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Liverpool have had a tumultuous Premier League season so far with a number of injury issues plaguing the squad and now a new update has emerged that could be a huge boost for Jurgen Klopp.

What’s the latest?

According to The Athletic journalist James Pearce, both Virgil Van Dijk and Diogo Jota will return to team training at Kirkby this week ahead of the Merseyside derby and upcoming two-leg Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

As per the report, Pearce claimed that the return from long-term injury issues for both players will be a much-needed lift in the squad after suffering a real struggle to get back on track.

It could revive Liverpool’s season

There is no doubt that having Van Dijk and Jota back in contention at this point of the season will be a huge relief to the Liverpool boss as he attempts to reignite the side’s season after a disappointing run of form.

The Reds are tenth in the Premier League table after 20 outings which would be their worst-finishing league placement since 1952 if they were to retain their current league position at the end of the season, with the side also knocked out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup – the two domestic competitions they won last term.

Indeed, Liverpool are still competing in the Champions League with the first half of their challenge against Real Madrid coming up later this month at Anfield and Klopp will be hoping that his returning players can make a instant positive impact to give his team the best chance of knocking their European rivals out of the competition.

Van Dijk is renowned for his influence on Liverpool’s recent triumphs since he joined the Merseyside outfit in 2017, winning the Champions League just six months into his successful spell at the club, following that up with a Premier League title a year later.

That came all while being named in the PFA Team of the Year on three successive occasions, a fact that marks out just how crucial he is to Liverpool.

As far as Jota is concerned, he was able to force his way into the famous front three of Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino by making a statement with his consistent threat in front of goal when he joined in 2020 – scoring 34 times and registering 14 assists over 93 appearances so far.

Liverpool have not scored a Premier League goal since the 2nd January when they lost 3-1 to Brentford, and have not won a league game since they beat Leicester City in December last year, so if Jota can quickly get back to his best in the forward line it could revive their fortunes.

With that being said, things could barely get worse at Anfield and Klopp will be feeling the pressure to get a decent performance out of his team as soon as possible, so the return of the experienced duo can only benefit the manager and the team ahead of the Merseyside derby this weekend.

Much of the talk surrounding Celtic this month has been centred on outgoings, with Croatian Josip Juranovic having notably secured a move to Union Berlin, while Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis also appears to be closing in on an exit before the end of the window.

A further departure could also occur before deadline day, however, with the Scottish Daily Express reporting that on-loan defender, Moritz Jenz could make a swift return to parent club, Lorient.

The report suggests that the 23-year-old – who had initially joined on a season-long loan deal during the summer – has grown ‘frustrated’ with his lack of game, with the German ace seemingly evaluating potential options in his homeland for the remainder of the campaign.

The one-time Fulham youth product has found himself way down the pecking order since the return to action following the World Cup break, with his last Scottish Premiership appearance having come in the win over Ross County back in early November.

Prior to that, the 6 foot 3 brute had featured regularly due to the injury absence of Carl Starfelt, starting all six group games during the club’s disappointing Champions League run.

Despite that string of opportunities, it does appear that the Berlin native was unable to truly impress Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou, having notably been “all over the place” in the club’s only league defeat of the season away to St Mirren, according to journalist Josh Bunting.

With the Scottish champions having continued to thrive with Jenz no longer involved – as winter arrival Yuki Kobayashi has now usurped his place in the side – it does appear that the loss of the centre-back may not be too great of a blow as far as the Parkhead outfit are concerned.

That loss can also be eased by the fact that the Old Firm giants have a handful of promising young talents lying in wait for a chance to stake their claim in the first team, with promising asset Ewan Otoo one of those who could well be deserving of an opportunity.

The 20-year-old has himself been linked with an exit of late – amid interest from the likes of Aston Villa and Burnley – although that is seemingly a reflection of his undoubted talent, having been a leading figure for Celtic’s ‘B’ team of late.

The central defender has scored once and provided two assists in 22 games in all competitions so far this term, offering the versatility to feature at the heart of the backline, as well as in a full-back berth or a central midfield role.

The former Scotland youth international – who has been with the Bhoys academy since the age of eight – previously impressed while on loan at lower division side, Clyde during the 2020/21 campaign, with manager Danny Lennon having stated:

“Ewan is a young boy with fantastic energy, he’s trying to make his mark in the game at that level, so he will certainly get the experience of that.

“Like anything, I believe when you’re given that access, the more that you go and play at that level, the quicker these boys learn. What he does have is a terrific attitude, for a very young boy he’s years ahead in terms of maturation, and is a very strong, powerful boy.”

While the imposing asset is yet to be handed an opportunity in the senior ranks, the impending exit of the aforementioned Jenz could allow Otoo the chance to fill the gap in Postecoglou’s ranks.

Aston Villa forward Cameron Archer is set to leave the club to join Middlesbrough on loan, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Preston loan

Archer enjoyed a positive spell away from Villa Park last season with Championship outfit Preston North End. The 21-year-old netted seven times in 20 appearances under Ryan Lowe, who described the attacker as ‘fantastic’.

He is yet to start a Premier League game during the current campaign under former Villa manager Steven Gerrard and new boss Unai Emery, with another temporary exit on the cards.

The Latest: Middlesbrough move imminent

Football Insider reporter Pete O’Rourke shared a story regarding Archer on Wednesday, revealing that there has been a breakthrough in talks with Boro after an agreement was reached.

He added that the forward is on the verge of moving to the Riverside Stadium for the remainder of the season.

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The Verdict: Makes sense

Middlesbrough are a club on the rise under Michael Carrick and are now pushing for promotion to the Premier League.

Archer is at the stage of his career where he needs to be playing first-team football on a regular basis, so you’d expect that he would receive further game-time in the second tier instead of remaining in the Midlands.

Another solid loan spell away from Villa Park may catch the eye of Emery, who could then decide to use him more frequently during his first full season in charge.

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.

Leeds United have been linked with a move for Ola Aina ahead of the January transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to Italian newspaper Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), the Whites are expected to come forward with an offer to sign the Torino wing-back as his contract is set to expire in the summer.

That means the Yorkshire outfit are able to tie him down to a pre-contract agreement from January 1st but the Serie A outfit could look to offload him in January in a bid to garner some sort of fee.

Elland Road now seems a likely destination, whether that’s next month or in the summer.

Bye-bye Ayling?

The 26-year-old is well-known in England. Having come through the renowned Chelsea academy system, the versatile wing-back has also played for Fulham and Hull City across both the Premier League and the Championship.

He has now made something of a name for himself in Italy, emerging as one of Il Toro’s regular starters, largely owing to his ability to play on both the left and the right.

Aina is currently the club’s best performer in the league, averaging a WhoScored rating of 6.74 – only forward Demba Seck is averaging more dribbles per game, whilst he’s more than pulling his weight defensively with 1.3 tackles per game too.

Such versatility and ability on the ball has seen former teammate Cristian Ansaldi sing his praises in the past, claiming: “I see him very often. He has an intelligence that allows him to play in many positions, then physically he is an animal, more or less like [Wilfried] Singo.”

Perhaps his potential arrival could spell the end for one of Marcelo Bielsa’s long-standing favourites in vice-captain Luke Ayling who, despite his return from injury this season, has struggled to get into Jesse Marsch’s starting XI ahead of summer signing Rasmus Kristensen.

Indeed, the Leeds stalwart has started just one game this campaign – a 3-2 defeat to Fulham – with the rest of his minutes coming from the bench. Ever since his red card against Arsenal last season – an incident that was brandished both “disappointing” and “disgusting” by the media – he has never really been in favour with the American manager again.

You’d imagine that any move for another player in his role would surely spell the end of his career at Elland Road because it’ll only make it harder for him to break into the side.

Torino wanted just €12m (£10m) for Aina during the summer, so that price will surely have to come down if they are going to lose him in the summer for nothing anyway and that would make him even more of a bargain.

As a result, Marsch may well finally ditch Ayling from west Yorkshire, should he successfully secure a deal for the Nigeria international this January.

AND in other news, Orta “set to begin” talks with “dangerous” £35m Leeds “beast”, it’s great for Marsch…

Wolverhampton Wanderers were heavily linked with Mohammed Kudus during the summer and after a superb World Cup display, Julen Lopetegui should reignite the Old Gold’s interest.

It was reported in the summer that the Midlands outfit and Everton both wanted to prise the 22-year-old away from Ajax as he struggled for regular game time under Alfred Schreuder at the start of the campaign.

However, he would remain with the Eredivisie side and quickly established himself as one of the key players for the Dutch giants, hitting ten goals and two assists across ten starts for Schreuder’s side, including five in the Champions League, where he averaged an incredible 7.34 rating from WhoScored.

It was no surprise therefore to see him starting for Ghana in their World Cup opener against Portugal on Thursday, and the young midfielder was a constant menace throughout the game.

As per Sofascore, Kudus would earn an impressive 7.4/10 rating for his display in the 3-2 defeat, with no Ghana player rated higher and only Bruno Fernandes and Otavio (8.4 and 7.5) earning a better rating from the opposition.

The youngster’s direct running and dribbling caused all sorts of problems for Portugal in Qatar, as he completed all four of his dribble attempts during his time on the pitch, while he also registered two shots.

Of the nine duels that Kudus was involved in with Portuguese players, he would win six with a success rate of 67%, which suggests that he had the edge over the opposition, despite the plethora of world-class players at their disposal.

After Portugal took the lead through a contentious penalty decision, Ghana suddenly looked far more dangerous and pushed Kudus forward, which resulted in the equaliser as his cross was turned home by Andre Ayew for 1-1.

The only surprise at that point was that he was taken off by manager Otto Addo on 77 minutes, with the Black Stars then conceding twice in quick succession to lose the game.

Kudus, who has previously been dubbed a “superstar”, looked dangerous throughout and could add a serious attacking threat at Molineux should Lopetegui look to bring him in during the January window.

While it might be tough for the Midlands outfit to tempt him to Molineux given their current Premier League standing, as well as the other interest that will no doubt arise from Kudus’ recent displays, the Spanish manager should do all he can to sign the Ajax star after such an impressive World Cup debut.

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Max Aarons to north London in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by 90min, who claim that Antonio Conte would be willing to sell either Matt Doherty or Emerson Royal this winter, and is considering the Norwich City right-back as a potential candidate to bring into the club.

Further reports have suggested that the Championship side would be willing to part with the 22-year-old in January, as long as they were to receive an offer in the region of £15m.

Imagine him & Spence

While the report also states that Tottenham’s £20m summer signing, Djed Spence, is expected to be loaned out this winter, considering just how impressive the 22-year-old was against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, it would appear wise for Conte to retain the services of the England U21 international heading into the second half of the campaign.

And, considering just how exciting a prospect Aarons undoubtedly is, the prospect of the full-back linking up with his England U21 teammate at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this winter will certainly be a tantalising one for all involved with the club.

Indeed, according to FBref, the £15.6m-rated talent ranks in the top 20% of full-backs in leagues similar to the level of the Championship for non-penalty goals per 90, as well as the top 10% for passes attempted, the top 26% for passes completed, the top 10% for progressive passes and the top 16% for dribbles completed over the last 365 days.

For comparison, FBref rank Spence in the top 37% of full-backs for non-penalty goals per 90, in addition to the bottom 20% for passes attempted, the bottom 31% for progressive passes, the top 46% for passes completed and the top 2% for dribbles completed over the past 12 months.

Furthermore, with Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig suggesting that the “attacking” Aarons is a similar type of player to the former Tottenham and current Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker, it is clear to see just how much potential the Canaries starlet possesses.

As such, should Fabio Paratici manage to get a deal over the line for the £22.5k-per-week defender in January, it would appear as if the sporting director could well have formed Tottenham’s right-back pairing for the foreseeable future, with the prospect of Conte having both Aarons and Spence as options on the right undoubtedly being an extremely exciting thought.

Everton’s academy is famed throughout the footballing world, with their most famous product going on to break all manner of records for Manchester United and England.

As Wayne Rooney was allowed to flourish and make a seamless transition to the first team, soon Tyler Onyango could be another who makes that move.

His immense size and technical ability show incredible similarity to the great Yaya Toure, who took the Premier League by storm for Manchester City.

Frank Lampard will be hoping to develop a player who possesses even half the ability of the sensational Ivorian.

Many would think back to his famed 2013/14 campaign, where he scored 20 and assisted nine in the league. It is early in his career, but this should be the goal for young Onyango.

David Unsworth, who was at the time manager of the U23s, noted how the 19-year-old was on “the first team radar”, before going on to shower him in praise: “Energy, great energy. We’ve been working with Tyler on actually arriving in the box and getting those goals… They’re going to be, hopefully, top young players.”

Standing at 6 foot 2, the midfielder has featured 55 times for the Toffees youth sides. During this period, he has bagged seven goals and assisted a further five, as he goes in search of those remarkable numbers that Toure achieved with City.

However, this season has seen the youngster finally get some vital and consistent experience at a senior level. He has already featured eight times for Burton Albion this season on loan.

He had already featured four times for the Everton senior squad, with three of those coming last season in short cameos during an unforgiving season.

Although Lampard invested heavily in rebranding the midfield this summer, adding James Garner, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Amadou Onana, Onyango should feel confident that with his talent he can soon start challenging them for a place.

His unique skillset combined with his physical imposing frame makes him unique, and if he can fulfil his potential then the Toure comparisons may grow stronger as he begins to surge forward more often and impact proceedings in the final third.

Perhaps if this season goes better than the last for the Toffees, after returning from a hopefully successful loan spell, he can begin to kick on next season.

Newcastle United extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four matches as they held Manchester United to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.

The Magpies could have been given a penalty early on in the match as Raphael Varane appeared to catch Callum Wilson after the ball had gone, but VAR opted against intervening to reverse the no-call from the referee.

They did have an opportunity to take the lead, however, as Joelinton missed a glorious chance to score. Only the Brazilian will be able to tell you how he did not find the back of the net in the first half as he managed to hit the crossbar and then the post in quick succession from a Kieran Trippier cross.

Whilst supporters may point to a lack of action from VAR on the Wilson and Varane incident as costing them the three points, the real villain for the Magpies was winger Jacob Murphy.

The former Norwich man put in a disappointing display as he struggled out wide, failing to make a positive impact in or out of possession.

He had an opportunity to open the scoring for Newcastle in the first half as he dribbled through under pressure but struck a shot straight at David De Gea. The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder described his attempt as “tame” and that could be used to sum up the rest of his performance.

In possession, he was loose and ineffective with the chances he did get. As per SofaScore, he had 20 touches (fewer than Pope’s 37) and only completed seven of his 12 attempted passes (58%), whilst failing in 100% (1/1) of his attempted dribbles.

These statistics show that he was unreliable when he had the ball at his feet as he gave it away almost every other pass, along with missing a good chance in front of goal, and struggled to get into the game as his goalkeeper had more touches than him.

Off the ball, Murphy was a liability for the team as he was bullied out of the game by the Red Devils’ defenders. He lost four of his five (80%) individual duels and only made one tackle in the match, whilst failing to make a single clearance, interception, or block for his side.

He was too weak out on the right wing and Howe will surely be disappointed with the forward’s displays, particularly after he scored in the 5-1 win over Brentford last week.

Murphy was the real villain for Newcastle, not VAR, as he failed to offer enough to be a match-winner for Newcastle in the absence of Allan Saint-Maximin.

Everton return to action in the Premier League this weekend making the trip down to the south coast for their clash with Southampton, and Frank Lampard will be hoping his team can keep up their unbeaten run when they take on Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Everton have drawn four and won one of their last five games in the league which will be an absolute delight to the manager who has endured a difficult challenge since joining the Toffees back in January during a difficult relegation battle that saw the saved in the penultimate game of the season.

Now the future is looking bright for the Merseysiders and with eight new signings in tow, the team seem to be much stronger defensively in the performances we have seen over their first seven Premier League outings thanks to the quickly-formed formidable centre-back partnership blossoming between James Tarkowski and Conor Coady.

Not only that the squad have had fitness boosts over the last few weeks with Abdoulaye Doucoure returning and now another player who wasn’t quite match fit to start the season could be unleashed by Lampard this weekend.

The Everton manager took to his pre-match press conference to confirm that former Manchester United midfielder James Garner could be in contention to finally make an appearance in blue on Saturday afternoon:

“James, when he [first] came here, he wasn’t fit – he declared that to me.

“For West Ham, he was kind of fit, but then it’s great that he played a game – and played so well – for England Under-21s.

“Now he’s ready to go. He’s impressed me in training very much, as a lad and as a player.”

The young £15m midfielder, who was hailed a “raw talent” by journalist Rich Fay, caught the attention of a number of Premier League clubs following his impressive season-long loan with Nottingham Forest in the Championship last season.

Garner scored four goals, contributed eight assists and created seven big chances from his position in the centre of the pitch, as well as offering a consistent defensive output too with 1.4 interceptions, 1.8 tackles and 3.9 duels won per game last season, and now Lampard can take full advantage of the 21-year-old’s versatile set of skills.

With that being said, the game against Southampton could be the perfect opportunity for Garner to make his debut for Everton and prove his worth to his new manager, as he could become a really important player in the heart of the team over the season ahead.