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Newcastle United could sign a dream partner in crime for Allan Saint-Maximin in Real Betis play-maker Nabil Fekir.

What’s the story?

With PIF’s takeover of the Magpies all done, attentions can now turn towards the upcoming January transfer window and how the club’s new owners can look to strengthen the squad.

And, according to Sebastien Denis of Foot Mercato (via Get French Football News), the Tyneside club have already made contact over signing Fekir, although a deal at this stage remains to be seen.

It’s added that a new contract for the Frenchman at Betis cannot be ruled out either.

Imagine him and Saint-Maximin

Even in the dark and desperate times Newcastle have been in over these past couple of years under Steve Bruce, one man who the Magpies faithful could rely upon to give them a little bit of hope and excitement is Saint-Maximin.

The former Nice star has been the undisputed stand-out of a wretched period, single-handedly carrying Newcastle through games and willing them to victories.

But in Fekir, Saint-Maximin could find someone to share that creative and goal-scoring burden, and help form a devastating tandem at St James’ Park.

In 274 career games for both Lyon and Betis, the Frenchman has managed 83 goals and provided another 61 assists, being effective both playing behind the striker and out wide too.

The Betis ace has got a penchant for doing the spectacular, and that’s something former Bordeaux star Malcom was in awe of.

He said: “Fekir is a big player, and when I was in France, he scored incredible goals”.

Real Betis’ club president Angel Haro, has also recently raved about the club’s talisman, saying: “He is doing magnificently well. He is a champion of the world with tremendous quality. When you see him move with the ball, glued to his foot, you know he is going to do something genius.”

The £22.5m-rated star has got the kind of creative ability that could really mesh well with Saint-Maximin and help form a nightmare duo for Premier League defences.

Having two players who can create a moment of magic from nothing gives the Magpies an added weapon going forward.

Meanwhile, George Caulkin has dropped a Newcastle manager update…

Raphinha would be interested in joining a top-six club like Manchester United, says former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer.

According to The Independent, who say it would be a surprise if Manchester United were not in the conversation over a future transfer, the Red Devils are fans of the player.

Raphinha joined Leeds from Rennes last October before going on to enjoy a successful debut campaign at Elland Road.

In 30 league appearances, the Brazilian scored six goals and provided nine assists, proving to be arguably the Whites’ most dangerous attacker after Patrick Bamford.

It makes it no surprise that a team like Manchester United are fans of Raphinha, and Palmer believes a transfer to Leeds’ rivals would interest the 24-year-old.

“If you’re playing at a big club like Leeds United and you’re playing well, of course you’re going to be linked somewhere else,” Palmer told FFC when discussing the Raphinha to Manchester United link.

“As a player, if you get the opportunity to go play for a top-six club, you’re obviously going to be interested.”

It has been a slow start to the season for Leeds, who have taken just two points from their opening four games, but Raphinha has managed to grab his first goal of the new campaign after scoring that all-important equaliser against Everton last month.

Tottenham Hotspur could be gifted a second chance at signing Marco Asensio in January, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

Spanish publication Sport claim the 25-year-old midfielder is getting closer to leaving Real Madrid, having been frozen out by their new manager Carlo Ancelotti.

It’s thought that the Spaniard is far from happy with his role under the former Everton boss, who has not afforded him any league starts and a recent appearance on the substitutes bench against Valencia has nudged him towards an exit at the Bernabeu.

Recently, other reports in Spain suggested that Asensio was a ‘big target’ for Nuno Santo and Spurs in the summer, so the door could well open for the north London outfit to seal his signature this time around.

Second chance worth taking?

But is he a player that Spurs need or should want? The short answer is probably not.

There is no denying that Nuno’s squad is starved of creativity and that extra edge in the final third – as per The Athletic, they sit rock-bottom in the Premier League for expected goals (xG), registering a total of just 4.42.

They have also generated the second-fewest number of shots (46) and only created two big chances from their opening five matches.

The only player to be averaging above one key pass per outing, Steven Bergwijn (1.3), is currently out through injury, to make matters worse for the Portuguese head coach.

But going by Asensio’s overall record at the La Liga giants, he does not seem to be the likely solution to their problems, having only provided 37 goals and 22 assists across 198 appearances, via Transfermarkt – prior to his performance on Wednesday night.

That was direct contribution every 172 minutes.

It’s also hard to imagine that a player who has featured for only 140 minutes in 2021/22 will be able to hit the ground running in a completely different country so quickly.

If he did try to sign Asensio, new Lilywhites sporting director Fabio Paratici could make the first major blunder of his Spurs career to date.

AND in other news, Spurs must regret not signing “exceptional” £31.5m-rated speed demon after PL masterclass…

Many West Ham United fans are far from happy with the news that PAI Capital will make a second bid to purchase the club this week.

The Hammers are in a good place at the moment on the pitch – they are in the Europa League group stage after finishing sixth in the Premier League last term. However, there has been a distinct lack of transfer business conducted this summer, and owners David Sullivan and David Gold are far from popular at the London Stadium (talkSPORT).

There appears to be interest in purchasing the club from PAI Capital, which has been backed by a number of former players (Daily Mail). As per The Telegraph, another bid will be lodged this week, but that does not appear to have pleased some supporters who believe that the delay in the takeover is damaging their transfer prospects. Indeed, a few think it could even be an excuse from the current owners for the lack of new arrivals.

The news was shared on Twitter by @central_louis, and it attracted plenty of attention from West Ham supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the news

“Here is our excuse for not doing any transfer business:”

Credit: @westhamtransfer

“There goes any hope of us getting signings then”

Credit: @NathWHU_

“Don’t want them to. Circus act”

Credit: @garywilliam_

“What company gets Ex players to try and drum up support, this is so West Ham shambolic. This is getting in the way of us getting players in such bad timing, can’t believe I’m saying it but I’d rather stick to what we have.”

Credit: @MarkCocklin1

“I don’t recall Roman Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour releasing tidbits to the press about an upcoming bid (or 2nd bid), they just went and bought Chelsea and Manchester City. This is all a distraction and excuse for the lack of transfer activity”

Credit: @mattwhu999

“PAI capital ruined our summer transfer. ORRR GSB set this up not to bid for any players”

Credit: @WestHamUtdFC2

In other news, West Ham are said to be interested in this Brazil international.

Tottenham Hotspur are closing in on another signing before Tuesday’s 11pm deadline…

What’s the word?

The north London outfit have made no fewer than three new additions this summer and according to renowned Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, they are close to agreeing on a deal to sign Barcelona right-back Emerson Royal.

“Tottenham and Barcelona are now close to reach an agreement for Emerson, as per @gbsans. Fee will be around €30m but negotiations are not completed yet,” he tweeted.

“Serge Aurier won’t be involved in the deal. Personal terms [are] still to be agreed. NO negotiations for Moriba [to] Spurs.”

And whilst the Ivory Coast international will not be heading in the other direction, his future could still lie away from N17, as per football.london’s Alasdair Gold.

“If they do sign Emerson then it’s because they are able to get at least one [Aurier or Matt Doherty] out the door,” he claimed.

Bye-bye Aurier!

This news will be music to the ears of many as the arrival of the Brazilian international would surely spell the end for Aurier, who earlier in the summer made his intentions to leave Spurs very clear.

In an interview with French publication L’Equipe in May, he said: “Everyone knows that if I wanted to extend my contract at Tottenham, I’d have already done so. I’m not going to do that in six months’ time. I’ve experienced the Premier League and a Champions League final. I’ve reached the end of a cycle and it’s time to look elsewhere.”

Aurier’s time in north London has been marred by a combination of disciplinary issues off-the-pitch and plenty of below-par performances on it.

During the country’s first lockdown, the 28-year-old was fined for breaching the government’s regulations after he was spotted getting a haircut on social media.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs team and injury news, transfer rumours, gossip and much, much more!”]

Whilst after Spurs’ Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, a game in which he started and played the entire duration, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher lambasted his display.

“Aurier is maybe one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football and is a player who would possibly put you off management with the amount of crazy decision he makes,” he claimed, via talkSPORT.

Indeed, the fans appear to feel the same as many showed their desire for the club to offload him in recent weeks after Sky Sports suggested the former Paris Saint-Germain man was up for sale.

Not only is Emerson a younger option at 22, but he appears to be a much more reliable option on the flank, having excelled for Real Betis over the past two seasons.

As per WhoScored, the £22.5m-rated dynamo has provided four goals and ten assists since the start of the 2019/20 La Liga season, whilst he averaged a whopping 2.7 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and one key pass per game last term alone.

Aurier is yet to play under Nuno Santo, with Japhet Tanganga ahead of him in the pecking order and by comparison, he averaged fewer interceptions and key passes, as well as racking up 1.2 fouls per Premier League outing (joint-second most in Spurs’ squad).

Therefore, on the above evidence, many around north London will undoubtedly see Emerson’s arrival as a major positive in moving the often calamitous Aurier on before tomorrow’s deadline.

This update should leave plenty of fans absolutely thrilled.

AND in other news, Fabio Paratici dealt Spurs transfer blow over £22.5m-rated “young Pogba”…

Former Everton defender Michael Ball believes that Sheffield United player Sander Berge is a player the Toffees would like to bring to Goodison Park. 

The 21-year-old midfielder signed for Sheffield United in January 2020, featuring 16 times for the Blades in all competitions last season.

After Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League, there has been interest in the signature of Berge from Everton, but the Star have reported that Arsenal are interested in a double swoop of the Bramhall Lane outfit, showing interest in Sander Berge and also goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

With possible competition for the 6 ft 5 Berge, Everton will need to act swiftly if they want to land his signature, with Ball telling Transfer Tavern: “I think it’s one Everton would like to bring in, but it’s always going to be a sort of sitting and wait to see who actually moves on going forward and whether they’ve got the cash to actually make that deal happen.”

Prior to Sheffield United’s opening day Championship match against Birmingham City in pre-match press conference manager Slavisa Jokanovic told the Examiner: “There’s a long time in the window ahead of us and I hope the guys will stay with us because they are important players in my squad.”

Berge completed 90 minutes for the Blades in their defeat to Birmingham City over the weekend but with interest from the Premier League it remains to be seen where Berge will be playing his football when the transfer window closes at the end of this month.

A number of Liverpool supporters are unhappy after it emerged that the Reds could be without their three Brazil stars next month.

Jurgen Klopp’s men got their season off to a brilliant start on Saturday, cruising to a 3-0 win away to newly-promoted Norwich City.

On a day when numerous Reds players shone at Carrow Road, their Brazilian heroes had a positive impact on the result.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Alisson made a stunning late save to ensure he kept a clean sheet, Fabinho came on and made a noticeable difference in midfield and Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool’s second goal on the day.

Unfortunately, it looks as though Klopp may have to do without them for a small part of September, with The Daily Mail reporting [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter] that the trio will have to quarantine after Brazil duty and won’t be able to stay in England instead of playing for their country.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/the-latest-liverpool-transfer-news-copy-4/” title=”The latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans fume at update on Brazil trio

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to react negatively to the prospects of being without their three Brazil internationals for a spell next month.

“This is absurd”

Credit: @futebolbaseroom

“International football once again ruining the club game”

Credit: @Adamf941

“Nah this is a joke”

Credit: @CousinCAH

“Another reason why depth is important. Buy more players FSG”

Credit: @VoiceOfTruth__

“1-week quarantine, what a joke”

Credit: @StannisTheGod

“Surely they can decline it”

Credit: @AnfieldRD11

In other news, James Pearce has provided a key update on Liverpool’s transfer business. Read more here.

The Transfer Tavern’s EFL spy believes that Charlton should target a move for Brentford youngster David Oyegoke.

Oyegoke joined the Bees from Arsenal earlier this month, but has linked up with the club’s B team, with the first-team now in the Premier League, meaning his opportunities may well be limited.

His only experience of senior men’s football during his time in north London came in an EFL Trophy tie for the Under-23s against Ipswich last August.

Oyegoke, an England youth international, can anywhere across the back-four despite predominantly being a centre-back, which means he would offer an impressive amount of versatility to Nigel Adkins’ squad.

And whilst Charlton only narrowly missed out on finishing in the top-six last term, Adkins’ men had the worst defensive record in the top-nine having shipped 56 goals in League One.

Oyegoke has scored just once at youth team level, but the EFL insider reckons the teenager can be effective at both ends of the pitch.

He exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“Charlton probably need to enter the market and potentially look to someone for a London loan.

“Brentford have a former Arsenal player in David Oyegoke, who has the size and presence for a young lad but goes past people for fun and is quick to get back and defend.”

An update has emerged on reported Leeds transfer target Nahitan Nandez regarding his thoughts on a move to Elland Road.

What’s the talk?

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, via Sport Witness, the Uruguayan is closing in on a transfer to Italian giants Inter.

The midfielder, who is reportedly valued at €36m (£31m), is said to have turned down the opportunity to sign for Leeds this summer and pursue a switch to the reigning Serie A champions instead.

Bielsa will be fuming

Marcelo Bielsa will be fuming with this update as it suggests that Leeds did not do enough to convince Nandez to come to Elland Road this summer. Victor Orta failed to entice him to the Yorkshire club and now they will watch on as he completes a transfer to Inter in the coming weeks.

Of course, it is difficult to begrudge the player for deciding to sign with a team set to play Champions League football next term following their Serie A title success. Playing for Inter could be a dream come true for him if he is able to become a regular in the side and win major trophies in Italy, but that does not do much to dim the disappointment from the Leeds perspective.

Serie A expert Conor Clancy said earlier this summer that Nandez would have been a good addition to Leeds’ squad as his versatility could please Bielsa.

He told This Is Futbol: “Anywhere Bielsa wants to play him, he’d do a job. I like him a lot. I think he’s only about five foot seven, but you wouldn’t know it if you just watched clips of him, he is a little bit of a machine. He’s so powerful but at the same time, has really, really good ball control.”

This suggests that Nandez could have been a useful player for the Argentine coach as he is able to play in a variety of positions, whilst Clancy calling him “powerful” and “a machine” indicates that he has the engine that Bielsa requires from his midfield players.

Therefore, he will be sickened that Nandez will not be a Leeds player next season, because the midfielder seemingly has all the attributes needed to succeed in Yorkshire. It will now be down to Orta to identify alternative targets and bring in a quality player for Bielsa to forget about the Uruguay international.

AND in other news, He’s ready: Leeds could save millions with £20k-p/w machine who Bielsa loves…

New FC Koln signing Dejan Ljubicic has revealed that he turned down a move to Glasgow Rangers before switching to the Bundesliga this summer.

The Lowdown: Ljubicic joins Koln

The Gers were linked with a move for the 23-year-old last summer when he was still playing for Rapid Vienna in Austria (The Daily Mail).

However, he has ended up making the switch to Koln in Germany on a free transfer instead (fc.de).

The Latest: Ljubicic admits Gers snub

Speaking after his transfer in April, Ljubicic has admitted that he snubbed a move to Ibrox, revealing (via The Daily Record):

“I had offers from several clubs in Germany and I was also in Italy for negotiations and Glasgow Rangers wanted me too.

“I decided on Cologne early on, but I admit I was worried when they had to win their relegation play-offs.

“My family and I decided immediately Cologne was the place for me because I will definitely get a start there too.”

The Verdict: Disappointment

Steven Gerrard and Ross Wilson will no doubt be disappointed not to have signed the £2.7m-valued Austria under-21 international (Transfermarkt) – after all, it is never a good feeling when a player turns you down to move elsewhere. Rangers will be aware firsthand of the ability of Ljubicic – he has scored against them in the Europa League in the past few years. His style of play has even been compared to Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong (totalfootballanalysis.com).

Still, the Gers have clearly moved on from that disappointment and looked at other targets, and they have recently announced the signing of John Lundstram (rangers.co.uk). The 27-year-old has Premier League experience as well as plenty of football left ahead of him, and Rangers have recovered rather well from the setback involving Ljubicic.

In other news, Rangers have a funding gap to fill.