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Reported 2018 Liverpool target Jorginho’s poor run of form continued in Chelsea’s 2-0 FA Cup fifth round defeat against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, and Reds fans were quick to react to his performance on Twitter.

The Liverpool Echo reported last May that the Merseyside outfit were interested in bringing the Italy international to the Premier League, but at the time Manchester City were the favourites to win the race for the midfielder’s signature.

Of course, the 27-year-old ended up linking up with the manager he worked under at Napoli, Maurizio Sarri, in west London instead, and while he started the season well and earnt pletny of plaudits, his displays have dropped off in recent weeks with his shortfalls off of the ball and defensively coming to the fore – as was the case against the Red Devils.

Liverpool supporters took to social media to have their say on the Italian’s latest showing on Monday, and while one said “Jorginho isn’t fit to lace Wijnaldum’s boots”, another said “he can’t defend and his passing is just average”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Jurgen Klopp has gotten quite inventive with his excuses this season. FFC’s James Jones think he has no one but himself to blame for Liverpol’s poor form in the video below…

Steve Bruce must axe goalkeeper Sam Johnstone for the remainder of the season in order to prepare for life without him after the summer.

The former Premier League champion has had a “successful” career at the Baggies in the words of reporter Steve Madeley, but it looks like it could be about to come to an end with his contract set to expire in the summer.

When speaking to the Athletic, manager Steve Bruce said “the likelihood is that Sam is going to leave.”

The shot-stopper is poised to join a club in the Premier League in the hopes of gaining a place in the England squad at this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.

West Brom will now be looking at replacements for Johnstone but their campaign as good as done, they should consider axing the ‘keeper from their starting line-up now to best prepare for life without him.

His record this season is pretty good having kept 15 clean sheets overall in the Championship which is just three short of the league’s best which is held by central defender John Egan.

The 29-year old still has some of his best years left and has played over 15,000 minutes for West Brom. His overall record is impressive with 45 clean sheets in 167 appearances.

He has even been described as the “best English goalkeeper” by Jason Cundy.

So why drop him? Well, the Baggies have little to play for this season, their slim hopes of achieving a play-off spot were virtually ended with a 1-0 defeat to rivals Birmingham City the other week.

The remaining games they have would provide a great chance to give one of their other goalkeepers valuable experience in the league and would provide the coaching staff with a good idea of whether or not they could replace Johnstone.

Alex Palmer is the youngest of the three stoppers the club have available to them and has come through the academy having spent various spells on loan.

One of his most recent loan spells last year at League One outfit Lincoln City saw him make 46 appearances and keep 19 clean sheets in the division.

When you compare his performance last season to Johnstone’s, he has a better save percentage at 72.7 compared to 70.6.

Now would be the perfect opportunity to give him a more regular chance at Championship level and it could pay off for Bruce.

IN other news: West Brom: Grady Diangana struggled in defeat to Stoke City…

The Athletic‘s Celtic correspondent Kieran Devlin has shared an update on the future of midfielder Tom Rogic. 

The lowdown: Uncertain times

Whilst everything on the pitch is on an upwards trajectory at Parkhead, there remains a doubt as to whether Rogic will remain at the club for much longer.

Having already written his name into Celtic folklore with a litany of memorable match-winning moments – including that last gasp Scottish Cup final winner against Aberdeen in 2017 to seal the domestic treble – the Australian ace has been on the brink of leaving the club on numerous occasions.

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Now as Rogic’s contract fast approaches its final 12 months (Transfermarkt), a potential move elsewhere could be on the horizon once again…

The latest: Going out on a high

Writing for The Athletic, Devlin suggested that the attack-minded midfielder may decide to leave Celtic should Ange Postecoglou’s side lift the Scottish Premiership title.

The journalist states that the 51-cap Australia star may consider the ‘unfinished business’ of missing out on the league title last term as being ‘put to rest’ this summer.

Citing the arrival and subsequent impact of Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate as possible long term replacements, Rogic could move to an Asian league in order to be closer to home.

The verdict: Too soon?

Albeit both O’Riley and Hatate have made positive starts to life in Glasgow, Rogic continues to produce the goods for the Hoops.

So far this season Rogic – who was recently described as ‘outstanding’ by compatriot and boss Postecoglou – has scored six times and provided ten assists in 43 appearances, underlining a continued key role at Parkhead.

Should the Australian truly push for a move back towards Oceania then it will be with the blessing of the club and supporters, however, Celtic may be best served by keeping the experienced midfielder around for a little while longer yet.

In other news, Celtic eyeing swoop for talented Scottish youngster. Find out who it is here.

Gio van Bronckhorst’s Rangers enjoyed a magical night at Ibrox as they made their way through to the Europa League semi-final on Thursday.

The Gers went into the game 1-0 down on aggregate and ended up winning 3-1 on the night, to go through on a 3-2 lead, and thus securing their place in the last four.

James Tavernier made Ibrox bounce in the opening 90 seconds as he latched onto a flick from Joe Aribo to slide the ball into the bottom corner from a tight angle, putting Rangers on the front foot early on.

Kemar Roofe thought he put them 2-0 up a few minutes later before VAR ruled that Borna Barisic used his hand in the build-up. However, the striker then played a pivotal role in Gers’ actual second goal as he won the penalty that Tavernier converted before half time.

Braga were able to take the match to extra time as David Carmo headed the ball in from a corner to make it 2-2 on aggregate.

Rangers reacted brilliantly to this setback as they dominated the last 30 minutes of the tie, with Glen Kamara and Aribo combining on the right to tee up Roofe for a tap-in from six yards out.

Whilst Tavernier will receive acclaim for his two goals and the attackers will get credit for the Gers scoring three goals, Connor Goldson deserves huge praise for his performance as he dominated Ibrox on Thursday.

The towering centre-back was a tank at the back for Van Bronckhorst and played a big role in allowing the Scottish giants to control the match and keep Braga at bay for the most part.

As you can see in the graphic above, Goldson was instrumental for the Gers as he dictated the play from the back and was strong defensively throughout.

He won nine of his 10 aerial duels and made one block and two tackles to go along with his five clearances, as per SofaScore, and was unlucky for the Braga equaliser as he was blocked off from marking Carmo by his own teammate.

His 162 touches also led the way for Rangers as he had more possession of the ball than any other player on the pitch on the night. This highlights his dominance on the ball, with his defensive statistics showing that he also dominated off it, and Van Bronckhorst will surely be delighted with the centre-back’s display.

Now it is time for Goldson and his teammates to prepare for a clash with Leipzig in the semi-final…

AND in other news, Major blow: Rangers hit with huge injury setback that’ll infuriate supporters…

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has shared news involving Manchester United chief scout Jim Lawlor on Twitter.

The Lowdown: Ten Hag announced

It looks set to be a summer of change at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag now confirmed as Ralf Rangnick’s replacement at the end of the season.

Romano revealed in the early hours of Thursday morning that ‘contracts and paperworks’ were ready for the Dutchman following a full agreement last week, with Ten Hag now penning terms until June 2025.

The 52-year-old previously demanded to be 100% involved in new signings, outgoings and fresh contracts, and he’ll be working with a new scouting team in England.

The Latest: Lawlor to leave

News emerged on Wednesday regarding Lawlor, who has been on the books at Old Trafford for 16 years. He is set to leave the club over the summer, while head of global scouting Marcel Bout is also departing.

Romano took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to drop the key exit news on social media, saying:

“Manchester United revolution begins as chief scout Jim Lawlor leaves the club.”

The Verdict: Revolution needed?

Lawlor and Bout worked together for seven years and made a number of high-profile signings, which you could say largely haven’t worked out.

They’ve spent over £1.1bn on 37 players since 2014/15, with Paul Pogba the most expensive of those, who now looks set to leave for nothing this summer.

Hopefully, Ten Hag will be heavily involved when it comes to incomings and outgoings with a new scouting setup, in what could be an extremely busy first summer on charge.

In other news: Big news: Man Utd now eyeing signing of ‘absolute beast’ for Ten Hag in potential £100m+ deal. 

Aston Villa had a rather busy January transfer window in terms of their recruitment as well as moving some of their current players out on loan to other clubs.

Even though the winter transfer period has drawn to a close, it seems as though the Midlands club may already have their eyes on one deal in particular that they could look to complete when the summer transfer window opens.

What’s the news?

During a recent online Q&A on the Birmingham Live website, Villa journalist Ashley Preece was asked a question regarding the club’s current left-back situation after Matt Targett made a January deadline day transfer move to Newcastle United on loan.

In response, Preece revealed that the Midlands club are “looking to” try and sign Bologna’s 19-year-old left-back Aaron Hickey when the next summer transfer window opens.

With that in mind and the fact that they were linked with a move for the defender during the recent January transfer window suggests that Villa’s scouting team certainly see the teenager as a suitable recruit for Gerrard’s side.

Likened to Busquets

Prior to joining the Italian side back in September 2020, the £11.7m-rated full-back had racked up 34 appearances for SPFL side Hearts.

Since joining Bologna, the teenager, who has been likened to Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets in the past by Austin MacPhee, has managed to score an impressive four goals in 33 appearances across all competitions.

As well as his goals, the defender has also managed to deliver some solid performances for the Serie A side this season with WhoScored giving him an overall rating of 6.8/10 making him their fourth-highest rated player.

This would also currently place him in the top 10 of Villa’s highest-rated players in the Premier League this season, showing that he has what it takes to perform at a high level.

Moving forward, should Villa end up selling Targett at the end of the season when his loan spell at Newcastle comes to an end and if Ashley Young doesn’t renew his playing contract when that expires in the summer, launching a move for Hickey should definitely be at the top of Villa’s priority list to add some depth and freshness in that area of the squad.

After all, they could just find the next Busquets by doing so, landing a player capable of thriving in a multitude of positions; namely holding midfield and full-back.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano drops major 7-word AVFC deadline day update, Gerrard will be delighted – opinion

West Ham United have been able to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League and seventh place in the Premier League table with just one figure in their squad that predominantly plays in the centre-forward position – Michail Antonio.

Despite scoring eight goals in 32 league appearances for the Hammers, the Jamaican hasn’t been able to find the net in the top flight since New Year’s Day against Crystal Palace.

With the next summer transfer window approaching, it seems as though the east London club are in the mix to add another striker to their squad and provide a bit of competition for Antonio.

What’s the news?

According to a recent article from Calciomercato, West Ham are one of the clubs interested in signing Torino striker Andrea Belotti in the upcoming summer transfer window.

With a total of 386 senior and youth club appearances under his belt, the Italian has scored 155 goals and provided 35 assists along the way, showing that he has a knack for finding the back of the net.

Better than Antonio?

Since joining his current club back in 2015, the 28-year-old has scored 110 goals in 247 outings for the Serie A side, showing just how important he has been for them over the past few years.

On the international stage, Belotti has scored 12 goals in 42 senior appearances for Italy.

This backs up what his former teammate and former West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart had to say about him when the Englishman described the attacker as having an “instinct for goals.”

With just 18 league games to his name in this current Serie A season, the striker has still managed to rack up the second-highest number of shots at goal (45) out of anyone at Torino.

To compare him to the West Ham striker, the Italian has racked up a higher percentage of aerial duels won this season (39.7%) than Antonio (36.2%).

This shows how much of a threat in the air he can be in terms of winning balls and scoring goals with his head. Battling physically for the ball is one of the West Ham striker’s main strengths so if Belotti can top him in that department, it bodes well for the Hammers.

Despite having a current market value of £25.2m according to Transfermarkt, the Irons could secure the Italy international on a free transfer this summer as his current contract with Torino is set to expire at the end of the season.

Even though he’s struggled with some injury issues this season, Belotti certainly has what it takes to be a solid signing for West Ham. The major plus side is that West Ham could discover someone that’s better than Antonio when it comes to scoring goals on a regular basis.

In other news: Sources: West Ham eye swoop for “brilliant” 21 y/o, he’s “similar to Eden Hazard”

Wolves have seen numerous players make the move to Molineux on loan deals over the past few years such as Francisco Trincao, Willian Jose and Jesus Vallejo among others.

While some players that originally joined the Midlands club on loan have gone on to become permanent figures at Molineux such as Raul Jimenez, Hwang Hee-chan and Rayan Ait-Nouri, some end up returning to their parent clubs after a temporary spell with the Premier League club.

One example of a player that spent some time with Wolves and has since gone on to shine with their original side is 22-year-old midfielder Vitinha.

The Old Gold signed the midfielder, who has been described as “complete” by Sergio Conceicao and “special” by Jeff Shi, on a temporary basis from Porto back in September 2020 until the end of the previous season.

During his time at Molineux, the 22-year-old only made 19 appearances in the Premier League, starting five of them and failing to find the back of the net on even one occasion, providing just one assist along the way.

As well as his lack of regular goal contributions, the Portuguese international’s overall performances didn’t do much to impress anyone at the Midlands club, with WhoScored giving him a season rating of 6.23 making him the lowest-rated Wolves player to start more than one league game throughout the entire campaign.

While his spell in England didn’t go too well, things have been much better for the midfielder back at Porto this season where he is currently picking up a weekly wage of £4.5k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

With 23 league appearances under his belt, Vitinha has managed to score two goals and provide one assist as well as earn himself a much-improved overall performance rating of 7.4, making him the third-highest rated player currently in Porto’s squad according to WhoScored.

Back in October 2020, shortly after he made the move to Molineux, Transfermarkt rated the former Wolves loan man’s market value at £4.5m, whereas it now stands at £21.6m, showing a massive increase of 380% since he left England.

Recent reports have now linked fellow Premier League side Liverpool with a summer move for the midfield man, meaning that should he make a return to England, he could well end up haunting his old side after failing to do the business for them during his loan spell and give them some serious nightmares.

In other news: Lage can find Wolves’ next Traore in rarely-seen teen who does “things out of nothing”

Fabrizio Romano has now revealed some significant Everton transfer news involving Donny van de Beek.

The Lowdown: van de Beek signs

The Goodison Park faithful confirmed the signing of van de Beek on loan from Manchester United on Transfer Deadline Day, in where they also signed Dele Alli on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspur.

They also confirmed the appointment of Frank Lampard as their new manager, in what was a very exciting day indeed for fans of the Merseyside club.

The Latest: No buy option

As per Italian football journalist and transfer expert Romano, the Toffees were ‘trying’ to insert a buy option when they loaned in van de Beek on deadline day, but Man Utd did not want one:

“Everton were trying to include a buy option clause – Man United said no way.”

The Verdict: Shame

It is a shame that the Toffees could not get a buy option for van de Beek, as he is certainly a player that can help them not just this season, but in the future as well.

There is no doubt that the Netherlands international has talent despite his poor spell at United, as he showed on many occasions at Ajax, scoring no fewer than 41 goals and making a further 34 assists in 175 games in total over all competitions from the middle of the park (Transfermarkt).

However, he has simply not been utilised enough at Old Trafford, and so the Red Devils have not seen what he is capable of.

Nonetheless, a buy option would have ideal for the Blues, and should van de Beek perform well from now until the end of the campaign, perhaps that is something they will look to revisit in the summer.

In other news, find out who EFC have held talks with over a coaching role here!

Brenden Aaronson isn’t Leeds United’s only target this January transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor, who delivered an exciting update on the Yorkshiremen’s plans heading into the final few days of the month ahead of Monday’s deadline.

“From what I understand of the situation, he’s not the only target this month,” he revealed to GIVEMESPORT this week.

Good news

This should alleviate some of the fears mounting around Elland Road from worried supporters and perhaps even manager Marcelo Bielsa too.

The Argentine’s depleted squad has been stretched thin over the last few months.

A number of key first-team stars have fallen victim to the ongoing injury crisis around Thorp Arch, including last season’s top goalscorer Patrick Bamford, skipper Liam Cooper and midfield anchorman Kalvin Phillips.

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It has been so bad that Bielsa could only name one senior professional amongst a bench of nine players during their Premier League clash with West Ham United earlier this month.

There has also been a need for a new central midfielder for quite some time, with the last arrival in the role coming four years ago when Adam Forshaw joined from Middlesbrough in January 2018.

Aaronson is a player capable of adding goals and creativity to the attacking midfield department, the sort of player they have long lacked in the final third but so far, their attempts to sign him have been thwarted with two bids of £15m and £20m being knocked back.

It’s hard to envisage him becoming a Leeds player much before the summer, which leaves them in a tricky and worrying spot. However, Taylor’s claim suggests that he isn’t their only target and that’s much more encouraging to hear.

The Whites are by no means out of the relegation dogfight just yet and with no signs of the injury crisis easing up, Victor Orta and co desperately need to add quality to Bielsa’s squad.

AND in other news, Marcelo Bielsa on verge of grave January disaster at Leeds United…