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Manchester United have had a rollercoaster season so far, appointing Ralf Rangnick to steady the ship in late November, with the expectation that he would offload those that were not up to scratch in the squad, and replace them with better-placed footballers, however it looks like these expectations won’t be met in January.

What’s the word?

Fabrizio Romano did a YouTube interview on Tuesday with popular Manchester United fan group, The United Stand, and revealed more about the intentions of the club during this transfer window in particular:

“I am told that the focus of Manchester United is for summer, and not for January. At the moment there is no priority target for January, but if they do something it will be a midfielder.

“Let me say, the focus of Manchester United is on summer, not January. This is what Man United are planning to do.”

Fans will be furious

This fresh blow to the potential transfer plans of the club will leave fans furious, especially after their 1-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Monday night.

Rio Ferdinand claimed that the side are “lacking confidence” and with that being said, it would surely be ideal for the side to gain new additions to address the current issues and inspire a change in direction for their current Premier League season.

Rangnick’s side are currently involved in the knock out stages of the Champions League, FA Cup and a Premier League campaign where they are currently four points adrift from the top four in 7th competing with West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham, all above them in contention for a spot to qualify for Champions League football next season.

Therefore, it will be surprising to not see players added to the squad to compete with strength across the competitions.

Fans are keen to see new additions to address the clear midfield issues that has seen the current players losing possession hundreds of times per game, with possession lost an overall 167 times alone in their clash with Newcastle United last week, in which the game ended in a draw.

One Red Devils fan Tweeted;

“It’s been 4 days since the transfer window opened and we not close to signing a DM… This club will kill us @ManUtd.”

United will come up against Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Monday, and the German coach will be hoping to put the disappointing result from this week in the league behind him and give the fans something to be happy about with the potential of a good domestic cup run.

However, after this reveal from Romano, their hopes for the rest of the campaign look rather unhappy. They simply have to sign a few players.

In other news: Rangnick could axe Martial by signing Dembele

Pete Graves has now dropped a Newcastle United transfer claim from the new owners.

The Lowdown: Wood confirmed

The St. James’ Park faithful confirmed the signing of Chris Wood from Burnley for an undisclosed fee on Thursday morning, and he has signed a two-and-a-half year deal.

He has been registered in time for their crucial game at home against Watford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and joins Kieran Trippier to be their second signing in the January transfer window so far.

Nonetheless, there promises to be more on the way, with the likes of Marcos Senesi and Benoit Badiashile recently being linked with a move to the North East and a desperate need for additions in the heart of defence – the Magpies have the second-most goals conceded in the league.

The Latest: Transfer claim from owners

As per Graves, the new owners feel as if Premier League experience will be ‘key’ in their battle to avoid relegation down to the Championship, and so following the signing of Wood, they may go down that route again for their other targets:

“There’s a feeling amongst key members of the ownership that Premier League experience will be key in survival battle.”

The Verdict: Ideal, but not vital

Of course, signing players that have past experience in the top flight is ideal, as they know what to expect and some, like Wood, may have even faced a relegation battle before.

However, you can find unknown gems from outside of the division, and they would often come cheaper, given that you would not be buying directly from one of your rivals – Feyenoord’s Senesi is a prime example, valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt.

Nonetheless, whatever strategy the new owners use, it has to be perfect if they are to give Eddie Howe a chance of keeping them up, and signing Trippier and Wood, who both have experience in the top flight, is certainly a good start.

In other news, find out who NUFC are in ‘advanced talks’ to sign here!

With Aston Villa having signed the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne during the current January transfer window, it seems as though they could have a challenge on their hands when it comes to the next summer transfer window and trying to keep hold of one of the key players in Steven Gerrard’s squad.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Telegraph, Villa midfielder John McGinn has been identified as a summer transfer target for fellow Premier League side Manchester United.

The report also claims the United’s technical director Darren Fletcher is apparently a big fan of McGinn and would welcome his potential arrival at Old Trafford.

Fans would be fuming

Villa signed McGinn from Scottish club Hibernian back in the 2018 summer transfer window when they were still in the Championship.

Since then, the midfielder has gone on to make 129 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing 21 assists along the way, highlighting how much of an important figure he has been for the team.

The £27m-rated dynamo has been an ever-present figure for Villa this season as well, with Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa being the only outfield players to have racked up more minutes in the Premier League than McGinn.

The Scotland international has also been the subject of heavy praise by Gerrard as well with the former Rangers boss describing McGinn’s passing ability in their 2-1 win over Leicester City in early December as “outstanding.”

With WhoScored currently listing the 27-year-old as the highest-rated Villa player to have started more than one Premier League game this season with an overall rating of 7.14/10, this backs up why he’d be a big miss for Villa if he were to leave in the summer.

Taking all of this into account, it would be nothing short of a disaster if the Midlands outfit were to sell the Scot this summer to United given how important he is to the side, especially just months after losing fellow talisman Jack Grealish. To lose both in such a short space of time, would understandably leave supporters rather angry.

Moving forward, with his current contract not set to expire until the summer of 2025, it could be worth Villa’s owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris encouraging McGinn to stick with Villa and help them reach the club’s aspirations of securing European football in the future.

In other news: Deal agreed: Fabrizio Romano delivers Villa transfer update, Lange is working wonders – opinion

An update has emerged on Rangers and their transfer plans to find a new winger to add to their squad… 

What’s the talk?

According to Bulgarian news outlet Tema Sport, the Gers are interested in a deal to sign Ludogorets right-forward Kiril Despodov this month.

The report claims that he is one of a number of options the Scottish giants are looking at, whilst Galatasaray and Olympiacos are also keen on the attacker.

Laudrup 2.0

Gio van Bronckhorst could find the club’s next Brian Laudrup by securing a deal to sign Despodov in the coming weeks. The winger could be a fantastic signing for the Gers and the Dutchman must work hard with Ross Wilson to ensure that a move can be completed before the end of the window.

Laudrup enjoyed a sublime spell in Scotland as he played 147 games for the club and scored 44 goals across four seasons in Glasgow. The retired Dane also played as a right-winger and managed 11 goals and 15 assists in 63 matches for German giants Bayern Munich in his career, showing off his ability to score and create goals.

In Despodov, van Bronckhorst could find another player in that position who could come in and take the Premiership by storm with his exciting play in the final third, much like Laudrup.

The Bulgarian phenomenon has been in sensational form for Ludogorets this season, with nine goals and 12 assists in all competitions. This comes after he produced six goals and 14 assists last term for his current club, which suggests that he has the ability to make things happen at the top end of the pitch.

He previously played for CSKA Sofia and popped up with 25 goals and 26 assists in 80 matches for the Bulgarian outfit. This means that he has been regularly scoring and assisting goals for two separate clubs, indicating that he could have the potential to do the same at Rangers.

Whilst it is difficult to gauge the difference in quality between the divisions, he has been able to perform in Europe for his side. Despodov has racked up three goals and two assists in the Champions League and Europa Lague this term, showing that he can be a difference-maker in competitions the Gers are familiar with – which is why he could be an excellent signing.

AND in other news, Forget Kent: Rangers dud who lost 11 duels let Gvb down badly, he’s “not happy”…

According to The Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur and manager Antonio Conte have set their sights on another target as news emerges on Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz.

The Lowdown: Tottenham working…

As the final hurdle of this year’s January transfer window approaches, Lilywhites transfer chief Fabio Paratici is intensifying talks for key targets after missing out on both Adama Traore and Luiz Diaz to Barcelona and Liverpool respectively.

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Little time remains to significantly bolster Conte’s squad and give Tottenham a better chance of finishing the 2021/2022 season on a high.

There are even some fears that the 52-year-old could walk if Spurs don’t strengthen sufficiently as both Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy seek to back the Italian mid-season.

The Latest: Tottenham preparing Luiz bid…

New targets appear to be emerging on a regular basis as The Mail now share news on yet another in Brazilian midfield ace Luiz.

The Villans regular is now allegedly the subject of intense interest from Spurs with both Conte and Paratici now ‘preparing a £32m bid’ for the player.

Luiz has just 18 months left on his current deal, prompting Tottenham’s interest as the club could be forced to contemplate a significant offer.

The Verdict: Ideal target?

Strengthening in midfield is one of Conte’s four main goals for this transfer window and we believe signing the 23-year-old could come as a real statement of intent.

He’s attracted praise from Man City boss Pep Guardiola, who branded his former youngster as a ‘strong’ and ‘clever’ player, meanwhile journalist Gregg Evans has even more rave reviews.

Speaking on The Athletic’s 1874 podcast, via This is Futbol, the Villa reporter lauded Luiz as ‘an absolute joy to watch’, ‘fantastic player’ and ‘absolute star’ – summing up the South American’s form at Villa Park over these last few seasons.

At £32m, taking into account his fairly young age also, Luiz could be an absolute steal in the long-term.

In other news: Spurs now preparing another marquee bid for ‘special’ forward, find out more here.

Everton have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their FA Cup clash this weekend, with Frank Lampard confirming in his pre-match press conference that Dominic Calvert Lewin is injured, but it could now be an opportunity for Richarlison to step up.

The Toffees have been plagued with injuries to key players this season. The Brazil forward has been sidelined twice, Abdoulaye Doucoure is now in his second period of absence with an injury picked up in their last Premier League game, and Calvert-Lewin missed a large chunk of the season with a quadriceps injury. After returning at the beginning of January, the England striker has now picked up another knock and won’t be available for the match on Saturday afternoon.

Richarlison has failed to make a consistent impact on the side during his game-time this season, with only four goals and two assists so far. He has been unable to inspire this Everton team, with only four wins from his 13 appearances in the Premier League.

However, with Calvert-Lewin injured the Brazilian now has the opportunity to steal the show under Lampard by helping the Toffess to progress in the FA Cup and working with the new manager to change the course of Everton’s season by climbing the Premier League table when they return to top-flight action against Newcastle United on Tuesday.

The £49.5m-rated star, who was called “crazy” by his team-mate Demarai Gray, can use the opportunity of potentially playing up front in Lampard’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation to form a partnership with new signing Dele Alli. The Englishman would likely play in his preferred number 10 role just behind the striker and could potentially save Everton’s season if the pair can link up well and deliver upon their proven capability to score goals.

Alli has scored 91 goals and bagged 76 assists in his club career so far, whilst Richarlison has 98 goal contributions during his club career. If the ex-Chelsea manager can get it right at Everton, the attacking output that the pair could produce in the remaining months may inspire a huge turnaround for the team to finish the season in a much more comfortable position than their current placing of 16th.

In other news: Lampard must axe this flop after the arrival of Dele

Celtic duo Kyogo Furuhashi and David Turnbull could make their returns from injury later this month, according to The Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Hamstring issues

Both players have been missing due to respective hamstring issues and haven’t been seen since the winter break.

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Furuhashi suffered a reoccurrence of the problem against St Johnstone prior to the winter break, whereas Turnbull hobbled off in the Scottish League Cup final seven days earlier.

The Hoops have coped without the pair, though, with Ange Postecoglou’s side winning every game since the winter break, which has resulted in them leapfrogging Rangers at the top of the Premiership.

The Latest: Europa Conference League inclusions

As reported by The Daily Record’s Lindsay Herron, both Furuhashi and Turnbull have been included in Celtic’s 25-man Europa Conference League squad.

Herron said that the ‘key stars could make their comebacks against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt’ – an exciting 10-word claim ahead of the two games on February 17 and 24.

The Verdict: Would be huge…

Celtic have been extremely impressive without the pair this year, but you’d expect that they would be even better with Furuhashi and Turnbull back in the side.

The Japanese forward has contributed to 21 goals in 26 games as a Celtic player, whereas the Scottish midfielder has made a whopping 4.1 key passes per game, as per WhoScored, with both regulars in the first XI before their respective injuries.

Having the pair back against Bodo/Glimt would give Postecoglou even more creative and attacking options over the two legs, which could be key, especially with the Hoops boss able to make five substitutions during the 90 minutes.

In other news: ‘Seen the reports’ – Kieran Devlin ‘surprised’ as Celtic now move for nine-position ace

Aston Villa have been rather busy during previous transfer windows when it comes to bringing new players to the Midlands club.

However, with the summer transfer window approaching, it seems as though the Villans could be looking at getting one of their current players out the door.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, transfer insider Dean Jones had this to say about Danny Ings, in particular, on the subject of Villa’s current crop of players and the upcoming summer transfer window.

He said: “There are a few players who you are looking at and they just don’t seem to fit into place.

“You’ve still got a few months of the season to go, and he could still go on a goalscoring run and win him over, but in these early days, Danny Ings is one of those that might become available in the summer.”

Villa signed the striker back in the previous summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Southampton in a deal worth a reported fee of £25m.

Since then, with 18 appearances across all competitions under his belt, the Englishman has managed to score four goals and provide two assists along the way.

As well as his lack of consistent goals and assists this season, the 29-year-old’s performances in the league haven’t done much to justify the transfer fee Villa paid for him, with WhoScored giving him an underwhelming overall rating of 6.5/10, making him one of the lowest-rated players in Steven Gerrard’s squad that have started more than one league game.

Fans would be furious

Despite Ings’ rather disappointing start to his career in a Villa shirt, there would presumably be a lot of fans that would not want to see their club give up on him after just one full season at Villa Park, especially given how much money they paid for him.

Also, with fellow Villa striker Ollie Watkins not managing to score in any of his last five league appearances for the club, Gerrard could be likely to turn to Ings in the coming weeks to see if he can start getting the goals for his side.

Moving forward, while the centre-forward has enough time left in this campaign to get a good run of form under his belt and add some goals to his tally, there should be no thoughts from the club, in our view, about letting Ings leave in the summer.

In other news: Imagine him and McGinn: Gerrard eyes Villa summer swoop for “unique” £54m-rated brute – opinion

Everton are set to have both Abdoulaye Doucoure and Demarai Gray available for their Premier League meeting with league leaders Manchester City at Goodison Park on Saturday evening.

What’s the latest?

According to Toffees boss Frank Lampard, the duo are back in training and are in contention. The 43-year-old said: “With Doucoure and Gray, they’re both training with us and in the squad. The issue for me is if they start. I’ll have to decide whether they’re ready to start. But it’s good to have them back”

Doucoure is yet to feature under Lampard with the Frenchman’s last appearance coming in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa whilst Gray missed the 3-0 win over Leeds United and the 2-0 defeat to Southampton last Saturday.

Fans will be ecstatic

With Everton still very much in a relegation battle, having as many key players available for the remainder of the campaign as possible will be crucial for their hopes of avoiding a first-ever Premier League relegation.

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Lampard’s side are currently 16th and two points clear of the drop zone. However, they do boast games in hand on numerous sides in and around the bottom six.

Although Saturday’s opponents will be the clear favourites, having both Doucoure and Gray available will be a major boost for the Toffees in the long term.

This season has been rather stop-start for Doucoure, with the 29-year-old making 16 league appearances having suffered two separate injury-related month-long absences this campaign.

However, the midfielder faces no guarantees of an instant return to the starting lineup as he now faces a squad congested with options in the middle of the park.

Allan is available once again as well as both Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli arriving since the Frenchman was sidelined whilst Andre Gomes has also been in and out of the side of late.

As for Gray, the winger has certainly exceeded expectations since his move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer. The 25-year-old has scored six goals and registered three assists in 24 appearances across all competitions, making the Englishman one of the Toffees’ most potent goal-threats.

This will be particularly key for Lampard as he looks to steady the ship on the blue side of Merseyside, with Everton keeping just one clean sheet in their last 14 games across all competitions and most likely in need of goal scorers to ensure victories.

In other news: Lampard axes 0-goal flop, “tireless” £48k-p/w ace starts: Predicted Everton XI vs Manchester City

Newcastle United are ‘most advanced’ in the race to sign Torino’s Wilfried Singo, who looks certain to move to the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Singo profiled

The 21-year-old Ivory Coast international has been on the books with Torino since 2019. He has made the majority of his appearances during his career at right midfield, although he has also featured as a right-back, centre-back and left-back.

Singo’s current contract expires in just under 18 months’ time, and it seems as if a move to St James’ Park in the summer is edging closer.

The Latest: Newcastle links with Singo

Sport Witness relayed reports from Torino Granata in a story on Monday, suggesting that it is almost certain that Singo will play in the Premier League next season.

Their sources claim that Newcastle are ‘most advanced’ and are now ready to ‘put €20m on the plate’ for the Ivorian, which equates to roughly £16.6m.

The Verdict: Smart move?

Singo is clearly a versatile player and could well be a star of the future, with his Transfermarkt valuation recently rocketing to a career-high £10.8m, which would suggest that he is currently at the top of his game.

The majority of his appearances this season have come as a right-sided midfielder, but it is good to know that he can play anywhere across the back four if required.

A £16.6m deal could prove to be a shrewd move over the coming months, and following this significant update, it seems as if it is a transfer link to keep a close eye upon ahead of Eddie Howe’s first full season in charge at St James’ Park.

In other news: Newcastle already planning record bid for ‘irresistible’ speed demon