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Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa should reunite with Chelsea and Belgium star Michy Batshuayi this summer amid some recent transfer claims.

What’s the story?

According to recent reports from The Telegraph, Bielsa is keen on luring Batshuayi to Elland Road this summer, with the Belgium international spending last season on loan at fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace.

And now, speaking exclusively to This is Futbol, Carlton Palmer has dropped his verdict on the Whites pursuing a move for a player Bielsa has worked with before at French side Marseille.

He said: “Well he knows him, doesn’t he? Managers generally like to work with players they know, players like to go work for managers they know because they get the best out of them.

“Listen, Bielsa will be looking at that and thinking if he can get him in, it’d be a decent addition to the squad because that’s what you need. I think Bielsa will be interested. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Bielsa could transform him

Lauded as a “real goal-scorer” by former Borussia Dortmund boss, Peter Stoger, the £9m-rated Batshuayi has had the experience of working under Bielsa while at Marseille, and though he has since admitted it was a tough period for him, it’s something he claims has been invaluable to his development.

He said: “But looking back, I tell myself he knew who to do this with. Some needed this support. Me, he understood my personality, he knew that I could draw on my resources.

“I’ll tell you something. One day he told me something shocking. For several months, he hardly spoke to me. And the time he came to talk to me, he just said, ‘When you go out of here, you’re gonna go for 40 million’. He just told me that. In my head, I said to myself, ‘But he’s crazy’. In the end, he was right.”

And, after hearing about the links to Batshuayi, David Norris also pointed to Batshuayi’s previous relationship with the Leeds boss as something that makes it a really good move for Leeds.

He said: “If they had a good relationship before and then he moved on because it was for a better move, then managers and players normally have a good relationship.

“He is proven but he just hasn’t played enough games at Chelsea. He’d be coming from a big club who have got a lot of money and are doing things so, I think on paper that’s a good signing.”

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Given that the “powerful” Batshuayi enjoyed some of his best form in football under Bielsa – he scored ten goals in 29 games for the Argentine – the Leeds boss would feel confident of transforming his career once again, and helping him realise the kind of quality that eventually earned him a move to Chelsea in the first place.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa is eyeing a reunion with this Leeds United hero…

Aston Villa are in line to bring Ashley Young back to the club, 10 years on after leaving for Manchester United, according to the Daily Mail.

And, as to be expected, several Villa fans were quick to give their immediate thoughts to the news online.

The Daily Mail claim that Young will be allowed to leave Inter Milan this summer, with the Serie A giants looking to balance their financial books.

Young helped Inter Milan win Serie A last season, making 34 appearances in all competitions.

The 35-year-old played at left-back, right-back and as a left midfielder during the 2020/21 campaign, with Young also attracting interest from Watford and Burnley.

His experience of the British game appears to be a reason why Villa are looking to bring him back to the Midlands, with Yong making 369 appearances in the Premier League.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared the Daily Mail’s claim regarding Young on Twitter on Tuesday evening.

These Villa supporters were quick to share their delight, with one describing a possible deal as ‘class’.

“Wait, what?”Credit: @LukeKing_”My word, if this happens”Credit: @reidjones25″Great signing as a back up to Targett”Credit: @GW_94″would actually be class as a back up left back why is everyone mad”Credit: @avfcben___”I beg”Credit: @LewBlud”Get him. Make it happen. On my desk by the morning. I want it. Yep. Do it. Make it so. Please.”Credit: @StevieGreenXI

In other news: Many AVFC fans react to what Man City are plotting, find out more here. 

Liverpool fans feared the worst as they struggled at the back earlier this season but after a consistent run of games, Nat Phillips established himself as the number one centre back for Jurgen Klopp, and Paul Jewell believes that the 24-year old won’t be happy sitting on the bench next season.

With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez expected to be fit for the start of next season, Klopp is likely to select his trusted centre back pairing whenever possible, despite Phillips showing his ability to lead and be a threat in both boxes.

Since Liverpool clinched a spot in the top four, reports have emerged that they are willing to sell Phillips this summer if any club is willing to pay £10 million for a 24-year old who has only played 36 league games in his career.

Phillips became a fan favourite during his run in the first team and he won’t be happy to go back to the reserves or just settling for cup appearances, something Jewell explained exclusively to Football FanCast:

“This is the scenario that Nat has where he was on loan last year in Germany, he’s done well in the Liverpool side but it’s likely that Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez will come back into the starting line up next season. That’s the problem that young players have once they’ve had a taste of playing regular football.

“He won’t be happy to sit on the bench every week so that will be a discussion for him and Liverpool to have and if he’s not going to play regular football at Liverpool, does he go and seek regular first team football elsewhere?”

The £64,615 per week had established what appeared to be a reasonable partnership with on-loan signing Ozan Kabak, but it appears that the Schalke defender won’t be staying at Anfield when his loan deal expires this summer.

Recently, Van Dijk confirmed that he would miss the European Championships this summer so that he can be fully fit for the start of next season for Liverpool.

Tottenham Hotspur are leading the charge for one manager, if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to Corriere Fiorentino Sport, Spurs are the front-runners to secure Lazio boss Simeone Inzaghi, who is out of contract at the Stadio Olimpico this summer.

He’s due to meet the club’s hierarchy this week to discuss his future and is keen to remain at the club he once played for, though he has been waiting since January 2020 to sign a new deal and interest from the Premier League outfit could throw a spanner into the works.

Fiorentina have also been mooted with interest in the report but they announced Genarro Gattuso as their new manager, which only paves the way for Spurs to make their move even more.

Shades of Klopp

As Daniel Levy’s pursuit to find Jose Mourinho’s successor rumbles on, it would not be too much of a surprise to see him return to a manager he clearly admires in Inzaghi.

Before appointing the Portuguese in November 2019, the Spurs chairman was said to have made a “desperate attempt” to secure the 45-year-old, according to Italian agent Vincenzo Morabito (via the Daily Star).

Inzaghi fits a lot of the criteria that Spurs are seeking in their next head coach – that being primarily one that is ‘attack-minded’ in his tactics and has a record in developing young players, as per the Guardian.

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At Lazio, the Italian has won 53% of his matches in charge since his appointment in July 2016, whilst also averaging 1.88 goals per game. His system has allowed striker Ciro Immobile to thrive as under his stewardship the forward has bagged 149 goals in just 217 appearances.

Furthermore, Inzaghi has earned a glowing comparison to one of the Premier League’s current best, Jurgen Klopp.

Immobile has worked under both coaches, and told Football Italia:

“Klopp is a great expert in football and I always said that I’d have liked to work with him when I was in my best form. He is a complete coach, he has everything.

“Having said that, he really reminds me of Simone Inzaghi, as they are very similar in their motivational skills, albeit in slightly different ways.”

The former striker has also received high acclaim from others from in and around football.

BT Sport commentator Adam Summerton believes the 45-year-old is “pound for pound the best coach in Serie A over last five years” after delivering “outstanding” progress whilst FIFA agent Claudio Anellucci dubbed him “one of the best coaches in Europe” as he “makes the difference” and “makes the players grow.”

That final part ticks yet another box for Levy.

Inzaghi could well bring a Klopp-like presence to North London, so if he does become available for free this week, then perhaps the Lilywhites should try and tempt him into coming to the Premier League.

AND in other news, Spurs heading for summer transfer disaster over £26m-rated “freak of a talent”…

If you thought Leeds United were just going to coast towards the end of the Premier League season, then boy did they prove everyone wrong.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side turned on the style at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon, thrashing Burnley 4-0 and blowing the Clarets away completely in the second-half.

While Jack Harrison enjoyed an outstanding game and picked up a goal and two assists, it was arguably Rodrigo’s superstar cameo off the bench that really shone brightly for Bielsa.

With niggling injuries and difficulties adjusting to English football, it’s been a rather disappointing debut campaign at Elland Road for the Spaniard, but his goal against Spurs last week would no doubt have boosted his confidence.

And if that strike against Ryan Mason’s side was a taster, then Leeds fans got an even bigger glimpse at what is potentially to come with a fully fit and in-form Rodrigo.

The former Valencia man came on in the second-half for Patrick Bamford, and added a real energy and dynamism to the game that was badly missing from the opening period.

As per Sofascore, he made just eight total passes in the time that he was on the pitch, but two of them were defined as ‘key’, while he also completed 100% of his dribbles.

He was a real live-wire with his pace and movement, and his first goal in particular was a real thing of beauty. The first touch to get away from Burnley’s centre-backs after Harrison’s inch-perfect pass was magnificent, and then the impudent little chipped finish over the onrushing Clarets goalkeeper was the kind of “international class” Leeds thought they were getting when they signed him last summer.

Calling his performance “sensational” on Twitter, Leeds Live’s Beren Cross gave the Spaniard an eight in his post-match player ratings, saying: “Some influence from the bench and a massive boost for those looking to the final two games or even next season. Getting better by the match and two outstanding pieces of attacking football to take his goals.”

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While Harrison was in outstanding form himself, it was Rodrigo’s injection of quality and energy that really opened the floodgates for Leeds, and why he was Bielsa’s true star on the day.

It bodes well for the rest of this season, and more importantly, for the years to come too.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa is set for an exciting summer transfer window at Leeds…

Former England defender Danny Mills believes that Celtic fans could turn on managerial target Eddie Howe if he makes the move to Parkhead amid talks with Crystal Palace.

Howe spoke with the Eagles over possibly taking over from Roy Hodgson after reportedly having second thoughts on the job at Celtic Park.

However, the former Bournemouth manager is now behind Burnley’s Sean Dyche in the Palace pecking order, and it seems as if a move to Glasgow could be back on, with reports suggesting the Englishman is finalising his Hoops backroom staff.

Mills was talking to Football Insider following the news of Dyche overtaking Howe as the front runner for the Palace job and what that means for the latter and the Hoops.

This is what the 43-year-old ex-Leeds defender had to say, believing that Celtic supporters may turn on Howe should he hit some troubling form in his Hoops tenure.

“Maybe he’s holding out for another job but if he holds out for too long and Celtic appoint somebody else then he doesn’t get the job he’s hoping for, suddenly you’re way down the list.

“It’s a little bit of a game of cat and mouse. You have to be careful.

“If somebody wants you, they want you. You have to make up your mind ‘Do I really want to go or not?’ Make that decision and stick with it.

“It puts you on the wrong foot with the fans because they’re thinking ‘He doesn’t really want to be here. He wants to be somewhere else.’

“The moment you have a couple of bad results they start going ‘Well, he didn’t want to be here in the first place, we were second choice. He’s only come here for the money.’

“You don’t really want to start like that.”

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Transfer Tavern take

We don’t agree entirely with Mills on this one. Howe’s representative admitted that the 43-year-old has attracted significant interest but wouldn’t return to the dugout until the summer at the earliest. Yes, he held talks with the Hoops and a deal is yet to be announced, but it seems as if Howe wanted certain assurances before putting pen to paper on a Parkhead move.

We’re sure the majority of Celtic fans would be delighted if Howe made the move, as many made clear last month.

A string of bad results early in his tenure may place him under pressure from some Hoops fans, but we’re not so sure they’d feel like he wouldn’t want to be there purely on the basis that he spoke with Palace.

As Howe mentioned back in November, his next job would have to be one which ‘really motivated’ him, so if he signs with Celtic, that tells you all you need to know about his feelings towards the Parkhead job.

In other news: Hoops still keen on £50,000-a-week midfielder, find out who it is here. 

While Raphinha may be the man stealing the headlines at Leeds, Stuart Dallas has been the real star of the show for Marcelo Bielsa.

The Northern Irishman has taken his game up a level since the step-up to the top flight and has been in superb form.

The 30-year-old spent a lot of the first half of the season at full-back, both on the right and left, but now playing in midfield, he looks like a star.

As per Transfermarkt, in the seven games that he’s played in a box-to-box midfield role, he has scored three times which is his best record in the opposition’s penalty area.

His match-winning display against Manchester City typified this when he scored twice at the Etihad Stadium.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay raved about Dallas and his worth to this Leeds side, insisting that on his current form, it would be difficult to leave him out of the team next season, even with some potential signings.

Writing in the Athletic he said the Leeds star was undroppable and looks like a quality asset in central midfield.

The Northern Irishman has certainly proven in recent matches that a midfield role can see him really shine at Leeds, and it would be silly to move him back into full-back.

As a result, Bielsa must unshackle Dallas as the club’s primary box-to-box midfield star from this point onwards.

Manchester United reached the semi-finals of the Europa League with a 4-0 aggregate victory against Granada at Old Trafford on Thursday.

In the end, the Red Devils’ 2-0 victory in Spain last week was more than enough to guide them through, with Edinson Cavani then adding to that advantage in the first half last night before Jesus Vallejo put through his own net late on.

Whilst the Uruguayan proved to be the match-winner for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men on the night, it was actually a thoroughly disciplined defensive performance from right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka which made it a relatively worry-free evening for Manchester United.

With Granada needing a handful of goals to progress at the Red Devils’ expense, the former Crystal Palace man proved a formidable wall for the Spaniards to get beyond.

According to WhoScored, Wan-Bissaka produced an impressive five tackles throughout the game. Only Paul Pogba, who was substituted at the break, matched that figure of all the players to take to the pitch.

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Meanwhile, the 23-year-old, who earns £90,000 per week at Old Trafford, also contributed two interceptions and a further two clearances as he continued to keep Granada at bay. His impressive performance did not end there, as Wan-Bissaka won eight of the 13 duels for which he competed, he won eight, only being beaten in the air once according to SofaScore.

Whilst the right-back’s normal assignment is to keep the ball out of the Manchester United net, he was also hugely effective going forwards. Throughout the game, the defender supplied one key pass and also completed two dribbles.

In all, it was a hugely impressive all-round display from Wan-Bissaka, even more so considering that was in a Red Devils’ defence which was missing the likes of first-choice pair Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw due to suspension.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should certainly be thrilled with the 23-year-old’s performance.

AND in more news, read more about the huge boost that Manchester United have recently received in their pursuit of Rennes’ Eduardo Camavinga…

Charlton Athletic fell out of the playoff zone as they recorded their first defeat in 11 matches on Saturday afternoon.

Nigel Adkins’ side were beaten by fellow promotion hopefuls Peterborough United at The Valley but they will be left reeling in disappointment that they didn’t come away with at least a point.

The division’s top goalscorer, Jonson Clarke-Harris, fired Posh into an early lead in the ninth minute and right before the break, the Addicks had the perfect opportunity to square things up when Alex Gilbey was fouled inside the box.

Jayden Stockley confidently stepped up but saw his penalty saved by the goalkeeper and despite going on to dominate the second half with 68% possession, Charlton just couldn’t find a way back into the match.

Some could blame the Preston loanee for costing his side dearly but there were far more wasteful teammates that should take the brunt of the criticism first.

None more so than Liam Millar, who struggled to make the same sort of impact we saw in midweek.

After a goal and an assist against Plymouth Argyle, the Liverpool gem starved Stockley of decent service throughout the 90 minutes the pair were on the pitch.

As per SofaScore, the 21-year-old Canadian failed to deliver a single accurate cross from four attempts, leaving his target man striker to feed off scraps inside the box.

Furthermore, Millar could only pull off one successful dribble against the Posh’s right flank of Joe Ward and Nathan Thompson.

His struggle to combat the opposition was further seen by the fact that he made four fouls despite only recording one successful tackle. The 5 foot 11 dynamo even lost 14 of his 20 duels (70%) and was seen losing the ball 23 times – the most of anyone on the pitch, comfortably.

It meant the young winger handed possession back to Peterborough once every 3.9 minutes – or once every three touches – so for all his involvement, he was certainly rather disappointing in terms of end product and on the above evidence, was rather weak and ineffective.

Speaking after the match, Adkins claimed Millar was still “learning his way” but that’s not something they can afford to risk with so much on the line heading into May.

The Addicks are now two points adrift of the playoffs and will need to win that game in hand to rise back into contention this week.

AND in other news,  Adkins must resolve key Bowyer problem to bolster promotion hopes…

When Bjorn Engels joined Aston Villa in the summer of 2019, Dean Smith would no doubt have been hoping that the 6 foot 4 giant would help create a formidable back-line for the club at Premier League level.

Signed for a reported £9m from French side Reims, Engels was among a clutch of signings spearheaded by the influence of then sporting director, Suso.

Speaking after confirmation of his arrival at Villa Park, Smith said: “Björn is a player that I’ve been watching for the past 18 months. We’re very happy to have secured his services and look forward to working with him.”

But, sadly for both Engels and Villa, things just haven’t quite worked out for either party.

Injuries have played a considerable part in his lack of game-time for the club, but it’s been quite telling that even despite recovering from a couple of different problems this season, he’s still yet to make a single competitive appearance this campaign – the Belgian has either been an unnamed substitute or just completely out of the match-day squad.

And, earlier this calendar year, former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor urged the club to get rid of him, saying: “It’s time for him to move on. The problem with the Premier League now is you have to have pace in defence.

“Unless you’re an unbelievable defender and you can read the game unbelievably you need to have the pace at the back. That’s what Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause allow you. If they make a mistake they’ve got the pace to make up for it. If they’re left one-on-one they’ve got the pace to stop the attacker. The problem with Engels is that if he’s left one-on-one he hasn’t got that pace so he’s going to get found out a bit.”

 Now, CIES have him valued at just £1.7m, a real statement of just how far his stock has fallen during his time at Villa Park, and perhaps throwing even further weight behind why the club should simply cut their losses on him.

With Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings fully established as the club’s main centre-back partnership, there’s simply no room for Engels. While £9m may not sound like too much in the modern market, it’s still surely a transfer blunder that Villa regret making.

Meanwhile, this Villa man was shocking in the defeat to Spurs…