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Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa may have suffered a major transfer howler as news emerges from behind the scenes at Elland Road about Robin Koch.

What’s the story?

The Germany international only arrived in the summer from Bundesliga side Freiburg, but has seen his debut campaign in the Premier League be disrupted heavily by injuries – he’s played just 14 times in the top-flight.

Now, Football Insider claim that Bielsa fears the centre-back doesn’t have what it takes to be a real success in the Premier League, and that while he regards him as a fine player, there is a real hole in his game.

The report suggests that “there is a sense at Thorp Arch he is ‘too soft’ to thrive in the Premier League” and that he “doesn’t like the aerial challenges” – it’s even claimed that “this weakness is considered by the coaching staff to be a major issue”.

Radrizzani won’t be happy

While Koch certainly hasn’t been helped by the fact injuries have plagued his first season in English football, it’s a damning indictment on his ability that Bielsa and Leeds’ coaching staff already feel he might not be cut out for the Premier League.

Given that the Whites spent around £13m to beat Tottenham to his signing in the summer, the news that the club feel like they may have made a mistake, or at least not done their homework properly on him in scouting him, surely won’t have Andrea Radrizzani happy.

The Leeds owner splashed the cash in bringing Koch and fellow centre-back Diego Llorente into the club in order to reinforce the centre of defence ahead of the Whites’ return to the Premier League.

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For the club to now have second thoughts on one of their big-money acquisitions just months into his career at Elland Road must surely go down as a major howler.

Meanwhile, Leeds could make an exciting swoop for this Bundesliga star…

Southampton have been linked with a move for Celtic centre-back Leo Hjelde and if he were to join Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this summer, it could prove to be a repeat of the deal that saw the Saints sign Virgil van Dijk from the Hoops in 2015.

According to The Scottish Sun, Southampton are keeping tabs on the teenage centre-back, who is impressing out on loan at Ross County this season.

The 17-year-old joined Celtic from Rosenborg in the summer of 2019 and whilst he is yet to make his senior debut for the Hoops, the fact he has been a regular in the Premiership this season at Ross County highlights his obvious potential.

The centre-back has made nine appearances in total for John Hughes’ side since joining in January, which is impressive when you consider that they are currently embroiled in a relegation battle, which is when you would normally expect a manager to call on some of his more experienced players, rather than a 17-year-old loanee.

However, Hughes has clearly been impressed with Hjelde this season and was full of praise for him after he scored in their 3-2 win against Kilmarnock in March, saying:

“I’m delighted for Leo. He found himself out of the team a little bit, then came on there and got his goal. He’s destined for big, big, big things. He won’t be far away from the Celtic first-team when he goes back.”

Whilst Hjelde is just 17-years-old, and it is impossible to predict whether he will go on to have a successful career or not, there are obvious similarities to the deal that saw Van Dijk join Southampton six years ago, as he is a centre-back who would be joining Southampton from Celtic.

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The Dutch superstar joined for £13m and impressed on the South Coast before joining Liverpool and going on to become one of, if not the world’s best, centre-back with the Reds.

The Norwegian defender also already stands at 6 ft 2, so could easily keep growing, and it is clear that he has not been overawed playing men’s football at such an early age, which is certainly promising for his future.

The fact he has been tipped to play a part for Celtic next season suggests that he has a lot of potential and perhaps wouldn’t look out of place in the Premier League in the not too distant future.

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Therefore, if Southampton can snap him up before he starts to attract heavy interest, there’s no reason why they couldn’t have another player similar to Van Dijk on their hands again if Hjelde can realise his potential with the Saints.

And, in other news… Forget Winks: Southampton should swoop for “outstanding” £16.2m-rated beast 

David Moyes has been dealt a blow in West Ham United’s rumoured pursuit of Moussa Marega, with Fenerbahce SK keen to sign the FC Porto striker.

What’s the word?

According to A Bola, Marega’s services have never left the thoughts of the Fenerbahce leadership as the Super Lig giants line up a wealth of changes to Emre Belozoglu’s side.

The Yellow Canaries intend to complete a vast overhaul of the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium squad in the summer in order to attack the Super Lig and Europe at full strength next term.

West Ham had been linked with a potential move to sign Marega in the next transfer window, as Moyes weighs up his options to add depth behind Michail Antonio following Sebastien Haller’s January exit.

Marega is now said to be a high priority for Fenerbahce as the Mali international is set to leave Porto as a free agent at the end of the season, and discussions with Porto over new terms are yet to return a satisfactory offer.

It had been expected that the Dragoes would soon announce Marega’s renewal as the striker is a key weapon in Sergio Conceicao’s arsenal, with the only hold up being the wait for the arrival of his agent.

But no progress has been made following the offer of a two-year deal that would have seen Marega remain one of the highest earners at the Estadio do Dragao. The 29-year-old currently earns £34,000-per-week.

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Reports in Turkey last month had suggested that Fenerbahce offered Marega a €1.5m-a-season (£24.5k-p/w) contract to move to Istanbul as a free agent, which Portuguese publication O Jogo later dismissed.

Should West Ham sign Porto’s Marega?

Moyes will be well aware of his need to sign a striker in the summer after opting against reinvesting the £20m made from Haller joining AFC Ajax, and leaving Antonio as West Ham’s only out-and-out senior centre-forward.

Marega would represent a solid option for the Irons to target and acquire proven depth, but will seemingly have to go toe-to-toe with Fenerbahce and Porto in order to sign the 24-cap Mali international.

The Yellow Canaries and Dragoes seem increasingly keen on having the £12.5m-rated machine in their attack next season, although Marega’s long-held desires to one day play in the Premier League may yet work in the Hammers’ advantage.

A salary in the region of the alleged £24.5k-p/w offer from Fenerbahce and his current £34k-p/w Porto deal would also not be expected to hinder West Ham’s position, with Spotrac figures showing that only Vladimir Coufal (£30k-p/w), Said Benrahma (£23k-p/w) and Ben Johnson (£19k-p/w) currently earn less among Moyes’ first-team regulars.

Adding Marega into that mix would see the Irons land a striker who has scored 71 goals and offered 33 assists in 182 games for Porto across all competitions, including eight in 22 Champions League fixtures and helping to eliminate Juventus in the Round of 16 last month – in fact, his career goal total stands at an impressive 114.

That seems like very good depth to bring in behind Antonio without David Sullivan having to get his cheque book out to pay Porto for their striker, who has been protected by a €40m (£34m) release clause since 2018 and is nicknamed the ‘Terminator’.

AND in other news, West Ham are in a three-way Premier League battle for a 6 ft 6 titan with “all the attributes”…

Many Sunderland fans are absolutely delighted at a video the club shared on their Twitter page on Monday.

At the start of this week, the Black Cats launched their season ticket campaign for the 2021/22 season. This term, fans have been unable to attend stadia across the country due to the global pandemic, but given the United Kingdom’s vaccination drive, it is likely that supporters will be able to return grounds by next term.

It is currently an exciting time for the Wearside club – they have recently been purchased by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and are third in the League One table, three points behind leaders Hull City with two games in hand (BBC). As such, next season could be played in the Championship, and the club are trying to convince supporters to renew their season tickets.

As part of the marketing campaign for that purpose, they shared a video on their official Twitter account which has delighted many supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the “amazing” footage.

Let’s see what the Sunderland fans had to say about the video below

“Reduced me to tears. Excellent.”

Credit: @ColdwellAnn

“Got goosebumps watching this video one club”

Credit: @Emma0929

“Actual tears , amazing work”

Credit: @brettd1981

“Ah man, you’ve brought a tear to my eye. H’away Sunderland.”

Credit: @gotthegistofit

“this is amazing,”

Credit: @brownh1989

“Brilliant brought it a tear to my eye. I have been going for over 50 years never been so excited for the future since the early 70’s.”

Credit: @FtmWhitburn

In other news, some Sunderland fans slammed this man’s performance against Bristol Rovers.

Liverpool could be set to add another midfielder to their ranks in the summer by signing Sheffield United’s Sander Berge.

According to EuroSport, the Reds have cast their eye over the Norwegian ahead of a potential move following the Blades’ inevitable relegation to the Championship.

Having already dubbed Berge as a “very interesting” player following a UEFA Champions League meeting between the Merseysiders and the midfielder’s former club Genk, it is clear Jurgen Klopp is a fan, which could be a huge blow to academy graduate Curtis Jones.

With any potential arrival of a midfielder in the summer, let alone one Klopp has praised himself, it could see the 20-year-old’s first-team chances reduce.

He already has plenty of competition in that department from the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho, who are without a doubt the Reds’ starting midfielder trio at the current time.

They then have plenty of options waiting in the wings in the forms of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner, whilst Jordan Henderson’s return from a long-term groin issue will see competition intensify even more.

This competition will only be exacerbated with the arrival of £32k-per-week Berge.

Whilst it could be argued that Jones is under no threat of losing his place in the Liverpool squad due to his immense talent, with the midfielder having already started 21 games in all competitions this season, his phasing out has already begun.

Following the return of Fabinho to the centre of midfield, Jones’ opportunities have been limited. He has not played a single minute in each of Liverpool’s last three matches in all competitions, possibly indicating that he is the most expendable of Jurgen Klopp’s current options.

The Reds youngster then will hope this is a trend that does not continue even if the club elects to bolster their midfield with the signing of Berge, it would be a devastating blow to the England U21 star if it does.

AND in more news, take a look at our analysis of Diogo Jota’s sparkling showing against his former club Wolves on Monday…

Details have been shared on a key Premier League decision in the potential takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

As per the British and Irish Legal Information Institute website (via The Chronicle), the English top flight were ‘provisionally minded’ to conclude that the Gulf country would become a director at the St. James’ Park faithful as part of a proposed takeover in 2020.

This is despite insistence from the prospective buyers that the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would be in charge instead of them, insisting the two parties are separate entities.

The league wrote a letter to the Magpies on June 12th after the division’s governing body concluded that the KSA ‘would become a director’ at the North East club. The latter disputed this conclusion which is why an arbitration hearing is needed.

There were a list of reasons why the PL were ‘provisionally minded’ to come to the conclusion, in which Judge Mark Pelling says is ‘the sole issue’ that needs to be settled in the upcoming arbitration case, to see ‘whether this conclusion is correct’.

Arbitration should make things clearer

There is clearly a stand-off between the Tyneside club and the Premier League over whether the KSA government and PIF can be considered as separate entities or not.

The pending arbitration case should settle this dispute, and thus make things a little bit clearer as to what direction the potential takeover is heading.

Nonetheless, members of the Toon Army will be hoping that NUFC win the case, which could prove to be a step further in potentially reviving the original deal between Mike Ashley and the consortium.

In other news, find out what PIF claim has been dropped by a finance guru on the potential takeover here!

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Tottenham captain Gary Mabbutt has backed his old side to overcome the challenge of Dinamo Zagreb before securing a positive result against Arsenal in the north London derby.

Jose Mourinho’s side take on the Croatian outfit in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie then follow that up with a trip to the Emirates to face their rivals in a big week for the club.

And Mabbutt, who rates the squad Mourinho has at disposal very highly, is confident they can pick up some good results.

Discussing the upcoming fixtures in an exclusive interview with FFC, Mabbutt said:

“Don’t even look at the form book at the moment.

“I would look at his players and the group of players and the way those players are playing as individuals and as a team, the confidence within the squad, the camaraderie within the squad, and I think we have all of those. So, you know, I’d be going into these games with confidence that we can get two positive results.”

Indeed, the north London club have certainly been performing of late after a difficult period, with Gareth Bale being one player who has really stepped up during this resurgence.

The Welshman was on fire in that recent 4-1 victory against Crystal Palace, managing to grab two goals for himself. And he was joined by a usual suspect in Harry Kane, who was also able to find the back of the net on two occasions.

If both players can carry this sort of form into the games against Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal, then there is a good chance that Mourinho will get the results he wants from these two important fixtures.

Gylfi Sigurdsson emerged as Carlo Ancelotti’s real hero as Everton beat Southampton 1-0 on Monday night to edge closer to the Champions League positions.

The Iceland international was given the nod to open the action at Goodison Park in favour of star summer signing James Rodriguez, who failed to make the matchday squad due to a minor knock.

Rodriguez had registered his fourth assist of the Premier League season at Anfield, as the Colombian’s perfectly weighted pass found Richarlison to open the scoring against Liverpool inside the third minute of the Merseyside derby.

Sigurdsson wasted little time in filling Rodriguez’s boots at home to Southampton, with the £16m-rated playmaker feeding the ball through to Richarlison to net his third goal in as many top-flight fixtures.

It is the Brazilian’s best run in front of the net all term, having previously failed to score in successive league ties since hitting home against Crystal Palace and Arsenal in February 2020.

Richarlison struck his fifth goal of the Premier League season and 11th in all competitions after rounding Fraser Foster inside the ninth minute, having been found by Sigurdsson with an inch-perfect pass through the Southampton backline.

Everton are now level on 43 points with sixth-placed Liverpool and could move inside the top-four of the Premier League standings with a win over relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion on Thursday night, during what is the Blues’ game in hand.

The Toffees often struggled to establish any momentum during Monday night’s win over the Saints, yet Sigurdsson regularly found pockets of space to operate in and prove a creative force.

No player for either side offered close to the level of creativity that Sigurdsson provided, with the 31-year-old delivering four of Everton’s five key passes. His efforts further accounted for double the tally offered by the visiting outfit (2), per WhoScored.

Rodriguez has only provided more than three key passes in two Premier League fixtures since making his Toffees debut at Tottenham Hotspur in September, with five in the north London affair and an additional five registered in defeat to Leeds United in November.

With two of Sigurdsson’s four key passes also leading to big chances created, the £100,000-per-week maestro was additionally named as SofaScore’s Man of the Match with an eight out of 10 rating – no other Everton player created a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Rodriguez last achieved a SofaScore match rating above Sigurdsson’s 8/10 during a Premier League fixture in November’s 1-0 defeat to Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites, when the 29-year-old was awarded an 8.1 rating.

Sigurdsson making sure Everton were not left wanting more without Rodriguez on the field ensured he emerged as Ancelotti’s real hero, and not goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The England number one was called on to produce a string of strong saves in the second half as Southampton sought to salvage a draw, denying the likes of Jannik Vestergaard to the misery of Danny Ings who kicked the post in frustration.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a prolific 15-goal winger backed to reach another level…

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans have flooded to a tweet by Dom Howson following the loss in the Championship to Millwall on Saturday.

Massimo Luongo was missing from the squad from the match and he provided an update on why this was the case.

The journalist tweeted: ‘Neil Thompson on Massimo Luongo’s absence’ and linked the post to an article in which manager Neil Thompson explained that the player had ‘tweaked his thigh on Thursday in training.’

Thompson provided more information as he said: ‘Hopefully it is not too bad. We will have to reassess him this week and see where he goes with that.’

Luongo already missed nine games when he was out for 41 days earlier this season (Transfermarkt) and this latest update has seen many Owls fans grow frustrated at the player. One fan said ‘He’s made of glass’.

The 28-year-old Australian midfielder has managed twelve appearances in the division this season (two of these from the bench). His stats from these games emphasise that he has a key defensive influence. He has managed 2.4 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 1.3 clearances a game this campaign (WhoScored). These stats show that he loves to get stuck in and this is exactly what the Owls need in a relegation battle, so it is understandable to see fans frustrated by his injuries.

Here is what they said following the update:

“Aka almen abdi”

Credit: @vaughan_22

“Constantly injured but it doesn’t matter because he once played a load of games for QPR”

Credit: @stevenowls

“He’s made of glass”

Credit: @stevie1953

“Stop making excuses for everything”

Credit: @Ian83845067

“Get rid waste of space”

Credit: @LeeThom73693642

“More importantly, what about the teams absence in the second half???”

Credit: @SteveFoshFisher

In other news, fans were discussing midfielder Izzy Brown. Have a read why here!

Manchester City return to Premier League action on Boxing Day with a home game against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United.

City were in fine form in midweek, as they comfortably beat Arsenal 4-1 at the Emirates to secure their spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, despite Guardiola making a lot of changes to his side.

However, despite the impressive performance, we feel it’s likely he will pick a side similar to the one that saw off Southampton in City’s last Premier League fixture, although on current form, Guardiola may opt to rest some of his key players against the goal-shy Toon.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects the Spanish manager to line his side up at the Etihad, with eight changes from the starting team that beat Arsenal…

Ederson reclaims his place in goal after Zak Steffen earned a rare start against the Gunners, with the Brazilian no doubt hoping to improve on his excellent clean sheet record from so far this season.

There are three changes in defence, with Benjamin Mendy replacing Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, as this match should allow the Frenchman to push forward a lot, whilst John Stones should return at centre-back, despite Aymeric Laporte’s goal in midweek.

Kyle Walker replaces Joao Cancelo at right-back, with the Englishman still clearly an important part of Guardiola’s side, with the Spanish manager having heavily praised him earlier in the season, saying:

“It was an incredible signing for Man City. I want to thank the club for bringing him here.”

Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne return in midfield, in place of Fernandinho and Phil Foden, who are perhaps both unfortunate to miss out after impressive performances, although Guardiola will surely want to rotate as much as possible over Christmas to try and avoid injuries.

Finally, in attack, Gabriel Jesus keeps his place after breaking his goal-scoring duck at the Emirates, whilst Ferran Torres and Raheem Sterling replace Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva on the wings.

And, in other news… Man City can save millions on Aguero replacement with prolific academy striker impressing in training