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At this moment in time, Southampton have several players in their squad whose current contracts are set to expire next summer.

One particular player whose terms conclude at the end of the current season that should be offered a new deal to keep him at St. Mary’s is goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

Southampton signed the stopper back in the 2016 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace for a reported fee of around £4m.

Since then, the 31-year-old, who is currently valued at £4.5m according to Transfermarkt, has made 122 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, keeping 33 clean sheets in the process, the latest of which came in their recent 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road. During that game, he managed to make three saves and earn himself an impressive overall match rating of 7.4/10 according to SofaScore.

So far this season, McCarthy has played every minute of Premier League action for the Saints after seeing his league appearances increase with every campaign he’s been at the club, showing how much he is admired by Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The 31-year-old has made a total of 24 saves in the top-flight so far this term, the 12th highest of any of the 29 goalkeepers to have made at least one appearance in the league.

Back in August, it was reported by The Athletic that McCarthy had put pen to paper on a new three-year deal at Southampton, but has yet to be officially confirmed by the club.

If by any chance McCarthy, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £50k-per-week according to Spotrac, hasn’t actually signed a new deal on the south coast yet, then this is something that should be at the top of the club’s priority list given how important he has been for the Saints over the years. After all, he’s previously been described as “fantastic” by Hasenhuttl.

Additionally, with fellow Southampton shot-stopper Fraser Forster’s contract set to expire next summer, it’s likely that he could be on his way out of the club considering he’s only played three games for the Saints so far this season and is currently their second-highest earner with a weekly wage of £70k-per-week.

As a result, it would make sense for the club to keep hold of McCarthy for the next few years as their first-choice goalkeeper.

In other news: Ralph must wield the axe on £10.8m-rated Saints ace with 55% pass accuracy v Watford – opinion

A worrying injury setback has emerged involving Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar…

What’s the latest?

According to The Chronicle, the Switzerland centre-back has pulled out of his country’s matches over the international break after suffering a knock this week. The report claimed that the Magpies are set to assess his situation in the coming days to get a grasp on the severity of the issue.

Injury expert Ben Dinnery tweeted: “The Swiss Football Federation confirms Fabian Schar will play no part in the upcoming friendlies against England and Kosovo due to an adductor problem.”

Scrambling

This update will surely leave Eddie Howe scrambling, as losing Schar would be a huge blow to Newcastle heading into the final couple of months of the Premier League campaign.

The defender has been in fine form since the turn of the year and has established a strong partnership with Dan Burn at the back. His performances recently led to Howe saying: “Fabian is someone I’ve always admired. A really good footballing centre-back. The most important thing for me is, if you take away the football side, he’s defended very well.”

Schar has played 10 Premier League matches in 2022 and played a crucial role in the club’s rise from the bottom three to 14th in the table as it stands. Newcastle have lost just two of his 10 outings this year and both of them came in 1-0 losses, away to Chelsea and Everton respectively.

He went unbeaten in his first eight games of the year as the Magpies won six out those matches, keeping three clean sheets along the way. Schar also played his part at the other end of the pitch, scoring in the win over Brighton and setting up Joe Willock’s goal to beat Brentford.

In 19 league appearances this term, the Swiss tank has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.87. He has been a reliable performer throughout the campaign, and the Magpies’ recent record with him in the team suggests that it would be a huge blow to lose him as they have been stringing together excellent results of late.

Therefore, Howe will be scrambling to ensure that Newcastle get the best possible treatment for Schar in order for him to be back fit and ready to play as quickly as possible. Based on the defender’s performances in the top flight, the Magpies will surely be fuming if he is unable to select the 30-year-old in the club’s upcoming fixtures.

AND in other news, NUFC eye £49.5m-rated “phenomenon” who’s a “work of art”, he’d ignite St James’ Park…

Crystal Palace are still working to bring further additions to Selhurst Park prior to the closure of the summer transfer window.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by Football.London, Patrick Vieira revealed that he and his transfer team have identified that the Eagles are lacking a prolific centre-forward, and are working on completing a deal for a player in the position prior to Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

When asked whether he was planning on bringing a new striker in this summer, the Frenchman said: “Yeah, this is something that we identified a couple of weeks ago, we knew that it would be important for us to reinforce that department, to have more options. The window is still open, and we’re trying to improve that department, and anything can happen.”

Music to the ears of fans

While Palace did manage to score their first two Premier League goals of the season in the 2-2 draw with West Ham United on Saturday, rather than Christian Benteke, Jordan Ayew or Wilfried Zaha finding the back of the net in the fixture, it was on loan Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher who finished the match with a brace.

Indeed, considering the fact that none of the Eagles forwards have mustered a single goal between them over the club’s three league fixtures thus far, it would indeed appear as if Vieira is in need of a fresh face in the position prior to the closure of the summer transfer window.

As such, the Frenchman’s latest comments are sure to come as music to the ears of Palace fans, as, following an impressive result at the London Stadium, the addition of a proven goalscorer before Tuesday could well prove to kickstart their club’s season, having been disappointing over their opening two fixtures of the campaign against Chelsea and Brentford.

However, should Vieira fail in his task to bring in a new striker over the coming days, it could well turn into a long season for both the 45-year-old manager and fans alike.

In other news: Parish must sanction £7m CPFC deal for beast who is “like having two players”

Leicester City’s recruitment over the last few years has been outstanding, allowing them to continually punch above their weight, but they haven’t always got things right.

In the past, the likes of Harry Maguire, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez have joined the Midlands outfit for minimal fees before going on to enjoy great success at the King Power Stadium and moving elsewhere for astronomical sums.

It’s led to Leicester winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield since 2016, magnificent achievements that would not have been possible without exceptional work in the transfer market.

However, not all purchases have been quite so successful. One such example is Ayoze Perez after the versatile forward arrived from Newcastle United via a £30 million deal back in 2019.

The Spaniard had impressed in a sub-standard Magpies side under the tutelage of Rafael Benitez, leading to Leicester’s director of football Jon Rudkin sanctioning a big-money move.

Since joining the Foxes, though, Perez has struggled to produce his best form on a consistent basis, bagging just 12 goals and providing only six assists in 80 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ charges.

To make matters worse, the 28-year-old picked up his first career red card for a horrific challenge during the club’s 4-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham United in the opening weeks of the new campaign, leading to a three-game suspension.

Perez’s underwhelming displays in a Leicester shirt have seen his market value drop to just £16.2m, almost half the fee that the club’s hierarchy paid for him just two years ago.

Therefore, the purchase of Perez is perhaps one of Rudkin’s few transfer nightmares since taking the reigns as one of Leicester’s chiefs, although the positives certainly outweigh the negatives during his time at the helm.

And, in other news…Forget Iheanacho: “Incredible” Leicester beast who won 8 duels ran the show v Millwall 

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

West Bromwich Albion have been handed a triple blow ahead of their upcoming Carabao Cup fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Express & Star, Valerien Ismael revealed that on-loan Brighton & Hove Albion centre-back Matt Clarke will miss up to six weeks of action as a result of a hamstring injury, which the defender picked up in the 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers last weekend.

The Frenchman also confirmed that a further two Albion players are set to miss the EFL Cup tie against Arsenal on Wednesday evening due to illness, although the 45-year-old did not name these two players.

Speaking specifically about the centre-back’s injury, Ismael said: “We received yesterday the information that he will miss a lot of games – five to six weeks.

“We need to deal with the situation. It’s bad news for us, but it is what it is. You can’t influence injuries or [illness]. They’re two situations we have to deal with.

“It’s a good thing that the season is very long in the Championship, so we’ll see him soon.”

Speaking about the further two absentees, the Frenchman added: “They need to isolate. It’s a medical case so I can’t give the information.

“[The pandemic] is always a worry at the minute. You cannot control this. You can only get the jab and make sure you do the right thing, but we knew from the beginning we had to deal with injuries and [illness].

“We’ll deal with the situation and next week is an international break, so we’ll have more time to get the players back.”

Ismael will be devastated

While the Carabao Cup is not likely to be a competition that the West Brom manager is prioritising during a season in which his side are pushing for automatic promotion from the Championship, the absence of Clarke, as well as the two unnamed players, will undoubtedly have left Ismael devastated.

Indeed, while it is not the end of the world that the 24-year-old centre-back will miss the cup tie, the fact that he will also miss a number of league games for the club is sure to come as a considerable blow to the 45-year-old, as Clarke has highly impressed since joining the club earlier this summer.

Over his three Championship appearances for West Brom, the defender has made an average of 2.3 interceptions, one tackle, 2.7 clearances and has won a whopping 7.3 duels per game, with these returns earning the £2.7m-rated man an average SofaScore match rating of 7.03.

Meanwhile, it is difficult to comment how much of an impact the two unnamed absentees will have on the Arsenal fixture, however, the fact that Ismael’s selection options have been reduced by their unavailability will nevertheless cause an annoyance for the Albion boss, regardless of their standing in the first team.

In other news: Valerien Ismael drops fresh West Brom transfer claim that is sure to get fans excited

On the back of a strong campaign last year, West Ham United have continued to move in the right way this season. With a good start, they have put themselves into contention for the top four in the Premier League, and also made big strides in Europe, qualifying top of their Europa League group.The Europa League success they are having, in particular, is a strong highlight for them. Despite a long list of very strong Champions League teams entering the competition, the latest UEFA Europa League odds have West Ham at 9/1, which makes them joint-fourth favourites to win the competition.There will be a lot of focus on West Ham, but also elsewhere, with the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla all now in the Europa League, and sure to feature amongst Europa League betting tips in the future. The task for West Ham has become a lot harder since the arrival of those Champions League big names, and others, but it is a sign of just how far West Ham have come and how much they’ve impressed in this competition, that they are still near the top of the betting.You only need to go back a couple of years and fans would not have thought this was possible.

West Ham’s European Success

West Ham were one of the highlights of the group stage, qualifying top of the group to avoid the forthcoming playoff round and finishing with 13 points. That was incredibly important for the Hammers, as that means they avoid the big Champions League teams, for now -Âthose who finished second in the group stageÂhave to face one of those.

They averaged almost two goals per game and conceded just three in the group stage, against some good teams for the level and in some tough environments when they played away from home. Their first game was perhaps the toughest, and resulted in a good 2-0 away win over Dinamo Zagreb, to kick off their campaign in style and give the team a lot of confidence.

Premier League Growth

While the top four may be a little out of reach this season, despite a very strong start, the top six is certainly on, and that would mean a return to European football next season, regardless of where they finish in the Europa League. Of course, winning the Europa League would mean a place in the Champions League next season, which would be huge for the club.

The biggest question for West Ham may be whether they can keep up their challenge in both competitions. In theirÂ2-0 loss to Arsenal, West Ham looked a little tired and struggled in the game, things are only going to get worse.

At some point, the club may have to prioritise one over the other and rest some players for a game they would rather not. However, the fact that West Ham are even making these decisions should be seen as a positive to how they have played recently, and where the club currently is.

Image from: unsplash.com

Aston Villa will be ‘keeping an eye’ on the situation at Burnley following links to winger Dwight McNeil, The Birmingham Mail’s Richard Cusack writes.

The lowdown

Burnley announced on Friday that they had parted company with manager Sean Dyche after 10 years in charge.

The Clarets, 18th in the table and four points from safety with eight games remaining, are facing the prospect of relegation after six seasons in the top flight.

It was Dyche who handed McNeil his debut in 17/18, and the 50-year-old picked him for almost every Premier League match across the last three seasons.

The Athletic’s Andy Jones reported last summer that Steven Gerrard’s predecessor, Dean Smith, had personally scouted McNeil, and Cusack wrote in January that Gerrard could possibly revisit the move this year.

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The latest

Aston Villa are ‘likely’ to be monitoring events at Turf Moor, Cusack writes, because the squad is ‘laden with talent’.

He picks out McNeil as a player Villa are said to admire and says that he ‘might well be available’ come the summer.

However, The Villans would potentially face competition, with other teams ‘no doubt’ considering a move too.

The verdict

McNeil has actually endured something of a difficult season. He’s only managed to record one goal involvement, when in the last three campaigns he’d managed at least seven.

He was even booed by his own supporters during last month’s 4-0 home defeat against Chelsea.

Villa may prefer to focus on how good McNeil can be at his best, whilst simultaneously hoping that this low-key season has driven the £19.8million-rated Englishman’s value down.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has previously described him as a player with ‘real quality’ who should be commanding the attention of sides competing for Europe.

In other news, Pete O’Rourke makes this claim about an attacking target.

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. 

Tottenham Hotspur could finally offload Giovani Lo Celso this summer, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

What’s the word?

Speaking on a recent episode of his ‘Here We Go’ podcast this week, he delivered an update on the 26-year-old’s situation as he continues to impress on loan to LaLiga outfit Villarreal.

“Tottenham are still waiting for Villarreal to make an official proposal.

“From what I’m told, they want to discuss on Villarreal’s side with Tottenham to sign Lo Celso on a permanent deal or to keep the player for one more season.

“But Tottenham want real money so there will be a discussion this summer,” he said.

Summer budget boost?

After arriving in a joint club-record £55m deal from Real Betis in the summer of 2019, the Argentina international failed to live up to the heights of such a price tag, delivering only eight goals and six assists across an injury-barren stint of 84 appearances.

He fell even more out of favour following the arrival of Antonio Conte in the dugout and soon after, he was shipped out on loan.

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Lo Celso has been described as “a little bit awkward” around the dressing room by football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, as well as being dubbed as “unacceptable” by club insider John Wenham to Football Insider due to his inability to finish a game.

Whilst it didn’t work out in north London, it appears as if the £25m-rated midfielder has found his feet back in Spain, where he currently rates out as Unai Emery’s fifth-best domestic and European performer, via WhoScored.

He’s averaged 1.6 and 3.3 tackles per game across LaLiga and the Champions League and has proven to be a creative influence in the final third, especially in the latter competition, where he’s averaging 2.3 key passes per outing.

It’s no wonder the Yellow Submarines are considering a permanent swoop for him in the summer and it is one that the Spurs hierarchy should snatch at instead of trying to integrate him back into the squad.

Those around N17 will surely be delighted as it could hand Conte a big financial boost heading into his second transfer window in charge.

AND in other news, “Paratici went to watch”: Alasdair Gold drops Spurs transfer claim, it could be shades of Kyle Walker…