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Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick could sign a major upgrade on Harry Maguire with Chelsea star Antonio Rudiger.

What’s the story?

According to reports from Sky Deutschland (via Sport Witness), United are one of a number of top European sides who are chasing the Germany international.

It’s claimed that the likes of PSG and Bayern Munich have joined Real Madrid in the race to sign the central defender, and that Rangnick’s side have now emerged as an additional contender for his signature.

Better than Maguire

While Maguire may be established as a cornerstone of this United defence, Rudiger’s arrival would see the club land a genuine upgrade on the England international.

As per Whoscored, the £100k-per-week German has averaged an impressive 7.00 match rating over the course of the Premier League this season, which far betters Maguire’s measly 6.56.

And, when you look at the key underlying numbers, it’s easy to see why.

Rudiger averages almost double the number of interceptions that Maguire does, while he also boasts a far higher average number of passes and key passes per game – the kind of ball-playing centre-back that could thrive under Rangnick.

The Chelsea man also wins more offsides per game too, a pointer of how his pace and reading of the game is slightly superior to that of Maguire.

Rudiger’s performances for the Blues has earned rave reviews from a number of people, not least former United man Rio Ferdinand, who waxed lyrical about just how good he has been in the top-flight.

He said (via the Metro): “Look at Rudiger, he’s arguably, since Tuchel has been there (at Chelsea), been the best defender in the Premier League. Him or (Ruben) Dias in that time. He’s been unbelievable, he’s like an animal.”

And, speaking to BILD, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was similarly effusive in his praise, saying: “Toni has established himself exceptionally since the first day we arrived. He is an absolute leader and plays at an incredibly high level.”

The £31.5m-rated star could bring some proven Premier League experience and quality to this United back-line, and a real upgrade on Maguire.

Meanwhile, Man Utd must move for this Serie A midfielder…

Celtic are interested in a swoop for FC Famalicão defender Riccieli, as reported by Celtic Now and Forever.

The Lowdown: Celtic gear up for 2021/22 as transfer rumours swirl

As Celtic move towards 2021/22, they will be hoping to hit the ground running as they bid to reclaim to Premiership title at the first attempt.

Although Ange Postecoglou hasn’t dipped hit toes into the transfer market as of yet, the Celts have been heavily linked with moves for Charlie Wyke and Mat Ryan respectively [Football Insider].

However, it seems that the Hoops could be interested in an alternative transfer target as their rebuild begins in earnest.

The Latest: Celtic ‘make contact’ with Riccieli’s agency over potential deal

The Hoops are said to have ‘made contact’ with Riccieli’s agency D20 Sports about bringing the centre-back to Glasgow, as relayed by email to Celtic Now and Forever.

Many other clubs are rumoured to be interested in the 22-year-old [Celtic Now and Forever], who has a market value of £1.35m according to Transfermarkt.

Kristoffer Ajer looks set to leave Parkhead this summer amid attention from Newcastle United [Glasgow Times], so the Celts must act quickly in order to secure his prospective replacement.

The Verdict: Riccieli would be a good addition to the Parkhead ranks this summer.

Someone of Riccieli’s ilk would be an ideal addition to the Celtic fold this window. Plying his trade in Liga NOS, he made 26 appearances and contributed one goal to his team in 2020/21 [Transfermarkt].

Strong in the air (2.1 headers won per game last season) and with a match average of 1.6 interceptions matching Celtic’s best performers in that regard, he could be seen as an agreeable fit for the Hoops due to his sell-on value and scope to develop as a player further down the line.

He is also capable of filling in at right-back, potentially providing some depth in what has been a problem position in recent years for the Scottish giants [FotMob].

With Champions League qualifying set to begin for Celtic next month, the Hoops should be doing all they can to push the deal over the line quickly.

In other news, Celtic are in talks to bring a 31-goal striker to Glasgow this summer.

Birmingham City are interested in signing Jordan Graham this summer, according to recent reports…

What’s the word?

That’s the word according to Football League World, who report that Lee Bowyer has identified the Gillingham winger as a player who he believes could improve his squad at St. Andrew’s.

It is also reported that Bowyer attempted to sign the 26-year-old during his time in charge of Charlton Athletic and that the 44-year-old’s interest in Graham has not subsided since being appointed as the Blues manager back in March – with Football League World going as far to claim that the manager is a “big fan” of the former England U17 international.

Smart signing

It is not difficult to see why Bowyer is so fond of the winger, as, so far this season, Graham has been in remarkable form over his 37 League One appearances for Steve Evans’ side, with the 26-year-old scoring 11 goals and registering six assists, as well as creating 13 big chances and making an average of 1.9 key passes per game.

These returns have helped the £225,000-rated man average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.21 – ranking him as Gillingham’s second-best performer in the third tier, helping his side to sit comfortably in the top half of the table.

As such, the addition of the winger Steve Evans once described as “frightening” could add some much-needed firepower to Bowyer’s attacking arsenal at Birmingham, with the winger outscoring both Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz in terms of league goals this season, with the Blues duo having seven strikes each to their name.

Furthermore, with Jordan being available on a free transfer this summer, his signing would represent something of a risk-free move for Bowyer’s side, as well as one with the potential to help take Birmingham’s game to the next level in their Championship campaign next summer – something that has been required at St Andrew’s for a number of years now.

Sunderland have now been dealt a fresh blow before they play Cambridge United at home in League One on Saturday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Big game

The Stadium of Light faithful currently find themselves out of the play-off places, and so need a result against Cambridge to get themselves back in contention.

With title-chasing Rotherham United to come on Tuesday night, this is a big game that they really need to get all three points from.

The Latest: Dajaku illness

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match, Alex Neil has revealed (via The Chronicle) that Dajaku is still suffering with illness, and so will not be available for his team:

“Leon is still ill, so he won’t be available.”

The Verdict: Blow

It is certainly a blow for the Wearside club that they will be without Dajaku once more.

The Union Berlin loanee has played more often than not this season, and has contributed four goals and four assists in League One so far (Transfermarkt).

Dajaku has also picked up one man-of-the-match award, and ranks highly among his teammates in terms of average shots, dribbles and crosses per game (WhoScored).

Nonetheless, his creativity and directness would have been useful in helping unlock the door against what could be a stubborn Cambridge side away at the Stadium of Light.

In other news, find out who SAFC’s three worst performers were against Shrewsbury Town here!

Kevin Phillips expects Leeds United to pursue Glasgow Rangers winger Ryan Kent once again this summer.

Phillips expects Leeds pursuit

The English Premier League outfit were heavily interested in Kent last year, with the Gers even turning down a £10m bid from the Whites for Kent (rte.ie).

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips expects Steven Gerrard to have a big job on his hands to keep the 24-year-old in Scotland. The ex-Sunderland striker said:

“I think there will be a few teams sniffing around a few of the Rangers players.

“It’s just natural. How many times have we seen it over the years? If you go up there and do well then your next move is to the Premier League.

“Ryan Kent, Leeds have obviously been linked with him and made moves for him before. He’s a Scottish champion now so why would Leeds not look at it again?

“He’s certainly a player that a lot of Premier League teams will be looking at. The big job for Stevie G is to convince him to stay and go again.”

Tough ask

Valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, Kent has been an ever-present for Rangers so far this season. He has played in all 33 of their Premiership matches and has scored 11 times and provided 13 assists in all competitions (Transfermarkt). He has grown into a player Gerrard can rely upon, and with Champions League football potentially on the cards for the 55-time Scottish champions, Kent may believe his work is not yet done at Ibrox.

However, the Premier League may seem a far more attractive proposition than the Scottish Premiership. At Leeds, Kent would have the chance to work with one of the most renowned managers in the world in Marcelo Bielsa, and he could well receive a far bigger salary to boot. As Phillips says, Gerrard could have his work cut out to hold on to the winger.

In other news, some Rangers fans hammered this man’s performance against Celtic.

Football Insider have shared numerous demands Sunderland striker Charlie Wyke has made to Celtic ahead of a potential cut-price move to Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Wyke ‘very keen’

Wyke, who scored 30 goals in 53 appearances last season, is out of contract at the Stadium of Light in a matter of days.

The Hoops began talks with the 28-year-old last week, with a new forward the club’s priority.

Wyke was thought to be ‘very keen’ over a move to Glasgow, but a number of demands have now emerged regarding a possible Scotland switch.

The Latest: Wyke’s demands

According to Football Insider, who have been informed by a Celtic source, Wyke is holding out for a deal until 2025.

He’s on £6,400-a-week with Sunderland and reportedly wants his pack packet doubled, should he put pen to paper on a Celtic deal.

Finally, Wyke also wants a multi-million-pound signing-on fee.

The Verdict: What should McKay do?

With no director of football in place, you’d expect new CEO Dominic McKay would be leading discussions with Wyke.

There would be no transfer fee required, but with Wyke wanting a big signing-on fee and a possible £12,800-a-week long-term deal, a move could cost the Hoops over £2.5m in wages alone across the four years.

Wyke, who former Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson described as ‘excellent’, showed in League One that he can find the back of the net with ease, and with Odsonne Edouard still expected to leave the club, the Hoops may be happy to take a punt on Wyke despite being forced to pay a pretty penny for his services.

In other news: Ange Postecoglou already in talks for first Celtic signing as Glasgow arrival sparks action, find out more here. 

West Ham United are in the race to seal Nikola Maksimovic in a free transfer this summer…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Plaza Deportivo, who claim the Irons are in a battle with La Liga outfit Valencia to sign the 29-year-old centre-back, whilst there’s also thought to be interest from Italy and Real Betis.

Maksimovic will be free to join whoever he wants next week when his contract finishes at Napoli, where he has been a regular presence for the past five seasons.

He’s currently valued at £9m by Transfermarkt, so it could certainly present some fantastic business for a team like West Ham, especially as manager David Moyes is said to be keen to bolster his central defensive options this window.

Absolute bargain

Given the need to strengthen areas right across the pitch, landing a vastly experienced defender could be an astute move to make.

The need for a new striker is perhaps paramount, whilst there is little depth in central midfield and at full-back, where injuries plagued the Hammers throughout 2020/21.

Capped 25 times by Serbia, the 6 foot 4 colossus would be a low-risk solution to Moyes’ needs. He has played 132 times in the Italian top-flight and 41 times across both European competitions, via Transfermarkt, something that cannot be said for much of the current squad.

In the past, he has been likened to former Manchester United brute Nemanja Vidic, which could suggest he’d be the perfect fit for Premier League football.

As would his average of at least 1.8 aerial duels won per game across the last two seasons whilst Maksimovic has also proven his ability on the ball, managing an impressive career average passing accuracy of 89.3%, via WhoScored.

It’s no wonder former Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti, who managed him at the Stadio San Paolo, dubbed him the “complete” defender. “He has no problems. I am satisfied, he is an excellent defender, complete, flexible and fast, he can play both centre-right and centre-left.”

Moyes must urge a move for the free agent next week, he won’t cost GSB a penny.

AND in other news, Moyes can repeat West Ham’s Lingard masterstroke amid ExWHUemployee transfer claim…

Jack Grealish was withdrawn from Aston Villa training on Saturday ahead of their clash with Fulham, The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has revealed.

The playmaker looked set to return to the matchday squad after rejoining his team-mates on the grass, but Villa’s medical staff apparently deemed it too great a risk to let him play. The club won’t simply let the 25-year-old play through the pain, as there is a real danger that he could then aggravate his shin injury.

Villa were victorious without their captain over the weekend, with Trezeguet (twice) and Ollie Watkins on target as they came from behind to beat Scott Parker’s side. However, Evans noted that Grealish’s absence has now extended well beyond the month which was initially expected and there is understandable concern about how much further that will extend.

The 25-year-old has scored seven goals and provided a team-high 10 assists this season (via BBC Sport).

Dean Smith is now refusing to put a timeline on his return, with the severity of the recent setback unclear. For now, there’s ‘no indication’ of his season resuming ‘any time soon’.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Villa had enough to beat relegation-threatened Fulham at the weekend, but now they face a daunting run of fixtures.

They travel to Liverpool next Saturday before hosting runaway league leaders Manchester City. Meetings with Everton and Manchester United then come after a local derby against West Brom.

If Grealish’s fitness struggles continue, they could slowly slide down the table and out of European contention unless his team-mates step up to fill the scoring and creative void his absence presents.

In other news, many Villa fans hailed this midfielder’s display on Sunday.

The transfer window hasn’t even opened yet and Ralph Hasenhuttl is arguably already disappointing Southampton fans after he seemingly confirmed recently that he will continue to utilise Alex McCarthy and Fraser Forster as his main goalkeeping options next season.

The Austrian manager admitted to Hampshire Live that:

“I expect a battle in pre-season between Forster and McCarthy to see who is then going to start [the first game].

“If you are allowed to start, it doesn’t mean you also end up as a number one the whole season.

“I want to have this battle. I want to have two goalkeepers that are competing for this position.”

In the most recent Premier League season, McCarthy made 30 appearances, conceding 57 goals and keeping just seven clean sheets, which doesn’t make for good reading for the former QPR man.

Forster meanwhile, was given more opportunities to impress in the latter stages of the Premier League season after his impressive displays in the FA Cup and made eight appearances, conceding 11 goals and keeping two clean sheets.

Between them, they would concede 68 goals in the top-flight this season, which was the second-most of any side, with only relegated West Brom conceding more, which is very worrying if you are a Southampton fan.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-southampton-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Southampton transfer rumours and news!”]

What is arguably more concerning is that, according to Understat, Southampton were only expected to concede 58.55 goals in the league this season, with their underperformance of 9.45 comfortably the worst of any side in the division.

Therefore, it is difficult to understand why Hasenhuttl is seemingly willing to stick with McCarthy and Forster as his two main options in goal next season, as both have struggled this year.

It also can’t help the defence if Saints are constantly changing the goalkeepers, as they need a reliable number one behind them so they can adapt to his style of play.

Unless the Austrian changes his mind and looks to bring in a new goalkeeper as a definite first-choice for next season, he could well be heading for a disastrous 2021/22 campaign. Fans have every right be be upset with this latest decision.

And, in other news… Ralph heading for transfer disaster with £10.8m-rated “machine”, Saints fans surely fuming

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has been left in awe of West Ham United’s signing of Croatia international Nikola Vlasic.

The Lowdown: West Ham finally land attacker…

From the beginning right through to the very end of the summer transfer window, West Ham were linked with bolstering manager David Moyes’ attacking options ahead of a long season.

The striking position was a hot topic among Irons supporters, as was as the possible signing of an attacking midfield player, with Moyes managing to bag one at the very last gasp.

West Ham allegedly turned their attention away from Jesse Lingard after learning of his £30 million asking price, going on to target former Everton man Vlasic.

As a result, the club secured a £25.7 million deal plus £7.7 million in add-ons for the attacker on deadline day (The Athletic).

The Latest: Hutton in awe of move…

Speaking to FI, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender waxed lyrical over this swoop and believes Vlasic could come good in the east end.

Hutton says that the 23-year-old comes as a sound alternative to Lingard.

“When you look at age and stuff comes into it. If you’re paying £30 million for someone that’s touching 30, yes he’s proven in the Premier League and had a great season last year,” the Scotsman explained when asked about Lingard vs Vlasic.

“But Vlasic, anybody that’s in the Croatian national team, you know they’re technically gifted. They prove this all the time.

“He’s got that experience, he’s young, he’s going to get better. Playing at a higher level, as in the Premier League, we’ll hopefully see the best of him.

“If you look at Moyes’ transfers that he’s made over recent seasons, it’s been unbelievable. He’s yet to miss if we’re totally honest.

“This is one I’m looking forward to seeing. The little bits I have seen of him have been very good. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does in a high-flying West Ham team.”

The Verdict: Moyes masterclass?

Going by the numbers, Vlasic certainly looks like a real bargain on paper.

For an initial £25.7m fee, West Ham may have just landed one of the coups of the window given he notched a prolific 11 goals and five assists in 26 Russian Premier League starts (WhoScored).

As well as this, Vlasic sensationally averaged 4 shots on goal per 90 in that time and 2.8 key passes – far eclipsing the numbers of every West Ham player in the Premier League last year (WhoScored).

While you could make the argument that his fine form came in an inferior division, his threat is there for all to see as he did impress at Euro 2020.

In other news: ‘Yayyyy’, ‘Oooooo’, ‘Actually mental’…West Ham fans raving over ‘fantastic news’, find out more here.