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The Athletic journalist Simon Hughes said that the pathway between the academy and the first team at Liverpool is as clear as it has been since the 1990s, in an interview with The Anfield Wrap.

What did he say?

This season has seen a number of talented youngsters emerge at Liverpool and begin knocking on the door for first-team minutes.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is the obvious example and has established himself as a starter and a crucial part of the team, but Nico Williams, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott have also impressed.

Speaking to Liverpool podcast, The Anfield Wrap, Hughes said that the improvement in their academy is no mistake and is the result of more consistency and clarity at the club.

“I think at this moment in time, the pathway between the academy and the first team is, I don’t want to say clear, that is that wrong word, but there’s great accessibility and possibilities on that pathway than there has been at any point since the early 1990s,” Simon Hughes told The Anfield Wrap.

“I think the reason why is because the club has benefited from certain periods of consistency. Jurgen Klopp has been in charge for five years now but it still feels fresh, which is brilliant. I think for fans and everybody it still feels like it’s early days for them for some reason, but he’s been there for five years.

“Things are very clear about what it takes to become a Liverpool player and you know, one thing that I took from interviewing people and writing that article is if you don’t work hard and if you don’t get about the pitch you’ve got no chance, which I think is a great basis for any footballer, because they know, they can’t afford to think that they’re very good at any point.”

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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Building for the future

Liverpool have as promising a group of academy players as they have had in some time, with Jones, in particular, pushing for greater involvement.

As Klopp’s current side begins to age, with a number of key figures now entering their late prime years, rejuvenating the squad will be really important and the academy clearly has a role to play in that.

Rhian Brewster, Ovie Ejaria and Harry Wilson have also impressed on loan spells and might hope for more first-team action next year.

This exclusive interview with Jermain Defoe is in conjunction with On The Ball, available to download on Apple and Google Play now!

Very few players split opinion between Tottenham and West Ham fans like Jermain Defoe does.

For the former, he is a goalscoring hero having scored almost 150 goals across two very successful spells in North London. For the latter, he’s a player who is perceived to have betrayed his roots by trying to leave at a time when the Hammers needed him most.

But regardless of all that, the striker has enjoyed a hugely successful career, in which he has scored for every club he’s played for and is currently on a mission to help Rangers win their first SPL title since 2011.

For young football fans, he’s a role model both on and off the pitch. If his goalscoring exploits for both club and country weren’t inspirational enough, his charitable work away from the pitch certainly is.

On the pitch, it’s no secret that making it in football is the dream of millions of kids around the world and it’s even less of a secret that it’s one of the most difficult industries to be successful in.

To make it, you need dedication, sacrifice, hard work and perseverance, and even then it still might not enough to earn a pro-contract. However, there is a new app that is designed to help footballers of all ages to gain an edge both on and off the pitch.

On The Ball is the world’s best football training platform and offers users of all ages and abilities access to tailored training programs created by Premier League players, to help teach real skills and training techniques. With over 1,000 training videos demonstrated by some of the biggest names in the game, users literally have everything they need in one place in order to improve their fitness, skills and technique whenever they need it.

Jermain Defoe is a huge supporter of the On The Ball App and he spoke exclusively to Football FanCast to talk us through what he loves most about the platform and, of course, some of the biggest talking points of his career to date.

What do you love about the On The Ball App?

“If I was a kid now I would be excited about the app. There’s like a thousand drills on there, so to be able to download something to my phone and be able to use it to develop my skills would have been so useful. The people behind it are players who have played at the highest level, they’ve played in the Premier League and for their countries.

“I would have been all over it. Drills on dribbling, passing, fitness, it’s an unbelievable idea, to be honest! Kids, even coaches, of all ages and abilities will definitely benefit from it for sure.”

Where did your hunger and commitment to make it come from when you were growing up?

“Football has always been a real passion of mine, even from a very young age. It came from my family as well, though. I always knew the importance of working hard growing up, my Mum used to always drill into me that if I was ever going to achieve anything then I had to work hard to get it.

“Growing up, my Nan and Grandad came over from the Caribbean and worked really hard. My grandad worked in the meat factory and my Nan worked in the sugar factory. My mum was a single parent before my sister came along. So everything I saw around me was people grafting.

“I used to always tell my Mum that I wanted to be a professional footballer. Ever since I could walk and talk, I wanted to play football. My Mum supported me with that but always told me that I had to work hard, that I had to always work harder than the person next to me. That’s the sort of mentality I had growing up.”

Despite that commitment, fighting the temptation to take your foot off the gas and do what your mates were doing must’ve been difficult…

“Yeah, of course. When you’re young, sometimes parents say things that you don’t fully understand and obviously there were times I just wanted to go out with my mates.

“We lived on an estate and from my bedroom window, I could see my friends at night just chilling with girls, drinking and stuff like that. Even if I didn’t want to get involved in all that stuff, I just wanted to be out there having a bit of banter.

“But to be fair, I always listened and I thought, at the end of the day, if I want to fulfill all my dreams and goals, I’m just going to listen to my Mum and see where it takes me.”

At West Ham, things didn’t end in the way that you would’ve wanted and you ended up leaving on a sour note. What happened there?

“When I signed for West Ham, there was a lot of pressure at the time because they had to pay Charlton something like £1.6million because apparently they’d made an illegal approach for me. I was only 16-years-old, so there was a lot of pressure there.

“I made my debut at 17, scored in the cup, and everything started going so well. I loved it at West Ham and a lot of my family were West Ham fans.

“So everything was going so well and we all know what the fans are like with young players coming through, they love you.

“But then my agent at the time advised me to hand in a transfer request. I was naive and never had to deal with anything like that before. I was young and didn’t really know about transfer requests.

“The backlash was just crazy! I obviously stayed until January before Tottenham came in for me and then I was thinking, ‘Tottenham are a massive football club,’ and I wanted to go.”

You picked up three red cards in quick succession before that January move which, knowing how your career has gone, was very out of character. Was that out of frustration that you weren’t sold in the summer?

“Obviously you look at that and think it’s so out of character. Looking from a West Ham fans’ point of view, I understand why they might think I was doing it on purpose but if you really knew me, you’d know all I want to do is score goals and play every game, so why would I want to miss football matches?

“At the time I felt like I was a target for players I played against and the referees. That’s how I felt. People were trying to wind me up and referees weren’t really protecting me because I was in the spotlight after what had happened with the transfer request.

“So I had so much anger and I was so frustrated with the whole transfer request situation. I didn’t really know what was going on.”

Rumour has it that you nearly returned to West Ham years later?

“Yeah, I nearly went back to West Ham. I spoke to Mark Noble on the phone and he explained that the club wanted me back, that they needed someone to score goals, but at the time I said I wasn’t going to leave Sunderland because they had done a lot for me and I had a special relationship with the fans, but I didn’t rule it out for the future.

“Obviously it didn’t happen but the West Ham fans, despite all the stick they used to give me when I was at Spurs, were buzzing. Some of the positive messages I was getting on social media made me think that despite all that stick they gave me, they would’ve welcomed me back.”

After four years at Spurs you left for Portsmouth. How did that come about?

“It was a hard decision for me to make. I loved it at Spurs. But we had a change of manager, Juande Ramos came in. He had different ideas.

“One day in training he said something to me, I said something back, and then he told me that if I wasn’t happy I could leave. Even the players couldn’t believe he’d said it to me.

“So I phoned my agent and told him what the manager said. Ramos spoke to Daniel Levy about it and the chairman was like: ‘Are you joking? That is not happening!’

“The next game I was given the armband to be captain! It was strange.

“So it was a footballing decision in the end. I spoke to Harry Redknapp, who was at Portsmouth at the time, and he just said: “JD, come and play for me.” I love Harry, everyone knows I love Harry, and he never used to complicate things. All he said to me was ‘focus on scoring goals, that’s it.’

“At the time Pompey had an unbelievable team. Sol Campbell, Sylvain Distin, David James, Sulley Muntari, Milan Baros, Niko Kranjcar, Hermann Hreidarsson. The team was unbelievable, so I was happy I was going to them.

“Redknapp was the manager, they call him my Dad in football, so it was perfect for me. But it was so hard to leave Tottenham. I just felt like I had no choice. I just couldn’t play for Juande Ramos.”

You soon returned to Tottenham after a short spell at Portsmouth, but there was also an offer from Juventus on the table…

“When Redknapp left Portsmouth for Tottenham I was just sitting there waiting for the phone to ring. Eventually, he called me and told me he wanted to bring me back.

“I was waiting for days for a deal to happen but during that time I had a phone call from a different agent who had a close relationship with Italian clubs, and he told me that if the Tottenham deal doesn’t get done ASAP then he was going to take me to Juventus because they wanted me.

“I had no problem with that because Juventus is a massive football club, a giant, but deep down I just wanted to go back to Tottenham. I felt like I had unfinished business there.

“I felt the love there, not just from the fans but from the people working at the club. The people that worked in the canteen, the laundry girls, I had a close relationship with everyone at Tottenham and I didn’t want to leave in the first place.

“To get the opportunity to go back was my number one priority but if it didn’t happen then obviously Juventus were waiting.”

And then a move to the MLS followed. How did that come about and why did you only last 11 months before coming back?

“When Toronto first came in for me there was no way I wanted it to happen. I had just signed a new contract with Tottenham and at the time I just thought I was going to end my career there.

“But then I spoke to Tim Leiweke, who was responsible for bringing David Beckham to LA Galaxy, and then spoke to Daniel Levy about it.

“If it was another Premier League club interested in me then Levy wouldn’t have let me go but he said that as it was an unbelievable opportunity for me and my family, he wouldn’t stand in my way if I wanted to see if I could get a deal done.

“When I was there I could get Premier League games on the TV at home and I used to sit there and miss the Premier League, naturally. Harry called me again and told me QPR wanted to sign me and stuff like that.

“But then I had a hernia and needed to travel back to London to see a specialist. After that, I was doing some rehab in the south of France when I got a text from Gus Poyet, who was Sunderland manager at the time. He told me he wanted to sign me and build a team around me.

“Obviously I knew Gus, I played with him at Tottenham, and it was an opportunity for me to come back to the Premier League and score goals.

“But even then it was difficult because Toronto weren’t having it, they didn’t want me to go. I didn’t want to let them down because they had worked so hard to bet me there, but I just wanted to be back in the best league in the world.”

Throughout your career you’ve played in some top derbies – where does the Old Firm rank?

“It’s the best. It’s unbelievable. I appreciate all the derbies I’ve played in but when I spoke to Graeme Souness before I signed for Rangers, he told me it’s the best football match in the world.

“But you have to experience what it’s like, it’s a special game. When we beat them 2-0 at home, the atmosphere was incredible. I was looking around, almost in a trance, looking at the crowd bouncing, it gave me goosebumps. It really was amazing.”

Do you think Rangers have what it takes to win the SPL title again within the next couple of years?

“I said it when I signed, I believe it’s only a matter of time before it happens. Celtic fans give me a bit of banter about it on social media but I do genuinely believe it’s only a matter of time.

“For one, Rangers fans are special. They travel everywhere. And then when I look at the coaching staff, the manager and his presence, and the whole team, the club has everything it needs to be successful. Everything, even down to the food we’re eating at the training ground.

“The squad is so strong. We do 11v11 in training and we all wonder afterward what team the manager is going to pick at the weekend because he can literally pick two different teams. Having that keeps everyone on their toes, which is good.

“If we win the league again that’s 55 titles. It’ll be a special one and to be a part of something like that would be mad.”

It would also stop Celtic winning 10 titles in a row…

“I’m not even focused on that. I’m just focused on being a part of Rangers history. When you walk down the tunnel and on to the pitch at Ibrox you can see the names of great players on a board and I say to the players, if we can be on that board one day then we’ve done something special.

“When you’re on that board you know that even after you leave, you’re always welcome back. So to see my name on that board one day would be unbelievable.”

What’s Steven Gerrard like as a manager?

“He’s amazing. It cannot be easy going from being a player to a manager. It’s not easy!

“Imagine trying to keep 25 players happy. You pick your best XI but then you’ve got to keep the others happy at all times as well. It’s literally impossible.

“The way he is honest with the players, he always tells us that if we’ve got a problem then his office door is open. The way he handles the press is amazing because it is not easy up there.

“And the team he’s got around him. We’ve got an identity and we know how we want to play and that’s something that’s been worked on in pre-season. Everyone knows their roles and responsibilities.

“And even now, with the current situation, we’ve got something where we can go and look at the sessions that we’ve had during training or with tactical sessions, just so it all stays fresh in our minds.

“We’ve got everything under Steven Gerrard at Rangers to be successful and when it happens, it’ll be a dream come true.”

You’ve recently signed a one-year contract extension at Rangers – what happens after that? Is retirement an option yet?

“I got a message from a Rangers fan today saying, ‘you better play until you’re 40!’

“I still feel sharp and fit. People ask me how I do it, even players from my generation ask me how I’m still fit and playing at the top level. I don’t ever miss a training session. I train every single day. I look after myself as well as I can.

“I’m doing my coaching badges at the moment because, at the back end of your career, you’ll always think about what you want to do next, whether it’s becoming a coach or a manager.”

Does management appeal to you?

“I don’t know yet. I’m just going to do my badges and then see what happens. At the end of the day, if you love football and you’ve got an opportunity to stay in the game and give something back then why not?”

To be a better player or coach, improve your fitness and develop your ball skills with On The Ball, download the App on Apple and Google Play now!

Tottenham Hotspur are expected to beat Arsenal to the signing of Ryan Fraser this summer, according to the Daily Star via @RickSpur. 

Fraser’s contract is set to expire at Bournemouth next month and Cherries boss Eddie Howe is resigned to losing the Scottish international in the upcoming transfer window.

Bournemouth have tried to get the winger to sign a new short-term extension but negotiations have reportedly failed. Howe rebuffed interest in the Scottish winger last year but he is now in danger of watching the 26-year-old leave as a free agent.

Football reporter Ricky Sacks tweeted: “Tottenham Hotspur are now expected to beat Arsenal to the signing of Ryan Fraser this summer. Fraser will see his contract expire this summer, with negotiations over the season failed and manager Eddie Howe now resigned to losing the winger.”

Spurs and their bitter rivals Arsenal have been locked in a battle to sign the speedster and it appears Jose Mourinho’s side now have the advantage.

Despite Fraser struggling to recreate the form he has enjoyed in recent seasons so far this term, with just one goal and created 4 assists, it is well worth remembering that he bagged seven goals and produced 14 assists in the Premier League last season, second only to former Chelsea star Eden Hazard for the latter metric.

Unsurprisingly, loads of Spurs fans buzzed over the journalist’s transfer update, with one fan tweeting he is a “good backup for Sonny” and another dubbing the winger as a “great little player”.

Scroll down through some of the best reactions below…

Tottenham fans, do you believe Ryan Fraser would provide able support to Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn? Join the discussion in the comments section below!

Manchester United are relaxed about Angel Gomes’ future at Old Trafford and are still holding talks with his agent, as per ESPN via @utdreport. 

Gomes has caught the eye of a number of European giants, including Premier League rivals Chelsea as well as Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, but United are reportedly unfazed by the transfer speculation despite the fact his current contract is set to expire at the end of next month. He will be able to leave as a free agent when the deal runs out.

Although Barca were genuinely interested in the England under-20 international, the La Liga leaders did not intend to give him first team football, which has been something of a disappointment to the teenager.

Sources told ESPN that the Blaugrana were actually looking to add the United academy graduate to Barcelona’s B team, rather than the senior side alongside superstars like Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann. The transfer saga has dragged on all year and there could well be plenty more twists to come in the weeks ahead.

Understandably, many Red Devils fans tore into the “selfish” youngster on social media once the news emerged, with one fan tweeting he is “overrated” and another adding that “he’s a joke.”

Take a look at some of the United fans’ reactions below…

United fans, do you think Ed Woodward should allow Angel Gomes to leave the Theatre of Dreams? Let us know in the comments section below!

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

Back in the 2003/04 season, Crystal Palace managed to get promoted to the Premier League, and needed to strengthen their squad if they wanted to stay in England’s top flight. They acquired Hungarian striker Sandor Torghelle for £990,000, per Transfermarkt, who at the time was known as Hungary’s answer to England striker Wayne Rooney in his homeland, via Eurosport.

This led many of the Palace fan base having high expectations for the player and feeling that they got a total bargain for the forward, however the Hungarian ended up being a total dud and could be argued as to being part of the reason as to why the club were relegated back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Throughout the whole of the 2004/05 season he only made 13 appearances, and his only goal came in a 2-1 victory against Charlton in the League Cup, however he still wasn’t able to celebrate his first goal for long after he was later sent off in the fixture for diving, per BBC Sport.

He was never able to really gain a position in the starting eleven due to the form of the prolific Andy Johnson, who managed 21 goals in the Premier League in the campaign, which was only four less than Golden Boot winner Thierry Henry, via Premier League.

Perhaps if Johnson had more support from the Hungarian then the Eagles could have survived the drop, but the fact that he was then sold for only £270,000 just one year later, per Transfermarkt, highlights how much of a dud the signing was for the club.

Palace fans, did you expect a lot from Torghelle? Comment below!

Kevin Phillips has backed Tottenham star Harry Kane to pick up where he left off after he scored in the 2-0 win over West Ham on Tuesday night. 

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Sunderland forward believes scoring his 18th goal of the season will be a “massive relief” for Kane following a long lay-off.

Kane put the game beyond the Hammers after he broke clear to thump the ball past Lukasz Fabianksi. The England international was playing in his second game back in the wake of his return against Manchester United.

Phillips feels the goal will be a huge psychological boost for Kane as he had spent a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

He told football writer Dylan Childs “it is massive. Take it from a striker. If you are Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, whoever you are, to get that first goal after being out for so long is huge.

“You could see in the way he celebrated. The monkey is off his back and he can now get on and do what he does best in the Premier League.

“Harry has not helped himself because he is so eager to get involved all over the pitch and at times he is well out of position.

“Now that he has scored I think you will see him doing what he does best. That is getting on the end of through balls, playing on the last man and getting in behind. Massive relief for him and the club.”

It is difficult to disagree with Phillips on this one, as Kane was adamant he would come back better than ever before when the Premier League restarted.

The 26-year-old, who is Spurs’ leading goalscorer this season, will have been hoping to get off the mark early on to shake off any lingering signs of rustiness.

True to his word, it hasn’t taken him long to find the back of the net again, especially as he hadn’t played a competitive match since suffering a hamstring injury against Southampton on New Year’s Day.

At the moment, Jose Mourinho’s side are seventh in the table, nine points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, with seven games remaining.

Spurs struggled badly in Kane’s absence, as the Lilywhites only won three games in the Premier League while he worked on his recovery.

Fans will be hoping there is more to come in the remainder of the season as the team head into the closing stages of the competition.

Tottenham fans, can Harry Kane carry the club into the Champions League? Let us know down below!

Coventry City midfielder Jordan Shipley has spoken with Callum O’Hare since the midfielder left the club following the end of his loan deal.

The Aston Villa academy graduate saw his contract come to an end at Villa Park in June, leading to much discussion over a potential return to Coventry, where he spent the 2019/2020 season on loan.

Performing well for the Sky Blues, O’Hare helped guide them to a successful automatic promotion to the Championship from League One, contributing with four goals and seven assists.

With Mark Robins’ side having begun pre-season training earlier this week, preparations are underway for the 2020/21 season in England’s second flight and Shipley has now revealed that he has spoken to the former Villa man.

Speaking to Coventry LIVE, Shipley said: “I’ve spoken to him since he left, of course I have, but I don’t know what he is going to do.

“He doesn’t give much away when we speak to him, he is a really quiet lad. He’s doing well though, personally, and we’ll see what happens.

“We all know he is a great talent. We all want him back, but at the end of the day it is up to him.

“We’re all the same, we’d all love him to come back but Callum has to do what is right for him at the end of the day.

“I’ve played against Callum for so many years with Coventry’s academy while he was coming through at Villa and I always knew that he was a sublime talent. He was always one of the best players I had ever played against growing up.

“We all know he is a great talent. We all want him back, but at the end of the day it is up to him.”

Aside from a potential return for O’Hare, Coventry boss Robins has already made moves to bolster his squad options for next term, bringing in defensive midfielder Gustavo Hamer from PEC Zwolle and Julien Dacosta from Chamois Niortais.

Shipley’s comments don’t reveal much about the future of O’Hare, however, it goes someway to show that the former Villa man is still speaking to his former teammates.

His signing is key for Mark Robins this summer and would be a superb addition along with Hamer and Dacosta.

It is an exciting time to be a fan of Coventry, and a deal for O’Hare would add further excitement ahead of the Championship season.

Do you think O’Hare will return to Coventry this summer? Let us know in the comments section below…

Leeds United are back in the big-time after an arduous 16-year absence and they could kickstart their ambitions with a swoop for a player that’s done it on the biggest stage.

What’s the word?

According to Phil Hay at The Athletic, the Yorkshire giants have ‘cast their eye’ over AS Roma star Alessandro Florenzi with the Italian expected to leave the Serie A outfit this summer.

He also claims that he’s a player that would suit Marcelo Bielsa due to his versatility – being able to play both right-back and in central midfield.

Although the Whites face a battle to secure him as Florenzi would prefer to stay in his native country with the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Sampdoria all keen on signing him too.

Shades of Dallas

Florenzi, who is valued at £14.4m by Transfermarkt, has endured an indifferent season in the Italian capital playing just 14 times before a loan switch to Valencia.

But he’s a player that the Premier League newcomers should absolutely be looking at as he’d bring a wealth of experience which has seen him competing on the international stage and across Europe for several years.

The 29-year-old has been capped 35 times by Italy and has notched 42 appearances across the Champions and Europa League.

A move for Florenzi would certainly feel very similar to that of Stuart Dallas as the 5 foot 8 ace is deft in multiple positions – other than being a goalkeeper or a striker, he’s played in just about every other role imaginable.

Javier Zanetti once lauded the right-back as his heir, admiring his attitude to the game, whilst Brazil legend Dani Alves described Florenzi as a “fantastic player” who’s “got quality in abundance and a wonderful touch.”

Whilst it remains to be seen exactly how much the Roma ace would command, Victor Orta and co should absolutely try to land him given his versatility and experience in the top-flight.

AND in other news, Orta can resolve huge Bielsa headache if he lands £15m target…

Tanguy Ndombele’s first season at Tottenham hasn’t quite gone to plan, but despite only starting 12 league games this term, the 23-year-old is attracting interest from Europe’s elite.

Perhaps it’s something to do with the economic issues that have come with the pandemic, but the two interested parties in Ndombele have apparently been trying to broker a swap deal to land the midfielder rather than paying a fee for the Frenchman.

What’s the story then?

We heard last month that Barcelona are after Ndombele with a swap deal after Dan Kilpatrick’s report in the Standard.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

It has been claimed that the players Barca would be willing to offer are either Philippe Coutinho, Nelson Semedo, Samuel Umtiti or Ivan Rakitic.

However, Inter Milan are also looking to broker a similar type of deal for Ndombele with Milan Skriniar being used as their bargaining chip according to Di Marzio.

Simple choice

Unless Barcelona offer two or three of those players for Ndombele, this should be an easy choice.

Now, this isn’t to say that any of Barca’s aforementioned players aren’t fantastic, they’ve all been part of title-winning sides, but they don’t quite tick the boxes that Spurs need right now.

After Jan Vertonghen’s departure, the one thing Tottenham need most is a centre-back, especially when you consider they conceded eight more league goals this term than they did in 2018/19, while their leaky defence also saw them crash out of the Champions League early too, conceding twice in the opening 20 minutes to Leipzig in the vital game that decided their fate.

So if Spurs are to use one of these swap deals as a chance to replace Vertonghen it becomes a choice between Umtiti and Skriniar, and there is a clear victor there.

Umtiti has fallen out of favour at Camp Nou for a reason, he started just 10 league games this term, keeping just two clean sheets in those matches, while averaging 0.8 tackles per game and 1.5 fouls, showing that he’s been completely mistiming his challenges all year.

Skriniar meanwhile has started 30 games at the heart of Serie A’s best defence averaging 1.2 tackles per game, keeping 10 clean sheets during that time.

Factor in the fact that Skriniar is younger than Umtiti and the choice is simple.

Leeds United are launching an aggressive charge for last season’s loan star Ben White, but perhaps their top priority should be elsewhere if reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, there is a belief at the Yorkshire club that they can secure mooted target Said Benrahma at a discount price following Brentford’s playoff final defeat.

He said on his podcast show: “There does seem to be a sense at Leeds that they can get Benrahma for perhaps a pretty reasonable fee of about £12-15m, rather than the big whack that you would expect, which was a surprise to me, but that’s certainly what they were hoping.”

It comes a few weeks after the Express suggested the Whites were ‘pushing hard’ to secure the Algerian winger.

Top target?

Brighton boss Graham Potter appears to be holding firm over his valuation and expectation for White this summer after United had a £30m bid plus add-ons rejected last week, per Football Insider.

The 22-year-old was indeed a crucial cog to Marcelo Bielsa’s title-winning backline but one of the Championship’s most lethal attacking stars could be available for half the price. It seems a no-brainer to try and clinch him above all else.

Leeds still had the best defence when the likes of Gaetano Berardi were called into action at centre-back, so it’s something Bielsa can coach into any new addition.

Benrahma blitzed the English second tier with 17 goals and nine assists whilst averaging a whopping 3.8 shots, 3 dribbles and 2.1 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

It really would be criminal to not see him given a crack at the top-flight.

One of Leeds’ biggest problems last season was the conversion of chances with Bielsa’s men ranking inside the bottom five in the division – Patrick Bamford found the net 16 times himself, but it could have been much more, so a player like the Bees talisman would certainly aid their attacking department.

The plaudits Benrahma has received is endless, ranging from being “magnificent” to his ability to be able to “nutmeg a mermaid”.

At just £15m, Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani must push forward with their interest in the 25-year-old.

AND in other news, Leeds free-agent target likened to David Beckham fits the Marcelo Bielsa mould…