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A major update has emerged about Ipswich midfielder Liam Gibbs, one regarding both Norwich City and Manchester United.

What’s the talk?

According to the East Anglian Daily Times, Ipswich’s local rivals Norwich are interested in snapping up academy midfielder Liam Gibbs from the Tractor Boys. Gibbs is out of contract at the end of the month and Ipswich are now fighting to keep hold of the talented teenager.

The report claims that Premier League sides Norwich and Man United are both looking at Gibbs and monitoring his situation in case he becomes available.

If either side signs Gibbs upon the expiry of his contract, they would need to pay a compensation fee to Ipswich as he is still under-21.

Former Ipswich player and coach Kieron Dyer claimed in 2019 that Gibbs has a “massive future” and that he is an exciting player to watch. He told TWTD, as relayed by Suffolk News:

“Obviously when I was working at the club you don’t like to talk up individuals but now I’m not there I can say that you’ve got Tommy Smith coming through at left-back, I’d even go out on a limb and say he’s got a good chance of making his debut before the season finishes at some stage. I’ve never seen the guy have a bad game. I think really highly of him.

“First-year Liam Gibbs has come in, he’s a very exciting player. He’s got a massive future as well, so they’re the two players I’d say to watch out for.”

Ashton must avoid disaster

Ipswich CEO Mark Ashton must avoid a major disaster with Gibbs this summer. The EADT claim that he is highly-rated at Ipswich and this suggests that it could be a huge blow if they lose him at the end of the month. Ipswich could be about to watch a talented young player depart without receiving a transfer fee, with a compensation fee impossible to predict at this time, which would be a disaster for the club as he could be a great player for the future.

Dyer said that Gibbs has a massive future ahead of him and Ipswich will surely want that to be at Portman Road. He made his League One debut at the age of 18 last season, showing that the club has faith in him to perform at senior level despite his inexperience.

Therefore, he could play a bigger role in the first-team next season if he decides to stay with Paul Cook’s side instead of departing at the end of his deal.

The obvious reason as to why this would be a disaster for Ipswich is the interest from Norwich. If Ipswich lose one of their most talented academy products, as shown by his League One debut, to their bitter rivals Norwich, it would be very frustrating for the club’s supporters.

Ipswich fans will not want to see one of their own playing in yellow at Carrow Road and Ashton must work hard to ensure that Gibbs stays at Portman Road and does not join Norwich. He’s got a couple of weeks to convince the player that he should stay, time will tell if he’s able to do so.

AND in other news, ITFC dealt major transfer blow with “brilliant” £6.4k-p/w ace, Cook will be livid…

West Brom are set to hold talks with Chris Wilder following the news that Sam Allardyce will leave the club this summer…

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph’s John Percy, the former Sheffield United manager is high on the Baggies’ shortlist to replace the departing 66-year-old and is believed to have already been approached.

The Midlands outfit will be back in the Championship next season but do not want to splash out compensation on a manager who is already in a job as it would damage their transfer budget, meaning that former Albion player and coach Michael Appleton – currently in charge of Lincoln – is effectively ruled out.

Wilder is said to be an increasingly attractive option for The Hawthorns gig.

Dowling must strike

If sporting director Luke Dowling and the West Brom hierarchy are wanting an out-of-work coach that has vast experience in the lower leagues, then there will not be a better candidate out there than Wilder. The 53-year-old is largely responsible for the Blades’ phenomenal rise in recent years, going from League One to the Premier League, all whilst on a tight budget.

Slaven Bilic’s reign was tarnished by a lack of spending power in the transfer market, so appointing someone with past experience in improving teams with as little money as possible is a hugely attractive factor.

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You only have to listen to Martin Keown’s glowing praise to understand just how good a job Wilder did at Bramall Lane, as he told Match of the Day (via Daily Express): “[He is] Their Messiah. Their Alex Ferguson. When you think of what he’s done for that football club. He’s their leader.”

Aside from playing an intriguing tactical system, one which includes overlapping centre-backs, the former Sheffield United boss could fix a big problem in the Midlands – conceding goals.

Yes, they may have finished rock bottom this campaign, but last season, the Blades were among the most solid teams in the top-flight. They conceded only 39 goals, better than the likes of Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and Leicester City, who all finished above them in the table.

By contrast, no Premier League team has leaked more goals than West Brom this year (73), not even the rock-bottom Blades.

Wilder has drawn further acclaim from his peers over the last few years, too. Jurgen Klopp described their tactics as “special” and also lauded the 53-year-old’s “exceptional” work, via Liverpool ECHO, whilst Pep Guardiola suggested that had Wilder been in charge of a team like City, he would be challenging for the title rather than facing relegation, as per Goal.

All in all, if Dowling and co want to revive the Baggies from their woeful exploits this term, then there will not be a better candidate than Wilder out there. They need someone with experience and know-how in one of the toughest divisions in England, and the former Blades chief is surely that man.

Albion must secure him as soon as possible.

AND in other news, 0 tackles, 33% duels won: West Brom disaster badly let the Hawthorns crowd down vs West Ham…

West Ham United star Declan Rice and 2020/2021 loanee Jesse Lingard have been included in England’s 33-man provisional squad for UEFA Euro 2020 – with many Hammers fans erupting as this ‘amazing news’ was confirmed this week.

Both men were arguable standouts for West Ham over a campaign which saw them qualify for the 2021/2022 Europa League.

Indeed, David Moyes’ men smashed expectations by securing sixth spot just one season after finishing a lowly 16th in 2019/2020.

Both Rice and Lingard were crucial cogs in that achievement, with the former starting 32 top flight matches and averaging the most interceptions per 90 out of any Irons player with more than 15 appearances (WhoScored).

Meanwhile, Lingard signed on loan from parent club Manchester United in January and racked up an incredible nine goals and four assists in just 16 starts for West Ham (WhoScored).

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As a result, both men have been rewarded with a shot of making Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad for the Euros which will be announced on 1 June.

West Ham fans, flocking to this update, had their say on the ‘amazing news’ – find all of their best verdicts from a social media down below.

West Ham fans praise Rice and Lingard provisional squad inclusion

“That is amazing news! Congratulations Declan and Jesse a well deserved honour to play for your country yet again”

Credit: @ZaynafamilyMary

“No brainer”

Credit: @Richard59824563

“IRONSSSS”

Credit: @lozza3man

“Great to see Rice & Lingard in the provisional England squad”

Credit: @supersonic_mark

“Fair play to both of the boys. Fully deserved”

Credit: @MarshyBoy26

“Lingard through David Moyes showing faith in him makes the Euros, lets hope he returns the favour and shows faith in West Ham for the next chapter in his career, could be a very interesting match and maybe keep Rice on board.”

Credit: @WHUFCpubtalk

“Rice and JLingz to carry us to the final, inject it”

Credit: @T_Roberts99

“The boys”

Credit: @TomFrase10

In other news: BBC pundit thrilled by this ‘brilliant news’ for West Ham, find out more here.

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa could land a dream Gjanni Alioski successor in Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa.

What’s the story?

With reports in recent weeks suggesting that Alioski is on his way out of Elland Road once his contract expires, it’s no surprise to see the Whites eyeing a new left-back.

And, according to Sosa’s agent, Franjo Vranjkovic, the Yorkshire club have actually submitted a bid to Stuttgart to sign the Croatian in the summer transfer window.

He added: “The most important thing for him is to make a transfer to England because he has an offer from Leeds United.”

Bye-bye Alioski

With Alioski seemingly on his way out, the arrival of Sosa would be the absolute perfect situation for Bielsa, with the left-back well suited to the Leeds boss’ style of play.

Sosa does his best work going forward, being a real attacking outlet for his side, and has registered a remarkable ten assists in the Bundesliga alone – which is more than any Leeds player has managed, and five times that of Alioski (2).

His ability to deliver pin-point crosses into the box has become a real trademark of his, and it’s something that Stuttgart’s sporting director, Sven Mislintat, has raved about.

He said: “Borna’s said himself that David Beckham is his role model, and I think he has the same qualities. He puts in crosses from every angle: sometimes chipped, sometimes drilled, sometimes flat, sometimes in behind, sometimes to the front post, other times to the back post. His left foot is a real weapon.”

And it isn’t just his attacking instincts and technical ability that marks him out as perfect for Bielsa-ball, with the left-back also rugged in the challenge too.

As per Sofascore, he wins exactly 50% of his total duels (just one per cent lower than Alioski), and makes more than double the amount of interceptions and clearances per game than the current Leeds left-back.

And, at only 23, he’s got plenty of time to grow, and his manager at Stuttgart, Pellegrino Matarazzo, has declared that he’s got “huge potential”.

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He said: “Borna has blossomed. We all knew about his huge potential – now he’s delivering over 90 minutes on a consistent basis.”

If Bielsa is looking for a left-back to really nail down a place at Elland Road for the next few years at least, then the £13m-rated Sosa is the man he needs.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa is interested in this star who’s side just got relegated…

Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch had something of a shocker on Wednesday evening as Sunderland slipped up in their play-off semi-final first leg.

Having picked up four points against Lincoln City over their two meetings in the regular League One season, with a thumping 4-0 victory at the LNER Stadium back in December and a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light in March, Lee Johnson’s Sunderland side could well have gone into Wednesday’s clash against Michael Appleton’s outfit believing they held the upper hand over the Imps.

However, this was far from the case in the fixture itself, with second-half goals from Tom Hopper and Brennan Johnson securing a hugely important 2-0 win for Lincoln, and leaving the Black Cats with it all to do in the second leg of the tie if they are to have any hope of playing Championship football next season.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering the result, a number of Lee Johnson’s players did not fare particularly well in the match, although, Lynden Gooch’s performance stood out as one of the worst on the night.

Deployed in the middle of an attacking midfield three, just behind centre-forward Charlie Wyke, Gooch was extremely ineffectual for the Black Cats in an offensive capacity, managing no shots on target and completing just one of his four attempted dribbles.

The £5k-per-week midfielder failed to ever really get a foot on the ball either, with his 47 touches over the 90 minutes only being more than that of Charlie Wyke, Jordan Jones and Denver Hume of Sunderland’s starting outfielders – with the latter of this trio being withdrawn after 11 minutes due to injury.

And, on the occasions the £540k-rated man did have the ball at his feet, he was extremely reckless with it, losing possession a whopping 20 times in the match, with no other Black Cats player losing the ball more often than the USA international.

Furthermore, Gooch also committed four fouls – with no player from either side making more – and won just three of his 11 duels – with a 27% success rate – while his overall SofaScore match rating of 6.3 was the joint-worst of any of Johnson’s starting XI.

As such, if Sunderland are to have any chance of overturning their deficit in the second leg of the semi-final, Gooch will undoubtedly have to up his game – if, that is, Johnson opts to stick with the 25-year-old in his starting XI.

In other news: Nixon drops big SAFC claim over £653k-rated “wizard” that’ll surely leave fans gutted – opinion

A number of West Brom fans have been hailing Okay Yokuslu, following his performance in Baggies’ crucial win over Southampton.

Sam Allardyce’s side secured another much-needed victory on Monday night, cruising to a 3-0 triumph at home to a struggling Saints side.

It means West Brom still have a chance Premier League survival this season, even if they do remain strong favourites to go down, along with Sheffield United and Fulham.

The Baggies are now eight points adrift of 17th-place Newcastle United with seven games remaining, highlighting the difficulty of the task, but also showing that it is still possible to beat relegation.

Yokuslu was a key performer for West Brom against Saints, as he continues to impress after joining on loan back in February.

After Monday’s win, the midfielder took to Twitter to laud the victory, simply posting, ‘Deserved win, congratulations team! Keep fighting!’

West Brom fail hail influential Yokuslu

These West Brom fans took Twitter to heap praise on the Turkey international.

“No matter what happens this season Okay, you’re going to go down as a cult hero and be one of those loanees we love and follow forever. You’re an absolute warrior and it’s an honor to see you wearing our shirt”

Credit: @ByeByeLai

“Keep on playing the way you are. You make this group of players into a real team. Be great if you would be kind enough to play for another 12 months. It’s not long and would mean the world to me and thousands of fans of WBA”

Credit: @paul987654321

“You have become a player that must be the first name on the team-sheet. Okay, I hope that you stay and become a Baggies legend, boing boing”

Credit: @gallahaduk

“You’re getting better and better each game! I would love to see you at the hawthorns next season with a full stadium sound you!”

Credit: @JonW1995

“You are actually unreal, I hope Real Madrid aren’t watching our games”

Credit: @Jay89R

“I really love you”

Credit: @sambromleyyy

In other news, Sam Allardyce is reportedly eyeing a move for a new signing – find out who it is here.

According to a report by Dean Jones, writing for Eurosport, Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy could turn to England national team coach Gareth Southgate as a genuine target if they do not land prime managerial target Julian Nagelsmann.

Southgate, who guided England to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals in what was a memorable summer, has now emerged as a possible candidate for the Lilywhites as the list of possible appointments grows larger.

Spurs could turn to Southgate

The likes of Nagelsmann, Brendan Rodgers and Erik ten Hag are also viewed within Spurs as potential contenders for the job (Eurosport), but Jones believes that Southgate is likely to be targeted if a move for Nagelsmann fails.

Indeed, the factor motivating Spurs’ relatively new interest in the England boss is apparently the 50-year-old’s relationship with superstar striker Harry Kane. It is understood that the pair get on very well, which could benefit Tottenham during a time where they want to convince the striker to stay in north London.

Transfer Tavern take

Described as a manager possessing a ‘ruthless’ streak by defender John Stones (Evening Standard), Southgate has also earned praise from Spurs legend Paul Gascoigne, who spoke of his pride in the Three Lions boss back in 2018 (Sky Sports).

Gazza also lauded him for getting England to play football ‘the way it should be played’ – and we believe he is another credible dark horse among many.

Both him and Brighton manager Graham Potter have emerged recently as potentially eyebrow-raising names linked with the Tottenham gig, but both men should be considered as Nagelsmann alternatives given their achievements over the last few seasons.

In other news: What Mourinho told Tottenham players after sacking at Hotspur Way, find out more here.

According to a report by Spanish outlet Sport, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, Tottenham Hotspur superstar Harry Kane allegedly ‘wants to leave’ north London – with this update coming as a potential blow for Spurs as he enters the Barcelona ‘agenda’. 

Tottenham dealt potential Harry Kane blow

Indeed, as explained by Sport, Kane believes his ‘cycle has ended’ at Tottenham as La Liga giants Barca eye a move for the Lilywhites mainstay.

Ronald Koeman’s side allegedly see the 27-year-old as a realistic alternative to Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland – who is currently being watched by several top European clubs and commands a large price tag for this summer.

As a result, Kane has entered the ‘agenda’ of Barca despite Haaland being their priority target – and if a move for him fails, the Catalans could well turn to Spurs’ most important player.

The Lilywhites striker’s name has emerged in Spain due to his apparent desire to leave Tottenham – but it remains to be seen whether this report does in fact bare danger for Spurs.

Transfer Tavern take

Manager Jose Mourinho losing his most crucial asset this summer does come as a potential worry, but it may depend on how Spurs finish the season.

If his side fail to clinch silverware, or indeed a place in Europe, more reports could emerge similar to this one that Kane will be seriously considering his future.

Having scored a wonderful 17 goals whilst providing 13 assists in the Premier League alone (WhoScored), the prospect of him leaving Tottenham is definitely a worrying one.

In other news: Tottenham want this 6 foot 4 ‘leader’, find out more here.

Carlo Ancelotti must boot Nathan Broadhead out of Goodison Park for the last time when his Everton contract expires this summer.

What’s the word?

According to the Liverpool Echo, the Toffees are expected to release Broadhead on a free transfer once his terms lapse in June.

The 23-year-old has been training with Ancelotti’s first-team fold and has featured on the bench this season, but has seemingly failed to earn new terms.

Ancelotti has listed the former Wales youth international among his backup options for five Premier League fixtures to date, plus March’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.

But his last senior minutes came in December 2017, when handed his debut and sole first-team appearance as an 82nd-minute substitute against Apollon Limassol during a Europa League Group Stage tie.

Broadhead is now one of 13 senior and Under 23 players facing the end of their spells at Goodison Park, as Director of football Marcel Brands continues his efforts driving down an inflated wage bill.

Brands is also working on lowering the age of David Unsworth’s U23s, for whom Broadhead has featured 14 times this season – scoring eight goals, providing two assists and captaining the side twice – in the Premier League 2.

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Everton’s U23s are noted to have boasted an average age of 21 on the opening day of the 2020/21 season, but have reduced that number to just over 19 for their last junior game.

Should Everton retain Broadhead?

Broadhead has been on the books at Goodison Park for a number of years, having joined Everton in his youth following spells with local side Bangor City and Wrexham AFC.

Brands cannot show any sentimentality to the forward, however, as the 18-cap Wales U21 international will not merit another contract having seemingly failed to impress Ancelotti while working closely with the Italian this term.

Ancelotti would likely have awarded the 23-year-old his second Everton outing – and first in more than three years – during one of his appearances on the bench if he felt confident in the potential impact Broadhead could provide.

That is clearly not the case and was often fictitious during a loan spell with Burton Albion in League One during the 2019/20 season, when the forward offered two goals and two assists over 19 third-tier fixtures.

Each of his goals also came during the second of Broadhead’s league outings under Nigel Clough, who had lauded the Toffees’ 2018/19 U23 Player of the Season as “an exciting signing” for the Brewers.

But as the Toffees have not seen Broadhead emerge as an exciting first-team player under Ancelotti since his return last summer – or under the managers that went before the Italian – this summer must mark the end for his spell in royal blue, as he’s clearly unfit for Everton.

But with no first-team appearances in over three years since his debut in December 2017, it’s time for the Toffees boss to offload the 23-year-old outcast this summer.

AND in other news, Everton have eyes on a “very good” £3.5m-rated forward available on a free transfer…

Former Nottingham Forest striker Marlon Harewood has suggested that his old side will struggle to keep hold of Joe Worrall this summer in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Worrall has been linked to teams in the Premier League, with both West Brom and Burnley said to be interested in the 24-year-old.

Despite finishing the game on the losing side, Worrall was praised by some Forest supporters for his defensive performance against Watford as he demonstrated his importance to boss Chris Hughton.

Hughton, however, may not have Worrall to call upon for much longer, that is according to Harewood. Speaking on the player’s future, the ex-Premier League forward exclusively told FFC:

“He’s one of them players that is going to attract a lot of interest from other people, and it’s going to be one of them where Forest are going to struggle to keep hold of him because there’s going to be a lot of top-flight clubs interested.

“Hopefully they’ll be able to keep all their players, but I can’t see it because obviously this year was a promotion battle, but it hasn’t really gone that way. So I think next year they’ll have to rethink all their structure and I think Worrall will be one that will be leaving the club.”

Harewood ended by saying: “I don’t want him to [go], but he’s one of them players that Forest will need to let go to gain some money in to try and revitalise the team again.”

Links to Burnley come as no surprise, with the Lancashire club also facing the possibility of losing one of their central defenders this summer.

James Tarkowski, who was a target for West Ham at the start of the season, will be a free agent in 2022, meaning Burnley could look to cash in in the next transfer window.

Should that happen, with Leicester City having also been credited with an interest in the England international in the past, Sean Dyche moving for Worrall looks a real possibility in what would be a blow for Hughton and Forest.