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Tottenham Hotspur have ‘joined the race’ for Rangers gem Jack Wylie and are currently in discussions with the player’s camp, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Wylie impressing…

The defender is seriously impressing behind-the-scenes at Ibrox with their sporting director, Ross Wilson, now preparing a mega money professional deal for Wylie.

His performances at youth level for both Rangers and the Scotland Under-16s have attracted real attention from south of the border, where Premier League giants Leeds United, Man United and Arsenal are all eyeing a move.

Wylie is seen as a real prospect in Glasgow but isn’t eligible to sign as a professional until he turns 16 next year, raising fears that English sides could poach the youngster.

The Latest: Spurs join Wylie race…

According to recent reports, Spurs have now ‘joined the race’ for him as sporting director Fabio Paratici’s scouting team seemingly gets to work.

Football Insider claim the north Londoners are joined by Newcastle in registering their interest and Tottenham are even ‘in dialogue with the youngster’s camp’.

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The Verdict: Make the move…

Adding another rising star to Tottenham’s impressive collection of exciting youngsters would be a shrewd move by Paratici and co.

Wylie is amassing quite the reputation in Scotland and has almost half of England’s top flight chasing him going by this latest report.

Indeed, if the teenager keeps developing his game at this rate, and Spurs manage to get him, it isn’t unreasonable to think he can battle his way into the first team in years to come.

Manchester United ‘will bid’ £40m for PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo in January, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Gakpo open to move

The Telegraph have claimed that Erik Ten Hag has identified the 23-year-old as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo after holding a strong interest since the summer.

The Dutch forward has admitted that he would be open to a move to the Premier League, in particular Old Trafford, and the Red Devils’ transfer hopes have been boosted after PSV’s director of football Marcel Brands revealed that the club are ready to sell in the winter.

The Latest: Bid incoming

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones confirmed that he’s heard United are set to make an opening offer for Gakpo in the New Year, with people behind the scenes confident of striking a deal:

“I certainly expect United to explore this move properly now.

“I’m told that United will bid around £40million. That would make sense for how much they’re looking to spend at this stage.

“They feel, at that price, it could be doable. I would expect that to be the figure that we’re all looking at.”

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The Verdict: No-brainer

Gakpo is a natural winger rather than a centre-forward but despite him not being a direct replacement, his return in the final third makes this a no-brainer of a deal to complete.

The Netherlands international has already posted a remarkable 30 goal contributions in just 24 appearances across all competitions this season and is averaging 4.2 key passes and 3.6 shots per league game (WhoScored).

The Eindhoven native also had a hugely impressive World Cup so landing him for £40m would be an absolute bargain for the hierarchy if they can get this move over the line.

Aston Villa are now looking for a new sporting director, but any arrival will need to be personally backed by Unai Emery, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Lange’s future up in the air

Johan Lange is the current sporting director at Villa Park and has been at the club since 2020. The 43-year-old’s future appears to be up in the air, though, with reports in recent weeks suggesting he is fighting for his job.

His transfer record has come in for question by the Villa hierarchy, and it looks as if NSWE are now firmly on the hunt for his potential successor.

The Latest: New sporting director update

FI provided an update in the last 48 hours regarding a possible off-field move at Villa Park.

They revealed that the club are ‘actively seeking a new sporting director’ who has Emery’s ‘seal of approval’ and can work closely with the Villa manager.

The Verdict: Fully behind Emery

Having Emery involved in the pursuit of a new sporting director is certainly a statement of intent by those at the very top at Bodymoor Heath.

NSWE have already promised Emery a ‘huge’ 2023 budget, and if they are unsure about Lange, it makes sense for a change heading into the New Year.

Perhaps this could have been done slightly earlier, as it seems as if NSWE, Lange and Emery may have to work closely with the transfer window now open, but by the summer, the Danish director could be out the door.

Aston Villa are reportedly in fresh contact over a possible January swoop for Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.

The Lowdown: Previous McKennie speculation

McKennie, labelled a ‘pressing machine’ by USMNT reporter Chris Smith, has been on the radar at Villa Park for some time.

Reports prior to Unai Emery’s appointment suggested that NSWE were keen on signing the USA international. A further update has now emerged, and it looks as if Villa officials have made their first move.

The Latest: Transfer update

Sports Witness relayed an update from journalist Carlo Laudisa regarding McKennie in the last 48 hours.

He said that Juventus’ transfer plans will depend on whether or not the midfielder seals a move away from Turin, adding that Villa are in contact.

”[Juventus doing business] will depend on the eventual exit of McKennie, the only player for sale. There are contacts with the Premier League, with Aston Villa in particular and we’ll see. If that exit were to materialise, a loan could be outlined for a deputy Cuadrado, for a winger.”

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The Verdict: Merino alternative?

Emery seems to be open to the idea of bringing in a midfielder this month and was desperate to sign Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino. However, after an approach was made to his representatives, Villa learned that the Spaniard has no intention of leaving Sociedad this month.

Therefore, McKennie, who can play as a central, defensive or right midfielder, could be a smart alternative due to his experience at the highest level for club and country, making a move one to watch over the coming weeks.

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to return to form when they travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League this evening.

Antonio Conte’s side were defeated 2-0 by Aston Villa on New Year’s Day, a result that moved the north London outfit five points adrift of fourth place.

It was also the tenth successive game in which the Lilywhites went behind first, a worrying trend that must be thwarted if they are to transform their fortunes on the pitch.

As such, it will be interesting to see what sort of side the Italian will name, with doubts over the fitness of Dejan Kulusevski.

Here’s what we are predicting…

There could be as many as three changes from the side that tasted defeat a few days ago.

Despite his howler, veteran club captain Hugo Lloris should remain between the sticks, though we could see Eric Dier return to the back three after he was surprisingly dropped from the lineup last time out.

He’ll replace “beast of a player” Ben Davies – in the words of Bundesliga statistician Ben Griffi, which would mean Clement Lenglet shifting to the left and Cristian Romero sticking to the right.

Meanwhile at wing-back, Matt Doherty keeps his place over Emerson Royal but Ryan Sessegnon could start on the other flank, with Ivan Perisic likely to join Heung-min Son and Harry Kane in the attack due to Kulusevski only being rated at ’50/50′ to play.

Yves Bissouma picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, so he’s suspended and with Rodrigo Bentancur still absent through injury, it’ll either be Oliver Skipp or Pape Matar Sarr taking his place alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

It could well be the latter, who Fabrizio Romano once described as a “fantastic talent”, after the 20-year-old took to the pitch before the Hotspur Way academy graduate against Villa.

AND in other news, Conte must ditch struggling £22m Spurs “lightweight” vs Palace, he’s not good enough…

A big update has emerged on Aston Villa and their pursuit of Alex Moreno during the current January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to John Percy of The Telegraph, the Villans are closing in on the signing of Real Betis full-back Alex Moreno to be their first recruit of the month.

The reporter also adds that Unai Emery is not settling for one new addition to his squad at Villa Park as he is also keen on bringing a winger in.

Percy Tweeted: “#avfc to continue talks with Real Betis over £12m deal for left-back Alex Moreno. Getting closer. Unai Emery also targeting a new winger as a priority this month.”

Dream start

Bringing in Moreno from Betis before the end of the month would be a dream start to Emery’s first window in charge of the Villans for a number of reasons.

Firstly, the left-back is Spanish and would be able to strike up an instant connection with the head coach without having to worry about a language barrier, whilst the defender coming in from La Liga also means that the Villa boss already knows him well from his time at Villarreal.

At the age of 29, Moreno is also an established professional who has racked up 145 appearances in the top-flight of Spanish football, along with 148 in the second tier. This means that Villa are not taking a risk on a young, up-and-coming, prospect and are getting someone who, in theory, can hit the ground running and make an instant impact.

The defender could also be a dream fit for the manager’s style of play. Emery is a manager who likes to utilise counter-attacking with pace after defending deep to protect his own goal and Moreno ranks in the 78th percentile or higher in dribbles completed, touches in the opposition’s box and progressive passes received per 90 amongst his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days.

These statistics indicate that he is good at bursting past players down the left flank and great at getting into advanced positions to be passed to by teammates, which would suit a counter-attacking style where the full-back is bombing on to join the attack.

Therefore, the signing of Moreno would be a dream addition for Emery’s first new arrival due to the instant impact that he could have heading into the second half of the campaign.

Everton fans are unlikely to have been left pleased by the comments made recently by their owner, Farhad Moshiri, about his decision to sack previous managers.

What’s the latest?

The Toffees yet again find themselves in a precarious position in the league and, therefore, pressure has been heaped on their manager Frank Lampard ahead of their game on the weekend.

However, Moshiri has come out and provided the 43-year-old with his backing ahead of Saturday’s game at Goodison Park against their fellow strugglers, Southampton.

But since this, the Iranian has also put some shade on the Everton fanbase after suggesting the managerial decisions of late have been made on the back of their comments:

“Some of the decisions we’ve taken have been with the fans, all the managers who were driven out by the fans, not by me,” he told TalkSport.

And speaking to NBC Sports, journalist David Ornstein has suggested these type of comments are unlikely to go down well on Merseyside with the club currently in the mess they are:

(3:40) “You can’t keep hiring and firing managers. It’s been seven [managers] in six and a half years at Everton, and that is just not sustainable.

“He also gave his backing to the board and pointedly he said he did what the fans wanted in making changes at management level. I don’t think the fans will be too happy about that.”

Pointing the finger

On Saturday, Everton fans are expected to demonstrate their frustrations with a sit-in protest following the game as they wish to show their feelings surrounding the board.

So, it is apparent frustration is high among the Everton faithful who are clearly unimpressed by the Toffees going back-to-back years battling relegation.

In these circumstances, what any manager would surely want is for the whole club to unite as one and get behind the team to push them on in their scrap at the bottom end of the table.

And with Everton clearly unhappy with the situation with the club’s board, at the moment, you do have to wonder what Moshiri thought these comments would achieve.

At the end of the day, it is the owner who will have the final say on the running of the club and if he has felt managers in the past deserved more time then that should be on him.

But seemingly shifting some of the blame onto the fans does feel like a risky strategy when this is a fanbase who are not sh about voicing their emotions.

And to do it ahead of such a big game against one of their relegation rivals may not sit well among Everton fans.

Liverpool will host Chelsea in their Premier League clash at Anfield in the early kick-off and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that his team can bring their confident performance from the FA Cup replay earlier this week into today’s meeting.

The Reds are currently ninth in the top flight table, whilst Chelsea are 10th, and taking all three points in front of the home support would put them just two behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth.

In terms of injuries, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk, Arthur Melo and Roberto Firmino remain unavailable for selection, however, there is one important player who could be set for a return to the starting line-up.

Klopp confirmed in his pre-match press conference that star summer signing Darwin Nunez will be in contention to start this afternoon which will be a huge boost for Liverpool in their attacking threat.

With that in mind, this is how we at Football FanCast expect Liverpool to line up against Chelsea…

Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson Becker (GK); Trent Alexander-Arnold (RB), Ibrahima Konate (CB) Joe Gomez (CB), Andy Robertson (LB); Fabinho (CDM), Thiago Alcantara (CM), Naby Keita (CM); Mohammed Salah (RW), Darwin Nunez (ST), Cody Gakpo (LW).

We predict that Klopp will make six changes to the team that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this week.

The first two changes we expect to see are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson reprising their roles in the back four alongside Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the two centre-backs retain their spots in the team after keeping a clean sheet at Molineux and with Van Dijk still absent a bit of continuity in the back line certainly wouldn’t hurt.

In midfield, we predict that the Liverpool boss will make just one change with Fabinho returning to the starting line-up alongside Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara in the centre of the pitch.

We expect Mohammed Salah and Darwin Nunez to join Cody Gakpo in the front three, with the newly signed Dutchman moving out to the left replacing Fabio Carvalho in order to make way for his 23-year-old teammate.

The Uruguayan striker – who was hailed “scary” by Jamie Carragher – will likely return to his centre-forward role this afternoon as his unpredictable and energetic presence in the forward line could terrify Chelsea’s defenders.

It won’t be an easy clash when the Reds meet Graham Potter’s side, however, Klopp will surely be hoping that the return of Nunez and Salah in the team can get them off to an early lead in front of the Anfield crowd during his 1000th game in management.

Everton are in desperate need of reinforcements following their horrendous start to their Premier League season that has left them fighting for survival over their second round of fixtures.

Over 20 league outings, the Toffees have collected just 15 points from a possible 60 and scored just 15 goals which is the second-worst tally in the entire top flight which has ultimately led to their rapid fall two points deep into the relegation zone as it stands.

Following Richarlison’s exit in the summer and Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence for the large majority of the last 18 months through injury, Everton have had their attacking threat drastically weakened with summer signings Dwight McNeil and Neal Maupay failing to make up goal contributions in the team since their arrival at Goodison Park.

As a result, the January transfer window presents a golden opportunity for Everton to add new players who can make an instant impact in front of goal to help the club avoid their first Premier League relegation at the end of the season.

One player who has been recently linked with a move to the blue side of Merseyside is Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom, a player who is currently in fine form in front of goal in the Championship.

Over 21 league appearances, the 27-year-old machine has scored 13 goals, registered one assist and successfully completed 46% of his dribbles, as well as averaging 2.7 shots on goal, 1.2 shots on target and winning 4.8 duels per game.

In fact, Akpom – who is currently the Championship top goal-scorer – could be the second coming of Calvert-Lewin as the 6-foot striker shares many similarities as the Everton goal machine also captured the attention of his current club whilst playing in the second tier with Sheffield United.

In terms of their styles of play the positional peers both use their height to win the ball in dangerous positions and both focus solely on finding the back of the net with most of their activity in and around the box.

With that being said, the signing of Akpom would be a major coup for Everton if he could continue his goal-scoring form at Goodison Park and could be the signing that saves them from relegation at the end of the season.

Chelsea are planning on signing a new striker once the summer transfer window arrives, according to a claim from Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Chelsea’s attacking issues

The 2022/23 season has undoubtedly been a disappointing one at Stamford Bridge, with a top-four finish in the Premier League looking increasingly unlikely, with the Blues 10 points adrift of the Champions League positions.

There have been issues all over the pitch but Chelsea’s attack has been particularly disappointing, with only Kai Havertz (five) and Raheem Sterling (four) scoring more than three league goals all season.

While Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk have arrived in January, it could be that another significant attacking addition also comes in during 2023.

The Latest: New striker in this summer?

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Romano claimed that the addition of a new centre-forward will be at the top of Graham Potter’s wish list in the summer.

The Italian stated:

“I think they will go for a striker. It’s their plan to go for a traditional striker and someone who can bring them goals, after a complicated summer of striker signings last year. So I think this summer Chelsea will move for a striker.”

The Verdict: Big-money addition needed

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is certainly spending plenty of money at the moment, with an outlay of more than £156m this month alone, and while some may feel that their expenditure is excessively frivolous, a new big-money striker is a must for them moving forward.

The Blues should be able to manage between now and the end of the season, with the likes of Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang potentially benefiting from Mudryk’s arrival after the latter enjoyed a 93% pass completion rate and won seven duels on his club debut against Liverpool on Saturday.

However, as a collective Chelsea’s attacking unit needs to look more cohesive, improving on the team’s meagre tally of 22 goals in 20 league matches so far this season.

Marcus Thuram is a striker who has been linked with move to west London and the 25-year-old could be an ideal target, having netted 10 times in 15 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach in 2022/23.