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Nottingham Forest are thought to be seriously interested in signing Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

The Lowdown: Livakovic profiled

Livakovic is 28 years of age and has been with Dinamo Zagreb since 2015, where he has made 262 appearances, keeping 122 clean sheets in the process.

The Croatia international impressed at last year’s World Cup in his country’s run to the semi-finals and was dubbed a “hero” by Sacha Pisani as a result. Pete O’Rourke also described his displays in Qatar as ‘outstanding’, and it looks as if he is of interest to City Ground officials as he enters the final 18 months of his Zagreb deal.

The Latest: Forest keen

Sports Witness relayed an update from Germanijak regarding Livakovic on Thursday.

They claimed that Forest are seriously interested in a deal for the goalkeeper worth around €7-8m. However, the report adds that Zagreb are ‘determined’ to get at least €10m.

The Verdict: Makes sense?

Steve Cooper has relied heavily on loanee Dean Henderson this season, with the Englishman featuring in every eligible Premier League fixture for Forest.

However, he is set to be out through injury for four to five weeks and is only on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season, so looking at a move for Livakovic could be a smart move in the long run, especially following his fine displays on the biggest stage.

Livakovic also shares the same agent as Henderson and Moussa Niakhate, so if a fee can be agreed upon, sorting the finer details of a possible transfer could be relatively simple due to the club’s recent relationship with the CAA Stellar agency.

New signing Liverpool Cody Gakpo is expected to make his debut against Wolves in the FA Cup this weekend, according to journalist James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Gakpo an exciting signing

The Dutchman joined the Reds at the beginning of the month, coming in as a big-money signing from PSV Eindhoven after an excellent season to date.

Gakpo also enjoyed a strong 2022 World Cup campaign with the Netherlands, proving to be the only player who scored in all three group stage matches.

The 23-year-old is still awaiting his debut but that looks set to change in the near future.

The Latest: Debut this weekend

Taking to Twitter, Pearce claimed that Gakpo would make his Reds bow in the third round at Anfield on Saturday night, having secured a work permit:

“With his work permit secured and registration documents complete, Cody Gakpo can now train with his new team-mates and is expected to make his debut v Wolves in the FA Cup on Saturday.”

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The Verdict: Need him to start well

A Liverpool debut is exciting at any point but Gakpo’s feels particularly important, at a time when the Reds are desperately some inspiration.

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Injuries to Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota are really hurting Jurgen Klopp currently – Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez aren’t in great form either – so a bright start by the “sensational” (Football Oranje editor Michael Bell) winger would be ideal.

That’s not to say that Liverpool don’t still need a midfielder, however, and it would be negligence of the highest order by FSG if that doesn’t happen this month.

Leeds United have shown an interest in Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, according to 90min.

The Lowdown: Four minutes all season

Previously called a ‘monster’ by members of the media, the defender has been out of favour at Old Trafford this season under Erik ten Hag.

The 25-year-old has made just one substitute appearance in all competitions, featuring in only four minutes of action.

He seems to be hugely out of favour heading into 2023, and it seems as if an exit from Manchester could be on the cards.

The Latest: Leeds interest in Wan-Bissaka

90min provided an update regarding Wan-Bissaka, claiming that Wolves have made a move for the right-back and are leading the chase for him.

Their report adds that ‘Leeds have also shown interest’ in the defender, with the Red Devils open to letting him leave on loan with a view to a permanent deal.

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The Verdict: Not needed

Leeds are currently well-stocked at right-back, with Rasmus Kristensen, Luke Ayling and Cody Drameh all available to Jesse Marsch.

Even though there have been question marks over Drameh’s future, the Whites need to be looking at their left-back ranks, with centre-back Pascal Struijk filling in on the flank for the injured Junior Firpo.

Struijk has been the club’s best-performing player this term according to WhoScored, but you’d expect that his long-term future is viewed at centre-back, so Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani could do with sorting out a new left-back instead of pursuing a move for Wan-Bissaka.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has reportedly told Jude Bellingham to make a move to the Etihad Stadium. 

The Lowdown: Big interest in Bellingham

The Manchester side have been linked with a transfer move for the Englishman, as have numerous other clubs across Europe.

Those clubs will have the chance to see the 19-year-old in international action as he features for England throughout the World Cup in Qatar.

With City taking Haaland away from Dortmund during the previous summer transfer window, it seems as though the Norwegian has had a word with his former teammate about making a move to Pep Guardiola’s side.

The Latest: Haaland tells Bellingham to join City

In a recent Twitter post from Ben Jacobs following England’s 6-2 win over Iran, where Bellingham opened the scoring for Gareth Southgate’s side, the journalist had this to say about the midfielder and the transfer interest in him.

He said:

“A standout performance from Jude Bellingham. Dortmund planning for a summer 2023 departure. Liverpool and Real Madrid are the frontrunners but it’s an open race. Erling Haaland has already told him to join Manchester City. Chelsea also in the race and they want Declan Rice, too.”

The Verdict: A star signing for City

In terms of what he’s done for Dortmund this season, the teenager has played every minute of Bundesliga action for the German club, scoring three goals and delivering two assists in the process.

With that, Bellingham has racked up more shots at goal (31), progressive passes (86), successful tackles (26), blocks (27) and interceptions (21) than any other Dortmund player.

Lauded as a “Rolls Royce” midfielder by journalist Mark Douglas for his performance against Iran, the Englishman certainly has what it takes to be a star signing for City and Guardiola.

Taking all of this into account, it’s easy to see why Dortmund have reportedly slapped a €150m (£129m) price tag on their star midfielder. Moving forward, if City are keen on signing the player, they’ll have to hope that Haaland’s plea to Bellingham to join him at the Etihad will work in their favour and make it easier for them to sign him.

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a potential fitness blow ahead of their Carabao Cup meeting with Nottingham Forest this evening.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in the pre-match press conference (via football.london), Cristian Stellini hinted that, despite making his first appearance since mid-September in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool on Sunday, Dejan Kulusevski may not be fit enough to feature at The City Ground this evening, with Tottenham’s head coach suggesting the 22-year-old needs to take it slowly in his recovery from injury.

Regarding the current condition of the Sweden international, the Italian said: “We lost Kulusevski from the last international break. So it’s a long time and we cannot say that Kulusevski can play 90 minutes because it’s a long, long time injury, so we have to be careful with this type of injury.”

Big blow

Considering just how influential a part of Antonio Conte’s side Kulusevski is, should the forward not be fit to feature against Forest this evening, it would undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Spurs’ chances of sealing qualification for the next round of the Carabao Cup.

Indeed, prior to the Liverpool loss last weekend, Tottenham had won five, drawn two and lost none of the seven Premier League fixtures the £61.5m-rated talent had featured in, in addition to scoring an average of 2.3 goals and conceding one per game.

Meanwhile, Spurs won three, drew none and lost three of their six top-flight meetings without the services of the £110k-per-week attacker, as well as scoring an average of just 1.1 goals and shipping 1.5 per fixture.

Furthermore, despite featuring just eight times in the league this season, Kulusevski has still proven to be one of Conte’s better performers, scoring one goal, registering four assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.3 shots, making 1.6 key passes and completing 0.9 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the 27-cap international average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.92, currently ranking him as Tottenham’s eighth-best performer in the Premier League.

As such, while the Carabao Cup may not be Conte’s biggest priority this season, with the competition offering Spurs the chance to win their first trophy since they won the same tournament back in 2008, it is clear the news that a player as important as Kulusevski may not be fit to feature against Forest tonight will have come as a huge blow to the Italian manager.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ miserable start to the season continued on Tuesday evening, as the Midlands side succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, having initially taken the lead on the night through Adama Traore.

The explosive Spaniard – who has been linked with a departure of late – scored his first league goal of the season with a bullet header at the back post, before the home side enjoyed an impressive second-half response to ultimately take all three points courtesy of goals from Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha.

That disappointing night ensures that the Old Gold remain firmly in the mix for relegation at present, having recorded just nine points from their opening 11 Premier League games, with last night’s defeat having been their sixth loss already this term.

Goals have been a notable issue for the Molineux outfit this term having scored only five top-flight goals thus far – the worst record in the league – with it likely to have been a welcome sight to see that man Traore make a telling impact in the final third.

It was, however, the man who provided the assist for the 26-year-old who earned much of the plaudits against Patrick Vieira’s side, with defender Hugo Bueno more than taking his chance on what was his full debut for the club.

The young Spaniard had only made his first senior outing a few days earlier in the narrow victory over Nottingham Forest – with that coming as a late substitute – although showed no signs of nerves on the night, beautifully teeing up his compatriot for the game’s opening goal with a delightful whipped cross from the left flank.

The 20-year-old had been the “best player on the pitch” – according to Wolves Fancast – with journalist Nathan Judah also suggesting that the full-back “did not deserve to be on the losing side” after what was a “superb” outing.

The promising left-back notably enjoyed an impressive 92% pass accuracy from his 67 touches, while also showcasing his defensive strength as he recorded three tackles, three interceptions and three clearances, while winning five of his nine ground duels.

Such a display is most eye-catching considering that the youngster had initially been a playmaking, number ten upon his arrival in England back in 2019, according to interim boss Steve Davis, having seemingly been moulded into a real asset at full-back since then.

The hope will be now that Bueno – who ’caused Palace problems going forward all night’ according to Birmingham Mail’s Alex Dicken – can build on this fine start to life in the senior set-up in the coming weeks and months, with any new appointment – potentially that of number one choice Michael Beale – set to have a real gem on his hands.

Crystal Palace will be looking to build on their impressive 2-1 win over Leeds United last weekend when they travel to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester City on Saturday.

Patrick Vieira’s side put some important distance between themselves and the bottom three with a second win of the season last weekend and will be targeting another three points against the struggling Foxes.

Leicester sit rock bottom after winning just once in the top flight so far this season, with Brendan Rodgers under pressure after seeing his side lose 2-1 against Bournemouth last time out.

Here is how Football FanCast expects Vieira to line his side up against Leicester, with two changes from the side which started against Leeds last time out.

Vicente Guaita looks likely to keep his place in goal for the time being, although Sam Johnstone will surely be pushing hard to establish himself as number one at Selhurst Park.

There is one change in defence, as Tyrick Mitchell returns in place of Jeffrey Schlupp. The youngster is more defensive-minded than his Ghanaian teammate, who Roy Hodgson described as “incredible” during his time with the Eagles.

Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen continue their partnership at the heart of defence, while Nathaniel Clyne’s injury means that Joel Ward is likely to start again at right-back.

After impressive performances from all three last weekend, Vieira looks likely to select the same midfield trio, with Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise looking promising in their deeper roles alongside Cheick Doucoure.

There is one change in attack, as Vieira can look to take advantage of Leicester’s defensive vulnerabilities by starting Jean-Philippe Mateta ahead of Jordan Ayew.

The Foxes have shipped five goals from set-piece situations so far this season and Mateta’s physicality makes him a preferable option to Ayew on this occasion, while he can alternate with Odsonne Edouard and Wilfried Zaha in Palace’s front three on Saturday.

Crystal Palace could soon have another top young talent on their hands at Selhurst Park, with Josh Kymani-Gordon continuing to star in the academy.

The 19-year-old is quickly catching fire in the Eagles’ academy and has started the season in superb fashion, notching six goals in six games in the Premier League 2.

The striker also impressed during the international break, with Crystal Palace’s youngsters taking on PSG’s academy earlier this week, in which Paddy McCarthy’s side produced an incredible display, winning 7-3.

Kymani-Gordon was unsurprisingly amongst the goals, hitting a hattrick, so he will surely be a player that Patrick Vieira is keeping an eye on at Selhurst Park.

The teenage forward also won Crystal Palace’s U’18 player of the season award in the 2019/20 campaign, with McCarthy full of praise for him after his achievements were recognised.

He said: “He has a fantastic attitude. [He’s] strong, powerful, excellent technique. A player who came to us at the start of the year. He’s done a lot of work on the training ground and shown a real open mind to learn and a real desire to get better every day on the training pitch.”

Vieira could have a big problem on his hands next summer, with Wilfried Zaha reportedly likely to depart Selhurst Park on the expiry of his contract, having contributed 87 goals and 73 assists in a glittering Palace career.

This will leave the French manager needing a new talisman and goalscorer in his side, with Zaha having picked up where he left off last season, hitting four goals in five Premier League games so far this season.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is one man from the academy who has been likened to Zaha by Charlton boss Ben Garner, where the youngster is currently on loan, but Kymani-Gordon’s sensational goalscoring form suggests that he could be a more natural replacement for the Ivorian at Selhurst Park.

If he continues this phenomenal start to the new season, there seems no reason why Kymani-Gordon won’t be featuring in the first team in the near future.

Wolverhampton Wanderers could be heading for a transfer blunder over one of their players with the transfer window closing in only a few days’ time.

What’s the news?

The Sun journalist Tom Barclay was speaking to GIVEMESPORT about interest from Tottenham in Wolves winger Adama Traore, saying:

“Traore is a player they’ve [Spurs] liked for a long time, although his stock feels like it has fallen a little bit. It didn’t work out at Barcelona, and he can’t get in the Wolves team.

“Whether Conte would look at him and think ‘I could make him into a wing-back’. He would offer something different with that raw pace, so I could see why that might be attractive.”

With fellow winger Pedro Neto being linked with a move away from the club, with Arsenal reportedly interested, Bruno Lage won’t want to lose two forward options without time to bring a replacement in.

Lage shouldn’t sell

Wolves’ lack of a goalscoring threat has been evident, not only this season having netted just four goals in four matches, but also the whole of last year’s Premier League campaign where they only scored 38 times.

Traore spent the second half of last season on loan at Barcelona, registering four assists in his first three matches, displaying his talent on the biggest stage.

The £43k-per-week speedster soon lost his form, failing to score while in Spain, and the La Liga giants ended up deciding not to purchase the player as he came back to England ahead of the new season.

Despite only producing four assists and scoring once during the whole of last season, he did display some evidence that he was working hard to make things happen for his respective teams.

Compared to positional peers in the big five leagues over the previous year, Traore ranks in the 96th percentile for progressive carries (10.12 per match) and in the 99th percentile for dribbles completed (5.28 per match). That is hardly a surprise but it shows just what he can offer to Wolves when he’s in form.

With Tottenham clearly interested in the player, Lage will need to make sure he remains at Molineux as he can still provide a positive threat for this stagnant Wolves attack.

The 26-year-old uses his brute strength and raw pace to power past defenders and this is what sometimes makes him “unplayable” according to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

There should still be a place for Traore in the Wolves’ side, and with two points from four league matches, they need him to give them a jolt into life, otherwise, it could be a season of sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League for Lage and his team.

Transfer insider Dean Jones has urged Arsenal to make ‘one or two more signings’ this summer in order to compete at the top of the Premier League. 

The lowdown: Busy summer

The Gunners have already enjoyed a fruitful summer in the transfer market as Edu bolstered the options at Mikel Arteta’s disposal with a number of exciting new additions.

Gabriel Jesus, Marquinhos, Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Matt Turner all arrived at the Emirates Stadium, whilst the north Londoners continue to be linked with further attacking stars like Lucas Paqueta and Cody Gakpo.

As the window enters its final fortnight, one well-informed onlooker has suggested more incomings at Arsenal could see Arteta’s charges mount a serious challenge this season…

The latest: ‘Two more signings’

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones – a journalist for Eurosport – claimed that ‘one or two more signings’ from Edu would be welcome.

He said: “It just shows the benefits of getting your business done early and having a full pre-season with your first-choice XI.

“One or two more signings gives Arsenal real depth that they still need. I mean, their starting XI is pretty much as good as almost anyone in this league at the moment. But those extra signings would seriously put them in the conversation for the top four. I think it’s too soon to consider them going any higher than that.”

The verdict: Spot on

If there are to be further arrivals into N7 it appears certain that they will be in the wide areas given the previous interest in Raphinha and the suggestion of a ‘mystery winger’ being on the radar.

With out-of-favour Frenchman Nicolas Pepe unlikely to be involved in Arteta’s plans and Marquinhos still an unproven entity at the Premier League level, adding an alternative option into the ranks would be a welcome move.

Despite netting six goals in the opening two fixtures, sterner challenges lie ahead and this campaign could be decided by those who are able to last the pace, therefore another marquee arrival such as Pedro Neto could well be on the cards before the September 1 deadline passes.