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Michael Beale has confirmed that Nicolas Raskin is an injury doubt for Glasgow Rangers ahead of their Scottish Premiership clash.

The Lowdown: January signing

Raskin was a signing from Belgian football in the January transfer window, and has since made a total of seven appearances for the club over all competitions, collecting one assist and winning six of those games, with a defeat coming in the 2-1 loss against bitter rivals in the Scottish League Cup final (Transfermarkt).

It is safe to say that the 22-year-old has made an instant impact, as he has ranked highly among his team-mates in the SPFL for average aerial duels won per game as well as pass success, while only Bayern Munich loanee Malik Tillman can match his two tackles per appearance (WhoScored).

The Latest: Injury doubt

Speaking to daily newspapers on Thursday ahead of their match away at Motherwell, Beale has confirmed that Raskin has a ‘slight’ injury issue, and subsequently missed training:

“Nico has a slight issue, he missed training (Thurs). He had a bit of an issue with his quad after the game the other day, but we don’t think it is anything major.”

The manager added that it is ‘touch and go’ as to whether Raskin will be able to be involved, although early signs have shown to be promising:

“It is touch and go. We’ll see (Friday) and if there is any risk it will be a no, but at the moment it is quite promising that he will be OK.” 

The Verdict: Fingers crossed

Beale and Rangers will certainly be having their fingers crossed that Raskin can shake off the little niggle he has and be fit and available to play against Motherwell.

Otherwise, Beale will have to dig deeper into his midfield options in his squad, with the likes of John Lundstram, Glen Kamara, Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield all capable of playing in a deeper role in the middle of the park.

Nonetheless, the team will be fully concentrated on trying to take all three points back to Ibrox regardless of Raskin’s availability or not, as they look to chase down bitter rivals Celtic at the top of the table.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are currently nine points clear, but the Gers will feel as if there is still all to play for, although the chances of them winning the title get unlikelier with every game the Hoops win.

One of Southampton’s relegation rivals are plotting a move for striker Che Adams in the summer transfer window, according to a new update.

The Lowdown: Adams a good servant

The 26-year-old joined Saints from Birmingham City back in 2019 and he has proved to be a consistent performer in their attack in the four years since.

Adams has scored 30 goals and registered 15 assists in 139 appearances for Southampton, including four Premier League strikes so far this season.

The Scot’s current deal expires at the end of next season, however, and with Saints relegation-threatened, this summer could be the best time to sell.

The Latest: Leeds eyeing up move

According to Football Insider, fellow strugglers Leeds are one of numerous clubs who are willing to sign Adams ‘in a heartbeat’ if Southampton suffer relegation to the Championship.

The Whites are thought to be ‘big admirers’ of the striker, having been linked with him in the past.

The Verdict: Hard to keep him

Losing Adams would be an undoubted blow for Saints, not only because of his eye for goal but also his work off the ball, having averaged 1.5 fouls and 0.7 tackles per game in the league this season.

The £52,000-a-week attacker would surely not accept playing in the Championship, having scored six goals in 22 caps for Scotland, and it would be hard to begrudge him a move away, though it would certainly hurt to see him join a team who escape the drop if Saints do go down.

The hope is that Adams, who has been hailed as ‘terrific’ by Ally McCoist, helps steer Southampton to safety and then eventually extends his stay at the club, although that feels unlikely right now.

Man City are now ‘main favourites’ to sign Brighton star Alexis Mac Allister this summer, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Guardiola linked…

Pep Guardiola and his Premier League champions are still very much on for a treble after beating Bristol City 3-0 at Ashton Gate last night.

Goals from Phil Foden (2) and a sumptuous long-ranger from Kevin De Bruyne confirmed City’s place in the quarter-final draw as the Blues also fight for a league title and in Europe.

Despite their business on the pitch, Guardiola’s side also have one eye past the current campaign and on potential summer transfer targets.

One name linked with a move to Eastlands is Mac Allister with a new report sharing an update.

The Latest: Man City ‘favourites’ to sign Mac Allister…

According to Spanish sources, City are now the ‘main favourites’ to sign Argentina’s World Cup star, who has enjoyed a phenomenal 2022/2023 overall.

It’s claimed that they are set to battle the likes of Liverpool and Atletico Madrid for his signature later this year and wish to ‘incorporate’ Mac Allister into Guardiola’s ranks.

The Verdict: Great player…

The 24-year-old has been one of Brighton’s star players this season alongside his exploits in Qatar.

Mac Allister currently sits among their top two for best performances by average match rating, all the while attempting their third-highest rate of tackles per 90 and completed dribbles (WhoScored).

The attacking midfielder has been praised by manager Roberto De Zerbi as a ‘stunning’ player with City legend and all time top goalscorer Sergio Aguero calling Mac Allister ‘very intelligent’.

It appears City have set their sights on a particularly promising target and this rumour they’re currently favourites comes as a promising one.

Insider ExWHUemployee has revealed that defender Angelo Ogbonna wants to end his career with West Ham United and is hopeful of getting a contract extension.

What’s the word?

It’s not as if the Hammers don’t have a few decent options at centre-back within the club right now. After all, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer have all been signed in relatively recent times.

And at 34 years of age, these deals may suggest the club are planning for a future without Ogbonna. What’s more, his contract is up in the summer and so it remains unclear if he’ll be offered a new deal.

Despite that, the Italian has still been used fairly regularly by David Moyes over the past few weeks in the Premier League and so it suggests that the manager still rates him.

While talking about the player on an update for The West Ham Way Patreon page, Ex revealed the talks are yet to take place but a new deal seems to be on the card.

He explained: “Nayef Aguerd has been the one grabbing all the attention since his return to the side, but alongside him, Angelo Ogbonna has also done a great job at steadying the ship.”He has recently made it very clear that he wishes to finish his career at West Ham and is hoping the club will offer him another one-year extension to his contract which expires [at] the end of his campaign.”At the moment, it’s believed that no new contract discussions have taken place with the player, or any other of those who are out of contract at the end of the season but the club have certainly been impressed with Ogbonna since he returned and a new deal seems likely at this stage.” Plenty to offer still

With Kurt Zouma injured of late, the need to use Ogbonna has been prevalent with the centre-back playing in the last four consecutive league games against Chelsea, Newcastle United, Everton and Wolves.

Moyes seems to have a fair amount of faith in the defender beyond these recent displays too. Indeed, last season when his contract was set to expire, the manager handed Ogbonna an extension even though he’d recently suffered an ACL injury.

A classy gesture such as that goes a long way to explaining why the Italian would be happy to end his career at West Ham. He joined back in 2015 from Juventus and has gone on to play over 200 times in claret and blue – which is more than any other team he has featured for across the span of his career.

The agents of Vitoria defensive midfielder Ibrahima Bamba are reportedly ‘in London’ amid links with a move to Arsenal.

The Lowdown: Bamba links

Arsenal have recently been linked with a move for Bamba this week, with it claimed that they are ‘on the front line’ to sign him and are ‘tightening the siege’ for his transfer.

However, it is also claimed that he is ‘protected’ by a €30m (£26.5m) release clause, and a contract not set to expire until 2026, so it will be interesting to see whether the Gunners are willing to pay that to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.

The Latest: Agents ‘in London’

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday evening, journalist Jacque Talbot shared that Bamba’s agents are ‘in London’ amid links with a move to North London:

“Told Ibrahima Bamba’s agents are in London amid Arsenal links.”

The Verdict: Midfielder needed

Central midfield is certainly an area that still needs strengthening for Mikel Arteta’s team, given the fact that the Spaniard has recently expressed his concern over the seriousness of Mohamed Elneny’s latest injury, while Thomas Partey has also shown himself to be injury-prone in the past.

They have recently been linked with moves for Brighton and Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo and Juventus’ Weston McKennie, with the latter’s agents also in London ahead of talks of a potential deal.

However, Bamba could be a signing that goes under-the-radar given he plays for the perhaps lesser-known Vitoria in Portugal, but would still be an excellent addition nonetheless.

The 20-year-old has been a FBRef).

These are impressive numbers indeed, and so Arteta and Edu should not hesitate if they want to bring the Italian in.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are one of several clubs in the running for a hot European prospect…

What’s the latest?

That’s according to the Evening Standard, who note the Old Gold as one of numerous interested parties in Greek wonderkid Giannis Konstantelias.

Valued at £10m, the forward predominately occupies the left-wing role coming inside onto his favoured right foot. Therefore, there is a belief he could be Julen Lopetegui’s very own Pedro Neto, who had earned similar success from the right flank before a succession of serious injuries.

The next Pedro Neto

Whilst the 19-year-old has hardly set his domestic league alight, having yet to score in the current campaign, it is clear that he is highly regarded by many clubs across European football.

What stands as a glittering testimony to his talents is exemplified by a tweet from Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, who likened him to Eden Hazard whilst commending the “amazing job” of the PAOK academy, 

However, it is perhaps more realistic to hope that he can instead be more like Wolves’ Portuguese wizard.

During the 2020/21 campaign, Neto scored five goals and set up a further six in what was his standout season. However, he somewhat struggled to initially acclimatise to life in England, scoring just three times in his debut Premier League season in 2019/20.

The early signs from Konstantelias suggest that he too could make the move to England with success, having already posted four assists this season in just 12 domestic appearances. This is supplemented by his averages of 1.1 shots and 1.3 key passes per game, outlining him as a constant offensive threat.

As such, journalist Stavros Kolkas could seldom believe the talent on display when viewing the teenage sensation, claiming: “PAOK has a Messi clone in its academy”.

This is a notion which would be wholeheartedly supported by Agia Paraskevi academy head Alexandros Malakasiotis, who noted: “Such a player does not emerge every day. Not even every 50 years… For me, he is a phenomenon. If you see how he passes and moves into space, you will understand what he is about.”

Should he achieve the immense potential that those who have seen him in action seem to attribute to him, the Greek youngster could even surpass Neto at Molineux if Lopetegui brings him in.

Journalist Ben Jacobs has admitted Newcastle United and other clubs will have to pay £70-80m if they wish to sign Moises Caicedo.

The Lowdown: Caicedo won’t come cheap

It is looking abundantly clear that Newcastle and Eddie Howe are keen on bringing in some more depth in the centre of midfield after Jonjo Shelvey picked up another muscular injury, with the likes of Caicedo and Youri Tielemans being linked.

This is why they could soon be about to land Alan Varela from Boca Juniors, which would show they are also looking towards the future rather than purely stopgap signings.

Therefore, Caicedo could be that player, as he’s now very much Premier League-proven with 23 appearances under his belt and widely regarded as the ‘crown jewel’ of his national side, according to Ecuadorian football historian Enrico Castro-Montes.

The Latest: Caicedo going to be an expensive signing

Jacobs has been speaking on The Done Deal Show about the Newcastle transfer target and how he won’t come cheap if any team wishes to sign him this season.

He said: “With Moises Caicedo, Brighton’s valuation – and this was even said when Graham Potter was still at Brighton – is somewhere in the region of £70-75m, and when a figure of £42m was quoted to Graham Potter when he was still the Brighton manager, he laughed and said not even close, you’ll only be able to buy his boots for £42m.

“So I think it’s clear, even if Brighton come down on valuation slightly, that you’re going to need, minimum, £60m for Caicedo, and Brighton would really like £70-75m.”

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The Verdict: Newcastle should dodge big-money move

Given that Newcastle already have two £40m players in their midfield in the form of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, the need for yet another expensive midfielder may not necessarily be at the top of Howe’s wishlist.

Instead, they should perhaps focus on moving for a younger talent that may not arrive demanding to start every game in the league – so if they can get Varela over the line, that could be a smart piece of business.

Also, the fact that Newcastle are fighting against Financial Fair Play regulations, as highlighted recently by Howe, it would make sense for them to avoid a big-money signing in January and instead wait until the summer when they may have a lucrative sponsorship deal behind them.

Everton will likely look to the upcoming transfer window to strengthen their squad ahead of the second half of the Premier League season after another disappointing start to the campaign.

The Toffees are currently 17th in the league table teetering on the edge of the relegation zone just one point clear of the bottom three, a position the team and the manager are both all too familiar with.

Frank Lampard will be desperate to improve upon the performances and get his side in a much more comfortable position in the Premier League as another difficult relegation scrap could result in much more devastating circumstances than Everton dealt with last season.

Indeed, the powers at Goodison Park did sanction eight new signings in the summer but will still likely remain cautious in their approach to transfer business when the market reopens next month.

As a result, Lampard could add further depth all over the pitch and save the club millions during the transfer window by looking at the players he already has at his disposal in either the youth academy or out on loan, with one player, in particular, thriving whilst earning first-team football.

Jarrad Branthwaite has been proving his worth over the last few months during his loan spell with PSV Eindhoven and had become an integral member of the Dutch club’s squad ahead of the World Cup break.

Over eight Eredivisie appearances, the 20-year-old centre-back has scored one goal and tallied up a 90% pass completion rate, as well as averaging 45.3 touches, 2.9 clearances and 2.4 duels won per game.

The former Everton U21 defender has risen through the ranks in the youth set-up on Merseyside since joining the club from Carlisle United back in 2020 and his former Carlisle manager Steven Pressley delivered high praise hailing Branthwaite in an interview with Everton’s official website:

“He had so many quality attributes to become a top player,” he said.

“I told people he was a future England international.

“The truth is, I think he has got everything. He can pass the ball almost equally as good with both feet. He’s a terrific footballer.”

It has been reported this week that the Toffees are in talks to cut short the player’s loan spell with PSV despite entering a deal for a season-long loan opportunity for Branthwaite, so it is clear Lampard is keen to bring his defender back to Goodison Park as soon as possible.

With that being said, it will be interesting to see whether Branthwaite makes a rapid return to Everton in January as it is questionable as to whether he will get as much game time at his parent club as he could be offered with PSV over the second half of the season.

Rangers look increasingly likely to sell Alfredo Morelos during the upcoming January transfer window, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke. 

The Lowdown: Morelos’s season so far

As things stand, Morelos is set to see his contract at Ibrox expire in the summer.

Having made 19 appearances for the Gers across all competitions this season, the Colombian has only started five games, with just one of those coming in the league.

Now that the domestic action is set to resume in the coming days, with the January transfer window just around the corner, it has been suggested that a winter exit could be on the cards for the £33k-per-week striker.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s Morelos exit claim

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Rourke had this to say about Morelos and what the future could hold for him.

“Morelos has been linked with a move away from Rangers pretty much every transfer window, and now he’s second choice to Colak I think that it’s more and more likely that Rangers could decide to cash in on him in January.”

The Verdict: A gamble for Rangers?

Back in October, Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson revealed that talks with the Colombian over a potential new contract are ongoing.

With Michael Beale now at the helm, it seems likely that he’ll have a big impact on how much game time Morelos will have throughout the remainder of the season, which could therefore influence the striker on whether or not he signs a new deal at Rangers.

Either way, it appears as if the club have a decision to make in January to either cash in on the 26-year-old in the winter window or run the risk of losing him as a free agent in the summer.

In our view, given the attacking presence he has and the fact that he has the highest rate of goals per shot on target (0.75) at Rangers this season, the club should keep hold of him and give him some more game time to not only help the team on the pitch but to also convince him to sign a new deal.

Leeds United summer departee Elia Caprile is attracting the interest of Napoli ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Mario Giuffredi, with the Italian agent revealing in a recent interview with Radio Marte (via Sport Witness) that Aurelio De Laurentiis is planning on signing the goalkeeper this winter, with the Napoli president believed to be using his connections with the Bari owner – his son Luigi De Laurentiis – to seal the 21-year-old on a cut-price deal.

This is sure to come as a huge blow to Victor Orta and Leeds United, as the Whites’ director of football was reported to have negotiated a 50% sell-on clause in the shot-stopper’s €150k (£130k) move to the Stadio San Nicola – something that will become practically worthless should Caprile indeed go on to link up with Gli Azzurri for a reduced fee.

Regarding the future of the ‘keeper, Giuffredi said: “The sporting director of Napoli, [Cristiano] Giuntoli, will not do anything in January. He will take only two players from Bari, [Walid] Cheddira and Caprile, to put in the squad next season.”

Orta mare

While it would appear highly unlikely that, should Caprile have remained at Elland Road this season, the 21-year-old would have gone on to displace the imperious Illan Meslier as Jesse Marsch’s number one, considering just how impressive the Italian has been for Bari, Orta’s decision to cash in on the goalkeeper for such a small fee is already proving to have been a shocker.

Indeed, over his 13 Serie B appearances this season, the £1.1m-rated talent has been in sensational form, helping his side keep three clean sheets and saving one penalty, as well as making an average of 2.4 saves – at a success rate of 67% – per game.

These returns have seen the 21-year-old average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.85, currently ranking him as Michele Mignani’s tenth-best performer in the second tier of Italian football.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the shot-stopper’s performances have seen the player who Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig compared to Gianluigi Buffon and dubbed both an “absolute star” and a “terminator” earn a considerable amount of praise, with agent Graziano Battistini stating of the youngster after his fantastic start to the season:

“Obviously a start like this surprised everyone a bit. Not so much me, because I’ve known him for some time and I had faith that he would respond presently in the face of this new adventure.

“I hoped that the environment Bari could give him confidence. Once this happened, Elia demonstrated all his worth and everything came as a consequence. I was aware that all this could happen. Now we just have to continue like this.”

And, with it appearing as if Serie A table-toppers Napoli could now be set to snap the Italy U21 international up in January, coupled with just how much the 21-year-old has developed since his move to Bari, Orta’s decision to part with Caprile this summer is proving to have been more and more of a mare for the director of football with each passing day.