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Aston Villa look set to complete the signing of Sevilla left-back Ludwig Augustinsson in the coming days, which would be their fifth of the summer transfer window, and the Sweden international could prove to be a world-class addition to Steven Gerrard’s squad.

Fabrizio Romano tweeted: “Done deal, here we go confirmed. Ludwig Augustinsson completed his medical as new Aston Villa player, deal agreed with Sevilla on loan with buy option.”

Gerrard was always likely to recruit another left-back to compete with Lucas Digne following Matt Targett’s permanent move to Newcastle United, and Augustinsson could be the ideal man.

The 28-year-old can offer a threat at both ends of the pitch, with WhoScored suggesting that his main strengths include aerial duels, crossing, holding onto the ball, key passes and his defensive contribution.

Although he struggled for game-time with Sevilla last season, partly due to the impressive form of Marcus Acuna, he still impressed when he featured for Julen Lopetegui’s side.

As per FBRef, the Swedish defender scored in the 95th percentile for aerial duels won and the 93rd percentile for clearances, which suggests that he could offer Gerrard a more defensively sound option than Digne at left-back.

FBRef also suggests that Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu is the most similar player to Augustinsson in terms of playing style, and given the Japan international’s impressive debut season in the Premier League, this is a prospective signing which bodes well for Villa.

After joining the Gunners from Bologna, Tomiyasu helped to revolutionise Arsenal’s defence and was a big part in Mikel Arteta’s side keeping the fifth-most clean sheets in the top flight last term.

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Team-mate Ben White was full of praise for the versatile defender last season, saying: ‘Tomi is amazing. He’s the best right-back I’ve ever played with. He’s always focused. It’s an honour to play next to him.

‘Tomi does the simple things at a world-class level. He is very alert and he isn’t careless in games.”

Therefore, if Augustinsson can do a similar job to Tomiyasu in Villa’s side next season, he could prove to be a very shrewd addition by Johan Lange.

AND, in other news… Gerrard can finally axe £16m shocker with Villa bid for “unbelievable” £50m target

Everton’s search for a new striker to replace Richarlison has seemingly sent them in the direction of Edin Dzeko and the former Manchester City man could be a superb addition to Frank Lampard’s side.

What’s the word?

According to reports from Italy, Everton, Wolves and Leicester City are all considering moves for the 36-year-old, who could be sold by Inter as they look to free up space for the potential signing of Paulo Dybala.

They claim that Juventus have already seen an approach rejected, while there is also interest from Germany, which is no surprise when you consider his superb performances in recent seasons.

A huge coup for Lampard

While Dzeko is 36 now, the Bosnian forward would guarantee goals for the Toffees next season.

Last season saw him contribute 13 goals and five assists in 36 Serie A appearances, averaging an impressive 7.07 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

The veteran forward has been prolific throughout his career, enjoying particularly fruitful spells with Roma and Manchester City, where he was a big part of the Citizens’ transformation into Premier League title winners, hitting 72 goals for them between 2011 and 2015.

Although his wages could prove to be a problem, as he reportedly earns £152k per week at Inter, his transfer fee would be minimal and he could be an excellent short-term option in Lampard’s side, as they look to improve on their disastrous 2021/22 campaign.

Former Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco was full of praise for Dzeko in 2018 after an impressive Champions League performance, saying:

“I must say, he’s an extraordinary player, and not just in terms of his finishing – he gets the team playing, brings the ball down and produces good service for his teammates.

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“He’s a fantastic professional, his pre-match preparations are always spot-on. When he has a bad game he might appear lethargic, but he does well when he’s determined.”

Not only could he replace the goals of Richarlison, but he could be an excellent mentor to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, as his hold-up play and finishing ability have seen him succeed at the top level for more than a decade.

Therefore, it would be a huge coup for Everton if Farhad Moshiri could bring him to Goodison Park this summer, as there is no doubt that he would be a quality addition to Lampard’s side.

AND, in other news: Everton get green light to sign “really poor” £10m dud, it’s another Walcott disaster

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent and reliable reporter Dan Kilpatrick of The Evening Standard has shared a significant update on the club’s summer plans after Djed Spence’s confirmed signing.

The Lowdown: Spurs transfer flurry…

It’s fairly safe to say this summer transfer window has been the busiest in recent memory at Spurs with manager Antonio Conte keen to strengthen ahead of his first full Premier League season in charge.

Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Clement Lenglet and Spence have all put pen to paper in north London with reports suggesting they could yet target a creative midfielder and another central defender.

However, while there has been plenty of movement in terms of incomings, the Lilywhites and managing director Fabio Paratici have struggled to finalise major player sales with outcasts like Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Winks all still at the club.

The Latest: Kilpatrick shares significant update…

Now, as per Kilpatrick, there has been a fairly significant update on Paratici’s summer plans after their latest signing of Spence from Middlesbrough.

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Taking to Twitter, he states that Spurs’ focus will now shift to player sales as the north London side seek to balance their books.

He explained:

“Paratici is in Italy, discussing the sale of a number of players including Tanganga & Gil, as Spurs turn attentions to clearing the decks after Spence arrival.”

The Verdict: Right move…

Given the seismic amount of investment, it appears time to prioritise sales as a number of surplus-to-requirements players remain on the books.

The likes of Japhet Tanganga and Bryan Gil, depending on whether their departures will be temporary or permanent, are in dire need of regular minutes to realise their full potential and moves away could be best for all parties.

Indeed, with just over a month of the window to go, it may well be time for Paratici to start shifting players out the door.

West Ham United have entered talks to sign Napoli playmaker Piotr Zielinski amid discussions for multiple players, according to reports.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye moves…

Irons manager David Moyes seems eager to right the wrongs of the last transfer window and strengthen in an array of different positions, coming after his team narrowly missed out on Europa League qualification at the end of last term.

West Ham are in talks to sign both Filip Kostic (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo), with Moyes closing in on the latter after an agreement was reached.

The east Londoners need to strengthen in order to keep pace with England’s most elite clubs, and according to TUTTOmercatoWEB, it appears that they have opened discussions for yet another player.

The Latest: West Ham enter Zielinski talks…

Indeed, the Italian news outlet reported that Napoli star Zielinski is of real interest to West Ham, who are ‘in negotiations for the purchase of the Polish midfielder’.

TMW added that the Hammers’ interest is ‘concrete’, with the Serie A outfit slapping a €45m (£38m) price tag on the Poland international’s head – a sharp comedown from his reported £94m release clause.

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The Verdict: Ambitious…

If West Ham pull off deals for both Scamacca and Kostic, adding Zielinski on top of that would showcase real Premier League top-four ambition from Moyes and GSB.

The 28-year-old has previously drawn comparisons to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, whilst Flamengo boss and former Poland national team head coach Paulo Sousa has called him a ‘beautiful footballer‘.

Adding a creator of his ilk may well be a shrewd bit of business by the Irons, given that Zielinski is still in his prime and could leave for £38m.

Tottenham Hotspur could include Giovani Lo Celso in an offer for Roma winger Nicolo Zaniolo, according to Calciomercato Web. 

The lowdown

Lo Celso, as per Transfermarkt records, is one of the five most expensive signings in Spurs’ history, but just two years on from his permanent arrival, he’s seemingly been deemed surplus to requirements.

The news may not come as a particular surprise to Spurs fans given that the 26-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Villarreal.

Roma meanwhile are of course managed by former Lilywhites boss Jose Mourinho, who may retain a fondness for Lo Celso.

Zaniolo, a 23-year-old right winger who can also play as an attacking midfielder or a second striker, is under contract at the Stadio Olimpico until June 2024.

The latest

The report stresses that Roma do not need to shift Zaniolo, even after the arrival of Paulo Dybala, and so they won’t reduce his €50million (£42million) price tag.

Fabio Paratici may then look to use Lo Celso, a player who could ‘appeal’ to the Europa Conference League winners, as part of the deal.

Lo Celso is seen as a €20million (£17million) asset, and so Spurs would only need to offer a further £25million to meet Roma’s valuation.

It’s also noted that Juventus are in for the Argentine midfielder, and have been alerted to this possibility.

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The verdict

Tottenham correspondent Jack Pitt-Brooke recently suggested that Spurs could do with an attacking midfield option that would enable Conte to move away from a 3-4-3 and towards a 3-5-2 in certain games.

And Zaniolo may fit that bill, as well as being able to compete with Dejan Kulusevski for the right-wing berth.

The Italian, who’s recorded 197 appearances, 50 goals and 27 assists to date (including 8G 9A last season), produced a moment of ‘magic’ to score the winner in the UECL against Feyenoord in the words of Corriere dello Sport.

It makes sense for Spurs to utilise an unwanted asset in order to reduce the price.

Celtic have seen many players wave goodbye to the Parkhead club during their recent transfer windows.

One big player that brought an end to his significant time with the Hoops during the previous summer market was defender Kristoffer Ajer.

The Bhoys signed the centre-back in 2016 from Norwegian club IK Start. The defender then went on to make 176 appearances for the club across all competitions, chipping in with seven goals and seven assists along the way in addition to winning numerous trophies.

The 24-year-old then made a move down south to join Brentford in the English Premier League, in a deal that saw Celtic pick up an initial fee of £13.5m for the player.

Even though the Hoops managed to end their first SPFL season without the Norway international with fewer goals conceded (22) than any other side in the division, the last few weeks of the current transfer window could see the Bhoys bring in what might be their next version of Ajer.

Earlier in the window, it was reported that the Hoops were interested in signing 20-year-old Schalke defender Malick Thiaw.

Bearing in mind how Ajer was only 17 when he made the move to Parkhead, a swoop for Thiaw could mirror this previous transfer given how he is still an incredibly young defender.

In addition to this, the defensive talent the two players share also shows how similar they are and why the German could be the next version of the former Celtic figure.

Looking at the Schalke prodigy’s previous league campaign compared to Ajer’s final season with Celtic, both players managed to rack up over 50 interceptions and an almost identical rate of clearances per game, with Thiaw averaging 3.4 and the former Hoops star averaging 3.3.

This backs up why Christian Gross hailed the young German as an “excellent” player that has “great potential” in him.

It also backs up why football scout Jacek Kulig called him a “big talent” as the player was previously linked with a £7m move to Liverpool.

Depending on whether the likes of Christopher Jullien or Stephen Welsh end up leaving Celtic this summer, as both have been linked with moves away recently, securing a deal for the Schalke starlet should definitely be in the thoughts of Postecoglou and the Celtic hierarchy before the window closes.

Nottingham Forest made their first appearance back in the Premier League after 23 years away against Newcastle United this afternoon at St James’ Park, but it wasn’t the fairytale start that Steve Cooper would have wanted.

The Reds lost 2-0 to their hosts, with a number of new signings making their debut in red after a busy transfer window saw Forest securing deals for 12 players so far, but the squad’s shake-up wasn’t enough to help them to a first point of the campaign today.

Despite the defeat, Forest were stubborn and resilient in their performance on Tyneside, holding off the Magpies’ relentless attack on their goal throughout the first half.

Overall, Forest made 33 clearances, winning more interceptions and more aerial duels than their hosts, proving that they are capable of putting in the hard work to try and repel attacking threats.

However, their dogged defensive play was not enough to hold off the attacking prowess of Newcastle, as they were eventually broken down in the 58th minute when Fabian Schar hit a wonder strike from 25 yards, which was followed up by a goal from Callum Wilson 20 minutes later to seal a 2-0 home win.

One player who may have been expected to deliver a leading performance today is Jesse Lingard, but unfortunately the former Manchester United ace failed to hit the ground running for Cooper this afternoon on his competitive Forest debut after his summer move to the City Ground.

The midfielder, who is reportedly earning £80k-p/w at the club, lost all seven of his duels, failed with 100% of his dribble attempts, made no tackles, took no shots and lost the ball every 4.2 touches (Sofascore), which will surely frustrate the Forest manager as he took a chance on the 29-year-old.

As per Sofascore, the former England international was the lowest-rated player to line out for the visitors this afternoon as he failed to make a good first impression with his new club.

Lingard has been the recipient of much criticism following his move to the Reds, and despite his efforts, he will now likely be the target of further questioning following his uninspiring performance against Newcastle.

However, as with any new signing, it could just take him a few weeks to get his feet under the table.

Cooper may not be overly concerned about losing away to one of the highest point-scoring teams in the Premier League over 2022, but the manager will not want to rest on his laurels, and it will be interesting to see if any more new signings appear at the City Ground between now and the September 1st deadline.

Leeds United are reportedly close to agreeing personal terms with FC Zurich forward Wilfried Gnonto.

The Lowdown: Leeds linked with Gnonto

Gianluca Di Marzio was one of the first to break the rumours regarding Leeds and Gnonto. The Sky Sports journalist stated that the Whites are looking to wrap up a deal worth around €4m-€5m (£3.4m-£4.2m) for the Italy international before August 25.

However, it looks as if a transfer fee could prove complicated despite the forward being into the final 12 months of his Zurich contract.

The Latest: Gnonto transfer update

Sport Witness relayed a new update from Gazzetta dello Sport regarding Leeds and Gnonto on Monday.

They claimed that the agreement with the player himself is ‘essentially there’. However, talks with Zurich are more complicated due to their asking price of €8m-€10m (£6.75m-£8.4m).

The report does add, though, that there is hope that a transfer ‘can be closed in the next few days’.

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The Verdict: Fingers crossed

Leeds could really do with bringing in a new forward, so hopefully the club can reach an agreement with Zurich for Gnonto, who was labelled by Italy coach Roberto Mancini as a player who ‘can do everything’ .

Already a full Italy international, the teenager can play in a variety of central and wide attacking roles, so he could provide competition to the likes of Patrick Bamford, Joe Gelhardt and Rodrigo.

Failing to bring in a new forward could leave Jesse Marsch extremely short up top for the rest of the season, especially as Bamford was injured at the weekend and Gelhardt didn’t travel for the Southampton clash due to an issue of his own.

Southampton are in ‘open negotiations’ to sell midfielder Oriol Romeu to Girona this summer, according to journalist Nil Sola.

The Lowdown: Big season for Saints…

This 2022/2023 Premier League season looks set be a crucial one for manager Ralph Hasenhuttl with there being no shortage of new faces at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Southampton have made six major signings in preparation for this campaign, most of which you could argue are young and on the inexperienced side.

Nigeria ace Joe Aribo comes as their most senior addition at only 25-years-old as Saints owners Sport Republic seemingly operate under the ‘invest for future’ model.

The decision to bring in young, exciting players may prove a stroke of genius or major mis-step by the end of this campaign with news now emerging that Southampton are in exit talks over experienced figurehead Romeu.

The Latest: Saints in ‘open’ Romeu negotiations…

Indeed, reporter Sola claims Girona are trying to sign the 30-year-old with both clubs in ‘open negotiations’.

He explained (via Twitter):

“INTEREST from @GironaFC and open NEGOTIATIONS with Southampton to try to sign centre/midfielder ORIOL ROMEU, whose contract with the English club ends in June 2023. Desire of Míchel and Quique.

The economic aspect (salary) is the main handicap.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

Selling the midfielder is probably unwise decision given Hasenhuttl may want as many experienced figures as possible in his squad to balance things out.

As per WhoScored, Romeu actually finished last campaign as their second-best performing player in the English top flight with only James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Salisu playing more minutes.

The former Chelsea star appears to be quite a pivotal figure on the south coast with pundit Kevin Phillips calling him a ‘leader’ and Man City boss Pep Guardiola even once branding Romeu ‘one of best midfielders in the Premier League’.

Tottenham Hotspur continued their unbeaten start to the 2022/23 Premier League campaign on Saturday afternoon, with Antonio Conte’s side running out 1-0 winners over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The three points did not prove easy to come by, though, as the visitors dominated the first half – taking 12 shots to Spurs’ one over the opening 45 minutes – with the hosts being somewhat fortunate to still be level at half-time.

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The second half was a different story, with Tottenham finally posing a threat in the Wolves third – taking 10 shots at goal, creating two big chances and hitting the woodwork twice – before Harry Kane notched his 250th goal for Spurs on 64 minutes to seal the victory for his side.

However, while the England captain will likely grab Sunday morning’s headlines, the player who provided the 29-year-old’s assist for his winner, Ivan Perisic, was very much the star of the show against Wolves.

Making his first start for Conte’s side, the £9m-rated wing-back was a bundle of energy on the left flank throughout the duration of his 76 minutes on the pitch. He enjoyed 52 touches, completed 24 passes (including three key passes), attempted five crosses (two of which found their intended target) and three dribbles (one successful) and created one big chance.

The £178k-per-week Croatia international also impressed in a defensive capacity, making five tackles – the most of any player on the pitch – winning seven duels, committing two tactical fouls and making one clearance prior to being withdrawn for Ryan Sessegnon in the closing stages of the match.

These returns saw the player who Paul Merson claimed “makes things happen” earn a very impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.5, ranking him as Conte’s joint-best performer on the day.

Indeed, should Perisic maintain this level of performance going forwards, the 33-year-old will undoubtedly become one of Tottenham’s key players over the course of the 2022/23 campaign – with his show-stealing home debut sure to have delighted both Conte and the Spurs faithful alike.