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A major update has emerged on Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien’s, regarding Hull’s chances of landing him this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to the Hull Daily Mail, Championship side Hull are set to miss out on a deal for Sunderland central midfielder Luke O’Nien. The former Wycombe man is out of contact at the end of the month and Hull are interested in signing him, but are struggling to offer him an attractive proposition due to their wage structure.

The report claims that Sunderland are attempting to keep O’Nien at the Stadium of Light. O’Nien is said to have better offers than Hull’s on the table, although it remains unclear as to whether or not any of those are from Sunderland.

Earlier this year, Sunderland boss Lee Johnson heaped praise on the excellent O’Nien. Johnson hailed O’Nien’s versatility and said that he has bee very impressed by his performances. He told Chronicle Live:

“Luke has been excellent.

“I could easily have moved him around two or three times and he would have been as comfortable.

“He’s someone who has really impressed me since I came in.”

Fans will be buzzing

Sunderland fans will be buzzing with this news as it gives the club a boost with O’Nien’s contract situation. The report does not name any other clubs as being keen on signing O’Nien and Hull seemingly dropping out of the race to sign him could improve Sunderland’s chances of pinning him down to an extended deal.

If O’Nien is unable to attract a sizeable offer from a Championship side to take the step up, he could be more open to committing his future to the Stadium of Light.

Keeping O’Nien at Sunderland would be a gigantic boost to Johnson and Kristjaan Speakman could pull off a masterstroke by extending his contract. O’Nien enjoyed an excellent season in League One for the Black Cats, showing off his versatility as he played in central midfield, right-back, centre-back and right wing-back – averaging an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.95. Only two Sunderland players, Charlie Wyke and Aiden McGeady, managed higher scores in the 2020/21 campaign.

The £4k-per-week beast has established himself as a key player for Johnson and his exit would leave a huge gap in the squad.

O’Nien’s quality could be important in regards to Sunderland’s potential promotion push, given the standard of his performances Therefore, O’Nien staying would be a huge boost to the club this summer and would be news that would be very much supported by the Sunderland fanbase.

AND in other news, Speakman facing disaster after update on £2m “Rolls-Royce”, SAFC fans will be fuming…

Manchester City’s hopes of signing Atalanta left-back Robin Gosens this summer have taken a blow after Barcelona joined the race to sign the German defender.

Man City have regularly been linked with the 26-year-old ahead of the upcoming transfer window and the latest report from Spanish news outlet Sport claims that he has now attracted the interest of La Liga giants Barcelona.

Ronald Koeman’s side look set to sell back-up left-back Junior Firpo this summer and need a suitable long-term replacement for Jordi Alba, who has maintained a starting spot at the Nou Camp this season but will turn 33 next year.

Gosens could be the ideal fit with the Catalan side, considering he is very much an attacking left-back, who can also feature in midfield, which would suit Barcelona’s long-standing style of attacking full-backs in the mould of Alba and Dani Alves.

However, his performances this season have been sensational at times and he could also prove to be an excellent addition to Pep Guardiola’s side, especially as left-back is one area in which the Citizens could definitely add some more depth.

Whilst Oleksandr Zinchenko has performed extremely well in recent weeks, and Joao Cancelo has performed well as an inverted wing-back at times this season, they both feel like short-term solutions in that position.

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The Atalanta star could be the man to replace Benjamin Mendy in this City side, with his various injury problems meaning he is no longer the player he once was, which has left the Citizens missing a marauding natural left-back such as Gosens.

The most recent season in Serie A saw the former Heracles Almelo man contribute a superb 11 goals and six assists in 32 appearances, averaging an excellent 7.19 rating from WhoScored.

He was similarly impressive last season, scoring nine and assisting eight in 34 appearances in Italy’s top-flight, so it was perhaps no surprise when former Lazio defender Roberto Cravero suggested that he had a “better” season than Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, despite the Englishman being pivotal to the Merseyside outfit’s first Premier League title.

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If the German could match the Liverpool man’s form in the Premier League with City, then he would surely prove to be an excellent addition to Guardiola’s side this summer, so it is unfortunate, therefore, that Barcelona have now entered the race to sign the £31.5m-rated defender, as it may prove to be a major blow to City’s chances of bringing him to the Etihad.

And, in other news… Man City massively missed out on £36m-rated PL beast, Pep dubbed him “one of the best”

Marcus Bent has described Eddie Howe as one of the top up-and-coming managers but doesn’t believe Crystal Palace is the right fit for him.

Howe has been strongly linked to several managerial vacancies since leaving Bournemouth following their relegation last July, but is still a free agent after his move to Celtic recently fell through despite months of ongoing talks at Parkhead.

One of those jobs is Palace, who are still on the search for a Roy Hodgson replacement after Nuno Espirito Santo’s swift return to the Premier League collapsed earlier this week.

But Bent is concerned that Howe, who was once tipped for one of the top Premier League jobs by Pep Guardiola, doesn’t fit the bill at Palace, who’re likely to be working on a tight budget this summer, with a considerable rebuild required at Selhurst Park following several first-team players being released, plenty of which are experienced faces.

The former Palace frontman told The Transfer Tavern:

“I see him as one of the top up-and-coming managers, although he’s been on the scene for six or seven years now.

“The Celtic job didn’t work. Crystal Palace maybe isn’t the right job –  the style of football, the budget and top players like Zaha leaving, although he might be able to start again and refresh the side.”

Crystal Palace have considered appointing former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg as Roy Hodgson’s successor this summer.

The former England boss announced his upcoming exit from the south London outfit earlier in the week after enjoying a relatively successful four-year stint at Selhurst Park.

Hodgson has overseen a string of mid-table finishes throughout his tenure with Palace, but it’s set to be a frenzied few months for the Eagles following his departure.

Over a dozen first-team players are approaching the end of their current contracts with the capital club, with left-back Patrick van Aanholt expected to be the first to follow Hodgson out the exit door.

It’s going to be a summer of upheaval for Palace chairman Steve Parish, therefore, and the 55-year-old would be digging his own grave in appointing someone as inexperienced as Ljungberg to help him oversee this transitional period.

The Swedish boss only has a handful of senior games under his belt as a manager, all coming during an unsuccessful spell as Arsenal’s interim head coach following Unai Emery’s sacking.

Ljungberg oversaw six matches in the Gunners dugout, with a solitary win over West Ham United offsetting draws with Standard Liege, Norwich City and Everton, and defeats to Manchester City and Brighton.

Despite this poor record giving the 44-year-old a miserly 16.67% win rate as a Premier League boss, Sky Sports are reporting that Parish is potentially interested in hiring the former Arsenal youth coach as he searches for a boss who can bring a new progressive identity, attacking football and a history of developing young talent to Palace.

However, taking a punt on Ljungberg is a decision that the Palace chairman may come to regret. In an interview with Sky Sports, he admitted the club have a plan ahead of the upcoming window but that it’s an unpredictable market, given the impact of the ongoing pandemic.

“We have a plan, executing it is never and easy as we would like it to be. It’s going to be a difficult market this summer. As we move through the summer, there might be keener sellers, I’m expecting less movement,” he said.

“Some clubs can spend whatever happens, for most of us, that is not the case. What are the right wages, what is the right price? It will be difficult for people to find the level; there will be some confusion.”

By Parish’s own admission the coming months are set to be testing for the south London outfit, and appointing a manager with only half a dozen senior games under his belt in the dugout is a far from advisable strategy as in this of all years, it seems like having a more experienced manager in terms of acting in the transfer market would be much more beneficial.

And, in other news…Parish masterstroke: Palace must appoint history-making manager with 12 major honours

Former Tottenham Hotspur hero Graham Roberts believes Julian Nagelsmann was the club’s first choice to replace Jose Mourinho as manager.

Spurs sacked Mourinho earlier this season after falling as low as ninth in the Premier League table.

The Portuguese struggled to give the club the consistency needed to finish in the top four, as they routinely threw away leads and lost to those clubs above them in the Premier League table.

Spurs are yet to appoint a new boss, having given Ryan Mason the job on an interim basis until the end of the season.

Nagelsmann was touted as a top target in the immediate aftermath of Mourinho’s sacking but he has instead opted to join Bayern Munich from RB Leipzig, replacing Hansi Flick, who has agreed to become the manager of the German national team.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Roberts claimed that Spurs initially believed they would appoint the German prior to his move to Bayern.

He said: “I think the Nagelsmann one mucked everything up because they thought they were going to get him.

“With the Bayern Munich manager going, it mucked everything up and put everything on the back foot.”

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has urged Tottenham to sign Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, who he thinks would start for Jose Mourinho’s team.

The Portuguese currently has four centre-backs at his disposal, but has been unable to find a settled pairing throughout the campaign, with Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld and, more recently, Joe Rodon sharing the burden at the heart of the Spurs defence.

But many of Tottenham’s struggles this season has been down to their defensive issues, with widespread reports hinting that a centre-back is the priority for Mourinho this summer.

On-loan Fulham centre-back Joachim Andersen has already been mentioned as a potential addition to Mourinho’s squad, but Windass thinks that someone in the Dunk category is exactly what the north London outfit need, following a report from Football.London’s Alasdair Gold that he has admirers at Tottenham.

Dier and Rodon started Sunday’s game against Manchester United, although more defensive lapses in concentration saw Tottenham’s Champions League hopes suffer another massive blow, leaving them six points behind fourth.

“People like Lewis Dunk, who’s been at Brighton, are a seven or eight out of 10 every game, Windass told Football FanCast. “They’re born defenders, they’re nothing special, but they know how to defend.

When asked if he’d start for Tottenham, Windass added:

“Without a doubt. He’s captain of Brighton and wants to go and play at the next level. Players like that are easy on the eye because you know what you’re going to get from them.

“But the trouble with Mourinho is he goes down the foreign player route.”

Is the hunt to find Celtic a new manager finally coming to an end? It’s the news that everyone at Parkhead has been waiting for but it’s so far eluded the Bhoys.

Neil Lennon departed over nine weeks ago now but the club have struggled to complete a deal for his successor.

What’s the word?

A deal to finalise Eddie Howe’s move to Glasgow has been in the pipeline for the best part of a month now.

News emerged in early April that Howe was in advanced discussions with Celtic over a move to the club but things have stalled considerably in the last few weeks.

He doesn’t actually want to return to management until the summer while issues relating to his backroom staff have been lingering.

The 43-year-old wanted to bring Richard Hughes with him to Glasgow to make him the club’s new director of football but the Hoops want Fergal Harkin instead.

It looked as though hopes were beginning to fade in terms of Celtic’s pursuit of Howe a few days ago. That said, a major update from The Daily Mail on Wednesday says otherwise.

The print version of the newspaper claims that Howe is close to coming to an agreement with Celtic and he is now speaking to people he wants in his backroom team.

Desmond will be delighted

After the arduous two months that Celtic’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond has had with Celtic’s manager hunt, this will come as fantastic news.

So many issues have plagued their chase of Howe, namely with the manager’s agent and his backroom staff.

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One source revealed last month that the former Cherries boss wanted to bring the ‘kitchen sink’ with him to Paradise but with a move now heading towards its final stages, one of the parties must have loosened the grip on their demands.

Earlier this week, it was claimed that Hughes was no longer a pivotal part of the deal so perhaps it was Howe who finally broke during negotiations, rather than Celtic.

Either way, getting a deal over the line as quickly as possible will be imperative.

Dominic McKay has already got to work on behind-the-scenes matters but without a first-team manager, they cannot carry out a number of important tasks.

Their campaign is done and dusted so they can begin to think about player recruitment and sales.

It’s a crucial point of transition for the Hoops, one they’ll have to absolutely nail if they want to compete alongside Rangers again.

Two of their best players in Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard look likely to leave the exit door while Scott Brown is departing for Aberdeen.

There is also the threat that fringe players Leigh Griffiths, Tom Rogic and Ismaila Soro exit too. That’s without considering the number of players due back at their parent clubs after loan spells.

The sooner Celtic can get Howe to put pen to paper, the quicker they can start correcting their incredibly patchy squad. They cannot take any decisions without a manager present.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Celtic should hire jaw-dropping 47 y/o instead, he’s shades of Rodgers…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has criticised Newcastle United’s Miguel Almiron after the Paraguayan attacker stated that he would like to play for a team that “fights more”, prior to the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Almiron’s controversial comments came in a recent interview with Paraguayan radio station ABC Cardinal and, according to Football Insider, that interview has now left several of his Newcastle team-mates fuming.

In what has been a disappointing season for the Magpies, Almiron has arguably been one of few positives at the club. The 27-year-old has come up with some important goals for Steve Bruce’s side, netting in wins against Southampton and relegation rivals West Brom.

Discussing the comments made by Almiron in an exclusive interview with FFC, Palmer said:

“If I was Steve Bruce, I would be absolutely annoyed and angry. There’s too much, there’s too much coming out of Newcastle at the moment. I mean, the manager’s had a flare-up with one of the players, which is an everyday occurrence at football clubs up and down the country.

“Whether it’s between player and player or between player and manager, whether it’s a big player and a coach, there’s always a disagreement, but why that gets into the public domain…”

The ex-Sheffield Wednesday player also added:

“Him making that comment now is going to create more problems within the dressing room because players are going to turn around and say, ‘well you’re accusing me of not fighting then for the club?'”

With Newcastle battling for Premier League survival, Almiron’s comments are the last thing Bruce needs, especially after all the fallout from the Daily Mail’s Matt Ritchie story.

According to reports from Spain, Sergio Aguero is keeping the door open on a move to Leeds United this summer, with Marcelo Bielsa thought to be a key factor in the potential switch.

The report by Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness) claims that Leeds are “in the picture” to land Aguero this summer, with the 32-year-old set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season.

It is reported that, despite interest from Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, Marcelo Bielsa’s position as manager at Leed is of “importance” to Aguero, and that the Argentine values the proposal of playing for the Whites.

Furthermore, another advantage that Leeds are said to hold is their readiness to make a move for the Manchester City star, with it being claimed that both Juventus and PSG would have to sell players before sanctioning any deal.

Transfer Tavern Take

With Sport Witness’ translation claiming that Aguero is prioritising the “sporting project” ahead of “economic proposals” when deciding his next move, as the 32-year-old wants to feature regularly for his new side in order to secure a place in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup squad, this could be yet another feather in Leeds’ cap in their pursuit of the centre-forward.

Despite the fact that Rodrigo is classed as a centre-forward, the Spaniard has often been played in a deeper role this season, meaning that Bielsa’s only real option as a senior striker is Patrick Bamford.

As such, if the man Pep Guardiola recently claimed is “irreplaceable” were to join Leeds this summer, all the Argentine would have to do is convince Bielsa that he is a better option to lead the line than Bamford in order to become the Whites’ main man up top, or perhaps even tempt Bielsa to deploy them both together.

In other news: ‘I am convinced’ – Agent drops huge Bielsa claim; Leeds fans will be gutted if he’s right – find out more here!

Ahead of the summer transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur have been linked to an array of strikers.

It’s becoming increasingly unlikely that Spurs will activate Carlos Vinicius’ £36m option-to-buy when his loan finishes at the end of the season as they do not want to pay that much for him, as per the Daily Mail.

The Brazilian has chipped in with a few goals – scoring ten times – whilst playing second fiddle to Harry Kane, but there are still doubts over his ability and potential to ever be on a similar level to the Englishman.

Granted, that’s a hard task for a mere back-up but the majority of his goals have come against lower calibre opposition, including a hat-trick against non-league Marine.

One name that has been mooted is Southampton star Danny Ings, who would certainly add further quality and more importantly, a proven record in the Premier League.

Eurosport’s Dean Jones claimed in January that Spurs are monitoring the 28-year-old’s situation on the south coast ahead of a potential bid whilst further fuel has been added to the fire, with Carlton Palmer suggesting exclusively to Football FanCast that an agreement may have already been struck.

Ings has scored nine goals this season but regular injury problems have crept back into his game. He’s missed nine games in all competitions, ranging from knee and hamstring issues, to just a knock.

His long list of injuries should have Spurs worried, which is why they may be better going for the cheaper alternative, Schalke 04’s Matthew Hoppe.

According to Transfermarkt, the north Londoners are among several clubs taking a keen interest in the American forward. He could be available for as little as €10m (£8.5m) this summer, and that’ll be right up Daniel Levy’s street.

Especially as he’ll have to pay over four times that to secure Vinicius – and there’s no way of knowing how much the Saints would want for their star man.

Intriguingly, Hoppe has modelled his game on Kane, so who could be better in firstly, replicating his style as a back-up and then secondly, one day replacing him.

The 20-year-old told OneGoal last year: “I didn’t really have a specific team that I would support. But I looked up to Harry Kane a lot, and since I’ve been in Germany, I’ve tried to model my game after (Erling) Haaland and (Robert) Lewandowski.”

Hoppe has been a rare bright spark in an abysmal season for the Bundesliga outfit, scoring five goals in only 16 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

The 6 foot 3 forward has even been tipped to become the German league’s best-ever American, whilst there have even been comparisons made to Robert Lewandowski.

Former Schalke boss Christian Gross was left dazzled by his work-rate, he said: “I’m impressed with how much effort Hoppe gives for the team, how he gives 100 percent for Schalke.”

And he went onto add: “He’s a boy who’s unbelievably ambitious, has tremendous commitment and only thinks about Schalke. He wants to do whatever it takes to get us out of this situation. He really is a model professional. Even though he’s still very young, he doesn’t shy away from working extremely hard.”

Obviously, at just 20, he’s still very raw but sometimes hard work defies talent and that is something Mourinho will absolutely love. He’d only have to become half the player of a Kane or Lewandowski to make an impact.

Considering he’s reportedly available for a bargain seven-figure price, Hoppe would come fairly low-risk. He ticks the boxes for those key figures in the Spurs hierarchy. Levy should get this one done.

AND in other news, Spurs star dealt “significant” injury blow on international duty…