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Nottingham Forest are set to make a bid for Nantes attacking midfielder Moses Simon, according to a fresh claim by journalist Santi Aouna.

The Lowdown: Simon shines in France

The 27-year-old has emerged as a key man for his current side in recent years, chipping in with 14 goal contributions (six goals and eight assists) in Ligue 1 last season.

Simon was also praised by former Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino in 2021/22, who said his team ‘didn’t handle’ the attacker on their way to a defeat to Nantes.

The Nigerian still has two years remaining on his current deal but a summer exit is looking far from out of the question.

The Latest: Forest ‘very interested’ in move, ‘offer’ soon

The Reds have been strongly linked with a move for Moses’ international teammate, Emmanuel Dennis, but taking to Twitter on Thursday evening, Foot Mercato journalist Aouna claimed they are ‘very interested’ in making it a double deal.

In fact, Aouna goes as far as to say personal terms are already agreed and a bid is on the way.

“Nottingham Forest are very interested in Nantes striker Moses Simon. Financial agreement found with the player. Nantes are aware and expect an offer. Same agency as Emmanuel Dennis.”

The Verdict: Exciting

Simon has clear pedigree and is someone who could give Forest’s attack an extra injection of firepower, following their 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United last weekend.

He is a proven player in a top European league and has also shone at international level, scoring seven goals in 53 caps for Nigeria overall, so he shouldn’t be daunted by a move to the City Ground.

Simon has been praised for his speed and deceptive strength, and if he could hit the ground running with Dennis the pair could really inject some serious pace, trickery and end product into Steve Cooper’s ranks.

Manchester United’s hopes of signing Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer have been handed a boost, with the latest reports suggesting that his agent is pushing Erik ten Hag’s side to sign him in the event of missing out on Frenkie de Jong.

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, the 27-year-old’s representatives are moving the Old Trafford outfit towards the Serbian who could be available for €50m (£42m).

Ten Hag has spent much of the summer looking to recruit a top-level midfielder in De Jong but with a move for the Dutchman seemingly not on the cards, the former Ajax boss is being urged to take a look at the Lazio midfielder as an ‘alternative’.

Ten Hag needs Milinkovic-Savic

The Red Devils have lost the likes of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata from their squad this summer but have so far only brought in Christian Eriksen as a replacement, so it seems clear that new midfield additions are required if United are to improve on a woeful start to the Premier League season.

Milinkovic-Savic showed with his performances last season that he could be a phenomenal addition at Old Trafford.

The Serbian midfielder contributed 11 goals and 11 assists in 37 Serie A appearances, averaging a superb 7.37 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This would have ranked him as comfortably the top performer in United’s side, while he also would have had the most combined goals and assists, so it is clear to see what he would add to Ten Hag’s squad if he were to join before the transfer window closes.

Journalist Jerry Mancini was full of praise for Milinkovic-Savic earlier in the summer, writing:

“Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is the complete midfielder. A box-to-box midfielder with every attribute you’d want. It’s difficult to press him. Each season he gets better and better. World Class Midfielder. The strongest and best midfielder in Serie A.”

The words ‘world-class’ should do enough to excite the fanbase at Old Trafford with supporters enduring a few wretched years of a rather mediocre midfield duo.

That pairing is Fred and Scott McTominay, who have both failed to play a single 90 minutes this term, so far. As a result, it is clear that Ten Hag needs more quality in the middle of the park, so the Glazers should sanction a move for Milinkovic-Savic as soon as possible.

Manchester City have been handed an injury boost as Pep Guardiola confirmed that Kalvin Phillips is set to return for Sunday’s Premier League clash vs Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Phillips’ injury concern

The Sky Blues maintained their perfect start to the 2022/23 campaign after securing an emphatic 4-0 victory over newly-promoted Bournemouth at the Etihad last weekend.

The 26-year-old was deemed unfit to be involved in the match-day squad for the game against the Cherries after picking up a minor injury in training earlier that week, but the boss has now shared some positive news on the midfielder’s situation.

The Latest: Guardiola’s fitness update

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Guardiola confirmed that Phillips has returned to action and will be available for selection to face Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.

As quoted by City’s official website, the Spaniard said:

“Cole [Palmer] is back. Kalvin [Phillips] is back. Some niggles for some players but the rest are okay.”

The Verdict: Boost for City

Having Phillips back at his disposal will come as a massive boost for Guardiola and City as a whole.

The England international, labelled a ‘Rolls Royce’ by sports journalist Josh Bunting, has only made one brief appearance for the reigning champions having come off the bench in the opening day fixture vs West Ham, but offers the manager more flexibility with fellow defensive midfield specialist Rodri.

Pep will be keen to get all of his new summer signings involved and into his plans as soon as possible to ensure that they gel with the rest of the team, and Phillips is a player who’s likely to have proved impactful come the end of the season.

Manchester City journalist Simon Bajkowski has dropped an update regarding the current injury situation surrounding midfielder Kalvin Phillips ahead of City’s upcoming Premier League clash against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

What’s the news?

During City’s recent charity match against Barcelona, Phillips was taken off after picking up what Bajkowski described as an injury to the midfielder’s forearm.

In a recent Twitter post, the journalist revealed:

“Kalvin Phillips will have more detailed assessments before Palace but #mcfc are encouraged that the injury that forced him off against Barcelona isn’t as bad as it looked.”

City signed the 26-year-old earlier in the current summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Leeds United in a deal worth a reported fee of £45m.

Since then, the England international has only played one minute of league action for the Citizens but did end up playing 57 minutes of action against the Spanish club in midweek before his injury forced him off.

In 20 league appearances for Leeds last season, no other player at the Yorkshire club managed to win more tackles in the midfield third than Phillips (33), highlighting the defensive talent he has.

A big relief for Guardiola

While this isn’t a confirmation over whether the Englishman will be available for selection to take on the Eagles on Saturday, this latest update is a positive one and will be a big relief for Pep Guardiola that the injury doesn’t look as serious as first thought.

Even though the league champions have Rodri in their squad that has started all three of their league games so far this season, having Phillips available would be a massive help for Guardiola in case the Spaniard were to pick up an injury himself and needed the Englishman to come in and replace him.

Although, with the former Leeds star’s defensive skills and the fact that no other side in the league this season have made more carries into the 18 yard box than Palace (22), perhaps having Phillips in the starting XI this weekend could be the best way of making sure City don’t end up dropping points, especially as his tackles in midfield could stop the Eagles from carrying the ball into City’s box.

With that in mind, everyone at the Manchester club will surely have their fingers crossed that the midfielder can shake off his midweek injury and be fit enough for selection at the weekend.

Wolves are reportedly ‘interested’ in signing Nathan Redmond before the transfer window closes.

The Lowdown: Traore deal?

As per The Express & Star journalist Liam Keen, Bruno Lage’s side could still sign midfielder Boubacar Traore from French outfit Metz before the 11pm deadline, as the two clubs try and agree on a fee with the player wanting the move to Molineux.

However, he does not seem to be the only player that the Old Gold are interested in bringing in through the doors as the hours tick by.

The Latest: Redmond interest

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic’s Southampton reporter Jacob Tanswell has revealed that Wolves are among a number of clubs who are ‘interested’ in signing Redmond, although any deal is likely to hinge on whether the exit-linked Hwang Hee-chan leaves.

Tanswell tweeted: “Wolves are among the teams interested in signing Nathan Redmond from #SaintsFC. Though any move is likely to hinge on Hwang Hee-chan leaving. Redmond is seen to fill the homegrown quota. Clubs in Europe are also interested.”

The Verdict: Get it done

With less than four hours left in the transfer window, this is a deal that Wolves simply need to try and get over the line.

As explained by Tanswell, the one-time England international would help with the homegrown quota at the club, who of course have a strong contingent of Portuguese players.

The 28-year-old has plenty of experience in English football, including in the Premier League, scoring 52 goals and supplying a further 59 assists over the course of his club career so far (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, if they could sign both him and Traore before the 11pm deadline, it would represent a shrewd piece of business from Wolves.

Wolves are reportedly looking to secure a late summer move for West Ham United defender Craig Dawson.

What’s the news?

According to a recent tweet from The Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath, the Old Gold and their local Premier League rivals Aston Villa are among the clubs interested in signing the centre-back.

McGrath also claimed that the move will be down to whether Irons manager David Moyes sanctions the potential transfer.

Throughout his career, Dawson has played for clubs such as West Bromwich Albion, Bolton Wanderers and Watford before finding himself at West Ham.

Forget Boly

With 238 Premier League appearances to his name, during which he has scored 19 goals and provided five assists, the 32-year-old would certainly offer a lot of experience to Wolves.

Bearing in mind how Bruno Lage has some rather young defenders in his squad such as Toti Gomes (23), Nathan Collins and Yerson Mosquera (both 21), adding an experienced figure like Dawson to his ranks could be a smart move, especially after losing the likes of Conor Coady (29) and Romain Saiss (32) this summer.

To highlight his defensive capabilities, Dawson ended his previous Premier League campaign with more blocks (66) and more clearances (145) than any other player at the London Stadium.

He also made more tackles (13) in the midfield third of the pitch than any other Irons defender and only saw one of his defensive colleagues make more tackles in the defensive third of the pitch than him (20).

Hailed as a “special” player by Carlton Cole, signing the £42.5k-per-week Englishman could also be a suitable way for Lage to forget about Willy Boly.

After being linked with a move to Nottingham Forest, the Ivorian failed to arrive for Wolves’ recent 1-1 draw against Newcastle United when he was supposed to be in the squad.

Should the 31-year-old find himself leaving Molineux in the coming days, securing a deal for Dawson could be a swift move by the Old Gold as they aim to replace his qualities at the back.

If Moyes gives the green light for the West Ham defender to leave the London Stadium before the end of the transfer window, Wolves should do all that they can to secure his signature and get him integrated into the squad.

Manchester City have received ‘bad news’ after learning of the injury to John Stones, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Stones suffers hamstring injury

The centre-back was named in England’s starting line-up to take on Germany in the Nations League on Monday night, but was forced off the pitch after 37 minutes due to sustaining a hamstring problem – as later confirmed by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.

The 28-year-old was replaced by his Sky Blues teammate Kyle Walker for the remainder of the game, and is now likely to face a spell on the sidelines in the Premier League as a result.

The Latest: Romano’s reaction

Taking to Twitter, Romano reacted to Stones’ gutting injury, but praised the City hierarchy for signing Akanji in the summer to cover for defensive situations like this. He wrote:

“Bad news for Manchester City as it seems John Stones has sustained a hamstring injury.

“But again, very good strategy in the summer when City board decided to sign Akanji on permanent deal in the final days as ‘jolly/opportunity’ and with no plans to sell any CB.”

The Verdict: Blow for Guardiola

Not having Stones available for selection for the Manchester derby on Sunday could come as a huge blow to Pep Guardiola, who will know just how much of an impact he has on his starting XI.

The Barnsley-born talent has provided two assists in just five top-flight starts this season, and currently averages a remarkable 96.8% pass success rate (WhoScored).

This ability to affect a game at both ends of the pitch is rare, so the City boss will no doubt be hoping to have Stones back at his disposal sooner rather than later.

Southampton have churned out plenty of talent that have gone on to the very top of the game, with Virgil van Dijk an obvious poster boy for a successful move away.

Many players who feature at St Mary’s, however, have struggled after departing, none more so than Dejan Lovren.

The Croatian centre-back was coming off the back of a fine season with his side, who had finished just two points behind Liverpool as they secured a seventh-place finish.

He featured 31 times at the heart of that defence but had already earned big praise from his manager at the time, Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentine had signed him from Lyon and claimed:

“When we were following him and we were about to sign him we knew of his quality and we knew it would be very easy for him to adapt and establish himself within the league,” he then continued:

“We already knew about his skill and his quality.”

Although he had impressed, he was prone to errors which shone through following his £20m move to Liverpool.

It seems that the Saints binned him off just in time to reap the rewards of his fine initial form upon coming to England, then watch him falter slightly at Anfield.

A path trodden by many others, from the south coast to Merseyside seemed like it would be a natural upgrade for a Reds side in transition.

Whilst he was not a complete flop, he did struggle throughout his career much to the delight of the media, who often highlighted particular performances where he had been deemed “useless” and a “defensive shambles”.

His career has stuttered and the eventual arrival of the aforementioned Dutch colossus all but sealed his fate at Liverpool.

He has since been playing his football for FC Zenit, only four years after he proclaimed himself as “one of the best defenders in the world”.

The Croatian made this claim just a year after a Liverpool fan had created a fifty-tweet thread detailing all his mistakes for the club.

A statement that drew ridicule, the 33-year-old was not a massive disappointment after leaving Southampton but he certainly never reached the domineering heights that saw him earn his initial move away.

It marks another example of how the club sold at the perfect time and got good money for a player they masqueraded as high quality. Compared to his earlier days in England to where he is now, he has flopped massively.

Arsenal have been handed an injury boost ahead of their Europa League meeting with Bodo/Glimt on Thursday evening.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to James McNicholas, with the journalist revealing in a recent article for The Athletic that, after picking up a minor knock before the game against FC Zurich last month, Cedric Soares has now fully recovered from this issue, with the right-back expected to be included in Mikel Arteta’s squad to face their Norwegian opponents in two days’ time.

McNicholas goes on to state that the 31-year-old is desperate to get some first-team minutes under his belt on Thursday in order to give himself a chance of securing a regular starting spot for the 40-year-old manager, with the defender having been an unused substitute in four Premier League fixtures before his latest injury setback.

Good news for Arsenal

While it is true that Cedric is not exactly a guaranteed starter under Arteta, the right-back’s return from injury will nevertheless come as a boost to the Spaniard ahead of Thursday evening – especially with a hectic Premier League schedule ahead of the Gunners in October and November.

Indeed, with 13 fixtures coming up between now and the break for the Qatar World Cup, rotation of his squad will be key for Arteta in order to keep Arsenal in the title race come the turn of the year.

And, with Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu having all been a regular part of the Gunners’ backline so far this season – featuring in nine, eight, eight and eight of Arsenal’s nine fixtures in all competitions respectively this term – the Bodo/Glimt fixture would very much appear to be an ideal opportunity for Arteta to rotate his defence.

Furthermore, despite slipping down the pecking order at The Emirates towards the back end of last season, the £5.4m-rated full-back nevertheless impressed over his 21 league outings last term, scoring one goal, providing one assist and creating two big chances, as well as making an average of 1.8 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 0.9 key passes and winning 3.0 duels per game.

These metrics saw the £75k-per-week Portugal international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.86, ranking him as the Gunners’ joint 15th-best player in the top flight last time out.

As such, with the tricky visit of Liverpool up next for Arsenal in the league, Cedric’s return from injury is undoubtedly good news for Arteta, as the 31-year-old’s availability will now allow the Spaniard to give a much-needed rest to one of his defensive stalwarts on Thursday night.

When Newcastle United signed both Matt Targett and Sven Botman during the summer transfer window, it was perhaps expected that Dan Burn could lose his place in Eddie Howe’s side.

The giant centre-back, who joined from Brighton in January last season, was brilliant for the Toon as they turned their 2021/22 season around, going from relegation candidates to finishing just outside of the top half.

Burn would make 16 appearances in the Premier League for Howe’s side, averaging a superb 6.98 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

But, at 30, he looked likely to be displaced by Newcastle’s marquee summer signing in Botman, with the Toon paying £35m to sign the highly-rated Dutchman from Lille.

However, Burn has shown his quality and versatility to keep his place in Howe’s side, despite the former Bournemouth manager opting for a centre-back partnership of Botman and Fabian Schar on most occasions this season.

Former Celtic man Frank McAvennie was full of praise last season for the impact that Burn has had at Newcastle, saying:

“He looks a confident boy, which is great for the boys around the training ground. He’s a player who talks all the way through games. He gives that bit extra as well as a Newcastle fan. They absolutely love him and it’s easy to see why after that ridiculous impact he’s had.”

The six-foot-six defender has been very impressive when featuring as a left-back, averaging a strong 6.83 rating from WhoScored, and Howe must ensure that the experienced defender starts again there on Saturday when Newcastle face Brentford.

A lot of the Bees’ attacking play comes through their talisman Ivan Toney, with the England striker having won the third-most aerial battles in the Premier League this season.

Like any good target man, Toney will drift wide and challenge the full-backs in the air, but Howe can eliminate the left-hand side by starting Burn there again, as only Botman and Schar have won more aerial duels this season.

The former Newcastle man has started the season in inspired form, scoring five goals and assisting twice in the opening eight Premier League games, so he will need shackling if the Toon are going to pick up a result on Saturday.

There is no doubt that Toney poses a real threat to Newcastle’s defence so Howe can give his side the best chance by playing the more dominant Burn over Targett at left-back.