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West Bromwich Albion lost just their second game of the Championship season at the weekend as they succumbed to a surprise defeat at home to Middlesbrough, but their fortunes may soon change ahead of a potentially season-defining game.

What’s he said?

The Baggies host league leaders Leeds United on New Year’s Day as the league’s two front-runners go head-to-head at the Hawthorns.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side are only top by goal difference, but it is Slaven Bilic’s Albion that have held the top spot for most of the season so far.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

The pair have opened up a gap of nine points to those outside of the automatic promotion spots while the winner will be handed a three-point cushion to start 2020.

West Brom could be boosted by the return of left-sided duo Kieran Gibbs and Grady Diangana, according to Expres & Star reporter Luke Hatfield, he said:

Boost

This would come as a major advantage to the Baggies’ chances of coming out on top on Wednesday afternoon as they are yet to pick up a victory in Diangana’s absence.

Five games, no wins.

The West Ham loanee has proven to be an influential member of the squad, directly contributing to a total of ten league goals, which is only bettered by his attacking midfield counterparts Matheus Pereira and Matty Phillips.

While at left-back, Bilic has faced problems, often electing for Nathan Ferguson to play out of position there, but that experiment was so bad on Sunday that he substituted Conor Townsend on in his place.

Both players returning will offer the Croatian his first-choice left flank, so hopefully, they’ll look a much different side to the one that was shockingly defeated by a struggling Boro outfit.

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And in other news, the Baggies have suffered a setback in their pursuit of this rival player…

According to Goal, Southampton are interested in signing Sampdoria centre-back Omar Colley, who is also on the radar of fellow Premier League sides Newcastle and West Ham.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the 12-cap Gambia international is believed to be keen on a move to the Premier League despite his side’s battle against relegation to Serie B – Sampdoria currently sit just two points above the bottom three in Serie A.

The Italian side would reportedly prefer to keep hold of Colley in January as another centre-back of theirs, Alex Ferrari, has suffered a serious knee injury.

However, Sampdoria risk losing Colley for £15m according to Goal.

The Serie A side are also keen to find a replacement before sanctioning any departure for their No.15.

Colley recently managed to help his side record a clean sheet against AC Milan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and expressed his happiness at shutting out the iconic Swede when saying: “We had three or four chances to score the winning goal. We are happy anyway, we made a point at San Siro against Milan, we prevented Ibrahimovic from scoring. We start 2020 in the best way”.

Not much better than what Southampton have

While it is a decent achievement to keep a player of Ibrahimovic’s quality quiet, it doesn’t appear as if Colley is any better than what Southampton have in the centre-back department if you judged him statistically.

The Zambian defender has averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.72, which is slightly below Jack Stephens’ rating of 6.8 – while Jan Bednarek admittedly has an inferior rating to Colley with 6.64, he is four years younger. It must also be noted that Stephens is two years younger than the 27-year-old Sampdoria man.

Additionally, Stephens and Bednarek both average more tackles per game in the Premier League than Colley does in Serie A, registering 2 and 2.1 respectively whereas the Saints transfer target only averages 1.3 tackles.

Furthermore, Colley also commits more fouls than the Southampton duo, upending the opposition 1.4 times per game in Italy’s top-flight while Stephens and Bednarek only commit 0.4 and 1 foul respectively.

How much do you remember about football in 2019? Our quiz will test your knowledge…

Given the fact that Sampdoria want £15m, and also want to find a replacement first, it doesn’t seem as if Colley would be worth the fight with Newcastle and West Ham for Southampton if these numbers are anything to go by.

In other news, this Southampton target delivered a fine performance in his latest display…

Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to sing Adam Lallana’s praises, after the midfielder came off the bench to deliver an impressive cameo appearance in the 1-0 win over Tottenham on Saturday.

The former Southampton player has struggled for starts so far this season, making just three Premier League appearances from the first whistle this term, although he didn’t let his lack of game time affect his showing against Spurs.

Lallana stepped off the bench in the 61st minute when replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and went on to help his teammates see out their 20th Premier League win of the campaign from 21 games.

The 31-year-old had 34 touches of the ball and completed 92.6% of his 27 passes, while also getting stuck in defensively with three tackles and one interception in just around 30 minutes of action.

Additionally, the England international also completed one dribble and won a freekick.

As Jose Mourinho’s side – who had more shots than Liverpool – ramped up the pressure in the dying stages, Lallana helped nullify their attacks with some admirable pressing, so let’s see what the Reds fans on Twitter thought of his cameo…

Firstly, these two supporters couldn’t speak highly enough of Lallana’s cameo.

Jame said that he was “absolutely quality” when he came on, before mentioning that the Englishman is a “technically superb footballer” who has been of great value to Klopp so far this season.

Elsewhere, this fan named Danny said that he’d be tempted to give Lallana another year at the club if he carries on like this – the No.20’s contract at Anfield is set to expire in the summer.

This supporter specifically pinpointed what he felt Lallana did well, highlighting his carrying of the ball and care in possession as commendable aspects of his cameo as well as his breaking of the lines.

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Lastly, Neil and Danny continued the love-in over Lallana’s performance.

Neil said that the Southampton academy graduate “suddenly seems rejuvenated” whereas Danny felt the midfielder was “brilliant” after coming off the bench.

In other news, these Liverpool fans were wrong to take aim at this player following the 1-0 win over Tottenham…

West Bromwich Albion have a major problem. No one can say otherwise.

They haven’t ever been able to keep hold of their brightest and best academy hopefuls, and it’s through no fault of their own for the most part.

The most damning case has come back to centre stage once again.

Louie Barry left the club for the sunny sights of Barcelona in the summer, but less than six months later, he’s back in the Midlands and appears set to join local rivals Aston Villa – despite West Brom not receiving any fee for him yet.

The 16-year-old was widely regarded as one of Albion’s most highly-rated prospects to ever come through the system, but he was allowed to run down his deal and leave.

It’s happened before, and there are countless examples – Izzy Brown, Yan Dhanda, Jerome Sinclair, and even Nathan Ferguson could soon join this list.

But currently, there’s a like-for-like situation brewing in the youth team right now with Rayhaan Tulloch attracting interest from the top-flight.

A whole host of Premier League clubs have scouted him this season – the worst part of it all is, he’s out of contract in the summer too.

The 19-year-old frontman has scored seven goals in 12 matches for the U23s in the Premier League 2, with him adding two to his tally on Monday night against Sunderland.

Across both levels of youth football, Tulloch has managed to bag 33 goals in 82 appearances, all whilst playing an array of positions in the front three, per Transfermarkt.

This is all too similar to Barry, who netted hatfuls for England U15s and U16s, according to an article by Goal.

Albion had offered him a new deal, but the lure of Barcelona was all too much, highlighting that something has got to change in the near future.

How much do you remember about football in 2019? Our quiz will test your knowledge…

West Brom need to be an attractive prospect for any rising star, whether that is financial terms, the opportunity to play in the first-team or playing at the highest level remains to be seen, but you’d imagine a combination of the above would do the trick.

That falls into sporting director Luke Dowling’s hands. If he doesn’t act soon, Tulloch will be just another Barry that slipped through the net.

And in other news, Slaven Bilic could be taking a big risk by landing this relegation specialist…

Christian Eriksen appeared to be saying goodbye.

A clip widely shared on Twitter saw the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder linger on the pitch after their 1-0 loss to Liverpool, waving at the crowd.

Sources have told Football FanCast that Inter Milan are interested in signing him this month and that a deal that would cost in the region of £20m could well be struck.

Eriksen had next to no impact on the clash with the Reds and was actually booed when he was substituted.

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He will leave a villain, having sullied his legacy at the club.

This is a player who, at his peak, was perhaps the finest playmaker in the league. In 224 Premier League appearances, he has scored 51 goals and registered 62 assists. That is 113 goal contributions in 224 appearances; a stunning return for a player that cost just over £11m in 2013.

He should be remembered as an example of exceptional scouting, of frugal management, of the fact that the best players don’t have to cost the Earth.

And yet, he has poisoned the water in north London.

In the summer, following a Champions League final defeat, he said that he needed a “new challenge”. Sources say that he wanted to move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona but neither club were interested.

He ended up staying but it has been clear that his head is elsewhere.

Per WhoScored, he has scored two goals and provided two assists in 18 league appearances this term.

In that time, he has averaged a rating of 6.53. He has hit a rating over 7 on just three occasions; he has had lower than 6 four times.

That simply isn’t good enough. Against Liverpool, he played as though he did not want to dirty his shirt. Those choosing to defend him will maybe point to his four key passes but, even then, he didn’t manage a dribble and he completed just 24 passes in the 90 minutes.

He was roundly jeered when he went off and it is little surprise.

While Spurs could not find a way to move him on in the summer, he has hung around like a particularly bad smell, to the chagrin of many supporters.

He is emblematic of a player downing tools and simply waiting for the next transfer window.

A move to Inter is not even what he wanted – it is certainly a rung below Barca or Real – but he cannot exactly look a gift horse in the mouth.

He has stayed around long enough to see himself become the villain; few in north London will truly miss him.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have criticised another star for his display against Liverpool. 

After initially making his Arsenal bow under Unai Emery in the Europa League tie against FC Vorskla (a game in which he scored), Joe Willock established himself as one of the breakout stars from the academy under the Spaniard’s reign.

Playing in all four positions across the midfield, the 20-year-old featured 23 times under Emery, scoring an impressive seven goals too. Such was the big impression that he made, Willock even came on for Mesut Ozil in the Europa League final against Chelsea at the end of last season.

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And his start to the current campaign followed a similar pattern too, further reinforcing his status as one of the young starlets the Gunners could build around. He featured in eight of the nine opening Premier League matches, including starting the first three games. He was very much an Emery ‘favourite’, with the Spanish boss even publicly revealing just how highly he thought of him.

“His really big challenge was that Jack Wilshere left here, Aaron Ramsey left and he had to take that opportunity to be with us. The last months of last year was the moment I spoke with him. ‘For you it is a big challenge in the new season to do differently and really show us you can take their position in this squad’. His progress is a very good example as a positive to many others. If his progression keeps going the way it is going right now, I don’t know when he will stop and how far he can go.”

But following the departure of Emery late last year, there has been a dramatic turnaround in Willock’s influence in the first-team. As new head coach Mikel Arteta has looked to stamp his authority on things, it appears the Gunners prodigy is not considered a vital piece of the jigsaw just yet.

The Englishman has played just 42 minutes of football under Arteta – 29 minutes in three separate Premier League appearances, and 13 minutes in the FA Cup third round clash against Leeds. It’s a hugely disappointing total for a player who had seemingly carved out an integral place in the senior squad under the former manager.

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The new Gunners coach has favoured the likes of Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi in the deeper-lying midfield roles, whilt Ozil has rose to prominence once more, playing in every game under Arteta.

When new bosses arrive, there’s always bound to be one major casualty. And unfortunately for Willock, he appears to be that player.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans react to interest in their latest centre-back target.

Georginio Wijnaldum has told Sky Sports that it is difficult to say what he wants in regards to his new potential new contract.

What did he say?

The Netherlands international was speaking following Liverpool’s FA Cup fourth-round draw with Shrewsbury Town – he also commented on Jurgen Klopp’s decision to field the kids and not manage the game himself – before being asked about his contract situation.

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He said: “I’m just focusing on bringing this season to a good end and that’s the only thing I’m thinking of. What would I like? It is difficult to say. It depends on what the club wants and how the situation is at that time. We will see.”

Time is numbered

At 29 years of age, Wijnaldum is at the end of his prime years, and does not have a huge amount of time left at the top of the game. However, this season he has been pretty much an ever-present in the Reds’ starting line-up in the Premier League at least – he has missed just one match.

He has been linked with a move away at the end of the season, and these latest comments will do little to persuade Liverpool supporters that he is committed to staying with the club for the long-term. The 29-year-old currently rakes in £75,000 a week, as per Sportrac, so a new extension is unlikely to break the bank for the Reds. That salary, though, should also make it easy to tie him up to a new deal, which is not yet the case.

The Anfield outfit’s reported interest in bringing in another midfielder could also mean his time is numbered on Merseyside. The Reds have been linked with both Sandro Tonali (Corriere dello Sport via Sport Witness) and Boubakary Soumare in recent weeks, and the fact that they are 19 and 20 respectively indicates that Klopp might be planning for the future. With Naby Keita (24), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (26) and Fabinho (26) all distinctly younger than him, he would likely be one of the first to make way if needs be.

For the next few months, at least, the focus needs to be on helping Liverpool win a first league title in 30 years. At the end of the campaign, though, a decision needs to be made. Right now, what that choice will be appears to be far from clear.

Meanwhile, this Liverpool duo could be tempted away according to John Aldridge.

According to Football Insider, Sheffield Wednesday striker Jordan Rhodes hasn’t given up on a move to Scotland after having a bid for him on deadline day declined by the Owls.

What’s the word?

It’s claimed that SPFL giants Celtic were interested in bringing the 29-year-old to Glasgow last week, and the Wednesday striker was quite attracted by the prospect of the moving north of the border.

Now Rhodes is believed to be eager to join Neil Lennon’s side this summer should they pursue him once again.

The Owls frontman was also a reported target of Wigan Athletic and Cardiff City during the January transfer window.

Best for all parties

Rhodes has been part of the setup at Hillsborough since former manager Carlos Carvalhal made a club-record splash on him in the summer of 2017 following an initial six-month loan period from league rivals Middlesbrough.

Although his time in south Yorkshire has been far from a success – last season he was forced out on loan to Norwich City and this campaign he’s only managed to start four Championship matches.

His overall record for the Owls isn’t great reading either, managing just 13 goals in 70 appearances.

On reported wages of £40k-per-week and 18 months to run on his current deal, a permanent move away and a fresh start is best for everyone involved.

Garry Monk has recently made his intentions very clear by bringing in two attacking additions on deadline day, so Rhodes’ place in the Owls pecking order has slipped down even more.

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While it is unlikely the club will be able to recoup the fee they paid for him, they can still get one of their highest earners off the wage bill and thus give Monk a boost to rebuild this squad come the off-season.

And in other news, this Steve Bruce favourite turned Monk outcast may have shown exactly why he may still have a future at Sheffield Wednesday…

In what has been a topsy-turvy season for Manchester United, the first natural thing to do, is to try and find out some of the root causes behind the issues.

The Red Devils find themselves six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, and have suffered some disappointing defeats to the likes of Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Arsenal this season.

Whilst Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the club’s manager will no doubt take some of the flak, it appears some of the United squad aren’t overly keen on another member of the Norwegian’s backroom staff.

The Daily Mirror’s John Cross has claimed that there appears to be reservations over first-team coach, Kieran McKenna.

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It’s suggested “some feel that coaching in general can be too basic and very British in its approach with the suggestion that McKenna calls the shots”. After hearing about the report, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Some fans called on McKenna to be sacked, with one supporter in particular calling for the whole coaching staff and manager to be gone too.

One fan of the Manchester side in particular remarked that the coaching setup appears to be more suited for the “third division”.

Whilst it would be little too naive to suggest United’s problems can all be pinned down on what McKenna brings to the table on the training ground, if the report is accurate, then it can explain some of the issues faced by the Red Devils this season.

If players aren’t fully invested in training during the week, then it’s difficult to expect a completely different performance on the pitch when it’s game-time.

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Perhaps it’s something Solskjaer should look to keep an eye on in terms of either intervening himself, or changing things up to lift the mood a little at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Man Utd fans have hailed this starlet after his display in the FA Youth Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a potential move for Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho, per The Daily Express.

What’s the word?

The former Liverpool ace is currently on loan at Bayern Munich from Barca.

Coutinho has made 27 appearances for the German club this season, and the report states that Bayern hold the option to buy him for a fee of £102m.

The Express reports that the German side are not set to take up the option, though the Catalan club are keen to sell this summer, setting his asking price at £77m.

That would mean Barca make a loss of £65m after paying £142m to bring him into the club from Liverpool.

Spurs, Manchester United, former club Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea have already revealed their interest.

A flop

This is not the kind of deal Spurs should be chasing.

Coutinho moved to Barcelona for a massive sum of money and he is genuinely struggling to make any sort of impact.

Across his 76 games for the club, he has scored 21 goals and registered just 11 assists.

Money talks: How much did Levy pay for each of these Spurs stars?

At Bayern, he has scored seven and assisted eight but those numbers are hardly standing out in two sides that would expect to enjoy huge success in their respective leagues.

A move at over £70m for a player who will turn 28 in June simply doesn’t make sense for Spurs, especially in a position in which they have just signed Giovani Lo Celso on a permanent basis.

Meanwhile, one Spurs star is set to become a star!