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West Ham United have now held talks about the signing of FC Lorient striker Terem Moffi, according to a new report.

The Lowdown: Interest in Moffi

There are said to be several Premier League teams interested in signing Moffi, with Everton considering an approach, although Southampton were recently considered the favourites for his signature.

However, the Saints have had a £15m bid rejected for the striker, meaning that West Ham could still hijack the move, if David Moyes is willing to table a higher offer.

The Latest: West Ham hold talks

According to a report from 90min, the Hammers have now held talks over the signing of the Nigeria international, and they are currently in the process of exploring whether a deal is possible.

The 23-year-old is not the only target outlined in the report, however, as it also details that the Irons have made contact with Sevilla about Youssef En-Nesyri.

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The Verdict: Make it happen?

En-Nesyri is clearly a quality player, far more dominant in the air, as indicated by winning an average of 3.15 aerials per 90 over the past year, compared to a figure of just 1.16 from the Lorient man, but West Ham need goals quickly, which Moffi would be able to provide.

The Nigerian has scored ten times in 16 Ligue 1 appearances this term, following up an impressive 2021/22 season, in which he netted eight goals and four assists in the French top flight, being lauded as ‘incredible’ by football scout Jacek Kulig for his efforts.

With Gianluca Scamacca struggling to find the back of the net, scoring just three in the Premier League this season, Moyes needs a new source of goals from somewhere, and there is every indication that Moffi has the talent to be a long-term success at the London Stadium, especially given that he is still at a young age.

Tottenham Hotspur are closing in on a deal to bring both Pedro Porro and Marcus Edwards to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent report by Portuguese publication Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness), who claim that Fabio Paratici is ‘not far’ from reaching a deal with Sporting Lisbon for both the right-back and attacking midfielder, with the Italian sporting director believed to be just €5m (£4.5m) away from activating the release clauses of the two players.

The report goes on to state that, with Ruben Amorim adamant that neither the 23-year-old defender nor the 24-year-old forward will leave the Estadio Jose Alvalade unless their release clauses are met – sitting at €45m (£40m) and €60m (£53m) respectively – Spurs are currently willing to offer €70m (£61m) for the duo, just €5m short of the €75m (£66m) required to land both players.

As for the reasoning why this €75m figure is considerably lower than the combined €105m release clauses of the pair, the Premier League club are believed to hold a 50% sell-on clause for Edwards, effectively halving the price Tottenham will have to pay in order to land the former England U20 international this winter.

“Unbelievable”

Considering just how impressive both Porro and Edwards have been in Portugal this season, coupled with Antonio Conte reported to be prioritising the signing of a new wing-back and forward in January, the argument that Paratici sealing a £66m deal for the Sporting duo would be an unbelievable coup for Spurs is an extremely easy on to make.

Indeed, over Porro’s 12 Liga Portugal appearances in the current campaign, the £22m-rated talent has been in exceptional attacking form, having already scored one goal, provided five assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.5 shots, making 2.2 key passes and completing 0.9 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the £10k-per-week defender who journalist Zach Lowy dubbed “special” average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.20, currently ranking him as Sporting’s fourth-best performer in the league and the joint 20th-best player in the Portuguese top-flight as a whole.

Meanwhile, over Edwards’ 15 Liga Portugal appearances this season, the £22m-rated trickster has been in similarly dazzling form going forwards, bagging five goals, providing four assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.5 shots, making 1.6 key passes and completing 1.6 dribbles per game.

These metrics have seen the £23k-per-week attacker who Andy Lapthorne labelled “unreal” and Joe Prince-Wright claimed is “unbelievable” average a rather remarkable Sofascore match rating of 7.15, not only ranking him as Amorim’s fifth-best performer in the division but also as the joint 27th-best player in the league as a whole.

As such, with both Porro and Edwards looking to be players who would greatly improve Conte’s current options in their respective positions on the pitch, should Paratici manage to get a £66m deal over the line for the duo this month, it would indeed represent an unbelievable piece of business by the Italian sporting director.

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita’s spell at Anfield has not gone to plan and the club are ready to move on, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Flop or not?

Whilst Keita has not been a complete dud at Liverpool, he has failed to replicate the form shown with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. 

His record number of appearances in a single Premier League season is 25. That came in his debut campaign, which saw him start just 16 games – his highest number of starts in a Reds shirt.

Each resurgence in form soon gets shattered as the Guinea international continually struggles with various injuries, most recently a hamstring setback which has so far seen him miss 23 games. 

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The Latest: Jones’ update

Amidst Keita’s fitness struggles throughout his time at Liverpool, transfer expert Jones has refused to label the star a flop. However, he does acknowledge that both parties look ready to move on.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said: “We should remember that Keita was of a very high level when they signed him, and it unfortunately just hasn’t quite gone as well as it could have.

“That signing wasn’t a bad signing; it just hasn’t quite worked out. So, of course, at this point, you’re willing to move on.”

The Verdict: Best for both

With Keita’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, Liverpool are running out of time to recoup some of their £52million investment.

According to transfermarkt, the former Leipzig star is currently valued at around £20million, so if Jurgen Klopp is willing to let him go then January will be their last chance to receive a healthy sum.

With reports popping up this week claiming the Reds have agreed to sign Benfica and Argentina star Enzo Fernandez, perhaps this could be a perfect one in-one out scenario next month.

Tony Mowbray’s Sunderland returned to Championship action with a bang as they beat Millwall 3-0 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

The Black Cats swept the Lions aside with relative ease in their first match back after the break for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and have moved up to tenth in the table.

Amad Diallo opened the scoring with a simple finish from close range after excellent work from Alex Pritchard down the left allowed Ellis Simms to flick the ball into the winger’s path.

Pritchard then doubled the lead as he brilliantly evaded a number of challenges in the box before rifling in an effort that was too hot for the goalkeeper to handle.

Simms rounded out the scoring in stoppage time as he raced onto a ball over the top and lifted the ball over the Millwall shot-stopper before passing it into an empty net.

Whilst Pritchard was pulling the strings in midfield all afternoon and was heavily involved in two of the goals, the real hero for Mowbray on Saturday was central defender Danny Batth.

The former Stoke City man was a colossus at the back for the Black Cats as he repelled attack after attack with his sublime defending alongside Luke O’Nien.

He was crucial to Sunderland picking up a clean sheet in the match and made vital interventions in the first half to keep the game at 0-0, which provided the attackers with a platform to go and win the game in the second half.

Batth made a goal-saving clearance off the line in the first half after Anthony Patterson watched the ball go over his head and consistently won his individual duels and was in the right place at the right time to cut out attacks.

As per Sofascore, he won 11 of his 14 battles (79%) and made ten clearances, one tackle, one interception, and four blocks across the 90 minutes, whilst not being dribbled past a single time.

These statistics show that the 6 foot 3 titan was sensational for Sunderland as he dominated the opposition from a physical perspective and put his body on the line multiple times to preserve the clean sheet.

He was also composed and reliable on the ball as he completed 81% of his attempted passes and only lost possession 12 times from 77 touches, which shows that he was not a liability on the other side of the game.

Premier League giants Chelsea are interested in signing Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves in the January transfer window, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

The Lowdown: Neves on the move?

The Portuguese talent stayed put at Molineux beyond the summer transfer window, despite looking almost certain to leave at one point.

Neves has been linked with a move to a number of clubs, including Manchester United and Barcelona, and it could be that he moves on next summer.

Another club have now seemingly entered the race to snap up the 25-year-old.

The Latest: Chelsea keen on Neves

Writing in his Substack column, Phillips claimed that Chelsea are eyeing up the signing of Neves in January as Graham Potter looks to improve his squad moving forward.

The journalist stated:

“I’ve been told over the weekend that Ruben Neves is once again coming up in recruitment conversations and is a player being recommended by some at the club as a midfield target we should push for in January.”

The Wolves midfielder’s current deal expires in the summer of 2024, so the Molineux hierarchy may feel that next year is the ideal time to earn a hefty fee from selling him.

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The Verdict: Only a matter of time

While it would be the dream scenario for Neves to see out the rest of his career at Molineux, where he has become a stalwart of 228 appearances, the reality is that he will surely be keen on a greater challenge at some point in the near future.

Dubbed an ‘amazing’ player by club and international colleague Jose Sa, the Portugal midfielder could want to test himself in the Champions League, and he is someone who could add fresh legs and class to a Chelsea midfield with multiple players in their 30s.

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Shipping Neves off next summer makes the most sense instead of in January, unless he decides to sign a new contract out of nowhere, at which point Wolves would then need to spend the money wisely on top-class signings to compensate for parting with their best player this season according to WhoScored metrics.

Leeds United’s push to return to the Premier League in 2020 created plenty of heroes at Elland Road, as they finally crawled out of the Championship and back to the big time since 2004.

Whilst Marcelo Bielsa was lauded as a legend in Yorkshire, there was a solid spine to the side that ensured their dominance resulted in a title win.

Patrick Bamford excelled with his goalscoring exploits, whilst Kalvin Phillips held down the midfield with poise and power.

However, loanee Ben White was the true rock that underpinned their defence success. In that campaign, they conceded just 35 goals throughout the 46-game season.

A Brighton & Hove Albion player, his presence in the Whites’ side was always to be short-lived, although fans quickly fell in love with him.

This love developed into a long transfer saga, when the Seagulls slapped a huge price tag on the English defender knowing his stock was at its highest.

Victor Orta would not budge on his own valuation, however, and after playing a season at the Amex White was later sold to Arsenal for a whopping £50m fee.

And, despite a somewhat shaky start last season, this campaign has seen White earn huge acclaim as he has deputised across the whole back line for Mikel Arteta’s sensational new-look Gunners.

Finding his main place at right-back, he gives a huge solidity that has seen his side concede only ten goals in the Premier League this season as they sit top of the tree.

The £120k-per-week stalwart was laughed at for his initial price tag yet has somehow managed to turn himself into a bargain.

He ranks in the top 15% for progressive passes and the top 17% for progressive carries of centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues, outlining him as a fine ball-playing defender who can get stuck in too.

This is proven in his average of 2.4 tackles and 1.6 clearances per Premier League game so far this season. The 24-year-old perfectly pairs finesse with the attributes that saw him labelled “solid” by journalist Clint Smith.

Leeds will be kicking themselves that they didn’t just fork over whatever Brighton wanted now, given how he has gone on to be at the core of a title-chasing defence.

Southampton have made a conscious effort to shift their transfer focus in recent years, aiming for wholly young talent to be nurtured into top-quality players.

Then, once they reach that level, they can either propel them up the table or sell for a huge profit.

This summer they did not sign any permanent deals for anyone older than 25, and last summer, other than Theo Walcott, they upheld the same principles.

Their second most expensive transfer that window was to obtain Romain Perraud, where they unloaded €13m (£11.2m) for the promising Frenchman.

The 25-year-old was coming off the back of an impressive offensive season for a full-back, where he scored three, assisted seven, and was named in the Ligue 1 team of the season.

Ralph Hasenhuttl obviously saw him as the perfect man to fill their vacant left-back role, with Kyle Walker-Peters having deputised well in that position.

However, since moving to St Mary’s, Perraud has never really got going.

He made 20 Premier League appearances last season, and despite being renowned for his attacking, only managed one assist and no goals.

This season, he has started in a similarly disappointing fashion, with just one assist in seven games this time.

These poor performances may have been bred by his injury woes and struggle to acclimatise to his new surroundings, which he admitted had been “tough”.

However, given the money they spent, they are yet to get any kind of return on him. His value has actually depreciated since signing in 2021.

CIES Football Observatory now rates him at just €7m (£6.1m), marking a miserable slump of 45%.

To think that he has been playing so poorly whilst sitting on a £39k-per-week wage makes it even more frustrating, as they were arguably better off when they had a makeshift left-back in his place.

With youth on his side, he still has time to grow into an impressive Premier League defender. But as it stands, this has been a miserable piece of business from Southampton at a time when they really needed to get it right.

There is a reason why they sit just a point away from the relegation zone after nine games.

Tottenham Hotspur star Ivan Perisic has been criticised after his ‘poor game’ in their 0-0 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

The Lowdown: Spurs share spoils…

The Premier League side were forced to share their spoils after 90 minutes of struggling to find any sort of breakthrough.

Chances weren’t exactly hard to come by, but on a night of mis-firing, the likes of Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Richarlison couldn’t quite find the finishing touch.

Indeed, Antonio Conte’s side racked up 11 attempts at goal in total but only two of them were on target (SofaScore), summing up the away side’s lack of cutting edge in the final third.

As such, Spurs remain level on points with Frankfurt in Group D but currently sit second due to their superior goal difference.

The Latest: Perisic criticised…

Taking to social media, football writer Andrew Gaffney has criticised summer signing Perisic for his ‘poor game’ against the German side on Tuesday evening.

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He explained:

“I thought Sess did well when he came on as Perisic had a very poor game.”

The Verdict: Off-day…

The Croatia international was withdrawn for Ryan Sessegnon with just under 20 minutes remaining, being the first of Conte’s array of subs in an effort to change the game (SofaScore).

That tactical change from the Spurs boss perhaps sums up an off-night for Perisic, who lost possession 16 times in total and found success with just one out of five crosses from out wide (SofaScore).

It appears the 33-year-old, who has been a brilliant acquisition for Spurs overall since joining from Inter Milan, was lacking that bit of ruthlessness as well as Kane, Son and Richarlison.

Leeds United could miss out on a deal to bring Cody Gakpo to Elland Road in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Phil Hay, with The Athletic journalist stating his belief in a recent episode of The Phil Hay Show that, despite Fabrizio Romano recently suggesting that the PSV Eindhoven winger will be a top target for Victor Orta in the winter market.

He added that, after Whites missed out on a £34m+ deal for the 23-year-old this summer, it would appear unlikely that the Netherlands international will remain in Leeds’ bracket by the time January comes around.

Speaking about the club’s interest in the forward, Hay said: “If Gakpo goes to the World Cup, if Gakpo has a good World Cup, if he has a good domestic season with PSV, his value is going to increase, his value is going to go up. I think he will move fairly rapidly into the Champions League bracket.

“So I would question, quite honestly, whether beyond this window Leeds have much chance of signing him at all. I’m not sure how realistic that is. That’s not to say that they can’t, but something tells me that if they were going to [try to sign Gakpo] beyond this window that’s just gone, then they’re going to have to seriously, seriously push the boat out.”

Not good for Orta

Considering just how exciting a talent Gakpo undoubtedly is, should Hay be correct in his claim that it was essentially now or never for Leeds to seal a deal for the 23-year-old, it is certainly not good news for Orta and his transfer team.

Indeed, the £27m-rated talent has already proven over his five Eredivisie appearances so far this season exactly why Leeds wanted to sign him. He has scored six goals, provided three assists and created six big chances for his team-mates, in addition to taking 4.4 shots (2.8 of which hit the target), making 2.8 key passes and completing 1.2 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the winger average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 8.64, not only ranking him as PSV’s best performer in the league but also as the best player in the Dutch top flight as a whole in 2022/23.

For context, Gakpo has already scored the same amount of goals this term that Rodrigo managed in 31 Premier League outings last season, registered the same number of assists that Raphinha managed across 35 top-flight games last term and has created more big chances than every single player in Jesse Marsch’s squad did – aside from Raphinha – in the club’s 2021/22 top-flight campaign.

As such, it is not difficult to understand why Hay is concerned that Gakpo’s form could see him become worth a great deal more than Leeds’ accepted £34m+ offer for the winger by the time the winter market rolls around.

Considering just how impressive a capture the Dutchman would have been for the Whites, that is sure to come as a huge blow to Orta, Marsch and supporters of the club alike.

Rangers had to settle for a draw in their Premiership clash this afternoon in a match which saw two red cards and a late equaliser.

The Ibrox side came into the match having won their opening three league games, whereas Hibernian only had four points from a possible nine. A slow start from both teams was no indication of what was to come in a frantic second half, with James Tavernier’s penalty giving the visitors the lead.

Martin Boyle equalised from poor Rangers defending and Tom Lawrence quickly headed Van Bronckhorst’s side back in front before two incidents totally changed the nature of the game.

Firstly, John Lundstram was sent off for a poor lunge on Boyle, who was attempting to start a counterattack. Less than ten minutes later, Alfredo Morelos was also giving his marching orders following a wild swing of his arm into the face of Marijan Cabraja.

Rather inevitably, Hibs equalised in the final few minutes with a nice half-volley from Josh Campbell, who ensured that the points were shared at Easter Road.

Tavernier was Rangers’ brightest spark

The Rangers “legend” was arguably the best player for the Ibrox side, coolly slotting a first-half penalty to give Van Bronckhorst’s men a half-time lead.

His SofaScore rating of 7.3 was the joint-highest in the Rangers team alongside Lawrence and Borna Barisic, while his 87 touches during the game were the most among the visitors’ line-up, showing his urgency to get on the ball and begin attacks from the back.

The Gers captain also made three tackles and three interceptions and succeeded with both his attempted dribbles. He was again the leader that the Light Blues needed, despite the disappointment of conceding a late equaliser.

The Dutchman will be delighted that his captain has signed a new extension to his contract at the club, as today it was evident that his cool head, especially when his team are under pressure, will be absolutely crucial going forward.

Despite the costly equaliser, Rangers can head into the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie against PSV Eindhoven in a confident mood. If Tavernier can replicate his performance from today in the Netherlands in midweek, the Gers could be sampling group stage football in Europe’s premier club competition.