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Liverpool will look to sign a new midfielder during the summer transfer window, journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed.

The Lowdown: Liverpool’s midfield ageing

Jurgen Klopp currently has a wonderful squad at his disposal but there is no doubt that his midfield is slightly on the ageing side.

James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Thiago and now all in their 30s, while Fabinho turns 29 later in the year, highlighting their advancing years as a unit.

Liverpool may have missed out on Aurelien Tchouameni, who signed for Real Madrid on Saturday, but their midfield interest is unlikely to end there.

The Latest: Liverpool backed to strengthen midfield

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke backed Liverpool to sign a new midfielder this summer, believing it to be a transfer priority for the Reds. He claimed:

“I’m sure Jurgen Klopp and his recruitment team will be looking at possible midfield alternatives to see who they can possibly bring in to strengthen the squad, because I’m sure Nunez up front and possibly someone for midfield are probably the two key positions Liverpool need to fill this summer.”

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The Verdict: Key area of focus

Liverpool’s defence and attack currently look very strong, with a mix of youth and experience, but midfield is the one area which could do with some fresh legs.

Granted, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones are both young players with big futures, but the Reds could do with someone in their mid-20s, possessing enough experience but also having their best years ahead of them.

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For now, the likes of Fabinho, Henderson and Thiago remain regular starters, but they will need to be phased out eventually, and a new signing would enable Klopp to begin that process gradually with someone who’s ready to hit the ground running.

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a move for a La Liga player. Find out who it is here.

Injury expert Ben Dinnery has shared his verdict on a change of approach from Leeds United in the transfer window this summer. 

The lowdown: Decimated

Leeds were badly impacted by injuries throughout 2021/22 as both Marcelo Bielsa and more recently Jesse Marsch felt the full effect of being without key players.

The likes of Patrick Bamford, Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips all missed large parts of the campaign, whilst utility man Stuart Dallas was also ruled out of the Premier League run-in after suffering a terrible leg break against Manchester City.

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After surviving on the final day of the season in spite of the regular absentees, Marsch has already acted to bolster the ranks at Elland Road and one well-versed onlooker has had his say on the incomings…

The latest: ‘Absolutely huge’

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery, the man behind the popular Premier Injuries site and a contributor for Sky Sports, has suggested that the capture of Red Bull Salzburg duo Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen is ‘absolutely huge’ due to their durability – the pair have suffered just one and two career injuries respectively.

He said: “If you want to play in a set way, you need players who are fit for purpose. You need players who can deliver. Often overlooked in terms of a player’s attributes is availability.

“That’s absolutely huge. You could be the best player in the world, but if you’re only available for 50% of the time – you aren’t much use. I think that’s where Bielsa fell down, in my opinion. There never seemed to be any plan B.

“When you’ve got a solid nucleus of 13 to 14 players who are robust and can tolerate the demands of playing up to three times a week, then great. The problems for Bielsa occurred when he started to lose players like Phillips, Bamford, and Cooper. They just didn’t have the depth to compete – the demands were too much.

“Marsch has got an understanding of how he wants to play, and he’s going out to get players he knows can cope with the intense nature of the Premier League. It’s never going to be seamless for these new players, but he is mitigating the risk of being hit by injury again by making his squad bigger.”

The verdict: Spot on

Ultimately, the lack of reinforcements in the January transfer window would appear to have cost Bielsa his job when the squad was stretched particularly thin.

Perhaps somewhat set in his ways, Marsch’s innovative approach to the transfer market – which has already seen Orta land two players – is a welcome change from the Argentinian’s small squad mentality.

Time will only tell whether those new arrivals can flourish in the English top-flight, but there will at least seemingly be more options at the manager’s disposal in 2022/22.

In other news: Leeds now eyeing move for ‘lethal and sublime’ gem, read more here

Aston Villa could use Douglas Luiz to sign Moise Kean from Juventus, Italian journalist Marcello Chirico has claimed. 

The lowdown

Last summer, Juventus signed Kean on loan from Everton with an obligation to buy him for £24million.

Kean did make 44 appearances in 2021/22 but starting opportunities proved to be limited. Max Allegri selected him from the off in just 12 Serie A matches, and one Champions League fixture.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans reported in May that Steven Gerrard may look to add ‘another forward option’ to his squad during the summer transfer window.

And transfer insider Dean Jones recently suggested that Villa might look to move Luiz on.

The latest

Chirico tweeted on Monday afternoon that ‘Aston Villa is interested’ in signing Kean this summer.

They have apparently ‘offered’ midfielder Luiz to the Bianconeri as part of the deal.

The verdict

Transfermarkt value Luiz at £31.5million, £7.5million more than Juventus have agreed to pay for Kean. And given that the Italian is clearly a little way down the pecking order at the Allianz Stadium, it seems unlikely that they would demand cash in addition to Luiz.

That, then, raises the prospect of a straight swap, an ‘unusual’ occurrence in football.

Is Kean the kind of no. 9 Villa should look for?

Well, his return of six goals last season is underwhelming, but remember, he rarely started games.

And the previous season, at Paris Saint-Germain, Kean commendably bagged 17 goals, with manager Thomas Tuchel dubbing him ‘fearless’ and former PSG player Eric Rabesandratana also praising his Edinson Cavani-esque work-rate.

Signing the seven-time trophy-winner would still be a risk, though, given that he struggled in his previous stint with an English club, netting only four times in 39 outings for Everton.

In other news, one pundit thinks this £120k-p/w star may have fallen out with Villa after he was transfer listed.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Robinson has suggested that Newcastle United should forget about trying to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin this summer after a Magpies source revealed Eddie Howe’s interest.

The Lowdown: Magpies given Calvert-Lewin encouragement

The 25-year-old first joined the Toffees in a £1.5m deal from Sheffield United six years ago, where he has since gone on to make 191 senior appearances in the Premier League during that time.

Despite still having three years remaining on his current contract at Goodison Park, the striker has recently been linked with a move away from Merseyside due to the club’s financial problems, with Everton believed to have recorded losses of approximately £250m over the past two seasons.

The Magpies are thought to be heading into the upcoming transfer window looking for a new centre-forward, and a Newcastle source told Football Insider just last week that Howe’s side have been encouraged to pursue the 11-cap international.

The Latest: Robinson’s transfer ‘risk’ claim

Robinson however, after hearing that news, thinks the St. James’ outfit should be targeting Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus instead, who only has 12 months left on his deal at the Etihad. He told Football Insider:

“Callum Wilson is a top player.

“We saw at the end of the season just how important he is for them.

“He is injury prone though. He has had an unfortunate time with injuries.

“They play with one up top right now with two players out wide. Is Calvert-Lewin versatile enough to play as one of the wide players, probably not. I also question whether he is better than Wilson.

“He has had a hit and miss season. He scored an important goal late on but other than that he struggled.

“I think signing him would be a risk when you take into account how much Everton would want for him.

“I think they should go for someone like Jesus instead. He is the type of player Newcastle should be going after.”

The Verdict: If the price is right…

Even though Calvert-Lewin has only clocked up 17 top-flight appearances this season after being ruled out of action for the first four months of the campaign with injury, he has still managed to make an impact in the final third, scoring five goals and registering two assists, as per Transfermarkt.

As a result of Frank Lampard’s blues narrowly surviving relegation, if the 6 foot 1 talisman was to depart, Everton would probably be expected to ask for a significant sum of money which they could put towards some much-needed transfer funds to buy a better profile of player if they want to stay clear of the drop zone.

So, we feel this deal all depends on the price demands from Merseyside, as Calvert-Lewin could provide some serious competition upfront and help Newcastle aim for a top ten finish next term, but perhaps not for his £37.8m valuation given by Transfermarkt.

In other news… a journalist has dropped a huge ‘£40m’ Newcastle transfer claim involving one of their summer targets.

Tottenham are closing in on a deal to bring Djed Spence to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claimed that Spurs are set to steal the Nottingham Forest loanee from under the noses of Arsenal, with the north London rivals both believed to be interested in a £15m move for the wing-back this summer.

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The report added that Antonio Conte has made the 21-year-old his primary target to replace Emerson Royal – who the Italian is said to be happy to offload in the coming weeks – while Tottenham’s qualification for the Champions League is thought to have given them the edge in the race for the England under-21 international.

He’ll give Arteta nightmares

Considering just how exciting a talent Spence has proven to be this season, it is easy to see why Fabio Paratici is targeting the defender in a bid to improve Conte’s options at right wing-back.

Indeed, over his 41 Championship appearances for Forest this season, the £7.2m-rated full-back has been in sensational form, bagging two goals, providing five assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, in addition to making one key pass, taking 0.6 shots and completing 1.8 dribbles per game.

The £4.4k-per-week talent has also impressed in defensive metrics, making 1.5 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 0.2 blocks and winning 5.8 duels per game. These returns saw the player who Danny Green dubbed “unreal” average a WhoScored match rating of 7.06, ranking him as Steve Cooper’s sixth-best player in the league.

Furthermore, Spence also proved his ability against top-level opposition in Forest’s 1-0 FA Cup victory over Arsenal in January, a game in which the 21-year-old made one key pass, four interceptions, two tackles and three clearances. He also completed six dribbles and won 12 duels, with these metrics seeing the youngster earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.7, the highest of any player from either team on the day.

Spence has already given Mikel Arteta nightmares once this season, and should Paratici manage to beat the Spaniard to the signing of the youngster this summer, the prospect of the full-back lining up against Arsenal for their fiercest rivals next season is certain to be a terrifying thought for the Gunners manager.

AND in other news: “Sources have…”: Fabrizio Romano drops huge Spurs update, supporters will be buzzing

Newcastle United take on Burnley on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, with the Magpies set to come up against a player on whom they had set their sights last summer in Maxwel Cornet.

Fortunately for the St James’ Park outfit, their failure to secure the signing of the Ivorian won’t come back to haunt them this weekend, with Eddie Howe having steered the previously relegation-threatened Toon into contention for a top-half finish after an outstanding second half of the campaign.

Having once looked like a game which could decide the top-flight fate of both teams, the meeting at Turf Moor no longer has much riding on it for the visitors. However, a victory could well bolster their hopes of securing the services of Cornet at the second time of asking, should the Clarets drop into the Championship.

Reports last August suggested that Newcastle, who were then managed by Steve Bruce, were considering a move for the former Lyon forward, although they ultimately lost out as he made the £12.9m switch to Lancashire towards the end of the summer transfer window.

While the Magpies’ recent sparkling form has eased the blow of missing out on the 25-year-old, they will perhaps rue not having snapped him up for what appears to be a relative bargain price when they had the chance.

However, should Burnley finish in the bottom three, the 25-cap Ivory Coast international could become available once mpre for a reduced fee, with The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealing that there is a £17.5m relegation clause in the forward’s existing deal.

The £44k-per-week gem is likely to be at the centre of a transfer tussle should that scenario occur, with his form in his debut season in England likely to have caught the eye of numerous clubs, both in the UK and abroad.

In what has been a tough campaign for Burnley, the £12.6m-rated Ivorian has netted on average one goal every three league games – with eight in 24 appearances thus far. That is a particularly impressive record considering he had often featured as a full-back or wing-back prior to this season.

Such form has also seen him dubbed “one of the signings of the season” by Owen Hargreaves, while fellow pundit Matt Holland also described the pacy gem as a player who “adds a bit of magic in the final third”.

Not just an asset in an attacking sense, the 25-year-old has also performed admirably for his team in a defensive sense, ranking in the top 10% for tackles and the top 4% for interceptions among positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues.

With doubts over Allan Saint-Maximin’s future on Tyneside and reports of the club being open to a sale, Cornet could well represent an ideal replacement, with the dynamic Burnley gem having already shown what he can do in a far from expansive outfit.

That would duly allow Newcastle to wave goodbye to the mercurial Frenchman, who has struggled for consistency in the black and white shirt, chipping in with just 11 goals and 12 assists in the league since his £16.5m arrival from Nice in 2019.

Gabby Agbonlahor has admitted that the “frustrating” fleet-footed maverick may not totally suit Howe’s style of player due to his often unpredictable nature, with Cornet offering the same electric speed and creativity, but with greater reliability.

PIF need to get the chequebook out this summer and push for the Burnley man’s arrival, righting the wrongs of the previous regime and giving them the license to cash in on the enigmatic Saint-Maximin.

IN other news, Eddie Howe can now help NUFC sign “spectacular” £64m “nightmare”, he’s better than Saint-Maximin

Crystal Palace youngster Nya Kirby is set to be released by the Eagles this summer with Bournemouth, Watford and Club Brugge listed as potential new suitors.

What’s the word?

According to the Bournemouth Echo, via the 72, the Palace academy product is a target for the aforementioned clubs who would each offer the 22-year-old something different.

Bournemouth can now provide Premier League football following their promotion back to the top-flight whilst Watford will be a Championship outfit once again following their relegation.

As for Club Brugge, the Belgian club would provide the midfielder with the opportunity to start fresh abroad, something that has proven to work wonders for young, English talents of late.

Palace must axe Kirby

Although there is still time to offer Kirby a new contract, the south London outfit must stick with their decision and allow the Englishman to depart.

Having worked his way up the youth ranks at Crystal Palace, the 22-year-old has made just one first team appearance for Patrick Vieira’s side, coming under former manager Roy Hodgson last season in an EFL Cup defeat against Bournemouth.

However, the midfielder has impressed for the U23s in Premier League 2 this term, scoring seven goals and providing two assists in 20 appearances.

Besides his one first-team appearance for the Eagles, Kirby has played regular senior football with loan spells at both Blackpool in 2018/19 and Tranmere Rovers last campaign, although he didn’t make an impression at either outfit.

Having been limited to just eight appearances for a League Two side in Tranmere certainly wouldn’t have convinced Vieira that the 22-year-old is ready for Premier League football and therefore the only logical step is to release him.

There is an argument for the Frenchman to give the youngster a chance with numerous midfielders set to depart Selhurst Park this summer.

Conor Gallagher will return to Chelsea upon the conclusion of his loan spell whilst both James McArthur and Cheikhou Kouyate are set to be released.

It will be a ruthless move, with the midfielder labelled as “terrific” by former Blackpool boss Terry McPhillips whilst on loan with the Tangerines.

However, there is little evidence to suggest that the £6.9k-per-week Englishman has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League, at least currently.

AND in other news: Vieira now heading for 1st summer transfer disaster, Palace supporters will be gutted

Ex-BBC pundit Noel Whelan says it is ‘brilliant to see’ that Celtic are already working on completing summer transfer deals ‘behind the scenes’.

The Lowdown: Postecoglou’s transfer success

In a report by the Scottish Sun published just last week, it was claimed that the Hoops are now very close to signing Hammarby left-back Mohanad Jeahze.

The Glasgow giants recently secured the Scottish Premiership title after a 1-1 draw against Dundee United and lifted the trophy the following weekend following an emphatic 6-0 victory over Motherwell.

Ange Postecoglou has already enjoyed plenty of success stories in the transfer market since arriving at Celtic last summer, with the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, and Kyogo Furuhashi all becoming regular members of the first team, and it seems the manager isn’t messing around this summer either.

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The Latest: High praise for the boss

Reacting to the ‘brilliant’ news on Jeahze, Whelan hailed the Australian manager and admitted that he is impressed by the clear vision ‘behind the scenes’.

He told Football Insider: “You can’t question his signings so far, can you?

“They’ve all done really well and fitted right into his system almost seamlessly. They’ve taken to it like a duck to water.

“I love it when teams and managers go out with purpose in the summer and get their business done early doors.

“It just points to good scouting and hard work behind the scenes that they’ve got this deal ready to go.

“They want him through the door and up to speed, ready in time for pre-season.

“I think it’s brilliant to see them not taking any time off, not resting on their laurels – Celtic want to make this title theirs next season as well.”

The Verdict: Get it done

Jeahze is a 25-year-old defender who majorly impressed for Hammarby during their Europa Conference League stint earlier this term, providing five assists and scoring two goals across all competitions for the Swedish outfit this season, as per Transfermarkt.

As a result of the Bhoys officially topping the Scottish Premiership table, this of course means that they have now automatically qualified for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage, something that is expected to hand them a big boost in the market.

Being offered the opportunity to play on a world stage and compete at the highest level would be a deal difficult to turn down for any possible new signing, and so it wouldn’t come as any surprise to see Jeahze making his way through the doors at Parkhead in the weeks ahead.

In other news… a finance expert has dropped a ‘significant’ Hoops transfer claim.

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, West Ham’s proposed interest in James Rodriguez is unlikely to develop into anything serious.

The Lowdown: Rodriguez eyes European return

The 30-year-old experienced Premier League football during his spell with Everton last season, but following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti, who brought him to the club in the first place, the Colombian ended up leaving Merseyside after just just one year, having fallen down the pecking order under Rafael Benitez.

The Colombian made the switch to Qatari club Al-Rayyan where he has enjoyed a successful campaign so far, scoring five goals and providing seven assists across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Despite that good form, it was recently revealed by transfer insider Fabrizio Romano that Rodriguez surprisingly wants to leave his current club and is eyeing a return to Europe; and Spanish sources have since claimed that the Irons are among several clubs who are interested in securing the playmaker’s services.

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The Latest: O’Rourke doubts Rodriguez to West Ham

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke suggested that the 86-cap Colombia international might not be the right profile of player for West Ham to bring to the London Stadium.

He said: “They’ve also got the likes of Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals, who are quite creative players, and I think obviously they work hard as well.

“So, I think James Rodriguez is maybe a bit of a luxury player in that respect that he might not buy into the Moyes ethos of working hard on and off the ball.

“So, for me, I don’t see this one really happening, even though Rodriguez, on his day, is a top player, and he’s proven that over his career.”

The Verdict: Not the man for the job

One of the main reasons that West Ham have been so successful under David Moyes – especially this season having made it all the way to the semi-finals of the Europa League – is because of their team spirit, togetherness and strong unity. However, as O’Rourke has warned, Rodriguez could be viewed as someone who’s more of an individual performer rather than working as part of a team.

As per FBRef, the £200k-per-week star has only made 250 pressures throughout the entire season, compared to someone like Fornals who has recorded a staggering 618, which just goes to show the difference in effort to win the ball back in the middle of the park.

If Rodriguez wouldn’t be willing to work as hard as his fellow team-mates out of possession, then he isn’t the kind of player that Moyes should be considering adding to his Irons squad ahead of the 2022/23 season.

In other news… this West Ham star has been backed to commit his future to the club

Wolves are interested in signing a new winger this summer and one face you could arrive at Molineux is Allan-Saint Maximin.

What’s the word?

That is according to journalist Josh Holland who raved about the Frenchman and suggested that he was actually trying to impress Bruno Lage’s men when they faced either.

Holland was speaking to GIVEMESPORT and said: “Yeah, of course. I think they’ve got to [sign more wingers]. Looking at their squad, you’ve got Neto, Podence, Trincao and Hwang. But would you say that all four of them have had a telling effect in this season? I wouldn’t say so.

“Saint-Maximin, I think we all know, is such a good player to watch. He gave Wolves so many problems [last month]. It was more like a trial game for him; it had the feeling that he was trying to impress Wolves.”

This comes after 90min reported that Newcastle were open to selling, a piece of news that has put Wolves on red alert. A fee of around £50m is reportedly the asking price.

Podence upgrade

Described as a “jewel” by David Ginola, Saint-Maximin would indeed prove to be an upgrade on Daniel Podence.

For starters, the 25-year-old’s nine goal contributions throughout the Premier League in the form of five goals and four assists better that of the Portuguese winger, Daniel Podence, who has managed just five returns in 25 matches for the Old Gold in the league this season – scoring twice and assisting just three times.

Whilst Saint-Maximin, “who gave Wolves so many problems” in the words of Holland during last month’s game versus the Magpies, could certainly improve his end product.

Podence, however, has a long way to go, with this being his second consecutive season in which he has managed just five attacking contributions.

The signing of the Frenchman would enable the Old Gold to be more direct in their attacking play, with Saint-Maximin’s match average of 8.17 progressive carries making him a dangerous threat who is capable of dragging his team up into the opponent’s final third within the blink of an eye.

Whilst Podence creates opportunities through his passing, Saint-Maximin is less predictable and is willing to drive at the opposition’s defence. That is the stark difference between the two.

It is reported that Wolves will look to sign Saint-Maximin in place of Adama Traore, who is touted to leave this summer.

Though, if Lage could keep hold of both, he would have two of the best carriers of the ball in his side, with Adama ranking first for this metric in the Premier League and completing an average of 7.0 successful dribbles per 90, with Saint-Maximin in second place with a match average of 4.9 successful dribbles per 90.

If this was the case, Wolves would possess one of the most lethal and direct attacks in world football.

Though, Lage would need to knock some consistency and nurture some end product out of the pair.

In other news: Lage must unleash “unplayable” £25 million-rated reject, he’s better than Trincao