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Liverpool finished their Champions League Group Stages campaign with a 1-1 draw against FC Midtjylland on Wednesday night, with Jurgen Klopp putting his faith in a number of Reds’ youngsters for the game in Denmark.

Rhys Williams was making his fourth start in the competition for the Reds, having started in both games against Atalanta and Midtjylland so far this season, and once again put in an assured display at centre-back.

Whilst Klopp’s side came under a lot of pressure from the hosts after Fabinho was replaced at half-time, the 19-year-old defender was rarely bested by the Danish side’s physical front line.

As per SofaScore, the academy graduate made 10 clearances during the game, as well as one interception and two tackles, whilst he was dribbled past on just one occasion.

He also won 11 of his 13 duels on Wednesday, which is impressive when you consider the height of Midtjylland’s strikers, and the number of long balls the home side pumped forward in the second half, as they looked to steal all three points.

Williams was also assured with his passing in Denmark, as 46/55 of his passes found a Liverpool shirt, resulting in a pass accuracy rate of 84%, whilst he lost possession on just nine occasions.

He was also impressive with his long passing, with six out of seven of his long ball attempts finding a Liverpool player, which emphasises his quality on the ball.

Earlier in the season, Klopp was full of praise for Williams after his performance in the 5-0 win against Atalanta, saying:

“Exceptional. I cannot imagine being 19 and playing in the CL against Zapata, it’s incredible! “I couldn’t be more happy for Rhys. You should see him in the dressing room, you’d need something special to get the smile off his face!”

There is an immense amount of pressure on the youngster’s shoulders this season, following the injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez, but he once again showed his quality in Denmark in what was a tricky tie for the Merseyside club, and it seems as if he has a bright future with the Reds.

Celtic superstar Ryan Christie has been a talisman for both club and country this year. After playing a huge role on the international stage during Scotland’s Euro qualification campaign, the midfielder has risen into the spotlight at a domestic level too.

Christie has attracted a lot of attention from the Premier League and could be subject to potential offers from the likes of Leeds and Newcastle, according to 90min.

Whilst the sale of the £7,700 per week playmaker would bring in a handsome profit, Peter Lawwell should undoubtedly prefer to have the player at Parkhead, rather than getting a big cheque for him.

Celtic must keep hold of Christie

Christie is a driving force in Neil Lennon’s side and he has adapted to playing out on the wing during the club’s hour of need. As it stands, the Hoops do not have a single recognised right-winger available, but this has rarely been a problem. The 25-year-old has slotted nicely into the wide position and has contributed four goals and ten assists so far this season, as per Transfermarkt.

His ability in front of goal and his creative play in the middle of the park have been huge assets for the Bhoys. Despite the fact Lennon could miss out on lifting the Premiership title this campaign, a strong January transfer window plus his ‘quadruple treble’ achievement on Sunday could buy him more time as the manager of the club.

Celtic already run the risk of losing star striker Odsonne Edouard after several clubs have shown interest in his services. Arsenal in particular are reportedly looking to bring him to the Emirates as a replacement for Alexandre Lacazette.

But between Edouard and Christie, the latter could be the biggest miss to Celtic if they were to let him go. Indeed, others have also lauded his value to the Glasgow outfit, with Billy Dodds describing his performance in the Scottish Cup final as “majestic” on BBC Sport Scotland.

Lawwell must do all he can to make sure Christie stays at Celtic as they look ahead to defending their title in the second half of the campaign.

In other news, Lawwell making smart decision by offering Conor Hazard new deal…

Wolves have now finally waved goodbye to a rather inconsistent 2020 and with it, they can say hello to a January transfer window.

Jeff Shi spent big in the summer so will he be tempted to do again? Quite possibly.

On the chalkboard

The Old Gold have had a topsy-turvy few weeks and can’t seem to string two positive results together. They have beaten both Chelsea and Arsenal recently, also drawing with Tottenham.

However, Nuno Santo’s tinkering has seen them slip up against Burnley and Aston Villa. Those two results were pretty poor and thus, their form could see them exploit the transfer window in a bid to solve things.

One position they may look to improve is defensively, especially at left-wing back. That’s because they’re reportedly interested in signing Barcelona’s Junior Firpo.

That’s according to Spanish publication Sport who suggest the Catalan giants are searching for a fee of around €22m (£20m) in order to sell him.

Why is this important, though? Well, Jonny is still out injured and they lack athleticism from Marcal.

What will happen?

On paper, signing yet another full-back doesn’t make too much sense. Wolves added Marcal and Rayan Ait-Nouri to their ranks in the summer, also bringing in Nelson Semedo and Ki-Jana Hoever.

Of course, they did sell Matt Doherty and loan out Ruben Vinagre but there is clearly a sense that improvement can be made.

In Firpo, they’d find a pretty hefty upgrade too, especially for someone who is still only 24 years of age. Vinagre and Ait-Nouri are still both very raw while Marcal hasn’t overly impressed. For starters, the Brazilian has only managed 0.2 key passes and 0.7 dribbles per game.

For someone that Nuno expects to run ragged down the left-hand side, it’s not the most eye-catching set of statistics. Though, Firpo could quite easily solve that problem. Described as “effervescent” by Spanish media outlet Marca (via Sky Sports), he really does define energy and excitement.

The wing-back has provided 1.3 key passes per match this season – the same as Adama Traore – and is fouled the same number of times. For context, that’s more than Daniel Podence a game and only 0.3 fewer times than Pedro Neto.

Firpo showed exactly what he’s capable of last Tuesday night when Barca drew 1-1 with Eibar. He completed three key passes, made two tackles and also blocked three shots.

This is an aggressive defender who is always keen to put his body on the line. Standing at 6 foot, crucially he’d also be a physical upgrade on the likes of Jonny and Marcal.

Possessing the ability to play as a left-back, left wing-back and as a left midfielder, his versatility and dynamism is an absolute dream for Nuno.

AND in other news, 100% duels won: Wolves gem who “performed superbly” has given Nuno a huge headache…

Ross Wilson must secure a January loan move for Glasgow Rangers winger Josh McPake after he completed a successful spell on loan at Greenock Morton in the Championship.

What’s the word?

According to The Daily Record, English League Two outfit Harrogate Town have reached an agreement with the Scottish league leaders for McPake to move to The EnviroVent Stadium on loan until the end of the season.

It’s claimed Forest Green Rovers and Salford City are also interested in the highly-rated right-winger, so it remains to be seen if they will be able to get a deal over the line. He has been linked with loan moves to both teams so his short-term future is still up in the air.

McPake made his senior debut for Rangers in the Europa League qualifying game against St Joseph’s at Ibrox in 2019, coming on as a replacement for Greg Docherty in the second half.

Rangers coach Michael Beale heaped praise on his young charge after he earned his first cap for the club, saying he has “a very bright future” ahead of him.

When one door closes, another opens

Since then, however, the 19-year-old has found his chances both few and far between, having scored twice in three appearances for the reserves.

It’s been a difficult start to life at Ibrox for McPake so far and the fact he’s been privy to just 23′ minutes of first-team action should give him some cause for concern.

We’d gone so far as to suggest that he may be pushing for a recall with Rangers duo Brandon Barker and Jordan Jones in the firing line but upon reflection, he’d probably be better off going out and getting some game time elsewhere instead.

For the time being at least it’s fair to say that the long road back to Ibrox remains blocked, with Barker, Ianis Hagi, Ryan Kent, Kemar Roofe, Jones and even Joe Aribo starting out wide so far this season and Steven Gerrard insisting Jones can still salvage his career at the club despite breaching COVID-19 rules.

“We’ll now move forward and try to get these players both back to where they need to be,” Gerrard said about Jones and George Edmundson, as quoted by The BBC.

“They’ve gone about it the right way since they’ve accepted their punishments.”

Both Hagi and Roofe have been in prolific form on the right wing over the past couple of weeks with a tally of seven goals between them, via Transfermarkt, while Gerrard will be hoping Kent can stay injury-free for the rest of the season.

With that in mind, he may feel like he has plenty of wide options available, and as such will likely sanction a loan exit for McPake in a matter of days.

As it stands, he faces an uphill struggle to climb the pecking order at Ibrox barring an injury crisis or a coronavirus outbreak, and will no doubt be reassessing his options.

Plenty of sides have already expressed their interest in signing McPake on a temporary basis but it’s now up to Wilson to work his magic and find the right fit for the talented teen.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard dealt huge blow as Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield ruled out of Old Firm clash…

Manchester City moved up to second place in the Premier League after a comprehensive 4-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday evening.

Goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling and a brace from centre-back John Stones secured the three points as Pep Guardiola’s side continued their superb run of recent form.

However, not every City player would impress against the Eagles, with Bernardo Silva extremely disappointing on the right-wing for the Citizens.

As per SofaScore, the former Monaco man would pick up a 6.6 rating for his performance, which comfortably ranked him as City’s worst player of those that started the game.

During his hour on the pitch, the winger completed 29/34 passes, resulting in a pass accuracy rate of 84%, which is lower than his season average of 89.8%.

After his brace in the FA Cup against Birmingham City last weekend, there were perhaps hopes that Silva’s form would improve but he is still without a single goal or an assist in the top-flight so far this season, something which will certainly concern Guardiola.

During his time on the pitch against Roy Hodgson’s side, the 26-year-old failed to find a City shirt with either of his two crosses, whilst neither of his two long balls were accurate, suggesting that his passing was nowhere near his best standards on Sunday evening.

Whilst winning duels is not the winger’s strongest point, the fact that he failed to win any of his four duels during the game is slightly concerning, as it represents a real decline from his performance against Brighton in midweek, where he won seven duels and earned an impressive 7.6 rating.

Silva also lost possession on 10 occasions against Palace, whilst he failed to attempt a single dribble, or even have a single shot on goal with the Crystal Palace defenders clearly getting the better of him.

Therefore, it would definitely be fair to suggest that Silva was nowhere near his usual standard son Sunday evening and as such, he will be Guardiola’s one disappointment from a hugely positive win.

And, in other news… Manchester City can sign their Gundogan heir in £30m beast who “dreams of playing in the CL”

With ten goals in 19 Premier League games this season, it’s fair to say Patrick Bamford has proven that he can lead the line for Leeds United at the highest level.

There were big question marks over whether the former Chelsea starlet could do the business in the top-flight, especially given how wasteful he was at Championship level – last season saw him miss a staggering 33 official big chances, which was almost double the man in second, Lewis Grabban (18).

But whilst Bamford has done well thus far, his anonymous display against Newcastle United on Tuesday night proved why Marcelo Bielsa’s side desperately need to dip into the transfer market in these final few days to bring in a new centre-forward who can provide them with another option or just add some extra competition.

Bamford struggled massively to get involved in the game against the Magpies, managing just 22 touches of the ball and completing only 13 accurate passes, both of which were the lowest of any starter on the pitch for Leeds, even less than goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

In their post-match player ratings, Leeds Live gave him a measly 5, saying: “Frustration showed with the lack of service coming into him when Leeds were in the box throughout the first half. Drifted out of the game entirely in the second half save for the dallying which gave Newcastle the chance to score.”

With reports linking Leeds with a move for the likes of Fiorentina striker Christian Kouame in this January transfer window, Bamford’s performance at St James’ Park would have left Victor Orta in no doubt about what must be done.

The Whites don’t necessarily need to bring in a new starting number nine, but the fact that Bielsa resorted to bringing on Tyler Roberts – a player whose long-term future at Elland Road remains somewhat unclear and has yet to score in the Premier League – says it all about Leeds’ lack of depth in that position.

Just days remain in this January transfer window, and time is running out for Orta to strike and solve a key Bielsa concern.

Meanwhile, this Leeds monster was Bielsa’s real hero against Newcastle…

Sam Allardyce’s first full West Brom squad following the end of the January transfer window made for interesting reading.

There was no room for Kamil Grosicki, and that’s before deadline day loan duo Okay Yokuslu and Ainsley Maitland-Niles even became involved.

It begs the question – just why was he not offloaded before Monday?

According to reports in Poland, there was late interest in the 32-year-old winger from Ligue 1 outfit Dijon and it was claimed that the Polish international was desperate to leave as he won’t get enough game time to impress ahead of the Euros this summer.

Whilst Allardyce himself claimed the veteran rejected the chance to join Championship outfit, Nottingham Forest.

Grosicki has now been snubbed from Big Sam’s squad three times in a row, whilst he’s only started twice in the Premier League all season, via Transfermarkt.

With Charlie Austin on loan at QPR, the winger is now the second-highest earner (£50k-per-week) behind Branislav Ivanovic (£66.5k-per-week) at the club.

It seems an awfully poor decision to keep him around considering he’s not getting games and perhaps that money could’ve gone towards a move valuable addition.

The former Hull City man wasn’t even involved as the Baggies were defeated by Sheffield United earlier in the week, so when Maitland-Niles and Yokuslu are in line to feature at Tottenham on Sunday, two more names will need to make way.

Overall, the £1m signing of Grosicki has never gone to plan. In the year he has been at the Hawthorns, he’s only featured 19 times, where has scored just once.

During his time at the Tigers, the Poland ace was dubbed “unplayable” by ex-teammate Jackson Irvine and a “threat to anyone” by former boss Nigel Adkins, yet we’ve never seen that come to fruition for Albion.

There wasn’t a better time for Luke Dowling to offload the rarely-seen flop than over the past four weeks, now Guochuan Lai will have to continue to line the pockets of a player who just isn’t fancied by his manager.

That’s why it’s one foolish decision.

AND in other news, 89% duels lost: Allardyce surely left worried after West Brom man drops disasterclass…

Leeds United defender Gaetano Berardi was spotted at Thorp Arch this week as he made his long-awaited return to first team training. The 32-year-old had been forced out of action with an ACL injury, which saw him miss 204 days and 26 matches for the Whites last season, as per Transfermarkt.

He is also yet to make a single appearance this campaign and his task of getting back into the team has been that much harder after Leeds recruited new defensive options in the summer.

However, fans are delighted to see the return of Berardi to training and are hoping that it spells the start of his integration back into Marcelo Bielsa’s team. However, it’s not as simple as returning to training and fighting for his spot in the lineup.

Already plagued with a hefty injury history, the risk of picking up another problem runs high. Not only that, Berardi is pushing 33 and will be out of contract with the Whites this summer. Imaginably, no new terms have been discussed due to the extent of the defender’s injury, but with less than six months left, would there be much use in tabling a new offer?

Whilst injuries, specifically to their backline, have tormented Leeds this season, they have still managed to pull through. Bielsa’s quick-thinking and the versatility of players like Luke Ayling have arguably saved their season. With both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente out injured, it looked like a disaster for the retuning Premier League side.

However, they currently sit in a respectable tenth place in the table as they head into their clash with Arsenal this evening. This Leeds squad is a close-knit unit that has worked its way back to the top. Berardi played a small part in their promotion-winning campaign, before he picked up his injury towards the end but he was never a regular under Bielsa.

In fact, the Swiss man missed a total of 22 games due to simply being left on the bench or out of the squad completely. Leeds have established that they have adapted and then some without Berardi’s influence and whilst Bielsa will be pleased his recovery has gone well, having him as an option won’t mean too much to him in the final stretch of this season.

In other news, Leeds must prioritise a permanent move for Jack Harrison this summer…

Bruno Fernandes’ two strikes either side of half-time, including a sublime effort in the second half, helped Manchester United in a stunning 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad in Turin.

Fernandes’ clever finish gave the Red Devils the lead halfway through the first half before the Portugal international scored his second of the game by curling the ball into back of the net from the edge of the area.

It may not be often that we say this, however, but Daniel James actually outshone him on the night. The Wales international has had his fair share of critics since his arrival at Old Trafford, ourselves included, but this was the kind of performance United fans have been expecting to see from a player who was once billed as the ‘next Gareth Bale.’

Despite Fernandes no doubt taking most of the headlines having bagged a brace against the two-time La Liga champions, James also shone brightly at the Allianz Stadium after he played a key role on the right-hand side of their attack, to leave Italy with a goal and an assist and end his wait for his first goal in the Europa League this season.

After Solskjaer’s side doubled their advantage when James’ pass released Fernandes on goal, it appeared as though the Red Devils would deservedly be going into the second leg at Old Trafford with a vital three points, and from then on it was pretty much one-way traffic as Sociedad struggled to earn a foothold in the game.

James could have ended the night with a couple more goals to his name, too, after recording two shots on target – only Fernandes attempted more shots on target, only for one to be ruled out for offside and another to be denied by a good save from goalkeeper Alex Remiro.

Not only was James a live wire with the ball at his feet, but he also demonstrated a real sense of composure as he produced 18 out of 19 attempted passes at a pass success rate of 95%. No other player in a United shirt scored higher by SofaScore, including Fernandes, who could only muster a pass accuracy rating of 83% by comparison.

In addition, the Welshman also won 71% of his duels overall, winning five out of a possible seven individual battles , which implies that, for the most part at least, he managed to get the better of the opposition.

This was just the sort of confidence boost he needed that will surely only help him in the long run and should do him the world of good going into the business end of the season.

James’ electric pace and incisive ability on Thursday night really made him stand out as Solskjaer’s real attacking magician.

AND in other news, Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly was colossal against Real Sociedad…

In what has been an abysmal season all round for West Brom, there has been one shining light in goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

However, with his impressive exploits comes an interest in his services ahead of the summer transfer window, especially with the Baggies staring down the barrel at an instant return to the Championship.

According to The Sun, the 27-year-old is a target for Spurs should Hugo Lloris leave the club, which may become an increasing possibility as he’ll be in the final year of his contract come to the end of the current campaign.

Despite holding the worst defensive record in the division, Johnstone has performed immensely – no goalkeeper has faced more shots on target and none have matched his impressive 96 saves, as per FBRef.

Former PL veteran Paul Robinson has also backed him to remain in the big time, he told Football Insider:

“He has had a fantastic season. He is knocking on the door of an international call-up. I genuinely think he will stay in the Premier League if West Brom go down.”

And now The Athletic’s Steve Madeley believes academy product Alex Palmer would be the ‘obvious’ choice to step-up, even despite having the vastly-experienced David Button on their books, adding that he’d be a ‘perfect’ understudy to the U23 shot-stopper.

The ever-reliable journalist claims that the Baggies have always had a long-term plan for the 24-year-old and that it would be a natural move to play in the Championship next season, for Albion or for somebody else.

Indeed, the Midlands club, who have battled with poor finances all season, could save themselves millions this summer if they were to follow that exact path.

Palmer is a natural and cheap heir to Johnstone’s throne.

As outlined by Madeley, the young glovesman has done everything asked of him across loan spells in League One and League Two, the latter of which saw him gain a glowing endorsement from Plymouth boss Ryan Lowe.

“Alex is a terrific goalkeeper. He has got ambitions of playing at the highest level. He has come here to help us but he has also come here ultimately to get into West Brom’s team,” he told the Argyle Chat podcast (via the Plymouth Herald), before adding: “He’s an outstanding talent.”

Palmer is now impressing for Michael Appleton’s league-leading Lincoln City side, where the Baggies loanee ranks fourth in the division for save percentage (76.7%) whilst no other ‘keeper has managed as many as his 13 clean sheets, as per FBRef.

He only has one more clean sheet to make to match his tally for Argyle the season before.

If Sam Allardyce is still in charge this summer, then he could save the club millions – should Johnstone depart – by promoting Palmer into the first-team fold, evidently, he’s in a similar mould to the Albion no.1 and has been groomed with this very moment in mind.

That time will come if the former Man U man keeps up his impressive form.

AND in other news, U23 gem could be the perfect Matheus Pereira heir