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Crystal Palace have finally appointed a new manager to succeed Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park in the shape of Patrick Vieira, but a tough job awaits the Arsenal legend.

The former Nice boss has filled the vacancy in south London after the likes of Nuno Espirito Santo and Lucien Favre turned down the chance to lead the Eagles into a new era.

While it’s certainly an exciting time for the capital club, much work is needed to be done in the transfer market over the coming months after several departures.

Many senior players left Palace after their contracts expired last month, and although some may yet be offered new deals, Vieira will undoubtedly need to bring in several fresh faces to bolster his options.

His task will be made even trickier if talisman Wilfried Zaha is granted his wish and gets a move away from his boyhood club, although the proceeds from his sale could fund a major squad overhaul.

With that in mind, how could Vieira’s starting XI look next season once the summer transfer window has concluded?

Here’s our prediction…

Spanish shot-stopper Vicente Guaita has been one of the Eagles’ standout performers in recent years and, the 34-year-old is expected to keep his place between the sticks next season.

The full-back positions are also likely to be occupied by familiar faces, with highly-rated 21-year-old Tyrick Mitchell on the left and experienced campaigner Martin Kelly on the opposite flank.

Kelly’s position is expected to come under threat from a new arrival, although rumours surrounding a new right-back have been eerily quiet so far, and the departures of Joel Ward and Nathanial Clyne leave him as the only current option.

It’s at centre-back where Vieira is going to be required to strengthen most. Gary Cahill, Scott Dann and Mamadu Sakho have all walked out the Selhurst Park exit door, leaving James Tomkins as the only central defender on the books.

As a result, at least two new centre-halves will be required in south London, and Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall has been linked with a £10 million move in recent weeks.

He could be partnered by the highly-rated Chelsea youngster Marc Guehi after a successful loan spell at Swansea City last term, and with the Blues valuing him at £15m, we think Vieira would be happy to sanction both deals.

Another Chelsea youngster who could be on the move this summer is Conor Gallagher. The England Under-21 international is expected to command a £15m fee, and he’d offer energy just ahead of the experienced Luka Milivojevic.

Alongside Gallagher could be Juventus star Aaron Ramsey. The Wales international has been linked with an £8.5m move to Palace, and the pull of working under a former Arsenal great could attract the 30-year-old to the capital club.

In attack, Wilfried Zaha’s potential £40m sale could allow Vieira to re-build his side’s forward line with Eberechi Eze set for a long spell on the sidelines due to injury.

The Gunners’ Eddie Nketiah and Sassuolo’s Jeremie Boga, both linked with Palace, could bolster their attack in £20m and £34m moves, respectively, while Celtic’s Ryan Christie could arrive for a significantly lower fee (£1m).

And, in other news…Fabrizio Romano drops exciting Crystal Palace transfer update, fans will be delighted 

Newcastle United are reportedly now targeting a move for Moussa Dembele in the January transfer window alongside both Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman.

The Lowdown: Goalscorer

Wherever he has been, Dembele has always been a goalscorer, as he has found the back of the net on no fewer than 119 occasions in total for various clubs over the course of his senior career so far, and has even notched up 23 strikes at youth level with France (Transfermarkt).

He first started to catch the eye at Celtic, which then got him his big £19.8m move to Lyon. At the Hoops, Dembele scored 51 times and made a further 18 assists in 94 games over all competitions across three consecutive seasons at Parkhead (Transfermarkt), and even received high praise from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who once dubbed him ‘exceptional’.

Nonetheless, after a largely unsuccessful loan spell at Atletico Madrid last term, in where he winning the La Liga title, the striker could well be on the move again.

The Latest: Targeted

As per The Daily Mail, the St. James’ Park faithful are now targeting a move for Dembele in the January transfer window, alongside pursuing Trippier and Botman.

However, due to their involvement in a relegation battle in the Premier League, they may only be able to strike a loan deal, with an option to buy at the end of the campaign once they learn their fate.

Lucas Digne is another player who has been discussed, but the Everton left-back is reportedly holding out for other teams to show interest.

The Verdict: Perfect on loan

A loan deal for Dembele would be perfect, as if they do get relegated, the North East club could just then send him back to Lyon.

Nonetheless, he would offer a viable alternative to Callum Wilson, who needs help up front as their top scorer this season with six goals.

The 25-year-old could also link up well with another former France youth international in Allan Saint-Maximin, and given that he has the experience of playing in English football already with Fulham, he should be able to hit the ground running straight away.

In other news, find out which new Director of Football candidate has emerged here!

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has reacted to Manchester United’s interest in Kalvin Phillips, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Manchester United ‘working on a deal’

Phillips has been linked with a number of clubs in recent months, with Aston Villa, Newcastle United and West Ham all showing an interest.

Manchester United have become the latest side to be name-checked when it comes to Phillips, with the Red Devils now ‘working on a deal’ for the England international.

The 26-year-old is in the process of changing agents and is keen to stay at Elland Road, however, Kenny feels a move to Old Trafford shouldn’t be ruled out at this stage.

The Latest: Kenny’s comments

Kenny was talking to FI about the update on Manchester United’s move for Phillips. He claimed that Leeds fans ‘will be devastated’ if a move materialised, labelling it as ‘a difficult one to turn down’.

“He’s Leeds through and through but we saw that with Jack Grealish didn’t we?

“He’s Villa through and through but he decided to sign for Manchester City last summer.

“If an offer like that comes in, it might never come again. Can you afford to say no?

“It’s like Lampard at Chelsea. He didn’t know if it was going to work out but that offer might not come again, you have to take it.

“It will be interesting to see if this move happens. The fans will be devastated if he does go.

“As a player, you have to look to the future and Leeds are a big club but Man United are one of the biggest in the world.

“It’s a difficult one to turn down, that’s for sure.”

The Verdict: Surely not…

Phillips is a boyhood Leeds fan, so he’ll know all about the fierce rivalry between the two clubs.

The Red Devils may not even be in a position to offer him Champions League football either next season, so a move across the Pennines doesn’t look too appealing as it once did.

The Red Devils could do with midfield additions over the summer, though, so it could be a real coup if they managed to persuade Phillips to move to Old Trafford over the coming months.

In other news: ‘Ten Hag has’ – Fabrizio Romano now drops Man Utd twist after what he’s heard from Old Trafford. 

Sunderland were held to a 1-1 draw in a frustrating clash away at Shrewsbury Town in League One on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats sit sixth in the table and five points off league-leaders Rotherham, albeit they have one game in hand on the Millers.

Lee Johnson’s side went into half-time against Shrewsbury with a 1-0 lead and the hosts down to 10 men, following Luke O’Nien’s opener and David Davis’ dismissal. However, a second-half equaliser from Daniel Udoh ensured that the points were shared.

Forget Pritchard

Alex Pritchard caught the eye in the number 10 role as he provided the assist for O’Nien’s opener. It was his second assist in 14 league matches this season and he created three chances in total throughout the match. However, another player stole the show for Sunderland in the midfield – Dan Neil.

The 19-year-old from South Shields put in a sublime performance in the middle of the park and ran the game for the Black Cats. Whilst Pritchard managed an assist and showed off his creativity in the hole behind the striker, Neil managed to outshine him with his display.

On the ball, he was excellent. Per SofaScore, the wiz had a whopping 91 touches of the ball and completed 96% of his passes as he created four chances for his teammates – one more than Pritchard. He also completed an impressive 11 of his 13 attempted long passes, showing off his passing range along with his ability to set up his teammates.

His control of the match was highlighted in his possession statistics. He completed a high percentage of his attempted passes and enjoyed a huge number of touches, with his chance creation and long pass attempts also showing that he was not playing simple, easy, passes to boost his numbers.

Defensively, he was also solid. Per SofaScore, he won six of his 11 individual duels and made three tackles during the game, whilst only being dribbled past once. He also made one clearance and committed one foul in the 90 minutes, proving that he can perform well at both ends of the pitch – defending his own goal and driving forward to make an impact in the final third.

Therefore, his complete performance ensured that he ran the game for Johnson and is why he was the real star of the show over Pritchard. Hopefully, the youngster will continue to produce displays of this standard throughout the rest of the season and will be able to lift the club further up the table.

AND in other news, Sunderland must unleash “dynamic” 21 y/o beast in 2022, he could save Kld thousands… 

Kalvin Phillips won’t be joining one of Leeds United’s biggest rivals this summer – for now…

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, who delivered a 12-word update on his future at Elland Road amid reports linking him with a move away in the off-season.

The England international has been linked to several Premier League teams in recent weeks and months, ranging from Liverpool and Manchester United, to Newcastle United and Aston Villa.

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News claimed earlier this week that the Red Devils were working on a deal to sign the xx-year-old as a new defensive midfielder would be a priority under likely incoming boss Erik ten Hag.

However, Nixon has thrown cold water on those reports, suggesting that isn’t the case, at the moment.

“Manchester United DON’T have Kalvin Phillips on their wish list for now,” he told followers of his Patreon site.

Good news

Ultimately, this is a huge source of encouragement for anyone associated with Leeds, and not just because it’s the Old Trafford outfit being ruled out of a move.

Phillips is undoubtedly one of the Whites’ most integral players, even post-Marcelo Bielsa, and whilst he is yet to start for manager Jesse Marsch since returning from injury, he will surely play a key role going forward.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

“I said it after the match that both [Phillips and Liam Cooper] will have a big effect on our group both on the pitch and off,” the American told reporters (via the Yorkshire Evening Post) after his comeback cameo against Southampton. He then added:

“And then to have Kalvin on the pitch, I think everybody saw that it brought poise to our group, that he helped settle the game down. I heard him say after the game that he didn’t do much but, just by being on the pitch for us, I think that that presence meant a lot.”

Also dubbed a “wonderful talent” by ex-Leeds man Michael Brown, there isn’t a player in the current squad that possesses the same skillset as Phillips – defensively a rock, averaging 2.1 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game and he often starts many an attack, averaging 3.1 long balls and an 82.6% passing accuracy, via WhoScored.

Losing a player of that calibre, not just to any top-flight team, but an arch-rival rival like the Red Devils would be a bitter blow, following in the footsteps of Eric Cantona and Rio Ferdinand, whose reputation in west Yorkshire plummeted.

Nixon’s update will delight many around Elland Road, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Signed for £5m, now worth 740% more: Leeds struck gold with £42m-rated “rare talent”…

Glasgow Rangers fans were far from happy with Charles Green’s claim he tried to sign Steven Gerrard for the Gers in 2013.

Green was Rangers owner for just over a year after the Ibrox outfit went into administration (BBC) after entering financial difficulties. His ownership was far from settled, and doubts were cast over the assets of Green’s consortium by Craig Whyte, who was originally in charge when administration fell.

As such, Green is not the most popular man amongst Rangers supporters, and his latest comments have not gone down too well either. He told talkSPORT he tried to sign Steven Gerrard in 2013, even though the Gers were in the lower leagues at the time while Gerrard was fighting for the Premier League title with Liverpool. It is clear the Gers supporters do not believe the claim.

A video of the comments was shared on Twitter by talkSPORT’s official account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the Gers supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Green below

“Why does this guy still get air time when talking about rangers. It’s in the past. Leave it now”

Credit: @graeme_campbell

“Can’t believe you are still giving this man airtime . Did you ask him where the arsenal shares are please no more , im sure all rangers fans would agree”

Credit: @AlanSayers71

“Can we add talksport to the banned list? Constantly giving this old cretin airtime.”

Credit: @manno1990

“Aye, Gerrards wife gets home late and drunk. Pulls out a business card from her gucci handbag and tells Stevie we are off to Glasgow now. Stop giving this guy airtime.”

Credit: @yayacd

“Aye part of a midfield team with Nicky law, Ian black and dean sheils? I’m sure you did Charles, I’m sure you did.”

Credit: @Davidmc50660735

“As a proud @RangersFC supporter, this is the biggest load of tripe I’ve heard yet. In 2013 we were in the lower leagues and Gerrard was the captain of a side that just recently missed out on the league title. Can’t see him trading LA for away days at Arbroath.”

Credit: @OfficialRG90

In other news, Rangers fans react to this update.

Everton are reportedly eyeing up a move for Stoke City defender Harry Souttar as new manager Rafael Benitez looks to freshen up his backline.

What’s the story?

According to reports, assistant manager Duncan Ferguson has scouted the highly-rated 22-year-old ahead of a potential move.

The report states that Souttar has been identified as a potential replacement for Yerry Mina after the Colombian centre-back expressed his desire to leave Goodison Park next summer.

It’s believed that Mina has his heart set on a move to Serie A with both Inter and Fiorentina keen to secure his services, while Souttar is continuing to impress in the Championship.

Benitez would love him

After departing boyhood club Dundee United to join Stoke back in September 2016, the youngster has enjoyed multiple loan spells away from the Bet365 Stadium.

A 12-month stay at Fleetwood Town during 2019/20 proved to be the turning point in Souttar’s career to date, though, and his eye-catching performances at Highbury Stadium were enough to secure a place in Michael O’Neill’s first-team plans.

“We drip-fed him in using the cup games to begin with and he found his way into the starting XI,” said O’Neill. “I said to him that he just has to keep up the levels he’s been doing. Sometimes young players drop off a little bit. He can’t allow that to happen.

“He’s a player blessed with great natural attributes. Obviously his height, but also, he’s got good game intelligence, and he’s a great user of the ball as well. That’s something which I think will set him apart from the other defenders in this league,” he concluded.

Souttar made 38 league starts for the Potters last term as he found his feet at the heart of defence and has continued his good form into the current campaign, making ten Championship outings as Stoke sit fourth in the second-tier table.

As a result, Everton’s director of football, Marcel Brands, must sanction a move for the Australian starlet if Mina departs for Italian football.

Benitez would surely relish the opportunity to work with such a talented young player, providing the Merseyside outfit with a solid defensive foundation for many years to come. After all, the Spanish coach has already been keen to blood young players in his team this season.

Jarrad Branthwaite, Anthony Gordon and Lewis Dobbin have all become more regular parts of the furniture this season. Souttar must join that talented crop coming through at Goodison Park.

And, in other news…Everton may find their new Rodriguez by signing £22.5m-rated gem, he’s a “big player” 

A number of Liverpool supporters after fuming after a fresh update claimed any new Reds signings will likely be put off until next year.

Jurgen Klopp’s side scraped to a third-place finish in the Premier League last season, despite constant injury problems holding them back.

The hope from some fans was therefore that Liverpool would have a busy summer in the transfer market to alleviate that issue, but things haven’t panned out that way to date.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Ibrahima Konate is still the only signing to come in, while the likes of Gini Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri have moved on to new clubs.

There is still time for new faces to arrive before next Tuesday’s transfer cutoff, but The Daily Mail [via LFC Transfer Room on Twitter] claim that signings won’t happen until next summer now, even though David Marshall and Mikkel Damsgaard are mentioned in the report.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans angry at transfer latest

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to show their frustration at the update.

“Ian Ayre is back”

Credit: @DembeReloaded

“Nextyearpool at it again”

Credit: @DarthMoaner

“That magic ‘next year/summer’ phrase again”

Credit: @LangatGodwin_LG

“Mbappe to David Marshall doesn’t feel like the flex I was hoping for”

Credit: @PaulSenior1

“If I had a pound for every time I heard that Liverpool would spend bigger NEXT summer, I would have enough money to make the signings myself”

Credit: @CosmoKhan

“I hate this club”

Credit: @nasir_l

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at an update ahead of the Premier League clash with Chelsea. Read more here.

Manchester United confirmed the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday morning, after over three years in charge at Old Trafford.

In a statement, the Manchester United board thanked Ole and outlined their intentions moving forward;

“Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision.

“Michael Carrick will now take charge of the team for forthcoming games, while the club looks to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season.”

The dismissal follows an embarrassing result for the Red Devils that saw them lose 4-1 to Watford on Saturday afternoon, which was seemingly the final nail in the coffin for the Norwegian manager, after an emergency meeting was held in the hours following the game, eventually leading to the club’s announcement.

Many names have been thrown into the mix for the highly speculated Manchester United manager job, and although the initial position to be filled is for an interim manager to take over for the next six months, moves are being made to find the right long term manager to lead them into the 2022/23 season.

One journalist has dropped a huge development on one particular popular candidate for the long term position next summer.

Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth claimed;

“It’s my information that Ajax simply wouldn’t entertain releasing a manager mid-season. However, I’ve been told that Erik ten Hag would 100% be interested in the Manchester United job in the summer. His contract runs out in the summer of 2023.”

Fans will surely be buzzing with this revelation, as Erik Ten Hag is said to be one of the ‘most promising’ managers in world football right now.

The 51-year-old Ajax boss has led the Dutch side to two league titles and to their first Champions League semi-final since 1997 beating Real Madrid and Juventus on their way.

He also has connections to a Manchester United player who, ironically, scored the final goal for the side against Watford.

Ten Hag developed Donny Van De Beek into the player that scored 41 goals and 34 assists for Ajax, before making his move to Manchester United.

The 24-year-old midfielder would clearly welcome Ten Hag with open arms after having a turbulent time so far at Old Trafford with not being able to get into the team and would hope that his presence could boost his game time, and ultimately make him more of a key player in the starting team.

With that in mind, everyone associated with the 20-time English champions would surely be elated to see him arrive at the club next summer.

Manchester United are set to face Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday with Michael Carrick leading the team in their must-win in Spain.

AND in other news, “Sources close to Sir Alex Ferguson say” – MUFC manager update will have fans buzzing…

Journalist Matt Woosnam has told Football FanCast that he would be surprised if Liverpool’s Divock Origi joined Crystal Palace this summer.

Earlier this month, the £60,000-a-week striker was linked with a move to Selhurst Park, with 90min claiming that Palace were one side who were monitoring his situation at Anfield.

Last season, Origi barely featured for Liverpool. He made just nine league appearances, failing to score in any.

It means an Anfield exit in this transfer window makes sense as the 26-year-old looks for more game time. Woosnam, however, doubts Palace will be the club to offer him a way out.

“I’ve not heard that one at all,” The Athletic journalist said when discussing the Origi to Palace speculation.

“I would be surprised. Again, I wouldn’t rule it out completely, but he would be on big wages. I would think that if Palace were looking to sign someone, they’d be looking at someone slightly less established, slightly younger.

“I wouldn’t have thought that one would happen, but I’m prepared to be wrong on that!”

While Christian Benteke is still at the club after signing a new contract, Palace still look a bit light up front following Michy Batshuayi’s return to Chelsea.

Bearing that in mind, they could do with another striker, though Woosnam’s words suggest Origi seems unlikely in this moment of time.