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Leeds United have recalled goalkeeper Will Huffer from a loan spell at Barnet after an injury to Kamil Miazek, the Yorkshire Evening Post report.

Huffer played three times for the National League side during his spell, in draws with Solihull Moors, Sutton United and in an FA Cup stalemate with Brentford.

What’s the word?

Huffer only joined Barnet on January 25th but is already back at Elland Road.

The 20-year-old made his senior debut for Leeds earlier this season, playing 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in the 2-0 Championship win over Bristol City.

Huffer is third in the club’s pecking order of goalkeepers, behind January signing Kiko Casilla and Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

However, an injury sustained by Miazek means that he is needed to play for the club’s Under-23 side.

As well as making his senior debut, Huffer has played for England at youth levels, winning nine caps for the Under-17s and one for the Under-18s.

Development accelerated

Huffer’s development is only going to be helped by training with the likes of Casilla.

He will play for the Under-23s regularly and is also on standby to move into the first-team for Marcelo Bielsa.

The youngster has already made his Championship bow and is clearly seen as a trustworthy deputy by his manager.

The signing of Casilla may well have pushed him down the queue but he has won three Champions League trophies, as well as La Liga and two UEFA Super Cups.

Huffer can only get better and merely working alongside the Spaniard could have a transformative effect on his growth.

Nottingham Forest have a potential plan in mind if they cannot stop Joe Worrall from departing this summer.

What’s the news?

According to Claret and Hugh, Forest boss Steve Cooper has scouted West Ham’s Emmanuel Longelo on “several occasions” and he could be used as a “makeweight” in a deal that would see centre-back Worrall head the other way.

The report also claimed that the East Midlands club had a “ridiculously low” bid for the 21-year-old rejected back in January, but the Championship outfit remain keen on bringing him to the City Ground.

Time to replace Colback

Jack Colback has been filling in for Nottingham Forest at left-back, with Max Lowe currently out with a groin injury, and unlikely to return until late April.

The 32-year-old Sunderland youth academy graduate has earned praise for stepping in for the ex-Derby prospect, living up to the “bulldog” comparison made by teammate Phillip Zinckernagel earlier on in the season, averaging a 6.89 match rating according to SofaScore, in the second tier – playing in an unfamiliar position.

However, he may not have to fill in on the left side of defence for much longer, as the club eye up a transfer for Longelo.

Valued at £135k by Transfermarkt, the youngster could potentially prove to be excellent value for money – particularly if he is included as a sweetener in the Worrall deal.

A rapid full-back who loves to attack, in many ways he is similar to fan-favourite loaned-in Djed Spence – just operating on the opposite flank.

Described as “very impressive” by London Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser, Longelo has made 14 Premier League 2 appearances this season, grabbing three assists and earning a start in the Hammers’ 1-0 home loss in the Europa League to Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb.

Having also been named as one of three players set for breakthrough years at West Ham by the Evening Standard in late December, alongside Sonny Perkins and Ben Johnson, it’s clear that the East London club rate him highly.

But, the promise of first-team football, even if Forest earn promotion to the top flight, could prove enough to persuade him to become a part of the Cooper project and East Midlands revolution.

In other news: Nottingham Forest plot bid for 23 y/o “real leader”, he’s an ideal Worrall replacement

Despite Everton struggling to maintain their status in the Premier League this season, one Toffees player has been enjoying the last few months whilst away on loan, as Moise Kean continues to thrive away from Goodison Park.

The 22-year-old has been sent out on loan again this term after spending 2020/21 at Paris Saint Germain, returning to Serie A to play for the club from which Everton brought him in 2019. Meanwhile, back on Merseyside, his parent club are in a vulnerable position in the Premier League amidst a relegation battle.

With two years left on the centre-forward’s Everton contract, Frank Lampard could unearth a forgotten gem for his team, especially if Dominic Calvert-Lewin were to leave during the summer as speculation grows regarding his future at the club. Should the England striker depart, Kean could be the perfect stopgap for the Toffees.

According to One Versus One, the Juventus striker is the top player in the Serie A for pass completion (100%) which is very impressive. He has scored five goals and supplied two assists this season despite only making 10 starts for the Bianconeri in Serie A, along with netting a winning goal in the Champions League group stage against Malmo.

Last season, former PSG manager Thomas Tuchel was keen to heap praise on the Italian when reflecting on his performances in Ligue 1, saying: “He is not afraid, he is courageous. He does what is necessary. I wouldn’t want to be a defender against him right now, it’s really hard to play against him.”

Whether or not Everton can cement their Premier League status for next season, there are clear areas which need to be addressed, including the lack of goals among the current squad. For instance, they have netted just once in five top-flight games since mid-February.

If Lampard feels that he can get a fresh perspective by recalling Kean, it could save Moshiri millions in the summer transfer window.

The £25.2m-rated machine is currently tied into a loan deal which secures his future at Juventus until his contract ends at Goodison Park in June 2024. However, Lampard and the Everton board may feel that it is necessary to bring the striker back to the Premier League, given the Toffees’ dire struggles in front of goal among the current squad.

In other news: Everton face Lampard’s wrath over “pure class” £110k-p/w star, fans will surely be livid

Eddie Howe must axe Allan Saint-Maximin after a poor showing against Wolves to free up space for several new recruits in the summer.

The Newcastle United star performed disappointingly against Bruno Lage’s side and it has led to discussions around whether now is the time to cash in and let him leave the club.

During that contest, he failed with all three of his dribbles, lost the ball a whopping 23 times and lost a mighty 15 duels. He can be “breathtaking” on his day in the words of Gary Neville but this was fine evidence of why he has the tendency to drive club legend, Alan Shearer, absolutely “mad.”

Also described as the “jewel in Newcastle’s crown” by their former player David Ginola, the Magpies would be looking to get at least £50m for the player who prior to the takeover was a key part in the club’s future.

However, the new owners have shown in January that they have money to spend and want to be in the market for Europe’s best players.

Selling Saint-Maximin would present them with an opportunity to reinvest the profit and put it towards signing a better player, and it would also free up space in the squad.

Even though he’s been involved in more Newcastle goals than any other players this season, if the Toon are serious about competing with the top teams then you have to compare him to the other Premier League players in his position.

The Frenchman ranks in the bottom 50% in Europe this season when it comes to goal creating actions compared to others in his position. It does beg the question, is he really the man to take Newcastle to where they want to be?

He’s proved he isn’t an awful player, and he may still be able to play a part if Newcastle becomes more successful, but if it’s as a squad player then his value will lessen which is why Newcastle should sell now.

One player they have been linked with is Jarrod Bowen. The West Ham United star has shone this season and as a result, has attracted interest from big clubs.

Comparing the two shows that the Englishman could be a perfect replacement for Saint-Maximin. He has better goals and assists average per 90 minutes at 0.35 compared to 0.18.

Newcastle could use the money generated from selling the £93k-per-week Saint-Maximin to buy Bowen and improve their side.

IN other news: Downie drops NUFC transfer claim involving “four or five players”, it’s great news – opinion

As per Sky Sports, some transfer news has come out of Tottenham Hotspur involving in-demand Wolverhampton Wanderers star Ruben Neves.

The Lowdown: Pochettino eyed 2018 move for Neves…

Journalist Adrian Kajumba, writing for The Daily Mirror at the time, revealed that former Spurs boss and fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino personally had Neves in his sights back in 2018.

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Indeed, the Argentine reportedly added Wolves’ star midfielder to his transfer wish list alongside other Portuguese internationals like Cedric Soares and Gelson Martins.

In the same year, reports suggested that the Molineux outfit would have demanded big money to let Neves leave, with Wolves apparently setting his valuation at ‘over £100 million’.

Now, as per Sky Sports, it appears that Tottenham have been eyeing him again this season as they aim to back manager Antonio Conte with fresh faces.

The Latest: Spurs in mix for Neves?

The big-name broadcaster, as written by their reporter Lyall Thomas, have claimed that Spurs ‘have also been interested in Neves this season’ alongside Manchester United.

This comes as Sky Sports also revealed that the 25-year-old is emerging as a top transfer target for north London rivals Arsenal.

The Verdict: Make a move?

Given the signing of Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus in January, not to mention the presence of other dependable central midfielders like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp in their squad, a move for Neves shouldn’t be too hotly pursued by Spurs in the summer.

Tottenham arguably need a backup to star striker Harry Kane much more urgently, with The Athletic also stating that Conte’s major summer priority is a left-sided central defender.

Despite Neves being lauded as a ‘quality’ Premier League player by ex-Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips, the Lilywhites may have other priorities this summer, and we believe they should leave Pochettino’s one-time target alone.

In other news: Tottenham could strike imminent agreement to sign ‘magical’ £25m striker! Find out more here.

Taking to Twitter, reliable reporter Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic has relayed some exit news out of Tottenham Hotspur involving midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

The Lowdown: Tottenham eye sales…

Spurs boss Antonio Conte has been making evaluations on his squad as he decides who to sell and who to sign this transfer window.

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A handful of Tottenham players have been linked with a move away from north London, including the likes of Dele Alli, Matt Doherty and Ndombele (Sky Sports).

So far, the Lilywhites have confirmed just one outgoing with promising youngster Dilan Markanday completing a permanent move to Blackburn Rovers.

Sharing some exit news for Spurs fans, The Athletic reporter Eccleshare has dropped a social media update involving Ndombele.

The Latest: The Athletic share news…

According to Eccleshare and Jack Pitt-Brooke, a deal to offload Spurs’ club record signing to Paris-Saint Germain is still a ‘long way off’ completion.

“THFC and PSG in talks over loan move for Tanguy Ndombele,” Eccleshare explained on Twitter.

“Still a long way off completion, understand from sources close to situation that expectation is still only around 50-50 that it’ll go through.”

The Verdict: Time to leave?

PSG apparently want to take Tottenham’s £200,000-per-week ace on loan for the rest of the season and we believe this could be a good move for all involved, if both clubs can find an agreement.

Ndombele himself is from the Parisian suburbs and the Ligue 1 side’s financial power indicates that, if they wished to, they could lodge a permanent move for the player after his temporary spell depending on his performances.

It will be difficult to find an outright buyer before January 31 so this could be Tottenham’s chance to get the ball rolling over a potential permanent exit in future.

In other news: Spurs allegedly ‘edging closer’ to signing ‘massive’ £15m defender, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in Nicolo Zaniolo with sporting director Fabio Paratici eyeing up a swoop this summer…

What’s the word?

Calciomercato.it have once again linked Spurs with interest in the AS Roma midfielder but they face competition from Serie A rivals Juventus and AC Milan, as well as from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.

It’s believed that the Rome outfit are looking for a fee in the region of €60m (£50m) to €70m (£58m) but they are said to be more likely to receive between €40m (£33m) to €50m (£41.5m).

It also remains to be seen whether manager Jose Mourinho would accept a sale or push for the board to try and renew the 22-year-old’s contract.

Bye-bye Ndombele

Lilywhites manager Antonio Conte recently hinted of his intentions to sign a new no.10-like player during the off-season to help the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski, so it’s no surprise to see the north Londoners mooted with a move for Zaniolo.

You’d have to then wonder what the future holds for Tanguy Ndombele – Spurs’ disappointing £55m club-record signing – as he is currently on loan to former club Lyon.

During his time at Hotspur Way, the Frenchman has been lambasted as being “very lazy” and as having a “bad attitude” by pundit Alan Hutton, as well as “disgraceful” by Sky Sports man Jamie Carragher last season.

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Meanwhile, despite persistent injury troubles, the Italy international remains one of the hottest prospects in his age bracket with Transfermarkt valuing him at £29.7m, which was higher than Kulusevski, 21, at the time of his departure from Juventus this winter.

The versatile attacking midfielder, who can also play on the wing, has featured in 36 matches this term, where he has delivered seven goals and eight assists, including a recent hat-trick in their Europa Conference League quarter-final win over Bodo/Glimt.

In terms of attacking output, Zaniolo is only tracking 0.1 shots per game behind top goalscorer Tammy Abraham at the Stadio Olimpico, whilst he leads the squad for dribbles (2.2 successive attempts per outing), as per WhoScored.

His ability and form in the Italian capital once caught the eye of legendary Roma striker Francesco Totti, who lauded the young maestro as “explosive” before also suggesting that he “plays like a veteran,” via the BBC.

Some have even likened him to Premier League greats Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, suggesting that he’s a more box-to-box beast that can contribute in the opposition’s penalty box, too.

As such, any Zaniolo arrival could finally force Ndombele out of the exit door at long last – at least, Conte would then have a valid reason to cash in on Spurs’ club-record disaster.

Paratici and co must look to sign the Italian this off-season.

AND in other news, Spurs “keeping tabs” on PL star that would excite the Lilywhites faithful…

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou must surely look to start Daizen Maeda against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon.

Maeda made his return to the Celtic team in that Old Firm clash in midweek, having been on international duty with Japan back in late January.

Having given him that opportunity to get back into the swing of things against the Gers, Postecoglou must surely look to unleash him from the off against Motherwell on Sunday afternoon.

The Japan international got his Hoops career off to the best possible start following his January arrival, netting on his debut against Hibernian in a 2-0 win.

It was the kind of goal-scoring display which has become rather typical of his form and development over the past 12 months or so.

Indeed, over his 36 appearances in the Japanese top-flight last year, the 5 foot 8 ace scored an impressive 23 goals, picked up five assists and created four big chances for his teammates – he also averaged 2.6 shots and 0.9 key passes per game.

It’s no surprise then that he has earned rave reviews for his performances, with his former manager at Yokohama, Kevin Muscat, waxing lyrical about his all-round ability and versatility.

He said: “He’s one of those dream players for a manager because he can play in any position up front across the pitch. Daizen is a fantastic player who has the flexibility and speed to play as a target man striker, off the main striker or on either wing.”

With his fellow new signing and Japanese compatriot Reo Hatate also taking Celtic Park by storm after a stunning long-range strike on his debut before a cracking double against Rangers in the Old Firm clash, Postecoglou could form a formidable partnership by bringing Maeda into the fold.

Maeda’s movement and finishing up front would cause havoc for Motherwell’s defence – a team who have conceded 33 goals already in the Premiership this season, the worst of any side in the top nine (in fact, only Ross County and Dundee in the bottom three have let in more).

Meanwhile, this Celtic ace is wanted by a Premier League club…

Rangers were seconds away from securing a comeback victory in their latest Premiership match this afternoon, coming from 2-1 down to lead 3-2, only for a very late goal from Matthew Wright right at the death to deny them two points.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side took an early lead against Ross County through winter loan signing Amad Diallo in his first appearance for Rangers since joining from Manchester United a few days ago.

Two goals from County thanks to individual mistakes from Rangers duo Allan McGregor and Calvin Bassey put the hosts ahead by half-time.

In the second half, two Rangers defenders managed to get on the scoresheet, with captain James Tavernier netting an equaliser just a few minutes after the teams returned to the pitch, followed by a goal from Connor Goldson to put the visitors ahead again.

With a deflating late goal from County ensuring that the match ended 3-3, there was one Rangers player who didn’t have much of an impact on the team today and arguably let his manager down.

Itten let Rangers and Van Bronckhorst down

Starting at centre-forward in between wingers Diallo and Ryan Kent, Cedric Itten had just 28 touches of the ball in total, one fewer than McGregor in goal, before being replaced after 59 minutes by Kemar Roofe.

During his time on the pitch, the £2.7m-rated striker lost possession of the ball 10 times, got caught offside twice, committed one foul and lost six of his seven duels, highlighting the minimal impact he had before being withdrawn in the second half.

This performance ultimately earned the 25-year-old an underwhelming overall match rating of 6.6/10 according to SofaScore, leaving only McGregor and Bassey with lower ratings among Van Bronckhorst’s starting XI.

The 3-3 draw in Dingwall gave Celtic the chance to close the gap at the top of the table to two points, which they duly did with a stoppage-time winner later in the afternoon. If the Hoops beat Rangers in Wednesday’s Old Firm clash, this would knock Van Bronckhorst’s side off top spot, which would be a nightmare situation for the Gers and leave the title race out of their hands.

This duly highlights just how much Itten’s performance today could have cost Rangers and their manager in the chase for the Premiership title.

In other news – “Monitoring”: Journalist delivers key Rangers transfer update which Van Bronckhorst will love…

Aston Villa are close to signing goalkeeper Robin Olsen on loan until the end of the season.

That’s according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, which, as to be expected, has had plenty of Villa fans talking.

Johan Lange has made no secret of his hunt for a new back-up goalkeeper this month, as the club have been linked with West Ham’s Darren Randolph and PSG’s Sergio Rico as well as Olsen.

He has finally made a breakthrough, and it appears Olsen will now be the man to come in alongside Emiliano Martinez and Jed Steer, with a medical booked for Tuesday.

Olsen, who has won seven trophies during his career, is currently on loan at Sheffield United where he has made 11 Championship appearances. The Blades have agreed to cut that short, though, with Villa now agreeing on a temporary deal with parent club AS Roma.

Villa fans react

@villareport relayed Romano’s claim on Villa’s next January swoop. This is what these fans had to say in reply, with a mixture of responses available to view below.

“We’re massive!”

Credit: @MattSmith1874

“Robin Olsen wooaahhhh. Olsen woaaaah”

Credit: @AVFCFaithful_

“We needed a good experienced keeper as cover for Emi he’ll do nicely, now just Bissouma and Pau Torres and we’re sorted”

Credit: @STAUNT0N

“Pointless.”

Credit: @StevieGsVilla

“We need a centre half”

Credit: @N1X0

“No analysis needed. Someone to take the furthest right seat on the bench.”

Credit: @jmhart1

In other news: Shares agent with Gerrard – Villa now after midfield ace ‘like’ Gascoigne.