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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass said that Hugo Lloris’ days with Tottenham are numbered, and believes Spurs would be getting an upgrade if they signed Manchester United’s Dean Henderson.

Lloris has entered the final 18 months of his contract in north London, and despite playing every minute in the Premier League this season, has been strongly linked with PSG, which would see him reunite with Mauricio Pochettino.

Reports previously have suggested that the pair remain in regular contact, some 18 months after the Argentine left Spurs.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Henderson has been David De Gea’s back-up this term, but with the latter recently returning to Spain for the birth of his daughter, the England goalkeeper has started Manchester United’s last three Premier League matches, keeping clean sheets in each, including in the Manchester derby.

Despite his run in the side, De Gea is more than likely to reclaim his place once he’s available again, and with Henderson looking to become a number one, which would enhance his England chances, Tottenham have been touted as a potential future destination for the former Sheffield United loanee, if £100,000-a-week man Lloris departs.

Spurs have also been linked with Burnley’s Nick Pope, and Windass told Football FanCast that he believes both would be an upgrade on Lloris.

He said: “He’s [Henderson] better than Lloris, in my opinion. He’s better with his feet. Dean Henderson has had a great season, but so has Nick Pope at Burnley. He will be looking to get in the England squad, and both of them two are better goalkeepers than Lloris. 

“Goalkeepers now have to be good with their feet, especially in the Premier League, and these two are very good with their feet, as well as stopping the ball from going in the goal. I think Lloris will leave in the summer, his time’s up now.”

Fans of West Bromwich Albion have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which the Baggies confirmed that Kieran Gibbs would be leaving the club at the end of the season.

According to a statement on West Brom’s club website, Gibbs will remain at The Hawthorns for the remainder of the Baggies’ Premier League campaign, after which the 31-year-old will leave the club for Major League Soccer side, Inter Miami, on a free transfer.

Having joined West Brom from Arsenal back in the summer of 2017, Gibbs has so far gone on to make 100 appearances in all competitions for the club, chipping in with five goals along the way.

And, after West Brom relayed the news of Gibbs’ impending departure on Twitter, fans of the Baggies flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing delighted at the prospect of the £30,000-per-week left-back leaving their club this summer, due mainly to his injury history.

So, what exactly did these West Bromwich Albion fans have to say in reaction to the news regarding Kieran Gibbs?

“I’ll pay for his flight over there.”

@WBADyl

“Good, 70k off the wage bill for someone with a hamstring made of glass.”

@RobWBA_

“Bye then. Rolls Royce in the Championship I saw him once described as. More like clapped out in the prem. 55 grand a week? Nah, not for me.”

@nickwestwood33

“I wouldn’t give him another contract anyway. Never lived up to his name sadly. Good luck to him.”

@KnaveofAlbion

“Great move for him.”

@Blackjack42B

“Get in.”

@vivalaalbion

“Quality most of the time for us, all the best Gibbo.”

@danwba_

In other news: these WBA fans unleashed their fury at “pathetic” stars following John Percy’s report – find out more here!

Celtic are making a number of off-field changes ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, and it seems as if another chief looks set to follow Peter Lawwell and Nick Hammond out of Parkhead.

According to a Hoops source, reported by Football Insider, Celtic recruitment chief Gary Penrice is in line for the exit after being the driving force for the failed Shane Duffy signing in the summer of 2020.

The 57-year-old, formerly of Everton, spearheaded a season-long loan deal for Duffy last summer, which, safe to say, hasn’t worked out.

Duffy has started just one of the club’s last nine Scottish Premiership fixtures, and it seems as if the Hoops are planning for life without the Irishman after much criticism.

It appears as if they’re also now getting ready for life without Penrice, who was named head of recruitment at Celtic Park 12 months ago.

Transfer Tavern take

Since Penrice was appointed as head of recruitment, it’s not only Duffy who has flopped.

The likes of Albian Ajeti and Vasilis Barkas, who the club paid big money for over the summer, have both struggled in their first season in Glasgow.

On that basis, with a major Hoops reshuffle going on, it makes perfect sense for the club to part ways with Penrice and bring in a new man picked out by Dominic McKay and Fergal Harkin, with the latter set to be appointed as the new director of football.

In other news: West Ham leading race for Celtic star after making recent progress, find out more here. 

According to a report by Football Insider, an inquest has come from senior club figures behind the scenes over their failure to pursue Everton defender Ben Godfrey before he signed for the Toffees – with this behind the scenes claim emerging after he was on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur for some time. 

Godfrey, who has started 18 Premier League games for Everton this season since signing from Norwich City in the summer transfer window, was at the centre of interest from Spurs for a while according to Football Insider.

Tottenham inquest held over Godfrey failure

Indeed, a Spurs source has explained to the outlet that Daniel Levy and co were monitoring the promising 23-year-old for a ‘long time’ before his move to Merseyside – and they even enquired about signing the defender in December 2019 but were knocked back (Football Insider).

Now, senior club figures are said to be addressing Levy’s failure to lodge a more serious pursuit for the centre-back – especially given Carlo Ancelotti is said to regard him as the best of his four centre-back options. 

An inquest has apparently been held over Spurs’ failure to push for the youngster, coming as manager Jose Mourinho faces some pressure regarding his managerial position.

Transfer Tavern take

Tottenham reportedly attempted to sign Milan Skriniar last summer in a potential fix for the Lilywhites’ defensive problems (Sky Sport Italia via Football Italia), but to no avail – with centre half being one of the few positions they didn’t strengthen.

Now, some senior figures are said to be unhappy over the botched Godfrey pursuit – one would now have to assume they will swoop for another defensive option this summer.

In other news: Tottenham expected to lose a ‘fantastic’ talent by this Sky pundit, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has urged Sam Allardyce to complete a deal for Jesse Lingard before deadline day.

According to Sky Sports, the Baggies have made an enquiry to Manchester United over a potential loan move for the 28-year-old outcast as Allardyce is attracted by the quality that he could bring to the Hawthorns.

Finances involved in any potential switch is likely to be the only stumbling block with Lingard thought to be on around £75k-per-week at Old Trafford.

Premier League rivals West Ham are also keen, while Real Sociedad and Nice have also held an interest in the past month, as per the Sky Sports report.

Although, the versatile winger is heavily out-of-favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having been restricted to only two starts across the FA and Carabao Cup this term.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-west-brom-news-and-transfer-rumours” title=”Read this week’s latest West Brom news, transfer rumours and more…”]

ESPN correspondent Rob Dawson revealed last week that the Red Devils boss would be open to letting the 24-time England international leave on loan this month.

And Palmer believes he’d be a great addition for Albion as he’d bring the necessary quality to keep them in the division…

He told FFC:

“He’s a terrific footballer. He’s kind of a luxury player in a good side, so if a team is playing well and he’s in that side, he’ll benefit from that.

“Would he give West Brom that they need? He would. He probably would give them the quality that they need to stay up.

“It would be a good signing.”

United made the interesting decision to extend Lingard’s contract by a further year despite the long-serving youth product seemingly not in Solskjaer’s plans whatsoever.

Now valued at £9m by Transfermarkt, Lingard requires regular game time if he’s to stand a chance of making Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this summer’s European Championships.

While the Baggies desperately require proven quality in the Premier League and considering the wing dynamo has played 133 times in the competition and 39 games across Europe, he would certainly seem to be a good fit.

Indeed, this could be a fantastic move for all parties should West Brom and United be able to come to some sort of agreement.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer claims 28 y/o beast could help biggest WBA issue…

It seemed like the future of Ezgjan Alioski would be sorted out in the near future and he would sign an extension at Leeds United. However, the latest reports suggest the fiery left-back could be on the move soon.

The latest on Alioski

The North Macedonian’s contract is due to expire at the end of the campaign and according to Football Insider, he has told his agent to start looking for a new club ahead of the summer. This is due to the current negotiations between the player and Leeds not reaching an agreement.

This is a big blow for Leeds

The 28 year-old, who is valued at £3.60m, has played 158 times for the club (Transfermarkt) and was key in the side getting promoted to England’s top flight with five goals and five assists last campaign. He has also featured 25 times this season (23 in the Premier League), and scored two goals so far. His amount of game time highlights that he is still integral in Bielsa’s squad.

He has received a lot of praise this season, with Kevin Phillips impressed over his ‘brilliant work rate’, whilst also mentioning how ‘he is a player who can unlock the door’ (Football Insider).

Alioski possibly departing on a free transfer would be a huge blow for the club as he is clearly a very key asset and the praise he has received from pundits for his performances this season emphasise that he is a solid player at this level. Therefore the club should try and do everything possible to keep him, or at least extend his deal in the short-term so they can make a profit when he eventually leaves.

In other news, Phil Hay has made an exciting Leeds transfer claim!

Fabian Balbuena is set to leave West Ham on the expiry of his contract this summer.

That’s according to the player’s agent Renato Bittar who, in an interview with Versus Radio [via Hammers News], said that talks with prospective suitors were already underway. He added that Balbuena will stay in Europe and could even be picked up by another Premier League team.

The Paraguayan international moved to east London from Brazilian club Corinthians in the summer of 2018. He has since made 59 appearances for the Hammers.

This season, he enjoyed a run of nine consecutive starts starting with the 4-0 win over Wolves in late September and culminating with a 2-1 victory at Leeds in November. However, he has played only two Premier League games since then, being relegated to the substitutes’ bench as David Moyes has favoured Issa Diop and Craig Dawson in the centre-back positions.

According to football.london, West Ham will be obliged to make Dawson’s loan deal from Watford permanent if he makes 15-20 Premier League appearances. He is currently on 13.

After the update on Balbuena was shared on Twitter by @westhamtransfer, these Irons fans expressed their concerns over his likely departure, with one supporter hailing him as a “good servant” during his three years at the London Stadium.

These West Ham fans would be sad to Balbuena go

“If we got into Europe surely we would wanna keep him for cover”

Credit: @tom_deal6

“Shame, I quite like Balbuena. Him and Ogbonna were solid this season and a big reason we are where we are.”

Credit: @northwesthammer

“Left it late to offer him a new contract, why !”

Credit: @kevalaaarrr

“Genuinely think that’s a loss tbh. Would rather he was playing than Diop at the mo. Him saying he’s off has probably influenced that as well.”

Credit: @jamiebaxter182

“Would be a shame to see The General leave”

Credit: @jonnysharpe

“He wants to return home to Paraguay. He’s been a good servant to us but wants to finish his career in his home country.”

Credit: @Spanishbrit

In other news, this West Ham player’s post-Manchester United tweet elicited a mixed response from fans.

According to Football Insider, Leeds United have joined the race to sign Derby County starlet Jason Knight.

What’s the story?

The 19-year-old has been an ever-present for the Championship side this season, playing in every single game for the club – in fact, the versatile midfielder has failed to complete the full 90 minutes in just three out of the 24 matches he’s played.

Now, Football Insider claim that Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds have Knight on their radar this month, although a summer move for the teenager may be the more likely.

The report further adds that Premier League sides West Ham and Burnley have been linked with an interest in Knight too.

Orta masterclass

At just 19, Knight is building up considerable experience by starting week-in and week-out at Pride Park, and it appears he’s also got the mentality to really make it to the top of the game.

His first-team coach at Derby, Justin Walker, described him as an “ultimate winner”, adding: “There’s 100 per cent a bit of Roy Keane in him. I started at Forest as a young kid so I had the first-hand experience of Roy. I watched him develop at a similar age to Jason when he stepped into Forest’s team. It’s not a lazy comparison, there are some comps in there. But it comes down to self-drive and motivation.”

Knight’s versatility is something that will be deeply appealing to Bielsa, who’s shown his coaching ability to develop players into real stars in positions that may not be initially considered their favourite or strongest.

In Knight, he’s got someone who he can really take under his wing and mould, and with the kind of rave reviews he’s earned about his mentality, it doesn’t seem as though a step up to the Premier League would faze the young midfielder.

If Orta can clinch a deal for him in this January transfer window, then it would give that Leeds midfield a real shot in the arm heading into the second-half of the Premier League campaign.

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.

A lot of Liverpool fans have flocked to a tweet posted by Reds news Twitter account @AnfieldEdition, which relays journalist Paul Gorst’s claim that Jurgen Klopp may field a ‘more senior team than many anticipated’ versus Midtjylland in this evening’s UEFA Champions League clash. 

Liverpool’s final game of the 2020/21 Champions League group stage has been described as ‘a rare chance’ for Klopp to rotate his squad significantly, with the 2018/19 Champions League winners already qualified for the last 16 of this year’s competition in first place in their group. 

However, after taking to Twitter to reveal that Andy Robertson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane have all travelled with the squad for this evening’s match, Gorst indicated that he believes plenty of first-team regulars may still take to the pitch for this game – many may have expected to see a team made up of fringe players and youngsters. 

So, what did these Liverpool fans have to say about Gorst’s claim?

Many Reds fans are seemingly baffled by the journalist’s claim and replied to @AnfieldEdition’s tweet to share that they don’t think Liverpool should field many first-team regulars versus Midtjylland, with some supporters criticising Jurgen Klopp over the news and even calling it ‘ludicrous’. 

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been criticising Dejan Lovren over his recent comments about his Anfield departure.