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Rangers have been handed a major boost as an update has emerged on midfielder Joe Aribo…

What’s the latest?

Gers boss Gio van Bronckhorst has revealed that the Nigeria international will be available for selection against Ross County. The former Charlton man has been away with his country at the Africa Cup of Nations and has now returned to Scotland, although he will be absent against Livingston.

He told the Daily Record: “Joe Aribo is travelling back today (Tuesday) and will be back in Glasgow tonight. We will assess him on his return, he will be back for sure come the weekend.”

Buzzing

Rangers fans will surely be left buzzing by this news as Aribo is a crucial player for the club and having him back in the squad will be a major boost for van Bronckhorst heading into the next few matches.

He has proven his quality at Premiership level over the past 18 months and has been in terrific form this season. James Tavernier, Borna Barisic and Alfredo Morelos are the only outfield players who have averaged a higher SofaScore rating than him this term, highlighting his importance to the side as he has been one of the top performers in the squad.

Aribo has averaged a score of 7.20 across 20 matches as he has been able to maintain an excellent run of form. The midfielder has provided six goals and three assists, whilst creating 1.9 chances per game, which shows that he has the end product to match his consistent overall performances and that is why fans will be buzzing to see him back at the club.

Earlier this season, van Bronckhorst lauded the 25-year-old after an impressive showing against Dundee United, saying:

“Joe is an important player who has played here for many years and you could see what he brings to the team.

“He scored a goal but his overall performance, defensively and offensively was very good. He’s a very dynamic player and I’m happy with his performance.”

This shows how highly the Dutchman rates Aribo and why it will be a major boost for him to have the maestro back in the squad for the clash with Ross County.

Hopefully, he has returned from international duty without any knocks and will be able to slot straight back into the team so he can continue to deliver brilliant displays in the Premiership for the Gers.

AND in other news, “Not expecting”: Transfer insider drops big Rangers claim, fans surely frustrated…

Tottenham are interested in a deal to bring Matthijs de Ligt to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Spanish publication Sport (via Sport Witness), who claimed that both Spurs and Chelsea have launched an offensive for the 22-year-old centre-back, with whom Juventus are reportedly willing to part next month due to their dire financial situation.

The report added that Barcelona are also interested in the Netherlands international, although it is believed that the LaLiga club’s own financial difficulties look to have given the English duo the advantage in the race to sign the defender.

Finally, Sport went as far as to suggest that the bidding for De Ligt has started, while Sport Witness added that both Spurs and Chelsea have made contact with the centre-back’s agent Mino Raiola ahead of a potential move in the winter window.

Conte’s next Skriniar

Considering the sheer amount of talent and potential De Ligt quite clearly possesses, should Fabio Paratici be successful in his bid to land the 22-year-old this January, he could well have unearthed Antonio Conte’s next Milan Skriniar.

Indeed, Maurizio Sarri signed the £76m-rated defender with the intention of including him as part of a three-man defensive “wall” at Juventus alongside legendary centre-back duo Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

With this formation being the setup that Conte has implemented at every club he has managed, De Ligt could well go on to become the Spurs manager’s next Skriniar, who highly impressed on the right of the 52-year-old’s back three in the Nerazzurri’s Scudetto-winning campaign last term.

It would certainly appear as if the £200k-per-week Dutchman has the ability to do so, as he has been in colossal form over his 15 Serie A appearances so far this season. He has helped Juve to keep seven clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as averaging 0.9 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 53.4 passes per game and winning 60% of his duels.

These returns have seen the player who Raiola dubbed an “oil tanker” average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as Massimiliano Allegri’s joint-fourth best performer in the Italian top flight.

As such, it is no surprise to learn that Conte is interested in a move for the Dutchman this winter, as De Ligt easily possesses the ability to become the platform on which the Italian and Spurs can mount a serious charge for a top-four spot this season.

In other news – Bye-bye Dele: Spurs must seal deal for “fantastic” 29 y/o who’s an “incredible talent”

West Ham like the idea of signing Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi this month.

That’s according to The Daily Mail, and a number of Villa supporters have been reacting to the news on social media.

El Ghazi is reportedly unhappy with his lack of game time under new Villa boss Steven Gerrard, with the Dutch forward playing just 33 minutes of Premier League action following Gerrard’s arrival.

Villa are thought to be open to permanent and loan offers for the 26-year-old this month, although they would prefer a full-time transfer.

The Daily Mail claimed on Saturday that the Hammers want a forward, with El Ghazi one of the players they would like to sign in their bid for another impressive finish in the European places.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful shared the news regarding West Ham liking the idea of bringing El Ghazi to the London Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with many keen to see him depart.

“Beg this is true”

Credit: @FloppyChicken92

“Swap deal for Bowen”

Credit: @marcw1987

“oh my god please take him”

Credit: @NoahKnowsBall

“Today is just getting better and better”

Credit: @avbiIly

“Imagine if we get rid of El Ghazi and replace him with Coutinho”

Credit: @PositiveVillan

“I’ll drop him off”

Credit: @Miller_JD

In other news: ‘Mental’ – Some Villa fans fume as Gerrard eyes club-record transfer. 

After losing their latest Premier League game 3-2 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Leeds United have won just three of their 16 league games so far this season, drawing seven and losing six along the way, leaving the Whites in 15th place in the league table with 16 points prior to Sunday’s league matches.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have also only managed to score 17 goals this season, which is a big drop off from last season where they had managed to score 30 by this point.

With this in mind, it seems as though the Yorkshire club could be looking to the January transfer window to bring someone in that could revitalise their attacking power.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Sun by journalist Alan Nixon, Leeds are interested in signing Blackburn Rovers attacker Ben Brereton Diaz.

The report also claims that the Championship club would want a transfer fee of £25m for the Chile international, which could apparently put some clubs off that may want to sign him such as fellow Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion as well as La Liga side Sevilla.

Brereton Diaz originally joined Blackburn on a loan deal from Nottingham Forest in the 2018 summer transfer window before signing on a permanent deal in January 2019.

Overall, Brereton Diaz has made 111 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 26 goals and providing 10 assists along the way.

Keeping Bielsa at Elland Road

Labelled as an “extraordinary talent” by Rovers manager Tony Mowbray, the 22-year-old, who is currently valued at £9m according to Transfermarkt, has proved his manager right all throughout this season so far by racking up a total of 17 goals in 22 Championship appearances.

This shows just why the likes of Leeds, Brighton and Sevilla are interested in signing the attacker.

With Patrick Bamford having struggled with injuries this season and the fact that Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts have only managed to score three league goals between them suggests that Leeds could do with adding someone with Brereton Diaz’s goalscoring ability.

It’s been a huge problem for the Elland Road outfit with Bielsa coming under serious pressure that his job may not be as secure as it once was. The worst-case scenario would be relegation but in signing the Blackburn forward, he could help keep the Argentine in Yorkshire by securing their Premier League status courtesy of his immense strike rate in front of goal.

That said, given how important he has been for Blackburn this season and labelled as their “catalyst” for promotion by Colin Hendry, it would be likely that they would be reluctant to let him leave halfway through the season.

In other news – “Screams class”: £16.5k-p/w Leeds beast who won 100% duels proved Bielsa wrong v Chelsea

While Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side went into Tuesday evening’s Premier League fixture against table-topping Manchester City as huge underdogs with totalizators and in a poor run of form, as well as being in the midst of a major injury crisis, the 66-year-old manager would have in no way expected the final result shortly ahead of kick-off.

However, a dominant City performance saw Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne (x2), Riyad Mahrez, John Stones and Nathan Ake seal a 7-0 win at the Etihad, a scoreline which leaves Bielsa’s side very much in danger of being dragged into a relegation fight come the turn of the year.

As is to be expected after such a result, there were practically no performances turned in by the Leeds players that warrant praise, while there were plenty who will be coming in for a bit of stick on Wednesday morning, with Jamie Shackleton, Raphinha and Diego Llorente all having evenings to forget – although no one will be more disappointed with their own display than Daniel James.

Seven passes completed

Once again being started in a central attacking position, having also done so in the 3-2 defeat Chelsea on Saturday, the 24-year-old was very much a passenger against Pep Guardiola’s side, failing to ever really hold up the ball effectively – something which often led to City being immediately on the attack once more.

Indeed, over the course of his 45 minutes on the pitch, the £16.2m-rated man enjoyed a mere 13 touches of the ball, completed just seven of his nine attempted passes, lost 100% of his duels and gave away possession of the ball on four occasions – meaning he lost the ball with every 3.3 touches.

These returns saw the player who Darren Bent dubbed as “headless” earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.4 – before being hooked by Marcelo Bielsa at halftime.

As such, it is perhaps not surprising that Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross awarded the Wales international a score of two in his own player ratings, as well as stating of the 24-year-old’s performance: “Another match and another failed experiment in the striker’s role.”

Indeed, with James now having been largely absent in two outings at centre-forward, it is clear that the winger has failed his manager’s test up top – and it would certainly not be surprising were the £52k-per-week forward to lose his place to 19-year-old Joe Gelhardt when Arsenal visit Elland Road on Saturday.

In other news: “Never seen an injury like that” – Bielsa drops big Leeds update that’ll terrify fans

Crystal Palace entered a new chapter in their history over the summer when the club’s hierarchy backed Patrick Vieira with vast sums to spend on exciting young talent in the transfer market.

Things were very different in south London before, though. Managers were forced to work largely on a shoestring budget under the watchful eye of chairman Steve Parish, meaning every player through the door counted.

And one acquisition that the Eagles have always been able to rely on is James McArthur.

The 34-year-old arrived at Selhurst Park back in 2014 for a reported £7.9m and has rarely let the capital club down in his 238 appearances since.

McArthur was rewarded with a new contract back in 2018 after four successful years at the club and received glowing praise from Parish for his pivotal role in Palace establishing themselves as a Premier League outfit.

“James has been a huge success at the club and embodies everything we are about at Crystal Palace. We are absolutely delighted that he has re-signed with us,” he said.

But the former Scotland international has arguably taken his game to another level this season, despite being 34 years old.

As per WhoScored, McArthur has averaged 2.3 tackles per top-flight fixture, 1.2 interceptions and 1.8 defensive dribbles, placing him in the top-four amongst his teammates for each metric.

His eye-catching displays in the middle of the park have caught the attention of several impressed onlookers, including his manager Vieira.

“He is valuable, he’s our captain, and so he has a responsibility to bring his leadership to the squad,” said Vieira after Saturday’s victory over Wolves.

“He’s a fighter, he’s a warrior, he’s the benchmark for a professional. This is the same in training, he is no different.”

Backup goalkeeper Remi Mathews also took to Twitter after the 2-0 win over Manchester City to claim McArthur is “underrated,” and it’s clear the diminutive dynamo is enjoying an Indian summer as his career winds down in spectacular fashion.

And, in other news…“I think…”: Journalist drops exciting CPFC transfer claim that’ll leave fans buzzing

Wolves transfer target Donny van de Beek plans to leave Manchester United in January if he is not granted more chances in the coming weeks, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Van de Beek linked with Wolves move

The Dutchman joined United with a big reputation in September 2020, having starred for Ajax in 2018/19 as they nearly reached the Champions League final.

Van de Beek has had a torrid time of things at Old Trafford, however, starting just four Premier League matches in his entire spell there.

The 24-year-old has been linked with a January move to Wolves and now another key update has emerged regarding his future.

The Latest: Romano gives fresh update

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Romano confirmed that the Netherlands international is planning to leave United in January unless something drastically changes in terms of playing time:

‘The plan is still to leave Man Utd in January if he’s not gonna be involved in Solskjær team in the next weeks.”

The Verdict: Ideal for all parties

Van de Beek has shown that he is a quality footballer for Ajax – he scored 41 goals and registered 34 assists for the Eredivisie giants and been hailed as ‘perfect’ by Owen Hargreaves – it is sad to see him rotting at United and failing to reach his potential.

Wolves could offer him the perfect way out, with Bruno Lage perhaps promising him a key role and the Dutchman giving the Wanderers’ midfield an injection of attacking quality and end product.

If a deal could be struck it would be a big boost for Wolves in the second half of the season, as they look to secure a top-half finish.

In other news, a journalist has provided an update on Wolves’ pursuit of one player. Find out who it is here.

Following on from their dramatic 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, Liverpool will now be turning their attention back to the Premier League with a big clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford on the horizon for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The Manchester club were also in Champions League action in midweek for their 3-2 victory over Atalanta after finding themselves 2-0 down at half time.

On the chalkboard

Looking ahead to the match at Old Trafford on Sunday, one Liverpool player that Klopp included in his starting XI in midweek that we feel should not be in the team to face United is Naby Keita.

Even though the midfielder managed to open the scoring for the Reds against Diego Simeone’s side, Keita was actually incredibly disappointing in the middle of the park.

Per SofaScore, he failed to make any key passes, crosses or accurate long balls and lost possession on nine occasions during what was a sloppy evening on the ball. That meant he actually surrendered the play once every five minutes in a very sloppy showing.

Furthermore, he only won one of the nine duels he was involved in and got dribbled past three times, ultimately earning himself a rather poor overall match rating of 6.5/10, making him the joint-lowest rated Liverpool player that started the match according to SofaScore after being subbed off at the break.

In addition to this, Keita’s performance also caught the attention of former Liverpool player Dietmar Hamann who described the midfielder’s latest outing for the Reds as “hugely disappointing” and that he is “simply not good enough.”

Since joining the Merseyside club back in the 2018 summer transfer window after Liverpool secured a deal with German club RB Leipzig in 2017 worth a reported fee of £52.75m, the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £28.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made 84 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to score nine goals and provide four assists along the way.

The midfielder has suffered his fair share of injury issues since becoming a Liverpool player which has significantly impacted his playing time at the club.

Looking ahead to the United match, we feel that Klopp must take Keita out of the starting XI to give his side the best chance of beating the Red Devils at the weekend.

However, with Thiago Alcantara, Harvey Elliott and possibly Curtis Jones all out injured, Klopp’s hand may well be forced on the Guinea international on this occasion.

In other news: Imagine him & Thiago: Klopp must secure LFC move for “incredible” £36m-rated machine – opinion

While David Moyes’ West Ham United side headed into Sunday’s Premier League fixture in an excellent run of form, the Hammers’ nevertheless faced a monumental task if they were to have any chance of taking all three points away from the clash with Jurgen Klopp’s previously unbeaten Liverpool team.

However, as has so often been the case this season, West Ham once again defied the odds against a heavily favoured opposition, with goals from Pablo Fornals, Kurt Zouma and an own goal from Allison sealing a famous victory for the Hammers, whose 3-2 triumph lifted them above the Reds into third place in the Premier League standings.

And, while any one of the West Ham team could be singled out for praise, Jarrod Bowen’s performance on the right-wing deserves particular credit, as the 24-year-old destroyed Liverpool on Sunday evening.

Completed just 11 passes

Indeed, over his 84 minutes on the pitch against Liverpool, the £27m-rated man caused the Reds continuous problems on the break, with the winger playing a crucial role in two of the Hammers’ three goals – ending the match with two assists to his name, creating two big chances for his teammates, making two key passes and successfully completing one dribble.

What perhaps makes Bowen’s performance all the more impressive is how little he saw of the ball, managing just 34 touches – only two more than Lukasz Fabianski between the West Ham sticks – as well as completing just 11 passes in the fixture.

However, it was certainly a case of quality over quantity for the man Gary Neville dubbed a “bundle of energy”, something that was reflected in the £80k-per-week forward’s SofaScore match rating of 7.4 – the third-highest rating received by a West Ham player on the day.

And, if Bowen and his teammates can maintain their level of performance against Liverpool over what remains of the current campaign, there would appear to be very little reason to suggest that the Hammers will be unsuccessful in their bid to secure a top-four finish in the league – something that would be a remarkable achievement for Moyes and his men.

In other news: Forget Zouma: “Incredible” £42k-p/w WHU beast who won 100% duels stole the show today

With Ange Postecoglou having seen his Celtic team get off to a questionable start in both the Premiership – with the Bhoys falling to three defeats over their opening seven games of the season – and the Europa League – having shipped eight goals over two losses in the Hoops’ European fixtures so far – pressure is already beginning to mount on the manager at Parkhead.

However, with a number of the 56-year-old’s summer signings still bedding in at the club, as well as Celtic demonstrating in spells the impressive brand of football the manager is attempting to implement, the current situation at Paradise, although slightly concerning, is far from a disaster just yet.

Although, while Postecoglou is struggling for decent results with his new side, the same cannot be said for one of the players with whom Celtic parted ways this summer – Jack Hendry.

Sold for £990k, now worth £3.15m

With the Bhoys offloading the centre-back to Oostende for just £990k following the 26-year-old’s impressive 2020/21 campaign while on loan at the Jupiler Pro League side, the Belgian club decided to immediately cash in on the Scotland international, with Club Brugge snapping him up for £4.05m.

Over the defender’s nine league appearances for Brugge this season, he has once again impressed at a new club, helping his team to keep two clean sheets, making 1.3 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 3.4 clearances and winning 5.6 duels per game.

These returns have seen the 26-year-old earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.10, with his performance ranking him as Philippe Clement’s joint-seventh best performer in the Belgian top flight, in which they are the current leaders.

The 6 foot 3 centre-back has also performed admirably in the club’s two Champions League games, receiving a SofaScore match rating of 7.0 in a 1-1 draw with a Paris Saint-Germain side boasting a front three of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, in addition to a 6.7 rating in the 2-1 victory over RB Leipzig this week.

As such, with Celtic appearing to lack solidity at the back in both their league and European campaigns – something that the player who Brendan Rodgers dubbed a “fabulous” talent seems to be offering Brugge in abundance – the argument that selling the £3.15m-rated man was a nightmare decision by the Hoops is a fair one to make.

In other news: Nicholson may be heading for Celtic disaster as Devlin drops claim on “distraught” man