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An update has emerged on Algerian international winger Riyad Mahrez, regarding Manchester City’s stance on his transfer status this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to an exclusive from CaughtOffside, Manchester City are open to cashing in on Riyad Mahrez this summer as they close in on a deal for Aston Villa winger Jack Grealish. The England international is said to be set to arrive at The Etihad in an £88m deal from the Midlands club after the conclusion of the European Championships.

The report claims that City are willing to listen to offers for both Mahrez and Raheem Sterling, but will only entertain serious bids for the pair.

Pep would hate it

Txiki Begiristain must avoid making a grave error with this decision. City boss Pep Guardiola would hate it if the club sold Mahrez this summer as it would be a major blow to his attacking options, irrespective of Grealish’s potential signing, which means that the former Barcelona chief could be heading for disaster by sanctioning an exit for the Algerian in the coming months.

Guardiola has made his feelings on Mahrez clear in the past. Back in September of 2020, the Spaniard hailed the winger as an exceptional player and praised his quality and mentality after he suffered with Covid-19, highlighting how important he is to

He told Manchester City’s official website:

“Riyad is an exceptional player.”

The £120k-per-week wizard has been a reliable performer for the club since his transfer from Leicester in 2017. He has produced 39 goals and 37 assists in 142 games for City, including 11 goals and 12 assists in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign. This, along with Guardiola’s comments, highlights the immense quality he has as a forward at the top level and shows why Txiki must avoid making a mistake this summer.

Signing Grealish should not be used as an excuse to axe Mahrez. The Villa captain predominantly plays off the left for Dean Smith and has not played on the right in any game for the top-flight side in the past 12 months, whilst 30 of Mahrez’s starts for the light blues came on the right of the attack.

It would not make sense to sell the 30-year-old because of the £88m forward’s addition as City would effectively be losing a quality right-forward immediately after signing a left-forward.

AND in other news, Huge development emerges on £36m-rated “natural talent” that’ll leave City fans gutted…

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

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

Jack Harrison could be left out of Leeds United’s starting XI to face Wolves on Saturday, according to former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips.

The Lowdown: Leeds host Wolves

The Whites are back in Premier League action this afternoon, as they look to finally kick their 2021/22 season into gear.

Last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Southampton was the latest disappointing showing in a string of worrying results, which have them languishing in 17th place in the table.

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The Latest: Harrison tipped to be left out

A win is much-needed against a Wolves side who have won their last three league matches and it will be interesting to see how Marcelo Bielsa’s starting lineup looks.

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips , 48, claimed Harrison could be the man to make way, allowing Raphinha and Dan James to start out wide, even though he didn’t rule out the prospect of all three starting:

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Bielsa played all three [Raphinha, James and Harrison] to go all-out to win the match. But if someone were to make way, it would have to be Harrison.

“With James coming in for big money, you’d like to think he will start. Raphinha will play, he’s one of their best players.

“I would have thought it will be a straight swap for Harrison.”

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The Verdict: Right decision?

Harrison hasn’t made a big enough impact yet this season, failing to score or register an assist in six league appearances to date.

For that reason, Bielsa leaving him out would feel justified, allowing Raphinha and James to prove their worth and show that they should be the first-choice wide pairing moving forward.

Given the former’s brilliance, both for Leeds and Brazil, and the latter’s big-money move from Manchester United in the summer, it certainly feels like that could be the case moving forward.

In other news, a worrying update regarding Bielsa’s Leeds future has emerged. Read more here.

Wolves are in Premier League action again tonight as Bruno Lage’s side travel to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United.

The Old Gold opened up a significant points gap on their Midlands rivals Aston Villa last time out after beating them 2-1 at Molineux last weekend.

Heading into their latest away clash, it seems that Wolves have been handed a big fitness boost to one of their key figures.

What’s the news?

According to a recent tweet from journalist Tim Spiers, Lage said in his latest press conference that Nelson Semedo, who has been out injured for the past few weeks, had a good full week of training leading up to tonight’s showdown.

Having been fit enough to make the bench for the Villa game, it could be safe to assume that the wing-back has now regained his full fitness after being out of action since February with a hamstring injury.

Prior to suffering this injury during Wolves’ defeat at Arsenal, the Portuguese defender had played in all but two of the club’s Premier League games, showing just how pivotal he has been for Lage.

Great news for Lage

To highlight how significant the 28-year-old is for his team, the wing-back has racked up a total of 27 live-passes which have led to a shot at goal, the fifth-highest of any player currently at the club.

From a defensive point of view, only Ruben Neves (41) and Joao Moutinho (48) have won more tackles than Semedo (38), showing how capable he is in terms of his defensive duties as well as going forward.

Taking all this into account, it will surely be great news for Lage to have the former Barcelona ace back available tonight with a full week of training behind him.

Even though he got on the scoresheet against Steven Gerrard’s side on Saturday, Jonny Otto may now see his place in the team called into question after he gave the ball away 14 times at the weekend, in addition to committing three fouls.

If Semedo is ready to get back on the pitch in terms of his fitness, then he should definitely be in Lage’s thoughts when the 45-year-old is putting his starting XI together in a few hours’ time.

In other news – Forget Trincao: Lage must now finally unleash Wolves’ “wonderful” £39k-p/w “superstar”

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

David Norris believes that Aston Villa are in the driving seat to sign Todd Cantwell from Norwich City. 

Sky Sports previously reported that Villa were expected to go after Cantwell should Jack Grealish complete his move to Manchester City, which was eventually completed last week.

Cantwell, who has been at Norwich City all of his career apart from a brief loan spell at Fortuna Sittard in 2017/2018, helped the Canaries gain promotion from the Championship to the Premier League last season, scoring six goals and setting up a further eight.

Should Cantwell make the move to Villa Park, he would be joining up with former teammate Emiliano Buendia, who made the switch earlier this summer, and David Norris believes that Villa are frontrunners for his signature, exclusively telling Transfer Tavern: “I think him being linked with Villa, it could be Grealish out, Cantwell in so that would make sense, I think that would put them in the driving seat for that one, good player, like him a lot.”

The Sun have claimed that Dean Smith may need to pay £40million to bring the midfielder to Villa Park but, after helping Norwich return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, it remains to be seen whether or not Cantwell will be keen on a move away from Carrow Road this summer.

A number of Liverpool supporters are happy that Jurgen Klopp has hinted at fielding a weakened team in tonight’s Champions League clash with Porto.

The Reds roared back into form last weekend, beating Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield in the Premier League. After dropped points against both Brighton and West Ham, it was the perfect response by Klopp’s men, who performed like title challengers against an in-form Gunners side.

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Domestic commitments make way for European duties tonight, with Liverpool taking on Porto at Anfield, having not only qualified for the knockout stages already but even won their group with two matches to spare.

The hope is that Klopp makes plenty of changes in order to keep legs fresh amid a spate of injuries, and speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday [via journalist David Maddock on Twitter], he hinted at doing as such.

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Liverpool fans happy with Klopp’s team news hint

These Reds fans took to Twitter to react positively to the manager’s comments, claiming it would be a wise decision ahead of a busy schedule, as well as considering the costly three-month injury incurred by a flying Diogo Jota in a similar dead rubber against Midtjylland last December.

“Sense prevails”

Credit: @liamtogher88

“Bring it on. I want to see the most random starting 11 ever”

Credit: @TweetGiffen

“Good, we respected it by qualifying two games early. Play the under 12s”

Credit: @SirLeonP

“Get Carol & Caroline out on the pitch too I reckon”

Credit: @footyyuxun

“VAMOS”

Credit: @tombelcerf

“Get in, love it. Gordon, Kelleher, Morton all start I hope”

Credit: @LFCPG90

In other news, some Liverpool fans are excited about a Reds transfer rumour that has emerged. Read more here.

While Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side endured a rather shaky start to their 2021/22 Scottish Premiership campaign, things have undoubtedly started to click under the leadership of the 56-year-old Hoops boss in recent months.

Indeed, a number of the Greek-Australian manager’s summer signings have hit a run of excellent form, with Kyogo Furuhashi having scored 13 goals and registered three assists over his 18 appearances for the club, Benfica loanee Jota having bagged six goals and six assists over his 14 fixtures in green and white and Liel Abada having netted seven goals and provided five assists over 22 appearances for the Hoops.

However, while the argument could be made that any one of these three players have been Celtic’s signing of the season, there is perhaps one summer addition who could be classified as something of an unsung hero at Parkhead – in the shape of Joe Hart.

Indeed, having arrived at Parkhead following two seasons in which the 34-year-old had played just 13 games of football, Hart has slotted into the role of Postecoglou’s number one seamlessly, with the former England international’s experience in the game bringing with it a sense of calmness and stability between the Celtic sticks that was desperately lacking last season.

This is an opinion that Chris Sutton clearly agrees with, as the former Bhoys centre-forward recently said of the shot-stopper: “I think he’s done really really well. What he had strongly in his favour was [Vasilis] Barkas and [Scott] Bain have just been so poor in the Celtic goal and it was a low bar. But he’s come in and it’s been a massive boost.

“I think that he’s brought a calmness and an authority at the back. You watched Celtic [last season], and with the greatest of respect to Barkas and Bain, every time they were in goal you thought Celtic are going to concede the goal. I don’t feel the same with Joe Hart and I think that’s an enormous deal. I think his experience has been important. I think he’s been an enormous signing and a massive plus for Celtic.”

Indeed, this is something that is reflected in the £1.8m-rated man’s statistics, as, over his 12 Scottish Premiership appearances, Hart has kept six clean sheets, won 85% of his duels and made an average of 1.8 saves per game – with these returns seeing the 34-year-old average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.91.

As such, while Kyogo, Jota and Abada may well steal the headlines for Celtic, the veteran goalkeeper has undoubtedly been just as important for the Bhoys this season, as the £15k-per-week shot-stopper has been the rock which Postecoglou is building his side upon.

In other news: Major boost: Ange drops key update on Celtic duo which should leave Bhoys fans buzzing

Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield reckons Chelsea will struggle to sell Ross Barkley due to his inflated wages.

Barkley has returned to Stamford Bridge after spending last season on loan with Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

Villa opted against pursuing Barkley in a permanent deal after the midfielder made just 27 appearances as a hamstring injury limited his progress.

Barkley has two years remaining on his £96,154-per-week deal, which was signed following his £15million switch from Everton in 2018.

Reports suggest West Ham United are interested in the 27-year-old, with Hammers boss David Moyes keen to reunite with Barkley having played a key role in the early stages of his career at Everton.

Barkley is seen as a back-up option if the east Londoners fail to sign Jesse Lingard, who spent the second half of last term on loan from Manchester United.

However, Hatfield – who watched Barkley closely during his temporary spell at Villa Park – would not be surprised to see Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel struggling to offload the former England international midfielder.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “I think Chelsea will struggle to ship him out, especially with the wages and money they want for him.

“They paid an awful lot for him and I don’t think there is a club who’s going to be willing to match that outlay.

“It’s unfortunate for the player because he could find himself in a sticky situation.”