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Having joined Wolverhampton Wanderers’ youth setup back in 2018, Theo Corbeanu is a player who very quickly began to catch the eye at the Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground.

Indeed, after a rather quiet first season with Wolves U18s, scoring one goal and registering one assist over 14 Premier League U18 appearances in 2018/19, the versatile centre-forward really started to find his feet in the following campaign, bagging six goals and providing one assist over 17 fixtures for the U18 side, as well as making his first appearance for the U23s.

This form led to the Canada international being promoted to the U23 side on a permanent basis last season, during which the £900k-rated man scored seven goals and registered two assists over 21 Premier League 2 appearances, in addition to making his Premier League debut for the first team – coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in May.

Perhaps unsurprisingly considering his impressive rise through the Wolves youth ranks, the opinion of Corbeanu is extremely high at Molineux, particularly in the eyes of U23 head coach James Collins.

Speaking about the potential of the 19-year-old, Collins said: “He’s athletic, tall, can head it, can defend, can dribble past people and score, he can shoot, he can pass, he’s both footed, he’s got a bit of everything.”

The boss continued: “Theo can be anything he wants to be. He’s an outstanding prospect.”

This assessment of the youngster’s ability is sure to excite Wolves fans, as Collins’ description could also quite easily fit the club’s current first-choice centre-forward, Raul Jimenez – of whom Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said: “For a striker, he is so mobile, but also physically so good and talented technically on the ball.”

However, despite his obvious promise, after being sent on loan to Sheffield Wednesday this summer, Corbeanu’s rise appears to have slowed somewhat, as the striker has so far made just four appearances for Darren Moore’s side – all of which have come from the bench.

Indeed, Tim Spiers recently stated in an article for The Athletic that, with both Lincoln City and Crewe Alexandra thought to have been interested in signing the forward this summer, should the 19-year-old still not be receiving regular game time at Hillsborough by the time January comes around, Wolves could well look to move the youngster to a new club for the second half of the season.

And, should Bruno Lage wish to give Corbeanu the best possible chance of going on to fulfil his undoubted potential, this would appear an extremely wise move. The 19-year-old certainly has the potential to not only become Jimenez’s long-term successor at Wolves, but he could also save Fosun millions of pounds in transfer fees as a result.

In other news: Nixon drops worrying claim on “authoritative” £62k-p/w ace, Wolves fans will be gutted

The Express and Star reporter Luke Hatfield told The Transfer Tavern that Carlos Vinicius would be an interesting signing for Wolves.

The Brazilian striker spent last season on loan at Tottenham having been signed by Jose Mourinho, but managed just one Premier League goal, although he played just 303 minutes in the league.

But in the Europa League and domestic cups, Vinicius proved himself as a lethal goalscorer, netting nine goals in just 670 minutes outside of the Premier League, including one hat-trick and two braces.

However, with Heung-min Son and Harry Kane at the peak of their powers, Vinicius was an unused substitute on 17 times last season, which all but ended any chance of Tottenham activating his buy-out clause.

Just a matter of months down the line, however, according to the Mirror, Wolves, who’re short of options up front, could turn to the £16.2m-rated striker.

Vinicius scored 24 goals under the guidance of Wolves boss Bruno Lage when the pair were together at Benfica in 2019-2020.

“He would be an interesting player were Wolves to sign him,” Hatfield told The Transfer Tavern. 

“He didn’t get a fair crack at the whip at Spurs, it was always going to be tough playing back-up to Harry Kane because he’s always going to want to play week in week out and you’ll only see limited opportunities.

“But he showed enough to attract interest of Premier League clubs, so he’d be an interesting signing for Wolves.”

Celtic currently have a significant number of players in their senior squad that have come through the club’s youth academy and play for the first team such as James Forrest and Callum McGregor, who have made a combined total of 42 appearances between them across all competitions this season.

Looking ahead to who could be the next regular figure for Celtic to come through the club’s academy, one potential candidate that could be set for a big future at the Parkhead club is 18-year-old Dane Murray, who has been touted to have a “bright future” ahead of him by Stephen Welsh.

As a product of Celtic’s youth system, Murray is predominantly a midfield player but has been deployed as a centre-back by Ange Postecoglou, which gives a clue as to what the Celtic manager sees in the teenager in terms of his skills and qualities on the pitch.

In Celtic’s 2-1 defeat against FC Midtjylland in the Champions League qualifying second-leg clash back in July, Murray played at the back for the full 120 minutes and managed to show everyone just what he’s capable of from a defensive point of view.

Murray managed to make six clearances, seven interceptions and three tackles as well as winning 11 duels and not getting dribbled past even once.

This display earned the youngster an impressive overall match rating of 7.3/10 according to SofaScore, making him Celtic’s joint-second highest rated player on the day, proving that he definitely has what it takes to play at a high level alongside the rest of Celtic’s more senior players.

In the first leg against Midtjylland, Murray played 45 minutes of action after Nir Bitton got sent off, after which fellow Hoops defender Welsh described the youngster’s performance as “fantastic,” which could be why Postecoglou selected him to start the second leg.

Looking ahead to the future, even though Murray hasn’t been involved in a matchday squad for Celtic in the league this season, he definitely has what it takes to break into Postecoglou’s side at some point in the future.

Consider the talent he’s shown so far and the fact that he has time on his side with his young age and he could save the club millions in potential future transfer fees.

In other news: “No estimated return date”: Devlin drops big Celtic injury update, Ange will be fuming

Newcastle United are reportedly eyeing up a shock move for their former player Gini Wijnaldum.

The Lowdown: Developing story…

TEAMtalk reported last month that the St James’ Park oufit are eyeing a shock return for the Dutchman and are ‘keeping tabs’ on his situation at Paris Saint-Germain.

The Magpies have ‘made it clear’ that they would be interested in signing him, should he be made available in the January transfer window.

It would be a sensational swoop for a player who had a remarkable sole season on Tyneside, with 11 goals and a further five assists from midfield as he played in every single match of their 2015/16 Premier League campaign (Transfermarkt).

Unfortunately, the Netherlands international could not do enough to help his team avoid relegation to the Championship, which is ultimately a big reason why he left to join Liverpool after just one year in the northeast.

The Latest: Contact made

As per AS, Newcastle are the first club to have shown interest in signing Wijnaldum, who wants to leave Paris already, and he has made known his desire to return to the Premier League.

According to sources close to the 31-year-old, there has already been contact made with the Magpies over a potential move, meaning that the ball could already be rolling come January.

The Verdict: No-brainer

Wijnaldum has already shown what he can do in front of the Toon Army, so a deal to bring him back is surely a no-brainer.

Since moving on from Newcastle, he became a won both the Premier League and Champions League, showing that he can perform on the big stage. Indeed, Geordie legend Alan Shearer dubbed him an ‘absolutely sensational’ player back in 2018.

Signing him would be one way for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium to get the fans on their side straight away, as he would certainly be a popular addition among many at St James’ Park, and he would give Eddie Howe that extra bit of experience and quality to give his Newcastle side the best possible chance of avoiding relegation.

In other news, Howe is also lining up this ‘brilliant’ EFL maestro for Newcastle

Former Premier League footballer Dean Windass could see James Ward-Prowse going to Aston Villa, but says Southampton won’t want to lose him.

Villa have already signed Danny Ings from the Saints this summer and there has been plenty of speculation that they are interested in midfielder James Ward-Prowse.

Sky Sports reported last month that Southampton had rejected Aston Villa’s £25m offer for the player and that the south coast outfit have no interest in selling him.

Speaking to Football FanCast, Windass could see the transfer happening but also understands that Southampton won’t want to lose him, saying: “Another situation where Southampton won’t want to lose him, he’s the captain.

“I can see that happening obviously with the funds they get for Jack, he could be the one that can come in. [He’s] not a similar player to Jack but obviously similar quality in the sense he can get you goals from free-kicks. His wide free-kicks – he puts them on the money every now and then.”

Ward-Prowse featured in every Premier League game for Southampton last season and also in the clubs six cup matches (5 FA Cup and 1 EFL Cup), scoring nine goals and creating a further seven.

Both Villa and Southampton have looked to strengthen their sides this summer, with both making five new signings each. With under a month to go in the transfer window, will Ward-Prowse be the sixth Villa signing or will the Saints stand firm and keep hold of their captain for the upcoming season?

A major update has emerged on Giorgi Aburjania, regarding Sunderland’s pursuit of the midfielder.

What’s the talk?

According to Spanish newspaper Sport Cartagena, as relayed by the Sunderland Echo, Georgian international Giorgi Aburjania has agreed to sign for Sunderland upon the expiry of his contract later this week.

The report claims that Aburjania will leave FC Cartagena this week after opting against signing a new deal with the Spanish club. He is now poised to arrive on Wearside to link up with Lee Johnson and his squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

He won’t cost a penny

Kristjaan Speakman could strike gold for Sunderland with this deal. Aburjania will arrive in England as an unknown quantity to opposition teams as he has never played in this country, spending the last six years of his career in Spain and the Netherlands with Sevilla, Lugo, FC Twente, Real Oviedo and Cartagena.

This means that he could surprise other sides who do not know the potential threat that he will be able to pose, unlike with any domestic signings who they will have likely competed against them in previous seasons.

The 26-year-old is a box-to-box player, who can play as a holding midfielder, a central midfielder or an attacking midfielder, and he has also been utilized on both flanks previously in his career.

This highlights his versatility and shows that Johnson could deploy him in a variety of roles across his midfield set-up, potentially making him a valuable option to call upon in League One if he is able to adapt to English football. If Johnson faces any injuries in a midfield position, he could trust that Aburjania is capable of filling in and doing a job as he has been able to play there in the past.

The 6ft 1 beast has plenty of experience playing at a high standard of football. He has played 88 matches in the second division in Spain and 16 times in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands, whilst he has also been capped on 22 occasions by his country, Georgia, on the international stage.

This shows that he has been good enough to consistently play at a higher level than League One throughout his career to date, suggesting that he could thrive at the Stadium of Light as he drops down to the English third tier.

Speakman could seal a bargain deal for the midfielder who will cost the club nothing in terms of a transfer fee. He is out of contract this week and Sunderland will not need to spend a single pennyin terms of a transfer fee to bring him in, with his wages and signing on fee the only concern as they do not need to negotiate with Cartagena.

AND in other news, Speakman must sanction SAFC swoop for “very brave” 13 G/A dynamo, Johnson needs him…

A number of Rangers supporters have lambasted Scott Arfield’s performance in the 1-1 draw at home to Motherwell on Sunday.

Steven Gerrard’s men were looking to go top of the Premiership table in what looked like a winnable game on paper. While the Gers ended up moving to the summit, they were only able to earn a point at Ibrox on what was a disappointing afternoon for the champions.

Fashion Sakala’s opening goal had the hosts on course for victory, but Kaiyne Woolery equalised for Motherwell midway through the second half. Rangers were unable to find a winner, meaning they dropped points at home in the league for the first time since March 2020.

Arfield came on as a second half substitute for the Gers, but he produced a disappointing cameo, failing to affect the result in a positive manner. As per SofaScore, he completed only two passes and failed to win any of his duels or get a shot on target.

Rangers fans slam Arfield’s display

These Rangers fans took to Twitter to criticise the midfielder’s cameo, with one supporter believing that the Canadian is “finished” at Ibrox.

“Simpson and Arfield should never wear the shirt again”

Credit: @woofly32

“Arfield is finished”

Credit: @QBLOYAL

“Am still trying to wrap my head around the subs of Sakala and Wright, the best players on the park, and I hate to say it but it’s time Arfield went”

Credit: @kevinMFtallica

“Arfield has to go. He’s a passenger”

Credit: @cozy1872

“Imagine having to still turn to Scott Arfield man. Not played well in over a year. But aye mon, win us the game son”

Credit: @dbr1872

“Scott Arfield is done. Kamara and Davis going backwards. Why did we not sign a good midfielder this summer? Poor”

Credit: @TheFamousRFC

In other news, another Rangers player’s performance was also criticised against Motherwell. Read more here.

West Ham will continue to monitor Kerr Smith after nearly signing him on transfer deadline day last month…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee, who delivered a fresh update on the situation on the recent episode of ‘The West Ham Way’ podcast.

He said: “A guy called Kerr Smith who we were close to signing on deadline day, he is one as well who we are keeping an eye on.”

The Irons were linked with the Dundee United gem during the summer, with The Sun’s Alan Nixon claiming that there was also interest from Premier League rivals Southampton and Crystal Palace.

It was even thought that manager David Moyes wanted the 16-year-old to come to London for talks over a potential move, which speaks volumes considering his age.

Moyes masterclass

The Hammers, and Moyes in particular, made some very smart signings throughout the summer, ranging from the arrival of Champions League winner Kurt Zouma to the addition of potential future star Thierry Nevers.

Smith would undoubtedly be a signing for the long-term but the fact that the 58-year-old would have liked to speak to him personally suggests that there is a first-team element in mind – and understandably so.

The young centre-back has already made his senior bow for the Terrors and has racked up a total of seven appearances since the start of last season.

It’s thought that Smith has a £500k release clause in his contract, which for a Premier League side like West Ham is peanuts. He has even trained with Aston Villa, Manchester United and Everton, as per the Courier, so he’s clearly caught the eye in recent years.

The vastly experienced Mark Connolly, his teammate at Tannadice Park, spoke glowingly about the teenager back in April this year.

“Kerr, who played beside me, was fantastic. He’s 16 years of age and it’s incredible,” he told reporters after a defeat to Kilmarnock. “It’s the way the football club wants to go, bringing young players through, and this boy’s ready.”

The 6-foot emerging talent would fit into the mould of what Moyes has been doing in recent times, having overseen the progression of academy talents like Ben Johnson.

If the Scotsman can secure one of the biggest talents from his home country, then he deserves to be lauded for pulling off another masterstroke in the transfer window, especially after being given the full authority over such decisions.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee drops exciting transfer claim on West Ham’s interest in EFL “game-changer”…

Leicester City could announce their first signing of the summer over the coming days, with Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare said to be on the verge of completing his transfer to the club.

What’s the story?

The Foxes have been heavily linked with the 22-year-old in recent weeks and are now reportedly confident that a deal has been agreed with both the player and club.

According to a major update from the Daily Mail, the King Power Stadium outfit are close to signing the midfielder and they are expected to pay a £23 million fee to secure Soumare’s services after seeing off competition from fellow Premier League sides Wolves and Everton.

Rodgers will be delighted

France’s surprise early exit from the Under-21 European Championship was expected to speed up proceedings and it seems that has been the case as Leicester’s lengthy pursuit looks to be finally drawing to a close.

Soumare was one of Lille’s standout performers last season as they shocked French football, dethroning Paris Saint-Germain as Ligue 1 champions and claiming their first top-flight title in 10 years.

With just one year remaining on Soumare’s contract and Les Dogues needing to sell some players in order to raise funds, Leicester have moved quickly as Brendan Rodgers plans another assault on the top four.

After progressing through the PSG youth academy in his early playing days, the 6 ft 1 powerhouse found his chances in the first-team limited at the Parc des Princes, hence him switching to Lille in 2017.

The highly-rated youngster found a new home in Lille, and the club’s former CEO Marc Ingla couldn’t hide his delight at the announcement of Soumare’s arrival.

“We are very happy with the signing of ‘Bouba’,” revealed Ingla.

“He is a powerful and technical player who can evolve to several positions in the field. His maturity pleased us even if we must not forget that he is only 18 years old.”

This latest revelation regarding Soumare’s potentially imminent arrival at the King Power Stadium will surely have Rodgers feeling delighted.

His addition will give Leicester a different option in the centre of the park and offer him some strength in depth as he attempts to get his team fight on multiple fronts.

It could be a significant signing as the Foxes attempt to return to Europe’s elite cup competition next season.

And, in other news…Imagine him & Tielemans: Leicester must sign £17m gem Rodgers dubbed “world-class” 

A transfer claim regarding Manchester United’s chances of signing Frenkie de Jong this summer has emerged…

What’s the word?

Super-journalist Fabrizio Romano provided an update on United’s pursuit of the former Ajax starlet, ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

Romano took to his Twitter page to relay the claim which read: “Barca manager Xavi shuts down rumours on Frenkie de Jong leaving & Man Utd links.”

The Italian’s tweet contained quotes from Xavi on the potential departure of de Jong, with the Barcelona manager saying this: “Frenkie’s a very important player for me and for the club. He has to mark an era.

“I’m happy with him. If it were up to me he’ll continue for many years at Barca.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-man-united-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more-nunez-ten-hag-nkunku-richarlison” title=”Read the latest Man United news!”]

Ten Hag will be gutted

With Ten Hag’s recent appointment at Manchester United amidst fluctuating game-time for Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona, it looked like this reunion was written in the stars for the Old Trafford side.

Since departing Ten Hag’s Ajax back in the summer of 2019, the Netherlands star has continued his development across his total of 136 appearances for the Blaugrana.

With Paul Pogba’s rumoured departure, a move for the 24-year-old looked like a sure-fire switch, with the Dutch coach enjoying unlimited success with de Jong – winning the Eredivisie title and Dutch Cup – in a season that saw Ajax reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2019.

The signing of the midfield maestro would have been the epitome of the next chapter for United, with the £63m-rated midfielder offering something completely different in the Red Devils’ engine room.

De Jong is quite simply a pass master, averaging an insane 90% pass completion total per 90, with an average total of 56 passes per match.

The Netherlands international is forward-thinking. His passing is productive and allows his side to progress the ball forward, whilst also creating a number of chances for his teammates – with his shot-creating actions total of three per 90 reflecting this.

Though, his style is much more offensive than defensive, with his metrics for the latter looking poor, considering his position.

As such, United may have had a lucky escape, as it is no secret that the lack of defensive solidity across the midfield has been one of the biggest issues for the side this season.

United need to identify a well-rounded and unselfish central midfielder who can cover both aspects of the game, as well as an outright central defensive midfielder who sits back and acts as the metronome.

It would have been nice to see de Jong reunite with Ten Hag, and although he may not be what the Red Devils need, it will be a big blow to the new boss nonetheless.

AND in other news: Ten Hag can instantly get OT rocking as MUFC plot bid for “top-class” £13.5m-rated gem – opinion