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A number of Liverpool supporters are confident of the Reds signing Saul Niguez, despite journalist James Pearce claiming a bid hasn’t been made.

Jurgen Klopp may be looking to sign a replacement for Gini Wijnaldum this summer, following his exit to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Dutchman was a hugely important player for Liverpool over the past five years, not only providing quality but also staying largely fit while others were injured.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

One player who the Reds have been continually linked with in recent times is Saul, who could potentially leave Atletico Madrid during this transfer window.

The 26-year-old has been a great servant for the La Liga champions, making a total of 337 appearances to date, not to mention winning 19 caps for Spain.

Despite Liverpool’s rumoured interest, Pearce has played down the claim in an interview with The 1892 Reds Podcast [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter], saying a bid has not yet been made.

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Liverpool fans react positively to Saul update

Although Pearce’s update may come across as negative, these Liverpool fans took to Twitter to claim they think the move could go through because the journalist opted not to rule it out completely.

“I have hope again”

Credit: @_MezzaPunta

“It’s on!”

Credit: @RobGutmann

“Same line peddled last summer re: Thiago”

Credit: @Ogie_Halfhand

“So that’s not no”

Credit: @LFCExcelGenius

“Good news Pearce strikes again”

Credit: @SMiTLA

“Didn’t deny the interest”

Credit: @xberole_

In other news, a journalist has made a key claim over Liverpool’s summer transfer business. Read more here.

Aston Villa are thought to be leading Celtic in the race to sign Bologna left-back Aaron Hickey in January.

The Serie A side will hold a transfer meeting on January 6 to discuss Hickey’s future, according to Tuttosport, via Total Villa.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been reacting to the news on social media.

Steven Gerrard has been promised a huge winter window kitty by NSWE and is thought to be an admirer of Hickey, who swapped Scotland for Italy in 2020.

Labelled as a player with ‘quality’ by Bologna manager Sinisa Mihajlovic, the 19-year-old has made 31 appearances for the club – 19 of which have come this season.

Villa currently have two options at left-back in Matt Targett and Ashley Young, but it seems as if they are thinking long-term when looking at a move for Hickey, who is thriving in a top European league at just 19 years of age.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to Total Villa’s Twitter post regarding Hickey on Wednesday afternoon, with many keen for Villa to bring the youngster to the Midlands.

“Get him in please”

Credit: @jimmystanggren

“Of the players being linked to Villa lately, Hickey is one of the few exciting ones”

Credit: @daviddjuphammar

“The obvious answer for a reserve LB. Cash and Keslar on the right, Targett and Hickey on the left. Will be interesting to see if SG wants a straight swap out for Targett with more attacking prowess.”

Credit: @Ryan__Wills

“@AVFCOfficial sign him.”

Credit: @ZM_AVFC

“Yes please”

Credit: @GarethBarham1

“We would be more likely to get him in the summer!”

Credit: @AvfcGards

In other news: ‘Sounds crazy’ – Many Villa fans react as Gerrard plots move for beast who’d fit ‘top-six’ side. 

Leeds United could revive their interest in Club Brugge’s Noa Lang, Leeds Live’s Joshua Hobbs writes. 

The lowdown

Victor Orta, Leeds’ director of football, reportedly carried out ‘a lot of analysis’ on Lang, only for former manager Marcelo Bielsa to turn down the suggested move.

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The Argentine apparently had concerns about Lang’s contribution off the ball.

Lang, who’s predominantly a left winger but can also play centre forward, has made 42 appearances this season.

He ranks joint-fourth in Club Brugge’s scoring charts with nine, and sits fourth in the Jupiler Pro League assist table with 11.

The Dutchman still has more than three years remaining on his contract and is valued at £19.8million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Hobbs notes that Jesse Marsch, Bielsa’s successor, has moved away from Bielsa’s man-to-man defensive system and prefers to defend as a unit, and that could make Lang’s supposed shortcomings less of an issue.

He also believes that the 22-year-old, ‘excellent in compacted spaces’, would be well suited in Marsch’s ‘narrow system’.

The move is now ‘more likely’, particularly with Raphinha potentially set to leave Elland Road this summer.

Signing Lang could be part of Leeds’ plan to replace the Brazilian.

The verdict

If Leeds fans are concerned that Lang has only been delivering in a relatively weak league – the Belgian top-flight is the 13th-best in Europe – then they need only look to his displays in the Champions League.

For example, Lang won the Player of the Match award when Club Brugge drew 1-1 with French giants Paris Saint-Germain in September and looked, journalist Zach Lowy noted, ‘like prime Neymar’.

But what about those defensive concerns?

Well it’s true that Lang doesn’t press a huge amount – only 12.81 times per 90 minutes (placing in him just the 16th percentile) – but his numbers for tackles (1.54), interceptions (1.02) and blocks (1.2) are all closer to the average. There’s certainly enough there for Marsch to work with.

In other news, this Leeds transfer target struggled at the weekend.

Tottenham are ‘really serious’ about signing Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Spurs after a centre-back?

Tottenham have five senior centre-backs on the books at this moment in time, with Conte opting to use left-back Ben Davies as one of three centre-backs in his first two games in charge.

Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga are yet to feature under Conte, with the new boss reportedly making an A-list centre-back a top priority.

Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij is one name that has been linked with Spurs, and it seems as if Rudiger could be another who the club go after in the winter window.

The Latest: Jones’ claim

Jones was talking to Give Me Sport regarding Rudiger in a story shared on Monday evening.

He simply said:

“They’re really serious about Rudiger.”

The Verdict: Similar to Conte?

Tottenham will need to do a lot of persuading in order to bring the Germany international across London, in what could be a situation similar to Conte.

The Italian rejected a move to Spurs over the summer but has since had second thoughts and replaced Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this month.

Rudiger has also recently snubbed a move to Tottenham, rejecting both Spurs and West Ham last year, so Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici may need to work their magic once again for Rudiger to have a change of heart.

Perhaps the offer of a long-term contract and guarantees over playing time could persuade Rudiger, described as ‘phenomenal’ by Rio Ferdinand, especially with his Stamford Bridge contract expiring in the summer at this moment in time.

In other news: Conte and Paratici want to ‘mock’ rivals by signing ‘incredible’ record-breaking beast for Spurs. 

Aston Villa have been tipped by reports to see a number of players move in and out of the club during the upcoming summer transfer window.

Even though there are still a few games left for the Villans to play before the 2021/22 Premier League season draws to a close, it seems as though one current Villa player has already been targeted for a potential summer exit.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Football Insider sources, Arsenal are lining up a new move for Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz after failing to land him during the previous January transfer window.

Labelled as an “underrated” player by pundit Ian Wright, the £52k-per-week midfielder is set to see his contract run out in the summer of 2023.

Gerrard would be fuming

Since arriving at the Midlands club back in the 2019 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Manchester City in a deal worth a reported fee of £15m, the Brazilian has gone on to become an important figure for the Villans.

With 104 appearances under his belt across all competitions, the 23-year-old has scored four goals and provided eight assists in the process.

Having appeared in 27 league games in this campaign, Luiz has been a regular player for the Villans, leaving John McGinn as the only other midfielder in Steven Gerrard’s squad to have racked up more minutes than the Brazilian.

Earlier in the month, the Villa boss revealed that the former City man is a player that they rate very highly at the club, showing just how keen he would be to see the Brazil international stay at Villa Park.

To highlight just what he offers his side, only McGinn (127) and Matty Cash (156) have a higher number of combined tackles and interceptions than the £31.5m-rated ace (107).

His overall performances for the Villa Park outfit this season have earned Luiz a rating of 6.82 from WhoScored, making him the fifth-highest rated player in Gerrard’s squad.

Taking all of this into account, it’s hard to deny that the 41-year-old would be furious to see the club sell Luiz to another Premier League club this summer rather than tie him down to a new contract.

Also, with 91% of voters in a recent poll ran by Football FanCast claiming the Midlands club should offer the midfielder a new deal, this should be a top priority for the hierarchy at Villa Park.

In other news: Gerrard plotting AVFC offer for “phenomenal” £50m “machine”, it could be bye-bye Ings

Southampton have a big chance to secure their second Premier League win of the season at the weekend with a home clash against Burnley next up for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side following on from their 1-0 win over Leeds United last week.

With eight league games played, the Saints have won one, drawn four and lost three, leaving them 15th in the table with seven points on the board.

Sean Dyche’s Clarets side head into the weekend clash at St Mary’s still looking for their first league win of the season, making it an important match for both teams.

Salisu should start v Burnley

One player who was involved in the victory over Leeds that we feel should be in the Saints’ starting XI to face Burnley is Mohammed Salisu, who has been described as “nasty” by Hasenhuttl in recent weeks in terms of competing in duels against opponents on the pitch.

The 22-year-old played the full 90 minutes against the Whites and made three tackles, three interceptions and two clearances, blocked one shot and won eight out of his 12 duels, ultimately earning himself an impressive overall match rating of 7.4/10 from SofaScore.

In addition to this, the £23k-per-week defender (according to Spotrac) has averaged 2.1 tackles and 3.5 clearances per game so far this season, showing how useful a defensive unit he has been for the Saints. Those figures indicate why he should be in the starting XI to face Burnley, as he could potentially bully their forward players with his no-nonsense nature.

Since joining the Saints in August 2020 from Real Valladolid for a reported fee of £10.8m, Salisu has made only 24 appearances for the club across all competitions.

Looking ahead to the Burnley match, though, we think he should definitely be in the starting XI and probably beyond that, particularly while fellow centre-back Jack Stephens is out recovering from the knee injury that he picked up during Southampton’s 0-0 draw against Manchester City last month.

In other news: Southampton could already have their next Gareth Bale in “quality” 17 y/o starlet

As per The Daily Mirror, Tottenham want to re-sign former youth product Noni Madueke, but will need to pay £40m to do so.

The Lowdown: Spurs ramp up plans

There is just a week left of the transfer window as the 20 clubs in the Premier League aim to put the finishing touches to their squads for the campaign.

So far, Spurs have made three new signings in Pierluigi Gollini (tottenhamhotspur.com), Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero, and there could well be more new arrivals to come before Deadline Day if recent reports are to be believed.

The Latest: Spurs eye Madueke

As per this latest report, Spurs are one of ten clubs interested in signing Madueke, who they let go as a youngster, from PSV.

The Dutch outfit, though, are said to be looking for £40m to part ways with one of their star talents.

The Verdict: Right a wrong

In July 2018, Spurs let Madueke make the move to the Netherlands on a free transfer while under the management of Mauricio Pochettino.

Since then, the 19-year-old has developed into a very promising talent. Last term, he managed eight goals and eight assists in 32 matches in all competitions, and he has already found the back of the net six times in eight appearances this season (Transfermarkt).

Former PSV star Gerald Vanenburg even compared Madueke to Paris Saint-Germain star and France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe – high praise indeed.

£40m is a lot of money for a player they previously let go, but this represents an opportunity for Daniel Levy to right a wrong and land one of the most exciting young attackers in Europe for Nuno Espirito Santo.

In other news, Tottenham are interested in signing this Champions League winner.

Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Morgan Gibbs-White has been lavished with praise for his performances away from Molineux.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by YorkshireLive, Sheffield United centre-forward David McGoldrick stated his belief that the 21-year-old is a player who has the world at his feet, after the midfielder inspired his side to a 3-2 win over Cardiff City on Saturday.

Speaking about the ability of the England U21 international, the striker said: “There was a bit of brilliance from Gibbo for the first goal and he got two assists. He’s a great player, he got in positions for us and that helps us. He’s got the world at his feet, a great kid and great player with all the ability in the world but he needs to play games.

“He’s doing that here. He’s expressing himself and has the licence to be a free spirit. We want him to go and create things. He’s going to lose the ball sometimes, but all good players do that. As long as it’s in the right positions and as long as he keeps scoring goals like that, I don’t mind what else he does.”

The report went on to state that, with Wolves having an option to recall the youngster in January – something the Premier League side did when he was on loan with Swansea City last season – there are increasing concerns at Bramall Lane that they could lose Gibbs-White in the January transfer window.

Gibbs-White could transform Wolves

While things at Molineux are undeniably on the up under the leadership of Bruno Lage, with the west Midlands side winning five, drawing three and losing just two of their last ten Premier League fixtures, the club’s lack of goals will undoubtedly be something that is troubling the 45-year-old manager.

Indeed, Wolves’ 12 league goals scored ranks them as the second-worst attack in the top flight, with the club’s current midfielders offering very little in the way of creativity and attacking impetus.

So far this season, Ruben Neves is the only midfielder to have found the back of the net in the league, while Leander Dendoncker’s one assist ranks him as one of Wolves’ most creative options in the middle of the park.

As such, it is plain for all to see that Lage’s side are crying out for a player who can both create and finish chances, something that Gibbs-White is doing on a near-weekly basis at Sheffield United.

Indeed, over his 15 Championship appearances for the Blades, the £8.1m-rated man has scored five goals, registered four assists and created a whopping nine big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.7 shots and making 1.8 key passes per game, per SofaScore.

These returns have seen the youngster, who football talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed a “superb” talent, average a SofaScore match rating of 7.33, ranking the 21-year-old as the fifth-best player overall in the Championship so far this season.

As such, bringing a player whose aforementioned metrics better every single one of the current Wolves’ first-team squad back to Molineux in January would indeed appear to be a very wise move for Lage, as the £19k-per-week midfielder would undoubtedly transform the club’s present levels of attacking efficiency in the middle of the park.

In other news: Tim Spiers drops exciting Wolves transfer update that’ll leave fans elated

Former Premier League Golden Boot winner Kevin Phillips has been reacting to the news that Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips could miss two months through injury, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Phillips’ hamstring injury

The 26-year-old had to be withdrawn against Brentford last weekend through injury, with Marcelo Bielsa unsure at the time in regards to the extent of the problem. The Telegraph provided an update a few days later, suggesting that the England international could miss up to two months out with a hamstring issue.

Leeds officially shared an update on the 26-year-old’s problem on Thursday, claiming that the midfielder has undergone treatment on the issue.

The Latest: Phillips injury is a ‘huge blow’

Phillips, who regularly features as a pundit on Sky Sports, was talking to Football Insider regarding the news on the Leeds midfielder.

This is what he had to say in reply, labelling The Telegraph’s update as a ‘huge blow’ to the player and his club:

“It’s a huge, huge blow.

“It’s been a tough season for Leeds so far. To lose arguably their most talented player at this point in the season will be devastating. He’s the heartbeat of their midfield.

“It’s been a bit of an up and down season for Kalvin so far, there were obviously the rumours of a rift between him and Bielsa which turned out to be false.

“Being out for two months at such a crucial time with these tough games coming up, it’s a massive blow. It could go wrong for Leeds.”

The Verdict: How will Bielsa deal without Phillips?

Phillips has been influential under Bielsa during his time at Elland Road, perfecting the defensive midfield role in a unique system.

He has turned out 107 times as a defensive midfielder during his career, and early indications are that the manager is more than happy to get imaginative when it comes to coping without the England international.

Leeds went with a 4-3-1-2 system in an impressive display against Chelsea at the weekend, with winger Jack Harrison occupying one of the three central midfield roles alongside Adam Forshaw and Jamie Shackleton.

Stuart Dallas, Mateusz Klich and Pascal Struijk are also options for Bielsa in that position in what could be an entertaining festive period as the Whites look to take points off the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

In other news: Sky Sports think this ‘brilliant’ Leeds beast suffered a fresh injury on Saturday

Birmingham City have recently announced that Sam Cosgrove has left the club to sign for League One side Shrewsbury Town on a season-long loan deal.

What’s the story?

The 24-year-old signed for Birmingham back in January 2021, having caught the eye with a number of impressive performances at Aberdeen.

The forward netted 47 goals in 103 appearances for the Scottish outfit, which saw him earn a move to St Andrew’s Stadium on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Cosgrove has found regular game time hard to come by with Birmingham though, in what has been a frustrating move for him to date, whilst also not being the ideal scenario for the club’s supporters, who would have hoped that he could replicate his strong showings in front of goal from his days in Aberdeen.

He’s since moved to Shrewsbury Town on a season-long loan deal, and will be hoping he can make a good impression away from Birmingham this term.

It’s the ideal move for all parties involved

There were high hopes for Cosgrove when he first signed for Birmingham and you can understand why, with the striker having an impressive record in front of goal whilst with Aberdeen.

However, for one reason or another, he hasn’t hit the heights originally expected of him, with Cosgrove failing to score in 12 appearances for the Blues during the 2020/21 season.

He hadn’t been included in the matchday squad for Lee Bowyer’s side this term, which dropped a sizeable hint that his future could lie elsewhere.

Lee Bowyer already has strong options available to him though, with Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz showing that they can perform to a high standard in the Championship, and they’ve got the ideal backups pushing them for their starting places in the team with Chuks Aneke and Jonathan Leko.

Therefore, the writing was pretty much on the wall for Cosgrove, who is valued at £1.35million according to Transfermarkt. He’ll be hoping he can make a positive impact for Shrewsbury, as they look to build on a 17th-place finish in the League One standings last term.

Birmingham City’s supporters are likely to feel as though the club have made the right call in sending Cosgrove out on loan, as he wouldn’t have been featuring for the Blues’ first-team anytime soon, so it makes sense for him to further his development in English football with a temporary move elsewhere this summer.