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Liverpool have been amazed by the performances of Leeds United midfielder Raphinha, according to reports.

Raphinha catches Liverpool’s eye

The 24-year-old made the switch to Elland Road from Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais in October for £16.7m and has won the plaudits of many, especially Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson, who believes he possesses “that little fine edge” (cited by LeedsLive).

Raphinha, who is earning a salary of £21k-per-week with the Whites according to Wtfoot, has scored six goals and provided six assists in 24 outings, and is a key part of Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Football Insider revealed that Anfield scouts have been “blown away” by the winger’s development under the Argentinian tactician.

The report added that the Reds are taking a strong interest in the Brazilian and will not be the only Premier League side that will be interested in his services.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Raphinha has certainly been turning heads this season and has been a brilliant signing for Marcelo Bielsa.

At the age of 24, he could be a player that steps into the shoes of someone like Mohamed Salah when he eventually decides to move on and could be a long-term option for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Valued at £16.2m by TransferMarkt, we expect the North Yorkshire side to demand a lot more than that if Liverpool are to take him off their hands.

In other news, Liverpool loanee given high praise by senior teammate.

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to the latest comments from new signing Jean-Philippe Mateta as he talked about his ambitions.

The striker signed recently and after the club sorting out some visa issues, the Frenchman is now available for selection. He was speaking to the club, relayed via both @cpfc_xtra and @palace_transfer, and said: “I want to break everything. I’m starving, hungry… I’m going to have to work. We can qualify for the Europa League for starters! After that, Crystal Palace can help me find a club where I’ll stay for 10 years and where I’ll win trophies.”

These comments show that he has a lot of ambition and this is good to see from a 23 year-old looking to make a name for himself. However, a lot of the Palace fan base have taken this badly – they see it as the player using the Eagles as a stepping stone. One fan called the comments ‘strange’.

Mateta has been in great form this season for Mainz (WhoScored). He has played 17 times in all competitions and picked up ten goals and one assist, with seven of these goals coming in the Bundesliga.

The signing looks very promising and if Roy Hodgson can get the best out of him, the club could push for a top half finish this season. Since the 2015/16 season, the highest the Eagles have finished is eleventh it shows that the ambition has been lacking, and therefore the comments by Mateta seem somewhat justified.

Here is what Palace fans said following these comments:

“Hopefully this is just a poor choice of words”

Credit: @palacecarlton

“To have this much confidence I expect very big things.”

Credit: @Adam_Palace

“Seems really happy to be with us”

Credit: @JGCPCV

“Strange quote this.”

Credit: @Wheddsta

“Why is our club desperate to get strikers in like Mateta and Tosun who don’t want to play for us, yet we do every thing we can to push Benteke out the club who actually wants to be here”

Credit: @Ayew_SZN

“Mainz fans did warn us of his attitude”

Credit: @ZacCPFC

In other Palace news, have a read of a bizarre statistic about the club which fans aren’t happy with here!

Leeds United may not have taken advantage of the January transfer window, but links between them and some big names are continuously swirling. However, before the Whites look to outsource some new personnel as focus shifts to the summer, they must prioritise the deals they currently have on the table.

Jack Harrison is into his second loan stint with the Whites – a smart move from Marcelo Bielsa and co to see if he would suit the Leeds dynamic permanently moving forwards. The Manchester City loanee has more than proven himself with his performances this season.

According to Transfermarkt, he has accumulated a total of 16 goals and 16 assists whilst in Yorkshire. Harrison is also Bielsa’s only option on the left-flank at the moment, so losing him would be detrimental to the team. The 24-year-old is Leeds’ second highest scorer for this season (6), behind only Patrick Bamford with 12, as per BBC Sport.

Harrison’s influence from out wide is something that has caught many an opposition off guard and he would be a tough player to replace.

If Leeds want to tie the winger down, they will be looking at paying £10million for signing him on a permanent basis. Phil Hay confirmed last summer that the Whites are definitely interested in activating the clause after the impact he has made in their returning Premier League season.

Paul Robinson believes that it’s a “no-brainer” decision for Andrea Radrizzani and his club officials. Signing Harrison will not only keep the left-wing position occupied, but the level of quality he brings to the team will help to drive them forwards.

Leeds are currently in a more than respectable 10th place in the Premier League table, but with the right attacking firepower and some other tweaks throughout the squad, they could push beyond that and potentially really trouble the big boys.

In other news, Phil Hay update on Marcelo Bielsa will delight Leeds fans…

Fosun have done some amazing things for Wolves since taking over the club in 2016. First and foremost, they have taken them from the Championship to the Premier League.Secondly, they have taken them to Europa League football. Thus, a simple link-up with Swiss outfit Grasshopper is likely to be low down on their list of achievements.That being said, it’s a relationship that’s beginning to blossom and grow. Fosun also own Grasshopper and as a result, they’ve used the club as a feeder team. At the moment, they have a number of Wolves players on loan.Oskar Buur, Leo Bonatini, Connor Ronan and Toti Gomes are all currently plying their trade in Switzerland. They’ve clearly had a good influence on the side as they lead the way at the top of the Swiss Challenge League.One of the key performers has been Toti. The 22-year-old signed for Wolves last summer and was immediately loaned out in order to further his development.He has done so to brilliant effect in Switzerland this season and has very much looked the part at the heart of their defence.Toti hasn’t missed a match and has helped Grasshopper to seven clean sheets from their 21 league outings to date. He has also scored twice.

It has been an encouraging learning curve for the young defender who, at times this season, has shown similar qualities to those of Willy Boly. The Wolves stalwart is one of their most consistent players and uses brute force to throw opponents to one side. He is a devastating wall and when it comes to physical traits, no one comes close to him in the current Wolves backline.

Though, in Toti, they have a similar player, someone who could give Boly a run for his money if he gets a chance in the senior set-up at Molineux next season.

You only need to look at his performance against Thun earlier this season. He was a battering ram, using his sheer pace to recover quickly and his power to swat attackers to one side.

The footage above was shared by a scout at a Champions League club, someone who detailed Toti’s best qualities on Twitter: “(He is) very fast and mobile, physically strong, quick reactions, decent in the air, knows how to defend, comfortable on the ball.â€

The scout revealed that the defender’s next step should be at a Europa League level club and in Wolves, he has that firmly on his doorstep.

Possessing similar attributes to Boly, it’s hard to deny he wouldn’t fit Nuno Santo’s style of play. Toti typifies the modern centre half in all its glory. He is a very eye-catching prospect.

AND in other news, Forget Jose: Wolves should have signed 18-goal Mendes client instead, he’s an “entertainer”…

Speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, ex-West Brom player Carlton Palmer has suggested that his old side could end up regretting their decision to sack former manager Slaven Bilic.

Bilic was relieved of his duties before the start of the new year, with the Baggies managing to take just seven points from their first 13 Premier League matches.

Sam Allardyce, who has never seen relegation from English football’s top division, has since been brought in. And while Palmer is convinced the 66-year-old can still lead the Midlands club to survival, the dismissal of Bilic has left a sour taste in the mouth.

In an exclusive interview with FFC, Palmer said:

“I’m a little bit of a believer. I’ve always believed in fate and I’ll always believe a little bit in karma. I wonder if the fact of how they’ve treated Bilic might come back and haunt them because I thought it was a very unfair dismissal.”

It is not hard to see why the removal of Bilic from the Hawthorns dugout has not gone down well everywhere.

At that stage there was, of course, still a large chunk of the season left, giving the Croatian time to try and turn things around. As well as that, West Brom had shown some signs of being a capable team under Bilic.

In his last game, the Baggies managed to earn a point from a 1-1 draw with Premier League leaders Manchester City. They were also close to claiming all three points against Chelsea at the start of the season, only to be denied by a Tammy Abraham equaliser at the death in a highly entertaining 3-3 draw.

Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan claimed that Gareth Bale’s future at Tottenham Hotspur rests in the hands of Jose Mourinho.

According to the former Leeds United forward, Mourinho will have the final say as to whether Spurs make a summer move to re-sign Bale, and that Daniel Levy – who personally pushed for the 31-year-old’s signing last summer, while the Tottenham manager was ‘largely peripheral’ in the deal – would give his full backing to the Portuguese should he indeed wish to keep the £18m-rated Welshman in north London for a further season.

Asked by Football Insider whether he believes Spurs will make a move to sign Bale once again this summer, Whelan said: “Yeah, you’d think so. I’m sure Jose will have the last say. He won’t come down to peer pressure from fans or anybody else. Jose knows what he wants and the chairman will back that, I’m sure.

“As I say, there are no friends in football. There’s no love just because you’ve been at a club before. Jose will choose what he feels best is best for Tottenham Hotspur. Gareth Bale’s got until the end of the season to prove he’s worthy of a contract.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Having got off to a rather slow start following his return to Spurs, suffering a number of injury setbacks and scoring just one goal over his first seven Premier League appearances this season, Bale has burst into life in recent weeks, bagging four goals and providing two assists over his last four league fixtures. He also scored in both legs of the Europa League round of 32 win over Wolfsberger AC.

However, considering that Bale is paid roughly £240,000 per week by Spurs, more than what both Harry Kane and Son Heung-min – who have scored 16 and 13 Premier League goals respectively this season – receive from the club, it could be argued that the Welshman still has a lot more to do over what remains of the season to prove his worth to Tottenham in the long run.

In other news: Tottenham are also monitoring this attacker, find out more here.

Leeds United playmaker Pablo Hernandez was not involved in the matchday squad for the game against West Ham United on Monday night and Phil Hay has revealed why this was the case.

The latest on Hernandez

The Athletic journalist spoke to Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa and confirmed via Twitter that “Hernandez has another muscle problem”

This isn’t the biggest blow for Leeds

Last season saw the Leeds faithful fall in love with Hernandez, who Hay championed as ‘unreal’ and a ‘demon’ on Twitter after he scored a crucial late winner against Swansea in the promotion run-in, part of a successful campaign in which he scored nine goals and set up another nine.

However, this season has told a very different story for the 35 year-old, who has suffered a few injuries and was even the subject of speculation over a potential Elland Road exit. Bielsa has only started him twice and subbed him on 11 times in the Premier League this term (Transfermarkt).

It looks like his best years could be behind him, but it will be a slight blow if Leeds don’t have his creative threat to come off the bench should they need one desperately in upcoming games.

In other news, Marcelo Bielsa gave an honest assessment of this Leeds star!

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Marlon Harewood believes Moise Kean’s form at Paris Saint-Germain this season means he will get to decide where his future lies.

Kean is currently on loan at the 2020 Champions League finalists from Everton, joining last October in a move that has helped to resurrect his career.

The 21-year-old struggled to make much of an impact at Goodison Park following his transfer from Juventus back in 2019. He scored just two league goals in 29 games and was infamously substituted despite being brought on as a substitute by Duncan Ferguson in a 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

Kean’s fortunes, however, have changed drastically. The Italian forward has struck 11 times in Ligue 1 during the current campaign and has also found the back of the net three times in the Champions League, including against Barcelona.

As a result, Harewood thinks £53,000-a-week man Kean will have the choice of staying at Everton or joining PSG permanently, with both clubs likely to want to keep the in-form man after his exploits.

“Football’s crazy, that’s why I love football. From him being at a top club like Everton, to moving to PSG – you’re talking about elite levels,” the former Premier League striker said to FFC.

“He’s gone there and done really well. It’s good because sometimes when players go on loan, you go out on loan to try and better yourself and try and carry on your future at another club because you’re not getting it at the club that you’re at, he’s literally done that. He’s gone to another club and just excelled.”

“So it’s all on him really if he wants to stay or if he wants to come back to Everton, because he seems very at home where he is and is playing so well.”

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is currently Everton’s first-choice No.9 and understandably so given the season that he is having. However, with Carlo Ancelotti sometimes deploying a two-striker system, there could be room yet for Kean at Goodison Park.

There is a ‘feeling’ among some of the Newcastle squad that ‘the manager wants to be sacked’, the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope has claimed.

Steve Bruce’s Magpies are in an increasingly desperate position. When they signed off for 2020, they were seven points clear of the drop zone, but that gap has now shrunk to two.

On Saturday, they were dealt an emphatic 3-0 beating by their relegation rivals Brighton. It was a lifeless performance that saw them muster just three shots on goal totalling 0.09 expected goals (xG).

After the match, Bruce maintained that he will not resign from his boyhood club, via Sky Sports, but if this report from Hope is to be believed, the manager appears simply to be clinging on for a pay-out.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Why would Steve Bruce not resign if, as some suspect, he would actually feel relief at parting ways with the club? It might be a matter of optics, with the 60-year-old thinking about future managerial roles

If he is seen to be walking away from the relegation dogfight even whilst retaining the owner’s support, potential employers may be put off.

It could of course also be for financial reasons, with a resignation unlikely to yield the same sort of pay-out on his contract that getting sacked would.

Either way, all signs point to a complete erosion of trust between manager and players.

Bruce appears to have long passed the point of no return, and the club is in shambles.

In other news, this Newcastle player was left ‘very upset’ after paying the price for Bruce’s selection decision. 

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Birmingham City manager Barry Fry has backed Lee Bowyer to steer his old side to Championship safety.

Bowyer was installed into the St. Andrew’s dugout earlier this month following the departure of Aitor Karanka and has managed to make a decent start to life in his new role.

While 21st-placed Birmingham lost last time out, a 3-0 defeat to Watford, they were able to win their first game under Bowyer after overcoming the challenge of Reading.

It is a promising sign, and Fry is expecting more of the same going forward as he tipped the former Charlton Athletic manager to complete the task he has been handed.

Discussing Bowyer’s appointment in an exclusive interview with FFC, Peterborough’s director of football said:

“Lee is the ideal man to go into Birmingham City because he’s very positive, he’s very committed, he’s very passionate, he’s very knowledgable, he’s honest and he gets the best out of the players. And when you look at the Birmingham squad, it’s a good squad, but each and every one of them are underachieving.”

On the same topic, Fry later added:

“I back Lee, the Bluenoses will back Lee and I think he’ll do enough. Although he’s got a difficult task, he’ll do enough to keep the Blues in the Championship.”

Bowyer and his side will next be in action when they welcome Swansea City to St. Andrew’s after the international break. The Swans, currently sitting in third in the Championship table, have been flying high this season, so it could be another tricky fixture for Birmingham.