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Liverpool want Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus and will scout him at the World Cup later today, according to reports in the last 48 hours.

The Lowdown: Kudus selected by Ghana

Kudus was named in Otto Addo’s 26-man squad to represent Ghana in Qatar over the next couple of weeks, with their opening group game taking place this afternoon against Portugal.

Despite still having three years remaining on his contract, the 22-year-old admitted that he was open to moving to the Premier League over the summer to find more game time, and the Reds appear keen to capitalise on this.

The Latest: Liverpool scouting Kudus

According to Sports World Ghana (via Sport Witness), Liverpool ‘will send scouts’ to watch Kudus in action today, with Anfield officials set to be ‘in attendance’.

Jurgen Klopp is believed to have been ‘keeping an eye’ on his target ever since the two sides met in the Champions League back in September, and the report states that FSG ‘hope to bring him’ to Merseyside in January.

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The Verdict: Perfect addition

Liverpool are said to be targeting a blockbuster midfield signing in the New Year, so with Kudus having been dubbed ‘electric’ by Jacek Kulig and even likened to Clarence Seeforf, he would be the perfect addition.

The Accra native has already racked up 12 goal contributions across all competitions for Ajax this season and currently averages 1.8 shots and 1.6 dribbles per league game (WhoScored).

Klopp loves his central players to be creative and contribute in the final third, and Kudus is someone who fits the bill and would flourish under the leadership of the German boss.

Manchester City could have a potential agreement in place to allow Bernardo Silva to leave the club during next summer’s transfer window, according to Dean Jones. 

The Lowdown: Silva’s earlier exit links

The midfielder was linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium during the previous summer transfer window. After being heavily linked with a switch to Barcelona, the 28-year-old ended up staying with the Premier League champions and remains an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s squad.

However, the subject of his potential departure from Manchester has come up again, this time with a summer exit being discussed for the City star, who is in Portugal’s squad for the upcoming World Cup.

The Latest: He could go in the summer

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones had his say about Silva and what the future could hold for him at the end of the current season.

The journalist said: “Bernardo is one of those players that you can rely on and you can almost make an agreement that if this happens, then maybe it can happen next summer. But I just can’t see Bernardo leaving halfway through the season.”

The Verdict: Potential big blow for Man City

Having appeared in all of City’s games so far this season, this shows just how important and reliable the 28-year-old is for Guardiola and the English champions.

Across his 14 league games so far this term, Silva has racked up the third-highest number of shot-creating actions (44) at the club, along with the third-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (29). This highlights how much of an impact the £150k-per-week figure can have in the team in and out of possession.

With an overall performance rating of 7.12/10 from WhoScored, only five other players at the Etihad have a higher rating than Silva.

Unless the midfielder asks to leave the club, City should have no intention of allowing Silva to up sticks from Manchester any time soon.

West Brom are looking for a new manager following the sacking of Steve Bruce at the weekend, and the Baggies can find an ideal replacement in Rob Edwards.

The 39-year-old, like so many others before him, was sacked by Watford recently after an extremely brief spell at the club and is currently a free agent, who will no doubt attract interest from Championship sides.

The Daily Mail suggest that the former Forest Green boss is being considered by the West Brom hierarchy, as they look for their appointment to push the Baggies up the table after a shocking start to the season, which sees them occupy a relegation spot in the second tier.

While Edwards’ time at Watford was ultimately unsuccessful, as he won just three of his 11 games in charge, his previous spell at Forest Green suggests that he could be a big success at the Hawthorns if given time to implement the same sort of ideas that saw the New Lawn outfit win the League Two title last season.

In his first season with the club, Edwards steered Forest Green to their first-ever season in League One, winning 26 and drawing 15 of his 53 games in charge of the club, which helped him to an impressive 1.75 points per game.

Edwards could be the man to amend some of West Brom’s key issues this season, which has been conceding goals and not finishing their chances.

Only three sides in the second tier have conceded more than the 18 that the Baggies have shipped in the opening 13 fixtures, so it is no surprise that they only have one win to their name.

Edwards has shown a preference for an attacking 3-4-1-2 formation during his spells at Watford and Forest Green, with the latter potent going forward and defensively sound for much of the season.

Despite some disappointing form towards the end of last season which saw them nearly miss out on the League Two title, Forest Green conceded just 44 goals in 46 League Two fixtures, while they scored the second-most goals in the division with 75.

Forest Green forward Jamile Matt labelled Edwards as “the best” manager he had worked under with regards to man-management, which suggests that the young coach could be the ideal man to get the best out of West Brom’s underperforming stars.

Playing three centre-backs could help the Baggies be more defensively sound, while wing-backs Darnell Furlong and Conor Townsend would be given more license to get forward, as they have just one goal contribution between them in the Championship this season.

Having two strikers could also ease the pressure on the attackers in the Baggies’ side, as the expected goals stats suggest that West Brom should have scored far more this season, something that has proven to be one of their biggest issues this term. Indeed, having another option in attack could help West Brom realise their attacking potential.

Therefore, hiring an up-and-coming manager such as Edwards after he wasn’t given much of a chance at Watford could be the best thing for West Brom right now, as his previous spell at Forest Green emphasises how much potential he has as a manager.

The Athletic’s Wolves correspondent Steve Madeley offered his reaction on Twitter after spotting Ruben Neves operating in the middle of a back three against West Ham on Saturday evening. 

The lowdown

The Old Gold fell to a 2-0 defeat against their hosts at the London Stadium, with goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Jarrod Bowen inflicting the damage.

Lage faced issues in the centre-back department coming into the match, with Nathan Collins suspended following his red card against Manchester City two weeks ago. That left Max Kilman and the inexperienced duo of Yerson Mosquera and Toti Gomes as the only available natural options.

In the end, the manager overlooked both Mosquera and Toti and instead fielded a natural full-back in Jonny Otto alongside Kilman, with Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri stationed on the flanks.

The latest

One Lage innovation caught Madeley’s eye within ‘seconds’ of the kick-off at the London Stadium, and it concerned the third individual used in that makeshift central defensive unit.

The Athletic reporter tweeted: “Looks in the early seconds like Neves is playing in the middle of a back 3. That is…. interesting.”

He explained in a subsequent tweet that Wolves seemed to be moving from a back three to a back four fluidly, with Semedo dropping back.

The verdict

Lage surely felt a degree of pressure coming into the game after picking up just three points from the first 21 available this season, and this was certainly a bold move as he tried to inspire an improvement.

According to Transfermarkt, Neves had no experience of starting a game as a centre-back prior to this evening.

It was an experiment which delivered mixed results, with the Portuguese midfielder picking up a SofaScore rating of 6.7/10, by far his lowest in a Wolves shirt so far this season.

He completed 72 of the 83 passes that he attempted (an accuracy of 87%) but he also earned a booking which will see him suspended for his team’s next match against Chelsea, given that it was already his fifth in the league this term.

Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher has been mooted as a potential target for Huddersfield Town after they parted ways with Danny Schofield.

The Lowdown: Schofield sacked

The Terriers fell to a sixth defeat in eight Championship games on Tuesday evening at home to Wigan, in what proved to be Schofield’s final game in charge.

Huddersfield announced on Wednesday morning that they have parted ways with Schofield, who only took over from Carlos Corberan in the summer.

The club added that Narcis Pelach and Paul Harsley will take temporary charge for Saturday’s league game against Cardiff City.

The Latest: Schumacher an option?

Yorkshire Live reporter Danny Bloomer looked at who Huddersfield could target in their search for a new boss, unsurprisingly mentioning David Wagner.

He then stated however that Schumacher could be a ‘left-field appointment’, also name-checking Sean Dyche and Lee Bowyer.

Speaking about Schumacher, he said: “He has built excellently on what Ryan Lowe did previously at the club, narrowly missing out on the League One play-offs last season, and sitting third in the table this time around.”

The Verdict: Interesting…

Schumacher, who actually shares the same agency as Huddersfield man Sorba Thomas, has indeed impressed in the South West after stepping up from assistant manager when Lowe left for Preston.

The 38-year-old, who likes to use a 3-5-2 system, has won 21 of his 38 games in charge, with his Argyle side one of the clear front-runners for promotion from League One.

He is still fairly inexperienced as a number one but has made a promising start, so it could be an inspired appointment but also a risk at the same time, with the club needing to get this next move spot on to bring some stability back to The John Smith’s Stadium.

Newcastle United have around a week left to complete any of their remaining business in the summer transfer window.

The Magpies have brought in Matt Targett, Sven Botman, and Nick Pope so far, whilst they are also closing in on the signing of Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad.

Eddie Howe has been at St. James’ Park for less than a year but he is quickly reshaping the squad to suit how he wants the Toon to perform in the Premier League.

Club captain Jamaal Lascelles revealed earlier this year that the aggressive, high-pressing, style of play is because of Howe’s coaching and the way he wants the team to train and play.

The former Cherries boss wants his side to press the opposition and get up in their faces to create counter-attacking opportunities for players with pace – like Allan Saint-Maximin – to make the most of.

Dan Ashworth could now land the manager a dream signing for his Newcastle team by snapping up Conor Gallagher from Chelsea.

The Magpies are one of the clubs, alongside Crystal Palace and West Ham, interested in signing him on a permanent deal.

He is reportedly valued at £35m and his attributes and age could make him the perfect addition to the club’s midfield options.

Mike Stavrou, back in April, noted that the England international is “relentless” in his pressing, whilst former Sheffield United attacker Mark Duffy described him as a “pressing machine” whilst backing him to be a fantastic signing for Liverpool – who reached the Champions League final last term.

This is backed up by his statistics in the Premier League as he averaged a whopping 24.72 pressures per 90 over the last 365 days – placing him in the 93rd percentile among players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues.

Along with being perfectly suited to the manager’s style of play, Gallagher has also shown that he has the quality on the ball to punish teams in the top-flight. Last season, he chipped in with eight goals and three assists whilst on loan at Crystal Palace and this shows that he can provide end product after winning possession back.

At the age of 22, he would also come in as a player Howe can work with over the course of a number of years. The head coach can help him to develop and hone his skills with the aim of ensuring that he fulfils his potential and becomes a great player for the Toon.

Therefore, the Chelsea dynamo would be a dream signing for the manager as he is a talented, Premier League-proven, prospect, who would slot straight into the way he wants the team to play.

Manchester United’s summer has been an incredibly busy one with Erik ten Hag joining the club and consequently raiding his native Netherlands for Tyrell Malancia and Lisandro Martinez.

That said, the Red Devils are by no means done in the transfer market yet.

What’s the word?

United’s business this summer has been conducted slowly and after the shambles that was 2021/22, it is perhaps a surprise that their new coach hasn’t brought in more players and gutted the squad in a more ruthless fashion.

The defence has been strengthened, however, and it could still be added to with links to Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard surfacing.

Julian Nagelsmann recently admitted that he would like to keep the player in Munich, suggesting he was an “important player” to their cause.

However, separate reports from German outlet, Sport 1, suggest United have been given a green light to make their move.

They revealed last weekend that the £31.4m player has been offered to both Chelsea and Ten Hag’s side.

Supporters would be buzzing

If United can conclude a deal for Pavard before the September 1st deadline, supporters would surely be delighted with their new look defence.

The Frenchman is capable of playing at right-back or in the centre, thus gifting ten Hag tremendous versatility to a backline that looked all at sea last term.

The 2o-time English champions conceded 57 times in the Premier League last season, the second-highest amount when compared to the remaining clubs who finished inside the top half of the table.

As a result, if ten Hag is to have any chance of reviving this great club, he will need a sturdier defence.

In Malacia, he has found a flying and effective full-back, while in Martinez, he has found a player with bite and determination, who like Pavard, offers strong versatility.

Many will know the Bayern defender for his gorgeous sweeping goal against Argentina at the last World Cup but it’s not just offensive qualities that he offers.

Over the last 365 days, he ranks in the top 7% of full-backs for aerial duels won with 2.28 per 90 minutes. He is also in the highest elite bracket for ball recoveries, sitting in the top 1% of players in Europe’s big five leagues with a whopping 11.04 per 90.

Also sitting in the best 1% of players for carries, it paints a picture of how efficient the 26-year-old is in a host of areas across the pitch.

This would be a highly exciting signing and one that would surely leave supporters elated.

AND in other news, Glazers plotting MUFC bid for “unbelievable” £38m talent, he “dominates in the middle”…

Manchester City are monitoring the possibility of a move for Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry this summer, according to one German outlet.

The Lowdown: Three-horse race

The 26-year-old’s contract at the Allianz is set to expire in just under 12 months, making this a pivotal window to decide his future in the Bundesliga.

It was reported just last month that the winger had turned down a new deal from Bayern, suggesting that he is looking for a move away, and there have been a couple of potential suitors already name-checked.

The Sky Blues, alongside Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United, have all been credited with an interest in the forward, but in a fresh update, it’s the top-flight champions who appear to be the most serious contender.

The Latest: Gnabry on City’s radar

In an article published by German outlet SportBILD (via Sport Witness), it’s claimed that Man City have Gnabry firmly ‘on their books’, and are ‘looking at’ him as competition for Riyad Mahrez in that right-wing position.

The source states that the attacker’s transfer situation ‘remains uncertain’, with talks of an extension ‘on ice’ having stalled due to the player’s earlier contract rejection.

It’s reported that there is ‘no truth’ in the rumours that Chelsea are interested in a deal, meaning that a switch to another big English club like City is ‘therefore possible’.

The Verdict: Premier League return

Pep Guardiola is clearly having an attacking overhaul of his squad, with Gabriel Jesus leaving for Arsenal and Raheem Sterling recently ann0uncing his departure to become a Chelsea player, so the boss will be left light in the final third, but that’s where the addition of Gnabry comes in.

The 34-cap international, once hailed a ‘world-class’ player by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, was a revelation up top for Bayern last season, recording 27 goal contributions in 45 appearances across various positions, via Transfermarkt, exactly the profile of player that the Spaniard loves in his starting XI.

Gnabry will already be used to life in the Premier League having previously spent three years at Arsenal, but any kind of return to England could now see him changing the colour of his shirt from red to blue.

Newcastle United are still interested in signing Jesse Lingard this summer, according to a report from Scott Wilson for the Northern Echo. 

The lowdown: Free bird

Upon the expiry of a contract at Manchester United, Lingard is currently a free agent having spent 14 years at Old Trafford, making 231 appearances for the club and spending time on loan at Leicester City, Brighton, Birmingham and Derby County in the process.

During the 2020/21 campaign, the 29-year-old spent a temporary loan spell at West Ham where the versatile attacker endeared himself to the club with a host of outstanding displays and rekindled his career at the elite level whilst also earning a recall to the England squad under Gareth Southgate.

However, Lingard became disenchanted once more back in Manchester and is now searching for a new home amidst interest from West Ham, Everton and seemingly, Newcastle.

The latest: ‘Retain an interest’

As per the Northern Echo report from Wilson, the Magpies are believed to ‘retain an interest’ in acquiring Lingard’s services.

It’s claimed that ownership group PIF are ‘adamant they will not dismantle their wage structure’ in order to sign the 32-cap England ace, but the club have ‘rekindled’ an interest following on from January and continue to hold discussions regarding a potential arrival on a free transfer.

The report also states that the attacking midfielder, who was described as ‘absolutely ruthless’ by football writer Kaustubh Pandey last year, wants in excess of £100,000-a-week as well as a ‘significant signing-on fee’ upon making a move.

The verdict: Stand firm

Many might’ve anticipated free-spending upon the arrival of the new owners at St James’ Park, however, it appears as though those in situ are unwilling to splash the cash without due care and attention.

Although Lingard’s undoubted quality, apparent likability to supporters and experience would represent a smart addition to Eddie Howe’s ranks in the North East, the Englishman’s demands would see him usurp Chris Wood and Kieran Trippier as the highest-paid player at the club immediately (Salary Sport), a step the Magpies are clearly uncertain about taking as things stand.

Having earned a reported £80,000 a week during his final year at Manchester United, Newcastle would be well served to make an offer of a similar ilk to sign the man who still holds a perceived market value of £16.2m, despite his free-agent status.

Lyall Thomas has dropped an update on reported Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Djed Spence.

What’s the talk?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Sky Sports journalist revealed that Tottenham are set for further talks with Middlesbrough regarding a £15m deal for the right-back, with Daniel Levy said to be spearheading negotiations for the 21-year-old.

In his supporting report, Thomas went on to state that the Tottenham chairman is personally handling the club’s pursuit of Spence in order to allow Fabio Paratici to focus on other targets, while the England U21 international is himself said to be desperate to seal a move to north London this summer.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “Daniel Levy drives forward Tottenham’s pursuit of Djed Spence as more talks are expected over £15m-rated England U21.”

Supporters will love Thomas’ claim

Considering just how impressive Spence was for Nottingham Forest last season, in addition to it being reported that the signing of a new right wing-back is one of Antonio Conte’s priorities in the summer transfer window, Thomas’ claim that Levy is set to restart talks over a deal for the Middlesbrough starlet is sure to be news the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful will love.

Indeed, over his 42 Championship outings for Forest last term, the £7.2m-rated talent scored two goals, provided five assists and created six big chances, as well as making an average of 1.0 key passes, taking 0.6 shots and completing 1.8 dribbles per fixture.

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The £4.4k-per-week right-back also impressed in metrics more typical of his defensive position, making an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 1.4 clearances and winning 5.8 duels per game.

These metrics saw the England youth international average a rather astonishing WhoScored match rating of 7.05, ranking him as Steve Cooper’s sixth-best performer in the second tier of English football.

Furthermore, with neither Emerson Royal nor Matt Doherty particularly cementing the right wing-back spot in Conte’s back five last season, as well as Spurs having something of a homegrown player issue at present, the signing of a new Englishman in the position would appear to make a great deal of sense for the club.

As such, it is clear to see that Thomas’ update revealing that Levy is set to continue talks regarding a £15m deal for Spence is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with the club – not least Conte himself.

AND in other news: Italian journo reveals Spurs are “ready to submit” £60m bid, supporters surely buzzing