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The Premier League’s new partnership with Castrol will be welcomed by Leeds United, according to financial expert Kieran Maguire, reported by Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Castrol deal confirmed

Castrol will officially become a partner of the Premier League in January 2022, the latter confirmed on Wednesday.

Reports have suggested that it will be worth around £10m-a-season, with top-flight clubs set to receive a mid-season financial boost.

The fee will be a fraction of the Whites’ £34m commercial income for the previous campaign, with Castrol set to sponsor awards such as the Golden Boot, Playmaker Award and Golden Glove.

The Latest: Maguire reacts

Maguire was talking to Football Insider in regards to what the deal will mean specifically for Leeds. He admitted that Andrea Radrizzani will bring in £500,000 as a result, labelling it as ‘very welcome’ news.

“It’s £500,000 per club.

“You’d rather have it than not have it. It’s always a case of every little helps in a post-Covid world.

“Leeds’ wage bill will have been a lot higher than last season. It’s their second season in the Premier League and they have recruited over the summer.

“Players have also been afforded new contracts. Therefore, everything that counts towards that will be very welcome at Leeds.“

The Verdict: Every little helps…

£500,000 isn’t huge money when it comes to Premier League clubs, however, it will provide the Whites with a small boost, and as Maguire mentions, ‘every little helps’.

Radrizzani could put that towards funds for the January window, or you could look at it in a way of paying Joe Gelhardt and Cody Drameh’s salaries for an entire year with change left over.

Whatever way you look at it, the £10m deal is positive news for Leeds, along with the other 19 Premier League sides.

In other news: Possession lost 48 times, 22 duels lost, 1 key pass: Leeds’ 3 worst players vs Brighton. 

After being handed their first league defeat of the season just before the international break with a 3-2 loss against West Ham United, Liverpool are back in action this evening with a home match against Arsenal next up for the Merseyside club.

Speaking ahead of the clash against the Gunners, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that his side are struggling with a hefty number of injuries at the moment, with the likes of Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez, Curtis Jones, James Milner and Harvey Elliott all unavailable for tonight.

In addition, it seems as though the club are sweating on the fitness of one other key figure ahead of the match at Anfield, which could worry a lot of fans.

What’s the news?

After returning to Liverpool earlier than planned as a result of a groin issue which flared up whilst away with England on international duty, Klopp has said there is no certainty that Jordan Henderson will be fit enough to play against Mikel Arteta’s side this evening.

Given the other players currently out injured, particularly in midfield, it’s safe to say that everyone at the club will be desperate to have Henderson fully fit for the clash against Arsenal, who are now just two points behind the Reds in the table and haven’t lost a league game since August.

In addition, Henderson’s performances on the pitch this season have also proved why he could be a big miss for Liverpool this evening, with the club captain showing how important a figure he is in both an attacking and a defensive sense.

In his 10 league appearances for the Reds this season, Henderson has averaged 1.5 tackles per game, showing his defensive capabilities. He has also shown his attacking talents with one goal and two assists, along with an average of 1.1 shots at goal and 1.5 key passes per game, proving that he could be a real game-changer for Liverpool if he plays.

With all that in mind, it’s safe to say that everyone at Anfield will have their fingers crossed that the 31-year-old will be fit enough to play a part this evening so that the Reds can banish the memories of their West Ham disappointment and prevent Arsenal from becoming the latest London club to leapfrog them in the table.

In other news – Matip axed, £200k-p/w star returns in 3 changes: Liverpool predicted starting XI to face Arsenal

يحل فريق برشلونة ضيفًا مساء اليوم السبت، على خصمه فريق إشبيلية، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإسباني.

ويستضيف ملعب “رامون سانشيز بيزخوان” مباراة الفريقين والتي تأتي في إطار منافسات الجولة الرابعة من الليجا، موسم 2022/23.

ويحتل برشلونة حاليًا المركز الثالث برصيد 7 نقاط، بينما يمتلك إشبيلية نقطة واحدة فقط في المركز الخامس عشر. موعد مباراة برشلونة وإشبيلية

من المقرر أن تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، العاشرة بتوقيت السعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة برشلونة وإشبيلية

تُذاع المباراة عبر قناة beIN Sports HD 1.

يمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنا. 

Crystal Palace are among the Premier League sides ‘keeping tabs’ on Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson, according to Football League World. 

The lowdown

Johnson, who’s predominantly been deployed as a central attacking midfielder, has been directly involved in six goals (scoring and assisting three each) in 14 Championships starts for Forest this season (via WhoScored).

Sports journalist Josh Bunting has hailed him as the ‘shining light’ in a side that’s amassed only 18 points so far, while the Press Association’s Phil Blanche says he ‘looks destined’ for the Premier League.

According to talent scout Jacek Kulig, he has a similar style of play to Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes.

Johnson’s contract is up at the end of next season, and for now he’s valued at just £360,000 by Transfermarkt.

The latest

Palace are said to be admirers of Johnson, along with local rivals Brighton and Hove Albion and fellow top-flight outfits such as Newcastle United, Everton and Southampton.

Forest boss Steve Cooper is apparently involved in the club’s attempts to tie the Welshman down to a new contract and ward off that interest.

The verdict

It seems the sharks are beginning to circle around The City Ground amid the uncertainty over Johnson’s future. Palace aren’t the only side sensing an opportunity.

Johnson would be another exciting Championship arrival in South London, following in the footsteps of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise in terms of young attacking talent at Patrick Vieira’s disposal.

If he’s being compared to Harvey Barnes, then you’d think he could easily move from his central berth out to a wide role in Vieira’s 4-3-3.

In other news, fans react to this Nathan Ferguson post. 

Newcastle United have set their sights on signing Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba in January, according to Football Insider.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been giving their thoughts to the rumours on social media.

Football Insider shared a story on Monday after being informed by a Newcastle source, claiming the Magpies have identified Nakamba as a target due to his energy and drive.

It is expected to take an offer of £15m for Villa to part ways with the 27-year-old, who has been in and out of Dean Smith’s side this season.

Nakamba has made just one Premier League start during the current campaign and it seems as if he could make the move north in the New Year.

Villa fans react

@AVFC_News shared a Newcastle fan reaction to the links on Tuesday morning, asking Villa fans if the club should part ways with the defensive midfielder.

This is what they had to say in reply, with many happy to let him go in January.

“Definitely, he’s OK but not what we need. Take the money and then upgrade in the summer. Luiz as backup is then an upgrade. That’s how you improve as a squad.”

Credit: @Benjmeister85

“Yes all day”

Credit: @morley_kev

“£25m +”

Credit: @AVFCTranstweet

“Yes sell him and El Ghazi for a combined £30m+ and use that to sign a top centre midfielder”

Credit: @keogh29

“He’s a solid enough squad player but £15m seems like good business, so if the lad is happy to go then, yeah”

Credit: @MartynS690706

“I’ll start the engine”

Credit: @Jord210993

In other news: Luke Hatfield makes exciting claim regarding Aston Villa ace who Grealish called ‘unplayable’. 

An update has emerged regarding Newcastle’s interest in Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.

What’s the talk?

According to Caught Offside, the Magpies have identified the Clarets netminder as a key target heading into the January transfer window.

The report claims that the Tynesiders believe he could be the start of their rebuild under PIF, with Burnley said to want £40m for the shot-stopper.

Key issue

Newcastle could solve a key issue in the squad by signing Pope in the January transfer window or next summer ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. The Magpies have struggled to find a consistent, reliable number one as Karl Darlow and Freddie Woodman have made four and three Premier League starts respectively this term.

Martin Dubravka missed 16 matches through injury last season and has already been absent for six games in this campaign. Darlow also has a history of injuries at St James’ Park, including one knock which kept him out of seven games in the 2020/21 season.

Pope, on the other hand, has played in 77 of Burnley’s last 83 Premier League games. This shows that he has been consistently available to feature, whilst also producing excellent performances on the pitch.

Clarets manager Sean Dyche previously heaped praise on the England international and labeled him as a ‘monster’ between the sticks, saying: “He’s improving all the time. His voice is getting stronger all the time, he’s getting more and more dominant and, trust me, he’s a monster. When you hear him shout ‘keeper’s!’ you get out the way!”

This highlights how highly the £34k-per-week beast is rated at Burnley, which is no surprise given that he has proven himself to be a match-winner for Dyche in the Premier League. Over the past 12 months, Pope ranks in the top 3% of goalkeepers in Europe’s top five leagues for save percentage (77.2%) and in the top 1% for the percentage of crosses stopped (13.1%).

He also ranks in the top 12% of goalkeepers for post-shot expected goals compared to goals against. This essentially means that he is an excellent shot-stopper in comparison to the majority of goalkeepers in the top five European leagues, which is why he is a match-winner.

Pope has the quality to make saves that others cannot and this can win crucial points for his team over the course of a season. Indeed, in the 2019/20 Premier League, his tally of 15 clean sheets was bettered only by Manchester City’s Ederson.

Therefore, he could come in and instantly be the first-choice number one between the sticks for Newcastle. Not only could he win them matches with his ability, but his consistency in terms of availability could solve a key issue that the club currently has with the injury-prone Darlow and Dubravka.

AND in other news, NUFC in talks over £42m deal for 29y/o with “magical powers”, fans would be ecstatic…

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has hailed the exciting news regarding the expansion of Elland Road, claiming that it is ‘huge’ for the club.

The Lowdown: Hay provides Elland Road update

Last Friday, The Athletic’s Phil Hay confirmed that there are plans in place to expand the Whites’ ground to a capacity of ‘55,000-plus’.

Work on the stadium will reportedly get underway at the end of this season, assuming that Marcelo Bielsa’s side avoid relegation from the Premier League.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375277″]

The Latest: Whelan excited by planned expansion

It is big news from a Leeds perspective, and speaking to Football Insider, Whelan has voices his excitement about the plans, seeing it as another positive step in the right direction for the club. He said:

“This would be huge. The demand for tickets at Leeds means everything is sold out.

“Even for League Cup games, you’ve got 36,000 there and that just shows the strength of the fanbase and the excitement around the club at the moment.

“It’s a massive step forward, for revenue through tickets and sheer strength in numbers with the support. If they increased the capacity to 55,000, they would sell it out week-in, week-out – there’s no doubt about it.

“The other part of it is the possibility of holding World Cups and European Championships in this country – you want the stadium to be part of hosting these games.

“It’s another step forward and another progression for the club.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-19/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Taking Leeds to the next level

Leeds should be looking to become one of the leading clubs in the country again, having battled their way back into the Premier League after years in the wilderness.

As Whelan has hinted, making Elland Road an even bigger stadium should go a long way towards that, generating more revenue on matchdays and making the club an even more enticing proposition for potential signings.

While avoiding relegation shouldn’t be the primary mission this season – Leeds should be aiming higher than that – ensuring it doesn’t happen is also vital as that unwanted scenario could set the club back hugely so soon after regaining their top-flight status.

In other news, Southampton could be without a key player for their weekend meeting with Leeds. Read more here.

Brydon Coverdale in Cape Town23-Mar-2009

It’s hard to carry momentum with you for nine months but that’s the task South Africa have ahead of them after winning the third Test against Australia in Cape Town. Their next Test assignment is not until December 16, when they host England in Centurion for the first of a four-Test series.The only international action they have between the upcoming ODI series against Australia and the visit of England will be the World Twenty20 in England in June and the Champions Trophy in September. However, Jacques Kallis, the stand-in captain who oversaw their victory by an innings and 20 runs at Newlands, said the Test players would still take heart from the dead-rubber win.”It’s a huge plus,” Kallis said. “To turn it around from losing two games in a row, we knew we had to gain momentum and gain confidence in us as a side with England coming here in [nine] months time.”But still you do take the confidence out of your last game to the end of the year. The guys will go into it a lot mentally better prepared than if we’d played poorly in this Test match as well.”Despite the long gap between Tests there were men in the Cape Town match potentially playing to hold down a spot, including the debutants Imraan Khan and Albie Morkel. Ashwell Prince was also keen to impress in his return to the side and succeeded spectacularly, scoring 150 in the unfamiliar role of opener.South Africa will plan on having their captain Graeme Smith back for their next Test series after a broken hand ruled him out at Newlands and it will leave the selectors with plenty to ponder throughout the year. In the meantime they have named a 14-man squad for the first two ODIs against Australia.It features the injured Smith and Kallis, both of whom they hope will be fit by the time the series begins on April 3. The group is largely the same unit that won the one-day series in Australia, where Johan Botha captained the side in Smith’s absence, although Neil McKenzie has been dropped and Lonwabo Tsotsobe wasunavailable due to his knee injury.Squad for first two ODIs Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs,Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Vaughn vanJaarsveld, Mark Boucher (wk), Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Johan Botha,Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Makhaya Ntini.

Everton could now sign Nathan Patterson in the January transfer window, but on one condition, says former Rangers man Alan Hutton.

The Lowdown: Patterson link

As per The Scottish Sun, the Goodison Park faithful will now have a ‘clear run’ at signing the Glasgow Rangers right-back in January, with a price tag in the region of £10m being mooted.

According to The Daily Mail, they had bids of £5m and £8m rejected for Patterson in the summer, and so could well revisit their interest when the next window opens.

The Latest: Hutton on Patterson

Speaking to Football Insider, former Light Blues right-back now pundit has said that Patterson will be sold by his former team if a ‘serious offer’ came in:

“There’s a price tag on everybody’s head, it doesn’t matter if you’re (Alfredo) Morelos, Tavernier or Patterson.

“If an offer comes in for a player, and Rangers believe it’s good enough – then the player will be sold.

“It’s a difficult situation to be in for Rangers to have two excellent players fighting for one position and they’ll both be desperate to play.

“If a serious offer of around £10million comes in January, I think Rangers will have to think about it.“

The Verdict: Sign

Seamus Coleman is not getting any younger at 32 years of age, and so the Merseyside club need to invest in a younger right-back who can at first cover for the Republic of Ireland international before eventually taking his place in the starting line-up.

Patterson would be perfect for this role, given that he is just 19 years of age, and has already shown how much potential he has by getting called up to the senior Scotland squad for Euro 2020, playing in two matches in total under Steve Clarke (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, £10m could turn out to be a real bargain in the future, just like the minuscule fee the Blues paid for Coleman.

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

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to return to winning ways as they return to UEFA Europa Conference League action later this evening.

Nuno Santo and his side welcome Slovenian champions NS Mura to north London just days after their heavy derby defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League.

A disastrous first half put the game out of reach for the Lilywhites but there were some positives to take from the second period, and that’ll leave the Portuguese head coach with plenty to ponder ahead of tonight’s encounter.

But what sort of side could we see at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium? Here’s what Football FanCast are predicting…

There could be as many as nine changes from Sunday’s embarrassment.

Pierluigi Gollini should return between the sticks, in the place of club captain and usual no.1 Hugo Lloris, whilst the entire back four is likely to change completely.

Wales international Joe Rodon will be looking for a rare start and he could be joined by £31.5m-rated colossus Cristian Romero, who was perhaps a surprise scratch against the Gunners. They would replace Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez in the middle.

Japhet Tanganga and Sergio Reguilon are both dropped, with Ben Davies and summer signing Emerson Royal likely to be given the nod for some much-needed game time.

Elsewhere, we’re expecting Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to be given a rest and after an impressive 45-minute cameo at the weekend, academy gem Oliver Skipp could slot right back into the engine room, though he’ll be joined by fellow Hotspur Way youth product Harry Winks at the base of midfield.

Whilst Giovani Lo Celso could be preferred in the no.10 role, meaning both Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele are axed.

The only two names to remain from the Emirates Stadium defeat are Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, unsurprisingly, but they will be joined by Bryan Gil, who too looked to have made a difference at the weekend.

He features over Lucas Moura, with Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Sessegnon the only confirmed absentees.

AND in other news, “exciting” £26m-rated flop in danger of becoming Spurs’ next Adel Taarabt…