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A number of Manchester United fans have been criticising the performance of Diogo Dalot in their 2-1 Champions League win at home to Villarreal on Wednesday night.

Cristiano Ronaldo spared Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s blushes with a last-minute goal after Alex Telles had cancelled out Paco Alcacer’s opener with a well-taken volley from outside the penalty box.

In spite of the win, Dalot endured a torrid time up against Arnaut Danjuma at right-back in place of the suspended Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Villarreal’s goal came down his flank.

The Portugal international lost out on four of his duels and also failed to block any shots or make any key passes or accurate crosses in the game, losing possession of the ball on 11 different occasions (Sofascore).

Man Utd fans on Dalot’s performance

These United supporters on Twitter blasted the 22-year-old’s performance, with one Red Devils supporter even going as far as to claim that Dalot was a ‘liability’ last night:

“Dalot was never good enough but Trippier was too expensive for what #MUFC wanted to pay.”

Credit: @JohnMozMolloy

“Telles passed the test. Dalot needs to improve massively.”

Credit: @ant4177

“A superb win to overshadowed many errors. Dalot was extremely poor throughout. Midfield lacking ball providers. A simple crossing might lead to a goal but we didn’t do that till end of the game. Sancho not at his best. Greenwood should do better. Again late substitution.”

Credit: @RRajen81

“Dalot is one of the worst defenders I’ve ever seen. Don’t know why we kept him this summer. Rather give Laird a chance.”

Credit: @BallRaffles

“Dalot was so poor today. Watching his defending the goal. If he went down he would have blocked that cross”

Credit: @StanChurchill

“Great excitement, drama and a win in the end but why did it take 60 minutes for United to start playing with any urgency and attacking verve? I’ve got nothing personal against Dalot but he is an absolute defensive liability”

Credit: @philgoldsmith

In other news, Dalot wasn’t the only player to come in for criticism from some Man Utd fans last night

Following on from their 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle at the weekend, Sunderland have been dealt yet another injury blow that could be a setback for their promotion charge.

What’s the news?

Speaking after the Plymouth game, Black Cats manager Lee Johnson said that Lynden Gooch picked up a groin strain in the match that forced him off the pitch and that “he will probably be fit for training on Tuesday or out for three or four weeks.”

Given the current lack of clarity around the severity of Gooch’s injury, it’s easy to see why the Northern Echo have said that Sunderland are still sweating over his fitness.

In addition to this, given the significant number of other Sunderland players currently out injured such as Luke O’Nien, Denver Hume, Dennis Cirkin, Aiden McGeady, Jordan Willis and Niall Huggins, it’s safe to say that it would be a big blow for Sunderland if Gooch’s injury is a serious one and isn’t able to play for the next few weeks, which would surely leave a lot of fans fuming.

Since joining the Wearside club’s U18 side back in the 2012 summer transfer window from Santa Cruz Breakers Academy, Gooch has gone on to make a total of 185 appearances for Sunderland across all competitions in which he has managed to score 23 goals and provide 33 assists along the way.

This season has seen the winger earn himself an overall rating of 6.86/10 for his performances in the 16 League One appearances he’s made, putting him in the top ten of Sunderland’s highest-rated players according to WhoScored.

Prior to the Plymouth game, Gooch had managed to provide three assists in his previous three league games, showing the good run of form he was on and why it’s so unfortunate for him to have picked up this groin issue.

Moving forward, even though Sunderland don’t have a midweek league game this week, Johnson and everyone else at the club will have their fingers crossed and be hoping that Gooch’s injury issue isn’t a serious one and that he will be available for their next game against Ipswich Town at the weekend, so their promotion hopes aren’t knocked.

In other news: KLD can spark SAFC’s promotion charge with big winter decision, fans would be thrilled – opinion

Tottenham could battle Aston Villa in the race to sign German defender Matthias Ginter this summer, according to Lyall Thomas.

The Lowdown: Defensive reinforcements needed?

Steven Gerrard could be a busy man this summer ahead of his first full season in charge at Villa Park.

Reports have suggested that eight players could be moved on from the Midlands, with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa’s futures under scrutiny.

Should the pair depart, Villa would be left with just two senior centre-backs and then surely need to dip into the market, where it looks as if Ginter could be the first major deal.

The Latest: Thomas’ post

Sky Sports reporter Thomas took to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on Ginter. He confirmed that Villa are ‘interested’ in Ginter on a free transfer, with Premier League rivals Tottenham and West Ham also watching the World Cup winner this season.

“Aston Villa among the clubs interested in Matthias Ginter on a free transfer, acc. to Sky Germany. Separately, I’m aware he has been watched by a lot of top clubs this season including Juventus, Tottenham and West Ham.”

The Verdict: Sign

Gerrard is looking to take Villa to the next level, and bringing in an experienced centre-back on a free transfer could be an ideal move.

Ginter, who can also play as a full-back and in midfield, is valued at £21.6m and has bundles of top-flight experience in Germany as well as in European competitions and for his country. [Transfermarkt]

He appears to be a man in demand, so securing his services for nothing over the coming months could prove to be a coup and shouldn’t impact the club’s big £150m summer spending plans.

In other news: Gerrard and Lange now eyeing another free transfer for ‘superstar’ attacker. 

Wolves have been making headlines with a number of rumours already circulating on the expected incomings and outgoings in the January transfer window, and now journalist, Luke Hatfield, has had his say on one particular rumour.

What’s the word?

Hatfield has spoken to GIVEMESPORT giving his opinion on the rumours of a move away from Molineux for Wolves defender, Rayan Ait-Nouri, he said;

“I’d be surprised if that one happens. I think we’ll see him as a key part of the squad.

“Considering Marcal isn’t going to get a game and Jonny still coming back from injury, he’s the first kind of port of call in that position. And I think he’s done well and is improving. So, I’d be surprised if they let him go.”

According to reports from El Nacional, the £13.5m-rated gem was rumoured to have interest from Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid in recent weeks, but there have been no further fresh claims that any of the European giants are interested in stealing the signature of the 20 year old, as of yet.

Fans will be delighted

Ait-Nouri has become a crucial part of the Wolves team, with the attacking left-back proving he can step up for his side and has played his part in Wolves impressive run of form in the top half of the table this season so far.

He has won an impressive 35 tackles in his nine Premier League appearances so far, and according to InfoGol, the young player is averaging 38 passes per match with a pass completion rate of 74%.

If these statistics are anything to go by, Bruno Lage would do well in January to keep the young left-back in the squad to continue the consistency in performances Wolves have been experiencing, utilising his confidence on the ball to push on for a higher finish in the Premier League.

Fans will be delighted that the £33k-p/w player could be staying with the side, as they have taken to Twitter this season to praise the 20-year-old for his individual performances for the side.

One Wolves fan praised his confident performance against Liverpool back at the beginning of December: “Ait Nouri was unbelievable today” Another fan took to Twitter to question how Jonny Otto would get back into the team over Ait-Nouri: “Interesting thing that I haven’t seen many people speak about is are LB/LWB situation. With Jonny back soon we have 3 first team quality LB’s and I think it’s fair to say Ait Nouri is probably first choice so what do we do with Jonny cus he is too good to be on the bench.”

Lage has spoken out on the upcoming transfer window at length in the past and we expect that there will be a few changes made during the first month of 2022, with the club setting their sights on a spot to secure European football next season.

In other news: Lage could replace Dendoncker with Renato Sanches

Now that Southampton are under new ownership after Sport Republic, backed by Serbian media mogul Dragan Solak, recently bought Gao Jisheng’s 80% stake in the club, this could pave the way for some potential January spending to take place in the coming weeks.

With that in mind, one potential deal that the Saints could look to complete this month would be to sign Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo, who the club have been linked with in recent weeks.

Aribo, who is currently valued at £9m according to Transfermarkt, joined Rangers on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic back in the 2019 summer transfer window.

Since then, the 25-year-old has gone on to make a total of 123 appearances for the Scottish champions across all competitions in which he has managed to score 23 goals and provide 20 assists along the way, showing how much of a bargain he has been for them.

During his time at Charlton, Aribo was likened to former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure by his former Charlton teammate and current Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, who also described Aribo’s “languid style” on the pitch as “unique.”

Judging by that, this could be a great first piece of transfer business under their new owners to bring in a midfield operator that can score and assist goals, which is something that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side could do with having.

For context, they’ve only managed to score 20 times in 19 league games this season, fewer than the likes of Watford, Brentford and Leeds United.

Given how Saints captain James Ward-Prowse has five goals and one assist under his belt in 17 league appearances this season, it could be incredibly exciting for Southampton to have him and Aribo in the same team that can score and create in equal measure from midfield.

However, with Aribo having appeared in all but one of Rangers’ games across all competitions so far this season, racking up six goals with five assists, the Ibrox club could be quite reluctant to let him go halfway through the season given how important he is for them.

Despite that, Southampton should still make an approach to Rangers to see if they would be willing to negotiate a deal for the player and see if he would be willing to make a move to the Premier League.

In other news: Solak could blow Saints fans away with swoop for “magnificent” £4.5m-rated sensation – opinion

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According to reliable journalist Alan Nixon on his official Twitter account on Thursday, Southampton want £10m if they are going to sell Charlie Austin before the transfer window slams shut at 11pm.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl once confirmed in his Burnley pre-match press conference on Thursday that while the club don’t necessarily want to get rid of the player, they are willing to do so if a deal can be found that suits all parties.

In quotes, as reported by The Daily Echo, the Austrian said: “We don’t want to send him away.

“If there is an option that he can make a good step and we get someone else in then it can be that this works.”

Nixon believes that the south coast outfit are asking for £10m for the 29-year-old having turned down four loan approaches from Premier League clubs, as per Sky Sports, with the player having less than 18 months remaining on his contract.

Will he go?

It seems unlikely unless Southampton are willing to drop the reported asking price.

While Austin has proven in the past that he can get goals at this level, the injury issues that he has suffered from in recent years, as well as the fact that he isn’t the most mobile striker around, mean that they are being overly ambitious with their demands this late in the window.

Given they are still interested in signing Che Adams, as per Sky Sports, who is more suited to fitting into Hasenhuttl’s style than the experienced centre-forward, it is strange that they aren’t willing to sell the 29-year-old for a smaller fee so they can get the in-form Birmingham City man.

It all stinks of the Saints hierarchy losing the plot, and it could mean that they are left with a player who won’t be of much help to them for the remainder of he campaign.

Check out the video below for Emma Conybeare’s rundown of which clubs need what in the January transfer window…

After joining Liverpool back in the previous January transfer window from Championship club Preston North End on a long-term deal, the defender didn’t make an appearance for the Merseyside club at any point last season.

Unsurprisingly, given how Liverpool now currently have five senior centre-backs in their squad in the shape of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Nat Phillips, the Reds sent Davies out on loan during the previous summer transfer window.

The defender is currently back in the Championship, this time with Sheffield United until the end of the campaign.

Since joining the Yorkshire club, Davies has played in seven of Sheffield United’s Championship games, completing 90 minutes in all but one of them.

In those games, Davies has managed to rack up 2.4 clearances per game and win 80% of his ground duels, showing just how important he has been for the Blades from a defensive point of view since joining them after a severe lack of game time at the Merseyside club last season.

The £60k-per-week earner’s latest appearance for the Blades in their 2-1 win over Stoke City saw him earn an overall match rating of 7.2/10, making him their third-highest rated player on the day according to SofaScore after blocking two shots, making two interceptions, winning two aerial duels and racking up a passing accuracy percentage of 86%. That type of performance must have left Klopp beaming from ear to ear.

Given how many minutes he’s played for the Blades this season, this should surely be pleasing news for the Liverpool fans and the management team at Anfield who didn’t see him play even one minute for the Reds after joining last season. That was despite appraisals from his manager at Southport, Paul Carden, who called him “different class” upon his arrival in Merseyside.

Moving forward, we feel that the best thing Davies can do now is focus on his time at Sheffield United and make the most out of his spell there before heading back to Anfield.

Looking ahead even further into the future, even though his contract at Liverpool isn’t set to expire until 2025, we feel that it could be the best option for all parties if he were to leave the club on a permanent deal and join a side he would be playing regularly at rather than wasting any more time with the Reds if they aren’t going to play him.

In other news: Liverpool could be set for major blow as transfer claim emerges, fans would be gutted – opinion

Aston Villa want to sign Joe Gomez in January, and that could spark the end of Tyrone Mings’ time in the starting lineup under Steven Gerrard.

The new manager has started his tenure in a great way, winning three of his four fixtures with the only defeat coming to league leaders Manchester City at Villa Park. After a clean sheet in his first game though, Villa have conceded four goals in the following three games to add to their woeful defensive record this season.

So far in the current campaign the Midlands side have conceded 24 goals in 15 games, with only five teams conceding more than they have. Of those five teams, Norwich and Newcastle are both in the relegation zone – which shows the size of the problem that Gerrard has in front of him.

Reports suggest he is keen to bring the £27m-rated England international Gomez into the fold on a temporary basis to help bolster the defence, with the 24-year-old currently fourth choice centre-back at Anfield behind Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate.

He has made just three starts this season in all competitions, with only two appearances off the substitutes bench to his name in the Premier League. His total of 13 minutes of action in the league means his chances of getting back into the England squad are very slim and with a World Cup coming up next year, he will be keen to get more regular game time.

But should he arrive then Gerrard will have a decision to make over whose place in the team he will take between captain Mings and Ezri Konsa. But after his brace in the win over Leicester at the weekend, Konsa has made his claim to keep his place.

This season Konsa has averaged 0.7 tackles per game, 0.7 interceptions per game and 0.4 fouls per game in comparison to Mings’ 0.4 tackles per game, 0.9 interceptions per game and 0.9 fouls per game per WhoScored.

There is next to nothing between them, but it should be remembered that Mings was dropped by Dean Smith before he was sacked due to his poor form. With that in mind, there is strong evidence to suggest that an additional defender arriving would be the end of his days as a regular in the starting XI.

During Gomez’s last full campaign, where he was labelled “exceptional” by Jurgen Klopp, he averaged 0.8 tackles per game, 1.4 interceptions per game and 0.8 fouls per game, demonstrating that his reading of the game is considerably better than what the Villans already have at their disposal.

Mings isn’t the quickest and with Gerrard preferring to play a possession-based game with a higher defensive line, Gomez could slot in alongside Konsa for a better partnership to help the system. The 28-year-old captain will be competing with Gomez for an England and Villa place should the move happen, so expect the former Charlton man to be gunning for his place.

AND in other news, Joe Gomez could move to Aston Villa in January for sake of England place.

Ange Postecoglou has dropped a promising injury update concerning Celtic left-back Greg Taylor.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by The Herald, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss revealed that, despite being brought off with a knock in Celtic’s 2-1 victory over Rangers last weekend, the defender does not look to have sustained a serious injury – with his withdrawal coming as a result of cramp.

Speaking about the condition of the 24-year-old, the Greek-Australian manager said: “Greg was just cramp.”

Supporters will be buzzing

Considering how important a part of the Celtic side Taylor has become under the management of Postecoglou, the news that the left-back has not picked up a long-term injury is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 18 Premiership appearances this season, the £1.58m-rated defender has highly impressed on the left of the Hoops backline, helping his side keep seven clean sheets, registering one assist and creating two big chances for his teammates.

The Scotland international has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.2 key passes, one interception, 1.6 tackles, 1.1 clearances and winning 4.3 duels per fixture, with these returns seeing the £15.5k-per-week full-back average a SofaScore match rating of 6.92.

And, while last weekend’s Old Firm victory has afforded Celtic some breathing room at the top of the Premiership table, Postecoglou will be well aware that his side cannot afford to let themselves believe the job is already done in their bid to reclaim their Scottish crown this season.

As such, the news that the club’s first-choice left-back does not look as if he will miss any of the club’s upcoming fixtures is undoubtedly a major boost for the 56-year-old and his side, as well as being relieving for the Bhoys supporters.

AND in other news: Sources: Celtic now in talks over “important” Lennoxtown deal, Ange will be buzzing

The 2021/22 Premier League campaign has once again thrown up a few stories for football fans to salivate over.  Whether it was the expected two horse race between Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool for the top flight title or simply what would eventually happen to a couple of managerial hot potatoes given the relative states of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and particularly, Manchester United.

The Old Trafford outlet continues to be a source of massive press speculation as despite numerous attempts since 2013, they have simply been unable to adequately replace Sir Alex Ferguson following his retirement.  Whilst there was better success under Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, each spell had its own pitfalls and the club ultimately seemed to totally lose its way under former star striker and fan favourite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, despite the odd brighter moment and a reasonably fair 91 wins in 168 games.

You just can’t not view the club as an outsider without thinking there is no long term plan in place, certainly not a sensible transfer strategy, as they continue to overpay massively for players who have failed to make a major impact and justify the investment made – whilst also seeming to more marginalise their own Academy talent, and a longer term future, by relying on well known and more commercial names.

You’d get silly odds from the likes of asiabet8888.com for current incumbent Ralf Rangnick to last beyond the 2021/22 campaign in the managerial hotseat, as every expectation suggests there’s no deviating from the consultancy role plan that exists, and many would say why would he want to stay in that role given he’s had his own off pitch issues to deal with and despite the glitz and glamour Ronaldo’s return created in the press, he’s being shoehorned in for goals and it has noticeably effected their style of play and approach in matches.  Not least, The Red Devil’s are openly touting for Rangnick’s replacement and the media are understandably lapping it up.

Following Solskjaer’s departure back in November, one of the latest names in the frame is highly rated Ajax coach Erik ten Hag and he appears to have been added to a shortlist that already reportedly contains names such as Mauricio Pochettino, Julien Lopetegui and Luis Enrique.  Given the success Ten Hag has tasted in the Eredivisie, it’s not really a great surprise to see him linked by United’s hierarchy are probably not best pleased with former gaffer van Gaal given his latest comments where he not so subtly warned Ten Hag off taking the job.

“I’m not going to advise, he’ll call me himself. But he must choose a football club and not a commercial club. Erik ten Hag is a great coach and that is always good for Manchester United. But Manchester United are a commercial club, so it’s a difficult choice for a coach. He’d better go to a football club.”

With the summer quickly approaching, this particular piece of speculation is set to run and run.

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