Liverpool: Fans discuss news about Georginio Wijnaldum

Many Liverpool fans have been talking about an update involving Georginio Wijnaldum that recently emerged on social media.

In an article for EuroSport, journalist Dean Jones recently provided some information regarding the Dutch midfielder’s situation. The report stated that Jurgen Klopp is set to urge Liverpool to make a new attempt to convince the Dutchman to sign a new deal at Anfield.

The report claimed that terms couldn’t be agreed in the earlier negotiations but Klopp believes that handing Wijnaldum a new deal with higher wages would be a better option than signing a replacement. The manager was the driving force behind the club’s signature of Thiago Alcantara and he could do the same, when it comes to Wijnaldum’s potential new deal.

His current deal at the Anfield-based side runs out at the end of the season. Because of that, he would be free to agree a pre-contract deal with foreign clubs in the January transfer window.

The 30-year-old had joined Liverpool from Newcastle in the summer of 2016 for a fee of £25 million. This season, the Dutchman has made 19 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, scoring one goal so far.

The update about Wijnaldum was relayed on Twitter by Anfield Edition and many Liverpool fans gave their opinion about the news, with one supporter hailing him as ‘spectacular’.

What did Liverpool fans make of this update regarding Wijnaldum?

In other news, Liverpool fans have reacted to the club’s links with a Premier League defender – read more about it here!

Arsenal must avoid transfer move for Real Madrid star Isco, massive disaster from Edu

According to reports, Arsenal are exploring a potential loan deal for Real Madrid star Isco in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Mikel Arteta’s side have struggled this season in the absence of a creative spark, particularly with the Gunners manager leaving out Mesut Ozil from his Premier League squad – the north London side have managed just 16 goals in 16 league games.

Now, Goal claim that Arsenal’s priority in the January transfer window will be to secure an attacking midfielder, with Spain international Isco a target.

The report adds that loan deals are likely to be the way forward for the Gunners this month, and that with the European Championships coming up, Isco is “keen to leave to get more regular minutes during the second half of the campaign”.

No better than Ozil

If this was a few years ago, when Isco was a rising star, then Arsenal should absolutely be all over it.

But the sad fact is that the Spaniard is just nowhere near those kinds of standards anymore, and his lack of game-time at Madrid is a testament to just how low his stock has fallen.

He has yet to complete the 90 minutes in any of Zinedine Zidane’s side’s games this season, and has managed no goals whatsoever and provided just one assist.

It is a far cry from a few years ago, when international football journalist Peter Staunton declared Isco a “100 times better than Ozil” in a Transfer Talk episode.

Both Isco and Ozil are outcasts at their respective clubs, and just what sense would it make for Arsenal to go after another declining, highly-paid (the former earns around £230k-a-week) star? The Gunners simply have to steer clear.

Pogba and Fred start, McTominay misses out: Manchester United Predicted XI vs Manchester City

Manchester United head into their Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City knowing they will reach the final if they win.

The Red Devils romped home to a comfortable 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford in the Premier League, thanks to goals from Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is now set to turn his focus on the EFL Cup semi-final as his side play host to Pep Guardiola’s side on Wednesday night.

Here at Football FanCast, we’ve had a go at putting together a predicted starting XI, which sees Solskjaer make three changes for the EFL Cup tie.

We think that Solskjaer will revert to type and stick with a near full-strength first-team here.

It’s usually the perfect opportunity to rest players like Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford with the trio playing a combined total of 4826 minutes of professional football so far this season.

Unfortunately for the club legend, he cannot afford such a luxury with a Wembley final against Tottenham Hotspur at stake, whilst he will be harbouring ambitions of lifting his first trophy of his time at Old Trafford.

It’s hard to imagine many changes to the starting line-up after the Red Devils moved level on points with Premier League leaders Liverpool following a resurgent run of form in recent weeks.

However, the back four will most likely revert back to the one we saw start in the 6-2 thrashing of newly-promoted Leeds United, with Victor Lindelof likely to start after working his way back to fitness.

In the midfield, Pogba and Fred will continue their burgeoning partnership, while Bruno Fernandes plays slightly further forwards, which means there is no room for Scott McTominay.

With Edinson Cavani currently suspended, his preferred front three of Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood will probably be reunited for tonight’s action.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer delivers verdict on Paul Pogba’s penalty against Aston Villa…

Fred and McTominay start, Cavani and Pogba miss out: Manchester United Predicted XI vs Aston Villa

Manchester United are back in league action tonight as they play host to Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

Marcus Rashford scored in stoppage time to ensure the Red Devils moved second in the table behind defending champions Liverpool and inflict further misery on Wolves.

It’s likely Victor Lindelof will be ruled out due to injury, although United will have a number of players looking to make an impact tonight as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have probably taken the opportunity to rotate his squad anyway, as they are playing their third game in the space of a week.

With that in mind, here is FootballFancast’s predicted starting XI for this evening’s entertainment, which sees Solskjaer make four changes to the 1-0 win at Wolves.

Maybe Solskjaer could hand Dean Henderson a surprise start, but David de Gea should keep the gloves, with the veteran goalkeeper keeping a clean sheet against Wolves.

Harry Maguire is virtually undroppable at the moment, while Eric Bailly is likely to keep his place as part of Solskjaer’s preferred defensive pairing with Lindelof unlikely to feature at all after suffering a back injury during the 2-2 draw away at Leicester City.

Luke Shaw replaced Alex Telles at half-time, so we’re backing Shaw to come in for the Brazilian, joining Maguire and Bailly at the back, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back.

Both Fred and Scott McTominay, who reportedly earns £70,000-a-week, are set for a start in the midfield, meaning there is no room for Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba, who has been heavily linked with the Old Trafford exit.

Elsewhere, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford have been in fine form upfront and should start, while Bruno Fernandes will resume his rightful place as the advanced playmaker in the No. 10 role.

This means that Edinson Cavani will have to drop to the bench, having failed to find the back of the net against Wolves.

AND in other news, Man Utd chief Ed Woodward can upgrade Daniel James in Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic…

Spurs target Kyle Joseph is shades of Sheringham

Tottenham Hotspur could be about to raid Wigan Athletic once again if latest reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to The Mirror, Spurs are battling Premier League rivals Sheffield United, as well as SPFL giants Rangers and Celtic, for the signature of Wigan Athletic teenager Kyle Joseph.

The Latics have had no official approaches for the 19-year-old sensation, but could lose him on a Bosman in the summer as his current contract is due to expire.

Joseph was born in London and has been capped at U18 level for Scotland.

Shades of Teddy Sheringham

It would be an interesting move to make from Spurs, especially given the success of bringing Alfie Devine to north London in the last window. He scored on his senior debut last week to become the youngest-ever goalscorer and player to feature for the club.

Joseph is slightly older and has become a key part of the first-team set-up at the DW Stadium. Indeed, the young forward has featured in their last 11 League One outings, nine of which have been starts, where he has found the net on four occasions, per Transfermarkt.

If Daniel Levy were to win the race for him this year, then he’d be repeating one of the club’s former masterstrokes in Teddy Sheringham.

He, like Joseph, stands at 6 foot 1 inches in height, is homegrown and was banging them in for a lower league club in the form of Nottingham Forest.

His 13 goals for the Reds on their way to promotion from the Second Division attracted the interest of Spurs, who paid £2.1m for him aged 26, which was still very early on in his career as he went onto feature for another six clubs, including a return to the Lilywhites.

Whilst Joseph would have a lot to do to match Sheringham’s 146 goals in the Premier League, he would arrive in north London as one for the future with bags of experience, as alluded to by teammate Kal Naismith, who told Wigan’s official website:

“He’ll be a top player, a really, really good player and he works his nuts off not just in the games but all week in training as well, he has a great appetite for the game and a great attitude – I enjoy playing with him, he did a lot of work for me in what was my first game back after not having a lot of training.”

Simply put, Joseph wouldn’t be a signing that could come straight in and make an impact, but as we’ve seen with Devine as well as Dane Scarlett this season, Mourinho isn’t afraid to turn to his academy stars.

The fact that the 19-year-old talisman would arrive with genuine first-team experience under his belt is hugely encouraging, so Levy must do all he can to win this transfer tussle.

AND in other news, Levy could seal Spurs their best signing since Son in “remarkable” £30m beast…

Predicted Southampton XI vs Arsenal

Southampton are set to face Arsenal for the second time in four days as they welcome Mikel Arteta’s side to St Mary’s in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side were victorious last weekend in the FA Cup, as an own goal from Gabriel was enough to see the Saints into the fifth round.

However, the Gunners named a much-changed team and it seems likely that regular starters such as Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe, who have both been in excellent form of late, will return to the starting side.

Southampton named a fairly strong side at the weekend but look set to be without both first-choice full-backs on Tuesday, meaning changes will be necessary.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Hasenhuttl to line his side up against Arsenal, with three changes from the side that started on Saturday…

Alex McCarthy returns in between the sticks, despite Fraser Forster having now kept a clean sheet in all three of his appearances this season.

There are two further changes in defence, the first of which sees 5 ft 11 man Yan Valery make his first Premier League start of the season at right-back after it was confirmed that Kyle Walker-Peters will miss the game through injury.

Ryan Bertrand is suspended, so young Jake Vokins will also make his first top-flight start of the campaign at left-back after impressing against Shrewsbury Town last week.

The midfield stays the same, with the partnership of James Ward-Prowse and Ibrahima Diallo looking very solid, whilst Theo Walcott and Stuart Armstrong should start on the wings.

Hasenhuttl can welcome Nathan Redmond back to his squad after injury, so expect him to be on the bench for this one.

Finally, Danny Ings and Che Adams start together in attack and they will be looking to cause this Arsenal defence more problems, as they did at the weekend in the FA Cup.

And, in other news… “What a player” – Exclusive: Pundit is “surprised” Hasenhuttl fave is still at Southampton

Thiago was only positive for Liverpool vs City

Liverpool were handed their third consecutive home defeat after Manchester City struck four goals on Anfield soil. The emphatic victory sees the title hopefuls extend their lead over the reigning champions to a solid 10 points.

The Reds managed to find the back of the net only once, after Mohamed Salah tucked away a penalty just after the hour mark. However, aside from his goal and Roberto Firmino’s cracking attempt in the first half, Liverpool couldn’t trouble Man City and their watertight defence.

Alisson’s two costly errors will be on the mind of many Reds fans, but the few positive performances in the team shouldn’t be overlooked. Thiago Alcantara was a brute in the middle of the park for his new side and racked up some impressive stats.

Thiago vs Man City

The usual creativity of the champions was absent at Anfield last night. Despite having Sadio Mane back in the lineup, City made easy work of keeping their rivals at bay and ensuring they returned to Manchester with nothing less than three points.

But Jurgen Klopp will be impressed with the performance Thiago put in and he will undoubtedly be crucial when it comes to Liverpool facing Leicester City on Saturday.

According to Sofascore, the former Bayern Munich man put in an impressive three tackles, which is more than Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Andy Robertson managed from the backline, as he showed the kind of intensity in his defensive pressing and work that would have left Klopp nodding in approval.

Thiago also completed the most accurate long balls from the middle of the park, compared to his midfield partners. and that ability to switch play or change the direction of an attack is something the Reds have sorely lacked with Virgil van Dijk’s absence.

The Spaniard was the midfield hub for Klopp’s men on Sunday, with his total of 75 touches the most of anyone in the Reds’ engine room, and it was no surprise that they looked to try and go through the former Bayern Munich man whenever they could.

Dubbed a “coach’s dream” by his former manager Niko Kovac, Thiago could be on the cusp of unearthing a new creative masterclass from Liverpool’s engine room. He hasn’t contributed any goals or assists yet in the Premier League, but he averages an 89.4% passing accuracy each match, along with 2.2 tackles.

His versatility to not just create play but to also help defend is a very important asset for Liverpool if they are to resurrect their title chase, especially when you consider the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who’d usually offer that midfield shield and protection, are having to play in defence.

Klopp will be chipping away at the £210k-a-week earning star’s full potential until he becomes a real driving force for the Reds. They might have been handed a damaging blow to their chances of retaining the Premier League title on Sunday, but what the game did show, is that Thiago has got all the tools in his locker to be a really important part of the jigsaw for the Merseyside club in the long-term.

He was a rare shining light in an ultimately disappointing night at Anfield.

In other news,

Celtic should reignite interest in Johnny Russell

Celtic didn’t make much use of the January transfer window despite their intense links to the likes of Ben Davies.

They did manage to secure the loan signing of Jonjoe Kenny, though, but no permanent moves were made from the Scottish giants.

However, new links have emerged ahead of the summer window, and the Hoops need to make moves if they want to challenge Rangers next season to likely regain the Premiership title.

Kansas City’s Johnny Russell is still as keen as ever to join Celtic after previously being linked to a move back to his native in 2013 before his move to Derby County, as per the Daily Record.

Should Celtic sign Johnny Russell?

While no new links have emerged between Celtic and the 30-year-old winger, Russell has admitted that he still desires to play for his boyhood club before hanging up his boots.

Since joining Kansas City in 2018, the forward has made 96 appearances and has tallied 27 goals and 23 assists in that time, according to Transfermarkt.

This is a solid return for a winger, and they are numbers that Celtic would hugely benefit from. Currently, the only registered wingers on their senior roster are Mohamed Elyounoussi and Mikey Johnston, both of whom operate on the left flank.

With no natural right-winger, the Hoops must look to plug this leak and assign someone who is going to dominate the right-hand side and contribute to Odsonne Edouard’s threat in front of goal.

Celtic bagged themselves a total of 89 goals last season but have scored just 64 goals this time around.

Their attacking prowess has dimmed this campaign, and if they want to snatch back their crown, they must be in top goalscoring form and having an out-and-out right-sided option would help this substantially.

Signing Russell in the summer would be a straightforward move for Peter Lawwell, who won’t have to pay a single penny to bring him across the Atlantic on a free transfer.

In other news, Christopher Jullien’s injury update is a huge blow for Celtic fans…

Howey makes claim on LFC target Raphinha

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Newcastle United midfielder Steve Howey has been talking about Liverpool’s reported interest in Leeds United winger Raphinha.

The Brazilian joined the Yorkshire side from Stade Rennais during the summer and has impressed in the Premier League so far this season, contributing four goals and four assists in 17 appearances; averaging a solid 7.01 rating.

As a result, it has been reported that the 24-year-old is top of Jurgen Klopp’s scouting list ahead of the summer transfer window, as he looks to bring in more competition for his front three.

The Reds already brought in Diogo Jota from Wolves last summer and he was superb before his injury, but the Merseyside outfit have struggled in his absence and have been extremely reliant on Mohamed Salah for goals in recent fixtures.

Here’s what Howey had to say about Liverpool potentially signing Raphinha when speaking exclusively to FFC:

“Do they really need him? For me, it comes down to the player. Does he want to play week in week out and be a part of something? Or does he want to be a bit-part player at Liverpool? Me, personally? Week in, week out playing football, every day of the week.”

Howey certainly seems to feel that if the £16.2 million-rated Raphinha were to join Liverpool, then he would be on the fringes of the first-team squad, whereas at Leeds, he could continue to be a key player, something which he feels would be better for the Brazilian’s career.

Considering Leeds’ impressive first season back in the Premier League, it is easy to see why Howey feels this way, but if the 24-year-old wants to challenge for major trophies in his career, then perhaps he would be best served moving to Anfield, where he would no doubt be confident in his own ability to challenge the likes of Salah and Sadio Mane for a starting spot in Jurgen Klopp’s side.

And, in other news… Forget Alisson: £26m-rated LFC man endured a nightmare display vs Leicester City

Man Utd Predicted XI vs Real Sociedad

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to ring the changes this evening as Manchester United play host to Real Sociedad at Old Trafford in the last-32 second leg of the Europa League.

The Red Devils are on course to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the second consecutive season in a row after romping to a 4-goal first-leg rout of Sociedad in Turin.

However, they will have to do so without the likes of Donny van de Beek, Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay, which has handed Solskjaer the perfect opportunity to give some of his fringe players a chance instead.

With that in mind, here is Football FanCast’s prediction for Solskjaer’s starting XI to face-off against Real Sociedad, which sees the manager ring seven changes from the 3-1 victory over Newcastle.

As we mentioned earlier, although Solskjaer will want to win this game, he knows it’s a great opportunity to rest some players.

And we reckon that’s exactly what he’s going to do, with Dean Henderson potentially replacing David de Gea in goal.

He’s likely to be one of a few changes at the back, which could also see Eric Bailly return to the starting XI after recovering from injury in the place of the rested Harry Maguire, with Axel Tuanzebe coming in for Victor Lindelof.

Solskjaer could also hand a surprise start to out-of-favour full-back Brandon Williams. The Englishman has only made seven appearances for his boyhood club since the start of this season, with just three of those coming from the start, and now it’s a chance to see what he can add to the squad.

Alex Telles is another one who sat out the 3-1 win over Newcastle and could replace Luke Shaw on the opposite flank.

Juan Mata has been forced to make do with a place on the bench over the past couple of months with the form of Bruno Fernandes and Daniel James keeping him out of the side but he could get a chance to shine in the midfield.

Elsewhere, we also expect a change at the top of the pitch, with Mason Greenwood getting the nod over the misfiring Anthony Martial, who has failed to score in his past three appearances across all competitions.

AND in other news, Man Utd suffer fresh injury setback as Solskjaer confirms McTominay will miss Sociedad clash…