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Adam Pope has dropped an exciting update on Marcelo Bielsa signing his new contract at Leeds United.

What’s the story?

The Argentine has signed year-to-year contracts at Elland Road since his arrival at the club, leading to the inevitable questions over whether he will continue his stay.

Angus Kinnear has previously expressed his confidence at seeing Bielsa put pen to paper on a new deal, saying: “We’re all really confident. As I think you know, Marcelo decided not to return back to Argentina this summer. Some of his coaching staff have, but he wanted to stay at Elland Road, he wanted to prepare, he wanted to work with Victor (Orta) and I on the transfer window and oversee the training ground works that are taking place.

“So, I have no doubts as to his commitment and as normal with Marcelo, putting pen to paper he sees as an irrelevance. It’s really emotionally and psychologically where he is and he’s certainly very much with Leeds United for the next season.”

BBC reporter Pope has now said via Twitter: “No further news but all parties appear comfortable.”

Fans will be buzzing

When news first emerged earlier this year that Bielsa was set to sign a new contract at Elland Road, several Leeds fans took to Twitter to make it clear just how delighted they were – a real snapshot of the kind of love that supporters have for the manager.

The kind of affinity and love Leeds fans have for Bielsa is unquestionable, with the Argentine a firm favourite in Yorkshire for the way he has embraced the city and brought the Whites back to the big time of the Premier League.

The fact that Leeds finished in the top half of the table in their first season back, with the majority of their squad having also taken them up from the Championship, is a real testament to the incredible coaching work Bielsa has done.

Therefore, news from Pope that “all parties appear comfortable” over the Leeds boss extending his time at Elland Road for at least another year is sure to have Whites fans buzzing.

In other news: Club stance on “fantastic” £39k-p/w gem revealed, Leeds must sanction deal for him

Aston Villa have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Belgian side Royal Antwerp for the transfer of Bjorn Engels.

And a number of Villa supporters have been sharing their thoughts on the news on social media.

Engels with have a medical this weekend ahead of a proposed move back to his native country. He’s been with Villa since 2019 after joining in a move worth £7.2m from Stade Reims.

However, the 26-year-old failed to make a Premier League appearance under Dean Smith last season, with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa ever-presents at Villa Park.

Engels looks set to leave Villa with just 19 appearances to his name, scoring his only goal for the club in a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham last year.

Villa fans react

The club shared the news on Engels on their official Twitter page on Friday evening.

The majority of Villa fans seemed fairly sad at the news, with one describing the defender as ‘brilliant’.

“We’re better than this statement, wish him well. Class costs us nothing.”Credit: @KevinCorAvfc”Gutted it didn’t work out for him at Villa, wishing you the best at Antwerp”Credit: @YusufYasser1″Brilliant defender, if only he had a yard or two more pace he would have been top drawer. A real shame it never worked out. All the best Bjorn “Credit: @AvfcU”Good luck lad. Really sad it didn’t work out.”Credit: @everysongsung”Will miss Bjorn a lot, he did very well in his short playing time, hope everything goes well for him.”Credit: @CharlesHay19″No best of luck? No thanks? No mention of even playing for the club? Something doesn’t fit right with me. Guess we’ll never know. Best of luck, Bjorn”Credit: @wh0actuallykn0w”He only made one mistake tbf. Clearly isn’t our type of player but still feel bad for him”Credit: @ViIlaI_

In other news: Many AVFC fans react to club’s reported interest in Aaron Ramsey, find out more here. 

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Everton striker Marcus Bent has said that bringing in Conor Coady would not only provide competition for places but would improve the Toffees’ back four.

Only Leicester and Leeds conceded more goals than Everton in the top-half of the Premier League last season as Carlo Ancelotti struggled to find a settled back-line.

And therefore, Everton are hoping to improve a defence that kept just 12 clean sheets last season – with only three of those coming at Goodison Park.

According to Football Insider, the Merseysiders are still keen on Coady, regardless of whether Nuno Espirito Santo takes over as manager.

Coady has missed just one Premier League game in the last three seasons, and that was due to having to quarantine, with his form seeing him named in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad.

Everton currently have four centre-backs in Yerry Mina, Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and the versatile Ben Godfrey, but Bent reckons that Coady would be a shrewd signing for his former side.

He told Football FanCast:

“What they’re saying is, Holgate and Michael Keane are Everton’s centre-halves, but he would stabilise them. If he were to come in, he would bring competition for places.

“They’re all on a level where they respect each other, so I think it would be a good thing for Everton to bring him in. Hopefully bringing in another centre-half, who’s been great for Wolves, would help the defence to become more consistent.”

Emiliano Buendia’s priority is to join Arsenal over Aston Villa, according to journalist Ekrem Konur.

The Lowdown: Big money bids submitted

Both Villa and the Gunners appear to be battling it out for the Norwich City star, with the Argentine seemingly certain to leave Carrow Road this summer.

Recent reports from The Sun suggested that both clubs have submitted bids worth £30m-plus, however, the Canaries are holding out for a bidding war between the two sides which could take a deal closer to £40m.

Of course, Buendia will have a say on his next destination, and his preference has now been shared.

The Latest: Buendia fancies Arsenal move

According to Konur, both clubs have lodged formal bids for the 24-year-old.

He ended his social media post with a huge blow to Villa’s chances of securing Buendia’s services though, confirming ‘the player’s priority is Arsenal’.

The Verdict: Time for Villa to look elsewhere?

If Villa are aware of Buendia’s preferred switch to north London, we feel they should be making checks with alternative options.

One man who they may well turn to is West Brom’s Matheus Pereira.

Reports have suggested the Baggies have told the Brazilian he can leave the club this summer for the right price believed to be in the region of £15m.

Villa don’t rate Pereira as highly as Buendia, however, for half the price, the Baggies man could be a smart signing, especially considering he chipped in with 11 goals and six assists in a struggling West Brom side last season.

In other news: Many AVFC fans fume as links to striker emerge, find out more here. 

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic has revealed that Glasgow Rangers left-back Borna Barisic has been struggling with injury while on international duty.

The Lowdown: Barisic away with Croatia

Barisic was selected by Dalic to be a part of the Croatia squad for Euro 2020, and the Balkan nation kicked off their campaign against England at Wembley on Sunday.

The Gers’ £5.4m-valued 28-year-old (Transfermarkt) had been expected to start the match, which Croatia lost 1-0, but he was left out of the matchday squad.

The Latest: Dalic reveals Barisic injury

Prior to the clash at Wembley, Dalic explained Barisic’s absence. He said (via The Scotsman):

“I think this is the best possible option for this match.

“Gvardiol has come in at left-back as Barišić has had some problems in the last ten days.”

The Verdict: Blow to CroatiaComing into the tournament, Barisic was Dalic’s clear number-one choice on the left side of the back four. He appeared in both of his country’s warm-up games against Armenia and Belgium, while he has just enjoyed arguably the best season of his career with the Gers.In the end, though, Dalic was forced to play Gvardiol in his place. While the 19-year-old will be joining up with RB Leipzig next term, this was just his second cap and also his first-ever start for his country (Transfermarkt) – a Euro 2020 opener is not the best time to throw him into the deep end. The boss will be hoping Barisic will be able to feature as the tournament progresses, as will Rangers fans, who’ll be keen to see their man do well on the big stage. However, those fans might also be worried that the defender could play through an injury, which is never ideal as it could lead to further complications.In other news, Rangers fans were livid at this SPFL development.

Writing on Twitter, sharing his piece for football.london, reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold has listed the Tottenham Hotspur players who ‘could be sold’ this summer as part of a rebuild – with winger Erik Lamela making the list.

The Lowdown: Servant to Spurs…

Lamela signed for Spurs as a member of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ brought in to replace Gareth Bale after he completed his sensational £85 million move to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2013.

Since then, the Argentine has stood out as the longest serving member of that player influx and has gone to make 257 appearances for Spurs in all competitions (Transfermarkt).

He has scored 37 goals and has assisted his teammates 47 times over this period (Transfermarkt), but a combination of disciplinary issues and a poor injury record have somewhat marred his stay in north London.

The Latest: Lamela ‘could be sold’…

Spurs need to adopt a sell-to-buy policy in a difficult market, especially considering their documented financial troubles, and Gold has revealed that Lamela ‘could be sold’ this summer.

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Dele Alli, Lucas Moura, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Moussa Sissoko, Juan Foyth, Harry Winks, Serge Aurier and a centre-back could also be offloaded, according to the football.london journalist.

Lamela is apparently a ‘popular figure’ within Tottenham and ‘loves’ the club himself, but his fairly lofty salary combined with a lack of Premier League starts this season could mean his eight-year stay in the English capital may be coming to an end.

The Verdict: Time to go…

There have been points over 2020/2021 where Lamela showcased his true quality, most notably the sensational rabona against Arsenal during Spurs’ 2-1 north London derby loss.

However, during that same game, the 29-year-old was sent off for a second yellow card after aggressively fending off Kieran Tierney – perhaps summing up his Tottenham career overall.

It’s no doubt that the Argentine can turn it on, as evident by former Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson calling him a ‘fantastic player’ earlier this season (Football Insider), but it may be time for Lamela to be shown the door.

In other news: Spurs could now be offered this ‘phenomenal player’ for Kane, find out more here.

Southampton’s woeful Premier League form in 2021 continued as they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Anfield, with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side missing a number of big chances against the Merseyside club.

Sadio Mane’s header gave Jurgen Klopp’s side the lead moments after Che Adams missed a golden opportunity before Thiago made the points safe late on for the Reds.

The Saints are fortunate that the likes of Fulham and West Brom haven’t picked up more points in recent weeks, as Southampton’s terrible run of results has seen them slip to 16th in the Premier League table, just 10 points clear of the relegation places.

Although there were a number of disappointing performances at Anfield, the man who arguably disappointed the most was Theo Walcott, with the 32-year-old continuing his poor recent form in Hasenhuttl’s side.

As per SofaScore, the winger would earn a generous 6.6/10 match rating for his display, with only Che Adams (6.3), Jan Bednarek (6.3), Jack Stephens (6.3) and Kyle Walker-Peters (6.4) rated lower of those who started the game.

Considering Walcott’s vast experience, you would hope that he would still be able to have an influence in games such as these, where Southampton would need to keep possession and frustrate the hosts, especially in a season where their fearsome home record has completely evaporated.

However, the former Arsenal man would complete just 9/15 of his passes during the game, resulting in a less than impressive 60% success rate.

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This was the joint-fewest passes with Adams played by any player who started the game, whilst it is also significantly fewer than the 19.8 passes he has averaged per game in the Premier League this season.

Despite being involved so little, the £5.4m-rated Walcott still managed to lose possession on 11 occasions, whilst he also failed to contribute a single shot or dribble during his time on the pitch.

Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach certainly wasn’t impressed with his performance, as he rated him a 3/10, writing:

“He was quiet and struggled to get into the game. He was easily forced wide and crowded out in possession, creating next to nothing. His form seems to have vanished during the second half of the season.”

Hasenhuttl will surely be fuming that one of the most experienced players in his side was completely anonymous at Anfield and considering Walcott’s poor recent form, the Austrian should surely think twice about signing him permanently this summer.

And, in other news… Southampton suffer huge setback with “exciting” £9m-rated gem, Ralph surely fuming

Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he expects Roy Hodgson to take a break from football after his Crystal Palace departure, following reports from The Sun that he could be a contender to replace Sam Allardyce at West Bromwich Albion.

Following just under four years in the Selhurst Park dugout, the 73-year-old made the decision to stand down from his role at his boyhood club earlier this week.

Palace have endured a poor end to Hodgson’s reign, winning just three times in their final 11 Premier League games, and whilst they could finish as low as 16th depending on final-day results, he’s continued the good work from those before him to make the Eagles an established top-flight club.

They never finished lower than 14th in Hodgson’s, showing that he’s clearly still more than good enough to manage at Premier League level despite this being his 45th year as a manager.

Hodgson’s previous club job before Palace was West Brom, with Jeremy Peace labelling him as “outstanding” following his appointment in the west Midlands in 2011. And following the departure of Sam Allardyce, does Windass believe he could make a sensational return to the Hawthorns?

He told Football FanCast:

“I think he needs to take a break; he’s getting on now. I’m aware that he’s hands on, on the training ground, but take a bit of time out, do a bit of media work, watch a lot of games.

“I think he will sit off now, enjoy your life. He’s been remarkable. I’ve never met him but he looks like a gentleman, but I think he will walk away.”

The Athletic’s Manchester City correspondent has recently delivered an enticing update on City’s interest in Tottenham Hotspur Harry Kane, with a switch to Pep Guardiola’s side looking more and more likely as we approach the summer transfer window.

Lee revealed, in a recent article, that Kane wants to join City this summer if he can get out of Tottenham Hotspur, with the North London side’s disappointing season clearly the final straw for the England captain, as he made it clear that he wanted to leave the club this summer as he looks to win his first career trophy.

City have regularly been linked with the 27-year-old forward ahead of the summer transfer window, with recent reports suggesting that Guardiola’s side could even offer a few first-team squad players, such as Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, to Spurs in an attempt to bring Kane to the Etihad.

It is no surprise that Guardiola is keen on signing the Spurs man this summer, as he enjoyed a phenomenal campaign with the Lilywhites, finishing top of the goalscoring and assist charts in the Premier League.

In 35 Premier League appearances this season, the impressive striker would contribute 23 goals and 14 assists, earning a superb 7.79 average rating from WhoScored, which saw him edge out Kevin De Bruyne as the highest-rated player in the top-flight.

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Considering City will be without the legendary Sergio Aguero next season after he joined Barcelona on a free transfer, you could argue that the Citizens need to add a clinical striker to their squad if they want to progress from this season.

The Champions League final emphasised that City could do with a physical presence up front, as in the latter stages of that game, they became desperate and began launching the ball up to John Stones who was playing as a target man, so having someone such as Kane, who is adept at holding the ball up, would help them avoid situations such as that.

The “unbelievable” forward also showed how dangerous he can be this season when dropping deep and playing through balls to wingers, so he could prove to be extremely effective in the same team as someone such as Sterling, Riyad Mahrez or Phil Foden next season.

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Therefore, after the latest report suggesting that he is keen to join City, Txiki Begiristain should do all he can to bring Kane to the Etihad this summer.

And, in other news… Guardiola handed huge boost with “exceptional” beast, City fans will be relieved 

Rangers have been linked with a move for Newcastle United ace Jacob Murphy recently, and if he were to make the move to Ibrox this summer, it could prove to be bad news for Nathan Patterson’s hopes of becoming a first team regular under Steven Gerrard next season.

According to Football Insider, both Rangers and Southampton are interested in signing the 26-year-old from Newcastle United ahead of next season, with the Toon reportedly willing to sell him for as little as £3m this summer.

Whilst the former Norwich City man has spent much of his career playing as a winger, he has been deployed as a right wing-back by Steve Bruce in recent weeks and has averaged an impressive 7.09  WhoScored rating across his six appearances in that position, with two goals to his name.

After spending last season on loan in the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday, the Englishman’s future at St James’ Park looked bleak, but Bruce blocked his departure and he has established himself as a regular in the Premier League since the turn of the year.

If he were to join Gerrard’s side this summer, he could continue featuring as a right-back, having struggled for goals and assists when playing further forward in the Premier League.

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Although the 26-year-old might struggle to get into the team ahead of captain James Tavernier, he would certainly be challenging to be second choice at right-back behind the club captain.

This could spell trouble for Patterson, who has earned rave reviews this season when filling in for the injured Tavernier and looks to have a very bright future at Ibrox.

However, he is just 19 and may lose out to a more experienced professional such as Murphy, so perhaps we would see him go out on loan or simply be expected to compete for a backup role.

Patterson certainly impressed in his last outing, with Gerrard labelling his performance in the 2-1 win against Hibernian as “outstanding”, so it would be a shame if the youngster struggles for game-time next season after progressing so well recently.

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Unfortunately, if the £3.15m-rated Murphy does make the move to Ibrox this summer and continues his recent strong form as a right-back, it is difficult to see where Patterson fits in.

In other news… Ross Wilson must avoid disastrous repeat over “positive” gem after transfer claim emerges