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Former Everton star Michael Ball has lauded Demarai Gray after his fine start to the season at the Toffees.

The club brought the winger in during the summer transfer window, securing his signature from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.

The deal cost around £1.7m and Gray is already providing to be one of the biggest bargains of the summer transfer window.

He has made a total of six appearances in the Premier League and has already scored three goals, while also registering one assist.

The winger is already one of the first names on the team sheet under manager Rafael Benitez and the Toffees are currently fifth in the Premier League table.

Ball has been mightily impressed with Gray’s first few appearances for the Toffees and believes that the winger operates in such a way that he is constantly trying to make things happen.

He said: “£1.7m, it seems an absolute bargain right now. There were question marks over the signing when we were first interested but he’s proved straight away why.

“It was the type of player we were missing, he’s got energy, he gets the ball, he goes forward, he tries to break the lines, he’s trying to create and scoring goals, he’s making three man runs. He’s doing everything. He looks like a guy who wants to be at the football club and wants to impress every time he’s on that pitch.”

Gray may have something of a chip on his shoulder, having previously played for Leicester City in the Premier League, making 169 appearances for the club.

Manchester United have got back to winning ways by taking all three points from their last three games consecutively in the Premier League, but there is still a lot of work to do at Old Trafford.

Ralf Rangnick appears to have adopted a 4-2-2-2 formation for his Manchester United side, which seems to be working so far, but not as convincingly as hoped, with possession still being lost as much as it was under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and only scoring one goal in every game under their new manager so far.

Rangnick’s Red Devils lost possession 138 times in the game against Norwich, with Bruno Fernandes losing the ball on 26 occasions, closely followed by Marcus Rashford who lost the ball 20 times during the 1-0 win that saw Cristiano Ronaldo score a penalty to secure the three points at Carrow Road.

It’s fair to say that Rashford isn’t having the impact that is expected of him this season, and with Mason Greenwood in fine form, registering three goal involvements in the last five, it makes much more sense to start the 20-year-old forward in one of the two forward positions alongside Ronaldo.

Rashford’s position in the team has become a talking point since Greenwood has been putting much more impressive performances this season so far, with five goals and two assists, putting him two goals and one assist ahead of his teammate, Rashford.

Roy Keane weighed in on Rashford’s mediocrity for Manchester United in the past calling the 24-year-old “shocking” last season;

“I looked at Rashford closely today, he’s had loads of plaudits over the last few months – I know he’s still a young man – but his body language today was shocking, really shocking.

“Shrugging his shoulders when things weren’t going his way, you roll your sleeves up at Man United

The £76.5m-rated has always shown determination and promise with energetic performances where he is all over the pitch in every game under Rangnick so far.

However, his inability to finish his chances or gain a good number of assists for his teammates in the final third could cost him his place in the team very quickly and could inspire Rangnick to move on from the forward, pushing him out of the club, especially now he is linked with a move to Barcelona.

United will face Brentford in a midweek clash, it will be interesting to see if Rangnick sticks to his guns with Rashford, or leaves him on the bench in favour of either Mason Greenwood or Edinson Cavani.

In other news: Manchester United remain keen on Kieran Trippier

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is facing several selection dilemmas as his side return to Premier League action on Tuesday evening.

After sharing the spoils with league leaders Manchester City before beating them in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, the Merseyside outfit now host Manchester United at Anfield.

Sat just one point behind Pep Guardiola’s side, the Reds will need to keep the pressure mounting by delivering a performance of note against the fifth-placed Red Devils, who could also do with three points to bolster their top-four ambitions.

Salah’s shocking form

One of the predicaments facing the German head coach is what to do with Mohamed Salah, who has struggled for form in recent matches.

Indeed, the Egyptian winger has provided only one direct goal contribution in his last six appearances since his return from international duty, where he missed a penalty was knocked out of 2022 World Cup qualification by Sadio Mane’s Senegal.

It’s evident that his confidence has taken a serious knock, as a result, and it would be foolish to persist with him for the time being – even in the win over City at the weekend, he was disappointing.

As per SofaScore, he was graded as Liverpools’s joint lowest-rated player (6.3), having fired two of his three shots off target, made only 71% of his passes and spurned possession 13 times from only 38 touches. He also won just 23% of his battles up against the Citizens’ backline.

Salah, who has not scored for the Merseysiders in open play since February, is lucky to be in the side, according to former striker John Aldridge.

“If you’re going by form, Mo wouldn’t get in the team,” he told Sky Sports. “As good as he is, as great as he is, as much as we love him, on present form he’s struggling.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Jota’s the man

Instead, Klopp ought to turn to the in-form Diogo Jota, who was named on the bench for Sunday’s clash and should be fresher than most after only featuring for the final five minutes plus stoppage time.

The £54m-rated forward is enjoying quite the season at Anfield, having found the net 21 times and provided four assists, via Transfermarkt. He has scored in each of Liverpool’s last three top-flight outings, including a strike in the 2-2 draw with City last time out.

Also capable of playing anywhere along the frontline, there won’t be a better candidate to fill the void that is currently left behind by an out-of-sorts Salah.

Once described as a “pressing monster” by assistant boss Pep Lijnders, Jota has been in much greater form than the 29-year-old since the international break.

Not only has he scored three goals, compared to Salah’s zero, but he also edges the charts for shots with the latter managing just the one effort against the league leaders.

Only a few weeks ago, Klopp waxed lyrical about the 25-year-old Portuguese, claiming that he was “growing into the top world-class striker role,” before later adding:

“It was always clear that Diogo is not a pure winger, Diogo is a striker who can play on the wing and defend the wing. Both wings, thank god.”

On the above evidence, the Liverpool boss should make the bold and brutal call to axe Salah in favour of Jota’s return to the starting XI, with Luis Diaz and Mane also available, there are plenty of different attacking options he can turn to for the wing positions.

The former Wolves gem, in this form, can absolutely terrify Ralf Rangnick’s United outfit – they’d probably welcome the sight of an out-of-form Salah right now, so Klopp must turn to Jota this evening.

AND in other news, Klopp eyeing Liverpool swoop for “world-class” 110-goal magician, Anfield would be buzzing…

A major update has emerged on Rangers defender Calvin Bassey’s availability for the Ibrox giants over the next two months…

What’s the latest?

The Gers beast could have missed a number of games after the winter break due to the African Cup of Nations, but the Glasgow Times reports that he has been left out of the Nigeria squad for the competition.

Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun are both set to jet off to play for their country and will miss, among other games, an Old Firm clash with Celtic at the start of February. Bassey, meanwhile, will now be able to feature in that derby matchup.

Fans will love it

Fans will surely love this news as it could be a major boost to the Gers heading into the Premiership schedule after the break ends. Depending on how far Nigeria go in the competition, Aribo and Balogun look set to miss a few games, but Bassey will now be available for selection barring suspension or injury.

This will delight the supporters as he has been in fine form in recent weeks since moving to centre-back from his more natural left-back role. He has played nine games times Gio van Bronckhorst took over at the club and the Gers have kept seven clean sheets in those matches.

Bassey has recorded one SofaScore rating lower than 6.9 in the last nine outings, which came against Lyon in a 1-1 draw in the Europa League. This shows that he has been consistently delivering excellent performances, as eight of his nine appearances have ended with him putting in an impressive showing.

The Dutch head coach praised the defender towards the start of his reign, saying:

“I’ve been really impressed. Calvin’s a really talented defender. Normally he plays in the left-back position but doesn’t have much experience in the centre back area. So I’m really happy with his performances so far. I think he has the physical ability to play there.

“We will help him a lot in that position, when he has to pass, when he has to dribble, the positioning he has to take when the other defender has got the ball.

“He’s a player who is very open to learning, and he gives a lot of energy to the team.”

These quotes from the retired left-back and Bassey’s statistics in recent weeks show why his availability will be a big boost for the club.

Fans will love to see him in action again after the break as he has been showing that he can be a top player for the side at centre-back and, hopefully, he can continue his form throughout the rest of the season and in the future.

AND in other news, “I’m sure”: Reporter drops exciting Rangers transfer claim that’ll leave fans buzzing…

West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has dropped an update on his future at The Hawthorns amid his links with a move away from the club in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

In recent comments cited by the Express & Star, the 28-year-old revealed that he is desperate to make a return to the Premier League, with West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton and Newcastle United having all been linked with a move for the England international this winter.

Speaking about his future, Johnstone said: “There was a lot of talk in the summer. It [a transfer] just didn’t happen and we are focused on doing our best to get promoted back up this year. I see the speculation and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s out of my control but I want to be back playing in the Premier League.”

Fans will be sweating

Considering just how impressive Johnstone has been for West Brom in recent seasons, the goalkeeper coming out and openly admitting that he is desperate to be playing Premier League football again – during a transfer window, no less – will undoubtedly have left Baggies fans sweating.

Indeed, since his £6.5m move to The Hawthorns back in 2018, Johnstone has been a rock between the Albion sticks, earning seasonal SofaScore match ratings of 6.87, 6.84 and 7.03 in 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 respectively, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.82 over his 24 Championship appearances in the current campaign.

Furthermore, the £32.5k-per-week ‘keeper has also kept a whopping 41 clean sheets over his 155 appearances for the Baggies, not far off averaging a shut out once in every three fixtures he has played for the club.

As such, it is clear to see just how important the 28-year-old is to Valerien Ismael’s West Brom side, as well as how devastating it would be for the Baggies’ automatic promotion hopes were the England international to leave the club this month.

In other news: West Brom handed double fitness boost ahead of QPR clash, Ismael will be buzzing

[ad_pod ]Newcastle fans have taken to Twitter excitedly after The Chronicle broke the news that Atlanta playmaker Miguel Almiron’s move to Tyneside is back on and looks close to completion, after talks stalled on a deal earlier in the month.The 24-year-old helped Atlanta become Major League Soccer champions last season, scoring 12 goals and recording 14 assists in 32 league startsÂ(via ESPN) as he truly put his name up in lights.Magpies boss Rafa Benitez has been crying out for Mike Ashley to put his hand in his pocket and sign some players, and have even plunged his future at St James’ Park into doubt if he does not get his wish, according to The Telegraph.Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…However, it now appears as if the former Liverpool and Chelsea manager has got his wish, with a reported club-record £20.5m deal close to being signed off as reported by The Guardian’s Ed Aarons on his official Twitter account.

Naturally, Magpies’ supporters are ecstatic after their transfer record looks to finally be broken after several years, if their reactions on Twitter are anything to go by…

Some Everton fans have been left raging as a revelation emerged involving Marcel Brands.

Writing in a piece for The Athletic, Patrick Boyland and Greg O’Keefe have taken an in-depth look at the Director of Football and his time at Goodison Park so far.

They claim that he has never had a ‘free hand’ at the Merseyside club, as managers are picked by the owner, and multiple people feed in with transfers, not just Brands himself.

It seems a lot of Toffees supporters agreed with them, and took a dig at the board for not including him more in important decisions, in a period where the Blues have not finished higher than seventh spot in the Premier League table since the 2014/15 season, and have still not won a major trophy since the mid-90’s.

Everton fans on Brands claim

These Blues were left raging as the claim on Brands was shared by Boyland on his official Twitter page:

“We are ran like absolute idiots and people wonder why we are in the mess we are in now”

Credit: @BT_1878

“Pathetic. Time for Kenwright out banner again?”

Credit: @latibosani

“The transfer process sounds a complete mess and probably explains the previous profligacy in the market.”

Credit: @Henryblt2

“Why is it always like this with us….?”

Credit: @Boyer316New

“Kenwright out”

Credit: @Adam_1878

“Unfortunately no employee gets a free hand to do what they want.”

Credit: @SaulB00945852

In other news, find out what Rafa Benitez update has Evertonians talking here! 

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans have been blasting the performance of Barry Bannan in their 0-0 draw away at Portsmouth in League One on Tuesday night.

It was a game which very quickly turned into a ‘take a point and run’ scenario for Darren Moore and his men after Massimo Luongo was shown a straight red card just shy of the 70-minute mark at Fratton Park.

Nonetheless, Wednesday did well to hold out despite an unorthodox makeshift defence, although they could have done better in possession and when the ball was in the attacking third of the pitch.

Bannan was particularly guilty of giving the ball away far too often – 14 times in total, the fourth-most out of his teammates (SofaScore) – while some Owls supporters were critical of his set pieces.

Indeed, the midfielder misplaced six of his crosses, by far the most out of anyone on the pitch, as he also lost out on four of his duels, and failed to score with either of his shots on goal (SofaScore).

Sheff Wed fans on Bannan display

These Wednesday supporters blasted the Scot’s performance on Twitter, with one going as far as to claim that he was a ‘liability’ against Pompey:

“Bannan is a liability.”

Credit: @electricgiblets

“Barry Bannan’s set pieces are on par with mine on a Sunday. Shocking.”

Credit: @bnewton99

“Bannan has been absolutely abysmal”

Credit: @Ellsjr1992

“Bannan is genuinely the worst corner-kick taker on this planet”

Credit: @JosephO__

“Bannan is just a passenger at the moment. Terrible”

Credit: @_oswfc

“Can someone else please take the Sheffield Wednesday corners. Even the tea lady must be better than Bannan for God’s sake”

Credit: @intelligenceme2

In other news, find out whose display against Pompey was also slammed by many Owls fans

Gio van Bronckhorst has been issued a huge Rangers injury relief over Ibrox attacking midfielder Ianis Hagi…

What’s the latest?

Gheorghe Hagi has revealed that his son is expecting to be fit enough to play in the final of the Europa League if the Gers are able to make their way past Braga and also get through the semi-finals.

The Romania international has been out of action since January with a knee injury and is now hoping to make a return before the end of the campaign.

Speaking to Sport Arena, via the Daily Record, Gheorghe said: “If they got past Dortmund, they have the ability to play in the final. Ianis told me that he will play the Final. There are still two strong teams, Barcelona and Lyon, who are on the other side.

“Everybody is excited about him, how he performs and what a value he is. He’s had bad luck, the hazard of the job. He went to a clinic in Holland, very good professionals. The club provided him with that. We hope he recovers very quickly. He’s confident.”

Buzzing

This news will surely leave the Ibrox faithful and indeed van Bronckhorst elated for multiple reasons.

Firstly, this update comes as a major lift for the club this season, as it would be a huge boost to have him fit and available for a European final. Hagi is one of Rangers’ best players and Van Bronckhorst would surely love to have him in the squad for an occasion as big as that one would be.

They will also be buzzing as it suggests that the 23-year-old will be back in time for pre-season in the summer to hit the ground running in 2022/23. If he believes that he can play in the final in May, then he should be fine for friendlies in July, setting him up to return to his best form next term.

In the Premiership this season, the midfielder ranks sixth for average SofaScore ratings out of all the outfield players in the squad, with a score of 7.10. Prior to his injury blow, he started 15 matches in the league and chipped in with two goals whilst creating 1.5 chances per game.

Last term, the youngster was a constant threat in the final third. He ended the title-winning season with seven goals and 11 assists in the league for Steven Gerrard’s side in 23 starts. This shows that he has the quality to consistently deliver at the top end of the pitch with direct goal contributions, which is something the Gers have lacked this season.

Scott Arfield has often been deployed in Hagi’s role on the right and has produced four goals and zero assists in 24 league outings. This suggests that Rangers are missing the Romanian’s creativity from out wide, which is why fans will be delighted with his prospective return.

AND in other news, Was £2.7m, went to £162m: Rangers fumbled deal for “alien” who’s the “god of football”…

An update has emerged on Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield, regarding plans for his future at Ibrox…

What’s the talk?

According to the Glasgow Evening Times [29 January, page 47], the Gers are poised to enter contract talks with the Canada international.

His contract is up at the end of the season and the Scottish giants now want to offer him fresh terms in an attempt to keep him at the club moving forward.

GvB needs it

Gio van Bronckhorst will be buzzing with this news as he needs Arfield to put pen to paper on a contract extension before his deal expires in the summer.

The 33-year-old has dipped in and out of form this season and there have been moments where it has looked as if he needs replacing. He has lost 59% of his duels this term and missed a whopping five ‘big chances’ in front of goal, which highlights some of the issues he has had throughout the campaign.

However, just when you may think his time is up at Ibrox he pops up with another moment to show why he needs to stay. He came off the bench against Livingston earlier this week and scored the winning goal with a sublime first-time, improvised, finish into the far corner in a 1-0 win for the Gers, proving that he still has it in him to be a huge player for the club.

Earlier this month, van Bronckhorst admitted that he does not want to see the veteran leave at the end of the campaign, saying: “Scott is an important player to have around. He is definitely someone I want to have longer at Rangers.

“Hopefully we can welcome him next season as well.”

The £16k-per-week beast is still capable of producing moments of magic to win vital points for Rangers and that is why the Dutch head coach needs this key deal to go through. Arfield still has value to offer to the Light Blues and Ross Wilson must ensure that he is able to agree terms with the midfielder over a contract extension in the coming weeks and months.

Hopefully, the ex-Burnley man will continue to provide big goals to help Rangers on their way to another Premiership title and can then celebrate with the trophy and a new contract to head into the 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news, Rangers could replicate Amad masterclass with swoop for “exceptional” £3.1k-p/w gem…