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Sunderland are reportedly battling a number of clubs in the Premier League and Championship to sign Josh Stones.

The Lowdown: Impressing

The 18-year-old has been impressing in non-league with National League North team Guiseley, with Crystal Palace the latest side to be blown away by him after he captained and starred in an under-18 game against the Premier League outfit.

He found the back of the net as the match ended 1-1, while in the National League North, he has scored once in his 11 appearances so far this season.

The Latest: Sunderland interest in Stones

As per TEAMtalk, Sunderland are among a number of teams who are interested in signing Stones, including fierce rivals Newcastle United.

Palace, Wolves, Burnley and Watford also hold an interest from the Premier League, while both Huddersfield Town and Middlesbrough are pursuing him from the Championship.

The Verdict: Exciting

It certainly is exciting for the Black Cats, a League One outfit, to be going toe-to-toe with all those clubs above them in the football pyramid, especially the new mega-rich Magpies.

If Sunderland could beat their northeast rivals to Stones’ signature, it would surely delight the fans in what has been a tricky period in their season.

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The English attacker is a player with a lot of potential at just 18 years of age, and now is the best time to bring him to the Stadium of Light while he is still relatively unknown.

In other news, find out what ‘huge’ takeover update William Storey has dropped here!

As Jesse Marsch awaits his first game as Leeds United manager later today, all eyes will be on his starting line-up and potential surprises he springs against Leicester.

The Whites’ chastening 4-0 defeat to Spurs last time out in the Premier League saw Marcelo Bielsa lose his managerial job, and heralded a new era at Elland Road.

One player who perhaps captures that idea of building something new in Yorkshire better than anyone else is Joe Gelhardt.

By far the pick of the bunch when it comes to the club’s academy players, the 19-year-old has been a revelation since making the move from Wigan.

Leeds Live’s Beren Cross has already suggested that, for a reported £1m, the teenager could well be the best piece of transfer business the Whites have done in a number of years, saying: “As I’m sure we’ll find out in the years ahead, Gelhardt may well be the best bit of business the club has done in the last 20 years, if not ever, because he just looks absolutely outrageous, very, very good player.”

Even Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has been hugely impressed in what limited game-time the 19-year-old has had at Elland Road. He claimed: “He’s like a human wrecking ball. I like him, he’s really exciting. He’s fast, he’s aggressive, he gets on the ball, he takes people on. Once he gets into the box, he loves it. That’s where he can do most of his damage.”

Despite those rave reviews, the forward has found game-time hard to come by in the Premier League this season, with former boss Bielsa giving him just 384 minutes of top-flight football spread out over ten appearances in the competition.

In fact, Bielsa never gave the 19-year-old a start in the Premier League in 2022, with the most minutes he has had in a single game being the 45 he played against Manchester United after being brought on at half-time.

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If Marsch wants to kick-start this revolution at Leeds, then handing the striking keys to one of the Whites’ brightest young talents in Gelhardt on Saturday afternoon could really capture everyone’s imagination.

Meanwhile, Leeds have been handed a huge injury boost before the clash with Leicester…

Tottenham Hotspur’s on-loan goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini is attracting interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Corriere della Sera (via LazioNews24), who claim that, with Maurizio Sarri looking to move Thomas Strakosha on this summer, Lazio will be in the market for a new first-choice shot-stopper – with Gollini believed to be the club’s number one target.

The report goes on to state that Tottenham look unlikely to exercise their €13m (£11m) option to sign the 26-year-old on a permanent basis, meaning the Italy international is almost certainly in line for a summer return to his parent club Atalanta – who are thought to be willing to part with the ‘keeper for a figure in the region of €10m (£8m).

Conte must axe Gollini

While Gollini never appeared overly likely to usurp Hugo Lloris as Tottenham’s number one upon his move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last summer, considering just how infrequently the Italian has featured for Spurs, in addition to how poor the shot-stopper has been when he has played, Fabio Paratici’s decision to bring the £25k-per-week goalkeeper to north London does appear to have been a rather strange one.

Indeed, over his four appearances in the Europa Conference League this season, the £12.5m-rated ‘keeper was in rather disastrous form for Spurs, failing to keep a clean sheet against the likes of Stade Rennais, NS Mura and Vitesse, as well as shipping a total of six goals and making an average of just 1.3 saves – with a success rate of a mere 45% – per game.

These returns saw the player who Spurs insider John Wenham dubbed “frustrating” and “poor“ average a quite shocking SofaScore match rating of just 6.25 – ranking him as Conte’s second-worst performer in the competition.

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As such, it would indeed appear a very wise move for the 52-year-old Italian to avoid activating the goalkeeper’s option to buy clause this summer and instead send him back to Serie A, as it is clear for all to see that Gollini has cost Spurs dearly this season.

In other news: “Agreement in place with Mendes”: Journo drops teasing Spurs claim, AC will be buzzing

Aston Villa have been one of the Premier League’s most proactive clubs when it comes to the transfer market over the past few years.

Last summer’s transfer window saw the Villans bring in three new attacking players, with Jack Grealish making his record-breaking £100m move to Manchester City.

Once the January window opened, things got busy behind the scenes at Villa Park again as four new players came in, with a number of others making moves away from the club.

While some may see this as a successful period for the club in terms of their transfer business, there is one player with whom the Villans were linked but didn’t end up at Villa Park which the hierarchy may now be regretting – Ryan Kent.

Having made 138 appearances under Steven Gerrard during his time as Rangers boss, scoring 28 goals and providing 33 assists along the way, it’s no surprise that the Midlands club were mentioned with a move for the Englishman after Gerrard was appointed at Villa Park in November.

In 32 appearances across all competitions for the Scottish champions so far this season, the £12.6m-rated attacker has scored two goals and provided an impressive 15 assists along the way, showing just how much of an attacking threat he offers.

While having the same number of goals, the Gers star has racked up considerably more assists than Emi Buendia (three) in the Argentine’s debut season with the Villans after coming in last summer for a club-record fee.

Labelled a “game-changer” in the past by Gerrard, Kent has earned himself an overall performance rating of 7.29/10 from WhoScored, which would make him the second-highest rated player in Villa’s squad by the same metric.

Taking into account what the winger has done for Rangers this season, there could be plenty of regret from the Villa hierarchy over not securing a deal for him when they had their chance.

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With the likes of Trezeguet currently out on loan and Bertrand Traore struggling with injuries and form, we think that the club should definitely consider getting rid of one or both of these players and see if Rangers would be willing to negotiate a deal for their attacking gem when the summer transfer window opens.

In other news: Cost £4m, now worth £1.35m: NSWE had a nightmare with “tough” £25k-p/w Villa flop

Rangers have been handed a big injury relief as a major update has emerged ahead of the Ibrox giants’ match this evening…

What’s the latest?

Gio van Bronckhorst has revealed that he has no new concerns to deal with heading into the second leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.

Ianis Hagi and Steven Davis, who have both been long-term absentees, are the only players who are not in contention to play.

Joe Aribo and John Lundstram were both omitted from the squad against Dundee FC last weekend after picking up injuries ahead of the match, with this latest claim suggesting that they have overcome their issues.

The club quote the head coach as saying: “Only two players not available with injury, Hagi and Davis. We still have to train before we travel. We have a big squad to take with us to face a strong opponent. We can expect an opponent who will do everything to overcome last week, for us it starts all over again.”

Buzzing

This update comes as a huge boost and will surely leave van Bronckhorst buzzing as it gives him plenty of options to pick from heading into the clash with Red Star Belgrade.

It means that he can chop and game his XI if he feels the need to, with the Gers back in action on Sunday against Dundee FC in the Premiership. He may want to rotate his starting line-up or look to maximise his ability to make five substitutions this evening by making a host of early changes if Rangers are still in control of the tie at half-time – allowing his players to be fresh for the weekend.

Whereas, if he had a number of injury issues to contend with then he would not be able to spread the load out amongst the squad and would end up with fatigued players heading into the match against Dundee.

This is, therefore, a huge boost overall, but van Bronckhorst will also be specifically pleased to have Lundstram and Aribo available.

We have predicted that Lundstram will come into the starting XI in midfield because of his impressive form in Europe this season.

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The ex-Sheffield United man may start in the middle of the park with Glen Kamara and Ryan Jack to form a solid spine for the team, which is why having him back will leave the head coach buzzing.

Whilst we are predicting that Aaron Ramsey will start out on the right, Aribo being available is a big boost for the Dutch manager.

He has been in fantastic form in the Premiership this season and will be a superb option to bring off the bench if needed, having scored seven goals and provided five assists in the Scottish top-flight. This shows that he will be a strong player to be able to use as a substitute, or even as a starter if he ends up going with him over Ramsey.

AND in other news, GVB starts “efficient” wizard, David Weir 2.0 axed in 3 changes: Predicted Rangers XI…

An update has emerged on Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield, regarding his future at Ibrox…

What’s the latest?

According to the Daily Record, the club remains in talks with the Canadian utility man over an extension as Ross Wilson attempts to thrash out a deal.

The report claims that the two parties are yet to reach an agreement over fresh terms but they have not given up hope yet, with the Gers sporting director plotting a big move to keep him. He is currently due to leave on a free transfer at the end of the campaign.

Elation

This update will surely leave Gio van Bronckhorst feeling elated as he will want to keep the midfielder around in Glasgow for another season.

He was previously dubbed a “managers’ dream” by his former manager John Hughes and that is exactly why van Bronckhort will be delighted with the club’s attempts to tie him down to a new contract. Arfield is a valuable squad member as he has been regularly called upon by the Dutchman throughout the campaign.

The ex-Burnley man is capable of playing in a variety of positions and works his socks off for the team whenever he plays. He has played 23 matches in the Premiership, starting 14, and made 1.3 tackles and interceptions per game whilst playing in central midfield and out on the right wing.

Whilst he may not have the quality to continue to be a regular starter for the Gers, he can still offer value off the bench and in rotation. Van Bronckhorst, given Arfield’s appearances this term, clearly trusts him to do a job in midfield and that is why he would love to have him as an option for the 2022/23 campaign.

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He has produced four goals in the Premiership this season but has also missed a whopping seven ‘big chances’ and failed to record a single assist. This shows that his final product has been inconsistent, at best, and that is why he should be kept on in a reduced role.

Instead of being a player van Bronckhorst relies on to start each week, he should be utilised as an experienced squad option who can fill in when needed whilst offering advice to the younger players. He can help the likes of Charlie McCann and Alex Lowry in order to get them into a position where they can take over from him in the first team.

AND in other news, 27 appearances, 3 goals: Allen had a howler with “unbelievable” £8.5k-p/w Rangers flop…

Celtic have had a number of successful academy graduates make their way through to the first team at Parkhead over the years.

Callum McGregor and James Forrest are two great examples of players who have been able to rise through the ranks and establish themselves as key stars for the Hoops at senior level.

However, some talented prospects can slip through the cracks and that is what happened with left-back Aaron Hickey in Glasgow. He was brought to the club from Hearts in 2017 and did not make a single first-team outing as a teenager before Brendan Rodgers sanctioned his exit back to Tynecastle for nothing in the summer of 2018.

Two years later, Italian side Bologna snapped him up from the Scottish side and he is now attracting interest from England.

Fabrizio Romano recently reported that Premier League side Newcastle United are eyeing up a deal worth up to £20m for the youngster, which means his value has risen astronomically in the space of around four years. The Magpies are looking to snap him up this summer after watching him catch the eye in Italy this season.

In the Serie A, he has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 6.89 across 27 appearances. He has been able to showcase his attacking flair from full-back with four goals and one assist, whilst creating 0.5 chances per game.

Defensively, he has been solid throughout the campaign. Hickey has averaged 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game and has only been dribbled past 0.3 times per match, winning 60% of his overall duels in the Italian top-flight. This shows that he is a strong defender who also offers quality in possession, which makes him a modern-day full-back who can make an impact at both ends of the pitch.

At the age of 19, he also has the potential to improve further. He is in the infancy of his professional career and has plenty of time to develop further and progress as a left-back. If he is able to continue growing and raising his standards on the pitch then that £20m may start to look like a bargain and Celtic could rue their decision even more as time passes.

His former manager Daniel Stendl previously labelled him as an “extraordinary talent” and the youngster’s statistics in the Serie A at such a young age back that up. 

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Hickey’s form since leaving Celtic and his immense potential as a player prove that Rodgers made a huge blunder by not offering him a route to the first-team and allowing him to leave fo nothing. He slipped through the now-Leicester boss’ clutches and the Hoops will surely be wondering what could have been, as they look set to watch him seal a potential mega-money move this summer.

AND in other news, £3m wasted: Celtic had a shocker on £7.9k-p/w “loner” who rinsed Desmond for 129 weeks…

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira may be forced to make changes ahead of the Eagles’ clash against his former club Arsenal on Monday night.

Take nothing away from Palace this season; these changes won’t be a knee-jerk reaction to their recent form. With three wins and two draws from their last five games in all competitions, the Eagles have hit form at an ideal time.

They have bagged nine goals in that time, although their ability to pick up points of late is not just down to their goalscoring acumen.

Vieira’s side have displayed incredible defensive stability, with their water-tight defence leaking just two goals over their last five outings. Impressively, during that run they faced the second-highest scorers in the league in Manchester City and came away with a point and a well-earned clean sheet.

Unfortunately for Palace fans, there are doubts over the talismanic duo of Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise after the pair picked up injuries whilst on international duty.

The Ivory Coast forward missed his nation’s friendly against England due to a hamstring problem, whilst the France under-21 starlet withdrew from international duty after suffering inflammation on his foot.

Although neither have trained since their respective returns from international duty, Vieira is optimistic that the pair could feature against Arsenal, with Eagles fans able to take solace in the 45-year-old’s positivity as the duo “still have a chance” of playing at Selhurst Park on Monday.

Here is how we think Palace XI will line up against the Gunners, in a 4-3-3 formation:

Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guéhi, Mitchell; Gallagher, Kouyaté, Schlupp; Ayew, Mateta, Édouard

If our prediction is accurate, the game on Monday will see Vieira make four changes from last time out as the Eagles look to capitalise on their good run of form.

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Those changes could see the likes of Jack Butland, Eberechi Eze, Olise and Zaha – who all featured in Palace’s 4-0 demolition job against Everton in the FA Cup a fortnight ago – drop out. Vicente Guaita, Jeffrey Schlupp, Andre Ayew and Odsonne Edouard, who was hailed as a “special talent” by his former Celtic boss Neil Lennon – all coming in against Arsenal.

Whilst Zaha is Palace’s top scorer this season, perhaps the biggest miss will be the “fearless” Olise, who has asserted himself as one of the most creative outlets in the league, creating seven big chances and providing five assists this season.

In other news – Huge blow as Vieira dealt double setback ahead of Arsenal clash, supporters will be gutted

Manchester United have a very important decision to make regarding their managerial position.

At this point, we expect that interim manager, and well-known advocate of the gegenpress; Ralf Rangnick, will be moving upstairs to begin his consultancy role.

Going by the latest reports, the race to become Red Devils boss is between managerial heavyweights Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino, with Luis Enrique said to be concentrating on his job with the Spain National Team.

What’s the word?

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has given his opinion on the apparent front-runner, Erik ten Hag.

Pep worked with the 52-year-old Ajax manager at Bayern Munich and believes there is no doubt that ten Hag would be a success in the Premier League.

When asked about ten Hag, the Spaniard said:

“Are you asking me if Erik ten Hag could be here? Definitely. A lot could be here and I think he could be one of the ones.

“For the way he approaches the game, definitely, definitely.”

Glazers can win back United

City boss, Pep Guardiola, is a fan of ten Hag and his philosophy, describing him as “incredible” whilst praising his Ajax side as a team.

Ten Hag has previously been tipped to takeover Guardiola’s position when he eventually opts to call time on what has so far been a very successful spell at the club.

Prompted about this, Pep said that he would endorse him to City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain as he said “I will say it to Txiki now.”

With Pep’s endorsement for his fellow mass-possession advocate, the reported 87.9% of the United fanbase who want the club’s board to appoint the 52-year-old will be ecstatic.

A mere 12.1% of supporters want Pochettino and thus, if the Glazers end up picking the Dutchman, they could win back the Old Trafford faithful and also guarantee a much rosier future.

After all, the Argentine has already struggled with the big egos of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at PSG and considering the number of stars in the United side, it wouldn’t bode well.

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Whilst this endorsement from one of the most successful managers of all time is wholeheartedly positive, it’s an act that may panic United fans with Guardiola well into the final 18-months of his contract and potentially due to call-time on his Manchester City career in 2023.

The Red Devils faithful will surely want the club to act now, before noisy neighbours Manchester City hijack the deal in what would be an incredibly astute move and ultimate act of one-upmanship from the Citizens.

Taking away a head coach from the jaws of their City rivals would surely go down well with fans and everyone associated with the red side of Manchester. It really does feel like there are only cons to hiring the 52-year-old. Pep does think he’s incredible, after all.

In other news – Man Utd now plot bid to sign £31.5m dynamo, he’s ever better than Rashford – opinion

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has insisted the club are still chasing Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas despite having their opening transfer bids rejected.

The Spain international, who left the Catalan giants for the Gunners as a teenager, is contracted to the Emirates Stadium outfit until 2015, but he as made it clear he wants a return to his homeland.

However, the La Liga champions failed with an initial bid of around £30million and now Laporta will allow sporting director Txiki Begiristain decide what course of action they will next take.

Laporta said:"It's a price that we consider to be his market value. Arsenal have rejected it. Now the sporting director must decide what should be the next step.

"We are in negotiations and we'll see how they turn out. At times, these operations are resolved at one speed, and others at another.

"We have to do everything we can to convince them that the best thing for all is to reach an agreement.

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