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Speaking in a Leeds Live Q&A session, journalist Beren Cross has shared what he knows on star midfielder Kalvin Phillips and a possible new deal.

The Lowdown: Phillips exit rumours…

Due to his stellar performances at club and international level last season, the Leeds favourite has been linked with a move away from Elland Road all summer until now.

Indeed, the Englishman has attracted interest from Manchester United amid their search for central midfield alternatives in what could be a future worry for manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Now, in an update, Cross has shared what he believes involving Phillips and his future at the club.

The Latest: Cross makes Phillips claim…

Speaking in the Q&A, Leeds reporter Cross refuses to rule out an exit for the 25-year-old in future but has made an exciting contract claim – and one which could ensure the Whites get the ‘best deal possible’.

When asked about the Phillips situation, he replied: “There would need to be some eye-watering bids for Leeds to even contemplate selling Raphinha or Phillips in January, especially if they’re still in the bottom quarter of the table at that time.

“Next summer is a more realistic time for those bids to come in and Leeds cannot stop other clubs bidding for their players. Sporting directors would not be doing their jobs properly if they did not take a look at talents like those two who, currently, do not play European football with their club.

“Leeds may not want to sell next summer, but they will surely be realistic enough to know every player has their price. Do not be surprised to see Phillips sign a new contract in the near future.

“That will boost his transfer value even higher and as Bielsa said recently, if and when he decides to go, he will ensure Leeds get the best deal possible from it.”

The Verdict: Smart move…

If Bielsa and Leeds do have to surrender one of their best players in future, the least they can do is recuperate as much money as possible from any deal.

Lauded as an ‘unbelievable’ player by pundit Kevin Phillips, the tenacious midfielder should have no trouble attracting big bids considering his age, form, performances and the fact he is homegrown.

Adding a new contract on top of that would only better Leeds’ chances to really make a profit.

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing exciting Sheffield United forward Daniel Jebbison in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Jebbison breaks record

The Blades may have had a season to forget last time around, suffering relegation from the Premier League, but Jebbison produced a moment to treasure.

The 18-year-old became the youngest-ever player to score on his full debut in the competition – he was 17 years and 309 days old at the time – bagging the only goal in a 1-0 win at Everton.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Leeds linked with move

According to TEAMtalk, Leeds are eyeing up a move for the forward this summer, with the report claiming they ‘have an interest’ in him.

Aston Villa and Brentford are also mentioned as potential suitors, with Jebbison making five appearances for the Blades to date.

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The Verdict: One for the future

The Canadian looks a hot prospect with a bright career ahead of him, so it would be exciting to see him trade Bramall Lane for Elland Road.

He has been hailed as ‘fantastic’ by Micah Richards in the past and could perhaps be viewed as a long-term replacement for Patrick Bamford.

Jebbison likely wouldn’t be considered an immediate first-team option if he did join Leeds, but it is important that Marcelo Bielsa looks towards the future, as well as the present, with the Whites having already made additions to their youth set-up this summer.

In other news, Phil Hay has claimed that one player will join Leeds this summer. Find out who it is here.

Steven Gerrard’s return to Liverpool as Aston Villa manager ended in a 1-0 defeat on Saturday. 

Mohamed Salah’s 67th-minute penalty proved to be all that separated the title-chasing Reds and mid-table Villa at Anfield.

Gerrard sits third on Liverpool’s all-time appearance list on 710, with only Jamie Carragher (737) and Ian Callaghan (857) ahead of him. He won 11 trophies with the Reds during his playing career, including the Champions League in 2005.

Jurgen Klopp said in his pre-match press conference on Friday that the former Liverpool midfielder would ‘definitely’ be managing the club himself one day, ‘and that is good for everybody’.

What did Gerrard say after the game?

When Gerrard emerged from the tunnel ahead of the match, he was greeted by applause from the Liverpool supporters at Anfield.

Asked about the reception from Kopites after the game, the 41-year-old insisted that his ‘priority is the support from the Aston Villa fans’.

Fan feed Anfield Edition relayed his comments, and here’s how a selection of Reds responded, with one branding the Villa manager’s words as “weird”.

Liverpool fans critical of Gerrard

“Stupid answer to be honest. He didn’t have to do that, no Villa fan would have been angry if he thanked the fans for their support. He’s putting up too much of an act it’s unnecessary. Maybe it’s a British thing, this is what Rodgers would do.”

Credit: @lfc_eddie

“He goes overboard to look professional like Carra.”

Credit: @sonofanfield1

“I know he has to be professional but he’s just being so weird”

Credit: @jurgeners

“Trying too hard, literally just say it was nice to hear and move on.”

Credit: @VigoGJ

“Trying so hard to be liked by Villa fans. Doesn’t need to hide the fact he loves Liverpool”

Credit: @Mike_Hampson10

“Wow, he’s really trying his best to be disliked by Liverpool fans.”

Credit: @AlexdelPaso

In other news, Liverpool have been backed to land this Barcelona star

Newcastle United are keen on Burnley’s Ben Mee in addition to his centre-back partner James Tarkowski, according to The Mirror’s James Nursey. 

The lowdown

Back in October, it was reported that Tarkowski was one of the first targets of the new regime (via The Telegraph), but it has now emerged that Mee, whose contract is also up at the end of the season, is attracting the Magpies’ interest as well.

The Northern Echo’s Scott Wilson has previously written that Newcastle’s new owners would focus heavily on players in the final months of their deals.

It should be noted that, in the case of Mee, who is valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt, there is the option for a further year. He has been described as a ‘true leader’ and an ‘underrated’ defender by TV pundit Micah Richards.

The latest

According to The Mirror, Eddie Howe is ‘desperate’ to bring in a new centre-back and likes both players. His former club Burnley are unlikely to let both of them leave, but importantly, Newcastle are in a position to double their wages.

Mee and Tarkowski are the top two earners at Turf Moor, taking home £55,000 and £50,000 per week respectively.

The verdict

As noted by Nursey, there is an added advantage to targeting Burnley players – weakening a likely relegation rival.

Newcastle are shipping an average of two goals per game this season, and the hope would be that Mee and/or Tarkowski could give them a more secure platform for their survival bid. This was a duo which helped Burnley to keep 15 clean sheets in the 2019/20 season – a record bettered only by Manchester City.

Compared to positional peers in the top five leagues, Mee ranks in the 99th percentile for aerial duels won and the 97th for clearances. Based on those figures, he could help Newcastle immeasurably when their backs are against the wall.

In other news, Newcastle are also interested in this ‘incredible talent’

An update has emerged on Real Madrid attacker Mariano Diaz and it involves Newcastle United.

What’s the talk?

According to Jeunes Footeux, via TeamTalk, Real Madrid have offered Newcastle the chance to sign Mariano Diaz this summer.

The Magpies are said to be weighing up a swoop for the attacker, who has fallen out of favour at the Spanish club and as such, is now seeking a new club.

Imagine him and Wilson

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce must seal a deal for the forward this summer and take up the opportunity Real are giving them.

Goals were hard to come by in the Premier League last season and bringing in extra firepower could help to alleviate that particular issue.

Out of the players currently in the squad, Callum Wilson is the only one who managed more than four goals in the league. The ex-Bournemouth star was terrific as he plundered 12, with Joelinton’s four the next-highest after loanee Joe Willock’s eight, but the Arsenal man remains at The Emirates, for now at least.

Bruce lined up with a 4-4-2 on occasions last term with Joelinton and Wilson as a front two. However, four goals in 31 appearances (23 starts) is not an impressive return from the former.

This is why Mariano could come in and take his place in the side. Lyon assistant boss Gerald Baticle once labelled him as a real goalscorer, claiming that his first intention is always to shoot.

He told EuroSport, via GOAL:

“He’s a real goalscorer.”

“When others might want to make a pass, his first idea is to find an angle to shoot towards goal. All his play is in the centre towards goal.

“Of course, with his first touch, he has to raise his head more often to take in more information and make better choices. But in individual raids, he’s good because he’s capable of piercing the lines.”

His game time has been extremely limited at Real Madrid in recent seasons, but his goal-to-start ratio is excellent with six goals in nine starts across La Liga and the Champions League.

In his last season of playing regular football, he scored 18 goals in 30 Ligue 1 starts for Lyon, averaging a terrific WhoScored rating of 7.15.

This suggests that he could have the potential to arrive at St. James’ Park and score goals in the Premier League, as he has shown he can do it in Ligue 1 – another top league in Europe. It is difficult to say he is proven in La Liga and the Champions League, as the evidence is sparse, but the signs are there that he could have scored more goals if he had been given more chances from the start.

Therefore, bringing in Diaz could complete Newcastle’s attack and hand Wilson a competent partner at the top end of the pitch.

The Real Madrid man will just need to show that he can rediscover his Lyon form because his statistics for the French side dwarf anything Joelinton has been able to do in England.

AND in other news, Telegraph drop update on “terrific” £22m gem, that will leave NUFC fans on cloud nine…

West Ham are said to be among the clubs interested in signing Martin Braithwaite this summer…

What’s the word?

According to Spanish outlet Sport, the Irons are one of four Premier League teams to have enquired to La Liga giants Barcelona over a potential move for the Denmark striker in this transfer window. Brighton, Burnley and newly-promoted Norwich City are the other teams mentioned by the report.

After the signings of Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay, it seems likely that the Danish international will leave the Nou Camp and they want to recoup as much as they can of the €18m (£15m) they paid for him back in February 2020.

Avoid at all costs

It’s no secret that West Ham manager David Moyes is keen to bolster his frontline ahead of next season.

The Irons will be competing in the Europa League, which means there’s a serious potential of a 50-plus game season, and right now they aren’t well-equipped to deal with it in terms of squad depth, especially upfront.

Moyes was left with only one senior centre-forward following the departure of Sebastian Haller in January in the form of the injury-prone Michail Antonio, who is yet to start more than 24 Premier League games in a season for the club.

However, Braithwaite is far from the ideal candidate to help the Hammers next season. After all, he has struggled in England before and that wasn’t even in the top flight.

The £26m-rated forward endured a disastrous and controversial spell under Tony Pulis at Middlesbrough in the Championship, where he only bagged nine goals before he expressed his desire to leave the club.

Speaking about the incident at the time, the stern Welshman blasted the Dane’s “disrespect” for the club, claiming that he was “the highest-paid player I’ve ever worked with” and that he was an “ungrateful person,” as per Gazzette Live.

Somehow, Braithwaite has found himself at Barcelona, where he has continued to show that he’s just not good enough in front of goal, even when the likes of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann are providing him support.

In 29 league appearances for the Catalan giants last season, the 5 foot 10 striker has found the net just twice, taking his career total to 93 in 401 appearances – that’s one goal every 4.3 matches.

He must be avoided at all costs by West Ham.

AND in other news, Moyes could sign West Ham’s next Ferdinand in “tremendous” £7.2m-rated “great leader”…

It’s not often Crystal Palace splash out on big-money signings, but when they have done in the past, it’s often been with rather underwhelming results.

According to Transfermarkt, the Eagles have only gone over the £25 million mark for a player on two occasions, with Liverpool benefitting from their at-best average recruitment on both occasions.

The first time that Palace’s chairman Steve Parish spent such a sum was on Christian Benteke after Jurgen Klopp immediately decided the Belgium international had no future under him at Anfield.

After scoring a highly respected total of 49 goals in 101 appearances during a three-year spell with Aston Villa, Benteke’s arrival at Selhurst Park was deemed a smart move at the time.

He had just endured a difficult season at Liverpool in 2015/16 where he started just 14 Premier League fixtures, but a healthy goal return of 10 strikes in all competitions indicated he was still capable of performing at the highest level.

That led to Parish stumping up a club-record £28m to prize Benteke away from Merseyside, yet the capital club have been left rather short-changed by the now 30-year-old’s returns.

In 151 outings for Palace, the target man has found the back of the net on just 33 occasions, highlighting his struggles since leaving Villa Park six years ago.

Benteke’s drastic drop-off in form has seen his market value drop to just £8.1m despite him still being in his prime years, something which may be a significant concern to the club’s hierarchy.

The £120,00o-per-week flop now has serious competition for his place following the arrival of fellow striker Odsonne Edouard, and the Frenchman’s brace last time out should consign Benteke to the bench for the foreseeable future.

And, in other news…Parish made big Palace mistake over £6.3m-rated wizard, he’s excelling this season 

Crystal Palace must be regretting the decision to allow Andros Townsend to depart the club this summer as he has begun life at Premier League rivals Everton in scintillating fashion.

The 30-year-old was allowed to leave Selhurst Park on a free transfer as new manager Patrick Vieira overhauled his first team squad, but he has already gone on to prove his worth on Merseyside.

What was the word?

Townsend was one of many ageing players to be released by Palace following the conclusion of 2020/21, but he revealed back in June that negotiations over a new deal were taking place with the capital club.

“We’re still having brief discussions,” Townsend told talkSPORT (as reported by Football.London).”The club have told all of us that there’s no decisions being made until a manager has been appointed.

“Since then, Christian Benteke has signed a new deal, so… (laughs). So I don’t know. I want to be somewhere on July 1st.

“My agent is in the background now getting as much interest put into an offer, and then I’ll sit down with my agent, and around July 1st (we’ll) see which one is the best for me at this time in my career.”

However, just a month later, the Evening Standard reported that a change in circumstances meant that the former England international would not be returning to Palace, leaving the door open for Everton to swoop.

One that got away?

Although Townsend didn’t accumulate an abundance of goal contributions during his five-year stay in south London, bagging 16 goals and providing 28 assists in 185 appearances for the Eagles, he played a pivotal part in their success under Roy Hodgson.

Last season, as per WhoScored, the former England international’s respectable haul of five Premier League assists was bettered only by Eberechi Eze, while the pair’s 1.1 shots per league game were the joint-third highest totals amongst their Palace teammates.

Townsend’s tally of 1.2 key passes per league game was second only to Eze, while his match average of 1.3 dribbles was the fourth-highest total when compared to his former Eagles colleagues [WhoScored].

Constantly supplying the likes of Benteke and Wilfried Zaha with a stream of quality crosses is where the speed demon really excelled. He recorded 1.6 crosses per league match throughout 2020/21, the highest tally amongst the Palace squad.

There were question marks over whether Townsend could make the step up to Everton, but so far he has done so with ease, bagging two goals and laying on two assists in just five outings in all competitions.

His outrageous long-range strike against Burnley on Monday night was a reminder of just how good he can be on his day and may leave a large section of Palace fans ruing Steve Parish’s decision not to renew the £6.3m-rated wizard’s contract.

In other news… Imagine him and Zaha: Vieira must unleash “magnificent” Palace gem against Liverpool 

Ipswich must seal a deal for “exceptional” Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher this summer.

What’s the talk?

According to Ipswich outlet TWTD, Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is one of the players on the club’s radar ahead of the summer transfer window. Ipswich are in the market for a new number one for the 2021/22 campaign and have identified Kelleher as a potential replacement for Tomas Holy.

The report claims that Liverpool are willing to let Kelleher leave the club on loan this summer. Jurgen Klopp wants the Ireland international to experience regular first-team football and Ipswich are hoping to be the club to provide him with that.

Kelleher kept a clean sheet in the Champions League against Ajax in 2020 and Klopp hailed the “exceptional” shot-stopper for remaining patient and taking his chance. He told GOAL:

“Caoimhin is a sensationally talented goalie. And for goalies, it’s really difficult. Goalies have to wait, they can be exceptional but they have to wait for their chance because there’s only one goalie on the pitch and if he plays for 10 years in a row, it’s pretty difficult. You can be still a wonderful goalie and nobody will see.

“Now he got the chance and I think he convinced everybody. He didn’t have to convince us, obviously – we thought it will be like this. But he convinced everybody, that’s good.”

Cook would love it

Paul Cook would love it if Ipswich were able to seal a deal for Kelleher. It would be a major boost to his squad heading into next season after the issues they dealt with between the sticks in the campaign just gone. Tomas Holy started 36 of Town’s games, averaging an unimpressive WhoScored rating of 6.67. 30-year-old David Cornell was in goal for the other 10 League One matches and he failed to step up to the mark, with a dismal score of 6.58.

This has left the door open for a goalkeeper to come in and stake a claim for the number one jersey and Kelleher could be the perfect man for the job. The Irishman, as mentioned above, needs regular game time to take the next step in his development and playing 46 league games in a potential promotion season for Ipswich could be an ideal move for all parties involved. He could come in and get the experience Liverpool want him to get whilst also improving Cook’s current squad.

The £6k-per-week ace caught the eye in a breakthrough season at Liverpool. Kelleher managed to play five competitive games for Liverpool as cover for first-choice Alisson and put in some superb displays between the sticks. He conceded three goals and kept two clean sheets in the five matches, averaging a sensational WhoScored rating of 7.17. This suggests that he could be a major improvement on Holy and Cornell.

Cook will be buzzing if he can secure a deal for the 22-year-old to join the club this summer.

AND in other news, Ipswich must seal deal for 6ft 2 £5.1k-p/w goal machine, Cook needs him…

John Beaton has been confirmed as the referee for Sunday’s crucial Scottish Premiership clash between Celtic and Rangers at Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Massive game at Parkhead

Ange Postecoglou’s side kept up their six-point lead over their rivals on Sunday afternoon, picking up a precious 2-0 victory away to Ross County.

Next up for the Hoops is this weekend’s critical Old Firm derby meeting at Parkhead, with a win for the hosts all but securing title glory after missing out last year.

It is a game that can sometimes be defined by the refereeing performance – Bobby Madden’s display drew plenty of conversation in the cup semi-final – and the man in the middle has now been confirmed for Sunday’s meeting.

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The Latest: Beaton takes charge

It is Beaton who will take charge of proceedings at Parkhead, reports The Scotsman, and based on his own judgement, Hoops fans may not be particularly pleased to see him with the whistle.

Back in 2020, Beaton himself admitted that Celtic supporters would ‘absolutely love’ to get rid of Scottish referees for this fixture, claiming ‘everybody’ except the officials themselves want them replaced.

The Verdict: Unpopular choice

The appointment of Beaton will not go down well with Postecoglou and his players, or the fans for that matter – he has even hinted at preferring refereeing behind closed doors, saying in those comments back in 2020 life was easier without the intensity from the fans.

That said, Celtic need to focus on the task at hand and ignore any controversy – if the Hoops allow the referee to get to them, the only people it is going to affect is themselves, on what is a potentially defining afternoon in the title race.

Essentially, all the pressure is on Rangers, who really have to win the match – the only hope is that Beaton doesn’t end up having a negative say on matters.

In other news, an ex-Celtic hero has taken a dig at Rangers ahead of Sunday’s game. Read more here.