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Kalvin Phillips is now expected to be fit for Leeds United’s Premier League clash with Southampton on Saturday, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Leeds head to Saints

The Whites return to domestic duties with a trip to St Mary’s this afternoon, looking to build on their 1-0 win at home to Watford before the international break.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men will have to perform well to pick up all three points against Saints, though, with victory taking them further clear of the relegation zone.

Defeat will see Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side overtake Leeds, however, highlighting the importance of the match at the bottom of the table.

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The Latest: Phillips could be available

With kickoff fast approaching, The Athletic‘s Hay has provided a promising injury update regarding Phillips on Saturday morning.

He had stated earlier in the week that the midfielder had a ‘chance’, now upgrading that to a ‘good chance’ of playing at St Mary’s in this 12-word update:

“Kalvin Phillips is in with a good chance after his calf strain.”

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The Verdict: Potential huge boost

There is a strong argument to say that Phillips is Leeds’ most important player, dominating midfield battles with his tenacity off the ball and quality on it, averaging an 84.6 percent pass completion rate in the league this season.

If the 25-year-old is fit to start, it will be an immediate boost for Bielsa, who will be aware that his team’s season needs to get back on track.

In other news, Leeds could be able to sign one rumoured transfer target in January. Read more here.

Following the departure of Everton’s director of football Marcel Brands, it was claimed by Toffees journalist Greg O’Keefe that manager Rafael Benitez “will have greater influence” regarding future transfers as well as club owner Farhad Moshiri and his advisors.

One particular potential transfer swoop that Moshiri could consider which would certainly please Benitez and potentially many Everton fans too would be to swoop for Real Madrid midfielder Isco during the upcoming January transfer window.

With a recent report from Spain suggesting that the La Liga club would be willing to sell the midfielder next month, this could give Everton a great opportunity to secure his signature after being previously linked with him.

Since joining Carlo Ancelotti’s side back in 2013 from fellow Spanish club Malaga, Isco has gone on to make 343 appearances across all competitions, scoring 52 goals and providing 56 assists along the way and winning a plethora of trophies in the process.

So far this season, the 29-year-old has only made seven appearances in La Liga, which shows why the club are reportedly willing to let him leave in January.

During Benitez’s spell in charge of Real Madrid, Isco scored three goals and provided six assists 20 appearances under the current Everton boss, leaving only Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo having appeared more often during the 61-year-old’s brief reign at the Bernabeu in 2015.

This suggests that Benitez would presumably be very happy to reunite with Isco, who is currently picking up a wage of £211k-per-week according to Salary Sport, if he were to make the move to Everton next month.

Labelled previously as a “fantastic player with an incredible talent” by former Barcelona star Andres Iniesta, Moshiri could deliver Benitez’s dream transfer at Goodison Park in January by securing Isco’s signature in the coming weeks.

In addition, if the 29-year-old were guaranteed regular game-time in the Premier League, this could be very tempting for the player rather than being a sporadic option for Ancelotti in Madrid.

Looking ahead to January, Moshiri and Benitez should definitely explore the possibility of signing Isco in January to try bring him to Everton and see if he can inject a bit of life back into the squad.

In other news: Benitez must finally axe £92k-p/w Everton flop, he’s stealing a living

Leeds United have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to keep Kalvin Phillips at Elland Road amid Manchester United’s reported interest this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Florian Plettenberg, with the Sky Sports Deutschland journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that United are currently “dealing” with the transfer of the defensive midfielder – with Ralf Rangnick’s side having been heavily linked with a £60m move for the England international this summer.

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Concerning Manchester United’s interest in the 26-year-old, Plettenberg said: “Been told that the club “is dealing” with Kalvin Phillips.”

Supporters will be fuming

Considering how important a part of the Leeds United side Phillips has become in recent years, in addition to the historic rivalry between Manchester United and the Whites, the news that the Red Devils look as if they are in discussions regarding a deal to sign the Leeds academy graduate this summer is sure to have left supporters fuming.

Indeed, while Phillips’ 2021/22 campaign has been severely hampered by a hamstring injury, the £45m-rated maestro undoubtedly proved over his 29 Premier League appearances last term that he is one of the leading defensive midfielders in the game, making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 2.6 tackles, 1.7 clearances and winning 5.3 duels – at a success rate of 52% – per game.

The £38k-per-week regista also impressed in a creative capacity, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, in addition to completing an average of 1.2 key passes, 4.7 long balls, 41 passes, four chipped through balls, 0.7 dribbles and one cross per fixture.

These returns saw the player who journalist Ali Martin dubbed “unreal” average an extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.21, not only ranking him as Leeds’ best performer in the league but also as the joint 17th-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, it is clear for all to see that losing the services of Phillips this summer would be something of a disaster for Jesse Marsch and his side, while the thought of the 26-year-old turning out for Manchester United next season is sure to be every Leeds supporter’s worst nightmare.

AND in other news: Victor Orta plotting Leeds bid for £20k-p/w “phenomenon”, it could be bye-bye Raphinha

Interest is intensifying in West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Mirror (via West Brom News), who claim that both West Ham United and Southampton are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Baggies shot-stopper ahead of a potential move this month.

The report reveals a sad twist to the tale, going as far as to state that, following his sending off in the 1-1 draw with Cardiff City on Sunday and subsequent three-match ban, the 28-year-old could well have played his final game for Valerien Ismael’s side, as a move could be on the cards before he completes his suspension.

Fans will be fuming

Considering just how important a part of the West Brom side Johnstone has become in recent seasons, the potential of the England international having already played his last game for the club is sure to have left The Hawthorns faithful fuming.

Indeed, over his 24 Championship appearances in the current campaign, the £7.2m-rated man has kept 11 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.4 saves and 1.7 successful runs out per game.

These returns have seen the player who Gary Lineker dubbed a “sensational” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 6.82, ranking him as Ismael’s 14th-best performer in the second tier of English football.

However, while these metrics are impressive, it was over the £32.5k-per-week goalkeeper’s 37 Premier League outings last season in which he demonstrated his ability at the highest level of the game, keeping six clean sheets and making an average of 4.5 saves per fixture – with these returns seeing the 28-year-old earn an extremely impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03.

As such, it is clear for all to see that, with West Brom still very much in the hunt for automatic promotion back to the top flight this season, losing a ‘keeper of Johnstone’s quality midway through the campaign would come as a huge blow to Albion’s chances of going on to do so come next May – an outcome that would undoubtedly be gutting for everyone involved with the club.

In other news: Ismael can finally axe woeful £36k-p/w WBA flop by unleashing £9m-rated “rocket”

Celtic look on course to secure a deal to bring Matt O’Riley to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that a recruitment source has revealed the Milton Keynes Dons midfielder has now passed his medical and agreed personal terms with the Bhoys ahead of his proposed £1.5m switch to Glasgow.

In the report, the media outlet wrote: “A recruitment source has told Football Insider that O’Riley has now completed medical tests and agreed personal terms with Celtic.”

Fans will be buzzing

Taking into account the exceptional form O’Riley has been in for MK Dons so far this season, in addition to the fact that Celtic had to fight off late competition from West Bromwich Albion for the 21-year-old’s signature, the news that the Hoops have agreed personal terms, as well as the midfielder passing his medical with the club, is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful buzzing.

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Indeed, over his 26 League One appearances in the current campaign, the £405k-rated man has scored seven goals, registered five assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 2.1 key passes and taking 1.5 shots per game.

The £900-per-week midfielder – who can play in both a defensive and attacking central midfield role – has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.5 interceptions, two tackles, 48.2 passes, one clearance and winning 4.6 duels per fixture.

These returns have seen the former England U18 international average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.37, ranking him as the joint seventh-best player in the whole of the English third-tier.

As such, considering his abundance of potential, O’Riley looks to be yet another exciting addition to Ange Postecoglou’s current options in the middle of the park – something that would appear to bode extremely well for Celtic’s title hopes come the end of the season.

In other news: Big blow: Celtic struck with crushing injury setback that’ll surely have fans worried

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Loads of Wolves fans have been reacting to a big update from the club, as Romain Saiss has signed a new contract at Molineux.

Saiss has penned a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2021, the club confirmed on Thursday.

The 28 year-old, who joined from French outfit Angers in 2016, was a crucial part of last season’s promotion campaign, and he has been no slouch this term either.

With Wolves sitting pretty in seventh place in the Premier League – perhaps what some may call “the best of the rest” – the 27-cap Morocco international has featured 13 times in the league, scoring twice, and also made five cup appearances.

Similarly to talisman Conor Coady, Saiss can play in various positions in midfield and defence, and his toughness, professionalism and versatility make him a very useful player to have around the squad.

Fans are delighted with the news, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left fuming as some early team news emerged ahead of their game away at Motherwell at Sunday lunchtime.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match in the Scottish Premiership, Steven Gerrard has now revealed that his team will be without Borna Barisic, Ryan Kent and Ryan Jack for the trip.

Jack seems to be suffering setback after setback, and so many members of the Ibrox faithful are desperate to see him back on the pitch again.

Kent has still not recovered from an ongoing hamstring injury, and the Light Blues have only managed to win three of their last six games in the SPFL without him (Transfermarkt).

Barisic has been rated as the Bears’ joint-second best player in the division so far this season with a 7.16 average rating from WhoScored, while he also ranks highly among his teammates in terms of average tackles (1.5), clearances (three), key passes (2.3) and crosses (3.2) per match.

Rangers fans on team news

These Gers fumed as the team news was shared on Twitter, with one RFC supporter claiming that it is a ‘blow’:

“A blow”

Credit: @legendsofibrox

“Hello darkness my old friend”

Credit: @scottfraser1972

“Sigh.”

Credit: @C0nnor1992

“Too soon… He was supposed to be back by Aberdeen.. How much longer 7-10 days?”

Credit: @Rangers4life_

“He told us Kent would be ready for Aberdeen that was 3 weeks ago”

Credit: @JUDSTER53

“You knew that was coming our record at getting players back from injury is nothing short of abysmal”

Credit: @coplandbear1872

In other news, find out what Rangers B update had Gers buzzing here!

Liverpool could find themselves without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita for their Premier League clash with Chelsea on 2 January.

That’s if Egyptian club Al Ahly get their wish for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be moved.

The Mirror’s David Lynch reported that Liverpool are ‘confident’ that the trio will be available for the trip to Stamford Bridge, but the African club’s intervention threatens to throw a ‘spanner in the works’.

Al Ahly are lobbying CAF to move the tournament’s start date from 9 January to 3 January. That would ensure they had their key players available for the start of the Club World Cup on 3 February.

However, from a Liverpool perspective, it would rule out Salah, Mane and Keita for the meeting with title rivals Chelsea, currently just one point behind The Reds in the table.

Just how big a blow would this be for Liverpool?

Salah is Liverpool’s runaway top scorer with 21 goals in all competitions, more than twice the tally of his nearest challenger. Mane is joint-second with nine goals, while Keita is a valuable rotation option, having played seven league games so far this season and netted three goals in all competitions.

Fan feed Anfield Edition relayed Lynch’s report on Al Ahly’s wishes, and here’s what some Reds supporters made of it.

Liverpool fans flock to AFCON update

“If AFCON allow this to happen, then this tournament is meaningless, less significant than Club World Cup. Even FA didn’t want to move their FA Cup preliminary rounds for us when we went to Club World Cup.”

Credit: @lfc_eddie

“Against Chelsea without Salah and Mane? We will be in trouble, that’s for sure. Hopefully before that there will be new players signed. Either Raphinha, Bowen or Antony to replace Salah’s position. For Mane’s position maybe Jota can play there.”

Credit: @Anggara16126514

“Jog on la”

Credit: @_DS_LFC

“Just cancel the AFCON altogether and move it to some other time”

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“Void the AFCON, lives are at stake for God’s sake, remember that saying well when LFC were 25 pts clear in 19-20 PL, just void the AFCON as it’s not even started……..”

Credit: @lfcmli4eva

“Wowwww”

Credit: @vadavandijk

In other news, plenty of LFC fans react to the club’s price tag for this player

Back in the summer of 2019, when Neil Lennon’s Celtic side had lost the services of Dedryck Boyata, Marvin Compper and Filip Benkovic in the heart of their defence, the Hoops were in rather desperate need of one or two fresh faces at centre-back ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.

By the time the transfer window closed in September, Celtic had secured the signings of both Christopher Jullien, for whom they paid £7m to Toulouse, and Hatem Abd Elhamed, paying Hapoel Beer Sheva £1.6m for the 28-year-old.

However, according to agent Adrian Aliaj, there was another player on Celtic’s wish list that year, in the shape of Amir Rrahmani from Dinamo Zagreb.

Indeed, shortly after the 25-year-old’s eventual €2.1m (£1.8m) switch to Hellas Verona that same summer, Aliaj informed Calcio Hellas that Lennon had registered his interest in signing the Kosovo international.

However, with Celtic not being forceful enough in their attempts to lure the player to Parkhead, Rrahmani decided that he would prefer a move to Serie A.

In the time since his low-key move to northeast Italy, the 6 foot 4 centre-back has quickly gone on to establish himself as one of the best defenders in the league – impressing so much for Hellas that, just six months after joining the club, Napoli parted with a considerable €14m (£12m) in order to bring the Kosovan to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in January 2020.

The £48k-per-week titan has continued his remarkable rise over his 27 Serie A appearances this season, helping the Azzurri to keep 11 clean sheets and scoring three goals, along with averaging 0.5 interceptions, 0.7 tackles and 2.5 clearances and winning 3.9 duels (at a success rate of 62%) per game.

These returns have seen the player who Matteo Bonetti dubbed “imposing” and Josh Bunting labelled “commanding” record a very impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as Luciano Spalletti’s fifth-best player in the Italian top flight, with the 28-year-old playing a key role in Napoli’s title charge.

As such, considering the fact that the £25m-rated Rrahmani would have cost Celtic just £200k more than Abd Elhamed back in 2019 – a player who would spend just 18 months in Glasgow before returning to Israel – it is clear to see that the Hoops had a nightmare when missing out on the Kosovan sensation.

AND in other news: Postecoglou now closing in on eight-figure deal, it’s a huge coup for Celtic

Pundit Noel Whelan has labelled a pending new deal for Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes as ‘incredible’, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Romano’s reveal

The Red Devils appear to be making a head start on their summer business and have already spoken with Erik ten Hag over the possibility of replacing Ralf Rangnick as manager.

A number of United players are also out of contract at the end of June, including club-record signing Paul Pogba.

Fernandes’ contract doesn’t expire until 2025, although Fabrizio Romano has revealed that there has been a ‘breakthrough’ in talks and a new five-year agreement has been ‘accepted’ by the 27-year-old.

The Latest: Whelan reacts to Fernandes latest

Whelan, who previously contributed for BBC Radio Leeds, was asked by Football Insider if a new deal for Fernandes was a coup.

This is what he had to say in reply, describing the attacking midfielder as a ‘huge player’ and labelling a pending new deal as ‘incredible’:

“Yeah, that’s a really important bit of business.

“He’s been a huge player for them since he’s come in, and his goal and assist record has proved that as well.

“He’s such a talented player, and they really need him in that side. Man United need that creativity and that goal threat from midfield.

“No, it hasn’t been the best season for him – but it’s been a very poor season from everyone at Old Trafford.

“To get him tied down, knowing they probably won’t be in the Champions League next season – that’s incredible.”

The Verdict: Smart move by Man United

Fernandes has contributed to 23 goals in 37 games this season, so a new and improved deal appears to be a shrewd decision by the club as they look to build for the future under a new manager.

He has also been the club’s best-rated performer in the Premier League among players who have made two or more appearances and has made more key passes per game than any other United player, as per WhoScored, so keeping your best players happy is obviously ideal.

You’d also expect that Fernandes, who is the Red Devils’ ninth-best paid player at the moment on £180,000 per week, may well be in line for a pay rise, with all eyes now on an official announcement from the club.

In other news: ‘Absolutely shocking’ – Source reveals Man Utd star now wants to quit even if Ten Hag arrives