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Liverpool fans have been reacting on social media to a bold claim in the French media that Adrien Rabiot would prefer to join Jurgen Klopp’s side than Tottenham Hotspur.

We recently covered reaction from a cohort of Liverpool fans who were pleased to hear that Rabiot is keen to move to Merseyside – however, it appears not every Reds supporter is quite so impressed by the news.

The claim has been reported by Paris United, who revealed that Spurs are hoping to sign the midfielder, as well as the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Are the media letting Jurgen Klopp off lightly for his lack of silverware? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Rabiot is out of contract in the French capital come the summer, and appears more interested in leaving the club than agreeing a new deal.

Paris United are now suggesting that Tottenham are trying to win the race for his signature by offering the 6-cap Frenchman a €5million (£4.3m) signing bonus and a €7.5million (£6.4m) per year wage to move to London.

But the same PSG-focused site are also claiming that Rabiot would prefer to join the ranks at Anfield if he were to move to the Premier League.

No offer has yet been made by the Reds, and these members of the Anfield faithful were quick to remind Rabiot of that…

Crystal Palace reporter Mark Wyatt has predicted that Patrick Vieira will drop Luka Milivojevic for the Premier League clash with Aston Villa today. 

The lowdown

Palace will welcome Steven Gerrard’s Villans to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon and will seek a return to winning ways after twice surrendering leads in their 3-3 draw with Burnley last time out.

Eagles skipper Milivojevic missed the start of the campaign for personal reasons but has started five of Palace’s last seven matches. The ‘excellent’ 30-year-old, as dubbed by his former boss Roy Hodgson, ranks in Palace’s top eight earners with his £55,000-per-week pay cheque.

The latest

Football London journalist Wyatt reckons that Vieira will make two changes from the draw at Burnley.

The first would see Milivojevic dropped and Jeffrey Schlupp come into the midfield in his place.  Kouyate would duly drop back into the holding role. It’s said to be ‘unlikely’ that the manager turns to Will Hughes or Eberechi Eze from the off given that they have yet to feature in the Premier League this season.

The other alteration would see Jordan Ayew make way for Odsonne Edouard, who is ‘fit enough to start from the beginning’.

The verdict

The statistics suggest that Milivojevic actually had a strong game against Burnley last week, completing 94% of his passes, creating two chances and winning three of his four ground duels. That earned him a SofaScore rating of 7.0/10.

What those figures perhaps don’t reflect, though, is the porous nature of the Palace midfield. The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam wrote that the pairing of Kouyate and Milivojevic didn’t quite work at Turf Moor because it ‘ended up being too attacking’.

‘There wasn’t much midfield defensively’ according to Woosnam, and that’s why Vieira might be tempted to make the change, as Wyatt has suggested.

In other news, many Palace fans reacted to this important pre-Villa update

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will look to bring in a new centre-back and defensive midfielder in the January window.

That’s according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, talking to Give Me Sport, with a number of Villa fans reacting to the news on social media.

Gerrard has enjoyed a brilliant start to life at Bodymoor Heath, picking up three wins from a possible four and pushing champions Manchester City all the way in his only defeat at the helm.

Attention is now starting to turn to the January transfer window, and with NSWE promising the manager a huge winter budget last month, many are wondering what areas of the Villa squad he may bolster.

According to O’Rourke, the 41-year-old has identified a centre-back and a defensive midfielder as two priority positions.

Villa fans react

Both Total Villa and The AVFC Faithful shared O’Rourke’s claim on Twitter. Here is what these fans had to say in reply, with many unhappy over the apparent plans and some highlighting Marvelous Nakamba’s transformation under Gerrard.

“why would we need a CB”

Credit: @po7ok

“Why? We have 3 seemingly quality CBs…and a capable Hause….and Marvelous has been awesome, with Luiz capable of sitting… main concern is a replacement for Targett (not good enough) and back up for Cash.”

Credit: @TheCount_minusO

“Really? I don’t think we need either of them right now. Surely left back and maybe a winger with one on their way out?”

Credit: @StevieGsVilla

“The disrespect on Marv. LB is a must, CB is secondary rn”

Credit: @DomRay6

“Nakamba been class recently”

Credit: @villafanscentre

“4 quality CBs already? Sounds odd.”

Credit: @TimAsson1

In other news: ‘I am desperate’ – Lots of Villa fans erupt over ‘dream’ fixture news

West Ham United have been dealt a setback in their bid to bring Jonathan David to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Pete O’Rourke, with the journalist revealing in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that the LOSC Lille centre-forward’s agent has claimed the 21-year-old looks unlikely to leave the Ligue 1 side in 2022, as well as stating his own belief that the Canada international will not be on the move in the winter market.

In his comments, O’Rourke said: “I think there’s going to be a big demand for Jonathan David, probably in the summer. I can’t see any move happening in this January transfer window. His agent has come out and said that he doesn’t expect him to leave Lille in 2022 and a lot of big clubs will be looking at Jonathan David.”

A previous claim made by ExWHUemployee revealed that David Moyes had identified the striker as one of his primary targets in the January transfer window, although the West Ham insider also stated his own belief that the Hammers move for David looked unlikely this winter.

Fans will be fuming

Considering just how impressive David has been in France so far this season, the news that West Ham look unlikely to be able to seal a deal for the centre-forward this month is sure to have left many of the London Stadium faithful fuming.

Indeed, over his 19 Ligue 1 appearances in the current campaign, the £45m-rated man has already scored 12 goals and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who Hein Vanhaezebrouck dubbed a “phenomenon” average a SofaScore match rating of 7.00, ranking him as Jocelyn Gourvennec’s sixth-best performer in the top flight of French football.

Aside from his remarkable league form, the Canadian has also bagged a further four goals over seven outings in the Champions League and the Coupe de France – taking his total haul for the current campaign to 16 goals in 27 appearances.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the £35k-per-week forward would undoubtedly make a fantastic addition to Michail Antonio in the West Ham attack, however, following O’Rourke’s recent update, a move for David now looks extremely unlikely to be on the cards this month – something that will certainly come as gutting news to both Moyes and fans of the club alike.

In other news: Moyes could finally replace Arnautovic as WHU make contact with £105k-p/w “goalscorer”

Darwin Nunez is reportedly now the ‘priority’ signing for Newcastle United in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Another striker in?

Following the arrival of Chris Wood from Burnley, it seems as if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium now want to bring in another striker to try and fill in the void left by the injured  Callum Wilson.

The Englishman is still their top scorer so far this season with six goals in total over all competitions, and while Wood has been potent in the Premier League before, he has only managed three strikes in the top flight this campaign.

Nonetheless, after the disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Watford last time out, there is another big game around the corner in terms of the relegation battle in Leeds United, and so Eddie Howe could do with some more firepower in order to get a kickstart on the points that they so desperately need.

The Latest: Nunez the ‘priority’

As per Record (via Sport Witness), Nunez is now the ‘priority’ signing for the St. James’ Park faithful, as he is currently on ‘top of the list’ in terms of who they want to bring in next through the door.

They have already made ‘first contacts’ over a potential move, but learned that Benfica want at least €60m (£50m) for his signature.

The Verdict: Centre-back first

Yes, the North East club could do with another striker, but they must look to bring in a new central defender first of all, before splashing the cash on Nunez.

They currently have the second-worst defensive record in the top flight, and Wood will surely start scoring goals once he is given time to settle on Tyneside.

Nonetheless, Nunez would be a top signing, as he is one of the most exciting strikers in world football, having been dubbed as a ‘special’ player with ‘no ceiling’ by Almeria sporting director Joao Goncalves (BBC).

The Uruguay international has 19 goals and two assists so far this season (Transfermarkt), and at just 22 years of age, he has the potential to go to the very top.

In other news, find out the latest on NUFC’s pursuit of this ‘amazing’ centre-back here!

Since Steven Gerrard took charge of Aston Villa, the only negatives could be their defeats against Manchester City and Liverpool, however, given the level of opposition Villa were up against in those games, the two defeats shouldn’t be held against Gerrard with too much scrutiny.

That said, with the January transfer window on the horizon, it seems as though Gerrard could be heading for a potential disaster at the Midlands club.

With recent reports claiming fellow Premier League club Manchester United are interested in signing John McGinn and with Paddy Kenny suggesting that the Scottish international would take his game to the next level if he joined the Red Devils in January, it would be a tragedy if Villa were to lose their midfield man.

Since joining Villa back in August 2018 from Hibernian, the 27-year-old has made a total of 126 appearances for the Midlands club across all competitions, scoring 17 goals and providing 29 assists along the way, cementing himself as an important figure for Villa.

Taking into account how McGinn has played the full 90 minutes in 14 of the 15 league games he’s appeared in, this highlights how much of a key player he is for Villa in their midfield.

In terms of his performances, with an overall rating of 7.14/10 from WhoScored, listing him as Villa’s highest-rated player in the league so far this season, this not only shows why United are apparently interested in signing the Scotland international, but why it would be an outrageous decision for Villa to sell him, especially in January halfway through the season and only a few weeks after Gerrard has arrived.

This also shows that how McGinn, in the words of Micah Richards, has now stepped out of the “shadow of Jack Grealish,” after he was sold to Manchester City.

Looking ahead to the future, Villa must do all they can to keep the midfielder out of United’s clutches or any other club that may want to sign him.

With his current contract not set to expire until the summer of 2025 and the fact that he’s getting regular playing time, this should be some comfort to any Villa fans that may be concerned about the possibility of the Scot leaving.

In other news: Aston Villa can start January with a bang by signing “unbeatable” £27m-rated machine

Once the current international break comes to an end, West Brom will be back in Championship action at the weekend with an away clash against Huddersfield Town next up for Valerien Ismael’s side.

On the chalkboard

With this match in mind, one player that should definitely be in Ismael’s starting XI for this match is defender Kyle Bartley, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £15k-per-week at The Hawthorns according to Salary Sport.

Taking into account how Dara O’Shea is still out with an ankle injury and the fact that Kean Bryan has now been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury, this should make it an easy decision for Ismael to give Bartley a place in the team for the match against the Yorkshire club.

In addition to this, after coming on in the 19th minute to replace Matt Clarke who picked up an injury in West Brom’s 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough before the international break, Bartley managed to make two tackles, two clearances and blocked one shot, as well as winning eight out of his 13 duels, showing how vital he was for the team from a defensive point of view.

As well as this performance against Middlesbrough off the substitutes bench that earned him an overall match rating of 7.4/10 from SofaScore, making him the highest-rated Baggies player on the day, Bartley has managed to prove himself as a solid defender for the team throughout the current season with an average of 4.4 clearances per game in the league under his belt, as well as winning 65% of duels he’s been involved in, further proving why he should be in the starting XI to face Huddersfield.

With the match against Carlos Corberan’s team in sight this weekend, while Ismael may have little choice but to play Bartley, who has been praised for having an “unbelievable” attitude by the Baggies boss, as a result of their current defensive injury issues, the player has very much earned the right be in the starting XI on this occasion through merit.

However, if Bartley does play against Huddersfield, he will have to make sure he doesn’t pick up a yellow card in the match or else he will receive a ban as it would be his fifth of the season.

In other news: Ismael could unearth the next Townsend at West Brom with “excellent” 19 y/o prodigy – opinion

Leeds United are interested in signing Lazio and Kosovo striker Vedat Muriqi in the January transfer window, according to a new transfer rumour.

The Lowdown: Muriqi forging impressive career

The 27-year-old has often caught the eye at international level for Kosovo, scoring 18 goals in 37 caps, an average of just under one in every two matches.

Also, back in 2019, his then-Fenerbahce team-mate Max Kruse described him as “Very ambitious, very enthusiastic, very hardworking… I compare him to Lewandowski”. That is lofty praise given how the Bayern Munich striker has netted 325 goals in 355 appearances for the Bundesliga champions.

Muriqi isn’t having such a fruitful time of things at Lazio, though, only managing one Serie A start this season and struggling to force his way into Maurizio Sarri’s plans. For that reason, a January exit looks set to be on the cards, and Leeds may be ready to swoop.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Leeds interested in Muriqi

According to La Lazio Siamo Noi [via Sport Witness], the Whites have a ‘formula’ to sign the Kosovan from Lazio, with their interest ‘registered in recent hours’ after Hull City pulled out of a move.

Muriqi’s current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2025, but the Serie A club could still be keen to offload him if the right offer comes along.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-31/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Ideal January signing

Leeds are badly in need of attacking firepower in January, especially with Patrick Bamford suffering such an injury-plagued season to date.

There is too much reliance on the 27-year-old for goals – he is still the Whites’ joint-second-top scorer in the Premier League this season, despite only starting five games in the division – and Muriqi could help to ease that issue.

Granted, he has struggled at club level of late, but his international record speaks for itself and he could be an ideal man to bring into Marcelo Bielsa’s squad. Given that he scored freely in Turkey before joining Lazio, perhaps a change of scenery is all that’s needed to get the Kosovan firing again.

In other news, Leeds are eyeing up a move for a Premier League midfielder. Find out who it is here.

Celtic had a very busy transfer window last summer in terms of the number of players moving in and out of the club on permanent and loan deals.

Looking ahead to this summer, it seems as though one potential transfer has already been mentioned with the Bhoys.

What’s the news?

Speaking to Football Insider, former Hoops star Frank McAvennie was discussing the possibility of the Parkhead club securing a permanent move for their current loan ace Cameron Carter-Vickers.

The 62-year-old said: “Ange will want this deal done as soon as the window opens. He won’t want to be messing around. The last thing he wants is a transfer saga that means Carter-Vickers doesn’t come back until just before the season starts.

“Let’s get him in early so he can have a full pre-season up here. I think this one will get done. I don’t think he has a future at Tottenham and we should be getting the Champions League group money to spend.”

Since arriving at Celtic on loan from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur last August, the defender has been a solid figure for Ange Postecoglou and his side.

From a defensive point of view, the American has racked up 36 interceptions, 19 tackles and an average of 4.4 clearances per game, the highest of any other Hoops player.

Fans would be ecstatic

With 27 Premiership appearances to his name, the 24-year-old has earned himself an impressive overall performance rating of 7.35/10 from WhoScored, making him the fourth-highest rated player currently in Postecoglou’s squad.

Taking all this into account, and after making himself a hero last weekend by scoring against Rangers in Celtic’s 2-1 win which saw them go six points clear at the top of the table, it’s easy to see why McAvennie thinks the club will be keen to secure the centre-back on a permanent basis.

With the upcoming summer transfer window in mind, signing the defender on a permanent deal from Tottenham should be at the top of the Parkhead club’s priorities when it comes to their potential business.

If they were able to negotiate a deal with the north London club which would see Carter-Vickers become a fully-fledged Celtic player, this would surely delight a lot of Hoops fans and increase the team’s chances of being successful next season and beyond, given how well he has performed so far in Glasgow.

In other news: Ange must now seal Celtic deal for “magic” £21.5k-p/w ace, he’s an “absolute dream”

Manchester United have reportedly made an approach over bringing Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti to Old Trafford.

The Lowdown: Ten Hag and Pochettino talks

The Red Devils are making a head start in regards to their pursuit of bringing in Ralf Rangnick’s long-term replacement ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Both Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino have been in talks with United officials in recent weeks, with Julen Lopetegui and Luis Enrique also thought to be on the club’s shortlist.

Ancelotti, who shares the same agent as Raphael Varane, now appears to be the latest manager on that list.

The Latest: Approach made for Ancelotti

Sport Witness relayed a report from UOL regarding Ancelotti and United on Tuesday.

They claimed that an approach has been made, with the Red Devils considering the arrival of the Italian in the last few days.

However, the report added that a potential swoop won’t be straightforward, with Ancelotti happy at the Bernabeu.

The Verdict: Surprise…

It did look as if Ten Hag and Pochettino were the frontrunners for the job after their talks with United CEO Richard Arnold, with Lopetegui and Enrique outside contenders, so this update on Ancelotti does come as a shock.

A third managerial job in England after spells with Chelsea and Everton could be unlikely for the 62-year-old, especially as he is thought to be very content in Madrid.

United may not be able to offer Champions League football next season either, which could make it even harder to attract Ancelotti, who currently has that with Real Madrid, whom he is also set to guide to La Liga glory in the coming weeks.

In other news: ‘Been told…’ – Fabrizio Romano now drops ‘coaching’ update; one man ‘will not join Man Utd’