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Speaking in a press conference as his side prepare to take on LASK in the Europa League, Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed the late return of Davinson Sanchez who ‘will play’ this evening – coming after he was left out in favour of Joe Rodon against Chelsea.

Sanchez, whose return to the squad could come as a boost for Spurs given Rodon is ineligible to play in the Europa League, will replace the recovering Toby Alderweireld, who won’t be fit in time for this encounter.

Sanchez return confirmed

Indeed, as the Belgian made a surprise return to training yesterday, Mourinho has explained the match tonight comes too soon for him to make a return – admitting there is a ‘chance’ he could feature against Arsenal in the north London derby.

For now, Mourinho has confirmed the boost of Sanchez’ return as his centre-back options potentially grow thin – with Rodon ineligible and Alderweireld still working to get back to 100% fitness.

The Colombian, valued at £40.5 million by Transfermarkt, is coming in to potentially provide cover at centre-half as he, Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga remain as Mourinho’s only available centre-back options.

Transfer Tavern take

Spurs only need a point tonight to qualify for the knockout stages as Mourinho aims to guide his side to potential European glory in a competition he has already won twice before, one with Porto in 2003 and once win Manchester United in 2017.

Described as a ‘beast’ by ex-manager and former fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino, the Lilywhites could do with Sanchez’ return tonight as they aim to secure a place in the Round of 32.

In other news: Jose Mourinho is ‘excited’ after this ‘incredible’ Spurs development, find out more here.

Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo is once again showing his quality out on loan but considering the winger is now 23-years-old, it seems clear that he’s never going to make it in the Reds’ first-team, so they should try and cash in on him in January.

The youngster joined the Merseyside club from MK Dons’ academy side in 2011 but has managed just 13 appearances for the first-team in the nine years since, with him spending a lot of time out on loan.

During the most recent summer, he joined Cardiff City on loan in the Championship and is impressing with Neil Harris’ side, having contributed three goals and four assists in 17 appearances for the Bluebirds, so it is clear that he is establishing himself as a key player with the Championship side.

His performances in the second division have seen him average a solid 6.79 rating, which ranks him as the Welsh side’s ninth-best player in the league so far this season.

Considering Ojo is valued at just £1.8 million by Transfermarkt, if he continues to impress, then perhaps we will see Cardiff or another side, attempt to buy him in the January transfer window.

Back in 2018, the winger signed a new five-year deal with the Reds, meaning his current deal isn’t set to expire until 2023, which suggests that the Reds would be able to demand a decent fee for the 23-year-old should other clubs come knocking.

Earlier this season, Ojo was hailed by his manager Neil Harris, who said:

“I think Sheyi is showing us his importance, with a couple of goals and a couple of assists.

“He had just been missing that final end product – in the first half he got into some great areas of the pitch, but the cross wasn’t what it should be.

“But in moments, he’s unplayable. His counter-attacking ability and his ability to dribble are excellent, and he’s unpredictable.”

However, Ojo reportedly earns £32,500 a week at Liverpool, which considering his lack of appearances for the first-team seems crazy, so it could certainly be suggested that he has been bleeding Michael Edwards and the Liverpool board dry.

Therefore, the Reds can save themselves a lot of money by cashing in on the winger in January, as his impressive performances in the Championship will hopefully be enough to attract some interest in the 23-year-old.

And, in other news… Klopp can sign his next Marco Reus in “complete” £72m-rated outcast offered to LFC 

Leicester City are enjoying a fiery start to their Premier League season and their latest win over Spurs has put them second in the table heading into Christmas. Their current record sees them boast nine wins out of their 14 games played and there are just four points between themselves and reigning champions Liverpool.

Brendan Rodgers could have a huge chance at securing his first ever Premier League title if the Foxes can stay in this impressive form but that’s not to say that they won’t need to recruit some new personnel if the opportunity presents itself.

According to 90min, Leicester are keeping a close eye on Celtic’s Ryan Christie as they head into the January transfer window. Rodgers has already worked with the Scotland international and a reunion could be on the cards if the price is right.

Christie would be ideal for Leicester

The same report reveals that four clubs are interested in castaway Foxes winger Demarai Gray and Christie could be a suitable replacement for the Englishman. However, the Scot is not a player Leicester should just be looking to sign as a fringe player. After his influential performances for both club and country this year, getting the versatile winger would very smart business from Jon Rudkin and co.

Christie has contributed four goals ten assists across all competitions for Celtic this season, as per Transfermarkt. His impressive numbers combined with his ability to play on either wing, as well as in midfield, would make Leicester even more dangerous attack.

However, if the Scot joins the Foxes, it could spell trouble for Ayoze Perez, who has already been struggling for game time this term. The arrival of £5.8million-rated Christie could spell even more absences for the Spaniard.

After Perez has slipped down the pecking order, this could be something Rodgers is willing to take a risk on. Christie was recently lauded by Chris Sutton as having a “ferocious work-rate” and being a dream to manage.

This is exactly the type of player who would tie in well with fellow workhorses Jamie Vardy and James Maddison.

In other news, James Maddison produced creative masterclass vs Spurs…

The long-awaited fixture of Manchester United vs Leeds ended in a crushing blow for the newly promoted Championship winners.

Their fierce rivalry was the perfect fuel for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to secure an empathic win which sees them jump to third in the Premier League table.

United hit the Whites for a whopping six goals, thanks to in form Bruno Fernandes and a creative masterclass from Anthony Martial. Scott McTominay, Victor Lindelof and Daniel James also got themselves on the scoresheet to complete a huge win for the Reds.

Marcelo Bielsa will return to the drawing board to analyse what exactly went wrong tonight. Arguably, the entire team was below par, but none more than Jack Harrison.

Harrison disappointed in huge United clash

Leeds’ two goals came from unlikely sources as defenders Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas were the only players in white to find the back of the net. Even Patrick Bamford struggled to implement his usual fiery nature upon the Man United defence.

However, the striker was also seriously deprived of chances from his fellow attackers.

Harrison was a major weak link in the Leeds midfield, failing to register a single shot on target in 90 minutes. He also failed to complete 90% of his attempted crosses and lost possession an alarming 24 times, highlighting how null his attacking presence was.

The £45,000 per week loanee also struggled with his passing – with just 71% of them finding a teammate and only one of his four attempted long balls coming off, who SofaScore.

Bielsa may not have expected a win this evening, but he will be hugely disappointed to come away with such a heavy defeat. This will not bode well for confidence as the Whites turn their attention to Burnley next time out – a fixture that the boss must consider dropping Harrison for.

He could be replaced by rising star Ian Poveda, or even Stuart Dallas, who has grown into a more attacking role recently. If Bielsa deploys Pascal Struijk, it will give him more freedom to use Dallas further forward rather than in defence during their current injury crisis.

In other news, This ex-Leeds star’s current form will have Victor Orta kicking himself…

Manchester City take on Championship strugglers Birmingham City in the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon, with Pep Guardiola no doubt hoping to secure his second FA Cup trophy after winning it for the first time in the 2018/19 season.

It seems likely that the Spanish manager will make plenty of changes ahead of the game at the Etihad, despite his side impressing in the 2-0 win against Manchester United last time out.

The Citizens are still short of first-team players after an outbreak of the virus, as well as injury problems, but they can welcome back the likes of Kyle Walker, Gabriel Jesus and Ederson after their self-isolation periods ended.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Guardiola to line his side up against Aitor Karanka’s side, with seven changes from the starting team that won at Old Trafford in midweek…

Despite Ederson reportedly being back for this game, Guardiola should keep faith in Zack Steffen for this fixture as he has done a solid job in each of the last two fixtures.

There are three changes in defence, as Walker returns at right-back in place of Joao Cancelo, whilst Benjamin Mendy replaces Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back.

Ruben Dias is rested, giving young 6 ft 2 defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis the opportunity to start alongside the in-form John Stones at the back – it would be his first start since September.

Rodri returns in midfield despite Fernandinho’s impressive performance at Old Trafford, starting alongside Ilkay Gundogan, who is undroppable after recent performances.

Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez are both rested, which allows Bernardo Silva to start on the wing, whilst Sergio Aguero is handed a start up front, although he could drop into the space normally occupied by De Bruyne.

Jesus starts up front with the Argentinian and he will be hoping to improve on his poor goal tally so far this season by finding the back of the net against Birmingham on Sunday.

And, in other news… Txiki signing “different level” beast for MCFC would be more bad news for Laporte

Wolves are in a diabolical rut at the moment, and for the first time since they entered the Premier League, they are stagnating.

This side have been a breath of fresh air to the top-flight. They usually play ruthless counter-attacking football and it was that style which earned them successive top-half finishes.

However, this season has been one to forget so far. With Raul Jimenez injured and with a switch in system to a four-man defence, problems have arisen in their droves for Nuno Santo.

Since Jimenez fractured his skull against Arsenal, the Old Gold have won just two of their last ten games and talk of relegation is starting to loom.

A Black Country derby gave them a perfect way to bounce back but after suffering a 3-2 defeat, it only piled further pressure on Nuno and his players.

Clearly, the manager was not his usual self. He cut a frustrated figure on the bench, not even willing his players on in the dying embers. To epitomise the strange mood around the camp, he even hauled Conor Coady off for the very first time in his tenure.

The defender gave away a penalty and looked particularly out of sorts, finding himself out of position in an unfavoured system. Yet, worse still was the performance of Ruben Neves.

The Portuguese midfielder has played well in recent weeks, scoring against Brighton and Everton, while picking up an assist versus Crystal Palace. Yet, when their rivals West Brom came to town, he was nothing short of abysmal.

Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken said at full-time: “Neves has been outstanding over the past few weeks but he didn’t seem able to stay on his feet during the first half. Everything he did was slow and passive and he missed the chance to dominate his first Black Country derby.”

These were thoughts echoed by The Athletic’s Tim Spiers, who delivered a slightly more brutal assessment: “He was absolutely shocking! Completely overrun, kept giving the ball away. Awful.”

During the contest, Neves completed 85% of his passes – worse than Coady – and made just a solitary tackle as West Brom’s midfield runners dominated him completely. For context, he contested just two duels in the whole match – the joint-worst tally of any  Wolves outfield player who started the game.

Neves also failed to provide a single key pass – a tally that Leander Dendoncker bettered by four. Considering the Portugal international is usually someone to play on the front foot, this was a particularly poor statistic.

The midfielder has been one of a few bright sparks in recent weeks but this display was a complete horror show.

In the big games, you need your best players to stand up and be counted. Neves didn’t do anything of the sort on Saturday. His performance betrayed Nuno’s trust.

AND in other news, Worse than Silva: Shi would be in danger of Wolves transfer howler over £44.3m target…

When West Ham brought Tomas Soucek to East London last January, it’s safe to say that not many eyebrows were raised.

The Irons were creeping into a relegation dog fight so on paper, signing an unknown quantity probably wasn’t the best of ideas.

However, the Czech Republic international has turned into a star and has cemented himself as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Indeed, it’s a testament to his play that he’s managed to secure that tag, especially when the Hammers have Declan Rice at their disposal too.

Soucek was signed on an initial loan deal but after scoring three goals in the second half of last season, David Moyes made the move permanent.

The fee West Ham paid was a mere snip, as they splashed out £15m on a midfielder who has become one of the most dominant in the Premier League. After bringing him back to the London Stadium, Soucek has racked up five goals in 19 top-flight outings this term.

It’s a brilliant record for a player in his position but it’s not just his goals that have made this a dream deal.

The 25-year-old has nearly doubled his value in the space of six months and is now rated at £27m via Transfermarkt, putting in combative performances from West Ham’s central areas.

He is a rampaging force, using his wiry frame to hurdle towards the penalty area for a late arrival, or just race back and recover possession for his team.

In 2020/21, Soucek has won a colossal 6.1 aerial duels per game. That’s a tally that usurps every single player at West Ham. Furthermore, he’s strong in the challenge and has won 1.7 tackles a match. For context, only Rice, Vladimir Coufal and Fabian Balbuena have won more.

For a modern midfield player, he is perfect. The Czech born star finds himself all over the pitch, sweeping up loose balls before setting up an attack.

Based on his performances, it’s hardly a surprise to see he’s earned some rave reviews. Danny Mills typified his qualities earlier this term, saying: “I think we’re starting to see a real top-quality midfield player who gets into the box.”

Alex McLeish issued similar sentiments, claiming: “There has been some fantastic recruitment, Soucek has been an absolute steal.

“Soucek is playing out of his skin, he came from Czech Republic, Coufal too – two great acquisitions and with the other players West Ham have got, Moyes has done a great job there.”

It’s hard to argue with those assessments. He has the highest expected goals tally of anyone in the squad – 4.6 – and he makes the most ball recoveries in the side – 12.3 per game.

Soucek also ranks third-highest for progressive passes in the side (2.89 per game) while he presses the opposition 14.3 times a match – again the third-highest tally when assessing Moyes’ players.

The midfielder was nowhere close to being a marquee addition but he has turned out to be one of their most important acquisitions in years.

He is imperative to their play and has been vitally important to their turnaround this season.

AND in other news, “Another Antonio” – Exclusive: Harewood backs potential West Ham move for £13.3m beast…

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to a tweet from the club in which they have announced that Sam Woods has headed out on loan.

Woods has joined League One side Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the season. The club wished him good luck as he looks to play consistent football and prove to Roy Hodgson that he has the potential to be a Premier League player. One fan called the transfer update ‘superb’, as the Selhurst faithful are clearly hopeful he can strut his stuff in the lower leagues.

The player is a product of the South London side’s academy, but is now 22, so needs to be playing at a senior level to grow as a footballer. The defender featured 12 times in Premier League 2 this season (Transfermarkt), picking up an assist along the way and he has made four senior appearances for the Palace first team.

This loan feels like a huge moment in Woods’ career, he either cements his place in the League One side whilst on loan and shows that he has the quality, or he struggles. If the latter is the case, it will probably be very likely that Palace will look to sell him sooner rather than later.

Here is what Palace fans had to say following the news:

“Great move for him and I’m very happy for the opportunity that he’s going to get with Plymouth as he tries to help them push for the promotion playoffs! Good luck Sam!”

Credit: @alex_westry

“Great Loan for him. Good luck Sam”

Credit: @PeterHoward01

“Great experience, good luck to him. Are we freeing up a space in the squad for someone?”

Credit: @e_crystalpalace

“Good move for him. Really happy with this”

Credit: @Sumo08112

“An excellent opportunity for the lad…. Good luck, Sam!”

Credit: @TCPalace_Pod

“This is a superb loan move for Sam Woods. Great opportunity for him”

Credit: @PalaceYouth

In other Palace news, have a read of a bizarre statistic about the club which fans aren’t happy with here!

Many Liverpool fans were delighted to discover that makeshift centre-back Fabinho has made his return to first-team training.

The club’s official Twitter account posted images of the 27-year-old back in action at the AXA Training Centre, who has been absent since his side’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup in January.

Normally a defensive midfielder, Fabinho has been playing at centre-back for all but three Premier League games he has featured in this season – on the back of the club’s hugely unfortunate injury crisis.

Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are all out for the season and Liverpool brought in Preston’s Ben Davies and Schalke starlet Ozan Kabak on loan to compensate for their centre half deficit.

Unsurprisingly, and with Manchester City on the horizon, supporters were overjoyed to see Fabinho back on the training pitches and made their feelings clear on social media.

Fans go wild over Fabinho images

“Getting too much for me to handle this now”

Credit: @lewis4653

“We’re beating cityyyyy”

Credit: @LFC_Jaxs

“YESSS”

Credit: @lfcalicex

“AHHHHHHHH YESSSSSSSS”

Credit: @benlfc_

“HE’S ALIVE”

Credit: @lfc_rhys

“START HIM”

Credit: @zayedlfc

In other news, Liverpool fans sparked into joy as image of star man emerged.

Steve Bruce can ease his injury nightmare by repeating the masterstroke of playing Isaac Hayden in defence when Newcastle United visit Chelsea on Monday night.

The Toon boss is facing a serious headache ahead of travelling to Stamford Bridge, after losing Fabian Schar for several months due to a torn knee ligament sustained in last week’s 3-2 win over Southampton.

United were already without options in central-defence before the Saints affair, with captain Jamaal Lascelles sidelined with a hamstring injury and Federico Fernandez missing as he continues to feel the effects caused by coronavirus after testing positive in November.

Bruce opted to name Hayden in central defence at home to Southampton to help deal with his mounting injury problems, in a decision that has since seen the Arsenal product earn a wealth of praise.

BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks included the £22,000-per-week talent as part of his Team of Week for the last Premier League matchweek, having felt Hayden was brilliant and pivotal to Newcastle claiming a result.

“Hayden was magnificent in the last 20 minutes of this fixture. His clearance off the line from a Danny Ings sliced shot was outstanding. His ability to sense the danger and hold off the Saints bombardment was quite brilliant,” Crooks noted.

Hayden started the Southampton match beside Schar but was later joined by Paul Dummett and Arsenal loanee Joe Willock as Bruce threw everything but the kitchen sink at retaining Newcastle’s one-goal lead, having fallen to nine men due to the Schar’s injury and a red card for Jeff Hendrick.

It was the eighth time this season that Hayden has now opened a fixture at centre-half across all competitions, having sporadically been utilised like a swiss army knife capable of getting the job done regardless of where he plays.

Bruce should now stick with Hayden in the Newcastle backline for his side’s upcoming trip to Chelsea, as the 25-year-old would be expected to help ease United’s injury nightmare.

Hayden certainly made the position his own against Southampton, with no Toon player who started offering more than his six clearances, per WhoScored. That is greater than the highest average amount achieved per game among all Premier League players who have featured more than five times this term, with that honour heading to Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo (5.9).

Only Javier Manquillo, who featured for just 24 minutes, achieved a higher pass completion rate than Hayden among the Magpies against the Saints, as well, with the Spaniard finding teammates with 86% of his seven passes while the Englishman completed 78% of his 23.

No Newcastle player has also averaged a higher number of successful tackles per Premier League game when fielded at centre-back this season than Hayden, who offers 2.8 from 3.3 attempts, while Fernandez (1.5/1.8) is the only other option to average more than one, per WhoScored.

So, clearly, Hayden can help ease Bruce’s injury nightmare by featuring in defence against Chelsea on Monday, in what could be another masterstroke move by the United boss.

AND in other news, a £47k-p/w colossus is weighing up his future at Newcastle United…