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Gustavo Hamer’s arrival at Coventry City from PEC Zwole has seen Dutch giants Feyenoord receive a sum of €300,000 (£270k).

The 23-year-old defensive midfielder became Mark Robins’ first signing ahead of their return to the Championship after gaining promotion from League One to the Championship via the automatic route.

Hamer, born in Brazil, has plenty of experience having featured for Feyenoord, where he developed through the various youth sides and made his official debut against Ajax in 2017.

Having featured for Feyenoord at youth level, the move to Coventry has now seen the Dutch Eredivisie side pick up a sell-on clause.

Hamer joined Coventry for a reported €1.5m (£1.35m), putting pen to paper on a three-year-deal, seeing him commit to the club until July 2023.

Former club Zwolle signed Hamer from Feyenoord back in 2018 for just £270,000 and that will now be paid back to Feyenoord as part of his initial deal.

Hamer is not the only new face to join the Sky Blues after Julien Costa moved to the Midlands earlier this week.

A nice little pay out for Feyenoord which is only right nowadays for clubs who develop players. Overall, Hamer looks set to be a good signing for Coventry and his arrival is exciting for Mark Robins and the club’s fans.

Coventry are going to approach the Championship in the best condition they can under Robins, who should be given a lot more credit for the job he has done with the Sky Blues.

Do you think Hamer will be a good signing for Coventry? Let us know in the comments section below…

According to journalist David Tanner, Rangers may well make a move for Livingston striker Lyndon Dykes this summer.

What’s the word?

The 24-year-old enjoyed a fine season for the Scottish side, proving himself to be a reliable goal-scorer and goal-creator for Gary Holt’s men, scoring 12 times and providing a further ten assists.

Are you a massive Rangers fan? Know everything about the club? Well do you know your Gary Stevens from your Michael Ball? This quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…



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And after Rangers boss Steven Gerrard confirmed that Jermain Defoe had suffered an injury and hinted at potentially doing some business in the transfer market to help ease that worry, Tanner claimed on Twitter that Livingston may be getting a call for Dykes.

Complete striker

Speaking earlier this year ahead of their clash against Livingston, Gerrard himself waxed lyrical about what Dykes can bring to the table. He said: “They’ve got a forward in-form in Lyndon Dykes who’s having a real good season, who is capable of playing in the air or on the floor, he’s quite dangerous.”

In fact, Dykes’ 22 goal contributions for Livingston last season meant that he was involved in more than half the times that his side found the back of the net in the league – they scored 41 times in total.

Rangers centre-back Nikola Katic admitted that defending Dykes can prove to be a very troublesome task, even comparing him to Alfredo Morelos too. He revealed: “When you play against a striker like Dykes it’s always tough too because he is really good. Almost he’s on the same level as Alfredo and I think he will become a really top player, it is always hard to play against him.”

Judging by the kinds of glowing comments Dykes has earned from those of a Rangers persuasion, Ross Wilson would certainly be pulling off a masterstroke by bringing in the talented striker to Ibrox.

Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson has been handed a boost ahead of next season with the return of Grant Leadbitter to training.

The midfielder initially began his career with the Black Cats before spells with Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough.

Returning to the Stadium of Light in January 2019, the 34-year-old made 14 League One appearances during the 2019/20 season but was handed a spell of compassionate leave in February due to personal reasons.

With Parkinson keen to bounce back next term after the club’s second consecutive failure to gain promotion from League One, Leadbitter’s return could hand him an experienced option in midfield – he has racked up 533 appearances in his senior career.

With the League One outfit back on the training ground recently, £1.44m-rated Leadbitter was among the returnees, as reported by Sunderland Echo, taking part in a session at the Academy of Light.

A handful of players took part in the session having passed the various pandemic tests and performed a light training session before getting on the ball in small groups.

This news should be a boost for Parkinson, who has a very small squad to call upon at the present time.

Leadbitter offers a wealth of experience, having already played 158 times for Sunderland, and he could be used as a focal point and leader for next season.

Do you think Leadbitter can play a big part in Sunderland’s 2020/21 season? Let us know in the comments section below…

AC Milan have ‘intensified’ their efforts to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier this summer, reports say. 

Tottenham are reportedly trying to get rid of the right-back while AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli ‘dreams’ of signing the 60-cap Ivory Coast international in the summer.

According to SportMediaSet, as relayed by Ricky Sacks, talks have escalated between the two clubs over the past few days. 

At the moment Milan have five players who can play on the right flank, including Andrea Conti, David Calabria and Pierre Kalulu at the back, while wide options Samu Castillejo and Alexis Saelemaekers operate on the right wing.

The Serie A giants know they need to sell either Conti or Calabria before they can sign the ex-Paris Saint-Germain ace.

And Spurs boss Jose Mourinho must find a suitable replacement as soon as possible.

It is understood that the Lilywhites will let the full-back leave on the proviso that the Portuguese is provided with a viable alternative.

Aurier has apparently already agreed to move to the San Siro as he has made it clear he will not sign a new deal in north London.

The Ivory Coast captain fell out of favour with former boss Mauricio Pochettino, but has become a first choice starter under Mourinho, as Kieran Trippier’s departure to Atletico and Kyle Walker-Peters’ loan spell at Southampton left him the club’s only designated right-back.

He was heavily linked with a move away from north London over a year ago, as speculation about his future continues to circulate on social media.

When it comes to Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman wants to sell him for something close to the £23m he paid Paris Saint-Germain three years ago,

While selling Aurier will raise some much-needed funds, the Lilywhites will have to reinvest the money into the transfer market to find an upgrade, which may be easier said than done, give the current circumstances.

It seems as though it is only a matter of time before Walker-Peters heads out the door permanently, which will leave Mourinho desperately short of right-backs. Simply put, Spurs may be forced to sit tight and keep the Ivorian for another year before considering their options at the end of next season instead.

Tottenham fans, should Levy sell Aurier this summer or hold firm for another while? Let us know your views in the comments below!

According to The Scottish Sun, Leeds United are set to make an improved bid of £14m to Glasgow Rangers for Ryan Kent.

The 23-year-old has already been the subject of a £10m offer, but that was turned down by the Ibrox outfit.

Now, the Whites are set to return with an improved bid of £14m, whilst they could offer the left-winger £50,000 a week to make the move to Elland Road.

So far, the Gers have been strong in their stance as they reportedly made it clear that they will not sell Kent this summer, no matter the price. However, a bid like this makes it far more difficult to stick to their word.

On the face of it, it is hard to see what he has done to merit such interest. After signing for £7m last year from Liverpool, he managed just eight goals in 33 matches, and he has received criticism both from the fans and pundits, who have questioned his ability to put the ball into the back of the net on a regular basis.

This term, though, with three goals in his first five matches in the league, he has already started to silence those doubters, and at 23 he has plenty of time to improve. As a result, even such a big approach is unlikely to be enough for the Gers to part ways, especially as they go in search of a first major trophy since 2011.

Let us know what you think below!

Aston Villa’s pursuit of a new striker received a blow earlier this week as Callum Wilson chose one of their Premier League rivals instead, but maybe it’s time for Dean Smith to turn his attention to another mooted target…

What’s the word?

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, Celtic talisman Odsonne Edouard is “still a live target” for the Midlands outfit having been linked with him for most of the off-season.

His agent has previously confirmed their interest but no official contact had been made between the two clubs over a potential deal.

While Mike McGrath at the Telegraph believes it would take an offer of around £40m to convince the Scottish champions to sell their star man this summer – the likes of Leicester City and Arsenal have also been linked with moves.

Top target?

If he’s not, then he should be.

It’s no secret that Smith needs a new striker to improve their fortunes in front of goal and they should look no further than Edouard, that’s if he continues to be put off by Brentford’s valuation of Ollie Watkins.

There won’t be a better time to pounce than now after Celtic were knocked out of the Champions League last month and playing in the Premier League would aid his chances of actually getting a crack at the big time given the places on offer.

Edouard has delivered each and every season for the Hoops, bagging a total of 64 goals in 130 appearances whilst last season he provided a whopping 27 goals and 19 assists, as per Transfermarkt.

His influence under Neil Lennon is integral to their success, as seen in comments from the man himself, who once said: “He’s hugely important (to us), he’s an outstanding footballer, talismanic almost, he’s so talented, so cool.”

Former Celtic man Mark Wilson adds weight to that by claiming that Edouard is a “complete all-round striker” whilst his physical attributes could be a better match for the PL.

In recent seasons, we’ve seen the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Kieran Tierney swap the SPFL for England, so that shouldn’t be enough to put anyone off a move for Edouard.

Johan Lange can make it third time lucky with a £40m swoop this summer.

AND in other news, Aston Villa move for PL misfit would be shades of Scott Sinclair…

Aston Villa have received a triple blow ahead of their Premier League encounter against Liverpool on Saturday at Villa Park.

Dean Smith’s side are due to welcome the Premier League champions this weekend in their bid to maintain their perfect start to the 2020/21 campaign.

Having avoided relegation on the final day of last season against West Ham United, Villa will be hoping to finish much higher up the standings this season. Their good start can certainly contribute to that.

But their stunning run could be hampered by the latest news that could concern the Villa Park faithful.

Birmingham Live reported that three players will be missing for the crucial clash against last season’s league-toppers. Having been knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the hands of Stoke City on Thursday, Kortney Hause picked up a groin injury and will not be available for selection.

Bjorn Engels is still struggling with a thigh strain and the game against Jurgen Klopp’s side just comes too soon for him, looking at the Leicester City match after the international break as his targetted return date.

With Wesley still recovering from knee ligament damage, Orjan Nyland will also not be in the matchday squad at the weekend.

Playing against the reigning champions is difficult enough. But when your side has to face them with injury problems makes it even more challenging.

Villa will be in for a game. With Liverpool also being knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Thursday, they will be wanting to turn their fortunes around almost instantly.

That being said, none of the players listed above started during their 3-0 victory against Fulham in their last game. Whether this will influence Dean Smith’s thinking of his tactics, remains to be seen, but it will certainly impact his options off the bench.

Whatever happens, the Villains will have to go toe-to-toe with the Reds to prove they have what it takes to secure their Premier League status once more.

Will Villa struggle against Liverpool with their injury woes? Join the conversation by commenting below…

West Brom boss Slaven Bilic has an interesting selection dilemma facing him this weekend after a busy summer of transfer activity.

The Baggies are yet to win in the Premier League since their return this season and have conceded a whopping 11 goals from three matches, so it’s fair to suggest that change is needed somewhere on the pitch.

Perhaps, the Croatian will look to tinker his midfield, particularly as he’s brought in two (kind of) new additions in Conor Gallagher from Chelsea and the returning Filip Krovinovic.

Could one, both or neither start at St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday?

A case can be made for Krovinovic after he became an integral part of seeing Albion over the line post-Christmas. However, it’s the young English starlet he should look to unleash.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a barnstorming season in the Championship last term, playing for both Charlton and Swansea on loan, he provided six goals and eight assists.

Gallagher also averaged 1.8 tackles, 1.7 shots, 1.2 dribbles and 1.2 key passes per game as well as earning his side a free-kick 2.1 times per match too, via WhoScored.

He’s very much a box-to-box threat, so it’s no wonder he’s drawn comparisons to Frank Lampard – Sky Sports pundit Keith Andrews said: “But for me, he’s a classic No 8; he has an unbelievable energy, he does the ugly side of the game, but you have to let him off the leash and let him get forward.”

Whilst former manager Lee Bowyer was gutted to lose him in January, claiming he was “impossible to replace” as it’s rare to find a “jewel like that.”

Bilic is yet to try him out in the big time and it would seem that a player of this calibre is too good to be merely sitting on the bench or on the fringes.

Krovinovic contributed to five goals, averaging 1.4 shots and 1.1 key passes but clearly, Gallagher was much better and deserves the opportunity here.

AND in other news, Bilic outcast is quickly becoming West Brom’s expensive forgotten man

Leeds United’s good start to the Premier League season has had many pundits raving about the Whites’ attacking intent, but it’s easy to forget that one man who deserves just as much credit as any forward player this season is United’s goalkeeper.

Indeed, Illan Meslier may have only kept one clean sheet so far this season, but he has been instrumental in Leeds’ success so far, earning all sorts of plaudits along the way.

Undoubtedly, his best performance of the season came against Sheffield United where he made two saves from John Lundstram and George Baldock at point-blank range to deny the Blades and eventually earn his team three points.

It’s hard to imagine where Leeds would be without their goalkeeper, and the fact that he cost just £5m this summer, makes his performances that much sweeter.

Marcelo Bielsa’s comments on him last season show just how good he is while also highlighting how much of a bargain he was.

“He is a goalkeeper without weak points and he has been with us from the beginning of the season,” Bielsa said.

Nobody expected a youngster from Ligue 2 to be Premier League ready this quickly, but Meslier is doing the business against the very best sides in the league.

Yes, he conceded eight in his first two games, but with three of those being penalties and others being down to individual errors, such as Liam Cooper’s poor marking of Aleksandar Mitrovic against Fulham, those numbers look far more forgivable.

At just £5m he has a better save percentage than £65m man Alisson, and if you discount the three penalties that have been scored against him, his save percentage goes up to 80%, which is good enough for third-best in the league.

In an age where relegated goalkeepers can cost £18.5m signing Meslier for £5m is one of the biggest bargains we’ve seen this summer, and Leeds can be proud of the fact that they’ve uncovered such a gem from absolutely nowhere.

Wilfried Zaha spared Crystal Palace’s blushes against Brighton in the Premier League as he opened the scoring at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

Roy Hodgson’s side took the lead with what proved to be their only shot of the game, a penalty, before Brighton bounced back with a 90th-minute equaliser from substitute Alexis Mac Allister.

Zaha, 27, scored from the penalty spot to bag his seventh goal against Brighton, which is the highest number of goals he has scored against one opponent in all competitions. The spot-kick was awarded after Michy Batshuayi was brought down in the box by Tariq Lamptey – but replays seemed to suggest that there was hardly any contact at all, although Palace will hardly complain.

The 17-cap Ivory Coast international, who earns wages worth £130,000-per-week, has now scored four goals so far this season, which is the same amount that he managed to score in the Premier League last term.

SofaScore gave him a grade of 6.7, which is fairly average, and doesn’t quite give him the credit that he deserves – in fact, it wasn’t for want of trying, as a look at his heatmap shows that he was active in most areas of the pitch, particularly on the left wing, whilst he took 44 touches of the ball, registered a pass accuracy rating of 74%, won one out of two aerial duels, and made one tackle and one clearance as well. Solid effort, that’s for sure.

Sky Sports gave Zaha a 7/10 rating, whilst football.london awarded him a rating of 6/10, claiming he “stayed cool to convert from the penalty spot in the absence of Luka Milivojevic” but “looked frustrated in the first half, especially with one heated exchange with the linesman after a decision (rightly) went against him.”

After a bright start to the season, Palace have suffered back-to-back defeats, with their last win being the 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford last month.

If anything, this game shows that Hodgson still has a lot of work to do despite the summer spending spree, as Zaha cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of responsibility. The Palace boss simply cannot afford to lose his most prized asset if his side are to push for a place in the Europa League, that much is for certain.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace may live to regret missing out on Watford winger Ismaila Sarr…