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Rangers got back to winning ways after two straight defeats in all competitions as they won away from Ibrox at the weekend.

The Gers smashed St. Mirren 4-0 in the Premiership as Kemar Roofe scored a hat-trick and Joe Aribo got in on the act with a stunning finish from distance.

It was a fantastic result for Gio van Bronckhorst’s side and one player who may have enjoyed it more than most was centre-back Leon King.

The academy defender came on to replace Filip Helander in the 45th minute for what was only his second Premiership appearance for Rangers and his first of the 2021/22 campaign.

As per SofaScore, he completed 87% of his attempted passes, including six of his ten long passes, and made three clearances as he helped the side to a clean sheet. It was a solid showing from the 18-year-old and one that may give van Bronckhorst plenty of food for thought heading into the summer.

Just imagine him & Souttar

With Connor Goldson’s contract expiring at the end of the season, King could be the natural heir to his centre-back throne.

John Souttar is set to join on a free transfer from Hearts later this year and the 25-year-old can be the perfect partner for the young Scot at Ibrox. In the Scottish top-flight this season, he has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.33 across 26 appearances.

He has consistently delivered on the pitch as he has won a whopping 71% of his duels whilst making four clearances per game. These statistics prove that he is a defensively dominant tank who can get the better of his opponent more often than not in matches, which makes him the perfect player to pair with a youngster making his way through.

Souttar’s dominance can carry King through matches to aid his development, allowing the teenager to settle into a first-team role before shouldering more responsibility.

After the St. Mirren clash, van Bronckhorst hailed the defender’s potential as he said: “He has so much quality but also a lot of room to improve.

“But that’s because he’s a young player and I’m happy he’s making the progress now.”

This highlights the scope for development King has and why he should be partnered with Souttar to learn from him, as the Hearts man has proven that he can excel in the Premiership.

The 18-year-old can save Ross Wilson millions by replacing Goldson and stepping up to the mark next season, just as he did in his 45 minutes on Sunday.

AND in other news, Big blow: Rangers dealt worrying injury setback that’ll leave Van Bronckhorst gutted…

Many Aston Villa fans have slammed the performance of Tyrone Mings in their Premier League game with Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.

The 28-year-old started in Dean Smith’s defence alongside Kortney Hause and Ezri Konsa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and was culpable of some poor defending for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s opening goal.

The England defender was easily pulled out of position in the build-up and later allowed the Denmark international space and time to slot the ball past Emiliano Martinez and put Nuno Espirito Santo’s side ahead.

As per SofaScore, Mings lost seven of his 16 duels, relinquished possession 17 times, was dribbled past twice and recorded a meagre 67% passing accuracy.

His performance against Spurs comes as a surprise as the Villa captain was instrumental in the recent wins over Everton and Manchester United as they kept clean sheets in both, with the 28-year-old delivering a particularly excellent display against the Toffees.

Aston Villa fans slam Mings’ performance

These Villa fans slammed Mings on Twitter over his performance, with one going as far to claim that the defender had a “stinker” this afternoon.

“If Mings made half of the mistakes for any other club he would have been gone by now”

Credit: @MasonUTFV

“Mings and Ramsey having a shocker.”

Credit: @agentvilla

“Mings is having an absolute stinker so far”

Credit: @jacckkoo1

“Mings out, Botman in”

Credit: @AVFCEnthusiast

“Mings it’s time to go”

Credit: @AstakzR_V2

“If Mings played for any other club he’d be benched immediately”

Credit: @YoungArevalo

In other news, these Villa fans have reacted to red-list update involving their players. Find out more here

A number of Liverpool supporters have been mocking Gary Neville after he claimed Manchester United have a superior squad to the Reds.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have won their first two Premier League games this season, winning 3-0 at Norwich City and beating Burnley 2-0 at Anfield.

After a tough campaign last time around, Liverpool look back to their best and should challenge the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea for the title in 2021/22 – Saturday’s clash with the latter could tell us more.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

United could also be potential contenders, but Sunday’s 1-1 draw away to Southampton suggests they perhaps still have some catch-up to do.

Despite this, Neville believes his former club will finish above Liverpool in the table this season because their squad is better, admitting as much on Sky Sports‘ Monday Night Football [via Anfield Watch on Twitter].

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Liverpool fans mock Neville

These Reds fans took to Twitter to laugh at Neville’s remarks, claiming Klopp’s men remain the stronger outfit.

“Hahah lose Maguire to an injury and you’re in a top 4 race”

Credit: @ayxshxlfc

“Maguire got hurt last season and Man UTD went into relegation form”

Credit: @ThisisPllumey

“The state of this”

Credit: @IndyBoxOffice

“Man Utd have no real centre mids, no backup full-backs and if Fernandes is out they are screwed – Neville is just a touch biased”

Credit: @beaks1973

“Except if Bruno goes they are about the same level as Leicester”

Credit: @JPrizzle

“Liverpool’s bench was better than Utd’s bench the weekend even with Fabinho out”

Credit: @stegrogan

In other news, some Liverpool fans are keen for the Reds to sign a central midfielder. Find out who it is here.

Liverpool have suffered a big injury blow ahead of their midweek clash with Norwich City in the Carabao Cup after key midfielder Thiago was ruled out of action.

What’s the word?

The influential Spain international had to be substituted in Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend after picking up a calf injury.

And now, assistant manager Pepi Lijnders has provided an update on Thiago’s situation, revealing he’s set to miss the Reds’ next two fixtures at least.

“Thiago, how the gaffer said after the game, it was a calf injury. I can’t say now how long it will take but definitely not tomorrow and not at the weekend,” Lijnders confirmed in his press conference.

“Let’s get the scan results back, and we have a proper diagnosis. A shame as well because he was taking the game by the hand, he was a proper playmaker, in my opinion. A shame that we miss him.

“In one week we lose two really influential midfielders; that’s the bad thing.”

Jurgen Klopp will be gutted

Thiago’s fitness concerns come just days after fellow midfielder Harvey Elliott was sidelined for up to six months with a dislocated ankle suffered against Leeds United.

Thiago’s injury, added to Elliott’s long-term absence, will leave manager Jurgen Klopp short of options in the middle of the park over the next week or so, at least, no doubt leaving the German tactician feeling gutted as he looks to keep the momentum going as Liverpool have started the season in excellent form.

However, he’ll be hopeful that Thiago’s latest injury setback won’t see him remain on the treatment table for too long, especially with Manchester City’s visit to Anfield on the horizon.

And, in other news…Signed for free, sold for £19m: Edwards sealed big Liverpool masterclass in 24y/o flop 

Many Everton fans have been left reacting to some transfer news on Aaron Ramsey.

As per Calciomercato, it now seems ‘increasingly likely’ that the central midfield player will sign for the Goodison Park faithful in the January window.

Of course, Ramsey is very experienced in the Premier League, having scored no fewer than 40 goals and made a further 51 assists in 262 games in total (Transfermarkt), but he is 30 years of age now, and so past his peak.

The Juventus ace has also had injury problems throughout his career, and so signing him would be a bit of a risk, but one that could well turn out to be worth it at least in the short term.

Everton fans on Ramsey transfer news

These supporters of the Merseyside club gave some fairly mixed reactions as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one Toffee going on to claim that Ramsey is a ‘quality’ player:

“What a signing this would be! Him, Doucoure and Allan would be a fantastic midfield”

Credit: @CursedToffees

“As a Welshman I may be biased but when fit Ramsey is quality. He would be an asset, works hard just has had bad luck with injuries. I can understand people’s dislike of the signing though because of age, wages and injury history – but If Rafa wants him then I would trust!”

Credit: @Zatherton3

“Pay as you play contract I’m hoping!!”

Credit: @ToffeeTipp74

“It would be really stupid if we went down this road again”

Credit: @efc_ke

“Don’t the club ever learn?”

Credit: @Twoblue68

“No thanks. Too old, too injury prone and would want a huge salary. Let him leach off NUFC”

Credit: @TomFox87

In other news, find out what ‘unbelievable deal’ EFC could pull off here!

Ross Barkley would revive his career if he reunites with David Moyes at West Ham United, according to Rob Lee.

The midfielder’s Chelsea career appears to be over after being left without a squad number for the new season.

Barkley was also omitted from the Blues’ matchday squad for their opening weekend win over Crystal Palace and had to make do with action in a friendly against non-league Weymouth at the weekend.

It comes after the England international spent last season on loan at Aston Villa, where he made 24 appearances but saw his opportunities hampered by a hamstring injury.

Reports suggest West Ham could end Barkley’s time at Chelsea by making a move for the 27-year-old, although the Hammers face competition from Premier League rivals Everton and Newcastle United.

West Ham boss David Moyes worked closely with Barkley during their time together at Everton and former Hammers midfielder Lee believes a reunion could be in the offing.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Lee said: “Ross Barkley has to get that hunger back.

“With certain players, if they feel loved, they’re the top man and the manager mollycoddles them a little bit, they’re a different animal and play totally differently.

“Players always want to be loved and they have this ego you have to stroke, unfortunately. That’s what managers have to do to get the best out of their players and great managers know how to do that. David Moyes knows how to handle him.”

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…

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

With 17 games played in the Championship so far this season, only three outfield players have played more minutes than West Brom captain Jake Livermore, who has appeared in all but two of their league games in this campaign.

During those appearances, the 31-year-old, who is currently valued at £2.25m according to Transfermarkt, has played in the central-midfield and defensive-midfield positions, as well as grabbing an assist in their 1-0 win over Birmingham City back in October.

Despite being a regular figure for Ismael this season, Livermore is one of West Brom’s oldest players and has a contract that’s set to expire in the summer, which says to us that his time at the Midlands club could be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

With this in mind, the Baggies could already have their ideal long-term replacement for the veteran who has made a total of 172 appearances for the club, with 19-year-old midfielder Aurio Teixeira.

As a product of West Brom’s youth academy, Teixeira has made 23 appearances and scored one goal for their U18 side and 12 appearances for their U23 side with one assist under his belt.

So far this season, Teixeira has made seven league appearances for West Brom’s U23 side, playing as a central-midfielder, right-midfielder and as a right-back on occasions, highlighting his versatility.

Also, Teixeira has been described as being a “very intelligent footballer with a high football IQ”, as well as being “tenacious in his game and another combative midfield player who uses his body well” by U18s manager Peter Gilbert, which should be very exciting for the Baggies fans to have a player such as Teixeira with those attributes in their youth ranks.

This could also make him a solid long-term replacement for Livermore given how the senior West Brom midfielder has had no issue showing his tenacity on the pitch, racking up a total of 33 yellow cards during his time at The Hawthorns as well as making an average of 1.9 tackles per game in the league this season.

Moving forward, if Teixeira can keep playing regularly for West Brom’s U23 side, he definitely has the potential to start knocking on Ismael’s door to get some minutes in the senior side to give himself the chance to show he has what it takes to play alongside the senior players and potentially go on to become Livermore’s long-term heir.

In other news: Massive blow: West Brom dealt injury setback that will leave fans absolutely gutted – opinion

Newcastle United remain interested in a deal to sign Sevilla defender Diego Carlos this summer…

What’s the story?

Reports during the January transfer window revealed that the Magpies saw a couple of bids for the Brazil international turned down by the La Liga side, with Eddie Howe then turning his attentions towards Brighton’s Dan Burn to bolster his defence.

However, according to The Chronicle, Carlos is still of interest to the Tyneside club, who could head back to the negotiating table this summer in order to finally lure him to St James’ Park.

Could be bye-bye Lascelles

With Fabian Schar and Burn the preferred centre-back partnership in recent weeks, club captain Jamaal Lascelles has found himself sidelined, and that’s no surprise given his general performances this season.

Some Newcastle fans took to Twitter to criticise the defender for his display against Watford, when he lost his battle in the air to allow Joao Pedro to score the equaliser.

That followed on from a particularly disastrous game against Arsenal, and his role in allowing Bukayo Saka to score the opening goal, with Magpies legend Alan Shearer venting: “He has got to realise that Saka is the problem, he has got to engage, he has got to come over a second earlier and do that rather than stand there and do nothing with his hands in the air. It’s terrible defending.”

Indeed, with an average WhoScored match rating of just 6.49, Lascelles is Newcastle’s second-worst performing centre-back to have started more than ten games this season, with only Ciaran Clark behind him.

In Carlos, the Magpies would get the chance to bring in a man of real quality and European pedigree from his time in Spain.

The 29-year-old would give the Magpies a monstrous defensive presence were he to join, boasting an impressive 4.1 duels won per game at a success rate of 62%. to put that into context, Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has won 4.4 duels per match in the Premier League with a 73% success rate.

In addition, Spanish football expert Domagoj Kostanjšak said of Carlos: “He’s a really physical player – he’s built like a tank and they don’t call him ‘The Beast’ for no reason. He’s really good in the air and he’s decent on the ball as well – you have to be under Julen Lopetegui. He’s been a bit of a revelation.”

Valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, Carlos could allow Newcastle to move on from the £55k-a-week earning Lascelles.

AND in other news – Sold for just £100k, now a two-time title winner: NUFC flop has delivered huge payback