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Following a reported behind-the-scenes falling out with manager Rafa Benitez back in December, Everton’s full-back Lucas Digne has been continuously linked with a transfer move away from Goodison Park.

The likes of Newcastle United, Chelsea and Aston Villa have reportedly been working on signing the Frenchman, with the Midlands club apparently being the closest to securing a deal.

With a January exit looking likely, it seems as though a claim has emerged regarding the potential details of Digne’s exit this month which should please a number of Everton fans.

What’s the news?

In a recent Twitter post, journalist Alan Myers had this to say on what the current situation is at Everton regarding the potential sale of left-back Lucas Digne.

He said: “My understanding is Everton are not interested in any player plus deal for Digne, wherever he ends up, they want a straight sale.”

Digne signed to Everton back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Spanish club Barcelona in a deal worth a reported fee of £18m and has since gone on to make 127 appearances for the Toffees across all competitions.

Fans buzzing

During his time at Goodison, the 28-year-old had made himself an important figure for the team, particularly in an attacking sense by racking up six goals and 20 assists along the way.

As a result, it’s somewhat of a shame that his spell in Merseyside looks like it could be coming to an end in such an unfortunate and unexpected manner.

However, considering Everton’s current issue with FFP, it would make sense for the club to raise as much money as they can as quickly as they can to give them more freedom in the financial transfer market, a situation that would understandably delight fans.

Therefore, it would be perfect for the club if they receive a hefty windfall for Digne rather than a lower amount of money and a player, such as Newcastle’s reported previous offer of £22.5m and Sean Longstaff.

If Villa have offered more money for the France international than any other team, then Everton should take it and use it to improve their financial situation.

With the Toffees having brought in left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko recently, it seems as though they have already got their ideal replacement for Digne if he does end up leaving soon.

In other news: Journo gives perspective on potential Barkley signing

Celtic are close to completing the Parkhead arrivals of three players in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Japanese publication The Mainichi, who claim that Celtic are nearing deals for all three of Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate ahead of the winter market.

The report goes on to state that the club are progressing well in discussions with Yokohama F Marinos and Gamba Osaka, the respective clubs of Maeda and Ideguchi, regarding deals, as both sides are happy to sanction the sale of their respective stars.

However, it is also said the Bhoys talks with Kawasaki Frontale, the club of Hatate, are at a less advanced stage, as the J League side are currently demanding much more for the 24-year-old than Celtic are prepared to offer.

Ange will be buzzing

With Ange Postecoglou openly stating that he is willing to raid the Japanese top flight of its most impressive players in January, the fact that Celtic appear close to signing three of Japan’s brightest talents is sure to have left the 56-year-old buzzing.

Indeed, over his 36 J League appearances this season, centre-forward Maeda scored a whopping 23 goals, registered three assists and created four big chances for his teammates, with these returns seeing the £990k-rated man average a SofaScore match rating of 7.09 – ranking him as his club’s joint sixth-best performer in the top flight of Japanese football.

Meanwhile, over Hatate’s 30 league fixtures, the versatile midfielder scored five goals, provided two assists and created three big chances, with these metrics seeing him average a SofaScore match rating of 7.16, while central midfielder Ideguchi averaged a SofaScore match rating of 6.76 over his own 29 J League appearances.

As such, should Celtic indeed go on to land all three of these players in January, not only would they continue Postecoglou’s Japanese revolution at Parkhead – following the summer signing of Kyogo Furuhashi – they would also represent a huge step in the 56-year-old’s revolution of the Bhoys first-team squad – something that would only appear to bode well for the club’s title chances this season.

In other news: Major blow: Ange confirms injury update that will surely devastate Celtic fans

With no goals scored in their previous two Premier League games, the upcoming January transfer window could provide West Ham United with the perfect opportunity to strengthen their squad and set themselves up to push for a top-four finish by the end of the campaign.

Taking this into account, it seems as though the east London club have their eye on securing a new attacking talent who could be just what they need to end the season on a high.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football Insider, West Ham have their eye on making a move to sign Rubin Kazan attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia alongside fellow Premier League clubs Everton and Southampton.

Since joining Rubin on a free transfer from FC Rustavi back in the 2019 summer transfer window, the 20-year-old winger – who is currently valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt – has made 68 appearances for his club across all competitions, scoring eight goals and providing 16 assists.

Having been likened to former Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery – who scored 124 goals and provided 182 assists in 425 appearances for the Bavarian giants – by Denis Bushuev, Kvaratskhelia could be an exciting prospect for West Ham to add to their squad in January.

In his 15 league games so far this season for Rubin, Kvaratskhelia has shown how talented an attacking player he is by averaging 2.2 shots and 1.4 key passes per game.

To put these numbers into perspective, current Irons attacker Said Benrahma has racked up similar averages of 2.1 shots and 1.1 key passes per game in 17 Premier League appearances this term, showing that the Georgian has what it takes to mix it with West Ham’s senior attackers.

Moving forward, taking into account Kvaratskhelia’s attacking talents and West Ham’s lack of recent goals, they should be doing all they can to beat Everton and Southampton to his signature to add an extra spark to their attacking ranks as they look to finish in the top four.

In other news: “I could see” – Journalist drops exciting claim at West Ham which will have fans buzzing

Many West Brom fans have been left slamming the display of Cedric Kipre in their 0-0 draw away at Blackpool in the Championship on Tuesday night.

It was a frustrating game for the visitors, who mustered nearly double the shots of the Tangerines, but had fewer on target, as Valerien Ismael’s team simply did not have their shooting boots on.

Down the other end of the pitch, they were perhaps fortunate not to concede at times, with Kipre particularly guilty of some poor play.

The 24-year-old lost out on eight of his duels, and failed to block any shots on his goal, while he was guilty of losing possession of the ball 13 times in the match (SofaScore).

He was the only Baggies starter to have recorded fewer touches than his own goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, and his yellow card right before half-time pretty much summed up his night (SofaScore).

West Brom fans on Kipre display

These members of the Hawthorns faithful slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Albion supporter even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘liability’:

“Kipre, Hugill and Grady I don’t wanna see near this team ever again.”

Credit: @wbaxingram

“Kipre can’t control a football”

Credit: @WBAHazzaFT

“Well Kipre would be a 1300L as he gets passed so easily.”

Credit: @EveRay1

“Cedric Kipre = complete liability”

Credit: @CJHall83

“Bartley leaving his post to have a go at the lad who dived is peak Bartley. Him and Kipre are in competition to see who can give a goal away first.”

Credit: @_ColinGriffiths

“With great respect to Blackpool, we are dire. chaotic, panicky and chronically poor in final third and don’t get me started on Grant and Kipre”

Credit: @iammorty

In other news, find out whose display against Huddersfield Town was slammed here!

Eddie Howe’s first game in the dugout in charge of Newcastle United ended with a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Arsenal, keeping his side at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Goals from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli secured the three points for Mikel Arteta’s side in a tough lunchtime fixture for the Toon.

One player in a Newcastle shirt who certainly let Howe down on the day with his performance was Matt Ritchie.

Deployed as a left-back on this occasion, the 32-year-old only played 67 minutes before being replaced by Miguel Almiron as Howe looked to get something from the game.

In those 67 minutes, Ritchie had significantly fewer touches of the ball (17) than Toon goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (50), whilst completing just six of his nine passes, along with two failed cross attempts and two failed long ball passes.

Ritchie failed to have an impact off the ball either by losing 100% of his five duels, getting dribbled past on three occasions and picking up a yellow card in the process.

This performance ultimately earned the 32-year-old, who is currently earning £45k-per-week according to Spotrac, a poor overall match rating of 5.7/10 from SofaScore, making him the lowest-rated Toon player on the day.

With Newcastle now having conceded 29 goals in 13 league games, it’s safe to say that Howe has a big challenge on his hands to improve the defence and keep the club in the Premier League.

Looking at his performance today, Ritchie should be worried about his place in the team if he can’t improve and help them to get some much-needed points on the board.

However, given his impressive performance against Brentford last weekend where he grabbed an assist, perhaps this was just a bad day at the office for Ritchie against a tough opponent who are now 17 points ahead of the Magpies.

With Newcastle set to take on fellow strugglers Norwich City in midweek, this will undoubtedly be a huge game for the Tynesiders to finally get a win under their belts.

It will also be interesting to see whether or not Howe sticks with Ritchie in the starting XI given the dramatic difference in performance level he has produced in his two previous league appearances.

In other news, PIF can land Howe’s dream NUFC deal with “world class” £126m gem, he’s the next Suarez…

Newcastle United could now hire Erik ten Hag as their next manager, if Marc Overmars is appointed the new Director of Football (DoF) at St. James’ Park.

The Lowdown: Manager search

The North East club have been linked with the likes of Roberto Martinez, Steven Gerrard and Matias Almeyda in recent days, as their manager search continues following the departure of Steve Bruce.

Graeme Jones will be taking temporary charge of the next couple of games until the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium find the person that they want.

The Latest: ten Hag and Overmars combo

As per De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), Overmars, who is currently the DoF at Ajax, would be ‘comfortable’ taking the same role on Tyneside, and ‘will poll’ ten Hag if he is appointed.

It will be interesting to see which role the new owners of the Magpies fill in first, as one could well dictate who is hired for the other.

The Verdict: Get both in

There is no doubt that a lot of the recent success Ajax have had is down to Overmars and ten Hag.

Off of the pitch, the former has been responsible for selling players for big profits and then helping rebuild with quality replacements, while ten Hag has won five major trophies during his time at the club, and famously guided them to the UEFA Champions League semi-final in the 2018/19 season.

Jurgen Klopp dubbed him as an ‘exciting’ manager back in December, which is high praise indeed, and getting both in would prove to be a real coup from the Toon.

In other news, find out which ‘extraordinary’ ace NUFC are ‘preparing’ a £67.7m bid for here!

According to The Sun, Antonio Conte will be given a £150m transfer budget after completing his move to Tottenham.

The Lowdown: Conte to move to Spurs

The Tottenham managerial position opened up when Nuno Espirito Santo was relieved of his duties on Monday after Spurs’ 3-0 loss to Manchester United at the weekend.

That vacancy has now been filled by Conte, with the BBC confirming just after midday that Spurs had appointed the Italian as their new manager.

A few hours before the appointment was confirmed, Fabrizio Romano had claimed that the 52-year-old would be at Hotspur Way on Tuesday morning to meet with the players and Fabio Paratici.

The Latest: Conte to be given big budget

As per The Sun’s report, Conte is set to be given a big transfer budget to put his own stamp on the squad.

The report details how the former Chelsea boss ‘snubbed’ the Lilywhites due to a lack of ambition in the summer, but claimed that a ‘stunning U-turn’ from Daniel Levy and Joe Lewis has led to a ‘huge’ £290k-per-week contract and ‘heavy backing in the transfer market’.

The Verdict: Needed

It is clear that all is not right at Tottenham. They struggled under Jose Mourinho last season and things got even worse under Nuno, who lasted just four months in the role.

While it’s important to have the right man in charge, the squad needs a revamp. Star man and captain Harry Kane is not far away from his 30s and looks largely disinterested; and while perhaps the arrival of Conte will renew his desire to give 100 per cent to Tottenham, this is a squad still with several of the players who have now been partly responsible for the departures of three different managers.

Conte will know that, and he is notoriously stubborn. If he wants to boost the squad in the winter, he is unlikely to take no for an answer. A £150m budget should give him the opportunity to bring in some real quality as he hopes to take the Lilywhites up the table.

In other news, Spurs met with club directors to discuss a move for this player

Leeds United will find it hard to keep hold of Kalvin Phillips if Manchester United bid for him in January, according to Alex McLeish.

The Lowdown: Phillips linked with United move

The 25-year-old has matured into one of the best midfielders in the country, producing consistently excellent performances for Leeds and also winning England’s Player of the Year award.

With his reputation seemingly being enhanced by the week, Phillips has unsurprisingly been linked with a move away from Elland Road, with Manchester United tipped to sign him.

His current Leeds deal expires in 2024, although there has been talk of him agreeing a new contract.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: McLeish makes worrying claim

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish gave a seven-word verdict regarding a potential move to Old Trafford for the Leeds midfielder, saying that it would be “tough for him to turn it down”.

The former Premier League manager then added:

“Jack Grealish was a fan of Aston Villa all his life, but he had his head turned by a dominant club like Manchester City.

“It’s the same thing – if United come and go all the way with their interest, it is hard for him to stay.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-18/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Last season at Leeds?

Sadly, as McLeish has hinted, it does feel as though the £36m-rated Phillips’ time as a Leeds player could be reaching its natural conclusion, with his head potentially being turned by the prospect of a move elsewhere.

That may not be as soon as January, but a summer exit could be on the cards should a Champions League-playing club come in for him.

It would be premature to rule out the idea of Phillips simply staying put at Elland Road for many more years, but as things stand, he may believe that the peak years of his career lie elsewhere.

In other news, Phil Hay has given an important Leeds injury update. Read more here.

Despite managing to secure their first win of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Leeds United, Southampton have still only managed to score six goals in their opening eight league games of the campaign.

With this in mind, it seems as though the club have their eyes on fixing their goalscoring issue with a potential transfer move on the cards for the Saints.

What’s the latest?

It has recently been reported by Sport Mediaset (via Sport Witness) that Southampton are interested in signing KRC Genk striker Paul Onuachu.

The striker joined Genk back in the 2019 summer transfer window from FC Midtjylland.

Previous reports suggest there could be a fierce battle for the forward with Arsenal and Inter Milan also eyeing a move.

Ings replacement?

Since then, the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £19.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 83 appearances for the Belgian club, prior to their league match against Sporting Charleroi, in which he has managed to bag an impressive 56 goals and provide seven assists in the process.

That has earned Onuachu the title of “goal king” by John Fashanu, a review that explains why Southampton are attracted to the player.

On the international stage, Onuachu has also managed to score three goals in 15 appearances for Nigerian

So far this season, prior to Genk’s match against Charleroi, Onuachu has managed to score nine goals in nine league games, ultimately earning him an overall match rating of 7.44/10, making him Genk’s highest-rated player according to WhoScored.

Taking into account how the Saints sold striker Danny Ings to fellow Premier League club Aston Villa during the recent summer transfer window after he scored 46 goals for Hasenhuttl’s side in 100 appearances, perhaps signing someone with Onuachu’s goalscoring prowess could be just what Southampton need as a suitable replacement for the Englishman.

In our view, Southampton should definitely try their hardest to sign Onuachu and get him to St. Mary’s either in the upcoming January transfer window or the next summer window. The winter window would be preferable if they can so he can see if he can bring his goalscoring form to the club to keep them away from the relegation zone which would undoubtedly make him a club hero and a great piece of January business.

In other news: Forget Broja: £60k-p/w Southampton beast who made 6 key passes stole the show vs Leeds – opinion

Sheffield United have been dealt a potential blow regarding Robin Olsen ahead of their upcoming Championship clash.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by The Star, Slavisa Jokanovic revealed that the on-loan AS Roma goalkeeper is unlikely to be available for the Blades’ fixture against Peterborough United on Saturday following the 31-year-old’s return from international duty with Sweden.

The 53-year-old claimed that he is yet to work with the shot-stopper in training, and that rules regarding the ongoing global pandemic and Brexit make it uncertain as to whether Olsen will be available for selection today.

Jokanovic said: “We have not had the opportunity to start working with Robin – new rules, [the pandemic], Brexit I cannot give you answer if I can use him immediately, I may have to wait a bit more before I can use him.”

Jokanovic will be gutted

With Jokanovic undoubtedly being desperate for Sheffield United to pick up their first win of the 2021/22 Championship campaign against Peterborough on Saturday, the Serbian is bound to be gutted that he will not be able to call upon Olsen for the visit of Posh.

Indeed, following the sale of Aaron Ramsdale, neither Wes Foderingham nor Michael Verrips have exactly demonstrated that they would be capable of being the club’s number one this season, with the 30-year-old conceding more goals than he made saves in the 2-1 loss to Huddersfield Town and the Dutchman making an error which led to one of the four goals he conceded against West Bromwich Albion.

As such, it would very much seem as if United could use a pair of safe hands between the sticks going forwards, but with Olsen highly unlikely to be available against Posh, Jokanovic may well have to make do with either Foderingham or Verrips for one more game.

In other news: Jokanovic must avoid January transfer disaster as reports emerge on SUFC “leader”