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Jurgen Klopp signing a new deal is ‘huge’ news regarding the Liverpool futures of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, according to Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Klopp signs new deal at Liverpool

The Reds are flying on the pitch at the moment, going for an unprecedented quadruple, but some massive off-field news emerged earlier in the week.

Klopp has extended his stay at Anfield by a further two years, meaning he will remain as Liverpool manager until the end of the 2025/26 season.

It is an enormous boost for anyone of a Reds persuasion, given the German’s influence and success on Merseyside, and the hope now is that star players also commit their futures to the club.

Liverpool are reportedly nearing a breakthrough in talks with Salah, while FSG also intend to offer a new contract to Mane.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-30/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Latest: Whelan makes exciting claim

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan claimed that Klopp’s new deal could spark a domino effect, leading to Salah and Mane also extending their Liverpool careers. The former Premier League striker said:

“This is huge. He’s key to players staying at the club as well. You see the reputation that he has with the players, that relationship, that one-on-one, that bonding.

“I think it’s great for the players to know that he’s there for another two years. That’s vitally important. There’s a lot of hard work that needs to be done in contract talks with Mane and Salah. But it’s important Klopp’s doing the contract talks.

“It also makes it very easy for the manager to know what he wants as well. It works both ways. I think the fans would choose manager over players because of what he’s done and how important and how key to their success he has been.

“He’s building something and he’s got plans in mind. Whether some of these players will be there with the plans in mind remains to be seen.”

The Verdict: Surely they stay at Liverpool

Given Liverpool’s current status as one of the world’s best teams, and with an iconic manager in Klopp staying put for another few years, it would be a big surprise if Salah and Mane – who have been hailed as “unbelievable” in the past by former team-mate Emre Can – didn’t sign new contracts.

In the past, one of Europe’s powerhouses such as Barcelona and Real Madrid may have had a greater appeal than the Reds, but things are very different now.

Someone like Gini Wijnaldum is perfect proof that leaving Liverpool could be viewed as a downward step these days, and that should act as a warning to both Salah and Mane if they see their futures elsewhere.

In other news, a journalist has made a key Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.

West Bromwich Albion have been linked with signing John Swift from Reading this summer, and now a new update has emerged on the player’s future.

What’s the latest?

According to Berkshire Live, the midfielder is expected to have played his last game for Reading as transfer interest boils over with many clubs interested in snapping up the player this summer.

Talks are ongoing over his future but the midfielder now seems destined to leave the club.

The report has said that talks are ongoing regarding his future but has attracted the interest of several clubs, with Leeds United, Burnley, Brentford and West Brom all linked to the playmaker.

Bruce must swoop

With bold competition from several clubs including established Premier League sides, Bruce must do all he can to swoop for the Reading star this summer as he would be the perfect fit for West Brom.

The Baggies boss has already outlined that he wants to bring in more “creative” players to the midfield at The Hawthorns this summer in an interview this month with Express & Star:

“We need to find a couple of midfielders who can be a bit more creative,” he told the press.

With that being said, Swift is the exact profile of a player that Bruce is looking to add to the West Brom outfit, scoring 34 goals and contributing 34 assists for Reading in his 202 appearances in the centre of the pitch at the club.

This season alone, the £25k-per-week ace who was hailed “talented” and a “big asset” by former manager Jaap Stam, has been a force for his Championship side with SofaScore recording him as the highest-rated player in the Reading squad, and rightly so when you consider his output.

Swift has been successful in the majority of his dribbles (58%), scored 11 goals and served up 13 assists, created ten big chances and makes 2.7 key passes on average per game in his 38 appearances this season, proving that he is an incredibly creative player in attacking play and identifies as the exact player Bruce is keen to bring into his side.

Ultimately, West Brom will have to fight off their competition to make sure they can secure the signature of the midfielder this summer as this kind of attacking output is exactly what the team has been missing this season, and exactly what they need to push on for promotion back to the Premier League next season.

AND in other news: “Would be keen”: Madeley drops exciting WBA transfer claim that’ll leave Bruce buzzing

Micah Richards was left blown away by the performance of one Sunderland star in the Tyne-Wear derby victory against Newcastle United this afternoon.

Sunderland win first Premier League game vs Newcastle since 2016

The Black Cats managed to get one over on their biggest rivals in the first Premier League meeting with Newcastle since 2016, courtesy of a bizarre own goal from Nick Woltemade in the second half.

Regis Le Bris’ side have made a dream start to life back in the top flight, but today’s victory is undoubtedly the sweetest yet, moving four points clear of the Magpies after managing to hold out for a well-earned 1-0 win.

A lot of credit has to go to the defence, with the visitors being limited to an xG of just 0.26, never really managing to create any big opportunities throughout the match.

However, Richards was also quick to praise Granit Xhaka after the match, with the former Manchester City man saying: “This man, we talked about him before the game, was brilliant again, absolute warrior in that midfield. What a player he’s been, what a signing. I’m gonna say he’s been the signing of the season so far, that’s how big I’m going.”

“He’s been absolutely immaculate in everything he does, even the way he speaks is just brilliant. Wow.”

Xhaka deserves all the plaudits after another impressive display

The Basel-born midfielder has been absolutely indispensable for Le Bris this season, starting all 15 Premier League games, during which time he’s chipped in with five goal involvements.

Sunderland could now make £12m approach to sign "unreal" defender in January

The Black Cats are assessing their options ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

ByDominic Lund 6 days ago

However, the Swiss maestro is perhaps best known for his defensive qualities, which were on show again today, making a number of important contributions.

Granit Xhaka’s key stats vs Newcastle

Number completed

Ground duels (won)

3 (2)

Aerial duels (won)

3 (3)

Clearances

4

Tackles

2

The Black Cats managing to sign the former Bayer Leverkusen man is starting to look like a real coup, with Jamie Carragher describing him as “fantastic” and the “most influential” player for a Premier League team this season.

The sky is the limit for this Sunderland side, who are firmly in contention to qualify for Europe, but Xhaka is likely to be paramount to their success, and Le Bris will be hoping for a similar display when his side travel to Brighton for their penultimate game in 2025 next weekend.

Celtic picked up their first win of the league phase of the Europa League on Thursday night by beating Sturm Graz 2-1 at Parkhead in front of their home support.

A stunning goal from distance from Tomi Horvat gave the Austrian outfit the lead in the first-half, but the Hoops hit back through Liam Scales in the 61st minute with a well-worked corner routine.

Three minutes later, Benjamin Nygren scored a goal from a corner to put Celtic 2-1 up, which was enough for them to secure all three points.

Why Benjamin Nygren should have done more for Celtic

The Sweden international scored the winning goal in the game with an excellent header in the 64th minute, but the game could have been out of sight for the hosts if he had taken his other opportunities.

Nygren had a personal xG tally of 2.43 and had five ‘big chances’ to find the back of the net, per Sofascore, but only scored from one of those shots.

The left-footed star deserves praise for getting into positions to score, as he had five of the club’s seven ‘big chances’, but he needed to do more to finish those opportunities when they came his way.

This is why Nygren was not the star of the show, because he was too wasteful in front of goal. Instead, it was Arne Engels who deserves the headlines for Thursday night’s win.

Why Arne Engels was even better than Benjamin Nygren

Shunsuke Nakamura was a certified free-kick specialist during his time with Celtic, as shown in the clips below, and Engels did his best impression of the former Hoops star against Sturm Graz.

The Belgium international may not have scored a free-kick, but his delivery from deadball situations and from open play was outstanding throughout the game. Neil Lennon, commentating for TNT Sports, went as far as to say that his delivery was “world-class”.

Engels, as shown in the earlier clip, delivered a phenomenal corner in for Nygren to score the winning goal, and that was just one of a number of inch-perfect crosses from the former Augsburg man.

Minutes

90

90

Shots

7

2

Goals

1

0

Big chances missed

4

0

Key passes

0

5

Big chances created

0

3

Successful crosses

0/0

4/8

Ground duel success rate

30%

50%

As you can see in the table above, the Belgian starlet was incredibly unfortunate to end the match with only one assist to his name, as he created three ‘big chances’, whilst he also outperformed Nygren in his physical duels on the night.

There was one sensational open play cross from the right channel that was a thing of beauty from the central midfielder that Nygren failed to convert in the second half, whilst he also created other chances from his Nakamura-esque set-piece deliveries.

The £11m signing has only started three of his seven appearances in the Scottish Premiership this season, per Sofascore, and he should be kept in the starting line-up for the big game against league-leaders Hearts on Sunday.

If Engels can continue to create chances and deliver set-pieces with the quality that he displayed on Thursday, the Belgian will soon rack up assists and close in on the tally of 13 that he managed in his debut season in Scotland.

Kuhn 2.0: Celtic have their next #10 in the making & it's not Balikwisha

Celtic have their next Nicolas Kuhn in the making and it is not Michel-Ange Balikwisha.

ByDan Emery Oct 22, 2025

He was the star of the show against Sturm Graz and Brendan Rodgers should provide him with another opportunity to impress against Hearts this weekend.

Yet another disappointing result for Manchester City.

On Wednesday night, the Sky Blues were held to a 2-2 by Monaco at Stade Louis II in the Champions League, despite leading twice, only to concede a penalty in the final minute.

Let’s start with the positives for the Citizens, namely Erling Braut Håland, who scored two magnificent goals in the Principality, taking his tally to 52 goals in just 50 Champions League appearances.

He has reached that landmark so quickly that, as noted by BBC Match of the Day, he has to be compared to clubs, not players, having scored more goals in his first 50 Champions League outings than Panathinaikos, CSKA Moscow, Celtic, Galatasaray, Beşiktaş, Club Brugge, Lille, Anderlecht and Dinamo Zagreb… we could go on!

Despite these exploits, dating back to last season, Pep Guardiola’s team have now won only four of ten league phase fixtures, despite winning 28 of 36 group stage games beforehand.

A few donning all black on Wednesday night did not cover themselves in glory, giving Guardiola some big selection decisions ahead of Sunday’s tricky trip to Brentford, so should he leave out arguably his most trusted lieutenant?

Nico González's difficult night in Monaco

Just as Manchester City were seemingly set to pick up all three points, les Monégasques were gifted a route back into the game.

As the clock was about to hit 90, a Monaco free-kick played into the box found Eric Dier but, as he headed the ball towards goal, Nico González came charging in and kicked the England defender in the face.

After a very long VAR consultation, referee Jesús Gil Manzano pointed to the spot and, to the surprise of many, Dier himself stepped up, sending Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way and ensuring it finished 2-2.

More broadly, since arriving from Porto on deadline day in the winter for £50m, Nico has struggled to make an impact in sky blue.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Despite his compatriot Rodri’s continued injury issues, the la Masia academy graduate has started only 13 Premier League or Champions League games since debuting in February, deputising at Wolves on the opening day and against Burnley on Saturday.

Nevertheless, for someone who arrived for such a huge amount of money, and with impressive pedigree behind him, he is yet to consistently deliver, his only league goal for the club coming against Bournemouth in May, not that this is what he’s in the team for.

In summary, Nico is in danger of becoming the next Kalvin Phillips, signed for £50m to alleviate the burden on Rodri, before being cast aside and forgotten about, but there is another Manchester City player, who has made over 400 appearances for the club, who is at risk of losing his place in the team.

Pep must consider benching 'world class' Man City star

The Citizens’ trip to Stade Louis II this week evoked memories of their only previous visit to the Principality in March 2017, dumped out on away goals after a thrilling 6-6 aggregate draw.

That Monaco team, who would go on to reach the Champions League semi-finals and win the club’s only Ligue 1 title since 2000, contained Kylian Mbappé, Radamel Falcao, Fabinho, Benjamin Mendy, João Moutinho, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Thomas Lemar and a certain Bernardo Silva.

The Portuguese winger moved to Manchester for £43.5m the following summer, making 415 appearances for the club to date, winning 17 major honours to date, but he did not enjoy a happy return to the French Riviera.

The table below documents his statistics from Wednesday night’s draw.

Touches

70

8th

Shots on target

1

7th

xG

0.07

10th

Accurate passes

49

9th

Key passes

1

13th

Duels contested

6

14th

Duels won

1

26th

Possession lost

12

4th

Sofascore rating

6.0

29th

As the table notes, despite registering plenty of touches, Silva did not do a lot with the ball.

He lost possession on 12 occasions, only Phil Foden of Man City players did so more, also losing five of the six duels he contested, meaning he still has no goals and just one assist to his name this season.

Speaking on Sky Sports News in 2023, one content creator labelled Silva “world class”, while Ben Littlemore of Transfermarkt argued last year that he was Man City’s most important player.

In Guardiola’s managerial career, Silva is the player he has picked most, 34 times above Kevin De Bruyne who is second on the list, but now might be time to start phasing out the 31-year-old.

On the bench on Wednesday, the Citizens had both Oscar Bobb and Savinho, with Jérémy Doku starting on the opposite flank, all of whom offer a lot more dynamism and direct attacking play than Silva, emphasising why two of that trio should be in the team to take on Brentford come Sunday afternoon.

Man City may rue losing "nightmare" for defenders who was their own Wirtz

Man City could have solved lots of issues if they’d kept this star.

ByJoe Nuttall Sep 27, 2025

Well, that was not the way Chelsea would have wanted to kickstart their European adventure.

After being out of the Champions League for over two years, the Blues were given a rough welcome back by Bayern Munich.

Enzo Maresca’s side found themselves down 2-0 within 27 minutes, and while Cole Palmer halved the deficit in the 29th minute, the Germans eventually ran out deserved 3-1 winners.

There were a couple of players who did themselves proud, but more who let the fans and manager down, including one starter who was even worse than Trevoh Chalobah.

Chalobah's disappointing display

Unlike some of his teammates, last night was not Chalobah’s first experience of the Champions League.

In fact, it was his tenth appearance in the competition, with his last being the quarter-final against Real Madrid in April 2022.

However, you’d never have guessed that, as instead of providing a calm presence behind his midfield, the Englishman was all over the place for much of the game.

Moreover, it was the 26-year-old who opened the scoring for the hosts when he poked home a cross from Michael Olise, a cross that Tosin Adarabioyo probably should have cleared.

The once-capped international’s statistics also made for some ugly reading, as in 96 minutes of action, he failed to make a single tackle, was dribbled past once, lost 50% of his ground duels, misplaced 50% of his long balls and won just 50% of his aerial duels.

It was enough for football.london’s Bobby Vincent to award him an 8/10 match rating at full-time, and describe his evening as something of a ‘nightmare.’

However, while Chalobah did score an own goal, one of his teammates was just as bad against Bayern, and therefore has to be dropped for the game against Manchester United on Saturday.

The Chelsea star who has to be dropped

Now there are a few other players who could be argued to be dropped for the game against United off the back of their performance last night, like Adarabioyo, Enzo Fernández and even Joao Pedro.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

However, in this instance, the player who disappointed us, and seemingly much of the fanbase, the most was Pedro Neto.

The Portuguese international started on the left and, unlike Palmer on the opposite flank, offered practically nothing throughout his time on the pitch.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers star was a ghost for almost all of the game, and when he did occasionally get involved in an attacking phase of play, he’d make a mistake.

It might sound overly harsh, but it’s an opinion shared by Vincent, who also awarded him a 4/10 match rating, writing that he ‘struggled’ and was ‘unable to make any sort of impact when Chelsea were attacking.’

Unsurprisingly, his statistics more than back up this appraisal of his performance.

Minutes

68′

Expected Goals

0.02

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.02

Assists

0

Touches

25

Accurate Passes

11/14 (79%)

Key Passes

1

Crosses (Accurate)

1 (0)

Long Balls

0

Shots on Target

0

Dribbles (Successful)

4 (2)

Ground Duels (Won)

6 (2)

Dribbled Past

2

In 68 minutes of inaction, the 25-year-old amassed a paltry combined expected assist and goals figure of just 0.04, took just 25 touches – 22 fewer than Robert Sanchez – completed just 11 passes, played one key pass, misplaced 100% of his crosses, failed in 50% of his dribbles, lost the ball nine times and was dribbled past twice.

Ultimately, while Chalobah will get the criticism for scoring the own goal, Neto was just as bad, if not worse, last night.

Therefore, he has to be dropped from the squad for Saturday’s game against United.

Chelsea chiefs now convinced 17-year-old could be their next Estevao

Stamford Bridge officials hold high hopes over another huge talent.

ByEmilio Galantini Sep 17, 2025

Glasgow Rangers are now “hopeful” of signing a £75,000-a-week Leicester City player alongside midfielder Joe Rothwell, according to a recent Ibrox transfer report.

Rangers are close to signing Joe Rothwell from Bournemouth

It has been a busy time of late for the Gers, as they finally found their successor to Philippe Clement in the form of Russell Martin and have since added their first addition, with Max Aarons joining on loan from AFC Bournemouth.

Offer made: Rangers at risk of losing another "complete" star after Igamane

Russell Martin could be dealt a second blow…

5 ByTom Cunningham Jul 1, 2025

Martin and the Gers have now returned to the Cherries to complete another signing. According to Sky Sports’ Mark McAdam, Rangers have agreed a deal with Bournemouth to sign Rothwell on a permanent basis, despite the fact the midfielder did have offers to move to La Liga.

It isn’t clear how much the Gers are willing to spend on the midfielder, but given he has entered the final year of his contract at Bournemouth, it is probably for a relatively low fee. The 30-year-old spent last season on loan at Leeds United, where he played 36 times in the Championship, as the Whites secured the title to seal promotion back to the Premier League.

Before his stint in Yorkshire, Rothwell spent the second half of the 2023/24 season on loan at Southampton, where he worked with Martin and helped the Saints to promotion to the Premier League. The pair are now set to work together once again, this time in Scotland.

Rangers "hopeful" of signing £75K-p/w Conor Coady

As the Gers close in on a deal for Rothwell, according to STV Sports presenter Raman Bhardwaj, Rangers remain “hopeful” they can get a deal agreed to sign Conor Coady from Leicester City.

It was reported a couple of days ago by the Daily Record that talks are ongoing between both Rangers and the Foxes over a deal for Coady. The England international is under contract at the King Power Stadium until 2026, but it isn’t clear how much Leicester are asking for to sell the defender, as they are not willing to let him leave for free.

As well as agreeing a deal with Leicester, the Gers have also got to agree personal terms with the former Everton and Wolves defender, as he reportedly earns £75,000 a week at the King Power Stadium.

Apps

22

Starts

19

Goals

1

Clean sheets

2

Interceptions per game

0.6

Tackles per game

0.6

Balls recovered per game

2.8

Ground duels won

0.7 (53%)

Aerial duels won

0.6 (37%)

Total duels won

1.3 (45%)

The Scottish giants do already have a few options at the heart of their defence, but given how far behind they were of Celtic last season, Martin obviously feels he needs more experience and leadership qualities in his defence.

Coady’s struggles at Leicester continued last season, as he only played 22 times in the Premier League, and a lot of those appearances came towards the back end of the season under Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has now left. A move to Scotland may make sense for Coady now, as he looks to continue playing at a high level as long as he can.

It’s all gone a bit quiet at Rangers recently, hasn’t it? Russell Martin was unveiled as the new manager a week ago but, since then, very little to report from Ibrox, with supporters eager to see a new signing or two through the door.

On Tuesday, Rangers will learn the identity of their first opponents of the Martin era, with a Champions League second round qualifier to come, a tie coming up as soon as 22/23 July.

Needing to act fast in the transfer market, could the Gers be about to make a big splash?

Rangers targeting a new midfielder

A range of youth and experience could be targeted by the new manager this summer. Jamie Vardy has already been touted with a move to Ibrox, but he’s not the only Premier League stalwart in the club’s crosshairs.

According to a report by Mick Brown of Football Insider, Rangers are ‘considering’ a move to sign midfielder Christian Eriksen this summer, believing he could ‘play an orchestrating role’.

The 33-year-old is a free agent, having left Manchester United following the expiration of his contract, but still showed his quality in a Denmark shirt this week, scoring against both Northern Ireland in Parken and then Lithuania in Odense during friendly victories for de Rød-Hvide.

So, despite his age, data analyst David O’Brien believes Eriksen is still a “world-class playmaker”, so signing him would represent a massive coup for Rangers, albeit salary could be a stumbling block, considering he was earning £150k-per-week at Manchester United, according to Capology.

Nevertheless, his arrival would get the Ibrox faithful excited, especially considering he would be reminiscent of a fans’ favourite from yesteryear.

How Eriksen could emulate Brian Laudrup at Rangers

A certain Brian Laudrup joined Rangers from Fiorentina for £2.3m in the summer of 1994, and this was certainly a solid investment, widely considered to be amongst Rangers’ greatest players of modern times, as well as one of their most ‘gifted and talented entertainers’.

Eriksen’s fellow countryman, who had won the European Championship against all odds two years earlier, played 150 times for the Light Blues, scoring 44 goals, winning three league titles, the Scottish Cup, a League Cup and was named SFWA Footballer of the Year twice, before being inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Derek Clark of the Rangers Review labels Laudrup the greatest ever player to grace Scottish football, while Craig Williams of Football Scotland outlines how the ‘special’ Denmark international is a bona fide club legend.

So, could Eriksen have a similar impact to that of his compatriot?

Well, at his best, Adam Smith of Sky Sports argued that Eriksen was the ‘Premier League’s best creative midfielder’, while Duncan Alexander of Opta’s the Analyst agrees, labelling him ‘one of the most effective attacking midfielders’ in Premier League history having racked up 81 assists in the competition’s history.

Premier League

310

55

81

Champions League

53

7

14

Europa League

55

10

14

FA & EFL Cups

41

11

12

Denmark national team

144

46

34

Having made 649 club appearances for Ajax, Tottenham, Inter, Brentford and Manchester United, Eriksen does boast serious pedigree, just as Laudrup did.

However, at 33 years old, there could be concerns that he is over the hill. Well, let’s assess his statistics from this season to find out if that is the case.

Minutes

1,737

16th

Goals

5

7th

Assists

5

5th

Goals – xG

+1

3rd

Goals per shot

0.15

4th

Progressive passes

77

9th

Key passes

47

4th

Shot-creating actions

84

6th

Goal-creating actions

12

4th

As the table outlines, despite only featuring in 31.6% of Manchester United’s total minutes this season, Eriksen was actually one of their most-impressive performers, ranking highly for goals and assists, as well as metrics relating to chance creation, passing and shooting accuracy.

Following the Red Devils’ victory over Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season, Eriksen said about his future “we’ll see”, adding “there’s options” but nothing has been decided just yet, possibly opening the door to a move to Glasgow.

It’s certainly ambitious, but Rangers do have a history when it comes to recruiting Great Danes, and Eriksen would certainly make an impact, should he choose to make the move to Govan.

Aribo 2.0: Rangers targeting move for "unplayable" star on free transfer

As Russell Martin continue to rebuild his new Rangers squad, could he sign an “unplayable” EFL star who could be a sensational Joe Aribo repeat?

ByBen Gray Jun 11, 2025

Chelsea are leading the race for a £67m “monster”, and they are now pushing hard to get a deal over the line, according to reports.

Blues set sights on another striker after Delap

The Blues are looking to make improvements to their squad prior to the Club World Cup later this month, and they now appear to be closing in on an early deal for Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap, with the signing set to be announced imminently.

However, perhaps given that Delap is still relatively inexperienced, the Blues remain keen on bringing in another striker this summer, and they continue to battle it out for the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike and Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres.

RB Leipzig centre-forward Benamin Sesko is another name to have regularly been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, and a report from Caught Offside has now revealed that Chelsea are leading the race for the Slovenian, alongside competition from Arsenal.

Leipzig are set to hold out for a fee of €80m (£67m) for Sesko, with the Blues among the frontrunners, having identified the 22-year-old as the perfect fit for BlueCo’s long-term project, given his eye for goal and raw power.

£50m "superstar" now tells agent to inform Maresca he wants Chelsea move

An exciting forward has now set his sights on a move to Stamford Bridge this summer…

1 ByDominic Lund Jun 1, 2025

The Gunners could provide competition for the striker’s signature, however, with Mikel Arteta believed to be a fan, and sporting director Andrea Berta has already held direct talks with the German club over a potential deal.

"Monster" Sesko could be fantastic signing for Chelsea

The deal for Delap may well be edging closer to completion, but it would not be a bad idea to bring in another top striker this summer, and the Blues are now believed to be pushing hard to get a deal for the Leipzig star over the line.

With Enzo Maresca’s side set to return to the Champions League next season, the manager could do with greater strength in depth, and the Slovenia international is held in high regard by scout Ben Mattinson, who described him as a “monster”.

The 6-foot-5 forward also maintained a solid record in front of goal throughout the 2024-25 campaign, regularly finding the back of the net in all the competitions he featured in for Leipzig.

Competition

Appearances

Goals

Assists

Bundesliga

33

13

5

Champions League

8

4

0

DFB-Pokal

4

4

1

As such, Sesko could be a fantastic signing for Chelsea this summer, as they look to build on the 2024-25 campaign and start competing for major trophies once again.

It’s been an extremely long time coming, but after eight years outside of the Premier League promised land, Sunderland are finally back.

Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats would go on to stun Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United 2-1 at Wembley courtesy of a last-gasp effort from Tommy Watson, with the tense tie looking to be going in the favour of the Blades, before a remarkable Sunderland comeback was kick-started.

Now, an exciting summer awaits the newly promoted side as they attempt to land some statement deals ahead of the challenge of top-flight football.

One deal that will go through is Enzo Le Fee joining Le Bris’ camp permanently after his standout loan stint more than helped the Wearside outfit seal a dramatic path back up to the Premier League.

Le Fee's heroics at Sunderland

Whilst the skilful Frenchman didn’t pick up a goal or an assist at Wembley, he would still prove his worth during the two semi-final clashes versus Coventry when collecting two assists.

Therefore, nobody will be up in arms about the Black Cats having to fork out £20m to land Le Fee for good, with that fee coming in as a mandatory amount to fork out if the high-flyers were to win promotion.

There will also be an expectation in the air that Le Fee can deliver when making the gigantic leap-up, considering he does have plenty of top-flight experience in his native France up his sleeve with soon-to-be ex-side Lorient, when tallying seven goals and 14 assists from 132 Ligue 1 encounters.

Moreover, despite only being 25 years of age, the entertaining number 28 is arguably one of the more senior members of Le Bris’ promotion-winning side, meaning he shouldn’t hopefully fold when the Premier League spotlight is beamed onto him.

1. GK – Anthony Patterson

25

2. RB – Trai Hume

23

3. CB -Daniel Ballard

25

4. CB – Luke O’Nien

30

5. LM – Dennis Cirkin

23

6. RM – Chris Rigg

17

7. CM – Dan Neil

23

8. CM – Jobe Bellingham

19

9. LM – Romaine Mundle

22

10. ST – Enzo Le Fee

25

11. ST – Eliezer Mayenda

20

To help calm down the inexperienced team’s nerves more, Sunderland could go all in to land this former star who knows the Premier League inside out.

The incredible signing Sunderland could make

The Black Cats will already be up against it reentering the top-flight, with the last six teams that went up all coming straight back down miserably.

Therefore, if Sunderland are able to win back the services of former homegrown ace Jordan Henderson – with Football Insider reporting a return could be on the cards – they should go full steam ahead to snap him up, with this signing potentially as exciting as Le Fee’s was when he surprisingly entered the building in the second tier.

Henderson, before his career fell somewhat to the wayside in Saudi and now at Ajax, was the heartbeat of many a successful Liverpool side in the daunting division, skippering the side to Premier League and Champions League glory.

Jurgen Klopp referred to the midfield veteran as “incredible” during their memorable days together at Anfield, with the 34-year-old’s numbers below speaking for themselves in terms of how he could offer plenty of know-how.

Games played

492

Goals scored

33

Assists

58

Premier League titles

1x

Champions Leagues

1x

Footballer of the Year

1x

So good has Henderson been at the top level that he amazingly picked up a Footballer of the Year accolade at the close of the 2019/20 season, with a hope now that the former Reds captain can roll back the years upon his potential return to the Stadium of Light.

Indeed, with Sunderland in need of a calming and steady presence to complement the more livewire figures of Jobe Bellingham, Chris Rigg and the attack-focused Le Fee, the local lad would be the dream addition for Louis-Dreyfus and Co as they enter a new dawn.

Surely a return to your hometown club on the eve of their first Premier League season in eight years is motivation enough to get back to your dominating best, with this deal perhaps going down as another steal like Le Fee’s if all goes to plan, particularly if he can keep his boyhood side afloat.

Forget Jobe: Sunderland may have their next Jordan Henderson in 8/10 star

Sunderland are finally back in the Premier League after a dramatic 2-1 victory over Sheffield United.

ByKelan Sarson May 25, 2025