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Leeds United have been dealt a huge setback in their pursuit of long-time target Nahitan Nandez…

What’s the word?

The Yorkshire outfit have regularly been linked with a move for the Cagliari midfielder, having been mooted during the summer window, as per L’Unione Sarda (via Sport Witness).

Director of football Victor Orta was even said to have flown out to Sardinia to try and strike a deal.

And earlier this month, other reports from Italy suggested that the Whites were ‘leading the race’ to sign the 26-year-old before deadline day on January 31st.

However, Leeds have now been dealt a late blow with just eight days to go as financial heavyweights Newcastle United have entered the race, according to Tuttosport.

After their takeover earlier in the season, the Magpies have huge backing from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, making them fierce competitors to Nandez’s signature, especially as there is a lack of funds at Elland Road.

“They don’t have fortunes to throw around at the moment,” recently claimed transfer insider Dean Jones to GIVEMESPORT this week.

Perfect for Bielsa

Thus, this latest development will come as a massive blow to Bielsa and Leeds, not at least because they are absolutely desperate to get in reinforcements for the engine room.

They have not signed a midfielder since January 2018, when Adam Forshaw joined from Middlesbrough, which is rather damning in itself, whilst Bielsa will be without the services of star anchorman Kalvin Phillips until March, at the very earliest.

Nandez would be an astute addition and one that is perfect for the Argentine’s tactical system. He certainly fits the atypical profile.

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As we’ve previously outlined on Football FanCast, the Uruguay international would be something of a dream signing for Bielsa.

Standing at a diminutive 5 foot 7, the midfield dynamo is a powerful and bustling presence in midfield, leading to him being dubbed a “machine” by Serie A expert Conor Clancy.

This season, he’s averaged 2.3 aerial duels, 1.9 tackles and 1.4 dribbles per league outing (via WhoScored), which suggests he’s not just a ball-winning beast but one that can quickly get up the pitch.

But Leeds simply won’t be able to compete with the Magpies, who splashed a whopping £25m on Chris Wood just to get him in time for their clash at Watford last week and then Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.

It paid off with Eddie Howe’s men securing just their second win of the season. They will be able to offer Cagliari a better fee and the player a better financial package, so it seems as if Bielsa and co may well struggle to land one of their key targets.

On the above evidence, this will surely leave the 66-year-old absolutely livid as his club are no closer to additions this month, especially after previously insisting to sign Nandez.

AND in other news, Bielsa could land his own Conor Gallagher in Leeds swoop for “silky” 15-cap sensation…

Celtic have enjoyed a wonderful January transfer window with Ange Postecoglou aiming to replicate the immense success of Kyogo Furuhashi’s transfer to Parkhead last summer.

The Japan international has quickly become a cult hero for the Hoops and in the trio of Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi, he is beginning to build quite the team at Paradise.

Daizen has hit the ground running, scoring on his debut, while Hatate enjoyed a rather impressive first outing for the club last week too.

They have been joined in Glasgow by Matt O’Riley who caught the eye of the Bhoys and arrived MK Dons for a fee of £1.5m.

Like Hatate, he had a debut to remember, playing as many as eight key passes in their 2-1 victory over Hearts in midweek.

However, it hasn’t been plain sailing for the Scottish giants who have been dealt a succession of injury blows.

Callum McGregor is now a long-term absentee, joining Kyogo in the treatment room. Maeda will be unavailable due to an international call-up and with Giorgos Giakoumakis’ fitness still a concern, Celtic could be left short in some key areas.

As a result, journalist Mark Guidi tipped Postecoglou to move for another forward player in the remaining days of the window, saying: “I think it would have to be in the thinking of Ange Postecoglou to try and get a striker and probably a loan deal between now and an end of the season.”

Indeed, if the Celtic boss decides that’s an area he does need more bodies in then he should look no further than Siriki Dembele.

The recruitment team at Paradise have already exploited the English Football League for talent this winter and they could replicate that trick by luring the long-term target north of the border in the coming days.

Dembele, who is the brother of academy darling Karamoko, has been on Celtic’s radar for a while now and it’s thought Peterborough could be willing to let him go before the deadline passes.

If they want to do business with the Hoops, then he’d top off an excellent transfer window and ensure they have enough in their offensive armoury to continue their title challenge.

He is currently plying his trade in the second tier of English football where he has found the net on five occasions this term, taking his tally for Posh to 30 strikes.

The best campaign of his career undoubtedly came last term when he showed off his impressive skill set to score 11 goals and register 12 assists in League One from a multitude of positions, either on the flank or from central areas.

That kind of form saw him hailed on a regular basis by Barry Fry. Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast in April 2021, he said: “Siriki can get the ball in his own half and with dazzling dribbling ability, he can beat four or five players and score a wonder goal or cross it for somebody else to score.

“He’s very, very exciting. He’s got the best stats outside the Premier League, I think. We’ll try to keep hold of him if we go up, and we’ll make him an offer he can refuse! So watch this space.”

It’s hard not to get excited about the potential opportunity to bring him in this winter and although it feels unlikely, long-term interest is there so it’s certainly not impossible.

AND in other news, Forget Reo: £405k-rated Celtic gem with 8 key passes proved Ange is a genius vs Hearts…

Everton are set to seal the transfer deadline day signing of Dele Alli.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the transfer insider revealing in a recent post on Twitter that, despite Newcastle United’s late attempt to pip the Toffees to the signing of the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, the 25-year-old will be joining Frank Lampard’s side in the coming hours.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “I’m told still the same: he’s going to join Everton.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering Everton’s rather desperate need to sign a new attacking midfielder prior to the closure of the January transfer window this evening, as, at present, Lampard possesses no natural options in the position, the news that the Toffees look to have seen off a late bid from Newcastle for the former England international is sure to have left fans buzzing.

Indeed, while it is true that the £22.5m-rated man has far from been in his best form in recent seasons, the fact remains that Dele has scored 51 goals and registered 37 assists over his 181 Premier League appearances for Spurs – meaning the attacking midfielder directly contributes to a goal a little over every other league game played.

As such, if Lampard can help the 25-year-old maintain a consistent level of fitness, as well as getting the £100k-per-week number 10 back to his best form, Everton’s signing of the Tottenham playmaker could turn out to be something of a transfer masterclass by the new Toffees manager.

In other news: “It’s true…”: Journo drops major update on last-gasp EFC deal, Lampard would love it

The Athletic’s Tottenham reporter, Charlie Eccleshare, has dropped a glowing report of Harry Kane’s resurrection under manager Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown

The England captain suffered a difficult start to the Premier League season, scoring just one goal in Spurs’ opening 13 matches. Nine of these games were played during Nuno Espirito Santo’s brief stint at the club, with the Portuguese boss often pushing the striker to drift out wide – where he ultimately posed little to no threat.

In these nine top flight matches under Nuno, Kane averaged 2.3 shots and 1.2 shots on target per 90 minutes. That figure is up to 4.3 shots and 1.7 shots on target per 90 minutes in his ten league appearances under Conte.

This includes a staggering ten shots against Leicester City last month, albeit only three were on target, but it shows the Italian has got him back to his confident self in front of goal.

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The Latest

The Athletic’s Eccleshare shared these statistics on Twitter, singing the 28-year-old’s praises in his latest article.

Eccleshare claimed that “one of Conte’s biggest tasks at THFC was to return Kane to his best” and that “the early signs are, he’s doing just that”.

He further added a comparison of the striker’s statistics under Nuno and Conte:

“Non-penalty xG (expected goals) 0.22 per 90 under Nuno; 0.54 per 90 under Conte.”

The Verdict

Illustrated by Eccleshare’s statistics, Kane is back in unstoppable form. The England international has scored four goals in the Lilywhites’ last six Premier League games, and it is clear to see that he is once again playing with a smile on his face.

Before the Italian boss arrived at Hotspur Way, he was already impressed with the Tottenham star. Whilst working as a pundit between managerial gigs last summer, Conte said that, as a coach, he would keep Kane in the box because that’s where “he’s devastating”.

Former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino had the same opinion of the forward, claiming that he is a “killer” in front of goal. It sure is good to see that killer instinct back if you’re a Lilywhites fan, and Conte may well be to thank for it.

In other news: talkSPORT’s Alex Crook slams Daniel Levy

Tottenham Hotspur may have hit the jackpot with Cristian Romero after his stunning return to the side following a serious injury…

Summer signing

The 23-year-old was one of sporting director Fabio Paratici’s first signings at the club after he was appointed in the summer but he has struggled for much game time, especially under new manager Antonio Conte due to a long-term injury.

Indeed, Romero played for only the third time under the Italian and his 14th time for the club at the weekend as Spurs advanced into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a resounding victory over top-flight rivals Brighton and Hove Albion.

Important player

His display was almost as if he had never left that backline – as per SofaScore, he won 75% of his duels, made five clearances, put in four tackles and two interceptions and even completed 97% of his passes.

It was an all-round ball-playing and defensive masterclass which was rewarded with high praise indeed.

Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas dubbed the £31.5m-rated colossus a “Rolls-Royce”, whilst former Lilywhites goalkeeper Paul Robinson described him as “a phenomenal defender” who is easily the best at the club to Football Insider.

Romero is the sort of centre-back that Spurs have been missing for years – someone aggressive in the tackle but so deft in the touch, to the point of being a genuine outlet to start their attacks, especially since the departures of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.

Conte has since emphasised the Argentine’s importance to their success this season, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s match against Southampton, he told reporters (via football.london):

“He is an important player for me. He is [like] a new signing for me because he played three games with me, and only one game in the league. He is an important player for me and the team. He is strong and he anticipates, he has a good personality to play with the ball. He has good experience and I like him. He has a lot of space for improvement.”It would be fair to suggest that the former Atalanta man is something of an absolute steal for Spurs, having initially signed him on loan from the Serie A outfit. The north Londoners will soon see just how much they have hit the jackpot with his signature – if they haven’t already.It’s surely a dream deal for Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy as he will become a permanent player for €55m (£42m) in the summer.

AND in other news, Conte could take Spurs to the next level by signing £27m-rated “leader”, he’d love him…

Newcastle United have signed numerous players since being promoted back to the Premier League at the end of the 2016/17 season.

However, as tends to be the case with most clubs, not every player who made the move to St James’ Park ended up having a particularly successful time there.

One player who had a spell with the Toon but has ended up finding his feet elsewhere is Mikel Merino. Signed on loan during the 2017 summer transfer window from Borussia Dortmund, the Spaniard then put pen to paper on a permanent deal with the Magpies a few months later.

With 24 league appearances to his name throughout the 2017/18 Premier League campaign, the midfielder earned himself an overall performance rating of 6.85/10, making him the joint-seventh highest rated player in the Newcastle squad according to WhoScored.

Unfortunately for Newcastle, La Liga club Real Sociedad triggered his £10m release clause in the summer of 2018. Since then, the 25-year-old – who is currently picking up £53k-per-week according to Salary Sport – has scored 16 goals and provided 15 assists in 145 appearances for the Spanish club.

Having played in 25 league games this season, the former Toon midfielder has scored three goals, provided two assists and earned an overall performance rating of 7.25/10 from WhoScored. That makes him the highest-rated player at Sociedad and the joint-fifth highest rated player in La Liga, alongside another former Newcastle man in Joselu.

In October 2017, shortly after arriving in England, Transfermarkt had Merino’s market value listed as £6.3m. It now stands at a massive £45m, highlighting a significant increase presumably based on his efforts in Spain.

This also backs up what journalist David Cartlidge had to say about the midfield gem when he tweeted that the 26-year-old’s progress on the pitch since joining Sociedad has been “immense.”

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to suggest that Newcastle had a howler in regards to having a release clause put into Merino’s contract at St James’ Park.

Given how impressive the midfield maestro has been this season, this will certainly be haunting the Tyneside club, as the Spaniard could have been a standout figure for the team had he stayed.

In other news – Ashley howler: Newcastle will be having nightmares over “ridiculous” £90m-rated “monster”

This forms part of The Transfer Tavern’s Loan Watch series, where we analyse how a player from one club is doing on loan.

The Lowdown: Hendrick’s January move

Newcastle decided to send Jeff Hendrick out on loan to Queens Park Rangers in the January transfer window after playing a mere 70 minutes for them in the Premier League this season.

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In the Championship, the Republic of Ireland international has had plenty more minutes, missing just two games for the R’s so far.

The Latest: QPR struggles for Hendrick

Hendrick played 68 minutes for QPR in their 1-0 loss at Sheffield United in the Championship on Tuesday night before he was hauled off by manager Mark Warburton.

Unfortunately for him, he struggled to make any real impact in the match, failing to record a single shot on target, dribble or cross. Defensively, he lost out on four of his six duels in total, while he also made no clearances, interceptions or tackles and was guilty of giving the ball away four times (SofaScore).

The Verdict: Will be sold

Given Hendrick’s latest display, coupled with the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes at St James’ Park from Lyon in January, it now seems likely that the Irishman will be sold by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) in the summer.

Last night’s display wasn’t an aberration, either – as per WhoScored performance metrics, he ranks a lowly 19th among 26 players to have featured for QPR this season, which suggests that he has been largely unconvincing since his move to west London.

It may be the best time to cash in on the 30-year-old, whose market value only looks to be depreciating from here on in, as the Magpies already have plenty of options in his position.

Performances like the one he had for the Hoops at Bramall Lane last night will only make PIF’s mind up sooner, as he ultimately failed to send a positive message out to the new owners at Newcastle.

In other news, find out which ‘Rolex player’ NUFC are now considering signing

As per Calciomercato, some news has come to light on a ‘top summer priority’ for Tottenham Hotspur and their manager Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Spurs targets identified?

Sharing a transfer update earlier this month, The Athletic lifted the lid on Spurs transfer chief Fabio Paratici’s list of summer targets for a real priority position.

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According to their sources, the Lilywhites have identified strengthening their left-sided centre-back ranks as a real priority, with a few big names reportedly on their agenda.

Writing on Twitter, Jack Pitt-Brooke claimed that Joško Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Sven Botman (Lille) and Nico Schlotterbeck (SC Freiburg) are all targets, along with Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni.

Sharing an update on the latter, Calciomercato have made a claim involving Conte.

The Latest: Conte ‘probes’ for Bastoni…

As per their sources, backing The Athletic’s claim, Conte has personally given the green light to the signing of a left-sided centre-back, suggesting the move to Paratici.

In addition, Bastoni is apparently a target, with the Italian head coach now ‘probing the hypothesis of re-embracing one of his pupils’ at Spurs.

The Verdict: Make a move?

The £122,000-per-week defender, who has been tipped as an international heir to Italy footballing legend Giorgio Chiellini, could seriously boost Conte’s defensive options and come as a long-term addition at Tottenham.

Just 23 years old, the Nerrazzuri defender was a regular under Conte as his Inter side lifted the 2020/21 Scudetto, starting 33 Serie A matches in that triumphant campaign.

It’s clear that Bastoni is favoured by the Spurs manager, and with Italian football experts like Kaustubh Pandey (Get Italian Football News) calling him ‘world class’, the centre-back may well be a brilliant prospective addition in north London.

In other news: Tottenham could strike ‘imminent agreement’ for ‘magical’ £25m striker! Find out more here.

Liverpool have been handed a major boost ahead of their return to Premier League action this evening…

What’s the latest?

The Merseyside giants will be looking to keep the pressure on league-leading Manchester City, who they defeated 3-2 in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, as they welcome their red arch-rivals to Anfield later today.

Jurgen Klopp appears to have a fully fit squad to choose from and now, he has been gifted an even bigger boost as Manchester United are set to be without as many as five first-team stars for this huge encounter.

As revealed by Red Devils boss Ralf Rangnick in his pre-game press conference on Monday afternoon, the visitors will be without Edinson Cavani, Scott McTominay, Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane and Fred.

“Rapha [Varane] didn’t train with the team. He was on the pitch with one of our rehab coaches. But with regard to injured players, we have the same situation that we had in the last two games,” he revealed.

Huge for Klopp

This is great news for Klopp and co as at least four of those five players would normally be part of Rangnick’s starting lineup, if fit.

Shaw and Varane are two key members of the German’s backline, particularly the latter, who is leagues apart from £80m flop Harry Maguire, whilst the English left-back has been in fine form in recent months.

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Meanwhile, both McTominay and Fred – dubbed ‘McFred’ by the Old Trafford faithful – have often been the main pairing at the base of the engine room for Rangnick, and his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Only four players have featured in more league minutes than the duo this campaign.

Cavani, however, has played a bit-part role following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has recently missed two of their last five matches in the English top-flight.

There’s no doubt that the Uruguayan can still cut the mustard at this level – having scored ten goals in only 13 league starts last term – and on his day, he poses a big threat and it also leaves the visiting cast of United without another frontline option.

With Liverpool needing to pick up further points to maintain their position in the title race, they will certainly feel buoyed by the prospect of facing a much weaker United team later this evening.

Klopp must be buzzing.

AND in other news, Forget Salah: Klopp must unleash £54m-rated Liverpool “monster” today, he can terrify Man Utd…

Tottenham Hotspur will face a Brentford side in the Premier League this evening that doesn’t include Ethan Pinnock, with the centre-back ruled out with a hamstring injury.

What’s the latest?

As quoted by West London Sport, Bees manager Thomas Frank said to the media: “Ethan will, hopefully, be only a couple of weeks, so that means Manchester United is borderline, but let’s see.”

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The 28-year-old limped off in the first half of the west London outfit’s 2-1 win at Watford last Saturday whilst fellow defender Zanka will also be sidelined with Spurs set to face a side with limited resources at the back.

Conte will be buzzing

After last weekend’s slip up against Brighton, Tottenham can no longer afford to make mistakes if they are to secure Champions League football for next season with just six matches left this term.

Spurs have dropped out of the top four temporarily after Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Manchester United, although the Lilywhites will return to fourth place with victory at the Brentford Community Stadium.

However, their place is hanging by a thread with goal difference the only factor separating the two sides if Conte’s side are victorious at Brentford.

Therefore, the prospect of playing a side struggling for options at the back is certainly a huge boost for the north London outfit.

The Bees are in inspired form though, winning five of their last six which has ultimately extinguished any nerves regarding an instant return to the Championship.

Moreover, Pinnock has settled into the top flight expertly, playing in 32 of the Bees’ 33 league matches, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.

After Brentford, Spurs face three tricky tasks with Leicester at home as well as a trip to Liverpool whilst a home North London Derby that could ultimately decide who between them and Arsenal take fourth place.

As a result, victory this evening is crucial which means that Brentford’s injury woes will certainly leave Conte buzzing.

And in other news: Conte unleashes “amazing” £58k-p/w gem, “pathetic” £43m flop axed: Spurs predicted XI