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A number of clubs are reconsidering a move for Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claimed that Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Napoli are all concerned about the midfielder’s injury history ahead of a potential move for the 23-year-old in the summer transfer window.

It is reported that, with the Blades’ demanding a fee of £35m in order to part with the Norway international, the interested parties hold some reservations about spending such a large sum on a player who suffered a significant injury last season.

Fans should be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Berge has been since joining Sheffield United from KRC Genk back in January 2020, reports that the clubs interested in signing the midfielder are having doubts about making a move this summer should be music to the ears of Sheffield United fans.

With Slavisa Jokanovic hoping to secure an immediate return to the Premier League with the Blades next year, keeping hold of the £16.2m-rated gem would seem to significantly increase the Serbian’s chances of going on to achieve this feat, as it is not hard to imagine Berge thriving for United in the Championship.

Indeed, while last season saw the 23-year-old spend long spells on the sidelines due to his aforementioned injury, the £38,000-per-week Norwegian proved in his first few months at the club just how impressive a footballer he is.

The defensive midfielder made 14 Premier League appearances in the club’s 2019/20 campaign, in which he scored one goal, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates.

The former Genk man also averaged 0.7 interceptions and 1.6 tackles and won 5.5 duels per game that season, with his metrics culminating to earn him a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.90, ranking him as United’s seventh-best performer in the top flight.

As such, it is an easy argument to make that, all being well with his fitness, Berge should easily better these already impressive statistics after dropping down a division with Sheffield United, with the player whom Chris Wilder dubbed a “complete midfielder” very much having the potential to be a key man in a hopeful promotion push for the Blades next season.

In other news: Get it done: Jokanovic must sanction Sheff Utd swoop for 21 y/o with a “huge future”

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce is said to have made a check on QPR centre-back Rob Dickie amid a potential move for him in the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

With a number of Newcastle’s centre-backs facing an uncertain future at St James’ Park this summer due to their contracts expiring, it’s no surprise that Bruce appears to be targeting a new defender to bolster his ranks.

And, according to The Shields Gazette’s Liam Kennedy, the Magpies made checks on QPR’s Dickie during the season just gone, with the likes of Celtic’s Kristoffer Ajer and Schalke’s Ozan Kabak – who was on loan at Liverpool – also name-checked as potential transfer targets.

Kennedy also added: “Uncertainty remains over the future of both Fabian Schar and Federico Fernandez with both heading into the final days of their contract at United. A one-year extension clause will be activated with Schar, but the Switzerland international is far from certain to stay.”

Bye-bye Fabian Schar

As per Whoscored, with an average match rating of 7.17 in the Championship last season, Dickie was actually ranked as the seventh-best performing player in the entire division, and the third-best central defender behind only Michal Helik and Grant Hanley.

And, when you look at the 6 foot 4 titan’s key defensive numbers, it’s easy to see why.

He averages an impressive 1.3 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game, with the latter stat actually putting him right at the top of the table when compared to the entire Newcastle squad.

Dickie also appears to be a genuine ball-playing centre-back too, making more than ten passes than the man at the top for the Magpies (57.6 passes per game), while only Fabian Schar can better his 3.1 successful long balls per game out of Newcastle’s defenders.

During his time with Oxford United, Dickie was heavily praised by manager Karl Robinson, who dubbed him as “unbelievable”, and said: “I know he’s quick, I know he’s talented, I know he’s great in the air, but I need to see what he’s like when he’s on the floor and see how he stands up. In the second half, I thought Rob Dickie was magnificent.”

Dickie appears to be ready to make the step up to the Premier League given how he has dominated the Championship, and his development into someone who can play out from the back should go down a treat at St James’ Park.

With Schar potentially exiting Tyneside this summer based on Kennedy’s claim, Dickie could be an ideal replacement for the Swiss centre-back.

Meanwhile, Newcastle must land this defender who bullied Ivan Toney…

Major news has emerged about an “outstanding” £360k-rated ace who has been linked with a move to Sunderland.

What’s the talk?

Scottish Premiership side St Mirren have officially confirmed the signing of left-back Scott Tanser on a free transfer from St Johnstone. The 26-year-old has put pen to paper on a one-year contract with St Mirren, with the club holding an option to extend it by a further 12 months.

According to the Sunderland Echo, Lee Johnson is eager to bring in a left-back this summer and Tanser was one of the names on the club’s list of targets.

In the official announcement of Tanser’s arrival at St Mirren, his new boss Jim Goodwin claimed that he was “outstanding” for St Johnstone at left wing-back. He told St Mirren’s official website:

“Scott Tanser is one who knows the league and has been outstanding at left wing-back for St. Johnstone this season. He’s a very good athlete, great delivery, he was instrumental in some of the really good performances that St. Johnstone had.

“I’ve been speaking to Scott since January time, really with him and his agent trying to get something done and I’m delighted that today he has agreed to come in.”

Sunderland fans will be livid

Sunderland fans will be livid at this news as the club are currently set to head into next month without a senior left-back on the books.

Callum McFadzean has been released and Denver Hume is currently in contract talks with the club over a potential extension of his deal. As it stands, Hume will become a free agent at the end of the month and Johnson will go from having two left-back options to having none.

Football League World have reported that Middlesbrough are interested in signing Hume on a free. This could make it difficult for Sunderland to keep Hume at the club as Middlesbrough could offer him a higher standard of football in the Championship. Although, it remains to be seen how interested Middlesbrough are and what wages they would be able to provide in comparison to Sunderland.

This means that missing out on Tanser is particularly painful as Sunderland are in desperate need of a left-back to come through the door. Tanser impressed in the Scottish Premiership for St Johnstone and could have been a superb addition to Johnson’s squad, with an average WhoScored rating of 7.08 in 17 starts as a left wing-back.

The £360k-rated ace averaged 2.8 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst also winning an impressive 3.6 aerial battles per game in the Scottish Premiership.

Hopefully, Johnson and Sunderland have other targets in the pipeline who they can now pursue with a deal for Tanser out of the question.

With Hume’s future still up in the air and McFadzean on his way out, it would be ideal for Sunderland to get a left-back in sooner rather than later instead of waiting too late and going into the season without proper cover in that position.

The Sunderland fans should be fuming that their club has got to a position where they’re not only going to be going into the summer without a left-back, but also that they’re being beaten to players by St Mirren.

AND in other news, Major update emerges on “athletic” £2m beast, Sunderland fans will be on cloud nine…

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan is confident that Patrick Bamford will sign a new deal at Elland Road following a superb season.

The Lowdown: Star man this season?

The Whites have had a memorable campaign upon their return to the Premier League, heading for a mid-table finish and playing some of the most entertaining football in the division.

A number of players have stood out for Leeds, but arguably none more so than Bamford, who has scored 15 league goals and impressed with his all-round game.

The Latest: New Bamford deal discussed

Whelan believes that the striker has done enough to earn a bumper new deal at Elland Road, telling Football Insider that it would make perfect sense:

“He seems happy with his game and with the manager he’s working for

“He’s really hit the heights that we knew he could do. He’s given it many tries in the Premier League and it’s not worked out for him.

“This season has been incredible. If you score 15 goals, you’ve got to be ecstatic with that as a striker. When you do that, people stand up and take notice.

“It’s not easy to get any goals in the Premier League, let alone this season when people have been doubting you.

“A new and improved contract I’m sure will be discussed and signed, because he’s been an ever-present under Marcelo Bielsa, one of his key men.”

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The Verdict: No-brainer for Leeds

Bamford has enjoyed a meteoric rise at Leeds, with the idea of him becoming such an integral part of the team unthinkable at one point given his previous struggles. He is undoubtedly a player who should be viewed as a long-term key man and he has done more than enough this season to justify getting a new contract.

At 27, he is at the peak of his powers and should continue to be for a number of years. It’s not hard to see why Whelan has called for the Elland Road hierarchy to ensure that they secure the striker’s future in Yorkshire.

In other news, one Leeds player has been linked with a move to another Premier League club this summer. Find out who it is here.

Tottenham Hotspur have their sights set on a new defender this summer, and one name has emerged from the Bundesliga…

What’s the word?

According to Sport Bild, Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan N’Dicka is on Spurs’ radar as they look to bolster their backline ahead of next season.

It’s thought that the German outfit could lose several of their best players after failing to qualify for the Champions League this term, and the north Londoners could clinch him for around €28m (£24m).

The Lilywhites’ current defensive options have flatted to deceive this year, with The Athletic suggesting that mistakes at the back have been a defining theme of Tottenham’s abysmal season.

Bye-bye Dier?

One name central to all their woes at the back is Eric Dier, considering he has started more league games (28) than fellow centre-backs Toby Alderweireld (24), Davinson Sanchez (16), and Joe Rodon (eight), as per WhoScored.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Alan Shearer lambasted the England international for his ‘big errors’ in Spurs’ defeat to Leeds United, going onto question his place in Gareth Southgate’s Euros squad.

Check out the latest transfer news on the GMS Live football Transfer hub

During commentary for that game, Danny Mills labelled Dier a “defensive calamity”, and that merely echoes the thoughts of ex-Spurs midfielder and fellow talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara, who urged Jose Mourinho to axe the 27-year-old back in February as he “looks lost” in defence.

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Clearly, things have not changed, but interestingly he has been linked with a summer exit – according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Mourinho wants to bring him to his new home at AS Roma.

Similarly, former West Ham striker Frank McAvennie has tipped him to be sold by Spurs’ next manager, claiming to Football Insider that there’s “no place for him” at N17 anymore.

N’Dicka would be an ideal replacement, as he has emerged as a potential star in Frankfurt. The 6 foot 4 beast is not only dominant in the air, winning two aerial duels per game this season, but is equally adept with the ball at his feet, averaging an 84.4% passing accuracy. Crucially, he is a left-footer – a trait which is lacking in Spurs’ current centre-back pool.

His ability has been likened to Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti, who is also left-footed and offers a pacy solution at centre-back.

The 21-year-old gem has hugely impressed his manager Adi Hutter, too. “I honestly have to say that I was surprised by his development. Evan has developed phenomenally,” the 51-year-old claimed, via Bundesliga.com. “He’s very attentive in the analysis of his own game. He’s very modest and always takes a lot on board.”

Former Eintracht Frankfurt star Alexander Schur believes that N’Dicka “shows no nerves” and “plays with great authority”, so that potentially suggests that he could be an improvement on the shaky Dier.

For £24m, it could be a very wise investment, and at the same time, Levy could well end Dier’s ongoing sticky situation in north London. The Tottenham chief must land N’Dicka for his next manager.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold drops exciting claim on Spurs’ manager search…

Former England striker Kevin Phillips has hailed Diego Llorente as Leeds United’s ‘lynchpin’ moving forward.

The Whites snapped up the Spaniard for £18m from Real Sociedad last September, with big things expected of him from the off. Llorente has taken time to settle, however, with injury problems making his early months at Elland Road a struggle.

As time has passed, the 27-year-old has begun to make his mark, enjoying eight Premier League starts, including an impressive showing in the memorable 2-1 win away to Manchester City earlier this month.

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Phillips heaps praise on Llorente

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips – a scorer of 92 Premier League goals – lauded Llorente’s ability, seeing him as a key player for Leeds for the foreseeable future: He said:

“Llorente is a top-quality player. It is as simple as that. It is just about getting him regular game time. He seems to have got himself fit and now he is finding that consistency.

“Marcelo Bielsa knows a good player when he sees one. Yes, it has taken Llorente a while to settle but now he is putting in good performances consistently and he is the lynchpin for them at the back.

“When you look at that team, they are tough to play against. He is definitely a big part of that now.

“I am not surprised to hear Bielsa is going to build his team around him because you cannot keep quality down. When you get enough minutes, like he is doing now, the consistency comes with it.”

Transfer Tavern take

Llorente is fully deserving of the praise coming his way at the moment, going to show that patience is often required with new signings. As per WhoScored, he has the fourth-best tackling average, fifth-best interceptions average and joint-second best clearances average per game among Bielsa’s squad, consistently proving his worth to the team.

Settling at a new club is rarely easy, especially with fitness issues holding a player back, but the Leeds defender is now looking every bit a seven-cap Spain international.

While the likes of Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk are also strong options for Marcelo Bielsa, Llorente should be a guaranteed regular for the rest of this season and beyond.

In other news, a pundit has claimed that one Leeds player will be ‘disappointed’ at the moment. Find out who it is here.

Aston Villa are facing the prospect of losing highly-rated academy starlet Carney Chukwuemeka amid reported interest from Manchester United and Manchester City.

What’s the story?

The 17-year-old is yet to make a first-team appearance for Dean Smith’s side, but has been making waves at youth level, predominantly playing for the club’s U23s this season at Premier League 2 level.

Now, The Guardian claim that both Manchester clubs are tracking his progress at Villa Park, with sides like RB Leipzig, Monaco and PSV Eindhoven also monitoring his development.

The report adds that Villa are keen to tie him down to a new longer-team deal however.

Transfer misery for Smith

Recently on the 1874 podcast, Gregg Evans spoke about how highly thought of Chukwuemeka is behind the scenes at Bodymoor Heath training ground, revealing that “he’s the one everybody’s talking about” and even hailing him as “the real deal”.

With the likes of Louie Barry also knocking on the first-team door but yet to see a taste of first-team action, there’s surely real pressure on Smith’s shoulders to start giving some of the club’s younger talents a chance, just like he’s done with Jacob Ramsey.

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And with the success of the likes of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham in moving abroad to Borussia Dortmund, even interest from clubs like RB Leipzig are going to be very hard to turn down for Chukwuemeka if he feels like he’s got a much faster pathway to the first-team there.

Given the number of clubs interested, Villa are facing a real nightmare over losing one of their club’s highly-rated talents.

Meanwhile, Villa could land a bargain deal in this Premier League star…

Many Everton fans have been left to slam a transfer update on Valere Germain as L’Equipe (via Sport Witness) have reported that the Toffees have approached him.

As per the news outlet, the Marseille striker is currently out of favour with new manager Jorge Sampaoli, and Bordeaux and Rennes have expressed an interest in signing him, while AC Milan as well as the Goodison Park faithful have also ‘come forward’.

Germain would be signed with the view of being a squad player at the Merseyside club, but there does not seem to be any concrete move as of yet.

Nonetheless, at 30 years of age and with a mere three goals in 32 games in total over all competitions so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt), he is not a player that Carlo Ancelotti’s team should really be pursuing in the upcoming summer window, at least judging by what the fans think.

Everton fans on Germain transfer update

These Toffees supporters slammed the transfer update on Twitter, with one Blues fan even going as far as to claim that it is ‘nonsense’ while another compared Germain to former flop Sandro Ramirez:

“French Sandro Ramirez”

Credit: @sayantan_01

“No thanks”

Credit: @MikeLan61568106

“Please no”

Credit: @ritchiejacob625

“Zzzz.”

Credit: @exiledtoffee

“Nonsense”

Credit: @ahmedefc98

“No thanks, can we actually employ real footballers?”

Credit: @RiddledBlues2

In other news, find out what Theo Walcott update has EFC fans talking here!

Serge Aurier is reportedly one of several players up for sale at Tottenham Hotspur this summer…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel, Spurs will have to sell before they can buy in the upcoming transfer window. As a result, the future of the Ivorian right-back, among others, is in serious doubt.

It is further claimed that the north London outfit will look to offload as many as six players, with the likes of Danny Rose, Hugo Lloris, Erik Lamela and Juan Foyth all mentioned. Harry Winks and Dele Alli’s stays could be decided by whether or not Daniel Levy sacks Jose Mourinho.

Time to go

The report comes at an interesting time as, only a few days earlier, Spurs were hammered 3-1 by Manchester United to all but end their hopes of reaching the top four in the Premier League.

After a five-game absence, in which he made the bench just once, Aurier was finally trusted to start the match and it ended in disaster.

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Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane was particularly scathing in the aftermath of the encounter, telling the Super Sunday audience (via Football Daily):

“He’s got a rick in him. He has caused loads of problems. I have described him as a bit of a car crash. Nice powerful boy, keeps going forward, but defensively I think he doesn’t smell danger or see the danger. And that’s been a huge problem for Spurs, the right-back position.”

Micah Richards went on to suggest that the right-back was “lazy” and it’s costing them as he is simply not tracking back to help out.

This merely echoes the warning from former Spurs striker Darren Bent, who in October 2019 dubbed the Ivory Coast international a “liability” – it’s clear to see on the above reviews that things simply haven’t changed whatsoever.

On Sunday, Aurier (6.3) was graded as Mourinho’s worst player as per SofaScore ratings, and it’s easy to see why as he was dribbled past three times Paul Pogba and co on that right flank. The 28-year-old was also at fault for Edison Cavani’s second goal in what was an absolutely shocking afternoon defensively.

Considering that the Ivorian is amongst the high-earners at the club, taking home a reported £120,000 per week – more than Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (£65k per week), Sergio Reguilon (£80k -per week), and even Eric Dier (£85k per week) – he makes for an easy candidate to offload in the summer.

The former Paris Saint-Germain defender has let Spurs down far too often after that latest showing, so it’s now certainly time to move him on in the summer. Levy has to get rid and take what he can, should any offers arrive.

AND in other news, 6 foot 3 “quarterback” can solve Mourinho’s biggest Spurs nightmare…

Liverpool are reportedly interested in making a move for Celtic striker for Odsonne Edouard this summer.

Jurgen Klopp may be in the market for a new attacking player at the end of the season, as he looks to add more quality and depth in the final third.

There are question marks over the futures of Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi, while Roberto Firmino’s form has been disappointing for a sustained period now.

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Reds eye up for move for Celtic star Edouard

It could be that Celtic hero Edouard could be a target for Liverpool, as well as Arsenal, with journalist Ian McGarry confirming as much on The Transfer Window podcast [via Rousing The Kop], also mentioning one of the front-three potentially leaving:

“Liverpool and Arsenal are two teams who are chasing Odsonne Edouard of Celtic – a player who we have mentioned a few times on the podcast. Mostly with regards to Arsenal’s interest.

“What I think is interesting about the fact that Liverpool have entered the equation is that they have done so on the basis that they expect or at least suspect one of the front three of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino or Sadio Mane may leave in the summer.”

The-23-year-old has scored 19 goals for Celtic this season, in all competitions, as well as incredibly netting 15 times in just 10 appearances for France Under-21s (he also scored more goals than he played games for the U-17s).

Transfer Tavern take

While the step up from the Scottish Premiership to the Premier League can sometimes appear great, Virgil van Dijk is proof that it doesn’t apply to all footballers.

Edouard has been relentless in front of goal for a number of years now – he has 81 goals in 161 games for Celtic – and he could be an ideal backup option to Firmino, or even threaten to take his place long-term.

In other news, Liverpool fans are desperate to sign one Premier League star this summer – find out who it is here.