Inter Milan could offer Matias Vecino to Tottenham Hotspur as they attempt to sign Christian Eriksen in January, per The Mirror.

What’s the word?

The Denmark international has a contract that expires at the end of the season but Inter want to sign him this month.

Spurs are, per the report, keen to do such a deal in January but Inter want to include Vecino in a deal that could cost £20m.

While The Mirror reports that the Italian club are pushing hard to do a deal given their awareness that he could move to a club such as Real Madrid or Barcelona for free in the summer, they also claim that swap deals are difficult to get over the line.

Smart acquisition

Vecino could well be a tidy acquisition for Spurs if he can be included in a deal.

Per WhoScored, the central midfielder offers more defensively than offensively and that is exactly the type of player Spurs need to be signing.

No clues whatsoever: Which seasons do these iconic Spurs images belong to?

After all, Eric Dier has not set the world alight this season – averaging a rating of 6.63 in the Premier League – and Victor Wanyama is hardly trusted, given he has not played in the league under Jose Mourinho.

Vecino, though, averages 1.9 tackles per game in Serie A, one interception and just 0.9 fouls. He also makes 1.1 clearances per game and 0.8 key passes.

This is a player who is able to move forward from his starting role as an anchor man and, while his pass success rate of 75.9% could well be improved, he offers the attributes that Spurs need.

If Vecino is included in a deal, it could be a best-case scenario for Tottenham.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have hammered one man after their defeat to Liverpool. 

The Magpies have suffered numerous terrible injuries as of late, and at one point they had no fewer than 11 players out of action.

Unfortunately, there’s another name to add to that list, and it seems as though this could be a serious problem as one Sky Sports pundit believes that Jetro Willems could have picked up an ACL issue.

What’s been said then?

Eni Aluko was covering the Newcastle game on Saturday for Sky Sports.

“It’s more bad luck for Newcastle and more injury woes,” Aluko said on Sky Sports’ Gilette Soccer Saturday (18/1/20 5:43PM).

“Willems down the left-hand side has clashed with Hudson-Odoi, looks like his knee has hyperextended as he’s clashed with Hudson-Odoi. As soon as he’s gone down he’s signalled to the bench to come off.

“It looks like it could be his ACL.”

Have to hope she’s wrong

Willems seemed to be in a lot of pain when he went down, but Newcastle fans have to pray that Aluko isn’t right with her initial diagnosis.

An ACL injury can see a player ruled out for six to nine months, and with Willems only being a loan player this could spell the end of his Newcastle career.

That would be such a shame as the Dutchman has proven to be a great asset to Steve Bruce’s squad, starting 17 games for the Magpies this term.

Not only is he a consistent starter, but he’s one of Newcastle’s better players, contributing to four goals from left-back, netting strikes against both Liverpool and Man City this season.

Fingers crossed his injury isn’t as serious as Aluko thinks it might be.

Meanwhile, Newcastle should turn down the chance to sign one Premier League striker.

Paul Ince has said on BT Sport that, at his peak, he would have got into this Liverpool side.

What did he say?

The former Reds midfielder was speaking following the Anfield outfit’s 2-1 victory away at Wolves on Thursday night.

Himself, Joe Cole and Peter Crouch were all asked whether they would get into Jurgen Klopp’s XI. Whilst Cole and Crouch were happy to say that it would be difficult to earn a spot, the 52-year-old was adamant that he would be included. He responded, quite simply: “Without a doubt”.

The big fat Liverpool quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Anfield?

Big claim

It is a huge shout from Ince, but it is one worth looking at. After all, he did have a successful career in the game, playing for some of the biggest clubs on the planet – along with Liverpool, he also appeared for Manchester United and Internazionale.

Ince was more of a box-to-box midfielder who was able to contribute in front of goal – in 81 matches for the Merseyside club, he racked up 17 strikes. His best Premier League campaign, however, came for United, where he scored eight goals and provided seven assists in 39 matches.

Last term, James Milner only managed five strikes, and he was the highest scorer in his position – three of them were penalties as well.

However, despite his prowess in the middle of the park, it would take something particularly special to claim a spot in this Liverpool side. Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Milner have all contributed to the Reds’ success over the past two-and-a-half seasons, and the records continue to fall.

They have now gone over a year without losing in the top-flight, and are currently having the best campaign up until this point of any team in the history of the top five leagues in Europe.

Whilst Ince’s goal record shows he may certainly have something to offer, Klopp would unlikely want to unbalance his side by bringing in a different kind of player into his team. This, of course, is hypothetical, but it would take more than the former England international to dislodge any of these current stars.

Meanwhile, Liverpool join the race to sign this French midfielder.

Steve Bruce has confirmed that Newcastle had a near club-record deal turned down for their number one target, Boubakary Soumare.

What’s the story?

The Toon have already brought in three players: Nabil Bentaleb, Valentin Lazaro and Danny Rose have all joined the club on loan during this window.

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Now, though, Steve Bruce has revealed that the St James’ Park outfit had a bid of near £40m turned down for a midfielder during this transfer window.

Calling all transfer experts! How much did each of these Deadline Day signings cost?

Keith Downie, meanwhile, has added that Bruce said he was the club’s number one target, and confirmed the player in question was Lille’s Boubakary Soumare.

Confusing

The bid for Soumare has to be seen as a bit of a baffling one in the circumstances.

Newcastle had already added a central midfielder to their ranks this month in Bentaleb, and with the Longstaff brothers and Jonjo Shelvey also available in the middle, it seems strange that they were ready to spend so much to bring another one to St James’ Park.

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What’s even more confusing is the fact that they look to need goals in their team, having only scored 24 goals in their 24 Premier League matches this term.

Their top marksman is Shelvey with five, while summer addition Joelinton has two to his name.

Spending a money on another striker might have been a better idea, then.

Liverpool’s 2-0 victory against West Ham on Wednesday night saw Mohamed Salah on the scoresheet once again with a penalty on the 35th minute, but it’s his lack of quality from direct free-kicks that got fans talking on Twitter.

According to Transfermarkt, the Egyptian hasn’t scored a single direct free-kick during a competitive match in his career, yet somehow Jurgen Klopp has decided to let him take them. He’s Liverpool’s top scorer so far this season on 16 goals, three in front of Sadio Mane, so perhaps the idea is to keep him firing.

He took one in the first half and many fans rushed onto Twitter to blast the strange decision. They tweeted to show just how confused they are about a man who’s never scored a free-kick being allowed to step up and take them when there’s clearly other players capable, including Trent Alexander-Arnold.

You can see some of the tweets from fans, below:

Liverpool fans, who would you rather be taking free kicks than Mohamed Salah?

Premier League stars are finally enjoying some time away from the pitch with the winter break now in full effect.

Of course, for Liverpool, the subject has been a contentious issue after Jurgen Klopp and his senior players did not make an appearance for the FA Cup fourth round reply against Shrewsbury.

But nonetheless, the Reds’ youngsters did the job and booked their tickets to the next round of the competition with an impressive 1-0 victory while the majority of the first-team players were relaxing elsewhere.

Mo Salah was also absent from the game but he provided his fans with an update on his whereabouts yesterday as he posted an Instagram snap form the gym and captioned it as “Back from the holiday I didn’t go on”.

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Of course, this was a tongue-in-cheek jibe from Salah, who was spending his allotted holiday time in the gym instead of jetting out to find an escape from the Reds’ hectic and already successful season.

James Milner was quick to take note of his teammate’s post and posted a reply with three emojis in the comment section, most likely calling his teammate and friend out for taking selfies instead of working on his fitness.

But of course, this was just friendly banter between two Reds who were obviously in a good mood and rightfully so.

In other news, Liverpool fans had all sorts of reactions to one of the former players talking about Klopp…

Queens Park Rangers’ 2-0 loss against Huddersfield Town has put them in a relatively strange situation.

Mark Warburton’s side currently sit 17th in the Championship table, just nine points above the relegation zone, but they are also 12 points ahead of the playoff places.

Therefore, the QPR manager will be keen to push the side up the table, rather than allowing them to be drawn into a survival fight, starting with a positive result against Swansea.

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With that in mind, FFC has predicted the starting XI that Warburton could use for the game, including three changes from the Huddersfield loss.

Liam Kelly, Todd Kane and Grant Hall all keep their places in the starting lineup, despite seeing two goals go past their defensive unit against Huddersfield.

Conor Masterson comes out of the team and is replaced by Yoann Barbet, who has made 12 Championship starts this season.

Ryan Manning has made just one start in QPR’s last six games but could be reinstated into the starting lineup, replacing Lee Wallace. His cause is helped by the number 3’s calamitous defending for Huddersfield’s second, as he gave the ball away inside the box before conceding a penalty.

Are you a Championship expert? How much did each of these big-money signings cost?

Luke Amos and Dominic Ball continue at the base of QPR’s midfield, with Eberechi Eze operating in the central role ahead of them.

Bright Osayi-Samuel manages to keep hold of his place on the right wing, but Ilias Chair loses his starting status on the opposite flank. The 22-year-old comes out of the team to be replaced by Jack Clarke, who will be making his first Championship start of the season if selected.

Jordan Hugill was slated for his performance against Huddersfield, having failed to get a shot on target or make any dribbles, but could still be given the chance to lead the line against Swansea.

Meanwhile, one QPR man was praised for his performance against Huddersfield, despite the disappointing result.

West Ham United may have had their match against Manchester City postponed until Wednesday, but Hammers fans won’t have to wait until then to see their side in action.

That is because the U23s face Stoke City at London Stadium on Monday night, offering a good opportunity to watch some of the club’s young talents.

This also hands Dmitri Halajko’s side a chance to remain at the top of the Premier League 2 Division 2 table.

With the above in mind, FFC has decided on three young Hammers to watch out for during the game.

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Amadou Diallo

The 17-year-old has been making waves this term, and things got even better for Diallo over the weekend, as he signed his first professional contract with West Ham.

With that in mind, he will likely be looking to cap that off with a goal contribution and solid performance if he gets onto the London Stadium pitch.

In eight Premier League 2 games, the teenager has already recorded two goals and an assist this campaign, as well as contributing on a regular basis at international youth level.

Call yourself a West Ham expert? How much did each of these January signings cost?

Alfie Lewis

Conor Coventry heading out on loan to Lincoln City is a blow for West Ham’s hopes of winning the league, but that, along with their other permanent and loan departees, hands Lewis an opportunity to grow in prominence.

This will be a perfect chance for the 20-year-old to show what he can do on a big stage, without his main partner.

When speaking to FFC, Roshane Thomas sung his praises: “Pretty sure he’s scored five goals in PL2 this season which is good. He’s a nice tidy player, that’s always my biggest takeaway when I watch him play. He never complicates things. He’s 20 now so he’s another player who could do with a loan spell.”

Xande Silva

The Portuguese forward provided a goal and assist on his return to the U23s team, following a bowel obstruction, much to the delight of West Ham fans.

He may come off the bench, as he did in that match against Sunderland U23s, but if Silva does get onto the pitch against Stoke, then there is a real chance that he can make an impact.

The 22-year-old has already made two first-team appearances, so he will be able to give a reminder to fans about why he got there in the first place.

Meanwhile, one West Ham youngster has cleared up their situation after intense speculation.

Salomon Rondon has told The Athletic he would have stayed at Newcastle had he been offered a deal.

What did he say?

The Venezuela international was speaking to the outlet about his time on Tyneside, and it is pretty clear that he enjoyed his time at the club.

Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

He said: “It’s about decisions and it wasn’t my decision. If Newcastle had offered me a deal, if they’d said ‘Do you want to stay here?’, then of course I would have stayed.”

Missed opportunity

This season has been an incredibly difficult one in front of goal for the Toon.

Joelinton was brought in during the summer transfer window for a club-record fee, but he has failed to prove he has what it takes to be successful in the Premier League.

In 26 appearances, including 25 starts, he has scored just one goal – and there has been little attacking threat elsewhere to cover for that lack of danger. Central midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is the club’s top scorer with just five strikes.

What Steve Bruce would do to have Rondon at the club right now.

Last term, the 30-year-old did well for the Magpies, scoring 12 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions, whilst also providing seven assists as well. He was a fantastic option for former manager Rafa Benitez up front, and he clearly enjoyed being at St. James’ Park.

It appears that Newcastle have missed a trick here by allowing the former Zenit St Petersburg striker to slip from their grasp. Clearly, the move for Joelinton is one that just hasn’t worked out, even if he has only been in the North East for just over six months.

Now, though it is too little too late.

It’s touching that Rondon wanted to remain at the club, but the fact he slipped through the net when he wanted to stay is bound to leave a bitter taste in the mouth for the Magpies faithful.

Having suffered a home defeat to Burnley last time out, Southampton have the chance to immediately redeem themselves with a clash against Aston Villa at St Mary’s.

After managing to equalise following a very early Ashley Westwood strike, Matey Vydra struck the winner for the Clarets, condemning Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men to their third successive defeat across all competitions.

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But with Villa only just hovering above the relegation zone heading into Saturday afternoon, the Saints know getting all three points is very much achievable.

And after seeing their line-up confirmed for the game, Southampton fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on Hasenhuttl’s selection, and in particular the inclusion of 20-year-old, Will Smallbone.

A couple of fans expressed their satisfaction with seeing some young and homegrown talent being given a chance to shine.

Another fan of the Saints meanwhile had a more tactical look at it, and felt Smallbone’s inclusion had a positive effect on the rest of the team.

With only seven points separating Southampton from Manchester United, things are really getting tight in and around the middle of the Premier League table.

The Saints need to arrest this mini-slump that they are on, and a home encounter against a side battling to avoid relegation gives them the perfect opportunity to do so.

Are you a true Saints expert? Test your knowledge on these famous academy graduates…

It remains to be seen whether Hasenhuttl’s line-up can get the job done though however.

Meanwhile, Southampton fans reveal their stance on this man.