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Joe Aribo’s exit from Ibrox is set to be completed in the coming days, in an update that is likely to disappoint Rangers fans ahead of the new season.

What’s the word?

After an impressive season for club and country, the Gers attacker was perhaps always likely to attract interest from south of the border, and it seems as if the race has now been won for his signature.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein claimed on Twitter that:

“Southampton reach agreement with Rangers to sign Joe Aribo. £6m + add-ons + sell-on (could exceed £10m). Contract in place but not yet signed. If paperwork finalised versatile 25yo should undergo medical Fri/Sat.”

Supporters will be gutted

Rangers fans will no doubt be disappointed that they are receiving just £10m for such a promising player, especially when you consider that the Saints have also just paid up to £14m to sign Romeo Lavia, a player who has made just two senior appearances in his career thus far.

However, the Nigeria international does only have one year left on his contract and the deal represents excellent business for the Ibrox outfit when you consider that he cost just £300,000 to sign in 2019.

Rangers fans may feel disappointed that Aribo is swapping Glasgow for Hampshire, given that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side reached the Europa League final last season, whereas Southampton’s last European appearance came in the 2016/17 season.

Aribo was a key part of Rangers’ success last season, making a remarkable 57 appearances in all competitions, in which he contributed nine goals and ten assists, so he will undoubtedly be a big loss ahead of next season, and will need replacing at Ibrox.

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If the Gers are to progress and re-establish themselves as one of Europe’s elite clubs, then they need to find a way to keep hold of promising young players such as Aribo, but for now the prospect of the Premier League is clearly turning heads, and Rangers fans will undoubtedly be disappointed to see one of their best players leave.

And, in other news… Wilson plotting Rangers bid to sign £6m wizard, he would be a dream Aribo replacement

Fabrizio Romano has suggested Manchester United target Denzel Dumfries would be ‘perfect’ for the Premier League.

The Lowdown: United eye bid

The Red Devils appear to be closing in on two Netherlands internationals as Erik ten Hag’s first signings. Reports have suggested that deals have been agreed in principle for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia.

Ten Hag appears to have his eye on another Dutch star, with rumours suggesting that United may launch a €30m (£26m) bid for Inter Milan full-back Dumfries.

Goal have also claimed in recent weeks that the 26-year-old is under consideration as an ‘ideal player’ for Ten Hag’s favoured system.

The Latest: Romano’s comments

Talking to GiveMeSport, Romano had this to say on Dumfries following links of a move to Old Trafford, hailing the right wing back as ‘perfect’ for the Premier League.

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“He’s a very good player and I’m sure he would be perfect for the Premier League.

“He’s a physical player, he’s scoring goals, he had a very good first season at Inter and it was not easy because he was replacing Achraf Hakimi, who was one of the best right backs in Inter’s history, so it wasn’t easy, but he did very well.”

The Verdict: One to watch?

It looks as if United could go after Dumfries after they tie up moves for both De Jong and Malacia. As Romano mentions, he enjoyed a fine first season with Inter, contributing to 12 goals in 45 games.

Dumfries was also the club’s best rated full-back in 2021/22, as per WhoScored, with an average match rating of 6.81/10.

United may need to move on one of Aaron Wan-Bissaka or Diogo Dalot in order to bring Dumfries to Manchester and use him as a wing-back on the opposite side to Malacia, so fans may have to keep an eye on outgoings before we see any serious movement on the Dumfries front.

Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell has insisted that Manchester City might end up having no choice but to sell Raheem Sterling to Premier League rivals Chelsea this summer.

The Lowdown: BBC update

The 27-year-old only has 12 months remaining on his deal at the Etihad and the winger’s future with Pep Guardiola’s side has been thrown up in the air after an update from the BBC’s Simon Stone, who claims that Thomas Tuchel’s Blues are interested in signing the England starlet this window.

This has further been backed up by Di Marzio, who reports that Chelsea are confident of being able to complete a cheaper deal for the forward due to his current contract situation.

The Latest: Campbell’s Sterling claim

Asked by Football Insider whether City would regret letting Sterling leave for another English club, Campbell said:

“The quality in their squad is so high.

“If they look to sell a player only the best teams, who are their rivals, can afford to buy them. They are the teams that will look to buy them. No other teams can afford these players wages.

“Once you embark on that route, there are positive and negatives. That is one of the negatives when you look at it.

“Let’s say Sterling went to Chelsea and got 20-25 goals… It wouldn’t look great. That could happen.

“It is a chance that Man City have to take after bringing in [Erling] Haaland. It is one of those things.”

The Verdict: Time to say goodbye

Sterling has been a fantastic long-term servant at City since joining from Liverpool all the way back in 2015, netting an outstanding 131 goals during his seven-year stay, but now feels like the right time for him to go.

The 77-cap international, who was once hailed a “world class” player by Everton boss Frank Lampard, has fallen down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola in recent times, with the likes of Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez perhaps set to be the first choices either side of Erling Haaland.

If the Kingston-born gem wants to increase his chances of making an impression on Gareth Southgate ahead of the World Cup later this year, then the best option for him would be to make the switch elsewhere and get regular game time under his belt.

Liverpool are reportedly not due to make any more signings this summer and now a reliable source has given an update on the club’s priorities ahead of next season.

What’s the latest?

Italian journalist and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has given a big update on Naby Keita’s future at Liverpool.

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Romano took to his Here We Go podcast to reveal the latest update;

“Many Liverpool fans have been asking me about Wijnaldum re-joining Liverpool, but there’s nothing, sources tell me that this is fake news, the real priority right now is to extend the contract of Naby Keita.”

Supporters will be gutted

Liverpool supporters will surely be gutted that the club are now prioritising dealing with contracts over making new signings for the season ahead, especially when you consider Naby Keita’s lack of availability in the team over his time at the club so far.

Keita made the move to Anfield from RB Leipzig in 2017 for a reported fee of £52.7m and was expected to emulate his impressive form in the Bundesliga, however, the midfielder has been harboured with injuries for long periods which has seen the player largely unavailable to hit the ground running.

The £130k-per-week gem has had a massive 16 different instances of injury or illness accumulating 307 days out of the team which is equal to 62 fixtures for the Reds, but has in his most recent campaign shown his capabilities and talent when he can get a run of games going.

In 23 Premier League appearances Keita has scored three goals, contributed one assist and created two big chances, making two tackles and taking 1.1 shots on goal on average per game, winning the majority of his ground duels (52%), proving that when he is injury-free he can be effective in the team albeit only starting 14 league games.

With that being said, Liverpool must carefully consider their options as they have already wasted millions on Keita sitting in the recovery room. They should not put themselves in the position to do so again by extending his contract instead of appointing a new midfielder who can offer availability and output consistently.

AND in other news: FSG plotting LFC bid to sign “top class” £77.2m machine, he can be Klopp’s De Bruyne

West Bromwich Albion have suffered a setback in their pursuit of Hamza Choudhury after Leicester have issued a new wage demand.

The Lowdown: Baggies facing competition

The 24-year-old looks set to leave the King Power on loan having only made six Premier League appearances for the Foxes last season.

The Baggies are just one of the Championship clubs to have been strongly linked with a move for the midfielder in recent weeks, with Middlesbrough also said to be interested in securing his services, but after a fresh update, it appears as though it won’t be an easy task for the Hawthorns side to complete a deal for the maestro.

The Latest: Leicester issue Choudhury wage demand

In a new article published by the Express and Star, it’s claimed Leicester would want ‘80%’ of Choudhury’s wages to be paid by West Brom if he made the switch across the Midlands.

The source states that the two parties have been ‘in talks’ over a potential deal, with the Loughborough-born talent said to have ‘long been admired’ by Steve Bruce.

The Verdict: Just pay it?

Bruce will be wanting to complete his transfer business as early as possible so that all of his new additions can be integrated into the squad in time for pre-season, and Choudhury would be a brilliant signing to get in the building.

Despite only clocking up 287 minutes of action in the top flight last term, the midfield destroyer recorded an 82.6% pass success rate when on the field, and averaged 1.5 tackles per league game, via WhoScored.

Someone who has the ability to tighten up a midfield and control a game from the central area is something that West Brom have been crying out for as Jake Livermore ages, and  there’s a solid chance that they would receive exactly what they have been looking for in Choudhury if they stump up the cash this summer.

Leeds United are set to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Marc Roca, according to Marca.

The Lowdown: Phil Hay reveal

The Whites have been hard at work preparing for Jesse Marsch’s first full season in charge, with moves for Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen already finalised.

Midfield reinforcements appear to be next on the agenda, with Phil Hay revealing in The Athletic on Thursday that Leeds are keen on signing Roca. The Spaniard is viewed as competition and support for Kalvin Phillips, and it looks as if a transfer is rapidly gathering pace.

The Latest: Roca transfer latest

Marca provided a big update on Saturday evening regarding Leeds and Roca. They claimed that the midfielder is ‘about to become a new Leeds United player’ in a deal worth €13m-€15m (£11.1m-£12.8m).

The report adds that the 25-year-old will sign a three- or four-year contract in Yorkshire and will play a ‘leading role’ following an ‘express request from Jesse Marsch’.

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The Verdict: Good news

Roca is primarily a defensive midfielder who can also play in a box-to-box role, something that Leeds desperately require.

Phillips is the club’s only holding midfielder, so the Spaniard may strike up a partnership with the boyhood Whites fan in a 4-2-2-2 system under Marsch.

There’s no guarantee that Phillips will still be a Leeds player next season due to interest from Manchester City, so Leeds may need even more holding midfield additions after Roca, but it is good to know that the Victor Orta appears to be closing in on yet another signing.

In other news: Leeds now won’t sign ‘superb’ midfielder despite Phil Hay revealing talks

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Ben Brereton Diaz to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent report by The Sun, who claim that, with both West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion no longer believed to be pursuing a deal for the Blackburn Rovers centre-forward this summer, Victor Orta has now been handed a clearer run at a move for the 23-year-old.

However, the report goes on to state that both Everton and recently promoted AFC Bournemouth are also keeping a close eye on the situation of the Chile international ahead of a potential swoop of their own, while a number of Spanish clubs – including Sevilla, Real Betis and Valencia – are also thought to have registered an interest in the striker.

It’s thought Blackburn are looking for a fee of around £13m for the forward.

A huge coup

Considering just how impressive Brereton Diaz was for Blackburn this season, in addition to the sheer number of clubs interested in the 23-year-old’s services this summer, should Orta manage to get a deal over the line for the Chilean sensation in the coming weeks, it would undoubtedly represent a huge coup for the Whites.

Indeed, over his 37 Championship appearances this term, the £14.4m-rated striker was in astonishing form for Rovers, hitting the back of the net 22 times, providing three assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots, making 0.6 key passes and completing 1.6 dribbles per game.

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These metrics saw the £6.5k-per-week hitman who Tony Mowbray dubbed “an extraordinary talent” average a SofaScore match rating of 6.94, ranking him as his club’s eighth-best performer in the league – while his 22 goals saw him rank joint third in the second tier scoring charts.

As such, with Leeds having scored just 42 Premier League goals in 2021/22 – the joint fourth-worst record in the division – it is clear to see that the addition of a player with a knack for finding the onion bag as regularly as Brereton Diaz is very much needed this summer.

However, with the likes of Sevilla being able to offer the 23-year-old Champions League football next season, Orta will certainly have a fight on his hands if he is to convince the forward of a switch to Elland Road ahead of the Whites’ 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news: Orta could seal “unbelievable” deal as Leeds now plot bid for £83k-p/w “goal machine”

Islington Gazette Journalist Josh Bunting was left shocked with the news that Rangers defender Connor Goldson has agreed a new four-year contract at Ibrox.

The Lowdown: Goldson’s contract

The 29-year-old was set to be out of contract this summer after arriving at the Ibrox from Brighton in 2018.

Ahead of the Scottish Cup final, Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst conceded to the Glasgow Times that it was likely that Goldson would leave the club upon the expiry of his contract.

“Regarding Connor, the club has been in talks with him to extend his contract. So far, he hasn’t extended it. The chance he will still be a Rangers player after tomorrow will be small,” the manager said.

The Latest: Journalist reacts

Following Rangers’ shock announcement that Goldson has agreed to a new four-year deal, Bunting gave his immediate reaction on Twitter.

“Wow, honestly didn’t expect this and thought he was off to Nottingham Forest. That’s a big move for Rangers.”

The Verdict: Huge news for Rangers

With Premier League interest looming over his head, it looked likely that Goldson would join up with Steve Cooper at newly promoted Nottingham Forest.

However, with the news of a fresh contract, Gers fans will surely be delighted to see the centre-back remain at Ibrox and look to take back the title from Celtic next season.

Having made 222 appearances for the Glasgow outfit, the 29-year-old has been a mainstay in Rangers’ team, providing van Bronckhorst with a leader in the dressing room and on the pitch – his departure would have hurt in more ways than one.

In other news: Rangers: Pete O’Rourke drops Aaron Ramsey claim

Newcastle United are reportedly now ready to sign Lucas Paqueta in what would be a club-record deal this summer.

The Lowdown: Another Bruno…

Paqueta is very much cut from the same cloth as Bruno Guimaraes, in the respect that he is a silky Brazilian midfielder who plays for Lyon, with Bruno since moving to St. James’ Park in the January transfer window.

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The Magpies fan favourite is a ‘good friend’ of Paqueta’s, and so could play his part in trying to persuade his former teammate to join him in the North East.

The Latest: Deal readied

As per The Times, the Tyneside outfit are now ready to break their transfer record to sign Paqueta, who would cost them in the region of £50m.

He is a ‘major target’ for Eddie Howe, and his side are now ‘weighing up’ an offer for the 24-year-old.

The Verdict: Sign

The prospect of getting Bruno and Paqueta playing on the pitch for the same team again is truly mouth-watering, and adding another Brazilian in Joelinton into the middle of the park is surely something that the Toon Army will want to see.

Hailed as ‘exemplary and a ‘soldier’ by his teammate Karl Toko-Ekambi earlier this season, he is even a player that Arsenal and Premier League legend Thierry Henry loves.

No wonder, as Paqueta managed 11 goals and seven assists from midfield in all competitions this term (Transfermarkt), and so would be an extra deadly weapon for the Magpies should they be able to get this deal over the line.

In other news, find out what shock triple raid of one top-flight club NUFC are now eyeing here!

Manchester United had their fans jumping for joy last summer when they announced that Cristiano Ronaldo would be making a return to Old Trafford.

Despite the 37-year-old finding the net 18 times in 30 Premier League appearances this season, he couldn’t carry his side to a top-four finish.

With 58 points on the board, the Red Devils finished sixth, having scored (and conceded) just 57 goals in 38 league games, a lower return than the likes of Leicester City and West Ham United.

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One other Portuguese figure who could be seen as a bright light in a dark season for the Manchester club is Bruno Fernandes.

No other outfield player at United ended up playing more minutes than the midfielder, who scored 10 goals and delivered six assists in 36 appearances.

To further highlight his importance to the team, none of his team-mates came close to equalling the number of shot-creating actions (145) that Fernandes made throughout the campaign.

Now that the season has mercifully drawn to a close, the focus for the club and their new manager Erik Ten Hag can move on to the summer transfer window.

To make the Red Devils a deadlier team in an attacking sense, one player with whom they have been linked and who could do just that, potentially forming a scary duo with Fernandes, is Jonathan David.

Imagine him and Bruno

In 179 appearances between his previous club Gent and his current side Lille, the £45m-rated striker has scored 69 goals and supplied 20 assists across all competitions.

With 38 league outings to his name in Ligue 1 this season, the 22-year-old has racked up the highest number of shots on target (30) and the joint-highest number of successful dribbles (34) at his club.

This shows just how dangerous he can be in an attacking sense and illustrates why he could be a deadly figure for United if he has Fernandes feeding him with plenty of chances to score.

Labelled a “ruthless” player by Mark-Anthony Kaye, David is exactly the sort of player that the Red Devils need in their team to make them a scary attacking force again.

With all that in mind, the prospect of having an attacking duo of Fernandes and David should be enough for Ten Hag to launch a move for the striker in the coming weeks and months.

In other news – Bid incoming: Sky Sports journalist drops MUFC transfer update, Ten Hag will be thrilled