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Inter Milan are reportedly keen on signing Benjamin Mendy from Manchester City this summer, which could be the ideal opportunity for Pep Guardiola to axe the Frenchman from his squad at the Etihad.

According to Italian news outlet Corriere Dello Sport (as cited by Manchester Evening News), Inter are keen on adding the French international to their squad this summer, despite the injury problems he has endured during his time in the Premier League.

City paid £52m to sign the left-back from AS Monaco in 2017 but after a bright start he picked up his first of a number of long-term injury problems, as he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.

Whilst he has impressed at times when fit, he has managed just 73 appearances for the first team in his four seasons as the club, in which he has contributed two goals and 12 assists.

Last season saw him manage just 13 appearances in the Premier League, as he fell behind Oleksandr Zinchenko and Joao Cancelo in the pecking order in Guardiola’s side, so if City do receive a suitable bid from Inter for Mendy’s services, they should definitely accept it.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-manchester-city-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Manchester City transfer rumours and news!”]

Considering the defender reportedly earns £90k per week at the Etihad, City owner Sheikh Mansour would also surely be delighted if Mendy were to leave, as he can’t be too happy shelling out that sort of wage for a player who has, unfortunately, spent much of his City career on the sidelines either due to injury or due to Guardiola trusting other options.

Although Guardiola has praised Mendy’s “extraordinary” quality in the past, and he seems as if he is a great player for the dressing room, City are unlikely to be handed a better opportunity to sell a player with his horrible injury record, so they should definitely try and secure his exit this summer.

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Inter are fresh off the back of their own title win and will be playing Champions League football next season as a result, so it seems unlikely that Mendy would turn a move to the San Siro down this summer, so Guardiola should aim to axe him from his squad for good.

And, in other news… Man City dealt decisive transfer blow with “phenomenal” 29-goal ace

Rangers currently sit top of the Premiership table and the Ibrox giants are enjoying a fantastic season so far.

The Gers have progressed through to the knockout stages of the Europa League, where they will face Borussia Dortmund, and are four points clear of their nearest challengers in the Scottish top flight.

They have been able to maintain their hunger for success after winning the title last term and that could be partly down to new arrivals freshening up the squad.

Revelation

Ross Wilson brought Fashion Sakala to Glasgow on a free transfer in the summer and he has been a revelation so far this term, proving that it was a masterclass from the Gers’ recruitment team to bring him in.

The 24-year-old had a slow start in front of goal with just one in his first seven matches in the Premiership, but he has been showing positive signs throughout the campaign and has now found his eye for goal. He is currently on five goals and one assist in six starts, having scored four times in his last five matches in the league.

Former Gers boss Steven Gerrard previously lauded the attacker and explained why he is great to work with, saying: “He’s an incredible human being. The way he has come into the club, his smile and demeanour, his attitude and energy, has lifted the whole place. The signs are he is really starting to find his feet here at Rangers. He is a really exciting one for everyone to watch moving forward.

“There will be plenty of opportunities for Fashion, not just in Europe but domestically as well. We are really starting to see his strengths, his consistency from a training point of view.”

This shows that Sakala’s goalscoring record is not his only positive attribute, with Gerrard’s comments suggesting that the Zambian has had an impact on his teammates with his exceptional attitude off the pitch.

Former defender Alan Hutton, added further praise: “He’s like a firework, isn’t he? You just light him and watch him go.

“He’s one of those players who plays at 100mph, he takes players on, he’s aggressive, he can get shots off.”

Irrespective of his goals, he has also been turning in fine displays for the Gers in the Premiership. He has averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.13, completing 1.3 dribbles and 1.3 key passes per game. This means that he has dribbled past an opposition player 16 times and created 16 chances, showing that he has more to his game than just finishing.

Therefore, the £8.3k-per-week earner has been a dream this season and is quickly establishing himself as an important player for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side. Hopefully he will be able to maintain his impressive levels of form and continue to catch the eye with his performances for the rest of the campaign.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst could solve big Rangers issue at Ibrox by unleashing “clinical” 21-goal teenager…

Wolves are back in action this evening with a Premier League clash against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.

The Old Gold’s previous outing saw them secure a 2-1 victory over their Midlands rivals Aston Villa at Molineux thanks to an early strike from Jonny Otto and an own goal from Ashley Young.

On the chalkboard

One player that didn’t start against the Villans that should make a return to the starting XI on this occasion is Pedro Neto.

Since making his long-awaited recovery from injury back in February, the £39k-per-week winger has only started one league game for the Old Gold.

Unfortunately, that game saw Bruno Lage’s side fall to a 2-0 defeat at home against Crystal Palace.

Despite failing to score a goal or provide an assist since he’s returned to action, giving him the chance to start against the Toon could be a great opportunity for him to secure his first goal or assist for the season.

With Eddie Howe’s side conceding a total of 54 times in 30 league games this campaign, they could be susceptible to attacking pressure from the Old Gold, especially from a player such as Neto, who “plays as if the ball is attached to his boots with string,” according to journalist John Percy.

Labelled as a “superstar” by Jamie Carragher and a “wonderful talent” by Nathan Judah, the Portuguese international has scored ten goals and provided an equal number of assists in 85 appearances for the Midlands club since his arrival in 2019, showing how capable he can be in front of goal.

Francisco Trincao only managed to have one shot on target against Villa and complete 14 accurate passes in 74 minutes before making way for Neto which should make it a fairly straightforward decision for Lage as to who could make way for the 22-year-old to come back into the team.

Moving forward, if the former Lazio ace does get another chance to show what he can offer the team tonight and is able to find the back of the net, this could set him up for a very productive run of attacking form until the end of the season.

This would then surely be the difference in seeing Wolves secure European football for next season or not.

In other news: Lage handed huge boost as early NUFC team news emerges, it’s great news for Wolves

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left blasting the display of Kemar Roofe in their 2-2 draw at home to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership.

An Alfredo Morelos goal and a late James Tavernier penalty were enough to give the Light Blues a point in the end after being 2-0 down through goals from Christian Ramirez and Scott Brown.

A striker by trade, Roofe was asked to play a wide role by Steven Gerrard at Ibrox, but was largely a ghost throughout, recording a mere 20 touches of the ball in total, fewer than goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin (SofaScore).

The Jamaica international also lost out on two of his duels and failed to record a single shot on target, as he was hauled off in the 77th minute for Fashion Sakala (SofaScore).

Rangers fans on Roofe display

These Teddy Bears supporters blasted his performance on Twitter, with a couple of Gers even going as far as to claim that he was ‘anonymous’:

“Play Patterson further forward. Roofe was terrible tonight – very poor. Hagi needs to play centrally for me.”

Credit: @L41RD_

“I actually forgot Roofe was playing”

Credit: @JJ271099319

“Roofe was so bad tonight and Wright should be in the starting 11”

Credit: @bIadeefan69

“Roofe has been anonymous”

Credit: @__Scobra__

“Aribo, Hagi, Roofe, Kamara all anonymous”

Credit: @Aaron_mone

“What does Roofe do?”

Credit: @knocks_john

In other news, find out whose display against Aberdeen was also slammed here!

West Ham United currently have the second-oldest squad in the Premier League with an average age of 28.9 according to Transfermarkt.

Two of the oldest outfield players in David Moyes’ squad are centre-backs Angelo Ogbonna (33) and Craig Dawson (31).

In terms of what sort of transfer business the east London club could be involved in during the upcoming summer transfer window, it seems as though the Hammers could be set to wave goodbye to one of their defensive players, but not one of their more senior ones.

According to a recent transfer report from L’Equipe, the recent Europa League meeting between West Ham and Olympique Lyon gave the two sides the chance to discuss a potential summer deal for Issa Diop that would see the defender swap east London for France.

Since joining the Hammers back in the 2018 summer transfer window for a then club-record fee of £22m from Toulouse, the centre-back has made 121 appearances across all competitions.

In those appearances, the Frenchman has managed to chip in with eight goals and three assists.

Despite being one of West Ham’s youngest players, it would be a good idea for the club to cash in on him this summer if they can.

Having started just 10 Premier League games in this campaign, the 25-year-old has found himself down in the pecking order behind Dawson and Kurt Zouma who have both played more often than Diop.

Also, when he has been able to get on the pitch, the defender has failed to show Moyes that he has what it takes to potentially become a first-choice centre-back.

With an underwhelming overall performance rating of 6.46/10 from WhoScored, Diop is currently listed as the third-lowest rated Hammers player to start more than one league game.

To highlight his lack of effectiveness at the back for his team, the Frenchman has only won three of the nine tackles he’s attempted and gotten dribbled past on eight different occasions.

Even though he was previously described as being a “monster” by Jose Mourinho in terms of winning his duels against Paul Pogba back in 2018, Diop has been anything but that this season, losing 20 of the 39 aerial duels he’s been involved in.

Taking all of this into account, this summer would be the ideal time for Moyes to finally axe Diop from the club and get his hefty £61k-per-week wages off their books.

In other news: “Gives West Ham the edge…”: Insider drops huge transfer claim, Moyes will be buzzing

Aston Villa are eyeing a move for Stoke City star Harry Souttar in the January transfer window, and Alan Hutton has given his seal of approval behind a move.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that Dean Smith’s side have got their eye on a new year swoop for the centre-back, and former Villa man Hutton has insisted Souttar would be a great signing for them.

He said: “I think when you look at the boys who are there, they’re all good in the air. I’ve worked with them, I know they can be physical but they like playing with the ball at their feet as well.

“I think it’s very good to have those different styles of footballers within your armoury. It gives you the option if you want. If somebody’s injured, you want to play four at the back, three at the back or something may happen, you’ve got room to manoeuvre. I think that was Dean Smith’s plan moving forward. The starting XI was very good but they needed to bolster the squad.

“I think that’s the situation that they’re in at the moment. He obviously ticks all the boxes. He’s very physical, he’s there to win the ball and it’s good to have someone like that in your backline.”

Shades of Tyrone Mings

Once described as a “Rolls-Royce” by Stoke stalwart Ryan Shawcross, the defender has been compared to a number of different big-name players, including the likes of Harry Maguire and Virgil van Dijk.

His manager at Stoke, Michael O’Neill, is clearly a big fan of the kind of modern, ball-playing centre-back that Souttar is, saying: “He’s a player blessed with great natural attributes. Obviously his height but also he’s got good game intelligence and he’s a great user of the ball as well. That’s something which I think will set him apart from the other defenders in this league.”

And, when you compare his physical attributes (he’s an inch taller than Mings at a towering 6 foot 6), as well as his key defensive stats to the Villa man, they favour well.

As per Whoscored, he averages a whopping six times the amount of tackles per game as Mings, while he also boasts more interceptions per match in the Championship too. Not only that, but Souttar also makes close to eighty passes per game on average for Stoke (29 more than Mings), and at a far better accuracy too.

The Stoke beast could bring some added physicality to Villa’s back-line and give Smith some extra depth in that centre-back role. His height, reading of the game and ability to play out from the back has got real shades of Mings.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has confirmed an Aston Villa “blow”…

Joe Wainman has dropped an exciting Leeds United transfer claim about their chase for Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks had suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side have had preliminary discussions with the Terries over signing him, and now, Wainman has revealed a major development.

Speaking on the latest edition of The Daily Leeds show, he said: “I have it on good authority, a little bit of ITK for you, that Leeds United have agreed a fee with Huddersfield Town.

“I believe it was done yesterday, I can’t be privy to how much, if it does include a player – but I think by the sounds of it, it looks like it is just going to be cash and whether it will be close to £10m, I’m not sure.

“It seems hefty, but Leeds have that money, we need a midfielder, Lewis O’Brien’s liked by Bielsa. He wants him in the door, he’s seen him numerous times and it looks like that one’s going to be done.”

Fans will be excited

Having missed out on the signing of Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher – the England youth international instead made the loan switch to fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace – Marcelo Bielsa is no doubt desperate to strengthen his options in the middle of the park.

And in O’Brien, the club would be getting someone who has the kind of energy and dynamism that can match the high-pressing philosophy Bielsa has employed at Elland Road.

Former Huddersfield goalkeeper, Matt Glennon, said: “Lewis O’Brien wants to put the hard yards in and wants to be at the very top of where he can get to.

“He’s one of those lads who works ridiculously hard which, for me, is your minimum in any league, but he’s got that quality, the drop of a shoulder, that strength to keep people off him, a low centre of gravity to glide past people, arm aloft when they try to knock him off the ball.”

At just 22, and with bundles of Championship experience to his name (he’s played 80 times in the competition), O’Brien could come into Elland Road to provide the likes of Kalvin Phillips with some genuine competition, and keep everyone on their toes.

While high-profile international signings like Rodrigo and Raphinha may be the ones fans typically get excited about, O’Brien’s tenacity, and value for money if Wainman is correct, se

Given Phil Hay’s update that a new central midfielder has been the priority for Leeds since the signing of Junior Firpo from Barcelona, Wainman’s latest claim that the club have agreed a fee for O’Brien is sure to excite Bielsa and the club’s fans.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped a new Leeds United transfer update…

Some Southampton fans have been left blasting the performance of Oriol Romeu in their 4-0 loss at Liverpool on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men got a real battering at Anfield, with two goals from Diogo Jota and one each from Thiago and Virgil van Dijk more than enough to give the home side all three points.

Romeu was simply run ragged in the centre of midfield at times, as he lost out on four of his duels, while he also failed to block any shots on his goal and made no key passes, losing possession of the ball 12 times, the seventh-most out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, he will now be hoping to make amends when his team host Leicester City in midweek.

Southampton fans on Romeu performance

These members of the St. Mary’s faithful blasted his display on Twitter, with one Saints supporter even going as far as to claim that he was a ‘disgrace’:

“Romeu and JWP are too slow to play PL football together in a two”

Credit: @DanJean09

“Bednarek, Livramento and Romeu have been awful. Should be subbed at half time and dropped until they earn there place back”

Credit: @willdebruin27

“Romeu laughing and smiling with Thiago at the end of that shocking half. Absolute disgrace, how can you be doing that after being hammered for 45 minutes and not having a care in the world?”

Credit: @ralphexpress

“Romeu leave out of respect thanks”

Credit: @Im_Jammyyyy

“Romeu has been way off it today, don’t know what’s wrong with him today, but he could have done a lot better on 3 of the goals”

Credit: @EddySFC

“Jesus, Romeu is having an absolute shocker today”

Credit: @babarussi

In other news, find out whose performance against Liverpool was also slammed here!

Steven Gerrard is dreaming of bringing Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres to Aston Villa, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes. 

The lowdown

The 24-year-old is enjoying a first taste of Champions League football with Villarreal this season, having helped them defeat Manchester United to win the 2020/21 Europa League. He featured in the tournament’s Squad of the Season in recognition of his performances on the road to triumph in Gdansk.

Torres also earned a call-up to the Spain squad for last summer’s European Championship, featuring in all six of their matches as they reached the semi-final, where they lost on penalties to eventual champions Italy.

Javi Calleja, one of his former coaches, has marvelled at his ‘extraordinary talent to construct the play’, which saw him occasionally used as a midfielder. Another mentor, Miguel Alvarez of Villarreal B, has spoken of his ‘barbarous natural talent’ (via The Athletic).

For an idea of his playing style, he boasts a similar profile to Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte, former Arsenal defender David Luiz and Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger (via FBRef).

The latest

The report from Fichajes stated that Torres is a player with whom Gerrard ‘completely falls in love’.

The Villa manager apparently intent on upgrading at centre-half, with captain Tyrone Mings and Axel Tuanzebe adjudged to be in a ‘significant slump’ of form, and Gerrard knows he has ‘a lot of money’ at his disposal in his new position to strengthen the squad.

However, Villa will apparently need to shell out €50m, which equates to around £42m, to persuade Villarreal to part with Torres. His name has been mentioned in connection with Real Madrid and Manchester United, but there is a feeling that he’s not quite reached the elite level just yet.

The verdict

Signing Torres would be quite some coup for Villa. He has not only held his own against United but also, Calleja says, against the likes of Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

He’d be a real asset to Gerrard when it came to building attacks from deep – his passing success rate of 89.1% is better than anyone who has started a Premier League match for Villa this term.

Is it a realistic signing? If the top clubs haven’t seen enough yet to take the plunge on him, and the Midlanders have the money, then it’s just a matter of persuading Torres to swap Villarreal for Villa.

Given that Villarreal are currently 12th in La Liga, they might not have the advantage of European football next season, which could be another factor in Villa’s hopes of luring him to England.

In other news, this is who Gerrard wants at left-back for Villa

Following Toby Alderweireld’s exit from Tottenham Hotspur, Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has made an exciting prediction which will undoubtedly delight Spurs fans.

What’s the word?

After it was confirmed that Alderweireld had left Spurs to sign for Al-Duhail SC, Romano wrote on Twitter: “Official. Tottenham have reached an agreement with Al-Duhail SC in Qatar for the transfer of Toby Alderweireld. New centre back coming soon for Spurs…”

Spurs have already completed the signings of Pierluigi Gollini and Bryan Gil so far this transfer window, and it seems as if a third incoming is not too far away for the north London club judging by Romano’s tweet.

Although Alderweireld was past his peak and was struggling to replicate the performances he consistently produced under Mauricio Pochettino, he still made 25 appearances (all of them starts) in the Premier League last season, which emphasises that he needs to be replaced.

Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier will likely be given opportunities to impress under the new manager but both have proven themselves to be far too unreliable in recent seasons, whilst Joe Rodon has very little Premier League experience, so it was perhaps always likely that a new top-quality centre-back was going to be brought in.

As it stands, it seems as if that man will be Atalanta’s Cristian Romero, who has been heavily linked with a move to Spurs in recent weeks.

The latest report suggests that Spurs are in talks with the Serie A club over his potential transfer, although they remain quite far apart in terms of his valuation at the moment, with Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kurt Zouma and Nikola Milenkovic other potential options at the back should they fail to agree to a deal for Romero.

Regardless of who they sign, Spurs fans must surely be delighted that Paratici is working quickly to bring in new signings, as a rebuild has been needed for some time given the club’s declining fortunes over the last couple of years. Swapping Alderweireld for a promising young centre-back such as Romero would appear to be a great step towards a better future at the north London club.

In other news… Nuno can save Levy millions with Spurs academy startlet