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Since Marcelo Bielsa took charge at Leeds United, the Argentine has taken the club back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence and got them to a top-half finish in their first season back in the top flight.

One figure that has played a massive part in Leeds’ rise from the Championship to the Premier League is Luke Ayling, who has made a total of 200 appearances for the Yorkshire club across all competitions in which he has managed to score seven goals and provide 17 assists along the way.

Last season saw Ayling start all 38 of Leeds’ Premier League games as well as Stuart Dallas, showing how vital he is for Bielsa’s side.

Having now hit the age of 30 and with his current contract at Elland Road set to expire in the summer of 2023, there’s every chance that the club will be looking at who could be their potential long-term replacement for the long-serving Englishman.

With that in mind, it seems as though Bielsa could already have the perfect long-term heir for Ayling that could save Victor Orta millions in potential future transfer fees.

Since joining Leeds’ U23 side from Fulham’s U23 squad back in August last year, 20-year-old right-back Cody Drameh has made 33 appearances for Leeds’ youth side, scoring one goal and providing four assists along the way.

Drameh has also made two appearances for Leeds’ senior side, showing that Bielsa has enough confidence in him already to perform to a high standard in the first team alongside the senior players at Leeds.

This season has seen Drameh be involved in Leeds’ senior matchday squad on eight occasions in the league with one 19-minute cameo appearance in their 2-1 win away at Norwich City.

Labelled as a “revelation” in the past by Tom Hill and as a player that “loves defending” by Ben Parker, Drameh won Leeds’ U23s Player of the Year award last year, highlighting the quality he has.

Given how Ayling managed to rack up an average of 2.8 tackles per game in the league last season as well as winning 61% of the duels he was involved in, these are the sort of defensive numbers that Drameh will have to match if he wants to be recognised as Ayling’s long-term heir at Leeds.

However, with the praise he’s garnered since joining the Yorkshire club, it seems as though that Drameh is more than capable of doing that in the next few years given his apparent love for defending.

In other news: Exciting 4-word January transfer claim emerges that will have Leeds fans buzzing – opinion

Leeds United are showing interest in Nottingham Forest starlet Brennan Johnson.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested that Marcelo Bielsa has his sights set on the 20-year-old ahead of a potential move, and The Athletic have now delivered an update on the situation.

They claim that along with the Whites, the likes of fellow Premier League sides Leicester and Brentford, as well as Championship outfit Barnsley, have all “shown varying degrees of interest” in the Wales international.

He’s Bielsa’s dream

Johnson’s former manager at Forest, Sabri Lamouchi, hailed him not just as an “unbelievable player” but one with the “right mentality” too, and that will surely be music to the ears of Bielsa.

The forward enjoyed an impressive campaign on loan at Lincoln City in League One last season, scoring ten goals and providing a further twelve assists in the league – his displays were key as they made the play-off final, losing to Blackpool 2-1 despite him setting up a goal at Wembley.

With that canny knack of finding himself in the right place at the right time, there’s a lot to like about Johnson’s game, and there are some very exciting similarities between him and a young Dele Alli.

His boss at Lincoln, Michael Appleton has raved about the fearlessness of the versatile attacker, something very much akin to Alli when he was at MK Dons – the England international predominantly played in central midfield, but could also play out wide and as a number ten too.

He said: “Brennan has been great. He has a lot of pace and gives us directness when we look to counter. He has played in numerous positions for us. He has played as a nine, as a ten, as a central midfielder. He has never moaned and just gets on with it.”

Given his age and his incredible versatility, Johnson looks like Bielsa’s dream. Able to play in a number of different positions, with the “right mentality” to keep working hard and learning from his managers, he could well be a real pet project for the Leeds boss at Elland Road, one he’d surely love to have in his squad.

Meanwhile, Graham Smyth has revealed Leeds United’s transfer plans…

Aston Villa will look to re-sign Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe this summer.

That’s according to a report from Football Insider, who claimed that the Midlands club have made the 23-year-old one of their top targets for the summer window.

Tuanzebe, who made 35 appearances for Villa during two separate loan spells, is thought to be valued at around £7m by the Red Devils. He is on £38,000 per week at Old Trafford and has 12 months remaining on his deal, although United do have the option to extend it until 2023 next summer.

Football Insider have been informed by a Villa source that Tuanzebe ‘fits the profile the recruitment team are seeking’ – an interesting inside eight-word update.

Transfer Tavern take

To us, bringing in Tuanzebe – who Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently called ‘outstanding’ – for £7m could be a brilliant piece of business. He played a key role in Villa’s promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and could provide strong competition to first-choice pairing Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings.

Both Konsa and Mings have been ever-presents under Dean Smith this season, but should one get injured, Villa don’t exactly have the proven quality to come in for them. Reports have suggested that Villa are planning to offload Bjorn Engels this summer, and should that be the case, that would leave Smith with just Kortney Hause as cover for Konsa and Mings.

Therefore, adding Tuanzebe to the defensive ranks on a permanent basis may prove to be an excellent move in the long run.

In other news: Villa lining up huge bid for another Premier League ace, find out more here.  

As per Torino Granata, a possible boost for West Ham United has come to light amid their links to Torino striker and soon-to-be free agent Andrea Belotti.

The Lowdown: Pellegrini fails in 2019 bid…

Multiple reports from 2019 have backed that the Hammers and former boss Manuel Pellegrini lodged a bid to sign the Italy international, but to no avail.

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Football Insider, Calciomercato and TUTTOmercatoWEB all claimed that West Ham made an offer for Belotti nearly three years ago with the striker coming as a name who will be familiar to supporters.

Out of contract this summer, it appears the 28-year-old will finally be on the way out of Turin and for free, gifting David Moyes and co a chance to solve their striker shortage with a long-term target.

The Latest: Belotti open to joining…

Torino Granata, sharing the latest on his future post-Torino, now claim that Belotti is open to joining West Ham this summer.

Indeed, according to their sources, a Premier League move for the forward cannot be ruled out.

It is believed that a move to the Irons or fellow interested side Newcastle ‘could be more attractive’ to Belotti.

The Verdict: Make the move…

An proven threat at both international and club level, bypassing Belotti’s estimated £25.2 million Transfermarkt valuation and snapping him up for nothing would be a very shrewd move.

Torino’s captain and figurehead is one of the Serie A big names set to make a headline-grabbing move this summer and we believe a transfer to West Ham may well be on the cards.

However, with Newcastle, Roma, Atalanta, Inter Milan and Toronto also on his trail, Moyes and co should waste no time making the striker an offer.

In other news: Blow for Moyes: Journalist says ‘underrated’ West Ham ace is now ‘ready to leave’! Find out more here.

The SPFL have confirmed the 2021/22 Premiership season will start on July 31st, just a few days before Glasgow Rangers’ appearance in the Champions League third qualifying round.

Rangers find out season start

The SPFL confirmed on Thursday that the new season will start on Saturday July 31st. There will also be a winter break from January 3rd 2022 until January 21st (spfl.co.uk).

The start of the league campaign will come a matter of days before the Gers’ Champions League campaign is set to start. The third qualifying round for that competition will be played on August 3rd/4th.

Potentially damaging

The upcoming Champions League campaign for Rangers is an important one. They have not appeared in the competition’s group stage since the 2010/11 season. To make it next term, they will need to go through two rounds beforehand, and they will need to prepare perfectly to be in the best possible shape.

To start the campaign a few days before the first qualifying round is unlikely to help the Gers in their quest. Hopefully, they will play on the Saturday so they have the most time possible to recover – a strong performance for Rangers in European competition will also see Scotland reap the rewards in terms of UEFA coefficient points.

In other news, Rangers fans react to this injury news.

Manchester City are close to signing Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish in a deal worth £100m, according to Jim White.

And, as to be expected, plenty of Villa fans have been giving their immediate thoughts to the news online.

Pep Guardiola’s side have been earmarked as the favourites to sign Grealish since March, and it appears as if a move is now edging closer.

Grealish is currently away with England at the European Championships but informed friends earlier this month he is very interested in an Etihad switch.

A £100m move, should it go through, would make the boyhood Villa fan the most expensive player in Premier League history, eclipsing Paul Pogba’s £94.5m move to Manchester United.

talkSPORT reporter White posted this on Twitter on Friday morning regarding City and Grealish.

“Close to completion – According to @talkSPORT sources, Jack Grealish close to joining @ManCity in £100m deal.”

Villa fans react

Fans of numerous clubs weighed in with their views on a possible deal, including some from Villa.

This is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply, with the majority understandably not happy.

“I feel like Villa need to set up a helpline for fans if this goes through”Credit: @ATB_Brummy”I will be fuming if this happens #AVFC have a word @Grealish_”Credit: @SJ_AV81″You what”Credit: @Junaid567″Excuse me”Credit: @chloeavfc_”@greggevans40 @PreeceObserver I’m begging”Credit: @UTVilla82″Time to fly the nest”Credit: @ZDhansey

In other news: Villa interested in another Southampton man, John Percy claims, find out more here. 

Bruno Lage heads into the ongoing transfer market knowing he has a tricky first summer on his hands.

Wolves haven’t been afraid to splash the cash since earning promotion to the Premier League but this would be one of the leanest windows they’ve had in recent memory.

On the chalkboard

With the Old Gold facing a summer of limited spending, Lage will have to be shrewd in the window.

Unsurprisingly, Wolves are once again targeting the arrivals of players who they can build for the future and potentially sell for a greater fee.

They’ve reportedly made a bid for Brazilian starlet Kaio Jorge but it’s one of Portugal’s brightest young talents that we want to focus on.

The entrance of a new manager won’t change the transfer policy at Molineux as they target 20-year-old forward Goncalo Ramos at Benfica.

Ramos was coming through the ranks of Benfica B when Lage was in charge of the Portuguese giants but after a breakthrough season in Liga NOS, he’s caught the eye of Wolves.

The club’s current manager, Jorge Jesus, doesn’t want to sell him according to A Bola but a high enough offer may change his mind.

Capable of playing as a centre forward or as a second striker, he could become Lage’s new Joao Felix at Wolves.

Felix was recently described as an “imposter” by Roy Keane for his performances at the ongoing European Championships but it was Lage who made him the star he is today.

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The 21-year-old scored 17 times under the stewardship of the new Wolves boss, a record that’s strikingly similar to Ramos’ tally last term.

He began the campaign with Benfica B, finding the net on 11 occasions in 12 outings.

Ramos would eventually end the campaign with 15 goals after making the grade at senior level. The 20-year-old was afforded four chances to play in Portugal’s top tier, outings that provided two strikes.

It was a stellar term for the young attacker who was described as “fantastic” in a glowing appraisal from talent scout Jacek Kulig on Twiter.

Like Felix, Ramos is capable of playing just behind the striker and is a tricky individual to deal with.

His dribbling could do with some improvement with a success rate of 42% in that regard but he still amasses 1.87 take-ons per game in his career.

This would be a truly exciting signing. Ramos’ finishing is ruthless and his movement is particularly clever. He could very quickly become the new manager’s next Felix.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Silva: Lage can form menacing Wolves duo by signing “lethal” 15-goal gem…

West Brom return to The Hawthorns as they look to build on last weekend’s victory when they host Southampton in the Premier League this evening.

The Baggies put five past Chelsea last time out and will need to be in that rich vein of goalscoring form tonight if they are to stand a chance of remaining in the big time

Despite the emphatic victory, Albion have slipped to 11 points adrift of safety and with only six games left to play, survival looks unlikely.

So, what sort of starting lineup could we see from Sam Allardyce here? This is the XI we’re predicting…

There could be just two changes from the side that beat the Blues, with Allardyce able to welcome back one key player.

That being Conor Gallagher, who was not available to face his parent club – given his exploits this term, the 21-year-old gem should walk back into the side, potentially at the expense of that extra defender.

Dara O’Shea lasted just 24 minutes before picking up an injury, so he’s likely to make way and similarly his replacement Branislav Ivanovic is also likely to be on the treatment table.

It means there will be a back four in front of Sam Johnstone, all unchanged from Conor Townsend at left-back to Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi in the middle, with Darnell Furlong on the right.

Celta Vigo powerhouse Okay Yokuslu will take up an anchorman role as Gallagher returns alongside fellow loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the engine room, which means Matheus Pereira goes back to a wing position.

After coming off the bench for an hour, Callum Robinson is surely in line for a start. He bagged another brace against Chelsea, so he could replace Matty Phillips on the other flank.

It’ll be a big call to make considering the Baggies boss has preferred the Scotsman lately, starting five straight matches but the Irishman’s statement at Stamford Bridge is hard to ignore.

Mbaye Diagne should continue up top as Big Sam’s sole target man.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Steve Bull reveals he never wanted to leave West Brom

Newcastle are risking another Andy Carroll disaster by making a move for Chelsea star Ross Barkley.

What’s the story?

The England international spent the last Premier League season on loan at Aston Villa, and endured a difficult campaign in the Midlands, managing just three goals and one assist in the top-flight.

Now, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh has claimed that were Barkley to be made available for another loan deal by Chelsea this summer, then he would be of interest to Steve Bruce’s Newcastle.

Barkley another Carroll

Earning a reported £100k-a-week, Barkley would be the kind of disaster-class signing that Carroll has proven to be in his second stint at St James’ Park.

Bruce offered the towering striker a chance to make his return to Tyneside, and it’s fair to say it’s been nothing short of a nightmare, with Carroll’s injury problems once again taking its toll and barely managing anything of note – he’s scored just one goal in the 43 appearances since coming back.

Barkley is similarly on a real decline after exploding onto the scene with Everton, and his stint at Villa has been marred by poor performances and injuries too – he missed several weeks in the middle of the campaign with a hamstring injury.

Speaking on The Athletic’s Aston Villa-themed 1874 podcast, journalist Gregg Evans said: “He doesn’t do enough for me now. I’ve seen enough of Ross Barkley now to realise that he’s becoming a bit of a liability for Villa. He’s not helping out enough as he should, really. Whether that’s impacting on John McGinn, I don’t know.”

The England international endured a shocking second-half of the season in particular, with no goals in the Premier League since the end of January when he bagged in a 1-0 win over Southampton.

And, speaking after he was taken off yet again in the second half against Leicester, Sky Sports pundit Alex Scott slammed him for his display, saying: “For me it’s another missed opportunity for Ross Barkley to show up and demand, he’s been subbed off again and you can see in his face he’s not happy. But how many chances does a player need?

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“You need to take it upon yourself. There’s only so many chances that he can be deserving. He’s missed another opportunity today.”

Bruce desperately needs to avoid making yet another transfer howler and steer well away from signing Barkley, even on loan.

Meanwhile, Newcastle could build a colossal duo with this powerhouse…

Danny Cowley has provided an update on Portsmouth’s transfer business regarding the possibility of free agent signings.

What’s the talk?

The Pompey manager has confirmed that the club will not be dipping into the free agent market following the end of the summer transfer window.

The f0rmer Huddersfield boss reportedly failed in his efforts to land a striker and centre-back cover before the window slammed shut, but he has revealed that there is no money left to make any further additions.

He told The News: “There is nothing left in the budget, so they’ll be no free agents.

“We are where we are. We’re coming out of a pandemic, we’ve bought the training ground and spent all that money on Fratton Park. We’ve got good owners, haven’t we. Come on.” Frustration

This update from Cowley will frustrate supporters for a number of reasons, despite it being an understandable situation for the club. First and foremost, it is difficult for anyone to be angry at the owners as they should not be risking the financial future of the club to bolster the team.

They are operating within a budget and have purchased the training ground, whilst also improving Fratton Park, which then has an impact on the transfer business as it takes money away to other sectors. In that sense, supporters should be delighted that their club is being run responsibly as they know better than most what can happen when football teams are mismanaged financially.

However, that might not allay the frustration from fans over the squad now being short in a couple of positions. Portsmouth only have three natural senior centre-backs, which has left Cowley with limited options in his back four. They are also now vulnerable if injuries hit Clark Robertson and Sean Raggett, as it could leave a youth team player being chucked in or someone else coming in out of position, which could then impact their League One form.

In terms of strikers, Cowley has John Marquis, Ellis Harrison and George Hirst as his over-21 options. The News revealed that he wanted to bring in a new centre-forward to improve the quality of the squad –  Marquis has scored once in five League One matches, with none of the other strikers at the club on the scoresheet as of yet.

This could be why the head coach wanted another number nine, with the team seemingly lacking an in-form goalscorer. Therefore, Pompey fans may well be frustrated that he was unable to bring in the striker Cowley wanted, as the lack of a consistent frontman could dampen their chances of pushing up the League One table and chasing promotion – goals win games!