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Neco Williams has become something of a regular in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side in the last few matches, following the injury suffered by Trent Alexander-Arnold shortly before the international break.

The Reds will be relieved, therefore, that they kept hold of the Welsh international this summer when he was attracting heavy interest from Wolves.

It was suggested by The Times that the 19-year-old could have been part of the deal which saw Diogo Jota join Liverpool, but the Merseyside outfit were not keen to lose Williams and ended up selling young Ki-Jana Hoever to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side instead.

Following the injury to Alexander-Arnold, suffered against Manchester City, the Welsh defender has now appeared in each of Liverpool’s last three games, although his disappointing average rating of 6.22 in the Premier League may be a cause for concern for Klopp.

The academy graduate may become an even more important member of the Reds’ first-team in the coming weeks, following the injury to makeshift right-back James Milner in the recent 1-1 draw against Brighton.

That leaves Williams as the only fit right-back at the club, so the Reds will be breathing a sigh of relief that he wasn’t let go during the summer transfer window as this period of Christmas fixtures could well be the making of the 19-year-old.

Fans of the Merseyside club will be hoping that the youngster starts to show the sort of performances he enjoys with Wales with the Reds, with Ryan Giggs in particular full of praise for Williams after a recent performance against Bulgaria.

“I thought Neco, his first start, on the other flank Rhys [Norrington-Davies] with his first start, were outstanding. Neco was brilliant, he’s done really well since he’s come into the team.” (per Sky Sports)

Klopp was also complimentary of the young defender when he made his Premier League debut earlier this year, saying:

“I liked [it] a lot, he’s confident.”
“The two situations—yellow card, another foul—he can learn that, that’s absolutely no problem. I like how he played a lot.” (per ThisisAnfield)
Therefore, the young talent has earned a lot of praise for his performances in his career thus far and he now looks set for an extended run in the Liverpool first-team, so fans will be hoping to see him show his quality.

With the wretched form that Nottingham Forest find themselves in, Chris Hughton is no doubt desperately searching for some source of inspiration to try and change their fortunes around.Their run over the past few weeks in the Championship has been wretched to say the least, losing four times and picking up just one point from their last five matches.That stretch of games has also seen them fail to hit the back of the net even once, and that surely is the most pressing concern for Hughton and his staff.

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And whilst that may be a lot of pressure to thrust on a young man’s shoulders, Forest must surely consider unleash one of the brightest prospects on their books: Alex Mighten.

The 18-year-old featured in the first four games of the new Championship season, but hasn’t been since, which is a crying shame.

Speaking after he signed a new contract earlier in the summer, Forest’s academy manager Gary Brazil waxed lyrical about the teenager’s abilities.

Former Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi was equally fulsome in his praise of the young winger, saying: “With Alex, he’s a future talent. To sign a future talent is just to send the right message to the players. If we know he’s a talented player, the opponents, the whole team, they know that.

“So, we are lucky to work with him, and the trip is long for him – but step-by-step, last season, we gave him small time and small chances. The idea is to give him more chances and more time to play.”

Since Hughton has come in however, that simply hasn’t been the case. But with Forest up against it at the moment, and Anthony Knockaert really struggling himself, he could find a real spark in one of the club’s brightest young talents.

Meanwhile, this Forest ace let Chris Hughton down just as much as Ryan Yates against Reading.

Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton travel to Sheffield United on Saturday night looking to bounce back from their Carabao Cup exit, but will be without a handful of key players at Bramall Lane.

Summer signing James Rodriguez missed the midweek quarter-final clash with Manchester United through a calf injury, and will again sit out on Boxing Day plus Monday’s trip to Manchester City with Everton playing twice in 48 hours.

Ancelotti only intends to make wholesale changes to his starting line-up when the Toffees visit Pep Guardiola’s side but may be forced into altering the XI which lost to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils, with Everton looking tired in defeat and potentially losing Richarlison through the Premier League’s concussion protocol.

So, with changes on the cards for the Blues’ trip to Bramall Lane, here’s a line-up Ancelotti could name away to Chris Wilder’s winless Sheffield United side…

Ancelotti confirmed ahead of the Carabao Cup clash with Manchester United that he would rotate his goalkeeper options, with Robin Olsen starting over Jordan Pickford, though noting that whoever opened the midweek meeting would be rested against Sheffield United.

His decision will now see Pickford return on Saturday night, as the England international continues his efforts to put October’s Merseyside Derby horror behind him that saw Jermaine Beckford suggest the 26-year-old, who reportedly earns £100,000-a-week, once again proved to be a “dangerous” player.

Among the few who looked tired against the Red Devils was the returning Seamus Coleman following his spell out with a hamstring strain, and will likely find Mason Holgate returns to duties at right-back after an impressive showing in last week’s win over Arsenal.

Andre Gomes featured against Manchester United but struggled to find a grove, with the Portuguese sloppy in possession, opposed to progressing play and slow in the press, ultimately seeing the former Barcelona man replaced by Tom Davies in the 58th-minute.

Bernard had also been introduced to the action early in the second half after Everton’s club doctor instructed Ancelotti to withdraw Richarlison after an accidental elbow to the head, yet was often ineffective and should see academy graduate Anthony Gordon start in place of the Brazilian should he be ruled unavailable.

Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina and Michael Keane should all see their names remain in the starting line-up, alongside Alex Iwobi, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Everton short on defenders with Lucas Digne still out after ankle surgery.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands will have to ditch his favoured Everton approach to sign a sought-after £18m enforcer.

Gylfi Sigurdsson delivered a huge statement to Carlo Ancelotti against Arsenal on Saturday amid rumours that the Everton midfielder may not have a long-term future at Goodison Park.

The ex-Swansea City maestro once again captained the Blues in the absence of Seamus Coleman, who returned to the bench following a hamstring strain, with Ancelotti also handing Sigurdsson the armband for his side’s prior wins over Chelsea and Leicester City.

Sigurdsson did everything Ancelotti could have asked for and more at home to Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, as the Iceland international’s hard work and determination set the tone for his teammates to follow as they clinched a 2-1 win.

The result briefly moved Everton up to second place in the Premier League table as Ancelotti celebrated his one-year anniversary at Goodison Park, over which he has now won 19 of his 38 games at the helm across all competitions.

Ancelotti is still looking to stamp his mark on a squad heavily assembled by his predecessors Ronald Koeman and Marco Silva, with reports surfacing recently that Sigurdsson and Tom Davies could soon be sold as the Italian targets midfield reinforcements.

Everton’s core unit is said to be seen as an area of concern despite the summer arrivals of Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez, yet Sigurdsson’s display at home to Arsenal once again hammered home why the £100,000-per-week playmaker should not yet be written off.

Sigurdsson, who Silva once hailed as a “fantastic” player both on and off the ball, worked his socks off to help control the centre of the field against the Gunners, while his clinical accuracy from set-pieces saw Yerry Mina head home the would-be winner at the near post.

His desire to impress in royal blue was evident, too, as Sigurdsson drove play on with 17 of his 39 passes coming in the final-third, 18 of his total passes marked as forward balls, and two being deemed as key passes, per WhoScored.

Sigurdsson’s deliveries were often sublimely accurate with each of his key passes coming from two of his three corners that found an Everton player, while also connecting with a teammate with two of his four crosses, per SofaScore.

The £16.2m-rated midfielder further aided Everton’s cause with success in four of nine ground duels, one of two aerial contests, made one clearance, one interception and one successful tackle, while taking two shots and being successful with each of his three dribbles.

The likes of Andre Gomes, Davies and Fabian Delph have a hard road ahead if they are to prove to Ancelotti that they have futures at Goodison Park if Sigurdsson supposedly does not.

AND in other news: “Huge blow” – Exclusive: Pundit reacts to major Everton setback.

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has endured quite the defensive injury crisis this season.

Currently, the Yorkshire giants have no senior central defender available for selection, which is partly why we have seen Spurs score three, Manchester United score six. Even goal-shy Newcastle United find the net twice against them in recent encounters.

It’s led to the Argentine having to shift right-back Luke Ayling into the middle, and then subsequently having to force square pegs to fit round holes.

This is especially the case for the other full-back spot as technically, following the departure of Barry Douglas, the Whites do not have a proper left-back.

Bielsa has turned to Gjanni Alioski in these times, a winger by trade, though he should probably reconsider – don’t let that strike against West Brom fool you, he’s been holding Leeds back lately.

In terms of average rating for the season, the Macedonian livewire ranks as the worst player (6.61) of anyone who has started nine or more matches, per WhoScored.

Against Spurs and United, the 28-year-old failed to manage higher than a 5.63 rating too.

In the last two matches alone, Alioski has also committed five fouls and has delivered only one cross in his last four outings, via WhoScored.

Only Mateusz Klich manages more fouls per game than the long-serving winger, so clearly, there is work to be done here defensively.

Beren Cross at LeedsLive wrote similarly in a column this week. He said: “Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-min had their way with Alioski. He did not seem able to stick with them or read their movements, which can be fatal at this level.”

Indeed, Bielsa cannot afford to continue risking Alioski in defence – it is no wonder that he’s been dubbed a “liability” by respected former player Noel Whelan in the past too, he told Football Insider:

“His defending at time is very lacking in quality, he can be a liability.  It’s a big worry for Leeds if he doesn’t learn from his mistakes.”

It’s time for the £55k-per-week enigma to sit a few matches out unless there is a place for him further up the field. It’s a ruthless but necessary call to make.

Jamie Shackleton’s emergence could allow Stuart Dallas to return to his left-back position and there can surely be no harm in giving Leif Davis a runout either.

All are more viable defensive options in the role than Alioksi. Only the Baggies have leaked more goals than United this term. That issue has to be fixed.

AND in other news, 9 dribbles, 16 duels won: Leeds must move for “unplayable” £40m gem outshining Rodrigo…

Steve Howey has exclusively told Football FanCast that he could see Christian Eriksen joining Everton from Inter Milan during the January transfer window.

The Toffees are one of several sides to have been linked with a move to end Eriksen’s Serie A nightmare during the mid-season window, with initial talks over a potential loan deal thought to have taken place.

Inter are keen to send Eriksen out on loan this month having seen him fall out of favour under Antonio Conte, who opted to overlook the £31.5m-rated maestro during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with AS Roma.

Eriksen has failed to score or provide an assist in any of his 13 appearances across all competitions this season, yet has been linked with winter moves to a host of clubs including Everton, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa and with a potential return to Tottenham Hotspur.

But former Newcastle United defender Howey can see Goodison Park serving as Eriksen’s next home, as the Denmark international is the type of player Ancelotti loves to work with.

He told FFC: “I can see somebody like Eriksen fitting in (at Everton). Absolutely. He’s that kind of Ancelotti type of player. He’s neat and tidy. He can score goals. So, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

Inter Milan are not understood to have yet fielded any official offers for Eriksen this month with West Ham and Aston Villa only testing the water, while PSG, Arsenal and Manchester United monitor his situation.

But a move to the London Stadium or Villa Park is not seen as an appealing destination for the 28-year-old, who provided four goals and three assists during his first half-season at the San Siro after netting three times and creating three for Tottenham before his £17m exit.

Everton striking a deal for Eriksen would likely prove costly with the Nerazzurri reportedly demanding that his £229,000-per-week contract is covered in full should he leave on loan, or a club would need to pay £27m for a permanent transfer.

Ancelotti currently has Rodriguez, Andre Gomes, Davies, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Sigurdsson and Alex Iwobi to call on to offer creativity from midfield, yet has only seen three assists from Rodriguez and two from Doucoure, Iwobi and Sigurdsson in Premier League games, so he might fancy a look at Eriksen, if the finances work for the Toffees board.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands must sign “quick” Everton target who “makes football look easy”.

According to West Ham United outlet WestHamFans.org, deals for RB Leipzig duo Hee-Chan Hwang and Matthew Bondswell are expected to be concluded within the ‘next couple of days’ as manager David Moyes eyes a new striker and a potential star for the future.

Hwang and Bondswell, according to this report, have now emerged as likely signings – with the Irons looking to complete these acquisitions imminently.

West Ham expected to conclude signings

Hwang, a striker, is now being touted as a potentially great partner to Michail Antonio in the forward position, especially with a nickname like ‘The Bull’ – even despite playing just 136 minutes of Bundesliga action with RB Leipzig (WhoScored).

Indeed, according to the report, Hwang is apparently on his way to the London Stadium with an agreement for his signature expected to be concluded in the next few days.

As well as the South Korean, Bondswell is also expected to join – with the former Nottingham Forest left-back seen as a young, hungry player who can fit Moyes’ plans for the future alongside Frederik Alves (WestHamFans.org).

According to this report, once those moves are completed, West Ham’s business for January will be concluded – except for potential outgoings.

Transfer Tavern take

Judging by this inside claim, Irons fans could get excited by this news a striker could imminently be arriving at the London Stadium – but only time will tell if or when the club announce it.

Bondswell’s potential signing also outlines the way Moyes is planning for the future, and with West Ham sitting fourth in the Premier League, that future certainly looks bright.

In other news: West Ham fans praised this ace against Crystal Palace, find out more here.

Liverpool defender Joel Matip is yet to find out the extent of his ankle injury, and there is a slight chance he could be back in time for his side’s mid-week encounter against Brighton.

Early return for Matip?

The 29-year-old picked up an ankle injury during the first half of the Reds’ 3-1 victory against Tottenham, where he was forced off during the interval for the out-of-favour Nathaniel Phillips.

Valued at £28.8m by TransferMarkt, Matip has been a regular on the club’s treatment table since his move from Schalke in 2016, picking up some sort of fitness at least once every season (TransferMarkt).

As per David Maddock of The Mirror, while the Cameroonian centre-back will not fit in time for Sunday’s trip to West Ham, he is waiting for a scan to determine “if he can return” against Brighton, suggesting the injury is nowhere near as bad as first feared.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

This could be great news for Jurgen Klopp, who currently has four defenders sidelined and with the transfer deadline on Monday.

Even if the scan does bring positive news though, Liverpool can no longer rely on Matip to be the key man at the back – he is just too injury prone to lead the Merseysiders to back-to-back Premier League titles.

It is imperative for the club that they bring in a fresh face. After links for the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Issa Diop rose over the horizon on Friday, the Reds must take what they can get and worry about a big-money signing in the summer.

In other news, Fabrizio Romano provides update on Liverpool midfielder’s future; not Wijnaldum.

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow in their attempts to offload a forgotten man ahead of tonight’s transfer deadline…

What’s the word?

According to football.london, Danny Rose’s proposed move to Turkish Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor has fallen through at the final hurdle.

It’s claimed that they have reconsidered the move due to COVID protocols.

Speaking about the potential move, Trabzonspor president Ahmet Agaoglu said: “The transfer is very difficult after this time. It will cost [take] seven days. Let’s make the transfers we can do [right now].”

Only a few days ago, reports from talkSPORT suggested the 30-year-old Englishman had been offered a bumper three-and-a-half-year deal.

Levy must act

Rose has become an outcast at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since his return from a loan spell at league rivals Newcastle United in the summer. It was quickly made clear that he had no future under Jose Mourinho as he wasn’t registered in any of their squads or given a squad number for the campaign.

Given he’s earning around £60k-per-week, which is more than Harry Winks, Sergio Reguilon and Joe Rodon as per Spotrac, it could be wise to pay out the remainder of his deal as he’s merely wasting up valuable funds in what has been a tricky financial year for most clubs.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!”]

That is indeed something that the club have considered in the past few months amid interest from top-flight strugglers West Brom, according to talkSPORT. Speaking on the ‘White and Jordan’ show, transfer expert Alex Crook, said:

“I was told there was a big chance he could follow Jack Wilshere in the sense that Tottenham could cancel his contract in this window,” before adding: “The time has come for Danny Rose to put his football aspirations ahead of his paycheque and just get some minutes under his belt. This career doesn’t last forever, and at the moment he’s just rotting at Tottenham.”

Rose joined the Magpies after a heated meeting with Mourinho which was caught on Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries and has been frozen out ever since.

Not that his performances on the pitch were doing him any favours – Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane blasted him as “dreadful” only last season, also claiming he and Serge Aurier were “Dumb and Dumber.”

Whilst amid links to West Ham in the summer, Irons’ The Athletic correspondent Roshane Thomas said Rose is “on the decline,” (via This is Futbol).

His contract may expire in under six months, but keeping him around isn’t a benefit for anyone. If a move can’t be sealed for him by the end of the day, then at least cancelling his deal early would give him some added time to find a new club to settle down at.

That’s surely the least Levy could do after Rose’s near 14-year association with Spurs.

It’s a blow to the north London outfit that the Englishman’s move to Trabsonzpor has fallen through, so now it’s on the chairman to act. Rose has no need to be at Spurs past today’s transfer deadline.

AND in other news, Spurs may have just missed out on a new Dembele

Fulham have been touted with an interest in Blackburn Rovers striker Adam Armstrong recently, and if the former Newcastle United man were to join the Cottagers, it could bring an end to Aleksandar Mitrovic’s time with the club, especially with Fulham having been reportedly open to offers for the 26-year-old in January.

According to The Sun a number of Premier League clubs including Fulham, West Ham and Everton are tracking the 24-year-old striker as he continues to impress in the Championship.

This season has seen the forward bag 17 goals in just 26 Championship appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side; resulting in a superb 7.17 average rating.

This is the same amount of goals as Fulham have managed in the top-flight this season, with goals having proved to be hard to come by for Scott Parker’s side this season, with Bobby Decordova-Reid currently the top scorer for them in the Premier League with just five goals to his name.

Last season saw Mitrovic help fire the Cottagers to promotion with 26 goals in the Championship but he has just two goals in 18 top-flight appearances so far this season, with Parker often preferring to play Reid or Ivan Cavaleiro up front instead of the Serbian international.

Parker has shifted his team to more of a counter-attacking outfit, which suggests that Mitrovic’s days with the East London club may be numbered, as he simply doesn’t have the pace or work rate to play in a counter-attacking side.

Armstrong meanwhile, loves to run in behind and play on the last man, suggesting that he would be a good fit in this Fulham side, and his potential summer arrival could spell the end for Mitrovic.

Back in 2018, Armstrong earned the praise of teammate Richie Smallwood for his form in League One, with the midfielder saying:

“He’s a special player with the ability to hurt any team in this league.”

It is hard to see the £9m-rated Armstrong staying in the Championship next season if Blackburn don’t earn promotion, so Tony Khan should definitely try and bring him to Craven Cottage if Parker can steer his side clear of relegation this season.