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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to reports from Football Insider, Leeds United are in the hunt to sign Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara.

The Finland international would provide Marcelo Bielsa’s team with an extra element if he were to join the Elland Road outfit.

What’s the story then?

The report states that the Whites would be looking to make this move in the summer rather than in January as they’re only looking to bring bodies in at the start of next year if any of their loan players are recalled.

The article also claims that the Scottish outfit value the midfielder at over £8m, which may prove to be a bit of a hurdle for the club, but if they do sign him he’ll give them some much-needed depth in the middle of the park.

Added depth

Leeds do have a number of midfield options, but injuries have continued to plague their squad.

Jamie Shackleton and Adam Forshaw have both missed portions of the season already, and that has meant that Stuart Dallas has had to play out of position in the middle of the park.

With Mateusz Klich also looking like he’s needed a rest in recent weeks, the addition of another midfielder could certainly be what United need, especially when that player is a Europa League regular – featuring seven times in qualifying and four times in this term’s group stages.

Simply put, it certainly wouldn’t hurt Leeds to bring in more midfield reinforcements due to the problematic number of injuries their current players are sustaining.

Robbie Gotts and Mateusz Bogusz are coming through the ranks but it’s difficult to assess whether they’d be up to the standard right away. Therefore, adding someone with senior experience could be invaluable.

That being said, £8m is a steep fee and there may be other areas of the squad that need addressing before they think of splashing that type of money on the 24-year-old.

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…

Against Montenegro and Kosovo, England can secure qualification for Euro 2020.

A win against either side will be enough to see them guarantee a spot at next year’s tournament. Although there has been an altercation between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez, which saw the former suspended for the first of those two clashes, there is still plenty of talent left in this Three Lions squad.

Liverpool have four representatives in Gareth Southgate’s now 26-man group. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are those to have been selected.

The latter two make up part of a five-man central midfield group quintet with Declan Rice, Fabian Delph and Harry Winks. Looking at these names, Oxlade-Chamberlain surely has to start.

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Rice, Delph, Winks and Henderson are all good players, but they don’t exactly exude creativity. Between them this campaign, they have 50 appearances in all competitions and have a grand total of one goal and one assist.

The former Gunner, meanwhile, has made 14 appearances, managing four goals, of which three have come in the Champions League.

Unfortunately, a serious injury prevented the 26-year-old from making more than four appearances last term, but during the 2017/18 season, he picked up five goals and eight assists. Between them, the rest registered two strikes and four assists.

Southgate has switched between a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 formation during this qualification process, and the former has clearly been more effective. The latter set-up was used when the Three Lions lost their first qualifier in 10 years against the Czech Republic, and was also in place when they conceded three against Kosovo.

As such, the three central midfielders is far more effective. But surely it cannot be deployed if there is so little attacking threat.

This is where the man the Reds signed for £35m in 2017 comes in. Clearly, he carries a far stronger offensive threat, and that should complement the likes of Jadon Sancho and Harry Kane further forward.

Whilst two of those more defensive-minded players can feature, three would be far too pragmatic. As a result, Oxlade-Chamberlain must be given a chance by Southgate at Wembley on Thursday.

With 80 goals and 34 assists in just 120 games played for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah is definitely one of the most important pieces in Jurgen Klopp’s red jigsaw. But a recent report from The Mirror has stated that the Egyptian forward might miss the beginning of the 2020/21 season as there’s a possibility that he could be called up for the Olympics.

His absence would undoubtedly create a big void in Liverpool’s forward line and for that reason, new signings should not be discarded as one of the options for the German manager – especially considering the Reds’ depth up front below their trusted front three of Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane is pretty thin anyway.

With that in mind, here are three forwards the Reds should pursue to compensate for Salah’s potential absence…

Kingsley Coman – Bayern Munich

It would definitely be difficult to go out in the market and find someone of the same pedigree as Liverpool’s wide man. But Bayern Munich’s Coman could certainly get there one day with some luck, proper guidance and game-time with Liverpool’s other talented forwards.

Of course, the talent is already there – that much we can see in this stats for the Bavarians: 28 goals and 33 assists in 139 games is no small feat for such a young, up and coming player.

The only downside of this potential deal are Coman’s constant struggles with injuries as the young Frenchman usually has at least one, or even more, per season.

But if Liverpool can look past that and let Klopp work his magic with the 23-year-old, he could very well become Salah’s long-term successor at the club.

Jadon Sancho – Borussia Dortmund

This one surely doesn’t really come as a surprise to many Liverpool fans – after all, the Reds have been previously linked to Borussia Dortmund’s prodigy, Sancho.

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And looking at the player in question, their interest is far from surprising.

At just 19 years of age, Sancho is already bagging goals for fun with 18 strikes and 31 assists to his name during his spell with the Yellow Wall.

Of course, with such talent comes competition as well so the Reds wouldn’t be alone in the race for his signature. But if they are looking for someone to successfully fill Salah’s void, both immediately and in the long-term, Sancho is very much their guy.

Ousmane Dembele – FC Barcelona

Another top talent that is currently struggling for regular football and could possibly be prised away from his parent club is Barcelona’s 22-year-old French winger, Dembele.

This season, he has only featured in a total of seven games across all competitions and while a big part of that is due to injury issues, Dembele is not really the first player on Ernesto Valverde’s team-sheet with the three of Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi often manning the forward line.

Considering Barcelona had to pay a hefty price to get the Frenchman in from Borussia Dortmund in the first place, we could be looking at another big figure for the Reds if they were to swoop.

But interestingly enough, his market value has actually decreased according to Transfermarkt in recent times over at the Blaugrana, and his lack of game time could also help Liverpool seal this deal at a reduced rate.

Maybe he’s not enjoying the best of times under Valverde but that doesn’t mean the same would happen under Klopp.

He’s definitely worth a shot if the money is right.

Snack Media has invited West Ham fans and the wider sporting community to unite in solidarity and salute the incredible work being undertaken by NHS workers during these unprecedented times we find ourselves in.

Supporters have been encouraged to represent their team by donning the Claret and Blue in an initiative that aims to raise money for Age UK and NHS Charities, whilst also flying the flag for fellow Hammers supporters who may be struggling during this COVID-19 pandemic.

At 3pm this afternoon, fans are being encouraged to take pictures of themselves, friends and family in club shirts, scarves, or waving flags, and then post them on Social Media using the #FLYTHEFLAG hashtag.

It is a wonderful campaign with the aim to generate as much money as possible for these fantastic charities who are ultimately stretched at this moment in time.

For more information on the #FLYTHEFLAG campaign, click here.

Loads of Rangers fans have reacted after the club shared footage of an iconic Ibrox goal involving Nikica Jelavic and Carlos Bocanegra.

The Gers have fallen behind their arch-rivals in recent years, and while they are certainly on an upwards trajectory with Steven Gerrard at the helm, that hasn’t stopped the Ibrox faithful from reminiscing about better times.

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Light Blues were loving the re-broadcast of the 2002 Scottish Cup final this weekend, and the latest ‘goal of the day’ has delighted supporters as well, as they took to Twitter to react to an iconic Jelavic goal.

The 34 year-old scored 36 goals and provided 15 assists during his time in Glasgow, winning the Premiership title and the League Cup.

His first-time volley against Hearts was perhaps his most memorable goal, as he side-footed a delightful finish into the bottom corner after an incredible long pass from Bocanegra.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions to the club’s post down below…

Rangers have reportedly identified a list of possible Morelos replacements…

It’s been a fairly topsy-turvy 2019/2020 campaign for Tottenham ace Eric Dier.

The England international has found himself on the fringes of the Spurs first-team this season, making just 25 appearances across all competitions, and starting very few games.

Then there was the incident with a section of the club’s own supporters after the FA Cup defeat to Norwich earlier this year – something he has now been charged by the FA for.

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But according to Football Insider, the Lilywhites are ready to open talks with the versatile midfielder about potentially extending his stay at the club with a new bumper deal.

And after hearing about Dier perhaps getting a new contract, Spurs fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

A couple of Spurs fans simply suggested the club sell Dier instead of offering him a new deal.

It’s difficult to see how and where Dier genuinely fits into Jose Mourinho’s thinking.

Central midfield and centre-back are two areas in which Spurs have plenty of competition for places, and with Dier seemingly being half-way between the two, it raises questions about whether he could legitimately hold down a place in either role when everybody is fully fit and available.

It’s no surprise that Dier potentially getting a new deal has drawn a mixed response from Spurs fans.

A lot of Celtic fans are excited to see that the club are looking towards the future as young player Dylan Corr has announced on Twitter that he has signed his first professional contract with the Scottish side.

The surname of the new youth prospect might ring a bell with the Hoops faithful as Dylan is the sun of former Scottish footballer Barry John Corr, who only featured once for the Celts (as per Soccerbase). Similar to his son, Barry started in the youth academy at the club, but after failing to establish himself at Parhead, he went to fellow Scottish side Motherwell (as per Transfermarkt).

However, the Corr family will hope Dylan can have a more successful career at the club, and there is a great range of young talent at the Celts right now who he can seek to emulate. Seventeen-year-old right winger Karamoko Dembele has already made three senior appearances for the club, including one in the Europa League.

It looks like Celtic fans are getting a glimpse of their future earlier than expected and Corr will hope he can follow in Dembele’s footsteps.

Here is what some Hoops fans had to say following the youngster’s announcement:

Celtic fans, are you happy to see Corr signing a first team contract at Parkhead? Comment below with your views!

Many Newcastle United fans have welcomed a piece about the prospective takeover in the northeast from Michael Martin as he wrote for the True Faith website.

The title of the piece is ‘Takeover – smelling a rat!’ and touches upon many subjects to do with what exactly is going on at St. James’ Park. Martin talks about how various reports suggested that the deal was about to be completed as early as last weekend, but since then news has broken about further delays that has put the bid in some doubt.

The Guardian reported on Monday that new legal documents had been presented to the Premier League which could have an effect on their decision to approve of the takeover, a verdict that has yet to be delivered. Martin concluded from this that there are forces conspiring against the deal about which members of the Toon faithful can speculate, as was shared on NUFC 360’s Twitter page.

Nevertheless, these Magpies fans drooled over the piece:

Geordies, what do you make of Martin’s piece? Comment below with your views!

According to The Shields Gazette’s Liam Kennedy, Newcastle are plotting some major backroom changes this summer.

What did he say?

With the club’s proposed takeover still not having gone through yet, the Magpies have been left in somewhat of a limbo. Despite that, Kennedy has revealed the Tyneside club have already lined up plans to beef up their backroom staff, and get some more ‘footballing’ people around.

Think you’re a big Magpies fan? Can you name these former players by looking at their careers? Go on, give it a go…

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He said: “Work has been ongoing in the background to sound out managers, players and potential ‘football savvy’ backroom team members, at football and board level. While the Saudis have the likes of Sami Al Jaber lined up, with Nawaf Al Temyat, the input from closer to home suggests former Liverpool staff Owen Brown and Frank McParland are favourites to play a prominent role in the new regime.

“Former Nottingham Forest director of football and Rangers talent spotter McParland is being eyed for a recruitment role, while Brown, a former scout and player liaison officer at Anfield, is someone who could well be considered for a director of football role, should the deal get the green light.”

Recipe for success

Whilst who the Saudi consortium would want as the club’s manager going forward will be a major talking point, ensuring that that individual has the best possible staff around him to do their job properly will be key.

And that’s exactly why Kennedy’s report on how the Magpies are keen on bringing in experienced backroom men in vital positions should be exciting for fans of the Tyneside club.

Even away from the pitch, it’s the clubs with the best backroom teams and support staff that achieve success – you only have to look at how the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated English football in the past couple of seasons to see their directors of football in Txiki Begiristain and Michael Edwards work their magic in the transfer market.

Newcastle are heading in the right direction.

Every football supporter has that one referee who they hate seeing in the middle of the pitch when their team is playing.

Referees get a lot of criticism, often rightly and sometimes not, but the introduction of the likes of VAR and goalline technology in recent years has helped them make fewer mistakes. Kind of.

Man United, especially during their glory years, didn’t have much problem with officials. Fergie time and almost winning a football match every week ensured there wasn’t much to moan about when it came to the men in the middle – but there remains a handful of referees who they won’t enjoy seeing when they’re playing.

TOFFS’ recent referee report has revealed the Red Devils’ luckiest and unluckiest referees from the last 10 years in the Premier League, and some may be surprised to see Michael Oliver up there as the club’s unluckiest official, with him overseeing just 11 Man United victories from 28 games he’s adjudicated, with a win percentage of under 40%. Neil Swarbrick and Martin Atkinson are also up there.

Lee Probert is Man United’s luckiest referee from the last decade, with 75% of the Man United games he’s officiated ended in a Red Devils victory.

And judging by the results below, United players need to improve their behaviour whenever Mike Dean is in the middle…

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