Liverpool planning £50m shirt deal

Liverpool are planning to strike a £50million-a-year shirt deal in a big financial upgrade on their current situation, according to a fresh rumour that has now emerged.

The Lowdown: Liverpool excelling in all areas

The Reds are enjoying a season to remember, as they lie on the cusp of potentially sealing a historic quadruple under Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool are not only excelling on the pitch, however, with the club being run in a sensible fashion, allowing them to be in an extremely strong financial situation.

Their current kit deal with Standard Chartered brings in approximately £40million per year, but with that deal expiring in 2023, a new sponsor is now expected to come in with even bigger rewards.

The Latest: Big shirt deal incoming?

James Pearce revealed earlier this week the club are in ‘talks’ with suitors, and now according to Football Insider, Liverpool are plotting to strike a £50million-per-year deal.

A source claims the club are ‘testing the market’ as they search for potential sponsors and look for a ‘big uplift’ in earnings.

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The Verdict: Magical time at the club

The fact that Liverpool are in such a strong bargaining position further highlights the incredible growth of the club during the Klopp era, with everyone seemingly pulling in the same direction.

The Reds are now one of the world’s most prominent and desirable sporting teams, and for that reason, a world-renowned sponsor will surely be keen on replacing Standard Chartered, bringing in more money in the process.

These are truly special times to be a Liverpool fan, and even if the quadruple chase is unsuccessful, there haven’t been many more fruitful periods in the club’s history.

In other news, a journalist has dropped a key Liverpool contract update. Read more here.

Blades handed Ben Davies injury boost

Sheffield United have been dealt a boost regarding the fitness of Ben Davies ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by Yorkshire Live, Slavisa Jokanovic revealed that he expects the centre-back to be available for selection against Derby County this afternoon despite being withdrawn towards the end of the Blades’ 3-1 victory over Hull City last weekend and being left out of his side’s Carabao Cup penalty shootout loss to Southampton on Tuesday.

Speaking about the current condition of the Liverpool loanee, Jokanovic said: “The situation with Ben at the moment is that after every game he is in a little bit of a complicated situation with injury. This is because he has not been active for many months on the field. Now he is improving and we expect him to be ready for the game.”

Jokanovic will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Davies has been for Sheffield United this season, the news that the defender looks set to be fit for the visit of Derby to Bramall Lane today is sure to have left his manager buzzing.

Indeed, over his three Championship appearances for the Blades this term, the £2.7m-rated man has helped his side to keep one clean sheet, as well as making 1.3 interceptions, two tackles and 3.7 clearances and winning six duels per game.

These returns have seen the 26-year-old average a SofaScore match rating of 7.10, ranking him as Jokanovic’s joint-fifth best performer in the second tier.

As such, the return of the centre-back will undoubtedly provide United’s chances of picking up three points against Wayne Rooney’s side this afternoon with a big boost – something which will delight everyone involved with the Blades.

In other news: Sheff Utd dealt potential blow on “powerful” £6.3m-rated ace, Jokanovic will be fuming

Southampton: Fans slam Alex McCarthy

A number of Southampton supporters have slammed goalkeeper Alex McCarthy on social media for his display against Manchester United on Sunday.

Ralph Hasenhuttl named an unchanged team from the side which lost 3-1 to Everton on the opening weekend, sticking with a 4-4-2 system and McCarthy over Fraser Forster.

However, it was the 31-year-old’s performance which had a number of Saints fans talking online, and not for the right reasons.

McCarthy, who is on £50,000-a-week at St Mary’s, was making his 114th appearance for the club since joining back in 2016. He has been a regular under Hasenhuttl but is into the final 12 months of his contract, although reports have suggested he will extend his stay on the south coast.

His display didn’t exactly catch the eye, though, especially following his mistake shortly after the interval, while he also lost the ball on 15 occasions. He misjudged Mason Greenwood’s tame effort in the second half, which saw the visitors equalise.

Saints fans react

Here is what these Saints supporters had to say about McCarthy, with one describing his error-plagued performance as ‘dreadful’.

“McCarthy out our club”Credit: @BristolSaints”HANDS MCCARTHY! WHAT A JOKE OF A PLAYER!”Credit: @Too_Jazzee”Already Said McCarthy Is Trash “Credit: @Biscxtti”McCarthy out “Credit: @gregoryjkennedy”McCarthy is dreadful”Credit: @Stevie_LA”Picking McCarthy over Forster is just ridiculous. Does Ralph not see what everyone else does?!”Credit: @McKeeChristianIn other news: Southampton are reportedly keen on signing this Premier League midfielder

Fulham dealt Harrison Reed injury blow

Fulham have been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

Following Fulham’s comprehensive 4-1 victory over Birmingham City on Wednesday evening, a game in which Harrison Reed was withdrawn in the second half due to a knock, The Athletic journalist Peter Ruttzler revealed in a post on Twitter that the 26-year-old is still not operating at 100% fitness following his recovery from the calf injury which saw the defensive midfielder miss pre-season.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “Harrison Reed still building as he missed pre-season with a calf injury. Silva said [he] planned to take him or Chalobah off around 60/70mins. [Silva said:] ‘I hope it’s nothing special but will have to check.'”

Silva will be gutted

Considering just how impressive Reed was for Fulham against Birmingham, should the midfielder have suffered a setback in his recovery from injury, something that is clearly a concern following his substitution in the match, it would undoubtedly leave Marco Silva gutted.

Indeed, over his 65 minutes on the pitch on Wednesday, the £9m-rated man blocked one shot, made one key pass, one tackle and completed 100% of his attempted crosses.

These returns saw the former England U20 international earn a SofaScore match rating of 7.0, ranking him as the club’s joint sixth-best player to feature in the fixture.

As such, if the £31k-per-week midfielder is indeed ruled out of the club’s upcoming clash with Reading on Saturday, it would certainly come as a huge blow to Silva’s chances of keeping his side’s winning run going against the Royals.

However, hopefully for the Portuguese boss, Reed’s withdrawal against the Blues did enough to prevent a major injury recurrence, meaning he could well have a chance to feature once again this weekend.

In other news: £5.4m-rated Fulham flop who lost 80% duels failed Marco Silva’s trust vs Blackpool

Sheff Utd fans fume at Brewster red card

A number of Sheffield United supporters have been left stunned by Rhian Brewster’s harsh red card for England’s Under-21s on Monday.

The Blades are currently preparing for Saturday’s Championship clash at home to Stoke City, as they look to respond after their 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth last time around.

Another international break has halted the domestic season for the time being, but a number of United players have been in action for their respective nations.

Someone who has had an unfortunate time of things is Brewster, after the young striker was sent off in farcical fashion for England U21s in their 1-0 win away to Andorra, with a video of the incident shared by The Bladesman (@The_Bladesman) on Twitter.

The 21-year-old received a second booking for an innocuous foul, summing up his struggles since leaving Liverpool, which has seen him score just once in 38 Blades appearances.

Sheff Utd fans react to Brewster sending off

These United supporters took to Twitter to react to Brewster’s unlucky red card, struggling to believe how harsh the decision was.

“Man, he can’t catch a break at the minute. Shocking decision”

Credit: @JackBarrett1889

“What did he actually get sent off for?”

Credit: @CMcB_89

“Quite frankly, ridiculous!!”

Credit: @LemonsTom

“That’s a really, really poor decision to send off Rhian Brewster last night”

Credit: @HoltChris

“That’s a shocker!”

Credit: @AlanBiggs1

“The refereeing in the Euros made me think things were getting better but this decision is ridiculous. Not even a foul”

Credit: @Mick616161

Palace fans react to Amad Diallo links

Crystal Palace are interested in a move for Manchester United winger Amad Diallo, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The journalist claimed that the 19-year-old is expected to depart Old Trafford on loan during the current window. Palace and FC Basel are two clubs name-checked with an interest by Romano, with other sides in the Premier League and Bundesliga also keen.

Diallo, who can play anywhere across the front three, is valued at £16.2m by Transfermarkt and has made eight senior appearances for United.

Patrick Vieira is yet to add to his wide or central attacking ranks this summer, with one goalkeeper, two defenders and three midfielders signed by the Frenchman thus far.

Palace fans react

Both @cpfc_xtra and @CPFCtransfersHQ shared Romano’s claim about Diallo via Twitter, and here is what these Eagles fans had to say in reply, with one describing the 19-year-old as ‘special’.

“Wow. I’d be down! Wasn’t expecting that”Credit: @redandbluesite”Palace need a winger. We cant get all the players we want in one window for season. This kid is special and gives us more time”Credit: @russellsbaker”Would have him”Credit: @danofthesouth_”I saw the United wanted to loan him out and immediately thought actually we could use him”Credit: @nikolimorgan”Don’t want borrowed players”Credit: @SteYouLater24″Ok”Credit: @cpfcharlie0

In other news: Many CPFC fans buzzing as club confirm Eze news. 

AVFC must swoop for Glen Kamara

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard is reportedly seeking a reunion with Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara in January, with the 41-year-old apparently a “big fan” of the Finland international.

What’s the story?

The Rangers star was managed by Gerrard at Ibrox up until last month and the Englishman is reportedly keen to bring the 26-year-old down to England. This comes after Aston Villa were linked with a move for Rangers winger Ryan Kent.

Kamara, who has been capped by his native Finland 40 times, has apparently been on Villa’s radar for some time, with the possibility of a £6m bid being weighed up back in August before Gerrard’s arrival.

Despite being valued by Transfermarkt at £5.4m, it seems likely that Villa would have to pay well over that figure to secure the 26-year-old’s services, with the Daily Record reporting that the midfielder could cost £15m given that his contract at Ibrox doesn’t expire until 2025.

Furthermore, Kamara has stated in the past that “it would be a dream” to play in the English top-flight, suggesting that it wouldn’t prove a tricky task to lure him to the West Midlands, should Villa be happy to pay Rangers’ asking price.

Kamara would add needed depth

With Steven Gerrard preferring a three-man midfield in a 4-3-3 setup, the Villans could do with extra numbers in the midfielder department as back-up.

It appears as though the 41-year-old has a preferred trio with Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Marvelous Nakamba starting the last three Premier League games together. The more they play together, the harder it would be for someone to break into that partnership.

However, Villa seem light on reserves should one of those three pick up an injury or suspension, with Jacob Ramsey the only other player to have started in central midfield under the Englishman.

According to SofaScore, the 26-year-old has a 90% pass completion rate in the Scottish Premiership this term, averaging 1.4 key passes per game, showing the outstanding attributes he could add to Gerrard’s midfield.

Reports have suggested that Villa plan to invest this coming window and, although links with big-money superstars are exciting, Johan Lange will have to add depth to the squad and a move for a player such as Kamara, who has been previously dubbed “fantastic” by Gerrard would certainly provide more options.

Everton handed Coleman fitness boost

Everton have another chance of trying to pick up some much-needed points in the Premier League this afternoon.

Frank Lampard’s side are back in action in front of their home fans as they welcome Manchester United to Goodison Park.

The Toffees’  previous league outing saw them throw away a 2-1 half-time lead in their 3-2 midweek defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor, leaving Sean Dyche’s side just a point behind Everton on the edge of the relegation zone.

Looking ahead to today’s showdown against the Red Devils, it seems as though the home team could be set to welcome back a key figure to their ranks.

What’s the news?

Speaking in his latest press conference on Friday, Lampard talked about the current fitness situation surrounding Everton’s club captain, revealing: “We’ve got Seamus Coleman – who on Wednesday night was feeling the effects of not being well and wasn’t fit to play – in consideration, so that’s a nice boost for the game tomorrow.”

With 22 league appearances under his belt in the current campaign, only Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane and Abdoulaye Doucoure have played more minutes than the Irishman, showing how important he is to the team.

From a defensive point of view, only Allan (104) has racked up a higher number of combined tackles and interceptions than Coleman (98).

Given how Everton didn’t have either of those on the pitch in midweek, this may go some way to explaining why they conceded three goals against a team which had only found the net 22 times all season before Wednesday’s clash.

Also, no other Everton player has completed more tackles in the attacking third (11) or defensive third (31) than the 33-year-old, showing how useful he is at both ends of the pitch.

Great news for Everton

Even though the Republic of Ireland international has been a part of Everton’s disappointing season, potentially having him back on the pitch to take on Ralf Rangnick’s side will still give Lampard and co a boost.

Having lost 10 of their past 12 league games, it’s safe to say that the Toffees could do with any fillip which may come their way.

Looking ahead to this clash, the fact that United have racked up a rather inconsistent run of results since January should give the Everton players some confidence that they can go out and grab a positive result this time around, particularly if the Toffees’ reliable skipper will be back in action.

In other news: Kenwright calamity: Everton had a nightmare over “unbelievable” 166-goal “superstar”

Antonio Conte to sign Spurs deal today

Tottenham Hotspur are edging ever closer to appointing their new manager…

What’s the word?

On Monday morning, the north London outfit announced that they had sacked Nuno Santo after just four months at the helm following a string of poor results on the pitch and fan backlash off it.

And it seems as if they have already found the Portuguese’s successor in Antonio Conte, formerly of Chelsea and Inter Milan.

The 52-year-old Italian has been in London finalising terms over a contract, which he is expected to sign at some point today until the summer of 2023, according to Sky Sport Italy journalist Matteo Moretto, who tweeted:

“Tomorrow, Antonio Conte will sign for a year and a half with Tottenham.”

This time, it’s happening

Spurs have been here before, so you could forgive the fanbase for being a little apprehensive over the links to Conte.

Nuno’s appointment at the end of June ended a lengthy and arduous process as the Lilywhites hierarchy searched for their next manager, having been dealt several blows to numerous candidates beforehand.

In that, the north London club held ‘advanced talks’ with the Italian but they collapsed over concerns from both parties, as per the Telegraph.

Conte wanted assurances over Harry Kane’s future and financial backing, whilst Spurs wanted their next manager to commit to the development of youth talent.

So to see that he has once again held encouraging discussions with Fabio Paratici and co is a positive, of course, but the situation earlier in the summer will still be lingering around N17.

However, this time, is does appear to be a little different as reports suggest he’s going to sign a contract at some point today, meaning an announcement can’t be too far behind.

That has to be encouraging as Spurs return to action on Thursday night in the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they’ll be looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Vitesse, a result that certainly continued towards Nuno’s fateful end.

In reaction to the news that Conte will be his likely successor, plenty of supporters flocked to social media to express their delight, as relayed by This is Futbol.

“Tears of joy” and “Can’t wait for this” were just two of the many reactions that highlighted the mounting excitement around the club.

Therefore, this latest update should leave them absolutely relieved and buzzing heading into the rest of the week.

AND in other news, 119 touches, 100% dribbles: £26m-rated Spurs beast was Nuno’s one shining light against United…

West Ham: Three Hammers struggle

Nikola Vlasic, Lukasz Fabianski and Craig Dawson all struggled in West Ham’s 1-1 draw against Burnley.

It was a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show for the Hammers as David Moyes’ side suffered in their quest to put pressure on the Premier League top-four at the London Stadium following their European heroics in France against Lyon.

After an inauspicious start, the game was halted for a lengthy period so Ashley Westwood could receive treatment. When the contest got back underway, it was visiting striker Wout Weghorst who opened the scoring. Things could’ve been worse for the Irons before half-time as Maxwel Cornet missed from the penalty spot having been brought down by Lukasz Fabianski.

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Despite an improved performance in the second half and a goal from Tomas Soucek, Moyes’ men were unable to seal three points and the Europa League now seems like the most realistic route to the UEFA Champions League next season.

According to SofaScore, there were three West Ham players in particular who were particularly below par on the afternoon.

Vlasic 6.6/10

Yet another appearance seemed to pass the Croatian by before being replaced shortly after the hour mark.

Overall, the 24-year-old lost possession on 10 occasions, failed to complete a single dribble, gave away two fouls and only had 36 touches whilst on the pitch, with only four of his teammates having fewer.

Fabianski 6/10

The guilty party for the penalty in the first half and booked for the incident, albeit the 36-year-old Pole was relieved to see the subsequent spot-kick fired wide.

Fabianski ended the match with a passing accuracy of 11/14 (79%), giving the ball away cheaply three times, and perhaps most surprisingly ended the contest without making a single save. 

Dawson 6.7/10

Far from his exploits in France on Thursday night, Dawson failed to have his usual impact on proceedings on this occasion.

The 31-year-old lost possession 10 times, gave away two fouls and was only accurate with 39/49 (80%) of his passes.

In other news: French source earmarks West Ham ace for summer move! Find out more here.

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