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Friday’s Leeds transfer roundup focused on the confirmed signings of three up-and-coming youngsters. Today’s edition shines a light on Scottish interest in one of the club’s strikers, the pursuit of a rival club’s midfielder and the reported departure of a 19-year-old.

Rangers after Roofe

According to The Scottish Sun, Rangers are to try and sign Kemar Roofe if Alfredo Morelos leaves Ibrox during this transfer window. The Gers will reportedly make a £5m swoop for the 26-year-old, who scored 15 goals for the Whites in the Championship last year.

Kitching to join Forest Green

Forest Green Rovers have signed Liam Kitching from the Elland Road outfit for an undisclosed fee. The defender has reportedly signed a three-year deal with the League Two side.

Leeds eye Woods

Stoke City’s Ryan Woods is reportedly a target for Marcelo Bielsa and co should Kalvin Phillips leave Yorkshire this summer according to The Sun on Sunday (7/7; page 61, via HITC). The 25-year-old signed for the Potters from Brentford last summer and has since made 27 appearances for them.

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…Glen Johnson has urged West Ham United to sign Diego Costa this summer, per talkSPORT.

What’s he said?

The Hammers have been left with just two senior strikers after the departures of Marko Arnautovic, Lucas Perez and Andy Carroll throughout the transfer window.

And Costa has been heavily linked with a potential return to the Premier League, with EvertonÂcredited with an interest.

The Spain international, of course, spent three years at Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles and scoring a total of 58 goals in 120 appearances for the club.

And Johnson, who came through the ranks at the Hammers before a 2003 move to Chelsea, believes the Irons should swoop as they look to bolster Manuel Pellegrini’s squad.

He said: “I could see it happening at West Ham. I could see someone like that.

“Obviously, the club have shown over the years that if they want someone, they’ll go and get them and they could pay Diego the wages that, no doubt, he’ll demand. And I reckon he’d thrive being a big fish in a smaller pond. I’d love to see him back, I’d love to see him play for West Ham.â€

Asked if the club could merely be swapping one controversial striker for another after Arnautovic’s departure, he added: “Of course, if Arnie’s gone, I would’ve swapped the pair of them over anyway. I’d rather Diego in my team than Arnie, all day long.”

Nailed it

Costa would be the perfect striker signing for West Ham this summer.

This is a player with proven Premier League experience and, while he will turn 31 in October, he has all the skills required to be a hit in east London.

Costa is a physical striker, a nuisance for defenders and he has a hammer of a right foot.

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West Ham have already tasted defeat in their pursuit of Celta Vigo forward Maxi Gomez.

But the signing of Costa could be the ideal acquisition for the Irons this summer.

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Benjamin Mendy has seemingly still got a long road ahead in terms of his recovery.

Even though the Frenchman has been making some breakthroughs as of late, he was not included in the squad that went to China for the Premier League Asia Trophy and has not featured in the team ever since the Champions League quarter-final second leg clash against Tottenham.

But now, Pep Guardiola has provided the public with an official update on the defender’s status.

The coach hopes the left-back will be ready once the Citizens resume training back in Manchester after their pre-season tour.

Mendy is currently in Catalonia, where he is working on his big return to fitness.

And he has recently shared some new Instagram videos of his training sessions with a personal trainer amid the club’s official update.

Last season Mendy played a total of 15 games across all competitions and assisted five, which is a great return considering he had to miss 33 games with various injury issues.

If he can put his injury problems behind him after a solid period of intense pre-season training then this might just be the season for him to finally justify his £52m price tag.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

When Mesut Ozil was substituted against Chelsea in the Europa League final, his lacklustre, slow-paced walk suggested his time at Arsenal was probably coming to an end, but it might not be the case.

On the chalkboard

Arsenal have had to plot and plan a new way to rebuild after them missing out on the Champions League left Unai Emery and his staff with a reported transfer kitty of just £45m to spend.

While others have speculated about the truth behind this news, we’ve still seen Arsenal be tentative in the market, bidding £40m for Wilfried Zaha who’s valued at £80m, and struggling to offload players on big wages at the club.

Ozil is one of the players whose wages take up a big chunk of the final bill, with a reported £350,000 cheque going to the German every week.

Despite this, and his limited appearances under Emery last season, could the ex-Real Madrid man end up being the nucleus of the Arsenal team for the upcoming campaign? Pre-season preparations certainly suggest so.

Ozil at no.10

Perhaps, if you boast a luxury player on £350,000-per-week, you may as well embrace it and try and get the best out of him. Unai Emery did do this towards the end of last season and he started to include the World Cup winner more and more in a 3-5-2 formation.

In this summer’s pre-season, Arsenal have started more often than not with a 4-2-3-1 formation instead, with Ozil still starting as the number ten. Football London journalist James Benge has already commented on the midfielder’s increased work-rate in the game against Real Madrid, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has played well throughout the USA Tour despite playing predominantly out wide.

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Ozil playing as a number 10, with wingers around him to provide service to, could be the best way to get the best out of him and the Arsenal team alike. Last season we saw the midfielders being moved around and shifted into different formations to make way for the stellar front duo, but this year could be different.

Against both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, Emery fielded strong XIs, with Ozil playing centrally against both, which could be a strong indication of how he plans to line up against Newcastle on the opening day of the season. Ultimately, to fit the German into his best position, perhaps Alexandre Lacazette, or more likely Aubameyang, will have to sacrifice their roles up front to keep the balance in the side.

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Loads of Leeds United fans on Twitter have produced a predictable response to a centenary season ticket presentation pack that supporters are starting to receive in the post.

Images have appeared on the social media platform of the gift box, which includes a bottle opener and a scarf among other items.

While it is clearly a lovely touch from the Yorkshire outfit, it is clear to see that some of the Elland Road faithful are still feeling frustrated at their lack of summer transfer business – an ongoing theme in recent weeks.

While Ben White and Helder Costa have arrived – with Jack Clarke and Jack Harrison returning to LS11 on loan – Pontus Jansson has left for £5.5m and there appears to be a shortage of depth in both the centre-back and the centre-forward positions as they look to make up for last season’s play-off disappointment.

Owner Andrea Radrizzani hasn’t exactly spent much money either, with White and Costa arriving on season-long loan deals, and the club not having to pay £15m for the latter until next summer.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

Many supporters produced something of a cheeky response on seeing the season ticket pack, with one asking if “that’s where the Pontus money went?”

Here is just a selection of the rest of the Twitter reaction…

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Yesterday’s La Liga transfer roundup brought you Victor Camarasa’s potential exit from Real Betis, Youssef En-Nesyri’s anger with Leganes and news on the future of Brahim Diaz. Today’s edition shares Real Madrid’s interest in Donny van de Beek, Newcastle’s eyes on Ibrahim Amadou and a Spanish club’s chase for Chelsea’s Kenneth Omeruo.

Real agree deal for Van de Beek

Report: According to journalist Marcelo Bechler, Real Madrid have agreed a fee with Ajax for the signing of midfielder Van de Beek. An agreement has also been reached with the player, who will sign a five or six-year deal in the next few days.

Verdict: It seems that Real may have been left frustrated in their pursuit of Paul Pogba and have instead turned their attention to a more realistic – and cheaper – option. Whilst no fee was mentioned in Bechler’s report, Van de Beek is valued at £36m, which is an awful lot less than the £90m the World Cup winner is said to be worth. The 22-year-old was an ever-present for the Eredivisie champions last time out, appearing in all but one game in all competitions. He scored 17 goals and provided 13 assists from the middle of the park as well, and was fundamental as Ajax reached the Champions League semi-finals. Pogba may be the bigger name, but Van de Beek looks like the more intelligent purchase.

How likely is the deal? 7.5/10

Newcastle eye Amadou

Report: As per Estadio Deportivo, Newcastle are interested in taking Sevilla’s Ibrahim Amadou to St. James’ Park. Getafe are also looking at the player, as well as an unnamed club from Germany.

Verdict: Amadou only joined Sevilla last summer, but has failed to make a big enough impression for the La Liga outfit and made just 17 league appearances last time out. He was even one of the club’s worst performers, registering an average WhoScored rating of just 6.53. Los Hispalenses are looking to recover the €14.4m (£13.2m) fee they paid for him, but they have so far struggled to do so. With Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff linked with moves away from the North-East this summer, a central midfielder should be on Steve Bruce’s agenda, but with less than a week left before the transfer window closes, time is of the essence.

How likely is the deal? 6.5/10f

Leganes want Omeruo

Report: Marca is reporting that Leganes have made Chelsea’s Kenneth Omeruo a priority towards the end of this transfer window. The La Liga club are looking to conclude a deal worth between €4m (£13.7m) and €5m (£4.6m), but the Blues are said to want €8m (£7.3m).

Verdict: It says a lot about the number of players Chelsea have out on loan every season that Omeruo is their current longest-serving player despite never having made an appearance for the club. The Nigeria international has so far had seven short-term spells away from Stamford Bridge. Surely, after so long, it is about time he completed a permanent move away from South-West London in an attempt to settle at another team. The last loan was with Leganes, and he ended up making 31 appearances in all competitions for them and was amongst their better players. It seems harsh on the 25-year-old that Chelsea refuse to come closer to the Spanish club’s reported expectations when he clearly has no future with the Premier League outfit.

How likely is the deal? 8/10

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There was a lack of activity on deadline day over at Villa Park which happened to be quite the surprise considering manager Dean Smith had signed no fewer than 12 players for a total smashing past £130m.

Other than John McGinn’s new long-term contract announcement the only other news was the departure of midfielder Birkir Bjarnason who had his contract terminated just days before their Premier League opener against Tottenham Hotspur.

The 31-year-old joined the club in January 2017 in a £1.7m deal from Swiss outfit Basel, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.

During his time at the club, Bjarnason made 54 appearances and scored six goals. His sudden exit has caused quite the reaction on social media.

One supporter said it was a ‘strange one’ as the Iceland international was a good guy whilst another added that it was unbelievable that he was let go for free rather than getting some sort of money for him.

Others praised the move from the club claiming it was a nice gesture to allow a player that is unlikely to feature leave the club for free though some were gutted as he was a decent character at the club.

You can read the best of the reaction below:

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A number of West Ham United fans have hit out at Manuel Pellegrini’s decision to hand Angelo Ogbonna the captain’s armband against Brighton & Hove Albion.

The absence of first-team skipper Mark Noble meant that Pellegrini had to appoint a new captain for the Premier League affair at the Amex, and Ogbonna received the honour in what proved to be a 1-1 draw.

According to WhoScored, the 31-year-old made three successful tackles against Brighton but did not actually win a single aerial duel, which is not great for a centre-back.

It was not so much Ogbonna’s performance on Saturday that upset the West Ham fans, rather the decision to hand him the armband.

Indeed, when one West Ham fan claimed that the defender did not acknowledge the away supporters at the end of the match, a number offered their views on the situation.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Lots of Liverpool fans on Twitter have been sparked into a discussion about their former player Emre Can, after a report emerged revealing that he has been told he is no longer needed at Juventus by Maurizio Sarri.

The Germany international left Anfield in 2018 on a free transfer after letting his contract run down at the club, leaving in a respectful manner in comparison to Philippe Coutinho, who handed in a transfer request and paid his own money to force a move to Barcelona.

However, the 25-year-old has now been told that he is surplus to requirements in Turin, with Paris Saint-Germain and Can’s former side Bayern Munich interested in signing him.

He clearly didn’t feel his future was best placed at Anfield having ran down his contract to leave, but both Liverpool and the midfielder have had contrasting fortunes since his departure – the Reds have won the Champions League, whilst Can must now look for a new club.

Let’s see how the Liverpool fans on Twitter reacted to the news about their former midfielder…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Lucas Moura has explained how the hat-trick he scored for Tottenham Hotspur against Ajax has changed his life, per ESPN Brasil via Sport Witness.

What’s he said?

The Brazil international netted a barely believable treble in the Champions League semi-final last season.

Trailing 2-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate, Spurs needed a miracle in Amsterdam.

Lucas stepped up, scoring twice and restoring the club’s hope, before netting a brilliant goal in the 95th minute to send the club into their first-ever final.

And he has now lifted the lid on how his life has changed since.

He said: “At the time we had no comprehension of what we did.

“In the street, fans always come to talk about that game.

“Today I see a lot more fans with my shirt, and it also greatly increased my followers on social media!

“It’s very satisfying to know that you’re loved at the club where you play.”

A hero

Loved?

Lucas Moura is an icon in Tottenham now, a legend from a campaign in Europe in which Spurs fans dared to dream that they could become European champions.

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His goals, but, really, that third goal, are forever etched in Spurs folklore.

Shorn of Harry Kane, injured and watching in the stands, Lucas stepped up to drag Spurs back from the brink of elimination, completing perhaps the greatest comeback in their history.

He will be loved forever and a day in north London.

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