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An update has emerged on Rangers and their pursuit of a centre-back to improve Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad at Ibrox.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Record, Dutch club Vitesse are willing to part ways with Danilho Doekhi this month for a fee in the region of £2m. He is out of contract at the end of the season and the Eredivisie side will accept a fee to cash in on him now before losing him for nothing.

The report claims that the Gers see him as a potential replacement for Connor Goldson at centre-back and are eyeing a possible swoop for him this month.

Masterclass

Rangers could pull off a masterclass by bringing Doekhi to the club in January. Although he is available on a free in the summer, signing him now for a cut-price £2m fee would strengthen their side in the short term and allow van Bronckhorst to bed in a new centre-back partnership ahead of next season.

If Goldson, as the report suggests, is due to leave in the summer then it could be Calvin Bassey who the Vitesse man is set to play alongside should he arrive at Ibrox. Imagine Doekhi and Bassey playing together at the back in the second half of the season…

The ex-Leicester man has started nine games since van Bronckhorst arrived, all at centre-back, and the Gers have kept seven clean sheets and conceded twice in those matches. This highlights how well he has played since his positional shift, but what about Doekhi?

Thomas Letsch, manager of his current club, previously took the time to heap praise on the defender, saying: “Danilho is extremely important. He is one of the best centre-backs of the Eredivisie.

“Of course there is more talk about Oussama Tannane, Riechedly Bazoer and the attacking players. But it is very important for the team that you are stable and prevent goals. Everyone is responsible for that, but Doekhi, Jacob Rasmussen and also Tomas Hajek do a super job.

“He already played fantastic last year and this season he has performed at the highest level in every game. Danilho makes almost no mistakes and is an absolute team player, a very calm player. flat developed. He coaches other players very well. He is calmer than other players and perhaps that makes him less noticeable, but he is the reserve captain for a reason.”

Doekhi has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.01 in the Eredivisie this season, winning 65% of his duels and making an impressive 3.6 tackles and interceptions per game. At the age of 23, he also has the potential to improve further in years to come.

Therefore, him and Bassey, 22, could be the club’s centre-back partnership for many, many, years. That is why this could be a masterclass from the Gers by snapping the Dutchman up and playing him alongside the Nigeria international.

AND in other news, Rangers gifted huge transfer boost that’ll surely leave Ibrox fans buzzing…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left gushing over some off-field news which has emerged.

As per the club’s official website, they have now appointed Zeb Jacobs as of Head of Coaching within their Academy, with the role set to commence from 1st January.

He is joining the Scottish champions from Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp, where he was Talent Co-ordinator and Head of Development in their Academy.

Jacobs is an expert in child pedagogy and is recognised as being ‘one of the brightest and most innovative young football educators in European football’, in the words of Rangers’ official correspondence on his arrival at Ibrox.

Of course, with the Academy doing so well at the moment, it is an inspired appointment aimed to nurture the young talent that the Light Blues have at their disposal, and given his past pedigree, Jacobs will likely be able to develop the players to the best of their abilities.

Rangers fans on Jacobs’ appointment

These Gers fans gushed as the news was shared on Twitter, with one supporter claiming that it is a ‘brilliant’ move by the club:

“Another great appointment!”

Credit: @Kankagroup

“Laying the foundations for a solid future! Michael Beale had a part in identifying him also”

Credit: @LBeattie92

“Very exciting appointment”

Credit: @Cammy26_2

“Doing bits outside of transfer windows is good content, carry on”

Credit: @PenaCartel

“Brilliant”

Credit: @MDangerbouse55

“Making moves!”

Credit: @ScottishRajko

In other news, this Academy development also had lots of Gers fans buzzing

Writing for Eurosport, journalist and transfer ‘insider’ Dean Jones has just made a West Ham United transfer claim involving Flamengo forward Gabriel Barbosa.

The Lowdown: West Ham in striker chase…

David Moyes’ near year-long search for a new striker following the departure of club-record signing Sebastien Haller to Ajax has been well documented.

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The Scotsman, revealing his desperation to sign one over the summer window, confirmed that bids were also made last January but to no avail as the transfer quest continues.

West Ham have been linked to signing a host of new forwards in January, most recently Adam Hlozek and Divock Origi, but it appears another option may be on the cards as news emerges on a ‘big name’ in Barbosa.

The Latest: Insider shares Barbosa update…

According to insider Jones, writing for Eurosport, Barbosa is interesting West Ham, and by extension Moyes, ahead of January and it is believed Flamengo’s star frontman could now become available to them on loan.

West Ham are apparently exploring options to sign forwards on short term deals as Barbosa becomes a candidate, with the Brazilian himself open to leaving as he looks set to weigh up offers next month.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Signing the 25-year-old on a temporary deal would certainly be a mega bit of business by the club and recruitment chief Rob Newman.

Indeed, the Hammers could feasibly bypass his £23.4 million estimated valuation (Transfermarkt) and sign a prolific striker who’s scored 29 goals in total over 2021.

The 17-cap Brazil international has also raved over West Ham before, stating he ‘really enjoyed’ watching them last season, whilst also admitting he is a ‘big fan’ of Premier League football (The Sun).

Given West Ham’s need for a Michail Antonio-alternative and Barbosa’s love for the English game, this could well be a match made in heaven.

In other news: West Ham set for Kretinsky backing as insider shares major behind-scenes development, find out more here.

Things very much look as if they are on the up for Celtic at present, with the Bhoys remaining undefeated over their last nine fixtures in all competitions, qualifying for the final of the Scottish League Cup and closing the gap on the current Scottish Premiership leaders to just four points.

However, despite the positives, there is still undoubtedly a great deal of work that Ange Postecoglou needs to do in the upcoming January transfer window if he is to keep Celtic firing on as many fronts as possible this season.

And, while Joe Hart has become the Hoops’ undisputed number one since joining from Tottenham Hotspur this summer, there is undeniably a significant lack of quality in depth behind the 34-year-old shot-stopper, with the prospect of the former England international picking up an injury being dubbed a “nightmare” scenario by Chris Sutton.

However, before splashing the cash on a new signing between the sticks in January, perhaps it would be wise for Postecoglou to take a closer look at one of Celtic’s up and coming youth products in the position – in the shape of 18-year-old Tobi Oluwayemi.

Oluwayemi can save Celtic millions

Having been selected ahead of Vasilis Barkas as part of Postecoglou’s matchday squad for the Bhoys’ 3-2 Europa League win over Ferencvarosi TC at the start of the month, it is evident that there are high expectations for Oluwayemi at Parkhead.

Indeed, the teenager has been impressing for Celtic’s B team in the Lowland League this season, with the reserve side’s coach, Darren O’Dea, stating upon the 18-year-old’s call up to the England U19 international squad: “We’re going to miss him for a couple of games but that’s a success. We thought he would be involved with the U19s team and then the added surprise of being involved with the first team is fantastic. It’s why we’re here, it’s why he’s here.”

Furthermore, Postecoglou is also known to be a personal fan of the former Spurs youngster, something which is largely down to the goalkeeper’s excellent ability with the ball at his feet – a crucial and perfect trait for a shot-stopper to possess in order for the 56-year-old manager to implement his particular brand of football efficiently.

And, with reports suggesting that Barkas could be on his way out of Parkhead in January, there would very much appear to be a space that requires filling in Celtic’s first-team squad for the second half of the campaign, a slot which Postecoglou could save Celtic millions of pounds in transfer fees on if he decides to place his trust in the teenager O’Dea dubbed a “really good” talent.

In other news: Huge blow: Celtic dealt injury setback ahead of Bayer clash, fans will be fuming

Everton are still keen to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff, according to The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder. 

The lowdown

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope reported in August that Rafael Benitez was keen on a reunion with Longstaff at Goodison Park. The Spaniard had handed the midfielder his senior debut for Newcastle back in December 2018.

The Magpies slapped a £10m price tag on the midfielder during the summer and he wound up remaining at St James’ Park beyond the transfer deadline, but as it stands, Longstaff will have only six months remaining on his contract when the January transfer window opens, so this could be Newcastle’s last chance to cash in.

The 24-year-old has won plaudits from the likes of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who admitted after a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle in 2019 that his team ‘could not deal’ with Longstaff and his midfield partner Isaac Hayden.

The latest

Ryder wrote in The Chronicle that Longstaff is wanted by Everton and other clubs around Europe ahead of the mid-season transfer window.

He has apparently been open to a new contract, with Newcastle wishing to continue those discussions, but it’s clear that time is running out for him to agree a new deal on Tyneside.

The verdict

What do Longstaff’s numbers look like this season? He has played 11 Premier League games, making eight starts and three substitute appearances (via WhoScored).

In those matches, he has averaged 2.8 tackles, 2.4 accurate long balls and 1.1 clearances. For context, among the Everton squad, only Allan (3.2) has a better tackling average, with the Newcastle midfielder ranking inside the league’s top 20 for that metric.

He could be a solid squad option for the Toffees, particularly as Benitez should be able to get the best out of him having blooded him at St James’ Park.

In other news, many Everton fans slammed this man’s performance v Brentford

Having joined Wolverhampton Wanderers’ youth setup back in 2018, Theo Corbeanu is a player who very quickly began to catch the eye at the Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground.

Indeed, after a rather quiet first season with Wolves U18s, scoring one goal and registering one assist over 14 Premier League U18 appearances in 2018/19, the versatile centre-forward really started to find his feet in the following campaign, bagging six goals and providing one assist over 17 fixtures for the U18 side, as well as making his first appearance for the U23s.

This form led to the Canada international being promoted to the U23 side on a permanent basis last season, during which the £900k-rated man scored seven goals and registered two assists over 21 Premier League 2 appearances, in addition to making his Premier League debut for the first team – coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in May.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering his impressive rise through the Wolves youth ranks, the opinion of Corbeanu is extremely high at Molineux, particularly in the eyes of U23 head coach James Collins.

Speaking about the potential of the 19-year-old, Collins said: “He’s athletic, tall, can head it, can defend, can dribble past people and score, he can shoot, he can pass, he’s both footed, he’s got a bit of everything.”

The boss continued: “Theo can be anything he wants to be. He’s an outstanding prospect.”

This assessment of the youngster’s ability is sure to excite Wolves fans, as Collins’ description could also quite easily fit the club’s current first-choice centre-forward, Raul Jimenez – of whom Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said: “For a striker, he is so mobile, but also physically so good and talented technically on the ball.”

However, despite his obvious promise, after being sent on loan to Sheffield Wednesday this summer, Corbeanu’s rise appears to have slowed somewhat, as the striker has so far made just four appearances for Darren Moore’s side – all of which have come from the bench.

Indeed, Tim Spiers recently stated in an article for The Athletic that, with both Lincoln City and Crewe Alexandra thought to have been interested in signing the forward this summer, should the 19-year-old still not be receiving regular game time at Hillsborough by the time January comes around, Wolves could well look to move the youngster to a new club for the second half of the season.

And, should Bruno Lage wish to give Corbeanu the best possible chance of going on to fulfil his undoubted potential, this would appear an extremely wise move. The 19-year-old certainly has the potential to not only become Jimenez’s long-term successor at Wolves, but he could also save Fosun millions of pounds in transfer fees as a result.

In other news: Nixon drops worrying claim on “authoritative” £62k-p/w ace, Wolves fans will be gutted

Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action later this evening when they welcome a struggling Manchester United side to north London.

Nuno Santo and his team will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing result to local rivals West Ham, having failed to register a single shot throughout the entire second half despite chasing the game.

The Lilywhites did react in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night but only narrowly saw past Sean Dyche’s rotated Burnley side, so it leaves the Portuguese head coach with a lot to ponder.

Whilst Spurs advanced into the quarter-finals, the performance was far from inspiring, particularly in the final third once again. As such, it would be a surprise to see Steven Bergwijn trusted to start on the wing over goalscorer Lucas Moura.

Aside from Bryan Gil, who was withdrawn in the 25th minute through injury, the Dutch winger was Nuno’s lowest-rated player on the night, per SofaScore figures.

Indeed, he endured a pretty tough night up against the Claret’s second-string right-flank duo of Connor Roberts and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who often got the better of him, both recording superior ratings to the Dutchman despite being on the losing side.

Bergwijn lost possession 17 times and completed just 62% of his lowly 21 passing attempts, proving to be an absolute waste with the ball, whilst he only won 50% of his battles and failed to provide a single key pass, accurate cross or shot on goal.

“We need Stevie”, “he’s a very talented player” and “unique” are phrases which have often come out of Nuno’s mouth when speaking about the 24-year-old, so he’s clearly a player that the Spurs boss could call upon this weekend.

But with Moura on the scoresheet and quickly becoming a key cog in this system – he ranks second overall for the campaign behind Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – it would be wise to axe the £26m-rated star from the starting XI to make way for the Brazilian.

Four goals and six assists in the Premier League are far from inspiring returns from a £25m signing with so much promise in over two years at the club. He’s just not been good enough to warrant his place amongst the starters.

Nuno must opt for Moura and ruthlessly axe Bergwijn from his lineup against United today.

AND in other news, Spurs could seal huge Winks upgrade in “dangerous” 27-cap gem, won’t cost ENIC a penny…

West Brom are sweating over the fitness of Baggies midfielder Alex Mowatt after he picked up a foot injury, judging by an update from their manager.

The Lowdown: Mowatt picks up foot injury

Valerien Ismael’s side suffered a disappointing night in the Championship on Friday, losing 1-0 away to Stoke City to dent their promotion bid.

Not only that, but Mowatt also suffered a foot problem, having started all 11 of West Brom’s league matches so far this season.

The Latest: Ismael provides injury update

It’s now a few days after the game and an update has been provided by Ismael via The Express & Star, with Joseph Masi reporting that the club are still waiting to find out how serious the injury is.

The Baggies boss said: “The injury with Alex Mowatt – we need to check and see how bad it is.

“It’s his left foot and he needs to go and have a scan. I hope it isn’t too bad. When Alex comes out, it’s normally a bad sign because he can play all the time, he wants to play all the time – 90 minutes plus.”

The Verdict: Key player for Baggies

Mowatt is a massive player for the Baggies already, having followed Ismael from Barnsley in the summer – he has averaged two tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game in the Championship this season, the former being the second-highest in West Brom’s squad – so the hope is that he is back in the fold as soon as possible.

There is the bonus of an international break coming this weekend, though, which gives the midfielder more time to recover ahead of the visit of Birmingham City on October 15.

In other news, one West Brom player has been blasted by a pundit. Find out who it is here.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will look to bring a new centre-back to Molineux in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Luke Hatfield, with the Express & Star journalist stating in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that he is certain Bruno Lage will attempt to bring in defensive reinforcements during the winter market, as the 45-year-old Wolves boss is currently extremely short of options in the heart of his defence.

When asked whether he thought Lage will look to sign a new centre-back in January, Hartfield said: “I’m sure of it. And I will be dumbfounded if they don’t sign a centre-back – and a quality one at that – in January, because they’re just so thin on the ground in that position.”

Lage simply must act

As Hatfield suggests, bringing in at least one fresh face at centre-back must be a priority for Wolves in January, as, following the long-term injury picked up by summer signing Yerson Mosquera, Lage has found himself with just four senior options to field in his back three.

Furthermore, with the potential of both Romain Saiss and Willy Boly being unavailable for the majority of January due to their likely participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, the 45-year-old’s options in the heart of his defence could yet be further diminished this season.

As such, should Lage have any ambition of securing a top-half finish with Wolves in the current campaign, it would indeed appear as if the Portuguese manager simply must splash the cash on a new centre-back in the winter market.

And, with The Athletic reporting that Wolves were just £10m away from signing LOSC Lille centre-back Sven Botman – a player who has been extremely impressive in recent seasons – this summer, in addition to the defender appearing more than happy to link up with the Premier League side, it would appear to be a very wise move for Fosun to bite the bullet and cough up for the 21-year-old – as he would very much be the quality addition Hatfield is referring to.

In other news: Lage could be set for huge mistake on “powerful” 5 G/A gem, Wolves fans will be fuming

Speaking in a football.london Q&A, reliable reporter Alasdair Gold has shared a new deal update involving superstar Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

The Lowdown: Spurs tying Kane down?

Despite his heavy links to an exit from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, Fabio Paratici and co have been touted to offer Kane a new contract and keep him out of Manchester City’s clutches (The Sun).

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Journalist Ian McGarry, speaking on The Transfer Window Podcast, also claimed last week that Kane’s representative, his brother Charlie, wants Spurs to insert a release clause in any new and improved terms.

Now, Gold has come out with his update on the situation.

The Latest: Gold makes Kane contract claim…

Speaking in a Q&A, the journalist has shared what he knows ‘from those around’ Kane at Spurs.

Gold explains, in the aftermath of Kane’s summer statement, that Spurs sources believe a new contract is a question for the future.

Indeed, it appears the prospect of fresh terms for the 28-year-old isn’t entirely ruled out.

“I’d be stunned if both sides don’t look at a new contract for Kane soon,” Gold said (via football.london).

“In the aftermath of his statement about staying this season, the word I had back from those around him was that a new contract was a question for the future rather than in that moment.

“Ultimately though Spurs still have the power as next summer Kane will still have two years left on his current deal.

“As for a release clause, that’s not really Spurs’ thing. Toby Alderweireld’s one is the only example I can think of and there was some talk that that one came about because it was carried across from a previous deal.”

The Verdict: Best option for Kane?

Negotiating new and improved terms seems like Kane’s best option after his failed move to City in the summer.

At 29 next year, the odds of clubs splashing huge money for his services decreases season-by-season and chairman Daniel Levy will certainly not let his talisman leave easily.

Short of a transfer request or something equally drastic, it appears the striker has a decision to make on whether to make the most of his surroundings or bide his time and patiently wait for that potential move – if it ever comes.

In other news…Spurs source: Rising starlet could now be out for at least nine months after big injury blow, find out more here.