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Gillingham must complete a deal to sign Ipswich Town centre-back Luke Chambers after opening talks with the 35-year-old.

What’s the talk?

Chambers is out of contract at the end of the month and Gillingham has reportedly opened talks with the defender over a deal to join the club next season. According to Football Insider, Ipswich have opted against renewing Chambers’ contract and will allow him to depart from Portman Road on a free transfer on July 1st, opening the door for Gillingham to bring him in.

Gillingham are also said to be interested in Chambers’ former teammate Alan Judge, who was released by Ipswich earlier this year. The report does not, however, reveal how much is on offer for Chambers or Judge at this moment in time or how likely a deal is for the former.

Would be great for Evans

This could be a great addition to Steve Evans’ squad. Connor Ogilvie, Jack Tucker, Ryan Jackson and Robbie Cundy were Gillingham’s most-used back four in League One and Jackson is the only one of them above the age of 25 – at 30. Tucker, 21, and Cundy, 24, were the first-choice centre-back pairing and Chambers’ experience could be huge for the pair. They are young defenders still in the early days of their career and Chambers could use what he has been through at Nottingham Forest and Ipswich to help improve them and guide them at Gillingham.

Chambers was handed the Ipswich captaincy when Carlos Edwards departed in 2014, leading the club for six straight seasons at the back. The 35-year-old played just shy of 400 competitive games for Ipswich, with the majority of them coming as captain, which shows how vastly experienced he is in the Football League. The £4k-per-week defender has played 455 Championship games in his career and 155 in League One.

Earlier this year, Ipswich manager Paul Cook labelled Chambers as an “exemplary pro” and praised the captain for how he handled himself this season. At the time, the former Wigan boss was open to Chambers staying at Ipswich, although that does not appear to be on the cards as it stands. Cook told TWTD:

“Going forward, Luke will have decisions to make on his future in the summer. I certainly think Luke can be around after the summer if he wants to be. What part that might be might be different, but that’s between me and Luke.

“Luke’s been an exemplary pro up to today, even on the bench today he conducted himself great and that’s what I want. Everyone can’t play every week but we’ve got to support each other.”

Chambers, therefore, could be brought in for his value off the pitch as much as on it. He is a leader and could use his off-the-pitch attributes to help Gillingham push on by helping the younger players in the squad and then playing his part on the pitch when needed. Chambers averaged a solid 6.85 WhoScored rating in 39 League One games for Ipswich, which shows that he still has what it takes to perform at this level.

Tottenham Hotspur colossus Cristian Romero was the only shining light as the north London outfit were held by Brentford on Saturday evening.

Antonio Conte’s side were struck an almighty blow in the race for a top-four finish in the Premier League as they couldn’t find a way past Christian Eriksen and co, failing to even register a shot on target all game.

It now puts the Lilywhites two points behind their arch-rivals, Arsenal, with only five matches left to play – including the derby on May 12th – meaning it is now out of Spurs’ hands completely.

Despite dominating possession (56%), Tottenham failed to create anything of note, whilst their former playmaking Dane effectively ran the show for the Bees.

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Harry Kane and Heung-min Son were starved of service from the Italian’s wing-backs, the former even putting in a last-ditch goal-line clearance to save the clean sheet, at the very least.

Although it was the Argentine defender, who has been lauded as an “animal” in the past by his teammate Pierluigi Gollini, who ensured that Spurs walked away with a point rather than nothing whatsoever.

The £36m-rated warrior was an absolute rock defensively, often mopping up behind the error-prone Emerson on the right side of the defence.

As per SofaScore, the 23-year-old centre-back earned a ‘Man of the Match’ 8.1 rating, having made a game-high five interceptions, on top of three blocks, two clearances and one tackle.

Not only was he solid at the back, having won 75% of his ground and aerial battles but he was also influential with the ball at his feet, registering 74 touches, which included one key chance created – as many as Kane and Dejan Kulusevski combined – from 51 successful passes (93% total accuracy).

Romero’s performance earned quite the praise indeed, justifiably so.

Alasdair Gold of football.london graded him an 8/10 in his post-match ratings column and claimed that he ‘was by far Spurs’ best player on the day.’

There weren’t many players that could come away from such a display with their head held high but on the above evidence, the Argentina international was a cut above his teammates and without him, they may well have returned to N17 with an even worse result.

Romero was certainly Conte’s one and only positive from such a drab display.

AND in other news, Forget Emerson: “Really poor” Spurs lightweight who lost possession 19x failed Conte…

Celtic’s hunt for a new manager has become a rather arduous task as the Bhoys attempt to replace the outgoing Neil Lennon.

The Northern Irishman hasn’t been in the dug-out for a fair few weeks now but the Hoops are yet to find a resolution to their woes.

What’s the word?

Roy Keane became the early favourite to become the Celtic manager but he has since been surpassed by Eddie Howe in the running.

Keane supposedly had an interview about the job but in the days that followed, he suddenly became unlikely to arrive at Paradise.

That being said, the Hoops hierarchy have now performed a major U-turn. With Howe stalling over the role, they have reignited their interest in the Manchester United legend.

With that, it looks as though Celtic are closing in on three separate landmark appointments.

According to Football Insider, the Irishman already has his backroom team in mind.

Keane not only wants to bring Nicky Butt with him to Celtic but he also wants former Scotland striker Ian McParland with him in the dug-out.

There appears to be growing support for the former Sunderland boss amongst the boardroom and now there is a very realistic chance he comes to Scotland.

Desmond will be delighted

After several arduous weeks searching for a new manager, this news will be enough to delight a certain majority shareholder; Dermot Desmond.

The businessman has faced plenty of critics this season but issued a defiant response last month claiming he wouldn’t sell his shares.

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This has also been a difficult time in his bid to find a successor to Lennon. On a constant basis, he has been dealt setbacks over their quest for Howe.

He doesn’t want to return to management until the summer while he’s now taking the interest of Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Brighton.

There are also issues surrounding his backroom staff. One source has revealed that the 43-year-old wanted to bring the “kitchen sink” to him with Parkhead which hadn’t been received well by those in the board room.

Coaching roles don’t appear to be an issue with Keane, though.

With that in mind, this would represent the easy way out for Desmond given they’ve targeted the likes of Howe and the eye-catching Lucien Favre.

The duo have both been linked with moves elsewhere but Keane hasn’t taken the fancy of any other suitors.

It would seem the chips are beginning to fall into place for the former midfielder.

AND in other news, Worse than Kenny: Celtic star who made just 15 passes should be finished at Paradise…

Since Bruno Lage was appointed as Wolves manager back in June and the Midlands club have brought in players such as Jose Sa, Francisco Trincao, Yerson Mosquera and Hwang Hee-chan as well as January signings Hayao Kawabe and Chiquinho, showing that club are not shy in backing their manager and giving him players to build his squad with.

One player that has been linked with a move to Molineux in recent times is Lille midfielder Renato Sanches, who it seems could still eventually join Wolves at some point soon.

What’s the latest?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Alex Crook had this to say on Wolves’ reported interest in Sanches and the possibility of the club making a future attempt to sign him again.

He said: “He’s definitely someone who’s on their radar. But I think this is where, if they can sell someone like Adama Traore, then it gives them some funds for Bruno Lage to be able to bring in his own players because he hasn’t really done that.”

Lage’s biggest swoop?

Since joining Lille back in 2019 from German club Bayern Munich, the 24-year-old has made 77 appearances for the French side across all competitions, scoring six goals and providing seven assists along the way, showing the attacking and creative skills he has on the pitch.

Looking at the players that Wolves have signed under Lage so far and taking into account Crook’s claim that the Old Gold boss hasn’t been able to bring his own targets to the club yet, a permanent move for Sanches could not only arguably be seen to be a massive coup for Wolves as a whole but as Lage’s biggest transfer deal yet.

After all, the midfielder has tremendous pedigree of playing for a trio of big clubs in three of Europe’s top leagues as well as being a fully-fledged Portugal international with 32 senior caps under his belt.

When you consider his tender age too, there is not only a high degree of potential in his bones but also a significant amount of re-sale value in him, particularly if he thrives in the Premier League.

As a result, this move makes sense for plenty of reasons and should be wrapped up swiftly if Jeff Shi has any sense.

With Crook also mentioning a potential sale of current Wolves winger Adama Traore, if the Midlands club sold the winger either this month or most likely in the next summer transfer window, they should definitely use the money to launch a move for the £27m-rated Sanches if Lille would be willing to shift the midfielder on a permanent basis.

They may not play in the same position but signing somebody as good as the Portugal international in return would be an impressive piece of business.

In other news: Forget Trincao: Wolves plotting swoop for “the new Iniesta,” he’d be a big upgrade – opinion

There was disappointment in Europe yet again for Celtic as Ange Postecoglou’s reign got off to the worst possible start as they were knocked out of the Champions League by Danish giants FC Midtjylland this week after losing 2-1 on Wednesday night.

The Hoops took the lead through Callum McGregor’s brilliant strike and appeared on course to go through to the next stage of qualification. However, a goal from Awer Mabil sent the game to extra-time and then Raphael Nwadike sealed the win for the Danes with a goal in the 94th minute, ending Postecoglou’s Champions League campaign earlier than was hoped.

While he was not the only Celtic player to struggle on the night, one man in particular who caught the eye for the wrong reasons was Ismaila Soro.

The midfielder only started 11 games in the Scottish Premiership last season and these early matches were a chance for him to prove to the manager that he deserves more playing time throughout the 2021/22 campaign. With this showing against Midtjylland, he is unlikely to get it.

He let Postecoglou down with his performance at the base of the midfield, as he failed to put out fires and win the ball back to kickstart Celtic counter-attacks, as the manager would have wanted his holding player to do in a 4-3-3 formation.

As per SofaScore, Soro lost 10 of the 14 duels he was involved in on the pitch. He won 20% of his ground duels and 50% of his aerial duels, winning four in total. This highlights the lack of strength he imposed in the middle of the park, as he was overpowered by the Danes, allowing them to take control of the game and ultimately, progress through to the next round.

He completed 40 passes on the night, out of 45 attempted. However, goalkeeper Scott Bain completed 52 passes between the sticks and this is another indication that Soro did not do enough to warrant a starting place in the midfield. The Ivorian could not win the ball back at a high enough rate and he did not get on the ball enough to dictate the play, which begs the question; what was he there for?

Not a lot, it seems. Postecoglou will surely be feeling let down by Soro’s performance and questioning whether or not he should be a regular member of the squad heading into the season, if these are the sort of displays he can expect from him.

The Scottish Sun’s David Friel published his player ratings from the game and was far from impressed with the 23-year-old. He said: “Snapped into challenges and was unlucky with a few soft calls from the ref but needs to be more composed on the ball. The Ivorian is far too slack. Booked… 5”

Friel is right, Soro wasn’t good enough. He let his new manager down on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Celtic must avoid nightmare over potential move for £21k-p/w flop

Speaking to Radio Punto Nuovo (via Tutto Napoli), Italian journalist Carlo Laudisa has dropped a teasing Tottenham claim involving Maurizio Sarri as the reporter explained that the former Juventus boss ‘could go’ to England, with Spurs the ‘most plausible’ destination.

The Lowdown: Sarri eyed by Spurs and Arsenal

The 62-year-old has been targeted by Spurs over the last month according to various reports, with Football Italia most recently saying that talks have been held for the former Chelsea coach.

Indeed, last month the same outlet also stated that contact has been made with Sarri, but north London rivals Arsenal have since joined the race for his appointment amid speculation surrounding Mikel Arteta.

The Latest: Tottenham ‘most plausible’ destination

Dropping an exciting claim, La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Laudisa has told Radio Punto Nuovo that Spurs is a likely destination for the 62-year-old, who he said could come back to the Premier League, with Tottenham appearing to be the ‘most plausible’ job.

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“Sarri could go to England,” the reporter explained (via Tutto Napoli).

“The Tottenham solution is the most plausible one, but the Arsenal bench could also free himself, given that Arteta has missed all the Gunners’ seasonal objectives.”

The Verdict: Sarri should be on the wishlist

Lauded as a ‘magnificent’ manager by Chelsea player Jorginho, who played under Sarri at Stamford Bridge, (via Football Italia), the coach is famed for his own brand of attacking football.

Conventionally nicknamed ‘Sarri-ball’, it is a combination of intense, high-pressing play, and Spurs are said to want an attack-minded manager to succeed Jose Mourinho in N17 (The Guardian).

Having won the Europa League with Chelsea and Serie A at Juventus, the 62-year-old also has a track record of winning silverware, so there are plenty of boxes already ticked for Tottenham.

Therefore, we urge Spurs not to write him off as a candidate.

In other news: Tottenham fans flock to this ‘best news’, find out more here.

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit and Sky Sports regular Paul Robinson has dropped a claim involving Nuno Espirito Santo as Tottenham Hotspur allegedly eye him as a candidate.

The Lowdown: Spurs eyeing Nuno…

After failed Tottenham talks for Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso, the Lilywhites have turned their focus to other targets.

Some names from the original shortlist have reappeared, like Brighton boss Graham Potter for example, but names like Nuno are now being considered with Tottenham’s options growing thin.

Indeed, Football Insider recently claimed that Spurs have now turned to the 47-year-old as a candidate as they plot talks behind the scenes.

The Latest: Robinson shares what he’s heard…

Speaking to Football Insider, in reaction to this development, former Spurs keeper and Sky regular Robinson has made a claim involving Nuno from his ‘sources’.

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Apparently, the Portuguese could demand as much as 15-20 backroom staff for the manager’s job.

“He has held talks with Crystal Palace and Everton as well but that has fallen through so something isn’t right there,” explained the ex-England international.

“I heard from my sources that he wants 15 or 20 backroom staff members coming with him but I cannot see that happening at Spurs because Daniel will not want to do that because it will be very expensive.

“There is a particular structure now at Spurs with Paratici coming in. If he wasn’t succeeding at Wolves, why would Tottenham turn to him?”

The Verdict: Intriguing claim…

This information that Nuno could demand a plethora of staff comes as intriguing, especially when you consider the differences Tottenham had with Conte in regards to backroom numbers.

Lauded as a ‘fantastic’ boss by Eygpt international Hassan ‘Kouka’ Ahmed (BBC), who worked with him at Rio Ave, Spurs must still carefully consider Nuno despite the Robinson reveal.

Tottenham are running out of time with non-international players set to return for pre-season training as soon as July 5 and chairman Daniel Levy simply must make a decision soon.

In other news: ‘Tottenham have renewed their interest’…Sky Sports reporter shares news coming out of N17, find out more here.

An injury expert has now dropped a ‘hopeful’ Wolves claim involving Ruben Neves.

The Lowdown: Not as serious

Speaking to the media, Bruno Lage revealed that Neves’ injury setback was ‘not as serious’ as they initially expected.

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The Portugal international has been missing since March, but will now be hoping to make a swift recovery in time to play the final few games of the season.

The Latest: Dinnery reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in both medicine and data analysis, has claimed that he is still ‘hopeful’ that Neves will return in ‘early to mid-May’, despite this ‘new info’ from Lage:

“My understanding initially hasn’t changed a great deal even with this new info.

“We’re talking about an MCL here. The indication that it was a grade two.

“I was working on the premise that we could maybe see a return around early to mid-May. I am still fairly hopeful that is the case.

“It happened against Leeds. He tried to continue but he couldn’t. He then went out to Portugal for some rehab and recovery.

“The target was always going to be around game week 35. I think there is a strong possibility that he’ll play again this season somewhere around there.”

The Verdict: Big boost

The fact that Neves’ injury is not as serious as previously expected, and that he could return for the last few matches of the campaign, is certainly a big boost for the Midlands club.

He currently ranks as their fourth-best performer in the Premier League so far, scoring four goals and making two assists, while also picking up two man-of-the-match awards (WhoScored).

The 25-year-old also ranks highly among his teammates in terms of average tackles, interceptions, shots, passes, long and through balls per game (WhoScored), and will clearly be an important player for them if they are to finish the season strongly, and potentially challenge for a European place.

In other news, find out which ‘electric’ star the Wanderers now ‘want’ to sign here!

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Marcus Thuram to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by French media outlet Foot Mercato (via Sport Witness), who claim that Tottenham are keeping a close eye on the situation of the Borussia Monchengladbach winger ahead of a potential move in the summer transfer window.

The report continues by stating that Spurs director of football Fabio Paratici would support a move for the 23-year-old, as well as claiming that the forward is a priority for the north London side this summer.

It is also claimed that the France international himself is open to a move away from the Bundesliga side, with Monchengladbach thought to be demanding a fee of at least €30m (£25.5m) in order to sanction to the sale of the forward ahead of next season.

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how much potential Thuram appears to possess, it is unsurprising to learn that Tottenham are keen on signing the winger this summer.

Indeed, over his 29 Bundesliga appearances for Adi Hutter’s side last season, the £31.5m-rated man scored eight goals, registered two assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of two shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

These returns saw the man Denis Zakaria call a “phenomenal” talent earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as Monchengladbach’s 10th-best performer in the top flight of German football.

The £43k-per-week winger also impressed during his brief appearance for France at Euro 2020, making one key pass, completing one dribble and winning one duel in the 3-3 draw with Switzerland, with his display earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.2.

As such, it would very much seem as if Thuram would be an extremely exciting addition to Nuno Espirito Santo’s options in attack at Tottenham next season, as well as being the type of player who fans of the club would love to see running at and creating problems for opposition defenders.

It’s exactly why they will be buzzing with this latest update on Thuram.

In other news: Levy makes private behind-the-scenes Spurs decision that will leave fans buzzing

Wolves were never going to spend a huge amount this summer considering their huge financial constraints but it has been a disappointing window nonetheless.

Although Trincao has arrived at Molineux from Barcelona, there hasn’t been a great deal to shout about when it comes to the transfer window.

What’s the word?

One player who could have been on his way to the Midlands again was Okay Yokuslu.

The Turkey international shone for West Brom despite their relegation during a loan spell in the second half of last season.

He has returned to Celta Vigo and was linked with a move to Wolves over the last few weeks.

However, in a crushing blow for supporters, they are now unlikely to sign him according to Express & Star reporter Liam Keen.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, he revealed: “I understand reports linking Okay Yokuslu to Wolves are wide of the mark.”

Fans reeling

Before Nuno Santo left Wolves he identified that a clear plan had been put in place for Wolves in the market.

He suggested that they would plan better after finishing 13th in the league, leading to smarter signings in the transfer window and the strengthening of the first-team squad.

However, he left under a cloud of smoke after being told that he’d have little to work with on the financial front.

Everything has now changed at Molineux with Nuno departing and Bruno Lage being welcomed as his successor.

Just as his predecessor was told, money hasn’t been forthcoming to spend on new players.

Considering how Wolves did last season, this should be of particular concern to everyone at the club. Throw in the fact they have a small squad that was ravaged by injuries too, and supporters should be even more aghast that they won’t turn to someone like Yokuslu.

Throughout 2020/21, the Old Gold were a seriously depleted side. Jonny suffered back to back ACL injuries, Raul Jimenez was out from November onwards with a fractured skull while Daniel Podence also spent large periods out with injury.

Marcal was another who spent plenty of time on the sidelines while Pedro Neto broke his knee cap in the back end of the campaign.

If Wolves are going to return to European football – an arduous task given how much those in the top half have spent – they need to add more bodies to their ranks.

Yokuslu would have been a vibrant start, particularly after how he settled in so quickly at West Brom.

Although Albion were relegated to the Championship, he stood out by producing 2.4 successful tackles per game and a remarkably impressive 2.2 interceptions per game.

Passing on the chance to sign him, therefore, is likely to leave supporters perplexed.

AND in other news, Wolves eye swoop for £16.2m-rated gem with “crazy technique”, he could be a new Traore…