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According to The Sun, Glasgow Rangers want to sign Gary Cahill, who is a free agent after departing Crystal Palace this summer.

The Lowdown: Gers prepare for new campaign

The Gers won the Premiership for the first time in 10 years last season, meaning they have a league title defence and a potential Champions League group stage campaign for which to prepare in 2021/22.

Steven Gerrard will be looking to boost his squad and, so far, the 55-time Scottish champions have brought in Fashion Sakala and John Lundstram.

The Latest: Gers eye Cahill

According to The Sun, the Gers are interested in Cahill, who recently left Crystal Palace.

The Eagles want him to sign a new contract to stay at Selhurst Park, but Rangers are willing to offer him £35,000 per week to take him north of the border.

The Verdict: Ambitious

Rangers may be in the third qualifying round of the Champions League this summer, but only three of their players – Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Jermain Defoe – have featured in the competition’s group stage. In Cahill, the Gers would be adding a fourth, and the 61-cap England international has even won the trophy with Chelsea back in 2012.

At 35 years of age, Cahill is one of the most experienced centre-backs in England – he has made 394 Premier League appearances (Transfermarkt), picking up eight major trophies with Chelsea along the way. Former Palace manager Roy Hodgson even called him “exceptionally good” last season (via msn.com), which along with his rich CV suggests that he could surely do a good job for the Gers despite his advancing years.

In other news, many Rangers fans were raging at this club tweet.

Crystal Palace have been enjoying a great start to their season so far, with the side signing a number of young players who have been important to their good form in the Premier League, and the good business could continue into the January transfer window if Patrick Vieira can make an important decision.

What’s the word?

According to MailOnline, Burnley are interested in signing Christian Benteke from Crystal Palace to replace Chris Wood, who left the club this week to join Newcastle United, leaving Sean Dyche’s side in a weak position whilst battling relegation this season.

The report suggests that Burnley have made an enquiry for the Palace striker and the South London club are open to selling Benteke during January, but are only interested in a fee of between £10m-£12m.

Vieira must axe Benteke to sign Nketiah

The Eagles have been strongly linked to signing Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal this month, but with Mikel Arteta trying to squash the rumours by insisting he will stay with him at the Emirates, the move could be set back until the summer when the 22-year-old will be out of contract unless Palace are in a position to offer a high bid for the striker.

They could discover the money to do exactly that by axing Benteke before the window closes.

The £120k-per-week Palace forward has been subject to his fair share of criticism over his time at the club with former Eagles midfielder, John Salako, claiming Benteke “can’t do anything” back in 2019:

“I really feel for the lad to a point because he just can’t do it. It’s like he’s got his boots on the wrong feet. He just can’t do anything right; it’s amazing.”

Benteke has been a loyal player to Palace with 37 goals and 12 assists in 168 appearances, but at 32-years-old, it could be the perfect opportunity for Vieira to move him on and inject further youth into the squad, developing the future of the team by giving more opportunity to the likes of Michael Olise and using the money made on the sale to Burnley to purchase a young striker in Nketiah.

The Clarets will surely be keen to sign a striker as soon as possible to boost their chances of survival after losing Wood, so the French manager must make an important decision quickly on whether he cashes in on Benteke or not.

In other news: Aaron Ramsey to Crystal Palace is feasible

Lots of Glasgow Rangers fans have been left raging over a post from the club’s social media channels.

As per the club’s official Twitter feed, David McCallum, Brian Gilmour, Jermain Defoe and Colin Stewart will now all lead their first team while the recruitment process for a new manager continues.

It was reported that further talks will be held with three candidates in particular, two unnamed and the other being Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who many Gers fans want to see getting the job.

However, with the Scottish League Cup semi-final against Hibernian set to take place on Sunday, it is worrying that it does not seem as if the Light Blues have settled on a new coach yet. The process needs to be accelerated quickly in order for them to be best prepared for what is a crucial game in their season.

Rangers fans on manager news

These Gers supporters were left raging as the news on their manager search was shared on Twitter:

“Don’t say that”

Credit: @RampantRyanJack

“Not a good sign. Was hopeful deal done today.”

Credit: @CraigRMScott

“Not funny”

Credit: @ScottWinning72

“You serious?”

Credit: @williamreilly72

“Delete this”

Credit: @HayleygreerX

“Just not what we wanted to see”

Credit: @Craig55_

In other news, find out what Van Bronckhorst news had these Gers fans going wild

Wolves haven’t been particularly potent in the penalty area in the Premier League this season, with Bruno Lage’s side finding the back of the net just 33 times in 32 games.

While the Old Gold still have some games left until the end of the campaign to add some goals to their tally, it seems as though the Midlands club could be in danger of losing one of their key figures that has contributed to some of the team’s tally.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is a top target for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta this summer. 

Wolves signed the midfielder back in the 2017 summer transfer window from FC Porto in a deal worth a reported fee of £15.8m.

Since then, the Portuguese international has comfortably cemented himself as an important figure for his side by racking up a total of 207 appearances across all competitions.

In those appearances, the 25-year-old has scored 24 goals and provided 12 assists along the way.

Lage would be fuming

With four goals and two assists to his name in 28 league appearances this season, only Raul Jimenez has delivered more goal contributions than the midfield star.

Labelled as a “maestro” in the past by Tim Spiers, Neves has also been praised by the Wolves journalist for his “sensational” goals during his time at Molineux.

To highlight how impressive the £36m-rated talent is on the ball, no other midfielder in the Premier League has been able to complete more long-ball passes than Neves.

Also, only Joao Moutinho (51) has completed more tackles than his fellow countryman (41), showing how important they both are to the team in a defensive sense.

His overall performances in the league have earned him a rating of 6.95, making him the second-highest rated player in Lage’s squad to start more than five games according to WhoScored.

Taking all of this into account, it’s undeniable that the former Porto star would be a massive loss for Wolves if he were to leave in the summer, an eventuality that would surely have Lage fuming.

Moving forward, with the summer transfer window in mind, it should be a top priority for the Old Gold to do all they can to keep hold of their midfield star and out of the clutches of any other club.

In other news: Wolves targeting “breathtaking” £32m-rated gem, he’s miles better than Traore

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Alan Hutton of BBC Radio 5 Live has said that manager David Moyes has been dealt a blow at West Ham based off what he’s seen in the transfer market.

The Lowdown: West Ham flounder in January…

Despite lodging record-breaking transfer bids, including for big names like Leeds United duo Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, the Irons and recruitment chief Rob Newman left it too late to bring a new player in through the door.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-developments-3/” title=”West Ham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Offers were also made for strikers like Benfica’s Darwin Nunez and Atalanta forward Duvan Zapata in the eleventh hour, but nothing came of these approaches.

As West Ham aim to qualify for the Champions League, Hutton has claimed that the Irons’ lack of transfer activity could come back to haunt Moyes.

The Latest: Hutton makes claim…

Speaking to FI, the former Aston Villa defender and Scotland international also says the fans ‘won’t be happy’ with their efforts in January.

“I’m not a West Ham fan but we could all see what they were needing and what they were after,” Hutton explained.

“So I’m pretty sure David Moyes knew exactly what he needed in this transfer window. It’s not come to fruition, he’s not been able to get anybody through the door.

“I think the fans won’t be happy with it and neither will the manager. Especially when you think about the situation they’re in at the moment, they’re really pushing for the top four.

“There are other teams around them who have strengthened. It’s really close and tight. So it’s a missed opportunity, I think. If they only added that little bit of quality.

“They only needed maybe one or two players, even just one, to help get them over that line. They’ve not been able to do it, so it’s a blow for them.”

The Verdict: Agreed…

Despite links to many players, including long-time targets like Jesse Lingard, not bringing at least one of them through the door certainly will be disappointing.

West Ham maintain the fight on many fronts as they not only look to make the UCL, but also go on an impressive Europa League run and potentially in the FA Cup also.

It remains to be seen whether the Irons can maintain the path to achieving history with such little depth, although, it’s safe to say it will be a huge challenge.

In other news: West Ham source: Moyes back in for ‘explosive’ 2020 target who as fast as anything, find out more here.

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the West Brom website, Valerien Ismael confirmed that Grady Diangana will not be available for selection for the trip to Swansea City on Wednesday evening, as the winger is yet to recover from a hamstring injury which saw him ruled out of the 1-0 win over Birmingham City last Friday.

Speaking about the current condition of the 23-year-old, Ismael said: “Grady won’t be available for the game because he only had his first session with the group on Tuesday. It’s too close for him to be able to play. If everything goes correctly then hopefully him being available for Saturday won’t be a problem.”

Meanwhile, the Frenchman also revealed that Alex Mowatt, who was brought off midway through the second half of the Birmingham victory due to a toe injury, will be assessed prior to Wednesday’s fixture.

On the central midfielder’s fitness, the 46-year-old said: “We’ll assess Alex before the game at Swansea. We’re going to keep a close eye on things and how he is before we make a decision on him.”

Ismael will be gutted

While it is undeniable that Diangana has not been in the best form of his career this season, having scored no goals and registered just one assist over his 11 Championship appearances, the absence of the winger for the trip to Swansea will nevertheless have left Ismael gutted. The 23-year-old proved in the Baggies’ promotion-winning campaign back in 2019/20 that he undoubtedly possesses the ability to help fire the club back to the Premier League.

Indeed, over his 30 Championship appearances that season, the £9m-rated forward bagged eight goals, provided six assists and created eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.6 shots and making 1.4 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the £36k-per-week man earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.06, ranking him as Albion’s third-best performer throughout the campaign in question.

As such, while, as previously mentioned, the former West Ham United winger is yet to hit these heights so far this season, it is abundantly clear that Diangana can win a game in an instant for West Brom, a talent that Ismael will sorely miss on Wednesday night.

In other news: Forget Hugill: Ismael could save WBA millions by placing trust in 20 y/o “star boy”

Dean Smith would love to have Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie at Aston Villa, says Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

McKennie had been linked with a move to Villa last summer but ended up joining Juventus on loan from Schalke before signing permanently for the Serie A giants.

However, the £22.5m-rated USA international could be on the move again, with transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio recently reporting that Juventus are open to a sale after signing Euro 2020 star Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo.

It remains to be seen what happens with McKennie, but Hatfield is fairly certain that he is a player Smith would still take. He told FFC:

“I’m sure Dean Smith would love him at Villa. The question I suppose is where does he fit in?

“I think Villa really do need a defensive midfielder and you could stick Weston McKennie there, but he seems very much the type who wants to be kind of bustling around and getting forward.”

McKennie was a regular for Juventus last season, has not been at the Allianz Stadium for too long and is still young so has time to develop into a better player, so it is a surprise that Juventus are willing to let him go.

Of course, they do have a new manager in Massimiliano Allegri and have obviously just brought in Locatelli.

Glasgow Rangers were not at their best away to Hearts earlier this afternoon, but early goals from Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo ensured that they got another three points.

It was actually the home team who had more possession and recorded more shots on goal than Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side, and The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst Gers players (to have featured for at least 45 minutes) were on the day:

Glen Kamara (6.8)

Kamara was ranked by SofaScore as the Light Blues’ third-worst performer with a 6.8 overall rating.

The Finland midfielder lost out on three of his duels in total and also failed to record a single clearance, interception or tackle in the game, while losing possession of the ball twice.

Fashion Sakala (6.7)

Sakala actually got the assist for the first goal scored by Morelos, but was still given a relatively low 6.7 rating by SofaScore.

The Zambia international lost nine duels, the most out of any of his teammates, while he failed to get on the scoresheet with any of three of his attempts on goal.

Sakala was also guilty of giving the ball away far too often throughout the match, 16 times in all, the second-most out of any Rangers player.

Scott Arfield (6.5)

Despite his efforts, Arfield was ranked as the Gers’ worst player with a 6.5 rating given by SofaScore.

The 33-year-old lost six of his duels and was also unsuccessful with his two shots and one dribble attempt.

In addition, Arfield lost the ball six times in what proved to be a frustrating afternoon individually for him.

In other news, another man’s performance against Hearts was slammed by many Gers fans

Some Everton fans have been left buzzing over some transfer news involving Max Aarons.

As per a report from earlier in the week by Calciomercato, which has since been shared by EFC DAILY on their Twitter page, the Goodison Park faithful are one of a number of clubs who are ‘very interested’ in signing the Norwich City ace, along with Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund and AS Roma.

The Merseyside club are in desperate need of some cover at right-back, with Seamus Coleman and Jonjoe Kenny their only senior options.

Coleman is now 33 years of age, while Kenny has only played in a mere three games in total over all competitions so far this season.

Aarons would provide a significant upgrade to Coleman offensively, as he has averaged more shots, key passes and dribbles per match in the Premier League this term, and at just 21, is a player very much for the future, and so can be a mainstay in the Toffees team for years to come.

Everton fans on Aarons transfer news

These Blues supporters buzzed as the transfer news was shared on Twitter:

“For the love of Coleman, please”

Credit: @edward_a_james

“For the sake of Coleman get it done”

Credit: @Jay____177

“Get him in.”

Credit: @just_doodlin86

“Yes yes yes”

Credit: @EFCMichael7

“Please”

Credit: @stilllsound

“Get him in”

Credit: @Michael59567315

In other news, find out what transfer news has Evertonians fuming here!

Wolves haven’t exactly had the most exciting of transfer windows.

The biggest priority for Bruno Lage was holding onto the club’s best players and so far, the new Old Gold manager has done exactly that.

On the chalkboard

Heading into the final weeks of the transfer window, the Midlands club are still looking to raise some cash through player sales.

One of their most expendable assets appears to be Romain Saiss.

The Moroccan made a number of errors last season and gave away a penalty against Celta Vigo last weekend, starting the new campaign in a disastrous fashion.

Due to his versatility, however, he’d be a great loss. Saiss can play at centre-back, in defensive midfield or even at left-back as he proved last term.

Consequently, Wolves will need a player with similar qualities to replace him should he leave.

The solution

One player who has been on their radar since the days of Nuno Santo is Amadou Diawara.

The Roma midfielder has reportedly turned down Wolves before and this summer, they rejected the chance to sign the powerful holding player.

Diawara could have been included in the deal that took Rui Patricio to the Italian capital but Lage turned that proposal down.

However, we can’t help but feel as though that was a bit of a mistake. Valued at around £17m by CIES Football Observatory, Diawara possesses plenty of qualities that would improve the Wolves midfield.

Consequently, they should make moves to sign him.

Described as a “phenomenon” by his former coach, Fabrizio Tazzioli, he’s also been compared to the great Marcel Desailly for the way he plays.

It’s clear to see why too. He is calm in possession but a brute force when it comes to winning possession back from opponents.

The 24-year-old completed 89.7% of his passes last season according to WhoScored, a tally that would have placed him above Saiss and at the top of the tree for Wolves in terms of regular starters.

Furthermore, he won 1.6 tackles per 90 minutes throughout 2020/21 via FB Ref. The same source also proves he reads the game tremendously well, a facet of the game that Saiss lacks. For instance, he is in the 61st percentile for interceptions.

Diawara would be a bargain option this summer and would undoubtedly add extra muscle to Wolves’ midfield ranks.

They must reverse their initial decision and head back in for the Guinea international before the window closes.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Neto: Wolves can terrify PL defences by signing “special” 13-goal wizard…