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Liverpool must ‘blow up’ their wage bill to keep Mohamed Salah or risk losing their star man to a club like Manchester City, claims Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell.

The Lowdown: Terrific Salah

Salah’s time at Liverpool is nothing less than remarkable. Since joining from AS Roma in 2017, the winger has hit insane heights with 134 goals and 50 assists in 212 games, winning the Premier League, Champions League, Club World Cup and Super Cup in Red.

He has started the current campaign in tremendous form, with six goals in seven Premier League games and three goals in Liverpool’s opening two Champions League games.

But with his contract expiring in 2023, there is fear they could lose their Egyptian King if they don’t offer an increase to the £200k-per-week he already earns, and it was reported by David Maddock that talks are ‘complicated’.

The Latest: ‘Blow up’ wage structure

Speaking to Football Insider after Maddock’s revelation, Sky Sports pundit and former Arsenal striker Campbell has claimed Liverpool must do all they can do to keep Salah at the club.

“When you have a player who is doing what Mohamed Salah is doing, normally there are no questions about tying him up. Normally there are no questions about tying him up because that is a priority for the team.

“I don’t know what‘s going on inside Liverpool, but I know Salah is out-playing his present contract. 100 per cent he is.

“Whoever is dealing with the negotiations has a problem. Another club like Man City could probably double Mohamed Salah’s money. That is the problem Liverpool have.

“They work within a structure but that structure is going to get blown up because Salah is playing that well. This is the type of player he is.

“It would be crazy to lose him over this. They cannot allow it to leave, but we have seen it before. It would not be the first time.

“The finances are football are so important but with a player like Salah, you have to break the bank.”

The Verdict: Need to move fast

Salah’s importance to this Liverpool squad is unquestionable and offering the attacker a new and improved deal should not even be debated after his amazing period at the club.

Breaking their traditional plans when it comes to player contracts and wages is what is going to be needed, but losing Salah to City, or another Premier League or Champions League rival, would be devastating for Liverpool fans and far outweigh any negatives which come with ripping up the wage structure.

In other news, this Liverpool target’s ideal destination has been confirmed. Find out more here.

Former Premier League midfielder Paul Scholes has made a pretty brutal claim about Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane.

The Lowdown: Transfer saga

After over 330 appearances for Tottenham, Kane’s time at Spurs looked like it was going to come to an end over the summer as he was linked and targeted by Premier League champions Manchester City.

A bid was rejected and Kane was late to training before he returned to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in the 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers before announcing he was staying at the club in a statement on Twitter.

Since then, Kane is yet to score in the league, with his two goals coming in the Europa Conference League competition against Pacos de Ferreira.

The Latest: Scholes makes claim

Speaking to Premier League Productions [via HITC], Scholes has claimed the striker was wishing he was at Manchester City when he saw the team on Saturday.

With Spurs missing Heung-Min Son and Davinson Sanchez, it was a weaker XI and the former Manchester United midfielder has made a strong claim on Kane’s thinking.

“It’s not a strong team,” he said. “I think Harry Kane will be in that dressing room thinking ‘I wish I was at Manchester City’ with that team they have got.”

The Verdict: Is Kane regretting decision?

Kane staying put at the club came from many things – his emotional connection with the Lilywhites support, Spurs rejecting City’s bids and the right money being offered. But after they fell to a shocking defeat at Palace on Saturday, where they conceded three goals in 15 minutes, Kane could be thinking exactly what Scholes has claimed.

Since City lost to Spurs on the opening day, Pep Guardiola’s side has won three straight games, scoring 11 goals in the process without a recognised striker.

It’s likely the situation between the two clubs will arise in January or next summer, but for now, Kane has no choice but to try and help Tottenham return to the top four.

In other news, an offer has been tabled to sign Serie A ace. Find out more here.

Rangers returned to winning ways on Wednesday night as they beat Livingston 2-0 to progress to the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup.

This came after two games without a win, drawing with Motherwell in the Premiership and losing 2-0 to Lyon in the Europa League.

Kemar Roofe and Alfredo Morelos scored the goals for Rangers as they overcame Livingston in midweek, with Steven Gerrard now preparing his side to face Dundee in the league today.

How many changes will Gerrard make? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make four changes to the team from midweek, with Borna Barisic, Allan McGregor, James Tavernier and Steven Davis coming in.

After Jon McLaughlin filled in for the cup match, we are predicting that McGregor will reclaim his place between the sticks after starting the last Premiership game against Motherwell. Both are experienced shot-stoppers and sharing the load between them in terms of minutes on the pitch could help to keep both of them in a good mood throughout the campaign.

In defence, we are predicting changes in both of the full-back positions. Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun started at centre-back and deserve to keep their places, with Jack Simpson having landed the lowest SofaScore rating of the starting XI against Motherwell. This suggests that he does not warrant a spot in the team ahead of either of them at this moment in time.

Tavernier and Barisic were rested for the clash with Livingston and they could replace Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey respectively. The aforementioned pair currently rank first and second in the Rangers for SofaScore ratings in the Premiership this season in terms of outfield players. This highlights their importance to the team and why they could come straight back into the XI.

In midfield, we are predicting that John Lundstram will be axed from the team in favour of Davis. The former Sheffield United man has only started once in the league this season, averaging an unimpressive SofaScore rating of 6.66, and we published an article explaining the 36-year-old’s importance to the team and why he should start today.

The rest of the side could remain the same, with Glen Kamara, Joe Aribo, Kemar Roofe, Scott Wright and Morelos keeping their places in the team.

AND in other news,  Wilson must avoid Rangers nightmare over “unique” gem, Gerrard would be fuming…

FC Porto midfielder Sergio Oliveira is on the transfer radar of Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias [via Molineux News]. 

The lowdown

The 29-year-old scored 13 league goals and provided five assists from his midfield berth last season. He averaged 1.7 tackles, 1.5 key passes and 3.1 accurate long balls per 90 minutes (via WhoScored).

His most memorable goal came in the Champions League. With five minutes remaining in extra time of the round 16 tie against Juventus, Oliveira netted a long-range free-kick to send FC Porto through on away goals.

He was called up to the Portugal squad for the European Championship, making two substitute appearances as the defending champions bowed out in the first knockout round against Belgium.

Oliveira signed a contract extension at the Estadio Dragao as recently as last December, with his new deal running until June 2025 (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

The report from Jornal de Noticias [via Molineux News] stated that Wolves manager Bruno Lage wants to sign an experienced midfielder in the remaining weeks of the window, and he ha’s identified Oliveira as a potential candidate.

Wolves are apparently willing to shell out €20m (£17m) on the Portugal midfielder.

The verdict

This would be some signing for Wolves. Oliveira is bang in his prime and genuinely seems to have a complete skillset for a central midfielder. As evidenced by his statistics from 2020/21, he carries a mightily impressive goal threat, creates opportunities for others and can also thwart opposition attacks.

A valuation of £17m seems fair for a player who could certainly help lift Wolves back into the top half of the Premier League if he were to replicate his FC Porto form in the Old Gold.

In other news, Wolves have also held talks over this midfielder. 

Crystal Palace are poised to agree a deal with Watford for midfielder Will Hughes, according to The Sun’s Alan Nixon.

And, as to be expected, a number of Eagles supporters have been reacting to the news on social media.

Palace want to bring in a midfielder and two forwards before the end of the month, and it seems as if Hughes could be the midfield addition.

Nixon posted a story on Sunday, claiming Palace have now tabled a bid worth £7m plus add-ons for the 26-year-old.

Personal terms for Hughes at around £60,000-a-week shouldn’t be an issue in regards to a transfer, with Palace prioritising the Hornets man over Huddersfield Town’s Lewis O’Brien.

Hughes has turned down a new contract at Vicarage Road, and it appears as if a deal that could rise to £10m could go through.

Palace fans react

@cpfc_xtra shared The Sun’s report on Hughes on Sunday lunchtime. This is what these Palace fans had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘embarrassing’.

“Embarrassing negotiations tbh, Dougie’s first L”

Credit: @georgeteddyDF

“No thanks”

Credit: @LewisGillam82

“hope this is a genuinely false article by the sun. no thanks.”

Credit: @poltak_cp60

“Upgrade on McCarthy and dare I say McArthur! This would be a very good signing.”

Credit: @Mhilsdon

“60000 a week ”

Credit: @aj_dubbz

“Unless someone is on the way out not sure why this is being done before a winger, striker, and LB”

Credit: @joeoliverius

In other news: Many Palace fans react as another exit is confirmed. 

Crystal Palace unveiled their new home kit on Tuesday evening, which naturally received plenty of interaction on social media from numerous Eagles supporters.

Palace had already released their away and third strips and shared their traditional red and blue kit 11 days before the new season gets underway.

The Eagles had a helping hand from the club’s ‘oldest fan ever’, Nan Pam, who modelled the shirt in a video with a number of Palace players.

The kit, available to view here, has diagonal red and blue stripes across the front with a red sleeve and a blue collar.

You’d expect that the first time Palace will wear their new home attire competitively would be in Patrick Vieira’s first game in charge at Selhurst Park against Brentford on August 21, as they are away to Chelsea in their season opener.

Palace fans react

The club shared a clip of the new kit on their official Twitter page. The response was largely positive from fans, with one labelling it as ‘epic’.

“Not sure how to feel about this”Credit: @Connormuz02″This is SO Palace! I love it all!”Credit: @fivestarjane”only we would do this”Credit: @xylottie”This is epic”Credit: @LucyGauntlett”I love they got Nan Pam in there… fantastic!”Credit: @RednBlueRich”Honestly what a club we are”Credit: @NathanBarclay98

In other news: ‘This hurts’ – Many Crystal Palace fans react to transfer news

Graham Roberts believes that Japhet Tanganga is currently the best right-back at Tottenham.

The 22-year-old has spent most of his career playing in many different positions across the back-four but appears to have established himself as the club’s first-choice right-back this season.

Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier are still in Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad, but Tanganga has moved ahead of the pair in the pecking order – and was given the nod for the season-opener against Manchester City on Sunday.

And Tanganga repaid the faith Santo showed in him by containing both Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling impressive, which saw him named as man of the match against the Premier League champions.

Tanganga, who was strongly linked with a shock loan move to Galatasaray, has struggled with injuries since breaking into the first-team 18 months ago, but having enjoyed a productive pre-season and an excellent performance against City, looks to have put his problems behind him.

And Roberts exclusively told Football FanCast that the Academy graduate is better than both Doherty and Aurier:

“He’s the best right-back we’ve got at the moment, so you’ve got to stick with him.”

West Brom attacker Matheus Pereira is likely to be low down Aston Villa’s transfer shortlist, journalist Luke Hatfield has told Football FanCast.

Pereira has been linked with a summer move to Villa, with The Athletic reporting back in April that the 25-year-old is a player the Midlands club have been monitoring.

However, Villa have since gone on to sign another right winger in Emiliano Buendia, while they also put a lot of effort into trying to bring Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe to Villa Park, though they have fallen short there.

It means Villa could now turn elsewhere, but Hatfield has his doubts about a potential move for Pereira.

“I still think it’s unlikely,” the Express & Star reporter said. “I think Villa have probably looked at him and he’s probably on like a lengthy list, because they will have a lengthy list of players that they’ll be looking at. But I don’t think he’s at the top of that.”

If Villa do end up signing Pereira, then they would be getting a player who could add much more firepower to the team’s attack.

Last season, only Ollie Watkins (14) managed to score more Premier League goals than the Brazilian (11).

Pereira also averaged more key passes (1.8) per game than any Villa player bar Grealish (3.1), so the West Brom star could prove to be a creative threat, too (stats via WhoScored).

The likes of West Ham and Crystal Palace have also been credited with an interest, so the Villans could face a lot of competition for his signature.

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has spoken of his happiness at Adam Forshaw returning to action for the Whites this week.

The Lowdown: Forshaw suffers injury hell

While Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been thriving back in the Premier League, Forshaw has been going through a horrible time of things.

The midfielder has been plagued by a hip injury that has kept him out of action for 22 months, meaning he hasn’t featured since the beginning of the 2019/20 campaign.

Forshaw made a triumphant return to action in Leeds’ 3-2 win over Guiseley on Tuesday night, however, coming on as a second-half substitute.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Whelan delighted with midfielder’s comeback

Speaking to Football Insider, club ambassador Whelan couldn’t hide his delight, saying he hopes this is just the start for Forshaw, in terms of his recovery:

“Hopefully it’s the first of many. The cheer he got from the crowd when he came on was just amazing.

“It has been such a long time for Adam to get back to that point last night. It must have felt great.

“Yes, it was just a short amount of time but it is a big step in the process of him coming back to full fitness. It was great to see him out there in a competitive match, it really was.

“Hopefully he will be a big part of this season. Touch wood there is no more injuries or niggles and this is the start of a fantastic season for him.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-11/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Verdict: Can Forshaw stay fit?

It is going to be extremely difficult for Forshaw to become a regular for Leeds again, considering the severity of his injury and the level the Whites are now playing at.

That doesn’t mean the 29-year-old can’t still play a part as a squad player, however, assuming he proves to Bielsa that he is worth persevering with.

To have even returned to the pitch is a triumph in itself for Forshaw and he deserves every piece of luck that comes his way from this point onwards – perhaps he could provide the additional midfield depth the Whites are seeking after missing out on Conor Gallagher?

In other news, Leeds are reportedly keen on signing a Euro 2020 star this summer. Find out who it is here.

Many Southampton fans have been reacting to the news that Adam Armstrong is set to complete a move to St Mary’s.

Last season, the Saints went through a mixed campaign as they finished 15th in the Premier League table but also reached an FA Cup semi-final. As such, there is likely to be plenty of business conducted by Ralph Hasenhuttl and co during this current transfer window – they have already confirmed the capture of Romain Perraud from French club Brest (southamptonfc.com).

With Danny Ings continuing to be linked with an exit (via Daily Express), the Saints may need a new striker. According to The Sunday Mirror (via Hampshire Live), that man could be 24-year-old Armstrong – the Blackburn Rovers marksman is set to move to the south coast, with the deal likely to cost the Saints £10m plus add-ons.

He enjoyed a superb 2020/21 campaign, netting 28 times in 40 Championship appearances (Transfermarkt). That was more than double the tally of Southampton’s top scorer from the season (Ings with 13).

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Armstrong news

“Mirror isn’t always wrong”

Credit: @ollie60848715

“We like an Armstrong or two at our club!”

Credit: @bfgfox

“Bold statement though stating Armstrong’s ‘set’ for a move to Southampton”

Credit: @JoshW_SFC

“Pleaseee”

Credit: @WillsfcMitchell

“We might actually be serious this season”

Credit: @sfcdan_

“Really hope this is true”

Credit: @tugs081976

In other news, many Southampton fans react to this Jannik Vestergaard news.