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A major update has emerged on Amari Miller, regarding Leeds United’s pursuit of his signature this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to Football Insider, Leeds are confident that they will be able to secure a deal to sign Birmingham midfielder Amari Miller on a free transfer next month.

Leeds believe that they will be able to get Miller to ditch Birmingham to move to Elland Road upon the expiry of his deal with the Championship side at the end of June.

The report claims Leeds’ Premier League rivals Everton have also been interested in the youngster, who Birmingham have been attempted to pin down to an extended contract.

Earlier this year, Birmingham boss Lee Bowyer lavished praise on the “fearless” youngster. Bowyer lauded his personality off the pitch as well as his quality on it, predicting that he will become a good player. He told Birmingham Live:

“[He adds] Goals, assists, pace, something that we probably lack a bit is pace. He’s at that age where he is fearless. When he came on against Stoke, he got himself into an area and wasn’t afraid to go at the defender.”

“I think he will be a good player. He just needs to keep working hard. Hopefully, this taste that he’s having will drive him on for next season,” Bowyer said.

“I like him as a person, his manners and he’s respectful. The senior players love him as well. He’s going to make mistakes, but he keeps going. He’s fitted into the group well.”

Bielsa would love him

Victor Orta could strike gold with a swoop for Miller this summer. Not every signing has to be made with the next season in mind and Miller could be a player who has the potential to become a key player for Leeds in the future, rather than making an immediate impact in the Premier League.

At the age of 18, he still has an entire career ahead of him and Leeds can afford to take their time with his development at the club.

This means that he could be a player Bielsa is able to work closely with over a number of years, providing the Argentine boss remains at Elland Road in the long term. As Bowyer said earlier this year, Miller has the quality to become an impressive player and the attitude to make his way to the top, which Bielsa would love as it suggests the teenager is willing to learn and ready to do what it takes to improve himself.

Miller has already made five Championship appearances for Birmingham despite his young age. Given that he has already been exposed to first-team football, he could be a player Leeds sign and then loan back out to the Championship or another league where they feel he could play regular football and continue his development.

Bielsa could then monitor his progress and keep in touch with the youngster ahead of potentially bringing him into the first-team at Leeds in the future.

AND in other news, Promising update emerges on £13m Leeds-linked dynamo that will leave Bielsa buzzing…

Leicester City are close to completing the signing of Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, just days after he secured the Ligue 1 title.

What’s the story?

According to Sky Sports, the Foxes are set to complete an £18 million deal for the 22-year-old after his compatriot Wesley Fofana convinced him to make a move to the Midlands outfit.

The report states that contractual details are yet to be finalised and that Soumare will first compete for France in the U21s Euros before confirming any transfer.

Fans will be buzzing

Soumare has been a long-term target for Brendan Rodgers’ side, who are keen to bolster their ranks after narrowly missing out on a Champions League qualification spot for the second consecutive campaign.

It appears as though Leicester have finally got their man, with just the formalities left to be completed, and the club’s supporters will surely be buzzing to learn of his imminent arrival.

The Frenchman made 32 league appearances for Christophe Galtier’s side as they spectacularly dethroned Paris Saint-Germain to secure their first top-flight in 10 years.

Although Soumare rarely grabs the headlines, scoring just once in 112 appearances for Lille, his influence over the team can be felt in many other ways.

Lille’s former CEO, Marc Ingla, described him as “a powerful and technical player who can evolve to several positions in the field” upon his arrival at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy back in 2017, and he has certainly lived up to that billing.

Soumare has drawn comparisons to ex-Manchester City man Yaya Toure in the past thanks to his lung-bursting drives through the centre of the park, but he’s much more than just an impressive athlete.

The youngster is extremely comfortable and competent with the ball at his feet and boasts an impressive passing range, attributes that should ensure a smooth transition in Rodgers’ system.

Adding a natural box-to-box midfielder to Leicester’s already impressive trio of Wilfried Ndidi, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison is extremely clever business from the Foxes’ hierarchy, and their impressive record in the transfer window looks set to continue.

And, in other news…Rudkin could land Leicester’s new Evans in £4.5m-rated beast who kept Mbappe quiet 

Writing on Twitter, reliable Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has shared ‘good news’ coming out of N17 in an exciting development involving sporting director Fabio Paratici.

The Lowdown: Paratici and Spurs…

The Italian chief, noted for his transfer dealings at Juventus before he left the club this year, has been heavily linked with an appointment as part of the Tottenham boardroom.

Currently, Lilywhites chief Steve Hitchen holds the title of ‘technical performance director’ and overseees most transfer activity at the club.

It is now being widely reported that Spurs could go back to the sporting director model with Paratici, and Gold has shared an exciting development.

The Latest: Gold shares exciting Paratici development…

Writing on Twitter, journalist Gold has shared an exciting development on Paratici amid all the noise surrounding a breakdown in managerial talks with Antonio Conte.

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Indeed, despite both Conte and Paratici having a close working relationship at Juve, the latter man is set to join Tottenham regardless.

Gold has even gone as far as to say that the 48-year-old has already started working.

“In good news though, as reported elsewhere, Fabio Paratici is expected to join Spurs soon regardless,” explained the reporter on social media.

“Understand he’s already begun planning potential sales for Tottenham and targets with those funds.

“Steve Hitchen is currently expected to remain within the structure.”

The Verdict: Silver lining for Spurs…

Conte to Spurs now looks dead in the water barring a dramatic twist, but a silver lining for the Lilywhites is the appointment of Paratici upstairs.

He is widely regarded as a capable director and known for the playing a huge role in bringing footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus.

Spurs will need to navigate the summer with due caution amid financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus, and they would struggle to find a more astute operator than Paratici to work with.

Indeed, now all that remains is for Spurs to get off the managerial-merry-go-round.

In other news: BBC pundit thrilled by ‘great news’ for Tottenham, find out more here.

Newcastle United have confirmed a major injury setback to one of their players ahead of their Premier League clash against Sheffield United with Ryan Fraser now confirmed to miss the remainder of the season and him now being a doubt to be fully fit for the European Championships.

The Scotland international of course arrived from Bournemouth last summer, but has endured an injury-hit campaign that has seen him play just 18 times in the Premier League for his new side.

The winger has been out of action for Newcastle since the end of March when he last played for Scotland in a 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands, and after confirming his absence for the game against the Blades, also responded to reports Fraser will still be named in the Tartan Army’s squad for the EUROs this summer.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the Blades tonight, the Magpies boss said: “As for Ryan, it has been a difficult time for him. He does desperately need a pre-season. Pre-season will be huge for him.

“Whether he is going to be picked in the Scotland squad, I think that would be a gamble as he has not played the last six or seven weeks. He has had no real football football or trained (in that time). Pre-season will be key for him. He didn’t have a pre-season the year before and last season’s was a non-entity really.”With no goals whatsoever in the Premier League, Fraser hasn’t really been able to show Newcastle why they signed him last summer, and why he was such hot property after the 2018/2019 campaign in particular for Bournemouth – he bagged seven goals and provided a whopping 14 assists in the top-flight alone as he and now Magpies striker Callum Wilson struck up a superb partnership.The hope will be that Fraser is able to recover from his injury and use the summer to get back to full fitness ahead of the new campaign, but his involvement for Scotland, when he hasn’t been able to play a single minute since March, is certainly eye-brow raising, especially for Bruce and Newcastle.It’s the age-old club vs country debate, and it appears that Bruce will be losing this battle for now.[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/newcastle-steve-bruce-premier-league-transfer-gossip-rumours-news-st-james-park-joelinton-shelvey-max-aarons” title=”Read the latest Newcastle transfer rumours and news!”]The Magpies boss will also be just as gutted that Fraser won’t get to return before the end of the season for the Magpies and at least show fans inside the ground a taster of what he can actually bring to the table when fully fit.Meanwhile, Steve Bruce is eyeing this 6 foot 5 titan…

Plenty of Aston Villa supporters have hit out at Anwar El Ghazi on social media for his performance against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

Villa hosted Thomas Tuchel’s side in front of their supporters for the first time since February 2020, with Dean Smith knowing that his team will end the season in 11th position.

Smith stuck with the same side which beat Tottenham on Wednesday evening, with Emiliano Martinez and Matt Targett ensuring they have started every league game this season.

However, it was El Ghazi’s display which had a number of fans talking online in the first half, and not for the right reasons.

The winger was making his 17th start of the Premier League campaign and 31st appearance in all competitions. The 26-year-old was coming up against Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta on the left-hand side of midfield, and struggled to get involved, crashing a header wide just before the interval as Villa led 1-0 at the break.

El Ghazi lost possession repeatedly, while his passing was also off-kilter throughout the match (SofaScore).

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa supporters had to say about the ‘lazy’ El Ghazi, with one fan feeling he must ‘work harder’.

“El Ghazi and Traore just not good enough IMO”

Credit: @caguitar

“El Ghazi and Traore need to pull their fingers out man!”

Credit: @Eddie_Lambert95

“Midfield anonymous. Traore & El Ghazi offering no protection. Hause doing well.”

Credit: @wilsterdavies1

“El ghazi and Traore not tracking back, need to get that sorted but otherwise great and well done to the fans in the ground.”

Credit: @Martin45015565

“Traore and El Ghazi being lazy.”

Credit: @RHAVFC

“#Villa under the cosh . Traore and El G need to work harder “

Credit: @richardmills18

In other news: Villa fans buzz at Sky Sports reporter’s transfer update, find out more here. 

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who is a Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Famer, has claimed that whenever he’s seen Pedro Neto at the training ground or Molineux he has been smiling and happy.

Neto has impressed during an indifferent season for Wolves which has attracted interest from Manchester United who are reportedly preparing a £50 million bid, however Bull told FFC last month that it should be closer to £75 million.

The Portuguese winger is only in his second season with Wolves but in the absence of Raul Jimenez, the £50,000-per-week winger has stepped up and has the most goals and assists at the club this campaign.

Speaking on how the fans have helped make Neto at home in the Midlands and how he always seems happy in and around the club, Bull told FFC:

“He’s delivered the goods on the pitch so the fans have taken to him really well by cheering him on every week, but I can’t think of any reason why he’d leave.

“When I see him at the training ground he’s got a massive smile on his face and that’s a big part of our football club, because I think if you see players with smiles on their faces when they’re working hard, then you know they’re in a happy place.”

It was reported by The Athletic earlier this week that Fosun International, the Wolves owners, will be looking to cut back on their usual transfer spending this summer.

Wolves have been looking for a box-to-box midfielder to potentially replace Joao Moutinho and Josh Brownhill is one name that has been touted as a potential signing.

If you’re a striker that’s played for Celtic in the last few years and your name isn’t Odsonne Edouard, it’s unlikely you’ll go down in history as a roaring success.

That isn’t necessarily the fault of the players, more the fault of Edouard who has been a red-hot goal-scoring machine for the Hoops.

He hasn’t enjoyed his greatest campaign in green and white but the Frenchman has still found the net on 20 occasions in 2020/21.

Unfortunately, after a year without a trophy, he could leave for the Premier League.

Finding his replacement will be imperative but the Bhoys will also need to find a successor for Patryk Klimala.

He is one of the aforementioned strikers who failed to ever get going in Glasgow. Signed in January 2020, he’s just left for New York Red Bulls after scoring just three goals in 28 games. In a few years time, it won’t be a surprise if supporters forget who he was.

If Edouard and Klimala both depart, it will leave Celtic fairly light on options in attack. Fortunately, they have a shrewd deal potentially right up their sleeve.

The Glaswegian outfit have been linked with a move for Peterborough forward Siriki Dembele over the last few months and if he fails to sign a deal south of the border, he’ll be available on a free transfer in the summer.

Brother of Karamoko Dembele, he shares plenty of similar traits. He is quick, energetic and can beat players for fun.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast this week, Posh Director of Football Barry Fry only had praise for the 24-year-old; “Siriki can get the ball in his own half and with dazzling dribbling ability, he can beat four or five players and score a wonder goal or cross it for somebody else to score.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-howe-lampard-klimala-ajer-gossip” title= “Read the latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Fry added: “He’s very, very exciting. He’s got the best stats outside the [English] Premier League, I think. We’ll try to keep hold of him if we go up, and we’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse! So watch this space.”

A player blessed with enormous quality, he has scored 11 goals in the third tier of English football this term. He’s also provided 12 assists for his teammates.

Evidently, there is more of a buzz to Dembele’s game than there ever has been with Klimala.

He is electric in possession and can finish chances with a sensational degree of confidence. For Celtic’s former Polish striker, everything looked a little sluggish and off the pace.

If Celtic can secure his signature on a free transfer, it would be an inspirational piece of business from Dominic McKay.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Celtic should hire jaw-dropping 47 y/o instead, he’s shades of Rodgers…

Many Liverpool fans have been left to laud an enquiry made about the possibility of signing Emi Buendia from Norwich City in the summer transfer window.

As per Anfield Central, Jurgen Klopp’s team have approached the Canaries about the 24-year-old, as they could be convinced to sell to reinforce their squad if they get promoted back up to the Premier League.

Buendia has been a big reason why Daniel Farke’s side are currently top of the EFL Championship table at the moment, scoring no fewer than 12 goals and making a further 16 assists in 35 games in total over all competitions so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, the Argentinian maestro could fill in the void left by Philippe Coutinho when he left the Merseyside club to join FC Barcelona – the Reds have never really signed a playmaker of a similar ilk since his departure.

Liverpool fans on Buendia enquiry

These Kopites lauded the enquiry made about Buendia on Twitter, with one LFC supporter even going as far as to claim that the midfielder is ‘insane’:

“A very good player. Would be a great addition.”

Credit: @LFCAnfieldRd

“About time”

Credit: @Jurgen69969482

“Class player”

Credit: @nomad56060053

“This guy in the Coutinho role”Credit: @TheRobboRoleV7″This guy is a baller. Pay the fee”Credit: @tylfc1″Insane player”Credit: @srrfarIn other news, find out what key update on four Liverpool stars Paul Joyce has dropped here!

Leeds United centre-back Pascal Struijk has been tipped to be a regular starter for the Whites next season, as he continues to develop impressively.

Leeds snapped up the centre-back from Ajax back in January 2018 and he has since gone on to become a key part of Marcelo Bielsa’s plans at Elland Road.

Struijk has made 27 first-team appearances for the Whites to date, including 20 in the Premier League this season, where he hasn’t looked out of place.

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Struijk tipped for starring role for Leeds

Still only 21 years of age, the future looks bright for the centre-back and that’s certainly the way former Leeds striker Noel Whelan sees it.

Speaking to Football Insider, the ex-Whites man went as far as to say that Struijk will be a key starter for Bielsa’s men in 2021/22:

“I mean he’s getting recognition from the Belgian national side under Martinez. That shows enough progress and potential to the manager and Leeds United to how important this kid is to us.

“He’s got a great future ahead of him. He’s aggressive, he’s dominant in the air and he’s got two good feet. He keeps getting better and better in that position.

“Struijk’s only going to get better as well now that Koch and Llorente are fit.

“He’s training next to them and he’ll be having a look at them. They’ll be getting to know each other a little bit better on the training ground. That will then progress on to first-team level on match day.

“There are lots of positives with him. He’s definitely, for me, one, that should be pushing to start the season next year.”

Transfer Tavern take

Struijk is a hugely promising young defender – one who former Leeds man Dominic Matteo recently claimed has ‘got it all’ as a player.

He has enjoyed an 85.7 percent pass completion rate in the league this season, showing that he can thrive in Bielsa’s ball-playing style, not to mention also averaging 1.9 tackles and interceptions apiece per match, excelling in his defensive work.

Struijk will have to keep working hard in order to oust the likes of Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper and Robin Koch, but Whelan’s comments suggest the club have a ready-made replacement for Cooper in the long term, who is set to turn 30 this year.

In other news, one Leeds favourite is set to be offered a new deal at the club. Find out who it is here.

Swansea City’s automatic promotion hopes suffered another blow as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Cardiff City in the South Wales derby on Saturday evening.

Aden Flint’s early goal for the visitors was enough to settle the game at the Liberty Stadium, which ensures that the remarkable statistic of neither side having completed a league double over the other will continue for another season at least.

Watford’s comfortable win over Birmingham also means that the Swans slip further behind in the race for second place in the Championship, as they now sit six points behind the Hornets with nine games remaining.

One man who particularly disappointed in his derby performance was left wing-back Jake Bidwell.

As per SofaScore, the former QPR man picked up a 6.4 match rating for his display, which was the worst of any player from both sides to start the game.

Despite having 40 touches of the ball, the 27-year-old managed just 10 passes during the game, which was the fewest of any Swansea player on the pitch including goalkeeper Freddie Woodman (17) other than Conor Hourihane, who was substituted off injured in the opening 20 minutes. [SofaScore]

Remarkably, Bidwell also played fewer passes than substitutes Yan Dhanda (12), Jamal Lowe (14) and his replacement at left-back Ryan Manning (11), despite all three having less than 15 minutes on the pitch. [SofaScore]

This emphasises just how little influence Bidwell was able to have on the game, which will surely be a massive cause of frustration for manager Steve Cooper, as the defender has been one of Swansea’s most consistent performers this season.

The wing-back also struggled in his battles with Cardiff players, as he was able to win just three of his nine duels during the game, with Cardiff left wing-back Joe Ralls winning seven of his 11 duels by comparison.

[freshpress-quiz id=“532484″]

Despite being rarely involved, Bidwell still managed to lose possession on 15 occasions during his time on the pitch and was also unsuccessful in both of his dribble attempts, to compound what was a truly woeful display from the 27-year-old.