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Hibernian boss Lee Johnson will be desperate to improve on their disappointing fifth-placed finish last season, with Aberdeen and arch-rivals Hearts finishing above them in the table.

The club enter the Europa Conference League at the second qualifying round following Celtic’s victory in the Scottish Cup and with the first leg due to take place on 27 July, Johnson doesn’t have long to assemble a squad good enough to progress through to the group stages and the financial rewards that come with it.

The main issue for the manager is adding some quality defenders to his squad, with Paul Hanlon and Rocky Bushiri the only recognised centre-backs at the moment.

Johnson has admitted that he wants to secure new loan deals for duo Will Fish and CJ Egan-Riley, who spent time north of the border in temporary moves from Manchester United and Burnley respectively and the signing of Fish, in particular, could certainly help the 42-year-old solve his defensive crisis.

Could Hibs sign Will Fish this summer?

Another loan move is certainly possible, especially considering the impact he made having joined in the summer of 2022.

The Englishman has featured 59 times for both the U18 and U21 sides at United, while even making his first team debut in the Premier League back in 2020/21, underlining his vast potential.

Gaining regular senior experience was vital for his development, thus a move to Hibs would prove to be a wise choice, with his performances pleasing Johnson, who waxed lyrical about the 20-year-old.

He told BBC Sportsound (via Football Scotland): "He's been fantastic. I've said before if you could build a centre half, you'd build Will Fish. He's a great student and a great lad and he's had to up his gravitas levels for this league and his on-pitch personalities.

"He's a lad that had never played a league game so far in his career. He went to Stockport last year and hardly played a game so it's a big step for him and one that he has really taken to well.

"He's trusted by the boys, trusted by the staff and it's a great sign."

High praise indeed and over 21 games in all competitions, he scored three times while across the whole squad, he ranked fifth for overall rating via Sofascore.

He also impressively sat fourth for interceptions per game and first for clearances per game, clearly proving how effective he was defensively and that he had a positive influence on the team.

Another temporary move would be a no-brainer, especially with European competition on the horizon and Fish could play another key role for Hibs during 2023/24 if he moved to the Easter Road outfit.

Liverpool will face competition from Portuguese giants Benfica as Reds manager Jurgen Klopp seeks a deal for Feyenoord captain Orkun Kokcu this summer.

What's the latest on Orkun Kokcu to Liverpool?

That's according to a report from the Netherlands (as relayed by the Liverpool Echo), which claims that the recently-crowned Eredivisie champions' captain is attracting interest from multiple angles after a brilliant campaign.

Due to Premier League interest, Feyenoord are hoping for at least €40m (£34m) for their star midfielder, and while Benfica are pushing hard to land the Turkish ace, the allure of Jurgen Klopp's outfit could swing the odds in his favour.

Earlier this year, former Liverpool gem Dirk Kuyt stated his desire to see the Anfield side make their move for the 22-year-old, which could be realised this summer as the Reds look to replace departees James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Should Liverpool sign Orkun Kokcu?

It's fair to say that it's not been a bad season for Kokcu, who scored 12 goals and served five more from 46 appearances across all competitions en route to divisional glory in the Netherlands, ending Ajax's five-year dominance.

Dubbed a "true leader" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the Feyenoord captain offers an impressive goalscoring prowess to complement a dynamic slant to his midfield play – two elements that could prove enticing to Klopp considering Harvey Elliott's five-goal haul was the highest of any Liverpool midfielder this term.

Klopp's team tends not to find prolific success from the centre, instead relying on the marauding creativity of full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold while harnessing the blistering frontal potency of the likes of Mohamed Salah and co.

But the season gone past illustrates the need for change after the Reds fell by the wayside and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in seven seasons, and Kokcu could change that.

As per Sofascore, he recorded a stunning average match rating of 7.48 in Eredivisie this term, complementing his direct contributions by completing 85% of his passes, making 2.8 key passes and 1.2 tackles per game, and succeeding with 58% of his attempted dribbles.

Truly an all-encompassing midfielder, burgeoning and yet to channel the full scope of his potential, much like Nice machine Khephren Thuram, who could yet forge a deadly midfield alliance with the 20-cap Turkey international on Merseyside having received reliable and heavy links with a move to Klopp's team.

With holding midfielder Fabinho likely to retain his spot in Klopp's system despite a campaign where he flattered to deceive, the more progression-centric duo could wreak havoc behind Liverpool's frontline, with Kokcu, who ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Men's Next 8 divisions, as per FBref, for both shot-creating actions and progressive passes per 90, achieving a state of confluence with his "tenacious" – as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig – prospective teammate.

Thuram has been regarded as "dangerous" and "powerful" by club peer Aaron Ramsey, and himself ranks among the top 6% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 9% for successful take-ons per 90.

The state of confluence that Liverpool might craft with a deal for both of these exciting dynamos could be the perfect remedy for the seasonal strife, and it must be enacted by new technical director Jorg Schmadtke to ensure that the desired ascent takes the Reds right back to the top.

Liverpool are in the running to sign Bayern Munich and France defender Benjamin Pavard this summer, according to journalist Christian Falk.

Is Pavard set to leave Bayern Munich?

The £116,000-a-week Frenchman has been a strong servant for the Bundesliga giants since arriving from VfB Stuttgart back in 2019, making 162 appearances in total. He has also won the league title in all four seasons he has spent at the Allianz Arena, often proving to be a safe pair of hands at right-back.

It looks as though Pavard's time at Bayern has reached its conclusion, however, with his current deal expiring next year and the club looking to receive a fee for him this summer rather than losing him on a free transfer in 2024.

The 27-year-old is unlikely to be without suitors, given his status as a World Cup winner with France back in 2018 – he also scored an iconic goal against Argentina in the last-16 clash in that tournament – and with Liverpool potentially looking to sign another defender this summer, it looks as though they could be in the mix to snap up the Bayern man.

Are Liverpool in the mix to sign Pavard?

Speaking to Caught Offside, Falk provided a key update regarding Pavard's future, claiming that Liverpool are strong contenders to snap him up:

"Benjamin Pavard has informed the club that he wants to move in the summer. His agents are already talking to other clubs. Among them, Liverpool is now a hot candidate.

"Previously, Chelsea and Barcelona were already known to be interested, as well as Italian clubs AC and Inter Milan."

Pavard could be a really astute signing by Liverpool in the summer transfer window, coming in as someone who can provide great depth at right-back, as well as centre-back if needed.

He could boost the squad depth at the Reds' disposal, and offer a very different type of player to Trent Alexander-Arnold – one who is more defensively resolute and solid in the role, having averaged 2.5 clearances and 2.3 tackles per game in the Bundesliga last season. Interestingly, Alexander-Arnold trailed well behind in both of those departments.

At 27, Pavard is now a hugely experienced player, but he is also relatively young still, meaning he could be a strong signing for Liverpool over the next four or five years, at least, having once been described as "brilliant" and someone who could "become a star" by France manager Didier Deschamps.

Tottenham Hotspur have made a move to bring Djed Spence to north London this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by FootballTransfers, who claim that Fabio Paratici has now tabled a €20m (£17m) bid with Middlesbrough for the 21-year-old, while Nottingham Forest are also believed to have made an offer for the right-back.

The report goes on to state that, despite reports suggesting otherwise, the England U21 international has not yet decided upon a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, although the lure of playing Champions League football for Antonio Conte’s side is thought to be a big factor in the defender’s considerations regarding his next club.

He’s got “all the tools”

Considering just how exciting a prospect Spence evidently is, in addition to the signing of a new right wing-back reported to be one of Conte’s priorities in the summer transfer window, it is not difficult to see why Paratici has now made a move for the Middlesbrough starlet.

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Indeed, over his 42 Championship fixtures on loan at Nottingham Forest in 2021/22, the £7.2m-rated defender proved himself to be one of the breakout talents of the season, scoring two goals, providing five assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.0 key passes, taking 0.6 shots and completing 1.8 dribbles per fixture.

The £4.4k-per-week youngster who Ian Wright dubbed “unbelievable” also impressed in a defensive capacity, making an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 1.4 clearances and winning 5.8 duels per game.

These returns saw the England youth international earn a quite spectacular seasonal WhoScored match rating of 7.05, ranking him as Steve Cooper’s sixth-best performer in the second tier of English football – playing a huge part in Forest securing promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

As such, with Spence very much appearing to be a player who boasts “all the tools” – in the words of Colin Omogbehin – to become a top-class right wing-back in the not too distant future, should Paratici manage to get a deal over the line for the 21-year-old this summer, it would undoubtedly represent a huge coup for Spurs – especially considering the sheer volume of clubs reported to be interested in the defender.

AND in other news: Conte now leading race for “ridiculous” £85m Spurs target, it’d be “out of this world”

An update has emerged on Newcastle’s pursuit of Sven Botman heading into the summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

Journalist Pete O’Rourke has backed PIF to keep trying to secure a deal to sign the Dutch machine in the coming weeks, despite AC Milan currently leading the race for his signature.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “You’d probably say Milan might have the edge in this one, but I’m sure he’s somebody Newcastle won’t give up on because they tried really hard in January, so he’s still going to be high on their transfer target list.”

90min recently reported that Milan are hoping to strike an agreement to land Botman by the end of this week but it appears as though Newcastle are not going to let them get away without a fight.

Eddie Howe’s own Matthijs de Ligt

By ousting the Serie A club to sign the £25m defender, the Magpies head coach would be signing his own version of Juventus enforcer de Ligt.

FB Ref list the Old Lady gem as the most similar player to Botman in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days and that is a glowing endorsement of his quality.

De Ligt burst onto the scene at Ajax as a teenager and has played now three full Serie A seasons for Juventus by the age of 22 – averaging a SofaScore rating of at least 6.95 in all three campaigns.

In 2021/22, the Dutchman averaged a rating of 7.07 across 31 appearances. He won 62% of his duels and made 1.9 tackles and interceptions per game as he consistently showcased his defensive quality at the back for the Italian giants.

Meanwhile, Botman was catching the eye in Ligue 1 as he also proved that he can perform to a high level on a regular basis in a major European league…

These statistics suggest that he performed to a similar level as the Juventus defender, backing up the FB Ref comparison between the two Dutchmen.

Both players came up through the ranks at Ajax and de Ligt was bought for a whopping £67.5m by the Italian side three years ago.

Newcastle can now sign their own version of the 22-year-old for just £25m and the statistics do not indicate that they would be getting a player worth over £40m less. In fact, they make it look like a deal for Botman at that price would be a bargain as he averaged a higher rating and won a higher percentage of his duels.

It is now down to Dan Ashworth and PIF to beat Milan to his signature to give Howe his own, potentially better, version of de Ligt at St. James’ Park.

AND in other news, Ashworth “looking” at Newcastle deal for “clever” £75m gem, he can be Howe’s own Salah…

Leeds United’s ownership could change hands this summer, according to Rory Smith…

What’s the word?

The New York Times journalist was recently speaking on the BBC Five Live Football Daily Podcast alongside pundit and former Manchester City defender Micah Richards, where he revealed that the 49ers Enterprises will likely buy out chairman Andrea Radrizzani.

“How much money do Leeds actually have to spend?” asked the Sky Sports regular, to which the reliable reporter responded:

“Not a vast amount, that’s another problem, but I think that will change this summer as I suspect they’ll be bought out by the San Francisco 49ers, they already own 40 something per cent of the club and I think they will increase to become majority shareholders over the summer.”

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American dream

This comes on the day that the Yorkshire giants officially announced the signing of Brenden Aaronson from RB Salzburg as the American links up with his former boss in a £25m deal.

Clearly, the Whites have – or had – money, so news that the 49ers are likely to complete a full takeover is certainly very encouraging and it’ll complete something of an American trifecta at Elland Road.

First came Marsch, then Aaronson and likely the NFL franchise taking full control.

We know that Radrizzani cannot afford to keep the club in the Premier League. His lack of spending, particularly during the most recent winter transfer window, saw Leeds flirt with relegation, having to stay up on the final day of the season.

Marsch and his predecessor Marcelo Bielsa have been crying out for additions, especially up front, where 2020/21 top scorer Patrick Bamford was only able to play nine league games this season due to a variety of lingering injuries.

There is also the prospect of seeing the likes of Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips depart and they will need viable replacements; that won’t be cheap.

After survival and the arrival of Aaronson, those around west Yorkshire will surely be absolutely buzzing by this claim from Smith.

AND in other news, Orta now plotting Leeds offer for “exquisite” £12.5m target, imagine him & Aaronson…

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has provided a fresh update regarding Everton midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin. 

The lowdown: Injury woes

Signed for £25million from Bundesliga side Mainz in 2019 (BBC), Gbamin missed 32 matches with a hamstring issue and 45 games following a ruptured Achilles tendon in his first season on Merseyside.

Having returned to fitness, the injury-plagued 26-year-old then suffered knee ligament damage in 2020/21 and has only managed eight total appearances for the Blues.

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In January ,the Ivory Coast international joined CSKA Moscow on loan until the end of the season, and his next step has now become apparent.

The latest: Romano provides an update

Taking to Twitter, Italian journalist Romano confirmed that the 12-cap ace is set to return to Goodison Park.

He explained: “Official. Jean-Philippe Gbamin will leave CSKA Moscow in the coming days and he’s now gonna return to Everton. EFC Loan deal has now expired and so Gbamin will be back at the end of current month.”

It is not yet clear if he will part of Frank Lampard’s plans next season, but we now know CSKA will not be turning the temporary move into a permanent one.

The verdict: Time to sell

Unfortunately, the defensive midfielder who was described as possessing ‘fantastic quality’ by Carlo Ancelotti has endured a torrid time since becoming a Toffee and it may be the best move for all parties to sanction a sale this summer.

Whilst on loan, Gbamin scored once and provided two assists in ten appearances before the abrupt end to the Russian Premier Liga, earning an impressive 6.99 Sofascore rating whilst winning 5.7 duels, making 1.6 tackles and taking 2.0 shots per game on average.

Now seemingly back up and running, it should be possible to find permanent suitors for the man valued at £9million and under contract until 2024 (Transfermarkt).

Furthermore, Everton Director of Football Kevin Thelwell should aim to recoup as much of the expenditure as possible as Lampard aims to rebuild a side now confirmed as a Premier League outfit for next term after beating the drop.

In other news, Everton could be set to lose ‘unbelievable’ ace this summer, find out who here

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is ‘hard at work’ eyeing up new signings for the Hoops in the summer transfer window, according to Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: Memorable season for Celtic

It has been a memorable season for Celtic, with Postecoglou’s men sealing Scottish Premiership title glory in midweek after an initially stuttering campaign turned into a dominant one.

The Hoops have wrestled back their crown from Rangers and been deserving champions, also winning the Scottish League Cup for good measure.

With Champions League football sealed next season, the money will be available for Postecoglou to add to his squad in the summer.

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The Latest: Ange not waiting around

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie claimed Ange will already be working hard to bring in reinforcements, believing a deal for Mohanad Jeahze is all but done:

“Ange is already hard at work on getting new players in. It looks like this defender (Jeahze) is going to come in, from reading around it looks like that is almost done.

“Let’s get some of these deals done as soon as possible. There is no point in waiting around. We are back in the Champions League and that is just a magnificent achievement, we need more bodies.

“If we get this guy in then we have Ralston, Taylor, Juranovic and Jeazhe who can play left-back. That’s the kind of depth we need if we are to be a bit better in Europe next season.

“Hopefully we can get this one over the line and a few more after that.”

The Verdict: Big summer ahead

This feels like a particularly pivotal summer for Celtic, in terms of Postecoglou building a truly formidable squad that can battle on all fronts.

The manager already has a strong group of players at his disposal, as proven by their title triumph, but a sprinkling of magic is still required in certain areas to battle against Europe’s elite next term while maintaining domestic dominance.

Tying down Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota to permanent moves would be an ideal place to start, while even more firepower in attack may be required, with no one player scoring more than ten league goals this season.

In other news, a pundit has predicted an imminent Celtic signing. Read more here.

Newcastle United plan to have an £80million-plus-sales transfer budget for this summer’s window, The Athletic’s George Caulkin says. 

The lowdown

Newcastle are gearing up for their first summer market since their Saudi-led takeover went through back in the autumn.

In January, the new owners sanctioned a record spend of around £90million on five new players: Bruno Guimaraes, Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and loan signing Matt Targett.

Manager Eddie Howe has cooled any expectation of a revolution on Tyneside this summer, stressing that Newcastle will have to work within the constraints of Financial Fair Play rules.

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The latest

Addressing supporters on The Athletic’s matchday discussion board shortly before kick-off on Monday, Caulkin shared some insight on Newcastle’s likely spending power.

He says player sales could furnish Howe with a similar budget to the winter window and allow for another ‘transformative’ transfer season.

“Sources have told us it could go up to £80m,” he said. “Players will also leave. So let’s add that to the pot – another £20 million, say.

“That takes Newcastle’s spending power to within touching distance of January and January was transformative.”

The verdict

We can expect a large chunk of that initial £80million to be spent on a striker.

The I’s Mark Douglas has claimed that recruiting a new no. 9 is an absolute priority for the club this summer.

They’re said to hold an interest in Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, available for €60million (£50.4million) according to The Athletic.

If they were to spend more than 60% of their budget on the Uruguayan, then they may be forced to dip into the loan market or free agents pool to strengthen their squad elsewhere.

As for sales, Matt Ritchie, Isaac Hayden, Ciaran Clark, Dwight Gayle and Karl Darlow have been named as some of the players who could be moved on to clear space and raise funds.

In other news, Luke Edwards shares an exciting summer claim for NUFC.

Tottenham Hotspur have now been handed a possible transfer boost in their hunt to bring Paris-Saint Germain midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye back to the Premier League, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Conte eyes midfielder move…

Spurs head coach Antonio Conte reportedly has his sights on two new midfield signings this summer among many other transfer targets, according to The Telegraph.

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The Italian apparently wishes to really strengthen in that area with links having emerged to the likes of Christian Eriksen (Brentford) and Youri Tielemans (Leicester City).

Tough-tackling midfield men are also on the agenda for Conte alongside more creative additions as transfer chief Fabio Paratici is tasked with advancing.

PSG midfielder Gueye is a target for the Lilywhites with French source Jeunesfooteux now sharing an update.

The Latest: Jeunesfooteux share promising update…

According to their information, Tottenham are ‘attentive’ over signing the 32-year-old and, what’s more, the Ligue 1 champions have set a reasonable price.

It is believed that PSG will in fact green-light his sale for under £20 million as the north Londoners eye a move, specifically £17m (€20m).

The Verdict: Time to move?

While his fairly seasoned age could repel a few supporters, Conte does in fact prefer his targets to come with more experience and know-how.

As a short term fix in the middle, there are arguably few who could strengthen Tottenham as much as Gueye for under £20m.

By his own admission, the Senegal international star is a ‘perfectionist’ in what he does, with former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood having raved over his abilities while the pair were at Aston Villa.

Sherwood branded Gueye a ‘monster’ when they worked together at Villa Park and this tag is still relevant now, having made the joint-second most tackles per 90 for PSG on average over his Ligue 1 appearances this season (WhoScored).

Indeed, the £115,000-per-week former Everton star may well be one Spurs must consider.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano: Conte could now lose ‘monster’ Spurs player who is ‘expected to leave’! Find out more here.