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Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Manchester United have reached an agreement to bring Mitchell van der Gaag to Old Trafford.

The Lowdown: Van der Gaag links

Erik ten Hag gave the green light regarding a move for the Ajax assistant shortly after he was announced as United manager last month.

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He’s been described as an ‘important addition’ at Old Trafford after serving as Ten Hag’s assistant for 47 games. There was talk last month that Van der Gaag could succeed Ten Hag as Ajax manager, but it looks as if a move to Manchester will now go through.

The Latest: Romano’s update

Romano took to Twitter on Thursday evening to provide an update regarding Van der Gaag.

The transfer expert revealed that a ‘full agreement’ has now been reached, saying it is ‘just a matter of time’ until a contract is finalised.

The Verdict: Key

Ten Hag was clearly keen on bringing his assistant to Old Trafford, and despite taking longer than they may have liked, it looks as if the United boss will get his way.

The pair have enjoyed success working together this season, with Ajax recently securing the Dutch title after picking up 82 points from 33 games.

Van der Gaag now looks set to be the first coaching staff addition under Ten Hag, and it’ll be interesting to see who else he brings in before turning his attention to a number of summer signings, with Steve McClaren’s name popping up once again regarding a potential Old Trafford return.

In other news: Man Utd now working to sign ‘underrated’ defender in £38.5m move; offer ‘imminent’

Wolves centre-back Romain Saiss was ‘waving goodbye’ to supporters after his team’s Premier League clash against Norwich City at the weekend, according to journalist Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Wolves draw with Norwich

It has been a disappointing end to the season for Bruno Lage’s side, who bowed out at Molineux for another campaign with a 1-1 draw against the relegated Canaries on Sunday afternoon.

It means that Wolves’ European dream is over for another year but the players still got a nice reception from the crowd as they showed their appreciation after the final whistle.

It was a moment to gauge the body language of some, in order to see if it looked as though they were saying their farewells in the Black Country.

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The Latest: Spiers reckons Saiss was ‘waving goodbye’

That certainly appeared to be the case with Saiss, with Spiers taking to Twitter to claim that the Moroccan may have played at Molineux for the last time as he shared a clip of the Wolves players acknowledging the fans in a post-match lap of honour.

The journalist tweeted: “Saiss at the end there. Waving goodbye you’d have to say.”

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The Verdict: Great servant for Wolves

It makes sense for Saiss to move on at this point, with his contract expiring next month. At 32, it would seem that his best days are no longer in front of him.

He should be remembered as a brilliant servant for Wolves, though, with the Moroccan making 206 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals for good measure and standing out as one of their best performers this term.

It is now a case of replacing Saiss, who has been such a reliable and regular part of the defence for a number of years, to ensure that Lage’s side remain as defensively savvy next season as they were for the bulk of 2021/22.

In other news, Spiers has also lamented the decline of one Wolves player. Find out who it is here.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has now given the ‘go-ahead’ for a potential summer signing with pre-summer talks even held, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye summer overhaul…

As per reliable reports from The Times and The Telegraph recently, there may well be a summer of real change on the horizon at Hotspur Way.

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Conte is apparently eyeing a plethora of major incomings with just as many Spurs players looking likely to make way, coming as the Italian and chairman Daniel Levy met for dinner three weeks ago to discuss strategy.

The Lilywhites head coach is apparently set for another summit with Levy and sporting director Fabio Paratici at the end of the 2021/2022 Premier League season with the top-four chasers now on the brink of Champions League qualification.

A point against Norwich City tomorrow will gift the north-Londoners a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition and a potentially crucial financial windfall ahead of the transfer window.

The Latest: Lenglet talks held…

According to Sport, sharing news on Tottenham’s possible summer activity, Paratici and co have held talks over signing Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet – making contact to find out the conditions of a transfer.

Conte’s side want the France international on a season-long loan with a possible option to sign him permanently, a deal which doesn’t really appeal to the Catalans who are now sounding out other options.

However, this isn’t going well, as La Liga clubs taking Lenglet is seen as ‘unfeasible’ and Chelsea haven’t taken their interest beyond that – making Spurs favourites to sign the centre-back as they’re now seen as the ‘most viable option’.

There is also a green light from Conte as he ‘would give the go-ahead’ to sign Barca’s man.

The Verdict: Make the move?

Barca’s options to offload Lenglet appear to be waning, potentially handing Spurs a strong hand in convincing them to agree to their loan plus option-to-buy deal.

However, despite being lauded as a ‘top professional’ by former Camp Nou boss Ronald Koeman, we believe there could be better options for Conte to strengthen his side.

The likes of Joško Gvardiol and Alessandro Bastoni, both of whom linked with a move, arguably stand out as more exciting targets over Lenglet who’s started just six league matches this season.

Indeed, before pursuing a move further, it may be best for Tottenham to weigh other more durable options.

In other news: Journalist: Paratici now eyeing ‘world class’ player move tipped to ‘excite’ Spurs supporters…find out more here.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has demanded the signing of Gareth Bale among six major names if he is to continue at the club, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Conte maps out summer plan…

Recent claims have suggested that both the 52-year-old and Spurs transfer chief Fabio Paratici have a summer transfer plan somewhat mapped out, with potential targets already on the radar (The Telegraph).

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Bale, who spent the 2020/21 season on loan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, has been tipped to make another return to the Premier League, and Spurs aren’t ruled out of the race. With the 32-year-old set to leave Real Madrid on a Bosman deal, the Lilywhites – along with Cardiff City, Newcastle, Rangers and AC Milan – are among the clubs who could sign him, as per 90min.

His agent Jonathan Barnett even told Record (via Evening Standard) that England is the player’s most likely destination, although much will depend on Wales’ qualification fate for the World Cup later this year.

The Latest: Conte makes Bale demand…

According to Spanish sources, Conte ‘demands’ six major signings in order to ‘continue at Tottenham’, with the report naming Bale and five others.

The former Inter Milan manager’s idea is apparently to ‘reinforce all the lines’ as the Real Madrid outcast ‘could be’ one of the ‘new faces’ in north London this summer.

The Verdict: Pinch of salt?

We struggle to see where Bale would fit into Conte’s system, so we suggest to take this report with a pinch of salt.

The 32-year-old still possesses plenty of ability, with talkSPORT pundit Andy Goldstein calling him ‘world class’ just last year despite his age, not to mention that he has an impressive 183 club career goals.

However, it is highly debatable whether Bale could match Conte’s intense training methods given his fitness issues throughout his loan spell at Spurs in 2020/21.

Jose Mourinho even slammed a false depiction of the player’s rehabilitation on social media, with Bale’s potentially enormous wage demands also coming as an issue for Tottenham to secure a third spell at the club for the Welshman.

In other news: ‘Told Spurs are ready…’ – Dan Kilpatrick has exciting transfer news for supporters! Find out more here

Leeds United are interested in rivalling Nottingham Forest in the race to sign Morgan Gibbs-White, according to The Athletic.

The Lowdown: Sheffield United loan

Gibbs-White spent the 2021/22 season on loan with Sheffield United and turned out in a number of attacking positions.

The 22-year-old played as a centre-forward, on the right and in a deeper role, scoring 12 times and providing 10 assists in 37 games for The Blades.

Defender Chris Basham hailed Gibbs-White as a ‘breath of fresh air’ who ‘glides past players’ and is ‘powerful’, and it seems as if he is a man in demand following his successful loan spell.

The Latest: Leeds interest

The Athletic’s Paul Taylor provided an in-depth story regarding Forest’s transfer plans on Wednesday.

The reporter stated that Gibbs-White is one of Forest’s ‘primary targets’ and is valued at around £20m, but added that Leeds are ‘also interested’.

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The Verdict: Get it done

Gibbs-White showed his quality in the second tier last season and seems to be a ready-made player for Jesse Marsch.

The Leeds head coach prefers to use a narrow 4-2-2-2 formation and has already made his intentions clear by signing Brenden Aaronson, who is set to be used as an inverted winger.

Gibbs-White could be the next piece in Marsch’s Elland Road attacking jigsaw as he can turn out as a centre-forward, out wide or in behind the striker, meaning he could perhaps occupy the opposite attacking midfielder spot to Aaronson.

Still just 22, you’d expect that the Wolves man will only get better over the coming years, so it will be interesting to see if the Whites firm up their interest.

In other news: Cheeky bid tabled: Radz and 49ers now open talks to sign international ‘goal threat’ for Leeds. 

According to BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Danny Mills, Liverpool should sell Sadio Mane for as little as £25m this summer after a second bid was turned town.

The Lowdown: Liverpool reject second bid

The Senegalese sensation first arrived at Anfield from fellow Premier League rivals Southampton in a £34m move six years ago, but after entering the final 12 months of his current contract on Merseyside, the 30-year-old has made his intentions to quit the Reds very clear.

It was reported last month that German giants Bayern Munich want to sign the forward, and an update from The Athletic has now revealed that Liverpool have rejected a second £23.5m bid from the Allianz outfit for their star man.

The Latest: Mills baffled by ‘haggling’

Mills however believes that whilst Mane has been a fantastic servant for the club, they should not stand in his way if he’s ‘desperate’ to leave over the coming weeks. He told Football Insider:

“He’s 30-years-old they bought him for not an awful lot and had good service out of him.

“You’re getting to the point, if he wants to go, if he’s desperate to move on, just get a fee for him and let him go.

“You’re going to end up haggling over £2million, £3million either way. Do you really want that when you’re going to have keep an unhappy player there and pay his wages as well?

“Or do you say ‘Right ok, let’s get a deal done’. Get the money and bring someone else in.

“There will be a little bit of posturing, a little bit of ego, a little bit of brinkmanship from both sides.

“Ultimately I see this deal being done at anywhere between £21million and £25million.”

The Verdict: Mane would be a huge loss

Despite his age compared to the rest of the Liverpool squad, you could argue that the 89-cap international has been the Reds’ most in-form player this season.

Throughout the 2021/22 campaign, the striker netted 23 goals and provided five assists for Jurgen Klopp’s side across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt, with only Mohamed Salah (31) scoring more.

If Mane is to leave Anfield, it would be a huge loss to the club where he’s become such an integral part of the starting XI over the years, but with the Reds only securing two trophies rather than the quadruple that they were initially hoping for, the £200k-per-week starlet may just be up for a new challenge before his prime expires.

In other news… Sky Sports News have dropped a live update on Liverpool’s interest in one of their summer transfer targets.

Liverpool are interested in signing Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to a report from The Mirror. 

The lowdown: Phillips a wanted man

Currently a one-club man, Phillips came through the ranks in Yorkshire and has amassed 234 appearances for his boyhood club so far.

Many of those outings came in the Championship before Leeds returned to the Premier League in 2020, and since then the 26-year-old has proven his worth in the top flight and become a regular England international.

Such strong performances have sparked an increased level of transfer interest as Manchester United, Manchester City and West Ham all reporetdly take admiring glances at the combative midfielder.

The latest: Liverpool in the mix for Phillips

As per The Mirror, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is now ‘ready to rival’ Pep Guardiola for the signing of the 19-cap England ace.

It is claimed that the German is ‘understood to admire’ Phillips, with Leeds ‘bracing themselves for interest’ this summer after narrowly avoiding relegation last month.

The report added that it will cost around £60m to sign the midfielder, who was hailed as ‘superb’ at Euro 2020 by Oliver Kay after starting all seven games for Gareth Southgate’s side at the finals.

The verdict: Worthwhile target

Seemingly set to miss out on Aurelien Tchouameni, with Real Madrid the hot favourites to land the AS Monaco sensation, it’s no surprise that Klopp and Julian Ward would be seeking an alternative option for the upcoming transfer window.

During an injury-hit 2021/22 campaign, Phillips earned a 6.84 Sofascore rating whilst winning an impressive 4.8 duels, making 1.2 interceptions and completing 38.9 accurate passes per game.

Aside from the battling qualities that the first of those metrics indicates, the 26-year-old displayed impressive versatility in the process when operating as a central defender, and as a more natural defensive midfielder.

Despite the lofty asking price, signing the Englishman as an understudy to Fabinho and to supplement Jordan Henderson would be a smart move by Liverpool, given his proven Premier League experience, age profile and positive impact on the all-important homegrown quota within the squad.

In other news: A fresh rumour has emerged over a possible Sadio Mane successor

A claim has emerged on Glasgow Rangers gem Calvin Bassey and interest in his services heading into the summer transfer window at Ibrox… 

What’s the talk?

Transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that a team south of the border may have an edge in their pursuit of the Rangers central defender.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I think at this stage, Aston Villa seem to be in a good position to negotiate. We’ve already seen Steven Gerrard have a big impact on signings they’ve already got through the door.

“People are speaking very well about him as a person and a manager and Calvin Bassey will be more than aware of what he could bring to his game further so definitely the Gerrard effect could work.”

Gio van Bronckhorst will be sweating

This claim will surely leave the Light Blues head coach sweating as the prospect of losing Bassey is a worrying one for him.

Gerrard has a pre-existing relationship with the Nigeria international – having signed him for the Gers from Leicester – and van Bronckhorst will be concerned that Premier League football and the chance to reunite with his former boss will be enough to convince him to want a move.

Going into the 2022/23 campaign without Bassey in the squad would be a huge blow to the Gers and leave the Dutch boss fuming as he has proven his quality in a Rangers shirt.

He burst onto the scene last season and made himself a regular in the side under Gerrard and van Bronckhorst, excelling in the Premiership…

These statistics show that he was heavily involved at the back as he consistently won his individual duels and won the ball back for his team on a regular basis.

The gem was also important in the Europa League as he played 14 times in the competition. He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.90 as he made 3.0 tackles and interceptions per game and won 60% of his duels, playing at centre-back and left-back.

This shows that the defender delivered game-in-game-out in Europe and was physically dominant against opposition attackers – playing a key role in the run to the final.

Losing him would, therefore, be a huge blow for Rangers as he has proven that he can perform to a high level domestically and in Europe. Van Bronckhorst would be handed the difficult task of replacing him and that is why he will now be sweating at the thought of Villa snapping him up this summer.

AND in other news, “Was told..”: Journo makes big Rangers transfer claim that’ll leave supporters excited…

A Sky Sports journalist has shared a ‘positive’ update for Derby County fans regarding the takeover of the club.

The Lowdown: Kirchner withdraws offer

The newly-relegated League One side are currently on the hunt for a new owner after it was revealed earlier this week that initial preferred bidder, American businessman Chris Kirchner, had officially withdrawn his offer to buy the Rams after failing to meet a deadline set by administrators Quantuma.

There was fears that this would mean a case of going back to square one and into the unknown for the Rams, but following a new update, there is yet again optimism that a deal will be able to be completed thanks to a potential new suitor.

The Latest: Sky share ‘positive’ development

Sharing a fresh ‘development’, Sky presenter and journalist Julian Warren gave Derby supporters some ‘positive’ news after the ordeal with Kirchner when speaking live on Sky Sports News.

Warren confirmed that former Wolves owner Steve Morgan has renewed his interest in buying the club and is currently in negotiations over a possible takeover. The bid has been described to Sky as ‘credible’.

The Verdict: Long-term stability

With less than two months until the start of the new season, Wayne Rooney will need as much clarity and financial backing as possible as he prepares his players for life in the third tier.

Morgan would be the ideal candidate to rescue the Rams after giving Wolves plenty of long-term stability when he took charge at Molineux, having bought the club for £10m before overseeing the Wanderers’ promotion to the Premier League.

Hopefully, the 69-year-old will be able to bring that same kind of safety net to Pride Park if a deal finally manages to get done, giving all associated with Derby a bit more hope for a brighter future.

A big update has emerged regarding Rangers and Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s pursuit of an international striker in the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Record, Rangers are keen on a deal to sign Antonio Colak in the coming weeks, with his club eager to offload him.

They also cite Politic as stating that the Gers have had one bid turned down by Greek outfit PAOK, who are holding out for a fee in the region of €2m (£1.7m).

However, the Daily Record added that a second offer is unlikely to come in the immediate future as Ross Wilson weighs up his options after the initial talks leading to an opening salvo.

Big Kemar Roofe upgrade

By securing a deal to sign the Croatia international, Wilson could land Gio van Bronckhorst a big upgrade on Kemar Roofe.

Prior to returning to PAOK in January, Colak caught the eye with a string of impressive performances for Swedish side Malmo on loan. In the 2021 Allsvenskan campaign, the forward plundered 14 goals and three assists, along with creating six ‘big chances’ for his team-mates, in 26 appearances as he averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.26.

He also scored a whopping five goals in eight Champions League qualifiers for Malmo, two of which came at Ibrox. His goals helped them reach the group stage of the competition, which is something the Gers are aiming to do this year.

Before making the move to PAOK in 2020, the goal machine found the net 51 times (and also claimed 15 assists) in 90 appearances for Croatian side HNK Rijeka.

Meanwhile, Roofe managed 10 goals and one assist, along with creating three ‘big chances’, in 21 Premiership outings last term. Whilst this is a respectable return from the striker, he has only scored four goals and provided one assist in 17 European matches for the club.

Therefore, Colak could be a big upgrade on the Jamaican, as he has a recent track record of being lethal in Europe – particularly in Champions League qualifiers – and could provide Van Bronckhorst with a much-needed goal threat in that competition to support Alfredo Morelos.

The Gers will surely be desperate to play in the group stage of the Champions League, and recruiting a player who has proven that he can make a big impact in the qualifiers is a smart way of going about it.

Roofe has not shown enough in Europe to suggest that he is the man to fire Rangers through the qualifying stages, and he could now be replaced in a deal to sign Colak from PAOK.

AND in other news, “Looking at..”: Transfer insider drops exciting Rangers claim supporters will love…