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According to respected journalist Alan Nixon on Twitter, Che Adams could be available for just £12 million in the last knockings of the January transfer window. The 22-year-old currently plays his football at Championship outfit Birmingham City and has done so since leaving Sheffield United back in 2016, with his fine goal-scoring exploits seemingly attracting interest from clubs in the Premier League.

And that’s because a recent report from Sky Sports suggests that Burnley have failed with a Deadline Day move for the striker, although Nixon on Twitter suggests that the young Englishman could be available for just £12 million.

And with Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham reportedly (as per The Sun’s Live Transfer Blog at 10.53am) eyeing up a last-gasp move for Stoke City’s Mame Biram Diouf, the Hammers simply must end their somewhat strange interest in the forward to instead target a late move for 22-year-old Adams.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, Stoke striker Diouf has found first team football hard to come by at the bet365 Stadium this season with only seven Championship appearances to his name so far, in which time the Senegal international has failed to net to underline his difficulties at the Staffordshire-based outfit.

And with no appearances for Nathan Jones’ side since the middle of November, it’s pretty clear that the former Manchester United forward is some way down the pecking order at the Potters, which makes West Ham’s reported (as per The Sun) interest somewhat strange – he can’t get into a Championship team, let alone one in mid-table in the Premier League.

Ultimately, the Hammers are likely looking for strikers that can hit the ground running were they to move to the London Stadium this month, and while Diouf performed solidly last term in the top-flight with six goals for Stoke, his lack of regular football suggests that he simply isn’t the answer – and at the age of 31, he’d hardly be a nod to the long-term either.

Whereas 22-year-old Adams has not only shone and thus out-performed the Potters striker this season, but the Birmingham sensation looks set for an extremely bright future in the game to suggest that £12 million could prove to be an absolute bargain.

The Englishman has enjoyed his best season in front of goal this term since moving to St Andrew’s back in 2016, with the 22-year-old having bagged 15 goals in just 29 appearances for Garry Monk’s side – in fact, only four players have netted more than Adams in the Championship this term.

And this campaign doesn’t appear to be a complete one-off either given the 22-year-old scored seven times in his first season at Birmingham in 2016/17 before adding nine for the Blues last time round – he has been threatening to go on and exceed double figures, which is exactly what he’s done this season.

Clearly then, Adams appears to be improving and very much on the upward curve, which at the age of 22 suggests that he could be destined for big things in the game – big things that could happen at West Ham.

The Hammers are seemingly in the market for a forward on Deadline Day hence their reported interest (as per The Sun) in Stoke’s Diouf, which isn’t overly suprising given strikers Javier Hernandez, Lucas Perez, and Andy Carroll have bagged just 11 times between them in all competitions this term – for what it’s worth, Marko Arnautovic has eight himself.

Yet Stoke’s Diouf simply hasn’t done enough this term to suggest that he could be the man for Pellegrini’s side going forward, yet Birmingham’s Adams certainly appears to be given his form, but also the fact that, at 22, he is only likely to improve.

And for just £12 million, it’s a move the East London outfit simply must make before this evening’s 11pm deadline.

West Ham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed striker Giorgos Giakoumakis suffered an injury during the 7-0 hammering of St Johnstone.

The lowdown: Celtic go nine clear

The Hoops moved nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership (ahead of St Mirren vs Rangers) with a resounding victory at Celtic Park thanks to a brace from Matt O’Riley and single strikes from Giakoumakis, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Liel Abada and Josip Juranovic.

The Greek frontman netted a 13th goal of the season across all competitions before being forced off after 27 minutes with a suspected hamstring issue.

With a huge fixture schedule coming up, Postecoglou is hopeful that the 27-year-old will make a swift recovery but is ‘concerned’.

The latest: Ange provides an update

Speaking after the match (via Scottish Daily Express) the boss said it is unfortunate: “I’m not too sure at the moment. He didn’t think it was too bad but he could feel something.

“It’s always a concern when players do that. He’s had an enormous load the last few weeks.

“It’s unfortunate for him but I’m hopeful he’ll still be available for us in the run-in.”

The Bhoys manager also has fitness worries regarding Tom Rogic after the Australian was replaced at half-time.

The verdict: Can’t afford a setback

Aside from the injury suffered by Giakoumakis – who was recently hailed as ‘lethal’ by Kris Commons – this was nigh on a perfect afternoon for the Hoops.

Whilst Postecoglou is clearly optimistic the issue won’t keep the frontman sidelined for a significant period, with a hectic fixture schedule starting against Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park coming up, there aren’t many opportunities remaining to ease a player back to fitness.

Therefore, with any hamstring injury likely to be troublesome, versatile Japanese forward Maeda may well be asked to lead the line in the absence of the £1.8million valued man (Transfermarkt).

In other news, Ange Postecoglou praises Celtic chief. Find out who it is here.

West Ham didn’t add any new signings to their side in January but David Moyes will surely be hoping to make up for it this summer as the Hammers push on again for a place in European football as news of a potential transfer target emerges.

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, West Ham are plotting a bid for Mainz captain Moussa Niakhate and could snap up the centre-back for just £8m in the summer.

Mainz reportedly do not want to lose the 26-year-old on a free transfer when his contract expires in 2023, so would be interested in accepting a lower fee this summer to cash in on him.

The East London club joins two other Premier League clubs in the pursuit for the Frenchman’s signature, as Newcastle United and Everton are also linked in the report.

Diop replacement

West Ham supporters will surely be delighted that the club is linked with a new player to freshen up the defensive line after an abject season from Issa Diop, and they will be even more thrilled about replacing their current defender with Niakhate when you compare their output this season.

According to Squawka, the 26-year-old defender, who was hailed “ambitious” by Mainz manager Bo Svensson, has also been highly effective in offensive play with three more goals and ten more chances created than the current West Ham centre-back who was labelled “poor” by Ian Wright this season.

It’s also evident that he is well-oiled machine in defence, registering numbers that eclipse far and away what Diop can produce.

With the Europa League trophy and an outside chance of stealing the fourth spot in the Premier League table to qualify for Champions League still in sight, it was thought Moyes might have added some depth to his squad in the winter transfer window, but clearly the club felt that they could progress without new additions.

The recent success for West Ham in finishing higher in the league, and their continued efforts to become a force in the Europa League will surely mean that adding to and upgrading on their current options will be a priority this summer, and Niakhate could be a great place to start for the side.

In other news: WHU may end up signing “electric” £50m gem this summer, he can finally replace Haller

Rangers have not been shy when it comes to signing players from other clubs’ youth ranks, either on loan deals or a permanent basus.

However, as tends to be the case with almost all clubs, not all transfers end up being particularly successful, either for the club, the player or both.

One example of Rangers taking a punt on a young player which didn’t end up being worthwhile for any parties involved is their 2019 deal for winger Brandon Barker.

Brought in from Manchester City’s U23 side that year in a deal worth a reported £300k, the Englishman made just 13 appearances across all competitions in his debut season at Ibrox, scoring just one goal and providing no assists for his team-mates.

The 2020/21 season saw the 25-year-old make another 13 appearances across all competitions, this time doubling his goal record from the previous year with two scored this time around, once again with no assists, before joining Oxford United on loan in the winter transfer window.

After scoring three goals and providing four assists in 19 League One games, the former Man City youth prospect returned to Ibrox. However, he had just one more outing in a Rangers shirt before being released by the club in January, ending his spell with the Gers with just three goals in 27 appearances.

Once dubbed an “unbelievable” player by former Ibrox team-mate Andy Halliday, Barker now finds himself with English Championship side Reading – who picked him up as a free agent in February – where he has since played just 13 minutes across two matches.

Rangers may not have needed to break the bank from a financial point of view in order to sign him, but with the benefit of hindsight, it now seems like they ended up pretty much wasting the £8.5k-per-week wages that he was earning during his stint at Ibrox.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Mark Allen had a nightmare by bringing Barker to Ibrox, as he clearly couldn’t hit the ground running or kick up any momentum during his spell in Glasgow.

In other news – Wilson nightmare: Rangers dropped the ball on 23-year-old gem who “looks beyond his years”

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Michael Bridge of Sky Sports has been praising the recruitment of Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou. 

The lowdown: Shrewd spender

Since being appointed at Celtic Park in June 2021, the 56-year-old has set about scouting world football for high-quality options to bolster the Hoops’ squad.

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Signings such as Liel Abada from Maccabi Petah Tikva, Carl Starfelt from Rubin Kazan and Kyogo Furuhashi from Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe all arrived as relative unknowns before becoming almost instant successes in Glasgow.

As the Bhoys stand on the brink of winning the Scottish Premiership title, much of the credit is being placed at the door of Postecoglou…

The latest: Bridge hails transfer nous

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Bridge, who works for Sky Sports, has lauded the Greek-Australian’s impact in the market.

“You’ve got to give credit to Celtic and their manager Ange Postecoglou. He’s just come in and steamrollered it. If you look at Rangers in the table, they’re not actually doing that bad, they’ve not lost a lot. They’ve just drawn too many games, and they’ve lost to Celtic a couple of times.

“Celtic have brought in this manager from Japan, people scoffed at it. Let’s not forget, that’s where Wenger came from. He’s bought four Japanese players who’ve absolutely ripped the league to shreds. He’s bought other good players as well.”

The verdict: Unequivocal success

It’s hard to argue with Bridge’s view as the Hoops march on towards a potential league and cup double in Postecoglou’s first season at Parkhead.

Having walked into a squad devoid of confidence, the former Australian national team coach has galvanised those existing players whilst also unearthing a host of diamonds in the transfer market.

Kyogo, Abada and Starfelt have all settled into life at Celtic seamlessly, whilst the likes of loan arrivals Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers have been nothing short of a revelation this season.

January signings Daizen Maeda, Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate have all made bright beginnings in their own Bhoys careers too and it would appear inevitable that Postecoglou would be back once again in the upcoming summer market.

In other news, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has been left fuming. Read more here.

Over recent years, Aston Villa have not been shy when it comes to spending money on new players to help strengthen their squad.

They signed the trio of Danny Ings, Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia in the previous summer transfer window for a combined total of £89.84m according to Transfermarkt, and followed that by splashing £25m on Lucas Digne this month.

With that in mind, there’s no doubt that the Midlands club is capable of paying vast sums of cash in the transfer market when they think they need to.

Looking ahead to the remainder of this current window or even towards the summer window, one figure that Villa could look to bring in that would certainly add an extra attacking dynamic to Steven Gerrard’s team is Bayer Leverkusen’s 18-year-old attacking-midfielder Florian Wirtz, who Villa have been linked with in the past.

Despite his young age, the teenager, who is currently valued at a whopping £63m by Transfermarkt, has made 70 senior appearances for Leverkusen across all competitions, managing to score 17 goals and provide 20 assists along the way, highlighting the attacking talents he has.

Labelled as the “total package” by Germany head coach Hansi Flick in terms of his ability on the pitch, Wirtz has managed to rack up five goals and nine assists in 17 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Furthermore, he’s earned an overall performance rating of 7.41/10, making him Leverkusen’s second-highest rated player according to WhoScored, which would also comfortably make him Villa’s highest-rated player by the same metric.

With previous reports claiming that Villa’s current teenage attacking-midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka will not be signing a new deal at the Midlands club due to his lack of game time, his potential exit from Villa Park could pave the way for the club to launch a move for Wirtz to see if he would have a better chance of competing for a place in Gerrard’s side than Chukwuemeka.

Given the goals and assists he’s managed to deliver for Leverkusen so far in his short career, it wouldn’t be too difficult to see Wirtz getting regular playing time if he can have a similar sort of attacking impact in the Midlands.

In other news: Sky Sports drop fresh Aston Villa transfer update, Lange could be making a big mistake – opinion

Leeds United will make Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson a ‘prominent target’, should Jesse Marsch keep the Whites in the Premier League, according to The Daily Mail.

The Lowdown: Johnson starring at Forest

Johnson, who can play anywhere across the front three, has scored 15 times in 43 Championship games this season.

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The 20-year-old has now netted 29 senior goals during his career and has played a key role in Forest’s push for promotion to the Premier League.

As is stands, the Wales international will be entering the final 12 months of his City Ground deal in the summer, and it looks as if Leeds are still keen after Victor Orta revealed he tried to sign the winger when he was just 16.

The Latest: Leeds links

The Daily Mail shared an update regarding Leeds and Johnson on Tuesday afternoon.

They claimed that the Whites will join Brentford and Newcastle in the race to sign the forward, valued at £20m, in the summer.

However, the report adds that Marsch will need to keep Leeds in the top flight and Forest will have to remain in the Championship for a transfer to have any chance of materialising.

The Verdict: Next few weeks key

It looks as if Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers group are willing to reward Marsch, should he guide the Whites to safety, by splashing the cash ahead of his first full season in charge.

However, there is still a lot of work to be done, and you could argue there is a growing possibility Leeds and Forest will be swapping divisions over the coming weeks.

Hopefully, that isn’t the case, and if the Whites want to sign Johnson, they’ll be keeping a close eye on Forest’s automatic and playoff promotion bids in the second tier.

In other news: ‘Big blow…’ – Sky Sports man now reacts to ‘dramatic’ confirmed Leeds news for run-in. 

Manchester United have now turned down an enquiry from Tottenham for midfielder Jesse Lingard, ESPN report.

And, as to be expected, a number of United fans have been reacting to the news on social media.

Lingard is out of contract at Old Trafford at the end of the season, with his immediate future seemingly up in the air after starting just two games in all competitions this season.

The midfielder, who Rio Ferdinand labelled as ‘amazing’, is in Dubai with some of his United teammates, with Newcastle reportedly offering £10m to take Lingard on loan until the end of the season.

According to ESPN’s Rob Dawson, both Spurs and West Ham have also made enquiries to sign Lingard this month, but they were turned down as United don’t want to ‘strengthen clubs also competing for a place in the top four.’

United fans react

@utdreport relayed Dawson’s claim regarding Lingard on Twitter. This is what these United supporters had to say in reply, with many not exactly thrilled at United’s reasoning.

“Nonsense surely?! The mighty Spurs and West Ham”

Credit: @Niall_UTD

“This club @ManUtd might actually be finished because what is this??”

Credit: @Doye_A_Doyen

“This is embarrassing beyond belief, how low we’ve fallen.”

Credit: @AdamManred

“Total madness”

Credit: @JohnK4nM

“Are we that finished? Wow”

Credit: @UtdJuice

“This tweet sums up the downfall of Manchester United”

Credit: @UTDFrankie

In other news: ‘Wow’ – Lots of Man United fans erupt as ‘ridiculous’ transfer news emerges

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Christian Eriksen back to north London in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the Italian journalist and transfer insider revealing in a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast that, despite there currently being no talks between the 30-year-old and Tottenham, a move for the midfielder is something Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici will consider at the end of the season.

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Speaking about Spurs’ links with the Denmark international: “The answer I’m always receiving on Eriksen’s side is: ‘He’s not deciding in April, he’s not deciding in May. He wants to wait until the end of the season to meet with Brentford and speak with them – as a matter of respect – and then he will make a decision on his future.’

“But we have rumours of Tottenham because of Antonio Conte. The relationship with Conte was terrible two years ago and then it changed, it completely changed in the second half of the last season with Inter Milan. So, this is why we have rumours. It is not something close, but it is something Tottenham could consider after the meeting with Brentford.”

Conte would love him

While it is true that, following his £24.3m move to Inter back in January 2020, Eriksen initially struggled for game time under the 52-year-old manager, the Dane eventually worked his way into the Italian’s starting XI, before becoming a key player for the Nerazzurri last season.

Indeed, over his 27 Serie A appearances last time out, the £13.5m-rated midfield maestro highly impressed in Inter’s title-winning campaign, scoring three goals and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots and making 1.2 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £23k-per-week playmaker average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as Conte’s 11th-best player in the Italian top-flight.

This is form that the 111-time capped international has continued following his switch to Brentford in the January transfer window, with the player who Thomas Frank dubbed “world-class” very much proving he is still exactly as his manager claims.

Indeed, over his six Premier League fixtures for the Bees, the 30-year-old has already bagged one goal, provided two assists and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as made an average of 1.8 key passes and taken 1.7 shots per game.

These returns have seen the Dane average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.47, not only ranking him as Brentford’s best performer in the league but also as the fourth-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, Romano’s claim that Tottenham will consider a move to bring Eriksen back to north London this summer is hardly surprising, as it is clear that the midfielder is a player Conte would love to have in his side next season.

AND in other news: Spurs plotting £58m bid for “perfect” target who “Paratici loves”, he’s Conte’s dream

Leeds United youngster Sam Greenwood has confirmed that he is the latest player to pick up an injury, with The Athletic’s Phil Hay reacting to the news in frustrated fashion.

The Lowdown: Leeds suffer constant injuries

The Whites have had a disappointing season so far, and while performances have often been poor, injuries have played a huge part in their struggles.

Marcelo Bielsa has had to deal with an endless stream of fitness issues to key men, whether it be Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips or Patrick Bamford, among others.

On Monday, Greenwood confirmed on Instagram that he picked up an injury during the FA Cup defeat away to West Ham at the weekend, in a further blow for Leeds.

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The Latest: Hay reacts to Greenwood update

Taking to Twitter shortly after, journalist Hay reacted to the news with a frustrated four-word verdict that sums up the thoughts of most Leeds fans:

“This is beyond ridiculous.”

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The Verdict: Bad luck continues

Any team expects to suffer a few injuries during the course of a season but what Leeds have experienced since August is simply bad luck.

The number of absentees has made it extremely difficult for the Whites to find any sort of rhythm for weeks on end and aforementioned key figures such as Phillips and Bamford have been big losses – the former has missed eight games while the latter has been absent for 18.

Greenwood’s setback only further highlights the need for new faces to arrive in the January transfer window or risk a depleted squad getting sucked into a Premier League relegation battle.

In other news, Leeds’ long-term interest in one Premier League midfielder has been confirmed. Find out who it is here.