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Leeds now face a major battle to sign Stade Brest full-back Romain Perraud in the summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

The Athletic’s Phil Hay revealed back in February that the 23-year-old Frenchman is someone who Marcelo Bielsa’s side are genuinely interested in, but it now appears that a deal won’t be as easy or straightforward.

According to The Daily Mail, Perraud’s performances this season in Ligue 1 have now also alerted French giants Lyon and Marseille of his talents, with the former potentially being available to offer Champions League football for next season.

The report adds that “Leeds want Perraud for their left-back berth as Ezgjan Alioski is out of contract in the summer and talking to Galatasaray”.

Exciting for Bielsa

With three goals and five assists in 30 Ligue 1 games this season, Perraud has been every bit of the attacking full-back that Bielsa would surely love to have at Elland Road given the Leeds boss’ style of play.

Speaking on his podcast, The Athletic’s Phil Hay said: “He’s starting to become one of the leading left-backs, seen by many people, as the best left-back or one of them in France’s top division.

“It’s very clear from the performance data that he’s a very attacking left-back, who is good at creating chances, taking shots himself, a threat going forward, but also really good at employing the press, good as part of a team that likes to press aggressively. On those basic pointers, you can see why Leeds are interested.”

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And a player profile from by Get French Football News revealed: “Romain Perraud rapidly became a fan-favourite at the Stade Charlety, thanks to some Roberto Carlos-esque rockets from outside the box. Keeping everything in perspective, Perraud’s style is, on some points, quite similar to the former Real Madrid full-back’s. He has a fighting mentality, an incredible shot power and a left-foot that has proven throughout the season to be a deadly weapon for set-pieces.”

With a “fighting mentality”, and as someone who presses well and gets forward, the 5 foot 8 speedster seems perfect for Bielsa-ball at Elland Road, and would surely hit the ground running.

Given his performances this season, it’s no surprise why Leeds are keen on signing the £7.2m-rated Perraud this summer, and it’s absolutely imperative Victor Orta does his job and convinces the 23-year-old that his future is brightest at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Leeds could form a scary Premier League duo by signing this star…

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Graham Roberts has told Football FanCast that he is not overly worried by Harry Kane’s injury as he does not believe he has seriously hurt his ankle.

The England captain limped out of Friday’s clash with Everton in injury time and was replaced by Dele Alli.

Kane appeared to have his ankle fallen on but he left Goodison Park without a protective boot and was not in crutches, sparking hopes that he could be fit for this weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, although the Evening Standard report he is likely to miss out against Southampton tonight.

Kane has been in unbelievable form in recent weeks, scoring eight goals in eight games, including braces against both Newcastle United and the Toffees.

That is despite Spurs’ poor form that ultimately led to the sacking of Jose Mourinho at the start of the week.

Roberts has experience of ankle injuries and he believes that Kane may have aggravated scar tissue from a previous setback.

Indeed, the 27-year-old has had no fewer than five ankle injuries throughout his career, per Transfermarkt.

Roberts told FFC: “He didn’t have a boot on, he didn’t have crutches, he walked out. I’ve had ankle injuries, and when you have ankle injuries, you get scar tissue.

“Yes he might have stretched a bit of scar tissue, or he might have just tweaked it, but it didn’t look as bad as the last time or the time before.”

Former Manchester United man Keith Gillespie has exclusively told Football FanCast he believes Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma would go into the Red Devils’ side straight away if he moved to the club.

talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham has claimed that the 24-year-old would be “exactly” the player that United need to sign this summer.

The club have a number of midfielders in their squad but the defensive midfield position is something of a weak spot.

Nemanja Matic is 32 and turns 33 in August, while Fred is more of a box-to-box midfielder than an anchor man.

Bissouma has impressed throughout his time at Brighton this season.

The Mali international has made 34 appearances in all competitions and statistically, he is one of the finest defensive midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues.

Per FBRef, he averages 3.37 tackles per game 1.52 interceptions, and 1.96 blocks, placing him in the top 25% of midfielders in Europe.

He is also seen as a similar player to West Ham United’s Declan Rice, per the website, and Gillespie believes he would be a great acquisition.

He told FFC: “How much would it cost to all of a sudden get him out of Brighton? For me, he could go into United’s side.”

A number of Everton fans have taken to Twitter to hit out at Mason Holgate for his first-half display against Aston Villa.

Carlo Ancelotti named the same side that beat Arsenal last time out – excluding James Rodriguez who was withdrawn in the warmup – with Holgate making his 23rd Premier League start of the campaign.

The 24-year-old, valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, has made over 100 appearances for the Toffees but made an early mistake at Goodison Park.

He lost the ball in a terrible area to Villa striker Ollie Watkins, with the latter punishing the Everton man to put the visitors in the lead.

Holgate has been the club’s eighth-best performer this season in the league prior to kick-off, as per WhoScored, recording an average Premier League match rating of 6.82/10, but his dawdling on the ball was cruelly punished by Watkins.

Everton fans react

This is what these Everton supporters had to say about Holgate’s first-half performance against Dean Smith’s side, with one describing the versatile defedner as ‘dreadful’ and another wanting him ‘gone in the summer’.

“Get Holgate off right now, absolute liability”Credit: @hxnnaheliza”Get Holgate gone in the summer”Credit: @HarryEFC”Holgate is absolutely dreadful”Credit: @LeeFMc83″Holgate again a complete liability. Too casual and not good enough”Credit: @realkitters”Get in the bin Holgate. So hard to watch this side lately”Credit: @GedEFC1878″Holgate is just nowhere near good enough for us.”Credit: @MHennessy7In other news: Many EFC fans buzz at Philippe Coutinho update, find out more here. 

Many West Ham United fans were far from happy with the performance of Issa Diop despite their 2-1 win over Burnley on Monday.

David Moyes’ side picked up a huge three points against the Lancashire outfit to maintain their hopes of clinching a European place. Chris Wood opened the scoring for Burnley before Michail Antonio netted twice to give his side the lead. The Irons are now back up to fifth in the table and are just three points behind Chelsea in fourth (Sky Sports).

However, despite the win, the performance of Diop left a lot to be desired. He did improve after the  interval but that was not too difficult after a very poor first 45 minutes. He often struggled when put under pressure by Burnley’s physical play, and he made a couple of particularly worrying mistakes.

These Hammers fans were far from happy with what they saw, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Diop

“Diop does worry me. One of the only players who’s gotten worse under Moyes”

Credit: @Daveyboymarra

“Diop is a liability, needs dropping, why is Moyes has a question mark over Benrahma but he always plays Nobes”

Credit: @Markwake14

“Diop was the weak link last night for me”

Credit: @brind_jon

“Harsh to drop Lanzini so I’d put him at the back over Diop. He’s been a bit of a liability lately”

Credit: @Hammer_Brooker

“Great performance although I’m unsure about Diop as I think he’s an accident waiting to happen. Lanzini was outstanding in that role. Great interplay between the players on the counter. Good win. Vital”

Credit: @ThomasT55927675

“Great performance aside of Diop who looks out his depth. Hopefully Ogbonna fit again soon.”

Credit: @bigvinwestham

In other news, many West Ham fans want this man signed.

Leicester City have been handed a huge boost in their pursuit of one of this summer’s major transfer targets.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Foxes have agreed personal terms with Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare, whilst they are “close” to an agreement with the French club over the signing of the 22-year-old.

With “many clubs” having reportedly enquired with the Ligue 1 giants over a potential swoop for Soumare, the fact that Brendan Rodgers is seemingly edging close to the signing will be a huge boost for Leicester ahead of next season.

In his time with Lille, the midfielder has harnessed the reputation as one of the most promising youngsters in world football.

He has already made 110 appearances for the club in all competitions since a move from Paris Saint-Germain and has played a key role as Les Dogues attempt to beat his former employers to the Ligue 1 title in 2020/21.

Even before his move to Stade Pierre Mauroy, Soumare was certainly showing promising signs.

Former Lille Director General Marc Ingla described the midfielder as “powerful” even before he had made his debut for the club.

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A naturally defensive-minded midfielder, Soumare would find considerable competition in the form of Wilfred Ndidi of the current crop at Leicester.

However, partnering him with the Nigerian could hand the Foxes one of the most dominant midfield pairings in world football.

Ahead of what could be a potential UEFA Champions League campaign in 2021/22, that midfield strength could certainly be a huge plus point for the East-Midlanders.

So having seemingly sealed a deal to sign Soumare, Rodgers’ midfield options, and squad in general, already look very, very strong.

AND in more news, Leicester have been handed worrying injury news over a key player ahead of the end of the season…

Newcastle must land Chelsea starlet Marc Guehi in the transfer window amid reports linking the Magpies with a summer move.

What’s the story?

Steve Bruce’s side have one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League this season, with their total of 58 goals conceded only better than three other sides.

It’s no surprise then that The Athletic claim that the Magpies have got their sights set on reinforcing the centre of their defence this summer, with the Tyneside club having watched Guehi this campaign.

The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Championship side Swansea, and has been a regular starter for them all season, with The Athletic adding that Newcastle are set to face significant competition to sign him.

Bye-bye Fabian Schar

Reports in recent days have suggested that Newcastle’s defence could face some upheaval, with the likes of Fabian Schar as one of the players whose contract is coming to an end this summer.

And if the Magpies do wave goodbye to the Switzerland international and opt not to renew his deal, then Guehi should absolutely be someone who they look to target.

The 6 foot centre-back has been a revelation at Swansea this season in the Championship, with his tally of 1.7 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game in the league ranking him in the top four among all his teammates – a sign of someone who’s comfortable being a front-foot defender and being aggressive, and who can drop off and pick off passes.

It’s no surprise then that his teammate at England U21 level, Josef Bursik, has waxed lyrical about the kind of dominant presence that he is.

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When asked who the strongest player in the squad was, he said: “Easy, Marc Guehi. He’s an absolute tank. It’s like having a brick wall in front of you, he’s massive.”

At just 20, Guehi has got all the time in the world to kick on from the season he’s had at Swansea, and if the Magpies do want to move on from Schar and look to the future, then the Chelsea starlet should be near the top of their summer shopping list.

Meanwhile, this man was Bruce’s unsung hero in the win over Leicester…

A number of Sunderland supporters have been left fuming after Chris Maguire didn’t even feature in the playoff loss to Lincoln City.

The Black Cats faced a huge game on Wednesday evening, making the trip to Lincoln for the first leg of their League One playoff semi-final.

It proved to be an extremely disappointing night for Lee Johnson’s side, however, who ended up losing 2-0, giving them a lot of work to do ahead of Saturday’s second leg clash.

One person who didn’t play any part in proceedings was Maguire, who has scored 28 goals in 123 appearances for Sunderland, also registering 26 assists.

When the Black Cats needed a goal, Johnson failed to turn to the experienced Scot, which appeared to be an odd decision, given his pedigree.

It remains to be seen if Maguire is used in the second leg, but it is clearly a decision that many fans would go with.

Sunderland fans angry at Maguire decision

These Sunderland supporters let their feelings to known on Twitter, criticising the decision.

“At the sixty-minute mark last night, you can bet that Chris Maguire was sitting on the bench thinking, ‘Come on, gaffer. Bring me on. I can make a difference here. This is my kind of situation’. Lee Johnson’s treatment of him continues to baffle me”

Credit: @Philip_RJ89

“Chris Maguire needs to start on Saturday”

Credit: @SAFC_Niall

“The whole Maguire thing at SAFC is just weird. You aren’t going to bring him on to see the game out when you’re 1-0 up so surely he’s on the bench for situations like last night where you need a goal. Why have him in the squad at all if he’s just gonna be ignored?”

Credit: @garethhern

“Johnson has been a disgrace in how he has handled the Maguire situation. His own ego has cost the club dearly. Maguire would run through walls for safc yet can get a start…. it’s personal”

Credit: @DarkKnightFTM

“Can’t decide what’s a bigger disgrace, our performance or the fact Maguire wasn’t given 1 minute”

Credit: @davidroper88

“A good manager gets the most from what he has. No one at all can tell me that Johnson is doing that. The treatment of Maguire is insane”

Credit: @_toosb

According to Football Insider, Tottenham are planning to sell Dele Alli this summer.

The Lowdown: Busy summer for Spurs

Tottenham finished the campaign in seventh place, meaning they will enter the Europa Conference League next season. As such, Daniel Levy and co will be preparing for a busy transfer window.

Harry Kane has already indicated he would like to leave Spurs this summer (Sky Sports), and there could now be another big name leaving the club.

The Latest: Spurs want to sell Alli

It is now being reported the Lilywhites are eager to sell Dele Alli this summer. He is said to be a difficult character behind the scenes, which has contributed to the desire to see him exit.

Daniel Levy and co are said to be willing to listen to offers for the £28.8m-valued 25-year-old (Transfermarkt).

The Verdict: Fresh start

Although he fell totally out of favour under Jose Mourinho, Alli has received plenty more playing time under interim boss Ryan Mason. He has actually started each of the last five Premier League matches of the season (Mason even called him “excellent” recently, indicating a slight resurgence.

Alli’s influence on the Tottenham team has decreased steadily since the 2016/17 term when he netted 18 times in the league. It seems he has little future at Spurs, but he is still just 25 years and has plenty of time to retrieve his previous form. A fresh start could well be best for all involved.

In other news, David Ornstein makes this Harry Kane claim.

Mick McCarthy has been handed a huge boost in his bid to bring Jonson Clarke-Harris to Cardiff City this summer.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with This Is Futbol, Peterborough United’s director of football Barry Fry revealed that his club will simply not be able to afford to keep the 26-year-old centre-forward at London Road this summer, as they cannot match the potential contract offers of interested Championship suitors such as Cardiff City.

The 76-year-old said: “Without divulging, the player’s not on a fortune. At our level, you don’t get a fortune and at Peterborough, you don’t get a fortune.

“Throughout the last 25 years, we’ve put players in there, we’ve developed players, and the owners have put so much in, and it’s my job to sell a player to offset the losses. We’ve done that very, very successfully – over the last 15 years in particular.

“How we attract players in, we say ‘look, you’re not going to become millionaires with us, we’re little Peterborough United, but what we will do is give you a stage and if you perform, then people will buy you off us and they’ll give you lucrative contracts.'”

Fans must be buzzing

The news that Clarke-Harris looks rather certain to leave Peterborough this summer is likely to leave many Cardiff fans buzzing, as the striker -whom Posh value at around £8m – has proven this season that he is a goalscorer of the highest calibre.

Over his 45 League One appearances for Darren Ferguson’s side, the £225,000-rated predator scored a whopping 31 goals, registered three assists and created 11 big chances for his teammates. That’s in addition to averaging one key pass and hitting the target with 1.3 shots per game, culminating in a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.24 – ranking him as the club’s second-best performer in 2020/21.

As such, Clarke-Harris appears to be following the footsteps of former Peterborough United hitman Ivan Toney, who bagged 24 goals and provided five assists over his 32 League One appearances for Posh in their 2019/20 campaign before securing a £5.04m move to Championship side Brentford.

Toney has actually improved on his returns from that campaign, scoring 31 goals and registering 10 assists over his 45 Championship fixtures in the season just gone, and he is now one step away from securing Premier League football with the Bees after firing Thomas Frank’s side to the play-off final.

As such, if Clarke-Harris can indeed replicate the form of Toney following a potential move to Cardiff, the Bluebirds’ chances of securing a play-off spot next season could receive a huge shot in the arm, leading us to believe that McCarthy should be doing all he can to get a deal over the line this summer for the man who Ferguson dubbed a “leader”.

In other news: Major £15m Cardiff transfer development emerges which is sure to have fans buzzing – opinion