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Former Newcastle United midfielder Steve Howey has exclusively told Football FanCast that he wouldn’t be surprised to see Manchester City sign Danny Ings this summer.

Pep Guardiola is going to need a replacement for Sergio Aguero after the Argentine striker recently revealed that he’ll be leaving the Etihad at the end of the campaign.

The City manager has opted for the likes of Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden in a false nine role at times this season, with Gabriel Jesus his only other senior recognised frontman.

Guardiola recently went on record and by saying that signing an Aguero replacement is going to be “impossible” – although City have already been strongly linked with Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

But with those two likely to cost in the region of £100m, Southampton’s Ings, who might be available at a cut-price, with his contract running out next summer, has also been touted as a potential addition to Guardiola’s side.

Ings has endured an injury-hit campaign, scoring just 10 Premier League goals, but Howey believes that he would be a good addition for City.

He told Football FanCast:

“I’ve always liked Danny Ings. I remember Newcastle were interested in Danny Ings and the fee was £10m then £12m then £15m and I know he’s had his injury problems, but he’s a goalscorer. Last season he had a fabulous season.

“That wouldn’t surprise me, he’s a good footballer, he’d have good link-up play. But Pep sometimes doesn’t really play with an out and out number nine. Look where Jesus was the other week against Manchester United, tackling on the edge of his box badly, but he was there.

“Sometimes they’re strange ones, but they seem to work out. If it’s paper talk it’s paper talk, but if Guardiola has looked at it then he feels like he can do something.”

Liverpool have a huge job on their hands to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid.

The Reds find themselves 3-1 behind heading into the second-leg and need all the help they can get in order to stage another dramatic Anfield recovery.

However, one man that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp should not turn to is midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

The Spaniard’s dreadful start to life on Merseyside has certainly been well-documented. He has not racked up a single goal or assist throughout the 2020/21 campaign following his move from Bayern Munich, whilst he has started less than half of the Reds’ Premier League games.

In fact, he has been underwhelming in Europe too, averaging fewer key passes in the Champions League than Naby Keita, whilst having fewer shots per game in the competition than the likes of James Milner and Curtis Jones, according to WhoScored.

It is certainly not the impact that Klopp, nor the £31.5m-rated midfielder, will have wanted to make on Merseyside.

There are more reasons as to why he should be benched against Real Madrid though.

Throughout his career with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Thiago has taken to the pitch against Los Blancos 12 times in all competitions.

In that time, he has been part of just one winning side – that solitary victory coming all the way back in the 2011/12 edition of the Copa del Rey with Barcelona. However, he was on the pitch for just four minutes.

Having lost seven career games against Real, it means that Thiago has not lost more matches against a single opponent throughout his career.

The Spaniard’s personal impact against the Spanish giants has also been minimal. In the matches he has faced them, he has notched two assists, whilst picking up three bookings.

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Whilst it would certainly be harsh to drop a player based on his past experience against a team, that coupled with his horrendous recent form should be enough reason for Klopp to drop Thiago to the bench for Wednesday evening’s game.

AND in more news, find out which Spaniard Liverpool did well to avoid in 2019…

Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that his old side must go out and buy a new winger following Trezeguet’s injury.

The Egyptian could be out for some time after damaging his ACL in a recent 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, which could leave Villa light as they wait for him to recover and build up his fitness again over what is likely to be a very long period.

Bearing that in mind, Hendrie is convinced that the Villans need to add another wide player to their squad in the summer, an area he feels needed strengthening anyway.

Speaking exclusively to TT about the matter, the ex-Villa star said:

“They’re going to have to strengthen that area because I feel that’s been an area where they haven’t supplied enough to Ollie Watkins at times. He’s created and been amongst his own goals at times.

“So, yeah, not only the ACL, which is so disappointing for Trezeguet, the last thing you want to see is a player getting injured and such a bad injury in that sense, but the build to get back to your full fitness. You’re possibly talking minimum 12 months, so they’re going to have to go and strengthen that area.”

In the meantime, manager Dean Smith will have to rely on the likes of Anwar El Ghazi and Bertrand Traore as Villa continue to battle for a top-half finish and possibly even a European spot, with eight games left to play.

Alan Hutton has claimed that Brendan Rodgers would be interested in the Tottenham Hotspur job.

The Leicester City boss remains high on the shortlist at Spurs to lead the way from the start of the 2021/22 term despite Ryan Mason taking temporary charge until the end of this campaign.

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton believes that Rodgers will have the Lilywhites job at the back of his mind despite the success that he has had with the Foxes so far:

“You look at Leicester. They’re top four with a brand new training ground as well.

“Arguably, just as good a squad. I understand obviously Tottenham have got the likes of Harry Kane, Bale sitting there.

“I think, if you’re a manager, it’s still a massive lure to go to Tottenham. They are a huge club, everybody knows that. They’ve got the quality within the squad to really hit a high level.

“Yes, they aren’t at the moment but if they get the right person in charge to take care of them, I think they could be very good. It’s always there, probably, in the back of his mind, Brendan Rodgers.

“Yes, he’s got a plan and he is trying to implement that at Leicester but it’s a big draw if Tottenham come calling.

“It’ll be an interesting one. I can’t really see him leaving Leicester at the moment but he’d definitely be interested if Spurs made their feelings towards him (known).”

Rodgers perfect for Spurs

If the North London club had the opportunity to hire Rodgers as their next permanent coach, they should be jumping at the opportunity with both arms.

Quite ironically dubbed as a ‘talented’ (via Daily Mail) manager by none other than Jose Mourinho back in December, the Northern Irishman certainly knows how to thrive in the Premier League, with LCFC currently sitting pretty in third spot in the top flight after a very convincing 3-0 home win over West Brom, while he was also close to winning the title back in his days managing Liverpool.

Guiding Leicester to an FA Cup final and also proving he knows how to add silverware to quality football during his time in Glasgow, Rodgers could be the man to finally deliver trophies for THFC, if they can lure him away from the East Midlands of course.

In other news, find out what Mourinho told his players after his sacking here!

Get German Football News editor-in-chief Daniel Pinder has told Football FanCast that Arsenal should have signed Christopher Nkunku from PSG before his move to RB Leipzig, having been linked with him in April 2019 when Unai Emery was in charge.

The midfielder moved to the Bundesliga club for a fee of around €15m (£12.9m) and he has gone on to impress during his time in Germany.

Nkunku is just 23 and he can play in both central midfield and attacking midfield, and has done so well during his time at Leipzig.

In total, he has made 78 appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals and registering 25 assists.

He made the same number of appearances at PSG and Pinder, a Bundesliga expert, believes that the Gunners missed out by not signing the former France U21 international, who has won six caps for his country at youth level.

Arsenal have been linked with Nkunku after to his move but it is not clear if a bid was made prior to his switch.

He has also called on the Gunners to revert to the Arsene Wenger strategy of finding players who are unheralded but with the ability to grow and improve during their Gunners careers.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “Yeah, being an Arsenal fan, I like what Arsene Wenger did, signing unknown players.

“So maybe someone like Sasa Kalajdzic, Silas Wamangituka, but even just while we’re at it, obviously they were interested in Nkunku as well and I think that’s someone Arsenal should’ve signed from PSG before Leipzig got in there.”

Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt believes that the club can use the Carabao Cup final as a huge springboard if they win the competition, in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

Spurs, led by Ryan Mason in what will be his second match in charge, face Manchester City this weekend in their first final since they lost to Liverpool in the Champions League showpiece at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

The club, of course, have not won a trophy since 2008, with that triumph also coming in the League Cup, as Spurs beat Chelsea at Wembley.

This final comes against a remarkable City side who have been superb this season; they look set to win the Premier League, while they are very much in contention for the treble after reacing the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Mabbutt has pointed to the fact that Spurs have repeatedly reached the final hurdle, only failing to jump over it, as they also reached various semi-finals under Mauricio Pochettino, along with reaching the final of the League Cup, and finishing second in the Premier League.

And he thinks that winning the trophy could well unlock something within these Spurs players.

He told FFC: “For us, we are looking at that game as being a catalyst.

“We have got a group of players that have been, so many times over the last two or three years getting to the final hurdle, but not quite getting over it.

“And I think a victory in the Carabao Cup would prove to everybody, but certainly to the players what they can achieve.”

Spurs and City have played each other twice this season, most recently at the Etihad Stadium in a game that Pep Guardiola’s side won 3-0.

However, Spurs beat them 2-0 at home and Mabbutt believes that a similar game-plan to that victory would give the club their first competition victory in 13 years.

He added: “Looking at the performance when we played Manchester City at home earlier in the season, when we denied them space, we got eleven players behind the ball, we did not allow them to play their free flowing football, we frustrated them, and then on the counter attack, with our incredible counter-attacking abilities and potential from our players, we destroyed them defensively and won the game 2-0.

“Well, I say to the Man City fans that I’m certainly hoping for a similar result.”

Some Liverpool fans have been urging Jadon Sancho to move to Anfield this summer, hijacking a tweet from the Borussia Dortmund star.

The 21-year-old has emerged as arguably one of the most exciting young attacking players in Europe in recent years, excelling for Dortmund after joining from Manchester City in 2017.

Sancho has scored 46 goals and registered 62 assists in 133 appearances for the Bundesliga giants, thriving alongside the likes of Marco Reus and Erling Haaland.

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Constant rumours have surrounded the England international’s future, with a host of English clubs being linked with a move for him, including Liverpool.

It could be that Jurgen Klopp sees the forward as ideal competition for his current attacking players, not to mention being a long-term replacement for the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

On Sunday, Sancho tweeted a video of his trickery as he sent an opponent to the floor, cheekily mocking the incident in the process.

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Liverpool fans want Reds to sign Sancho

These Liverpool fans were quick to respond to him, imploring him to move to Anfield this summer.

“Come to Liverpool in my opinion”

Credit: @AllezAllezAllez

“Good job this is my player!”

Credit: @SirVvd4

“Come to Liverpool”

Credit: @WaqarHu63300657

“You’d be doing that for Liverpool next season Jadon”

Credit: @virgil001x

“Come to Liverpool pal. You can ball out with Millie and Hendo in Europa before you we win it all with you and Mbapz in 2022/23”

Credit: @LFCMaxs

“Anfield is waiting for you mate. Come soon”

Credit: @The_Gerrard_Era

In other news, Liverpool have found out the asking price for one reported target – find out who it is here.

Leicester City’s top four chances took a setback on Friday night with a humiliating 4-2 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United.

The Magpies surged into a four-goal lead at the King Power Stadium as Joe Willock and Paul Dummett found the net before Callum Wilson bagged a second-half brace.

Goals from Marc Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho in the closing stages gave a somewhat better complexion to the scoreline but it was too little too late for Brendan Rodgers’ men, who fell to an embarrassing reverse.

One man who struggled specifically throughout the game was the usually inspirational midfielder Youri Tielemans. Deployed alongside Wilfred Ndidi, the Belgian appeared to be overwhelmed by a ravenous Newcastle midfield who were aiming to seal their Premier League survival.

According to SofaScore, the former Monaco man lost possession on 16 occasions throughout the game as the hosts wasted so many opportunities to probe the visitors. Only Marc Albrighton was more careless in possession for the Foxes.

Whilst the £120,000-per-week midfielder contributed three key passes throughout the game according to WhoScored– the joint-most in the Leicester team – he was continually frustrating in an attacking sense.

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Of the ten crosses he attempted throughout the 90 minutes, he only completed three. He also attempted three shots but failed to trouble Martin Dubravka in the Newcastle goal, with none of his efforts finding the target.

Having been one of Leicester’s most pivotal players in an attacking sense this season, it was certainly a dramatic drop-off for Tielemans.

Elsewhere, whilst not his primary assignment, the Belgian barely contributed in a defensive sense, either. He did not complete a single tackle, interception, clearance or block throughout the game. The 24-year-old also did not win an aerial duel.

Whilst Leicester’s defence must shoulder much of the responsibility for a woeful performance against Newcastle, Tielemans was also marked largely absent as Leicester’s Champions League hopes took what could potentially be a devastating hit.

AND in more news, find out which other Leicester star was woeful against the Magpies…

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa must make a ruthless decision and drop Tyler Roberts from the starting line-up for the clash against Burnley in the Premier League.

While the Whites may have gotten back to winning ways last week by securing a 3-1 victory over Spurs, Roberts once again endured a disappointing afternoon, eventually being replaced just before the hour mark.

The Wales international appeared to be heading for the exit door a couple of months ago, with reports suggesting that clubs from the Championship were looking to lure him away from Elland Road.

Since – and actually even before – then,  Roberts just hasn’t shown anywhere near enough to warrant being picked continuously in this Leeds side, with no goals at all in the 24 Premier League games that he has played.

Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan simply insisted that the £4.5m-rated forward just may not be cut out for this level, saying: “Is he good enough? In my opinion he isn’t. I would love him to go out there and prove me wrong because I want everyone to succeed. I need him to show me more. He needs to show more fight and desire. I just do not see that.

Whelan has also previously called for the Leeds manager to drop Roberts from the starting line-up, saying: “I’m just not seeing enough from him. There’s glimpses there but he’s not hurting teams with his performances and his creativity. Now number 10, you’ve got to be that special player. You’ve got to be that player that can open up teams and really take the game by the scruff of the neck. I just don’t think Tyler Roberts does that for Leeds.”

As per WhoScored, his lowly averages of one shot and 0.5 key passes per game in the Premier League are even worse than the likes of Stuart Dallas, who until recent weeks has played in a number of different roles, including both full-back positions.

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With Rodrigo having returned from injury and coming off the bench in the last couple of games, scoring against Tottenham last week, Bielsa now has the perfect opportunity to drop Roberts and start his £27m signing.

Roberts has simply held Leeds back for too long with his ineffective displays.

Meanwhile, Leeds source drops exciting update on club’s transfer plans…

Steven Gerrard has suffered a huge injury blow ahead of Rangers’ final game of the season against Aberdeen on Saturday, with Borna Barisic seemingly ruled out of the Ibrox fixture after it was previously hoped that he would be fit.

The Croatia international was forced off in the 4-1 Old Firm derby win recently but it was previously suggested that he could make his return for the final game of the season.

However, Gerrard admitted in his pre-match conference that Barisic is now unlikely to feature, which suggests that Joe Aribo will continue to deputise at left-back.

Whilst the former Charlton Athletic man did a stellar job filling in there against Livingston in midweek in the absence of both Barisic and Calvin Bassey, who is suspended, it is not an ideal situation for Gerrard to have to deal with on the final day.

If Rangers avoid defeat against Stephen Glass’ side, then they will finish on at least 100 points and secure invincible league status, so there is plenty on the line for the Gers ahead of the final day.

The 40-year-old manager would have been desperate to have the “magic” Barisic back, therefore, as the left-back has been one of the key performers in his side so far this season.

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In 30 Premiership appearances, the 28-year-old has contributed one goal and five assists, averaging a superb 7.35 average rating from WhoScored.

This ranks him as the fifth-best performer in Gerrard’s side this season, which emphasises just how important he has become at Ibrox, so they will definitely miss him on Saturday afternoon.

No player in Rangers’ side has played more key passes (2.2) per game than Barisic this season, which suggests that they could well lack a creative edge without him, although playing the attack-minded Aribo in his position on Wednesday did the trick for Gerrard’s side.

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Hopefully the Nigerian international isn’t exposed from a defensive point of view and Rangers are able to get the job done without the influential Barisic, to allow them to end a fantastic domestic campaign unbeaten.

And, in other news… Gerrard handed huge boost in race for “frightening” £1.8m-rated beast, Wilson must deliver