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Southampton have just today confirmed that Nathan Jones will be the successor to Ralph Hasenhuttl, with the turnaround between managers just two days.

The hierarchy of the south coast outfit were decisive in appointing their new man, but the former Luton Town manager does boast a system that strays from the all-action aspirations held by their Austrian ex-boss.

Having led the Hatters to an unlikely playoff push last season in the Championship, this success was underpinned by the 53-year-old’s three-at-the-back system with bombarding wing backs.

Whilst the recent goal-scoring form of Romain Perraud will likely benefit from this system, arguably the defender who will improve the most is Armel Bella-Kotchap, who has excelled since his summer move.

The German, who was recently selected for his nation’s World Cup squad, a decision that was noted as a “big surprise” by Manuel Veth, has boasted a7.00 average SofaScore rating this campaign at the back for a side that has conceded 24 goals.

His defensive prowess and ability on the ball make him a fine Premier League player already, and with the added security of another central defender, he could be turned into a fine ball-playing defender who could be the catalyst for many Saints attacks.

The £13m-rated star ranks in the top 1%for interceptions over the last 365 days when compared to positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues, and with an added impetus to step out of defence knowing he has another body behind him could see the ball stolen and distributed whilst the opposition is stuck in broken play.

With journalist Mark White also outlining the “technical quality” that Bella-Kotchap and plenty of other mid-table centre-back partnerships possess, the 20-year-old would surely have the ability to find a pinpoint pass too.

Jones’ sides have often boasted a verticality in their offensive play, looking to move the ball quickly once it has been won. This can be showcased best through Luton’s average possession, which is just 43.2%.

The 6 foot 2 goliath has already taken to life in England with ease, but with the principles upheld by the incoming manager, as well as his surprising World Cup nomination, it could see him truly explode and reach the heights that some former Southampton centre-backs have done before him.

Liverpool are reportedly eyeing up a move in 2023 for Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko.

The Lowdown: Rising star

At just 17 years of age, Moukoko is one of the rising stars of the game. He became the youngest ever scorer in the Bundesliga at just 16 years and 28 days, netting for Dortmund in a 2-1 loss at Union Berlin in the 2020/21 season.

He has now made more than 50 appearances for the German heavyweights, with more than 10 goal contributions, including scoring in the 2-2 draw at home to Bayern Munich in the league earlier this month (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Klopp ‘blown away’

As per Football Insider, Liverpool have set their sights on a move for Moukoko in 2023 and are keeping close tabs on him. His contract expires in the summer, with reports that talks over a new deal have been delayed.

Jurgen Klopp is believed to be particularly ‘blown away’ by Moukoko’s impact at his former club at such a young age, but he will face competition from other Premier League rivals, along with Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona for his signature.

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The Verdict: Exciting

Moukoko would certainly be an exciting for Liverpool supporters if the Reds can get a deal done in 2023.

Hailed as ‘amazing’ by former Dortmund striker and now Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, the 17-year-old has an extremely high ceiling, and the fact that he is already featuring regularly for a club of Dortmund’s stature is testament to how much talent he has.

Klopp seems to be taken back by him in particular, and the 55-year-old would surely relish the chance to work with him alongside attackers such as Mo Salah and Luis Diaz.

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.

Leeds United have been handed a boost in their bid to bring Kai Wagner to Elland Road in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Tom Bogert, with the American journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that, after being heavily linked with a $3m (£2.8m) move to Jesse Marsch’s side this summer, the expectation is that the left-back will be on the move to a European club at the end of the current MLS campaign this winter.

However, the MLS insider went on to state that, although Victor Orta will likely be interested in a move for the 25-year-old come January, a deal for the defender will not be as easy to get over the line as it would have been this summer, with a number of clubs now believed to be tracking the German.

In his tweet, Bogert said: “Sources: Expectation is that Philadelphia Union star left-back Kai Wagner will ‘absolutely’ be sold to Europe this winter. Leeds United far from the only club interested – will be difficult for them now rather than the summer. Wagner, 25, has 15 assists and is part of the best defence in MLS.”

Orta must move

Considering just how impressive Wagner has been for Philadelphia Union so far this season, coupled with left-back being something of a problem position for the Whites, it would appear extremely advisable for Orta to do everything in his power to fight off the competition for the 25-year-old’s signature this winter.

Indeed, over his 32 MLS appearances in 2022, the £3.6m-rated full-back has been in exceptional defensive form, helping his side keep 14 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.7 interceptions, 1.4 tackles, 1.7 clearances and winning 3.5 duels – at a success rate of 58% – per game.

The £10.3k-per-week talent has also been in astonishing form going forwards, registering eight assists and creating 13 big chances for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 2.7 key passes – the joint sixth-most in the league – 4.3 long balls and 2.8 crosses per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who CBS journalist Ben Jacobs dubbed “very creative” and “technical” average a simply breathtaking SofaScore match rating of 7.51, not only ranking him as Union’s best performer in the league but also as the fourth-best player in the MLS as a whole so far this season.

Furthermore, with Junior Firpo yet to feature in the current Premier League campaign as a result of a knock picked up in pre-season, in addition to Stuart Dallas remaining sidelined until at least the turn of the year with a fractured femur, Marsch has been left with no other choice but to deploy centre-back Pascal Struijk on the left of his backline this term.

And, while the 23-year-old has turned in a number of admirable displays from an unfamiliar position, following Leeds’ 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion back in August, MLS journalist Matthew Doyle claimed that the Whites’ display was one of a “big ‘buy Kai Wagner ASAP’ performance” from the Premier League side.

As such, when taking into account just how impressive Wagner has been so far this season, coupled with left-back undoubtedly being the weakest position and biggest problem in Marsch’s first team squad at present, it would indeed appear highly advisable for Orta to do everything in his power to land the 25-year-old this winter.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) are reportedly interested in signing Memphis Depay for Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Isak partner?

After the signing of striker Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad, the St. James’ Park outfit could be looking to partner him up with another new addition who can also play on the right-wing.

Eddie Howe confirmed before their Premier League game away to Wolves on Sunday afternoon that Callum Wilson would be out for at least a couple of weeks through injury, so sufficient cover will be needed for the Englishman until he gets back to full fitness, but any signing will need to be able to fill other roles once Wilson returns.

The Latest: Depay interest

As per Calciomercato, the North East club, as well as Manchester United, are interested in signing the versatile Depay, who can play anywhere across the front three.

The Netherlands international was ready to move to Juventus from FC Barcelona, but that deal is now off of the table.

The Verdict: Worth a punt

Gone are the days when Depay struggled at United during his first spell in England, as he managed just seven goals in two years at Old Trafford.

As explained by Red Devils journalist Samuel Luckhurst, he is a ‘different beast‘ now, scoring a mammoth 188 senior goals for club and country combined by the age of 28.

Hailed as a ‘defender’s nightmare‘ by journalist Josh Bunting, Depay is similar to new signing Isak in terms of his playing style, and so those two could form a formidable new partnership for the Magpies.

Italian football journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Everton are ‘closing’ on the signing of Idrissa Gueye.

The Lowdown: Sixth signing?

Gueye would be the Goodison Park outfit’s sixth summer signing after James Tarkowski, Ruben Vinagre, Dwight McNeil, Conor Coady and Amadou Onana.

The PSG central midfielder has been strongly linked with a move back to Merseyside throughout this window so far, and now it looks as if the deal will finally be pushed through.

The Latest: Everton ‘closing’

Taking to Twitter, Romano has revealed that Frank Lampard’s team are ‘closing’ in on Gueye, and are ‘confident’ that they can get a deal over the line ‘this week’:

“Everton are finally closing on Gana Gueye deal, working on it since long time with Paris Saint-Germain. Clubs confident to get the deal over the line this week.”

The Verdict: Exciting

Of course, having Gueye back will be exciting for the Toffees faithful.

He became a fans’ favourite during his time at the club, managing a total of 108 appearances over three consecutive seasons between 2016 and 2019, scoring four goals and making a further five assists (Transfermarkt).

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The 32-year-old will offer the Blues that extra bit of Premier League experience and bite in the middle of the park, and coupled up with the signing of Onana, should make them a much more solid outfit.

Nonetheless, by getting this deal done quickly, they can now focus on strengthening in the attacking third of the pitch, with a new striker desperately needed following the injury to Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Tottenham Hotspur are set to submit a new bid in their attempt to bring Nicolo Zaniolo to the Premier League this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Quotidiano Nazionale (via Sport Witness), who claim that, after Fabio Paratici saw an opening £30m offer for the attacking midfielder rejected by AS Roma, the Italian sporting director is now preparing a fresh bid for the 23-year-old – while Juventus are also believed to be an interested party.

The report goes on to state that it is Antonio Conte who is personally pushing for the signing of the Italy international, with talks between the two clubs said to be ongoing regarding a deal for the former Inter Milan starlet – for whom Jose Mourinho’s side are said to be demanding €50m (£42.5m) in order to part with ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Conte’s dream

With it being reported that Tottenham’s next target in the summer transfer window will be that of a new attacking midfielder, it is not difficult to understand why Conte and Paratici appear so keen on a deal to bring Zaniolo to north London ahead of the new Premier League season.

Despite missing the best part of two years of first-team football as a result of two separate cruciate ligament ruptures, the 23-year-old proved in 2021/22 that he is now back on track to fulfil Paulo Fonseca’s 2019 prophecy that “he can become one of the best Italian players” in the not too distant future.

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Indeed, the £34m-rated midfielder was one of Roma’s star players over his ten appearances in the club’s Europa Conference League triumph last season, scoring five goals – including the winner against Feyenoord in the final – providing four assists and creating three big chances, as well as taking an average of 2.0 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.8 dribbles per game.

These metrics saw the £76k-per-week talent who Nick Mercadante dubbed “unreal” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as the Giallorossi’s sixth-best performer in the inaugural European tournament.

The incredibly versatile forward – who is capable of operating from central and attacking midfield, on either wing, as a support striker and up top – also impressed over his 28 Serie A appearances – 23 of which came as starts – last time out, scoring two goals and registering five assists for Mourinho’s side.

As such, with Zaniolo evidently being a player who is extremely creative, deadly in the final third and capable of being deployed in almost any attacking position on the pitch, it would very much appear as if the 23-year-old would be Conte’s dream seventh signing of the summer transfer window – leading us to believe that Paratici must do all he can to seal a deal for the Italian sensation in the coming weeks.

AND in other news, “It is true..”: Fabrizio Romano drops huge Spurs transfer update, Conte will be fuming…

According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham Hotspur are not prioritising a move for Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans this summer.

The Lowdown: Tielemans a wanted man

The Belgian has been linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium for most of the summer, with his contract with the Foxes set to expire in just under 12 months’ time. Tottenham’s Premier League rivals Arsenal said to have been very keen on a deal, until it was revealed that they have since cooled their interest.

It was reported by Football.London that the Lilywhites were planning on hijacking the Gunners’ bid for the 25-year-old, but nothing ended up materialising. After a fresh update, it looks as though Conte’s focus now lies elsewhere.

The Latest: Romano drops Tielemans update

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Romano revealed that Tottenham will be pursuing their other targets rather than Tielemans in the coming weeks.

The Italian transfer guru said: “I see a lot of stories but at the moment I don’t have any confirmation on Tottenham [the club’s links with Tielemans] and I think they’re focused on signing a right-back and centre-back with [Clément] Lenglet after also signing Richarlison, so it’s not a priority for them.”

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The Verdict: Conte’s already done plenty

Conte has already secured the signing of Yves Bissouma, so it’s understandable that a move for Leicester’s £49.5m-rated Belgian – who was once dubbed a ‘sublime’ player by sports journalist Josh Bunting – would be highly unlikely.

Having captured a goalkeeper in Forster, a winger in Perisic, a forward in Richarlison and soon-to-be a centre-back in Lenglet, the Spurs manager has already done a great job in splashing the cash in various positions, and this is what he needs to continue doing in order to maximise his squad depth.

The 52-year-old clearly isn’t afraid to go after exactly who he wants as he assembles his new-look squad ahead of the start of the new season, but at this moment in time, it seems that one of those players isn’t Tielemans.

Alasdair Gold has dropped an update on the future of Tottenham Hotspur central midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, the football.london journalist revealed that, despite recent reports suggesting that Antonio Conte could look to cash in on the central midfielder following Fabio Paratici’s £25m signing of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yves Bissouma, Spurs currently have no plans to move the 26-year-old in the summer transfer window.

In his tweet, Gold said: “Spurs have no plans to sell Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer.”

Supporters will love Gold’s update

Considering just how impressive Hojbjerg has proven himself to be for Spurs ever since his £15m move to north London back in the summer of 2020, Gold’s claim that Conte and Paratici currently have no plans to sell the Denmark international is sure to be news the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful will love.

Indeed, over his 36 Premier League appearances in 2021/22, the £60m-rated talent was imperious in the heart of Conte’s side, scoring two goals, providing two assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.9 shots, making 0.6 key passes and completing 1.2 dribbles per game.

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The £100k-per-week midfielder also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 2.2 tackles, 1.4 clearances, completing 63.1 passes – at a success rate of 90% – and winning 5.1 duels per fixture.

These returns saw the great Dane average a rather extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.19, ranking him as Tottenham’s fifth-best performer in the league.

As such, while it is true that the middle of the park is an area of the pitch in which Conte’s side is now incredibly well-stocked, the news that Hojbjerg will not be moving onto pastures new this summer is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with the club, as the 26-year-old more than proved his worth to Tottenham over the course of the last Premier League campaign.

AND in other news: Bid made: Paratici now working on fourth Spurs summer signing, Conte will be buzzing

Journalist Jacque Talbot has dropped an interesting claim regarding the future of Aston Villa striker Danny Ings. 

The lowdown: Surprise capture

Villa moved quickly under the radar to sign Ings with minimal fuss in a £25million transfer from Southampton last summer (Sky Sports).

Since arriving in the Midlands, the 29-year-old Englishman – who was lauded as a ‘phenomenal finisher’ by former Leeds United attacker Noel Whelan – has scored seven times and provided six assists in 31 outings for the Villans, a decent first season in most people’s books.

However, one journalist believes that Steven Gerrard – a former Liverpool teammate of Ings – could already be looking for life after the diminutive frontman.

The latest: ‘Might sound harsh…’

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Talbot has suggested that Villa may have already ‘outgrown’ Ings.

He said: “Injuries have hampered him a lot and he didn’t have the best of seasons.

“I think it might sound harsh, but Aston Villa have probably outgrown Danny Ings and he might be the sort of player that could be sold to a club coming up, maybe someone like Fulham could do with a Danny Ings.”

The verdict: Surely not!

Despite a checkered injury history that saw Ings miss an astonishing 85 matches whilst at Liverpool and regularly miss games for Southampton, the three-cap England man remained in decent health throughout last season at Villa Park.

One area Gerrard may look to address with the 108 career goal centre-forward could be his consistency. Having scored in his first two Premier League appearances for the club, the £19.8million valued ace then went five games without a goal on two separate occasions, lulls that will inevitably have a adverse impact on results.

That said, still under contract until 2024, following such a large outlay and with Gerrard likely to want more firepower in the ranks to accompany Ollie Watkins and the returning Keinan Davis, selling Ings is surely not on the agenda at this juncture, especially not to a domestic rival.

In other news: ‘I think…’ – Journalist makes claim involving ‘machine’ Gerrard wants at Villa, read more here