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Ben Jacobs has dropped a behind-the-scenes claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United involving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Writing as part of a Twitter thread in reaction to the emails between the Premier League and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that showed how close the deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA group was, the journalist and regular takeover commenter tweeted:

“Can also reveal prior to withdrawing, & in mid-June, club & consortium considered releasing a statement putting pressure on EPL to conclude Test. They spoke openly about this tactic, only to instead withdraw in July. Very possible DCMS were aware of this potential statement, too.”

Newcastle takeover talk looming again

As was very much the case in the summer, when the emails were said to be exchanged before the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) eventually decided to withdraw their bid, the talk of a potential takeover of the St. James’ Park faithful has come roaring right back in recent days.

Jacobs’ claim from within the club seems to supply more evidence of just how desperate both the Magpies and the consortium were to get this done, given that they were willing to try anything to heap pressure on those making the final call.

Considering how close it was to being pushed through, it is very possible that the takeover will be revisited come the end of the 2020/21 term, when the fate of the North East club is sealed in terms of whether they manage to avoid being relegated from the top flight down to the EFL Championship.

Nonetheless, a path would have to be cleared for PIF to come back to the table, and the Premier League would surely have to hurry their Owners’ and Directors’ Test (ODT) given the growing impatience, with the results holding the key over whether the deal can be revived or not.

In other news, find out what revelation Craig Hope has dropped on the potential new owners here!

Speaking after West Ham United’s encounter with Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, David Moyes provided a positive outlook amid injury fears for Jesse Lingard, with the Irons manager sending an encouraging message after their 3-2 defeat at St James’ Park.

The Hammers travelled to Tyneside aiming to clinch another victory on the road to unprecedented Champions League qualification, but Moyes’ men instead succumbed to a setback in the race for a top four finish.

West Ham lost 3-2 in what was another very eventful match, with the Irons coming back from 2-0 down at one point only to lose Joe Willock in the area for the home side’s eventual winner. The biggest worry from that defeat, however, appeared to be a potential injury for Lingard, who was hooked by Moyes near full-time.

Providing a positive update after the match, Moyes outlined: “I think it was just cramp, I don’t think it was anything serious” (via Jack Rosser).

Flocking to this message, many Hammers supporters were naturally relieved that the in-form 28-year-old – whose penalty against Newcastle was his ninth goal in 10 games for West Ham – hasn’t taken a serious knock. Read some of their verdicts below on this “positive news”, as one fan described it.

West Ham fans ecstatic over Moyes update

“Thank the lord”

Credit: @notorious1324

“we live to see another day”

Credit: @Whuben1

“Some positive news”

Credit: @jamiemaragakis

“I pray this is not just Moyes trying to downplay it”

Credit: @ScottieHammer1

“Phew!”

Credit: @Lawrenceee_B

“Let’s hope so”

Credit: @_samhowell

In other news: GSB still in pole position for this ‘phenomenal’ striker, find out more here.

Noel Whelan has urged Leeds United to go out and sign Glen Kamara in the summer transfer window.

Earlier in April, the Daily Mail reported that the Elland Road faithful still hold an interest in the central midfield player and that Rangers are ‘fighting’ to keep hold of him.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Whites striker has urged his old side to sign him:

“He brings quality, Steven Gerrard recognises how important he is to Rangers.

“That’s why he wants to tie him down on a new contract. Good players will always be looked at and that’s the problem. 

“What he’ll bring is energy, aggression, quality passing and Marcelo Bielsa likes players with energy, players who can get around the field. 

“He would bring those fitness levels and also quality and competition to that midfield position.”

Leeds should sign Kamara

The Peacocks should try and sign Kamara in the summer once the market opens. As Whelan points out, the qualities that he brings are ones that Marcelo Bielsa likes and so he would put in very well under the Argentinian manager.

The fact that the Finland international has averaged no fewer than 75.7 touches per game in the Scottish Premiership so far in the 2020/21 term shows that he is a player that is comfortable on the ball and one that his teammates look to pass to, while he is also more than capable of getting the ball back for his team out of possession, winning 3.9 of his duels per match – all-action indeed.

With the Gers enjoying an impressive season under Steven Gerrard in taking the SPL title off of the hands of Celtic, the 25-year-old will surely be a player in high demand, and LUFC need to make sure that they fend off all of the potential competition to his signature.

In other news, find out how many signings Whelan expects Leeds to make this summer here!

Hajduk Split president Luksa Jakobusic has talked about Celtic target Mario Vuskovic and whether his club would be willing to let the defender go.

It has been previously reported (via Area Napoli) that Celtic have had an offer rejected for young Vuskovic and Napoli are also interested in the defender. Jakobusic has now given some updates about Hajduk Split’s asking price for the defender and their stance on his potential sale.

Hajduk in no rush to sell to Celtic

Hajduk’s president has not confirmed the reports about whether clubs made any offers to sign Vuskovic or not, but he also proceeded to say that his club will sell the defender if the offered fee presents good business for them. He also revealed that the Croatian club aren’t in a financial position where they essentially have to sell players to stay afloat.

Here’s what Jakobusic had to say, via The Scottish Sun: “I can neither confirm nor deny the recent reports about a bid for Mario. The player will only be sold if the deal represents good business sense for the club. We are no longer in a position where we have to sell players to survive.

“The club is in a much better position financially and we will look at Mario’s position at the end of the season.”

It has been suggested that while Napoli are interested and Celtic have had a bid turned down, Torino are also one of the interested parties in Vuskovic.

Area Napoli’s report also claims that a fee of €5 million (£4.3 million) was deemed too low for Hajduk to let Vuskovic leave.

The Croatian club have previously rejected an offer from Fiorentina, and all this interest is perhaps no surprise given Vuskovic has been compared to Milan Skriniar and Matthijs de Ligt.

Get it done McKay

Kristoffer Ajer has been linked with a move away from Parkhead, with Hatem Abd Elhamed already having departed. Christopher Jullien remains injured and Shane Duffy returns to Brighton in the summer, so the first move new chief Dominic McKay makes simply must be for a defender.

Celtic will need more defensive options if they are to challenge Rangers next season, and Vuskovic has been described as a physically able defender who has good technique too. The 19-year-old defender already has experience of playing regular first-team football, and appears to be the perfect candidate to follow a similar career path to the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Kieran Tierney, thriving in Glasgow before moving on for a big profit.

Keeping all of that in mind, it is easy to see why Celtic are going after Vuskovic and we feel McKay should push for him in the summer, even if it means eclipsing the £4.3m fee quoted above.

In other news, ‘Absolutely massive’ – 42 y/o drops huge Celtic transfer claim after latest major development

Southampton have recently been linked with a move for Angers left-back Souleyman Doumbia, but it would be a poor decision by Ralph Hasenhuttl and Martin Semmens to bring him to St Mary’s this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Saints are eyeing a move for the 24-year-old as they seek a potential replacement for Ryan Bertrand, who is currently set to depart the club at the end of the season when his contract expires.

However, he is also reportedly on the radars of Nice and Lyon after establishing himself as the first choice left-back with Les Noirs et Blancs this season.

Would he be a good signing?

Whilst it is impossible to know whether or not Doumbia would prove to be a success at St Mary’s, his stats this season are rather underwhelming and suggest that he would not prove to be a suitable replacement for Bertrand in Hasenhuttl’s side.

In 26 appearances this season, the Ivory Coast international has managed no goals and just one assist, resulting in a less than impressive 6.63 average match rating from WhoScored.

Last season saw him make just six league appearances for Rennes and Angers combined, as he initially joined Stéphane Moulin’s side on loan in January 2020; and if he wasn’t a regular with either of those sides, he would perhaps find it difficult to establish himself as a consistent presence at Southampton.

Whilst he is rated at just £2.25m by Transfermarkt, suggesting that he would prove to be relatively cheap should the Saints make an official approach, his performances have done little to suggest that he would be a good addition in the Premier League.

Although Hasenhuttl has suggested that Southampton will target players for less than £10m this summer, it feels as if they are really scraping the barrel with their interest in Doumbia, as the best spell of his career was arguably with Grasshoppers Zurich in Switzerland.

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If we were to compare Doumbia’s defensive stats to Southampton’s this season, his 1.8 tackles per game would rank him joint-tenth, whilst his 82.3% pass success rate would rank him tenth. Considering that passing and tackling are two key attributes for a modern full-back, it is difficult to believe that he would be an improvement on any of Southampton’s current options.

His recent displays have also been very disappointing, as the last time he earned above a 7/10 match rating was in January, suggesting that he lacks the consistency to thrive in the Premier League.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

Therefore, Semmens should steer well clear of Doumbia this summer as he could prove to be a  disastrous signing if he is brought to St Mary’s.

In other news… Ralph handed big boost in pursuit of £8.1m-rated beast, Semmens must deliver

Former Everton striker Marcus Bent has exclusively told Football FanCast that he expects Theo Walcott to join Southampton permanently this summer.

Following a disappointing two-and-a-half seasons at Goodison Park, the former Arsenal man was loaned back to his boyhood club last summer, 14 years after his departure.

And Walcott has found his form once again on the south Coast, scoring twice and laying on three assists in 19 Premier League appearances.

One of those two goals came on his return to the Emirates in the 1-1 draw back in December, although a hamstring problem sustained in January has threatened to stall the £100,ooo per-week winger’s momentum, forcing him to miss nine games.

However, the ex-England international has recovered from that injury to feature in four of the Saints’ previous five matches.

Walcott’s loan deal runs out at the end of the season, but so does his Toffees contract, meaning he’ll be available on a free transfer should Everton decide against offering him fresh terms.

And Bent told Football FanCast that he thinks Walcott will end up back at St Mary’s:

“I spoke to the club. He got to Everton from Arsenal and didn’t do too much.

“He’s a good player, you can see it by him going back to Southampton. He’s on fire, he’s got that spark again.

“I think Southampton is his nearest and dearest thing to his heart at the minute. He’s from there, he knows the club inside out, so I think he will stay with Southampton.”

Leeds must reignite their interest in Liverpool star Harry Wilson in the upcoming summer transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports last summer suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were very much interested in the Wales international, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the deadline.

And, earlier this month, Wilson admitted that unless he gets a chance to prove himself at Anfield this summer, he is “determined” to secure a move away from the club.

He said: “I feel I’m good enough to be in that squad. I’d like to think I could go in there and add something different. But that’s out of my hands. That’s up to the manager there to make those decisions but I’m fully focused on finishing the season with Cardiff and playing at the Euros with Wales.

“I’m determined to have a good tournament there and, if it’s not with Liverpool (next season), I’m determined to get a move. I feel I deserve to play at the highest level I can.”

Bielsa would be buzzing

When news emerged of Wilson’s summer intentions, former Leeds man Noel Whelan insisted that the winger would be exactly what Bielsa would like at Elland Road.

He said: “Wilson could be an option for us. He is better than Tyler Roberts.  When you are talking about a number 10, you need to be the star player. You need the one who creates, the one that opens up the door. He cannot do that on a regular basis. Wilson is a busy player, he has an eye for a pass, pace and a wonderful left-foot. He can adapt to a number of roles as well which is what Marcelo Bielsa likes.”

Indeed, The Athletic’s Phil Hay has previously claimed that Wilson is “very highly rated by Leeds (and Victor Orta especially) for a while and he’s always on the list of possibles. With Wilson, it would depend on price and what Liverpool intend to do with him. One to watch, possibly.”

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Given they couldn’t get a deal over the line for him last summer, Wilson’s admission about his potential wish to leave Liverpool should see Leeds go back in for the £60k-a-week earning ace and finally land their man.

Meanwhile, Leeds must land this Premier League star after Noel Whelan’s transfer claim…

Mark Douglas has dropped some insight from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) on the potential Newcastle United takeover.

The Lowdown: Ashley launches legal bid

The Guardian recently reported that Ashley released a powerful statement after HMRC quietly stopped a long-running investigation into the tax affairs of the Tyneside club.

According to the Shields Gazette, Newcastle and the chief executive of Sports Direct have accused the Premier League of what they think was anti-competitive behaviour in their decision-making process on the proposed deal from the KSA consortium.

They are looking to take the league to court over the matter and have also accepted an anti-competition case given to them by Newcastle Consortium Supporters Limited (NCSL), with the Premier League given fresh legal papers as Ashley looks to push them to put through the bid.

The Latest: PIF insight on takeover

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Douglas has shared that Ashley’s legal bid is further evidence to PIF that he is still fully committed to the deal, with all parties wanting to illustrate that it is not dead in the water.

Other clubs and advisors have constantly approached them with proposals, but it seems as if both parties still want their original deal to go through.

The Verdict: Arbitration key to potential takeover revival

The pending arbitration case between Newcastle and the Premier League will likely be crucial in seeing where the potential takeover is heading.

A positive outcome for the Magpies could clear a pathway, but a negative one could leave any potential revival of the original bid officially dead and buried.

In other news, find out what big claim has been dropped on the potential Newcastle takeover!

Everton’s home form this season has been abject to say the very least.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men hadn’t tasted the sweet sensation of three points at Goodison Park since March 1st.

However, with a smattering of fans back inside Goodison Park for the visit of Wolves, they were spurred on to earn a crucial win in their bid for European football.

The energy that Everton showed had a renewed vigour to it. Skipper Seamus Coleman was everywhere while the purpose and speed at which they moved the ball significantly improved.

It was Richarlison who sent the crowd into raptures again. He leapt brilliantly from Gylfi Sigurdsson’s ball in to score his first goal in Everton colours for over two months as the Toffees won 1-0.

The Brazilian was just one of a plethora of players who seemed to be inspired by fans being back inside the stadium.

Though, he can’t take all the credit. Another man who had the crowd standing to attention was Lucas Digne.

Fresh from being announced in France’s squad for the delayed European Championships, he demonstrated why he deserves to be in a group with one of the deepest talent pools in the international game.

As he did against Wolves back in January, Digne ran the show from left-back, coping with the effervescent and direct threat of Adama Traore astutely.

Digne won seven defensive duels throughout the contest, making three tackles that stopped the Old Gold in their tracks.

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It said a lot that he was only dribbled past on one occasion. Against a player like Traore, that’s a very impressive accomplishment.

However, it was in attack where the £18m signing was at his best.

Terrorising Nelson Semedo down the right, Digne attempted no fewer than seven crosses throughout his time on the field.

He provided three key passes for the Toffees attack to try and score from while he was also successful with two of his three dribbles.

This was an immense day at the office for the Frenchman, a player who has taken to English football like a duck to water.

The 27-year-old’s delivery is first-class, he is strong in the tackle and he also knows how to beat a man for fun.

This was close to a complete performance from the full-back; all that was missing was a goal or an assist.

AND in other news, Forget Gordon: Ancelotti must unleash “fearless” 21 y/o Everton beast next season…

Former Newcastle United star Steve Howey has told The Transfer Tavern that the return of fans to St James’ Park will be central to keeping Allan Saint-Maximin at the club.

The winger has been linked with a move away from the Magpies in the summer transfer window, and hinted to talkSPORT this week that the north-east outfit need to show ambition to ensure they aren’t in relegation battles.

Roma have been linked with a swoop after appointing Jose Mourinho as their new manager, as a report in Italy, via The Sun, claims that the Portuguese will have to spend around £60m to snap up the Frenchman.

He still has five years left on his contract and has been one of the club’s best players in recent months.

Saint-Maximin has scored three goals and laid on five assists this term, and is arguably one of the most exciting players at the club.

Howey believes, though, that keeping Saint-Maximin is key for Newcastle and he believes that bringing supporters back into St James’ Park could see the forward become aware of just how loved he is in the north east.

Speaking exclusively to TT, he said: “It just depends on the player. I think that if we can get fans back, that could help Newcastle keep him, because he will see how much the fans love him and he’ll love that because he seems that type of person anyway.

“He seems very witty on social media with certain stuff. They buy into him all day, but I think it’ll be really good for him, because he can get the feeling, first hand, of what Newcastle fans are like, and how much they’ll be off their seat when he gets the ball. Just the noise of the crowd, and I think that’ll definitely help Saint-Maximin realise that there’s not many clubs where you’re going to get that.”