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As shared by The Evening Standard, West Ham United boss David Moyes has been dealt a blow for Thursday evening with defender Vladimir Coufal still out of action.

The Lowdown: Coufal ‘discomfort’…

The Czech Republic star, who has been a revelation since his 2020 move from Slavia Prague, missed West Ham’s last Premier League game away to Everton due to injury.

Moyes, providing a cryptic update on Coufal’s condition after their 1-0 win at Goodison Park, revealed that he missed the trip due to ‘discomfort’ he has been carrying for a ‘few weeks’ (West Ham Zone).

The Latest: Coufal set to miss Genk…

While the Scotsman didn’t provide an update on the right-back in his pre-Europa League press conference yesterday, a report from The Evening Standard has shared his condition.

According to their confirmed team news and injuries piece, Coufal is indeed still out and set to miss tonight’s highly-anticipated clash at the London Stadium.

They say he is still nursing the groin injury and Moyes will also have to cope without summer signing Alex Kral, who has come down with COVID-19, and potentially Ryan Fredericks too, who is a doubt.

The Verdict: Blow for Moyes…

After winning their first two matches, West Ham could take one giant leap towards finishing top of Group H with another victory tonight.

If Moyes’ men can secure top spot, they would immediately qualify for the post-Christmas round of 16 as per the new Europa League format.

Tonight certainly comes as a big occasion in east London and losing Coufal through injury is undoubtedly a blow, especially considering he was a key player last season and lauded as ‘absolutely sensational’ by Stuart Pearce (Super Six Podcast via HITC).

In other news: ‘Yes yes yes’, ‘No brainer’…West Ham fans excited as contact made to sign ‘big’ striker, find out more here.

A big Newcastle United transfer claim has emerged on their chances of landing Thomas Muller this summer…

What’s the talk?

Transfer insider Dean Jones has provided an update on the club’s pursuit of the German international ahead of the upcoming window.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I’m told Newcastle have been informed that Thomas Muller will be signing an extension with Bayern, so they will be moving on from their interest in him.

“They were intrigued by the potential of a player of his quality and experience becoming available but will now look elsewhere, as this one has hit a dead end.”

The midfielder putting pen to paper on a fresh deal with the Bundesliga giants now appears to have left PIF looking elsewhere for reinforcements in that position.

Eddie Howe will be deflated

Howe will surely have been deflated by this claim as Muller would have been a sensational signing for the Toon army heading into the 2022/23 campaign.

The German has enjoyed a wonderful career with Bayern and proven himself to be a top-quality player over the years for club and country. He has produced 226 goals and 242 assists in 624 matches for the Allianz giants, whilst also scoring 43 times in 112 caps for Germany. This shows that he has delivered on a consistent basis in the final third over the course of a number of years, which means that he is a known quantity.

He would have come in at Newcastle as a player who can make an instant impact as he knows exactly what it takes to perform at the top level. Muller is not an up-and-coming prospect finding his way in the game and this means that he would have been less of a risk than, for example, signing a 22-year-old with under 100 appearances in a top European league.

In the Bundesliga this season, the 32-year-old has chipped in with seven goals and 17 assists in 30 outings. Meanwhile, no Newcastle player has more than six strikes or four assists in the Premier League, which means that Muller would have been a major upgrade on what Howe currently has at his disposal in attack.

Therefore, the head coach will be disappointed that the Magpies are now set to miss out on him as he looks to extend his stay with Bayern instead of making the switch to St. James’ Park.

AND in other news, 71% duels won: £19k-p/w NUFC titan brought his “passion off the pitch” onto it vs NCFC – opinion

Wolves manager Bruno Lage must keep winger Adama Traore at the club beyond the upcoming January window, with the Spaniard linked with a potential move to fellow Premier League outfit Leeds United as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid.

What’s the story?

Although Leeds are reportedly interested in Traore, Eurosport journalist Dean Jones has claimed that their “budget won’t be able to stretch to Traore” and a swoop for the Spaniard may have to be waited for until the summer.

As for Real, the Barcelona youth product has reportedly expressed his desire to return to his homeland and his agent has already contacted the Spanish giants.

With potential suitors elsewhere, it does beg the question as to whether or not the West Midlands club should hold onto a player that, on one side is yet to score this season, but on the other has previously received top praise, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola once labelling the 25-year-old as “a motorcycle.”

Wolves should keep Traore

It would be a disaster if Wolves allowed Traore to leave Molineux next month. The statistics don’t support that claim, with zero goals or assists in the Premier League so far this term. However, the Spaniard offers Lage plenty of pace and physicality, traits that the Portuguese’s squad isn’t necessarily blessed with.

Moreover, it isn’t as though the £27m-rated talisman is failing to bag in a high-scoring outfit, in fact, Wolves are the English top-flight’s second-lowest scorers with just 12 goals in 16 matches. Granted, Traore hasn’t contributed any of them and that is of course where he will have to improve.

We have seen what the 25-year-old is capable of before though, particularly in the 2019/20 season where he was “thrilling.”

That campaign saw Traore score a career-best four Premier League goals, three of which being against Manchester City.

You don’t go on to make over 100 Premier League appearances for a club without talent. Yes, it’s clear in which department Traore must improve but, given that his side are seriously struggling to score goals, Lage must keep the winger at Molineux for the remainder of the season at the very least.

After all, in the words of Tim Sherwood, he is a player who “destroys anyone.”

Journalist Pete O’Rourke says that he ‘could see’ Celtic bringing in further attacking reinforcements before the window is out.

He was discussing The Hoops’ January transfer business with GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

Celtic have made four signings so far this month, shelling out a total of £2.2m. In addition to midfielders Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi, they’ve recruited Daizen Maeda, who can play as a left winger and through the middle, and centre-forward Johnny Kenny.

It is worth noting, though, that the latter is only 18 years old and is making a step-up from the League of Ireland (ranked 40th in Europe) to the Scottish Premiership (ranked ninth), so he may not be expected to make an impact at first-team level straight away.

The latest

O’Rourke alluded to how Celtic’s plethora of injuries, particularly among their forward players, has perhaps led to summer signing Jota being overburdened, but he believes the club could address that by doing further business in the remaining two weeks of the transfer window.

He told GiveMeSport: “I could see that being the case, that Celtic are looking to strengthen (in attack). Obviously, we know that they’ve had lots of injury problems this season.

“James Forrest has been in and out of the side, Mikey Johnson struggled as well. So, a lot of it’s been down to Jota, who is just recovering from injury himself.”

The verdict

Who could the next attacking addition possibly be?

One name to have been linked with a move to Celtic is Shabab Al-Ahli’s Mehdi Ghayedi. Varzesh Seh have reported that Ange Postecoglou is very keen to land the Iranian forward, who has been labelled an ‘extraordinary killer’.

The 23-year-old, who is valued at just shy of £1.1m by Transfermarkt, can play across the frontline, offering tremendous versatility. Also, with 41 career goals to his name, he could be a smart signing for the club if they can bring him in.

Given the injury issues that O’Rourke has mentioned, Celtic could do worse than further reinforcing their attacking ranks while they are getting the chance this month.

In other news, Celtic have taken this bold contractual step

Taking to Twitter, Marco Conterio, chief editor of TUTTOmercatoWEB, has shared transfer news out of Tottenham involving AC Milan star Franck Kessie.

The Lowdown: Tottenham target…

The Ivory Coast star has been a name long linked with a move to north London as his Milan deal continues to wind down.

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Kessie is free to leave as a free agent at the end of 2021/2022 as things stand but the Rossoneri could still make a profit off his sale if they find a buyer for him before 11pm tonight.

Tottenham have been one of the big clubs tipped to make that happen throughout January but reporter Conterio has now shared a fresh update on Twitter.

The Latest: Tottenham table Ndombele swap deal proposal…

According to the Italian journalist, Tottenham tried to insert club record signing Tanguy Ndombele in a last minute swap deal proposal to sign Kessie.

However, Milan’s response to this offer was a swift no as Ndombele now nears a move to Lyon.

“Background on Tanguy Ndombele finished at Lyon on loan for 3 million with right of redemption,” he explained.

“Tottenham tried to insert him in a proposal to get Franck Kessie right away. No from Milan to Spurs.”

The Verdict: Blow…

The 25-year-old would’ve been a fine last minute move for Antonio Conte and transfer chief Fabio Paratici – especially going by his obvious quality and glowing endorsements.

Kessie’s manager, Stefano Piolo, has labelled the player ‘sumptuous’ – with his 19 goals since the beginning of 2019/2020 coming as further evidence of his threat going forward.

Valued at around £43.2 million by Transfermarkt, Spurs could have feasibly signed him for a much cheaper fee if Milan opted to do business this month, but it appears they’re resigned to losing him on a free later this year.

Perhaps this is one Paratici could revisit in six months time.

In other news: Tottenham enter last gasp bidding war to sign ‘crazy’ player, £16.6m offer made, find out more here.

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Liverpool were held to a dour 0-0 draw by Manchester United on Sunday.

The Reds knew that victory at Old Trafford would take them three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table but they were unable to take advantage of Pep Guardiola’s side playing in the Carabao Cup final.

Instead, their front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino drew a blank, with the latter substituted in the first half after appearing to hurt his ankle.

The result means that Liverpool are now just a point clear of Guardiola’s men. Their destiny is still in their own hands as they attempt to win their first league title of this century, but the dropped points inevitably qualify as a setback – especially against a United side severely weakened by injuries.

Many Reds fans are worried about the prospect of the run-in after a performance that was short on attacking threat and which featured a worrying injury to a top player.

Take a look at some of the best reaction on Twitter below!

Tottenham could sign Antonio Conte’s new N’Golo Kante in Juventus star Weston McKennie.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent months had claimed that the Bianconeri would be willing to let the USA international go in the summer, with “strong interest” from both Spurs and fellow Premier League club Aston Villa.

Italian publication Calciomercato have now claimed that the Lilywhites, led by transfer chief Fabio Paratici, have reignited their interest in the midfielder, with Juventus still willing to part ways with him.

Conte’s new Kante

The last time Conte was in the Premier League, he had a successful stint at Spurs’ London rivals Chelsea, leading them to the Premier League title with his favoured back-three formation.

Part of that team’s success came from the incredible midfield work that Kante got through in the midfield engine room, with the Blues ace playing more games under Conte than any other manager in his professional career (89).

The title-winning 2016/17 campaign saw him average a whopping 3.6 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game in the Premier League, and Conte will be looking to find his own Kante now at Spurs. In McKennie, he could find exactly that.

USA legend Alexi Lalas has already drawn comparisons between McKennie and Kante, saying: “He could be a new Gattuso for Pirlo, who played with the original and knows how important it was for the balance of that AC Milan (team).

“McKennie has something of Gattuso but also of (N’Golo) Kante and (Arturo) Vidal. As they say here: beauty and the beast both serve to win.  And McKennie, as well as a conqueror of balls, also has excellent skills in the construction of the game and with his head he is always dangerous.”

Hailed as a “leader” by David Wagner, the American’s performances in the Bundesliga for Schalke earned him a high-profile move to Juventus, where his former boss Andrea Pirlo was a big fan of the 23-year-old.

Calling him a “rock”, the Italy icon added: “He’s young and can improve a lot. In my opinion, he’s a midfielder who can play as a No 8 in a three in midfield, right or left. He gets in the box and scores goals but he’s also very good at winning the ball back.

“His role is in a three in midfield as one of the two players on either side of the regista. Last year we played in a different system, so he had to adapt.”

As per WhoScored, McKennie has an impressive career average of 1.2 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game, while also managing just under one shot and key pass per match – a real indication of how he could be used not only as a midfield destroyer, but as a more box-to-box threat too.

The “outstanding” £22.5m-rated star’s prospective arrival would surely have Spurs fans buzzing, and give Conte someone around whom he could build his midfield like he did with Kante at Chelsea.

Meanwhile, this Spurs star was disappointing against Vitesse…

Borussia Monchengladbach’s Denis Zakaria ‘seems [Manchester] United bound’, according to The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece. 

The lowdown

Zakaria will apparently be able to leave Gladbach this month for as little as £6million.

That’s because the 25-year-old’s contract is due to expire at the end of the current season, and it seems that the Bundesliga outfit are looking to cash in while they still can.

Zakaria is a Switzerland international who’s capable of operating as a defensive midfielder and as a centre-back.

Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk says United have ‘made an offer’ to the player’s camp and ‘would pay for a transfer in [the] winter’ rather than waiting until he’s a free agent.

The latest

In a fan Q & A, it was put to Preece that Aston Villa, on the hunt for a midfielder after an injury to Marvelous Nakamba, would ‘surely’ be in for Zakaria given his reported price tag.

But the journalist replied that Zakaria appears to be heading for Old Trafford, and so The Villans might have to focus on landing Brighton and Hove Albion’s Yves Bissouma instead.

The verdict

This update is really exciting for United fans. Data from FBRef.com shows that Zakaria is stylistically similar to West Ham United’s Declan Rice, producing a high volume of interceptions, blocks and dribbles.

Indeed, as of 11 January, only RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol boasted a higher dribbling success rate in the Bundesliga (among those who had attempted 30 or more).

Rice has been labelled a ‘priority target’ for The Red Devils, but David Moyes has indicated that West Ham would demand more than £100million.

Zakaria, who was dubbed ‘incredible’ by his former manager Marco Rose, could be a considered a bargain alternative at just a seven-figure fee.

In other news, fans flocked to this update on a potential outgoing.

Speaking in a Liverpool Q&A, journalist Paul Gorst has shared what he believes on Mohamed Salah’s contract situation at Anfield.

The Lowdown: Talks breakdown…

The Egyptian’s representatives and Liverpool officials recently failed to reach any agreement over an extension to his current deal on Merseyside, throwing his future at the club into question.

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Salah’s contract, as things stand, is set to expire at the end of next season – giving the Reds just two transfer windows to either reach an agreement with the player or opt to sell him for a profit.

The African superstar has been a crucial player for manager Jurgen Klopp this season, standing out as Liverpool’s most threatening player by some distance, leading the side in goals and just one assist from joining Trent Alexander-Arnold at the top of those charts too.

While Klopp has seemingly remained calm over Salah’s stand-off with Liverpool, Gorst has now made a claim that this surely cannot be the case inside the club.

The Latest: Gorst makes behind the scenes claim…

Speaking in a Q&A, when asked about a story which seemingly dominates most headlines coming out of Liverpool, Gorst explained:

“Jurgen Klopp has always projected an air of calm about the situation but there must be some concern behind the scenes that the contract remains unsigned, surely?

“Clearly something isn’t right. I did believe it would be resolved without too much fuss up until a few weeks ago when his agent, Ramy Abbas, started acting the goat on Twitter with the laughing emojis.

“If Salah does want to stay, as he has repeatedly claimed publicly, then FSG have to make sure it happens. A Gini Wijnaldum repeat will not be tolerated by fans.”

The Verdict: Worrying times…

Having Salah at the club for just one more full season would truly be a nightmare scenario for Klopp.

Raking in 20 goals and ten assists this season, Salah eclipses every one of his teammates in terms of shots at goal per 90 (4.3) and also tops every one as Liverpool’s best all-round performer by match rating (7.71, WhoScored).

Losing Salah would surely leave a gaping hole in Liverpool’s forward line, especially on a Bosman, with the ball now firmly being in FSG’s court to ensure he remains a key member of Klopp’s side for years to come.

In other news: Journalist: Liverpool want to sign ‘incredible’ star after he blew away Anfield officials, find out more here.

Leeds United’s return to the Premier League saw them embark on a bit of a spending spree under Marcelo Bielsa, and the Whites’ most high-profile signing was undeniably the capture of Valencia star Rodrigo.

Reports claimed that the Yorkshire club shelled out a club-record sum to bring the Spain international at Elland Road, and almost a couple of years later, it’s quite safe to say things haven’t really worked out for the forward – he’s managed just 12 goals and three assists in 55 games across all competitions for Leeds.

What perhaps makes a move for Rodrigo even worse now on reflection, is that they were actually also attempting to sign Rafael Leao at the same time back in 2020.

Football Insider claimed that the Portugal Leao was of interest to Leeds, although it was suggested that luring him away from the San Siro may prove to be “complicated” as Milan still had “high hopes” for him.

It was added the Whites had made enquiries for the attacker, and that if Milan were going to sell, it would be for nothing less than the £20m they themselves have paid to sign him for French side Lille.

Since that deal failed to come to fruition, Leao has come on leaps and bounds in his time in Serie A.

Now valued at £60m by CIES, the 22-year-old – almost a decade younger than Rodrigo – has really come to the party for Milan this season, bagging 11 goals and providing another six assists in 34 games across all competitions – including notching in the Champions League earlier this year.

The president of Leao’s former club, Lille, Gerard Lopez simply declared him the “Portuguese Mbappe”, while Sporting CP’s former youth coach, Tiago Fernandes, proclaimed: “I pushed (then-Sporting coach) Jorge Jesus to take him in the first team and I said to him: ‘Yes, Gelson Martins has talent but Rafael is the best player in the history of the Sporting Academy’. At youth level, he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo.”

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Dubbed as an “extraordinary talent” by Croatia legend Zvonimir Boban, it’s clear missing out on Leao may rank as one of  Victor Orta’s biggest howlers at Elland Road, especially when you consider how Rodrigo’s career has turned out.

The man with 34 career goals to his name could have been a superstar signing for the Whites up front.

AND in other news: Orta can now axe “awful” £55k-p/w flop as Leeds eye “underrated” £12.5m-rated “threat”