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Southampton must act swiftly to land the signing of Middlesbrough defender Dael Fry this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to Football League World, the Saints are among a number of clubs who have been scouting the 23-year-old in recent months. The report claims that Leeds, Burnley, Southampton and Wolves have all had representatives go to watch him in action in the Championship.

Newly-promoted Brentford are said to be leading the charge for his signature. Football League World has claimed that the Bees are preparing to submit an offer for Fry as they attempt to bolster their squad ahead of their debut Premier League campaign.

Earlier this year, Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock compared the defender to Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk in terms of his importance to the team. The 72-year-old said that Boro would not be able to replace the “complete” defender, just as Klopp has not been able to adequately replace Van Dijk since his injury.

Warnock told the Yorkshire Post: “The headlines that shocked me yesterday were a group of people wanting Jurgen Klopp out. That is football at its craziest. He has lost the best centre-half in the world (Virgil van Dijk) and you cannot replace them.

“You can put people in and think you can do this.. But you cannot replace quality like that. And we cannot replace Dael. He is our best centre-half by a mile.“We can play around him and if Dael is fit, we have got different people to fit here and there. But we cannot replace Dael. He is the complete player for me.” Must act swiftly

Southampton must act swiftly if they want to secure a deal for the promising Fry. Brentford are seemingly a step ahead of the others at the moment as they are preparing an opening salvo for the 23-year-old, which suggests that they could be set to beat the Saints and Leeds, among others, to the chase. Therefore, Southampton need to move quickly to ready an offer of their own to make sure they can strike before Brentford reach an agreement with Middlesbrough and the player.

Ralph Hasenhuttl would surely be delighted if the Saints could bring Fry into their squad. The Austrian’s side conceded a whopping 68 goals in the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, a tally only West Brom (76) exceeded. This suggests that Hasenhuttl needs defensive reinforcements, and the 23-year-old could be an ideal player to bring in to strengthen the competition and raise the quality at cetre-back.

The £5,500-per-week beast enjoyed an impressive campaign in the Championship with Middlesbrough. He averaged a superb WhoScored rating of 7.10 across 30 starts at centre-back in the division. Fry was able to show off his excellent defensive instincts, with 6.3 aerial battles won, 3.9 clearances made, 1.8 interceptions and 0.8 blocks per game.

Jan Bednarek, meanwhile, averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.70 in the Premier League in 36 starts. Therefore, Fry could have the potential to challenge the Poland defender for his spot and fight for a place in the starting XI, which is why Saints must act to seal a deal for the Boro ace.

AND in other news, Semmens set to land Saints boost with “hyperactive” £5.7k-p/w ace, Hasenhuttl will love it…

Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action as they welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers to North London this afternoon.

Ryan Mason’s side know a victory would see them rise into sixth place to bolster their slim hopes of making the top four, though they will need to keep picking up results to ensure qualification to the Europa League at the very least.

The visitors have very little to play for, languishing down in 12th place but this encounter has often produced goals and after last weekend’s shocking performance at Leeds, the 29-year-old caretaker may want to tinker his side.

It will be interesting to see what sort of line-up he opts for today, so here’s the XI we reckon he could go with, as well as the latest team and injury news from N17…

We’re predicting there to be as many as three changes right across the pitch as Mason looks to spark a reaction in pursuit of a crucial three points.

Joe Rodon could be in contention to start.

The 23-year-old has been “unfortunate” not to feature under the interim boss and he revealed in the build-up to this encounter that the Welshman has “trained well, done well.”

He could be gifted a start, taking the place of axed Eric Dier, who was at fault for all three goals at Elland Road. And he will partner Toby Alderweireld in the middle, with Sergio Reguilon and Serge Aurier on the wings, in front of skipper Hugo Lloris.

A second change could come in midfield, with Tanguy Ndombele due a start, having been snubbed from the line-up in their last two outings.

The £45m-rated box-to-box maestro would likely replace the underwhelming Giovani Lo Celso to take up a place alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at the base of the engine room.

There is a tricky decision to make over Dele Alli in an advanced role. The 25-year-old has started back-to-back league games for the first time this season but his lack of game time (377 PL minutes) could raise fitness doubts.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-manager-update-gossip-transfer-rumours-daniel-levy-enic-mason-mourinho-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”]

Despite assisting Spurs’ only goal against Leeds, Mason could look to freshen things up by deploying Lucas Moura in the role instead.

Described as a “nightmare” to train and defend against by his teammate Dier, the £26m-rated Brazilian winger has thrived through the middle, providing two goals and three assists in seven appearances.

The front three should write itself, with Gareth Bale, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane all likely to keep their places.

AND in other news, Gold drops fresh Spurs manager claim over “unbelievable” 48 y/o, fans will be buzzing…

Steve Cooper has been dealt a blow in his bid to re-sign Freddie Woodman for Swansea City this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Chronicle Live, who claim that both Arsenal and Southampton are interested in a move for the Newcastle United goalkeeper in the upcoming transfer window after impressing over two loan spells at Swansea – who are also thought to be keen on re-signing the shot-stopper this summer.

The report also included a quote given by Woodman himself, who revealed that he will not return to St. James’ Park in order to play second or third fiddle to Martin Dubravka and Karl Darlow.

He said: “Currently I’m a Swansea player and that’s it. When I go back to Newcastle I’ll have the same mentality I had coming here. I’ll train and try to be No 1, and if that doesn’t happen I’ll work hard and keep trying to improve.”

Cooper will be gutted

Considering just how well the £8.1m-rated shot-stopper has performed over his two seasons at the Liberty Stadium, the news that the likes of Arsenal and Southampton are now considering a move for the 24-year-old – whom Ryan Dilks dubbed as “fantastic” – is likely to come as gutting news for Cooper.

In his first season with Swansea, Woodman kept 12 clean sheets over 43 Championship appearances, as well as making an average of 2.6 saves per game and stopping three out of the five penalties he faced – earning a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.89.

This term, the former England U21 international has kept a whopping 20 clean sheets over 45 Championship fixtures, in addition to making an average of 2.2 saves per game and stopping one of the three penalties he has faced, seeing the 24-year-old earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.92 – ranking him as the Swans’ 12th-best performer in the second tier.

And, with Cooper’s side just one game away from promotion via the play-off final, should the 41-year-old indeed lose the services of Woodman to either Arsenal or Southampton this summer, he will have the difficult task of sourcing a suitable replacement for his first-choice ‘keeper ahead of what may well be a top flight campaign.

Either way, the news of clubs’ interest with considerably bigger appeal and resources than the Swans would not appear to bode well for their chances of re-signing the shot-stopper this summer – although, securing promotion to the Premier League certainly wouldn’t damage their hopes.

In other news: Huge Swansea City exit claim emerges that will surely leave fans furious – opinion

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, Rob Lee, who made 280 Premier League appearances, can’t see Raphinha leaving Leeds United this summer despite his good performances this season.

Raphinha was a deadline day signing by Marcelo Bielsa and after playing and scoring for Rennes on the final day of the transfer window, the Brazillian had 20 minutes to decide if he wanted to join Leeds.

The £60,000-a-week winger has been linked with a move to Liverpool this summer as they continue to prepare for a potential exit of both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who have been linked with moves to both Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

Speaking on why Raphinha won’t be leaving Leeds this summer and how he must continue to perform for more than a season, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“I think recently he’s been very good but at the start of the season I don’t think he was that great, and I think it’s just taken him time to adapt to the Premier League.

“Some of these players do well for three months and think they have a God-given right to leave the club they are at. It bewilders me sometimes that players have a few good games and think they’re better than the club they’re at.”

The 24-year old winger has missed the last three games after he picked up an injury during their 2-1 win against Manchester City when Fernandinho blocked him off.

Raphinha has taken to the Premier League with ease as the 24-year old has managed six goals and six assists, all while playing for a newly promoted team.

Greg Docherty has revealed he knows he made the right decision by leaving Glasgow Rangers to sign for Hull City.

The Lowdown: Docherty enjoys Hull success

Docherty made 19 appearances for the Gers, racking up six assists (Transfermarkt), but he never really received a chance to impress on a regular basis and instead spent the majority of his time out on loan across England and Scotland.´

Last summer, he completed a permanent move to Hull, and has managed six goals and four assists in all competitions as the Tigers have earned promotion to the Championship.

The Latest: Docherty shares delight

Speaking to the PA News Agency (via Football League World), Docherty shared his happiness at swapping Ibrox for the KCOM Stadium. He said:

“I spoke to Steven Gerrard when I was leaving Rangers and he said he thought Hull would be a good challenge for me as we could try to win the league. 

“But it’s so easy to say ‘go win the league’ – it’s nowhere near as straight forward as that.

“To pip Peterborough we’ve had to go the last 14 games unbeaten, winning 11 of them.

“It’s a majorly gruelling league with 46 fixtures. At the start of the season, there was probably eight or nine teams thinking they could challenge.

“So there’s a lot of relief that we’ve got promotion. Once we clinched that, I thought to myself, ‘Naw, that’s not enough. I want a medal’.

“I’ve always wanted to win trophies. I’m 24 and I can now say I’ve ticked that off. A lot of people have brilliant careers but never win anything, so that’s why I’ll always remember this season and this moment.

“Since Christmas I feel like I’ve grown and really kicked on. I definitely made the right call coming down here.”

The Verdict: The right move

In terms of prestige, Hull cannot compare to Rangers. The latter regularly compete for trophies and will embark on a run in the Champions League next season, while Hull have never once competed in Europe and are only now getting out of the third tier of English football.

However, for Docherty, the move made perfect sense. Unfortunately, he clearly wasn’t a part of Steven Gerrard’s plans at Ibrox, but he has played in all but two games in the league for his new club. Hull have won League One comfortably, and now Docherty can attack the Championship as he continues to improve. At 24, and with 27 goals to his name throughout his career, he has plenty of room for development. There is no doubt he made the right decision.

In other news, Alan Hutton has suggested this man could replace Filip Helander at Rangers.

Leeds United striker Rodrigo has again been linked with a summer exit, with city rivals Sevilla and Real Betis tipped to sign him.

The Spaniard arrived for a club-record £27m from Valencia last year, with some expecting him to be an influential addition to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad.

Instead, Rodrigo has had a tough first season at Elland Road, scoring just three times in all competitions, starting only 12 league games and finding himself dogged by injuries.

It has led to the 30-year-old being linked with a move away from Leeds at the end of the campaign, with a return to his homeland being mooted.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Rodrigo linked with Sevilla and Real Betis

According to La Razon [via Sport Witness], both Sevilla and Real Betis are interested in snapping up Rodrigo this summer, with the idea of him playing in La Liga again now ‘beyond a simple rumour’.

It is even claimed that the 25-cap Spain international has ‘already been offered’ to both Andalucian clubs.

Transfer Tavern take

It wouldn’t be a great surprise to see Rodrigo move on in the summer given his lack of form and game-time, but the ideal outcome would still be for him to find his feet at Leeds.

His pedigree is undeniable, but he has to rid himself of his fitness issues and regain his form in front of goal, or else he risks having no future under Bielsa. It may already be too late, however, especially as age isn’t on his side.

In other news, one Leeds player has been labelled ‘exceptional’ by a pundit. Find out who it is here.

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan has had his say on Eddie Howe, following links to both Celtic and the Eagles.

Howe reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Hoops at the start of the month, however, he’s since been sounded out by Palace to potentially replace Roy Hodgson in the summer.

The former Bournemouth manager’s representative has revealed that he plans to return to the dugout in the summer at the earliest, with Brighton also keeping tabs on the 43-year-old.

Talking on Tuesday’s White & Jordan talkSPORT show about all the managerial developments, the 53-year-old had some strong thoughts when it came to Howe potentially moving to Glasgow.

“He’d go to Celtic, as that is a very attractive and luring proposition. Let’s look at the Celtic job, with the exception of Brendan Rodgers, how many managers have gone in an upward direction [thereafter]?

“Celtic is a fabulous football club with a great history and wonderful support in a league that pays broadcasting rights that are equivalent to a bottle top and a packet of gobstoppers.

“I would suggest the more ambitious move for Eddie Howe is Crystal Palace. The Premier League is not even in the same zipcode in terms of quality to the Scottish Premiership.

“Why would you want to be a big fish in a tiny little small pond in a runt of a litter league or be a decent manager operating in a big league.”

Jordan then shared his views on how Palace would fare if they were in the Scottish Premiership, believing the Eagles would beat the Hoops.

“I would hasten to add, or venture to guess, that if you put Crystal Palace in the Scottish Premier League they might have a good chance of winning that league and getting into Europe.

“Palace would beat Celtic. I think Celtic are a poor side right now. I think the Scottish Premiership is a poor league.”

Transfer Tavern take

Not for the first time, but Jordan’s comments are over the top. He mentions Brendan Rodgers going on to bigger things with Leicester City, and Howe, should he join, could well follow in the Northern Irishman’s footsteps.

The Englishman could rebuild the Hoops successfully, as he did with Bournemouth, which, in the long run, may then put him in the frame for a return to the Premier League with a ‘bigger’ side.

Dealing with the Parkhead pressures and demands of winning titles is bound to catch the eye of some English giants, as he is yet to really establish himself as a boss who wins titles – if he simply wants to show he can keep a Premier League team up, he already spent a few years doing that with Bournemouth.

If he moved to Palace and achieved mid-table finishes, that may not appeal to a top-six side in the long run. It’s an interesting debate, but joining Celtic over Palace, in our view, shouldn’t be seen as a downgrade.

In other news: Premier League side looking to have deal in place for Celtic star prior to summer window, find out more here. 

Fans of Sunderland have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which the club relayed the recent comments of the Black Cats manager, Lee Johnson.

Since being appointed as Sunderland boss in December of last year, Johnson has overseen a rather remarkable turnaround in form at the Stadium of Light, with the 39-year-old winning 11, drawing seven and losing just three of his 21 League One fixtures with the Black Cats thus far – results which include a current run of 13 matches unbeaten in the league – taking the club from 10th to third place in the third tier standings.

In reflection of the Sunderland players’ efforts, Johnson claimed that his side have “put in a massive shift” in recent weeks, before looking ahead to the club’s upcoming clash with Bristol Rovers, for which the manager believes his side are “fully prepared” and are “ready to put in another energetic and bright performance”.

And, after Sunderland relayed Johnson’s comments on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many heaping a considerable amount of praise on their manager.

So, what exactly did these Sunderland fans have to say in reaction to Lee Johnson’s comments?

“Got a good feeling with Johnson at the helm.”

@colinappleby57

“Just love what I’m watching right now! Very exciting times coming if we can keep up this form.”

@BlakeLevy6

“LET’S GOOOO.”

@KDICKERSON1972

“Lee Johnson’s Red and White Wizards.”

@ow3n___

“Come on the lads!!”

@JohnJay1993

“Come on lads only eleven more cup finals left…”

@KelvinH65947491

“Our gaffa.”

@allinson_terry

In other news: these Sunderland fans were left furious by this Jordan Jones news – find out more here!

Many Sunderland fans have been reacting to the League One Team of the Week after their 1-0 victory over Bristol Rovers in the third tier this past weekend.

The Black Cats picked up an important victory on Saturday as they push for promotion to the Championship. They are now up to third in the table, just three points behind leaders Hull City with two games in hand (BBC). There were some other big results in League One during the past matchday, such as Peterborough United’s 7-0 humbling of Accrington Stanley.

Unsurprisingly, that led to five Posh players being named in the Team of the Week, as well as manager Darren Ferguson. Sunderland were represented only by Aiden McGeady, but it seems that many Black Cats supporters were shocked by the XI which was chosen – firstly, because the 34-year-old was selected despite him seemingly not having his best game, and secondly because Aiden O’Brien, who scored the only goal of the match against the Pirates, was not included.

The line-up was shared on League One’s official Twitter page, and these Sunderland fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the Sunderland fans had to say about the team below

“Aiden Mcgeady at CDM”

Credit: @LukeCostello13

“Are these just randomly picked? McGeady should be in every week if he was in yesterday average game compared to usual.”

Credit: @calvinfox96

“O’Brien?”

Credit: @jacobcunliffe10

“I mean I’ll take it but how did McGeady get in this team”

Credit: @SAFCTC

“How has McGeady got in, but not O’Brien? Or O’Nien? Or Burge? Not saying all 3 of those should be in it, but they deserved it more than McGeady , Geads had an above average game, but wasn’t TOTW quality this week.”

Credit: @army_hub

“No O’Brien, absolutely laughable”

Credit: @DavidHindmarsh7

In other news, Kevin Phillips has urged Sunderland to sign this ace.

Manchester City have been linked with a move for Atalanta left-back Robin Gosens recently and, if he were to join Pep Guardiola’s side in the summer, he could be the ideal successor to Benjamin Mendy.

According to Italian journalist Marco Conterio, Atalanta are certain that the German will leave the club this summer, with Manchester City interested in bringing him in.

He also suggests that it will cost the Citizens around €40m (£34.4m) to bring him to the Etihad Stadium ahead of next season.

If Gosens were to join, you imagine that he would challenge Oleksandr Zinchenko for the starting spot at left-back, with the Ukrainian having worked hard to establish himself as a regular there this season, despite suggestions that he was likely to leave during recent transfer windows.

Although the 24-year-old does a solid job in that position, he doesn’t offer too much going forward, as he has no goals or assists in 18 appearances for the Citizens so far this season.

Gosens, meanwhile, has registered a superb nine goals and four assists in 21 Serie A appearances for Atalanta, which has seen him average a superb 7.46 WhoScored rating.

Mendy’s injury issues have meant that City haven’t had a regular at left-back since the days of Gael Clichy and Alexander Kolarov, as the Frenchman has spent the majority of his time with the club on the sidelines.

However, he did show glimpses of how dangerous City can be with an attack-minded left-back, as he contributed five assists in 10 games in the 2018/19 season, resulting in a superb 7.29 WhoScored average rating.

City’s tactics this season have regularly seen Joao Cancelo move into midfield from right-back or left-back, which suggests that Gosens could be an ideal candidate to do this in Guardiola’s side, as the 26-year-old has regularly played in midfield during his time with Atalanta.

He would also be a more natural option in that position than both Cancelo and Zinchenko, so sporting director Txiki Begiristain should definitely look at bringing him to the Etihad this summer, as he could be a superb addition to Guardiola’s side and an excellent replacement for Mendy.

And, in other news… City signing 20 y/o “beast” could force Txiki’s hand with club legend