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Amid a growing injury crisis at Leeds United, Marcelo Bielsa may be looking towards the club’s talented academy group for someone who could come in and fill a major void in the first-team.

With all the talk surrounding Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford being out injured, Luke Ayling’s absence has perhaps gone under the radar, but the versatile defender has been a steady presence for the Whites over the years.

If Bielsa is on the lookout for the man to potentially replace him, not just for the long-term but even for the here and now, then Cody Drameh might be the man to whom the Argentine can turn.

In the 19-year-old, Leeds see someone who has a really bright future in the game, with The Athletic’s Phil Hay making it clear just how highly they rate him behind the scenes.

He said: “When they were signing players like Drameh for example, they were talking about him being a long-term successor to Luke Ayling. Ayling is coming up to 30, he’s not coming towards the latter stages of his career, but he’s advanced now in years.

“Whereas Drameh is very young, and because of the talent he has, and he has looked extremely good in the U23s games, they hope that there is a Premier League right-back there who they’ve signed for a small fee from Fulham who will ultimately be worth a lot more down the line.”

Drameh’s potential is there for all to see, with Eredivisie scout Xander Wilkinson raving about his defensive nous, saying: “Defensively so impressive! His mind works quicker than most right-backs I’ve seen in a naturally defensive mindset. Tactically very aware of what is being asked of him, times his engagements well, needs to add a little more unpredictability going forward.”

Meanwhile, LUTV commentator Tom Hill described the teenager as a “box of tricks” a couple of months ago after an impressive performance against Sunderland at under-23 level, and that bodes well for his future as a more adventurous full-back.

If Ayling continues to be missing, then unleashing the teenage talent could prove to be a stroke of genius from Bielsa.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign a huge Dan James upgrade in this European star…

Liverpool have been boosted by the news that Villarreal key player Gerard Moreno could miss both Champions League semi-final clashes with the Reds.

The Lowdown: Liverpool one step from Paris

Jurgen Klopp’s men overcame Benfica in the quarter-finals, following an exciting 6-4 win on aggregate, booking their place in the semis in the process.

It is Villarreal who Liverpool are up against next, following their surprise win over Bayern Munich, with a place in the final in Paris now within touching distance.

With the first leg at Anfield arriving on April 27th, a key injury update has emerged from Spain.

The Latest: Moreno could miss out

Taking to Twitter on Monday, journalist David Lynch shared confirmation that Moreno has picked up a hamstring problem that could rule him out of both legs of the tie:

“Villarreal confirm striker Gerard Moreno has suffered a hamstring strain. No timescale but that doesn’t bode well for his chances of facing Liverpool.”

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The Verdict: Undoubted boost for Reds

Moreno has arguably become one of Villarreal’s most important attacking players, so the idea of him missing both legs is undoubtedly a positive for Liverpool.

He has scored nine goals in 14 La Liga starts this season, as well as picking up the all-important assist for Samuel Chukwueze’s goal away to Bayern earlier this month.

It is worth stressing that Moreno hasn’t officially been ruled out yet but the current news suggests Liverpool’s hopes of reaching the Champions League final have been boosted.

In other news, one Liverpool player has been backed to leave this summer. Find out who it is here.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has some big decisions to make ahead of this weekend’s clash with Burnley at St James’ Park.

The Magpies remain the only team in the Premier League yet to win a single match in 2021/22 after their 1-1 draw with Norwich earlier this week and are in desperate need of a positive result against the Clarets.

Sean Dyche’s side could move six points clear of Newcastle in the table with a win, whilst the Canaries would do likewise if they pick up three points against Tottenham on Sunday, and that would leave Howe’s team in a dire situation.

Unleash Almiron

One change that the 44-year-old could make in order to secure his first win in charge of the club is unleashing attacking midfielder Miguel Almiron from the start on Saturday.

The Paraguayan came on for 13 minutes against Norwich in midweek and looked sharp in his short cameo. As per SofaScore, he won three of his four duels, won one tackle and completed 100% of his passes. He was also fouled twice as he alleviated pressure for his team and showed his value in and out of possession with his work rate.

Last year, his former boss Steve Bruce lauded him as ‘bright’ and said that he is a dream for a manager with the way he trains. 

The ex-Magpies coach said: “Almiron is a manager’s dream. He’s bright, he’s tough, he trains every day and he’s been carrying a thigh injury but doesn’t want to tell anybody.

“The last 20 minutes on Sunday (against West Ham United) he was limping about the pitch. In 18 months he’s proved to be a really top, top player.”

Along with his showing against Norwich, this summary from Bruce highlights what Almiron contributes off the ball for the Magpies. He is willing to put in 100% on the pitch and play through injury to give his all for the club, which could be useful in what could be a physical battle against Burnley due to it being a relegation scrap.

The £15.75m-rated gem has 13 goals and five assists during his time at Newcastle. Whilst this is not an incredible record in 104 matches, it does show that he has the capabilities to make a contribution in the final third and it could be worth the gamble in this huge match.

Therefore, he should be unleashed by Howe from the start against Burnley. His energy, work rate, and ability on the ball could help the Magpies to pick up three points and finally kickstart their season as they attempt to stave off relegation to the Championship.

AND in other news, NUFC must seal move for “extremely gifted” £35k-p/w gem with a “real football brain”…

A number of West Ham supporters have hailed an official club tweet highlighting how memorable 2021 has been for the Hammers.

David Moyes’ side returned to winning ways earlier in the week, beating Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Road to give their Premier League top-four chances fresh hope.

It has been a superb 2021 for West Ham, who pushed for Champions League football in 2020/21 and still ended up sealing a spot in the Europa League.

This season, memorable 3-2 victories have been picked up at home to Liverpool and Chelsea, and there is a continued feeling that the good times have returned in east London.

The Irons coasted through their Europa League group, effectively sealing a ‘bye’ through the first knock-out stage of the competition.

Ahead of the turn of the year into January, the club’s Twitter account posted a statistic confirming that the Hammers have secured their most points (73), wins (22) and scored the most goals (73) in a calendar year since the Premier League’s inception.

West Ham fans love official club post

These West Ham fans took to Twitter to show their love for the current crop of heroes.

“Massive”

Credit: @FPLFella

“Football brought me so much joy this year, especially the vibes when Lingard joined”

Credit: @whuabz

“My club. Be the hammer not the nail!”

Credit: @goodinmike_

“It’s been a wonderful, exceptional, unbelievable and entirely enjoyable year to be a Hammer for the first time in a long time! Long may it continue into the new year!”

Credit: @MartinSRoberts

“Special team, special club”

Credit: @samdruiff

“What a year”

Credit: @abdu_mata

In other news, some West Ham fans have erupted over one transfer claim. Read more here.

Celtic have been dealt a late injury blow concerning Kyogo Furuhashi ahead of their upcoming Premiership clash on Monday evening.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by The Scottish Sun, the 26-year-old centre-forward, who suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury in Celtic’s 3-1 victory over St. Johnstone on Boxing Day, looks set to be ruled out of action until at least next month, missing tonight’s clash with Hibs as a result.

The report claims that the Japan international is a doubt for the Old Firm clash on February 2 – despite the fact that Ange Postecoglou claimed after the St. Johnstone win that the striker’s injury was “nothing major,” leading us to believe he could return after the break.

The report went on to state that Kyogo will not link up with the Japanese national team for their World Cup qualifiers against China on January 27 and Saudi Arabia on February 1 due to his fitness concerns, as well as revealing that the forward has not been training with Celtic upon their return to Lennoxtown after the winter break.

Postecoglou will be fuming

Considering just how important a part of the Celtic side Kyogo has become since his £4.6m move to Parkhead last summer, the news that the centre-forward looks set to miss the fixture against Hibernian, as well as a number of other extremely important games in the coming weeks, is sure to have left Postecoglu fuming.

Indeed, over his 14 Premiership outings so far this season, the £4.95m-rated man has already scored eight goals, registered two assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

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These returns have seen the £18k-per-week striker average a SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Postecoglou’s 11th-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football – of the players who remain in the Greek-Australian manager’s first-team squad.

The Japan international has also bagged a further two goals and three assists over his five Europa League appearances, three goals over his four Europa League qualifying fixtures and three goals in three games in the League Cup – taking his total to 16 goals and five assists over just 26 appearances for the Hoops.

As such, being without Kyogo for any extended period of time will undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Postecoglou and his side, who will need to keep the 26-year-old fit and firing over the second half of the season if Celtic are to have any chance of going on to reclaim their Scottish Premiership crown come next May.

In other news: Ange must unleash Celtic’s £1.44m-rated “dream” on Hibs, he’ll give Maloney nightmares

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Well, it appears that Marko Arnautovic is staying at West Ham United then.

The 29-year-old’s future has been the subject of intense speculation over the last few weeks amid suggestions of at least one offer from the Chinese Super League (BBC Sport).

Arnautovic appeared to wave goodbye to the West Ham fans following the club’s 1-0 win over Arsenal earlier this month (Mirror Football).

According to The Guardian, West Ham were prepared to sell Arnautovic had a club come up with an offer of £45m.

However, the attacker has now taken to Instagram to insist that he will be staying at the London Stadium until at least the end of the season.

Arnautovic, who joined West Ham from Stoke City in the summer of 2017, has scored eight times in 18 appearances for West Ham this season (Transfermarkt).

There is no question that the Hammers are a better team when he plays, but a number of the club’s fans had started to get their head around the idea of him leaving.

Arnautovic’s words have been welcomed by some, but others feel that the attacker will only be staying until the end of the season, when he will again seek a move.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the West Ham fans can be seen below:

Check out the video below to see Pl>ymaker FC’s American Soccer Fan give his take on all six ‘field goals’ in West Ham v Burnley…

Rangers have been hit with a worrying injury setback over Ibrox central defender Filip Helander…

What’s the latest?

Gers boss Gio van Bronckhorst has revealed why the towering centre-half was forced off on Sunday, as Leon King came on for him at half-time in the 4-0 rout.

Kemar Roofe scored a hat-trick and Joe Aribo found the top corner with a stunning strike as the Light Blues moved back to within six points of their rivals at the top of the table, but they now have an injury concern to deal with.

The head coach told the Daily Record: “Helander fell a bit awkward so he is having a scan now.

“Hopefully in the next few hours or by tomorrow we’ll know the extent of his injury.”

Van Bronckhorst will be gutted

Van Bronckhorst will surely be gutted with this setback as it potentially leaves him without another strong option heading into a busy period of matches.

Rangers are still competing in the Premiership, the League Cup and the Europa League, for now, and will need as many players available as possible to share the load. The head coach will want to rotate the team, as he did against St. Mirren to ensure that he is not overloading players and this blow to Helander could leave him with one less player to pick from.

Van Bronckhorst is not blessed with natural centre-back options as it is, with Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun the only senior players aside from Helander. Calvin Bassey, who is a left-back by trade, can play there, though, and he has academy prospect Leon King waiting in the wings.

However, the boss will not want to put too much pressure on the youngster so soon into his career with huge matches coming up this week against Braga in Europe and Celtic in the cup. This could be a season-defining week and not having the Sweden international available is, therefore, a big blow as he could be needed in the cup if any injuries are sustained in the European clash.

Last season in the Premiership, Helander averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.10 for the Gers across 22 appearances. This shows that he does have the quality to be a top performer for the club and that is why losing him over the next few weeks would leave van Bronckhorst gutted, with the head now surely now praying that it is not a serious injury for the defender.

Fingers crossed…

AND in other news, Forget Roofe: Rangers ace with 5 key passes showed GVB he’s no longer “useless” today…

Wolverhampton Wanderers are plotting a move to bring Renato Sanches to Molineux in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to John Percy’s recent report for The Telegraph, with the journalist revealing that Bruno Lage and Jeff Shi are planning to revive their summer interest in the LOSC Lille midfielder this winter.

Percy goes on to claim that Wolves are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the 24-year-old ahead of a potential January swoop, with Lage keen to bring in reinforcements to bolster his options in the middle of the park for the second half of the campaign.

He’d solve Wolves’ biggest issue

Following the departure of Morgan Gibbs-White on a season-long loan deal this summer, it was clear for all to see that Wolves were desperately lacking in a more attacking option in central midfield, with none of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho or Leander Dendoncker being particularly forward-thinking on the pitch.

Rather predictably, this has caused Lage something of a problem so far this season, as the 45-year-old manager has been heavily reliant on his forwards for both creativity and goals – with only 16% of Wolves’ six Premier League assists coming from midfield, while just 9% of the club’s 11 league goals have come from the middle of the park.

As such, it would certainly appear advisable for Shi to bring in a more attack-minded central midfielder this winter, with Renato Sanches looking to be a very attractive option.

While the Portugal international has suffered from a series of niggling injuries since his £18m move to Lille back in the summer of 2019, the 24-year-old’s returns in Ligue 1 would nevertheless suggest he could well be the creative spark Wolves are crying out for.

Indeed, over his 19 Ligue 1 appearances in 2019/20, the £27m-rated man scored three goals, registered one assist and created five big chances for his teammates, with these returns seeing the midfielder earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.06.

Over his 23 appearances in the following campaign, Sanches once again impressed, scoring one goal, providing three assists and once more creating five big chances for his teammates, metrics that saw the former Bayern Munich man earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.90.

And, despite having failed to find the back of the net or register an assist over his five Ligue 1 appearances this season, the £51k-per-week man has made an average of 1.5 key passes per game – a statistic that would rank him top of the Wolves’ midfielder charts.

As such, it would seem a very wise move indeed for Shi to once again pursue a deal for the man who Mats Hummels dubbed an “irresistible” talent this winter, as Sanches could well be the answer to Lage’s midfield.

In other news: Lage could save Wolves millions with “authoritative” £14k-p/w beast, he’s Coady’s heir

An update has emerged on Sunderland’s pursuit of Linfield defender Trai Hume, regarding their efforts to sign him this month…

What’s the talk?

According to Football Insider, the Black Cats have placed a bid in excess of £200k for the youngster and are now in advanced negotiations to bring him to England.

The report claims that he is expected to complete a switch to the Stadium of Light, having visited the ground to take in a game against Sheffield Wednesday.

Masterclass

Kristjaan Speakman is on course for a masterclass with this deal for Hume. £200k is a pittance and they could be landing a player with the potential to be a first-choice player for the club for years to come, which could make that fee look like a bargain in the future.

At the age of 19, he has already made 62 senior appearances and has played in a multitude of roles. He can play at centre-back, defensive midfield or on the right wing, but his main position is as a right-back and right wing-back.

Carl Winchester, who is a midfielder by trade, has been deployed at right-back to great effect this season, averaging a WhoScored rating of 6.84 in League One. However, the signing of Hume could allow him to fight for minutes in the middle of the park, providing Lee Johnson with more flexibility across his squad.

Retired midfielder Barry Johnston once lauded Hume’s talents, saying:

“He has played every game at Under 21 level at right wing-back, and he just has a bit of everything. He is talented, and he is tactically and technically very good. He understands the game and is magnificent in the air considering he is not a big 6ft-plus player.

“He is good going forward, you saw that with his goal against Glentoran. He wants to get in the box and get on the end of things. he also scores headers and is tough in the tackle.

“He wants to be a footballer, and he is a dream to have in a team and I am delighted there are clubs recognising his talent and hopefully it is good for our game.”

These quotes highlight some of his strengths and illustrate the potential he has as a player. At the age of 19, he has impressed enough at senior level to warrant this praise and that is why this deal could be a masterclass from Speakman if Sunderland are able to bring him in.

The Black Cats could be bringing in a player with the scope to improve further and build his value as the years progress. This means that he could be a transfer investment for the future, whilst potentially making an impact in the short-term at right-back.

A number of Liverpool supporters believe Jurgen Klopp may have hinted at extending his stay as Reds manager beyond 2024.

Liverpool return to action on Saturday evening, welcoming an in-form Arsenal side to Anfield. It has the potential to be a thrilling encounter on Merseyside, with Mikel Arteta’s team winning their last three league games in a row.

Not only that, but the Reds lost 3-2 away to West Ham in their last league outing and also dropped two points at home to Brighton, raising doubts over their title aspirations and making this a massive contest.

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Ahead of Saturday’s game, in his pre-match press conference [via James Pearce on Twitter], Klopp discussed his future and admitted his time at Anfield is still “far away from being over.”

The German’s current Liverpool deal runs until the summer of 2024 but the hope is of course that he stays well beyond that date, considering his brilliance as manager and the success he has enjoyed.

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Liverpool fans flock to Klopp news

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to react to the news, clearly believing Klopp could extend his contract.

“SIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU « It’s far away from being over »”

Credit: @Lfc_Klopp

“Sounds like he might consider extending”

Credit: @MobPsycho1OOO

“Good spirits”

Credit: @gerald_ynwa

“Extension incoming”

Credit: @_michaelwall94

“Klopp contract extension and #Mbappe22 announced early next year, some say I’m a dreamer”

Credit: @ex_leeds

“Far from over is what I see and that makes me immensely happy”

Credit: @LFCaditya_

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to another key injury update. Read more here.