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As per Football Insider, there has been a rather exciting update on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans ahead of January.

The Lowdown: Conte’s first transfer window looms…

There is just over a month until the mid-season window opens for business and all eyes will be on new Spurs boss Antonio Conte and how he will begin to reshape his current squad.

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After their humbling 2-1 defeat in the Europa Conference League to Slovenian minnows NS Mura, the Italian head coach sent a stern message to his players and admitted that he’s making ‘evaluations’ on the squad (Daily Mirror).

As well as outgoings, Tottenham have been tipped to strengthen, and Serie A looks like itcould be a profitable source of incoming quality for Conte, according to claims from the continent (Calciomercato).

Netherlands duo Stefan de Vrij and Matthijs de Ligt have been repeatedly linked with moves to north London and Football Insider now bring news on what the 52-year-old could do in the New Year.

The Latest: Conte plotting sensational double move…

As per their information, Tottenham’s manager has personally identified both defenders as top targets ahead of January and is now plotting to sign the pair, who he believes are ‘world class’.

De Vrij in particular has been earmarked as his possible ‘lieutenant’ at the north London club as transfer chief Fabio Paratici backs Conte’s call to make landing the defensive duo a priority.

The Verdict: Big claim…

If Spurs are going to pull off this double swoop mid-season, it will take all of Paratici’s negotiation skills and Conte’s pulling power to make it happen.

Valued at £40m by Inter Milan, De Vrij is a key player for the Nerazzurri, with his contract not expiring until 2023 – potentially meaning that the Serie A giants are in no rush to offload him.

Meanwhile, De Ligt’s deal at Juventus runs all the way through to 2024 and his estimated £63m valuation by Transfermarkt means that Spurs would potentially need to smash their transfer record.

After Tottenham recorded an £80.2m pre-tax loss for the last financial year, taking their overall club debt to £706m in total (The Guardian), completing these moves would certainly be a statement of intent by the club.

Both players could well strengthen the Lilywhites’ defence but whether or not Spurs can actually get it done is another matter entirely.

In other news: Eight players now safe from Spurs axe after wowing Conte behind the scenes, find out more here.

Rangers are back in Premiership action today with a home clash against Dundee in their latest push for the league title.

Looking beyond today’s match, it seems as though the club have been handed a fresh injury boost which will surely have a lot of fans buzzing.

What’s the news?

Speaking ahead of the clash against Dundee this afternoon, Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed that Leon Balogun will train with the squad on Sunday after missing their two previous league games and should be back ‘soon’.

The 33-year-old defender has played 18 games across all competitions so far this season, which shows just how important he is for the team and why having him back in training again will be such a big positive for the Gers.

Averaging 3.3 clearances, 1.8 tackles and 1.4 interceptions in the league this term along with winning 64% of his duels, Balogun’s overall league performances have earned him a season rating of 7.06/10, making him Rangers’ fifth-highest rated player in 2021/22 according to WhoScored.

Since joining the club in 2020 on a free transfer from Wigan Athletic, the defender – who is currently valued at £720k by Transfermarkt – has made 46 appearances for Rangers across all competitions, with one goal and three assists to his name for the club.

Moving forward, if Rangers can secure a win today and then have the Nigerian back to full fitness and staying fit for the rest of the season, it could give the team a great chance of securing the title once again in 2022.

Looking even further down the line, with Balogun’s current contract at Ibrox set to expire at the end of the season, it’ll be intriguing to see whether or not the club decide to offer him a new deal to keep him in their squad for a little bit longer.

Taking into account his performances this season and his evident defensive abilities, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were to offer him a new contract.

In other news: “We understand”: Journalist drops major Rangers transfer update which will leave fans fuming…

PIF completed their takeover of Newcastle United last month to bring Mike Ashley’s 14-year reign on Tyneside to an end.

Ashley left St James’ Park after years of mediocrity on the pitch, with only one season of finishing higher than 10th in the Premier League in that time and 10 bottom-half finishes.

Ashley’s legacy

The lack of quality work in the transfer market was one of the factors behind these lacklustre seasons, with Ashley leaving behind a legacy of poor recruits for PIF to come in and clear up. One of those was the addition of Miguel Almiron in 2019.

The Paraguayan joined the Tyneside club from MLS outfit Atlanta United for a reported £21m fee in January 2019, which was a club-record deal at the time.

In 103 matches for the Magpies, he has scored 13 goals and produced five assists, which works out at one goal contribution every 5.7 games for the club. In the Premier League, he has eight goals and three assists in 91 games, averaging out at a goal contribution every 8.27 games. This is a poor return for a player who came in as an attacking midfielder for a club-record fee and it typifies the recruitment that Ashley oversaw in his tenure at Newcastle.

The midfielder also came out in March and publicly stated he would like to play for a team which ‘fights more’. Former Premier League player Carlton Palmer reacted to those comments by claiming that Almiron would create problems in the dressing room, telling Football FanCast:

“If I was Steve Bruce, I would be absolutely annoyed and angry. There’s too much, there’s too much coming out of Newcastle at the moment. I mean, the manager’s had a flare-up with one of the players, which is an everyday occurrence at football clubs up and down the country.

“Whether it’s between player and player or between player and manager, whether it’s a big player and a coach, there’s always a disagreement, but why that gets into the public domain… Him making that comment now is going to create more problems within the dressing room because players are going to turn around and say, ‘well you’re accusing me of not fighting then for the club?’”

This suggests that the 27-year-old is causing problems on and off the pitch with his displays and his comments, which is why he has been a disaster of a signing for the club.

At the time of writing (29/11/21), Transfermarkt value him at £15.75m. This is considerably less than the £21m that Newcastle paid for him and shows that he has gone downhill since arriving in England, rather than impressing and increasing his value by putting in strong performances. Therefore, the Magpies had a bit of a howler with his arrival from the MLS in 2019…

AND in other news, Howe could save NUFC’s season with “beautiful” 27-goal beast, he loves St James’ Park…

Benfica are willing to allow Jota to complete a permanent move to Celtic in the January transfer window, according to A Bola, as relayed by Sport Witness.

The Lowdown: Sky Sports claim

Sky Sports shared plenty of Celtic-related transfer updates on Monday afternoon, with the Hoops targeting moves for Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi.

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Within their report, they claimed that Ange Postecoglou’s side are expected to trigger the option-to-buy clause, which is worth around £6.5m, in Jota’s loan deal.

The 22-year-old, who has been called ‘explosive’ by Alan Hutton, is currently out injured with a hamstring issue and has been involved in 14 goals in 18 appearances in green and white.

The Latest: Jota latest

Sport Witness shared a snippet from A Bola’s Tuesday print edition, revealing that the former European Cup winners would be open to receiving the fee sooner than expected to help their financial situation.

His success at Celtic has come as a surprise to the Portuguese media, and it appears as if everything may soon be in place ahead of a permanent move in January.

The Verdict: Time to get the ball rolling…

With both clubs seemingly happy over finalising a New Year move, all that may be left to sort now is specific details with Jota. Celtic may well take advantage of the 22-year-old’s time on the injury table to get everything in order, such as specific details of his permanent Parkhead contract.

Doing that now would leave Michael Nicholson with one less thing to worry about in the January transfer window, which may allow him to focus on swoops for Maeda, Hatate and Ideguchi.

In other news: Sky Sports share more Celtic news with £20k-p/w colossus now ‘open’ to Parkhead exit

Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has revealed that the club’s ‘intention’ is to act in the January window after the huge news of an injury to Kalvin Phillips.  

The Lowdown: Phillips’ surgery

Marcelo Bielsa’s squad has been impacted massively due to a number of injuries this season, with plenty of key players sidelined.

Phillips is one of the latest out after suffering a hamstring problem against Brentford earlier this month. Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford also injured the same muscle in the 2-2 draw with the Bees, whereas Rodrigo is sidelined with a heel issue and Pascal Struijk with a foot problem.

News emerged on Monday that the holding midfielder has now had surgery to repair the issue but is expected to be out for at least two months as a result.

The Latest: Hay’s claim

Hay ran a Q&A on The Athletic prior to Leeds’ defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday.

He was asked for an update by one fan in regards to any January incomings, to which he said:

“The intention is there after the injury to Phillips. But it will depend on budget and available options. You know the drill.”

The Verdict: Good news…

A midfielder appears desperately needed at Elland Road following the injury to Phillips. Bielsa has just four midfielders on the books, two of which are injured after Jamie Shackleton hobbled off at the Etihad.

That leaves just Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich as his remaining options, although Stuart Dallas can provide cover when needed.

However, it is clear to see that the Whites would benefit from a midfield addition for the second half of the season, and it’s good to see that owner Andrea Radrizzani is ready to take action over the coming weeks, should the right deal appear.

In other news: Leeds now back in for summer target who is ‘like a beast’ – reliable journalist. 

Writing for Eurosport, journalist and transfer ‘insider’ Dean Jones has just made a West Ham United transfer claim involving Flamengo forward Gabriel Barbosa.

The Lowdown: West Ham in striker chase…

David Moyes’ near year-long search for a new striker following the departure of club-record signing Sebastien Haller to Ajax has been well documented.

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The Scotsman, revealing his desperation to sign one over the summer window, confirmed that bids were also made last January but to no avail as the transfer quest continues.

West Ham have been linked to signing a host of new forwards in January, most recently Adam Hlozek and Divock Origi, but it appears another option may be on the cards as news emerges on a ‘big name’ in Barbosa.

The Latest: Insider shares Barbosa update…

According to insider Jones, writing for Eurosport, Barbosa is interesting West Ham, and by extension Moyes, ahead of January and it is believed Flamengo’s star frontman could now become available to them on loan.

West Ham are apparently exploring options to sign forwards on short term deals as Barbosa becomes a candidate, with the Brazilian himself open to leaving as he looks set to weigh up offers next month.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Signing the 25-year-old on a temporary deal would certainly be a mega bit of business by the club and recruitment chief Rob Newman.

Indeed, the Hammers could feasibly bypass his £23.4 million estimated valuation (Transfermarkt) and sign a prolific striker who’s scored 29 goals in total over 2021.

The 17-cap Brazil international has also raved over West Ham before, stating he ‘really enjoyed’ watching them last season, whilst also admitting he is a ‘big fan’ of Premier League football (The Sun).

Given West Ham’s need for a Michail Antonio-alternative and Barbosa’s love for the English game, this could well be a match made in heaven.

In other news: West Ham set for Kretinsky backing as insider shares major behind-scenes development, find out more here.

Celtic have been dealt a potential blow in their bid to bring Albert Gudmundsson to Parkhead.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport (via LazioNews24), who claimed that Maurizio Sarri is interested in a deal to bring the AZ Alkmaar winger to the Stadio Olimpico in the January transfer window.

Previous reports had claimed that Celtic are also interested in a move for the 24-year-old, but it is believed that the Bhoys were hoping to land the Iceland international on a free transfer upon the expiry of his current contract at the end of the season, rather than paying the €5m (£4.2m) that AZ are reported to be demanding in order to part with the forward next month.

Bye-bye Johnston

While it now looks as if Celtic will face strong competition in the race for Gudmundsson, it would nevertheless seem advisable for Ange Postecoglou to do all he can to seal a deal for the versatile winger in January, as the 24-year-old would very much appear to be an upgrade on a number of the Hoops’ current options out wide.

Indeed, over his 17 Eredivisie appearances so far this season, the £3.6m-rated man has scored four goals, registered one assist and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.1 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £3.5k-per-week ace average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.90, ranking him as AZ’s ninth-best performer in the top flight of Dutch football.

For comparison, across Mikey Johnston’s 11 Premiership outings in the current campaign, the £900k-rated winger has scored no goals, provided no assists and missed one big chance for his team, with these returns seeing the 22-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 6.85.

As such, it is clear to see that Gudmundsson would be an upgrade on the player who Frank McAvennie dubbed a “part-timer” at Parkhead earlier this season. We believe that Postecoglou should do everything he can to beat Lazio to the signing of the 24-year-old AZ winger next month, while subsequently waving goodbye to Johnstone.

In other news: Celtic dealt yet another injury setback which will have fans fuming with Ange

Everton have already been linked with signing a number of players in the January transfer window, and Rafael Benitez will be hoping to add quality to his struggling side over the next few weeks, with another name being put into the conversation to join the squad at Goodison Park in 2022.

What’s the word?

Fabrizio Romano took to his Twitter replies to make the bold claim that the club are interested in signing Phillipe Coutinho during the transfer window.

Replying to a tweet, the transfer insider confirmed that the Toffees are in among many other clubs considering a move for the Barcelona player, claiming: “Everton are among clubs considering Coutinho. Not the only one. I think he plans to stay in Europe as priority. We’ll see.”

The £16.2m-rated star has been a hot topic of transfer speculation, as he has failed to make an impact at Camp Nou since joining the La Liga giants in 2018, scoring just two goals so far this season, which is a far cry from the expectations when the club signed him for £142m. However, he did show glimpses of talent at Bayern Munich, where he played his part in winning the Champions League on loan in 2019/20.

Despite the rumours of interest from Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle and Tottenham, it has since been reported by Mundo Deportivo that the 29-year-old could go back to Brazil amid interest from both Atlético Mineiro and Palmeiras, which the reports suggest could benefit Coutinho’s chances of getting into the national squad for the World Cup at the end of 2022.

Would it be the right move for Everton?

There is no doubt that Coutinho has talent, with Brazil team-mate Roberto Firmino gushing: “You simply can’t say that he’s not a magician. He has magical powers. He produces plays that don’t exist, that you couldn’t make up.”

However, Everton have a habit of overspending in the wrong places, and the fans will be fuming if the transfer budget is blown on a player like Coutinho, instead of investing in a number of younger prospects who can elevate the team for the future, with Demarai Gray a perfect example of the type of signings the Merseyside club need to be making.

One Everton fan took to Twitter to react to the potential signing of Coutinho, venting: “Moshiri actually cannot help himself. It’s an insane addiction he has to overpriced washed players than are nothing more than short-term solutions that don’t help us in the long run.”

Gray was signed for £1.7m in the summer and has since become Everton’s joint-top scorer this season, making an impact far beyond his market value when he joined the Blues. That has set the bar for the kind of signings Benitez needs to be making, instead of buying a player coming to the end of his peak with wage demands of £383k-p/w, a sum could easily spread across multiple other signings.

Were they to splurge on Coutinho rather than investing a similar amount across several new signings, Everton fans would surely be raging at the club, much like the example above.

In other news: This transfer target could solve one big issue for Benitez

Now that the 2022 January transfer window has opened, this will spark a flurry of potential transfer deals across a range of clubs as they aim to strengthen their squads.

At Aston Villa, it has previously been reported that manager Steven Gerrard will be given the backing from the owners to make whatever changes to the club that he thinks will benefit them in terms of bringing new players in.

With this in mind, it could prove to be a very busy month for the Midlands club, on and off the pitch.

After making just nine Premier League appearances for Villa since joining on loan from Manchester United back in August, and with just eight minutes of league action since Gerrard’s took over from Dean Smith as Villa’s manager in November, it seems as though Axel Tuanzebe could be on his way out of the club.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently shared a post on his official Twitter account claiming that a deal has been worked out between United and Napoli that will see Tuanzebe spend the rest of the season on loan with the Italian club.

Taking this into account, it could be worth Villa bringing a new defender in to take Tuanzebe’s place in the squad so they aren’t depleted in that area.

Having been linked with a transfer move for Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez in recent weeks, this update about Tuanzebe could now pave the way for Villa and Gerrard to finally secure a deal for the defender, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £85k-per-week according to Salary Sport, and bring him to Villa Park.

With a total of 82 appearances in the Premier League, Gomez would certainly bring a decent amount of experience with him to Villa as well as an elite winning mentality having won the Premier League and Champions League during his time at Anfield.

Labelled as a “sensational” player in the past by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Gomez has found regular game time in the Premier League hard to come by this season with just three fairly short substitute appearances under his belt so far, which could result in a move to Villa being quite tempting for him if he’d get regular playing time under Gerrard’s guidance.

Moving forward, if Tuanzebe is set to leave Villa in the coming days, the club should be turning their attention to securing a deal for Gomez as soon as they can so the team doesn’t suffer should any of their other defenders end up with injuries or a positive virus test.

In other news: Forget Trezeguet: NSWE dropped AVFC transfer clanger with “horrible” £5.4m-rated dud – opinion

Since Wolves were promoted to the Premier League from the Championship at the end of the 2017/18 season, Fosun have not been shy when it comes to spending money on signing new players to improve and strengthen the squad at Molineux.

One player that Wolves signed for a fairly low fee in recent years that has gone on to become an important figure for the Old Gold is midfield maestro Joao Moutinho, who made the move to Molineux from French club AS Monaco back in the 2018 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £5m.

Since then, the 35-year-old has gone on to make a total of 160 appearances for the Old Gold across all competitions, scoring four goals and providing 22 assists along the way.

With his current deal at Molineux set to expire in the summer, it could be worth Wolves eyeing up potential long-term replacements for the veteran midfielder if he ends up leaving the club when his contract runs out.

Taking this into account, one midfielder that Wolves have been linked with previously that could be a suitable long-term successor for Moutinho is Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek.

Since joining the Red Devils back in the 2020 summer transfer window from Ajax for a fee of £35m, the 24-year-old midfielder has only made 50 appearances for the Manchester club across all competitions but has started just 19 of them.

With his lack of game time in mind, it could be tempting for the Dutchman, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £100k-per-week according to Salary Sport, to move to another club in the Premier League such as Wolves who have aspirations of playing in Europe but can offer him regular minutes, which shouldn’t be too hard if Moutinho departs and leaves a gap in the middle of the park.

Having racked up 68 goals and 57 assists in 304 club appearances across senior and youth levels, Van de Beek certainly has it within him to replicate the same sort of attacking and creative talents that Moutinho has delivered during his time at Wolves.

With Van de Beek, who has been described as a “clean” player in the past by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, managing to rack up one key pass per game in the Champions League last term, this isn’t too far away from the 1.2 key passes per game that Moutinho has managed to make this season in the Premier League, showing the creative similarities between the pair.

With the summer transfer window in mind, if Moutinho does end up saying goodbye to Molineux, Wolves should definitely consider signing Van de Beek as his long-term replacement if his playing time at Old Trafford doesn’t improve by then.

In other news: Deal agreed: Fabrizio Romano drops big Wolves transfer update, Lage surely buzzing – opinion