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According to a report by Corriere di Bologna (via Sport Witness), a ‘definitive offer’ will arrive from Tottenham Hotspur this week for Serie A defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

The Lowdown: Spurs in Tomiyasu talks…

As backed by Sky Sports, the Lilywhites have been in negotiations over Tomiyasu for some time – with their original £12.9m (€15m) offer, plus an extra £2.6m (€3m) in add-ons, having been rejected.

The Japan international has reportedly been attracting interest from the likes of West Ham, Atalanta and even north London rivals Arsenal, but Spurs have been touted as the favourites for his signature as talks continue.

The Latest: Spurs set for ‘definitive’ offer…

As per Corriere di Bologna, the regional news outlet claims a ‘definitive offer’ will arrive from Tottenham this week.

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In what could be a big update for the Lilywhites’ summer plans, they also say that this improved bid should ‘satisfy almost all requests’ put forward by Bologna as they contemplate selling one of their star men.

While the exact bid amount isn’t mentioned in the report, it will be interesting to see what develops on price as Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici look to secure Spurs’ first summer signing.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Given it’s been nearly two weeks since Tottenham’s initial offer was allegedly snubbed by Bologna, the time must be right to finally get this deal over the line.

Tomiyasu can play a variety of roles in defence, including right-back and at centre-half, so he could help to solve glaring issues in the heart of defence.

The 22-year-old was a mainstay under Siniša Mihajlović over 2020/2021, starting 31 matches, with the Italian press lauding him as a ‘giant’ for some of his performances.

Indeed, Levy and Paratici could secure a real asset for Spurs.

In other news: Tottenham chiefs perform Harry Kane U-turn as behind-scenes developments emerge, find out more here.

Mike Ashley has long wanted to get out of Newcastle United and with every potential buyer coming from outside of the region, Barry Fry is surprised nobody from the North East has tried to buy the club.

The closes that people linked to the region have come to buying out Ashley was with the latest takeover backed by PIF as the Reuben Brothers were set to have a 10% stake in the club and despite residing out of the area, they own several properties as well as the racecourse in Newcastle.

After The Times revealed that their wealth had increased by £5 billion in the last 12 months despite there being a global pandemic, people questioned why they won’t buy Newcastle United by themselves.

It would be a great day for Newcastle fans if the Reuben Brothers or anyone bought out Ashley and Fry admits he is surprised nobody closer to the club has tried to take it off the current owner’s hands as he exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“It’s been up for sale two or three years now and nobody has touched it. So what I can’t understand, because the Geordies are so passionate and committed about their club, I just can’t understand if they’ve got wealth in their city, so to speak, why somebody doesn’t buy the club.

“The fanbase is amazing and if you’re a businessman, then the fans will buy shirts, even when they’re skint, they will buy everything because they just live for Newcastle. So I am very surprised that the wealthy people in and around the North East haven’t come in and tried to buy it off Mike.”

Steve Bruce and the fans will be hoping a takeover goes through sooner rather than later because the club will not be able to keep out of the relegation zone if they only have £10 million to spend every season, something Bruce will have to deal with this year.

Having just £10 million to spend may have put a stop to Bruce’s plans to sign Joe Willock from Arsenal on a permanent basis with the Gunners looking for a bid minimum of £20 million.

Spanish football journalist Euan McTear has refused to rule out the possibility of Manchester City making a sensational move for Lionel Messi despite already breaking the British transfer record for Jack Grealish.

Messi’s incredibly successful stay at Barcelona has officially come to an end after it was confirmed La Liga regulations have stopped the Spanish giants being able to re-sign the Argentina international.

The 34-year-old saw his contract expire at the end of June but agreed to extend his stay at the Nou Camp by negotiating reduced terms on a new deal.

Despite wanting to remain at Barcelona, Messi has been forced to seek pastures new as he cannot be re-registered or sign the contract due to the club exceeding La Liga’s wage limit.

According to Spanish media outlet Marca, a reunion with former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City is Messi’s preferred choice despite interest from French outfit Paris Saint-Germain.

Although City announced the arrival of Aston Villa talisman Grealish for £100million just hours after news of Messi’s departure broke, McTear still thinks the frontman who scored 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barcelona could end up at the Etihad Stadium.

He told Football FanCast: “Barcelona really needed to clear out a lot of wages to be able to register him with La Liga because they have a different system to other leagues.

“It sounds like Messi wanted to stay at Barcelona and wasn’t considering other clubs but it’s impossible for them to re-sign him, so he’ll have to think of somewhere.

“City has always been one that has made a lot of sense.”

West Ham recorded a crucial 2-1 victory over Everton in the Premier League this afternoon as goals from Aaron Cresswell and Jarrod Bowen secured three points for the Hammers in the quest for European qualification.

The left-back scored an excellent free-kick to give David Moyes’ side the lead going into half-time before defender Mason Holgate volleyed a deflected equaliser past Lukasz Fabianski in the second half.

However, Bowen, on return from a month-long injury layoff, scored the decisive goal, tapping into an empty net after Michail Antonio’s strike was parried by Jordan Pickford.

To make matters even worse for Frank Lampard’s relegation-threatened side, captain Michael Keane was shown a second yellow card, the third consecutive league game in which Everton have seen a man sent off.

Although the English duo scored the goals, fellow countryman and midfielder Declan Rice was a rock in the middle of the park for the East London outfit at the London Stadium.

According to SofaScore, the Englishman recorded a 7.2 match rating after making 95 touches and enjoying a 94% passing accuracy against the Merseyside outfit.

Moreover, the 23-year-old won half of his ground duels whilst contributing one key pass, losing possession just nine times, an average of every 10.6 touches.

From a defensive point of view, the colossus showed just why he’s been dubbed an “explosion” and a “revelation” by his manager, contributing three interceptions as well as two blocks and one tackle.

It’s no surprise that West Ham’s prize asset was impressive, particularly against one of the top-flight’s biggest strugglers in Everton.

Rice has been repeatedly subject to a potential big-money move away from East London this summer, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola labelling the 23-year-old as “an exceptional player.”

However, Moyes has recently stated that the midfielder isn’t for sale and that a fee north of £150m would be the minimum asking price if he is to depart.

The Irons are now back into the Premier League’s top six after their important league victory, however, seventh-placed Manchester United are level on points and have a game in hand.

Next up for the Hammers is the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, another crucial game that Moyes will need all of his players to step up for. A performance similar to that of today’s from Rice certainly won’t be objected to by those associated with the Stratford side.

AND in other news: Moyes can finally axe “shocking” WHU dud as claim emerges, supporters surely buzzing

Aston Villa journalist Luke Hatfield has told Football FanCast that he would not be surprised to see the Midlands club offer Jack Grealish a new £200,000-a-week contract.

Grealish continues to be heavily linked with a move to Manchester City as Pep Guardiola looks to give his attack a revamp.

However, according to The Sun, Villa are ready to hand their captain an incredible £200,000-a-week deal in a bid to fend off City’s advances.

And if such an offer is eventually made, it would come as no shock to Hatfield, who covers the Villans for the Express & Star.

“It wouldn’t surprise me. I mean, Grealish is already the highest-paid player at Villa,” Hatfield said when asked if he could see the Premier League outfit offering their star man the amount of money that has been mentioned.

“With this interest from Manchester City obviously not going away, they’ll want to do their best to keep hold of him and the easiest way to do that is to tie him down to a new deal.”

Grealish, who provided more Premier League assists than any other Villa player last season, is the Villans’ most prized asset. It is a lot of money, but ultimately it looks worth it. If the club can afford it, then why not?

QPR goalkeeper Dillon Barnes is a rumoured loan target for League One side Doncaster Rovers, according to the Doncaster Free Press. 

What’s the story?

Barnes has been with QPR since 2019 and is yet to make a senior appearance for the Rs. He’s found regular game time in the QPR first-team hard to come by in recent seasons, and it seems as though he could be heading for a temporary departure this summer.

The shot-stopper is likely to be behind Seny Dieng in the pecking order in Mark Warburton’s side ahead of the 2021/22 league campaign.

Doncaster Rovers have reportedly expressed an interest in signing Barnes on a temporary basis, with the goalkeeper recently featuring in a pre-season friendly for them, as a second-half substitute.

Doncaster boss Richie Wellens has recently revealed that Barnes is on their radar, but wouldn’t be drawn into making a transfer admission on which goalkeeper he’ll pursue a move for at this moment in time.

The ideal move for all parties

Barnes is unlikely to feature for the QPR first-team this term, with the strong performances of Seny Dieng catching the eye, with the likes of West Ham United previously being interested in a deal to sign the 25-year-old.

Barnes has previously been on the books of Fulham and Colchester United, and with a lack of minutes likely to be on the table from Mark Warburton’s side moving forwards, a move to Doncaster Rovers would be the best move for all parties involved.

The League One side need a shot-stopper ahead of the 2021/22 league campaign, and if they can offer Barnes game time, then it’ll be a no-brainer for Donny to make their move for Barnes. Given that he’s already featured in a pre-season friendly for them, they’re clearly keen to get a move over the line in the near future.

QPR goalkeeping coach Gavin Ward has previously issued high praise for Barnes in an interview with the club’s official website, after his arrival was confirmed back in 2019.

“I’ve seen a lot from him, he has got the raw ingredients to become a very good goalkeeper. We have to perfect that now and make him technically as good as he can be.”

Doncaster Rovers are set to get their new league campaign underway on Saturday 7th August, when they take on AFC Wimbledon, and it’ll be interesting to see which player is between the posts for Richie Wellens’ side.

Daniel Farke’s Norwich City right-back Max Aarons is attracting an increasing amount of interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, who, speaking on a recent episode of his Here We Go podcast (via Football League World), claimed that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have now joined the race for the 21-year-old.

The City star is also reported to be attracting interest from Manchester United, Bayern Munich, West Ham United and Everton this summer – with Norwich believed to be demanding a fee of around £30m to part with the England U21 international.

Fans will be gutted

While the sheer amount of interest in Aarons would appear to indicate that the right-back looks set to depart Carrow Road in the upcoming transfer window, the report of yet another side who intend to pinch the youngster away from the Canaries is nonetheless likely to come as gutting news for fans of the club.

Indeed, the £18m-rated defender has been influential to Norwich gaining promotion back to the Premier League in the season just past, with the 21-year-old scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating five big chances over his 45 Championship appearances, as well helping his side keep a whopping 17 clean sheets.

In addition, the right-back also made an average of 0.9 interceptions, 0.7 tackles and 1.4 key passes per game last term, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 6.97 – ranking him as Farke’s 12th-best performer in the second tier.

As such, if Aarons – who has been dubbed by Aidy Boothroyd as an “outstanding” player – is to move on to pastures new this summer, it would not appear to bode well for Norwich’s chances of retaining their status as a top-flight team come the end of next season, unless Stuart Webber can somehow find an apt replacement for the extremely talented 21-year-old.

In other news: Webber must seal NCFC deal for “unbelievable” £4.3k-p/w gem after major update emerges – opinion

As per a report in the paper edition of Mundo Deportivo, via Sport Witness, there has been an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: Dembele contract winding down…

The Frenchman’s current deal in Catalonia is set to expire in 2022 as things stand with his club running out of time to secure the player to fresh terms.

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Dembele is free to negotiate pre-contract summer moves with Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici having long been linked with a swoop.

It has been claimed that the Tottenham transfer chief is eyeing ‘quality players at zero cost’ for Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte with Barca’s ace firmly on the agenda (Mundo Deportivo via Sport Witness).

The Latest: Spurs ‘push hard’…

In an update on Dembele’s situation, Mundo (via SW) have made a claim involving Spurs – going on to state that they are trying to ‘push hard’ for the 24-year-old.

Despite interest from European heavyweights Paris-Saint Germain and Bayern Munich, ‘everything indicates’ a move to England for the attacker.

As well as this, Paratici is a personal admirer of Dembele and it is believed that the Italian ‘already tempted’ Barca’s player to join Juventus during his tenure at the Allianz Stadium.

The Verdict: Right move?

As the international’s future in Spain remains a point of contention with many clubs apparently interested (90min), we believe he actually wouldn’t be the most ideal capture for Conte at N17.

Even though Spurs would be signing him on a free transfer, Dembele’s reported salary demands in excess of around £200,000-per-week could be too much financially – especially considering his worrying fitness record.

The former Borussia Dortmund sensation’s long history of hamstring problems should certainly be taken into consideration with pundit Carlton Palmer perhaps best summing it up.

Speaking to This is Futbol, the former England international warned Spurs against a move for Dembele – citing his possible wages and extensive injury history as reasons why he would be a ‘crazy signing’ for the club.

Indeed, taking these factors into consideration, Tottenham are perhaps best looking elsewhere for low cost upgrades in the winter window.

In other news: ‘Absolute no-brainer’…Sky Sports pundit thrilled by ‘exciting’ transfer news out of Spurs, find out more here.

Reliable Aston Villa reporter Ashley Preece is expecting Dean Smith to unleash Emiliano Buendia against Wolves this weekend.

The Lowdown: Buendia’s struggles

Buendia, who joined from Norwich City in a club-record deal over the summer, hasn’t started a Premier League game since the end of August.

He’s made six appearances in all competitions under Smith, scoring his first goal against Brentford but has had to make do with substitute cameos against Manchester United and Tottenham prior to the international break.

However, with Jacob Ramsey recently playing 90 minutes for England Under-21’s in the week, Preece feels it could be time for Buendia to return from the off.

The Latest: Preece’s predicted XI

Preece shared his predicted XI on Birmingham Live for the Villa Park meeting against Wolves.

When it came to naming three central midfielders in a 3-5-2 system, Preece went with Marvelous Nakamba, John McGinn and Buendia, with the latter picked ahead of Ramsey due to his international run out.

He went on to admit it would be a bold move knowing Buendia has struggled centrally in a Villa shirt.

The Verdict: Correct

Gregg Evans also picked out Buendia as a player who should be getting more minutes, and this weekend feels like the perfect chance to give him another go.

The former Canaries playmaker, who Daniel Farke called ‘fantastic’, wasn’t selected for Argentina duty this time around, so he should be chomping at the bit and ready to go.

Smith has had success in September with a 3-5-2 system, so Buendia needs to fit that mould, as it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon.

In other news: Ashley Preece shares big under-the-radar Villa update on Leon Bailey.

Celtic have been handed a major boost regarding the fitness of James McCarthy.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by The Scotsman, Ange Postecoglou revealed that the central midfielder’s absence from Celtic’s last three fixtures was due to the 30-year-old suffering a minor injury setback, although, the Bhoys boss continued to state his hope that the Republic of Ireland international would be available for the visit of St Johnstone this weekend.

Speaking about the current condition of McCarthy, the 56-year-old said: “James had a good 10-day block during the international break so this is just a minor setback for him, nothing significant. We’re just erring on the side of caution.

“He trained [on Monday], but on his own. We didn’t want to rush him back so we’ll see how it goes by the end of the week. It’s just a small muscular problem, so we’re hoping he’ll be available [for St Johnstone].”

Fans will be buzzing

While McCarthy has struggled for game time somewhat since his move to Parkhead this summer, largely as a result of the former Crystal Palace midfielder having not enjoyed a full pre-season, his potential return to the Celtic squad will undoubtedly come as a boost for Postecoglou nonetheless, as well as being news that will have fans of the club buzzing.

Indeed, the £2.7m-rated midfielder, who has the experience of 272 Premier League appearances and 42 international caps behind him, will certainly provide the Hoops manager with an excellent option in the middle of the park when he is back up to speed, and could well be crucial in the Bhoys’ push to reclaim their Scottish Premiership crown this season.

And, with it looking as if the man who Roy Hodgson dubbed a “class player” will be available for Celtic’s fixture against St Johnstone this Saturday, McCarthy’s return to Postecoglou’s squad would undoubtedly increase the 56-year-old’s chances of picking up another three points against the Saints.

That’s something that the Greek-Australian manager will certainly be hoping for after three impressive wins on the bounce.

In other news: Anonymous £2.7m-rated Celtic flop who lost 90% duels failed Ange in Europa League win