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Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici enjoyed an impressive summer window having secured eight major deals, although one figure who the Italian could not land was that of current Newcastle United star, Alexander Isak.

Reports as far back as May had suggested that the Sweden international was a player on the radar of the Lilywhites, following his impressive displays at former club Real Sociedad where he netted 44 goals in 132 games for the La Liga side.

As it proved, the north London outfit ultimately secured a £60m deal for Everton talisman Richarlison, with Isak instead opting to secure a late move to St James’ Park, with the Magpies forking out a reported, club-record fee of around £59m for the 22-year-old.

Although the decision to land the Brazilian from Goodison Park has paid off for Antonio Conte’s side – with the versatile forward having scored twice and registered two assists already this term – there may well be a sense of regret at not also splashing the cash on the promising Swede.

Conte himself has only recently voiced his frustration at not having made further investment over the summer, with the serial-winning coach suggesting that a gulf still remains between his side and the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

The addition of Isak could well have helped to provide even greater competition for places in the forward ranks at N17, with there likely to still be concern if leading man Harry Kane is struck down by injury in the near future.

The highly-rated youngster has already caught the eye in his early stint with the Tynesiders, having scored twice in just three league outings under Eddie Howe, including firing in from the penalty spot in the recent draw with Bournemouth.

The £45m-rated asset had notably impressed on debut in the narrow defeat at Anfield, lashing in a devastating effort past a helpless Alisson to give the visitors a shock early lead, before showing remarkable composure to fire in another clinical finish after the break, only to see the goal subsequently chalked off for offside.

Such a display showcased just why the 37-cap menace has been lauded as “unplayable” by ESPN’s David Cartlidge, having also been dubbed an “exceptional talent” by pundit and former Spurs striker Gary Lineker last year.

The 6 foot 4 powerhouse looks likely to go on to play a pivotal role for the northeast side both this season and beyond, with those back in the capital likely to be left ruing their failure not get him in the door at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As talkSPORT’s Jason Cundy recently suggested, he could well go on to be worth £100m in the near future.

West Ham and GSB faced a lot of backlash when Grady Diangana was sold to West Brom in 2019 but it now appears as if the board made the right call with the young winger.

After starring in pre-season ahead of the 2019/20 campaign it appeared as if Diangana would get a chance to shine in West Ham’s first team before he completed a surprise move to Championship side West Brom in a deal worth £18m.

Club legend and former captain Mark Noble spoke out about his disappointment with the decision to let the exciting young winger go, writing:

“As captain of this football club, I’m gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left, great kid with a great future!”

Diangana would play a key role in the Baggies’ promotion to the top flight in the 2019/20 season, contributing eight goals and seven assists in 30 appearances, which will have no doubt infuriated plenty of people inside West Ham, not least Noble himself.

However, the youngster struggled to adapt to the demands of the Premier League and managed just one goal and no assists in 20 top-flight appearances the following season, as West Brom were immediately relegated back to the second tier.

He followed that up with another disappointing season in the Championship, registering just two goals and one assist in 41 appearances for the Baggies, which suggests that he might never be good enough for the Premier League.

Although he has started this campaign in much more impressive form, with one goal and three assists in eight Championship fixtures thus far, it is difficult to suggest that West Brom got their money’s worth when they signed him for £18m, and West Ham’s subsequent winger addition of Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma might have been better business.

Indeed, that has clearly been seen in Bowen who is now a member of the England team after scoring 18 times and registering 13 assists in all competitions last term.

Therefore, while it was a big risk for GSB to take in selling such a highly-regarded prospect, especially considering their strained relationship with West Ham fans, it appears as if they certainly made the right call with Diangana.

Tottenham Hotspur central midfielder Harry Winks is set to depart north London in the coming days.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, Fabrizio Romano relayed the comments of Carlo Osti, in which the Sampdoria director confirmed that the Serie A side have now reached an agreement with both Spurs and the 26-year-old midfielder ahead of the former England international joining on a season-long loan.

In his post, the transfer insider said: “Sampdoria director Osti confirms: ‘We have reached an agreement to sign Harry Winks from Tottenham, so we’re going to sign contracts soon.’ Winks will join Sampdoria from Spurs on a loan deal.”

Great news for Conte

Considering just how little Winks has featured for Tottenham since Antonio Conte’s arrival at the club last November, coupled with the fact that the 26-year-old’s departure could allow Fabio Paratici to bring in one of his own replacements for the 10-cap international, the news that the midfielder is now set to join Sampdoria is undoubtedly great news for the Italian manager.

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Indeed, following Conte’s appointment at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year, the £13.5m-rated Englishman has been selected from the off in just eight Premier League fixtures, in addition to making a further nine appearances from the bench – playing a total of 845 minutes of league football under the 52-year-old manager.

And, so far this season, Winks is yet to be included in a single matchday squad for Spurs, with the likes of Oliver Skipp, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur all very much appearing to be ahead of the Tottenham academy graduate in Conte’s central midfield pecking order.

Furthermore, with it being known that the Italian coach is hoping to add a new attack-minded midfielder to his ranks ahead of the closure of the transfer window this week – with Nicolo Zaniolo, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruslan Malinovskyi all said to be of interest – moving the £50k-per-week Winks on may provide Paratici with a clear run to move for his targets.

As such, considering his current standing within the Spurs squad, his considerable weekly wage and the fact Conte is hoping to land one of his own targets in the 26-year-old’s position, Romano relaying that Winks does indeed now appear to be moving onto pastures new in the coming days is certain to be fantastic news for the 52-year-old manager.

An update has emerged on Glasgow Rangers and their injury situation ahead of their UEFA Champions League play-off clash…

What’s the latest?

Gio van Bronckhorst has confirmed that both Ben Davies and John Souttar will not be available for selection against PSV tonight.

Kemar Roofe, who is yet to make an appearance this season, remains out and the head coach will now have to deal with two of his centre-back options being injured.

The club quoted him as saying:

“Roofe, Souttar and Davies didn’t travel with injury. Kamara travelled with the squad.”

Frustration for van Bronckhorst

This should leave the Ibrox boss frustrated as it leaves him short in the centre-back department, with Filip Helander a long-term absentee and Leon Balogun having been let go in the summer on a free transfer.

Outside of Connor Goldson and James Sands, youngster Leon King is his only other option in that position and he has only made two – substitute – appearances this term – after playing four times in the Premiership last season.

Van Bronckhorst clearly identified that area of the pitch as one that he wanted to strengthen as he moved to bring Davies and Souttar to the club.

This is one of the reasons why he should be frustrated with this update as he is now without two key signings for a gigantic match with Champions League qualification hanging in the balance.

He will be particularly unhappy after what happened in the first leg. The Gers conceded two goals from corners against the Dutch outfit and bringing in an experienced centre-back could have helped them tonight.

Last week, pundit Si Ferry stressed the importance of having one of them available, saying: “Over the last year, they’ve been very good but if you look at last night, James Sands, who is predominantly a central midfielder, was playing next to Connor Goldson.

“For the second leg, they need to get someone like Ben Davies or John Souttar in next to Goldson because although he done well last night, Sands can’t play at centre-back in Europe.”

Sands lost 67% of his duels in the air in the Europa League and 50% of them in the league for the Light Blues in 2021/22.

Meanwhile, Davies won 75% of his aerial battles in his one Premiership outing this season and won the majority of his duels in all five of his Championship campaigns in England. Souttar, on the other hand, won 72% of his aerial battles and made 3.9 clearances per game in the Scottish top-flight last term.

This suggests that both of them are strong in the air and could, therefore, improve Rangers’ ability to defend corners by adding their aerial ability into the box.

Instead, they will be watching on from home and van Bronckhorst will be hoping that their respective injuries do not end up being costly.

Newcastle United have not been shy when it comes to signing players from fellow English clubs in recent years.

One player for whom the Toon shelled out a significant amount of money to sign from a rival Premier League club is Joe Willock.

After originally joining the Magpies on loan from Arsenal in January 2021 January, the midfielder signed for the Tyneside club on a permanent basis when they secured a six-year deal for him worth in excess of £20m.

Overall, the 23-year-old has made 47 appearances in a Newcastle shirt and scored 10 goals in the process.

With the summer transfer window set to close in the next two weeks, this period gives PIF the chance to bring in someone who could be the Toon’s next version of Willock.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Magpies are keen on securing a move for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher.

As another young English midfielder who has worked his way through the youth ranks at one of London’s biggest clubs, this mirrors the journey that Willock had with Arsenal before starting his new chapter at St James’ Park.

To further highlight the similarities between the two midfielders, both players ended up making 69 tackles throughout their 2021/22 domestic campaigns, succeeding with 44 each.

However, Gallagher had more shots at goal, shot-creating actions, crosses and successful dribbles than the current Newcastle midfielder, showing just how dangerous he can be in an attacking sense.

In fact, one of his eight league goals for Crystal Palace, where he spent last season on loan, was hailed as “outrageous” by podcaster Dan Cook on Twitter.

With a reported price tag of £50m, it would certainly take a big investment from PIF to secure a deal for the England international this summer.

Bearing in mind how the midfielder has only played six minutes of league action for the west London club so far this season, a move to Newcastle – where he’d potentially have a better chance of playing regularly – could be a tempting prospect for the 22-year-old.

With all that in mind, landing a deal for Gallagher should be at the top of PIF’s priority list for the remainder of the summer transfer window.

West Bromwich Albion have missed out on securing a deal for Manchester City striker and reported Baggies target Liam Delap.

What’s the news?

In a Twitter post, The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealed that Stoke City had agreed a deal to sign the player on loan for the remainder of the season.

He said: “Stoke City have reached an agreement with Manchester City to sign Liam Delap on loan. Deal until summer 2023, no buy option. Medical taking place today [Wednesday]. Huge interest in 19yo England youth international but SCFC have won race.”

Indeed, the news was then confirmed by Stoke’s official channels on Thursday lunchtime.

Baggies manager Steve Bruce recently spoke about his eagerness to sign the Englishman and had this to say on the matter.

“Who wouldn’t be [interested]? We’ll see. Me and everybody else too [are interested]. He’s an outstanding talent. We’ve got huge competition.

“He’s a young player that everybody up and down the country would love to have in their team.”

This shows just how much of a hot prospect the player is and how much of an asset Bruce thinks he would be for his team at the top of the pitch.

A big blow for West Brom

With 68 appearances to his name for the Manchester club across their senior and youth teams, the 19-year-old has 48 goals and 16 assists under his belt, highlighting the clear potential he has in terms of being a regular goalscorer.

The Baggies have recently lost Daryl Dike to injury and failed to manage even one shot on target during their recent 0-0 draw against Cardiff City so there is clearly a need to bring in a new striker before the transfer window closes on September 1st. It also shows why missing out on Delap is such a big setback for the Baggies.

Having also missed out on securing a loan deal for Keinan Davis, who joined Watford after being linked with a move to the Hawthorns, this latest blow regarding Delap will leave another bitter taste in the mouths of everyone at West Brom.

With deadline day fast approaching, the Midlands club will have to move on from the City youngster and focus on other potential targets they could look to bring in before then.

If Albion end up not being able to bring a new forward in over the next couple of weeks, this would surely have a negative impact on the club’s chances of securing promotion back to the Premier League, especially if they keep being as ineffective in front of goal as they were in midweek.

Thus, Delap would have been an outstanding acquisition with his goal record providing evidence of a player who will surely take to Championship football like a duck to water.

West Ham United are expected to keep chasing Belgium international Hans Vanaken, with Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth making a claim in that regard.

The Lowdown: West Ham in talks…

The Hammers and their manager David Moyes are said to be in talks for multiple players as they seek to bolster their options.

At the outset of what could be a crucial Premier League season, West Ham have started the campaign with two straight defeats, and the east Londoners will be looking to bounce back quickly.

Emerson Palmieri of Chelsea, along with Club Brugge’s Vanaken, are two players who are of serious interest to West Ham before the September 1 deadline, with Sheth sharing some news out of Rush Green on the latter.

The Latest: West Ham expected to go back for Vanaken…

Taking to social media, the Sky Sports journalist has made a claim involving the 29-year-old attacker.

Sheth stated that, after West Ham’s ‘opening bid’ – reportedly €10m (£8.4m) – was rejected, Moyes is ‘expected’ to make another attempt to sign the Belgium international.

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The reporter explained: “Club Brugge have rejected West Ham United’s opening bid for midfielder Hans Vanaken. Offer believed to be €10m. West Ham expected to go back in – growing feeling player wants to go.”

The Verdict: Make the move?

Vanaken has been prolific in Belgium’s top two divisions, racking up 145 goals in total since the 2009/10 season, and has also tallied 21 caps for a star-studded Red Devils national team.

Standing at a colossal 6 foot 4, the attacking midfielder possesses a physicality which seems tailor-made for the English top flight, with Moyes’ interest also justified by Vanaken’s impressive numbers going forward.

It will be interesting to see if West Ham can add the Club Brugge star to their ranks before it’s too late.

Sunderland are believed to be closing in on the signing of highly-rated Morecambe defender, Connor Pye, according to recent reports.

What’s the word?

As per Football Insider, the Black Cats are said to have ‘agreed a deal’ for the 18-year-old, having secured a ‘breakthrough’ in negotiations with the League One outfit for the promising left-back.

The report suggests that the teenager – who is said to have two years left on his current deal – is seemingly a player for the future at the Stadium of Light, as he is ‘unlikely’ to go straight into manager Alex Neil’s plans at senior level.

As per the report, the full-back was one of a number of players made ‘available for transfer’ by the shrimps earlier this summer due to financial restrictions, thus allowing the northeast side to pounce.

Neil should love it

Managing to secure the signing of a player who has been likened to Liverpool ace Andy Robertson would no doubt be a great source of delight for the Sunderland boss, with Neil set to love securing what would be a seventh major signing of the summer thus far.

Although Pye – who has made just a solitary senior outing for his current side – appears unlikely to make an impact for the Championship side this season, his capture could prove to be a notable coup in the longer term, having previously been linked with a move to Premier League outfit, Everton.

With Dennis Cirkin currently the only recognised left-back option in the first-team squad, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the impressive starlet could force his way into the manager’s plans sooner rather than later, with depth undoubtedly needed in what will likely be a gruelling season.

A move for the Englishman will also help the club to move on from the disappointment of missing out on former loanee Nathan Broadhead, with the 24-year-old recently opting to join Wigan Athletic on a loan deal from the Toffees.

The forward had reportedly been targetted by Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman ahead of a potential return to the club, although has favoured a move to the Latics in search of more regular game time.

Getting another new arrival in the door in the form of Pye, however, could ensure that transfer failure is swiftly forgotten about, with Neil no doubt set to love the chance to help nurture such a well-regarded young talent.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has shared an update regarding Hoops midfielder Reo Hatate after he was taken off through injury during the Parkhead club’s recent 2-0 win over Aberdeen.

What’s the news?

Speaking (via The Scotsman) after the match that saw the Bhoys secure their first win of the new season thanks to goals from Stephen Welsh and Jota, the 56-year-old had this to say about Hatate.

“He copped a couple of hard knocks, to be fair. He was a bit sore after the game.”

This seems to imply that the midfielder was not too badly injured during the match, despite being substituted off after 66 minutes following a blow to the mouth, in addition to needing treatment for a knock he took in the first period of the game.

Despite not completing the entire game, the Japan international still managed to show how significant he is to the Hoops as he racked up three key passes against Aberdeen as well as having two shots at goal and making one tackle and one interception.

Celtic fans will be buzzing

The 24-year-old showed after his arrival in January just how useful he is for the Hoops as he ended the previous SPFL season with 29 shots at goal, 23 crosses delivered, 12 interceptions and seven successful tackles.

As well as this, the January recruit managed to score four goals and provide three assists in 17 league appearances.

With Postecoglou implying that there wasn’t any serious damage done to Hatate during Sunday’s clash, this should relieve Celtic fans and leave them hoping that he’ll be fit enough to play in the Bhoys’ next game against Ross County on Saturday.

While the midfielder may have some recovering to do from his battle against Aberdeen, he still has the next few days ahead of him to train and get prepared for the next clash as Celtic look to continue their solid start to the campaign with another victory.

With Saturday’s clash with County in mind, it’s safe to say that given what Hatate offers the team in the middle of the pitch, Postecoglou will be hoping that the player can shake off the knocks he picked up and be available for selection.

AND in other news: Postecoglou could seal big CCV upgrade with Celtic bid for “tremendous” 25 y/o target

Glasgow Rangers got their 2022/23 Premiership campaign off to a solid start on Saturday afternoon, securing a 2-1 away victory in their opening game of the new season.

The Gers found themselves behind with just five minutes on the clock after Joel Nouble opened the scoring for Livingston.

Things were starting to look worrying for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s outfit as they were still without a goal by the 70-minute mark.

However, in the space of two minutes, Rangers got themselves ahead thanks to goals from Scott Arfield – after he replaced Glen Kamara in the second half – followed by a goal from captain James Tavernier, who saved the day for the Light Blues.

Despite the victory, there will have been aspects to the game and his side’s performance that Van Bronckhorst will not have been pleased with.

One example could be the performance of summer signing Antonio Colak, who made his league debut for the club following his £1.8m arrival from PAOK earlier this month.

Having played the full 90 minutes of this afternoon’s clash, the striker only managed to have nine touches of the ball in total, which is 20 touches fewer than goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin had.

In those nine touches, the 28-year-old could only register one shot at goal and complete three of the four passes he attempted.

He also managed to catch himself offside on one occasion and commit a foul that saw him pick up a yellow card.

Even though he’s a centre-forward, the Croatian didn’t make a single tackle, interception, block or clearance for his new side.

This debut display ultimately earned the summer arrival a disappointing overall match rating of 6.4 from SofaScore, making him the joint-lowest Rangers player to step foot on the pitch, alongside John Souttar.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that the striker failed the first test given to him by Van Bronckhorst.

However, with it still being extremely early into the season and his time at the club, Colak has time ahead of him to improve and show the Rangers support why the club chose to sign him in the first place.

Although, if he continues putting in performances like he did today and barely gets a touch of the ball, he could well find himself out of the team.

AND in other news: “New deal..”: Reporter drops transfer claim that’ll leave Rangers supporters gutted