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Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has revealed that the club are hoping to complete a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Marc Roca by the end of the week.

The Lowdown: Rumours in Europe

Hay was the first journalist to break the rumours regarding a move for Roca last week. Since then, a number of European reporters have shared what they know about a potential transfer, with Fabrizio Romano and Florian Plettenberg believing that a move is all but sealed.

Hay has kept fairly quiet on Roca over the last seven days, but he’s now dropped a significant update following deals for Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen.

The Latest: ‘Very close’

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Hay shared a link to a story regarding Manchester City’s interest in Kalvin Phillips.

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He then added this post, as can be seen below, where he stated that Leeds are hoping to complete a move by the end of the week and that, should Phillips depart Elland Road, another midfielder would be brought in.

The Verdict: Positive

Roca will initially arrive to provide competition to Phillips, but it looks as if City aren’t going away when it comes to the 26-year-old, so it could be a case of one in and one out over the coming weeks. However, it is positive to know that the Whites will pursue another holding midfielder, should Phillips leave.

A left-footed holding or box-to-box midfielder, the Spaniard will become Jesse Marsch’s fifth option in the middle alongside Phillips, Adam Forshaw, Jamie Shackleton and Mateusz Klich, and will bring experience of playing in La Liga, the Bundesliga and European competitions to Elland Road.

From what we know about him, a transfer could prove to be a smart one; but with Roca making just 15 league appearances across the last two seasons, he may need some time to get up to speed in Yorkshire.

In other news: ‘Big…’ – The Athletic drop significant update on Raphinha potentially leaving Leeds

Leeds United are chasing another young talent as well as George Hall and Sonny Perkins, The Athletic’s Phil Hay reports. 

The lowdown

Reports revealed last week that Leeds are looking to tie up deals for young duo Hall and Perkins, who are currently on the books of Birmingham City and West Ham United respectively.

They’ve always made sure to allocate funds to strengthening their academy teams, and even after Jesse Marsch replaced Marcelo Bielsa as manager, this year is no different.

Leeds were relegated from the Under-23 Premier League last season after finishing in 13th place, while they wound up ninth in the northern division of the U18 PL.

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The latest

In a mailbag piece for The Athletic, Hay told Leeds supporters that they ‘can expect to see more additions to the academy ranks’.

On top of Hall and Perkins, ‘they are also on the trail of at least one other young prospect’ based in England.

Their policy of recruiting at youth-level seems to be ‘intensifying’, Hay notes.

The verdict

Leeds snapped up a number of prospects last summer.

Among the new arrivals were Lewis Bate, who joined from Chelsea in a £1.6million deal, and Leo Hjelde, signed from Celtic.

Bate and Hjelde would make seven first-team appearances combined in their first season at the club, including five in the Premier League.

In total, Leeds handed 1,073 minutes of top-flight playing time to teenagers, the fourth-highest figure in the Premier League.

While that may partly have been result of the team’s injury woes, you could also argue that it shows that the system is working, with academy talents ready to step up if required.

In other news, Jermaine Beckford reveals conversations with Leeds players about Phillips’ future.

West Ham United could pounce on Bologna defender Arthur Theate, according to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness). 

The lowdown

Bologna brought in Theate from homeland club KV Oostende last summer on an initial loan with an obligation to buy.

The 22-year-old Belgian, who’s been capped twice by his country, played 31 Serie A matches in his first season at the club.

A report from The Evening Standard has already revealed that David Moyes wants to buy ‘at least one’ new centre-back during the summer transfer window.

The latest

The report states that Theate ‘could be sacrificed’ if manager Sinisa Mihajlovic opts to play with four at the back next season.

He would be made available for a fee of around €10million, the equivalent of £8.5million.

David Moyes and West Ham ‘like’ the Belgian and they could be in position to take advantage.

The verdict

What attributes does Theate offer as a centre-back?

Well, he makes a high number of progressive passes, ranking in the 74th percentile in Europe, and his 2.64 interceptions per 90 minutes (85th percentile) suggest he reads the game well too.

But perhaps his standout asset is his ball carrying, with Theate in the 85th percentile for progressive carries and as high as the 94th for dribbles completed.

In terms of a stylistic profile, he’s a close match for Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig has hailed him as ‘one of Serie A’s biggest revelations’ and suggested in December that he could be worth up to €18million (£15.3million). West Ham could end up signing him for nearly half what some would consider his true worth.

Theate, then, looks like a potential bargain that would help to address one of Moyes’ transfer priorities.

In other news, David Moyes has stepped up this transfer pursuit.

Steve Cooper has had an outstanding season with Nottingham Forest and could be set to take the club back to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, but he could be set for his first disaster if he can’t secure promotion at Wembley this weekend.

What’s the latest?

According to The Evening Standard, West Ham United are plotting a move for Joe Worrall should Nottingham Forest fail to secure promotion to the top-flight on Sunday afternoon in the Championship play-off final against Huddersfield Town.

As per the report, David Moyes is desperate to bolster his defence this summer following a disastrous injury crisis in his back-line this season and wants to avoid the same occurrence in the next campaign.

Fulham and Leicester City are also named as two Premier League clubs that would be interested in signing the Forest star this summer, with West Ham reportedly believed to be able to offer him a better option with European football secured.

Cooper set for disaster

The prospect of losing out on Premier League football at the final hurdle will already be daunting enough for Nottingham Forest but to also lose a key player following the disappointing outcome would set Cooper up for disaster ahead of next season.

Worrall has been drawing positive attention to himself this season, with the defence being one of the highly praised areas of the Forest squad, conceding just 22 goals in total and more impressively only five goals in total in 2022.

Over 39 appearances in the Championship, the 25-year-old has won the majority of both his aerial and ground duels (63%), successful in the vast majority of his dribbles (79%), making 1.8 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 3.1 clearances this season, proving that he has been a solid and consistent performer for the side.

The 6 foot 3 defender has been with the club for most of his career making 182 appearances over the last seven years after starting out in the U18s and breaking through to the senior team.

With that being said, it would be a huge blow for Forest to lose such an influential player especially if they are not able to complete their goal on getting promoted to the Premier League ahead of next season, and Cooper must carry out as much damage control as he can to keep the player no matter the outcome.

AND in other news: NFFC given green light to sign “outstanding” 29y/o livewire, he could replace Spence

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has now given the ‘go-ahead’ for a potential summer signing with pre-summer talks even held, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye summer overhaul…

As per reliable reports from The Times and The Telegraph recently, there may well be a summer of real change on the horizon at Hotspur Way.

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Conte is apparently eyeing a plethora of major incomings with just as many Spurs players looking likely to make way, coming as the Italian and chairman Daniel Levy met for dinner three weeks ago to discuss strategy.

The Lilywhites head coach is apparently set for another summit with Levy and sporting director Fabio Paratici at the end of the 2021/2022 Premier League season with the top-four chasers now on the brink of Champions League qualification.

A point against Norwich City tomorrow will gift the north-Londoners a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition and a potentially crucial financial windfall ahead of the transfer window.

The Latest: Lenglet talks held…

According to Sport, sharing news on Tottenham’s possible summer activity, Paratici and co have held talks over signing Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet – making contact to find out the conditions of a transfer.

Conte’s side want the France international on a season-long loan with a possible option to sign him permanently, a deal which doesn’t really appeal to the Catalans who are now sounding out other options.

However, this isn’t going well, as La Liga clubs taking Lenglet is seen as ‘unfeasible’ and Chelsea haven’t taken their interest beyond that – making Spurs favourites to sign the centre-back as they’re now seen as the ‘most viable option’.

There is also a green light from Conte as he ‘would give the go-ahead’ to sign Barca’s man.

The Verdict: Make the move?

Barca’s options to offload Lenglet appear to be waning, potentially handing Spurs a strong hand in convincing them to agree to their loan plus option-to-buy deal.

However, despite being lauded as a ‘top professional’ by former Camp Nou boss Ronald Koeman, we believe there could be better options for Conte to strengthen his side.

The likes of Joško Gvardiol and Alessandro Bastoni, both of whom linked with a move, arguably stand out as more exciting targets over Lenglet who’s started just six league matches this season.

Indeed, before pursuing a move further, it may be best for Tottenham to weigh other more durable options.

In other news: Journalist: Paratici now eyeing ‘world class’ player move tipped to ‘excite’ Spurs supporters…find out more here.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou oversaw a substantial overhaul at Parkhead during last summer’s transfer window.

While several players ended up waving goodbye to Glasgow, many others came to the club to accompany Postecoglou throughout his first season in charge.

One player who was signed during this period was Josip Juranovic, who joined from Polish club Legia Warsaw on a five-year deal worth a reported £2.5m.

With 35 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions, the £16k-per-week full-back found the net five times and provided two assists along the way.

From a defensive point of view, the Croatian ended his debut Premiership season with the fifth-highest number of interceptions (22) and third-highest number of tackles (28) to his name in Celtic’s squad.

This shows that he certainly played his part in terms of seeing the Hoops end the campaign with the best defensive record in the league with just 22 goals conceded in 38 games.

Conversely, he has shown that he can be a useful attacking threat as well. In addition to the one goal and three assists that he provided in the league, the 26-year-old delivered 98 crosses in total, the fifth-highest in Postecoglou’s squad.

His versatility also came in handy, being able to play in both full-back positions when needed for the Bhoys.

Praised by Ally McCoist for his “outstanding” performance against Rangers in February, Juranovic has certainly proven his worth to the Parkhead club and shown why they were right to sign him in the first place.

In July 2020, Transfermarkt had the defender’s market value listed at £1.35m. It now stands at £3.6m, highlighting a significant increase of 135%, which also shows what a splendid piece of business it was from the Hoops to add him to their squad.

It also highlights the sort of trajectory he has been on over the past couple of years, and based on what he’s done for his new club since his arrival, there’s no reason why that progress can’t continue for the foreseeable future.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Juranovic has been a brilliant signing, not only for Celtic but for Postecoglou as well.

In other news – “I’m sure”: Big Lennoxtown claim emerges, it’s “really exciting” for Celtic supporters

Nottingham Forest are one victory away from a first Premier League season since 1999 having reached the Championship play-off final where they will meet Huddersfield Town for a place in the top-flight.

The Reds were stunned on Tuesday evening as Sheffield United came from 3-1 down on aggregate to level the tie at 3-3 before Steve Cooper’s side were victorious on penalties.

It’s been a magnificent campaign for Forest with the Welshman masterminding an incredible turnaround after a poor start to the season under Chris Hughton with defender Joe Worrall at the heart of their success.

The 25-year-old was incredibly close to a Premier League transfer last summer with a potential £15m move to Brentford reported by the Mirror.

However, Forest have reaped the rewards of having the boyhood fan and academy product stay at the City Ground this term.

Labelled as “outstanding” as well as being a “leader” by former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, this term has undoubtedly been the Englishman’s best having made 41 appearances in the Championship and play-offs this term, keeping 16 clean sheets whilst averaging a 7.07/10 match rating, the fifth-highest tally for an outfield Forest player.

Moreover, Worrall has averaged 1.8 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 3.1 clearances a match.

Despite the £15m price tag reported last summer, the £10k-per-week defender’s market value during his career has certainly moved around frequently.

When the 25-year-old made his first-team debut in the 2016/17 season, he was valued at just £90k before that quickly rose to £900k.

However, by February 2018 Worrall was valued at £7.2m before joining Rangers on loan for the 2018/19 season.

Upon his return, the defender’s value decreased by £1.8m to £5.4m despite making 32 appearances for Gerrard’s side before rising slightly to £6.3m in February 2020.

Since then, surprisingly Worrall’s market value has further decreased, with the impact of the pandemic certainly a contributing factor, with the Englishman valued at £3.6m since October 2020.

It could be argued that, because of this, the £15m asking price last summer was seriously inflated. However, after this season’s contributions, it’s likely that if Forest aren’t promoted and the 25-year-old does push for a Premier League move, the asking price will be similar with West Ham now linked with a £15m swoop of their own.

What is for certain though is that the Nottinghamshire outfit struck gold with Worrall.

AND in other news: Forget Samba: Forest’s “unbelievable” brute who won 12 duels was Cooper’s unsung hero

Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish has paid tribute to manager Ange Postecoglou after the Hoops were crowned Scottish Premiership champions. 

The lowdown: Fulfilling a ‘dream’

Following a 1-1 draw against Dundee United at Tannadice Park, the Bhoys officially regained the Scottish top-flight title from Old Firm rivals Rangers.

After the match, Postecoglou spoke of accomplishing a ‘dream’ to be managing a ‘famous club’ to such success as Georgios Giakoumakis’ second-half header ensured the Celts couldn’t be caught at the summit.

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Joy was uncontainable at the final whistle but away from the pitch one legendary Celtic Park figure also joined the celebrations…

The latest: Dalglish joins the party

Taking to Twitter, Celtic and Liverpool icon Dalglish – a four-time title winner in Glasgow – hailed the success and indeed the job done by Postecoglou in a relatively short period of time.

The 71-year-old wrote: ”Congratulations to @CelticFC !! Not bad for your first season Ange. Sure it was a Grand Old Team to play for….!”

The verdict: More to come…

High praise indeed from Dalglish, who also returned to Celtic Park as manager and Director of Football following a glittering playing career.

Whilst the moment is certainly one to treasure, Postecoglou, called ‘terrific’ by Livi boss David Martindale, will no doubt already be planning for the future in the expectation of a renewed challenge from Rangers next season.

Having overturned a 25 point deficit from 2020/21, the 56-year-old will undoubtedly be relishing the opportunity of taking Celtic even further following another transfer window to improve the Lennoxtown ranks.

Furthermore, with the security of UEFA Champions League group stage football already in the bank, the Parkhead hierarchy will be inclined to bolster the budget available to the Greek-Australian on the back of what has already been a miraculous transformation in fortunes.

In other news, one Celtic player has been backed to leave the club. Find out who it is here.

Liam Kennedy has been left buzzing over some Newcastle United news involving both Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson.

The Lowdown: In training

Earlier this week, the St. James’ Park faithful posted pictures of Trippier and Wilson training with the rest of the squad after their respective injury setbacks.

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This came before Eddie Howe confirmed that the latter could make a return away at Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, while they will have to make a late call on Trippier.

The Latest: Kennedy buzzing

Taking to Twitter, Newcastle World journalist Kennedy gave his instant reaction to the pictures of both of them in training with the squad:

“Now this really is things you LOVE to see.”

The Verdict: Big boost

It is certainly a big boost to see both players back in training after so long out, especially now given the news that they could feature on Sunday.

They are two key players in the team, as evidenced by the fact that Trippier currently ranks as their best performer in the top flight so far this season, while Wilson remains their top scorer with six goals (WhoScored).

Having them back will only make the Magpies stronger going into the rest of the run-in, as they hope to finish the campaign off strongly before digging into the summer transfer window.

In other news, find out which former Sunderland ace NUFC are now eyeing here!

It’s never good to dwell too much on the past, but for those of an Aston Villa persuasion it may still wrangle that they almost snapped up one of Europe’s premier playmakers in Miralem Pjanic, yet twice failed to get the deal

The Bosnian midfielder had caught the attention of clubs across Europe following a fine debut campaign at senior level with Metz during the 2007/08 season, with the then-teenager netting five goals in 38 appearances for the club.

After just one season with the French side, however, he was plucked by fellow Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, albeit while revealing that he had spurned the advances of others in order to continue plying his trade in France.

Speaking at the time, the youngster revealed that Villa – then managed by Martin O’ Neill – had been one of the clubs he had opted to shun in order to make the switch: “I had requests from abroad, including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Aston Villa and Fiorentina, but I wanted to stay in France.”

Having missed out then, the Midlands outfit again turned their attentions towards the free-kick “specialist” – as he has been dubbed by Juninho Pernambucano – three years later, with Alex McLeish keen on adding the player to his ranks following the sale of Stewart Downing to Liverpool.

Again, however, those at Villa Park were to be disappointed as he instead opted to head to Italy, joining Serie A giants Roma in a deal worth just €11m (£9.2m), with McLeish and co eventually signing Charles N’Zogbia that same summer in a £9.5m deal.

Since then, the 32-year-old has gone on to feature for more of Europe’s elite clubs, eventually joining Juventus in a £25.4m deal in 2016 where he would win four successive league titles, before he was moved on to Barcelona in the summer of 2020 as part of a deal that saw Arthur Melo head in the other direction.

While it failed to work out at the Nou Camp in his debut campaign, the 103-cap international has impressed out on loan at Turkish side Besiktas this season, registering two key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game in the league, as well as 1.1 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per 90.

A midfielder of all-around quality, he has earned comparisons to Italian icon Andrea Pirlo, with the passing maestro having been one of the silkiest and most technically gifted players in his position in Europe over the last decade or so.

Having been so close to capturing that talent will no doubt be a real punch in the gut for those at Villa, with the club having had to watch on as he adorned the jerseys of some of the continent’s finest clubs.

In other news, Huge blow: Aston Villa now receive big injury setback that will leave Gerrard raging…