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Speaking to Football Insider, reacting to reports West Ham have made contact over a potential summer deal for Mislav Orsic, Sky Sports regular Paul Robinson has been left wowed by the 19-goal forward and his impressive show reel.

Orsic, primarily played on the left wing but can drive through the middle, has apparently been at the centre of West Ham interest recently – with GSB even making contact over a possible transfer for the 28-year-old according to another report by Football Insider.

Speaking to the outlet, Robinson has been left baffled by Orsic and his ability – with the pundit certainly rating him judging by what he’s seen.

Robinson stunned by Orsic

The Croatian’s stunning Europa League hat-trick dumped London rivals Tottenham Hotspur out of the Europa League, with Jose Mourinho unable to hold a two-goal first leg lead.

“His shooting ability was there for all to see,” Robinson told Football Insider.

“I mean wow, he scored some fantastic goals.

“He is not a player we know a lot about in England given that he’s playing for Dinamo Zagreb but those goals showed you a lot. I watched his showreel after that and I was impressed.

“He is clearly a player with an abundance of talent and with an eye for goal.

“He used that stage to put himself in the thoughts of Premier League teams.”

Transfer Tavern take

Whether or not West Ham end up doing a deal for Orsic this summer remains to be seen, but it seems Robinson would certainly approve of the switch.

Valued at just £6.75 million by Transfermarkt, it’s clear Zagreb may want much more for their star striker.

In other news: West Ham fans flocked to this transfer report, find out more here.

Sheffield Wednesday ended a run of seven straight defeats but still slipped ever closer towards League One after throwing away two points at Hillsborough against their local rivals last night.

Darren Moore’s side are cut nine points adrift of safety following the 1-1 draw with only ten games left to play. An unfortunate Callum Paterson own goal cancelled out Josh Windass’ equaliser.

It’s clear that the 46-year-old still does not know his best starting XI – or formation – but plenty of the current squad are doing him no favours. At times, they looked too vulnerable to overcommit and ultimately, shot of confidence.

As outlined by YorkshireLive reporter Dom Howson, Wednesday’s struggles in front of goal continued against Huddersfield, managing only two shots on target. He also claims that their expected goals record since Moore was appointed is yet to improve either.

Moore deployed a 3-4-3 formation with Windass and Kadeem Harris playing either side of Jordan Rhodes. Only two of the trio surpassed a rating of 7.0 as per SofaScore.

The one that didn’t was Harris – the natural winger. In fact, he had a complete nightmare of an evening on that right flank before being hooked on the hour mark.

His 6.5 rating was the lowest of any Owls player, and it’s easy to see why.

The 27-year-old dynamo, valued at £1.35m by Transfermarkt, recorded the fewest touches (26) of any Wednesday starter which goes to show just how ineffective and incapable he was of making an impact in the game. Even Keiren Westwood had more between the sticks (45). That’s never a good sign.

Harris made 58 touches against the league leaders on Sunday, in a game they weren’t expected to do well in whatsoever.

With so few touches, the former Cardiff ace struggled immensely, failing to deliver an accurate cross to Rhodes whilst he was hugely wasteful with three of his shots failing to find the target with one of those attempts being a big chance missed, via SofaScore.

The 5 foot 9 dynamo also lost possession seven times, meaning one in 3.7 touches were merely him giving the ball back to the Terriers, whilst he won just four of seven duels, proving to be lightweight up against his opposite number.

Howson graded Harris among his worst performers in his post-match ratings column, and said: ‘Another frustrating evening. Carried the ball forward but there was no end product to his forward thrusts. Looked disappointed to come off after the break.’

All in all, it was a complete disasterclass from the £10k-per-week Owls man in front of a manager he needs to impress, one that is also still searching for his right team.

On that basis alone, Harris may not be given another opportunity.

AND in other news, Moore could save Sheffield Wednesday thousands next season with “terrific” 20 y/o gem…

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans are discussing Aden Flint after Dom Howson gave his opinion on the club’s decision to let him go.

The journalist tweeted: “It’s easy to say with hindsight but #SWFC made a big mistake in cutting short Aden Flint’s loan deal in January. He’s a big character and leader.”

Much-maligned owner Dejphon Chansiri brought the defender to the club on loan in October but he only made four appearances before being sent back to parent club Cardiff City.

Since returning to south Wales, the 31 year-old has played 11 times and has averd 1.4 interceptions and a thoroughly impressive 5.4 clearances per game (WhoScored). During those 11 matches, the Bluebirds have flown up the Championship table and are only three points away from the play-offs (SofaScore).

A no-nonsense centre-back like Flint is exactly what the Owls need right now, not defenders needlessly getting sent off and frustrating most of the fan base like Julian Borner did at the weekend.

It is crazy how fortunes can turn. Flint probably thought he was in for a relegation battle when he was brought in on loan to Wednesday, but now he is fighting for promotion and it looks like another player who has got away from the Owls is enjoying success, whilst the ones they keep at Hillsborough continue to struggle.

These Wednesday fans weren’t pleased with the club’s failure to retain the 31-year-old for longer:

Here is how fans reacted to the news:

“I said this straight away exactly type of player we needed another poor decision from the club”

Credit: @johnada75157425

“He is certainly missed but our defence is not the biggest problem. We are very poor and slow attacking and create very little. Every ball comes straight back. Our midfield puts unnecessary pressure on our defence especially when they bottle tackles and don’t chase back.”

Credit: @WawawaDave

“Too many poor decisions by those running the club… and not just this season. Maybe Flint didn’t like what he was seeing / experiencing? Almost as frightening as it is sad.”

Credit: @Worstedjumper

“Dooms here again. More Doom more problems”

Credit: @Awillshaw1867

“Some of us said it at the time. Still gutted we didn’t keep him. Him and Morrison have been fantastic for Cardiff since Mick went in there. What you could have won eh?”

Credit: @TomTB1995

“A club run by clowns”

Credit: @jpowls

In other news, these Owls fans discussed one Dom Howson update. 

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Newcastle United man Steve Howey has been discussing the injury to Fabinho ahead of Leicester vs Liverpool this weekend.

The Brazilian is set to miss the trip to the King Power Stadium due to a minor muscle injury, leaving Jurgen Klopp with very few centre-back options ahead of the game against the high-flying Foxes.

Liverpool did bring in Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies during the January transfer window and it seems likely that at least one of them will appear against Brendan Rodgers’ side in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Here’s what Howey had to say when speaking exclusively to FFC:

“Well, you’ve got to look at them in training, which Klopp obviously has. I think that you’d probably take one, and [play Henderson alongside him]. I would’ve thought, I’d be pulling Henderson and telling him ‘I’m putting him in, be around all this week’, so it’s not a major shock to the system.

“With these two lads coming in, they might be like ‘what the hell’, because Jordan Henderson’s giving them a right volley because they haven’t put the ball within an inch of where he wants it to be. I would have thought the manager probably will try one of them this week with Fabinho not there. Which one it is, I don’t know, it depends on which one he feels his ready at this particular point.”

Howey clearly feels that one of Kabak or Davies will start alongside Henderson against Leicester on Saturday and suggests that Klopp has most likely told his captain to help prepare the new signings this week so that they are ready for the high standards that Liverpool demand from their players.

It will be interesting to see which, if any, of the new signings make their debuts against Leicester, for what is a game that the Reds arguably cannot afford to lose if they still have hopes of retaining the Premier League title this season.

And, in other news… Klopp suffers huge blow ahead of Leicester as James Pearce confirms injury to “world-class” beast

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…

If you cast your minds back to the beginning of the season, you may have been forgiven for feeling that Crystal Palace had big ambitions for the future.

Roy Hodgson’s side had just competed in the Premier League for the seventh consecutive season in a row to tie the club’s all-time record for the longest ever spell in the top flight, and Steve Parish seemed prepared to break out the cheque book.

Selhurst Park bore witness to a wave of new signings, including Michy Batshuayi, Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson, to usher in what was seen by many as a new era for the club. However, fast forward several months later, and very little has arguably changed between now and then, as Palace currently lie 13th in the table, only one place higher than where they finished last season.

The Guardian’s Ben Fisher recently reported that Ivan Toney was one of the names on their shortlist in the summer of 2020. The link certainly made sense. Palace were in dire need of a new centre-forward and Toney was seen as the perfect fit.

But unfortunately for Hodgson, Brentford got there first, leaving the Eagles to rue their missed opportunity as he has taken to life in the Championship like a duck to water.

The scorer of 23 goals and supplier of nine assists for Thomas Frank’s men, the 24-year-old’s heroics have caught the eye of a number of Premier League clubs, including local London rivals West Ham, as he looks destined to make the jump to the top flight next term.

For context, Toney has almost scored more goals by himself this season than the entire Palace squad (27), which is a pretty shocking statistic.

An absolute nightmare for defenders to deal with due to his unpredictable mix of sheer size, strength and agility, the former Peterborough forward is an unrelenting force to be reckoned with, having scored 24 goals in 32 League One appearances last season.

If we compare Toney with Batshuayi this term, the English national is light years ahead of his Belgian counterpart. Toney takes 2.9 shots on average per 90 in the Championship whereas Batshuayi can barely muster 0.7 shots per game in the Premier League.

The Bees signed Toney from the Posh for a reported fee believed to be in the region of £5m plus add-ons. Had Palace pulled the trigger, it’s hard to imagine that their attack wouldn’t have improved.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace have struck gold with Eberechi Eze…

On his day, Olivier Ntcham is a player with plentiful energy. He is a boundless midfielder capable of bullying opponents and brushing them to one side with enormous power.

Yet, he can also be lackadaisical and careless. There are two sides to every player, but in Ntcham, it’s become a big concern.

The Frenchman has been a valuable asset to Celtic, scoring 24 goals in 147 outings for the Hoops, but this season has been a complete write-off.

That’s not just for Neil Lennon’s team, but for Ntcham himself, someone who has cut an isolated and frustrated figure.

He has started just seven Premiership matches and is being linked with a move away on a regular basis. One suitor is West Brom in England, and if they are indeed interested, Peter Lawwell needs to sanction his sale.

The fact of the matter is that he should have left the Celtic chief fuming. His attitude has been far from desirable this term and for a fee of £4.5m, he is not living up to his billing.

After signing from Manchester City he should have been set for a bright future but that’s dwindling the more he sits on the sidelines.

It’s not often you’d agree with an assessment on talkSPORT, but Alan Brazil hit the nail on the head with the Frenchman last year. “Ntcham, he looks as if he’s tools down and not bothered,” he remarked (via Glasgow Times).

That simply isn’t good enough for a player of his quality and considering his salary of £14k-per-week, moving him on is for the best. He’s now being dropped from the squad completely and against Rangers, he wasn’t even brought off the bench.

It’s got to a point where Ntcham doesn’t look as though he wants to play for the club. Similarly, Lennon doesn’t want to utilise him.

In a Celtic squad that’s 19 points off top spot, that speaks volumes. This is the worst set of players we’ve seen at Parkhead in a decade and the 24-year-old can’t even get himself into the XI.

This will be an unsavoury way to end his stint in Glasgow if he does indeed depart, but he must do so before he upsets the hierarchy even more.

AND in other news, Forget Laxalt: Celtic must swoop for 21 y/o who makes defenders do “very silly things”…

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has heaped praise on Amad Diallo after he made his Champions League debut earlier this week.

What’s the word?

Diallo dazzled during Atalanta’s draw with FC Midtjylland on Tuesday. Primarily a right winger, the 18-year-old earned his European debut on the left flank of Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, as Liverpool’s win at home to Ajax boosted the Black and Blues’ chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to West Ham, as quoted by UnitedInFocus, Solskjaer was full of praise for the young winger.

He said: “Amad [Diallo] has come on a few times for Atalanta and is a very exciting talent.

“Hopefully we’ll get the work permit and he’ll be with us in January. He’s a very, very exciting boy as well.”

Reports in recent times revealed that the Red Devils have not yet finalised a work permit for Diallo, who was born in the Ivory Coast.

However, Solskjaer is hopeful the situation will be resolved soon, which will no doubt give Daniel James and Juan Mata some cause for concern.

Juan Mata’s ready-made replacement

With Diallo still yet to start a professional game, it’s highly unlikely he will be thrown in at the deep end at Old Trafford, but his rapid progress hasn’t gone unnoticed by Solskjaer, who was effusive in his praise for the teenager.

The Ivorian didn’t feature at all for Gasperini’s side last season, yet has shown enough in training with his current club to convince the Atalanta boss to hand the starlet his first-team debut against Verona, before a brief cameo in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The praise hasn’t stopped there for the starlet, either, as his current captain Papu Gomez has claimed that Diallo “plays like Messi”, whilst former Italian goalkeeper Giovanni Galli believes his quality is “incredible”, which is high praise indeed.

His development is something that Solskjaer will no doubt continue to monitor, too, as he is averaging 3 shots and 1 key pass per game in the Champions League so far this season, via WhoScored.

If he can continue to impress, it may not be too long before he replaces Mata or James in the first team in the not too distant future, with the latter linked to Leeds United, whilst the 32-year-old is arguably entering the twilight of his career.

AND in other news, Forget Fred: Manchester United magnifico Bruno Fernandes seriously let Solskjaer down vs PSG…

West Bromwich Albion are surely regretting the decision to not sign one of Slaven Bilic’s former stars after his electric start to the season…

What was the word?

As the domestic deadline approached earlier this month, the Daily Mail reported that Swansea City forward Andre Ayew had emerged as a late option for the Baggies.

It came just a few weeks after Ghana SoccerNet revealed that the Championship outfit were keen to get him off the wage bill for the right price – hardly a surprise given he’s on around £80k-per-week in Wales.

Back in 2016, Bilic signed the Ghanian international in a £20.5m deal from the Swans.

One that got away?

Ayew has started the season immensely, directly contributing to four goals in just eight starts, he is also averaging 2.6 shots and 1.4 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

These are much better returns than what Grady Diangana has managed after his mega £18m switch from the Hammers in the summer.

The 22-year-old has scored just once in six matches, managing only 1.2 shots and 0.7 key passes per outing, also via WhoScored.

Albion are among the league’s lowest scorers on six goals, in fact, only the bottom three teams in the relegation zone have managed fewer, so clearly Bilic has a problem with creating and converting chances.

Ayew has eclipsed one of his star players, popping off over double the number of shots per match.

It’s no wonder that the Croatian once hailed his former signing as a “game-changer.”

Now valued at just £3.6m by Transfermarkt, a late swoop for the veteran winger could’ve been an absolute steal and perhaps, would have helped Diangana too in terms of being a mentor and someone to learn from.

Clearly, Bilic doesn’t fancy his options outside of Diangana and Matheus Pereira out wide, so he must regret not pouncing on Ayew when he had the chance this summer.

AND in other news, West Brom sensation has become Bilic’s new Dimitri Payet…

According to reports, Aston Villa will try again in the January transfer window to sign Strasbourg defender Mohamed Simakan.

What’s the word?

Reports back in the summer suggested that Villa’s fellow Premier League side Burnley were keen on putting together a £15m deal to entice him away from France, but that failed to come to fruition, with Simakan staying put.

Now, an intermediary for the defender, Francesco Di Frisco told Italian publication Calcio Mercato that Villa, and a number of other clubs across Europe could make a renewed attempt to sign him.

He said (via Sport Witness): “There were many teams on Simakan: Lyon, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund, especially the Germans tried until the last hours of the market. In January, I think these clubs, including Milan, will try to push again. The boy has picked up where he left off, showing his qualities and it’s possible that his admirers will also increase.”

Lange must win the race

At just 20-years-old, it’s little wonder that some of European football’s most prestigious sides are often Simakan.

The starlet, who is capable of playing at either centre-back or right-back, has all the qualities to become a real top defender at the highest level, especially when you consider that Strasbourg’s club president, and former France international, Marc Keller, said he had shades of Real Madrid star Raphael Varane.

Simakan has already established himself as a key part of his team’s starting eleven, playing the full 90 minutes in every single Ligue 1 game this season. Despite Strasbourg’s lowly position – they currently find themselves 18th – the 6 foot 2 powerhouse putting in some exemplary individual displays.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

As per Whoscored, he is averaging an impressive 2.1 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game in the French top-flight. To put that into context, among all players in the division, he ranks 44th and joint-20th for those two stats respectively.

With Tyrone Mings being left-footed, and also capable of playing in a back-three as shown by his performances with England, Simakan’s own versatility of being able to play at full-back could see him become the perfect partner for the Villa ace. Johan Lange must surely do everything he can to win the race to sign him in January.