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Sheffield United came into this transfer window wanting to sign two to three players in order to bolster the squad.

Those were the words of Chris Wilder as the January window opened two weeks ago.

And two potential additions have been labelled in the same report. Ipswich’s Luke Woolfenden is one of the players who could make a move to Bramall Lane but the man in question here is 22-year-old Elias Cobbaut.

Touted with a potential £7m move from Anderlecht to the Blades, he could help kill two birds with one stone.

On the chalkboard

Heading into the window it was clear the Yorkshire outfit needed added bodies in defence. The Blades play with a three-man backline and two wing-backs which makes more depth even more important.

That is a notion furthered by Sky Sports News reporters Tim Thornton and Richard Graves: “The Blades are on the hunt for cover, mostly – specifically at centre-back to help the likes of Chris Basham and Jack O’Connell in the right and left centre-half positions.”

Therefore, adding a defender, specifically one that can play in two positions would be a huge help. Coincidentally, Cobbaut is capable of playing at either centre-back or left-back and as a result, would be perfect for Wilder this month.

How much do you remember about football in 2019? Our quiz will test your knowledge…

Much-needed cover

With Sheffield United on the hunt for cover for Jack O’Connell, landing someone who’s comfortable on the left-hand side would be a huge bonus.

Boasting one cap for his country Belgium, Cobbaut can be an astute addition considering his age and ability to cover multiple bases. Throughout 2019/20, the youngster has played ten times in the middle of the backline while featuring on seven occasions as a full-back.

One of his key strengths is his ability to win the ball back for his side, completing 2.7 successful tackles per game at the European U21 Championships. However, he’s also a threat in the opposition box, amassing 1.7 shots per game in the same tournament, something that could prove useful if he plays as a wing-back.

Although the pool of games is considerably lower, those two statistics are ahead of Sheffield United’s current defenders. It’s hard to ignore the consistency he produced last summer and a move to the ever-improving Blades would seemingly suit all parties.

This potential deal could go a long way to satisfying Wilder’s needs.

In other Blades news, another potential signing would go a long way to meeting Prince Abdullah’s long term goals…

Endorsements at Celtic don’t come much more esteemed than those dished out by Scott Brown and that’s exactly what rising prospect Scott Robertson has been fortunate enough to receive.

What’s the word?

Robertson, who made his senior debut in December against Cluj in the Europa League, is a defensive midfielder with a bright future ahead of him.

Well, that’s if recent quotes from Brown are anything to go by.

As quoted by the Celtic View (Volume 55, Issue 25, Page 12) – via 67hailhail.com – the 34-year-old veteran delivered a glowing verdict on his attitude behind the scenes, one which gives an indication into how highly he is regarded at Paradise.

“He’s very relaxed and conducts himself with professionalism, he’s not big-time and I think he’s got a really bright future ahead of him.

“He’s the template for how young ones should approach making that step up – he’s humble, but at the same time isn’t scared to put himself about and show his qualities on the training pitch.”

Destined for a bright future

The lure of money, the thrill of fame and all the temptations that arrive in tandem with the rise of a young footballer naturally pose potentially career-defining obstacles to even the most gifted of talents.

However, Brown’s admission suggests Robertson has the correct mindset to fulfil his potential in the game.

That he has been identified as the player for other young players to emulate speaks volumes about the type of character he is, and those words can only be a prophecy for the future.

It’s too early to suggest the academy product can be Brown’s long-term successor, but it will certainly be no surprise to see the teenager’s involvement increase in the coming seasons.

And then who knows how far he can go at the club.

If he wasn’t already one to watch after making his debut in Europe earlier this season, he certainly is in light of Brown’s verdict.

Kortney Hause put in a solid display for Aston Villa during their 2-1 win against Watford, even if it was overshadowed.

On the chalkboard

Villa Park went into absolute pandemonium as the ball hit the back of Ben Foster’s net in the 94th minute, with Ezri Konsa sprinting towards the corner flag in glee.

His strike took a slight deflection off of Tyrone Mings’ flailing foot and flew into the top corner, handing Villa the all-important three points, having been 1-0 down.

Once fans finished celebrating the victory and mocking Troy Deeney, there should be more plaudits for what Hause contributed to the win.

Solid display

Hause’s outing was best summarised by his involvement in the goal itself, as it was the 24-year-old who got above Christian Kabasele to knock down Pepe Reina’s long ball, diverting it into Mings’ path.

Outside of that, he gave a solid performance at the back, winning a massive total of 11 aerial duels – four more than any other player on the pitch managed.

In addition to that, he made one clearance and four interceptions, with the latter only being exceeded by Frederic Guilbert.

Call yourself a Premier League expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

The defender also showed quality on the ball, completing both of the dribbles that he attempted – only Jack Grealish made more, ending up with a total of five. He also held more possession than any other player on the pitch with 8.8%.

All of this led to the 6 foot 3 colossus being named WhoScored’s Man of the Match, with a final rating of 7.7, 0.2 ahead of Mings and Grealish.

This indicates that while Douglas Luiz, Konsa and Mings will claim most of the headlines for their contributions to Villa’s two goals, Hause should also get a fair share of the applause.

Meanwhile, Villa fans showed appreciation for one man’s passion in the Watford win.

According to Football Insider, Everton have made an approach to sign Sampdoria midfielder Ronaldo Vieira, who has made less tackles and interceptions on average per game this season than Toffees man Morgan Schneiderlin.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Football Insider report that the 21-year-old is available for £14m in the final couple of days of the January transfer window, and that the Merseyside outfit have made enquiries for a player that boss Carlo Ancelotti is a fan of from his time managing in Serie A.

The report says that Everton are in the market for new central midfield talent despite adding Andre Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph to their ranks during the summer transfer window.

Football Insider says that former Toffees boss David Moyes has already rejected the chance to bring the former Leeds United man back to England with West Ham United this month.

Would he be a good signing?

The England U21 international clearly has his good points as shown by the fact that Sampdoria manager Claudio Ranieri said last month he “recovers so many balls” in the centre of the park.

That said, he is actually averaging fewer tackles and interceptions on average per game this season than a player who often gets it in the neck from the Goodison Park faithful on Twitter – Schneiderlin.

The Frenchman has made 12 Premier League appearances this term with 10 of those coming in the starting XI, as per WhoScored, which is probably more than he might have got had Gbamin and Gomes not both been out injured in recent months.

The former Southampton man is probably the best suited to the defensive midfield role out of the likes of Delph, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Tom Davies, and it shows with his stats.

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

The 30-year-old has averaged more tackles (2) than any central midfield teammate who has featured 10 times or more, while he has also made 1.3 interceptions per game in the English top flight.

Meanwhile, according to WhoScored Vieira is averaging 1.5 and 0.8 for the same stats respectively in Serie A for Sampdoria , who are lying just five points above the relegation zone.

Those numbers aren’t great then, but the fact he is 21 years of age shows there is certainly plenty of room for improvement in the future.

Perhaps he would make a marked improvement under Ancelotti’s tutelage.

In other Everton news, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio has provided an interesting update on Toffees target Matias Vecino…

The Athletic’s Richard Sutcliffe has given some insight into why Crystal Palace look set to miss out on Jarrod Bowen.

Sutcliffe details in The Athletic’s Transfer Tracker (January 31st, 3:48pm) that the south Londoners’ offer for the Hull City talisman was merely a proposal to pay a fee for an initial loan for the rest of the season, with a view to a permanent deal being discussed in the summer.

Contrastingly, West Ham’s offer is for an outright permanent move this month, believed to be worth £14m and a further £8m in add-ons.

Sutcliffe adds another piece of detail to the saga when revealing that Bowen and the Hammers are still someway apart on agreeing personal terms, with the former Hereford attacker wanting wages of £60k-a-week.

Interestingly, The Athletic journalist also mentions that Bowen – who has netted 16 Championship goals this season – is actually in favour of a move to Newcastle, yet the Magpies are not involved in discussions as of yet.

What could’ve been… Can you name the clubs these football legends almost joined?

It seems as if Crystal Palace won’t be signing the 23-year-old this month, and Sutcliffe’s insight into how the Eagles’ bid was actually structured goes some way to explaining why that looks to be the case.

You can see what Sutcliffe wrote below:

In other news, Slaven Bilic has provided an update on Nathan Ferguson’s move to Crystal Palace…

Harry Kane has flown to the Caribbean to continue his rehabilitation after his hamstring injury, per The Daily Mail.

What’s the word?

The England captain sustained his injury against Southampton on New Year’s Day and has been absent ever since.

He underwent surgery in January to try to correct the issue and he has now jetted off to take his recovery to the next step.

The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?

The Daily Mail claims that Kane has been given a special programme by Spurs medics, including warm-weather training, and that he is likely to begin running outdoors in March.

To that end, he is set to return for the final weeks of the season in what will be a major boost to Jose Mourinho’s Spurs team, while he will also be fit for England’s Euro 2020 campaign.

Game-changer

Having Kane back could be the difference between a top-four finish and settling for the Europa League.

Spurs are currently fifth in the Premier League, four points behind Chelsea, but there are 13 games to be played.

They are currently operating without an out-and-out striker but having Kane return for the last few games could be exactly the kind of boost that Spurs need.

Indeed, sources communicated to Football FanCast at the time of Kane’s injury that there were fears he could miss the entirety of the season.

This, then, is huge news for Mourinho and for the forward’s team-mates.

Meanwhile, a superstar snubbed Spurs on transfer deadline day!

David Davis put in an encouraging performance on his Charlton Athletic debut, despite the 3-1 loss against Stoke City.

On the chalkboard

Many fans were left frustrated after the game, and rightly so, as this was a real opportunity for the Addicks to push themselves away from the relegation zone.

However, they are now left just one place and four points above Wigan Athletic and the dropzone.

The performance was also unsatisfactory, as indicated by the fact Stoke had eight more shots, 9.4% more possession, and eight more corners, while also coming out on top in 11 aerial duels.

However, when looking for a slight positive to take from the game, one can be found in the performance of debutant Davis.

It was far from spectacular, but there is still reason for Lee Bowyer to be encouraged.

Encouraging start

Of all the Charlton players on the pitch, only Ben Purrington and Josh Cullen were awarded a higher rating by WhoScored than his 6.5.

The 28-year-old completed all four of the tackles that he attempted – making a higher number than any other Addick – while also going on to make one clearance. In addition to that, the loanee came out on top in two aerial duels.

Are you a Championship expert? How much did each of these big-money signings cost?

He also showed composure with the ball at his feet, completing both of the dribbles that he attempted throughout the match – his tally put him joint-highest with teammate Erhun Oztumer.

The midfielder managed a pass success of 73%, which could use some improvement moving forward, but that is still higher than the team’s average of 70%. It should also be noted that this is 9% higher than his midfield partner Darren Pratley’s accuracy.

This was not the type of debut that will blow the fans away, but there are reasons for encouragement to be taken from it.

Meanwhile, Bowyer made an honest admission after the game.

Everton players were all smiles earlier this week as a rather familiar face was seen at Finch Farm training with the rest of the first-team players and getting ready for a weekend trip to the Emirates Stadium.

Of course, we’re talking about Andre Gomes, who has seemingly successfully recovered from the rather serious injury he sustained all the way back in November.

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

And Everton were quick to celebrate his grand return with a great video on their official

/B8tOZMfpXOz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram profile.

And needless to say, this is a huge moment for the Portuguese midfielder, given he has already missed a total of 19 games since early November – he has been ruled out for more than 120 days when everything is said and done.

But this is equally a big moment for the club as they are welcoming back a fantastic player back into their ranks.

And following the release of the video on social media, former Toffees striker Victor Anichebe sent a glowing reply in the comment section.

He also marvelled at his ability to recover so quickly from an injury that would likely put most out of commission for much longer.

Given the severity of the nightmare injury his recovery time is truly remarkable, but Gomes should not be rushed back now that he’s finally on his feet and running again.

We’ll see if Carlo Ancelotti decides to throw him straight into the starting XI at the Emirates this Sunday.

In other news, many Everton fans were discussing the potential incorporation of a highly-rated youngster…

West Ham United have confirmed that Tomas Soucek will be out for approximately three weeks, as reported on their official channels.

Watch West Ham United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Czech Republic international was forced off shortly after half-time during the 3-2 loss against Liverpool, with what has now been confirmed as a low grade injury after over-extending his hip flexor.

Hammers fans are highly frustrated about the fact that this has happened to their January loan signing.

Hammers fans have taken this as a sign that they are “cursed”, while another has called this part of “The West Ham Way”.

The club has had plenty of trouble with injuries this campaign, with the biggest example being Lukasz Fabianski’s issues, which have led to the Poland international missing a total of 13 Premier League matches.

Is life under Gold and Sullivan really that bad? Maybe this quiz will change your minds, West Ham fans…

Even though it has been claimed the injury will keep Soucek out for three weeks, one fan is convinced it will be two months due to the club’s lack of luck with injury.

The club’s terrible record with injuries is epitomised by the fact that Soucek had never suffered from an injury in his career before moving to London Stadium.

Therefore, it is pretty shocking that he picked one up just 47 minutes into his third ever game for the club.

One fan has taken this as a sign that West Ham are “jinxed”, with plenty of fans having been left highly frustrated by the announcement.

Meanwhile, Pablo Fornals’ compatriot commented on his Instagram post after the Liverpool loss.

One of the most intriguing things Slaven Bilic had to consider heading into Tuesday’s game against Preston North End was how he was going to replace Romaine Sawyers after his red card against Bristol City over the weekend.

Plenty had been made about the dilemma Bilic was facing, with Steve Madeley suggesting that it would be a straight shootout between Gareth Barry and Rekeem Harper for a starting spot.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

The journalist predicted that Harper would start this one due to Barry not being 100% fit, and he was right, the 19-year-old started – but he didn’t do very much to impress.

The teenager played the full 90 minutes against Preston, but despite the Baggies’ impressive 2-0 win, the youngster failed to make any real impact.

The youngster didn’t influence proceedings as much as he would have liked – he had just one shot, which was off target, and his only key pass during the game didn’t lead to an assist.

His defensive contribution wasn’t there either, making only one tackle and failing to make a single interception.

This was a golden opportunity for Harper to impress Bilic in his first league start of the season, but he failed to grasp his chance. With Barry waiting in the wings he may not get another shot to show the boss what he has to offer for a little while.

Sawyers’ suspension was a blow for West Brom, but on a personal level it was Harper’s chance to give the manager a bit of a selection headache. However, his rather ineffective outing has seen the midfielder blow his shot. It now remains to be seen if he’s handed another look-in.

In other news, one West Brom signing isn’t proving to be value for money.