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After 16 long years, Leeds United have finally returned to the Premier League.

Under Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa, the club managed to win the Championship last season and booked their place in next seasons Premier League campaign. With the transfer window currently open, the club have found themselves trying to strengthen their squad ahead of the start of the new season on September 4th – and haven’t let the current financial struggles from COVID-19 keep them from doing so.

The club have found themselves linked with an abundance of players over the past few weeks, as well as already signing Jack Harrison on a further season-long loan, Illan Mesiler on a permanent transfer after spending last season on loan at the club, and 18-year-old Joe Gelhardt.

With the transfer rumours flying around as they usually do, players and clubs will be linked with each other from all over the world – but who would be the most realistic signings for Leeds this window?

Sergio Romero

Despite the permanent signing of French goalkeeper Illan Meslier – who had a fantastic end to last season with Leeds due to No.1 choice Kiko Casilla being banned for eight matches after racially abusing Charlton forward Jonathan Leko – with the Spaniard likely to leave the club this summer.

This departure means Leeds will be left with one experienced goalkeeper in Meslier, and the club have recently been linked with a move for Manchester United’s number 2 Sergio Romero.

The Argentinian has reportedly been looking for first-team football and Leeds have been linked with a move with manager and fellow countryman Bielsa a keen admirer of the shot-stopper, and he has a fantastic record in the games he’s played for United. Romero has 39 clean sheets in 61 appearances for the Red Devils and would be a welcome addition to Bielsa’s squad.

Emiliano Buendia

Another Argentinian that Bielsa could swoon over to Elland Road this summer is Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendia. After the Canaries were relegated last season, they have found themselves in a position that will likely see them sell some of their best performers from last year’s campaign – with one of those being Buendia.

The 23-year-old finished the season with the most assists for Norwich with 7, as well as six MOTM awards after 36 league games.

The winger has a current market value of £13.05 million, and Norwich have reportedly valued him at around £20 million, a price that Leeds have said they are happy to meet, with Norwich also giving permission for the player to leave (via TEAMtalk).

Marcos Senesi

It appears to be an Argentinian overload, but that’s what happens when you have one of the best Argentinian managers of all time in charge. The club have been linked with a move for Feyenoord centre-back Marcos Senesi, who joined the Dutch club in September last year.

His stats for last season are impressive too, with the 23-year-old averaging 2.4 tackles, 1.8 interceptions, 2.1 aerial duels won, and 3.6 clearances from his 16 games in the Eredivisie, as well as averaging a 7.07 WhoScored match rating in that time – and with a market value of just over £12 million, he could be a great move for Leeds this summer, with the on-loan Ben White now returning to his parent club Brighton, who will likely want to keep hold of him this season.

Saïd Benrahma

With Brentford narrowly missing out on the Premier League after their 2-1 defeat to Fulham in the Championship play-off final, the Bees will likely see the departure of their best players, including Algerian winger Saïd Benrahma.

Leeds are reportedly hopeful of a £20 million deal for the 26-year-old despite interest from West Ham and Aston Villa, who enjoyed a fantastic season last year scoring 17 goals with 9 assists from a number of positions, highlighting his versatility.

The player would of bee disappointed to miss out on the Premier League with Brentford, and the prospect of that with Leeds may prove enough for them to persuade Benrahma to sign.

Ollie Watkins

Another Brentford starlet who will be desperate for Premier League football – Ollie Watkins enjoyed a sensational season for the Bees. After 49 Championship games, the 24-year-old finished the season with a fantastic 26 goals and has attracted the attention of many clubs in England.

Leeds are reportedly favourites to sign the striker, and could acquire his services for a cool £18 million thanks to a clause in his contract that was activated after the club failed to achieve promotion to the Premier League (via LeedsLive).

If Watkins were to join the club, he could strike up a great partnership with current No.9 Patrick Bamford, who himself has a keen eye for goal.

Liverpool have been chasing Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara for essentially the entirety of the summer transfer window. At first, while the current champions of Europe were still competing for their crown, the ongoing season was an obstacle, but now, their path should be cleared.

However, Jurgen Klopp was reluctant to meet the Bavarians’ asking price for the elite midfielder despite being able to scoop him up for a relatively low sum, and that could now be punished by a potential new bidder.

Mundo Deportivo have reported that Barcelona are considering going back for Thiago and bringing him home. The midfielder has been a big part of their squad in the years gone by and they could indeed make a bid for him.

The problem is that Ronald Koeman, the new coach, has different priorities and wants Georginio Wijnaldum instead while the board prefers the Spaniard.

And their decision could ultimately make the difference for Liverpool as well. If they sell Wijnaldum to Barcelona, they could have the funds to seal the Thiago transfer. However, if Barcelona insist on getting the Bayern star themselves, it feels like the Reds won’t be able to stop them.

Needless to say, this would indeed be a shame because Thiago would be perfect for Liverpool according to Graeme Souness. Here’s what he said about him in his column in The Times:

“Thiago Alcantara, the Bayern Munich midfielder, would be perfect because he works his socks off but is also gifted technically. He is 29, but he still has a couple of years, maybe three, at the highest level left in him.”

Verdict

It would be a real shame if Liverpool missed out on Thiago. It’s simply not possible to get a world-class midfielder like him for a low price and usually they are not exactly available on the market.

For that reason, Klopp shouldn’t let Barcelona beat them in the race for his signature.

West Bromwich Albion’s return to the Premier League got off to the worst possible way as they were thrashed by their Midlands rivals at the Hawthorns.

You can’t afford to make mistakes in the top-flight as you’ll be punished and that’s what the Baggies have quickly learned following a 3-0 defeat to Leicester City on Sunday afternoon.

A pair of Jamie Vardy penalties toppled Slaven Bilic’s men after debutant Timothy Castagne opened the scoring early in the second half.

It’s clear to see that one of Albion’s biggest problems isn’t close to being resolved whatsoever. There are goals in this side with exciting attacking options in the form of Grady Diangana, Matheus Pereira and Callum Robinson.

But defensively, they are very poor.

The west Midlanders only managed to keep a clean sheet in 30% of their 46 matches last term. Only four clean sheets came at home, too.

None of Bilic’s three centre-backs could manage a rating above 6.3 per SofaScore whilst the performance from Kyle Bartley was particularly worrying as he gave away the first penalty.

The 29-year-old failed to record a single tackle, lost possession ten times, committed one foul and won just three of five duels, via SofaScore.

Considering he was a mainstay last season, it would be wise to focus their transfer intentions towards finding a viable replacement otherwise the Baggies are in for one long campaign.

Whilst the imminent signing of Branislav Ivanovic helps it somewhat, it’s not enough as Cedric Kipre is vastly inexperienced at the level – as is Semi Ajayi and Dara O’Shea, who both started against the Foxes.

Alex Bruce has previously slammed the centre-back’s inconsistencies to Football Insider, he said: “The one thing you can say about him from when he was at Swansea – and he had a bit of a time at Leeds – he’s got to get his consistency levels sorted. He’s been one to play really well, catch your eye and then make a stupid mistake like he gives the penalty away.”

From 44 passes, Bartley only managed to record a 77.3% passing accuracy, which is quite disastrous as a defender, especially considering the out-from-the-back system Bilic deploys.

Albion could do with a major upgrade to the 6 foot 4 colossus – and quick.

AND in other news, West Brom may have found themselves another Grady Diangana in 23 y/o target…

Felipe Anderson’s imperfect performance against Everton in the Carabao Cup highlighted all the flaws of the once-adored West Ham United man’s game, as much as the Brazilian teased the reasons why supporters once lauded his capture.

The 27-year-old is now in his third season in east London after the Irons failed to find any suitors willing to purchase his services in the summer, having touted Anderson on the transfer market in the hopes of raising vital funds needed to strengthen David Moyes’ squad.

It was only a year prior that supporters were hailing Anderson as being ‘incredible’ and ‘terrific to watch’ 12-months on from his then club-record £36million move, but they are now using terms like ‘bottle job’ and calling the former SS Lazio forward ‘lazy, inconsistent and a coward’.

Supporters’ perception of Anderson clearly drastically changed during the 2019/20 campaign and the Brazilian has a lot of work in store if he’s to repair his reputation, after leaving it in relative tatters after hitting just one goal and penning five assists across 27 outings in all competitions.

The new season had started more promisingly with a goal and an assist in the Carabao Cup, but creating Robert Snodgrass’ initial equaliser at Everton failed to paint over the cracks his performance otherwise created.

The first-half offered much promise from Anderson as he attempted to make things click in attack and was clearly the busiest of the Irons’ front three, only to be without much luck and for the tide to turn after the interval when he became a shadow of himself.

Misplaced touches and poor decision making became the theme of his game as he fell from the frontline, ultimately resulting in Anderson’s name being scrubbed from match reports to the point his only mention in The Guardian was for his assist and inclusion in the teamsheet.

Had more words been written on Anderson they would have focused on a player appearing devoid of all confidence and unable to beat his man, having lost six of his 15 ground duels, delivered one accurate cross from three attempts, played no long passes and lost possession 19 times – only Ben Johnson lost possession as much of the outfield West Ham players who started, per SofaScore.

When the Irons are next in Premier League action away to Leicester City on Sunday, it would be a more surprising turn of events should Anderson feature in his first starting line-up of the top-flight campaign than were his name among the substitutes once more.

AND in other news, West Ham have submitted an offer to sign David Moyes’ top striker target.

Burnley are reportedly keen on a loan move for Tottenham youngster Ryan Sessegnon, although they face competition from two other Premier League clubs.

The Telegraph reported that the Clarets, along with Southampton and Brighton, are interested in taking the 20-year-old on loan, as he has fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho at Spurs.

Sessegnon, who is valued at £22.5m by TransferMarkt, joined Tottenham from Fulham in 2019 but has struggled for game-time in north London, making just 12 appearances for Spurs and yet to feature for them so far this season.

However, the left-sided utility player, who is equally capable of operating in defence or midfield and can even be deployed as a wide attacker (as per TransferMarkt), has been hailed as “brilliant” and “unselfish” by Tottenham team-mate Danny Rose, who also described him as a “down to earth” individual (as per Evening Standard).

Sessegnon’s ability to play at left-back could provide stiff competition for Charlie Taylor and Erik Pieters at Burnley; and if Sean Dyche sees him as more of a midfield player, he could be vying with Dwight McNeil for a place on the left flank.

While the 20-year-old has struggled to score in the last couple of seasons, his quality in the final third was illustrated by a return of 16 goals in Fulham’s promotion-winning 2017/18 campaign. Also, his passing success rate of 77.4% last season was bettered by only four players at Turf Moor.

Sessegnon may find it challenging to displace McNeil if he comes to Burnley, with the Clarets winger a firm Dyche favourite as he started every Premier League game in 2019/20. However, the Spurs youngster could certainly stake a claim for the left-back slot, where Dyche has alternated near-equally between Taylor and Pieters last season.

The 20-year-old may have fallen out of favour under Mourinho but, with Burnley’s squad among the smallest in the top flight, opportunities could be more abundant for a talented young player at Turf Moor if the Clarets can beat off the competition for his services on loan.

Burnley fans, do you think Dyche can strike a deal for Sessegnon in this transfer window? Have your say by commenting below!

It may have taken around 18 months and a new manager to resolve, but it certainly seems like Tottenham Hotspur have finally filled the void left behind by industrious fan-favourite Mousa Dembele.

The Belgian powerhouse swapped north London for the Chinese Super League back in January 2019 and Mauricio Pochettino’s failure to secure a viable replacement could well have cost him his job just ten months later.

Dembele’s form during the 2015/16 season was arguably his best in a Spurs shirt as he averaged a whopping 3.6 tackles, 2.9 dribbles and 1.9 interceptions per game in the Premier League, via WhoScored.

And his absence was most felt during the Champions League final where Pochettino selected Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks in a midfield two, neither managing above a 6.6 rating on SofaScore.

Whilst the likes of Jordan Henderson, Gigi Wijnaldum and Fabinho ran the show for Liverpool.

But now it appears as if Jose Mourinho has made amends by finding a like-for-like lynchpin fit to lace the 33-year-old’s boots and that much was proven once again on Wednesday evening as summer signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg put in a masterclass against Harry Kane’s England.

Having lasted 88 minutes on the pitch, the £15m arrival made 78 passes at an accuracy rate of 93%, won 62.5% of his ground duels, recorded three tackles and even chimed in with one successful dribble attempt, per SofaScore.

Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet lauded Hojbjerg’s showing post-game giving him four marks out of five, they said: “Is finding the necessary tactical discipline for the role of defensive anchor. Very strong in his duels and is never afraid to play the ball forward.”

The £22.5m-rated star’s defensive discipline will have undoubtedly improved thanks to the stewardship of Mourinho but it also goes to show he can be relied upon as much as Dembele was under Pochettino.

In 166 appearances under the Argentine, Dembele never once received a red card despite picking up 22 yellows, via Transfermarkt, which only goes to show his impressive control in the midst of intense matches.

Spurs finally have the anchorman they’ve been craving for the best part of two seasons.

AND in other news, Spurs star must reinvent himself or become Mourinho’s next De Bruyne…

West Brom’s lively second-half showing at the AMEX Stadium saw Slaven Bilic’s side snag a point late on thanks to a strike from summer signing Karlan Grant.

The battle of the two Albion’s ended in a 1-1 stalemate after the recent £15m arrival cancelled out an own goal from Jake Livermore just seven minutes from time.

It was perhaps a fair result with the Baggies slightly edging it on paper having recorded more possession (51%) and more shots (nine) than Brighton on the night.

Whilst Grant will quite rightly take the plaudits, scoring his first goal for the club in just his second appearance for the club, another West Brom player shone immensely.

He didn’t go into the campaign as a first-choice option nor was he one last season, but Conor Townsend is seriously starting to cement his name down as Bilic’s number one left-back option.

The 27-year-old hadn’t played in the Premier League until his start against Chelsea but going by this latest display, you wouldn’t know that.

Per SofaScore, Townsend recorded three tackles, two clearances and one interception. He also won seven duels, both aerially and on the ground, had 97 touches and made one key pass.

Prior to kick-off, he was dealt the hard task of keeping young wing-back Tariq Lamptey at bay and given the former Chelsea prospect recorded the Seagulls’ lowest rating (6.3), he evidently did his job to a tee.

Lamptey lost possession 21 times, won just 42% of his duels and failed to record a single accurate cross or even a successful dribble despite five attempts.

Townsend was tough and industrious, thus making it seem like Kieran Gibbs has an impossible test to break back into Bilic’s plans, especially as he’s not featured since his sending off against Everton.

In the past, the Baggies faithful have been fully against Townsend featuring in the starting XI, once dubbing him a “huge liability” during a game last season.

The former Hull City man is fully vindicating the faith put in him by his manager.

AND in other news, Dowling must not make an inexcusable mistake over £7m weak link…

Matt Targett’s impressive form for Aston Villa perhaps suggests that Southampton were unwise to sell him to the Birmingham-based club in the summer of 2019.

The Saints academy graduate ended his time with the club last year, as he joined Dean Smith’s Villa side in a deal worth £11.5m following Villa’s promotion to the Premier League.

The 25-year-old was in very solid form for the Villans last season, averaging a 6.86 rating across his 28 appearances in the top-flight (per WhoScored).

This was despite Villa only staying up on the final day and having one of the worst defensive records across the season, shipping 67 goals in the top-flight.

Targett’s individual performances have been slightly worse than last season thus far, with the defender having averaged a 6.71 rating across his seven appearances in the top-flight (per WhoScored).

However, he has started each of their seven games in the Premier League, which has seen the Villans win five times, keeping four clean sheets in the process, which suggests that they are a lot more defensively solid than last season, something which Targett should be praised for his part in.

During his time with the Saints, the left-back would make 63 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal and providing six assists (per Transfermarkt).

The 25-year-old also showed his quality in a loan spell with Fulham in 2017/18, as he averaged a superb 7.20 rating across his 21 appearances in the second division (per WhoScored).

Considering Ralph Hasenhuttl’s lack of options at left-back at the moment, with Ryan Bertrand and Sam McQueen out injured, whilst Jake Vokins is perhaps a little too inexperienced to be starting in the Premier League at the moment, Targett could have been the perfect man to challenge Bertrand for a starting spot in the Saints squad.

The left-back was seemingly a popular member of the Saints dressing room too, with current captain James Ward-Prowse full of praise for Targett when speaking to Hampshire Live ahead of their game against Aston Villa in October, with the midfielder saying:

“Matt [Targett] is a great lad, I had lots of good memories and times with him here.

“A new challenge came for him and he has gone there and worked hard and sustained himself in the Aston Villa team, and I am pleased to see him doing so well.”

It will be interesting to see if the ace continues to impress with Villa and whether Southampton end up regretting letting him go in 2019.

Tottenham Hotspur asserted their dominance in their first match back from the international break. Going into a clash against Manchester City is never viewed as an easy task for any team, but Jose Mourinho and his men had the last laugh as they emerged 2-0 winners last night.

Son Heung-min and substitute Giovani Lo Celso were on song to give Spurs the three points, which sees them leapfrog into first place in the Premier League table.

Tottenham as a whole put in a solid performance against the six-time league champions, with often overlooked players like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg receiving huge praise. However, one man who went a little under the radar with his display was stand-in right-back Serge Aurier.

Serge Aurier vs Man City

With Matt Doherty currently self-isolating, Aurier has been given his chance to pile pressure on the summer signing by taking his place in Mourinho’s starting lineup. He certainly didn’t disappoint against City and was in fact Spurs’ best performing defender statistically.

According to Sofascore, the Ivorian contributed a solid four clearances and five tackles to keep the threat of Ferran Torres at bay. Aurier also won ten of his 14 attempted duels and completed 100% of his crosses.

At the moment, Spurs have just the two recognised senior right-backs in the 27-year-old and Doherty, who has made an immediate impact since joining the club from Wolves. But now, with Aurier proving he can put in important shifts against elite sides like Man City, Mourinho may decide to switch up his decisions to cater to different opponents.

Charlie Eccleshare recently predicted that having two in-competition right-backs is “exactly what Mourinho wants”, during an episode of The Athletic’s ‘The View from The Lane’ podcast.

The Ivory Coast international, who earns £70,000-a-week according to Spotrac, has been linked to move away from north London, particularly after Doherty’s arrival. The club rejected a bid from AC Milan over the summer but he has proven that he still has a lot to give to Spurs and he could may well play a key part in Mourinho’s quest to a shock Premier League title win this season.

In other news, Levy lost £15m with controversial sale of this Spurs player…

Alan Hutton has tipped Southampton to be amongst the clubs interested in Tottenham’s Harry Winks during the January transfer window.

Winks on the move

The 24-year-old England international has played just four Premier League matches this term for Spurs, which could see him move on during the January window.

Former Rangers player Hutton certainly believes he should move on in a couple of months. Not only that, he has listed the Saints as a potential destination when talking to Football Insider. He said when asked whether he could make a move to Leeds:

“Of course, Leeds – even at the moment you look at the likes of Southampton or Leicester – teams that play football the way he would want to play football.

“When you talk about these sort of teams, there’s competition there already. So this is the thing, he’s gonna want to play minutes.

“If he goes down a notch to say a lower half team, is he going to show his potential as much as he would like if he’s doing a little bit more defending rather than maybe getting on the ball and all the pretty things that he likes to do? That’s why I say it’s a hard decision because it is.”

Interesting move

Winks may not be a guaranteed starter under Jose Mourinho, but he is still a player with plenty of quality. He has eight caps for England, for example, and former Tottenham academy coach Russell Small previously compared Winks to none other than former France World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane. Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was also a fan, calling him “amazing”.

With the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Oriol Romeu and Will Smallbone in central midfield, a new player in the middle of the park does not appear to be something Ralph Hasenhuttl desperately needs. Currently valued at £25.2m (Transfermarkt), it remains to be seen whether the south coast side do make a move for Winks.

In other news, Southampton fans laud this current Saints star.