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Liverpool are close to finalising a deal for Darwin Nunez after it was revealed that a bid had been submitted by the club on Friday, and an update has now emerged from a reliable source about the finer details of the proposed deal.

What’s the latest?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed more details about the proposed €100m (£85.4m) deal which could take the Uruguay striker to Anfield, specifically about his expected salary.

The transfer insider tweeted: “Reports of Darwin Núñez salary for €250.000/week are considered wide of mark by Liverpool sources. Figures would be lower – salary would include add ons.

“Five year deal not an issue – Liverpool are discussing with Benfica about key details of €80+20m deal structure.”

Supporters will love it

FSG are renowned for executing a fair and strict wage structure at Liverpool, so supporters will love that the club are not only keeping the structure balanced with the signing of Nunez, but are able to secure the porentially record-breaking deal over their competitors without compromising the harmony between the players who are already at the club.

The wage structure at Anfield has been a hot topic since negotiations started with Mohamed Salah over the last few months to extend his contract past June 2023.

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It was reported that the Egyptian winger wants £400k-per-week to pen a new deal which would secure his future at the club, but the talks have reached a stalemate, with Liverpool unwilling to give the three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner hundreds of thousands more a week than his team-mates.

It has surely become a concern for Reds supporters, as Sadio Mane is already set to leave the club ahead of next season with two bids already arriving from Bayern Munich, and the idea of losing Salah’s abundant goal contributions will also be a worry.

However, the proposed signing of Nunez shows that Liverpool are capable of securing top talent without offering wages which would disrupt the structure that FSG have in place.

In 2021/22, the Uruguayan scored 34 goals and contributed four assists in all competitions in his cenrre-forward role at Benfica, topping the Primeira Liga scoring charts with 26 league goals and illustrating that he is more than capable of offering another devastating attacking threat in the Reds’ already high-scoring team.

AND in other news: “LFC want…”: Fabrizio Romano drops huge transfer update, supporters will be buzzing

Manchester City have a rather significant track record when it comes to signing players from fellow Premier League teams during Pep Guardiola’s reign in charge of the club.

Since the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss was appointed back in 2016, City have secured deals for the likes of John Stones, Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish among others.

One other player that the Manchester club signed from a fellow top-flight side that has gone on to become a rather important and successful figure at the Etihad Stadium is Kyle Walker.

Signed from Tottenham Hotspur back in the 2017 summer transfer window in a deal worth a total fee of £50m, the Englishman has gone on to make 215 appearances for the Citizens across all competitions.

In those appearances, the right-back has scored six goals, delivered 17 assists and won numerous domestic trophies including four Premier League titles.

To highlight his defensive capabilities as well as his goal contributions, the England international has tackled 192 players in the Premier League during his time with Guardiola’s side.

Now that another season has passed by ending with City being crowed as the Premier League’s top dogs, the focus will soon be on the upcoming summer transfer window once it opens in a few days.

This could give Guardiola the chance to replicate a similar sort of masterclass that they pulled off by signing Walker.

Last month, it was reported that City are interested in signing Brighton & Hove Albion full-back Marc Cucurella.

Despite only having one season in the Premier League under his belt, the Spaniard certainly showed how capable he is of playing in the top division at a high level.

Having played more minutes than any other outfield player in Graham Potter’s squad, the 23-year-old racked up the second-highest number of shot-creating actions (78) as well as more crosses (94) than any of his teammates.

From a defensive point of view, the left-back made more interceptions (72), won more tackles (62), made more blocks (72) and successful pressures (201) than any other player at Brighton.

This highlights just how impressive the £18m-rated full-back is up and down the pitch and why he’d be a great asset for City.

Labelled as a “class act on and off the pitch” by his fellow Brighton defender Lewis Dunk, Cucurella could be a brilliant addition to City’s ranks and give them another marauding full-back in the same vein as Walker.

In other news: Imagine him & Mahrez: Pep can form deadly City duo by signing “outstanding” £50m gem

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has made a teasing summer transfer claim involving midfielder Weston McKennie.

The Lowdown: Conte summer in full swing…

Having already announced the signing of Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan on a Bosman deal, Spurs have wasted absolutely no time in showing manager Antonio Conte they’re serious.

Guiding the Lilywhites to a top-four Premier League finish, Conte will have a near-£150 million kitty to play with as the bulk of Tottenham’s recently announced equity increase will be re-invested into the team.

Sharing news on who transfer chief Fabio Paratici could target in the next few months, Gold has made a teasing claim involving McKennie.

The Latest: Spurs could move…

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According to the football.london journalist, Tottenham ‘held talks’ with the USA international’s representatives in January and he wouldn’t be surprised to see McKennie emerge back on Paratici’s radar – especially given the club director is a ‘big’ fan.

He explained:

“Weston McKennie is someone Paratici is a big fan of and I reported back in January that he held talks that month with the player’s representatives about a potential summer move. I wouldn’t bet against him following up on that this summer but much depends on how willing Juventus are to let him go after a season in which he was a regular starter before suffering a metatarsal fracture in February which all but ended his campaign until the final match.

The Verdict: Make a move?

Still just 23-years-old and already possessing a glowing reputation, his reported valuation of around £34 million is arguably a snip.

Described as a ‘pressing machine’ and ‘supremely underrated’ attacking threat by MLS expert Chris Smith of 90min, the starlet’s sell-on value appears to only be matched by his ability as a tenacious midfield presence.

As Conte looks for fresh additions who can shore up his options in that position, McKennie may well be someone to look out for.

In other news: Alasdair Gold also suggests £122,000-per-week ‘genius’ is open to joining Tottenham, find out more here.

Leeds United could be set for a busy summer in the market after retaining their Premier League status, according to transfer insider Dean Jones. 

The lowdown: Early transfer business

Jesse Marsch’s side survived on the final day of the season with a victory over Brentford, but some big names could still be set to depart Elland Road as the likes of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips continue to be linked with moves away.

Exits aside, the Whites look set to secure their first summer signing in the shape of Red Bull Salzburg attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson, and it could be the first of many to come through the door.

That’s the view of one respected onlooker, who has had his say on the situation at the Yorkshire giants…

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The latest: ‘Really exciting’ summer ahead for Leeds

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones has claimed that it looks set to be an active summer transfer window for Leeds and director of football Victor Orta, with Marsch set to demand that the Whites aren’t left with such a close shave with relegation again next year.

He explained: “I think it now gets really exciting for Leeds. They can look for additions all over the squad and they will look to make sure that they’re not in this position again in a year’s time.

“Jesse Marsch will be saying ‘please, please now just see what I’ve given, the character I’ve put in this team is there and it’s going to be different from what you saw under Bielsa but it could be every bit as special’.”

The verdict: Overhaul required

Having failed to make any additions in January, Marsch and his predecessor Marcelo Bielsa were left bereft of options in the Leeds squad in order to arrest an alarming slide towards the drop zone. Ultimately the American won four of his 12 matches at the helm, just enough to stave off relegation to the Championship.

In order to avoid another season of similar struggles, Andrea Radrizzani must sanction a raft of incomings in order to bolster a young squad with an average age of just 24.7, regardless of who stays and who goes in the meantime.

Whether or not Marsch can indeed recreate the feel-good factor harnessed by Bielsa remains to be seen. However, with money to spend and hopefully the right recruitment, there is certainly the hope of a prosperous summer and a much-improved 2022/23 campaign.

In other news, Sky Sports drop worrying update on Leeds star. Find out who it is here

West Ham United seemed to be in holiday mode as they ended the season badly by being defeated by Brighton and Hove Albion 3-1. Despite having the lead at half-time, Brighton came out and scored three second-half goals to claim victory.

The result means that The Hammers finish seventh and will compete in the Europa Conference League next season. Had they won they would have leapfrogged Manchester United into sixth and claimed a Europa League place.

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One player who has been a star for West Ham all season but had a nightmare of a game today was Jarrod Bowen. The Englishman ended the season as the club’s top scorer with an impressive 18 strikes. It’s his performances throughout the campaign that have taken West Ham to where they finished in the league and to the latter stages in Europe.

However, today he was nowhere to be seen. He made fewer touches than goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with 29 compared to 42. Not only did he not have an impact on the game, when the ball did find him it wasn’t long before he gave it back to the opposition.

Bowen lost possession ten times which is an average of every 3 touches he had. It was a day to forget for him and The Hammers, and manager David Moyes will be disappointed they couldn’t end it on a high.

Despite this, what the club have achieved this season is nothing short of remarkable. Making it to the semi-finals of a European competition and still managing to keep up your form in the league is never easy, especially for a West Ham side that aren’t used to it.

The 25-year-old also failed to register a shot at goal and didn’t attempt any dribbles throughout 90 minutes. He was given the lowest rating out of everyone on the pitch by SofaScore at 6.1.

It was a bad day at the office for him and may raise doubts over his ability to consistently form at the top level. It’s what would be required of him if he were to secure a big move.

He’s proven that he has exceptional abilities as an attacker, but he needs to make sure that performances like today don’t happen too regularly going forward.

IN other news: “It’s my understanding…”: Ex drops big WHU summer update, supporters will be buzzing…

The Rangers academy showcased its potential last weekend as Giovanni van Bronckhorst fielded a host of young players in their final Premiership match of the campaign.

Alex Lowry stole the show for the Ibrox side with a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win, whilst the likes of Leon King, Charlie McCann and Cole McKinnon, among others, also featured in the first-team match.

Van Bronckhorst has shown that he is not afraid to give young players a chance at Rangers, and Lowry’s emergence is proof of that.

Rangers have not always had the best of luck when it comes to bringing players through their academy in recent years. Of those currently playing professional football, the 10 most valuable Gers academy products – via Transfermarkt – are all playing for other clubs, albeit that one of them (Nathan Patterson) left the club earlier this year in a record deal.

One player with whom the Gers had a big howler in 2018 was goalkeeper Liam Kelly, who was sold to Livingston for an undisclosed fee. Transfermarkt valued him at £90k at the time of the move, having failed to make a first-team appearance at Ibrox.

Since making the switch four years ago, he has played for Livingston and English Championship side QPR, and he is now back in the Premiership with Motherwell as their number one.

He played 22 times in his season in west London in 2019/20 and duly sealed a transfer to Fir Park, where he has impressed with his performances.

In the Premiership this term, he averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.79 and committed zero errors leading to shots or goals. This comes after he averaged a sublime score of 6.97 last term for Motherwell, making zero errors in total.

His current manager Graham Alexander hailed him as a  “fantastic” goalkeeper and tipped him to be on Steve Clarke’s radar for the Scotland squad, highlighting how impressive the 26-year-old has been.

Meanwhile, Allan McGregor has averaged a score of 6.76 in the top flight this term and made four errors directly leading to shots or goals. This suggests that Rangers had a big howler in letting Kelly go in 2018, as his current performances suggest that he has been more reliable than the 40-year-old in the Premiership throughout 2021/22.

At the time of writing (17/05/22), Transfermarkt value the former QPR tank at £405k. This is a whopping 350% increase from his valuation at the end of his Rangers career, which shows that he has come on leaps and bounds since departing from his hometown.

Instead of benefitting from his value on and off the pitch, the Gers let him go before giving him a chance at senior level, and they will surely be regretting that decision now…

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst must finally unleash “powerful” 19 y/o Rangers gem who “took his chance” in 2022…

Everton are in desperate need for big changes this summer and if they stay up in the Premier League at the end of the season it will only better their opportunities to strengthen the team to avoid another relegation battle in the future.

There are many areas of the pitch that will need Farhad Moshiri and Frank Lampard’s attention when the season draws to a close with changes specifically needed to improve the defensive play of the team, with the side conceding 19 more goals than they have scored in the current Premier League campaign.

With that being said, it may be time for Lampard to finally axe Seamus Coleman and start considering his options to replace the 33-year-old Everton captain who will be out of contract in June 2023, Finding the £68k-per-week defender’s successor could make a huge difference and relieve some pressure.

One player who could be the perfect replacement for the Irish defender who was labelled “poor” by journalist Josh Bunting, is Norwich City’s Max Aarons, who was linked with the club back in the January transfer window. Now he has been relegated once again Lampard could capitalise on the opportunity to snap up the youngster.

The 22-year-old was praised earlier this season by former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, saying:

“He has got huge potential. He has got big, big potential.

“Lots of games, a lot of experience for someone so young, and he is just going to keep on improving.”

It is no wonder the young player has been attracting recognition when you consider his defensive statistics this season in the Premier League in a team that has struggled throughout. Aarons has put in impressive performances and shown his hard-working attitude despite the position the Canaries have found themselves in.

According to SofaScore, the English right-back has won the majority of his aerial and ground duels combined, making 2.1 clearances, 1.9 tackles and 0.8 interceptions on average per game accompanied by two big chances created and one assist in his 32 league appearances this season.

Ultimately, with the chances of Everton staying in the top-flight for another season they cannot afford to make the same mistakes and must make ruthless decisions to benefit the team going into the next season and signing up Aarons this summer could be a great start for the Toffees much needed rebuild.

AND in other news: Shocking Everton dud who lost ball every 4.7 touches cost Lampard big time yesterday

Italian newspaper Corriere di Verona have now shared a big transfer development out of Tottenham Hotspur involving target Antonin Barak, who they believe is the perfect fit for an Antonio Conte team.

The Lowdown: Conte eyes move…

As Spurs gear up for their highly-anticipated Premier League clash with Arsenal this evening, a make or break encounter which may well determine who is playing Champions League football, it appears transfer activity is still very much alive behind-the-scenes.

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Czech Republic international Barak, for example, has been of serious interest to Spurs according to reports in recent days.

Earlier this week, outlet Mondo Udinese.it shared news that Lilywhites head coach Conte is personally prepared to convince the attacker to join his side this summer in a ‘sensational deal’.

Now, in an update, it appears the Italian has now given his green-light for whole club to pursue a deal for Barak.

The Latest: Italian newspaper break Barak development…

As per Corriere di Verona (via Sport Witness), the former Chelsea coach has personally ‘asked’ Spurs to bid for the 27-year-old who is ‘tailor-made’ for his side.

This comes as Barak’s move away from the Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium is ‘almost certain’ this summer, but the 6 foot 3 star’s club want around €25 million (£21m) and even hope to exceed that number.

The Verdict: Tailor-made indeed

Barak is perhaps one of the more underrated players in Serie A and we believe £21m would be a more-than fair asking price.

Lauded as ‘phenomenal’ for his international performances by members of the press, he has stood out as one of Hellas’ most crucial players – racking up 11 goals and four assists from midfield over 2021/2022.

Barak also stands out as their third-best star overall going by average match rating and is just about to enter his prime, potentially backing how he could be real value for money if Spurs were to advance with a bid.

In other news: Reliable source: Tottenham agreement now ‘very likely’ as Conte closes in on ‘top signing’, find out more here.

Alan Hutton has been left buzzing over what he has now heard from a Glasgow Rangers source.

The Lowdown: Lowry deal close

As per Football Insider’s RFC sources, the Ibrox faithful are now close to tying Alex Lowry down to a new deal, amid strong interest from a number of clubs in the Premier League.

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The youngster had rejected an initial contract offer back in February, but now it looks as if the club have persuaded him to stay at Ibrox.

The Latest: Hutton reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Teddy Bears defender now Rangers TV pundit Hutton has now given his reaction to the news, claiming that it is ‘brilliant’ both for Lowry and his old team:

“I think it’s brilliant for both sides. We know what he’s all about. He’s definitely one for the future.

“He needs to know there’s a pathway into the first team. I think that’s the biggest thing to come out of this. The flip side is that the grass isn’t always greener.

“Yes, there’s an opportunity to go down south but he’s very young. You can also get lost down there. It’s difficult to break into a Liverpool team or a Man City team. That’s got its own challenges.

“So to stay where you are, you know what it’s all about to play with Rangers. There are opportunities that are going to arise. If you work hard, he has seen that the pathway is there.

“He can find the first team, he has done it in the past. I think it’s good for him moving forward to be where he is. Be comfortable and see how he develops from there.”

The Verdict: Right call

It is easy to forget that Lowry is still just 18 years of age, and so he has his whole career ahead of him.

The pathway has been there for him, as he has already managed a total of four senior appearances in a Light Blues shirt this season, and more opportunities are sure to come for him next term under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Nonetheless, he is highly thought of at the club, as former manager Graeme Murty even went as far as to call him ‘remarkable‘, and so staying at the Gers seems like the right thing to do for now, until he makes more of a name for himself outside Scottish football.

In other news, find out which ‘really exciting’ attacker RFC could now lose this summer here!

Celtic are back in action tomorrow with another Premiership clash against their Glasgow arch-rivals.

This time, the Hoops will be on their home turf at Parkhead to try and pick up what could be a crucial win for their hopes of securing the league title under Ange Postecoglou.

Their previous outing saw the Bhoys secure a 2-0 win over Ross County thanks to goals from Jota and Kyogo Furuhashi.

On the chalkboard

One man who didn’t start last weekend but should be in the Celtic team to take on Rangers this time around is David Turnbull.

Since recovering from a hamstring injury in March, the midfielder has yet to start a league game for the Hoops, making five appearances off the bench instead. Prior to that, the 22-year-old had played the full 90 minutes in all but two of Celtic’s league games, scoring five goals and providing four assists along the way.

To further highlight how deadly the Scotsman is for opposition goalkeepers, only Liel Abada (79) has racked up more shots at goal for the Hoops than the midfield dynamo (71). He also has the second-highest number (141) of crosses among Celtic players this season, behind Jota (203).

This shows just how much of a game-changer Turnbull can be from midfield, and also why it could be the ideal time for Postecoglou to finally give him his first league start since December.

Back in August, the 56-year-old shared his praise for the 22-year-old and the qualities that he has on and off the pitch, saying: “He has all the ingredients, physically, he works hard, great technique, good temperament.”

Now that the Bhoys have the chance to open up a nine-point gap between them and their Glasgow arch-rivals tomorrow, having a player like Turnbull in the team from the beginning who can be a nuisance in front of goal could be the best way forward for the Hoops to secure victory.

Despite the big occasion, giving the young midfielder a chance to shine from the start of the match should definitely be in Postecoglou’s thinking when it comes to selecting his starting XI this time around.

In other news: Postecoglou can finally axe £20k-p/w “disaster” as Celtic plot bid for “insane” talent