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A major update has emerged on a Rangers transfer target, with a decision set to be made on a potential move to Ibrox under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

What’s the talk?

According to STV journalist Raman Bhardwaj, Hearts defender John Souttar is on the verge of deciding his future, with his contact at the Premiership side up at the end of the season.

He Tweeted: “John Souttar has narrowed down his choice to Rangers and two English Championship clubs as to who he’ll sign a pre-contract with. He’s set to make a decision this week. A host of clubs are interested in the Hearts defender.”

Excitement

This news will surely leave Rangers fans feeling excited as it appears as though they will know sooner rather than later whether or not he will be playing for the club next season. A decision is not far away and the Gers are in the final three-team shortlist, which gives them a great chance of landing him.

Supporters will be particularly excited by this as Souttar could be a fantastic signing for Van Bronckhorst and solve a major issue in the summer. Connor Goldson’s contract expires this year and he could depart for nothing ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, leaving a huge hole in the middle of the club’s defence.

This is where Souttar could come in and plug that gap as he has proven that he has the quality to be a top performer at Premiership level.

Former Hearts boss Craig Levein was previously effusive in his praise of the enforcer, saying:

“I’ve known him since he was 12 years old and he’s just got better and better. When he came here from Dundee Utd, we just needed to give him time. He’s grown into the player that I hoped he would be and for me he’s the best centre back in Scotland.

“Just for the fact that he can do wonderful things. His passing of the ball Saturday was fantastic, but he is also now capable physically of competing with any centre forward. His pace is very, very good and he’s strong, focused and aggressive.”

In the Premiership this season, he has averaged a phenomenal SofaScore rating of 7.43. Souttar has won 71% of his duels and made 4.4 clearances per game, in comparison to Goldson’s 7.18 rating and 66% duels won.

This suggests that he could come in and prove to be an upgrade on the Englishman, which is why this latest update will excite supporters.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Morelos: Rangers can seal ideal replacement in gem who scores every 1.7 games…

West Ham United have been linked with a move for Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard ahead of the January transfer window, with manager David Moyes eager to bolster his attacking options.

What’s the story?

According to The Express (who cite The Mirror), West Ham are one of two Premier League clubs interested in bringing the 30-year-old back to English shores following his disastrous spell in Madrid.

Everton are reportedly the other side keen to snap Hazard’s services, and Los Blancos could be set to make an £88m loss on the creative talent after listing him for just £21m.

Rob Newman can seal dream West Ham deal

If West Ham’s head of recruitment Rob Newman can entice Hazard to east London over the window it would be a dream deal, given his previous exploits.

During his time at Chelsea, the Belgium international established himself as one of the best players in world football, scoring 110 goals and laying on a further 92 assists in 352 appearances for the capital club.

Hazard also claimed two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, one FA Cup and one League Cup throughout his seven-year stay in west London, cementing his status as a club legend.

Former Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer previously claimed that the creative talent had the potential to become the best player in world football after lauding his “outstanding” 2014/15 campaign, while Jamie Carragher described him as a “superstar”.

However, Hazard has been unable to replicate the success he had at Stamford Bridge since arriving in Spanish football two-and-a-half years ago.

Injuries, illness and a severe loss of form have limited him to just 25 La Liga starts during his time in Madrid, with the £381,000-per-week gem providing just 14 goal contributions in his 54 outings.

But despite his recent struggles, it’s clear Hazard can still provide world-class moments of magic when on top form, and his arrival at the London Stadium would be a significant coup for the Hammers’ hierarchy.

With Said Benrahma potentially set to miss the entirety of January due to his participation in the African Cup of Nations, Moyes could certainly use some reinforcements in the final third of the pitch.

West Ham are currently sitting pretty in fourth place in the top-flight table, and the acquisition of Hazard may be the catalyst needed to secure a Champions League qualification spot come May.

And, in other news…Forget Zouma: Moyes must unleash WHU’s £13.5m-rated “monster” who’s “turned a corner”

As reported by football.london, some Tottenham players are now starting to return to Hotspur Way following the end of their isolation periods.

The Lowdown: Covid outbreak hits Tottenham

Premier League football has seen disruptions over the past couple of weeks due to intensifying worries regarding the Omnicron variant of COVID-19. English clubs have seen a rise in cases, which has even led to games being called off.

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After Spurs stated that eight players had tested positive for the virus, the club’s Europa Conference League match against Rennes was called off. This was followed by the postponement of the Lilywhites’ away fixture to Brighton on Sunday.

This comes after Spurs’ match against Burnley at Turf Moor was also postponed due to heavy snowfall, with Spurs at serious risk of facing an enormous fixture pile-up if the postponements continue.

The Latest: Spurs players return

According to reports from football.london however, a ‘massive boost’ has emerged at last. Several Tottenham players have been able to return to training following the end of their isolation periods, which were mandated as a result of the outbreak.

Spurs were advised by DCMS advisers and the Health Security Agency to close the first-team’s side of Hotspur Way last Wednesday. This came as a blow for Antonio Conte, whose side were preparing for their upcoming game at the King Power Stadium this Thursday.

However, reliable reporter Rob Guest revealed ‘some good news ahead of the Leicester City game’, confirming that members of the first team have been able to return to Hotspur Way following rounds of testing.

The Verdict: Good news at last

It’s hard enough bedding in new ideas at a new club without losing half of your squad from the training pitches, so this news will come as an immense relief for Conte in particular, who will be able to prepare his team for the Leicester game which is seemingly set to go ahead.

Spurs may be a little rusty following the postponements of their games against Rennes and Brighton, but Conte is certainly one to ensure that his players train at the highest intensity before Thursday’s clash arrives.

Perhaps the small silver lining for the Lilywhites is that Leicester have also suffered from similar issues, meaning there could be fractured squads on both sides.

The previous summer transfer window was a fairly busy one for Liverpool in terms of moving certain players out of the club, either on permanent or temporary deals, with Ibrahima Konate being the only new face to join the Merseyside club.

One player that moved away from Anfield over the summer on a loan deal was 26-year-old defender Ben Davies, who joined Championship side Sheffield United on a loan deal until the end of the season after not making even one appearance for the Reds since he joined in the previous January transfer window from Preston North End.

Back to the present, it seems as though Liverpool will have another decision to make in the summer when it comes to Davies’ next step.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by The Star that the outcast is likely to rejoin Liverpool in the summer when his current loan deal ends, with the Blades apparently not interested in signing Davies, who was picking up a weekly wage of £60k-per-week last season according to Spotrac, on a permanent basis.

With this in mind and the fact that Liverpool currently have five centre-backs in their squad at the moment, with three of them being younger than Davies, it would be in the club’s and Davies’ best option if he were to leave Liverpool on a permanent basis in the summer when he returns from his current loan deal if he isn’t likely to get much playing time at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp, which seems like it could be the case moving forward.

Given his lack of game time last season for Liverpool and the fact that they shipped him out on loan last summer, it does seem strange they the Merseyside club signed the defender on a lengthy contract that isn’t set to expire until 2025, even though Paul Carden, who Davies played under at Southport earlier in his career, called him “different class” upon his arrival at Anfield.

During his time with the Blades, Davies has made 10 appearances for them in the Championship, completing the full 90 minutes in all but one of them, showing that he has been getting a decent number of minutes under his belt this season, which will be good for his chances of another club potentially coming in to sign him in the summer on a permanent basis so he can bring an end to his Liverpool nightmare.

In other news: Forget VVD: “Influential” LFC ace with 1.5 tackles a game has been Klopp’s unsung hero – opinion

Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Luke Cundle is training with the first team ahead of Wolves’ upcoming Premier League fixture.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a claim made by Tim Spiers, with the journalist revealing in a post on The Athletic that the 19-year-old did not feature in the U23’s 5-0 mauling by Norwich City on Monday evening as the central midfielder is training with the Wolves senior squad ahead of the visit of Burnley on Wednesday evening.

In his post, Spiers said: “Poor night for the U23s, diddled 5-0 by Norwich at Aggborough. A mismatch of a team missing quite a few players (like Cundle who’s with the first team) and fielding some academy youngsters was torn apart defensively.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how exciting a prospect Cundle quite clearly is, in addition to the fact that Bruno Lage’s side have been desperately lacking in both creativity and depth in the middle of the park this season, the news that the teenager could be in line for a spot in the matchday squad against Burnley is sure to have left fans buzzing.

Indeed, the 19-year-old – who has already been appointed the U23s captain – has highly impressed over his 43 appearances for James Collins’ side, scoring four goals and registering nine assists for the youth team.

The manager himself also clearly feels as if the £180k-rated academy graduate is ready for first-team football, recently stating of Cundle: “He’s ready for that step up. Whether that’s with our first team or whether that’s a loan, because watching him [against Birmingham City U23s], I thought he was magnificent.”

And, while the youngster is predominantly a defensively minded midfielder, his return of 13 direct goal involvements during his time with the U23s would certainly appear to be a marked improvement on the attacking output of Lage’s current options in the middle of the park – with Ruben Neves, Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho having scored just one goal and registered one assist over their combined 35 Premier League appearances this season.

Furthermore, in a recent poll ran on Football FanCast, the overwhelming majority of Wolves supporters made it clear that they would like to see the 19-year-old given a shot in the first team, something which, following Spiers’ latest update, would appear to be a very real possibility on Wednesday evening.

In other news: Hatfield drops Wolves transfer claim on “unplayable” £17m-rated dynamo, Shi must act

Sunderland bounced back from their 4-0 defeat to Portsmouth prior to the international break with a 2-1 win away at Gillingham on Saturday.

The Black Cats are one point off the top of the table, with two games in-hand on Plymouth and one on Wycombe – who sit 1st and 2nd respectively.

Aiden O’Brien and Tom Flanagan scored the goals for Lee Johnson’s side after they went 1-0 down in the first half, with Elliot Embleton also seeing red for a challenge in the 67th minute.

Flanagan scored the winning goal from centre-back and put in a solid display defensively, but another Sunderland player stole the show on the day – Dan Neil.

The teenage gem was sublime for the Black Cats as he impressed and helped Sunderland control the match and, ultimately, win the game. He was solid defensively and offensively as he caught the eye ahead of captain Luke O’Nien and the goalscorer Flanagan.

Neil’s SofaScore rating (7.4) was higher than O’Nien’s (6.6) and the highest in the team in terms of outfield players who failed to score. This highlights how well he was able to perform in midfield as his statistics made him stand out despite ending the game without a goal.

He did, however, provide an assist as he set up O’Brien’s equaliser in the first half. Alex Pritchard spread the ball out wide for Neil in an excellent position on the right and he whipped in a delicious, teasing, cross for the winger to prod the ball home in the six-yard box. The teenager put the ball into the corridor of uncertainty between the goalkeeper and the defender, allowing O’Brien to sneak in between them and get his foot to it first.

This was one of four key passes he produced during the game as he showed off his creativity. Per SofaScore, he also completed 100% of his attempted dribbles, two of his four attempted long passes and 84% of his passes overall, with 68 touches in the 90 minutes. This highlights the quality he was able to provide when in possession throughout the game.

Defensively, he put a shift in. Per SofaScore, he made one interception, two tackles and one block, whilst also winning three of his seven ground duels. There is room for improvement with his individual battles, but his numbers show that he was still able to make a positive contribution defensively on the whole, to go along with his impressive display on the ball.

Therefore, Neil stole the show for Johnson’s side ahead of the likes of Flanagan and O’Brien as he played a key role in Sunderland’s comeback to help them continue their assault towards promotion to the Championship.

Newcastle United are now reportedly interested in signing former Chelsea star Eden Hazard.

The Lowdown: January move?

Previous reports from ESPN claimed that the North East club, as well as Chelsea, have been ‘alerted’ to the potential of signing Hazard in the January transfer window.

However, it is not clear whether he would like to leave Real Madrid at this moment in time.

It is safe to say that things have not gone well for him in the Spanish capital, as he has only managed to score a mere five goals and make just nine assists in 53 games in total over all competitions (Transfermarkt), far fewer than what the Bernabeu faithful expected given that they spent a whopping £150m (BBC) for his signature.

Thus, it would not be a surprise if the La Liga giants decided to cut their losses on the Belgium international.

The Latest: Magpies ‘interested’

As per Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), the St. James’ Park faithful are one of a number of clubs, including others from the Premier League, who are indeed ‘interested’ in signing Hazard.

Both Madrid and manager Carlo Ancelotti would not be against a possible sale, and the outlet even goes as far as to claim that he has been a ‘real problem’ for Los Blancos.

The Verdict: Look elsewhere

Hazard was a great servant to the top flight when he was playing for Chelsea. Even former AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, who has recently been linked with the Magpies job, is clearly a big fan, hailing him as ‘outstanding’ after a top performance against his old team.

He has scored a total of 198 goals for both club and country in over 700 matches, largely from a wide midfield position (Transfermarkt), which are highly impressive numbers considering where he plays on the pitch.

However, at 30 years of age now, Hazard is past his peak, and also carries injury issues with him, which is already a problem for the whoever the new manager is.

The Toon already have Allan Saint-Maximin as a superb left-wing option as well, and so the new owners should look to prioritise other positions in the squad anyway.

In other news, find out who Graeme Jones has ‘pushed’ for to be NUFC manager here!

Celtic will receive a £2m windfall for the transfer of Ryan Christie if Bournemouth win promotion to the Premier League, according to The Sun, cited by 67 Hail Hail.  

The Lowdown: Deadline Day business

The Hoops had a busy final day of the summer window, with three incomings and three outgoings.

Christie was one of those to leave, with the Cherries paying an initial £2.5m for the attacking midfielder.

Striker Giorgos Giakoumakis was the last permanent addition to Ange Postecoglou’s squad, costing just over £2m, and it appears as if that could be paid for thanks to Christie by next summer.

The Latest: Add-on details emerge

The Sun on Sunday, cited by 67 Hail Hail, claim that Celtic will receive a further £2m if Bournemouth win promotion.

They could then land even more if they stay up in a potential 2022/23 Premier League campaign.

The Verdict: Shrewd move

Christie was out of contract at Celtic Park in January, so bringing in an initial £2.5m in the summer was good business.

It seems as if it could get even better over the next seven months, which could, in theory, mean the Hoops’ move for Giakoumakis is all but paid for due to add-ons in Christie’s transfer.

All in all, it looks like a shrewd move by the Hoops hierarchy, who will more than likely be hoping Bournemouth can stay top of the Championship until May.

In other news: Celtic are considering boss with similar style to Ange; he played golf with Desmond last week. 

Speaking to BILD, via Sport Witness, Bundesliga reporter Christian Falk has made a Tottenham Hotspur claim involving colossal Bayern Munich defender Niklas Sule.

The Lowdown: Spurs once eye Sule move…

As reported in 2016, Spurs were well and truly interested in the powerhouse and tracked him under former boss Mauricio Pochettino.

A promising centre-back, he was also courted by the north London rivals Arsenal with Everton well aware of his potential back then too.

Bayern, however, snapped up Sule first by signing him on a five-year deal from Hoffenheim for an undisclosed fee.

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The Latest: Journalist makes Sule claim…

Speaking to Bild (via SW), Falk has now shared some information on the 6 foot 4 powerhouse with a claim that he once ‘would have gone to Tottenham’.

When asked on the rumours linking Sule with a move to Newcastle United, the reporter replied:

“It’s a possibility; he already wanted to go to England at 18 as the chat transcripts, which have now been published, have shown in the court battle.

“He was very, very happy to go to an English club under Kovac, not just United; he would have gone to Tottenham and other clubs.

“So, of course it’s a possibility if he shouldn’t extend at Bayern now, which it looks like it could happen. Newcastle are, of course, a club that can pay him.

“And I think he would be interested in doing some development work.”

The Verdict: Missed out?

A real physical presence and Champions League winner, Tottenham may have missed a trick by not signing the 26-year-old.

While he hasn’t exactly been starting every game for Bayern since his return from a long term ACL injury in 2020, Sule has still impressed when given the opportunity.

The 37-cap Germany international averaged an impressive 90.7% pass accuracy out from the back last season, displaying a cool head on young shoulders, something Spurs have arguably missed in defence for the last few years.

As his contract expires at the end of this season, maybe Tottenham could make a return?

In other news: Big blow for Nuno: Tottenham source leaks behind-scenes Hotspur Way reveal in managerial claim, find out more here.

Steve Bruce is set to make a change in goal for Newcastle United’s clash with Leeds United on Friday night, according to Tuesday’s Daily Mirror (via Chronicle Live).

The lowdown

Freddie Woodman has started Newcastle’s first four Premier League matches with Karl Darlow recovering from a bout of coronavirus that saw him hospitalised and Martin Dubravka sidelined by a foot injury.

But Woodman’s form has been unconvincing. The former Swansea City loanee has conceded 12 goals from a post-shot xG of just 8.9 (via FBRef).

After the 4-1 defeat away to Manchester United on Saturday, Woodman wrote on Instagram that he ‘wasn’t good enough’ but was determined to ‘learn and react in the right way’.

The latest

The report states that Darlow, who was back among the substitutes at Old Trafford, is to be recalled.

Following a tough afternoon in Manchester, Woodman will drop to the substitutes’ bench for Leeds’ visit.

The verdict

Steve Bruce has probably made the right call here. Woodman was excellent for Swansea in the Championship, and so Newcastle would have viewed him as a more than able deputy.

But his performances surely haven’t lived up to expectations, and his confidence will have been damaged ahead of a test against a Leeds team who unleash constant waves of attack, despite their own deficiencies at the other end.

It will be interesting to see how quickly Dubravka is restored to the line-up when fit. Can Darlow force Bruce to hesitate?

In other news, Newcastle have been dealt a significant injury blow.