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Southampton have suffered a transfer setback after news emerged that Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is not interested in moving to the south coast.

What’s the story?

A report in the Athletic on Gibbs-White’s future said that, despite interest from Saints, the player is “not keen” on a move to St. Mary’s and would prefer to go elsewhere.

Wolves continue to insist that he is not for sale with fellow Premier League clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest also in the hunt for his signature.

The player impressed last season while on loan in the Championship at Sheffield United where he was directly involved in 22 goals.

Supporters will be gutted

Saints supporters will be gutted that the player doesn’t want to move to St Mary’s Stadium and it’s no surprise given those impressive numbers during the last campaign.

However, given the player has links to both Everton and Forest they shouldn’t feel hard done by. Gibbs-White worked with the Toffees’ sporting director Kevin Thelwall in the Wolves academy and was also coached by Forest boss Steve Cooper in the England youth set-up.

The club could have also found themselves in a bidding war for the player, with Everton already told that their £25m valuation is too low.

Southampton were always behind in the race to sign him, and the focus now needs to turn to keeping hold of their captain, James Ward-Prowse, with Manchester United linked with his signing recently.

A move for Gibbs-White might have been a safety net for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side as the player would make a great replacement if the skipper were to leave, or even a great partner if he stayed.

When you compare the two statistically, you can see why, as the Wolves man beat Ward-Prowse in many categories last season including creating twice as many (16) big chances according to SofaScore.

He would have been a great addition for Saints but it wasn’t meant to be, and perhaps now the club will show even more reluctance to let go of their leader.

A duo of Gibbs-White and Ward-Prowse is something we would have liked to have seen, and it could have really propelled Southampton closer to the top 10.

AND in other news: Saints can land big Broja upgrade with bid for £10m dynamo, he’d be a “great signing”

Transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that Manchester United are preparing ‘conversations’ to make a ‘breakthrough’ for Ajax forward Antony over the next seven days. 

The lowdown: Strong interest

The Red Devils have been actively pursuing a deal for Antony for weeks and a recent report from Sky Sports claimed that the Brazilian was a major target for new manager Erik ten Hag.

Despite submitting an offer believed to be in the region of £51million for the 22-year-old Brazil international, United’s pursuit has thus far been fruitless as Chelsea have also shown an interest in making a deal happen.

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With arch-rivals Liverpool believed to be past admirers of Antony too, the skilful Samba star’s future remains in sharp focus and one well-informed onlooker has shed some light on the current state of play…

The latest: ‘Conversations’

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones – who writes for Eurosport – has claimed that Manchester United officials will ‘kick on’ with negotiations for the six-cap ace over the coming days.

He said: “They definitely expect to kick on with these conversations in the next week and see if they can make a breakthrough.

“They’re very aware that Chelsea might challenge them for his signature, so that could cause a problem because there is a possibility that Chelsea have more money to spend in that area of the field than Manchester United if they manage to get rid of the players that they want to in attack too.”

The verdict: Fingers crossed

Albeit the Eredivisie champions have reportedly upped their demands to an eye-watering £84million for Antony, signing the Brazilian should remain a priority for the Old Trafford hierarchy this summer.

Predominantly operating from the right-hand side of a front three in Holland, the former Sao Paolo sensation would be the perfect addition to Ten Hag’s ranks as the squad is currently short of senior options to play from that side.

Described as a ‘dribbling wizard’ by South American football writer Tom Robinson, Antony earned an outstanding 7.44 Sofascore rating whilst winning 4.8 duels, successfully completing 1.8 dribbles and taking 3.4 shots on average per game in the Dutch top flight last season, levels of form that would stand the attacker in good stead when it comes to making the transition to the Premier League.

Sharing a close stylistic likeness with such renowned names as Angel Di Maria, Serge Gnabry and Riyad Mahrez (Fbref), Antony would represent a sensational coup for United, particularly were Chelsea to fall by the wayside in the process.

Celtic have seen many players wave goodbye to the Parkhead club during their recent transfer windows.

One big player that brought an end to his significant time with the Hoops during the previous summer market was defender Kristoffer Ajer.

The Bhoys signed the centre-back in 2016 from Norwegian club IK Start. The defender then went on to make 176 appearances for the club across all competitions, chipping in with seven goals and seven assists along the way in addition to winning numerous trophies.

The 24-year-old then made a move down south to join Brentford in the English Premier League, in a deal that saw Celtic pick up an initial fee of £13.5m for the player.

Even though the Hoops managed to end their first SPFL season without the Norway international with fewer goals conceded (22) than any other side in the division, the last few weeks of the current transfer window could see the Bhoys bring in what might be their next version of Ajer.

Earlier in the window, it was reported that the Hoops were interested in signing 20-year-old Schalke defender Malick Thiaw.

Bearing in mind how Ajer was only 17 when he made the move to Parkhead, a swoop for Thiaw could mirror this previous transfer given how he is still an incredibly young defender.

In addition to this, the defensive talent the two players share also shows how similar they are and why the German could be the next version of the former Celtic figure.

Looking at the Schalke prodigy’s previous league campaign compared to Ajer’s final season with Celtic, both players managed to rack up over 50 interceptions and an almost identical rate of clearances per game, with Thiaw averaging 3.4 and the former Hoops star averaging 3.3.

This backs up why Christian Gross hailed the young German as an “excellent” player that has “great potential” in him.

It also backs up why football scout Jacek Kulig called him a “big talent” as the player was previously linked with a £7m move to Liverpool.

Depending on whether the likes of Christopher Jullien or Stephen Welsh end up leaving Celtic this summer, as both have been linked with moves away recently, securing a deal for the Schalke starlet should definitely be in the thoughts of Postecoglou and the Celtic hierarchy before the window closes.

Nottingham Forest kicked off their first Premier League campaign in over two decades yesterday but were unable to take any points from their visit to St James’ Park losing 2-0 to Newcastle United.

Steve Cooper spoke out following the defeat in his post-match interview to detail where Forest got it wrong:

“We fell short in our performance today, but we live and learn. We were not right today in possession, and there were not enough passes when we could get them off, and that ultimately cost us the two goals.”

The Garibaldi have had an exciting summer transfer window with 12 new signings secured at The City Ground, and six of those made their debuts for Forest on Saturday, but could there be an opportunity to strengthen the team even further?

One player who has been linked with a move to the newly-promoted club in the last few days is Atalanta midfielder Remo Freuler, a player who could certainly improve the problems with possession that Cooper referenced in his comments after the Newcastle game.

Over last season, the 30-year-old scored one goal, delivered three assists and created three big chances, tallying up a pass completion rate of 92% in his own half while taking 73.2 touches per game, proving he is certainly comfortably with the ball at his feet.

Freuler has been the recipient of high praise for his consistent and reliable performances in midfield for Atalanta, with Tuttosport journalist Giordano Signorelli hailing the £8.5m talent in an interview with BBC Sport:

“Gasperini likes players who listen and apply themselves, and Freuler is a true professional. He has become fundamental in midfield, alongside Marten de Roon. He has a great spirit of sacrifice, is strong physically, but also sound technically and possesses a good shot.”

Cooper could even land his very own N’Golo Kante by completing the signing of the Switzerland international this summer, as the Chelsea star is the fourth most comparable player to Freuler over the 365 days according to FBref.

In terms of similarities, the pair of midfielders came close on pass completion rate with Kante just tallying up a better percentage by 1.3% at 85.8 to 87.1.

The pair were also almost level pegging on their shot-creating actions with Freuler making 60 and Kante 61. The Atalanta star did, however, outperform the Frenchman in tackles won (43 vs 34). They did make exactly the same number of tackles (22) in the defensive third, demonstrating how similar they are when it comes to winning the ball back.

With that being said, the signing of Freuler would be a major addition for Nottingham Forest and could potentially resolve some of the issues Cooper is aware of in the team.

Indeed, signing a Kante-like midfielder would definitely bring a wealth of attributes to the side.

Everton could be preparing to sign an outbound star from a Premier League giant…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Matt Law, who spoke on the London Is Blue podcast about Billy Gilmour’s future at Premier League giants Chelsea.

He stated: “Billy I’m 99% sure will leave on loan again at some point in this window, and if you’re asking me today where I think he’ll go it would be Everton.

“I know Everton have got other targets. They’ve got quite a few midfield targets and I think they’re waiting to see how the market pans out.

“From what I’m told, Lampard thinks Gilmour can play brilliantly alongside somebody with legs… If Everton sign Idrissa Gueye like they’re trying to I actually think that would increase the chances of them then signing Gilmour on loan.”

A sensational signing?

Ever since his days managing Chelsea, Frank Lampard has been one of Gilmour’s most vocal admirers. He gave him his first Premier League start, and could now give him a chance to prove that he can perform consistently on the biggest stage.

Lampard once claimed that he “was very confident with putting Billy in for a big part of the season, from his training and then when the time came”. He clearly has faith in Gilmour, and this faith could once again come to fruition with a loan spell on Merseyside.

With links to both Gueye and Amadou Onana, the Scotland international could be the perfect pass-master beside either, or both, of these hard-working midfielders.

Dubbed “sensational” by Owen Gibson, he could be exactly that in Merseyside having shown promising signs on loan at Norwich last term.

He featured just 24 times as the Canaries fell to another relegation, yet still managed to uphold a respectable average SofaScore rating of 6.82. He ranked second amongst his teammates.

One thing that the Toffees have been lacking from midfield is someone with an eye for a pass, and with 4.51 progressive passes per game, he is already a marked improvement on the 3.23 of Abdoulaye Doucoure, and the 3.05 of Andre Gomes.

The diminutive midfielder has all the technical ability in the world, and at just 21, he still has his whole career to continue improving. His only downside is that he likely needs protection due to his size, to afford him the space to dictate a game.

Lampard clearly holds the midfielder in very high regard, and this could be a match made in heaven, as he looks for a perfect reunion to help push his Everton side away from another relegation scrap.

AND, in other news: Lampard could unearth his very own Griezmann with Everton bid for “complete” £18m gem.

Leon Mann MBE, a former BBC presenter and vice chair of the SJA, has raved over a Tottenham Hotspur development involving Yaya Toure.

The Lowdown: Spurs build for future…

The Lilywhites, looking to reshape behind-the-scenes as well as on the pitch, recently announced a plethora of appointments to Spurs’ academy set up as they prepare for future campaigns.

Perhaps most notably, former favourite Jermain Defoe is set to coach across the club’s Under-17 to Under-21 age categories, in addition to working as a Club Ambassador.

Meanwhile, another exciting addition to Tottenham’s academy set up is three-time Premier League winner and former Manchester City superstar Toure – who will take up the role of Under-16’s head coach.

The Latest: Mann praises Spurs for Yaya move…

Taking to social media, Mann has praised Spurs whilst explaining the sheer genius of Toure’s appointment as an academy coach.

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He explained:

“Exciting times! This gave me joy for a number of reasons… Spurs absolutely top class in welcoming Yaya into the club. Yaya full of enthusiasm, ideas and determination. Those young players will be getting an incredible experience and football education.”

The Verdict: Great news…

The Ivorian’s wealth of experience on the biggest stages in football will be invaluable in north London.

Toure has plied his trade in the Champions League on numerous occasions whilst also clinching plenty of silverware at Eastlands, an aspect of his career which really would have appealed to Tottenham.

Figures of the former Barcelona midfielder’s ilk are exactly the type of experienced figurehead whom Spurs should be looking to bring in for a variety of roles.

Tottenham Hotspur have blocked the exit of midfield starlet Bryan Gil to Valencia this summer, according to journalist Hector Gomez.

The Lowdown: Spurs trying to offload…

To balance the books after a summer of real transfer activity, sporting director Fabio Paratici has allegedly been attempting to get surplus-to-requirements players out the door.

Napoli are thought to be advancing for midfield outcast and club record signing Tanguy Ndombele after Spurs completed a deal to let fellow out-of-favour star Giovani Lo Celso join Villarreal on loan.

Other players could potentially follow them, but not Gil, as Gomez shares the latest out of N17.

The Latest: Tottenham block Gil exit…

Despite Spurs being open to letting Gil leave earlier this window, it appears they’ve now performed a U-turn.

Indeed, according to the reporter of Tribuna Deportiva, Valencia are now looking at alternative winger targets after the north Londoners stopped their starlet from joining the La Liga side again this campaign.

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He explained (via Twitter):

“Spurs stops the exit of Bryan Gil when there was an agreement with the player and the VCF looks for a winger as priority.

Right now two open lines: Timothy Weah (Lille), Nacho Pussetto (Watford).”

The Verdict: Right call?

Gil was named on the bench for Tottenham’s rip-roaring 2-2 draw against Chelsea at the weekend, perhaps indicating he could be in manager Antonio Conte’s plans for the 2022/2023 Premier League season.

Tottenham’s lack of an attacking midfield signing could maybe gift the Spaniard a route into first team action ahead of what will be a crucial season.

All eyes will be on Spurs and whether they can build upon their brilliant finish to 2021/2022.

Newcastle United view Lucas Paqueta as an alternative transfer target to James Maddison and even have an offer ready to go on the table, according to French outlet Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown

The Magpies have two bids for the Leicester City star rejected already, as per Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, and Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports says that they do not plan to lodge a third offer unless the Foxes ‘dramatically lower their valuation’ of the 25-year-old.

Newcastle may therefore have to find a plan B, with Brendan Rodgers revealing last week that Maddison is in talks with the Midlands club over a new contract.

The latest

The report from Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness) states that Maddison is Newcastle’s priority, but the Magpies are still keeping an eye on Paqueta, for whom they are ‘ready to put €45m-€50m’ (£38m-£42.2m) on the table to sign if necessary.

The player is said to be disappointed about Lyon’s 2021/22 campaign, which saw them finish a lowly eighth in Ligue 1.

Bruno Guimaraes is apparently a ‘powerful ally’, having struck up a friendship with his compatriot during their time together at the Groupama Stadium.

The verdict

Paqueta would be an excellent signing for Newcastle if Maddison proves to be out of reach.

The Brazilian may not have been happy with Lyon’s efforts last term, but he still managed to post strong individual numbers, with 11 goals and seven assists in 44 appearances across all competitions.

The 24-year-old has also racked up 33 caps for Brazil, currently the top-ranked international side in the world.

Paqueta has been endorsed by Zico – who once said that the Lyon ace has ‘a ton of quality’ – and Thierry Henry, who has spoken highly of his dribbling, ‘blind passing’, ‘his desire, his activity, his selflessness [and] his commitment’.

Imagine those traits coming to the fore with Paqueta in the black and white of Newcastle…

Manchester City are reportedly interested in signing AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer and he could prove to be Pep Guardiola’s next £85m talent at the Etihad.

According to reports from Italy, City are interested in signing the Algeria international after an impressive few seasons at the San Siro. It has even been suggested that Aymeric Laporte could be included in a potential swap deal for the 24-year-old, as City have been monitoring him for some time and are keen to bring him to the Premier League.

Any deal without Laporte is likely to cost City around £5om according to the initial report from Calcio Mercato Web.

Last season saw Bennacer make 31 Serie A appearances for AC Milan as they won the title, with the midfielder contributing two goals and one assist, averaging a solid 6.78 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Following the departure of Franck Kessie to Barcelona, he looks set for a more regular first-team role this season and has started the new campaign in impressive form, averaging a superb 7.83 rating across his two appearances in Serie A.

Bennacer earned a lot of praise from manager Stefano Pioli last season, as he said:

“He’s certainly not underestimated by me, my managers and teammates. He knows how to interpret the two phases well, he’s a complete midfielder.”

According to FBref, the second-most similar player to Bennacer in terms of style of play is new Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni.

The France international completed a €100m (£85m) transfer to Los Blancos this summer after some incredible performances with AS Monaco in Ligue 1, earning a place in the team of the season before his move to Madrid.

As per FbRef, the two midfielders registered extremely similar numbers in terms of expected goals and assists per 90 minutes (both 0.16), shots on target per 90 minutes (0.35 vs 0.31) and pass completion percentage (86.9 vs 86.5).

This emphasises that they are very similar players and given Tchouameni’s reputation as one of the top youngsters in world football, City would surely be foolish to turn down a player of his ilk.

WhoScored also suggests that both Bennacer and Tchouameni excel at tackling, and that quality in midfield is something that Guardiola doesn’t possess too much of, other than Rodri and Kalvin Phillips.

Therefore, the Spanish manager should definitely consider a move for the Algerian star this summer, as he could prove to be another £85m valued talent in City’s squad.

Newcastle United appear to have dodged a bullet regarding their failure to sign Brazil international Philippe Coutinho, with the 30-year-old having endured an underwhelming start to the new season at current side Aston Villa.

The former Barcelona playmaker had previously been heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park prior to the winter window, with it looking as if the 69-cap gem would be the first high-profile addition of the new PIF era.

While no January move came to fruition, there were further reports towards the tail end of last season that suggested that the Magpies could try and hijack Villa’s permanent deal for the one-time Liverpool man, albeit with the player ultimately opting to join the Midlands side for a fee of around £17m.

That switch looked like a real coup for Steven Gerrard and co at the time, although the early signs are that it could well prove to be something of a mistake for the former European champions, with those back on Tyneside perhaps thankful that they failed to strike an agreement.

While the new campaign is still in its infancy, the £18m-rated man has failed to score nor register a single assist in the Premier League thus far, having previously scored five goals and laid on three assists in just 19 games in the second half of last season after joining on loan.

Amid the current collective struggles at Villa Park, one issue has been just how to get the Brazilian into the starting lineup, with the creative midfielder seemingly vying for a regular berth alongside Emi Buendia.

Having such a marquee name resigned to the bench – with just three top-flight starts to his name so far – is not an ideal situation for Gerrard and co, although it represents just how disappointing the former Anfield hero has been of late.

Coutinho’s average match rating of 6.60, as per SofaScore, is currently only the 17th best in the Villans squad, with it hard to see how he is justifying his reported £125k-per-week salary.

Pundit Kevin Phillips had previously suggested that dishing out such a hefty wage could well cause a “problem” in the Villa dressing room, with such a disparity between him and the rest potentially a source of disruption.

Those at Newcastle having seemingly been careful not to cause their own problems by astutely walking away from deals due to exorbitant wage demands, with Coutinho’s arrival likely to have unbalanced what appears to be a harmonious squad at Howe’s disposal.

It may seem bizarre to say of a player who was previously dubbed a “creative genius” by Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson and once cost a reported £142m following his move to the Camp Nou, yet it could well have been a bullet dodged for Newcastle by not signing the seemingly fading force.