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Brentford are ready to rival West Ham for the signing of Hull City midfielder Keane Lewis-Potter, according to a fresh transfer rumour.

The Lowdown: Hammers keen on Lewis-Potter

The Hammers are reportedly interested in acquiring the 20-year-old’s signature before the end of the January transfer window, following some impressive performances for Hull.

Lewis-Potter has scored five goals and registered three assists in 27 Championship appearances this season, also being hailed as a ‘special talent’ by Grant McCann.

It now looks as though West Ham could face competition for the youngster, though.

The Latest: Brentford emerge at contenders

According to The Daily Mail, Brentford have made a £12million offer to Hull for Lewis-Potter’s services, with Tottenham also mentioned in the report.

The Englishman’s current deal expires in the summer of 2023, meaning the Tigers are running out of time to receive a healthy fee for him.

The Verdict: Blow to miss out on him

While Lewis-Potter wouldn’t necessarily arrive as an immediate key man under David Moyes, he has the long-term potential to be a superb signing. He is already shining in the Championship at a young age and also won the EFL’s Young Player of the Month award back in October 2020.

With Mark Noble an ageing figure and Declan Rice not a certainty to stay put this summer, the Hull man is someone who could eventually mature into an influential figure in the middle of the park, albeit in a slightly more advanced role.

Not only has he chipped in with eight goal contributions in the league this season, but he has also averaged 0.8 interceptions and one clearance per game, showing he can shine defensively too.

In other news, some West Ham fans are excited by a transfer update. Read more here.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst is closing in on his first transfer window at Ibrox in charge of Rangers as January is just around the corner.

The Dutch head coach joined the club in November and has not yet had the opportunity to bring in players of his own to stamp his identity on the playing squad.

Whilst it can be easy to get wrapped up in transfer rumours and get excited about the endless possibilities that come with a new signing, what must be remembered is that with every incoming comes with it the chance of a current player leaving.

Brutally axe

One Rangers dud who may find themselves on the chopping block next month is rotation forward Scott Wright, who has found game time hard to come by this season.

The Gers are reportedly interested in signing Icelandic winger Albert Gudmundsson. According to The Telegraph, the Scottish giants may look to snap him up on a pre-contract deal in January as his contract at AZ Alkmaar expires in the summer, with Celtic also said to be battling for his signature.

This means that Rangers could bring him in for £0 at the end of the campaign and his arrival could spell the end of Wright’s time at Ibrox.

The Scot has played 11 times for the club this term and only started three games in the Premiership, scoring one goal and providing zero assists as an attacker. In the Europa League, he has made three appearances and scored one goal – starting one match – whilst creating one chance in that time.

Gudmundsson, meanwhile, has scored four goals and provided two assists in 12 Eredivisie starts for Alkmaar this season. This comes after he managed seven goals and four assists in 25 league starts in the 2020/21 campaign, showing that he has the ability to both score and create goals.

AZ technical director Max Huiberts previously explained what type of player the beast is. The chief said: “Albert is a creative, technically skilled and fast player who has proven that he can play in different positions in the attack.”

Therefore, the signing of Gudmundsson could leave the £5.6k-per-week dud, Wright, being brutally axed from Rangers by van Bronckhorst. The Scottish youth international has not shown enough this season to prove that he can be an important player for the club and bringing another player in who plays in his position could leave him with no choice but to leave if he wants regular game time.

AND in other news, Big boost: Boxing Day selection update emerges that’ll leave Rangers fans buzzing…

Tottenham Hotspur have edged one step closer to signing Adama Traore this month…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Telegraph’s Matt Law, Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici has opened talks with Wolverhampton Wanderers to bring the 25-year-old to north London.

He delivered an update in a series of tweets.

“Daniel Levy travels to the Bahamas for Joe Lewis meeting that could prove key to Conte’s plans/Paratici opens talks over deal to sign Adama Traore from Wolves,” he said.

Before adding: “I’ve never been that fussed about Adama Traore. But I do look at him and think Conte could make him into a really top player. I’d be quite excited if I was a Spurs fan and they manage to get him, as they hope to do.”

Wolves could let the Spain international leave for as little as £20m.

Wing-back monster

As Law suggests, there is plenty for Spurs fans to be excited about amid this major development.

There will be concerns over Traore’s end product, having failed to contribute a goal or assist from 20 appearances this season. However, his fit for Antonio Conte’s system and the Italian’s proven track record in improving players should provide further encouragement.

The Athletic reported earlier in the week that the Spaniard would be viewed as an attacking right wing-back – a role in which he has played before at Molineux – as he can offer more in the final third than Emerson Royal.

There aren’t many players capable of fulfilling that role, so Traore could be transitioned easier than most. Conte did a similar thing at Chelsea with Victor Moses, converting the winger into a wing-back and then winning the Premier League in 2017 and FA Cup in 2018.

Traore leads the division for dribbles (4.5 per game) and has also averaged one key pass per outing, via WhoScored. By comparison, Emerson only manages 0.8 successful dribbles per match in the English top-flight.

Standing at 5 foot 10, the wide man is built like a brick wall – something Rio Ferdinand once referenced on BT Sport (as relayed by Birmingham Live), saying: “He’s a machine. I was watching him pre-game and he could be a powerlifter or a cruiser-weight boxer – he’s huge.”

The praise doesn’t stop there for the Wolves man. It’s never-ending.

Southampton forward Che Adams dubbed him a “monster”, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp deemed him to be “unplayable”, whilst football.london reporter Alasdair Gold believes he “scares defences with his running and strength.”

The £25.2m-rated powerhouse must be doing something right.

On the above evidence, Traore would surely be a fantastic signing for Spurs to make. He would fit right in with Conte’s system and has plenty of experience in the Premier League.

For just £20m, it is surely a no-brainer.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold issues exciting Spurs transfer update…

Crystal Palace have been linked with an ambitious move for Atletico Madrid defender Kieran Trippier ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

The 31-year-old appeared set for a switch to Manchester United last summer after it became clear he was keen to return to his homeland, but the Old Trafford outfit refused to match his release clause, meaning the player stayed put.

But now, according to 90min, Trippier is attracting the attention of several Premier League clubs once again ahead of the winter window.

“Manchester United are continuing to be kept informed of his situation while we understand that Everton, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are willing make a move too – if Atletico show an appetite to sell,” reads their report.

Previous reports have claimed that Atleti are set to demand £25 million for the versatile full-back over the coming months, with Newcastle United also a potential destination, although there’s no guarantee he’ll depart in January.

Patrick Vieira can continue his revolution

Over the summer, new manager Patrick Vieira began his Palace revolution by overseeing a mass overhaul of the first-team squad, welcoming the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi to Selhurst Park.

However, one position that was neglected was right-back. Experienced campaigners Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne offer steady if uninspiring options in that position at present.

Trippier’s arrival, though, would change that, providing Vieira with an attacking threat from full-back and adding an established England international to his ranks.

In recent years, the £77,000-per-week gem has claimed the La Liga crown with Atleti and cemented his place in Gareth Southgate’s national team setup, impressing the Three Lions boss with a string of eye-catching performances.

“He (Trippier) is a very underrated player,” claimed Southgate after England’s victory over Croatia at Euro 2020.

“People are still looking at the player from a few years ago and not at the one who is at Atletico Madrid and playing like a warrior in the last few seasons. He is a big part of what we’ve done over the last few years, and he gave a really good performance.”

And it wasn’t the only time that Southgate has lauded Trippier, dubbing him ‘outstanding’ back in 2018: “Kieran has outstanding quality, and that kind of profile in that position is very important,” he said.

With Trippier producing six assists last term, 1.27 key passes per 90 and putting in 2.40 crosses, compared to Ward’s tallies of one, 0.28 and 0.60, respectively, there’s no doubt that his arrival would continue Palace’s progression under Vieira.

And, in other news…Palace must seal move for “phenomenal” £33k-p/w ace who “gets the crowd on their feet”

A number of Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to an official Twitter post from the Eagles regarding the club’s Selhurst Park stadium.

Palace are in the process of redeveloping Selhurst Park, which currently holds a capacity of close to 26,000. Plans to increase that to around 34,000 were given the green light way back in 2018.

Work was set to be completed in time for the 2021/22 season, but as we know, that has failed to materialise due to a number of factors, with recent reports suggesting the redevelopment has been put on hold for a further 12 months.

However, a number of Eagles supporters believe the club may well be hinting at something after they posted a black and white picture on Twitter on Monday afternoon of an old Selhurst Park.

Palace fans react

This is what these Palace fans had to say in reply to the Twitter post, with some thinking the club are dropping a stadium teaser.

“Finally Parish is getting on with it”

Credit: @sxp55555

“Wow”

Credit: @Debbiechops

“NO WAYYYY”

Credit: @CPFCMax9

“It’s a sign”

Credit: @jackstacpfc

“Is this a hint??”

Credit: @CiaranCPFC

“Hold on…. There must be some reason for this…..”

Credit: @jamessinman

In other news: ‘My god’ – Many CPFC fans erupt at ‘unbelievable’ transfer update. 

Newcastle United have their eye on Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette, according to journalist Ekrem Konur. 

The lowdown

According to The Athletic last month, the writing is seemingly on the wall for the 30-year-old at Arsenal as he approaches the end of his contract in June. He could be available on a cut-price deal in January if the Gunners want to avoid losing him for free.

Lacazette has only started three Premier League games so far this season, his solitary goal rescuing a point against Crystal Palace, although Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher applauded him for an ‘outstanding’ performance in that game.

The latest

According to Konur on Twitter, Newcastle are ‘closely monitoring the situation’ of Lacazette at the Emirates Stadium.

They aren’t the only club keeping tabs, though, with his former employers Lyon also lurking as the Ligue 1 outfit have plans to bring him back when the January transfer window rolls around.

The verdict

Lacazette has proven himself to be a reliable Premier League goalscorer by netting 51 times in 134 appearances in the division.

Newly-installed Newcastle manager Eddie Howe already has a proven marksman at his disposal in the form of Callum Wilson, but according to Transfermarkt, the 43-year-old’s preferred formation is a 4-4-2. That would mark a change from the setups employed by Steve Bruce and Graeme Jones in recent weeks as both often went with just one central striker.

If Howe wants to implement a 4-4-2 at St James’ Park, he may need an upgrade on Joelinton and Dwight Gayle, who between them have scored just 11 Premier League goals since the start of the 2019/20 season. Lacazette, who has more than double that tally on his own in the same timeframe, would give Howe a much more potent option to partner with Wilson, and he could come relatively cheap if Arsenal want to make some money on him before letting him walk away as a free agent next summer.

In other news, the price for this PIF target has been revealed 

Crystal Palace will be hoping to maintain their seven-game unbeaten run when they welcome Aston Villa to Selhurst Park for their Premier League encounter over the weekend.

Patrick Vieira’s charges have begun the season in fine form, losing just two of their opening 12 top-flight fixtures, while securing famous victories over Tottenham Hotspur and reigning champions Manchester City.

Another tough test awaits them on Saturday, though, with the Midlands outfit already looking revitalised following the arrival of Steven Gerrard.

There’s one player in particular of whom the Eagles will be extremely wary. Danny Ings has bagged a highly respectable five goals in his last 10 appearances against the south London outfit, proving to be a constant menace when he comes up against them.

The former England international is yet to face Palace for his new club and will be motivated to carry on his good form against them in the claret and blue of Villa.

After a stellar three years at former club Southampton, Ings joined the Midlands outfit over the summer, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal worth a reported £120,000-per-week.

His outstanding displays on the south coast caught the eye of talkSPORT pundit Clinton Morrison, who lauded the striker for his consistent performances, claiming he has the quality to play for a Champions League-level club.

He said: “Yes, I would say Danny Ings is top-four quality, most definitely. The season he’s had at Southampton, if you put him in one of the teams at the top four, he’d easily score goals like that.”

Morrison added that Ings reminded him of a star he used to play alongside and praised the intelligent forwards movement.

“I used to play with a striker who used to play like Danny Ings – Robbie Keane,” he revealed. “I look at the way Ings plays at the moment, his movement is first class and I used to say to Robbie Keane, how do you get in behind defenders when you’re not rapid? His movement was first class and Danny Ings is like that.”

After carrying his good form from St Mary’s to Villa Park, Ings will be full of confidence when he comes up against Palace once again, so Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi and co. will need to be on top of their game to keep him at bay.

In other news… Palace set for big boost on “phenomenal” £55k-p/w maestro, Palace fans will be elated 

After obliterating Manchester United 5-0 last weekend, Liverpool couldn’t get past Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on Saturday in a similarly ruthless fashion, ultimately stumbling to a 2-2 draw after being 2-0 up after 24 minutes thanks to goals from club captain Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane.

Despite the disappointing overall result, one player that we feel stood out at the weekend and was yet again another shining light for the Merseyside club, was Mohamed Salah, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £200k-per-week according to Spotrac.

The Egyptian, who started the match at the weekend and played through the full 90 minutes against Graham Potter’s side, managed to assist Henderson’s goal to open the scoring after a delightful cut back from the right-hand side.

Mane was the only one of Liverpool’s offensive trio to beat the goalkeeper but Salah’s offensive display was still excellent. He had one shot on target, completed 100% of the three dribbles he attempted and also completed 22 of 30 passes. Two of those happened to be two key passes while he won all three of the ground duels he was involved in, ultimately earning himself an overall match rating of 7.4/10, making him the joint-highest rated Liverpool player on the day according to SofaScore.

This shows just how much of an attacking threat he was for the Reds on the day but just couldn’t find himself a goal, something that will presumably be a big disappointment for him as an individual given how he’s managed to net in his seven consecutive Liverpool league appearances prior to the Brighton clash.

Since joining Liverpool back in the 2017 summer transfer window from AS Roma for a reported fee of £34m, the 29-year-old, who is currently valued at £90m according to Transfermarkt, has made 216 appearances for the club across all competitions in which he has managed to rack up an impressive total of 140 goals and 53 assists, comfortably cementing himself as one of Liverpool’s most important attacking players.

Even though he failed to add another goal to his incredible tally for the season against Brighton, Salah and everyone else at the club can be pleased that he still managed to put in a top-quality performance at the weekend. Hopefully, he’ll get back to scoring form either on Wednesday in their next Champions League game against Atletico Madrid or next weekend in their next Premier League outing versus West Ham United.

In other news: Big worry: £58.5m-rated Liverpool ace who lost 75% duels really struggled vs Brighton – opinion

Speaking live for Sky Sports Italy, as transcribed by FC Inter 1908.it, journalist Matteo Marani has dropped a transfer claim involving Tottenham Hotspur and Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Spurs going for Italian job?

Since the 52-year-old’s arrival, taking over from former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, there has been much anticipation on what the future holds.

Serie A experts tip Tottenham to become a high-intensity pressing team with much more work and quality being drilled into training (football.london), which could perhaps bring a return of the ‘Spurs way’ to N17.

In terms of the transfer market, there has been even more excitement as reports of flood in from Italy in particular.

Plenty of Serie A talents have already been linked to Spurs following Conte’s appointment and many from his old club, Inter Milan, in particular.

Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic and Stefan de Vrij have been tipped with possible moves to north London and Marani backs that the San Siro could become a fruitful resource for Spurs.

The Latest: Marani makes live TV claim…

Speaking in the Sky studios (via FC Inter 1908.it), Marani says that he has ‘no doubts’ both Fabio Paratici and Conte will ‘look to Italy’ and ‘maybe Inter’.

“He was very attracted by the proposal, in London, in Tottenham, in the Premier League,” explained the reporter.

“I think he couldn’t stay without football, when you see the others on the bench and the ball spinning. He accepted and now he will start with the new challenge.

“The Vidal shot you saw is paying late. He is now giving what Conte expected last year.

“I have no doubts that Paratici and Conte will look to Italy and maybe Inter itself will become a catchment area for Tottenham ”.

The Verdict: Exciting?

Cherry-picking the Creme de la Creme of Nerrazzuri talent sounds good on paper, but as Inter’s recent announcement of a new deal for Barella proves, the Serie A giants aren’t just going to lie down and let Conte strip their squad bare.

If Tottenham and Paratici are going to look to Italy and Inter in particular, they may find the Italian champions to to be stubborn at first in talks depending on the calibre of player, amount s offered and various other factors.

The Lilywhites thought that they had reached an agreement for the signing of striker Lautaro Martinez from Inter, according to The Times, only for them to pull a swift U-turn when Chelsea landed Romelu Lukaku.

Negotiations seem anything but straight forward when it comes to dealing with Inter but perhaps Conte’s presence could be a crucial factor.

In other news: Conte now personally plotting to sell ‘very talented’ Spurs player who Nuno called ‘unique’…find out more here.

Liverpool are reportedly closely monitoring the progress of Villarreal winger Arnaut Danjuma ahead of a possible move.

What’s the story?

According to Dutch publication Voetbal International, the Anfield outfit are tracking the skilful attacker as manager Jurgen Klopp plans a potential refresh of his ageing forward line.

The report states that: “Sources confirm to Voetbal International that the 24-year-old attacker is being closely monitored by Liverpool.”

It then claimed that the Reds’ recruitment team were set to scout Danjuma during Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Manchester United.

“There he will be watched with above-average interest by Liverpool,” it states. “The Reds are particularly charmed by Danjuma and see him as a possible successor to Sadio Mané.

“Last summer, manager Jürgen Klopp’s club was also associated with the two-time Orange international, so that interest has still not cooled.”

Jurgen Klopp would love him

The former Bournemouth ace was one of the Championship’s standout performers in 2020/21, bagging 15 goals and laying on a further seven assists in 33 appearances for the Cherries.

His impressive performances on the south coast caught the eye of several impressed onlookers, including his ex-boss Jonathan Woodgate.

“He’s an exceptional player, in a really good place at the minute, Arnie,” claimed the 41-year-old back in April.

“He’s another one who I’ve always done a lot of work on him at his previous clubs, so I knew all about him coming into this role, I knew what type of player he was.”

Although Danjuma added a further two strikes to his tally during the two-legged play-off semi-final against Brentford, his efforts weren’t enough to see off the capital club, leading to his departure for Villarreal.

The Spanish side stumped up £21.3 million to secure the wing wizard’s signature over the summer, but it appears as though his time in La Liga could be a short-lived one.

His impressive start to life with the Yellow Submarines has seen Danjuma bag three goals and provide one assist in just seven appearances, and Klopp would surely love to be able to call upon his services in the future.

It remains to be seen whether the club’s hierarchy make a concrete offer for Danjuma, but Liverpool’s attack would certainly benefit from his arrival on Merseyside.

And, in other news…Reliable journalist drops exciting Liverpool transfer update, Klopp would love him