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Leeds United are interested in signing Hertha BSC starlet Matheus Cunha in the summer.

What’s the story?

With the future of Helder Costa at Elland Road uncertain, it seems as though Marcelo Bielsa has his sights set on signing a new star winger for his side ahead of next season in the Premier League.

According to German publication SportBILD (via Leeds Live), the Whites made an enquiry to sign the Brazilian back in the January transfer window, and are now ready to reignite that interest in the summer.

The report adds that interest in the 21-year-old is becoming more concrete, and Cunha is keen to explore new opportunities too.

Julian Nagelsmann rates him

The £35m-rated Cunha has enjoyed an impressive campaign with Hertha in the Bundesliga this season, netting seven goals and providing another six assists in just 27 games in the competition.

Prior to starring for Hertha however, Cunha was on the books at RB Leipzig, and worked under Julian Nagelsmann, and the German was quick to hail the kind of ability the Brazilian youngster has, and the progress he has made since leaving them.

He said: “Matheus Cunha is playing really well at the moment – he’s a huge talent and possesses so much skill.”

And, his former manager at Hertha, Bruno Labbadia, said that Cunha has got the kind of ability and talent to be a real game-changer, and can decide games on his own with a piece of magic.

He said: “Matheus has something special. He can always produce something with a moment of individual brilliance.”

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Described as having speed, skill and intelligence by Bundesliga.com, the 21-year-old seems exactly like the kind of exciting winger that could really set Elland Road on fire, and it’s no wonder Leeds are after him this summer.

Meanwhile, Leeds United handed a huge boost as major Elland Road news emerges…

With arguably the biggest game of Ange Postecoglou’s short Celtic career coming up in the Europa League on Thursday, as a win could potentially see the Bhoys take a huge step towards securing what initially looked to be a highly unlikely route out of their group, the 56-year-old will undoubtedly be thinking long and hard about his starting XI for the clash.

There is yet further incentive for Celtic to get one over on Bayer Leverkusen this week, as the Bundesliga side stuck four past the Bhoys at Parkhead in the reverse fixture – a result which appears to have inspired the Hoops on a run of nine consecutive games without defeat in all competitions.

So, with so much riding on the match, it is essential for the Greek-Australian boss to get his team right for the trip to the BayArena – with one player who has made a very strong case for a start in recent fixtures being James Forrest.

Postecoglou must unleash Forrest

Having recently returned from a training ground injury – a knock which kept the 30-year-old sidelined for ten weeks – Postecoglou has been slowly reintroducing the winger to first-team football, with Forrest featuring for eight minutes against Livingston, 20 minutes against Ferencvaros, 28 minutes against Dundee and 21 minutes against St. Johnstone last weekend.

It was the latter of these appearances which proved that the £5.4m-rated man is ready for a start on Thursday, as, just four minutes after being brought on in the League Cup semi-final, the man who Kieran Tierney dubbed a “brilliant” player inspired Celtic to a dramatic win, drilling home to send the Bhoys end wild, and securing his club’s spot in the final.

Aside from Forrest’s impressive impact last weekend, another reason why Postecoglou simply must start the £15k-per-week winger on Thursday is the rather contrasting recent displays of Liel Abada, as, aside from a good showing against Ferencvaros, the 20-year-old has not been in the best of form over the past month or so.

As such, with a win being of the utmost importance in Germany, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss must unleash the man who Tam McManus claimed “always shows up” for the Hoops – as he could well be Celtic’s cup hero once again.

In other news: Celtic dealt big transfer blow, Ange will surely be fuming

Glasgow Rangers are interested in a deal to bring Xavi Simons to Ibrox in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Spanish publication AS, who claim that Ross Wilson and his Rangers transfer team have initiated talks with Mino Raiola regarding a deal for the Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder – whose contract in Paris expires at the end of the current campaign.

The report goes on to state that Barcelona are also interested in a move for the Netherlands U19 international, however, Giovanni van Bronckhorst is hoping that the fact he is the 18-year-old’s compatriot will help to convince the wonderkid of a move to Ibrox, with Gers hopeful of securing a deal for the teenager in January.

He’s like Iniesta

Considering the sheer amount of potential Xavi Simons quite clearly possesses, it is undeniable that, should Wilson and Rangers be able to get a deal over the line for the midfielder in January, it would be a rather enormous coup for the Premiership side.

Indeed, a product of Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy, the attacking midfielder who has been compared in style to both Xavi and Andres Iniesta moved to PSG in the summer of 2019, making his debut for the Ligue 1 side as a 17-year-old earlier this year – with Railoa stating of the youngster: “Xavi Simons is a great player, young, with potential and a big future.”

Raiola is not the only one convinced of Simons’ ability, with Jonathan Mengeli stating his belief that the teenager “has everything to evolve at the highest level.”

It is easy to see why expectations are so high for the Dutchman, as, over his five appearances in the UEFA Youth League so far this season, the £450k-rated man has already scored two goals and registered a whopping five assists.

As such, it would very much seem as if Rangers should do all they can to secure a deal for the 18-year-old this winter, as the £8k-per-week attacker would not only be a transformative signing for the club this season, he would very much appear to possess the potential to become the cornerstone of van Bronckhorst’s Gers side for years to come.

In other news: Lost possession 14x: Rangers’ ineffective £20k-p/w dud who won just 1 duel failed GVB

Kieran Devlin has dropped a fresh Celtic transfer claim ahead of the January window.

What’s the talk?

In a claim made on a recent Athletic Q&A, Devlin revealed that, despite a number of Celtic’s lesser-seen talents highly impressing in the 3-2 victory over Real Betis last week, many could nevertheless be set to leave Parkhead on either a temporary or permanent basis this winter.

Speaking about the players who featured in the Europa League win, the journalist said: “Understand that a fair few of the Thursday players are being pencilled for loan or permanent moves in January anyway, so I’m personally still a little hesitant of saying admirable performances against Betis means squad depth is not as poor as it was beforehand.”

Fans will be worried

While Devlin does not make it clear exactly which players who featured last Thursday could be in line for a move away from Glasgow in January, considering just how well the team performed as a whole, the journalist’s claim is sure to have left many of the Parkhead faithful worried.

Indeed, with Postecoglou awarding Celtic debuts to both Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw in the European fixture, as well as handing valuable first-team minutes to players such as Liam Scales, Adam Montgomery and Ewan Henderson, should any of these five players be in line for a permanent exit from the club, it is not a difficult argument to make that it would be something of a mistake on the part of the 56-year-old manager.

Not only did these players all receive admirable scores in the Daily Record’s player ratings for the fixture, they collectively bested a side who currently sit in third place in the LaLiga table, not to mention one who defeated Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the fixture before the Celtic clash.

Indeed, if the Betis clash was a chance to impress Postecoglou, it very much seemed as if all of Urhoghide, Shaw, Scales, Montgomery and Henderson took this opportunity – although, following Devlin’s latest update, it would appear not.

In other news: “Celtic are close…”: Joesph drops teasing transfer update that’ll leave fans buzzing

Managers will come and go at Arsenal but the same old problems will remain.

Arsene Wenger isn’t in London anymore but defensive errors are still rife. Unai Emery tried his utmost to eradicate them while Mikel Arteta has come close on occasions.

However, some painstaking individual mistakes have cost them in recent weeks. Whether it be Dani Ceballos against Benfica and Olympiacos, Bernd Leno versus Wolves or Granit Xhaka in the draw with Burnley, it has been nothing short of calamitous.

It appears that when it comes to defending, the club are cursed. Though, there is another area in N5 that appears to be a poisoned chalice; Arsenal’s captaincy.

Ever since Patrick Vieira left back in 2005, the Gunners have been through plenty of captains. Thierry Henry led from the front with his on-field displays but after that, it has been a tale of woe for pretty much each and every one of the club’s skippers.

William Gallas was the first antagonist back in 2007, tarnishing the captaincy and thus, beginning a remarkable trend at London Colney.

On the day that Eduardo broke his leg after a horrific challenge, Arsenal lost to Birmingham and with it, started their title collapse. Gallas was slumped on the floor at full time and sat motionless on the St Andrew’s Turf, waiting for the ground to swallow him up.

If anything encapsulated a host of Arsenal captains in the last 14 years it would be that moment. Cesc Fabregas took on the mantle next and like Henry, led well on the pitch.

However, he eventually moved to Barcelona and even missed an Arsenal game to go to watch the Spanish Grand Prix.

Robin van Persie took on the baton from the midfielder but similarly to Fabregas, departed shortly after following demands he made about the direction of the club. Thomas Vermaelen became his successor but a different kind of curse took over; one where their captain very rarely played.

The Belgian featured just 43 times in the league during his two years as captain. His replacement, Arteta, then played in just 16 matches during his final few campaigns in north London.

Per Mertesacker (seven games) and Laurent Koscielny (17 matches) took on the honour of wearing the captain’s armband afterwards. Koscielny, however, left in bizarre circumstances.

One moment, the French defender was happy and then the next, he was refusing to go on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of America in 2019. He subsequently moved to Bordeaux and then proceeded to rip off a Gunners shirt during his unveiling video.

Though, the worst of all was Granit Xhaka. The Swiss was horrendously torn apart by the club’s supporters in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace during the 2019/20 campaign.

As he was being substituted, Xhaka proceeded to rip the armband off, give the crowd some stick and then throw his shirt to the ground in disgust.

Emery consequently relieved him of his duties and made Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the skipper.

Like Henry, he has led from the front. Without Aubameyang, Arsenal wouldn’t have won the FA Cup last term. However, in recent days, we’ve seen the curse begin to blow up in Arteta’s face.

There has been a certain negativity attached to the honour of Arsenal captain over the last decade and now their star man is the latest to be caught up in some drama.

Aubameyang reported late when the team met up ahead of the north London derby with Tottenham on Sunday and as a result, he was dropped to the bench. It was a major call from the manager in what was their biggest game of the season.

The Gabonese forward failed to get any minutes and then while Arsenal’s subs warmed down on the Emirates pitch at full-time, he got in his car and sped off into the distance.

Time will tell whether that was a landmark moment in his career at the club. Aubameyang has often been the joker of the pack, the go-to man when Arsenal are in a crisis. On this occasion, however, he was nowhere to be seen.

After what’s happened in years gone by, Arteta will be wary of escalating this situation. After all, Arsenal’s number 14 had just started to rediscover his best form; the last thing they need is a starting XI without his name on.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Partey: Edu could sign Xhaka upgrade for AFC with “complete” £22m star…

Plenty of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to the club’s reported interest in Wolves’ Dion Sanderson on social media.

According to Football Insider, the Eagles, along with Huddersfield Town, have joined Sheffield United in the race to sign the 21-year-old.

Sanderson is currently out on loan in the North East with Sunderland, becoming a regular under new manager Lee Johnson at the Stadium of Light in recent months.

His contract at Molineux expires in just over 12 months time, with the report claiming Sanderson could cost just £2m in the summer window.

The Englishman, who has tuned out on 22 occasions for the Eagles, is thought to be open to a move away, should his current employers decide to cash in the upcoming window.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra shared Football Insider’s report on Twitter on Wednesday morning. This is what these Palace supporters had to say in reply to the transfer update, with one describing the defender as a ‘baller’.

“he would surely choose us right?”

Credit: @sam_paIace

“He’s a baller, probably got one of the big 6 after him”

Credit: @ReeceJMT

“would be too big of a step, we would be perfect”

Credit: @sam_paIace

“well you’d like to think he’d choose us considering the other two and Sunderland will likely all be in the championship next season and if Wolves have any sense then the next step will be to loan him to a premier league team. #CPFC”

Credit: @cpfcjude

“All the big clubs after him, what does that tell you. Just need West Brom and Newcastle to join the party now.”

Credit: @bellabiteme

“Versatile, physical, young, confident, cheap, fairly available and home-grown… ticks plenty of boxes for Palace. Can’t see any huge risk here”

Credit: @acjonesy1

In other news: Many Palace fans plead with current star as transfer comments emerge, find out more here. 

Liverpool are among the leading candidates to sign Jude Bellingham.

What’s the word?

That’s according to German outlet BILD, who report that Real Madrid and Liverpool are “already closely monitoring” Bellingham’s development.

The newspaper stated that the England star is the most expensive 18-year-old footballer in the world, whilst being priceless for Dortmund.

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BILD state that Bellingham’s status in the Dortmund hierarchy is expected to rise next season, with the leadership issues at BVB serving as a problem for the Signal Iduna Park side.

The fee may set Liverpool back though, with the German outlet stating this. “One thing is clear: if the ‘BellingBOOM’ continues at this breathtaking pace, the Dortmund diamond will soon become the next ‘over 100 million deal’ for Borussia.”

Worth every penny

From what we have seen of Bellingham so far, along with the metrics that he has produced during his developmental and prosperous time at Dortmund, he is worth every penny of the estimated €100m price tag.

The exchange rate would actually see Bellingham valued at around £83m, bringing the fee closer to his current market value which currently sits at £67.5m according to Transfermarkt.

Though, for an 18-year-old who has been described as a “leader” by teammate Mats Hummels and a “sensation” as per BT Sport, a £100m price tag would still seem worth it – given his identity as a current player, whilst bearing in mind his almost limitless potential.

The England wonderkid who stands at 5 foot 11 has asserted himself as a Dortmund regular ever since his move from Birmingham City in 2020.

This season has seen a big improvement in his goal contributions, with the £49k-per-week talent netting six goals and producing 13 assists in 40 appearances in all competitions.

Even more impressive though, is his record in the Champions League this season. With four goal contributions in six appearances, in the form of one goal and three assists, Bellingham has demonstrated his prowess as a big-game player.

A key attribute that Klopp and the Reds faithful will appreciate though is his ability to lead.

After the 4-1 defeat to RB Leipzig, Bellingham was the only player to stand in front of the fans and applaud them, an act that has made him the new “darling” of the BVB fanbase.

In other news: Liverpool targeting £13.5m-rated “world class” beast, supporters will be buzzing…

A sublime finish from Matheus Pereira wasn’t enough for West Brom to bring any sort of returns back to the Hawthorns on Tuesday night.

Sam Allardyce’s Baggies squad were defeated 2-1 by his former club West Ham, just days after Sam picked up his first victory since he took the helm in mid-December.

Overall, Albion’s performance was satisfactory and gives them some hope towards a brighter future, but they still remain some five points from safety with the worst defensive record in the Premier League – by quite some margin.

There was no return for Grady Diangana either and his absence was really felt on that left flank, especially as he started all four games under Allardyce before injury.

He’d surely have loved to make a point to his boyhood club after they let him leave for £18m in the summer, too.

Instead, Big Sam turned to Kamil Grosicki for a third successive match in all competitions – only this time, it failed to pay dividends.

The Polish veteran has been given a lifeline at West Brom in recent weeks. In the summer, he was seconds away from sealing a move to Nottingham Forest, but as the paperwork was submitted too late, he had to remain at their Midlands rivals.

He’s also been linked with an exit during the current winter transfer window, though for now, he’s still here. But after his display in the capital, the 66-year-old may want to think again.

As per SofaScore, only one other Baggies player was given a worse rating than Grosicki’s 6.4 and he was hugely at fault for the Hammers’ opener, losing his man only for him to serve up a delightful cross for Jarrod Bowen to turn home.

Indeed both Vladimir Coufal and Bowen had the better of the 32-year-old throughout the 70 minutes he was on the pitch – the pair managed 7.2 and 6.6 ratings respectively.

Considering the £50k-per-week ace is supposed to be one of Big Sam’s main attacking outlets, he was wasteful and ineffective at left-wing – per SofaScore, he failed to provide an accurate cross from three attempts, leaving Callum Robinson to feed off very little, and won just one of seven duels (14%).

That only goes to show just how lightweight the winger was against the aforementioned Irons duo and how they constantly thwarted him at either end of the pitch. By comparison, Coufal (six) and Bowen (four) won ten times as many duels.

It now gives Allardyce plenty to think about with an encounter against Man City six days away. If Diangana isn’t fit, then someone else may need to step up to the plate.

Only one other Albion player (who has started two or more games) has recorded a worse average rating for the season than Grosicki’s 6.19 – perhaps the club ought to be looking to move him on after all, even despite once being dubbed “unplayable” by former teammate Jackson Irvine.

If Tuesday’s game is anything to go by, he may well not be cut out for the big time.

AND in other news, Baggies lightweight who lost the ball every 2.8 touches BADLY let West Brom down on Tuesday…

Prior to Sheffield Wednesday’ relegation, Barry Bannan said there was no relegation release clause in his contract and Jon Newsome, who enjoyed two separate spells with the Owls, exclusively told The Transfer Tavern, that it will require a large offer to tempt the club to sell Bannan.

On the final day of the season, Sheffield Wednesday had to beat Derby County to have a chance of staying up and despite going 1-0 ahead, they ended up drawing 3-3 at Pride Park which saw them finish at the foot of the table.

Bannan has been at the club since 2015 and earlier in the season he admitted that he would like to honour his contract with Sheffield Wednesday no matter what league they are in.

The Owls will now be preparing for life in League One under Darren Moore and it would require a mammoth offer for them to sell Bannan. That is according to Newsome, who spoke exclusively to The Transfer Tavern:

“Barry Bannan signed a new contract last year and he’s said that there’s no relegation release clause, but if a big offer comes in for him the policy at the club could be to generate funds to help run the club because he will be on a big wage.

“I suppose it’s down to Darren Moore to decide who he sees fit and what players he wants at the club to help them make the leap straight out of League One.”

Sheffield Wednesday were slapped with a 12-point deduction before the season began which left them playing catch up from the first day of the season and despite it being reduced to six points, it always appeared to be an uphill battle.

League One is now home to several big clubs within English football as the likes of Sunderland, Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic are all currently in that division.

Frank McAvennie has dropped an encouraging transfer claim on Tyler Roberts and whether he would fit in at Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Newcastle eyeing Roberts

As per Football Insider, the Magpies are closely monitoring the 22-year-old ahead of a potential move from Leeds United once the summer transfer window opens.

He is out of contract at Elland Road in 2022 and is yet to agree an extension, so the Whites may view a deal this summer as a good opportunity to cash in on him in order to gain some value from a transfer fee rather than risk losing him for nothing next year.

The Latest: McAvennie claims Roberts would start at Newcastle

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie – who is now a pundit after playing for the likes of West Ham United and Celtic – has claimed that Roberts would be a starter under Steve Bruce at St James’ Park, believing that the Toon Army would instantly warm up to him. The 61-year-old said:

“If he’s not getting a game, I think so.

“If you’re not playing you have to ask to leave. If he goes to Newcastle he’ll be a starter straight away. 

“They have great fans and they will love him up there if he hits the ground running. 

“Roberts can ask for guarantees but the manager can’t give them. He can only give them if he’s playing well. 

“You can’t tell a player he will always start because what if he starts playing badly? It’s a stupid statement.

“At his age, he’s got to be playing.”

The Verdict: Roberts would add to Newcastle squad

Roberts is certainly a player who could add something to the Magpies squad, and with the added experience of playing at Premier League level under Marcelo Bielsa, he would not have to adapt to the demands of the division were he to join Newcastle.

McAvennie’s point about his game-time is also pertinent – while the forward has played in 26 league games this season, only 14 of those have been as a starter.

Also, at just 22 years of age, Roberts should get even better over the next few years, while his added versatility is also a quality which could be very useful to have on Tyneside next season, especially with the amount of injuries the Magpies have incurred to key players such as Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson.

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The Welshman would certainly seem to be a smart buy should Newcastle look to sign him in the summer.

In other news, Lee Ryder has shared some insight from sources close to the potential takeover of NUFC on a possible timescale for arbitration.