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Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has previously told Jamie Redknapp that he would like to stay at Spurs, but they have to match his ambition.

What’s the latest?

The England captain’s name made the headlines over the weekend after his winning goal against Manchester City saw Kane become Tottenham’s record goalscorer.

However, there are concerns over the player’s future in north London with just over one year remaining on his deal with his boyhood club.

The likes of Manchester United have been linked with potential interest in the 29-year-old ahead of the summer with Spurs hoping to tie him down to a new deal.

And speaking to Sky Sports, Redknapp has admitted the striker has previously told him he wants to remain put in N17 but the club’s future has to be pointing in the right direction:

“This is what he said to me in 2020, that I want to stay, I love the club, but I’ll only stay if I believe the club are going in the right direction.

“Now, the fact that it hasn’t quite signed yet tells me that he’s still not quite sure, you know, he wants to see a little bit more he wants to club to match his ambition.”

Is it time to go?

There have been reports in the past suggesting Kane has come close to leaving the club with Manchester City making an approach back in 2021 to sign him.

And it is believed the England captain was open to the move and had indicated to Spurs that, actually, he would like to make the move to the Etihad Stadium.

So in that sense, it does seem as if Kane would be willing to leave north London if he feels as if the right opportunity was to present itself.

There could also be a lot riding on the future of Antonio Conte who is yet to commit his future to Spurs with his contract set to expire at the end of the current season.

Some reports have suggested he is likely to allow his deal to run out and make a return to Italy where his wife and daughter reside.

This does beg the question of whether Kane views Spurs’ future in a positive light with Conte potentially walking away from the club.

And now Kane has broken Tottenham’s goal record, this could potentially enable him to walk away from the club having etched his name in the club’s history.

But with Alan Shearer’s record still to break, it will be interesting to see whether the striker feels as if he is at the best place to do so over the coming years.

West Bromwich Albion are working on a move to sign Lewis O’Brien but the deal isn’t as close as suggested, according to Lewis Cox.

The Lowdown: O’Brien future

O’Brien only joined Nottingham Forest in the summer alongside Harry Toffolo in a double swoop from Championship side Huddersfield Town for £10m.

However, after only six Premier League starts and just one coming after the fifth game of the campaign, where he was hooked at half-time in the 4-0 defeat at Leicester City, the 24-year-old may be on the move again.

It was reported by the Express & Star that the Baggies are keen on bringing the centre-midfielder to The Hawthorns on loan until the end of the season to aid their promotion bid.

The Latest: Cox’s comments

Speaking during Express & Star’s post-match analysis of West Brom’s dismal 3-0 FA Cup defeat against Bristol City, the West Brom correspondent give an update on the club’s swoop for the former Championship star, Cox said:

(5:26) “A lot of excitement around that, everyone knows what a player he is in this division.”

“Listen if he’s available as we read he is from Forest then Albion should be at the front of the queue shouldn’t they.”

“Our information on the back of that was it’s not as close as suggested but he’s certainly a target and Albion are trying to make it happen, trying to do that deal.”

The Verdict: Great addition

A move for the Baggies to bring O’Brien in for the remainder of the season could be a great piece of business with the Englishman playing majority coming under current West Brom boss Carlos Corberan.

He played the full 90 minutes in both legs of the semi-final and the final loss to Forest in the Championship play-offs last season with him pivotal in the Terriers’ season.

Corberan’s side currently lie just a point outside of the top six among a tightly packed crowd on the cusp of the play-off spots.

The addition of a player who has the experience of being part of a play-off side under Corberan could prove invaluable come the end of the season.

Arsenal look set to secure the signing of Ukrainian sensation Mykhailo Mudryk as Mikel Arteta aims to give his side the boost they need as they chase their first Premier League title in 19 years.

There could be another one or two new faces this month too, with a midfielder and centre-forward high on the manager’s wish list to improve squad depth.

The Gunners are interested in a deal to bring Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic to the Emirates Stadium in order to ease the burden on Eddie Nketiah.

Arsenal were also linked with the Juventus marksman last year, but with Gabriel Jesus ruled out for the next few months due to an injury suffered at the World Cup, adding another forward is now a must for Arteta.

The Serbian hitman has lit up Serie A with his goalscoring exploits over the previous few years, netting 57 goals in just 123 appearances in the Italian top flight, and it’s no wonder he is attracting interest from England.

Indeed, his devastating ability in front of goal has seen him compared to Erling Haaland via FBref’s similar player model, with the Norwegian superstar the sixth-most comparable player to Vlahovic.

Haaland – who joined Manchester City for £51m last summer – has sparkled in the Premier League this season, scoring a quite remarkable 21 goals in just 17 matches, and it’s certainly not a bad comparison for Vlahovic to have.

This season, the two strikers have registered similar statistics with regard to shot-creating actions per match (2.54 to 2.41), dribble success rate (41.7% to 35.7%), assists (three to one), and aerial duels won (48.5% to 47.2%).

Both players clearly offer an excellent attacking threat, and if Arteta wants to keep Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, investing in a player like Vlahovic could be a wise move.

The £220k-per-week striker was dubbed “clinical” by CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs following a goal against Switzerland in the World Cup and he knows how to deliver on the highest stage, so he could settle in at Arsenal with ease.

The 22-year-old could soften the Jesus injury blow over the next few months, and it might just lead to Arsenal claiming the league title with Arteta unearthing his own Haaland in the process.

Newcastle United have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Atletico Madrid striker Matheus Cunha in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Attacker wanted

Given recent links to the likes of Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, Leeds United’s Jack Harrison and PSV’s Cody Gakpo, it is clear that the St. James’ Park outfit would like to bring in another attacker in January, to help them push all the way for a UEFA Champions League place come the end of next season.

Having largely been a missed out on Brazil’s FIFA World Cup squad in Qatar, Cunha is likely to seek a move away this winter, which could give a number of clubs an opportunity to pounce on his signature.

The Latest: Newcastle ‘offered’ Cunha

Co-writing in his latest piece for 90min, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has revealed that the Magpies have been ‘offered’ Cunha in January alongside Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, as Atletico are ‘desperate’ to offload his wages, and would be ‘prepared’ to sanction a loan move.

However, Everton, Aston Villa and Leeds United have made contact with Cunha’s representatives over a potential deal, and are ‘actively trying’ to strike one for him, while the player himself is ‘interested’ in working with Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui, but ‘sources’ have claimed that he would like to explore all of his options first of all before making a final decision on his future.

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The Verdict: Look elsewhere?

Eddie Howe’s side have had no real problems in the attacking third of the pitch this term, with their 29 goals scored in the Premier League the fourth-highest in the division.

Dubbed ‘something special‘ by former Hertha Berlin head coach Bruno Labbadia, after impressing with the German club, where he managed 23 goal contributions in 40 games (Transfermarkt), in truth Cunha has struggled for form since moving to Atletico,  failing to find the back of the net so far in this campaign.

Lauded as a player who is ‘very fast’, with ‘great technical skills’, ‘unpredictable gameplay’ and an ‘excellent goal instinct’ by his former manager at Swiss side FC Sion Maurizio Jacobacci, Cunha boasts a similar playing style to Tyneside striker Alexander Isak, but the former would likely have to be pushed out wide in order to accommodate the Sweden international.

Sharing the same agent as Toon central midfielder and fellow Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes, a deal could certainly be pushed through, but the North East club may want to think twice about whether Cunha is the right fit for them.

Liverpool’s midfield conundrum has established itself as a well-known fact in the Premier League, with the club’s flagging fortunes this season attributed frequently to the stagnant, static midfield.

With the likes of Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson 31 years old and 32 years old respectively, and with Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all with contracts facing expiry at the end of the season, fresh life is desperately needed at Anfield.

Leighton Clarkson is one player already on the books who could prove to be a valuable asset in stabilising the centre of the park, with the deep-lying playmaker excelling up in Scotland on a one-year loan deal with Aberdeen.

The 21-year-old Clarkson has made 14 appearances for Aberdeen thus far, scoring four goals and assisting two more, captivating those in and around the club with his technical ability and demand for forward transitions in abundance, always seeking out the most fruitful move.

Dons boss Jim Goodwin was particularly impressed with the player after his debut, saying: “Even though we are carrying two or three injuries at the moment, we’ve got adequate replacements in the squad.””You saw that at the weekend when (Hayden) Coulson goes off we just moved (Liam) Scales to left-back and (Ross) McCrorie dropped in, then wee Leighton Clarkson came on and had one of the best debuts I’ve seen in a long, long time.”Putting in an average rating of 7.13, Clarkson has completed 71% of his passes – making 1.2 key passes per match – also winning 62% of his total duels and making an average of 2.0 tackles per match.During his debut, against St. Mirren, the maestro came off the bench in the first half following an injury and proceeded to record an 8.1 rating, scoring with his only shot on target, winning six of his seven duels and completing 89% of his total passes on the afternoon.

And the Reds’ assistant manager Pep Ljinders waxed lyrical about the starlet back when he was only 17-years-old, impressed with his ability while training with the senior squad members.

He said: “Leighton Clarkson, who sees with his own eyes the constant runs of Sadio and Mo in behind. He has the capacity to play the passes these type of forwards like to receive, he is the type of No6 we really like, the one who can dictate play, but dictate with direction, who can speed up the tempo of the positional play, the one who has always time on the ball.”

The teenager is incredibly highly-rated by those at Anfield, with Klopp even going far as to suggest he is “similar” to the great Philipp Lahm.

Such a comparison should spark excitement across those in Merseyside with the teenager potentially set to save the club millions amid the club’s interest in Jude Bellingham, Enzo Fernandez and Sofyan Amrabat.

With several first-team positional peers set to depart the Merseyside giants at the end of the season, there is perhaps hope that Clarkson’s admirable start to life in Scotland is an indication that further success will follow at Anfield; it’s worth a shot, he could be a diamond yet to be cut.

Everton making a move to sign Hoffenheim midfielder Dennis Geiger in January is ‘one to look out for’, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Free agent in 2023

The German’s contract with the Bundesliga giants is set to expire at the end of the season, meaning that he is able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with potential suitors from January onwards.

Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg credited the Toffees, alongside Benfica, with an interest in the 24-year-old, and with no extension believed to be on the cards, there’s a chance he could be on his way to the Premier League.

The Latest: Jones’ comments

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones claimed that Everton supporters will have been hoping to be linked to more of a household name, but insisted that Geiger is the right profile of player they should be targeting.

“At a time when they are uncertain where they are going to be finishing in the league, I think that Everton fans might be a little bit underwhelmed, but it is one to look out for, because this is the type of player I think we’ll be reading a lot about.”

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The Verdict: One to watch?

Geiger has previously been labelled a ‘live wire’ by Sandro Wagner, so the Merseyside outfit may well be getting a big character if they make their move.

The Mosbach native only averages 0.2 shots per game but has averaged 1.6 key passes per game and has been Hoffenheim’s sixth-best performer this season, as per WhoScored.

Frank Lampard’s side are just one point above the relegation zone, so immediate January reinforcements could be required alongside working on a potential summer move for Geiger.

Leeds United right-back Cody Drameh is attracting increasing interest ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, with the Italian transfer insider revealing in a recent post on Twitter that Borussia Dortmund, LOSC Lille and Bayer Leverkusen have now joined Newcastle United in the race to sign the Whites’ 20-year-old right-back this winter.

Regarding the future of the England U21 international, the journalist said: “Cody Drameh, attracting interest as many clubs are keen on signing him in January from Leeds. Borussia Dortmund, Lille and Bayer Leverkusen alongside Newcastle are following the English right back as talent for the future.”

Big mistake

While it is true that, at present, both Rasmus Kristensen and Luke Ayling are ahead of Drameh in Jesse Marsch’s right-back pecking order, considering just how much potential the 20-year-old possesses, in addition to Ayling turning 32 years of age early next year, the argument that selling the youngster this winter would be a big mistake is an easy one to make.

Indeed, the £2.2m-rated talent highly impressed during a short-term loan spell with Cardiff City last season, helping the Bluebirds keep six clean sheets over his 22 Championship appearances, as well as making an average of 3.8 tackles – the most of any player in the division – one interception, 2.0 clearances and winning 6.9 duels – at a success rate of 57% – per game.

The £4.4k-per-week full-back also impressed going forwards, providing his teammates with three assists and creating four big chances, in addition to making an average of 0.6 key passes, playing 1.4 long balls and completing 1.1 dribbles per fixture.

These returns saw the player who Michael Skubala claimed goes “under the radar” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Cardiff’s fourth-best player in the second tier of English football last time out.

Furthermore, the England youth international has also stood out for Leeds’ U21 side in the current campaign, scoring one goal and registering three assists over his 7.03 over his three appearances in the Papa John’s Trophy.

As such, it is easy to see why Manchester Evening News journalist and self-confessed Leeds supporter, Conor McGilligan, suggested that, following Romano’s update, Marsch needs to start selecting Drameh in his starting XI, stating:

“Should be Drameh and [Kristensen] fighting out for the [right-back] spot. If you need any more convincing, just look at the calibre of clubs in for him. Instead (with respect) Bill is still featuring ahead of Cody. It’s 2022 – we need to evolve.”

It is difficult to disagree with this opinion, while it is also not difficult to see that selling Drameh would be an incredibly short-sighted decision by the Whites, as Drameh has more than proven he is worthy of a chance in Marsch’s first team this season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers currently occupy 18th place in the Premier League table after winning just two league matches all season.

Their biggest downfall is a lack of goals, with the Old Gold only scoring five times in 11 league matches, the lowest out of any side in the top flight.

Former manager Bruno Lage brought Sasa Kalajdzic to the club to solve these woes, however, he got injured in his first match, while Diego Costa hasn’t exactly set Molineux on fire so far, averaging a disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.35.

Lage might still be in a job if Wolves signed one of their targets during the summer, especially with his goalscoring record and Premier League experience…

Dzeko would have solved Wolves’ goalscoring crisis

Edin Dzeko was linked with the club back in July as Lage looked to add some firepower to his misfiring squad.

A move didn’t materialise and it appears Wolves are paying for that mistake now, especially with their woeful goal return this season.

The £155k-per-week forward has plenty of Premier League experience, winning two league titles with Manchester City, scoring 50 goals in 130 league appearances for the club in a four-year spell.

Despite being two years older than Costa, the Bosnian might have been a better option due to the form he showed last season for Inter Milan.

The 36-year-old scored 17 goals in all competitions, chipping in with a further ten assists, proving his game doesn’t just rely on goals and he is still performing at the highest level.

Eusebio Di Francesco, his manager at AS Roma, supported this claim, saying: “He’s an extraordinary player, and not just in terms of his finishing – he gets the team playing, brings the ball down, and produces good service for his teammates.”

Compared to positional peers in the big five European leagues, Dzeko ranks in the 93rd percentile for total shots (3.56 per 90) and the 90th percentile for progressive passes (3.06 per 90), with these stats alone proving that Wolves should have brought him back to England.

With their current form and evident woes in front of goal, the club will surely regret their decision to pursue other targets.

Leeds United’s poor run of form in the Premier League continued as they tasted defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The home side came from behind to record their first win in five outings and to condemn Jesse Marsch’s men to a fifth game without a victory themselves.

Pascal Struijk handed the Whites an early lead, firing home from short range in the tenth minute after Brenden Aaronson’s spectacular solo effort cannoned off the post into the defender’s path.

But it was short-lived as Odsonne Edouard headed home from Michael Olise’s free-kick just 14 minutes later before the Eagles snatched the game through Eberechi Eze, whose mazy run and long-range individual scorcher sailed past a helpless Illan Meslier.

It was certainly a tough afternoon for Leeds and in particular, the returning Patrick Bamford, who looked rusty and not quite 100% yet. It would be harsh to criticise him, having barely featured in the past 18 months.

However, winger Jack Harrison was arguably the most wasteful of the visitors’ starting lineup.

As per SofaScore, no player in the whole game lost the ball more times than the 25-year-old as he squandered possession an eye-watering 25 times – that was nearly half of his 53 touches, which only emphasises just how poor he was when Leeds were attacking.

The £35m-rated dynamo also managed just one shot throughout the 90 minutes he was on the pitch and to make matters worse, only two of his five dribbling attempts were successful, suggesting that he had a difficult game against his opposite number.

Elsewhere, Harrison won just five of nine duels and was careless in his passing, accurately finding a Leeds man with only 67% of his 27 attempts, also via SofaScore.

As LeedsLive reporter Beren Cross suggested on social media, the winger was “not doing enough” against the Eagles, so that – combined with the evidence above – only points to Harrison being rather costly for Marsch and co down in south-east London on Sunday afternoon.

It was a pretty disappointing display from one of the American’s usually reliable options.

AND in other news, Orta had a Leeds transfer blunder on “special” £6.5k-p/w “talent”, he’s better than Bamford…

Tottenham Hotspur and transfer chief Fabio Paratici by extension are ‘set’ to complete the permanent signing of Dejan Kulusevski at the end of the Premier League season.

The Lowdown: Instant impact

The Swedish international arrived in the capital in January alongside Rodrigo Bentancur on an initial 18-month loan deal, and his instant impact has been nothing short of remarkable.

The 22-year-old recently admitted that leaving the Serie A outfit to join the Lilywhites was the best decision he could have made, and it sounds like his efforts are about to be rewarded by Paratici.

The Latest: Spurs to tie down Kulusevski

Taking to Twitter, Romano revealed that Spurs will secure Kulusevski on a long-term basis following the conclusion of this campaign, and there are two ways it could happen. He wrote:

“Tottenham are set to make Dejan Kulusevski deal permanent at the end of the season, no doubts.

“Two ways available:

“If he plays 20 games [45 mins] in PL and Spurs will qualify to UCL ↪️ obligation to buy for €35m.

“If not, Spurs will have a buy option clause.”

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The Verdict: Fully deserved

Kulusevski being handed a permanent deal would be nothing less than he deserves given the hugely impressive start to life he’s made under Antonio Conte.

The Stockholm-born star has clocked up 11 assists and has six goals to his name in just 29 appearances for Spurs (Transfermarkt), highlighting how prolific he can be in the final third.

The forward has become part of a formidable attacking trio alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, so it’s no surprise that the boss wants to keep hold of his ace to continue this formula for the foreseeable future.