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Leeds United may have to pay up to £15m for Huddersfield Town star Lewis O’Brien this summer.

The Lowdown: O’Brien links

The Whites have had O’Brien on their radar for some time now and still have an interest in the central midfielder heading into Jesse Marsch’s first full season as head coach.

The 23-year-old, labelled an “exceptional” player by his manager Carlos Corberan, suffered playoff heartbreak with The Terriers last weekend but may still be plying his trade in the Premier League next season.

Leeds are thought to be one of five top-flight clubs chasing a move for the midfielder, however, recent reports that suggested a £12m release clause may be wide of the mark.

The Latest: £15m?

MOT Leeds News relayed an update regarding O’Brien from Friday’s print edition of The Huddersfield Examiner.

They cited a £15m figure when it came to the midfielder last summer and said that his stock has risen over the past 12 months, and with no mention of a release clause in the report, £15m could be the minimum Leeds may have to pay this time around.

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The Verdict: Midfielder needed

Leeds need to add to their central midfield ranks this summer after they wrap up a move for RB Salzburg right-back Rasmus Kristensen, even if Kalvin Phillips remains at the club.

New signing Brenden Aaronson is expected to be used as an inverted winger, so O’Brien could be a perfect partner for Phillips in either a 4-4-2 or 4-2-2-2 system.

Marsch has limited options in the middle of the park and just one holding midfielder in Phillips, so O’Brien, who is extremely versatile after playing in seven positions last season, could be a shrewd signing, despite a fee potentially going up.

In other news: Reporter says Leeds and Orta may now hijack rivals’ move for ‘outstanding’ star. 

Leeds United have already made an enquiry for Nottingham Forest loanee James Garner, according to Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Garner excels at Forest

Garner, who was labelled ‘superb’ by Midlands journalists earlier this year, is under contract at Manchester United until 2024, but he starred on loan at the City Ground during the 2021/22 campaign.

The 21-year-old was a regular in the Championship, playing in three different midfield roles and contributing to 14 goals, which saw his Transfermarkt valuation rocket from £3.6m to £6.3m.

Garner has been heavily praised for his set pieces under Steve Cooper and he helped Forest back into the Premier League last weekend with a play-off final triumph over Huddersfield Town at Wembley.

The Latest: Leeds enquiry for Garner

Hay shared a story for The Athletic on Tuesday morning regarding Leeds’ transfer plans following a move for Brenden Aaronson.

The reliable reporter revealed that the club have their eyes on midfield targets and name-checked Garner as a possible signing, claiming that the Whites – and by association their director of football Victor Orta – made enquiries to Manchester United during the second half of the season.

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The Verdict: O’Brien a more realistic signing?

New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag plans to watch Garner in action before making a call on the 21-year-old’s future.

Should Ten Hag green-light an exit for the midfielder, Leeds may well try their luck judging by Hay’s recent claim, although you’d expect that he may be more open to a permanent move to Forest following his impressive loan spell with the newly-promoted side.

Therefore, looking to sign Lewis O’Brien from Huddersfield instead could be a wiser and more realistic move, with reports at the weekend hinting that Leeds could trigger his £10m release clause.

In other news: Leeds and Orta now eyeing ‘unbelievable’ Adidas-sponsored Dutch midfielder after O’Brien

A crushing Rangers transfer claim has emerged over Ibrox gem Calvin Bassey heading into the summer window… 

What’s the talk?

Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that Rangers appear set to sell the central defender ahead of 2022/23 because of the timing of his impressive displays, although it remains to be seen how much the club will demand for his services.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “It’s so difficult for them with Calvin Bassey, it seems like it’ll probably be impossible to keep him.

“He’s burst through at a moment when the transfer window is about to open, and he has played the game of his life in the last game of the season pretty much.”

Gio van Bronckhorst will be deflated

After ending the 2021/22 campaign on a high by lifting the Scottish Cup, the Gers head coach will now be deflated by the prospect of losing Bassey.

The Nigeria international is a crucial player for the manager and would leave a huge hole in the squad that would be difficult to fill in the upcoming window. He has showcased both his quality and versatility throughout the campaign as he fought his way into becoming a go-to option for van Bronckhorst.

Bassey has shown that he can play at both left-back and centre-back for the Gers. He played in the heart of the defence for the Europa League final and then lined up at full-back for the Scottish Cup final later that week, which not only illustrates his versatility but also how much faith the manager has in him to do an excellent job wherever he is required.

In the Premiership, he averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 6.97 as he won 63% of his individual duels and helped the team to keep 11 clean sheets. He also caught the eye in Europe as he averaged a score of 6.90 across 14 appearances, winning 60% of his battles and making 3.0 tackles and interceptions per game.

These statistics prove that he has the quality to impress domestically and on the continental stage, which is why losing him would be a major blow.

At the age of 22, he also has the scope to keep on improving as a player. This is another reason why van Bronckhorst will be gutted by his possible exit as he will not be able to help the youngster to reach his full potential in the years to come.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Weston: Rangers can form deadly future duo in deal for highly-rated teen…

BBC journalist Tom English has insisted that Rangers will be without Connor Goldson and Allan McGregor next season as a number of big changes are expected at Ibrox.

The Lowdown: Busy season

The Glasgow outfit have been extraordinarily busy this season, having made it all the way to the UEFA Europa League final, in addition to winning the Scottish Cup.

With the Gers missing out on the Scottish Premiership title to Celtic by a meagre four points, van Bronckhorst will be assessing his squad ahead of next season, weighing up any departures after the players enjoy a well-earned rest.

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The Latest: Major exodus

Writing in his BBC Sport column, English has made a number of assumptions about the Rangers squad ahead of next season.

Firstly, the journalist said he expects 40-year-old Allan McGregor will retire in the coming months.

English also claims that Connor Goldson is looking certain to leave upon the expiry of his contract.

With a number of stellar names now in the final year of their deals, it wouldn’t be unlikely to see some big players being sold ahead of next season.

As a result, it is expected that there will be numerous incomings and outgoings this summer.

The Verdict: Clubs will be interested

With such an impressive campaign showcased on the European stage, a whole host of clubs will be sniffing around the likes of Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey, who all excelled in the Europa League this year.

Whilst it may be the time to offload some of the deadwood, it is imperative that Rangers hold on to their best players – especially if they are to replicate their stunning European run.

Therefore, this will be a big transfer window for the Gers, and fans may be particularly concerned over the future of Bassey after his incredible display in Seville.

In other news: Rangers: Jonny McFarlane stunned by Cinch news

Wolves have joined West Midlands and Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the race to sign former Leicester City and current Rangers left-back Calvin Bassey this summer.

What’s the story?

That’s according to the Daily Record, who claim that as well as Villa, Fulham and Brentford are all keen on acquiring the 22-year-old this summer.

The Nigerian has been a revelation for Rangers since making the move to Ibrox in 2020, playing 65 times for the Glaswegian outfit, including last Wednesday night’s Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and Saturday’s Scottish Cup victory against Hearts.

Now it is believed that Wolves are amongst the frontrunners to sign the defender who may well cost around the £20m mark this summer according to Kenny Miller.

Wolves must sign Bassey

Having earned his stripes with Rangers after failing to make the breakthrough at Leicester, it appears as though Bassey is now ready to play in the Premier League.

The Nigerian never made a senior appearance for Leicester despite playing just shy of 100 games for the Foxes’ youth sides and City’s loss could be their Midlands rivals’ gain.

With Marcal confirmed to depart this summer upon the expiration of his contract, Bruno Lage will certainly be looking to add a left-back to his squad with Jonny currently his only senior option.

In the Europa League this season, Bassey has been a colossal contributor to his side’s run to the final which saw the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Braga and RB Leipzig toppled before a cruel defeat on penalties in the final.

Claimed to be “like van Dijk” as well as being “superb” by Jamie O’Hara on TalkSPORT, the left-back averaged 37.4 passes a match at an 83% accuracy whilst making 61.1 touches.

Defensively, the £6.4k-per-week earner also produced 1.4 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and 1.6 clearances as well as winning 60% of his duels.

As for Jonny in the Premier League, the Spaniard has averaged slightly fewer touches at 60.3 as well as fewer passes with 32.6 with an 83% accuracy too.

Defensively though, Bassey has recorded the more impressive statistics with the Wolves wing-back providing 0.8 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 0.4 clearances a match.

Lage will be keen to see his side improve on this season and push for a European spot with the West Midlands outfit’s poor run at the end of the season costing them a place in Europe for next season.

Therefore, adding a player of Bassey’s quality will certainly be a must this summer.

AND in other news: Great news: Huge Wolves transfer development emerges; supporters will be ecstatic

Manchester United are reportedly plotting a bid for RB Leipzig’s versatile defender Nordi Mukiele.

What’s the word?

That is according to a report from Foot Mercato, via The Mirror, who claimed that the Red Devils have been tracking the 24-year-old for years and could finally lodge a bid for him in this summer’s transfer window.

The France international is out of contract next year and could duly be available for as little as £8.5m.

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The signing would prove sensible, as United are reportedly open to letting Aaron Wan-Bissaka leave in what appears to be a big clearout this summer at Old Trafford.

Given his Red Bull links, Ralf Rangnick is reported to be a fan of Mukiele, so a move for the 24-year-old is entirely possible.

Imagine him and Varane

The signing of Mukiele – who has been hailed as an “unsung hero” – would be a major coup for United; and at a price of around £8.5m, it could see the club turn a corner with their strategy in the transfer market. It could also form the potential for what could be a fearsome partnership between the 24-year-old and Raphael Varane.

Mukiele’s versatility is a handy attribute and represents an asset that United have not had since Daley Blind was at the club, with the Frenchman also able to operate as a centre-back and a right midfielder.

Mukiele has played the majority of his games as a right midfielder or wing-back for Leipzig in Domenico Tedesco’s 3-4-2-1 system this season. Although he has a decent return of one goal and three assists in 28 appearances, the 24-year-old has been spared in Leipzig’s big games as of recent, which bodes well for United as they look to swoop in for a cut-price deal.

That defensive acumen bodes well for a team manager by Erik ten Hag side. Madueke has a match average of 5.28 pressures per 90, with 6.32 of these coming in the middle third of the pitch, a positive sign of his willingness to win back possession for his team.

His averages of 2.43 interceptions and 2.73 clearances per 90 also illustrate his competency at the back and suggest that he would function well in an asymmetrical system which would see him perform as a makeshift centre-back in possession, giving the left-back licence to attack.

He has also shown his competency in attack in Leipzig’s recent game against Augsburg, in which he registered two assists.

Given such impressive performances across a variety of aspects, it’s not just because of the Red Bull connection that Rangnick would love to have Madueke at Old Trafford.

In other news: Man United now plot bid for £63m-rated “monster”, imagine him and Ten Hag 

According to reliable journalist Pete O’Rourke, Tottenham manager Antonio Conte ‘might be looking’ at signing another central midfielder during the upcoming transfer window.

The Lowdown: Conte making his mark at Spurs

The Italian has already started to put his stamp on the first team at Spurs following the January arrivals of both Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus, but with a place in the top four currently hanging in the balance, there’s no doubt that the 52-year-old will be keen to bolster his ranks even further in the summer.

Whilst Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg continues to be linked with a move away from N17, not to mention the long-term injury to Oliver Skipp, it wouldn’t come as any surprise to see Conte targeting new options in the middle of the park.

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The Latest: O’Rourke expects midfield signings

With those situations in mind, O’Rourke expects Tottenham to make central midfield a priority position when it comes to summer transfer activity.

He told GiveMeSport: “I think midfield is going to be a key position for Tottenham this summer if they’re looking to improve the team. Antonio Conte might be looking for somebody to go in there beside Bentancur and establish a relationship in that midfield.”

The Verdict: New additions on the horizon

If recent transfer rumours are anything to go by, new midfield signings definitely appear to be on the agenda for the Tottenham hierarchy, backing up O’Rourke’s prediction.

The Lilywhites have been heavily linked with midfielders of various descriptions of late, including Leeds destroyer Kalvin Phillips and Leicester City’s creative maestro Youri Tielemans, after it was recently revealed that the Belgian looks set to depart the King Power Stadium at the end of the season.

Another name which could be added to that list is West Ham’s Tomas Soucek, after it was claimed that his contract talks with David Moyes have broken down, and the 27-year-old would only have to make the short journey to N17 if he sees Spurs as a potential suitor away from the London Stadium.

With Conte said to be looking at bringing in six new signings ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, two of those being midfielders, it’ll be interesting to see whether any fellow top-flight stars make the move to Tottenham to partner Bentancur and be part of the manager’s new squad rebuild.

In other news… five Spurs youngsters have been promoted to first-team training

Renowned Glasgow Rangers podcasters Heart & Hand were left criticising the role of Glen Kamara in the third goal that they conceded on Wednesday night.

The Lowdown: Another heavy defeat

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team suffered another heavy blow after the 4-0 defeats at the hands of Celtic and Ajax in the Scottish Premiership and UEFA Champions League respectively.

This time, it was at Ibrox, where they lost 3-0 to Napoli in their second Champions League group stage game, and while there were some spirited performances, costly mistakes kept creeping in throughout the match.

James Sands was given two yellow cards in the space of a few minutes early in the second half, giving away a penalty that was actually saved by Allan McGregor, while Borna Barisic also gave away a spot-kick that the veteran goalkeeper could not keep out.

The Latest: Kamara criticised

In the build-up to Napoli’s third goal, Kamara was dispossessed far too cheaply in his own half after dwelling on the ball, and in the end it was so easy for the Serie A side to square it for Tottenham Hotspur loanee Tanguy Ndombele to finish.

Taking to Twitter, Heart & Hand criticised Kamara immediately after the goal went in, calling it a ‘howling error’ from the central midfielder.

The Verdict: Nice on his mind?

Kamara was strongly linked with a move to French club OGC Nice in the summer transfer window, and perhaps that deal falling through is playing on his mind.

When he came on, he did not win any of his individual duels and also made no clearances, interceptions or tackles in the middle of the park, earning by far the lowest match rating on the pitch (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, the Finland international really needs to knuckle down over the next few weeks if he is going to win his starting place back.

Tottenham Hotspur and Fabio Paratici enjoyed a spectacular summer transfer window, with the Italian sporting director landing a number of impressive signings who should undoubtedly improve Antonio Conte’s squad.

Indeed, with Spurs welcoming the likes of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Ivan Perisic, Clement Lenglet and Fraser Forster to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium prior to the transfer deadline on September 1, Conte now boasts squad depth that he infamously claimed he was lacking over the course of the club’s 2021/22 campaign.

However, while Paratici very much looks to have done a stellar job in the transfer market, there was nevertheless one position that Conte was reported to be extremely keen on strengthening where the 50-year-old sporting director failed to bring in a fresh face – that of a new attacking midfielder.

Despite being heavily linked with moves for a number of players in that position, there was one target in particular who would have undoubtedly been a magnificent signing for Paratici to land – Lazio sensation Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Indeed, the 27-year-old has been a continual attacking threat in the heart of the Lazio team over the past eight seasons, scoring 48 goals and registering 44 assists over his 236 Serie A appearances for the club.

The £63m-rated talent was in particularly fine form over his 36 league outings in 2021/22, scoring 11 goals and registering 11 assists in the Italian top flight. The Serbian’s returns were more than Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks, Rodrigo Bentancur, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso managed between them in the Premier League last time out.

Furthermore, as per FBref, the £98k-per-week sensation also ranks in the top 5% of midfielders among Europe’s big five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90, in addition to the top 2% for assists, the top 13% for shot-creating actions, the top 12% for passes attempted and the top 14% for dribbles completed over the last 365 days – proving his all-round forward-thinking ability from central midfield.

As such, with Conte clearly lacking a midfielder in Milinkovic-Savic’s mould, the fact that Paratici did not pull the trigger on a £38m bid for the player who Hesham Bilal dubbed “insane” and David Amoyal labelled “unreal” this summer appears something of a shocker by the Italian.

It seems evident that the Serbian would have solved Conte’s biggest – and perhaps only – issue in his Spurs side at present.

Salomon Rondon has reportedly now opened talks to Everton and join a club in Turkey.

The Lowdown: Out of favour

Rondon has largely fallen out of favour at Goodison Park, having played just 27 times for the Merseyside club since the start of last season, and only managing to score three goals and make one assist (Transfermarkt).

The transfer window for Turkish clubs is still open until Thursday, so the Venezuela international still has time to secure a move away.

The Latest: Talks opened

As per Football Insider, Rondon has now opened talks with a number of teams in Turkey ahead of a potential move.

Adana Demirspor are one of a number of sides keen on signing the striker, and have registered their interest in getting a deal done in the next 24 hours.

The Verdict: Get rid

At 32 years of age and on just over £20,000 per week at the Toffees, now is the best time to let Rondon go.

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Yes, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is injured at the moment, but Frank Lampard’s team have signed a striker in Neal Maupay from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Rondon has already been criticised for some of his performances so far this campaign, and in truth he has not performed well enough to justify keeping him at the Blues for much longer.