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German journalist Christian Falk has claimed that Newcastle have ‘seriously discussed’ a move for Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho.

The Lowdown: Coutinho rumours

Spanish outlet Sport claimed last week that the Magpies, under new owners PIF, are eyeing a possible swoop for the Brazilian in January.

Reports suggested that Barcelona would want at least €50m (£42.5m) for his services, with the 29-year-old happy about the possibility of returning to England.

Coutinho, on £383,000-a-week last year, has just over 18 months remaining on his Nou Camp deal, and Falk has weighed in with his knowledge of a potential New Year transfer.

The Latest: Falk’s tweet

Falk, head of football at Bild, took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to address the rumours of Coutinho moving to St James’ Park.

He labelled them ‘true’, adding that a transfer has been ‘seriously discussed’.

The Verdict: Look elsewhere

Even though money appears to be the least of the worries for Newcastle’s new owners, they still need to spend it wisely.

Coughing up a fee over £40m for a player whose market valuation has plummeted from £135m to £18m in three years might not be the best idea to kick off their tenure in charge.

Coutinho has also contributed to just four league goals since the start of the 2020/21 season, so Newcastle might be better off looking elsewhere for a marquee signing.

In other news: Offer pending: Newcastle now make contact to sign £36m-rated beast Rodgers dubbed ‘colossal’. 

With 19 games played in the Premier League so far this season, Leeds United have only managed to win three of them, drawing seven and losing eight in the process.

In addition to this, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have only scored 21 goals, which is 11 fewer than they had managed to score last season with 19 league games played.

With this in mind and the fact that the January transfer window has now opened, the Yorkshire club could use this time to acquire some attacking players to help them put the ball in the back of the net throughout the remainder of the season and climb away from the relegation zone.

According to a recent club-by-club January transfer guide from the Daily Mail, Leeds are interested in signing Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell to add another attacking figure to their squad.

As a product of Norwich’s youth system, Cantwell has made a total of 153 appearances for the club across their youth and senior sides, scoring 21 goals and providing 17 assists along the way.

Labelled as a player that has a “fighting spirit” by Kevin Hofland who was assistant manager at Fortuna Sittard during Cantwell’s loan spell there in 2018, this season has been a rather uninspiring one for the 23-year-old so far with 11 appearances and five starts under his belt in the Premier League with no goals or assists.

However, his lack of form could potentially be put down to the fact that he’s been deployed in a number of different positions across the midfield and attack this season and has failed to have any sort of consistency under Dean Smith since he arrived at the club back in November.

While this could put some clubs off making a move for him this month, if Cantwell was able to get some regular playing time under Bielsa’s guidance, this could give him the opportunity to get his season back on track and potentially avoid relegation, which seems to be where Norwich are heading towards with just 10 points on the board.

With Leeds having been linked with a move for the £18m-rated man since 2020, it could be a dream for Bielsa to finally have the player at Elland Road, replicating their long-winded hunt of Dan James across a number of years.

Leeds and Victor Orta should definitely approach Norwich this month to see if they would be willing to cash in and part ways with Cantwell, who could then revive his season and start a new chapter in his career with Leeds. Considering their own inconsistencies, they could do with a player of his talents to improve the squad.

In other news: Orta could unearth Leeds’ next Phillips with swoop for £22.5m-rated “phenomenon” – opinion

Celtic will pip Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title because of the latter’s Europa League exploits, according to former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Celtic in pole position

The Hoops are looking to wrestle back their league crown from their most bitter rivals this season, with the current situation undoubtedly looking positive.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are six points clear at the top of the table with five league matches remaining, with the recent 2-1 win at Ibrox feeling enormous.

Not only that, but Rangers are now in the Europa League semi-finals, giving Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men something else to focus on.

The Latest: Whelan confident of title win

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan believes that Rangers’ involvement in Europe further plays into Celtic’s hands, which will ultimately lead to title glory:

“I think the fact Rangers prolonged their stay in Europe and Celtic were knocked out might have fallen into Celtic’s hands, quite frankly. I know you want to be in Europe. You want to push on in these best competitions as far as you possibly can.

“But I think when you’re looking at the rest and recuperation Celtic are getting, there’s strength in depth. The fact that they’ve got all their important players raring to go, fresh, I think being successful in Europe, sometimes plays into the opposition’s hands.

“It’s taken its toll. They travelled the week before, they come back again, they get the win but then they’ve got to go again on a Thursday evening in Europe. It’s then not long before their next game.

“When you look at it from Celtic’s point of view, they should be a lot fresher than Rangers.”

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The Verdict: Hoops’ to lose

There is no denying that Celtic are the resounding favourites to win the league now and Whelan’s point is extremely valid.

The fact that Rangers have two huge semi-final legs to focus on, while Postecoglou’s men can simply focus on league action, should only make the latter’s job easier, both in terms of physical and mental fatigue.

That being said, Celtic must not rest on their laurels in these remaining weeks of the season, instead getting the job done in seamless fashion.

In other news, a journalist has made a live on-air Celtic claim. Read more here.

Manchester United were ‘offered’ the chance to sign Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara last month, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Kamara talks

Kamara, primarily a defensive midfielder who can also play as a centre-back, is a soon-to-be free agent with his deal with Marseille set to expire at the end of June.

That means United could look to secure a pre-contract agreement right now ahead of a summer move, with reports suggesting United have spoken to Kamara’s agent.

The Red Devils were thought to be leading the race for the Frenchman’s services in January, but it seems as if they declined the chance to bring him to Old Trafford for a bargain fee last month.

The Latest: Romano’s post

Romano took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to provide an update on Kamara’s situation.

He revealed that United were ‘offered’ the chance to sign Kamara with Marseille no doubt keen to make at least some money from his departure.

Denis Zakaria and Julian Alvarez are mentioned too, but also declined due to the club’s managerial situation.

“Manchester United were offered the chance to sign Boubacar Kamara, after Denis Zakaria and Julian Alvarez – turned down because of new manager plans in the summer. Buy options not included in Donny and Martial deal for the same reason.”

The Verdict: Strange

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick is set to move into a consultancy role in the summer until 2024, so you’d expect he’d have a say when it comes to possible signings over the next two years.

Therefore, it seems strange that United declined the chance to sign Kamara last month and seem happy to wait until a new boss is in place – the young midfielder completes roughly 90% of his passes and makes nearly two tackles per game, drawing praise as a ‘phenomenon’ by former teammate Rolando.

By the summer, Kamara may already have a different move tied up on a pre-contract deal, leaving United on the search for a new central midfielder going into the 2022/23 campaign instead of securing a £22.5m-rated player for a cut-price fee last month.

According to journalist Adam White (via Give Me Sport), Lille attacker Jonathan David would be a ‘statement signing’ for West Ham if they are able to secure his signature in the January window.

The Lowdown: Hammers interested in David

Reliable source ExWHUemployee previously claimed that West Ham are interested in the signing of prolific Ligue 1 striker David, who has netted 12 league goals in 19 appearances this season.

However, he further downplayed this rumour by stating that the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool are also interested in the player.

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Despite this, the Mail on Sunday have reported renewed interest in the signing, which came to excite a lot of Hammers fans, with many having tipped the club to sign another striker to rival Michail Antonio.

The Latest: White thrilled by links

Considering the European giants who are reportedly interested in David, White thinks it would be extremely impressive if the Hammers were to pull off the signing.

Speaking to Give Me Sport, White claimed: “It would be a huge statement signing given the clubs that are interested.”

This arises after Jeunes Footeux have revealed that a move for David would cost £45million; the same fee that the Irons paid for current Ajax star Sebastien Haller.

The Verdict: Incredible but unlikely?

Whilst he was playing in the Belgian league, former Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck described David as ‘a phenomenon’ and further claimed that he was ‘the best player in the country’.

The striker is Lille’s top scorer by some margin this season, having netted eight more than second place Burak Yilmaz. He is as equally prolific on the international stage, having totalled 18 goals in 24 appearances for the Canadian national team.

David’s qualities are evidently clear. However, this has never been a debate for the Hammers. What David Moyes will be worried about is whether they can compete with the European giants, as they set to battle it out for the player’s signature.

Even if they can convince the promising young forward to join, then comes the price tag – can we really expect GSB to shell out another fee similar to the one they spent on Haller after how that went?

In other news, West Ham allegedly have their eyes on a player who Zinedine Zidane rates extremely highly…

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West Ham United fought back from having conceded an early goal to emerge as 3-1 winners over struggling Fulham at the London Stadium on Friday. 

Goals from Javier Hernandez, Issa Diop and Michail Antonio cancelled out Ryan Babel’s opening strike. Whilst the Hammers generally performed well and deserved all three points, Manuel Pellegrini will be concerned by how poorly his side defended in the opening exchanges. Plenty of poor marking led to Babel’s goal, but centre-back Angelo Ogbonna was particularly culpable for failing to track his man.

However, after this early error, the 30-year-old proceeded to produce an assured, disciplined performance. With Fabian Balbuena still out with injury, the 13-cap Italy international has been handed a run in the starting XI in east London and is generally impressing. When Balbuena returns to full fitness he may even find it a struggle to get straight back into the team.

After the match on Friday, plenty of Irons fans took to Twitter to discuss Ogbonna’s contribution…

A number of West Ham supporters have hailed Said Benrahma’s superb solo effort in his side’s 2-2 draw with Genk in the Europa League.

David Moyes had a milestone evening to enjoy on Thursday night, taking charge of the 1000th game of his managerial career.

The Hammers failed to give their manager a win in Belgium, however, with Tomas Soucek’s last-gasp own goal giving the hosts a point.

It was still a positive night, however, as West Ham reached the knockout stages of the Europa League, continuing to go from strength to strength.

Benrahma was a star performer for the Hammers, scoring both of his side’s goals, with the club’s official Twitter account sharing a video of his brilliant solo strike that put the visitors 2-1 late on.

West Ham fans laud Benrahma footage

These West Ham fans took to Twitter to laud the attacker’s moment of magic in response to the club’s post.

“Oh Said you baller”

Credit: @CBearne17

“Said has really come into form this season! Expect even more of this as he’s only getting better”

Credit: @TheWestHamYank

“He was unbelievable tonight”

Credit: @1bbyWHU

“The confidence of this team just rises when we have both Soucek and Rice in the midfield. What an unreal goal that was Benrahma”

Credit: @RockyWhu

“Benrahma oh my god”

Credit: @WHUFCallum_

“Said Benrahma is incredible”

Credit: @eligrphx

In other news, some West Ham fans have lambasted one player’s performance against Genk. Find out who it is here.

Crystal Palace announced on Thursday that the club’s fixture with Watford has been postponed.

And, as to be expected, a number of Eagles fans were quick to give their thoughts to the news on social media.

Patrick Vieira’s side were set to travel to Vicarage Road on Saturday, looking to extend their two-match unbeaten run after picking up four points against Everton and Southampton.

However, the match will no longer go ahead due to The Hornets’ ongoing Covid-19 outbreak and therefore do not have enough first-team players available to fulfil the fixture. [CPFC]

Further details on when the match will be re-scheduled will be shared at the earliest opportunity, the club confirmed, with Palace’s next game set for Boxing Day against Tottenham, who have also had numerous games postponed in recent weeks.

Palace fans react

Palace posted the confirmation on their official Twitter page. This is what these Eagles supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘wild’, while others worried about the disadvantage of fixtures piling up in the future.

“Here we go”

Credit: @mandyswagsta

“Should be a forfeit but oh well January is going to be insane”

Credit: @erictwigs

“Wild. Gutting.”

Credit: @ZG3II

“Gutted but not surprised”

Credit: @jackstacpfc

“mad how we’re being disadvantaged for something that we didn’t even do”

Credit: @bentekefan0

“Thank the lord. Might have a chance of getting a ticket for the next one”

Credit: @rayraybanks86

In other news: ‘Scam’ – Many CPFC fans react as Woosnam shares info on Selhurst protest. 

West Ham United are still in discussions to get a deadline day deal over the line for Darwin Nunez.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Sky Sports reporter Valentina Fass, who revealed live on Sky Sports News (11:55) that the Italian transfer insider Gianluca di Marzio has suggested that West Ham are rushing to get a €50m (£41.5m) deal over the line for the 22-year-old Benfica centre-forward prior to Monday evening’s transfer deadline.

Speaking about the Hammers’ move for Nunez, Fass said: “Gianluca di Marzio just told me there’s a rush to try and close the deal by this evening. It will be quite a big deal, €50m deal, they are dealing now with Benfica.”

Fans will love Fass’ update

With contrasting reports about West Ham’s deal for Nunez breaking with each passing hour, it is slightly hard to keep track of whether the Irons’ move for the striker is indeed still on or off.

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However, Fass’ latest update is undoubtedly one that the London Stadium faithful will love, as, at present, it would appear as if West Ham’s move for the Uruguay international is very much alive – although it looks as if the transfer will go right down to the wire.

Indeed, if Moyes can convince both Benfica and Nunez to put pen to paper regarding the striker’s switch to East London, the 22-year-old’s signing will be a huge coup for the Hammers – who are very much in need of attacking reinforcements in their bid to secure a top-four finish in the league this season.

So, while there is still a long way to go on deadline day, as things currently stand, it seems the Irons are still in talks with Nunez, something that will delight everyone involved with the club.

In other news: ExWHUemployee drops gutting deadline day update, it’s not “what the fans want to hear”

Leeds United have plans to sign a new centre-forward in the upcoming summer transfer window according to the latest reports…

What’s the story?

Jesse Marsch’s side of course suffered a huge blow earlier this month when it was confirmed that their one senior option up front in Patrick Bamford has been ruled out yet again with an injury, this time for a minimum of six weeks.

It’s an injury that has once again raised questions about the Whites’ lack of depth in that number nine role, and TEAMtalk’s James Marshment has indicated it’s an issue that will look to be addressed come the summer.

In replying to a fan about the need for a new striker, Marshment noted: “It’s on the agenda this summer.”

Much-needed for Marsch

Speaking earlier this month, former Leeds goalkeeper Paddy Kenny delivered his verdict on the need for a new centre-forward this summer.

He said: “Why didn’t they sign a striker in January? We have been saying this since before January. Even if Bamford is fit he’s the only one who looks like scoring regularly.

“They need to put this right because another injury to Bamford is a big blow to them. They need to go out and spend £20million or something like that on a striker as soon as the window opens. This can’t happen again next season. If they stay up then they have to inevest in a new striker.”

In Bamford’s absence, Leeds’ attack has pretty much failed to click all season, bagging just 34 goals in their 30 Premier League games thus far – to put that into context, last year in their debut campaign back in the top-flight under Marcelo Bielsa, they managed a whopping 62, even above the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.

While the Whites will be hoping the worst of Bamford’s injury woes will be behind him come the start of the new season in the summer, it is absolutely imperative that they bring in some genuine cover and competition for the England international.

It would be a tragic mistake on the part of Victor Orta to once again go a transfer window without signing a new number nine, and one could that have disastrous consequences.

But, the fact it’s “on the agenda” and the club are seemingly actively on the look-out for a striker, is sure to have Marsch excited heading into the transfer window.

AND in other news – Sold at £8m, now worth triple: Leeds had a nightmare over “fearless” 5 ft 9 magician