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Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse was the subject of serious summer ‘interest’, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Southampton’s transfer battle

The Daily Mirror claimed that Premier League sides West Ham and Newcastle United were both keen on signing the 27-year-old during the recent window, though a move failed to materialise before the deadline.

The Saints stood firm in their transfer stance and held the upper hand given their captain still has four years remaining on his contract, so were successful in their attempts to maintain his services.

The Latest: Ward-Prowse’s ‘unwelcome’ interest

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said that Southampton still wouldn’t be looking to entertain selling Ward-Prowse but confirmed the interest was very much ‘real’:

“With Ward-Prowse, there was interest in him in the summer, and it was like the first time we’d ever seen anything real happening around him. It was very unwelcome from a Southampton point of view, and I think they would still have that stance now.”

The Verdict: Boost for Hasenhuttl

Southampton will have been delighted to keep Ward-Prowse beyond the window as he’s such an integral member of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s starting XI.

The England international pretty much starts every fixture he is available for every season and is constantly one of the club’s highest performing players (WhoScored).

The Saints are currently underachieving though so will need to quickly turn their form around if they don’t want their standout performer to consider leaving at the next given opportunity.

Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson is ‘doing everything’ he can to get himself fit and ready to play, according to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie.

The Lowdown: Wilson’s injury

After a strong start to the Premier League season saw the 30-year-old net twice in the Magpies’ opening three games, the Toon’s number nine picked up a hamstring injury in the 3-3 draw against Manchester City last month.

The striker was in contention to make Eddie Howe’s squad for their previous league game against Bournemouth but the manager decided against risking his fitness, instead opting to go with August arrival Alexander Isak as the team’s lone centre-forward.

As a result, the Englishman has missed Newcastle’s last four top-flight matches with his hamstring injury.

The Latest: Downie’s claim

Downie has now shared news of Wilson’s attempts to get back to full fitness at Darsley Park.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the Sky Sports reporter claimed: “By all accounts Wilson’s doing everything behind the scenes to get himself back involved as soon as he can.

“I mean he’ll probably be looking at the England squad last week and seeing Ivan Toney getting called up and thinking, you know, if I kept myself fit and maybe scored a couple of goals, that could have been me.

“So, a difficult situation for him but he’s been there and he’s done it before and I think he’s strong minded enough now that he’ll just kind of want to get back as soon as he can.”

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The Verdict: Could be a big boost for Newcastle

Wilson’s career has been plagued by injuries, meaning that he has been unable to reach his full potential in the Premier League.

For example, the attacker netted eight goals in 18 games last season, a tally which could easily have been much higher if various long-term injuries did not get in his way.

Having played just 49 games for the Magpies since his arrival in 2020, the former Cherries marksman has bagged an impressive 22 goals, illustrating his natural goalscoring ability in the final third.

Therefore, if Wilson can get a run of games behind him without succumbing to yet another injury, his return to fitness will surely come as a huge boost for Howe and Newcastle.

West Ham United are ‘actively trying’ to sign three players before September’s transfer deadline, according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor.

The Lowdown: Poor start

Although David Moyes has welcomed six permanent additions to the London Stadium this summer, the Hammers remain keen on bringing in a number of new players as the club look to prepare for a busy season, with both the Premier League and a potential Europa Conference League group stage campaign at hand.

Of the new additions, only Thilo Kehrer has featured in the Iron’ starting XI in the league so far this term, with the others making brief cameos coming off the bench.

However, with three defeats in their opening three top-flight fixtures, Moyes clearly needs to change something, with the east Londoners currently bottom of the Premier League table.

The Latest: Taylor’s news

Taylor has shared details of three deals that West Ham are hoping to get over the line before the window closes, although he claims that owners GSB are struggling to make substantial progress in the market.

The Irons are currently working on moves for two centre-backs in Spezia’s Jakub Kiwior and Fenerbahçe’s Attila Szalai, in addition to Club Brugge midfielder Hans Vanaken.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the reliable journalist stated: “I think Kiwior, Szalai, and Vanaken are ones that West Ham are actively trying to do at the moment. But the kind of situation with West Ham at the moment seems to be they’re not really making any progress on a number of deals.

“We saw the Emerson deal initially collapse, and the Club Brugge lad [Vanaken] seems to be sort of being held in Belgium at the moment, in terms of they don’t want him to go.”

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The Verdict: Need to avoid another injury crisis

Whilst undertaking a busy schedule in the Europa League last season, the Hammers’ lack of depth really came to the fore when they suffered a defensive crisis in the run-up to their semi-final clash against Eintracht Frankfurt.

With Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma already unavailable, Issa Diop sustained an ankle injury, leaving Craig Dawson as Moyes’ only fit centre-back to face the eventual tournament winners.

Other areas of the pitch were also affected towards the end of the campaign, with fatigue visibly evident throughout the team as they dropped to seventh in the Premier League for a finish.

Therefore, with eight departures already confirmed this summer, three further additions to Moyes’ squad would help to alleviate the lack of depth currently inhibiting West Ham (they currently have the smallest player pick in the top flight) as they seek to turn a corner after their awful start to the domestic campaign.

Glasgow Rangers could receive a big injury lift over attacker Ryan Kent in the Premiership this week… 

What’s the latest?

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has said that he is hoping to have the mercurial winger back in the squad for the clash with Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Saturday.

The gem was absent as the Light Blues lost away from home in their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday night and the head coach has provided an update on the Englishman’s knock.

He told Premier Sport, via Football Scotland: “Ryan had a bad moment on Saturday when he had some problems with his ankle. Hopefully, he will be better for Saturday or Tuesday. John (Souttar) also has a problem so we are assessing him.”

He was missed

Journalist Josh Bunting claimed that the Gers “missed Ryan Kent badly” and it is not hard to see why van Bronckhorst felt the impact of his absence.

BBC Sport’s report claimed that their attack was choked by the opposition and that may be because they did not have the former Liverpool man’s quality out wide.

Kent is a player capable of consistently making things happen in the final third with his ability to take players on and create chances for his teammates. He could have used his pace to cause problems on the counter-attack, which would get the team up the pitch and push the opposition back – giving the Gers a foothold in the match.

The winger would then have had the end product on the ball to unlock the defence with a cross or splitting pass. In the Premiership last term, the Englishman created a whopping 10 ‘big chances’ and racked up eight assists, whilst making 1.7 key passes per match.

This came after he produced nine assists in the Scottish top-flight in 2020/21, creating nine ‘big chances’ and making 1.8 key passes per game.

The gem also started the current campaign in fine form as he created four chances in the 2-1 win over Livingston and set up Scott Arfield’s equalising goal.

These statistics suggest that he has the creativity to break teams down in tight games and that is why van Bronckhorst missed him badly in the loss to Union Saint-Gilloise.

The manager will, therefore, be hoping that the attacker is now able to overcome his injury issue in order to face Kilmarnock at the weekend as his quality will be needed out on the left wing.

Everton making a move for Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe runs the risk of being a ‘big mistake’, journalist Pete O’Rourke has said.

The Lowdown: Everton linked with Pepe

According to the Liverpool Echo, recent reports have suggested that the Toffees could rival Premier League trio West Ham, Newcastle and Leicester for the 27-year-old, who joined the Gunners for a club-record £72m fee three years ago.

Pepe made just five starts in the top flight for Arsenal last season, with the last of those all the way back in October. His overall record for the club stands at a modest 27 goals in 112 appearances.

With the arrival of Gabriel Jesus at the Emirates Stadium, we could end up seeing the £140,000-a-week Ivory Coast international fall even further down Mikel Arteta’s pecking order.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s claim

O’Rourke has weighed in on Pepe’s rumoured loan move to Everton.

When questioned about whether the winger runs the risk of being another expensive mistake for the Toffees, the journalist told The Transfer Tavern:

“Well, he’s got the risk of being a big mistake in the transfer window considering probably a lot of Arsenal fans see the move to the Emirates as a mistake because he just hasn’t met the expectations of his big money move from Lille.

“But as I said, I think there is potential there in Pepe if somebody can get the best out of him.”

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The Verdict: Could be another mistake

Everton have had their fair share of expensive mistakes in recent times.

In 2019, Alex Iwobi arrived at Goodison Park after the Blues stumped up £35m to sign the winger. However, in 97 games for the Merseyside outfit, he has scored just seven goals and produced a mere seven assists. As a result, his market valuation has dropped all the way down to £16.2m.

Elsewhere, the highly-rated Moise Kean joined Everton from Juventus for £25.1m just three years ago. However, after struggling to establish himself as a starter, the striker’s record sits at just four goals in 39 games for the club. Consequently, he has been sent out on loan twice since his arrival in 2019.

With Pepe having a similarly arid career to these two attackers, Frank Lampard should think twice about signing him, as it could end up being another expensive mistake for Everton, with huge wages needed to secure his signature.

Celtic’s hopes of signing Randers striker Stephen Odey have been handed a big boost, with the latest reports suggesting that he would be open to a move to Parkhead this summer.

What’s the word?

Celtic have been heavily linked with the Nigerian centre-forward in recent weeks, along with their Old Firm rivals, and it seems as if he would be keen on a move away from Denmark this summer as he looks to test himself at a bigger club.

When asked about the interest Celtic and their fierce rivals were showing in him, he said: “These are big clubs, and it is clear that this is something that I want to be open to.”

With that in mind, it looks as though the Hoops have been handed a much-needed green light in their bid to sign him.

Supporters will be buzzing

Odey’s form last season suggests that he would be an excellent addition to Ange Postecoglou’s side this summer, as the Australian boss looks to build upon his title-winning side from last season, while also strengthening ahead of a campaign in the Champions League.

The 24-year-old forward hit 13 goals and two assists in 32 appearances for the Danish league side, improving upon recent steady campaigns with FC Zurich and Amiens SC.

It was always likely that Postecoglou would look to bring in another natural centre-forward this summer, as Albian Ajeti struggled for game time last season, which leaves Giorgos Giakoumakis as the only consistent senior central option at Celtic Park.

If Odey can be convinced to join this summer, then Celtic would arguably be rectifying a transfer mistake from the past, as they were linked with the young forward back in 2018 after an impressive season with Nigerian side Mountain of Fire, before he made the move to Switzerland with Zurich.

After his departure, Mountain of Fire manager Fidelis Ilechukwu said:

“Stephen Odey was exceptional when he was with us. He has moved on and I wish him the best. We need a good replacement who will be as deadly in front of goal as Odey was.”

Considering the number of goals Celtic scored last season and the number of chances they are likely to create again next season, especially with the quality they have in midfield and out wide, signing a ‘deadly’ striker such as Odey will only improve them further, and supporters will surely be delighted to hear that he is open to a move to Glasgow.

AND in other news, Celtic can land Jota 2.0 as Postecoglou eyes “extraordinary” £1.08m-rated trickster…

Leeds United correspondent Graham Smyth has labelled a move for former West Ham forward Sonny Perkins as ‘one to watch’.

The Lowdown: Perkins a free agent

The 18-year-old, who Leeds reporter James Marshment has said could be a ‘£20m’ player in ‘three or four years’, departed West Ham on Friday.

The Hammers confirmed that the forward turned down a professional contract at the London Stadium, believing that ‘he was approached to sign for another club which led to him asking to be released from his scholarship’.

Leeds were thought to be lining up a deal for the teenager last month, and Smyth has now made an intriguing claim on a potential Elland Road move.

The Latest: Smyth’s comments on Perkins

Smyth shared a Q&A for The Yorkshire Evening Post on Saturday, answering numerous Whites-related topics.

When asked about Perkins, the reporter described a potential transfer as ‘one to watch’, adding that the forward ‘won’t be without a club for long’.

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Smyth outlined:

“West Ham United made it very clear in a statement yesterday that they’re unhappy with the Sonny Perkins situation but ultimately he has left the club and he will sign for someone else. Leeds were far from alone in admiring the 18-year-old this and West Ham did not specify which club they believe have made an approach that has ‘led him to asking to be released from his scholarship.’

“Leeds are making no comment on this one but it’s one to watch. He won’t be without a club for long and whether or not the FA get involved remains to be seen.”

The Verdict: Need to act fast

Leeds now have a free run at signing Perkins after his departure from West Ham, but they may need to be quick to avoid disappointment. Smyth stated that the Whites aren’t alone in admiring the teenager, with Aston Villa linked last month and Tottenham also entering the race in recent days.

Perkins only needs to look at the rise of Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood at Elland Road to see that there is a clear pathway into the first team from academy level, so that could play in Leeds’ favour should the race for the 18-year-old heat up.

Aston Villa could use Douglas Luiz to sign Moise Kean from Juventus, Italian journalist Marcello Chirico has claimed. 

The lowdown

Last summer, Juventus signed Kean on loan from Everton with an obligation to buy him for £24million.

Kean did make 44 appearances in 2021/22 but starting opportunities proved to be limited. Max Allegri selected him from the off in just 12 Serie A matches, and one Champions League fixture.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans reported in May that Steven Gerrard may look to add ‘another forward option’ to his squad during the summer transfer window.

And transfer insider Dean Jones recently suggested that Villa might look to move Luiz on.

The latest

Chirico tweeted on Monday afternoon that ‘Aston Villa is interested’ in signing Kean this summer.

They have apparently ‘offered’ midfielder Luiz to the Bianconeri as part of the deal.

The verdict

Transfermarkt value Luiz at £31.5million, £7.5million more than Juventus have agreed to pay for Kean. And given that the Italian is clearly a little way down the pecking order at the Allianz Stadium, it seems unlikely that they would demand cash in addition to Luiz.

That, then, raises the prospect of a straight swap, an ‘unusual’ occurrence in football.

Is Kean the kind of no. 9 Villa should look for?

Well, his return of six goals last season is underwhelming, but remember, he rarely started games.

And the previous season, at Paris Saint-Germain, Kean commendably bagged 17 goals, with manager Thomas Tuchel dubbing him ‘fearless’ and former PSG player Eric Rabesandratana also praising his Edinson Cavani-esque work-rate.

Signing the seven-time trophy-winner would still be a risk, though, given that he struggled in his previous stint with an English club, netting only four times in 39 outings for Everton.

In other news, one pundit thinks this £120k-p/w star may have fallen out with Villa after he was transfer listed.

According to Sky Sports injury expert Ben Dinnery, Manchester City could have an agreement in place with Gareth Southgate to make sure that right-back Kyle Walker isn’t too heavily involved whilst on duty with England this month.

The Lowdown: Walker’s injury concerns

The 32-year-old veteran sustained an ankle injury earlier in the season during the Sky Blues’ Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. Pep Guardiola at one point even confirmed that the £150k-per-week star had been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Despite these fears, the defender managed to make a comeback and was named on the bench for City’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on the final day of the season, which clinched the Manchester outfit the Premier League title in dramatic style.

It was then revealed by the club’s media team just last week that the Sheffield-born talent had been included in the Three Lions squad for their upcoming Nations League games.

The Latest: Dinnery’s agreement claim

Speaking during an interview with Football Insider, Dinnery revealed that he thinks Southgate will be very sensible when it comes to Walker’s game time. He told correspondent Adam Williams:

“He is a very, very fit player.

“We saw that when he returned in the Champions League semi-final. He had done very little training with the group but he put his body on the line.

“Then, after being ruled out for the season, he made a surprise inclusion on the bench for the final day. The time between then and now will certainly have helped him.

“I’m sure Gareth Southgate will have agreed with clubs that he won’t be pushing players unnecessarily. I can’t see Kyle Walker playing every minute of every game.”

The Verdict: An integral England starter

The City gem first made his England debut under Fabio Capello 11 years ago and has since gone on to become an integral part of the Wembley outfit’s starting XI, having been capped 65 times to provide eight assists across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Walker has been equally as effective in and out of possession for Southgate’s team, where he averages 1.3 tackles and clearances apiece along with 6.5 long balls per game, via WhoScored, showing the impact he can have at both ends of the pitch.

The Three Lions are set to face Germany, Italy, and Hungary in their forthcoming fixtures over the next few weeks as they begin their preparations for the start of the World Cup in November.

In other news… a Manchester City first-team star has been told he is free to leave the club this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte could be ready to set up a transfer for Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Major summer ahead…

The Lilywhites and transfer chief Fabio Paratici are tasked with backing Conte in the summer transfer market and ensuring the Italian has everything he needs to maintain Spurs’ remarkable return to form.

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Just after the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo, few would’ve envisaged Tottenham in their strong Premier League position with just one point needed against the relegated Norwich on Sunday to secure Champions League football.

The north-Londoners, to appease their new miracle worker in Conte, have been tipped to target a plethora of fresh faces with just as many going the opposite direction (The Telegraph).

A major overhaul could be on the cards this summer with claim from The Mirror now surfacing involving Inter striker Martinez.

The Latest: Spurs could ‘hijack’ Martinez move…

It is believed that Spurs are ‘ready to hijack a transfer’ from rivals Arsenal if they seal a return to the Champions League on Sunday.

As they eye a move for the Argentine, The Mirror say ‘Conte could rub salt in the Gunners’ wounds’ by setting up a move for Martinez after they potentially beat their neighbours to a place in Europe’s most coveted competition.

This comes as chairman Daniel Levy is ‘on standby for major upgrades’ following Tottenham’s ‘surge to the brink’ of a European Cup return.

The Verdict: Top striker target?

The 24-year-old is finishing 2021/2022 in sublime form, scoring seven goals in his last six Serie A matches, leaving little wonder Inter won’t let him leave for less than £70 million.

That being said, Martinez could be the ideal man to partner or provide competition for Harry Kane if Levy is indeed willing to invest.

The £180,000-per-week forward has been called ‘perfect’ for England by former Man United midfielder Owen Hargreaves and it is believed that Paratici personally ‘loves’ Inter’s in-form talisman (Gianluca Di Marzio).

He’s also bagged 21 top flight goals and three assists in total this campaign and we believe he could be a big upgrade for Conte.

In other news: ‘I’ve heard…’ – Sky Sports reporter hints £64m ‘nightmare’ could be open to joining Spurs! Find out more here.