Brighton face a ‘battle’ to keep hold of manager Roberto De Zerbi as Tottenham Hotspur become linked with a move for the Italian.
The Lowdown: Spurs eye De Zerbi…
Spurs are reportedly eyeing a move for the Seagulls head coach amid doubts over current boss Antonio Conte’s future at N17.
Conte’s current deal at the club expires at the end of this campaign, and while the Premier League top-four chasers have an option to extend, there are growing murmurs he could depart at the end of 2022/2023.
As such, Tottenham are eyeing a move for De Zerbi as they identify possible replacements, with The Telegraph now sharing an update.
The Latest: Brighton face De Zerbi battle…
As explained by the outlet and journalist Matt Law, the 43-year-old is a man in-demand as he attracts interest from both Europe and England.
Roma, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus could all consider De Zerbi if any of them part-company with their current bosses and Tottenham have been ‘linked’ as well.
As such, Brighton are facing a ‘battle’ to keep hold of the former Sassuolo boss.
If Spurs were to replace Conte at the end of this season, we could hardly think of a better man for the role.
Called ‘incredible’ by Man City boss Pep Guardiola, De Zerbi encourages an entertaining style of football and deploys a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The ex-Serie A coach had a real job on his hands replacing former Brighton fan favourite Graham Potter, but as pressure grows on the Englishman at Chelsea, De Zerbi has come into his own.
The south coast side are firmly in contention for a European qualifying place despite selling a number of star players like Marc Cucurella and Yves Bissouma last summer.
Testament to De Zerbi’s job at the Amex, Brighton reporters have called their manager ‘fantastic’ and we believe he ticks all the boxes to succeed Conte if it comes to that.
It would be fair to say that Manchester United’s lacklustre summer took a turn for the worse on Tuesday afternoon.
While the Old Trafford faithful have been crying out for the club to go out and sign some players, fierce rivals Liverpool have been doing precisely that, and now it looks like they are on the hunt for Alexander Isak.
In fact, according to some reporters, they are now preparing a £130m offer for the Newcastle United star, despite already spending around £116m on Florian Wirtz earlier in the window.
Newcastle United's AlexanderIsakcelebrates scoring their first goal
However, there might still be some good news for United fans, as reports suggest they are looking to bring in someone who could be their answer to the Swede before next week.
Manchester United's underwhelming summer
While it certainly doesn’t feel like it at the moment, the summer transfer window actually started in a rather positive fashion for United.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
After recovering from their Europa League final defeat, the club went out and activated Matheus Cunha’s £62.5m release clause.
With the Brazilian being Premier League-proven and amassing an impressive haul of 23 goal involvements in 36 games last season, it is undoubtedly a great signing; however, the problem is that the club haven’t made another since.
Wolverhampton Wanderers' MatheusCunhareacts
Fortunately, that might be about to change. At least that is according to a recent report from the Manchester Evening News, which has revealed that United are closing in on Bryan Mbeumo.
In fact, in some much-needed good news, the report claims that the Red Devils are working hard to bring the Brentford man in before they begin their pre-season next week.
The club have already seen two offers rejected, with the latest being around £60m, but according to stories from earlier this week, they’ll need to pay £65m to get this deal over the line.
It’s certainly a lot of money to spend on one player, but given Mbeumo’s ability, it would be worth it, and it could be United’s own Isak-type addition.
Why Mbeumo could be United's Isak
Now, the first thing we’ll say is that, no, we don’t think Mbeumo is as good a player as Isak, but that doesn’t take away from the fact he’s still brilliant, and that isn’t really what we’re trying to say either.
Instead, we’re arguing that the Cameroonian international could have the same sort of impact on United in an attacking sense that the Newcastle ace could have for Liverpool.
That might sound absurd to some, but it’s really not, especially considering the difference a seriously dangerous Premier League goalscorer could have on this Red Devils side is far greater due to their current position, and the Brentford man is most certainly a dangerous goalscorer.
For example, in 38 league appearances last season, totalling 3417 minutes, the Bees’ “mini-Salah,” as dubbed by pundit Jason Cundy, scored 20 goals and provided eight assists.
That comes out to a brilliant average of a goal involvement every 1.35 games, or one every 122.03 minutes.
Brentford's BryanMbeumoreacts
That would have made him comfortably the top scorer and most productive player in Ruben Amorim’s squad last season, ahead of Bruno Fernandes with eight goals and 11 assists in 36 games.
More impressively, however, it wasn’t too far off Isak’s tally.
Appearances
38
34
Minutes
3417′
2774′
Goals
20
23
Assists
8
6
Goal Involvements per Match
0.73
0.85
Minutes per Goal Involvement
122.03′
95.65′
In a far better team, the Swedish striker scored 23 goals and provided six assists in 34 league appearances, totalling 2774 minutes, which comes out to a goal involvement every 1.17 games, or every 95.65 minutes.
Finally, with the “phenomenal” Bees gem, as dubbed by one analyst, being able to play off the right or up top, he’d have even more opportunities to influence proceedings at the Theatre of Dreams next season.
Ultimately, Mbeumo is not as good a player as Isak, and nobody would suggest otherwise, but he is still an incredible attacker, and there is every chance that he could be as game-changing for United as the Swede might be for Liverpool.
Amorim's own Pogba: Man Utd leading race to sign "sensational" £42m star
Manchester United could be about to make a move to land a key target in their plans for the 2025/26 campaign.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has now hailed one of his Gunners teammates for "always" working hard behind-the-scenes.
Latest Arsenal news
Mikel Arteta's men have enjoyed a solid start to the new Premier League season and remain unbeaten following their latest triumph – a 1-0 win away to struggling Everton on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard's strike with just 20 minutes remaining ensures that Arteta and co keep pace with Pep Guardiola's imperious Man City at the top of the table.
Arsenal have tasted victory in four out of their opening five top flight matches, with Fulham being the only side to get a result against them so far. The north Londoners had to dig deep on Merseyside but yet again displayed real grit to come away with all three points.
Arteta, commenting after Arsenal ended their hoodoo of six years without an away win at Everton, praised his side's display.
“Six years without a win here is a long time, so we had to learn some lessons, we had to be better." said Arteta.
"I am delighted for the win but especially the way we won it, the way we played, how dominant we were, the presence that we showed on the pitch. We fully deserved to win the game.
“I think we had many other openings to put the ball in the last line and to put somebody in the box and finalise. Credit to Everton, they defended the box extremely well, and they had some big, big blocks when we opened them up. It’s great to have other ways to score goals, it gives you different resources and be more unpredictable."
In and around the contest, there were question marks as to why goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was dropped in favour of summer signing David Raya.
The 25-year-old hadn't set a foot wrong before their trip up north, with Arteta even having to defend his decision to the media.
It appears the contest for Arsenal's number one spot is now hotting up, but club captain Odegaard has moved to defend Ramsdale.
aaron-ramsdale
Indeed, the Norway international insists he is a player of real quality and is "always" working behind-the-scenes.
"I think he will just keep working hard, like he is always doing," Odegaard said on Ramsdale (via The Standard).
"Today he was there supporting us, cheering for us, helping us. He is a great character and he showed a very good response today by backing the team. It was excellent from him.
"We have two good goalkeepers and big competition. They have different qualities. They are both so good on the ball and in goal as well. So, we are lucky to have two such good goalkeepers and we will see who plays."
The Zimbabwe seamer’s action has been reported again, four matches after he was cleared to resume bowling following a 12-month ban
ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2018Zimbabwe’s left-arm seamer Brian Vitori has been reported for an illegal bowling action for a third time in two years, and suspended from bowling until he undergoes an assessment of his action.Vitori’s woes
Jan 2016 – Reported for the first time Feb 2016 – Suspended for the first time Jun 2016 – Bowling action declared legal Nov 2016 – Reported again Dec 2016 – Suspended from bowling for 12 months Jan 2018 – Allowed to resume bowling in internationals March 2018 – reported and suspended again
Vitori was suspended from bowling for 12 months in December 2016 after tests revealed he flexed his elbow more than the accepted 15 degrees. The ICC cleared him to bowl again in January 2018 but four matches into resuming his international career, he has been pulled up again.The umpires raised doubt over Vitori’s action during Zimbabwe’s game against Nepal in the World Cup Qualifier on Sunday. He was then filmed during the next game – a nail-biter against Afghanistan – on Tuesday, after which two members from the ICC’s panel of human movement specialists (Helen Bayne and Mark King) reviewed the footage and the penalty was subsequently handed out.Vitori had played a defining role in that game, taking 2 for 32 in 9.3 overs, including taking the final wicket in the 50th over to seal a two-run victory. He will no longer be available to bowl for Zimbabwe until he volunteers himself for biomechanical testing again, and as a result he has been replaced in the Zimbabwe squad by left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava.
Gianluca Scamacca’s time at West Ham United was a disaster.
There are still many question marks shrouding the signing.
Firstly, the transfer strategy of the hierarchy to pinpoint the Italian as the preferred target, when his style dramatically contrasts what David Moyes was trying to achieve.
Secondly, the striker's own obvious lack of motivation or willingness to adapt, eventually lead to his career in east London petering out into irrelevancy.
This summer, the Irons have massively strengthened the midfield with Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse and added Konstantinos Mavropanos to the defence.
The final piece of their window is the striker and a new name has emerged as a possible target…
What’s the latest West Ham United transfer news?
According to the Guardian, West Ham are looking to add some attacking reinforcements, with Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus and free agent Jesse Lingard tipped to join the London Stadium.
But, as per the Daily Mail, a lesser-known figure by the name of Georges Mikautadze, is also under consideration for the Irons.
Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…
The forward could possibly be available for around £8.5m this summer and a move to the Premier League could be his chance to formally announce himself to European football.
Currently, Moyes’ striking options consist of the veteran Michail Antonio, the influential Danny Ings, and the young Divin Mubama, so there is definitely an opportunity for Mikautadze to shine.
Who is Georges Mikautadze?
The 5 foot 9 phenom signed his first professional contract with Metz in 2019 and joined Belgian First Division side Seraing on loan – across two seasons and 57 appearances, he registered 40 goal contributions and in the summer of 2022, he returned to France looking to prove a point.
In the 2022/23 campaign, the former Lyon academy graduate recorded 31 goal involvements in Ligue 2, which meant he was named the League’s best player and top-scorer as his side secured promotion.
In the first two games of the current Ligue 1 season, Mikautadze has scored once and crafted an assist, with his manager Laszlo Bolini showering the youngster with praise, calling him a “deadly striker.”
Georgian international Georges Mikautadze.
After looking at the manner in which the 16-cap international has excelled at his previous clubs, it would be worth West Ham opting to take a punt on his potential.
It would be difficult for Mikautadze to perform worse than Scamacca in east London.
Over the past 365, ranked against his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues, the Italian sits within the lowest 15% for non-penalty xG per 90, touches in the attacking penalty area per 90, and assists per 90, as well as the bottom 49% for shot-creating actions per 90 and progressive passes per 90.
This is a damning indictment of his inability to contribute towards offensive sequences or get on the end of chances.
Antonio alluded to the fact that Scamacca wasn’t a good fit for West Ham and said:
"The problem is, he can’t play the way the gaffer plays. He needs a different type of manager to play his type of football, [one who can] have other players play off him and stuff like that.”
Therefore, the £14k-per-week gem deserves a chance and he could continue his excellent form in the Claret and Blue of the London Stadium.
Chelsea medical director Dimitrios Kalogiannidis is set to leave the club, despite the Blues dealing with an injury crisis this season.
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Dimitrios Kalogiannidis to depart
Agreement reached with Chelsea board
Nine players currently injured
WHAT HAPPENED?
reports that Kalogiannidis is set to leave the club, although no timescale has been placed upon his possible exit. Chelsea are currently dealing with a major injury crisis, meaning the news has come as a bolt from the blue.
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THE EXPLANATION
Per the report, Kalogiannidis is leaving due to family reasons. He had worked with the club for 13 years, and was placed in the position of medical director in October of 2022. There have been a number of changes within the medical staff at Chelsea, as both Paco Bicosa and Thierry Laurent – the head of the medical department and chief physio, respectively – departed in September 2022.
DID YOU KNOW?
Chelsea have nine players currently on the treatment table. Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu and Nicolas Jackson are all out.
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WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?
Mauricio Pochettino's side face Middlesbrough in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final on Tuesday. The Blues are currently trailing 1-0 on aggregate.
The focus of Liverpool conversation is on the transfer of Southampton's Romeo Lavia, with Jurgen Klopp's side set to lodge a second offer for the Belgium international this week, but there is perhaps room for another midfield acquisition after a tumultuous window thus far.
The Reds knew that they would lose a large chunk of their centre, with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all leaving in June after concluding their contracts, but stability was threatened when Saudi Arabian outfits emerged as suitors for Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who join the aforementioned trio in leaving Anfield.
Moves have been made to upgrade on last season's options and Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai certainly look to be fantastic purchases for the Merseyside outfit, but even if the deal to sign Lavia, aged 19, steers over the line, some might feel that another defensive midfielder would be necessary to truly restore the equilibrium.
Who will Liverpool sign this summer?
According to journalist Bruno Andrade – via Sport Witness – Fluminense ace Andre's agent Jorge Mendes is currently 'in the process' of transferring the 22-year-old to England, and despite rival interest from Fulham, Liverpool are believed to be in the driving seat.
A fee of €20m (£17m) would be enough to prise Andre away from his homeland, with Klopp chasing a deal this summer.
How good is Andre?
Yet to dip his toes into European football, Andre has made quite the name for himself in Brazil and is an integral part of Fluminense's system, hailed as a "leader" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, who are currently fourth in the Série A.
As per Sofascore, the gem has averaged a match rating of 7.09 this season after 14 matches, completing 94% of his passes, averaging 2.1 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game, and succeeding with 71% of his dribbles and 62% of his duels.
Those statistics are illuminated in glory by FBref who rank him among the top 1% of midfielders across Men's Next Eight divisions for pass completion and the top 6% for successful take-ons per 90. As such, he might just be the perfect man to bolster Liverpool's midfield and ensure that Lavia does not find too great a weight heaped upon his shoulders.
With right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold's new hybrid role foraying into midfield and unleashing his creativity and superlative ball-playing ability from the centre, an industrious and composed figure such as Andre could pay dividends.
The England international has rebuked for his defensive mishaps last term as Liverpool struggled for any vestige of form and fluidity, even being called a "training dummy" by reporter Casey Evans after being obliterated by the fleet-footed Vinicius Jr. in the Champions League.
A tactical alteration from Klopp saw Alexander-Arnold move in-field, playing in a double-six, and Andre could indeed be the perfect partner to allow him to exhibit his flair.
Indeed, the 24-year-old was a centrepiece during Liverpool's late-season resurgence and was hailed as "sensational" by commentator Martin Tyler after clinching eight goal contributions from the final ten matches of the league campaign.
It would be an astute purchase, and if Liverpool can afford to part with the reported £17m they simply must do so in order to chart a course for success.
Claire Polosak to stand with Paul Wilson in the List A contest between New South Wales and a Cricket Australia XI at Hurstville Oval on Sunday
Daniel Brettig04-Oct-2017Claire Polosak was a Goulburn teenager with a love of cricket when a schoolmate gave her a new idea for getting involved in the game. “A friend came to school with a flyer and she said ‘Dad says you like cricket, you should give this a go’,” Polosak said. “She thrust the flyer into my face and it was a course for umpiring. So I thought ‘oh I’ll give this a go’ and it grew from there.”From that abrupt introduction, her career did indeed grow, to the point that Polosak, 29, will on Sunday become the first woman to officiate as an on-field umpire in an Australian domestic men’s fixture – standing with Paul Wilson in the List A contest between New South Wales and a Cricket Australia XI at Hurstville Oval.In doing so, she will join the likes of Kathy Cross (New Zealand), Jacqueline Williams (West Indies) and Sue Redfern (England) as women to have umpired at the men’s first-class level. Polosak’s progress also follows significant progress for female officiators in other sports. In May, the South Australian Eleni Glouftsis became the first woman to stand as a field umpire in an AFL men’s match.”A little bit nervous, but if you don’t have a little bit of nerves, you don’t care,” Polosak said in Sydney. “So it’s all about getting all the butterflies going in the same direction. Planning on going out there and having my routines, get through the first ball and go through it from there. I love the challenge, watching balls, being out there, the camaraderie between umpires as you’ve come through is really good, it’s a family, the challenge of having to answer decisions is always good.”I never played cricket, but I always followed cricket, and my parents got me into it [umpiring], Dad used to drive me up from Goulburn to do the umpires course here. It took a few times to pass but it was something I was determined to do and I just kept working through the grades in Sydney competition.”I got a phone call from Simon Taufel [to say I would umpire on Sunday]. I followed Simon when I was a lot younger growing up, he was at his peak, so to have the phone call from him was quite special.”Having umpired men’s and women’s matches extensively, Polosak is in a unique position to compare and contrast. She has found that the women’s game can be more difficult to judge as the high standard of fielding often catches out runners between the wickets, while the greater speed of the ball in men’s matches means that nicks off the edge of the bat can be more easily heard. But either way, she is yet to meet an angry fast bowler or irritated captain she has not been able to “deal with”.Equally, Polosak has not yet joined other colleagues in wearing much in the way of protective equipment when standing. “Cricket Australia is very open to if you want to wear a helmet or protective equipment, they’re happy to provide that,” she said. “At the moment I’m fortunate that I haven’t been in that situation. But if you’ve got good positioning and watching the ball, hopefully that reduces your chance of any injury.”Asked whether her pathway had been anymore difficult than for a male equivalent, Polosak paused. “A bit hard to tell, as I’ve come through the grades, I’ve come through at the same speed that players have, so now in first grade in Sydney I’ve seen players I’ve worked with all the way through, so I’m not a novelty anymore,” she said. “The way the appointments work are based on merit, so I can never ask for anything extra.”I’ve probably had to work a little bit harder [than men] but it’s all part of the enjoyment, and being able to do well makes it even better.It just shows there is a pathway now, there are increased opportunities. Cricket Australia and Cricket NSW are really increasing the amount of support available for female umpires, and I think that’s showing in other sports as well.”In addition to her own umpiring, Polosak works in female engagement and umpire education at Cricket NSW, where she is intent on building the number of females coming through the ranks of the game’s arbiters. “We’re looking to improve the numbers,” she said. “There’s now an increased awareness of women’s sport and an increased pathway so it’s really exciting.”As for whether the road, that started with that flyer waved in her face, can lead to standing in a Test match, Polosak said she was not putting any limitations on what could be achieved. “There always is [a dream to umpire a Test match],” she said, “but if you ask players or referees from any sport, you just want to go to the highest possible opportunity that you can.”
Chris Read set a new wicket-keeping record for Nottinghamshire as they moved closer to promotion with an innings defeat of Derbyshire
Jon Culley at Derby09-Aug-2017It is every retiring cricketer’s wish to leave the game in a winning moment and the fulfillment of that aspiration is within touching distance for Chris Read now after Nottinghamshire escaped the ravages of the weather to complete a comprehensive win over their nearest neighbours.Brett Hutton delivered the key performance with the ball against Derbyshire, taking five wickets for the second time in the match.Read, Notts’ veteran wicketkeeper and captain, may not have a third Championship to celebrate when he plays his final first-class match next month but promotion as champions from Division Two would not be a bad consolation, particularly with the Royal London One-Day Cup already in the trophy cabinet.Not to forget a potential Nottinghamshire tilt at the NatWest Blast, even if Read himself has retired from that format.With a lead of 50 points over third-placed Northamptonshire and four matches remaining, it is hard to imagine any other outcome to Read’s valedictory year, from which he will also take the Nottinghamshire record for most wicketkeeping dismissals, which he claimed with the first of his two catches on the final afternoon.It took him to 968 victims, overtaking Thomas Oates, born not too far from here in the mining town of Eastwood, who numbered 967 in a career that ran from 1897 to 1925. The breakdown of those figures reflects how different the game is today. Of Oates’s total, 744 were catches and 223 stumpings, compared with 924 catches and just 44 stumpings by Read.Read, on the eve of his 39th birthday, looked no less mobile behind the stumps than he did when he made his Nottinghamshire debut in 1998, diving to his right to grasp the ball as Mark Footitt induced an edge from Gary Wilson.”I’ve been aware of the milestone and it is an honour of which I’m immensely proud because Thomas Oates clearly played a lot of cricket and was a great servant to the club,” Read said, admitting that his last season could hardly be progressing better.”I’m ecstatic with the way things are going. We set ourselves some aims and goals and so far we are going a long way to achieving those. Primarily that is getting promotion to Division One, and we are in a good position to do that, while winning the 50-over competition was brilliant.”To win this game after losing a day and a session was a tremendous effort. Alex Hales’ knock on day two was phenomenal but the headlines should belong to Brett Hutton, who got more out of the pitch than anyone else in both innings.”It was bitterly disappointing to get relegated last year but I’m looking forward to finishing off in style with promotion and get back to where we belong.”Read, who will leave the professional game to be director of cricket at Uppingham School, is not dwelling on how he might feel when the curtain does finally come down for good.”No I’m not thinking about it massively,” he said. “We know we have to keep putting in the performances and after the T20 group stages and quarter-finals are out of the way we have two massive home games against sides in the top four, so we can’t let any complacency come in.”Aside from Read, the man of the hour for Nottinghamshire was the seamer Hutton, who chose a good moment, given that his team are reaching the climax of the season without three of those bowlers – Stuart Broad, James Pattinson and Luke Fetcher – who were first-choice picks at the beginning, to find his best form.Hutton, who took five for 52 in the first innings, finished with 10 for 126 in the match in his fifth Championship appearance of the year, almost equalling his tally in the first four as Nottinghamshire made sure Hales’s brilliant 218 off 218 balls did not go to waste.In addition to Read, Hutton and Hales, Nottinghamshire ought to raise a glass too to the Derbyshire groundstaff, whose efforts to make the ground fit after 24 hours of almost continuous rainfall gave them 75 overs from one o’clock in which to take the nine wickets needed to complete a sixth win of the season, which they achieved with 12.1 to spare.For the first hour and 20 minutes, it seemed Derbyshire might deny them as Ben Slater and captain Billy Godleman extended their second-wicket partnership, which had reached 31 at the end of day two before rain the weather washed away day three, to 96 without encountering too many problems.But then Slater, drawn into playing at a full length ball from Hutton that swung late, edging to Riki Wessels at second slip, and after Godleman, seven overs later, was superbly caught by a running and diving Hutton at extra cover, pushing at one from left-arm spinner Samit Patel, the innings never recovered.After breaking the Oates record – to give Footitt his fourth wicket of the match against the county that enjoyed his best years so far – Read added another to the collection with a more routine take as a terrific ball from Jake Ball proved too good for Harvey Hosein.Wayne Madsen, coming in at five down after suffering with an upset stomach, was bowled by Hutton off an inside edge and, after Hardus Viljoen had played over one from Ball, Hutton wrapped things up after a small measure of late defiance from the tail, pinning Tom Taylor in front as he played around one and taking out Tony Palladino’s off stump.Godleman, whose side had been denied an almost certain victory over Nottinghamshire by the weather when they went to Trent Bridge earlier in the season, felt his side had played poorly this time.”There was still a small bit in the wicket for the seamers but we felt we were capable of batting it out and saving the game and we should have found a way to not lose the game,” he said.
Liverpool are reportedly willing to meet Khephren Thuram’s €30m (£25.6m) asking price this summer.
What’s the latest Liverpool transfer news?
The Reds and Jurgen Klopp have been busy so far this summer in the transfer market as they look to improve on what was a disappointing 2022/23 campaign where they missed out on Champions League qualification.
Owners FSG have already splashed the cash by spending €112m (£95.7m) on two new marquee midfielders. Alexis Mac Allister was the first to make the move to Anfield from Brighton & Hove Albion, and the Argentine has since been joined by Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig.
Fabrizio Romano did hint that three new midfielders were on the radar for the Reds this summer, which may leave one more addition on the cards.
Reports have suggested that Southampton youngster Romeo Lavia could be on the way to Merseyside, with those at Anfield believing the player wants the move despite interest from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea. The Saints want £50m, whereas Liverpool are willing to offer £40m, however, Thuram, another player to be linked with the Reds, would command a lower fee.
Paisley Gates relayed an update from Spain regarding Thuram in the last 48 hours, claiming OGC Nice want to receive €30m (£25.6m) for the Frenchman.
The report states Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool are all interested, however, the La Liga winners cannot meet the asking price, whereas the Reds and Bayern Munich are willing to pay that figure.
khephren-thuram-liverpool-transfer-premier-league
Who is Khephren Thuram?
Thuram is primarily a central midfielder who can play in a holding role or on the left of midfield and appears to be going from strength to strength with a career-high €40m Transfermarkt valuation.
The 22-year-old, a France U21 international, has made 138 appearances for the Ligue 1 side and was the club’s sixth best performer last season, as per WhoScored. Thuram’s average match rating was actually better than any other Liverpool midfielder, so he could be a wise addition in both the short and long run.
Journalist Zach Lowy certainly feels a move could be a smart one, recently describing him as the perfect signing for Klopp’s team due to his elite ball-carrying and high press.
“Khephren Thuram is just the sort of player that Liverpool need to transform their midfield. Elite ball carrier for someone of his size and really effective at winning the ball high up the pitch — perfect signing for Klopp’s side.”
Lowy’s comments are backed up by FBref, who rank Thuram in the top 1% of midfielders for successful take-ons that lead to a shot and top 4% for progressive carrying distance.
At just £25.6m, under his current Transfermarkt valuation, Liverpool may feel that a deal could be a bargain in the long run, and by the looks of things, the Reds are willing to meet that asking price. As a result, a move could be one to keep an eye on, which could mean Liverpool lining up with Thuram, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in a completely new midfield three at some point next season.