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Flocking to Twitter, many Liverpool fans have erupted as Sky Sports Germany backs news on reported FSG target and Red Bull Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi.

Jurgen Klopp’s side, starting the 2021/2022 campaign in imperious form, have looked seemingly unstoppable at times going forward.

Scoring 17 goals in five games alone across all competitions in October, their last Premier League outing away to bitter rivals Manchester United showcased exactly what they’re capable of.

Their stunning 5-0 win at Old Trafford set a benchmark for the high level demanded by Klopp but that doesn’t mean FSG and co are totally ignoring the transfer market.

Indeed, as per Sky in Germany, Liverpool are indeed one of the sides to have ‘expressed an interest’ in signing red hot striking sensation Adeyemi.

Backing other reports, Sky sources now say that the exciting 19-year-old, who has scored 15 goals in all competitions already this season (Transfermarkt), is a target for the Reds.

Flocking to this claim, it’s safe to say many fans are excited and want to see him move to Anfield – with one of them even comparing the teenager to Sadio Mane.

Find all of their verdicts on this claim down below.

Liverpool fans flock to Sky update on Adeyemi…

“this and a Salah renewal and we’ll be happy for now”

Credit: @EvceloLFC

“I want him more than Jude tbf”

Credit: @Dipro_says_hii

“Mad not to buy him! RB Salburg will sell for a decent fee!”

Credit: @JasonLFC1979

“Please please please”

Credit: @CousinCAH

“Great talent”

Credit: @YusufMoneer

“Pls be true”

Credit: @jaslfc_

“The new Sadio”

Credit: @Andy_Hall89

“yessss.. he’ll be worth 100M+ in 2yrs time.”

Credit: @NadMk2

Rangers striker Jermain Defoe was part of Sky Sports’ punditry team for two televised Premier League matches on Sunday.

He joined Graeme Souness, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville in the studio for West Ham United v Tottenham (two of his former clubs) and Manchester United v Liverpool.

However, Rangers were in action themselves on Sunday, beating St Mirren 2-1 to move three points clear at the top of the Premiership.

What’s Defoe’s role at Rangers?

Defoe signed a one-year contract extension at Ibrox over the summer and has taken some coaching responsibilities in addition to playing (via BBC Sport).

The 38-year-old has only seen eight minutes of competitive action so far this term, making a substitute appearance against Dundee United back in early August. Aside from that, he hasn’t featured in any of Steven Gerrard’s matchday squads.

At 9:21pm on Sunday night, Rangers’ official Twitter channel tweeted that ‘it was great to see one of our coaches on punditry duty today’. They added that they were ‘looking forward to having JD back at our training centre to continue his development as a coach whilst playing a key role within our squad’.

However, with Defoe still in the Gers’ playing ranks and his current club playing yesterday, some Light Blues supporters were not impressed with his Sky Sports appearance.

Fans fume over Defoe no-show

“He should be on the bench to bring on in games, never mind at Old Trafford!”

Credit: @ClaytonLaird

“Key role within our squad… he’s been bombed out”

Credit: @thestranGER1872

“He should have came on in the second half, he’s the best finisher at the club.”

Credit: @jamesst50264523

“There’s no way this is justified”

Credit: @CraigBr92630627

“Would have been great to see him at our game today too Mr Rangers”

Credit: @cccc18721972

“Good luck to Gary Mac on covering the Leeds game next Sunday while we’re away to Motherwell. Baffling stuff.”

Credit: @NYCRFC

“Embarrassing”

Credit: @jamiehanna2000

In other news, many Rangers fans gushed over this training ground image.

Tottenham Hotspur could be preparing for life after Tanguy Ndombele if emerging reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports, Spurs are targeting a move for Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar before next week’s transfer deadline and have already held tentative talks with the player’s representatives.

The 23-year-old has two years to run on his current deal but will weigh up his options before making a decision on his future.

Interest in the Frenchman, who featured at the U21 European Championships earlier this year, should come as no surprise as the Lilywhites’ new sporting director Fabio Paratici held an interest in signing him whilst at Juventus.

“Paratici has always been in love with this player,” revealed Fabrizio Romano earlier this month.

It remains to be seen exactly how much Aouar would command, especially with less than a week to go before deadline day, though ESPN believe he could be available for a fee in the region of €25m (£21.5m).

Move on Ndombele

It’s also thought that the club are now prepared to offload Aouar’s former teammate after he requested to leave the club recently, so it would make sense to find someone fit to play a similar role.

And that has to be the Lyon star.

Last season he contributed eight goals and four assists, whilst a year earlier, he provided nine goals and ten assists as the French outfit made an impressive run in the Champions League. In total, Aouar has made a direct goal contribution every 196 minutes, as per Transfermarkt.

It’s this sort of creativity and goal threat from midfield that has been lacking at Spurs, even when Ndombele has been featuring. By comparison, his fellow countryman has only contributed towards 16 goals at a rate of one every 267 minutes since arriving in a club-record £55m deal.

Spurs should certainly look to move him on and Aouar, who can play in the no.8 and no.10 role, would be a perfect successor in north London.

The £26m-rated dynamo has been compared to Spain great Andres Iniesta in terms of playing style and an average of two key passes and an 86.8% passing accuracy last season would certainly reinforce that view.

“I’m a big fan of Aouar. I’ve often likened him to Andres Iniesta, which is obviously a big shout because, for me, he is one of the greatest players of all-time,” claimed Ligue 1 expert Adam White to Football FanCast.

“I don’t necessarily mean in quality but in style. He has silky movement and drifts in midfield to pick passes. At his best, he is absolutely brilliant to watch and he can play anywhere in midfield. He’s great on the ball and technically outstanding. His vision is brilliant. He’s a huge talent.”

Paratici must consider axing Ndombele in favour of signing the promising French gem. It would be an outstanding piece of business for less than £25m – a real bargain in comparison to that club-record fee.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Alli: Spurs must secure £22.5m-rated prodigy who’s “like a young Pogba”…

After being forced off the pitch through injury during their 2-2 draw against Brentford, Leeds United have been sweating over the fitness of midfield maestro Kalvin Phillips.

With the England international also missing Leeds’ recent 3-2 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, there has finally been some clarity about Phillips’ injury.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent report from The Athletic, Phillips has undergone surgery to repair the hamstring injury he suffered and is now expected to be out for at least two months, which is news that will surely have a lot of Leeds fans fuming.

With Marcelo Bielsa’s men having the tough task of taking on Manchester City at The Etihad Stadium later tonight in their latest Premier League match, it seems that they will have to take on the reigning league champions without Phillips.

Last season, Leeds lost seven of the nine league games that the England international wasn’t involved in and haven’t managed to win any of the league games that he’s not played in this term, highlighting just how important he is for the team and how much of a major blow it will be to have him out of action for two months.

This season, the 26-year-old has managed to rack up an average of 2.3 tackles per game and 1.2 interceptions per game in the league, which is a clue as to why the Yorkshire side don’t win many games when he’s not playing given how much of a useful defensive player he is from midfield.

This, therefore, doesn’t make Leeds’ chances of picking up too many points in the next two months look very high, especially with the Whites also having the likes of Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk out injured as well.

Their period without Phillips could get off to a bad start tonight when they take on Pep Guardiola’s side who have scored a total of 33 goals and conceded just nine so far this season in the league.

However, with Leeds managing to secure a win at The Etihad last season thanks to a brace of goals from Stuart Dallas, they should be heading into this game with the confidence and belief that they can cause another upset and come away with three points again.

Although, their injuries will undoubtedly make it much more difficult for Leeds.

Now, everyone at the Yorkshire club will have their fingers crossed that Phillips will be able to make a full recovery as soon as possible and end the season fit and firing with Leeds and away from a potential relegation scrap.

At the moment, though, it’s nothing short of a huge blow to see him ruled out for so long.

In other news: Exciting 4-word January transfer claim emerges that will have Leeds fans buzzing – opinion

French football expert Adam White has alleged that Chelsea are set to beat a host of rivals to the signing of Jules Kounde as an agreement is already in place.

The Champions League holders, according to Spanish media outlet Orgullo de Nervion, are closing in on the signing of France international Kounde. The report states the deal is almost complete and the central defender will more than double the salary he currently boasts at La Liga outfit Sevilla if he exits for Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea are keen for Kurt Zouma to leave the club, with West Ham United failing to entice the 26-year-old to London Stadium, head coach Thomas Tuchel has made signing a central defender a top priority.

Despite plying his trade at the heart of the back four, Kounde displayed his capabilities in the opposition penalty area by scoring four goals and registering one assist in 49 Sevilla appearances last season.

The highly-rated 22-year-old’s fine form in Spain resulted in him being called up for France’s Euro 2020 squad, where he featured once.

Get French Football News’ White insists Kounde would bolster Chelsea’s chances of building on their Champions League success in the upcoming campaign.

He told Football FanCast: “I love Kounde as a player – he’s fantastic. I think that every major club is interested. I have a feeling that he is on the radar of Chelsea, all of the traditional top six in the Premier League, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus. He is that good.

“Chelsea seem to have acted at the right time and it sounds like a contract has been agreed. He would be a great signing for Chelsea if they can get it over the line.”

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer believes Tottenham’s Harry Winks is not mobile enough to play under Marcelo Bielsa.

After a difficult season at Spurs, Winks is being linked with a move away from the club, with Football Insider reporting that the 25-year-old has been told that he can leave north London this summer.

It has led ex-Tottenham and Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson to suggest that Winks would be the “perfect signing” for the Whites.

Palmer, however, is not too sure about the claim, doubting the player’s mobility. He told FFC:

“I think he’s a versatile player, Harry. But he’s not mobile enough to fit the expansive game that Bielsa plays.

“Don’t get me wrong. I think he’s a good player in terms of he can play different [midfield] positions, but the way that Leeds play with a very fast attacking mobile team, I’m not too sure he would fit into that.”

If he does leave, wherever he ends up, Winks will be hoping for more minutes. Though things did pick up towards the end of last season under Ryan Mason, he still missed a lot of games overall.

According to Football Insider, Southampton have been keeping tabs on the English midfielder’s situation as Ralph Hasenhuttl looks to improve his squad, so perhaps that could be an option for him.

Rangers recent stumbles continued on Sunday afternoon as they were unable to get maximum points from thier game at Ibrox.

The champions were unable to break Motherwell down in the Scottish Premiership clash, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Graham Alexander’s side.

Steven Gerrard’s team came into the game off the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in the Europa League last Thursday and were unable to return to winning ways in domestic action.

Fashion Sakala opened the scoring in the first half with his first goal for the club, with a second-half equaliser from Motherwell ensuring the game ended square.

One player, in particular, who struggled in the match and contributed to the Gers failing to pick up all three points was central defender Jack Simpson.

Gerrard dropped experienced, reliable, centre-back Leon Balogun to give Simpson a chance to show that he can perform at this level. Instead, the defender provided the head coach with a reminder of why he is not a first-team regular at the moment as he failed to grasp his opportunity.

Simpson was not at the level required to make a positive impact on the match. For the Motherwell goal, the defender allowed a player to dribble the ball past him in the box with relative ease as the defender stuck a lazy leg out and failed to cut out the danger. The forward failed with his attempt but the rebound then fell to the eventual goalscorer, who was able to prod home.

His all-around defensive play was also poor. Per SofaScore, the lightweight lost 67% of his duels on the pitch, losing six of his nine battles in total. He was also dribbled past three times, one of them being for the goal, and only made two tackles, whilst making zero interceptions. This shows that he was ill-prepared for what Motherwell had to throw at him.

On the ball, he was composed, albeit uninspiring. Per SofaScore, he completed 86% of his passes and gave possession of the ball away seven times in the 90 minutes. He failed to register a shot at goal when coming up for set-pieces and did not create any chances for his teammates or complete any dribbles, showing that he did not step out from defence to push the side up the pitch.

Therefore, Gerrard will be feeling let down by the defender as he put his faith in Simpson to step in for Balogun and perform. Instead, he was partially to blame for the equalising goal and struggled with the physical side of the game against Motherwell.

AND in other news, Wilson must make key decision over 28 y/o Rangers “warrior”, Gerrard needs him…

Some within Newcastle United ‘weren’t overly impressed’ after Steve Bruce took a holiday during the international break, according to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh. 

The lowdown

The Magpies were beaten 4-1 by Manchester United on Saturday, extending their winless start to the season and leaving them languishing in 19th place.

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope reported that Bruce headed to Portugal during the two-week interlude between Premier League matches.

The manager was asked whether that was the case following the defeat at Old Trafford, and responded angrily (via @ChronicleNUFC).

The latest

In a Q&A for The Athletic, Waugh was asked by a supporter how the team had reacted to Bruce’s overseas trip, and the journalist insisted that he couldn’t ‘comment for all the squad’.

However, he added that ‘at least a few sources have suggested’ that the move from the manager went down poorly in some quarters within St James’ Park.

The verdict

If indeed Bruce did go on holiday recently, then it was ill-judged. Yes, it was an international break with a number of players jetting off across the world, but the optics should have been considered.

Newcastle surrendered victory in agonising circumstances prior to the break, conceding a 96th-minute penalty against Southampton. It was also a game which saw chants of ‘we want Bruce out’ from sections of the home support, so the manager did not need to risk fanning the flames.

It’s almost impossible to see an amicable end to the 60-year-old’s tenure at St James’ Park following this development.

In other news, this Newcastle player came under fire for his performance on Saturday.

Birmingham City are interested in a deal to bring Mathias Jorgensen to St. Andrew’s this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Turkish outlet Fotomac (via Football League World), who claim that Lee Bowyer’s side have made an offer for the Fenerbahce centre-back, commonly known as Zanka, following his impressive loan spell at FC Copenhagen last season.

It is reported that Preston North End also hold an interest in the £1.35m-rated man, although Birmingham now appear to be leading the race the defender, who is thought to have a year remaining on his current contract in Turkey.

Bowyer must move

Considering the fact that Mikel San Jose and the Blues have parted company this summer, the centre of the Birmingham defence is certainly an area in which Bowyer will be looking to bring reinforcements in the current transfer window.

And, after looking at Zanka’s performances while on loan at Copenhagen last season, he would certainly appear to be an apt replacement for the outgoing Spaniard.

Indeed, over his 26 Superligaen appearances for Jess Thorup’s side, the 31-year-old scored one goal and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as helping his team keep four clean sheets and making an average of 1.8 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, four clearances and winning 4.5 duels per game.

These metrics saw the £38k-per-week centre-back earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.80, ranking him as Copenhagen’s 11th-best performer in the Danish first tier.

However, it is not only last season in which Zanka has performed admirably, having averaged a SofaScore match rating of 6.83 over his 24 Premier League appearances for Huddersfield Town in 2018/19, as well as having been one of Copenhagen’s stars in the club’s 2016/17 Champions League jaunt, in which he averaged a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.53 over six fixtures.

As such, considering the experience the player whom David Wagner dubbed a “complete defender” has behind him, his signing would appear to be an extremely positive one for Bowyer to get over the line this summer, as Zanka very much appears to possess the ability to be something of a force in the heart of the Birmingham defence next season.

In other news: Bowyer heading for his biggest Birmingham transfer mistake to date, fans will be livid

Tottenham Hotspur could also sell an ‘important’ player who manager Antonio Conte ‘raves about’, according to journalist Alasdair Gold.

The Lowdown: Lilywhites exodus?

This upcoming Spurs transfer window looks set to be the most interesting one in quite some time.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Lilywhites transfer chief Fabio Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy, tasked with backing Conte ahead of the 2022/2023 Premier League season, are reportedly going to sit down with the Italian as he eyes six major signings (The Telegraph).

However, amid their financial complications off the pitch, with club debt mounting to around £706 million, it is imperative that the club offload surplus players to balance the books and bolster Conte’s transfer kitty.

Their homegrown quota also presents a complication with reliable journalist Matt Law recently claiming that, if Spurs want to sign an overseas forward this summer, one of Steven Bergwijn or Lucas Moura may have to be offloaded.

The Latest: Gold backs possible Bergwijn exit…

Writing for football.london in the last 24 hours, another credible source in Tottenham correspondent Gold has now backed that Bergwijn could also leave north London amid consistent exit links surrounding other players.

This is despite the fact Conte ‘raves about’ his Dutch winger, even calling him an ‘important’ player, with Gold adding that Bergwijn is unlikely to want to stay for 22/23 amid his lack of minutes.

The Verdict: Stick or twist?

The Netherlands international has proven to be a useful option for Conte over this campaign.

His added time brace to clinch a dramatic 3-2 win at Leicester City in late January is evidence of the player’s impact and quality when given an opportunity, and could even be the moment that secures Champions League football come the end of the campaign.

Bergwijn’s versatility as an attacking outlet from the wide positions and further forward is another incentive for Spurs to keep hold of the former PSV Eindhoven star.

Despite his quality, though, a mooted move back to the Eredivisie with footballing giants Ajax could be too enticing to ignore – and if the 24-year-old pushes for a move – Spurs may well need to consider a sale depending on their possible offer.

In other news: Source: Tottenham edge closer to ‘top signing’, he really wants to join Conte! Find out more here.