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Adama Traore could be a huge success for Liverpool if he leaves Wolves to join the Reds, according to BBC pundit Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Traore linked with Wolves exit

The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to Anfield in the January transfer window, which would provide Jurgen Klopp with extra attacking depth.

Traore’s current Wolves deal expires in the summer of 2023 and there is little sign of him extending his stay at Molineux as things stand.

The Latest: Tipped to shine to Liverpool

Whelan believes that the Spain winger could excel in a Reds shirt, telling Football Insider that the 25-year-old could be similarly influential to superstar Liverpool pair Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

The BBC pundit said:

“He’s a player who can be crucial to winning football matches.

“His pace, his aggression, his direct running – and now his end product, which he’s brushed up after his early days in the Premier League.

“He’s a more complete player now, he can get a cross into the box or a shot off on goal. If you think about it, would he fit into Liverpool’s style of play? Absolutely.

“He can be just as destructive as Salah and Mane in that side.”

The Verdict: Keep hold of him

Losing Traore would be a big blow for Wolves at a time when he is still maturing as a player and should have his best years ahead of him.

As Whelan suggested, the winger is becoming a more polished footballer, winning four Man of the Match awards from WhoScored in just seven Premier League appearances this season. He also has more dribbles per game than any other player in Europe’s major leagues, with a remarkable match average of seven (WhoScored).

That highlights how important he is to Bruno Lage, with his pace arguably the most frightening in the league, giving him a potentially match-winning attribute which Wolves cannot afford to sacrifice too readily.

In other news, Wolves have received a potential boost in their efforts to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

According to a report by Football Insider, Tottenham will ramp up their pursuit of Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger amid intense competition from rival suitors.

The Lowdown: Rüdiger feels disrespected

Football Insider previously reported that the 28-year-old is furious with Chelsea after being offered less money than Mason Mount to stay at the club and that he is planning to quit the Blues as a result, having said that he feels disrespected.

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The Germany international has played a vital role in Thomas Tuchel’s side this season, featuring in more games than any other outfield player. This includes a full 90 minutes in all of his 17 league appearances, having not been involved on just one occasion.

Rüdiger’s current £115k-per-week deal is set to expire in the summer, and clubs are drafting up contract offers ahead of the January window in a bid to secure the 28-year-old’s services.

The Latest: Tottenham to step up Rüdiger pursuit

According to reports by Football Insider, Tottenham will step up their bid to lure Rüdiger away from Chelsea in the January transfer window, following increased competition from rival suitors.

A Spurs insider has said that the next few days will be crucial in the Lilywhites’ efforts to persuade the defender to make the switch across London, with talks set to take place behind the scenes.

Recruitment chief Fabio Paratici recognises that a myriad of clubs will be attempting to do the same thing in January, so Spurs are making it clear to Rüdiger how strongly he is wanted by Antonio Conte.

The Verdict: Too good to pass up

Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has been reiterating Rüdiger’s importance to this Chelsea side. Speaking to FIVE (via Metro), he said: “Look at Rudiger, he’s arguably, since Tuchel has been there [at Chelsea], been the best defender in the Premier League. Him or [Ruben] Dias in that time. He’s been unbelievable, he’s like an animal.”

Paratici and Conte are prioritising the addition of an elite centre-back in the January transfer window and Spurs have been monitoring various world-class defenders, including the likes of Stefan de Vrij and Matthijs de Ligt. However, to sign such elite footballers will take a sizeable fee, and with a comparable player in Rüdiger available on a free next summer, this deal seems too good not to pursue.

In other news – The ‘Next Buffon’: Long-term Tottenham target seeks exit; Ancelotti claimed he’s ‘special’

Manchester City have received ‘enquiries’ from Barcelona and Juventus for striker Gabriel Jesus, ahead of a potential exodus from the club this summer.

The Lowdown: Jesus to follow Sterling?

The Brazilian has struggled to force his way into being a regular part of Pep Guardiola’s plans this season, often finding himself on the substitutes’ bench.

Jesus has only started 16 out of 32 Premier League games, as well as forcing his way into the starting lineup just once in the Champions League to date.

With Erling Haaland looking likely to join City this summer, it could be that their current No.9 is deemed surplus to requirements, following reports that Raheem Sterling could leave, too.

According to the Italian press, Sterling could join AC Milan because he is ‘no longer on good terms’ with Guardiola.

The Latest: Contact made

As per a report from Lance [via Sport Witness], both Barca and Juve have made ‘enquiries’ about Jesus, while it is claimed that he is ‘likely’ to be at another club next season.

The 25-year-old’s current deal expires at the end of next season, which increases the chance of him leaving this summer, in order for City to receive a fee before the risk of losing him as a free agent next year.

The Verdict: Time to move on

Jesus’ City career has been a curious one in many ways, with the Brazil international showing immense talent but never quite managing to kick on and become the true heir to Sergio Aguero.

While 89 goals in 229 appearances is not to be sniffed at, it is damning that Guardiola has often opted to play with someone like Phil Foden as a false nine instead, suggesting he doesn’t think his striker is good enough.

It feels like the right time for Jesus to move on and enjoy a fresh challenge, with a move to Barca allowing him to follow in the footsteps of Brazilian greats such as Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

In other news, a journalist has shared a major City transfer breakthrough. Read more here.

Taking to Twitter, Calciomercato journalist Alessio Lento has shared the latest on Tottenham Hotspur’s outgoings as he makes a claim involving Giovani Lo Celso.

The Lowdown: Conte makes ‘evaluations’…

Speaking before the January transfer window opened, Spurs manager Antonio Conte declared that he was making player ‘evaluations’ as he weighed up who should stay or leave the club this winter.

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The likes of Dele Alli and Matt Doherty have already been linked with a move away from north London as the club reportedly set their sights on bolstering key areas of the squad, such as right-wing back (Evening Standard).

Amid his current lack of game time at N17, Lo Celso is another player who could leave Spurs this month, as Lento takes to social media with his information.

The Latest: Lo Celso ‘ready to accept’ loan transfer…

According to the Italian reporter, the Argentina midfielder is ‘ready to accept’ a loan transfer away from Tottenham in January, with Serie A giants Juventus having already made the ‘first approaches’.

“First approaches between Lo Celso and Juventus,” Lento explained on Twitter.

“The player of Tottenham is very fond of option and would be ready to accept a loan as well. The Bianconeri, however, are not the only ones on the trail of the Argentinian midfielder.”

The Verdict: Green light?

Depending on the variation of Conte’s three-at-the back formations, with attacking midfielders consistently deployed in his system (BBC), we believe Lo Celso could still be an asset at Spurs if the Italian can nurture his best form.

Slammed for being a ‘passenger’ in some matches this season, as explained by club insider John Wenham (Football Insider), his form for Argentina is at the other end of the spectrum. National team boss Lionel Scaloni even hailed the 25-year-old as ‘one of the best in the world’ in his position, with the 36-cap ace consistently favoured by his country (Transfermarkt).

If Lo Celso can transfer his international form to club level with Spurs, Conte may yet unearth a fine attacking alternative as he aims to guide the Lilywhites to a top-four finish.

In other news: ‘Absolute no-brainer’…Sky Sports pundit thrilled by ‘exciting’ transfer news out of Spurs, find out more here.

Tottenham are still interested in signing Wolves winger Adama Traore in the January transfer window, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Traore linked with Wolves exit

The 25-year-old may have scored his first goal of the season last weekend but his Wanderers career looks likely to reach its conclusion at some point this year.

Traore has been strongly tipped to move away from Molineux this month, with the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham thought to be interested in signing him.

While it has been claimed that the winger will be staying put in January, a new update may suggest otherwise.

The Latest: Romano makes fresh Traore claim

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Romano confirmed that Spurs are still eyeing up a move, as Antonio Conte looks to bring in a new wide man:

“Tottenham are still trying to sign Adama Traore in January. Wolves manager Bruno Lage’s pushing to keep him until the end of the season – Spurs want to give Conte a new winger as he asked.”

The Verdict: Matter of time

It does feel as though Traore will be moving on in either January or the summer, with Bruno Lage seemingly not considering him a key part of his plans, with the winger having been in and out of the starting line-up throughout the season.

In truth, it makes sense for Wolves to get as much as they can for the Spaniard, using the money to bring in players who the manager believes would suit his style of play.

For all Traore’s entertainment value, he continues to be a player who flatters to deceive – one goal contribution by the middle of January is not good enough for a senior attacker – and it is time for the Old Gold to cut ties with him.

The only reason he should stay this month is if Wolves are unable to find a suitable replacement in time, with squad depth affected by losing him and signing nobody.

In other news, Wolves are reportedly ‘very interested’ in signing one player. Find out who it is here.

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Everton shelled out a huge fee when they bought Richarlison from Watford back in the summer, parting with an initial sum of around £35m to bring the Brazilian international to Goodison Park – as reported by the BBC, clauses in the deal could take the fee to around £50m, which would eclipse the club-record £45m spent on Gylfi Sigurdsson.

How has he done so far?

The 21-year-old started his Premier League career with the Hornets in impressive fashion, quickly introducing himself as a typically skilful Brazilian flair player, but with the ability to turn his mercurial talents into goals and assists.

However, after Marco Silva was sacked, Richarlison’s form nosedived, and he finished the 2017/18 campaign with just five goals and four assists to his name at Vicarage Road, as seen on his Whoscored page.

Check out Neymar’s controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you’ve never seen him before in the video below…

There seems to be a good relationship between Silva and the former Fluminense forward, with that suggestion further reinforced when the Portuguese manager convinced his new bosses to splash the cash to bring his favourite to Merseyside.

It mustn’t be forgotten that Richarlison is a very young player, and arrived on these shores as a youngster who had never played his football outside of Brazil, so his debut season can be forgiven. This term, however, he has looked far more mature in a central role for the Toffees, scoring nine league goals in 20 starts, as per Whoscored, and proving to be far more efficient and consistent in his movement and end product.

The Verdict

At such a young age, and taking the state of the current market into account, the deal for Richarlison could be considered a snip in a few years if he continues his upwards curve.

It is encouraging to see that he has almost doubled his tally for goals from last season just over halfway through the current campaign, and most importantly, he is playing under a manager who trusts him and will give him sufficient game time to develop.

One stat which also catches the eye is the amount of aerial duels that he has won. The 21-year-old averages 2.3 aerial duels won per game in the league, as per Whoscored, which suggests that he is learning how to use his broad frame more effective in the physical English game.

He has been an astute signing who has impressed hugely, and so long as Silva is at the helm, he should continue his rapid rise as a footballer which has seen him score three times in his six appearances for Brazil – his form has also attracted glances from the Camp Nou, with Barcelona keeping tabs on his progress according to The Daily Star in December.

While Celtic’s academy does not produce quite as many stars as it used to, the Parkhead side’s youth setup has nevertheless continued to churn out a number of highly impressive talents in recent years – with Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey, Callum McGregor and Jack Hendry being some of the Bhoys’ more notable recent graduates.

However, aside from the £24.3m sale of Tierney, the Hoops have not always profited from their more talented youngsters as often as many would like, with two of the previously mentioned graduates, Aaron Hickey and Jack Hendry, having both left the club for nominal fees.

Another player who would certainly fall into this category is central midfielder Liam Henderson, who, since his £108k move to SSC Bari back in 2018, has proven that Celtic once again undervalued a very exciting talent.

Indeed, during his time with Bari, the 25-year-old made 19 Serie B appearances, scoring two goals, registering two assists and helping his side reach the play-offs in the league.

These performances led to Hellas Verona snapping the midfielder up the following summer, where the former Scotland U21 international would make 30 appearances in all competitions in his first season at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi, scoring three goals and providing three assists along the way – as well as helping his side to secure promotion via the Serie B play-offs.

Henderson was once again on the move in the following campaign, as, after featuring just four times in Serie A for Hellas in the first half of the season, the club decided to loan the 25-year-old out to Serie B side Empoli, where he would score one goal and register four assists over 16 league fixtures.

This led to Lecce splashing £450k on the midfielder in the summer of 2020, where the Scot enjoyed what could easily be viewed as his breakthrough season.

Indeed, over his 40 Serie B appearances last term, Henderson scored three goals, provided seven assists and created eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots and making 1.4 key passes per game.

These returns saw the player who Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani dubbed as “exemplary” earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.95, ranking him as his side’s joint 10th-best performer in the second tier of Italian football.

However, once again, the 25-year-old was on the move this summer, linking up with a former side once more in the shape of Serie A side Empoli, where, over his eight top-flight appearances so far this season, Henderson has averaged a highly impressive SofaScsore match rating of 6.89.

And, as a reflection of his ever-improving displays, the player Celtic sold for £108k three and a half years ago is now worth £1.98m – leaving the Parkhead side not only roughly £1.9m out of pocket but also without an extremely talented midfielder, and proving that the club’s former CEO Peter Lawwell endured something of a nightmare when selling the youngster.

In other news: 61 game-changing actions prove Ange is finally living up to his biggest Celtic promise

Since Marcelo Bielsa took charge at Leeds United, the Argentine has taken the club back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence and got them to a top-half finish in their first season back in the top flight.

One figure that has played a massive part in Leeds’ rise from the Championship to the Premier League is Luke Ayling, who has made a total of 200 appearances for the Yorkshire club across all competitions in which he has managed to score seven goals and provide 17 assists along the way.

Last season saw Ayling start all 38 of Leeds’ Premier League games as well as Stuart Dallas, showing how vital he is for Bielsa’s side.

Having now hit the age of 30 and with his current contract at Elland Road set to expire in the summer of 2023, there’s every chance that the club will be looking at who could be their potential long-term replacement for the long-serving Englishman.

With that in mind, it seems as though Bielsa could already have the perfect long-term heir for Ayling that could save Victor Orta millions in potential future transfer fees.

Since joining Leeds’ U23 side from Fulham’s U23 squad back in August last year, 20-year-old right-back Cody Drameh has made 33 appearances for Leeds’ youth side, scoring one goal and providing four assists along the way.

Drameh has also made two appearances for Leeds’ senior side, showing that Bielsa has enough confidence in him already to perform to a high standard in the first team alongside the senior players at Leeds.

This season has seen Drameh be involved in Leeds’ senior matchday squad on eight occasions in the league with one 19-minute cameo appearance in their 2-1 win away at Norwich City.

Labelled as a “revelation” in the past by Tom Hill and as a player that “loves defending” by Ben Parker, Drameh won Leeds’ U23s Player of the Year award last year, highlighting the quality he has.

Given how Ayling managed to rack up an average of 2.8 tackles per game in the league last season as well as winning 61% of the duels he was involved in, these are the sort of defensive numbers that Drameh will have to match if he wants to be recognised as Ayling’s long-term heir at Leeds.

However, with the praise he’s garnered since joining the Yorkshire club, it seems as though that Drameh is more than capable of doing that in the next few years given his apparent love for defending.

In other news: Exciting 4-word January transfer claim emerges that will have Leeds fans buzzing – opinion

As per journalist Ryan Taylor of The Daily Express, amid all the rumours surrounding Erling Haaland, it appears Man City have their eyes on another player as news emerges on Benfica star Darwin Nunez.

The Lowdown: Sky Blues in striker search…

Pep Guardiola seems set to target a world class centre-forward in the summer window after failing to sign Spurs star Harry Kane last summer.

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Haaland, who appears to be dominating the headlines where City are concerned, has been very heavily linked with a move to Eastlands since The Mail broke news of a deal even allegedly being in place.

However, the Norway star isn’t the only man reportedly on Guardiola’s radar, with Benfica’s big name attacker Nunez also a target according to reports.

Sharing an update, Taylor now has some news for City supporters as Eastlands officials travel abroad this week.

The Latest: City officials travel…

According to his information, Sky Blues officials were in attendance to run the rule over Nunez during Benfica’s clash with Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday.

It is believed that scouts from Man United, Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham and Arsenal were also at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in midweek.

The Verdict: Ideal Haaland alternative?

If City can’t seal an agreement for their top target this summer, Nunez arguably stands out as as perfect alternative.

Scoring 28 goals already this season, the starlet attacker could leave for around £60 million this summer, but the amount of competition could mean sporting director Txiki Begiristain faces a summer transfer battle.

Lauded as an ‘absolute beast’ by Anfield Index podcaster Hari Sethi after that clash with Liverpool, one of the most in-form frontmen in Europe could raise a real bidding war and it will be interesting to see whether the Sky Blues could be part of it.

In other news: ‘Man City close to finalising’…Insider shares major player development out of Eastlands, find out more here.

While Leeds United starlet Illan Meslier has firmly established himself as the number one goalkeeper at Elland Road, had things turned out slightly differently a decade ago, it may well have been a certain Kasper Schmeichel holding the gloves.

Reports claimed that the Whites sold Schmeichel for less than £1m, with then boss Simon Grayson making it clear that the call to sell the Denmark international was one that was in the “best interests” of the Whites, and that it was the “right deal for the club”.

Speaking after a move to the Foxes was confirmed, the Denmark international let it be known that the decision for him to leave Elland Road was taken out of his hands, and that it was well and truly against his wishes.

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He said: “I want to put on record that I have never asked to leave the Leeds United, nor did I reject an offer for a new contract, since one was never put to me. I was enjoying being a Leeds United player and was looking forward to winning promotion this season with the club.

“I have spoken to the manager Simon Grayson and he has made it clear to me, that, in spite of having played well for him, this is something he believes is a good deal for Leeds United. I have been put in a very difficult situation and will spend some time considering my options for my future.”

Since then of course, Schmeichel has developed into a Premier League stalwart, having earned promotion to the top-flight with Leicester and being part of that now historic side that clinched the title against all odds in 2016.

Then, the goalkeeper added to his credentials as a Foxes icon and legend by delivering an impressive display in the FA Cup final victory last year, leading manager Brendan Rodgers to dub his performance as “special”.

All in all, he’s now played 466 games in total for Leicester, including featuring in the Champions League, Europa League and the Europa Conference League too.

The big Dane has also picked up 80 senior caps for his country, while he was even named by FIFA as one of the three finalists for the world’s best goalkeeper award back in 2018.

While Meslier has finally offset the impact of Schmeichel’s departure, you can’t help but feel a sense of what if with the goalkeeper.

Leeds suffered a bit of an embarrassment in letting the Dane go.

AND in other news: Orta can now axe “awful” £55k-p/w flop as Leeds eye “underrated” £12.5m-rated “threat”