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[ad_pod ]According to BBC journalist David Ornstein, Arsenal have made an approach to sign Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic on a loan deal with a £35 million option to buy.

What’s the story?

A loan move is seemingly the only option for the Gunners at this stage, as Unai Emery recently admitted that the club are not in a position to make any permanent signings in this January transfer window (BBC).

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it’s given him a chance to show off his new accesory. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

However, Emery’s squad certainly lacks depth on the wings, especially in light of Danny Welbeck’s long-term injury (Independent). Alex Iwobi is currently the only senior natural wide player available for selection.

A move for Perisic would be a smart one on the part of the north London club, in the short term at least.

An injection of experience

The 29-year-old has been in decent – but not spectacular – form so far this season. According to Transfermarkt’s stats at the time of writing, he has registered three goals and two assists in Serie A.

The 78-cap Croatia international would bring some much-needed quality depth to Arsenal’s ranks, but his experience could also be a key factor behind Emery’s pursuit of the forward.

The Gunners have made a habit of signing experienced players recently, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sokratis and Stephan Lichtsteiner all having arrived in the last year. Perisic would bring yet more top level experience to the Emirates Stadium, which could help Arsenal become a more competitive, steely and combative unit under Emery.Â

However, £35 million is a huge price to pay for a player coming towards his latter years. A balance must be struck at Arsenal between buying in experience and building for the future.

According to El Nacional, there has been a major update on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans as news emerges on former star and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric.

The Lowdown: Spurs missing Eriksen…

Since the departure of former club mainstay and key player Christian Eriksen to Inter Milan, it has been a point of contention that Spurs seriously miss his creative presence in midfield.

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During his time in north London, the Dane was a pivotal player in the final third for Tottenham and averaged the most key passes per 90 out of their entire squad in each Premier League season from 2013/2014 to 2018/2019 (WhoScored).

Eriksen left for the San Siro in January 2020 to the tune of £16.9 million and former Lilywhites players, like Ramon Vega and Jamie O’Hara, have pointed out just how much Spurs have been lacking in that position since.

Now, some news has emerged on another former Tottenham star as they seek to address that issue for new boss Antonio Conte.

The Latest: Spurs make Modric offer…

As per El Nacional’s sources, the Lilywhites have made a pre-contract offer to re-sign ex-favourite Modric as his contract winds down at current club Real Madrid.

His contract at the Bernabeu is set to expire at the end of this season and it is believed the 36-year-old has already replied to Tottenham’s approach.

Indeed, unfortunately for Spurs, he has apparently rejected their advances as he contemplates signing another extension in the Spanish capital – though he refuses to rule out a move to Man City who have also made a proposal.

The Verdict: Blow for Spurs…

Given Tottenham’s dire need for a proven playmaker, they don’t come much better than their former hero, so this news comes as a blow for Conte and co.

According to WhoScored, the Croatia legend has averaged more key passes per 90 over his eight La Liga starts so far this season (1.4) than any Spurs player has managed in the Premier League bar Son Heung-min, highlighting the player’s spark in midfield.

As well as this, only Lucas Moura (3) has completed a higher amount of dribbles in that time compared to Modric (1.6), while former Galacticos boss Zinedine Zidane recently labelled Modric ‘phenomenal’ (Marca).

Having just come off the back of an individually impressive Euro 2020 campaign with Croatia also, it is clear to see the player still has it in his locker and he would have improved Tottenham to no end.

In other news: Spurs agreement to sign £200,000-per-week star possible as Paratici makes exciting plea to club chiefs, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur are left with work to do in their final Europa Conference League group game after they endured an embarrassing evening in Slovenia.

Antonio Conte’s recorded his first loss since taking over from Nuno Santo as his side were agonisingly beaten by NS Mura in the final minutes of the game.

Tommy Horvat fired in a world-class opener from long range for the home side after just 11 minutes before Spurs wing-back Ryan Sessegnon received his marching orders for two calamitous and rash yellow cards by the 31st-minute mark.

In the second half, the Italian made vast changes and it looked to have paid off when his pair of substitutes Lucas Moura and Harry Kane combined for an equaliser in the 72nd minute.

But with seconds left on the clock, Amadej Marosa powered through Spurs’ messy backline to condemn them to a shocking, shocking loss.

Sessegnon, who was massively talked up by Conte during the pre-game build-up, badly let the manager and his side down with his erratic short-lived display.

“I can’t wait to see his performance because he’s a talented player, very young with great space for improvement,” the 52-year-old told reporters in his press conference.

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There were plenty of superlatives used to describe his red card from the press, ranging from “daft” by football.london’s Alasdair Gold to “stupid” by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick but perhaps the most accurate came from The Athletic’s Charlie Ecclesshare, who claimed it was “really needless.”

Indeed, it was. And the 21-year-old gem will have it all to do to convince his manager that he can be trusted again this campaign.

As per SofaScore, Sessegnon was graded at an abysmal 5.1 rating – comfortably the worst of any player on the pitch – and during his 36 minutes, he managed only eight passes and 16 touches, fewer than even goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini (19 passes, 25 touches).

He also lost 80% of his five duels, showing just how much he struggled with the lowly Slovenian minnows.

After being talked up so much ahead of kick-off and then named as a starter a few days in advance, the England U21 international very much let Conte down, so it would be a surprise to see him involved again anytime soon.

An absolute nightmare and disaster evening for the young lad.

AND in other news, Fabio Paratici could seal Spurs’ best signing since Son with £45m-rated “world-beater”…

Despite managing to score more goals than both Burnley and Norwich City, Newcastle United have only managed to win one of their 18 Premier League games so far this season, drawing seven and losing ten along the way.

With new ambitious owners in place and a manager aiming to avoid getting Newcastle relegated from the Premier League, the January transfer window could see the Tyneside club splash the cash to strengthen their squad to make sure they don’t end up in the Championship next season.

One name that Newcastle apparently think they have a chance of signing in January is Chelsea attacker Timo Werner according to journalist Christian Falk.

Prior to joining Chelsea back in the 2020 summer transfer window, Werner racked up a total of 95 goals in 159 appearances for German club RB Leipzig.

Since joining the west London club, the 25-year-old, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £268k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has scored 17 goals and provided 17 assists in 66 appearances across all competitions, winning the Champions League in the process.

Labelled as an “unpredictable” player by fellow Chelsea and Germany teammate Kai Havertz, Werner has played in 14 games for Thomas Tuchel’s side across all competitions with five goals and two assists under his belt.

In terms of a potential move to Newcastle in January, with the German international having racked up an average of four shots at goal per game in the Premier League so far this season and two key passes per match, Werner could slot into Newcastle’s attacking line nicely alongside the likes of Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin who have contributed to 50% of the Toon’s Premier League goals this season.

Even though Newcastle have conceded more times in the league than any other team in the division and the focus in January should mainly be on bringing in defensive players to fix their leaky defence. That said, given the player’s pedigree and knack for scoring, a move for Werner could stun plenty of Toon fans if the club were able to bring him to St. James’ Park.

However, with Chelsea pushing for the Premier League title and gunning to win the Champions League for a second year in a row, it would presumably take a lot from Newcastle to convince the German international to leave Stamford Bridge halfway through the season to help Howe’s side avoid relegation instead. That only adds to the stunning nature of this potential deal if it was concluded by PIF.

In other news: Hammond could save NUFC’s season with “colossal” £24k-p/w beast, “nothing fazes him” – opinion

An update has emerged in Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Adama Traore this week…

What’s the word?

According to the Telegraph’s Matt Law, Spurs are hoping to sign the Wolverhampton Wanderers star on loan with an obligation to buy in the summer.

It’s thought that the Midlands outfit may be forced into accepting such a deal as the 25-year-old wide man has entered the final 18 months of his current contract, though they would prefer a straight £20m deal.

The north Londoners’ willingness to offload Steven Bergwijn could help fund a permanent move before deadline day.

Traore is believed to be manager Antonio Conte’s first-choice to fill one of the three positions – right wing-back – that the club have prioritised this month.

Imagine him and Kane

Spurs have certainly been lacking in the final third this season, with leading talisman Harry Kane horribly out-of-sorts in the Premier League. He has scored only four goals in 17 games, as per Transfermarkt.

That accounts for 17.4% of all their goals scored – compare that to last season and the England skipper produced a whopping 33.8% of their goals.

With wing-backs ever so crucial to Conte’s system, there is a need for him to find the right option in order to provide Kane with sufficient service to get him back firing again.

This is where Traore fits the bill immensely.

A combination of his brute strength and dribbling ability make him a lethal threat along the flank. There have been concerns with his end product but ultimately, you aren’t being played at right wing-back to deliver goals.

He leads the Premier League on the ball, averaging a massive 4.5 dribbles per game – by comparison, Conte’s current first-choice option, Emerson Royal, manages just 0.8 successful attempts per outing.

Former Manchester United defender turned pundit Rio Ferdinand once dubbed the Wolves man as a “machine” to BT Sport (via BirminghamLive). “I was watching him pre-game and he could be a powerlifter or a cruiser-weight boxer – he’s huge,” he added.

It’s his physicality that makes him a terrifying prospect for any Premier League defender, which is why Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has previously deemed him to be “unplayable” and “undefendable.”

Therefore, sporting director Fabio Paratici could form quite the lethal duo in N17 as Traore could be the attacking wing-back that Conte desperately needs to bring the best back out of Kane.

It’s no wonder the £25.2m-rated Spain international is a priority this month.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold drops worrying behind the scenes Antonio Conte claim…

Flocking to Twitter, some West Ham United fans have erupted over links to Derby County midfielder Jason Knight as ExWHUemployee shares news on a January target.

West Ham have been mostly tipped to target reinforcements for the striking positions and at centre-back, with The Evening Standard claiming that David Moyes will be backed to strengthen in those areas.

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The latter position takes even more priority given severe injuries to both Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma, although the Hammers have also been linked with strengthening in central midfield over the last few days.

Sky reporter Angelo Mangiante said that West Ham hold an interest in signing Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria, with ExWHUemployee lifting the lid on another new midfielder who they could target.

Sharing news on The West Ham Way website, the reliable Irons insider says that West Ham now have a ‘very strong interest’ in Rams midfielder Knight. Derby’s current financial situation could also force them into making sales, with the highly-rated Republic of Ireland international thought to be on the Hammers’ radar ahead of the January transfer window.

West Ham fans erupt…

Described as a ‘manager’s dream’ who ‘gives everything’ by Derby manager Wayne Rooney, it’s little wonder so many Irons supporters have erupted as they eye a new target in the Rams youngster.

Amassing eight senior international caps already, Knight has held his own in the Championship at such a young age, with the 20-year-old grabbing two goals and two assists already this season (WhoScored).

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder some Irons supporters believe he is ‘quality’ – check out some of their best verdicts below:

“This would be a very good signing”

Credit: @allthingsirons

“Please god make this happen”

Credit: @mersey_maldini

“Massive potential – has played very well for Ireland since his introduction to the senior squad – I rate him”

Credit: @rinanfafan

“I trust Moyes, whatever he wants I’m all up for it”

Credit: @stratfordclaret

“Jason is quality, get it done”

Credit: @mgkinane

“Yes please, what a player”

Credit: @BigBrexitGoat

In other news: West Ham could now back Moyes with £17.1m bid to sign 6 foot 3 powerhouse in January, find out more here.

Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Aaron Keto-Diyawa has signed professional terms at Molineux.

What’s the latest?

In a recent statement on the Wolves website, the club revealed that the 18-year-old left wing-back has put pen to paper on his first contract with the Premier League side, having joined the Black Country club from Fulham as a first-year scholar back in the summer of 2020.

In reaction to his signing, Wolves’ technical director, Scott Sellars, said: “Aaron came into the academy from Fulham last summer because we thought he had potential and a great left foot, and he’s really settled in well to the club and has shown a great attitude.

“We knew he was a good athlete, but he’s another really hard worker and has a great work ethic, which has allowed him to thrive at Wolves since he’s been here, but he’s really kicked on to another level in the last six months.

“He’s been very consistent and when he has had the chance to jump up into the U23s, he’s performed well and not looked out of place at all. All season he’s performed to a very consistent level and that is why he is deserving of his pro contract.”

Exciting times

Considering the sheer amount of potential Keto-Diyawa possesses, the news that Wolves have tied the teenager down to a professional contract is sure to have left fans of the club rather excited.

Indeed, it is clear to see why Tim Spiers suggested that “big things are expected” of the 18-year-old, as the left-back featured in all but four of Wolves U18s’ Premier League North fixtures last season, in addition to having played every available minute for the U18s so far this term.

The defender also impressed when making the step up to U23 football, completing 41 passes, one dribble, making three clearances, one tackle and winning three duels against Wigan Athletic in the Papa Johns Trophy – with these returns seeing the youngster earn a respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.5.

With Wolves struggling for numbers in their first team, tying down players like the teenager is incredibly advantageous for Lage and co who are having to work with slim pickings. Journalist Luke Hatfield has already outlined this as a problem so developing the likes of Keto-Diyama should be exciting for supporters and coaches alike at Molineux.

It undoubtedly appears as if the 18-year-old has a very bright future ahead of him in the professional game – a future which, after the recent development, looks as if it will be at Molineux.

In other news: Shi must seal dream Wolves deal for £25k-p/w dynamo who can “make people look silly”

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Aleksandr Golovin to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Sport Witness, who claim that a source close to the AS Monaco attacking midfielder has revealed that both West Ham and Everton are interested in a move for the 25-year-old this month.

The report goes on to state that David Moyes’ side have made contact with the Ligue 1 side regarding a deal for the Russia international, however, it is also claimed that Monaco are unlikely to want to part with Golovin in the current transfer window – with Russian media outlet Championat suggesting the French side would demand a fee of around €50m (£41m) in order to sanction his sale.

Moyes’ next Lingard

Considering just how impressive Golovin has been for Monaco since his £27m move from CSKA Moscow back in 2018, it is easy to see why West Ham would be interested in a move for the attacking midfielder this month.

Indeed, over his 114 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, the £22.5m-rated man has scored 16 goals and registered 22 assists, with arguably his best season for the Monegasques coming over his 21 league outings last season.

In this campaign, the £78k-per-week forward scored five goals, provided nine assists and created nine big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.8 key passes and taking 1.3 shots per game.

These returns saw the player who Jose Mourinho dubbed a “playmaker” earn a rather astonishing seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.31, not only ranking him as Monaco’s best performer in the league, but also as the sixth-best player in the division as a whole.

Indeed, Golovin’s form in this campaign was not dissimilar from that of Jesse Lingard last season, who, over his 16 Premier League appearances while on loan at West Ham, scored nine goals, registered four assists and created three big chances for his teammates, seeing the 29-year-old earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.19.

Furthermore, both the AS Monaco attacking midfielder and the Manchester United man possess impressive positional versatility, with each player more than capable of operating from either flank or in the number 10 role.

As such, should Moyes be able to get a deal over the line for Golovin this winter, the 58-year-old Hammers manager could very much have the club’s next Lingard on his hands for the second half of the season – something that is undoubtedly an extremely exciting prospect for everyone involved with the club.

In other news: West Ham submit Jan offer for “outstanding” £70k-p/w tank, Moyes desperately needs him

This forms part of The Transfer Tavern’s Loan Watch series, where we analyse how a player from one club is doing on loan.

The Lowdown: Hendrick’s January move

Newcastle decided to send Jeff Hendrick out on loan to Queens Park Rangers in the January transfer window after playing a mere 70 minutes for them in the Premier League this season.

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In the Championship, the Republic of Ireland international has had plenty more minutes, missing just two games for the R’s so far.

The Latest: QPR struggles for Hendrick

Hendrick played 68 minutes for QPR in their 1-0 loss at Sheffield United in the Championship on Tuesday night before he was hauled off by manager Mark Warburton.

Unfortunately for him, he struggled to make any real impact in the match, failing to record a single shot on target, dribble or cross. Defensively, he lost out on four of his six duels in total, while he also made no clearances, interceptions or tackles and was guilty of giving the ball away four times (SofaScore).

The Verdict: Will be sold

Given Hendrick’s latest display, coupled with the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes at St James’ Park from Lyon in January, it now seems likely that the Irishman will be sold by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) in the summer.

Last night’s display wasn’t an aberration, either – as per WhoScored performance metrics, he ranks a lowly 19th among 26 players to have featured for QPR this season, which suggests that he has been largely unconvincing since his move to west London.

It may be the best time to cash in on the 30-year-old, whose market value only looks to be depreciating from here on in, as the Magpies already have plenty of options in his position.

Performances like the one he had for the Hoops at Bramall Lane last night will only make PIF’s mind up sooner, as he ultimately failed to send a positive message out to the new owners at Newcastle.

In other news, find out which ‘Rolex player’ NUFC are now considering signing

Arsenal are interested in a deal to bring Cody Gakpo to The Emirates in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Dutch media outlet Voetbal International, who claim that Mikel Arteta’s side are currently leading the race for the PSV Eindhoven forward, while the likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City are also believed to be keeping a close eye on the situation of the 22-year-old – who the Eredivisie side reportedly value at around £42m.

The next Dennis Bergkamp

Considering the sheer amount of potential Gakpo quite clearly possesses, it is easy to see why Mikel Arteta is plotting a move to bring the Netherlands international to Arsenal this summer.

Indeed, over his 20 Eredivisie appearances this season, the £22.5m-rated winger has been in sensational form for PSV, scoring eight goals, providing 13 assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making three key passes per game.

These metrics have seen the £7.4k-per-week forward who journalist Agragami dubbed a “serious talent” average an astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.58, ranking the 22-year-old as the fourth-best player in the top flight of Dutch football.

However, it has not only been in the league that Gakpo has impressed, with the PSV starlet bagging a further eight goals and registering two more assists over 17 appearances in domestic and European cup competitions, taking his haul for the current campaign to a whopping 16 goals and 15 assists over 37 fixtures.

As such, while the two players do not particularly occupy the same position on the pitch – although Gakpo is capable of operating just off a centre-forward, as well as up top himself – should the Dutch prodigy be able to continue his remarkable goalscoring and creative form after a switch to north London this summer, the youngster could well go on to become the Gunners’ next Dennis Bergkamp – a player if the same nationality who bagged 113 goals and registered 94 assists over his 410 appearances for the club.

However, before we get too carried away with the comparisons between Gakpo and both a Dutch and Arsenal legend, Arteta must ensure that he beats off the competition from Bayern, Liverpool and Manchester City for the 22-year-old – as it is clear for all to see that the winger could be a transformative signing for the Spaniard this summer.

AND in other news: Arteta can finally axe £27m-rated “practice dummy” as AFC bid for “sneaky” £13m dynamo