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Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich on Tuesday becomes a more respectable result when more thought is given to it but, to Jurgen Klopp and his players, the stalemate will have been a disappointment.

The Reds had a handful of golden chances to tilt the tie in their favour ahead of the second leg in March but their finishing was uncharacteristically woeful, with Sadio Mane particularly guilty – the Senegalese scuffed wide from six yards out after the ball fell to him in the box.

Unfortunately for the Merseysiders, there is no respite after that tough game – they face bitter rivals Manchester United in the league this weekend and must bounce back from their Champions League setback. How, though, can the Anfield outfit ensure they instantly return to the level of form that has put them at the forefront of this season’s Premier League title race?

Use Henderson to bypass midfield

Jordan Henderson’s passing was extremely impressive on Tuesday night and the England international would have recorded one of the assists of the season had Mohamed Salah managed to get more power on his toe-poke once the Liverpool captain looped an inch-perfect, long ball over the top of Bayern’s defence.

While the 28-year-old might not have Paul Pogba’s power, pace, dribbling skills or haircut, his eye for a pass and industry can be huge assets for the Reds if utilised properly.

Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival at Old Trafford, United fans have become familiar with the sight of Pogba regaining possession in his own half and pinging balls in behind towards an on-rushing Marcus Rashford, whose recent lethality in front of goal has seen the pair strike up a dangerous partnership.

Liverpool have their Rashford in Salah and their Pogba in Henderson. They must look to out-counter their opponents at every opportunity and bypass the midfield.

Play 4-2-3-1

Klopp has strayed away from his favoured 4-3-3 this season, experimenting with a 4-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1 – if he wants to put another blot on Solskjaer’s United résumé, he must elect to line his players up in the latter on Sunday.

The formation offers far more defensive security and, if Henderson is to start – which he should after playing so well on Tuesday – he will need some help in the middle. The timely return of Virgil van Dijk from suspension means Fabinho can return to his natural position at the base of midfield and the Brazilian’s bite will be essential if the Reds are to negate Pogba.

Get Daniel Sturridge in the game

If Liverpool gained anything from their draw with Bayern, it would be that they need a top-class striker who can put the ball in the back of the net nine times out of ten as, for all their quality, the front three tend to need a hatful of chances to score – luckily enough, they create as many, but in the big games they will get far less.

Mixed fortunes for English sides in the Champions League so how far off are they from dominating Europe’s top table? The Pl>ymaker FC squad discuss in the video below…

Sturridge, whether Liverpool fans like it or not, is the most natural finisher at Anfield and Klopp should give the 26-cap international a shot up front – with Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane around him – at some point in the game.

Divock Origi came off the bench against Bayern but perhaps Sturridge should be the man Klopp calls on in Liverpool’s hour of need. He often only needs half a yard to score and against United, that might be all they are afforded at times.

Leeds United have been dealt a setback in their bid to bring Calvin Ramsay to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent Alan Nixon report for The Sun, in which the journalist claims that Liverpool have now entered the race for the Aberdeen right-back, with the Reds’ scouts believed to have been highly impressed with the 18-year-old defender – who they believe is a talent in the same mould as Trent Alexander-Arnold.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-marsch-raphinha-dest-philhay” title=”Read the latest Leeds news!”]

This is likely to come as a blow to Victor Orta and Leeds, with Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reporting earlier this year that the Whites were thought to be leading the race to land the Scotland U21 international.

Orta must move

Considering just how impressive Ramsay has been for Aberdeen this season, it is easy to see why both Leeds and Liverpool would be interested in a deal to bring the defender to the Premier League this summer.

Indeed, over his 22 Scottish Premiership appearances in the current campaign, the £540k-rated prodigy has been in sensational form for Jim Goodwin’s side, scoring one goal, registering five assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of two key passes – the joint fifth-most in the league – and completing 0.9 dribbles per game.

The £880-per-week starlet has also impressed in a defensive capacity, helping the Dons keep one clean sheet, as well as making an average of 0.8 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 1.4 clearances and winning 3.5 duels per game.

These returns have seen the teenager average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as Aberdeen’s joint sixth-best player in the Scottish top flight.

This incredible level of performance has rather understandably seen the 18-year-old showered with a great deal of praise, none more so than from Dons chairman Dave Cormack, who said of Ramsay back in January:

“There are not many right-backs at his age like him, doing what he does. Look at the data and all the clubs look at the same scouting systems. He is in the elite upper bracket, right up there, for a young right-back in Europe. People are seeing that and that is why we believe there will be a lot of interest.”

As such, considering the sheer amount of potential the teenager possesses – not to mention his similar creative traits to that of the £100m-rated Alexander-Arnold – it would appear a very wise move for Orta to do all he can to bring the right-back to Elland Road this summer.

However, following the news of Liverpool’s interest, a deal now looks as if it will be much more difficult to pull off for the Spanish sporting director.

AND in other news: Orta can unearth Leeds’ next White with swoop for “really exciting” £4.2k-p/w “talent”

Leeds United will ‘definitely’ target a new striker this summer to provide cover and competition for Patrick Bamford.

That’s according to transfer insider Dean Jones, who was speaking to This Is Futbol.

The lowdown

Bamford enjoyed a fine 2020/21 season upon Leeds’ return to the Premier League, scoring 17 goals, providing eight assists and – crucially – featuring in every single game (via Transfermarkt). However, this season he has been ravaged by injury, limiting him to just seven starts out of a possible 32 in the top flight.

An ankle injury kept Bamford out from the end of September until the start of December, and he then suffered a hamstring problem upon his return against Brentford. Having returned to the fold in March, he was forced off in the win away to Wolves and has missed the team’s subsequent two games (via Transfermarkt).

Amidst these woes, Leeds have often turned to summer signing Dan James – who is predominantly a winger – to lead the line, and the Welshman has only scored four goals.

The latest

Jones has said that Leeds believe they need a more effective centre-forward ‘backup’ for Bamford and have made it a priority ahead of the summer transfer window.

He told This Is Futbol: “Leeds are definitely going to look to sign a new striker. I think irrelevant of whether Bamford is fit or not. We’ve seen that you have to have backup for him.”

The verdict

Bamford’s availability was excellent in 2020/21 but his injury nightmare this season has exposed a hole in Leeds’ squad, so who could they potentially sign to strengthen their centre-forward ranks?

According to a recent report from TEAMtalk, the Whites have entered the race to sign Ben Brereton Diaz from Blackburn Rovers. The £9m-rated Chile international has been prolific for the Lancashire club in the Championship, bagging 20 goals in 34 appearances so far this season.

In addition to his goalscoring, the 22-year-old offers an ‘extraordinary’ work rate, according to his manager Tony Mowbray, so he could potentially be a favourite at Elland Road if he were to join Leeds and carry across that industrious trait.

In other news, Phil Hay has shared an update on this injured Leeds midfielder

Manchester United travel to London in a clash against their top-four rivals Arsenal, that could make or break their pursuit for Champions League football next season.

Ralf Rangnick’s side have the opportunity to make some progress in the Premier League if they can seal a victory over the Gunners this afternoon – with the Red Devils currently sitting in 6th, three points behind both Tottenham and Arsenal.

With that in mind, the interim boss must get into the game early and select the right players to give Manchester United the best chance of taking all three points from The Emirates home today, and one player who should not be near the starting line-up is Marcus Rashford.

Rashford was shocking in the midweek clash at Anfield, with the 24-year-old making just 11 passes and having no attempts at goal over the 90 minutes of the humiliating 4-0 defeat – with this performance not being a one-off for the winger this season.

The £180k-per-week flop was dubbed “absolutely terrible” by Glen Waddle following Man United’s exit from the Champions League last month: “Marcus Rashford looked absolutely terrible when he came on. Why do they keep playing him when he doesn’t want to be there, supposedly? I don’t get that.”

Rashford has only managed four goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, while averaging a shocking 0.5 shots on target per game, losing the majority of his ground and aerial duels (65%) and missing two big chances in his 23 appearances, proving that there is no way Rangnick should be relying on the winger in the game today.

Luckily, the German coach confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will be available for selection and is back in training following compassionate leave, which means Rangnick can deploy a front three of Jadon Sancho, Ronaldo and Anthony Elanga instead – leaving Rashford on the bench.

The return of Ronaldo will surely give this lacklustre Man United team the vital boost they need to have an advantage in getting the victory in North London this afternoon, and the opportunity should not be squandered to close the gap on their opponents in the league table by starting players who can’t be relied on in this important clash.

AND in other news: Ten Hag targeting £42m talent as his first MUFC signing, it could be bye-bye Maguire

Having won four successive league titles in his time at Celtic, it’s fair to say Dedryck Boyata enjoyed a rather fruitful time at Parkhead.

The Belgium international would end up playing 135 times for the club, and even chipped in with an impressive 15 goals and nine assists as he consolidated a place at the back under former boss Brendan Rodgers.

But amid speculation linking him with a move away, it was clear that there were just a little bit of friction.

Indeed, Rodgers didn’t seem to be all impressed with some of the work going on behind-the-scenes, revealing back in August 2018: “Dedryck’s agent turned up yesterday at the training ground, which is closed the day before the game.

“He wanted to speak to me at 10 o’clock. I have a meeting with players at 10.30 and I said I couldn’t meet him before but I would after I had done my work. Obviously when I came back after training he wasn’t there. That’s where it is at. But he is a player we don’t want to lose.”

In the end, Boyata would leave Celtic on a free transfer back in the summer of 2019, arriving at Bundesliga outfit Hertha BSC.

After joining the German side on a four-year deal, the centre-back said: “I am pleased that the deal has worked out. It is an ambitious club and we have similar goals. Also, I was very impressed with Michael Preetz’ efforts to bring me here.

“I am looking forward to the new season and want to achieve something with the club.”

Well, whatever Boyata may have envisaged would happen at Hertha, certainly hasn’t done so.

The Bundesliga side are currently staring at the very real prospect of relegation to the second-tier of German football, lying just one point and one place above the play-off spot – to make matters worse, they remain just two points ahead of Arminia, who occupy the last automatic relegation spot.

Boyata, who has been handed the captain’s armband at the Olympiastadion, was sent off earlier this season against Hoffenheim following a challenge that was upgraded to a red card after a VAR check.

The Belgian has been part of a shocking defence that has conceded a whopping 66 goals in just 30 Bundesliga games this season, the second-worst record in the entire division, with only bottom side Greuther Furth having let in more (72).

When you think of how Celtic have found a real leader in defence in Cameron Carter-Vickers, and how the side have performed superbly in stopping the opposition – they have the meanest back-line in the Scottish Premiership with just 19 goals conceded (eight fewer than second-best Rangers) – the Hoops must feel they have landed a real upgrade on Boyata.

Slammed as being “stupid” for the way he picked up a red card against St Johnstone back in September 2018, it’s clear Boyata hasn’t really found the grass is greener elsewhere, and instead looks set for a really big step down unless he can help turn things around at Hertha.

AND in other news – £4.7m down the drain: £12k-p/w Celtic liability rinsed Peter Lawwell for 140 weeks

West Ham United manager David Moyes must finally start Alex Kral in the FA Cup fourth round clash against Kidderminster this weekend.

What’s the story?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game on Saturday, Moyes said: “Alex’s been a bit unfortunate not to feature, but he had a period where he missed out a little bit with [the virus] in a period with more games. I would like to give him an opportunity to see what he can do.”

He could bully Kidderminster

Since joining West Ham last summer, the 23-year-old has been nothing more than a bit-part player for Moyes, making just five appearances across all competitions, with the caveat that he has only featured for 210 minutes in those outings.

Given the manager’s comments on the midfielder, though, it might finally be the time to actually see what he can do, starting with this Saturday.

Kral is also a player who Moyes has seemingly scouted in depth, having named him in his ‘ones to watch’ in The Times for Euro 2020.

He wrote: “He is likely to start in the Czech midfield alongside Tomas Soucek and is similar in stature to Tomas, though plays in a slightly different style. He is good on the ball and looks to protect his defence and appears to have, like Tomas and Vladimir Coufal, great mentality and bags of energy.”

The 6 foot 1 powerhouse ended the campaign in Russia last season with Spartak Moscow averaging an impressive 1.5 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and a team-high 56 passes per game, via WhoScored – a real indication of the kind of dynamism that he can bring to the midfield engine room.

A tie against Kidderminster, who are currently in the National League, may be the perfect platform for Kral to get some vital minutes under his belt, as well as some welcome confidence by dominating the game in midfield.

The £7.2m-rated machine could be the man to bully Kidderminster on Saturday.

Meanwhile, West Ham are interested in this star with “cold-blood”…

West Bromwich Albion have had a rather dismal season in terms of trying to escape the Championship and win promotion back to the Premier League.

With 44 league games played, the Baggies have won 16, drawn 13 and lost 15, showing just how unpredictable they can be.

In those games, the team have scored 47 goals and conceded 45 along the way.

One figure, in particular, that hasn’t contributed much to their campaign is Kenneth Zohore.

After appearing in West Brom’s two opening league games of the season, the striker hasn’t been in the squad since.

With seven league games to his name for the U23s, the 28-year-old has found the back of the net five times.

Having been described as “lazy” in the past by Neil Warnock, Zohore has, in fairness, had troubles with injuries that have kept him out of action.

Despite this, the attacker could well be in the firing line during the big overhaul that Steve Bruce has spoken about for the upcoming summer transfer window.

With that in mind, one player the Baggies could look to bring in as a potential replacement for Zohore, should the club feel the need to let him go, is Elliot Anderson.

Recently linked with a move to West Brom, Anderson has been on loan with Bristol Rovers this season from Newcastle United. During his time there, the attacker has scored six times and delivered three assists in 19 League Two appearances.

To further highlight what a dangerous player he is going forward on the pitch, only two other players for Rovers have managed to rack up more shots at goal than Anderson (63).

Praised for his “superb” performances for his current club by Joey Barton, the 19-year-old could be an ideal addition to Steve Bruce’s side as a young attacking prodigy aiming to play as much football as possible.

With the report linking the Baggies with the player claiming that Newcastle want their youngster to get some experience in the Championship next season, this could put West Brom in a good position to secure his signature.

Moving forward, securing a deal for the Newcastle prodigy should definitely be in West Brom’s thinking for the summer, especially if they could be able to get an option to buy him if they do get him on an initial temporary loan basis.

In other news: “Confident..“: Big West Brom transfer claim emerges, it’s great news for supporters

Manchester United are in a period of transition with a number of big changes coming up at the end of this season as the club attempt to rebuild the squad and bring in a manager that can lead the Red Devils back to victory.

Now a fresh transfer update has emerged that could be another big change for the club.

What’s the word?

According to the Mirror Online, Arsenal will offer a contract to the Old Trafford outcast Marcus Rashford this summer.

The Gunners are reportedly on the hunt for a new front-line striker and believe that the Mancunian attacker could be the answer to their problems after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departed for La Liga this season.

With Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah also both out of contract, Mikel Arteta is said to be on a mission to rebuild his attacking line when the season draws to a close in a few months time.

Man United must axe Rashford

It is clear that Rashford’s long term loyalty and love affair with his boyhood club has finally come to an end as reports have been growing on his desire to leave Old Trafford this summer following inconsistent game time under Ralf Rangnick’s reign.

With that being said, it could be the perfect opportunity this summer for the player and the club to mutually part ways in the best interests of the squad and in the best interests of Rashford himself, who will be looking for a more consistent role somewhere else whilst he still has time to develop and thrive.

United could also make a hefty return on their youth player turned first-team star, as the player has hit the highest market value of his career, with Transfermarkt currently reporting the attacker’s value at £76.5m and making this kind of profit on him could certainly boost the transfer funds offered to the new manager coming in to add new key players for the season ahead.

The £180k-per-week dud who was branded “embarrassing” by Rio Ferdinand, has struggled to make an impact in Rangnick’s side this season, and has found himself either left out of the starting line-up or failing to impose a real threat on his opponents.

He has only scored five goals and registered two assists so far, equalling a goal involvement every 194 minutes compared to last season where he was contributing every 115 minutes.

Ultimately whether Rashford is in decline or just in desperate need of a change of scenery, the best outcome for all parties could be for the player to depart, and if interest continues to grow there will surely be no doubt that the powers at Old Trafford will be willing to listen to lucrative offers.

In other news: “It’s true”: Romano drops big update on Man Utd’s manager hunt, Glazers surely worried

Transfers are never guaranteed to work in football, and Rangers have had their fair share of flops and successes over the years at Ibrox.

Some players join the Gers and set the world alight and exceed initial expectations, whereas some fail to make the grade and end up moving on sooner than expected.

However, sometimes it is difficult to assess moves fairly until many years into the future, and that is often the case when making judgements on sales that a club has made.

Disasterclass

One sale for which the Ibrox club ended up paying dearly was Gennaro Gattuso’s move to Salernitana in 1998, having joined the Gers from Perugia on a free transfer the previous summer.

The midfield enforcer, who Kaka once dubbed a “phenomenon” as a player and coach, played 49 times for the Scottish giants in all competitions, scoring five goals and racking up 12 yellow cards from central midfield.

This led to the club selling him to Italian outfit Salernitana in 1998 for a fee in the region of £4m. Gattuso later revealed that then-board member, and ex-James Bond actor, Sean Connery attempted to stop him from making the switch.

He said this about the late film icon: “I only met him once. The president then was David Murray, he was part of the board and, it’s true, one evening he spoke to me and he didn’t want me to leave.”

Whilst making £4m off a free transfer in one season may seem like a great piece of business on paper and a deal worth applauding, what happened after Gattuso’s return to Italy proved that it was a disasterclass from Rangers.

Salernitana sold him to AC Milan for £7.2m after less than a year and he thrived at the San Siro. He made 468 appearances for the Rossoneri, winning two Champions League titles, two Serie A titles and the World Cup with Italy in that time.

In October 2004, Transfermarkt valued the midfielder at a stunning £22.5m. He was valued at £14.4m or higher between 2004 and 2010, showing that the Gers missed out on a significantly bigger payday by selling him after just one season.

This is all with the benefit of hindsight, of course, but they may have been able to make a much larger sum of money from Gattuso’s sale had they kept him for another couple of years. Therefore, the club paid dearly for selling him when they did, because it cost Rangers a potential windfall of millions of pounds as his value skyrocketed after leaving Ibrox…

AND in other news, Big setback as GvB dealt worrying Rangers injury blow, Ibrox faithful will surely be livid…

Tottenham are preparing a £32m offer for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz.

That’s according to The Daily Mail, and, as to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been reacting to the news on social media.

Luiz has just 18 months remaining on his Villa Park contract and has recently been linked with a move to Arsenal. However, it seems as if their rivals, Spurs, are now looking at the Brazilian with the deadline fast approaching.

According to The Daily Mail, there is a sense of panic around Tottenham after missing out on numerous targets, with the club now preparing a £32m bid for Luiz.

They add that Spurs look set to fail with their pursuit of the central midfielder too though, who Steven Gerrard is keen to keep.

Reports prior to this update suggested that Villa were set to open talks over a new contract for Luiz, and Tottenham’s interest may well speed up that process.

Villa fans react

@villareport relayed The Daily Mail’s claim regarding Luiz on Twitter. This is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply, with reaction mixed over a possible exit.

“Jesus Christ I’d be happy if we got £15 million for him let alone £32 million. Take the money and buy someone better for half the price”

Credit: @NooneAVFC

“Please no. £45 million at least!”

Credit: @AstonVilla_info

“SELL HIM OH MY DAYS £32M”

Credit: @JPackers12

“Are you joking?”

Credit: @LeoAVFC82

“Laughable”

Credit: @DL1992_

“This would really liven things up.”

Credit: @avfcdiggy

In other news: Villa now keen on ‘special’ centre-back after Calum Chambers; he can also play in midfield.