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You wouldn’t believe it if someone told you a couple of years ago, but Manchester United are apparently looking for someone to replace David De Gea.

The Spaniard has been out of form for some time now, and it seems as though the hierarchy at Old Trafford have lost faith in the former Golden Glove winner, and they already have a replacement in their sights.

What’s the story then?

Surprisingly, United aren’t going to look towards Dean Henderson to solve their goalkeeping problems after his impressive season at Sheffield United.

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Instead, the Red Devils are reportedly after Leicester City stopper Kasper Schmeichel, and it’s hard to say that this wouldn’t be a great move.

Immediate hero

Aside from the fact that Schmeichel is a Premier League-winning goalkeeper who is certainly good enough to play for a top side, this deal, in particular, makes so much sense for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Nostalgia is a great factor in how fans view things, and United fans could very easily feel as though they’re back to their glory days if they have a blonde Scandinavian named Schmeichel between the sticks.

Fans should immediately have a lot of respect for their new man due to his dad’s achievements at the club, and with confidence being such a huge factor for a goalie, that support could help the Dane match or even surpass his father’s performances for the Red Devils.

Of course, there will be the worry of constant comparisons getting in his head, but that’s something he’s inevitably had to contend with during his entire career, and he’s coped very well so far.

The Old Trafford faithful would love Schmeichel before he even made his debut, and that could be a massive positive that comes alongside bringing him in.

Rotherham United manager Paul Warne has revealed that the club have received just one offer for striker Jerry Yates.

With the League One season coming to an abrupt end, Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson will be looking to bring in some new faces after failing to gain promotion to England’s second tier.

The Black Cats had been cited with interest in former Swindon Town striker Yates and various other clubs have also emerged in the race to sign the 23-year-old, with Blackpool the only club to table a bid for him.

Yates netted 13 goals in 31 games on loan with the Robins in League Two during the 2019/20 season before returning to parent club Rotherham, whose manager Warne revealed that, despite growing interest, only one club has made an offer for the striker.

“There has been no bid from Swindon to my knowledge as we speak on Tuesday morning. I’m aware only that Blackpool have put an official bid in. There might have been a few phone calls here and there (from other clubs), but they’re the only ones to put an official bid in.

“If they reach the technical board’s valuation, then Jerry will be gone, so to speak. In the meantime, he is training with us and training really well. Because of the type of people we are, we will continue to train him as if he’s staying here.

“I’m well aware of the fact there are a lot of clubs interested in him and we’ll see how that progresses. At the moment, the bid hasn’t reached our valuation so he stays with us.”

As per The Gazette, Yates’ contract at Rotherham expired at the end of June but the club activated a one-year extension which has now allowed them to potentially cash in on the £90,000-valued striker.

It seems that Sunderland’s chances of signing Yates are slim, given that Blackpool have apparently stolen a march by submitting an offer for him.

The Black Cats have done little to improve their squad as of yet and it remains to be seen if Parkinson has the funds to bring in the players that he may want this summer.

Do you think Yates would be a good signing for Sunderland if they could get him? Let us know in the comments section below…

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have perhaps recruited better than any other Premier League team in recent years – they’ve really got it right with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and many more.

But it hasn’t always been like that at Anfield and today we’re going to be revisiting a number of occasions where they have got it woefully wrong in terms of an incoming transfer.

While in recent times Klopp has rarely got it wrong, as a result of clever, well thought out recruitment, previous managers have not been so lucky in the market and have handed some of the most obscure and sub-standard players an unwarranted opportunity to wear the famous red of Liverpool.

So here’s a look at Liverpool’s 20 worst signings of the Premier League era…

Sean Dundee

Pictured above celebrating with Michael Owen, Sean Dundee was a true waste of money for Liverpool.

£2m may not seem like a lot of dough now at all but back in 1998 it was and all joint-managers at the time Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier would get for that lofty sum would be five appearances (all of them from the bench) and no goals from the centre-forward.

Charlie Adam

Despite that one cracking season in the Premier League for Blackpool, Charlie Adam was never good enough to represent a club like the Reds and he probably knew that as well.

That’s why the creative Scotland international lasted just the one campaign on Merseyside in what was a very strange time for Liverpool Football Club.

Christian Benteke

There are similarities between Adam and the next infamous member of this list, the man known as one of the attacking flops of all time at Anfield – Christian Benteke.

Then gaffer Brendan Rodgers splashed out an eye-watering £32.5m on the striker in the summer of 2015 and like both Adam and Dundee would last just the one term – ironically, Benteke left the North West with a record of ten goals in 42 matches, not too bad at all.

Alberto Aquilani 

Mention the name Alberto Aquilani and most Kopites would offer a chuckle, this is certainly not the impression that the Italian would have wanted to leave when he arrived from Roma for £17m plus bonuses prior to the 2009/2010 season.

In truth, Xabi Alonso was always going to be a hard act to follow and that role always had the potential to be a poisoned chalice to whoever had to fulfill it, however, the woeful Aquilani made a special mess of it and it’s no small miracle that he managed to officially remain a Liverpool player for three years.

Milan Jovanovic

Famous for that hilarious video of his Reds best bits on YouTube, Milan Jovanovic turned up in the red half of Merseyside to a different manager to the one that signed him in 2010.

Roy Hodgson was hardly renowned for getting the best out of his players at Anfield and the Serbia midfielder is some example of that.

The balding winger is remembered at the Reds for the wrong reasons and 18 appearances after his signing he was shipped back to the league in which he tricked Rafa Benitez into thinking he was any good – the Belgian first division.

Christian Poulsen

Is that a picture of Dirk Kuyt?

No, if Christian Poulsen was even half as decent for Liverpool as the legendary Dutch frontman he wouldn’t be anywhere near this list.

Putting any ifs and buts aside, Roy Hodgson was probably right to identify the Dane’s quality, after all he is one of the rare few to have played in all five of Europe’s big five divisions, though by 2010 he was fast slowing down and his terrible only campaign in Anfield Road is best forgotten.

Tiago Ilori

All the big teams have done it; signing a youngster dubbed to be the next big thing in European, or even world football, only for them to flop massively.

Well, Tiago Ilori is the Reds’ anti-climactic starlet and they paid a fair amount of money for him in September 2013, a reported £7m for the then 20-year-old who would only ever represent the club three times.

Paul Konchesky

As you may have already noticed, the Reds made some stinkers of signings around the turn of the decade, but none of them quite as terrible as Paul Konchesky.

The left-back was Roy Hodgson’s main man at Fulham so he saw no reason why he couldn’t follow him to play the same role at Anfield, however, his spell was nothing short of a total disaster shrouded by his mum’s Facebook rant in which she branded Liverpool fans “scouse scum.”

Mario Balotelli

Sure Mario Balotelli’s mother never said anything bad about Kopites, but his football in Liverpool could hardly do the talking for him either.

The controversial character was alright at Manchester City and pretty impressive at the 2012 UEFA European Championships, however, Luis Suarez’s were big boots to fill at Anfield plus there was always the weight of his £15m+ price tag – he was set up to fail really and did.

Joe Cole

Liverpool’s decision to sign Joe Cole in the twilight of his career was a strange one and they got what they deserved for what was a poor bit of business.

The former England and Chelsea star may not have cost Roy Hodgson any actual money but his £130k-per-week salary was obscene for what the Reds actually got, a mere 42 matches, five goals and three assists, sub-standard for any attacking midfielder let alone Cole.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Liverpool will be a victim of their own success in December.

Due to their Champions League win, they will participate in the Club World Cup in Qatar just before Christmas. Usually, that wouldn’t provide too much of an issue, but they have also advanced to the semi-finals of the League Cup. As such, they will be forced to play two matches in 24 hours.

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Jurgen Klopp and Co will not be able to field the same starting XI in both games. As such, a number of the club’s youngsters are expected to start against Aston Villa in the first-leg of the domestic competition, including Curtis Jones. Not only that, the 18-year-old is expected to captain the side, according to Goal.com.

It will not be his first start for the Anfield outfit though. That came in January of this year, against Wolves in the FA Cup. Although that ended in a disappointing 2-1 loss for the Reds, it still provided the then 17-year-old with his maiden taste of first-team action. His form at youth level shows that it could be the first of many.

Jones is a versatile player. Usually a midfielder who operates centrally – whether it be in an attacking, defensive, or middling role – he has also been used on the left and right flanks. No matter where he has featured for the club’s development squads, though, he has been prolific in front of goal. In 76 matches, he has 36 goals. Rather impressive, it must be said.

His displays have earned him two more first-team appearances this campaign, both in the League Cup. Whilst he has failed to hit the back of the net, he did provide an assist against Arsenal in the previous round. He also scored a crucial penalty in the shoot-out after the match had ended 5-5, whilst he also picked up the Man of the Match award against MK Dons.

Alex Inglethorpe, the Reds’ academy director, has been amongst those to talk up the teenager’s ability. Talking after that match against the League One side, he said: “Curtis was excellent in possession and looked a real threat. He has been outstanding in the Under-23s games so far this season and having that run of games has helped him. He’s got bigger, stronger and gained more experience.

“I think Curtis can play in two positions – left of the front three and in midfield, too. He’s possibly more Adam Lallana than Sadio Mane in terms of his approach and capabilities.”

Big praise from someone in the know. Of course, those are big names to live up to, but his performances so far indicate that he has the quality to perhaps fulfill those comparisons. Should he take the armband against the Villans, it could be a glimpse of the future for the club’s supporters.

In other news, Liverpool fans react to the speculation surrounding one 19-year-old.

Brought in from Dutch side FC Twente for a reported £7m, Nacer Chadli showed flashes of promise in his time at Tottenham.

The Belgium international only ended up playing 119 times for the north Londoners, after signing back in the summer of 2013 when Andre Villas-Boas was in charge of the club.

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The 30-year-old scored 25 times and provided a further 16 assists during his time with the Lilywhites, and Spurs fans have taken to Twitter to share their memories of their former ace.

A few Spurs fans revealed that they felt it was a mistake letting him go, with one supporter in particular calling it one of Mauricio Pochettino’s biggest errors.

A couple of fans simply insisted that he is as good as, if not better, than the likes of Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela.

With Steven Bergwijn arriving on the books in the January transfer window, Spurs have got another winger to pin their hopes on to deliver success.

The Dutchman has similarly shown early signs of being a real coup for the Lilywhites, not least his superb volley against Manchester City in the Premier League.

He will however have to be a whole lot more consistent than Chadli was to ensure that he goes down in the history books as a real Spurs success.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans are reminiscing over this former powerhouse.

Besiktas are looking to sign on-loan goalkeeper Loris Karius from Liverpool on a permanent basis, according to reports from Turkey.

Fanatik claimed [via Sport Witness] that the Istanbul-based club want to sign the 26-year-old permanently after an upturn in form over the past few weeks, with a proposal to complete an €8m (£6.84m) transfer in four equal instalments over a four-year period.

The German is into the second year of a two-year loan spell at Besiktas from Anfield, with the Turkish side hoping to formalise the deal in January if Liverpool agree to their transfer proposal, as per Fanatik [via Sport Witness].

If Fanatik’s reports are true, it would represent a remarkable volte-face from Besiktas, with Takvim claiming less than a month ago [via The Mirror] that the Turkish club were seeking to cancel Karius’ loan spell prematurely.

The goalkeeper endured a difficult start to the season, conceding nine goals in four league games during the autumn as well as being culpable for a horrendous misjudgement in Besiktas’ Europa League loss to Slovan Bratislava, when he raced from his line but failed to reach a 50-50 ball, gifting Andraz Sporar a tap-in, as per The Guardian.

However, since the start of October, Karius’ form has improved drastically, with only one goal conceded in his last five league matches as Besiktas collected 13 points from a possible 15. [via TransferMarkt]

That run included a derby victory over Galatasaray in which he kept a clean sheet and made three saves, a feat he repeated in their most recent outing against Denizlispor.

He has actually had a better record of late than Liverpool’s Alisson, who has conceded one goal in each of his six Reds appearances since returning from a calf injury a month ago. [via TransferMarkt]

However, the Brazilian still has a better return for the season overall with seven goals conceded in eight appearances (0.87 per game), compared to Karius’ 20 in 14 matches (1.43 per game).

Adrian, who deputised for Alisson during his spell out injured, let in 13 goals in his 11 games for the Reds this term (1.18 per game), also leaving him with a better concession rate than the German throughout 2019/20.

Aside from Alisson and Adrian, Liverpool can also call upon Caoimhin Kelleher in goals, with the young Irishman managing a clean sheet on his senior debut against MK Dons in September and making a decisive penalty save in the Carabao Cup shoot-out win over Arsenal last month.

Karius may be on a good run of form now, but his error against Slovan Bratislava had echoes of the fateful 2018 Champions League final, and with the Reds already well-stocked for goalkeeping options, they would be right to accept Besiktas’ reported £6.84m transfer proposal if the Turkish club follow through on it.

What is really crazy to think about is that the Reds paid just £4.75m to bring the Mainz man to Anfield, so could actually be set to make a profit on a player who has done nothing but make mistakes, both on Merseyside and while out on loan.

Fans have often praised sporting director Michael Edwards for his work in selling players like Dominic Solanke, Jordon Ibe and Christian Benteke for more than they are likely worth, and it appears another master-class from the Reds transfer guru could be on the way.

Liverpool fans, should the club accept the transfer offer that Besiktas are reportedly lining up if presented to them in January? Have your say by commenting below!

Once upon a time every team had a cult hero, a player with inherent limitations or a character flaw that often meant he wasn’t necessarily the best around but who was still absolutely adored by his club’s fan-base. These days you’ll be lucky to identify five across the entire Premier League.

This is a great shame because the importance of having a cult hero at a club cannot be under-stated, offering as they do a deeper connection between eleven professional athletes and thousands of fans on a tiny fraction of their wages and maybe as meaningful as this is the fun element they bring. Chants are devoted to them, usually a bit off-kilter and humorous.

When they do something well it means more. When they mess up it prompts not criticism but a tut and a wry smile.

There appears to be only a handful of these dying breed left in the top flight, fighting the good fight; popular despite, not because, and undoubtedly one of them is Sheffield United’s Lys Mousset.

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Powerful, explosive, and fond of a dribble or three the 23-year-old former France under-21 striker arrived at Bramall Lane from Bournemouth this summer for £10m.

The fee – a club record for the newly promoted Blades – raised eyebrows from some quarters because Mousset was hardly prolific on the south coast, scoring just five goals in 71 appearances. Yet given these disappointing figures it says a great deal that his departure was greeted only with sadness by the Dean Court faithful.

It didn’t take long for United fans to find out why. Mousset fulfils the key aspect of any cult hero in that he is occasionally brilliant but often not.

For him it is not inconsistency that leads to such erraticism: rather he unfailingly opts against taking the safe choice, instead getting his head down and seeking to single-handedly destroy. He excites. He gets bums off seats.

This alone is enough to make any player a fan favourite but the Motivilliers-born forward’s recent habit of adding substance to the style has only seen his popularity rise further.

A winner against Arsenal last month was swiftly followed by another game-changing performance from the sub’s bench away to West Ham with a volleyed equaliser for good measure.

A week later Mousset grabbed the headlines with a hat-trick of first-half assists as Burnley became the latest big scalp of the Blades. Against Spurs he teased and tormented. Surpassing his Bournemouth scoring record before Christmas looks almost inevitable at this rate.

“He’s a popular boy with the other players and he’s a popular boy with the supporters as well. You can see why they’ve taken to him,” manager Chris Wilder said at the end of October, clearly pleased that his expensive summer gamble is paying off.

As for the player himself he is resolved to repaying the trust shown in him by the Yorkshire club: “I have been waiting for this chance since I came to England, to prove myself, and I want to show the fans what I’m about.”

He already has secured a place in their hearts for a long time to come.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Sun, several Premier League clubs are chasing West Bromwich Albion prospect Rico Richards, which must feel like an all too similar situation for some at the Hawthorns.

What’s the word?

Reports have emerged claiming that Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, and Liverpool are all eyeing up a move for the 16-year-old forward.

The teenager has recently been training with the Baggies’ U23 squad while he has made two appearances for the U18s, including over the weekend, where he played the full 90 minutes in attacking midfield as they defeated Liverpool 6-3, per Transfermarkt.

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He is also able to play on the wing as noted by his former academy manager Mark Harrison in an article that also describes exploits at an international level for England’s U16s in the past.

Richards’ contract expires next year, so the decision-makers at the club will have to soon act on trying to keep hold of one of their most promising youngsters.

Lessons learned?

These links very much have a similar feel to that of Louie Barry and to some extent Morgan Rogers this summer.

Both players were highly-regarded within the club’s youth ranks, yet Albion were powerless to the advances of Barcelona, who Barry rejected a contract for, and Manchester City, who purchased the 17-year-old midfielder for a remarkable £4m.

Richards is the same age as Barry, and although he is yet to start featuring at U18s level fully, he could quite easily match or even better the 16-year-old’s four goals in 16 matches, especially if he’s already bypassed that to train with the next age group up.

It remains to be seen what sort of career Barry will have at the La Liga giants, but that doesn’t mean the club isn’t rueing from the absence of what was one of their brightest prospects.

This emerging saga will truly test whether or not West Brom have learned their lesson as they can’t allow Richards to run down his contract and then leave for ‘free’ like Barry did.

Marcelo Bielsa introduced Liam Cooper for Helder Costa in the 76th minute of Leeds United’s Championship clash with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon.

The substitution saw the Whites switch to a back three with their fit-again skipper slotting in alongside Ben White and Luke Ayling in defence.

However, the Yorkshire side could not find a late goal on the afternoon as they shared the points for a second successive match having drawn at Preston North End on Tuesday.

The club’s fans are already frustrated that their manager is not making more changes to his starting XI on a week-to-week basis.

And a number of the supporters were unhappy with the late alteration against Wednesday as Cooper replaced Costa.

Costa has actually been slammed by the fans for his form in recent weeks, but not too many could understand why a centre-back was introduced when their team were looking for a late goal at Hillsborough.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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…

Jurgen Klopp has said that Gabriel Martinelli is a “talent of the century”.

What did he say?

Arsenal and Liverpool played out a thriller in the League Cup on Wednesday night. The Reds won on penalties, but that was only after a 5-5 draw in normal time.

Watch the moment Granit Xhaka’s Arsenal career may have come to an ugly end in the video below…

Martinelli, who joined the Gunners for £6m in the summer, scored twice, taking his tally for the season to seven goals. During the post-match reaction, the former Borussia Dortmund boss spoke glowingly of the 18-year-old, saying:

“Sepp van den Berg as well, he played an incredible game.

“That’s really difficult to deal with these guys. Martinelli’s pretty much the same age but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker, so it’s really difficult.”

Lacazette out

Arsenal truly put their money where their mouth is during this summer transfer window.

They spent £137.16m, their second-highest spend in one window, on five permanent arrivals, as well as the loan addition of Dani Ceballos.

So far, those new faces have struggled to hit the expected heights at the Emirates Stadium. In all fairness, William Saliba is on loan at Saint-Etienne, but David Luiz has been part of a defence that has conceded 14 goals in the Premier League, whilst Ceballos and Nicolas Pepe have just four goals and five assists between them despite having made a combined 28 appearances.

Kieran Tierney spent the first part of the season injured and is only just coming into the side.

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Martinelli, though, has been the one true revelation in the first few months of the campaign. Those seven strikes have come in just four starts as well, having scored in each one of those.

Despite that, he is yet to be included in the starting line-up in the Premier League. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the first-choice striker for Unai Emery, and rightly so, having scored eight goals in his first 12 games of the term.

However, Alexandre Lacazette is ahead of him in the pecking order too.

The 16-time France international has scored 38 goals in 94 appearances for the Gunners but, at 28 years old, his market value – currently at £63m according to Transfermarkt – is probably as high as it is ever going to be.

Such is Aubameyang’s goalscoring record – 49 in 77 matches for the north London outfit says it all – the former Lyon man is unlikely to ever be the undisputed first choice for the Gunners.

The Gabon international, though, has just a few years left at the top considering he is already 30, which is why it now makes sense to let Lacazette go and promote Martinelli to be the first back-up option. After all, talks over his future were already had in the summer.

He will still make his appearances in the cup competitions and, when Aubameyang needs a break, he can play in the league too. By the time the former Saint-Etienne forward does hang up his boots or move on, the teenager will be ready to take over.

“Talent of the century” is a huge appraisal of his ability. To truly develop, he needs a clearer path and more playing time. Lacazette’s departure, therefore, would allow both of those things to occur.