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After tasting their first win of the Premier League season against Watford last time out, Leeds United will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories when they take on Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side claimed all three points against the Hornets thanks to a goal from Diego Llorente, and the Whites manager will have some big decisions to make before today’s clash against the Saints.

Along with a number of injury issues, Bielsa also has to contend with uncertainty over Raphinha’s availability following his exploits with Brazil on international duty.

With that in mind, here is a look at how Leeds might line up for the clash against Southampton at St Mary’s later this afternoon.

In goal, Illan Meslier will be looking to keep his second successive clean sheet after shutting out the Hornets, while Bielsa should look to keep faith in 22-year-old Jamie Shackleton, who impressed against Watford by winning four tackles.

Further up the pitch, the Leeds manager will be desperately hoping that Kalvin Phillips is passed fit for the game, while he could also make a big call by dropping the underperforming Stuart Dallas from his starting line-up.

That could see a potential opportunity for Tyler Roberts to come into the team, while if Raphinha fails to come through in time, Jack Harrison should come in from the bench to start today.

With Patrick Bamford out once again like he has been for the past couple of games, Rodrigo will once again be tasked with leading the line.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has confirmed an encouraging Leeds boost over Kalvin Phillips…

Newcastle United have seen numerous players join the club before being sold for significant sums of money over the past few years, such as Yohan Cabaye, Moussa Sissoko, Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic among others.

One player who departed from St. James’ Park in recent years in what can now be seen as a great piece of business from the club during Mike Ashley’s much-maligned tenure at the Toon is Ayoze Perez.

Signed in 2014 from Tenerife for £1.5m, the Spaniard went on to make 195 appearances for the Magpies across all competitions, with 48 goals and 17 assists to his name before joining fellow Premier League side Leicester City in 2019 for £30m, highlighting the massive profit the Toon made on him.

Since making the move to the King Power Stadium, the 28-year-old has made 92 appearances for the Foxes across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and providing nine assists along the way.

In December 2019, just a few months after leaving Newcastle, Transfermarkt had Perez’s market value listed as £27m, the highest it has been throughout his career. It now stands at just £13.5m, which is 55% lower than the £30m transfer fee the Magpies recouped for him when Leicester came calling.

With just eight appearances under his belt in the current Premier League campaign, the attacker – who is currently picking up £83k-per-week according to Salary Sport – has more red cards than goals, having failed to find the net at all.

In addition to his lack of goals, his overall performances for Brendan Rodgers’ side have been rather disappointing. WhoScored list him as Leicester’s second-lowest rated player (excluding those who haven’t started a league game), with an underwhelming rating of 6.24/10, which would also place him among some of Newcastle’s lowest-rated players for this campaign.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Newcastle and Ashley pulled an absolute blinder in selling the Spaniard when they did for the amount of money they got for him.

Even though the Magpies have been involved in a relegation scrap for most of the season before reviving their fortunes over the past few weeks, it seems unlikely that many Toon fans will have been missing Perez in the meantime.

In other news: NUFC dealt setback on “sensational” £180k-p/w ace, supporters will be gutted

Sheffield United have been dealt a major blow in their bid to bring Amad Diallo to Bramall Lane this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that, despite Manchester United being open to sanctioning the temporary departure of the winger in the summer transfer window, and Slavisa Jokanovic’s side having made an approach to United for the 19-year-old, Diallo himself only wants a move to a Premier League club.

In his tweet, Romano said: “Amad Diallo is still expected to leave Man United on loan. Crystal Palace asked for him – also Sheffield United but Diallo only wants Premier League clubs. Not only CPFC asking for Amad. Many clubs and final decision hasn’t been made yet.”

Jokanovic will be gutted

Considering just how poorly Sheffield United have started their 2021/22 Championship campaign, with the Blades currently occupying 23rd place in the second tier having lost three and drawn one of their opening four fixtures, the arrival of a player with the sheer amount of talent of Diallo would have undoubtedly been a major boost for Jokanovic and his side.

Indeed, despite the 53-year-old manager having a considerable amount of centre-forwards in his first-team squad, with a whopping seven strikers to choose from, the Serbian lacks a substantial amount of depth in the wide attacking areas of the pitch, with no natural wingers in his United team.

And, while the £16.2m-rated Diallo does not have a great deal of professional experience under his belt, having made a grand total of 13 first-team appearances for Atalanta and Manchester United, the winger’s form in each of the respective side’s youth teams would appear to indicate that he is an incredibly exciting prospect.

Indeed, over his 46 appearances for the Atalanta Primavera side, the £42k-per-week forward scored 13 goals and registered 15 assists, while also bagging four goals and providing one assist over his three fixtures for Manchester United’s U23 side.

As such, the man Dan James dubbed an “unbelievable” player would very much appear to have made a fantastic addition to Jokanovic’s side, however, if Romano is to be believed, a move to the Blades looks to be extremely unlikely this summer – something that will undoubtedly leave the Serbian manager gutted.

In other news: Lost 86% duels: £41k-p/w Sheff Utd dud who made just 4 passes failed Jokanovic vs Town

A number of Liverpool supporters have been hailing Kostas Tsimikas after the left-back produced a hilarious social media post poking fun at himself and Mohamed Salah.

The Reds continued their strong start to the season on Sunday, winning 3-0 away to Leeds United and jumping to third in the Premier League table.

It was a comprehensive victory for Jurgen Klopp’s side, on a day that saw Mohamed Salah score his 100th Premier League goal.

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The Liverpool superstar received endless plaudits for the achievement, but Tsimikas was more in the mood for joking about it.

The Greek left-back posted a photo of him holding up Salah’s shirt with ‘100’ on the back of it, saying it is the amount of Premier League goals he and the Egyptian have combined.

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Liverpool fans hail hilarious Tsimikas post

Tsimikas’s first goal in the competition will hopefully come soon, but regardless, these Liverpool fans loved his post, taking to Twitter to praise the Greece international…

“I love him”

Credit: @JhennyLFC

“What a sweet guy”

Credit: @LFC_GIN

“Hahah this boy”

Credit: @keshwizzi_

“Tsimikas is actually too funny”

Credit: @sxlang_

“Hahahahahhaha”

Credit: @KanoButPC

“LOOOOOOOL”

Credit: @_bubblxs

In other news, James Pearce has provided a key update regarding one Liverpool player. Find out who it is here.

Keith Downie has now revealed what Newcastle United’s January transfer plans are as the club’s takeover was confirmed on Thursday evening.

The Lowdown: It’s happening…

The proposed takeover of the St. James’ Park faithful by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium is finally happening, after a breakthrough on Wednesday led to confirmation of the deal on Thursday evening.

It will finally bring an end to the reign of Mike Ashley, while a likely restructuring of the board brings the futures of the likes of Steve Bruce, Graeme Jones and Lee Charnley under question.

The Latest: Transfer plans

Downie has now told Sky Sports that ‘I do expect’ the North East club to spend money on the playing squad in the upcoming winter window, although he did not specify how much.

The journalist also claimed that spending on infrastructure will be the priority for the new owners first of all, and the stadium and academy will need improving as well.

The Verdict: Intriguing

It will certainly be intriguing to see how much money the Tyneside outfit will have to spend in January, assuming that the new owners are settled in and prepared to splash the cash immediately.

It will also be interesting to note the calibre of player that they will be able to attract, which could help them survive relegation from the Premier League, given their position in the table at the moment.

Nonetheless, it is only a matter of time before we can see just how much financial muscle they can flex now that the deal is through.

In other news, find out what big arbitration update Craig Hope has dropped here!

Some Liverpool supporters have been left frustrated after it emerged that rumoured Reds transfer target Harvey Barnes is set to sign a new deal at Leicester City.

Jurgen Klopp has had a quiet summer in the transfer market, with only two pieces of business standing out. Ibrahima Konate joined Liverpool from RB Leipzig early in the summer, while Gini Wijnaldum traded Anfield for Paris Saint-Germain.

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It doesn’t look as though much more business is going to be done between now and the end of the transfer window, although Saturday’s 3-0 win at Norwich City would suggest that is no great issue.

One player who has been linked with a move to Liverpool is Barnes, who has shone for Leicester, scoring 21 goals and registering 15 assists in 101 appearances and netting against the Reds in a 3-1 win for the Foxes back in February.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, however, the 23-year-old is expected to extend his stay at the King Power Stadium, so the Reds will most likely miss out on him this time around.

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Liverpool fans fume at Barnes update

These Liverpool fans on Twitter reacted to the update from Ornstein and they swiftly took out their anger on club owners FSG, whose frugality has often irked the fan base in the past.

“Liverpool always have interest but never buying. Ugh”

Credit: @Shyntefen

“That’s a big blow given our long term interest in Barnes. Fee would be huge now if we were to try & get him”

Credit: @Jay82_LFC

“We are really going to be stuck with Bowen aren’t we?”

Credit: @I_Am_Artanis

“Yeah that’s us dead in the water in terms of signing him”

Credit: @dylan_the_kid_

“All we do is admire. Embarrassing football club”

Credit: @cfjayden

“FSG sleeping lol”

Credit: @AminurAbid1

In other news, some Liverpool fans are delighted with one major piece of news that has emerged. Read more here.

With 2021 coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the year that Wolves have had a fairly eventful year, firstly under the guidance of Nuno Espirito Santo before Bruno Lage came in during the summer to take charge of the Old Gold.

After ending the 2020/21 season in 13th place in the league table with just 45 points, Wolves made the managerial change after Espirito Santo took on the role as Tottenham Hotspur manager.

Prior to Wolves’ upcoming Premier League away clash against Arsenal, Lage has managed to deliver a very mixed bag of results with seven wins, four draws and seven defeats.

After a disappointing campaign last time out, it would be a great boost for everyone at Wolves if Lage and the players were able to finish in a European place this time around, which they are well in the running for.

How well do you remember Wolves’ 2021? Test your knowledge with our Big Fat Wolves quiz of the year to find out!

Eddie Howe has been handed a huge behind-the-scenes boost over Newcastle full-back Kieran Trippier’s recovery from injury…

What’s the latest?

The Toon defender has been out of action since February and is now taking steps forward towards making his return to the first-team squad before the end of the season.

Journalist Miles Starford Tweeted: “Kieran Trippier close to injury ‘handover’.”

This Tweet was in relation to Howe’s comments on the defender’s current situation. Speaking about Callum Wilson and Trippier, the head coach said: “They’ll definitely be stepping it up.

“I don’t think they’ll be with us at all, so they won’t train with the group. There will be a handover period for Kieran, I think, where he’ll go with our sports science guys.”That might happen at some stage soon. It’s not happened yet. Both players are still with physiotherapists.” Howe will be buzzing

Howe will surely be buzzing with Trippier’s recovery and the pace at which he is going through it. These comments suggest that he is making good progress and stepping up the work that he is doing at Darsley Park to get himself back in contention to play in the Premier League.

The Toon boss will be keen to see him back out on the pitch in the coming weeks to make sure that he heads into the summer with a good base of fitness under his belt.

If he fails to play any minutes before the end of the campaign then that will mean that he will have gone around six months without competitive minutes by the start of 2022/23 and that is not an ideal way to start a season. Therefore, getting him back in for the last few matches would be a big boost ahead of the summer.

Howe will also be delighted with his return to action because of the quality he has on the pitch. In the top-flight this term, he has scored two goals in four matches and made a whopping 6.0 tackles and interceptions per game from right-back since joining from Atletico Madrid.

The England international has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.67 for the Magpies so far and this is why the head coach will be keen to have him back in the squad. He is a joy to watch with his sublime performances in defence, as he was able to showcase his attacking and defensive quality prior to his injury against Villa.

AND in other news, NUFC could finally axe shocking £80k-p/w flop with “insane” £40m “star in the making”…

Tottenham Hotspur could launch a surprise move for Eric Bailly in the January transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles. who delivered the stunning claim on this week’s edition of ‘The Transfer Window’ podcast, where he said:

“Conte, one of the things he’s asking for in January is not one, but two starting centre-backs, this isn’t a big surprise when you look at what the two previous managers thought of the centre-backs. [Mauricio] Pochettino and [Jose] Mourinho wanted significant upgrades there, while [Nuno] Espirito Santo also wanted further upgrades on top of Cristian Romero.

“Look at what [Antonio] Conte has been doing, this weekend he started with Ben Davies and Japhet Tanganga alongside Eric Dier who was picked ahead of Davinson Sanchez, who should be a starter given the significant amount spent on him.

“Conte feels it’s fundamental to improve at centre-back to get his back-five system working properly.

“Options, one of the individuals they’re in discussions about, although as I understand it, there’s been no offer made at this point, is a Manchester United player, Eric Bailly, he’s someone Conte likes and he looked at him as a possible recruit at Inter.”

Big mistake

This could be a disastrous decision from the Spurs boss and Fabio Paratici’s recruitment team this winter, as the Manchester United defender is an injury-prone and inconsistent defender who probably wouldn’t solve their defensive problems.

It is true that the north Londoners need further additions, even more so with Conte electing for a back-three, but with Romero facing a serious stint on the sidelines, the Italian is left with several players that he may not be able to trust.

He was already having to play a left-back in the middle and now he has to choose between the three centre-backs who played their part in Thursday’s embarrassing defeat to NS Mura to feature alongside Dier and Davies.

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An injury-prone Bailly is far from the solution, with the Lilywhites in need of reliable quality to improve their terrible goal difference – they have the worst such record of any Premier League side ranked 16th or above.

“My only issue with Eric Bailly has always been his fitness, he can never stay fit. He’s always injured or a game away from an injury, and that’s a problem,” once claimed Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand. “You don’t get that consistency of performance or get to know each other.”

Valued at just £9m and thought to be earning wages of around £80k-per-week at Old Trafford, the Ivory Coast colossus has missed a total of 99 matches since arriving in Manchester in £30m move from Villarreal back in June 2016.

When he has been on the pitch, he has very rarely delivered.

“He’s a rash defender and he seems like he’s always got a mistake in him,” suggested Trevor Sinclair on talkSPORT in recent weeks. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and the ship has sailed for Bailly. He’ll never be the composed defender Man United need.”

The Hotspur Way faithful should be hugely worried by the prospect of wasting money on the 27-year-old flop at the turn of the year.

Therefore, a move for Bailly in January would seem like a disaster waiting to happen for Conte and co. They must steer clear of him at all costs, as there are much better and more suitable options out there.

AND in other news, Antonio Conte could repeat Cesc Fabregas trick with “unplayable” Spurs star…

Antonio Conte is expected to be in the dugout for his first-ever match in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, having been appointed as their new manager on Tuesday afternoon.

And he’s been thrown straight into the deep end as Spurs welcome Vitesse to north London in the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they occupy third place with only three games remaining.

The Lilywhites’ second-string were defeated 1-0 by the Dutch outfit two weeks ago and you’d imagine that the 52-year-old won’t be making the same mistake that Nuno Santo made by leaving the bulk of his starting lineup at home.

Instead, the Italian coach will want to kickstart his reign with a convincing result, so we should expect a pretty strong starting XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Their defeat to United on Sunday ultimately cost Nuno his job but it highlighted another massive concern as the struggles in the final third continued – Spurs have not registered a shot on goal in the league or in Europe since the first half against West Ham.

Conte won’t have had time to implement his ideas and tactics at all yet but he can certainly help himself by picking the right players and as such, he must call upon Tanguy Ndombele this evening.

The £34m-rated midfielder has been quite the enigma throughout his time at the club, having cost a club record of £55m, so he’s always going to come under scrutiny for his performances.

Not only can he take a game by storm on his day, but Spurs also play a lot better when he’s starting.

In terms of carrying the ball forward, only Lucas Moura (3.6) is averaging more dribbles per game than Ndombele (1.8) in the Premier League, whilst the Brazilian, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane are the only ones ahead of shots per game (1.5) too, as per WhoScored.

“I said to Joe, how good is he?,” revealed BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand during Spurs’ FA Cup clash with Wycombe Wanderers last season. “And he said ‘this kid is a world-beater, he can do anything.’ He just turned around during the game and said ‘this kid is unplayable’.”

On that evidence, Conte will surely want to start the Frenchman this evening, whatever the system is. He could be a game-changer and his influence may help steer the Italian to an impressive debut victory.

AND in other news, Conte demands Paratici to sign £45m-rated “monster”, he’d solve a major Spurs problem…