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Newcastle United’s prior relationship with Gleison Bremer’s agency could be key as they pursue the Torino centre-back, The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder says. 

The lowdown

Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (via The Chronicle) has named Newcastle among a lengthy list of clubs interested in Bremer.

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Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid were also identified as admirers.

Bremer is represented by CAA Base, whose clients also include Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood.

The 25-year-old, who signed a contract extension as recently as February, has started every Serie A game for which he’s been available this season.

The latest

Ryder confirms that Newcastle have been watching Bremer and notes that Torino have ‘leaked’ €50million (£41million) price tag to the press in Italy.

The Magpies may hold a ‘trump card’ over their many competitors because of CAA Base’s ‘relationship with head of recruitment Steve Nickson’.

The verdict

This would be a real coup for Nickson and Newcastle.

Bremer is a dominant centre-back, ranking in the 95th percentile for aerial duels won per 90 minutes, and his average of 2.35 blocks per 90 (96th) also suggests he’s something of a warrior.

But that’s not to say the Brazilian’s old-fashioned. In fact, he records a high volume of dribbles (82nd percentile), indicating that he has a great deal of confidence in possession.

He also defends on the front-foot, slotting into the 98th percentile for pressures and leading the way in Europe’s top five leagues for interceptions per 90 minutes. That means he’s making more than renowned specialists like N’Golo Kante.

Journalist Maxi Angelo says he should be a contender for the Serie A Defender of the Season award, while Tifo Football’s Seb Stafford-Bloor has uniquely described him as ‘a vending machine of a centre-half’.

In other news, one Newcastle player was rated just 4/10 vs Leicester.

Frank Lampard has made an incredible first impression at Goodison Park with a 4-1 victory under his belt, meaning that Everton will now progress into the fifth round of the FA Cup, with a promising performance and a taste of what is yet to come under the new manager.

The 43-year-old set up his team up a 3-4-3 formation which worked wonders for the Everton players who have been struggling throughout the season, setting up the side much more offensively compared to the passive approach taken by his predecessor Rafael Benitez.

It was a real team performance with four goals spread out evenly throughout the team. Yerry Mina opened the scoring when he came on for Ben Godfrey, who sustained an injury in the first 12 minutes of the game. Richarlison, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend also found the net over the course of the game, with Brentford only scoring from a penalty due to a late challenge from Jordan Pickford.

One player who didn’t score but made a huge impact on the team during his 74-minute performance was local youngster Anthony Gordon, who was clearly keen to impress his new manager with his place in the team perhaps in doubt following a number of signings in the January transfer window.

Lampard was forced to leave his two Deadline Day signings out of the team, with Dele Alli and Donny Van de Beek cup-tied. The starting line-up was full of players who were already at Goodison Park all along, and Gordon in particular will be giving his new manager nightmares about future team selection dilemmas after putting in an outstanding performance.

The £7.2m-rated Liverpudlian, who was dubbed “tidy” by Everton journalist David Prentice, will have to compete with a number of attacking players, including new signing Alli, for a place in the forward line, but he did not make that decision any easier for Lampard.

According to SofaScore, the 20-year-old won 85% of his duels, was successful in all three of his dribble attempts, had more touches than Richarlison and lost possession less than any other player in the forward line. He proved to Lampard that he is more than capable of rising to the occasion and able to provide healthy competition for his place in the team.

The 43-year-old will be delighted with the result and will be hoping that this phenomenal team performance can build the confidence and resilience that Everton need if they are to climb the Premier League table. They return to action in the league on Tuesday night against Newcastle United, and it will be interesting to see if Lampard sticks or twists with the team from today when new signings will be available for selection.

Gordon is one of those who may well have put his hand up for breaking into the starting XI for the trip to St James’ Park.

In other news: One Everton ace proved Lampard wrong with an outstanding performance today

Leeds United reporter Phil Hay shared his views on a controversial incident against Newcastle United involving Dan James.

And, as to be expected, Hay’s Twitter post had plenty of Leeds fans talking on social media.

The Whites made it five league games without a win for the first time under Marcelo Bielsa with a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.

Raphinha gave Leeds an early lead, and Leeds should’ve possibly been given a penalty after James collided with Joe Willock inside the area.

Mike Dean had a clear view of the challenge but decided not to award a penalty, with VAR also not getting involved.

Hay revealed he didn’t get a replay of the tackle on Friday night but now believes that Leeds had a ‘very strong shout’ for a spot-kick.

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Leeds fans react

The well-known reporter’s Twitter post on Saturday morning led to a number of Leeds fans sharing their thoughts, with plenty still fuming that a penalty wasn’t given.

“Perhaps a clear and obvious error. Shambles”

Credit: @DoctorT1992

“Mental. Stone wall pen and it didn’t even get looked at?”

Credit: @ryancoles89

“Strong shout it’s a stonewaller, absolute joke”

Credit: @tbeattie9

“Clear and obvious penalty for anyone but Leeds. Another awful decision against us.”

Credit: @david_kitty

“Is that not why we have VAR? If not then what’s the point at all?!”

Credit: @Lee6378

“The refereeing in England is abysmal”

Credit: @GTFOH1986

In other news: ‘Be a big boost’ – Paddy Kenny lauds ‘brilliant news’ from Leeds United source. 

Fabrizio Romano believes Tottenham Hotspur are very much still interested in Dusan Vlahovic, despite sporting director Fabio Paratici claiming otherwise…

What’s the word?

Earlier this week, the Italian supremo poured cold water on Spurs’ mooted interest in the Fiorentina talisman, claiming to Festival dello Sport (via Romano): “Dusan Vlahovic is appreciated by many clubs, it’s normal – he’s not in our plans, for now.”

However, the transfer guru has dropped a fresh claim during a recent episode of the ‘Here We Go’ podcast that seems to refute such comments.

“Vlahovic is a bit different. The feeling I have because what he [Paratici] said is that ‘he is not in our plans for now’ and in Paratici language that means he is pursuing the player,” revealed the Italian journalist.

“We know about it because last summer, Tottenham were really interested in Vlahovic. They were looking at him as [a] potential Harry Kane backup, not [a] replacement.

“Tottenham are still following this boy, as are Atletico Madrid and other English clubs, and Italian clubs, so there will be a big fight for Vlahovic. Let’s see if it’ll be January or next summer but he is leaving Fiorentina.”

Sneaky Paratici

This latest development should leave much of the Lilywhites faithful on the edge of their seats and whilst it may come as a surprise, it is well-known Paratici operates in this manner.

Harry Kane has struggled for goals in the Premier League so far this campaign, failing to find the net in five starts, but he still does not have a viable senior backup behind him, with Nuno Santo sometimes turning to 17-year-old gem Dane Scarlett in other competitions.

Vlahovic is a firm contender to fill such a void and it would certainly give the Portuguese coach another valuable option to either start alongside the England talisman or to replace him from the bench.

The 21-year-old scored a whopping 21 goals in 37 appearances in the Serie A side last season and has continued such form into the new campaign, where he has found the net a further six times in just eight matches, as per Transfermarkt.

La Viola’s goal machine has been compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, which is hardly a surprise given his 6 foot 3 slender frame, whilst former Italy international Christian Vieri believes he’s the strongest young forward in Europe, behind Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

Dubbed a “complete number nine” by Italian football expert Conor Clancy to This is Futbol, Vlahovic could well be in Spurs’ sights despite Paratici trying to throw off the scent and that ultimately should leave many supporters thrilled.

AND in other news, Nuno may have his own Varane in “talented” 18 y/o gem who can help Spurs save millions…

While Valerien Ismael’s West Bromwich Albion side have far from struggled to find the back of the net in their opening two Championship fixtures, the Frenchman nevertheless appears to believe that his Albion side are lacking a classic number nine.

Indeed, the 45-year-old recently revealed that he is still actively pursuing targets in the summer transfer window, with it being reported that both Orlando City centre-forward Daryl Dike and Manchester City starlet Liam Delap are two players the manager is keeping a very close eye on ahead of a potential move.

However, while the 18-year-old Delap is undeniably a player who boasts the potential to go on and have a fantastic career in the game, it is perhaps Dike who would appear to be a better fit for Ismael this season.

Get it done

The 21-year-old is a player Ismael is extremely familiar with, having signed the USA international on a fourth-month loan deal for Barnsley back in February, during which Dike highly impressed for the Tykes.

Indeed, over his 19 Championship appearances for the Frenchman’s former side last season, the £9m-rated striker scored a whopping nine goals – at a rate of 0.5 per game – as well as taking an average of 1.7 shots and making 0.7 key passes per fixture.

These returns saw the man Ismael himself dubbed an “unbelievable” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as Barnsley’s third-best player in the second tier of English football.

Furthermore, while Dike failed to provide an assist or create a big chance for his teammates during his stint at Oakwell last term, this could actually be viewed as something of a positive for Ismael, as the likes of Callum Robinson, Karlan Grant, Grady Diangana and Matt Phillips are all more than capable of creating opportunities, it is a greedy out-and-out goalscorer that the Frenchman is after.

And, with only Kenneth Zohore in his West Brom squad who could really be described as a classic number nine – a player who was loaned out to Millwall last season, where he scored just two goals over 17 Championship appearances – it is fairly obvious that, if Albion are indeed to go on and secure an immediate return to the top flight this season, they will need a more clinical option up top.

As such, it would appear highly advisable for Ismael to do all he can to seal a deal for Dike before the summer transfer window closes at the end of the month, as the American could well make all the difference in the club’s promotion push come next May.

In other news: “For sure”: Ismael issues exciting West Brom transfer claim, fans surely buzzing

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Premier League forward Dean Windass believes Brendan Rodgers would have found it hard to find a place for Jesse Lingard in Leicester City’s starting XI.

After an impressive loan spell with West Ham, where he scored nine goals in 16 appearances, Lingard reportedly caught the attention of Leicester.

Unsurprisingly, West Ham were also interested in signing the £75,000-a-week attacking midfielder, but in the end, he decided against pushing for a move and remained at Manchester United.

Had that not been the case, though, and Lingard did end up at Leicester, Windass thinks Rodgers would have had quite a dilemma.

“You’ve got Harvey Barnes on the left hand side who’s come back from injury, who’s an unbelievable young talent with pace to burn,” the ex-Hull City star said. “So where would you play Jesse Lingard if he had gone to Leicester?”

If James Maddison did depart to Arsenal, then perhaps there would have been room for another attacker like Lingard.

But with the likes of Maddison and Barnes, the above is certainly a good question to raise.

From Lingard’s perspective, though, he may need to leave for another club eventually, with game time at Old Trafford likely to be limited following the additions of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho.

Sunderland had to settle for a point in the end away at Ipswich Town after Nathan Broadhead cancelled out James Norwood’s opening goal for the hosts.

Broadhead would have been pleased with his own performance, but some Black Cats struggled, as The Transfer Tavern uses statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst players (to have played at least 45 minutes) for the visitors were this afternoon:

Alex Pritchard

Admittedly, Pritchard was given the same rating (6.4) as Denver Hume by SofaScore, but ranks in third as he played slightly more minutes.

The midfield player lost out on three of his duels, and failed to record a single shot, successful dribble or key pass, while losing possession of the ball eight times.

Ross Stewart

While Broadhead got himself on the scoresheet, his strike partner Stewart could not, as SofaScore gave him a 6.3 rating.

He lost a mammoth 15 duels and possession 23 times, by far the most out of any player on the pitch, and failed to score with both of his attempts on his goal.

The striker also failed with both of his dribble attempts, and was not able to make a single key pass in the match, while he also found himself booked.

Carl Winchester

Winchester was deemed the worst player for the Stadium of Light faithful by SofaScore, as they gave him a 6.2 rating.

He lost four of his duels in total, and did not make a single clearance, interception or tackle in the game.

Winchester also never made a key pass, and gave the ball away nine times.

In other news, find out what club post has SAFC fans talking here!

Antonio Conte got off to winning ways as Tottenham manager with a 3-2 win over Vitesse in the Europa Conference League.

Spurs raced into a 3-0 lead but conceded twice before half-time. Cristian Romero was sent off on the hour mark, however, Conte’s men held on to the lead to climb up to second in Group G.

However, some Spurs players, statistically, struggled in Conte’s first game, as The Transfer Tavern looks into the three worst-rated outfield starters out of the seven who played 75 minutes or more by specialists SofaScore…

Eric Dier – 6.7/10

First up is centre-back Dier, who failed to make a tackle all evening and lost 60% of his duels.

He also gave the ball away on 10 occasions and lost his man for Vitesse’s first goal from a corner.

Dier made just one interception as well – to put that into perspective even Romero managed to make more despite being sent off on the hour mark.

Sergio Reguilon – 6.7/10

Next up is Reguilon, who played at left-wing back in a 3-4-3 system. The Spaniard gave possession away on a whopping 19 occasions in his 60 touches (32 per cent), with Emerson Royal putting in a better display on the opposite side.

He also failed to complete a cross – hardly ideal for a wing-back – or block a shot but did make three tackles, finishing with a fairly low pass accuracy of 71%.

Ben Davies – 6.8/10

Davies played in a back three alongside Dier and Romero and also struggled, failing to make a tackle, interception or block a shot all evening.

He lost possession on nine occasions, failed to complete an accurate long ball and lost his only ground duel.

The Wales international has been tipped for a departure under Conte, and the manager’s debut did nothing to quell those shouts.

In other news: Conte now personally plots to sell ‘very talented’ Spurs player who Nuno called ‘unique’. 

Rangers have been hit with another big injury blow as an update has emerged on Ibrox gem Alex Lowry…

What’s the latest?

Gers head coach Gio van Bronckhorst has revealed that the young midfielder is the latest player to come down with a knock, joining Ianis Hagi and Alfredo Morelos on the sidelines.

All three players are due to watch on from the stands, or at home, as the club take on Braga in their Europa League quarter-final clash.

Rangers quoted the boss as saying: “We don’t have Hagi, Morelos and Lowry, who is also unavailable. We have to create a gameplan that will work for Thursday and that is our focus.”

Gutted

This update will surely leave the Ibrox faithful gutted as it means that they will not be able to see the academy graduate make his European bow.

FFC recently published an article explaining why he has a bright future in Glasgow and why van Bronckhorst should offer him more opportunities in the first team. The talented youngster has caught the eye at youth and senior level this term and has the potential to be a valuable player off the bench for the Dutch coach.

However, he will not be able to call upon the maestro tonight and it remains to be seen how serious the issue is, as the Gers boss did not specify what the problem is. This means that he could be out for a number of weeks or be back for the next match, with the former being a worrying prospect for supporters and the manager as it could stunt his development between now and the end of the campaign.

Lowry has played four first-team matches for the Glasgow giants this term, scoring one goal and assisting another across three Scottish Cup outings and one appearance in the Premiership. He also scored against Celtic for Rangers B recently, with Record Rangers Podcast noting that he ‘ran the show’ in midfield.

After that match, reporter Joshua Barrie claimed that “Regular first-team minutes have to come soon for” the talented midfielder and this illustrates the talent that the 18-year-old has.

He has already been on the bench in the Europa League and would surely have been involved in some capacity had he been available for the match tonight, even if he did not get a kick of the ball. This is a blow for the player as it sets him back in his progression into the first-team and it leaves van Bronckhorst with one less option to pick from, having already lost Morelos earlier this week – leaving fans gutted in the process.

AND in other news, Major blow: Gvb dealt fresh Rangers injury setback that’ll leave Ibrox faithful fuming…

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah is on the verge of signing a new deal after much speculation, according to the latest updates regarding his future.

The Lowdown: Salah’s future up in the air

The 29-year-old’s next career move has been a topic of much discussion recently, with reports linking him with a move away from Anfield in the summer transfer window to the likes of PSG and Barcelona.

Salah and Liverpool have struggled to come to an agreement over a new deal, with wages thought to be an area of contention as the Kop’s Egyptian King reportedly requests as much as £500,000-a-week.

A fresh update has now emerged, however – one that is potentially massive from a Liverpool perspective.

The Latest: New deal imminent?

According to The Mirror, Salah is now close to extending his stay with the Reds, with the Egyptian on the verge of staying at Anfield for the ‘rest of his career’.

A ‘change of mind’ from the forward is thought to have occurred and he is ‘prepared to compromise’ regarding money.

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The Verdict: Massive news

If true, this is an enormous positive for Liverpool, with Salah arguably the world’s best player across the season as a whole, scoring 20 goals and registering ten assists in the Premier League this term.

Losing him at the peak of his powers would be a crushing blow, with the attacker bordering on irreplaceable, given the level of end product he provides on a year-to-year basis.

Salah surely still has many years left in him at the top and spending them Liverpool can only bode well in terms of their future success.

In other news, a journalist has made an exciting Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.