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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

Southampton made light work of a potentially tricky trip to Newport County on Wednesday night as they thrashed the League Two side 8-0 to earn a record cup win.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were in complete control from the word go, with goals from Armando Broja, Nathan Tella and Kyle Walker-Peters giving them a 3-0 lead at half-time.

The Saints showed no signs of slowing down after the break and it was 6-0 before the hour mark, with Broja scoring his second after a quickfire double from Mohammed Elyounoussi – his first goals for the club.

Nathan Redmond then got the goal his performance deserved, before Elyounoussi made it a hattrick late on to consign the Exiles to a heavy defeat, whilst Southampton matched their record win against Sunderland from the 2014/15 Premier League campaign.

Although Elyounoussi deserves a lot of credit for his hattrick, especially considering he had failed to score in 19 appearances before Wednesday night, it was arguably Redmond who was the star of the show against the League Two outfit.

As per SofaScore, the former Norwich City man would earn a 9/10 rating for his display, with only Elyounoussi (10/10) rated higher from both sides.

Redmond was instrumental in the first half and was unfortunate not to give Hasenhuttl’s side the lead when his thunderous effort was tipped onto the bar by Joe Day, only for Broja to tuck away the rebound.

He would then provide the assist for Walker-Peters’ goal to seal the win before half-time, before smashing past Day from the edge of the box for Southampton’s seventh of the night.

During the 90 minutes, the 27-year-old winger would contribute four key passes, which was the most of any player on the pitch, whilst he also came close to scoring on a number of occasions, with Day denying the £16.2m-rated Englishman with a super save in the first half.

Hampshire Live journalist Tom Leach was certainly impressed with Redmond’s display, rating him a 9/10 and writing:

“He was central to both of Southampton’s early goals, setting one up and providing the pre-assist for the other. He should have scored himself during the first ten minutes but dragged his shot horribly wide. He got his goal late one, thundering into the net from 20 yards.”

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Therefore, whilst Elyounoussi’s performance was great in terms of his hattrick and two assists, Redmond was heavily involved in Southampton’s build-up play throughout the night and deserves a lot of credit for his display.

And, in other news… Semmens should seal Southampton swoop for 21 y/o gem with “enormous ability”

Lots of Wolves fans were left blasting the performance of Fernando Marcal in their 1-0 win away at Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday night.

Romain Saiss grabbed the only goal of the game for the visitors after a neat finish set up by a delightful pass rom Ruben Neves, but some members of the Molineux faithful were not too impressed with Marcal’s contribution to the win.

WWFC supporters were particularly critical of him going down far too easily on a number of occasions, emphasised as he lost out on five of his individual duels, while he also failed to block any shots or provide any accurate crosses from left wing-back (SofaScore).

Marcal also gave possession away 16 times, the joint-second most out of his teammates (SofaScore), in what was a disappointing night for him individually.

Wolves fans blast Marcal

These Wanderers blasted his display on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘liability’:

“Marcal and Trincao on man this is 11 vs 9”

Credit: @GeorgeTheStud

“Marcal is awful, recall Ryan Giles ASAP please”

Credit: @StephenPotts96_

“Marcal is so brittle for a strong looking man!”

Credit: @wwfc_fan

“Marcal a walking toothpick”

Credit: @David_gill14

“Marcal is basically Humpty Dumpty”

Credit: @mart_holliday

“Marcal is a liability”

Credit: @daveandwolves

In other news, find out whose performance at Brighton was also slammed here!

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

Many Wolves fans have been left reacting to some comments made by Patrick Cutrone.

Speaking to Sky Italy (via Talking Wolves), the striker commented on his imminent loan move to Empoli in the Serie A:

“Happy to be back in Italy. I chose Empoli because it’s a great club and a great place to play football. I tell the fans that I am really fired up: I can’t wait to get to know you all, get on the pitch & tear things up.”

Some members of the Molineux faithful were left confused by him claiming that he will ‘tear things up’, given his troubled time at the Midlands club, in which he has only managed to score just a mere three goals in 28 games in total over all competitions across the last two seasons (Transfermarkt), and he has been shipped out on loan to both Fiorentina and Valencia respectively.

Nonetheless, Cutrone does not seem too enthusiastic to stay at the Wanderers judging by his latest comments, and so it may be a wise idea for them to move him on permanently after his loan spell ends.

Wolves fans on Cutrone comments

These WWFC supporters gave their reactions as the comments were shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that Cutrone is a ‘joker’:

“For a starters mate. Tear up your Wolves contract and everything will be sweet”

Credit: @charliewwfc_

“Couldn’t tear a piece of paper dafty”

Credit: @wwfcrhys

“Who does this guy think he is?”

Credit: @kyewazza

“When has he ever torn things up?”

Credit: @danielcmila

“Tear things up … Behave”

Credit: @trev291

“How many years has this joker got left on his contract?”

Credit: @silentbob1957

In other news, find out what transfer update has Wanderers fuming here!

Fiorentina are reportedly eyeing up a move for Marcelo Bielsa after having doubts over the appointment of Vincenzo Italiano.

The Lowdown: Bielsa irreplaceable at Leeds

The Argentine has been a wonderful manager for Leeds United, overseeing their return to the Premier League and being loved by supporters.

Bielsa has arguably been one of the most important figures in the club’s history, and while the thought of him leaving is a grim one, the hope is that he will sign a new contract imminently (BBC).

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The Latest: Fiorentina linked snapping up Argentine

According to Rai [via Sport Witness], Fiorentina are interested in bringing Bielsa to the club, with Rafa Benitez also considered an option.

Both are considered possible strong alternatives to Italiano, partly due to being bigger names.

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 The Verdict: No reason to worry too much

While any report linking Bielsa with an exit is a worrying one for Leeds, it would be a huge surprise if he departed Elland Road this summer.

The 65-year-old’s contract may be on the cusp of expiring, but he has shown no desire to leave the Whites and should agree a new contract before the end of this month.

His standing in the game means he is always going to interest other clubs – Jurgen Klopp has described him as ‘incredible’ – but Leeds fans should have at least one more year of Bielsa to look forward to.

In other news, Leeds are keen on signing a player currently starring at Copa America – find out who it is here.

Callum McGregor is in line to be offered a new Celtic contract, The Daily Record’s Scott Burns reports.

And, as to be expected, a number of Hoops fans have been quick to give their thoughts to the news on social media.

McGregor, who missed the Europa League defeat to Real Betis on the week through injury, is thought to be on £20,000-a-week at Parkhead.

His current deal still has just under three years left to run, but Burns shared a story on Friday evening, citing comments from Ange Postecoglou on contract situations

Postecoglou claimed that the club will start addressing contract renewals now the window has shut, with McGregor reportedly in line to extend his current deal by a further 12 months.

The Hoops boss labelled the Scot as a ‘pivotal figure’ for the club, and it seems as if he may well pen new terms over the coming months.

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Celtic fans react

The Daily Record shared Burns’ story on McGregor on Twitter. This is what these Hoops supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘great’.

“Brilliant news, if true The heartbeat and lifeblood of the side! So lucky he’s still playing in this country and I dread to think about the state we’d be in at the end of the season, without him.”

Credit: @Dechughes_

“Rolls Royce of a player and has Celtic in his heart”

Credit: @MildooWolf

“Great stuff”

Credit: @PaulMcG1994

“Best player for a few years”

Credit: @YKP1888

“5 year deal please”

Credit: @Bowley67_

“One club man he’s going to be int he, Captain CalMac”

Credit: @adamm1888

In other news: ‘I’m sure’ – Sky Sports pundit says Desmond will take big Celtic action before January. 

Tottenham Hotspur were favourites to land Caleb Chukwuemeka before Aston Villa swooped in, Football Insider reports. 

The lowdown

Villa signed Chukwuemeka, the older brother of midfielder Carney, for an undisclosed fee back in July (via Goal).

He was one of four signings for the Under-23s, alongside the West Bromwich Albion trio of Finley Thorndike, Finn Azaz and Tim Iroegbunam (via Transfermarkt).

The forward has already opened his account at Premier 2 Level, netting in a 1-1 draw with Fulham at the end of last month.

Though officially an academy signing, Chukwuemeka also earned a swift first-team debut as a substitute in the 6-0 EFL Cup rout of League Two Barrow.

The latest

According to information from a recruitment source at FI, Spurs made the first move for Chukwuemeka, offering £1million plus add-ons. They were also willing to let 19-year-old striker Kion Ete join Northampton on loan as part of the deal.

But the player ultimately had his heart set on Villa after Johan Lange and co tabled a ‘lucrative’ professional contract and offered him the chance to play alongside his brother.

The verdict

You suspect that Smith was so quick to give Chukwuemeka a senior run-out because he wanted to demonstrate that there’s a path to first-team football at Villa Park. Such assurances would have likely been given in the course of negotiations from the likes of Smith and Lange.

The benchmark for Chukwuemeka has been set by 18-year-old Louie Barry, who boasts an excellent return of 14 goals in 19 appearances in PL2 and is now looking to make the step-up to the men’s game at Ipswich Town.

The future is bright at Villa Park if Lange can continue to poach targets from ‘big six’ clubs.

In other news, fans react to this reported transfer snub. 

David Moyes has just received one massive West Ham boost ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

After penning a new three-year deal over the weekend, the 58-year-old has been given the green light to appoint his own recruitment staff in what appears to be a surprise new approach from the Irons’ hierarchy.

That’s according to Football Insider, who claim that Moyes made it clear during talks with chiefs David Sullivan, David Gold and Karen Brady that bolstering the club’s scouting network was key to him signing new terms.

This move will see the Scot appoint his own director of football, a position that has not been filled since the disastrous Mario Husillos who left with Manuel Pellegrini in December 2019, as well as hiring more talent-spotters.

Huge boost

Aside from signing a new striker or bringing Jesse Lingard back on a permanent basis, this could be the news of the summer at the London Stadium as it shows just how committed they are to Moyes and his project.

It’s the least they could do considering they gave up on him during his first stint in charge, and since his return, he has steered West Ham into the Europa League having survived with one game to go last term.

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His recruitment has been second to none and has played a large part in their success.

No one would’ve heard of either Tomas Soucek or Vladimir Coufal prior to their arrival in East London but they have emerged as two of the standout contenders for this season’s ‘Player of the Year’ award, whilst his revival of Lingard deserves plenty of plaudits.

Evidently, he’s got it spot on all by himself so far, so now that he’s trusted to appoint an extended scouting network, the chances of finding more bargains will be increased further after this exciting Rush Green development.

It’s now going to be on GSB to back him financially in the market. The current squad needs vast additions across the pitch to stand a chance at remaining competitive in what is likely to be a 50-plus game campaign.

But for the time being, this is a hugely encouraging boost following Moyes’ contract extension.

AND in other news, Moyes can seal bargain swoop for 23 G/A beast with “good feet”, he wants West Ham move…

Manchester United are potentially eyeing a move for Erik Ten Hag’s current Ajax starlet, Jurrien Timber.

What’s the word?

That is according to journalist Rudy Galetti, who took to his Twitter page to issue a statement regarding incoming Manchester United manager, Erik Ten Hag.

Galetti said this in his tweet: “Manchester United’s first signing of the Ten Hag era will most likely be a centre-back.”

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He also suggested two names that United may be looking to bring in: “To date, on the MUFC list the hot names are Timber (Ajax) and Torres (Villareal).”

Of course, those two names are Jurrien Timber, who currently plays under Ten Hag and Pau Torres, with the latter being linked with Manchester United across the last few transfer windows.

Better than Maguire

As a right-footed centre-back who usually operates on the right in a four-man defence, Timber would not pose a threat to Harry Maguire’s starting spot… would he?

In actual fact, he would. Based on the pattern that Ten Hag has created at Ajax, the right-footed centre-back operates on the right, whilst the left-footed centre-back operates on the left.

When Ten Hag comes in, if he does not opt to bring in a left-footed centre-back, he will most likely hone in on Raphael Varane’s experience for Real Madrid as a left centre-back, a position he fulfilled at times. Varane is also listed as just 60% right-footed, according to FBref.

Timber would partner the France international in what would be a cool, calm and collected backline. Both centre-halves love having the ball at their feet and the potential signing of Timber would offer Ten Hag familiarity in this area.

The 20-year-old boasts some serious numbers that place him in the elite category for the majority of his passing stats, with his average of 76 passes completed per 90 far better than Maguire’s average of 48 passes per 90.

Timber, who has been described as a “top talent” as per UEFA Champions League, also outdoes Maguire in almost all defensive metrics, with the £27m-rated defender having a seamless season in the Eredivisie in which he has made zero errors per 90 – the antithesis of the Englishman this season.

The signing of Timber could see Maguire lacking game time under Ten Hag, and based on this year’s stats, the new United boss would be right to drop him and potentially sell him too, as reports have suggested.

In other news: Ronaldo 2.0: Ten Hag can seal instant MUFC masterclass by unleashing “rampant” 17 y/o – opinion