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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.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-lufc-transfer-rumours-gossip-bielsa-orta-radrizzani-elland-road-updates” title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

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…

West Ham United have been dealt a potentially huge blow in their bid to bring Jesse Lingard to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who revealed in a recent post on The West Ham Way that, despite having featured sparingly for Manchester United so far this season, the 29-year-old attacking midfielder – who has been heavily linked with a move to East London – would like to remain at Old Trafford until the end of the season, when his current contract expires.

In his post, the insider unveiled a big twist:

Moyes will be furious

Considering just how impressive Lingard was after joining West Ham on a four-month loan deal last season, in addition to the fact that the Hammers attempted to sign the forward in the summer transfer window, the news that the England international looks increasingly unlikely to leave Manchester United this winter is sure to have left David Moyes furious.

Indeed, over his 16 Premier League appearances for West Ham last time out, the £19.8m-rated man scored nine goals, registered five assists and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.6 shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £75k-per-week attacking midfielder earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.19, ranking him as the Hammers’ best performer in the top flight of English football last time out.

However, despite his remarkable form at the London Stadium, Lingard has once again found his game time limited at Manchester United, featuring in just eight Premier League fixtures so far this season.

As such, the 29-year-old’s apparent decision to wait until the end of the season before making a decision on his future is a rather baffling one, as continuing to sit on the bench at Old Trafford will do nothing towards helping the forward secure a spot in Gareth Southgate World Cup squad for Qatar 2022.

However, with it appearing as if a move for Lingard is now off the table this January, Moyes has been left with no other option than to turn his focus in the transfer market elsewhere, an outcome that will undoubtedly be incredibly frustrating for the 58-year-old manager.

In other news: West Ham handed huge injury boost ahead of Tottenham clash that’ll have Moyes buzzing

Crystal Palace have rebuffed a ‘host’ of loan bids for youngster Jack Wells-Morrison, according to TEAMtalk. 

‘A number’ of clubs in the second and third tier have approached Palace about taking Wells-Morrison on a temporary basis, among them London rivals Charlton Athletic.

But Patrick Vieira has ‘no intention of letting him go’ and instead wants to integrate him into the first team squad.

The lowdown on Jack Wells-Morrison

Wells-Morrison is predominantly a central midfielder but he can also play in slightly deeper or more advanced roles.

He’s still awaiting a senior debut for The Eagles, but he was named on the bench for Saturday’s FA Cup third round trip to Millwall.

Having scored eight goals in 24 appearances in the Under-18 Premier League, the 17-year-old earned a swift promotion to the Under-23s and has now racked up 15 PL2 outings (via Transfermarkt).

As noted by TEAMtalk, Morrison has been with the club for 11 years and his family are season-ticket holders at Selhurst Park.

Fan feed Palace Xtra relayed the news, and here’s what supporters made of it, with some feeling he could come into the first-team more next season when Conor Gallagher departs.

Many Palace fans flock to Wells-Morrison news

“Can only mean he’s involved in first team setup surely. Maybe just backup needed during AFCON”

Credit: @Joe_LT59

“Damn this kid must be good”

Credit: @JacobMozz

“Would be amazing if he can get a few sub appearances before the end of the season. Vieira must rate him to keep him from going on loan”

Credit: @jdmcpfc1990

“Championship??? Bro we must rate him so highly”

Credit: @SWPalace

“Gallagher replacement already at the club”

Credit: @joelcpfc_

“I’ve been SO impressed with him at U23 level and it excites me massively that Vieira sees him as someone we could potentially use this season”

Credit: @liamb0117

In other news, Palace are interested in this forward.

Wolves youngster Ryan Giles can become a key figure at Molineux after his loan spell at Cardiff City ends, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Giles out on loan

The 21-year-old joined the Bluebirds on the temporary basis back in the summer, in order to enjoy some invaluable playing time in the Championship.

Giles has registered a hugely impressive nine assists in just 16 league starts this season, having been hailed as ‘fantastic’ by teammate Marlon Pack.

The young midfielder will return to Wolves at the end of the season, at which point Bruno Lage could make him a key part of his plans.

The Latest: Hatfield tips youngster to shine

Someone who expects that to be the case is Hatfield, who told Give Me Sport that he sees a bright future for him at Wanderers:

“I’m sure they’ll have one eye on him. He fits in really well with the formation they play and he is a really exciting young player.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“375704”]

The Verdict: One for the future

It is always exciting to see young homegrown players given an opportunity, so the hope is that Giles can force his way into Lage’s plans.

To have registered nine assists in such short time this season speaks volumes about the Englishman’s qualities as a footballer, especially with the Championship such a taxing league for young players to make their mark in.

With Joao Moutinho now 35 years of age, a gap in Wolves’ midfield could open up next season and Giles may be the man to come in and fill the void, having averaged 2.8 key passes per game in the league in 2021/22 to date.

In other news, some Wolves fans have erupted over a piece of transfer news. Read more here.

A number of Manchester City fans have been praising Raheem Sterling after he scored his 100th Premier League goal in the 1-0 win against Wolves on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s men were able to maintain their reign at the top of the Premier League table as the champions gained three points at the weekend, taking them up to 38 points from 16 games this season.

Sterling kept his cool to slot home from the penalty spot in the 66th minute following a controversial VAR check, which ruled that Joao Moutinho had illegally blocked Bernardo Silva’s cross, despite claims that the ball hit the player’s armpit.

The England international joins the Premier league 100-goal club as the 32nd player to ever reach this total in the competition and is the eighth youngest to do so at 27 years and three days of age.

Lots of Man City fans laud Sterling

In acknowledgement of Sterling’s landmark goal, Manchester City’s official Twitter channel shared an artistic image depicting the 27-year-old being greeted by other centurions to the ‘Premier League 100 Club’, including former Etihad Stadium team-mate Sergio Aguero.

Lots of City fans were buzzing upon seeing the tweet, with one describing the England international as ‘King Raz’. Check out some of their reactions below:

“King Raz”

Credit: @Kafkaesque_10

“Our GOAT”

Credit: @MCFCHag

“I cannot express enough how genuinely happy I am for him. He’s the whole reason I’m a City fan!”

Credit: @MSU_Cityzens

“One of the great players in City! Raheeeem Sterlingggg! Keep going and get us over the line this year.. Trophy is ours!”

Credit: @jkjk52563

“This image made me emotional. I love us. Congrats again, @sterling7”

Credit: @katedemallie

“So happy for him.. just work hard [and] results will come… He is doing it right now”

Credit: @meamitshuklaa

In other news: Lots of Man City fans fume as injury claim emerges

Lots of Glasgow Rangers fans have been left bemoaning some news on Steven Gerrard.

As per Ashley Preece, Gerrard’s proposed move to go and manage Aston Villa is ‘all but done’, following the departure of Dean Smith.

The journalist has also claimed that he is ‘expecting an announcement within the next 24 to 48 hours if not sooner’, suggesting that Christian Purslow is set to get his man.

Of course, this means that the Ibrox faithful may have to search for a new manager to replace Gerrard soon, which is certainly not ideal midway through the season, in where the Liverpool and England legend has guided them to being four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

Gerrard has achieved so much with the Light Blues over his three-year reign, taking the SPFL title off of the hands of Celtic last term and being lauded by pundits as an ‘exciting’ manager (Paul Robinson to Football Insider).

Taking this into account, it is not a surprise at all to see so many Bears supporters bemoaning this latest update.

Rangers fans on Gerrard news

Indeed, these Gers supporters shared their disgruntled thoughts as the development was shared on Twitter, with one claiming that they were ‘gutted’ while another fan described the news as ‘upsetting’.

Find all of their verdicts on this big Gerrard update down below.

“Gutted man absolutely gutted”

Credit: @rossco72_

“It’s looking more and more likely now. Real sore one.”

Credit: @ScottBradleyX

“Well that’s a bit upsetting”

Credit: @martincathie_1

“I am in so much pain”

Credit: @PhiIip1872

“I’m not crying you are”

Credit: @nerziaCY

“Oh dear”

Credit: @ChrisCooper0

In other news, find out what Academy update has Gers buzzing here!

Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur ‘insider’/club source John Wenham has shared his thoughts on a recent development involving Inter Milan star Stefan de Vrij.

The Lowdown: de Vrij emerges as Conte target…

As per numerous claims from Italian, Spanish and English media, Nerazzurri defender de Vrij is very much on new manager Antonio Conte’s list of targets.

The 29-year-old is apparently one of many Serie A big names who could be targeted by the Spurs boss and managing director Fabio Paratici, with Calciomercato.it listing him among six others in Federico Chiesa, Matthijs de Ligt, Marcelo Brozovic, Alessio Romagnoli, Dusan Vlahovic.

Meanwhile, Fichajes believe that things are slightly more advanced – claiming last week that the Dutch international is edging ‘closer and closer’ to signing for Spurs as Conte seeks to solve his major defensive problems.

Last but not least, Football Insider have the most recent development, stating de Vrij is personally open to the idea of a Spurs move – wanting more information and telling friends he is ‘very keen’.

The Latest: Insider backs realistic Spurs chance…

Speaking to FI, in reaction to these developments, insider Wenham believes that the centre-back is indeed a ‘realistic signing’ if the Lilywhites can negotiate a reasonable fee – certainly not his reported £40m valuation.

“He’s clearly a player Conte trusts. if he does want De Vrij then that is a deal I can see us doing,” said the Spurs source.

“He’s an international player with 55 caps, he’s a trophy winner and he’s an instant improvement on Ben Davies.

“The £40million fee is a bit steep for a player who doesn’t have that long left on his contract.

“I think Tottenham would look for a discount there, a £25million deal seems fair to me.

“Especially if you look at his age as well. He is a more realistic signing.

“If Conte really wants him then the club have to back that decision.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

If Tottenham can indeed whittle his price down to around £25m, even despite his age, we believe it is certainly a deal worth pursuing.

Racking up over half a century of caps for the Netherlands, de Vrij has not only played in two major international tournaments, but also possesses lots of Champions League and Europa League appearances at club level.

Making 44 cameos across the continent’s most elite European competitions since 2010/2011, de Vrij’s wealth of experience on the biggest stages in football could be invaluable to Conte and Spurs.

A remarkable ball-playing centre-back, de Vrij averaged a higher pass accuracy (93.8%) than any Tottenham player last season as Inter ended Juve’s stranglehold on the Scudetto (WhoScored).

We believe his composure and assurance would complement Cristian Romero to superb effect and potentially educate Tottenham’s relatively young defender in the process.

Lauded as a ‘worldbeater’ by pundit Noel Whelan, this could be one major potential coup for Spurs.

In other news: ‘Understand’, ‘In recent weeks’…Alasdair Gold shares exciting development out of Hotspur Way, find out more here.

At the age of 35, Liverpool midfielder James Milner is currently the seventh-oldest current Premier League player, with an astonishing 568 league appearances under his belt in what has been an impressive career in English football.

Taking that into account, and with his current contract at Anfield set to expire next summer, it’s not out of the question that the Merseyside club could be looking to replace the veteran if he ends up leaving then.

Rather than potentially splashing out a significant transfer fee on a new player from another club to replace Milner if he were to leave, we feel that Liverpool could already have their perfect heir for him within their youth squad in James Norris.

The 18-year-old, who is a product of Liverpool’s youth academy, is predominantly a left-back, a position where Milner has made 66 appearances throughout his career. He has also played as a central midfielder, centre-back and left-midfielder on two occasions for England’s under-19 side this season, showing her versatility at such a young age, just as Milner has done throughout his long career.

According to Liverpool’s official website, Norris is an “energetic left-back who can also play in midfield”, has “a great work ethic matched with a sweet left foot” and “loves to get forward and support the attack”.

Throughout his short career so far, he has made 35 appearances for Liverpool’s under-18 side, with five goals and five assists to his name, as well as making 13 appearances for the under-23 side, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process.

Norris made his senior debut for the Reds during Liverpool’s 5-0 defeat against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup back in December 2019.

Looking ahead to the future, if he can keep developing within Liverpool’s youth teams for the time being and adapting to different positions as he has been doing, he could well go on to become a very useful figure for Liverpool in their senior squad in the foreseeable future given his versatility, especially if Milner leaves the club when his contract runs out next year.

In other news – Forget Keita: Klopp must unleash £120k-p/w LFC outcast on Sunday, he impressed v Atletico

Aston Villa reportedly now want to bring in Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand to replace Dean Smith, according to Alan Nixon of The Sun.

As to be expected, the latest managerial link has had a number of Villa fans talking on social media.

Smith was officially sacked on Sunday following a fifth defeat on the spin, with the Villa board now on the lookout for a new boss.

The likes of Paulo Fonseca and Lucien Favre are two other names who are thought to be of interest to NSWE, and Hjulmand is the latest addition to that list.

Nixon led with a headline on Saturday night claiming that Villa want Hjulmand to replace the under-pressure Smith, with the 49-year-old labelled as ‘world-class’ by his former FC Nordsjaelland employer Tom Vernon.

Hjulmand likes to play an attacking 4-3-3 formation and has won 16 of his 23 games as Denmark boss, guiding them to the Euro 2020 semi-finals in the wake of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest. However, his only experience as a club manager in a top European league came with Bundesliga side Mainz back in 2014, where he lasted just 231 days, winning five of his 24 games.

Villa fans react

The AVFC Faithful shared the links to Hjulmand on Twitter on Saturday evening, with a mixed response from Villa supporters as outlined below.

“This was be a class appointment if true. Especially as he’s worked with Lange in the past. Got the best out of a decent Denmark side. Would be a perfect fit ”

Credit: @firkins11

“Get him in”

Credit: @firebundem

“Europe inbound”

Credit: @rossmow6

“Would be an awful appointment. Fonesca or Gerrard.”

Credit: @Harry1874avfc

“Only major league he managed in was the Bundesliga and had a 20% win percentage, no thanks”

Credit: @DanAVFC_

“Has to be a wind up”

Credit: @bigderm

In other news: ‘How?’, ‘God help us’ – Some Villa fans ‘baffled’ by confirmed player news

Frank McAvennie has offered a brutal assessment of Rangers central defender Connor Goldson…

What’s the talk?

Former Scotland international Frank McAvennie has predicted that Rangers defender Connor Goldson will not be able to join a bigger club if he leaves Ibrox.

McAvennie has sent a warning to the defender and said that Gerrard should be making the point to him, amid reported interest from Premier League side West Ham.

He told Football Insider:

“He must think he deserves a better deal than everyone else. He has played well in a well-drilled defence, they work well together.

“I don’t think any of them are standout players, they just work so hard together, that’s why they were so good. He’s not as good as he thinks he is. I think he’s a cog rather than the star man. What is he demanding?

“Gerrard will be telling him that. If he leaves, he won’t find a bigger club, you know, get real.”

Fans would be buzzing

Steven Gerrard must now have a difficult conversation with Goldson in order to convince him to stay at the club in the long term. He must make a major call and tell the defender, to his face, that Rangers may be the best team he will ever play for, as McAvennie has predicted.

Whether or not Goldson can get a better move is irrelevant at the end of the day, Gerrard simply needs to state his case strong enough for the centre-back to believe it. He should be explaining to him how lucky he is to play, typically, in front of almost 50,000 fans every home game whilst competing for trophies year-in-year-out.

That may not be the case if he heads back down to England to join a team in midtable in the Premier League, for example.

Fans would be buzzing if this tactic managed to convince Goldson to put pen to paper. Back in February, Gerrard told The Scotsman: “Connor has been an absolute mountain for this team, a warrior.

“I can’t describe to you how well he has done for this team, not just in terms of what you have seen on the pitch but also his leadership on the inside of the club and his availability every single day.”

This shows how highly-valued the £27k-per-week beast is at Rangers, on and off the pitch with his leadership. He also played 38 Premiership matches for the Gers as they won the title last season, helping the team to keep an astonishing 26 clean sheets in that time.

Goldson averaged a phenomenal SofaScore rating of 7.39, showing that he was consistently brilliant at centre-back in the Premiership. This highlights how important he has been to Gerrard’s side and why fans would be delighted if he signed a contract extension to stay at Ibrox.

AND in other news, Gerrard masterstroke: Rangers colossus has seen value rise 650% since joining the club…