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Leeds United could finally replace Raphinha with a last-minute move for Ismaila Sarr this transfer window.

Earlier this week, Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth delivered an update on the Whites’ current plans and revealed that they had an interest in the Watford winger.

“Leeds United looking for a forward and they continue to be linked with a move for Watford’s Ismaila Sarr,” he said during a club-by-club round-up on Sky Sports News on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s not the first time that the Yorkshire outfit have been linked with a move for the Senegal sensation as reports in France suggested that the Hornets had rejected a €25m (£21.2m) offer from Premier League rivals Crystal Palace and that Leeds’ interest was “real”.

Football League World believe the north Londoners want £25m to let him go ahead of deadline day.

Forget Sinisterra

Leeds lost the services of Raphinha earlier in the window as he sealed his dream move to LaLiga side FC Barcelona and he’s arguably yet to be replaced.

Director of football Victor Orta and manager Jesse Marsch did sign a winger from the Eredivisie in Luis Sinisterra, who cost the club around £21m but he primarily played on the left flank for Feyenoord.

In fact, all of his 49 appearances last season came on that side, where he delivered 23 goals and 14 assists, as per Transfermarkt. And because of injury, we’ve only seen a six-minute cameo from him this campaign.

Raphinha, meanwhile, leaves a massive void on the right wing and that’s where Sarr fits the bill.

The 24-year-old dynamo, despite the Hornets’ struggles, was a threat in the Premier League, having delivered ten goals and eight assists across 50 appearances, whilst overall for the club, he has provided 44 direct contributions in 95 matches.

Leeds’ former star topped the charts at Elland Road for goals scored (11) and for creativity (1.9 key passes per game) last season, so he evidently leaves behind a huge gap.

Once described as “rapid” and “very, very fast” by his international teammate and ex-Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane, it’s clear that Sarr has the capability to deliver in the final third in the top-flight.

That is backed up by another old teammate in Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has previously lauded him “a Champions League player” with “exceptional qualities” to talkSPORT.

As such, Orta must push ahead to sign Sarr as he is the true replacement for Raphinha at Elland Road. Forget about Sinisterra, his future lies surely on the other flank, given his recent form.

AND in other news, Orta could unearth the next £20m talent as Leeds submit offer for 18 y/o sensation…

Tottenham Hotspur are now in a three-horse race to sign Manchester United midfielder James Garner with a new club entering the fray.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye move…

The Lilywhites and manager Antonio Conte are said to be interested in the Red Devils ace with journalist David Ornstein of The Athletic first claiming Spurs have watched him in action.

Tottenham, seeking to back their head coach, have made seven major signings already with recent reports refusing to rule out potential further additions before September 1.

Links to Garner appear to be growing stronger with journalist Alan Nixon even claiming that an ‘opening offer’ has gone in for the 21-year-old.

The Latest: Tottenham now in three-horse race…

However, according to a new report, it appears Spurs and sporting director Fabio Paratici face even more competition for his signature.

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Football Insider now claim that Everton are now in the frame with both Tottenham and Nottingham Forest ‘also in the race’ to sign Garner.

It is believed that United will sanction his sale for around £14-£15 million and the midfielder ‘could now leave in the final two weeks of the window’.

The Verdict: No brainer?

If Spurs can get a deal done for Garner, this could represent astute business by Paratici.

Homegrown, young and with plenty of potential – former teammate Ryan Yates hailed the youngster as ‘unbelievable’ when the pair played together at Forest last season.

As per WhoScored, Garner stood out as a key man for Steve Cooper’s side – even completing more key passes per 90 than any of his teammates – so that praise certainly seems justified.

Liverpool ‘will be right in the mix’ to win the fight for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham but the competition is ‘serious’.

The Lowdown: Bellingham links

The Reds haven’t made any midfield additions in the current transfer window but they have been endlessly linked with a move for Bellingham.

The 19-year-old is seemingly staying put at Dortmund for another season due to their reluctance to sell two star players in one window, and it looks likely that there will then be a huge battle for his signature in 2023.

Liverpool are clearly one of those teams who see him as a primary transfer target though, as a new update proves.

The Latest: Pearce provides update

Writing in a Q&A for The Athletic on Monday, Pearce confirmed that the Reds are indeed going to be ‘right in the mix’ to sign Bellingham, but reinforced that it won’t be easy to get their man:

“I don’t think signing Bellingham is a given. There will be serious competition but LFC will be right in the mix. We know Klopp rates him very highly. We also know that Henderson gets on very well with him. But there are no guarantees.”

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The Verdict: Midfielder needed now

While Bellingham would be an outstanding signing next summer – one that needs to get done, given his long-term potential and reputation as a ‘fantastic’ player – a new midfielder also has to come in before deadline day this year.

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Liverpool produced a hapless showing in their 2-1 defeat away to Manchester United on Monday night, with Jordan Henderson and James Milner struggling to control matters and looking their age. With Thiago, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injured, there really is a dearth of options and it is showing.

Failure to sign a new midfielder in the next week or so would be negligent by Jurgen Klopp, the recruitment team and owners FSG – if they don’t address the issue, a long season could lie ahead.

Crystal Palace have been shrewd and calculated in the transfer window this season, making four additions in key areas of the pitch to strengthen the foundations of what already made them a success.

The particular addition of Cheick Doucoure marked a wise coup and strengthened their midfield tenfold.

However, a reported swoop for Manchester United’s unwanted Scott McTominay could undo all of their hard work this summer.

It was transfer insider Dean Jones who gave the update just last week, as he said the following to GIVEMESPORT: “Soumare has a lot of interest from French clubs too, most looking at a loan. Palace might yet be another club that look at McTominay If they can’t get someone like Soumare.”

To move for the £60k-per-week man who will undoubtedly be looking for the exit after the Red Devils’ signing of Casemiro would be a huge mistake by Patrick Vieira, and one he should avoid at all costs.

Branded “consistently useless” by one Manchester United writer, the Scotland international does not excel in any particular area that is useful for a central midfielder. The metric which is regarded as his most impressive would be clearances, of which he ranks in the top 6% among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues.

However, with how Vieira has his team set up, it can be assumed that he would prefer his midfielder’s to cut attacks out at the source before a clearance is needed.

That would explain his signing of Doucoure, who instead excels at interceptions as his defensive metric, where he ranks in the top 16%.

But the fact that he sits in the top 10% for both progressive carries and passes is what sets him apart from McTominay, who boasts little to no creativity in the United midfield.

In his 30 appearances, he only created one big chance all season last year. This is a damming statistic and one which surely does not attract Vieira.

He must avoid this big six reject at all costs, as he would not improve his young, hungry squad at all, and would likely demand a huge fee and wages given the club which he is set to leave.

Everton’s transfer business has come in for a lot of criticism in recent years, but it appears as if the Toffees struck gold when they signed Demarai Gray last summer.

The former Leicester City winger joined the Merseyside club in a £1.7m deal from Bayer Leverkusen in 2021 and was one of the star performers at Goodison Park last season as Frank Lampard’s side narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship.

The 26-year-old made 34 appearances in the 2021/22 Premier League, contributing five goals and four assists, averaging an impressive 6.78 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Martin Keown was full of praise for Gray after an impressive goal against Leeds United, saying: “He puts it through the defender’s legs and spins on to his unfavoured left foot and really that’s inspirational.

“He’s just thought I’ll have a go here and unbelievably it’s squeezed in. Against the run of play I should mention as well – give him some freedom and it shows what he can do!”

This ranked him as the fourth-best performer at the club, and considering that two of those ranked higher than him have now departed (Richarlison and Lucas Digne), it seems likely that the ex-Leicester winger will have a big part to play again this season at Goodison Park.

The 26-year-old has started all six of Everton’s Premier League fixtures thus far, contributing one goal in the draw against Brentford, averaging a solid 6.61 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Now that Gray is an established top-flight player, his market value has significantly increased since his move from Leverkusen, with the CIES Football Observatory valuing him at €20m (£17.4m).

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This represents a 1,024% increase on the £1.7m that Everton paid for him only a year ago, which emphasises that they got him for a bargain fee in what is a refreshing change from some nightmarish business in recent seasons. Cenk Tosun, Davy Klassen and Yannick Bolasie are all prime examples of players who cost more than £20m but achieved very little at Goodison Park.

Although Everton fans will surely be hoping that Gray doesn’t leave any time soon, the Toffees look likely to make a big profit on the English winger should he depart Goodison Park, and the club deserves credit for bringing him in for so little.

Liverpool are a side renowned for their tendency to do intelligent business, especially since Jurgen Klopp took the reins.

You could probably count on one hand the number of number transfer mistakes during this period, but one which sticks out is the decision to unload an astounding £52.75m to sign Naby Keita from RB Leipzig.

The midfielder made the switch to Anfield for what was at the time a club-record fee but has since seen his chances limited due to poor performances and his injury woes.

A combination of these has led his transfer value to drop exponentially, with the Reds now apparently only in possession of a €15m (£13m-rated) player, via CIES.

Having been at the club for over five years now, a return of just 117 appearances will disappoint Klopp. Especially considering his current injury crisis, in which he is burdened with far too many who cannot seem to keep fit.

Now with his contract due to expire at the end of this current season, the Merseyside outfit could recoup nothing financially after also receiving little from him on the football field too.

It must go down as a rare transfer blunder for Liverpool.

Also, for a midfielder who scored nine and assisted seven the season prior to his move, and again gave 16 goal contributions the year before even that, the fact that the Guinean has only managed a measly 18 goal contributions in his entire stint at Anfield further proves that he has not handled the move to Premier League football with distinct ease.

Despite his astronomical fee, his performances have seen him fall way behind in the pecking order too, with Klopp having to reshape his midfield on numerous occasions during his tenure.

Each time he did this Keita was nowhere to be seen, with the likes of Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliot and even the 36-year-old James Milner preferred to him. He must be seen at the club as journalist Josh Williams labels him: a “terrible liability”.

If they can get any kind of financial recuperation for the midfielder in January then they must take it with both hands, as Keita has been a huge dud for the club and has rinsed FSG dry.

Sunderland’s academy set-up has hardly been a hotbed for world-class talent in the modern era as the club have struggled to produce a consistent line of impressive graduates.

Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford, both England internationals, came through the Academy of Light but they are the only two players who are valued at more than £6.3m by Transfermarkt at the time of writing.

The Black Cats have been unable to unearth gems on a regular basis and this could boil down to the recruitment at youth level, the coaching set-up, or the opportunities that young players have or have not been given over the years.

However, one talented academy graduate the club had a howler with not too long ago was young full-back Bali Mumba. The right-back, who can also play in central midfield, made ten first-team appearances for Sunderland as a teenager after the South Shields-born full-back broke into the first-team during the 2017/18 campaign.

He was then sold to Norwich City, who had just been relegated from the Premier League, in the summer of 2020 for a reported fee of £350k, which journalist Josh Bunting recently described as mere “peanuts”.

Mumba enjoyed a solid first season in Norfolk as he made seven appearances in all competitions and helped them to win the Championship title, earning promotion back to the top flight.

The right-back made his Premier League debut for the Canaries in the 2021/22 campaign before heading out on loan to Peterborough, where he racked up 13 appearances and chipped in with one goal and one assist.

Norwich then elected to send him out on another temporary deal for 2022/23 as Plymouth Argyle snapped him up for their League One season.

Since joining the third-tier side, Mumba has been in phenomenal form and is showing that he has the quality to make the step up to playing at a higher level.

He has started ten league matches this season and averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.19, making 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game and winning 59% of his duels whilst playing as a left wing-back. For context, Ross Stewart (7.25) was the only Sunderland player with a higher average rating than 7.19 in League One last term, which illustrates how well he is performing at the moment.

Mumba is also showing that he can be a difference-maker at the top end of the pitch. He has scored two goals and provided five assists in his ten appearances so far, scoring his latest goal in a 2-1 win over Ipswich last weekend.

TalkNorwichCity’s Jack Reeve claimed that he looks like “the real deal” and his statistics, especially considering he is 20, back that up this season with his sublime performances in League One.

Thus, Sunderland evidently made a mistake by selling him for such a low figure and they may well live to regret that decision if he continues to kick on and prove his worth at a higher level, given his age and what he has already achieved in his short career to date.

Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah has returned home earlier than expected after international duty, reliable journalist James Pearce has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Salah scores for Egypt

The 30-year-old hasn’t been at his best so far this season, cutting a frustrated figure at times amid the Reds’ ongoing struggles on the pitch.

Salah has been on international duty with Egypt with the hope of being reinvigorated and he scored twice in his country’s 3-0 win over Niger last week, which bodes well for his club form.

With Jurgen Klopp’s side back in Premier League action at home to Brighton on Saturday, a significant update has emerged regarding Liverpool’s legendary Egyptian.

The Latest: Pearce confirms early Salah return

Taking to Twitter on Monday in sharing a corresponding article for The Athletic, Pearce confirmed that Salah was heading back for Liverpool training earlier than initially planned, having been voluntarily rested for Egypt’s friendly against Liberia today.

The reporter tweeted:

“An earlier than expected return to Kirkby for Mo Salah. Should certainly help preparations for Brighton at home on Saturday.”

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The Verdict: Nice bonus for Liverpool

This is an added bonus for Liverpool ahead of a relentless run of nine fixtures in October, as they desperately look to kick their season into gear after a sloppy start.

In Salah, the Reds have a consistently proven goalscorer in their ranks; and if he hits his best form again, it should go a long way towards the team’s results improving drastically.

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Having more time on the training ground should only be a good thing for Salah, getting him match fit and ensuring that the goals start to come regularly again.

It’s also a relief for Liverpool to know that he won’t risk incurring an injury by partaking in an international friendly of minimal consequence.

Newcastle United journalist Chris Waugh is delighted to see striker Callum Wilson sign a new contract at the club. 

The lowdown

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Monday that Wilson had penned a two-year extension with the option for a further 12 months.

The Englishman, who joined from Bournemouth in 2020, now ranks among the club’s highest earners.

Newcastle plan to adjust Wilson’s training schedule ‘to try to keep him fit for longer’ and hope that he can mentor the club’s younger forwards.

The latest

Waugh took to Twitter on Monday morning to offer his reaction to the big development out of St James’ Park.

He called it ‘hugely positive news’ for the Magpies, who have something else to celebrate hot on the heels of a 4-1 win over Fulham at the weekend.

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The verdict

In some respects, this decision might be surprising.

Wilson, after all, has suffered badly with injuries, missing 42 matches in two-and-a-bit seasons since he made his move.

And in summer signing Alexander Isak, Newcastle would appear to have already recruited a long-term successor to the 30-year-old.

But ultimately, Wilson’s enduring quality shines through.

In 50 appearances for the club, he’s scored 23 goals and provided five assists – a very impressive return.

He’s sufficiently prolific when he does play to justify an extension, even if it remains a gamble given the money involved.

Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Manchester United forward Anthony Martial and the possibility of the player signing a new Old Trafford deal.

The Lowdown: Back from injury and in the goals

Martial had played just 45 minutes of football prior to Sunday’s 6-3 defeat to rivals Manchester City due to hamstring and achilles injuries.

The 26-year-old made his return as a second-half substitute at the Etihad and scored two consolation goals late on, one coming from the penalty spot.

It now looks as if he may play a regular role under Erik ten Hag, providing he remains fit, with his current deal running until 2024.

The Latest: Romano’s update

Romano provided an update regarding Martial in his column for CaughtOffside.

The transfer expert said that the Frenchman is regarded as an “important player” at Old Trafford, with Ten Hag “happy” with the forward. He added that a “key point” when it comes to a new contract will be Martial making sure he will have enough game time.

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The Verdict: Get it done

It looks as if Cristiano Ronaldo could call time on his Old Trafford return in January, with Ten Hag not standing in his way over a potential exit.

Should that materialise, United will have limited central attacking options in Martial and Marcus Rashford. Therefore, guaranteeing Martial regular minutes and tying him down to a new long-term deal ahead of the January window could be a shrewd move.

Ten Hag appears to be a fan of the player as well, so a new contract seems to be a no-brainer from the outside looking in.