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Mike Ashley may well be rueing the disastrous outcome of Steve Bruce’s blunderous decision to start Emil Krafth against Arsenal, with the Newcastle United defender now said to be stalling on a January transfer to Istanbul Basaksehir.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Krafth is now hesitant to the leave Tyneside during the mid-season window as his rare appearance at the Emirates has given him second thoughts.

The 26-year-old had looked likely to have played his final game for the Magpies with a £2.7m move to Super Lig side Istanbul Basaksehir expected to be completed in the coming days.

Krafth had not started a league game since December 12, having returned to the back-up role he occupied throughout much of his maiden season in England last term, with DeAndre Yedlin emerging as Bruce’s favoured option over the festive schedule.

Yet a full 90 minute run out in north London has given Krafth a belief that he can still force his way back into a regular starting role, despite the £5m signing from Amiens SC only featuring in the top-flight on four prior occasions this term.

Krafth is now evaluating his options and will be hoping he gets the nod for Saturday night’s trip to Aston Villa, where Bruce will be striving to end Newcastle’s nine-game winless streak across all competitions.

A huge mistake by Bruce

Ashley will likely have already been frustrated at having to accept an offer worth close to half what Newcastle paid to sign Krafth just 18-months ago, having seen the defender prove time and time again that he is not up to the standard needed in the Premier League.

Yet Bruce’s decision to rest Yedlin at Arsenal and look favourably on Krafth has given the defender confidence that he can still have a future at the club where he earns £57,500-per-week as the fourth-best paid player.

Krafth is bleeding Ashley dry on those terms, that have so far returned just one assist and seen Newcastle record six clean sheets in 29 games across all competitions to date. He was even omitted from the matchday squad at Sheffield United last week entirely, marking the ninth time that Bruce has overlooked his services outside of injuries.

Not many Toon players left north London with much to write home about as Newcastle were comfortably beaten 3-0, and Krafth was certainly one who failed to cover himself in any glory as he frequently held back as the last man whenever Arsenal countered.

And yet Krafth only attempted a single tackle and made one clearance at the Emirates, while playing only one additional accurate pass (20) compared to goalkeeper Karl Darlow (19), per WhoScored.

His efforts ensured Krafth continues to rank joint-last for successful tackles (1.3) per game when fielded at right-back by Bruce in the Premier League this season, and with fewer attempts (1.8) than natural midfielder Jacob Murphy (2.3).

Bruce would have been wise to leave Krafth at home, rather than take him to Arsenal, and show the Sweden international that his future should be in Turkey and not Tyneside.

AND in other news, Newcastle United are being targeted to solve another PL side’s transfer crisis…

Said Benrahma has left David Moyes powerless to omit the Algerian forward after the Brentford loanee excelled in West Ham United’s victory over Leeds on Friday night.

Moyes opted to hand Benrahma his first start in claret and blue following a late injury to Arthur Masuaku, which forced West Ham to deviate from the five-man defence which has inspired their solid form this season.

Benrahma had featured for just 78 minutes of Premier League football before the Hammers took to the pitch at Elland Road, as Moyes struggled to see a reason to bench his favoured attackers Pablo Fornals or Jarrod Bowen, believing the pair were playing “really well”.

In the end, Masuaku’s injury and a move to a four-man defence allowed Moyes to introduce Benrahma to his starting plans in behind striker Sebastien Haller to provide an added level of creativity beside Fornals and Bowen.

Benrahma upstaged his more established teammate Fornals with a game-changing display as the Hammers clinched a 2-1 win to move up to fifth in the table, with more points beside their name after the opening 12 games than early high-flyers Everton and title-hopefuls Manchester City.

Former Irons defender Anton Ferdinand was among the hordes to applaud the 25-year-old for his performance, seemingly confident that only good things can come from the £5million loan signing who West Ham are obliged to buy for £20m next year.

“Benrahma looks like he could be a maverick for us,” Ferdinand shared in a post on Twitter. “Loves the ball at his feet, very comfy and loves to make things happen!”

VAR stole the show at Elland Road when Mateusz Klich was allowed to retake his penalty after Lukasz Fabianski was deemed to have been off his line whilst making the initial save, but Benrahma’s performance ensured a spotlight focused on him as well.

The six-time Algeria international may not have registered a third assist of the season to pair with his game-winning involvement in goals against Fulham or Aston Villa, and may still be without a maiden goal for West Ham, yet achieved what Moyes tasked him with being. A nuisance for Leeds star Kalvin Phillips.

West Ham often found themselves without possession while Benrahma was on the field, as Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites controlled 65.7% of the ball before Moyes opted to introduce Mark Noble six minutes from time to instil an added defensive presence in the engine room.

Yet Benrahma still recorded the joint-second-most touches by a visiting player with 45, only Aaron Cresswell (52) took more, and played one key ball from 15 accurate passes, per WhoScored.

Benrahma came into his own when with an eye for goal, as he unleashed a game-high six efforts on Illan Meslier’s net, though only forcing the Leeds’ shot-stopper into making a save once.

Only Bowen could match his 100% dribble success rate, too, among any Irons player to feature, with Benrahma able to beat his marker with each of his three attempts as the £23,077-per-week forward won five of nine ground duels, per SofaScore.

Moyes will no doubt like to see Benrahma fine-tune his shooting, but is now powerless to omit the 25-year-old from his starting plans after seeing what he can bring to the side having bided his time for a chance to shine.

AND in other news, a £27m-rated West Ham dud is playing on borrowed time after a shocking showing at Leeds United.

Many Liverpool fans have been reacting to news that striker Divock Origi is to be offered in a swap deal for Schalke defender Ozan Kabak.

The 20-year-old centre-back has earned plenty of plaudits for his performances in the Bundesliga and his maturity at such a young age was called “astonishing” by Stuttgart sporting director Thomas Hitzelsperger during his time at Die Roten (cited by talkSPORT).

Sky Germany (via Anfield Edition) reported that the Reds have contacted Schalke over sending Origi the other way in exchange for Kabak.

The Kop faithful have heavily criticised the Belgian of late, with some suggesting that his time at the club has come to an end.

With Liverpool’s current injury crisis in the defensive department, supporters would welcome offloading the 25-year-old in exchange for Kabak.

Fans urge Liverpool to offload Origi for Kabak

“This sounds like it will be a good piece of business for both teams, more especially for Liverpool who needs a centre-back.”

Credit: @OmilaVincent2

“100% needs to happen.”

Credit: @RomeoKomTrikru

“Yes yes yes yes yes.”

Credit: @CaroleAnne1487

“We need a centre-back and it’s time for Origi to move on so I can see this deal happening in January.”

Credit: @1121LFC

“If this happens plus we get David Alaba its PL title secured back to back seasons.”

Credit: @Jhonny_Savage

“nahhhhhh no way I beg”

Credit: @MikeJones2k

In other news, Journalist provides conclusive five-word statement amid Mohamed Salah exit rumours.

After seeing him arrive from Lyon in the summer transfer window, it would have no been surprise to hear Aston Villa fans desperately wanting to see Bertrand Traore in action for them.

The man keeping him out of the starting line-up, Trezeguet, had endured a difficult start to the season, failing to score at all and dropping the kind of shocking performance against Leeds that would have warranted him being dropped.

But, football’s all about taking your opportunity, and after being benched for Traore in the weekend clash against Southampton, the Egyptian was back on the pitch sooner than he would have expected.

Villa’s summer signing went off mid-way through the first-half, and Dean Smith had no option but to throw Trezeguet back in. And whilst he couldn’t help complete a remarkable comeback, he was one of the only silver linings of their 4-3 defeat against the Saints.

Whether Traore is ruled out of action for the foreseeable future or not, Smith must surely consider bringing Trezeguet back into the fold, such was the impact that he made on the game with his usual tireless running.

And with Villa facing Arsenal next at the Emirates on Sunday – the team that the 26-year-old scored the crucial winner against in penultimate game of the Premier League last season – it’s all set up for him to deliver another masterclass against the Gunners.

It promises to be quite the roller-coaster for Trezeguet, and journalist Gregg Evans went on record last month to admit that he had his doubts about the Egypt international.

He said: “The amount of energy that Trezeguet puts in, it’s natural that he’s going to be tiring when it gets to like 65, 70, 75 minutes. [It’s] an incredible turnaround from that player as well, somebody who, admittedly I thought wasn’t cut out to be a Villa player, wasn’t cut out for the Premier League.

“He was probably the scapegoat in the winter months of last season where things weren’t going well. I mean fair play to him for knuckling down and working so hard and actually realising that sometimes hard work beats talent.”

Trezeguet has got to start against Arsenal on Sunday.

Liverpool look to have made a mistake in releasing Pedro Chirivella during the summer when you consider the current injury crisis at the club.

The Portuguese midfielder was not handed a new contract by the Merseyside club and joined Ligue 1 side Nantes, where he has been a regular so far this season, making 10 appearances in the French top-flight.

However, with the likes of Thiago, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner now all sidelined, whilst usual defensive-midfielder Fabinho is filling in at centre-back, you could definitely argue that the Reds could have done with someone like Chirivella available in their side.

During his time with Liverpool, the 23-year-old would make 11 first-team appearances, in which he contributed no goals and one assist (per Transfermarkt), suggesting that he was always on the fringes of the squad but never able to nail down a starting spot.

He also enjoyed decent loan spells with the likes of Willem II and Go Ahead Eagles during his time at Liverpool but it seems that he was keen for a new challenge this summer, perhaps after being reassured he wasn’t going to be a regular in Klopp’s side anytime soon.

Chirivella started in a youthful Liverpool side that beat Shrewsbury Town 1-0 in the FA Cup last season, and fellow youngster Leighton Clarkson was full of praise for his Portuguese teammate following the game, saying:

“Pedro is an absolutely fantastic player. He was the oldest player in our team against Shrewsbury and he is only 22! He has been at Melwood during a lot of his time at Liverpool so he has learned from the best.

“With his communication on the pitch and his leadership, it’s very good to have next to you, especially for me and Jake as we were quite nervous, but with him behind us he was phenomenal.”

Therefore, the young midfielder was clearly highly rated by those at the club and could have been the man to fill in during the current injury crisis, as he had accumulated a decent amount of experience in that defensive-midfield role, so it could definitely be argued that the club made a mistake in releasing him.

And, in other news… Klopp should cash in on 23 y/o wizard while his stock is high; impressing on loan

After coming on as a second-half substitute against Dundee United, Celtic new boy Albian Ajeti introduced himself to Scottish football by firing home the winner seven minutes from time.

The Switzerland international had just joined from Premier League side West Ham earlier this month in a deal worth around £4.5m, with Neil Lennon quick to sing his praises after the match. The Hoops boss said: “He’s had an early impact already and that’s great for us. He’s not match fit, he’s not had a lot of football in the last 12 months. But he did great to keep the ball alive for the goal and his link-up play was good as well. It’s brilliant for him.”

But whilst Ajeti may have been the match-winner on the day, it was Ryan Christie who arguably stole the show for Celtic, making sure Dundee United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist earned his pay-cheque.

Can you name every one of the Celtic’s top goalscorers from the past 15 seasons? It’s a tricky one…

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As per Sofascore, out of the 23 total shots that Celtic took, nine of them were taken by Christie, with three finding the target, three being blocked by some desperate defending and another three missing their mark.

The 25-year-old was unlucky not to get onto the score-sheet at least once, with Siegrist pulling off a stunning save to deny a strike destined for the top corner. And of course, it was Christie’s strike that eventually led to Ajeti’s goal.

But aside from that, the Scotland international was a real live-wire throughout the match, completing all eight of his attempted dribbles – to put that incredible statistic into context, if you combined the rest of Christie’s teammates, as well as the entire Dundee United side, you would only get seven successful dribbles.

The attacking midfielder wasn’t shy of doing his defensive work either, making three tackles and winning a mammoth 13 duels out of the 16 that he contested on the ground.

It was an all-action display from the Celtic ace, and whilst Ajeti may be taking home the plaudits, it was he who was the real hero for Lennon on Saturday.

After starting the new Scottish Premiership campaign with a flawless start, Rangers were brought back to Earth somewhat with a hugely disappointing 0-0 draw to Livingston.

Steven Gerrard’s side racked up an incredible 23 shots in total, but only three of them hit the target. The Gers dominated the ball too, registering a whopping 79% possession, but just didn’t have the cutting edge to find that killer goal.

One man who didn’t enjoy the greatest of games in the middle of the park, was Ryan Jack.

Are you a massive Rangers fan? Know everything about the club? Well do you know your Gary Stevens from your Michael Ball? This quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…

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As per Sofascore, the midfielder finished with 128 passes completed, by far the most of anyone on the pitch. But many of those passes were either side-ways or backwards, and there was no real penetration.

Despite having 150 touches of the ball, he only made two key passes in the entire game, whilst he also lost possession 14 times. And after seeing his performance, Rangers fans flooded to Twitter to share their reactions.

A couple of fans were particularly strong in their criticism of Jack’s performance, claiming that he is a “waste of a jersey”.

Another couple of supporters took issue with Jack’s decision to play square passes, rather than upping the tempo of a game by moving the ball forward.

When you see much of the ball as Jack did against Livingston on Sunday afternoon, then you simply have to do more with it.

Rangers were crying out for someone to show a bit of ingenuity and class to try and unlock the door, but instead, Jack just slowed the momentum of the game and made everything far too easy for the opposition.

With the transfer window open, it’s an area where Gerrard may look to strengthen this summer.

Wolverhampton Wanderers should not splash out €18.3m (roughly £16.4m) on Gonzalo Higuain after transfer news emerged from Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) that the Midlands club are interested in signing the Juventus striker in the upcoming summer transfer window.

As per Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Newcastle United are also interested, assuming that their prospective takeover by the Saudi-led consortium is approved by the Premier League.

Juventus are apparently looking at a possible sale from a financial point of view, as Higuain only has one year left on his current contract which will allegedly not be renewed – meaning that this is the last chance for the Italian giants to make some money from him without incurring too much of a loss. Corriere dello Sport explained that Higuaín and his contract are still worth €18.3m (£16.4m) on the Serie A team’s books, which is the fee that they would apparently be seeking on the transfer market.

The Argentina international has arguably not fared well in the league so far this season, scoring just five goals and making four assists in 23 appearances, according to loan spell at Chelsea, the Blues decided not to sign him permanently, as he netted a relatively unimpressive five strikes in 14 games.

You can read the very latest on this transfer news story and others on our dedicated Wolves transfer rumours feed.

Although Higuain has had the goal scoring touch before for big clubs, he is 32 now and not getting any younger. He would also do well to displace Raul Jimenez in Nuno Espirito Santo’s side given the 29-year old’s very impressive scoring record for Wolves.

Wolves fans, would you like to see Higuain at Molineux? Comment below with your views!

Name: Mungo Bridge

Club: Aston Villa

Date of Birth: 12 September 2000

Position: Centre-back/Full-back

Mungo Bridge – his career so far

At the age of 19, Mungo Bridge is slowly but surely getting ready to make a potential step up into the senior world of Aston Villa’s football over in England. The talented centre-back has penned his first professional contract with the Villains in 2019 as the club managed to fend off the interest from abroad and some big European names.

The kid with the dreadlocks has, however, been a huge part of both their U18 and U23 squads, even captaining the latter one despite his struggles to stay fit throughout the campaign.

Bridge can boast with 24 appearances for the youngster squad and with 16 for the older team. Naturally, since he’s a centre-back by trade, he is yet to tally a single goal or assist for the club but that is also not expected from him in the first place.

Given Aston Villa’s defensive troubles throughout the campaigns, the 19-year-old centre-back could very well get his opportunity sooner rather than later. He’s been already seen training with the first squad on numerous occasions despite never actually tallying a first-team appearance (as of yet).

The Daventry-born youngster was interestingly enough put through his paces by John Terry and even reportedly used as a makeshift forward against Tyrone Mings and Bjorn Engels during the team’s final training session, as Dean Smith encouraged the youngster to become acclimatised to the first-team setup just prior to football being put on hold due to the recent outbreak.

And some reports even suggested the 19-year-old was more than just able to hold his own against some of the senior players in the squad, which is definitely a great sign and fantastic Aston Villa news for the fans.

Maybe when football resumes in the near future, we finally get to see Bridge get his Premier League bow.

Transfer latest

The biggest piece of Aston Villa news surrounding Bridge was undoubtedly the little scare they got prior to the youngster actually penning his first professional contract with the club. Back in early 2019, AC Milan were reportedly very interested in the centre-back but he ended up deciding to stay put and develop at Aston Villa.

Since then, there were no concrete transfer rumours on the topic and Bridge seems to be on a steady course towards the first team, having already trained with the seniors on various different occasions, which we’ve pointed out earlier.

The next thing on the agenda, however, would be to tie him down with a new and improved contract so that they can ensure he will not be lured away by other European giants who might come snooping around.

With the exposure he’s getting with the seniors and the sheer talent under his belt, that one would be a given despite the lack of any real transfer rumours surrounding him at the very moment.

Player profile

Bridge has recently become the U23s’ captain and is slowly but surely moving up in the world due to his sheer talent and ability. Even though he’s still just 19 years of age, the classy centre-back is solid defensively but actually stands out for his attacking attributes as well.

In many aspects, you could say that he’s definitely not your everyday traditional defender but fits the mould of the modern centre-back perfectly. Apart from doing his defensive duties quite admirably and having the ability to time his tackles perfectly and win duels, Bridge also has a keen eye for a killer pass.

One of the issues he’s faced throughout his early years have been sloppy mistakes, however, and this is an area that may still need some polishing if he is to step up to the senior team. But the 19-year-old is also quite quick and agile, which gives him an opportunity to rectify his errors and put out the fire before it’s too late.

He might, however, still be a bit too slim for Premier League football and his injury record does show he’s had some fitness issues in the past. But even with that being said, the talent is certainly there and Aston Villa will have to keep their eyes peeled for this youngster.

The Daily Record has suggested that Glasgow Rangers make a move for Ilia Gruev after his contract at Werder Bremen recently came to an end.

The 20-year-old made the move to Bremen in 2015, and has played for their youth teams ever since. He has previously been compared to Fernando Redondo, but he failed to make a single appearance for the Bundesliga outfit, and he is now available on a free transfer. Whilst he is still without experience at the highest level, he could be a no-risk signing for Steven Gerrard.

Although he did not play for Bremen’s first team in the previous campaign, he did appear for their second team in the Regionalliga Nord. In 15 matches, he managed two goals and four assists, which is not a bad return for someone who is primarily a defensive midfielder. Bremen have had a very difficult term in the Bundesliga in the previous campaign, only staying up via the relegation play-off against Heidenheim, and even then only on away goals – manager Florian Kohfeldt had little opportunity to give inexperienced players their first opportunities in professional football.

Now out of contract, and with wages that are unlikely to be through the roof, Gruev could be a bargain for Ross Wilson and co at Ibrox. He is still very young and could certainly improve and with a Transfermarkt value of £180,000, taking him for nothing would surely be decent business.

Let us know what you think below!