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Liverpool are willing to sell striker Taiwo Awoniyi this summer if they receive an offer of £8m, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The lowdown

The Reds signed Awoniyi from his homeland Nigeria back in 2015 for just under £1m but they have been forced to sanction a succession of loan moves while they waited for him to secure a work permit. His switch to Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin ahead of the 2020/21 campaign was his seventh temporary exit.

Awoniyi finished the campaign as the team’s third highest-scorer with five goals, helping them to a seventh-place finish in the German top flight and qualification for next season’s Europa Conference League.

Mergim Vojvoda, a former team-mate of Awoniyi at Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgium, hailed him as “an excellent player with great qualities”, adding that “Taiwo is a forward who needs to showcase his power”.

Earlier this month, the Nigerian was finally able to obtain his work permit, meaning he could be part of the Liverpool squad next season, while he has two years left on his contract at Anfield.

The latest

Fulham, West Bromwich and Stoke City have ‘already shown interest’ in the 23-year-old, according to Pearce for The Athletic, and he is seen as one of the club’s more valuable assets after impressing in Germany.

Pearce added that the Reds will listen to offers for a whole host of returning loanees, including Harry Wilson, Marko Grujic and Loris Karius.

The verdict

Awoniyi may never have featured for the Reds’ first team, but he could still make an important contribution to Liverpool.

Having sealed the signing of Ibrahima Konate on Friday, The Athletic claimed that further coming incomings will be ‘influenced by how much is generated from player sales’.

An £8m influx is not to be dismissed. It could represent a decent chunk of the fee for a backup forward or a midfielder, while the potential sale of Awoniyi could be similar to how Liverpool yielded big fees for rarely-seen strikers such as Dominic Solanke and Rhian Brewster in the last couple of years.

In other news, could interest from Turkey see this Reds player sold to raise funds?

Liverpool have joined the chase for RB Leipzig’s Austrian midfielder, Konrad Laimer.

What’s the word?

That is according to the latest reports from Inside Futbol, via German outlet Kicker, who claim that Klopp’s side are “interested” in the 24-year-old and have now joined the race with Manchester United.

The Austrian has attracted the attention of a number of clubs across Europe with his positive performances in the Leipzig engine room.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

Which has prompted the interest of Bayern Munich, Manchester United and now Liverpool, who are said to be “looking” at the Austrian.

Their own Bellingham

The £23.4m-rated “talent” as described by Journalist Constantin Eckner is just what Liverpool need in their midfield arsenal, bearing in mind the likes of Jordan Henderson and Thiago (both 31) are approaching precarious ages in which they will soon require more frequent rotation.

Having progressed through the Red Bull set-up after beginning his career at RB Salzburg, the Austrian dubbed “sensational” by host of LiveScore Jack Collins has been a key component for Domenico Tedesco’s side after overcoming an ankle fracture that saw him miss almost the entirety of the Bundesliga campaign last season.

His four goals and four assists in the league have made him a valuable asset for Tedesco, with his defensive acumen another one of the attributes that make him comparable to Jude Bellingham, who Liverpool have also been linked to recently.

For a fraction of the price, Laimer could well be Liverpool’s very own Jude Bellingham, with metrics such as 0.51 goal-creating actions per 90 close to the Englishman’s 0.64 GCA per 90.

With Liverpool’s beautiful balance of possession football and directness, through ball passes are always welcome in Klopp’s system and Laimer can offer just that, with his 0.26 through balls per 90 placing him in the elite category amongst positionally similar players, whilst Bellingham is around that mark with 0.21.

With 19 attacking returns (six goals, 13 assists) from 40 appearances this season in comparison to Laimer’s ranks slightly better as a creative threat this season.

Though Laimer makes up for this with significantly higher stats in the defensive side of his game.

The price tag between the two must also be taken into consideration, with Laimer rated at £23.4m and Bellingham around €100m (£83m).

In other news: Liverpool now plot bid for “sensational” 19-goal gem worth £67m, imagine him and Salah

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl believes the push for a European Super League is not yet over despite the plans falling apart within 48 hours.

Hasenhuttl discusses Super League

Within two days, the European Super League fell apart as Chelsea and Manchester City announced their withdrawal from the project (The Guardian). Still, it was a venture that shocked the football world.

While Hasenhuttl believes the end result is good news for the game, he suggested the plans may return in another form. He said (Sky Sports):

“I think, in the end, it was a very good week for football because the way the fans and everybody who loves football bounced back was amazing to watch.

“I think maybe it was the worst idea I have ever heard. I think it was maybe underestimating the power of the fans, how much they love their football and how much football is for everybody.

“In the end, we are all happy that the first battle is won but I think it’s not over yet.”

Probably right

The Super League project was, quite frankly, an absolute disaster. Florentino Perez felt he was the saviour of football – and he appeared to take that description to heart as he was metaphorically crucified after appearances selling the deal on Spanish television. From that point on, it was hard to see how it could succeed.

However, while there may now be some respite from the constant rumours of a breakaway league, the thirst for more money and power will not have totally evaporated from the continent’s big clubs. We now need reforms made to the game to stop this kind of thing from ever being a possibility – as long as it is, the arrogant owners of these behemoths will continue to push for it in some form.

In other news, Southampton are interested in this Serie A midfielder.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has been dealt a major injury blow this week…

What’s the latest?

According to Sky Sports, Spurs forward Heung-min Son is expected to miss the remainder of the month with a muscular injury sustained during their Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg defeat at Chelsea in midweek.

It means he will miss this afternoon’s encounter with League One minnows Morecambe in the FA Cup third round, the return leg against the Blues at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night and the north London derby against Arsenal in the Premier League next weekend.

Major blow

This will come as a gutting setback to the Italian head coach, especially as it will now make it harder to rest leading striker Harry Kane this weekend.

Conte only has one senior option up front, with Son being able to provide cover there if need be, so to have him unavailable against a side of the Shrimpers’ calibre is certainly disappointing and will serve as a big blow heading into some crucial fixtures – ones in which Kane may now not be rested for.

The competition also hands the 52-year-old with another opportunity to end the club’s barren spell without silverware, with their last triumph coming in the League Cup some 14 years ago.

Son has been a standout performer for the Lilywhites this season, having provided nine goals and five assists across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

The £72m-rated South Korean international also rates out as their best-performing player, registering an average WhoScored rating of 7.24, which is clear of the likes of Kane, Lucas Moura and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Not only does he lead the way for goals and assists but an average of 1.9 key passes (first in the squad) and 1.6 dribbles (second) per game reflects his importance to Conte and the team.

Back in October, former Newcastle United talisman Alan Shearer waxed lyrical about Son’s influence to Match of the Day 2.

“When he plays like that, there’s not many defenders that can live with him, he’s got everything you need. Pace, energy,” he said. “Drive to get in there, goals, assists. I’m such a huge fan of his, they couldn’t cope with him – he was the difference, you can’t stop him. Fantastic player.”

With important games ahead, Conte will surely be fuming with this devastating blow to Son, especially as it hands him a massive dilemma surrounding the selection of Kane today.

AND in other news, Paratici “opens talks” to sign £20m “monster” at Spurs, he’d be unstoppable under Conte…

Leeds United have opened talks to sign Huddersfield Town midfielder Lewis O’Brien this summer.

What’s the story?

Journalist Alan Nixon previously revealed via Twitter that O’Brien was “very near” to the top of the shortlist for Leeds this summer as they look to strengthen their midfield options ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

Football Insider have now claimed that preliminary discussions have taken place over the Whites securing the 22-year-old, with Huddersfield set to demand a significant price for one of their star players.

Bielsa will love him

In O’Brien, Leeds could find someone who could be ready to make that step up from the Championship to the Premier League, with Huddersfield Town writer Steven Chicken waxing lyrical about the midfielder’s potential.

He said: “O’Brien is a left-footed, tough-tackling central midfielder.

“Former Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley often praised O’Brien as being ‘like having two players’, with the midfielder receiving particular praise from his manager and fans alike for his ability and willingness to rush back and win the ball with a clean sliding tackle whenever his side were caught on the counter-attack.

“He certainly has the potential to be (a Premier League player), if he’s not already. His fitness is incredible and he just never seems to get tired, which is one of the biggest difficulties Championship players have when stepping up to the Premier League.

“He’s never going to be a big glamorous name in the Premier League, but he is the kind of wholehearted, committed player that managers love because they do so much of the hard work that helps other players to shine.”

As per WhoScored, O’Brien averaged two tackles and one interception per game in the Championship last season, which is only slightly less than the 2.6 tackles and 1.6 interceptions Phillips managed per Premier League match.

Judging by those figures and the endorsement from Cowley, the 1.73m (5 foot 8) midfielder clearly has the defensive tenacity that the highly demanding Bielsa would love at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Leeds United have had a bid accepted for this player…

Lots of Manchester City fans are delighted with a video of Brazilian youngster Kayky, who is set to move to the Citizens next year.

City have a history of signing Brazilians. Ederson, Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho have all played important roles in the club’s successes down the years, while many fans will also remember the contributions of the likes of Elano, Geovanni and, to a lesser extent, Robinho and Maicon.

Kayky will soon be adding his name to this list, and it seems that Pep Guardiola and co will be getting their hands on a top talent.

On Sunday evening, @City_Xtra shared a video of the 17-year-old scoring for current club Fluminense against Portuguesa RJ, and it was an impressive strike. He picked up the ball just inside the opposition half before showing off his pace to beat a defender and slot through the legs of the goalkeeper for his third professional goal (Transfermarkt).

These City fans were delighted with what they saw, and they took to the social media platform to share their thoughts. One excited supporter has even made comparisons with Kayky’s prolific compatriot Neymar, whose PSG side lost to City in the Champions League last week.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Kayky below

“The Premier League is in big trouble”

Credit: @Dreckel_

“Gonna be special”

Credit: @alexpaolo9

“Closest player to Neymar I’ve ever seen”

Credit: @MCFCJerrish

“Better than Sterling already”

Credit: @s10s10s10s10s10

“Which great diamond!!! I’m desperate to see him already playing for City”

Credit: @jdiazm11

“he looks like a proper baller”

Credit: @Ethan4707

In other news, some Man City fans were unhappy with this photo featuring Phil Foden.

Lots of Everton fans have been left to rage as a manager update emerged on Rafa Benitez.

As per The Athletic, it seems ever more certain that the Spaniard will become the next boss at Goodison Park, and confirmation of his appointment could even be made by the end of the week.

Benitez’s potential appointment would certainly cause a stir on Merseyside, given his previous connections with Liverpool, with whom he won the UEFA Champions League with in the 2004/05 season, while he previously called the Toffees a ‘small club’ after a draw in the Merseyside derby back in February 2007.

Thus, it is completely understandable to see why so many Evertonians are against hiring the 61-year-old, but it looks as if they will not get a say over who they want their next coach to be.

Everton fans on Benitez manager update

These Blues raged as the manager update on Benitez was shared on Twitter, with one EFC supporter even going as far as to claim that it is ‘truly shambolic’:

“Disgrace lad worst appointment in our history that”

Credit: @efceddie1878

“Truly shambolic. How lost this club is”

Credit: @MichaelHilditc5

“Grim”

Credit: @paulgefc79

“Nightmare”

Credit: @aikenj897

“Joke club run by headless idiots. And I say that as a supporter.”

Credit: @BanGaoRen

“Moshiri can leave, relegate us, cancel the stadium”

Credit: @jjwilliam28

In other news, find out what transfer update has Toffees fuming here!

Flocking to Twitter, many Leicester City fans have erupted over an official post by their club after what has been a rather lacklustre start to the 2021/2022 campaign.

Brendan Rodgers’ side, after a fruitful transfer window and clinching the Community Shield, certainly looked as if they could be right up there with the traditional top four at the very beginning of this new season.

While there is still time for the Foxes to continue their steady rise over these last few seasons and turn things around, results haven’t exactly gone swimmingly over the last month.

Leicester won just one game in all competitions over September, a Carabao Cup victory away to Millwall, whilst losing to the likes of Manchester City, Brighton and Legia Warsaw.

In their most recent outing, Rodgers’ side also blew a two-goal cushion away to Palace as they eventually shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw – with the club now dropping an official post on what awaits them after the international break.

Sharing the official fixture list for October, Leicester relayed the fact that Man United, Brentford and Arsenal await them in the Premier League this month while they also cope with cup games against Spartak Moscow and Brighton.

Flocking to Twitter, in reaction to the official post, many Foxes fans erupted with their takes on the challenges ahead – find all of their best ones down below.

Leicester fans flock to official club post…

“Championship here we come”

Credit: @Mahesh_y_m

“We’re losing all”

Credit: @Aaronic514

“oh wow 5 Ls”

Credit: @OliverRowe14

“0 points from 5”

Credit: @geoolihag

“We gonna be in the relegation zone by November tears”

Credit: @Lestahas

“L, L, L, L, L”

Credit: @SPW_85

“Mercy”

Credit: @JoBeanCash_

“Big big month ahead”

Credit: @Denzi10

An update has emerged on Southampton forward Danny Ings, regarding West Ham’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic, West Ham are showing an interest in Southampton centre-forward Danny Ings as he continues to opt against signing a new contract at St. Mary’s.

He has 12 months left to run on his existing deal and is waiting to see what offers he gets from other teams this summer before committing his future to the Saints.

The report claims that Tottenham and Aston Villa are also interested in the England international, although, Ings is hoping to join a club already in the Champions League picture for next season.

Arnautovic 2.0

West Ham must seal a deal to sign Ings if there is any chance of them being able to land him. The line about him wanting Champions League football clearly does not favour the Hammers in any transfer pursuit, given that they failed to make the top four last term, but that does not mean that the situation cannot change. David Moyes may be able to sell the project to Ings and convince him that with his help, West Ham can become a top-four club in the not-too-distant future.

The club should be working hard to get a deal over the line for the English forward, as he could be a sublime addition to the squad as he is the type of player that Moyes needs.

Michail Antonio was West Ham’s top scorer last season with 10 strikes and Sebastien Haller’s tally of three was the next highest by a striker in the squad, suggesting that the Scot is in dire need of another centre-forward.

In terms of West Ham centre-forwards down the years, Ings is comparable to maverick ex-Stoke man Marko Arnautovic. Ings may not be the fiery character, to put it lightly, Arnautovic is but he carries similar qualities in the way he operates at the top end of the pitch.

The Austrian averaged over one dribble per game across his two Premier League campaigns for the Irons, as Ings has in the past two years for the Saints, whilst they both struggled aerially with 1.2 aerial battles won per game or fewer in each of their past two domestic seasons in England.

Both players like to take players on and create chances for themselves, taking shots from distance. They can create opportunities out of nothing to score goals, with both players hitting double figures for goals in those two seasons.

Clinton Morrison once said that Ings has “first-class” movement and claimed that he has the ability to play for a top-four club given his form for Southampton in the Premier League in recent seasons.

He said:

“Yes, I would say Danny Ings is top-four quality, most definitely. The season he’s had at Southampton, if you put him in one of the teams at the top four, he’d easily score goals like that.

“I used to play with a striker who used to play like Danny Ings – Robbie Keane.

“I look at the way Ings plays at the moment, his movement is first class and I used to say to Robbie Keane, ‘how do you get in behind defenders when you’re not rapid?’ His movement was first-class and Danny Ings is like that.”

Ings could be a sublime addition to West Ham’s squad and become the striker that Moyes has been lacking. His movement and wizardry to create chances for himself can help to unlock defences and help the Hammers win even more games in the Premier League next season, giving them a real shot at a top-four finish.

AND in other news, The Athletic drop concerning West Ham update on £10m “leader”, Moyes will be gutted…

Derby County have been dealt a major injury blow regarding Colin Kazim-Richards.

What’s the latest?

Speaking after Derby’s 2-1 defeat against Peterborough United on Saturday afternoon, a game in which Kazim-Richards was carried off on a stretcher following an awkward landing, Wayne Rooney stated his concern that the centre-forward could well be set to sit on the sidelines for a considerable amount of time.

As cited by Derbyshire Live, the 35-year-old said: “We will do all the right tests over the next few days to see what it is, but it is not going to be a short one, I think.

“I don’t know the extent of the injury but I don’t think it is going to be a quick fix. So we will lose him for a while. We will do tests to see how long that is.”

Rooney will be gutted

Considering just how short Rooney’s Derby County first-team squad already is, with the manager currently having just 18 outfield players at his disposal – two of whom, Krystian Bielik and Jason Knight, are currently injured – the fact that his only senior centre-forward looks likely to miss a substantial amount of action due to injury is sure to have left the Rams boss gutted.

While the 34-year-old’s replacement, Jack Stretton, did manage to find the back of the net in the Peterborough fixture, it is hardly an ideal scenario for a 19-year-old with just six first-team appearances to his name to be leading the Rams attacking line in what could well be a relegation fight this season.

Indeed, over his 38 Championship appearances for Derby last term, Kazim-Richards played an influential role in ensuring his side remained in the division, scoring eight goals, registering two assists and creating five big chances for his teammates.

As such, unless Rooney can bring in a replacement for the player he dubbed a “massive leader” in what remains of the summer transfer window, the former England international’s chances of beating the drop this season appear to have taken a massive hit.

In other news: Lost possession 23x: “Appalling” dud who lost 66% of duels cost Derby big time vs Posh