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Pundit Kevin Campbell has issued criticism for West Bromwich Albion’s creative midfielder Matheus Pereira.

Campbell believes that while Pereira had a great campaign in the Championship last season, he has endured a rather disappointing Premier League campaign, failing to live up to the hype.

Pereira hasn’t stepped up

Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell made it clear that he does rate striker Mbaye Diagne, but the striker isn’t getting enough service from the likes of Pereira. Campbell feels that West Brom’s better players should’ve stepped up in the Premier League, but Pereira hasn’t done that.

He said: “I think the football club expected Pereira to have a hell of a season because he took the Championship by storm. They thought they had a match-winner in him because he can score and create goals.

“Let’s be honest though, he has been pretty disappointing. You need your better players to step up, especially at the top end of the pitch and we haven’t seen him do that.

“There has been flashes here and there but the Premier League is different from Championship, it is where you earn you name. He has not stepped up.

“I really like Mbaye Diagne up front but he does not get enough service. He is battling the whole back four but he does not get any service – that is the problem. If you are going to get him in you have to provide for him.”

The 24-year-old Pereira had joined West Brom on loan from Sporting Lisbon originally, but the move was made permanent in the summer of 2020.

Currently valued at £11.70m, Pereira had impressed in the Championship while contributing to 28 goals in all competitions. In the current season though, he has contributed to just eight Premier League goals.

Pereira hasn’t had a bad season

Pereira has picked up a rating of 6.74 in the Premier League this season and only four West Brom players have picked up better ratings than the Brazilian. He is still the club’s highest goalscorer and the highest assister. He has also played the highest number of key passes per game for the side (as per Whoscored).

With all due respect, there are other players in the team who deserve more criticism than the player leading the way in both goal threat and creativity.

In other news, many West Brom fans are angry at a news about a midfielder – read more here.

A goal from Ryan Jack helped Glasgow Rangers move one step closer to the Premiership title with a narrow 1-0 win over Scottish rivals Kilmarnock at Ibrox.

The Light Blues certainly weren’t anywhere near their fluent best to face Kilmarnock but they got over the line, eventually, after the midfielder let rip with a thunderous effort from 25 yards to break the deadlock shortly before half-time.

Despite their best efforts, Steven Gerrard’s side couldn’t extend their lead in the game any further, although they still managed to move 21 points clear of second-placed Celtic.

Ryan Kent has oft been criticised by some quarters of the fan base for a perceived lack of end product and those calls may rear their ugly head after he missed an easy chance in the second half.

However, no player was arguably any worse than Cedric Itten, who failed to make the most of his opportunity to lead the line for Rangers during the ban-enforced absences of Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe.

Itten, who was used as a lone striker in the Gers’ 1-0 win against Killie, endured a rather frustrating afternoon as, other than a couple of nice touches in the first half, he was hardly involved at all.

The 24-year-old centre-forward struggled to have much of an influence on the game, producing just 11 out of 19 passes at a pass success rate of 58%, which was far below his season’s average of 65%, whilst he also took fewer touches than Kent (38).

He also lost possession 17 times in the entire game, suggesting that he spent a large amount of his time giving the ball back to the opposition, as it’s fair to say that he looked lost for ideas, particularly in the final third.

With Morelos and Roofe set to return from suspension in time to face Antwerp in the Europa League, Itten may regret his missed chance to stake his claim for a starting spot in Gerrard’s XI.

AND in other news, James Tavernier’s quality shone the brightest as Rangers bested Kilmarnock…

Whilst Rangers were dominant throughout the game on Wednesday night, there were some disappointing performances from a few of Steven Gerrard’s men.

The Gers pushed an pushed at Livingston on Wednesday night and deserved to come away with the three points after Alfredo Morelos’ late winner, but not every player in a blue shirt played well at the Almondvale Stadium.

Ryan Kent, in particular, was nowhere near his usual standard, with the former Liverpool man struggling to impose himself against David Martindale’s side.

As per SofaScore, the winger would earn a disappointing 6.4 rating for his display, which was the worst of any Rangers player who started the game, and the joint-worst of any player on the pitch.

Whilst Livingston’s tactics of fouling Kent nearly every time he got the ball will have frustrated the winger and Steven Gerrard, they were effective, as it prevented him from having any real impact on the game.

During his 89 minutes on the pitch, the 24-year-old, who reportedly earns £20k per week at Rangers, would fail in his one dribble attempt and would have no shots on target whatsoever.

This is way below the 1.8 dribbles and 2.4 shots per game he has averaged in the Scottish Premiership this season, emphasising that he wasn’t anywhere near his best.

Kent is usually one of Rangers’ most influential players in attack but he was limited to just 39 touches of the ball on Wednesday evening, the fewest of any Rangers player, including goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who would have 48.

The shot-stopper also completed more passes (48) than Kent (20), which again goes to show just how little he was involved during his time on the pitch, as he has averaged 40 passes per game so far this season.

Despite Livingston’s lack of possession, their right-winger Joshua Mullin would have more touches than Kent and would play three key passes compared to Kent’s zero, so it was no surprise to see him rated so low.

Therefore, it could definitely be argued that the winger’s performance was the one blip on a good night for Gerrard, as his side could now seal the title at the weekend if results go their way.

And, in other news… Forget Morelos: “Outstanding” beast who won 88% of his duels was Gerrard’s ace

It has been reported recently in The Athletic that Southampton are willing to let Michael Obafemi leave in the January transfer window, should they agree a deal which suits both parties, meaning he could be allowed to leave on loan or permanently.

The Irishman has struggled for game time for the Saints this season, with Ralph Hasenhuttl rarely deviating from his front two of Che Adams and Danny Ings.

Even when Ings has been sidelined through injury, the Austrian manager has preferred loan signing Theo Walcott up front, whilst it seems as if youngsters Dan N’Lundulu and Nathan Tella have both moved ahead of Obafemi in the Saints pecking order.

As a result, he has made just one substitute appearance in the Premier League so far this season, which will undoubtedly be disappointing for the 20-year-old when you consider that last season saw him make 21 appearances in the top-flight.

Hasenhuttl has criticised the youngster’s professionalism in the past, saying:

“The problem with Michael was always he would play one good game and then fall back a little bit and was not professional enough to force or keep his position in the team or in the squad.”

However, he has still shown himself as capable of being a threat in the Premier League, having contributed four goals and three assists in 29 appearances in the top-flight.

With Ings now sidelined after picking up a hamstring injury, you would hope that Obafemi would be given an opportunity to impress in the Saints’ upcoming fixtures, instead of goal-shy 33-year-old Shane Long, who started the Boxing Day fixture against Fulham.

Unless Obafemi can impress Hasenhuttl with his work rate in training, however, he is unlikely to be selected to replace Ings. The England international has proved to be a constant threat with his pressing in recent seasons, something which Obafemi hasn’t really shown so far in his time with the club.

The Republic of Ireland international is still just 20-years-old though and considering his contract is set to run until 2022, Martin Semmens and the Southampton board shouldn’t rush into a decision on the youngster in January, simply because he isn’t featuring as much in the first-team this season.

A loan move would perhaps be sensible, to ensure that Obafemi’s progress isn’t stifled too much, as they could definitely end up regretting selling the £4.05 million rated forward, as he showed enough last season to prove he can be a part of this Saints squad in the future.

Certainly, with Ings’ future still hanging in the balance, with the former Liverpool man yet to agree a new contract with the club, it would make even less sense to let Obafemi leave permanently, as the youngster could well prove to be the natural successor to Ings, provided he can start to show a bit more professionalism and prove to Hasenhuttl that he deserves to start.

It will be interesting to see whether the 20-year-old gets his chance in the Southampton first-team in the coming weeks but even if he doesn’t, the South Coast club shouldn’t allow him to leave permanently in the January transfer window.

And, in other news… Hasenhuttl must make a brutal decision on “unbelievable” ace not good enough for the PL…

Former Scottish Premiership player Michael Stewart has criticised Celtic after their 0-0 draw against Livingston yesterday.

Stewart slams Celtic

The Bhoys were forced to select from a threadbare squad for the second game running with 13 other players, along with manager Neil Lennon, still having to self-isolate following their return from Dubai, where they were deemed close contacts after Christopher Jullien’s positive COVID test.

Coach Gavin Strachan was left frustrated after the final whistle after admitting that his team allowed Livingston to “impose their style on us” (via BBC Sport).

Speaking after the game, Stewart was not impressed with what he saw and he believes that the Parkhead club are at rock bottom.

He said, on Twitter: “Celtic’s season is whimpering to an end. No energy, no desire, no urgency and psychologically they now look as low as ever.

“Livingston were aggressive in their play at Parkhead and are understandably disappointed with only taking a point.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

The weeks ahead are likely to get tougher and tougher for the likes of Lennon and chief executive Peter Lawwell, whose apology did not go down well with the Celtic Park faithful.

Before Rangers made the trip to Motherwell this lunchtime, Celtic were 20 points behind their arch-rivals and it looks highly unlikely that they will secure a 10th title-in-a-row.

With reports of mass changes set to take place in the summer, a fresh start next season is, probably, what Celtic need.

In other news, Chris Sutton highlights further Celtic concern amid ‘absolute disaster.’

Now that Leeds United have returned to the Premier League, the rumour mill surrounding their potential January business is working overtime. The Championship title winners have recently been linked to a move for Liverpool’s fringe striker Divock Origi by Football Insider pundit Kevin Phillips, after he has slipped drastically down the pecking order since the arrival of Diogo Jota.

Whilst Leeds already boast one of the most clinical strikers in the league, they are severely lacking creativity in other parts of the team. If they moved to sign Origi, he would not only pair up nicely with Patrick Bamford, but he would bring experience in abundance to pass on to the likes of Joe Gelhardt and Tyler Roberts.

Why Leeds should sign Origi from Liverpool

Marcelo Bielsa is stubborn when it comes to his starting lineups and seldom strays from his 4-1-4-1 formation. However, bringing in a talent like Origi would warrant a change in his tactics.

The striker has 29 caps for Belgium and has spent five years with Liverpool. In that time he has won the Premier League, Club World Cup, Super Cup and played a huge part in their sixth Champions League title in 2018.

This is experience that no money can buy and it will be invaluable to a side like Leeds who were out of the Premier League for 16 years before their recent promotion. Origi has made a total of 145 appearances for the Reds and has scored 35 goals (via Transfermarkt). He has come up against the toughest opponents and has been a part of Jurgen Klopp’s high-intensity tactics, which could inject a new sense of creativity into Bielsa’s team.

His knowledge and experience would also help out the younger forwards who are vying for time in the senior Leeds squad. Plus, being valued at £14million, he wouldn’t cost Andrea Radrizzani too much to sign.

Liverpool will likely be looking to let the Belgian leave and would be happy to take anything in excess of the £10million they paid to sign him from Lille in 2015. Although Jurgen Klopp is a fan of the “outstanding” 25-year-old, he simply cannot find room for him in the squad.

In other news, Bielsa could bag three points following West Ham injury blow…

Crystal Palace centre-back Gary Cahill played through the pain barrier on Saturday afternoon but this wasn’t enough to prevent The Eagles from conceding seven goals against Premier League leaders Liverpool at Selhurst Park.

What’s the word?

Despite his best efforts, the Eagles fell behind early on after Sadio Mane set up Takumi Minamino, who slotted home from close range to score his first Premier League goal. Mane doubled Liverpool’s advantage shortly before the break and Roberto Firmino scored finished off a lovely move to further rub salt in the wound just before half-time.

Jordan Henderson scored a screamer just after the restart before Firmino bagged his second of the game and Mo Salah added the extras.

Palace’s chances were few and far between, although Jordan Ayew forced a fine save from Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, but the Eagles were unable to get a foothold on the game.

Speaking in the post-match conference, Roy Hodgson cut a sorry figure as he delivered his verdict on the shocking manner of the defeat. The Palace boss confirmed Cahill has suffered a reoccurrence of the hamstring injury that saw him miss the start of the season, saying:

“That was a bit frustrating because we did ask him on many occasions if his hamstring was ok, but he kept ensuring us it was ok and that he could carry on, but then in the last 10, he felt it even more and, of course, we had to sort of push him up front and labour on with 10 men.

“Again, one of those things I suppose that’s going to happen in a game of football sometimes. There’s so much more for me to ponder and concern myself with and be very, very sad about today than whether Gary should have come off or not.”

Get it done, Eagles

Should Cahill be sidelined for the foreseeable future, it’s highly likely Hodgson will be forced to call Scott Dann into action, which is precisely why Steve Parish must reward him with a new contract as his current deal will run out at the end of the season.

Having started seven out of his nine appearances in the Premier League so far this season, the Liverpudlian was left as an unused substitute on the bench as Jurgen Klopp’s side put the Eagles to the sword.

We’ll be the first to admit that we’ve criticised Dann on occasions, as he was largely at fault for the abysmal display against Newcastle United.

However, given his status as one of the elder statesmen at Selhurst Park, it’s clear Hodgson has a lot of faith in the defender. His reliability at the back could prove useful in the absence of Cahill, who was run ragged by the Reds as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson caused havoc on the wings.

Valued at £2.5m by Transfermarkt, Dann has become an integral part of Hodgson’s side as they’ve cemented their place in the Premier League. Once lauded as a “terrific” true professional by his former manager Alan Pardew, in 16 appearances in the top flight last term, he averaged a staggering 4 clearances per game, via WhoScored.

With the 33-year-old recently linked with the Selhurst Park exit amid interest from Fulham, Parish would be wise to sanction an extension for the veteran, as there’s no doubt he will have a big part to play between now and the winter break.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Burnley boss Sean Dyche tipped to replace Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace…

Leeds United had a transfer window to remember.

The Whites spent almost £100m on new talent, but despite so many additions, one of the biggest stories of the summer was a transfer that didn’t go through.

Indeed, Michael Cuisance’s failed transfer from Bayern Munich made a lot of headlines this summer, but Leeds’ failure to sign another transfer target should haunt them even more than that one.

United looked set to sign Gyrano Kerk earlier in the window, but for one reason or another, he didn’t become a United player before the deadline.

Leeds did end up signing a winger in the shape of Raphinha, but Kerk has wasted no time in showing Leeds what they’ve missed out on.

The Dutchman has made a flying start to the 2020/21 season, netting twice in his first three appearances for FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie.

The £3.6m-rated ace has been tearing it up in his home country, and if he continues this type of form, Leeds will live to regret missing out on him this summer.

There is a positive to take from his good form for Leeds, the club were seemingly on the right track with their scouting which is always a good sign, but it’s impossible to ignore the fact that their failure to sign him in the summer could come back to bite them, especially if Raphinha flops.

Cuisance was the big story when his deal collapsed, but we can’t help but feel that more should be made about Leeds’ failure to close out a deal for Kerk as he looks the real deal so far this season, winning two WhoScored Man of the Match awards to go alongside his two goals in Utrecht’s first three games of the season.

Time will tell whether or not Kerk is that good or if he’s a flash in the pan, but at the moment, Leeds look to have missed out on a real gem.

Sunderland’s capture of former Plymouth Argyle defender Callum McFadzean finally came good when handed his Black Cats debut in defeat to Mansfield Town during Saturday’s FA Cup First Round tie.

McFadzean moved to the Stadium of Light at the end of the transfer market to answer manager Phil Parkinson’s search for depth, having been released by the Pilgrims earlier this summer after 30 appearances during a one-year spell at Home Park.

Parkinson had opted against awarding the 26-year-old his chance to impress in the North East during his first weeks as a Sunderland player, despite hinting the wide defender who can also play at centre-half could feature in October’s defeat to rivals Portsmouth.

McFadzean finally saw game time in red and white this Saturday when the Black Cats visited Mansfield hoping to kick off their FA Cup campaign with a win. But while Sunderland lost, he was the clear silver lining.

Sunderland bowed out of the FA Cup after a poor second-half display from too many of Parkinson’s men, with chances to score few and far between from a side featuring the likes of Will Grigg and Danny Graham – two players with a combined 192 career goals.

Mansfield defended well to thwart the Black Cats in most, and eventually broke the deadlock through George Lapslie in the 49th-minute to begin Nigel Clough’s reign with the League Two Stags’ first win in any competition this term.

McFadzean presented a consistent threat during an impressive debut as he strived to help find a way back into the tie, with his series of excellent deliveries worthy of more than seeing Graham smash the crossbar from a few yards out.

The former Bury wing-back also forced Stags shot-stopper Marek Stech into action late in the first half, and impressed Parkinson during his time on the field.

“He’s only been with us a couple of weeks but with Denver [Hume] and Goochy [Lynden Gooch] being out, we decided to play him,” Parkinson said, via quotes by the Sunderland Echo.

“I had to protect him by bringing him off towards the end, because we don’t want him getting injured going forward. But he showed what he’s all about, and put in three or four top-class deliveries.

“He’s different to Denver in the way he gets into those areas, but he can be equally effective. I think he’ll be a good signing for us.”

Parkinson will no doubt be hopeful of seeing similar performances from McFadzean down the stretch, and may consider fielding the 26-year-old enforcer again when Sunderland visit Fleetwood Town in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday night.

AND in other news, Phil Parkinson has confirmed a major blow for a Sunderland gem he begged to “let his football do the talking”.

The English Football League (EFL) are looking to change the rules on how the season would end if a points-per-game system had to be used once again.

Sunderland missed out on promotion last term via the PPG system, finishing eighth in the League One table and ensuring that they entered a third successive year in England’s third tier.

The decision, which was made due to the curtailment of fixtures from March due to the global pandemic, caused a stir with teams such as Portsmouth, Peterborough and the Wearsiders all being affected.

As the 2020/21 season begins, there are growing concerns over a repeat scenario in terms of fixtures being disrupted, with parts of the United Kingdom being subjected to local lockdowns.

A report which was released via The News cited comments made by the EFL over the possibility of a similar scenario happening this season and a potential plan to counter it and end the season on fairer terms.

In a Q&A sent out via their website, the EFL said: ‘There are many unknowns for all of us as the Government continues to take measures deemed necessary to help the country tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and we cannot be complacent in any decisions we take, particularly around the return of supporters to stadiums.

‘As a result, it wouldn’t be sensible to predict what could happen and if there is going to be a second wave. We will continue with reasonable optimism, and that includes still looking forward to the return of partial crowds, hopefully in the near future‘Behind the scenes, the EFL will continue discussions with all EFL Clubs later this month to consider if there is a need for increased Regulation to determine what might happen in future in the event of a future outbreak or period of sustained postponement.‘Considerations such as at what point a season can be considered ‘valid’ or ‘complete’ and when it is voided will be discussed, as will potential issues of who makes the decision to ultimately curtail and on what basis, i.e the application of PPG, will also be factored into these discussions in order to provide further clarity.‘It is important that any such decision is agreed upon with our colleagues at the Premier League to ensure a unified approach across English football and we will update fans as soon as we have reached a consensus on this.’Sunderland kicked off the new League One campaign with a draw against Bristol Rovers and Phil Parkinson will be hoping that his side can bounce back tomorrow when they face off against Oxford United.

With little time to come up with a decision, considering the speed of the outbreak, fans must remember that the EFL did a good job in ending the season as fairly as they possibly could in the circumstances.

Whilst some teams missed out after PPG kicked in, the fact that it happened so late into the season suggests that maybe they just hadn’t been consistent enough over the course of the campaign.

Do you think the PPG solution was fair or not? Let us know your views in the comments section below…