Nottingham Forest are reportedly interested in signing Tottenham Hotspur defender Sergio Reguilon this summer and his arrival could see the Reds rectify their failed attempt to sign Alex Moreno from Real Betis.

Despite the summer additions of Harry Toffolo and Omar Richards, Steve Cooper is clearly keen to sign another left-back before the transfer window shuts later this month after the latter suffered a leg fracture in pre-season.

Cooper looked to have found his man when the Reds were in pole position to sign Moreno recently, but the 29-year-old rejected Forest to remain with Betis.

The Reds boss has since turned his attention to Reguilon, who looks surplus to requirements at Spurs after he was left out of the pre-season squad by Antonio Conte, who has Ivan Perisic and Ryan Sessegnon available as his first-choice left-back options.

Reports have suggested that Forest could look to bring the former Sevilla man in on loan as competition for Toffolo, the only natural left-back option in Cooper’s squad, with the manager seemingly unlikely to trust Jack Colback in that position in the top flight.

Reguilon was a regular for Spurs last season, making 25 appearances in the Premier League, in which he contributed two goals and three assists, averaging an impressive 6.95 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This was an improvement on the average ratings of both Toffolo (6.81) and Richards (6.54), despite Reguilon playing in a tougher league, and considering his experience in the top-flight, he could definitely be a solid addition to Cooper’s squad.

The Spanish full-back excels in an attacking aspect, as evidenced by his statistics from FbRef, which emphasise that he loves to get forward, as he scores above the 90th percentile for full-backs in expected goals, expected assists and progressive passes received.

Reguilon, who earns £53k per week at Spurs, was praised by Football.London correspondent Alasdair Gold when he first joined the club.

He said: “You don’t want to overshadow Sergio Reguilon, who I think is going to be one of the best left-backs in Europe – probably almost is. With Sevilla, he was phenomenal: had a great season, won the Europa League. He’s got incredible confidence. He’s come straight into the group and everyone loves him.”

At 25, Reguilon still has plenty of potential to improve, and regular football at the City Ground could see him rediscover the form that made him such a hit at Sevilla, where he excelled in the 2019/20 season, in particular, averaging a superb 7.10 rating from WhoScored.

Therefore, this deal makes sense for both parties, and Cooper will be hoping that Forest can put the Moreno disappointment behind them by bringing a fellow Spaniard in Reguilon this month.

Arsenal would be foolish to not make a move for Moises Caicedo before Thursday’s transfer deadline…

What’s the word?

The Brighton and Hove Albion powerhouse has been linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium in recent weeks and Express journalist Ryan Taylor has urged the Gunners to make a swoop.

“I think they’d be silly not to because of the high level of his performances in such a short space of time since making his debut,” he told GIVEMESPORT.

“I think one of his first games was away at Tottenham last year and that was only at the back-end of last season. Then he destroyed Manchester United in that 4-0 win, scoring, and the same happened on the opening day of the season.”

He cost the Seagulls just £4.5m during the winter transfer window’s deadline day and he is now thought to be worth in the region of €20m (£17m), as per CIES Football Observatory, who assess the transfer value of professional footballers on a scientific basis.

Shades of Vieira

The north London giants once had an aggressive and hugely competitive box-to-box midfielder by the name of Patrick Vieira. He captained the side for three years and became a legend, not just at Arsenal but in the Premier League overall, too.

Now the club could find a player very much in that mould with Caicedo.

The 20-year-old gem has set the league alight with his form for Brighton.

From just eight outings in 2021/22, Caicedo ranked as Graham Potter’s best-performing player with an average WhoScored rating of 7.07. He won tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game and contributed further up the pitch with 1.3 shots and 0.9 dribbles per game.

It’s perhaps no surprise to have seen him likened to N’Golo Kante, who only last week Vieira namedropped when asked about players similar to him.

“He is a terrific athlete who makes football look easy. A box-to-box midfielder,” claimed South American football expert Tim Vickery to talkSPORT. “A year ago he was saying that Kante of Chelsea is his role model but he is already more than that. He already offers more in the final third.

“That kind of box-to-box midfielder that’s very much in the tradition of the England game. Strong, quick, intelligent and cool. He really does look like the genuine article.”

Based on that endorsement alone, Caicedo could really become a Vieira-like beast in the Premier League over the next few years, so Gunners technical director Edu Gaspar must ensure it’s in the red and white colours of Islington, rather than the blue and white tones from the south coast.

Ecuadorian football historian and statistician Enrico Castro-Montes has added further weight to that comparison, claiming that the Ecuador international was “a cross between Kante and Pogba.”

In his own country, he is really seen as the crown jewel of a new generation,” he told Het Niuewsblad (via Sport Witness).

“Caicedo really has everything to become the best Ecuadorian footballer of all time. I think that off the ball, he is indeed somewhat reminiscent of Kante, but on the ball, he resembles Paul Pogba with his flair and his technique.”

With nearly less than 48 hours to go in the transfer window, Edu and co must look to lure Caicedo to the Emirates as he could well discover Arsenal’s next Vieira in the 20-year-old, who was also lauded as a “machine” by talent scout Jacek Kulig.

He’d be an extraordinary signing to end a busy and exciting summer of business for the Gunners.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Jesus: Arsenal could form a dream duo by signing “magical” £21m ace…

Leeds United could make a late move to bring Pedro to Elland Road on transfer deadline day.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, with the Italian journalist revealing in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that Victor Orta has been tracking Flamengo centre-forward over the course of the summer transfer window. He went on to suggest that, should the Spaniard wish to bring the 25-year-old in the final hours of the market, he will have to move extremely quickly.

Regarding the Whites’ interest in the Brazil international, the transfer insider said: “I’m told that the player they have been monitoring for a long time is Pedro from Flamengo, the Brazilian striker. But the problem with South American transfers is the timing. Of course, now we’re close to the end of the window, so they need to be fast if they want to do a South American deal.”

A huge coup

Considering just how impressive Pedro has been for Flamengo this season, coupled with the fact that all of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton and Crystal Palace have been linked with the striker this summer, the argument that the 25-year-old would be a huge coup for the Whites is an extremely easy one to make.

Indeed, the £10.8m-rated forward has been in scintillating form over his 19 Brazilian Serie A appearances – only eight of which have come as starts – in 2022, scoring seven goals, registering three assists and creating four big chances, as well as taking 1.9 shots, making 0.6 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per game.

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However, it is his returns over his 11 Copa Libertadores fixtures which have most caught the eye, with the 25-year-old bagging 11 goals – including a hat-trick in the first leg of the semi-final – providing one assist and creating six big chances, in addition to taking 2.2 shots – 1.4 of which have hit the target – making 0.9 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per game.

These metrics have seen the striker – who boasts a £110m release clause – average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.35, not only ranking him as Flamengo’s third-best performer in the competition but also as the joint 27th-best player in the tournament as a whole.

With Patrick Bamford and Joe Gelhardt having both struggled with injuries so far this season, coupled with Rodrigo suffering a dislocated shoulder in the draw against Everton on Tuesday, it is clear that Jesse Marsch could use greater depth up top prior to the passing of tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline.

It may well be a tricky deal for Orta to pull off, but considering just how deadly a striker Pedro has proven to be in Brazil, the 25-year-old would very much appear to be an exceptional signing for the Spaniard to get over the line in the coming hours.

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 are in talks over a potential deal to sign Yannick Carrasco before the transfer deadline on Thursday night…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Telegraph’s chief football correspondent Jason Burt, who claims that Spurs manager Antonio Conte has long admired the Belgian international and is attempting to strike a deal before the end of the summer window.

It’s also believed the Lilywhites tried to sign the 28-year-old from Atletico Madrid on deadline day in January but the LaLiga outfit were unwilling to sell him at that point.

Carrasco has a release clause in the region of £51.2m but last time, the Spaniards were looking for around £25m to let him leave and the player has made no secret of his desire to one day play in the Premier League.

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Perisic 2.0

Interestingly, the report goes on to state that the 6 foot 1 dynamo would be utilised as a right wing-back as further competition for the divisive Emerson Royal; someone who Conte was reportedly not keen on earlier this year, as per The Times.

In Carrasco, a winger by trade, the Italian could well be seeing his next Ivan Perisic, who under his stewardship went from being a winger all his career to a wing-back at Inter Milan – and now the pair have reunited in north London with the Croatian still acting as his first-choice left wing-back.

The Belgium star is a hugely versatile talent as shown by the five different roles he played for Atletico last season.

Across 44 appearances, he was deployed on both flanks – both as a wing-back and as a natural winger – as well as upfront as a striker. He delivered six goals and seven assists, per Transfermarkt.

FBref even liken his statistical profile to that of Perisic, so it’s easy to see why Conte would be ever so keen to land him in a late move this week.

When compared to other wing-backs across Europe, the £42.5m-rated wizard ranks within the top 2% for non-penalty goals (0.14), the top 2% for shot-creating actions (3.76) and the top 1% for touches in the opposition’s box (5.39) per 90.

That clearly highlights his ability to get on the ball and cause havoc in the final third, something that Conte wants to see from his wing-backs and something that is perhaps lacking in Emerson, who has managed just three goal contributions in his 45 appearances for Spurs.

Carrasco, who was once described as a “complete player” by his manager Diego Simeone, is also more than capable in his defensive duties, having averaged two tackles and one clearance per game in 2022/23 so far, via WhoScored, so he could well be the perfect complement to Perisic at Hotspur Way.

As such, sporting director Fabio Paratici must look to get this late swoop over the line before the 11pm deadline on Thursday.

The Perisic-like Carrasco and the Croatian himself would be a mouth-watering and rather attacking wing-back pairing in the English top-flight. Conte wants him, so the Italian supremo has to now deliver.

AND in other news, Paratici could undo Spurs’ summer business in “shock” move for £30m “headless chicken”…

Manchester United could be set to make a late move for Barcelona defender Sergino Dest, with Erik ten Hag keen on a reunion with the promising full-back.

What’s the word?

That’s according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, who revealed that the Red Devils could swoop for the 21-year-old should £50m flop Aaron Wan-Bissaka depart, although will face competition from La Liga side Villarreal for the United States international’s signature.

Writing on Twitter about that interest, the transfer guru stated: “Excl: Sergiño Dest’s now considering a loan proposal from Villarreal, he’s open to discuss about it. Talks on with Barça — it’s up to the player. Manchester United manager ten Hag wants Dest, it’s a possibility but it can only happen if Wan-Bissaka will leave.”

Manchester Evening News have also reported that United have held talks regarding taking the highly-rated right-back on a season-long loan deal, with the Netherlands-born gem having worked under Ten Hag at Ajax.

There had been previous suggestion that a swap deal could be on the cards involving the 17-cap gem and Wan-Bissaka, with the latter man also attracting interest from the likes of West Ham United and former club Crystal Palace.

Hakimi alternative

While Diogo Dalot has been much improved in recent weeks – notably registering an assist in the 1-0 win over Southampton at the weekend – the right side of the defence remains something of a problem area for the Old Trafford outfit, hence turning to Dest as a solution.

The “special talent” – as described by broadcaster Ives Galarcep – is yet another name with an Amsterdam connection to Ten Hag, with the Dutchman having already brought in Lisandro Martinez and Antony so far this summer.

Indeed, the Dutch boss would surely love to sign him given the £16.2m-rated ace can help the 52-year-old smoothly implement his style of play, having enjoyed a breakthrough campaign under his former manager during the 2019/20 season at the Eredivisie outfit.

That form alerted the attention of those at the Camp Nou, with the 5 foot 9 menace having gone on to rack up 72 appearances in all competitions for the Catalan giants, scoring three goals and providing five assists in that time.

A forward-thinking, attack-minded full-back, the £99k-per-week sensation could well prove to be an astute alternative to that of another reported target, Achraf Hakimi, with the latter man likely to prove far more costly having signed for current club Paris Saint-Germain for £60m just last summer.

The pair are believed to share a number of stylistic and statistical similarities, as per FBref, with Dest averaging 3.13 touches in the attacking penalty area and 3.43 progressive passes received per 90, with Hakimi almost mirroring that record as he averages 2.94 and 3.85 for the same two metrics, respectively.

Both clearly intent on impacting the game in the final third, the duo are also hugely comfortable in possession, with the latter man ranking in the top 1% for pass completion among those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues, while Dest is not far behind as he ranks in the top 5%.

It bodes well for those at the Theatre of Dreams to think that they could have a Hakimi-esque figure on their hands on a bargain, loan deal, with the PSG man having proven his talents at a string of top clubs across the continent – notably recording 13 goals and assists in just 46 games at the Parcs des Princes.

While Dest is still to truly hit those heights, the statistical evidence would suggest that he does possess a similar attacking quality, with his arrival in Manchester also potentially a better fit as Hakimi is typically at his best in a wing-back role.

It will require a lot of moving parts to get the deal over the line, although Ten Hag will no doubt love it if his new club can pull off a much-needed late addition.

Journalist James Copley admits he is ‘very concerned’ about Sunderland’s squad depth, following their 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough in the Championship.

The Lowdown: Black Cats beaten at Boro

The Black Cats made the short trip to the Riverside Stadium on Monday evening, looking to continue what has been a promising start to the season.

Unfortunately, Tony Mowbray’s side were never at the races, with Riley McGree’s solitary strike eventually proving to be the difference between the two teams.

The defeat leaves Sunderland seventh in the Championship, and that’s now two losses on the bounce.

The Latest: One key concern…

Writing on Twitter after the game, Copley and a fan agreed on a promising note – all three of the Black Cats’ defeats have come against some of the favourites for promotion – Boro, Sheffield United and Norwich.

However, the Sunderland Echo reporter did note one big concern after Ross Stewart pulled out injured in the warm-up…

“I’m still very concerned about the depth of this squad.”

The Verdict: Potential issue in a long season

Having plenty of squad options is essential in a league as relentless and competitive as the Championship, with fatigue and injuries inevitable during the season, especially with a winter World Cup truncating things this time around.

Sunderland’s lack of depth does, therefore, feel like a concern, with Stewart’s injury absence on Monday perfectly highlighting the difference in quality between him and the backup attackers.

The talisman was a huge loss and the Black Cats were toothless without him, mustering only two shots on target, and there are fears he could miss ‘several weeks’.

It could be that January reinforcements are needed to bolster Mowbray’s squad or it may be tough to envisage them mounting a genuine promotion push this season.

Leeds United are plotting another ‘push’ for PSV Eindhoven’s Cody Gakpo in January, according to Fabrizio Romano. 

The lowdown

The Whites agreed personal terms with the 23-year-old in the final days of the summer transfer window and even outbid Premier League competitors Southampton, but they were unable to pull off the transfer.

Leeds’ sporting director Victor Orta even flew out to the Netherlands for talks and hoped to bring Gakpo back him with on his private jet, but PSV ultimately refused to sell the Dutchman, a stance that the Yorkshire club hope will change in time for January.

Only three top-flight clubs – Nottingham Forest (21), Fulham (11) and Southampton (10) – signed more players than Leeds during the summer transfer window, with the Whites shelling out just under £100m on eight new arrivals.

The latest

Romano took to Twitter to share the news about Gakpo, who he cited as Leeds ‘main target’ for the winter transfer window. Their plan is already in motion, but the Italian cautioned that there will be plenty of rival suitors for the PSV star.

Romano tweeted: “Leeds are planning to push again for Cody Gakpo in January, after crazy change on Deadline Day. He’s the main target… but there will be lot of competition.”

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The verdict

Gakpo’s form in the early part of the season shows why the race for his signature will be so intense.

In 10 matches across all competitions, he has been directly involved in 13 goals (scored seven, set up six) and averaged a goal contribution every 60 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, he tops the early tables in the Eredivisie for shots, goals and assists (via FBRef).

It’s hard to disagree with the assessment of The Athletic’s Carl Anka that the Dutch ‘playmaker’ (to quote European football expert Alex Barker) would be a ‘huge’ signing for Leeds, if they can finally land him in January.

Newcastle United have entered the final week of the summer transfer window and time is running out for them to finish their business.

Dan Ashworth recently smashed the club’s transfer record to bring in Swedish striker Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad, making him the fourth arrival on Tyneside.

Nick Pope, Sven Botman, and Matt Targett have also joined the Magpies on permanent deals from Burnley, Lille, and Aston Villa respectively.

The ex-Brighton chief now has until Thursday to make any further additions to Eddie Howe’s squad and one area in which they may look to strengthen in is the middle of the park.

ESPN recently reported that the club are one of the teams interested in signing midfielder Matt O’Riley from Scottish giants Celtic, who could be available if a bid of up to £20m is lodged.

Newcastle must now push to sign the Denmark U21 international before the deadline passes as he could form an exciting pairing with Bruno Guimaraes in midfield.

First and foremost, would the 21-year-old suit the way Howe wants his team to play? It has been noted that being able to counter-press by reading the game is one of his skills and this suggests that he would fit in with the manager’s aggressive pressing system.

This shows that O’Riley is capable of pushing on from midfield to engage in a high press and this could help the Magpies to force mistakes in the opposition third.

He also has the quality to be a creator for his team. Former Hoops boss Paul Lambert previously heaped praise on the midfielder’s ability in possession, saying:

“The space he can generate for himself is really good, and he makes the game look easy by doing the simple things well. That’s not always an easy thing to say to footballers, to just keep it simple, they want to do the flashy side of the game. But he does the simple side of the game really well.”

In the Premiership this season, the ex-MK Dons machine has created three chances per game and assisted three across five appearances. This comes after he provided 2.2 key passes per outing in the Scottish top-flight last term and ended the campaign with four goals and three assists in 16 matches, whereas no Toon player managed more than 1.6 key passes per game in 2021/22.

The young talent has the potential to be a creative force in the Magpies midfield and Brazilian dynamo Bruno Guimaraes could benefit from that.

In the 2021/22 Premier League campaign, the Brazil international scored five goals in 11 starts and having a player alongside him who is capable of consistently creating opportunities could allow him to add to his Toon goal tally.

The ex-Lyon man has also shown that he can be a creator. In the last 365 days, Guimaraes ranks in the 96th percentile out of players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues for expected goals assisted at 0.19 per 90, which suggests that he is one of the best midfielders around when it comes to creating high-quality chances.

Now, imagine him and O’Riley playing alongside each other in the English top-flight and ripping teams open with their terrific ability on the ball.

When Dean Smith was sacked as Aston Villa manager last season, there were no shortage of candidates to replace him and the club may have missed a trick in not appointing Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand.

The 50-year-old manager was one of several names linked with the vacant position in November of last year, with Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett confirming live on air that the Danish boss was under consideration.

He said: “The Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand is also on their list. He’s very well known by the sporting director [at Aston Villa], Johan Lange, who himself is Danish. I expect him to be interviewed – but I suspect he’s a bit of an outsider for the role, as I see things at the moment.”

However, the Villans would opt to appoint former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard in a move that has perhaps backfired, as the former Liverpool star continues to struggle despite some star-studded additions.

As it stands, Gerrard has a poorer win rate of 36% than predecessor Smith (40%) and Steve Bruce (45%), which suggests that the appointment has not gone to plan so far.

While recent results against Manchester City and Southampton have eased the pressure on the Villa boss, their start to the season has not been good enough, when you consider that the club will have had European ambitions following the impressive additions of Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara and Philippe Coutinho under Gerrard’s tenure.

In Hjulmand, they could have signed a manager who has seriously exceeded expectations with Denmark in recent years.

The former Mainz manager has won 21 out of 31 of his games in charge of Denmark, including in the build-up to the World Cup, which saw the Danes win nine out of ten of their qualifying fixtures, scoring 30 goals and conceding just three.

Hjulmand also memorably led Denmark to the semi-final of Euro 2020, despite the adversity faced by the squad in the opening fixture against Finland when Christian Eriksen collapsed, which emphasises his ability to unite a squad.

Denmark captain Simon Kjaer was full of praise for Hjulmand’s influence during that tournament, saying:

“Kasper has been absolutely fantastic in the way he has handled it all in having full focus on that we should continue to play football but that people were in different places mentally. And at the same time he has had to deal with himself.

“It has been very impressive. He has been a fantastic coach and leader of the team also externally. I can only praise him. I am very grateful to have him as a coach.”

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While Gerrard impressed at Rangers domestically, his side always struggled in big games in Europe, with the Scottish side only qualifying for the Champions League following his departure.

His less than impressive spell at Villa thus far suggests that he still might be out of his depth in the Premier League dealing with top-quality players, whereas Hjulmand has already shown an ability to get the best out of top talents with Denmark, so the Villans may well regret not appointing him last year.