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Wolves still have a few days left to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window before the deadline hits, but it seems as though the Midlands club may have identified one player who they could bring in when the summer transfer window rolls around instead.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from TEAMtalk, Wolves are interested in signing Blackburn Rovers defender Darragh Lenihan alongside other Premier League clubs such as Newcastle United, Leeds United, Aston Villa and Everton.

Since joining the Lancashire club’s under-18 side back in 2011, the 27-year-old – who is currently earning £14k-per-week according to Salary Sport – made his senior debut for Blackburn in April 2015 under Gary Bower in a 2-0 win over Millwall.

Overall, the defender has gone on to make 237 senior appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing six assists along the way, and he has been labelled a “man mountain” in the past by his manager Tony Mowbray.

With 26 league appearances under his belt so far this season with two goals and one assist, the Irishman’s performances have been rather impressive. WhoScored list him as Blackburn’s highest-rated player with an overall rating of 7.25/10, which could be why so many Premier League clubs reportedly have their eye on him.

Lage would be delighted

With Wolves manager Bruno Lage previously revealing his wishes to have a new centre-back in his squad, only to then come out and say that it may not be likely for the club to sign one this month, this could pave the way for them to make a summer move for Lenihan when his contract at Blackburn expires and sign him as a free agent.

If this were to happen, this would surely leave the Old Gold boss feeling delighted to have such a seemingly capable defensive bulwark in his squad, despite Lenihan not having any previous Premier League experience.

However, Blackburn are very much in the race to win promotion to the top flight at this moment in time; and if they were to eventually get there, it could be difficult for Wolves to sign the defender, with the report also claiming that he would be willing to extend his stay at the club if they secure promotion at the end of this campaign.

In other news: Wolves eye late swoop for £8.1m-rated beast who “looks the part”, Lage must be ecstatic

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Ayodeji Sotona to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that Celtic, alongside Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the OGC Nice winger ahead of a potential swoop in the winter market.

The report goes on to state that a number of European sides are also monitoring the 19-year-old, although it is not clear exactly how much the Ligue 1 side would demand in order to part with the former Republic of Ireland U16 international next month.

Bye-bye Johnston

While Sotona is yet to make a single appearance in professional football, there is nevertheless a considerable amount of hype surrounding the youngster, something that likely stems from his impressive performances during his time in the Manchester United youth setup.

Indeed, over his 15 U18 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils back in 2019/20, the £270k-rated teenager scored four goals and registered two assists, as well as netting one further goal over his four outings in the FA Youth Cup that season.

However, aside from his obvious ability in front of goal, there is one characteristic of Sotona that makes him truly stand out from the crowd – his rather extraordinary turn of pace.

Indeed, during sprint tests at the Aon Training Complex, the youngster, who was just 17 at the time, registered a top speed of a whopping 22.9mph – beating the likes of Diogo Dalot (22.6mph), Romelu Lukaku (22.5mph), Tahith Chong (22.3mph), Marcus Rashford (22.1mph) and Daniel James (22mph).

As such, with a clear eye for goal and pace to burn, it is easy to see why Ange Postecoglou is keen on landing the teenager this winter, particularly considering the struggles of one of the 56-year-old’s current options on the left-wing – Mikey Johnston.

Indeed, having struggled with injuries since first breaking into Celtic’s senior team, the £7.9k-per-week 22-year-old has failed to ever really cement a starting spot in the Bhoys side, while his returns so far this season – no goals or assists over 10 Premiership fixtures – have once again been disappointing.

So, should Postecoglou manage to get a deal over the line for Sotona this January, it could well be the final nail in the coffin for the Celtic career of the player who Willie Miller recently dubbed “pathetic.”

In other news: Forget Forrest: Ange must unleash 19 y/o Celtic gem who’s been “bright” at Lennoxtown

West Bromwich Albion do not look overly likely to make any further additions in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Birmingham Live, who claim that, following the £7m arrival of Daryl Dike, Valerien Ismael will not make any further additions to his first-team squad – unless the Frenchman can shift a number of Albion’s fringe players.

The report goes on to suggest that the 46-year-old Baggies’ boss would be happy to see all of Robert Snodgrass, Kenneth Zohore and Semi Ajayi leave The Hawthorns, while Jordan Hugill may also return to Norwich City following the signing of the USA international.

Fans will be gutted

While West Brom’s signing of an out and out number nine in Dike was undoubtedly a much-needed addition to Ismael’s squad, the news that the Baggies look unlikely to make any further signings this month is sure to have left fans gutted.

Indeed, Albion currently find themselves four points adrift of Blackburn Rovers in second, and seven points behind AFC Bournemouth in first place in the Championship standings, something which indicates the Baggies will have to considerably up their game in the second half of the season if they are to have any hope of securing automatic promotion come next May.

One way of achieving this would be signing a ball-playing central midfielder in January, as, at present, Alex Mowatt, Adam Reach and Jake Livermore have just three Championship assists combined, while additional goals from the middle of the park would also come in useful, as Mowatt is the club’s current top-scoring midfielder with three league goals to his name.

However, with it looking as if the Baggies will have to sell before they can buy in the current transfer window, whether or not any further players come into The Hawthorns this month looks very up in the air at present – something that will undoubtedly be a cause for concern among the Albion fanbase.

In other news: Big twist emerges on “sensational” £32.5k-p/w machine that will leave WBA fans fuming

Tottenham have been offered the chance to sign former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum on loan in January, according to 90min.

The Lowdown: Wijnaldum at PSG

Wijnaldum, labelled as ‘incredible’ by journalist Connor Dunn, left Anfield over the summer to sign for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.

The 85-cap Netherlands international is thought to be on over £300,000-a-week in France but has started just 10 games in all competitions under Mauricio Pochettino.

His representatives are thought to be working on a January exit as a result of his lack of game time, and a return to England could well be on the cards.

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The Latest: Spurs offered Wijnaldum’s services

90min shared a story on Thursday regarding Wijnaldum’s future and the chances of a possible exit.

Within their report, they claimed that the 31-year-old representatives have contacted several Premier League clubs over the possibility of a loan move.

Tottenham are one of those who have been approached, with Fabio Paratici and co not yet dismissing the idea of a January transfer.

The Verdict: Avoid?

It seems as if Spurs are still to decide whether or not to move for Wijnaldum, however, they could be better off looking at the bigger picture and snubbing the chance to take the Dutch international on a temporary basis.

Yes, he has plenty of Premier League, Champions League and international experience, however, he is on mega-money and is now the wrong side of 30.

Antonio Conte may want to add to his midfield ranks with Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Winks linked with exits, but moving for someone like Franck Kessie on a permanent cut-price deal could be the smarter option.

He’s seven years Wijnaldum’s junior and a winter window move could well be on the cards according to a Spurs insider, so prioritising the Ivorian over the PSG man could be a smart decision in the long run.

In other news: Conte could swoop for ‘devastating’ colossus after big Spurs source claim – insider. 

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have been left absolutely overjoyed after an official announcement by their club.

Following a weekend of non-football action with the Hammers’ match against Norwich City postponed due to the global pandemic, fans have had to improvise without the traditional weekend matchday routines.

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The same goes for the West Ham team and the club’s staff, with the postponement actually creating an off-field dilemma or two behind the scenes.

David Moyes’ squad usually have a pre-match meal prepared before they take on their opponents, but after the announcement, the food intended to be used for the players and management was in danger of being wasted.

Instead, as per an official club tweet, West Ham have decided to donate what would have been the squad’s pre-match meal to local charity Caritas Anchor House, actively working to support the homeless.

West Ham fans applaud…

After a generous donation by their club, it’s safe to say that many Irons supporters are proud of what their club have done.

Figures by Crisis (via The Big Issue) estimated that 200,000 people were experiencing core homelessness in England last year alone, and gestures like West Ham’s could gift a real help to those faced in that situation.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder so many Hammers fans have erupted over the news on social media, with some giving credit to the club’s much-maligned owners over this “amazing” gesture.

Check out a flavour of their verdicts below:

“The owners actually do some good things”

Credit: @samwhu1

“Love it!”

Credit: @MichielVossen

“My club”

Credit: @westhamwhu49

“Amazing”

Credit: @StefGoodridge

“Brilliant West Ham, well done.”

Credit: @mossy1906john

“Well done. Maybe it’d be a nice idea for any food that has been prepared and unsold on a match day to be delivered to a local shelter instead of just being dumped.”

Credit: @bomstickle

“Well done West Ham. More of this.xx”

Credit: @Lloydie_A

In other news: West Ham now preparing offer for ‘sensational’ player after price drops by 50%, says insider…find out more here.

Everton have been plagued with injury problems so far this season and have seen injuries to some of their most influential players in their side.

Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Yerry Mina and Abdoulaye Doucoure have all been side-lined at various points of the first eleven games in the side’s current Premier League campaign, which has quite obviously had an effect on their current form, taking only 15 points from a possible 33.

Rafa Benitez will be relieved that the injury crisis seems to be over, as Richarlison and Mina have both returned to training over the last few weeks, with Doucoure and Calvert Lewin expected back imminently too.

The return of these important and experienced players will be crucial for the Toffees, as the side take on a hard run of games in the lead up to Christmas that could be rather problematic, facing Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea in the next few weeks.

One return that, in particular, is highly anticipated by both the Spanish manager and the fans, is that of midfielder Doucoure.

The 28-year-old has been a huge loss to the side and was praised by former Watford midfielder, David Prentice, recently, talking about his impact to the team and his versatility as a player under Benitez before his recent injury issues.

Prentice told The Royal Blues Podcast;

“Doucoure, who you know, has been a revelation under Rafa Benitez already, a good signing anyway but seems to be playing a very, very different role, just underlined again what he’s got in his armoury.”

Before the attacking midfielder became injured with a foot injury a month ago, he had offered a number of impressive performances scoring two goals and offering clinical direct link up play with the forward line of the team by offering four assists to his attacking teammates in just nine appearances so far.

This kind of aggressive impact and direct attacking threat is something Everton have been lacking since the £120k-per-week Frenchman’s injury in October, and they will be hoping to get him back into the team as soon as possible to unleash his talent on the title challenging sides Everton are preparing to face in the near future.

Doucoure is expected back after the international break, with Fabrizio Romano writing on Twitter:

“Abdoulaye Doucoure injury update. [The] Everton midfielder will be back earlier than expected.

“He’s preparing his comeback in four/four and half weeks, after the international break.

“Finally some good news for Rafa Benitez.”

Rafa Benitez’s side face a challenging fixture this weekend as they travel to the Ethiad to face Premier League Champions, Manchester City, on Sunday afternoon, but following that, Doucoure could be just the man to revive their form ahead of some tough encounters.

In other news: Dominic Calvert-Lewin teases injury return

It’s no secret that Liverpool have a significant number of senior players out injured at the moment despite managing to put in a solid performance in their emphatic 4-0 win over Arsenal at the weekend after losing to West Ham United before the recent international break.

With the Reds now back in Champions League action in midweek with a clash against Porto, it seems as though they could potentially be without another player that Klopp would undoubtedly want to have at his disposal on this occasion.

What’s the news?

After being substituted off with a dead leg during Belgium’s match against Wales during the recent international break, Liverpool attacker Divock Origi was not included in their squad for the win over Arsenal at the weekend through illness according to the Liverpool Echo, who claim that Jurgen Klopp “will hope” that the Belgian will be available to play in the match against Porto in midweek.

Given how Liverpool have Roberto Firmino out with a hamstring injury and with Diogo Jota receiving a knock to his knee in the Arsenal game, it would certainly be a big blow for the Reds if Origi ends up not being available to play in midweek, one that will leave the manager gutted at his lack of options.

With Origi showing how much of a useful attacking option he can be for the team by scoring a consolation goal for the Reds in their 3-2 defeat at West Ham coming off the substitutes bench, he could be a key figure for them in midweek if he’s fit enough to play.

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Despite only playing a total of 16 minutes in the Premier League so far this season, Klopp has used Origi in the Carabao Cup where he has played the full 90 minutes in both matches, scoring two goals and providing one assist, as well as playing in three of their four Champions League games as well.

Moving forward, Klopp and everyone else at the Merseyside club will undoubtedly be hoping that Origi will be able to make a full recovery in time for the match against Porto so he can give Klopp the option of starting him in the absence of Firmino and potentially Jota too if he’s not able to play.

Should he be absent, the German tactician will be scrambling around for potential solutions to his current centre-forward nightmare.

In other news: FSG could finally secure Wijnaldum heir at LFC with “extraordinary” £81m-rated star – opinion

With Ange Postecoglou having endured something of an injury crisis during the early stages of his managerial career at Celtic, the 56-year-old manager will undoubtedly be delighted that a number of his first-team squad are finally returning to full fitness at Parkhead.

Indeed, Mikey Johnston, Josip Juranovic, Georgios Giakoumakis and James McCarthy were all available for selection against St. Johnstone on Saturday after varying lengths of spells spent on the sidelines due to injury, while Christopher Jullien and James Forrest are set to return to first-team training in the coming weeks.

Postecoglou himself recently commented on his excitement regarding the return of Johnston, stating after Saturday’s 2-0 win: “I was really pleased to see Mikey back because he looked really good in pre-season. I know how talented he is but the key for him was to get his body healthy and to be really patient with him.

“He’s a talented player and he’s now getting more game time. The way we play I know he can have a huge impact for us, he just needs to stay healthy and keep improving his game.”

It is easy to see why the 56-year-old appears so happy with the return of the 22-year-old, as, over his brief 8-minute cameo against Ferencvarosi in midweek, the £900k-rated man highly impressed, managing 13 touches of the ball, making one key pass, completing both of his attempted dribbles, creating one big chance and hitting the target with his only shot at goal.

These metrics saw the £9k-per-week forward earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.7, ranking him as the third-best player to feature in the match.

As such, while it is true that Johnston has failed to ever really cement a starting spot in the Celtic side after breaking through into the first team, with his highest number of league appearances in one season being 14 back in 2018/19, Postecoglou simply must unleash the 22-year-old in the coming weeks, as now would finally appear to be the time when the winger can have a real impact within the Bhoys side.

In other news: Conroy drops key update on “priceless” £15k-p/w dynamo that’ll delight Celtic fans

With their 1-0 Premier League win over Watford at the weekend behind them, Southampton now have a Friday night clash against Aston Villa to deal with.

So far this season, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have managed to score nine league goals in their opening ten games, leaving just Norwich City (3) having scored fewer goals in this campaign.

With this in mind and the clash against Villa on the horizon, the Saints have fortunately been handed an injury boost that could put them in a good position to secure a win against Dean Smith’s side.

What’s the news?

It has recently been revealed that Saints striker Armando Broja has returned to first-team training after missing the clash at Watford with an ankle injury.

Prior to the win at Vicarage Road, Broja, who is on loan with the Saints from fellow Premier League side Chelsea, managed to score a goal in each of his two previous league games against Leeds United and Burnley, proving how much of a big boost this is for the Saints and why we feel Hasenhuttl will be thrilled to have the striker potentially back in contention for the match against Villa.

Given how Villa have lost their four previous league games, conceding 12 goals in the process, we feel that if Broja is fit enough to start then he definitely should be in the Saint’s starting XI to see if he can continue where he left off before picking up his ankle injury. If he does so, it would compile even more misery on the struggling Midlands club.

If Hasenhuttl starts him, we feel that the Austrian will have a tough decision to make considering how Che Adams scored the winning goal against Watford and the fact that Adam Armstrong managed to assist that very strike, earning himself an overall match rating of 7/10 according to SofaScore.

However, given how the talented striker is only on loan at the south coast club for the season, we feel that it would be best if Hasenhuttl got as many minutes out of him as possible before he returns to Chelsea in the summer. That said, if he starts against Villa and doesn’t impress, Hasenhuttl should do what’s best for the whole team rather than just sticking with Broja for the time being.

In other news: Rarely-seen 18 y/o wizard with “huge potential” could be Southampton’s next Walcott – opinion

Many Liverpool fans have flocked to the latest rumours linking Allan Saint-Maximin with a move to Anfield.

The 24-year-old has been at Newcastle United since 2019, when he moved from Nice, and he has made 63 appearances for the Magpies, scoring nine goals and supplying 14 assists.

According to CalcioMercato, Liverpool want to sign the tricky winger, with Premier League rivals Everton and Chelsea also keen on the £27m-rated maestro.

Since his move to St James Park, he has become one of Steve Bruce’s most valuable players, with his link-up with Callum Wilson offering an abundance of goals for Newcastle.

So far this season, Saint-Maximin has created four big chances, completed 82% passes per game and completed 4.2 dribbles per game (Sofascore) in a sizzling start to the campaign for the Frenchman.

With Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Divock Origi the attacking choices for Jurgen Klopp at the moment, a new recruit in the final third would be ideal for Liverpool’s squad, particularly one with proven Premier League quality like Saint-Maximin.

Liverpool fans react to Saint-Maximin rumours

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to react to the emerging news linking the “unstoppable” Newcastle man with a move to Anfield, with many Kopites firmly in favour.

“Hope this is true, we should be all over him, huge potential and great character.”

Credit: @JamesGerrard

“That’s Mane gone”

Credit: @gonzalezizzy81

“I will take him if Klopp wants him”

Credit: @surecry7

“Allan Saint-Maximin in this Liverpool side would be unstoppable.”

Credit: @essinem7

“Maxim will be a great signing for Liverpool, he improves the team”

Credit: @KarindaBlessing

“Karim Adeyemi or Allan-Saint Maximin, or better still both. Next summer transfer window please @LFC, I beg”

Credit: @PhillySGReavie

In other news, this Liverpool player could miss Sunday’s fixture with Manchester City. Find out more here.