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Queens Park Rangers have confirmed that Charlie Austin will return to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on a permanent basis this summer.

What’s the latest?

In a statement posted on the QPR website, the club revealed that the 31-year-old will be linking up with Mark Warburton’s side once again in the coming weeks after signing on a free transfer, following the centre-forward’s release from West Bromwich Albion.

Upon completing the deal, Austin said: “I am really pleased to get it done and to be able to continue my journey here.

“With the way we finished the season – and how I feel about the club hasn’t changed – I wanted to be part of it and as soon as the opportunity was available, I wanted to get this done as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Warburton also appeared over the moon with the arrival of the striker, suggesting that his signing will help to attract further targets to west London this summer.

The 58-year-old said: “Not only does this signing help with future targets, but it also helps with current players we have at the football club – it shows we have ambition. I am absolutely delighted to have him on board.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Austin was during his four-month loan spell at QPR last season, the fact that Amit Bhatia has secured the signing of the £1.8m-rated forward on a permanent basis is sure to have fans of the club buzzing.

Indeed, over his 21 Championship appearances for Warburton’s side, the 31-year-old scored eight goals, registered one assist and created two big chances, as well as taking an average of 2.3 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the £52k-per-week man earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.94, ranking him as the QPR’s eighth-best performer in the second tier, as well as leaving him as the club’s joint-second top league goalscorer – despite only spending half a season in west London.

And, with QPR ranking third in the Championship table since the turn of the year, the fact Austin will still be playing his football at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium next season will provide a huge boost to Warburton’s hopes of mounting a promotion push with the club in their 2021/22 campaign, as well as helping to attract further signings to the Rs this summer – as the manager suggests.

As such, the signing of the centre-forward would appear to be a huge step in the right direction for QPR, who very much seem to be a club on the up at present.

In other news: QPR dealt big blow in pursuit of “immense” £5.4k-p/w machine that’ll leave fans gutted

An exciting Newcastle United claim has emerged regarding their plans for the upcoming transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has hinted that PIF will be looking to spend more than £50m in the market this summer, whilst not going overboard with their dealings.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think their plan is to run it like a business and I think their plan will be to keep costs as low as they can.

“I very much doubt they will manage to keep it to £50million, but I do think what they’ll try and do is bring money in, in terms of player sales as well.”

Supporters will be delighted

Newcastle supporters will surely be delighted with this claim.

Last summer, the only senior addition to the squad was the signing of Joe Willock from Arsenal for a reported £25m. He joined on a permanent basis after spending the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan and was the only player brought in by Mike Ashley to bolster Steve Bruce’s squad.

The lack of investment in the team came back to bite the Sports Direct supremo as the Toon became just the fourth team in Premier League history to not win any of their first 14 matches in a top-flight season.

In the last 14 games in the top flight, however, Newcastle have picked up 31 points and are third in the form table behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

The difference between these two stretches of games? The appointment of Eddie Howe and the January transfer window. PIF came in to take over the club from Ashley and invested in the squad by bringing in Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Matt Targett, Bruno Guimaraes and Chris Wood in the winter market.

Their work in January gave Howe the ammunition he needed to fire Newcastle to safety and that is exactly what he has done, with the Magpies currently sitting 14 points clear of the bottom three. This suggests that the signings earlier this year gave the club a massive lift, and that is set to save them from relegation.

Therefore, supporters will be excited by the prospect of PIF dropping more than £50m on further signings, as it means that Howe will be backed again and given what he needs to take the Toon to the next level. He will not be hung out to dry like Bruce was by Ashley, which is why fans will be delighted with the owners’ plans.

They will also be buzzing with the claim that PIF still want to run the club like a business and are not going to risk the financial future of Newcastle. The consortium are not looking for instant success which could lead to irreversible financial damage further down the line, and this measured, thought-out approach will surely go down well with the fanbase as it shows ambition and clarity over what the owners want to do.

AND in other news, Journalist reveals two names on Newcastle’s transfer “list”, Eddie Howe will be excited…

Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch endured a shocking evening at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday, as Lee Johnson’s side slipped up yet again in their push for promotion.

Knowing that a win against fellow promotion hopefuls Blackpool would have all but secured a spot in the League One play-offs come the end of the season, the Black Cats failed to take their opportunities against Neil Critchley’s side on the night, ultimately slumping to a 1-0 defeat following a second-half Sullay Kaikai strike.

The result means that Sunderland are now winless in seven league fixtures, and sees Johnson’s side slip to fourth place in the table with just two games remaining of the regular season, a mere four points ahead of Oxford United in seventh.

In the fixture itself, Gooch was one of the Black Cats’ more disappointing performers on the night, with the attacking midfielder proving extremely wasteful in the final third, failing to hit the target with both of his attempts at Chris Maxwell’s goal.

The £5,000-per-week man was not much better creatively either, with the 25-year-old finding his man on just one occasion from his eight attempted crosses and with none of his four attempted long balls.

And, despite having 55 touches of the ball over his 90 minutes on the pitch, the fifth-most of any Sunderland player, Gooch also managed to lose possession for his side on a whopping 22 occasions.

Overall, only Lee Burge and Josh Scowen – both 6.3 – earned an overall SofaScore match rating lower than Gooch’s 6.6 against Blackpool, with the United States international more than likely wanting to put this performance behind him as quickly as possible.

This is undoubtedly a feeling shared by Johnson, who must be wondering what has happened to his side in recent weeks, as the Black Cats have gone from a run of 12 league games without a loss, to now losing four and drawing three of their last seven fixtures.

And, with just two games of their league campaign remaining, the Sunderland boss now must ensure that his side picks up at the very minimum one victory, if not two, against Plymouth Argyle and Northampton Town to confirm the Black Cats’ spot in the play-offs.

In other news: £382,000 a goal: Sunderland simply must axe “humble” flop, he’s cost them for years – opinion

Football London writer Sam Inkersole believes that West Ham United need to add a goalscorer to their ranks this summer.

The Hammers finished a very impressive sixth in the Premier League last term, just two points off the final Champions League place which went to Chelsea.

West Ham scored 62 goals in the league last season which was an average of 1.63 goals per game. Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek led the Hammers’ scoring charts with 10 goals each, but Inkersole believes the club need a goalscorer.

“They just need a striker that can give them ten, fifteen goals, I think that should be enough for them because they get plenty of goals from midfield in Bowen,” Inkersole told Football FanCast.

One player West Ham have been linked with is Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, but they face competition from London rivals Arsenal, with The Sun reporting the Gunners are apparently leading the race for his signature.

Last season’s Hammers loan star Jesse Lingard is another name linked with a move back to the London Stadium.

After scoring nine goals in the second half of the season, which saw Lingard become West Ham’s third leading Premier League scorer, a full season for the club could see him become that ten-to-fifteen a season goalscorer Inkersole reckons the club needs, but a deal appears unlikely with the Manchester United man scoring a pre-season goal for his club against Queens Park Rangers last weekend.

Many Everton fans have been left to flock to an update from the Goodison Park faithful on Francis Jeffers.

As per the official website of the Merseyside club, Jeffers has left his role as coach of the U23s to take up a new position with Ipswich Town.

He joins the EFL League One side as a first-team coach and will work with their current manager Paul Cook.

The update certainly caused some stir among several Toffees supporters, given Jeffers’ controversial past with them, as he famously rejected a lucrative contract with his boyhood club in the hope to join Arsenal, where he would earn more money (BBC Sport).

Nonetheless, some Blues seem to be more than happy to see the back of him as he continues his coaching journey with the Tractor Boys.

Everton fans on Jeffers update

These EFC fans flocked to the update as it was shared on Twitter to give their thoughts on Jeffers:

“Good!! He shouldn’t have been near the place”

Credit: @andyunz

“Good.”

Credit: @lukeWilko1878

“Made up”

Credit: @gwladysmattEFC

“££££££££££££”

Credit: @johnmcpartlan16

“Jumping ship again”

Credit: @carlofantasico

“Good riddance”

Credit: @TopBalc

In other news, find out what transfer update Toffees have flocked to here!

Leicester have been handed a major boost over James Maddison, following comments by Gabriel Agbonlahor.

What’s the talk?

The former Premier League forward has rejected claims that Arsenal could sign Leicester midfielder James Maddison this summer.

Agbonlahor does not believe that the Gunners would be able to offer Maddison as much money as Leicester in terms of wages and has ruled out any chance of the former Norwich man joining the Emirates stadium.

He told Football Insider:

“I don’t see that happening at all, to be honest.

“Leicester are in Europe, Arsenal aren’t. Leicester are a top-six team, Arsenal aren’t. I just don’t see that happening.

“Leicester can pay very big wages, I’ve heard from people there. Maddison will be on very good money and probably more than Arsenal can pay him, to be honest. For me, that transfer doesn’t happen. Not one bit.”

Rodgers will be buzzing

Rodgers will surely be buzzing by this news as Agbonalhor seemingly believes that Maddison would reject a transfer to Arsenal even if it got to the stage of speaking about personal terms.

The ex-Villa star does not think that the Gunners can match Leicester in terms of wages, which is why he does not see Maddison donning a red strip any time soon.

This is a credit to Leicester and the work they have done in recent seasons to establish themselves as contenders for the top six, with the club now potentially able to reject interest from big clubs for their key players.

Maddison did not enjoy a great end to the season as he struggled with injury and form, but there is no doubting the quality he possesses, in which manager Brendan Rodgers has dubbed him “immense” in the past.

The “absolutely outstanding” England international ended the campaign with 11 goals and 10 assists in all competitions for the Foxes, which is an improvement from the nine goals and three assists he managed the previous season.

This proves that he was able to take his game to another level, even if he did not end the campaign as he would have liked – with no goals or assists in his last eight Premier League matches after returning from injury.

The £110k-per-week magician still has plenty of room left for development at the age of 24.

This means that Rodgers still has the chance to coach him into becoming a better footballer, which is a tantalising prospect given that he has already been able to hit double figures for goals and assists in a season.

Therefore, the Foxes head coach will be delighted by this news as it could increase the chances of Maddison being his player going forward and give him the opportunity to continue working with the £49.5m-rated dynamo on the training pitch.

AND in other news, Major development emerges on “fantastic” £26m gem, LCFC fans will be on cloud nine…

Moussa Sissoko was once Tottenham Hotspur’s record signing when he was bought for £30 million from Newcastle United, but Graham Roberts admits that he would like to see Spurs do a swap deal with Wolves to bring in Ruben Neves for the Frenchman.

It comes off the back of Steve Bull claiming that Sissoko would be a quality signing for Wolves and with the Midlands club expected to sell Neves this summer, a swap deal may well be on the cards if both parties can come to an agreement.

Wolves are in need of a powerful midfielder who can be a physical presence in the middle of the pitch and Spurs are in need of someone who can slot in alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, dictate play and be the one who can thread the ball through the eye of a needle for their forward players.

Sissoko was cast aside last season when Jose Mourinho was sacked as he was handed just one Premier League minute under Ryan Mason, and when asked if he would like to see a deal seeing Neves go to Spurs and Sissoko go in the opposite direction, Roberts had this to say exclusively to Transfer Tavern:

“I like Moussa, I get on really well with him but I would do that because I think Neves is a good holding midfield player and he could play with Hojbjerg.”

Since he arrived at Spurs, Sissoko has reached a Champions League final and won the World Cup with France so it has been a great few years for him on a personal level but Roberts would let him go if it meant bringing in someone like Neves, he said:

“I think just for the sake of Moussa Sissoko, that could be a good deal actually.”

Both clubs are going to be under new managers heading into next season and with Nuno Espirito Santo likely heading to Spurs, that could be a huge factor in where Neves decides to play his football next season as he was brought to England by his former manager.

Celtic finally got off the mark in their UEFA Europa League group on Tuesday afternoon thanks to a 2-0 win at home to Ferencvaros.

Kyogo Furuhashi, long odds with LV BET for first goalscorer, opened the scoring for the hosts just short of the hour mark, before an own goal late on sealed all three points for Ange Postecoglou’s team at Parkhead. However, not all of the Hoops thrived, as The Transfer Tavern dives into the three worst-rated players by statistical specialists Sofascore…

David Turnbull

Turnbull was the third-worst rated Hoops player (6.9) per Sofascore, as players have to had played a minimum of 45 minutes to be taken into account.

The Scotland international failed to record a single shot on target or dribble in the match, and also lost possession of the ball on nine separate occasions.

With little depth in midfield behind the 22 year-old, his place in the XI will likely remain safe for now.

Tom Rogic

Rogic was another midfield player who may have been a bit disappointed by his overall performance, as Sofascore gave him a measly 6.6 rating.

The 28-year-old lost out on five of his duels in total, and also did not manage a shot, while his 78% pass accuracy was the worst out of his outfield teammates.

Rogic also lost possession on no fewer than on 15 different occasions, the third-highest out of any Celts player.

Liel Abada

Abada did not have the most productive of afternoons, and was unsurprisingly ranked as the Bhoys’ worst player with a mere 6.4 overall rating.

The winger lost nine of his duels, the joint-most out of any player to have set foot on the pitch, and also did not have a shot on target or successful dribble, while his zero key passes or accurate crosses (Sofascore) pretty much sums up his lack of end product.

Abada also lost the ball 13 times, the fourth-most out of his teammates, in what was a frustrating afternoon for the Israeli.

In other news, find out which player Celtic are having doubts over here!

Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser doubts David Moyes will pay £30m to bring Manchester United attacker Jesse Lingard back to West Ham.

Lingard helped West Ham to a brilliant sixth-placed finish last season, scoring nine goals and providing four assists during his loan spell.

Understandably, Moyes now wants to bring the 28-year-old back to the London Stadium, with The Athletic claiming his parent club are seeking a £30m fee in a potential permanent deal.

It is a fee Rosser cannot see the West Ham boss being prepared to pay, however, though based on his information, United’s asking price may actually be lower.

“There’s been reports of Man United wanting 30 million, which I think by my understanding is significantly higher than what they’re asking for,” Rosser told TT.

“But if that were to be the case, I don’t think Moyes would pay it. He’s got that sort of attitude that, you know, it’s not his money and he wants to spend it carefully.”

While Moyes is having trouble signing Lingard to bolster his attack, he is at least having some fortune at the back, with Alphonse Areola coming in to challenge Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks.

With an option to buy, the Frenchman could be the 36-year-old’s long-term successor at the London Stadium.

Many Sheffield United fans took to Twitter following John Egan’s goal in the Republic of Ireland’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Portugal in World Cup qualifying [BBC].

In a game that was supposed to be Cristiano Ronaldo centric, the 28-year-old rose highest for The Boys in Green to head in from a corner delivered by Jamie McGrath in the powder-keg encounter [BBC].

Settled by the narrowest of margins, a late double from the inspired Ronaldo condemned Egan and his teammates to a defeat on international duty.

His attention will now turn to Saturday when Ireland get set to take on Azerbaijan at the Aviva Stadium at 5pm [Aviva Stadium Official].

In light of Egan’s effort, it was no wonder that plenty of Sheffield United diehards took to Twitter to rejoice at the news.

Sheffield United fans react:

Replying to the official Sheffield United Twitter account, here is what some fans had to say about the footage:

“Yessssss Egs”

Credit: @IngoodNick17

“The Cork Baresi”

Credit: @Josh_SUFC_”Always been my favourite Blade and worth £50 million in my book”Credit: @locksmithlincs”And a great goal as well”Credit: @johndolan_bt”What a player to watch and he’s a Blade through and through. Solid.”Credit: @CotherRichard”Congratulations mate”Credit: @StevenW76910237In other news, an EFL insider has named a star that could improve the Blades’ promotion aspirations in 2021/22. Find out more here.