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Stoke City are rumoured to be closing in on a deal to sign Manchester City youngster Liam Delap, according to Football Insider.

What’s the story?

Delap has been with Manchester City since 2019 and has gone on to make three appearances for the club’s first team over the years.

The forward has netted 30 goals in 27 appearances for the Manchester City under-23s team, and it appears as though those strong performances haven’t gone unnoticed.

Delap has emerged as a loan target for the likes of West Brom, Middlesbrough and Cardiff City in the past, which could have been a tempting proposition for Delap on a temporary basis, as he looks to further his development in senior football.

Football Insider have now reported that Stoke are close to reaching an agreement to sign Delap on loan for the 2020/21 season, with both parties believed to be in advanced talks over a potential deal.

Delap is a young talent who is clearly highly rated by Manchester City, with the forward already making three senior appearances for the club, whilst under the management of Pep Guardiola.

The youngster has been labelled as ‘powerful’ and ‘very impressive’ by Football Talent Scout in the past, and their glowing report of the forward should excite Stoke fans as their club look as though they’re set to sign the Premier League talent this summer.

The Potters certainly could benefit from adding a striker of his potential to their books, with Michael O’Neill not exactly being blessed with a forward with Delap’s eye for goal in recent seasons.

Delap will be keen to make a name for himself in senior football on a consistent basis moving forwards, and a move to the bet365 Stadium will give him the opportunity to do just that.

Stoke have been somewhat of a ‘sleeping giant’ in the Championship for far too long now, and they need a striker who can fire them up the second-tier standings this term to keep them in contention to make a timely promotion back into the Premier League.

Delap could be the answer to that problem as well, and if he can hit the ground running, then this could turn out to be a shrewd bit of business by the Potters and it’d be interesting to see how they’d fit the 18-year-old into their team.

Stoke are set to take on Reading in their opening match of the 2021/22 campaign this weekend, in what could potentially be a tough test up against Veljko Paunovic’s men, who narrowly missed out on a top-six finish in the Championship last term. Stoke fans will be hopeful of Delap being in their squad for that game.

O’Neill must do all he can to make sure this is a deal that’s completed in the near future.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has revealed that Glasgow Rangers will struggle to monetise interest in Alfredo Morelos this summer.

The Lowdown: Morelos targetted by Porto

The Colombian striker has already been the subject of interest this summer from Porto.

The Portuguese club had reportedly agreed personal terms with the 25-year-old (Antena1), although it is now unclear whether that is actually the case (Sunday Mail [June 27, page 57] via Ibrox News).

The Latest: Maguire thinks Gers will struggle to sell

Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire believes the Gers will struggle to get the price they want for the Colombia international. He said:

“I was talking to the chief executive of a club who had signed a player from South America recently.

“He said monetising interest is the difficult part. Is there interest? Yes. But converting that interest into hard cash in fairly distant markets such as South America is actually very tricky.

“It’s difficult even for massive clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

“For a club such as Rangers who has to really target markets because it doesn’t have a limitless commercial department, they would probably take a more cautious approach.”

The Verdict: Worrying

The Gers will be in no general rush to sell Morelos. After all, he has scored 94 goals in 182 games for the club since making the move to Ibrox in 2017 (Transfermarkt), and with a Champions League run to potentially come next season, Steven Gerrard will be relying on him to lead the line.

However, the 55-time Scottish champions know all too well that he will be eager to depart at some point. He has previously revealed that he would like to play in a more competitive league (Goal.com), while he has even said he dreams of playing in the Premier League (Radio Caracol). When that time comes, the Gers will want to get the best possible deal they can – a failure to monetise transfer interest would come as a huge blow to the club.

In other news, Rangers are set to ramp up their interest in this 27-year-old.

Writing on Twitter, reliable club insider ExWHUemployee has made an eight-word West Ham transfer claim involving 2020/2021 loanee sensation Jesse Lingard.

The Lowdown: Lingard wows…

The Englishman, signing on a temporary deal from Manchester United for the second half of 2020/2021, set the world alight under manager David Moyes.

Over 16 Premier League appearances for the club, Lingard bagged a brilliant nine goals and four assists whilst averaging more efforts on goal than any West Ham man (WhoScored).

As a result, reports have heavily linked the 28-year-old with a permanent move to the London Stadium and West Ham are believed to have set it out as a goal for this summer.

The Latest: ExWHUemployee makes eight-word claim

Writing on social media, the club insider responded to a fan question asking if West Ham had dropped their interest in the Red Devils ace going by what he had read about them making an approach for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

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Making an eight-word claim, Ex stated: “Nope Jesse is still the number one priority”.

The Verdict: Music to the ears of supporters…

Lauded as ‘absolutely phenomenal’ by talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham during his exceptional spell at West Ham, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

It is arguably crucial that the Hammers manage to complete a deal for Lingard and it would certainly be one of the best buys of the summer judging by his 2020/2021 campaign with the club.

ExWHUemployee’s claim that he is still a number one priority for West Ham should come as music to the ears of supporters.

In other news: West Ham in talks to finalise agreement for 24 y/o after extensive discussions, find out more here.

Swansea City have been dealt a potential blow in their bid to keep Steve Cooper at the Liberty Stadium this summer.

What’s been said?

That’s according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, who revealed in a post on Twitter that the Swans manager would not cost more to appoint in terms of compensation than the Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael.

Both Cooper and Ismael have been linked with the vacant managerial position at Crystal Palace in recent weeks, while West Bromwich Albion remain on the hunt for a new manager of their own following the collapse of a move to appoint David Wagner.

Fans will be gutted

Considering the impressive job Cooper has done since his arrival at Swansea back in June of 2019, the fact the 41-year-old will not cost a potential suitor more than Barnsley’s Ismael – something that would only appear in increase the chances of the Swans manager’s departure – is sure to come as gutting news for fans of the club.

Indeed, Cooper has led Swansea to a top-six finish in each of his two seasons at the club, and, although both play-off campaigns ultimately ended in failure – losing to Brentford in the semi-final in 2019/20 and, rather unfortunately, Brentford again in the final in 2020/21 – things very much appear to be on the up under the former England U17 manager at the Liberty Stadium.

Alongside these impressive league finishes, Cooper’s reputation for developing young players has also seen clubs approach Swansea about the possibility of taking their youngsters on loan, while his work on the training ground saw the club concede the fewest goals from set-pieces in their 2019/20 Championship campaign, as well as earning praise for their impressive style of football.

As such, if Swansea were to lose the services of the 41-year-old whom Andre Ayew dubbed a “quality” coach this summer, it would very much appear as if the club’s hierarchy would have an incredibly difficult – if not impossible – task of finding a suitable replacement to take over from Cooper.

It’s exactly why the news that the compensation fee needed to prise Cooper out from Swansea not being higher than Ismael’s, is worrying news for fans and the club.

In other news: Swansea dealt huge transfer blow over £4.5m-rated beast that’ll leave Cooper furious

Liverpool are interested in signing PSV Eindhoven winger Donyell Malen this summer, but securing a move for him may not be easy.

The Lowdown: Malen impresses for PSV

The 22-year-old is one of the hottest properties in Dutch football at the moment, scoring 19 goals and registering eight assists in the Eredivisie last season.

Malen’s form earned him a call-up to the Netherlands’ Euro 2020 squad and he has helped his country win all three group games in the competition.

A summer exit from PSV could be on the cards and Liverpool have already been linked with him in recent months.

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The Latest: Liverpool keen on signing forward

According to Anfield Central, the Reds have ‘genuine interest’ in Malen ahead of the summer transfer window, as Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his squad.

It is mentioned that it won’t be easy to sign the winger, however, despite his £25million price tag, with talks potentially not taking place until after the Euros.

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The Verdict: Great long-term prospect

Malen looks like a hugely exciting prospect and someone who Liverpool could look at as a long-term replacement for the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

At some point, the Reds legends will need to be replaced – both are now 29 – and the Dutchman possesses their blistering pace, directness and end product, as highlighted by his goal and assist return last season.

At £25million, Malen would also represent a bargain, given the potential he has and the fact that he is still only 22 years of age with the best of his career yet to come.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are delighted with one piece of news that has emerged from the club. Read more here.

Ange Postecoglou isn’t even in the building at Parkhead yet but he’s already set to taste the bitter pill of one of Celtic’s best players leaving.

The Australian is in advanced talks with the Hoops and all being well, he should become the club’s new manager.

However, as the Eddie Howe saga tells you, expect the unexpected.

What’s the word?

Postecoglou will have to manage a mass upheaval of the playing squad this season but as soon as he walks through the door, he may have to sanction the exit of Kristoffer Ajer.

The Norwegian has been linked with the exit door for a number of months now with Norwich and Newcastle monitoring his situation.

It would appear that the Magpies are now closing in on his signature, although the fee will fall someway short of Celtic’s initial expectations.

According to the Sunday Mirror (30/05, pg 76), Ajer looks set to become Steve Bruce’s first summer signing in a deal worth as little as £6m.

The Hoops reportedly wanted around £16m in order to let him go but their hand may have been forced with just 12 months remaining on his current contract.

Huge blow

To lose your best player is always negative but to lose the glue and stability of your side is a catastrophic blow.

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Edouard is the man who’s been scoring the goals but without Ajer in the defence, their shoddy backline would have conceded even more.

From a defensive point of view, this was a simply disastrous season for Celtic. The Bhoys conceded goals on a regular basis and let in a grand total of 19 goals during their shambolic Europa League campaign.

They were made to bemoan some ghastly goalkeeping errors in Europe but domestically, it was the likes of Shane Duffy and Diego Laxalt who consistently let the coaching staff and supporters down.

You only need to look at the six goals they conceded in two outings with Rangers towards the end of the campaign.

Laxalt was caught out by Joe Aribo on two occasions while Jonjoe Kenny was run ragged by Ryan Kent on the opposite side.

With Christopher Jullien set to miss the start of next season through injury, losing Ajer to the Premier League will only make them look worse at the back.

Celtic have Leo Hjelde to bring into the team following his loan at Ross County but at the tender age of 17, he is not ready to be thrown into the deep end.

He could become Ajer’s eventual successor but he needs to mature before being given consistent first-team opportunities.

Postecoglou will need to find a replacement in a swift fashion or Celtic will be staring down the barrel of another unsuccessful campaign.

Either way, supporters will be fuming that they’ve had to relinquish Ajer at such a small price; he is far more important to them than £6m.

AND in other news, Celtic buy McCann in £13m spending spree, Edouard axed: How Postecoglou’s XI may look…

This may have been a season to forget for the regular first-team players at Celtic, but it was one where the young players began to thrive.

Hoops centre-back Stephen Welsh enjoyed a breakthrough season in the backline while Ismaila Soro really came to the party in the middle of the park.

That said, it has also been one of despair for a number of youngsters coming through the ranks at Parkhead.

Cameron Harper has already departed after a lack of senior minutes while Karamoko Dembele has only featured three times.

With chances few and far between for those in the reserves, Celtic have made use of the loan system.

The Bhoys have no fewer than 11 players from their colt’s side enjoying temporary stays elsewhere.

Leo Hjelde has made a big impact while on loan at Ross County, being compared to former Celtic star Virgil van Dijk. However, the player who’s made the biggest splash is Luca Connell.

The 20-year-old moved to Glasgow in 2019 as a teenager after breaking into the Bolton Wanderers first-team. Yet, since arriving in Scotland, he’s not managed to break into the matchday squad.

When the opportunity to go out on loan arose, he grasped it with both hands. Connell headed to Queen’s Park where he’s helped them to win League Two.

The midfield had a big say in that and on his way to earning a winner’s medal scored three goals and recorded five assists in 13 outings.

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Possessing relentless amounts of energy, the way he strides forward is particularly striking. Following a goal against Edinburgh just a few weeks ago, the commentator calling the action said he had a “wand of a left foot.”

It’s a big impression and one that the coaching staff at Paradise should be taking note of. After all, the impending exodus at Celtic should lead to players like Connell finally getting a chance.

Scott Brown is leaving for Aberdeen and consequently, Callum McGregor has been tipped to earn the captaincy. He is vastly experienced but his performances hardly merit the armband.

He has scored only four times all season and has been somewhat of a liability. McGregor was considerably off the pace in last weekend’s Old Firm derby.

Already on a yellow card, the Scotland international flew through Glen Kamara in the first half and was rightfully given his marching orders. McGregor was late, rash and fully deserving of the punishment the referee dished out.

Thankfully, Celtic supporters shouldn’t have to witness him in the middle of the park for too long. With Liam Shaw arriving this summer and Soro improving all the time, McGregor should be sweating over his place.

Add Connell into the equation too and the future of Celtic’s midfield looks a particularly promising one.

He can pass, tackle and have an impact going forward; what more could you want?

After his performances on loan in the end of this campaign, the young midfield general simply has to be given a chance by the new management team.

AND in other news, Hoops given financial boost after big Celtic news emerges, McKay surely buzzing…

Former Wolves striker Steve Bull has exclusively told Football FanCast that Pedro Neto’s best position is out wide.

The 21-year-old star, who’ll end up missing Wolves’ final seven Premier League games, is also expected to be ruled out of the rearrange European Championships following a knee problem sustained at Fulham last month.

But when fit, the flying winger has played in several different positions since making the switch from Lazio in the summer of 2019.

Neto has started on either the left or right flank on more than half of his Wolves outings in the previous two years, but has been forced into a more central role this term following Raul Jimenez’s serious blow to the head at Arsenal.

Five of Neto’s eight Premier League goals have been scored when playing on the sides, and Bull believes that coming in from either flank is where the Portuguese does most of his damage despite Jamie Carragher comparing him to former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler back in December.

He told Football FanCast:

“He’s definitely a winger, he’s like a flying pig, tricky winger.

“He gets down the wing, and he can do it with both feet. These players coming to the club now are knocking balls with both feet – and Neto is one of those players, he glides.

“There’s him, Podence and Traore, they glide. I hope Neto stays, and once we get Jimenez back, Podence or Traore on the other side, we will give it a good go next year.”

West Ham United are one of the teams interested in signing Gerard Moreno this summer…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Calciomercato, who claim that after an impressive campaign with Villarreal, the 29-year-old talisman is attracting interest from the Premier League and Serie A.

It’s thought that three teams have come forward with interest, including the Irons.

Premier League rivals Newcastle United and Jose Mourinho’s new team, AS Roma, are the other two mentioned in the report, whilst it remains to be seen how much of a fee Moreno would command.

Transfermarkt and CIES Football Observatory both value the ten-cap Spain international at £36m. He cost the Yellow Submarines €20m (£18m) in the summer of 2018.

Best since Di Canio

David Moyes is in desperate need of a new striker this summer, so it’s hardly a surprise to see the East London outfit linked to an array of names, of which the likes of Chelsea outcast Tammy Abraham and Czech sensation Adam Hlozek have been mooted.

You could forgive fans at the London Stadium approaching this situation with caution as the Hammers have had a sordid past when it comes to bolstering their frontline.

For many, many years they have signed questionable options – the latest being Sebastian Haller, who left after just 18 months, with GSB making a £20m loss on his services.

Jordan Hugill, Simone Zaza, Nikica Jelavic, Mauro Zarate, Marouane Chamakh, Modibo Maiga and Andy Carroll are several examples of the club messing up such a vital position.

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Moreno, who has been in career-best form this campaign, can buck that trend to potentially become West Ham’s best forward since Paulo Di Canio graced the pitch at the Boleyn Ground.

Of course, there have been fleeting signs since then, with the likes of Demba Ba and Marko Arnautovic doing the Hammers a sterling job whilst Michail Antonio is probably the best contender for such a tag, though he was never an out-and-out frontman until recently.

The Villarreal striker has been immensely prolific this term, providing ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery with a whopping 30 goals and 11 assists in 46 appearances in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

Such form has led to La Liga expert Sid Lowe dubbing him ‘arguably Spain’s best player right now’ in April this year.

His ability to play anywhere through the middle, deeper or more advanced, is hugely appealing too – almost in that sort of Harry Kane role for arch-rivals Spurs.

In fact, during his time at Espanyol, he drew comparisons to Karim Benzema.

“Early on, he was in and out of the team, but under Quique, he became more like a 9.5 – like Karim Benzema, and it allowed him to become our goalscorer, but also our playmaker,” explained Geoff Gillingham to La Liga Lowdown.

“Gerard Moreno is Lionel Messi. Only from “Villarreal” is how El Pais described him earlier in the season and the glowing endorsements do not stop there either.

Villarreal president Fernando Roig believes he’s “perfect” and “capable” of adapting to different conditions.

Indeed, only Messi outscored (30) and outranked (8.52) Moreno in the Spanish top-flight this season but it’s clear that the 29-year-old talisman has an ideal mix of skills to be a hit in the Premier League.

Each game in La Liga this term, he averaged 1.9 aerials won, displaying his strength and power despite only being 5 foot 11, as well as 2.9 shots, 2.2 dribbles and 1.3 key passes, proving to be a dual-threat up top as he can also be a major source of creativity, via WhoScored.

All in all, these are all characteristics that bolster his claims to be the Irons’ best striker since the enigmatic Di Canio.

David Sullivan and co must look to sanction a swoop for the Spanish monster, whatever the price.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Ogbonna: GSB must seal £20m “diamond” who’s “very keen” to join the Irons…

Former Norwich City star Jon Newsome has told The Transfer Tavern that the club will have to let Emiliano Buendia go if they receive a bid of £40m this summer.

Reports have suggested that the Canaries have slapped a major price tag on the attacking midfielder, who has dazzled at times this season in the Championship.

Arsenal are said to be interested in a deal to sign the Canaries playmaker, per Metro, and he has been in absolutely unbelievable form at times, with Norwich romping to the Championship title.

He has made 35 appearances in the second-tier and he has scored 12 goals, while laying on 16 assists.

Still just 24, he is contracted at Carrow Road until 2024 but Newsome has no doubts that a huge bid would force Norwich into doing business, and he fully expects that there will be a number of clubs interested in snaffling him away.

He told TT: “Will he have clubs sniffing around him? Yes, I think he will. There’s been stuff in the papers already that they’ve put a 40 million pound price tag on his head.

“But if that kind of number comes in the door, it’s very, very difficult for a club like Norwich City to turn down really. So yeah, I fully expect him to generate a lot of interest this summer.”

Norwich secured promotion to the Premier League on Saturday without kicking a ball, although they were beaten 3-1 by Bournemouth at Carrow Road later in the day, with Buendia scoring the only goal for the hosts.