According to The Evening Standard’s transfer page, Fulham are willing to offer Liverpool £15m for out of favour striker Divock Origi. 

The Belgian has made just one start for The Reds this season, as manager Jürgen Klopp clearly does not favour him ahead of Roberton Firmino and Daniel Sturridge.

Therefore, an offer of £15m would seem quite enticing to Liverpool fans, as that is a reasonable amount of money for a player that is not integral to the squad.

However, by letting the 23-year-old leave, Liverpool could find themselves in a position later in the season comparable to what they are going through with their defence currently.

The Reds currently have only one fit centre-back in their first team, Virgil van Dijk, and were forced to field Fabinho in that position at the weekend, as this proves to be their most testing period of the season.

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Seeing as Liverpool have already sold Dominic Solanke to Bournemouth this month, they do not want to find themselves in a crisis should one of Firmino or Sturridge get injured. Given the injury-prone nature of Sturridge, The Reds should be prepared for anything.

Furthermore, as Liverpool hope to progress in the Champions League, they may want a bit more flexibility for squad rotation to allow some of their star players to be rested in the league. Of course, that does not mean that Origi will start up front at Old Trafford for Liverpool, but perhaps in games against the lesser teams in the league, the Belgian could prove to be a valuable asset.

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West Ham could be without Marko Arnautovic for the next few games as the speculation surrounding his future drags on, but Manuel Pellegrini must learn from his mistakes at Bournemouth and switch his stand-in striker.

On the chalkboard

Arnautovic was not included in the West Ham squad to face Bournemouth amid interest in his services from a Chinese club – as reported by BBC Sport – although London Evening Standard claim he could yet stay in East London.

With the controversy surrounding the talisman’s future looming large, Pellegrini chose Andy Carroll to lead the line at Bournemouth, and the England international missed an absolute sitter to cap off a truly woeful performance.

If Pellegrini and the club are insistent on keeping Arnautovic away from the pitch during this period of uncertainty, then the boss simply must forget about Carroll and hand Michail Antonio the nod up front instead.

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The best of a bad bunch

Antonio is not a natural striker, but the 28 year-old has played up front briefly for Pellegrini and Slaven Bilic before. In total, he’s featured as a centre-forward 20 times for the Hammers, according to Transfermarkt.

His pace, physicality and tireless movement in behind will run defenders ragged, allowing more space for the likes of Samir Nasri and Felipe Anderson to exploit.

Antonio has scored three times and added four assists in all competitions this season, per Transfermarkt. He is faster and less wasteful than Carroll, better at holding the ball up and bringing others into play than Javier Hernandez, and let’s not even get started on Lucas Perez.

Boost for Snodgrass

Of course, moving Antonio up front would open up a space on the right wing, which could equate to good news for Robert Snodgrass.

The Scottish international put in three consecutive man of the match performances before Christmas, as per Whoscored’s ratings, and his only reward has been a move to the bench – seemingly slumping behind Nasri in the pecking order.

With Anderson and Nasri providing the creativity and flair elsewhere, Snodgrass’ work rate, defensive help and excellent crossing could bring the perfect balance to that right hand side, allowing Pablo Zabaleta to bomb forward on the overlap.

So, West Ham fans, would you stick Antonio up front until the striker issue is resolved? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

The Marko Arnautovic saga looks destined to run on at West Ham United until the end of February, with the club seemingly reluctant to offload their talisman for both footballing and financial reasons. 

West Ham fans need little introducing to Arnuatovic’s quality and they remain acutely aware of the need to keep him at the club this month, but the saga’s jarring refusal to drift into media obscurity will undoubtedly be leading some disgruntled supporters to call for his departure.

In a footballing sense, the Hammers are stronger than they were when Dimitri Payet left in the January window two years ago. The French playmaker left a void in the midfield which couldn’t be filled by members of the then current squad but, with Felipe Anderson now gliding across the turf at the London Stadium, a mid-season departure for Arnautovic would not leave Manuel Pellegrini too short of flair and nous in the final-third.

However, the financial aspect of the sale will also be giving the club’s hierarchy plenty to think about in the coming weeks. According to Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge, who was speaking on Sky Sports’ Transfer Talk podcast on Tuesday, the terms of the deal which saw Arnautovic swap Stoke City for West Ham will guarantee the Potters a slice of the profits in the event of the Austrian’s departure, and that could well be influencing their refusal to accept the recent £35 million offer.

“One thing that we need to say here is that there is a 20% deal so Stoke – obviously they were the selling club from West Ham – they would receive 20% from West Ham’s profit they would make on Arnautovic.

“Let’s face it: there are so many reasons here why West Ham do not want to sell their star player this month.”

On the basis that Arnautovic signed for West Ham for £20 million (potentially rising to £25 million) and a £35 million sale would earn them £10-£15 million in profit, Stoke City would only be entitled to £2-£3 million following that potential deal.

In reality, that is not too much of a bullet for David Gold and David Sullivan to bite as opposed to the £7 million they would lose if Stoke had secured a 20% clause on the transfer fee of any future sale.

That the Hammers managed to sign Arnautovic with a clause which will only see them surrender a small portion of the profit – rather than the overall price – is a testament to the shrewdness of the 2017 deal.

At this moment in time, the awareness of the clause forcing West Ham to give up 20% of their profit to Stoke will only be subtly influencing the club’s stance on Arnautovic, but it’s certainly a factor which will be playing on the minds of the key decision makers during a tedious period for the club.

West Ham fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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According to Football Insider, Middlesbrough have opened talks with Hull City over a potential deal for Kamil Grosicki before the transfer window closes.

What’s the story?

It would certainly be no surprise if Boro boss Tony Pulis is keen to boost his attack before the January transfer window closes for business, given his side has only scored 31 goals in 28 league games so far this term.

That said, Boro are still going quite well in the Championship this season, with a total of 47 points leaving them in fifth position.

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Only four teams have scored fewer Championship goals than Boro this term, however, which is incredible when considering their spot in the table.

According to Football Insider, Pulis views Grosicki as the perfect player to boost his options in the final third and a deal could go through on Thursday.

That said, Football Insider also claims that Monaco are also considering an approach for the 30-year-old before the deadline.

Would Grosicki be a good signing?

In short, yes. If Boro can secure the attacker’s services for a reasonable price then the deal is an absolute no-brainer for the promotion hopefuls.

Grosicki has scored four times and registered six assists, as per Transfemarkt, in 22 Championship appearances this term, whilst he has either scored or assisted on 30 occasions in his 76 appearances for the Tigers.

Grosicki is also a 64-time Poland international and has proved his class at Championship level over the last couple of seasons.

Boro have to improve their output in the final third of the field if they are to make a serious challenge for promotion this season.

And a move for Grosicki before the January transfer window closes would put the team in a very good position heading into the final few months of the campaign.

Unai Emery must prioritise signing a new left-back when the summer transfer window opens in a few months time.

The Spaniard has been forced to use Granit Xhaka at the back at times with Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac struggling with injuries. Emery seems unconvinced that the Bosnian international has the quality to be the starting left-back at the Emirates and will target a new left-sided defender when the window reopens according to reports in the Sun. He will be handed just £45m to strengthen his ranks but the sale of fringe players will add to his budget.

One man the Gunners could target is RB Leipzig prospect – Marcelo Saracchi.

Valued at just £12.6m by Transfermarkt, the Uruguayan is a new arrival at the club, joining in the summer from River Plate for just £10m. The defender has been hugely impressive during his short spell at the club, becoming a mainstay in the back four. Saracchi has performed well enough in the Bundesliga to make Arsenal scouts sit up and take notice.

The 20-year-old is an excellent defender who would add some much-needed stability to Emery’s back line. As well as his defensive prowess, Saracchi loves to bomb forward and contribute to the attack. With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang proving to be a massive success in the Premier League, his talents would be elevated by adding the Uruguay international to the left flank.

Still improving and developing with every game, the youngster would flourish under a world-class coach like Emery. After adapting to life in England, he would prove to be an excellent addition to the squad.

Arsenal fans, thoughts?

[ad_pod ]Newcastle United have identified two potential replacements for Rafael Benitez, per The Times.The Magpies are, per the aforementioned report, aware that Benitez could leave the club at the end of the season, when his contract expires.Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been placed on a shortlist to replace the Spaniard if he does choose to depart, along with former Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner.Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…Wagner left the club last month as the Terriers languished in the relegation zone, while Rodgers has a contract with the Scottish giants until 2021 and is chasing yet another domestic treble.Newcastle, meanwhile, have spent this season fighting off relegation. The Magpies face Wolves on Monday evening as they look to pull away from the drop zone.And fans are not happy with the links to Rodgers and Wagner, insisting that the club should do everything they can to ensure that Benitez stays at St. James’ Park for the foreseeable future.

Lee Bowyer has admitted that Lyle Taylor has rejected the offer of a contract extension at Charlton Athletic, as reported by London News Online.

Less than 48 hours after the 29-year-old took to Twitter claiming an offer hadn’t been made, Bowyer was quoted as saying: “Lyle has been offered a contract and he declined it. It’s his choice if he wants to sign it or not.

“We’ve offered him a good contract. Roland [Duchatelet] offered him what we think is a good contract.”

Following this admission, there seems to be every possibility that the Montserrat international could end up leaving, whether that is in January or the summer.

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With that in mind, it is vital that the Addicks manager is able to find a way of winning games without Taylor at his disposal.

Charlton got off to a flying start in the Championship this campaign, tasting victory in four of their opening six games, drawing the other two.

This came during a period in which Taylor was prolific, scoring five goals and assisting one more.

While there have been various other injuries for Charlton to contend with, it is no coincidence that the Addicks’ form dropped considerably as soon as he was out of action, winning just two of the next 13 games.

Even with Taylor slowly returning to the fold, playing 75 minutes across three substitute appearances, Bowyer’s side has managed just one draw.

The striker was also an integral player last season, making 35 goal contributions in League One and the play-offs.

There is a very realistic chance that he will have left The Valley by the start of next season if he refuses to sign a new contract and the club receives some tempting offers, so a solution needs to be found regarding how to play without him.

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This could come from playing with one leading striker rather than two and focusing on becoming a solid unit, or there could be an attempt made to find somebody who can play a similar role to the one he has fulfilled – though that will arguably be a difficult task without spending large amounts.

Whatever the solution is, Bowyer simply must find it if Charlton are to stay and thrive in the Championship without their talismanic striker.

In other news, a Charlton attacker has offered a reminder of how useful they can be.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United face Cardiff City this weekend in what is likely to be a very interesting clash between two chalk and cheese sides.

Leeds’ fluid and possession-based game comes up against Neil Harris’ no-nonsense brute force Cardiff outfit, and there is one key battle that could decide where the points end up.

Cardiff’s keys to victory

If Cardiff are to get anything about Leeds they’ll need to be watertight at the back while also being clinical up top.

The Bluebirds won’t see much of the ball this weekend as they harbour the second-lowest possession average in the league, while Leeds have the second highest.

United will get chances, but it’s up to Cardiff’s backline to make sure they don’t put them away, while at the other end the Bluebirds have to make any sight of goal count.

It may be fair to say that the Welsh side’s hopes lie on one man’s shoulders this weekend, and it’ll be interesting to see how Aden Flint fares against Patrick Bamford, not just at the back, but in terms of matching him as a goal threat at the other end of the pitch.

Key battle

While Patrick Bamford is often criticised for his efforts in front of goal, he’s still United’s biggest threat as he’s their top scorer this season.

Unfortunately, he’s not the best finisher in the division as he usually needs around ten shots to find the net, and with him averaging 3.3 efforts per game, Flint’s 1.1 blocks per outing should be enough to keep him at bay due to how inaccurate he is.

Leeds can’t look to go long at all this weekend as the stats show that Flint will absolutely dominate the aerial battle.

However, it’s not just at the back where Flint and Bamford will battle.

Despite being a centre-back, Flint’s height and tendency to get forward sees him become a viable attacking threat, and he could embarrass Bamford this weekend if he flexes his effectiveness in the opposition half.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa’s comments seem to completely contradict one choice he’s continuously made.

After their last-gasp win against Monterrey, Liverpool are through to the final of the Club World Cup. With Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo up next, one key battle could decide the final outcome.

On the chalkboard

The Reds just about squeezed past the CONCACAF champions. Despite having less shots and less on target, the Anfield outfit prevailed 2-1 thanks to a 90th minute goal from substitute Roberto Firmino.

Flamengo, meanwhile, were more comfortable in their victory against Asian Champions League holders Al Hilal. They prevailed 3-1 in their respective semi-final, although they did fall 1-0 behind early on.

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It should be an interesting match-up against arguably the two best teams in the competition. And there is one key battle that could end up deciding the match.

Wijnaldum to have his work cut out

As it stands, Jurgen Klopp’s men are struggling with injuries. Fabinho had been a vital part of Liverpool’s midfield before picking up an issue against Napoli – he has been called the best defensive midfielder in the world already this season by Gary Neville (Sky Sports via Metro) – and that has meant that Jordan Henderson has had to take up his position.

However, against Monterrey, he needed to drop back to centre-back after Virgil van Dijk was unable to feature. His absence follows Joel Matip’s and Dejan Lovren’s, both of whom have been unable to travel to Qatar for the tournament.

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That leaves Liverpool light in the midfield of the park. It is unclear whether Liverpool will play in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation – Klopp has used both in recent weeks – but we should expect Georginio Wijnaldum to be in the first XI. The Netherlands international was declared fit enough to be on the bench on Wednesday, and so he should be ready to play from the start this weekend.

He will have the unenviable task of having to deal with Giorgian de Arrascaeta. Whilst Gabriel Barbosa may have picked up most of the headlines with his goalscoring feats this term – he has 34 goals in 41 matches in Brazil – it is the Uruguay international who pulls the strings in this team.

Flamengo lifted the Brasileirao earlier this year, and De Arrascaeta was arguably their best player. He managed 13 goals and 14 assists in just 22 starts – 17 of the latter in all competitions – with his 2.5 key passes per game only behind Everton Ribeiro and his 2.2 dribbles leading the way amongst his teammates. He also scored the equaliser in that match against Al Hilal.

Wijnaldum, meanwhile, is not having his best campaign. He has picked up an average WhoScored rating of just 6.86, for example. In this match, he will need to step up to the plate. His 1.1 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per match are the best in midfield after Fabinho and Henderson, meaning that he is best equipped to take up the more defensive role against Flamengo – especially with it looking as though the captain will need to slot into the back four once more.

The South American champions are an exciting team, no doubt, and there are plenty of players that Liverpool will need to keep an eye on. De Arrascaeta, though, is perhaps the most dangerous of the lot, and Wijnaldum will have his work cut out keeping him quiet.

In other news, Liverpool are said to be monitoring this Serie A man.

Celtic ended the decade with their first defeat against their bitter rivals on their own turf since 2010.

For all of the trophies they’ve won over the last several years, it’s unlikely to sting too much in the grand scheme of things but it could still prove telling in the title race.

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers team are now just two points behind the Hoops who hold a slender advantage at the top of the Scottish top-flight.

Sunday’s game was filled with controversy as referee Kevin Clancy dished out red cards to Alfredo Morelos and Gers assistant Micheal Beale while he allowed Odsonne Edouard’s goal to stand despite the ball striking his hand.

Everything but the scoreline seemed to go Celtic’s way as they eventually lost 2-1. Furious with the team’s lacklustre performance, amassing just five shots on target from a possible 11, the hosts’ supporters did at least find some praise for a few of their players.

They felt as though Christopher Jullien, among a few others, were the only players deserving of any pass marks.

Frimpong has earned various plaudits from supporters already this term so it was hardly a surprise to see his name become a discussion point again.

On the contrary, there was one supporter who wasn’t pleased with the young right-back’s display. Instead, he was slated as Jullien was singled out as the solitary player among Neil Lennon’s ranks to do well.

Throughout the encounter, he played a part in ensuring Celtic kept 57% of the possession while he twice had attempts cleared off the line when in the final third. BBC journalist Tom English described him as the club’s biggest threat so it wasn’t a great shock to see Jullien earn positive reviews.

Other supporters were more analytical of the situation as one individual came to the conclusion that he was ten times better than Norwegian Kristoffer Ajer. That feels like quite the statement to make given he’s been linked with the likes of Leicester in recent times.

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A further Twitter user described him as immense and it was clear to see why judging by his performance.

The 26-year-old was the player to earn the Hoops a penalty, only for the spot-kick to be missed while he was unfortunate not to score himself. On another day, the defender could have been the difference for Lennon’s side.

In other news, one Celtic star has been described as frightening…