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Arsenal fans will be extremely excited about the future of Folarin Balogun given his superb performances in Ligue 1 with Stade de Reims so far this season but Mikel Arteta could have another superstar waiting in the wings at London Colney.

Nikolaj Moller arrived at the Premier League leaders with a big reputation and will be hoping to make an impression in the first team in the coming years, having spent time away from the Gunners on loan in recent seasons.

Who is Nikolaj Moller?

The 20-year-old joined Arsenal from Malmo in October 2020 and was an instant hit with the U23s side, hitting seven goals and three assists in 18 appearances in the Premier League 2 in the 2020/21 campaign.

He was sent out on loan to FC Victoria Koln the following season, and while he failed to find the back of the net in ten appearances in Germany's third tier, he did score three times and assist once in just two appearances in the DFB Pokal.

The Sweden U20 international has spent time with FC Den Bosch in the Netherlands in each of the last two campaigns, notching a combined five goals and two assists in just 27 appearances, which suggests that he is not struggling to adapt to senior football.

Moller, who is described on Arsenal's website as "a towering striker with devastating finishing ability and strong link-up play", will draw natural comparisons with legendary Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, because of his style of play and 6 foot 4 stature.

Indeed, he has already been compared to the great Swede, with one of Moller's former youth coaches, Robin Asterhed, not only labelling him a "super talent" but suggesting "there are some similarities with a young Ibra."

The former Barcelona and Inter forward is still going strong at the age of 41 with AC Milan and boasts an incredible record of 493 goals and 202 assists in 819 club appearances across his career thus far.

He has also scored a phenomenal 62 goals in 121 appearances for his country and has won a plethora of awards across a glittering career that has spanned across Europe and America, with 32 club trophies under his belt.

Naturally, if Moller was able to reach anywhere near that level in his time with Arsenal, then he could prove to be a huge success at the Emirates, and fans will be hoping that they can finally possess their own Ibrahimovic, having famously failed to sign the striker when he was just 19.

With Balogun attracting interest from across Europe after hitting 17 goals in 25 Ligue 1 appearances so far this season, Arsenal may have to look towards Moller as their next young striker to take up the wonderkid mantle.

Sheffield United’s woeful Premier League season continued at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon as they were beaten 2-0 by Crystal Palace, a result which secures the visitors’ place in next season’s top flight.

An early goal from Christian Benteke set Roy Hodgson’s side on their way before Eberechi Eze made the points safe in the second half, although the Eagles were dominant throughout.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side failed to register a shot on target in the 90 minutes at Bramall Lane, whereas the visitors had eight shots on goal and were perhaps unfortunate to only score twice against a lacklustre Sheffield United, who look set for another struggle in the Championship next season unless there’s a notable overhaul at the club.

One man who disappointed in the defeat on Saturday was Oliver Burke, with the Scotland international struggling to get involved at all during his time on the pitch.

As per SofaScore, the former West Brom forward only managed 13 touches and four passes during his 65 minutes on the pitch, which was unsurprisingly the fewest of any player who started the game. Even Aaron Ramsdale in the Sheffield United goal had more, with the shot-stopper registering 40 touches and 13 successful passes during the game.

It was no surprise to see Burke axed by Heckingbottom shortly after the hour mark, as only Sander Berge (6.1) and David McGoldrick (6.3) earned a lower match rating than the attacker’s 6.4 from SofaScore.

As well as barely being involved, the 24-year-old struggled on the few occasions when he did have the ball, as his one dribble attempt was unsuccessful, whilst he also lost possession on seven occasions and was successful in just one of his five duels during the game, per SofaScore.

Although he has hardly set the world alight during his time at Bramall Lane, it was clear that he was way below par on Sunday, as so far this season he has averaged 10.1 passes per game, as well as 0.6 key passes and 0.6 dribbles, which demonstrates that he was even worse than usual against the Eagles.

In other news… Sheffield United should swoop for £3.15m-rated “top talent” likened to Messi

Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri is closing in on a move to Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, as reported by prominent transfer guru Gianluca Di Marzio on Twitter.

In 2020/21, the Switzerland international registered five goal contributions in 22 fixtures for the Reds; one goal and four assists [Transfermarkt].

Now, he looks set to depart Anfield after three years at the club owing to recent developments. As relayed by Di Marzio to his followers on social media, Shaqiri is ‘very close’ to a move to France.

The French giants are said to have offered a fee of around €6million to Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp’s men believed to be holding out for around €8M for his services.

With an agreement expected to be reached soon, no wonder loads of Liverpool diehards took to social media to vent their reactions to the update.

Liverpool FC fans react:

Replying to Gianluca Di Marzio on Twitter, here is what some Liverpool fans had to say about the notion of Shaqiri departing for France:

“Absolute bargain for Lyon. They have robbed us. Still hoping other interested parties might bid more for him.”

Credit: @nayanmoha”8 million isn’t good enough we might as well keep him he’s to good to let go at that stupid price”Credit: @MrDPsmith1″Quality player and £6m is a bargain. If we didn’t already have him, I’d say we should sign him. Keep Shaq and sell Origi.”Credit: @_MarkL33″What’s the point at that price. Keep him”Credit: @KierT82″That’s a disgrace”Credit: @footballlfc3690″Peanuts that, might as well keep him”Credit: @DDaliniIn other news, Liverpool fans fume at a transfer update.

Nottingham Forest centre-forward Lyle Taylor could be set to leave the City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Alan Nixon, with The Sun journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Birmingham City will firm up their interest in the 31-year-old Forest striker if Sam Cosgrove secures a move away from St. Andrew’s before the closure of the summer transfer window.

In his tweet, Nixon said: “Birmingham. Will firm up a move for Lyle Taylor at Forest if Cosgrove goes.”

The Blues forward has been linked with the likes of Wycombe Wanderers, Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday in recent weeks, while Lee Bowyer is reported to be extremely keen on a reunion with his former Charlton Athletic star at Birmingham this summer.

Get him gone

While Taylor did score Forest’s opener in the club’s eventual 2-1 defeat to Coventry City on Sunday, there is nevertheless a great deal of evidence to suggest that, if Birmingham do submit a reasonable bid for the centre-forward, Dane Murphy should cash in on the 31-year-old.

Indeed, after Sabri Lamouchi signed the striker roughly 12 months ago, the £720k-rated man failed to hit anywhere near the heights of his time at Charlton with the Garibaldi last season, scoring just four goals, providing no assists and missing eight big chances over his 39 Championship appearances, as well as hitting the target an average of just 0.4 times and making a mere 0.4 key passes per game.

These returns saw the man Simon Jordan dubbed a “dishonest” professional earn a disappointing average SofaScore match rating of 6.64, ranking him as Chris Hughton’s joint ninth-worst performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, there would appear to be much better options than the £5k-per-week forward out there for Forest, and parting with Taylor for a decent fee this summer could well free up both funds and space for Murphy to bring in a fresh face to the Forest attack before the closure of the current market at the end of August.

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts insists that the club will not let Tanguy Ndombele leave the club on the cheap amid links with Real Madrid.

Football Insider reported earlier this month that the Spanish club are keen on signing the France international this summer.

Spurs are said to have been approached by Real, with the club well aware of their heightened interest in the midfielder.

Ndombele has endured a relatively inconsistent season, making 28 starts in the Premier League, but completing the 90 minutes just six times.

He has scored three goals and registered two assists but has struggled for minutes in recent weeks, playing just 34 minutes in the final four games of the season. He was not included in the squad against Leicester City on the final day of the season as Spurs won 4-2.

Roberts, though, says that Spurs will not let Ndombele go on the cheap, having paid £53.8m to bring him in from Lyon.

Speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, he said: “I think there’s a few who can go. But it all depends on the manager.

“The manager is going to come in, they’re not going to sell Ndombele for £20 million. They’ll want their money back.

“If Real Madrid think he’s that good, they’ve got to pay the money.”

This is an exciting time to be an Everton supporter even if you aren’t a keen admirer of the new manager, Rafa Benitez.

Once again, the Toffees are set to flex their financial muscles with big bids lined up for various players.

What’s the word?

Everton are battling a few Premier League teams for the signature of Ben White this summer while La Liga stars Philippe Coutinho and Isco are also on their radar.

It’s evident that the Merseyside outfit want to strengthen in a host of positions but one area they don’t necessarily need someone is up front.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin netted 21 goals last term but that hasn’t deterred Everton from eyeing a move for Haris Seferovic.

Their interest in the Swiss striker was revealed last week and according to a new report from O Jogo (via Sport Witness), they have now been in contact to sign him.

Everton are battling West Ham for his services and have collected references over Seferovic.

Benfica valued him at just €15m (£13m) before the European Championships but following some impressive performances, the Portuguese are now set to demand €25m (£21.4m) instead.

Perfect for Everton

As Calvert-Lewin demonstrated last term, playing with a target man in this Everton side works like a treat.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-everton-news-benitez-kamara-romero-dumfries” title= “Read the latest Everton transfer news!”]

He scored the highest number of goals by an Everton player since Romelu Lukaku in 2016/17, reigning supreme in the air by winning 4.7 aerial duels per game.

Seven of his 21 strikes came with his head as the England international proved he was capable of beating the vast majority of centre-backs in the air.

Seferovic could bring a similar sort of threat to Goodison Park if he arrives. He won 2.1 aerial duels per game for Benfica last term on his way to scoring a breathtaking 26 times.

That took his overall tally for Benfica to 69 strikes and he has since impressed immensely for Switzerland at Euro 2020.

A huge threat in aerial situations, the forward scored twice with his head during their remarkable victory over World Champions, France, in the last 16.

Describing one of the strikes, commentator Ally McCoist said he was “superb” for the way he rose above some of the game’s elite defenders.

The Toffees have become accustomed to playing with a target man so Seferovic and the squad shouldn’t need too much adjustment time.

Providing Benitez can iron out his inconsistencies, he’d be a wise signing for the Toffees.

AND in other news, Everton could discover their new John Stones by signing “exceptional” £55m ace…

Rangers travel to face St Mirren today as they look to reclaim their place at the top of the Scottish Premiership after Hearts leapfrogged them on Saturday.

The Gers are sat on 20 points and are currently behind Hearts on goal difference, with a draw against today’s opponents enough to see them move back to the top.

Steven Gerrard’s side come into the match off the back of a 2-0 win in the Europa League on Thursday night, with Leon Balogun and Kemar Roofe scoring the goals.

How many changes will Gerrard make for the game? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that the head coach will bring four players into the side, with Jon McLaughlin, Calvin Bassey, Glen Kamara and Scott Arfield taking up spots in the XI.

The first change we are predicting comes between the sticks. McLaughlin could come in for Allan McGregor as Gerrard rotates his goalkeepers. The 39-year-old academy product has started the last four games, which means that it could be time for McLaughlin to get the nod in goal.

At centre-back, Leon Balogun could miss out after Gerrard revealed that they will make a late decision with the Nigerian. He said:

“We will give Leon every chance for the weekend, he is still a doubt but not ruled out just yet.

“We will assess him as the day goes along and we will try and get him recovered.

“He has an outside chance for the weekend but we also have to analyse the risk so we will make a really late decision on that one but it is probably 50-50.”

This leaves a gaping hole next to Connor Goldson and Calvin Bassey, a left-back by trade, could slot in as a makeshift option. He played at centre-back against Sparta Prague earlier this season and may be called upon again to cover for Balogun.

Glen Kamara watched on from the stands against Brondby due to his suspension and now returns to the fold for this clash with St. Mirren. Gerrard could axe 27-year-old John Lundstram from the team, after his struggles against Brondby, and start the Finland international in the heart of the midfield set-up.

We published an article explaining why Steven Davis should be taken out of the XI for Arfield. The Scottish-born Canadian deserves a chance to show what he can do from the start after an impressive cameo on Thursday night, which is why he should play alongside Joe Aribo and Kamara.

The front three may stay the same. Ianis Hagi, Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe could be given another opportunity to prove that they can function to a high level as a front three.

AND in other news, Forget Davis: Gerrard must unleash £16k-p/w Rangers beast who “shows fight”…

West Ham United have been told exactly how much it’ll take to secure mooted transfer target Noa Lang in January…

What’s the word?

According to Belgian outlet Voetbal Belgie, the Irons will need to pay in the region of €40m (£34m) to land the Club Brugge attacker as they anticipate a bidding war ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

Premier League rivals Arsenal and Leeds United are also said to be keen, along with Serie A giants AC Milan and German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.

A fee in the region of £34m would be a record in Belgium and the Jupiler Pro League club are in no position to sell as Lang is contracted until 2025.

Shades of Payet

It’s no wonder the Dutch winger has become hot property in recent months as he has continued his remarkable form for both club and country this season.

The 22-year-old, who stands at 5 foot 10, delivered 17 goals and 11 assists as Brugge clinched the Belgian title last term with a whopping 16-point margin, with Lang evidently playing a major role in the attack.

That form has extended into 2021/22, where he has already bagged four goals and provided five assists in 17 appearances, via Transfermarkt, including a ‘Man of the Match’ showing against French giants Paris Saint-Germain – a really encouraging sign to his true potential as he clinched the award over the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

“Lang is without a doubt the best player in the league, I think. Pure class,” suggested Belgian football pundit Filip Joos explained to Extra Time. “His technique is not normal. Lang is constantly on the move, he glides across the field, he likes to dribble, but he will always play at the right time.”

The young dynamo, valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, has also been dubbed a “phenomenon” by journalist Peter Vandenbempt for his achievements in Belgium.

Now capped twice by the Netherlands, Lang’s career trajectory is only going to go up, and given everything mentioned above, he could well become the most exciting and biggest signing since Dimitri Payet at the London Stadium.

Evidently, the 22-year-old gem has the flair and skillset to replicate the Frenchman’s thrilling exploits at the Hammers. Lang likes to cut inside, with dribbling and passing two key attributes of his, as per WhoScored.

That only further suggests he could become the next Payet in east London.

With everything in mind, West Ham’s new head of recruitment Rob Newman must do all he can to land Lang for manager David Moyes.

AND in other news, Moyes may have another Antonio in West Ham’s “hard-working” 17 y/o who “loves to score”…

West Ham are reportedly set to have Andriy Yarmolenko challenging Michail Antonio for his starting spot ahead of their season opener against Newcastle United, according to Claret & Hugh (via West Ham Central).

Antonio was in impressive form for David Moyes’ side during the 2020/21 season, as the Hammers finished sixth in the Premier League table.

The former Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday man netted ten goals and was on hand to provide five assists for West Ham in all competitions last term, and will be keen to hit the ground running in the new league campaign.

But he didn’t have a considerable amount of competition for his starting spot last season, with injuries to the Englishman often leaving Moyes struggling for options up front.

The Ukraine international meanwhile made just one league start for the Hammers in the 2020/21 season, but caught the eye with some strong showings during the European Championships for his country, as they reached the Quarter-Final stage of the competition.

He earns a reported wage of £100,000 per-week with the Hammers.

West Ham seemingly haven’t been in a hurry to add to their attacking options ahead of the new Premier League campaign, which might come as a surprise to a few of the club’s supporters given their side will be competing in European competitions this season.

And plenty of West Ham United supporters took to social media to react to the news that Yarmolenko could be the player to be the club’s second-choice option in attack for their game against Steve Bruce’s side.

Take a look at the best of the reaction from Twitter below….

West Ham fans fume

“Zero shock, we are clearly utterly skint. If they thought Burnley was bad if they don’t get there cash out it is gonna be a lot lot worse.”

Credit: @Dazzairons

“Moyes should walk if this is true.”

Credit: @Mr_BA6

“If this is the case, the club should just make a statement that we have 0 money so we can move on. Painful.”

Credit: @IanCulleyMorga2

“If we do no business need to riot our best chance to concrete top 10 and we do nothing.”

Credit: @TheWestHamVault

“Getting boring and repetitive.”

Credit: @panicospangrat2

“There’s absolutely no excuse not to sign a striker with all the time we’ve had to sort this out. Absolutely none.”

Credit: @PugBubble

“Oh my god if this happens I can’t watch us this season.”

Credit: @billywhufc_

“This could single handedly ruin our season.”

Credit: @WestHamCulture

Newcastle United are reportedly now eyeing up a summer move for Taiwo Awoniyi.

The Lowdown: Awoniyi having a ‘remarkable’ season

As per Bundesliga journalist Stefan Bienkowski, the Nigerian striker is having a ‘remarkable’ season at Union Berlin.

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He has scored no fewer than 17 goals and supplied a further four assists in 37 games across all competitions so far this term (Transfermarkt), so a number of clubs will no doubt be looking at him over the summer.

The Latest: Newcastle lurking for Awoniyi

As per Soccernet, sources close to Awoniyi have revealed that he is now ‘set’ for a move to the Premier League at the end of this campaign, but he has not yet decided who he would like to sign for.

Newcastle are joined by West Ham United and Southampton in having already ‘signified interest’ in the Nigeria international, and his departure is expected to be a record sale for Union.

They signed him for just €5m (£4.2m) last summer, so they could end up cashing in for a tidy profit.

Sources believe that Awoniyi has ‘unfinished business’ in English football after leaving Liverpool, where he was sent out on loan seven times before being sold without ever playing for the Reds.

The Verdict: Get it done

Currently rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, Newcastle could snap up Awoniyi for a tidy fee.

Given Callum Wilson’s injury problems, and with Chris Wood only finding the net twice since signing from Burnley in January, Eddie Howe could do with another option up top, and the Nigerian powerhouse would be perfectly suited to the pace and demands of the top flight.

Described as having ‘explosive power, a poacher’s instinct and cool head’ on the Bundesliga website, the 24-year-old could thrive on Tyneside, and of course he will have the extra motivation to show everyone what he can really do on these shores.

In other news, find out what amazing PIF claim this transfer insider has now dropped