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Newcastle United will be desperate to climb even further away from the relegation zone, with consistency being the main focus from here on in until the end of the season.

Indeed, one thing that has been playing on fans’ minds in recent times is the lack of support that Salomon Rondon has received at the pinnacle of the attack, as he has had to fend for himself.

However, it appears as if the the Magpies have their sights set on a possible summer swoop as they’ve reportedly (as per Teamtalk) scouted Che Adams in recent times, and Birmingham City want £20 million for his services, while Newcastle will have to put together a package worth £16 million if they want to sign Rondon permanently.

So, Mike Ashley should set his sights on securing a double summer swoop that involves bringing Rondon to the club on a permanent deal and Che Adams as well for a potential combined £36 million.

Che Adams has established himself as one of the most dangerous forwards in the Championship this season, having scored an impressive 21 goals already. And, he has plenty of potential and bags of pace, which has been missing at the pinnacle of the attack for the Magpies in the current campaign.

Meanwhile, Rondon has been the standout performer at St James’ Park this season, with seven goals and three assists to his name up until this point, so he’s done more than enough to warrant a permanent switch.

Of course, Mike Ashley hasn’t really been known to splash too much cash over the years at St James’ Park, but it’s safe to say that this potential double raid is definitely needed as they’d be lost without Rondon and Che Adams’ pace and constant goal threat would work wonders.

What do you think Newcastle United fans?

Wolves have suffered a blow in their quest to sign Lille centre-back Sven Botman, with Newcastle United linked with a move for the Dutchman.

The Lowdown: Wolves keen on Botman signing

Bruno Lage’s side are still stinging after Saturday’s late 1-0 defeat at home to Liverpool but they must ensure it doesn’t derail their season.

The hope is that new signings are made in the January transfer window and Botman is someone who has been linked with a move to Molineux.

The 21-year-old has started 10 Ligue 1 games for Lille so far this season and is considered a hugely promising young defender, being described as ‘brilliant’ by journalist Robin Bairner earlier this year.

The Latest: Newcastle emerge as contenders

Wolves now face competition in the race to sign Botman, however, with The Athletic‘s David Ornstein confirming on Twitter that Newcastle are ‘exploring the possibility’ of signing the nine-time capped Netherlands international in January.

Lille want to keep hold of the youngster until next summer but their head may be turned if an ‘exceptional’ offer arrives before then – surely worrying news for the likes of Wolves given the riches at Newcastle’s disposal.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375704”]

The Verdict: Potential big blow

In past circumstances, this news may not have been too big a blow for Wolves, with Newcastle not necessarily a more exciting proposition than them.

The Magpies have of course been taken over and are now extremely wealthy, though, so they may be able to offer Botman far higher wages than Fosun and co would even want to.

It would be a big blow to lose out on someone who appears to be a primary transfer target – the player himself even confirmed the interested – with the Lille man averaging an impressive 2.5 aerial duel wins per game in both the Champions League and Ligue 1 this season.

He has also completed 91.3% of his passes in Europe’s top competition, showing that he is strong in the air and talented on the ball.

In other news, a pundit is unsure about one rumoured Wolves transfer happening. Read more here.

Aston Villa are one of several clubs to have been approached by Georginio Wijnaldum’s representatives over a possible January move, 90min report.

The Lowdown: Wijnaldum’s PSG struggles

The Netherlands international, who Mauricio Pochettino has described as ‘aggressive’, hasn’t exactly had the best of starts to life at Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Liverpool to join on a free transfer over the summer.

Wijnaldum is thought to be on a salary worth over £300,000-a-week at the Parc des Princes, however, just 10 of his 20 appearances this season have come as a starter.

It now seems as if a return to the Premier League could be on the cards at the start of 2022, and Villa have been name-checked as a possible destination.

The Latest: Villa yet to say no…

90min shared a story on Thursday regarding Wijnaldum’s future, with the player’s representatives sounding out a number of Premier League clubs over a winter window transfer.

Arsenal, Everton, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Tottenham and West Ham have all been approached regarding a move for Wijnaldum along with Villa and are yet to dismiss the idea of a potential loan transfer.

The Verdict: Avoid…

Steven Gerrard is thought to be after a defensive midfielder in the New Year, so Wijnaldum ticks that box, as well as being able to turn out in a central and attacking midfield role.

However, his extortionate salary could be enough to put Johan Lange and co off any temporary move, despite having plenty of Premier League experience.

Villa may possibly be better off looking at the bigger picture under Gerrard and therefore snubbing a move for Wijnaldum in favour of a permanent signing who isn’t the wrong side of 30.

Someone like Glen Kamara could be a more realistic transfer, with the Rangers man linked with a move to the Midlands to reunite with Gerrard.

In other news: ‘Can’t say no to the Villa’ – Many AVFC fans buzz as ‘massive’ January update emerges. 

Norwegian football is going through a golden spell with a number of players now performing at the highest level in Europe. They look like a national team that are on the up and should start making their mark in major tournaments in the near future.

Here is a look at four of their players who could be set for big moves in 2022.

Erling Haaland

Striker Erling Haaland is the real star of Norwegian football. The Dortmund striker is considered to be one of the best strikers in the world at the moment. His goal scoring record at the German club over the last three years backs that up.

Last season’s Best Forward of the Season in the Champions League is being monitored by all the major European clubs, including Manchester United; their boss Ralf Rangnick is thought to be an admirer of the player. They will be fully aware that Haaland’s release clause of £64 million will be activated in the summer. This is much lower than what they will value the player at, as he would be expected to go for at least £100 million in today’s market.

As reported by ESPN, Barcelona are thought to be preparing a move for the striker this summer. They are doing their best to reduce their wage bill before then by offloading players like Philippe Coutinho and Samuel Umtiti. This will allow them to be able to finance a deal later this year.

Haaland will be hoping he can help Dortmund to some silverware this season if it does end up being his last campaign for their club. They are the 11/2 favourites to win the Europa League with Unibet, one of the leading sport betting sites in Norway who offer odds on the European competition.

Jørgen Strand Larsen

Another Norwegian striker who has a big future is Jørgen Strand Larsen. He currently plays his club football for Groningen in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands. In his debut campaign for the Dutch club last season, he scored nine goals. He looks on course to beat that record this year.

Stand Larsen has played for Norway and may end up being Haaland’s strike partner going forward. He has recently been linked with a move to the Premier League to join Leicester.

Celtic are another club who are thought to be interested in Larsen. They bought Virgil van Dijk from Groningen in 2013. If they do sign the 21-year-old, they will be hoping the striker goes on to have a similar career to the former PFA Player of the Year.

Ola Brynhildsen

Only one player had more assists in Norway’s Eliteserien last season than Ola Brynhildsen. He helped Molde finish second in the final standings behind FK Bodø/Glimt.

The 22-year-old joined Molde from Stabaek in July 2020. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Norwegian club. Despite his age, he has already appeared 100 times in the Eliteserien, so he has lots of experience.

Brynhildsen has featured for Norway under-21s, however, he remains uncapped with the senior team. That is likely to change in 2022, especially if he continues with the form he showed last year.

Unlike Haaland and Strand Larsen, it may not take a huge transfer fee to scoop the talented attacking midfielder away from Molde. There are likely to be clubs across Europe who are happy to take a chance on him to see if he can step up to a higher level. It would be relatively low risk for them.

Marius Lode

Defender Marius Lode has been an integral part of FK Bodø/Glimt’s title success in 2020 and 2021. The towering centre-back has played in the heart of their defence and his form has been very consistent.

Lode received his first two caps for Norway in 2021. Unlike many players in his position, Lode is very comfortable with the ball at his feet. He is also versatile in that he can play at full back and as a defensive midfielder, if required.

The Bodø/Glimt man has featured in Europe across all three leading competitions. British clubs will get a chance to see him close hand when the Norwegian club take on Celtic in the Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs, which takes place over two legs.

In the Europa League Conference League group stage, Lode finished fourth in the most completed passes. As documented by UEFA, he ended the group with 392 passes. Those sorts of stats showcase how much of an all-round player he is.

Stoke City are one of the clubs in England that has been linked with the Norway international. They are unlikely to be the only Championship side to do be doing so. Many English clubs have scouts regularly watching football in the Eliteserien.

If all four of the above players get their moves to bigger clubs in 2022, it can only benefit the Norway national team, as they look to improve their results on the international stage.

Photo by Emilio Garcia on Unsplash

Manchester United have now turned down an enquiry from Tottenham for midfielder Jesse Lingard, ESPN report.

And, as to be expected, a number of United fans have been reacting to the news on social media.

Lingard is out of contract at Old Trafford at the end of the season, with his immediate future seemingly up in the air after starting just two games in all competitions this season.

The midfielder, who Rio Ferdinand labelled as ‘amazing’, is in Dubai with some of his United teammates, with Newcastle reportedly offering £10m to take Lingard on loan until the end of the season.

According to ESPN’s Rob Dawson, both Spurs and West Ham have also made enquiries to sign Lingard this month, but they were turned down as United don’t want to ‘strengthen clubs also competing for a place in the top four.’

United fans react

@utdreport relayed Dawson’s claim regarding Lingard on Twitter. This is what these United supporters had to say in reply, with many not exactly thrilled at United’s reasoning.

“Nonsense surely?! The mighty Spurs and West Ham”

Credit: @Niall_UTD

“This club @ManUtd might actually be finished because what is this??”

Credit: @Doye_A_Doyen

“This is embarrassing beyond belief, how low we’ve fallen.”

Credit: @AdamManred

“Total madness”

Credit: @JohnK4nM

“Are we that finished? Wow”

Credit: @UtdJuice

“This tweet sums up the downfall of Manchester United”

Credit: @UTDFrankie

In other news: ‘Wow’ – Lots of Man United fans erupt as ‘ridiculous’ transfer news emerges

An update has emerged on Everton’s pursuit of Scotland international right-back Nathan Patterson…

What’s the talk?

According to The Guardian, the Toffees are set to go back in for the Rangers defender in January to bolster Rafa Benitez’s squad.

The report claims that the Blues had a £9m offer rejected for the full-back in the summer and are now set to make another attempt at signing him.

Axe him

Everton boss Benitez can finally axe £68k-per-week defender Seamus Coleman from the starting XI by landing a deal for Patterson in January.

The 33-year-old, who was recently blasted for a “disaster” against Liverpool by Ally McCoist, has been in poor form this season and the timing could be right for him to be eased out of the team. He has averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.51 in the Premier League, after averaging an unimpressive score of 6.65 last term too.

Unfortunately, Jonjoe Kenny has not been good enough when given a chance to show that he can be the long-term successor to the Irishman. The 24-year-old averaged a score of 6.04 in the top-flight last season and has played twice this term – scoring 6.15 and 6.28.

This is where Patterson may come in. If Everton can secure a deal for the right-back then he could replace Coleman in the XI and allow the veteran to play a supporting role in the squad, rather than being someone who is relied upon week-in-week-out.

Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor once heaped praise on the 20-year-old Rangers gem, saying: “He’s been absolutely first class. You can tell he’s a real talent – even from the first day he trained with us in the summer.

“You could see his quality, his athleticism. And it’s great to see him make such a big impact, getting off the mark with a goal. He needs to just keep his head down and keep working hard. Other experienced boys will keep him on the right track, keep him honest.”

Patterson has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.87 for Scotland in their World Cup qualifiers, producing one goal and one assist from full-back in four matches. He also averaged a rating of 6.94 in the Europa League for the Gers last term, scoring once in four outings.

Whilst this is not a wealth of data to bank on, he has plenty of room to develop – at the age of 20 – and these statistics are promising signs of the player the beast could become. Therefore, he could be an exciting signing for Everton as he has potential to improve and could compete for the right-back spot, allowing Benitez to finally axe Coleman from his place as a first-team regular.

AND in other news, “I can see that happening”: Exciting transfer claim should leave Everton fans buzzing…

Liverpool were unbeaten in all competitions the last time they had a game in the Champions League. Since then, they’ve only lost to West Ham but made up for it in an incredible performance that saw the side score four goals against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

The Reds remain unbeaten and at the very top of the tree in their Champions League group, with the maximum 12 points and seven points clear of second-place Porto, who coincidentally are their opponents on Wednesday evening.

This unbeaten run in Europe has put Liverpool through to the last sixteen, and for this reason, we expect a much different side to the starting eleven we saw against Arsenal on Saturday evening.

Jurgen Klopp confirmed in his press conference that we would see changes in tonight’s game;

“We always respect the competition but we have to think about ourselves, our schedule and the situation of our players first,”

With that in mind, here is Football Fancast’s predicted XI for Liverpool vs Porto…

With seven changes to the starting line up, we predict that Liverpool will bring in many players that we only see in domestic cup tournaments, but Klopp will leave an element of first-team experience in each line of play, with Joel Matip, James Milner and Diogo Jota all starting.

The changes will see fan favourites like Sadio Mane, Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah axed from the line up, in an attempt to give them a rest before an important Premier League game against Southampton at the weekend, where Klopp’s side will look for an opportunity to close the gap on Chelsea and Manchester City.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-liverpool-news” title=”Check out the latest Liverpool news!”]

Taki Minamino will take the place of Mane, and will be hoping to have further impact on Liverpool’s season after he scored the fourth goal of the game against Arsenal at the weekend.

We expect to see some young players get minutes as well this evening, with Ibrahima Konate, 19-year-old Tyler Morton and Neco Williams predicted to join the side. All three will be hoping to make an impact to impress their German coach in the game.

Klopp will certainly not go into this game with the mentality of allowing a loss, so it is likely we could see him strengthen the side with more experienced players like Trent Alexander Arnold or Jordan Henderson in the second half, but only if the starting team is getting eaten alive by a Porto side who are in need of a win to push Atletico Madrid and AC Milan further away from qualification.

In other news: Liverpool must secure new deal for Sadio Mane

West Bromwich Albion appear to have been dealt a setback in their bid to bring Vedat Muriqi to The Hawthorns in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the transfer insider relaying the quotes of Lazio director Igli Tare on Twitter, who seemed to suggest that the 27-year-old centre-forward will not be leaving the Serie A side in the current market.

In his tweet, Romano said: “Vedat Muriqi won’t join CSKA Moscow, Lazio director Igli Tare says: “It was fake news. He’s not joining CSKA Moscow.”

Aside from CSKA Moscow, previous reports had also suggested that Valerien Ismael’s Albion side were interested in a move for the Kosovo international this month, while both Leeds United and Hull City have also been credited with an interest in Muriqi.

However, with Tare stating quite intently that news of the club’s striker potentially leaving Rome is ‘fake’, a move elsewhere could now also be off the cards, including to the Hawthorns.

Fans will be buzzing

While it is undeniable that Muriqi’s return of goals during his seven and a half year spell in Turkey was impressive, considering how poor the striker has been since making a big-money move to Lazio back in the summer of 2020, the news that the Kosovan looks unlikely to be leaving Italy this month is sure to have left Baggies fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his 246 appearances for the likes of Giresunspor, Genclerbirligi Ankara, Caykur Rizespor, Fenerbahce, KF Teuta and KS Besa Kavaje, the £12.5m-rated man scored 81 goals and registered 23 assists – not far off making a direct goal contribution every other game.

However, since his £17.93m move to Lazio, the £52k-per-week striker has failed to hit anywhere near these heights, having bagged just two goals and provided two assists over his 49 appearances in all competitions for I Biancocelesti.

As such, when taking into account Muriqi’s extremely hefty weekly wage, in addition to the fact that the 27-year-old has proven he does not have what it takes to make it in one of Europe’s big five leagues, the news that the Kosovan will not be leaving Italy for The Hawthorns this winter is undoubtedly fantastic news for everyone involved with the Baggies.

In other news: Sky Sports pundit drops worrying WBA January claim, it’d be a “huge blow” for Ismael

Leeds have recently been linked with Nottingham Forest loanee James Garner, and his performance against Coventry City on Wednesday evening will certainly have caught Victor Orta’s eye.

This forms part of our Transfer Watch series, where we react to a performance from a current transfer target.

The Lowdown: Leeds links

Garner, who is on loan at the City Ground from Manchester United, has been linked with a move to Elland Road in recent weeks.

Leeds, and therefore Victor Orta, are thought to be monitoring the 21-year-old closely ahead of a possible summer swoop.

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Manchester United may consider a permanent sale over the coming months, with Jesse Marsch looking to bolster his midfield options ahead of his first full season in charge.

The Latest: Stunning display

Forest recorded a fourth successive Championship win on Wednesday to consolidate their place in the playoffs, defeating Coventry City 2-0. Garner was man of the match, as per SofaScore, recording a rating of 8.4/10.

The central midfielder scored Forest’s second on the hour mark and also registered five key passes (the most in the match), made four interceptions (second-most) and three tackles (third-most).

The Verdict: Sign

You’d expect that Garner’s display will have caught the eye of Orta given the recent transfer links, and should Forest fail in their push for promotion, a move for the Manchester United man over the summer could be a shrewd call.

Of course, the Red Devils will need to be willing to part ways with Garner on a permanent basis, and if they are, a move to Elland Road looks to make sense for all parties, banking the parent club a profit on a player far down the pecking order and granting the player first-team football in the top flight.

Marsch meanwhile has just four senior midfield options at this moment in time, with Garner able to turn out as a defensive, central or attacking midfielder.

He could be the perfect partner for Kalvin Phillips in a double pivot next season, with also Garner showing an impressive eye for goal with his goal contributions now up to nine in a Forest shirt.

In other news: ‘Leeds fans won’t be happy…’ – Sky Sports man reacts to major update emerging from Elland Road

Rangers have not been shy in cashing in on some players during previous transfer windows over the past few years.

The most recent example was full-back Nathan Patterson, who was sold by the Ibrox club to the Premier League during the previous January transfer window in a deal worth a reported £16m.

One other player on whom the Gers cashed in over the last few years, in a move they could now be regretting, is Josh Windass.

In the summer of 2016, Rangers secured the midfielder on a free transfer from Accrington Stanley. During his time in Scotland, the Englishman scored 19 goals and provided 13 assists in 79 appearances across all competitions before he was sold to Wigan Athletic in 2018 for £2.5m.

While this may have seemed like a good move from the Gers from a financial point of view given the profit they made on him, they may now be wishing they had kept hold of him for a little longer.

In two seasons in the Championship with the Lancashire club, Windass racked up nine goals and four assists in 56 appearances before joining Sheffield Wednesday on loan in January 2020. He eventually signed for the Owls on a permanent deal later that year.

With nine appearances under his belt for the Owls in the second half of the 2019/20 campaign, the former Ibrox midfielder – who is currently valued at £1.8m by Transfermarkt – found the net on three occasions.

Despite ultimately getting relegated to League One at the end of last season, the Englishman was a shining light for the Yorkshire club by racking up more goal contributions than any other player, with nine goals and five assists to his name.

This season has seen the dynamo, who has been hailed as a “constant threat” on the pitch in an attacking sense by Sky Sports pundit Sue Smith, score four goals and deliver one assist in just seven appearances in League One. That has earned him an overall performance rating of 7.17/10, making him their third-highest rated player according to WhoScored.

Taking into account his consistent goal contributions from midfield since leaving Ibrox, it can be said that Mark Allen may have made a mistake by choosing to cash in on Windass rather than keeping him at Rangers as a useful attacking squad option.

In other news: Van Bronckhorst’s £3.6m-rated “leader” can be Rangers’ “real handful” in Old Firm