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Newcastle United are reportedly still in talks to sign Radu Dragusin from Juventus on a free transfer, according to Calciomercato.

As per the news outlet, discussions are continuing between the two clubs, as well as both RB Leipzig and Atalanta, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

At this current moment in time, the negotiations are at a stand-by phase, with his deal at the Serie A club set to expire on June 30th.

Dragusin one for the future

Dragusin is certainly a player for the future, having already broken into the senior side at the Old Lady despite being just 19 years of age, with four games under his belt in total over all competitions so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt).

With a frame of over six feet and two inches, the central defender should have no worries at all coping with the physical demands of the Premier League should he make the move to the St. James’ Park faithful, and his manager Andrea Pirlo was quoted as claiming that the he is ‘very strong’ back in December of last year.

On a free transfer, there would be very little risk in the North East club signing Dragusin up, and so they should be doing all that they can in order to secure the signature of the Romania U21 international.

In other news, find out what timeframe has been put on the takeover arbitration case by a sports law specialist here!

Glasgow Rangers edged closer to the title after Ianis Hagi scored the only goal of the game to secure victory over St Johnstone at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.

Rangers remain 23 points clear of Celtic as Steven Gerrard’s side are still unbeaten, needing just six wins from their remaining games to reclaim the title for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Gerrard’s side have shown no signs of relenting in their pursuit of the title as they have swept aside all who have stood before them in their surge to the top of the table.

Credit to Callum Davidson’s side, who went toe to toe with the Light Blues and tried to beat them at their own game, but this ultimately played into their hands.

Kemar Roofe started upfront for the league leaders in the absence of the suspended Alfredo Morelos as the Colombian has been banned for three games for his Ryan Porteous stamp.

Spare a thought for Ryan Kent, who started brightly, but faded as the game dragged on into the second half. Glasgow Live’s Mark McDougall graded him a 6/10 in his post-match ratings, noting he ‘didn’t have much of an end product throughout this one.’

So the stage was set for Ianis Hagi to dazzle and sparkle and he did not disappoint.

While Kent’s star somewhat waned, it was the young Romania international who ran the show on the night. A return of two shots on target was the most out of any Rangers starter on the night, with Saints’ Craig Bryson (3) the only player on the pitch to register more.

Hagi also completed one successful dribble from his solitary attempt, proving to be a probing threat as ever, and he won six duels overall, meaning he got the better of the opposition on several occasions, via SofaScore.

His goal was just outrageous, too, with Garry McAllister calling it a “special” strike to secure the victory. His first touch was simply sublime and he then embarked on a solo run to burst into the box before planting the ball past the hapless Zander Clark into the corner of the net.

He also took 54 touches of the ball, five more than Kent himself, and managed more passes as well (29), implying that he had a greater impact on the game, particularly in the final third.

The 22-year-old, who is currently valued at £5.4m via Transfermarkt, has made 22 appearances in the Scottish Premiership this season thus far and it’s hardly surprising when you consider the influence he wields on this team.

Hagi, as has so often been the case this season, was once again the man of the hour on the Govan side of Glasgow.

AND in other news, Rangers target Daniel Johnson signs new contract with Preston North End…

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit and BBC regular Noel Whelan has touted an exit for Ezgjan Alioski – coming after he reportedly instructed his agent to find him a new club. 

Alioski, who has been used fairly regularly by Marcelo Bielsa this season, starting 18 Premier League games (WhoScored), could leave as a free agent at the end of this campaign as his contract expires in June.

A Leeds United favourite before his contract fiasco, Alioski is expected to leave Elland Road at the end of the season by former Whites striker Whelan – coming after the 29-year-old told his agent to start looking for other options according to Football Insider.

Whelan tips Leeds exit for Alioski

“He will be on his way in summer, now. I kind of thought that anyway before he’s been sitting on the bench for a few games,” explained Whelan.

“We are now beginning to see signs about who might not be at the club next year. If you ask the majority of Leeds United fans, they will probably all say the same few players. Their time has come and we need better at the football club.

“That’s no disrespect to players like Alioski. They’ve done their job, they’ve played their part. But I think it’s time now.”

Transfer Tavern take

Time will tell whether he does exit at the end of this campaign, but the key development of Alioski instructing his agent to search for new suitors could be crucial.

A new contract is seemingly unlikely at this stage, and only time will tell where he could move upon its expiry.

In other news: Marcelo Bielsa loves this 31-cap attacker, find out more here.

Southampton are continuing to be linked with a loan move for Manchester United defender Brandon Williams this month and if he were to join, it will surely prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Sam McQueen.

According to Sky Sports, Southampton are interested in signing the youngster on loan this month and he is keen to leave to get regular first-team football under his belt.

Back in 2018, Ole Gunnar-Solskjaer was full of praise for the defender’s performance against AZ Alkmaar, saying:

“The performance and debut of Brandon, fantastic. You can’t see any nerves, he’s so brave, the courage to take the ball and go forward. Great defending, very pleased, some big, big pluses today.”

If he were to sign, it could be bad news for McQueen. The Saints man unfortunately injured his cruciate ligament in 2018 and hasn’t made a senior appearance since, after one of the screws in his knee became infected.

The left-back looked to be destined for a bright future with the South Coast club, having made 29 first-team appearances during his time there and he also enjoyed loan spells with Southend United and Middlesbrough.

However, the injury looks to have all but ended his hopes of making it at Southampton and with his contract set to expire at the end of the current season, it seems very unlikely that he will be offered a new contract with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

The Saints are perhaps low on left-back options, with just Ryan Bertrand and 20-year-old Jake Vokins currently the only options available to the Austrian manager, so McQueen may still be holding out hope that he could make a return, with a report from The Athletic suggesting a few months ago that January could be a target for when he can have a ball at his feet again.

It seems unfortunate for the left-back therefore, that Southampton are showing heavy interest in Manchester United’s Williams this month, as if he were to join, it would surely prove to be the final nail in the coffin for McQueen, especially if Hasenhuttl saw enough from the 20-year-old to make his deal permanent in the summer.

Whilst the Southampton academy graduate may be something of a forgotten man amongst Saints supporters, he was included in their 25-man Premier League squad earlier this season, which suggests that the South Coast club are not desperate to see him cut adrift, despite his injury concerns.

Hopefully, if the signing of Williams does lead to McQueen leaving Southampton this summer, he can go on to have a successful career elsewhere.

And, in other news, Hasenhuttl handed devastating injury blow to 21 y/o with great potential ahead of FA Cup tie…

West Bromwich Albion are reportedly unlikely to sign Haris Seferovic in the ongoing January transfer window.

It was recently reported in Turkey that Seferovic is one of the options for the West Brom are looking at to sort out their issues in attack. Having said that, a new update has emerged about the Baggies’ interest in the striker.

Seferovic move unlikely despite West Brom interest

Express and Star have confirmed West Brom’s interest in Seferovic, but claimed that while Benfica need to sell some of their players this month, West Brom only have funds for a loan deal with the option to buy him in the summer.

With that in mind, the report states that a deal for the Swiss forward is unlikely this month even though West Brom and Benfica are still in talks for a potential deal involving the 28-year-old.

In the current campaign, Seferovic has scored seven league goals for the side, also picking up three assists for Benfica. In his Benfica career, the forward has scored 53 times, getting 19 assists in 146 games. He is also a regular part of the Swiss national team, playing 66 times and scoring 19 goals.

Seferovic would add goals for West Brom

Seferovic’s goalscoring exploits show that he can add goals to the Baggies team. Allardyce’s men have scored the fourth-lowest number of goals in the league this season – 15. Only Burnley, Sheffield United and Fulham have scored fewer goals than them (as per Whoscored). Matheus Pereira is their highest scorer with only four goals in the campaign.

Seferovic is clearly capable of scoring goals and has international experience too, so he could be worth a punt for the Baggies.

In other news, many WBA fans have been fuming at a news update about Matheus Pereira – read more here.

Southampton have recently been linked with a move for Celtic defender Jeremie Frimpong ahead of the January transfer window, which could spell trouble for right-back Yan Valery.

What’s the word?

According to The Scottish Sun, the Saints are keen on signing the former Manchester City man next month, as he continues to impress for the Bhoys.

The 20-year-old joined Celtic from the Citizens in September 2019 and has enjoyed a superb first year with the club, quickly establishing himself as a first-team regular in Neil Lennon’s side.

The right-back has 42 appearances to his name, in which he has contributed an impressive three goals and six assists.

Lennon will be desperate to keep hold of the young defender, however, as he was full of praise for him when he scored in Celtic’s win against Hibernian last year, saying:

“I’m just delighted what he brings to the game, defensively or offensively and there is as an end product as well.

“He put a couple of chances on a plate which we should have benefited from.

“He’s an outstanding talent who looks after himself. Watching him makes me tired, the amount of runs he makes, he wears people down.

“He is an amazing player. Amazing. With younger players, you want to look after them but you can’t hold talent back.”

Bye-bye Valery

However, with the Scottish side in poor form of late, with Lennon reportedly close to being sacked, there may be nothing he can do if Southampton come calling for Frimpong in January.

If he were to sign, you worry for Valery’s future with the Saints, as the Frenchman has failed to make a single appearance for the club this season, following the signing of Kyle Walker-Peters from Spurs in the summer.

Certainly, Frimpong’s performances for Celtic over the past year or so suggest that he would be a good addition to Hasenhuttl’s squad at Southampton, so it will be interesting to see if the Saints consider a move for the £2.7 million-rated defender.

Martin Semmens must push for this signing as soon as possible.

And, in other news… Saints’ only concern: Hasenhuttl has a big decision to make on “super-talented” winger

David Moyes must wield the axe on Issa Diop and bench the French defender for Craig Dawson when West Ham United visit Chelsea on Monday night.

The Hammers won on their last trip to Stamford Bridge but have found results hard to secure in south west London in recent years, with last season’s victory snapping a run of 14 winless visits.

Chelsea will be expected to put up a firm defence of their record when the two sides meet to round off the pre-Christmas fixtures, as Frank Lampard’s men strive to avoid a third-straight Premier League defeat that has seen the Blues fall outside of the guaranteed European positions and sit just a point above the Hammers.

Moyes fielding Diop at Stamford Bridge would threaten West Ham’s chances of taking a result on Monday night, after the 23-year-old struggled on his return to the starting line-up in place of the injured Fabian Balbuena at home to Crystal Palace.

It was the first time since September that Diop opened a top-flight fixture having lost his place in the side after testing positive for coronavirus, and showed clear signs of rustiness as Christian Benteke had his way before being shown a second yellow card.

Chelsea forwards Olivier Giroud, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic would be licking their lips at the prospect of attacking Diop, should he produce a similar affair, with their pace and knack for attacking the box enough to leave the Frenchman in a spin.

Moyes can ill-afford to see a key piece of his plans be targeted in such a way, and must unleash Watford loanee Dawson for his West Ham debut to bring a sense of leadership into the line should Balbuena not be passed fit with further checks needed.

Dawson has been named among the substitutes for the Irons’ last two top-fight fixtures after being overlooked in the opening months of his time in claret and blue, but is yet to step foot onto the field since penning a one-year loan deal that features a £2million option to buy.

Moyes favoured Dawson on the bench over Diop against Leeds United last week before Balbuena’s injury, as he sought to offer the Watford man his first experience of being in a West Ham matchday squad.

“Dawson’s more vocal than Diop,” ExWHUemployee explained on the West Ham Way Podcast. “[Moyes] thought, if he needed a centre-back to come on, he could have put [Ben] Johnson on and put [Aaron] Cresswell at centre-back.

“He obviously had [Declan] Rice that could play there as well. So he only wanted either Dawson or Diop and he went to give Dawson a bit of experience of the first-team.”

Moyes must now go one step further and bench Diop to field Dawson, who helped Watford keep four clean sheets in his 29 Premier League appearances last season thanks to 3.8 clearances, 1.2 interceptions, 1.0 successful tackle and 5.0 duels won, while being dribbled past just 0.5 times a game, per SofaScore.

AND in other news, a £67k-p/w West Ham dud’s torturous midweek display proved why he cannot be trusted vs Chelsea.

According to a report by Football Insider, Joe Lewis and the ENIC group have approved a new blockbuster contract for Tottenham superstar Son Heung-min – coming just a week after Paul Robinson claimed such a contract offer would be ‘amazing news for Spurs’. 

Son set for new deal

Son, who has been a shining light alongside fellow star man Harry Kane this season, forming a deadly partnership with the Englishman, still doesn’t earn anywhere near as much as his star teammates.

Compared to the likes of Gareth Bale, Kane and even Tanguy Ndombele – Son earns around £140,000-per-week, with the former trio taking home larger amounts, despite making similar contributions under Jose Mourinho.

Now, as per Football Insider, Lewis and the ENIC group have approved of a new blockbuster deal for Son in reward of his incredible contributions so far this season.

Transfer Tavern take

Indeed, this update claims talks are at an advanced stage with an announcement reportedly imminent – and it’s safe to say to this news could be ‘amazing’ for the Lilywhites as Robinson claims.

At 28-years-old, Son is currently in the prime of his career, and there is currently nothing stopping top clubs from weighing up a move for the ‘very underrated’ ace.

If Tottenham wish to keep hold of the winger who is, arguably, one of Mourinho’s most crucial assets, a bumper new deal to sweeten his stay is definitely needed.

Now that ENIC have been given their thumbs up, it could only be a matter of time before Spurs tie down the South Korean star – gifting Mourinho a huge boost in his hunt for silverware.

In other news: After Son, Tottenham look set to offer this star a new deal as well – find out who here. 

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that Spurs star Son Heung-min can go to any club in the world – tipping the player to leave unless Daniel Levy ties him down with a bumper new deal. 

Son, who has been in electric form recently alongside superstar forward Harry Kane, is actually on much less when compared to his teammate – with the 27-year-old England captain taking home around £200,000-per-week.

In comparison, Son is on around £60,000-a-wek less despite contributing to an equally devastating effect under manager Jose Mourinho so far this season.

Son tipped for possible exit

Now, speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor has dropped a hint that the £67.5 million-valued Son could leave if Spurs fail to tie him down with a new contract.

According to the pundit, he could play for any side in world football, including four Champions League giants who have an abundance of star players already.

“If I was Tottenham I’d be putting down on a contract on whatever he wants, just to get him signed on because he can go to any club in the world,” he explained.

“At any club in the world he’d be starting, we’re talking Liverpool, Man City, Real Madrid, Barcelona he’s that good.

“Spurs will know that, Jose will know that, Daniel Levy will know that so I’m sure they’ll tie him down and he’ll be one of the highest earners for sure.”

Transfer Tavern take

Described as a ‘dream’ to work with by ex-Spur Alan Hutton, this news comes after Football Insider revealed a huge ENIC development from behind the scenes.

Indeed, according to the outlet, Joe Lewis and the ENIC group have approved of a new deal for Son, but with January around the corner, Spurs will want to tie him down as quickly as possible.

In other news: Alasdair Gold swooned over this shining light against WBA, find out more here. 

Scottish giants Rangers have enjoyed a pretty perfect start to life this season as they sit atop the SPFL table as of right now.

It’s been six wins and two draws from their opening six games and Steven Gerrard’s men find themselves with the best defensive record in the division having conceded just twice.

However, with the transfer window still open, rumours circulating about the future of Alfredo Morelos has taken the gloss off a bit.

According to The Sun, Ligue 1 outfit and long-term admirers of the 24-year-old are set to test the Gers resolve with a ‘take-it or leave-it’ £18m bid before the transfer deadline in under two weeks time. West Brom are also keen.

So perhaps it’s time for them to cash in and move on from this saga once and for all, and if so, maybe the club should reignite their interest in Liverpool sensation Rhian Brewster.

Previously, there have been reports linking Gerrard with a loan move for the 20-year-old, who he managed whilst in charge of the Reds’ U18 team. He’s even played under Michael Beale too.

Since then, it’s thought that Jurgen Klopp will be willing to let the starlet go for around £20m this window, just as long as there are buy-back and sell-on clauses, though he should instead consider a temporary switch to Ibrox as Gerrard could get the best out of him.

During his spell at Swansea City last season, Brewster bagged 11 goals in 22 appearances, averaging 2.5 shots per game, via WhoScored but that progression must continue if he’s ever to make it at Anfield.

Under Gerrard’s stewardship, the impressive striker provided seven goals and six assists during the 16/17 campaign.

Jadon Sancho believes his fellow U17 World Cup winner “causes defenders nightmares” whilst Klopp claims he’s a “wonderfully skilled boy” and a “good finisher”.

If Ross Wilson can pull this off, then he should be lauded from hilltops as it would be one hell of a coup.

The “exceptional” forward could be exactly what Rangers need post-Morelos and it would be a win-win for Liverpool too.

AND in other news, Gers fans slam one man’s display against Hibernian…