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Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan believes Raphinha will be fit to face Liverpool on Monday night, as the midfielder has had plenty of time to train at Thorp Arch this week.

The Whites face one of their most intriguing games of the season on Monday night, as the Premier League champions head to Elland Road.

The 2020/21 campaign hasn’t panned out the way many expected for the Reds, but they remain a top class side who have won their last three league matches.

Leeds will need to be somewhere close to their best in order to pick up a positive result, meaning key players being available is vital.

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Raphinha tipped to start against Liverpool

Raphinha left the pitch injured in stoppage time in the stunning 2-1 win away to Manchester City, making him a doubt for the game, but Whelan told Football Insider that he believes the Brazilian will start, claiming that he will have been light training all week at Thorp Arch:

“I am expecting him to shake it off. I mean, these are the games that big players love to play in. He has had a good week of recovery time and treatment. He has probably done light training, I would imagine, as well.

“I cannot, for the life of me, think of a game that he would rather play in. A Monday night game against Liverpool, the champions of the Premier League.

“It’s a game where he wants to go out there and prove himself again.”

Transfer Tavern take

Raphinha has arguably been Leeds’ Player of the Year, scoring six goals and registering the same number of assists in the league, as well as catching the eye with his dribbling skills and unpredictable nature.

The 24-year-old being passed fit would be a major positive for Bielsa, allowing him to cause Andy Robertson problems, with the Scot not at his best this season.

The threat that Raphinha poses could also make the left-back hesitant to go forward, especially with no Virgil van Dijk around to cover him, therefore costing Liverpool an attacking threat as well.

In other news, a former Premier League defender has explained why he thinks one Leeds player is ‘lucky’. Read more here.

It has only been just over a year since Liverpool swooped for Takumi Minamino but the Japanese wideman is already being linked with a permanent departure from Anfield.

The 26-year-old, currently on-loan at Premier League rivals Southampton, is interesting Sevilla, with the Spanish giants reportedly willing to pay up to €10m for the player according to reports in Spain..

Despite Minamino not having had the best of times with the Reds since his arrival from Red Bull Salzburg, it would certainly be a mistake to let him go this early.

In his first season with the Reds, he struggled for form, failing to get off the mark for goals. However, he has certainly improved during the 2020/21 campaign, scoring six goals and notching two assists for Liverpool and Southampton combined in all competitions. They are numbers that are certainly not too bad.

They are certainly better statistics than the likes of current Reds’ wide options, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who have just one goal and five assists between them this season.

For a player who appears to be finally getting to grips with life in the Premier League, it seems quite premature for Liverpool to cut Minamino adrift so soon.

It is not like the Anfield outfit would be receiving any considerable financial benefit should he leave having forked out a reported £7.25m to bring the Japanese international to the club. Meanwhile, his wages are not the biggest burden on the club, with Minamino earning £72k per week – less than Shaqiri, Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner, amongst others.

With Jurgen Klopp proclaiming the Japanese as a “wonderful” signing upon his arrival at Anfield, it would seem unlikely that opinion will have changed in the 14 months since.

Minamino has certainly shown enough potential to be kept around so Liverpool should definitely not let him leave so soon.

AND in more news, have a look at which Championship star Liverpool must sign this summer…

Jermaine Jenas has claimed that Joelinton has his ‘best game’ for Newcastle United in their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in the Premier League on Friday night.

Speaking on the BBC’s latest Match of the Day programme (via Chronicle Live), the former Magpies player was still critical of the former Hoffenheim man’s display, but claimed that he gave Tyrone Mings a ‘torrid’ night:

“Joelinton potentially had his best game in a Newcastle shirt but it all seemed to fall apart once they got in that 18 yard box.

“Even into the final third, some of the decision making at times…

“Dwight Gayle and Fraser have got to get closer into positions where they can score goals. Joelinton doesn’t get his shot off in the first half.

“These are the situations Steve Bruce is talking about.

“We know Joelinton isn’t a true centre-forward and these situations explain that. Just shoot there and anything can happen.

“It was a negative pass. In a weird way it was his best game in a Newcastle shirt and he gave Tyrone Mings a torrid time but it doesn’t really matter because he doesn’t score goals.”

Joelinton tried but not enough quality

It is perhaps fair to say that Joelinton did try his best to help his team out at St James’ Park, but ultimately a lack of real quality let him down once more.

As Jenas points out, the 24-year-old – currently valued at £18m by Transfermarkt – decided to try and square the ball instead of shoot when he was clean through on goal, which pretty much sums up just how low on confidence he is front of goal at the moment.

The striker failed to record a single shot on target and also lost no fewer than 18 of his duels and was dispossessed of the ball 21 times, the joint-most out of any player to have set foot on the pitch (Sofascore).

Joelinton just needs to get a run of goals to gain some confidence, but at the moment his lack of end product in the final third is costing Steve Bruce’s side at a time when they really need him given their precarious league position.

In other news, find out what inside takeover claim has been dropped on PIF by Mark Douglas.

Writing for football.london, Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has relayed the progress of youngster Troy Parrott as he continues his loan stint at Ipswich Town in League One – with the reliable journalist sharing how he has steadily improved for the Tractor Boys. 

He is yet to score a goal for Paul Lambert’s side, with his latest outing coming on Tuesday night as the Tractor Boys took on Lincoln City in a 1-1 draw at Portman Road.

Gold relays Troy Parrott update

However, despite still not being able to chalk up his first strike for Ipswich, Gold has relayed that Parrott has been making steady progress in east Anglia.

Indeed, the football.london correspondent shared, before his half an hour cameo against Lincoln on Tuesday as a substitute, that Parrott has racked up a few starts under Lambert recently – playing 87 minutes during a 2-1 win at Accrington and then 68 minutes in a 3-1 defeat to Gillingham at the weekend.

As well as this, the 19-year-old was lavished with praise by the East Anglian Times for his display against Accrington – as football.london quote, they branded him a ‘workhorse’ with ‘plenty of quality’.

Transfer Tavern take

At the centre of a public Jose Mourinho scolding last year, with the Portuguese questioning his attitude, Parrott slowly becoming an ‘asset’ for Ipswich could come as good news.

This isn’t the first time he has been praised this season either, with Millwall boss Gary Rowett branding the Irish starlet as ‘excellent’ after his debut for the Lions on another loan before the new year.

A previous update by Gold highlighted that a decision over Parrott lingers at the end of the season for Tottenham – whether to send him back out on loan or give him a shot in the first team.

Lilywhites supporters will surely be hoping he can live up to his potential and notch that first goal for Ipswich soon.

In other news: Tottenham remain keen on this ‘shining’ attacker, find out more here.

David Moyes could look to upgrade Angelo Ogbonna at West Ham United in the summer transfer window with a successful swoop for ACF Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic.

What’s the word?

According to Fabrizio Romano, while speaking on the Here We Go podcast via Football-Italia, the Irons have seen a €25m (£21.5m) approach for Milenkovic turned down.

It is not stipulated when the offer was tabled, though co-owner and Chairman David Sullivan revealed to talkSPORT last October that a deal to sign the Serbian had fallen through after talks between West Ham and Fiorentina broke down.

The Hammers targeted Milenkovic with boss Moyes desperate for defensive reinforcements before the arrival of Craig Dawson on loan from Watford, and are expected to again target signings to improve the London Stadium backline this summer.

Moyes and Sullivan would face strong competition in any attempt to revive interest in Milenkovic, with Manchester United now considered the favourites to sign the 23-year-old.

Milenkovic is out of contract at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in the summer of 2022 and is currently unlikely to pen new terms with Cesare Prandelli’s side, though Fiorentina will still hold out for the right fee in the next off-season.

La Viola President Rocco Commisso considers the 26-cap international to be worth €40m (£34.5m), yet it is anticipated that the Serie A side will have to accept a lesser sum given Milenkovic’s contract situation.

The defender, valued by TransferMarkt at £25m, has started all 21 of his Italian top-flight appearances this season while helping toward each of Fiorentina’s six clean sheets.

Should West Ham repursue Milenkovic?

West Ham could face a tall ordeal trying to sign Milenkovic in the next transfer window with Manchester United now considered the favourites for his signature, but Moyes can land a potential Ogbonna upgrade in the €29,000-per-week (£25k-p/w) defender.

Moyes lauds the impact Ogbonna brings to east London, having described the Italian as a “magnificent” and “really important” player following his high ankle sprain sustained in the FA Cup defeat to the Red Devils earlier this month.

Ogbonna had also started all 23 available Premier League fixtures this season and only failed to play the full 90 minutes during November’s 1-0 win over Fulham, having been forced off with half an hour remaining due to a feared groin injury.

Yet the 32-year-old’s efforts in the top-flight lag behind Milenkovic’s Serie A performances to date this term in a number of ways, to suggest that the younger Fiorentina star would be a very useful pick-up if the Irons were to repursue the former FK Partizan Beograd enforcer.

While Ogbonna has offered 0.9 successful tackles per game in the Premier League this season, Milenkovic has produced 1.6 for Fiorentina in the Serie A, per SofaScore.

The Serbian also provides a higher number of interceptions (1.4) than the Italian (1.0) and is more successful in the air, with 3.5 duels won to 2.2. He further retains possession and plays the ball more adequately after winning it back, with 47.2 accurate passes (86%) to the Hammers ace’s 28.8 (80%).

Ogbonna’s only true leading trait over Milenkovic is in clearances (4.4 to 3.2), suggesting Moyes would not only land an upgrade in winning the ball back in the Manchester United target, but one who would see West Ham improve their ability to play out from defence as well.

It remains to be seen how willing Commisso is to lower his valuation and reduce the €15m (£13m) difference between his asking price and West Ham’s rejected offer.

Yet the Irons should at least return to the table to express their interest again.

AND in other news, David Moyes can discover West Ham’s next Dimitri Payet in a 24-y/o whose protected by a £258m release clause…

According to a report by club insiders Claret & Hugh, via West Ham news, defender Fabian Balbuena has made up his mind over leaving east London and will depart at the end of this season when his contract expires.

Balbuena, who briefly forced his way back into the team under David Moyes, partnering Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell consistently in a back three at the back end of the last calendar year, will now leave according to C&H.

Indeed, with no new deal on the table for him, the Paraguayan has apparently made up his mind and has decided to move on from West Ham when his current contract officially runs out.

The 29-year-old has recently had to watch summer signing Craig Dawson take his mantle in the starting eleven, and when Ogbonna succumbed to injury, Issa Diop was the chosen defensive partner by Moyes.

Flocking to this update, many Hammers fans had their say – find all of their best comments down below.

West Ham fans react to Balbuena development

“Noooo I rate this lad”

Credit: @daggers496

“How stupid though, great squad depth. Wont even get a fee for him”

Credit: @szn_bowen

“Very bizarre we aren’t keeping him. We have 3 senior CBs left. Reports Alves will step up but I feel we need another senior.”

Credit: @westhamtransfer

“This hurts but it’s completely understandable

He is good enough to be starting every game”

Credit: @MattIngram28

“Day ruined”

Credit: @WhuJosh

“Bang out of order alienating him like that. Was injured then got COVID which extended his absence but he hasn’t put a foot wrong for us this season”

Credit: @DanOCon23169711

“Another good player going for nothing”

Credit: @HarryZippyAx

“Big shame. I like the guy and he’s a good squad player who knows the club.”

Credit: @WesthamVan1

In other news: West Ham fans also flocked to a transfer claim, find out more here.

Said Benrahma was David Moyes’ unsung hero as Jesse Lingard scored a brace on his West Ham United debut to help his new side beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Wednesday night.

Lingard joined the Irons on loan until the end of the season late in the winter market, having failed to play a second of Premier League football for Manchestr United this term.

Moyes wasted no time in introducing the 24-cap England international into his starting line-up, with the decision returning the Hammers’ second and third goals against Dean Smith’s Villans after Tomas Soucek opened the scoring with his eighth strike of the league campaign.

After a scoreless first half, Soucek broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when the Czech Republic international drilled the ball into the far corner of Emiliano Martinez’s net following a piece of superb link-up play between Michail Antonio and Benrahma.

Lingard soon hit Moyes’ men’s second of the night to make the visitors’ pressure count after they’d been dominating play for long periods of the game, and he later restored West Ham’s two-goal lead after Ollie Watkins pulled one back for his ninth goal of the top-flight campaign.

But, despite Lingard rightly getting plenty of attention after netting a debut double, Benrahma also shone brightly at Villa Park having played a pivotal role in the Irons’ attacking moves throughout the night, to leave Birmingham with a third assist of the league season as his wait for a maiden goal continues.

Benrahma registered his assist with a precision first-time pass threaded through the Villans backline for Soucek to score, while his decoy run allowed Antonio to find Lingard open on the edge of the Aston Villa penalty area to score his first of the night five minutes later.

Benrahma’s threaded pass left Aston Villa’s backline helpless, with Tyrone Mings only able to watch the ball roll through to Soucek to score. The £23,000-per-week maestro could have ended the night with further assists in his pocket, too, after recording three key passes – only Jack Grealish (4) created more goalscoring opportunities on Wednesday night, per WhoScored.

Not only was Benrahma creative with the ball at his feet, but Moyes further saw the £20m winger prove safe in possession with a 93% pass accuracy rating thanks to completing 28 of his 30 passes. No player who stared for either side completed a higher percentage of their passes than the 25-year-old.

The Algerian additionally came close to finally ending his Premier League goal drought and would have done just that had his volley gone a few inches lower.

Moyes would surely have loved what he saw from Benrahma at Villa Park as he linked up well with Lingard, who slotted in seamlessly to West Ham’s starting line-up, as the London Stadium natives closed to within two points of Liverpool after Jurgen Klopp’s side fell to defeat at home to Brighton.

AND in other news, West Ham eye future swoop for prolific £30m striker with “absolutely superb” movement…

David Sullivan could waste further millions if West Ham United seal a £13.5m swoop for Cadiz CF striker Anthony Lozano to replace Sebastien Haller.

What’s the word?

According to Diario de Cadiz (13/1, p. 50), the Irons are set to imminently offer €15m (£13.5m) for 27-year-old forward Lozano as boss David Moyes is desperate to bolster his attacking options after Haller’s move to AFC Ajax.

Haller’s departure left Michail Antonio as the sole recognised senior striker at the London Stadium, and deprived Moyes of the man responsible for three of the Hammers’ 24 goals in the Premier League so far this season.

Only Tomas Soucek (5) and Jarrod Bowen (4) had scored more often than Haller in the top-flight this term, and would be joined by a forward hardly boasting a prolific record if Lozano is signed with the Honduras international having found the net just three times in La Liga.

Lozano has been a regular for Cadiz since their promotion to the highest level of Spanish domestic football last season, starting nine of his 14 appearances after missing two games through coronavirus in November, but had only scored once prior to the New Year.

Wasting further millions

Sullivan would be taking a massive gamble by backing Lozano to be the forward to offer Moyes what Haller could not, as the 33-cap marksman’s frequent struggles to score in La Liga this season are nothing new.

Lozano hit home just once in 34 La Liga outings for Girona before joining Cadiz in 2019, and is proving immensely wasteful at the Nuevo Estadio Ramon de Carranza with a return of just 0.2 goals a game despite fashioning 1.3 shots per match so far this season, per SofaScore.

He has further missed five clear-cut chances to score over his 14 appearances, and rarely creates opportunities for his teammates, despite penning one assist, as the former Valencia and Barcelona trainee offers a mere 0.3 key balls from his paltry 19.4 passes per game.

Sullivan opting for the £7,500-per-week man would likely only serve to see the West Ham co-owner and Chairman flutter his millions down the drain once again, having lost close to £25m on the sale of Haller having allowed the Irons’ club-record signing to leave for less than half of the fee paid to Eintracht Frankfurt just 18-months earlier.

The fee the Irons are touted to pay for Lozano is additionally far beyond his considered market value, as TransferMarkt tout the attacker to be worth £2.25m less than a year on from considering the 6ft hitman to be worth just £1m.

West Ham’s need for another striker is clear in their lack of depth, but Lozano’s ability to fill the void would be questionable.

AND in other news: Exclusive: West Ham’s Declan Rice tipped to join Chelsea on one condition…

According to Football Insider, Nottingham Forest have submitted a loan-to-buy offer for Celtic transfer target Siriki Dembele, and it could have big consequences for the linked-away Odsonne Edouard.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have claimed that Neil Lennon’s side are interested in signing the Peterborough forward, but it appears Championship side Forest have made the first move in the race to sign him.

Football Insider claim that Dembele wants to leave Peterborough this month, and that Forest have made a proposal that would see the 24-year-old join them on a more permanent basis at the end of the season.

The report adds that the bid is worth around £250k for a player who is out of contract in the summer.

Bye-bye Edouard

With Odsonne Edouard’s long-term future at Celtic still very much unclear – reports have claimed the club have slashed his asking price in this January transfer window – Nick Hammond will surely be on the look-out for a potential replacement for the club’s striker.

And in Dembele – the older brother of the Hoops’ very own Karamoko – they could find someone who could well fill the boots of the Frenchman.

Dembele had spent a lot of time playing out wide on the flanks, before Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson made the tweak of moving him infield into the number nine role.

And since then, it’s safe to say he’s been very impressive. This season in League One, he’s played 22 games in total, but 15 of them have come up front. In those games as the Posh’s starting striker, he’s managed five goals and five assists, including a dazzling hat-trick against Shrewsbury.

The tactical switch is something Ferguson has talked up too, saying: “But the boy has been absolutely outstanding since realising he can play as a central striker. He destroyed Ipswich last weekend with a goal and two assists.”

The 5 foot 8 ace would offer Celtic some versatility up front given he can play anywhere across the line, and it’s now up to Hammond as to whether he can get a deal done.

Southampton striker Daniel N’Lundulu has been linked with a move to La Liga side Real Betis recently but the Southampton board should ensure that he is still with the club at the end of the month.

What’s the word?

French news outlet Foot Mercato have claimed that Real Betis are interested in signing the 21-year-old and that they could make an approach for him this month.

The Saints academy ace has been on the fringes of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad this season after impressing with David Horseman’s B team.

Semmens must stand firm:

So far this season, N’Lundulu has made six appearances in the Premier League, all of which have come from the bench. The youngster also has five goals and one assist in just seven appearances for the B team, which certainly suggests he is ready to play with the senior side.

The form of Danny Ings and Che Adams so far this season has perhaps limited the youngster’s appearances for Hasenhuttl’s side but it certainly looks as if he has a bright future with the South Coast club, so it would be foolish to let him go to Betis.

N’Lundulu earned the praise of Hasenhuttl along with the other under-23 players that are pushing for a spot in the first-team, saying:

“He’s a type of striker we don’t have in our side so far. He gives us physical options, can keep the ball very well.

“He’s also learned to work hard in front. This was something our youth have to learn and in the past month, we were working a lot with the under-23s and with these teams.

“They are more and more adapted to what we are doing here in the first team and it is nice to see when they are coming out, they are now on a different level.”

With Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond both currently sidelined, we might see Theo Walcott on the wing more often in Southampton’s upcoming fixtures, which could, in turn, allow the likes of N’Lundulu to be given more of a chance up front.

Certainly, the 21-year-old’s record with the B team, where he has 12 goals and three assists in 29 appearances, suggests that he has an eye for goal and a future in Hasenhuttl’s side, so Martin Semmens and the rest of the Southampton board should not even consider negotiating with Real Betis in January, should they make an official approach.

And, in other news… Worse than Tella: Southampton must axe “exciting prospect” amid manager update