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[ad_pod ]Chris Sutton doesn’t have to look far to find controversy in Scottish football.On Friday night he wanted the SFA Compliance Officer to take retrospective action for two incidents of foul play that referee John Beaton didn’t deal adequately with.Those views were delivered 24 hours after watching Celtic getting knocked out of the Europa League to Valencia with Sutton back on domestic duty at Hamilton as Steven Gerrard’s side hit five without reply.

Early in the second half on Sunday, Twitter exploded with rage as Motherwell scored through Gboly Aribiyi after refusing to return the ball to Celtic who had put it out of play to allow treatment to Ryan Christie.

The home fans roared their anger at Motherwell, while Dedryck Boyata picked up a booking as the fans and players waited for an instruction from the visitors bench.

Motherwell boss Stephen Robinson could have instructed his side to concede a goal. But he didn’t take that opportunity and for more than 30 minutes anger engulfed the ground before Odsonne Edouard scored from a free kick to restore Celtic’s two goal advantage.

West Ham United have a number of attacking players in their squad that have all contributed to getting the side to where they are at this moment in time.

The trio of Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals have scored 21 goals between them in the Premier League and provided 16 assists along the way.

The Hammers also have Michail Antonio, who has found the back of the net eight times and delivered seven assists for his teammates in 31 league appearances.

While there is still some time left until the season ends, it seems as though the east London club may have already got their eye on adding another attacking figure to their squad.

What’s the talk?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist and transfer insider Pete O’Rourke had this to say about Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi and the potential interest that West Ham have in signing him.

“I’m sure West Ham scouts have been alerted to him. He’s a big, strong, pacey forward who could definitely come into that team and improve the West Ham options as well, and I think he’s got all the tools to be a success in the Premier League.

“So, I think West Ham, as well as several other Premier League clubs, will be keeping tabs on him this summer.”

Deadly duo inbound?

After originally joining his current club on loan from Liverpool back in September 2020, the 24-year-old signed on a permanent deal last summer.

In 59 appearances for the German side, the striker has managed to score an impressive 22 goals and provide eight assists along the way.

With 26 league appearances under his belt this campaign, the former Liverpool youngster has found the back of the net 12 times, showing why Mergim Vojvoda called him “an excellent player with great qualities.”

In those appearances, the centre-forward has created three big chances and racked up an average of 2.1 shots and 0.8 key passes per game.

This also backs up why Steffen Baumgart labelled the attacker as a “dangerous” player on the pitch.

In comparison to Antonio, the Jamaica international has racked up 2.3 shots and 1.4 key passes per game, showing just how dangerous he can be in terms of scoring and creating goals for his side.

With all of this in mind, if West Ham were to strike a deal to bring Awoniyi back to England in the summer, this could undoubtedly give Moyes the chance to form a deadly attacking duo at the London Stadium to potentially push the team even further.

In other news: Huge blow: West Ham dealt fresh injury setback ahead of Lyon, Moyes will be sweating

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Dean Jones has made a Manchester City transfer claim involving Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez amid all the rumours surrounding Erling Haaland.

The Lowdown: Sky Blues in pole Haaland position?

Recent reports have suggested that Pep Guardiola’s are major favourites to sign Haaland with Norway’s international star seeming set to be one of the summer window’s big name transfers.

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Daily Mail reporters Jack Gaughan and Craig Hope, two reliable sources, first claimed that the Sky Blues have a deal in place to sign Dortmund’s prolific striker.

Other claims have come to light since then with City apparently being in pole position for Haaland’s services this summer.

However, despite all the noise, Jones has now shared what he’s heard as Pep Guardiola eyes another forward alongside the 21-year-old.

The Latest: Jones make Martinez transfer claim…

According to the reporter, Man City, and by extension their sporting director/transfer chief Txiki Begiristain, have also weighed up a move for Martinez.

Jones also refuses to rule out further reports of a potential move to Eastlands for the Argentine.

“I’ve even heard that Manchester City have looked at him over the past year and have considered whether he might be a good fit for them,” he explained (via GMS).

“So, I think once again this summer, we will see rumours around Lautaro Martinez.”

The Verdict: Great alternative?

If City can’t win the race for Haaland, should Guardiola’s side consider Inter’s star attacker as an alternative?

Scoring 14 goals over 28 appearances this season in Serie A, Martinez could move on for around £67.3m, over £30m less than what Inter were demanding around two years ago.

Nerazzurri sporting director Piero Ausilio, speaking to the press, once openly stated that Martinez would not leave for less than his once-€111m (£100m) release clause (The Daily Mail).

As his valuation drops substantially, City could sign a gifted attacker who Romelu Lukaku even called a ‘beast’, even if it’s clear Haaland is the superior striker.

His 16 goals and six assists over just 16 Bundesliga starts comes as a quite frankly ridiculous record, but if Begiristain and co fail in their bid, they should indeed consider a move for Martinez.

In other news: Man City officials sent to club as Pep eyes ‘absolute beast’ alongside Haaland, find out more here.

Nottingham Forest boosted their Championship promotion hopes on Monday night, with an impressive 4-0 drubbing over rivals West Bromwich Albion.

Steve Bruce’s side found themselves at an immediate disadvantage, when Darnell Furlong was shown a second yellow in the 17th minute of play.

Though, Forest – who were out to respond to their loss against Luton Town last time out – made the most of their extra man advantage to secure a massively important three points.

The game featured some brilliantly taken goals from the likes of Brennan Johnson, Ryan Yates and Sam Surridge – with Jack Colback’s screamer from out wide being the pick of the bunch.

Forest boss Steve Cooper had his say on his side’s 4-0 demolition job:

“To win a game 4-0, you have to do a lot of things well – and we did. We took real control.

“It was a job well done. We just played really well.”

The Reds were superb in Monday’s game at The City Ground, though there were two players that really stood out.

Academy graduate, Brennan Johnson was excellent, slotting a cool penalty home and bagging an assist for Colback’s contender for goal of the season.

Though, it was Manchester United loanee James Garner who impressed the most, with a metronomic performance that saw him make 63-passes with an 89% accuracy. 

The £20k-per-week talent has been one of Forest’s main creative outlets in a season that has seen him chip in with ten goal contributions (four goals and six assists) in 36 appearances, in what is his second campaign with the Reds.

Consistency has been a big part of Garner’s game this season and Monday night’s game against Bruce’s Baggies side saw him deliver on his average of around two key passes per match.

Though it was from a set-piece in which Garner got his assist, with a pin-point corner kick that met the head of Ryan Yates who took his goal well.

The 21-year-old was active in front of goal himself with his three shot attempts threatening to add to David Button’s misery between the West Brom sticks. This, despite the young Englishman occupying a position that requires defensive responsibility – with his positional acumen a positive indication of both his “football brain” and his composure in progressing the ball.

According to SofaScore, Garner received a rating of 7.4, making him the joint-third best player on the pitch for what was an all-round impressive performance for the young Manchester United loanee.

In other news: Cooper set for Forest disaster on “sensational” £25k-p/w star who’s like “Collymore” – opinion

Leeds United sent scouts to watch Timo Hubers in action this weekend, according to reports…

What’s the word?

Football Insider claim that the Yorkshire giants were in attendance as FC Koln defeated Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon.

The 25-year-old centre-back played the full game but conceded an own goal in their 3-1 win, though he seemingly impressed. He registered five clearances and three interceptions, whilst he also won seven duels, per SofaScore.

United are in the market for a new central defender and the club have stepped up their interest in the 6 foot 3 German colossus, who is also believed to have a £6.7m release clause at the RheinEnergieStadion.

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Marsch mission

After the weekend’s Premier League fixtures, only rock-bottom Norwich City (69) have leaked more goals than the Whites (68), so it’s abundantly clear that manager Jesse Marsch needs to bolster his backline heading into next season.

Their fortunes defensively have gradually improved but he is still light on solid and reliable options, so Hubers represents a cheap but viable option.

Indeed, journalist Pete O’Rourke believes he’d be an ideal signing for the former RB Leipzig boss. He told GIVEMESPORT:

“He’s a talented young player from Koln as well, so he definitely fits the bill for Leeds United because they’ve been forced to have a bit of a makeshift central defence this season.”

Hubers has been Steffen Baumgart’s standout player with Koln on the cusp of qualifying for a place in Europe, having averaged a squad-high average WhoScored rating of 7.09.

Only one other player is winning more aerial duels per game than the 25-year-old (2.5), whilst he leads the way for interceptions (2.7 per game) and isn’t far behind for tackles either (2.1 per game).

Once lauded for being an “exemplary” professional by Hannover 96’s sporting director Gerhard Zuber, it certainly appears as if Hubers would be a player that Marsch would love to sign heading into next season, one that wouldn’t take too much out of the transfer kitty.

After sending scouts to watch him excel, it seems only right that the German titan is amongst their top targets this summer.

AND in other news, Orta had a Leeds disasterclass on “outrageous” £50m dynamo, he’s better than Rodrigo…

Speaking to GiveMeSport, talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has made a promising ‘behind the scenes’ deadline day claim at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Tottenham tipped to be busy…

Just over three hours of the transfer window remain and only two incomings have been confirmed, with both Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur making their way from Juventus today.

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Tottenham had been tipped to be busy, with former Sky Sports reporter Aden-Jay Wood expecting ‘several’ incomings at N17 today.

Alas, with the clock ticking, it will take a dramatic late twist if multiple signings are to come through the door, but talkSPORT reporter Crook has urged Spurs fans not to lose all hope.

The Latest: Spurs working hard…

According to his sources, Tottenham are ‘still working’ as he shares their transfer movements from behind the scenes. He also believes there are a couple of names which have yet to be revealed as more Spurs signings today aren’t completely ruled out.

He told GiveMeSport: “I think there’s a couple of names that haven’t come out yet. I think they’re still working quite hard behind the scenes.”

The Verdict: Encouraging…

Signing only Kulusevski and Bentancur would be a slight disappointment from Tottenham given the plethora of links to come out over the last week of the transfer window.

Antonio Conte had earmarked the signing of a new striker, left-sided centre-half and a right-wing-back to boost Spurs’ chances of a top four finish, but it remains to be seen whether he can get any of these positions filled after all.

In other news: Alasdair Gold says Spurs have been offered ‘world-class’ 27-cap forward, find out more here.

Manchester United are potentially eyeing a move for Erik Ten Hag’s current Ajax starlet, Jurrien Timber.

What’s the word?

That is according to journalist Rudy Galetti, who took to his Twitter page to issue a statement regarding incoming Manchester United manager, Erik Ten Hag.

Galetti said this in his tweet: “Manchester United’s first signing of the Ten Hag era will most likely be a centre-back.”

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He also suggested two names that United may be looking to bring in: “To date, on the MUFC list the hot names are Timber (Ajax) and Torres (Villareal).”

Of course, those two names are Jurrien Timber, who currently plays under Ten Hag and Pau Torres, with the latter being linked with Manchester United across the last few transfer windows.

Better than Maguire

As a right-footed centre-back who usually operates on the right in a four-man defence, Timber would not pose a threat to Harry Maguire’s starting spot… would he?

In actual fact, he would. Based on the pattern that Ten Hag has created at Ajax, the right-footed centre-back operates on the right, whilst the left-footed centre-back operates on the left.

When Ten Hag comes in, if he does not opt to bring in a left-footed centre-back, he will most likely hone in on Raphael Varane’s experience for Real Madrid as a left centre-back, a position he fulfilled at times. Varane is also listed as just 60% right-footed, according to FBref.

Timber would partner the France international in what would be a cool, calm and collected backline. Both centre-halves love having the ball at their feet and the potential signing of Timber would offer Ten Hag familiarity in this area.

The 20-year-old boasts some serious numbers that place him in the elite category for the majority of his passing stats, with his average of 76 passes completed per 90 far better than Maguire’s average of 48 passes per 90.

Timber, who has been described as a “top talent” as per UEFA Champions League, also outdoes Maguire in almost all defensive metrics, with the £27m-rated defender having a seamless season in the Eredivisie in which he has made zero errors per 90 – the antithesis of the Englishman this season.

The signing of Timber could see Maguire lacking game time under Ten Hag, and based on this year’s stats, the new United boss would be right to drop him and potentially sell him too, as reports have suggested.

In other news: Ronaldo 2.0: Ten Hag can seal instant MUFC masterclass by unleashing “rampant” 17 y/o – opinion

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa delivered a worrying update on the injury situation of Patrick Bamford following his side’s 3-3 draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday evening.

What’s he said?

Speaking after the match, the Argentinian head coach said to the BBC (via MOT Leeds News):

“He has a problem in his foot which is preventing him from running due to the pain. He’s having treatment which isn’t taking the pain away at the moment.

“The first step for his recovery is that he is able to move. That hasn’t happened and it’s impossible to imagine when that’s going to happen.”

That doesn’t make for good reading whatsoever.

Further setback

The 28-year-old striker has featured just once since the 17th of September and that was in a 22-minute cameo against Brentford, a game in which he bagged a vital equaliser before picking up another injury.

Since his hamstring problem, it seems as if the England international has now picked up a foot problem at the club’s Thorp Arch training base.

Bielsa’s comments suggest that there isn’t a timeframe on his return – unlike his other players like Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper, who are due to be back in action next month.

It isn’t out of the realms of possibility that Bamford’s season could be pretty much be all but over but we’ll have to wait for official news on that front. He has played only six league games all season.

The Yorkshire giants have sorely missed his presence upfront, which is hardly a surprise given that he finished as their top goalscorer last season on 17 goals.

That’s because Bielsa does not have a suitable alternative to lead the line. He has often turned to Daniel James and whilst that paid off in the six-goal thriller at Villa Park, it has largely been a failed experiment.

A diminutive 5 foot 7 winger isn’t going to have the same effect as Bamford.

Therefore, this latest update is sure to leave Bielsa absolutely gutted as he continues to be without such a key figure. His absence is such a big blow for Leeds.

AND in other news, 86% duels lost: Leeds passenger who lost ball every 2.5 touches had nightmare vs Villa…

According to club insider ExWHUemployee, West Ham are hopeful that Jarrod Bowen will be available for the upcoming clash against Everton next Sunday.

The Lowdown: Bowen’s injury

During the Irons’ 1-0 loss to Liverpool earlier this month, the 25-year-old was forced into a premature exit after sustaining an injury to his foot, cutting his game short in the 53rd minute. The winger has been sidelined ever since, having missed the Hammers’ last four games as a result.

Whilst the club had previously announced that Bowen had not sustained significant damage from the foot injury, varying reports have since arisen to the contrary.

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The Latest: Ex’s news on Bowen

When interviewed for his website The West Ham Way, ExWHUemployee was questioned by the site’s editor Mark Carlaw about Bowen’s eagerly-awaited return.

Shared on Twitter, he responded with: “Well as of now the club are hopeful that Bowen will be back for the Everton game. There is an element of confusion surrounding the injury, but from what I am told, the match against Everton is seen as his potential return. This also goes the same for Coufal.”

The Verdict: Huge boost

This news will come as a huge boost to David Moyes as his West Ham side set to prepare for a congested period over the next few weeks. It begins with a Premier League fixture against a struggling Everton side before one of the club’s most important clashes of the modern era as they host Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

As the Hammers’ top scorer, Bowen’s return could prove to be massive for Moyes, as the Irons have struggled for goals without their star winger. To supplement his value in front of goal, the former Hull City man also adds a creative dynamic in the final third, illustrated by ranking in the 89th percentile for assists made among positional peers in Europe’s five top-ranked leagues (via FBRef).

Therefore, if the 25-year-old can make his return in time for the upcoming bouts against Everton and Lyon, it would provide the east Londoners with a tremendous boost ahead of the season’s run-in.

In other news: West Ham target has ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to leave his current club

Rangers have been handed a major boost as an update has emerged on midfielder Joe Aribo…

What’s the latest?

Gers boss Gio van Bronckhorst has revealed that the Nigeria international will be available for selection against Ross County. The former Charlton man has been away with his country at the Africa Cup of Nations and has now returned to Scotland, although he will be absent against Livingston.

He told the Daily Record: “Joe Aribo is travelling back today (Tuesday) and will be back in Glasgow tonight. We will assess him on his return, he will be back for sure come the weekend.”

Buzzing

Rangers fans will surely be left buzzing by this news as Aribo is a crucial player for the club and having him back in the squad will be a major boost for van Bronckhorst heading into the next few matches.

He has proven his quality at Premiership level over the past 18 months and has been in terrific form this season. James Tavernier, Borna Barisic and Alfredo Morelos are the only outfield players who have averaged a higher SofaScore rating than him this term, highlighting his importance to the side as he has been one of the top performers in the squad.

Aribo has averaged a score of 7.20 across 20 matches as he has been able to maintain an excellent run of form. The midfielder has provided six goals and three assists, whilst creating 1.9 chances per game, which shows that he has the end product to match his consistent overall performances and that is why fans will be buzzing to see him back at the club.

Earlier this season, van Bronckhorst lauded the 25-year-old after an impressive showing against Dundee United, saying:

“Joe is an important player who has played here for many years and you could see what he brings to the team.

“He scored a goal but his overall performance, defensively and offensively was very good. He’s a very dynamic player and I’m happy with his performance.”

This shows how highly the Dutchman rates Aribo and why it will be a major boost for him to have the maestro back in the squad for the clash with Ross County.

Hopefully, he has returned from international duty without any knocks and will be able to slot straight back into the team so he can continue to deliver brilliant displays in the Premiership for the Gers.

AND in other news, “Not expecting”: Transfer insider drops big Rangers claim, fans surely frustrated…