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Leeds United will not part ways with Raphinha for less than £51m this January.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Leeds Live journalist Joe Donnohue, who stated in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that Victor Orta will not contemplate selling the 24-year-old winger unless an offer is submitted that amounts to three times the £17m fee the Brazil international cost the Whites back in October of last year.

A number of reports have linked the forward with a move away from Elland Road over the course of the last year, with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea all being touted as potential suitors for the former Stade Rennais man.

However, when discussing how much Raphinha would cost to sign, Donnohue said: “I think you’re looking at at least three times the figure they paid if he were to be sold. It would depend on the timing that he’d be sold. I think you’re looking at, at the very minimum, three times that £17m figure.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Raphinha has been since his arrival at the club, the news that Leeds do not look likely to sanction the sale of the winger for anything less than £51m – a fee which it would be difficult to see a club splashing out on the 24-year-old, particularly in January – is sure to have left fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his 30 Premier League appearances last season, the €40m-rated (£34m-rated) man scored six goals, registered nine assists and created a whopping 12 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.2 shots and making 2.2 key passes per game.

These returns saw the player who Alan Hutton dubbed a “nightmare” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.14, ranking him as Marcelo Bielsa’s third-best performer in the top flight.

The £58k-per-week winger has continued this form over his 10 Premier League fixtures so far this season, having already bagged five goals and created three big chances for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 2.2 key passes and taking 3.5 shots per match.

These metrics have seen the Brazilian average a SofaScore match rating of 7.26, ranking him as the 30th-best player in the entirety of the division, as well as Leeds’ best.

As such, the fact that it appears as if Raphinha will remain at Elland Road beyond the January transfer window is undoubtedly fantastic for the club, as it very much seems the winger will be at the centre of any success the Whites go on to achieve in the current campaign.

In other news: Victor Orta “preparing” LUFC bid for “special” 7 G/A gem, he’s what Bielsa is missing

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Wilfried Singo to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim that Spurs are one of a number of English clubs who have sent scouts to watch the Torino right wing-back in action ahead of a potential swoop at the end of the season.

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The report then goes on to specify Spurs’ interest in the 21-year-old, who is believed to consider a move to the Premier League this summer as an unmissable opportunity, while it is also stated that the Serie A side would be willing to part with the Ivory Coast international, as long as they were to receive an offer in the region of €30m (£25m).

Conte would love him

Considering how impressive Singo has been in Italy throughout the current campaign, it is easy to see why Antonio Conte would be interested in a deal to bring the right-back to north London this summer.

Indeed, over his 32 Serie A appearances this season, the £25m-rated wing-back has been in breathtaking form for Ivan Juric’s side, scoring three goals, providing four assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 0.7 key passes and completing 1.1 dribbles per game.

The £5.4k-per-week defender has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 0.6 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 1.3 clearances, and winning 5.7 duels – at a success rate of 58% – per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Matteo Bonetti dubbed a “revelation” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.97, ranking him as Torino’s joint seventh-best performer in the Italian top flight.

As such, with Singo being a talent who is just as effective going forwards as he is sturdy in defence, it is clear to see that the 21-year-old would be something of a perfect fit for Conte’s right wing-back role.

And, with the player appearing to be extremely keen on a switch to north London, in addition to the fact that £25m is a very affordable figure for Spurs, it would seem as if Paratici is now on course to land a deal for the Ivorian starlet this summer.

AND in other news: “Not going to be at Tottenham…”: Gold drops update on £118m Spurs talent, time’s up

West Ham United have initiated talks regarding a deal to bring Nathaniel Phillips to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by West Ham insiders Claret & Hugh, who revealed that David Moyes and his transfer team are in discussions with the Liverpool centre-back ahead of a potential move in the winter market.

However, the insiders go on to suggest that the 58-year-old manager will first have to hold a meeting with the club’s new board in order to discuss his plans for the January transfer window, as well as the funds he will have at his disposal this winter.

Forget Ogbonna

With centre-back pair Angelo Ogbonna – anterior cruciate ligament injury – and Kurt Zouma – hamstring tendon injury – both facing lengthy spells on the sidelines, the heart of the West Ham defence is undoubtedly an area of the pitch in which Moyes simply must strengthen next month.

And, while it is undeniable that he is a player of extreme importance to the Hammers, should the club manage to get a deal over the line for Phillips this January, he could well be a signing who ultimately goes on to take Ogbonna’s place alongside Zouma in Moyes’ backline.

Indeed, over his 17 Premier League appearances for Liverpool last season, the £7.2m-rated man was in excellent form, helping his side keep seven clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, 4.8 clearances and winning a whopping 7.5 duels per game.

The player who Jurgen Klopp dubbed a “monster” who is “absolutely insane” also chipped in going forwards, scoring one goal, registering one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 0.9 shots and making 0.4 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £65k-per-week centre-back earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.19, ranking him as the Reds’ fourth-best performer in the league last time out.

As such, should Phillips be able to refind this form after a potential switch to East London, it would not be surprising to see him take the place of Ogbonna in Moyes’ starting XI going forwards – leading us to believe that the West Ham board must do all they can do land the Liverpool defender in the January window.

In other news: West Ham can repeat Lingard masterclass with “unique” £21m beast who’s “irreplaceable”

Leeds United turned down interest from Barcelona in Rodrigo last summer, according to reliable journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Rodrigo’s Leeds struggles

The Spaniard joined the Whites in the summer of 2020, coming in as the most expensive signing in the club’s rich and illustrious history.

However, Rodrigo has struggled to match the expectations of him when he arrived, scoring just nine goals in 45 appearances and finding himself in and out of the team because of injuries.

It has now emerged that the 30-year-old could actually have left Elland Road in last summer’s transfer window.

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The Latest: Barca made summer move for Rodrigo

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic prior to Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United, Hay claimed that Barcelona tried to snap him Rodrigo on loan in 2021, only for Leeds to turn down their interest, and the journalist didn’t completely rule out the notion that the La Liga giants remain keen.

Hay outlined: “Barca looked at him very late in the last window (loan bid) but Leeds said no. It doesn’t seem to have resurfaced yet but they clearly have, or had, an interest in him”.

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The Verdict: Better to keep hold of him

While Rodrigo has been a disappointing signing overall, it is still better that Leeds have him in the squad than not, given the quality that he can offer. The Spain international has shown sporadic glimpses of his brilliance, including a last-gasp equaliser in a Man of the Match performance at home to Wolves earlier in the season.

Granted, Rodrigo needs to go up a gear if he is to become an unqualified success at Elland Road, especially given his age. However, with Patrick Bamford out injured and Leeds lacking any other potent centre-forward as they try to move clear of a relegation battle, it is crucial that the Spaniard is still around between now and the end of the season.

In other news, one rumoured Leeds transfer target could be available this summer. Find out who it is here.

Everton made five signings during the January transfer window, adding experienced players like Donny Van de Beek and Dele Alli, as well as securing the signature of young talents like Nathan Patterson; and now Frank Lampard has the opportunity to put together a team which can pick up vital wins and climb the Premier League into a safer position than their current placing of 16th.

The Toffees are currently just four points above the drop zone in the league, and the former Chelsea boss has been brought in for a fresh perspective in finding solutions to the mounting issues the club has faced this season, with an injury crisis, fans turning on the owners in multiple protests and the poor performances on the pitch from the players who have only secured five wins out of 20 league games.

When Lampard was at Chelsea, he had a strong ethos in developing young players and giving them opportunities in the first team. This contributed to the success of players like Mason Mount and Reece James, who were both instrumental in Chelsea’s Champions League-winning campaign last year.

Right-back James was given his Premier League debut by Lampard in 2019 at just 19 years of age and quickly became a first team regular. The Everton boss now has the opportunity to emulate his successful development of the Chelsea starlet by giving 20-year-old Patterson – who was dubbed “amazing” by Scotland team-mate Che Adams – his Premier League now as well.

The Scottish right-back was signed from Rangers in January by Rafael Benitez after having a fantastic start to his career for both club and country. His most notable performance came from his latest Scotland start, when he scored the opening goal and set up the second to help his nation secure a spot in the World Cup play-offs, which take place at the end of March.

With Seamus Coleman now 33 and into the final 18 months of his contract, the signing of Patterson could be the perfect opportunity to start phasing out the Irishman and integrating more youth into the defence.

That would allow Lampard to mould the youngster into the player he wants to see at right-back, which could be in the more offensive role that we have seen from James at Chelsea. Patterson has shown glimpses of his capability to achieve just that when you look at his aforementioned performance for Scotland.

It will be interesting to see how Lampard sets up his Everton team against Brentford on Saturday in the FA Cup, when the Toffees return to action at Goodison Park for the first time since the 43-year-old took on the head coach role. Hopefully Patterson will be granted a senior Blues debut, potentially the first step to becoming Everton’s answer to James.

In other news: Everton must finally offload this flop

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Manchester United forward Edinson Cavani is still expected to leave Old Trafford, despite the imminent appointment of Erik ten Hag.

The Lowdown: Cavani’s struggles

The Uruguayan has been limited to just six Premier League starts this term, missing plenty of action due to a number of injuries.

Cavani picked up his latest problem with Uruguay during the recent international break and missed the draw with Leicester and defeat to Everton due to a calf problem.

The 35-year-old is one of a number of United players who are out of contract at the end of June, and it looks as if he’ll be one of the first to leave in what could be a major summer shake-up under Ten Hag.

The Latest: Romano’s post

Romano took to Twitter on Thursday morning to provide an update on Cavani.

He revealed that the ‘imminent appointment’ of Ten Hag won’t change Cavani’s mind when it comes to his future and he is ‘still expected to leave on a free transfer’ over the coming months, name-checking La Liga as a possible destination for the forward.

The Verdict: Blow

Although Cavani has missed the majority of the season due to various issues, he has shown his quality in England. He netted 17 goals during his first year as a United player, and should he depart, Ten Hag will be left with just Cristiano Ronaldo as the only senior centre-forward.

Ronaldo’s future at Old Trafford is also thought to be in doubt, so persuading Cavani to stay could have been on Ten Hag’s agenda due to his lack of options.

However, it doesn’t look like he’ll remain in England, so a new centre-forward could be a top priority for the Red Devils and Ten Hag over the coming months.

In other news: ‘Brilliant…’ – Sky Sports man buzzes at who Ten Hag may now bring to Man Utd; it’s ‘important’. 

It doesn’t take a lot to work out that proceedings in the Celtic boardroom have been rather unclear for the Bhoys and their supporters over the last 18 or so months.

As the Hoops lost their stronghold on Scottish football last term, supporters protested outside Parkhead against the ownership for their lack of ambition.

Neil Lennon was leading a sinking ship but the Northern Irishman had to take matters into his own hand and left of his own accord rather than being sacked by Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell.

The latter has since left, retiring from his role and following Nick Hammond and Lennon through the exit door.

His replacement, Dominic McKay, has already taken his leave which has left Michael Nicholson as their acting CEO.

What Celtic have struggled to do, however, is bring in some with plenty of football expertise. It looked over the summer as though the Bhoys would bring in a director of football but a move for Fergal Harkin fell flat.

Judging by how some of Celtic’s summer signings have turned out, this issue is now all too apparent.

Speaking in a Q&A with The Athletic, reporter Kieran Devlin shared his own worries when debating the acquisition of James McCarthy on a free transfer.

He said: “I believe the board’s thinking on McCarthy is that on paper he offered the experience and cultural affinity to replace the leadership/Celtic connection gap left by Brown’s farewell, even if it hasn’t panned out like that so far.”

Devlin continued: “But this is where having executives make crucial football operations decisions is a potential issue, rather than someone with expertise and experience in that role like a sporting director or head of recruitment, who can step in and say ‘is this a rational sporting decision’?”

This should be a hugely concerning statement for Celtic supporters to read. After all, the addition of McCarthy to the side has hardly been helpful.

The Irishman should have offered plenty of experience in the middle of the park but the fact of the matter is that he’s been poor. Supporters have torn him apart and although the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota have been successful signings, proceedings won’t improve in the long run until Celtic appoint a proper director who can lead their recruitment.

Unfortunately for the Parkhead faithful, it doesn’t appear as though that model of working behind the scenes is going to be forthcoming with few updates on the matter in the last few months.

Consider Harkin’s prominent work at Manchester City where he was described as a transfer, and this would have been an inspired appointment. Instead, they are left to rue their mistakes of a few months ago.

AND in other news, Less touches than Hart: Celtic dud who made just 5 passes all game badly let Ange down…

Reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano took to Twitter to make a huge claim regarding the potential permanent signing of current Tottenham loanee Dejan Kulusevski.

The Lowdown: Kulusevski’s instant impact

Since his arrival at Hotspur Way, the 21-year-old has gone on to make a fantastic impression at the club, demonstrated on the pitch by his instant impact. In 11 Premier League games this year, the winger has netted three goals and produced six assists, in the process becoming crucial to Antonio Conte’s starting XI.

Pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has since claimed that “he’s been outstanding the whole time he’s been at Spurs”.

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The Latest: Romano’s update on Kulusevski

Taking to Twitter, Fabrizio Romano shared an update on the possibility of Spurs completing the permanent signing of Kulusevski, claiming that Tottenham sources believe it is only a ‘matter of time’ until the Sweden international is confirmed on a permanent deal which could be in the region of £29.3m.

Romano said: “Dejan Kulusevski’s impact has been something incredible. Tottenham sources considers his permanent signing ‘matter of time’, €35m fee is not gonna be an issue. #THFC”

The Verdict: Great move for Spurs

Following his electric start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 21-year-old has proven to be a fantastic deadline day coup for Fabio Paratici.

Having ranked in the 98th percentile for assists among players in Europe’s top five leagues (via FBRef), Kulusevski could be the perfect accomplice to Harry Kane with the number of chances that he creates in the final third.

As a result, it seems that the £29.3m price tag could prove to be an absolute bargain for the club’s long-term future, if indeed Tottenham sign the Sweden international permanently.

In other news: Tottenham source shares big exit update

Leeds United have joined some huge teams in the race to sign forward Fabio Carvalho, according to The Sun.

The Lowdown: Carvalho profiled

Carvalho, who can play on either wing or in an attacking midfield role, is 19 years of age and has been with Fulham since the age of 12.

He’s made 23 senior appearances for the Championship high-flyers – 17 of which have come during the current campaign.

The teenager, labelled as ‘lively’ by former manager Scott Parker, has scored seven times and registered two assists in 2021/22.

Carvalho was linked with Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid just last month, and Leeds have now joined the race alongside their pursuit of RB Salzburg star Brenden Aaronson.

The Latest: Leeds interest

The Sun shared a story on Tuesday lunchtime, claiming Liverpool are ready to battle West Ham with a £5m swoop for Carvalho.

The report added that Leeds and FC Porto are also interested in the Fulham starlet, who is represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes.

The Verdict: Future star

Fulham’s academy director Huw Jennings said last month that Carvalho, who has immense running speed, wants to be ‘competing for the Ballon d’Or’ in the next few years.

It’s a bold statement but he’s clearly a confident young player who can play in a number of attacking roles and is wanted by some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Leeds have reaped the rewards of bringing a highly-rated youngster to the club in Joe Gelhardt, but it seems as if they could face a tougher task in their pursuit of Carvalho due to the other sides involved. Could Gelhardt’s path into the first-team convince Carvalho to avoid those other clubs, where he may spend more time on the bench and in the youth set-up?

It could be one to watch, but at the minute, it appears as if Victor Orta’s sole focus is on bringing Aaronson to Elland Road.

In other news: Phil Hay drops big claim as Leeds now closer to first major January business. 

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has suffered a fresh injury blow with Rodrigo now ruled out for the Premier League clash against Chelsea this weekend.

What’s the story?

A statement from the club read: “Rodrigo has been suffering from bilateral heel pain for some time. The player and medical staff have deemed it necessary to reduce his activity for the time being, in order to aid his long-term recovery.”

Bielsa will be worried

If you thought things were just beginning to ease up slightly for Leeds on the injury front with the returns of Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford last weekend, think again.

The Whites’ disastrous luck with injuries has struck again, and not only will they be without talisman Kalvin Phillips for an extended period of time, their club-record signing in Rodrigo is set to be missing for a while too.

The Spaniard has scored just twice in 15 games in all competitions this term, and what has been particularly disappointing is that he has been given a runout as the sole centre-forward in Patrick Bamford’s absence.

The former Valencia man has shown flashes of his ability, and it was a particularly impressive performance against West Ham which really caught the eye of The Athletic’s Phil Hay.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “I thought Rodrigo’s false nine performance on Saturday was worth another look. Lots to admire and ponder in his positioning, movement, interplay and switches of position with Raphinha. More displays like that could spark Leeds United into life.”

With Rodrigo now out for the foreseeable future, even more of the goalscoring onus is placed on the shoulders of Bamford, who could really do with some help having just returned from injury himself.

This latest update on Rodrigo is sure to have Bielsa worried.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign a Rodrigo upgrade in this star…