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Speaking to talkSPORT, pundit Danny Mills has claimed that the top four in England shouldn’t all be rewarded with European Cup qualification – going to say that they’ve expanded it for ‘the sake of expansion’ and West Ham potentially finishing fourth is ‘not Champions League’. 

David Moyes’ men have enjoyed a remarkable campaign to date in the Premier League, with the Hammers potentially finishing in a Champions League place looking like a real possibility given the standings.

Currently sitting fifth with a game in hand and just two points behind Chelsea, the prospect of European football appears very concrete provided West Ham can continue to keep pace.

Mills, however, believes that the top four teams in the country shouldn’t all gain Champions League qualification – mentioning West Ham as an example.

“The Champions League is supposed to be the best of the best,” explained Mills to talkSPORT.

“I don’t even think it should be the top four in the country that go through, it’s the Champions League, maybe the top two.

“That’s what people want to see, let’s say West Ham get in the Champions League as fourth spot, that’s not Champions League.”

Flocking to this claim, many Hammers had their say – with one Iron calling it ’embarrassing’ as others have their say.

Find all of their verdicts down below.

West Ham fans flock to Mills message

“What a ridiculous thing to say….if West Ham finish 4th that’s because they have been the 4th best team in the country over 38 games. How are clubs meant to progress and compete with the best if they are not given that opportunity?!”

Credit: @AndyWHU1987

“You are getting worried aren’t you Danny? COYI”

Credit: @IronessWest

“Danny Mills kicking up a fuss over little old West Ham. Embarrassing”

Credit: @camwestham

“This is embarrassing we are supposed to have football experts talking about the game and instead we have to listen to Danny Mills…”

Credit: @danirons23

“Hahahaha Mills stop crying mate… if we get champions league it’s because we’ve earned it! Did you say this when Leicester won the league?”

Credit: @robson261009

“he hates West ham. always has. don’t take the bait from one of the most ordinary average players to have ever played.”

Credit: @GoonScruffy

“Could be the worst take I’ve ever seen.”

Credit: @T0M_EDWARDS

In other news: West Ham fans also flocked to an ExWHUemployee claim, find out more here.

Is this the beginning of Celtic’s turnaround? Their 4-0 win over Kilmarnock brought back happy memories of some of the free-flowing football we’ve seen over the last decade.

On each of the last nine occasions, the Hoops have been the triumphant side when it comes to the SPFL.

Their success has been unmatched but now they’re on the verge of surrendering their grasp over Scottish football.

Heading into their clash with Motherwell on Saturday, they are still 23 points behind Rangers. It’s safe to say that any chance of securing a tenth successive crown is done and dusted.

It’s rather remarkable that Neil Lennon is still in the job and we’re not expecting him to lose it anytime soon. After all, the hierarchy have backed him to the hills.

Thus, in Lennon’s next clash, what will his starting XI be?

We’re tipping the manager to make as many as four changes from the team that defeated Kilmarnock on Tuesday.

One of those changes is enforced. Albian Ajeti scored against Killie but is now facing a two-match suspension after being retrospectively banned for simulation.

He went down to earn a penalty that Odsonne Edouard converted but is now facing punishment for his actions. That means that Leigh Griffiths returns to the side.

Another change is at left-back where Diego Laxalt comes into replace Greg Taylor. That’s the only replacement among a backline that kept a rare clean sheet a few days ago.

The other two switches come in the middle of the park. Scott Brown was imperious in the win over Killie but is dropped back to the bench in place of the effervescent Ismaila Soro.

We’ve downplayed Ryan Christie’s performances this week and as such, we think the out of form winger needs to be benched. He’s scored just once in his last 19 outings so Mo Elyounoussi takes his place in the side.

That means that David Turnbull is moved over to the right-hand side in the hope of finding good fortune against his former employers.

AND in other news, Celtic could fix a big problem by hiring manager who left Rodgers “really impressed”…

Despite Brendan Rodgers seemingly doing a fantastic job at Leicester City, there are currently suggestions that the hierarchy at the King Power Stadium are keeping track of a potential successor.

The name being bandied about is current Sporting Clube de Portugal Head Coach Ruben Amorim.

According to O Jogo and journalist Bruno Andrade, the Portuguese is being ‘closely followed’ by not only the Foxes but also Leeds United.

The reports also suggests that their interest in the 36-year-old former Braga man is a case of contingency planning should Rodgers elect to leave Leicester for another job.

However, it seems frankly baffling that those in charge of the club are even concerned about the Northern-Irishman’s loyalty.

He still has just over four years left to run on his current contract in the East-Midlands, having only penned a new deal in December 2019.

There might well be interest in his signature as there has been in the past in relation to the Arsenal job. However, there is a real lack of tempting positions that would likely catch Rodgers’ eye.

All signs in the East-Midlands, including the club’s brand-new state-of-the-art training ground, point to the former Liverpool boss remaining with Leicester and attempting to lead them back into the Champions League.

That does not go to say Amorim isn’t a talented coach. In his 13 games in charge of Braga, he racked up 10 victories before being appointed at Sporting.

Leading the Lions nine points clear at the top of the Liga NOS table and being unbeaten thus far this season, it only seemed natural that other players in the European game would start to notice.

With the Portuguese giants having paid out a princely sum of €10 million for his services just a year ago, it seems unlikely that either Leicester or Sporting would come to an agreement in the near future, leaving the links between the two somewhat confusing.

AND in other news, we analyse Timothy Castagne’s poor showing in the Foxes’ loss against Arsenal.

With an Old Firm derby to come this weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking Rangers’ sole priority lay there.

However, after winning the title, they can wipe the league from their mind and focus directly on their European ambitions. A strong run in the Europa League could well be game-changing for their transfer plans.

What’s the word?

According to 90min, Rangers are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Aaron-Salem Boupendza from Hatayspor this summer.

The winger has lit up the Turkish league and is having an outstanding season, so much so that he’s attracted the eyes of Celtic too.

Also in the race to sign Boupendza are several sides in the English Premier League. It’s thought that Arsenal and Tottenham are both monitoring his situation while Boupendza is fielding interest from, Leicester, West Ham, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Wolves.

The Gabon international is currently valued at just £6.3m according to Transfermarkt.

Bye-bye Kent

A mass exodus from Ibrox this summer given their success would be surprising. That being said, with English clubs doing the rounds of Scotland on a regular basis, it could happen.

Alfredo Morelos is consistently linked with a move away while Ryan Kent has caught the eye of Leeds United for the best part of two years now.

If Boupendza arrives, it could well give Steven Gerrard the freedom to move the former Liverpool winger on.

That’s because Rangers’ transfer target plays in a similar position to Kent. On top of that, he’s also more clinical.

Kent has been one of the Gers’ best players this term, finding the net on 11 occasions and providing 13 assists. Boupendza, who is currently playing in Turkey, has been red hot in front of goal.

The 24-year-old has racked up 18 strikes in all competitions and has made himself a nuisance for nearly every defender in the Super Lig.

So far this term, Boupendza has recorded 2.7 dribbles per game; attempting 109 take-ons throughout the course of the current campaign. His agility and quick feet are scintillating to watch, and trumps that of anyone in Gerrard’s side.

For context, Joe Aribo is the Glaswegian’s top dribbler this term, completing two per match.

Consequently, not only would they seal an upgrade here, but the SPFL winners would also land themselves a player capable of giving them something different in the final third.

It remains to be seen how Boupendza would transition to live in Scotland, but judging by the dazzling skills he’s shown out in Turkey, he could tear the Premiership to shreds.

He is a lively ball of energy, a player who could well usurp Kent if he’s signed in the summer.

AND in other news, Wilson shouldn’t rush transfer decision on Rangers ace Gerrard dubbed a “real threat”…

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former England international Steve Howey has said that Andy Carroll would have been a fantastic signing for West Bromwich Albion this month.

Carroll would have been a big help

The Baggies were linked with a move for the Newcastle United forward towards the start of January (The Daily Mail), but since then, we’ve not heard much in terms of a possible bid.

While Howey has admitted that he would be surprised to see Carroll move to the Hawthorns this month, he did compliment the former Liverpool forward. He said:

“I’d be surprised at that (a move to West Brom). I like Andy Caroll, I’ve always liked him. I think he’s an old school, horrible centre forward that nobody wants to play against. On his day, so difficult to play against, but it’s just keeping him fit. If you can keep him fit, you’d get a massive amount of help from him.

“I do really really like him. But I suppose, you know, everybody has their opinions. There’s a lot of people that say he’s useless. I just think he causes plenty of trouble in a box in and around the centre-halves, so (defenders) do not like the physicality of somebody like him. That’s why he causes problems.”

Past his best

Carroll is far from a striker without any attacking qualities. He does have 54 goals throughout his career in the Premier League (Transfermarkt), and he has represented and scored for England at a European Championships. However, injuries have been a consistent problem for him.

In the last three complete seasons in the top flight, he has just three goals to his name. West Brom are a team that are struggling at the wrong end of the table, and that is partly down to their offensive failings – they have scored just 15 times, which is better than only two other sides (Sky Sports).

What they need is someone who is prolific to get them out of trouble, and perhaps Carroll just doesn’t quite have that in his locker at the moment.

In other news, West Brom enter talks for this 26-year-old.

For the first time in Nuno Santo’s Wolves tenure, he moved to a four-man defence against Southampton a few weeks ago.

He then continued that theme when they travelled to Arsenal, sweeping aside the Gunners 2-1.

In 166 of his 166 matches prior to the clash against the Saints, he had gone with three at the back but Nuno is now unbeaten since changing things up.

However, with a match against Premier League champions Liverpool to come, they would arguably be taking a risk by not setting up with a more familiar system.

Thus, we’re tipping the manager to go back to his three-man defence, with the following XI predicted: Patricio, Semedo, Boly, Coady, Kilman, Marcal, Neves, Moutinho, Neto, Traore, Silva.

We think that Nuno will go back to the formation in order to give his side a bit more cover against a free-flowing Liverpool attack.

The man sacrificed to make this work is Daniel Podence. He scored against Arsenal but with no number 10 needed, unfortunately drops out on Sunday.

Ruben Neves missed out last weekend but comes back in for Leander Dendoncker to offer an extra layer of security on the ball in the middle of the park.

The final change we think could occur is at the back where Max Kilman comes in to play as the left centre-back.

Raul Jimenez is ruled out after fracturing his skull. He was involved in a nasty collision with David Luiz and thus, will miss an extended period of time.

Therefore, Fabio Silva faces his first run in the side.

Wolves’ big-money signing is yet to start in the Premier League so this will be a real test for the young Portuguese.

Having cost the club £35.6m, these are the occasions where he has to show up.

In other news, Wolves are interested in signing a player with enormous physicality… 

Glasgow Rangers left-back Borna Barisic stole the show against St. Johnstone on Wednesday night to ensure Steven Gerrard’s side stayed on top of the Scottish Premiership at Christmas.

The Croatia international started the action alongside Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and James Tavernier to form the back four in front of Allan McGregor, with Gerrard feeling the need to ring several changes to the team that came from behind to beat Motherwell, with Joe Aribo replacing Scott Arfield in the midfield.

Barisic has established himself as a first-team regular starter under Gerrard since he first arrived at Ibrox but has found his place in the starting XI under threat after the arrival of Calvin Bassey in the summer.

Gerrard recently admitted as much, as the Ibrox boss realises competition for places has arguably never been higher, with Bassey and Nathan Patterson ready to step into the full-back roles if required.

“The pair of them have started the season really strongly, and it’s interesting to watch Barisic and Tavernier because they have now got competition for places,” he said, as quoted by The Sun. “The way he’s looking in training, I wouldn’t think twice about putting Patterson in to start a game. And Bassey has already proved that he’s capable of stepping in as well.

“Both James and Borna know they have a challenge for their positions, which is good.”

“When Barisic is in the right place from a mental point of view, he’s capable of the kind of high-level performance he gave against Poznan.

“That’s the reason he’s picked as the best left-back in Croatia.

“When he gets into the final third, he’s got incredible quality. His delivery is exceptional.”

But Barisic, who reportedly earns £18,000-a-week, seems to have heeded his warning with his latest display against Callum Davidson’s side, with the defender winning eight out of his nine duels overall (88%) – which is more than any other player from the two teams, as per SofaScore.

Nobody manged more dribbles, either, with the Croatian completing two out of his three dribble attempts successfully, via SofaScore.

Only Tavernier took more touches of the ball, too, with the club captain managing 108 to Barisic’s 95 touches in the full 90′ minutes.

The 28-year-old provided 38 out of 59 passes (64%), while he also made four tackles, two interceptions and three clearances, which shows that he put in a defensive shift to ensure the Gers kept their first clean sheet since the 2-0 win over Lech Poznan in the Europa League.

Once hailed as an “unbelievable” defender by former Rangers full-back Alan Hutton, the timing couldn’t be better for Barisic with Bassey chomping at the bit amid links abroad, as the cards are very much in his hands.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers may have found their next Steven Davis in Ciaran Dickson…

Former Leeds United player Noel Whelan, who is part of BBC West Yorkshire Sport’s commentary team for Leeds United fixtures, has been discussing the future of Whites defender Gaetano Berardi.

This comes after Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa recently indicated that the former Switzerland international is on track to rejoin the Whites’ first-team in training next month, having been out of action since July due to a cruciate ligament rupture.

What has Whelan said about Berardi’s Leeds United future?

Berardi’s contract with the Yorkshire club is set to expire this summer, with the ‘cult hero’ signing a new deal back in October after his previous contract expired in the summer after he got injured while helping the Whites to win the 2019/20 Championship title.

Speaking to Football Insider, after praising the club for handing Berardi a new deal, Whelan shared some uncertainty over how much game time the 32-year-old is likely to enjoy on his return.

The pundit acknowledged that Berardi will offer Bielsa ‘another option’ but went on to say that the Yorkshire club has ‘progressed in the area that he plays’ and recruited ‘international players’ who he believes ‘will always be above’ Berardi in the Leeds pecking order.

Transfer Tavern take

It will be interesting to see how much game time Berardi enjoys between his return and the end of the 2020/21 campaign, as even though he is the longest-serving player at Elland Road, the fact that he is 32 and coming back from a long-term injury – combined with him likely being some way down the pecking order – could work against him in terms of the club choosing to offer him another new deal.

However, Berardi is a versatile player, with the Swiss defender having made a plethora of appearances at fierce loyalty could work in his favour with regard to having a future at Elland Road, despite Whelan’s comments.

Given that he has been out of action for so long, his performances in the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign will likely play a significant role in determining how much time Berardi has got left at Leeds. If Whelan is right and Berardi is now some way down the pecking order, maybe his chances to prove what he can offer will be few and far between.

In other news, Jack Harrison has revealed why he “struggled” at first under Marcelo Bielsa.

One manager has admitted he would say “yes” to a move to Manchester United, amid pressure on Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag.

Managers linked to replace Ten Hag at Man Utd

Despite winning the FA Cup last season and signing a new contract extension at Old Trafford over the summer, there is already plenty of speculation regarding Ten Hag’s future in Manchester.

A disappointing start to the season continued in the week, with United only managing a 1-1 draw at home to FC Twente in the Europa League. In the Premier League, Man Utd have won just two of their opening five games, sitting in the bottom half of the table as things stand.

As a result, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been linked with making a managerial change, with former Juventus boss Max Allegri and Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi both mooted as potential targets.

More recently, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has also been linked with taking over at Old Trafford, amid apparent tension behind the scenes at St James’ Park with sporting director Paul Mitchell.

Noises out of Man Utd have claimed that some senior figures are unhappy with Ten Hag for the lack of goals his side are producing and that “patience is beginning to wear thin”. Now, some huge comments have emerged from a manager who Red Devils supporters will know very well.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer open to Man Utd return

As relayed by Fabrizio Romano, former Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted he would say “yes” to an Old Trafford return.

The 51-year-old is currently working as a match analyst for UEFA, as per Transfermarkt, with his last managerial role coming with the Red Devils.

After taking over as caretaker back in December 2018, Solskjaer was then handed the job on a permanent basis months later and spent almost three years in charge of the club.

Games

168

Wins

92

Draws

35

Losses

41

He did eventually leave halfway through the 2021/22 season, with Gary Neville talking about Solskjaer’s final few months in charge.

“Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] was tough, for me and Roy Keane, when he was manager of [Manchester] United. People at the end abused him, but me probably more than Roy, the idea of going against Ole, that’s never going to happen.

“I can say, ‘He’s under pressure, the team aren’t playing well’ – we said all those things – but the idea of going a step further which says, ‘He should lose his job, he should be sacked’ – never. That’s what people want but I would never go into that. I’ve never once [done that].”

Whether or not Ratcliffe and INEOS would be open to bringing Solskjaer back remains to be seen, but the Norwegian’s latest comments will definitely get fans talking, potentially making this one to watch should things not improve for Ten Hag.

Arsenal are “very confident” of signing Kai Havertz alongside a move for Declan Rice and personal terms are "advanced" for both players, according to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg.

How many goals has Kai Havertz scored?

Havertz joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen back in 2020 with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations in the Premier League.

The 24 year-old has scored just 19 top flight goals in 91 showings, also providing ten assists, though he has continued to thrive for Germany during that time, finding the back of the net 13 times for his national side in 35 games.

His underlying numbers suggest he is a still a player with bags of potential though, as he ranks highly for a number of metrics amongst other forwards in the big five leagues, namely passing, dribbling and tackling, so one has to think if he can find some end product as he matures there is still a top player in there.

And Mikel Arteta clearly thinks so, as reports now suggest the Gunners are “in advanced stages” with the manager personally stepping in to "push" the move.

That’s according to Sky Germany’s Plettenberg, who says: "News Havertz: Been told Arsenal is very confident to sign both Rice & Havertz! Despite of the fact that Chelsea has rejected the first offer. Arteta is pushing for Havertz!

“Arsenal are in advanced stages with both players. No Bayern offer for Havertz yet. Arsenal is planning the next steps. Bayern‘s next transfer meeting scheduled next week.”

Would Havertz be a good signing?

Havertz certainly has his admirers, with Thomas Tuchel’s interest at Bayern no surprise given what the former Blues boss had to say back in March of last year: “What he gives us is huge volume. He covers a lot of metres, he covers a lot of metres in high intensity, so he finds the intensity no matter what the system the opponent defends against us, he finds intensive runs, he finds distances.”

BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves believes Havertz is a “brilliant” player with elite “courage and composure”, while Graham Potter has hailed his “fantastic” talent.

Clearly then, Arsenal would be getting a player who is extremely highly thought of in the game, and his ability to operate in six different positions across midfield and attack means his arrival would add depth in a multitude of areas for the Gunners.