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Arsenal are believed to be eyeing a move for PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo, as manager Mikel Arteta looks to further strengthen his side ahead of the new Premier League season.

What’s the word?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the Gunners are interested in signing the 23-year-old before the September deadline, as they plot alternatives to former target Raphinha following the Brazilian’s move to Barcelona.

Journalist Ben Jacobs – speaking to GIVEMESPORT – has now provided his verdict on the potential deal for the Netherlands international, insisting that while the north London side have no agreement in place as yet, a move could develop in the coming weeks.

The transfer insider stated: “Gakpo is an interesting one. It’s one to watch. Arsenal haven’t got anything advanced at this point, but he has openly said that he would like to move to the Premier League.

“He’s also spoken about his admiration for Thierry Henry and I think that got Arsenal fans pretty excited. But he also said he admired Virgil Van Dijk. So the interest is there. But there’s nothing advanced at the time of speaking.”

Supporters will be buzzing

News of the Emirates outfit’s interest in the seven-cap menace – who could cost in the region of £37m – will seemingly have supporters buzzing, as excitement builds at the potential of adding such a highly-rated talent to Arteta’s ranks.

The player himself has already set pulses racing among those of an Arsenal persuasion after admitting he idolised club legend Thierry Henry in his youth, as Jacobs alluded to, with there undoubtedly those hoping that Gakpo can emulate the iconic Frenchman.

The £7.4k-per-week gem has caught the eye of clubs across Europe due to his sparkling form in Holland in recent times, notably netting a remarkable haul of 12 goals and 13 assists in the Eredivisie last season, while also averaging an impressive three shots and 2.6 key passes per game from his 27 outings.

That real standout campaign ensures that PSV youth product now has an overall record of 42 goals and 33 assists in 134 games across all competitions at senior level, proving himself a hugely impactful presence in the final third, both as a creator and a goal-getter.

Not just a flash in the pan, the 6 foot 2 wideman has begun the new season in stunning form also, netting once and providing two assists in the recent 5-3 victory over rivals Ajax in what was a thrilling Dutch Super Cup showdown.

That display saw the £27m-rated ace record a truly remarkable 8.7 match rating, as per SofaScore, having averaged a 7.51 rating during the 2021/22 campaign in the league – the highest among his teammates.

The transition to life in England is never easy, although all the signs point to a player who could sparkle under Arteta’s watch if he were to be signed in the coming weeks, with supporters set to be in for a treat if they do get to see the exciting prospect in action this season.

AND, in other news: Arsenal plotting move for £19.8m-rated “assist machine”, could be better than Raphinha

Everton have been linked with a move for Conor Coady over the last few weeks, and now a new update has emerged from a reliable source on the club’s progress in making the signing this summer.

What’s the latest?

According to Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope, Everton “expect” to complete the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back Coady.

Hope tweeted: “Exclusive: Everton expect to complete signing of Wolves defender Conor Coady.

“Sources say Everton believe they have beaten West Ham to signature of 29-yr-old.”

Lampard should be relieved

Frank Lampard will undoubtedly be relieved that the club are likely to sign Coady before the transfer window closes, and the new signing could not come at a better time for the Everton manager following the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Goodison Park on Saturday.

It won’t be the scoreline that will have left Lampard with huge concern after the game, instead, the injury problems that unfolded throughout the clash with Ben Godfrey taken off on a stretcher and sent to hospital, alongside Yerry Mina sustaining an ankle injury during the game too.

Lampard confirmed that both would likely be unavailable for a while in his post-match interview so the addition of a centre-back should now be of utmost defence.

The Wolves captain has enjoyed three top-half finishes with his current club, but now that Bruno Lage is favouring a 4-3-3 formation, Coady no longer fits into the plans of the Portuguese manager and was consequently benched for their first game of the season against Leeds United this weekend.

The England international will likely come straight into the team to form a centre-back partnership with James Tarkowski, who was a huge presence against Chelsea yesterday making three clearances, two interceptions and blocking three shots, earning the highest player rating in the team according to SofaScore.

If the £62k-per-week defender can bring his consistency and leadership skills to the Merseyside club, for which he has been saluted by England boss Gareth Southgate, Everton could strike gold by combining those strengths with Tarkowski’s work ethic in the defence.

Everton are also expected to confirm the double signing of Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye, showing the intent of the powers at Goodison Park to strengthen the team going into the new campaign.

With that being said, Lampard will be keen to get the deal done for Coady as soon as possible to ensure his team can put yesterday’s result behind them and start picking up points in the Premier League.

Crystal Palace have been linked with signing Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi recently and the winger could prove to be Patrick Vieira’s own version of Manchester United star Jadon Sancho at Selhurst Park.

Palace are among a number of sides taking an interest in the 21-year-old, who could be set to depart Stamford Bridge on loan in pursuit of regular first-team football.

A product of Chelsea’s academy, Hudson-Odoi has been part of the first team for a number of years and has gone on to make 126 appearances, in which he has contributed 16 goals and 22 assists.

However, he was limited to just 11 starts in the Premier League last season, with the majority of his top-flight appearances in recent campaigns coming from the bench.

If the youngster has any hopes of reclaiming a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of the World Cup then he will need regular football at the start of this season, so a move away would surely suit both parties.

Chelsea are already aware of the benefit of loaning players to Palace, as they saw with Conor Gallagher last season, so they should definitely consider sending Hudson-Odoi to Selhurst Park.

If the Englishman does join Vieira’s side, then the £25m-rated wide man could play a very similar role to Sancho, who looks set to play a big part of Erik ten Hag’s proposed revolution at Old Trafford.

According to FBref, the former Borussia Dortmund man is the sixth-most similar player to Hudson-Odoi in terms of play style.

Last season Hudson-Odoi and Sancho register very similar numbers in terms of goals and assists per 90 minutes (0.28 vs 0.27) and short pass completion (86.1% vs 86.9%).

According to WhoScored, both Hudson-Odoi and Sancho excel at holding onto the ball, crossing, dribbling and playing key passes, which again emphasises that they can offer very similar styles of play on the wing.

Considering Sancho is regarded as one of the top prospects in world football, despite his relatively slow start at United, Palace would be foolish to turn down the “fantastic” Hudson-Odoi this summer.

Manchester United have ‘accelerated’ their move for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot after their opening-weekend defeat to Brighton, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

Sky Sports reported on Wednesday that United have agreed a fee for Rabiot with Juventus.

However, they also stressed that ‘there is still work to do’ to secure the transfer.

United’s football director John Murtough has been in Italy to negotiate personal terms with the player’s agent and mother Veronique Rabiot.

The latest

Jones reckons that the Brighton defeat underlined the need for alternatives to Fred and Scott McTominay in midfield.

And he says United have responded by doubling down on their efforts to bring in Rabiot from the Bianconeri.

“I think the main lesson that he could have learnt is that, apart from the fact that you don’t play Christian Eriksen as a number nine, Fred and McTominay have to have competition.

“That’s probably why they’ve accelerated the Rabiot talks on the back of it.”

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Jones also revealed that Ten Hag has personally spoken to Rabiot, partly to explain how he fits into his plans, but also to gauge the feelings of the player. He wants it to be a collaborative process, enabling him to get ‘the best’ out of the 27-year-old.

“Ten Hag’s talked to Rabiot,” he said. “And not so much to just spell out his vision for him, but also to understand what he wants as a player at this stage of his career.

“Because he left PSG under a bit of a cloud, the move to Juventus hasn’t gone well at all, and he just hasn’t fitted into the system that they play.

“So, he will need to understand from Rabiot, how does he feel he will thrive. He plays pretty well for France, but is that a certain system that gets the best out of him?”

The verdict

Fred and McTominay were so disappointing against Brighton that the need for an upgrade is clear. The former failed to win any of the four duels he contested and was dribbled past twice, while the latter completed only 18 passes in 78 minutes and picked up a yellow card.

Both players earned a SofaScore rating of just 6.3/10.

Is Rabiot the answer? Well, he is extremely decorated, winning a whopping 24 major trophies in his career.

Former United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has been told that he could be an ‘unstoppable’ force, but only if he’s in the right headspace.

He said: “I interviewed David Luiz when he was at PSG and Rabiot was still there and he said, ‘Rio, one of the most talented players here is Rabiot. But he just needs to get himself right, get his mindset right, his attitude right. If he gets that right he could be unplayable, unstoppable.'”

Fulham are reportedly eyeing up a potential summer transfer move for Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton-Diaz.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Sun, the Craven Cottage outfit have joined the race to sign the Chile international.

He has numerous other Premier League clubs, and teams from abroad, looking to sign him.

Imagine him and Mitrovic

After scoring nine goals and providing seven assists in 57 appearances for Nottingham Forest, the 23-year-old joined Blackburn on loan in the 2018 summer transfer window before signing on a permanent deal in the 2019 January window.

With 130 appearances to his name for the Lancashire club, Brereton-Diaz has 33 goals and 13 assists to his name, highlighting a deadly nature in front of goal.

In fact, with 103 shots at goal in the league throughout his previous Championship campaign, only five other players in the division managed more.

With 49 of those 103 shots being on target, only one other player that had more attempts at goal than him ended the season with a higher percentage for shots on target, showing that he is a clinical force inside the penalty area.

Clearly a nuisance for opposition defenders, it’s clear to see why a boat load of clubs are looking to sign him before the transfer window closes.

Hailed as an “extraordinary” player by Tony Mowbray, Brereton-Diaz certainly has the attacking credentials to be a useful addition to Marco Silva’s squad as they look to keep their place in the Premier League.

The Cottagers already have their own prolific striker in Aleksandar Mitrovic in their ranks, so having a player like the Blackburn star next to him could make the team a much scarier outfit to play against for the rest of the campaign.

The Serbian had more shots (198) and more shots on target (91) than any other player in the Championship last season, so playing next to someone with his attacking prowess could be the best way for Brereton-Diaz to improve his game and make the step up from the second division to the top flight.

Having drawn 0-0 against Wolves in their previous league outing, a player like the Chilean could be the difference for Fulham in that future when they need someone to be clinical and find the back of the net. Indeed, those slim margins could be the difference between Silva’s side staying in the division or not.

Despite the raft of other teams after him and the reported £20m price tag he has on his head, securing a late summer deal for the striker could top off what has already been a rather productive period of transfer business for the west London club.

West Ham United transfer target Hans Vanaken has publicly stated that he wants to join the Premier League club this summer.

The Lowdown

With the Hammers looking relatively stale in the middle of the park amid some criticism in recent months, the east London club are looking to bring in an extra player in that position to the London Stadium.

According to reports, West Ham have identified Club Brugge star Vanaken as a priority ahead of the transfer window closing in just over a week’s time.

As per The Guardian, David Moyes’ side had an initial £8m bid rejected for the 29-year-old. However, it doesn’t appear that they are giving up the chase any time soon, for they have already upped their bid as they hope to close in on a deal for the Belgian.

The Latest

Amid speculation of a move to the Premier League, Vanaken has made public his intent to join West Ham this summer.

Speaking live to Eleven Football, as shared by Irons-focused Twitter outlet West Ham News & Views, the Belgian claimed: “This may be my last chance, I want to take it. There will be new talks next week…”

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The Verdict

When looking at the midfielder’s underlying statistics, it is clear to see that Vanaken has many of the attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League.

As per FBRef, compared with positional peers across Europe’s major leagues over the past year, the 29-year-old ranks in the 99th percentile for aerials won, the 98th percentile for progressive passes and the 94th percentile for non-penalty goals and interceptions.

Hailed as an ‘incredible player’ by Club Brugge coach Carl Hoefkins, it isn’t surprising that Vanaken has caught the eye of West Ham.

However, with the September 1 deadline nearing, the Hammers will need to move quickly to bring him in, so an increased bid from GSB could emerge in the coming days.

Everton have reportedly made an approach to try and sign Al Hilal winger Matheus Pereira.

The Lowdown: West Brom spell

The 25-year-old will be a name familiar to Toffees supporters from his spell at West Brom, where he netted an impressive 20 goals and supplied a further 26 assists in 77 games across all competitions, including 17 goal contributions in the Premier League (Transfermarkt).

Hailed as an ‘unbelievable’ player by podcaster Joe Wainman, and dubbed ‘really exciting’ by former top-flight striker Emile Heskey, Pereira is now playing for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, where he has three goals and 15 assists in 34 matches (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Everton approach

As per the print edition of The Daily Mirror (28 August, page 78, via Goodison News), Everton and Leicester City have both made an approach to sign Pereira.

The Brazilian could be made available in the last few days of the transfer window, and the player himself would like to return to England, with the Merseyside club making an official enquiry.

The Verdict: Smart signing

Given his previous pedigree in English football, Pereira would certainly be a smart signing by Frank Lampard’s team.

As The Liverpool Echo journalist Ell Bretland put it, the winger is ‘great to watch’, and he would certainly get Toffees fans off of their seats, while he also has the added asset of being a ‘set-piece specialist’.

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Indeed, the 26-year-old is unfailing from the penalty spot, scoring every one that he has taken in his career, while also being adept at netting from direct free kicks.

Also, Pereira has already scored and assisted against Everton before, so they are fully aware of the qualities that he would bring to Goodison Park.

Manchester United made ‘last-minute’ enquiries over potential striker signings as a Deadline-Day contingency plan, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport. 

The lowdown

The Red Devils have two centre-forwards at their disposal in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Anthony Martial.

The former pushed to leave Old Trafford during the summer transfer window in the hope of securing Champions League football, while the latter’s prospects at the club appeared bleak after he was loaned to Sevilla last season.

At least Erik ten Hag did manage to strengthen his frontline, with the £86m signing of right winger Antony confirmed on the final day of the transfer window.

The latest

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said that United weren’t actively looking to sign another striker but did make contact over some potential options ‘just in case Ronaldo left’.

He stated: “They were happy with the Antony signing once they could announce that. Once it was clear that Ronaldo was staying, nobody was going to be coming in.

“Obviously, they made enquiries just in case Ronaldo left last minute, but none of that came to anything.”

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The verdict

United probably will need another striker next summer.

Even if he changes his mind about wanting to leave, Ronaldo will be 38 by the end of the season, leaving the Red Devils in need of a long-term successor.

There must also be doubts about Martial’s capacity to play in that role regularly after he was deemed surplus to requirements in the second half of last season, being loaned out to Sevilla.

Who might they be looking at as a successor to that duo?

One potential option is Napoli’s Victor Osimhen. Sky Sport Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg recently reported that the Nigerian has been placed ‘on the list’ because Old Trafford officials see ‘a lot of quality and development potential in him’.

It may be that the 23-year-old is their ‘top target’ in future windows, and having hit double figures in each of his last four league campaigns, he could be an astute option to bring in.

Derby County remain keen to make Liam Rosenior their permanent manager despite a recent dip in form, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

The Lowdown: Taking the reins

The Rams have been adapting to life in League One since their relegation from the Championship, with the 38-year-old having formerly been assistant manager at Pride Park alongside Wayne Rooney.

When the ex-boss handed in his resignation in June, the Wandsworth-born man took over as interim and has been in the dugout ever since.

Recent reports suggested that the Midlands outfit wanted to officially offer him the job, and despite suffering a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Lincoln City on Tuesday, it appears that the situation is still very much the same.

The Latest: Rosenior job update

Asked during a Twitter Q&A whether Rosenior’s role was in danger due to Derby’s current underwhelming form, Nixon responded:

“Derby been trying to sort out the deal for weeks … be a bit foolish to change that plan after a couple of poor results.”

The Verdict: Fully deserved

Derby supporters will understandably be frustrated having lost the last two games on the bounce, but Rosenior is still the right man for the job.

This season, the coach has guided the Rams to three wins and two draws in eight third-tier games, which now sees them just two points away from the playoffs.

There’s been so much uncertainty at the club over the last 12 months with the situation off the pitch, but Rosenior has remained a constant and stayed loyal to the club, with his efforts likely to be rewarded in the near future.

Celtic are reportedly now readying a ‘huge’ offer for Ange Postecoglou in the hope that they can tie him down to a new deal.

The Lowdown: Brighton target

It was reported that the Hoops boss was a ‘key target’ for Brighton and Hove Albion after Graham Potter left to join Chelsea, and while they have since appointed Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach, Postecoglou’s name is still in the rumour mill.

Indeed, pundits believe he will become a target for several other Premier League clubs thanks to his excellent start to life at Celtic.

The Latest: ‘Huge’ offer ready

As per Football Insider, the Hoops are now readying a ‘huge’ offer for Postecoglou in the hope that he will sign an improved long-term contract.

They are keen to tie him down after he was targeted by the Seagulls, and want to make it harder and more expensive for any other clubs to try and poach him.

The Verdict: Deserved

A bumper new deal for Postecoglou would be fully deserved, and would help fend off any potential interest from other clubs in the Premier League or abroad.

He is currently averaging 2.21 points per game at Parkhead, the most for any side that he has managed, and of course helped wrestle the Scottish Premiership title back off of the hands of bitter rivals Rangers last season.

The Australian has made a good start to this league campaign as well, sitting two points clear at the top of the table, and could be set for back-to-back titles with the Bhoys.