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Leeds Live’s Beren Cross has revealed what he’s seen at Leeds United amid the club’s tough start to the Premier League season.

What’s the story?

The Whites find themselves nine games into the top-flight campaign and with just one win to their name, and were recently knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the fourth round stage on Tuesday night.

And now, during a Q&A for Leeds Live, Cross responded to a fan’s question about how the Leeds squad are coping mentally and how they might look to address that behind-the-scenes.

He said: “I would refuse to believe psychology was not playing a part because the team is made up of human beings after all. They’re not footballing robots, so you have to believe every result and every training session will have some sway on how they then read in-match situations on a Saturday.

“The noises from the club would suggest the squad retains plenty of confidence in its own ability and capacity to get back to the levels of last season, but on an individual basis I would be surprised if none of the players had seen their confidence knocked by the opening weeks of the season.

“Bielsa is very aware of this stuff too. He constantly speaks about the players as human beings and the importance of understanding every factor which will determine their performances in a match, whether those factors are on or off the field. Before the Wolves game, he spoke at length about mentality and responding to bad performances like those at Southampton. The club will be on top of factors like psychological performance.”

All eyes on Bielsa

Naturally, when you pick up just one win all season in the Premier League, the confidence levels are hardly going to be through the roof.

The Whites find themselves in their most difficult run of form since their return back to the top-flight last summer, and face an absolutely crunch fixture against fellow struggles Norwich City this weekend.

That game already looks like a potentially season-defining moment for both Leeds and Bielsa himself, and a defeat there would be almost unthinkable.

The return to fitness of the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford in particular can’t come soon enough for the Leeds boss, but it’s certainly a concern for the club’s fans at how low the morale must be right now.

Meanwhile, Adam Pope has dropped a hugely encouraging Leeds United update…

Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in signing Napoli’s Mexican winger Hirving Lozano in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to reports from Italian outlet Napoli Today (via Sport Witness) who claim that Bruno Lage’s side have been “following” the Napoli winger “for some time.”

26-year-old Lozano is about to enter the final two years of his contract at Napoli as reported by Sport Witness, the Serie A outfit would like to extend his stay in Naples.

Though if they are not able to find an agreement, they could “decide to separate from the player.”

An upgrade in attack

It is no secret that Wolves have struggled to find the back of the net in Bruno Lage’s first season at the Molineux. The Old Gold are the fourth-lowest scorers in the league this season ahead of just Brighton, Watford, Burnley and Norwich.

Though, their most worrying attacking stat is through the Premier League xG (expected goals) table, in which Wolves rank second bottom with just 36.5xG, having scored a total of 33 goals in total.

This shows that Wolves are failing to create chances, which can again be referenced by their 17th place position in the big chances created table.

They need some reinforcements in attack, particularly with Daniel Podence’s lack of goal returns in a season that has been almost a direct copy of the last, with just three assists in the league this season.

£25m-rated Lozano – who has been described as “entertaining” by football analyst Statman Dave – could offer Bruno Lage a more significant amount of goal returns with his 0.54 goal-creating actions per game dwarfing Podence’s total of 0.23 GCA.

This season Lozano has an impressive 50% of Napoli’s games this campaign due to a shoulder injury that ruled him out for a month.

Though, he proved his prowess in front of goal last season with a tally of 11 goals from the wing.

Podence has never been close to those numbers throughout the entirety of his career, leaving Lage no option but to look for a goalscoring winger.

In other news: Wolves now plot bid for “exceptional” 96-goal machine, he’s far better than Trincao…

Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore could be on his way out of Molineux this January.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Luke Hatfield, with the Express & Star journalist stating in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that, with contract talks between the 25-year-old and Jeff Shi remaining at a stalemate, the Spain international looks as if he could be a player Wolves decide to cash in on in the upcoming transfer window.

Speaking about the future of Traore, Hatfield said: “For me, I think it’s one where, in the summer, we probably look and wonder whether he’s going to be off. January might be an option as well.”

Shi must act

While it is undeniable that Traore has been a crucially important player for Wolves as they re-established themselves as a Premier League side, with the forward’s contract set to expire at the end of next season, as well as interest reported to be high in his services this January, now would appear to be the perfect time for Shi to make a decision on the 25-year-old.

Indeed, while the £27m-rated man is yet to contribute to a single goal this season, he has nevertheless impressed over his 14 Premier League appearances for Bruno Lage’s side, taking an average of 1.5 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing a whopping five dribbles per game – by far and away the most of any player in the top flight.

These metrics have seen the £43k-per-week winger average a SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as Wolves’ second-best performer in the league.

As such, while it may seem slightly unusual to suggest that a team who are pushing for European qualification in the league should sell one of their star players in January, the 25-year-old’s impressive form means that now is very much the optimal moment for Shi to cash in on Traore, as his value is only going to go down as the end of his contract gets closer.

In other news: Lage could transform Wolves with “superb” 21 y/o beast who has “the world at his feet”

Despite signing three attacking players during the previous summer transfer window in the shape of Danny Ings, Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia after selling Jack Grealish to Manchester City in a deal worth a reported fee of £100m, it seems as though the Midlands club have their eye on adding another attacking talent to their squad this month.

According to a recent report from 90min, Villa are one of the Premier League clubs that have made contact to sign striker Gabriel Barbosa, also known as Gabigol, from Brazilian club Flamengo alongside Chelsea, Wolves, West Ham United and Newcastle United.

It’s understood he could be available for a fee in the region of £30m.

With a total of 284 senior club appearances across all competitions so far in his career, the 25-year-old has managed to score 129 goals, showing that he has a pretty good knack for finding the back of the net, which goes to show why so many clubs in the Premier League are reportedly interested in him.

In the 18 games he played for Flamengo in the latest Brazilian league season, Barbosa managed to rack up an average of 3.6 shots at goal per game with an average of 1.8 of them being on target, showing how deadly he is in front of goal.

In terms of a potential move to Villa this month, with Ings having scored his fourth league goal of the season for Steven Gerrard’s side in their recent 2-1 defeat against Brentford, a move for Barbosa this month could give the team a potentially very dangerous strike duo between the two players and fire the club towards the top half of the table.

Labelled as a player that “has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history” according to Brazil legend Zico, Barbosa could be a brilliant signing for Villa this month if they’re able to beat the other Premier League clubs interested in securing his signature given his clear goalscoring talents.

Villa should definitely do all they can to bring Barbosa to the club so he can add a bit of extra firepower to Gerrard’s side and potentially push them towards a European place, especially if he can form a deadly partnership with Ings up front.

It’s a potential duo that would scare top-flight defences up and down the country; it has to become a reality for the Villans.

In other news: Lange could seal Gerrard’s dream AVFC deal with move for “magical” £16.2m-rated dynamo – opinion

West Ham United could sign a perfect upgrade on Michail Antonio in Bayer Leverkusen sensation Patrik Schick.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that the Hammers are interested in the Czech Republic international as David Moyes looks to strengthen his attacking options.

And, after hearing about the London side’s links to the striker, Carlton Palmer delivered his backing behind a potential move.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “He’s a top player. He’s second to Lewandowski in the goalscoring charts. I think he’s the right age at 25, £40 million is good money for him.

“When I say it’s not massive money, he’s not like your £200,000, £300,000-per-week player, he’ll fall into their budget. They need some backup for Michail Antonio, they’re too heavily reliant on Michail. When Michail’s out the side, they tend to struggle a little bit.”

Upgrade on Antonio

Schick is no doubt best known for his exploits at Euro 2020 last summer, with his incredible long-range strike against Scotland in the group stage actually being the furthest distance from which a goal has been scored on record in the tournament.

This season in the Bundesliga with Leverkusen, he has simply been in stunning goal-scoring form, smashing in 18 goals in just 16 Bundesliga games and provided another three assists too, including scoring against the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich too.

The Czech ace is as clinical as they come, having a superb 32% goal conversation rate this campaign in the German top flight – to put that into context, Antonio’s is far down at just 14%.

Therefore, it’s hardly a surprise that new Leverkusen boss Gerardo Seoane described the 25-year-old as a player with “incredible finishing qualities”.

The £34m-rated star would be a more than adequate cover for Antonio and even be an upgrade on him in the starting line-up too.

Meanwhile, West Ham are interested in this Premier League defender…it’s not Nat Phillips.

The focus will be on West Ham United’s Felipe Anderson and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on Monday night when the Hammers welcome the Reds to the London Stadium in an important league clash for both sides.

Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping his team can put in a more disciplined performance against the league leaders following a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers last week.

This will require a better showing from Pellegrini’s main players, like Anderson, who has been a standout performer for the East London club this campaign.

Three defeats in as many games have seen West Ham struggling for consistency and despite the commitment from Marko Arnautovic to remain at the club for the remainder of the season, at least, a player like Anderson has failed to take responsibility when the team has had its back against the wall.

But, the quality of the 25-year-old will have any team in the competition a bit worried and Liverpool will need to be at their defensive best to keep him quiet come kick-off.

Anderson could particularly be dangerous to the Liverpool defence who are currently without Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez and if Jurgen Klopp decides to play Jordan Henderson at right-back again, Anderson could really fancy himself on the left-wing to cause them trouble.

With Manchester City breathing down Liverpool’s neck, following their 3-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday,  Klopp will be ever reliant on the brilliance of Salah from now on to guide Liverpool through this challenging part of the season and maybe the Premier League crown.

Liverpool struggled to get going against Leicester City last week and will need the likes of Salah and Roberto Firmino to step-up and put West Ham to the sword.

However, it could be Anderson who has the last laugh.

If Celtic fans have been casting their eye across the pond at the MLS in recent times, then they might have seen a very familiar face in Victor Wanyama.

The Kenya international was of course on the books at Parkhead for a number of seasons having been signed by Neil Lennon back in 2011.

The then 20-year-old almost immediately endeared himself into the hearts of Celtic supporters when he paid tribute to the Lisbon Lions at his unveiling, saying: “It has always been a dream of mine to play for a club like Celtic. After reading the club’s history, I have chosen 67 as my squad number to show appreciation to the 1967 squad.”

Wanyama would make 91 appearances in total for the Hoops during his spell in Scotland, scoring 13 goals and providing nine assists too – his most famous strike of course being the one against Barcelona in the Champions League when Celtic pulled off the unthinkable in beating the European giants.

The Kenyan’s tough-tackling nature and ability to drive forward from box-to-box saw him nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2012/13, and it was no surprise to see him attract admiring glances from south of the border.

Sold to Premier League side Southampton for a fee around £12m, Wanyama went on to make 97 appearances in all competitions for the Saints, netting four goals in total and helping the club achieve three top-eight finishes in the Premier League.

That then earned him a move to Tottenham where he would make the exact same amount of outings, but his time in north London ended rather acrimoniously.

He would then later say: “I was frustrated and when I came back from injury I didn’t get enough chances to play and enjoy my football.When I came back, the club should have trusted me and given me more chances to play again.

“I was fit and training well. I never argued with Pochettino but I wanted to speak to him. I went to his office but he was busy. I saw his assistant Jesus (Perez). He told me be to be patient, that my chance would come blah, blah, blah. I didn’t go to see them again. That’s why I left the club. I’m a football player and I wanted to play football.”

Since arriving in the MLS on a free transfer back in March 2020, things haven’t quite worked out for the Kenya international.

Montreal lost in the play-in round in his first year at the club, having finished ninth in the Eastern Conference (out of 14), and 18th overall (out of 28).

Then just last season, Wanyama’s side fared even worse, finishing tenth in the conference and thereby missing even the play-in bracket, let alone finding themselves in the play-off proper or even making a run for the MLS title.

To think that just a few years ago, Wanyama was shining on the global stage by helping to beat Barcelona, then playing Premier League football with the likes of Southampton and Tottenham.

Now, Transfermarkt see his value down at just £4.5m, and it paints a real picture of how his career has panned out.

Things have gone downhill for the 6 foot midfield machine, and it’s safe to say Celtic played a blinder by cashing in on him at the right time.

AND in other news – £4.7m down the drain: £12k-p/w Celtic liability rinsed Peter Lawwell for 140 weeks

Taking to Twitter, Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas has now broken a ‘boost’ for Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte ahead of Leeds United as Ryan Sessegnon returns from injury.

The Lowdown: Sessegnon sidelined…

September’s torrid international break, which Spurs fans will certainly believe to be the worst in recent memory, saw a plethora of Lilywhites stars return from their duties with various problems.

Indeed, the likes of Steven Bergwijn, Oliver Skipp, Son Heung-min and Sessegnon picked up knocks before their trip back to Hotspur Way.

Meanwhile, South American trio Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso and Davinson Sanchez had to spend a 10-day training camp in Croatia due to quarantine rules before returning to London (Evening Standard).

Sessegnon, the last player to finally recover from this nightmare period, is reportedly back in contention as Sky reporter Thomas shares a social media update.

The Latest: Conte gifted Sessegnon ‘boost’…

As per the journalist, Conte is set to see the defender return to full training following his hamstring injury – and he could even be available to face Leeds United.

“Ryan Sessegnon will return to full training this week from the hamstring problem suffered in September and could be available for Leeds clash on Sunday,” he explained.

Sharing his piece, which describes the 21-year-old’s return as a ‘selection boost’, Thomas details that Sessegnon’s comeback could come of use to Conte given his preferred 3-4-3 formation – coming as just ‘the sort of player’ who could become ‘rejuvenated’ in the Italian’s system (Twitter).

The Verdict: Crunch time for Sessegnon…

Under former bosses Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo, combination of injury issues and loan spells out of the club haven’t really handed Sessegnon a chance to cement his place in the Spurs team.

However, if Conte can be the man to full implement the Englishman, it’s safe to say Tottenham can have a more-than ideal rotational option to Sergio Reguilon and, potentially, one of the strongest left-back rosters in the Premier League.

Lauded as an ‘outstanding player’ with the potential to become worth around £50 million (Noel Whelan, Football Insider), former Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic’s praise for the ‘special’ starlet highlights his quality.

It is no coincidence that Nuno was a ‘big fan’ of the left-wing back, as reliably reported by Alasdair Gold (via Spurs Web), and these next few months could well be a crunch time in his Spurs career.

Time will tell whether he goes on to become a favourite, but the quality is certainly there for him to do so.

In other news: ‘I understand’, ‘In recent weeks’…Alasdair Gold shares exciting development out of Hotspur Way, find out more here.

Arsenal will definitely sign a midfielder before the end of the month…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who delivered a major update on the Gunners’ transfer plans on Twitter this week.

“Arsenal will definitely go for a new midfielder,” he said.

“Arthur has been discussed internally as reported here days ago, he’s in board/Arteta list together with 2 more candidates – but it’s not advanced with Juventus yet.

“Bruno Guimarães in January, more than difficult.”

Exciting news

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is in desperate need of bolstering his engine room this month, otherwise, the north London giants run the risk of ruining the Spaniard’s good work this season.

Indeed, the club finds itself back in the race for a top-four finish. Sat in fourth place with only a four-point advantage to seventh, the Gunners cannot afford any slip-ups in the coming weeks.

However, the 39-year-old is light on options in the middle – that’s because first-choice midfielder Thomas Partey and Mo Elneny are at the Africa Cup of Nations and the rarely-seen Ainsley Maitland-Niles has joined AS Roma on loan.

It really leaves him with just summer signing Albert Sambi Lokonga to partner Granit Xhaka, with players like Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard of the more attacking nature.

One injury or suspension to either of these names could cause Arteta plenty of problems.

Whether Arthur is the answer or not very much remains to be seen but it’s clear the club need reinforcements and it’s certainly hugely encouraging that they “will” find a solution, as Romano states.

Therefore, this latest development should leave the Emirates Stadium faithful absolutely buzzing heading into the rest of the month. It seems as if Arteta will be backed and that will only bolster their chances of securing a place in Europe next season.

AND in other news, David Ornstein drops huge transfer update on Arsenal’s striker search…

Aston Villa are interested in a deal to bring Joe Gomez to Villa Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Mirror, who claim that Steven Gerrard is hoping to strike a deal with Liverpool regarding a loan move for the centre-back this winter.

The report goes on to state that the Reds’ £36m summer signing of Ibrahima Konate has knocked the England international down the pecking order at Anfield, something that the 41-year-old Villa boss is attempting to take advantage of.

However, it is also claimed that Jurgen Klopp will not have forgotten the defensive injury crisis his side suffered last season, something which could see the German block Gerrard’s potential move for the 24-year-old.

Gerrard’s dream deal

While things appear to be very much on the up at Villa Park under the new leadership of Gerrard, with Villa having won both of their fixtures since the 41-year-old’s appointment at the club earlier this month, it is undeniable that, should the club wish to mount a serious charge towards the top end of the Premier League table, they must strengthen in the January window.

And, considering the fact that Villa have already shipped 21 goals over their 13 top-flight fixtures in the current campaign, centre-back would certainly appear to be a position that is in more urgent need of winter reinforcements.

As such, while it is true that Gomez has not featured all that much for Liverpool this season, featuring just seven times in all competitions for the Reds, the defender has nevertheless proven in the past that he would make a fantastic addition to Gerrard’s options in the heart of defence.

Indeed, over his 28 Premier League appearances back in 2019/20, the £27m-rated man helped his side keep 12 clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 2.1 clearances and winning four duels per game.

These returns saw the £75k-per-week centre-back earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Liverpool’s 13th-best performer in their title-winning campaign.

Furthermore, Klopp is clearly an enormous fan of the 24-year-old, with the German coach stating of Gomez back in 2020: “Since he is playing as a centre-half again – his natural position – together with [Virgil van Dijk] there is exceptional. He is a sensational footballer, which is good.

“He has outstanding speed, which helps us a lot to keep our last line high; he is a really good challenger; good in one-on-one situations; football-wise, I said already, good. The package is really nice.”

As such, it would indeed appear highly advisable for Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens to do all they can to secure a deal for the 11-cap England international in January, as not only would Gomez appear to be a dream upgrade on Villa’s current options in the position, he could also help replace the potentially outgoing Tyrone Mings – who has been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle United this winter.

In other news: Hatfield drops AVFC January transfer claim which will be music to the ears of fans