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Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes that youngster Joe Gelhardt can prove his worth in the next few months.

The Whites have enjoyed a successful first season back in the Premier League, sitting 11th in the table with nine matches remaining. There is no threat of relegation for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who have been a breath of fresh air in the top flight, with very few of their games proving to be dull.

In Gelhardt, Leeds having a hugely promising young talent who is pushing to make his first team debut for the club, having joined from Wigan Athletic last August.

Robinson tips Gelhardt to feature

Someone who thinks this is now a great chance for the 18-year-old to shine is Robinson, with the ex-England ‘keeper telling MOT Leeds News that this is Gelhardt’s opportunity to show Bielsa he can be trusted moving forward:

“It just shows how far he’s come in the last 12 months and what the manager thinks of him.

“I don’t think he’s going to start games if Patrick Bamford is fit but this is his big opportunity for the manager to take a look at him in the Premier League.

“He might influence Bielsa’s transfer activity in the summer. This is his opportunity to prove that he doesn’t need to sign another striker in the summer.

“Bielsa has hinted that he’ll get minutes so he obviously thinks very highly of him.

“This is his opportunity to show what he can do. Leeds are definitely safe already, they’ve got more than enough points and it gives Bielsa the opportunity to take a look at his talented youngsters.”

Transfer tavern take

Bielsa will no doubt be eyeing up reinforcements this summer, but if Gelhardt impresses in the remaining games of the season, it may turn his manager’s head.

The teenager is an attacking player with seemingly huge potential and, having frequently been on the bench for the first team in recent weeks, it will be exciting to see him handed an opportunity between now and May if he gets his opportunity.

In other news, a former Leeds star believes the club should sign a Premier League defender this summer – find out who it is here.

Jannik Vestergaard has enjoyed an excellent season with Southampton and the centre-back continued his impressive form with Denmark at the weekend, as they defeated Moldova 8-0 in a World Cup qualifying game.

The former Borussia Monchengladbach man has been one of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s top performers in the Premier League so far this season, with his 7.09 average rating in the Premier League only second to James Ward-Prowse in the Southampton squad.

As a result of his performances, Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for the 28-year-old recently, and Jose Mourinho may well have had his eye on the defender as he impressed for Denmark at the weekend.

As per SofaScore, Vestergaard would earn an impressive 7.6/10 rating for his display in what proved to be a comfortable win for Kasper Hjulmand’s side.

During the game, the colossal centre-back would have 113 touches of the ball and would complete 101/105 of his passes during the game, resulting in an excellent 96% pass accuracy.

This emphasises that, although he is renowned for his ability in the air, Vestergaard is an excellent passer of the ball and is capable of big switches of play, as eight of his 11 long balls would find a teammate against Moldova.

Although you can argue that the standard of opposition made things easy for the Danish defender, his average pass accuracy rate of 83.9% in the Premier League rates him third of any Saints player who has made more than five top-flight appearances.

The 28-year-old was also his usual imperious self in defence against Moldova, as he won all four of his duels during the game, whilst he also contributed three tackles, one interception and one clearance during the 90 minutes.

Despite his lack of pace, Vestergaard also wasn’t dribbled past once, which demonstrates his excellent defensive ability and shows how he has improved his game during his time at Southampton, especially this season.

Therefore, should Spurs, or any other side, make an official bid for Vestergaard in the summer, they should be wary that if he continues to produce displays similar to this one for both club and country, then his current value of £16.2 million will soon be on the up.

And, in other news… Shades of Schneiderlin: Southampton could repeat transfer masterclass with 19 y/o gem

Charlton Athletic return to League One action this weekend, looking to build on their unbeaten run under new manager Nigel Adkins and they’ll need to find a way past fellow promotion chasers Sunderland if they are to keep up their playoff hopes.

Last time out, the Addicks defeated Doncaster Rovers to move to within three points of the top six, whilst their Easter Monday encounter with Lincoln City was postponed.

The Black Cats need a victory if they are to move back into an automatic spot, so there’s certainly a lot at stake at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.

Adkins will need to get his team selection spot on, and he could well aid Charlton’s chances of picking up a result if he unleashes Chuks Aneke from the off.

On the Chalkboard

The 27-year-old has been a major source of goals for the Addicks, particularly under the recently-departed Lee Bowyer, so it’s certainly a surprise to see the £360k-rated dynamo named on the bench in both of Adkins’ lineups thus far.

No player has scored as many goals as Aneke this term, with the former MK Dons man finding the net 12 times. He’s also averaging the highest number of shots per game (2.3) in this squad, via WhoScored, proving to be a dangerous threat in attack.

The Addicks’ second top goalscorer (11) Conor Washington was ruled out of the Easter period, so there’s certainly a void to be filled alongside Jayden Stockley.

Right before Bowyer left, Aneke bagged his 13th in all competitions against Wigan and it left the new Birmingham boss in awe. He told London News Online: “He was immense up there again today. He’s unplayable, on his day he’s unplayable. The only disappointing thing, if I’m him, is that he didn’t score more.”

That only makes Adkins’ decision to omit him recently a little more baffling.

Sunderland have the best defensive record in the division, having conceded only 29 times in 38 matches. And that’s exactly why Aneke must be unleashed as no other Addicks player has been a greater threat this campaign.

The former Arsenal graduate must start on Saturday afternoon.

AND in other news, Gallen heading for disaster over “important” Charlton “leader”…

Junior Hoilett

Born in Brampton, Ontario, the winger Junior Hoilett signed with Blackburn Rovers at the age of 13. He made his debut with Rovers in 2009, playing three Premier League seasons for them before transferring to Queens Park Rangers, where he spent four years. In 2016, Hoilett signed with Cardiff City, and in his second season, he helped the club to gain promotion to the Premier League. This year’s Premier League winners are predicted to be Manchester City, but nothing is ever certain. Check out the latest betting odds and news yourself so you can informedly predict which team will win the title.

Jim Brennan

The defender Jim Brennan hails from East York, Ontario. He is currently an analyst and the manager of York United. During his career as a footballer, Brennan played for several English clubs, most notably with Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, and Norwich City. He also played for the national Canadian team, where he earned 49 caps. He was part of the team that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000. In 2015, Brennan was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.

Simeon Jackson

Currently playing for King’s Lynn Town on loan from Chelmsford City, Simeon Jackson began his English football career playing with Rushden & Diamonds before transferring to Gillingham in 2008. He became more well-known after he scored the winning goal for Gillingham in the League Two Play-Off Final at Wembley in 2009. In 2010, Jackson transferred to Norwich City, where he scored the goal that secured Norwich’s promotion to the Premier League. He went on to play for various other clubs, including Millwall, Coventry City, and Grimsby Town. In 2019, Jackson joined the Scottish club Kilmarnock. He has also played for the Canadian national team since 2009. Jackson’s finest moment for Canada came in 2014 when he scored a hat-trick against Saint Lucia in the FIFA World Cup.

Frank Yallop

The British-Canadian defender Frank Yallop signed a contract with Ipswich Town in 1983 at the age of 19. He went on to play 385 games with The Blues. Although he was part of the team that was relegated from the First Division in 1986, he was also a member of the squad that won promotion six years later to the new Premier League. Despite scoring only 8 goals in his career with Ipswich, he was a prominent part of the team until he left in 1996. His most memorable goal with Ipswich Town came in 1993 when the club beat Premier League title favourites Manchester United. The match ended with a score of 2-1, which enabled Ipswich to occupy fourth place in the league. Yallop also played for the Canadian national team, where he earned 52 caps. He coached Canada’s national team for three years as well.

Paul Stalteri

Born in Etobicoke, Ontario, in 1977, Paul Stalteri played as a defender or midfielder throughout his professional career. Although he is most well known for playing with German teams, including a league and cup double in the 2003-2004 season with Werder Bremen, he also played in the Premier League for both Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham. After signing with Spurs in 2005, he prominently featured in their 2005-2006 season, when Tottenham just missed out on securing a Champions League place. Stalteri’s most memorable moment with Spurs came on March 4, 2007, when the club faced rivals West Ham. Stalteri came on as a substitute and scored a dramatic last-minute goal to secure a 4-3 win. The Canadian also regularly played for the Canadian national team, making a record 84 appearances at the senior level. He is currently an assistant coach for the Canadian team York9.

Charlton Athletic will still be without Conor Washington for their crunch encounter with Ipswich Town this weekend…

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Addicks manager Nigel Adkins provided an update on the fitness of the 28-year-old to the club’s official website, saying: “Conor’s the one that won’t make this game but you never know where he is for the rest of the week which is pleasing.”

Washington was withdrawn just five minutes into Adkins’ first game in charge of Charlton as they drew 2-2 against AFC Wimbledon and has not featured since.

Big blow

This comes as a massive setback to the Addicks and their quest to make the play-offs this season, as the Northern Irishman is one of their major sources of goals with 11 in 32 appearances. That return is bettered only by Chuks Aneke, so it cannot be disputed that Washington would be likely to start up front if he were fit to feature.

Before Lee Bowyer left The Valley last month, he emphasised just how important the 28-year-old was to his side as he provides plenty of energy and work rate on top of his goalscoring ability.

“Conor is so important. Jayden [Stockley] and Chuks Aneke’s mobility isn’t natural to them. Conor does the dirty work for them, running into channels in between the centre-halves,” explained the 44-year-old. “He works so hard for the team, I’m so pleased for him. He does a lot of unselfish work.”

Indeed, Washington manages an average of 1.8 dribbles per 90 minutes at a success rate of 55%, which is far better than Aneke and Stockley, as per WhoScored.

Charlton are just three points adrift of a play-off position right now but could quite easily be leapfrogged by the Tractor Boys if the visitors come out on top at The Valley this weekend.

Stockley has scored just once in Washington’s absence, so to be without one of their biggest threats is certainly a big blow ahead of kick-off.

AND in other news, Forget Amos: “Unbelievable” beast who had 4 tackles was Adkins’ unsung hero last time out…

Pundit and former Parkhead star Andy Walker has dropped a huge claim on Celtic in relation to the proposed European Super League, saying the Hoops would gladly jump at the chance to join if they could.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has recently talked about the need for a club like Celtic to be involved in UEFA competitions, but Scottish football pundit Walker has slammed the Hoops’ ‘hypocrisy’ over the proposed European Super League, saying that as much as fans have made their displeasure clear, those at board level for both Glasgow clubs would love to be involved.

‘Absolute hypocrisy’ from Celtic board

Walker was recently talking live on air for Sky Sports Scotland and he gave his views about Celtic’s perception of the Super League and their wishes to potentially support it or join it. He made it clear that while Celtic supporters would also react in the same, negative way as the Manchester United and Liverpool fans, senior people at Parkhead would want a slice of it.

The pundit claimed: “I think you’ll hear supports say ‘We don’t want to be a part of this‘, we’ve heard from Gary Neville with regards to Man United supporters, we’ve heard that from Jamie Carragher with regards to Liverpool supporters.

“I think it would be absolute hypocrisy if you were to speak to any senior person at Celtic or at Rangers, and they did not want a slice of this.

“How often have they tried to get involved into English football? How often have they discussed the idea of an Atlantic League? All of that was to generate more money. This European Super League as far as Celtic and Rangers are concerned is just another way to generate more money.”

Jean-Pierre Papin has also spoken about Celtic’s value to European football, saying that the clubs like the Hoops could disappear from the European stage because of the Super League.

Old Firm clubs have threatened to break away in the past

Breaking away from the Scottish Premiership isn’t a completely alien concept to Celtic (and the Gers). There have been rumblings of them moving to the Premier League or creating a new Atlantic League as well. Having said that, it is believed that Peter Lawwell is well against the ESL breakaway, despite the financial gap between Celtic and the other Premiership clubs.

Walker’s claim is massive as it goes against everything that fans of both Glasgow clubs stand for – in fact it may be the one thing that could unite both sets of supporters.

For all the fan desire to be on a level playing field with England’s big guns, this is certainly not how they’d like to do it, and if Celtic do follow Walker’s suspicion and jump in, the fan backlash could be enormous.

In other news, Pundit delivers new info on Hoops manager hunt, shares what ‘Celtic want’ – read more here.

Amid all the understandable uproar of the European Super League, Leeds United host one of the competition’s ‘founding fathers’ in Liverpool at Elland Road on Monday night.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side head into the contest off the back of a truly historic 2-1 victory away at runaway leaders Manchester City last weekend, and will surely be in confident mood of pulling off yet another stunning result.

However, the Leeds boss appears to have been handed a major blow ahead of the clash against Jurgen Klopp’s side, with news that Rodrigo is likely to miss out once again.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay revealed that the club’s summer signing is “still recovering from a muscular problem”, and now via a pre-match Q&A, has relayed that “from what Bielsa said last week, it sounded as if Rodrigo would be missing again.”

News of the £18m-rated star being missing for the visit of Liverpool will surely have Bielsa gutted, with the Spaniard really struggling to justify his worth since arriving in a big-money deal from Valencia last summer.

Dubbed as “extraordinary” by former Barcelona boss Quique Setien, Rodrigo just hasn’t been able to find his feet at Elland Road, and while he was quick to dismiss speculation that he wanted a move back to Spain after failing to settle in England, it’s still be a rather disappointing debut campaign for the forward.

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He’s managed just three goals in 21 Premier League games this season, and has been hit by injuries over the past few weeks. After initially recovering from a groin strain that kept him out of six consecutive top-flight matches, Rodrigo has since missed two out of the last three games for Leeds.

A game against the Premier League champions is a tall order at any time, but being without one of his key summer acquisitions is a body blow for Bielsa.

While the Whites coped superbly without him last week against Manchester City, the Leeds boss will no doubt be gutted that he will be without Rodrigo once again when they host Liverpool tonight.

Meanwhile, Leeds must start this “under-rated” gem today vs Liverpool…

As per Football Insider, Newcastle United are planning to hold contract talks with Southampton target Jacob Murphy.

Toon eye Murphy contract

The Saints have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old (Football Insider), whose contract at St James’ Park will expire at the end of next season.

However, it seems that the Magpies are eager to keep him at the club and will therefore aim to offer him a new deal. Both Rangers and Watford are also said to be in pursuit of the winger.

Resurgence

Murphy’s time at Newcastle appeared to be in doubt last term. He spent the previous season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and, although he managed nine goals and six assists in 39 Championship matches (Transfermarkt), it seemed unlikely that he would be able to break into Steve Bruce’s plans on a regular basis.

However, he has managed three goals and three assists in 26 matches in all competitions this term and he has ended up being a reliable player for Bruce. In recent weeks he has has been used at right-back, displaying his versatility to his manager, while he has also been lauded for his tremendous pace. Some pundits have also been impressed, with Noel Whelan calling him “fantastic” back in October.

The report has also suggested he would cost just £3m if the Saints were to try and prise him away from the northeast – he could be a true bargain for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side. Unfortunately, a new deal for him on Tyneside would scupper the Saints’ chances of landing his services, so they will surely be hoping that an agreement cannot be reached between Murphy and his current employers.

In other news, Rangers eye this in-demand winger.

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has urged the Whites to complete a stunning summer move for Paris Saint-Germain forward Julian Draxler.

The 27-year-old is out of contract at PSG at the end of the season and he is widely expected to move on to pastures new this summer.

Leeds have been linked with an audacious move for the 27-year-old, who was once valued at £36million by Transfermarkt and won the 2014 World Cup with Germany – his value is now halved at £18m.

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Whelan backs Leeds to sign Draxler

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan urged the Whites to swoop for Draxler in the summer transfer window, in what would represent a major signal of intent:

“From what I’ve seen from him at PSG, I’d take him all day long. He’s very comfortable on the ball, he’s got a good turn of pace, he’s got international quality. These are the attributes you need.

“It’s a free contract. It’s only going to be wages and not a hefty fee.

“If you’re looking to strengthen and to bring players in that are going to push us further, then absolutely. If he’s available, you go and get him.”

Transfer Tavern take

In an ideal world, Leeds would sign Draxler and he would help take them to the next level moving forward, such is his quality and success throughout his career – one that has brought with it one World Cup and three Ligue 1 titles, among other trophies.

The reality is that Marcelo Bielsa will have to work some magic to bring the German to Elland Road though, with wealthier clubs more likely to offer him bigger wages to match his current eye-watering deal of almost £126,000 per week.

It is a sign of Leeds’ progress that they are even in the conversation for such a top-class player, having made giant strides in recent years, but we can’t see the Whites stumping up the kind of wages Draxler would want, especially given the strong negotiating stance he will hold this summer as a free signing.

In other news, a journalist have been waxing lyrical over one Leeds target – find out who it is here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Derby County manager Paul Jewell believes that Leeds United are one of the top six biggest clubs in the country.

Having spent 16 years outside of the Premier League, Marcelo Bielsa managed to guide Leeds back into the Premier League as Champions and their attacking style of play has kept them away from any threat of relegation this term.

Off the back of the proposed European Super League, in which clubs such as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were invited to join when other clubs like Ajax and Porto were excluded, many people have questioned who the big clubs are now.

Speaking on how Leeds are a top-six club in the Premier League and why they are bigger than other clubs, Jewell exclusively told FFC:

“I think if you did a list of the top six clubs in this country Leeds would be in it, because it’s a city with just one team in it and it’s got history.

“Leeds have got potential so don’t underestimate Leeds because some of those teams in the top six aren’t as big Leeds.”

Leeds have impressed many neutral fans this season with their willingness to attack in every game and not be happy to sit back and settle for a draw in any game.

During this season they have taken four points off Champions-elect, Manchester City after Stuart Dallas’s late winner at the Etihad earned them an unlikely three points.