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Nottingham Forest are interested in taking Tottenham Hotspur left-back Sergio Reguilon on loan for the season, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

The Lowdown: Position at the club

After falling out of favour at Spurs under manager Antonio Conte, the 25-year-old’s future at Hotspur Way seemed uncertain as Fabio Paratici prepared for a busy summer in the transfer market.

However, his position soon became clear after he was omitted from Tottenham’s squad for their pre-season tour of South Korea, alongside the likes of Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele, who have now left the club.

The Latest: Ornstein’s news

After a lack of interest so far this summer, Ornstein has shared news of a Premier League club considering making a loan move for the Spain international.

Taking to Twitter, the reliable journalist claimed:

“Nottingham Forest considering taking Tottenham left-back Sergio Reguilon on loan. Talks between clubs in recent weeks as #NFFC seek cover for Omar Richards. #THFC would want full salary covered if 25yo goes. He’s approaching match fitness.”

Shifting the full-backs wages off the books would bank Daniel Levy £2.5m for the year.

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The Verdict: Disappointing situation

Reguilon arrived at Spurs in 2020 bearing the weight of high expectations after joining from La Liga giants Real Madrid in a deal worth up to £32m.

At the beginning of last season, the 25-year-old was a guaranteed starter in Nuno Espirito Santo’s starting eleven, in which he played the full 90 minutes in the side’s first eight Premier League games.

However, under Conte, the Spaniard’s playing time has become far more sporadic. Reguilon featured in the starting team 13 more times, often being substituted early on in the second half.

Having failed to make an appearance so far this season, a move away from north London seems to be the best option for the left-back, who needs a fresh start to get his career back on track.

Southampton have reportedly submitted an offer to sign PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo this summer, according to The Athletic. 

The lowdown: Hot property

A product of the academy system at PSV, the 23-year-old has successfully come through the ranks at the Eredivisie giants and become a fully-fledged senior international in the process.

The attacker has directly contributed to 123 goals in 206 outings for his club at senior and youth levels, scoring 46 and providing 39 assists for the first team in the process.

Having previously been targeted by Manchester United, Leeds United, Arsenal and Everton, it now appears as though the Saints are also keen on bringing Gakpo to the Premier League…

The latest: ‘Concrete approach’

As per The Athletic, Southampton are understood to have made a ‘concrete approach’ to sign the seven-cap Netherlands star.

It’s claimed that the south coast club submitted an offer for Gakpo, although the bid was ‘turned down’ by PSV, with previous reports stating that the club will demand at least £42.5m for the player.

The report also states that the versatile forward – who was described as a ‘sensational player’ by Dutch football expert Michael Bell – is a ‘key target’ at St Mary’s and Rasmus Ankersen has ‘led talks’ with the ace’s club.

The verdict: Marquee target

Clearly a much sought-after commodity given the widespread interest in him, signing a player of Gakpo’s calibre would be a superb coup for Southampton and would suitably bolster the attacking options at Ralph Hasenhuttl’s disposal.

So far this season, the £27m-valued man has scored four times and provided six assists in just eight appearances across all competitions, earning a remarkable 8.70 SofaScore rating whilst winning 2.7 duels, completing one dribble and playing 2.7 key passes per game in the Dutch top flight.

With in-form marksman Che Adams still linked with a move away from St Mary’s, it’s important that Gakpo remains on the list of potential targets heading into the final days of the transfer window.

Newcastle United are reportedly now ‘close’ to sealing a ‘monster’ deal for Central Coast Mariners striker Garang Kuol.

The Lowdown: Interest reported

The St. James’ Park outfit’s interest in Kuol was reported earlier this month, as they were one of the frontrunners for his signature.

Chelsea and FC Barcelona also held an interest in the 17-year-old, but he now looks set to move to the North East.

The Latest: Newcastle win race

As per beIN Sports in Australia, also reported by 90min, the Tynesiders are now ‘close’ to clinching a ‘monster’ move for Kuol, and he has already agreed on personal terms for a four-year deal.

The Australian is set to earn £25,000-per-week at the Magpies, and would officially sign for them in the January transfer window before being loaned out to another club in his homeland.

The Verdict: Exciting

It is certainly exciting for the Toon Army to see a deal for a highly-rated prodigy like Kuol going through.

Hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by Barcelona manager and footballing legend Xavi after he was called up to an A-League All Stars squad to face the La Liga giants, Kuol has recently been called up for the first time by Australia for their upcoming fixtures against New Zealand in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

At just 17, he played nine times for the Mariners last season, scoring four goals and making one assist (Transfermarkt), and so it seems NUFC have got a real gem on their hands providing that the deal goes through as planned.

Tottenham Hotspur are in advanced talks to sign recruitment expert Jeff Vetere, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Vetere’s career

Vetere has not held a senior recruitment position since being sacked as Birmingham City’s director of football in March 2018, which came at the same time as manager Steve Cotterill losing his job in a major club reshuffle.

The 56-year-old has extensive experience in Premier League recruitment, having worked for the likes of Charlton Athletic, West Ham United, Newcastle United and Fulham whilst they were all in the English top-flight.

He also has experience working as a scout for Real Madrid, aided by the fact he speaks five languages.

The Latest: Close to joining Spurs

According to a report by Football Insider, Tottenham are now in advanced talks with Vetere with the view for him to come in and oversee their Under-21s recruitment.

It is claimed he is a close ally of Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici, who has given the green-light on the appointment.

Negotiations are said to be close to completion, with Vetere ready to join the north London club immediately.

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The Verdict: Academy needs a reshuffle

The Lilywhites have faced criticism in recent times having failed to bring through a number of top talents from the academy all the way to Antonio Conte’s first-team.

This criticism became all the more prominent last week when Tottenham academy graduate Marcus Edwards stunned his boyhood team whilst playing for Sporting CP as they beat Spurs 2-0 in the Champions League.

Edwards was even awarded the player of the match for his dazzling display, throwing in the question as to why the north London club allowed his departure in the first place.

Therefore, Paratici will have high hopes in Vetere’s reshuffling of the academy’s operations, because, at the moment, it is failing in its production.

Scottish champions Celtic have enjoyed a real revival under manager Ange Postecoglou over the past year, with one of the key figures in that rise having been that of goalkeeper Joe Hart, with the former England international having looked resurgent during his time at Parkhead.

The veteran stopper had seen his previously promising career take a sharp decline following his brutal exit from the Etihad in 2o16, enduring mixed spells at the likes of West Ham United, Torino and Burnley, before ending up as a reserve option at Tottenham Hotspur.

As such, the former Three Lions’ number one had been something of a gamble for the Old Firm outfit as they opted to secure a deal last summer, although the decision has more than paid off with the £23.5k-per-week man proving a crucial figure in last season’s title triumph.

The £1.53m-rated leader boasts an impressive record of 31 clean sheets from his 63 games during his time in Glasgow, having notably been lauded by Italian icon Gianluigi Buffon last term, who dubbed him a “top player” after recapturing his form with the Scottish giants.

While the 75-cap colossus still has just under two years remaining on his existing deal with the club, at 35 it remains to be seen just how much longer he will be able to go on for, with Postecoglou and co potentially needing to plan for his future heir.

The 57-year-old oversaw the signing of former Dundee United man Benjamin Siegrist over the summer, although it remains to be seen if the 6 foot 4 giant is anything more than a steady option in reserve, while teammate Scott Bain has seemingly seen his chance of securing a regular starting berth come and go in his four-and-a-half year spell at the club.

In need of a younger option who can prove to be Hart’s successor, the former Yokohama boss should well turn to 19-year-old starlet Tobi Oluwayemi, with the teenager having impressed in the academy ranks of late.

The Englishman is yet to feature at first-team level, although the expectation is that he will go on to have a bright future, with former youth team coach Greig Robertson having earmarked him as a player to look out for in the near future at Celtic Park, stating:

“Tobi has been in and around the first team and on the bench. I know he is very highly-regarded by Stevie Woods and the guys up there. He came from Tottenham and took a season to settle, but has made big saves at big moments, and as a Celtic goalkeeper that is critical. He’s one that the club in general have high hopes for.”

The former Spurs prospect was part of Postecoglou’s travelling party for the pre-season trip to Austria over the summer, with the title-winning coach having previously provided a glowing assessment of the emerging talent after bringing him into first-team training in January: “Tobi’s an exciting young goalkeeper, we’ve kept tabs on him.

“He was playing with the B team but I feel like it’s time we expose him to our first team environment, particularly at training.”

The Hoops boss also went on to mention the potential benefit that the England U20 international could gain from training alongside Hart, stating:

“He’s a pretty lucky young man because he’s got an ex-England No1 and a guy who has reached the very top as a goalkeeper training with him every day. It’s going to be priceless.

“I didn’t want to waste that opportunity, so we brought him up to the first team environment and he’ll be training with us regularly, and hopefully we’ll watch him develop over the next couple of years.”

The youngster has already gained valuable experience in the youth ranks and for the club’s ‘B’ team so far this term having racked up 11 appearances in all competitions, with a chance at first-team level potentially on the horizon sooner rather than later.

The highly-rated teen will have time to develop in the coming years while Hart remains at the club, although can look to fill his compatriot’s shoes once the senior man does eventually move on.

Southampton recently bid farewell to a mainstay at the club, as Oriol Romeu decided to call time on his career at St Mary’s.

Having signed from Chelsea back in 2015, a £5m outlay marks incredible value given his reliable presence at the heart of the Saints engine room.

The Spaniard featured 256 times whilst on the south coast, and by the end of his tenure had struck up a finely balanced partnership with James Ward-Prowse.

He acted as the enforcer, and fans will certainly miss his 1.4 interceptions and 2.1 tackles per game from last season.

His absence will be felt heavily, but one man from their past who would have filled his vacancy with ease is Victor Wanyama.

The hulking midfielder was a dominant presence way before Romeu was around at the club, with his performances earning him his £11m move to Tottenham Hotspur.

It is clear that Mauricio Pochettino thought highly of him, to bring him along as he too had made that same switch.

The Kenyan midfielder featured 97 times for both Spurs and the Saints, but the season prior to his transfer was when he truly shone.

He recorded a 7.00 average SofaScore rating, whilst managing 2.3 interceptions and 3.1 tackles per game, a marked improvement from Romeu’s final season. He was labelled a “destroyer” who was “so powerful” by journalist Jack Rathborn that season.

The man who they brought in from Celtic in 2013 quickly established himself as a mainstay in the Premier League, with his defensive work second to none.

He was also liable to score the occasional thunderbolt, with his goal against Liverpool for Tottenham the best that comes to mind.

With a huge Romeu-shaped hole in their midfield now, adding a prime Wanyama back into the fold would be perfect for Ralph Hasenhuttl.

He was strong, a good passer and tackler, and had an incredible engine; ingredients perfect for the Austrian to work with.

If he could return, fans would quickly forget about their absent Spanish stalwart in favour of the return of the true midfield powerhouse.

Leeds United have welcomed a number of exciting talents to Elland Road during Victor Orta’s tenure as the club’s director of football, with Joe Gelhadrt, Sam Greenwood, Crysencio Summerville, Darko Gyabi, Sonny Perkins and Mateo Joseph – amongst others – all arriving in LS11 over the last three years.

However, while a number of these players are either already a regular part of Jesse Marsch’s first team squad or catching the eye in Michael Skubala’s U21 side, there is one youngster Orta brought into the club who has arguably been of the Whites’ best signings in recent memory – Illan Meslier.

Indeed, after impressing during a season-long loan spell back in 2019/20, Leeds paid FC Lorient just £5m to make the goalkeeper’s temporary switch a permanent move in the summer of 2020 – with the 22-year-old having more than proved worth at least ten times this outlay in the time since.

Indeed, the £35m-rated shot-stopper highly impressed over his first two seasons in the top flight, making an average of 4.0 and 3.8 saves per game in 20/21 and 21/22 respectively – the second-most and most of any ‘keeper each season – as well as averaging SofaScore match ratings of 7.13 and 6.87 – ranking him as Leeds’ third-best and sixth-best performer in each respective campaign.

It has been a similar case over the £22k-per-week talent’s seven Premier League appearances so far this season, having kept two clean sheets and made an average of 3.3 saves – at a success rate of 70% – per game, with these metrics seeing the France U21 international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.93 – ranking him as the Whites’ sixth-best player in the league.

And, following the youngster’s show-stopping display in the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday, former Leeds defender Matthew Kilgallon stated his belief that Meslier is now one of the leading goalkeepers in the top flight in one-on-one situations.

In comments cited by The Yorkshire Post, the 38-year-old said:

“He came out waving a few times, didn’t he? But do you know what I like about him, he’ll come out again. And he did, and he caught one in the second half. That’s what I like about him. You can tell he’s a confident lad. His one-on-one saves, he’s probably the best in the league, in my opinion.”

As such, considering his extraordinary development over the past two years, in addition to the fact that the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are reported to be interested in the goalkeeper, it is clear to see that Orta very much hit the jackpot on the “unreal” – in the words of Graham Smyth – Meslier.

There has seemingly been a common theme to Celtic’s Champions League outings so far this term, with the Old Firm outfit having typically been left to rue their profligacy in front goal, after spurning numerous chances in each of their four group stage encounters.

That wasteful nature was evident in Tuesday’s crushing defeat to RB Leipzig at Parkhead as the Hoops failed to capitalise on a brilliant spell of early pressure before eventually slipping to a seventh successive home defeat in the competition – the worst record in the tournament’s history.

Speaking after that 2-0 loss to Marco Rose’s men stand-in skipper Cameron Carter-Vickers had vocalised his frustration at those notable missed opportunities, while manager Ange Postecoglou stated his side had paid the “ultimate price” for their failings in front of goal, with progression to the knockout stages now out of reach.

That latest result had seen Kyogo Furuhashi, in particular, once again come up short when it matters most, with the Japan international notably squandering an inviting headed chance in that blistering period around the half-hour mark.

The 27-year-old has typically been a clinical figure for the Scottish champions since his £4.6m arrival from Vissel Kobe last summer – top scoring with 20 goals in all competitions last term – although is currently enduring something of a dry spell with just one goal in his last nine outings.

The £18k-per-week menace still boasts an impressive record of seven goals in just eight league games so far this term, although has failed to find the back of the net in Europe, with his only goal involvement having come as an assist for Jota away in Germany last week.

As pundit John Hartson stated, both the diminutive gem – and teammate Giorgos Giakoumakis – will likely feel they “should have done better” with regards to their failings in front of goal in the group stage thus far, with Kyogo having been particularly wasteful in the defeat in Saxony, notably heading over from close range.

While pundit John Collins has rightly lauded the £5.4m-rated speedster for his stunning work rate and the way he “hounds defences”, the player’s inability to couple that with a golden touch on the elite stage has seemingly played its part in Celtic’s undoing.

With the aforementioned Giakoumakis having netted a dramatic late winner at the weekend, the 16-cap gem could now be under pressure to keep his starting berth moving forward, having done himself little favours after struggling once again on Tuesday night.

Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura appears set for the bench again after some pre-Newcastle United team news emerged.

The Lowdown: Spurs set for tough test…

The Lilywhites are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 midweek Premier League defeat at the hands of Manchester United.

Second-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Fred sealed a lacklustre loss for Antonio Conte’s side, with the north Londoners unable to establish any real dominance or threat throughout the 90 minutes.

Today, Spurs host Newcastle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It is set to be a tough test, especially considering that Eddie Howe’s men are undefeated in their last six games and have conceded fewer goals than any top-flight side.

It will be interesting to see who Conte calls upon this afternoon, but according to some pre-match team news, one player is still fighting back to full fitness.

The Latest: Lucas ‘not fit enough’ to start…

Indeed, as per one report, Lucas seems set to be benched once again as Spurs prepare face off against one of their top-four contenders.

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The Evening Standard relay that the 30-year-old is ‘not considered fit enough’ to start against Newcastle, having just come back from recent injury issues.

Conte has hinted at a possible right wing-back role for Lucas in recent months, but as Emerson Royal comes back from suspension, it appears that the latter starting is more likely than using his compatriot as a makeshift option.

The Verdict: Eventually…

Lucas may well be a right wing-back choice for future games given his attacking flair, as evidenced by the fact that he completed more successful take-ons per 90 than any Spurs star last season (WhoScored).

His past heroics exemplify his potential use for Conte, with the Brazilian famously bagging a dramatic hat-trick to send Spurs into their first-ever Champions League final in 2019.

Then-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino called him a ‘superhero’ in response to those exploits and Conte has apparently told the former Paris-Saint Germain star that he is an ‘important’ player, but it appears that Lucas will have to wait a bit longer for the starting nod.

Former Glasgow Rangers defender turned pundit Alan Hutton has been giving his verdict on the injury to Connor Goldson.

The Lowdown: Long-term injury

Goldson picked up a thigh strain whilst stretching to make a crucial interception in the 7-1 loss at home to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League last week.

He was spotted leaving Ibrox on crutches, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst later confirmed that he will be out for the long-term.

The Latest: Hutton reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton has claimed that losing Goldson is a ‘huge blow’, as he is a ‘leader’ and helps organise the team on the pitch:

“It is a huge blow there is no getting away from that.

“He is definitely a leader within the camp. He will still do that off the pitch. On it, you can hear him organising the back four, the boys in front of him.

“You could see how much of a loss he was in the Liverpool game. When he was not there it kind of fell apart towards the end of the game. He is a huge miss.“

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The Verdict: Fingers crossed

Fingers will be crossed within the club that Goldson’s injury is not as serious as first feared, and that he can make a swift recovery.

He has ranked as their eighth-best performer in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, and best central defender (WhoScored).

No other player in the squad has averaged more tackles, clearances, blocks or passes per game than Goldson has (WhoScored), further demonstrating his importance to the side.

Nonetheless, with other key centre-backs out injured too, the Gers have been left a little light in that area of the pitch, and so will be hoping that Goldson could return straight after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar finishes.