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Glasgow Rangers transfer target Joseph Okumu has revealed he is ready to take the next step and leave current club Elfsborg.

The Lowdown: Gers want Okumu

The Gers have been heavily linked with a move for Okumu (Aftonbladet), who currently plays in the Swedish Allsvenskan.

Their fierce city rivals Celtic have also been linked with a move for the central defender, who has been compared to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (mozzartsportke.com).

The Latest: Okumu speaks out on future

Speaking to Swedish outlet Fotbolldirekt.se, Okumu admitted he is ready to take the next step. He said:

“Yes, definitely [will take the next step]. The most important thing is that I have already made an impression here.

“When I have done that, and both I and the club are satisfied. I think we have the same interests here, that I will take the next step.

“I let my agent take care of it. When there is something concrete, he will let me know, but we have not talked about this, so I am not so sure about it.”

The Verdict: Time to strike

These comments from the 24-year-old indicate that it is time for the Gers to strike if they want to take him to Ibrox. While not directed at Rangers explicitly, this is a come-and-get-me plea to any of the clubs interested in the Kenya international’s services.

It has previously been said Elfsborg are looking for a fee of at least 40m SEK – about £3.4m. That would be a considerable sum for the 55-time Scottish champions, but with them in with a chance of qualifying for the Champions League group stages, they should not be frugal as they look for new signings. It remains to be seen whether Ross Wilson and co react to Okumu’s words.

In other news, Rangers have been urged to sign this man with 24 goals/assists last term.

Aston Villa have emerged as a potential suitor for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly according to reports from Italy.

What’s the Word?

Italian outlet TMW has claimed that Premier League sides Aston Villa, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur are all interested in the Senegal international, labelling him a “real tressure” in what would undoubtedly be a sensational signing for Villa.

The centre back is in high demand, with European heavyweights Barcelona also interested, this is despite Napoli placing a €70m (£58m) price tag on his head.

Koulibaly will turn 31 in June and a fee of this size might put a lot of teams off, especially when they may only get a couple of years out of him at his peak.

Imagine him & Konsa

Villa have been leaking goals as of late and surely a centre back is high on the list of Steven Gerrard’s priorities as he looks ahead to his first full season in charge at Villa Park.

There aren’t many defenders better than Koulibaly at the moment, with the Premier League surely being an attractive move having spent the last eight years in Serie A.

Forza Italian football editor Connor Clancy previously stated his belief that the Napoli titan “improves any team” he plays for, as well as dubbing the defender “phenomenal.” High praise for the 30-year-old.

The most important aspect that Gerrard will be looking at is to create a solid centre back pairing of both Ezri Konsa and Koulibaly.

With Konsa having a rating of 6.74 on SofaScore this season, the onus would be on the Senegal international to come in and form a solid backline with the 24-year-old English talent.

Regardless of if Gerrard actually manages to secure his services or not, it shows just how far Villa have come since promotion three years ago that they are linked with one of the finest centre backs in the world.

What a summer Villa supporters have in store.

AND in other news, Gerrard now plotting AVFC bid for £46k-p/w “phenomenon”, he’s better than Phillips

Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that John McGinn was a “steal” amid rumours that he could leave the Villans this summer.

According to West Ham insider ExWHUemployee (via Hammers News), Moyes is interested in the 26-year-old and could make a serious play for him once the transfer window opens.

McGinn joined Villa from Hibernian for just £2m back in 2018 and has played a big part in the club’s recent success, helping them win promotion to the Premier League.

At that price, for Hendrie, his old side got an absolute bargain in the Scottish midfielder, who scored the opener in the Villans’ recent 2-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about McGinn, Hendrie said:

“You look at your top three players in the squad, John McGinn is in there. There’s no doubt about that. He’s been absolutely excellent and he was a steal when they brought him into the football club for such a small price, really.

“I think lots of managers would admire and take John McGinn into the football club because he’s got a great mentality, he’s got a great way of playing, his work ethic, everything about him. He is a very, very good player.”

McGinn is a player Dean Smith will not want to lose this summer, and with his contract running until 2025, Villa are in a strong position should West Ham actually come knocking.

Back home, the former Hibernian man is also highly rated, with Scotland and Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish a fan of the player.

Sunderland fans have been reacting to the news that Jordan Jones is set to move on loan to Wigan Athletic from Rangers.

The Black Cats are preparing for their new campaign, which kicks off on Saturday – they will host Wigan at the Stadium of Light. The north-east outfit have made some new signings, with Callum Doyle and Alex Pritchard perhaps the picks of the bunch so far, but Lee Johnson is likely to be looking for more new faces before the end of the transfer window.

12-time Northern Ireland international Jones spent the second half of last season on loan at Sunderland, but he did not return to the Black Cats.

Instead, it appears he will be joining Wigan – as per The Guardian journalist Will Unwin – and, in a twist of fate, could face Sunderland at the weekend. He joins Max Power and Charlie Wyke in making the move to the Latics from the Stadium of Light.

The news was shared by Unwin on his Twitter page, and it attracted plenty of news from the Sunderland supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Jones news below

“That fixture is just turning into a weird Sunderland testimonial”

Credit: @BenCra1g

“We all know how this is gonna go, though”

Credit: @AdamJamesRoper

“Wigan seriously need to liquidate”

Credit: @Mustardinho

“just a bit weird at this point lads, let’s be honest”

Credit: @Grundy_99

“just rename the club whilst you’re at it lads”

Credit: @chris28hogg

“I feel like they’ve done us a favour taking Wyke and power but taking jordan jones without us even challenging is criminal from us”

Credit: @LionelSpeccy

In other news, Sunderland fans want to sign this striker.

Lille are planning on keeping West Ham target Sven Botman this summer, says Adam White of Get French Football News.

According to Sky Sports, a host of Premier League clubs are interested in signing Botman, with West Ham said to be the most keen.

The 21-year-old impressed last season, making 37 league appearances as he went on to help Lille win the Ligue 1 title ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, a title triumph that shocked French football.

Such a contribution makes it no surprise that English top-flight outfits such as West Ham are interested in Botman. However, the noises coming out of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy suggest the Dutch youngster will probably not be leaving in this transfer window.

“I think the plan is for him to stay this season,” White told TT. “I know that Jocelyn Gourvennec the new manager is keen to keep that title-winning team together and there were reports this summer that Botman expects to stay. Maybe next summer is the one for him.”

West Ham do look really desperate to bring in a new centre-back before the transfer window closes, with the east London club having also been linked with Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma.

However, it does not look like Botman will be the man coming in to give David Moyes’ side a defensive boost.

Some Wolves fans have been left to slam the display of Fabio Silva in their 1-0 away loss to Everton in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.

In a game that was played in front of several thousand Toffees supporters at Goodison Park, Richarlison grabbed the only goal as Carlo Ancelotti’s team took all three points.

On the opposite side of the pitch, Silva struggled to make an impact, as he lost out on 67% of his duels, and also failed to record a single shot on target or key pass, losing possession of the ball on no fewer than on 13 separate occasions in the match (Sofascore).

Nonetheless, the former FC Porto man will be hoping for a better performance in their final fixture against Manchester United at Molineux.

Wolves fans on Silva display

These WWFC supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to call the 18-year-old ‘petulant’:

“Silva needs to stop diving. #wwfc”

Credit: @kevins1966

“Where was Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ronaldo, etc, etc!! These were class youngsters who always showed they had something about them!! Silva is a petulant kid nowhere good enough & in my opinion never will be. Biggest waste of multi millions in Wolves history.”

Credit: @SteveWiles20

“I really hope we buy an experienced striker over the summer. Fabio Silva is just a kid and out of his depth at the moment.”

Credit: @BalSinghBad

“Stop sending crosses to Fabio. Completely uncapable to connect. It´s like playing with 10 men”

Credit: @RodrigoBecarius

“What the hell is Nuno playing at taking MGW off when you’ve got Silva doing nothing and Moutinho misplacing passes and taking rubbish corners left right and centre. The mind boggles #wolves”

Credit: @mikeaitch20

“Will those fans who still rate Fabio Silva please make an appointment at the nearest psychiatric unit. Thank you. #wwfc”

Credit: @dougan_the

In other news, find out what transfer update has left Wanderers buzzing here!

Marcus Bent has suggested that Josh King was a panic buy from Everton.

With just one recognised striker at the club in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and a European push very much on the cards, the Toffees signed the Canadian from Bournemouth late on Deadline Day in January.

King had been struggling in the Championship with the Cherries having failed to net in the first half of the campaign.

However, he had previously scored goals in the top-flight with Bournemouth, which is why Carlo Ancelotti bought him to Goodison Park on a short-term contract.

Remarkably, despite being proven at this level, King failed to start a single match during his short stay on Merseyside, and unsurprisingly didn’t manage to score.

In fact, King played just 137 minutes during his time with Everton before he was released at the end of his contract last month despite the man who signed him, Ancelotti, leaving for Real Madrid.

Bent exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“Maybe it was a panic buy, a panic buy doesn’t mean bringing in a player that you sign for the fans, but maybe in case someone gets injured.

“It was only a six-month deal, so it isn’t the end of the world.”

Everton’s record in the transfer window has left a lot to be desired in recent years and one club has benefitted more than most from their haphazard spending.

The Toffees signed Alex Ixobi from Arsenal for £34m in the summer of 2019, but not before they splashed out £20m to secure the services of a 28-year-old Theo Walcott just six months prior.

At first glance, it appeared to be a sensible transfer for the Goodison Park outfit. Director of football Marcel Brands had secured an England international who had scored over 100 goals for the Gunners and was still in his prime years.

However, Walcott’s three-and-a-half-year stay on Merseyside proved to be somewhat of a nightmare for Everton and the player.

The flying winger made a fast start to in a Blue shirt, scoring three goals and providing a further three assists in his first 14 Premier League games for the club, but his promising form failed to carry over into 2018/19.

During his second campaign as an Everton player, Walcott only added a further eight goal contributions despite making 40 appearances in all competitions.

And things got even worse for the now 32-year-old in 2019/20. The Southampton academy graduate scored just two goals and laid on four assists, condemning the forward to one of his least productive campaigns in many years.

It led to Walcott re-joining his boyhood club on a season-long loan last term before making the move permanent following the expiration of his contract over the summer, ending an underwhelming with the Toffees.

He exited Everton with 20 goal contributions in 85 outings for the club and will go down as another expensive dud who promised so much.

And, in other news…Everton increasingly likely to sign £187k-p/w gem, fans surely buzzing 

A number of Sheffield Wednesday supporters have laid into Barry Bannan’s performance after the Owls’ 1-1 draw at home to Lincoln City.

Darren Moore is now finding himself under increasing pressure after another disappointing result on Saturday afternoon.

Wednesday had to settle for a point against Lincoln at Hillsborough, with Dennis Adeniran’s opener cancelled out by Lewis Montsma’s late equaliser.

The draw leaves Moore’s side sitting ninth in League One but they should be higher had it not been for continually blowing leads this season, yesterday’s result their third consecutive draw.

One player who was poor against Lincoln was Bannan, with the Scot losing possession a total of 19 times in the match.

The midfielder is often a crowd favourite who is considered one of Wednesday’s most important players – he is their second-best performer this season according to WhoScored metrics – but that wasn’t the case on Saturday.

Sheff Wed fans lambast Bannan’s performance

These fans took to Twitter to criticise Bannan’s performance against the Imps.

“While DM is in charge and/or Bannan is a regular starter we are only going one way”

Credit: @mark1867bryan

“Please, please, please stop Bannan taking all the set pieces, he’s rubbish”

Credit: @johnellison

“Petition to get Barry Bannan off corners”

Credit: @AndrewC997

“Laughable when there’s shouts for Bannan ‘best player in the league’. He’s not even best midfielder in our team”

Credit: @JBH_swfc

“It’s now 54 corners since Barry Bannan found a Wednesday player’s head”

Credit: @Andyb3n

“He has gotta go. Drop him. We’re better than Barry Bannan”

Credit: @Richard30044063

In other news, some Sheff Wed fans have hailed one player after a recent award win. Find out who it is here.

Southampton have been linked with a move for West Ham’s Issa Diop recently and if he were to join Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this summer, it could lead to Jannik Vestergaard’s exit.

What’s the word?

According to French news outlet Foot Mercato, Southampton, Wolves and Crystal Palace are all showing an interest in the 24-year-old ahead of next season.

It is suggested that a loan-to-buy deal has been suggested by some of the clubs without any success thus far and with West Ham arguably short on defensive options as it is, it would be something of a surprise if David Moyes allowed Diop to leave this summer ahead of the Hammers’ upcoming Europa League campaign.

Bye-bye Vestergaard?

If Southampton were to splash the cash on the former Toulouse man this summer, it would not be a surprise to see the Denmark international depart, as he has been heavily linked with a move away throughout the summer.

The 28-year-old’s contract at St Mary’s is set to expire at the end of next season and it makes a lot of sense for Southampton to sell him now rather than losing him for nothing in 2022, especially if they are able to bring in a direct replacement such as Diop.

The West Ham defender made just 18 appearances in the Premier League last season, averaging a less than impressive 6.64 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

However, he has been highly rated in the past, particularly by Jose Mourinho during his time at Manchester United, as he sang his praises following a defeat against the Hammers in 2018, saying:

“(He had a) fantastic match. Congratulations to the scout that found a 21-year-old kid Diop – a monster who dominated in the duels.”

If he were able to replicate those sorts of performances at St Mary’s, then he would surely prove to be an adequate replacement for the six-foot-six Vestergaard next season, with the Dane impressing both aerially and with the ball at his feet last term.

After an impressive Euros, it would not be a surprise to see the former Borussia Monchengladbach man depart Southampton, especially if Martin Semmens opts to sign Diop for Hasenhuttl this summer.

And, in other news… Hasenhuttl drops claim on “outstanding” beast that’ll delight Saints fans