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Leeds United most recently oversaw a vast summer of change, with Jesse Marsch using his first transfer window as boss to completely overhaul the squad.

Losing Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips was a huge blow for the American, and so extra reinforcements were brought in to ensure that their output could be maintained despite their absence.

The Brazilian in particular felt like a big blow, given how he was their top scorer and played an integral part in escaping the drop.

He would join Barcelona after a long-running saga for a whopping £55m, where he has quickly become a regular under Xavi who underwent a similarly comprehensive transfer window.

However, with just two goals in 13 La Liga games, and none in their miserable Champions League campaign which saw them crash out at the group stages, it has hardly been the start of dreams for the 25-year-old.

Despite this, he earned a call-up to Brazil’s national squad for this unprecedented World Cup, joining up with the vast wealth of attacking talent they possess.

Although competition for places will be incredibly tough, Tite handed the former Whites man a start on the right flank, joining up with superstars such as Neymar and Vinicius Junior.

It was expected that Raphinha might raise his level given the company he held, however, it seems like he just wilted under the pressure.

This culminated in his 6.7 SofaScore rating, which was the second worst of any of his teammates.

There were many factors that led to this poor rating, but arguably the most damning was his one-on-one miss with Serbia’s goalkeeper.

Having done well to win the ball off the centre-back, he had the option of pushing the ball just to his left to hand Neymar an open goal.

Instead, his touch let him down and he could only fire straight at the onrushing shot-stopper, much to his teammate’s dismay.

This marked one big chance missed, and at 0-0, this could have been crucial.

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Fortunately, he was bailed out by the heroics of Richarlison, but not before lost the ball a further 15 times and was successful in just two of his five dribbles, via SofaScore.

Although he did lose 58% of his duels too, his four tackles denote a forward who was willing to do the dirty work as his offence let him down. He has not lost that “incredible engine” that The Athletic’s Phil Hay once tied to him.

Regardless, this display offers a culmination of his disappointing time since moving to Catalonia.

Although he is undoubtedly missed at Elland Road, director of football Victor Orta and co will feel that he hit the jackpot with the big-money sale of an attacker now struggling in front of goal.

Aston Villa are reportedly interested in securing a deadline day deal for Wolves midfielder Leander Dendoncker.

What’s the news?

In a recent Twitter post, journalist Mike McGrath revealed that the Villa Park outfit have “held talks” over a deal for the Belgian.

A move has since developed further with Sky Sports confirming the Midlands club have submitted a £13m bid for the player.

Wolves originally signed the 27-year-old on loan from Anderlecht in the summer of 2018 before securing him on a permanent deal a year later.

During his time at Molineux, the midfielder has made 159 appearances across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and supplying four assists along the way.

Gerrard would love it

To highlight how useful he was for Bruno Lage’s side in the Premier League last season, just two other Wolves players ended the campaign with a higher percentage for shots on target than him (43.5%), while only three of his team-mates racked up a higher pass completion percentage than him (87.3%).

This shows how capable the £90k-per-week midfielder is in possession and how deadly he can be when given the chance to have an attempt at goal.

Hailed by the Wolves manager as a “top player and a top man with the right mentality”, Dendoncker would certainly offer Steven Gerrard a very capable extra midfield option in his squad, which the 42-year-old would surely love to have.

With seven clubs in the top flight having a higher pass completion percentage in the midfield third of the pitch than Villa (87.9%), there is certainly room to improve in this area for the Villans, something with which the Belgium international will surely be able to help.

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Taking into account how the midfielder has only started Wolves’ first two league games of the season and was an unused substitute for their 0-0 draw against Bournemouth last night, potentially making the short move to Villa – where he may have a better chance of playing regularly and playing under a manager like Gerrard – could be a tempting prospect for the player.

Also, with Douglas Luiz’s current contract at Villa Park set to expire next summer, this could make the Wolves colossus a suitable replacement for the Brazilian should he leave the club at that time.

If the Villans have the opportunity to take Dendoncker away from their Midlands rivals before tonight’s transfer deadline, this could be a very smart move from Johan Lange and NSWE.

Leeds United appear to be preparing for life after Kalvin Phillips, if recent claims are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to transfer insider Dean Jones, the Yorkshire outfit are taking a look at Sheffield United midfielder Sander Berge as interest in the England international ramps up this week.

Writing for GIVEMESPORT, the Eurosport journalist said that the 24-year-old was one of the names on Victor Orta’s radar, though he’s thought to be valued at around £25m by the Championship side.

Meanwhile, as per Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Premier League champions Manchester City are expected to push ahead with their plans to try and sign Phillips as a successor to Fernandinho.

Perfect Phillips replacement

If Pep Guardiola is able to secure the 26-year-old ahead of next season, then it leaves Whites boss Jesse Marsch with a huge gap to fill as he has been integral to the side defensively and with his passing ability.

Phillips was joint-second for tackles (2.7 per game), fourth for interceptions (1.2 per game) and third for long passes (3.5 per game) in 2021/22, as per WhoScored.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more” title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The Blades, meanwhile, were unable to secure a return to the Premier League but the Norweigen played a big role – not only adding six goals and four assists from midfield but he also averaged 1.1 tackles and 1.5 long balls per game.

During his time at Bramall Lane, Berge has emerged as quite the favourite, with former manager Chris Wilder singing his praises in November 2020 to VG.

He described the 6 foot 5 titan as the “complete midfielder,” adding: “He can play as an 8 and as 6. He can play in different formations.”

Journalist Conor McGilligan can also see his fit for Leeds, recently urging Victor Orta and co to sign him. He said: “[Berge] sorts out our midfield massively and is therefore worth that money.”

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Also lauded as a “Rolls-Royce” by teammate Rhian Brewster, it’s clear that the £14.4m-rated powerhouse would be a very welcome and much-needed addition at Elland Road, especially if Marsch loses his star man Phillips.

Leeds must make their move if the Englishman joins the Etihad Stadium this summer.

AND in other news, Leeds United can land their own Adeyemi with Junior Adamu transfer…

Leeds United fans have been handed an update on their pursuit of Rangers star Ryan Kent ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window…

What’s the story?

Last year, Leeds had a number of offered rejected by the Ibrox outfit, but it appears their interest in the winger has not ended, with journalist Pete O’Rourke claiming that he has some big admirers behind-the-scenes at Thorp Arch.

He said: “I think Marcelo Bielsa was a big fan of him, as is Victor Orta, so that one does seem to have some credence to it.”

Imagine him and Raphinha

After enjoying a superb season last year – he scored 13 goals and set up another 15 – Kent has continued his good form into the new campaign, managing an impressive 16 assists in just 36 games across all competitions.

The £20k-a-week earning ace was hailed by team-mate Conor Goldson as “magnificent”, while the defender also added: “He has got a lot of ability. (He is) 24-years-old, two-footed. It is not nice when he runs at you, I can tell you that personally from training. He has got everything.”

The praise does not stop there however, with Neil Dewsnip, his former coach at England U17 level, saying: “He seems to relish the atmosphere, so I think he’s in the bracket of players who think ‘the bigger, the better’. Ryan is very exciting so, when he’s good he’s devastatingly good.

“But that’s a trait of a lot of wide players. The challenge is to be consistent and I’m sure that’s what Steven and his staff will be working to achieve.”

The interest in Kent is certainly understandable especially when you consider the uncertainty surrounding the future of Raphinha.

The big talking point this summer will of course be whether the Brazilian stays put at Elland Road, and while Premier League survival would certainly help the Whites’ chances of keeping hold of him, news of Barcelona’s interest is sure to have the club sweating.

Letting Raphinha go in the transfer window would be a massive blow for Leeds given his performances for them – even this season he has managed nine goals in 28 Premier League games, and done his level-best to preserve the Whites’ top-flight status.

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But while the Brazilian’s exit would hurt, bringing in Kent would provide that same level of excitement and end product that Raphinha has brought to the table.

The man with 34 senior goals to his name could be the arrival that offsets any potential Raphinha departure this summer.

AND in other news – Leeds must finally offload £15k-p/w outcast who last played at Elland Road in 2018

Reliable Aston Villa reporter Ashley Preece shared a story regarding a possible exit for striker Wesley Moraes in January.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa supporters have been giving their thoughts to the update on social media.

The 25-year-old made the move to the Midlands back in 2019 from Club Brugge in a deal worth £22.5m. However, the Brazilian struggled in England and was just beginning to show what he was capable of before he picked up a serious knee injury against Burnley back in 2020 – he has played just 120 minutes of senior football since.

Wesley was then sent on loan to Brugge over the summer but is yet to score and has started just one game, and it seems as if a return to his native country could be on the cards.

Birmingham Live cited reports from Brazil in a story on Monday evening, where Wesley’s agent claimed that Internacional and Sao Paulo were keen on a January move. He’s reportedly cut short his loan spell with Brugge, with Sao Paulo making a direct proposal to Villa.

Villa fans react

Preece shared the news on Twitter on Tuesday morning. This is what these Villa fans had to say, with a number still not over Ben Mee’s challenge and one describing the severity of the impact the injury had on Wesley’s career as ‘crazy’.

“Blokes was awful before his horror injury, and as a result of that he’s even worse now”

Credit: @CarlReevesAVFC

“This is what happens when you have teams who play the way Burnley do. It continues to be an absolute disgrace that he wasn’t punished for that “tackle”.”

Credit: @BillBones84

“Such a shame what happened to Wesley. Crazy how an injury can completely derail everything. Mind you surely worth keeping around as a 3rd choice striker for the season?”

Credit: @Benjmeister85

“Best thing for all concerned I think. Ben Mee ruined this guys career and didn’t even get a yellow card”

Credit: @coleman83avfc

“I’m surprised anybody is prepared to take that gamble. Since he came back from that injury he looks like he can barely run”

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Credit: @DavidSmithAVFC

“It was an awful injury – and one that was recklessly inflicted – it will take a long time to recover from it – if he ever recovers. My loathing of Burnley and their thuggish ways is incapable of increasing.”

Credit: @Son_Lyme

In other news: Gerrard desperate to bring 19 y/o sensation to Villa; his last goal was watched 350k times. 

Some Everton fans have been left bemoaning a transfer update on Donny van de Beek.

Speaking earlier on in the week to Ziggo Sport Voetbal (via The Daily Express), which has since been shared by The Everton End on their Twitter page, the Manchester United ace’s agent Guido Albers has revealed that him and his client opened up discussions with the Goodison Park faithful over a potential move: “We took the initiative to find a club and our search ended up at Everton. We opened talks with Marcel Brands and Farhad Moshiri.”

Given that both James Rodriguez and Gylfi Sigurdsson are yet to play a game for the Merseyside club so far this season (Transfermarkt), van de Beek would have been a smart signing to fill in the vacant number 10 role.

Even though he has had his problems at Old Trafford, there is no doubt that the Netherlands international has quality, emphasised during his time at Ajax, where he scored 41 goals and made a further 34 assists in 175 matches in total over all competitions across five consecutive campaigns (Transfermarkt).

Everton fans on van de Beek transfer update

These Toffees supporters bemoaned the transfer update as it was shared on Twitter, with one Blue even going as far as to claim that they were ‘gutted’:

“I was always impressed with him at Ajax, a bit like a Cahill but with better technique.”

Credit: @fergus_maximus

“Would have actually been all for this. He’s wasted at United.”

Credit: @TabbyEfc1991

“There’s a player in DVDB. He needs to leave to revive his career. I’d love him at Everton.”

Credit: @TacticallyEv

“May be true but I’ll never accept Everton being a step down for anyone. Would have been a cracking signing.”

Credit: @SK21878

“Gutted”

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Credit: @JakeC98__

“Would have been a boss signing for both Everton and van de Beek that. He’s far too good to be only playing 15 games a season him”

Credit: @bluetom_tom

In other news, find out what Rodriguez news has Evertonians unhappy here!

Dean Windass doesn’t see any reason as to why Raphinha would want to leave Leeds, who he believes could be right up there if Marcelo Bielsa stays.

Following an excellent first campaign in the Premier League, the Brazilian winger has attracted interest from the top three – Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.

After breaking into Bielsa’s XI in late-November, Raphinha remained there for the entire season, and provided 15 goals in 30 league appearances, scoring six times and laying on an impressive nine assists.

He still has three years remaining on the deal he signed last summer, meaning any of those top sides would surely have to pay a premium to prise Raphinha away from Elland Road.

But with Bielsa in the hot-seat, Windass doesn’t see any reason as to why the wide man would seek a move away from Yorkshire.

Asked whether working under Pep Guardiola could tempt Raphinha, former Sheffield United striker Windass exclusively told Football FanCast:

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“I don’t think so. If Bielsa does sign that contract I think he will stay and give him that opportunity to push on to the next level.

“He can keep players there if he wants to, and if Bielsa stays, they could be up there next year, so why would he want to leave?”

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara would like to see Marcelo Bielsa replace Jose Mourinho at the club, seeing him as the ideal candidate for the role.

The Argentine has become a legendary modern day figure at Leeds United, transforming the club’s fortunes.

Bielsa has masterminded the Whites’ return to the Premier League, also connecting with the fans unlike few other managers in the club’s history.

The thought of him leaving is a grim one for Leeds supporters, but it is something that can never be ruled out when he is only signing one year deals at a time, especially given the unpredictable nature of football these days.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

O’Hara wants Bielsa to replace Mourinho

Speaking on talkSPORT, O’Hara claimed Bielsa would be the perfect man to come in for Mourinho:

“I would say Bielsa. I think he’d be absolutely brilliant and the fans would love him.

“If you can try and prise him away from there it’d be unbelievable. The Leeds fans would be devastated and there would be uproar but Spurs are bigger than Leeds.”

Transfer Tavern take

O’Hara’s comments are unlikely to go down too well with Leeds fans, especially with Bielsa’s current deal expiring this summer, meaning there is a genuine possibility he could depart – he even publicly quashed rumours of him signing a new deal earlier this month.

The hope is that he will stay loyal to the Whites and extend his stay at Elland Road, but the lure of joining a club higher up in the table with potentially more money available to splash on transfers is undeniable for any manager.

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There is certainly a feeling that Bielsa still has another chapter to write at Leeds, however – the next aim could be European football returning to the club – and we hope the enigmatic boss stays in Yorkshire, as his side have been a real treat for Premier League fans this season.

In other news, one Leeds player is under scrutiny for two key reasons – find out who it is here.

Liverpool must bring in a centre-back this month, regardless of whether it’s a long-term signing or not to give the players confidence.

Centre-back required

Those were the words of former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer, who reacted to the Reds’ recent poor run in all competitions.

In 2021, Liverpool have won just once from five attempts and have scored six goals, with key defenders Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez ruled out with season-ending knee injuries.

On top of this, Joel Matip continues to struggle with his own personal fitness issues – leaving manager Jurgen Klopp with no established centre-halves at his disposal.

Speaking exclusively to Football Transfer Tavern, Palmer believes that Liverpool must prioritise bringing in a centre-back this month, regardless of the financial implications.

“Liverpool are not keeping clean sheets. They’re not out of the Premier League title race so they need to get a centre-back in until Van Dijk gets back. They need to do that because that gives (the team a) basis,” he said.

“People are looking at the front three and saying, ‘Oh, they’re not performing anymore’ but you see, if you remember last year when they won the league, they played at Southampton, I remember that game specifically because that was typical of their performances in the league that season where it was a strong first half defensive display by Liverpool to keep them in the game. Mane scores a goal out of nothing, just before half time, and then they go on to win the game comfortably.

“But it’s that basis that you need to keep clean sheets and Liverpool are not keeping clean sheets. So they need to do that now. They’ve either got to go for a loan or a short term signing and get somebody in so they can get a platform, then the rest of the players now can start believing that ‘yes, we’re going to keep clean sheets. Now. We’ve got the front three, we’re going to score goals.’”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Palmer is spot on. While Klopp has dropped subtle hints to the club’s owners FSG about the possibility of signing a defender, it is something that the Reds desperately need.

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Liverpool are making the same mistake as Manchester City last season, with Aymeric Laporte’s injury, no Vincent Kompany replacement and Fernandinho having to step in. It seems all too familiar and it looks like lessons that haven’t been learned from that.

With the transfer deadline on Monday, Liverpool do not have long to make a move but Palmer thinks they need to if they want a chance at retaining their title.

In other news, James Pearce provides silver lining regarding Jordan Henderson’s latest setback.

We’re bound to keep hearing about Manchester United’s chase of Jadon Sancho long into the ongoing summer transfer window. Of course, Borussia Dortmund won’t exactly budge and are still demanding extraordinary sums of money for their young talent.

On one hand, it is understandable considering the sheer quality and the talent of the young Englishman. He is undoubtedly one of the players of both the present and the future. But on the other hand, the outside circumstances also mean no one can afford him for that price.

With that in mind, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to look for alternatives and many names have already popped up in the last weeks or so. The latest one, however, according to Sky Sports, is Juventus’ Douglas Costa.

The 29-year-old has been offered to Man United by Juventus and the Red Devils are still mulling over whether he’d be a good investment. The issue is, the same source claims, his injury record. Here’s what Gianluca Di Marzio said on the subject for Sky Sports:

“Juventus want him to leave. His agents are moving to find a solution, they have talked to Manchester United, to understand if the would be interested. They will think about it, but the problem is that Douglas Costa is often injured, so this is a problem for a club that wants to buy him. The agents have talked to Manchester United, for sure, and have proposed his transfer.”

Now, the ball is in Man United’s backyard.

Verdict

Of all the players to be mentioned as Sancho alternatives, Costa definitely looks like the least attractive one. He may still have quality but he’s 29 and with a bad injury record.

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It’s pretty safe to say that this would indeed represent a downgrade if Ole went for him instead of the young Englishman. However, Sancho remains their n0.1 priority and his transfer to the Premier League is still on the cards.