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The proposed takeover of Newcastle United would be a game changer for the Premier League as new figures from The State of Football Finance project (via ChronicleLive) analysed the respective turnovers of the clubs in the top flight over the last four seasons.

As per the outlet, the so-called ‘big six’, consisting of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, had a combined turnover of £2.998 billion in the 2018/19 campaign, compared to £2.145 billion for all of the other teams in England’s highest division in the same year.

Income is counted as money from game days, broadcast, and commercial deals, and Man Utd led the way with an overall income of £627.10 million, with £275.09 million of that coming commercially.

The Magpies had an overall turnover of £176.45 million, less than what the Red Devils received in commercial revenue, £24.85 million from match days and £123.94 million from broadcast.

The fact that the overall turnover of the Tyneside club was less than what MUFC made just commercially suggests that if the prospective takeover does eventually go through at St. James’ Park, then these figures could all change, hence it would be a ‘game changer’.

The would-be owners could be set to sit on a big pile of wealth, given that the buying side consists of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabain (KSA) crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) and his country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), businesswoman and head of PCP Capital Partners Amanda Staveley and the billionaire Reuben brothers who are originally based in India but are now based in London.

The rather huge sum of money that could be available to NUFC if the £300 million deal with Mike Ashley is approved could potentially see them break the trend of the ‘big six’, but the bid has to be approved by the Premier League first.

Geordies, would the Toon’s turnover break the ‘big six’ after the takeover? Comment below!

Manchester United could miss out on Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish because of one shocking development.

As far as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is concerned, Sancho and Grealish are his top targets this summer.

However, Manchester City’s European ban has been overturned by the Court of Arbitration following a successful appeal, and they could now enter the race to sign the pair in the summer.

Solskjaer has admitted transfer plans have gone out the window as the Red Devils are hellbent on reaching the top four.

To make matters even worse, City had been concerned a lack of European football could cost them dearly in the transfer market.

While they were still an attractive outfit under Pep Guardiola, the arch rivals are well aware of the benefits the Champions League can bring.

Now that the Citizens don’t have to worry about that problem anymore, they can turn their attention to some of the best players in the world.

Just like Solskjaer, Guardiola has been plotting a rebuild, and Sancho and Grealish could jump to the top of his list.

At one point it looked like plain sailing for Man United but now the future is unclear.

Realistically, City can afford any name at any price, thanks to the financial might of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Meanwhile, Ed Woodward has warned the club’s spending may be limited, which will no doubt raise some eyebrows as the transfer window approaches.

It will be a huge blow for Solskjaer if he misses out on Sancho again, as he has been pursuing the Dortmund star for over three years now, with seemingly no end in sight.

United fans, do you want Woodward to sign Sancho and Grealish? Let us know down below!

Liverpool are on the hunt for a new centre-back following the departure of Dejan Lovren to Zenit St Petersburg last week and they may have found the ideal replacement amid fresh reports from Germany.

What’s the word?

According to Sport Bild, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp wants Schalke 04 defender Ozan Kabak at Anfield next season and the club could make their move this summer.

They claim that the young Turkish international has a release clause of €45m (£41m) but that isn’t activated until 2021, meaning the Premier League champions can freely negotiate with the Bundesliga outfit over a potential switch.

The 20-year-old only joined Schalke in the summer, his third club in as many years, after former Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner paid Stuttgart’s €15m (£13.7m) clause.

Next VVD?

Klopp could well have another VVD on his hands given Kabak’s own ambitions. He’s previously expressed his desire to become one of the best in the world “like Virgil van Dijk” who’s his idol.

In the German top-flight this campaign, the central defensive starlet has averaged 3.6 clearances, 1.4 tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 0.8 dribbles per game, via WhoScored. Throw in a passing success rate above 80% and you’ve got a pretty decent ball-playing option there.

Kabak has also been lauded as “one of the most promising young defenders in Europe” by former Stuttgart head of sport Michael Reschke whilst Thomas Hitzlsperger dubbed him “incredible,” “astonishing” and a “role model.”

At 6 foot 1, he’s not as imposing as the Dutch colossus, but his height hasn’t stopped him from averaging 2.9 aerial duels won per appearance this season.

In fact, the Turk has managed more tackles and interceptions than VVD this season – might he be the perfect partner?

Michael Edwards must open the chequebook to land him this summer, especially as they could negotiate a fee below that release clause – otherwise, the Reds could come to rue that decision later down the line.

AND in other news, Liverpool eyeing £55m raid for Steven Gerrard-like midfielder…

Leeds United are back in the Premier League and while that is brilliant news for their fans and Marcelo Bielsa, now still comes the more difficult part – competing with the best teams in England week in, week out. The Argentine coach knows that no matter how good the Whites are, they might need reinforcements in order to survive or even thrive in what lies ahead.

According to a new report from Daily Mail, Leeds are among many teams who are showing interest in Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher. Of course, the youngster is highly-rated at Stamford Bridge and has had a brilliant season for Swansea City in the Championship last campaign.

Now, however, the 20-year-old will have to discuss his immediate future with Frank Lampard but everything points towards another loan deal because the Blues don’t exactly want to lose him permanently.

Bielsa, on the other hand, is exploring various different ways of strengthening the squad ahead of the 2020/21 season with the midfield and defensive lines apparently taking the priority in the transfer market.

Daily Mail say Leeds have already enquired about the youngster but multiple Premier League and Championship sides have done the same thing so the competition might be tough and Gallagher and Chelsea spoiled for choice.

Leeds know what he can do since they saw him compete against them throughout 2019/20. Needless to say, he has impressed them enough to warrant such an interest.

But can they beat other rivals for his signature? We’ll have to wait and see.

Verdict

Gallagher is certainly one of Chelsea’s brightest young talents and has already shown he’s capable of performing well on a consistent basis. Of course, he’s far from a finished product but if someone can help mould him, then it’s Bielsa.

For that reason, this could indeed be a win-win situation for both sides if Leeds decide to take him on loan.

Sheffield Wednesday are showing their intent to have a good campaign next season as they have have announced their third signing of the transfer window.

The Owls tweeted out that 23 year-old midfielder Isaiah Brown has signed for the club on loan for the 2020/21 campaign from Premier League side Chelsea.

The player has had various spells on loan in the Championship, including at Huddersfield and more recently Luton Town where he played last season. At the Hatters, he clearly did a fair bit to help the club stay in the division as he managed one goal and seven assists in 25 appearances, whilst also managing 2.1 key passes a game and 2 successful dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

If Monk felt like he was lacking creativity then he definitely shouldn’t now as Brown’s key passes would rank him second in the Wednesday squad, 0.1 behind Barry Bannan.

Before the Chelsea player signed on loan, the next Owls player after Bannan with the most key passes was Fernando Forestieri with 1.2 and he has now left. Therefore the Owls have been quick to identify a weakness in their squad and try and find a solution to it.

Here is what fans said following the news:

Owls fans, what are your thoughts on the signing? Let us know down below!

FIFA 21 may be on the horizon, but that doesn’t stop hours of enjoyment from the current installment of the franchise, FIFA 20.

One game mode, in particular, provides hours, maybe even days, of enjoyment – and that’s Career Mode. Despite the popularity of other game modes on FIFA, in particular Ultimate Team, Career Mode provides a different type of football gaming experience.

One big aspect of Career Mode is scouting, and when doing so, you can find plenty of hidden gems that are unheard of with great potential – something that makes the game mode so exciting.

These hidden gems can often be game-changers, especially when taking charge of smaller clubs with smaller budgets in the game – hidden gems are vital.

So, who are the best-hidden gems in FIFA 20 Career Mode then? Here’s our top 10…

Information provided via Futwiz is subject to change. All information provided is correct at time of publishing.

10. Armel Bella-Kotchap

Current Rating: 63

Potential Rating: 85

Position: CB

Market Value: £650k

The German defender is only 17 at the start of career mode, and stands at 6’3, with already good strength and pace stats. Bella-Kotchap plays for Bundesliga 2 side VfL Bochum and can be purchased for a mere £650k on career mode – a bargain for a young defender with a potential growth of +22 ratings.

9. Matias Palacios

Current Rating: 63

Potential Rating: 85

Position: CAM

Market Value: £700k

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder has a great potential growth, going from his base rating of 63 with a +22 all the way up to a potential of 85. The Argentinian currently plays for San Lorenzo in Argentina’s Primera Division and has made one senior appearance, becoming the club’s youngest player in the process. Palacios’ base stats arent great, but he can be purchased for £700k, a great investment considering his potential.

8. Karamoko Dembele

Current Rating: 64

Potential Rating: 85

Position: RW

Market Value: £875k

Dembele made his debut for Celtic just aged 16 and has been tipped to be a world-class player in the future. On Career Mode, however, you can snap Dembele up for just £875k, and with a potential of an 85 overall, why wouldn’t you? His base card already boasts some impressive stats, with 86 pace, 90 agility, and 85 balance the standouts.

7. Leonidas Stergiou

Current Rating: 63

Potential Rating: 86

Position: CB

Market Value: £650k

The Swiss defender currently plays for Swiss Super League side FC St. Gallens – having made his debut for the club last year. The now 18-year-old has made 43 appearances for the club, with one goal. His base rating on Career Mode is 63 but has the potential to rise to an overall of 86, all at the cost of £650k.

6. Joao Pedro

Current Rating: 70

Potential Rating: 86

Position: ST/LM

Market Value: £3.1 million

Brazilian forward Joao Pedro joined Watford at the start of 2020 – but has yet to score a goal for the club. Despite Watford’s relegation at the end of this season, they are still classed as a Premier League club in the game, which is likely to be why his market value is £3.1 million. Despite this, Pedro has great potential, going from his base rating of 70 all the way up to 86, along with a four-star weak foot.

5. Giovanni Reyna

Current Rating: 66

Potential Rating: 86

Position: LM/CAM

Market Value: £1.1 million

A name that many football fans may know – Borussia Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna has great potential in career mode. The American’s base card is 66, but with a potential growth of +20, the youngster can go all the way to 86 overall. Reyna already has a well-rounded base card and can be bought in the game mode for a small fee of £1.1 million.

4. Facundo Pellistri

Current Rating: 70

Potential Rating: 86

Position: RM/RW

Market Value: £3.1 million

The now 18-year-old Uruguayan made his debut for Penarol in August last year and has made 24 appearances since, scoring 1 goal. His base rating of 70 is already rather modest for his age, but with a potential growth of +16, taking his overall rating to 86, Pellestri is a must buy in career mode. The winger has a market value of just £3.1 million in the game.

3. Ryan Gravenberch

Current Rating: 70

Potential Rating: 87

Positions: CM/CDM

Market Value: £3.1 million

It was inevitable that there would be an Ajax youngster on the list – and that comes in the form of midfielder Ryan Gravenberch. The 18-year-old Dutch player made his debut for Ajax in 2018 and made 9 appearances for the club last season. Gravenberch has a base rating of 70, but has the potential to reach an overall of 87 – and you can sign him for your team for just £3.1 million.

2. Jeremy Doku

Current Rating: 69

Potential Rating: 87

Position: RW/LW

Market Value: £1.8 million

Jeremy Doku currently plays for Belgium Pro League side Anderlecht as a winger, having made his debut in November 2018 – Doku played 19 league games for the club last season, scoring 1 goal. The now 18-year-old has a base rating of 69 but can rise to an overall of 87 if he reaches his potential, costing just £1.8 million in the process.

1. Sebastiano Esposito

Current Rating: 67

Potential Rating: 87

Position: ST

Market Value: £1.3 million

The Inter Milan striker was nominated for the golden boy award this year, and rightly so, having made his debut aged 16 for the club in March 2019. Esposito’s base card isn’t spectacular, but his potential growth of +20 takes him to a potential overall of 87, along with good height at 6’1 and with H/M work rates for a striker, which is ideal – the player can be purchased for a small fee of £1.3 million in-game.

Newcastle United striker Yoshinori Muto is set to leave the club in the summer transfer window, Chronicle Live reports.

Steve Bruce’s side have invested in the summer transfer window and have brought in Callum Wilson from AFC Bournemouth, bolstering their striking ranks in the process.

The deal to bring the forward in has surely left Muto facing even less football in the 2020/21 season.

Signed in 2018, the 28-year-old made just two Premier League starts last term, and will find his path blocked this term.

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The report states that he has subsequently been told he will have to leave if he is to play regularly and he has suitors lining up to sign him.

German clubs Cologne and Augsburg are both said to be interested in signing Muto on loan, while Mainz are also monitoring developments.

Muto has made just 28 appearances in total for Newcastle, scoring two goals, and a move seems in the best interests of all parties.

He is valued at £4.95m by Transfermarkt.

Leeds United have been chasing a winger all summer, but as of yet, they’ve not managed to get someone through the door who can play that role.

Their bid for Ryan Kent was highly-publicised at the time, while they have also been linked to Ryan Sessegnon in recent times, but the most recent reports are stating that they’re interested in Leicester City’s Demarai Gray.

The left-wing spot has belonged to Jack Harrison in Bielsa’s side for the last two seasons, but the prospect of Gray coming in is incredibly exciting, especially when you consider the high praise Brendan Rodgers had for him earlier this year:

“He can dribble, he can do everything. It’s just that I think with Demarai it’s always been about that end product, about creating goals and assisting goals on a regular basis,” His manager said.

Unfortunately, Rodgers’ complaints about his end product are well-founded, the attacker had an xG of 0.41 per 90 mins and an xA of 0.31 per 90 mins, but with just two goals and three assists to his name in the league last season, it seems as though his finishing and final ball needs to improve.

Luckily, Bielsa knows how to get the best out of his wingers, just look at Jack Harrison’s remarkable improvement from his first season at Leeds to his second, with the winger going from seven goal contributions in 2018/19 to 14 in 2019/20, and that improvement looks to be continuing this term, with one goal and an assist in his first three Premier League appearances.

Gray’s xG indicates that his movement is top-notch, and that is something Bielsa values incredibly highly, so if the Argentine can get his end-product up to an acceptable rate, he will have a real player on his hands.

The £13.05m-rated man could be the perfect player for Bielsa to work with. He’s an unpolished gem who could shine if given the correct guidance.

West Ham United endured a disastrous transfer window and now David Sullivan has just ten days to desperately salvage David Moyes’ plans for this season…

What’s the word?

According to the Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser, the Irons could look to the Championship as their search for defensive reinforcements continue with Premier League clubs able to sign players from the English Football League until October 16th.

And the east Londoners are said to be keen on Swansea City centre-back Joe Rodon, who is also attracting interest from local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The Welsh outfit are looking for £18m to sanction his exit.

Shades of Rio

Despite recording back-to-back clean sheets for the first time in 13 months, the Hammers still need to bolster their backline if they are to avoid a repeat of last season.

Moyes’ side conceded the fifth-highest amount of goals last season, so it hardly surprising that one, they finished just five points adrift from relegation and two, that the 57-year-old is desperate for additions at the back.

Rodon fits the profile of everything West Ham and GSB need to bring back some positivity to the club.

Lauded as “one of the brightest prospects in the Championship,” the 22-year-old could be the next big thing to come from the EFL, following in the footsteps of Villa’s Ollie Watkins, who devoured Liverpool on Sunday night.

Sky Sports pundit Andy Hinchliffe believes there is a bit of Rio Ferdinand about him, he said: “You look at Ferdinand and [John] Terry and there are elements of both in Rodon’s game – maybe John Stones as well. What I want from a centre-half is someone who loves to defend. Yes, they can play, but they don’t just like defending, they really want to defend – they want to get in the line of fire, they want to stop the opposition scoring. That’s what we see with Rodon.”

This season, the 6 foot 4 Welshman is averaging a whopping 7.8 clearances, 5.3 aerial duels won, 2.3 interceptions and one tackle per game, via WhoScored.

These are hugely impressive numbers and only go to show those lofty comparisons in a good light. Rodon may not be a James Tarkowski or a Jonathan Tah but he’s clearly someone with bags of potential.

The Irons shouldn’t turn their nose up at this move at all, use that Grady Diangana money and go and get Moyes his man.

AND in other news, Three new signings, no more Masuaku: How West Ham may look after Deadline Day…

Carlo Ancelotti has an easy decision to make in calling on Everton winger Alex Iwobi to stand in for Richarlison against Southampton this Sunday, with the Brazilian suspended.

Richarlison was shown a straight red card during last weekend’s Merseyside Derby for an over-the-top challenge on midfielder Thiago Alcantara, which added another injury to the Premier League champions’ squad after Virgil van Dijk was forced off early in the first half.

Ancelotti will now be without Richarlison for Everton’s upcoming Premier League meeting with Southampton this Sunday, along with the unbeaten Toffees’ fixtures against Newcastle and Manchester United.

Whoever performs well in place of Richarlison at St. Mary’s this weekend will stand the best hopes of retaining the position against the Toon and Red Devils, knowing that Everton will be far weaker without the Brazil international on the field.

Richarlison has only offered one goal in the Premier League thus far this season, but has provided the Blues’ highest number of successful dribbles (16), the second-most assists (two) and contributed the second-most shots (16) though only directing three on target, per WhoScored.

Iwobi should stand as a strong candidate to deputise for Richarlison against Southampton this weekend, despite Ancelotti only calling on the Nigerian to start one fixture across all competitions and earn the remainder of his 219 minutes through various cameo outings.

His sole start came in September’s 5-2 win over Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup, in which Iwobi scored and assisted while penning his only Premier League assist in October’s 4-2 win at home to Brighton.

Ancelotti called on Iwobi to enter the action in the 25th-minute against the Seagulls following an injury to Richarlison, and stated earlier in the year during Project Restart that he still has a great deal of confidence in the 24-year-old.

“I changed him against Tottenham because he had a little problem with his hamstring,” Ancelotti told The Guardian in July. “Against Southampton, I changed him to put more energy on that side and above all to change the system to a line of five.

“It is true he didn’t score, it’s true that he can do better sometimes, but it’s also true that I have a lot of confidence in him.”

Iwobi was later touted as one of several players whose futures were in doubt on Merseyside, with the Mirror suggesting he and teammate Moise Kean could head an exodus of outcasts should Director of Football Marcel Brands receive decent offers.

Everton signed Iwobi from Arsenal for an initial £28million just last year in a deal that could reach £34m, and was awarded a £50,000-per-week, five-year contract, but only featured nine times under Ancelotti following a hamstring injury sustained in December.

Ancelotti could now look to offer Iwobi his first start of the current Premier League season with Richarlison unavailable, given the Nigerian’s form in his substitute appearances only trails James Rodriguez for big chances created per 90 minutes.

Across Everton’s opening five Premier League matches, Rodriguez’s has averaged a team-high 1.07 big chances created per 90 to Iwobi’s 0.86 and Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 0.53. Richarlison, meanwhile, ranks just sixth with 0.23, and has offered a lower output for key balls than Iwobi with 0.94 to the Nigerian’s 1.71, per SofaScore.

Where Iwobi’s limited game time has hindered his output is in crosses with zero recorded to date, though he offered an accurate delivery with every one in four crosses in the top-flight last term while beating opposing players with 62% of his attempted dribbles.

Ancelotti will no doubt miss Richarlison in Everton’s next three games, but his absence will offer Iwobi a great opportunity to impress.

AND in other news, a permanent transfer could be imminent for a £1.44m-rated Everton man after his latest comments.