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Southampton’s process of clearing some of the ‘deadwood’ St Mary’s this summer has officially begun, as it was confirmed earlier this week that centre-back Wesley Hoedt has completed a permanent move to Anderlecht, which brings an end to his nightmare spell with the Saints.

Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach confirmed the news on Twitter that the Dutch defender was gone for good, and you need only look in his replies to see that Southampton fans are delighted to see him finally leave.

The 27-year-old has endured a torrid time at St Mary’s since joining the club for £15m from Lazio in 2017 and whilst no fee is mentioned, it seems likely that the Saints will have to have taken a serious loss on him in order to sell him to the Pro League side.

However, it is still a boost for the club as he had one year left on his deal with the South Coast side, and would inevitably have spent another season out on loan or out of the squad had he remained with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad for next season.

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In the four years he has spent with Southampton, Hoedt has managed just 45 appearances for the first team, in which he has contributed one goal and one assist.

His last appearance for the club came in the 2018/19 Premier League season and he has subsequently spent time on loan with Celta Vigo, Royal Antwerp and Lazio, who were clearly not convinced to exercise their option to re-sign him this summer.

Having never made an appearance under Hasenhuttl, it seems clear that the Austrian would also have been desperate to see him leave permanently this summer, and hopefully, the money saved on his wages can go towards some summer signings.

Southampton have a number of centre-backs such as Jannik Vestergaard, Jan Bednarek, Mohammed Salisu and Jack Stephens who would have been ahead of Hoedt in the pecking order, so the Dutchman surely wouldn’t have got a look in next season, and Saints fans will surely be buzzing that he is finally off the books.

And, in other news… Ignored by Reed, now wanted by LFC: Southampton endured nightmare with £40m PL star

Leeds United are surely in line for a summer of change as manager Jesse Marsch looks to stamp down his mark at Elland Road following four largely joyous years under Marcelo Bielsa.

The Yorkshire giants moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a hard-fought point down at Crystal Palace on Monday night, keeping safety in the Premier League firmly in their own grasp.

Despite it being so early in his tenure, the American head coach hasn’t been afraid to trust youth at times, as evident this week as he turned to Sam Greenwood once again – the 20-year-old academy gem came on after just an hour with the Whites in need of an attacking spark.

Perhaps Marsch could find another interesting solution from the U23s set up in the form of Sean McGurk, 19.

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Heading into the off-season, Leeds have been linked with renewed interest in RB Salzburg dynamo Brenden Aaronson, who was seemingly a target prior to the 48-year-old’s arrival in the dugout but given he has managed the USMNT international before, those rumours will only increase further.

But he could well already have a player capable of filling such a role in the Liverpool-born teenager.

Primarily a left-winger, McGurk is more than adept at playing on the right and through the middle as a no.10, just like Aaronson under Marsch – 17 of his 25 appearances came on the left, with the other eight being spread across the middle and right, as per Transfermarkt.

Whilst the Leeds gem is yet to taste action in the first-team squad, he has been a regular for the U23s in the Premier League 2 this campaign, where he has delivered three direct goal contributions from 17 appearances.

McGurk’s ability to press from the front with relentless energy will surely catch Marsch’s eye sooner or later and that’s exactly what you’d expect from his former Salzburg star, who ranks amongst the top 1% of his positional peers for pressures (27.23 per 90).

His performances at youth level for Wigan Athletic is what caught Leeds’ interest, whilst his U18s coach Peter Murphy has waxed lyrical about his potential, too. He told the club’s official website:

“Sean was brilliant, he’s been amazing. He had a slow start to his scholarship with an injury in the summer, but since he’s been fit, he’s got himself into the team and stayed there. He’s so effective in games, he sets things up, he scores goals and he’ll always do that because of his ability.”

Meanwhile, McGurk’s efforts in west Yorkshire haven’t gone completely unnoticed either – The Athletic’s Phil Hay deemed him “a cracking wee player”, whilst the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Lee Sobot dubbed the teen “a bag of tricks.”

On the above evidence, Marsch could well already have an Aaronson-like starlet within his ranks. The former Latics sensation ought to get a look in heading into next season.

AND in other news, Forget Meslier: Leeds titan who won 81% duels was Marsch’s one shining light at Palace…

Daniel Pinder, the editor-in-chief of Get German Football News, has exclusively told Football FanCast that Taiwo Awoniyi would be a good signing for Rangers should Alfredo Morelos leave this summer.

The Gers, along with Glasgow rivals Celtic, were both linked to signing the 23-year-old striker back in January, with Premier League clubs also interested.

Awoniyi is currently on loan in the Bundesliga with Union Berlin, but whilst the Nigerian has produced some impressive numbers, his spell in Germany has been overshadowed by a muscle injury which has seen him miss the previous 10 league matches.

Despite his troubled campaign, the young striker managed five goals and three assists in 20 appearances this season, one of which came in their victory over Borussia Dortmund before Christmas.

And Pinder believes that his goal record in Germany would give him every chance of being able to replicate that record in the Scottish Premiership in place of Morelos.

But it would be big boots to fill, with the Colombian striker scoring close to 100 times in four seasons for Rangers, which culminated in their title-winning triumph.

He told Football FanCast:

“If you look at his form for Union Berlin pre-injury, he is a player that could potentially get 15-20 goals in Scotland.

“I think for Rangers for example, playing alongside Kent and Hagi, potentially as a Morelos replacement if he leaves, it would be a decent signing for them.”

Tottenham Hotspur are expected to make a move for a new centre-back in the summer…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Daily Mail journalist Sami Mokbel, who delivered a rather exciting claim to GIVEMESPORT this week. When asked about the central defensive department, he replied:

“I think that is definitely an area they will look to strengthen in the summer.”

Colossal signing

Spurs are certainly going to need to make further additions to Antonio Conte’s playing squad when the transfer window reopens at the end of the season and finding a new centre-back would be a good place to start.

The Italian has often turned to full-back Ben Davies as the third man in his backline as he is the only natural left-footer capable of playing as centre-back. He alongside Cristian Romero, who is only on loan from Atalanta, and Eric Dier is likely to be the first-choice trio for the rest of the season.

There appears to be little faith in his three other options – Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga – with the latter two being linked with exits throughout the winter.

Perhaps aside from Rodon, it’s easy to see why the 52-year-old isn’t keen on the other two as they have often been calamitous and rather error-prone. That much is summed up by their mistakes in the three games against Chelsea last month.

Whilst it remains to be seen what sort of defensive signing the club will target, they have been linked to some rather exciting names in the past, including Conte’s former title-winning colossus at Inter Milan, Stefan de Vrij, and Juventus’ big-money signing Matthijs de Ligt.

Both of whom would offer huge upgrades on his current options.

A lot of Conte’s recent success in stints at the San Siro giants and Chelsea have been built from the back and having solid options will certainly help bring success back to the Lilywhites.

He will surely be buzzing to hear that a new centre-back is “definitely” on the agenda.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Hojbjerg: Conte has formidable Spurs unit with £15.9m “extraordinary talent”…

According to The Telegraph, Daniel Levy could soon make a move for Zinedine Zidane as he continues the search for Tottenham’s new permanent manager.

The Lowdown: The search goes on

Jose Mourinho was sacked as Spurs boss over a month ago, but the north London outfit still remain without a permanent first-team manager.

In recent days, Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with a return to the club (The Guardian), while Antonio Conte has also popped up on Spurs’ radar after leaving Internazionale. Now, though, Levy may have another name up his sleeve.

The Latest: Spurs could move for Zidane

Zidane also recently left his post, departing Real Madrid following the end of the 2020/21 La Liga campaign.

As such, he could now emerge as a target for Spurs as they look to fill their vacancy as soon as possible, report The Telegraph.

The Verdict: Reaching for the stars

There are few, if any managers in European football who can match Zidane’s record. He has won the Champions League three times as a manager, adding to the one he picked up as a player, while he also led Madrid to the La Liga title on two separate occasions. Already a legendary footballer, he can also be classed the same as a boss.

Zidane’s salary was said to be €12m a year (£10.3m) at Real Madrid (wionews.com), which works at around £198,000 a week. It is unclear what sort of wages the Frenchman would be looking for, but anything in line with his previous pay packet would be a considerable sum for Tottenham. Still, to get quality, you must be prepared to pay top-level prices.

In other news, Tottenham plan to sell this man this summer.

Liverpool are preparing to open talks with Mohamed Salah over a new contract, Sunday World journalist Kevin Palmer has reported.

The lowdown

As Palmer noted, the Egyptian now has two years remaining on his £200,000-per-week contract at Anfield. His current salary places him joint-top of Liverpool’s earnings list alongside 2020 arrival Thiago Alcantara.

The Egyptian has finished as the Reds’ top scorer in each of his four seasons at Anfield, twice winning the Premier League Golden Boot.

He is expected to report back to the AXA Training Centre next Monday for the first day of pre-season training.

The latest

Palmer says that ‘some big decisions’ will be ‘taken soon’, with ‘no guarantee’ that Salah will end his career at Anfield. Liverpool are said to be keen to avoid a repeat of the Georginio Wijnaldum situation, with the Dutchman able to move to PSG as a free agent after reaching the end of his contract. [Sunday World]

The club are ‘hopeful’ that they can tie Salah down, although it may mean making a ‘special exception’ to their policy of avoiding long-term contracts for over-30s – the Egyptian will reach that age next June. They’re also keen to preserve the existing wage structure at Anfield. [Sunday World]

The verdict

Liverpool won’t want to be held to ransom, of course, but they simply need to secure commitment from Salah. They can’t allow the uncertainty to build.

The 29-year-old is still very much in the midst of his peak years, and there’s every reason to believe he can maintain his current output for another while yet. We shouldn’t think of 30 as the automatic threshold for decline – that’s too simplistic a view.

While it’s important for clubs to have principles, you also need to know when to compromise, and this is one of those moments where the Reds can’t afford to be stubborn. Salah is simply too important to them to let him walk away for nothing.

In other news, these Liverpool fans react to links with a youngster who shone at Euro 2020.  

Leeds United reportedly face Premier League competition in the battle to sign Maxwel Cornet this summer, with Watford showing an interest in snapping him up.

The Lowdown: Cornet linked with Leeds move

The Lyon left-back has been linked with a move to Elland Road in recent times, being seen as someone who could strengthen the Whites’ squad.

A move is yet to come to fruition, though, and Junior Firpo has since arrived from Barcelona.

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The Latest: Watford emerge as rivals

According to Foot Mercato [via Sport Witness], Watford are now also interested in signing Cornet, with Leeds also still mentioned as a suitor.

It is stated that the 24-year-old is ‘being followed by a few British teams’, but he will stay put with Lyon if the right offer doesn’t come along.

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The Verdict: Is there any need for him?

While the £10.8m-rated Cornet is a left-back of much attacking quality – he scored twice and registered five assists in Ligue 1 last season – Firpo has signed now and there doesn’t seem a need to bring in another left-back.

The hope is that Leif Davis continues to mature and will be able deputy for the Brazilian, meaning that funds can be spent on other parts of the squad.

Having both Firpo and Cornet battling for playing time may sound healthy, but both will be expecting to be first-choice and it may become a needlessly tricky situation for Marcelo Bielsa if he ends up needing to choose one over the other.

In other news, four players are expected to leave Leeds this summer – find out who they are here.

Everton will be hoping to return to winning ways when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in their Premier League clash at Molineux this evening.

Rafa Benitez’s charges have fallen to consecutive defeats at the hands of West Ham United and Watford in recent weeks following a fast start to the season, dropping the Toffees down to ninth in the table.

However, injuries to several key players have played their part in Everton’s recent slump and a much-needed victory over Wolves could take them back to within three points of the Champions League qualification places.

In Friday’s press conference, Benitez revealed he has no fresh fitness concerns, while star forward Richarlison is doing well in his return to full fitness.

The Spanish tactician is still expected to be without Abdoulaye Doucoure, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Yerry Mina for many weeks, but their enforced absences will present plenty of opportunities for fringe players to impress.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects the 61-year-old to line up for today’s trip to the Midlands, with two changes from the side that started last time out…

England’s No.1 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will keep his place between the sticks after carrying his good form at the end of last season and at the Euro’s into the current campaign.

Ahead of the 27-year-old is set to be a familiar back four. Although they conceded five goals against Watford in their previous outing, Mina’s hamstring problem means all of Lucas Digne, Ben Godfrey, Michael Keane and Seamus Coleman are likely to feature from the off.

There could be many changes made by Benitez in the Everton engine room, though. Doucoure’s absence was ruthlessly exposed by the Hornets, meaning a change of shape may be brought in to compensate.

That means Jean-Philippe Gbamin may get his first league start of 2021/22, lining up alongside Tom Davies and Allan in the midfield as the Blues look to sure things up in the centre of the pitch.

In attack, the £4.5m-rated Salomon Rondon is likely to be axed after failing to find the back of the net in his seven outings so far this term. That means, despite a lack of fitness, Richarlison starts up top. He is accompanied by Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend who occupy the wings.

And, in other news…Forget Doucoure: Rafa must unleash £65k-p/w EFC “monster”, he could be a game-changer 

Celtic head into their European qualifying clash tonight full of confidence after scoring ten goals in their last two outings.

It has been a quick period of recovery from the Hoops who began Ange Postecoglou’s reign with back to back defeats.

They crashed out of the Champions League but have a strong chance of qualifying for the Europa League group stages.

The Bhoys beat Czech outfit Jablonec last week and they head into the second leg on Thursday evening with a 4-2 advantage.

Celtic played some eye-catching attacking football in the first fixture but made changes to the team at the weekend which resulted in a 6-0 win over Dundee.

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Therefore, will Postecoglou make any different calls to his XI tonight? Here’s what we’re predicting…

We are tipping the manager to make as many as four changes to his team to take on Jablonec.

With Odsonne Edouard a doubt for the match with an ankle problem, Kyogo Furuhashi starts up top as he aims to add to his tally of four goals in just three outings.

There is one change to the offensive ranks where Ryan Christie is given a rest following his magical cameo on Sunday where he registered three assists. James Forrest – who scored in the first leg – comes back into the team on the left.

Another replacement is in the middle of the park where Ismaila Soro returns to the fray to offer more defensive protection in front of the back four.

Tom Rogic earned a rare start versus Dundee and even scored but it’s likely that Postecoglou will prefer a less attacking team on Thursday to protect the lead that they have.

Greg Taylor drops out at left-back with 19-year-old Adam Montgomery preferred. If the teenager does start, it would be just a second outing from the off in the first team.

One final change is at the heart of the defence as Nir Bitton comes back in after starting in the first leg. That means Stephen Welsh is axed with their clash against Hearts in mind.

Joe Hart continues in goal ahead of Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas.

AND in other news, Celtic must sign 25-goal “great talent” who could become “better” than Henrik Larsson…

Sky Sports pundit Paul Robinson believes that Celtic have pulled off an “amazing bit of recruitment” following the arrival of striker Giorgios Giakoumakis from VVV-Venlo.

The Lowdown: Giakoumakis arrives with a big reputation

Playing his part in an outstanding 2020/21 campaign, the Greece international earned headlines after finishing as top scorer in the Eredivisie with 26 goals [The Scotsman].

After completing a move to Glasgow on deadline day, former Tottenham goalkeeper Robinson believes that the Hoops have landed a bargain in the 26-year-old as they seek to reclaim the Premiership title.

The Latest: Robinson hails ‘amazing bit of recruitment’

It appears that Celtic may have brought in the forward for a fraction of his former club’s valuation, too.

Speaking to The Celtic Exchange Podcast, journalist Anthony Joseph detailed that Giakoumakis would likely have cost £8.6m to bring to Parkhead if VVV-Venlo had managed to avoid relegation from the Dutch top flight.

Eventually acquiring him for around £2.5m [The Scottish Sun], Robinson believes that Celtic have pulled off a wonderful capture.

In an exclusive interview with Football Insider, the 41-year-old claimed: “It was an incredible achievement to finish top scorer in a relegated side. It shows that he is a very good striker.

“For the price that they’ve paid it looks like an amazing bit of recruitment.

“Of course, there is a different level of expectation and pressure at Celtic though. It will be a big test for him, playing in front of those fans.

“From Celtic’s point of view though, it is not a risk because the fee is very reasonable.”

The Verdict: Giakoumakis has the requisite qualities to succeed at Celtic

Despite his goalscoring exploits in mainland Europe, Robinson correctly points out the high standards that Giakoumakis will need to meet on a weekly basis at Celtic.

However, the 6 foot 1 ace looks more than equipped to make a solid start to life in Scotland. He brings a bustling physical presence to the attack, illustrated in his average aerial duel success rate of four per game last season [WhoScored].

Perhaps most importantly, the Greek also offers a potent goal threat. In 2020/21, he managed to constantly provide an attacking threat for a poor VVV-Venlo outfit, registering 3.2 shots on average per game.

Currently getting up to speed fitness wise, Hoops supporters will hope he can hit the ground running in the east end of Glasgow.

In other news, a prominent Celtic journalist has issued a behind-the-scenes update. Find out more here.