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A number of Liverpool supporters are excited after it emerged that the Reds are expected to wear their new Nike away kit away to Manchester United.

Jurgen Klopp’s men face one of their biggest games of the season this weekend, making to trip to Old Trafford for a fierce clash with United.

Liverpool are in superb form at the moment, thumping Watford last Saturday and winning away to Atletico Madrid in midweek, but this will be a stern test even despite their hosts’ questionable form.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under huge pressure and United don’t look on the Reds’ level currently, but they have the attacking quality to win matches in an instant.

According to This Is Anfield [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], Liverpool will wear their new Nike away strip for the first time on Sunday, giving fans a chance to see it on the biggest stage of all.

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Liverpool fans react to kit claim

These Reds supporters reacted to the news on Twitter, with many seeing this is a ‘good omen’.

“Finally”

Credit: @stackz1shot

“We winning 6-0”

Credit: @lulusityy

“Finally. I hope this kit be our good omen”

Credit: @Hananliverpool

“Looks great”

Credit: @sean99o82

“I’m wearing mine all day then”

Credit: @TheOrigin__96

“Such a beauty”

Credit: @quindelamore

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at one piece of news ahead of the United clash. Read more here.

Liverpool are looking to sign an understudy to Trent Alexander-Arnold in the summer transfer window with Julian Ward potentially unearthing a £540k-rated gem.

What’s the word?

That is according to the latest reports from Christian Falk, who claims it is “true” that the Reds are interested in sealing the signature of young Aberdeen defender, Calvin Ramsay.

Since bursting onto the scene, Ramsay has attracted interest from some of Europe’s finest outfits, with his performances putting him on the radar of Jurgen Klopp.

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It is believed that the signing of Ramsey will seal the immediate future of Liverpool loanee Neco Williams, who could make his deal at Fulham permanent.

A solid buy

It is rare to advise a club to sign an 18-year-old who has only made 31 professional appearances, though in the case of Calvin Ramsay, it’s an exception we are willing to make.

Because in those 31 appearances, the Scotland U21 international has been involved in ten goals, scoring one and assisting nine.

For his first season at the top level, those numbers are outstanding and Klopp’s side would be right to snap-up what could be the successor of Andy Robertson or even Alexander-Arnold in years to come.

Certainly, a review from former Dons boss Derek McInnes showcases why he’s so like the latter: “His quality of delivery from set-pieces and open play has brought him plenty of assists for Aberdeen,” he commented.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack said: “There’s not many right-backs like him at that age doing what he does when you look at all the data. All these clubs look at the same systems. They will have seen the same things that we have: that he’s in the elite upper bracket for a young right-back in Europe. He’s right up there across Europe, and they are seeing that.”

Ramsay’s mentality and maturity above his years make him a useful asset to Liverpool, as the “wonderkid”, as described by Goal on Twitter, responded to his reported interest as per the DailyMail: “It’s all been good because growing up it’s all you want to do – play first-team football, then hopefully get a big move one day in the future.

“It’s all about learning and you’ve got to keep calm. You can’t let it get to your head. If you do then you can end up thinking you’re better than you are and not playing how you can.”

Wise words from a young player who seemingly has limitless potential.

Liverpool supporters will surely be urging the club into his signature.

In other news: Liverpool plotting £83m bid for “sensation”, he is Klopp’s next “leader” 

When Crystal Palace parted ways with seven first-team stars in the summer at the end of their contracts, one of the most noticeable names was Dutch left-back Patrick van Aanholt.

After four-and-a-half seasons at Selhurst Park, the two parties couldn’t agree a new deal and the 31-year-old former Chelsea man opted to join Turkish outfit Galatasaray on a free transfer. That opened the way for Palace academy graduate Tyrick Mitchell to step into the first-team on a regular basis.

Last season Mitchell made 19 appearances in the Premier League and played 90 minutes in each of them, while Van Aanholt struggled with injury and form. That was clearly enough for Palace chairman Steve Parish and new manager Patrick Vieira to put their belief into the 22-year-old to be an instant replacement.

He hasn’t let them down either, so far being an ever-present in the Premier League team for Palace and playing every minute available to him. But more than his availability, it’s his performances that have been enough to convince Palace fans that they made the right decision in refusing to give Van Aanholt a pay-rise on his £55k-per-week deal last summer.

According to WhoScored, Mitchell currently ranks first for successful tackles per game at the club with 3.0, ranks second for interceptions per match with 1.4 and ranks fourth for most clearances with 2.5. He is also averaging 0.9 successful dribbles an outing, the same amount as Wilfried Zaha, and earned himself an assist in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle in October to show he can be an offensive threat too.

The £5.8m-rated Van Aanholt was great during his time with the Eagles, even being labelled as “spectacular” for his performances during the 2019/20 campaign with the club. But his exit was absolutely the right decision.

It has created an opportunity for another young player to come in and establish themselves, while also freeing up cash to spend elsewhere and getting the average age of the squad down. Mitchell is repaying the faith shown in him by the club, and the fans are buzzing to have him at the club.

The club certainly gambled by letting so many regular first-teamers leave at once, but Vieira has rebuilt the team and while they are still a work in progress there is no work needed at left-back because Mitchell has stepped up expertly. Clearly, Parish struck gold with his decision-making here.

AND in other news, Patrick Vieira must unleash Michael Olise.

Everton are prioritising the signing of a new centre-back in the January transfer window next month, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Centre-back issues

The Blues are in a hugely disappointing run of form and it hasn’t been helped by a number of injuries in the centre of defence.

Yerry Mina is the most high-profile current absentee in that area of the pitch, but while Michael Keane has made 17 Premier League starts this season, Mason Holgate (five) is next up in terms of starts, with Ben Godfrey (14) often playing at full-back.

It highlights the need for a new centre-back to come in next month, and it appears as though that could happen.

The Latest: Journalist makes transfer claim

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Rourke claimed that Rafael Benitez is eyeing up a central defender in January to help revive Everton’s fortunes.

He outlined: “I know Everton and Newcastle are both in the market for centre-halves in January. That’s the key position that they want to fill in the January transfer window.”

The Verdict: Makes perfect sense

While the thought of relegation for Everton still seems unfathomable, they must make sure their current situation doesn’t get a whole lot worse.

They look weak at centre-back, conceding 29 goals in 17 league games in 2021/22, so the need for reinforcements is plain to see.

Bringing in an experienced head who can fill in alongside Keane, or in a back three, could help to plug the leak at the back and steer Everton away from the drop zone.

In other news, some Everton fans fuming after a revelation emerged. Read more here.

Leeds United reportedly have the funds available to sign Cagliari and Uruguay midfielder Nahitan Nandez in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Constant Leeds links

Few players, if any, have been linked with the Whites more intensely than Nandez, with the 26-year-old endlessly tipped to move to Elland Road in recent months.

The 49-cap Uruguay international has been a key figure for Cagliari since joining from Boca Juniors in 2019, making 88 appearances to date for the Sardinian club.

A January exit looks possible for Nandez, though, and Leeds have again been boosted in their efforts to sign him.

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The Latest: Fresh update emerges

According to Cagliari News 24 [via Sport Witness], the Whites have the ‘necessary liquidity’ to get a deal over the line, even though they are yet to submit an offer for him.

Torino don’t want to pay the €25m (£20.8m) that Cagliari want for Nandez’s services, acting as a further positive for Leeds.

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The Verdict: Perfect January signing

With Kalvin Phillips out injured until at least March, it is essential that the Whites bring in at least one midfielder this month in order to fill the void left by arguably their most important player, as well as bolstering an area of the squad where they are rather light.

Of all the midfielders to have been linked with Leeds, Nandez arguably looks the most tailor-made to come in and be a hugely successful signing, with plenty of high-level experience down the years but also the prime period of his career possibly ahead of him still at the age of 26.

Nandez has chipped in with two assists and averaged 1.5 dribbles per game in Serie A this season, showing he possesses creativity, not to mention winning 2.4 aerial duels and two tackles per match.

The Uruguayan is also renowned for his tremendous work rate, a quality which will surely endear him to the infamously demanding Marcelo Bielsa, so that is why he could be perfect for Leeds.

In other news, one Leeds player has been linked with a move to a big-name club. Find out who it is here.

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Everton are stuck in a bit of a rut right now, with boss Marco Silva overseeing a dismal run of form that has yielded just three wins from their last 12 fixtures in all competitions – something must be done to amend the situation, and some key players at the club need to step up.

What’s the word, then?

In the Merseysiders’ last outing, an FA Cup fourth round defeat against Millwall on Saturday, there were certainly a lot of negatives to take from yet another disappointing defeat, and one that signalled the end of any silverware hopes for the Toffees.

However, one feature from the game at The Den showed that there are a couple of players who could be key to an immediate response against bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield Town in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin may be out for the season but it’s given him a chance to show off his new accesory. Check out the video below to see for yourself…

Ademola Lookman’s performance against the Lions on the right of midfield, ahead of Seamus Coleman at right-back, provided a slight glimmer of hope from an otherwise abject showing in south London, but Silva should definitely focus on the pair’s link up and see how he can utilise that against the Terriers.

Why should they start against Huddersfield?

Lookman and Coleman both made one key pass against Millwall, as per WhoScored, and their partnership down the right was arguably the only positive for Silva on the day.

Many Everton fans have criticised Coleman at right-back this season, and feel that he is perhaps past his best with young Jonjoe Kenny taking his place at times throughout the current campaign.

In Lookman’s case, the 21-year-old has made just three Premier League starts this season, according to WhoScored, as he has struggled to dislodge the underperforming Theo Walcott from the right of midfield, but he is now getting a chance and grabbing it with both hands.

His dribbling skills and ability to attract a number of defenders make him an attractive option to play ahead of the Irish defender, who frequently overlaps down the right flank – by playing the pair together, there will be some excellent opportunities to get in behind a sturdy Huddersfield backline, who may see Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson as Everton’s main two danger men.

With the 2022 January transfer window now open, this will pave the way for Premier League teams to chop and change their squads however they see fit before the end of the current season.

With new manager Steven Gerrard at the helm, it seems likely that he will want to use the backing and financial power of Aston Villa’s hierarchy to make his mark on the squad at Villa Park and potentially kickstart a European push in the second half of their Premier League campaign.

One area that could be looked at this month in terms of bringing some new players in could be in the midfield positions, especially with current Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba suffering a serious knee injury last month.

In a recent club-by-club transfer guide from the Daily Mail, they have linked Villa with a move for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria, who could be an ideal replacement for Nakamba while he’s out injured.

Since joining the German club back in the 2017 summer transfer window, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £24.3m according to Transfermarkt has made a total of 144 appearances across all competitions for Monchengladbach, chipping in with 11 goals and eight assists in the process.

Labelled as a “complete” player by former Monchengladbach manager Marco Rose, Zakaria has certainly shown this season why he has been described as complete, particularly in a defensive sense by racking up an average of 1.5 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.2 clearances per game in the Bundesliga this season according to WhoScored.

To put those numbers into perspective, looking at Nakamba’s defensive statistics so far this season, with the Villa midfielder having racked up a higher number of tackles per game but fewer interceptions and clearances in the Premier League, Zakaria could well be a better all-round midfield option for Gerrard alongside the likes of John McGinn and Douglas Luiz.

Also, with Villa letting a 1-0 lead in their recent Premier League clash away at Brentford slip out of their hands ending in a 2-1 defeat, perhaps adding someone with Zakaria’s defensive capabilities would be just what Villa need.

With this in mind, Villa’s current sporting director Johan Lange should definitely launch a move to sign Zakaria this month and potentially solve Gerrard’s midfield issue.

In other news: “It’s a goer”: Ashley Preece drops exciting transfer claim which will leave Villa fans ecstatic

The Athletic’s Phil Hay has confirmed that Patrick Bamford will once again be missing for Leeds United as they take on Leicester City this afternoon, while the striker himself has delivered the latest update on where things currently stand with his injury.

What’s the story?

Writing on Twitter on Friday, Hay said: “Bielsa’s pre-Leicester press conference this morning – Bamford, Ayling and Koch are all still unavailable for Sunday. Sounds like everyone else is ready.”

Earlier this week, Bamford himself admitted that his recover from injury is dragging out longer than he initially expected. He said: “It’s okay. It’s a little bit slow. It is [getting better], day by day. It’s just taking a little bit longer than I first thought.

“I think the thing that has got under my skin a little bit this time is that I anticipated I would be back in four weeks and the fact that it has taken longer than that is a little bit hard to get my head around. But now I am seeing improvements.”Fans will be worriedGiven that Bamford was Leeds’ top scorer last season with 17, it’s no surprise that the Whites have really struggled for goals to start this Premier League campaign – they’ve managed just ten in their opening ten games.Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan recently voiced his concern about the kind of impact that not having Bamford in this side would have.He said: “It was one of my biggest fears. How can we live life without Patrick playing from when he’s the one player that really strings everything together up front?”He runs in behind, he runs the channels, takes centre-halves out of positions. His energy, his work right across the backline in the opposition’s defence. There’s not a player like him at the club. That was my worry, if anything did happen, which it has done now. We have seen that difficult side of the game going forward.”The longer that Bamford remains out, the more difficult it becomes to see how the Whites genuinely address their goalscoring issues up front. While Rodrigo may have netted against Norwich last week, the Spaniard hasn’t exactly shown himself to be a prolific forward just yet, and fans will surely be concerned as to when their star centre-forward will come back.Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped an exciting 49ers claim…

Patrick Boyland has now dropped another injury blow for Everton before they play Burnley in the Premier League tonight.

The Lowdown: Everton team news

Taking to Twitter, The Athletic journalist shared that both Seamus Coleman and Fabian Delph are now back in the squad and could play a part against the Clarets.

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However, Nathan Patterson has had to go and see a specialist and is likely to have a small operation later in the week, which is estimated to rule him out for between eight and ten weeks.

The Latest: Van de Beek injury

Boyland has shared that Donny van de Beek ‘also misses’ the game at Turf Moor alongside Patterson.

The Dutchman has a small grade thigh injury but should be back for Everton’s match at home to Leicester City on April 20, as he is ineligible to play his parent club Manchester United on Saturday.

The Verdict: Big blow for Everton

To lose Van de Beek as well as Patterson for the clash is a big blow to the Toffees’ chances of getting all three points in Lancashire tonight.

They could have done with the 24-year-old’s creativity to help break down what could be a stubborn Burnley defence. After all, he has the best passing success rate (84.9%) out of any of his team-mates to have made at least five appearances in the top flight this season.

Nonetheless, Frank Lampard will now have to find a way to win without his midfield maestro.

In other news, Everton are eyeing a move for this ‘brilliant’ Kevin Thelwell favourite

A Spanish outlet has dropped a key update in Barcelona’s attempts to sign Leeds United star Raphinha this summer.

The Lowdown: Summer shake-up?

It looks as if there could be a major summer shake-up at Elland Road over the coming months, with Jesse Marsch hopefully preparing for a first full season as manager in the Premier League.

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Along with Raphinha, exit links have emerged on Kalvin Phillips, Jack Harrison and Robin Koch. Three Premier League sides are interested in signing Phillips, whereas Tottenham are keen on Harrison while Marsch and Victor Orta are apparently ready to move on Koch.

Raphinha could well be the biggest exit from Elland Road, though, with his agent Deco travelling to Barcelona over the weekend for talks.

The Latest: In the next few hours…

A Spanish outlet dropped an update on Barcelona and Raphinha, leading with a headline that negotiations are indeed underway for the Brazilian.

Barca chiefs Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff are set to meet with Deco ‘in the next few hours’ to lay the foundations of a deal, with Raphinha himself keen on a move to the Nou Camp.

The Verdict: Leeds still in control

For now, Leeds are still in complete control over Raphinha’s future and are doing the right thing by putting talks on hold until the end of the season.

Should the club remain in the top flight, they will hold the cards over a big-money move, with Raphinha under contract until 2024. However, if they drop back down to the Championship, a €25m relegation release clause will allegedly be active in the 25-year-old’s deal.

The next few weeks will be key, both on and off the pitch, but it seems as if Deco is doing all he can to get a deal in place ahead of the summer.

In other news: ‘Leeds fans won’t be happy…’ – Sky Sports man reacts to major update emerging from Elland Road