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Leeds United forward Kemar Roofe has revealed that he is hopeful of returning to action ‘for the final six or seven games’ of the 2018-19 Championship season.

What’s the latest?

Roofe said on Radio X, via the Yorkshire Evening Post:

“I’ll be back for the final six or seven games, maybe a bit sooner. I suffered damage to my lateral ligament and I’ll be out for six to eight weeks.”

The striker picked up a knee ligament injury during his team’s 2-1 win over Swansea City in the Championship on February 13.

Roofe completed the 90 minutes, but it soon became apparent that he had picked up an issue, which will see him miss a key period of the season.

Leeds have another 14 league games to play this term, starting with a home fixture against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.

Roofe has revealed that he is aiming to return ‘for the final six or seven games’, although he is remaining confident that it will be before that.

Which match could mark Roofe’s return?

If Roofe misses Leeds’ next seven Championship matches then he will be back for the trip to Birmingham City on April 6.

The Whites travel to Preston North End after visiting Birmingham, before facing Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan Athletic, Brentford, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town in their final five matches of the regular campaign.

The fact that Roofe will miss games against the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Bristol City and Sheffield United is far from ideal.

However, it had been feared at one point that the team’s leading scorer could miss the entirety of the campaign, which will not be the case if everything goes as planned.

Leeds United have been tipped to consider moving for Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara this summer, LeedsLive report.

The Lowdown: January interest

Kamara was linked with a move to Elland Road in January, where a fee in the region of £10m would have reportedly been enough due to his contract situation.

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However, as we know, Victor Orta failed to make any senior signings for the club, despite speaking to Kamara’s agent.

The 22-year-old remained with the Ligue 1 side and has continued to be a regular but is set to become a free agent at the end of June.

The Latest: Leeds move?

LeedsLive reporter Danny Bloomer shared a story on Thursday morning, looking at five free agents the Whites could be interested in this summer.

One of those is Kamara, who is described as a perfect partner for Kalvin Phillips.

The report says he definitely won’t be extending his deal with Marseille, with the midfielder possibly a player the Whites could make a huge profit on further down the line.

The Verdict: Get it done

Due to Kamara’s contract situation, Leeds could actually secure a pre-contract agreement right now ahead of a free transfer in the summer.

It appears to be a no-brainer, especially with Jesse Marsch extremely short of midfield options at Elland Road. Andrea Radrizzani wouldn’t need to fork out a fee, which could allow the club to table an extremely tempting offer for Kamara, who is on £46,000-a-week at this moment in time.

He’s already made 161 senior appearances for Marseille at the age of 22 and is valued at £22.5m, so a cut-price move to Yorkshire could prove to be a major coup.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano reveals big transfer blow for Leeds as key 21 y/o target now set to move elsewhere

Tottenham defender Matt Doherty has shut down rumours that he nearly left the club before his resurgence under Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Doherty’s resurgence at Spurs

The 30-year-old had endured a tough start to life in north London since arriving from Wolves in 2020. For the most part, the Republic of Ireland international has been in and out of the team, failing to string together a number of consistent performances in a Lilywhites shirt.

However, under Conte, the right-back has begun to excel. As a result, he has become the Italian’s first-choice right wing-back, starting Tottenham’s last six Premier League games.

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The Latest: Doherty’s claims

A plethora of rumours emerged last summer and in January detailing Doherty’s potential exit from Hotspur Way, but the Irishman has now put these firmly to bed.

As quoted by football.london, he claimed:

“I didn’t come close, I never had a conversation, nothing was ever said to me. From my point of view I was led to believe that I wasn’t going anywhere. I don’t know if that’s the case, that is what my point of view was. You have thoughts at times that it wasn’t working out, I just decided that I wanted to train hard and I wanted to play here. 

“Why would I want to go anywhere apart from Tottenham? I thought if I keep training hard and I keep doing what the manager wants the opportunity would come and it would be up to me to grasp the opportunity and at the moment I seem to be doing that well.”

The Verdict: Fantastic turnaround

Doherty’s transformation at Spurs will come as a huge sigh of relief for the manager. Throughout his tenure in N17, Conte has been critical of his options at right wing-back, suggesting that he needed a replacement in January.

This sparked Tottenham’s pursuit of Adama Traore, on whom they eventually missed out to La Liga giants Barcelona. However, with Doherty’s recent resurgence, Conte’s problem now appears to be solved.

Therefore, the 52-year-old will be hoping that the Irishman can maintain this form, so that he has one less issue to worry about in the summer.

In other news: Pete O’Rourke drops Andrea Belotti to Spurs transfer claim

A Rangers transfer update has emerged on Ibrox tank Calvin Bassey as one club eyes him as a potential target…

What’s the talk?

According to Football Insider, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s young defender could be on the move in the summer transfer market.

It’s understood that Premier League side West Ham are interested in a deal to sign the defender in the summer.

The report claims that they are in the market for a left-footed defender and have been keeping tabs on Bassey since they failed to land him from Leicester in 2020.

Disaster

Ross Wilson must avoid a summer disaster with Bassey, as he cannot allow the young defender to leave Glasgow to sign for the Hammers.

The £6.4k-per-week man mountain has been a key player for van Bronckhorst this season and his exit would be a major blow to the Gers in the short-term. It would also be a huge error from a long-term point of view as he has the potential to improve even further and increase his value.

At the age of 22, he is in the early years of his career and could be worth more after 12-18 months of development, which is why Rangers must not sell him this summer.

Earlier this season, Van Bronckhorst heaped praise on the former Leicester tank for how he has adapted to his change in position. He said:

“I’ve been really impressed with Calvin [Bassey] as he does not have a lot of experience in the central positions. He has a lot of physical strength and we will help him to develop and grow. He is very open to learning and is full of energy.

“I think he has the physical ability to play there and we’re helping him a lot in that position when he has to pass when he has to dribble, the position he has to take when the other defenders got the ball.

“He’s a player who’s very open in learning and he gives a lot of energy into the team. The last two games I’m really happy with the way he played.”

In the Premiership this season, the defender has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.95. He has mainly been deployed as a centre-back since the Dutchman came in but he is also able to play at left-back and did so effectively in the recent 5-0 win over Hearts.

Bassey has been a consistent performer on the pitch for the most part, and Wilson must now stand firm and reject interest from the Hammers. He could be a mainstay in the Rangers defence for years to come, and it would be a disaster to lose him so early into his Ibrox career.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst can save Rangers millions by unleashing “confident” gem who’s “totally at ease”…

Celtic are back in action tomorrow with an SPFL clash against Ross County away from home to try and take another step towards securing the league title.

Last weekend saw the Hoops get knocked out of the semi-final of the Scottish Cup by Rangers in what was a disappointing afternoon for Ange Postecoglou and his side.

With that in mind, it could be bad news for County to have to come up against a wounded Celtic side looking to get back to winning ways.

However, one issue that the Bhoys will have to deal with is the absence of right-back Josip Juranovic, who will reportedly be out for the next couple of weeks through injury.

Despite this blow, it could pave the way for one Celtic figure to come in and shine for the team.

Opportunity knocks

Having only started one of Celtic’s six previous league games, Anthony Ralston has been in and out of the team since the turn of the year.

With 23 league appearances to his name in total this season, the right-back has shown what an attacking talent he can be by racking up four goals and seven assists.

Also, no other defender in Postecoglou’s squad has been able to have as many shots on target (13) or crosses (116) as the 23-year-old.

In addition to this, from a defensive point of view, only Juranovic (28) has won more tackles than the £1.62m-rated Scotsman (26).

This highlights just how much of a capable player Ralston is up and down the pitch and how much they will need someone like that while their other right-back is out injured, with the introduction of the 23-year-old potentially being a game-changer for the Bhoys.

Currently listed as the third-highest rated player at the Parkhead club, the full-back has earned himself an overall performance rating of 7.47 from WhoScored.

Labelled as a “soldier” on the pitch by Postecoglou, Ralston could use this time while the Croatian is recovering to really stake a claim that he should be the first-choice right-back at Parkhead.

Moving forward, in terms of the Hoops boss putting his starting XI together to take on County, he should have no reservations about putting the £10.5k-per-week Scotsman in from the beginning at right-back.

AND in other news: Sold at £2m, now worth £630k: Celtic struck gold on £11k-p/w dud with a “bad attitude”

Joe Wainman has taken to Twitter to share his delight at more positive Leeds United injury updates.

The Lowdown: Cooper and Phillips back on the training pitch

The Whites shared pictures of club captain Liam Cooper and star midfielder Kalvin Phillips on Wednesday afternoon.

Both Cooper and Phillips were last in action against Brentford back in December and have missed the last six Premier League games. They are both set to be ready for action in March and it seems as if they are on track to do so.

The Latest: Cresswell back

Less than an hour after the club’s tweet on Cooper and Phillips, Leeds then shared an image of Cresswell on their official Twitter channel.

The young centre-back has missed the last four league games with a shoulder problem but was all smiles at Thorp Arch.

Wainman, a Leeds content creator on his JustJoe Football Show, replied to the image of Cresswell returning to training, saying ‘it gets even better’ alongside a smiling face emoji with three hearts.

The Verdict: Good news

It seems as if the international break came at the right time for the Whites, who fell to a 1-0 defeat to relegation rivals Newcastle last time out.

Marcelo Bielsa has a small squad as it is, so seeing the injured trio back out on the grass at Thorp Arch can only be good news.

Hopefully Cooper and Phillips can fast-track their returns before the month is out, whereas Cresswell will give Bielsa some welcome strength in depth at centre-back.

In other news: Phil Hay and Graham Smyth buzzing over free transfer news involving Leeds

Tuesday evening sees Nottingham Forest take on Championship leaders Fulham.

Fulham’s future was sealed last week when a 3-0 win against Preston North End confirmed that they would be playing Premier League football next season.

The Cottagers need six points to wrap up the title, though, Forest’s own ambition of promotion may forbid them of all three points.

On the chalkboard

Steve Cooper would have been ecstatic with the return of the club’s second-highest goal-scorer this season when he made his return in early April against Blackpool.

The Nottingham boss has eased Lewis Grabban back into action since then, with the Jamaican international making his first start in almost two months in the 1-0 defeat against Luton Town.

Grabban made a 15-minute cameo in Forest’s last game against Peterborough and was forced off in the 89th minute with an injury blow, with both Cooper and the 34-year-old Grabban hoping it is not serious.

Zero-to-hero

The timing of Sam Surridge’s resurgence to the starting XI has coincided brilliantly for Cooper.

The 23-year-old, who has been described as “clinical” by a reporter, has bagged five goals from just 11 shots for the Reds in all competitions.

His minutes per goal metric is very similar to Grabban’s 173 MPG, evidencing his decisiveness and suitability as an adequate replacement for the 34-year-old with a stat of 170 MPG.

Surridge has gone from a bit-part player to a starter over the last two games, with goals against West Brom and Peterborough in back-to-back starts allowing him to show Cooper exactly what he is about.

With three penalties awarded this season for the £12.6k-per-week earner’s efforts in the opposition’s box, he brings more unpredictability to Forest.

Grabban’s latest setback only strengthens Surridge’s case as a starter for however long the Jamaica international is out for.

He will be hoping to get another return in Tuesday’s game against Fulham and put a delay on their title celebrations in the hopes of boosting Nottingham Forest’s promotion ambitions.

In other news: Huge blow: Forest now suffer gutting injury setback, Cooper will be fuming…

Leeds United were dealt a late transfer blow on deadline day, it has emerged…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, West Ham boss David Moyes blocked their move for veteran goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who would’ve arrived at Elland Road as a solid backup to first-choice Illan Meslier.

Aston Villa were also keen but the Irons’ third-choice shot-stopper will now be resigned to a seat in the stands for the remainder of the season.

Bolstering the goalkeeper department was surely one of many priorities for Victor Orta and co during the winter but in the end, the Yorkshire giants failed to sign a single player.

Frustrating blow

After the departure of Kiko Casilla in the summer, manager Marcelo Bielsa was left with a lack of options between the sticks. The French glovesman is clearly the no.1 man in west Yorkshire but he has no capable backup behind him.

Vastly-inexperienced 21-year-old Norweigen Kristoffer Klaesson arrived from Valerenga as part of the academy setup during the off-season but has been named on the bench in the Premier League throughout the campaign.

He is the only other registered goalkeeper in the squad right now.

Elsewhere in the window, Leeds snubbed the opportunity to sign either Donny van de Beek from Manchester United or Spurs midfielder Harry Winks after being offered the pair of them, whilst they enquired about the possibility of landing Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino and Chelsea winger Kenedy, too.

They also saw two bids rejected for mooted top target, RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson.

Frustrating.

Randolph would’ve hardly been the man to get the Elland Road faithful roaring every week but he’d have been a solid depth option and one that Bielsa may well need in the future, especially given how bad injuries have been this season.

Once dubbed “outstanding” by former teammate Jonathan Woodgate, the 34-year-old would have added some much-needed experience to Leeds’ goalkeeping department.

Bielsa was already probably angry enough to have missed out on any arrivals but to be dealt a blow that late is certainly going to leave him livid heading into the second half of the season.

AND in other news, Phil Hay reveals huge Leeds United injury boost…

According to a report from Brazilian news outlet Vasco Noticias, Wolves are among the clubs battling to sign Vasco da Gama starlet Andrey Santos. 

The lowdown: Neves replacement?

This comes as speculation increases surrounding the future of talismanic Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves.

Already linked with Barcelona, Manchester United and Arsenal in recent days, the future of the 25-year-old at Molineux appears to be in serious doubt.

A report from South America has now highlighted a possible long-term successor…

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The latest: Wolves in the mix for Santos

As per the report from Vasco Noticias, the Old Gold have joined Benfica, Monaco and AC Milan in the race to sign 17-year-old midfielder Santos in the summer transfer window.

The report claims that Wolves have made an ‘enquiry’ over the teenager but ‘no conversations’ have yet progressed to a formal offer being made as Bruno Lage attempts to strengthen the ranks in the Midlands.

A previous report from UOL had cited interest from Barcelona and Everton in the six-cap Brazil under-16 starlet.

The verdict: Get it done

Albeit only a sample size of four fleeting senior appearances from which to judge, the fact that Santos has already made strides into first-team action at such a tender age is a testament to his prodigious talents.

Despite possessing a €30m (£25m) buyout clause, it has been reported that Vasco da Gama would be willing to sell their teenage star for between €6m and €7m (£5m-£6m).

At that price, this deal would represent a relatively low-risk option for Wolves should Neves indeed depart, and given the levels of top European interest, those in power at Molineux should be actively attempting to bring Santos to the Black Country.

In other news, Wolves man wanted by Portuguse giants. Find out who it is here.

This has not been a spectacular first transfer window for Antonio Conte at Tottenham with Fabio Paratici struggling to convince a number of the club’s top targets to join the north London club.

However, with the hours and days now ticking by as we edge ever closer to the deadline, the Lilywhites could still make a few acquisitions.

What’s the word?

Spurs have turned their attentions to Italian football over the last 24 hours with Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur believed to be targets.

However, it’s another of their players who they could sign ‘immediately’ according to reports in Spain.

The man in question is Alvaro Morata who is currently enjoying a stint on loan in Turin from Atletico Madrid.

However, another route could be offered out of the Spanish capital for the ex-Chelsea man via Marca. They suggest that ‘Newcastle and Tottenham have been interested in the striker and they can close an operation immediately if Juve opens the door to the striker.’

Controversial signing

The addition of Morata would be wise from the perspective that it would finally give Conte a back up to Harry Kane, but it would also be controversial due to his recent history.

After all, this is a forward who is far from prolific in front of goal, becoming notorious for his lack of composure inside the penalty area.

He scored just 12 times in 34 outings for Atletico in 2019/20 and then bagged only 11 goals in 32 matches for Juve last term. Then, as a result of his form at the Euros last summer, Gary Neville launched a scathing attack on his abilities, saying: “He’s got that vulnerable look about him, almost like he needs a cuddle.”

A war of words with Mauricio Pochettino back in 2017 may also not lend himself too well to Spurs fans.

The Argentine was thought to be interested in signing him a number of years ago but claimed the Spain international wasn’t keen on playing second fiddle.

The former Spurs boss once commented: “He said to me: ‘Why do you want me if you have Harry Kane?’

“You know, if you go to try to sign a striker, they will say: ‘Eh gaffer, you want me for what?”‘To be on the bench? Because it’s Harry Kane, I cannot compete with Harry Kane or Hugo Lloris or different players.'”This doesn’t exactly paint a promising picture of his potential arrival in London this winter but pivotally, he does have experience of English football with Chelsea, being labelled an “assassin” by Rio Ferdinand.The £31.5m-rated attacker’s knowledge of the Premier League may just be enough to convince the club of a late swoop.AND in other news, Talks opened: Conte could form frightening Spurs unit by signing £40.5m-rated “beast”…