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Liverpool may have provided a huge summer transfer clue with their reported interest in Sheffield United’s Sander Berge.

According to EuroSport, the Reds are interested in bringing the Norwegian midfielder to Anfield in what could be a sign of their intentions to replace Georginio Wijnaldum.

The Dutch midfielder’s future on Merseyside remains up in the air with his contract set to expire at the end of the season and Barcelona reportedly remaining interested in swooping for his services on a free transfer.

That decision may have already been made though, hence the Reds’ interest in Berge.

It is no surprise when looking into their statistics to find that the duo are extremely similar players as box-to-box midfielders. Surprisingly, even during a horrendous season for his team that looks inevitable to conclude with a return to the Championship, Berge is out-performing the current Liverpool man in some areas.

According to WhoScored, the 24-cap Norwegian international is averaging 1.6 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game for club and country throughout 2020/21. Meanwhile, Wijnaldum is averaging just 0.8 on both counts in all competitions on both the club and international stage.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old is more than matching Wijnaldum from an attacking point of view, too. He is equaling the Dutchman’s shots per game at 0.9, whilst edging ahead in key passes with 0.8 to 0.7.

It’s on the ball and drifting past opponents where Berge is excelling though, racking up an impressive 1.8 dribbles per game, compared to 1.1 from the current Liverpool man.

Remarkably, their passing statistics are also extremely similar, with Wijnaldum’s understandably better at a 92.3% success rate in the Premier League, whilst Berge’s sits lower at 86.3%. It would be fair to assume though that dragged from the mire of a relegation battle, these numbers would improve.

Considering their similarities pitch then, it could be assumed Berge is being lined up to the Liverpool’s Wijnaldum replacement.

AND in more news, read more about the Liverpool links to Berge…

Speaking to the press (via football.london), after lauding promising youngsters like Oliver Skipp and Dane Scarlett, Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has been wowed by another Tottenham talent in training – heaping praise on Joe Rodon.

The young Welshman, who signed from Swansea City last summer as part of a busy transfer window for Tottenham, hasn’t featured too regularly for Spurs and has been left out of the last three matchday squads in the Premier League (Transfermarkt).

When pressed about why Rodon hasn’t been included lately, and what the defender must do to fight his way back, Mourinho was quick to heap praise on his promising young talent – admitting he has been wowed by his “perfect” application in training.

Jose Mourinho wowed by Rodon

“He has to do nothing,” explained Mourinho.

“He works very hard, good professional. He has to do nothing. He cannot play in the Europa League so that makes his chances reduced, in relation to the other guys.

“Centre-back is a position where of course if he was in the Europa League he would have lots of chances to play in these 11 matches that we did.

“There’s nothing. He’s perfect, works very hard, young guy, wants to learn, very enthusiastic, He played already matches that represent a lot, he played important matches against some of the best teams. He has just to wait for his opportunities and to get it.”

Transfer Tavern take

Highly rated by certain sections of the media, former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson dubbed him ‘outstanding’ after his first Premier League start against Chelsea (Football Insider).

Time will tell when Rodon is picked for match selection again by Mourinho, but the Lilywhites boss is certainly impressed by his attitude in training.

In other news: Daniel Levy is plotting to offload this Tottenham ace, find out more here.

Some Wolves fans have been left to slam the display of Nelson Semedo in their 1-1 away draw at Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday night.

Ruben Neves spared the blushes of the Molineux faithful in the second half to earn them a point after Jamaal Lascelles had given Steve Bruce’s men the lead fairly early on in the second half.

While there were some decent performances for the Midlands club, Semedo’s flattered to deceive some Wanderers supporters.

The former FC Barcelona man lost out on four of his duels and also failed to record a single interception, key pass or accurate cross in the game (Sofascore).

He also lost possession of the ball no fewer than 11 times in the match, earning him a quite measly 6.5 overall rating on Sofascore, the joint-second lowest out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch.

Wolves fan reaction to Semedo display

These WWFC fans slammed his performance on Twitter, with one fan even going as far to say that the 27-year-old was ‘dreadful’:

“Neves brilliant again. Involved in everything. Semedo dreadful again! Jose not doing much. Jonny reliable. Dendoncker definitely not a CB. Moutinho struggling in the centre of the park. #wolves #wwfc”

Credit: @DullAmigo

“£30m for Semedo… Wouldn’t give you a fiver!! #wwfc”

Credit: @tictacsir22

“Another stupid decision by Semedo. Needless free kick considering how well we defend crosses.”

Credit: @NicTeeGolf

“Not seen Semedo have a good game since he joined, need to stop playing Neves and Moutinho together, Jose needs to score to get some confidence and Neto not really in it much tonight either.”

Credit: @jlparsons13

“Nuno must be embarrassed this is pathetic. Jose, Neves, Semedo, Coady, Saiss & Dendoncker all poor”

Credit: @AtkissRichard

“Poor from Semedo”

Credit: @shaun12134316

In other news, find out what Tim Spiers update has left Wolves fans buzzing here!

Tottenham Hotspur secured an emphatic victory in Austria last night as they made easy work of beating Europa League rivals Wolfsberger. Jose Mourinho opted to start the likes of Gareth Bale and Dele Alli in their 4-1 win on enemy soil.

Goals came from the Real Madrid loanee, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and substitute Carlos Vinicius. It was a convincing performance from the team and one that Mourinho will be pleased with following their back-to-back defeats to Everton in the FA Cup and Manchester City in their latest Premier League clash.

However, one man in particular was a weak link for Spurs in the middle of the park. Moussa Sissoko struggled to get a grip on the game and was the culprit for Wolfsberger’s only goal of the 90.

Moussa Sissoko vs Wolfsberger

Not only was the Frenchman to blame for Michael Liendl’s second half penalty, but his overall stats weren’t anything to write home about. Before he was hauled off in place of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sissoko fumbled his way through the match.

According to Sofascore, he committed a whopping six fouls, which was more than any other Spurs player on the pitch. He also lost nine of his 13 attempted duels, squandering 70% of his challenges. This is very out of character for Sissoko, who won 3/5 duels against Man City and 6/7 against Everton.

The £90,000 per week midfield man is a regular under Mourinho and has missed just five Premier League fixtures this season. He has also been ever-present in Tottenham’s EFL Cup and FA Cup run, according to Transfermarkt.

However, with Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele and Hojbjerg all competing for their spot in the lineup, Sissoko can’t let performances like this become a regular thing or he risks slipping down the pecking order.

In other news, Steve Howey drops verdict on Spurs boss Jose Mourinho’s issue with Gareth Bale…

The winter window has only just closed but after landing just one acquisition in January, Wolves are already being linked with some new faces ahead of the summer.

On the chalkboard

One player linked with Wolves in recent days has been Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

According to TuttoJuve, the Welshman’s future in Italy is now in doubt and thus, the Serie A giants may choose to cash in.

It’s reported that both the Old Gold and Tottenham are interested in signing Ramsey who could cost €10m-€15m (£9m-£13m).

Ramsey is currently on a wage of £300k-per-week in Turin so it seems far-fetched that Wolves would pursue a deal like this. After all, one of the main reasons they didn’t end up targeting Christian Eriksen and Diego Costa in January was because of their wages.

Claims from Tim Spiers suggest that Joao Moutinho could be in his final season of regular football at the club so Wolves will need to find alternative midfielders from somewhere.

The solution

Wolves signed 20-year-old Vitinha on loan from Porto in the summer but after his arrival, he’s started just two Premier League outings.

It’s been a difficult campaign for the Portuguese but he’s progressed well and demonstrated that he has the potential to thrive in Nuno Santo’s system.

Hailed as “special” by Jeff Shi when he first penned terms, he scored an absolute peach against Chorley in the FA Cup. Arguably, his best performance of the season came against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

As the Old Gold tasted defeat late on against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, Vitinha won 100% of his duels and also completed all of the dribbles he attempted. It was a high-class performance on what his very first start in the top-flight of English football.

The youngster may not have had many chances to prove his worth this term but the small glimpses we’ve seen should be enough to convince Wolves to lure him to the Midlands permanently next summer.

Just like they do with Willian Jose, the Old Gold have an option to buy Vitinha next summer. As good as a player like Ramsey is, this would be a smart way for Wolves to save some cash.

Ramsey’s wage demands would be astronomical but in Vitinha, they’d be assured of not only having a player they can develop for the future – a mantra that fits the club’s policies – but also of having a high-class performer on low wages.

Nuno must continue to nurture him this season before unleashing him properly in 2021/22.

AND in other news, 67% duels lost: Nuno must axe £73k-p/w “liability”, he’s been costing Wolves for weeks…

When it rains at Parkhead, it seemingly pours. This has been a very rocky season for Celtic and the war of words between Neil Lennon and supporters is unrelenting in its nature.

After the Hoops dropped yet more points against Livingston this week, Lennon revealed that he wouldn’t leave Glasgow behind unless he was sacked.

Given the way the club’s hierarchy backed him in November, it doesn’t bode well for fans who are keen on seeing the Northern Irishman leave.

Truth be told, the end of his tether must be near. The Bhoys have won just seven of their last 22 games and are trailing behind Rangers by a considerable margin of 20 points. It’s safe to say that their stronghold over Scottish football has gone as far as it can.

The likes of Eddie Howe and Roy Keane have been touted with taking over from Lennon in various circles, but another name that did the rounds in December was Hibernian manager Jack Ross.

Speaking on A Celtic State of Mind podcast last month, Hoops pundit Kevin Graham went as far as to say the Hibs boss could be at Parkhead come the end of January.

He said: “We’ve got at least four players that are wanting to leave and those players could actually leave in January. Give the new man a blank slate. And for me, by the end of January – and even maybe before we go to Ibrox, maybe even before Christmas Day – I’m going to say Jack Ross will be Celtic’s manager.”

Of course, Lennon is still in charge at the moment, but it’s reasonable to suggest that come the end of January, a new manager could be in the hot seat.

Ross had a troubled spell at Sunderland where he lost in the Checkatrade Trophy final and ultimately failed to gain them promotion. He crumbled under the enormous pressure of managing a big club, but we believe he’d be near perfect for Celtic.

Hoops fans won’t need reminding of the wonderful things Brendan Rodgers achieved in Glasgow. He took the club to numerous domestic honours and Ross is someone who has the seal of approval from the current Leicester boss.

They are like two peas in a pod, trading ideas and developing a wonderful relationship. What’s more, is that the 44-year-old coach is already familiar with Lennoxtown.

That’s according to Lewis Morgan who told Open Goal (via Glasgow Times) last August: “Brendan Rodgers loves him and used to invite him to Lennoxtown all the time. He’d taken his Alloa team to Parkhead and done well  and he’s got a similar coaching style, that’s his coaching idol. He loves him. All our team talks or analysis it would be like what Brendan was doing at Celtic.”

Morgan continued: “Or these drills are what he’d seen Brendan do at Lennoxtown. Brendan used to invite him and they’d talk tactics or whatever it was. He was very good. Obviously I wouldn’t compare him to Brendan, I’m not going to be disrespectful, he’s in the Premier League with Leicester. I’m not sure if he can be as successful as that because you need a lot of luck, but I would hold [Jack] in as high regard as I do Brendan, in terms of coaching and man management.”

Those are intriguing words and for Hoops supporters, this should bode well. Lennon clearly hasn’t been able to install the same mentality in his players but given the vast majority of the playing squad know what it was like under Rodgers, bringing in a like-minded coach could work wonders.

Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell have some big decisions to make at the club in the coming weeks, but the first they must undertake is sacking Lennon and bringing in Ross. His methods have the potential to be game-changing for Celtic.

AND in other news, Celtic veteran should be running scared if Hammond signs £27k-p/w speed demon in Jan…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Dean Windass has delivered his verdict on a potential return to Leeds United for James Milner.

The midfielder started his career at Elland Road but hasn’t played for the Whites since 2004. After leaving Yorkshire behind, Milner has gone onto play for Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool.

He is now a multiple Premier League winner and he’s also earned a Champions League winners medal for his troubles.

Milner has previously been asked whether he would return to the club he rose through the ranks of as a trainee and he didn’t rule it out in 2019, saying: “I’m a fan. I always follow the team and the results. So you can never say no or even yes because just so much changes in football, you never know what happens.”

Football FanCast questioned Windass about a potential return this week and he admitted that although it would be a good fit for the player, he’d probably struggle to get into the side.

He said: “I think that’d be a good fit for him. But I think with James, he’d still want to play. And if he went to Leeds he won’t play, he will be just like he is now at Liverpool – a squad player. James will want to go on and play for an extra two or three seasons.

“I played until I was 39/40 in the Premier League and I wasn’t as fit as James Milner. So I’m sure that he won’t be looking at 35 – when I was younger, at 35 you retire. You get your pension and that’s it, you’re done. You play now until you’re 36, 37 or 38 and I’m sure that James will look that way.”

The £140k-per-week Liverpool midfielder played 50 times for Leeds between 2002 and 2004, scoring five goals in the process.

He was part of the side that were relegated from the top-flight 17 years ago so a return to Elland Road would be a fairytale ending to his career.

Certainly, as far as heading back to somewhere he loves, it would be a positive move for the 35-year-old. However, given his age, it’s unlikely he’d have what it takes to thrive in Marcelo Bielsa’s system.

You only need to look at the minimal impact Pablo Hernandez has had at the age of 35 this term. He’s started just two Premier League games all season.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano hints at possible “opportunity” for Leeds, it would usurp Rodrigo deal…

David Sullivan must deliver Watford forward Ismaila Sarr to David Moyes as West Ham United look to solve their striker crisis following Sebastien Haller’s exit.

What’s the word?

According to The Sun, the Irons are ready to splash £30m to make Sarr the club’s first signing of the January transfer window with Moyes on the lookout for attacking reinforcements.

Michail Antonio is now the east London outfit’s sole recognised senior centre-forward after the club sold Haller to AFC Ajax for £20m on Friday, leaving Moyes facing the fraught prospect of fielding no strikers at all if Sullivan fails to land a new addition this month.

Watford were able to retain Sarr in the previous transfer window after rejecting a £25m bid from Crystal Palace despite their relegation to the Championship, but West Ham are expected to top the Eagles’ offer to test the Hornets resolve.

The Vicarage Road natives are quietly confident they will be able to once again fend off any interest despite an expectancy that clubs will test the waters, looking to sign the Senegal forward who both Liverpool and Manchester United were denied last summer through their refusals to meet Watford’s £40-50m valuation.

Sarr has been a creative force in the second-tier this season with the 22-year-old speed machine offering four goals and five assists in 18 appearances, living up to Sadio Mane’s hype after the Reds gem told The Athletic: “He’s rapid. I think defenders will struggle.

“I was speaking to Robbo [Andy Robertson], I said, ‘Watford have a really good player. I will need to help you more otherwise Ismaila Sarr will kill you, because he is a good dribbler and very, very fast.’”

Dream deal

Landing Sarr may prove expensive for West Ham but the £63,000-per-week forward may prove to be the Irons’ dream deal in their search of Haller’s replacement. The club, if they do a deal, would be delivering Moyes a clinical talent who would add versatility and brutality to the Scot’s attacking line.

Sarr has netted goals and provided assists from central and wide-right positions for Watford this season, and is firmly a star who former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips believes is a “top player” who “will only get better”.

Moyes would take a great deal of confidence in Sarr’s arrival through his creativity in the Championship so far this season, with the 32-cap attacker creating six big chances for Watford to score on top of his assists, while spurning three clear cut chances himself, per SofaScore.

The 6ft Senegalese dynamo further takes 1.5 shots and offers 0.8 key passes a game in the second-tier, while winning 6.4 duels with a 50% success rate, being fouled 2.9 times, winning possession 0.7 times, and delivering 0.5 accurate crosses.

Sarr’s ability to play on the wing and thrive through the centre is also very reminiscent of Antonio’s rise to prominence at the London Stadium, with him having often been a wide player before the 5 ft 10 gem made a move to striker and became West Ham’s main forward threat.

AND in other news, David Sullivan can seal West Ham’s dream Sebastien Haller heir in an “extraordinary” gem.

DeAndre Yedlin was Steve Bruce’s real star as Newcastle United produced a defensive masterclass to secure a point at home to Liverpool on Wednesday night.

Bruce welcomed Jurgen Klopp’s champions to St. James’ Park and saw his players prove resilient in the face of danger to record the first goalless league draw between the Magpies and Reds since February 1974, 69 meetings ago.

The result also saw Liverpool fail to score in a Premier League fixture for the first time in 21 matches, having been denied throughout by a sublime display from Karl Darlow to prevent Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool had a string of chances during their time on Tyneside to end the year on a high and move five points clear at the top of the table, yet were forced to accept a stalemate with Fabian Schar saving Darlow’s clean sheet 10 minutes from time by clearing off the line after a fortuitous rebound for Sadio Mane.

Yedlin often had Mane, plus Reds full-back Andrew Robertson, in his back pocket as he continued to hold down honours at right-back in Bruce’s plans, after taking over the role at home to Fulham.

The 27-year-old, who continues to be linked with a move away from St. James’ with his £30,000-per-week contract due to expire next summer, has now started Newcastle’s last three league games and proved against Liverpool why the position has become his.

Yedlin continually brought exuberant overlapping runs in partnership with Jacob Murphy down United’s right-hand channel, while contributing an array of vital tackles and coming close to only his fourth-ever Toon goal when his 17th-minute effort was deflected wide.

Salah fell victim to the 62-cap USA international, whom Rafa Benitez once declared “I love this player” for, late in the first-half when Yedlin timed his challenge to perfection to snatch the ball as the Egyptian sought to release the trigger.

Yedlin saw out the midweek meeting with two successful tackles to his name in total, while registering two interceptions and six clearances, per SofaScore.

He additionally won five of his six ground duels, never committed a foul, was successful with his only attempted dribble and provided one key ball from 11 accurate passes, despite failing to connect with a Magpies teammate with his only cross of the night.

Javier Manquillo may have returned to the matchday squad at Manchester City on Boxing Day, while Emil Krafth once again took a seat on the bench at home to Liverpool, but both will struggle to displace Yedlin from the starting line-up should he maintain his current form.

AND in other news, an “unplayable” £75k-p/w Newcastle United player is in-demand ahead of the January transfer window.

Niels Nkounkou has every right to be furious with Carlo Ancelotti after the Everton boss opted to omit the young full-back from his matchday squad at Burnley on Saturday.

Ancelotti is without star defender Lucas Digne for the foreseeable future after the Frenchman was forced to undergo surgery, having sustained an ankle ligament injury in training.

The Toffees fear Digne will be out for up to three months but Ancelotti expressed belief in his other options last month, despite the inexperienced Nkounkou being his only recognised alternative.

Ancelotti doubled down on his support of Nkounkou ahead of Saturday’s trip to Burnley, even though he fielded Alex Iwobi at full-back in the 1-0 loss to Leeds United, claiming the 20-year-old would earn minutes at Turf Moor.

“Nkounkou was not in the squad because I have 11 players, I decided to put Iwobi on the left. The squad is really big,” the Italian said, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo.

“He’s still young, he needs more experience, he needs to work more. But I am honestly satisfied for what he is doing. He will have time in the next game because we have a lot of games.”

Yet Ancelotti chose against naming Nkounkou in his 18-man squad to face Burnley with Fabian Delph stepping in at left-back, as he did for Manchester City on 13 occasions in his final season at the Etihad before joining Everton for £10million in 2019.

But the 31-year-old pulled up in the first half as Everton trailed 1-0, forcing Ancelotti into a reshuffle with centre-half Ben Godfrey moving to the left of a four-man defence and Iwobi coming in at right-back.

Nkounkou will be fuming with Ancelotti to have not gotten a chance to prove his first-team worth at Turf Moor, even just from the bench, having arrived from Olympique de Marseille in the summer after Everton saw their options dwindle following Leighton Baines retiring.

The Toffees were lauded for signing Nkounkou in the off-season, with former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock hailing the Frenchman as a “magnificent find”. But questions are now being raised over his chances of seeing out the season on Merseyside, with suggestions the £2.7m-rated gem could look to secure a loan deal this winter.

Nkounkou has only featured for 69 minutes in the Premier League this season but his talents are not questioned by those who have played alongside him, with Marseille full-back Jordan Amavi backing the youngster to shine in the future.

“He has a lot of qualities, I find that he is a powerful player, technically he is quite comfortable,” Amavi said, via quotes by Foot 01.

“Afterwards, he has to work; he is still young. As for succeeding elsewhere, maybe he would have had his chance, he could have played. But he was not launched, he made the choice to leave, it is his decision, good for him, I do not worry, he will have a very good career.”

It remains to be seen when – or if – Ancelotti will next offer Nkounkou the chance to demonstrate those skills in Royal Blue with the Toffees hosting title-chasing Chelsea in their next Premier League fixture.

AND in other news, “If I’m the chairman…” – Exclusive: Pundit drops huge Everton January transfer window claim.