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Liverpool travel to Turf Moor this evening to take on a Burnley side who’ll be determined to spoil their Champions League qualification hopes.

Jurgen Klopp’s men could put themselves firmly in the driving seat for a top-four finish with a convincing midweek win after Chelsea’s 2-1 triumph over Leicester City on Tuesday.

The Reds are currently sitting in fifth position in the top-flight table, just three points behind Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes but with a game in hand and a superior goal difference.

Therefore, three points in tonight’s fixture could be crucial in Liverpool’s push to play in Europe’s elite cup competition next season, and it should make for an enthralling encounter.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Klopp to line up on Tuesday evening, with two changes from the side which started against West Brom last time out…

Between the sticks, Alisson Becker is set to resume his usual role of keeping the ball out of the back of the net despite his incredible exploits last time out, where he became the first ever Liverpool goalkeeper to score a competitive goal.

Arguably Klopp’s biggest decision will be who partners Nat Phillips at centre-back. 20-year-old Rhys Williams has started Liverpool’s last three consecutive league games, putting in some improved performances, but whether he’ll be able to cope with Burnley’s physical approach it a doubt.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the youngster drop down to the bench, with Brazilian international Fabinho returning to the heart of defence and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson occupying the full-back positions.

In midfield, Klopp may value experience over youth for this potentially pivotal encounter. James Milner is expected to be fit enough to return to action in midweek, while Gini Wijnaldum has had an impressive season despite Liverpool’s struggles.

That could mean £27m-rated (as per Transfermarkt) academy graduate Curtis Jones is sacrificed, but Diogo Jota’s injury means the usual front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah are guaranteed to feature from the off.

And, in other news…Asking price set: Edwards must act to sign Reds target with a pass accuracy of 87.1% – opinion

Leeds United have already made an offer for Stuttgart left-back Borna Sosa, claims Croatian football agent Franjo Vranjkovic.

The Lowdown: Whites on the hunt for a new left-back

Well-known Leeds reporter Phil Hay is adamant (via HITC) the Whites will be in the market for a new left-back in the summer window.

Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski are out of contract in the summer, and should the pair both leave, Marcelo Bielsa would be left with versatile star Stuart Dallas and youngster Leif Davis as options in that department.

Stade Brest’s Romain Perraud has been a left-back linked with an Elland Road switch this summer, but it seems as if the Whites are also looking seriously at Sosa.

The Latest: Leeds bombshell

Croatian outlet sportske Novosti ran a story on Tuesday in which they spoke to Vranjkovic about his compatriot Sosa.

Vranjkovic, who is the owner of the First Eleven agency, boasting Premier League clients like Wilfred Ndidi and Issa Diop, revealed that Sosa actually has an offer from the Whites already, who he feels could cost them around £17.2m.

“The most important thing for him is to make a transfer to England because he has an offer from Leeds United, where the first or second choice is at left back, and some other clubs from the Premier League are also interested. Only the English can pay as much as Stuttgart is asking because I estimate that it will be about €20m (£17.2m).”

The Verdict: Bielsa’s kind of player?

We’ve seen first-hand in the Premier League this season that Bielsa loves his full-backs to get forward, and Sosa has shown his attacking prowess in the German top-flight during the current campaign.

Sosa, who has played mainly as a left-midfielder this season in the Bundesliga has registered an impressive nine assists – the same amount as Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sane.

His main position is a left-back, so he’s shown his versatility during the current campaign by thriving further forward, an attribute that could well appeal to Bielsa ahead of the 2021/22 season – we’ve seen how versatile players like Dallas have thrived under the Argentine.

In other news: Gary Neville hails Marcelo Bielsa, find out more here. 

Journalist Graham Smyth has lauded Diego Llorente following his performance in Leeds United’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Monday night.

The Whites held Jurgen Klopp’s team to a draw at Elland Road, fully deserving of at least a point from the game and impressing against another top Premier League outfit. Liverpool were the better team in the opening 45 minutes and led through Sadio Mane’s goal, but Leeds were comfortably superior after the break.

It was Llorente’s late header which sealed a draw for Marcelo Bielsa’s team, as the centre-back’s improved form continues this season.

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Smyth hails Llorente’s impact against Liverpool

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday morning, Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Smyth was full of praise for the Spaniard, who completed 91 passes on the night:

“Diego Llorente was good last night. He’s fun to watch. A risk taker. The goal obviously meant a lot too.”

Transfer Tavern take

Llorente has been in superb form in recent weeks – Noel Whelan has described him as ‘incredible’ – going to show how important it is to enjoy an injury-free run in the side, with last night being his eighth successive start.

Some were quick to criticise the 27-year-old’s earlier performances for Leeds, but he was adjusting to life in a new country and was plagued by fitness issues. He is now the Whites’ fifth-best performer this term according to WhoScored, despite starting just nine league games.

Llorente now looks fully settled at Elland Road and is arguably the first centre-back on Bielsa’s team-sheet moving forward.

In other news, Leeds are believed to be interested in signing an England international – find out who it is here.

Morgan Schneiderlin’s career has unfortunately gone downhill since leaving Southampton in 2015 and his market value suggests that the Saints got a great deal when selling him.

The French midfielder originally joined from RC Strasbourg in 2008 for just over £1m and he helped Southampton to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League between 2010-2012.

In total, he would make 257 appearances for the Saints, contributing 15 goals and 11 assists before his performances convinced Manchester United to pay £25m for him in 2015.

Although his performances in the Premier League with Southampton were excellent, particularly in his final season with the club, he was never able to replicate that form at Old Trafford.

After just one and a half seasons with the Red Devils, where he made 47 appearances, he was allowed to join Everton, with the Merseyside club paying around £24m for his services.

Whilst he was more of a regular at Goodison Park, making 88 appearances in total, he once again struggled to impress, and he would eventually move back to France to join Nice last summer.

By this point, it seemed clear that Southampton got the best out of Schneiderlin both on and off the pitch, as they were able to sell him for a significant profit after he played the best football of his career at St Mary’s.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/southampton-saints-ralph-hasenhuttl-martin-semmens-st-marys” title=”Latest Southampton news, transfer rumours and more”]

The defensive midfielder’s market value has unsurprisingly declined in recent years, with Transfermarkt now valuing him at just £7.65m, which is the lowest it has been in seven years.

Unfortunately, Schneiderlin was something of a flop at both Manchester United and Everton, so you could definitely argue that Southampton did very well to sell him for the fee they did in 2015, despite his superb performances on the South Coast.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

When you consider some of Southampton’s less impressive transfer dealings in recent seasons, with Guido Carrillo, Sofiane Boufal and Jordy Clasie notable disasters, it seems as if the signing and subsequent departure of Schneiderlin is a rare transfer success that Southampton fans can celebrate.

And, in other news… Ralph blew it: Hasenhutt’s tactical blunder cost Southampton in Wembley defeat, they were woeful

Glasgow Rangers fans were delighted with Ianis Hagi’s display for Romania against North Macedonia during the international break.

The headlines have been dominated by Steven Davis this past week. He picked up his 125th cap for Northern Ireland against Italy, meaning he equalled Peter Shilton’s British appearance record in the process (The Scotsman). However, he is not the only Gers player to impress while representing their country.

Hagi didn’t start the match against North Macedonia, with him being brought on with 14 minutes remaining. That was enough time for him to have a big impact on the game, with the £5.4m-valued 22-year-old (Transfermarkt) scoring the winner as Romania picked up an important 3-2 victory as they look to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar.

The Gers’ official Twitter account congratulated Hagi for what was his first ever international goal (Transfermarkt), and the tweet 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 Hagi below

“Great goal”

Credit: @RangersAssemble

“Chuffed for Hagi as I sometimes think he doubts himself, so this can only help his confidence going forward. We are lucky to have him”

Credit: @ArgyllWarrior

“Love to see great wee player”

Credit: @Mikey1872786

“Brilliant for hagi and his confidence, he’s just getting better an better”

Credit: @alfie_west_55

“Excellent. Well done Ianis”

Credit: @Trinityfishbar

“The best hagi”

Credit: @RFCMatt7

In other news, Rangers fans are far from happy with an update on this 34-year-old.

Jim Pallotta namechecking Newcastle United as a Premier League club he could look to buy in the future may be music to the ears of Matty Longstaff.

The former owner of Serie A outfit AS Roma mentioned the Magpies to The Athletic recently while discussing his ambitions to one day explore purchasing an English club.

Pallotta has previously been linked with a potential takeover at St James’ Park, with it even claimed that a viability study into buying Mike Ashley out was conducted last year.

The American businessman, who had a net worth of $1bn (£723m) in 2019, has also raised further capital following the €591m (£505m) sale of Roma in August 2020 by cashing in his 8% stake in NBA team Boston Celtics.

Pallotta now appears to be itching for a return to football ownership, joking: “I was hiding for a while but since I put an offer in for Newcastle…”

He added: “I do think that if there’s a place that makes sense for me, it’s the Premier League. I think there are interesting teams in the Premier League that have great history and it would be nice to see them getting back to it.

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“The Newcastles of the world. Great, great fanbase. Those are the kind of things I think would be interesting to be a part of with a good group [of investors] and there’s more rationality there [at league level] in many ways.”

Ashley is said to value Newcastle at £300m but the figure is expected to be under serious threat if United are relegated from the Premier League this season, per Chronicle Live.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has previously suggested that Ashley may have to lower his demands by as much as £100m if Newcastle become a Championship club, while overseas buyers have already been linked with discounted approaches based on relegation.

It would remain to be seen where Ashley values the Magpies as a second-tier outfit and just how open investors truly are to financing a takeover, but Pallotta’s comments may come as music to the ears of those currently on the fringes of the first team.

A new owner may look to remove Steve Bruce from his position and hire their own head coach, a decision Ashley is currently reluctant to make due to the 60-year-old’s loyalty to the Sports Direct tycoon and his passion for the club, per Sky Sports.

Longstaff would likely be one player eager for a fresh start under a new manager, having seen his game-time fall off a cliff under Bruce this term, with Sunday’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur his first inclusion in a matchday squad in six matches.

The 21-year-old has not featured at any stage over Newcastle’s last 12 Premier League fixtures, either, having been cast into the wilderness after a run of four starts from a possible five post-Christmas.

Bruce’s position is perplexing to the player and his teammates, as he is and has been fully fit throughout his time out of the starting XI, per The Athletic, while Chronicle Live’s Ciaran Kelly quoted the Toon boss last month as claiming the midfielder’s time would come.

“He’s not in the side but let’s not forget he’s got a huge future – there’s no question about that,” Bruce said. “He had a big rise last year and finds himself not in the team at the moment, so he’s just got to stick with it. His time will come again, that’s for sure.”

It remains to be seen whether Sunday’s recall to the matchday squad was a sign of Longstaff making his way back into contention, or if he will have to wait for someone like Pallotta to arrive and dispatch Bruce for his next chance at becoming a regular in black and white.

AND in other news, Newcastle are keen to sign a £14.5m-rated star who gives Steve Bruce “something completely different”…

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed the news that Mark Noble has signed a contract extension at the club.

According to a report by The Athletic, the West Ham captain has put pen to paper on a new one-year deal with the east London side, which will see the 33-year-old remain with the Irons until at least the summer of 2022.

The £4.05m-rated midfielder, who has made a total of 520 appearances for the Hammers, has found game-time hard to come by under David Moyes so far this season, starting just three Premier League matches.

After West Ham News relayed the report regarding Noble’s contract on Twitter, these fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing furious at the prospect of the captain remaining in east London for a further year. One disparaging supporter pondered whether the announcement was a “joke”.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to Mark Noble’s contract news?

“Nothing personal about a great club servant but he’s now taking up a first-team squad place that could be much better used. Can’t accept it’s over. Find him a coaching role and move on.”

@aceofspies64

“People slag the board off for not making us a big club and delivering what they promised and then applaud signing Noble on a new contract. He wouldn’t get a look in at any other club challenging in the top half.”

@ellingford_paul

“Contract for what? As a player? Noooooo. Please, make him a coach. Give him a role. Groom him to be manager someday. But his EPL playing days are past.”

@pfmcdevitt

“Time for him to hang his boots up unfortunately and get a club role. If he had any sense he would have retired! Been a great servant but he’s too slow for the league now. Classic G&S wanting to keep him to save splashing the cash on a backup midfielder in summer!”

@michaelcoppert2

“Is this an April fools joke?”

@kirt1234567

“Waste of money really.”

@CharlieLevy92

“Ahh how exciting, waste of money that is!”

@JackPar78026231

“This is pointless.”

@wasntme23

“Shouldn’t be being sentimental if we want to push on as a club. Should have called it a day a while ago. Doesn’t improve the team/squad at all.”

@ostler_gavin

“I love Nobes but we can’t be that desperate to have a penalty taker.”

@francesellen_

In other news: Many West Ham fans responded to this club update, find out more here!

According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur paid an agent a multi-million-pound fee for the transfer of one of the club’s summer signings.

The report by Football Insider claimed that a ‘recruitment source’ has revealed, as part of Tottenham’s deal to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers right-back Matt Doherty last summer, that Daniel Levy and the Spurs board paid super-agent Jorge Mendes a £6m fee.

As a result, it is reported that only around £10m of the figure Tottenham paid for the £18m-rated defender actually went to the selling club, with the remainder going directly to Mendes.

Transfer Tavern Take

While it is questionable whether Doherty has been worth the £15.12m with which Jose Mourinho’s side parted in order secure his signing last summer – as the 29-year-old has featured in just 12 Premier League games so far this season, over which he has averaged a rather disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.65 – from Tottenham’s point of view, to whom exactly the Doherty transfer money went is not likely to be a great cause for concern.

The issue would appear to be more of a relevant point for Wolves, who, if Football Insider are to be believed, saw around a third of the transfer fee received for the sale of their fifth-best player in the league last season pocketed by Mendes.

In other Tottenham news, this Spurs transfer admission lifted the lid on a failed Daniel Levy coup with Pochettino – find out more here!

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to the latest reports which have suggested that Eddie Howe is interested in the Eagles job. 

According to Football Insider and tweeted out by @cpfc_xtra, Howe is interested in the vacant Celtic post but is eyeing a Premier League job this summer. The role at Palace is one that especially interests him with the doubts Roy Hodgson’s future intensifying.

The current Palace manager has enjoyed his career at the South London side, but his contract expires in the summer and with no updates regarding his future, it has been suggested that the club might be looking for a new gaffer to replace him.

Howe has good experience in the Premier League from his spell as the AFC Bournemouth manager, and his time there was impressive as he managed to take them from a League One team all the way to the top flight (Transfermarkt).

Despite getting relegated with the Cherries last campaign, his record of 1.43 points-per-game in his time on the south coast is nothing to be sniffed at considering the minimal finances he had to work with, and perhaps it is no surprise to see Palace fans flocking to this news.

Here is how Palace fans reacted to the news:

“Get in there quick parish Roy should have gone ages ago”

Credit: @Phil_Sampson46

“Make it happen Steve my boy, I’ve caved in, I want to win 3-2 every other week and lose 4-3 inbetween”

Credit: @MDJones82

“100% yes, top candidate for the job”

Credit: @Jimmylondon07

“Welcome”

Credit: @joe85333207

“Pls”

Credit: @JoelGray_

“Can’t see any other options for us besides Howe and Dyche unless we go to the championship and the likes of Brentford and Norwich”

Credit: @audreysprayer

In other news, fans reacted to this injury update on Wilfried Zaha!

After West Ham United came away with a 2-1 London derby victory over Tottenham this afternoon at the London Stadium (BBC), plenty of Hammers lavished the ‘unsung’ performance of defender Issa Diop as David Moyes’ men cement a crucial Premier League win. 

Michail Antonio opened the scoring early on before January signing Jesse Lingard notched a second just after the half time interval.

Tottenham winger Lucas Moura pulled a goal back for the north Londoners but it wasn’t enough, with Gareth Bale only threatening an equaliser by striking the crossbar.

West Ham eventually held out for an heroic win, and despite the brilliant contributions of both Antonio and Lingard, plenty of Irons held special praise for Diop following a brilliant defensive shift – find all of their verdicts on the defender down below.

West Ham fans hail Diop

“Diop was absolutely fantastic today”

Credit: @JamiePaul587

“Dawson and Diop were outstanding”

Credit: @jjohncaskey

“Diop was class today, for somebody who’s hardly played, brilliant performance”

Credit: @danheath2021

“Issa Diop done a job on Kane today, top class.”

Credit: @MattGardner90

“Jose will love Diop even more after that, what a performance.”

Credit: @WHUFCallum_

“If all our defenders perform at their best, Diop is our best defender by a mile! The guy is a monster. A lot of fans are just thickle! & quick to forget.”

Credit: @RoyalDocks8

“Unsung performance of the afternoon for West Ham has to be Issa Diop – very solid against a top quality opposition attack; even more impressive given his lack of consistent game time in recent months for West Ham. Huge confidence building performance from Diop. Much needed.”

Credit: @WestHamJoshV

In other news: West Ham flocked to this ExWHUemployee claim, find out more here.