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The Manchester United starlet has rejected a new deal with the club and could now be heading to Chelsea instead.

According to The Independent, the Blues are set to offer Angel Gomes a lucrative deal after he turned down a contract extension with United worth about £25,000 per week.

The 19-year-old will see out his contract at Old Trafford and will be able to join a new club as a free agent at the end of the month.

According to the report, Gomes has offers flooding in for him from most of the elite leagues in Europe. Hamburg, Valencia and Benfica are reportedly leading the race for his signature, but Chelsea are amongst the many also interested.

The midfielder has scored four goals in five U23 appearances this season and has featured in the Premier League and Europa League with the senior squad (via Transfermarkt). Gomes has been with the Manchester club all of his career and has risen through the ranks of the United youth system. He is highly regarded by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who recently described him as a ‘top kid’ when trying to convince him to sign a new deal (via Goal).

The rising star would fit Frank Lampard’s Chelsea like a glove. He would join the likes of Billy Gilmour and Reece James who are being slowly integrated into the first team.

Gomes needs to find a club where he will be given opportunities to play to allow him to continue to grow. Staying in England and moving to Stamford Bridge could be a very smart move for the 19-year-old.

Chelsea are embarking on a very exciting journey as Lampard keeps proving he has an eye for young talent, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham are two more youthful stars who have flourished in west London this term. The Blues will secure Champions League football next season if they continue on their positive run, which could be the deciding factor for where Gomes decides to move to next.

Do you think Chelsea should sign Angel Gomes this summer? Have your say in the comments below!

Leeds United are a club steeped in history.

The Whites have countless honours to their name, from league titles, to a European Cup final, to Cup Winner’s Cup triumphs, the Yorkshire club have been there and done almost everything.

They’ve had some fantastic players on their books throughout the years as well. We don’t need to tell you about the greats of the 1970s such as Gordon McQueen, Allan Clarke and Norman Hunter, but in more recent times we’ve seen the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Lucas Radebe and Lee Bowyer turn out for the club.

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Even since their relegation, they’ve boasted some of the EFL’s best players, with the likes of Jermaine Beckford, who would go on to play for Everton and Ross McCormack who won a Golden Boot at the club.

What do all the aforementioned players have in common? They’ve all won Leeds’ Player of the Year award, with Bowyer, McCormack and Beckford winning it twice, but despite the immense talent the club have had to offer over the years, only one player has ever won the award three times.

Indeed, Pablo Hernandez has been handed his third straight Player of the Year nod at the club, making him the first player in the 49-year history of the award to win it three times, and that surely has to put him in the conversation as one of Leeds’ all-time greats.

Ok, he isn’t a world-class talent like Ferdinand was, nor does he have the trophy haul of someone like Hunter, but he has arguably been United’s best player in the darkest period of their history, and his class and talent has eventually led them back to the Premier League.

Is Hernandez the best player to ever play for the Elland Road outfit? No, probably not, considering this is a club that have played in a Champions League semi-final in this millennium, but in terms of what he has done for the side and how important he has been as both a player and a figure, he has to be considered an all-time great.

Kalvin Phillips was undoubtedly one of the best players in the Championship last term.

He started 37 games for the league’s runaway champions, and his incredible performances over the past two years have seen him linked with some of the biggest clubs in the country.

Understandably, his brilliance has seen conversations arise about his potential future at international level, and this weekend we got an update on what could be in store for him, and it’s not quite what you’d expect.

What’s been said then?

The words ‘shock interest in Kalvin Phillips’ are enough to send a shiver down any Leeds fan’s spine, but in this case it’s not another club looking at him.

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Indeed, Alan Nixon has stated that the Jamaica national team are interested in recruiting the Leeds midfielder, due to the fact he is eligible to play for the Caribbean outfit.

The journalist says that they want to build their next World Cup team around the midfielder tweeting: “Shock interest in Kalvin Phillips … from Jamaica. Qualifies for them. Official contact made. Keen to build a team round him for next World Cup.”

Not yet

This is an interesting proposition for Phillips to consider, but you have to wonder why he would choose to pledge his allegiance to Jamaica at this point in time.

Of course, heritage is very important to some people, and Phillips may be very proud of his roots, but from a purely footballing standpoint, he surely has to wait and see if England give him a chance.

Gareth Southgate has watched him a number of times, and United’s promotion to the Premier League will give him the chance to impress at the top-level, meaning that an England call-up is that much more likely if he impresses.

The Three Lions are so much better than Jamaica as well, they’re 44 places above them in the FIFA world rankings, and when you factor in that they haven’t qualified for a World Cup since 1998, you have to say Phillips’ best chance of success is with Southgate’s men.

Of course, it’s up to the 24-year-old to make this call, but from a footballing standpoint, it seems a bit foolish to rush such a decision.

Manchester United always knew that signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund was never going to be an easy task. 

While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer maintains that Sancho remains his top target this summer, the Red Devils have drafted a list of alternatives should they fail in their attempts to bring him to Old Trafford.

Dortmund director Michael Zorc’s recent comments will not have gone down well with Ed Woodward and Matt Judge.

Man United are firmly focused on signing Sancho but the Bundesliga outfit have insisted the 11-cap England international is staying at the Signal Iduna Park for at least another season.

According to The Manchester Evening News, United are considering Kingsley Coman, Rabbi Matondo and Thiago Almada, while ESPN revealed Barcelona flop Ousmane Dembele is also on the shortlist.

Whether or not this is simply part of the poker game, only time will tell, but it is telling that the Red Devils are ready to look at other options.

Dembele seems to be the odd one out as the 23-year-old has not managed to play a competitive game all year.

He has struggled for consistency since his £135m move from the Bundesliga to La Liga because his career has been plagued by persistent injuries.

Spanish newspaper Sport insists Barca will allow him to leave on loan as long as there is a mandatory option to buy included in the deal. However, the Red Devils harbour concerns over his injury history and view the Frenchman as a risky investment.

Meanwhile, United continue to be linked to Coman, Matondo and Almada as well.

Coman has incredibly won a league title in each of his seasons as a professional footballer so far, which sets him apart from the rest of his rivals.

Despite his young age, the 24-year-old has already played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, which makes him a valuable backup option if the board are unable to sign Sancho in the summer.

It is understood that Matondo is viewed in the same bracket as his Welsh teammate Daniel James, and although he would be a much cheaper option than the Englishman, he would not be expected to start every game on the right wing.

While he would make a great addition to cope with the congestion of fixtures United will have to deal with next season, he doesn’t have the experience behind him to push for a place in the starting lineup.

Velez Sarsfeld forward Thiago Almada faces the same issues as his Schalke counterpart.

With that being said, this could simply be a ploy by the board to break the deadlock with Dortmund.

The Sancho saga has shown no signs of going away anytime soon, so there are bound to be plenty of twists and turns in the tale still to come.

United fans, do you think Ed Woodward will sign Sancho this summer? Let us know your views in the comments below!

According to Il Messaggero, Leeds United have made an enquiry about Lazio play-maker Luis Alberto.

What’s the word?

The Spaniard was once on the books as a youngster at Liverpool, but failed to make the grade at Anfield, eventually sealing a move to Serie A giants Lazio.

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The 27-year-old has since developed into one of Europe’s greatest attacking midfielders, even registering a remarkable 17 assists across all competitions last season. Now, Il Messaggero claim that Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani has been in contact with his Lazio counterparts over potentially making a move for some of their players, including Alberto.

Pablo Hernandez successor

As Leeds secured their return to the Premier League last season, one man who was at the heart of their promotion campaign was Pablo Hernandez. The former Swansea ace was an instrumental figure for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, scoring nine times and setting up nine others.

But at 35, Hernandez is unlikely to be around for too much longer for the Whites, and that was perhaps best seen by how Bielsa used him after the Championship’s restart. In the eight Championship games he featured in, he completed the full 90 minutes just once, often making just 45 minute cameos.

In Alberto, Leeds could land the perfect successor to their Spanish magician, with the Lazio star proving himself to be an elite play-maker over these past couple of seasons. Dubbed as potentially being a new Philippe Coutinho by his former boss at Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers, the 27-year-old averaged an impressive 2.9 key passes per game in the Serie A – to put that into context, nobody provided more in the entire league than him.

Having already experienced Premier League football before, Alberto will surely be keen to finally make his mark on English football, and that can only be of benefit to Leeds.

Liverpool are not having the strongest transfer window as they currently have just one senior signing made so far.

They are also looking at potentially losing Rhian Brewster and Gini Wijnaldum, who have both been linked with permanent moves away from Anfield. However, this will be the least of their worries if a recent update on another Reds player has any substance to it.

According to Voetbalzone.nl (relayed via @LFCTransferRoom), Barcelona – who are very keen on Wijnaldum – have now shifted their sights towards Mohamed Salah. Ronald Koeman is reportedly looking to land a deal for him and the Egyptian would apparently like to make the move to Spain.

Salah, who is now valued at a stellar £108m, is one of Liverpool’s star players and indeed one of the best forwards on the planet right now. Since his arrival on Merseyside in 2017, the 28-year-old has tallied 97 goals and 41 assists in 154 total appearances for the Reds (via Transfermarkt), including a hat-trick in the 4-3 win over Leeds on Saturday.

Given his astronomical impact on the team, some fans aren’t willing to let him go for any amount. However, there are a few who think a move could actually materialise.

One supporter has said that, ‘knowing FSG’, they will cash in on Salah. This view clearly comes from the latest backlash that Fenway Sports Group received over their stalling of bidding for Thiago Alcantara. The club owners have been viewed as overly frugal due to their lack of spending.

Another fan has tweeted (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) ‘Mbappe in’. Liverpool have been loosely linked with Kylian Mbappe over the years and the profit made on the sale of Salah could potentially pave the way for the Reds to swoop in for the Frenchman.

Read more replies from the Anfield faithful here:

Do you think Salah could be tempted to leave for Barcelona? Join the discussion in the comments below…

Tottenham Hotspur’s quest to find a new striker this transfer window has taken an interesting twist, according to emerging reports over the weekend…

What’s the word?

Football Insider claim that Spurs are lining up a bid for Benfica centre-forward Haris Seferovic with less than a week remaining before the deadline.

It’s suggested that the north London outfit are set to launch a loan bid for the 28-year-old with talks planned in the coming days.

Both Daniel Levy and Jose Mourinho are in agreement that another addition upfront is needed, though time is ticking.

Finally, a solution?

Spurs have been longing for a viable back-up for several years, over six in fact.

For the past year alone, Harry Kane has been operating on his own following the departure of Fernando Llorente last summer, and it’s something that nearly caused a catastrophe.

After picking up an injury on New Year’s Day, Mourinho’s men soon crashed out of both the FA Cup and the Champions League. They only managed to qualify for Europe as the English talisman returned to action post-restart.

Roberto Soldado, Vincent Janssen and Clinton N’Jie were all failed experiments, costing in excess of £40m. None made any sort of impact and are now forgotten men in N17.

Bringing in Seferovic temporarily should give Levy and co an opportunity to see what bang they get for their buck and if successful, a permanent switch would undoubtedly follow.

It was only two seasons ago that the Swiss international pocketed 23 goals in one league campaign and despite only starting 14 matches last term, he still found the net on five occasions, via WhoScored.

Seferovic models his game on Zlatan Ibrahimovic whilst the 6 foot 2 powerhouse has been dubbed “more [Alan] Shearer than [Thierry] Henry” by FourFourTwo, who also describe him as an “explosive No.9” and a “lethal” presence inside the penalty box.

This could be the perfect signing to finally fill that ongoing striker nightmare.

At one point, Tottenham had Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko on the books. It’s farcical to only have one forward in what is a wildly congested campaign.

Go and grab the £9m-rated Seferovic at all costs.

AND in other news, £100k-p/w Spurs lightweight let Mourinho down vs Newcastle…

When Ciaran Clark finally took to the field against Blackburn Rovers earlier in September, following a horrible run of injuries, it was no surprise that Newcastle boss Steve Bruce was quick to tip his hat to the defender.

Speaking after the Magpies’ Carabao Cup victory, he said: “Ciaran Clark was the big one for me – I thought he was immaculate considering he hadn’t played since around last Christmas time.”

Since the full game that he played against Rovers, the Republic of Ireland international has featured in just one other match, getting 45 minutes under his belt in the next round of the League Cup, in the game against Morecambe.

Getting onto the pitch for some Premier League action has been a completely different story for the 31-year-old, making the bench once (against Brighton), and not even being named in the match-day squad for the other three.

Bruce understandably will be trying to ease Clark back into first-team action, but with the defender’s contract coming to an end next summer, the Magpies are facing an incredibly tough decision.

The 31-year-old has been a fairly reliable performer for the club, playing 91 times and even chipping in with an impressive ten goals. Former Sunderland striker Darren Bent, who played with Clark whilst the pair were at Aston Villa, made his feelings clear about just how good the veteran is.

When asked whether the Ireland ace is under-rated, Bent replied: “Yeah, I played with Ciaran at Villa for a few years. The same Ciaran you’re seeing there is the same one we used to see in matches and training, where you’d hit shots and he’d block absolutely everything.

“He’s actually a defender who likes to defend which is a funny thing to say as some defenders are good footballers yet they don’t want to put their body on the line, but he will. They’re passionate fans up there and they won’t expect anything less than 100% and Ciaran knows that, he will fight tooth and nail for that football club and as I said, he’ll take shots to the face, put his body in the way, he’ll just do anything to stop the ball going in the net.”

But at his age, and with a long-term ankle injury on his record too, the time may be right for both sides to part ways in 2021. The signings of Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis show that Newcastle have got designs on grander things instead of just fighting to avoid relegation.

Letting the £35k-a-week earning Clark go, and bringing in a star to potentially partner Jamaal Lascelles in the heart of defence, could be the key to Newcastle taking that crucial next step.

And in other news, Newcastle may already have a future upgrade on Joelinton in this academy starlet.

Leeds United had a manic summer transfer window.

The Whites spent almost £100m on new talent, and they also managed to find loan deals for a number of their young talents, but one thing they didn’t do effectively was shifting their deadwood.

The Ouasim Bouy nightmare goes on, Laurens De Bock remains on the books even though he went out on loan, while Conor Shaughnessy is somehow still a Leeds player.

One man who looked as though he was going to leave this summer was Jay Roy Grot, but an infection has put the brakes on any potential exit for the Dutchman, and that’s something that Leeds need to rectify in January.

The Whites aren’t set for a busy January window. Phil Hay recently documented how much the club hate operating in the winter, but with Grot nowhere near the first-team and seemingly open to a move away, the club needs to do right by him and let him continue his career elsewhere.

It shouldn’t be that tough of a task, Grot is a 6 ft 4 physically-gifted 22-year-old with experience playing for Netherlands U21s. Add into that the fact that he had plenty of suitors this summer, Leeds’ only job in January may be to greenlight his exit.

After reading that description, you may ask why Leeds aren’t willing to take a punt on him themselves, but he just hasn’t looked up to scratch when playing in England. He has been described as ‘lazy’ by Noel Whelan during his first season with the club on BBC Radio Leeds (via Football Insider).

The club are in a lucky position in that they don’t need to think too much about what they need to do in January due to their successful summer window, and barring an injury crisis, they won’t need to think about incomings as the squad is already well-stocked in almost every position.

Victor Orta can sit back and relax for the rest of the season, and while he may need to pick up the phone to find a new home for Grot, he shouldn’t find that too hard of a task.

Liverpool may have just shifted a new plan into place after finalising a loan move for outcast winger Ben Woodburn. The Wales international joins Blackpool on a short-term deal, joining former youth coach Neil Critchley in League One.

The 21-year-old has spent the last season-and-a-half away from Anfield, representing Sheffield United and Oxford respectively. Woodburn has made five appearances for the Liverpool U23s so far this campaign, bagging himself a goal against Manchester United in the league (via Transfermarkt).

Future plans for Ben Woodburn

After rising through the ranks an impressing Jurgen Klopp alongside close friend Trent Alexander-Arnold, the forward man fell off the map. Unlike his fellow academy graduate, he has been limited to just 11 senior appearances for the Merseyside outfit. Woodburn’s last appearance for the Liverpool first team was in 2018 – a six minute cameo against Brighton in a 4-0 Premier League win.

Since then, his future has looked sure to indicate a permanent move away from Anfield. However, Michael Edwards’ recent negotiations with Blackpool could be part of a much bigger picture.

Critchley left the Liverpool set-up to take charge of the Seasiders back in March, finishing off the 2019/20 season with a 13th place finish. This campaign has seen the club struggle, as they currently sit in the lower reaches of League One. Acquiring a pacy winger like Woodburn could help pull Blackpool out of a rut and see them start to climb the table.

Operating under a manager he knows well could be the making of the Welshman, who made history with Liverpool as their youngest ever goalscorer back in 2016. With attacking options limited this season, Klopp may be hoping to integrate Woodburn into the first team and serve as back-up to the front three.

Indeed, the German waxed lyrical over the youngster just last year, hailing him as an “outstanding talent” (via Liverpool ECHO).

Sadio Mane was recently ruled out of action due to a positive Covid-19 test. Diogo Jota has the left-wing covered but an injury to Mohamed Salah could be detrimental. Klopp and Edwards may be working on a clever ruse to flip Woodburn’s career on its head and see him become a regular senior player.

In other news, Michael Edwards pulled off some of his best work with Liverpool’s Christian Benteke sale…