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As Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola confirms that promising young striker Liam Delap will be training with the first team squad ‘every day’ next season, via City Xtra, plenty of Sky Blues are buzzing over the update on social media.

Delap, who has been in sensational form for Man City’s Under-23s side this season in the Premier League 2 division, scoring 20 goals and assisting four others in just 15 outings (Transfermarkt), seems to be at the centre of Guardiola’s plans for 2021/2022.

The City boss, speaking in a press conference before the encounter with Leicester City this afternoon, confirmed that Delap is currently training with the first team and heaped praise on the 18-year-old.

As well as this, Guardiola also went on to reveal that Delap will be heavily involved with first team training again next campaign – confirming he’ll be with them ‘every day’.

Delap has already teased glimpses of his talent for the senior squad, having marked his first team debut with an exquisite finish against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup third round (BBC).

Flocking to Guardiola’s update he is set to be with the first team every day for training next season, it’s little wonder why Sky Blues are overjoyed, with one supporter calling it ‘excellent news’.

Find all of their best verdicts down below.

Man City fans buzz as Pep confirms Delap news

“Heads will truly explode when Liam scores 20 goals next season”

Credit: @ngozulumatondo

“I like this!!”

Credit: @AdilSha41002424

“Liam Delap banging 35 goals next season”

Credit: @RockyRhymes3

“This is good news. I can’t wait”

Credit: @zarezarezareza

“The best news we’ve heard in this presser”

Credit: @mcfctj_

“Great news”

Credit: @silkyilkay

“DELAP TIME”

Credit: @AgueroChapter

“Excellent news”

Credit: @MCFCTone

In other news: Man City fans erupted at a transfer claim, find out more here.

Kevin Phillips has told Sunderland loanee Dion Sanderson that joining their arch-rivals Newcastle this summer would not be ‘worth the hassle’.

Phillips was speaking to Football Insider, who named the Magpies as one of the suitors for the Wolves defender.

Sanderson has averaged 2.2 successful aerial duels and 2.6 clearances per game, along with an 82% passing accuracy, for the Black Cats this season. He has only been dribbled past 0.2 times per 90 minutes on average (via WhoScored).

He has been a key part of their push for promotion back to the Championship as they currently sit in third place with games in hand on the teams above them.

Sanderson, whom Football Insider claimed could be let go by Wolves for as little as £2m, has been described as ‘a class apart’ by Sunderland journalist James Hunter.

Sanderson offered advice by Phillips

Phillips believes that the 21-year-old will ‘get better and better’, but feels that St James’ Park is not the right destination for him.

“Sanderson would be a very brave lad if he was to step across and play for Newcastle after playing for Sunderland,” the former Mackems striker said.

“My advice to him would be ‘don’t do it’. It would not be worth the hassle. He has proven this season that he is going to get better and better.”

Competition for Sanderson inevitable

Crystal Palace and Sheffield United are also said to be among the interested parties for the 21-year-old, but Sunderland may be able to compete if they can secure the financial boost associated with promotion.

“It will not just be Newcastle sniffing around him, I am sure there will be a few other clubs as well,” Phillips said.

“It is going to be difficult for Sunderland to sign him permanently this summer but I would be very surprised if he went to Newcastle, put it that way.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

Given the plaudits Sanderson is receiving and his impressive statistics in 2020/21, it seems surprising that Wolves haven’t decided that they want to keep him.

A fee of £2m looks as if it would be a snip, but as Phillips has hinted, there’s no doubt that Newcastle are automatically on the backfoot given Sanderson’s Stadium of Light connections.

Sunderland may actually be best-placed to seal his signature, provided they can offer him regular football if they get into the Championship.

In other news, find out what takeover claim Phillips made about Mike Ashley.

Hajduk Split president Luksa Jakobusic has talked about Celtic target Mario Vuskovic and whether his club would be willing to let the defender go.

It has been previously reported (via Area Napoli) that Celtic have had an offer rejected for young Vuskovic and Napoli are also interested in the defender. Jakobusic has now given some updates about Hajduk Split’s asking price for the defender and their stance on his potential sale.

Hajduk in no rush to sell to Celtic

Hajduk’s president has not confirmed the reports about whether clubs made any offers to sign Vuskovic or not, but he also proceeded to say that his club will sell the defender if the offered fee presents good business for them. He also revealed that the Croatian club aren’t in a financial position where they essentially have to sell players to stay afloat.

Here’s what Jakobusic had to say, via The Scottish Sun: “I can neither confirm nor deny the recent reports about a bid for Mario. The player will only be sold if the deal represents good business sense for the club. We are no longer in a position where we have to sell players to survive.

“The club is in a much better position financially and we will look at Mario’s position at the end of the season.”

It has been suggested that while Napoli are interested and Celtic have had a bid turned down, Torino are also one of the interested parties in Vuskovic.

Area Napoli’s report also claims that a fee of €5 million (£4.3 million) was deemed too low for Hajduk to let Vuskovic leave.

The Croatian club have previously rejected an offer from Fiorentina, and all this interest is perhaps no surprise given Vuskovic has been compared to Milan Skriniar and Matthijs de Ligt.

Get it done McKay

Kristoffer Ajer has been linked with a move away from Parkhead, with Hatem Abd Elhamed already having departed. Christopher Jullien remains injured and Shane Duffy returns to Brighton in the summer, so the first move new chief Dominic McKay makes simply must be for a defender.

Celtic will need more defensive options if they are to challenge Rangers next season, and Vuskovic has been described as a physically able defender who has good technique too. The 19-year-old defender already has experience of playing regular first-team football, and appears to be the perfect candidate to follow a similar career path to the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Kieran Tierney, thriving in Glasgow before moving on for a big profit.

Keeping all of that in mind, it is easy to see why Celtic are going after Vuskovic and we feel McKay should push for him in the summer, even if it means eclipsing the £4.3m fee quoted above.

In other news, ‘Absolutely massive’ – 42 y/o drops huge Celtic transfer claim after latest major development

As Manchester City earned a hard-fought place in the FA Cup semi-final draw by clinching a 2-0 victory away to Everton on Saturday, creating a new club record of 17 consecutive away matches unbeaten, some supporters weren’t impressed with the performance of Gabriel Jesus.

Pep Guardiola’s side travelled to Goodison Park aiming to keep their quadruple hopes alive after they breezed past Borussia Monchengladbach in midweek, but the Toffees made City work hard for an important win.

The Sky Blues had to wait until the last ten minutes to finally clinch a breakthrough, with Ilkay Gundogan on hand to convert a rebounded effort from Aymeric Laporte for the opener. Substitute Kevin De Bruyne then sealed an important victory for City in the last minute, bearing down on goal from Rodri’s through ball to smash an effort past Joao Virginia.

During the match, however, some Sky Blues supporters didn’t seem impressed by Jesus’ performance, with one even branding him a ‘headless chicken’ despite the Brazilian working hard.

According to SofaScore, the 23-year-old lost possession 19 times against Everton whilst completing just three out of seven dribble attempts, perhaps highlighting why some were frustrated with his display on Merseyside.

Here is a flavour of the reaction from Man City fans on Twitter:

Man City fans slam Gabriel Jesus

“Gabriel Jesus is a good striker because he works hard for the team? Doesn’t cut it for me, cash in on him in the summer! Sad to see what’s happening with one of our greatest ever players, wasting away his potentially final months with us on the bench over ‘runs a lot’ Jesus”

Credit: @Mcfcshane

“Gabriel Jesus is honestly the worst striker I’ve seen. Can’t finish and has no awareness in the box. He scores a tap in and our fans think he’s the second coming of R9 it’s time to bin him”

Credit: @trevsempai

“I don’t think we can win the UCL with Gabriel Jesus as our centre forward”

Credit: @kankia_

“Well done Gabriel Jesus, you are definitely useless”

Credit: @Achillaes

“There’s no way Aguero couldn’t have played today Jesus is god awful”

Credit: @ManCityKD

“Gabriel Jesus is a squad player. He is not good enough to start for City.. Just runs around like headless chicken..”

Credit: @MCFC_Vision

“Sterling and Jesus were very very poor as usual.. how I wish City sells both of them”

Credit: @mpumibalisani

“Sterling and Jesus. atrocious”

Credit: @j0sh_P1dc0ck

Read more: lots of Man City fans adored this news, find out more here.

Liverpool are reportedly set to reignite their interest in Torino centre-back Gleison Bremer during the summer, and if he were to make the move to Anfield, it could prove to be the end for Joel Matip.

According to reports from Italy (via Sport Witness), Jurgen Klopp is keen for the Reds to make a move for the 23-year-old this summer, having reportedly been a big fan of him since seeing him play in a pre-season friendly against Liverpool back in 2018.

It claims that whilst Torino are keen to keep the Brazilian at the club, with him being seen as a key part of the club’s rebuild alongside Andrea Belotti, they accept that the Reds would most likely be able to offer him a serious wage increase, as well as the possibility of Champions League football.

So far this season, the six foot two defender has made 19 appearances in Serie A, contributing an impressive four goals and averaging a superb 6.95 rating.

If the centre-back were to make the move to Anfield in the summer, he would surely challenge the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez for a starting spot in Klopp’s side.

Should Bremer join Liverpool, you worry that it could be the end for Joel Matip, whose injury issues have become more evident this season than ever before.

Klopp was reliant on the Cameroon international to stay fit at a time when both Van Dijk and Gomez have effectively been ruled out for the season, but the former Schalke man picked up several minor injuries, before also being ruled out for the season earlier this month.

Therefore, despite him being a quality centre-back on his day, the 29-year-old has arguably let Klopp down too many times with his inconsistent fitness.

The signings of Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak have already added to Liverpool’s centre-back options, and if Bremer were to join too, you could argue that they will no longer require Matip as a centre-back option, due to his unreliability when Liverpool needed him most.

And, in other news… Shades of Torres: LFC handed potential boost in chase of “exceptional” striker

According to a report from Milan Live.it, as also translated and relayed by Sport Witness, West Ham United have always shown interest in AC Milan star Franck Kessie alongside London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham – coming as the Rossoneri reportedly plot a new deal for the Ivory Coast international.

Indeed, as per the Italian outlet, Kessie has attracted fondness from the east Londoners as a player that marries ‘perfectly’ with the Premier League – even despite the brilliant form of both Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice in Kessie’s position.

West Ham interest in Kessie revealed

Alongside West Ham, both Spurs and Arsenal have also displayed their fondness for the 44-cap star – but a deal could be hard to pull off given Milan have ‘no intention’ of letting one of the most important players leave the San Siro.

As well as this, Stefano Pioli’s side could apparently demand €50 million (£42.8 million) for the midfield enforcer who is apparently valued at that sky high price.

Lauded as a ‘devastating’ player by former Italy international Antonio Cassano (Bobo TV via Milan Live), he has also been dubbed ‘sublime’ in the past by former Milan boss Vincenzo Montella (Goal).

Transfer Tavern take

He has absolutely no shortage of plaudits, with this Milan Live report hailing him as Milan’s ‘undisputed leader’ and pillar of the Serie A side.

However, given his lofty valuation and Milan’s stance on a sale, a West Ham deal for Kessie could be difficult despite GSB showing an interest in him for Moyes.

Time will tell whether their fondness for Kessie develops into a potential offer, but the signs suggest it would be a very surprising feat.

In other news: West Ham fans erupted at these links to a ‘perfect’ signing, find out more here.

Darren Bent is unsure if Jordan Pickford has what it takes to be England’s number one with the European Championships on the horizon. 

Bent weighed in on the goalkeeping debate on talkSPORT on Monday evening.

Pickford was ruled out of this week’s World Cup qualifiers after picking up a rib injury. Burnley’s Nick Pope has stepped in and continued his 100% record for clean sheets in an England shirt.

Dean Henderson, who has started Manchester United’s last three Premier League games in the absence of David de Gea, and West Brom’s Sam Johnstone were also called up.

‘You need calm heads at the Euros’

Bent praised Pickford’s distribution but has concerns over his temperament.

“If I had to put them in order, I’d probably go Henderson, Pope, Pickford,” Bent said.

“I do like Pickford but I think he gets a little bit over-emotional. His distribution is second to none though, he can kick the ball far. But I think in situations like the World Cup or the Euros you need calm heads.

“It’s a difficult one because we know he’s never let Gareth Southgate down.”

Pickford has conceded 29 goals in 23 Premier League outings this season (via FB Ref).

Those goals have come from a post-shot xG of 27.3, which means he’s slightly under-delivered.

He was in improved form prior to his injury though, with three well-earned clean sheets in four matches.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Bent acknowledges that Pickford hasn’t yet let Southgate down, but is that suitable justification?

Perhaps the Sunderland-born goalkeeper is effectively a ticking time bomb.

England should view themselves as genuine contenders at the Euros, but it’s hard to believe they’ll go all the way if they place their faith in an erratic goalkeeper.

In other news, fans were excited by Fabrizio Romano’s Everton tweet.

The transfer window slammed shut on Monday evening but that hasn’t stopped Wolves from drawing up plans ahead of the summer market.

What’s the word?

According to TuttoJuve, Aaron Ramsey’s future at Juventus currently hangs in the balance.

With that in mind, it’s thought that both Tottenham and Wolves are interested in bringing the Welshman back to the Premier League.

The midfielder swapped Arsenal for Juve in 2019 but his exit from Turin is already being considered. It’s understood that a fee of around €10m-€15m (£9m-£13m) could be enough to tempt the Italian giants into selling.

Whether Wolves can afford a deal remains to be seen. Ramsey currently earns a mighty £300,000 a week so would undoubtedly have to take a wage cut.

Move over Moutinho

One of Wolves’ biggest issues this term has been their midfield. They lack mobility and they lack runners from deep.

Joao Moutinho has scored just once this season – a stunner against Arsenal – but has been miles off the pace creatively.

For someone who usually assists so regularly, he is yet to provide a solitary pass that’s led to a goal in 2020/21. It’s been a dismal campaign for the Portuguese and if you believe the words of Tim Spiers, this could be his final season as a regular in the starting XI.

Thus, the addition of Ramsey would be incredibly beneficial and it could give Nuno the ammunition to finally axe Moutinho from his plans once and for all.

The Juventus star was described as “intelligent” by Robert Pires in a recent interview, which is one of the primary attributes that defines Moutinho. Though, critically, Ramsey is a willing runner and has energy to burn in the middle of the park.

The Wales international has five goal contributions this term and unlike Moutinho, is providing assists. He has supplied 1.4 key passes for Juventus in 2020/21 compared to the 1.1 managed by Wolves’ current midfield architect.

It’s safe to say that Ramsey has come a long way since he was dominated by a Wolves midfield in the Championship. He played against them for Cardiff in the 2007/08 campaign and was on the end of a 3-0 defeat. Andy Keogh gave the midfielder and his teammates the run-around, not only assisting a goal, but also scoring himself.

Ramsey was a mere boy when that happened, and had a such a difficult day that he hooked by the Cardiff boss after just an hour in that game at Molineux. Since then, he has become a Premier League stalwart, scoring 40 top-flight goals in England and picking up 51 assists.

If the experienced midfielder can agree to a wage cut, this would be an inspired signing from Jeff Shi. With Moutinho’s performances dwindling as the months go by, it would certainly be timely.

AND in other news, Forget Marcal: Nuno must unshackle rarely-seen 18 y/o, he’s a “perfect fit” for Wolves…

2020, like the several years that preceded it, were a disaster for Sunderland.

For a second season in a row, they failed to achieve promotion from League One and then to make matters worse, an EFL salary cap was introduced.

The Black Cats have bigger financial muscles than almost every club in the third-tier but it’s now increasingly difficult to flex them.

Thus, Sunderland only have room for one more player over the age of 21 to bring in during January. That’s not particularly very good news, but fortunately, Lee Johnson can call on the academy.

It’s a rejuvenated part of the football club and the U23s have gone from winning zero games last term to winning five in 2020/21. The academy has been a contentious talking point at the Stadium of Light in the last few years and to say Stewart Donald managed it terribly would be putting things lightly.

He was the one that oversaw Josh Maja’s exit to Bordeaux while Joel Asoro also departed for Swansea. However, there are a number of other academy stars from Sam Greenwood and Bali Mumba to Luke Hewitson, Morten Spencer, Joe Hugill and Logan Pye.

Keeping their rising stars has not been a priority in recent years but under their new ownership, it could be about to change.

That’s because it’s expected that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will target promoting from within and improving the academy. It’s a strategy that makes perfect sense when you consider they have Kristjaan Speakman acting as the newly appointed director of football.

He was in charge of Birmingham City’s academy when they brought through Demarai Gray, Nathan Redmond and Jude Bellingham so he has already achieved plenty at that level.

In a Q&A on the Sunderland Echo this week, journalist Phil Smith revealed that the academy had been left severely “underpowered” during Donald’s reign but that was about to change. He cited that Dreyfus aims to plough significant investment into the academy and is hoping to appoint someone to manage that side of the business.

This can only be a good thing, especially with the finances dwindling at Sunderland the longer they stay at this level of the football pyramid.

It feels like Dreyfus and Speakman are incredibly keen to make up for one of Donald’s biggest neglects and that can only be a good thing.

If they manage to get everything sorted, Sunderland could well and truly begin the New Year with a bang.

AND in other news, Johnson must brutally axe Sunderland ace with just 3 starts all term…

Carlo Ancelotti must tempt Bernard into quitting Goodison Park amid rumoured interest from AS Roma and United Arab Emirates side Al Nasr in the Everton midfielder.

What’s the word?

According to The Telegraph, Toffees chiefs have slapped a £9m asking price on the Brazilian as they look to trim the ranks and, more specifically, their wage bill during the January transfer window.

Bernard is the joint-highest earner in Ancelotti’s first-team fold on a £120,000-per-week deal, after penning a vastly lucrative contract upon his arrival as a free agent in 2018.

Everton are eager to offload players in order to reinvest in Ancelotti’s squad, and consider Bernard to be a saleable asset after starting just two of his six Premier League appearances this term.

The Goodison Park outfit are yet to receive any official approaches wishing to discuss a deal for Bernard this month, though the 28-year-old is considered to be Paulo Fonseca’s prime target at Roma.

That’s according to Il Tempo, via Sport Witness, who reported earlier this week that Fonseca has already contacted Bernard to discuss a potential move to the Serie A, where he would reunite with his former head coach from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Italian publication, as also noted by The Telegraph, add that Everton are not willing to offer any discounts to offload Bernard this month, while Roma are not appearing ready to forge any official negotiations approaching the final week of the January market.

Should Everton sell Bernard?

Ancelotti will no doubt be loath to lose any player he considers to be a key aspect of his squad with Everton competing for Champions League qualification this season, but Bernard is clearly a player the Italian tactician can do without if a deal can be struck this month.

Ancelotti was claimed to have told Bernard that he was a valued part of his squad at the close of the last transfer window after snubbing a potential move to Roma, but that faith has not been reflected on the pitch with the midfielder left an unused substitute in 11 of Everton’s 17 Premier League fixtures to date this term.

That’s also despite Bernard snubbing a move to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal in the summer, who marked him as their priority target after a £6m bid, as the 14-cap international wished to continue his career in the English top-flight.

But since that decision, Bernard has only continued to bleed majority owner Farhad Moshiri dry on his mammoth contract that has seen the midfielder earn in excess of £9m over the past two-and-a-half-years, and Ancelotti needs to do all he can to prove he has reached the end of the line.

Bernard’s output would barely be missed in Everton’s push for European football, should he leave, as the 28-year-old has only taken four shots on goal over his mere six Premier League outings thus far. He’s also only offered six key passes – Michael Keane has created half that from centre-half, per WhoScored.

Not many players have featured as little under Ancelotti this term than Bernard, too, with the Brazilian earning a combined 273 minutes of top-flight action compared to Fabian Delph (212), Robin Olsen (180), Anthony Gordon (88), Jonjoe Kenny (79), Niels Nkounkou (69) and Cenk Tosun (44).

If Roma are not willing to come calling this month, Ancelotti and Everton should sing the praises of a payday in the Middle East and free themselves of an outcast earning more than Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with the Toffees’ top-scorer’s deal worth £100k-p/w.

AND in other news, Everton have been dealt a huge blow in their pursuit of a £13.5m beast…