[ad_pod ]

Liverpool have a handful of youth players out on loan this season and a selection are impressing.

Harry Wilson joined Derby County on a season-long arrangement in the summer, and he has certainly made some headlines.

Under the guidance of manager Frank Lampard, the 21-year-old winger has scored four goals and one assist in 14 appearances in all competitions.

On Saturday, Wilson scored his latest strike from a free kick in the Rams’ 3-1 victory over Birmingham City at Pride Park.

The Wales international has been a Liverpool player since 2005 when he joined the club’s academy.

Jurgen Klopp is open to bringing through young talent, but at the moment the club’s objective is sustaining a Premier League title challenge.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”326259″ player=”12034″ title=”Liverpool Or Chelsea For The Title Forget it!”]

For that to happen, the Reds need to field their best players, and with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the squad, it is that much harder for Wilson to break through.

However, plenty of Liverpool fans have expressed a desire to see the youngster in the set-up next season when he returns from his loan spell.

Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.Comment from discussion Here’s Wilson’s great free kick goal against Birmingham from yesterday.

According to The Daily Mail, Liverpool midfielder Naby Keïta is due to start for Liverpool this weekend. 

The Guinea international has been absent from The Reds since the last international break, and could provide the club something they’ve been lacking in recent weeks.

Sometimes, after an aberrant loss like the one Liverpool suffered during the week, a team just wants an easy fixture.

Luckily for Jürgen Klopp, his team host Fulham at Anfield on Sunday; a team that are currently bottom of the Premier League and close to sacking their manager Slaviša Jokanović.

However, a win against The Cottagers will not paper over the cracks and hide the fact that The Reds had only won three games out of nine going into the clash.

For a side that simply were insatiable at times last season, Liverpool’s attack has stuttered so far this season, and the midfield has particularly struggled to display any creativity. Keïta’s (valued at £58.5m on Transfermarkt.co.uk) return could provide that creative influence that Klopp so desperately craves from his team.

However, it is fair to say that before Keïta’s injury, he was far from the player that fans were expecting after his long-anticipated arrival from RB Leipzig over the summer. In the Bundesliga, the midfielder branded himself as a player that was almost impossible to hold down, with an immeasurable attacking influence. He is yet to prove that in red so far, but his return could trigger his ascendancy at the club.

Liverpool are still in a very healthy position in the Premier League, and should feel confident of beating Fulham at the weekend. But they need to find their attacking spark again, and Keïta can provide that.

[ad_pod ]

According to The Sun, Tottenham Hotspur will make a £35m bid for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella when the January transfer window opens for business.

What’s the story?

It would be fair to say that midfield is an area of concern for Tottenham, with Mousa Dembele facing an extended period on the sidelines through injury, and Victor Wanyama’s future far from secure.

There are also doubts over whether Eric Dier is good enough to be a regular in that area of the field, meanwhile, and Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be desperate to boost the centre of the park in January.

According to The Sun, Tottenham are prepared to splash £35m on Cagliari midfielder Barella, although the London club will face competition from Liverpool.

Barella is a two-time Italy international, and despite having a contract with his current club until 2022, is widely expected to leave either in January or at the end of the season.

Would Barella be a good signing?

Born in Cagliari, Barella came through the youth system at his current team before making his first-team debut in 2014.

Despite standing just 5ft 9inches, Barella is an aggressive and tenacious midfielder, and certainly has the engine required to be a success in the Premier League.

The Italian has also scored seven times in his 87 first-team appearances for Cagliari, including one in 12 Serie A appearances this term.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”327140″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Leicester Trump Man City Chelsea & Liverpool”]

In the current market, £35m is not mega money, particularly for a player who could go on to become one of Europe’s outstanding central midfielders alongside Harry Winks, who is very much the future of the capital club.

Tottenham will seemingly face a battle to sign the 21-year-old, but club chairman Daniel Levy should put his hand in his pocket to secure the deal as soon as possible.

On paper, everything is going perfectly for Liverpool as they sit second in the Premier League table, two points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

Jurgen Klopp’s team remain unbeaten in the top flight, but they have lacked a creative flair on the pitch.

Liverpool certainly have the players to cause serious damage to defences, but they have not quite clicked just yet.

In order to solve that problem, it seems that a high-profile figure at Barcelona is being targeted.

According to The Sun, the Merseyside outfit are prepared to set a new club-record fee by offering £85m for Ousmane Dembele.

The 21-year-old is in his second season at the Camp Nou, and he has certainly shown in glimpses that he has the potential to become a world-class star.

However, there have been concerns over his discipline, which has seemingly resulted in Dembele not getting regular game time.

Liverpool’s current most expensive footballer is defender Virgil van Dijk, who signed for the club in a £75m deal in January.

Considering how vital the centre-back has become to Liverpool, would spending £85m on Dembele be justified?

Let us know by voting below.

It’s been an inconsistent season so far for West Ham as the club was handed a tough start to the Premier League season and despite picking up some superb results against Man U and Chelsea, The Hammers are once again facing another dip in form. 

While Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic have been in superb form, after drawing to Huddersfield, the east London club is now 13th in the table.

Aside from their two forwards, Declan Rice has been a star in midfield for Manuel Pellegrini. He may have had a tough start to the season but since the switch to a 4-3-3, Rice has blossomed into a solid player.

According to reports, Man U have now joined the race for the West Ham man and are willing to offer him a huge increase on his current wage.

The Breakdown

Rice’s contract situation has been an ever growing problem at the club as the midfielder is yet to sign an improved deal on his £3,500-a-week wage at the London Stadium.

The midfielder has rejected a £20,000-a-week and if the club can’t sign him to a new deal soon, the possibility of him leaving is becoming ever more likely.

At only 19, he has already become an important member of the squad and his ability to play as a defensive midfielder and as a centreback is huge for West Ham.

In a midfield that isn’t the strongest, Pellegrini can ill afford to lose the West Ham man.

What do you think West Ham fans? 

[ad_pod ]

Since a summer 2016 move to Selhurst Park from West Ham, James Tomkins has become a key player for Crystal Palace at the heart of defence.

The 29-year-old recorded his best performance in red and blue so far this season in a 0-0 stalemate with Manchester United on Saturday as he kept the Red Devils out, alongside Mamadou Sakho, to earn both a well deserved clean sheet and a point at Old Trafford.

Having endured a tough run of fixtures that saw the Eagles take just one point from games with three of the big six, Roy Hodgson can feel aggrieved to have not taken all three from Mourinho’s men as the visitors missed a few golden chances to stun United, but positives can still be drawn from Tomkins’ colossal performance in defence.

The Englishman read the game well and used his excellent positional sense to make up for his lack of pace – a flaw that might have been punished by the likes of Marcus Rashford – as he completed four interceptions, while also making the Palace box a fortress as he cleared his lines a whopping ten times and won four aerial duels (WhoScored).

As assured with the ball as he was without it, the 6-foot-3 centre-back also finished the game with a passing success rate of 77% – a statistic that is important when facing big teams as mistakes in possession tend to be punished.

The hosts appeared to wake up in the final 20 minutes or so as they brought on fresh legs, but Tomkins showed no signs of mental or physical fatigue as he kept concentration to block a Rashford strike and keep the tie level.

Palace are preparing for a visit from Burnley this weekend and Hodgson will be hoping for more of the same from his number 5.

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Playmaker FC…

He’s grown quite a reputation for not being available or withdrawing from the squad on matchday and many Arsenal fans might have been worried when they didn’t see Mesut Ozil’s name on the team-sheet for Sunday’s North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur.

A back spasm was the reason this time as the Gunners went into the important encounter without their highest-paid player. The creativity and vision of a player like Ozil would always be needed in such a big fixture but when the final whistle blew most Arsenal fans had probably forgotten that the former German international wasn’t even on the pitch.

Unai Emery’s men made a massive statement as the blew Spurs off the park in the second-half, scoring three goals to nil to claim a famous 4-2 win over their fiercest rivals.

The manager opted for a back-three again, mainly due to the injury problem at left-back, that saw Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira start in the centre of the midfield with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as a front-three.

Ozil could easily have started ahead of Mkhitaryan, but Emery stuck with the Armenian after having a poor performance at Bournemouth last weekend and despite Alexandre Lacazette available but only on the bench.

The manager imposed his faith in the exact same team that struggled against Eddie Howe’s men, which in itself might be one of the key differences of Arsenal this season.

Emery has made it clear that he won’t let his team place emphasises on one specific player to get results, instead, he forced an out of favour back-three system to work in one of the club’s most important matches of the season.

And, all of this against a Spurs team that put Chelsea to the sword at Wembley last weekend.

Going forward, Sunday’s victory will provide Arsenal with heaps of confidence that they don’t always have to rely on Ozil to get them over the line. The midfielder does remain a vital part of the squad but if he falls out with Emery, as it appears he has done, then it won’t spell the end of the road for the Gunners this season.

According to the Daily Mail, West Brom are keen to sign Leicester City outcast Andy King on a loan deal in the upcoming January transfer window.

What’s the story?

King has been with the Foxes since graduating from their academy in 2004, and was part of the squad that won a remarkable Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri in the 2015/16 season. With 378 appearances for the club to his name, King will go down as a Leicester legend.

However, he is clearly now surplus to requirements at the King Power Stadium. Current boss Claude Puel hasn’t even registered the 30-year-old midfielder in his Premier League squad, meaning King’s only club-level action is currently coming with the under-23s.

The 50-cap Wales international must now seek pastures new to get his career back on track.

The Playmaker FC squad decided to wind-up some unsuspecting Brazil fans at the Emirates on Saturday night. Watch the hilarious results in the video below…

Plenty of Championship clubs would be wise to move for King in the winter window, but the Hawthorns would be the ideal destination for the midfielder.

Plenty left to give

Darren Moore’s Baggies squad currently lacks a bit of depth in the middle of the park. King would bring further experience, energy and creativity to this part of the pitch.

The Welshman will also be eager to prove a point about his quality. Having been shunned by Puel at Leicester, the midfielder must surely be keen to remind everyone of his ability. At 30, he still has plenty of football left in him, and he could have a genuine impact for West Brom as a younger version of the 37-year-old Gareth Barry.

What do you think, Baggies fans, would King be a smart January recruit?

[ad_pod ]

With Jamie Vardy slowly starting to decline, Leicester’s go-to guy upfront for so many years, panic is setting in around the King Power that their other striking options are not good enough to hold the mantle in attack.

The Foxes’ £25m signing from Manchester City, Kelechi Iheanacho, has hit just 10 goals in almost 50 appearances in the blue of Leicester, wholly disappointing form after huge initial excitement upon his arrival.

As well as the Nigerian, Shinji Okazaki hasn’t found the back of the net as much as Claude Puel would like – the Japanese forward hasn’t scored in his last 30 games. Fousseni Diabate is the fourth-choice striker at the King Power, and is on the fringes of the team.

So, in light of all of those factors, we asked Leicester fans if they’d like to see 22-year-old La Liga hitman Maxi Gomez sign for the club, as he is currently on fire with Celta Vigo, scoring eight goals and recording four assists so far this season.

He is a tall forward whose height would be a perfect complement to Vardy’s pace, as the Englishman would thrive off the 22-year-old’s flick-ons into the channels as well as those that put him in on goal.

A whopping 95% of those who voted said they’d like to see the Uruguayan in the Premier League, as shown by the results below…

According to a recent report from AS, Isco’s future is far from certain heading into 2019. The Spain international currently plays his football at European champions Real Madrid and has done so since leaving Malaga back in 2013, although a lack of regular game time under current boss Santiago Solari has plunged his future at the Bernabeu into doubt.

And that’s because reports suggest that the 26-year-old could be on his way out of the La Liga heavyweights in the near future, with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City one side reportedly keen on the midfielder, but given Tottenham’s prior interest in the £81 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt), alongside his apparent unhappiness at Real, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy surely won’t get a better chance to lure the midfielder to the North London club.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, there may well be quite the overhaul of the midfield ranks in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad in 2019, what with Mousa Dembele’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, and no agreement seemingly close, while Victor Wanyama’s recurrent injury problems clouds his long-term future at the club.

And with the duo striking up a sensational partnership in Pochettino’s midfield to help Tottenham finish second in the Premier League back in 2017, there is little doubt that losing the pair would be a big loss to the North London club, regardless of how well the likes of Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, and Eric Dier have done in their absence.

And while that trio is very talented and has several key traits needed to succeed in the middle of the park in the Premier League, they are lacking that genuine star quality – star quality Isco has in abundance.

The Spain international, who can play pretty much anywhere across the midfield be it out wide or in the number ten role, made the move to the Bernabeu back in 2013 after impressing at fellow Spanish side Malaga, and it didn’t take him long to translate that form into his Real days with 11 goals and nine assists in his first season at the La Liga giants.

Several impressive displays, goals, assists, and trophies have since followed for Isco at the Bernabeu to underline just what a special talent he is, with his tally of 46 goals and 52 assists in 257 games for the club equating to a direct contribution every 161 minutes, which is an excellent return.

And having also shone for Spain down the years, the 26-year-old is certainly in that world-class central midfielder bracket – the calibre of player Tottenham simply have to land if they are to bridge the gap to England’s, and indeed Europe’s, best teams.

Yes, beating City to his signature could prove to be a problem, but his clear frustration with life at Real Madrid offers up the chance for Levy and the Spurs hierarchy to make a move – they simply won’t get a better chance to land a player they have been linked with for some time now.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!