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[ad_pod ]According to The Telegraph’s north-east sports reporter Luke Edwards via his official Twitter account on Thursday, Newcastle United are hoping to extend striker Salomon Rondon’s loan deal beyond the end of this season before the transfer deadline.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Magpies have already enjoyed a busy final day of the window havingcompleted deals for Miguel Almiron and Antonio Barecca, but it appears as though Rafa Benitez isn’t finished there if Luke Edwards is to be believed.

According to The Telegraph’s live transfer blog (11:53am), Edwards says that the Toon Army’s mystery striker target is in fact a player they already have on their books until the summer, in West Bromwich Albion’s Rondon.

However, the sports reporter suggests that they will give Jacob Murphy to the Baggies on loan if the Baggies agree to loan the 29-year-old to them for another campaign, rather than pay the £15m they west Midlands outfit would want if they were to sell him this month.

Would it be good for Newcastle to extend the deal?

It certainly would be.

Rondon is probably never going to be a 20-goal-a-season striker at Premier League level, he has six goals in 18 Premier League appearances this term as per Transfermarkt, but he offers far more than just being able to find the back of the net for his team.

The Venezuela international is strong, decent in the air and has shown that he can score if given decent service, as he did during his side’s massive 2-1 win against Manchester City at St James’ Park on Tuesday night.

There is no doubt that keeping the 29-year-old beyond the summer would be massive for Newcastle, even if it does mean that they have to sacrifice Murphy now.

The only people more shocked by Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Man City than City fans were the Magpies fans themsleves! Check out their brilliant reactions in the video below…

Celtic have seen many players come and go over the years, with the Hoops constantly trying to strengthen their squad to give them the best chance of being successful in every season.

However, as happens with many teamd, some players end up slipping through the net at one club and then go on to have impressive careers elsewhere.

One example of this happening at Celtic came all the way back in 2009, when the Hoops had the chance to sign right-back Seamus Coleman.

According to Planet Football, the Parkhead club had taken the defender on trial but decided he wasn’t worth signing before he eventually joined Premier League side Everton, in a deal worth a reported bargain fee of £60k.

Since then, the Irishman has gone on to become a stalwart for the Toffees by racking up 376 appearances across all competitions, scoring 27 goals and providing 32 assists along the way.

Labelled a “world-class” player by his former Ireland manager Martin O’Neill, the veteran has recorded an average of 2.4 tackles per Premier League game this season, higher than any other defender currently in Frank Lampard’s squad.

Despite not getting his hands on any silverware during his time at Goodison Park, the 33-year-old – who is currently picking up £68k-per-week according to Salary Sport – has still garnered a lot of respect from many big names to have been involved in English football.

For example, during his time in charge of Everton, Carlo Ancelotti likened the former Celtic trialist to legendary defender Paolo Maldini and put him in the same bracket as some of the other big names he has managed, such as John Terry and Sergio Ramos.

Taking all this into account, it can be said that the Hoops and then-chairman John Reid may have made a mistake by not securing a permanent deal for Coleman when they had the chance 13 years ago.

Given the Irishman’s longevity at Everton and what he has provided for the club on and off the pitch, it’s safe to suggest that he would have been a key figure for Celtic had they pounced on him.

In other news: Celtic will rue call on £25k-p/w gem whose value has rocketed 400% since Parkhead exit

Manchester United are in a period of transition with a number of big changes coming up at the end of this season as the club attempt to rebuild the squad and bring in a manager that can lead the Red Devils back to victory.

Now a fresh transfer update has emerged that could be another big change for the club.

What’s the word?

According to the Mirror Online, Arsenal will offer a contract to the Old Trafford outcast Marcus Rashford this summer.

The Gunners are reportedly on the hunt for a new front-line striker and believe that the Mancunian attacker could be the answer to their problems after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departed for La Liga this season.

With Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah also both out of contract, Mikel Arteta is said to be on a mission to rebuild his attacking line when the season draws to a close in a few months time.

Man United must axe Rashford

It is clear that Rashford’s long term loyalty and love affair with his boyhood club has finally come to an end as reports have been growing on his desire to leave Old Trafford this summer following inconsistent game time under Ralf Rangnick’s reign.

With that being said, it could be the perfect opportunity this summer for the player and the club to mutually part ways in the best interests of the squad and in the best interests of Rashford himself, who will be looking for a more consistent role somewhere else whilst he still has time to develop and thrive.

United could also make a hefty return on their youth player turned first-team star, as the player has hit the highest market value of his career, with Transfermarkt currently reporting the attacker’s value at £76.5m and making this kind of profit on him could certainly boost the transfer funds offered to the new manager coming in to add new key players for the season ahead.

The £180k-per-week dud who was branded “embarrassing” by Rio Ferdinand, has struggled to make an impact in Rangnick’s side this season, and has found himself either left out of the starting line-up or failing to impose a real threat on his opponents.

He has only scored five goals and registered two assists so far, equalling a goal involvement every 194 minutes compared to last season where he was contributing every 115 minutes.

Ultimately whether Rashford is in decline or just in desperate need of a change of scenery, the best outcome for all parties could be for the player to depart, and if interest continues to grow there will surely be no doubt that the powers at Old Trafford will be willing to listen to lucrative offers.

In other news: “It’s true”: Romano drops big update on Man Utd’s manager hunt, Glazers surely worried

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been flocking to some comments which have emerged from Jermain Defoe.

Speaking on Sky Sports, the striker was talking about how he left club earlier this week and suggested that he wanted to stay and continue playing for them. He confessed: “Even at the age of 39 I still wanted to be involved. Towards the end it was affecting me, I was taking it home and I was a little bit down…”

Defoe was a wonderful servant to Rangers during his time at Ibrox, scoring 32 goals and supplying a further 10 assists in 76 games over all competitions across the last four seasons (title last term.

However, he has now left the Light Blues, and if he wants to continue playing football, he will have to find another club as a free agent. Nonetheless, many Gers supporters seemed moved by his admission.

Rangers fans on Defoe comments

These Rangers fans flocked to the striker’s comments as they were shared on Twitter, with one going as far as to claim that Defoe is a ‘phenomenal’ person:

“Phenomenal guy with a phenomenal attitude. @IAmJermainDefoe is always welcome back to Ibrox as a fan.”

Credit: @norrie9791

“Tears man… Absolute gem of a guy and fantastic player, wish we had him years ago, always welcome back JD”

Credit: @Rangers4life_

“Okay I wasn’t ready for this”

Credit: @RaviSood10

“Crying now! What a man”

Credit: @ClaireMackay19

“He gets it.”

Credit: @nrpsimpson

“Someone cutting onions somewhere”

Credit: @youngdavid85

In other news, find out what transfer update has had these Gers fans buzzing

Wolves striker Raul Jimenez is reportedly a target of German giants Bayern Munich this summer – if the Bundesliga club are to part ways with Robert Lewandowski.

What’s the latest?

According to El Futbolero, Bayern have started identifying potential striker targets in case the Poland international were to depart Bavaria this summer, with Jimenez on that list.

The Mexican forward has been a sensation at Molineux since arriving from Benfica – initially on loan – in 2018 ahead of the Black Country club’s first season back in the Premier League.

Having sustained a career-threatening skull fracture last season, the 30-year-old has remarkably managed to return to action for Bruno Lage’s men this term, although has endured a goal-shy campaign for his standards.

Wolves must keep Jimenez

Despite scoring six goals in the Premier League this term, the 30-year-old is undoubtedly Wolves’ best striker – with 19-year-old Fabio Silva still struggling to adapt to the English top flight.

However, the Mexican’s quality in front of goal has undoubtedly dipped since suffering his serious injury, having scored a whopping 27 goals in 55 appearances during the 2019/20 season, with 17 of those coming in the Premier League.

Although, this season has seen the entire Wolves squad be rather timid in front of goal under Lage, with the Portuguese manager’s side scoring just 33 goals in 32 matches – with only Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Watford and Norwich City having scored fewer.

That makes Jimenez’s six goals worth 18% of his side’s strikes, with no other Wolves player scoring more in the league this season.

Moreover, there are no guarantees that the striker would be a regular in Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern side, with the German club certainly looking for a goalscorer that could come close to replacing the 341 goals scored and 69 assists registered in 370 appearances by Lewandowski.

The Mexican is brilliant, but his record comes nowhere near that of the Poland international.

Therefore, if the 30-year-old were to depart for Munich it would certainly aggrieve Wolves supporters seeing him struggle for game time, given how fond of the striker they have become over the last four years.

It would also mean that the West Midlands club would have to invest in a high-quality striker this summer, although, that may already be in the plans for the upcoming transfer window.

Jimenez has been a cult hero at Molineux and a departure would certainly infuriate the Old Gold faithful, with Lage agreeing to the centre-forward’s sale potentially being an unforgivable decision for many involved with the club.

AND in other news: Lage could unearth Wolves’ next £100m talent as Fosun plot offer for 19-year-old “missile”

Manchester United have not made any moves in the transfer window so far, but with three weeks left the club has been linked with a number of players, especially in the defensive midfield position.

However, there has been an update on one particular target.

What’s the word?

Fabrizio Romano has revealed on Twitter, that there have been no further developments on Manchester United’s pursuit for Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder, Denis Zakaria.

Romano tweeted on Monday:

“Manchester United have made no bid for Denis Zakaria as things stand. The option has been discussed as he’s appreciated by Rangnick – but there’s still no official bid to Borussia.

“More than four clubs are already working to sign Zakaria as free agent in July. Open race.”

United are reportedly joined by a number of clubs interested in signing the 25-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, including Premier League clubs, Everton, Leicester and Arsenal, and if the Italian transfer insider’s tweet is to be believed, the chase for his signature remains wide open.

Fans will be gutted

Signing a defensive midfielder has been a long term prospect, especially in the eyes of the fans who have been crying out for in the side for over a year, so they will surely be gutted that no progress has been made on signing the Swiss target.

Taking to social media after a number of poor defensive performances from the Red Devils this season so far, citing how desperately the position needs to be filled, with one Man United fan tweeting:

“2 years ago we looked doomed at end of January after losing at home to Burnley. We signed Bruno, had a great run towards the end of the season and finished 3rd. Something similar needs to happen, but with a defensive midfielder if we’re to save this season.”

Zakaria has been impressive in his position for Gladbach, scoring two goals and bagging one assist for the Bundesliga side so far this season, with a 50% successful tackle rate. Meanwhile, he has completed 702 of his 777 passes successfully during his 14 appearances according to infogol.

All hope is not lost though, as Romano did hint in the aforementioned post that Rangnick has shown interest in the player and is “appreciated” by the German coach. Thus, it will likely not be the last time we see a connection made between the Switzerland international and the Manchester club, however, another club could swoop for the popular defensive midfielder if progress isn’t made soon.

The freshly appointed manager has a lot of work to do to get Manchester United into shape, but with an FA Cup win against Aston Villa on Monday evening, it will have given the fans a much needed boost after a disappointing performance in their last Premier League game against Wolves, when they lost at Old Trafford last week.

In other news: Rangnick could make a move for Milinkovic-Savic

Sunderland have been dealt a fresh setback ahead of their upcoming League One clash with Rotherham United on Tuesday evening.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (via Rotherham’s official website), Paul Warne revealed that, despite a number of his first-team squad picking up knocks in the 2-1 victory over Oxford United on Saturday afternoon, he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Sunderland – suggesting he will be able to pick from the same group of players available at the weekend.

Regarding the current state of his squad, the 48-year-old said: “We’ve got no major concerns, you always have a few aches and pains the day after a game, but I don’t think any of that is going to change who is available on Tuesday night. I think we’ll have the same players available to us.”

Neil will be gutted

Considering the importance of picking up all three points against the second-placed Millers on Tuesday evening, the fact that Warne has no fresh injury concerns is undoubtedly news that will have left Alex Neil gutted.

Indeed, Rotherham have been in fantastic form throughout their 2021/22 League One campaign, so far confounding pre-season predictions of a sixth-place finish by occupying one of the automatic promotion spots – with a victory over the Black Cats on Tuesday, coupled with a Wigan Athletic draw or loss at Portsmouth, being enough to see the Millers claim top spot in the division.

This favourable league position has largely been thanks to the efforts of centre-forward Michael Smith – 19 goals and six assists over 43 appearances – goalkeeper Josh Vickers – 12 clean sheets and 3.1 saves per game over 20 outings – central midfielder Daniel Barlaser – nine goals and six assists over 42 fixtures – and centre-back Michael Ihiekwe – 19 clean sheets over 40 matches.

Having said that, with Warne’s side having lost three of their last five league outings, Neil will be confident that, as long as Sunderland play to the best of their ability at the Stadium of Light, his side have a chance of taking all three points from the meeting.

However, the news that Rotherham have no fresh injury worries, coupled with the fact that the Mackems now look set to be without both Dennis Cirkin and Carl Winchester due to knocks picked up against Cambridge United, will certainly come as a blow to Neil and his side – who simply must secure a victory in order to give themselves the best possible chance of sealing a top-six spot of their own come the end of the season.

AND in other news: Forget Stewart: SAFC’s “complex” 141-touch star stole the show vs Cambridge United

A promising update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Lille centre-back Sven Botman in the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Whilst linking to an article from his colleague Simon Jones, Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope has provided an update on the situation, tweeting: “Newcastle remain in contact with Lille over defender Sven Botman.”

This comes after The Athletic reported earlier this week that the deal is all but dead and the defender is poised to remain in France until the end of the season.

Excitement for Eddie Howe

This news will surely leave Eddie Howe feeling excited, as it leaves the door open for Newcastle to sign Botman before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month. It shows that the Magpies have not given up on a move for the 22-year-old just yet and are continuing to attempt to change Lille’s stance in order to bring in the centre-back.

Howe will be delighted with this, as the Dutchman could be an excellent addition to his squad in an area where the Magpies are in desperate need of strengthening. Only Norwich (44), who have played an extra game, have conceded more goals than Newcastle (42) in the Premier League this season, so they could need to resolve their defensive issues before they start to think about avoiding relegation.

Federico Fernandez’s SofaScore rating of 6.77 leads the Newcastle squad in terms of centre-backs this season, whereas Botman has averaged a score of 7.02 for Lille in Ligue 1. The former Ajax man also helped his side to win the league title whilst keeping 20 clean sheets in the French top division last term, showing that he can be a part of a successful defence.

This shows that the youngster could come in and improve the team in the short-term by putting in consistently high-quality performances, if he is able to translate his form from France over to England. He could also have a significant impact in the long-term, as he has plenty of potential left in him at the age of just 22.

Howe could get excited about this possible deal as he could have the opportunity to work with Botman on the training pitch in order to help him develop his game. The former Bournemouth boss could enjoy watching the Dutchman improve as a player over time, whilst also enjoying his displays on the pitch in the shorter-term.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops exciting Newcastle United transfer update, fans will be buzzing…

According to a report from Italian outlet MilanLive.it (via Sport Witness), Liverpool remain interested in signing Watford winger Ismaila Sarr. 

The lowdown: Reds slayer

Initial interest in Sarr materialised shortly after the Senegalese ace had put Jurgen Klopp’s side to the sword at Vicarage Road in February 2020.

The 24-year-old forward was in unstoppable form on the night, scoring twice in a 3-0 victory as Watford ended Liverpool’s hopes of going through the Premier League season unbeaten.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-27/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Anfield club instead opted to sign Portuguese ace Diogo Jota, whose productivity has been off the charts since arriving on Merseyside.

However, as the summer transfer window looms, a reignited move for the ex-Rennes speedster remains a possibility…

The latest: On the radar

As per MilanLive.it, translated by SW, it’s stated that Liverpool ‘seem to have plans to get serious’ in pursuit of Sarr this summer.

The report claims that AC Milan view the Reds and new sporting director Julian Ward as a ‘dangerous competitor’ in the race to sign the 39-cap star.

This comes after reports last month revealed Klopp is personally a huge fan of the player, marking him out as his number one target to reinforce the attack.

The verdict: An inevitable departure?

So far this season Sarr has scored five times and provided one assist in 17 top-flight outings for relegation-threatened Watford, taking the Africa Cup of Nations winner to 41 direct goal contritions for the Hertfordshire club.

Named player of the season in 2020/21, having dropped down to the Championship only to fire Watford straight back up, should the Hornets indeed be relegated for a second time during his stay then a move away seems inevitable.

Predominantly operating from a right-wing role, Sarr would provide adequate cover for Mohamed Salah, a position of relative understrength in comparison to the abundance of natural left-wing options in Sadio Mane, Luis Diaz and Jota himself.

Lauded as a ‘freak’ by teammate Ben Foster, adding the £24.3million valued man to the already frightening Liverpool attacking ranks would be a worthwhile venture at the right price.

In other news, manager admits desire to sign Liverpool cult hero. Find out more here.

Celtic have been dealt a big blow in their bid to bring Callum Styles to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Record, who claimed that Barnsley look set to play hardball regarding the sale of the 21-year-old this month, as Poya Asbaghi recently revealed that he is not willing to let any of his first-team regulars leave the club midway through the season.

Speaking about his plans for the January market, the Barnsley boss said: “In the end, we want to make room in the squad and it’s better to let go of players who aren’t playing – not players who are playing. I will not go too deep into specifics on positions but I can say maybe left-back is not our biggest concern.”

The Daily Record went on to suggest that this update will come as a blow to Ange Postecoglou and his Celtic side, as the 56-year-old Bhoys boss is believed to have identified the versatile left-footer as one of his primary targets this month in a bid to solve the troublesome left-back spot in his Hoops side.

Postecoglou will be livid

Considering just how impressive Styles has been for Barnsley this season, in addition to how well suited he seems to Postecoglou’s particular brand of football, the news that the Yorkshire club look set to put up a fight for the 21-year-old this month is sure to have left the Celtic manager livid.

Indeed, over his 22 league outings in the current campaign, the £2.7m-rated man – who has often been deployed in a more advanced position on the left flank this season, as well as in central midfield – has scored one goal, registered one assist and created three big chances for his teammates.

The £3.4k-per-week 21-year-old has also averaged 1.3 interceptions, 2.3 tackles and one key pass and won 4.6 duels per game. These returns have seen the player who Cauley Woodrow dubbed a “massive talent” average a SofaScore match rating of 6.77, ranking him as Barnsley’s eighth-best performer in the Championship.

As such, due to his attacking inclination, positional versatility and extremely high potential, it is clear to see why Postecoglou would be interested in a move for Styles this month.

However, following the latest update concerning the youngster’s future, it would appear as if a move for the Barnsley starlet may be rather tricky to pull off for Celtic this month, something which will undoubtedly come as a big blow to the Hoops manager and his side.

In other news: Postecoglou heading for Celtic disaster with “superb” £1.35m-rated beast as Anthony Joseph confirms bid