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Rangers travel to Dundee in the Premiership this afternoon as they attempt to return to winning ways in the league.

The Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by Motherwell in their last Premiership outing, but they did beat Livingston 2-0 in the League Cup on Wednesday. Steven Gerrard will now be hoping that his side can use that positive momentum to beat Dundee and get their pursuit of another league title back on track.

However, one change that he could make to the team which came out on top against Livingston is bringing Steven Davis back into the starting XI.

The 36-year-old is a key figure in Rangers’ side and Gerrard must unleash him for this match after leaving him on the bench against Livingston. Davis has started all six of the club’s Premiership games this season and deserves a return to the team after being handed a much-needed rest in midweek.

He has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.03, making one key pass and 1.7 tackles per game from midfield whilst also completing 88% of his passes. This shows that he has been a consistent performer in the middle of the park this term and is a reliable option for the manager to call upon.

Earlier this year, Gerrard lauded the midfielder’s influence and explained why he is a role model to his teammates. The 41-year-old said: “Steven embodies professionalism and continues to set the standards required to be a Rangers player. He has been instrumental this year, playing a key role in our league success.

“Ross (Wilson) and I have enjoyed open dialogue with him, and acknowledge how he has handled this contract extension. Steven is low-maintenance and has much more to give our team, not only for the rest of this season but beyond.

“He is a role model to his team mates and continues to strive to be a better version of himself. I am very pleased to have a player with Premier League and international experience on board as we look towards next season.”

The £18k-per-week beast can change a game with the way he links the play and uses the ball in pockets of space. His high passing accuracy shows that he is effective in possession and does not gift the ball back to the opposition on a regular basis, which allows him to dictate games and control the tempo.

Therefore, Gerrard must bring him back into the XI for today’s clash at Dundee as his quality and experience could be valuable on the pitch. The ability to change games by dictating the flow of the match could be vital for Rangers, as he can slow the play down when holding on for a win or speed it up if they are searching for a crucial goal.

AND in other news,  Wilson must avoid Rangers nightmare over “unique” gem, Gerrard would be fuming…

With Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips out for an extended spell, Marcelo Bielsa will be desperately searching for ways to ensure his side doesn’t miss their midfield talisman too much.

While it may be a bit of a leap for the Whites boss to chuck in a wholly unproven 19-year-old, Lewis Bate could well be the surprise answer to Leeds’ problem.

In fact, according to Ram Srinivas, co-founder of football analytics consultancy MRKT Insights, Bate has all the hallmarks of being someone to take over from Phillips in years to come.

He said: “Bate is a well-rounded deep-lying midfielder; he’s well capable of helping a team control possession, acting as a metronome to keep things ticking over as well as being very productive in build-up. He’s very positive in his passing and shows good awareness of the spaces opening up around him and team shape, which helps his team play out of a press and also attack the opposition in transition.

“All in all he’s just a multi-faceted midfielder whose biggest weakness is probably just his size but he more than makes up for it with his other qualities. He’s very well-suited to Bielsa-ball and probably capable of serving as an understudy to Kalvin Phillips.”

Dubbed as “very gifted” by The Athletic’s Phil Hay and as a “lovely passer” too, the 5 foot 8 Bate has predominantly spent the most of his time this season with the club’s U23s side in the Premier League 2 – out of the 14 games the Whites have played, the midfielder has completed the full 90 minutes in all but one.

The 19-year-old has featured mainly as either a central midfielder for the U23s and in a more holding role, and with a busy festive schedule for the first-team, may well fancy his chances of making the step-up.

While the January transfer window gives Bielsa the perfect opportunity to bring in players from the outside to strengthen his options in the middle of the park, giving Bate the chance to shine could turn out to be a masterstroke.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign a Rodrigo upgrade in this star…

Celtic were rather busy during the previous summer and winter transfer windows in terms of the deals they managed to complete.

Not only did the Hoops welcome a number of new players to the Parkhead club, but they also managed to move others out in the opposite direction.

However, they didn’t always end up signing every player that was mentioned with a move to Celtic Park.

One player, in particular, that was linked to the Hoops in the previous January window that didn’t end up joining was Callum Styles.

With the transfer window set to open for business again once the season comes to an end, we think that the Bhoys should reignite their interest in the Barnsley figure and launch a move to bring him to Celtic.

Having racked up a total of 115 appearances for the Championship club prior to their match against Swansea City, the midfielder has scored eight goals and provided six assists.

This shows what a useful creative and attacking player he can be on the pitch.

One goal that the 22-year-old scored for his current side from outside the box was labelled as a “rocket” by journalist Sanny Rudravajhala, highlighting what he’s capable of on the ball.

The Hungarian has also racked up an average of 1.2 shots and 1.1 key passes per game in the league, putting him in the top five for each statistic in Barnsley’s squad.

Described as being a “massive talent” by teammate Cauley Woodrow, Styles has played in numerous positions across the pitch throughout his career.

This highlights how his versatility could make him a very useful squad member for Ange Postecoglou if the Hoops are able to sign the £2.7m-rated gem this summer.

Looking ahead to the summer, with Barnsley looking likely to get relegated as things stand, a move to Celtic could be rather tempting for the player rather than potentially playing in League One.

Also, with his contract at the Yorkshire club set to expire in the summer of 2023, this next window could be the ideal time for Barnsley to cash in on him should they get relegated and he doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal.

In other news: Ange can finally axe “unbelievable” £18k-p/w Celtic flop with “aggressive” prodigy

Manchester United have not made much progress so far in their winter transfer window, despite many players being linked to the club over the first two weeks, but Ralf Rangnick could be set to make his first star signing as manager at Old Trafford.

Rangnick’s side have been struggling to get results in the Premier League since the new year began, with a defeat at home in their first game of the year against Wolves, and drawing in their second league game of 2022 with Aston Villa after losing a two-goal lead on Saturday evening.

These results and a clear lack of determination to see games out will only put more pressure on the interim manager to make signings who can make a positive impact and offer the side the quality they need to climb into the top four as they compete with West Ham United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur for a Champions League qualifying place.

One player that could save Rangnick’s six months in charge at Old Trafford, is Ousmane Dembele who was hailed “better than Mbappe” by Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, recently.

The 24-year-old forward has not been playing a lot for the La Liga giants with only six appearances in the league this season so far due to a knee injury, and has been linked with a move to Manchester United this week, with the £287k-per-week gem out of contract in the summer, so a cut-price deal could be available if Rangnick feels it would be worth stepping up on the signings this month.

Dembele has a fantastic goal involvement record at Barcelona, despite only playing 58 minutes on average per game for the club so far, with a goal or assist every 141 minutes according to Transfermarkt.

Someone with consistent output would be a great addition to the Manchester United forward line, with the creative possibilities endless for the French attacker if he was to play alongside the second-highest goalscorer in the history of football, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Fans would also love to see Dembele add attacking depth at Old Trafford, with one fan even tweeting:

“What is the solution to make Man United a great club? Sign Dembele.”

Rangnick will be looking to find a way to get the fans back on side after some turned on the manager after the Aston Villa game on Saturday evening, so signing a star offensive player like Dembele could be a good way to get back in the good books of the fanbase for the German coach.

In other news: Rangnick has fee agreed for Amadou Haidara

Premier League clubs, including Aston Villa, met on Monday and decided against a circuit breaker over the festive period.

Villa shared the Premier League’s statement on their official Twitter channel, with a number of supporters reacting to the update.

Villa have been hit with a rapid rise of virus cases and had to cancel their match against Burnley on Saturday. The club had requested for the game to be called off at 10:30am on Saturday morning, but the fixture wasn’t officially postponed until 12:40pm, with little more than two hours to the scheduled kick-off time.

It was the sixth and final top-flight match to be postponed over the weekend (and the 10th in the space of a week) due to the pandemic, but the Premier League confirmed that it is ‘collective intention to continue the current fixture schedule where safely possible’.

That means Villa’s Boxing Day meeting with Chelsea is still on at this moment in time despite the outbreak at Bodymoor Heath.

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with many not happy regarding the statement, which one supporter described as a “joke” in the increasingly worrying circumstances.

“Looks like I’ll be ready to go and then end up in the pub again lol, feel sorry for people that travel a far distance for them to call it off last minute, the Premier league are a joke”

Credit: @SamBrogan3

“’The health and wellbeing of all concerned remains our priority…’ Complete lies”

Credit: @Sayers8

“Gonna spread like wildfire. But money must come first”

Credit: @ajsfounded71

“So half a squad for Boxing Day’s game… Isolation is 10 days”

Credit: @VillaCannock

“If that’s case we probs have to field half the team with youth players, guarantee if it was other way around with Chelsea the game would’ve already been postponed”

Credit: @Hellyer7

“Looking after the so called big six again!”

Credit: @austinw1957

In other news: ‘On my knees’ – Many Aston Villa fans erupt as Lange makes ‘bold’ January transfer bid

[ad_pod ]Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane has told LiverpoolFC.com that the team aren’t putting any pressure on themselves in the Premier League title race, and Reds fans have been quick to react to his comments on Twitter.

The Merseyside outfit recovered from the minor blip of losing consecutive fixtures against Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers – in the top flight and FA Cup respectively – at the beginning of 2019 to record successive victories against Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace.

The latest thrilling 4-3 win against the Eagles left them four points clear of City at the summit, while they are also nine above third-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the standings ahead of the final 15 fixtures of the season.

Speaking to LiverpoolFC.com, Mane highlighted the professional mentality in the dressing room:

“We have experience now.

“Of course we are confident if we’re winning – but not too much, we know what can happen. We are still professional footballers and we’re still going to try to take it game by game.

“The season is long and we have many games. Making pressure for ourselves doesn’t help. Why not just try to win games until the end of the season?”

The FA Cup exit to Wolves means Jurgen Klopp’s men have an 11-day gap to prepare for their next Premier League fixture against Leicester City at Anfield on Wednesday, where they will hope to pick up their 20th top flight win of what has been a brilliant campaign to date.

Liverpool supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on their 26-year-old attacker’s defiant message, and while one said he’d “better tell Lovren and Lallana that”, another said the Senegal international has an “elite mentality”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Are the media letting Jurgen Klopp off lightly for his lack of silverware? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Newcastle United are eyeing a potential move for Rangers star Alfredo Morelos as reports emerge over PIF’s potential transfer plans.

What’s the story?

Following the completion of their takeover, PIF will no doubt be looking towards the upcoming January transfer window as the perfect opportunity to start their revamp of the Magpies’ squad.

And, according to 90min, the Tyneside club have earmarked Colombia international Morelos as a player they could get, with suggestions that a move could be a “distinct possibility.”

The report adds that the striker is someone they’re closely looking at and that a lot of scouting work on him has been done already.

Newcastle’s new Mitrovic

While Aleksandar Mitrovic may not have been a prolific goal-scorer in his time at Newcastle, he certainly brought a sense of aggression and intensity to the club’s attack.

In the 72 games that he played for the club, the fiery Serbian bagged 17 goals and provided another ten assists, while his hot-headedness saw him also pick up eight yellows and two red cards to boot too.

In Morelos, PIF could find someone who has got that same level of fire and drive, but with a bit more of a clinical touch to his game.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, former Rangers star Michael Ball said: “I think there’s been talk about Morelos maybe for two or three years now about leaving Rangers for many reasons. His goal-scoring is second to none but he’s got that South American bite to him.

“He reminds me of the Suarez situation where, one day he’s fantastic and the next he can let you down because the passion gets too much for him. Being part of Rangers, he’s got to know the club so well, he understands it and sometimes passion does get over him.”

That “passion” is something former Dundee boss Neil McCann has raved about, saying: “I would love to have someone like that in my team. Not just the goals, even though 28 is a quite incredible return given he has missed a number of games. It is his all-round play. He is a proper No.9. He can hold it up, run the channel and is very good in the air despite not being that big. He wouldn’t be much bigger than me but he is powerful. And he loves a fight.

“Centre-backs don’t like a fight. They want to be the ones bullying people. Defenders can almost get caught up with Morelos’ power. So they think about the fight first and all of a sudden he is off down the side of them or dipping off – and bang.”

But it’s not just his personality that marks him out as a potentially exciting signing for Newcastle.

Speaking to The Athletic in 2019, one Scottish Premiership defender hailed Morelos as ‘deceptive’ with his strength on the pitch, saying: “When he goes to shield the ball it’s so difficult. His body strength and ball control are very good, so he makes it very difficult for you. He is deceptive with his physical attributes, but what I’d say he’s best at is when the ball is played up to him. He lets you think that you can nip in front of him and then his timing to put his body in and spin you is excellent.”

The man with 145 career goals to his name could be the exact kind of striker to get people off the edge of their seats at St James’ Park.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are keen on making this landmark appointment…

When it comes to wingers, Bruno Lage has got quite a selection to choose from at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

With Daniel Podence, Francisco Trincao and Adama Traore all competing for a regular spot in the starting eleven on the flanks at Wolves, it has been hard for Lage to fit all three into the team on the right side.

Hwang Hee-Chan has taken the role of left wing and dominated in the position which has further isolated other wingers in the squad. Lage clearly values his presence, as he has not been dropped from the role for most of the season so far. However, with 11 appearances and four goals for the side, the South Korean is now reportedly being tipped for a permanent move to the club.

In contrasting fashion, Traore has failed to make an impact on the side this season, failing to register a single goal or assist so far, which could reflect why he has become more and more out of favour for starting line up. That said, Lage could be looking for new ways to utilise the Spaniard and give him the game time he is desperately in need of.

The 25-year-old came on in the 68th minute against Norwich for Trincao, and was caught picking up the ball in the middle of the field, instead of keeping to a much wider position which we are much more used to seeing the winger thrive in.

Former Wolves defender, Joleon Lescott, spoke out on the “strange” positioning of Traore in a post-match analysis on BT Sport Score;

“They didn’t use Adama Traore,” he said. “He picked up some strange positions. He went and played in the middle of the pitch.

“Obviously his strengths are out wide where he can go and run at players.”

Whilst it may be obvious that Traore has been more prolific and experienced in a wider role, there is a chance that Lage could be trying to find new ways to bring the best out of the player, since his form has dropped this season and his impact hasn’t been there for the side.

Wolves’ Portuguese boss is also likely to be conscious that the forward has been linked away from the club on several occasions now.

Thus, trying out new roles for the £27m-rated forward could be an attempt to show the dazzling attacker that Lage wants to keep him in the squad. It could demonstrate that he is interested in integrating him into the team, as well as committed to finding solutions to bring back the winger’s impressive form of the past. Clearly, he is a huge problem for the boss at the moment but this could spark him back into life.

Wolves will be hoping to take three points from Burnley when they invite them to Molineux Stadium on Wednesday evening, to continue to compete for the European places in the top six.

In other news: Wolves must make January swoop for Sven Botman

Manchester United have been having a quiet transfer window in terms of incomings, but rumours have been spreading of fall outs and potential moves for many of the current squad, with the latest development one that would potentially be welcomed by fans.

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports Italia, as cited by MilanLive, Eric Bailly is one of a number of defenders that AC Milan are interested in signing this January to replace Simon Kjaer.

The Serie A side are said to be looking for a quick fix to replace the Milan defender, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season, and Manchester United’s centre-back is one that they have reportedly ‘focused their attention’ on.

Fans will be buzzing

Bailly has been previously criticised for his poor performances when given his opportunity to play in the side, with Trevor Sinclair ripping into the “poor” player after the 2-0 defeat Manchester United sustained to local rivals, Manchester City:

“What is Bailly doing? That is poor defending,” he began.

“We’re not surprised, are we? He’s a rash defender and he seems like he’s always got a mistake in him,

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and the ship has sailed for Bailly. He’ll never be the composed defender Man United need.”

The £87k-per-week flop has had his ups and downs at Old Trafford over the last five and a half years, and has only been given seven appearances in all competitions this season. Thus, fans will surely be delighted to see the back of him.

According to SofaScore, Bailly has not helped his side keep a single clean sheet in any of the Premier League games he has played in this season, as well as averaging less than one interception per game while only winning possession 0.3 times on average over the season so far in the league.

It’s safe to say fans would not be sorry to see the central defender leave the club this January, with one fan simply tweeting: “Bailly can leave.”

Ralf Rangnick has had a number of internal issues going on this week, with Bailly named as one of 11 players who are rumoured to want to leave the club this season, and with the FA Cup game against Aston Villa coming up this evening it will be interesting to see who the German coach plays in his starting line up amidst the drama.

If he does, it will be a mistake. After all, the defender should be brutally axed from the Theatre of Dreams this winter.

In other news: Ralf Rangnick eyes a swoop for Rudiger

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Newcastle United will now ‘push again’ to try and sign Diego Carlos in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Getting closer?

Speaking on Thursday’s edition of Sky Sports’ The Transfer Show, journalist Kaveh Solhekol revealed (via Sky Sports’ The Transfer Centre) live on TV (17:05pm) that Sevilla would like to keep Carlos for their weekend game against Celta Vigo, and then a deal could potentially be done after.

This story has not stopped since the window opened, and so with just over a week left, it seems as if the Magpies have put all their eggs firmly into the basket of bringing Carlos to St. James’ Park.

The Latest: Romano update

Writing on his official Twitter page, Italian football journalist and transfer expert Romano has now dropped an update on the situation, revealing the player himself is keen and ‘waiting’.

“Newcastle will push again in the next hours for Diego Carlos.

“Sevilla are trying to resist in every way as they did for Kounde/Chelsea deal last summer – but Newcastle are willing to insist. Key hours ahead.

“Diego already agreed personal terms days ago. He’s waiting.”

The Verdict: Just do it

With the days ticking by, the North East club just need to sign Carlos now as soon as possible, so that they can integrate him into the team to be ready for the relegation battle ahead – it’s not as if there’s a whole host of alternative options queued up either.

Described as a ‘real leader at the back’ (The Daily Express) by European football expert Andy Brassell, ‘The Beast‘, as Carlos is appropriately nicknamed, is exactly the kind of personality that the Tyneside outfit need for the fight, and luring him away from Sevilla, who are currently second in La Liga, would be a real coup.

Nonetheless, at 28 years of age, the Brazilian is in his prime, and now is the time for the Toon to strike.

In other news, find out what worrying NUFC transfer insight Liam Kennedy has dropped here!