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Sheffield Wednesday have confirmed the arrival of George Byers at Hillsborough.

What’s the latest?

In a short statement posted on the Sheffield Wednesday website, the club announced that they have completed the signing of Swansea City central midfielder for an undisclosed fee.

The club went on to state that the 25-year-old will bolster Darren Moore’s options in the middle of the park ahead of the new League One season, while also announcing that he will wear the number 14 shirt for the Owls, before officially welcoming the former Scotland U17 international to the club.

Chansiri masterclass

While many Sheffield Wednesday fans would most likely argue that Dejphon Chansiri is one of the major reasons the club now find themselves in the third tier of English football, it is hard to argue against the owner’s signing of Byers being anything but a masterclass by the Owls owner.

Indeed, over his 35 Championship appearances for Swansea in 2019/20, the £1.08m-rated man scored two goals and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

The 25-year-old also impressed in a defensive capacity, making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 1.3 tackles, 0.5 clearances and winning 3.5 duels per match.

These returns saw the £11k-per-week Scot earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.84, ranking him as Steve Cooper’s ninth-best performer in the second tier of English football that season.

As such, if Byers can refind this form for Wednesday in League One next season, not only would the midfielder significantly boost the club’s chances of going on to secure an immediate return to the Championship, but he could well be up with as one of the most influential midfielders in the division come next summer.

This would be an eventuality that would further cement the idea that the signing of the former Watford player is a brilliant capture by Chansiri and his Sheffield Wednesday transfer team, as well as one that will have fans of the club buzzing.

In other news: Sheffield Wednesday confirm major transfer news that will leave fans gutted

Celtic’s emphatic 6-0 win on Sunday afternoon rolled back the years to a time where the Hoops dominated Scottish football at every turn.

It was Ange ball at its finest as the Bhoys ensured they scored ten goals in the space of two days.

What’s the word?

That performance alone was full vindication of why the Celtic hierarchy hired Postecoglou in the first place and he’s even got Ryan Christie playing in a positive light.

However, just half an hour before his cameo of three assists against Dundee, positive news on his future came to light.

Christie has been widely expected to leave this summer with the attacking midfielder’s contract bizarrely expiring in January.

Though, according to The Scottish Sun, fresh talks have taken place with the 26-year-old over extending his deal at Parkhead.

That being said, a concrete contract offer has not been offered to the Scotland international just yet.

Fans will be elated

If you told supporters at the beginning of the summer that Christie would be handed a new deal, they’d have thrown something at you.

The Scot endured a torrid campaign in 2020/21, being hounded by fans for his diabolical form on the field of play.

Christie picked up an extreme habit of shooting from range and his goal-scoring ability severely deteriorated as a consequence.

He scored 13 fewer goals last term than he’d managed in 2019/20 but was playing out of position with James Forrest on the sidelines with injury.

Clearly, Neil Lennon’s style of football didn’t suit Christie because under Postecoglou he is becoming a mightily important player.

He scored an excellent header against Jablonec in Europa League qualifying last week and then followed that up with a perfect 10/10 performance versus Dundee on Sunday.

Playing on the left wing, he was absolutely incredible, supplying three goals for his teammates and producing eight key passes in total.

All three assists were of sincere beauty. For the first, he nutmegged a Dundee defender and then ran to the byline to produce a cross for Kyogo Furuhashi to prod home.

He spun another defender with a Cruyff turn to supply Tom Rogic’s strike before he played an inch-perfect reverse ball in behind that ultimately sealed Furuhashi’s hat-trick.

Based on that evidence, he would be incredibly hard to replace if he does actually leave. As a result, fans should be delighted that further talks are taking place to keep him in Glasgow.

AND in other news, 121 touches, 104 passes: Ange’s “outstanding” Celtic beast ran the show on Sunday…

An update has emerged regarding Sheffield Wednesday’s future plans for Dominic Iorfa.

What’s the talk?

According to Sheffield Star reporter Joe Crann, the club are preparing to offer a new contract to the centre-back.

The former Wolves man is out of contract at the end of the season and the Owls are now attempting to secure his future with a fresh agreement.

Fans will be buzzing

Wednesday fans will be buzzing with this update as it shows ambition from the club to tie down their better players to new contracts instead of losing key assets for nothing. This follows on from Josh Windass putting pen to paper on an extension at Hillsborough earlier this week, showing that the Owls are serious about retaining their top talents in the long-term and short-term.

Iorfa missed the majority of Wednesday’s relegation campaign last term as he was restricted to just 10 appearances and nine starts in the Championship. He showed fans exactly what they were missing in his return to the team on the opening day of this season, as he put in a superb performance against Charlton in League One last weekend.

Darren Moore’s side were held to a 0-0 draw by the Addicks, with Iorfa receiving a WhoScored rating of 7.28 for his display at the back. He made three tackles, one interception and seven clearances, whilst also winning six aerial battles. This was a glimpse of what he is capable of in the third tier, which is why securing his future could be crucial for the club.

Last season, Moore hailed Iorfa as a big player for the Owls upon his return from injury. He told the club’s official website: “To see Dominic Iorfa back today is wonderful.

“We wanted to give him 20 minutes today and that’s him off and running now. He’s back in full contact training, he’s been itching to get out there.

“Really it’s been us holding back the reins on him but it’s wonderful to have him back, he’s a big player for us.”

This emphasises the £8.4k-per-week enforcer’s importance to Wednesday and shows why keeping him beyond the end of the 2021/22 season could be crucial. If he can continue to produce exceptional performances at centre-back, as he did against Charlton, then he could help the club to return to the Championship at the first time of asking, as it would give Moore a solid defensive base upon which to build his team.

AND in other news, Ominous update emerges on “improving” 24y/o that could leave SWFC fans anxious…

Sheffield United are willing to sanction the departure of Blades centre-forward Oliver Burke this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claim that Slavisa Jokanovic is hoping to find the 24-year-old a new club over what remains of the summer transfer window in order to make room for a number of new arrivals at Bramall Lane.

The report goes on to state that the 53-year-old is prepared to accept a minimal fee for the Scotland international, while the Serbian manager is also thought to be willing to sanction the player’s departure on a loan deal, in a desperate attempt to get the £19k-per-week man’s wages off of the Blades’ books.

Get him gone

To say that Burke has not lived up to expectations following his move from West Bromwich Albion last summer, a deal which cost the Blades a fee of around £5.85m as well as Callum Robinson – a player who scored against Jokanovic’s side in Albion’s 4-0 romp of Sheffield United last week – would be something of an understatement.

Indeed, over the £5.4m-rated man’s 25 Premier League appearances for United last season, the 24-year-old scored just one goal, provided his teammates with one assist and missed a total of three big chances, as well as winning an average of just 35% of his duels.

These returns saw Chris Wilder’s signing average a highly disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.58, ranking him as the Blades’ fifth-worst performer in the top flight last term.

It has been a similar story over the former RB Leipzig striker’s three Championship appearances this season, scoring no goals and providing no assists, with his efforts seeing him earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.53 – the joint seventh-worst rating of the Sheffield United squad.

As such, it would indeed appear highly advisable for Jokanovic to do all he can to move Burke on this summer, as, aside from the fact the 53-year-old currently has seven centre-forwards in his first-team squad, the Scot does simply not appear to be worth the rather hefty weekly wage United are paying him.

In other news: SUFC dealt transfer blow over “unbelievable” £42k-p/w beast, Jokanovic will be gutted

Aston Villa are now eyeing a late transfer swoop for Sampdoria attacker Mikkel Damsgaard this summer.

What’s the story?

Despite already bringing in the likes of Emi Buendia and Leon Bailey to reinforce the wide areas, it appears Dean Smith isn’t done revamping his options in that area.

According to Italian publication Calciomercato, Villa are now interested in Denmark international Damsgaard, and that they, along with the likes of Spurs, Milan and Juventus, among others, are keen on luring him away from Sampdoria this summer.

The report added: “So in these last fiery days on the market, the fate of this Danish talent will be decided, of which the new Sampdoria coach Roberto D’aversa has already spoken saying that he hopes to have him at his disposal even if he knows he could lose him, so we are all curious to know whether this Danish talent will continue to amaze in Italy or migrate to other foreign leagues.”

Bye-bye El Ghazi

Dubbed as “magical” by Norwegian football expert Martin Mikkelsen, he also added that the 21-year-old is “dynamic and can go both ways. He is creative but also so mature in his decisions.”

The £26m-rated star has also been hailed as being “phenomenal” by Denmark teammate, Kasper Schmeichel, for his performances at EURO 2020 over the summer – Damsgaard of course struck that superb free-kick in the semi-finals against England.

Crucially however, Damsgaard’s arrival would surely spell the end of the line for Anwar El Ghazi at Villa Park.

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that Smith is open to letting the Dutchman leave this summer for an acceptable fee, with Serie A giants AS Roma being mooted as a potential destination.

Were Damsgaard to arrive – someone who predominantly plays on the left-hand side like El Ghazi – then that would surely be the final nail in the coffin for El Ghazi’s time at the club.

It would push him further down the pecking order in terms of wide options Smith has available to him to choose from, and may be the message that he needs to realise his future is better served elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Gregg Evans has dropped an Aston Villa transfer update…

A number of Liverpool supporters after fuming after a fresh update claimed any new Reds signings will likely be put off until next year.

Jurgen Klopp’s side scraped to a third-place finish in the Premier League last season, despite constant injury problems holding them back.

The hope from some fans was therefore that Liverpool would have a busy summer in the transfer market to alleviate that issue, but things haven’t panned out that way to date.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Ibrahima Konate is still the only signing to come in, while the likes of Gini Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri have moved on to new clubs.

There is still time for new faces to arrive before next Tuesday’s transfer cutoff, but The Daily Mail [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter] claim that signings won’t happen until next summer now, even though David Marshall and Mikkel Damsgaard are mentioned in the report.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans angry at transfer latest

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to show their frustration at the update.

“Ian Ayre is back”

Credit: @DembeReloaded

“Nextyearpool at it again”

Credit: @DarthMoaner

“That magic ‘next year/summer’ phrase again”

Credit: @LangatGodwin_LG

“Mbappe to David Marshall doesn’t feel like the flex I was hoping for”

Credit: @PaulSenior1

“If I had a pound for every time I heard that Liverpool would spend bigger NEXT summer, I would have enough money to make the signings myself”

Credit: @CosmoKhan

“I hate this club”

Credit: @nasir_l

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at an update ahead of the Premier League clash with Chelsea. Read more here.

West Ham United completed the signing of Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma on a four-year deal [Sky Sports].

The Lowdown: Frustrating transfer window for Hammers has bred anxiety amongst support

In what has been a frustrating transfer window for everyone connected with the Hammers, many supporters have experienced feelings of agitation due to the lack of incomings at the club this summer with only two previous additions; Craig Dawson and Alphonse Areola [Transfermarkt].

Whether a deliberate ploy owing to their tight knitted squad, or a result of a fragmented and disorganised approach to the market, the Irons have left any major business very late indeed.

Adding to the positive trajectory of the club however, they have now finally sealed a major incoming which will excite the London Stadium faithful.

The Latest: Zouma signs on Saturday

Following a medical on Thursday, Zouma signed on the dotted line for the Hammers on Saturday, penning a deal until summer 2025 [Sky Sports].

He had previously fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge after seven years at the club.

In a big money transfer, the 6 foot 3 colossus will swap blue for claret and blue in a deal worth £29.8 million.

The Verdict: Zouma will be a key player for West Ham

Famed for his athleticism and dominant presence in the backline, Zouma is a significant positional upgrade on anyone the Hammers currently have in central defence. This is illustrated in his average rate of 3.6 successful aerial duels per fixture in the 2020/21 Premier League [WhoScored].

Becoming a serial winner during his time at Chelsea, the France international managed to get his hands on two Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League and a League Cup, playing an important part in all triumphs [Transfermarkt].

Having previous experience at the elite level, Zouma will provide West Ham with European nous as they look towards their maiden Europa League group stage charge. All in for his former employers, he racked up 16 goal contributions in 151 appearances; 10 goals and six assists [Transfermarkt].

Moving forward, the 26-year-old should be immediately integrated into being a key part of the Irons’ starting line-up.

In other news, West Ham United fans react to their Europa League fixture confirmation. Find out more here.

Harry Kane is expected to push for a new contract at Tottenham Hotspur, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

Ian McGarry, who is one half of ‘The Transfer Window’ podcast alongside The Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles, has claimed that the 28-year-old’s representatives will try to negotiate a bumper extension to his current £200k-per-week contract after the striker’s move to Manchester City never materialised.

“My information is that Kane’s position now is that his representative, who is his brother Charlie Kane, is hopeful of negotiating an upgrade on Kane’s current contract,” he revealed.

“That would include a release clause, meaning that Kane could leave next summer or indeed in January for a set fee, rather than the haggling which went on during the last few months between City and Tottenham.

“Kane himself still sees his future as playing in a team that will win trophies, something that he has not experienced.”

The right move?

After a long saga throughout the summer transfer window, the England international finally put an end to speculation linking him with an exit to the defending champions.

It seems as if City were never prepared to pay in excess of £150m, having splashed £100m on his international teammate Jack Grealish from Aston Villa earlier in the window, and that has left Kane with relationships to repair.

That should be a fairly easy task considering just how crucial he is to this Lilywhites side. He scored or assisted 54.4% of all their league goals scored last season, and already this campaign, he sits top of the key passes per game charts by some margin, showing he can be a big influence under new manager Nuno Santo.

However, as a prolific goalscorer and a product from the club’s youth academy, Kane has always been a fan favourite and popular figure around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

This latest development only bodes well for their chances of keeping hold of him for the remainder of his career – and on the other hand, the inclusion of a release clause would mean that chairman Daniel Levy gets his way once again and that’ll be for the benefit of the club rather than the player.

Spurs will get the services of Kane for the foreseeable future and that gives them the very best chance of success, given his influence. Similarly, if City – or another club – come calling again, the north Londoners will get every penny they deserve. It’s a win-win and exactly why the Lilywhites faithful must be elated with this update.

AND in other news, Nuno Santo could discover Spurs’ next Dele Alli by unleashing “bright” 20 y/o prodigy…

Sunderland manager Lee Johnson has hinted at a possible loan move for goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, having declared his wish for the youngster to obtain 25 senior appearances this season.

The Lowdown: Third choice goalkeeper

The 21-year-old has made six first team appearances for the Black Cats after rising through the youth ranks at the club.

He already has started two games in League One this season, keeping a clean sheet in the 1-0 win against AFC Wimbledon, but with the arrival of Rob-Thorben Hoffmann on loan from Bayern Munich, Patterson wasn’t included in the squad for Saturday’s 2-1 home win over Accrington Stanley.

With Lee Burge and Hoffman ahead of him in the pecking order, Patterson’s desire for first team football will be strong after tasting it earlier this season, and Johnson has commented on the situation.

The Latest: National League loan

As per Chronicle Live, Johnson has stated that he intends to get Patterson 25 starts this season, indicating that he could spend the rest of the year on loan in the National League if that is what’s needed for the player to reach that target.

With players able to leave on loan to National League clubs outside the transfer window, Sunderland will be allowed to recall the goalkeeper at any time after an initial 28-day spell.

Speaking about a potential loan deal, Johnson said: “All players will get their opportunity at various points in the season.

“I think Patto is a really bright young goalkeeper, and I love him to bits in that he makes outstanding saves and his agility and reflexes are top drawer. But he is behind the other two in terms of exposure and gametime.

“I want to get all of our young players 25 starts. Once they go beyond the U23s, which you have seen now with Dan Neil, Elliot Embleton, and Patto, if you put them back in there it can be a bit regressive to their development.

“We want to get Patto those 25 games. If that’s at Sunderland, great. If not, we have the option to loan him out to the National League, which protests us because we can recall him then after 28 days if necessary.”

The Verdict: Exposure and game-time

With the quality and experience of Hoffman and Berge at the Stadium of Light, Patterson’s best chance of more first team minutes looks like it would come with a loan spell away from Sunderland.

At the age of 21, he will be hoping to get as much experience as possible if he is to potentially feature in League One or higher. Whilst there is an argument to be made he could improve under the mentoring of the other two goalkeepers on Wearside, there is no substitute for consistent first team football.

However, if he does go out on loan to the National League, it’s important that it is to the right club where he will get plenty of opportunities and isn’t likely to have his confidence dented by playing in front of a weak defence.

In other news, many Sunderland fans have reacted on Twitter to recent transfer news. Find out more here.

Sunderland confirmed on Thursday that left-back Denver Hume has re-joined the club on a two-year deal.

As to be expected, a number of Black Cats supporters have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

The 23-year-old was technically a free agent since July 1 after his previous deal at the Stadium of Light expired.

The left-back was still training at the Academy of Light base despite not being under contract at the club, but he is once again a Sunderland player and will provide cover to Dennis Cirkin for Lee Johnson.

Hume has made 76 appearances for the Black Cats after progressing through the youth system and will now look to add to that tally in his two-year deal, with an option of a third year.

Sunderland fans react

Sunderland posted the news on Hume via social media and here is what these fans had to say in reply, with one ‘gutted’ and another labelling the left-back as ‘woeful’ – potentially due to his situation being drawn-out over the summer or a spate of much-criticised performances in the past.

“My day is ruined”

Credit: @WW4___

“BOOOOO”

Credit: @Jake_3456

“He’s absolutely woeful”

Credit: @kieranwiIson

“Absolutely gutted, we were literally his last resort, couldn’t have been more disappointed with a signing than I am with this one”

Credit: @44stu

“Nobody else wanted him so he signed a new deal, brilliant have fun warming the bench for the rest of the season. Should have been queuing up at the job centre Monday morning.”

Credit: @MattyLowerson

“Didn’t want to be here, thought he could get a Championship move but no one came calling. Tail between his legs and needs to prove he wants to be here now or the fans won’t get behind him.”

Credit: @artlowy8

In others news, one former player from Sunderland’s arch-rivals has made a shock claim regarding the Black Cats.