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According to a West Ham source from Football Insider, the Hammers and GSB are now readying an approach to sign West Bromwich Albion goalkeeping colossus Sam Johnstone. 

The Lowdown: Johnstone linked with Hammers

As West Brom are confirmed to be relegated from the Premier League, Johnstone’s future at the Hawthorns has been the centre of much speculation.

A recent report from the Mirror emphatically claimed that the Baggies are set to sell the 28-year-old amid the financial turmoil which comes with dropping down to the Championship.

ESPN said last week that the Irons are favourites to sign him this summer and are prepared to offer him regular football.

The Latest: GSB readying approach…

Bringing the latest, Football Insider report that West Ham are now readying an approach to sign Johnstone with a West Ham source explaining that GSB have set their sights on him.

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Indeed, as per this report, the Irons are planning to make enquires into the 6 foot 3 shot stopper – with West Brom’s relegation coming as a boost in their bid to land Johnstone.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Lauded as West Brom’s ‘outstanding’ player by Kevin Phillips (West Brom News), his form over 2020/2021 has also attracted attention from England boss Gareth Southgate.

The Three Lions manager handed Johnstone his first international call up due to his impressive performances at the Hawthorns this season, leaving little wonder why West Ham are now readying a move.

Given current first choice keeper Lukasz Fabianski is now 36-years-old, despite the club recently handing him a one-year extension, West Ham arguably need to find his successor as soon as possible – and Johnstone comes as a really great option with time on his side.

In other news: ‘Better than Lingard’…West Ham fans flock to alleged GSB transfer plan, find out more here.

Crystal Palace’s seven-game unbeaten run ended in disappointing fashion after they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa this afternoon.

Patrick Vieira’s charges had the chance to take charge of their latest Premier League encounter when talisman Wilfried Zaha created an opening for himself in the early stages before dragging his effort wide of the post.

The Ivory Coast international was then punished for his miss just a few minutes later when Matt Targett fired Ashley Young’s corner past a helpless Vicente Guaita in the Palace net.

Villa had the better of the opening 45 minutes, with several players guilty of missing chances, but the tide turned following the interval.

However, the home side’s attacking options were unusually blunt. The likes of Zaha, Christian Benteke and Michael Olise could only muster three shots on target all game, and it was the latter who was particularly underwhelming.

He failed to have any impact over proceedings as John McGinn’s late effort meant that Marc Guehi’s second goal in as many weeks was a mere consolation, and the summer signing from Reading will have been disappointed not to take advantage of what was only his second top-flight start of the season.

As per SofaScore, Olise was awarded a match rating of just six out of 10, the joint-worst total received by any player to feature this afternoon.

Throughout his 87 minutes on the pitch, the former France under-18 international lost nine of his 11 duels, was unsuccessful with all five of his attempted dribbles and failed to pick out a teammate with any of his nine attempted crosses.

Olise was also very wasteful when in possession of the ball, gifting it to the opposition on a whopping 23 occasions, letting his manager Patrick Vieira down in the process.

The 19-year-old has largely impressed since moving to Palace in the summer, but this was certainly a performance to forget, and he’ll be hoping to move on from today’s poor showing as soon as possible.

In other news… Palace could unearth another gem in “really smart” 20 y/o wizard who Vieira loves

Aston Villa’s defence has pretty much picked itself over the last 18 months after some solid results and excellent performances under Dean Smith and now Steven Gerrard.

Emiliano Martinez is the undisputed number one goalkeeper, while Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Matt Targett make up the back-four in front of him when they’re all fit. The likes of Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe make the central defensive positions somewhat competitive, but the full-backs have been pretty much set in stone.

So when Targett suffered a head injury against Manchester City and was forced off, there were instantly worries from Villa fans as to who would fill in and how much of a blow it would turn out to be in the upcoming games.

If the win and performance against Leicester is anything to go by though, they needn’t have worried because Ashley Young is on the scene.

The former Manchester United man made his name as a winger, lighting up the Premier League for Villa before his move to Old Trafford where he won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League. But during his time up north, Young’s game transformed from a flying winger to a reliable full-back. That was solidified when he moved to Italy with Inter Milan and won the Scudetto playing as a left wing-back.

Upon his return to Villa Park in the summer on a free transfer, where he signed a £50k-per-week deal, many lauded his versatility as a big reason why the deal was a good one for the club despite him being 36-years-old these days. His performance against Leicester in the 2-1 win from left-back proved them right.

He won 100% of his tackles on the day and only Emi Buendia completed more dribbles than him in a Villa shirt during the game. Despite being naturally right-footed, he kept the width well to stretch the Leicester defence and was a threat going forward with his crossing ability. His performance meant Villa barely missed Targett in the game and were able to pick up three points without him.

With a trip to Anfield up next, Gerrard will want his strongest defence available to him. But with Young’s experience and winning mentality, that could well include the veteran who the Villans boss dubbed “outstanding” in a wing-back role to provide a threat going forward as well as security defensively against the most potent attack in the country.

As he proved only last weekend, he can be game-changing in that position.

AND in other news, Matty Cash stole the show against Leicester.

Wolves have a number of wingers in their squad, and with all of them competing to be a starter in the side, there is little room for obvious error when the opportunity arises for a starting position in the team.

Bruno Lage decided it was Francisco Trincao’s time to shine in the line up against Brighton away from home last night in their midweek Premier League fixture, that saw the side take their first three-pointer in five games, securing a 1-0 win at the AMEX.

Despite the win, Lage took to his post-match conference to make an honest statement following Trincao’s mistake in front of the dugout in the final third which led to Wolves conceding a corner, and spoke briefly about the 21-year-old’s time with Wolves so far:

“Sometimes he needs to understand the game better,” Lage said. “That’s the big experience for him and what he can learn.

“If you look at the first 15, 20 minutes, every time he tried to link the game, they counter-press and we lost the ball.

“After that he tried to link the game the way we wanted. In the Premier League there is always a good tempo and a good rhythm, and when you come from outside (England) you need to adapt.”

The Portuguese winger has had inconsistencies in his performances so far, with just one goal and not a single assist in his 14 appearances for Wolves so far this season compared to his position competitor, Daniel Podence, who has offered two goals and two assists for the side in fewer appearances.

He struggled to make an impact on his side last night against Brighton, losing the ball every 2.8 times he touched it which only continues to add to Wolves lower possession record away from home. That sits at an average of 44.1% in the Premier League, compared to 53.2% when the side plays at Molineux.

With that first statistic in mind, it’s clear to see why Tim Spiers described him as “sloppy” in possession earlier this term.

As a result of these poor performances, Lage must make the decision to axe the consistency that Trincao lacks into the team in the attacking third, especially during the congested fixtures coming up over Christmas and New Year, where Wolves can pick up a lot of points and will need to have trustworthy players to elevate their chances to get more comfortable in the top half of the table.

Wolves have an option to buy Trincao for £25m when his season long loan from Barcelona ends in the Summer of 2022, but the forward will have a lot of convincing to do for the club to feel that they should secure a permanent move for him, and prove that he can make a positive impact on the side’s efforts to secure European football next season.

Lage will have to now assess how he is going to move forward with his attacking options, as Wolves have been hit with a devastating blow to their starting side with Hwang Hee-Chan getting injured during the game last night, which could give Trincao the chance to redeem himself.

For now, however, he definitely deserves to be axed; his performances have not been good enough.

In other news: Adama Traore attracting January transfer interest

Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has identified Chris Wilder as a potential successor to Sam Allardyce at the Midlands club, in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

With West Brom facing relegation, Allardyce’s long-term future at the Hawthorns is uncertain. The 66-year-old is reported to have a break-clause in his contract that becomes active at the end of the season if the Baggies fail to avoid the drop, casting much doubt.

If Allardyce does end up departing, Wilder is one name that the West Brom board could consider following his recent exit from Sheffield United, and Palmer believes it is an opportunity that could interest the ex-Blades boss.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, the retired England international said:

“I mean, they’ve got a good squad of players now that Sam has got together. I think Chris will go back into football, for sure. He’s a footballing man, he loves football.

“Wherever he goes to work, he will want control of footballing matters, so I would say West Brom may interest him. Obviously you want to stay in the Premier League if you can, but there’s only so many jobs in the Premier League. So the next thing is in the Championship, can you take over a club and get promoted? He’s proven he can do that.”

Given Allardyce has experience managing in the Championship, winning promotion with West Ham back in the 2011/12 season, it may be worth sticking with the former England manager.

However, if action is taken and West Brom do find themselves on the lookout for a new coach, then Wilder is surely one name that they would have to consider. While things certainly did not go to plan for the 53-year-old in the current campaign, he did a great job overall at Bramall Lane, taking Sheffield United all the way from League 1 to the Premier League.

Many Republic of Ireland fans were to left to laud the display of Everton man Seamus Coleman despite their 3-2 away loss at Serbia on Wednesday night.

The 32-year-old put in a decent performance in an unfamiliar role on the right side of a back three for Stephen Kenny’s team, despite conceding three goals.

Coleman won no fewer than six clearances, the second-most out of any player to have set foot on the pitch, and topped the stats with four interceptions and two blocked shots (Sofascore).

Despite playing as a central defender, he also got on the ball a lot for the Irish, recording the second-most touches (62) out of any of his teammates, while also achieving an 89% pass accuracy (Sofascore), a stellar overall display by the captain.

Republic of Ireland fan reaction to Coleman display

These Republic of Ireland supporters lauded his performance on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to claim that he was ‘brilliant’:

“Coleman has been a rock tonight #SRBIRL”

Credit: @ioreilly85

“You got to love Seamus Coleman, gives 110% every time. #SRBIRL”

Credit: @MossBoxx

“Seamus Coleman is solid as rock back there! #SRBIRL”

Credit: @OisinShortt

“Great defensive work from Coleman and O’Shea to keep the Serbs out, Richard Dunne must have been on Zoom to them before this #COYBIG #SRBIRL #WEAREONE”

Credit: @JamieCu46314644

“Coleman outstanding so far. What a player he is. #COYBIG #SERIRL”

Credit: @rorygils6

“Brilliant from Coleman….as per usual #COYBIG”

Credit: @FCr_91

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

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic are on the road once again this afternoon with an SPFL clash against Ross County.

After getting knocked out of the Scottish Cup last weekend following a 2-1 defeat to Rangers in the semi-final, the 56-year-old manager will be hoping his side can bounce back by securing all three points today – and, in doing so, take a step closer to the title before next weekend’s Old Firm showdown.

Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of today’s game, the 56-year-old revealed that his side will be without Josip Juranovic through injury, but that Giorgos Giakoumakis will be in contention this time around.

With that in mind, here’s how we feel Celtic could line up this afternoon.

Firstly, having played in all but two of Celtic’s league games this season, it’d be hard to see anyone other than Joe Hart start in goal.

For the back four, with Juranovic out, it seems likely that Anthony Ralston will come in at right-back alongside the centre-back duo of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers, with Greg Taylor in the left-back position.

In the middle of the park, we think Callum McGregor will lead his team out once again but see a different pair of midfielders line up next to him from the two that he played with last time out.

Having claimed to have “lost his edge” by Pat Bonner, Tom Rogic could be set for a place on the substitutes bench this time out, alongside Reo Hatate – who also failed to impress in last weekend’s defeat at Hampden Park.

With that in mind, we think Postecoglou will give starts to Matt O’Riley and David Turnbull – the latter of whom has been praised for his “phenomenal” performances in the past – to see if they can freshen things up in that area of the pitch.

Then, for the final three attacking positions, we predict that Jota and Liel Abada will keep their places in the side, but also that Kyogo Furuhashi will come in and play through the middle, leaving Daizen Maeda on the substitutes bench.

Whether the 56-year-old Hoops boss goes with this exact starting XI that we have suggested or not, he will undoubtedly want to see a reaction from his players in response to last weekend’s disappointment.

In other news: Sold for £2m, now worth £540k: Celtic struck gold on £17k-p/w dud who “had issues”

As Leeds were being swept aside by Crawley Town last Sunday, there was one chief suspect at fault.

The Whites conceded three unanswered goals in the FA Cup and as usual, Kiko Casilla was a complete disaster.

On the chalkboard

Casilla’s time at Elland Road has been nothing short of shambolic. Considering he was signed from Real Madrid, you’d expect him to have some pedigree but he has shown anything but that in Yorkshire.

A multiple Champions League winner, Casilla is one of the most error-prone stoppers in the Premier League and his form in the Championship for Leeds was questionable.

Whether it was a calamitous error in the play-offs against Derby, a moment of madness versus Brentford or his eye-catching succession of blunders vs Crawley, mistakes seem to follow him like a bad rash.

The Spaniard is fortunate that he’s still playing for them, though. He was charged with racially abusing Jonathan Leko last term but the Whites have rather bizarrely kept the faith.

In short, he should have been out the door at the first possible opportunity.

The solution

Well, the simple resolution here is to sell him and sign a new goalkeeper. Leeds have been linked with Sam Johnstone this month but considering how important he is to West Brom, they’re better off looking for other ‘keepers.

One suitor is Seny Dieng at QPR. It’s reported that both Arsenal and the Whites are chasing his signature and judging by his performances this term, he’d be ideal at replacing the error-prone Casilla in Leeds’ squad.

Speaking about the 26-year-old in November, Rs boss Mark Warburton said: “He did really well, Seny. He went out on loan to Doncaster and had the best stats out of 92 league clubs. He has come back and been outstanding.”

Indeed, so far this term the Swiss has produced 62 saves – the fourth-highest in the English second tier. Last term, he had the third-highest save percentage in the whole of League One when he was on loan at Doncaster.

Dieng’s save success rate this campaign is 73% whereas Casilla’s was just 67% during his first season in the Championship. That goes to show just how much of an upgrade they’d land here.

Crucially, the QPR man is an assured shot-stopper and rarely makes a mistake. Leeds’ current number two, on the other hand, is littered with individual errors.

Thus, Victor Orta simply has to secure the services of Dieng this month. Illan Meslier needs a more reliable number two to offer him competition and cover. This signing would achieve exactly that.

It would also surely be the final nail in the coffin for Casilla’s time in Yorkshire. This would be utterly game-changing for Leeds. No longer would they be scared of having to replace Meslier.

AND in other news, Better than Struijk: Orta must seal Leeds swoop for “dominant” £5.4m-rated colossus…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, David Norris, who made 36 appearances for Leeds United, has backed his former side to make a move for Julian Draxler who has fallen out of favour at PSG.

Draxler has been handed just six starts in the 19 league games since Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as their new manager, so rumours of a move away to Leeds are still rife, following their interest in the midfielder last summer.

The German midfielder is still just 27-years old and if he was to join Marcelo Bielsa’s side, he would add creativity and versatility as he can operate as a number 10, false nine or winger, something which would help Bielsa if he wished to change formations.

Speaking on how Draxler would be a good signing for Leeds United and how the German may now see Leeds as a good move for his career, Norris told FFC exclusively:

“Yeah he would be a good player for them and I’m sure he was spoken about last summer a little bit but I don’t think he fancied it. He may have possibly thought with Leeds being newly promoted that it wasn’t clear what they would be like.

“After this season he may see Leeds differently as they are one of the big teams now and they have got a chance of doing something special so that might change his mind. I think it could have something to it.”

The 27-year old has had a successful career since he swapped Wolfsburg for PSG in 2017, having won an impressive 13 trophies during his time in Paris.

Bielsa will be looking to add some more Premier League quality to his squad this summer as they look to improve on what has been a solid debut campaign.

Some Liverpool supporters have been left fuming after confirmation of the officials for Sunday’s crucial Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

The Reds picked up another vital win on Wednesday night, beating Burnley 3-0 at Turf Moor and producing a commanding performance.

Jurgen Klopp’s men didn’t have things their own way throughout the 90 minutes, with the Clarets creating plenty of half chances, but goals from Roberto Firmino, Nathaniel Phillips and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got them over the line.

[freshpress-quiz id=“355458″]

The victory means Liverpool should just have to beat Palace at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, assuming Leicester City don’t annihilate Tottenham at the same time.

It has been confirmed that Andre Marriner will take charge of the much-anticipated clash, with Paul Tierney, who is from Manchester, in charge of the dreaded VAR.

It’s fair to say that the current crop of officials aren’t exactly the most popular, so the news has not been met well by a number of Liverpool fans.

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Liverpool fans unhappy with officials for Palace clash

Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter.

“We’re done”

Credit: @Brian81649303

“Equivalent of a 2 goal start for Palace”

Credit: @AndrewGoodwin87

“Advantage Palace”

Credit: @algin_tolga

“Nooo. The worst arrogant referee of all”

Credit: @FrydenlundLasse

“Oh for… Tierney is dreadful.”

Credit: @OblivionCalls

“Oh no”

Credit: @lfcjason1

In other news, some Liverpool fans are angry after a transfer rumour emerged regarding one key Reds player. Find out who it is here.