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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe arrived at St James’ Park last season after PIF’s takeover and comfortably guided the Magpies to safety in the Premier League.

One of his biggest masterstrokes since taking the job came in November when he opted to trial Joelinton in central midfield after Ciaran Clark’s sending-off against Norwich forced a formation change.

The 26-year-old has gone from strength to strength since that night and ended the 2021/22 campaign by winning the club’s Player of the Season award.

The Brazilian has carried that form into the current campaign and caught the eye as he was sensational in the 3-3 draw against champions Manchester City last weekend.

Dan Ashworth could now form a frightening partnership in the middle of the park by swooping to sign Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay to play him next to Joelinton.

The Magpies are reportedly eyeing up the Scotland international, alongside a number of other Premier League clubs, and are keeping tabs on his situation.

They are said to be long-term admirers of the 26-year-old, and Casemiro’s arrival at Old Trafford could open the door to a potential exit for the Scotsman, although it remains to be seen whether or not the Red Devils are willing to cash in on him.

Joelinton’s 109 tackles and interceptions in 35 Premier League outings led the way for the Magpies last term, and convincing the Red Devils to part ways with McTominay would add another all-action, ball-winning destroyer to the mix.

The £60k-per-week Scottish machine made 99 tackles and interceptions in the top flight in 2021/22, which was more than any other player in Manchester United’s squad.

Former Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer once lauded him and his team-mate Fred, saying: “Those two are brilliant. They’re absolutely top. You just see Fred running forward today, scoring a goal. Scott is probably one of the best we have got at arriving in the box at the right time.

“He is a beast of a man physically; he has only played 20 minutes in pre-season – as a centre-back – because he has been nursing an injury. Today, for me, you can see he is a man. So all the criticism on them two, I am completely against because I love them.”

These quotes, along with McTominay’s impressive ball-winning statistics, illustrate how much physicality and quality he could offer alongside Joelinton in front of Newcastle’s back four. However, is he suited to the manager’s style of play?

Howe wants Newcastle to be a pressing team, and former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho once described the 26-year-old’s as a “mad dog” and claimed that he was “pressing really hard”.

Along with being a player who can push on and force the issue himself, Jesse Lingard previously claimed that the security McTominay provided in midfield allows the forwards at Old Trafford to confidently execute a high press.

Therefore, he would suit the way that Howe wants to play, and he has the defensive stature to frighten opposition attacks by lining up alongside Joelinton and forming a metaphorical wall in the middle of the park.

West Ham have not had the best start to their Premier League campaign, losing their opening two matches against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest respectively.

However, at least a morale-boosting 3-1 win over Viborg in their Europa Conference League qualifier on Thursday will have given David Moyes’ men a confidence boost heading into Sunday’s clash against Brighton and Hove Albion.

It’s clear that Moyes needs to add a few more faces in order to bolster both the quality and depth of his squad ahead of yet another gruelling campaign, and that is despite the arrivals of Gianluca Scamacca, Thilo Kehrer, Nayef Aguerd, Maxwel Cornet and Flynn Downes.

With this in mind, the 59-year-old could face a reunion with a player who he managed during his stint at Manchester United.

A report from Diario AS states that West Ham are keen on bringing Adnan Januzaj to the London Stadium on a free transfer following the expiry of his Real Sociedad contract in June.

Moyes gave the Belgian his debut at Manchester United back in 2013 and he was one of the few bright sparks in a tumultuous season following the departure of club legend Sir Alex Ferguson.

West Ham face competition from Everton and LA Galaxy, but Moyes will be hoping that his previous connection with the player, who cost Real Sociedad £9.7m  to sign him in 2017, will be key in any potential move to east London.

If the Belgium international does arrive at Stratford, he could well be Moyes’ very own Raphinha, with the two being deemed stylistically alike via FBRef’s similar player model.

Both players offer significant goalscoring threats, although the Brazilian netted almost four times as often as Januzaj last season (11 to three). They both averaged over three shot-creating actions per match (3.67 to 3.66), which shows that Januzaj has the ability to create opportunities despite his lower goalscoring rate.

Both of them also offered a threat from wide positions, with a combined total of 148 crosses over the duration of the campaign. If the Belgian replicates this with a move to the Premier League, West Ham summer signing Gianluca Scamacca might be able to improve on his three headed goals from last term.

Paul Scholes once described Januzaj as “brilliant”, and if the Hammers could secure the 27-year-old’s signature and he turns out to be half as good as what Raphinha was last season, then Moyes might have made yet another shrewd move in the transfer market.

A big admission has emerged on Glasgow Rangers striker Fashion Sakala and his future at Ibrox in the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

The Light Blues attacker has revealed that he does not want to leave the club on a temporary basis amid speculation of an exit for him in the coming weeks.

Glasgow Times quotes him as saying: “Obviously I am very happy to be here. All this talk about loans? I don’t think I can go on loan. I am not looking at loan moves.

“There is no need for me to go on loan because my first season was not bad. I scored 12 goals in all competitions and that was my adaptation season. Now I have to prepare myself to do better this season.

“If I hadn’t got the chance last season or if I had not scored a single goal then I would have said: ‘Okay, I need to make a move, I need to go’. Because for me, I can be here at this big club, but if I am not playing then it does not mean anything.”

Supporters will be delighted

Gers supporters will be delighted by this as losing Sakala this season would be a blow to Gio van Bronckhorst’s attacking options.

As the player has admitted himself, the 2021/22 campaign was a transitional year for him as he adapted to life in Scottish football. Along with adjusting to playing in a new country, he also had to deal with Steven Gerrard – who signed him – leaving and a new boss coming in.

In spite of these challenges, Sakala produced nine goals and three assists in 13 Premiership starts last term – playing 30 matches in total. He has shown that he has the quality to make a big impact at the top end of the pitch and hopefully, he will be able to take it up a notch with a season of experience under his belt.

The 25-year-old averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.05 in the Scottish top-flight and this shows that he is capable of delivering excellent displays in the division, which is why keeping him will be a boost to van Bronckhorst’s squad.

Supporters will surely want to see a player with his goalscoring potential remain at Ibrox this season.

AND in other news, GvB could unearth Aribo 2.0 with “huge” Rangers move for “highly-rated” 44-goal target…

Aston Villa have been handed a major boost in their pursuit to sign Burnley winger Dwight McNeil this summer.

What’s the story?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT regarding West Ham’s reported interest in the player, journalist Paul Brown said: “I think there are agents putting his name out there with various clubs. I think he’s probably an option for West Ham, but I don’t think they’re pushing particularly hard for him at the moment.”

With Villa recently linked to the Burnley man, this will be welcome news and could give them an advantage if they are more determined than others to do the deal.

McNeil is keen on remaining a Premier League player and with Burnley having been relegated his only option now is to depart Turf Moor.

He could be available for as little as £15m, but with at least two years remaining on his contract, the Clarets are in a strong negotiating position.

Supporters will love the news

Supporters of Villa will be delighted to hear the news that West Ham aren’t pushing hard to sign McNeil and will be hoping that their club makes a move for the player as soon as possible.

At just 22 years old, it seems a no-brainer to sign a player of his quality for a potentially small fee. Despite still being young, the Englishman isn’t short of experience in the top flight having played 134 games over five seasons as a senior player at Burnley.

It will be an emotional goodbye for the player who joined the club’s youth setup after being released from Manchester United at age 14, but it’s one that’s needed for him to continue his remarkable development.

His record last season wasn’t the best, but in a side that was in a constant relegation battle, it’s hard for a forward player to shine. However, he did create six big chances and boasted an average pass accuracy of 78%.

Moving to Villa Park and being part of a forward line which includes the likes of Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho will surely be attractive to McNeil.

It will also allow him to properly express himself in a side that plays more attractive football than what we’ve seen over the years at Turf Moor.

AND in other news: Gerrard could land his very own Jude Bellingham in Villa swoop for £50m”joy to watch”

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Josh Tymon to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim a source has revealed that, following reports of Glasgow Rangers’ interest in a move for the Stoke City left-back this summer, both Leeds and Norwich City have now joined the race for the 23-year-old’s signature.

It is suggested that both the Premier League and Championship side have informed the Potters of their interest in the former England U20 international, while it is also claimed that Michael O’Neill would be willing to sanction the defender’s sale this summer – as long as he is to receive an offer in the region of £6m.

“An outstanding young talent”

Considering just how exciting a prospect Tymon undoubtedly is, the news that Leeds now look to have been given the green light to make a move for the full-back is undoubtedly fantastic for everyone involved with the club.

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Indeed, the £1.62m-rated talent highly impressed over his 44 Championship appearances last season, scoring one goal, registering four assists and creating a whopping 14 big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.2 key passes, taking 0.7 shots and completing 1.1 dribbles per game.

The £7.1k-per-week defender who Steve Bruce dubbed “an outstanding young talent” also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.3 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 1.3 clearances, 25.7 passes, 1.3 long balls and winning 3.7 duels per fixture.

As such, with left-back having been something of a problem position for Jesse Marsch last season – with Junior Firpo struggling to adapt to the pace of Premier League football – the signing of a new player in the position would appear to be an extremely wise move for Victor Orta to make this summer.

And, considering just how exciting a prospect Tymon appears to be, £6m could very quickly look to be an absolute bargain for the Whites.

AND in other news: Phil Hay relays big Leeds United transfer news, supporters will be buzzing

Leeds United are reportedly close to securing a transfer for Bayern Munich midfielder Marc Roca.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Marca, the Yorkshire club are closing in on a deal, said to be worth between €13m and €15m (£11.1m – £12.8m), for the 25-year-old.

The report also adds that the player will be signing a three-to-four-year deal at Elland Road and is expected to have a predominant role in Jesse Marsch’s side.

Marsch will be buzzing

As a product of Espanyol’s youth system, the midfielder went on to make a total of 172 appearances for the Spanish club across their senior and youth sides in all competitions.

In those appearances, Roca found the net nine times and delivered six assists before joining the Bundesliga side back in October 2020.

Since then, the midfielder has only made 24 appearances for Julian Nagelsmann’s side and hasn’t scored one goal or delivered one assist.

This makes it easy to see why Bayern have reportedly been willing to sell him to Leeds as he clearly isn’t near the top of the pecking order in the squad.

In fact, the Spaniard only made 13 appearances for the German side across the Bundesliga and Champions League this season, starting just four of them.

That said, it would still be a fantastic signing for the Whites. Having already secured deals for the likes of Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen, Marsch will be over the moon to get another new player through the door so early in the transfer window.

Praised by Nagelsmann for his “impressive” performances when he has been given the chance to play, Roca could well relish the opportunity to not only play for a big club like Leeds in the Premier League but also to play regularly once again instead of being a bit-part player at Bayern.

This also shows that he could well be a good fit at Leeds and in the English top division if he’s able to deliver impressive performances at a club like Bayern.

With current Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips linked with a move away from Elland Road this summer, adding a player like the £6.3m-rated figure could be the best way forward for the Whites should they end up losing the England international.

In other news: Leeds receive green light to seal third summer signing for free, Orta will be buzzing

Leeds United are closing in on their second signing of the summer…

What’s the word?

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Yorkshire giants have struck a deal to sign RB Salzburg full-back Rasmus Kristensen, having already clinched a £25m move for his teammate Brenden Aaronson, who has joined on a five-year deal.

“Full agreement set to be reached between Leeds and RB Salzburg for Rasmus Kristensen. Danish right-back’s expected to join Leeds in the coming days, once final details will be resolved,” he tweeted.

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“Kristensen will be able to undergo medical tests after international duty.”

Sky Sports believe it could cost the Whites in the region of just £10m to secure the 24-year-old, something of a bargain as Transfermarkt currently value him at £13.5m.

Marsch will be elated

If the club’s ambition wasn’t obvious already, it is now and a move for the impressive right-back is sure to leave manager Jesse Marsch absolutely delighted.

Whilst Aaronson adds a much-needed and threatening option to a threadbare engine room, Kristensen will help bolster one of the Premier League’s leakiest defences, and he is a surefire upgrade on the struggling Luke Ayling.

Indeed, the side conceded a whopping 79 goals from their 38 matches (2.07 each outing), a feat that only relegated Norwich City (84) were worse for.

Meanwhile, the long-serving vice-captain’s season ended in disgrace after he was sent off for a needless and reckless challenge against Arsenal, leaving his club in the lurch heading into the final few games.

He was brandished as an “idiot” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, who also suggested that it could be his last-ever game in the Premier League.

Kristensen is a player that Marsch knows very well. The American head coach was in charge of 64 of his 107 appearances for the Austrian champions. During that time, the attack-minded full-back provided 13 goals and 19 assists, so it’s easy to see why he’s being brought in.

The Denmark international was Salzburg’s best-performing player in the Champions League this term, averaging a WhoScored rating of 6.91. He also led the squad for tackles (a whopping 4.6 per game) and also managed 1.1 shots and one dribble per game, too.

“He is an absolute leader on the pitch. His emotions push the whole team. As a right-back, he has a very strong offensive drive, marches up and down the line and is also a goal threat,” his current boss, Matthias Jaissle, once said of Kristensen.

On the above evidence, Leeds and Marsch will be getting a reliable upgrade at right-back heading into next season, where they must avoid a disastrous repeat of 2021/22.

AND in other news, Orta given green light for “unstoppable” £21m signing, it’d be a huge coup for Leeds…

Leeds United forward Raphinha is keen on joining Barcelona during the summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports. 

The lowdown: Hot property

Having previously been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool and West Ham United, the 25-year-old is once again expected to be much sought-after in the transfer market.

Barcelona have recently emerged as the main contenders to sign the Brazil winger, and a big-money offer has been mooted for some time now.

Despite just avoiding relegation from the Premier League on the final day of the season, with Raphinha himself on the scoresheet before joining in the post-match celebrations, it seems as though the writing could be on the wall for his time at Leeds…

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The latest: Sky Sports drop Raphinha news

Speaking live on Sky Sports, it was reported that Barcelona are set to make their interest ‘formal’ very soon.

Presenter Hayley McQueen said on air: “Barcelona are expected to make formal their interest in Leeds United forward Raphinha in the coming days. He’s actually got two years left still on his contract, he’s not expected to sign a new deal.

“One source has told us at Sky Sports News that he would like to join Barcelona. Here’s the link, he’s represented by Deco, friend and former team-mate of Barcelona boss Xavi.

“West Ham were also one of a number of Premier League clubs who tried to sign Raphinha in the last transfer window. He stayed at Leeds, they have stayed in the Premier League but they might not be able to keep hold of him.”

The verdict: Mega offer needed

Having retained their top-flight status, the onus is now on Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta to ensure that any summer departures recoup the maximum value in the market so that Jesse Marsch can adequately replenish the playing ranks.

In an ideal world, the likes of Raphinha would remain with the Whites and look to spearhead a wholly different campaign in 2022/23, but it already appears as though that ship might have sailed after another stellar season in which he directly contributed to 14 goals in 36 league outings.

Instead, it may already be on the club’s mind to concentrate on extracting every possible penny from any deal for the £40.5m-valued ace and immediately adding the funds to Marsch’s transfer budget in order to avoid a repeat of their brush with relegation from this season.

In other news, Leeds are eyeing up a second signing after Aaronson. Find out who it is here

Can’t get enough Liverpool football content? Watch Liverpool FC live streams and other videos at StreamFootball.tv.

Tottenham target Alessandro Bastoni may “emerge” as the priority for the club during the upcoming summer transfer window…

What’s the story?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, transfer insider Dean Jones claimed: “I think there’s a good chance that Bastoni will emerge as the guy. At this stage, I keep being told there is no order at the moment, that they’ll see at the end of the season where they’re at and they’ll go from there.

“They have a shortlist, but it’s not in any sort of ranking, as it stands.”

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Perfect for Conte

Having been together during their time at Inter, Bastoni would surely come into this Spurs side ready to meet Conte’s demands of playing as the left-sided centre-back in a back-three.

The Italian attempts 70.9 passes per game, which puts him in the top 5% of centre-backs in Serie A, while his score score of 94 out of 99 for defending intensity, i.e. how active he is in his defensive approach, is an impressive snapshot of how aggressive he likes to be.

A piece from The Athletic revealed: “When Conte arrived at Inter in 2019, Bastoni was a 20-year-old who had not yet played for the first team having spent the previous season out on loan at Parma. But Conte wanted to build with Bastoni, so he was in the Inter squad for the 2019-20 season, and Bastoni was thrilled. It did not take long for him to say that Conte was ‘the Messi of coaches’, praising his ‘exceptional football ideas’.”

Predominantly left-footed as well, the Italian is reminiscent of Spurs’ former ball-playing colossus Jan Vertonghen, with talent scout Jacek Kulig noting that the 23-year-old is a “complete, dominant and elegant” defender, while adding last year: “Fantastic young centre-back with some superb ball skills. Perfect to play in a three-man defence. Antonio Conte’s talisman.”

Valued at £60m by CIES, Bastoni and Conte could rekindle their partnership from Inter in north London, and enjoy the same kind of success they did there.

AND in other news – Spurs plot record-breaking swoop for £100m-rated “tank”, Conte will be buzzing

After such a build-up, the behaviour of the MCG track on the opening day was a disappointment, and while the ground staff and management may be looking at long-term development, the clock is ticking for the venue

Daniel Brettig in Melbourne26-Dec-20181:40

Hodge: Cummins made batsmen question their technique

As he did in Perth, Nathan Lyon drags Virat Kohli wide of the off stump with his drift and his drop, leaving India’s captain feeling for a ball of which ball he is not quite to the pitch. Rather than skidding on and taking the edge, however, this ball grips a little, turning past the groping bat and hitting Kohli on the front pad outside the line of the off stump.In usual circumstances, this would have been cause for an “oooh”, a speculative appeal, and maybe a cursory chat about referring Marais Erasmus’ not out verdict. But this was the MCG on Boxing Day, on a pitch that, for all the work of the curator Matt Page and the Melbourne Cricket Club over the past 12 months, showed little sign of improvement in terms of the life on offer for wicket-taking or fast scoring.So instead the Australians saw the mirage of a genuine chance for a wicket, appealing desperately, then consulting thoroughly in the limited time available before the captain Tim Paine gave Erasmus the “T” signal for a review.The fact of the mirage was revealed from the moment of the very first replay, showing that the ball had struck Kohli so far outside the line of the off stump that by the time ball-tracking was ready the Australians had already resumed their in-out fielding positions. A Melbourne crowd of 73,516 that had momentarily stirred, collectively chuckled then returned to thoughts of home and an early night after all the holiday revelry.After such a large build-up, and plenty of optimism from Page and his ground staff about the experimental work they had done throughout the winter, the behaviour of the surface on the biggest day of the Australian cricket calendar had to be regarded as something of a disappointment. Little more than half an hour of pace was required before Paine resorted to the spin of Lyon, only the second time he had bowled inside eight overs in a first innings in a Test in Australia over eight summers.Within the next 10 minutes, Paine dispensed with third and then second slips, deciding that ring fields and searching for a mistake was the order of the day rather than the more predatory hunt for outside edges that he and his pacemen prefer. While the pitch did begin to quicken after the first hour, aiding the exemplary Pat Cummins in conjuring a short ball to pin Hanuma Vihari on the gloves and end his stay in the 19th over of the match, the process was stunted.”Yeah tough going. There wasn’t much on offer,” Cummins told Fox Cricket afterwards. “Especially this morning. There wasn’t really any sideways or bounce or pace. It got a little bit quicker towards the end of the day but not a lot in it for us bowlers and they batted pretty well.”I think the key on this kind of wicket is you’re not going to blast them out so you’ve just got to be really disciplined. We bowled a couple of good spells, a couple of maidens, I think it’s about trying to bowl five or six maidens in a row and hopefully they crack. But they’re batting pretty well at the moment.”4:39

We restricted India well in trying conditions – Head

Kohli was to offer a more genuine chance when Paine took the second new ball, tempted wide of the stumps by Mitchell Starc and edging, but Paine’s dive from close to the stumps was unable to achieve a clean interception. If the Australians, half expecting such conditions, had trained for being closer than they had stood in Adelaide and Perth, they undoubtedly would prefer to be standing further back for clearer sights of the ball.For India’s debutant Mayank Agarwal, there was vindication of his sound mental approach before opening the batting in Melbourne. He had chosen to keep his mind clear of preconceived notions about the pitch until he could actually play on it and adapt accordingly. “I won’t complain about the pitch, I thought it was good to bat on. It did do a bit early on and then it was a bit slow. As the day progressed and we batted on it more, it got a little quicker,” Agarwal said.”I didn’t think too much of the wicket and didn’t put too much thought into the wicket before the game. I wanted to try to stay blank and take it as it comes and just let me assess the wicket and see how I would go about it. I thought they bowled extremely well, they didn’t give us any loose balls, they kept it tight, and they were attacking.”A Test-match pitch should offer evolution over hours, sessions and days, affording assistance to various disciplines of the game across its lengthy journey towards a conclusion. It may be too early to make a definitive judgment of this surface, particularly given the far hotter temperatures expected in Melbourne over the next two days, but the vast body of evidence about the MCG’s drop-in pitches and the concrete slab underneath them is that if the turf does not afford early assistance to bowlers and reap wickets as a result, there will be little deterioration later in the game to counterbalance it.In the words of Page to ESPNcricinfo before the Test: “We’re finding if we leave the grass on them, not too thatchy, more leaf grass, but if we leave the grass on and more moisture in, then we actually get a better result in terms of pace, bounce, ability for the spinners to be able to spin the ball off the surface, than if we go in drier and harder.”According to all of the ground staff’s research and preparatory work, this surface should have done more than it has. But at the same time the ground’s custodians are aware that more must be done urgently to ensure that there is more for Page and company to work with, namely by adopting a more up-to-date system for drop-in pitches that will mean less concrete and more natural variation provided by Melbourne’s mixture of clay, turf, gravel and sand.Certainly for Cummins, his reminder earlier this week that he would like to discuss with Cricket Australia the prospect of longer-term central contracts for the fast bowlers only gained in relevance as he and his fellow pacemen slogged their way through what should have been the best day to bowl in this match. “As fast bowlers, we put ourselves through a lot,” Cummins told AAP before the match. “I guess every sport has long-term contracts so I just asked the question of seeing if I could do something longer term.”Longer term is exactly how the MCG’s management and staff are thinking in terms of creating better pitches, but the clock is ticking. Afforded the luck of the calendar by the ICC’s move to a more punitive pitch rating and penalty system a matter of days after the conclusion of last year’s dirge of a draw, they need to see improvement, and soon. Otherwise the mirage Lyon and Australia’s fielders saw when Kohli was struck outside the line will be followed by genuine questions about a fitting location for Boxing Day.