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Leeds United face West Ham United this evening and Phil Hay has dropped an exciting development on long-term absentee Gaetano Berardi before the match.

What Phil Hay had to report

The Athletic journalist reported that: “Gaetano Berardi has also made the trip and this would be his first appearance in a matchday squad since damaging his ACL at Derby last season.”

Indeed, the right-back ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament last summer towards the end of the Whites’ promotion-winning campaign and has been out of action ever since.

This is great news for Berardi and Leeds

The 32-year-old Swiss international is now close to getting a glimpse of the Premier League for the first time, a fitting reward for his lengthy service at Elland Road.

Back when he was fully fit, Bielsa praised the defender, saying: “Berardi is a loyal player and he gives everything on the pitch. When you give everything on the pitch, the players can arrive late, but you have to analyse every red card. Maybe the red card today is different to another.”

It is fantastic to see the right-back travel with the Leeds squad and, while it seems unlikely that he will feature tonight after so long out of action, at least Bielsa has one player set to return amid a plethora of injury issues elsewhere in the squad.

In other news, Leeds have received a positive update in regards to a reported transfer target!

Tottenham Hotspur could be in need of midfield reinforcements soon, and their attentions have reportedly turned to a new name this week…

What’s the word?

According to Sport1, Spurs are eyeing a move for Borussia Monchengladbach maestro Florian Neuhaus, even though he is under contract until 2024 and they would face competition for his signature from clubs across Europe.

The 23-year-old is said to have a release clause in the region of €40m (£36m) that can be activated during the summer transfer window.

Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and La Liga giants Real Madrid are all mentioned as clubs with interest in Neuhaus.

Bye-bye Alli?

Dele Alli’s future in north London remains unclear going into the final week of the January transfer window.

It is thought that Spurs could allow him to leave amid interest from Mauricio Pochettino and Paris Saint-Germain should they find a suitable replacement, according to the Guardian’s Dave Hytner.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein also claimed on Monday that the decision rests firmly in the hands of Daniel Levy as Jose Mourinho has no objections over letting the 24-year-old depart.

In Neuhaus, Levy could find an ideal replacement – one that is fit for Mourinho’s current Spurs system.

The Sunday Times’ Duncan Castles told us that the ‘Special One’ is after a box-to-box midfielder this month, presumably to partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Tanguy Ndombele in the middle. That is something that Alli is not.

As seen by his returns this campaign, the three-time German international has been effective at both ends of the pitch.

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In 17 league appearances, he has delivered three goals and four assists, also providing 1.7 shots per game, meaning he fires an attempt at goal more times per fame than every Spurs regular other than Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

Intriguingly, he does a lot of defensive and off-the-ball work too – as per WhoScored, Neuhaus has averaged 1.5 tackles per game, which is more than Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Alli and also suggests he’s a strong and imperious presence in the middle.

The 23-year-old also chips in with 1.8 interceptions per match, hinting towards his ability to read the game immensely as he’s cutting out the opposition’s passes and attacks with relative ease, managing at least one stop every 43 minutes, per WhoScored.

Again, by comparison, no Spurs player has managed more – not even Hojbjerg (1.2 interceptions per game).

As we know, Mourinho isn’t a fan of Alli’s work-rate, dubbing him “lazy” in more colourful terms during Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries last season and evidently, Neuhaus is a stark contrast to that as above.

Even more interestingly, the Gladbach star has been compared to Thomas Muller, only adding to the prospects of him filling Alli’s void. The ‘Raumdeuter’ is said to have a ‘distinct ability to find spaces between the lines.’

Whilst early childhood influence from Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos adds even further weight to his ability in attack, he said: “My uncle was a Bremen fan, I had a Bremen poster on my wall of Mesut Özil. I love watching Özil and Toni Kroos play.”

During Gladbach’s Champions League tie with Inter Milan earlier this season, the midfielder played a sublime through ball across half the pitch to cut open Christian Eriksen’s side and bag a late winner at the San Siro – the Dane would’ve been proud of that himself.

Neuhaus’ former boss Dieter Hecking claimed two years ago that he was a player with “huge potential” and clearly, we’re finally seeing that come to light with so many illustrious teams chasing his signature.

Indeed, Talent Scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him a “complete midfielder” who will be a “top-class player for many years to come.”

There’s surely not a better replacement out there than Neuhaus.

If Levy is worried about losing Alli, then he should absolutely consider a move for the German beast, now valued at €50m (£45m) this month, instead of waiting for a summer transfer tussle.

AND in other news, Forget Ndombele: £45m-rated  monster was Spurs’ true game-changer vs Wycombe…

West Ham United must box smart in discussions with Fabian Balbuena after the defender stated that he expects to sit down and discuss his future with David Moyes’ side in due course.

What’s the word?

Speaking with Versus Radio, via quotes by La Lazio Siamo Noi, the centre-half admitted he envisages that he will hold clear the air talks with the London Stadium hierarchy in the coming weeks regarding his future in claret and blue.

Balbuena is currently due to be a free agent at the end of the season with his £40k-per-week contract due to expire this summer.

There had been expectations that West Ham would table a new deal for the 29-year-old, who was linked with a last-ditch exit on Deadline Day if suitable offers were received.

Balbuena has previously been touted for a return to South America, with Brazilian giants Flamengo seen as a potential destination for the 16-cap Paraguay international should he leave the Irons as a free-agent.

Italian Serie A side SS Lazio have also been mentioned over the past three years to have an interest in the £7m-rated enforcer. However, Balbuena denies ever having a formal offer to join the Rome outfit.

“Surely, [one of] these days, we will sit down with the management to talk about it [my future],” the defender said on Wednesday. “West Ham have an option for renewal.

“I have never received anything from Lazio. I only read the rumours on social media.”

Should West Ham retain Balbuena?

Balbuena’s future will be a tricky case for West Ham to deal with, having seen the former Corinthians defender fall drastically down Moyes’ pecking order over the last few months.

After watching the first two games of the Premier League season from the bench, Balbuena started 12 of the following 13 but has not been seen on the pitch since a 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on December 27.

Moyes has even opted to omit the 29-year-old from three of his following nine matchday squads since the Seagulls encounter, despite managers now being able to name nine substitutes – up from seven – for top-flight matches.

The reports claiming the Hammers were open to offers on Deadline Day also go to show where the club place Balbuena in the pecking order, but it will be worthwhile to act clever in discussions over his future and activate their option to extend the centre-back’s contract.

Doing so will allow West Ham to protect a base value for the summer transfer market when they can look to move the Paraguayan on again, rather than accept a total loss on the £6.5m Manuel Pellegrini signing.

The Irons are already expected to accept sizable hits on the fees Pellegrini and former Director of Football Mario Husillos paid for Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson, so will surely like to have an exit strategy in place for Balbuena that returns at least a few million pounds.

Given his current value of £7.2m as per Transfermarkt, the east London outfit should be able to recoup some of the money back in any future sale, which is why he must be handed that extension before the summer.

AND in other news, West Ham weigh up free-agent deal for 28-y/o who flopped after a £16m Premier League move…

This is a tricky time for everyone at Sunderland.

They may be unbeaten in their last two league matches but they now won’t play until after Boxing Day following an outbreak of Coronavirus within the squad.

On the chalkboard

Sunderland players are dropping like flies at the moment and it must have been a relief to have some of their games postponed until a later date.

The Academy of Light has been closed until 27th December with four players testing positive for the pandemic but they also have injuries to contend with.

Denver Hume has joined Luke O’Nien on the sidelines. The former is recovering from a dislocated shoulder and now Josh Scowen is also on the treatment table with a fractured shin.

Once this period of postponements is out the way they will at least have Lynden Gooch back in the side.

The American has only managed one substitute appearance under Lee Johnson and has just recovered from a broken foot that had ruled him out for around three weeks.

Unleash him

It’s superb news that the winger is back quicker than first imagined and this extra period of rest should do his recovery time wonders ahead of when Sunderland take on Accrington on the 29th.

If he is fully fit then Johnson simply has to play him from the off. Gooch has been one of Sunderland’s stand out players so far this season and has two goals and four assists in 13 appearances.

The 24-year-old has been the biggest source of joy from a creative point of view and thus, could improve what Johnson wants to do tenfold. This is someone Chris Coleman claimed “ran his socks off” when he was at the club and it would be quite something if Gooch provided Sunderland with even more.

Johnson has already spoken about wanting players who can stretch the play and the man in question is one of them. Just imagine what Gooch and Jack Diamond could do as a wing pairing beside the club’s top scorer Charlie Wyke.

Diamond has got off to an exhilarating start under Johnson and has already scored with the new coaching team at the helm, performing a team-high 1.6 dribbles per game in the process. For context, Gooch has managed a haul of 1.2 per match.

This would be a fearsome duo capable of lifting the Mackems to greater heights.

AND in other news, Sunderland ace with “fantastic strength” is the biggest winner from Johnson’s arrival…

Speaking exclusively to Transfer Tavern, former Premier League referee Mark Halsey discussed Lewis Dunk’s controversial goal during his side’s draw with West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday.

In the fixture itself, Brighton dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead against the Hammers thanks to Neal Maupay’s scrambled finish just before the break.

However, after David Moyes withdrew Mark Noble and Jarrod Bowen for Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko at the interval, West Ham appeared much more energised in the second half and went on to equalise via Ben Johnson’s 60th-minute strike.

Brighton then thought they had won the fixture with Dunk’s 70th-minute goal, but Tomas Soucek headed powerfully home 12 minutes later to share the spoils at the London Stadium, with the game finishing 2-2.

However, there was a significant amount of controversy surrounding Dunk’s finish, as it appeared as if the ball stuck the Brighton defender on the arm before he slotted past Lukasz Fabianski.

“As football fans, we’d have all agreed that it would have been very harsh to disallow that goal,” Halsey told Transfer Tavern. “However, the new law, ‘Law 12 – Handling the Ball’ says that if an attacking player benefits from an accidental handball and it falls for them and they put it into the back of the net, then the goal should be disallowed.”

He continued: “Now, I think you can clearly say [the ball] hit Dunk in the midriff and then hit him underneath the arm. So, under the new law, it should have been disallowed for accidental handball because it did look like it brushed the underneath his arm.”

Following the game, Moyes called for clarity on the handball rule, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “It definitely hits his arm. Unless you tell me the rules have changed, I think anything hitting the arm and leading to a goal should be chopped off.”

It would appear that the 57-year-old was correct in stating that the goal, which was reviewed by the VAR official, should have been chalked off, as Halsey claims that, under the current rules, even an accidental handball which leads to a goal should not be allowed to stand, and instead, a free-kick should be given to the opposing team.

As such, it would appear that Moyes is right to feel aggrieved with the decision made by the VAR official on Sunday, and perhaps he should have seen his side leave the game with all three points.

Marcel Brands can solve a “concerning” Everton issue with a decisive January call on the immediate future of rarely-seen midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Football Insider, former Sunderland and Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has claimed that Everton must seek to secure a mid-season loan move for Gbamin in order for the Ivory Coast international to get his career back in gear.

Gbamin has been plagued with injuries since moving to Goodison Park in 2019 for £25million, with the former 1.FSV Mainz 05 ace boasting a mere 135 minutes of action to his name after only two appearances across all competitions.

Carlo Ancelotti is yet to have the £54,441-per-week Marco Silva signing available since succeeding the Portuguese coach with Gbamin having developed a quadriceps injury in training just days after his full Everton debut in August last year and he was forced to have surgery this May after suffering a serious Achilles injury.

Sources close to the player told The Athletic that Silva’s mismanagement of Gbamin’s introduction was the reason behind his injuries, after he ushered the 25-year-old onto the pitch at Crystal Palace following just five training sessions, having given the midfield enforcer additional time off on the back of that year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Gbamin is finally set to make his return to training at Finch Farm following the November international break, but Bent feels a loan move has to be in the 12-cap star’s immediate future with Everton chiefs said to be plotting such a transfer, per Football Insider.

“They need to somehow get him up to speed,” Bent said. “He was brought in to replace Idrissa Gueye and it just hasn’t worked for him because of injuries. Maybe sending him out on loan, getting him up to the level that they need might be the way forward.

“The problem with Everton this season is that their starting XI, when they’re all fit, is very, very good. The fact is when they haven’t all been there, they’ve really struggled and that’s why, when they started getting injuries, they couldn’t maintain their fantastic start.

“It’s something Carlo Ancelotti needs to address because at the minute, it’s a little bit concerning the way they’re losing games.”

Brands can solve “concerning” situation

With Everton chiefs alleged to be considering loaning Gbamin out in January so that the Ivorian can get back to playing regular football for the first time in 18-months, their Director of Football Brands has the ideal chance to solve Ancelotti’s “concerning” situation by finding a side willing to give the 25-year-old the chance to play week in, week out.

Only once Gbamin has a good run of minutes under his belt will he ever have the chance to push his way into Ancelotti’s plans, and offer the support in numbers that Bent is adamant the Italian is currently without.

It will be unlikely that, barring an injury for Allan, that Gbamin is able to establish himself at Goodison Park before the winter market opens, with Everton only hopeful that the former Bundesliga sensation will be in a position to play before the year is over.

Allan has been a thriving success since joining Everton in a £21m deal from SSC Napoli this summer, ranking first for ground duels won (51), successful tackles (32), second for blocked shots (4), third for successful dribbles (9) and is the fourth-most fouled player (10) among all at Goodison Park, per SofaScore.

Gbamin, meanwhile, impressed Everton with his efforts for Mainz in the 2018/19 season, when he averaged 57.9 touches, 34.6 accurate passes, 0.7 key balls, 0.9 shots, 1.6 tackles, 1.0 interceptions, 1.1 successful dribbles and 5.3 duels won (3.6 ground, 1.7 aerial) per German top-flight game.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti is urging Everton to sign a “magnificent player” this winter.

Grant Leadbitter was Lee Johnson’s true Sunderland hero in the Black Cats’ 4-0 rout of Lincoln City at the LNER Stadium on Saturday.

Johnson saw his Stadium of Light natives command proceedings to move within touching distance of the League One play-pff positions, with goals from Leadbitter, Jack Diamond and a brace from Charlie Wyke enough to close the gap to just two points and with a game in hand.

Leadbitter struck the visitor’s first of the match when he converted from the spot by sending Alex Palmer the wrong way after a foul by Jorge Grant on Diamond, and continued to set the tone as he brought a commanding presence to the engine room.

Leadbitter has been praised throughout the 2020/21 season for his efforts in bringing an experienced voice to the core of Sunderland’s midfield, having now started 14 of the Black Cats’ opening 16 games and missed just eight minutes when he has featured.

The Sunderland Echo’s Mark Donnelly has been among Leadbitter’s largest advocates, having lauded the 34-year-old for being the “League One cheat code” Sunderland supporters hoped he would become when brought to the club as a free agent last year.

“He’s been fantastic. He’s kind of becoming that League One cheat code that everyone hoped he would be when he signed,” Donnelly said on The Roar Podcast.

“He just looks a class above in the centre of midfield. Not only the balls he’s trying, but the balls he’s pulling off in terms of switching the play, in terms of driving Sunderland forward, he’s just going about his business, he makes it look effortless.

“If we were sat here six weeks ago and said that not only would Grant Leadbitter be back in the team, but he’d be arguably the star man, you probably would’ve been a little bit surprised. He’s come back, he’s been excellent, he’s just gone about his business – and he’s made that place his own now.”

Leadbitter was once again a class above his midfield teammates as Sunderland beat Lincoln on Saturday, registering a game-high 97 touches – 22 more than any player for either side – while completing 62 of his 76 attempted passes, also game-high numbers, per SofaScore.

Johnson would have been left astonished by Leadbitter’s passing range at the LNER Stadium as he effortlessly played possession across the pitch, with 12 of his 18 attempted long balls finding teammates.

The Black Cats product may even have found the back of the net more often on another day, having found the target with each of his three shots on Palmer’s goal, matching his offensive threat with an imperious presence in front of the back four.

Leadbitter won possession with three tackles, made three interceptions, was never dribbled past and won five of his nine ground duels, while conceding just two fouls, being fouled once and completing his only attempted dribble of the match.

Wyke will rightly take much of the acclaim with his brace moving the 28-year-old onto 12 goals in 15 League One games for the season, but Leadbitter was Johnson’s real hero.

Meanwhile, Speakman can deliver another Sunderland masterclass with this appointment.

Liverpool could have one last chance at upgrading their goalkeeper roster this season after Stoke City revealed they are willing to cash in on Jack Butland.

According to Football Insider, the Potters are looking to offload the England international by the end of next week, just in time for the EFL transfer window deadline. This gives the Premier League champions a huge boost in their mission to upgrade on controversial figure Adrian.

Liverpool must sign Butland

With Alisson currently confirmed to be sidelined for up to six weeks, the Reds have entered panic stations over the status of their defence. Coming off the back of a humiliating 7-2 loss to Aston Villa, Jurgen Klopp will need to ensure their visit to Goodison Park next weekend is a statement result.

However, with Adrian likely rocked from conceding seven goals at Villa Park, he may produce another nightmarish performance in between the posts. Liverpool must come up with an alternative to deploying the Spaniard, who is clearly not up to scratch to filling in for Alisson.

A report from Sky Sports earlier this year claimed that Stoke had slashed Butland’s price to just £8million, which will be music to Liverpool’s ears. Despite splashing out on Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota, the Reds must have enough left in the bank to justify a small fee for a much-needed signing. Plus, with time running out, they may be left with no choice but to spend more money.

Why Butland should replace Adrian

As highlighted by SofaScore, one of Adrian’s biggest weaknesses is his error proneness, something that is completely unacceptable for a goalkeeper employed by the champions of England. Liverpool need a back-up that they can rely on, not one they will be watching like a hawk in fear of a blunder costing them a game.

Butland has plenty of experience playing against the top sides in the Premier League after initially joining Stoke back in 2013. Despite only making nine senior appearances for England, he was heavily in contention amongst the likes of Nick Pope and Fraser Forster to become Jordan Pickford’s deputy.

With a current weekly wage of just £35,000 (via Spotrac), this is a player Liverpool must seriously consider adding to their roster. Former Stoke boss Paul Lambert waxed lyrical about Butland, claiming he is a “top goalkeeper” during a post-match interview with BBC Sport two years ago (via Sportsmole).

Alisson is set to miss some key games in Liverpool’s run to keep hold of their title and they simply cannot afford to risk Adrian’s unpredictable performances.

In other news, Exclusive: Neil Mellor highlights how Jurgen Klopp has changed Liverpool…

Nottingham Forest haven’t got off to the best of starts this season, and it’s no coincidence that their poor run of results have coincided with a poor run of form from Lewis Grabban.

The striker is yet to find the back of the net this season, and after Lyle Taylor netted against Derby County on Friday night, Chris Hughton has a big decision to make in terms of who starts up front for the Reds.

Of course, we could continue to see them both play up top, but the Reds’ plethora of attacking midfield talent such as Joe Lolley, Luke Freeman, Sammy Ameobi and Anthony Knockaert suggests that they may be better off utilising a one-striker system.

Logic suggests that it’s time to drop the 32-year-old, he’s not scored in six games and Taylor seems to be growing in confidence, but Hughton needs to consider how dropping Grabban will affect the dressing room.

We saw glimpses of Grabban’s poor attitude when things aren’t going his way in the first series of Netflix’s Sunderland ‘Til I Die documentary, with two of his former teammates going on the record to discuss how he brought down the atmosphere at the club, with Glenn Loovens going as far as to label him a ‘jerk’.

Grabban left Sunderland due to the fact that he was getting subbed off in games, and if he’s dropped at Forest he could kick up a similar type of fuss, and if last season’s star man starts kicking off, that can have a negative effect on the whole team.

“If you haven’t really spoken to the new manager when he comes in, if you get taken off, I was starting to get whipped off at 65, 70 minutes.” Grabban said at the time.

“I was thinking, ‘I’m not sure that’s for me’.

“Maybe it’s a bit selfish but I just thought, nah.”

If Hughton is to drop Grabban he needs to make sure he communicates his reasoning to the striker in a mature way so that he doesn’t upset the applecart at the City Ground just a few weeks after his appointment.

Newcastle United have a rich history of dipping their toes into the French market and fishing for bargain deals over in Ligue 1. Of course, the French top-flight is famous for having excellent young talents and they were always good at developing them properly.

But now with the Magpies not exactly having the warchest they were hoping to get with the takeover, Steve Bruce will have to make do with a much smaller budget. Not to mention that the outside circumstances with the recent outbreak have definitely taken a toll on their wallets as well.

However, Newcastle are on a lookout for quality reinforcements for the upcoming Premier League campaign and one of the big targets that are on their radar is Lille’s Boubakary Soumare.

But, if the recent update coming from the reliable Fabrizio Romano is to be believed, the French outfit has declined the Magpies’ latest offer which was in the range of €35m with add-ons included (£32.4m).

The 21-year-old midfielder is extremely highly rated and it’s becoming painfully obvious that he won’t exactly be an easy target to attain for Bruce. With his overall quality and undeniable talent, Lille will undoubtedly be looking to get as much money for him as possible.

It remains to be seen whether Newcastle even have the financial power to meet their asking price, whatever it may be in the end.

At the moment, however, this certainly counts as a big setback for the Magpies on the market.

Verdict

Soumare is an incredible talent and despite his young age, he’s already well developed. Even though he is a midfielder by trade, his skillset is simply incredible as he has both the power and the technicality to play in various different roles.

It goes without saying that Newcastle could certainly use such a player for the upcoming season in the English top-flight.