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Liverpool’s transfer activity this summer was predominantly completed quite early in the window, with Jurgen Klopp preferring to have a settled team heading into pre-season which would click as the campaign started.

In came Darwin Nunez, Calvin Ramsay,and Fabio Carvalho before a deadline day loan move for Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo was agreed as he became Klopp’s fourth summer signing.

Unfortunately, these signings haven’t helped the cause much so far, as Liverpool have only won three times this season in all competitions, and Klopp may need to tinker with team selection to turn things around.

One big summer decision which might be contributing to the Reds’ lacklustre performances so far (save for the 9-0 victory over Bournemouth) is keeping defender Joe Gomez at the club.

Aston Villa were linked with a move for the centre-back in the summer before Julian Ward and FSG performed a transfer U-turn of sorts by giving the player a new £75k-p/w contract.

Despite a rating of 6.99 on WhoScored for his Premier League appearances, Liverpool have only won two out of the five matches that he has started in all competitions, conceding seven goals in the process.

Liverpool’s latest match against Napoli in the Champions League saw them thrashed 4-1 in Italy and represents their biggest loss in the competition since the 3-0 defeat to Barcelona in 2019.

Gomez was particularly bad against the Azzurri, with a SofaScore rating of 6.1 the second lowest on the pitch after James Milner, and he was substituted at half-time. In his 45 minutes on the pitch, the 25-year-old lost possession six times, won only three tackles and made one error leading to a shot, which summed up a bad night at the office for the defender.

Andy Hunter of The Guardian said that Gomez was “out-manoeuvred and out-fought” by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to cross low for Giovanni Simeone to score Napoli’s third goal. Meanwhile, Matt Addison described the performance by the Liverpool centre-back as “woeful”, and it could be a blow to his confidence going forward.

Klopp may live to regret the club’s decision on Gomez, who could face a spell on the sidelines following his meek performance against the Serie A side which suggests that he is holding the manager back.

Amid growing pressure on Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, The Telegraph have reported that the Foxes are big admirers of Brentford head coach Thomas Frank.

The Lowdown: Leicester’s season so far

The east Midlands club have endured a terrible start to the 2022/23 campaign; after seven matches, Leicester sit bottom of the Premier League table.

The Foxes are yet to win a game, having picked up a single point on the opening weekend of the season (ironically against Frank’s Brentford), with six consecutive losses throwing Rodgers’ future at the King Power Stadium into doubt.

The Latest: Interest in Frank

According to a report by The Telegraph, the 49-year-old has conceded that his job at Leicester is hanging by a thread.

They claim that the Foxes are big admirers of the Danish coach, whose Brentford side sit ninth in the league table, level on points with Liverpool.

Consequently, it is unclear as to whether they would be able to convince the Bees manager to switch clubs in the middle of the Premier League season, especially with Frank’s stock on the rise, having been hailed by Jurgen Klopp for his ‘incredible’ success with the west London outfit.

The Verdict: Needs to go

Frank took Brentford into the Premier League for the first time in 2021, ending the club’s 74-year exile from the top tier. He guided the Bees to a comfortable 13th-placed finish in their first campaign back at that level and has overseen 93 wins at the club, including some against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.

Rodgers has enjoyed a successful spell with Leicester since his arrival at the King Power Stadium during the 2018/19 season.

The Foxes experienced back-to-back fifth place finishes in 2019/20 and 2020/21, along with FA Cup and Community Shield victories in 2021. However, an eighth-place finish last term saw them fall out of the European places for the first time whilst the Northern Irishman has been in charge for a full campaign.

However, Leicester look to be in serious trouble, rooted to the bottom of the table and five points adrift of the safety zone.

Therefore, it seems imperative that something changes within the club – perhaps starting with Rodgers’ imminent departure, now that the Foxes have two weeks to prepare for their match against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest due to the intervening international break.

Otherwise, Leicester could face an uphill battle for top-flight survival come the end of the season.

Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Jeff Vetere as a new scout to join Fabio Paratici’s backroom staff, reports Football.London correspondent Alasdair Gold.

The Lowdown: Paratici’s restructure

After arriving in the Premier League last summer, the director of football is believed to have conducted a review of the club’s scouting department, and following the departure of technical performance director Steve Hitchen in February, started a mass restructure with an increased budget.

There have been several new additions since then, including Gretar Steinsson, who replaced Hitchen, head of football strategy Andy Scoulding and chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini, a compatriot of the Italian.

The Latest: Vetere already working for Spurs

Taking to Twitter, Gold revealed that Vetere is the latest fresh face to join Paratici, and has actually already been deployed over the last couple of weeks.

“Understand Jeff Vetere, formerly of Birmingham, Villa, Real Madrid and Newcastle, began work a couple of weeks ago to scout young talent.”

Expanding in his column for Football.London, the journalist claimed that the 56-year-old will be responsible for scouting ‘internationally for the club’s development squad.’

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The Verdict: Perfect for Spurs

Paratici is renowned for surrounding himself with the most talented individuals in the game to create the most successful structure below him, and Vetere is an excellent addition for Tottenham.

Having previously had spells with the likes of the Magpies and the Villans, he will have plenty of experience working in the top-flight and should be able to identify the best young players that could make a difference at the club.

Despite being out of the game since 2018, Vetere has now staged his backroom return and is no doubt already making an impact behind the scenes in preparation for the January window.

Crystal Palace have enjoyed seven years with Wilfried Zaha as the star of the show at Selhurst Park, however, his reign as the face of the team could soon come to an end, and Patrick Vieira will need to prepare for the reality that the player could be gone this time next year.

The impressive forward who has tallied up 435 appearances, 87 goals and 73 assists for the team will be out of contract in June 2023 and the Ivory Coast international will be in a position to speak with foreign clubs about his future come January.

Nevertheless, the powers at Palace are continuing their efforts to retain the player’s services but with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea expressing an interest over the summer, it is very possible that the club will be unable to offer something more tempting to stay.

As a result, Vieira must prepare for the worst outcome and it could actually be a blessing in disguise for Palace as they can now offer the opportunity to a young rising star to prove himself in the forward line.

One player who has been capturing a lot of attention since his loan move to Charlton Athletic is Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, a talented left winger who was captured by the club in 2019 from Chelsea’s infamous youth academy that has recently produced the likes of Declan Rice, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Reece James and many more.

The 19-year-old starlet has been dubbed “wonderful” and a “throwback” by Ben Garner, with the Charlton manager in awe of the talent and quality Rak-Sakyi has already displayed:

“His standout attribute is his wonderful balance and ability to change direction. He’s a little bit of a throwback in some ways — you go back to people like George Best who can beat people without moving the ball. Jes can do that.”

Last season the youngster was the top-scorer in the Premier League 2 with 18 goals as well as delivering five assists, and is showing no signs of slowing down as he is already making a great impression in League One with Palace’s south London neighbours and bitter rivals Charlton.

Rak-Sakyi has already scored two goals and completed two assists in six appearances, with a goal contribution every 121 minutes played and there is no doubt that Vieira will be keeping a close eye on the young Palace talent over his season-long loan spell.

After securing a new five-year deal at Crystal Palace before heading on loan in August, if the young attacking threat continues to flourish he will certainly put the Palace boss’ mind at rest in terms of Zaha’s future, as he could be the perfect heir to succeed the 29-year-old in his position.

With that being said, it remains to be seen how well Rak-Sakyi will do on loan and whether he will become a trusted starter next season for the Eagles but the future is certainly looking bright for the youngster who is surely one player that supporters will be keeping tabs on over the season ahead.

Wolverhampton Wanderers return to Premier League action this weekend following the international break as they travel to London to face West Ham United.

Bruno Lage’s team have struggled so far this season, scoring just three goals in seven league matches, and winning only one game in the process. West Ham haven’t been much better, winning just once while also scoring three goals in their league fixtures.

It marks an opportunity for Lage to return to winning ways following the defeat to Manchester City two weeks ago, although he faces a defensive dilemma due to Nathan Collins being suspended, and could he turn to Diego Costa to lead the line?

Here is what we are predicting the Wolves starting XI will look like this evening…

In goal, Jose Sa will keep his place, having featured in all seven Premier League matches this season.

The defence will give Lage the biggest dilemma. Rayan Ait-Nouri will start on the left followed by Max Kilman, but it is the other centre-back who will give the manager a headache.

Toti Gomes should be given the nod due to his performances last season, with Conor Coady dubbing him as “fantastic”. Nelson Semedo will come in to replace Jonny Otto, who was poor against City last time out.

Ruben Neves and Matheus Nunes will keep their places in the midfield three, but Joao Moutinho will make way for summer arrival Boubacar Traore, who impressed during a 20-minute cameo against Man City – earning a SofaScore rating of 7.00, just behind Neves (7.2).

Pedro Neto will start on the right wing, with Daniel Podence – scorer of two league goals this season – taking up his role on the left-hand side of a three-pronged attack.

Lage will start £50k-per-week striker Costa following his arrival at Molineux last month and, with the 33-year-old being described as an “animal” by Jose Mourinho, Wolves certainly need those predatory instincts to kick in this evening.

This predicted starting XI sees Lage make four changes from the side that took on Man City before the international break and the onus will be on the Old Gold to emerge from London with all three points.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that midfielder Curtis Jones has returned to full training ahead of the Premier League clash with Arsenal.

The Lowdown: Jones missing for Reds

The Reds haven’t been without injury problems this season, particularly in midfield, and Jones has been one of those absent for a sustained period of time.

The 21-year-old has only featured in the Community Shield win over Manchester City this season and even that was as a late substitute.

Now, it looks as though he is in contention for minutes at Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, however, in what is a huge game for both sides.

The Latest: Midfielder back in training

Taking to Twitter on Friday, journalist James Pearce confirmed that Jones is fit again, following Klopp’s press conference:

“Curtis Jones back in full training.”

Jurgen is a Red! Show how happy you are about it with this awesome t-shirt! Click here to buy…

The Verdict: Good option against Arsenal

Sunday’s trip to the Gunners is one of the biggest matches of the season so far, as an underperforming Liverpool come up against the current Premier League leaders.

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While Jones surely won’t start proceedings at the Emirates, having him as an option from the bench could be priceless in the second half, considering the game could be fast-paced and in need of fresh legs as the minutes tick by.

Suddenly, Liverpool’s injury woes appear to be easing and the Englishman’s return gives Klopp much-needed choices in midfield again, with that area of the pitch looking jaded so far this season, with Fabinho and Jordan Henderson short of their best.

Glasgow Rangers appointed Giovanni van Bronckhorst as their manager in November of 2021 and the Dutch head coach has enjoyed a successful time at Ibrox so far.

The Light Blues chief, who spent time at the club during his playing days, led the club to a Europa League final and won the SFA Cup last season, whilst he also secured Champions League group stage football – something Steven Gerrard was never able to achieve – this term.

Not all appointments have worked out for the Gers over the years, though, and one man who found life in Scotland difficult to adjust to in the hot seat was Frenchman Paul Le Guen.

He had won the Ligue 1 title with Lyon in each of his last three seasons in management prior to arriving at Rangers in 2006 and only lasted 23 Premiership matches – winning 11 and losing six – before leaving his post.

His results on the pitch left plenty to be desired and one of his first transfer decisions at Ibrox also turned out to be a huge mistake as he allowed Ross McCormack to leave for nothing.

The then-youngster joined Motherwell on a free transfer after scoring three goals in 13 first-team appearances for the club prior to that summer.

Le Guen seemingly decided that he was not good enough for the senior squad at the time and McCormack has since gone on to enjoy an excellent career.

After joining Motherwell, the Scottish attacker moved to Wales to join Cardiff and scored 30 goals in 88 appearances for the Bluebirds before signing for Leeds United, where he racked up 58 goals and 31 assists in 157 outings.

His form at Elland Road earned him an £11m transfer to Fulham and he was phenomenal for them as he scored 44 goals and provided 22 assists in 100 matches.

He was then at the centre of a tug of war in the summer of 2016 as Norwich and Aston Villa, who had both been relegated from the Premier League, battled it out for his signature. The Villans ended up landing him in a deal worth up to £14m after the Canaries had offered an initial £11m.

This means that he went from leaving Rangers for nothing to being worth a sizeable sum in a short amount of time, having bagged an impressive 132 goals for Fulham, Leeds, and Cardiff combined.

Therefore, Le Guen had a disaster by allowing McCormack to leave as the club missed out on a prolific scorer and creator who went on to accumulate a hefty amount of money in transfer fees throughout his career.

Light Blues fans may look back and wonder what could have been had the attacker been shown an ounce of faith by the French manager and given a chance to impress in the Premiership.

Instead, they had to watch on as he racked up huge profits and goal tallies for his respective clubs in England and Wales.

West Bromwich Albion, following their sensational 2-0 victory on Saturday, could soon be set to name their new manager…

What’s the latest?

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, Ron Gourley is considering a highly-rated up-and-coming coach.

Having impressed whilst at Plymouth Argyle, Steven Schumacher could be the man set to make the step up to Championship football.

With it being exactly a week since Steve Bruce’s dismissal, plenty of names have been in circulation regarding the vacant manager spot.

The report names plenty of them, with Roy Keane, Chris Wilder, Leam Richardson, Gary Rowett and Carlos Corberan all mentioned.

He can be a huge success

It is clear that with the vast majority of the names aforementioned, the Baggies are planning to take the club in a new direction.

That direction would be progressive, fresh, and hopefully possessing a plan to build for the long term.

Given his age, Schumacher instantly fits this bill.

Not to mention he already has the experience and incredible recommendations from the EFL, having nearly taken the Pilgrims to playoff glory last season.

However, he has started this campaign looking to bypass the playoffs completely as his side sits top of the league having lost just twice. They already have established a four-point gap from second place, and are twelve points clear of seventh.

He is a tactically adept manager who admitted to admiring and changing his shape in the image of the MK Dons side that thrashed them on the final day of last season. His claim supports this, and also belies a humble manager willing to alter his principles for the benefit of his team: “I think it is important to be adaptable”.

It is this kind of adaptability, combined with his philosophy that prioritises “better data analysis” and “better recruitment processes” that underline his talents as a manager.

He is current and uses his knowledge of the modern game to great effect.

Perhaps this is exactly the kind of manager West Brom needs, especially following the often-archaic principles of the previous tenure.

Also, he would be walking into an impressive side who have featured in the 3-4-3 formation that he likes to employ.

It would mark a big step up for Schumacher, but the 38-year-old has already proven with Plymouth that he deserves to be given recognition for his performances. His fresh thinking could be perfect for the Midlands club, who are crying out for something new to freshen them up.

Leicester City captain Jonny Evans looks set to miss Thursday’s match with Leeds United through injury, Ben Dinnery reports.

The Lowdown: Palace absence

Evans, who Keith Gillespie said is “like a Rolls Royce”, had been a regular under Brendan Rodgers prior to the weekend. The 34-year-old had played every minute of Premier League action for the Foxes but missed out entirely against Crystal Palace with a calf injury.

Leicester managed just a second clean sheet of the campaign in a 0-0 stalemate with Patrick Vieira’s side, but it looks as if Rodgers will be unable to call upon Evans once again on Thursday.

The Latest: Dinnery’s post

Injury expert Dinnery took to Twitter late on Sunday evening to relay a number of injury updates ahead of the midweek fixtures.

He shared comments from Rodgers, who admitted that the centre-back remains ‘doubtful’ for the visit of Leeds.

The Verdict: Not ideal

Rodgers is already without James Maddison through suspension against Jesse Marsch’s side, so it isn’t ideal that Evans may also be missing once again.

Daniel Amartey was the man who came in on Saturday to partner Wout Faes in what was his first start since August. The Ghana international had played just 41 minutes of action in five games prior to starting on Saturday, so two full 90-minute appearances in the space of five days could see a slight drop in performance levels.

Leicester and Rodgers will be hoping not, with Evans potentially back in the frame for the trip to Wolves on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur may have just been handed a boost regarding Antonio Conte’s future as Sky journalist Gianluca Di Marzio shares some news.

The Lowdown: Conte transformation…

The Italian has almost single-handedly transformed the fortunes of Spurs almost a year after his appointment to replace ex-head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.

Conte guided the Lilywhites to a Premier League top four finish right at the end of 2021/2022, subsequently receiving a £150 million equity injection from ENIC to bolster his squad.

The Lilywhites and sporting director Fabio Paratici then backed their boss with moves for Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Clement Lenglet, Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie and a permanent deal for Cristian Romero.

It’s been era of, mostly, positivity thus far under the 53-year-old but there have been murmurs of major sides from the continent taking an interest in Conte as a result.

The Latest: Di Marzio shares possible Conte contract boost…

Speaking in an interview, Sky reporter Di Marzio has shared a possible boost for Spurs amid claims they are set to offer the Italian a new deal.

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The journalist claims (via Spurs Web) Conte ‘definitely’ wants to stay in north London, but the ball is in Spurs’ court, and they must be on the ‘same page’ when it comes to winning trophies.

The Verdict: Good news?

Conte’s happiness in terms of life in London certainly comes as a good bit of news.

That could hand Spurs an uplift when it comes to negotiating fresh terms over an extension for the ex-Inter Milan coach, but it’s up to chairman Daniel Levy to convince him there is silverware to be won at Hotspur Way.

So far, the north Londoners have shown that they are serious about Conte, as evident by their summer spending spree, but another January foray could be a real statement that they want to clinch major trophies.