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Ipswich must seal a deal for 6ft 2 Preston North End centre-forward Jayden Stockley this summer. 

What’s the talk?

According to the Lancashire Post, Ipswich are one of the clubs interested in signing 6ft 2 Stockley from Preston North End. Charlton and Rotherham are also keen on the attacker, with him having been on loan to the former last season, and Portsmouth have been given permission to discuss personal terms this week.

The Lancashire Post had previously reported that Stockley’s preference was to join Charlton on a permanent basis at the end of the season. Portsmouth, however, are now leading the race for his signature and Ipswich are looking to get involved in the chase.

Former Charlton boss Lee Bowyer lauded Stockley upon his arrival at The Valley on loan in January. He told Charlton’s official website:

“There was a lot of interest in him, he’s a good striker and normally in these transfer windows good strikers don’t become available.

“I’ve got a good relationship with Peter Ridsdale at Preston and I have to thank him for his help and obviously the manager and their owner. He’s a Championship striker and with their help and a lot of our persistence, we were able to fend off interest from other clubs.

“We know what problems he caused us last season, so I’m delighted to have him here. With his experience, his goals, he is definitely going to add to us.”

Cook needs him

Paul Cook is desperately lacking in quality options at the top end of the pitch and he needs a player like Stockley to bolster his squad this summer.

James Norwood ended the season as Ipswich’s top goalscorer in League One with a paltry nine strikes and was one of only two players with more than four league goals for the club. Gwion Edwards’ tally of six placed him second on the list, emphasising the need for Ipswich to dip into the market to add more goals to their side ahead of next season.

Stockley could be the perfect man to bring in as he has proven that he has the quality to score goals at an impressive rate at League One level.

He picked up eight goals in the second half of the campaign for Charlton, one fewer than Norwood managed all season, and vastly outperformed the Ipswich man in terms of his all-around game. Stockley averaged an eye-catching WhoScored rating of 7.41 for Charlton, whilst Norwood’s score of 6.68 appears unimpressive in comparison.

The £5.1k-per-week ace has also been a goal machine in the EFL prior to his spell with Charlton. He scored an impressive 35 goals in two League Two seasons with Exeter, showing that he has the quality to score goals on a consistent basis in the EFL, which could solve Cook’s goalscoring problems and add the attacking flair he is lacking at the moment.

Ipswich must do all they can to convince Stockley to make a move to their club.

AND in other news, Major transfer update emerges on “fantastic” £3.5k-p/w ace, Ipswich fans will be livid…

A ‘substantial’ new kit deal for Liverpool would allow even more money to be generated for new signings, according to Leeds United employee and club ambassador and Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: New kit deal coming?

The Reds’ kit is currently sponsored by Standard Chartered, with their deal running out at the end of the next season and bringing them around £40million a year at the moment.

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Recent reports have claimed that Liverpool are on the lookout for an even bigger deal, however – one that could earn them as much as £50 million every 12 months.

With Jurgen Klopp’s men flying on the pitch, it would be a surprise if the Reds weren’t without suitors, as they look to continue battling for Premier League titles.

The Latest: Whelan makes claim

Speaking to Football Insider, reacting to recent news that Liverpool are currently in talks with multiple companies over a possible big money off-field agreement worth around £50million-per-year, Whelan got behind the idea of a new kit sponsor.

He claims that it’s a ‘no-brainer’ for companies to be attached to the Anfield club and Klopp’s side will ‘for sure’ never be short of options.

“Look, they’re a very marketable football club. One that many, many businesses would want to be attached to.

“Liverpool is a club that pretty much sells itself. It’s like Man United, Man City these days, Chelsea. Those big four sell themselves to companies because they want to be attached to that brand.

“They’re never going to be without a sponsor, that’s for sure, because of how successful they are. Because of the history behind the club, because of the demand worldwide support that they have.

“It’s a no brainer for a company to be attached and have a logo on the Liverpool shirt. It’s one of the biggest selling shirts in the world, not just in the country.

“That is going to be something substantial to the football club that’s going to help bring players in and give them the finances to push further and stay right there at the top of world football.”

The Verdict: Reds in a great place

There was a time when a £50million-a-year deal felt like a pipe dream for Liverpool but Klopp has transformed the club since arriving as manager back in October 2015.

The German has turned them into one of Europe’s best teams on current form, creating a team spirit and togetherness that should appeal to any possible sponsor.

It could be a case of Liverpool taking their pick from those interested in sponsoring their kit from 2023 onwards, such is their position of strength these days.

In other news, a pundit has backed one Liverpool player to sign a new deal. Find out who it is here.

Frank McAvennie has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that West Ham should sign on-loan Fulham defender Joachim Andersen.

Despite Fulham’s imminent relegation, the 24-year-old Danish centre-back is enjoying an excellent loan spell from Lyon.

Since returning from injury in early-November, Andersen has started every Premier League game for the Cottagers, with his impressive form giving them hope of avoiding the drop.

Such is his form, Andersen was given the captain’s armband in the absence of Tom Cairney.

One of his best performances came in Fulham’s victory at Anfield last month, attracting the attention of the Hammers, plus both Manchester United and Spurs.

Reports believe that parent club Lyon have set an asking-price of £25million, and McAvennie believes that he’d be a shrewd addition for the Hammers, who’ve struggled defensively recently.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

“He’s one of the reasons that Fulham are winning games. Someone like that would be great and would be in West Ham’s price-range. They need a centre-half and someone of that stature to come in, and £25m isn’t bad for a good centre-half.

“The boy is in London and I think he might want to stay there, so I would go for him, if it comes up. If they’re in the running I would go for him.”

David Moyes currently has the likes of Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop to choose from for the centre-back positions, with Aaron Cresswell also playing there at times if the Scot decides to play three at the back.

Newcastle United are targeting players who will thrive in a 3-5-2 formation, according to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh.

The lowdown

The Magpies are hoping to assemble a squad that will steer them well clear of a relegation battle this season.

They wound up finishing 12th, but as late as 20th March, they were only two points above the drop zone (via BBC Sport).

Steve Bruce wants to bring at least three players but Newcastle are the only Premier League club yet to make a signing with the start of the 2021/22 campaign less than a fortnight away.

Mike Ashley has furnished him with limited funds as he attempts to force through the prospective takeover from a Saudi-led consortium.

Newcastle used a back three with wing backs and three central midfielders on 13 occasions last season, but Bruce also deployed his players in 4-4-2 (eight times), 5-4-1 (six times) and 4-3-1-2 (five times).

The latest

Waugh reports that Bruce is ‘committed’ to the three-at-the-back shape and that the club’s ‘transfer targets are primed to play in that way’.

However, ‘some sources fear’ that the manager could change systems if Newcastle encounter a ‘tricky patch’, which could hinder their new arrivals.

The verdict

Which reported targets does the 3-5-2 lend itself to? One that springs to mind is Manchester United’s Axel Tuanzebe, who produced surely the finest performance of his career on the right side of a back three away to Paris Saint-Germain last season. He dealt assuredly with the unique threat of Kylian Mbappe.

Tuanzebe ‘looks set’ to leave the club following the signing of Raphael Varane, and he’s valued at £7.2million by Transfermarkt. It looks an eminently sensible deal for Newcastle to do.

In other news, Mark Douglas dropped this intriguing information about Newcastle’s takeover case.

A report claiming Wolverhampton Wanderers had made a £10million bid for Divock Origi was ‘utter nonsense’, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce. 

Journalist Ekrem Konur tweeted on Tuesday that Bruno Lage’s side had tabled the offer for the Belgian forward, but Pearce says club sources strongly rebuffed that claim.

Back in 2018, he recalls, Wolves agreed a £22million fee for Origi, only for the player to decide against the move.

Does Origi have a future at Liverpool?

Pearce believes the Reds would be willing to accept around £15million for the 26-year-old, whose contract still has three years to run.

Origi, the scorer of Liverpool’s game-clinching goal in the 2019 Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur, was limited to 19 appearances last season. He found the net on just one occasion – a 7-2 League Cup rout of League One Lincoln City in September.

The possibility of an attacking signing at Anfield may depend on whether Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri stay put, Pearce adds.

Fan feed LFC Transfer Room relayed the latest, and here’s what supporters made of it.

These Liverpool fans want to see the back of Origi

“That’s painful to hear”

Credit: @treyfontaine81

“I’m speechless, I feel sick”

Credit: @antisocialex_13

“Divock please…”

Credit: @jhs49381

“Divock is the cult hero that stayed long enough to become the villain”

Credit: @NoKopOuts

“I feel sick”

Credit: @LFCLiamGrimshaw

“This guy has no ambition. Am sick of him and his antics.”

Credit: @BagsmanEra

In other news, fans flocked to this update on a potential transfer windfall. 

Dean Windass has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that Josh King would snap up the chance to join Eddie Howe at Celtic.

The pair spent five successful years together at Bournemouth, even though their time on the south coast ended on a sour note following the Cherries’ relegation last season.

But they could be reunited north of the border, with Howe the favourite to be named the new Celtic manager despite weeks of ongoing talks at Parkhead, whilst reports believe that the 43-year-old has already identified the Norwegian striker as a potential replacement for Hoops talisman Odsonne Edouard.

King is currently at Everton, but only on a short-term contract, and having failed to score in 11 substitute appearances following his January move from Bournemouth, appears unlikely to be offered a full-time deal by the Merseysiders.

He’s already been strongly linked with Galatasaray and several Premier League sides, but Windass was asked by The Transfer Tavern whether a move to Scotland might perhaps be the perfect fit, he said:

“Right away. If that was me, if I were Josh King.

“He’s probably got a great relationship with Eddie; he would pack his bags straight away if Eddie gets the job. I can see that.”

Millwall are interested in a deal to bring Liam Delap to The Den this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Express, who claim that Gary Rowett’s side, as well as a host of other Championship clubs, are keeping tabs on the Manchester City centre-forward ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window.

The report continues by stating that City are expected to be willing to loan the 18-year-old out next season in order to provide the youngster with valuable first-team experience, leaving the door open for Millwall to swoop in.

Rowett must move

Considering just how much potential Delap appears to possess, it is an easy argument to make that the Lions landing the striker this summer would be something of a coup of the club.

Indeed, over his 20 Premier League 2 appearances for Manchester City’s U23 side last season, the England U20 international scored a whopping 24 goals and registered five assists, winning the league’s Player of the Season award and helping his team lift the Premier League 2 trophy.

The centre-forward also scored two goals in two appearances in the FA Youth Cup, as well as scoring three goals and providing one assist over two appearances in the EFL Trophy.

And, with Millwall’s top league goalscorer last season being Jed Wallace, who bagged 11 Championship goals, should Rowett wish to improve on his side’s impressive 11th place finish in the league next time around, the addition of a prolific hitman would certainly be a step in the right direction.

As such, considering how impressive the man Jacek Kulig dubbed a “phenomenal” talent has been for City’s youth side this season, it would appear highly advisable for the 47-year-old Millwall boss to do everything he can to get a deal over the line for the young forward this summer, as the £5k-per-week Delap could well prove to be the spark that ignites a promotion push at The Den next season.

In other news: Transfer update emerges on “explosive” £10k-p/w Millwall target, Rowett will be gutted

Newcastle United face off against Crystal Palace in the Premier League today as they go in search of their first win of the campaign.

The Magpies are yet to pick up a victory in the top flight and are currently 19th in the table, with Norwich the only team below them as it stands. They now face a Palace side who are 14th after winning one, drawing five and losing two of their eight Premier League games.

Graeme Jones has taken over as interim boss following Steve Bruce’s dismissal and he could make some changes to the side which lost to Tottenham last weekend.

In his pre-match press conference, the 51-year-old hinted that some players had trained their way out of his thoughts for the starting line-up.

He said: “I spoke to the players on Wednesday, after it was announced, and told them it’s a clean slate. ‘Everything that’s gone on before, we start again, I’ll assess you on your actions in the next three days’. Football makes the decisions, not me, I’m just the executor of those decisions. The line-up and tactics will be based on the interpretation of that. The players have picked themselves – or not in some cases.”

One change he could make is bringing Jamal Lewis in at left-back for Matt Ritchie. The ex-Norwich defender has been rarely-seen this season, with only nine minutes of Premier League football, and will surely have been busting a gut in training to impress Jones and ensure that he adds to his tally of minutes this weekend.

Ritchie endured a difficult afternoon against Spurs last Sunday. As per SofaScore, he lost possession of the ball 22 times, lost five of his nine duels, was dribbled past twice and only completed one of his six attempted crosses in 90 minutes. The full-back also ended the match with a passing success rate of 71%, with these statistics showing that he was dreadful at both ends of the pitch and in transition.

This suggests that it could be an ideal opportunity to bring Lewis, who was previously hailed as “underrated” by Darren Bent, into the starting XI. It could be his time to show that he deserves to be the first-choice left-back at Newcastle and prove that he is worth the £14.85m they paid for him in 2020.

If he can put in a similar performance to the one he produced in the Carabao Cup against Burnley earlier this season, he could be a marked improvement on Ritchie. He achieved a WhoScored rating of 7.15 as he completed two key passes, three dribbles, one tackle and 86.3% of his attempted passes. The Magpies also kept a clean sheet in this game, with Lewis showing that he can be a solid defender whilst also adding quality in the attacking third.

Today could be the right time to give him his first Premier League start of the season. After all, it’s not as if Newcastle’s preferred back four in Bruce’s final few games provided an impenetrable barrier of solidity, with no top-flight team conceding more than their 19 goals.

AND in other news, Jones must ruthlessly axe £80k-p/w NUFC flop who’s “offering nothing”, he’s dreadful…

Former Leeds midfielder David Norris has criticised Helder Costa for not working hard enough and doesn’t think the wide man suits the way Marcelo Bielsa’s team plays.

Having impressed during Leeds’ promotion-winning campaign in 2019-2020, the Yorkshire outfit opted to sign him permanently in a £16m deal from Wolves.

However, Costa couldn’t replicate his form in the Championship – starting just 13 times in the Premier League and wasn’t involved in any of the final five games, although in his defence, their other two wide players, Jack Harrison and Raphinha, were two of Leeds’ most consistent.

He did contribute three goals and as many assists but has been tipped to leave Leeds this summer as they bid to build on their ninth-place finish on their return to the topflight, with the Elland Road outfit to listen to offers for the 27-year-old.

Asked why it hasn’t gone to plan for the Portuguese winger, Norris exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“I don’t think he suits the way Leeds play. He doesn’t always look like he works hard enough, and that doesn’t appeal to fans if he isn’t working hard enough.

“He has just never really got going and it just hasn’t really worked out. I’m not saying he’s a bad player, it just hasn’t worked at Leeds.

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge believes Emerson Royal fits the bill of what Tottenham were looking for. 

Spurs signed Royal on deadline day from Barcelona, with the right-back signing a contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until 2026. BBC Sport reported that the agreed fee for the right-back was €30m (£25.8m).

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo added five new faces to his squad this summer, with Cristian Romero, Pierluigi Gollini, Bryan Gil, Pape Matar Sarr and Emerson Royal all penning deals with Spurs.

Michael Bridge believes the latter ticks a lot of boxes for Tottenham, telling Football FanCast: “Nuno knows him quite well. He’s had a very good reputation from Real Betis, sort of fits the bill of what Tottenham are looking for – good defender, but can bomb forward, he’s six foot as well so quiet a decent height. He’s 22 which is a fantastic age, so he ticks a lot of boxes.”

It’s been a good summer transfer window for Spurs and they’ve also had the perfect start to the Premier League campaign, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side currently sit top of the league and are the only team with maximum points from their opening three matches.

Alongside being successful domestically, Spurs have also progressed to the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League, after beating Pacos de Ferreira 3-1 on aggregate over two legs and have been drawn to face Rennes, Muta and Vitesse in Group G.