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Leeds are one of a number of Premier League sides interested in signing Barnsley striker Daryl Dike this summer.

What’s the story?

The 20-year-old has been in fine form since joining the Championship side on loan back in the January transfer window, netting five goals in league games.

According to TEAMtalk, Marcelo Bielsa’s side are among the clubs interested in signing the 20-year-old, with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea also said to have been impressed.

The report adds that as it stands, it’s Everton who are the most interested in Dike, and that the only way Barnsley would be able to keep the striker on a more permanent basis, is if they earn promotion – they currently lie in fifth in the Championship table.

Tailor-made for the Premier League

Despite being 20, Dike already looks like a real handful as a striker, standing at an imposing 6 foot 2, and bullying Championship defences already.

A player profile done by SBNation noted: “A physical striker, Dike is more than a bruising finisher. His ‘delicate touch’ and high level of technical ability belie his size, enabling a confidence in possession with both passing and dribbling. That said, he scores a lot of goals in a variety of ways. Headed finishes, short-range placement, and long-range bombs, the 6’2” attacker can do it all.”

His teammate Jordan Williams meanwhile said: “Daryl has got a rocket of a right foot. I think he’s similar to Lukaku. He hasn’t scored as many goals yet, but he can hit a ball just as hard. He’s only 20 years of age. It’s amazing.”

Apart from having surprisingly good technical ability for a player of his size, it’s his temperament that has really got some of his former mentors talking.

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His former coach at Virginia, George Gelnovatch, raved: “But one of the things about him that nobody ever talks about is relentlessness. He is a relentless competitor, a ruthless guy on the field. You put that inside a body like his, and it’s pretty impressive.”

Given his natural physical attributes, and the fact he seems to have the perfect mentality, Dike seems tailor-made to succeed in the Premier League.

Bielsa could help Leeds wreak havoc in the top-flight next season by signing the powerful centre-forward this summer.

Meanwhile, Leeds must keep this man at all costs this summer…

Leeds United are eyeing up a summer move for Espanyol forward Raul de Tomas as the Whites look to strengthen their squad.

Marcelo Bielsa may be keen on bringing in attacking reinforcements come the end of the season, with his team very much reliant on the goals of Patrick Bamford. The Englishman has scored 14 times in the Premier League, with Jack Harrison and Raphinha well adrift in joint-second place with six goals each.

With Rodrigo being linked with a move away from Elland Road, the Spaniard’s potential exit only heightens the need for more firepower.

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Leeds keen on Raul de Tomas move

According to Fichajes [via MOT Leeds News], Leeds are interested in signing De Tomas, with the 26-year-old scoring an impressive 16 goals in 26 Segunda Division starts this season, an even better return than Bamford’s haul for the campaign thus far.

Leicester City and West Ham are also mentioned as potential suitors for the attacker, who is valued at £9m by Transfermarkt.

Transfer Tavern take

Granted, De Tomas is currently plying his trade in Spain’s second tier, but his record still speaks for itself and suggests that he could be a shrewd addition.

Bielsa’s eye for detail is well-known when it comes to players, so if he thinks the Espanyol man is worth buying, he has earned the right to have his judgement trusted by the Elland Road faithful.

In other news, one Leeds player has been tipped to leave the club this summer, but it’s not Ezgjan Alioski. Find out who it is here.

Football.london writer Rob Guest has suggested Moussa Sissoko could leave Tottenham this summer.

Sissoko could depart

France international Sissoko has struggled to work his way into Jose Mourinho’s starting XI in the Premier League on a regular basis this term, with him playing from the start on just 14 occasions in the top flight (Transfermarkt).

As a result, Guest has suggested he could be on the way out of north London this summer.

Right time

Since signing for Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs from Newcastle in 2016, Sissoko has been an important player. Criticised at times (Football FanCast), he has still managed 198 matches for Tottenham, with his energy and strength proving to be valuable qualities in the middle of the park.

However, at 31, he is now approaching the end of his career, and Mourinho clearly feels other options are better than the 67-time France international. A wage of £79,000 a week (salarysport.com) is considerable, and his departure may well allow Spurs to allocate funds elsewhere as they look to strengthen their squad. With two years left on his contract, as well, this may be the last possibility for them to earn some real money from his sale. Here, Guest may well be right about his potential exit.

In other news, Mourinho slams this Spurs star.

Liverpool are back in Premier League action this weekend following a chastening 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek.

The Reds’ downfall in Spain was their midfield, with Naby Keita particularly struggling against Los Blancos and being substituted after just 42 minutes. Jurgen Klopp should revert back to his regular selection against Aston Villa at Anfield and reintroduce September signing Thiago Alcantara.

Whilst the Spaniard has certainly not hit the heights expected of him yet following his move from Bayern Munich, having not chalked up a goal or an assist in 21 appearances for Liverpool, he is certainly capable.

According to WhoScored, the 29-year-old is averaging far more key passes (1.1 to 0.6) more dribbles (1.3 to 0.8) and more passes (72.6 to 35.6) per game in the Premier League than Keita than season.

As a matter of fact, the Guinean only comes out on top in shots per game, but considering neither of the two midfielders have scored this term, it sees that particular number fade into irrelevance.

Thiago is also far more of an influence defensively too, racking up considerably more tackles and interceptions per game.

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That tenacity and work rate is something which should come in useful against an Aston Villa midfield of John McGinn, Morgan Sanson and also Douglas Luiz – an aspect which could be crucial in the Reds’ hopes of claiming three points.

It certainly seems unfathomable for Klopp to omit the £31.5m-rated Thiago in place of Keita for a game which looks key to the Reds’ top four hopes.

After all, the Spaniard’s teammates are well aware of his talents. Sadio Mane has labelled him as “magic” despite his indifferent form since arriving on Merseyside.

Fresh off of the back of a chastening Champions League defeat, Klopp must include Thiago from the start today if Liverpool are to avoid another damaging Anfield loss in the Premier League.

AND in more news, take a look at which youngster the Reds must not sell…

Mason Holgate delivered an error-strewn performance as he badly let Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti down by gifting Tottenham Hotspur a draw on Friday night.

Ancelotti opted to field Holgate as part of a three-man defence beside Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey for the visit of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs to Goodison Park, as the Italian sought to manage an adductor injury for Yerry Mina.

The Toffees were badly in need of a positive result against the north Londoners after a run of two defeats and two draws, but were forced to settle for a third straight stalemate after goals from Harry Kane either side of a brace from Gylfi Sigurdsson.

The result meant that Everton remained eighth in the Premier League table and a point behind Tottenham, who have played a game more, and they now trail the top four by six points ahead of West Ham visiting Newcastle on Saturday.

Everton will have felt that the win was there for taking having controlled every department of the pitch after Sigurdsson converted a penalty to equalise in the 31st minute, and they firmly deserved the lead when the Iceland international clinically volleyed home just after the hour mark.

However, defensive mistakes proved costly for the Toffees as a mix-up between Holgate and Keane gifted Kane an opening for his second of the night, which the England captain refused to waste by rifling an unstoppable effort past Jordan Pickford.

Kane had fortuitously opened the scoring midway through the first half after Keane failed to make purposeful contact with Tanguy Ndombele’s cross before Holgate’s slip left the 27-year-old unchallenged to lash home.

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Neither Keane nor Holgate will have been pleased with their efforts to prevent Kane from moving two clear at the top of the Premier League’s Golden Boot race with his 20th and 21st goals of the season.

Everton’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are now in relative tatters and must rely on results going away from West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs if they are to claim a spot for UEFA’s premier club competition.

Ancelotti will have been particularly disappointed by Holgate’s display, having seen the £16m-rated centre-back – who the Liverpool Echo’s Sam Carroll has previously dubbed as “Mr Dependable” – struggle more than Keane throughout.

Holgate could have done better to prevent both of Kane’s goals, having been in the perfect position to intercept Ndombele’s delivery despite Keane’s attempted clearance, only to slip at the crucial moment.

A communication breakdown later led to Kane bagging his brace despite Keane appearing to call for Holgate to leave Erik Lamela’s cross as he stooped to head clear the danger, only for the ball to ricochet into the forward’s path.

Kane’s double meant that Everton had to settle for a point, but the result could have slipped through the Toffees’ fingers were it not for Keane, who blocked two shots and made three clearances while Holgate ended the night with two clearances to his name, per SofaScore.

With Mina set to miss the next few weeks through injury, Ancelotti faces tough decisions over sticking with an unchanged backline or dropping one of his three centre-backs when Everton visit Arsenal next Friday.

AND in other news, a rarely-seen Everton outcast is wanted in a £10.5m summer transfer…

Glasgow Rangers fans love a video shared on the club’s Twitter page as they urge fans to renew their season tickets ahead of the new campaign.

This season has been a wonderful one for the Gers so far. They have already sewn up the Scottish Premiership title – they lead the table by 20 points (BBC) – and are just three matches away from going the whole league term unbeaten. Not only that, they are also into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals after knocking out Celtic in the previous round, meaning they are in with a chance of a domestic double.

Unfortunately, supporters have been unable to attend matches throughout the term due to the coronavirus pandemic – however, that didn’t stop the club selling out their season tickets (via The Daily Record). To convince fans to do the same ahead of the new season, the club released a rather emotional video.

It was shared on their official Twitter account, and it delighted the fans. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the Rangers fans had to say below

“Ooh Mr. Rangers. That is filthy.”

Credit: @Richard56830486

“Wow!! Talk about tugging on your heart strings!!!”

Credit: @ECMcElhatton

“Goosebumps watching that”

Credit: @papatam57

“Mr @RangersFC, that put a massive lump in my throat! Love this club!”

Credit: @EnsomVargr

“This is absolutely brilliant, well done to all involved”

Credit: @charliearchibal

“Oh hwg 10 in a row”

Credit: @sagahansenOF

In other news, Rangers fans react to this man’s comments.

Despite Kelechi Iheanacho’s electric form for Leicester City this season, Brendan Rodgers is still apparently keen to sign a striker for The Foxes.

A number of options have been mooted – one of the most prominent names being Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard.

However, the Frenchman could face some competition for a move to the King Power Stadium with Leicester now reportedly eyeing Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

At same age, the two could certainly be intriguing rivals for a move but it is Edouard who Leicester should be pursuing most fiercely.

The Frenchman is certainly in the midst of a far more impressive season when comparing the two players.

He has plundered 20 goals in all competitions for the Hoops this season, the third consecutive campaign in which he has hit over 20 goals for Celtic.

Meanwhile, Abraham has endured a frustrating campaign for Chelsea, netting just six Premier League goals this season having fallen down the pecking order behind the likes of Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud at Stamford Bridge.

Hailed as “top-class” by former boss Rodgers, Edouard’s personal statistics also continue to rate him above Abraham.

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According to WhoScored, he averages far more shots per game in the league with 3.5 to 1.6, whilst the former Paris Saint Germain man can also rack up far more key passes and dribbles; 1.3 and 1.6 compared to 0.5 and 0.6.

Whilst Celtic are clearly playing against poorer teams than Chelsea, these stats still go some way to indicate that Edouard is certainly a great attacking threat, so it is easy to why Rodgers is such a fan of his.

Whilst the Frenchman is plying his trade in a league of lower quality, Abraham was still not able to overcome Edouard’s current numbers even in his prolific 2018/19 Championship campaign with Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, it is likely that the Celtic man will also cost considerably less than the current Chelsea forward. He is rated at £13.5m, whilst Abraham holds a rating of £36m.

So considering that Edouard looks by far the better option in terms of his quality, he is also far more attractive in relation to transfer fee.

Leicester then, must prioritise the Celtic man if they do want to recruit a striker in the summer.

AND in more news, Foxes boss Rodgers has handed the club a huge boost with his comments…

West Ham aren’t likely to see Michail Antonio return to action before the end of the current season.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to the reliable ExWHUemployee, who provided a worrying update on the 31-year-old forward to supporters on Twitter this weekend.

In response to one question over the Hammers’ injured quartet, of which both Declan Rice and Aaron Cresswell are included, he revealed that most are due back but there are doubts over Antonio.

Hammer blow

The £10.8m-rated attacker picked up a hamstring problem after limping off in the win over Wolves earlier this month. The Guardian quickly revealed that it was worse than first feared and that he could miss the rest of the season.

Now, Ex’s latest update issues further concern over the chances of seeing Antonio back in action and this comes as a devastating blow to David Moyes and the Irons.

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The 5 foot 11 dynamo is his only recognised striker after the club failed to sign a replacement for Sebastien Haller, who departed for Ajax after just 18 months in East London.

Antonio has been a crucial part of the Hammers’ squad and their impressive season this far. And with the side pushing for European qualification, not having their only forward available is damaging to the chances of pulling off something quite sensational.

The former Forest star has scored seven goals and has provided five assists this term, a feat only bettered by Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard, Tomas Soucek, and Jarrod Bowen, as per WhoScored.

Speaking on BT Sport back in February, former West Ham midfielder Joe Cole waxed lyrical about Antonio, he said: “I praise him [Moyes] and his staff a lot for the coaching of Antonio. He’s an unbelievable player now.” (Saturday 27th February, 12:04pm).

But Moyes cannot rely on him for more than 20 to 25 matches a season. As an explosive sort of player, he relies on his power and that’s been severely impacted by these recurring hamstring problems.

He was sorely missed against Newcastle and Chelsea, and is exactly the type of star they’ll need against Burnley next week.

This latest news will surely have Moyes and the rest of the Irons faithful gutted.

AND in other news, 1 shot, 1 dribble: £27m-rated West Ham star who lost 12 duels let Moyes down massively vs Chelsea…

Southampton have been linked with both Souleyman Doumbia and Brandon Williams recently but who would be the better addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this summer?

Souleyman Doumbia

According to Football Insider, Southampton are considering a move for the 24-year-old Angers SCO left-back this summer as they look to replace Ryan Bertrand, who is looking increasingly likely to leave when his contract at St Mary’s expires.

The 24-year-old has been a regular with the Ligue 1 side this season following his arrival from Stade Rennais in the summer, making 26 appearances in the French top-flight, for which he has averaged a solid, if unspectacular, 6.63 rating for his performances.

The Ivory Coast international is contracted until 2023 but is valued at just £2.25m by Transfermarkt which suggests that he would be a relatively cheap option for the Saints this summer.

Brandon Williams

Southampton were heavily linked with a move for Williams in the January transfer window and although that loan deal fell through, according to The Athletic, they will return for him this summer.

The 20-year-old has struggled for regular game time at Manchester United this season as a result of Luke Shaw’s impressive run of form, whilst Alex Telles’ summer arrival also saw the “brave” academy graduate slip down the pecking order in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

In the 2019/20 season, however, Williams was a regular for United in the Europa League and impressed across his eight appearances, averaging a 7.19 rating for his performances.

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Who would be better?

Whilst Williams might arrive on an initial loan deal, and would likely prove to be a more expensive option for Southampton should they seek a permanent deal, he seems like the better of the two options.

He can play as both a left-back and as a right-back, which means he could provide back-up on the right-hand side for Kyle Walker-Peters, whilst the fact that he is English also helps with Premier League registration rules.

A loan deal for Williams would be a lot less risky too, as he if ends up struggling at St Mary’s then the Saints would have no obligation to buy him, whereas Doumbia could prove to be a flop which would then have to be sold on in the future for a loss.

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Therefore, Martin Semmens should forget about signing Doumbia this summer and instead focus on signing Williams on loan for Hasenhuttl’s side ahead of next season.

And, in other news… Saints record-breaker has golden chance to win Hasenhuttl over, it’s make or break

According to a report by Daily Mail journalist Ian Ladyman, via City Xtra, Manchester City sensation Phil Foden is thought to be on the verge of signing a new contract to take him into the six-figures-a-week wage bracket – prompting many Sky Blues to erupt in excitement. 

The midfielder has been a revelation under manager Pep Guardiola this season after being eased into the side gently since his full City debut way back in 2017.

Scoring 14 goals and assisting his teammates 10 times in all competitions over 2020/2021 (Transfermarkt), Foden has also contributed majorly in huge games – most recently assisting Riyad Mahrez for his second goal against Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League semi-final second leg.

His electric form has prompted praise from both the media and Guardiola, with the Mail now reporting he is close to signing a new deal at the Etihad Stadium.

This new agreement will apparently elevate his salary into the six figure bracket, and judging by his performances this season, it feels more than justified.

City supporters certainly think so, with one Sky Blue calling this development the ‘best news of the week’ – find all of their best verdicts from Twitter down below.

Man City fans excited by Foden contract claim

“The best news of the week, and that’s including the news that we’re in a champions league final”

Credit: @Rodridiculous

“YESSSSSSSSS”

Credit: @M7Zach

“Fully deserved”

Credit: @oreoluwa_exx

“About time. Mans been on minimum wage for a while now”

Credit: @expertanalyst12

“LETS GOOOOOOO”

Credit: @Calo___

“Txiki cooking”

Credit: @KDBseason

“Brill news and well deserved give him long term contract please”

Credit: @MThomas61

“Well deserved if i was in charge i would have done the same he’s gonna grow up to be a real star.”

Credit: @FuryV3

In other news: Man City fans have also flocked to this contract claim involving another favourite, find out more here.