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Former Newcastle United striker Andy Cole has called for his former employers to sign Burnley defender James Tarkowski this month as Eddie Howe’s side look to steer clear of any relegation threat as soon as possible.

What’s the story?

Speaking to Premier League Productions, as relayed by Chronicle Live, Cole suggested that the Tyneside club would be a good fit for the 29-year-old and backed the defender to make the move to the northeast.

He claimed: “In his (Tarkowski) case, if the Newcastle deal comes up, then why not?

“Financially, they are in a better position than Burnley. If they stay up, he knows they are going to buy better players come next season.

“So, for him, it’s not really a gamble because Burnley are in the exact same position. Looking at Burnley’s form, they look like they are going to go down.

“Newcastle or Burnley? I am looking at it and saying ‘go for it’.”

The centre-back has been linked with a move to St James’ Park before, with Burnley’s chairman Alan Pace telling The Express last month: “We [Burnley] will support him any way that he would like, whether he wants to stay or go. I don’t know about the other side.”

The £19.8m-rated defender is now into the final six months of his contract and is yet to sign an extension at Turf Moor, further suggesting that the Englishman will move on in the near future after six years in Lancashire.

Newcastle should swoop for Tarkowski

It is no secret that Newcastle will need defensive reinforcements this month, with the Magpies conceding a joint-Premier League high of 42 goals in 19 games.

Although Tarkowski’s current employers are in the same relegation battle as Newcastle, the 29-year-old would be a decent addition for Howe’s side.

He is a colossus in the air, winning 4.9 headers per game – a far higher average than the Magpies’ leader in this regard, Jamaal Lascelles with 3.5. Also, the Burnley defender’s 5.1 clearances per game would theoretically put him second in Howe’s squad.

The defender has been a kingpin for Sean Dyche since the Clarets returned to the Premier League in 2016, making 175 appearances in the top flight over the course of the last five-and-a-half seasons. You would think that such experience would certainly help the Magpies in their quest for survival.

Moreover, the Tyneside club currently have four senior centre-backs and could do with greater depth in that area, as well as extra quality and experience with Howe’s team still very much in a relegation battle. That is something Tarkowski has plenty of experience in overcoming during his time at Turf Moor.

In other news, Luke Edwards delivers NUFC transfer claim which will leave fans elated

A number of Manchester United supporters are pleased after Dean Henderson was linked with a loan move to Eredivisie giants Ajax in January.

A new era has got underway at Old Trafford, with Ralf Rangnick winning his first game in charge against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

With a winnable run of fixtures coming up, there is a feeling that United could build some momentum and get themselves back in the Premier League top four.

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One player who hasn’t featured much at all this season is Henderson, with the goalkeeper finding himself behind David De Gea in the pecking order and making just one solitary Carabao Cup appearance.

According to Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst on Twitter, the Englishman could move to Ajax on loan next month in order to enjoy more playing time.

Man United fans react to Henderson rumour

These United fans have been reacting positively to the rumour on Twitter.

“This would be class for Deano, he needs it”

Credit: @MufcKeaneo

“Would be very good for him”

Credit: @Fergie1boy

“This is perfect for him”

Credit: @ezxreal_

“Will be a good move for him imo”

Credit: @UtdSwizz

“Then we can get Ten Hag next year”

Credit: @Abhishek_Utd31

“YESSSSS! Very good for his development. Just on loan please. He can definitely at some point become the United number 1.”

Credit: @nerdz_am

In other news, one United player could reportedly remain at Old Trafford. Find out who it is here.

Celtic coach Darren O’Dea is wanted by Championship side Ayr United after they parted ways with Jim Duffy earlier in the week, The Scottish Sun report.

The Lowdown: O’Dea’s promotion

After retiring as a player two years ago, O’Dea had been managing Celtic’s Under-18’s.

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The 34-year-old was given a promotion at Parkhead back in October, though, and is now a part of the Celtic B team working alongside manager Tommy McIntyre.

O’Dea recently labelled first-team manager Ange Postecoglou as ‘brilliant’ and works near the first-team at Lennoxtown, but it appears as if the Irishman is a wanted man ahead of the New Year.

The Latest: Ayr keen

The Scottish Sun’s Alan Potts shared a story on Monday afternoon, claiming Ayr are eyeing an ‘ambitious’ swoop for O’Dea after Duffy left the club following a short spell in charge.

Potts claimed that Ayr’s managing director Graeme Mathie is on the hunt for Duffy’s successor and it’s understood that O’Dea is on their radar.

The Verdict: Time to jump ship?

You’d expect that O’Dea has aspirations of managing at first-team level after Under-18 spells with Motherwell and now Celtic, so he may well jump at the chance to join the Championship side.

However, it would be a risk with Ayr struggling in the second tier and just three wins from 18.

Saying that, O’Dea will have seen that former Hoops man Shaun Maloney has recently jumped into management with Hibernian, so he could see Ayr as a step on the ladder when it comes to making his mark from the dugout.

In other news: ‘A lot of clubs’ tracking ‘unbelievable’ Celtic ace ahead of January, says BBC Radio 5 Live man. 

Celtic have been dealt a major injury blow ahead of their upcoming Europa League fixture.

What’s the latest?

According to a report by the Daily Record, Celtic centre-back Stephen Welsh looks set to miss out on the Bhoys’ trip to Bayer Leverkusen this Thursday after the defender was withdrawn during the Scottish League Cup semi-final against St. Johnstone on Saturday due to injury.

The defender’s knock came in the 76th-minute of the cup clash, with the 21-year-old being on the receiving end of a Shaun Rooney elbow which saw the St Johnstone defender pick up a yellow card – although Sky Sports reported at the time that the 25-year-old was lucky not to be shown a red.

Major blow

Considering just how dangerous Rooney’s elbow quite evidently was, it would not appear to be an exaggeration to suggest that the decision to only award the right-back a yellow card was something of a shocker by referee Nick Walsh.

Indeed, speaking to Premier Sports, the former Celtic centre-forward, John Hartson, said of the incident: “I think his elbow is up. When you watch it back and slow it down; and obviously Stephen Welsh is caught heavy because he has had to come off. But that for me I think in today’s game, with the rules that referees have to adhere to, he is a very lucky boy not to get a red card.”

Derek McInnes then added: “If that is in England it’s a red card once the referee has reviewed that, so he is lucky. Obviously, the boy Welsh has had to come off and I hope it’s nothing serious for him.”

However, despite the former Aberdeen manager’s hopes, it does indeed look to have been a rather serious injury for Welsh, as the defender now appears set to be out of contention for Celtic’s crucial European tie on Thursday evening.

This will undoubtedly come as a major blow to Ange Postecoglou, as the 56-year-old has now been left with just three fit senior options in the position, two of whom – Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Scales – have made a total of three appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys so far this season, something that would appear to considerably dent Celtic’s chances of picking up all three points from the fixture.

In other news: “I saw..”: Journo drops exciting claim on “dream” Celtic target, he’d be a big coup

Newcastle United journalist Lee Ryder has described links with Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe as ‘intriguing’. 

The lowdown

French publication Jeunes Footeux reported earlier this month that Newcastle, Everton and Crystal Palace were all interested in the 26-year-old. Their suggestion was that the Ivory Coast international could leave on loan with an option to buy.

The £72m 2019 signing boasts the record for the most expensive addition in Arsenal’s history, and he is currently said to be earning £140,000 per week in north London.

He started five of the Gunners’ first eight Premier League matches this season, but has been an unused substitute for the last three (via Transfermarkt).

The latest

Writing in The Chronicle, Ryder stated that the rumour is ‘one of the most intriguing’ to have surfaced of late regarding Newcastle.

He noted Mikel Arteta’s stance that the player is not for sale but pointed out that the Spaniard made similar claims about Joe Willock in the summer before he made the permanent move from the Emirates Stadium to St James’ Park.

The verdict

This would be a sensational deal when you consider that Pepe ranks as one of the 10 biggest signings in Premier League history.

He has been dismissed as a flop by the likes of Robert Pires, but his stats are actually quite respectable. In 98 appearances for the Gunners, he has been directly involved in 43 goals, scoring 25 and providing 18 assists (via Transfermarkt), a return of one goal contribution every 178 minutes in the Premier League.

Former Arsenal interim boss Freddie Ljunberg is among those who recognise the £31.5m-rated winger’s qualities, describing him as ‘lethal’, and Newcastle could do a lot worse than give him a new lease of life, just as they did with Willock earlier in 2021.

In other news, a source from another big six club has provided the latest on this Newcastle target.

Following on from their 5-0 bashing of Manchester United in the Premier League at the weekend, Liverpool are back in Carabao Cup action this evening with a trip to Deepdale to face Championship club Preston North End as they look to progress further in the competition.

Ahead of the match against Preston, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders revealed that Fabinho, Naby Keita, James Milner, Harvey Elliott, Thiago Alcantara are all likely to miss the match in midweek through individual injuries.

Lijnders also explained that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will miss the game as well.

Taking all of this into account, here’s how we feel Liverpool will line up this evening…

In goal, with Kelleher out, it seems likely now that we will see Adrian, who hasn’t played a game for the Reds so far this season in any competition, start with Alisson likely to be given a rest.

For the defence, Neco Williams could play in the right-back position with Joe Gomez and Nat Phillips occupying the centre-back positions and Kostas Tsimikas returning at left-back.

Jurgen Klopp’s first-choice backline all receive a break from action.

Elsewhere in midfield, with the number of injuries they currently have, we think Liverpool will have to put Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones in the team against Preston with Tyler Morton given a chance to shine after he came on as a substitute in their previous Carabao Cup match against Norwich City.

Up top, Klopp could stick with the same front three that started against Norwich in their 3-0 win back in September with Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi playing alongside 17-year-old winger Kaide Gordon, who signed his first professional contract with the Merseyside club earlier this month.

This would allow the likes of Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino to have a rest ahead of their next Premier League outing this weekend against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Moving forward, this match against Preston, this not only gives Liverpool the chance to get through to the next stage of the competition but also gives some of their fringe squad players the chance to show their worth, rest some of their senior players and give the injured players time to recover.

In other news: Klopp could save LFC millions by unleashing 21 y/o “leader”, he’s VVD’s heir apparent…

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle’s interest in Watford winger Ismaila Sarr.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Mail, the Magpies are eyeing the forward as a potential January signing as they look to bolster their squad following the club’s takeover earlier this month.

The report claims that Watford will fight hard to keep hold of their star player as they believe he can be as good as Manchester City winger Jack Grealish.

Saint-Maximin 2.0

PIF must secure a deal to sign Sarr in the January transfer window as they could unearth Allan Saint-Maximin 2.0 for the club. The Hornets forward is similar to the Frenchman in his playing style and could operate on the opposite wing, which is why the Toon Army faithful could love him.

Both players excel at dribbling with the ball and creating chances for their teammates, whilst also possessing the ability to score themselves. Sarr has averaged 3.4 dribbles and key passes per game in the Premier League this season, compared to Saint-Maximin’s 6.3.

This suggests that the Watford maestro is on his way to reaching the former Nice man’s standards, whilst he has already shown he may be a step above when it comes to goalscoring. He has found the back of the net nine times in 31 top-flight starts for Watford, whilst the Magpies wizard has scored eight goals in 51 starts. This is why Newcastle fans would love Sarr at St James’ Park, as he has the end product to match his exciting play.

Former Manchester United defender and current Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville once lauded the winger’s talents and praised his movement in behind. He said: “He’s a big, big talent, honestly he really is. I always think, particularly as a wide player, what would I have not wanted to have played against? The first thing is pace.

“And then you’ve got to think about, can he use his pace? Well, yes, he can, because he makes really good quality runs: the spin in behind, straight, but also the run inside in between full-back and centre-back – which I always think is the most difficult to mark.”

Neville’s comments suggest that Sarr also has the pace that Saint-Maximin possesses, with both players able to run with the ball at speed and take players on. Along with their similarity in playing style, this is why PIF could find their next wing wizard in the 23-year-old and must work hard to strike a deal for his services in the January window. The fans would surely love to see another talented winger in the ranks to get them off their seats during games and the Watford man’s statistics suggest that he could do just that.

AND in other news, PIF must ruthlessly sell shocking £75k-p/w liability, he’s holding Newcastle back…

David Norris insists that Raphinha could leave Leeds United in the summer transfer window if the club continue to struggle.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have endured a difficult start to the campaign, only collecting their first Premier League win against Watford at Elland Road on Saturday.

Leeds were in the bottom three prior to that crucial three points, and they will be aiming to build on that success when they face fellow strugglers Southampton at St Mary’s after the international break.

Raphinha, even still, has enjoyed an excellent beginning to the campaign and has scored three goals in seven games.

He was linked with Liverpool in the summer transfer window and Norris could see him departing if Leeds continue to endure poor form in the Premier League.

Raphinha is currently valued at £27m by Transfermarkt but his contract runs until 2024, meaning Leeds may not be under pressure to sell.

He said: “Absolutely. I think if he continues the way he does and Leeds do struggle this season and they finish in that bottom half or even towards relegation, they’re going to find it difficult to keep him.”

Southampton finally managed to secure their first Premier League win of the season at the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United thanks to a second-half strike from on-loan Armando Broja on his first league start of the campaign.

This win over Marcelo Bielsa’s side put the Saints up to 15th in the table with seven points from their opening eight league games.

Their next clash sees the Saints take on Burnley at St Mary’s at the weekend, with the visitors having just three points on the board so far this season.

Diallo should start v Burnley

One player who we feel should definitely be in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s starting XI to face Burnley is Ibrahima Diallo.

The midfielder joined Southampton last October from French club Brest on a four-year deal. Since then, the 22-year-old, who is currently valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, has made 34 appearances for the Saints across all competitions.

So far this season, Diallo – who has been described as “aggressive” on the pitch in the past by Hasenhuttl – has featured in all of Southampton’s Premier League matches apart from their 0-0 draw against Manchester City and their 1-0 defeat against Wolves, being an unused substitute in both games.

In his latest appearance for the Saints in the win over Leeds, he made his first league start of the campaign and completed four of the five dribbles that he attempted, won 10 of his 17 duels, made two tackles and one interception and racked up a passing accuracy percentage of 84%. That all earned him an overall match rating of 7/10, making him Southampton’s highest-rated midfielder on the day according to SofaScore, showing how instrumental he was in the match.

Taking all this into account, along with the absence of club captain James Ward-Prowse as a result of the three-game ban he picked up against Chelsea before the recent international break, we feel that Diallo should definitely keep his place in the team for when Burnley make the trip to St Mary’s at the weekend.

Looking further down the line from the Clarets match, if he puts in another decent performance at the weekend, he could well give Hasenhuttl a potential selection headache for when fellow midfielder Ward-Prowse becomes available again.

In other news: Signed for £5m, now worth £22.5m, Saints hit the jackpot with “important” beast

Many West Ham United supporters have been showing their love for summer signing Nikola Vlasic after a club post on Twitter.

Vlasic, 23, made the move to West Ham towards the end of the transfer window from Russian side CSKA Moscow after two years with the club.

Following a successful international duty with Croatia, where he scored in the 3-0 win over Slovenia, Vlasic made his Hammers debut in the weekend’s 0-0 draw at Southampton, playing 27 minutes and competing 100 per cent of his pass attempts.

The Hammers take on Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday evening in their Europa League group stage opener and fans seem to suspect Vlasic could start his first game for the club

He may well get more playing time at the weekend too with Michail Antonio suspended after his red card, handing the attacking midfielder a chance to show his new employers what he is made of this week.

West Ham fans excited about Vlasic

These West Ham fans took to Twitter to react to a picture of their newest recruit on the club’s official Twitter account, with one supporter claiming the Croatia international could eventually usurp Said Benrahma.

“This man looks exciting!”

Credit: @lingham_kyle

“I love him”

Credit: @OlliePaoloWHU

“I think he may replace Benny tbf, early days but he looked stronger and more direct “

Credit: @David_Moyesio

“Start him, be a tough game”

Credit: @Ovy84523514

“Made a good first impression! Start him next game”

Credit: @whulucas_

“He was brilliant when he came on, strong, decisive and created at least one big goal scoring opportunity, would definitely start him Thursday and give Benrahma or Bowen a rest”

Credit: @hiddenfortunes66

In other news, the reason why this Serie A player rejected a move to the Hammers. Find out more here.