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Leeds United’s youth team players could be the most exciting crop since the last time the Whites were in the Premier League, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Leeds youngster continue to impress

Leeds’  Under-23s were in Premier League 2 action on Friday night, playing out a thrilling 4-4 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers U23s.

Some glittering football was on show from the Whites, who sit fourth in the table and were only denied victory by a last-gasp equaliser from the visitors.

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The Latest: Hay left hugely impressed

Someone who was watching on was The Athletic‘s Hay, who took to Twitter to wax lyrical over the young players on show, saying Leeds haven’t had a better group in their ranks for a few decades, delivering a nine-word verdict:

“The best crop since the previous Premier League era.”

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The Verdict: Building for the future

While Bielsa’s men are enjoying a great period in the club’s history currently, it is vital that the long-term picture is always looked at.

Eventually, the Argentine will move on and key players will either age or leave as well, so ensuring there is top young talent to replace them is vital.

The current crop certainly look like a hugely gifted bunch, with Joe Gelhardt arguably a standout figure, and it will be fascinating to see how they continue to thrive as the Premier League 2 season progresses.

In other news, a worrying Marcelo Bielsa update has emerged. Read more here.

A number of Liverpool supporters have hailed Jurgen Klopp’s apparent mind games ahead of the Premier League clash with Manchester City.

The Reds face their most important game of the season so far on Sunday, as they welcome reigning champions City to Anfield.

Klopp’s men currently have a one-point cushion over their rivals at the top of the table and a win this weekend could feel significant in the title race.

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It is an impossible result to call, but history suggests that the two sides could play out a thrilling encounter on Merseyside.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game [via journalist James Pearce on Twitter], Klopp claimed City are the best team in Europe at the moment, perhaps putting a little bit of extra pressure on Liverpool’s opponents.

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Liverpool fans react to Klopp’s comments

These Reds fans reacted to the comments on Twitter, praising the manager in the process.

“Mind gamesssssssssss. Pep will be fuming again lol”

Credit: @JisooLiverpool

“I love these mind games of Klopp”

Credit: @CallMeRyuk

“Mind games started already”

Credit: @Lewis4653

“Jurgen Klopp: The Art of Living Rent Free”

Credit: @KitsuneMersey

“Kill them with kindness. Truth is no team on the globe can reach our top level”

Credit: @mark1976lewis

“Flatter your enemy then control him”

Credit: @Dasmile25

“Mind games huh Jurgen?”

Credit: @dhavin_ramanah

In other news, these Liverpool fans are desperate for the Reds to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

As per CaughtOffside, yet another Tottenham Hotspur player now wants to leave the club as a major update emerges on the future of midfielder Harry Winks.

The Lowdown: Spurs exit demands…

Over the summer, it’s safe to say there were a few Tottenham first team regulars linked with moves away from north London.

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Indeed, the most high-profile of them all in Harry Kane informed Spurs of his desire to leave and compete for trophies on the biggest stages in world football (Sky Sports). As well as the England captain, club record signing Tanguy Ndombele also told the Lilywhites that he would like an N17 exit (The Telegraph).

While both failed to get their wish, news has now emerged on yet another Tottenham player in Winks wanting to depart north London.

The Lowdown: Winks update emerges…

As per CaughtOffside’s information, the Spurs midfielder is now ‘keen to move on due to a continued lack of playing time’.

They added that Spurs are now ‘set to offload’ the 25-year-old when the January transfer window opens, with club chiefs now willing to part company with the ten-cap England international.

Despite no club making a formal approach, CaughtOffside expect ‘several sides’ to enter the race for Winks in three months’ time when the winter market opens for business.

The Latest: Time to go?

It has been quite a long while since Spurs supporters have seen the best of Winks. Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino once branded the player as ‘amazing’, but in the last year, he has arguably failed to make much of an impact on the field.

Jose Mourinho’s bit-part use of the midfielder last season is largely to blame but it seems that Nuno Espirito Santo isn’t that big of a fan either, having started him in just one Premier League game this season (WhoScored).

While he is still fairly young and commands a somewhat respectable market value (£18m on Transfermarkt), we believe that it’s time Tottenham look for buyers, with the 25-year-old eager to leave and unable to break into a team whose form has collapsed over the last three weeks.

In other news: Levy plan to offload big name Spurs player emerges as source leaks damning Hotspur Way behaviour, find out more here.

Southampton have not exactly been an attacking force to be reckoned with in the Premier League in recent years with the Saints only managing to score more than 50 league goals in one season on one occasion since the 2016/17 campaign.

This season seems to be going in a similar direction so far this season as well with Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side having managed to find the back of the net just five times in seven matches.

However, the Saints could be on the right track to potentially fix their attacking issues…

What’s the latest?

It has recently been reported that Southampton will have to pay a fee of £12m to Championship club Hull City if they want to sign winger Keane Lewis-Potter in the upcoming January transfer window, who they have been linked with in recent weeks.

Lewis-Potter, who is a product of Hull’s youth academy, made his senior debut for the club back in January 2019 in an FA Cup defeat against Millwall.

Since then, the 20-year-old winger, who is currently valued at £540k according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 86 appearances for the Tigers in which he has managed to score 20 goals and provide 10 assists along the way.

So far this season, Lewis-Potter, who has been labelled as a “special talent” by Grant McCann has played 90 minutes in all of Hull’s Championship games, scoring two goals and providing two assists in the process, which just goes to show how important he is to the club.

Attacking reinforcement

Taking into account Southampton’s uninspiring number of goals in the Premier League so far this season and the age of some of their current wingers such as Theo Walcott (32), Nathan Redmond (27) and Mohamed Elyounoussi (27),  a January move for Lewis-Potter could help freshen up Southampton’s attack this season but also provide the club with a useful long-term figure in the squad because of his young age.

However, given how important Lewis-Potter has proven himself to be for Hull this season, Southampton could find it difficult to take him away from his boyhood club, even if they have put a £12m price tag on him that they would reportedly be willing to accept for him.

If they were able to sign him in January though, and Lewis-Potter was able to score some goals and get some assists staright away, we feel the Southampton fans would be delighted with this potential bit of business from the club.

In other news: Ralph could unearth a new JWP at Southampton in 16 y/o sensation, he’s a future star – opinion

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side head into Saturday’s Premiership fixture off the back of securing their first away win of the season last time out, a result which the 56-year-old will undoubtedly be hoping that his Hoops side can repeat in their visit to Fir Park.

However, while Motherwell fell to a 2-0 defeat at Hearts in their last league outing, Graham Alexander’s side have been in rather impressive form so far this season, picking up 14 points from their opening eight games of the 2021/22 campaign, so a Celtic win is by no means guaranteed today.

With what promises to be a challenging fixture for the Bhoys, will Postecoglou make any changes to the team which started the 2-1 win at Aberdeen last time out?

Here’s how we think Celtic could line up against Motherwell, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Postecoglou revealing in his pre-match press conference that Celtic’s injury crisis is finally beginning to ease – Mikey Johnston is once again available for selection, while the trio of James Forrest, Christopher Jullien and Josip Juranovic are all progressing well in their respective recoveries – we predict that the Hoops manager will make two changes to his starting XI from the Aberdeen game.

The back five of Joe Hart, Adam Montgomery, Carl Starfelt, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Anthony Ralston should remain unchanged from that game, as despite the encouraging signs, Jullien and Juranovic are still a little bit off being match-fit.

In the middle of the park, Callum McGregor and David Turnbull make up the central midfield duo, while the £14k-per-week Nir Bitton is replaced with the attack-minded Tom Rogic, who starts in a more advanced midfield role. As per Sofascore, the Israeli was Celtic’s lowest-ranked performer in the win at Pittodrie, so he could face the axe today.

As mentioned above, 22-year-old Johnston is available for selection against Motherwell, with the winger coming straight back into the side for Jota, who is perhaps unfortunate to drop to the bench after his winner at Pittodrie.

Meanwhile, Liel Abada keeps his spot on the right wing, as does Kyogo Furuhashi up top, with Giorgos Giakoumakis still working his way up to full match fitness.

In other news: Celtic dealt major injury blow ahead of Motherwell clash, Ange will be gutted

With Valerien Ismael’s West Bromwich Albion side having bounced back from their first defeat of the Championship season with a 1-0 win in their last outing, the Frenchman will have undoubtedly been hoping for yet another positive result from the trip to Swansea City on Wednesday evening in order to keep the Baggies’ hopes of a top-two finish moving in the right direction.

However, despite taking an incredibly early lead through Karlan Grant’s first-minute strike, Albion failed to capitalise on their first-half dominance, with second-half goals from Joel Piroe and Jamie Paterson turning the game on its head, and seeing Swansea take all three points at the Liberty Stadium with a 2-1 win.

As is to be expected after such a result, a number of the West Brom players did not enjoy the finest game of their respective careers, with eight of the Baggies starting XI – including the likes of Darnell Furlong, Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi – receiving a SofaScore match rating of 6.9 or below.

However, rather than any of the initial lineup, it will undoubtedly be second-half substitute Jordan Hugill who most disappointed with his display against the Swans, as the centre-forward was once again abject upon his introduction to the game.

Completed four passes

Since his arrival at The Hawthorns on a season-long loan deal this summer, it is clear for all to see that the Norwich City striker has not been in the best form of his life in a West Brom shirt, having failed to score a single goal, provide an assist or create a big chance over his eight Championship appearances prior to the Swansea game.

These are statistics that did not change on Wednesday evening, with the 29-year-old failing to even have a shot – either on or off-target – over his 34 minutes on the pitch, let alone find the back of the net.

Furthermore, the £1.8m-rated man also had just nine touches of the ball, completed a mere four passes, failed with his one attempted dribble and lost 75% of his duels against Russell Martin’s side.

These returns saw the £36k-per-week forward receive a predictably disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.5, ranking him as the Baggies’ joint third-worst performer on the night.

As such, with the player who Daniel Farke dubbed a “leader” still yet to have any real impact on West Brom’s season, Ismael’s patience with the striker must surely be starting to run out – as the 29-year-old once again failed the 46-year-old against Swansea.

In other news: Forget Hugill: Ismael could save WBA millions by placing trust in 20 y/o “star boy”

In a world away from the multi-millions in TV money you get for playing in the Premier League, Rangers must be creative in the transfer market to build a squad capable of competing domestically and in Europe.

This means that Ross Wilson must work overtime in order to secure the best possible signings, and the club’s title success last season suggests that he done an excellent job so far.

One player with whom he pulled off a masterclass was winger Scott Wright, who he brought in during the January window to bolster Steven Gerrard’s title pursuit.

The Gers pinned him down to a four-and-a-half-year deal, which suggests that they see long-term potential in the forward. They initially agreed to sign him on a pre-contract but were able to snap him up in January for a bargain fee.

Wilson reportedly paid Aberdeen £180k for his services, with Wright playing 13 times before the end of the 2020/21 campaign. He provided one goal and two assists, setting up a goal in the Europa League.

At the time of the signing, Gerrard hailed him as a player he has admired from afar, backing him to be a success at Ibrox. He said: “It is very pleasing to have Scott for the rest of this season. This will give him the opportunity to gain some valuable game time in a blue shirt for the rest of the season.

“Scott is a player that I have admired and I believe that we can utilise his skill set within our system. He will train with his new teammates tomorrow.”

At the time of writing (26/10/21), Wright is valued at £540k by Transfermarkt. He has produced three goals and two assists in 26 appearances for the club, with three starts in the Premiership this term. This shows that Wilson was able to pull off a masterclass with the forward in January.

He was able to sign Wright for just a third of his current market value, whilst the winger still has plenty of time to develop even further at the age of 24. If he continues to be a regular first team option for Rangers, his value could continue to rise and the £180k Rangers paid for him will look all the more like an absolute bargain.

It was a nominal fee to pay for a talented young player in whom Gerrard seemingly sees a great deal of potential.

AND in other news, Fresh twist emerges on big Rangers problem that’ll leave fans buzzing…

We are in the midst of the 2021 / 2022 Premier League season and the top four, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City, are all performing well. However, there have of course still been a few surprises this season and it is all still to play for at this point in the tournament.

If you are still undecided on where to place your bets, do your research on the latest Premier League odds and take a look at these overviews of each of the best performing teams in the league’s history, including their previous records and highlights so far this season:

Manchester City

Number of times won: 5 (2011, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2020)

Man City are the team to beat having been crowned League champions three out of the past four seasons. They certainly have a good chance of repeating past success this season with results-driven Pep Guardiola at the helm.

While their defence was not on top form in previous seasons, since signing Ruben Dias they have put together an all-around strong team. Portuguese player Dias is considered to be one of the world’s best defenders by many and has made around 40 League appearances for the club so far.

Another strong signing for City was Jack Grealish, his £100 million transfer deal that took place earlier this year made him one of the most expensive signings in history. The player is on a contract that runs until 2027 and replaced Sergio Agüero in the number 10 spot.

City’s loss in the Champions League to Chelsea was a blow to the team, however they are still expected to come out on top.

Liverpool

Number of times won: 1 (2019)

Despite running into some serious bad luck and a streak of losses, Liverpool still managed to come out in third place last season. The team lost six games at home in a row and had a series of disruptive injuries, including Virgil van Dijk’s knee.

They seem to have bounced back this year and importantly, Van Dijk has been cleared as fit to play again. His return is expected to have a huge impact on overall performance and will be strongly supported by new arrival Ibrahima Konate, a centre back from RB Leipzig.

Arguably, their best performance so far has been their game against Manchester United, with a whooping five magnificent goals scored. The worst has to be their away game with Brentford, as while this should have been an easy one, their lacklustre performance led to them dropping two points.

Mo Salah has been the star of the show in the current season, having scored six times and assisted a number of times. Despite his record with yellow cards, he is a strong and enthusiastic player that will do what it takes to get Liverpool their second Premier League title.

At present, they are just behind Chelsea and just ahead of City on the League table.

Chelsea

Number of times won: 5 (2004, 2005, 2009, 2014 and 2016)

They may have come in fourth place last season, but in the 2021 / 2022 Premier League they are currently in top position. Following Lampard’s departure due to poor performance and overspending in the transfer window, Thomas Tuchel has had a great impact on the team.

During Tuchel’s first full season at the club, the re-signing of striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan in a £97.5 million deal has bolstered the team and made it arguably the strongest and most complete in the League. The manager is now expected to sign more defensive players.

Manchester United

Number of times won: 13 (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013)

Manchester United obviously have a very strong record of winning the Premier League however, in recent years they have failed to make the top spot. Last year they just missed out on the trophy having struggled to win the most important matches of the tournament.

United now have all eyes on them and are now under much more pressure to perform given the recent signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s best players in history. The Portuguese forward has won five Ballons D’Or and four European Golden Shoes, he re-joined United in August on a two-year contract deal for £12.85 million.

In his second debut for United in September, Ronaldo scored two of the four goals against Newcastle United. He continues to be a force to be reckoned with and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

With Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes still in midfield, the squad remains strong and capable of victory. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is fortunate to have such a variety of talent at his disposal and the pressure is on for him to make the most out of it.

While Chelsea and Liverpool currently reside at the top of the League table, it is too soon to call a winner. Each of the top four have the potential to take home the trophy given their strong teams and performance so far in the season.

Rangers are among the clubs keeping tabs on Chippenham Town striker Oluwasegun Lawal, according to All Nigeria Soccer.

The lowdown

According to the report, the 19-year-old is a 6-foot tall striker who can also operate as an attacking midfielder or a winger and is strong with both feet, illustrating tremendous versatility even in the embryonic stages of his career.

He made his first team debut for sixth-tier Chippenham as a substitute in their draw with Braintree Town last Saturday. Intriguingly, his younger brother Bosun joined Rangers’ arch-rivals Celtic from Watford earlier this year.

There’s already a healthy Nigerian contingent at Ibrox, made up of Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey, Joe Aribo and Nnamdi Ofoborh. Indeed, Lawal shares more than just a nationality with Aribo, who in his time at Ibrox has also demonstrated the versatility to play out wide and as an attacking midfielder.

The latest

The report from All Nigeria Soccer claimed that ‘a host of clubs’ are monitoring Lawal ahead of the January transfer window.

They name Rangers in addition to five Premier League clubs – Liverpool, Newcastle United, Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Watford.

Of the English quintet, it’s the latter three who are said to be showing the strongest interest at this moment in time.

The verdict

For Lawal to catch the eye of a Europa League participant like Rangers despite largely playing for Chippenham’s academy up to this point indicates that he must be a pretty special talent.

If the Gers were to sign him, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him slot into the under-21 setup initially. As a teenager, he still has plenty of time to develop and prepare for the professional level, although he could get smatterings of senior game-time in competitions such as the Scottish League Cup further down the line.

This may come down who can present the most persuasive offer to Lawal, setting out the clearest pathway to the first team.

In other news, Rangers have been told they can’t stand in this man’s way if he wants to leave. 

With 31 goals scored in their opening 11 Premier League games of the season, it’s safe to say Liverpool have not had much trouble finding the back of the net, especially with Jurgen Klopp’s side having more shots at goal (215) than any other top-flight side.

Despite their impressive attacking power, it seems as though the Merseyside club are interested in bringing a new goalscoring figure to Anfield.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by El Nacional that Liverpool are weighing up a bid of €40m (£34.2m) to sign Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak.

Since joining the La Liga club back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Borussia Dortmund, the 22-year-old, who is currently valued at £36m according to Transfermarkt, has managed to score 38 goals and provide six assists in 102 appearances for Sociedad across all competitions.

Dream move

So far this season, Isak has scored five goals and provided one assist in 13 appearances across La Liga and the Europa League.

On the international stage, Isak has scored eight times in 29 senior appearances for Sweden, showing that he can be an attacking threat for both club and country.

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During the recent Euro 2020 tournament, football presenter Gary Lineker took to Twitter to call Isak an “exceptional talent” after watching him perform for his nation so impressively over the summer.

Taking all of this into account, it’s not hard to see why Liverpool are apparently keen on adding Isak to their squad.

It’s safe to say that Klopp would love to have a player with Isak’s goalscoring prowess in his side next to the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah who have between them managed to contribute 16 of Liverpool’s 31 league goals. Combine all of those players together and you surely have a triumvirate capable of dominating Europe again.

Considering his tender age, Isak could well be seen as a potential long-term replacement for Liverpool’s current striker Roberto Firmino too. He’s now hit the age of 30 and is set to have his current contract at the Merseyside club expire in 2023.

Moving forward, Liverpool should definitely test the waters with this reported bid for Isak to see if Sociedad would be willing to negotiate a deal that would see the striker join the Merseyside club.

The Swede would add even more strength to their already impressive attacking depth and given the sheer number of positives to this deal, it would be an absolute dream for their owners, FSG, and the team’s supporters.

In other news: Forget Salah: £67.5m-rated beast making 3.3 key passes P/G has been “fabulous” for LFC – opinion