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Pundit Kevin Campbell has recently talked about Kiko Casilla’s future at Leeds United and has talked about interest from other clubs.

Casilla had joined Leeds from Real Madrid in January of 2019 on a free transfer, when the goalkeeper had penned a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Whites. Campbell though, seems to have provided an update about his future.

Spanish clubs could be interested in Casilla

Campbell was recently talking to Football Insider and he talked about Casilla’s situation. Campbell believes that the Spaniard is still a ‘good goalkeeper’ but things ended up going ‘sour’ when an incident involving him had seen the veteran get banned from playing football temporarily.

Campbell also believes that moving back to Spain could be the right move for the former Los Blancos man, as there are clubs who are looking at him there.

He said:

“I am sure there are clubs in Spain interested in signing Kiko Casilla.  He is a good goalkeeper but I things went sour with what happened last year, the situation and the issue for which he was reprimanded.

“I just think it is the right move for him, to go back to Spain, and I am sure there are clubs there that would take him.”

Casilla hasn’t played too much for Marcelo Bielsa’s men this season and has made just one senior-team appearance in the League Cup. He has even been relegated to playing with the Under-23s in Premier League 2 and in the EFL Trophy (as per Transfermarkt).

Last season in the Championship though, the 34-year-old had made 36 appearances for the Whites while keeping 15 clean sheets.

Following a win over Hull last season, journalist Phil Hay had praised Casilla and even said the shot-stopper showed his “Champions League credentials.”

Replacement might be needed for Casilla

Considering how often Casilla had played last season and the fact that he was a regular for the Whites before that, he perhaps still carries some influence in the club’s first-team and could yet step in if an injury issue arises.

Having said that, the veteran may need first-team football and that is something that Leeds can’t quite offer. So while it may be time to let him leave, the club absolutely must replace him.

In other news, a Premier League star has been tipped to sign for Leeds – read more here.

Liverpool are on the verge of signing Preston defender Ben Davies on deadline day but it doesn’t look as though they are done there.

What’s the word?

Paul Joyce revealed late last night that Liverpool were in fact targeting two central defenders on transfer deadline day.

A move for Marseille defender Duje Ćaleta-Car now looks off the table but one move that could still happen is for someone plying their trade in the Premier League.

The Telegraph’s Chris Bascombe claimed in the last few hours that irons were in the fire and that Michael Edwards was spinning a few plates.

As a result of that, he noted it “could bring Shkodran Mustafi from Arsenal.”

The Reds have already been linked with a move for the £90-per-week centre-back in the window already in what would be a rather surprising move.

Edwards mistake

Liverpool may want two centre-backs on deadline day but it would be nothing short of a big error from Edwards to bring Mustafi to Merseyside.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/liverpool-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest Liverpool news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The fact of the matter is that the German is far too error-prone and for a defence that has relied on Virgil van Dijk – one of the best in the world – it would be like swapping The Ritz-Carlton for a Premier Inn on the side of a motorway!

According to the Premier League’s official statistics, Mustafi has made three individual errors leading to a goal but if you reflect upon his actual performances, they are far worse than that number indicates.

In fact, Football.London noted in April 2019 that the German had made as many as six errors that cost Arsenal during that particular campaign. He is a clumsy centre-back, one who has never been able to eradicate a moment of madness from his game, hence why he’s not in Arsenal’s plans.

The Germany international is about as error-prone as they come and judging by that, Liverpool are probably better off maintaining Jordan Henderson and Nat Phillips at the back than picking him. After all, they shipped just once against in-form West Ham on Sunday evening.

AND in other news, Deadline day Liverpool move for centre-back in jeopardy, Edwards should find a Plan B

West Brom’s plight in the Premier League went from bad to worse on Tuesday evening as Sam Allardyce was handed a stark warning.

The Baggies were thrashed 5-0 by Leeds United at the Hawthorns, a defeat that sees the Midlands outfit move five points adrift of safety heading into January.

Big Sam has it all to do to ensure he’s not dealt that first-ever relegation on his CV.

The tone of the match was set early on after Romaine Sawyers’ calamitous back pass found its way into Sam Johnstone’s net before the Whites were rampant with four strikes of their own.

After the match, the midfielder was quick to put the weight of the result on his shoulders due to the nature of his mistake, but in reality, that moment was far from the reason that Albion were embarrassed.

Indeed, there were ten other players on the pitch and four more goals conceded, so other members of the squad need to be looked at. Perhaps none more so than Grady Diangana.

The 22-year-old made his loan move permanent from West Ham for a whopping £18m this summer and we’re yet to see a fraction of the form that saw him spearhead the Baggies’ attack to promotion last term.

Again, he was anonymous and devoid of ideas against Leeds this week.

Per SofaScore, Diangana failed to deliver a single accurate cross or long ball, managed just one shot and only pulled off 50% of his dribbling attempts.

The enigmatic winger also won just 41% of his duels both on the ground and in the air, and was dribbled past twice by the more impressive Raphinha.

It means he has only contributed to one goal in 14 appearances in the Premier League this season – shocking.

BirminghamLive reporter Joseph Chapman graded his performance a three out of ten, he wrote:

“Wasn’t able to lay a glove on Leeds in an attacking sense throughout the game. Came up against an inspired Alioski who was in no mood to give him any change. Spurned Albion’s only real chance which was born out of Leeds’ defensive and goalkeeping complacency.”

Clearly, the €10m-rated (£9m) wide man has shown very little and is worthy of the axe heading into fixtures against Arsenal and Blackpool in the FA Cup. Sawyers, however, should be given an opportunity to reprieve himself.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce tipped to sign former West Ham star in January swoop

West Brom find themselves second-from-bottom going into this weekend’s crucial Premier League tie against Sheffield United, but might their fortunes have been more favourable had they signed Andre Ayew?

What was the word?

Ahead of the summer domestic deadline, the Baggies were linked with a move for the Ghanian forward by the Daily Mail, who claimed he had emerged as a potential late target for a host of top-flight teams.

Ayew rejoined Swansea City in the summer of 2018 for a club-record £18m having left them two years earlier to link up with Albion boss Slaven Bilic at West Ham.

It’s no wonder the Croatian wanted to work with him again…

One that got away?

The 30-year-old continues to be a crucial cog in Steve Cooper’s attack having scored six goals in 11 starts so far this campaign. He has also provided one assist and is averaging 3.3 shots, 2.3 dribbles and 1.2 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

Ayew has split time between playing as a centre-forward as well as a right-winger, the position he primarily played under Bilic at the Hammers.

This is also a role that Albion are particularly weak in with natural no.10 Matheus Pereira often being deployed there over the likes of Matty Phillips, Kyle Edwards and Kamil Grosicki.

You’d imagine that the veteran, who has bags of experience in the Premier League (89 appearances), would’ve been a shoo-in to start there for West Brom.

Ayew is someone who Bilic rates “very highly” having dubbed him a “game-changer” during their time at the Irons, and that theme has continued into this season after newly-appointed Sheffield Wednesday boss Tony Pulis was left in awe at his impact last week.

Former Baggies starlet Yan Dhanda is also a huge fan, speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Andre is a goalscorer. He scores goals, and if you put the ball in the box nine times out of 10 Andre is going to be in the right position and he is going to score.”

Experienced, prolific and creative – you can’t help but feel for Albion as they could’ve done with a player of this calibre right now. Sporting director Luke Dowling clearly made a massive mistake in not signing the tricky wide man this summer.

Perhaps they ought to revisit the deal in January to try and salvage their place in the English top-flight.

AND in other news, West Brom can strike a killer blow to their relegation rivals this January…

Leeds icon Danny Mills has predicted that a loan move could be on the cards for Tyler Roberts in January (via Football Insider). The 21-year-old has started just two Premier League games this season and was left on the bench on two other occasions. Already this campaign is echoing the club’s Championship title-winning run, in which the midfielder was left out of the action a total of 23 times in the league alone (via Transfermarkt).

Mills believes that Roberts needs to return to a Championship club in order to bag himself regular game time and boost his confidence. Indeed, if Marcelo Bielsa was already on the fence about fielding the Welshman last season, the demands of the Premier League would surely only put him further out of favour.

Leeds must recruit in January

Whilst a loan move for the remainder of the season, if not beyond, would do wonders for Roberts, Leeds must also act fast for themselves. If they allow the £47,000 per week creator to leave Elland Road in the next window, they will have just one senior attacking midfielder on their roster.

Pablo Hernandez is Bielsa’s only other choice in that role and he doesn’t seem to be in the manager’s good books at the moment. After his blow up during the Leicester match, Gabriel Agbonlahor has revealed that he wouldn’t be surprised if Bielsa opts to sell him over his unacceptable actions.

If such a prediction comes true, Leeds will be bare in their attacking midfield department. But even if Hernandez stays, the Whites will benefit from signing a younger player to contrast the 35-year-old. The new signing could also serve as competition for Roberts once he returns, which could create an interesting chemistry between the trio and even bring the best out of all three players.

Bielsa has often been branded as a “ruthless” manager, which will bode well for the club in situations like this. He and Victor Orta will know that by shipping Roberts out loan, someone new must come in during the January window if Leeds are to stay in the Premier League.

In other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer discusses this Leeds player’s recent flurry of criticism…

Michael Keane offered an impressive performance in Everton’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Saturday, standing out in the Merseyside Derby with pinpoint vision and an eye for goal.

Carlo Ancelotti awarded the 27-year-old his 115th appearance for the Goodison Park outfit since a then-club record-equalling £30million move from Burnley in 2017, and continuing a run of opening the Toffees’ last 16 Premier League games.

Keane was unable to help goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to his 39th Blues clean sheet, but there was little the centre-half could have done to prevent Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah from firing past his fellow England international.

Mane broke the deadlock inside the third minute of the Merseyside Derby having run off the shoulder of Abdoulaye Doucoure and behind Yerry Mina to find the space in-between Everton’s two centre-halves, poking home Andrew Robertson’s delivery with a powerful effort into the top corner.

Mina was then at fault for Liverpool’s second of the match when he calamitously attempted to volley away Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross with the outside of his right boot despite running back toward his own goal, leaving the ball falling perfectly falling into Salah’s path to volley in his sixth of the Premier League season.

Everton’s Colombia international was otherwise alert to a number of Liverpool’s attacks as Mina and Keane combined well to mostly thwart Jurgen Klopp’s title-holders, and restrict the Anfield outfit to striking just 36% of their shots on target.

Keane also demonstrated his eye for goal to head home James Rodriguez’s corner to initially equalise the Merseyside Derby following Mane’s early effort, marking his second of the league campaign after scoring in Everton’s 5-2 win over West Bromwich Albion last month.

Beyond his goal in the 19th-minute, Keane impressed against Liverpool on route to a 7.6/10 match rating from SofaScore, having recorded 65 touches, completed 44 of his 52 passes (84.6%), played one key ball and scored from his only effort of the game.

The £65,000-per-week defender also won each of his two aerial duels, one of his two ground duels, was never dribbled past, made one tackle, two clearances and blocked two shots, while displaying his pinpoint vision to find teammates with seven of ten attempted long balls.

No outfield Everton player who started against Liverpool registered a higher number of accurate long passes on Saturday, with James Rodriguez’s six from seven the next-best tally while star left-back Lucas Digne misplaced eight of his nine attempted long balls.

Rodriguez has often ranked highly for accurate passes in the Toffees’ league fixtures since his summer arrival from Real Madrid, with the 29-year-old’s average 6.8 accurate long balls a game the best in Royal Blue by an outfield player ahead of Keane (5.0) and Digne (3.0).

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti must regret starting a £21.6m-rated man vs Liverpool after his challenging performance.

According to Football Insider, Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury is in line to leave the club before the end of next week.

What’s the word?

The former England U21 international has only featured in the Carabao Cup this season, and made just ten appearances in the top-flight in the previous campaign.

Now, Football Insider claim that Villa are keen to get rid of the £40k-per-week ace off the wage bill as he is now dropped out of first-team reckoning.

The report adds that the Midlands club are currently listening to offers for the 29-year-old, with his contract at Villa Park coming to an end next summer. It’s further suggested that Lansbury’s wages are a stumbling block for moving him on, and that whilst a permanent exit is possible, a loan to a Championship club seems more likely.

Villa need to cut their losses

Even despite the spending spree that Villa went on in the summer transfer window, there’s absolutely no way they can afford to be paying a player £40k-a-week to be playing in the odd Carabao Cup game.

It’s clear to see that Smith simply doesn’t fancy him, with it being particularly telling that Lansbury hasn’t crossed the ten appearances mark in the league for the past three seasons.

With his contract expiring in the summer of 2021, Villa won’t have to put up with the midfielder’s wages for too much longer, but if they can strike a deal where another club takes on his contract either via a loan or a permanent deal, then they have to take it.

Johan Lange and co have to be ruthless, and Lansbury’s departure would be a step in the right direction.

And in other news, this Aston Villa ace outshone Jack Grealish on international duty.

Lots of Everton fans are glad that they did not sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton after the Danish international emerged as a transfer target for Carlo Ancelotti’s team in the summer window.

However, he ended up joining up with Jose Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur, whom the Merseyside club beat 1-0 away from home in their 2020/21 Premier League season opener.

Hojbjerg was arguably far from impressive in the game, getting a yellow card as well as failing to block any shots or make any interceptions, picking up a measly 6.7 overall rating by Sofascore.

With new signings Abdoulaye Doucoure, Allan and James Rodriguez making up Carlo Ancelotti’s new-look midfield along with Andre Gomes, it did not seem as if the 25-year old would have improved upon it.

These members of the Goodison Park faithful were glad that they did not end up signing Hojbjerg on Twitter, with one EFC supporter even labelling him as ‘dross’:

I was delighted with Højbjerg’s performance, and also delighted we did not sign him 🙂

— Daniel Vickers (@DaN__Research) September 13, 2020

Evertonians, are you glad you didn’t sign Hojbjerg? Comment below!

Ben Jacobs has relayed a claim on the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian (KSA) group from a Premier League source on his official Twitter page.

According to a tweet from the Sports journalist, Jacobs claimed:

“PL source tells me it is NOT true all #NUFC listed directors passed O&D Test. “No determinations were made prior to the consortium’s withdrawal.†If directors had been cleared, with Al Rumayyan being most contentious from those listed, #NUFC would know. Easy for them to confirm.”

Indeed, this is contrary to a report from The Shields Gazette that claimed that all directors and organisations put forward have passed the Owners’ and Directors’ Test (ODT) set out by the top flight and Richard Masters as to deem whether the Saudi-led consortium were fit and proper owners to be running the Tyneside club.

However, England’s highest division will not sign off as they believe that the heads of the kingdom should be run through the tests, with Middle Eastern crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) to potentially be included in that list.

Indeed, MbS and his country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) were due to hold a majority stake of 80% at St. James’ Park should the prospective £300 million deal between Mike Ashley and the Saudi-led consortium have been approved by the EPL, but instead the league decided to reject the bid on the grounds of their ODT.

The businesswoman and head of PCP Capital Partners Amanda Staveley, as well as the billionaire Reuben brothers, who are originally from India but are now based in London, were also due to split the other 20% between them if the deal were to be given the green light.

However, it now looks as if the matter will go to court, and it is then anyone’s guess as to who will win that case.

Geordies, who do you think would win the case? Comment below!

West Ham’s pursuit of one of David Moyes’ top transfer targets has been ramped up this week and the club ought to hand their manager his wish.

What’s the word?

According to the Guardian, the Hammers have stepped up their chase of Eberechi Eze with the Scotsman desperate to win the race to land the Queens Park Rangers sensation.

The east Londoners face stiff competition from a host of Premier League clubs, including Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and newly-promoted West Brom.

It is claimed that QPR are holding out for at least £20m and it’s also thought that the Irons will have to offload some deadwood in order to raise funds to sign the 22-year-old maestro.

Anderson upgrade?

Eze is one of the Championship’s most exciting talents and has played pretty much everywhere across the front three and even in central midfield.

The majority of his appearances at Loftus Road have come on the left flank and in the number ten role, which makes him a very exciting prospect for West Ham.

He finished the season with 14 goals and eight assists, all whilst averaging 3 dribbles, 2.2 shots and 1.8 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

Eze’s key attributes are his dribbling and ability to keep hold of the ball. He also managed an impressive 86.5% passing success rate and clearly can deliver a cross in too.

These figures are well clear of Felipe Anderson, who is reportedly one of the Irons flops that is on the chopping block this summer. The £42m man has only delivered one goal and four assists this campaign. He’s also managed fewer dribbles (2.5), key passes (1) and shots (0.9) per appearance than the young English talent.

Eze has been likened to Jay-Jay Okocha and Raheem Sterling in the past. He’s even been lauded as a “tremendous talent” with “no limits” by his manager Mark Warburton, who also claims that the 22-year-old is a “very special player”.

To upgrade the club’s record dud Anderson with Eze would be an absolutely shrewd start to their summer business.

AND in other news, Moyes wants a new left-back and he’s got more assists than Pablo Fornals…