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David Moyes can form an unbeatable midfield unit at West Ham United with the January signing of AS Roma enforcer Amadou Diawara.

What’s the word?

According to Corriere dello Sport, Diawara sits atop Giallorossi CEO Tiago Pinto’s list of players deemed surplus to requirements by head coach Paulo Fonseca.

Pinto is tasked with securing mid-season moves for those no longer wanted at the Stadio Olimpico, where Fonseca’s side currently trail Serie A leaders AC Milan by seven points and have played an additional game compared to SSC Napoli and Juventus in the race for Champions League football.

Diawara has struggled to re-establish himself in the Roma line-up since testing positive for coronavirus, and is now seen as a player who can be sold this month in order to raise funds for the arrival of a new holding midfielder.

West Ham and Leicester City have previously been said to be monitoring Diawara’s situation with a view to signing the €62,500-per-week (£57k-p/w) brute in January, with both sides willing to meet Roma’s €20m (£18m) valuation.

Diawara has played just 19 minutes of Italian top-flight football since recovering from coronavirus in November, while serving as an unused substitute on five occasions after starting the first game of the season as Fonseca’s favoured deep-lying talent.

Ideal partner for Rice

West Ham stepping forward in the January window with an offer to sign Diawara could see the east London outfit acquire an ideal partner for Declan Rice, who is one of only three players to have featured for all 1,530 minutes of Premier League football under Moyes this term.

Diawara was a frequent fixture of Roma’s plans last season with starting roles in 19 of his 22 Serie A appearances, and proved a real defensive force with 1.8 successful tackles, 1.5 interceptions, 0.6 clearances and success in 3.4 duels, per SofaScore.

The 23-year-old has not been given the same chance to improve on those numbers under Fonseca this season, so will be desperate to prove himself to Roma if given the opportunity to make the grade somewhere else in the mid-season market.

West Ham having the option of pairing Rice with Diawara would also free Moyes to move Tomas Soucek into a more attack-focused role, with the Czech Republic international proving to be a true force at the London Stadium.

Moyes has struggled to settle on a central attacking midfielder this season with Said Benrahma, Mark Noble, Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals all fielded at some stage, yet Soucek ranks second among the Hammers squad for total shots (31), per WhoScored.

The 25-year-old has also won more aerial duels (98) than any of his teammates, any Moyes can use that expertise to improve West Ham’s long-range play while freeing his wide options.

AND in other news, David Moyes has dodged a huge bullet as West Ham dealt blow in bid to sign an 11-goal target…

Liverpool were struggling to break down Aston Villa’s young defence on Friday night before Jurgen Klopp opted to introduce Xherdan Shaqiri just after the hour mark.

The Reds were drawing at half-time and had just re-taken the lead through Georginio Wijnaldum when the Swiss international was brought on and he quickly emphasised his class, registering two assists in less than five minutes.

First, he clipped a cross into the box which was met by Sadio Mane, and the former Southampton man’s looping header was enough to beat young Akos Onodi in the Villa goal.

Shaqiri was the provider once again just two minutes later as after being found by an incisive Thiago pass, he found Mohamed Salah and the Egyptian’s shot on the turn made it 4-1.

Therefore, whilst Thiago might pick up a lot of the plaudits after he helped the Reds turn the game around from the bench, Shaqiri demonstrated that he can be a really important player in Klopp’s squad this season.

As per SofaScore, the former Bayern Munich man picked up a 7.8 rating for his display, with only Mane, Salah and James Milner rated higher.

During his time on the pitch, Shaqiri, who earns £80k per week at Liverpool, would have 30 touches of the ball, completing 19/23 passes, which resulted in a solid pass accuracy rate of 83%.

Perhaps most impressively, the winger would contribute three key passes during his brief time on the pitch, which proves how effective he can be when trying to break down an opposition defence.

The Swiss international was widely expected to leave Liverpool during the summer transfer window ahead of this season and the arrival of Diogo Jota has meant that his playing time has been limited even further, as he has managed just two starts in all competitions, and just four appearances from the bench in the Premier League.

However, his performance against Villa, despite the nature of the opposition, proves that Shaqiri still has a role to play in this Liverpool side, and he can help the Reds overcome their recent woes in front of goal.

And, in other news, Imagine him and Fabinho: Edwards must seal bargain swoop for Champions League defender…

David Brooks has been watched by Aston Villa recently, but his current manager Jason Tindall has commented on this recent speculation and it’s not good news for Dean Smith.

The latest on Brooks

Speaking via the Bournemouth Echo, Tindall spoke about Brooks’ future: “No, David Brooks’ future is here at AFC Bournemouth. That’s where his future is.”

Should Villa push for this signing?

The Welshman currently plays in the Championship with AFC Bournemouth. He has had a decent campaign so far, scoring three goals and picking up five assists in 17 games (WhoScored). He has shown consistent attacking intent, averaging 1.6 shots and 1.4 key passes a game.

Brooks, who is currently valued at Transfermarkt). However, a bad injury he suffered meant he only played nine times last season, scoring one goal.

He definitely showed glimpses that he can succeed in the Premier League, and he thoroughly impressed his old manager Eddie Howe in the early stages of his career at Bournemouth. The winger scored a brace in a 2-0 victory against Brighton, after which Howe said: “It has typified his introduction to the club.He has played ever so well for us, he has got a creative flair, non-stop energy and he took his goals really well today.

“He is a player that can do a little bit of everything, he is very good offensively, is creative, turns well with the ball and is very intelligent.”

Brooks has shown that he is indeed a ‘creative’ player with nearly an assist every three matches, and he would have added some good depth for Villa as they look for a top half finish or better this season, especially considering Ross Barkley’s injury woes in that attacking midfield spot. Therefore it is a big blow to see that he looks to be staying at Bournemouth.

In other news: Aston Villa fans flocked to this update by Gregg Evans, find out more here.

Lee Charnley should seal a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt full-back Jetro Willems to return to Newcastle United amid speculative interest from the St. James’ Park outfit.

What’s the word?

According to Chronicle Live, the Toon are interested in bringing Willems back to Tyneside just over a year since his loan spell at the club was cut short due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

United are said to have made contact with relative parties to discuss a deal for the Dutchman to join Steve Bruce’s squad in the final days of the January transfer window, as the Magpies look to harden the head coach’s position despite being winless in 11 games.

Willems only returned to the Eintracht matchday squad for their 5-1 demolition of Arminia Bielefeld last weekend, but is understood to be fully fit and match-ready after 12-months out after rupturing his anterior cruciate in Newcastle’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea last January.

The £4m-rated beast is now inside the final six-months of his £35,000-per-week contract at Frankfurt after turning down the offer of a new deal, and is noted to have snubbed a move to PAOK this month as he favours a return to St. James’ Park.

Willems made 20 appearances for the Toon during his loan stay in the 2019/20 campaign, scoring twice and providing three assists, with Bruce saying “he did very well for us”. He is yet to play a single minute in any competition this season.

Eintracht had expected to sell Willems for between €10-12m (£9-10.5m) last summer but will now be forced to accept a cut-price fee to avoid losing him for nothing at the end of the season, with the left-back now able to discuss pre-contract agreements.

Should Newcastle bring Willems back?

Just a month before his injury, Willems was determined to give Newcastle “no choice” but to buy him at the end of his season on loan. And while a year out of action will ensure there are no guarantees he is the same player, United should not hesitate to bring him back.

Willems had just begun to build a strong relationship with Allan Saint-Maximin on the left-hand of Bruce’s side before his blow, with the combination proving most lethal against Manchester United when they toyed with the Red Devils before the wing-back teed Matty Longstaff up to score the winner.

Willems and Saint-Maximin are also noted to be close off the pitch, and a return to St. James’ Park may do wonders for the squad’s morale with Bruce confirming that confidence is low after a run of six-straight defeats.

Newcastle have also struggled to see the best from £15m summer signing Jamal Lewis, whose form in black and white has often been at a lesser level than what the Toon saw from Willems in his Premier League appearances for the club.

Across 19 top-flight outings, Willems helped the Magpies keep two clean sheets after breaking up opposition attacks with 0.9 interceptions and 1.9 successful tackles a game. Lewis, after 17 games, has also helped to keep two shut outs, but his involvement has been less evident with 0.4 interceptions and 1.5 successful tackles, per SofaScore.

Willems kept things simple and cleared his line 2.0 times a game to Lewis’ 1.4, too, yet still brought play forward to offer support in attack with 1.1 successful dribbles with a 66% success rate to the former Norwich City full-back’s 0.6 with a 52% success rate.

Lewis’ efforts in the current campaign do not lag behind Willems’ from last season in every regard, with the 23-year-old currently offering 0.6 accurate crosses with a 34% accuracy rating to the Dutchman’s 0.3 with a 16% accuracy rating.

The pair are also well matched for times they have lost possession, caught opponents offside, errors committed that led to shots, touches of the ball and total passes played. Willems only marginally eclipses Lewis for shots (0.5 to 0.4) and key passes (0.8 to 0.6), too.

But if Willems is still the player he was a year ago, Newcastle Managing Director Charnley should see very few reasons why he should not bring the Frankfurt man back to Tyneside this month, as the upside to a bargain deal far outweigh the negatives.

AND in other news, Newcastle have landed a huge boost in their pursuit of a £4m-rated beast…

Liverpool are reportedly looking at signing West Ham centre-back Issa Diop this month following the injuries to Joel Matip and Fabinho earlier this week, and if he were to rediscover some of his old form, then he could prove to be a strong addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, Liverpool have enquired about taking the Frenchman on loan this month, as they look to add defensive reinforcements to their side.

However, it also suggests that any potential loan deal would likely include an obligation to buy for £20 million, due to the close proximity of the two clubs in the Premier League table.

A replacement for Matip?

If he were to join the Reds on a permanent deal, then he could well prove to be a long-term replacement for Matip in this Liverpool side, with the Cameroon international’s injury problems having caused frustration in his time with the club, none more so than this season, when he has regularly been sidelined at a time where Klopp needed him to stay fit.

Since joining West Ham from Toulouse in 2018 for a club-record £22 million, the defender has gone on to make 78 appearances for West Ham, contributing five goals and one assist.

After making 32 appearances in the top-flight last season, Diop has struggled to establish himself in the Hammer side this season, having made just four appearances in the Premier League.

The Frenchman has slipped down the pecking order in David Moyes’ side as a result of the strong form they have enjoyed with Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna at the back.

The defender’s performances in the 2018/19 season suggested that he could be a star of the future in this West Ham side but his performances have declined ever since.

However, if Klopp could get the best out of him, he could prove to be a solid addition to his side, especially in the current defensive crisis, where the German manager is desperate for some experience at the back.

Back in 2019, Jose Mourinho was full of praise for Diop after he impressed against his Manchester United side, saying:

“(He had a) fantastic match. Congratulations to the scout that found a 21-year-old kid Diop – a monster who dominated in the duels.”

Therefore, considering Diop is just 24-years-old, it could be worth the risk for Michael Edwards to bring him to Anfield this month, especially if he can produce those sorts of performances on a more regular basis under Klopp’s tutelage.

And, in other news… Edwards swoop for 6 ft 2 beast with a “big voice” would leave both Klopp and FSG satisfied

Liverpool have been credited with an interest in Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Florian Neuhaus recently and the German could be the ideal man to replace Georginio Wijnaldum at Anfield this summer.

According to German news outlet Kicker (via Sport Witness), the Reds have expressed an interest in signing the 23-year-old ahead of the summer, although they will face competition from Borussia Dortmund for his signature.

If the young midfielder were to make the move to Liverpool, he could prove to be the direct replacement for Wijnaldum, who is widely expected to join Barcelona when his contract with Jurgen Klopp’s side expires at the end of this season.

Neuhaus has established himself as one of the most promising youngsters in the Bundesliga in recent seasons and has become a regular in the Monchengladbach side following an impressive loan spell with Fortuna Dusseldorf.

So far this season, the midfielder has contributed four goals and four assists in 19 top-flight appearances, resulting in a solid 6.93 average rating.

Wijnaldum meanwhile, has two goals and no assists in 23 Premier League appearances and has averaged a fairly disappointing 6.63 rating, suggesting that based on their form from this season, Neuhaus would actually be an upgrade on the Dutchman in this Liverpool midfield.

Whilst the 30-year-old has registered a much better pass success rate than Neuhaus this season (91.5% compared to 84.9%), the former Newcastle United man is perhaps guilty of playing the safe pass on too many occasions, as Neuhaus outscores him when it comes to key passes per game.

The Monchengladbach man also averages more tackles, interceptions, dribbles and shots per game than Wijnaldum, suggesting that he is solid defensively, but would also add more of a goalscoring threat than the Dutchman, who has struggled to score consistently throughout his time with the Reds.

Fellow Monchengladbach regular Marcus Thuram was full of praise for his teammate last year, saying:

“Flo is simply an outstanding player. Flo deserves to be at Euro 2020. If I were national coach, I would call him 100 times.”

Therefore, Neuhaus is clearly held in high regard in Germany and it seems likely that he will depart this summer considering the interest being shown in him, so Michael Edwards should ensure that he joins Klopp’s side this summer, as he could be the perfect man to replace Wijnaldum in this Liverpool squad.

And, in other news… Edwards should swoop for “exciting” PL winger who is “only going to get better”

Many West Brom fans have been left to slam Semi Ajayi after the central defender picked up a very silly red card in the first half away at Burnley.

He was adjudged by VAR and referee Mike Dean to have deliberately handled the ball which stopped Matej Vydra from going through on goal.

As he was denying a possible goal-scoring opportunity, the 27-year-old was shown a straight red card by Dean and thus given his marching orders.

It is a game that Sam Allardyce’s men really need to win if they are to have any sort of hopes of surviving relegation from the Premier League, but Ajayi let his team down by giving the referee a decision to make, and thus his action has not gone down very well with several members of the Hawthorns faithful.

West Brom fan reaction to Ajayi handball

These Albion supporters slammed the Nigeria international on Twitter, with one Baggie even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘massive liability’:

“Silly from Ajayi. Just what we need”

Credit: @Benhadlington1

“Ajayi what are you doing?”

Credit: @RogerRiley2

“Ajayi playing basketball”

Credit: @Jasemor

“Stupid decision by Ajayi, but Gallagher’s pass back was horrendous. We would have slaughtered Sawyers for that #wba”

Credit: @AshTurnerDJ

“It’s an incredible harsh red card but Ajayi is a massive liability #wba”

Credit: @BigAjayi

“Ajayi again, awful player.”
Credit: @SaulSanders8

In other news, find out what injury update has been dropped on one WBA ace here!

After continuing their recent good form with a 1-0 victory over Rotherham, Nottingham Forest take on Derby County on Friday night looking to make it three wins on the bounce.

Chris Hughton’s side have turned things around since the start of the new year, losing just three times in all competitions, including really improving things defensively – Forest have conceded just two goals in their last seven games.

While Hughton may be reluctant to make too many changes from the side that beat Rotherham on Tuesday evening, one player who the Forest boss should be looking to bring back into the fold is Alex Mighten.

The 18-year-old was dropped to the bench for the clash in mid-week, perhaps with one eye on being given a start against the Rams on Friday. And when you look at how the teenager has performed since emerging onto the scene, it’s clear why he could well be a potential game-changer for Forest.

The Championship side have rather understandably looked to protect Mighten from over-exposure and placing too much responsibility on his shoulders, and it’s no surprise that despite making 13 appearances this season in the league, that’s only amounted to 572 minutes of action.

Hughton has tried to ease him into things, but the talent is unquestionable. Forest right-back Cyrus Christie waxed lyrical about his ability, saying:

“Alex gives us a different dynamic. He is unorthodox. You do not know what he is going to do. He is so tricky and lively. You hate playing against him in training when you perhaps don’t feel 100 per cent but he is somehow operating at 120 per cent. He has been fantastic. He has not let his head drop.”

The £3.5k-a-week earning gem ranks joint-sixth for most dribbles per game in the Championship this season for Forest (1.1), while only three other players in the squad are fouled more times than him (1.8).

It’s a testament to his constant desire to make things happen and take Forest forward, rather than just trying to settle for the simple pass and play things safe.

It’s exactly the kind of fearlessness that Hughton should look to unleash for the Derby game, and Mighten’s directness and skill could be the key to ensuring Forest’s excellent recent run continues.

Many Liverpool fans were not impressed with what manager Jurgen Klopp said after his side’s atrocious 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Thursday night.

Mason Mount was the difference between the two sides as the Reds lost their fifth game in a row at home in the Premier League – registering just one shot on target during the 90 minutes.

Speaking to reporters after the final whistle (via The Anfield Talk), the German tactician said that tactics were not the reason that they lost the game. Instead, not “showing heart” and not “being resilient” were the primary sources of the Merseysiders’ downfall, according to the charismatic boss.

Liverpool lost further track on the top four places and have lost their last four out of five games, leaving them behind the likes of Chelsea, Everton and West Ham, some of those still with a game in hand (via Fotmob).

With this in mind, supporters were stunned by Klopp’s comments, with some fans even bizarrely suggesting that he should leave the club after six years in charge.

Fans flip at Klopp

“‘It’s not about tactics’ This is so worrying to read…”

Credit: @LFCJosh23

“He’s done.”

Credit: @1CraigFisher

“He looks totally lost in this interview”

Credit: @stujohn4

“It’s about tactics mate. Leave my club”

Credit: @devinLFC__

“Klopp is suddenly clueless and it’s shocking to see”

Credit: @freddystarr1

“He’s lost the plot here”

Credit: @HoodPxlitics

In other news, Emile Heskey believes Liverpool star man needs to “take a backseat.”

Following their underwhelming title defence of 2020/21, it was only natural that Liverpool would be linked with a long list of potential arrivals.

The Reds have indeed been rumoured to be interested in a number of players all around Europe.

However, one player who has apparently not yet caught the club’s eye is Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic. That has not stopped the player from talking up a potential move to Anfield, stating that he would “find it tough” to reject an offer from the Merseysiders in an interview to Bild.

The 23-year-old added: “I really like Liverpool. This club is simply special to me. When I was a kid, I saw the Champions League final in 2005 when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down against Milan to win. That gripped me.”

Kalajdzic is certainly a player who Jurgen Klopp should look to bring to Anfield.

Currently in the midst of his most lethal campaign so far, the 23-year-old has plundered 12 goals in the Bundesliga this season despite having only started 13 matches. The Austrian is also in brilliant form at the time of writing, having netted in his last six consecutive league games.

Standing at two metres tall, his height and physical presence would give Klopp an excellent and potent weapon in the air.

With his stunning record and eye for goal, Kalajdzic should provide a better option than current back-up striker Divock Origi, who has only managed to net 15 goals over the last three seasons.

A swoop for Kalajdzic would also be an affordable one for Liverpool to complete. The twice capped Austrian international is rated at just £6.3m at the current time and is out of contract in 2023.

His current employers Stuttgart may have to sell at some point soon to avoid losing the youngster for nothing, surely unfathomable considering his undoubted talent and potential.

Whilst there are seemingly more concrete links to players potentially on Liverpool’s shortlist, Kalajdzic could give the Reds’ frontline a different complexion and should definitely be under consideration from Jurgen Klopp.

AND in more news, Steve Howey has urged Klopp to refresh his Liverpool line-up to try and get out of their Premier League slump…