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According to recent reports, Tottenham Hotspur will have to pay €50m (£42.8m) should they wish to sign Franck Kessie this summer.

The report by Milan Live (via Sport Witness) claimed that AC Milan are attempting to tie Kessie down to a new deal at the San Siro which would see the 24-year-old remain with the Rossoneri until the summer of 2026.

This is said to be an effort to deter a potential summer move to the likes of Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham United, who are all reported to have “shown interest” in the central midfielder.

However, even if Jose Mourinho’s side were to put forward an offer to match Milan’s €50m (£42.8m) valuation of Kessie, the Serie A side are claimed to have no intention of allowing the Ivory Coast international to leave.

Transfer Tavern Take

So far this season, Kessie has been in excellent form over his 25 Serie A appearances for Stefano Pioli’s side, scoring nine league goals and providing two assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.05 – ranking him as the fifth-best performer in a side who currently occupy second place in the Italian top flight. His goal tally in Serie A is one more than Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura (both wingers) combined in the 2020/21 Premier League.

As such, it is easy to see why Tottenham are said to have an interest in the 24-year-old. However, considering that Milan are preparing to offer the Ivorian a new deal, as well as placing a rather significant price tag on him, a deal for Kessie won’t be easy to complete for Spurs this summer.

In other news: Tottenham are also monitoring this attacker, find out more here.

Real Madrid maestro Lucas Vazquez delivered Everton a statement by producing a complete performance against Atalanta BC in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Los Blancos won 1-0 on their travels to their Serie A outfit thanks to an 86th-minute winner from full-back Ferland Mendy, ensuring Zinedine Zidane’s side took a first-leg lead back to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real appeared set to leave Italy on the back of a frustrating visit against a well-organised Gian Piero Gasperini line-up, until Mendy curled his effort home to bag an away goal and snatch the strike that Remo Freuler had denied him in the first half.

Zidane was without a number of his top talents at the Gewiss Stadium with Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard and Dani Carvajal all absent from the matchday squad.

Vazquez took over Carvajal’s duties at right-back and delivered a top-draw performance at both ends of the pitch, to warrant Everton’s recent speculated interest.

It is thought that the Goodison Park natives are monitoring the £113,000-per-week forward’s situation in the Spanish capital with his contract due to expire in the summer, and no further talks being scheduled between Vazquez and the Madrid hierarchy.

The 29-year-old snubbed the offer previously tabled to remain with the Galacticos, feeling that the terms did not represent a player as important to Zidane having started 15 of his 18 La Liga outings and six of Real’s seven Champions League ties thus far this term.

Vazquez now wants to see his future resolved in March, per Cuatro, as he does not want to wait until June to know where he will be playing next season, so will soon sit down and review all proposals received to assess which is the most interesting option.

Vazquez’s performance at the Gewiss Stadium will have certainly raised a few eyebrows from those monitoring developments back at Goodison Park, as the £13.5m-rated maestro dominated on the right-flank to help dictate proceedings in Real Madrid’s favour.

Atalanta’s defence often withstood the danger posed from Real’s attacks, and did well to head clear Vazquez’s teasing cross in the closing stages minutes before Mendy produced his moment of magic to curl home from close to 25-yards out.

That chance denied Vazquez his sixth assist of the season across all competitions, with just one of his three crosses able to reach a Madrid player having been given a licence to push forward from full-back, per SofaScore.

Eighty-one of his 90 ground passes found a Los Blancos player, leading to one key ball, as Vazquez helped pull the stings thanks to a mammoth 122 touches – only Toni Kroos (155) took more touches for either side.

Vazquez further won six of his eight ground duels, and battled hard to win possession back during Atalanta’s mere 31% share of the possession with three successful tackles, two interceptions and two clearances.

The nine-cap Spain international has only averaged 1.5 tackles, 0.7 interceptions and won 4.5 ground duels with a 45% success rate per game in the Champions League this season.

Vazquez efforts against Atalanta would be enough to rank third for tackles, first for interceptions, seventh for clearances and second for ground duels won at Everton, based on performances produced per game in the Premier League this season.

He would further offer the joint-third most key passes and second-most accurate crosses, with only Lucas Digne (1.63) producing a higher number of successful deliveries among those called on more than once by Carlo Ancelotti to date.

If Vazquez is still unhappy with the offer tabled by Real and open to leaving Madrid amid Everton’s interest, his Champions League masterclass will have come at the perfect time.

AND in other news, Everton face European competition to sign a £35m target this summer…

Glasgow Rangers have been strongly linked with a move for Fashion Sakala in recent months, and a report from The Daily Record claimed that a move to Ibrox could be on the cards. However, it now appears he is close to signing a new contract with his current club KV Oostende, according to reports.

Sakala, who has been a part of Oostende’s first team since 2018, has risen to prominence over the past year alone, having made 23 Jupiler Pro League appearances with 13 goals and 2 assists to show for his 22 starts.

Oostende sporting director Gauthier Ganaye recently admitted that he is resigned to losing the 23-year-old in the summer, but it seems he has performed an abrupt U-turn in a dramatic twist, with Sakala himself all but confirming he will be extending his contract and staying at the Diaz Arena, which will be a mammoth blow for Steven Gerrard.

The Rangers manager’s desire to sign the 5-cap Zambia international was one of the worst-kept secrets in Scottish football back in January, with Gerrard said to be keen on securing a pre-contract move for the striker, but it’s now likely he will be forced to rethink his transfer plans for the future.

However, if we’re being honest, the attack is one area of the field that Rangers are not in dire need of strengthening, with Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Kemar Roofe among the options currently available to Gerrard.

Just like Sakala, Roofe’s versatility means he can be used at the top of the pitch or on either flank, with Kent a shoe-in on the left wing. In terms of statistics, however, Sakala trails the 24-year-old by quite some margin.

Kent is currently averaging two key passes per 90 in the Scottish Premiership this season and attempts more dribbles (2) than the Zambian, which suggests that he poses a greater counter-attacking threat.

Upon reflection, it’s unlikely the Ibrox boss will lose much sleep over Sakala penning a new contract if they end up stopping Celtic from winning an unprecedented ten in a row. If he intends to find a long-term replacement for Morelos, he will be forced to look elsewhere in all likelihood.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard must unleash Rangers striker Cedric Itten on Kilmarnock…

Despite their reluctance to splurge on the January transfer market, Leeds will undoubtedly be looking to the summer to strengthen their ranks. They are currently struggling with injuries to their defence and options in attack are very limited.

On top of making it a priority to secure Jack Harrison on a permanent deal, the Whites must also bring in reinforcements to counter their ongoing injury woes. They have been linked to 20-year-old rising star Mikkel Damsgaard, but other clubs are also on his scent.

Tottenham Hotspur are amongst those watching the youngster’s progress according to the Daily Star. Southampton and West Ham are also amongst the clubs looking to strike a deal with Damsgaard, despite the face he hasn’t long signed for current club Sampdoria.

Should Leeds sign Damsgaard?

The hot prospect joined the Italians last summer and has since tallied two goals and four assists in Serie A this season, according to Transfermarkt. It is thought that Damsgaard’s price tag has already soared from the £5.2m Sampdoria paid for him to a hefty £15m.

His performances have attracted a lot of attention, with current manager Claudio Ranieri tipping him and teammate Kristoffer Askildsen for a “big future”.

Should Andrea Radrizzani and Victory Orta decide to pursue a move, they could be recruiting a fine protege for club icon Mateusz Klich.

The Poland international has been a stalwart in the Leeds engine room since he joined the club in 2017. The 30-year-old has 19 goals and 19 assists to his name for the Whites and boasts versatility that has helped Marcelo Bielsa out of some tough spots – he’s played in five different positions under the Argentine.

Comparing the two players, a lot of their statistics are similar. According to WhoScored, the pair have a similar goal and assist return for this season and whilst Klich leads the way in terms of key passes and shots taken per game, Damsgaard averages more successful dribbles and is fouled more often.

With ten years between them, Klich could pose as the perfect mentor to Damsgaard, who is just as versatile as the Polish veteran. Whilst the 20-year-old Denmark international isn’t a midfielder by trade, he is comfortable being played in the heart of the engine room. He dominates the left-wing and can also be deployed as a striker.

The versatility he could offer to Leeds could be a huge coup for Orta, who will be eyeing up his next big deal. Landing a potential heir to Klich would tick all the right boxes.

In other news, Gaetano Berardi injury news may not be the boost many believe it is…

With Celtic stuck in a rut, some big decisions are needed from the Hoops’ hierarchy.

Their woes were made worse on Saturday when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to St Mirren. It heaped further pressure on Neil Lennon, a manager who has engineered just nine wins from the club’s last 24 matches.

It has been a torrid time for Celtic, but despite protests at Parkhead, Lennon is refusing to budge.

He revealed a few weeks ago that he won’t leave until he’s sacked but given the protection he’s received from those above him, that doesn’t seem like a viable option at this time.

Though, if the Bhoys are to have any chance of turning things around, they need a change in management. One player tipped with the hot seat has been Frank Lampard, a man sacked by Chelsea last week.

Pat Nevin is one pundit to have discussed the option of Lampard arriving in Glasgow, telling 67hailhail: “He’s [Lampard] not a bad fit.”

Nevin added: “He’s going to have to take a step away from the top level in England. I think Celtic’s a big ask at that point in time. It would be one hell of a chance to take.”

Considering what he did with a limited budget when Chelsea had a transfer ban, he’d certainly be a good appointment for the Hoops. He took them to Champions League football despite not making a single signing but it was the policy he developed that could be game-changing at Celtic.

He took it upon himself to take Chelsea in a completely new direction, forgetting about expensive recruits in his first season and promoting from within. Within a matter of months, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori had all become key to his plans.

It was out with the old and in with the new, a strategy that could hinder a number of Celtic favourites down the years. One man who could suffer the most if Lampard moved to Celtic and followed a similar strategy is Scott Brown.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-celtic-manager-stories” title=”Read this week’s latest Celtic news!”]

The Scot has already started to be phased out by Lennon, who now prefers Ismaila Soro at the base of his midfield. To sum things up, since the New Year, Brown has only played 23 minutes of football. He is out of favour and his Celtic career is slowing falling away. Thus, the appointment of Lampard could only heap further misery on the 35-year-old.

At one point last season, the former England international fielded a starting XI with the average age of just 24.3. That happened to be the fourth most inexperienced side in the whole top-flight for 2019/20.

For more context, the 42-year-old coach had just four players over the age of 30 feature for him last term; Willian, Pedro, Olivier Giroud and Willy Caballero.

It was an incredibly young squad but one that Lampard was able to take to a new level. Willian and Pedro both left at the end of the season – moves that further emphasised the manager’s will to phase out older players.

Lampard has been described as “special” by Nevin for the connections he has within the game, but it could be what he does with players already at the club that has the biggest impact – rather than incomings.

Brown has hardly been a pillar of consistency this season so if you combine that with a manager who prefers to blood fresh talent, it doesn’t bode well.

It would be a major blow to the midfielder and his career if Lampard did arrive and chose a similar strategy in Glasgow. The skipper might be hoping that Dermot Desmond doesn’t have his eyes on the former England midfielder.

AND in other news, Celtic could have their Frimpong heir in rarely-seen 20 y/o with “excellent pedigree”…

Many Arsenal fans have been left slamming the first half display of Eddie Nketiah during their FA Cup tie away at Southampton.

While Gabriel looked very shaky to say the least in the opening minutes of the game, with a quite unfortunate own goal to top it off, it was the first half performance of the 21-year-old that flattered to deceive several members of the Emirates Stadium faithful.

He was left pretty anonymous for large periods of the first half, with fans perhaps wondering whether Alexandre Lacazette would need to be brought on off of the bench to be a bigger threat for Mikel Arteta’s team going forward, given that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been left out of the squad altogether for personal reasons.

Arsenal fan reaction to Nketiah display

These Gooners slammed his first half performance on Twitter, with one AFC fan even going as far as to describe him as ‘useless’ while another claimed that the English striker ‘needs to do more’:

“Watching Eddie Nketiah play football should be a crime”

Credit: @zohino3

“Nketiah is useless”

Credit: @victorcoimbra

“Nketiah gets knocked off balance very easily at this level. Quite often he’s first to the ball but he can’t retain.”

Credit: @galway89

“I’m actually done with Nketiah, he’s actually not good”

Credit: @Forbesy15

“20 mins in and I just remembered Nketiah is on the pitch. He needs to do more to get involved and link up the play.”

Credit: @SDGoonerCap

“Nketiah never drops back and gets involved. Disappearing act once again”

Credit: @gunnerbeeks

In other news, find out which Premier League star has been linked with a move to Arsenal here!

Sheffield Wednesday were handed further misery on Tuesday evening as they were defeated in a Championship basement battle at the City Ground.

A victory for the Owls would’ve closed the gap to their nearest relegation rivals but now Tony Pulis’ men remain rock-bottom, seven points off Nottingham Forest, who defeated them 2-0 last night.

Reds left-back Yuri Ribeiro handed the home side an early lead, scoring in the fourth minute before talismanic striker Lewis Grabban came off the bench to seal it three minutes from time.

It means the Yorkshiremen are yet to win under the 62-year-old and have now lost four straight matches.

However, despite all the doom and gloom, there was one shining light and that was the performance of Chey Dunkley, who looks every bit like being Garry Monk’s finest signing.

In just his second appearance for the club, the 28-year-old looked like a leader without the armband. He was certainly demanding more and trying to encourage the team, unlike the real skipper, Barry Bannan.

Indeed, Dunkley was the only Owls player to record a rating above 6.7 with SofaScore grading his display a 7.4, which was only bettered by three Forest players.

He also won four of six aerial duels, made four clearances, four interceptions and two blocks, on top of managing 58 touches from central defence.

Following the match, YorkshireLive’s Dom Howson waxed lyrical about his performance, he said:

“Dominated the majority of his duels and constantly barked out orders to his defence. Is understandably still a little rusty as he continues to build up his match sharpness.”

It was the long-serving ex-captain Tom Lees that badly let the team down in defence on their way to leaking another two strikes, so there is certainly some encouragement to be had in the form of Dunkley.

You can thank Monk for nabbing him from Wigan this summer too.

Supporters on Twitter were also impressed with their £10k-per-week colossus – one said the centre-back was “the only leader at the club” whilst another claimed he “looked solid.”

AND in other news, Forget Pulis: £24k-p/w passenger who lost possession 22x let Sheff Weds down abysmally…

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has recently suggested on his Here We Go podcast that the Citizens are considering a move for Borussia Monchengladbach defensive-midfielder Denis Zakaria.

As per City Xtra on Twitter, the City board are focused on bringing in the Swiss international and have made contact with the player’s agent but nothing is advanced at this stage.

Should City agree a deal with the Bundesliga side for the £36 million-rated midfielder, he could prove to be Fernandinho’s long-term replacement at the club.

The 35-year-old Brazilian has made 321 appearances during his time the club, in which time he has contributed 23 goals and 26 assists (per Transfermarkt).

However, he is no longer a regular in Pep Guardiola’s side and is perhaps likely to leave the club when his contract expires at the end of this season.

Spanish midfielder Rodri was seemingly the man to step up as his long-term replacement, but the 24-year-old doesn’t look to be completely accustomed to the physicality of the Premier League thus far, with the Spanish international noticeably outpaced by Harry Kane in the defeat against Spurs recently, suggesting that the Citizens could do with someone more physical such as Zakaria in defensive-midfield.

The 24-year-old has been a big part of Monchengladbach’s success in recent seasons, with the club’s sporting director Max Eberl praising his influence recently, and lamenting the fact that he was injured, saying:

“Denis’ development has been fantastic. Especially in the past season under Marco Rose, he took a very big leap forward.

“With his dynamics, speed, aggressiveness and intense runs in behind, he is enormously important for our game. It’s no secret that we miss him a lot and that he’s not easy to replace.” (per Buli news)

The midfielder recently returned from that long-term knee injury, and City may have to act fast if they want to bring him to the club in the near future, as his superb performances in the Bundesliga last season suggest that he won’t be short of suitors.

It will be interesting to see whether City do actively pursue Zakaria in the upcoming transfer window and whether he could be the true heir to Fernandinho’s throne.

AND, in other news… City may well be regretting selling “very quick” centre-back 

Marcelo Bielsa has delivered very promising news regarding the injury status of Leeds fan favourite Kalvin Phillips. The midfielder has been sidelined with a shoulder injury but in the manager’s latest batch of fitness updates, he admitted that “it’s probable” that the England international will be available this weekend.

Whilst Bielsa stressed that he “can’t guarantee it”, there’s still a good chance Phillips will be one of the names on the team sheet to face Arsenal. If he is, it will be a huge boost for the Whites.

Leeds have been without the midfield man since their narrow loss to Wolves last month. The club placed a six week recovery period on the situation, which fans have been waiting anxiously to be over. Bielsa’s side have won just one of their three matches played without Phillips – their most recent results have both been 4-1 defeats to Leicester and Crystal Palace respectively.

Mateusz Klich has played perhaps a more defensive role than he would usually prefer to cover the absence of his teammate. Rodrigo is also sidelined, which seriously limited Leeds’ options going forward. But with Phillips potentially able to start the match agains the Gunners, the Whites can regroup and hope to get back to winning ways.

The £50,000 per week powerhouse has started every Premier League he has been fit this season and has already wowed a lot of people with his performances. Noel Whelan recently heaped praise on the “absolutely immense” Phillips and admitted that all clubs need someone of the 24-year-old’s calibre in their set up (on Sporting Life Football podcast, cited by The Boot Room).

Only two points currently separate Leeds and Arsenal, so this will be a very cagey affair as neither side can afford to come away with a loss. The Whites have slipped a little in their returning Premier League season but their earlier results prove they can turn it around. A win against the Gunners will put them in great stride to rediscover their form and the boost of Phillips will surely lift spirits on camp too.

In other news, Leeds-linked Steven Gerrard could put Elland Road back on the map…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Chris Kirkland has insisted that Arsenal would never have sold Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had he remained fully fit.

The England international joined the Gunners way back in the summer of 2011 from Southampton, for a reported fee of £15m. The versatile ace ended up playing 198 times for the north Londoners, scoring 20 goals and providing a further 32 assists.

Niggling injury problems always seemed to prove to be a hurdle for Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Arsene Wenger eventually waved goodbye to the 27-year-old for £35m when Liverpool came calling in 2017.

Now, Kirkland has insisted that issues with injuries were the only reason that Arsenal cashed in on him, and that he remains a huge fan of the player even now.

Speaking to FFC’s James Beavis, he said: “We’ve seen him score goals and obviously had some horrendous luck with injuries. I mean, if he was fit, Arsenal would never have sold him for one thing you know. They sold him because he couldn’t stay fit. But for me he’s an exceptional player and I’d love to see him stay fit.”

As was the case at Arsenal, Oxlade-Chamberlain just can’t seem to stay away from injuries. It’s hard to believe that he’s now 27, given that it still feels like he’s a ‘young player’ with so much more time and room to grow.

The English ace of course picked up an awful cruciate ligament injury in a Champions League game for Liverpool against AS Roma that really disrupted his progress at Anfield, and it really is a case of ‘what if’ with him.

Had he been fully fit and firing at Arsenal, and had the Gunners also showed signs of progress on the pitch, then Oxlade-Chamberlain could still be playing for the north Londoners now instead of their Premier League rivals.