-old set a new Serie A record (via Football Italia) for saves in a single match at the back-end of the 2018/19 season. He made a quite frankly outrageous 17 stops as Atalanta miraculously failed to score against Empoli from 47 attempts on goal.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Dragowski may well have been identified as a potential successor to his compatriot Lukasz Fabianski, who has just turned 36 and is about to enter the final year of his contract at the London Stadium.

He could serve as no. 2 behind the veteran stopper next season as preparation for a handover, or even challenge him for the shirt given the mistakes that appear to be seeping into Fabianski’s game, such as against Newcastle.

Patience would be required, but given time we feel Dragowski could demonstrate his immense talent in East London.

In other news, West Ham are said to be keen on this forward.

Chris Hughton’s hopes of re-signing Nottingham Forest loanee midfielder James Garner this summer have been dealt a huge blow.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Mirror, who claim that Manchester United are keen to send the midfielder on a loan deal abroad this summer in a bid to continue his development, following his highly successful spell at Forest.

This is likely to come as a huge blow for Hughton, who, following the 20-year-old’s final game for the club on Saturday, clearly stated his desire for Garner to return to the City Ground ahead of next season, saying: “James knows what we think of him. And Manchester United know what we think of him. All I can say is we’ve been absolutely delighted with him.

“He’s come in and made an impact. Four goals from a midfield player in less than half a season is a wonderful return.”

Huge blow

Having an impact is a rather modest way of describing Garner’s influence on the Forest side.

Since his arrival at the club back in January, the defensive midfielder has been in sensational form, scoring four goals, as well as making an average of two tackles, 1.7 interceptions, 1.1 key passes and taking 1.6 shots per game over his 19 Championship appearances, culminating in an average WhoScored match rating of 6.98 – ranking him as Forest’s best performer in the second tier.

Over this 19 game period in which Garner was at the club, Forest picked up 23 points in the Championship, just nine fewer than over the 28 fixtures prior to the 20-year-old’s signing.

As such, if Forest were to miss out on a deal to bring the player – whom the former Watford manager Vladimir Ivic dubbed as “one of the most talented players in England” – back to the club this summer, it would be a devastating blow to the 62-year-old’s hopes of putting together a side capable of a much more respectable finish than this season’s 17th place.

Thus, it would appear a highly advisable move for Forest to attempt to convince United at the earliest possible opportunity that the best place for the £3.6 million-rated midfielder to continue his development is at the City Ground – before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cements any plans to send the 20-year-old to Europe this summer.

In other news: Journalist drops update on “outstanding” £3.6m-rated ace, Forest fans will be gutted – opinion

West Ham United fans are delighted after it was revealed Jesse Lingard has told his Hammers teammates he wishes to stay at the club beyond his current loan spell.

£13.5m-valued Lingard (Transfermarkt) has had a fantastic time during the few months he has spent with the Irons after joining on loan from Manchester United. In 16 games, he has managed nine goals and five assists (Transfermarkt), and he added fresh impetus as the Hammers qualified for the Europa League.

He has been called up to Gareth Southgate’s provisional England squad for this summer’s European Championships (Sky News), and he is set to return to Manchester United once his loan spell in London has come to an end. However, according to reliable Hammers insider ExWHUemployee, he still wants to remain at the London Stadium.

The news was shared on Twitter by @WestHam_Central, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Lingard news below

“Never in doubt”

Credit: @whuabz

“So let it be done”

Credit: @LeefromAHN

“Lets go”

Credit: @Zakwatkins2

“GET THIS DONE!!!”

Credit: @Charlie12918777

“Wonderful”

Credit: @WestHamFan1895

“More importantly that means Dec is staying”

Credit: @j_allardice

In other news, West Ham fans are livid at this man’s snub.

Former Manchester United man Keith Gillespie has told Football FanCast that the club are not the second best team in the Premier League despite their league position, and has some doubts over whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the right man for the job.

United are Manchester City’s closest challengers and sit second with 60 points from their 30 games.

They are currently 14 points behind Pep Guardiola’s men, though they do have two games in hand, and with eight games of their season remaining, it still seems nigh-on impossible they will be crowned champions.

Gillespie is unsure about whether Solskjaer can really be the man for United in the coming months and years.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he was asked if the Norwegian was the man for the job he said: “I hope so. There’s times where you think he is, it’s strange, because there’s times you think he is and there’s times, you think, I’m not too sure about that.”

Gillespie has also hit out at United’s squad, insisting that a number of players in the squad simply aren’t good enough.

And he has made the claim that there are a number of clubs within the league who are significantly better than the Red Devils, such is their reliance on attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes.

He added: “And for me when Fernandes doesn’t play, there’s nobody else who’s going to give them that creativity. Especially Rashford, he has a spark at times, he’s out, and then you’ve got players, you’re thinking are they good enough for Man United? And for me, there are half a dozen probably that aren’t and it’s incredible to think that Man United are second in the league, so effectively the second best team in the league.

“For me, there’s no way they are, there is a lot of teams that are better, that play better football. It just shows how far Man City are ahead.”