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A major update has emerged on Southampton’s transfer plans, and it could lead to CEO Martin Semmens striking gold this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to Swansea journalist Keith Haynes, as relayed by The Chronicle, Newcastle and the Saints are looking at Matt Grimes as a potential target for the summer transfer window. The Swans could cash in on their captain this summer and would be looking for a fee in the region of £8m if they decide to sell the 25-year-old.

Hampshire Live followed up on the claims by reporting that Ralph Hasenhuttl wants to add a midfielder and that the Saints will be looking at deals for the fees mentioned with Grimes.

Earlier this year, Grimes’ teammate Korey Smith hailed the midfielder after he made his 150th appearance for the Swans, declaring that the skipper has a “wand of a left foot” and praising him for his leadership off the pitch, having been captain for two years.

Smith told Swansea’s official website: “It’s 150 appearances for the club and he has now been captain for the last two seasons, so the majority of the time he has played in Swansea colours he has also had the armband.

“I think that sums him up, and the future is so bright for him. He is at the peak of his powers, he is an amazing player with a wand of a left foot.

“He is a brilliant person off the field too, it’s been great to get to know him. I’d played against him and always thought I would like to play with him because he was always so good.

“I’ve liked playing with him and I hope that continues for a long time.”

Saints fans would love it

Southampton fans would surely love it if the club could seal a deal for Grimes this summer. Saints CEO Semmens could be striking gold with a move for Grimes as the talented midfielder could be a shrewd addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad in an area of the pitch where they are lacking.

Hasenhuttl does not have a wealth of options in central midfield and there is a gap in the squad ready for Grimes to come in and fill next season.

In terms of box-to-box midfielders, James Ward-Prowse and Stuart Armstrong are Southampton’s only senior options, and the latter is mainly deployed as one of the wide attackers instead of in midfield. Hasenhuttl has Oriol Romeu and Ibrahima Diallo in terms of defensive midfield options, which means that there is a space for Grimes to come in and potentially play alongside Ward-Prowse in games where Southampton may not need to be overly defensive.

The £10,000-per-week wizard enjoyed a superb season with Swansea in the Championship, captaining them to the play-off final only to lose to Brentford at Wembley.

In 48 appearances across the regular season and play-offs, Grimes averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.97, with a score of 7.01 in 39 starts in central midfield. He produced three goals and three assists, whilst also making 3.4 tackles and interceptions per game.

This highlights his quality at both ends of the pitch and shows why he could be a shrewd signing by Southampton, who could strike gold by securing his signature. Saints fans would surely love seeing him play alongside Ward-Prowse in midfield, keeping the passes ticking along and building up play for the attackers to find space and work their magic in the final third.

AND in other news, Semmens masterstroke: Southampton could land bargain with “matured” £25k-p/w dynamo…

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Premier League midfielder and current Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes Celtic only want Eddie Howe.

While Howe is now said to be close to being named Celtic manager, the ex-Bournemouth boss had left the Glasgow giants waiting for a while.

It had seen Celtic consider other options, with Football Insider recently reporting that the Bhoys have interviewed former Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre and Roy Keane.

Hendrie, though, is convinced that Howe is the only real candidate that the Celtic hierarchy are desperate to bring to the club.

Speaking exclusively to TT about Howe and Celtic’s search for a new permanent manager, the ex-Aston Villa star said:

“I’m pretty sure that Celtic want him there for sure because he just seems to be the prime suspect that they want at the football club just for the way he plays and his style of football, which is certainly attractive.

“It just seems like he’s dragging his feet a little bit and that’s my only concern.”

If reports are to believed, then this long saga could be about to come to an end, which would be great news for Celtic.

After an extremely disappointing season, the Bhoys will be desperate to start planning for the next campaign where the aim will be to wrestle their title back from rivals Rangers – something they cannot do properly without having a manager.

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts has told Football FanCast he is “99% sure” Harry Kane will not join Chelsea this summer.

The Blues have been linked with an astonishing swoop for the Spurs striker, amid a number of reports surrounding his future.

It has been claimed by various media outlets that Kane has asked to leave the club this summer, firstly by Sky Sports News, and that the Blues have registered their interest in securing his signature, as have Manchester United and Manchester City.

A move to west London would undoubtedly send shockwaves through the Premier League, and would perhaps rival Sol Campbell’s move from Spurs to Arsenal.

Roberts, though, insists there is next to no chance that Kane will end up at Stamford Bridge, regardless of the kind of bid they can table, as chairman Daniel Levy simply will not sanction such a transfer.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, Roberts said: “I’m 99% sure he won’t go to Chelsea. Because that will ruin all of the good things he’s ever done at Tottenham.

“And I don’t think Daniel Levy will sell him to Chelsea Football Club.”

Roberts also believes that both United and City will struggle to extricate Kane from north London, given that Levy would surely prefer to sell the England skipper abroad, if he were left with no other choice.

He added: “I’m not sure he’ll sell him to Man City or Man United.

“If he wants him to go, he wants him to go abroad but Harry wants to play in the Premier League. So that’s an issue.”

A number of Liverpool fans have been expressing their happiness at the news that Joel Matip has returned to the training pitch for the Reds.

Jurgen Klopp’s men have had a season to forget, with everything seemingly going wrong for them.

Having been tipped to defend their Premier League title, it now looks likely that Liverpool will even miss out on a top-four finish, which seemed unfathomable last summer.

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One of the biggest issues has been the Reds’ injury crisis at centre-back, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all out for long periods of time.

It has meant Nathaniel Phillips has had to come in and do a job – Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have played in defence, too – while Ozan Kabak arrived from Schalke in January.

On Wednesday, Matip returned to training, however, running again with his teammates for the first time since suffering ankle ligament damage back in January.

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Liverpool fans hail Matip’s return

Matip does not appear to be back in full contact action yet, but these Liverpool fans took to Twitter to express their delight at his sighting.

“Finally some good news”

Credit: @NeonPhantom69

“Top 4?”

Credit: @Artendahl

“Big Joel is back! Good to hear. At least some positive news”

Credit: @attrakta

“Things you love to see”

Credit: @JamesFarquhars8

“Great news”

Credit: @Dreamspirit10

“2nd best CB at the club. Can’t wait to see him back”

Credit: @Sunraged

In other news, a striker with an outstanding goalscoring record has reportedly turned down a move to Liverpool. Find out who it is here.

Many Rangers fans have been left to buzz as Ross Wilson has shared an update on the proposal of a Gers ‘B’ team in the Lowland League.

As per a video shared by the official Twitter page of the Glasgow club, the Sporting Director has confirmed that George Fraser, who is the chairman of the SLFL, has reached out with an invitation to them to potentially consider joining the Lowland League, initially for one season.

It would mean that the Ibrox faithful could give more senior game time to their youth prospects, not just to help develop them as they would be playing men’s football, but also for the other teams around them, as they get to play against some of the rising stars of Scottish football and it would also draw more eyes to the lower tiers of the game.

Managing Director Stewart Robertson and Head of Academy Craig Mulholland are also on board with the idea in the Gers’ video, which could help develop Scottish football as a whole, as they await approval from the SFA.

Rangers fans on Lowland League update

These Rangers supporters buzzed upon listening to the update, with one fan saying that they were ‘delighted’ while another even went as far as to claim that it would be ‘brilliant’:

“I know myself I would try make a lot of these games. I know thousands of Rangers fans would actually could picture few thousand turning out would be brilliant”

Credit: @bnziebryan

“Delighted to see/hear our club calling out the SFA/SPFL for their lack of leadership.”

Credit: @ScottSmcg10

“Excellent video. I can’t believe @ScottishFA have dragged their heels over this. I am looking forward to hearing more about this as the discussions progress.”

Credit: @onlyoneamoruso

“Its a great move for a developing side. Will improve the grassroots standards in the league”

Credit: @BillyKsOpinion

“Spot on”

Credit: @King_Kamara18

“Rangers leading the way & firing the bullets. Class”

Credit: @Ryan59226753

In other news, find out what SPFL update has left Gers fuming here!

Former Southampton striker David Connolly told talkSPORT over the weekend that Thomas Tuchel will look to keep Tammy Abraham at Chelsea this summer, but his comments may prove to be a blessing for West Ham United and David Moyes.

Abraham has been touted as a potential target for the London Stadium natives ahead of the next transfer window, with the Daily Mail and Daily Star both citing the England striker as an option to fill Sebastien Haller’s void.

Connolly believes West Ham “would love” to have Abraham in their ranks next season if a deal is on the table, as the 23-year-old would allow Moyes to be less reliant on Michail Antonio.

Moyes is claimed to be driving West Ham’s interest in Abraham as he looks to add a young, hungry and homegrown option who can rival Antonio, having relied on the centre-forward to start 90% of all available Premier League games this term.

It remains to be seen if Chelsea would be willing to sell to a potential rival for a top-four position, but Connolly believes a deal is unlikely to develop.

“West Ham would love him,” he said. “They need another striker. They’re very reliant on Michail Antonio, but I can’t see Chelsea selling Tammy Abraham.”

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Abraham has only started three of his five appearances across all competitions under Tuchel to date and was omitted from the matchday squad that lost 5-2 at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Connolly suspects the decision was Tuchel wanting to see a response from Abraham, who is Chelsea’s top-scorer this season with 12 goals in 30 games across all competitions.

“Whether Tuchel wants a response… some managers might just want a response,” he added. “Maybe he needs to do a bit more in training as well.

“You just hope he’s not spitting his dummy out because he’s not involved and that he’s showing the right attitude. This might be him sitting on the naughty step for a little bit.”

Abraham has not featured for Chelsea since the end of February when taken off at half-time against Southampton and had been struggling with an ankle injury, but was left out of the squad last weekend through a tactical decision.

Connolly fearing that his latest omission may be a sign of the £36m-rated striker “spitting his dummy out” may see that Tuchel denying Abraham a move could be a blessing for Moyes and West Ham.

That’s because reports by Football Insider last month claimed that Tuchel has doubts over Abraham’s ability to lead the Blues’ attack at home and in Europe, but added that some of the German’s backroom team also have concerns over his attitude.

Taking on a temperamental striker may not be what’s best for West Ham next season or in the long-term, especially with Abraham said to feel he deserves a contract worth more than £120,000-a-week given his efforts over the past two seasons.

Terms in that region would make Abraham the top-earner at the London Stadium per Spotrac figures, a route they could be reluctant to take having given Haller the most lucrative deal at £115k-p/w only to part ways 18-months after his club-record £45m arrival.

Abraham has a track record for scoring in the Premier League with 21 goals in 54 games over the past two seasons, it just remains to be seen if the reasons behind Tuchel’s position will also block a move across the capital this summer.

AND in other news, West Ham trail a Premier League rival for a five-goal, seven-assist star once labelled an “exciting prospect”…

Tottenham Hotspur are eyeing up a move for Sevilla colossus Diego Carlos this summer, according to Spanish newspaper La Razon.

It’s claimed that Jose Mourinho has pushed the Spurs hierarchy to make a move for the 6 foot 1 Brazilian ahead of the transfer window, though he’s thought to have a whopping €75m (£64m) release clause.

However, Davinson Sanchez could be made available to send in the other direction to sweeten negotiations.

The search for a new centre-back shouldn’t come as a surprise after the ever-reliable Alasdair Gold at football.london revealed that the arrival of a new defensive leader was Spurs’ top priority going into next season.

Many names have surfaced since then, including former target Milan Skriniar, Fulham loan sensation Joachim Andersen, and Brighton veteran Lewis Dunk.

Carlos is a rather intriguing option, not at least because of his ties to current Spurs star Sergio Reguilon, who joined from Real Madrid in the summer.

The 24-year-old left wing-back has excelled in the English capital as one of Mourinho’s star performers, with three assists (only better by two players) and an average rating of 6.89, as per WhoScored.

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But this form is a mere continuation from his sparkling exploits on loan to Sevilla last season, where he thrived alongside Carlos at the back. Indeed, the duo formed a formidable partnership.

In 35 appearances together, the La Liga outfit lost only four games, with a win rate of 65.7%. The pair played five times on their way to clinching the Europa League trophy, including in the final, where they defeated Inter Milan 3-2, as per Transfermarkt.

Carlos contributed towards 21 clean sheets throughout the campaign too, keeping the likes of Edin Dzeko, Raul Jimenez, and Barcelona’s frontline of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi silent.

It’s no wonder he has been nicknamed the “beast,” and this has been reverberated by Spanish football expert Domagoj Kostanjsak, who told the Liverpool ECHO’s podcast that the £45m-rated defender is “built like a tank” and that he’s “not called ‘the beast’ for nothing.”

Carlos and Reguilon evidently struck up a lethal partnership at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, and that’s something that Daniel Levy must recreate at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Mourinho has been dealing with individual errors and defensive mistakes all season despite having the third-tightest backline in the Premier League, so pairing two players that have that proven track record together could be a game-changer for Spurs.

Levy must sanction this deal, whatever the price.

AND in other news, Forget Nagelsmann: Spurs should appoint “unbelievable” 48 y/o gem next…

Kieran Maguire has outlined the ‘advantage’ that Newcastle United have for potential takeover investors.

Speaking recently to Football Insider, the finance guru has claimed that potential buyers may be more attracted to the St. James’ Park faithful then say Derby County because they are currently in the Premier League and even if they do get relegated down to the EFL Championship will still have a lot of money to come in from matchday income, once fans are allowed back in the ground:

“A benefit of Derby over Newcastle is that you’re inheriting a much lower wage bill.

“Therefore, if you want to put more money into the club, you’ve got more flexibility in that regard. If there are players you want moved out, it’s less costly for the owner.

“The advantage of Newcastle is that it’s presently a Premier League club. Even if it gets relegated, you’re going to get three years worth of parachute payments which are worth the thick end of £100m.

“It’s a bigger ground and therefore a bigger fanbase so you have more money coming in. I think you’d have to assess those two issues against each other.”

Potential Newcastle takeover ‘advantage’

The fact that the North East club are still in the top flight should gather some attraction from potential buyers, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group, assuming that the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would be willing to come back onto the table

Even though relegation could be detrimental in terms of their hopes of being taken over by the KSA consortium, the Tyneside club would no doubt still be an attractive asset to invest in for other potential buyers, given its history and how big of a name in general the Magpies actually are.

Nonetheless, the key aim for the Toon will surely be to stay in the division come the end of the 2020/21 term, and assess their takeover options from there.

In other news, find out what big injury blow NUFC have been dealt with before Brighton here!

Some Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to a video of a goal scored by Martyn Waghorn as part of their Goal of the Day series on Twitter.

Waghorn played for the Gers during one of their more challenging times when they were out of the Premiership. However, he proved instrumental in getting them back to the elite, scoring 20 goals in 25 Championship games during the 2015/16 season as the Gers earned promotion back to the top flight (Transfermarkt). He was unable to reproduce that form in the top flight – he managed just seven strikes in 32 Premiership matches – but he played his part all the same.

On Monday, the Gers shared a video of him scoring against Raith Rovers. He netted from the penalty spot after Nathan Oduwa was fouled following an amazing run.

The clip was shared on the club’s official Twitter page, and many fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts. Some were unhappy that a video of a goal in the second tier had been posted, while some took the opportunity to praise Oduwa.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the goal from Waghorn below

“Forgot about this. Nathan Oduwa channeling his inner Ronaldinho what strange player”

Credit: @finlayxpeterson

“Nathan Oduwa walked so Aribo could run”

Credit: @BenFinlay10

“Can yous gee it a bye with the Morning PTSD please. I don’t like it.”

Credit: @KieranG241220

“Still blows my mind sometimes when you think Tav played in this team”

Credit: @Jamie_1886

“Delete this before anyone sees”

Credit: @BenYetton_

“Waghorn. Raith Rovers. Please Mr Rangers. No.”

Credit: @chris_daniels9

In other news, many Rangers fans rage at this club release.

Two Leeds United stars in Pascal Struijk and Raphinha have been attracting interest, but former Whites striker Noel Whelan believes that they won’t be going anywhere in the summer.

Whelan discusses Leeds duo

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said: “Take it from me, Leeds United won’t sell any players. They won’t sell Struijk, they won’t sell Raphinha.

“We’re not a team that’s desperate, we’re not a club that’s desperate. We’re in a really good healthy position with a good chairman and we’re building a side here.”It’s not a side that we’re going to take apart after one year. This is a side that’s going to be together for four to five years, I’m very sure of that. That’s the plan in progress and the long term future for Leeds United. We don’t delve into the market to bring someone in for one season.”The club need to keep hold of their star playersWhelan is right when he says the club don’t need to sell. They are already battling for a top half finish in their first season back in the Premier League (SofaScore). They also have a big history and the signings of players like Rodrigo emphasise that they have the pull to bring European stars to the club.They also have an astute manager in Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentinian was nominated for ‘The Best’ FIFA men’s coach, emphasising the quality of manager Leeds have, and it was quite an achievement to get him at the club in the first place.Hopefully the Whites keep their vital assets like Struijk and Raphinha – if they get their transfers in the summer right, then they could be in a great position to push on even more in the top flight next season.In other news, one pundit has discussed one Leeds player following his latest setback. Have a read here!