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Liverpool have suffered a cruel blow in their pursuit of Lille midfielder Renato Sanches as manager Jurgen Klopp continues to search for engine room reinforcements.

What’s the story?

The Reds have been linked with several star names following Gini Wijnaldum’s departure this summer, and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano had previously revealedthat  Sanches is one of the targets they were tracking.

“I would keep an eye again on Renato Sanches for midfield,” said Romano on a recent instalment of his ‘Here We Go’ podcast (as relayed by the Liverpool Echo).

“Also, Barcelona are looking at his situation. So it’s Barcelona and Liverpool interested in Renato Sanches, but the price tag is around €40m (£34m). So we will see in the coming days.”

However, Lille have confirmed that the 23-year-old is set to be sidelined for around six weeks with a knee injury, so he would be unable to pass a medical before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.

“He had this discomfort for a few days, but he had restarted training well this week,” manager Jocelyn Gourvennec said (via L’Equipe). “But this pain has become more severe.”

The French champions confirmed on Monday that Sanches underwent successful surgery for a meniscal lesion in his right knee, and he is estimated to be out of action until the end of September.

Jurgen Klopp will be gutted

Sanches wasn’t included in Lille’s matchday squad for their Ligue 1 clash against Nice, which resulted in a heavy 4-0 defeat, but it seems that he’ll be part of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy set up for a little while longer.

The Portugal international made 23 Ligue 1 appearances for Les Dogues last term, playing a big part in their outstanding run to the title, and his contribution to their success saw the £27m-rated gem described as a “machine” by Lille’s official Twitter feed in April.

He has rebuilt his career with Lille in northern France following a tricky spell with Bayern Munich and a tough 12-month loan stint at Swansea City, catching the eye of some of the continent’s top clubs, and his underlying numbers indicate why.

As per WhoScored, the Portugal international completed 1.7 dribbles and 0.8 key passes per league game last term while recorded a passing accuracy of 85.8%, highlighting his effective use of the ball.

Therefore, Klopp is likely to be gutted to learn of the youngster’s injury, ruling out an immediate move to Anfield. Sanches has the potential to be an ideal successor to Wijnaldum, but the German will now be forced to look elsewhere.

In other news… Report reveals exciting Liverpool update which will have Reds fans absolutely buzzing 

David Norris has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern he thinks Leeds’ chances of signing Lewis O’Brien are slim.

Marcelo Bielsa has been quiet up to now in the transfer window, making just two significant additions in Jack Harrison, following three loan spells, and left-back Junior Firpo from Barcelona.

Exciting youngster Lewis Bate also joined from Chelsea, and the Leeds boss has been trying his luck with another young player in O’Brien, who’s been chased by several Premier League clubs after his impressive form for Huddersfield in the Championship.

Despite the speculation surrounding his future, O’Brien started Huddersfield’s win over Sheffield United on Saturday, and scored three times and assisted as many more in 42 Championship appearances last season.

But whilst the Telegraph believe that Leeds are closing in on a £7m deal for the 22-year-old, Norris believes that the deal has gone on too long for the two Yorkshire rivals to reach an agreement.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

“I think once it goes too far, there’s obviously an issue, so I can’t see that one happening now. I can’t see them paying £8m-£10m.

“Some teams attract players for a long period of time and eventually get a deal done, but this one seems like it’s not going to happen, it’s gone on too long.”

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a major blow in their pursuit of PSV Eindhoven winger Noni Madueke, following news that the 19-year-old has signed a new four year deal at the Philips Stadium.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye talent as 2021/22 gets well underway

Starting off 2021/22 strongly, Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo will be keen to sell talented players a vision that will entice them to come to North London with a view to winning trophies during their time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Working intelligently from a recruitment perspective, the Portuguese coach has managed to acquire three additions in the form of Pierluigi Gollini, Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero [Transfermarkt], as well as keeping hold of talisman Harry Kane.

Despite this, one man who looks unlikely to move to Tottenham this summer following developments on Wednesday is former starlet Madueke.

The Latest: Tottenham face huge Madueke blow

Putting an end to speculation surrounding his future, youngster Madueke has signed a deal that will keep him at PSV until the summer of 2025, via the Dutch outfit’s official website.

Interest is said to have been rife in the Englishman this window, with Manchester United, Leicester City, Bayern Munich and Juventus believed to have been circling for his signature, while Tottenham have been constantly linked with a move to bring their former academy product back to north London.

Now, the door looks to have closed on a potential swoop for the time being.

The Verdict: Losing out on Madueke is bitterly disappointing for THFC hierarchy

Possessing an offensive threat that has seen him become one of the most talented young players in the Eredivisie, the Spurs hierarchy will be bitterly disappointed that he has chosen to carry on his development there.

The 19 year-old winger has started the new term in lightning fashion, registering seven goal contributions in nine fixtures so far; six goals and a solitary assist [Transfermarkt].

Furthermore, the 5 foot 9 ace has been a thorn in the side of opposition defences, managing to record a remarkable average of 3.5 shots per game in the Eredivisie so far [WhoScored].

Once likened to Phil Foden by former England Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd, Spurs could have done a lot worse than to shell out big money to acquire the prodigious winger this window [Daily Mail].

In other news, a Premier League side are interested in a Spurs midfielder. Find out who here.

Newcastle United’s summer business could be done with a source suggesting Hamza Choudhury now won’t arrive from Leicester City, The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has revealed.

The lowdown: Deal close

Edwards had tweeted earlier on Tuesday that Newcastle were ‘close’ to signing Choudhury on loan.

Choudhury was limited to just four Premier League starts for Leicester last season, making a further six substitute appearances.

The 23-year-old would have taken up one of two available slots for loan signings from within the Premier League.

Newcastle also pursued this deal back in January and apparently came within ‘a hair’s breath’ of getting it over the line.

The latest: Bombshell

‘Someone now appears to be briefing’ that the Choudhury deal is off, and that Newcastle’s ‘business is done’, stated Edwards in a late and worrying bombshell.

He then added that by ‘someone’ he means the Magpies themselves, saying ‘I predict trouble ahead’.

Steve Bruce apparently thought the loan was doable, while both Leicester and the player himself ‘thought this was happening’.

The verdict: Disaster

Choudhury would have been a reasonable but uninspiring signing. Even if he had come in, Newcastle would have been left short, with an upgrade at centre-half also needed.

But the fallout from the deal’s apparent collapse may far outweigh the limited impact Choudhury’s arrival would have had. Indeed, Edwards himself has already dubbed it ‘scandalous’, and it really does feel like Bruce is now fighting a losing battle.

The Toon are stuck in 17th place with just one point, and it’s hard to see their form improving if they don’t make any late additions.

In other news, Steve Howey has suggested Newcastle could get creative for this CB.

When Rangers resume after the international break, Steven Gerrard has a big decision to make when it comes to selecting a goalkeeper.

After both Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin were ruled out after testing positive for covid, Gerrard was forced to select McCrorie in between the sticks for the games against Alashkert and Celtic.

The 23-year-old shot-stopper, who had never played for Rangers’ senior side before, impressively kept clean sheets as Rangers drew 0-0 and 1-0 in those respective games, which should surely give Gerrard something to think about ahead of their game against St Johnstone next weekend.

A graduate of the Rangers academy, McCrorie has spent each of the last four seasons out on loan, progressing through the leagues with spells at Berwick Rangers, Greenock Morton, Queen of the South and Livingston.

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

Last season saw the ‘keeper make 26 appearances for the Lions, in which he conceded 46 goals and kept four clean sheets, and whilst this isn’t the greatest record, it gave him some much-needed experience in the top-flight, which definitely will have helped him through the recent fixtures.

After he made his debut in the draw against Alashkert, which secured Rangers’ spot in the Europa League group stages, assistant manager Gary McAllister was full of praise for the young goalkeeper, saying:

“We have loads of belief in Robby and he didn’t let us down.”

“I thought he dealt with the ball well and the one awkward shot that came in low and bounced in front of him, I thought he handled that well.

“So it is a very good debut.”

McCrorie is reaching the age where he needs to be playing senior football regularly and although Gerrard has alternated between McLaughlin and McGregor so far this season, they are 33 and 39 respectively, so the 41-year-old manager should definitely consider giving the 23-year-old more first-team opportunities after he proved himself in those aforementioned displays.

And, in other news… Manager drops concerning transfer update on “fantastic” Rangers beast

West Ham United fans have been full of praise for their manager David Moyes after he was nominated for August’s Manager of the Month award.

Moyes guided the Hammers to seven points from three matches, including a rip-roaring 4-1 win over Leicester City.

In that time, no other team has scored more than their ten goals and they sit second in the Premier League table.

In his second reign in charge at the club, Moyes guided the club to the Europa League last season with a sixth-placed finish and has continued the good form with two wins in three.

He will go up against Nuno Espirito Santo of Tottenham, Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea and Rafael Benetiz of Everton for the award after the nominees were announced by the Premier League.

The impressive performances of Michal Antonio and Said Benrahma have been influential in the Hammers’ sizzling start to the campaign, with both players nominated for the Player of the Month.

West Ham fans delighted with Moyes news

These West Ham fans took to Twitter to show their support to their manager, with one supporter claiming he ‘should win it’.

“Should have got manager of the season last season but that’s reserved for managers of certain teams.”

Credit: @dockcopper

“Should win it and Antonio should win player of the month”

Credit: @tommb22

“Come on Hammers fans. It’s about time our fantastic gaffer got this award representing the Massive West Ham United. PLEASE GET VOTING!!!”

Credit: @DEPtones

“Genuinely feel he should be the one winning it.”

Credit: @Akhi707

“MOYESSS”

Credit:@conwhufc03

“Definitely manager of the month”

Credit: @49whufc_smh

“Dawson cost him the award. All jokes aside, cracking start”

Credit: @FPL_Cockney 

Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey has been pictured back in training ahead of the trip to Chelsea on Saturday evening. 

Villa paid £25million to sign Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen during the summer transfer window.

He got off to a strong start, notching an assist for John McGinn after coming off the bench in the opening day clash with Watford.

But the Jamaican has subsequently missed Villa’s last two Premier League matches, and the Carabao Cup visit to Barrow, with a hamstring injury.

His full debut could arrive against Chelsea, though, with Dean Smith revealing on Friday that Bailey had been training for ten days now and is ‘fully over’ the problem that he had.

What about the rest of Villa’s squad?

McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Bertrand Traore are all back in contention too, boosting Villa’s hopes of taking points off the reigning European champions and softening the blow of Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia’s quarantine-enforced absences (via BBC Sport).

Villa fans ecstatic

The official Villa Twitter account posted an image of Bailey at Bodymoor Heath, and here’s how fans reacted.

“DON LEON”

Credit: @TyBracey

“Thank god”

Credit: @villaontour_

“OH MY DAYS”

Credit: @avfcstatto

“We’re winning the treble”

Credit: @Josh1874_

“This is the content that I want to see”

Credit: @AvfcPearson

“Ooh yes”

Credit: @jmxavfc

In other news, this development left Villa fans fuming.

Kieran Devlin has revealed that Celtic summer signing James McCarthy has been struggling with the intensity of Ange Postecoglou’s Lennoxtown training sessions.

The Lowdown: McCarthy pens four-year deal

McCarthy was one of 12 arrivals at Parkhead over the summer, penning a four-year deal at the beginning of August.

Since then, the 30-year-old has made just one Scottish Premiership appearance, coming on as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Ross County last weekend.

He’s also featured in the Europa League and the League Cup for Celtic, but it seems as if he isn’t settling into life under Postecoglou as many would’ve hoped.

The Latest: Devlin’s claim

Devlin was running a Q&A on The Athletic before the Hoops’ Europa League opener against Real Betis.

He was asked who he thought would replace captain Callum McGregor out of McCarthy and Ismaila Soro, to which he said:

“Think Soro most likely but could be McCarthy. Been told McCarthy has struggled slightly with the pace and intensity of the training sessions as well, but hopefully that is just down to fitness/rustiness rather than a permanent issue.

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The Verdict: Next few months key

As Devlin mentions, McCarthy’s struggles are hopefully due to a fitness issue rather than a long-term problem.

The Irishman started just four of Crystal Palace’s final 17 Premier League games last season and also went a few months as a free agent.

The next few months should give a better indication of where McCarthy fits in Postecoglou’s squad, but at this moment in time, he’s not making positive progress at Parkhead.

In other news: CEO at Europa League side tipped as possible McKay replacement at Celtic. 

An update has emerged on Southampton target Keane Lewis-Potter, regarding Hull’s expectation for the January window.

What’s the talk?

According to The Hull Daily Mail, Hull are expecting offers to come in for Keane Lewis-Potter in the January transfer window.

The report claims that Southampton have a firm interest in the forward and that Hull could find it difficult to stop him from leaving the club.

Exciting for Southampton

Southampton fans will surely be excited by this update as it suggests that the club could be ready to make a move for him in the next window. Hull seem to believe that Saints’ interest in the player is serious and that it could lead to an offer in the upcoming months, which could be exciting for supporters who may want to see the club add to the squad.

Lewis-Potter has impressed since breaking through into the Hull team and has produced two goals and one assist this term in the Championship. In the 2020/21 League One campaign, he racked up 13 goals and five assists for his side, showing that he could score and assist goals on a regular basis.

Last year, Hull manager Grant McCann lauded the youngster for his performances in League One. He said: “The kid’s a special talent. Wherever we play him across that frontline, he’ll create and score goals.

“He can be anything he wants to be. He’s quick, he’s getting stronger. If you see him physically now compared to where he was this time last year, he’s head and shoulders above in terms of his physique. He’s got all the tools to be anything he wants.

“With young players you need to keep on at them. They need to keep understanding what’s expected on an everyday level. We’ve got good staff around here to help Keano keep progressing.”

This shows how highly rated he is and why Saints fans could look forward to the prospect of him arriving at St. Mary’s in January. Ralph Hasenhuttl would be getting a 20-year-old attacker with scope for development, who could push the current first-team players whilst also being a long-term project for the manager to work on.

He could be one the fans are able to enjoy watching over the course of a number of seasons, watching his progress, instead of someone who comes in and provides quality straight away.

AND in other news, 5 tackles won: Southampton powerhouse with 7 duels won stole the show vs SUFC…

Out-of-favour Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks has handed Nuno Santo a fresh selection headache ahead of this weekend’s return to Premier League action.

The north London outfit eased past Slovenian outfit NS Mura in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday night, defeating them 5-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Englishman excelled upon his return to the side.

Winks has struggled for game time over the past year or so, having started only nine league games last season and just once under the Portuguese so far this campaign.

There was talk during the summer transfer window that the 25-year-old was up for sale, with the likes of Everton and Aston Villa interested in his signature.

He was handed just his fourth start of the 2021/22 campaign on Thursday night and he clearly played with a point to prove.

The ten-time England international is neither an anchorman nor a playmaker, he’s the sort of no.8 who will sit in the hole and look to dictate play from the engine room. Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino once described him as the “perfect” midfielder and compared him to Spain greats Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

But in recent times, his career in N17 has been called into question. The Times’ Gary Jacob suggested only last month that Winks’ career was at a crossroads and his performances had been ‘stale’.

Handed a rare appearance against Mura, Winks not only did his job to great effect, but he also displayed characteristics we’ve not seen in a very long time.

“[He] made Lo Celso’s goal with fine forward pass and had plenty of possession as Spurs tried to build attacks through the midfield, rather than bypassing it,” claimed the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick in his post-match ratings column, where he graded the Englishman a seven out of ten.

SofaScore rated him a little higher at 7.7, which was the fourth-best of the 16 Spurs players to feature on Thursday night.

Winks recorded the most touches (104) of anyone on the pitch in north London, meaning he was certainly a key cog in Nuno’s setup and a lot of their play ran through him.

As a result, he provided a whopping three key passes from his 92 successful distributions (96% accuracy rate). Of course, the opposition are no great shakes, but considering his career average is 0.5 per game, it’s a rather astonishing return.

He did his defensive duties, too, as he registered two tackles, one clearance and one interception, whilst he also won seven of his nine battles in the heart of midfield (77.7%), via SofaScore.

The £18m-rated midfielder, who is thought to be earning around £75k-per-week, will now surely be on Nuno’s mind heading into the weekend when they return to Premier League action.

Spurs have suffered three straight heavy top-flight defeats and face Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. One of the Portuguese’s biggest problems has been finding the right balance in midfield and now Winks’ surprisingly creative display poses a fresh and pretty big dilemma over team selection.

Does Nuno stick or twist with the Hotspur Way dud? Only time will tell, but what is certain is that the Englishman has thrown his name into the hat ahead of kick-off.

AND in other news, Forget Kane: £18m-rated Spurs beast who won 75% duels ran the show for Nuno vs NS Mura…