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Manchester United are closing in on the signature of Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane following a lengthy pursuit.

What’s the story?

According to Madrid magazine MadridistaReal, the Red Devils are just hours away from completing the purchase of the 28-year-old, with an agreement between the two clubs expected to be reached imminently.

They tweeted: “It is a matter of hours before United and Madrid reach an agreement for the transfer of Varane. The Frenchman is leaving, but he wants to do it in a pleasant way and very grateful to the club and Real Madrid.”

Fans will be buzzing

United have been linked with the World Cup-winning centre-back since Sir Alex Ferguson’s time in the Old Trafford dugout, so supporters must be buzzing to hear that he’s finally set to arrive on English shores.

Over the last decade, Varane has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world, making 360 appearances for Real Madrid, winning four Champions League crowns, three La Liga titles and one Copa del Rey along the way. He also lifted the World Cup with France in 2018.

He established a formidable partnership with Sergio Ramos during his time at the Bernabeu, but both halves of the dependable duo appear to be set for pastures new after the ageing Spaniard joined Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer.

Varane’s arrival at United will be seen as a significant coup for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. The 20-time English champions conceded more goals than any of their top-four rivals last season, highlighting the need for reinforcements at the back.

With Varane’s pace, world-class ability and experience at the highest level, Red Devils captain Harry Maguire may have the perfect partner next season, and Solskjaer will surely be aiming to secure his first piece of silverware as manager.

If United get this deal over the line and announce the arrival of Jadon Sancho, then the expectation to compete for major honours will grow even further.

Finishing in a Champions League qualification spot will no longer be deemed a successful season by the club’s hierarchy or by the fanbase, so 2021/22 could be a crucial campaign in Solskjaer’s managerial career.

In other news… Journalist drops exciting Man Utd transfer update that’ll leave fans buzzing 

West Ham United continued their pre-season preparations with a comprehensive 6-2 victory over Scottish giants Celtic at Parkhead [West Ham United FC Official].

In an enthralling encounter, the Hammers were in cruise control as efforts from Michael Antonio, Mark Noble, Said Benrahma, Jarrod Bowen and Armstrong Oko-Flex sealed an impressive triumph [Football London].

Edging closer to their first fixture of the Premier League campaign, the Irons will take part in friendlies against newly-promoted top-flight outfit Brentford and Serie A side Atalanta in a bid to reach peak fitness for 2021/22.

Seemingly building momentum at the right time, the East Londoners will be desperate to continue their clinical mentality in front of goal against Celtic into their opening competitive match of the season away to Newcastle United on August 15th [NUFC Official].

In light of this positivity, no wonder plenty of West Ham diehards took to Twitter to revel in the convincing win.

West Ham fans react:

Replying to the West Ham United official Twitter account, here is what some happy supporters had to say about their successful exploits in Glasgow:

“Absolutely beautiful! Come on you Irons”

Credit: @MrWood007

“light work”

Credit: @DQuinncroft

“Europa League is ours”

Credit: @STFCchaz

“Only a friendly but some lovely football and some great finishes – excited for this season- looks like we have some good youngsters coming through – They will do well under Moyes.”

Credit: @steved281

“Benrahma’s flicked assist for Bowen’s goal. Wow.”

Credit: @TheCam01491612

“Well done lads”

Credit: @colbyjaytait

In other news, West Ham fans rage at a reported transfer pursuit.

The Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser wouldn’t rule out a move to Tottenham for Southampton striker Danny Ings this summer.

The 29-year-old Saints forward was in inspired form last season scoring 13 goals in all competitions, and has 46 in 100 appearances for the south coast outfit in total, and with only one year remaining on his current contract, Southampton may look to cash in on their prized asset this summer and avoid the risk of losing him on a free next year.

Eurosport also confirmed earlier this week that Spurs were observing the situation of Ings, with Rosser telling TT: “Ings might be looking a bit higher but if nothing comes from City, United or Chelsea someone like that and Spurs come knocking with a nice little wage offer.

“The chance to live in London and play at the stadium, there’s not too many that would turn it down, so I wouldn’t rule it out.”

After failing to qualify for Champions League football last season finishing seventh in the league table, Spurs hired former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager and he will be looking to bring in his own players this summer.

With that in mind, although Espirito Santo will want to keep hold of his best players, Spurs may have to delve into the transfer market for a new striker, with Harry Kane heavily linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur stadium this summer.

Derby County have been handed a boost in their bid to keep Lee Buchanan at Pride Park this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Alan Nixon, with The Sun journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Nottingham Forest’s proposed move for the left-back is believed to have stalled.

It has been reported that Forest have made two separate bids for the Rams defender, with the first rejected due to the offer being well below Derby’s valuation of the 20-year-old, and the second knocked back as Wayne Rooney’s side would not feel comfortable selling one of their most talented players to a local rival.

This appears to have taken the wind out of Forest’s sails, as in response to a fan asking for an update on the situation of Buchanan, Nixon said: “Don’t think Forest any more. So that one has stalled.”

Music to the ears of fans

Considering the sheer amount of potential Buchanan seems to possess, the Rams’ resoluteness in their stance against the left-back’s sale this summer is sure to be music to the ears of Derby fans, particularly to their fiercest of rivals and despite the club being in the midst of a financial crisis.

Indeed, over his 35 Championship appearances last season, the £2.25m-rated man helped his side keep seven clean sheets, averaging 0.9 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and 2.3 clearances and winning 6.1 duels per game.

The defender also impressed in an attacking capacity, registering three assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 0.4 key passes per match.

These metrics saw the man Rooney dubbed “one of the best young left-backs in the country” earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.67, a rather impressive feat considering his tender age and the Rams’ battle with relegation last term.

As such, keeping hold of the youngster would not only appear to boost Derby’s chances of securing survival in the Championship next season, as the 20-year-old develops further, it also brings with it the possibility of the Rams cashing in on the England under-21 international for a much larger fee in the future – and ideally to someone other than the club’s arch-rivals.

In other news: Rooney sleepwalking towards his biggest Derby County howler, fans will be livid

Newcastle United have now reportedly agreed a deal to sign Joe Willock before the summer transfer window ends.

The Lowdown: Willock targeted

Willock is reportedly the priority target for the North East club in this window after putting in some very impressive performances during his loan spell at St. James’ Park from Arsenal in the 2020/21 term.

The central midfield player helped himself to eight goals in 14 matches in the Premier League while playing for the Tyneside club (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Deal reportedly agreed

According to 90min, a deal has now been agreed for Willock to move to the Magpies, and he has been told by the Gunners that he can leave.

Steve Bruce’s team have proposed a permanent deal which could be worth up to £25m including add-ons, and presents a ‘significant’ investment as it exceeds their reported budget of £20m.

However, a deal is no closer because Willock himself has not decided yet if he would like to leave the Emirates Stadium.

The North London club have told the Magpies that they would be willing to accept a loan offer with an option to buy, but they would prefer to sign him permanently.

The Verdict: Sign

So long as Willock agrees to move to the Toon, then they should pay the £25m fee, as he will be worth it for them in the long-term.

He already proved how much of an asset he can be to them, as Allan Saint-Maximin dubbed him as an ‘amazing’ player after his loan spell ended.

Nonetheless, it is a no brainer to bring Willock back – he has a proven track record on Tyneside, a great relationship emerging on the pitch with Saint-Maximin and is adored by the fans.

In other news, find out which ‘manager’s dream’ NUFC want to sign here!

According to an update by reliable club source ExWHUemployee, West Ham United could explore a deal for Slavia Prague forward Abdallah Sima after they were knocked out of the Champions League – with there being a ‘strong chance’.

The Lowdown: West Ham in forward hunt…

The Irons have been chasing a new centre-forward since the January transfer window.

Manager David Moyes confirmed that bids had been lodged for the likes of Youssef En-Nesyri at the start of this year to no avail, with the search for a striker hardly looking any more successful in this summer window.

August 31 is fast approaching, and despite some whispers of talks and advanced agreements for certain attackers, it doesn’t appear like anything is closer to being done.

The Latest: ExWHUemployee drops Sima claim…

Writing on his Patreon, ExWHUemployee now believes that West Ham may be presented with a signing opportunity after Slavia crashed out of the Champions League.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-gossip/” title=”West Ham latest gossip…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Both defender David Zima and forward Sima could be targeted by the Hammers and Ex believes there is a ‘strong chance’ West Ham ‘will go in’ for the latter man.

The Czech club’s chairman, Jaroslav Tvrdik, explained to Ex via Twitter that he would not leave in January but ‘could in the summer’ – with West Ham now potentially gifted the chance to explore a Sima deal.

The reliable Irons insider also explains that he could be seen as a ‘perfect alternative to Antonio’, especially given Sima operates as both a winger and a forward.

The Verdict: Get it done…

While no formal approach or registered interest has been made just yet, we strongly advise West Ham to go in for the move.

The 20-year-old, who bagged 16 goals across all competitions for Slavia’s first team last season, has also been called a ‘phenomenon’ by their club chairman – marking him out as an exciting prospect.

Sima also has the physicality to succeed in Premier League football, standing at an imposing 6 foot 2 despite his youth, but much will depend on the potential transfer fee.

Valued at around £9.9 million by Transfermarkt, there is an argument that a valuation in and around this figure could be doable for West Ham – though it remains to be seen if GSB would be willing to invest that much in a player relatively unproven at the top level.

In other news: ‘In the coming weeks’ – Journalist drops West Ham transfer hint involving 59-goal striker, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur’s chances of signing Lautaro Martinez have been dealt a significant blow this week…

What’s the word?

Earlier this month, The Times reported that Spurs had agreed a £60m fee to sign the Inter Milan striker, who would be signed to partner – rather than replace – Harry Kane up front.

Over the weekend, the same outlet claimed that talks between the two parties were ‘progressing’ well with less than two weeks to go in the transfer window.

However, in a new twist, it seems that the 23-year-old talisman will remain at the San Siro for the foreseeable future after his agent dropped a fresh claim to FCInterNews.

“Lautaro wants to stay at Inter. He believes in the Nerazzurri project and aims to win another Scudetto,” he said. “A meeting with Inter is scheduled for Wednesday. We will do everything possible to stay in the Nerazzurri. Martinez is very well in Milan, he has an excellent relationship with his teammates and with the new coach.”

Gutting blow

After the Serie A champions sold Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea, this revelation should hardly come as a surprise, though it still deals Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici a major blow.

Martinez is under contract until 2023, so the Italian giants are under no pressure to sell anytime soon.

He would’ve surely been regarded as quite the coup for Tottenham.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-more” title= “Read the latest Spurs team and injury news, transfer rumours, gossip and much, much more!”]

As per Transfermarkt, the 28-cap Argentina international delivered 19 goals and 11 assists during their title-winning campaign, averaging a direct contribution every 108 minutes, which is ten minutes more than the record of Kane throughout his entire career in north London – that’s impressive.

Furthermore, Paratici could’ve sealed him for just £60m, which seems an absolute steal considering that he’s valued at £72m by Transfermarkt. Lukaku earned Inter around €115m (£98m) and he was just as prolific as his former teammate last term, scoring 30 times in all competitions.

Martinez’s international teammate Lionel Messi, who recently swapped Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain, is a huge admirer of his.

“Lautaro is an impressive forward, especially because I think he is a very complete striker,” he told Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo. “He’s spectacular. He has impressive qualities. You could tell he was going to be a great player, and he is showing that. He’s very strong, really good one on one, scores a lot of goals, and in the area he fights with anyone, holds it up, he can turn, scrap to win it all on his own.”

At 5 foot 9 in stature, the young goal machine would’ve been the perfect foil for Kane in the attack, and considering his age, he could’ve taken the full mettle and pressure when the Englishman does eventually move on.

This stunning development will surely leave Paratici and co absolutely gutted. They’ll have to look elsewhere if they are to secure Nuno Santo that second striker he’s desperately craving.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Romero: Spurs can form scary duo by signing £55m “extraordinary talent”…

Many Wolves fans have been left reacting to some comments made by Patrick Cutrone.

Speaking to Sky Italy (via Talking Wolves), the striker commented on his imminent loan move to Empoli in the Serie A:

“Happy to be back in Italy. I chose Empoli because it’s a great club and a great place to play football. I tell the fans that I am really fired up: I can’t wait to get to know you all, get on the pitch & tear things up.”

Some members of the Molineux faithful were left confused by him claiming that he will ‘tear things up’, given his troubled time at the Midlands club, in which he has only managed to score just a mere three goals in 28 games in total over all competitions across the last two seasons (Transfermarkt), and he has been shipped out on loan to both Fiorentina and Valencia respectively.

Nonetheless, Cutrone does not seem too enthusiastic to stay at the Wanderers judging by his latest comments, and so it may be a wise idea for them to move him on permanently after his loan spell ends.

Wolves fans on Cutrone comments

These WWFC supporters gave their reactions as the comments were shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that Cutrone is a ‘joker’:

“For a starters mate. Tear up your Wolves contract and everything will be sweet”

Credit: @charliewwfc_

“Couldn’t tear a piece of paper dafty”

Credit: @wwfcrhys

“Who does this guy think he is?”

Credit: @kyewazza

“When has he ever torn things up?”

Credit: @danielcmila

“Tear things up … Behave”

Credit: @trev291

“How many years has this joker got left on his contract?”

Credit: @silentbob1957

In other news, find out what transfer update has Wanderers fuming here!

Some Wolves fans have been left buzzing as a transfer update emerged involving a potential swap deal.

As per SER Deportivos Valencia, the Midlands club are exploring the possibility of offering both Romain Saiss and Rafa Mir in exchange for Goncalo Guedes and Lee Kang-In.

Guedes is a player who has an eye for both a goal and an assist, having scored seven times and made a further seven assists in 34 games in total over all competitions in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt), while Lee can play in a wide variety of different positions across the front line and in midfield, and at just 20 years of age has a lot of potential.

On the other hand, Saiss is a player who has already been heavily criticised by the Molineux faithful during pre-season, while Mir has only played in a total of four senior games for the Wanderers throughout his career so far.

Thus, a swap deal involving these four players does look very appetizing from WWFC’s point of view.

Wolves fans on swap deal

These Wolves supporters buzzed as the transfer update was shared on Twitter:

“Let’s just beat sides 7-6, I’m all for it”

Credit: @calwwfc_

“Start the car”

Credit: @toddo08

“No brainer”

Credit: @jacobbwwfc

“Get. It. Done.”

Credit: @CrockfordJack

“If Mendes pulls this off”

Credit: @PortuWolves

“Yes do itttt”

Credit: @Matt123525

In other news, find out what transfer update has Wanderers fuming here!

Aston Villa target Todd Cantwell could seek a move away from Norwich City if their form does not drastically improve by the turn of the year, according to Dean Windass.

The Canaries are back in the Premier League after sealing an immediate return thanks to clinching the Championship title last season.

But they have made an underwhelming start to the new campaign and suffered back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.

The setback comes after seeing talisman Emiliano Buendia depart the club in favour of a club-record switch to Aston Villa despite playing a vital role in Norwich’s rise to the top flight.

It has looked as though Villa could return to Carrow Road for another of their key players, with Cantwell on boss Dean Smith’s radar.

While a move has failed to materialise so far, Windass believes Villa could look to seal a deal for the 23-year-old winger if Norwich are still struggling when the January transfer window opens.

The former Premier League striker exclusively told The Transfer Tavern: “It’s one of those situations where you’ll know where Norwich will be by January. You’ll know whether they’re going to be in a relegation battle or sitting pretty in mid-table.

“I think January will be the only time that he will move if Norwich slump like they did in the Premier League before.”