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Celtic are in talks with Dundee United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist over a summer move to Parkhead, according to reliable journalist Anthony Joseph.

The Lowdown: Hoops linked with move

The Hoops are likely to be in the market for a new ‘keeper in the summer transfer window, following the departure of Vasilias Barkas on loan to FC Utrecht.

One player they have been linked with in the past is Siegrist, who enjoyed an impressive 2021/22 season for Dundee United, making 29 appearances in the Scottish Premiership.

The 30-year-old is out of contract this summer and will be available on a free transfer.

The Latest: Joseph makes positive claim

Taking to Twitter, Joseph simply provided a four-word update regarding Celtic’s pursuit of the Swiss stopper:

“Benjamin Siegrist in talks.”

The Verdict: Great competition for Hart

Joe Hart is expected to go into next season as Celtic’s first-choice ‘keeper, given his excellent displays last season, in which the 35-year-old rolled back the years and made 44 appearances.

Siegrist could arguably provide the veteran with his sternest competition yet between the sticks, however, as Ange Postecoglou looks to build a more formidable all-round squad.

If Hart shows signs of age next term, the Dundee United man could be a strong replacement, as the matches come thick and fast, both domestically and in Europe. Siegrist has been hailed as a ‘big-game performer’ by manager Tam Courts, which bodes well for the Hoops.

In other news, Kieran Devlin has dropped a Celtic transfer claim. Read more here.

Liverpool have reportedly maintained a long-term interest in Raphinha and now a new update has emerged on the club’s intentions to ramp up their interest in the player this summer.

What’s the latest?

According to Spanish news outlet Sport (via Daily Star), Liverpool have now submitted a £60m bid for Leeds United star Raphinha.

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As per the report, Jurgen Klopp seems keen to add more depth to his attack this summer and wants Raphinha to be a direct replacement for Sadio Mane.

The Brazilian and his agent Deco have, however, rejected all bids that have been offered so far the report goes on to state, and the winger is holding out for his favoured move to Barcelona.

Imagine him & Nunez

Liverpool have officially completed the club record-breaking signing of their second incoming transfer of the season with Darwin Nunez sealing a deal, keeping the Uruguayan striker at Anfield until 2028.

If the Reds manager can convince Raphinha to join Nunez this summer he could form a formidable attacking partnership between the pair that will ignite the next chapter of Liverpool’s famous front-line.

The Leeds winger has caught the attention of some of the biggest clubs in Europe with La Liga giants Barcelona in hot pursuit of the exciting talent following impressive performances with the West Yorkshire club.

The Brazilian who was hailed “world-class” by Paul Robinson has scored 17 goals and delivered 12 assists for his Premier League club over the last two seasons with a goal contribution every 184 minutes.

This season Raphinha was Leeds’ top goal scorer, in his 35 Premier League appearances he scored 11 goals and created ten big chances, making 1.9 key passes, 1.5 tackles on average per game and winning 5.2 duels on average per game.

Teammate Illan Meslier even dubbed the 25-year-old a “storm” in an interview:

“All the time he can make skills and shoot. Sometimes Raphinha is a storm. He’s amazing, unbelievable.”

Klopp has already acquired a new goal machine in Nunez but if the reports are true about the bid submitted for Raphinha he is clearly looking for a direct replacement to fill the gap Sadio Mane will leave in the team due to his imminent move to Bayern Munich this summer.

With that being said, FSG will need to offer something very attractive to the Leeds forward in an attempt to distract him from a move to Spain and secure a deal to convince him to make the short move across the north to Merseyside instead.

AND in other news: Liverpool have “genuine” interest in signing “wonderful” £42m gem, imagine him & Nunez

Wolves are eyeing up a swoop for Almoatasembellah Al Musrati as Bruno Lage aims to rebuild the squad during the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

That’s according to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (via Sport Witness), which states that Wolves are keen on signing Al Musrati from Braga.

Fulham are also keen on the midfielder and Braga are reportedly demanding a fee of around €15m (£12.8m) to secure his services.

Fulham have been admiring the player for longer, but Wolves have the chance to bring the midfielder to Molineux.

Lage can unearth his own Fabinho

Wolves finished the Premier League season in tenth position, which represents their third top-half finish in four seasons since being promoted from the Championship in 2018.

With the futures of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho uncertain following the end of the campaign, it’s clear Lage is in the market for a new midfielder or two to boost his squad.

Al Musrati signed for Braga from Vitoria Guimaraes two seasons ago and has been a regular fixture in the side. the 26-year-old was a key part of the squad that won the Portuguese Cup last season and Lage might have his very own Fabinho if he signs the player.

Al Musrati is compared to the Liverpool player via FB Refs similar player model, with the two sharing related stats.

Both players have won the same amount of tackles with 37, whilst there isn’t much difference when it comes to interceptions, Fabinho edging it slightly with 56 compared to 46 for the Braga star.

Defensively both players are excellent, performing their respective roles with the minimum of fuss and fanfare that enables the more creative players on the team to win matches.

They both can be a slight threat going forward, however, with the two sharing identical shots per 90 minutes percentage of 0.74.

For the fee quoted, Lage could land a player who would be able to slot into the side with ease. Zach Lowy described him as a “special talent”, and a move to England could see him take the next step.

AND in other news, Tim Spiers now reveals major Wolves transfer twist, supporters will be buzzing

Members of the media are blown away by a ‘big’ transfer development out of Tottenham Hotspur as head coach Antonio Conte is handed his first big boost ahead of the 2022/2023 campaign.

The Lowdown: Conte eyes busy summer…

Club chief Fabio Paratici sat down for crunch talks with Conte last week in Italy with the pair drawing up a list of targets and discussing recruitment plans.

The Lilywhites, having secured a top-four Premier League finish and the riches of Champions League football for next season, are also playing with a £150 million equity increase which will be used to back Conte this summer.

Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni and Man City forward Gabriel Jesus are among the men on Tottenham’s radar with the north Londoners looking set to be busy (The Telegraph).

Another name they were linked with in Ivan Perisic has now been confirmed as Spurs announce his signing on a Bosman deal from Inter.

The Latest: Media blown away by Perisic news…

Members of the media, heaping praise on Spurs, have been left blown away by Perisic’s arrival at Hotspur Way – with some even branding it a ‘Chelsea-type signing’.

Pundit Jamie O’Hara also called the deal a ‘big move’ by chairman Daniel Levy and co.

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“Big move” – Jamie O’Hara (talkSPORT pundit and ex-Spurs midfielder)

“Amazing signing by Spurs. Perisic may be 33 but he is in the form of his career and was the best wing-back in Serie A last season. Physique, technique, crossing, goal threat, both footed and a beast in the air” – Carlo Garganese (Italian football broadcaster)

“I feel Perisic is a Chelsea-type signing. I mean that as a compliment, too. Age irrelevant. A winner. Won the lot. Will fit in straight away. The Conte factor” – Michael Bridge (Sky Sports reporter)

The Verdict: Right to be impressed…

Signing for zero transfer cost, this Perisic deal is certainly an impressive start to Conte’s first summer transfer window at the club.

The decorated Croatian footballing legend, amassing an imprssive 113 international caps, has also clinched major pieces of silverware at club level.

Winning two Bundesliga titles, one Serie A, a Champions League medal and many domestic trophies, Perisic has even been crowned Croatian Footballer of the Year (Transfermarkt).

Even though he possesses little sell-on value due to his age, the 33-year-old’s vast experience and versatility could be invaluable to Conte.

In other news: Tottenham will now attempt to seal eight-figure agreement for ‘incredible’ speedster, find out more here.

Newcastle United are heading into their first summer transfer window under PIF after enjoying an excellent month of business in January.

The Saudi Arabian consortium backed Eddie Howe by bringing in the likes of Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Matt Targett.

They also pursued a deal to sign Diego Carlos from Sevilla to bolster their options at centre-back before signing Burn from Brighton.

The Brazilian defender has now been snapped up by fellow Premier League side Aston Villa in a move that Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett has claimed to be worth around £26m. He has also stated that Newcastle attempted to sign him for £30m in January, but a deal collapsed after the La Liga outfit demanded £38m for his services.

This means that Sevilla’s valuation of the 29-year-old plummeted by £12m in just four months, so PIF would have overpaid by a considerable amount of money if they had decided to match the La Liga club’s asking price, which would have been a disaster for the Newcastle owners.

Not only would they have overspent by £12m, they would also have brought in a centre-back with huge question marks over his ability.

South American football expert Tim Vickery previously raised concerns over the defender, saying: “It was a couple of years ago that a Brazilian journalist, based in Spain, brought my attention to Diego Carlos and said ‘I think this is the best Brazilian centre-back in Spain, have a look at him’.

“My conclusion, and he won the Olympic gold medal as well, is that we may be dealing with a centre-back who may look better than he is.”

Vickery added: “I worry about Diego Carlos. There are moments when he looks classy, but there are lots of mistakes and wild man things.”

In La Liga this season, the now-Villa defender committed a whopping five errors directly leading to opposition shots or goals and gave away two penalties. This means that he essentially made seven big individual mistakes, and this is the error-prone nature to which Vickery alluded.

Burn, who joined Newcastle for £13m in January, has made zero errors leading to shots or goals and given away just one penalty in three Premier League seasons for Brighton and the Magpies combined.

This shows that he is much more reliable in comparison to Carlos, whilst costing £25m less than the latter would have in January. Along with the Brazilian’s plummeting value in 2022, that explains why PIF avoided a big disaster in the last transfer window.

AND in other news, PIF “are interested” in NUFC deal for “cold” £27m tank, he can be Howe’s own Varane…

Manchester United have reportedly launched an ‘important offer’ for Napoli forward Victor Osimhen.

The Lowdown: Osimhen linked with United

The Nigeria international, who former United striker Odion Ighalo described as ‘the future’, has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford this month.

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Reports earlier this month claimed that Erik ten Hag’s side were ‘on pole’ to sign the 23-year-old, who is also wanted by Premier League rivals Arsenal.

Ten Hag faced the media as Red Devils manager for the first time on Monday, with Old Trafford chiefs seemingly hard at work over new signings for the Dutchman behind the scenes.

The Latest: Transfer update

Sport Witness relayed an important transfer update from La Repubblica regarding Osimhen.

They claimed that AC Milan have now joined the race for the Nigeria international, although they added that the ‘most important offer’ has come from United.

Osimhen is thought to be an ‘alternative’ target to Harry Kane, with the Tottenham striker seemingly Ten Hag’s priority.

The Verdict: Expensive…

It remains to be seen how much United’s offer for Osimhen was worth, but you’d expect that it would need to be a big bid for Napoli to consider parting ways with their star attacker.

Osimhen is valued at £54m by Transfermarkt and still has three years remaining on his current deal. Reports have previously mooted a €90m (£76.8m) figure, so a transfer could eat into Ten Hag’s budget of £100m-£150m, some of which he wants to spend on Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

However, United could well offload a few players over the coming months to raise funds, such as right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Eric Bailly, so a prospective big-money move for Osimhen could be one to watch.

In other news: Sky Sports man now worried at ‘dangerous’ MUFC move Glazers have approved after landing Ten Hag

Leeds United have been linked with a move for Philadelphia Union left-back Kai Wagner, Transfermarkt report.

The Lowdown: Wagner profiled

Wagner, valued at a cut-price £2.7m, has been with the MLS side since 2019 but is out of contract at the end of the calendar year, meaning he could move for cheap this summer.

The 25-year-old can also play as a left-midfielder and has made 104 appearances for his current employers.

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He’s scored four times and registered 13 assists while in America, and it looks as if Jesse Marsch is keen on a move for his services this summer.

The Latest: Leeds links

Transfermarkt shared a story regarding Leeds and Wagner on Thursday morning after being informed by a source close to the situation.

They claim that the Whites are keen on his services, where he could become an ‘important part of the club’s rebuild’ under Marsch, Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani.

Relegation rivals Burnley and Championship side Middlesbrough are also name-checked with an interest.

The Verdict: Firpo replacement?

If Leeds go down on Sunday, you’d expect there will be plenty of change over the summer with a number of high-profile exits, with Radz and Orta needing to revamp the squad to give Marsch the tools fit for the Championship.

Junior Firpo, the club’s marquee signing last year from Barcelona, could well be one to leave due to his poor first season in Yorkshire where he has picked up 11 yellow cards, so it looks as if Wagner may come in to replace him.

Leeds have a track record in recent years of getting left-back additions wrong, with Firpo and Laurens De Bock perfect examples, however, Wagner has been described as ‘one of the best left-backs’ in the MLS, so an under-the-radar move for the German could be shrewd and cheap when you look at his contract situation.

In other news: Orta now finally set to accept defeat as Leeds plot exit for Bielsa ‘mistake’ – opinion. 

Giovanni van Bronckhorst is on the brink of leading Rangers to a historic double this season. With the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals to be played over the next seven days, the Dutchman could swat away earlier critics by landing both trophies for the Ibrox club.

Relinquishing the Premiership title is a bitter pill to swallow, however, this could well be surpassed by continental success.

The manager has already had one transfer window to bring in new players, and although the likes of Aaron Ramsey and James Sands arrived on loan deals, nobody signed permanently at Ibrox to improve the starting XI.

With a busy summer facing Van Bronckhorst as he attempts to wrestle the Premiership crown back from Celtic, there will likely be plenty of transfer activity around the blue half of Glasgow.

However, one player who won’t be arriving at Ibrox this year is Dutch defender Danilho Doekhi, who has turned the club down according to reports.

Dutch outlet de Gelderlander have claimed that Doekhi has turned down a move to Rangers in favour of Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.

The report stated that he has signed a four-year deal at the German club, with the opportunity to play in one of the best leagues on the continent obviously too much to resist.

This is a major blow to the Ibrox outfit as they are on the lookout for defensive reinforcements. With the likes of Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun yet to sign new contracts ahead of their current deals expiring this summer, along Filip Helander’s constant injury woes, a centre-back addition must be a priority.

John Souttar has already signed a pre-contract deal with the club, but this won’t be enough if Van Bronckhorst aims for domestic glory and a shot at Champions League success next season.

It could be a long summer ahead for the Gers faithful, so let’s hope they have other targets in mind after the setback with Doekhi. That development is sure to have left Ibrox chief Ross Wilson fuming, with the long-time Rangers target ultimately moving elsewhere.

AND in other news, Wilson heading for big Rangers disaster on “ridiculous” £6.4k-p/w tank, Van Bronckhorst needs him…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Mattias Svanberg to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet 1000 Cuori Rossoblu (via Sport Witness), who claim that, with the 23-year-old’s current contract with Bologna set to expire in June of 2023 and the central midfielder having no interest in extending his stay at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, the Serie A side will look to cash in on the Sweden international this summer.

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The report goes on to state that the likes of Tottenham, Everton, West Ham United, Napoli and Fiorentina are all interested in a deal for the former Malmo FF starlet, who looks as if he will be available for a figure of around €20m (£17m) at the end of the current campaign.

Conte would love Svanberg

With it being reported that Antonio Conte is looking to bring in additions to bolster his current options in the middle of the park at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, it is unsurprising to learn that the 52-year-old is interested in a deal for Svanberg.

Indeed, the 23-year-old has highly impressed over his 35 Serie A appearances this season, scoring three goals, registering three assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.0 key passes, 0.8 interceptions, 1.1 tackles, taking 1.1 shots and winning 4.3 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £13.5m-rated talent average a SofaScore match rating of 6.87, ranking him as Sinisa Mihajlovic’s eighth-best performer in the Italian top-flight – an impressive feat considering the Rossoblu’s struggles in the league this term.

Furthermore, FBref also rank the £14k-per-week Swede in the top 16% of midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues for shots taken per 90, in addition to the top 28% for non-penalty goals, the top 30% for assists, the top 22% for xA, the top 34% for progressive passes received and the top 33% for blocks over the last 365 days.

These are all metrics that would appear to make the versatile midfielder a perfect fit for Conte’s Spurs, an opinion which an unnamed source in Italy also clearly believes, with the insider stating in comments cited by football.london:

“Svanberg is probably one of the top four or five No 8’s in Europe – that’s how good he is. He’s a very talented young man. He’s playing for a very defensive Bologna side but he can bring a spark to whichever team he plays in.

“Spurs already know him very, very well because of the Italians involved in the club now. Anyone who has seen him play for Bologna will tell you that he’s the sort of player that Conte would enjoy working with.”

As such, considering his particular skill-set, impressive versatility and potential for further growth – not to mention a very reasonable asking price – it would indeed appear a wise for Fabio Paratici to launch a £17m bid for Svanberg this summer, as the 23-year-old would undoubtedly be a player Conte would love to work with at Spurs.

AND in other news: “Consequences for his future”: Gold drops Spurs exit claim, supporters will be buzzing

Southampton media have been left slamming Jan Bednarek and Mohammed Salisu for their role in Yoane Wissa’s goal for Brentford this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Another loss

Ralph Hasenhuttl had to watch his team suffer yet another loss in the Premier League, which means the 1-0 win at home to Arsenal in April remains their only win since the beginning of March.

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They stay on 40 points, and if not careful, could yet be dragged into the relegation picture if Burnley and Leeds can put a couple more wins on the board.

The Latest: Centre-backs slammed

Taking to Twitter, The Daily Echo journalists Alfie House and Benjy Nurick were left slamming both Bednarek and Salisu for their roles in Wissa’s goal for the hosts, which made it 2-0 to the Bees after just 14 minutes.

House was shocked as the duo were left on the ground as Wissa walked straight through:

“Bednarek and Salisu left on the ground. Brentford walk straight through and Wissa scores from the edge of the area. Wow.”

Nurick was baffled by how much space Wissa was given, labelling the defending from the pair as ‘disastrous’:

“How did Wissa have so much space to drive through the middle and shoot? Well, both Salisu and Bednarek ended up in a heap on the floor. Just disastrous.”

The Verdict: Must do better

After conceding early on already to Pontus Jansson’s goal, the Saints just needed to steady the ship, but conceded once again straight after.

Of course, they were not helped by Bednarek and Salisu, who both had poor games along with the rest of the defence.

They lost out on six of their duels between them, and only managed to block two of the shots on their goal, while Salisu failed to make any interceptions, and Bednarek recorded just one tackle (SofaScore).

On the ball, they were inaccurate with 11 of their attempted long balls combined, and gave possession away 17 times between them in total (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, they will now surely be sweating over their starting places with Lyanco sat on the bench.

In other news, find out which ‘class act’ SFC are now eyeing here!