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Manchester United are in pole position to sign Napoli defender Kim Min-jae this summer after the South Korean won the Scudetto with Napoli.

What's the latest on Kim Min-jae to Manchester United?

According to Calciomercato, Manchester United are in pole position to sign Kim this summer as they look to reinforce a defence that has conceded 40 goals in 33 Premier League games.

Despite leaving Fenerbahce last summer for Napoli, his incredible title-winning performance at the heart of Luciano Spalletti's defence means he could be on the move again.

United are reportedly ready to trigger his £44m release clause – a move that would make Napoli powerless to stop him leaving.

Only clubs outside of Italy can trigger his release clause and with ten Hag looking to upgrade his defensive options, Kim fits the bill perfectly.

Can Kim "The Monster" Min-jae improve Manchester United?

The player himself said his nickname "The Monster" sums his style up and Napoli fans would agree. While Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia have stolen the headlines this season, it's players like Kim that really win you titles.

Without a strong and reliable back four, it's incredibly difficult to challenge for silverware. Adding a player like Kim to United's squad would not only immediately improve the back four, it would promote much-needed competition for places.

Additionally, it would ensure there is more quality in reserve for when Erik ten Hag is forced to contend with untimely injuries to key defensive personnel.

Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are worrying absentees and without them, United look far weaker and more likely to crumble under pressure.

What Kim would offer in defence is a consistent pathway to winning the ball back in dangerous areas. His greatest strength, however, has to be the calm manner in which he handles the ball after winning it, which is evident just from looking at this highlights package.

It's the secret behind Napoli's incisive counter attacking football. Whenever the ball is won back, the likes of Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen feel comfortable making the dangerous runs they do without the fear of immediate turnover of possession.

West Ham suffered a setback in their quest for Premier League survival as they were defeated 2-1 by Liverpool at the London Stadium.

The Hammers took an early lead when a thunderous Lucas Paqueta strike cannoned into the top corner, but this was quickly cancelled out by a sumptuous long-ranger from Cody Gakpo.

The Irons then fumbled their advantage when an emphatic Joel Matip header secured all three points for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

It was a shame for David Moyes’ men, who failed to build upon their resounding 4-0 victory over Bournemouth in their last top-flight outing or distance themselves from the dreaded drop zone.

However, the East London outfit will struggle to have complaints as they were dominated were large periods of the game. The visitors registered 73% possession and had 20 shots, in comparison to West Ham’s seven.

One player who struggled in the face of this Liverpool ascendency was Aaron Cresswell, who largely failed to meaningfully support any attacks.

How did Cresswell perform against Liverpool?

The left-back excelled in the Bournemouth thumping last weekend and registered an assist for Michail Antonio’s opener.

Sadly, on this occasion, the former Ipswich man was unable to stamp any authority on proceedings.

In the defensive effort, the £50k-per-week full-back failed to make any blocks or tackles and didn't win aerial duels, as per Sofascore, even if Mo Salah was kept 'quiet' on the night as per Malik Ouzia.

In truth, the full-back didn't do too much wrong in the contest but a lack of output perhaps underlines the wider perspective that questions certain weaknesses in his defensive game.

The 33-year-old ranks in the bottom 2% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for tackles per 90 and the lowest 19% for blocks, as per FBref.

He was unable to combat the effervescent Trent Alexander-Arnold, who shone tremendously in a dual role as right back and inverted full-back.

Conversely, the offensive side of his talent has always been lauded, but this evening it left a lot to be desired. According to Sofascore, Cresswell only recorded a 59% pass completion rate, one key pass, and no successful dribbles, while losing possession a whopping 15 times.

Due to his age and declining form, it would be no surprise if the Hammers' hierarchy decided to ditch the Englishman in the face of an extensive rebuild.

Despite this loss, the Irons still have plenty to play for this season as they have an upcoming Europa Conference League semi-final and still have six crunch games left in the league to mathematically seal their top-flight status for next season.

Chelsea have 'got in touch' to bring Porto forward Pepe to the Premier League, according to reports.

What's the latest on Pepe to Chelsea?

Todd Boehly could reportedly be ready to sanction a mass exodus in the summer – to help ease the club's financial pressures – with the likes of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech facing uncertain futures. Indeed, this also means attacking reinforcements could be needed, which is where Pepe comes into play.

The Brazilian’s contract at the Estadio do Dragao isn’t set to expire until 2027 but his impressive performances have caught the eye of Graham Potter. His side were credited with an initial interest in the winger by Record and Portuguese outlet A Bola later revealed that the Blues, alongside top-flight rivals Arsenal, both sent scouts to watch their target in action late last year.

Even though a deal failed to materialise in January, they may have already taken a second bite of the cherry.

According to Globo Esporte (via Sport Witness), Chelsea and the Gunners “got in touch” with Pepe and are the two teams that have emerged as the “strongest” suitors should he leave Porto. The Primeira Liga starlet has “already received offers” ahead of the upcoming window, one of those being a bid worth €50m (£44m) after the player’s representatives were “approached”, though it’s unknown which club that came from.

Would Pepe be a good signing for Chelsea?

Pepe has been lauded an “important” member of Porto’s first-team squad by journalist Fernando Campos and looking at how fearless and prolific he can be in the final third, Chelsea would definitely be getting an excellent acquisition should they be able to sign him.

Sergio Conceicao’s attacker has recorded eight assists and five goals across all competitions this season, as per Transfermarkt, showing how regularly he takes the chances that he creates. The £25k-p/w talent also ranks in the 99th percentile for successful dribbles, highlighting his desire to take on and beat his marker.

Porto’s forward will know what it takes to be successful having lifted four trophies during his time at the club so could bring that winning mentality and instill it into the rest of the squad in SW6. Since the start of his career, Pepe has operated in seven various positions across the pitch, including in the midfield and on the wing down both the left and right flanks, so would add plenty of versatility to Potter’s team should he put pen to paper at Stamford Bridge.

Liam Keen believes that Wolves should’ve been awarded a penalty after Raul Jimenez was taken to the ground.

The Lowdown: VAR at the centre of the Wolves storm

Despite only managing to register four shots on target in the entire game, Wolves and their fans will feel very aggrieved having come away from St James’ park with nothing to show for their efforts.

This is because they’ll believe Newcastle United should’ve been down to 10 men when Nick Pope appeared to lean his shoulder into Jimenez after he took a heavy touch and panicked with the Mexican striker knocking the ball past the huge shot-stopper.

While Andy Madley may be excused for not giving the spot kick given he was so far away from the incident and had a poor angle of it, his linesman or even the VAR team should’ve been able to make a decision on what had happened.

The Latest: Jimenez didn’t initiate the contact

Keen was speaking on The Express and Star YouTube channel about how it should’ve been a penalty and anyone claiming Jimenez initiated the contact was simply wrong.

He said: (2:20) “Jimenez does very well to anticipate it, put him under pressure and nick the ball off him and he is about to run through on goal, let’s not dress it up any more than that he’s about to go through have a tap in and put Wolves 1-0 up.

“Nick Pope leans in, catches him and tries to step out of the way. He goes in first, comes in and makes contact and some people are suggesting that Jimenez initiated the contact, not for me, not at all I think Jimenez is about to race through on goal and he’s clipped on his back from behind.

“It’s a stonewall penalty, it’s a red card because it wouldn’t be an intention of playing the ball, so by the latter of the law it’s a red card and it’s a penalty.”

The Verdict: Game-changing decision doesn’t go Wolves’ way

While Wolves certainly didn’t create anywhere near enough chances to win the game, especially compared to their opponents, the fact that VAR couldn’t see that their striker had been wiped out with the goal gaping is very poor.

Given that Wolves are still only three points above the bottom three, the last thing they needed was for VAR to not even be on their side, but to not be balanced and give a clear penalty decision when the score was 0-0.

What will have made it even worse for Wolves is that Nick Pope played a huge part in Newcastle leaving with all three points having pulled off impressive saves from Pedro Neto and Joao Moutinho in the second half.

Sunderland content creator Roker Report has poked fun at Newcastle United after a video of supporters waving flags in their Carabao Cup final defeat surfaced.

The Lowdown: Cup final heartbreak

It was heartbreak for Newcastle in the final in the end, as they lost 2-0 to Manchester United on Sunday evening.

In truth, Eddie Howe’s side did little to really test goalkeeper David de Gea despite recording more shots and possession than their opponents on the day, as they only recorded two shots on target compared to the Red Devils’ ten (SofaScore).

The Latest: Roker Report poke fun

Taking to Twitter in response to a video surfacing of Magpies supporters waving black and white flags at Wembley despite their team being 2-0 down in injury time, Roker Report could not help but poke fun at them, calling the waving of their white flags laughable and a ‘mark of surrender’:

“Keep laughing about this. Two nowt down, waving flags that were paid for by their Saudi overlords. The fact waving a white flag is a mark of surrender clearly lost on half of them. You just absolutely love to see it.”

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The Verdict: Just a bit of banter…

Roker Report’s cheeky jibe shows that the friendly banter between the North East rivals still exists despite the fact that they are in different leagues, and the Toon fans won’t dwell for too long when they look towards what is to come under their new owners.

The clubs have been on different trajectories in recent years, with Sunderland looking to bounce back to the Premier League and Newcastle dreaming of European football and domestic cup success.

Hopefully, the Black Cats will gain promotion back up to the top-flight this season, with them only five points off the play-off places in the Championship, to see the banter continue when they could come head-to-head in the Premier League next term.

Jordan Pickford is reportedly not locked in a pay dispute with Everton, and instead contract talks have ‘deferred’ over their uncertain Premier League status.

The Lowdown: Contract dispute?

It was reported on Saturday night that Pickford has not been offered a pay rise to sign a new deal at Goodison Park.

He reportedly wants to double his £100,000-per-week wages in order to stay, with his current contract set to expire in 2024.

The Latest: Pay dispute denied

As per The Liverpool Echo, Everton insiders have insisted that a pay dispute between Pickford and the Merseyside club’s chiefs is ‘not true’.

Instead, talks have simply been ‘deferred’ while their Premier League status remains uncertain.

The Verdict: Survival so important

Whether Sean Dyche is able to keep the Toffees in the Premier League or not is going to be so vital in terms of being able to keep Pickford at the club.

They are currently in the relegation zone, but have an opportunity to climb out of it if they can beat bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield tonight.

Despite Everton’s struggles, it could be a lot worse for them, as Pickford has made the third-most (75) number of saves of all goalkeepers in the division so far this season.

The Blues will no doubt be desperate to keep the England international in their ranks for as long as they can, and so survival will be key in terms of him signing a new contract.

If Liverpool thought that the woes over the past few weeks represented the nadir of their current troubles, Saturday’s chastening defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers sank their calamitous campaign to new depths.

In the third meeting between the respective Premier League outfits since the turn of the year, the Old Gold finally got their victory after drawing at Anfield in the FA Cup and narrowly losing the replay at Molineux.

On both occasions, Julen Lopetegui’s team were unfortunate not to earn a better result, with the clash on Merseyside only leading to a replay after a contentious VAR call late into the second half chalked off a legitimate Wolves goal.

For Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, his stricken side are now in murky, uncharted waters, languishing in tenth place without a league victory in 2023 and a daunting 13 points behind free-flowing Manchester United in the top four.

The lethargy and disorganisation from the beleaguered Liverpool squad encapsulated all that has gone wrong, with the offensive efforts blunt and dull and the defensive cohesion devoid of all sense of fluidity.

At the epicentre of today’s torrid display were the central defensive partnership of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, with established first-choice pairing Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate both currently confined to the treatment room.

Despite Matip’s dreadful start, turning Hwang Hee-chan’s cross into Alisson’s net in the first five minutes, it was Gomez who was particularly overwhelmed by the intensity of the Wolves attack.

While it was indeed Matip who registered the own goal, Gomez’s inability to prevent the initial danger opened the door to another poor start, with his lack of communication with his goalkeeper and failure to impose his authority playing a part in the following two goals which cemented the defeat.

While he completed 90% of his passes (as per Sofascore), the £85k-per-week defender lost possession ten times and made just one tackle despite the home team’s pressure, picking up a yellow card in the second half for a bad foul on Raul Jimenez.

In his 26th appearance of the season, the 25-year-old looked devoid of confidence and former robustness, winning just one of his last five Premier League matches from a starting role.

Former Liverpool centre-back and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher tore into the performance of the Reds’ defenders, branding them “shambolic” for failing to exude any sense of stability or presence in a time of desperation for the Merseyside club.

There seems to be no respite for this Liverpool side lacking even the slightest morsel of their previous swagger and vigour; and if Gomez – lamented for making a “mistake a game” by one football content creator – continues to turn in displays such as his subpar showing at Molineux, the grim times look set to continue for the Anfield faithful.

Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that there could be late transfer movement in the January transfer window for Rangers forward Alfredo Morelos.

The Lowdown: Preparing his replacement?

In a recent press conference, Michael Beale said that the Scottish Premiership side will be ‘looking’ for a new striker between now and the summer.

Morelos’ deal at Ibrox runs out at the end of May and is on course to bring a six-year stint in Glasgow to a close.

In that time, the 26-year-old has played 253 times for the Gers in all competitions, scoring 119 goals.

The Latest: Potential movement

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones claimed that some clubs are aware of the situation surrounding Morelos and that there could be a late swoop for him this month.

He stated: “Clubs have been made aware of his situation and his potential availability.

“And it’s at this point of a window when you would kind of expect those interested clubs to come forward because let’s face it, if you’ve got a particular problem and you’re a bit desperate, this is the moment to try and solve that with a player like Morelos.”

The Verdict: Big shoes to fill

We believe that losing Morelos would be a huge blow for Rangers as he’s been a consistent source of goals for a number of years.

His former boss, Steven Gerrard, has spoken highly of him in the past, labelling the forward as a ‘fantastic’ and ‘perfect’ player.

However, Rangers do have a great alternative in Antonio Colak. The Croatian is the club’s top scorer in all competitions with 11 goals from 22 appearances.

In our view, with a return like that, Colak could definitely be someone to take over as the Gers’ undisputed first-choice striker.

Meanwhile, it appears as if Beale is potentially looking to bring in a younger attacker into his squad. According to Wales Online, Swansea City have rejected a recent £2m bid for winger Morgan Whittaker.

Adding the 22-year-old into the mix would allow Colak to lead the line and have Whittaker, who can play across the frontline, as a backup for the 29-year-old.

Whittaker certainly scored plenty of goals whilst on loan at Plymouth Argyle, but he could learn a lot from both Morelos and Colak and help him settle into life at Rangers if he decides to make the switch.

Insider ExWHUemployee has reported that West Ham United have put in a £25m bid for January transfer target Terem Moffi but it may be rejected.

What’s the latest?

Premier League sides are looking to make the most of the winter market and, more than most, the Hammers could probably do with some fresh faces more as they struggle down inside the relegation zone.

In an attempt to turn around their worrying fortunes, it seems as though David Moyes is keen on adding the Lorient forward to his ranks.

Indeed, if the latest report is to be believed, West Ham have now made multiple bids for the striker but that might not be enough to secure his services at this stage.

However, Ex explained on the West Ham Way Patreon Page, writing: “We can confirm from a good source that ‘we have a number of bids in for strikers’.

“The main target appears to be Lorient forward Terem Moffi. A bid for the player was rejected a couple of weeks ago and it seems that we have followed up our interest with a bid of around £25m for the forward.

In an update, Ex then added: “It is thought that Lorient could reject this bid and push for more money knowing they are likely to get it in the summer. We shall keep you updated on whether we are successful or not.”

Big bid required?

As we’ve learnt with the recent Mykhailo Mudryk transfer – where Chelsea gazumped Arsenal with a whopping £88.5m for the player – the January transfer market can be a mad month.

With that in mind, Lorient will probably feel as though they are under no pressure. As pointed out by Ex, they can wait until the summer to sell the player and so if West Ham really want to get this deal done they may have to splash more cash they had planned.

With 12 goals in 18 Ligue 1 games so far this term, it’s not hard to see why Moffi has caught the eye. Indeed, that is more goals than the Hammers’ top scorer this term Gianluca Scamacca – who has seven to his name despite making more appearances with 24 outings to his name.

Transfer expert Dean Jones says that a move to Arsenal would ‘appeal’ to Lazio and Serbia midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

The Lowdown: Contact made

As per Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport (via Doc), the Gunners ‘have had contact with Mateja Kezman’ – the agent of Milinkovic-Savic – over a potential move in the January transfer window, but they ‘have not yet submitted offers’ for him.

Arsenal is reportedly a ‘real option’ for the player and their interest is ‘certified’; and if a January bid is not forthcoming, then ‘it could materialise in June’.

The Latest: Arsenal ‘appeal’

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones has shared that a move to the Emirates Stadium would ‘appeal’ to Milinkovic-Savic.

The journalist said: “I know that Juventus had an eye on this one too. Arsenal would definitely have an appeal about it to Milinkovic-Savic.

“But we have to be open-minded about how other offers from elsewhere might compare to that.”

The Verdict: Dream signing

Milinkovic-Savic would certainly be a dream signing for Mikel Arteta’s side in the middle of the park.

Hailed as ‘dynamic’, ‘stunning’ and ‘electric‘ by journalist and Lazio supporter Jerry Mancini, there are not many better midfielders in world football than the Serbia international.

He ranks in the top 6% in Europe’s top five leagues in 2022 for non-penalty goals, non-penalty xG, shots, assists, xAG, npxG + xAG, touches, progressive passes received and aerial duels won per game (FBRef).

Sharing a similar playing style to world superstars Jude Bellingham and Kevin De Bruyne, among others, the 6 foot 4 brute would likely dominate midfield battles in the Premier League; and at 27 years of age, Arsenal would be signing a player in his prime.