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According to A Bola, Alfredo Morelos has already communicated his desire to leave Glasgow Rangers and has even asked Colombia teammates Mateus Uribe and Luis Diaz about Porto.

The Lowdown: Morelos linked with the exit door

Morelos has been heavily linked with a move away from Ibrox this summer, with Porto appearing to be the club most interested in his services.

It has even been reported that the 25-year-old has agreed personal terms with the two-time champions of Europe (via The Scotsman).

The Latest: Morelos makes exit desire clear

It has been reported by A Bola that Morelos has communicated to the Gers that he wants to leave the club.

He has even asked Uribe and Diaz, both of whom already play for the Estadio Dragao side, about Porto – both the club and the city. The report claimed that the Gers want at least €15m (£12.9m) for their star striker.

The Verdict: More speculation

At this point, both Steven Gerrard and the Rangers supporters will be used to speculation surrounding the future of Morelos. Last term, Lille were said to be heavily interested in signing him, and also reportedly agreed personal terms (via The Herald), but the former HJK Helsinki man ended up staying at Ibrox.

At some point, Morelos is likely to leave Rangers – he has already made it clear that he wants to play in a more prestigious league (Goal.com), while he has even shared his dream of playing in the Premier League (Radio Caracol). However, until he is pictured holding up the shirt of another team, the Ibrox faithful can continue to look forward to him maintaining his consistent stream of goals in Glasgow.

In other news, Rangers dealt pre-Champions League blow.

Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth says that Aston Villa are negotiating with West Ham United over a potential deal for goalkeeper Darren Randolph. 

The lowdown

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans reported on Friday, following confirmation that a loan deal had been agreed for Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho, that Villa also wanted to sign a goalkeeper in January.

Randolph,  who is currently third choice at West Ham behind Lukasz Fabianski and Alphonse Areola, appears to be a primary target. The 34-year-old has 18 months left on his £42,000-per-week contract and is valued at £900,000 by Transfermarkt.

A move to Villa Park would see him provide further competition and cover for incumbent first-choice Emiliano Martinez, the club’s Player of the Season for 2020/21.

The latest

Speaking live on The Transfer Show on Sky Sports [via Football Daily], Sheth revealed that discussions were underway between the two clubs. He added that the prospective signing of Randolph could trigger the departure of current Villa deputy Jed Steer.

The journalist outlined: “We’re told they’re in talks to sign the West Ham United goalkeeper Darren Randolph. If a deal can be struck between Aston Villa and West Ham United, then Villa could allow their second choice keeper Jed Steer to move on loan so that he can get more regular first team football.”

The verdict

Randolph may be well down the pecking order at West Ham, but he is a solid goalkeeper with plenty of experience, including 34 Premier League games to Steer’s three. He also enjoyed a lengthy stint as Republic of Ireland’s number one, a post he held during Euro 2016, and he has racked up half a century of caps overall (via Transfermarkt).

He’d arrive with the endorsement of former Villa and Ireland boss Martin O’Neill, who called him a ‘very fine’ goalkeeper after an ‘excellent’ performance in a 2017 World Cup play-off clash against Denmark.

Furthermore, Ryan Shotton, a team-mate of Randolph’s at Middlesbrough, dubbed him ‘unbelievable’ and capable of making ‘ridiculous’ saves’.

As backups to Martinez go, Villa would do an awful lot worse than bringing in the Irish veteran from West Ham.

In other news, Villa are also in talks over this potential signing

Newcastle United are reportedly set to seal their first signing of the upcoming summer transfer window after agreeing a fee for Matt Targett…

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Mail, the Magpies are expecting to complete a deal to sign the Englishman on a permanent basis from Aston Villa at the end of his loan spell.

The report claims that the Toon are on the verge of securing a £15m swoop for the former Southampton full-back, making him their first addition ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Eddie Howe will be over the moon

This update will surely leave Newcastle manager Eddie Howe over the moon, as it means that the left-back position is not a cause for concern heading into next season.

Instead of worrying about who his first-choice will be in that position, the 44-year-old can plan ahead knowing that Targett will be slotting in on the left of the backline.

The likes of Matt Ritchie, Jamal Lewis and Paul Dummett are also at the club and can provide competition for the 26-year-old’s place, which means that there is no need for any more signings in that area of the pitch after this deal is completed.

Upon Targett’s arrival at St James’ Park on loan, Howe said: “We have gone into this transfer window with a plan to add strong competition in specific areas of the team and Matt will be a fantastic option for us on the left.

“He has important Premier League experience and know-how at this level, so I’m really pleased we’ve been able to add him to the squad.”

These comments highlight how highly the Newcastle head coach rates the defender, whose performances in the top flight have lived up to the hype. He has proven himself to be a reliable option in the Premier League, with an average SofaScore rating of 6.87 across 26 appearances for Villa and Newcastle this term.

The left-back has created 1.3 chances per game and showcased his defensive quality with an impressive 3.3 tackles and interceptions per match. He is a modern day full-back who can excel at both ends of the pitch, and this is why the ex-Cherries boss will surely love to keep him heading into next season.

At the age of 26, the Magpies can get many more years of service out of Targett, whose performances on the pitch suggest that he could nail down the left-back spot for the foreseeable future at St James’ Park. Signing a player who could be a regular for the next four or five seasons for £15m seems like a bargain on paper, and Howe will be delighted with this prospective deal.

AND in other news, NUFC now eye swoop for “breathtaking” £36m-rated phenomenon, he could be Ginola 2.0…

Tottenham Hotspur are hoping to tie down Hugo Lloris to a new contract in the coming weeks.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent report by Charlie Eccleshare for The Athletic, in which the journalist revealed that, despite being tempted by a move to AS Roma this summer, the goalkeeper is now keen to extend his stay in north London.

Eccleshare added that Antonio Conte is also eager to tie down the France international to a new deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the 34-year-old’s current contract set to expire at the end of the season. That means the shot-stopper can discuss terms with foreign clubs regarding a free transfer from January 1.

However, the journalist then claimed that there is a quiet confidence at Spurs that they will be able to reach an agreement with Lloris, with negotiations regarding a fresh deal expected to intensify in the coming weeks.

Paratici must avoid disaster

Considering just how important Lloris has proven to be for Spurs this season, not to mention over the past nine Premier League campaigns, it would undoubtedly be something of a disaster for Fabio Paratici to allow the 34-year-old to depart north London on a free transfer next summer.

Indeed, over his 14 Premier League appearances this term, the £8.1m-rated shot-stopper has kept six clean sheets, as well as making 2.9 saves per game. These returns have seen the Frenchman averaging an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.05, ranking him as Spurs’ sixth-best performer in the top flight.

Conte is also a huge fan of the £100k-per-week 34-year-old, stating after Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Brentford last week: “I just arrived. I’ve only been here a month. At the moment, of course, we have several situations to resolve. Hugo Lloris is the captain of this team. He is the captain of the France team too. We’re talking about a world-class goalie.

“We will have time to talk about him. I consider him an important player for Tottenham, for his experience and because he is first and foremost a good goalkeeper. He has played for many years with Tottenham and he is still invested in this club.”

As such, with Lloris very much appearing to be an important part of Conte’s first-team plans at Spurs, Paratici simply must do all he can to ensure that the 34-year-old does indeed put pen to paper on a new deal with the club in the coming weeks, or else the shot-stopper may be tempted by an intriguing offer come January 1.

In other news: Conte could save Spurs millions by unleashing “quality” 18 y/o gem who has “great feet”

Leeds United’s medical staff have been particularly busy throughout the current Premier League campaign, with the Whites being hit by a number of injury blows.

Even though there are only a handful of games left to play before the season draws to an end, it seems as though Jesse Marsch will have to get through this period without one player in particular.

What’s the news?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic’s Phil Hay revealed that Leeds midfielder Adam Forshaw will be out of action for the remainder of 2021/22 after fracturing his knee cap.

In his post, the journalist said: “A fresh injury setback for Leeds United as Adam Forshaw ruled out for the rest of the season.”

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Terrible news for Leeds

Since arriving at the Yorkshire club back in the 2018 January transfer window, the Englishman has gone on to make 78 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with three assists along the way.

With 22 league appearances under his belt this season, the midfielder has been a rather important figure for the Whites in this campaign.

The 30-year-old has been one of Leeds’ best passers of the ball in the campaign, with only Jamie Shackleton, Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk having a higher pass completion percentage than Forshaw – out of players to have played more than one game.

And, taking into account how Leeds are quite light in the central-midfield position, as well as having only just seen Kalvin Phillips back on the pitch following his hamstring injury, this news on Forshaw will certainly come as a huge blow to Marsch and his side heading into the final stages of the season.

Also, with the Englishman having recovered from a very significant hip injury that kept him out of action for a total of 560 days between September 2019 and April 2021, this latest setback will also be a disappointing blow for him on a personal level.

Moving forward, with the Whites having some big games ahead of them against the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, Marsch will have to make sure that his side can pick up as many points as possible so they don’t potentially end up at risk of getting relegated.

Then, for next season, everyone at the club will undoubtedly be hoping that Forshaw can make another recovery and play a big part in their campaign.

AND in other news: Orta must launch Leeds bid for “complete” £72k-p/w gem, he could be their Luis Suarez

With Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side now on a run of four consecutive wins in all competitions, things very much appear to be looking on the up for the 56-year-old at Parkhead.

As well as the positive results, the Hoops manager has also seen a number of key players make returns from injury. Josip Juranovic, James McCarthy and Mikey Johnston have all featured in recent matchday squads after spending varying lengths on the sidelines, while both James Forrest and Christopher Jullien look set to make a return to first team action in the not-too-distant future.

In yet more good news, summer signing Georgios Giakoumakis also scored his first goal on his full debut for the club in Saturday’s 2-0 win over St Johnstone, with the centre-forward’s impressive performance showing Celtic fans a glimpse of what could be to come over the course of the remainder of the season.

With a trip to high-flying Hibernian up next for the Bhoys tonight, Postecoglou must ensure that he sticks with Giakoumakis if the striker is to go on and replicate the extraordinary form he showed at VVV-Venlo last season.

Indeed, despite his team’s eventual relegation, the £2.25m-rated marksman bagged 26 goals, registered one assist and created three big chances over his 30 Eredivisie appearances, as well as taking 3.2 shots and making 0.5 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player who journalist Jeroen Kapteijns dubbed a “phenomenon” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.35, ranking him not only as his club’s best performer in the league but also as the joint sixth-best in the entire division.

As such, with Postecoglou undoubtedly hoping that the 26-year-old can hit similar heights at Parkhead this season, the Bhoys boss must stick with the Greece international tonight in order to give Giakoumakis the best possible chance of building up a similar run of form goalscoring form in the green and white of Celtic.

In other news: Ange confirms Nicholson negotiations with “huge” talent, Celtic fans will be buzzing

Rangers got off the mark in their Europa League group on Thursday night as they beat Danish side Brondby 2-0 at Ibrox.

Kemar Roofe and Leon Balogun scored the goals for the Gers as Steven Gerrard led his team to their first three points in the group after losing to both Lyon and Sparta Prague.

They now return to Premiership action as they travel to face St Mirren on Sunday. Rangers are top of the table and could extend their lead if other results go in their favour.

Gerrard could make some changes to his starting line-up to keep the players fresh and offer opportunities throughout the squad to see what the lesser-seen options are capable of doing. One player he must ruthlessly axe from Thursday’s team is midfielder Steven Davis.

The Northern Ireland international was not at his best in the Europa League clash and the veteran’s time should be up ahead of this clash with St Mirren. At the age of 36, he should not be relied upon to play week-in, week-out, as he is heading towards the end of his career and his performance against Brondby suggests that it is the right time for Gerrard to pull him out of the starting XI.

As per SofaScore, Davis lost 66.6% of his duels in the match, winning one in total. He also failed in 100% of his attempted dribbles and managed one tackle in the game, whilst failing to make a single clearance, block or interception. This suggests that he was lacking defensively and unable to impose himself physically on the opposition.

He came on for 12 minutes against Hearts in the last Premiership outing and failed to win a single duel, completing seven passes and doing little else. Davis has not shown enough in recent games to be deserving of a starting berth this weekend.

Dropping him from the team gives a chance to another midfielder to show that they deserve to be a regular in the side moving forward. Scott Arfield and Juninho Bacuna were both on the bench against Brondby and could be motivated to put in a top performance to nail down a place in the starting XI.

Therefore, Gerrard must ruthlessly axe Davis from the team. His display against Brondby was not good enough to secure his spot against St Mirren and should open the door for others to prove that they can perform to a high standard, which will hopefully be the case on Sunday.

AND in other news, Gerrard could unearth McGregor 2.0 in Rangers gem who has shown “excellent progress”…

Tottenham Hotspur are said to have agreed a fee with Wolverhampton Wanderers for their talisman Adama Traore, but the clubs are at an impasse over their preferred approach to the deal [AS via Sport Witness].

The Lowdown: Paratici eyes more signings

In his quest for continental qualification in 2021/22, Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo will be looking to tap into all avenues necessary in order to secure quality players before transfer deadline day, working closely with managing director Fabio Paratici.

Thus far, the Italian transfer guru has managed to bolster the squad with three additions in the form of Pierluigi Gollini, Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero [Transfermarkt].

Now, Paratici and co look to have moved closer to signing one of Nuno’s former players according to recent reports.

The Latest: Spurs and Wolves agree price

Spurs and Wolves are believed to have reached an agreement on the total price of the Traore deal, totalling around €46 million (£39.5m) [AS via Sport Witness].

However, there is said to be a ‘fine line’ that could alter the path of negotiations at any time.

Tottenham Hotspur want to take the Spain international on loan with a compulsory option to make the move permanent, whilst Wolverhampton Wanderers want the money up front with no loan.

The Verdict: News will breed nervousness amongst the Tottenham Hotspur faithful

With the window set to shut in less than a week, this news may breed nervousness amongst the Spurs faithful.

Traore would undoubtedly add lightning pace and ability to the Tottenham attack, as well as the added benefit of being familiar with Lilywhites boss Nuno.

In 2020/21, the wide-man registered six goal contributions in 41 appearances with three goals and three assists [Transfermarkt], and an improvement on that end product could turn him into a truly elite player.

In the current campaign, his dribbling ability has shone through to an extraordinary extent. Across his two Premier League outings so far this year, he has completed an average of ten dribbles per fixture [WhoScored], managing nine against Spurs last weekend after mustering up 11 at Leicester.

Once labelled as ‘unplayable’ by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Spurs should look to come to a complete resolution to ensure the deal comes to a close as smoothly as possible [GOAL].

In other news, Tottenham Hotspur face a massive blow in a transfer chase. Find out more here.

Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips could be out for up to four months through injury, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.

The Lowdown: Leeds suffer Phillips blow

The 25-year-old has been an enormous figure for the Whites in recent years but they are now facing a long spell without him in the team.

Phillips has undergone surgery on a hamstring injury, heightening the need for a new midfielder to come in during the January transfer window.

While there is no definite timeframe regarding Phillips’ return date, a rather bleak outlook has been offered.

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The Latest: Expert makes worrying claim

Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery admitted Phillips looks likely to miss around three to four months of football, rather than a more optimistic two:

“We’re talking about a player who’s going under the knife. Two months to me always seemed very optimistic, to me. Typically, the data suggests that three to four months is more likely.

“That 105-day mark is what we usually see. We have seen examples in the past of players who have been out even longer than that.

“Danny Welbeck has had a couple of these procedures. If he returns on Boxing Day, which is possible, that will be bang-on three months. Sarmiento from Brighton looks like he will be closer to four months.

“So you can’t rule out this two-month timeline, but things would have to go really, really well. That would be the exception rather than the norm.”

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The Verdict: Huge loss for Whites

Leeds have had a tough start to the season as it is, most recently being thumped 7-0 by Manchester City, and not having Phillips for a big chunk of the campaign is a huge blow.

The midfielder is such an influential figure, making 226 appearances for the club and winning England’s Player of the Year award back in August.

Without Phillips around, it is simply imperative that a new signing is made in the middle of the park, or Leeds could easily find themselves in a relegation scrap.

Adam Forshaw seems to be the most reliable option at Marcelo Bielsa’s disposal currently, but even he has only just returned from nearly two years on the sidelines.

In other news, a journalist has made a claim regarding a possible Leeds signing. Find out who it is here.

Former All Leeds TV pundit Joe Wainman insists that Helder Costa simply isn’t good enough to play for Leeds United.

The winger has been with the Whites since 2019, coming in on an initial loan deal, before arriving permanently for a fee of £16m from Wolves.

During his time in the Championship, Costa made 43 appearances and scored four goals, while also laying on six assists.

In the Premier League last season, though, he made 22 appearances, but just 13 of those were starts, and he scored three goals and assisted three more.

Costa was not included in the squad for any of the final five games of the season, and Wainman does not believe he has the ability to be a genuine first-team player under the management of Marcelo Bielsa.

Indeed, he has expressed his concern around the prospect of Raphinha sustaining an injury, with the only other back-up being Ian Poveda within Bielsa’s first-team.

The JustJoe Football Show host said: “I don’t think he’s good enough, personally. I want him to be but I just don’t think he’s quite there.

“We have Poveda as well, who there is still question marks over long term for me. So I think if Raphinha was to get injured, then I’d start to worry, of what’s underneath that.

“We need a little bit more, better depth, for me.”