Liverpool have been linked with a move to sign Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar over the coming months as they search for Gini Wijnaldum’s replacement.

What’s the story?

According to ESPN, the Reds have joined fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in the race to secure the 23-year-old’s signature.

The report claims that sources told ESPN that Liverpool have been tracing Aouar’s progress for a while and could be tempted to make an offer this summer, although their relationship with the French outfit was damaged when the deal to sign Nabil Fekir collapsed back in 2018.

Klopp will be buzzing

Aouar has been linked with a move away from his boyhood club for several years now following a string of impressive performances, and Jurgen Klopp may see him as the ideal solution to his midfield conundrum.

Wijnaldum’s decision to join Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer has left a gaping hole in the Reds’ engine room, but news that the club’s hierarchy are plotting a move for the France international will surely have Klopp buzzing.

The £37.8m-rated beast first caught the eye of English clubs when he put in a standout display against Manchester City in the Champions League back in 2018, earning praise from Pep Guardiola.

“Houssem Aouar is a very good player. He is incredible,” said the Spanish tactician.

“We talk a lot about (Tanguy) Ndombele, but Aouar is also excellent. He’s always very calm with the ball at his feet, with an excellent technical quality.”

After scoring 32 goals and providing a further 31 assists in 170 appearances for Lyon, Aouar may feel that it’s time to take the next step in his career ahead of the upcoming campaign.

Known predominantly for his dribbling skills and creativity, the youngster could offer something different to this Liverpool squad and has the potential to propel them back to the summit of English football.

The Anfield faithful could well be urging director of football Michael Edwards to seal this deal, although he may have to move quickly in order to secure his man given the abundant competition for the 23-year-old’s signature.

In other news… Liverpool make approach for “extraordinary” £63m-rated gem, he’s an upgrade on Shaqiri 

BRISBANE, Oct 27 AAP – Queensland all-rounder James Hopes continued his impressive one-day record as the Bulls reined in Tasmania’s batsmen in the ING Cup cricket clash at the Gabba today.

AAP27-Oct-2002BRISBANE, Oct 27 AAP – Queensland all-rounder James Hopes continued his impressive one-day record as the Bulls reined in Tasmania’s batsmen in the ING Cup cricket clash at the Gabba today.Tasmania was bowled out for 174 in the 46th over, with Hopes claiming three wickets from his final five deliveries to finish with 4-34 from 8.5 overs.Hopes was on a hat-trick after dismissing Damien Wright (four) and Xavier Doherty with successive balls and he bowled Adam Griffith for a duck three balls later.The 24-year-old has been a handy addition to the Bulls’ one-day team, taking 16 wickets in last season’s competition.Zimbabwe-raised quick Scott Brant (3-35) started the rot for Tasmania when he claimed the key wicket of Australian all-rounder Shane Watson (eight), who was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Wade Seccombe.With opening batsman Michael DiVenuto (five) also failing, the Tigers lacked the top-order spark they needed after being sent in to bat in overcast conditions.Captain Jamie Cox revived the Tigers with an efficient knock of 78 from 91 balls, joining Sean Clingeleffer (24 from 51) in a 66-run stand for the seventh wicket.But Cox’s dismissal to Hopes, swatting a running catch for Nathan Hauritz at long off, left the Tigers in trouble.”We have a history of falling about 20 runs short so, with five guys in the shed and 10 overs left, we decided to have a go,” Cox said.”We did fight pretty hard but, with the lights on and the white ball to face, conditions were pretty difficult.”Off-spinner Hauritz (1-33 from seven overs) made a sound return in his first match in almost two months.Hauritz had been away with the Australian Test and one-day squads in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Sharjah and only returned to Brisbane on Friday morning.

Reliable reporter Fabrizio Romano dropped a little under-the-radar update on Manchester City’s pursuit of Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish following England’s win over Germany on Tuesday evening.

And his post has a number of Aston Villa supporters talking on social media.

Grealish has been linked with a move to Manchester City for a number of months. The 25-year-old came off the bench and played a part in both goals at Wembley, setting up Harry Kane to seal a place in the quarter-finals.

Romano posted on Twitter following the win regarding a number of England players who have been linked with moves during the Euros.

One of those was Grealish, and Romano replied to a Villa fan after he shared a picture of a post from Villa reporter Ashley Preece, who suggested a new Villa Park deal for Grealish was ‘pending’.

The transfer expert claimed ‘nothing advanced and no official bid from City’, concluding it ‘won’t be easy for City with Aston Villa’.

Villa fans react

Romano, who has over three million Twitter followers, tends to get thousands of likes and interactions on his transfer posts. However, his reply to the Villa fan mentioned had a limited number of likes and interaction, seemingly flying under the radar with just 30 retweets.

Here’s what these Villa supporters had to say last night in response to Romano’s answer.

“Thats the stuff I love to hear! Ready to hear you announce Grealish’s contract to Aston Villa soon aswell.”

Credit: @avfcIewis

“Magnifique”

Credit: @Pflipto

“Preece mixing it with the big boys now”

Credit: @jordstrangeAVFC

“Villa want to win things, and have the money to compete. It’ll cost insane money to prize Grealish away. Especially considering his value just went up yet again.”

Credit: @socraleese

“After the Euros his value will have increased further still, and I don’t mean $. What he means to Villa is immeasurable.”

Credit: @JayVtid

“Villa don’t want to sell”

Credit: @Davidomahony18

In other news: Villa interested in Man Utd defender, find out more here. 

KV Mechelen are hopeful of signing Celtic winger Marian Shved once more and the 23-year-old is reportedly keen on that happening, according to Belgian outlet HLN.

The Lowdown: Celtic gear up for 2021/22 campaign

Moving into 2021/22, it will be fascinating to see how new Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou reshuffles the pack as he looks to cultivate a squad capable of challenging for domestic silverware.

As a new era dawns at Celtic Park, much mystery still surrounds the remnants of the previous regime. One of those uncertain of his future at the club in recent times has been Shved, who spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Mechelen.

Could he be set to extend his stay in Belgium following recent developments?

The Latest: Shved keen on returning to Mechelen

The Daily Record reported last month that the Belgian Pro League outfit are set to approach the Glasgow giants over prolonging Shved’s loan spell as manager Wouter Vrancken went on record stating his desire to re-sign the Ukrainian, stating: “We have two loan players – Marian Shved and Ferdy Druijf – who have told us that they want to stay here next season too. So we have to see what Celtic and AZ say about it and try to come to an agreement with them.

On Monday, HLN reported that Vrancken hopes to have the aforementioned duo back at Mechelen next term. The manager commented: “They are eager to come back to play for us, but we are waiting for an agreement at club level. If they come in, then we are in very good shape for this season.”

The Verdict: Shved should extend his loan stint at Mechelen

Intriguingly, Celtic could use a player of the 23-year-old’s profile heading into a fresh campaign at Parkhead.

Excelling in Belgium circa 2020/21, Shved has managed to make 24 appearances for the AFAS Stadium inhabitants registering eight goal contributions; five goals and three assists [Transfermarkt].

Demonstrating his fearlessness in front of target, he had an average of 1.8 shots per 90 minutes across the calendar year [WhoScored]

Despite these promising signs, the former Sevilla winger needs to be partaking in regular football in what is a crucial stage of his career whether in Scotland or further afield. During his time with the Celts, Shved has only made featured three times scoring once [Transfermarkt].

If they can attract the ideal architype of positional replacement for Shved, Celtic should sanction another season-long loan deal to KV Mechelen to continue his footballing development.

In other news, Celtic are interested in an ambitious swoop for a Serie A midfielder.

نجح فريقا أسوان والداخلية في التأهل لمنافسات الدوري المصري الممتاز خلال الموسم المقبل بعد أن ضمنا التربع على قمة ترتيب مجموعتي الصعيد والقاهرة.

واستطاع فريق أسوان أن يهزم ديروط بهدفٍ نظيف في إطار لقاءات الجولة السادسة والعشرين ليصل للنقطة 62 في مجموعة الصعيد.

طالع ايضا.. أحمد دياب يعلن تغيير موعد مباراة الزمالك والإسماعيلي

وتأهل فريق الداخلية الذي يمتلك 60 نقطة في جدول ترتيب مجموعة القاهرة، بعد تعادل بتروجت أقرب منافسيه مع زد في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما اليوم.

ويحل بتروجيت في وصافة الترتيب بمجموعة القاهرة برصيد 48 نقطة، ويتبقى 4 جولات فقط على انتهاء منافسات دوري الدرجة الثانية لكن فريق الداخلية يتفوق عليه بالنتائج المباشرة بعد فوزه في مبارياتهما بالدور الأول والثاني.

MatériaMais Notícias

No início do mês, durante a final da Taça Guanabara entre Flamengo e Fluminense, um senhor de 84 anos protagonizou uma cena digna de filme, saindo escondido da família para ver o clássico no Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos.

Tricolor desde que se entende por gente, o aposentado Orly Pimentel Ribeiro, morador do Bairro de Barros Filho, resolveu assistir seu time de coração na decisão escondido da família. O caso inusitado ficou famoso após seu neto, Roberto Ribeiro Freitas, compartilhar a ‘escapulida’ em uma rede social. Ao LANCE!, Roberto disse que ninguém suspeitou o desaparecimento do progenitor.

– Mesmo aposentado, ele sempre sai para vender doces e balas, não gosta de ficar em casa. Quando ele saiu, minha tia que mora com ele achou que ele ia vender doces – , revelou Roberto, que disse que afamília não acreditou quando viu o senhor na televisão:

– Todo Mundo ficou Surpreso, Não esperavam.

Ao chegar em casa, Orly ainda aproveitou para brincar com os parentes rubro-negros: – Ficou muito feliz, principalmente porque 90% dá família é flamenguista e ele pôde tirar bastante sarro do pessoal.

Essex entertain India next week between Wednesday 14th August and Saturday17th August at the County Ground, Chelmsford in the Vodafone Challenge Series.The Indians include in their squad the likes of, Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997, Sachin Tendulkar (rated by many as the best batsman in the world), V V S Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Wasim Jaffer. It is expected that Laxman, Tendulkar and Essex’s Andy Flower will receive their Wisden Awards at the County Ground on Wednesday.The game has sold well corporately, and Essex Commercial Manager, Dave Comley, is looking forward to a good occasion: “The Indians are always a great showpiece, and corporately we are virtually sold out on the first three days. We are hoping for four hot August days, and we are anticipating putting the heat on the touring side with a good Essex performance. There are some great names in the Indian Squad at the moment and we are looking forward to welcoming them at the County Ground. We are expecting a strong Asian contingent at the match and a great atmosphere is expected as we hope the public will take advantage of the opportunity to see some of the best players in the world at Chelmsford.”Tickets are still available pre-match at £14 and £9, and can be ordered on01245 254010. Tickets may also be purchased on the day. Members can bringunlimited guests and a special souvenir programme will be available.

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa is now being wanted by Fiorentina to take over the reins at the Serie A club.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the Argentine is expected to put pen to paper on a new contract at Elland Road, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that this should be done “soon”.

However, RAI journalist Sara Meini has revealed that Fiorentina are plotting a move to lure Bielsa away from Yorkshire, adding that he figures among the contenders to take over the manager’s job there.

Nightmare for Andrea Radrizzani

Make no mistake about it, losing Bielsa this summer would be the kind of seismic blow from which Leeds would find it extremely difficult to recover.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Brian Deane said of the Argentine: “He’s brought a massive change to the club and I don’t know what the figures are, but he’s delivered. He’s over-delivered.

“I think their target was to finish fourth bottom and look where they are in the table, so he’s doing something good. And I’m sure these guys have factored into any budget that they’re going to offer the manager.”

Touching on what Bielsa has managed to do at Leeds, former Wigan manager Paul Jewell told FFC: “What I like about Bielsa is, and I think he can speak English but he’s pulling our legs, so fair play to him, but what I like about him is that he doesn’t make excuses.

“The difference he’s made to those Leeds players like Dallas, Cooper and Ayling, the list is endless. They were Championship players, and not great ones, but he’s turned them into Premier League players.

“He deserves unbelievable credit and he won’t have a trophy at the end of the season, but what a manager he is.”

As Jewell says, Bielsa has turned essentially lower-division players into fully-fledged Premier League stars, and even internationals in the case of England hero Kalvin Phillips.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/leeds-united-marcelo-bielsa-transfer-gossip-rumours-news-elland-road-rodrigo-de-paul” title=”Read the latest Leeds transfer rumours and news!”]

It would be a massive nightmare for Radrizzani to lose Bielsa to Fiorentina, and it’s exactly why he must be proactive in trying to get the Argentine to put pen to paper on a new deal at Leeds as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this Copa America star…

If he ever needed motivation to beat the West Indies, and events yesterday will have provided him with plenty, New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has another

Lynn McConnell18-Jun-2002If he ever needed motivation to beat the West Indies, and events yesterday will have provided him with plenty, New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has another.It relates to the ICC Test Championship that losing captains say they don’t take any notice of while long-suffering captains who achieve some consistency of performance are only too happy to acknowledge, in much the same way as politicians rate opinion polls.If you hadn’t already noticed, by virtue of Sri Lanka’s series loss in England, they have lost their third place on the championship ladder and New Zealand have stepped into the breach, this despite their record loss to Pakistan in their last Test match outing.Such is the nature of the table, however, that if New Zealand can be sufficiently fired up to perform well against the West Indies they will strengthen position on the Test table.The table at the moment reads:Australia 1.54 1, South Africa 1.50 2, New Zealand 1.13 3, Sri Lanka 1.07 4, England 1.06 5, West Indies 0.93 6, Pakistan 0.81 7, India 0.79 8, Zimbabwe 0.50 9, Bangladesh 0 10.It is one of the inequities of the system developed for the championship that New Zealand can suffer a hiding as they did against Pakistan but it counts for nothing because the two match series was abandoned before that game could be played.However, the prize for New Zealand from success would be significant.If they could win the series in the West Indies, and their toughest rival may well be the weather, they would move to an average of 1.18.If they draw the series, they will drop ever so slightly to 1.12. However, if they lose they would slip back below Sri Lanka and join England in fourth on the table.The West Indies’ average too can increase or decrease but not by enough to affect their current ranking. They won the last series in the West Indies 1-0, but this falls outside of the initial five-year cut off period set by the ICC for the championship.

According to a report by Sport, via Sport Witness, Tottenham Hotspur have now entered talks to sign Barcelona midfielder Miralem Pjanic, with the Lilywhites ‘already negotiating’ over a loan move.

The Lowdown: Spurs eyeing Pjanic?

Tottenham have only just recently entered contention for Pjanic, with Sport reporting last week that the Lilywhites have made an approach over his signature.

Indeed, Barcelona are apparently trying to offload the Bosnian in an effort to reduce their massive wage bill, with Sport now bringing another update on Pjanic to Spurs.

The Latest: Spurs ‘already negotiating’…

As per the Spanish outlet (via Sport Witness), Tottenham have now entered talks to sign the 31-year-old on loan and are ‘already negotiating’ with the La Liga giants. The player is reportedly determined to leave this summer and does not want to return to Barcelona for preseason.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-updates-4/” title=”Spurs latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Pjanic is also regularly speaking to his representatives and wants to resolve his future this week, with his agent ‘working against the clock’ to secure a move for the player.

The 31-year-old would prefer Juventus, but the Serie A club’s own need to offload midfielders before signing one has prompted his agent to look at other options. As a result, Tottenham have entered the fray and are already in talks over a possible loan deal.

Everything apparently indicates that he will leave on a temporary basis this summer, and Spurs are willing to take care of Pjanic’s wages as long as the loan is free.

Furthermore, new manager Nuno Espirito Santo has approved the move whilst giving the green light to swoop.

The Verdict: Good move?

The 100-cap midfield maestro would provide a wealth of experience at Spurs, having made 80 appearances in the Champions League over a long career at the top level (Transfermarkt).

It’s clear that his latest campaign at Barcelona didn’t quite work out like his previously fruitful seasons in Serie A, but over his 19 La Liga appearances last term, he still managed an impressive 91.4% pass accuracy (WhoScored).

This perhaps points to a player who can provide composure and technical quality in Tottenham’s midfield, with pundit Noel Whelan certainly impressed by the links to Pjanic. Speaking to Football Insider, the former Leeds striker branded the Bosnian an ‘amazing player’ and feels that he is the kind of signing Spurs fans will want to see.

While his £210,000-per-week wages could prove complicated, it’s little wonder why Spurs are reportedly in negotiations for the Barcelona man.

In other news: Spurs frontrunners to sign ‘absolutely sensational’ player with Nuno set for final call, find out more here.