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An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s chances of landing Goncalo Ramos ahead of the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to The Sun, the Magpies target is set to be available for a fee in the region of £25m as a host of teams sniff around his services.

The report names Manchester United, Newcastle and Bayern Munich among the interested parties, with the Red Devils having already made contact with the player’s representatives.

It is stated that he has a £100m release clause in his contract at Benfica but the Portuguese outfit are willing to cash in on him for £75m less than that figure.

Big Chris Wood upgrade

Eddie Howe must push to land a deal for Ramos in the January window as the 21-year-old has the potential to be a big upgrade on Chris Wood.

Football scout Jacek Kulig previously described the gem as “incredibly prolific” and his form for Benfica and Portugal justifies that comment.

In the 2022/23 campaign, Ramos has plundered eight goals and five assists in 12 competitive appearances in all competitions for the Portuguese side.

He had made his step up to the first team after producing 27 goals and nine assists in 55 outings across various youth levels, scoring 22 in 71 matches since making his senior bow.

The youngster has also caught the eye at international level. In 33 caps for Portugal at U19 and U21 level, he has found the back of the net an eye-catching 23 times – highlighting his exceptional ability in front of goal.

At the age of 21, he has shown that he has huge potential as he has been able to translate his prolific youth form into Benfica’s senior team. He has plenty of time left ahead of him to hone and develop his skills and could be a terrific signing for Newcastle, if he is able to adapt to English football.

Chris Wood, meanwhile, has struggled badly in front of goal since his £25m move to St. James’ Park from Burnley in January earlier this year. He has scored two goals and failed to register a single assist in 24 Premier League outings for the Magpies to date and has found himself behind Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson in the pecking order.

The New Zealand international has not offered much at the top end of the pitch and that is why Ramos could be a big upgrade on the dud. Wood, 30, is not an up-and-coming player like the Benfica gem, 21, and this means that the Magpies could improve their team in the immediate term and in the future by making this switch.

Ramos would also suit Howe’s pressing style of play as he has been described as an aggressive and determined presser from the front, whereas Wood is distinctly average in this sense – ranking in the 57th percentile among strikers in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days for pressures per 90.

Dean Jones has dropped a claim on the future of Aston Villa-linked manager Mauricio Pochettino.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, the transfer insider claimed that, after reports suggested that the 50-year-old would be interested in a move to Villa Park in the event that Steven Gerrard is relieved of his duties, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager is indeed interested in a move back to a Premier League club.

Regarding Pochettino’s presence at England’s 3-3 draw with Germany on Monday, Jones said: “Pochettino is very keen to be at games at the moment as he wants to be as ready as possible when a job opportunity crops up and so wants to see top players in person. I wouldn’t read too much into him being at the England match beyond the fact he is serious about returning to the Premier League soon.”

Real coup

Considering the fact that Gerrard has survived the two-week international break – typically a time when a club’s owners decide to part with their coaches – it would appear as if the 42-year-old job at Villa Park is safe, for now at least.

Having said that, should NSWE ultimately decide that the former Glasgow Rangers manager is not the man who they want to take Villa forwards, bringing Pochettino to the club would undoubtedly represent a huge coup for a club of Villa’s current standing.

Indeed, having taken over a below-par Southampton side back in 2012, the Argentine had an immediate impact on the Saints’ fortunes, comfortably guiding the club to survival over his 16 fixtures in charge in 2012/13, before leading the South Coast club to a quite extraordinary eighth place finish in his first – and only – full season at St. Mary’s.

As a result of the remarkable results he achieved at Southampton, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy decided to take the 50-year-old to north London in the summer of 2014, with Pochettino leading Spurs to a fifth-place finish in his first campaign with the club, before recording an extraordinary four back-to-back top-four finishes in the Premier League.

However, it was not only domestically that Tottenham impressed under the Argentine, as the 50-year-old also masterminded the club’s run to the 2018/19 Champions League final – in which they narrowly lost out to Liverpool.

As such, considering his undoubted ability to develop under-performing Premier League clubs into top-half regulars, as well as serious contenders for European trophies, should Villa indeed manage to convince the former PSG coach of a move to Villa Park, it would certainly represent a real coup for a club who were playing Championship football as recently as 2019.

Liverpool make the trip to London on Sunday afternoon to take on Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, and Jurgen Klopp has delivered some new injury news ahead of the clash.

What’s the latest?

The Reds manager took to his pre-match press conference to reveal that deadline day loan arrival Arthur Melo has sustained an injury and will not be available to feature against Mikel Arteta’s side this weekend.

Klopp told the media (via This Is Anfield): “There’s one new injury – Arthur in the last session before the Rangers game.

“In a normal situation, he just injured a muscle. We have to wait for further assessment to wait for how long it will be.”

Klopp should be frustrated

There is no doubt that Klopp should be frustrated with the latest injury to a midfielder in his squad, especially as the Juventus loanee was meant to come in to add depth to an already depleted position.

Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have all suffered from various injury issues over the season so far, and it was the Liverpool captain’s injury blow against Newcastle United at the end of August which prompted the deadline day signing of Arthur.

Liverpool’s ongoing injury issues have been a contributor to the terrible start to the Premier League season we have seen so far from the Reds, with Klopp’s side currently ninth in the table and 11 points adrift of their upcoming opponents at the summit already.

As a result, the new injury blow to Arthur will surely annoy his manager, who still has six fixtures to plan for over the rest of the month, including a league clash against Manchester City on Sunday week and  their Champions League games against Rangers and Ajax.

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Arthur has barely been seen in action since his move to Merseyside in September, featuring for only 13 minutes in the first team against Napoli which ended in one of Liverpool’s heaviest defeats in the Champions League to date, Therefore, if Thiago, Fabinho and Henderson can remain fit and fresh for Sunday, it would likely go unnoticed that the midfielder is absent.

With that being said, Klopp must hope that his current crop of available midfielders can maintain their fitness throughout this congested month of fixtures, as losing another player in that position could be even more detrimental to Liverpool’s stop-start season.

Newcastle United are currently relishing in their club-record capture of Sweden international Alexander Isak, with the striker having enjoyed a promising start to life at St James’ Park after arriving at the club late in the window.

There could well have been another high-profile centre-forward addition for Eddie Howe and co prior to that, however, with reports last winter suggesting that the Tynesiders had made a staggering €100m (£88m) bid to sign Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina.

Despite that firm interest, the towering marksman ultimately sealed a move to fellow Serie A outfit Juventus, during the winter window, joining the Old Lady for a reported fee of around £66.6m amid interest from other Premier League clubs.

The 22-year-old had warranted such interest as a result of his sparkling form in Florence prior to that, having scored 49 goals in just 108 games for the club in all competitions, including 17 goals in just 21 league games at the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

While there have been frustrations since his move to Turin – with journalist Emmet Gates dubbing him a “Ferrari being driven like a Fiat” as a result of Max Allegri failing to get the best out of him – the 6 foot 3 machine has still delivered the goods, scoring 13 goals in just 29 games thus far.

That respectable tally includes a haul of four goals in just six league games so far this term, with the aforementioned Isak only registering two goals in his three top-flight outings to date for the northeast side.

A “generational talent” – in the words of Gates – Vlahovic appears a player destined for greatness in the years to come, with it seemingly a notable setback that Newcastle were unable to secure his services earlier this year.

The £224k-per-week man could potentially have been a better fit than that man Isak, having outperformed the Swede in certain metrics over the past year.

Vlahovic, for instance, ranks in the top 10% for non-penalty goals among those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues, while the Magpies star ranks in just the bottom 30% for the same metric, potentially showcasing the latter man’s reliance on his spot-kick prowess.

Equally, the Allianz Stadium starlet also ranks in the top 10% for progressive passes received – showcasing his ability to be in the right place for his teammates – while Isak ranks in just the top 37% for the same metric.

While Howe and co are likely delighted at having secured the services of their new addition, they may well have had an even better talent on their hands had the Serbian star made the switch instead in January.

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has been reacting to West Brom’s reported interest in former Burnley manager Sean Dyche.

The Lowdown: Dyche rumours

The Baggies have yet to make any real progress when it comes to securing Steve Bruce’s long-term successor after parting ways with the 61-year-old on Monday.

Dyche was thought to be the club’s first-choice candidate, according to Chris Lepkowski, but as we know, a potential move is yet to gather pace.

The 51-year-old led Burnley to the Championship title in 2015/16 and has been out of work since April after he parted ways with the Clarets, six months short of his ten-year anniversary at Turf Moor.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s comments

Talking to The Transfer Tavern, O’Rourke described Dyche as a ‘proven manager’ and someone who would ‘tick a lot of boxes’ at The Hawthorns.

“Yeah, Dyche, proven manager. He can go in there and get teams playing and he’s got that promotion with Burnley on his CV as well.

“So I think he’s somebody who would definitely tick a lot of boxes for West Brom.”

The Verdict: Get it done

Time is ticking for chief executive Ron Gourlay, with the Baggies currently in the Championship relegation zone. However, if he can lure Dyche to the Midlands, it could prove to be worth the wait, with the Englishman having plenty of previous success in the second tier.

He has two previous promotions to the Premier League with Burnley, so if believes in the project at The Hawthorns, Dyche may fancy his chances of a third promotion with West Brom.

Brentford are ‘braced’ for an approach from Aston Villa for their manager Thomas Frank, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Frank a front-runner for Villa job

The Dane is doing an excellent job in west London, turning them into an established Premier League team and playing high-tempo football along the way.

Frank has been linked with replacing Steven Gerrard as Villa manager in recent days, with the Midlands club seeing the 49-year-old as a front-runner for the role.

It looks as though their interest isn’t going away any time soon, judging by one update.

The Latest: Brentford braced for Villa approach

According to Football Insider, Brentford are already ‘braced’ for Villa making a move for their boss, with the 49-year-old having a ‘relatively low release clause’ of £3m in his contract.

It is even stated that the Bees are ‘putting out early feelers’ for potential replacements for the Dane, seemingly planning for the future should he depart the Gtech Community Stadium.

The Verdict: Favourite to take over?

With each passing day, it feels increasingly as though Frank could be Villa’s number one target to become the new manager, which would be a positive decision.

He has shown what a superb job he can do with a limited budget, both in the Premier League and the Championship, so he could really flourish if he has greater funds at his disposal at Villa Park.

The lure of joining a club which arguably has a better chance of long-term success, given the investment from the ambitious NSWE, must surely appeal to Frank, who may feel as though he has come as far as he can at Brentford.

Coincidentally, today could be something of an audition for the Villa job if he is interested in it, with the two teams meeting in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) have reportedly given the green light for Newcastle United to sign an ‘A-list’ attacker.

The Lowdown: Big spenders

In terms of summer spending, the St. James’ Park outfit had the fifth-highest net spend in the Premier League, which included bringing in striker Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for a club-record transfer fee.

They were also the biggest spenders by far in the top-flight in last January’s transfer window, flexing their financial muscle after PIF’s takeover in the North East last year.

The Latest: January plans

As per Football Insider, PIF have given the ‘green light’ for the Tynesiders to spend again this January, and they are in the market for an ‘A-list’ attacker.

One target is thought to be Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, who is reportedly open to joining Eddie Howe’s side after they watched him score a screamer in his team’s 1-1 draw away at Celtic in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.

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The Verdict: Mudryk the perfect choice?

If the Magpies are going to recruit a star forward, then Mudryk should be top of their list.

Football presenter and pundit Jack Collins has hailed him as ‘absolutely unreal’ and ‘undefendable’ in explosive bursts, which was evident by the goal he scored at Celtic Park.

That is just one of six strikes that he has managed in all competitions so far this season, and he has also bagged himself seven assists, with five of those goal contributions coming in the Champions League alone (Transfermarkt).

Mudryk is showing the world what he can do on the big stage, and there is no doubt that his signing in January would be a real coup for the Toon.

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly eyeing a move for AS Roma striker Tammy Abraham, according to reports in Italy.

What’s the word?

As per Calciomercato, the north Londoners – along with Premier League rivals Manchester United – are seemingly keeping tabs on the England international at present, with the 25-year-old having thrived since his move to the Stadio Olimpico in the summer of 2021.

The former Chelsea marksman – who left Stamford Bridge to join Jose Mourinho in the Italian capital for a reported fee of around £34m – currently has just under four years still to run on his existing deal with the Serie A outfit, although reportedly plans on a return to England in the future.

Recent reports have suggested that the Blues had included a £67m buyback clause as part of the deal to take the 11-cap menace to Rome which comes into effect next summer, although Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici could well try to steal a march on the club’s top-flight foes.

Imagine him and Kane

It has been a promising move abroad for the £96k-per-week goalscoring machine over the past year or so, with Abraham having notably netted 27 goals in a stunning debut campaign for his current side last term.

While goals have proven harder to come by this time around, with just two to his name in all competitions so far in 2022/23, the £45m-rated ace has proven himself a reliable figure in front of goal throughout his career, scoring 30 goals in 82 games during his time in west London.

That spell at his former club also saw the towering striker enjoy profitable loan stints in the second tier, memorably scoring 26 goals during the 2016/17 season at Bristol City, before matching that tally a couple of years later at Aston Villa.

A potent threat in the final third, his arrival at N17 could well see Antonio Conte form a truly mouthwatering partnership with him alongside current Spurs talisman Harry Kane, with the latter also a reliably “deadly” asset in front of goal, as described by journalist Liam Twomey.

Partnering the England skipper – who has netted 259 goals in 402 games for the Lilywhites to date – alongside his international colleague in attack could well be a lethal partnership, particularly with Conte currently favouring a 3-5-2 formation.

The Spurs coach previously enjoyed success deploying Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez together in attack during his title-winning spell at Inter Milan. The two marksmen netted 41 league goals between them during that glorious 2020/21 campaign, and there is no doubting the potential for Conte to replicate that fearsome duo at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the English duo.

With the playmaking Kane – who is “one of the best passers of the ball in the Premier League” according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher – teeing up that man Abraham in the forward ranks, and indeed getting himself in on the action, it could potentially be goals galore if Paratici can strike a deal for the latter.

Everton could be set to swoop in and raid a Premier League rival in peril…

What’s the latest?

According to transfer insider Pete O’Rourke, Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Daniel Podence could be of interest to Frank Lampard.

Speaking to Football FanCast, he said:

“Bit of a surprise this – Podence linked with Everton. I think most people would think Everton would be looking for an out-and-out striker right now to improve their goal-scoring.

“That’s been a big problem for Frank Lampard’s side. He’s sorted out the defensive side of things, improved a lot that side so they are looking to add more upfront and Podence on his day there is a quality player for Wolves, but again he flatters to deceive maybe on too many occasions for Wolves as well.”

He could be a perfect Everton player

With the Old Gold seriously underperforming this season, it could be perfect for the Toffees to swoop in and sign the 27-year-old who has intermittently impressed at Molineux.

The versatile £17m wiz last season scored six and assisted three in all competitions, but earns the bulk of his praise from how he drives his team forward and works relentlessly.

Podence embodies the bare minimum that Evertonians demand from their players, as he gets people on their feet with his quick feet, whilst Alan Smith has also praised his “great work ethic” during live coverage of Wolves vs Leicester City (via Molineux News).

In this current campaign, the diminutive wide man has made ten total chance-creating carries in just 953 minutes of play, suggesting an average of just over one a game.

He makes himself a constant threat for a side that are sitting in the relegation zone, even if his statistics themselves are not outstanding.

The £60k-per-week flyer would certainly provide additional space to the likes of Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon, as the opposition would have to remain alert in the presence of someone with such blistering speed.

Former Old Gold winger Michael Kightly highlighted this as one of his biggest assets, claiming after a performance against Everton: “He looked sharp, he looked strong. Every time we got the ball, he looked like he was going to make something of it.”

Lampard could surely mould him into a more efficient attacker, and if so, instantly becomes one of the Premier League’s more threatening prospects.

Of Steve Bruce’s tumultuous reign at West Bromwich Albion there were few positives to take.

Having led his side to a disappointing tenth-placed finish after joining in February, it was thought that he would have the necessary experience needed to return the Baggies to the Premier League.

However, a miserable start to the season where he had won just one game saw his side in the relegation zone, and his position become untenable.

He was sacked and replaced with Carlos Corberan, who has already proven that positives could be taken from this side despite just €1.35m (£1.18m) investment over the summer. His back-to-back wins already stand as proof.

Of this summer, however, the deal to bring in Brandon Thomas-Asante must be a success, given how he already is just one goal shy of Karlan Grant’s tally of three despite having played less than half the minutes.

Signed for just £300k on the final day of August, it marked a huge coup to bring a man who already had four goals and two assists in six League Two appearances for Salford City that season. Indeed, since then, the club have well and truly hit the jackpot by bringing him to the Midlands.

Indeed, his value has soared since joining the club. Transfermarkt rated him at €400k (£349k) as of September 2022 but in just one month of scoring for his new side, that had already risen by 100% to €800k (£698k).

Although it was not his signing, it seems Corberan will be the man to reap the rewards of his growth in value.

Having been labelled an “instant Hawthorns goal hero” by Albion reporter Lewis Cox, it is clear that his two league goals have established him as a solid addition to West Brom’s roster and one worthy of an upshoot in his rating.

With Daryl Dike now reportedly nearing a return from injury, chances are likely to become much harder to come by for the 23-year-old.

However, it should provide fine competition between three strikers who have all proven they can be lethal when on form. The increase in numbers vying for one spot should hopefully bring out that proficiency in front of goal for the Spaniard who will have ambitions of pushing his side far above where they currently sit.