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Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips will get offers from big clubs and the Whites may let him leave, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Phillips stock rising

The 25-year-old has been adored by Leeds supporters for years now, but he is now receiving widespread acclaim for his performances from elsewhere.

Phillips was exceptional for England at Euro 2020, leading to him winning his country’s Player of the Year award, and he has been described as ‘world-class’ by former Three Lions man Paul Robinson.

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The Latest: Hay provides key update

The midfielder’s displays have alerted some of the biggest clubs in the country – Manchester United have recently been linked with a move – and Hay has provided an updated on his future.

Taking to The Athletic on Friday, he admitted that incoming bids should be expected and Leeds may not get in Phillips’ way if he wants to leave:

“At this rate, it feels like a matter of time before someone bids big for him and in those circumstances, it’s not as simple as the club rejecting an offer.

“The situation would depend on whether Phillips wants to stay, how much the bid is worth and whether actually, a sale at the right time could work for everyone if the club know how they will reinvest.

“Leeds don’t want to lose him but they respect him enough not to want to hold him back either. He’s rapidly becoming Champions League material.”

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The Verdict: Matter of time?

While it would be ideal to see Phillips remain at Leeds for many more years, there comes a time when some players see their future lying elsewhere.

His form in the last year or so has seen him become one of the Premier League’s top midfielders and he may want to test himself in a team challenging for the title and playing Champions League football.

It could still be that Phillips ends up signing a new deal and staying put, but it would be hard to begrudge him a move away.

In other news, a journalist has made a claim regarding a potential Bielsa replacement at Leeds. Read more here.

With Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side heading into Sunday’s Scottish Premiership clash without a win away from Parkhead so far this season, the Bhoys boss would have undoubtedly been hoping for a positive result against Aberdeen at Pittodrie in order to break the Hoops’ hoodoo.

And, while it was by no means the most aesthetically pleasing performance from Celtic, goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota were enough for the 56-year-old’s side to take all three points from the fixture, with the Bhoys running out 2-1 winners.

Although, despite the victory, there were still a number of Postecoglou’s side who turned in slightly below-par performances, with Liel Abada and Nir Bitton both receiving SofaScore match ratings of 6.6 or below for their efforts against the Dons.

However, it was undoubtedly the performance of second-half substitute Albian Ajeti which will have disappointed the Bhoys manager most, as the centre-forward offered his side next to nothing during his brief time on the pitch.

One completed pass

While it may seem slightly harsh criticising the performance of a player who was only involved in the game for 18 minutes, considering just how abject Ajeti was upon being thrown into the fixture, the criticism would appear to be justified.

Indeed, the £2.88m-rated man failed to register a single shot – either on or off target – against Aberdeen, while also failing to make any key passes, complete any dribbles or win any interceptions, tackles or duels.

In fact, the man whose performances were recently dubbed a “problem” by Packie Bonner only managed to touch the ball two times, completed just one pass and ceded possession for his side on one occasion – which means that out of all the touches Ajeti had of the ball, 50% were given away.

These returns – or lack thereof – saw the £16k-per-week forward earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.4, ranking him as the third-worst player, from either side, to feature in the game.

As such, despite the fact that Celtic did take all three points in the clash, Ajeti badly failed Postecoglou during his brief spell on the pitch – although, exactly why the 56-year-old brought the Switzerland international on ahead of Georgios Giakoumakis is a question that must be asked of the Hoops manager.

Celtic did find a winning goal but Ajeti’s influence in helping change the course of the game was extremely limited.

In other news: Sold for £990k, now worth £3.15m: Celtic had a nightmare selling “fabulous” 26 y/o gem

Sunderland return to League One action today as they travel to face Gillingham in an attempt to return to the top of the table.

The Black Cats are currently fourth in the league and one point behind leaders Plymouth, who have played two more matches in the division.

Lee Johnson’s side come into the game off the back of two EFL Trophy matches, beating Lincoln and Manchester United’s under-21’s. However, their last league match was a 4-0 defeat to Portsmouth prior to the international break.

How many changes will Johnson make to his team? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make 11 changes from the EFL Trophy win over Man United and three from the defeat to Portsmouth, with Aiden McGeady, Callum Doyle and Dan Neil all returning to the XI after sitting out the nightmare at Fratton Park.

Sunderland’s team against United’s under-21’s was essentially an academy side, with Denver Hume the only player with a bulk of first team experience. The 25-year-old captained the side that night but we are predicting that he will be axed today, along with the rest of that XI, for Dennis Cirkin to return at left-back, as the summer signing from Spurs has started seven league games this term.

At centre-back, we are predicting that Doyle will come in for Bailey Wright. The on-loan defender has started eight games and averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.84, whilst the Australian has averaged a score of 6.66. Therefore, Doyle coming in alongside Tom Flanagan could help solidify the defence after losing 4-0 to Portsmouth with the former Bristol City man at the back.

In midfield, Corry Evans has been ruled out and we are predicting that Neil will start in central midfield after missing out against Portsmouth. The 19-year-old has averaged a solid score of 6.86 across nine League One appearances, scoring one goal and setting up two.

Assistant manager Jamie McAllister confirmed that McGeady could be back involved after returning to training. He told Sunderland’s official website: “Aiden trained this morning and he’s coming along nicely.

“He’s been doing a lot of work in the last 10 days, he still feels it a little bit now and then in certain movements, so we’ll just monitor him over the next 48 hours and see how he is come the weekend.”

This comes at the perfect time as Leon Dajaku is said to be struggling with a knock, which means that McGeady could come in for him out wide, with Aiden O’Brien taking up his place on the other flank. This then leaves Elliot Embleton and Ross Stewart returning to complete the attack after starting against Pompey .

A number of Liverpool fans have criticised Andy Robertson’s first-half performance against Atletico Madrid in their Champions League clash.

The Reds are back in European action this evening, making the testing trip to Spain to face reigning La Liga champions Atletico.

Diego Simeone’s side knocked Liverpool out of Europe back in 2019/20, so revenge is certainly in the air from a Reds perspective.

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Jurgen Klopp’s side have won their opening two Group B matches against AC Milan and Porto and another victory tonight would all but book their place in the last-16 with three matches to spare.

The manager has fielded a strong starting lineup for game, but despite racing out to a two-goal lead courtesy of Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita, one player who has struggled to impress is Robertson.

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Liverpool fans react

These Liverpool fans reacted to the left-back’s display on Twitter.

“Sensational start. If Andy Robertson could try to keep possession once in a while, it could get even better…”

Credit: @Ashleyrose66

“Robertson dropping a stinker so far”

Credit: @YikaloTes

“Did Robbo lose like 5m of acceleration in the summer? Why does he constantly drop 2m deeper than the line?”

Credit: @SimonBrundish

“Robbo so poor so far”

Credit: @ShivamTweets11

“The amount of times Robbo ruins the offside line is low key terrible”

Credit: @AllezTheReds

“Disgrace Robertson doesn’t deserve this Salah masterclass”

Credit: @ABxLFC

In other news, some Liverpool fans have bemoaned an exit rumour regarding one player. Find out who it is here.

Leeds United travel away to The Emirates tonight as they go in search of progress through to the fifth round of the competition.

They face Arsenal after holding Wolves to a 1-1 draw at the weekend in the Premier League, with the Whites sat just above the relegation zone as it stands.

Rodrigo scored a last-minute penalty for Leeds after Hee-Chan Hwang’s opening goal for Wolves and Marcelo Bielsa could make changes to his side to freshen things up for this cup clash.

Get Rid

One player he must ruthlessly axe from the team is left-winger Jack Harrison, as the forward struggled badly at the weekend and is having a difficult season.

Per SofaScore, he lost 100% of his duels against Bruno Lage’s Wolves. He failed in all seven of his individual battles and only completed 67% of his passes, whilst failing to complete either of his two attempted dribbles either.

His statistics over the course of the Premier League campaign do not make for much better reading. The winger is yet to contribute with a goal or assist in eight matches, losing 66% of his duels and giving away possession 15.9 times per match.

This shows that he is currently in poor form and the performance against Wolves was simply the tip of the iceberg, which is why Bielsa must axe him. He should be dropped from the XI for this cup tie with Arsenal to give others a chance to impress.

On the one hand, you can look at it as a ruthless axing from the team in the sense that his performances do not warrant a place in the starting line-up. He has not shown enough consistently this season to prove that he deserves to start and that is one of the reasons why the manager should name him on the substitute’s bench.

On the other hand, it could be a tactic to motivate Harrison to up his game. He may spend his time on the bench wondering what he could do to improve and then put that into place in training in an attempt to impress Bielsa and win his starting berth back for Sunday’s trip to Carrow Road to face 20th-placed Norwich.

Therefore, Bielsa must drop Harrison down to the bench to, firstly, improve the team in the immediate future and, secondly, to motivate him to train harder and get back to his best.

AND in other news, “From what I’ve gauged”: Leeds journo makes key transfer claim that should excite fans…

A crushing update has emerged on Villarreal manager Unai Emery, regarding his answer to Newcastle’s attempts to land him.

What’s the talk?

Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has claimed that the ex-Arsenal coach is set to reject the Magpies’ approach to snatch him away from the La Liga club. Emery is said to have been given doubts by a lack of a clear vision from PIF, which looks set to keep him at Villarreal.

He wrote:

“Emery will reject the approach from Newcastle. His doubts after the game had to do with not knowing the latest. And the latest -I think- was an unnecessary huge pressure on match day & not a clear vision from the club. What does Eddie Howe have to do with Unai, for instance?”

Worry

This update from Balague will surely leave Newcastle fans worried. The supporters may start to wonder how long this could drag on for, with two Premier League games having already passed since Steve Bruce was relieved of his duties.

Graeme Jones is currently the interim manager and has overseen a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace and a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea. The Magpies are 19th in the table and have accrued four points in ten matches, with four draws and six defeats to date.

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They are yet to pick up their first league win and are already six points adrift in the bottom three, which could add to the concern amongst the fanbase. Newcastle need to start picking up points to lead them to safety and the evidence of the season so far suggests that is unlikely to happen without a change in the dugout, given Bruce and Jones have both failed to produce the goods.

This is why the fans will be worried by this twist in the pursuit of Emery. It appears as though the La Liga coach is now set to stay with Villarreal and that could leave Newcastle scrambling for alternative options ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with Brighton.

If PIF fail to land a new head coach before the game and Jones is unable to orchestrate a win, it could leave Newcastle in a precarious position heading into the final international break of 2021. The owners need a clear vision of what they want to achieve to persuade a top manager to come in, judging by Balague’s claim, and that needs to be ironed out as quickly as possible before the damage in the league is already done.

AND in other news, PIF plotting £17m bid for “brilliant” £100k-p/w gem…

Rangers face Brondby away from home in the Europa League tonight as they look to replicate their 2-0 win against them at Ibrox earlier this season.

The win against the Danish outfit is their only one in the group stage so far this term, following losses to both Lyon and Sparta Prague.

Steven Gerrard’s side are heading into this clash full of confidence after a superb 6-1 drubbing of Motherwell on Sunday in the Premiership.

How many changes will Gerrard make from that game? Here is our predicted XI for the match…

We are predicting that he will make three alterations to the side, with Jon McLaughlin, John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe coming into the team.

Starting off between the sticks, McLaughlin could return to replace Allan McGregor after the veteran’s clanger at the weekend against Motherwell. He attempted to gather the ball from a low shot and inadvertently spilt it straight to Bevis Mugabi, who scored the opening goal in the game.

Not only did he make a mess of the initial shot to create the rebound, but he also allowed Mugabi to sneak the ball past him at the near post on the follow-up despite being back up and ready to make a save. This could cause Gerrard to axe him from the XI in favour of McLaughlin, in an attempt to avoid any major errors against Brondby.

In midfield, Steven Davis and Glen Kamara may keep their spots in the side, despite a slight injury doubt for the latter. Next to them, however, summer signing Lundstram could replace Scott Arfield, who struggled in spite of Rangers’ impressive display against Motherwell. Per SofaScore, he lost seven of his eight individual duels on the pitch and failed to create a single chance, showing that he was not at his best defensively or offensively for the Gers.

Finally, Roofe could come in for Joe Aribo on the right of the front three. We published an article explaining why the Nigerian international needs to be dropped to the bench for this match, as he has played too much football this season and could be suffering from burnout. Therefore, Roofe – who scored off the bench against Motherwell – could replace the £14k-per-week gem.

AND in other news, Kent 2.0: Gerrard could unearth new wing wizard in “exciting” 18 y/o Rangers flyer…

Earlier this week an old tweet was shared from the Leeds United Twitter account from a time when Pascal Struijk was signed by the Whites.

Outrage poured out on social media as the Yorkshire side decided to spend their money on yet another U23s player, rather than on faces ready to help them achieve promotion.

As it happens, Leeds have signed plenty of young individuals in the last few years, something that has coincided by not only reaching the promised lands of the Premier League but the rapid development of Struijk.

The Dutchman is now one of the key cogs in Marcelo Bielsa’s wheel, boasting great versatility as a defender and midfielder.

He has been joined in the first-team by the likes of Sam Greenwood and Crysencio Summerville this term, but arguably, no young player at Elland Road has more talent than Joe Gelhardt.

Affectionately known as Joffy, the teenager is a hot topic of debate at the moment, but after breaking into the senior set up in recent weeks, has sadly been dealt an injury.

That said, his progression this term has been wonderful, winning the Man of the Match award after featuring as a late substitute against Wolves and winning a decisive penalty.

Gelhardt hasn’t been seen since but there is a great sense that he’ll have a huge role to play under Bielsa in the coming years.

One player he’d surely relish linking up with at LS11 is Stuart McKinstry. Like Joffy, he was brought into the club externally and has been rapidly rising through the ranks.

He made his senior debut in the EFL Cup this term, even scoring a penalty in the second-round shoot victory over Fulham.

That appeared to be a landmark moment for the 19-year-old who the manager hailed for his “personality and character.”

Bielsa doesn’t hand opportunities out lightly and the very fact he’s not been seen since is a reflection of that.

Yet, like Gelhardt, he could save the club millions in potential transfer fees. McKinstry is capable of not only playing out on the flanks but also through the middle as an attacking midfielder.

It’s safe to say that Leeds are particularly light on options in the middle of the park with Adam Forshaw, Mateusz Klich and Kalvin Phillips their only natural central players.

However, with Klich now aged 31, a replacement will be needed before too long.

McKinstry could be their man, especially when you consider the traits at his disposal. Speaking of his qualities, Phil Hay once commented: “He’s a very confident ball carrier, he’s physically strong, good upper body strength, excellent feet, good at beating his man and creative. In his head, he probably feels he can play in other positions up front as well.”

A stunning review from Motherwell academy director Steven Hammel perhaps paints an even vivid picture of the young Scot.

He said: “I’m sure Stuart will do wonderful things and become a household name in the next three or four years – but I don’t want to put too much pressure on the young man!”

With that in mind, the teenager and Gelhardt very much feel like two players who could be unleashed together in the not too distant future. Providing the former delivers the goods, he could dissuade the club’s hierarchy from spending money in the window too.

AND in other news, Graham Smyth drops major 49ers claim that’ll leave Leeds fans buzzing with excitement…

Celtic defender Stephen Welsh suffered an injury playing for Scotland’s Under-21 side days before the Hoops’ League Cup semi-final against St Johnstone, The Scotsman report.

The Lowdown: Injury issues…

Ange Postecoglou has had to deal with numerous injury problems in his first season in charge at Celtic Park, with Welsh’s only the latest.

Christopher Jullien hasn’t featured all year, Karamako Dembele is yet to return from an injury in pre-season, Greg Taylor has been out since September and Tom Rogic and Carl Starfelt have both recently suffered hamstring issues.

Welsh, labelled as ‘excellent’ by Paul John Dykes, filled in for Starfelt alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers against Ferencvaros and Dundee prior to the international break, but it seems as if Postecoglou may have to find another solution to his backline.

The Latest: Welsh limps off

The Scotsman shared a story late on Tuesday evening regarding Welsh, who appeared to take a knock and limp off late on against Belgium.

St Johnstone winger Glenn Middleton also had to be withdrawn through injury, so the pair’s availability at Hampden Park could now be in doubt.

The Verdict: Bitton to the rescue?

Starfelt is thought to be touch and go for the semi-final meeting with St Johnstone and should Welsh not feature either, Postecoglou may well decide to use Nir Bitton at centre-back.

Summer signings Liam Scales and Osaze Urhoghide are both yet to start a game under Postecoglou, so Bitton’s experience may well be preferred on a big occasion.

The Israel international is primarily a defensive midfielder but has already been used as a centre-back four times by Postecoglou, so he may be the man to step in should he be needed.

In other news: Celtic keen to sign ‘unbelievable’ versatile ace who’s hailed for his fitness. 

Many Wolves fans have been  slamming the performance of Francisco Trincao in their game at Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The Barcelona loanee was preferred to Adama Traore by Bruno Lage but struggled to make an impact as he was substituted off for the Spaniard in the 68th minute with the score at 0-0.

He lost out on seven of his nine duels (77.8%) and failed to record a single shot on goal, key pass or cross in the match, losing possession of the ball on seven separate occasions (SofaScore).

At this rate, Wolves may want to think twice about making his move to Molineux permanent, and surely Traore must now be given a run in the team over the busy Christmas period given that Trincao has gone nine Premier League appearances without a goal or assist to his name.

Wolves fans on Trincao display

These Wolves supporters slammed the 21-year-old’s performance on Twitter, with one going as far as to call him a ‘liability’:

“Don’t see what hype or what Trincao even does”

Credit: @OhAnotherWolf

“I really hope Trincao goes back to Barca he has been useless all season.”

Credit: @ShaineRafferty8

“No killer passes today and Trincao looks very laboured not winning the 50-50 balls yet”

Credit: @daveandwolves

“Trincao is having a poor game. Every game is like a mirror of Vitinha last season.”

Credit: @agarthehorrible

“What you drinking Tim?? Trincao is the worst player on the pitch by a country mile. Need to change ASAP and we can win this.”

Credit: @Hursty63400254

“Get Trincao off.. liability”

Credit: @dairylee246

In other news, many Wolves fans loved this injury update