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Newly-appointed West Brom boss Sam Allardyce has been thrown straight into the deep end for his first game in charge of the Baggies as they welcome an arch-rival to the Hawthorns this evening.

The 66-year-old has it all to do if he’s to salvage something from Albion’s woeful start in the Premier League, and it begins with an encounter against Dean Smith’s high-flying Aston Villa.

He replaced the axed Slaven Bilic earlier in the week despite the Croatian steering his side to an impressive 1-1 draw at Manchester City.

It’ll be interesting to see what sort of lineup Big Sam selects as his next survival bid takes shape – here’s the XI we’re predicting tonight…

Allardyce is known for his direct style so there may well be a change in system, though he’s expected to be without a quintet of Baggies stars.

The influential Matheus Pereira is serving the third and final match of his suspension while defensive duo Kyle Bartley and Conor Townsend are still on the treatment table, as is Sam Field and Hal Robson-Kanu.

We’re likely to see no change between the sticks, so Sam Johnstone keeps his place but there could be a recall for Premier League veteran Branislav Ivanovic to partner Semi Ajayi at centre-back. Kieran Gibbs and Darnell Furlong should continue at full-back.

In midfield, we’re expecting Jake Livermore to take up a place alongside Conor Gallagher as a two-man engine room. The pair are the perfect box-to-box types to play Big Sam’s 4-4-2 formation.

It means Grady Diangana also keeps his place on the left, though there may be a shock return for 32-year-old outcast Kamil Grosicki as he comes in for Matty Phillips on the right.

Allardyce could also make a huge call in attack, dropping the out-of-sorts Karlan Grant for Charlie Austin with Callum Robinson also returning to the XI in the fourth and final change to partner him up top.

Romaine Sawyers will therefore join the likes of Filip Krovinovic, Lee Peltier and Kyle Edwards on the bench.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce tipped to bring Premier League striker to West Brom in January…

Southampton fans have been reacting to the news that Nathan Tella has been nominated for the PL2 Player of the Month.

The 21-year-old has broken in to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first team this season, already appearing five times in the Premier League. However, that has not stopped him appearing in the PL2. In December, he actually only played one game at that level, but in that clash he scored four times against Leicester City – a performance deserving of recognition.

Tella is highly-rated at St. Mary’s Stadium, and this is the kind of news that only backs that up. Hasenhuttl will be hoping that he can transfer that form to senior level as his side looks to secure a place in European football ahead of next term.

After the club’s official Twitter account relayed the news, the fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the supporters had to say about Tella below

“He’s so good”

Credit: @sfcdannnn

“Hes got so much potential. Really like him. Hope he continues to get game time.”

Credit: @I_amDarren

“One for the future”

Credit: @AlexHam10686189

“as he should”

Credit: @chxrlottewx

“The future”

Credit: @RhysTheSaint

“A couple of years then £25m to Liverpool?”

Credit: @billacres2

In other news, Southampton are eyeing this Premier League winger.

Following his impressive performance in Leeds’ 1-0 win against Everton last time out, Marcelo Bielsa must consider unleashing Brazilian winger Raphinha in the Whites’ game against Chelsea on Saturday night.

The Yorkshire club travel to Stamford Bridge to face Frank Lampard’s side on Saturday, with the Blues having lost just once in the Premier League so far this season.

However, Bielsa’s side will surely be full of confidence after winning at Goodison Park in their last top-flight fixture, a game in which Raphinha scored the winner with his first goal in a Leeds shirt.

The 24-year-old joined from Rennes during the summer and has made five appearances for the Whites thus far, with only two of those appearances starts.

Therefore, Bielsa may be tempted to go with the tried-and-tested Helder Costa on the wing for the game against Chelsea but after Raphinha’s impressive performance last time out, which earned him a 7.57 rating, he must be rewarded with another start against Lampard’s side.

Costa started the season well for Leeds, with the Portuguese winger impressive in wins against Fulham and Aston Villa in particular but he has been inconsistent at times and has only one goal contribution in his last seven games.

Bielsa was full of praise for the £16.2 million-rated Raphinha during his pre-match press conference earlier in the week, saying:

“He’s a player with a capacity to unbalance a team individually. Every one of his physical qualities are good. He’s a dynamic player, who’s not difficult for him to go forward and come back or to get in behind and defend. The characteristics of the team coincide with his way of playing.” (per Leeds Live)

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Therefore, it seems as if the Argentinian has a lot of faith in the Brazilian’s creativity, and perhaps he can be the man to unlock this Chelsea defence, with Edouard Mendy having kept seven clean sheets in his last nine games for the club.

It will be interesting to see how Bielsa sets his side up for what will undoubtedly be a very tough game for the Whites on Saturday night.

Manchester City have been linked with a move for Borussia Mönchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram recently and perhaps the Frenchman could be the man to unlock Gabriel Jesus’ potential for the Citizens.

Sport Bild reported earlier this week that Manchester City, along with Barcelona and Juventus, are keen on signing the striker in the near future. The 23-year-old has seriously impressed for the Bundesliga side since signing from EA Guingamp in the summer of 2019, having made 49 appearances in all competitions, in which he has contributed 17 goals and 14 assists (per Transfermarkt).

Thuram, who is the son of French World Cup-winner Lillian Thuram, also scored two goals against Real Madrid recently, demonstrating his credentials in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

If City were to sign the young forward in January or in the summer transfer window, he could be the man to help unleash Gabriel Jesus for the Citizens. Since joining from Palmeiras in 2017, the Brazilian forward has contributed an impressive 70 goals and 30 assists in 155 appearances (per Transfermarkt).

The 23-year-old has come under criticism at times during his City career, with himself admitting that he was struggling with the weight of expectation at the club, perhaps as he tries to emulate Sergio Aguero, with the Argentinian having netted a remarkable 255 goals and 73 assists in his 373 appearances for the club (per Transfermarkt).

However, with the 32-year-old’s contract set to expire at the end of this season, it could be argued that they are in need of striking reinforcements ahead of next season. Perhaps Thuram could be brought in to take the pressure of Jesus, following Aguero’s seemingly close departure.

Thuram’s teammate Denis Zakaria described the Frenchman as “phenomenal” back in 2019, so he is clearly well thought of at the Bundesliga club.

WhoScored lists one of the Mönchengladbach man’s strengths as aerial duels and he also stands at 6 foot 3, which suggests that he could play in the target man role that is arguably missing in Pep Guardiola’s side. The Citizens have just Aguero and Jesus available as natural strikers in their squad at the moment, neither of whom are particularly tall.

Although City have mainly played with one-striker formations so far this season, perhaps the signing of the £28.8 million-rated man could tempt Guardiola into trying two up-front, with Thuram perhaps paired with Jesus, where he could take some of the expectation of the 23-year-old’s shoulders and allow him to flourish.

Leeds United fans have every right to feel miffed after their move for Michael Cuisance collapsed at the 11th hour.

The Whites looked to be on to a winner when trying to sign the former European Golden Boy nominee, but the deal fell through due to problems with his medical.

We don’t have all of the information at the moment about why his medical went awry, but we can only assume that Leeds had a good reason to pull the plug.

While missing out on Cuisance is something of a blow, the fact that the club haven’t jumped the gun and signed a player who may have fitness problems is a good sign.

The Whites have been stung before when signing a player who wasn’t fit enough to come into the team with Jean-Kevin Augustin’s fitness being questioned by Marcelo Bielsa almost immediately after he signed, and a string of further problems meant that the RB Leipzig man failed to start a single game during his loan spell.

Perhaps a medical that didn’t take place in a hotel room would have seen these problems come to light before Leeds agreed to sign him, giving the Whites time and money to spend on another striker who could’ve made more of an impact.

In the end, it didn’t matter too much, as Patrick Bamford proved to be good enough to lead the line in United’s promotion push, but Augustin’s failing still has to go down as a black mark on Leeds’ recent transfer record.

Luckily, Leeds seem to have been a lot more stringent this time around, and they may well have just avoided another Augustin-type scenario by doing their due-diligence on Cuiscance’s medical.

Tottenham Hotspur are the overwhelming ‘favourites’ to sign Southampton star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer, reports say. 

Jose Mourinho has identified Hojbjerg as the missing piece of the puzzle he needs to rebuild Tottenham’s midfield.

According to The Athletic, as relayed by Ricky Sacks, Spurs are the front-runners to complete his signing in the summer, amid interest from Everton.

Carlo Ancelotti has wasted no time at all in trying to sign the Danish international, as the Toffees have already submitted a £14m bid for his signature.

Southampton initially valued him at £25m in January, although they are now willing to accept £20m for him as circumstances have changed, but Everton’s offer has still fallen short.

The Dane has set his sights on a move to Spurs over any other club, as he is keen to learn from Mourinho.

Hojberg, 24, has played 33 games in the Premier League this season, supplying one assist, taking 1.4 shots, winning 2.4 tackles and completing 1.5 clearances per game on average (stats provided by WhoScored).

Ralph Hassenhuttl removed the captain’s armband from the midfielder after he refused to sign a new deal at St Mary’s, and he even suffered the ignominy of being dropped from the squad altogether, although he played the full 90 minutes at right-back in the 1-1 draw with Brighton.

While he will not be available for a cut-price deal as Spurs had initially hoped, he should be more than affordable, as Daniel Levy spent £53.8m on Tanguy Ndombele last year.

A move for Hojbjerg could see Kyle Walker-Peters head in the opposite direction, although the Lilywhites have not launched a formal bid as of yet.

Spurs could see a changing of the guard if Hojbjerg arrives in north London in the summer, as former Pochettino favourite Harry Winks could be forced to make way, while questions remain over Ndombele’s future at the club.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer? Let us know down below!

After his incredible role in Liverpool’s Champions League triumph, Divock Origi’s place in the Reds’ history will forever be secured.

The Belgium international has come up with some big goals in some big games for the club, but whether he’s good enough to play second-fiddle to Roberto Firmino and actually start games on a regular basis is seriously up for debate.

Against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, Jurgen Klopp handed the striker the chance to feature from the off, and it was an audition that he failed miserably.

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The 25-year-old lasted just over an hour before being hooked for Firmino, and in that time did very little to convince anyone of a Reds persuasion that he should be someone who they must keep at all costs this summer.

As per Sofascore, despite playing through the middle, he registered no shots on goal whatsoever, and no dribbles either – so much for a supposed central striker.

Origi could barely get himself involved in the game, touching the ball just 26 times in the time that he was on the pitch, and making only 13 successful passes.

The Belgian couldn’t hold the ball up, or even make the right runs, and it was no surprise that some Liverpool fans were quick to voice their frustrations and anger towards him after the game – a few even called for him to be sold this summer.

For a team that won the Champions League last season, and has just been crowned Premier League champions this year, to have Origi be their second-choice striker just doesn’t fill anyone with confidence.

If Firmino were to get injured next season, then would Klopp seriously be confident about a striker who has scored just five times in 39 total appearances this season?

The Liverpool boss needs to be ruthless with him this summer, and whilst he has given Liverpool fans some memorable moments, it’s perhaps the perfect time for both parties to part ways.

With 227 games for the club, Kris Commons was a Celtic regular in the time that he was at the club.

The former Scotland international was a consistent performer for the Hoops too, netting an impressive 89 goals and providing a further 72 assists – a key reason behind the side’s domestic dominance during the early to mid 2010s.

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But for all his quality on the ball, Commons certainly had his fair share of troubles off the pitch and problems with attitude. There was that infamous night in Norway against Molde, when the now 36-year-old threw his toys out of the pram following his substitution – he would then admit that it was “idiotic behaviour”.

And after a thread posted on Twitter by Celtic1967.com, fans of the Hoops flooded the replies section with their thoughts on the midfielder.

One Celtic fan meanwhile accepted that whilst he was a “great player”, his disagreement with Ronny Deila should have seen his time at the club come to an end.

It’s safe to say Celtic fans still haven’t forgotten about Commons.

He certainly had his moments of inspiration, but as some supporters alluded to, it’s difficult to ignore some of the more negative aspects that also came with him too.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to a new exclusive report coming from talkSPORT, Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on Schalke’s 23-year-old goalkeeper, Alexander Nubel.

But the Germans should make sure their talent doesn’t leave the club just yet.

What’s the word, then?

It seems that Jose Mourinho wants a new goalkeeper in his squad and Nubel, Schalke’s young, up and coming talent, certainly looks like a juicy target for them.

This is reinforced even more with the fact that they are in serious need of another reliable man between the sticks. Hugo Lloris has been struggling with injuries and while Paulo Gazzaniga has held his own between the sticks, he simply hasn’t been as good as they would have hoped, as was explained by talkSPORT in the same report.

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Nubel, although young and very much at the beginning of his career, is already captaining his club but could be on his way out seeing how he hasn’t signed a new contract and his current one is slowly but surely running out.

And even though it makes sense for Mourinho to snatch the youngster away, for Schalke it could be disastrous.

An important piece

Needless to say, losing the captain of the ship is never really a good thing.

Schalke have been sturdy this season, having conceded just 15 goals in 12 games with Nubel between the sticks, and the 23-year-old has been a key figure in this development.

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Kevin Hatchard showered him with praise when talking to talkSPORT:

“He is the captain of Schalke and a goalkeeper in his early 20s. He is a very good goalkeeper with a [Manuel] Neuer vibe about him. He’s good with his feet, commanding, and he’s got a bit of arrogance about him which I don’t think is a terrible thing.”

Losing him now would definitely be a hugely disappointing blow for the club to take.

Schalke are currently sitting in fifth in the table, level with the team above them and just two points off second-placed Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.

And while it’s difficult actually seeing them fully contest for the crown, Nubel could play a key part in them making a mark on the Bundesliga this season already.

TalkSPORT don’t make it clear when would Spurs be hoping to snatch him away but either way, the time is not right for him to leave just yet whichever way you look at it.

They’d be wise to make his contract juicier and convince the young goalie to stay.

Meanwhile, many Spurs fans haven’t really been impressed with the club’s recent links with a young defender already plying his trade in England.

When you think of Everton’s best bargain buys, Seamus Coleman invariably features at the top of the list.

The full-back joined the Toffees for a reported fee of just £63k, and has gone on to be a permanent fixture in the first-team squad for a number of years now.

But whilst the Irishman can stake a major claim for being one of the club’s most astute purchases in recent memory, one man who may have gone slightly under the radar, is Steven Naismith.

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The forward was signed by David Moyes back in the summer of 2012 on a free transfer after he rejected a contract with his former side Rangers.

It was no surprise that the then Everton manager waxed lyrical about what Naismith could bring to the table when the deal was confirmed. He said: “He will be an excellent addition to the players we already have and we look forward to him being fit and ready to play at the start of the season. He is an established international who can play in a number of positions. He has a flexibility we always like in our players and which will hopefully prove to be very useful for us.”

In the end, the Scot proved himself to be an unsung hero at Goodison Park, playing 123 appearances across all competitions. He scored 26 goals in his time on the blue half of Merseyside, and was often the man for the big occasion.

Out of all the times he found the back of the net in a Toffees shirt, 11 of them came against the Premier League’s ‘big six’. In fact, since the start of the 2010/2011 season, no other player had scored more against those sides than Naismith himself, with his closest challengers being Romelu Lukaku (10) and Kevin Mirallas (8).

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Every team needs someone who can deliver the business in the toughest of times, and Naismith was that man. For someone who Moyes signed for nothing, the attacker was nothing short of a revelation when you consider the value for money they got for him.

Coleman may be thought of as Everton’s best bargain buy, but Naismith is arguably in that same bracket too.

Meanwhile, Everton fans are happy for this player to leave.