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Glasgow Rangers continued their impressive form with another victory on Wednesday, this time against St Johnstone.

The ‘Gers beat Aberdeen 1-0 in their first match in the Premiership this term before then hammering St Mirren 3-0. They won by the same scoreline in midweek against the Perth outfit, with Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo and Borna Barisic scoring the goals. As it stands, they are top of the table and are five points ahead of their fierce city rivals Celtic.

However, it wasn’t all good news for Steven Gerrard on Wednesday. Unfortunately, new signing Leon Balogun was forced off at half-time, and it has since emerged that he is a doubt for the match against Livingston this weekend.

Many ‘Gers fans have been reacting to the news and it is fair to say they are far from happy – after all, the £720,000-valued Nigeria international, as per Transfermarkt, has helped to keep clean sheets in both of his first two league matches. Some supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

‘Gers fans, how big a blow is it to see Balogun injured? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

Liverpool’s rich history and recent run of success can often distort what a rollercoaster of a ride it’s been. The positive signings and season-defining moments can make a lot of people forget just how much the Reds have struggled in the past.

Rafa Benitez had just let one of the side’s best players leave in a £30million move to Real Madrid. An influential midfielder who helped Liverpool reach the dizzying heights of their 2005 Champions League win and 2006 FA Cup success. Steven Gerrard and Co needed someone of similar calibre to fill the void in midfield.

It would be a tall ask and, certainly in hindsight, one Benitez would not be able to deliver on.

Alberto Aquilani was welcomed to the club in the summer of 2009, after Liverpool agreed a £20m fee with Roma. The Italian’s stats weren’t spellbinding during his time in the capital, but he had the promise to contribute to the Reds’ engine room. However, nothing could’ve been further from reality.

In the three years he was a Liverpool player, Aquilani made just 28 appearances and spent the rest of his time out on loan. He missed the opening eight matches of the Premier League in the 2009/10 season with an ankle injury sustained in Italy.

The midfielder managed to muster up a measly two goals in his 28 matches played across all competitions for the Reds, with just six assists to top that off (via Transfermarkt). Off the back of his debut season, he was sent out on loan twice before Fiorentina decided to take him off Liverpool’s hands permanently.

Aquilani moved back to Italy in a €7m (£6.3m) transfer to Fiorentina, where he made more of an impact, but didn’t set the league alight.

Ultimately, Liverpool saw a huge 68.5% loss on what they originally forked out for the midfield man. A massive deficit which has no doubt created a sense of wariness for the club as they approach future deals.

How would you describe Alberto Aquilani’s time at Anfield? Join the conversation in the comments below…

Celtic fans have only had good things to say about their defensive lynchpin Nir Bitton on social media after one account posed the question – ‘keep or sell?’

An overwhelming majority were in favour of keeping the 28-year-old in Glasgow for the foreseeable future with many waxing lyrical about his talents.

Bitton originally joined the club in the summer of 2013 and has since gone on to rack up 211 appearances in the green and white hoops, although he has found regular game time hard to come by this campaign.

The Israeli international has played 30 times so far but is merely averaging 57 minutes per game. He’s started only nine times in the SPFL and just once in the Europa League, via Transfermarkt.

Stuck in isolation? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

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But many at Celtic Park believe he’s a very good option for Neil Lennon as seen by their reactions on Twitter.

Here’s what has been said…

AND in other news, Celtic fans discuss Oliver Ntcham…

So it appears very likely now that Liverpool fans will not get to bear witness to their side being crowned Premier League winners this season.

With football in England gearing up for a return later next month, trying to work out logistics over where and when matches should be played has been one of the main talking points.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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Now, The Athletic journalist James Pearce has relayed some information on that matter, revealing that aside from clashes against Everton, Manchester City and Newcastle (which are all set to be played at neutral venues), Liverpool will be allowed to be play their remaining home games at Anfield – but with one big caveat however.

Pearce adds that another game at Anfield may have to be moved if if turns out to be a match in which the Reds can clinch the Premier League title.

And after hearing about Pearce’s update, Liverpool fans flooded to Twitter to share their anger and frustration at the news.

One Liverpool fan in particular questioned the fairness of how at every opportunity the Reds will have to win the title at home, the game will be moved to a neutral venue.

A couple of Liverpool supporters seemed to be particularly critical of the Premier League’s decision-making, and suggesting that the people behind making the call didn’t know what they are doing.

Understandably, fans of the Merseyside club don’t seem to be particularly thrilled with this latest idea.

They have waited for so long to see their side lift the trophy, and as some of them have suggested themselves, feel slightly insulted that they would breach government guidelines.

Whatever the case though, Jurgen Klopp’s men are set to lift the title, and that should be incredibly satisfying when it happens.

Another day, and another player linked with a potential summer move to Newcastle.

This time it’s the turn of Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot, with Italian publication Calciomercato claiming that the Magpies have put a “stellar” offer on the table for the Frenchman.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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The report further adds that whilst negotiations have started with three different clubs, it’s Newcastle who have pressed their “foot on the accelerator”, and that it’s the kind of “concrete interest” that doesn’t depend on whether the club’s proposed takeover goes through or not.

After hearing about their links to the £22.95m-rated ace, Newcastle fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their latest rumoured transfer target.

Some Newcastle fans felt slightly more cautious about their interest in Rabiot, and claimed his attitude would be a major problem.

Having been in and out of the team for the first-half of the campaign, Rabiot established himself as a regular in the early months of 2020, featuring in ten out of the last 11 games in Serie A for Juventus.

Once again, Rabiot is another high-profile name who would add some real quality to the Newcastle midfield, but with there still being doubts over the Magpies’ takeover, it remains to be seen whether this is a deal that gets done anytime soon.

Brendan Rodgers’ time at Liverpool may not have ended in the greatest of fashions, but there can be no questioning that he played a significant role in helping the Reds make their biggest push for a Premier League title in recent memory – until of course Jurgen Klopp arrived and took it up several levels.

The Northern Irishman was in charge at Anfield for more than three years, and according to figures collected by LFCHistory, brought in 33 players at a total combined cost of £296.5m. The likes of Roberto Firmino and James Milner have no doubt proven themselves to be the biggest successes on Merseyside, helping the Reds to the Champions League last season, and on the verge of Premier League title glory this time around.

But in all that, there was some major duds too. And perhaps none more so than the highly-rated Lazar Markovic.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

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The winger arrived in a £20m deal from Portuguese giants Benfica in the summer of 2014, and he certainly arrived with a glowing reputation. The Serbian had just helped his former side to the league title (winning the domestic treble in doing so), and also helped them reach the Europa League final too.

It’s hardly surprising then that Rodgers waxed lyrical about his newest signing after the move was officially confirmed by the club. He said: “Getting him at such a young age is also very pleasing for us, because we will be able to work with him to develop his talent within our group and improve him even further.

“This is an exciting signing for us and one that improves our squad, in terms of attacking options, for the coming season. He was hugely impressive for Benfica last season and has proved he has the ability to produce the goods in European competition as well, which will be important for us.”

But in the end, Markovic spectacularly failed to deliver on those early expectations and hype.

As per Transfermarkt, he made just 34 total appearances for Liverpool’s first-team, scoring just three goals in total, with only two of them coming in the Premier League.

The 26-year-old just failed to settle into life on Merseyside, and couldn’t really make a breakthrough into the side on a consistent basis. Even after Klopp’s arrival as manager, the winger simply couldn’t make it into the team, and the current Reds boss even admitted back in 2017 that they had been looking to offload for him for two consecutive summers.

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The fact Markovic is now back at his first ever club, Partizan Belgrade, just speaks volumes of how his career has taken a dramatic dip since the day Rodgers brought him to Anfield.

From being described as a “rare talent” by European football journalist Andy Brassell after Liverpool’s signing back in 2014, Markovic will surely go down as one of, if not the biggest, transfer disasters of the Rodgers era.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to links with this Ligue 1 ace.

The Sky Bet Championship action returns this evening as Fulham host QPR as the second-tier gears up for the run-in towards the Christmas period.

The games are set to come thick and fast for sides in the second-tier now that the final international break of the calendar year is over and there are bound to be a few freak results along the way.

Leeds United will be hoping to avoid one this weekend, then, as they travel to an out-of-form Luton Town side that’s looking to stay away from the bottom three.

The Whites, on paper, should win this game but the Hatters are capable of causing an upset – particularly at home – with them beating Bristol City with ease there not too long ago.

Defensively, though, Leeds can have confidence in keeping Luton out, whilst the Hatters have issues of their own at the back:

And, this in mind, here is what some Leeds fans have said in response to this reveal:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

One big hurdle that stands in the way of Qatari investment into Leeds United is their valuation of the club.

It was reported last week that QSI value the Whites at between €60-80m (£51.4-68.6m).

New reports emerged this week which further confirm that the Qataris value the club lower than what Andrea Radrizzani is willing to sell it for as a source from the investment group told The Athletic “He overvalues it a little bit. Right now, there wouldn’t be anything happening quickly.”

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The article by Phil Hay also says that Radrizzani’s asking price is just north of £100m, and with QSI looking to pay more than 30 per cent less than that, it seems unlikely that a deal will be reached.

So who’s right? What is Leeds United’s actual value in this day and age?

Firstly you’ve got to look at the Yorkshire club’s sellable assets – namely the players, the stadium and the training ground.

Transfermarkt value the squad at £84.6m, and while that drops to £61.65m when you remove the loan players that’s still a huge chunk of QSI’s valuation.

Transfermarkt’s figures aren’t the most reliable either, for example, they value Kalvin Phillips at £9.9m even though we know Leeds want £30m for him.

However, for arguments sake let’s say that the £61.65m valuation for the squad is accurate.

Fortunately for us, Thorp Arch and Elland Road have both been sold in recent years. Elland Road was flogged for around £20m back in 2017, and in 2004 the training ground was auctioned off for £4.2m.

While there hasn’t been too much inflation since 2017, £4.2m in 2004 is apparently worth £6.3m in 2019, so we can use that figure as the current value of Thorp Arch.

So far, the running tally of Leeds’ sellable assets is £87.95m, but that isn’t even considering any future profits that the club may bring in if they’re promoted to the Premier League.

Last season, finishing bottom of the Premier League was worth £96m to Huddersfield Town, and with United apparently having a 69% chance of going up this season it’s only fair to add a good percentage of that to their value.

Even if you add just 20% of that figure to their valuation it’s another £19.2m, which takes the running tally up to £107.15m, and that number massively increases if Leeds get to the Premier League. That only grows every season that United manage to remain in the top-flight.

Based on the fact that Leeds are likely to go up alongside the fact that Transfermarkt’s valuation of the squad is some way off where it actually should be a fee, just north of £100m for Leeds United actually looks like a massive bargain.

Consequently, QSI must think again and they shouldn’t allow their measly valuation to be a stumbling block in any potential investment.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Wolverhampton Wanderers were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening after they were defeated by their local rivals Aston Villa.

Nuno Santo rung the changes, quite literally, as he named an entirely new starting XI from the one that featured against Newcastle United.

Michael Kightly reveals the truth about his exit from Wolves in the video below…

It was clear to see that the competition was low on his priorities considering the club are competing on the European stage this season.

Anwar El Ghazi and Ahmed Elmohamady bagged both goals for Villa while Patrick Cutrone scored his second in the gold shirt since arriving from AC Milan in the summer.

The game also gave the Portuguese boss the opportunity to look at some of the club’s promising youngsters as aside from Ryan Bennett and John Ruddy, the average age of the squad was only 19.7.

Young centre-back Max Kilman certainly put his name forward following an excellent display against the much-stronger Villa side.

With Willy Boly’s shock and severe injury, it is no secret that Wolves look pretty stuffed defensively until at least January where they can take measures to replace him – but they might not need to.

Kilman showed why the solution is right underneath their noses.

Per SofaScore, the 22-year-old registered six clearances, two tackles, and won four ground duels. He also managed to block two shots.

Dean Smith may have made nine changes, but his XI was considerably stronger as it was filled with players that have actually played football to a professional and competitive level, so that makes Kilman’s showing all that more impressive.

As a left-footed centre-back, he seems like the ideal candidate to replace the Frenchman while he is out – Nuno clearly doesn’t trust Jesus Vallejo after opting for Matt Doherty in the role over him last weekend, while Romain Saiss is technically a midfielder.

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The former Maidenhead United man has played in two Europa League matches this term, so he’s not exactly shy to the big occasion, even managing to keep a clean sheet in one of them.

Nuno needs to give this defensive prodigy a chance before any decisions are made in January.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Aston Villa are enjoying the month of October as they currently occupy 12th in the Premier League.

The thrashing of Norwich City kickstarted a recent upturn in form before the international break.

Dean Smith’s men put in five against the injury-stricken Canaries, and since then, they have backed it up with a late victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Villa skipper Jack Grealish played like a man possessed as he scored the equaliser before slotting in left-back Matt Targett to bag the winner in the 94th minute.

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The whole team has played their part from John McGinn’s industrious ability in the centre of the pitch to Frederic Guilbert’s emergence at right-back.

Even club-record signing Wesley has notched a couple more goals to add to his tally.

If the west Midlands club can keep this up, then they will surely keep hold of their place in the promised land for the foreseeable future.

But that could spell bad things for one of Villa’s contracted players in James Bree, who is currently enjoying a loan spell at Luton Town in the Championship.

Aston Villa’s summer signings’ performances so far this season are rated in the video below…

Given how well Guilbert has performed at right-back, it would take some sort of significant injury to knock him off that starting spot.

He’s already snatched it from playoff hero Ahmed Elmohamady, so it’s hugely unlikely that the 22-year-old will be able to do the same upon his return.

The Frenchman currently ranks third in the Premier League for interceptions with an average of 2.9 per game.

In addition, Smith clearly still holds the man he’s replaced in high regard too as Elmohamady extended his stay at Villa Park by a further year back in August.

The club have also been linked to Norway right-back Omar Elabdellaoui, whether those reports are accurate or not remains to be seen, but such a move would almost certainly put an end to Bree’s career in the west Midlands.

That’s if it hasn’t already as the £900k-rated man has made just 28 appearances since joining the club in January 2017 under Steve Bruce, per Transfermarkt.

Unfortunately for Bree, a chance of getting in the side in the future seems incredibly remote.