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Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock has confirmed his Championship side intend to revive their transfer interest in Everton outcast Yannick Bolasie in the upcoming January window.

What’s the word?

Warnock, via quotes by The Northern Echo, has admitted Boro remain interested in a potential deal to lure Bolasie to the Riverside Stadium, having fallen short of signing the DR Congo international this summer when negotiations with Everton broke down at the eleventh hour.

The North East outfit had hoped to sign Bolasie after he was deemed surplus to requirements at Goodison Park by Carlo Ancelotti, with the Italian open to the fact he saw no role for the 31-year-old to play in the Toffees’ Premier League squad.

Bolasie’s proposed move to Middlesbrough collapsed on Deadline Day through a serious of issues, one of which Warnock suggested was the former Crystal Palace forward having said he was “partly to blame” due to problems with Everton that they could not overcome.

Bolasie, who Everton paid £25million to sign in 2016, was disappointed to have seen his proposed move collapse, and is yet to play any senior football this term after being omitted from Ancelotti’s Premier League squad.

But Warnock has not ruled out reviving efforts to sign the 2021-free agent in January, stating when asked if Boro will look to sign Bolasie and West Brom’s Kamil Grosicki: “Absolutely, I’d have those two tomorrow. And a few others! They’re the type of players I think would benefit from coming with us.”

Brands must act

Bolasie will have six-months remaining on his £75,000-per-week contract come January, which likely held up Middlesbrough’s hope of a deal this summer as Patrick Roberts is currently the Championship side’s top-earner on a £39,000-p/w deal.

If Everton are to offload the outcast forward to Boro, then Director of Football Marcel Brands will have to act in a similar manner to how the Dutchman dealt with Sandro Ramirez and Shani Tarashaj’s situations by agreeing to mutually terminate their contracts earlier this year, likely with undisclosed compensation packages.

Boro also present Everton’s best chance of finding a suitor for Bolasie given Warnock’s on-the-record appreciation of the player, which goes back to the forward’s time with Crystal Palace when they worked together at Selhurst Park.

Warnock lauded Bolasie for his unpredictable nature following his goal away to Everton which sealed a 3-2 win over Roberto Martinez’s side, noting via quotes by ESPN: “I’ve seen Yannick for a long time now and he always contributes and is a threat.

“The problem with him is he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next, so the defenders have got no chance. He was very positive today and he covered a lot of ground.”

Everton will be hoping that the only ground he covers come the New Year is by heading to the North East, as his future is far from at Goodison Park.

AND in other news, Everton have a red carpet walk to sign an £18m target who “every coach wants to have”.

West Ham United travel to face Liverpool in Saturday evening’s Premier League showdown at Anfield, but David Moyes will be without his leading striker Michail Antonio.

The forward is facing six weeks on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring tear during last weekend’s 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City, forcing the 30-year-old off early in the second-half and leaving Moyes short of offensive weapons.

Antonio has scored three goals in the top-flight this term, including an acrobatic bicycle kick to open the scoring at home to Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues, making him the Hammers’ joint-top-scorer with Jarrod Bowen.

Sebastien Haller is Moyes’ only other recognised centre-forward but is yet to start a league fixture this season having fallen behind Antonio in the Irons’ pecking order, with the Frenchman struggling to live up to his £45million price tag with 12 goals in 42 West Ham appearances to date.

Moyes will need to rely on Haller at Anfield this weekend with Antonio missing, though the forward will not be the only change on the cards. So, with that in mind, here’s a predicted XI we could see the Scot favour against Liverpool…

With Haller stepping in to the attack in place of Antonio, Moyes will need to add an added degree of creativity and ought to start his summer signing Said Benrahma after the Algerian failed to make the matchday squad at home to Manchester City.

Moyes opted to leave Benrahma out of the 18-man squad after the loan addition from Brentford was deemed not match fit despite having a full week of training, but will be pushing for a place in the side and a chance to prove his worth.

Benrahma, who West Ham have agreed to buy for £20m next summer, scored 17 goals and recorded 10 assists for Brentford last season, while offering 91 key balls, creating 12 big chances, playing 710 accurate passes in the final third, making 132 successful dribbles and taking 123 shot in the Championship, per SofaScore.

The introduction of Benrahma would leave Moyes with a decision to make over Pablo Fornals’ involvement, with the Spaniard starting all six Premier League fixtures in the Algerian’s preferred role.

Fornals warrants inclusion elsewhere on the field, though, and could take over duties on the right from Bowen having recorded more key balls (six to two), created more big chances (one to zero), played a higher number of accurate passes in the final third (37 to 30), taken more shots (seven to six) and recorded the same number of successful dribbles (five) than his £80,000-per-week teammate, per SofaScore.

Moyes dropping Bowen would be a big call for the Scot to make given the former Hull City winger’s goals, but the 23-year-old struggled against Manchester City last weekend as he failed 77% of his dribbles, offered no key balls and took no shots, per WhoScored.

Therefore, the decision to drop Bowen for Fornals – who played on the right last season – and remove who Hull manager Grant McCann lauds as an “exceptional” threat would not be as big of a call.

“He’s an exceptional talent,” McCann said on the Sky Sports EFL Podcast. “[He’s] so robust, never misses a training session, always the best trainer, really, really humble boy and I’ve no doubt he’s going to go on to bigger and brighter things.”

West Ham’s recent form ensures Moyes has few other dilemmas when naming his side to face Liverpool, with the Irons now unbeaten in their last four Premier League fixtures.

Lukas Fabianski has started all six of the east London outfit’s top-flight matches thus far, and is joined by Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell, Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek in playing all 540 minutes available.

Arthur Masuaku has opened the Hammers’ last five league fixtures in line with Moyes’ shift to a 5-4-1 system, and impressed against Manchester City with five tackles, two clearances, two successful dribbles and 28 accurate passes, per WhoScored.

Moyes will need Masuaku, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Balbuena and Vladimir Coufal at the top of their games if West Ham are to beat Liverpool on Saturday at a ground in Anfield the east London outfit have not won at since 2015.

AND in other news, David Moyes’s transfer plans could unearth West Ham’s next Michail Antonio.

Talk about going down with a fight. After a wretched display before the international break saw Newcastle slip to a dismal 2-1 defeat to Southampton, you would have thought Steve Bruce’s side would be raring to put things right on Saturday afternoon against Chelsea.

Instead, they were timid, far too defensive and void of any creativity. A familiar scene for any Magpies fan this season. Frank Lampard’s side ran out comfortable winners in the end, and barely broke a sweat, with Sean Longstaff’s long-range strike deep in the second half the only real worthy effort of note.

And whilst they were poor going forward – they managed just one shot on target in the entire game – one man let his manager down massively: Federico Fernandez.

The Argentine has arguably been one of the more reliable performers this season at St James’ Park, but he was nowhere near the kind of standards he has set for himself.

The 31-year-old was involved in Chelsea’s first goal, and his attempts at trying to claim a foul from Ben Chilwell was pathetic. The 6 foot 2 central defender was far too weak in defending an incoming corner, and instead of trying to clear his lines, seemed more interested in going down at the slightest of contact from the Blues ace. The end result? He ended up sticking it into his own net.

And his nightmare display wasn’t all about his own goal either. As per Sofascore, he made no tackles or interceptions whatsoever, and competed in just one duel – which he lost.

For a centre-back to go through an entire game without registering a defensive contribution like that is frankly shocking, and he just looked all at sea in trying to deal with the pace and movement of the likes of Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham.

Jamaal Lascelles’ injury probably didn’t help his cause either, but for an experienced professional like him to put in such a nothing display, was just a slap in the face for the supporters and Bruce.

Leicester are ready to host Fulham at the King Power Stadium this evening as they look to add another important three points to their current total. The Foxes are one of the front-running teams so far this season and a win today will see them sneak into second place, overtaking both Chelsea and Liverpool.

In Brendan Rodgers’ press conference ahead of their Europa League clash against Sporting Braga, he gave fans a huge injury boost regarding Timothy Castagne. The boss reported that the right-back could be available for selection this evening after being out of action with a hamstring injury.

Castagne returning would be a huge boost for Leicester, especially after he received a glowing review from Alan Shearer for being at the “top of his game”.

The 24-year-old joined the club during the summer on a £50,000 per week contract after the absence of Ricardo Pereira seriously impacted the team. He has made six Premier League appearances so far and has contributed a goal and two assists, showing off his ability to get forward as well as defend (via Transfermarkt).

Castagne fits nicely into Rodgers’ frequent chopping and changing of his backline. He slots naturally into the standard right-back position when part of a back four, but he also operates well further forwards.

His versatility to play as both a defender and a midfielder suits Leicester and their keen eye for a goal. The Belgian will likely get in on the attacking action this evening if he starts the match but a clean sheet will be the perfect comeback to keep his morale and confidence high.

In other news, Ricardo Pereira’s U23 appearance is exactly what Rodgers needed…

Despite Southampton picking up a 2-1 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday night, the performance of Theo Walcott may leave Ralph Hasenhuttl concerned.

Danny Ings’ late penalty earned the Saints all three points, as they came from behind to earn victory against Graham Potter’s side, getting a result that leaves them fifth in the Premier League.

However, Walcott, who joined on loan from Everton during the summer, never really got into the game on Monday evening and struggled to have make any real impact during his time on the pitch.

As per SofaScore, the 31-year-old had just 23 touches of the ball during his 69 minutes on the pitch, which was fewer than goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who had 36 touches.

The former Arsenal man also earned a 6.4 rating for his display. which was the joint-worst of any Southampton player who started the game.

Walcott also managed to complete 11 of 14 attempted passes during the game on Monday, resulting in a pass accuracy rate of 79%, suggesting that he was never really able to get involved in Southampton’s attacking play.

Despite being involved so little, the winger still managed to lose possession on eight occasions, whilst he also failed to win any of his six duels during the game, showing that even when he had the ball, he was very disappointing.

There is a lot of relief, therefore, that Ings, who returned from injury as a half-time substitute, was able to win the game for Southampton, and based on Walcott’s disappointing display, it would not be a surprise to see the former Liverpool striker start ahead of him in the Saints’ next Premier League fixture, which sees them take on Sheffield United at St Mary’s.

And, in other news… Semmens must avoid Southampton Hojbjerg repeat by breaking the bank with 28 y/o

According to an update courtesy of ExWHUemployee, via West Ham News, David Moyes, in particular, is interested in a shock reunion for ex-striker Marko Arnautovic despite his unceremonious departure from the club. However, the club’s owners, GSB, are apparently against the idea. 

Arnautovic, who forced a move away from east London in favour of the Chinese Super League, is currently attracting Moyes’ attention as he considers the option of potentially bringing the Austrian back to West Ham.

Whilst the manager is on board, the same cannot be said for GSB, who are reportedly against the move and ‘would not be happy’ with this transfer.

As this January update emerges, plenty of Irons have flocked to have their say in response to this story from a usually very trustworthy source – find all of their best verdicts down below.

West Ham fans flock to Arnautovic update

“If this happens I’ll be so gassed”

Credit: @T_27_2 

“Please be true”

Credit: @BIGelz24

“This is one signing I would love to see”

Credit: @DixonDicko0402 

“never thought id say this but i actually agree with our owners for once”

Credit: @coolkidmorgz

“GSB making the correct decision?”

Credit: @moyes_boy

“Better than Haller, bring him back.”

Credit: @BrexitIniesta16

In other news: West Ham fans have words to say as GSB want this ‘incredible’ signing, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has backed Leeds United to secure a deal for a new centre-back in January.

Marcelo Bielsa has been dealt one huge nightmare as he’s set to be without all of his senior options going into their festive Premier League clash with Burnley on Sunday.

Whites skipper Liam Cooper was the latest name to be withdrawn through injury having hobbled off during their 6-2 thrashing by Manchester United at the weekend – he joins Diego Llorente, Robin Koch, and Gaetano Berardi on the treatment table.

Young and rarely-seen starlet Leif Davis may have to partner right-back Luke Ayling in a makeshift backline until January, at the very least.

Leeds have been linked with a loan move for Chelsea outcast Fikayo Tomori, and Windass believes he’d be the perfect addition – irrespective of their current defensive injury crisis.

Football Insider claim Bielsa is keeping tabs on the £27m-rated central defender ahead of next month’s transfer window, although it is believed he’d command a ‘huge’ loan fee to make the switch.

Speaking to FFC, Windass backed the move.

He said:

“He catches pigeons. He can run, by the way.

“That would be good if Frank can [agree]. There’s obviously no love lost between them with the old spy [situation] a few years ago.

“Tomori would be good – I’m not criticising Liam Cooper, but he will find it tough, coming to 33/34 [years of age] now. He was never the quickest anyway, and when you’re in the Premier League as a centre-back, you’ve got to be an athlete. You’ve got to be able to run.

“They need that pace at the back. You know what the Premier League is like – especially when everyone sort of plays 4-3-3 and the three up front are all lightning quick, so Tomori would be a great signing.”

A temporary switch could well be the perfect move for all parties involved as the 23-year-old isn’t getting enough game time sat behind both Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma, and even Antonio Rudiger.

Indeed, Tomori has played just once in 20 matches across the Premier League and Champions League this season. However, he did pick up his first England cap under Gareth Southgate in November 2019.

Another loan spell out could be beneficial to Frank Lampard after enjoying a successful stint at Derby County, in which he kept Patrick Bamford silent in that infamous playoff encounter at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani will, however, have to fork out the majority of his reported £75k-per-week wages if they are to land the English colossus at the Yorkshire outfit next month.

AND in other news, Leeds ace who lost possession 36 TIMES vs Utd will have Bielsa FURIOUS…

It’s a sign of just how far Moussa Sissoko has come in his time at Tottenham, that he’s established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet – outside of course the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.

The France international has been a trusted lieutenant of Jose Mourinho this season, completing the full 90 minutes in ten out of the 13 Premier League matches he’s played.

Last time out against Wolves however, he was dropped to the bench – the first time that’s happened in the top-flight since the second game of the season against Southampton. But with Leeds up next on Saturday afternoon, the midfielder surely has to come back in.

Mourinho’s side could only labour to a draw against Wolves, and whilst Sissoko is hardly going to unlock opposition defences with a cute pass like a Tanguy Ndombele, his drive and energy is something that is absolutely priceless to this team.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips said: “He is a superb player – power, pace and travels with the ball really well. He can take the ball in tight situations with his strength. Sissoko is a huge player for Tottenham. He reminds me of Gerrard, a little bit.”

Described as a “real dominant force” by former Spurs midfielder Michael Brown, the £80k-a-week ace looks tailor made for a contest against Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds, where it’s going to be all about managing the transitions and trying to stop the Yorkshire club breaking away on dangerous counter-attacks.

Ndombele might be the man Spurs look to for a bit of creative inspiration going forward, but the return of Sissoko against an energetic and dynamic Leeds side could be the key to tilting the game in the north London outfit’s favour.

Leeds continue to stumble in the Premier League after being narrowly beaten by Brighton this afternoon. This marks their third defeat in a row and sixth in their last ten games played.

They are in no real danger in terms of points, but things can rapidly go sour, as shown in England’s top flight countless times before.

It was an overall lifeless performance from the Whites, struggling to create much in the final third and disappointing with their end product. One player who will have pleased Marcelo Bielsa despite the result though is skipper Liam Cooper.

Cooper providing hope for Leeds

Leeds have struggled with their defensive options this season, with Diego Llorente making just one appearance so far and Robin Koch currently out with an injury. The manager has been forced to play Luke Ayling in a more central role after seemingly losing faith in Pascal Struijk.

Defence is arguably their biggest worry right now, but Bielsa will be looking ahead to pairing Cooper and Koch up again in what will hopefully be an effective centre-back partnership.

According to Sofascore, the captain made an impressive six clearances and four interceptions. He also won 83% of his attempted duels, which is more than any other Leeds defender on the pitch today.

He is notoriously known for his defensive input and was recently lauded as a “crucial” part of Bielsa’s team by Jack Collins, via the Ranks FC podcast. Cooper will undoubtedly also be feeling the effects of not having his usual centre-back partner alongside him recently.

Not a lot of positives can be taken from the Brighton loss, but Cooper’s strong performance across the backline brings hope that the Whites will soon bounce back to the side that were able to keep clean sheets against Everton, Arsenal and Wolves.

In other news, Bielsa must make ruthless call on Helder Costa…

If the transfer gossip columns are to be believed, Glasgow Rangers want to bolster their midfield options in the January transfer window.

Four names have continued to dominate the Rangers rumour mill in recent months, namely Aberdeen’s Scott Wright, Peterborough’s Siriki Dembele, Preston North End’s Daniel Johnson and former West Ham star-turned-free-agent Jack Wilshere.

Light Blues boss Steven Gerrard has remained tight-lipped over any potential incomings at Ibrox but hinted that there’s still business to be done in the transfer market as he bids to prevent Celtic from winning ‘ten in a row.’

Reports have now emerged over the past week that Rangers have started negotiations with Johnson, whose contract is set to expire in the summer, having rejected a club-record contract offer from the Championship club.

Kingston-born Johnson, 28, has been impressing in the English Championship for Preston with four goals and three assists in 20 appearances across all competitions this season.

He began his career at Crystal Palace before a major move to Aston Villa’s academy. After excelling as a youngster, he signed his first professional contract at Villa Park, where he played under former Rangers manager Alex McLeish, who was effusive in his praise for the “lovely little player.”

Capable of playing in the centre, on the left or on the right of the midfield, he has legitimate claims to not only being one of Preston’s best central midfielders but also one of the best attacking players in the division too, based on the statistics.

Last season, Johnson bagged 12 goals and 7 assists from the midfield in 33 appearances in the Championship, resulting in a 7 average rating, per WhoScored. For context, that’s only four fewer than tenth-placed Swansea City striker Andre Ayew.

In fact, if you take a closer look at the numbers, the Jamaican actually outperformed Ayew in certain areas, producing 1.4 key passes to Ayew’s 0.9, suggesting that he has a well-rounded game and create chances for others whilst scoring himself.

It’s hard to ignore the fact that a fit and in-form Johnson would be a valuable asset to most sides in the Scottish Premiership.

An extremely talented player, the two-time £3.6m-rated Jamaica international has scored 36 goals in 203 Championship appearances for Preston, emphasising the fact he could add a natural goal threat in the middle of the park.

If that isn’t enough to convince you otherwise, former Motherwell player Chris Humphrey played with him at Preston and recently described his former teammate as an “unbelievable” talent.

Having failed to sign him from Deepdale last summer, Ross Wilson must try and sign the midfielder on a pre-contract agreement in January. After all, he may not get another chance.

AND in other news, Rangers should unleash Cedric Itten against Ross County…