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West Brom could complete the signing of Alex Mowatt in the next week or so, Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield has told The Transfer Tavern.

Mowatt, of course, played under new West Brom boss Valerien Ismael at Barnsley and a reunion now looks like it could be on the cards.

According to The Athletic, Ismael is interested in bringing the 26-year-old midfielder to The Hawthorns, now a free agent after failing to agree a new deal with the Tykes.

And now Hatfield is expecting some movement on that front as the Baggies manager looks to strengthen his side ahead of the new Championship season.

“It makes sense for Albion, it makes sense for Ismael,” Hatfield told TT. “He’ll obviously be an Ismael signing and it does add up.

“They’ll see it as a bit of a coup, a bit of a steal, really. He knows the league, can put in performances and is available fairly cheaply. It just seems to add up. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was done in the next week or so.”

Mowatt was one of Barnsley’s standout performers in the Championship last season, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists.

The former Leeds United man also averaged 1.5 key passes per game, more than any other Barnsley player (via WhoScored), so it is not hard to see why Ismael is so keen on a reunion.

Tottenham Hotspur right-back Matt Doherty is expected to leave north London in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing on a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast that Spurs boss Antonio Conte is looking to move a number of first-team players on in the upcoming winter market, and that the 29-year-old defender is one of them.

Speaking about the potential exit of the Republic of Ireland international next month, Romano said: “Doherty has a serious chance to leave in January. Tottenham are also thinking about the outgoings. Doherty is going to leave.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering how poor Doherty has generally been for Tottenham since his £15m move to North London back in the summer of 2020, the news that Spurs are looking to move the right-back on this winter is sure to have left many of the club’s fanbase buzzing.

Indeed, over his 17 Premier League appearances last season – only 13 of which came as starts – the £10.8m-rated defender helped his side keep a mere three clean sheets, as well as being beaten by an opponent an average of 1.2 times and losing possession of the ball a whopping 13.3 times per game.

These returns saw the £74k-per-week man earn an extremely disappointing seasonal SofaScore match rating of just 6.76, ranking him as Spurs’ 11th-worst performer in the top flight of English football last time out.

Things have not improved for the right-back over his four league outings this season, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.72 – ranking him as Antonio Conte’s eighth-worst player in the division so far.

As such, it will perhaps come as no surprise to many Tottenham fans that, in a recent poll ran on Football FanCast, the overwhelming majority of Spurs supporters voted in favour of their club moving the 29-year-old onto pastures new this winter.

As a result, Romano’s latest update will undoubtedly come as music to the ears of many involved with the club, and we would have to agree that Doherty’s rather hefty weekly wage could easily be put to much better use by Fabio Paratici and Conte in the January transfer window.

In other news: Conte may have found his new Skriniar as THFC make contact for £76m-rated “oil tanker”

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United face off against Wolves tonight as they return to Premier League action at St James’ Park.

The Magpies were left humbled last time out in the top flight as Tottenham smashed them 5-1 in north London, after Fabian Schar had given the Toon the lead with a fine free-kick.

Howe’s side have now lost three games in succession and they will be hoping to turn things around against Wolves in front of their own supporters.

How many changes will the 44-year-old make to the team from last Sunday? Here is our predicted starting XI…

We are predicting that he will make three alterations to the side, with Jamaal Lascelles, Jacob Murphy and Bruno Guimaraes all coming in.

Wolves typically play in a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 formation and Howe may look to counter that by moving to a 3-5-2 of his own, particularly after the manner of the defeat last week.

This means that he will need to bring in another central defender to play alongside Dan Burn and Fabian Schar. In that case, Lascelles must come in as the middle centre-back in the three, as he is strong in his individual duels and can win headers in the box.

He has won an outstanding 75% of his aerial battles this season and averaged 4.8 clearances per game. This suggests that he will be perfect for the role, as he has the defensive quality to deal with crosses coming into the box, which is why he must start tonight.

With the change in formation, Murphy could come in to play at right wing-back. Javier Manquillo lost three of his five duels and only made one tackle and interception combined last Sunday, and he could now be dropped to the bench to make way for the former Norwich man because of his poor display in north London.

Finally, Guimaraes may come in to replace Joe Willock. The English gem is struggling with an injury and is a doubt for the game tonight, which means that his place in the middle of the park may be up for grabs.

The £40m man should start next to Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton if the ex-Arsenal youngster misses out. He impressed upon coming off the bench against Spurs last week and deserves his chance to show what he can do from the start tonight. As per SofaScore, he won seven duels and four tackles and completed 96% of his attempted passes in the 5-1 defeat, showcasing his quality as a substitute.

Guimaraes has been dubbed as “exceptionally talented” by former Celtic manager Neil Lennon and he must line up in the middle of the park for Newcastle tonight.

AND in other news, Signed for free, now worth £9m: Ashley sealed his final NUFC gift in £35k-p/w “dream”…

Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney is reportedly set to miss his side’s Carabao Cup fourth round clash with Leeds United on Tuesday night.

The Lowdown: Leeds head to Arsenal

The Whites trade Premier League duties for domestic cup action on Tuesday, making the trip to the Emirates as they look to reach the quarter-finals.

While the league clearly takes precedence for Leeds, particularly given their struggles at the moment, a good cup run could turn their fortunes around after a worrying start to this campaign.

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The Latest: Tierney set to miss out

According to the Yorkshire Evening Post‘s Joe Urquhart on Monday, Tierney is expected to be an injury absentee for the game.

The Scot missed Arsenal 3-1 win over Aston Villa last Friday with a bruised ankle and he is unlikely to be fit in time to take to the field.

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The Verdict: Boost for Bielsa and co

Tierney has been an impressive signing for Arsenal, providing quality and tenacity at left-back – he has averaged 1.3 key passes per game in the league this season – so he could be a miss for the Gunners from a creativity sense.

Should Raphinha be deemed fit to start in north London, he could be buoyed by Tierney’s absence, although it remains to be seen how strong Marcelo Bielsa’s starting lineup will be, as he potentially rotates his squad.

In other news, Phil Hay has provided another worrying Leeds injury update. Read more here.

Leeds have recently been linked with Nottingham Forest loanee James Garner, and his performance against Coventry City on Wednesday evening will certainly have caught Victor Orta’s eye.

This forms part of our Transfer Watch series, where we react to a performance from a current transfer target.

The Lowdown: Leeds links

Garner, who is on loan at the City Ground from Manchester United, has been linked with a move to Elland Road in recent weeks.

Leeds, and therefore Victor Orta, are thought to be monitoring the 21-year-old closely ahead of a possible summer swoop.

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Manchester United may consider a permanent sale over the coming months, with Jesse Marsch looking to bolster his midfield options ahead of his first full season in charge.

The Latest: Stunning display

Forest recorded a fourth successive Championship win on Wednesday to consolidate their place in the playoffs, defeating Coventry City 2-0. Garner was man of the match, as per SofaScore, recording a rating of 8.4/10.

The central midfielder scored Forest’s second on the hour mark and also registered five key passes (the most in the match), made four interceptions (second-most) and three tackles (third-most).

The Verdict: Sign

You’d expect that Garner’s display will have caught the eye of Orta given the recent transfer links, and should Forest fail in their push for promotion, a move for the Manchester United man over the summer could be a shrewd call.

Of course, the Red Devils will need to be willing to part ways with Garner on a permanent basis, and if they are, a move to Elland Road looks to make sense for all parties, banking the parent club a profit on a player far down the pecking order and granting the player first-team football in the top flight.

Marsch meanwhile has just four senior midfield options at this moment in time, with Garner able to turn out as a defensive, central or attacking midfielder.

He could be the perfect partner for Kalvin Phillips in a double pivot next season, with also Garner showing an impressive eye for goal with his goal contributions now up to nine in a Forest shirt.

In other news: ‘Leeds fans won’t be happy…’ – Sky Sports man reacts to major update emerging from Elland Road

As per Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on England international Sam Johnstone, with one mainstay’s future now in ‘major doubt’.

The Lowdown: Lloris’ future up in the air

Hugo Lloris, signed by chairman Daniel Levy in the summer of 2012, has been a long-standing Tottenham servant and fixture in the starting line up, playing every single Premier League match so far this season.

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However, with the 34-year-old Frenchman’s deal due to expire next year, it now remains to be seen whether this season is indeed his last in a Spurs shirt.

As such, the club and its managing director Fabio Paratici are keeping their eyes peeled for worthy replacements, with fresh reports about Johnstone coming to the fore.

The Latest: Spurs eye Lloris replacement…

Despite signing Atalanta shot stopper Pierluigi Gollini on a season-long loan with the option to buy, it appears that Spurs have a contingency plan as they set their sights on Johnstone.

Having recently established himself both at club level and with England, the 28-year-old is firmly on Tottenham’s watchlist. A senior Lilywhites scout is even said to have watched him in action as recently as last week when his West Brom side took on Preston North End.

Spurs are now believed to be compiling a dossier on Johnstone with the view to making a move, according to Football Insider.

The Verdict: Ideal?

Even though Gollini hasn’t really been given his chance to prove whether he is worthy of taking the mantle from Lloris, you could argue that signing Johnstone is a no-brainer going by his homegrown status.

West Brom were also apparently willing to accept around £15m for the goalkeeper last summer, arguably a bargain price given his status as a Three Lions international and his concession rate of just 0.66 goals per game in the Championship so far this term (six in nine games).

He has also been called ‘world class’ by Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Steve Bull (This is Futbol), so could he be the perfect Lloris replacement in N17? They could probably do a lot worse.

In other news: Levy plan to offload big name Spurs player emerges as source leaks damning Hotspur Way behaviour, find out more here.

West Ham are reportedly considering an offer for Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard, according to The Daily Telegraph’s Mike McGrath. 

Vestergaard has been with Southampton since 2018, having previously been on the books with Borussia Mönchengladbach – he has made 79 appearances in total for the Saints.

That includes 32 appearances in the 2020/21 season for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side, as they finished 15th in the Premier League table last term.

The Saints lost Danny Ings to Aston Villa recently, whilst also being faced with interest from Dean Smith’s side for James Ward-Prowse’s services.

Vestergaard is the latest player to be linked with a move away from St Mary’s Stadium, although it is reported that Nikola Milenković remains West Ham’s main transfer target at this moment in time.

David Moyes’ side will be looking to build on a strong campaign last term, after finishing sixth in the Premier League table, meaning they will now need additional depth to cope with the demands of Europa League football.

Plenty of West Ham supporters took to social media to react to their rumoured interest in signing Vestergaard, and you can find some of the best comments from West Ham Central’s Twitter account below….

Mixed opinions from Hammers fans

“I’d rather play David Moyes at centre back than Vestegaard.”

Credit: @HcWhu

“Dear god no.”

Credit: @Jamessm70043328

“No way please no.”

Credit: @essexhammer80

“Oh no …..”

Credit: @robboandrew

“I’m all for this.”

Credit: @westhamtransfer

“Vestergaard was great for Saints last year. He is really good.”

Credit: @Irons_Stuff

“Would’ve been fuming with this last season but really improved and his passing would be good for our counter. Won’t happen though.”

Credit: @WHUFCallum_

“Always looked a good player to me, pretty sure we have enquired about him before.”

Credit: @WHUbluesman

An update has emerged on Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha regarding a potential move to Newcastle United in 2022.

What’s the talk?

According to Il Messaggero, via Sport Witness, the Magpies will ‘probably’ sign the shot-stopper on a free transfer next summer.

The report claims that he is set to leave the Italian club upon the expiry of his contract, with St James’ Park named as his most likely destination.

Fans would be fuming

New Magpies manager Eddie Howe could be heading for his first Newcastle disaster if he is seriously lining up a deal to sign Strakosha from Lazio, as this report suggests. The fans would surely be fuming as, on paper at least, he appears unlikely to be a good signing for the Tyneside club.

He has played just nine Serie A games since the start of last season and has not featured in a single league match in the current campaign. The shot-stopper has not been able to nail down a place in the starting XI in the league, with Pepe Reina preferred ahead of him, so why would he be an exciting addition for Newcastle?

Italian outlet Corriere della Sera, via Daily Cannon, previously stated that he is ‘often criticised’ by the media for his displays. This suggests that he was axed from their starting XI due to the nature of his performances, indicating that he was struggling on the pitch and deservedly dropped.

Therefore, why would the Magpies want to sign a player who is desperately lacking in match fitness and form when they already have three senior goalkeeping options. Karl Darlow, Martin Dubravka and Freddie Woodman all remain at St James’ and throwing in Strakosha given his form – or lack thereof in the last 18 months – could do little to clear up the situation.

With a plethora of goalkeepers already at the club, Howe should be looking for a clear upgrade to come in and be the number one option if he wants to make a signing in that position, as otherwise they will be overloaded with options and squandering wages on a number of players. Strakosha’s situation at Lazio suggests that he does not have the quality to come in and do that, which is why Magpies fans could be fuming if he signs for the club.

Therefore, Howe could be on the verge of his first Newcastle nightmare if he opts to continue pursuing a deal for the £6.75m-rated Albanian dud.

AND in other news, Howe could solve major Newcastle issue by signing £116k-p/w “monster” who’s “like Bonucci”…

Despite enjoying a successful run of form prior to the current international break, remaining unbeaten in their four previous league games, there have been some figures in the Southampton squad that have failed to prove themselves as important players for Ralph Hasenhuttl.

One of which is 23-year-old winger Moussa Djenepo, who has yet to score a goal or provide an assist in nine appearances across all competitions so far this season.

With five starts and two substitute appearances under his belt in the Premier League this season, Djenepo, who is currently valued at £11.7m according to Transfermarkt, has not featured in any of Southampton’s three previous league games, not even making the bench for their 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road.

Southampton signed Djenepo back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Standard Liege in a deal worth a reported fee of £15m.

Since then, the winger has made a total of 60 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, scoring just four goals and providing two assists in the process, showing that he has not been terribly consistent in front of goal for the club, which seems to have been the case this season as well.

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During his time on the pitch in the Premier League this season, Djenepo has managed to lose possession of the ball 81 times in total and rack up a poor average of 0.1 shots on target per game, showing that he hasn’t tested many goalkeepers that he’s come up against when he’s had the chance to play.

A prime example of this came during Southampton’s 2-2 draw against Newcastle United back in August where Djenepo missed a great chance from the six-yard box, which was then described as “unbelievable” by Hasenhuttl for all the wrong reasons.

The Mali international has not proven himself to be a useful defensive player for the Saints either with an average of just 0.3 interceptions per game, 0.7 clearances per game and 41% of duels won.

All in all, Djenepo’s performances in the league this season have earned him a rather uninspiring overall rating of 6.33/10, making him one of Southampton’s lowest-rated players of the season according to WhoScored. On that basis, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if he was shown the exit door at some point in the next 12 months, something that would sadly be deserved based on his poor showings at St Mary’s.

Taking all of this into account, it’s hard to see Djenepo gaining his place back in the team for a consistent run anytime soon, and even though he’s only 23, the winger hasn’t really proven himself to the manager or to the club that they made the right decision in signing him and thus, he should be axed.

In other news: Southampton handed big triple injury boost that will surely leave fans buzzing – opinion

American journalist Larry Henry Jr has dropped the latest on talks from Newcastle United to sign USA international Cameron Carter-Vickers in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Impressive at Bournemouth

Carter-Vickers had a very impressive 2020/21 season while on loan at AFC Bournemouth from Tottenham Hotspur, as the Cherries just missed out on promotion back up to the Premier League with a play-off semi-final loss at the hands of Brentford, who eventually went up themselves.

The Spurs man played in a total of 21 games in the EFL Championship, winning no fewer than 4.5 of his duels per match, as well as averaging 3.4 clearances, 1.1 interceptions and one tackle per game, helping his team keep five clean sheets in the process (Sofascore).

The Latest: Carter-Vickers update

As per journalist Henry Jr, both the St. James’ Park faithful and Celtic ‘remain in talks’ with the Lilywhites over a potential deal to sign Carter-Vickers, ‘per a source close to the player’.

THFC would also receive a sell-on clause in addition to a transfer fee, should the central defender leave North London.

The Verdict: Sign

Steve Bruce could do with bulking up his squad now as the new campaign looms, and Carter-Vickers could prove to be a cheap option to do just that.

Rated at a mere £1.8m by Transfermarkt, the USA international is unlikely to be very pricey at all, and will have gained a lot of confidence from some of his displays while at Bournemouth.

Nonetheless, at just 23 years of age, he still has a lot of potential, and may get the regular games on Tyneside needed to realise that.

In other news, find out what consortium insight Lee Ryder has dropped on the potential takeover here!