TRANSFER CONFIDENTIAL: Michael Edwards returning to Liverpool would make perfect sense and Man United are looking to tie down a young star… while clubs are put off by Chelsea’s £60m price tag for Conor Gallagher

TRANSFER CONFIDENTIAL: Michael Edwards returning to Liverpool would make perfect sense and Man United are looking to tie down a young star… while clubs are put off by Chelsea’s £60m price tag for Conor Gallagher

The pending departure of Jurgen Klopp, his staff and sporting director Jorg Schmadtke has opened inevitable debate over how Liverpool reset.

One of the growing theories around Anfield is that it would be an ideal opportunity to tempt the club’s former sporting director Michael Edwards back into a new role.

Edwards left Liverpool after 11 years just over a year ago and was viewed as the brains behind Liverpool’s impressive recruitment. He has since formed data consultancy Ludonautics, with Liverpool’s former director of research Ian Graham, who are helping a Premier League club and have formed an alliance with Bolton Wanderers in the past week also.

Edwards, by all accounts, does not wish to return to a club sporting director role again but Liverpool are well placed to consider a broader position in a new restructure. Amid concerns over continuity as Klopp heads for pastures new, luring back Edwards, a man with his fingerprints on much of Liverpool’s current fabric, would make perfect sense. Edwards knows the profile of players required to compete with Manchester City and is well connected to help find the right manager. Liverpool would still look for a new sporting director also.

Talking of link-ups with Bolton meanwhile, the role the League One club played in the development of Owen Beck and particularly full-back Conor Bradley last year has helped Liverpool decide that Scotland right-back Calvin Ramsay should join now. The 20-year-old has had plenty of interest from Championship clubs since returning from loan at Preston North End but Liverpool want to ensure he gets regular competitive game time. They have been delighted with Bradley’s progression, hence his elevation to the first team, and hope Ramsay can benefit in similar fashion.

Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool this summer will lead to a considerable reset at Anfield

One of the growing theories at Anfield is to bring back Michael Edwards (left) into a new role

One of the growing theories at Anfield is to bring back Michael Edwards (left) into a new role

Liverpool are continuing to keep an eye out for potential new centre-backs ahead of the summer. Mail Sport understands club staff were impressed by the performances of Fulham‘s Tosin Adarabioyo against them in the recent Carabao Cup semi final, particularly the leg at Craven Cottage. The 26-year-old is out of contract in the summer and has attracted attention from AC Milan and Inter as they consider free agents. Liverpool have monitored the former Manchester City graduate for a while now.

Meanwhile, Blackburn Rovers remain hopeful of Liverpool allowing Nat Phillips to join them on loan.

United keen to tie down young star 

Erik ten Hag may have his hands full with Marcus Rashford at the moment but he is also looking to clarify Omari Forson’s future before the end of the week.

Confidential revealed last week that United are waiting for the teenage winger to agree a new contract with Ten Hag keen to keep the 19-year-old. The Manchester United manager is due to hold talks with Forson to establish what he wants to do amid interest from other clubs. Forson, who came on as a substitute against Newport County on Sunday, has recently changed agents and despite positive talks before Christmas, a new deal has still to be agreed.

Facundo Pellistri has agreed to join Granada on loan, a deal that could yet become permanent in the summer, but United are reluctant to let the Uruguayan go until they know the full picture with Forson. Sunderland have also reignited interest in Amad Diallo who is eager to play more regularly but again ten Hag can ill afford to let him leave as he needs cover.

Pellistri saw a move to Sheffield United agreed last summer only to see the deal shelved at the latter stages but he is eager to kickstart his career with regular games in La Liga under coach Alexander Medina, a fellow Uruguayan.

Man United are looking to clairfy Omari Forson's (pictured) future before the end of the week

Man United are looking to clairfy Omari Forson’s (pictured) future before the end of the week

Clubs retain interest in Gallagher 

Conor Gallagher’s situation at Chelsea has still to change despite the club’s efforts to create a market for the England international.

Gallagher saw a move to Tottenham fall through in the summer despite a £45million proposal on deadline day. Interest remains but there has been no formal approach particularly with Chelsea looking for around £60m at the outset of this window.

Gallagher has 18 months left on contract and is happy at Chelsea where he enjoys a good relationship with manager Mauricio Pochettino. Despite tentative enquiries very few clubs are in a position to meet Chelsea’s demands and particularly in this window.

Chelsea’s greatest hope of bringing in funds remains with Armando Broja and Trevoh Chalobah. Fulham and Wolves remain keen on Broja while there had been some discussion around a potential swap with Aston Villa for Jhon Duran. 

Clubs remain interested in Conor Gallagher but are put off by Chelsea's £60million price tag

Clubs remain interested in Conor Gallagher but are put off by Chelsea’s £60million price tag

The Colombian is viewed as a striker of potential by Chelsea but his hamstring injury means he is out for up to ten weeks. Broja is valued at £50m but Fulham and Co are exploring loan options with obligations for around £30m.

Chalobah has a number of clubs keen to take him on loan while Chelsea also have the immediate futures of Cesare Casadei, Diego Mreira, Alfie Gilchrist, Deivid Washington and Andrey Santos to consider as they field other loan requests this week.

Leicester star valued at £40m is going nowhere 

Leicester City’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wants to stay at the club. Brighton made an approach for the 25-year-old last week but Leicester were adamant that they value their homegrown midfielder at over £40million plus add-ons. That pricing checked the progress of talks but more importantly for Leicester, Dewsbury-Hall wants to remain with the club he started at as an eight-year-old when he joined their academy from local side Shepshed Dynamo Warriors. Arsenal, Fulham and Brentford are also among his admirers.

Leicester expect to sign Stefano Sensi from Inter Milan in the next 24 hours. The deal will cost an initial loan fee of £430,000 with a further £1.7million due should Leicester get promoted. Leicester still need to sell to move in the market and face a summer overhaul of their squad with eight out of contract but their message over Dewsbury-Hall is that they will not be forced into selling their valued players cheaply.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been the subject of interest from Brighton but wants to stay at the club

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been the subject of interest from Brighton but wants to stay at the club

Right-back search continues for Leeds after missing out on deal 

Leeds United are continuing to scour Europe for a right-back after failing to strike a deal for Sint-Truiden’s Daiki Hashioka who is signing for Luton Town today for £1.7million.

Leeds have asked about Liverpool’s Calvin Ramsay, who is joining Bolton, Connor Roberts at Burnley and Napoli’s Alessandro Zanoli who was keen to join but ultimately opted for a loan to Salernitana. A deal for highly-rated Hashioka was there for the taking but Leeds asked for a loan, amid concern over a recent injury, while Luton were prepared to buy and invest in what could prove one of the bargains of the window.

Meanwhile, as expected, Leeds have agreed a fee with Sunderland for left-sided defender Leo Hjelde as he was not part of Daniel Farke’s plans.

Black Cats on the prowl 

Sunderland, who rejected Lazio’s £14m for Jack Clarke over the weekend, are exploring loan deals for Bournemouth’s Kieffer Moore and Arsenal winger Charles Sagoe Jr as an option if they fail to convince Manchester United to let them have Amad Diallo on loan. Sagoe Jr has been watched by a number of clubs while his younger up and coming clubmate Chido Obi-Martin has also attracted interest from foreign clubs such as Borussia Dortmund.

Hammers dealt blow in pursuit of forward

West Ham target Ibrahim Osman remains on the radar of rival Premier League sides as the window draws to a close. Nordsjaelland’s asking price has forced West Ham to explore other options with talks ongoing over Al Ittihad’s Jota.

Brighton and Crystal Palace had also asked about Osman but will have taken note that West Ham had £16million rejected for the 19-year-old who is keen to move and is hoping West Ham revisit their bid.

West Ham target Ibrahim Osman of FC Nordsjaelland remains on the radar of Premier League clubs

West Ham target Ibrahim Osman of FC Nordsjaelland remains on the radar of Premier League clubs

Norwich City’s Jonathan Rowe is another winger attracting enquiries from across the Premier League.

Spurs not giving up 

Tottenham remain in the market for a young winger with Brentford leading the pursuit of Bruges’ Antonio Nusa. Roony Bardghji of Copenhagen is another 18-year-old that has impressed their staff but they are not alone. The USA born Sweden U21 international has attracted a number of Premier League scouts in recent months. Tottenham are still looking to offload Pierre Emile Hojbjerg and possibly Bryan Gil this week. Hojbjerg has dismissed a move to Lyon while Gil has interest from Italy.

Magpies make enquiry over Villa star

Newcastle United are understood to have asked about Jacob Ramsey on Friday though manager Eddie Howe has since said it is ‘incorrect’ to say the Aston Villa midfielder is an option for them. Newcastle want a young winger and a midfielder this window but are struggling unless they can offload someone such as Miguel Almiron. Bournemouth’s Philip Billing remains a player of interest but checks on other midfielders are continuing.

Aston Villa expect further interest in Ramsey but predominantly in the summer. Meanwhile, Villa remain in negotiations with Middlesbrough over a deal for Morgan Rogers. Their latest £7.5m offer plus add-ons was rejected by Boro who value Rogers around £12-15m while Manchester City hold a significant sell-on clause.

Newcastle United are understood to have asked about Jacob Ramsey but a deal is unlikely

Newcastle United are understood to have asked about Jacob Ramsey but a deal is unlikely

United give hot prospect a chance to impress 

Manchester United have handed a trial to former Sunderland prospect Mason Cotcher.

The 17-year-old forward left Sunderland last summer and has been training with different clubs as he looks to secure his next contract. Brighton, Rangers and Arsenal have also taken a look at the England youth international but he has been in at United over the past week. He came on as a substitute in Saturday morning’s 4-0 win for United’s U18s over Leeds United. 

The game also saw 15-year-old Amir Ibragimov figure for United’s U18s before he went off to Old Trafford that afternoon and made his debut for the club’s U21s in their 4-2 win over Norwich City, where Sam Mather scored all four.


Source From: Premier League News, Fixtures and Results | Mail Online

Source link

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with changes to European Union data protection law, for all members globally. We’ve also updated our Privacy Policy to give you more information about your rights and responsibilities with respect to your privacy and personal information. Please read this to review the updates about which cookies we use and what information we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated privacy policy.
Blogarama - Blog Directory