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Billy Dodds believes that Connor Goldson has been Glasgow Rangers’ Player of the Year.

Dodds backs Goldson for Player of the Year

The former Ibrox striker was speaking on BBC Sportsound (via Ibrox News)and was asked by presenter Richard Gordon whether Steven Davis has been the Gers’ best performer this campaign.

Dodds praised the Northern Ireland international but quickly moved on to discuss Goldson, saying:

“I think Connor Goldson has been incredible, Goldson for me is a stalwart who plays every game.

“He has been outstanding, we talked about the nine goals that they’ve lost, that’s just an incredible record at any level of football.”

Brilliant

At the age of 36, Davis has been an important player for Steven Gerrard this season, and it is no surprise to see the Gers offer him a new 12-month contract (rangers.co.uk) despite him fast approaching the end of his career. However, Goldson has been a rock on which the Gers’ success has been built.

After 33 games in the Premiership so far this term, the Gers have conceded just 10 goals (BBC), and Goldson has started every single one of those matches (Transfermarkt). He has also popped up with four goals in the league, including two in the first Old Firm derby of the season as the Gers won 2-0.

Without the £4.95m-valued former Brighton man, it is hard to believe that Gerrard’s side would have been quite this good. Perhaps Dodds is correct in picking him out as the best performer in the Ibrox ranks during a memorable 2020/21 season.

In other news, some Rangers fans hammered this man’s performance against Celtic.

David Moyes should recall outcast defender Fabian Balbuena when West Ham United visit Manchester City on Saturday.

The Paraguayan has been unseen in the Premier League since December’s 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion, having lost his spot in the starting line-up to summer loan signing Craig Dawson of Watford.

Balbuena had opened 12 of the Irons initial 15 fixtures of the top-flight season before being axed away to Southampton and he has only served to act as an unused substitute for the seven games in which the 29-year-old has been included in a matchday squad since.

That’s also despite Angelo Ogbonna sitting out his side’s last two games with a high ankle sprain sustained in the FA Cup against Manchester United, when Issa Diop was favoured off the bench and Balbuena was ignored.

Balbuena has recently opened up on his situation with Paraguay’s Radio Monumental on their show Futbol a Lo Grande, explaining that his current status is a decision made by Moyes

“I’m quite well. The team is in a good moment. It’s not my turn to play for various reasons, but physically I’m very well”, Balbuena said, via quotes by D10. “The entire squad is fit to play [against Manchester City].”

With Balbuena adamant that he is fit to play, Moyes should recall the £7m-rated enforcer at the Etihad Stadium having seen his side frequently carved open by Tottenham Hotspur last time out, despite them coming out as victors in the clash.

Moyes named a four-strong backline of Aaron Cresswell, Diop, Dawson and Vladimir Coufal at home to Spurs as West Ham won the London derby 2-1, after deciding to bench Ben Johnson despite an impressive showing from the academy product against Sheffield United.

If the Irons boss feels that Johnson is not up to scratch to face an established top-six Premier League side, Balbuena should be brought in from the cold so that Moyes can switch his line-up back to a five-man defence at Manc City, without forcing Cresswell into a central role.

West Ham gave up 20 shots at home to Spurs last Sunday compared to the mere four taken on Hugo Lloris net, per WhoScored.

Harry Kane accounted for six of his side’s efforts, while Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura struck three each, Erik Lamela, Son Heung-Min and Eric Dier hit two and Sergio Reguilon plus Davinson Sanchez hit one each.

West Ham have, on average, allowed opposition sides just 12.5 shots a game in the Premier League when playing at the London Stadium this season, a total which falls to 9.8 when away from home.

Yet Man City take more shots at the Etihad (15.8) than any other side in the division when playing on home soil. Tottenham usually take just 11.8 attempts on their travels, showing the scale to which the Hammers were picked apart.

Balbuena could help prevent a repeat performance, with the 2020 free-agent still ranking first among Moyes’ centre-halves for successful tackles recorded per game (1.8), as well as the most interceptions (1.8) and clearances (4.9).

Matching his standing away to Man City would see Balbuena prove key to any potential result. It just remains to be seen if Moyes is willing to bring him in from the cold and tinker with a formation that’s served him well in recent weeks. Given City’s attacking prowess, it is something he really should consider.

AND in other news, David Moyes can discover West Ham’s next Dimitri Payet in a 24-y/o whose protected by a £258m release clause…

A number of Wolves fans have been reacting to the news that Matija Sarkic could be set to become the club’s second-choice goalkeeper next season.

It has been a disappointing season at Molineux, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side sitting 12th in the Premier League and struggling to kick on from last year.

Raul Jimenez’s head injury has certainly played a part in the malaise, with the Mexican such a key player given his frequency of goals for the club, but summer reinforcements could be required in order to freshen things up.

Rui Patricio has been a solid enough performer in the Wolves goal, though, starting all 28 league games in 2020/21 and showing his quality and experience.

Until now, John Ruddy has been the Portuguese’s deputy between the sticks, but according to Football Insider, the latter will move on at the end of the season.

That could then pave the way for Sarkic to be Wolves’ new number two, as the 23-year-old looks to make the step up and become a reliable squad member.

The Montenegrin is currently on loan at Shrewsbury, making 20 starts in League One this season, but is yet to make an appearance for Wolves.

Wolves fans react to Sarkic news

Here’s how a selection of Wolves fans reacted to the news on Twitter, with some concerned about whether the youngster is good enough to be Patricio’s immediate deputy.

“Seen him play end of last year and had a terrible night. But only seen one game. Never know”

Credit: @dangadsden1993

“Noooo big john”

Credit: @WWFCAdam_

“Interesting”

Credit: @lewis_wwfc7

“Let’s hope Patricio has many years left in the tank. Most teams have 2 decent keepers on their books, apart from Ruddy I’d have no idea how good any of our keepers below Patricio are”

Credit: @satsomboon

“We need a new back up”

Credit: @Neto_the_goat

“Makes sense. Done his apprenticeships and has all the makings of a very good keeper”

Credit: @knowledge1877

In other news: Omar Mascarell is reportedly on Wolves’ transfer radar. Read about it here.

Ben Jacobs has dropped an update on the proposed £300m takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group involving a potential arbitration case.

As per a tweet from the sports journalist, the chief executive of the Premier League Richard Masters, via a letter to Liz Twist MP, said that the Tyneside club’s arbitration case with the top flight will be resolved in ‘a timely manner’, however, he followed up by tweeting: ‘I am told we might not hear significant news until February’ in terms of the arbitration hearing taking place.

In a reply to a Magpies fan on Twitter, Jacobs further explained that while he does not sense that there will be a definitive yes or no answer on the takeover itself next month, he does think that the overall picture with regards to the deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA consortium ‘will be a lot clearer by then’.

What next for the Newcastle takeover?

The next step in terms of trying to get the failed takeover bid back on track is surely the arbitration hearing, where a judge will attempt to settle the legal disputes between the St. James’ Park faithful and the EPL.

If the case goes in the favour of the North East club, then it will be about getting the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) formally back to the negotiating table, as Jacobs points out that they are currently not making any moves in regards to reviving the bid until that process is cleared.

If both of these steps happen, then Toon supporters would have a right right to feel more cautiously optimistic about a takeover.

In other news, find out who was slammed for his display versus Sheffield United here!

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to bounce back from mid-week embarrassment when they head to the south coast to face Brighton in the Premier League this evening.

And Jose Mourinho has plenty to ponder as his side have slipped to sixth place, some four points adrift of the top four.

Despite deploying three centre-backs and two wing-backs against Liverpool only three nights ago, Spurs still leaked three goals to a side that had failed to score in four straight league outings.

Something must be done defensively, and one decision could be to take away Matt Doherty’s place in the starting XI…

On the Chalkboard

The summer arrival started at left wing-back before reverting back to his natural right-sided position during the second half against The Reds but he still endured a nightmare evening against the defending champions.

And Mourinho let him know about it as he was playing on the side of the dugout in each half.

According to journalist Julien Laurens on ESPN FC, the Spurs boss was “roasting him the whole game.” He added: “Mourinho had a go at Matt Doherty pretty much from minute one to minute 90. He had him in his ear all the time because he made mistakes because he was not very good.”

Indeed, the 29-year-old’s performance was far from pretty, which is why he must be facing the axe tonight.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-spurs-news-and-transfer-rumours” title= Read this week’s latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more…”]

As per SofaScore ratings, the Irishman graded as Spurs’ worst player (6.1).

In 90 minutes of action, he lost possession 17 times from 55 touches, meaning he handed the ball back to the Reds once every five minutes. It also meant that, on average, he lost the ball once every 3.2 touches.

Sloppy and wasteful returns.

In addition to that, Doherty was hugely lightweight against the tricky exploits of Saido Mane, Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson as all four received better ratings whilst the Spurs defender managed to win just one of his five duels (20%) on top of committing two fouls and being dribbled past twice, via SofaScore.

No other Tottenham player managed more fouls, so clearly he was a bit of liability and this cannot be risked tonight as the north Londoners need to get back on track against a side battling against relegation.

The right wing-back, valued at €40m (£36m), must be dropped.

Mourinho’s constant berating of the calamitous defender on Thursday night is surely enough to see either Serge Aurier or Japhet Tanganga utilised instead.

AND in other news, Levy must sanction Spurs move for £45m “warrior”, he offers something Ndombele doesn’t…

After the highs of scoring in the FA Cup final and Community Shield triumphs, it’s fair to say this season hasn’t quite panned out as how Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would have wanted it.

The Arsenal striker has struggled to replicate the kind of stellar form that propelled him close to the Premier League’s Golden Boot award last year, managing just three goals in 14 games in the top-flight.

The Gabon international had been missing from action for the Gunners’ past two games due to injury, but returned to the starting line-up against Brighton on Wednesday night.

And it was a performance that would have left Mikel Arteta incredibly frustrated.

As per Sofascore, he managed just 18 passes over the course of the game, struggling to get involved, and then spurning his chances when he eventually got them.

A couple of times he got into promising opportunities, none more so than when Bukayo Saka sent in a delicious low cross, only for Aubameyang’s first-time effort to be saved by the feet of the Brighton goalkeeper.

Coming up against Brighton’s formidable looking back-three, the £36m-rated ace seemed to get lost, losing 78% of his total duels too.

It led to many Gunners fans take to Twitter to call on the striker to even be sold.

Whilst there can be no questioning just how much ability Aubameyang has, he simply isn’t in a rich vein of form at the moment, and with Alexandre Lacazette stepping up to the plate once again following his weekend heroics against Chelsea, Arsenal’s talisman for these past few seasons may just need to be given more time on the side-lines.

Speaking on Monday to Sky Sports News’ Transfer Talk show, Fabrizio Romano provided a rather intriguing claim on Christian Eriksen’s possible move back to Tottenham Hotspur.

Speaking on Transfer Talk, transcribed by Sky Sports, Romano claimed that Eriksen ‘wants to leave Inter [Milan]’ this month and that the £31.5 million-rated midfielder would ‘love’ a move back to the Premier League, particularly to Spurs.

The journalist continued by stating that he was ‘sure’ Jose Mourinho’s side will ‘try’ for Eriksen ‘in the coming days’, although a move will not be easy due to the midfielder’s reported weekly wages of £229,000 at the Serie A side.

Romano also said that Inter are requesting that Tottenham ‘pay a fee for his loan’ if he were to join the club, as Antonio Conte’s side paid Spurs £24.3 million for the Denmark international just 12 months ago, as well as mentioning that there are ‘other clubs from the Premier League’ talking with Eriksen’s agents regarding a move.

Transfer Tavern Take

While it is true that Spurs could use the injection of a player who has racked up 110 goals and provided 157 assists over the course of his career, as Mourinho’s side have been heavily reliant on Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to both create and finish chances in the league this season, Eriksen has not exactly been in the best form of late, managing just four goals and three assists over his 40 appearances at Inter.

In addition to this, as Romano mentions, the 28-year-old’s wages in Milan would also appear to provide something of a stumbling block for a move to Spurs, as the club are already reportedly forking out a whopping £240,000 per week on their barely used loan signing, Gareth Bale.

In other Spurs news, Daniel Levy has re-joined the race for this ‘outstanding’ gem, find out more here!

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that he will look to bring in fresh faces in January despite recent reports suggesting otherwise.

Klopp teases fans once more

The Reds are currently going through a catastrophic injury crisis in their defensive department, which could have derailed their title defence before it has properly begun.

Both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have been ruled out with long-term knee injuries, leaving Joel Matip as the lone warrior at the heart of the back four, despite struggling with his own personal fitness issues.

Despite this, Klopp’s team were just one point behind Leicester City before this afternoon’s proceedings, with the chance of overtaking the Foxes with victory tomorrow.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference (cited by Kevin Palmer), Klopp confirmed that Liverpool will be making a moves in the January window if possible.

“I don’t know what we can do in January,” he said. “That we look for solutions and the transfer market – that is clear.”

Transfer Tavern take

Klopp’s final three words – “that is clear” – will be exactly what Liverpool fans wanted to hear. One more lengthy injury at the back could rub salt in the wound of an already agonising situation for the club.

Liverpool are in a good position domestically and in Europe. All of their early-season efforts could be blown out of the water if they suffer any further setbacks.

Klopp will have to work with his sporting director Michael Edwards to work their magic once again in the transfer market and bring in someone that suits the system.

In other news, James Pearces gives transfer update on Liverpool’s January window plans.

Crystal Palace have been handed a major transfer boost in their pursuit of Reading defender Omar Richards if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the word?

Reports in recent times revealed that Palace were one of several Premier League clubs who were interested in signing Richards in January.

According to The Reading Chronicle, the Royals are ready to balance their books to bring the club in line with Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

It’s claimed that discussions are currently ongoing between the club and the young left-back over a “bumper new contract” but they could be forced to put him up for sale in the New Year.

January swoop?

Richards has been in such fine form for the Royals so far this season, it’s no wonder Palace and the Hammers have shown an interest – with the latter inquiring about his availability.

In 15 appearances in the Championship this season, the 22-year-old versatile player, who can play at the back or in the midfield, is averaging 2.5 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 1.6 clearances per game, via WhoScored.

If Richards does indeed reject whatever offer is thrown his way, then Steve Parish must be prepared to swoop in for a cut-price deal next month.

Roy Hodgson currently has a couple of options in his position with Patrick van Aanholt and Tyrick Mitchell vying for a place in the starting line-up. Joel Ward can also be called into action as well.

Former Reading boss Mark Bowen once described Richards as an “outstanding” talent, saying “everyone knows he’s good going forward, but defensively he went in and won tackles he wasn’t favourite to win.”

The England U21 international is out of contract in the summer, which means he may not cost Parish a penny if he runs down his deal at the Madejski Stadium.

With Van Aanholt angling for a move, Richards may be the perfect ready-made replacement to fill his boots if he departs Selhurst Park.

AND in other news, Time to shine: Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson must put faith in Jeffrey Schlupp…

Arsenal’s defensive issues continue to pile-up, leaving Mikel Arteta with a headache going into ties against Rapid Vienna, Manchester United and Leicester City, but he may well have the solution staring him right in the face.

During the warm-up prior to kick-off against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, Rob Holding suffered another injury setback as he pulled up with a hamstring problem. He was replaced by David Luiz.

According to the Daily Mail, the 25-year-old is set to be out for the next three to four weeks, meaning Arteta may only be able to call upon his Brazilian duo, Luiz and Gabriel.

He, of course, also has William Saliba, who is yet to make his Gunners debut since a £27m move from AS Saint-Etienne a year ago. The young Frenchman was loaned back to the Ligue 1 outfit for the season and will be part of the first-team set-up – at least until January where things can be reassessed.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein claimed the 19-year-old would be named in Arteta’s Premier League squad over Mesut Ozil, so perhaps it’s time to call upon his exploits.

And if there are any doubts, then the Arsenal boss ought to look at their next league opponents for inspiration, the Foxes.

Brendan Rodgers threw Saliba’s former ASSE teammate Wesley Fofana straight into the deep end at the weekend with Caglar Soyuncu absent through injury.

The club-record €32m (£30m) signing, who is also only aged 19, picked up the highest rating of any Leicester player (7.2) as they were defeated by Aston Villa 1-0 at the King Power Stadium.

Per SofaScore, Fofana made nine clearances, three tackles, three interceptions and won 87.5% of his aerial duels. He was an absolute beast, despite the conceded goal.

The fact that Saliba was argued as the better prospect between the two should be more than enough encouragement for Arteta to start him in their upcoming fixtures.

Fofana has even called his friend a “super player” who is “capable of succeeding in the Premier League,” as per L’Equipe via Tribuna.

His former coach Fabio Frasconi once claimed: “William Saliba will go far, very far. He reminds me of Raphaël Varane” whilst ex-ASSE teammates Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy have also waxed lyrical about him to the Official Ligue 1 podcast.

“I think he is a great player. He’s strong, with good technique. He’s quick, too. I think he has a lot of quality to play at Arsenal,” lauded the latter.

Playing him will be far better than making him watch from the stands, Arteta must turn to Saliba during Holding’s absence this week.

AND in other news, invisible Arsenal star had a shocking display against Man City…