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Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in signing Reading midfielder John Swift, according to Football League World.

The Lowdown: Swift’s situation

Swift has started the 2021/22 campaign in fine form for The Royals, scoring seven times and registering five assists in 10 Championship fixtures.

The 26-year-old, who has been with his current employers since 2016, is almost into the final six months of his contract. He has scored 39 senior goals during his career and is on £25,000 per week, less than Palace full-back Tyrick Mitchell, who is among the lowest earners at Selhurst Park.

The Latest: Palace interest

Football League World shared a story on Thursday morning, claiming that Palace, along with Premier League rivals Burnley, Norwich and Wolves, are interested in a January move for Swift.

It could well be a cut-price transfer when you take his contract into consideration, with the attacking midfielder unlikely to pen new terms with Reading.

The Verdict: Wise move?

Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman has reaped the rewards of dipping into the Championship market in recent years, most notably with the arrival of Eberechi Eze from QPR.

Loanee Conor Gallagher is set to return to Chelsea at the end of the season, so bringing in Swift in the winter could help him settle at Selhurst Park ahead of taking over from the 21-year-old next season.

He is capable of playing as a central or attacking midfielder and appears to be at the top of his game following his impressive start to the season, so a cut-price deal could be a shrewd call by Freedman.

In other news: ‘Wanted this to happen for so long’ – Many CPFC fans buzzing as news emerges on £25k-p/w ace

It’s been an extremely encouraging start to life under new manager Patrick Vieira for Crystal Palace, but a major stumbling block could be just around the corner for the French tactician.

The Eagles are set to lose four first-team stars for up to a month in January due to their involvement in the rescheduled Africa Cup of Nations.

Jeffrey Schlupp and Jordan Ayew ARE expected to feature for their native Ghanawhile Wilfried Zaha and Cheikhou Kouyate are set to represent Ivory Coast and Senegal, respectively.

The 24-team tournament, postponed from last year amid the pandemic, is due to get underway in Cameroon on January 9 and run until February 6.

It means the quartet could miss the Eagles’ derby clash with Brighton at the Amex Stadium on January 15, and the visit of Liverpool on January 22.

They are also likely to miss Palace’s third-round FA Cup tie, which is likely to be played on the weekend of January 8. They could also be absent for the Premier League game away to Norwich, currently scheduled for February 8, if their nations go deep into the competition.

It’s set to leave Vieira extremely threadbare in attack, given the club were unable to replace Andros Townsend over the summer, but the solution could be a rather simple one.

Teenage winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi was brought into the first-team fold at the backend of last season under former Palace manager Roy Hodgson, earning a place on the bench on three occasions as 2020/21 drew to a close.

“He dealt with it very well,” said Hodgson (as relayed by The Athletic), who chose to take Rak-Sakyi to Everton as a non-playing squad member for a draw at Goodison Park.

“For such a young man, he’s shown a remarkable maturity, and a remarkable sangfroid as well, coming into a group of senior players who he’s probably only watched from the terraces before. You wouldn’t notice that with his performances in the training sessions where he’s really taken on the responsibility.

“Everyone’s taken to him and been appreciative of him and what he can do. I’m very pleased with him and very pleased for him. We believe at Crystal Palace that he has a big future and he will get better and better,” the ex-England boss concluded.

And Rak-Sakyi showcased just how much of a threat he can be last season, bagging eight goals and providing a further eight assists in just 16 appearances for Palace’s U18s, before being promoted into the U23s.

The 19-year-old was rewarded for his standout displays last term after Vieira handed him his Premier League debut off the bench against Chelsea in the club’s curtain-raiser at Stamford Bridge. That could be the first of many top-flight outings for the youngster this term.

A tally of five goals and two assists in just six outings for the youth side this season suggests Rak-Sakyi will be ready to make the step up when needed in January, meaning Vieira will be able to continue to progress in south London despite the absence of several key players.

And, in other news…Report provides exciting Crystal Palace transfer update, fans will surely be delighted 

Liverpool continued their unbeaten streak in the Premier League over the weekend with a 2-2 draw against Manchester City at Anfield.

Sadio Mane put the Reds ahead in the second half before Phil Foden equalised for the visitors. Then a moment of pure brilliance from Mohamed Salah put Jurgen Klopp’s team in front once again only for a late Kevin De Bruyne strike to rescue a point for the Manchester club.

This result put Liverpool in second place in the Premier League table with 15 points, just one point behind leaders Chelsea heading into the latest international break.

One player that impressed for Liverpool on the day despite conceding twice against City was Joel Matip, a la player currently earning a weekly wage of £100k-per-week per Spotrac.

Since joining the Merseyside club back in the 2016 summer window on a free transfer from German club FC Schalke, the 30-year-old, who is currently valued at £16.2m according to Transfermarkt has made 131 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to chip in with six goals and provide three assists along the way.

So far this season, Matip has played 90 minutes in all of Liverpool’s Champions League and Premier League matches apart from their 3-0 win over Crystal Palace last month, which says to us just how much of an important figure he is for Klopp.

Virgil van Dijk is usually the most formidable member of the Reds’ backline but on this occasion, it was his defensive colleague.

The Cameroon international’s latest appearance for the club against City saw the defender make four interceptions, three tackles, block two shots and make one clearance against Pep Guardiola’s side, which shows just how busy he was in the match. If we line that up alongside Van Dijk, the Dutchman won just one duel in the entire clash.

Comparatively, Matip won all of his three ground duels (100%) and ultimately earned himself an overall match rating of 7.5/10, making Salah the only player to earn a higher rating than Matip according to SofaScore, which just goes to show how impressive he was.

Taking all of this into account, we feel that Matip, who Klopp recently described as being an “incredible player,” should definitely start Liverpool’s next Premier League fixture against Watford after the international break to see if he can replicate the same sort of performance in that game as he did against City.

In other news: Klopp must trust “remarkable” £140k-p/w LFC ace on Sunday, could be difference-maker – opinion

Aston Villa are eyeing a move for Stoke City star Harry Souttar in the January transfer window, and Alan Hutton has given his seal of approval behind a move.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that Dean Smith’s side have got their eye on a new year swoop for the centre-back, and former Villa man Hutton has insisted Souttar would be a great signing for them.

He said: “I think when you look at the boys who are there, they’re all good in the air. I’ve worked with them, I know they can be physical but they like playing with the ball at their feet as well.

“I think it’s very good to have those different styles of footballers within your armoury. It gives you the option if you want. If somebody’s injured, you want to play four at the back, three at the back or something may happen, you’ve got room to manoeuvre. I think that was Dean Smith’s plan moving forward. The starting XI was very good but they needed to bolster the squad.

“I think that’s the situation that they’re in at the moment. He obviously ticks all the boxes. He’s very physical, he’s there to win the ball and it’s good to have someone like that in your backline.”

Shades of Tyrone Mings

Once described as a “Rolls-Royce” by Stoke stalwart Ryan Shawcross, the defender has been compared to a number of different big-name players, including the likes of Harry Maguire and Virgil van Dijk.

His manager at Stoke, Michael O’Neill, is clearly a big fan of the kind of modern, ball-playing centre-back that Souttar is, saying: “He’s a player blessed with great natural attributes. Obviously his height but also he’s got good game intelligence and he’s a great user of the ball as well. That’s something which I think will set him apart from the other defenders in this league.”

And, when you compare his physical attributes (he’s an inch taller than Mings at a towering 6 foot 6), as well as his key defensive stats to the Villa man, they favour well.

As per Whoscored, he averages a whopping six times the amount of tackles per game as Mings, while he also boasts more interceptions per match in the Championship too. Not only that, but Souttar also makes close to eighty passes per game on average for Stoke (29 more than Mings), and at a far better accuracy too.

The Stoke beast could bring some added physicality to Villa’s back-line and give Smith some extra depth in that centre-back role. His height, reading of the game and ability to play out from the back has got real shades of Mings.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has confirmed an Aston Villa “blow”…

Many Manchester City fans were left slamming the display of the referee in the first half of their game away at Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League.

Istvan Kovacs of Romania was put in charge for the group stage match in Belgium, and there were a few fouls given against Pep Guardiola’s team that were questionable.

Jack Grealish was penalised early on in the half when through on goal, Kevin De Bruyne was on the end of a controversial decision against him, and Aymeric Laporte was given a yellow card just after the half hour mark, despite it looking like that he did not make much contact at all with the player.

Grealish also had a goal disallowed for a foul in the build-up, which a lot of MCFC supporters thought was very soft to say the least.

Man City fans on ref display

These members of the Etihad Stadium faithful slammed the performance of the ref in the first half on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he was ‘awful’:

“This ref is awful”

Credit: @EthanMekoUK

“How bad is this ref so far? jeezzz”

Credit: @ThorpPau

“This ref has already thrown the game and we’re just over 10 minutes in”

Credit: @HansSwoleman

“Ref having a nightmare”

Credit: @cjkms98

“Ref’s a disgrace”

Credit: @NateKRono

“Ref stinks already not surprised”

Credit: @citybyron

In other news, find out which £100m-rated ace City have ‘every chance’ of making an offer for here!

Wolves are interested in signing Atletico Mineiro left-back Guilherme Arana in the January transfer window, according to journalist Ekrem Konur.

The Lowdown: Wolves still without Jonny

Bruno Lages’s men have recovered impressively from a disappointing start to the season and now sit 11th in the Premier League, picking up three wins from their last four matches.

While Wolves’ squad looks relatively strong, signing a new left-back could be a priority in January, with Jonny still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury and no certainty he will return the same player.

The Latest: Arana linked with move

According to Konur on Twitter on Monday, Wolves have added Arana ‘to their transfer list’ and ‘plan to talk’ to his club about a move in January.

The 24-year-old has one cap to his name for Brazil, also scoring nine goals and registering 15 assists in 81 appearances for Mineiro.

The Verdict: Exciting acquisition?

Arana is a relative unknown to European fans, even though he played 25 times for Sevilla earlier in his career, but he could be an exciting signing for Wolves.

His aforementioned statistics suggest he provides a goal threat from left-back, whether it be through creating or scoring himself, and he is at a good age, in terms of his peak hopefully still being yet to come.

Arana could thrive at wing-back if Lage continues to play a three-man defence, too, with his versatility an added bonus.

In other news, one player has been linked with a return to Wolves. Find out who it is here.

Liverpool fans have showered Jordan Henderson in praise after it emerged the club captain is recently overtook Gareth Barry to become the leading passer in Premier League history.

Henderson made the move to Anfield from Sunderland in 2011 and has since gone on to become a club legend. All in all, he has made 404 appearances for the Reds, scoring 31 goals and providing 53 assists (Transfermarkt).

After taking the armband, he became the first Liverpool captain in 30 years to win the top flight, while he also lifted the Champions League. He will, without doubt, go down in the club’s history.

He has also written himself into Premier League history, overtaking Barry’s record to register 17002 passes. Often underrated, it seems those who have doubted him will have to stand up and take notice.

The news was shared on Twitter by @AnfieldEdition, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Henderson news below

“Imagine if he was Spanish or Italian”

Credit: @myhill_nathan

“Yes he should he’s a brilliant example of hard work and professionalism absolutely top class person and captain”

Credit: @philips20463585

“So underrated. Kind of a situation like Michael Carrick. Overlooked by most but United were much better when he played. People hound him for back passing and side passing, and there just aren’t numbers to back that up.”

Credit: @MichiganLfc

“He had the hardest job in football taking over the captaincy after stevie g, he’s been superb on and off the pitch and will be an all time legend at our club”

Credit: @lewy141070

“Yes. True Liverpool fans know how good he is, and what a great captain he is. He typifies the klopp era, and is an essential part of this team.”

Credit: @captainphotog

“He is certainly the most underrated player in PL history. Massive massive talent which fans and pundits outside Anfield for some reason are reluctant to acknowledge.”

Credit: @Mugsy0407

In other news, Liverpool fans were far from happy with this James Pearce tweet.

Former Granada manager Diego Martinez is reportedly very keen on being the man to eventually succeed Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United.

The Lowdown: Bielsa contract expiring

Bielsa has done a magnificent job in charge of the Whites, but there are always question marks surrounding his future because he only signs one-year deals.

For that reason, the Argentine’s current contract expires next summer and it remains to be seen if he will extend his stay at Elland Road.

Leeds currently sit 17th in the Premier League and Bielsa isn’t in his happiest moment at the club, so there is no guarantee that he will commit his future once more.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Martinez wants Leeds job

If Bielsa does move on, it looks as though Martinez is extremely keen on replacing him, with La Razon [via Sport Witness] claiming that he has even moved to England in order to ‘perfect his language skills’.

The 41-year-old is currently without a club and sees the Premier League as his next destination, primarily Leeds, with the report even going as far as to claim he would have rejected the chance to replace Unai Emery at Villarreal in favour of a move to Yorkshire.

Victor Orta is thought to be a huge fan of Martinez, appreciating his dedication to learning the language and only heightening the chances of him coming in.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-23/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Ideal potential replacement?

In an ideal world, Bielsa would sign another one-year extension – the 66-year-old is still the right man for the job even if this season has been a struggle to date, with his record at the club speaking for itself.

Should he exit Elland Road next summer, however, Martinez could be an exciting replacement, having been hailed as an ‘idol’ for fans by journalist Jose Manuel Garcia, while La Liga Lowdown contributor Heath Chesters labelled the job he did in getting Granada into Europe as ‘remarkable’.

He had inspired Granada to promotion to La Liga back in 2018/19, much in the same way Bielsa did with Leeds, and they even topped Spain’s top-flight after 10 games in 2019/20, highlighting his pedigree further.

In other news, Beren Cross has called for one Leeds player to be dropped this weekend. Find out who it is here.

On Friday night, Scotland secured a place in the World Cup 2022 play-offs, and not for the first time, Billy Gilmour was one of the headline stars of the show, impressing as he won eight of his 10 duels and recorded three shots against Moldova.

The 20-year-old has been hailed as the next big thing for Chelsea and his country for a few years now, and he has proved that in a Scotland shirt he is good enough to start and compete at the highest level internationally after impressive performances at Euro 2020.

Despite being key to Scotland’s most recent successes, the youngster still doesn’t make it regularly into the Norwich side, where he is currently on loan from Chelsea.

Farke snubbed Gilmour at Norwich

Recently-sacked Norwich coach Daniel Farke was questioned time and again as to why he didn’t include Gilmour in his set-up for the struggling Canaries, but the German defended his decisions, saying: “We are not here to develop players for other clubs”.

After Gilmour was snubbed for the sixth time in the victory over Brentford last weekend, Farke was dismissed from his duties as Norwich City head coach, and the club now look to find a new manager to direct them out of a tight relegation battle.

The 20-year-old has shone for the Canaries when given the chance, showing his well-rounded midfield qualities by posting the squad’s third-highest tackling average (2.3 per game) and the second-highest passing accuracy (86.1%) when players who haven’t started a game are disregarded, as per WhoScored.

Gilmour has many admirers

Many voices in football have spoken out on the seemingly unfair treatment of Gilmour at Norwich, with Scotland team-mates and former Premier League managers singing the praises of the youngster.

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn hailed the 20-year-old as a “world class player”, adding: “He’s going through a rough patch at Norwich and is frustrated not to be playing. But when he’s in the Scotland jersey, he’s always at the top of his game.”

Former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp also chimed in on the isolation of Gilmour at Norwich, telling talkSPORT: “I saw the kid play when he first got in the Chelsea team, I saw him play in the Euros against England, you’d think if you take him at Norwich you’d have half built your team around him.”

Dean Smith is tipped to be named as the new Norwich City manager in the coming days and it will be interesting to see how he utilises Gilmour if indeed he is given the job.

With the Canaries, taking just one win from 11 league games, you would think that channelling the energy and confidence that Gilmour displays in the Scotland team would be a top priority for Norwich moving forward as they look to steady the ship and get out of danger in the Premier League. 

If he is given the chance to replicate his international form at club level, he might yet inspire the Canaries to an escape from another instant relegation.

In other news: Smith may already have his next Grealish in Norwich’s £19.8m-rated “god-given” talent

Aston Villa coach Michael Beale has spoken to Charlton Athletic over the club’s managerial vacancy, it has been revealed.

The lowdown

New Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard brought Beale, part of his coaching staff at Rangers, to the Midlands.

It’s not the first time there’s been interest from a Football League Club this autumn.

Beale was a contender to replace Mick McCarthy at Cardiff City earlier this month, but the Bluebirds went with Steve Morrison in the end.

The former Liverpool Under-23 boss certainly isn’t short on admirers, with former Villan Stiliyan Petrov hailing him as an ‘incredible coach’ and a ‘powerful communicator’.

The latest

Speaking to London News Online, Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard confirmed that there has been discussions with Beale.

But while he’s of course impressed with the 41-year-old’s CV, he suggested that he would be a less ‘ambitious’ appointment than some other of their candidates.

“He has a fantastic track record, especially on the supporting side. Of course we talked to Michael.

“We’ve also been a little more ambitious than that, in terms of the level of managers we’ve been reaching for.”

The verdict

After approaches from Cardiff and Charlton in relatively quick succession, Villa might be bracing themselves for further interest, as it certainly seems like a lower-league hot-seat is the next logical step in his coaching career.

And it would be a big blow if Beale was lured away, with one former Rangers player describing the ‘amazing’ coach as ‘the brains’ behind Gerrard’s success.

Encouragingly for Villa fans, though, Cardiff ultimately looked elsewhere, and Charlton appear to have reservations about his lack of experience too. Even though he’s earned a great deal of respect, perhaps he’s not thought to be totally ready to be the main man just yet.

In other news, fans react to Gerrard’s Tyrone Mings assessment.