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Liverpool are reportedly weighing up a move for Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi as manager Jurgen Klopp’s looks to improve his attacking options.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet Calcio Mercato, the Reds are said to be “looking carefully” at the 20-year-old after failing to replace the departed Xherdan Shaqiri in the previous transfer window.

The report states that a January move could be on the cards for Hudson-Odoi, who was heavily linked with a loan move to Borussia Dortmund over the summer, although Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was reluctant to let him leave.

Jurgen Klopp would love him

Hudson-Odoi has made 100 appearances for his boyhood club since making his debut back in 2018, although more than half those outings have come via cameo appearances off the bench.

Nevertheless, the skilful forward has still managed to bag 13 goals and provide a further 16 assists for the Blues, highlighting his truly top-class potential.

He struggled to hold down a regular spot in the first XI following Tuchel’s arrival at Stamford Bridge last season, though, starting just 10 Premier League games all campaign as the capital club finished fourth.

The youngster’s lack of game time led to Dortmund enquiring about his services a few months back, but their approach was rebuffed by the Chelsea hierarchy.

Since then, Tuchel has openly praised the England international for his attitude, claiming the level of competition is a large reason why Hudson-Odoi has spent so little time on the field under his tutelage.

“From the first day in pre-season I saw him on a different level, but struggling a bit to produce the same performances on the pitch,” said Tuchel. “To be absolutely fair, I have to say that sometimes we use him as a wing-back on the right side, which is for me not the very best position for him.

“He waits. This is far enough. He waits for a regular chance on the half-left position, but he fights against Mason Mount, against Kai Havertz, against Hakim Ziyech, against Christian Pulisic.

“When the door opens a little bit, we demand he puts his feet in between it and makes his mark. This can happen any time. He is not happy with his situation, and he will find that he gets frustrated at times, but he never ever brings his frustration to work – not one single day.

“He is a super nice guy in the dressing room and an absolutely positive guy. He is struggling on the sporting side because there is a lot of competition in his positions, but he never puts it on us or his teammates,” the former Paris Saint-Germain manager concluded.

However, Hudson-Odoi has only received 82 minutes of league action so far this season, remaining on the bench for four of Chelsea’s five top-flight encounters to date, potentially opening the door for director of football Michael Edw.

The £28.8m-rated wing wizard still has three years remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge, but his growing frustration could lead to an imminent exit, and Klopp would surely love to be able to call upon his services at Liverpool, as he can’t overplay the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota or he risks them breaking down.

The Reds boss has shown that he has the faith to play youngsters and for Hudson-Odoi, there looks to be more chance of game time at Liverpool, who don’t quite have the strength in depth in wide areas as Chelsea.

This looks like a good deal for the player and for Liverpool, Michael Edwards must do all he can to try to make it happen.

And, in other news…Signed for £34m, now worth £90m: Edwards struck gold with “exceptional” Liverpool gem 

A number of Liverpool supporters are excited after James Pearce claimed Ibrahima Konate could make his Reds debut against Crystal Palace.

Jurgen Klopp’s side return to Premier League action this weekend, following their thrilling 3-2 win at home to AC Milan in the Champions League.

Liverpool host Palace on Saturday afternoon, with Patrick Vieira’s side fresh off the back of an impressive 3-0 victory against Tottenham.

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Klopp could again decide to shuffle his defensive pack, with Virgil van Dijk left out against Milan, allowing Joel Matip and Joe Gomez to start alongside one another.

Writing for The Athletic [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], Pearce claimed that Konate’s debut would either come against Palace or in the Carabao Cup away to Norwich City on Tuesday night.

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Liverpool fans react to Konate claim

These Liverpool fans were excited by the claim, calling for the young Frenchman to face Palace, allowing the in-form Matip a breather in the process.

“Let it be Palace”

Credit: @lfcliammm

“I think Gomez and Matip starting means that Ibou and Virgil will be a partnership. I like it”

Credit: @PhillyDudeInVA

“He’ll probs play both tbh”

Credit: @ZKarimNBK

“Cmonnn big Man”

Credit: @pearlserery

“I hope Ibou starts in defence against Crystal Palace alongside Van Dijk and Matip and Joe start against Norwich”

Credit: @mhdra18

“Konate – VVD against Palace please”

Credit: @SolXolani

In other news, some Liverpool fans are buzzing after a transfer rumour emerged. Read more here.

A number of Sheffield Wednesday supporters are delighted after centre-back Dominic Iorfa signed a new contract with the Owls.

Darren Moore’s side have made an impressive start to the season, picking up 10 points from their opening four League One games. Saturday’s 2-0 win away to Rotherham United was a particularly good result, with Wednesday looking like strong promotion hopefuls in the early weeks of the campaign.

The Owls haven’t conceded a goal yet this season and Iorfa has been a rock at the heart of the defence, proving to be an influential figure. Indeed, WhoScored’s metrics cite him as the team’s second-best performer over the early weeks of the campaign, averaging an impressive 7.37 rating per match.

The 26-year-old has now made 74 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday and he has committed his future to the club until the summer of 2023, as confirmed on their official Twitter account on Monday.

Sheff Wed fans react to Iorfa news

It is a hugely positive piece of news for the Owls and these fans took to Twitter to show their happiness over the “brilliant” development.

“Now got the best defender and midfielder in the league secured for this season. Brilliant”

Credit: @Beta_Owl

“Absolutely made my day this”

Credit: @JackWaddle93

“BIG DOM”

Credit: @Haleb_4_ever

“Absolutely buzzing, Wednesday now doing all the right things and looking after the club’s assets”

Credit: @Hill7Conor

“Cracking news”

Credit: @Ryan_Guesty

“Cannot be overstated how big this is. Dom is a top player who could easily have walked back into the Champ, but also the beating heart of the team. His connection with the fans the way he plays on the edge is impossible to replace. Huge statement of intent. Big from the gaffer”

Credit: @MattSummerhill

In other news, some Sheff Wed fans were critical of one player in the 2-0 win at Rotherham United. Read more here.

West Brom would be Andre Gray’s preferred destination in the Championship, believes Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield.

Gray has been linked with a move to The Hawthorns, with Football Insider recently reporting that West Brom are lining up a move for the Watford striker.

However, according to the same outlet, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and QPR are also interested in signing Gray before the transfer window slams shut.

Competition for his signature is certainly looking fierce. But given that West Brom are likely to be battling for promotion following their relegation from the Premier League, Hatfield thinks the Baggies will be in the driving seat to secure his services.

“If he has to pick between those clubs, I think it’s a little bit of a no-brainer,” Hatfield said to TT. “I think Albion have shown they’re one of the real promotion threats this season.

“I think Albion probably would be his preferred destination. It’s close to home, obviously, Blues is close to home for him as well, but the position that Blues will be in this season in comparison to Albion, I don’t think you can quite compare them.”

Gray is yet to make one of Watford’s matchday squads this term, so it does appear that he is not really in manager Xisco Munoz’s plans. It gives an outfit like West Brom, who are clearly in the market for a striker, an opportunity to do something.

Aston Villa should use some of the cash gained from Jack Grealish’s record-breaking sale to prise Rafinha away from Paris Saint-Germain, according to Get French Football News’ Adam White.

Villa saw talisman and captain Grealish depart the club in favour of a move to Manchester City last week, with the Premier League title holders forking out a British record £100million.

Boss Dean Smith has already been busy in the transfer market, with Emiliano Buendia’s arrival from Norwich City costing a club record fee while Danny Ings and Leon Bailey have also strengthened Villa’s attacking options.

However, French football expert White believes Smith should bolster his midfield by welcoming Rafinha to Villa Park.

The 28-year-old, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics with Brazil and has won 14 trophies at domestic level, made 34 appearances last season but will see his involvement limited by the summer arrival of ex-Liverpool central midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum at PSG.

According to reports in Spain, Villa are interested in luring Rafinha away from the French capital. The report also reveals Italian sides Lazio and AC Milan are interested, but White has urged Smith to make his move.

He told Football FanCast: “I think he has already been pushed quite significantly towards the exit at PSG and he would be a good signing for Villa.

“The Premier League is a little bit of a step up and he wouldn’t be playing in such a dominant team, so that’s perhaps something that Villa fans will need to think about. PSG would be keen to sell.”

Derby County have recently completed a deal to sign former Manchester United and QPR midfielder Ravel Morrison on a one-year deal.

What’s the story?

Morrison had been training with the Rams during pre-season and had featured in their friendly clash with his former side Manchester United.

The 28-year-old had most recently been on the books with ADO Den Haag, although his spell with the Dutch side reached an early conclusion towards the end of the 2020/21 season.

Derby were struggling with numbers heading into the new Championship campaign, but have now been allowed to sign players this summer in ‘exceptional circumstances’.

Morrison is the latest signing to arrive at Pride Park, and Wayne Rooney will be hoping that the midfielder can make a positive impact with the Rams this term as they look to avoid relegation into the third-tier of English football.

‘A great player and person’

Morrison hasn’t exactly settled at any club in recent seasons, with the midfielder finding regular minutes hard to come by.

But that could be about to change with Derby County, with the Rams certainly needing additional strength in depth in their senior squad, with a number of their Under-23s having to be included in the matchday squad during pre-season and for their season opener against Huddersfield Town.

We’ve seen glimpses of Morrison’s exciting potential though, with the 28-year-old netting a memorable solo goal against Tottenham Hotspur whilst with West Ham United earlier in his career.

Rooney has evidently been pleased with Morrison’s impact during training and pre-season, and he and the club’s supporters will now be keen to see him make an instant impact with the Rams.

Speaking in a recent post-match press conference (quotes sourced from The Athletic’s Ryan Conway), Rooney expressed his delight at signing Morrison, and admitted that he’s ‘lifted’ the club, before labelling him as a ‘great player and person’.

“I’m delighted to get Ravel in. He can add to our creativity. I could speak about question marks people have against him off the pitch – he’s had a past. We’ve all got a past. But since he’s been at our club, he’s lifted us. He’s a great player and person.”

It could turn out to be a shrewd addition for Derby if Morrison can get back to his best, and he could turn out to be the difference between them staying in the Championship for another season or dropping into League One.

More importantly for the Rams, he’s another senior signing this summer, and that was certainly needed within Rooney’s squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Morrison could be in line to make his Derby debut on Tuesday when Rooney’s side host Peterborough United at Pride Park in what could potentially be a tricky test in the EFL Cup.

Many Southampton fans shared their delight as the club revealed their new away kit for the upcoming 2021/22 season.

The new campaign is almost upon us. For the Saints, they will be looking to improve on their rather disappointing 15th-placed finish in the Premier League last term. They will get their league season underway against Everton at St Mary’s on Saturday 14 August.

Usually at this point in the campaign, all of the kits for the new season will have been released by the 20 clubs in the top flight. However, the Saints were yet to reveal their away kit for the new campaign until Wednesday morning, but it seems to have been worth the wait for many of the club’s fans who loved the “stunning” new offering – a predominantly yellow shirt with blue sleeves from new kit suppliers Hummel.

The kit was shared on Southampton’s official Twitter channel and it attracted plenty of attention from supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the new shirt.

Let’s see what these Saints fans had to say

“Well worth the wait…..stunning!”

Credit: @DesKnight08

“Oh that’s a beauty. 3 great kits for the season.”

Credit: @Chi_Saintsfan

“Simple, but effective. I love the detailing at the lower part of the shirt, it’s subtle but beautiful”

Credit: @thomasc85505893

“Actually class from the club, fair play”

Credit: @ScottishSexyMan

“Love it. Love yellow. Love the graphic. Love the idea. Love Saints. But you have to laugh at, ‘to highlight the importance of looking after our environment’ when we release new kits across the board every single year”

Credit: @JamesClarkRoss

“Hummel don’t know how to make a bad kit. What a beautiful sight”

Credit: @salisuszn

In other news, Southampton are interested in signing this Ligue 1 defender.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says he is under no extra pressure following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's partial takeover of the club.

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• Ratcliffe completes partial United takeover
• Ten Hag says he's not under extra pressure
• He and new co-owner have same "targets"

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  United announced the sale of a 25% stake of the club to Ratcliffe's INEOS group in December but it was only this week where the deal was officially approved. With the 71-year-old stating it is imperative the Red Devils are competing for the top honours, manager Ten Hag says the two have the "same ambition" and does not feel under the cosh any more now than he did before.

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  WHAT ERIK TEN HAG SAID

  The Dutchman told reporters on Friday: "We speak a lot, there are many conversations with him [Ratcliffe], with Dave Brailsford about this club, about this team, about the structures, we are very aligned, it totally fits with ambitions I have, ambitions I had when I came in. I'm 19 months in and I see we are going in the right direction. We have had setbacks in the second season but you see the team coming, the squad developing, work hard on the training pitch, work hard during games, it's important to have players fit but also to construct the squad, we will be strong and we will be even stronger when we add to this squad even more qualities."

  He added: "Nothing. No more pressure because we have the same ambition, we have the same targets."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Ratcliffe is saying all the right things if you are a United fan, the Premier League giants are a long way from competing for silverware at present. Although they have won four on the spin in the English top-flight, they still sit five points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa in sixth, and suffered early exits in this season's Carabao Cup and Champions League. Success in the FA Cup and a top four finish are still possible, but United never seem too far away from a "crisis" – and Ten Hag's future may not be that secure if results worsen.

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Now the £1.3 billion ($1.6bn) takeover is finalised, United return to on the field matters on Saturday when they host mid-table Fulham at Old Trafford in the Premier League. To round off the month, they travel to Nottingham Forest in round five of the FA Cup on Wednesday.

A number of Liverpool supporters have bemoaned Fabrizio Romano’s update on the Reds’ hopes of signing Italy star Federico Chiesa.

Jurgen Klopp is hopefully eyeing up another attacking signing this summer, in order to make his squad even more formidable.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino will all be vying for regular starts next season, but an additional top-class option wouldn’t go amiss, with the former two set to be absent for AFCON 2022 in January.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

One player who Liverpool have been linked with is Chiesa, who enjoyed an outstanding Euro 2020 campaign with Italy, winning the competition and scoring twice.

According to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, however, the Reds will not be signing the on-loan Juventus winger.

He is deemed ‘untouchable’ at the Serie A club and there ‘no chance’ of Liverpool bringing him to the club this summer.

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Liverpool fans react to disappointing Chiesa update

These Reds fans took to Twitter to provide their thoughts on the update, reacting negatively to it.

“No one asked”

Credit: @sxlang_

“Fabrizio is becoming the Italian James Pearce at this rate”

Credit: @LFCJadenV2

“Pain and suffering”

Credit: @LFC_fam

“What a bummer”

Credit @kevspionkop

“This is just depressing now”

Credit: @f1kopite

“Yeah we know that we are broke man”

Credit: @svkShailendra

“Ahh Fabrizio breaking my heart at 4am”

Credit: @stufz123

In other news, some Liverpool fans are delighted with an update regarding one Reds player. Read more here.

Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty while Lucas Hernandez also found the net in a comfortable 2-0 win against Nantes for Paris Saint-Germain.

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• Hernandez scored PSG's first
• Mbappe added second from penalty spot
• PSG have 14-point lead atop Ligue 1

• TELL ME MORE

  The two sides combined for a forgettable first half, with a disallowed Nantes goal on the stroke of half time serving as the only real action. Hernandez opened the scoring in the second half with a fine zipping effort that rocketed into the top corner from outside the box. Then, Mbappe was brought off the bench just after the hour mark and converted a penalty 15 minutes later to seal the win.

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  THE MVP

  Hernandez has been searching for his signature moment in a PSG shirt for a while at this point. The former Bayern man has failed to impress for Luis Enrique, often exploited in one-on-ones and not offering much going forward. This was hardly an earth-shattering performance at both ends from the France international, but his goal was a thing of beauty.

• THE BIG LOSER

  There is hefty competition in this PSG side. For those not named Mbappe, every performance counts. And Bradley Barcola didn't do himself too many favours tonight. The winger, just four days removed from turning in a mesmerising Champions League showing, was markedly off colour, and deservedly hooked at half time. He is still young – and will surely develop – but this was one to forget.

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  WHAT COMES NEXT?

  The Parisians now have a healthy lead atop Ligue 1, and will look to stretch it in the coming weeks. Their next contest is against Rennes next Sunday, and a fixture with Monaco follows. All eyes will surely be on March 5, though, for the second leg of their last-16 tie with Real Sociedad.