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Writing on his website, reliable reporter Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Italy has shared some major transfer news out of Tottenham Hotspur involving Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.

The Lowdown: Spurs in talks over Amrabat…

Spurs and transfer chief Fabio Paratici have apparently set their sights on the Morocco international as a direct replacement for club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele, if the latter completes a move to Paris-Saint Germain (Fabrizio Romano).

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It is believed that Antonio Conte has personally earmarked the Moroccan’s signing, with Amrabat currently impressing at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Italian is believed to want a new midfielder before next Monday’s transfer deadline, with Spurs’ talks for the 25-year-old having been ongoing since Sunday.

In a big update, Di Marzio has shared a very promising development, with the Lilywhites on track to complete a deal for the player.

The Latest: Di Marzio makes Spurs transfer claim…

The journalist has said that Spurs are ‘close to closing’ the agreement with La Viola, and Amrabat is now set to join the north London club on loan until the end of the current campaign.

Di Marzio believes that it is set to be completed ‘in the coming hours’, with Conte’s midfield ‘set to get stronger’ with the Fiorentina ace’s prospective arrival.

The Verdict: Should Spurs move?

Despite not being given much of a chance at the Artemio Franchi Stadium this season, starting just one Serie A match, Amrabat’s best season in Italy indicates that he could be a good match for Spurs if he rediscovers such form.

During the 2019/20 campaign for former club Verona, he averaged an impressive 2.2 completed dribbles per 90 in midfield whilst completing 88% of his passes (WhoScored), pointing to a composed and tidy option for Conte.

However, during that campaign, he picked up a concerning 10 yellow cards and two reds in 33 starts, with his disciplinary record coming as a potential concern.

Alas, as Conte personally seeks his signing, it is clear that the 52-year-old believes Amrabat can add a different dimension to his Spurs squad.

In other news: Personal terms agreed: Conte edging closer to signing ‘world-beater’ for Tottenham, find out more here.

A number of Manchester United supporters have been left fuming at Bruno Fernandes’ ineffective performance against Newcastle United on Monday night.

Ralf Rangnick’s side returned to Premier League action after 16 days without a game, as they looked to respond to wins for the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham in the race for top four.

It proved to be a hugely disappointing evening at St James’ Park, however, with Newcastle the better team for much of the night and deservedly taking home a point.

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It was a match that saw numerous United players underperform but Fernandes was arguably the worst of the lot, giving the ball away an eye-watering 26 times (Sofascore), by far the most on the pitch.

Gary Neville was unhappy with the former Sporting CP man’s whinging towards the younger players, criticising both Portuguese superstars after a bad night at the office for Cristiano Ronaldo too (Sky Sports).

Man United fans fume at Fernandes display

These United fans took to Twitter to lay into his woeful display.

“Anyway that was a disgrace. We lucky to get a draw. Attack has been abysmal for so long now. Can’t keep relying on Ronaldo. Bruno and Rashford are my favourites players but good lord they’ve been horrendous for so long”

Credit: @MUtdDub

“Bruno Fernandes is a disgrace, take him off”

Credit: @dribblelikebest

“Bruno Fernandes has lost possession 52 times in his last two games vs relegation fodder. I’m a fan of Fernandes however he simply cannot be so careless in possession. There’s a difference between risk-taking and carelessness. 60 yard passes fall in the latter”

Credit: @Utd_Analytics

“These days Bruno Fernandes doesn’t read well before making a long pass he just play it anyhow. Playing silly passes over and over again”

Credit: @Ndubisi941

“I tweeted it before game man Bruno has been woeful glad he’s suspended he needs to see the bench. Rashford has been abysmal also let’s hope for a reaction Thursday”

Credit: @UsmaanTalksUTD

“Lol for real him and Bruno were just absolutely disgraceful. Ronaldo obviously had zero impact either but in his defence he was hardly getting the ball lol”

Credit: @Amonmrk

In other news, United are targeting a Premier League goalkeeper in the summer. Find out who it is here.

Leeds United and Southampton have been linked with a move for Blackburn Rovers right-back Ryan Nyambe, The 72 report.

The Lowdown: Nyambe profiled

Nyambe, described as a player with ‘great acceleration’, is 24 years of age and has progressed through the academy at Ewood Park.

The Namibia international is primarily a right-back who can also turn out at centre-back and has made 190 appearances for the club – 21 of which have come this season.

His current deal is set to expire at the end of June, with Nyambe sharing the same agency as Leeds duo Adam Forshaw and Charlie Cresswell.

The Latest: Leeds keen

The 72 shared a story on Wednesday afternoon, revealing Rovers could cash in on Nyambe this month, with Elland Road and St Mary’s named as possible destinations.

Rovers would want £3m for the defender, a fee surely affordable to Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers group, while Leeds are also linked with a move for striker Ben Brereton-Diaz.

The Verdict: Not needed

Marcelo Bielsa has Luke Ayling, Stuart Dallas, youngster Cody Drameh and even Jamie Shackleton as right-back options at Elland Road, so a fifth choice doesn’t seem pivotal this month.

Leeds have other transfer issues to address more urgently too, with Victor Orta after two midfielders over the coming weeks following Kalvin Phillips’ long-term hamstring injury.

Should they get two in, then perhaps a cut-price move for the versatile Nyambe could be looked at, but for now, Radrizzani and co have bigger fish to fry in order to bolster their chances of Premier League survival.

In other news: Orta now eyeing Leeds move for 6 ft 3 beast who stopped Ronaldo; he’s keen on a January switch.

West Ham ended their Europa League with their first defeat of the competition as Dinamo Zagreb recorded a 1-0 victory at the London Stadium on Thursday evening.

David Moyes’ much-rotated and youthful-looking Irons outfit were badly let down by some of the team’s senior stars, most notably Andriy Yarmolenko, who disappointed with yet another lacklustre diasterclass.

His time in the claret and blue is surely creeping towards an end, if it wasn’t already. The 32-year-old dud has no right to still be at the club, particularly with him raking in the second-highest amount of wages at £115k-per-week.

Furthermore, having picked up 106 caps for Ukraine, he would have been expected to be a leader as many of the club’s academy prospects featured, including Jamal Baptiste, Sonny Perkins and Harrison Ashby.

It was the former Borussia Dortmund star who was at fault for the Croatian’s only goal of the game. He did absolutely nothing to thwart Mislav Orsic as he cut inside to make the Hammers’ young backline pay with a sensational strike from range.

‘Still can’t kick with his right foot’ and ‘lazy’ is exactly how football.london reporter Tom Clark described Yarmolenko after the game, whilst it is a rather telling tale that it was Moyes’ 17-year-old striker shouting at the veteran to actually move whilst still on the pitch.

His lack of influence was reflected by the fact that he recorded fewer touches (24) than any starter for either team. Even West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola managed 27 touches, with substitute Said Benrahma (36) also eclipsing the Ukraine international with ease, too.

Similarly, the versatile 6 foot 2 attacker managed only nine successful passes, comfortably the worst of the Irons’ starting XI. Again, Benrahma doubled this tally in half the time, having come on after the break. He also failed with all three of his crossing attempts, echoing Clark’s comments on his poor delivery on the right flank.

As revealed by the Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser, who even dubbed him “shocking”, Yarmolenko was even booed off by sections of the London Stadium faithful.

On a night where the result did not matter, that reaction is damning.

Not only was the 32-year-old lazy and uninterested but he was also weak and rather lightweight, having lost four of his seven duels (57%), on top of losing possession 11 times from his 25 touches – once every 2.3 touches, as per SofaScore.

With January fast approaching, it could be time to finally offload the wretched £18m signing. He badly betrayed Moyes and the fanbase this week.

AND in other news, David Moyes dealt triple West Ham blow as injuries pile up…

Liverpool striker Divock Origi could potentially seal a move to Wolves in the January transfer window, according to Express and Star reporter Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Origi a Liverpool legend

The 26-year-old has put together an iconic Reds career, not always performing consistently but producing huge moments time and time again.

Origi recently scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner away to Wolves, adding to similarly huge goals against the likes of Barcelona, Tottenham, Everton and Newcastle United down the years, leading to Jurgen Klopp calling him a ‘legend’.

It could be that the striker’s time at Liverpool comes to an end in the near future, however, with a lack of football seeing him fail to start in the Premier League this season.

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The Latest: Journalist talks up Wolves move

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Hatfield talked up the idea of Origi moving to Wolves, having been linked with a switch to Molineux in the past:

“Wolves have been linked with him before, obviously they like the look of him.

“They need someone to back up Raul Jimenez, they have Hwang, who’s a different player, but other than that, who have they got? You’ve got Fabio Silva, who’s a young lad, and we’re yet to see the best of him, so I think a striker option would be interesting.”

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The Verdict: Wrong time to sell

Origi appears relatively content at playing a bit part role for Liverpool but he could feature prominently in the coming weeks, highlighting the need to keep hold of him.

With Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane on Africa Cup of Nations duty next month, the Belgian will be needed to step up to the plate and fill the void, hopefully adding to his two Premier League goals this season.

It would, therefore, be a big surprise if Liverpool allowed Origi to leave in January but a summer exit could happen if he wants it to.

From a Reds perspective, however, it seems logical to keep hold of him for as long as possible, given his penchant for popping up with huge goals, not to mention an overall record of 40 goals in 167 appearances.

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at a Reds exit rumour. Read more here.

Despite having an average squad age of 27.1 according to Transfermarkt, some of Liverpool’s oldest players are located in their midfield with the likes of Jordan Henderson (31), James Milner (35) and Thiago Alcantara (30) being three of the four oldest players in their squad.

With this in mind, it seems as though the Merseyside club could be adding a young midfielder to their squad as a potential long-term replacement for one of those three previously mentioned players.

What’s the news?

In a recent report from the Daily Mail, football agent Jorge Mendes has been trying to get Fulham midfielder, Fabio Carvalho, a move to Liverpool with the youngster in the final year of his contract at the west London club.

As a product of Fulham’s youth system, the 19-year-old, who is currently valued at £225k according to Transfermarkt, made his senior debut for the club back in September 2020 in a Carabao Cup victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

Since then, the teenager, who has been described as a “fantastic” player by current Fulham manager Marco Silva, has made 13 appearances for the first team where he has managed to score four goals and provide one assist in the process, highlighting his attacking talents from midfield at such a young age.

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In addition to this, in the seven Championship appearances he’s made this season, the youngster has managed to rack up an average of 1.9 shots per game and 1.7 key passes per match, showing that he is certainly an attack-minded midfield player.

With all of this in mind and given how Thiago has only managed to rack up an average of 1.2 shots per game and one key pass per game in the Premier League, Carvalho could well be a perfect long-term replacement for the Spaniard at Anfield with his young age giving him plenty of time to grow and develop into the finished product.

Also, with current Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards revealing that he will be leaving his position at the Merseyside club at the end of the season, securing a low-price deal for Carvalho that could well go on to have a big future at Liverpool would be a great leaving present to the club.

In other news: FSG could seal perfect Salah heir at Liverpool with “unpredictable” £63m-rated machine – opinion

New Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard admitted he is keen to work on the club’s defensive structure.

And a number of Villa fans have been reacting to his comments on social media.

Gerrard was officially appointed as Dean Smith’s replacement last Thursday but began work on Monday. He sat down with Villa’s official media team for his first interview, which is available to view in full here.

One snippet from that was shared on Twitter by @villareport, with Gerard keen to make some tweaks on Villa out of possession.

“One thing I’d like to instil & improve on is the structure of the team from a defensive point of view. Out of possession, our distances, our shape, & what we do to regain the ball is very important to me.”

Villa conceded 13 goals in Smith’s final five games in charge and have kept just three league clean sheets during the current campaign, and it seems as if Gerrard wants to make his new side hard to beat ahead of his first game against Brighton this weekend.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to Gerrard’s comments on his side out of possession, with many excited.

“Music to my ears. Seems to be saying all the right things so far”

Credit: @Al_Norton

“Loving this already.”

Credit: @TheRealSiOram77

“Very excited, very very excited”

Credit: @codyaitch

“Basically saying Smith was out of his depth. These are basic and fundamental things.”

Credit: @shadow_villa

“I’m glad to hear it”

Credit: @catrinavfc

“Amen to this…..nailed our biggest weakness from videos”

Credit: @garethedwards74

In other news: ‘Surely we can do better?’ – Many Villa fans urge club not to pursue £12.6m-rated Gerrard target. 

Rangers centre-back Leon Balogun sent a strong message to sporting director Ross Wilson on Sunday as he put in a sublime performance against St Mirren.

Steven Gerrard admitted that the centre-back was a doubt heading into the game after he suffered an injury against Brondby last Thursday.

He told The Herald: “We are hoping we have got to it before there is a tweak or any muscle damage.

“We are hoping it is a little bit of tightness and we will know in the next 24 hours. I will certainly be praying tonight. He felt something in his hamstring. That’s what he came off with, but he wasn’t sure if he felt something or whether it was a bit of tightness.

“We will work that out in the next 24 hours and hopefully he will pull through because he is important for us. I thought his performance was top tonight as well.”

The Nigeria international was able to pull through and produce an excellent display at the back alongside Connor Goldson to ensure the Gers won 2-1 and it should serve as a reminder to Wilson that he has a big decision to make.

Balogun is out of contract at the end of the season and the club hold an option to extend it by one year. Firstly, Wilson must trigger this extension and ensure that he stays for another season at least. Secondly, the Gers chief must negotiate a longer-term deal and keep him at Ibrox in the long-run.

At the age of 33, he is still going strong and producing consistently impressive performances in the Scottish Premiership. This suggests that he is not slowing down, despite his age, and could have more than one year left in the tank.

The defender recorded a SofaScore rating of 7.0 against St Mirren and was a rock at the back in front of Jon McLaughlin. Per SofaScore, he won nine of his 14 duels, whilst making two tackles and four clearances throughout the game as no opposition player managed to dribble past him. He also completed 89% of his passes, highlighting the quality he provides in possession as well as out of it.

This was not a one-off performance from the experienced battler. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.10 in the Premiership this term, winning 62% of his duels and completing 86% of his passes over the course of the campaign so far.

He is proving that age is merely a number and Wilson must act now to ensure that he does not end up leaving Rangers and weakening Gerrard’s squad. His departure would be a huge blow for the club, given the nature of his performances on the pitch, and that is why they must act now to secure his future in Glasgow.

AND in other news, Forget Roofe & Morelos: Rangers beast with 82% duels won was immense vs St Mirren…

Manchester United suffered another humiliating home defeat in the Premier League after Manchester City eased to a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford this afternoon.

While the scoreline may suggest an improved performance from the hosts following their 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on 24 October, the gulf in class between these two sides was just as clear.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges got off to a terrible start when Eric Bailly sliced a Joao Cancelo cross into his own net after just seven minutes, and things only got worse for United from there.

A string of brilliant David de Gea saves kept the Red Devils in the game for the remainder of the opening period before Bernardo Silva capitalised on some extremely slack Luke Shaw defending to double City’s lead on the stroke of half-time.

However, despite the left-back’s dismal efforts, it was arguably Fred who put in the worst showing from the home side as the 20-time English champions failed to land a glove on their local rivals.

As per SofaScore, the Brazil international was awarded a match rating of just 6.3 out of 10, highlighting his hugely ineffective display. During his 80 minutes of action, the 28-year-old won just one of his eight duels (12.5%), lost possession eight times and was dribbled past on a whopping six occasions.

His substandard afternoon earned the criticism of Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst too, with the chief United writer awarding the South American a four out of 10 in his player ratings.

“Lacked the presence and slickness to ever trouble City. He was sarcastically cheered off,” wrote Luckhurst.

Pep Guardiola’s side controlled proceedings from the centre of the pitch from the first minute to the last, completing 753 passes – the most any team has completed in a Premier League match against the Red Devils since the 2003/04 season, according to Opta.

It was another chastening loss for United and Solskjaer, and with tough fixtures against the likes of Villarreal, Chelsea and Arsenal to come in quick succession following the international break, it may be a while before their fortunes improve. On today’s evidence, Fred will be lucky to start when those games come around.

In other news… Forget Solskjaer: Glazers can get Man Utd rocking again by hiring 49 y/o “genius” 

Crystal Palace succumbed to an injury-time Neal Maupay strike as fierce rivals Brighton and Hove Albion rescued a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park on Monday night.

The Eagles’ talisman Wilfried Zaha had put the hosts ahead on the stroke of halftime after Leandro Trossard clumsily bundled Conor Gallagher over inside the box, but the home side failed to put the game to bed.

Struggling forward Jordan Ayew was guilty of missing a golden opportunity to double Palace’s lead following a swift breakaway, giving Maupay the chance to steal a point in the final moments on an enthralling encounter.

Despite the ultimately disappointing result for the hosts, there were plenty of positives for manager Patrick Vieira to take away.

The French tactician will perhaps be most pleased with the impressive display summer signing Joachim Andersen put in at the heart of defence, successfully repelling everything Brighton threw at him until the dying embers.

Andersen dominated Danny Welbeck for large spells and threw Maupay to the ground in the early stages, setting the tone for his domineering display in south London.

As per SofaScore, the 25-year-old received a match rating of 7.2 out of 10, the highest total awarded to anyone one his team.

During the 90 minutes, Andersen set the tone for his team’s intensity and front-footed approach, winning all three of his duels while also completing two tackles, two clearances and a whopping four interceptions.

But the Danish beast was just as competent with the ball at his feet, a key aspect for any modern-day defender at the top level. He had a huge 88 touches, made one key pass and completed all of his attempted dribbles.

It may have been Zaha who popped up with another important goal, but it was Andersen who allowed his team to dominate for large spells, constantly ending Brighton attacks and kickstarting ones of his own, proving to be Patrick Vieira’s real hero for the capital club.

And, in other news…Lost 70% of his duels: Palace lightweight let Vieira down badly against Brighton