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An update has emerged on Portsmouth forward Ronan Curtis, regarding his potential exit this month.

What’s the talk?

According to The News, there has been no movement behind the scenes on an exit from Fratton Park for winger Ronan Curtis.

The report claims that the attacker has made it clear that he would like to test himself at Championship level, but there is nothing in the works to see him make the step up this summer. Cardiff, Preston and Blackburn are said to have been keen on the Irishman but nothing has materialised as of yet.

Pompey fans will be buzzing

Portsmouth fans will surely be buzzing with this news as it appears to indicate that there is a strong chance Curtis will still be at the club by the time the window closes next week. Never say never in football, of course, but with nothing imminent, at the moment, Pompey fans can afford to be hopeful of the forward being available to Danny Cowley until January, at least.

Despite failing to register a goal or assist in the first four League One matches of the season, the overall standard of Curtis’ performances has been impressive. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.05, creating 1.5 chances and making an eye-catching 2.8 tackles per game.

This comes after he averaged a score of 7.11 in the 2020/21 campaign, scoring 10 and assisting seven in 42 matches for the club. Last season, Cowley claimed that Curtis is going to become a top player if he can control his emotions on the pitch. He told The News:

“There’s a lot of work to do on that because he’s going to be a top player – and to become a top player you must always be in emotional control otherwise the opponent is going to see that as a weakness and try to exploit that.

“The higher level you go, the more emotional it is and the more you’ve got to show control.

“We are working really hard with Ronan. He is so willing and keen to want to improve in that area and he was brilliant on Saturday.”

This highlights how valuable he is to Portsmouth and why fans would be delighted to see him remain at Fratton Park for the foreseeable future.

It could be difficult for Cowley to replace a player who is able to deliver consistent performances along with goals and assists, especially if he left in the final few days of the window.

Hopefully, the Ireland international will be able to hit the heights of his 2020/21 campaign and his goals and assists will be able to fire Pompey to the Championship, which is where he wants to play.

A number of Liverpool fans are unhappy at James Pearce’s latest tweet suggesting that the Reds won’t sign a new central midfielder this summer.

Jurgen Klopp’s men beat Burnley 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday afternoon in what was a professional performance in front of a full home crowd. The Clarets actually played well for much of the game, but Liverpool’s quality shone through, with Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane getting the goals for the hosts.

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There were impressive performances by Reds players all over the pitch, but they arguably caught the eye most in midfield, with Jordan Henderson, Harvey Elliott and Naby Keita all playing well.

Taking to Twitter on Sunday morning, Pearce suggested that it was further proof that a replacement for Gini Wijnaldum isn’t needed this summer, with Klopp having plenty of options at his disposal.

In accompaniment to an article in The Athletic elaborating on his point, he stated: “Long way to go and tougher tests to come but signs that Klopp maybe right about not needing to buy a replacement for Wijnaldum this summer. Keita off to an impressive start and Elliott’s creative spark gives the midfield a new dimension.”

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Liverpool fans fume at James Pearce tweet

These Liverpool fans were frustrated with the post, however, taking to Twitter to vent their anger over the Reds’ continued lack of spending. One even dubbed the journalist an “FSG propaganda machine” for his apparent backing of the club’s owners’ transfer stance.

“It’s been 2 games man, please“

Credit: @AyandaLFC

“Excuses have started. Let’s wait a few weeks when all our injury-prone midfielders are back to the treatment room”

Credit: @ChampionsAnchee

“2 games into the season and the FSG propaganda machine is rolling”

Credit: @SFJosh_

“We’ve played dross like Burnley and Norwich and the meaningless prop has already begun”

Credit: @beamerrrrr

“Here we go”

Credit: @davidcheveaux

“Oh no”

Credit: @KayethenLFC

In other news, one Liverpool player is reportedly on the verge of leaving the club. Find out who it is here.

Carlton Palmer believes Adam Reach will prove to be a shrewd piece of business and could help fire West Bromwich Albion to an immediate Premier League return.

Reach was among a host of players to be released by Sheffield Wednesday when his contract expired at the end of June.

Despite suffering relegation to League One with the Owls last season, promotion favourites West Brom acquired the winger’s services a matter of days before their Championship campaign got underway with a stalemate at Bournemouth.

The 28-year-old, who boasts 306 appearances in the second tier of English football, is yet to make his Baggies debut but will give new boss Valerien Ismael another wide option following Matheus Pereira’s exit for Saudi Arabian outfit Al Hilal.

Former West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Palmer believes Reach will thrive under the guidance of Ismael, who moved into the Hawthorns dugout as Sam Allardyce’s successor in June.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Palmer said: “I think Adam has a lot of potential.

“It’s very difficult when you’re in a struggling side which doesn’t have too much ambition or desire, but Adam is a very talented player.

“I could always see him going to somewhere like West Brom and being part of a promotion-chasing team.”

Mason Greenwood completing a permanent move to Spain would please La Liga president Javier Tebas, as he does not care about the forward’s past.

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• Winger taking in Spanish loan spell
• Permanent move on the cards
• La Liga president unfazed by past

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  One-cap England international Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. He was suspended by Manchester United, but saw all charges against him dropped in February 2023 – eventually paving the way for a loan move to Getafe.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Greenwood has impressed during a season-long loan, registering seven goals and five assists, with his exploits said to be catching the eye of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. A permanent transfer could be on the cards for 2024, with Tebas explaining why he would be happy to see a deal pushed through.

• WHAT TEBAS SAID

  La Liga chief Tebas has told a media briefing at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit: “He’s doing really well at Getafe as a player and I hope he continues to be successful and he continues to stay in Spanish football because that’s always good for us. He is just another player. He had a past, but not a past we can do anything about. He was innocent and wasn’t condemned. We can’t be judges for everything. If we did that, we’d have no teams. I’m a lawyer, so it’s important to say he is not condemned. He was acquitted here [in the UK]. Should we have reopened the case in Spain? Do I know the case in great detail? No. Greenwood was not condemned, so I don’t care.”

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  United are expected to sanction a sale in the next transfer window, although Sir Jim Ratcliffe has left the door ajar for a return to Old Trafford. The INEOS chief has said: “It’s quite clear we have to make a decision. There is no decision that’s been made. We will make a decision, and we will justify it one way or the other. He’s on loan obviously, but he’s not the only one – we’ve got one or two footballers that we have to deal with and we have to make a decision on, so we will do that.”

The Danish striker made it seven goals in his last six matches to fire Erik ten Hag's side to a narrow victory against a determined Luton

Rasmus Hojlund could not score in his first 14 Premier League games but is now truly on fire and his double was enough to give Manchester United a scrappy, barely deserved 2-1 win at Luton Town.

The Dane scored for the sixth league game in a row to give United the lead after just 40 seconds, staying alert to pounce on a Luton error and calmly round goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski. In the seventh minute he knocked in an Alejandro Garnacho strike into the net with his chest to put the visitors in full command.

United could not live up to their dream start, though, and Luton captain Carlton Morris halved the deficit while the Red Devils were lucky not to concede again before the break, while Casemiro was fortunate not to be sent off.

Luton continued to pile on the pressure and United failed to take their chances on the break, with Garnacho particularly wasteful. They had to ride out a nervy few minutes, helped by the unstoppable Jonny Evans, and eventually secured a fourth consecutive league victory, taking them within three points of fifth-placed Tottenham and five of Aston Villa in fourth.

After a dire first half of the season, the hunt for Champions League football is truly on. GOAL rates Man United's players from Kenilworth Road…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Andre Onana (6/10):

  Could have done more to put Morris off. His footwork helped slow the game down and ease the pressure.

  Diogo Dalot (5/10):

  Couldn't cope with Alfie Doughty for large spells and messed up a potential one-on-one with Thomas Kaminski.

  Harry Maguire (5/10):

  A bit of a wobbly performance. Late to numerous tackles and could have been booked long before he finally saw yellow. Taken off at half-time as a precaution.

  Raphael Varane (8/10):

  A highly effective last wall of defence, making block after block after Luton breached midfield and the flanks.

  Luke Shaw (6/10):

  Had some nice passages of play and put out numerous fires, including getting a booking for a meaty challenge. Taken off before half-time amid fears of another injury.

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  Midfield

  Kobbie Mainoo (8/10):

  A class act. His nimble footwork helped United play their way out of Luton's aggressive press and he also read the game superbly.

  Casemiro (5/10):

  Very fortunate not to earn another booking for taking out Barkley, with Erik ten Hag sensibly removing him at half-time. Despite his struggles against Barkley, he sparked the move for the first goal with a punt downfield, which Hojlund capitalised on.

  Bruno Fernandes (5/10):

  Made plenty of sloppy passes but worked hard to contain Luton late on and made a vital block to prevent Gabriel Osho from levelling.

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  Attack

  Alejandro Garnacho (4/10):

  Made lots of bad decisions, above all when he bungled his attempt to dribble around Kaminski. At least he got an assist.

  Rasmus Hojlund (9/10):

  That's seven goals in six matches for the Dane, who is starting to look like the true heir to Ruud van Nistelrooy – United's last proper 'fox in the box'. He showed awareness and composure for his early goal and cheekiness for his second. Also held the ball up superbly.

  Marcus Rashford (5/10):

  Some promising moments but overall a disappointment. Should have released Garnacho far earlier in the first half but made amends with a dream pass, which the Argentina international squandered.

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  Subs & Manager

  Victor Lindelof (6/10):

  Did better deputising at left-back than last week at Villa but still picked up a yellow card.

  Scott McTominay (6/10):

  Brought on at half-time and held the ball up well while working hard in defence.

  Jonny Evans (8/10):

  Outstanding when he came on, heading and booting away every ball that came his way. Also showed impressive stamina to storm forward in the last minute.

  Sofyan Amrabat (N/A):

  Brought on in the 86th minute to shore up the defence and see out the win.

  Erik ten Hag (6/10):

  His substitutes made sense and averted potential red cards but the way his side had to cling on for so much of the second half should concern him.

Sheffield United have been dealt a knockout blow in their bid to bring Harvey Elliott to Bramall Lane this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that Liverpool will not be willing to allow the 18-year-old to leave the club on loan in the summer transfer window, as Jurgen Klopp will need cover for both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane during the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

An earlier report had claimed that Slavisa Jokanovic was hoping the Reds would be happy to sanction the temporary departure of the versatile winger once again this summer, as the Serbian is considering a number of targets in a bid to improve his attacking options in his United squad.

Indeed, The Athletic state that the 52-year-old went as far as to make an enquiry with Liverpool regarding the availability of the England U19 international, although he was told that he will have to turn his attention in the transfer market elsewhere by the Premier League side.

Jokanovic will be gutted

With Jokanovic currently not possessing a player in his Sheffield United squad that is a natural option on either the left or right-wing, the positions certainly appear to be ones in which the manager must bring reinforcements in ahead of the upcoming Championship season.

And, with Elliott having flourished during a loan spell at Blackburn Rovers last season, the 18-year-old – whom Jokanovic gave his Fulham debut to as a 15-year-old back in 2018 – would very much look to have been the perfect signing for the Serbian manager this summer.

Indeed, over his 41 Championship appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side last term, the £13.5m-rated youngster scored seven goals, provided 11 assists and created a whopping 14 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of one shot and making 1.7 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the man Elliott Bennett dubbed an “unreal” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.10, ranking him as Rover’s third-best performer in the English second tier.

As such, the addition of Elliott would have undoubtedly helped to ease what is sure to be one of Jokanovic’s biggest selection headaches ahead of United’s opening fixture of the season against Birmingham City next week, and missing out on the £20k-per-week forward is sure to have left the 52-year-old gutted.

In other news: Key development emerges on “superb” £8m dynamo, it’s a huge boost for Sheff Utd

Zinedine Zidane has revealed that he is "a big fan" of Real Madrid sensation Jude Bellingham, as he hailed the Englishman's "incredible" performances.

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• Zidane revealed himself to be a fan of Bellingham
• English midfielder shares Zidane's famous No.5 jersey
• Has scored 20 goals already this season with Los Blancos

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  When Bellingham moved to the Spanish capital in the summer, he decided to wear the No.5 jersey at Real Madrid, an iconic shirt previously worn by Zidane himself. While many scoffed at the daring of a 20-year-old, his performances on the pitch have silenced his critics and now the former midfield maestro himself has lavished praise on the youngster.

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• WHAT ZIDANE SAID

  During a chat with , Zidane said: "He’s an unbelievable player who does incredible things. You could have imagined what he was going to do, but he’s surpassed all the statistics with what he’s doing.

  "Don’t forget that he’s only 20 years old. He arrived at Real Madrid with a lot of desire, a lot of goals and he is setting the bar very high. He’s just showing everyone what he is and it’s great to see him like that. I’m a big fan of his and now we want him to win trophies with Real Madrid. It’s everything he wanted for himself.”

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Bellingham has become the poster boy of Adidas and has featured in several commercials promoting the new line of Adidas predator boots, which was once worn by Zidane. He first wore those boots against Napoli in the Champions League and also scored the second goal for his team in a 4-2 win over the reigning Serie A champions.

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Bellingham has 20 goals and eight assists to his name in his maiden campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu. He leads the goal-scoring charts in La Liga and has already surpassed Zidane's tally of most strikes in a season for the club with a brace against Barcelona earlier in October.

Former Scotland international Alan Hutton has tipped Celtic youngster Leo Hjelde to join Leeds United this summer, seeing it as a great opportunity for him.

The Lowdown: Hjelde linked with Leeds move

The Whites may be well-stocked at centre-back currently, but that hasn’t stopped them from being linked with an exciting move in that area of the pitch.

It has been claimed that Leeds are in advanced talks over the signing of Hjelde from Celtic, with the 17-year-old even compared to Liverpool superstar Virgil van Dijk.

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The Latest: Hutton excited by rumour

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton was hugely positive about a move coming to fruition, admitting it could be ideal for both Hjelde and Leeds:

“The next Virgil van Dijk? Wow.

“That’s a great opportunity. You go out on loan to improve as a player, he’s obviously done that. Whether he’s going to break through at Celtic, we don’t know at this precise moment in time.

“The opportunity to go down to such a big club and play under a manager who is a great guy, very exciting, very attack-minded, does everything right, it’s a massive lure.

“You’ll be part of the youth team but there is a pathway to break through into the first team.

“It would definitely excite me if I was a young guy, the opportunity to go to Leeds. I’m sure that’s one that could possibly happen.”

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The Verdict: Superb young prospect

Hjelde looks like a special young talent with a massive future in the game, so the idea of Leeds snapping him up is clearly an exciting one.

To be compared to a player of Van Dijk’s calibre – arguably one of the best centre-backs of the last decade – speaks volumes about his potential ceiling in the game.

If Leeds do get their man, Marcelo Bielsa will be able to ease him in gently and let him play for the Under-23s, especially with Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk all representing more experienced options at the back for now.

In other news, a journalist has raved about one Leeds target – find out who it is here.

AC Milan could sell their star player Rafael Leao in the summer if they receive offers in excess of €100m.

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• Milan ready to sell Leao
• Would demand transfer fee in excess of €100m
• Linked with a move to PSG and Newcastle

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Leao, who has attracted interest from several top European sides including Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United, could be sold in the summer if AC Milan receives offers over €100m, according to . The Portuguese winger reportedly has a release clause of €175m in his existing contract which means that the Serie A giants won't entertain any double-digit offers.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  After Kylian Mbappe communicated his decision to leave PSG as a free agent at the end of the ongoing campaign, the Ligue 1 champions are considering raiding the Italian league. Other than the Milan attacker, they have also shown interest in Inter's Lautaro Martinez and Napoli talisman Victor Osimhen.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Leao did not have the best of starts in the ongoing 2023/24 season having scored only seven goals in 29 appearances for the club across all competitions. Nonetheless, he has age on his side and could prove to be a perfect candidate to fill Mbappe's boots at PSG.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR RAFAEL LEAO?

  The 24-year-old will be next seen in action for the Rossoneri on Sunday as they take on Monza in the Serie A. They currently find themselves third in the league, 11 points behind rivals and league leaders Inter.

Liverpool see attacking reinforcements as a priority in the summer transfer window, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Big summer at Liverpool

The Reds had a disappointing season but managed to salvage it by finishing third in the Premier League and qualifying for the Champions League in 2021/22.

The injury hit campaign suggests new signings will be needed in order for Jurgen Klopp’s men to challenge Manchester City again however, on top of latest addition Ibrahima Konate.

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The Latest: Romano provides key update

Speaking on Twitch on Monday [via Football Transfers on Twitter], Romano claimed that “signing attackers are the priority for Liverpool” this summer, seven words which are sure to be music to the ears of the Anfield faithful.

He added that the Reds are “thinking of signing wingers first because they will lose both Salah and Mane for AFCON” during the middle of next season.

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The Verdict: Encouraging news

This is an encouraging update from Romano, even though on the face of it Liverpool are currently well-stocked in attacking areas.

Assuming the Africa Cup of Nations goes ahead, losing Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane would leave a gaping void in wide areas, with someone like youngster Harvey Elliott possibly having to fill in.

It is, therefore, vital that at least one winger is brought in to alleviate that issue, with someone like Donyell Malen looking an exciting option from PSV Eindhoven, having scored 19 goals in the Eredivisie last season.

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to a key club update. Read more here.