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Manchester United are ‘exploring’ a move for Ajax winger Antony, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Plenty of targets

The Red Devils are yet to make a marquee signing for Erik ten Hag despite seemingly having a number of apparent targets.

United’s priority is still a move for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, while an offer has been made for free agent Christian Eriksen.

Defensive reinforcements could also be on the radar, with Ajax’s Jurrien Timber and Villarreal’s Pau Torres two potential targets, and Romano has added Antony to that list.

The Latest: Another one…

Talking to GiveMeSport, Romano was quizzed on United and Antony, stating that the club are ‘exploring’ a move and have held internal discussions.

The transfer expert also claimed that Ten Hag has done ‘incredible work’ in developing the winger in the Netherlands.

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“Of course, Antony is one of the players they are exploring and they have discussed internally. Erik ten Hag is a big fan of this boy.

“The Antony [we see] today is also thanks to the incredible work of Erik ten Hag. So, it’s absolutely normal to explore this possibility.”

The Verdict: Clever move?

Antony is a right-winger who contributed to 22 goals in 32 games under Ten Hag last season. The United boss currently doesn’t have a senior right-winger at Old Trafford, so a move for the Brazilian would make sense.

The 22-year-old is valued at a career-high £31.5m by Transfermarkt, so United would be getting a high-quality attacker who, you’d like to think, has the scope to improve on his already impressive game, making it a shrewd transfer in both the short and long term.

In other news: Man Utd make bid to sign attacking ‘storm’ after multiple phone calls. 

Luke Edwards has now revealed some Newcastle United transfer news on Sven Botman.

The Lowdown: Deal close?

It has been reported that the St James’ Park club are now ‘pressing to close a deal’ for the 22-year-old and have ‘submitted’ a ‘new proposal’ worth more than €30m (£25.6m).

Talks are ‘ongoing’ between them and Lille, although AC Milan (among a number of other clubs) are also still thought to be ‘in contention’ for his signature.

The Latest: Edwards’ update on Botman

Taking to Twitter, Daily Telegraph journalist Edwards has revealed that despite some reports to the contrary, there is ‘nothing imminent’ at the moment with regards to a move for Botman.

He revealed: “All I’m told at moment is “nothing imminent.” “

The Verdict: Get it done

With interest from Serie A title winners Milan, who can offer Botman Champions League football next season, the Magpies simply need to get this deal done as soon as possible.

Hailed as a potential ‘massive signing’ and ‘one of the best’ young defenders in European football by Pod On The Tyne podcaster Taylor Payne, signing the 22-year-old would be a real coup for Newcastle.

Botman was Lille’s third-best performer in Ligue 1 last term, averaging more clearances and passes per game than any of his team-mates (WhoScored), showing that he is equally as comfortable at playing out from the back as he is at getting stuck into challenges.

There seems little doubt that Eddie Howe would be excited to work with the Dutchman over the next campaign and beyond, if he can lure the player to Tyneside.

In other news, find out who is now ‘on verge’ of leaving St James’ Park

The summer transfer window officially opens on Friday and Newcastle will be hard at work as they look to improve Eddie Howe’s squad for the 2022/23 campaign.

Dan Ashworth and PIF have already secured one deal as Matt Targett has agreed to join the club on a permanent basis after his loan spell in the season just gone.

Another player they must now target a move for is West Ham attacking midfielder Said Benrahma, who is reportedly available this summer.

Journalist Harry Roy has claimed that the club wanted the Algeria international and are keen on a deal for a player in his position.

He Tweeted: “Just read that West Ham are open to selling Saïd Benrahma this summer. NUFC were interested in him during his Brentford days, and are in the market for a winger. £12m-£15m is the rumoured price.”

New Hatem Ben Arfa

By reigniting interest in Benrahma and bringing him to St. James’ Park, PIF can find the club’s new Ben Arfa next season.

The Hammers gem is a silky playmaker with the ability to breeze past players with his trickery, much like the former Newcastle forward.

Brentford B’s assistant coach, Sam Saunders, once claimed that Benrahma “could nutmeg a mermaid” and this beautifully illustrates how much talent he has with the ball at his feet.

Interestingly, this exact phrase was previously used – by SPORTBible – to describe Ben Arfa as they posted a compilation of his best goals on Tyneside.

Whilst impressing with flash skills, the now-Lille winger also made a big impact in the final third. In the 2011/12 campaign, he produced five goals and six assists in the Premier League as he showed that he had end product as well as immense dribbling.

Benrahma, similarly, is also able to make telling contributions at the top end of the pitch. In 2021/22, he managed to score eight goals and provide six assists for West Ham in the top-flight, showing that he can be a match-winner as well as a crowd-pleaser.

Therefore, the 26-year-old magician can be the new Ben Arfa to entertain the supporters at St. James’ Park and PIF must swoop in to snap him up from the London Stadium this summer.

Howe would surely love to work with a proven Premier League attacker heading into the peak years of his career and fans would enjoy watching him nutmeg mermaids…

AND in other news, Ashworth now plotting NUFC bid for £20m gem with “no nerves”, he’s a huge Burn upgrade…

Newcastle United are said to be exploring the possibility of a deal for Wolves winger Adama Traore, according to a report from 90min.

The Lowdown: Barcelona turn down buying option

The Spaniard first arrived at Molineux from Middlesbrough for a club-record fee back in 2018 and put pen to paper on a five-year contract, where he has since made a total of 154 appearances.

The 26-year-old spent the second half of the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Barcelona with the option to make the switch permanent, but the Catalans have since confirmed that they won’t be taking this up, signalling the forward’s imminent return to the Premier League.

The Latest: Magpies make contact

In a new article published by 90min, it’s claimed that Traore will ‘still leave’ Wolves this summer, who are desperate to ‘offload’ him for good, despite Xavi passing up the opportunity to sign him.

The source reveals that the Magpies have actually already enquired about the eight-cap international, but are set to face competition from Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Verdict: Perfect fit?

With Traore’s time with the Wanderers seemingly over, it’s no surprise to see so many clubs chasing his signature given how much of a threat he can be in the final third.

Before making the move to Barca, the 5 foot 8 talisman averaged 4.2 dribbles and 1.2 shots per league game for Wolves, via WhoScored, with his pace a real handful for opposition defenders to try and deal with.

The £46k-per-week star, who was once dubbed an “undefendable” player by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, is exactly the profile of player that Newcastle should be looking to bolster their attacking ranks with as he could add a potent threat on the right flank, meaning teams will no longer be able to cater their defensive plans so heavily towards Allan Saint-Maximin.

In other news… the Magpies are set to send out club scouts to watch one of their summer transfer targets in action.

Leeds United have reportedly enquired about the availability of Barcelona starlet Ez Abde, according to Spanish newspaper Sport (via Sport Witness). 

The lowdown: Top talent

Signed by Barcelona B in 2019 from Hercules, the 20-year-old winger progressed into Xavi’s first-team plans during the 2021/22 campaign.

Abde ended the season with 11 senior outings for the Catalan giants, having scored twice and provided seven assists in 20 appearances for the B team.

Despite seemingly having a bright future in Spain, it appears that Leeds are keen on bringing the Moroccan to the Premier League…

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The latest: Leeds interested in Abde

As per Sport, translated by Sport Witness, Leeds have ‘mentioned’ the name of Abde whilst discussing other deals with Barcelona – perhaps the widely-speculated transfer of Raphinha to Camp Nou.

It is suggested that Wolves – who loaned Adama Traore to the La Liga club in January – also enquired about the possibility of signing the 20-year-old.

Under contract at Camp Nou until 2024 (Transfermarkt), the report makes no mention of a desire from Barcelona to sell the youngster, who was hailed as ‘extraordinary’ by Xavi following a 2-2 draw against Osasuna in which the versatile attacker scored and also completed five successful dribbles in a 7.2-rated performance from Sofascore.

The verdict: Smart move

Equally adept on either wing, signing Abde amidst the possibility of either or both of Raphinha and Jack Harrison departing would be a smart piece of business from Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta.

The talented starlet completed 3.4 dribbles per game during 10 La Liga outings in his breakthrough season at that level, highlighting a penchant for beating defenders which would be welcomed with open arms at Elland Road, where nobody averaged more than two successful dribbles per match in 2021/22.

Boasting stylistic similarities with the likes of Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha, Sevilla ace Lucas Ocampos and the aforementioned Traore (Fbref), Abde is certainly one to watch as the next generation of talent comes through at Barcelona, and Leeds would be wise to remain attentive to the possibility of this capture.

In other news, Leeds are eyeing up another signing after Aaronson. Find out who it is here

Journalist Rahman Osman of London World has now shared a Tottenham Hotspur transfer update involving Brentford playmaker Christian Eriksen.

The Lowdown: Spurs in mix…

The Lilywhites, as per recent reports, are in the mix to sign Eriksen following his phenomenal and fairy-tale return to the grass.

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After suffering a cardiac-arrest at Euro 2020, few could’ve predicted the Dane would be thriving back in the Premier League under Thomas Frank and sparking interest from Spurs.

Eriksen is allegedly keen on a sensational reunion with the north-Londoners and manager Antonio Conte as the club eye a Bosman deal for their ex-hero.

The Latest: Osman shares update…

According to Osman of LW, an update has emerged, with Conte personally ‘pressing on for a deal’ to re-sign the 30-year-old.

However, if they cannot convince the midfielder to return, it is believed Brighton star Yves Bissouma has been earmarked as an alternative target.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Potentially signing Eriksen for free is an arguable no-brainer given chairman Daniel Levy once put a seismic £130m tag on his head (The Mirror), highlighting the player’s obvious value and quality.

He’s been a standout for Brentford, making the most key passes per 90 for them in the top flight last year whilst also averaging the highest match rating out of anyone in the Bees squad (WhoScored).

Sealing a return for the ‘big name’ creator may well be one of Fabio Paratici’s more shrewd moves of the summer if he can get it done.

In other news: ‘Not only Perisic’ – Tottenham push for ‘genius’ signing after Conte call ‘in recent days’…find out more here.

Leeds United forward Daniel James is attracting increasing interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet Calcio Atalanta (via Sport Witness), who claimed that Atalanta have made contact with the Whites winger regarding the potential for a switch to the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia this summer.

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The report added that, should Leeds suffer relegation on the final day of the Premier League campaign this weekend, the 24-year-old would be available at a lower price than if Jesse Marsch’s outfit remain in the top flight – something which could benefit the Serie A club in negotiations.

Orta must axe James

While James has shown flashes of potential since his £25m move to Elland Road last summer – such as his brace in a 3-3 draw against Aston Villa – generally speaking the Wales international has failed to live up to the expectations which naturally come with such a big-money move.

Indeed, over his 34 Premier League appearances this season, the £16.2m-rated forward has been in very inconsistent form, scoring four goals, providing four assists and missing eight big chances, in addition to completing just 9.9 passes, giving away the ball 9.4 times and winning a mere 2.9 duels (at a success rate of 39%) per game.

These returns have seen the £50k-per-week winger – who Chris Sutton dubbed “pathetic” and Kevin Phillips claimed is “papering over the cracks” of Patrick Bamford’s injury – average a disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.64, ranking the former Manchester United attacker as Jesse Marsch’s ninth-worst performer in the English top flight this term.

As such, should Atalanta go on to submit an offer anywhere near the Welshman’s current market valuation, it would appear a wise move for Victor Orta to cash in on the 24-year-old while he has the chance. It is clear to see from the Whites’ current 18th-place standing in the Premier League table, and the aforementioned performance figures, that James has been a rather costly mistake for the club.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Phil Hay reveals further Leeds injury setback, Jesse Marsch will be gutted

Aston Villa have been dealt a worrying setback ahead of their clash against Premier League relegation battlers Burnley tonight.

What’s the latest?

Villa keeper Emi Martinez picked up a knock in training on Wednesday, which could rule him out of tonight’s game.

As per Birmingham Live, Gerrard said:

“Emi’s a doubt at the moment.

“We’re just analysing the situation that happened today [Wednesday] in training, but I think he’ll play and he’ll be fine.

“It was just a knock in training. We’ll analyse it. I’m confident he’ll be there. If he’s not there, Robin’s champing at the bit. He’s been awesome. He’s trained well and he’s ready and I’ll have no qualms putting Robin [Olsen] in if I have to. If Emi’s fit and he’s fine – we’ll assess him in the next hour or two – then he’ll play.”

A big blow

Despite Gerrard’s comments about back-up keeper Olsen, the loss of Martinez will come as a big blow to the Villans, with Martinez registering 11 clean sheets this season and making an average of 2.6 saves per 90.

Furthermore, he’s also one of the best in his position across the top flight, with journalist Joey D’Urso labelling him “world-class” last term.

Despite these metrics, the Argentine has faltered somewhat in comparison to last campaign, so it will also come as a big blow to a goalkeeper who will have been hoping to end the season in good form, with the idea of starting the next season in the same vein.

Though, with the update from Gerrard, it looks as though Martinez will be touch and go.

Whilst he may sit out tonight’s game, the Villa boss will be hoping he is fit enough to feature in Villa’s final game against Manchester City, with a win over the Citizens almost certainly enough to hand old club Liverpool the Premier League trophy.

In other news: AVFC eye summer move for “exceptional” £50m brute, he’s their next Idrissa Gueye