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The Mirror reported on Sunday that Southampton are looking to sign Birmingham City attacker Che Adams before Thursday’s transfer deadline, as backed up by The Daily Echo on Monday, and Saints fans have been quick to react to the rumour.

Despite sending out the likes of Steven Davis, Manolo Gabbiadini, Wesley Hoedt and Cedric Soares already this month, Ralph Hasehuttl is yet to sign a player for the south coast outfit, although it appears as though Adams is a target.

The Daily Echo report that the prolific 22-year-old, who has scored 14 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions for the Championship club this season, as per Transfermarkt, is valued at around £10m, and his arrival would potentially see Charlie Austin leave before the window slams shut.

Should Adams arrive at St Mary’s he would likely be competing with the likes of Danny Ings, Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong for an attacking spot in Hasenhuttl’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system to date, although he could also play up top with Ings in the 4-2-2-2 formation that the Austrian has preferred to use with his previous clubs in the past, according to Transfermarkt.

Southampton supporters have taken to social media to give their thoughts on the link with the former Sheffield United forward, and while one said “this would be a massive steal”, another simply said “love it”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Check out the video below for Emma Conybeare’s rundown of which clubs need what in the January transfer window…

Danny Ings missed a big opportunity in Aston Villa’s Premier League defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchcliffe says. 

The lowdown

Villa fell to a fourth straight defeat in the Saturday evening clash following a hat-trick from Son Heung-min and a strike from Dejan Kulusevski.

But the 4-0 scoreline perhaps didn’t reflect the balance of the chances, with Villa forcing Hugo Lloris to make seven saves in the first half alone – the most by a Spurs keeper in the opening period since Opta records began in 2006/07.

Ings, who’s scored five goals for Villa in all competitions this season, returned to the starting line-up after missing last weekend’s defeat against Wolves (via Transfermarkt).

And the former Southampton man spurned a chance to level for his side when Ollie Watkins flick on fell to him on the left edge of the six-yard box and he fired his shot wide of the target.

The latest

Commentating on the match for Sky Sports, Hinchliffe said that he expected Ings to take the opportunity and bemoaned Aston Villa’s profligacy.

“A striker of his experience should be burying this,” he said.

“He just completely mistimes it. As the ball drops on the half-volley, he should be tucking it home, back across Lloris.”

He added: “He has a good view of the goal and he completely messes it up.

“He’s maybe under a bit of pressure from Emerson Royal but he should be scoring.

“How many chances are Villa going to miss?”

The verdict

Ings was on the pitch for 70 minutes before Steven Gerrard sent on Leon Bailey in his place, and he must have been frustrated as he left the field.

SofaScore defined the aforementioned opening as a ‘big chance’, and he might also have scored when Philippe Coutinho chipped a quick free-kick over the wall, only for the Englishman to fail to make clean contact.

The £19.8million-rated frontman only touched the ball 29 times – the lowest figure among Villa’s starting outfielders – but still could have made a decisive impact.

Three of his shots were blocked, and another two missed the target. Will Gerrard keep faith with the striker for the trip to Leicester City later this month?

In other news, Villa are willing to sell this sensation.  

Newcastle United are now targeting Brighton winger Leandro Trossard, according to The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones. 

The lowdown

The Belgium international, who joined Brighton from Genk in the summer of 2019 for £15m, is five games short of a century of appearances in the Premier League.

In his 95 top-flight outings to date, he has scored 15 goals and provide nine assists. He is a regular for Graham Potter’s side, starting 27 of their 31 Premier League matches so far in 2021/22.

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Valued at £15.3m by Transfermarkt, the 27-year-old is out of contract in just over 14 months’ time.

The latest

Jones wrote in The Daily Mail that Newcastle are expected to sell Allan Saint-Maximin this summer and reinvest the funds in a replacement winger.

Trossard is one of the players they have identified as a potential successor to the Frenchman, with extensive scouting reports currently being compiled.

Encouragingly for Newcastle, the Belgian is apparently keen to leave the Amex Stadium come the end of the season.

The verdict

Trossard would be a good successor to Saint-Maximin at Newcastle.

His tally of five goals this season may not be spectacular, but it’s worth stressing that Brighton are a low-scoring team. Indeed, only Burnley and Norwich City have netted fewer goals the Seagulls in the Premier League this term.

Furthermore, it matches the tally of Saint-Maximin at St James’ Park.

Newcastle know first-hand how good the 27-year-old can be after his man-of-the-match display in the 1-1 draw between the two teams at the Amex Stadium in November.

In addition to converting a penalty (which he won himself), Trossard created three chances, completed four out of five long passes and drew four fouls, earning him a SofaScore rating of 8.2/10.

He’s also won praise from Newcastle great Alan Shearer, who said that the ‘magnificent’ Albion winger boasts an ‘excellent’ all-round game.

If he’s good enough for Shearer, that’s a fairly strong endorsement in our book.

In other news, Newcastle are also looking at a move for this former Liverpool gem 

Newcastle United have reportedly now offered a deal to Sven Botman ahead of a potential move in the summer.

The Lowdown: Two-way battle

It has been widely reported that there seems to be a two-way battle between the St. James’ Park faithful and AC Milan for Botman’s signature this summer.

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The former reportedly had a bid rejected from Lille for the Dutchman in the January transfer window, and now it looks as if they will return for him at the end of the season, while the latter have even had their club legends talking up a deal.

The Latest: Deal offered

As per Football Insider, a source from the North East club has revealed that they have ‘not given up hope’ of signing Botman, after holding ‘extensive negotiations’ since January.

Both the KSA Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Milan have ‘offered a contract’ to the central defender, and have already ‘verbally agreed personal terms’.

The Tyneside outfit now have to negotiate a fee with Lille, who are thought to value Botman at £30m.

The Verdict: Sign

If the Magpies can snap Botman up for £30m, it could prove to be a real bargain in the future.

Described as a ‘golden boy‘ by his agent Francesco Miniero, he is already playing regularly at the highest level at just 22 years of age, and is surely a player that Eddie Howe would love to work with.

At six-foot-five, Botman is a colossus, and only two of his teammates win more aerial duels per game on average in Ligue 1 this season.

Nonetheless, he would certainly be a statement signing by the new owners and would seemingly settle into a monstrous back-line alongside 6 foot 7 Dan Burn.

In other news, find out who NUFC now ‘want’ as their ‘marquee’ signing here!

Rangers saw a significant number of players make the move to Ibrox during the short reign of former manager Pedro Caixinha.

However, much like the 51-year-old’s time in charge of the Gers, not all of the players that joined the club in 2017 ended up being particularly successful at Ibrox.

One player, in particular, that ended up being a major flop for the club is midfielder Carlos Pena.

In June 2017, Rangers signed the Mexican from Guadalajara in a deal worth a reported fee of £2.2m, making him the most expensive player signed under Caixinha.

Having made just 14 appearances for the Gers across all competitions, Pena’s contract was terminated only 18 months into the four-year deal he signed with them.

Despite being labelled as a “massive player with a lot of technique and physicality” by Caixinha, Pena was also seen as a “problem” by the former Rangers boss in regards to what he ended up delivering on the pitch for the team.

Even though he managed to find the back of the net four times in the 12 league appearances he made in the 2017/18 season, it was problems off the pitch that impacted his time at the club.

According to Andy Halliday, Pena had such an issue with alcohol that he would come into training smelling of it.

Halliday said: “He was messy alright, this guy was the modern alcoholic. He would just come in stinking of bevvy all the time. Stinking of it. From the time he came in I was only there for maybe a month, but honestly he was always stinking of booze.”

After leaving Rangers in March 2019, the player has gone on to have spells at clubs in Poland, El Salvador, Mexico and Argentina.

The 32-year-old has been without a club since January.

Taking all of this into account, it’s hard to see Pena’s transfer to Rangers being anything other than disastrous.

Having shelled out a total sum of £4.3m on the player from his transfer fee and £25k-per-week wages over the 84 weeks he was at the club, this just highlights what a waste of money it was from the Gers.

In other news: Wilson could land a new £13m talent as Rangers plot bid for £180k-rated sensation

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Ludovic Ajorque to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by French media outlet Foot Mercato, who claimed that David Moyes and his Hammers transfer team are closely monitoring the Strasbourg centre-forward ahead of a potential swoop this month.

However, the report added that the Ligue 1 side will unlikely want to part with the 27-year-old in the current transfer window, although they could be tempted with an offer for the Frenchman at the end of the season.

Haller replacement

Since the £20m sale of Sebastien Haller last January, West Ham have been operating with only Michail Antonio as an out-and-out centre-forward, so it is clear to see that Moyes is in desperate need of a replacement for the Ivory Coast international this month.

When taking into account just how impressive Ajorque has been in France this season, in addition to the 6 foot 6 striker’s physical similarities to that of the 6 foot 3 Haller, the 27-year-old would very much appear to be a fantastic heir to the Ajax forward in the Irons’ squad.

Indeed, over his 18 Ligue 1 appearances in the current campaign, the £13.5m-rated marksman has been in exceptional form for Strasbourg, having already bagged 10 goals – with only Lille’s Jonathan David having scored more in the division – registered six assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.9 shots and making 1.3 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £14k-per-week forward average an astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.30, not only ranking him as his club’s best performer in the league, but also as the joint 10th-best player in the whole of Ligue 1.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the player who Strasbourg boss Julien Stephan dubbed a “complete” striker would make a brilliant addition to West Ham’s current attacking options, leading us to believe that Moyes and the Hammers board must do all they can to get a deal over the line for the 27-year-old this month.

In other news: Exciting “behind the scenes” West Ham transfer update emerges; fans will be buzzing

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has reportedly now told his friends that he would like to leave Everton in the summer, with Arsenal being his preferred destination.

The Lowdown: Big interest

It has been reported that both the Gunners and Newcastle United have now made enquiries over the possibility of signing Calvert-Lewin this summer, who is almost certain to leave Goodison Park if they are relegated from the Premier League.

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His season has been plagued by injuries, but the striker has shown his credentials in previous campaigns on Merseyside (one of the best‘ in his position.

The Latest: Arsenal preferred

As per Football Insider, a recruitment source has revealed that Calvert-Lewin is now ‘likely’ to leave the Toffees in the summer, whether they end up getting relegated or not.

He has ‘told friends’ that he would prefer to move to Arsenal over Newcastle, implying that he would be happy to move on from the Blues.

The Verdict: Sell

Given that Calvert-Lewin is seemingly unhappy at EFC with his willingness to move, added on top of his injury problems, the summer may now be the best time for the board to cash in.

An England international at 25 years of age, the former Sheffield United ace should still command a big fee in today’s market, regardless of whether the club end up relegated.

Calvert-Lewin would not be easy to replace, but with the likes of Richarlison still in the squad, they could then use that money to strengthen in other areas of the pitch.

In other news, find out who has now been talked about as a potential Frank Lampard replacement here!

Everton are reportedly now in a fight with as many as 11 other clubs to sign Tete this summer.

The Lowdown: Uncertainty

It has been reported that Brazilian players at Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, including Tete, are now potentially looking to terminate their contracts at the club, after Russia’s invasion of the country.

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However, the Premier League are set to block the use of FIFA and UEFA’s approved window for foreign players in Russia and Ukraine to find new clubs mid-season, meaning that players like Tete would only be able to join a club in the English top flight in the summer.

The Latest: 12-way battle

As per 90min, the Goodison Park faithful are now among 11 other teams who are keen on signing Tete, including Southampton, Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Leicester City and West Ham United from the Premier League.

AC Milan, Atalanta, Napoli, Porto, Benfica and Ajax are also interested in his signature, although the news outlet suggests that the Saints are the firm favourites.

The Verdict: Bargain

Given that Tete is currently rated at £18m, to potentially get him for free, should he end up terminating his contract at Shakhtar, would prove to be a real bargain.

The winger has scored ten goals and made a further two assists in total over all competitions so far this campaign, including a goal and an assist to help his side qualify for the UEFA Champions League (Transfermarkt), and so could be a really good squad option to have for Frank Lampard, should the Merseyside club manage to avoid relegation of course.

Tete is only 22 years of age as well, and so still has a lot of potential left to fulfil, and should things not quite work out with the Toffees, they could even sell him on for a profit.

Farhad Moshiri hasn’t done much right at Everton in recent years, but getting a valuable young talent for no transfer fee would certainly be a step in the right direction.

In other news, find out what ‘huge’ Blues injury boost has now emerged here!

Rangers continued their fantastic start to life under Gio van Bronckhorst as they won in their Scottish Cup outing on Friday night.

They beat Stirling Albion 4-0 and have now won nine of their 11 games under the Dutchman’s management and remain unbeaten in all competitions so far since his arrival after the 3-1 defeat to Hibernian in the League Cup.

One player who was handed a big chance to impress against the League Two outfit was former Manchester City forward Brandon Barker and he failed to grasp his opportunity.

Finally axe

Van Bronckhorst could finally axe Barker and sell him this window if he is able to secure a deal to sign Kiril Despodov from Ludogorets in the coming days.

The Gers are reportedly interested in a move for the Bulgaria international and his arrival could pave the way for the club to move on one of their current duds. He plays in the same position as Barker and that could allow the Dutch head coach and Ross Wilson to sanction an exit for the Englishman, who has not been good enough on the pitch.

Former Gers man Alex Rae criticised the attacker for his display against Stirling Albion and questioned his future at Ibrox, saying:

“I think you look at Brandon Barker, I thought Barker was really poor. I think he’s probably played his last game for the football club.

“You are looking at a guy who has hardly featured and on the performance last night, I don’t think he’s done enough.”

He also played ten times in the Premiership last term and lost a whopping 67% of his duels, whilst providing two goals and zero assists. This, along with his performance in the cup last week, shows that the lightweight is not up to the standard required to be a regular at Ibrox.

Despodov, meanwhile, has provided 15 goals and 25 assists in all competitions since the start of last season for Ludogorets. Whilst it is impossible to gauge the difference in qualities between the leagues, it does show that he is a player in form and full of confidence with the potential to come in and make a big impact in the final third for the Gers.

The £2.8m-rated playmaker could, therefore, come in to bolster the squad and open up room for Barker to be shipped out on a permanent basis. All parties involved must now work to complete these transfers before the window slams shut.

AND in other news, Gvb “interested” in sealing 3rd Rangers signing at Ibrox, he could be Patterson 2.0…

Tottenham Hotspur are not in active talks to sign Adama Traore this month…

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles, who delivered the bombshell to his ‘The Transfer Window’ podcast this week.

“I’ve just had a message from someone close to Adama who state that there are no active negotiations with Tottenham,” he claimed. 

Several outlets have suggested in recent days that Spurs were indeed in discussions with Wolverhampton Wanderers over a mid-season swoop for the £20m-rated wide man.

The Telegraph reported that the north Londoners were keen to land him on an initial loan deal, with an obligation to buy, whilst TEAMtalk suggested the club had offered as many as four first-team players in return as a bargaining chip.

Castles, who is as reliable as they come in terms of transfers, throws caution to the window with his intriguing claim.

This won’t go down well

The need for reinforcements to Antonio Conte’s squad has become ever so apparent this month.

Spurs’ inconsistent form continued as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by the Italian’s former club, Chelsea, in midweek and the boss alluded to just how far ahead the Champions of Europe were after the game.

“I think that in this moment we can’t compare the two situations, the Chelsea situation and the Tottenham situation. I think it’s not fair to compare the two situations, because it’s impossible to compare,” he said.

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By claiming that, he is suggesting that the task at hand in N17 is a massive one. The Blues have spent bid in recent windows and they are reaping the rewards for it. Meanwhile, the Lilywhites’ hierarchy have barely bolstered the playing squad at all.

Yes, they have paid some big-money fees, such as Tanguy Ndombele (£55m) and Giovani Lo Celso (£55m), but the bulk of the squad that let Mauricio Pochettino down still remain – Jose Mourinho and Nuno Santo have come and gone in that time, too.

Traore has quickly emerged as a top target for both Conte and sporting director Fabio Paratici and at £20m, it seems like a real bargain, considering his top-flight experience and suitability to the system. Indeed, he can play right wing-back or as a right inside-forward, and even up top.

The fact that Castles claims there are no ongoing talks is worrying and will surely anger much of the Spurs supporter base who have been ever so keen to see his signature.

It will also surely anger Conte as he knows that he needs additions and with less than two weeks remaining in the transfer window, they have yet to conduct any business.

football.london reporter Alasdair Gold even suggested that there were fears the Italian head coach could walk if he doesn’t get the right players this month.

This latest bombshell will not go down well with many at Tottenham, that’s for sure. If Spurs aren’t in talks to sign Traore as some reports suggest, then what on earth are they up to? They must back Conte to the wall, and quickly.

AND in other news, Spurs suffer “real blow” ahead of Leicester clash after Arsenal postponement…