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Marcus Bent has suggested that Josh King was a panic buy from Everton.

With just one recognised striker at the club in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and a European push very much on the cards, the Toffees signed the Canadian from Bournemouth late on Deadline Day in January.

King had been struggling in the Championship with the Cherries having failed to net in the first half of the campaign.

However, he had previously scored goals in the top-flight with Bournemouth, which is why Carlo Ancelotti bought him to Goodison Park on a short-term contract.

Remarkably, despite being proven at this level, King failed to start a single match during his short stay on Merseyside, and unsurprisingly didn’t manage to score.

In fact, King played just 137 minutes during his time with Everton before he was released at the end of his contract last month despite the man who signed him, Ancelotti, leaving for Real Madrid.

Bent exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“Maybe it was a panic buy, a panic buy doesn’t mean bringing in a player that you sign for the fans, but maybe in case someone gets injured.

“It was only a six-month deal, so it isn’t the end of the world.”

After being forced off the pitch through injury during their 2-2 draw against Brentford, Leeds United have been sweating over the fitness of midfield maestro Kalvin Phillips.

With the England international also missing Leeds’ recent 3-2 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, there has finally been some clarity about Phillips’ injury.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent report from The Athletic, Phillips has undergone surgery to repair the hamstring injury he suffered and is now expected to be out for at least two months, which is news that will surely have a lot of Leeds fans fuming.

With Marcelo Bielsa’s men having the tough task of taking on Manchester City at The Etihad Stadium later tonight in their latest Premier League match, it seems that they will have to take on the reigning league champions without Phillips.

Last season, Leeds lost seven of the nine league games that the England international wasn’t involved in and haven’t managed to win any of the league games that he’s not played in this term, highlighting just how important he is for the team and how much of a major blow it will be to have him out of action for two months.

This season, the 26-year-old has managed to rack up an average of 2.3 tackles per game and 1.2 interceptions per game in the league, which is a clue as to why the Yorkshire side don’t win many games when he’s not playing given how much of a useful defensive player he is from midfield.

This, therefore, doesn’t make Leeds’ chances of picking up too many points in the next two months look very high, especially with the Whites also having the likes of Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford, Rodrigo, Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk out injured as well.

Their period without Phillips could get off to a bad start tonight when they take on Pep Guardiola’s side who have scored a total of 33 goals and conceded just nine so far this season in the league.

However, with Leeds managing to secure a win at The Etihad last season thanks to a brace of goals from Stuart Dallas, they should be heading into this game with the confidence and belief that they can cause another upset and come away with three points again.

Although, their injuries will undoubtedly make it much more difficult for Leeds.

Now, everyone at the Yorkshire club will have their fingers crossed that Phillips will be able to make a full recovery as soon as possible and end the season fit and firing with Leeds and away from a potential relegation scrap.

At the moment, though, it’s nothing short of a huge blow to see him ruled out for so long.

In other news: Exciting 4-word January transfer claim emerges that will have Leeds fans buzzing – opinion

Tottenham Hotspur have now been dealt a double injury blow before their game at home to Manchester United in the Premier League this evening.

The Lowdown: Nuno under pressure?

As per The Sun, there has been some disagreements between Nuno Espirito Santo and some members of his squad, with some in the latest UEFA Europa Conference League team ‘seriously angered’ because of his tendency to think too far ahead.

This has reportedly created a ‘needless chasm’ at the North London cub, and left the side’s morale in ‘tatters’, given it was a largely understrength team against Vitesse.

They ended up losing that game, and then lost 1-0 away to London rivals West Ham United, which coupled up with the dismal 3-1 defeat at Arsenal earlier on in the season, means that Nuno is under some serious pressure already as the manager.

The Latest: Team news

Speaking in his pre-game press conference ahead of the match against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team, Nuno has now revealed (via Football.London) that Bryan Gil has a ‘problem’, while Ryan Sessegnon will definitely not be involved:

“Let’s see. Bryan we have a problem with. We are assessing. Sessegnon is not involved, still not in the group. Normal knocks after the game.”

The Verdict: Double blow

Sessegnon has been cursed with injury problems throughout his career, and that has not changed since signing for the Lilywhites (Transfermarkt) for a £24.3m fee from Fulham back in the 2019 summer transfer window.

He needs a run in the team to get his fitness levels up and get used to playing regularly, and sadly that will not be the case against the Red Devils.

Likewise, Gil has barely featured at all for different reasons since arriving in the summer, playing in just 57 minutes in the Premier League so far.

The Spurs fans will surely want to see more of their new recruit, but it looks as if he could miss out too.

In other news, find out whose agents Fabio Paratici is talking to about a potential move here!

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Christian Eriksen back to north London in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the Italian journalist and transfer insider revealing in a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast that, despite there currently being no talks between the 30-year-old and Tottenham, a move for the midfielder is something Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici will consider at the end of the season.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-levy-conte-paratici-thfc” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

Speaking about Spurs’ links with the Denmark international: “The answer I’m always receiving on Eriksen’s side is: ‘He’s not deciding in April, he’s not deciding in May. He wants to wait until the end of the season to meet with Brentford and speak with them – as a matter of respect – and then he will make a decision on his future.’

“But we have rumours of Tottenham because of Antonio Conte. The relationship with Conte was terrible two years ago and then it changed, it completely changed in the second half of the last season with Inter Milan. So, this is why we have rumours. It is not something close, but it is something Tottenham could consider after the meeting with Brentford.”

Conte would love him

While it is true that, following his £24.3m move to Inter back in January 2020, Eriksen initially struggled for game time under the 52-year-old manager, the Dane eventually worked his way into the Italian’s starting XI, before becoming a key player for the Nerazzurri last season.

Indeed, over his 27 Serie A appearances last time out, the £13.5m-rated midfield maestro highly impressed in Inter’s title-winning campaign, scoring three goals and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots and making 1.2 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £23k-per-week playmaker average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as Conte’s 11th-best player in the Italian top-flight.

This is form that the 111-time capped international has continued following his switch to Brentford in the January transfer window, with the player who Thomas Frank dubbed “world-class” very much proving he is still exactly as his manager claims.

Indeed, over his six Premier League fixtures for the Bees, the 30-year-old has already bagged one goal, provided two assists and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as made an average of 1.8 key passes and taken 1.7 shots per game.

These returns have seen the Dane average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.47, not only ranking him as Brentford’s best performer in the league but also as the fourth-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, Romano’s claim that Tottenham will consider a move to bring Eriksen back to north London this summer is hardly surprising, as it is clear that the midfielder is a player Conte would love to have in his side next season.

AND in other news: Spurs plotting £58m bid for “perfect” target who “Paratici loves”, he’s Conte’s dream

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed striker Giorgos Giakoumakis suffered an injury during the 7-0 hammering of St Johnstone.

The lowdown: Celtic go nine clear

The Hoops moved nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership (ahead of St Mirren vs Rangers) with a resounding victory at Celtic Park thanks to a brace from Matt O’Riley and single strikes from Giakoumakis, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Liel Abada and Josip Juranovic.

The Greek frontman netted a 13th goal of the season across all competitions before being forced off after 27 minutes with a suspected hamstring issue.

With a huge fixture schedule coming up, Postecoglou is hopeful that the 27-year-old will make a swift recovery but is ‘concerned’.

The latest: Ange provides an update

Speaking after the match (via Scottish Daily Express) the boss said it is unfortunate: “I’m not too sure at the moment. He didn’t think it was too bad but he could feel something.

“It’s always a concern when players do that. He’s had an enormous load the last few weeks.

“It’s unfortunate for him but I’m hopeful he’ll still be available for us in the run-in.”

The Bhoys manager also has fitness worries regarding Tom Rogic after the Australian was replaced at half-time.

The verdict: Can’t afford a setback

Aside from the injury suffered by Giakoumakis – who was recently hailed as ‘lethal’ by Kris Commons – this was nigh on a perfect afternoon for the Hoops.

Whilst Postecoglou is clearly optimistic the issue won’t keep the frontman sidelined for a significant period, with a hectic fixture schedule starting against Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park coming up, there aren’t many opportunities remaining to ease a player back to fitness.

Therefore, with any hamstring injury likely to be troublesome, versatile Japanese forward Maeda may well be asked to lead the line in the absence of the £1.8million valued man (Transfermarkt).

In other news, Ange Postecoglou praises Celtic chief. Find out who it is here.

Liverpool have enjoyed a rather successful start to their season with Jurgen Klopp’s side currently unbeaten across the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.

However, there is one player that has not been a massive part of Liverpool’s season so far that could be on their way out of the Merseyside club in the near future.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by The Mirror that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be looking for a way out of Liverpool to get more game time elsewhere and save his career.

Liverpool signed Oxlade-Chamberlain back in the 2017 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Arsenal for a fee of £35m.

Since then, the 28-year-old, who is currently valued at £16.2m according to Transfermarkt, has made 109 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to score 14 goals and provide 12 assists in the process.

So far this season, the Englishman, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £120k-per-week according to Spotrac, has made just five appearances across all competitions for Jurgen Klopp’s side, starting just two of them.

Time to move on

Taking into account how Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been labelled as “outstanding” by Klopp in the past, has been very unlucky with his injury issues during his time with the Merseyside club, this is undoubtedly a factor that must be acknowledged regarding his lack of games since his arrival.

That being said, we feel that if Oxlade-Chamberlain thinks it would be a better option for him and his career to leave Liverpool and join a club where he would be playing regularly, then the Reds should definitely consider letting him go.

They must do so if they get a financial offer they deem suitable for the player either in the upcoming January transfer window or the next summer window. After all, they cannot continue to pay someone who has missed so much football.

The attacking midfielder has missed 72 matches during his Liverpool career, sitting on the treatment table for a period of 493 days. It’s been a sad few years for Oxlade-Chamberlain but unfortunately, now is the time for Klopp to wield the axe on his time in Merseyside.

Whether or not any club would be willing to take a gamble on a player like that only time will tell, but we feel it would be in Liverpool’s best interests to get his salary off their wage bill.

In other news: 100% ground duels lost: Klopp surely worried about “exceptional” Liverpool gem on loan – opinion

No talks have taken place between Lewis O’Brien and Leeds United over a summer move, according to Yorkshire Post journalist Leon Wobschall.

The Lowdown: O’Brien linked with Leeds move

O’Brien has been a key player for Huddersfield Town in recent years, making 80 Championship appearances in the last two seasons.

The 22-year-old has been linked with a summer move for Leeds, however, with Marcelo Bielsa potentially seeing him as a good squad depth addition with plenty of room to develop at such a young age.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Journalist provides update

Despite the Whites’ apparent interest, however, a fresh update has been provided by Wobschall on Twitter.

He confirmed Huddersfield head coach Carlos Corberan’s comments regarding a possible move to Elland Road, saying there have been “no talks with Leeds United”.

That suggests O’Brien could stay put at the Championship club and leave for free next summer, with his current deal expiring in 2022.

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The Verdict: Not a must-need signing

Not signing O’Brien would be no great loss for Leeds, considering he is unlikely to come in as a key man for Bielsa’s side.

That being said, acquiring the midfielder’s signature would still represent positive news, considering he would add depth in the middle of the park behind Kalvin Phillips and won Huddersfield’s Player of the Year award in 2019/20.

The fact that the Terriers could lose O’Brien on a free transfer next year could make them more willing to accept an offer, so it will be interesting to see if anything develops over the final weeks of the window.

In other news, a fresh update regarding Leeds’ interest in one player has emerged. Find out who it is here.

A number of Wolves supporters are delighted after Bruno Lage provided a positive injury update regarding long-term absentee Pedro Neto.

The young Portuguese was a star figure for much of last season, scoring five goals and registering six assists in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, he was struck down with a cruel injury blow towards the end of the campaign, suffering a serious knee issue.

The winger hasn’t featured for Wolves in the seven months since his setback but a positive update has finally arrived regarding his recovery.

Speaking to the press on Friday [via Talking Wolves on Twitter], Lage confirmed that the 21-year-old will be back at Wolves in a few days and could start working outside at the training ground.

Wolves fans delighted with Neto update

It is big news for Wolves considering Neto’s influence last season – he was their joint-highest rated player for 2020/21 according to WhoScored – and these fans took to Twitter to show their happiness over the “unreal” maestro’s looming comeback.

“Going to win the Prem once he gets back”

Credit: @addiraesimp

“Stick this fella in our squad… so many attacking options!”

Credit: @OutofDarkness19

“Couple days?? I smell a title charge”

Credit: @haydenbd_

“Yeah, we are getting Europe”

Credit: @tylerwwfc

“Ahhh, he’s gonna be unreal when he’s back”

Credit: @eve_elizabethxx

“Neto, Raul, Hwang is gonna be absolutely ridiculous”

Credit: @adenwwfc_

In other news, this Premier League star has gushed over one Wolves player. Find out who it is here.

Jesse Lingard is still on the radar of West Ham United as he seems ‘certain to leave’ Manchester United in the near future…

What’s the word?

90min journalist Toby Cudworth delivered a fresh update on the 28-year-old’s situation earlier this week, although he may not be as big a priority as before.

“#WHUFC & Jesse Lingard as I understand it: Certain to leave Man Utd. West Ham interest remains. He’s not necessarily the priority,” he tweeted.

Cudworth added: “Hlozek interest v[ery] real and a better long-term option” and “Barca, Atleti & Milan options abroad for Lingz”.

It comes after The Times revealed that the England international had no intention of restarting negotiations with Manchester United because of his frustrations at the club’s behaviour during discussions earlier this season.

Get it done, Newman!

Whilst Lingard may no longer be a priority for David Moyes and co, it would be a wise decision to bring the Old Trafford outcast back to the London Stadium this January.

Nearly a year ago, the English playmaker joined the club on loan and provided a vital contribution in the Irons sealing Europa League qualification, having delivered nine goals and five assists across 16 appearances. Only Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio scored more goals for West Ham in 2020/21.

Summer signing Nikola Vlasic has flattered to deceive since replacing Lingard at the club, and given his versatility, he can not only be a no.10 but also play out wide and provide backup to Michail Antonio at centre-forward.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-west-ham-news-transfer-updates-gsb-kretinsky-moyes” title=”Read the latest West Ham news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Furthermore, Said Benrahma is expected to miss several games at the start of next year due to his likely contribution at the Africa Cup of Nations for Algeria. His absence on the left-flank will be sorely missed but the return of Lingard could certainly aid that.

Moyes and his assistant manager Stuart Pearce have never kept their interest a secret.

After the final game of last season, the Scotsman seemingly urged the £19.8m-rated star to remain at the Hammers. “I hope Jesse’s here, we’d like to keep him, he’s done an exceptional job for us but there’s no guarantees, he’s not our player,” he said (via the Evening Standard).

Pearce told talkSPORT back in August: “We would like him to come and join us. That has been an open secret. He was wonderful last year.”

A large majority of the London Stadium faithful also want his return, having reacted to similar reports earlier this month. As relayed by Hammers.News, many would be super excited and keen to see him back.

Similarly, in a previous poll conducted recently by Football FanCast, around 89% of more than 400 supporters claimed that they would be delighted if he re-signed for the club.

Therefore, this latest development should have a lot of the fanbase ecstatic. Lingard must return in January, especially as he has unfinished business here in east London.

AND in other news, Daniel Kretinsky could be key to West Ham landing January target…

West Bromwich Albion have been handed a major boost in their bid to keep Sam Johnstone at The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee (via WBA Report), with the West Ham United insider stating that David Moyes’ side had opted to pursue a deal for Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola ahead of the Albion shot-stopper.

It is reported that the Hammers had been locked in negotiations with West Brom regarding a deal for the England international, however, with the Premier League side reluctant to pay the £12m the Baggies were demanding for the 28-year-old, Moyes turned his focus back to Areola.

And, after West Ham completed their deal for the PSG ‘keeper on Thursday afternoon, the Irons’ pursuit of Johnstone now appears to be over.

Fans will be buzzing

With West Ham having always looked to be the most likely destination for Johnstone this summer, the fact that the club have now landed another target in the position would seem to have drastically increased West Brom’s chances of retaining their number one ahead of next season, something that is sure to have left Albion fans buzzing.

And, should the club go on to keep hold of the 28-year-old come the end of August, it would undoubtedly provide Valerien Ismael with a huge boost to his chances of securing an immediate return to the top flight next season, as, despite Albion’s struggles last time out, Johnstone proved himself as one of the club’s most influential players.

Indeed, over his 37 Premier League appearances last term, the £7.2m-rated man kept six clean sheets, made an average of 4.5 saves per game and stopped a total of a whopping 166 shots over the course of the season.

These returns saw the player Steve Bruce dubbed a “diamond” earn a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Albion’s second-best performer in the top flight of English football.

As such, with there currently not looking too many avenues out of West Bromwich for Johnstone, the £28k-per-week could well be set to remain at The Hawthorns next season, something that appeared an almost impossible scenario a couple of months ago.

In other news: Imagine him & Mowatt: West Brom initiate talks for 26y/o, he makes a “big difference”