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The day Marcelo Bielsa leaves Leeds United will be a strange day.

The Argentine has been at Elland Road for two and a half years now and has taken them back to where they belong; the Premier League.

Not since 2004 have the Whites been in the top-flight and not since 2012 have they had a manager in the job as long as Bielsa.

There is a special bond between the manager and the club. He is the first head coach since Simon Grayson to take charge of over 100 games for Leeds and this is the first time he’s stayed in a job for this many matches.

Clearly, Bielsa loves Leeds. He has transformed the very face of the football club, taking them from mid-table in the Championship to mid-table in the richest league in the world.

The 65-year-old recently admitted that he could see himself at Elland Road for the rest of his life but the fact of the matter is, his time in Yorkshire will come to an end eventually.

Bielsa’s contract expires at the end of the season and although hints have been made that he’s keen to renew, he may well walk out the exit door.

That would be surprising, but contingency plans are in place in case he doesn’t sign on the dotted line for another season.

According to The Times, Leeds have former Juventus boss Max Allegri on their shortlist of potential Bielsa replacements.

This would be an almighty surprise if he was lured to Leeds, but it would be an almighty statement of intent from Andrea Radrizzani.

The Italian has broken Leeds’ transfer record to sign Rodrigo while merely bringing Bielsa in was a huge shock. Though, Allegri is a manager who led Juve to five Serie A titles and to a Champions League final.

This is the type of manager the likes of Manchester City or Liverpool would consider; not a club currently sitting in 12th place in the Premier League.

For that reason alone, it would be a huge surprise if he came to Leeds. Though, it speaks volumes about the type of ambitions the Whites have.

It only feels like yesterday that Radrizzani was talking about extra investment putting the Whites on a par with Man City. Indeed, further funding from the 49ers may well do that in due course.

Though, if they want to achieve parity on the field of play, Allegri would surely bring them close. He is a first-class coach, someone who usually says no to you, rather than the other way round.

If Radrizzani can lure Allegri to Leeds, it could well be his most surprising Leeds call yet, one that will prove that Leeds really are battling to get back into the highest levels of European football.

AND in other news, Forget Gelhardt: Leeds must finally unleash rarely-seen 19 y/o, he’s a “box of tricks”…

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane ahead of the summer transfer window, with Los Blancos seemingly open to offers for the Frenchman, and he could be a superb addition to Jurgen Klopp’s side.

What’s the word?

According to reports from Spain, the Reds are interested in signing the 27-year-old defender in the summer, and Real are open to offers as his contract is set to expire in 2022.

The report suggests that the likes of Manchester United and PSG are also showing an interest in the World Cup winner, who could also find his starting position under Zinedine Zidane under threat next season, due to the likely arrival of David Alaba from Bayern Munich.

Would he be a good signing?

Varane has established himself as one of the world’s best defenders during his time in Madrid, having joined the Spanish side from RC Lens in 2011.

After nearly a decade with the club, he has made 350 appearances in all competitions, contributing 17 goals and seven assists in that time.

The centre-back has also won everything there is to win with Madrid, including three league titles and the Champions League on four occasions, as well as the World Cup with France in 2018.

Therefore, he would add a lot of quality and experience to Liverpool’s backline, which has struggled so much this season due to the injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

So far this season, Varane has made 23 appearances in the Spanish top-flight, contributing two goals and averaging a solid 6.92 rating.

The football scouting website FBref rates him extremely highly in terms of his aerial ability and usefulness in possession, whilst he is rarely dribbled past, so it definitely seems that he is a player in a similar mould to Van Dijk, and therefore he would surely fit well into Klopp’s squad.

When Varane was just 19-years-old he featured for Real Madrid against Barcelona and was credited with his superb performance following the game, as he was able to keep the world’s best player Lionel Messi quiet during the 90 minutes.

Therefore, it seems clear that Varane possesses a lot of quality and would be a superb signing for Liverpool, so sporting director Michael Edwards should definitely try and bring the £63 million-rated defender to Anfield this summer.

AND, in other news… Klopp can finally sign his Coutinho heir at LFC in £63.5m-rated whizz loved by Del Piero

Lee Johnson has guided this Sunderland side to fourth in League One and the good times should carry on this weekend.

The Mackems are getting ready to face a Rochdale side who occupy a relegation place in the division. They have only won one of their last 15 outings, so it should be an uphill struggle for The Dale at the Stadium of Light.

That being said, the Black Cats did need a rescue act last weekend against Crewe in order to salvage a point.

It’s also hard to look past a number of injuries with which Johnson is having to contend. With a succession of players still on the sidelines, how could their XI look on Saturday afternoon?

The Mackems are likely to be without Grant Leadbitter this weekend as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder.

Tom Flanagan is looking stronger in his bid to return to fitness but will miss out this weekend. The same goes for Ross Stewart and Denver Hume. Bailey Wright will unfortunately also be absent on Saturday afternoon.

As a result, the makeshift pairing of Dion Sanderon and Luke O’Nien occupy the central roles in the defence.

With Sunderland taking on weaker opposition, it could give the manager a chance to go more attacking, something he did in the second half of their clashes with Crewe and Swindon.

That sees two changes made from Tuesday night, with Chris Maguire and Aiden O’Brien coming into the side. Maguire replaces Lynden Gooch in the number 10 role.

Gooch starred against Swindon but went off with a minor calf problem. Johnson wasn’t too worried at full-time but, given the number of injury problems they have, they can’t afford to take risks. That means the £5,000-per-week winger is dropped from the XI.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-news-and-gossip” title=” Latest Sunderland news and gossip!”]

The other change is on the left, where Jordan Jones comes out of the team for O’Brien, someone who has been an influential member of the team since Johnson was given the job.

The winger started on the bench in midweek but scored 11 days ago against Fleetwood. With his importance in mind, it’s not beyond the realms of fantasy to suggest he could start again.

After all, Jones still appears to be struggling for match fitness; he was hooked after just an hour on Tuesday night.

AND in other news, Sunderland must unleash “top player” who Johnson once dubbed “Championship-class”…

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed recently that Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and the Reds would be making a huge mistake if they were to sign the Greek centre-back.

What’s the word?

Romano revealed on his Here We Go podcast that the Merseyside club have been offered the 32-year-old defender this month, as the Gunners look to get the former Borussia Dortmund man off their books.

The Reds are, of course, currently low on defensive options following injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez earlier in the season but they would still perhaps be best served by avoiding Sokratis, considering he hasn’t played a single minute of senior football this season.

Worse than Lovren?

Liverpool will surely be rueing their decision to sell Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren in the summer transfer window and not signing a replacement, as Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Fabinho, usually alongside youngsters Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips in his defence for much of this season.

The 31-year-old averaged a very solid 7.09 rating for his performances in the Premier League last season when called upon by Klopp, whereas Sokratis earned a much less impressive 6.82 rating for the Gunners, suggesting that he would’ve been a much better option to have than the Arsenal man.

Whilst the experienced defender is well-known to Klopp, having featured 73 times under the German manager during his time at Dortmund, he is clearly well past his best, evidenced by Mikel Arteta leaving him out of his Premier League squad for this season.

Therefore, whilst the Greek international would provide a short-term solution in terms of being an available centre-back in Liverpool’s squad, in the time we would see him build his fitness, Matip would probably return from the injury that has kept him out recently, so he would only be useful if the Cameroonian suffered another injury.

Even then Klopp may prefer to keep faith in Phillips and Williams, so signing Sokratis who earns £92k per week at Arsenal would be a rare error from Michael Edwards and the Liverpool board, given the success they have seen from signings such as Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago and Sadio Mane, to name a few, in recent years.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Matip: Edwards must swoop for £50m titan tipped for “an amazing future”

When Leeds failed to get Kemar Roofe’s contract wrapped up in time, it was a bitter blow for Marcelo Bielsa.

Roofe finished the 2018/19 campaign as the club’s top scorer on 15 goals but then left for pastures new.

He picked up the phone from a certain Vincent Kompany and joined the former Manchester City captain at Anderlecht. His spell ended after just a year, however.

The striker is now at Rangers and in the process of scoring ten strikes, he has put the Gers in a position to usurp Celtic and win the Scottish Premiership.

Arguably, Leeds have never been able to replace what he brought to their attack. They have attempted to do so with both Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Kevin Augustin, but they started a combined two league games for the Whites.

One of Roofe’s key qualities was pace. He used ruthless speed and quick thinking inside the penalty area to fashion goal scoring opportunities. The 28-year-old, unlike Patrick Bamford, could play on the shoulder. He also had eye-catching dribbling skills and close touch control.

It was these aspects that Eddie Gray thought Bielsa’s team would miss when he was injured in February 2019. He said: “It’s a blow for a number of reasons, goalscoring obviously. He’s lead the line well, but he’s got that little bit of pace. It is something we [Leeds] have not got in abundance. Real pace. I’m talking about, like Norwich pace.”

Indeed, despite Raphinha, it’s hard to say Bielsa has much speed in the final third. Of course, they move the ball incredibly quickly but in terms of athletic abilities, there isn’t a great deal in Leeds’ current squad.

That being said, they could finally make moves to finding their new Roofe in the January window.

United have been linked with a move for Montpellier forward Andy Delort, someone who could improve their forward line in a whole host of different ways.

For starters, he is a goal scorer. Delort has found the net on nine occasions this term and has also helped himself to six assists in the process. “He [Delort’s dad] always wanted me to be a striker,” the ten cap Algerian admitted last year.

Delort continued: “I wouldn’t say he forced me, but he pushed me towards that and helped me develop that love of scoring. I used to practice with my Dad and he’d say to me ‘if you miss the target two more times we’re going home’ and that threat ensured I kept hitting the target.”

Certainly this season he is demonstrating that love for beating the goalkeeper. Though, it’s his remarkable pace and dribbling that provide us with the closest similarities to Roofe.

The £27k-per-week earner has performed one dribble per match this season – just 0.3 more than the former Leeds striker’s career average, but crucially he can get beyond a defender. Delort was clocked as the fastest player in Ligue 1 last term, usurping even the likes of Kylian Mbappe.

He is a ruthless striker and life Roofe, would offer Bielsa the ability to run in behind. Having a different option to Bamford as the season goes on cannot be underestimated.

AND in other news, Leeds can fix one of Bielsa’s big problems with swoop for “powerful” £41k-p/w titan…

Marcus Rashford bagged a brace as Manchester United came from behind to beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Thursday night.

The Red Devils didn’t get off to the best of starts after United goalkeeper Dean Henderson gifted the Blades an opener when he was caught in possession by Oliver Burke, which allowed David McGoldrick to coolly slot home from close range.

However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side weren’t to be denied the spoils, as they staged yet another comeback, with Rashford scoring a stunning equaliser, and Anthony Martial ended his goal drought to put the visitors ahead before the break with his first league goal of the campaign.

And Rashford appeared to have put the game to bed after he beat the diving Aaron Ramsdale after a swift counter attack.

But there were a few nervous faces in the United dugout when McGoldrick headed in from a corner in the latter stages of the game and Lys Mousset forced a fine save from Henderson.

Red hot Rashford continued his impressive run of form, Martial seemed back to his very best, but Paul Pogba played the Blades off the park and it allowed United to build on Rashford’s equaliser to secure the three points.

Pogba was imperious in the midfield, completing 82% of his passes and touching the ball an astonishing 91 times, second only to Alex Telles, and won most of his individual battles to help Solskjaer’s side to victory.

The 27-year-old glided around the middle of the pitch, picking the right moments to keep it short and simple or split the defence with a well-timed pass.

As per SofaScore, he won five out of nine ground duels, and won three out of the six aerial duels he contested, whilst he made three clearances as well.

He was only dribbled past once and committed just one foul, which shows that he maintained a high level of concentration throughout the game.

After a shaky start to the season, Solskjaer seems to have finally found his winning formula at long last.

Once lauded as a “monster” by his former boss Jose Mourinho, the Frenchman has been the centre of attention following Mino Raiola’s most recent outburst as he has been heavily linked with the Old Trafford exit.

But Pogba simply must start more often if United are to establish themselves as genuine contenders for the title if this latest showing is anything to go by.

AND in other news, Man Utd could complete transfer coup in AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu…

Southampton striker Daniel N’Lundulu has been linked with a move to La Liga side Real Betis recently but the Southampton board should ensure that he is still with the club at the end of the month.

What’s the word?

French news outlet Foot Mercato have claimed that Real Betis are interested in signing the 21-year-old and that they could make an approach for him this month.

The Saints academy ace has been on the fringes of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad this season after impressing with David Horseman’s B team.

Semmens must stand firm:

So far this season, N’Lundulu has made six appearances in the Premier League, all of which have come from the bench. The youngster also has five goals and one assist in just seven appearances for the B team, which certainly suggests he is ready to play with the senior side.

The form of Danny Ings and Che Adams so far this season has perhaps limited the youngster’s appearances for Hasenhuttl’s side but it certainly looks as if he has a bright future with the South Coast club, so it would be foolish to let him go to Betis.

N’Lundulu earned the praise of Hasenhuttl along with the other under-23 players that are pushing for a spot in the first-team, saying:

“He’s a type of striker we don’t have in our side so far. He gives us physical options, can keep the ball very well.

“He’s also learned to work hard in front. This was something our youth have to learn and in the past month, we were working a lot with the under-23s and with these teams.

“They are more and more adapted to what we are doing here in the first team and it is nice to see when they are coming out, they are now on a different level.”

With Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond both currently sidelined, we might see Theo Walcott on the wing more often in Southampton’s upcoming fixtures, which could, in turn, allow the likes of N’Lundulu to be given more of a chance up front.

Certainly, the 21-year-old’s record with the B team, where he has 12 goals and three assists in 29 appearances, suggests that he has an eye for goal and a future in Hasenhuttl’s side, so Martin Semmens and the rest of the Southampton board should not even consider negotiating with Real Betis in January, should they make an official approach.

And, in other news… Worse than Tella: Southampton must axe “exciting prospect” amid manager update

According to a report by Calciomercato, Tottenham look set to guarantee Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic an important contract and have lined up a deal for the 6 foot 5 monster – but Daniel Levy faces competition from Man United, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid. 

Milenkovic, who is said to cost around £36 million as per a recent update by Corriere dello Sport, could move away from Serie A in January as a host of top clubs reportedly eye moves.

Milenkovic move imminent

Spurs, who are said to be one of these sides, are apparently intent on offering Milenkovic an important contract and could even guarantee a move according to this latest news.

Manager Jose Mourinho, who failed to bring in another defensive star from Italy over the summer, centre-back Milan Skriniar, eventually saw Swansea City signing Joe Rodon come through the door at Hotspur Way instead.

However, touted as more of an up-and-comer, Levy could be after a more established centre-half in January as Tottenham aim to clinch their first piece of silverware since the League Cup in 2008.

Transfer Tavern take

Mourinho, according to past reports, was a huge admirer of the defender during his days at United – even going on to scout him ‘personally’ whilst at Old Trafford.

The 23-cap Serbia international has no shortage of experience on the biggest stages in world football, and at just 23-years-old, could possess a long shelf life for Spurs in the Premier League.

Hailed as a ‘new Vidic’ by his former national team coach Mladen Krstajic, it’s safe to say Milenkovic would be the ideal Skriniar alternative.

In other news: Spurs could lose this 6 foot 2 ‘beast’ in January, find out more here. 

David Moyes will be without striker Michail Antonio when West Ham host Manchester United on Saturday after the striker developed another hamstring injury.

The blow will force Moyes into recalling Sebastien Haller to once again lead the line for the London Stadium affair, having trusted the Ivory Coast international whilst previously without Antonio following the strain sustained at home to Manchester City in October.

Antonio has developed a fresh issue that Moyes does not believe was connected with his original gripe, but is unsure on the extent of the new problem.

“Michail is not going to be available for the game,” Moyes confirmed. “We’re not sure how long he’ll be [out]. Hopefully it’s not too bad, but he won’t be available for Saturday’s game.

“He’s still having a bit of a problem with his hamstring. It’s not the same injury. We think it’s something slightly different, which is the good news, so we’re hoping that he won’t be too long.”

Moyes has rarely made changes to his favoured starting line-up this season outside of enforced instances, but must consider rotating his XI for the visit of Manchester United.

So, with that in mind, here’s a line-up the Hammers boss could name against his former employer…

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has featured between the sticks for all 10 of the Irons opening Premier League fixtures this season, as one of seven players boasting a 100 per cent starting record alongside Aaron Cresswell, Angelo Ogbonna, Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals and Tomas Soucek.

Arthur Masuaku came into the line-up following Cresswell’s move to centre-half on matchday two, seeing Mr West Ham Mark Noble miss out on a role, while summer signing Vladimir Coufal replaced Ryan Fredericks following his £5.4million arrival.

Each may expect to start alongside Haller on Saturday as West Ham look to move third in the table with a win – albeit momentarily – with the Irons only losing once in their last eight top-flight fixtures and conceding more than once only to title-holders Liverpool since allowing three at Tottenham.

However, Moyes must consider making one additional change to his line-up by replacing Fornals, who struggled vastly at home to Aston Villa on Monday night.

Moyes has previously lavished praise on Fornals for his development since the Scottish coach’s return to east London, but continually urges the Spaniard to deliver more.

“I think he’s done a great job,” Moyes said, via quotes by football.london. “As you can see, we select him regularly, we select him because of his commitment, his attitude, his reliability and he’s grown on us a lot.

“There’s things we would like him to improve. We want him to make better final passes, we want him to score more, but I can think he’s become a really important part [of the team].”

Monday’s display was one matching Moyes’ concerns rather than praise, with Fornals failing to register a single shot on goal, deliver a key ball, completed just 68% of his passes, fail in his only attempted dribble and all four attempted tackles, while offering just one cross, per WhoScored.

Brentford loanee Said Benrahma entered the action for Masuaku at the break and will have felt he had done enough to warrant a start this weekend, as the Algerian offered one shot, one key ball, completed 80% of his passes, was successful with his only attempted dribble and was never dribbled past.

Moyes starting Benrahma against Manchester United on Saturday would mark the Algerian’s first inclusion in an opening line-up since moving to the London Stadium on a season-long loan featuring a £20m obligation to buy at the end of the campaign.

AND in other news, David Sullivan can right a summer blunder by swooping for a “great talent” West Ham previously courted.

Celtic have been tipped to revisit one of their mooted summer targets during the January transfer window this week…

What’s the word?

According to Noel Whelan, who was in conversation with Football Insider, the defending Scottish champions could look to sign West Ham winger Robert Snodgrass at the turn of the year.

A move for the 33-year-old stalled with the Bhoys being unable to shift one or two players off their books on deadline day.

Whelan said: “I think it is a transfer that they might revisit in January. I think it would be a good move for him. A Scotland lad and I am sure at some point he would like to go back home. Celtic could squeeze that last bit of quality out of him to help the team.”

Shades of Sinclair

It’s an interesting claim to make given Neil Lennon’s shift to a 3-5-2 formation in recent matches.

On that basis, there would perhaps be no room for Snodgrass at the inn. However, he can play centrally as a number ten but it would also allow the Hoops boss to revert back to a 4-2-3-1 when needed as he would have adequate depth on the wings.

The 28-time Scotland international is proving he can still cut the mustard this season, delivering for the Hammers in the Carabao Cup with two goals and one assist from three appearances.

Whilst last season he still contributed to ten goals from 24 top-flight matches, and that’s playing a largely bit-part role having averaged a little over 60 minutes of action each outing.

Irons skipper Mark Noble believes Snodgrass is a “top player” who has “got loads of quality” whilst Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp once lauded the veteran as a “wonderful player”.

A swoop for the £40k-per-week ace could bear similarities to that of Scott Sinclair, who was quite the hit under Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead.

Both players have been vastly experienced Premier League wingers coming towards the end of their respective careers.

Snodgrass is by no means finished just yet, so this one could be a smart move from Nick Hammond and Peter Lawwell in January.

AND in other news, Neil Lennon should unleash “dangerous” Celtic teen who can play FIVE positions…