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Liverpool are continuing to be linked with a move for Lille midfielder Renato Sanches ahead of the summer, and the Portuguese could be the ideal long-term heir for Jordan Henderson.

According to reports from Italy, the 23-year-old ‘seems destined’ to join Jurgen Klopp’s side this summer, as he continues to impress with his performances in Ligue 1.

Whilst the young midfielder is perhaps best known by a lot of Premier League fans for his torrid time on loan with Swansea City, Sanches has proved himself an extremely capable player in his time with both Bayern Munich and Lille, whilst also being one of Portugal’s stars of Euro 2016.

This season has seen Sanches has made 10 starts in Ligue 1 and in the games he has started, he has averaged a solid 6.97 rating for his performances, whilst also contributing one goal.

The midfielder has averaged a solid 89.1% pass accuracy in Ligue 1, whilst Henderson has managed an 87.3% pass accuracy in the Premier League.

Both Henderson’s and Sanches’ main strength is their passing, whilst the Portuguese international is also strong when it comes to dribbling, crossing and defensive contribution.

WhoScored (see links above) suggest that both players like to play long balls and play the ball off the ground often, which suggests that Sanches would fit into Liverpool’s style of play well.

Considering Henderson will turn 31 in June, the Reds arguably need to cast their eye towards the future and look at bringing in a long-term replacement for the influential captain, although his impressive fitness levels suggest that he has a few more years at the top at least.

Sanches also scores superbly on the scouting website FBRef, with his chance creation and progressive passing stats particularly impressive.

He was also well thought of during his time at Bayern Munich, with former manager Niko Kovac full of praise for the midfielder in 2018, saying:

“Renato has an exceptionally good technique, very good speed and a great body.

“It’s true that people fly off him left and right – just like they used to do with Lothar Matthaus.”

Therefore, the 23-year-old could certainly prove to be the long-term replacement for Henderson in this Liverpool side, as all the stats suggest that he would fit well into Klopp’s style of play.

AND, in other news… Edwards can rectify January transfer window blunder with summer swoop for 21 y/o centre-back beast

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer has given his thoughts on how his old side can improve.

Under manager Marcelo Bielsa, the Whites have impressed this season in the Premier League following their promotion from the Championship.

Leeds look all but safe, sitting on 35 points with 12 games to play, while they also boast a strong record in front of goal. In the 26 matches they have played so far, Bielsa’s men have managed to find the back of the net on 43 occasions.

To go that one step further, though, Palmer believes work needs to be done in the next transfer window. He exclusively told FFC:

“The players at Leeds United have done extremely well. But, you know, say if you want to be in the top six next season, it’s a big jump in spend to get to that next level of quality, paying salaries and transfer fees. So that’s the difference.”

If Leeds are to be ambitious next season and try to aim for a European place, then moving for some quality players in the summer is something the club will likely need to consider.

Competition for European qualification has been fierce this campaign, with the likes of West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa all entering the conversation. Should attempting to do battle with these clubs and the rest of the division’s more stronger outfits be something Bielsa has in mind for next term, then dipping into the transfer market will probably be necessary.

Aiden McGeady’s Sunderland spell has been a crazy affair.

After initially signing for the club, he was on a weekly salary of around £31k-per-week. It’s hard to suggest he merited that as the club fell into League One.

Though, now on £19k-per-week, he’s more than earning his money at the Stadium of Light. Before Lee Johnson walked into the club, McGeady hadn’t played all season.

An incident where he was pictured alongside Chris Maguire at McDonald’s after a defeat in December 2019 saw him alienated from the side and transfer listed.

He signed for Charlton on loan but then returned to the north-east, again alienated by Phil Parkinson. Though, Johnson clearly recognised he still had something to give and it hasn’t taken the Irishman long to rekindle his fire.

The winger has been phenomenal in recent months, becoming the club’s chief creator. He assisted all four of Charlie Wyke’s goals in the 4-1 win over Doncaster and has ten assists in just 14 outings this term.

He has been running riot down the left-hand side but his contract expires in just a matter of months. If you told McGeady, and indeed the club’s supporters, that he’d stay beyond the summer at the beginning of the season, they’d have laughed.

Though, the reality is that he’s now one of Sunderland’s most important players again. The veteran hinted last week that he wanted to stay in the north-east and according to Kevin Phillips, he more than deserves a new deal.

He told Football Insider: “Why would you not offer him a contract? Whether they go up or not.”

Phillips continued: “It is hard to find players of McGeady’s calibre. He can create goals. It is just a question of whether he has the hunger and desire to do it week in, week out and McGeady has shown recently that he has that. He has been outstanding.”

Kyril-Louis Dreyfus finalised his takeover of the club in the last few days and he will have a whole list of priorities to address. Though, he can start his tenure at Sunderland with a bang by tying down McGeady.

No player has more assists than the 34-year-old in League One this term, and despite his age, he is still as valuable as ever.

McGeady may have lost a yard of pace but creatively, he is still magic. Dreyfus simply has to ensure that his future lies at Sunderland, not elsewhere.

AND in other news, Forget Power: SAFC star who won 6 aerial duels was Johnson’s true hero on Tuesday…

Many Sunderland fans are over the moon after seeing tweets from the club announcing that they have managed to sign attacking player Ross Stewart.

Stewart has penned an initial two-and-a-half-year deal at the Stadium of Light, with the club having an option for a further year, as he arrives from Scottish Premiership side Ross County. One fan said they were ‘delighted’ after seeing the announcement.

The 24-year-old featured 19 times in the SPFL, picking up two goals and one assist (WhoScored). Albeit this is not the best tally for an attacker, his in-game stats show he can be a huge threat for the League One side. Stewart has managed on average 2.1 shots and 1.2 key passes per game this season.

An attacking signing is always a good thing, especially with Sunderland right in the thick of the play-off race. Manager Lee Johnson bringing in another forward to bolster the squad as they push for promotion has rightfully excited a lot of the Black Cats fan base.

Here is what these Sunderland fans had to say following the signing:

“Delighted with this signing, welcome to Sunderland mate”

Credit: @mackem4900

“And suddenly a shocking transfer window has turned into a credible one. Depth at left-back? Pace out wide? Progressive passer in midfield? Added goals upfront? Hopefully Stewart can help Wyke with the goals and fire us to the Championship. #SAFC”

Credit: @MattyCritchon

“Love that lads, now announce takeover”

Credit: @dannysafc73

“Let’s go baby”

Credit: @SamLucas__

“Welcome aboard the crazy train that is SAFC! Good luck fella”

Credit: @notch_32

“As long as this lad puts the effort in and plays for the shirt, I will be happy with the signing.”

Credit: @deangt

“Some solid signings, got a whole new left side. Let’s go on a run and we can make top 2!”

Credit: @flowerpotman98

In other news, Sunderland fans react to this Lee Johnson injury update.

Gareth Crooks believes Tottenham Hotspur should have moved to sign Jesse Lingard from Manchester United in January.

Spurs should have made Lingard move

Lingard made the switch to West Ham on loan last month, and has since scored three goals in four games (Transfermarkt) – one of which came against Spurs on Sunday in a 2-1 win.

Crooks included the England international in his BBC Team of the Week, and he suggested Jose Mourinho should have made an approach. He said:

“I find it particularly interesting that it is Moyes who has given Lingard a chance to rejuvenate his career, when it was Spurs who desperately needed him. Lingard is playing out of his skin.”

Hard to agree

Hindsight is a wonderful thing – it is very easy for Crooks to now say that Mourinho should have moved for £9m-valued Lingard (Transfermarkt) when he is impressing at another club. The fact of the matter is, he had managed just four goals since the start of the 2019/20 campaign before leaving Old Trafford for the Hammers on a temporary basis and it looked like his best days were behind him.

Tottenham have their very own Englishman who has fallen on hard times in Dele Alli – the last thing they needed was to bring in another such player. Lingard is doing fantastically well at the London Stadium, and David Moyes deserves credit for that, but it may not have been the case elsewhere.

In other news, Tottenham are said to be interested in this Champions League midfielder.

Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri excelled at a potentially ideal time for West Ham United by hitting a hat-trick against Cadiz CF on Saturday, only to then deal the Irons a huge blow.

Reports by the Daily Star earlier in the week suggested that Hammers were preparing a new offer worth up to £32m, including add-ons, with the hope of signing the 23-year-old forward this month, after seeing a £27m bid knocked back earlier in the January transfer window.

Yet Sevilla, who signed the Morocco international for just €20m (£18m), are said to be relaxed as they demand no less than €40m (£35.5m) outright to release the man who fired them up to third in the La Liga table with a Man of the Match showing in Saturday’s 3-0 win.

En-Nesyri’s hat-trick at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium was his second in the space of only two weeks, after firing home thrice in a 3-2 win at home to Real Sociedad. He now has 12 goals in 19 games, more than any other player in the Spanish top-flight.

It was not only his goals that saw En-Nesyri stand out against Cadiz this weekend, as he dictated the flow of Sevilla’s attacking gameplan to warrant a match-high 10 out of 10 rating from WhoScored.

It was his best match rating of the season so far, having offered a game-high five shots – three more than anyone else – of which four were directed on target. He also provided two key balls from 14 accurate passes, which SofaScore deemed to have created two big chances for Sevilla to find the back of Jeremias Ledesma’s net as they awarded him a 9.8/10 rating.

En-Nesyri has now created five clear-cut chances for Sevilla to score in La Liga fixtures this term but remains without an assist, despite offering four times his average key passes a game (0.5). No forward in La Liga has created a higher number of chances where there is a reasonable expectation of a teammate scoring without a shot being converted.

He also moved his successful dribbles a match average to 0.4 after successfully driving play forward with the ball at his feet on two of his six attempts against Cadiz – only four attackers across Spain’s top-flight offer two or more successful dribbles a game. One of those four attackers is Sevilla winger Suso, who attempted (8) dribbles against Cadiz.

En-Nesyri also contested more offensive aerial duels (3) than any of his teammates on Saturday, while attempting one defensive aerial contest further saw the €50,000-per-week (£44.5k-p/w) marksman match his season average of two or more duels won a game with a 51% success rate.

En-Nesyri even confirmed after the match that he had been suffering with sight issues after the foul he drew late in the first-half that led to his second goal.

But for as good a performance as En-Nesyri produced, maybe at a high enough level for West Ham to match Sevilla’s demands for a winter sale, he went on to perhaps deal a huge blow to the Irons’ hope of securing a transfer this month.

“Nothing has changed, all this comes with work and concentration. Now we are going for more, for now, I’m staying at Sevilla, I’m going nowhere,” he told Movistar+, via quotes by Estadio Deportivo. “I want to finish the year here. It’s a great club and I want to be here.”

En-Nesyri’s declaration will likely be seen as a huge blow at West Ham as the club searches for a new striker to replace Sebastien Haller.

After all, the Moroccan’s match-winning performance against Cadiz saw En-Nesyri offer more shots (2.2, Michail Antonio) and key passes (1.5, Aaron Cresswell) than any Irons player offers per game in the Premier League, of those to have featured on more than five occasions, per WhoScored.

Moyes should be looking to do all he can to convince En-Nesyri to have a swift change of heart before the window slams shut, as well as urging West Ham co-owner and Chairman David Sullivan to present the extra millions needed for a transfer, as he looks to be player who could be a very useful addition to the Hammers.

AND in other news, West Ham consider January bid for “phenomenal” striker boasting 15 goals in 19 games.

Whoever gets linked with Leeds in January, it feels hard to believe they’ll actually walk through the door of Elland Road.

Victor Orta prefers to do his business in the summer and not even a campaign in the Premier League will tempt them to do business.

What’s the word?

The Whites have been touted with making a switch for a number of players already this month.

Whether it be Julian Draxler, Diego Costa, Kouadio Kone or Jean-Philippe Mateta, it feels as though Leeds could strengthen in a number of positions.

Though, one area they haven’t exactly looked to improve is out on the flanks. That is until now.

The Daily Mail reported this week that Leeds have discussed the possibility of signing Real Madrid’s versatile Spaniard Lucas Vazquez.

It’s not known whether a move is seriously on the cards but they may have to cough up serious money in terms of salary.

Vazquez currently earns £148k-per-week in Madrid.

Dallas upgrade

This would be a seriously impressive move from Orta if he can pull it off. Vazquez might not be the most eye-catching player at the Bernabeu but he is still a fabulous player, one who could add a great deal to this Leeds side.

Possessing the ability to play as a full-back or further forward on the wing, he is largely similar to a certain Stuart Dallas in terms of their position.

The Northern Irishman has been one of Marcelo Bielsa’s most consistent players over the last 18 months but in Vazquez, they’d land a much more athletic player.

Once described as “fearless” by Spanish outlet Marca, he epitomises that in the final third. The Spaniard leaves a few qualities to be desired defensively, but when he goes forward, he is a radiant ball of energy.

He has completed 23 successful dribbles this season – 1.2 a game – and he’s also managed 1.6 key passes a match. Vazquez’s record in the Champions League has been stellar, providing 2.6 key passes on average.

In comparison to Dallas, they are night and day. Despite providing plenty in an attacking sense, the Leeds man has managed just 0.6 key passes and 0.7 dribbles a game.

You only need to see what Vazquez managed against Celta Vigo last weekend to understand the flair he can bring. The 29-year-old scored and assisted on his way to producing three key passes for Madrid.

The winger is very much underrated, but would surely thrive in Leeds’ possession-based side.

AND in other news, Sell him: Radz will be fuming with £40k-p/w Leeds dud, his “body language is terrible”…

Sam Allardyce will surely be overjoyed after he picked up his first three points as West Brom boss with a come-from-behind victory over arch-rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.

However, once he and his side come down from the euphoria, he’ll be hit by the fact that he still has it all to do if he’s to turn around the Baggies’ fortunes.

After all, Albion remain three points from safety after picking up just their second win all season, and they certainly had the rub of the green with two penalty decisions – the first of which looked to be outside the box.

The home side dominated possession (68%) and recorded 11 more attempts at goal than West Brom, per SofaScore, so they can count their lucky stars that decisions went in their favour.

Big Sam’s side were rather ineffective in attack once again, only further exposing the need for a new striker this January transfer window.

Unlike last weekend, the 66-year-old turned to a player who has played the role before in Callum Robinson, but that only proved to be another failed experiment having deployed Matheus Pereira as a false nine last weekend.

This whole situation will have Allardyce fuming as there’s very little he can do – Karlan Grant is absent for the foreseeable future with a broken foot whilst Charlie Austin has been sent to QPR on loan.

Their attempts in the market thus far have fallen short, as per Sky Sports, their bid to sign Hoffenheim striker Ishak Belfodil stalled earlier in the week.

He needs a new striker this month.

Robinson had fewer touches (26) than nine of the Baggies’ starting XI, including the goalkeeper David Button (43) which only goes to show just how little he was involved throughout the 90 minutes he was on the pitch.

The 25-year-old, who is valued at £9m, was also rather weak against Wolves’ suspect backline, meaning the particularly error-prone Willy Boly and Conor Coady had the better of the forward despite the pair conceding the two dubious penalties.

He won just three of his nine duels (33%), including zero aerially, per SofaScore. He was simply dominated by the Old Gold duo.

Indeed, in Joseph Chapman’s post-match ratings for BirminghamLive, he claimed that the 15-time Ireland international ‘had a tough time of it’ upfront on his own.

With Grant expected out for another five weeks at least, the need to bring in a new forward is only going to get more and more desperate as the month goes on.

At the end of the day, Albion may have put three past Wolves, but none of those goals came from open play and that still ranks them as the third-worst in the division for such a metric, per WhoScored.

Robinson, a natural winger given he’s played 42% of Transfermarkt recorded matches in the role, isn’t the long-term striking solution and that showed tenfold at Molineux.

AND in other news, Dowling heading for an unforgivable West Brom disaster over £30k-p/w monster…

With no new contract agreed, it is looking increasingly likely that Georginio Wijnaldum will leave Liverpool in the summer, with foreign clubs able to negotiate with the Dutch international from January. Fortunately for the Merseyside club, they look to have a ready-made replacement for the former Newcastle man in Curtis Jones.

The academy graduate has established himself as a regular in Jurgen Klopp’s side so far this season, having made 10 appearances in the Premier League, averaging a solid 6.68 rating. He has also appeared four times in the Champions League for the Merseyside club, in which he has averaged a superb 7.33 rating.

The 19-year-old has three goals to his name this season, which takes his tally to six goals in 30 first-team appearances for the club.

Klopp is certainly a fan of the academy graduate too, having been full of praise for the youngster earlier this season after his two goals against Lincoln City in the League Cup, saying:

“There is still space for improvement but everyone knows my opinion of Curtis Jones, he is an exceptional talent and we will have some fun with him I am pretty sure in the future.

Whilst Wijnaldum has been a hugely important part of Liverpool’s success in recent seasons, he has never been a prolific goalscorer with the Reds, with just 20 goals to his name in the 208 appearances he has made for the club thus far.

Therefore, from a goalscoring perspective, it certainly seems as if Jones can replace, and even surpass, the numbers Wijnaldum has contributed if the 30-year-old does end up departing when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Of course, playing in midfield is not just about the ability to score goals, as Wijnaldum is also an excellent passer of the ball, whilst his defensive contribution has also been impressive since joining, with the Dutchman having completed an impressive 1045 recoveries during his time in the Premier League with the Reds.

This season has seen the Dutch midfielder average 48.8 passes in each game in the top-flight, resulting in a pass success rate of 92.3%.

Jones, meanwhile, has averaged 58.1 passes per game in the Premier League, with a success rate of 92.9%, which again gives him the edge, and suggests that he is more than capable of stepping up to replace Wijnaldum.

Whilst the 19-year-old is perhaps seen as more of a creative attacking midfielder, he has impressed with his tackling at times this season, averaging 1.1 tackles and 0.6 interceptions per game, whilst the 30-year-old has averaged 0.8 tackles and 0.9 interceptions.

Therefore, it can definitely be argued that Jones can be Klopp’s replacement for Wijnaldum in midfield, and if he continues to improve, there seems no reason why he can’t surpass the Dutch international’s legacy with the Merseyside club.

And, in other news… Jurgen Klopp must unleash £120k-p/w beast vs Newcastle; he can provide the missing spark

Roberto Firmino was able to produce a man-of-the-match display in Brazil’s 1-o win against Venezuela on Saturday, with the Liverpool man scoring the only goal of the game to earn Seleção the victory.

The 29-year-old featured on the left of a front three and picked up a 7.6 rating for his display, after scoring the only goal of the encounter in the 67th minute (per SofaScore).

The former Hoffenheim man has come under some criticism in recent weeks for his lack of goals for the Reds, with the pressure on Jurgen Klopp to drop him significantly increased after Diogo Jota’s superb start to life at Anfield.

However, the German manager hit back at the Brazilian’s critics ahead of Liverpool’s game against Manchester City before the international break, suggesting that:

“Who is with us, I don’t have to say one word about Bobby Firmino and how important he was for us, I don’t waste time with that,” he said.

“Who is not with us, I don’t care if they know about it, to be honest.

“He was in so many games the difference-maker without scoring maybe, I’m not sure, but with scoring as well in other games, so I would feel really embarrassed if I had to mention now the qualities of Bobby Firmino.

“I can’t help these people, sorry. If they don’t see it, I cannot help them. That’s how it is.” (per Evening Express)

Despite his other qualities, the 29-year-old has just one goal in eight Premier League appearances for the Reds this season, although he has still averaged a fairly sold 6.88 rating (per WhoScored).

Therefore, one can perhaps understand some criticism of the striker, especially when Jota has already grabbed seven goals in all competitions for Klopp’s side this season.

However, Firmino has been a big part of Liverpool’s success in recent years, having contributed 79 goals and 62 assists in 256 games for the club, so his importance cannot be underestimated.

Hopefully, the £64.8 million-rated man’s goal for Brazil will give his confidence a boost so that he can get back to scoring ways when he returns to Anfield after the international break.