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According to Spanish news outlet El Nacional, a major update has come to light on Liverpool and their transfer plans involving Real Madrid star Federico Valverde.

The Lowdown: Klopp eyeing midfield additions…

As reported, the Reds and manager Jurgen Klopp have seemingly set their sights on improving the club’s midfield options as they become linked with a host of names.

The likes of Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos, Denis Zakaria have been linked in the central midfield position whereas Villarreal winger Arnaut Danjuma is also thought to be on the agenda.

However, in what is a very interesting claim, El Nacional say FSG and Klopp now have a Galacticos star on their radar.

The Latest: Liverpool plotting Valverde bid…

According to their information, Liverpool have started ‘preparing an offensive’ for the 23-year-old and are ‘willing’ to table a huge €80 million (£66.6m) offer for his services.

As well as this, it is believed FSG will ‘insist’ on signing Valverde and ‘squeeze’ to reach an agreement with Real over the player – meaning they will push for his signing.

The Verdict: Major claim…

Scoring Real’s winner in their 3-2 El Clasico win over Barcelona on Wednesday, it’s clear the Uruguay international is playing his part under Carlo Ancelotti.

Starting ten La Liga matches and making six appearances off the bench (WhoScored), Valverde features regularly in a star-studded side and his past plaudits indicate why Klopp and the club are willing to pay.

Casemiro claimed he would become ‘one of the best’ in the world in his position with the €160,192-per-week (£133,000) man clearly possessing plenty of ability.

However, given how short Liverpool are in the forward positions with both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at AFCON, the club could be better placed prioritising more shrewd attacking options instead.

In other news: £210,000-per-week star now open to joining Liverpool as FSG plot eight-figure bid, find out more here.

As per Italian newspaper Corriere Fiorentino, via Sport Witness, a transfer update has emerged on Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic.

The Lowdown: Vlahovic on the move?

The Serbia international, who has rejected advances from his current club to make him the highest-paid player in their history, looks to inevitably exit sooner or later.

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His contract expires in 2023, so Fiorentina could risk losing him on a free deal at the end of next season as clubs hover for his signature.

One of those suitors is thought to be Tottenham as the Lilywhites remain heavily linked, following on from sporting director Fabio Paratici’s interest in the 21-year-old over the summer transfer window.

Now, as per a fresh claim from Italy, an update has emerged on the Vlahovic situation involving Spurs.

The Latest: Lilywhites in direct contact?

Corriere Fiorentino (via Sport Witness) lifted the lid on Tottenham’s ‘direct contact’ with La Viola directors Daniele Pradè and Giuseppe Barone, also revealing that the two chiefs held this contact during ‘a trip to London’.

They added that Spurs manager Antonio Conte is a personal admirer of the prolific striker and Tottenham were even ‘ready to come forward’ over the summer during Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Vlahovic stands out as Tottenham’s most blockbuster striking target by some distance and his form in Europe has been among the best.

Scoring 14 goals and setting up three others in just 16 appearances throughout all competitions, it is little wonder his exploits in front of goal have drawn comparisons with Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Braut Haaland.

Serie A experts who have watched him consistently, such as Conor Clancy, have raved over the young attacker’s talent and ability, with that writer calling him ‘phenomenal’ and a potentially ‘exciting’ long-term replacement for Harry Kane (The Transfer Tavern).

Averaging even more shots on goal per 90 this season than Tottenham’s star duo Kane and Son Heung-min (WhoScored), who both made the PFA Team of the Year last term, it’s safe to say that the Serbian does indeed come as a head-turning target.

In other news: Eight players now safe from Spurs axe after impressing behind the scenes, find out more here.

West Ham United slipped outside of the top four in the Premier League with a disappointing defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday evening.

The Irons have now failed to score in three straight matches as they were well-beaten by the Gunners in a frantic encounter at the Emirates Stadium and indeed, it was another game in which Michail Antonio looked hugely off the pace.

Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring right after the break before Hammers defender Vladimir Coufal received his marching orders after conceding a penalty, in which Alexandre Lacazette missed from the spot. But Emile Smith Rowe wrapped things up with a strike just three minutes from time.

After drawing a blank against Burnley at the weekend, manager David Moyes will be concerned that his side failed to test the opposition once again. managing only one shot on target all game.

And as he has often done lately, Antonio has failed to provide any sort of influence in the final third, making it just the one goal in his last 11 appearances, per Transfermarkt.

The 31-year-old talisman endured an absolute nightmare in north London – across 90 minutes on the pitch, he registered only 43 touches, in which he provided just six accurate passes from 15 attempts (40%).

Nor was he responsible for any of their shots on goal. A worrying sign.

Some of the blame may fall Coufal’s way but it’s performances like this from Antonio that should be called into question as he’s holding West Ham back with his poor form right now.

Elsewhere, the £10.8m-rated Jamaican international was lightweight and weak in his battles, managing just one successful dribble from four attempts, whilst he lost possession a whopping 27 times (the most in the game) and won just 18% of his total duels, both aerially and on the ground.

That shows he struggled to combat the threat from Gabriel and Ben White in the opposition’s backline. Antonio handed the ball back to Arsenal once every 1.6 touches, which is appalling.

football.london journalist Tom Clark was less than impressed, grading the Irons frontman amongst the worst performers. ‘Saw very little of the ball in the opening 45 minutes, worked hard tracking back but was wasteful in possession,’ he wrote, before later adding: ‘another poor display from the striker.’

On the above evidence, it was another shocking outing from the frontline veteran, one that will surely leave Moyes feeling badly let down, having kept the faith in his star striker once more.

AND in other news, Moyes could land another Soucek in West Ham swoop for “extraordinary” 6 ft 5 colossus – opinion

Celtic journalist Kieran Devlin thinks Ange Postecoglou will field an unchanged line-up for Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semifinal against St Johnstone. 

The lowdown

Celtic’s last game prior to the international break was their 4-2 victory away to Dundee.

Postecoglou set out his team in a 4-1-4-1 formation that day, with Joe Hart in goal and Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Stephen Welsh and Josip Juranovic protecting him.

Nir Bitton slotted into the holding role behind Liel Abada, David Turnbull, Callum McGregor and two-goal Filipe Jota. Kyogo Furuhashi led the line for the Hoops.

Victory over the Saints at Hampden Park could set up a meeting with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers in the semifinal, provided they get the better of Hibernian on Sunday.

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The latest

Addressing supporters in The Athletic’s matchday discussion, Devlin wrote: “I’d think maybe the starting XI will be the same as against Dundee?”

Carl Starfelt and Tom Rogic may have been in contention had they recovered, but for the umpteenth time this season ‘an injury has taken much longer to heal than expected’.

Devlin does note that James Forrest, who played the last half an hour at Dundee, has a chance of starting if he’s deemed to be fit enough.

The verdict

One aspect of this team that would please ex-Hoop Frank McAvennie is seeing Furuhashi deployed through the middle.

He feels it would be a ‘mistake’ for Postecoglou to play him out wide as he’s done on four occasions so far this season.

With Giorgos Giakoumakis, who came off the bench against Dundee, out injured, the Australian’s centre-forward decision perhaps becomes that little bit easier, with the limited options up front almost making it a no-brainer to start the club’s top scorer through the centre.

In other news, read about Celtic’s January transfer plan.

Rangers return to Premiership action on Sunday as Giovanni van Bronckhorst awaits his domestic bow as manager of the Glasgow giants.

The Dutchman made his dugout debut against Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday night, with the Gers winning 2-0 thanks to two goals from Alfredo Morelos.

They now travel to face Livingston in the Premiership as they look to potentially build on their four-point lead at the top of the table.

Time’s up

One change that the 46-year-old could make to the team is removing Joe Aribo from the starting line-up. He started against the Czech outfit but struggled to catch the eye in a positive way, which could to him being axed from the side this weekend.

The Nigeria international received a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.4 for his performance as he struggled at both sides of the game. His end product was lacking and he did not stand up to the physical questions which were asked of him.

As per SofaScore, he lost five of his nine duels and missed two ‘big chances’, whilst also hitting the crossbar with one effort. Along with that, he only completed 72% of his attempted passes and gave possession away 12 times, being dribbled past as often (once) as he completed a tackle.

He has just one goal and one assist in his last 10 competitive matches for Rangers, with both coming in a 4-2 win over Ross County earlier this month, and his time in the starting XI could now be up.

This is a disappointing run of form, given what Gers fans know the £14k-per-week gem is capable of producing. His former Charlton teammate Ezri Konsa previously praised him despite having a ‘languid’ style, saying: “Having Gerrard as his manager at Rangers, that has made him go up another level.

“Joe’s style is unique. When I was with him at Charlton he did remind me for a while of a left-footed Yaya Toure. But you don’t get a lot of midfielders like Joe, there aren’t many around.

“Like Toure, for a tall guy he’s got such great feet. But that languid style he’s got is actually fairly unique in the game.”

Last season, Aribo averaged a superb SofaScore rating of 7.13 as he produced seven goals and four assists in 27 starts in the Premiership. This shows that he is capable of consistently delivering top performances and goal contributions, which is why his current inconsistency could be frustrating for supporters.

Therefore, Van Bronckhorst must brutally axe him from the starting XI this weekend. A spell on the sidelines could do the Nigerian the world of good in terms of his motivation to earn his place in the team and get back to his best again.

AND in other news, 64% duels lost: Rangers gem who causes “real problems” let his manager down on Thursday…

Ashley Preece picked out John McGinn as one of Aston Villa’s worst players in their disappointing 3-1 defeat away to Arsenal.

The Lowdown: Villa humbled at Arsenal

Dean Smith’s men were hoping to bounce back from their shock 3-2 loss at home to Wolves last time around, but things didn’t pan out that way.

Villa were deservedly beaten at the Emirates on Friday evening, being comprehensively outplayed by a more energetic Gunners side.

The Latest: McGinn performance slammed

It was a game that saw many Villa players underperform and McGinn was undoubtedly one of them, losing the midfield battle and not covering himself in glory for two of the goals.

On Twitter after the game, Preece claimed that the Scot was ‘miles off the pace’ against Arsenal, and in his player ratings for The Birmingham Mail, he further outlined his struggles, giving him a measly three-out-of-10 score:

“At fault for two of Arsenal’s three goals here. The first he allowed Partey to get ahead of him from the corner before he passed straight to Smith Rowe under no pressure whatsoever.

“A real off-night for the Scot who, before this one, said he was in the best form of his career. Booked for lashing out at Lokonga as frustrations boiled over.”

The Verdict: Rare off-night

It is hard to feel too angry with McGinn, considering what a consistent performer he has been for Villa for a number of years, scoring 15 goals and registering 20 assists in 119 appearances.

As Preece alludes to, it was rare off-night for the midfielder, completing just 76 per cent of his passes and losing possession 15 times (Sofascore), and the hope is that he returns to his best for the visit of West Ham next Sunday.

The pressure is mounting on Smith after two bitterly disappointing results in a row – they have lost their last three matches – so the clash with the Hammers is a vital one.

In other news, some Villa fans slammed another player’s performance against Arsenal. Find out who it is here.

A number of Manchester United fans hit out at captain Harry Maguire on social media for his display in the 2-2 draw with Atalanta on Tuesday evening.

The Red Devils were once again bailed out by star man Cristiano Ronaldo, who netted a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser to ensure they would leave Italy with a point and top of their group.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer once again selected a back three following the 3-0 win over Tottenham on Saturday, with Maguire making his 12th appearance in all competitions.

The 28-year-old was comfortably the worst-rated centre-back and far behind Raphael Varane and Eric Bailly, though, as per Sofa Score, even though the Frenchman was withdrawn through injury.

Maguire recorded a match rating of 6.3/10, United’s worst outfield starter, losing the ball on 10 occasions. He also failed to make a clearance or an interception all evening and lost six of his 10 duels, while he was seemingly responsible for the hosts’ second goal in trying to play Duvan Zapata offside.

United fans react

This is what these United supporters had to say about Maguire in reply to a tweet from @utdreport, with one labelling him a ‘mess’ and another saying he ‘has to go with Ole’.

“Maguire has to go with Ole”

Credit: @akzblackz

“THE WORST UNITED CAPTAIN ASHLEY YOUNG BETTER THAN HIM”

Credit: @PSRIKIII

“Worst signing in football history. Not even cap”

Credit: @kristiyanevt

“He’s been a mess all season”

Credit: @1aMusti

“Sell him”

Credit: @KyleCampbell456

“Maguire has to go man”

Credit: @Dembele_8

Writing in his column for The Daily Star, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has given Tottenham Hotspur and chairman Daniel Levy a managerial instruction.

The Lowdown: Pressure on Nuno…

Despite a brilliant start to life at N17, even managing to clinch August’s Premier League Manager of the Month award, it has all been downhill for Nuno Espirito Santo since the international break.

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The Portuguese has overseen a trio of humiliating defeats at their hands of London rivals in September and there are now reports of growing unrest behind the scenes at Spurs.

As such, links have re-emerged to former boss Mauricio Pochettino after Levy attempted to re-hire him earlier this year, but Merson has now told the Lilywhites chairman to make a different appointment if Nuno is indeed given his marching orders.

The Latest: Merson makes Potter claim…

Writing in his Daily Star column, Merson has told Levy to hire Brighton and Hove Albion boss Graham Potter as Nuno’s possible replacement.

The pundit believes that the Seagulls manager could bring an ‘entertaining’ brand of football to Spurs and a philosophy which supporters especially would love.

He also suggests that Nuno has ‘lost the players’ at Tottenham and, if they lose against Aston Villa today, doesn’t see how the 47-year-old survives the next international break.

The Verdict: Ideal man?

When Spurs were linked with Potter as a possible replacement for Jose Mourinho earlier this year, reliable reporter Alasdair Gold lifted the lid on what Lilywhites players think of him as a coach.

Their reception of the 46-year-old, according to the football.london journalist, is certainly glowing, with Gold revealing that a ‘number of’ Spurs players had a ‘lasting impression’ left on them by his playing style at Brighton (Twitter).

It is also claimed that a number of them would have been ‘happy’ if the former Ostersunds man was pursued by Spurs during their last managerial hunt.

Taking this into account, and the fact that he has been called a ‘world class manager’ by former England international Adam Lallana, Merson could very well have a point.

In other news: Spurs source claims that Levy is eyeing £115,000-per-week ‘genius’ amid Nuno unrest…find out more here.

Everton face a tough dilemma over the coming weeks after key midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure was ruled out of action for over a month with a serious foot injury.

The Frenchman had been in fine form in the opening weeks of the campaign, bagging two goals and providing a further four assists in just eight Premier League appearances, and his enforced absence is a major blow for Rafa Benitez’s charges.

To make matters worse, though, both Andre Gomes and Fabian Delph are already sidelined with fitness issues of their own, leaving the Toffees extremely threadbare in the centre of the pitch.

As a result, Benitez may have to get creative while Doucoure is unavailable, meaning 18-year-old academy graduate Tyler Onyango could be in line for a first top-flight outing.

He made his first-team debut as a late substitute against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup last season, and immediately caught the eye, with the Liverpool ECHO’s Adam Jones lauding the youngster on the Royal Blue podcast.

“I’d say he fits into that box-to-box mould, if anything. I don’t think he really compares to many of the midfielders that Everton have got at the minute,” said Jones (as relayed by This is Futbol).

“I think he’s hugely energetic, he’s got a good amount of pace on him himself. He’s very physical for his age, but I think his ability on the ball is what sets him apart.”

And it appears as though Everton agree with Jones’ description, labelling Onyango as a “skilful, athletic midfielder” on their official website, going on to state that he also “reads the game well and boasts impressive stamina.”

The former England U17 international scored two goals and provided a further two assists in 17 Premier League 2 outings last season but suffered a serious ankle injury towards the end of the campaign, ruling him out for six months.

However, Onyango made a successful return to action in the U23s’ game against Leeds United on Monday evening, earning the praise of manager David Unsworth.

“He was great, he played really well,” Unsworth enthused. “He’s been training for a couple of weeks, and he got some minutes in a bounce game during the international break.

“Anything past 60-minutes tonight was a bonus, so to get 80-minutes from him is terrific, and I’m so glad to see him back. The physios have had nothing but praise for him for his work ethic, and he’s a great guy.”

The youngster’s return to full fitness has come just in time for Benitez, providing the Spanish tactician with another midfield option just when he needs it most.

It remains to be seen whether the Champions League-winning manager will put his trust in the rarely-seen teenager, but Onyango’s potential inclusion over the coming weeks could provide a silver lining to Everton’s latest injury blow.

And, in other news…Everton suffer potential injury setback after Doucoure, Benitez surely devastated 

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has been given three games to save his job at Villa Park.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that an Aston Villa source has revealed that the 50-year-old will fighting to keep his job should Villa not improve on their results achieved so far this season in the next three fixtures.

The report goes on to state that the former Brentford manager must improve the club’s current 12th place league position prior to the next international break, with Premier League games against Everton, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur coming up for Villa in this period.

Big mistake

Considering the improvement Aston Villa made under Smith last season in comparison to their return to the Premier League in the campaign prior, with the club’s league finish jumping from 17th place to 11th place, in addition to the fact that the 50-year-old’s numerous summer signings are still very much in the process of settling into the club, if the report by Football Insider is to be believed, Christian Purslow could be heading for a big mistake.

While it is true that Villa’s form in the Premier League tailed off following the turn of the year last season, the club nevertheless made magnificent strides towards establishing themselves as a top-half team, something which, it should not be underestimated, is an incredibly difficult challenge.

Furthermore, having sold club captain and talisman Jack Grealish this summer, Smith is currently overseeing something of a rebuild at Villa Park, with the exciting summer signings of Emiliano Buendia, Leon Bailey, Danny Ings very much still getting to grips with their new manager’s tactical demands and philosophy – something which will naturally take time.

As such, changing the manager at such an early stage of the season – particularly as, while results have not been the best, they are far from disastrous – after giving him a substantial amount of money to spend this summer would seem to be a big mistake on the part of Purslow, who could be doing the club’s top 10 chances this season more harm than good by sacking Smith.

In other news: Insider drops claim on “outstanding” £50k-p/w beast, it’ll be music to AVFC fans’ ears