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Bundesliga side RB Leipzig have become the latest side to show an interest in Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer.

The Lowdown: Plenty of clubs keen on Ajer

Leipzig aren’t the only side keen on the Norway international. Premier League sides Newcastle United and Norwich City have been credited with an interest in the 23-year-old, along with Bayer Leverkusen.

Ajer has recently confirmed his intentions to leave Parkhead this summer, and it seems he now has a new club keen on his services.

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The Latest: Reports in Germany

German outlet Fussball Transfers, cited by Inside Futbol, claim that Leipzig are keeping an eye on Ajer.

They view the Hoops ace as a potential summer signing after they lost Ibrahima Konate to Liverpool.

Leipzig were prepared to lose Dayot Upamecano, who decided to join Bayern Munich, but it appears as if Konate’s exit has resulted in their interest in Ajer.

The Verdict: Have Liverpool done the Hoops a favour?

Liverpool agreed on a £36m deal for Konate last month, and that move could well prove to have a positive knock-on effect at Parkhead.

Newcastle thought they were edging closer to a £6m deal for Ajer in May, however, no transfer has been finalised.

Fussball Transfers claim Norwich have launched a €12m (£10.2m) offer recently, and you’d hope that could go up going off Leipzig’s interest.

Celtic could do with having multiple sides firming up their interest, including Leipzig, as you’d expect that would increase their chances of sides embarking in a bidding war for the defender – Leipzig especially could now become desperate in their centre-back department.

Therefore, the Hoops could receive a higher fee than the £6m reported last month, which could then allow new boss Ange Postecoglou to spend more ahead of the 2021/22 season.

In other news: Postecoglou wants 10-honour captain; he is a big fan of Celtic coach, find out more here. 

Cristiano Giaretta has been handed a boost in his bid to bring Siriki Dembele to Watford this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Peterborough Telegraph, who claim that Peterborough United are yet to enter into contract renewal talks with the 24-year-old centre-forward, who is heading into the final year of his deal at the Weston Homes Stadium.

The report goes on to state that if the forward does not new agree on terms with this summer, he will be placed on the transfer list, as is club policy.

This is sure to have piqued the interest of clubs such as Celtic, Rangers, Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Watford, all of whom have been credited with an interest in the Posh star.

Giaretta will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Dembele has been for Peterborough this season, if the forward does indeed go on to be placed on the transfer list this summer, Watford’s sporting director would undoubtedly be buzzing.

Over his 42 League One appearances for Darren Ferguson’s side this term, the 24-year-old has scored 11 goals, registered 10 assists and has created a whopping 17 big chances, as well as taking an average of 1.8 shots and making 1.5 key passes per game, culminating in an average Sofascore match rating of 7.06 – ranking him as the club’s joint seventh-best player in the third tier.

It was reported last year that Barry Fry would demand a fee of around £5m to part with the forward, however, with just one year left on his deal at the Weston Homes Stadium, and with Posh likely eager to sell in order to receive the largest fee possible, it is not difficult to imagine this figure being slightly lower in the upcoming transfer window.

As such, a move for the £2.6k-per-week man – whom Ferguson dubbed as “outstanding” – would seem to be extremely appealing for Giaretta both on and off the pitch, as Dembele appears to very much have the potential to prove a real threat within Xisco Munoz’s attacking arsenal, as well as being a transfer that would not break the bank for the newly-promoted side.

In other news: Watford dealt transfer blow over “excellent” £450k-rated gem, Giaretta will be gutted – opinion

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has been handed a major blow as fresh news emerges on their transfer battle with Arsenal over Norwich’s Emi Buendia.

What’s the story?

The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece had initially revealed via Twitter: “I’ve just been told Villa & Arsenal both lodged bids yesterday. Emi Buendia currently with Emi Martinez ahead of Argentina’s #WCQ with Chile at 1am UK time. Contact has informed me that Buendia knows of #AVFC and Arsenal interest.”

However, according to Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, Villa have suffered a major setback in their pursuit of the Argentine.

Via his official Twitter account, he revealed: “#Arsenal and #AstonVilla have made formal bids for Emiliano #Buendia. The player’s priority is Arsenal.”

Fans will be gutted

The battle between Villa and Arsenal to see who signs Buendia this summer promised to be a real measuring point of just how far Smith’s side have come in such a short space of time.

You only have to think back to this time last year when the Midlands club were fighting to stave off relegation back to the Championship, and Arsenal were heading for FA Cup glory, that the two wouldn’t be in competition with another.

Alas, such has been Villa’s sharp rise that there may have real confidence from Villa fans that Buendia would turn down the Gunners and choose them, especially given the exciting project on which they’re currently embarking under Smith.

Instead, Konur’s claim that Buendia’s “priority” is Arsenal is a hammer blow, not just because of the kind of player they would be missing out on, but also that they seem to have lost the chance to make a massive statement to the rest of the Premier League and beyond.

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Villa fans must be absolutely gutted with the latest update on Buendia.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith is eyeing up this Premier League striker…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Scottish Premiership defender Michael Ball believes Celtic fans want to see a big-name manager like Jose Mourinho arrive at the club, in a damning verdict of the pursuit of Eddie Howe.

Prior to accepting the job at AS Roma, there was some talk about Celtic being keen on bringing the ex-Tottenham boss to Glasgow.

Nothing, of course, materialised and Howe remains the frontrunner to permanently succeed Neil Lennon in the Celtic Park dugout. Lucien Favre has also reportedly been interviewed for the role in a potential twist.

Having lost out on the Scottish Premiership title to rivals Rangers, though, Ball feels supporters desperately want a manager of Mourinho’s profile to come in and prevent a repeat of this season.

On Celtic’s manager search, the retired full-back told FFC:

“Speaking to a lot of Celtic fans, they’re reaching for the top, they want the best of the best. I think there’s obviously a lot of talk about Eddie Howe right now, but Celtic… their demands as fans are huge and they want to push Steven Gerrard as much as possible to bridge that gap, so they want the biggest names available.

“Now even when Mourinho was available before the Roma job, they wanted him, so whether that board can go out and attract that type of manager is a different question, but what the fans want will be a big name.”

Given what Mourinho has accomplished in the game, bringing him to Celtic Park would have been some coup.

With that no longer an option, however, you would expect the Bhoys to continue in their pursuit of Howe.

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, former Newcastle United centre-back Steve Howey has claimed that Mario Lemina would not be liked by the fans if he cared more about his social media than the club.

Lemina, who posted a bizarre video on social media back in 2019 when seemingly trying to engineer a big move away from Southampton, has been linked with a move to Newcastle this summer despite failing to keep Fulham in the Premier League this season during his loan spell away from St Mary’s.

The £40,000 per week midfielder, who regularly uses the hashtag #TonicLikeLeminade on his Instagram account, had been linked with a move to Manchester United back in 2019 but since then he has lost his place in the Southampton side and failed to impress at Fulham, with a 6.58 WhoScored rating.

Speaking on why Newcastle fans wouldn’t like their club to sign Lemina and why the midfielder must be careful what he is like off the pitch, Howey exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“Even if he performs on the pitch then I still wouldn’t want to see him doing a lot on social media because there are an awful lot of people that don’t have a lot of money, and they won’t want to see somebody on social media flashing their new house or car.

“I mean, obviously with Lemina, if he is like that and the Southampton fans are not happy with him then can you imagine what Newcastle fans would think of him?”

Steve Bruce has confirmed that he would love to bring Joe Willock back to the club this summer either permanently or on another loan deal after the 21-year old’s impressive performances since January.

Newcastle are well stocked in Lemina’s position as they have Jonjo Shelvey, Sean and Matty Longstaff, Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick all on long term deals.

According to an update by reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, via City Xtra, the Sky Blues are next targeting a new deal for winger Raheem Sterling – coming after Kevin De Bruyne recently committed his future to Manchester City.

The Belgian extended his stay until 2025 last week and has since repaid that faith with an outstanding second leg Champions League outing against Borussia Dortmund to help City into the semi-finals.

Now, providing an update on the Sky Blues, Romano has revealed that the club and sporting director Txiki Begiristain are planning a contract offer for Sterling next as City aim to secure their first team stars.

As well as this, City could look towards a new deal for sensational starlet Phil Foden ‘within the next year’.

Flocking to this Romano update, plenty of Citizens dropped their wide array of verdicts on the news with most of them seeming excited by this development – whilst a minority had mixed reviews.

Given Sterling’s brilliant 113 goals and 86 assists since joining the club, it’s little wonder most City supporters are ecstatic at the thought of possibly tying him down.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

Man City fans flock to Romano claim

“YESSSSSS”

Credit: @M7Zach

“Please let him sign”

Credit: @VirgioRepulic

“SIUUUU”

Credit: @kae_16_

“Yessir”

Credit: @Jamesmcfc101

“Oh brother”

Credit: @trevsenpai

“I’m happy for Sterling now…”

Credit: @4Foden

“Cmon”

Credit: @McfcArena

“He better not get a wild pay rise.”

Credit: @Creber_

In other news: Man City fans fumed at this official announcement, find out more here.

Fans of Glasgow Rangers have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which Rangers relayed footage of a goal scored by Ianis Hagi against the club’s upcoming opponents on Wednesday evening.

In the footage, Hagi picks up the ball from a wide position, before driving infield and unleashing a specular long-range drive that manages to find the bottom corner of the St Johnstone net, a goal that secured all three points for Gers in the Scottish Premiership fixture back in February.

So far this season, Hagi has been in fine form over his 28 appearances for Steven Gerrard’s side, scoring six goals and providing nine assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.93.

And, after Rangers shared the footage of the 22-year-old’s strike against St Johnstone on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many speculating as to whether the clip was a hint that the Romania international could be starting against the Saints once again on Wednesday evening.

So, what exactly did these Rangers fans have to say in reaction to the footage of Ianis Hagi?

“Good goal vs St Johnstone, Hagi. Would like to see another one tonight.”

@cjnovo992

“Is this code for Hagi’s off the bench and getting a game tonight?”

@strypeyblue

“Same again tonight please, Mr Rangers.”

@tomcandrews1

“Tonight I hope.”

@Joe_Pattenden1

“Repeat tonight?”

@Goatamendl

“Absolutely love him as a player.”

@cydnie_13

In other news: ‘What did I just hear?’ – These Gers fans slam ‘dinosaur’ as ‘disgraceful’ Kamara claim emerges – find out more here!

Leicester City are reportedly in a race with fellow Premier League rivals Arsenal to sign Ismael Doukoure, according to Foot Mercato.

As per the news outlet, RC Strasbourg have approached the central defender, but Brendan Rodgers’ team are still keeping a close eye on him as well as the Gunners.

Doukoure is already being compared to Dayot Upamecano with his precocity and position, and is under contract at Valenciennes until June 2023.

Doukoure one for the future

If Doukoure is to turn out anything like young French centre-back Wesley Fofana has for the East Midlands club so far, then he is certainly a talent that they should really be considering to pick up.

The 17-year-old is already playing in men’s football with no fewer than 15 games played so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt), and will no doubt only get better with the experience that he has gained.

He has impressed in various parts of his game in Ligue 2 so far this season, winning 2.9 of his duels per match in addition to averaging 1.6 clearances an appearance (Sofascore).

Playing in a better league like the English top flight will only improve him further, and Rodgers is certainly a manager more than capable of getting him to fulfil his full potential.

In other news, find out what Champions League update has left Foxes fuming here!

According to transfer reports, Leeds remain interested in signing Sampdoria defender Omar Colley this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the 1.91m-tall (6 foot 3) defender is of interest to Marcelo Bielsa’s side ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window, and it now appears that a deal is very much there to be done.

According to ClubDoria46 (via Sport Witness), Sampdoria’s owner Massimo Ferrero is looking for a price between €10m and €15m (£8.6m-£12.9m) in order to sell him.

The report added that, along with Leeds, fellow Premier League sides Fulham and West Ham are also interested in signing the centre-back.

Bielsa will be relieved

Amid an impressive return to the Premier League this season, one of the big problems Bielsa has faced at Elland Road has been Leeds’ difficulty in dealing with set pieces – their tally of 15 conceded is the highest by far of any team in the division.

In signing Colley, Victor Orta would go a long way to addressing that problem, giving the Whites a centre-back who is an absolute monster in the air. This season has seen him win 2.9 aerial duels per game, which would rank him second among Bielsa’s current squad, with only club captain Liam Cooper averaging more with 3.9 per match.

In addition, as per Whoscored, his average of 2.6 interceptions per game would rank him first among all of Leeds’ players, while his 4.2 clearances per match also sees him comfortably above any of Bielsa’s current squad.

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Colley appears to have that ‘safety-first’ mentality which might just give the Leeds manager a completely different option to what he currently has at his disposal.

Rather than having his strengths being able to play out from the back, Colley excels more so within the width of his own penalty area. Just having a player like the Sampdoria ace who relishes the ‘dirty’ side of the game might just help Leeds shore things up more firmly.

Meanwhile, Leeds are facing a transfer battle to sign this midfielder…

Many West Bromwich Albion fans are delighted after the club confirmed they will remain sponsored by Ideal Heating for three more years.

The Baggies’ future in the Premier League looks very uncertain at the moment. As it stands, they are 10 points from safety with just nine games left to play (Sky Sports) – it will take a monumental late run of form for them to survive among the elite.

However, at least they appear to have some of their off-the-pitch affairs in order. The Baggies’ partnership with the UK’s largest heating firm started in 2018, and they have now confirmed that the deal will continue for another three years. Fans of other clubs may also be delighted that the iconic Boilerman mascot will be staying at The Hawthorns.

The news was shared on Twitter by West Brom’s official account, and it attracted plenty of attention from Baggies supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the club’s update.

Let’s see what the West Brom fans had to say below

“Three more years. THREE. MORE. YEARS.”

Credit: @BradleyTiernan

“HE STAYS”

Credit: @WbaOllie

“Better than a betting company”

Credit: @Ben95620779

“Fair play! As sponsors go they haven’t been too bad at all.”

Credit: @WBAcambolia

“Great news, glad we won’t have some gambling company on the shirt”

Credit: @albion_gaming

“Best signing we’ve made this year”

Credit: @JoshhhWBA

In other news, many West Brom fans react to this stunning Europa League display.