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West Ham are among the teams interested in signing Wout Weghorst this summer…

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that the Irons are keen on the 28-year-old striker after his glistening season in front of goal for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.

It’s thought that the German outfit, who qualified for the Champions League thanks to his goalscoring exploits, would sanction the six-cap Dutch international’s exit if their €30m (£26m) asking price is met.

Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are also mooted as having an interest, so with such a reasonable price tag, it seems that a move to the English top-flight is on the cards.

Forget Abraham

Of all the strikers that the Hammers have been linked to in recent months, Weghorst is perhaps the most interesting of the lot. He would certainly offer the East London outfit a new dimension to their attack.

Chelsea outcast Tammy Abraham is believed to be David Moyes’ top striker target this summer but he should look to shelve this in favour of a move for the 6 foot 6 goalscoring giant.

In 43 appearances across all competitions, Weghorst found the net 25 times and also provided nine assists. That’s one direct contribution every 104 minutes, via Transfermarkt.

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By comparison, the 23-year-old Englishman – who is expected to command a whopping £40m this transfer window – has only bagged 30 goals across his entire Blues career and whilst age may be on his side, he does not present good value for money like Weghorst.

Despite being a towering presence, the Dutch talisman is anything but a slouch in attack. He’s relentless in the press and simply put, he works his socks off, which is why he has drawn some comparisons to Jamie Vardy. He too has risen up through the leagues as a late bloomer.

His 18.2 pressures per game puts him amongst the top 20% of strikers, whilst a rating of 96/99 in the tackle is the fourth-highest across Europe and the best in the Bundesliga, as per stats sourced by The Athletic.

This attribute is something that many around him, both past and present, have picked up on. Teammate Admir Mehmedi once described him as “so crazy” for the amount of running he does for the side, whilst former head coach Bruno Labbadia dubbed him “tireless.”

Weghorst has also been likened to former Premier League great Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Get German Football News editor-in-chief Daniel Pinder told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview last month that “he’s got similar attributes to van Nistelrooy.”

He added: “He’s tall, strong, even though he’s really tall, possesses a great touch – his movement is underappreciated in the Bundesliga. His threat inside the area, his work ethic in pressing the opposition defence.”

In Michail Antonio, Moyes has a short, quick and explosive threat that can play off the shoulder of a defender, so he could add a new dimension with the 6 foot 6 powerhouse.

Evidently, he has an eye for goal and will work his socks off for the team. Perhaps it is Weghorst who should sit atop the Scot’s transfer wishlist this summer.

AND in other news, Moyes could secure West Ham’s dream Noble heir in “unstoppable” £26m-rated “machine”…

In our Loan Watch feature, The Transfer Tavern takes a look at how Leeds United winger Helder Costa has fared during a season-long spell at Valencia.

The Lowdown: Option to buy

The Whites made Costa’s loan move permanent following promotion to the Premier League in 2019/20, penning a four-year deal at Elland Road.

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Costa went on to make 22 Premier League appearances under Marcelo Bielsa, scoring three times and registering three assists.

However, he was sent out on loan to Valencia last summer, which included an option to make a deal permanent at the end of the current campaign.

The Latest: Costa in 2021/22

Costa hasn’t fared well over in La Liga, as per SofaScore. The 28-year-old has started just 13 league games, averaging just 52 minutes per game, often hauled off as he consistently fails to leave his mark on proceedings.

He has failed to score a goal, provided just one assist, lost 63% of his duels and has lost possession 9.3 times per game.

His latest display against Villarreal resulted in a 3/10 match rating from one Spanish outlet, and it looks increasingly unlikely that Valencia will exercise their option to buy over the coming months.

The Verdict: Headache for Radrizzani and Orta

Costa returning to Yorkshire over the summer could provide Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta with a fresh transfer headache.

They managed to negotiate a £16.7m option to buy fee, which would have seen the Whites actually make a small profit.

His Transfermarkt valuation has now dropped to £7.2m though, the joint-lowest it has been since 2016, so Leeds may find it hard to bring in a respectable fee for his services. If Leeds can’t strike terms elsewhere, Jesse Marsch may well have to keep the underperforming winger ahead of his first full season in charge.

In other news: Sky Sports now share big news on Leeds star’s Elland Road future; ‘dealing’ already happening. 

Manchester City fans want to sign Raphinha after they were linked with a move for the winger.

The Citizens are on the verge of wrapping up the Premier League title and are still in with a chance of lifting their first ever Champions League trophy. However, that has not stopped the club’s board from planning for next season and beyond. As such, City are said to have joined the race for the £22.5m-valued 24-year-old (Transfermarkt), with both Liverpool and Manchester United also interested (Gianluigi Longari).

The Brazilian has impressed during his first campaign with Leeds United. In 26 Premier League matches, he has managed six goals and six assists (Transfermarkt), and has done well as part of Marcelo Bielsa’s system. However, Pep Guardiola already has a plethora of attacking options at his disposal – does he really need another one?

The news of City’s interest was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Raphinha news below

“He’d look like Messi in this team…”

Credit: @mcfcalfie

“Better than sterling”

Credit: @BLACKEDHART

“Yesssssssssssss”

Credit: @Kelvi_nnn

“We Need Him As soon as Yesterday… Amazing player(@Raphinha).. Great skill.. Would also be a great addition and investment for the team not to mention He’s Man City material let’s Get him please”

Credit: @forrest76768660

“Would love him at the club for sure”

Credit: @FerociousFerran

“hes saucy would take him 100%”

Credit: @alex_hodgkiss

In other news, Manchester City fans are unhappy with news on this 22-year-old.

Having secured a 1-0 victory in their previous SPFL match against Livingston, Rangers are back in action this afternoon with an away clash against Ross County next up for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in their latest attempt at moving a step closer to securing the league title.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Van Bronckhorst could select to be in his starting XI to take on County this afternoon, one figure that didn’t start against Livingston but ended playing a big part in the win that we feel should be in the team from the beginning on this occasion is Scott Arfield. 

After replacing James Sands in the 59th minute in midweek, Arfield managed to get his name on the scoresheet and score the vital goal that earned Rangers the three points on the day. 

With that in mind, it would be a good option to give Arfield, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £16k-per-week according to Salary Sport, the chance to potentially add another goal to his tally for the season from the start rather than the substitutes bench again. 

Also, with Van Bronckhorst recently sharing his wishes at seeing the Canadian stay at the club for the foreseeable future after his current contract at Ibrox expires at the end of the season, starting him this afternoon would be a good way of proving just how important he is for the team.

Labelled as a “reliable” player for Rangers by Kenny Miller, Arfield has racked up 165 appearances for the Scottish champions across all competitions with 32 goals and 18 assists under his belt, showing not only how experienced he is but also how capable he is in front of goal.

Taking into account how the 33-year-old has already scored against County this season back in August during Rangers’ 4-2 win, he now has the chance to haunt them again this time around and terrify them with his goalscoring ability.

Moving forward, while the midfielder proved in the game against Livingston how much of a useful impact player he can be for Rangers off the substitutes bench, it could be worth starting him this time to see if he can help his side have a more comfortable game this time around.

In other news: “Monitoring”: Journalist delivers key Rangers transfer update which Van Bronckhorst will love…

Manchester United have reportedly ended their interest in Eduardo Camavinga, Saul Niguez and Ruben Neves, with Paul Pogba now set to remain at the club, but it could be another midfielder who has the biggest impact at Old Trafford in the years to come.

What’s the story?

According to the Daily Mail, French giants Paris Saint-Germain can no longer afford to sign Pogba this summer following their shock move for six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.

However, the report claims that the highly-rated 28-year-old is expected to depart United as a free agent for the second time in 12 months’ time, meaning current understudy Donny van de Beek should have an ideal opportunity to shine.

The Netherlands international arrived in Manchester for £40 million prior to the 2020/21 campaign following two standout seasons with boyhood club Ajax, yet he struggled to settle on English shores, limiting him to just four Premier League starts.

Now though, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must place his faith in the technically gifted maestro, potentially saving the club millions when it comes to finding Pogba’s successor.

Fans would love to see him flourish

After scoring 41 goals and providing 34 assists in 175 games for Ajax, as well as winning a domestic double in 2018/19 as they reached the Champions League semi-finals, Van de Beek arrived at Old Trafford with high expectations.

Nevertheless, the new environment and physical, fast-paced nature of the Premier League often looked a bit too much for the midfielder to take in last term, although he did show his true potential on occasions.

One such time was against Istanbul Basaksehir while on European duty, and his impressive showing drew praise from former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves.

“I thought Van de Beek was close to perfect. He is so unselfish, he can just fit in and play the right balls everywhere,” said the BT Sports pundit.

The technically gifted midfielder has embarked on physical transformation over the summer months after injury meant he had to pull out of Hollands Euro 2020 squad, improving his strength, balance and agility.

“He’s put on a bit of muscle,” Solskjaer said of the Van de Beek “He’d had last season to learn about English football, and he’s used the summer well.

“You never know how players from abroad come in. Some players need a year. You see Fred’s development, but there are other players that just come in and take to it straight away. It depends.”

And now it’s time for Solsjaer to reward Van de Beek’s dedication with a string of regular starts, allowing him to showcase his true, top-class quality on a consistent basis.

With Marcus Rashford sidelined until October through injury and Jesse Lingard unavailable after testing positive for Covid, Pogba could take up residency on the left-wing for the first few weeks of the new campaign, allowing the Dutchman a chance to prove that he can be the World Cup-winning star’s natural heir.

Every club’s fans love a comeback story, but no side is more associated with them than United, and the fanbase would surely love to witness Van de Beek begin his this season.

And, in other news…Journalist drops intriguing Man Utd transfer update, fans will be delighted

Tottenham Hotspur hero Graham Roberts is worried that Son Heung-Min may look to leave the club, telling Football FanCast that Harry Kane’s potential exit could have a devastating knock-on effect.

Sky Sports News has reported that Kane has asked to leave the club in the summer transfer window after growing tired of their inability to win trophies.

Spurs are facing a real fight to qualify for Europe this season and Kane is said to already be at the centre of a transfer fight; Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United are all said to have made enquiries towards his availability, per the report.

Son has enjoyed an exceptional season, scoring 22 goals in all competitions and laying on 17 assists, but he has yet to sign a new contract at the club despite reported protracted negotiations.

The £140,000-a-week South Korea international’s current deal expires in 2023 and Roberts is concerned that he may hesitate to put pen to paper if Kane does leave.

He told FFC: “The problem you’ve got is Heung-Min Son, we need to keep him.

“They’re talking about him signing a new contract.

“If you’re Son and they get rid of Harry Kane, what’s the ambition there?”

Tottenham Hotspur appointed Nuno Santo as their new manager on Wednesday evening, but someone who was never anywhere near having talks or getting the job was Gennaro Gattuso, according to Spurs legend Graham Roberts.

Gattuso was linked with the job in the immediate aftermath of talks breaking down between Spurs and Paulo Fonseca after he left his role at Fiorentina just 23 days from being appointed following disagreements with the board.

The Italian was a very left-field option when news broke of him being linked with the job, but he was never an actual candidate to replace Jose Mourinho according to Roberts, who spoke exclusively to Football FanCast:

“Gattuso was never ever even mentioned at Tottenham Hotspur football club and that’s from a good source.

“It was just paper talk and Jorge Mendes pushing it.”

Daniel Levy has brought in Fabio Paratici from Juventus and handed him the task of finding the right man to take Tottenham forward following their regression ever since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked.

Following talks and links with the likes of Erik Ten Hag, Antonio Conte and Fonseca, it appears that Nuno was not one of Spurs’ top targets when they began their search for a new manager.

Nuno looks to have a huge job on his hands in the hot seat at Spurs with the squad in need of a revamp, much like his previous club Wolves, who are also in need of being improved.

With Valerien Ismael’s West Bromwich Albion side having bounced back from their first defeat of the Championship season with a 1-0 win in their last outing, the Frenchman will have undoubtedly been hoping for yet another positive result from the trip to Swansea City on Wednesday evening in order to keep the Baggies’ hopes of a top-two finish moving in the right direction.

However, despite taking an incredibly early lead through Karlan Grant’s first-minute strike, Albion failed to capitalise on their first-half dominance, with second-half goals from Joel Piroe and Jamie Paterson turning the game on its head, and seeing Swansea take all three points at the Liberty Stadium with a 2-1 win.

As is to be expected after such a result, a number of the West Brom players did not enjoy the finest game of their respective careers, with eight of the Baggies starting XI – including the likes of Darnell Furlong, Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi – receiving a SofaScore match rating of 6.9 or below.

However, rather than any of the initial lineup, it will undoubtedly be second-half substitute Jordan Hugill who most disappointed with his display against the Swans, as the centre-forward was once again abject upon his introduction to the game.

Completed four passes

Since his arrival at The Hawthorns on a season-long loan deal this summer, it is clear for all to see that the Norwich City striker has not been in the best form of his life in a West Brom shirt, having failed to score a single goal, provide an assist or create a big chance over his eight Championship appearances prior to the Swansea game.

These are statistics that did not change on Wednesday evening, with the 29-year-old failing to even have a shot – either on or off-target – over his 34 minutes on the pitch, let alone find the back of the net.

Furthermore, the £1.8m-rated man also had just nine touches of the ball, completed a mere four passes, failed with his one attempted dribble and lost 75% of his duels against Russell Martin’s side.

These returns saw the £36k-per-week forward receive a predictably disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.5, ranking him as the Baggies’ joint third-worst performer on the night.

As such, with the player who Daniel Farke dubbed a “leader” still yet to have any real impact on West Brom’s season, Ismael’s patience with the striker must surely be starting to run out – as the 29-year-old once again failed the 46-year-old against Swansea.

In other news: Forget Hugill: Ismael could save WBA millions by placing trust in 20 y/o “star boy”

Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser says West Ham United are not willing to meet West Bromwich Albion’s demands for Sam Johnstone.

Despite suffering relegation from the Premier League, England international goalkeeper Johnstone was one of the Baggies’ leading lights and made 37 appearances.

Thanks to his impressive performances between the sticks, new West Brom head coach Valerien Ismael has conceded he expects to be without Johnstone when the Championship campaign gets underway next month.

West Ham reportedly saw a £6million bid for the 6 ft 4 stopper rejected last week, while The Athletic has revealed his current employers rate him at double that value.

Hammers boss David Moyes also holds an interest in Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who suffered relegation during a loan spell with Fulham despite some inspired displays last season.

West Ham are keen to welcome a new shot-stopper to the London Stadium as Lukasz Fabianski has entered the final 12 months of his £65,000-per-week contract.

But Rosser reckons West Brom may have priced Johnstone, who was in England’s Euro 2020 squad, out of a switch to east London.

Speaking to Football FanCast, Rosser said: “Sam Johnstone is someone they like but I think they don’t want to pay over the odds for him.

“With Fabianski still being able to be the number one, it’s not a priority.”

Sunderland are sitting pretty at the top of the League One table during the first international break of the season after winning four of their five matches in August.

Lee Johnson’s side came out winners against MK Dons, AFC Wimbledon, Blackpool and Wycombe, whilst their one defeat came in a 1-0 loss at Burton Albion. The Black Cats conceded four goals and scored eight on their way to the top of the table, with plenty of positivity to come from their excellent start to the campaign.

However, there are also areas where Sunderland can improve to make sure that they keep this run going and are ultimately successful at the end of the season. One player who let Lee Johnson down with his performances in August was wide midfielder Lynden Gooch.

The American started all five of Sunderland’s matches in League One and averaged a disappointing SofaScore rating of 6.66, placing him 12th in the squad. This suggests that the overall quality of his displays on the pitch was not high enough to make him one of their key players during August, as he struggled with his all-round game.

As per SofaScore, Gooch lost possession of the ball a whopping 89 times in August. He lost the ball 17.8 times per match, whilst averaging a passing completion rate of just 69%. The winger struggled to retain the ball for his side and gave it away on a regular basis, allowing the opposition more chances to attack Sunderland’s goal, although thankfully it did not have a major impact on the results in the grand scheme of things.

In terms of his end product when he did get into the final third, Gooch also struggled to provide high-end quality for Johnson’s side. To his credit, he did create one big chance and register one assist, but that was his only direct goal involvement over the course of the month. He missed two big chances and managed to fire off 10 shots in five games, failing to score.

Defensively, Gooch did little to make up for his flaws in possession. He won the ball back just 0.4 times per game and lost 59% of his duels on the pitch, whilst making 1.4 tackles and interceptions per game. This shows that he struggled all-round, letting Johnson down with his sub-par performances in League One throughout August.

AND in other news, Sunderland gem has seen value plummet £1.66m since leaving, Black Cats struck gold…