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Brentford could beat Leeds United to the signing of Middlesbrough centre-back Dael Fry this summer, according to a fresh report which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Fry impresses at Boro

The 23-year-old has made a name for himself at Boro in recent times, shining at the heart of the Championship side’s defence under Neil Warnock.

The 11-cap England under-21 international has already made 138 appearances for his current club and was once lauded as a potential ‘great footballer’ by former manager Aitor Karanka.

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The Latest: Brentford could beat Leeds to signing

According to Football League World, Brentford currently lead the race to sign Fry this summer, having earned promotion to the Premier League for the first time.

Leeds, Burnley, Wolves and Southampton are all believed to have scouted the 23-year-old as well, however, as the battle to sign him intensifies.

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The Verdict: Not a major issue

While Fry is clearly a young defender with plenty of promise, Marcelo Bielsa may not feel that centre-back is a pressing area to enhance at Elland Road ahead of next season.

The Argentine already has Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk to call upon, so unless one of those leaves, having a fifth centre-back could be deemed as needless.

Should Leeds end up signing Fry, it would certainly be no bad thing – he averaged 1.8 interceptions and 3.9 clearances per game in the Championship last season – but Brentford may need him more than the Whites currently do, and that could tip the scales if a bidding war materialises.

In other news, Leeds have reportedly been offered the chance to sign an exciting English talent this summer. Find out who it is here.

Everton have been hit with a double injury blow ahead of the Merseyside Derby on Sunday afternoon.

What’s the word?

Frank Lampard has taken to his pre-match press conference (via Liverpool World) to deliver an update on two fresh injury issues at Finch Farm, with Donny van de Beek and Andre Gomes now both ruled out of the derby, alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Lampard told the press: “We’ve got a couple of small injuries. Donny van de Beek won’t be fit, he’s got a small injury, in his groin/ pelvic area. Andre Gomes the same. That keeps him out of the weekend.”

Lampard will be gutted

There is no doubt that the Toffees boss will be gutted to lose two players to injury at this stage of this season, especially considering the position they have found themselves in – battling against relegation from the Premier League.

With seven games to go, Everton are only above the relegation zone by one point following Burnley’s victory over Southampton on Thursday, and it will certainly cause a headache for Lampard to lose players at such a delicate time – with both midfielders’ injuries weakening his squad depth in midfield yet again.

Van de Beek had only just returned to fitness a little over a week ago after sustaining a thigh injury, but has not featured since the Wolves defeat in March – with the Man United loanee only making six appearances in total since he joined the club in January.

Meanwhile, Gomes has only played three times since Lampard joined the club, so, although he will be a miss in terms of depth on the bench, it shouldn’t make a huge impact on the starting side unless there are further injuries to the midfield.

Finally, Calvert-Lewin has only made 14 appearances this season and hasn’t scored a single goal since August last year.

Indeed, despite returning from a long term quad injury in January the star striker has failed to refind his goal-scoring form, and could now potentially be sidelined again until the end of the season.

With that being said, all three have made minimal impact on the side as of late so Lampard should have enough quality to continue to pick up points in the league, with the 43-year-old manager undoubtedly be hoping his side can get a much-needed result at Anfield.

AND in other news: Frank can finally axe “out of control” EFC flop by signing “outstanding” £18k-p/w star

Steven Gerrard has suffered a significant injury blow at Rangers ahead of the Old Firm derby at Ibrox on Sunday, with Filip Helander ruled out for the remainder of the season.

The Sweden international was forced off in the cup defeat against St Johnstone last time out and Gerrard has now confirmed that the defender will miss the rest of the campaign through injury.

The 28-year-old has been a key fixture alongside Connor Goldson at the back for the Light Blues this season, so to have him missing for their most important remaining fixture is undoubtedly a blow for Gerrard.

It is awful timing too, as Leon Balogun is also currently sidelined through injury, whilst fellow defenders Calvin Bassey and Nathan Patterson are suspended, which suggests that the inexperienced Jack Simpson will start at centre-back on Sunday.

Rangers need to avoid defeat in their three remaining fixtures to finish the league season unbeaten and Sunday’s game against Celtic will certainly be a tough challenge for Gerrard’s side, as the Hoops will be desperate to ensure that their rivals don’t earn the honour of going invincible.

John Kennedy’s side will perhaps be a lot more confident now that Helander is missing, as the former Bologna man has been one of the most consistent performers for Rangers so far this season. Across 21 top-flight appearances, Helander has contributed one goal and averaged an impressive 7.11 WhoScored average match rating, which ranks him as Rangers’ seventh-best performer so far this season.

Considering that the centre-back has been linked with a move away ahead of the summer and reportedly wants a shot at playing in the Premier League, he may well have already played his last game for the club after being ruled out for the final three league matches.

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Gerrard will perhaps be worried that, in the absence of two of his most experienced central defenders, Celtic could cause an upset and bring an end to Rangers’ unbeaten record, especially after two consecutive disappointing performances against St Johnstone.

In other news… Allen masterclass: “Immense” Rangers beast’s value has risen 550% since Ibrox switch

Loads of Wolves fans have been left fuming as they conceded a penalty in their pre-season game against Coventry City.

As tweeted by The Athletic journalist Tim Spiers, a penalty was conceded against the EFL Championship club after Ki-Jana Hoever was ‘sucked into trouble’ and ended up bundling one of their players over.

Martyn Waghorn eventually beat John Ruddy from the spot and made the score 2-1, meaning that the Midlands club had to nervously hold on to victory.

Of course, no supporter wants to see their side conceding goals, but Hoever gifted Coventry the opportunity to score from the penalty spot quite cheaply, and those kind of errors are what Bruno Lage will want to cut out ahead of the new 2021/22 Premier League season.

Wolves fans on conceded penalty

These WWFC supporters were left fuming as the news of the penalty being conceded was shared by Spiers on his Twitter page, with one Wanderer even going as far as to claim that it was ‘typical’:

“This defence be conceding 4 goals a game in the Prem shambles”

Credit: @satsomboon

“Defence is a shambles, injury prone and liable. Worrying if its like this even in a friendly”

Credit: @DarrenJones86

“The eventual defensive error leading to a goal has happened not surprised”

Credit: @Alexwwfc_

“Defence is a shambles. Going to get spanked in the Prem”

Credit: @Ianph61

“Typical”

Credit: @Ianph61

“Hoever sucked into trouble…. very good”

Credit: @xawcx14

In other news, find out what pre-season footage has Wanderers buzzing here!

Blackburn Rovers are reportedly leading the race to sign Leeds United youngster Niall Huggins on a permanent basis, according to Football League World. 

The lowdown

Huggins has made just one appearance in total for Leeds’ senior side over the years, and has found regular minutes tough to find in Marcelo Bielsa’s senior side in recent seasons.

Leeds won promotion into the Premier League in the 2019/20 season, and established themselves well into the top-flight, as they finished ninth in their first season back.

But as they prepare for the upcoming 2021/22 campaign, it seems as though they could be preparing for life without Huggins as the youngster has been unable to force his way into top flight football.

The latest

Football League World have revealed that Huggins is attracting interest from Blackburn Rovers, who are believed to be the frontrunners to land his signature this summer.

It is claimed that Tony Mowbray is hopeful of their transfer embargo being lifted in the near future, which could accelerate their plans to complete a deal to sign Huggins.

Leeds have already moved on some of their younger players, with the likes of Ryan Edmondson and Leif Davies being among those to depart Elland Road on a temporary basis.

The verdict

It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for Huggins, as it seems as though Bielsa doesn’t rate his chances of a place in his first-team squad very highly at this moment in time.

The youngster could certainly benefit from a loan spell as he looks to further his development in senior football, so it is a surprise to see him being linked with a permanent Elland Road exit this summer.

Speaking in an interview with MOT Leeds News back in June 2020, former Whites goalkeeper Paul Robinson issued high-praise for Huggins, and labelled him as a ‘very good player’, so perhaps Leeds could live to regret moving him on permanently if he can fulfil his potential later down the line.

But at this moment in time, you can understand their thinking behind this, and perhaps we will see a buy-back clause in any potential deal just in case he thrives elsewhere.

If anything summed up Wolves’ topsy-turvy season, it was their 2-1 win over Brighton last weekend.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were battered by the Seagulls in the first half and had to withstand a relentless barrage of corners. However, after Lewis Dunk was shown a red card and handed his marching orders, Wolves crept back into the game.

Possessing the third-youngest starting XI in the Premier League this season, the Molineux outfit showed plenty of resolve to eventually win 2-1. Adama Traore popped up with the equaliser before Morgan Gibbs-White netted his first-ever top-flight goal.

That said, their assignment against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon could be a lot tougher. As such, will Nuno stick or twist with his youthful XI?

Here’s what we’re predicting…

We are tipping Wolves to show three changes to the team which defeated Brighton a week ago.

The first of those sees Traore come back into the team ahead of Daniel Podence. The speedster appeared from the bench last week but, once he came on, the game completely changed. In completing three dribbles, he quickly became central to Wolves’ victory as he scored and was unfortunate not to claim an assist when Gibbs-White missed from a matter of yards out.

The second change is at right-back, where the more experienced Nelson Semedo starts ahead of Ki-Jana Hoever. Against the might of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, the youngster could struggle.

The final switch comes at centre-back, where £14,000-per-week Max Kilman drops out with Willy Boly returning.

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The 30-year-old been suffering from the after-effects of illness and therefore missed their win over Brighton. However, the Frenchman has been back in training this week and may immediately come back into the XI as a result.

Marcal has fully recovered from his injuries but we anticipate this match to come too soon for the Brazilian.

With that in mind, Rayan Ait-Nouri gets the opportunity to continue his wonderful form. The teenager was a menace at Molineux last weekend, completing three key passes and three dribbles against the Seagulls.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Neto: Wolves must sign “spectacular” £32m beast, has shades of Ronaldo…

Marcus Bent has exclusively told Football FanCast that Everton are keeping their cards close to their chest regarding Moise Kean’s future.

The 21-year-old, who spent last season on loan at PSG, has scored just four times for the Toffees since making the switch from Juventus two years ago and hasn’t played for the Merseysiders since a Carabao Cup tie at Fleetwood last September.

But he impressed during that loan spell for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, epitomised by the fact only Kylian Mbappe outscored him for Les Parisiens, with is why PSG sporting director Leonard is desperate to re-sign Kean on loan again next season.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed that Kean’s future will be decided one Everton appoint a new manager, which could happen in the coming days, with Rafa Benitez set to be named.

Asked whether Everton are actively looking to sell the Italian striker, ex-Toffee Bent told Football FanCast:

“Not at the minute. Whether they don’t want to talk to me about it or not, sometimes they have got to keep quiet.

“Maybe there might be something going on, they don’t know about his future right now or it might be he’s trying to decide his future. I think there’s something going on, but I couldn’t tell you what it is.”

Newcastle United have interviewed former RB Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick for the role of sporting director as a new era begins at St James’ Park under PIF.

What’s the story?

According to The Daily Mirror, the club’s new owners are keen to revamp the club from the top down, and one of the areas in which they are considering making a move for is the sporting director role.

It’s been suggested that both Rangnick, and former PSG transfer supremo, Antero Henrique, have been interviewed for the position as they look to make some big changes at St James’ Park.

Rangnick would be perfect

Aside from his work as a sporting director, Rangnick has also previously had extensive managerial experience, and that could prove to be an ideal piece of knowledge for any new man coming in looking to liaise with him on potential targets and recruitment.

The Athletic described his approach as being “Bielsa-esque” as he plays a high-pressing game that looks to dominate on the front-foot – it’s perhaps no surprise then that he is actually renowned as being the pioneer of the ‘gengenpress’ system.

As well as that, Rangnick has also been dubbed as “a professor, a scientist of football,” and the “architect” of RB Leipzig’s rise into a Champions League outfit, bringing through the likes of Timo Werner, Naby Keita and Marcel Sabitzer in his time there at the club.

What’s perhaps most telling about the kind of impact he has on European football over these past two decades is the number of high-profile coaches who point to him as being their main source of inspiration, including Jurgen Klopp.

The Liverpool boss simply said: “One of the best, if not the best German coach.”

That’s high praise from a Premier League and Champions League winning manager, and while his role would be slightly different at St James’ Park as a sporting director, it would be such a massive coup for the Magpies to bring Rangnick into the fold.

Newcastle fans would surely be delighted with the 63-year-old’s appointment.

Meanwhile, Newcastle must also get rid of this man as well as Bruce…

West Ham United maintained their 100% win record in the Europa League with a stunning 3-0 victory over Genk at the London Stadium on Thursday night.

Goals from Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen clinched a resounding victory and that will give the team plenty of confidence heading into this weekend’s London derby with Tottenham Hotspur, an encounter which often brings goals.

However, for all the positives from the match, the form of summer signing Nikola Vlasic must be a major cause for concern at this stage. He did his chances of starting in the Premier League anytime soon no favours whatsoever.

If you could pick fault with anything on Thursday, then it would have to be the Croatian playmaker, who went missing for large parts of the match before being hooked with seven minutes to go.

As per SofaScore, the 23-year-old maestro, signed from CSKA Moscow a few months ago, was the Irons’ lowest-rated starter (6.7), and it is easy to see why.

Vlasic recorded the second-fewest touches (51) of any West Ham starter – even second-half substitute Mark Noble, who played just 23 minutes, managed to accrue 47 touches, so that speaks volumes.

With such little influence, the £27m-rated star failed to register a shot on goal, managed only one successful dribble and did not create a single chance, something he has been brought in to do specifically.

Elsewhere, he was weak in his battles, winning only 46% of his duels (six on the ground, one aerially). He also committed three fouls and lost possession ten times, once every five touches, via SofaScore.

‘[Vlasic] barely featured in the game during the opening 45 minutes, improved slightly after the break but did nothing to further his cause for a start against Tottenham on the weekend,’ is exactly how football.london reporter Tom Clark described the former Everton flop’s performance on the night.

Indeed the 31-cap passenger was largely anonymous and was by no means a standout at the London Stadium. He’ll do well to start again anytime soon.

AND in other news, West Ham face fierce competition for striker target this January…

Former Glasgow Rangers player Josh Windass has revealed during an Instagram Q&A session that he wishes he hadn’t left Ibrox.

The Lowdown: Windass spell at Ibrox

Windass signed for the Gers from Accrington Stanley in the summer of 2017 and ended up spending two full seasons at the club before making the move to Wigan.

He netted 19 goals and provided 13 assists in 73 matches for Rangers (Transfermarkt), but he was not the most popular player amongst some supporters, with whom he occasionally clashed.

The Latest: Windass makes admission

Windass was taking part in a Q&A on his Instagram page when was asked whether he has any regrets about his time north of the border. His answer was short and to the point (via The Boot Room):

“Leaving.”

The Verdict: Honest

You have to admire Windass’ honesty – clearly he wishes he did not leave the club when he did. The 27-year-old impressed during his second season at Ibrox in 2017/18, when he netted 17 goals in all competitions while also providing eight assists.

It was more his attitude of the pitch which appeared to frustrate some of the Gers’ fanbase (The Scottish Sun).

Windass is now at Sheffield Wednesday and did relatively well last season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists in the Championship – last summer, former Owls boss Gary Monk even called him “excellent” (swfc.co.uk).

However, perhaps Windass would have been happier playing a role in Rangers’ Premiership success instead, and considering how much they have progressed under Steven Gerrard, it’s understandably why the 27-year-old may have regrets over leaving Ibrox three years ago.

In other news, Rangers have been hit by this pre-Champions League blow.