Liverpool are pressing ahead in their hunt for new signings and could now turn to a star who Hugo Ekitike has previously shown admiration for due to their blistering pace.

Liverpool keen to support Arne Slot in transfer window

Arne Slot has endured a frustrating campaign in charge of Liverpool, and they have failed to replicate their exploits of last season, finding themselved in a battle for Champions League qualification.

Arsenal and Manchester City may well be out of reach, albeit stranger things have happened, but the Reds know that bringing in new faces during the January window will be pivotal if they are to stake a claim for silverware in any competition.

Defensively, both Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet have been earmarked by Liverpool, with their rearguard becoming more of a priority amid Geovanni Leoni’s absence.

England international Adam Wharton is also a long-term Reds target. However, it is difficult to envisage the Eagles parting ways with someone they value at around £61 million in mid-season.

Nine matches unbeaten before Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal may sound commendable. Nevertheless, there have been four draws within that run, and tougher tests against the likes of Newcastle United and Manchester City remain to come in the next few weeks.

Some supporters have lamented the tempo of Slot’s football this campaign and others have questioned the mentality of his side. Either way, it is always difficult to defend the Premier League title, and they are hardly the only club to ever experience second season syndrome.

Now, the Dutchman appears primed to fight back against recent events as Liverpool plot a move for a winger who could eventually become Mohamed Salah’s replacement.

Liverpool preparing bid for Bradley Barcola

According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are preparing an offer of over £86 million to sign Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola and the Frenchman is keen to leave his current employers after his minutes were compromised under Luis Enrique.

Attracted to the possibility of a move to Anfield, Barcola has registered five goals and three assists in 22 appearances this term, though he has only started nine Ligue 1 matches out of a possible 16.

Related Liverpool now tracking £35m Guehi alternative who's been dubbed Saliba 2.0

The Reds desperately need a centre-back

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Labelled “crazy fast” by countryman and potential future teammate Ekitike, the 23-year-old has created 19 chances and completed 19 successful dribbles on league duty this term, per Fotmob, thriving against his marker in the French top-flight.

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Notably, strained relations between Slot and Liverpool icon Salah may lead to the Egyptian star departing in the near future, and Barcola has been identified as the man to bring pace, power and explosivity to their forward line should the former decide to call time on his glorious Anfield stay.

Barcola is clearly open to a change of scenery and there is potentially room for him on Merseyside, albeit it remains to be seen whether a deal can be forced over the line in January.

More defenders, Mikel, are you sure? When Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie and Cristian Mosquera over the summer, you could hear the ironic laughs.

The Gunners did bolster their forward line during the last transfer window but very rarely does a market go by without Mikel Arteta spending on the defence.

Well, thank heavens they did. Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White have already missed a decent portion of the season while William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristian Mosquera have also missed matches due to injury.

It’s left Arsenal in a tricky spot. Christian Norgaard filled in at centre-back against Club Brugge a few weeks ago while Declan Rice even featured at right-back against Brighton last weekend.

Therefore, it’s unsurprising that they’re targeting more defenders heading into 2026.

Games played by Arsenal defenders – 2025/26

Player

Games

Mins played

William Saliba

19

1,535

Gabriel

17

1,356

Jurrien Timber

24

1,848

Piero Hincapie

12

771

Riccardo Calafiori

20

1,493

Cristhian Mosquera

16

823

Ben White

12

604

Myles Lewis-Skelly

19

829

Marli Salmon

1

7

Arsenal chasing highly-rated defender

Despite injuries, Arsenal’s backline looks well set up for the future.

Mosquera has walked into the Arsenal team with relative ease and ensured that when Saliba was absent, he wasn’t hugely missed. The way in which the young Spanish defender performed at Anfield on his first start in the 1-0 defeat at the start of the season spoke volumes.

Combine his presence with Hincapie’s breakthrough, both at centre-back and left-back, and you sense Arteta has plenty of ways he can configure his backline.

Add another defender to the party and his options become even more dreamy.

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Reports from Fabrizio Romano back in the summer suggested that Arsenal had an interest in Rennes centre-half Jeremy Jacquet.

Well, according to Caught Offside, that interest very much remains. They claim that he is on the club’s shortlist heading into 2026 and that ‘informal discussions’ about the player have taken place regarding the player’s situation.

The report does state, however, that no bid has been made yet.

Jacquet is valued at around £35m according to reports back in November. It’s a high price for a 20-year-old defender but certainly one worth paying. For context, Saliba cost £27m as an 18-year-old and look at him now.

Why Jacquet would be a good signing

If Arsenal added the young French centre-back to their squad, then believe it or not, their defence would get even better.

This is a player very much cut from a similar cloth as Saliba. Like Arsenal’s number 2, he made his breakthrough as a teenager in Ligue 1 and has been earning rave reviews since.

He is yet to be capped at international level but it surely won’t be long before the young centre back makes his way into Didier Deschamps’ squad. A move to Arsenal might well propel his chances.

Already described as a player with “top five centre-back in the world potential” by scout Ben Mattinson, fellow scout Jacek Kulig suggests he’s an “insane centre-back in the making.” It’s easy to see why.

Like Saliba, he plays in an effortless manner. His composure for someone so young is incredible. As Mattinson further outlines, he “plays with a maturity beyond his years.”

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Similarly to Saliba, he’s also got lengthy strides that not only help him to recover quickly and eat up ground swiftly, but it also means he’s particularly strong in the ground duel, winning 62% of his ground battles this season and 60% in 2024/25.

Not just content with being difficult to beat inside his own box, Jacquet also has a bit of Gabriel about him. He’s a “dominant” presence from set-pieces, according to Mattinson, only adding further allure to this young defender.

Said to be “scarily talented” by Mattinson, there is very little the Rennes sensation cannot do. From the same academy as PSG superstar Desire Doue, there is plenty to like about this 20-year-old.

If Arsenal can get their hands on him for as small a price as £35m, they’ll have Europe’s next top centre back, someone ready and waiting to replace Saliba.

As per Bild, later translated and relayed by Sport Witness, a big transfer update has come to light involving Borussia Dortmund star Erling Braut Haaland and Manchester City.

The Lowdown: City chasing striker signing…

The Sky Blues’ latest triumph, a hard-fought 1-0 victory away to Everton, wasn’t pretty on the eye but comes as a huge three points as Pep Guardiola’s side maintain their position at the top of the Premier League.

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Phil Foden’s opportunistic close-range finish in the final 10 minutes was enough to seal a precious Goodison Park win and extend the gap between City and title rivals Liverpool to six points.

Surviving a late handball scare, Guardiola’s men arguably could have put the game to bed before that point, with the English champions having been denied on numerous occasions by Toffees keeper Jordan Pickford.

City have been superb again this season with their use of the false nine system, but a prolific, world class striker with physical presence up front could be the final missing piece of the jigsaw.

As such, the club and sporting director Txiki Begiristain have been tipped by reliable sources to sign a forward as Bild share the latest update on Haaland.

The Latest: Man City turn attention to Haaland…

According to the German source, City have now turned their attention to signing the Dortmund superstar after cooling interest in Harry Kane, who the Citizens believe is joining bitter rivals Manchester United.

Furthermore, in a promising claim, Begiristain and co can offer Haaland ‘exactly what he wants’ in the form of title contention and can ‘easily’ pay his €35m (£29.4m) per year wage demands and his €75m (£63m) release clause.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Rated at around £135m by Transfermarkt, the fact that City can sign him for lesss than half of that amount due to his clause makes this move a real no-brainer.

Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola, who also represents ex-City fan favourite Mario Balotelli, could be a slight obstacle given his and Guardiola’s disdain for one another over the years, but a compromise to sign the Norway star simply must be struck.

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The 21-year-old’s 16 goals and six assists in just 14 Bundesliga appearances this season highlight that he is a menace in the final third, and Haaland’s towering 6 foot 4 stature comes as an added bonus.

Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk heaped praise on the ‘special’ forward late last year, and it’s safe to say that he could come as a mega signing for the Sky Blues.

In other news: Man City also eyeing £200,000-per-week ‘monster’ who Pep says ‘does everything’…find out more here

With his first Premier League campaign nearing its conclusion, Brentford striker Ivan Toney has proven to the array of clubs that have previously shown interest in the forward what they’ve missed out on.

One of those clubs is West Ham United, who were confirmed to be a potential suitor for the English striker by Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony on the Hard Truth Podcast before he eventually signed for the Bees.

The 25-year-old scored 24 goals in 32 appearances in the 2019/20 League One season for the Posh before his move to West London, leading Brentford to their first-ever Premier League season the following campaign with 33 goals in 48 appearances.

It was Toney’s efforts in the third-tier that attracted so much interest from numerous clubs before Thomas Frank’s side paid an initial £5m with the fee rising to £10m with add-ons to replace Ollie Watkins who had joined Aston Villa.

Now, after almost a season in the top-flight, in which the striker has netted nine goals in 23 appearances following his first Premier League hat-trick against Norwich City on Saturday, Toney is showing West Ham what they could’ve had.

It’s no secret that the Hammers have been in need of a striker for numerous transfer windows now, having missed out on a centre-forward once again in January.

31-year-old Michail Antonio is currently the club’s only senior striker, meaning that without the Jamaica international, manager David Moyes has to fit square pegs into round holes as the solution.

Moreover, the forward hasn’t scored in the league since New Year’s Day, further highlighting how big a blow missing out on Ivan Toney really turned out to be for the East London club.

Currently valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt, Toney is worth almost six times the initial fee Brentford paid Peterborough in 2020 and, should the Bees secure top-flight survival, the 25-year-old’s value will surely excel.

When the West London outfit signed the Englishman, it seemed as though they were heavily overpaying for Toney’s services with the striker valued at just £360,000. However, that soon increased heavily to £4.05m in October 2020, although still under the transfer fee.

As Brentford’s talisman kept finding the back of the net, his value kept soaring, with Toney worth £16.2m by March 2021 just before Frank’s side secured a playoff spot.

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Following promotion, the striker’s value sharply increased once again to £25.2m before rising slightly to the current figure of £28.8m in October after bagging 44 goals for the Bees.

Labelled as “exceptional” by Barry Fry when he was in the lower leagues, there is no doubt that the 25-year-old belongs in the English top-flight and could well be onto even better fortunes beyond Brentford.

With their striker issues and a majorly important final set of fixtures to contest, there is no doubt that West Ham will be kicking themselves on what is clearly a prized asset.

In other news: West Ham handed another big fitness blow that’ll have Moyes livid

Despite Rodrigo de Paul having been linked with a move to Leeds United for the best part of a year – with Marcelo Bielsa’s outfit reportedly seeing a €35m (£30m) bid rejected for the Argentina international in the summer of 2020 and Phil Hay claiming in February 2021 that the 27-year-old remained interested in a switch to Elland Road – the central midfielder ultimately sealed a move to Spain, with Atletico Madrid landing De Paul in a €35m (£30m) deal.

And, since his switch to the Spanish giants, the £42m-rated dynamo has gone from strength to strength, highly impressing over his 26 LaLiga appearances for Diego Simeone’s side this season, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.2 key passes, 0.7 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and winning 4.5 duels per game.

These returns have seen the player who Julio Velazquez claimed “lacks absolutely nothing” and “could play in any club in the world” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.00, ranking him as Atleti’s seventh-best performer in the top flight of Spanish football.

However, it has not only been in domestic competitions that the £28k-per-week has shone for his new club, as, over his six appearances in the Champions League, De Paul has been in similarly spectacular form, scoring one goal and creating three big chances, in addition to making an average of 1.2 key passes, 0.8 interceptions, 2.3 tackles and winning 5.2 duels per fixture.

These metrics have seen the Argentine average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.15, ranking him as Simeone’s joint third-best player in the tournament.

Furthermore, in recognition of his astonishing level of performance for Atleti, the 27-year-old was recently named as the 46th-best footballer in the world by The Guardian, ahead of the likes of Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, Real Madrid’s David Alaba and West Ham United’s Declan Rice.

Meanwhile, since missing out on the signing of De Paul last summer, things have gone in quite the opposite direction for Leeds, with Kalvin Phillips having been ruled out of action since December with a hamstring injury and the club’s status as a Premier League side looking increasingly uncertain – with the Whites now being just two points above the relegation zone.

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As such, it very much feels as if Victor Orta’s decision not to up his bid for the player who Smarterscout’s Dan Altman claimed no midfielders “can match” was something of a sliding doors moment for the Whites, with De Paul’s form since his move to Spain only further highlighting the club’s nightmare on missing out on his signature.

AND in other news: Marsch can seal instant Leeds masterclass by unleashing £16.5k-p/w “wrecking ball”

West Ham United manager David Moyes will have to do without another ‘threat’ against Aston Villa today as injury news emerges before the teams’ Premier League clash.

The Lowdown: Hammers missing Bowen…

Much has been made of Jarrod Bowen’s injury over the last week after he was forced off in West Ham’s last league clash away to Liverpool.

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The Englishman was absent for his side’s meeting against Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday as Moyes’ men succumbed to a 1-0 first leg defeat in Spain. Arguably West Ham’s most potent threat, racking up the most goal contributions domestically (eight goals, eight assists), the Hammers arguably missed his presence at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

Moyes has also confirmed that Bowen won’t be available for today’s bout against Villa either, with The Guardian now sharing an update on another Irons player in Ryan Fredericks.

The Latest: The Guardian share Fredericks update…

As relayed by their match preview, West Ham must do without the attacking full-back as an option this afternoon, as Fredericks’ return date from a groin injury remains unknown.

Vladimir Coufal, still sidelined from his hernia operation, is also unavailable, leaving defender Ben Johnson as Moyes’ only right-back option.

The Verdict: Setback for Moyes…

Not having Fredericks to call upon in case of emergency comes as a slight worry for West Ham and Moyes given how heavily reliant they are on Johnson right now.

In highlighting Fredericks’ usefulness as an attacking option out wide, journalist Sam Delaney has called the 29-year-old an ‘extra threat’ on the overlap. Speaking to the press last year, Moyes labelled the defender as a ‘really important’ option, citing his pace as a real outlet which can provide an ‘extra dimension’ for West Ham.

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The right-back could have been a solid backup option today, but alas it appears that the Irons will remain without him for the visit of Aston Villa.

In other news: West Ham could now make great offer to sign £45m-rated star as they already prepare for major exit, find out more here.

According to journalist and ‘transfer insider’ Graeme Bailey, writing in his Anfield Watch column, there has been an update on Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Liverpool defender Joe Gomez.

The Lowdown: Conte chases centre-back…

The Telegraph, sharing news right after the January transfer window over a month ago, claim that the signing of a new centre-back is a top transfer priority for manager Antonio Conte and managing director Fabio Paratici.

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Sven Botman, Alessandro Bastoni and Josko Gvardiol are allegedly on the agenda with a Spurs official also sent to run the rule over Torino’s Gleison Bremer just last weekend.

Anfield centre-half Gomez is another name attracting interest from Spurs as Bailey shares the latest and what he’s heard on Tottenham’s pursuit.

The Latest: Bailey shares update…

According to the insider, Spurs, and by extension Conte, have the 24-year-old well and truly on their agenda and are one of the clubs ‘looking to land’ Gomez this summer.

Alongside the Lilywhites, there is Newcastle, West Ham, Fulham and even Liverpool’s cross-town rivals Everton eyeing a move.

The Verdict: Good candidate?

Given he could leave for around £30 million according to reports, Gomez actually comes as a solid option for Conte’s back three.

Homegrown and able to help fill Tottenham’s quota in that regard, the defender still has many years left at the top level going by his age.

He’s also been revered by manager Jurgen Klopp despite his lack of game time this season with the German calling Gomez a ‘world class’ player alongside Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip (via Anfield Watch).

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Big name presenter and former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker also called him a ‘helluva player’ back in 2018 (via Liverpool Echo).

Indeed, the player could genuinely be a brilliant target for Spurs this summer.

In other news: £50 million release clause: Spurs make contact to sign ‘one of the best players in the world’, find out more here.

Celtic had a massive overhaul during the previous summer transfer window with Ange Postecoglou moving a number of players out of the club and replacing them with a lot of new faces.

Now with the upcoming summer window in mind, it appears as though the Hoops could be set to say goodbye to one of their current figures in a rather uncouth manner.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Greek publication Onlarissa (via Football.Scotland), Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas has demanded to leave the Parkhead club this summer.

Since arriving at Celtic Park back in the 2020 summer transfer window from Greek club AEK Athens in a deal worth a reported fee of £4.5m, the shot-stopper has only made 24 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions where he’s managed to concede 23 goals in the process.

Get rid of Barkas

This season has seen the 27-year-old make just two appearances for the Hoops. The first came in their 1-1 draw against FC Midtjylland in the first leg of the second round Champions League qualifying stage where he committed a “catastrophic” error according to Michael Stewart. That was followed by his only league appearance against St. Johnstone on Boxing Day where he also failed to keep a clean sheet.

As well as only making two appearances for the club in this campaign, the Greece international hasn’t even been in the squad for most of the time, highlighting just where he is in terms of the current pecking order under Postecoglou.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the player would want a move away from the club, presumably to somewhere he’d be able to play regularly rather than waste his time with the Bhoys where his chances to play have been few and far between in recent months.

Also, taking into account what he’s done for the team when he has played or hasn’t done in terms of conceding fewer goals, it wouldn’t seem likely that many Celtic fans would be sad to see the back of him, with some potentially overjoyed by the idea of having him gone.

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Taking all of this into account, Postecoglou now has the chance to fix the nightmare blunder that Nick Hammond made by bringing Barkas to the club in the first place by finally getting the £20k-per-week earner off their books and out the door this summer.

In other news: Sold at £7m, now a 492 goal “beast”: Celtic will rue call on “world-class” 6ft5 “lion”

Rangers central midfielder Steven Davis has found himself out of favour at Ibrox this year and is facing an uncertain future in Glasgow under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

The veteran has been rarely used by the manager in recent months and is out of contract at the end of the campaign. There has been no official confirmation on whether or not he will be offered fresh terms, with the boss and Ross Wilson set to make a call on his situation before next season.

Time to go

It is time for the Dutch head coach to brutally axe Davis from the club this summer. He must not offer the midfielder a new contract and should allow him to leave on a free transfer or retire instead.

Davis has only played once in the Premiership since the turn of the year and has not featured in any of the club’s Europa League knockout ties. In fact, he has played as many matches for Northern Ireland in 2022 (one) as he has in the league for the Gers, which shows how far he is down the pecking order at club level.

The likes of John Lundstram, Glen Kamara, James Sands, Joe Aribo, Aaron Ramsey, Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield are all ahead of him. This has made it very difficult for him to force his way back into the side and that is reflected in his lack of appearances this year.

He is coming towards the end of his playing career and this is reflected in his market value. At the start of 2018, he was valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt whilst playing for Southampton in the Premier League.

Since then, his age has caught up with him and, at the time of writing (28/03/22), Transfermarkt value him at £900k. This means that his value has dropped by a whopping 83% in that time, illustrating that he is in the twilight of his playing days.

Therefore, Rangers must not extend his stay at Ibrox any longer than they need to. His dwindling value and lack of impact on the pitch suggests that there is little point in keeping him at the club.

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Whilst you could argue that he is an experienced player who can help the younger crop of gems, Arfield, Jack and Ramsey are all in their 30’s and impart their wisdom on the academy prospects.

Van Bronckhorst will not miss the 37-year-old because of the other options he has available to him and that is why this summer is the perfect time to brutally axe the Northern Irishman.

AND in other news, Forget Bassey: Rangers can find Balogun 2.0 in “exciting” 18yo with “massive presence”…

The topsy-turvy nature of Chelsea’s season was on full display at the weekend.

Enzo Maresca’s side travelled to St James’ Park to play Newcastle United in their last Premier League game of the season, only to go 2-0 down in the first half.

Now, the team deserves some credit for fighting back in the second 45 to make it 2-2, but overall, it was a disappointing performance from the Blues, and the ninth time they’ve dropped points in the league alone this year.

There were underwhelming displays across the pitch for Chelsea, but one player was particularly frustrating and should probably lose his place in the team.

Chelsea's poor performers vs Newcastle

Unfortunately, when it comes to the first half, you could make a genuine argument for every Chelsea player to feature here.

However, some were more disappointing than others, such as Malo Gusto and Wesley Fofana.

Usually two of the club’s better defenders, the pair were partly at fault for the host’s opening goal, with the centre-back losing the ball and the right-back getting outmuscled for the cross.

Moving into the middle of the park, it was a game to forget for Cole Palmer.

The usually incredible Englishman was way off the pace against the Magpies, and his statistics make for some unpleasant reading.

Palmer v Newcastle

Minutes

79′

Expected Goals

0.03

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.02

Key Passes

1

Crosses (Accurate)

2 (0)

Accurate Passes

25/32 (78%)

Shots on Target

0

Dribbles (Successful)

4 (0)

Lost Possession

15

Ground Duels (Won)

8 (3)

All Stats via Sofascore

For example, in his 79 minutes of action, he produced a combined expected goal plus assists figure of just 0.05, played a single key pass, completed just 78% of his passes, failed to take a shot on target, lost the ball 15 times, failed in 100% of his dribbles and lost five of his eight duels.

Finally, it wasn’t a great outing for Pedro Neto either.

The Portuguese international was clearly trying to make something happen, but ended the game failing to create even one big chance.

However, with all that said, there was one other starter who was comfortably Chelsea’s worst and, as a result, should be dropped ahead of next weekend.

The Chelsea star who needs to be dropped

Now, you could make the argument for several other Chelsea players to take this spot as well, from Trevoh Chalobah to Moises Caicedo.

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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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However, when it really comes down to it, the most frustrating and disappointing performance of the lot from a Blues perspective came from Alejandro Garnacho.

The former Manchester United star was fully deserving of his start following his brace against Cardiff City in the League Cup, but he looked nowhere near as dangerous against the Toon.

In fact, whenever he found himself in dangerous situations or with a chance to make something happen, he, in the words of content creator Frank Khalid, kept “making the wrong decision.”

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Football.london’s Bobby Vincent was also unimpressed with the Argentine, awarding him a 4/10 match rating at full-time.

Garnacho vs Newcastle

Minutes

95′

Expected Assists

0.07

Assists

0

Goals

0

Shots on Target

1

Crosses (Accurate)

4 (0)

Touches

52

Lost Possession

16

Dribbled Past

1

Duels (Won)

12 (6)

Fouls

1

All Stats via Sofascore

That might sound harsh, but the winger’s statistics more than justify the appraisal.

In his 95 minutes of action, he took five shots, but just one was on target, took 52 touches but lost the ball 16 times, lost 50% of his duels, failed in 100% of his crosses and produced an expected assists figure of just 0.07.

Ultimately, it was a really poor performance from Garnacho and one that should probably see him removed from the lineup for Chelsea’s next game.

Related Forget Palmer: Chelsea star who's "out of this world" is their best player

This Chelsea ace shone in their 2-2 draw away to Newcastle.

Posts ByJoe Nuttall