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If some of the more recent reports are to be believed, Leeds United have taken an interest in Udinese’s playmaker, Rodrigo De Paul. Of course, with Marcelo Bielsa’s crew making a grand comeback to the Premier League, the Whites will need to reinforce their squad.

Some business has already been done as Rodrigo joined from Valencia just recently but it seems Bielsa is still not fully satisfied with the outlook of his squad.

But according to a fresh update from Messaggero Venuto, De Paul himself dreams of actually moving to Juventus and would prefer that transfer over the switch to Elland Road.

The 26-year-old’s stance might indeed put Bielsa’s plan into jeopardy as the Bianconeri clearly have an advantage over their rivals if this is really to become a battle between the two.

De Paul himself is a creative spark and a very talented playmaker so it doesn’t surprise that Udinese are already preparing for his eventual departure. Still, it will be up to him to choose his next destination.

As thing currently stand, Leeds and Juventus could be going head to head to acquire his services in the ongoing summer transfer window. But what chance does Bielsa have against Andrea Pirlo and his crew if that’s really the case?

Only time will tell.

Verdict

While it might be too early to tell if Bielsa should throw in the towel and start focusing on alternative targets, it does seem like Leeds can’t exactly go toe to toe with a giant of European football that is Juventus.

However, the latest reports don’t exactly say how interested the Bianconeri are in the 26-year-old playmaker. If Pirlo decides to go all in, there’s little the Whites can do.

But if they are not insisting on signing him, maybe there’s an opening the newly-promoted Premier League side can explore.

As Tottenham Hotspur effectively seal a £27.5 million move to sign Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid, with personal terms agreed and the player accepting to join Jose Mourinho’s side (Fabrizio Romano), some critics could be wondering where that leaves left-back Ryan Sessegnon. 

The Englishman, who endured a difficult first campaign in north London after completing a £25 million move from Fulham in the summer of 2019, starting just four Premier League games all season, now faces an even bigger challenge as Reguilon enters the fray.

By comparison, the Spaniard enjoyed a stellar breakthrough season on loan at Sevilla while Sessegnon was left languishing on the sidelines – helping Los Palanganas to a Europa League title and a finish in the top four. 

This prompted intense interest from the likes of Man United and Tottenham, with the latter club going on to agree a move, and now Sessegnon may face an even bigger battle to get into the first team.

Left-back Ben Davies had been preferred over the 20-year-old before Reguilon’s developments, with the Daily Mail also confirming that Sessegnon is ‘certain’ to be shipped out on loan once the transfer has been completed.

After splashing a significant investment on the youngster last season, Levy going over that Sessegnon fee to land Reguilon for £27.5m could spell warning signs for the defender.

Now, given the club are reportedly looking for a winger, a slight glimmer of hope would be potentially playing further forward on the left side in coming seasons – with teammate Danny Rose describing him as a ‘big threat’ in the past.

Valued at around £22.5 million by Transfermarkt, it’s also a possibility that Levy could be looking to recuperate the funds spent on Sessegnon whilst cutting the club’s losses – with Reguilon seemingly putting huge question marks around the player’s future.

Spurs fans, does the Reguilon news spell danger for Sessegnon? Have your say in the comments below…

A number of West Ham fans have been reacting to a claim made by former Irons defender Don Hutchison regarding Bayern Munich’s Michael Cuisance.

The 21-year-old midfielder is reportedly closing in on an £18m move to Leeds, as per the Daily Mail, having been part of the Bundesliga side’s Champions League-winning squad earlier this year.

Hutchison took to Twitter (via @donhutch4) to claim that he had recommended the French youngster to West Ham three years ago when he was a teenager at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Indeed, the ex-Hammers defender also brought that up at the time of Cuisance’s move to Bayern last year, saying that the youngster has a “wand of a left foot” and “fantastic vision” as well as being a “great athlete”.

While the 21-year-old, who already has a rich CV, could soon be on his way to Leeds, West Ham are left searching for their first new arrival of the transfer window with less than a week remaining, amid massive discontent from many supporters towards the club’s owners.

These Irons fans on Twitter feel that the club should make more use of Hutchison’s eye for a player by offering him a formal role at London Stadium:

West Ham fans, how sickened would you be if Cuisance goes to Leeds? Have your say by commenting below!

According to Football Insider, Aston Villa are making preparations in order to make a late move to sign Bournemouth striker Josh King.

What’s the word?

With the deadline for deals between Premier League and EFL clubs not until October 16, there remains the distinct possibility that further high-profile signings will be made.

And Football Insider claim that Villa have got their eyes on luring King away from the Vitality Stadium, saying that they are trying to clear up space in their wage bill to accommodate the Norway international.

The report further adds that Dean Smith’s side are intent on pushing West Ham for the forward’s signature, with Bournemouth having now slashed the asking price to between £10-£12m after failing to sell him during the international window.

Now or never

After the start that Smith has guided his new-look team to in the Premier League, the Villa boss can surely walk into the boardroom and demand whatever he wants.

Ollie Watkins has looked in superb touch since arriving from Brentford, with five goals in six games, but the side could do with a really top-class back-up option to their big-money summer signing.

Wesley remains out injured for the time being and of course will need sufficient time to recover match fitness, whilst Keinan Davis at 22, is still very much an unproven option at senior level.

Bringing in King, with all his experience in the Premier League with Bournemouth, can be the answer to that. And if Lange can convince the Cherries to part ways with the striker for the £10m that has been mooted, then that would be an absolute steal.

Having dispatched reigning Premier League champions Liverpool 7-2 in their previous game, Aston Villa make the trip to fellow high-fliers Leicester City on Sunday night.

Dean Smith’s side are riding the crest of a wave, having won their opening three matches in the top-flight – a far cry from the relegation dogfight that they were in at the end of last season.

And whilst they would have headed into Sunday’s game against the Foxes with the utmost confidence, Villa have been handed another boost ahead of the game.

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According to reports, Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu is a major doubt for the clash at the King Power Stadium, with the Turkey international having missed out on his country’s Nations League game against Serbia due to injury.

It’s also added that Soyuncu’s regular centre-back partner Jonny Evans is also questionable, after reporting pain in his thigh – he was hooked at half-time in Northern Ireland’s contest against Norway.

If either miss out, or even both, that will only serve to whet Ollie Watkins’ appetite even more. The summer signing from Brentford has enjoyed a barn-storming start to his career at Villa Park, bagging five in his opening six games across all competitions, including a perfect hat-trick against title holders Liverpool.

Speaking late last month, Smith said: ” It’s a tough league to go and score goals in and we all know that. Normally the top strikers come from the top four teams and have done over recent years, but in Ollie we believe there’s a player who can score an awful lot of goals.

“We’ve seen it with the players at Aston Villa, with Christian Benteke, Peter Withe and Alan McInally, people like that. There are a lot of Aston Villa fans who are waiting for that player who’s going to score the goals.”Watkins will be on cloud nine at the moment, and the Foxes’ injury crisis at the back could see him run amok once again. Another hat-trick isn’t outside the realms of possibility on Sunday.And in other news, Aston Villa missed a potential upgrade on Douglas Luiz in this £18m-rated talent.

Morale in the Southampton camp will be through the roof after they caused a major upset to Premier League leaders Everton on Sunday. The Blues were hoping to return to winning ways after drawing against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, but the Saints had other ideas.

Goals from James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams brushed aside the table-toppers, who were without key players Richarlison and Seamus Coleman. It’ll be back to the drawing board for Carlo Ancelotti, whilst Ralph Hasenhuttl will hope to recreate a similar display against Aston Villa next.

However, one area of concern that the Austrian must address is the progressively weakened performances from Nathan Redmond, described as “important” by his manager back in July. Despite earning Man of the Match by Sky Sports, the England international was definitely more than a little fortunate to get it.

Hasenhuttl must decide what to do with Redmond

The winger found the back of the net eight times in his 2016/17 campaign with the Saints, which was a good return for the club’s eighth place finish. But since then, Redmond has declined and has struggled to contribute from the wing.

This season, the £16.2million-rated forward is still yet to open up his account. He has made five appearances across all competitions so far, but was dropped from the squad completely for Southampton’s game against Spurs and Burnley in the Premier League (via Transfermarkt).

According to Sofascore, Redmond failed to register a single shot on target against Everton and lost 14 of his 24 attempted duels. Additionally, he was dribbled past an alarming six times and committed three fouls. If the 26-year-old is this clumsy in possession when it comes to facing more attacking teams, he could seriously put his side at risk of conceding.

Redmond’s competition in Moussa Djenepo is currently sidelined due to a thigh injury. If the 22-year-old was fit and firing, there would likely be a lot more doubt over which of the two would start in Hasenhuttl’s lineup. On current performances, Redmond will be dropped to the bench and limited to substitute appearances at most.

However, after four years with the club, it could be time for the boss to move him on whilst he is still young enough to make first team football.

In other news, history came back to hurt Everton after Danny Ings masterclass…

Luka Modric has revealed how close he was to signing for Newcastle United before joining Spurs instead.

Speaking to Four Four Two magazine (via The Chronicle), the Real Madrid star said:

“I heard a few rumours at the time that Newcastle were thinking about taking me there, like many other teams, but I don’t remember anything in particular.

“People were speaking about it and I think Kevin Keegan once gave an interview on the subject. I heard that.”

Modric could have been a great signing

Indeed, the St. James’ Park faithful were reportedly on the verge of signing Modric from Dinamo Zagreb all the way back in 2008 before he eventually signed for Tottenham Hotspur instead.

Nonetheless, he would have been a great signing for the North East club given what he has achieved in the beautiful game.

A true icon of the Premier League, Modric scored 13 goals and made a further 21 assists in 127 games over the course of four consecutive terms in the top flight (Transfermarkt).

Modric reached another level at Real Madrid

Despite his impressive play in north London, Modric has reached another level entirely for Los Blancos since moving away from England’s highest division.

The Croatia international has won the UEFA Champions League no fewer than four times, as he has also claimed two La Liga titles and won the Ballon D’Or in 2018 in recognition of his services (Transfermarkt).

Modric is also an international icon

Indeed, Modric is also an international icon for his country, scoring 16 goals in 129 appearances for Croatia’s senior team, as the 35-year old even captained them to a FIFA World Cup final in 2018, in where they lost out 4-2 to France (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, there would be a debate as to whether he would have reached the same heights at St. James’ Park, but there is no doubt that he would have been a class signing for the Magpies.

In other news, find out what Ashley’s latest approach to the takeover is here!

Bruno Fernandes spared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s blushes as Manchester United struggled to break down West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford in their first Premier League fixture after the international break on Saturday night.

VAR has been heavily scrutinised ever since its introduction in the World Cup 2018 and last night was no exception as referee David Coote overturned his decision to award West Brom with a penalty, much to the chagrin of Baggies boss Slaven Bilic, only for the video assistant referee to then order Fernandes to retake his penalty after Sam Johnstone was clearly off his line to save his first attempt.

The former United goalkeeper was outstanding upon his return to his old club, making a string of fine saves to deny Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, but even he was powerless to prevent the Portugal international from firing home on the second occasion, whilst the result ensured that the Red Devils won at Old Trafford in the Premier League for the first time this season.

By all accounts Solskjaer’s side were mostly lacklustre, a fact which didn’t go unnoticed by the club legend, who defended the manner of their performance in his post-match interview.

“After the international break, we said it in the dressing room after, it’s difficult,” he told BT Sport (via Sky Sports). “We’ve not worked together, we’ve waited until this morning to get the prep for this game done, and that’s never easy when everyone’s been away for 10 days.”

For the most part Fernandes was impressive, Fred comfortable with the ball, but David de Gea was the real standout. It’s not very often we say that, as any regular reader of this column will know, but there’s no denying his near-faultless performance between the sticks.

SofaScore gave De Gea a high grade of 7.3 out of ten for his efforts – he made two saves from inside the box, one clearance and completed one successful run out, whilst he took 22 touches of the ball, made 16 out of 19 passes (84%), and kept his second clean sheet of the campaign, having played the full 90 minutes.

The 30-year-old received a similar score from Sky Sports for his performance, whilst 90min went one better, claiming he ‘made a smart save to tip a low strike round the post in the first half’ before he pulled off a ‘fantastic second-half stop with his feet from Townsend to keep the scores level.’

Once lauded as a “fantastic” talent by former United midfielder Darren Fletcher after he made a number of crucial saves to deny Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, it’s fair to say that De Gea has suffered from an inconsistent run of form in recent years, as he has often been criticised for disappointing results.

But the Spain international, who’s market value is estimated at up to €50m (£44m) via CIES, seems to have started to turn things around at Old Trafford. 

Solskjaer will need his first-choice shot-stopper to be at his very best when the Red Devils travel to St Mary’s to take on Ralph Hasenhuttl’s high-flying Southampton next week, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Marlon Harewood baffled by Paul Pogba’s Manchester United situation…

There’s a lot of focus at Liverpool right now on whether or not Georginio Wijnaldum will sign a new deal with the Merseyside club before the end of the season, but those at the club should not forget about Nathaniel Phillips.

The young centre-back’s contract with the club is set to expire at the end of the current season and his recent performances in the first-team warrant him a new deal.

Following the injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez earlier in the season, the 23-year-old was handed a rare opportunity to start by Jurgen Klopp in the Reds’ 2-1 win against West Ham United.

The academy graduate was solid in that win, earning a 6.91 rating from WhoScored for his performance, whilst Klopp was extremely complimentary of the defender following the game, saying:

“He’s a brilliant guy, smart guy, intelligent, everything.

“He’s not easy on the eye, he’s not Messi but who cares? In the air, he’s a monster! He was incredible. For the first game, I think everyone can imagine how nervy that must be after a long wait.

“It’s a crazy story, three years ago he was on his way to America to go to college.

“Twelve Championship teams wanted him and to me it was clear he was going, and I was fine with that – and it didn’t work out for whatever reason, and it’s great!

“Tonight he was spot on, helped the team incredibly.” (per talkSPORT)

Liverpool’s injury woes have eased somewhat since then, with Fabinho and Joel Matip forming a partnership at the heart of the Reds’ defence, so he has been limited to just one further appearance for the Reds this season.

However, he showed his quality in that game, as he earned a superb 7.57 rating for his performance in the 1-1 draw against Brighton in late November.

Therefore, it would be a shame to see him leave Liverpool on a free transfer at the end of the season, as he has already shown that he can be relied upon to do a job in Klopp’s first-team when required.

It would be a surprise if Phillips doesn’t make any more appearances between now and the end of the season, considering the severity of Gomez and Van Dijk’s injuries, so if he can help Liverpool retain the Premier League title, he will surely go down as a hero at the club.

So, whilst the focus may well be on Wijnaldum and whether or not he commits his future to the club, Michael Edwards and co. must ensure that Phillips’ excellent performances so far this season are rewarded with a new deal at the club.

And, in other news… Liverpool can offload dressing room favourite by signing 20 y/o replacement on a free transfer

When Raul Jimenez went down against Arsenal last weekend, everyone feared the worst.

The noise that erupted around an empty Emirates Stadium after he clashed heads with David Luiz was horrendous, but thankfully, the Mexican is set to make a full recovery.

Jimenez will be out for a period of time with a fractured skull and as a result, Fabio Silva – the club’s record signing – could be set for an extended run in the side.

It would mark the first occasion he’s had the opportunity to really prove himself to Nuno Santo, but is a new striker already in Wolves’ crosshairs?

Last summer it was reported that Nuno Santo’s side were interested in signing Braga forward Paulinho.

A move didn’t materialise but their manager Carlos Carvalhal has recently admitted that he could be on his way to England as soon as next summer.

Speaking to A Bola about several players, including Paulinho, he said: “I believe at the end of the season they will move. Who knows, maybe to England.”

Wolves ears will surely be pricked by hearing that news, especially with Jimenez currently out injured and being linked with a move away so relentlessly.

Signing Paulinho as his potential successor would certainly be a good idea. He has already torn English opposition to shreds this year and has all the attributes needed to thrive in Wolves’ attack.

Against Leicester in this season’s Europa League he had four shots and scored one goal. His tricky nature led to him being fouled on four occasions, while he also completed an accurate cross despite playing down the middle.

He caused the likes of Jonny Evans plenty of problems, and judging by Carvalhal’s assessment, it’s clear why.

“It was the one who surprised me the most. I was expecting a good Paulinho player, that’s the image I have to play against him: a player with the ability to connect, attack space, technical ability, finish, more with his left foot than with his right but with both feet, and also the head game.”

The ability to connect and attack pace is something that Wolves’ dynamic attack is so good at. Just think of the way Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto linked up against Arsenal on Sunday.

A combative presence, Paulinho is also good at holding the ball up like Jimenez and uses his frame to win more aerial duels than the Mexico international.

So far this term, he 28-year-old has managed to win 2.1 headed battles a game in the league compared to Jimenez’s record of 1.5 per match.

If Paulinho is destined for England as his manager hints, Wolves would be an ideal destination.

Meanwhile, check out who STOLE the show besides Pedro Neto v Arsenal…