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Manchester United could still appoint current Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s successor this season, according to journalist Dean Jones.

What’s the story?

The Northern Irishman is believed to be high up on the United hierarchy’s wishlist as they line up possible replacements for Solskjaer following their disappointing start to the campaign.

Several reports have claimed that Rodgers is the leading candidate to take over the Old Trafford hot seat, but it seems as though the Glazers will keep faith with their Norwegian tactician for the time being.

However, transfer insider Jones has refused to rule out Solskjaer being replaced by the 48-year-old before the campaign comes to a close amid mounting pressure.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I wouldn’t rule it out later in the season somewhere if United can’t ride this out. It seems strange but it is definitely plausible from what I’m hearing.”

Man Utd fans will be excited

News that Rodgers could take the reins at United over the coming months will leave a large section of the club’s supporters feeling excited.

The former Celtic boss has cultivated an enviable reputation as one of British football’s most astute and innovative tacticians in recent years, guiding the Hoops to seven major trophies in just two-and-a-half years.

He then continued to prove his credentials at the King Power Stadium, guiding the Foxes to consecutive fifth-place finishes in the Premier League before claiming the FA Cup and Community Shield.

Solskjaer, on the other hand, is yet to find a piece of silverware during his tenure with the Red Devils, overseeing an agonising trophy drought for the 20-time English champions.

The Scandinavian’s good work should not be forgotten, though. Consecutive top-four finishes for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, a successful squad rebuild, and the blooding of several academy graduates have all marked his tenure.

However, concerns over whether Solskjaer is capable of taking United to the next step in their development and competing with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool for major honours are ever-increasing.

A ceiling appears to have been reached under his tutelage, and therefore, Rodgers’ arrival would be welcomed by many in United’s fanbase.

And, in other news…Forget Diallo: Ole could unearth Man Utd gem in “hugely talented” rarely-seen 17 y/o

Manchester United have an interesting summer ahead with a new manager set to be announced soon and the possibility of new signings after not making any in the January transfer window, and with Paul Pogba set to leave the club on a free this summer, the board at Old Trafford could already be putting the wheels in motion to replace him.

What’s the word?

According to TuttomercatoWeb, Manchester United will face a big battle with Paris Saint Germain to sign Sergej Milinković-Savić this summer, as the midfielder continues to be linked with moves away from Lazio at the end of the season.

The report suggests that Juventus are also interested in signing the 27-year-old, but his future is reportedly more likely to be elsewhere rather than staying in Italy.

Pogba replacement

As the clock runs down in the remaining weeks of Pogba’s contract, it’s clear the World Cup winner is interested in pursuing other options rather than securing a future at Old Trafford moving forward, and losing the player will be a shame for the club. However, if they are going to move forward it would be wise to bring in a replacement, and Milinkovic-Savic could definitely offer something new.

When you compare Milinkovic-Savic to the Man United midfielder this season it’s clear the Serbian can offer similar high quality and could even be a better attacking threat under a new manager and in a new system at Old Trafford. The Lazio midfielder has scored seven more goals (8), assisted equally nine times, has had 20% more shots and is ranked the sixth top-performing central midfielder in European football according to Soccerment.

Even the £63m-rated Lazio midfielder’s agent, Mateja Kezman, has spoken out on Pogba comparisons, hailing him in an interview with Mozzart Sport.

“When Sergej came to Italy, he was compared with Pogba, because at that moment it was probably the easiest comparison to make in terms of characteristics,” Kezman said.

“I do really respect Pogba, let’s be clear, and other linkers who can run and work for the team, but I think now Sergej has different and better quality than Pogba.”

Manchester United have a lot of work to do ahead of the summer and will need to appoint a new manager before they make any solid decision on summer signings, but with Milinkovic-Savic already reported to be in high demand the club will need to work fast to secure his signature and get him to Old Trafford.

In other news: Man Utd eyeing move for “top-class” £27m-rated monster, he’s a big upgrade on Maguire

Crystal Palace are interested in FCSB attacker Ianis Stoica, according to Romanian outlet Playsport. 

The lowdown

19-year-old Stoica is predominantly a right winger but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or a centre forward.

He only moved to Bucharest from CSM Slatina, a third tier Romanian side, in June last year.

But he penned a two-year deal on arrival, meaning he’s already into his final 18 months, possibly creating a great chance for the Eagles to swoop in and secure a reasonably priced deal.

The latest

The report states that Palace are among the sides keen on Stoica, with London rivals Arsenal also in the running.

It notes that The Eagles unsuccessfully tried to sign team-mate Florinel Coman, who plays as a winger, a couple of years ago.

The club’s owner, Gigi Becali, insists that he will not sell teenage talents, preferring to extract more from them before he lets them leave.

The verdict

Why might Stoica be on Palace’s radar? Well, he’s been shining despite his tender years, recording ten direct goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in his first 18 appearances of 2021/22.

Romania Under-21 manager Florian Bratu was impressed enough to call him up for international action, and he was rewarded with a goal in a friendly against Georgia in September.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig has labelled Stoica a ‘complete forward’ with pace in abundance.

And what’s more, Romanian football journalist Emanuel Rocu says the youngster reminds him of Sergio Aguero.

He certainly looks to be a real gem if Palace can find a suitable deal.

In other news, fans react to links with this PL ace.

Leeds United want Raphinha to sign a new contract, amid rumours of a January move to Bayern Munich, Phil Hay reports.

The Lowdown: Bayern links

Raphinha, described as an ‘unbelievable player’ by Illan Meslier, has been the club’s top performer this season. The winger has scored eight of Leeds’ 18 goals this season and has missed just two Premier League fixtures.

As a result of his impressive form, Bayern Munich have been linked with a January move for the 24-year-old, who is under contract at Elland Road until 2024.

Brazilian outlet TNT Sports even went as far as to say Raphinha would join Bayern in a deal worth €50m, however, The Yorkshire Evening Post rebuffed claims by stating the German giants are yet to express an interest.

The Latest: Hay’s claim

Hay posted a link to a story on Twitter on Wednesday lunchtime, claiming ‘Leeds United want Raphinha’s next move to be the agreement of a new contract at Elland Road’.

Within his story, Hay claimed that the Brazilian likes Leeds and what his move to Yorkshire has done for him. Raphinha doesn’t feel as if the club are holding him back, with discussions underway over an improved deal.

The Verdict: New contract needed

Hay revealed that Raphinha’s current salary is a ‘fairly modest’ one by Premier League standards and behind Leeds’ biggest earners.

So, even if the Whites extend Raphinha’s contract by a further 12 months to 2025, a pay rise to make him one of the club’s biggest earners could be a wise move.

That would reflect his displays on the pitch and should keep him content in Yorkshire for the time being. A new deal would also allow Leeds to insert a release clause, meaning all parties involved could come out of discussions happy.

In other news: BBC man reacts as Leeds and Bielsa may now get ‘massive’ injury boost ‘for the Burnley game’. 

Ciaran Kelly spotted what Allan Saint-Maximin did right before he scored for Newcastle United in their game at home to Watford in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Great finish

The opening goal in the 1-1 draw against the Hornets was typical of Saint-Maximin with his outrageous ability on the ball.

The Frenchman cut inside from the wing, beating two players before rifling an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner of the net past Ben Foster.

It put the North East club in the driving seat at St. James’ Park, although Joao Pedro levelled things up with a smart finish.

The Latest: Kelly reacts

Writing on Twitter, The Chronicle journalist Kelly spotted the hard work that Saint-Maximin did before he got his goal:

“Will go a little unnoticed but that all stemmed from Allan Saint-Maximin not giving up the ghost.

“Chased and harried Ngakia in build-up, forcing him into a mistake, before cutting inside and rifling the ball past Foster. Great finish. Deafening noise inside St James’ Park.”

The Verdict: All-rounder

Everyone knows that Saint-Maximin is an elite dribbler – he currently averages the second-most amount of dribbles per game in the top flight, only behind Wolves ace Adama Traore.

However, as Kelly points out, his work off the ball sometimes goes unnoticed, and his effort in trying to win it back off of Jeremy Ngakia before going on to score was such an important moment in the match.

Nonetheless, the 24-year-old will no doubt be a key player for the Tyneside outfit if they are to avoid relegation down to the Championship at the end of the campaign.

In other news, find out who NUFC are now in ‘advanced talks’ to sign here!

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side head into Tuesday evening’s Premier League clash with Manchester City in something of a slump in form, having won just two of their last ten league outings, leaving the Whites down in 15th place in the top flight rankings.

And, with a considerable amount of injuries currently plaguing his first-team squad, the 66-year-old Leeds manager has once again been left with very little up his sleeve regarding team selection for the trip to the Etihad, with Pep Guardiola’s top of the table City side surely being confident of taking all three points against their depleted opponent.

So, how will the Argentine coach line up his team against Manchester City this evening? Here’s how we think the Leeds starting XI could look, along with the latest team and injury news.

With Bielsa confirming in his pre-match press conference that none of Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford, Pascal Struijk, Robin Koch or Rodrigo Moreno have recovered from the injuries that saw them sit out the Chelsea game on Saturday, we predict that the 66-year-old will make three changes to the team that started at Stamford Bridge last time out.

The first of these comes in the back four, with 19-year-old centre-back Charlie Cresswell – who Joe Wainman claimed should be a “mainstay” in the Leeds side – coming in alongside Diego Llorente, a switch which also sees Luke Ayling move back to the right-hand side of the defence.

In the middle of the park, both £60k-per-week Jack Harrison and Jamie Shackleton drop out of the XI after relatively poor showings against the Blues, with Stuart Dallas moving from right-back to central midfield, while Mateusz Klich also makes a return to the side.

Finally, in attack, the £22k-per-week Tyler Roberts – who Gabriel Agbonlahor dubbed “shocking” – makes way for 19-year-old sensation Joe Gelhardt – who is more than deserving of a start following his display against Thomas Tuchel’s side last weekend – while Daniel James and Raphinha move back to more familiar positions on the left and right-wing respectively.

In other news: “Never seen an injury like that” – Bielsa drops big Leeds update that’ll terrify fans

Patrick Vieira will lead his Crystal Palace team out in their first FA Cup semi-final since 2016 at Wembley this weekend in a fantastic achievement for the Eagles. However, there has been a late injury concern following the defeat to Leicester City on Sunday.

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, Crystal Palace are anxiously awaiting clarity on a potential injury problem following Tyrick Mitchell’s early departure from the pitch in the 37th minute of their Premier League clash at the King Power Stadium yesterday.

The Palace boss gave a brief update on the left-back’s condition in his post-match interview simply saying: “He felt something on his calf so we did not want to take any risk.

“We have to wait to see how bad it is.”

Vieira will be worried

Vieira will surely be worried not to have Mitchell in the team against Chelsea this weekend, after already losing Conor Gallagher following his parent’s club’s rejection of Palace’s request to let their loan player take part in the meeting.

The 22-year-old star has been incredibly influential this season for the Eagles, playing every single league game so far averaging at 88 minutes per match. He’s won the majority of his duels combined (61%), creating two big chances, delivering two assists whilst making three tackles, 1.2 interceptions and two clearances per outing on average, according to SofaScore.

If the defender isn’t available for the important clash, Vieira will have a huge headache in setting up his team and could potentially change formation in the defensive line, or he could simply deploy Joel Ward who is naturally a right-back but replaced Mitchell in the left-back position following his injury concern against the Foxes.

The 32-year-old has made 24 appearances in the Premier League this season, but before Sunday has not been involved in Palace’s last seven outings, out of the squad for five and on the bench for two following a groin injury, with Nathaniel Clyne taking up the right-back role during his absence.

The manager will now need to wait until he has full confirmation of the extent on Mitchell’s injury issues before he makes a decision on how best to deploy his team against Chelsea at the weekend, but the Frenchman will surely be frustrated to lose such an impactful player at this stage of the season.

In other news: Vieira now set for CPFC disaster on “phenomenal” £130k-p/w star

Leeds United have been handed a quadruple injury boost ahead of their upcoming Premier League fixture.

What’s the latest?

In a recent article for Leeds Live, Beren Cross revealed that there could be light at the end of the tunnel regarding both Patrick Bamford and Luke Ayling’s respective recoveries from injury, with the centre-forward having been sidelined since September with an ankle injury, while the right-back has missed the Whites’ last nine fixtures due to a knee injury.

The journalist then went on to state that the knocks of Raphinha and Rodrigo – who both missed the Leeds’ 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday – are only believed to be minor, suggesting that the duo will be back for the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.

In his article, Cross wrote: “There is hopefully light at the end of the tunnel for United. Ayling and Bamford are thought to be making good progress and not far away, while Raphinha and Rodrigo’s issues are thought to be minor.”

Fans will be buzzing

While Leeds have not enjoyed the best of seasons so far this term, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side having picked up just 11 points from their opening 12 fixtures of the campaign, considering just how important the quartet of Bamford, Ayling, Raphinha and Rodrigo are to the Whites, when these four all make a return to first-team football, it would not be surprising to see Leeds shoot up the league standings.

Indeed, last season, Raphinha ranked as the club’s third-best performer in the league according to SofaScore, while Ayling, Bamford and Rodrigo came in as the Whites’ sixth, seventh and tenth-best players in the top flight respectively.

As such, despite the fact that Leeds currently sit in 17th place in the Premier League standings, a mere two points above Burnley in the relegation zone, following Cross’ latest injury update, the Elland Road faithful shouldn’t have too much to worry regarding relegation just yet as they gear up for the exiting return of their star men.

In other news: Imagine him & Phillips: Orta can land dream LUFC duo with 27 y/o gem likened to Rooney

A number of Liverpool supporters are fuming after journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed there has been ‘no negotiation’ for Porto attacker Luis Diaz.

The Reds are preparing for life without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in January, with the pair on Africa Cup of Nations duty, along with Naby Keita.

It leaves Jurgen Klopp short of attacking options this month and there is of course the potential to sign someone to help fill the void.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

One player who has been linked with a move to Anfield is Diaz, who has impressed for Porto this season, scoring 12 goals in 15 Primeira Liga appearances.

Taking to Twitter on Saturday, however, Romano claimed that Liverpool have not started negotiations regarding a move for the Colombian, perhaps further suggesting no signings will be made in January.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-16/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans unhappy at Diaz latest

It is an update that hasn’t gone down well with these Reds fans on Twitter, who bemoaned the club’s lack of spending.

“Stand still FC”

Credit: @garylouth

“Confirmed we are not signing anyone this window”

Credit: @taylorblueslim

“Foolish club”

Credit: @Jezscy

“Gerrard time soon”

Credit: @footnut

“We are actually finished. We go again, another 30 years trophyless”

Credit: @notyrgoku

“Every transfer rumour about Liverpool is NO”

Credit: @dondarius471

In other news, some Liverpool fans love David Ornstein’s transfer claim. Read more here.

Liverpool will take on AC Milan tonight in a Champions League clash that means very little to the Merseyside giants’ campaign but will mean everything to their opponents who desperately need to win this game to boost their chances of moving forward in the competition.

Jurgen Klopp will go into this game with full confidence and nothing to lose, as Liverpool have taken maximum points and subsequently qualified with ease from their group in the Champions League after five wins out of five so far.

Despite being through to the knock out stages already, the German manager is not the type to happily concede a game and will be fully intending to continue the unbeaten run Liverpool find themselves holding on to in Europe this season, with the potential to qualify on maximum points.

If the Reds beat AC Milan at the San Siro this evening, they will become the first English side in the history of the Champions League to win every single group stage game, a record that we’re sure Klopp would love to have under his belt.

With that being said, Klopp will be buzzing to learn that his opposition go into this game with a number of injury concerns that could have a negative impact on their chances to put goals past the in form Reds, and will only encourage the German coach further to rotate his team with ease.

Milan have been dealt a double injury blow ahead of hosting the six-time Champions League winners, with both Pietro Pellegri and Rafael Leao set to miss out on the action due to sustaining muscular injuries.

These fresh injuries couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Italian giants, as they need to take all three points off the Merseyside outfit in the upcoming clash to qualify for a spot in the final stages of the competition, currently on four points in third position of the group, one point behind Porto.

It also represents a huge boost for the 19-time English champions as Leao has proven to be a devastating asset in the final third this term, scoring five and assisting three times. Thus, Liverpool’s defence will likely have an easier night defending their own goal, presenting them with the opportunity to perhaps field a young makeshift backline.

Not only will Milan need win tonight’s game, but they will also need to hope Porto do not take maximum points from their last game against bottom of the group, Atletico Madrid, who are also only on four points.

Atletico still have their chance to qualify too despite being bottom of Group B, needing to take three points from their last fixture against Porto and will need Liverpool to beat Milan.

Whilst the rest of their Champions League group remains open, Liverpool are now in a position to give their key players a rest and let their squad from the bench and youngsters step into cover positions, gaining a start in the line up and some much-needed game time on Tuesday evening.

In other news: Klopp could finally sign Wijnaldum replacement