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Rangers face fellow Premiership side Hibernian in the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup on Sunday as they look to book their place in the final of the competition.

They will do so without their new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the dugout. The Dutchman is reportedly expected to officially start the job next Monday as he awaits a work permit.

Jermain Defoe was confirmed as one of the coaches set to take charge until a permanent manager is in place, which could see the ex-Tottenham striker running the rule of the match on Sunday.

Game-changer

One change to the team that Defoe could make for Van Bronckhorst is bringing Borna Barisic in at left-back for Calvin Bassey to add an extra attacking threat to the side.

The Dutchman could enjoy watching Barisic play as he might see similarities between himself and the Croatian, having played at left-back throughout his career. A trait the current Gers defender shares with his new head coach is the ability to score and set up goals from the back.

Van Bronckhorst managed seven goals and 18 assists for Barcelona, whilst also producing 35 goals and 27 assists during his playing time with Feyenoord. He also scored and set up goals for Rangers, Arsenal and the Netherlands, showing that he had the quality to be a game-changer from left-back by popping up with a crucial goal or assist.

Barisic has shown that he can also change, and indeed win, games with his contributions in the final third for the Gers. He has managed an impressive seven goals and 34 assists in 125 games for the club to date, including two assists in six Premiership matches this term.

On this point, Mark Wilson once lauded Barisic’s attacking prowess, saying: “He’s the best left-back in the country. He’s improved his defending and supplies assists and is a threat at set pieces.”

Meanwhile, Basset has just one goal and three assists in 28 senior appearances for Rangers. This suggests that Barisic offers more in the final third of the pitch and could allow the Gers to create more chances from the left-hand side this weekend.

The £15k-per-week Croatia international could catch Van Bronckhorst’s eye ahead of the manager’s Monday start, given their similarities as players; and that – along with his potential to be a game-changer – is why Rangers must start him this weekend.

AND in other news, Big blow: Rangers suffer setback as behind-the-scenes news emerges, fans surely gutted…

West Bromwich Albion are having problems all over the pitch when it comes to injuries, and it is having a knock-on effect to their season as they struggle to gain traction in their Championship title challenge.

Fulham and Bournemouth have gone out ahead in the first and second places in the league, with the Baggies currently seven points adrift from second spot.

Valerien Ismael will be likely to go looking for players in the winter transfer window, and according to BirminghamLive they are intensifying plans with the West Brom manager. Speaking on the club’s plans recently, the boss said;

“For sure we are intensifying the players, but we have been preparing in the background already, you don’t start one week or two weeks before the window opens,” Ismael explained.

“It’s all a process. We know exactly where we want to see players.

Sky Sports pundit, Don Goodman, has had his say on where he thinks West Brom can strengthen and more importantly, the “powerhouse” they can sign to do the job.

“West Bromwich Albion haven’t got a Daryl Dike, they haven’t got that powerhouse.”

“They have Jordan Hugill who is powerful in the air but in terms of dynamism and mobility maybe Daryl Dike just offers that little bit more.

“So look, I think managers we know like players that they have worked with and that they can trust and I think that [Dike] would be a very wise signing for West Bromwich Albion if they got the opportunity to make that happen.”

Dike is currently playing in the MLS for Orlando City SC, after half a season on loan with Barnsley, working with current West Brom Ismael, where he scored nine goals in just 22 appearances for the Yorkshire club.

The 21-year-old is back in America and is currently having a huge impact on his MLS club, with 18 goals and four assists in 35 appearances. Those numbers would definitely benefit West Brom in their chase for automatic promotion to the Premier League with a barnstorm approaching potentially taking them back to the promised lands of top-flight football.

Ismael will have some important decisions to make and will hopefully get the financial backing from the club to add players in the key positions, specifically Dike, that could be the difference between Premier League promotion or another season in the Championship.

West Brom take on Nottingham Forest at home on Friday night in a game where they will be hoping to grab three points to continue their challenge to climb into one of the two highest positions of the Championship.

In other news: Kipre drops a shocker against Blackpool

Antonio Conte was given a shock over just how much work he still has to do at Tottenham Hotspur after they lost 2-1 away at NS Mura on Thursday evening.

The Slovenians, who are the lowest-ranked team in the Europa Conference League, took an early lead after a fine curling strike from Tomi Horvat, before Ryan Sessegnon found himself sent off after being given two yellow cards by the referee.

Harry Kane levelled the match in the second half with a delicate chip over the goalkeeper, before a Ben Davies slip proved costly as Amadej Marosa raced through in the last minute of the game to put his shot past Pierluigi Gollini in the Tottenham net.

There were some truly abysmal performances from a lot of Spurs players on the night, and The Transfer Tavern has used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who were the three worst to have played at least 45 minutes:

Dele Alli (6.4)

Admittedly tied with second place with the same SofaScore rating (6.4), Alli sneaks into third given that he had less time on the pitch after being substituted off for Son Heung-Min in the 54th minute.

It was yet another frustrating evening for the Englishman, summed up by getting himself booked for having an argument with a Mura player just before he came off.

Alli lost out on five of his duels and failed to record a single shot or key pass, while only managing 29 touches of the ball in total as he struggled to make any real impact.

Japhet Tanganga (6.4)

Tanganga also received a 6.4 rating from SofaScore after being part of a defence which was nothing short of shambolic at times.

The centre-back lost out on three duels and failed to make a clearance or block any shots on his goal, while he was also guilty of losing possession seven times.

Pierluigi Gollini (6.1)

Perhaps inevitably, Gollini was given a bad rating (6.1) by SofaScore after letting in two goals, and with the second he would have especially felt as if he could have done much better.

The goalkeeper resisted from trying to play out from the back on multiple occasions, yielding just 25 touches of the ball, while he made no saves at all in the entire match.

Sessegnon received a 5.1 rating after getting sent off, but of course played less than 45 minutes after getting sent off just after the half-hour mark.

In other news, Spurs are ‘preparing’ a bid for this ‘monster’

A number of West Ham supporters have been enjoying footage posted by the club of Manuel Lanzini’s brilliant consolation goal in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City.

The Hammers were beaten by the reigning Premier League champions at the weekend but they gave a good account of themselves at the Etihad Stadium. In the end, Pep Guardiola’s side proved to be strong for the east Londoners, but they competed for most of the match and shouldn’t feel too disheartened about the result, especially as they still sit fourth.

It was Lanzini who scored a stoppage-time consolation for West Ham, with the Argentine curling a typically classy finish past Ederson in the dying seconds.

On Monday, the Hammers’ official Twitter channel shared footage of the goal, with the moment of class something to enjoy despite the eventual result in Manchester.

West Ham fans loved Lanzini’s goal

These West Ham fans took to Twitter to show their appreciation for the 28-year-old’s “incredible” goal.

“I may have squealed a little”

Credit: @all_sweat

“What a fantastic goal”

Credit: @CazShan

“Can’t argue with that…”

Credit: @JimMunro

“Lanzini needs a start”

Credit: @mikemakesfilms

“Incredible Manu”

Credit: @Ju5t1n3m

“Absolutely fantastic goal yesterday, hope you get back to your best form”

Credit: @JeremyP45926233

In other news, a journalist has made a key West Ham transfer claim. Read more here.

Leeds United have been boosted in their efforts to sign Ben Brereton Diaz, with Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray admitting that a big offer could be accepted.

The Lowdown: Brereton Diaz on fire

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a magnificent start to the season, scoring 17 goals in the Championship and only trailing Aleksandar Mitrovic (21) in the Golden Boot race in England’s second tier.

Brereton Diaz has also made a promising start to his international career with Chile, netting three times in nine appearances to date.

The Blackburn attacker has been linked with a move to Leeds in recent times, and while his current club are desperate to keep hold of him, their manager may have given the Whites some hope.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Mowbray gives Leeds hope

Speaking to Lancashire Telegraph, Mowbray admitted that a sizeable offer next summer could see Blackburn have to part with the Brereton Diaz. He said:

“He’s not walking away for nothing in the summer. All of those things are really pertinent. How much do you pay Ben Brereton to keep him happy and stay at this club and keep the journey going? Or when does he cut off and say he’s not signing so you decide what you want to do?

“We’ve not reached that stage with him because he’s a brilliant kid, no ego, works really hard for the lads.

“I’d like to think we can give Ben a new contract because I believe the best way to leave the club would be if someone offers an amount of money that would just be stupid to turn down and we could buy three £5m players on the back of it and then give yourselves a real chance and expectation to get promotion.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-27/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Strong rival for Bamford

Leeds are short on strikers this season, with Patrick Bamford relied upon too often, scoring on his first appearance in almost three months last weekend after coming back from injury.

Marcelo Bielsa could do with signing someone who can rival provide genuine competition for the Englishman, and Brereton Diaz could be that man.

The Chile international may only be shining in the Championship currently but Bamford himself took form with him from that division to the Premier League stage, scoring 16 goals in the second tier in 2019/20 and 17 in the top flight in the following campaign.

In other news, one massive Leeds figure has been linked with a shock January exit. Read more here.

Leeds United are back in Premier League action today, with a home clash against Arsenal giving them the chance to move on from their 7-0 defeat against Manchester City in midweek.

In terms of which players Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa could pick in his starting XI to take on the Gunners, one rising talent who should be given a shot to shine on this occasion is Sam Greenwood, who is currently earning £2.6k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

Time to unleash Greenwood

With Leeds having the likes of Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo and now Dan James out injured, this could be the perfect time for Bielsa to finally give Greenwood his first appearance in the Premier League this season after being an unused substitute on seven occasions, including on Tuesday night at the Etihad Stadium.

Since joining the club in August 2020 from Arsenal’s under-18 side, the 19-year-old has made 33 appearances for the Whites’ under-23s, for whom he has scored 20 goals and provided four assists.

Greenwood has also made two senior appearances for Leeds, which came during their 3-0 defeat against Crawley Town in the FA Cup last January and their 2-0 defeat against tonight’s opponents in the Carabao Cup in October.

Taking all this into account, it could be worth Bielsa giving the 19-year-old his first taste of Premier League action to see if he can help fill in for Leeds’ injured attacking players and cause his former club some problems.

Labelled a “weapon” for Leeds in the past by Noel Whelan, Greenwood definitely has what it takes to show to everyone at the club that he is ready to play in the Premier League in the same way that Joe Gelhardt has by making five appearances in the league so far this season.

With the former Wigan gem showing that he can adapt to top-flight level, Bielsa should have confidence that another rising star in Greenwood could do the same, and that starts with giving him his chance tonight in the absence of several attacking talents at Elland Road.

In other news: Leeds handed much-needed injury boost ahead of Arsenal clash which will delight the fans

The previous summer transfer window was an incredibly busy one for Aston Villa, firstly for selling their star player and club captain Jack Grealish to Manchester City for a fee of £100m and then spending a total sum of £89.84m on bringing new players to the Midlands club.

Even though it’s only been a few months since the last window, one player that came in over the summer that hasn’t been a particularly solid signing for the Villans is Danny Ings.

Signed out of the blue from fellow Premier League side Southampton back in August for a fee of £25m, Ings began well at Villa Park by starting their opening nine league games of the season with three goals and two assists under his belt.

However, in the middle of the five-game run of defeats that cost Dean Smith his job at Villa, Ings has become more of a bit-part player, starting just one game since new manager Steven Gerrard came in which was his first game as Villa boss in their 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Ings played 66 minutes with no goals or assists and hasn’t started a game since, being an unused substitute in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and coming on as a substitute in the second half of their two previous games against Liverpool and Norwich City.

In fairness to Ings, who is currently Villa’s best-paid player with a weekly wage of £100k-per-week according to Salary Sport, he has struggled with injuries since October when his consistent run in the team came to an end.

However, with Ings not starting the game against Norwich, which could have been an easy target for Ings to add some goals to his tally for the season against given how they’ve managed to concede 34 league goals all season, suggests that Gerrard may not fully trust or rate the former Liverpool and Burnley striker enough to lead the line for his Villa team.

Taking all of this into account, unless Ings can get and stay fit for the rest of the season and add some more goals and assists to his record, his debut season at Villa could be in danger of being an ultimately disappointing one individually, potentially making Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens question their decision to bring him to the club in the first place.

They had a plan to replace some of Grealish’s qualities in Ings but it’s evident that has not gone according to plan.

In other news: Lange must avoid transfer catastrophe at AVFC over “magnificent” £28.8m-rated machine – opinion

Celtic are interested in a deal to bring Albert Gudmundsson to Parkhead.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that Ange Postecoglou’s side are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the AZ Alkmaar winger, who is out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

However, the report goes on to state that Celtic are not the only Premiership side keeping tabs on the 24-year-old forward, with the club’s Old Firm rivals also believed to be interested in a move for the Iceland international, while a number of other top sides across Europe are also thought to be monitoring the situation of Gudmundsson.

Bye-bye Ajeti

Considering just how impressive Gudmundsson has been for AZ Alkmaar in recent seasons, should Celtic be able to secure a deal for the versatile winger, it would undoubtedly be a massive coup for Postecoglou and his side – particularly if he were to arrive at Parkhead on a free transfer.

Indeed, over his 26 Eredivisie appearances in the club’s 2020/21 campaign, the £3.6m-rated man scored seven goals, registered four assists and created seven big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.2 shots and making 1.2 key passes per game.

These returns saw the 24-year-old – who can play anywhere across the front three, in addition to central and attacking midfield – earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.99, ranking him as AZ’s eighth-best performer in the top flight of Dutch football.

Meanwhile, over the £1.9k-per-week forward’s 16 league outings this season, Gudmundsson has already bagged four goals, provided one assist and created three big chances, as well as making an average of 0.9 key passes and taking 1.2 shots per fixture.

These returns have seen the 29-time capped international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as his side’s ninth-best player in the Eredivisie.

As such, it is clear that a player who carries both the goalscoring threat and creativity of the winger would make a fantastic addition to Postecoglou’s current options in attack, while his potential arrival would very much appear to spell the end for the £18k-per-week Albian Ajeti.

Indeed, the player who Neil Lennon signed for £5m back in the summer of 2020 has been labelled a “problem” by Packie Bonner, and looks to be heading for an exit from Glasgow in the not too distant future – something which the arrival of Gudmundsson would all but confirm.

In other news: Forget Forrest: Ange must unleash 19 y/o Celtic gem who’s been “bright” at Lennoxtown

Leeds United could have a future star for many years to come in Lewis Bate.

The 19-year-old midfielder was snatched from Chelsea’s renowned academy in the summer for a seven-figure fee thought to be around £1.5m, though he is yet to make his senior bow under Marcelo Bielsa.

It could be time for the Argentinian head coach to unleash the shackles as the Yorkshire giants head into 2022, a year that could be defining for the club’s longevity in the big time.

A string of long-term injuries and inconsistencies on the pitch could see Bielsa and the club’s recruitment team, led by director of football Victor Orta, buck the trend of not spending in January.

Sat in 16th place, just five points above the relegation zone, something has got to change.

But perhaps they needn’t look much further than their Thorp Arch training base for one solution in midfield.

For a long time in the Bielsa era, the engine room has been a crucial cog to their success, none more so than long-serving Pole, Mateusz Klich. Very rarely has he been absent from the starting XI, until now.

Of Leeds’ 17 games in the Premier League this season, he has started just ten. A stark contrast to him making 93 starts from 94 games in the league and the play-offs between 2018 and 2020.

He just hasn’t been good enough, so maybe it’s time to hand the baton to an up-and-comer in Bate.

The 5 foot 8 sensation has been likened to Clarence Seedorf due to his ability to control games from midfield, whilst he idolises the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

“Primarily, Bate is a No. 6, able to play either role in a double 6, or in a 3 with two 8s. Despite being quick and robust for his size, the question during his transition into senior football is how much and how early he’ll be able to play as a solo No. 6., especially at a Premier League level,” once claimed U18 and U23 recruitment analyst Connor Rowden to LeedsLive.

“His ability to take control of the tempo of a game from deep, dropping into spaces and probing with his mastery of the short and long passing game is where he excels.”

Elsewhere, The Athletic’s Phil Hay has dubbed him “very gifted”, so all the hallmarks are there for him to become a suggests at Elland Road.

From his 16 appearances for the U23s, Bate has primarily played as a no.8, so he could well be the perfect man to feature over someone like Klich in 2022.

As such, his involvement could save chairman Andrea Radrizzani several millions of pounds in the upcoming window.

AND in other news, “What I have been told..”: Journo reveals Leeds transfer blow, Bielsa will be furious…

Crystal Palace have been enjoying a comfortable season so far, with the appointment of Patrick Vieira and his summer signings making an impact in the right direction for the club, and in his second transfer window at Selhurst Park, the manager could be set to make another astute signing.

What’s the word?

Journalist Tom Barclay, has weighed in on the potential signing of Eddie Nketiah by Palace during the January transfer window, giving his perspective on the likelihood of the player joining the Eagles

Speaking to Give Me Sport, he said: “I think they’re still very much keen on him but it might be quite a tricky signing for them.”

The £17k-p/w striker has been linked with a move to Selhurst Park since the transfer window opened last weekend, but there are other clubs interested, with both Brighton and Bayer Leverkusen rumoured to be competing for the 22-year-old.

Fans will be buzzing

Vieira has changed the age profile of the Palace squad in his short time, with the club adding a number of young players during his time at the helm. Conor Gallagher (21) and Odsonne Edouard (23) are perfect examples of signings who have had a positive impact on the team this season.

Adding another young player into the mix to integrate into the side should surely put the club in good stead to build a team at Selhurst Park with a promising long-term future.

Some Eagles fans have already taken to social media to give their thoughts on the potential signing of Nketiah and how his prospective addition would be good for the team given the current competition in attack. With Christian Benteke and Jordan Ayew both 30 or older, and Jean-Philippe Mateta on the verge of leaving south London, centre-forward is a position where Vieira should indeed be looking to strengthen.

The Arsenal youngster has not had a chance to make a big impact on their Premier League campaign, with only three top-flight appearances this season. However, he has made the most of his game-time in the Carabao Cup, with five goals in just three matches helping Mikel Arteta’s side to reach the semi-finals.

Vieira will be hoping to give Nketiah a reason to join Palace by getting the better of Milwall tomorrow in the FA Cup and offering an attractive prospect for the youngster to become an integral part of a potential cup run at Selhurst Park.

Given the 22-year-old’s form in domestic cup fare already this term, the prospect of replicating that for the Eagles could have the Palace faithful buzzing with excitement.

In other news: Vieira could make his first big Palace mistake with this transfer target