According to reports in The Daily Mail, Ipswich Town have had a £650,000 bid for Shrewsbury Town centre-back Toto Nsiala rejected with the League One outfit demanding £1m, and the Tractor Boys’ Championship rivals must swoop in and snatch the defender.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Daily Mail says that former Shrews boss Paul Hurst wants to bring the 26-year-old to Portman Road to boost his new side’s defensive options, following Adam Webster’s big-money exit to Bristol City earlier this summer.
The DR Congo international has handed in a transfer request to try and force a move through, but Town are sticking firm on their valuation and it appears as though they will have to significantly improve their opening offer to get him.
The Daily Mail says that the 6ft 4in centre-back wants to test himself at Championship level, having missed out on the chance to get there with Shrewsbury last term when they were beaten by Rotherham United in the League One play-off final.
Why must Leeds hijack the deal?
Well, the Yorkshire outfit are in desperate need of strengthening at the heart of their defence with Pontus Jansson, captain Liam Cooper and Conor Shaughnessy their only senior and specialist options available right now, even if Gaetano Berardi has successfully filled in there during pre-season.
With less than a week of the transfer window left they will surely be upping their search for a new centre-back, and Nsiala could be a risky but shrewd move by Marcelo Bielsa, who must also consider splashing out £8m on another Championship centre-back.
As well as being strong, dominant in the air and loving to throw his body on the line for his team, the 26-year-old has also improved while in possession of the ball during his time with Shrewsbury and has shown on more than one occasion that he is capable of producing some fine long balls
That means he should fit in perfectly with Bielsa’s preferred style of play, and he could be a bargain buy for just £1m.
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Birmingham City could do with bringing in an attacking player at some point this month as they are currently struggling for quality in that area.
The Blues will be hoping that they can enjoy a better campaign than the last, with a loan signing before the end of the month helping their chances. One player who has shown plenty of promise and could set the Championship alight is Arsenal’s Edward Nketiah, and so perhaps Garry Monk should consider strengthening in attacking areas.
Eddie Nketiah hit the headlines when he scored two goals on his home debut against Norwich City, and he hasn’t looked back ever since as he made a number of appearances in the first-team last season. A real penalty box predator, the 19-year-old doesn’t score many goals from outside the area. Instead, he uses his pace to get to the penalty box and his skill to find space for a shot at goal. Sadly, the Gunners have been impressed by Reiss Nelson this summer and already have a star-studded attack, so a move away on loan is looking the likely option.
The forward is one of the players most readily name-checked for a breakthrough to the Arsenal first team, but getting regular minutes under his belt is far more important at this stage of his footballing career. Birmingham City don’t offer much at the pinnacle of the attack, so bringing in a livewire like Nketiah to partner Che Adams in attack will be sure to frighten many defences.
Birmingham City didn’t make many changes this summer and the transfer window is now shut, but Garry Monk is still able to bring players to St Andrew’s in the form of a loan deal up until the 31st, so moving for a promising forward could be vital to their campaign.
Would Edward Nketiah be a shrewd signing for Birmingham City… Let us know!
Following a wealth of rumours on Twitter it was confirmed by Manchester City on Wednesday that star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has suffered a knee injury, and while we’re still waiting to hear exactly how long the 27-year-old will be out for, there are claims that his absence could span up to four months.
Fortunately, City’s fixture list during that time isn’t the toughest but the Belgium international no doubt leaves an almighty void to fill in Pep Guardiola’s midfield – he bagged twelve goals and 21 assists last season and was the driving force in City’s engine room en route to the Premier League title.
So, who should Guardiola turn to as De Bruyne’s replacement in the coming weeks? Football FanCast look at four potential solutions…
Solution A – Phil Foden
Foden is no doubt City’s most exciting academy product for a generation and after providing glimpses of his potential last season the youngster really showcased himself in the Community Shield against Chelsea, setting up Sergio Aguero’s first goal in a dynamic and creative midfield display.
City fans would love to see the 18-year-old involved more frequently and De Bruyne’s absence would obviously facilitate that, but is he ready to start week-in, week-out just yet? To date he’s made just eleven competitive appearances at senior level and especially considering the intensity of City’s play, regular football could be just too great a physical burden at this stage of his career.
Solution B – Bernardo Silva
Because of how exceptional Silva and De Bruyne have been for City under Guardiola, Bernardo Silva’s spent the majority of his time at the Etihad Stadium out wide. The Portugal international knows how to impact the game from that position but a more central role is no doubt where his future lies – many, in fact, are tipping him to become his midfield namesake’s eventual successor.
This would be the perfect opportunity to prove he’s up to the task while learning a few things off Silva as well by playing directly next to him in the engine room. However, although the absence of physicality in the middle of the park was hardly a problem for City last term, playing Silva alongside Silva will leave them a little more open and a little less dynamic – neither can drive from back to front with the ball in quite the same way as De Bruyne.
Solution C – Riyad Mahrez
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Riyad Mahrez – who Transfermarkt value at £54million – is still bedding into this City team but his early performances on the wing haven’t been hugely encouraging, and he did actually feature more centrally in a few of the pre-season games – suggesting a change in position is already in Guardiola’s thoughts.
The Algerian international would certainly be able to help fill De Bruyne’s void in terms of output and firepower – albeit from considerably more starts, he far outweighed Bernardo Silva for goals and assists in the Premier League last season – but once again, it’s a question of how using a winger in a more central capacity will affect City’s efforts off the ball.
That’s never been Guardiola’s chief concern but ignoring it completely will leave City susceptible to counter-attacks and Fernandinho particularly facing a monumental task as the midfield anchor. It would no doubt be a gamble for City, but one that could pay off if Mahrez can rediscover his Leicester City form.
Solution D – Ilkay Gundogan
The safest and most logical option. We probably haven’t seen the best of Ilkay Gundogan in a Manchester City shirt, at least not in lengthy doses, and this could be his time to show he’s just as capable as Guardiola’s preferred midfield options.
There’s no doubting the German international’s ability and although injuries have affected his playing style to some degree, if he can replicate the buccaneering, dynamic midfield performances of his Dortmund days he could quickly establish himself as a key part of the starting XI in De Bruyne’s absence.
But Gundogan has never been much of a goal-getter, never scoring more than six times in a season before, so if its netting prowess Guardiola wants then he should be looking elsewhere in the squad.
So, City fans, who do you think is the best option to fill De Bruyne’s void? Let us know by voting below…
Newcastle fans have been eyeing up some potential free agent signings, and a move for Juventus legend Claudio Marchisio could rescue the Magpies’ disappointing transfer window.
What’s the story?
The Chronicle wrote their annual “free agents that Newcastle could sign” piece this week, and fans were all eyeing a move for Hatem Ben Arfa.
While Ben Arfa would certainly raise a few eyebrows, the much safer signing would be former Juventus man Marchisio, who was also included in the article, which you can read here.
The 32 year-old opted not to renew his contract in Turin, and as long as the Premier League sign off the deal, Rafa Benitez should be able to have Marchisio available once a move is complete.
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Shelley’s new partner?
The Magpies’ midfield duo of Mo Diame and Jonjo Shlevey were both brilliant in the second half of last season, but even with the summer signing of Ki Sung-yueng they are still light in that department, especially when Ki goes to the Asian Cup in January.
Diame has not had a great start to the season either, and while Marchisio is a year older than the all-action midfielder, he is far more technically gifted, and could probably even teach Shelvey a thing or two.
The 5 ft 11 in ace is about as well rounded a midfielder as you will ever find, and his stats during his 13-year stay with Juventus prove exactly that. Across the last three seasons, Marchisio boasts an 88 per cent pass success rate in Serie A, while averaging well over one tackle, one interception and one chance created per 90 minutes.
Back in his prime those numbers were practically doubled, and while he isn’t the box-to-box presence he once was, the 55-cap Italian international still has all the technical quality, vision, passion and physicality to be a huge success on Tyneside.
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So, Newcastle fans, would you like to see a move for Marchisio? Could the Magpies pull it off? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
Maurizio Sarri’s perfect start at Chelsea – Community Shield final excluded – continued on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Arsenal. Pedro opened the scoring after just nine minutes and Alvaro Morata soon followed up, only for the Gunners to make it 2-2 just before half-time. Eventually though, Chelsea managed to reassert their dominance – resulting in a late Marcos Alonso winnner.
After the match we asked Blues supporters to issue player ratings for each of those involved in the 3-2 victory. Here’s a rundown of the three starters who disappointed Chelsea fans most despite playing their part in an important win, receiving the lowest average scores…
Kepa – 6.1: He may be the most expensive goalkeeper in the history of football but Chelsea fans don’t seem overawed with Kepa’s early efforts for the west London club. While he didn’t have much to do against Huddersfield, the Spaniard could only get a finger on Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s delicious curler – although he did manage an impressive four saves on Saturday.
Willian – 5.5: With Pedro in fine form Willian only has a small window to cement a place in Chelsea’s starting XI before Eden Hazard’s full return, but the 62-cap Brazilian isn’t exactly taking that opportunity with both hands at the moment. He was probably Chelsea’s least effective player on Saturday, creating just one chance and failing to have an effort on goal before being hauled off after an hour.
David Luiz – 5.4: Luiz just doesn’t look comfortable in a back four and the veteran centre-half was lost at sea during Arsenal’s 15 minutes of relentless chance creation on Saturday. He didn’t register a single tackle or interception and only two clearances – although the Brazilian did complete an impressive 91% of his passes.
It’s not been a great start to the season for Southampton as the Saints have picked only one point from their first three Premier League games.
After a poor season last year, Southampton made some key signings in the transfer market to give Mark Hughes a team that will hopefully not be fighting relegation this year.
In total, the club spent £56.03 million on five new players over the summer. Within that spend, the Saints captured former Manchester City goalkeeper Angus Gunn, who joined the club for £13.5 million from the Premier League champions.
The Saints ‘keeper, made his debut for the south coast club last night as Southampton beat Brighton 1-0 in the Carabao Cup. Following the game, Gunn admitted that he was pleased to get through although he was keen to be Southampton’s penalty shootout hero.
The Breakdown
Despite Gunn not having much to do throughout the game, he did produce a great save to deny Victor Gyokeres breaking the deadlock.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper had an incredibly impressive year on loan with Norwich last year as he played 46 games for the club in the Championship and proved that he is one of the better young goalkeepers in the country.
While current goalkeeper, Alex McCarthy hasn’t played badly in goal, Gunn needs to be given a chance in the first-team sooner rather than later.
At the moment, Southampton’s poor form isn’t down to McCarthy’s performances but Hughes should still consider bringing Gunn into the first XI soon.
Southampton fans, would you rather Gunn or McCarthy?
Sheffield Wednesday boss Jos Luhukay should take a chance on free agent Wes Hoolahan after the club’s transfer embargo meant they made no permanent additions during the summer transfer window.
What’s the story?
The Owls were banned from signing any players this summer after breaking Financial Fair Play regulations, but the ban was lifted before the deadline to sign players on loan expired on August 31. This meant that Luhukay was able to bring in Michael Hector from Chelsea and Josh Onomah from Spurs on season-long loan deals.
Having started their league campaign slowly, securing just one point from the first three games, Wednesday have gone on to win all of their last three Championship fixtures 2-1 and now sit in a respectable 11th place in the second tier of English football.
Midfielder Barry Bannan has perhaps been the Owls’ best player so far during this campaign and has one goal and two assists in all competitions, but he could strike up a formidable partnership with Hoolahan if Wednesday were to target the Irishman.
Creative talent
Hoolahan is a natural attacking midfielder who can play out wide as well as through the centre, and he would bring a touch of class and quality to Wednesday’s side.
After 10 years at Norwich, Hoolahan left Carrow Road this summer but despite now being 36 years of age, he has expressed a desire to stay in England following his release, according to the Irish Independent.
An Irish international, Hoolahan has 43 caps for his country and three goals, meaning he has plenty of experience as well as talent to offer any potential suitor. Luhukay would be wise to target him to make his first permanent signing of the season and on a free transfer, any deal for the former Blackpool man would be relatively risk free.
Wednesday fans, should Luhukay pursue a deal for Hoolahan? Let us know by voting in our poll below.
Aleksandar Mitrovic left Newcastle over the summer in a permanent move to Craven Cottage where he’s already made a superb start. The Serbian striker has got four goals in the opening four games and he’s been talking about how life in London is better than life in Newcastle.
The fans seem to think that Mitrovic is blaming his failure at the club on the ‘goldfish bowl’ atmosphere that gets created in the Northeast. Newcastle is a one-club city and everyone is mad about their football, meaning you can’t go anywhere without being recognised. However, the striker has claimed that in London people don’t care about him and that it’s better.
It’s easy to understand where he’s coming from with these comments and the supporters at St James Park can’t be too harsh on the striker for wanting to leave. At the end of the day, he simply didn’t fit the bill for what Rafa Benitez was looking for in his striker and when the Magpies got around £20 million for him it seemed like every party had got what they wanted.
You can see the Geordies’ thoughts on Mitrovic’s comments here:
The fans aren’t best pleased with Mitrovic’s comments but then some of them can understand where he’s coming from with his comments about life in London.
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have seen their North London rival increase dramatically in recent years, with the Lilywhites dethroning the Gunners in the Premier League standings.
While the red half of North London copes with another campaign without Champions League football, their counterparts will enjoy plenty of action in Europe’s elite competition this season and also have a stadium move on the horizon.
The changes in the past five years have been dramatic and a point that stands out is August 2013, when Tottenham, fresh from the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, purchased Christian Eriksen – while Arsenal brought in Mesut Ozil from the Spanish capital, a move that was made possible by Bale’s switch.
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Both players celebrated five years since making their debuts for the North London duo on Friday and it got us thinking which of the pair was the better acquisition.
In the years that followed, both have become fan favourites at their respective sides and Ozil has enjoyed success with World Cup glory and three FA Cup crowns. However, Eriksen, who cost around £30m less, is established as a more important member of the Tottenham squad and is, therefore, the better signing.
Do you agree? Who is the best signing of the pair? Share your thoughts in our poll below…
The 29 year-old was absolutely unplayable at times for Arsenal, so the fact that he is not influencing games more is a huge concern.
Loads of fans are bashing the winger and the manager’s decision to stick with him through thick and thin, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…