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Joe Wainman from All Leeds TV has expressed his frustration at Leeds United missing out on the signing of Conor Gallagher to Crystal Palace.

The midfielder has moved on loan to Selhurst Park from Chelsea, with The Guardian reporting that he rejected potential moves to both Leeds and Newcastle United.

The 21-year-old has not actually made his debut for the Blues yet but has gone on a variety of different loan spells.

He has played for Charlton Athletic, Swansea City, and West Bromwich Albion, progressing through the leagues as he went, and has now made the move to south London.

Wainman believes that the fanbase were disappointed with Gallagher’s decision to link up with new Palace boss Patrick Vieira rather than Marcelo Bielsa.

Indeed, he has claimed that Leeds fans wanted to sign the player on a loan deal that included an option to buy, instead of just borrowing him.

He said: “The fanbase seems to be split on this one because a lot of people wanted a loan with a view to a permanent, and obviously Chelsea were only willing to loan him.

“I’m a little bit disappointed that he has chosen Palace and, for me personally, I would question him because I don’t understand why you would choose Palace, and Patrick Vieira.

“I get Patrick Vieira was a great midfielder but as a manager I’m not really sure, the jury’s still out for me on Patrick Vieira. Whereas Conor Gallagher could have come to Leeds United and worked under Bielsa.”

A number of Aston Villa fans have been reacting to John Percy’s post regarding Manchester City’s interest in Aston Villa star Jack Grealish.

Reports on Friday morning from talkSPORT suggested that City were closing in on a £100m move for the 25-year-old. As to be expected, that left a number of Villa supporters worried, but two hours on from Jim White’s post, Percy gave his take on the situation.

The reliable reporter, who writes for The Telegraph, admitted that City have a genuine interest in Grealish. He added [via Twitter] that Villa intend to keep hold of the attacking midfielder and are in talks over a new contract, saying:

“Manchester City have a genuine interest in Jack Grealish and are set to make their move.. but #avfc are intent on keeping him at the club, with talks ongoing over a new contract. Villa’s owners are ambitious and serious about continuing the club’s progress”

Grealish’s current Villa deal is thought to be worth £120,000 per week until 2025, but it seems as if the club’s owners are willing to improve on that in order to keep him in the Midlands. His importance to the team is evident in his status as captain, along with his provision of 16 goal contributions in the league last season, second only to Ollie Watkins (WhoScored).

Villa fans react

Percy’s Twitter post had plenty of Villa fans excited on social media, with one describing his update as ‘class’.

“Yes, this is what I wanted @JPercyTelegraph is the man”Credit: @martyn_03″Beautiful”Credit: @espenstrand”I think I’d marry Percy”Credit: @JonBeeAVFC”Class”Credit: @Grealish10i”Percy making me feel a bit better”Credit: @_JackAvfc”Percy clearing it all up as per”Credit: @NoContextRonav

In other news: Villa willing to break club-record for one man if Grealish leaves, find out more here. 

Writing on Twitter, Sport Italia TV journalist Gianluigi Longari has backed reports of a major transfer development at West Ham United. 

The Lowdown; West Ham and Kral…

The Hammers, according to recent reports, could add to their Czech Republic contingent this summer with the addition of midfield powerhouse Alex Kral.

Indeed, he could join both Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek as additions from the nation and reports suggest talks are furthering for the player.

Football Insider recently reported that GSB are willing to pay over £20m to secure his services and discussions are at an advanced stage.

ExWHUemployee, meanwhile, also believes that the club want to get a deal done for him before the European Championships this summer (West Ham Way Podcast).

The Latest: Journalist backs reports of Kral to West Ham…

Now, writing on Twitter, journalist Longari has backed these reports of Kral potentially moving to east London this summer.

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Dropping a four-word message on social media, the reporter states that the 23-year-old is in fact ‘leaving for West Ham’.

He also believes Kral’s current club, Spartak Moscow, are already on the hunt for a replacement and have earmarked Vasco da Gama midfielder Bruno Gomes as his replacement.

The Verdict: Time to get excited?

Numerous reports appear to be backing Kral to West Ham and we believe that, if the Irons can get a deal done, he may be the perfect midfield alternative to Soucek and Declan Rice.

West Ham will need strength in depth for the 2021/2022 season given they are set to compete in the Europa League group stages and the young Czech maestro is accomplished as a midfield anchor.

Over 2020/2021, Kral even managed the same amount of interceptions per 90 (1.8) as Rice and it certainly wouldn’t do any harm bringing in a capable alternative.

Irons supporters will surely be hoping this transfer comes to fruition, offering more depth in midfield and perhaps even a like for like replacement if the worst-case scenario happens and Rice leaves the club.

In other news: West Ham in talks to finalise agreement for 24 y/o after extensive discussions, find out more here.

Glasgow Rangers fans are livid as the SPFL revealed their new league sponsor, which will be in effect until the 2025/26 season.

The Gers won the Premiership last season, their first major title in 10 years as they went the whole league campaign unbeaten (BBC).

However, they did so in a league and a footballing pyramid that was without a sponsor after Ladbrokes ended their partnership with the governing body.

Now, though, the SPFL have finally reached an agreement, this time with online car dealer Cinch.

The deal will run until the 2025/26 season, and is said to be the biggest such deal in their eight-year history. However, few supporters were impressed – they noticed cinch have just over 2,000 Twitter followers, for example.

The news was shared on Twitter by the SPFL’s official account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the matter.

Let’s see what the Rangers fans had to say about the news below

“Our league is being run into the ground on purpose”

Credit: @LJKershaw

“Can we just fold as a league, this is embarrassing”

Credit: @R_Smithy2000

“Washed up car brand doing deals with a washed up board”

Credit: @a_n_d_y___

“Is it any wonder why there’s no money in Scottish Football shambles”

Credit: @LeeLowry_RFC

“I can’t believe Cinch want involved with one of the most corrupt organisations in the country.”

Credit: @turps100

“The SPFL have been waiting for Celtic to appoint a new manager so they can slip this one in under the radar. The Cinch Premiership How is Cinch the best sponsor we can attract when Steven Gerrard is manager of Rangers? Neil Doncaster is a shambles.”

Credit: @CF3Loyal

In other news, Rangers have been urged to sign this 23-year-old winger.

West Bromwich Albion legend Ally Robertson says it ‘would be wrong’ to sell Matheus Pereira for any less than £25million.

The lowdown

One of Pereira’s advisers, Jolden Vergette, told the Daily Express this week that a chance for Pereira to remain in the Premier League following West Brom’s relegation ‘will present itself’.

Pereira was a shining light for the Baggies last season in an otherwise disappointing campaign.

The Brazilian scored twice as many goals (12) and provided twice as many assists (six) as any of his team-mates (via BBC Sport).

He directly contributed to 49% of West Brom’s Premier League goals last season.

Pereira only joined on a four-year permanent deal last summer after West Brom agreed a £9million fee with Sporting Lisbon (via BBC Sport).

The latest

Robertson, who played for the club between 1969 and 1986, says West Brom must extract a high enough fee to significantly improve their squad.

Their most expensive departure is currently Salomon Rondon, who joined Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Yifang for £16.44million.

“If we are going to sell Pereira, we have to then go out and buy three or four players to make the squad better,” he told the Express and Star.

“If we do that then I won’t have a problem.

“If an offer in the region of £25million or £30million comes in then I can understand us accepting that if it’s to give the manager funds to strengthen,” he continued.

“And we have to sell him for that amount, selling him for £20million or £15million would be wrong.”

The verdict

There’s no doubt Pereira deserves to be playing at Premier League level. The extent of West Brom’s reliance on him last season is pretty staggering.

West Brom must now be torn between the player’s evident quality and the investment opportunities that would arise from his sale – Valerien Ismael would have the chance to truly leave his imprint on the team through well-suited acquisitions.

If Aston Villa were to lose £100million-rated Jack Grealish to Manchester City, perhaps they would formalise their reported interest in Pereira.

And they’d certainly have the means to meet a lofty asking price if he was heading there to replace their current skipper.

In other news, Kevin Campbell issued a glowing verdict on this potential Baggies target. 

Manchester City produced a disappointing display on Saturday night as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League final.

Kai Havertz’s first half goal was enough to separate the two sides, with the Citizens struggling to create chances throughout the game and looking far from their best. That wasn’t helped by Pep Guardiola’s strange decision to start both Fernandinho and Rodri on the bench, which allowed the Stamford Bridge outfit to dominate the midfield.

One player who disappointed in the defeat in Portugal was Raheem Sterling, as the England international struggled to get involved during his time on the pitch, with an early chance from Ederson’s long ball his only real telling contribution.

As per SofaScore, the former Liverpool man earned a less than impressive 6.5/10 rating for his display, with only Ederson (6.3) and Bernardo Silva (6.3) rated lower of the City players who started the game.

During his 77 minutes on the pitch, the 26-year-old had just 29 touches of the ball, which was fewer than Ederson, whilst he only completed 11 passes, which was the fewest of any player from either team to start the game (SofaScore).

Considering that Sterling has averaged 21.5 passes per game in the Champions League this season, it is clear that he was way below par on Saturday night and failed to repay Guardiola’s trust in him to start.

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The 26-year-old has struggled for form in recent months and recent reports have suggested that he could even be sold this summer, so it was something of a surprise to see him earn a start in Portugal, but unfortunately he failed to impress.

He struggled against Chelsea’s right-sided defensive duo of Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta, who both earned above a 7/10 SofaScore rating for their performances, as Sterling failed to dribble past either of them once in the game.

Despite being involved so infrequently, the “remarkable” winger managed to lose possession 12 times, with City’s rare attacks regularly breaking down when he got involved, which must surely have frustrated Guardiola.

[freshpress-quiz id=“577936″]

It will be interesting to see whether Sterling remains at the Etihad Stadium this summer after another shocking display when it mattered most.

In other news… Txiki should swoop for “extraordinary” gem, Pep would love him

Speaking to Radio Punto Nuovo (via Tutto Napoli), Italian journalist Carlo Laudisa has dropped a teasing Tottenham claim involving Maurizio Sarri as the reporter explained that the former Juventus boss ‘could go’ to England, with Spurs the ‘most plausible’ destination.

The Lowdown: Sarri eyed by Spurs and Arsenal

The 62-year-old has been targeted by Spurs over the last month according to various reports, with Football Italia most recently saying that talks have been held for the former Chelsea coach.

Indeed, last month the same outlet also stated that contact has been made with Sarri, but north London rivals Arsenal have since joined the race for his appointment amid speculation surrounding Mikel Arteta.

The Latest: Tottenham ‘most plausible’ destination

Dropping an exciting claim, La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Laudisa has told Radio Punto Nuovo that Spurs is a likely destination for the 62-year-old, who he said could come back to the Premier League, with Tottenham appearing to be the ‘most plausible’ job.

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“Sarri could go to England,” the reporter explained (via Tutto Napoli).

“The Tottenham solution is the most plausible one, but the Arsenal bench could also free himself, given that Arteta has missed all the Gunners’ seasonal objectives.”

The Verdict: Sarri should be on the wishlist

Lauded as a ‘magnificent’ manager by Chelsea player Jorginho, who played under Sarri at Stamford Bridge, (via Football Italia), the coach is famed for his own brand of attacking football.

Conventionally nicknamed ‘Sarri-ball’, it is a combination of intense, high-pressing play, and Spurs are said to want an attack-minded manager to succeed Jose Mourinho in N17 (The Guardian).

Having won the Europa League with Chelsea and Serie A at Juventus, the 62-year-old also has a track record of winning silverware, so there are plenty of boxes already ticked for Tottenham.

Therefore, we urge Spurs not to write him off as a candidate.

In other news: Tottenham fans flock to this ‘best news’, find out more here.

West Ham’s failure to sign one of their mooted transfer targets during the January window has come to light this week…

What’s the word?

The Irons were linked with a move for Spezia striker M’Bala Nzola throughout the winter, with Tuttosport (via Sport Witness) leading the claims as early as November.

It has now been revealed by the 24-year-old’s agent that the East London outfit failed with a bid for him. He told GrandHotelCalciomercato (via Football Italia):

“We received offers from three Premier League and three Serie A clubs and a club from the Bundesliga sounded out M’Bala. We were in advanced talks, we even discussed his possible salary, but then we asked ourselves if that made sense. Nzola needed stability and it was in a very good moment, so we thought it was better to stay at Spezia.”

Shades of Drogba

It’s now time for the Hammers to reignite this interest as their search for a new forward rumbles on.

The Angolan powerhouse has continued to light up the Serie A despite playing for one of the struggling teams and suffering from injuries. He has found the net 11 times in 24 appearances, including strikes against the giants of Napoli and Lazio, as per Transfermarkt.

Nzola has been described as a “very fast central striker who manages to attack space with absolute effectiveness. He is also difficult to deal with because he has enviable physical strength which makes him an extremely uncomfortable customer.”

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In some ways, this draws some nice similarities to Michail Antonio, who is David Moyes’ only current option upfront but it is his comparisons to a Premier League legend that should have fans excited if he were to arrive at the London Stadium.

West Ham insider ExWHUemployee spoke about the club’s links to the 6 foot 1 colossus earlier this year, and claimed: “He’s meant to be a bit like Didier Drogba in his physique and playing style.”

He would only need to be half the player of Drogba to be an instant hit in the English top-flight. The four-time Premier League winner bagged 164 goals in 381 appearances for the Irons’ local rivals Chelsea, primarily displaying a mix of explosive pace and brute strength.

On the above evidence, Nzola is cut from the same cloth and given Antonio’s success under the Scotsman, he would surely fit right into his system.

It remains to be seen how much Spezia would command for their star performer, especially as Fulham were said to have a €12m (£10m) bid rejected for him, too, whilst CIES only value him at €7m (£6m).

Whatever the price, Nzola could well be a massive bargain, so David Sullivan and co must do what they can to secure him this summer.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Rice: GSB could form dream West Ham duo by signing £30m “total animal”…

Sheffield United have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring Jonson Clarke-Harris to Bramall Lane this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Bristol Live, who claim that West Bromwich Albion are now in pole position to land the Peterborough United forward this summer.

It is also claimed that Sheffield United, along with Rangers, Bournemouth and CSKA Moscow, are in the race to secure a deal for the 26-year-old in the coming transfer window, who would be available for around £8m.

Fans will be gutted

With goalscoring having been something of an issue for the Blades last term, with 33-year-old David McGoldrick being the club’s top league goalscorer with a mere eight strikes, as well as the fact that United scored a grand total of just 20 Premier League goals in the season just gone, improvements in the club’s attacking arsenal would appear to be a priority this summer.

And, considering how impressive Clarke-Harris was for Peterborough last term, the striker would not appear to be far off the ideal signing for Slavisa Jokanovic’s side in the upcoming transfer window.

Indeed, over his 45 League One appearances for Darren Ferguson’s side, the £225k-rated hitman scored 31 goals, registered three assists and created 11 big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.9 shots and making one key pass per game.

These returns saw the 26-year-old earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.24, ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in the third tier of English football – playing a huge role in Peterborough’s promotion-winning campaign.

As such, the addition of the player Ferguson dubbed a “leader” to Jokanovic’s attacking options at Bramall Lane would almost certainly increase the Blades’ chances of securing an immediate return to the Premier League next season, and, for a fee of around £8m, a deal for the striker would definitely not break the bank.

However, with it being reported that West Brom are now the favourites to land the forward, should Clarke-Harris indeed go on to join the Baggies this summer, it would come as a huge blow for United, as, not only would the Blades be missing out on the 26-year-old’s goals, but one of their main promotion rivals would be directly benefiting from them – an outcome that would undoubtedly leave Sheffield United fans gutted.

In other news: Transfer claim emerges on “unplayable” £15m beast that’ll have Sheff Utd fans fuming

This season has been a disastrous state of affairs for Celtic and if anything typified that, it would be the Bhoys’ defeat on Sunday.

Having already been usurped by their biggest rivals in the league, the Hoops were left to rue shambolic defending and poor finishing as they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup.

Does that sound familiar? Of course it does. Time and time again this term we’ve witnessed defensive mistakes let the manager and indeed the club’s supporters down.

We’ve also seen a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. That was perfectly summed up when Benjamin Siegrist made 12 saves in a 0-0 draw with Dundee United.

On this occasion, everything went wrong again as they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the fourth round to Rangers.

Odsonne Edouard missed a simple chance in the second half from a matter of yards out and then saw his spot-kick saved later on. A good chance for Moi Elyounoussi also went begging after the break.

Though, had they been better from a defensive point of view they wouldn’t have been left chasing their tails.

John Kennedy must have been left fuming with his two full-backs; Jonjoe Kenny and Diego Laxalt.

The duo were described as “abysmal” by The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin and it was clear to see why. Kenny reacted too slowly for the opener and then struggled to track the run of Ryan Kent for the second, diverting the ball into his own net.

Unfortunately, it was Laxalt who was considerably worse. The Uruguay international has been rather inconsistent this season and this match summarised perfectly why the Hoops shouldn’t be lusting after a £7.2m permanent switch.

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As Rangers broke forward down the right for Steve Davis’ opening strike, Laxalt wasn’t even in the frame. He vacated his role down the left and Steven Gerrard’s men were able to profit.

When the ball was finally swept home, Laxalt was standing in the centre of the pitch just outside the penalty area.

Speaking in his half-time show on the A Celtic State of Mind channel, Paul John Dykes said he was “horrifically out of position” and “nowhere to be seen.”

Though, Laxalt was worse for the second goal. Joe Aribo got down the right again and then led the left-back a merry dance. The Rangers winger produced a tremendous piece of trickery that sold the Uruguayan completely.

Aribo then whipped a ball in which Kent managed to divert home with the aid of Kenny.

John Harton was scathing in his assessments during Premier Sports’ live coverage of the match. The former Celtic striker said it was “such a poor attempt” at trying to mark Aribo for the second.

He then claimed it was a “horror first half” from Laxalt, suggesting he “does nothing.”

With his woeful opening 45 minutes in mind, it was not a surprise to see him dragged off at half-time in favour of Greg Taylor.

Perhaps the £57k-per-week earner ought to be dropped for good next time out.

AND in other news, Forget Hjelde: Celtic could have their new Ajer in 17 y/o never-seen in the first team…