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Ryan Kent helped Glasgow Rangers run riot over Aberdeen at Ibrox as Steven Gerrard’s side moved 11 points clear of the top.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Rangers want to offer Kent a brand new deal before the winter transfer window opens to fend off any interest from elsewhere, as Leeds United reportedly remain interested in signing their long-term target.

The 24-year-old’s four-year deal with the Gers is running down, and it remains to be seen if they will be able to reach an agreement with his representatives, as he has recently switched agents.

With the Bears rebuffing a bid from Marcelo Bielsa’s side in the summer, Ross Wilson can end any transfer speculation once and for all by convincing Kent to sign a new contract.

Trump card

Rangers signed the left winger from Liverpool on a permanent basis for £7m in 2019 after he impressed the 54-time Scottish champions in a successful loan spell, having scored six goals in 43 appearances in all competitions during that time.

Since then, Kent has become Gerrard’s not-so-secret weapon as the Ibrox boss bids to stop Celtic from winning ten in a row.

The former England U20 international, who reportedly receives a weekly wage worth £18,000, has been in red-hot form in recent weeks, providing one goal and two assists in his past two games in the Premiership, via Transfermarkt.

Wilson would be wise to give Kent a new deal as not only is he a potent attacking threat, but he is really Gerrard’s only reliable option on the left wing, having started every single one of the fifteen fixtures in the top flight this term.

His former boss and current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised the Rangers star as a “wonderful player” last summer, telling Liverpool TV: “Ryan had sensational moments in the Sevilla game – one-on-one situations are his big strength.

“He is a wonderful kid, a wonderful player.”

High praise indeed from a manager who is widely considered to be one of the very best in the game.

Keeping this calibre of player at Ibrox is exactly what Gerrard will need to take his team to the next level. Tying him down to a new deal would be an extremely smart bit of business. Get it done, Gers.

AND in other news, Zungu beware: Glasgow Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield sends Steven Gerrard timely reminder…

Brighton are reportedly among several clubs targeting teenage Grimsby defender Mattie Pollock, who has been likened to England centre-back Harry Maguire.

The Daily Mail reported that the Seagulls, along with Sheffield United and Crystal Palace, have been scouting the 18-year-old, whose father Jamie played in the Premier League for Middlesbrough and Bolton in the 1990s. The report added that the Blundell Park outfit are ‘braced’ for offers for the youngster.

Pollock, who stands at a towering 1.9m (6 ft 3), has drawn comparisons with Manchester United defender Maguire for his robust frame, while the teenager has already been entrusted with significant responsibility at Grimsby.

He has played 29 times for the Mariners, featuring 19 times in League Two for them last season, and captained them at the tender age of 17, an indication as to his maturity and leadership qualities even in the formative years of his senior career.

The 18-year-old is impressively disciplined for a central defensive player – in almost 1,900 minutes of action for Grimsby, he has only been shown three yellow cards, although two of those came in the same match (as per TransferMarkt).

Pollock is still very raw and has played no higher than League Two, so a move to a Premier League club like Brighton would clearly be a significant step up for him. If he were to join the Seagulls in this transfer window, he would likely be viewed with the long-term in mind rather than the immediate future.

Indeed, he could be bedded in gently like Ben White at the Amex Stadium. The 22-year-old, who has played just twice for Brighton’s first team so far, gained valuable experience on loan at Leeds last term, impressing to such an extent that he has now had a £50m price tag placed on his head and each of last season’s Premier League top six reportedly vying for his signature.

If the Seagulls can prise Pollock from Grimsby and offer him further first team experience with a loan move elsewhere, like they did for White, it could prove to be a very astute coup over the forthcoming years.

Brighton fans, can Pollock go on to reach the level that Maguire is at now? Comment below with your views!

Chelsea’s extravagant summer spending doesn’t seem to be over yet as they continue to monitor the situation of Declan Rice.

The West Ham star is a player that Frank Lampard is very fond of and he is eager to see him return to Stamford Bridge.

A deal looked like it would be off the cards after the Irons made it clear that they wouldn’t take any less than £80million for the England international. However, an update from The Athletic has claimed that Lampard may have a way around this.

The Blues boss in on the hunt for a holding midfielder to help improve his defensive frailties. Rice is firmly the club’s first choice and they are aware that he will not come cheap. This is why Lampard is willing to table an offer of cash plus Ross Barkley, in hopes to lower the hefty asking price.

The former Everton man signed for Chelsea in 2018 and has been more of a fringe player than a starter. Although, he played a big role in the Blues’ FA Cup run – helping to knock out rivals Liverpool and scoring the winning goal over Leicester in the quarter-finals.

Barkley’s time at Chelsea has seen him score just 10 goals and make 11 assists in 85 appearances (via Transfermarkt). Perhaps not the best numbers for a midfielder but certainly an amount to help replace anything lost through the sale of Rice.

The end of the transfer window is drawing to a close and Chelsea must act fast if they want to bring in a replacement for the outbound N’Golo Kante.

Would you like to see Declan Rice come to Chelsea? Join the conversation in the comments below!

Leeds United’s recruitment team could have a lot of work on this summer.

The Whites are back in the Premier League, and if they want to be competitive in the top-flight they’ll have to upgrade their squad as it is still largely filled with the same players that led United to a 13th placed Championship finish before the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa.

One area that desperately needs bolstering is at centre-half.

Ben White’s loan is up at the end of the season, while Gaetano Berardi looks set to leave on a free, meaning Liam Cooper could soon be the only senior centre back on the books.

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Luckily, United seem to already have a contingency plan, with Football Insider reporting that the club are looking at Branimir Kalaica due to his excellent data metrics.

While Kalaica may turn out to be a good player, Leeds must be careful not to get carried away with their stats-led model, because it’s already been shown that an over-reliance on stats when conducting transfer business can land you in trouble.

Fulham’s Premier League plight could well be the best example of this.

Players such as Jean-Michael Seri, Andre Franck Zambo Anguissa and Maxime Le Marchand were brought in by Tony Khan, who has always been a big backer of using moneyball-type analytics when making signings, and by the end of the season, not only were Fulham relegated while spending £100m, but the aforementioned players were voted amongst the worst signings of the campaign.

The problem is that stats in football aren’t the same as in other sports.

The moneyball system works in baseball and to an extent American football because they’re very play-by-play sports with one goal, either gaining yardage or getting on a base, while in the beautiful game there is more than one way to skin a cat, and players can often be caught out when moving between leagues due to the different styles.

Brighton are another club who are rather reliant on data when making signings, and it hasn’t quite worked out for them either.

Alireza Jahanbaksh looked to be a real player before arriving in England, he’d just won the Eredivisie Golden Boot, and there were hopes that he’d add the same sort of firepower to Brighton.

Yet, two seasons later the Iranian has scored just two league goals, and perhaps the Seagulls would have seen that coming if they weren’t as reliant on their analytical models.

Data is a big part of modern football, and simply ignoring it isn’t the answer, but if you become too reliant on it, it can become a slippery slope with dangerous consequences, and that’s something Leeds can’t afford to do on their return to the top-flight.

It could be one in, one out at Celtic in the very near future as fresh reports have circulated on the future of Boli Bolingoli…

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports, Ligue 2 outfit Amiens SC have made a loan offer for the 25-year-old which includes an option to buy at the end of the season thought to be around £2.3m.

It’s claimed that the Hoops are open into offloading him before the end of the summer transfer window and as a result, are now lining up a move for Championship-winning left-back Barry Douglas.

The Leeds man could be free to leave say Football Insider, but it remains to be seen whether Celtic would be paying a fee of getting him in on loan.

Bye-bye Boli

It’s a smart move for Nick Hammond to make after the Belgian practically put Scottish football into disrepute last week. Bolingoli travelled to Spain without telling his manager or the club and was then named on the bench for their 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock.

Both of Celtic’s subsequent two fixtures have been postponed.

The self-confessed Parkhead fan would be an astute addition for Lennon. He’s won two promotions from the Championship and has previous experience in the SPFL with Dundee United.

Former Leeds midfielder Andy Hughes described Douglas as a “top, top player” whilst Noel Whelan told the BBC, via HITC, that he’s “got the quality”.

Having cost the Yorkshire giants just £3m, you’d imagine that if Celtic wanted a permanent move for the Glasgow-born left-back then the fee would be around that if not less as he nears the final year of his contract.

They’d be getting a bit of a set-piece specialist too but mainly, it’ll put an end to the Bolingoli sage off the pitch.

AND in other news, Celtic can plan for life without Jullien with move for PL man…

Everton fans have been reacting to a picture taken of caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson following their Carabao Cup exit to Leicester City on Wednesday.

The Toffees were eliminated from the quarter-final stage after the game ended 2-2 after normal time.

After the Foxes’ James Maddison and Jonny Evans gave the visitors an early advantage, the Toffees fought back in the second half through Tom Davies and a 91st-minute equaliser from veteran Leighton Baines.

After the game, fans were talking on Twitter about a certain picture that was taken in the press conference room of Goodison Park.

Ferguson looked dejected as he answered questions about the affair, which the fans have hugely brought into since he took over the job from Marco Silva.

Supporters were sympathetic towards Ferguson after seeing the image and made their feelings clear about him on social media.

Here you will find some of the best comments from Everton fans:

Name: Antef Tsoungui

Club: Brighton & Hove Albion

Date of Birth: 30 December 2002

Position: Centre-back/Full-back/Defensive midfielder

Antef Tsoungui – his career so far

Antef Tsoungui is one of the most talented youngsters Brighton & Hove Albion have in their academy at the very moment. The 17-year-old defender is still very much developing and gaining experience before he can make a big step up but despite his young age, he’s already managed to turn some heads with his talent and potential.

But he is not a Brighton born and bred, however, as the now 17-year-old lad was born over in Brussels and then moved to England at the age of four, soon stepping into the world of football and playing for the Chelsea youth until 2018 when he was scouted and scooped up by his current club.

He spent six years playing for the Blues and managed to rise through the ranks, eventually playing for the U14s before swapping shirts and donning another shade of blue and white after he was released from Chelsea’s academy.

Now, he can boast with appearances both for Brighton’s U18 and U23 squads, featuring mostly for the former one as he recorded 19 games to date, obviously with no goals or assists since he is primarily a defensive player.

But his skill and rapid development also gave him a chance to feature for the older team seven times, netting one assist to his name in the process as well.

As of yet, however, he hasn’t been given a chance to compete or make his debut with the senior team under Graham Potter but the upper hierarchy has seemingly been impressed with his development and that could boast well for the 17-year-old who is still very much on the path to stardom. If he can keep progressing in the same manner, that is.

We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for the young defender.

Transfer latest

At the moment, there are no transfer news or transfer rumours connecting the young defender with a move away from the club and while that may be a relief for Brighton, there are also no indications he may be given a new contract.

There hasn’t been any Brighton news on that front since Tsoungui was signed back in the summer of 2018 and it will be interesting to see how his immediate future shapes up. Currently, he’s still registered in the youth ranks for their U18 squad but has the potential to eventually move up in the world.

Of course, once that happens and once the youngster actually gets the opportunity to further impress Potter, either through training or playing for the seniors, we can then start expecting more transfer rumours to pile up.

Until that moment, he’s definitely one to keep a close eye on.

Player profile

As is the case with most U18 players with limited exposure to any kind of first-team action, be it with their parent club or while on loan, there’s not much data available on their young careers so far.

But Tsoungui is already well known for his versatility as the 17-year-old can slot into various different positions on the pitch. Of course, he is most comfortable playing at centre-back but can also be deployed wider, as a defensive full-back, and also has the ability to slot further up the pitch and be the team’s defensive midfielder.

He’s also known for his stylish way of playing, often driving forward with the ball glued to his feet and then sending it to his teammates in the more advanced zones on the pitch, making him perfect for a pivot role in the future.

Not to mention that he made 2.57 dribbles per 90 minutes in 2019/20 with a 50% success rate and sent out 6.63 passes into the final third with 64.5% accuracy.

The future definitely looks bright but it will be up to him to continue developing so he can slot right into the first-team in the near future.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Roy Hodgson has been speaking to the media about rumours linking Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster with a loan move to Selhurst Park.

The Crystal Palace manager spoke to Sky Sports about links to the Reds academy graduate, who has made a name for himself at youth level for the Merseysiders over the years.

Brewster has netted 20 goals in 45 games across varying age groups for the European champions, while also picking up 14 assists – the teenager has attracted the attention of Jurgen Klopp, who has handed him two Carabao Cup starts this season.

What did he say?

Hodgson said: “He’s a good player, there’s no doubt about that. The only thing that would concern me there is that I don’t know quite how many guaranteed games [he would get].

“If I was going to speak to Jurgen and he was going to talk to me about, ‘I want Rhian Brewster to go out on loan and play some matches.’ I’m not 100 per cent certain I could guarantee him that he would be the first name on the team sheet.”

Should be music to Palace fans’ ears

Hodgson is right – there is no doubting that Brewster is a good player.

However, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was also a good player.

As too was Michy Batshuayi.

Palace must stop pinning their hopes on loan stars who make the Selhurst Park faithful fall in love with them, only for the temporary stint to end with there being little chance of a permanent switch happening.

The manner in which Klopp has spoken of Brewster suggests that the German rates him highly, so again, it feels unlikely that a permanent move for the teenager would ever materialise if he performed well while on loan with the Eagles.

“Rhian is a really big talent. We’re really looking forward to seeing him in training. It will be an important role for us, we’ve planned an important role for him.”

Again, Steve Parish recently spoke of wanting to move away from a short-term approach, an ethos that Palace have definitely been guilty of in the past through their chopping and changing of managers as well as the aforementioned quick-fixes in the form of loan moves.

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“If you get the process right, then success follows. If you set short-term goals, you’ll do short-term things. I think we’ve probably been guilty of that in the past.”

Palace need to invest in assets that they can retain and sell, rather than keep relying on loanees.

In other news, the south Londoners may have to look elsewhere for a new right-back after an update in the Championship…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

It has been a rather stunning 18 months for Virgil van Dijk.

In January of last year, the 28-year-old was still with Southampton in the bottom half of the Premier League table. That was when the Reds paid £75m to take him to Anfield, and he has arguably already paid back that huge fee. Since his arrival, the Merseyside outfit have made two Champions League finals, one of which they won, whilst they were within touching distance of the league title last term. During the previous campaign, the Netherlands international contributed heavily to the Reds having the best defence in the Premier League.

Now, they lead the table by eight points from Leicester City, and have won an astonishing 15 matches from their first 16. And again, the former Celtic defender has been an ever-present, starting each and every match. His displays last campaign earned him second place in the Ballon d’Or rankings – and some people were even convinced he should have taken top spot.

There has been plenty of praise for him, and the latest legend to laud the colossus is none other than former Manchester United centre-back – and compatriot – Jaap Stam. Speaking on Stadium Astro on Saturday, he said when asked if van Dijk was better than him:

“Yeah, maybe even better, I don’t know. But Virgil is a presence. That’s very important as a football player if you want to play in the highest leagues and the biggest clubs. Positioning yourself is very important. In possession and also out of possession because it helps you a lot. You get times to do things and he’s doing a fantastic job.”

There are plenty of similarities beyond their nationality of course. Both are fantastic in regards to their positioning, for example. And they have had a similar influence on their respective teams. The season before Stam joined United, Arsenal won the league. The 47-year-old then won three titles on the trot, before departing for Lazio. United then won prevailed in just one of the next five campaigns.

Real Reds will get full marks: Take the ultimate Liverpool quiz below…

Should Van Dijk help his team to the title this term, it would surely put him alongside the ex-PSV man. And should that happen, expect the praise to keep on coming.

In other news, Liverpool are ready to offer this man a new contract.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Kenny Cunningham has told Off The Ball that he would rather see Jordan Henderson in the holding role than Fabinho against Manchester City on Sunday.

What did he say?

Liverpool will face the Citizens at the Etihad this weekend in a clash that will have huge implications for the title race. The Reds currently lead the Premier League table by six points from Pep Guardiola’s side.

Ahead of the fixture, former Republic of Ireland defender Cunningham has been talking about how Jurgen Klopp and co can best combat the attacking threat the current champions have. He said: “I’m not totally convinced about him in that holding midfield position.

“We’re not arguing here if he’s a very good player or not, he is a very good player, but, as a purely defensive midfield player, going into this game against Manchester City you need a very specific skill set to deal with what David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne are going to bring.

“For me, the first name on the teamsheet would be Jordan Henderson in that holding role. He has the best defensive mindset in that Liverpool midfield and it’s going to be needed.”

Reversal of roles

So far this campaign, the former AS Monaco man has made 16 appearances, including 13 starts, and all of them have come in defensive midfield. Meanwhile, Henderson has made 14 appearances, 12 of which have been in the first XI, in a slightly more advanced role just ahead of the Brazil international according to Transfermarkt.

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Therefore, it seems their positions are confirmed in Klopp’s mind, but Cunningham may be on to something. The 26-year-old has 2.5 tackles per game in the top tier this season, more than any of his teammates, but Henderson is second with 1.9, and is a player who has regularly averaged more than two in league football down the years.

What is interesting to note about Fabinho, though, is the offensive ability he possesses. Even though he plays deeper than his captain, he has averaged 1.3 key passes per match this campaign in the league compared to 0.5, whilst he is also slightly ahead in terms of dribbles with 0.6 to 0.4.

History also tells us he has a better goal return as well. His highest tally in league football is nine, whilst Henderson’s is just six.

In a more attacking role, Fabinho may be able to contribute more than the 55-time England international. Even if that does not come in this game against City, it could be something for the former Borussia Dortmund manager to contemplate moving forward as he looks to get as much as possible out of all of his midfielders.