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Chelsea will be expected to go into the January transfer window with keen interest in snapping up some talent to improve their season after a difficult start to their Premier League campaign.

The Blues are currently seventh in the top flight after a disappointing run of form that has seen them unable to pick up three points from any of their last four games and on Wednesday night they lost their chance to progress in the Carabao Cup after losing to Manchester City at the Etihad.

As a result, the second half of the season will be crucial for Potter to climb the league table whilst making their presence known in the Champions League and FA Cup in the latter stages.

One way that the new Chelsea boss can improve and strengthen his team to get them playing positive football and delivering the best performances possible when they return to action is by taking advantage of the January transfer window, with many players already linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.

It was reported by French outlet Jeunes Footeux this week that Potter has given the green light to the recruitment team to sign Stade Rennais star Martin Terrier, a player who could make a huge difference to the attacking threat in the team.

Over 13 Ligue 1 appearances, the 25-year-old has scored eight goals, which just so happens to be more than a certain Lionel Messi this term.

Furthermore, the £40m talent has registered three assists and created three big chances, as well as averaging 1.6 key passes, 1.7 tackles and winning 7.6 duels per game, displaying that he is clearly a huge threat in front of goal and could be a valuable asset to Potter.

Not only that, Terrier ranks in the top 10% of his positional peers across the top five European league for tackles and aerial duels won, further proving that he is not afraid to get stuck into challenges and press from the front.

The talented Frenchman has been the recipient of high praise with European football writer Tim Williams describing the forward’s best attributes:

“He’s a very quick, left-sided right-footed attacking player whose trademark is coming in off the left flank and whipping shots in, a-la Thierry Henry.”

“Looking at his age and the phenomenal season he had last season, he will probably think that if he is ever going to make a big move to the Premier League, it’s probably going to be now or never.”

With that being said, it would no doubt be a major coup for Chelsea if they can secure the signing of Terrier in January and it could just be the signing that breathes fresh life into their campaign, lifting their hopes of winning a trophy a process.

Leeds United U21 centre-forward Sonny Perkins could be set to link up with Jesse Marsch’s senior side ahead of their Carabao Cup meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers this evening.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Joe Donnohue, with the journalist revealing in a recent article for the Yorkshire Evening Post that, after being limited to a ten-minute substitute appearance in the young Whites’ 4-2 victory over Newcastle United U21s on Monday, the centre-forward now appears to be in with a chance of travelling to Molineux with the senior squad this evening.

Regarding the potential inclusion of a number of the club’s promising talents, Donnohue said: “[Leo] Hjelde and [Wilfried] Gnonto have both made first-team appearances this season, while [Darko] Gyabi and [Mateo] Joseph have been named on the substitutes’ bench by Marsch but are yet to earn their senior debuts.

“Perkins, on the other hand, has not made a matchday squad yet, but may travel with the group on Wednesday.”

Bamford heir

With Phil Hay recently revealing that Patrick Bamford looks set to be ruled out of first-team action until the return of club football after the World Cup, Marsch could well unearth the injury-prone centre-forward’s long-term heir at Leeds by unleashing Perkins against Wolves this evening.

Indeed, since making a move to Thorp Arch on a free transfer this summer, the 18-year-old sensation has been in astonishing goalscoring form over his nine Premier League 2 outings for the U21s, hitting the back of the net on seven different occasions, in addition to bagging one in three Papa John’s Trophy fixtures.

The teenage hitman has also been in fine form for England’s U19s in the current campaign, scoring five goals and providing one assist in three outings for Ian Foster’s side – meaning the youngster has averaged a direct goal contribution every 82 minutes of football played in 2022/23.

As such, with the goalless Bamford now looking to be out of action for a considerable amount of time, it would very much appear as if the £1m-rated Perkins has more than earned his chance to fill the boots of the England international until his likely return to first-team football in December.

Having said that, should the “dangerous” striker impress against Wolves this evening, perhaps the 18-year-old could even end up taking Bamford’s starting spot away from him on a much more regular basis, especially considering just how much of a struggle the Leeds’ number nine is finding it to get up to full fitness this season.

Newcastle United are reportedly still eyeing up a potential move for FC Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

The Lowdown: Scouts sent

It was reported in September that the St. James’ Park outfit sent scouts to watch Costa in action for the Portugal national team back in June, ahead of a potential move.

He has a €60m (£51.9m) release clause, and even though the North East club signed Nick Pope from Burnley in the summer, a move for Costa in the January transfer window has not been ruled out.

The Latest: Still interest

As per Portuguese news outlet Record (via Sport Witness), Costa is ‘well referenced’ on Tyneside, and Eddie Howe’s team remain attentive to the player.

However, he is completely focused on Porto at the moment, having just played in the UEFA Champions League group stages away at Club Brugge, while both Manchester United and FC Barcelona have also sent scouts to watch him.

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The Verdict: Have faith in Pope

Having just signed Pope, there should not be a real urgency for the Magpies to go out and buy another goalkeeper.

They already have Loris Karius and Karl Darlow that they can also call upon, while Martin Dubravka is on loan at United.

Hailed as ‘superb’ by journalist Zach Lowy, there is no doubt that Costa is a quality goalkeeper, as the six-foot-two colossus helped Porto win their domestic league title last term, with an impressive 15 clean sheets in 33 games and just 22 goals conceded in the Portuguese top flight (Transfermarkt).

He has started off this season in similar fashion, averaging a clean sheet every other game, and at just 23 years of age, there will be plenty more opportunities for the Toon to buy him in the future.

Right now, their faith should be in Pope, who has conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League so far this campaign.

A worrying Newcastle United injury update has emerged regarding Alexander Isak ahead of a return to Premier League action this weekend.

What’s the latest?

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has claimed that the Swedish centre-forward is set for a spell on the sidelines after being hit with a setback whilst on international duty.

Magpies reporter Dominic Scurr had claimed that the striker had not suffered a serious blow, but Edwards has now revealed that the 23-year-old will be out of action for a number of games.

He tweeted: “Confidence Bruno will play against Fulham, but record signing Alexander Isak is out for a few weeks, ASM is touch and go but is also unlikely to make London trip Chris Wood has a rib injury and is struggling too. Wilson will return but needs to be wrapped in cotton wool.”

Eddie Howe should be frustrated

The Magpies head coach should be frustrated by this latest setback, as losing Isak for any period of time is a huge blow for the team heading into their upcoming matches.

Newcastle have only won one of their opening seven Premier League games and will need their best players available to rediscover their top form. They have also scored just eight times in those seven outings, which suggests that the manager is not blessed with a plethora of goalscoring threats in his team.

Isak arrived from La Liga outfit Real Sociedad in the summer and has hit the ground running in England. The Swede has found the net twice in his first three appearances for the Toon, scoring against Liverpool and Bournemouth either side of drawing a blank against Crystal Palace.

He has shown that he has the quality to score goals at this level, and that is why his absence in the coming weeks is a huge blow for Newcastle, particularly with fellow strikers Wilson only now returning to fitness and Wood dealing with an injury of his own.

The 23-year-old joined the Magpies after scoring 23 La Liga goals between the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns, which shows that he has the ability to score on a regular basis in a major European league, indicating that he has the potential to reach great heights at St James’ Park.

Therefore, Howe should be frustrated with this big injury blow, as his team will not benefit from Isak’s goalscoring talents in the next few weeks, which could limit their threat in front of goal against Fulham and any subsequent matches that the Sweden international may miss.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ goalscoring woes that held them back last year have yet again reared their head during the first seven Premier League matches of this campaign.

Having scored only 38 league goals in 2021/2022, the Old Gold have managed a paltry three efforts so far and this is despite having signed Goncalo Guedes and Sasa Kalajdzic (although he will miss most of the campaign having been injured on his debut).

This prompted Bruno Lage to delve back into the market, with the club announcing the signing of Diego Costa to provide cover for the injured Austrian last week. The 33-year-old might not be in his prime, but it was certainly a better option than another face who was looked at by the club.

Lage avoided a howler

Wolves were linked with a shock move for Andy Carroll before Costa joined, and this would have been a disaster, as he could well have potentially been a worse signing than that of Willian Jose two years ago.

The Brazilian centre-forward joined on loan from Real Sociedad in January 2021 until the end of the season, but the move turned out to be a nightmare for both parties.

In the end, he managed a solitary Premier League goal in 18 appearances in all competitions, with Wolves unsurprisingly not exercising their option to buy.

Carroll, who is of similar stature, would likely have had an impact comparable to that of Jose, with the 33-year-old scoring a total of just six goals in the previous four years. Indeed, it is evident that both players are not exactly prolific inside the opposition area.

The Englishman’s career hasn’t exactly taken off since he made a £35m move from Newcastle United to Liverpool in 2011 and overall, has scored just 54 top flight goals in 248 matches, hardly setting the world on fire.

His injury record was also a major cause for concern, thus rendering him worse than Jose who was, at least, available during his time at Molineux. The former England international has had 23 separate incidents throughout his career where he was injured and Lage certainly dodged a bullet over the former West Ham hitman.

Karen Brady once dubbed Carroll as a “behemoth from ages past” due to his poor attitude during his stint in the capital, and this is another reason why he was best to be avoided.

The jury is out on Costa, but one thing is for certain, he will be a far better option to call upon than Carroll.

Everton could be set to add a ball-playing midfielder alongside another summer acquisition… 

What’s the word?

According to transfer insider Dean Jones, the Toffees are frontrunners to sign Manchester United midfielder James Garner alongside Southampton.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he claimed: “It’s really hard to tell because there is genuinely half of the Premier League suddenly interested in this deal and you can understand why.

“Everton and Southampton are undoubtedly two of the clubs at the front of the queue, but there are others that could still surprise us.”

The 21-year-old has reportedly been made available for just £15m by the Old Trafford outfit.

Imagine him & Onana

It quickly becomes clear from looking at the underlying statistics of Amadou Onana and Garner how well-suited they could be as a midfield pair that Frank Lampard seems so keen to play.

With the 6 foot 4 tackling machine lining up beside the finesse and guile of the young Englishman, they could form a top partnership for many years to come.

Labelled a “special” footballer, the 21-year-old featured an astounding 41 times in the Championship while on loan at Nottingham Forest last season. Despite being more of a deep-lying midfielder, his return of four goals and eight assists in their promotion campaign is certainly impressive.

He has a tendency to drift forward and progress his team up the pitch, as evidenced in averaging two key passes per game and a 58% dribble success rate.

To combine this “talented” ace – as dubbed by ex-Watford manager Vladimir Ivic – with the towering Belgian, who ranks in the top 4% for tackles made per 90 minutes among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues, it is clear that he will be capable of doing the dirty work to allow Garner to flourish further forward.

Onana does not pride himself on his ability in possession, as it is without the ball that he can make the biggest impact. This can be seen in his 83% pass success rate and his lowly ranking in the 22nd percentile for progressive passes.

Using his lanky frame, though, he can steal in to win back possession, feeding Garner to then utilise his passing range to get Everton on the front foot.

All the signs point towards a potential symbiotic relationship between the two quickly being formed, with the former Lille destroyer also likely to dominate aerially given his stature and his match average of 2.03 aerials won per 90.

Where one of these midfielders is comparatively weak, the other seems to thrive in that characteristic. With the perfect blend of powerful determination and effortless finesse, Lampard could nail down his midfield for the next few years if he can secure a deal for Garner.

Aston Villa centre-back Diego Carlos could face up to nine months on the sidelines with injury, according to Dr. Rajpal Brar

The lowdown

Carlos, a £27.9million summer signing from Sevilla, was injured on his home debut against Everton on Saturday.

Manager Steven Gerrard said after the game that he was ‘extremely worried’ about the issue.

And now his worst fears might just have been realised, with Villa confirming in a statement on Monday that Carlos had ruptured his Achilles tendon and would require surgery.

The latest

Dr. Brar, a sports scientist, physical therapist and fitness and movement coach, says an Achilles tendon rupture ‘typically’ results in a ‘minimum’ ‘6-9 month’ lay-off ‘in elite football’.

And worryingly, it will take ‘even longer’ for Carlos ‘to return to pre-injury levels’.

The verdict

This looks like a monumental blow for Aston Villa and Carlos, just two games into his career at the club.

At best, he won’t be back till midway February, and at worst, he’ll miss virtually the entirety of the season.

And even when he does return, he’s going to need time to ramp back up to top form, assuming he can get there again.

According to The Athletic, 29-year-old Carlos should be in his peak window at present, so this injury is denying him a huge chunk of his prime years.

Villa have invested a great deal of money – he’s the fourth-most expensive signing in their history, and you have to consider his wages too – but might not be able to see any real return for the best part of a year.

In short, their plan is in tatters, and they’ll likely to recruit another centre-back now as a contingency measure.

Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update on reported Leeds United transfer target Charles De Ketelaere.

What’s the word?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Italian journalist revealed that, despite Victor Orta being reported to have made a €37m (£31m) bid for the Club Brugge KV forward – an offer larger than the €30m (£25.5m) plus bonuses bid submitted by AC Milan – the Serie A side remain in pole position to land the 21-year-old this summer, as the player is prioritising a move to the San Siro ahead of one to Elland Road.

In his tweet, the transfer insider said: “Charles De Ketelaere didn’t play one single minute in the Supercup game between Club Brugge and Gent – no risk, as AC Milan are in talks to sign him. Leeds made an official bid two weeks ago – but AC Milan are leading the race since 10 days as player’s priority.”

Supporters will be gutted

Considering just how promising a talent De Ketelaere proved himself to be last season, Romano’s claim that, despite Leeds’ significantly better offer for the Belgium international, it is Milan who are leading the race for the forward’s signature is sure to have left the Elland Road faithful gutted.

Indeed, over his 39 Jupiler Pro League appearances in 2021/22, the £27m-rated attacker was in astonishing form for Alfred Schreuder’s side, bagging 14 goals, registering nine assists and creating 16 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.0 shots, making 1.8 key passes and completing 1.4 dribbles per fixture.

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These metrics saw the £17k-per-week talent average a rather sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.25, ranking him not only as his club’s fourth-best performer in the league but also the 13th-best player in the Belgian top flight as a whole.

The eight-cap international also impressed over his six Champions League fixtures last time out, providing one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.5 shots, making 1.8 key passes and completing one dribble per fixture.

These metrics saw the 21-year-old average an eye-catching SofaScore match rating of 6.98, ranking him as Brugge’s second-best player in the competition – a quite extraordinary feat considering the Belgian side were drawn in something of a group of death alongside Manchester City, RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain.

As such, considering the youngster’s undoubted ability and potential for exponential growth, Romano’s latest update on the Whites’ pursuit of De Ketelaere is sure to come as a gutting blow to everyone involved with the club – not least the Spanish director of football and Jesse Marsch.

AND in other news: Orta plotting Leeds bid for “high-level” £34m sensation, he’s better than De Ketelaere

It’s hard to believe, but it’s now almost a decade since Sir Alex Ferguson decided to call time on his glittering managerial career, and it would be fair to say that the past nine years since the Scot led the Old Trafford side to their last Premier League triumph have been among the toughest in Manchester United’s recent history.

That may all be about to change. If you are a Manchester United fan and a sports betting enthusiast, then you might want to check out the best new betting sites in the UK ahead of a possible wager on new boss Erik ten Hag’s reign being a fruitful one.

A succession of managers have been brought in to replace Sir Alex, and some have proven more disastrous than others, but in all honesty, the search for a replacement that can ably replace the Scot was always going to be something of an unforgiving task.

Of the managers who’ve tried to get the club back on track Jose Mourinho is arguably the one that has come the closest, the Portuguese manager did at least secure some silverware, but Ralf Rangnick (in an interim role) arguably brought the club to a new low with last season’s sixth-place finish that saw the club finish the campaign with their lowest points total since 1991.

So What Now?

Erik ten Hag comes with a stellar reputation, and the success he achieved during his five-year stint in charge of Ajax can not be underplayed. Three Eredivisie titles and a host of other trophies proved he knew how to get the most out of the Amsterdam giants, and perhaps more impressive was the way the club performed in the Champions League over the course of his tenure.

In 2018-19, only a 96th-minute winner from Tottenham winger Lucas Moura prevented Ajax from reaching the Champions League final.

The 52-year-old means business and isn’t the type of manager that is going to let a dressing room dictate proceedings, which is an issue that has been a big headache for a succession of managers.

This was something Sir Alex was adept at handling, and ten Hag will look to do likewise as he seeks to take a squad of underachieving stars more than just a sum of its parts. He’ll also look to bring in big new names, and with that in mind, he’s hot in pursuit of Dutch midfield maestro Frenkie de Jong, a player he knows well from the Barcelona star’s Ajax days.

What Can Be Achieved In the Short and Long-Term?

Since Ferguson left in May of 2013, United have employed no less than four permanent successors (as well as three interim/caretaker bosses), and ten Hag must be given time to make an impact.

This coming season will be a transition, and while this term is a dreaded one that fans hate to hear, you can expect the new Man United manager to do decidedly better than the last couple who have held the post.

We’d say a genuine push back into the top four is on the cards, and if Erik ten Hag is given the right backing, especially financially, then you can expect Man United to once again be a team that can truly be considered Premier League title challengers.

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Tottenham Hotspur’s attempts to sign Everton star Richarlison may have been given a boost as an update comes out of north London.

The Lowdown: Spurs keep moving…

After completing a trio of deals to sign Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma, it is reliably believed that Spurs transfer chief Fabio Paratici has his eye on more incomings for manager Antonio Conte.

A right-wing-back, central defender and centre-forward are said to be priorities for the Lilywhites, who are looking to build upon their top four Premier League finish at the back end of last term.

Subsequent qualification for the Champions League has gifted the club a £150m equity increase which has so far been put to use in the summer market, with a promising update now coming to light involving one of the Lilywhites’ targets.

The Latest: Romano shares promising Richarlison update…

Toffees striker Richarlison, who is said to be on Spurs’ radar, may well be on the move before the start of 2022/2023.

Taking to Twitter, reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that the Brazil international is now interested in a move to Hotspur Way with the club having ‘discussed’ him in recent transfer talks with Everton.

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The transfer guru explained: “Tottenham are still well informed on Richarlison – was discussed during talks for Harry Winks-Everton. Richarlison would be open to Spurs move. It also depends on Raphinha domino.

“Winks talks going slow, as he could be included in Richarlison talks or separated deal.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

Finishing 2021/22 as the Goodison Park club’s best-performing player, as per WhoScored, we believe that the South American would be a grand addition for Conte.

He was also Everton’s top scorer last season in the top flight (10) whilst averaging more attempts at goal per 90 than any member of Frank Lampard’s squad (WhoScored).

It’s little wonder that journalists such as CBS Sports editor Mike Goodman have claimed that the 25-year-old is a ‘unique’ player, and Richarlison may well fit in to what Conte is building in N17.