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Chelsea manager Graham Potter has entered the heated race to clinch one of the 2022 World Cup’s rising stars, with a wealth of top outfits interested.

What’s the word?

Riding an indifferent wave of form since switching Brighton & Hove Albion for Chelsea earlier this season, Potter has now identified AFC Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus as a transfer target, with the Ghanaian dynamo impressing on the world stage. 

This is according to a report from Spain (via BBC Sport), which declared that Chelsea are among the likes of Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in pursuing a move for the ace that will see pen strike paper. 

The 22-year-old has been a vital cog for his side in Qatar, threatening from every angle and providing a robust presence that has left his side within grasp of a place in the first knockout phase of the tournament. 

Perfect Ziyech heir 

Whilst stylistically two players with different skill sets, Kudus could adopt the seat that Hakim Ziyech has taken on the Chelsea ship since himself signing from Ajax in 2020. 

Where the Blues’ Moroccan playmaker strives to provide creative auxiliary, looping precise balls into the box and drawing players toward him like a magnet, creating space for teammates to drive forward into fruitful openings, Kudus is a dynamic presence blessed with versatility.

Ziyech has often struggled to maintain a regular starting role in West London, despite oozing class and guile in abundance, and Todofichajes report that the 29-year-old is a January target for Serie A champions AC Milan. 

Originally a box-to-box midfielder, Kudus has recently found a home higher up the pitch, with an innate knack for striking the back of the net; for his club this term, the £12.9m-rated star has recorded ten goals and two assists in 21 matches, often flourishing in and around the opposing penalty area. 

Four such goals came in the Champions League, with a goal apiece against Liverpool and Serie A leaders Napoli.

And now efforts have been emulated in Qatar, with the Black Stars one victory away from the next stage.

Positioned on the right flank, and with two goals against South Korea coupling a tenacious display against Portugal, the “special” Kudus – in the words of Owuraku Ampofo – is relishing the chance to increase his stock and perform against the very best. 

As per Sofascore, the dynamo has recorded 2.0 shots per match at the World Cup, precisely recording 1.5 on target, while also contributing effectively with defensive duties by making 1.5 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game.

He has also recorded 2.5 dribbles per outing whilst plying his trade for his country, and will be a driving force behind prospective qualification to the next round.

With a worth of roughly £15m, Kudus will likely see his stock skyrocket as the winter transfer window looms near, and Chelsea should bite the bullet and utilise their wealth by signing a sought-after star capable of injecting vitality and dynamism into the ranks, consequently swatting away the interest of top European rivals.

And with Potter looking to reshape the Blues to his design, signing a multi-faceted star like Kudus could prove worthwhile, replacing Ziyech, seven years his senior, and installing a player capable of absorbing the tactical intellect of his diligent manager and thriving with a direct, and positive approach.

Chelsea have entered pole position to sign World Cup star and Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Boehly backs Chelsea…

Owner Todd Boehly invested significantly in the summer window as he made a serious statement of intent when it comes to the transfer market.

Indeed, £241 million was spent on former boss Thomas Tuchel’s squad, but after the German’s sacking, attention turns to new manager Graham Potter and whether he can get the most out of an expensive squad.

In their bid to become a major Premier League force again, we are likely to see numerous reports of Chelsea’s intent and a new claim has surfaced indicating they’re winning the race for Dumfries.

The Latest: Chelsea ‘big favourites’ to sign Dumfries…

The Blues are apparently ‘big favourites’ to sign Inter’s star full-back as his club apparently green-light a 2023 sale.

This information comes from Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim ‘it is certain’ Dumfries ‘will leave’ the Nerazzurri who would prefer to sell him in January and have him back on loan for the rest of the campaign.

The Verdict: Get it done…

€40 million (£35m), the reported cost of Dumfries’ potential transfer, is arguably reasonable considering his status as a key player for Inter and Simone Inzaghi.

The ‘very exciting’ defender, as heralded by members of the Italian media, could be well worth the effort to sign as Potter allegedly chases an alternative to star wing-back Reece James.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is potentially seen as cover for the injured Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich, according to a fresh transfer report.

The Lowdown: Martinez on the cusp of glory

The 30-year-old is enjoying a magnificent 2022 World Cup campaign for Argentina, playing a huge role in them reaching Sunday’s final against France in Qatar.

Martinez has started all six of his country’s matches at the tournament, proving to be the penalty hero in the shootout win over the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.

Away from World Cup action, however, the Argentine is being linked with a move away from Villa.

The Latest: Bayern move mooted?

According to Sky Sports Germany [via Sport Witness], Bayern see Martinez as a replacement for Neuer, whose season is over after breaking his leg while skiing:

“The serious injury to Manuel Neuer has put Bayern in a very difficult situation for which they can do nothing. Bayern are buying themselves time with a possible Nübel return. I think they should sign a goalkeeper who is then guaranteed a real chance to stay in goal after Neuer’s return, if he earns it with good performances in the coming months.

“The questions are: Will Neuer return and if so, how? The performances have already not been what they used to be lately. He didn’t hold up well at the World Cup either.

“At 36 and soon to be 37, it is an enormous ordeal to slog through months of rehab. If the Bayern bosses think that they are now going to get a keeper who has the potential to guard the Bayern goal for years to come, they could also think of Argentine international Emiliano Martinez from Aston Villa or look into the Croatian goalkeeper.”

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The Verdict: Can’t lose him in January

Martinez has been an influential figure for Villa since joining from Arsenal, replicating his international form – Pablo Zabaleta has described him as a ‘hero’ – so it would be a huge blow to see him depart in January.

It would have the potential to derail Unai Emery’s plans, such is his importance, and give the club little time to find a replacement who is even close to his level.

The hope is that Martinez remains at Villa until at least next summer – should an offer arrive from a huge club at that point, it would be hard to have too much of an issue with him leaving.

Pundit Paul Robinson has urged Liverpool to think twice before allowing Fabinho to depart.

The Lowdown: Midfield issues

Despite still ranking as the Premier League’s joint-fourth best defence, the Reds have struggled in comparison to last season, with 17 goals already conceded. At this point, they are just nine goals away from equalling their season total of last year – having played less than half of the games. 

The midfield issues have been a big part of this unfortunate feat, and it could be argued that Fabinho’s loss of form is one of the biggest problems in that area.

That said, Jurgen Klopp has already suffered enough difficulties in midfield over the last season or so and will surely not want to be without his top defensive midfielder, so it is a surprise to see rumours circling that the former Monaco man’s future is ‘in doubt’.

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The Latest: Robinson’s advice

Asked by Football Insider about the chatter now surrounding the Brazilian’s future, Robinson said: “Look, I think we are all a bit quick to forget just how good Fabinho is.

“He has been one of Liverpool’s best players over the past few years.

“They simply cannot sell him until they have a ready-made replacement through the door. Jurgen Klopp has enough problems in midfield without losing a player like Fabinho.

“How much is he worth? It’s a difficult one. I don’t think Liverpool would consider anything less than £50million.

“It is not as if he is old. He still has another three or four years at the very top.

“I wouldn’t say they should keep him at all costs but they certainly need a replacement ready if they are to sell.”

The Verdict: Keep him!

To let a player of Fabinho’s calibre, at the age of 29 – in and around his prime years – would represent a dreadful blunder by the Reds.

Even more so when you consider the fact that Naby Keita looks set to leave, with his contract expiring at the end of the season. 

And while the Guinean’s constant injury issues mean his potential departure is no surprise, Liverpool cannot afford to lose both assets at once considering the lack of depth in the centre of the park is already a problem.

Liverpool transfer target Sofyan Amrabat would prefer a move to Anfield over any other club in the Premier League. 

The Lowdown: Liverpool target Amrabat

The Reds have been linked with a move for the Fiorentina midfielder in recent weeks following his World Cup campaign with Morocco, where they finished in fourth place.

Fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur have also been mentioned with an interest in the player, who saw his performances in Qatar labelled as “outstanding” by journalist Dan Kilpatrick on Twitter.

With the January transfer window quickly approaching, some more details have emerged regarding the player and his future plans.

The Latest: Amrabat prefers Liverpool move

According to a recent report from Foot Mercato, Amrabat is keen to make a move to the Premier League and has Liverpool as his main preference.

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The report also adds that while Fiorentina are keen to tie the 26-year-old down to a new deal, a transfer offer of €40m (£34m) could be enough to tempt them into a sale.

The Verdict: An advantage for Liverpool

The Guardian included Amrabat in their team of the tournament for the recent World Cup and said that he was “the driving force of Walid Regragui’s brilliant underdogs”.

They also added that Amrabat “never stopped running, never stopped pushing and produced the tackle of the tournament on Kylian Mbappe”.

In terms of what he’s done at club level this season, the Moroccan has appeared in all but one of Fiorentina’s 15 Serie A games and in all but one of their six Europa Conference games.

With all of that in mind, if the midfielder’s first priority is to join the Reds, then Liverpool should use this advantage and do all they can to get hold of the World Cup hero and add him to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their pursuit of Ferland Mendy during the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to French outlet Foot Mercato, the Magpies are eyeing up a swoop to sign the Real Madrid left-back to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad heading into the second half of the campaign.

Dan Ashworth is attempting to improve the team, in spite of the success on the pitch in recent months, and the report claims that the club have made a ‘very big offer’ to the player.

However, it is also stated that the Spanish giants are not keen on selling the defender this month and that Newcastle, along with fellow interested side Paris Saint-Germain, have a battle on their hands to complete a deal.

Upgrade at the back

Ashworth could land Howe an upgrade on current left-back Dan Burn by convincing Real to part ways with the France international within the next four weeks.

The ex-Brighton colossus, who is a centre-back by trade, has been the manager’s first choice in that position this season in the Premier League, starting 16 times, and enjoyed a solid campaign thus far, averaging a Sofascore rating of 6.81.

He has won 52% of his individual duels and made 2.2 tackles and interceptions per match, whilst making 0.3 key passes per game going forward.

These statistics indicate that he has been a steady, albeit unimpressive, performer at left-back and does not offer a great deal at the top end of the pitch, which is to be expected given that his primary position is at the heart of the defence.

Ferland Mendy, meanwhile, has won 59% of his battles and made 2.2 defensive contributions along with providing 1.0 key passes per outing for Real in La Liga.

The €48m (£43m) full-back also averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.00 in the Spanish top-flight across 22 appearances last term – winning 59% of his duels and creating 0.9 chances per game in the process.

Mendy, whose strength was once hailed as “amazing” by ex-teammate Raphael Varane, ranks in the 99th and 88th percentile among his positional peers for pass completion and dribbles completed per 90 over the last 365 days in Europe’s top five leagues, whilst Burn is sitting in just the 24th and 13th percentiles respectively in those statistics.

This, coupled with their respective chance creation numbers, suggests that the Real Madrid man would be a big upgrade on the current Newcastle gem in terms of what he offers going forward, whilst his stats in La Liga indicate that he is also more efficient defensively.

Manchester United are ‘pushing’ to sign Bayern Munich forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, according to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg.

The Lowdown: Impressive form

Hailed as a ‘great striker’ by Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann, Choupo-Moting is into the final six months of his current contract with the German giants.

The 33-year-old has been in fine form in front of goal this season, contributing to 14 goals in 16 games in all competitions. That appears to have caught the eye of Old Trafford officials, who reportedly launched an enquiry for the Cameroon international in November.

The Latest: Plettenberg’s post

Plettenberg shared the latest regarding Choupo-Moting on Wednesday evening via Twitter, claiming that a first meeting has been held with Bayern officials over a contract extension.

The reporter said that a decision won’t be made quickly and added that clubs like United are ‘pushing for a transfer’ this month.

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The Verdict: One to watch?

Choupo-Moting has plenty of experience at the highest level and has played alongside the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Kylian Mbappe.

You could say that he is currently in the form of his career and is on course to better his previous best tally of 10 Bundesliga goals in a season back in 2011/12 and 2013/14.

A prospective transfer could therefore be one to watch, and if he doesn’t sign an extension in Munich in the coming weeks, United may look to pounce towards the end of the month.

Liverpool have had a terrible start to their Premier League season by their standards, and Jurgen Klopp will be desperate for ways to improve the current form at Anfield which is hindering his team’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

The Reds are sixth in the Premier League after a string of inconsistent performances and are now 16 points adrift of leaders Arsenal and seven points shy of the top four following their first 17 games. That must drastically improve if they are to have any hope of climbing back up and claiming a top four position at the end of the season.

The January transfer window could present itself with a golden opportunity to resolve some of the issues for the Merseyside giants, as numerous injuries to key players have certainly contributed to the poor season Liverpool have endured so far.

Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Virgil van Dijk are three long-term absentees set to miss out on at least the next month of action for the Reds, although the signing of Cody Gakpo this month will certainly bolster the attacking threat going into the business end of the campaign.

Although Gakpo has been a major coup for Klopp, adding some quality in the middle of the park is becoming an increasingly pressing issue for Liverpool, with a number of the Reds’ midfielders either coming to the end of their contracts in 2023 or reaching the latter stages of their career.

One player who has recently been linked with a move to Merseyside is Teun Koopmeiners, a gifted midfielder who is currently playing in Serie A for Atalanta, thriving both at club level and on the international stage for his native Netherlands.

The 24-year-old – who was dubbed a “top talent” by Sam Tabuteau – ranks in the top 20% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for shots on goal, shot-creating actions, touches and progressive passes received.

Furthermore, Koopmeiners played a vital part in the Dutch team at the World Cup – registering one assist, completing 100% of his dribbles and winning 50% of his duels across five appearances for his national team during the tournament in Qatar.

Klopp could even land his very own Nicolo Barella, as the Liverpool-linked Inter Milan midfielder is the most comparable player to Koopmeiners over the last 12 months according to FBref.

The midfield pair have shared a number of similar attributes in their output this season so far including goals scored (4 v 5), shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (3.70 v 3.60), tackles won (13 v 12), dribblers tackled percentage (60% v 55%) and dribbles completed (46.% v 45.2%).

With that in mind, signing Koopmeiners would be a great piece of business if Liverpool could secure his signature for his reported transfer valuation of €40m (£35m) this month, and it would certainly give Klopp more depth and quality in his squad in order to improve performances at Anfield.

Celtic have been dealt a huge blow in their attempts to bring Gue-sung Cho to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Record, who claim that Ange Postecoglou and his side now find themselves behind Mainz in the race to land the Jeonbuk centre-forward this winter, with the Bundesliga outfit said to have submitted an official £3m bid for the 24-year-old.

The report adds that, with Mainz already having Cho’s South Korean team-mate Jae-sung Lee in their first-team squad, the German club are hoping that this will help to convince the 20-cap international of a move to the MEWA Arena ahead of the Premiership champions in the January market.

Dream Giakoumakis heir

Considering just how impressive Cho was for both club and country in 2022, coupled with Giorgos Giakoumakis reportedly being tempted by a move away from Parkhead this winter, the argument that Postecoglou simply must do everything in his power to beat Mainz to the signing of the striker this winter is a very easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 31 K League 1 appearances this season, the £2.2m-rated talent was in devastating attacking form, scoring 17 goals, registering five assists and creating five big chances for his team-mates. He also averaged 3.3 shots – 1.5 of which hit the target – made 1.2 key passes and completed 0.5 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the 24-year-old average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.33, not only ranking him as Jeonbuk’s best performer in the league but also as the fourth-best player in the South Korean top flight as a whole.

The centre-forward also impressed over his four appearances at the World Cup this winter, scoring two goals and taking 2.3 shots – 1.3 of which hit the target – per game. These metrics saw the player nicknamed “Worldstar Guesung” average an eye-catching Sofascore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as South Korea’s second-best player at the tournament.

As such, should Giakoumakis indeed move onto pastures new this month, it would very much appear as if Cho would represent something of a dream replacement for the Greece international at Parkhead, leading us to believe that Postecoglou simply must better Mainz’s offer for the Jeonbuk hitman.

Liverpool have been linked with Ruben Neves for some time now, and a new update on the player’s future could give the Merseyside club the green light to finally strike a deal for their transfer target.

What’s the latest?

According to TEAMtalk, the Reds are keeping tabs on an ongoing situation emerging at Molineux, namely Wolverhampton Wanderers’ ongoing links with Nice midfielder Mario Lemina this month.

As per the report, Liverpool remain huge admirers of Neves, and if Wolves were to acquire the services of another midfielder, it hints that there could a potential opportunity for the Reds to snap up the services of the 25-year-old.

Imagine him & Thiago

It is no secret that Liverpool are in desperate need of reinforcements in the middle of the park, with a number of targets already identified who could become the next generation of Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy for success.

Jude Bellingham, Enzo Fernandez, Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo and Mason Mount are all midfielders to have been linked with a move to Merseyside in 2023, although no transfer activity in that area of pitch is concrete as of yet.

Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner will all be out of contract in the summer, so there is ample opportunity to not only free up the wage bill, but also to build the future of the midfield with not just youthful prospects for Klopp to mould into his own superstars but also experienced and hard-working players who can come in and make an instant impact.

Therefore, signing Neves would be an incredible coup for the Merseysiders, as he has proven during his time at Wolves to be a reliable and consistent performer in the midfield engine room.

The talented 25-year-old – who has a reported £31m transfer valuation – ranks in the top 20% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for non-penalty goals, shots, clearances, passes attempted and interceptions over the past year, also ranking in the top five Premier League players for tackles completed this season.

Across 17 league appearances in the current campaign, Neves –  who has been dubbed “outstanding” by Tim Spiers in the past – has scored four goals and completed 50% of his dribbles, along with averaging 1.5 interceptions, 2.7 tackles, 2.4 clearances and 4.2 duels won per game (Sofascore).

The Portugal international’s strength in defensive transition and positioning could make him the perfect partner to line up next to Thiago Alcantara in the Liverpool team, as his work ethic and ability to be effective in both attacking and defensive play could give the Spaniard more freedom to work his playmaking charms in midfield.

The Reds maestro ranks in the 98th percentile among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues over the past 12 months for passes attempted and progressive passes per 90, along with the top 9% for pass completion rate (FBref), all pointing to formidable distribution of the ball.

Combining Thiago’s influential build-up play and passing range with Neves’ clear ability to win the ball in deeper areas of threat on the pitch could give Klopp a dynamic duo who can completely transform the pace in build-up play, with Thiago picking up the ball from Neves, who is adept at winning possession.

With that in mind, it would be a no-brainer for Liverpool to make a move for Neves, as his obvious talent and Premier League experience (159 appearances) could be invaluable to Klopp, especially if a move can be completed this month.