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The previous summer transfer window saw Liverpool say goodbye to players such as Harry Wilson, Xherdan Shaqiri and Taiwo Awoniyi who have all left the club on permanent deals.

One player that left the club over the summer that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp was particularly sad to see leave Anfield was midfield star Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined French club Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer after running down his contract with the Merseyside club.

Despite the club not replacing the Dutchman over the summer, opting to just sign defender Ibrahima Konate instead, it seems as though the club have got their eyes on a potential new midfield star.

What’s the news?

It has recently been reported by Sportime (via Liverpool Echo) have been monitoring Olympiacos midfielder Aguibou Camara with a potential future transfer move on the cards.

The 20-year-old, who is currently valued at £270k according to Transfermarkt, signed to Olympiacos back in July from LOSC Lille’s youth team.

Since then, the midfielder has made 10 appearances for the Greek club across all competitions in which he has managed to score two goals and provide one assist in the process.

In Olympiacos’ previous Europa League clash that saw them beat Turkish club Fenerbahce 3-0, Camara played the full 90 minutes of the match and managed to have two shots on target, complete 29 out of the 35 passes he attempted, complete all three dribble attempts, make three interceptions and two tackles, showing how much of a balanced midfielder he is in both attacking and defensive situations.

The performance earned Camara a respectable overall match rating of 7.0, according to SofaScore.

Wijnaldum replacement?

Taking all of this into account, we feel that Camara could be a good fit at Liverpool as a potential Wijnaldum replacement if the Merseyside club decides either in the upcoming January transfer window or the next summer window that they want to add a new and young midfielder to their squad.

Given how Klopp said that Wijnaldum’s contribution for the Reds on the pitch was “off the scale” during his time at the club, and the fact that Camara has shown that he has defensive and attacking qualities during his short time at Olympiacos so far, we feel that this is a player Liverpool should definitely consider adding to their squad at some point if they see an opportunity to do so.

Camara was dubbed “solid” and “versatile” by former Lille boss Christophe Galtier during his time at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy and that’s coming from a manager that sealed the French title over Paris Saint-Germain last season, so his words cannot be taken lightly.

Wijnaldum himself was a reliable and solid option for Klopp, so perhaps the 20-year-old gem is exactly what he needs in the engine room.

The Dutch dynamo could finally be replaced if the Reds launch a swoop for the dynamic 5 foot 6 Olympiacos star, he may well be an absolute bargain.

In other news: £180k-p/w Liverpool “problem” sees his value crash £45m in nearly 2 years under Klopp – opinion 

Manchester City face Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester at the King Power Stadium in the Premier League as they go in search of a third straight win.

Pep Guardiola’s side are coming into the match off the back of two 5-0 wins against Norwich and Arsenal, having started the campaign with a disappointing 1-0 loss at Tottenham.

Ederson and Gabriel Jesus are set to be available despite previous concerns over whether or not FIFA would ban them from playing. Kevin de Bruyne is also set to return, whilst Phil Foden is likely to miss out.

Who will Guardiola bring into the XI? Here is our predicted starting line-up for the clash against Leicester…

We are predicting that Guardiola will make three changes to the team which started the rout against Arsenal, with Kevin de Bruyne, John Stones and Raheem Sterling coming in.

Firstly, we are predicting that de Bruyne will return to the starting XI. The Belgian has been back in training all week and we believe that Guardiola will take Bernardo Silva out of the team to accommodate the two-time PFA Player of the Year.

He has only played 11 minutes in the league so far this season, having produced 19 goals and 32 assists in the previous two Premier League campaigns combined. His ability to score and create goals could increase City’s chances of picking up three points against the Foxes, which is why he should be brought into the team.

Although Jesus has been cleared to feature, the decision has come very late ahead of the match and Jesus may not be in the best place – mentally – to start the game. With Zack Steffen out with Covid, there is little choice but to select Ederson, but Guardiola has plenty of options to start out wide in the front three.

We are predicting that Raheem Sterling will come in. The 26-year-old has only started once this season (against Tottenham) but did manage to get himself on the scoresheet against Norwich. He also scored once in two games for England over the international break, netting in the 4-0 thrashing of Hungary.

Riyad Mahrez could also start in the wide role, but we are backing Sterling for this match because of his positional flexibility which could allow Ferran Torres and himself to interchange positions throughout the game. Sterling has the capabilities to play through the middle, which could then see Torres move out wide and cause problems for the Leicester defenders as they try and work out who they should be marking.

Finally, we are predicting that John Stones will start at centre-back alongside Ruben Dias instead of Spanish international Aymeric Laporte. We have published an article explaining our reasoning behind this decision, with the Englishman yet to start a Premier League match this season and deserving of an opportunity to come in and show that he can recapture his form from the previous campaign.

We are predicting that the rest of the side will remain the same from the 5-0 win over Arsenal prior to the international break.

AND in other news, Pep must start £100k-p/w Man City enforcer vs Leicester, he could stop Vardy…

Some Glasgow Rangers fans are livid with club’s update on the potential of certain supporter health and safety requirements needed to visit matches at Ibrox this season.

The start to the new campaign has been a relatively good one for the Gers, having won five of their first seven Premiership matches (Rangers). Despite being on the losing side once, they are six points ahead of Celtic in the table (BBC), having already beaten their fierce rivals 1-0 this term.

After not being able to attend stadiums last term, fans have been able to see matches live at the grounds since the start of the season. However, from October 1st it seems, vaccine passports will be needed for those wanting to attend events of more than 10,000 people (via The Daily Record) – and this has not gone down well with the Gers supporters.

The club has confirmed they have received an update from the Scottish government, and the fans will receive further guidance on the exact regulations in due course.

The news was shared on Twitter, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the update below

“The family stand will be half empty on Sunday unless kids are exempt – which in doing so would make the whole exercise even more pointless”

Credit: @ChrisPalmer001

“What joke hitting families where it hurts they’ll be needed to get to work shortly”

Credit: @Stucampbell16

“This is very discriminatory. For a virus with a give or take 96% survival rate . With a jab that is still experimental.”

Credit: @Gonzo24Hare

“I’ve got my vaccine passport but they shouldn’t be need ….. it’s a disgrace that someone who doesn’t believe in the vaccines should be punished by not getting to see there team play .”

Credit: @StuartCab205

“Guidance?? Stand up for your fans and refuse this tyranny! This is absolute nonsense.”

Credit: @lauraboozyburd

“Scrap them. Pure bribery and discriminating to people who don’t want to be part of an experiment.”

Credit: @LBeattie92

In other news, Rangers fans have been reacting to this tweet.

Steve Howey has tipped Jannik Vestergaard to be a hit after completing his move to Leicester City.

Vestergaard has joined the Foxes in a £15million switch from Premier League rivals Southampton.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers made his move after Wesley Fofana suffered a broken leg in the pre-season friendly with Villarreal last week.

Vestergaard, who featured in all six fixtures as Denmark reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020, leaves Saints having entered the final 12 months of his £60,000-per-week contract.

The central defender boasts plenty of Premier League experience, having made 72 top flight appearances since swapping German side Borussia Monchengladbach for Southampton in 2018.

Vestergaard’s precarious contract situation at St Mary’s also resulted in Tottenham Hotspur raising an interest earlier in the transfer window.

But Leicester, who will start their Premier League campaign by welcoming Wolverhampton Wanderers to the King Power Stadium tomorrow, have beaten Spurs to the 29-year-old’s services and ex-Foxes centre-back Howey believes Vestergaard will prove to be a shrewd signing.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Howey said: “I really like him. He’s big, strong and I’m quite impressed with how he uses the ball. He’s dangerous from set-pieces as well.

“Southampton were trying to cash in on him because he had gone into the last year of his contract and he could otherwise leave on a free next summer.

“I’m really surprised none of the big boys came in for him.”

Many Glasgow Rangers fans were left fuming at Alfredo Morelos after he missed a big chance in their UEFA Europa League qualifying game on Thursday night.

The Colombia international was put through one-on-one by Scott Arfield around the half-hour mark away at Alashkert, but could not finish from close range as he was denied by the opposition’s goalkeeper.

With the score 0-0 at that stage, coupled up with the fact that Steven Gerrard’s men only won the first leg at home 1-0, his miss certainly brought nerves around some members of the Ibrox faithful.

Luckily for Morelos, that is how the match finished, and so the Light Blues managed to go through into the group stages of the competition.

Nonetheless, several supporters were left unimpressed by his failure to score.

Rangers fans on Morelos miss

These Gers fumed at Morelos as the news of his miss was shared by RFC on their official Twitter page, with one even going as far as to claim that the striker was ‘woeful’:

“Horrendous miss. Slowed down needlessly. Woeful. A more lethal striker and this is 2-0”

Credit: @stu__1873

“He’s never convincing going through 1 on 1. More a reaction striker”

Credit: @jack_mcmillan21

“At no point did he look comfortable there…. really poor.”

Credit: @KevinRo52522152

“Terrible attempt. A touch too much.”

Credit: @ArgyllWarrior

“He had to score that. What a shocker”

Credit: @brodie187255

“His finishing is dreadful half the time let’s be honest.”

Credit: @Rabert72

In other news, find out who Rangers are braced for a bid for here!

West Bromwich Albion head into their opening fixture of the new Championship season with a few unknowns still hanging over Valerien Ismael’s squad.

Firstly, the future of Matheus Pereira remains up in the air, although it has been recently reported that the winger could be set to secure a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in the not too distant future.

However, the Brazilian has not played a part in Albion’s pre-season fixtures, nor has he been training with the squad, so the uncertainty surrounding the 25-year-old does not seem to affect the team directly, but more so in terms of their incoming transfer business.

Indeed, with it being reported that Albion are demanding a figure in the region of £25m in order to sanction the 25-year-old’s sale, this sum would help Ismael to plug a number of gaps in his West Brom squad, with the 45-year-old lacking depth at left-back, in central midfield and up front.

With that in mind, we take a look at how the Baggies could line up against Bournemouth on Friday evening, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Ismael confirming that he will be without the trio of Adam Reach, Quevin Castro and Taylor Gardner-Hickman for the trip to the Vitality Stadium, the team is not overly changed from the one which defeated Birmingham City 4-0 in their final pre-season friendly last weekend.

However, with Phillips impressing in the number nine role in pre-season, the 30-year-old gets the nod to start the game up top following his self-isolation, with Karlan Grant moving onto the left-hand side of attack – a position which allows the forward to cut in on his favoured right foot – while Callum Robinson drops to the bench.

New signing Matt Clarke does not make the starting XI, while Sam Johnstone could be set to begin the clash between the sticks, after Ismael praised the £30k-per-week goalkeeper’s attitude in training amid reports suggesting that the 28-year-old could be moving onto pastures new this summer.

Meanwhile, in terms of shape, the new 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 system will undoubtedly take time for the Albion players to become familiarised, but Ismael will nevertheless be hoping for a positive result in his first competitive game in charge of the club.

In other news: West Brom dealt transfer blow on “tenacious” £4.5m beast, Ismael will be gutted

Manchester City kick off their Premier League title defence with a trip to North London on Sunday afternoon, with Pep Guardiola’s side looking to earn their first-ever win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Citizens began their season with a 1-0 defeat against Leicester City in the Community Shield last weekend, but Guardiola can welcome back the likes of Ederson, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling following their international commitments this summer.

However, all eyes will be on Spurs striker Harry Kane, with the England captain reportedly set to feature despite being heavily linked with the Citizens throughout the summer.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Guardiola to line his side up in North London, with Grealish making his first start as a City player…

After returning from Copa America duty with Brazil, Ederson seems likely to replace Zack Steffen in between the sticks.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-manchester-city-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read the latest Manchester City transfer rumours and news!”]

In defence, John Stones and Ruben Dias resume their centre-back partnership, whilst Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo both deserve starts at full-back following their impressive performances in the 2020/21 campaign.

After a disappointing end to last season, Rodri is left on the bench with the more experienced Fernandinho earning a start, and he is joined in midfield by Ilkay Gundogan and Grealish, who could take up the Kevin De Bruyne role in the Belgian’s absence.

Following a superb Euros with England, Raheem Sterling gets the nod on the left-wing, with the Englishman dubbed “world-class” by Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand after his excellent performances for Gareth Southgate’s side as they reached the Final.

[freshpress-quiz id=“577936”]

Riyad Mahrez starts on the right-hand side after an excellent pre-season, supporting Ferran Torres up front, with the Spaniard arguably City’s best striking option at the club following Sergio Aguero’s summer departure.

In total, there could be as many as five changes for the trip to the capital.

And, in other news… Guardiola delivers worrying injury update, Man City fans will be fuming

Derby County claimed their first win of the 2021/22 season with a 1-0 win over Real Betis, as their pre-season preparations continue under difficult circumstances.

In an encounter where the Rams imposed themselves on proceedings, the home fans were eventually sent home happy after young midfielder Max Bird curled home a beautiful winner four minutes from time to secure a win [The Sun].

Approaching the start of the Sky Bet Championship campaign, Derby will take on non-league Notts County on Sunday at 1pm as their last warm-up fixture of the summer, before facing off against Huddersfield Town at Pride Park next weekend.

In light of this positivity, no wonder loads of Derby County diehards took to social media to praise their sides efforts – they haven’t had much to cheer about this summer.

Derby County FC fans react:

Replying to the official Derby County Twitter account, here is what some supporters had to say in the aftermath of their side’s impressive winning performance:

“I know is a friendly but played well keep this up for the rest of the season we should be fine”

Credit: @bainsharjyot”Should be fine? More like promotion”Credit: @Reecedcfc”Just beaten a very good Betis side there, nice to see the celebrations at the end too the players looked very happy which is great to see! God it feels nice to have some positivity”Credit: @TigerWileman”Great result Rooney and the boys”Credit: @derbyroversfc”We actually looked a solid team we’re going up #DCFC”Credit: @david_dcfc”Get in!!”Credit: @Jakewardle5In other news, Derby County have been dealt a blow regarding a reported target.

Fulham are willing to let Fabricio Agosto leave Craven Cottage this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Sky Sports (via Football League World), who claim that Marco Silva would be willing to let the goalkeeper leave the club on a temporary basis in the summer transfer window.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper arrived at Fulham from Besiktas JK in what was a £5m move back in 2018, and has one year remaining on his current contract in west London.

Fans will be buzzing

It would appear to be a fair statement to make that Fabricio Agosto has not quite lived up to his price tag since making the move to Craven Cottage three years ago, having made a total of just two first-team appearances for the club.

In fact, the shot-stopper has not featured for the club since 2018, having made his debut in the Cottagers’ season-opening 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the club’s 2018/19 Premier League campaign, with his second appearance coming in the very next game, a 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

The former Spain U20 international was then sent on loan to RCD Mallorca in 2019/20, where the £45k-per-week ‘keeper made just one appearance in LaLiga, in which he conceded a penalty, three goals and made an error leading to a shot, seeing him earn a dreadful SofaScore match rating of 5.3.

As such, considering the fact that the 33-year-old is taking home such an enormous weekly wage, as well as simply not appearing to be up to the standard required to feature for Fulham week in week out, the fact that Marco Silva is hoping to loan the Spaniard out this summer should have fans of the club buzzing, as it would very much seem as if Fabricio Agosto is a considerable waste of money.

In other news: Fulham dealt transfer blow over “quality” £6.3m-rated dynamo, Silva will be gutted

West Ham have reportedly been ruled out of the race for Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet, despite the Frenchman being available on a loan deal that would surely benefit David Moyes.

What’s the word?

According to Spanish news outlet Sport, the Hammers and Everton were two teams who had previously been linked with the former Sevilla man, but it is claimed that he isn’t appealed by either side.

The Catalan side are desperate to raise funds by selling high earners at the Nou Camp, as they look to tie Lionel Messi down to a new contract despite huge financial problems, and Lenglet was tipped as one player who is likely to depart Ronald Koeman’s side this summer.

Despite his availability, it seems as if West Ham won’t be signing him ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, which will undoubtedly be a cause of frustration for Hammers fans who are yet to see their side make a signing. That’s despite the European football on offer at the London Stadium next season.

Moyes’ side looks to lack any real depth, and you worry that West Ham will seriously struggle to cope with the demands of playing in the Europa League and the Premier League unless reinforcements are brought in.

Would Lenglet have been a good signing for West Ham?

The Scottish manager currently has just Issa Diop, Craig Dawson, Angelo Ogbonna and Winston Reid available as senior options at centre-back, with the latter unlikely to feature regularly next season due to the injury problems he has struggled with in recent campaigns.

Therefore, you could definitely argue that central defence is an area that needs to be strengthened, especially when you consider that Dawson is 31-years-old and Ogbonna is 33-years-old, so long-term replacements should be brought in.

Lenglet is just 26 and has amassed plenty of experience in La Liga playing for Sevilla and Barcelona, whilst he has also been a regular in the French national side, earning 13 caps in his career thus far, with French manager Didier Deschamps dubbing him a “top player” in 2019.

The £22.5m-rated defender may have struggled under Koeman last season, but his previous performances in the Spanish top-flight and the Champions League suggest that he could have been a top addition to Moyes’ squad this summer.

Therefore, Hammers fans will surely be disappointed with this latest update on their interest in the defender, as they are rapidly running out of time to make new signings before the new season kicks off.

And, in other news… West Ham dealt huge transfer blow with “amazing” star, Moyes surely gutted