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Nottingham Forest midfielder Ben Watson made his first start since October in his side’s 3-1 win against Wigan Athletic at The City Ground last weekend, and his future prospects are certainly looking much brighter under Martin O’Neill than they were just few weeks ago.

On the chalkboard

Well, despite finishing the 2017/18 campaign in fine form and often captaining the Reds in the early stages of the current Championship season, the 33-year-old fell out of favour under previous manager Aitor Karanka following the 2-1 home defeat by Norwich City on October 20.

The midfielder suddenly found himself behind the likes of Adlene Guedioura, Claudio Yacob and Jack Colback in the central midfield pecking order, and on nine occasions between October and January he didn’t even make the substitutes’ bench for Forest in the league.

That changed following the arrival of O’Neill as Karanka’s successor however, and while he was an unused member of the 18-man squad against Bristol City he was reinstated to the starting XI and even named as skipper against the Latics last time out.

Does he have a big role to play now?

He does, but only one condition.

In the 4-4-2 system that O’Neill employed in his first match at The City Ground there should be no spot for the 33-year-old, as he no longer has the legs and box-to-box ambitions to only have one teammate alongside him.

It is no coincidence that Watson impressed as part of a midfield trio in a 4-3-3 against his former club last Saturday however, and while he did his job defensively well he could also advance forward too, knowing that he potentially had two players that would cover him if needed.

Watson looked destined for the exit door either this month or in the summer had Karanka remained with the east Midlands outfit, but with a contract not due to expire until the summer of 2020 he now must grasp the new opportunity he has been handed.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

Leeds United have earmarked Barcelona star Sergino Dest as a summer transfer target according to the latest reports…

What’s the story?

TEAMtalk’s James Marshment revealed on Twitter: “TEAMtalk understands that Leeds are pushing forward with plans for the summer window and, subject to Prem survival, remain actively in pursuit of Brenden Aaronson. He’s not the only American on their radar either, with sources informing us that Sergino Dest is also a target.”

Huge statement from Leeds

Rated at £100m by CIES, Dest is a full international for the USA who has been a regular for Barcelona this season.

He’s made 27 appearances across all competitions, including starting in both legs of the Europa League last 16 clash against Galatasaray recently.

While some Leeds fans might be worried about their club trying to sign another young full-back from Barcelona, Dest is simply far better going forward than Junior Firpo, and more reliable defensively too.

As per Sofascore, Dest makes half the amount of fouls per game as the Leeds man, gets dribbled past less than half the time, and also boasts a far superior pass accuracy and successful crosses per match too.

Indeed, according to his former Ajax teammate Quincy Promes, Dest is a “big talent”, and those thoughts were echoed by the club’s manager, Erik ten Hag.

Speaking after the American won the club’s young player of the year award a couple of seasons ago, he said to the full-back: “You came like a comet. You played a lot of games in Ajax 1, including in the Champions League. You showed your potential. This is well deserved.”

Given he is only 21, and is already playing at the highest level with Barcelona, a move for Dest would be a hugely exciting one and a really big statement for Leeds to make.

AND in other news – Sold at £8m, now worth triple: Leeds had a nightmare over “fearless” 5 ft 9 magician

Tanguy Ndombele could still remain a Tottenham Hotspur player past January 31st despite reports suggesting otherwise…

What’s the word?

The Frenchman, who cost a club-record £55m in the summer of 2020, was booed by supporters in last weekend’s FA Cup third-round triumph over Morecambe.

As the jeers got louder, Ndombele got slower as he was substituted in the 69th minute, all whilst the side were still 1-0 down to the League One minnows.

After the match, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano delivered an update on his future, claiming that “Tottenham are looking for a solution to sell or loan out Tanguy Ndombele in January,” whilst The Athletic believe the 25-year-old is hopeful for a move away.

However, according to Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, Ndombele isn’t unhappy at the club and he could yet stay despite the controversy.

“I’ve done plenty of probing around on this – to see if there’ll be any potential suitors out there for him. The kind of level of club that could potentially pay that money, certainly – let’s obviously talk hypothetically first about any permanent options for him – they’re not desperate for that position,” he revealed to the ‘Last Word on Spurs’ podcast this week.

“I just don’t think there’s the options out there for him this month, Ndombele. And I’ve been told by sources close to the player as well that he’s not unhappy at Spurs, despite his body language the other day.”

Likely to stay?

It would seem that Ndombele is more likely to stay than go right now and that’s hardly a surprise given his reported £200k-per-week wages – who on earth is going to pay that, along with a transfer fee, for a player that has failed to cut it in the Premier League for quite some time?

He missed the midweek defeat to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup but weirdly, manager Antonio Conte hinted at the decision being from above his head. “It was a technical decision, but before to take the decision, I don’t take the decision if I don’t consult the club, there is the club line and I have to follow the club line,” he claimed after the game.

If Conte is still keen to use him and the player isn’t actually unhappy behind the scenes at Hotspur Way, as Thomas suggests, then you’d imagine there are going to be several sections of the Lilywhites’ faithful absolutely fuming.

Once the crowd turns against you in that manner, there is surely no way back but we’ve been here before with Ndombele. He reportedly wanted out under Jose Mourinho. He reportedly wanted out under Nuno Santo. And now here we are with a third successive manager.

It’s no wonder the fans have given up with their club-record signing. He arrived with so much promise from Lyon, only to deliver ten goals and nine assists in 91 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

That means he has a direct contribution once every 4.7 matches, which isn’t good enough for an attacking playmaker.

All in all, there won’t be many pleased with this behind the scenes bombshell from the Sky Sports journalist. With a little over two weeks to go, only time will tell if Ndombele will remain a Spurs player for the foreseeable future.

AND in other news, Spurs eye 1st Jan signing in “crazy” £7.2m-rated beast, he could be Conte’s next Pirlo…

According to reports in France, via Sport Witness, Issa Diop could be on his way out of West Ham in January, with AC Milan, Newcastle and Watford all sniffing around for his signature.

The Lowdown: Diop faltering

Diop has had an up and down career in east London since joining from Toulouse in 2018. He racked up 64 Premier League starts across his first two campaigns as a Hammer, but has fallen out of favour and made the XI just five times in the top flight this season (Whoscored).

That fall from grace has largely been down to the form of Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma under David Moyes, with injuries to the pair the only reason Diop has found himself back in the team in recent weeks.

He hasn’t exactly thrived since returning to the heart of the defence though, ranking as West Ham’s 16th-best performer this season. He averages a mere one aerial duel win per game, less than half that of both Ogbonna and Zouma (Whoscored).

The Latest: Hammers in contact

According to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, translated by SW, three clubs have already initiated contact to offer Diop a route away from the Irons.

The report claims Milan have made an enquiry while Newcastle and Watford have also ‘established contacts’, although there are no specifics on whether West Ham have a desire to sell.

Diop is currently valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, with a contract running until 2023 – the club also have an option to extend that by a further year.

The Verdict: Would be foolish from GSB

While there is no question Diop’s development has not gone as expected after his early promise in claret and blue, selling in January would be foolish, especially to a Premier League rival.

The 6 foot 4 colossus seems to have lost a bit of confidence – to go from Jose Mourinho hailing him as a “monster” who “dominated” Manchester United back in September 2018 to a player struggling to win a single header per game certainly indicates that.

However, he is still only 24, and with the injury crisis suffered at centre-back this season Moyes simply does not have the option of cashing in now. That would leave the Scot with only Craig Dawson as a senior centre-back, and it’s hard to envisage GSB splashing the cash on several winter signings to fill that gap.

With the time left on his contract, the Hammers would be much wiser allowing the Frenchman six more months to prove his worth, and simply sell up in the summer once their first-choice pairing returns if that does not happen.

In other news: Hammers fans were stunned by one man’s display vs Watford…

Everton have officially sacked Rafa Benitez, becoming the fifth manager to be shown the door since Farhad Moshiri became the majority shareholder at the club in 2016, and there are already a number of managers being named as potential suitors for the position.

Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Roberto Martinez have all been identified as rumoured targets as Benitez’s successor at the club, after Sky Sports journalist, Ben Ransom, named the trio live at Finch Farm on Sunday afternoon.

However, there is a manager that was closely linked with the Everton job before they appointed the Spaniard in the summer.

Nuno Espirito Santo is currently out of work, after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur following a poor start to the season, and was replaced with Italian manager, Antonio Conte, but could become the perfect appointment for Everton in their current situation where they find themselves 16th in the Premier League this season.

The Portuguese coach earned his credibility and respect in the top-flight during his tenure at Wolverhampton Wanderers taking them from midtable in the Championship to a Europa League quarter-final and an FA Cup semi-final, establishing themselves as a Premier League club finishing as high as seventh in two consecutive seasons in the league under his guidance.

His 47.7% win ratio at Molineux surpasses the 47.1% Wolves completed as they won three league titles in the 1950s under Stanley Cullis, earning him high praise from respected figures in English football, with Gary Lineker hailing the manager “fabulous” upon his mutual departure from the Midlands club.

Lineker told viewers of Match of the Day after Wolves were defeated in Nuno’s last game in charge:

“Ultimately, a disappointing farewell for Nuno but he’s done a fabulous job there over the years and turned them into a real, proper Premier League club.”

Moshiri could hire Nuno and utilise his proven experience in building a club up from mediocrity to challenging in Europe and domestic competitions, finally giving Everton fans something to smile about after a nightmare season so far, with an ongoing lack of success, going further back then Moshiri’s Everton journey, which has seen the club without a trophy for almost 27 years.

Everton have confirmed in a statement that they will announce the new manager at Goodison Park in due course, with currently no word of any official approach being made for any prospective appointment so far.

That said, we think it should be the former Wolves and Tottenham boss who is handed the keys to Goodison Park.

In other news: Sky Sports journalist reveals favourites for the job

Glasgow Rangers were not at their best away to Hearts earlier this afternoon, but early goals from Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo ensured that they got another three points.

It was actually the home team who had more possession and recorded more shots on goal than Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side, and The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst Gers players (to have featured for at least 45 minutes) were on the day:

Glen Kamara (6.8)

Kamara was ranked by SofaScore as the Light Blues’ third-worst performer with a 6.8 overall rating.

The Finland midfielder lost out on three of his duels in total and also failed to record a single clearance, interception or tackle in the game, while losing possession of the ball twice.

Fashion Sakala (6.7)

Sakala actually got the assist for the first goal scored by Morelos, but was still given a relatively low 6.7 rating by SofaScore.

The Zambia international lost nine duels, the most out of any of his teammates, while he failed to get on the scoresheet with any of three of his attempts on goal.

Sakala was also guilty of giving the ball away far too often throughout the match, 16 times in all, the second-most out of any Rangers player.

Scott Arfield (6.5)

Despite his efforts, Arfield was ranked as the Gers’ worst player with a 6.5 rating given by SofaScore.

The 33-year-old lost six of his duels and was also unsuccessful with his two shots and one dribble attempt.

In addition, Arfield lost the ball six times in what proved to be a frustrating afternoon individually for him.

In other news, another man’s performance against Hearts was slammed by many Gers fans

There has been a considerable amount of fuss surrounding the northeast of England in the last few weeks after Newcastle were taken over by the Saudi Prince Investment Fund.

The finances driven into St James’ Park now make them the most lucrative team on earth and thus, their spending power in 2022 could be quite considerable.

What’s the word?

That being said, their ability to spend that money wisely won’t be entirely feasible until they find the right director of football.

PIF are moving cautiously and sensible in their bid to improve the football club and after hiring Eddie Howe, next on their agenda is appointing someone capable of aiding him in the transfer market.

Michael Edwards was linked before that was quickly quashed upon the announcement of his departure from Liverpool.

Michael Emenalo appears to be the favourite at the moment, and according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, talks will begin in the coming days over the vacant role.

Speaking on the latest edition of the Here We Go podcast, the Italian reporter said: “I will keep an eye also on Michael Emenalo, former Chelsea director. It could be an interesting one for Newcastle. But let’s see if they will do something surprising as they did with the manager.”

“Newcastle are working on a sporting director and this week they will start to have some conversations. Let’s see when they will decide.”

Exciting times

Although the news that Newcastle are looking for a director is hardly fresh, the idea that they’re set to ramp up the process over the next week will surely excite the Toon Army.

Following the sacking of Steve Bruce, the departure of Mike Ashley and the subsequent arrival of PIF and Howe, there is only one piece of the jigsaw that needs to be filled; a director of football.

It’s evident that the Magpies could do with an expert in player recruitment behind the scenes which is why fans will no doubt be excited to hear that they are now set to do things properly.

They have been left to witness some pretty diabolical recruitment over the last few years with Joelinton’s club-record move at £40m summing up their inadequacies.

The Brazilian has scored just ten goals since arriving in English football and on that evidence, it’s clear that Newcastle needs to start spending their money more wisely.

Under PIF, that will become particularly important, especially when it comes to financial fair play.

The club’s Saudi-led backers won’t be able to spend a bucketload of cash without playing fairly and picking up players like Joelinton at extortionate prices won’t help their cause.

Yet, if they are able to secure someone like Emenalo, a man famed for the influx of Belgian talent at Chelsea in Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Kevin de Bruyne, it could be game-changing for the football club.

It must be a relief for everyone associated with Newcastle that their football club is beginning to be run in the correct manner. These are truly exciting times at St James’.

AND in other news, Howe could find his new Ake if Newcastle swoop for “very intelligent” £26.8m beast…

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Luka Jovic to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report from Spain (via Sport Witness), who claim that David Moyes’ side will go head to head with Tottenham Hotspur in a bid to secure the signing of the Real Madrid centre-forward at the end of the current campaign.

The report goes on to state that the 24-year-old himself is desperate to depart the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, while Carlo Ancelotti is also more than willing to part ways with the Serbia international – with the LaLiga side reported to be demanding a €30m (£25m) fee for the striker.

Imagine him & Antonio

Considering West Ham’s rather desperate need for a new centre-forward this summer, with Michail Antonio having been the Premier League side’s only recognised senior striker ever since the sale of Sebastien Haller back in January 2021, it is not difficult to understand why Moyes would be interested in a move for Jovic ahead of the Hammers’ 2022/23 campaign.

While it is true that, following his €60m (£52.4m) move to Madrid back in the summer of 2019, Jovic has struggled to make any real impact at the Bernabeu – featuring for a grand total of just 1487 minutes, the equivalent of 16 and a half matches, over his near three-year spell in Spain – the 24-year-old has nevertheless proven previously just how talented a player he is.

Indeed, over his 32 Bundesliga appearances in his final campaign with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19, the £16.2m-rated forward was in devasting form, scoring 17 goals, providing five assists and creating seven big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of three shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player who Mladen Krstajic dubbed a “dangerous” talent average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.14, ranking him as his club’s third-best performer in the top flight of German football.

However, it was not only domestically that Jovic impressed that season, as the £152k-per-week hitman was also in deadly form over his 14 Europa League fixtures, bagging ten goals, registering one assist and creating two big chances for his teammates, with these returns seeing the Serbian – who Zvezdan Terzic predicted to “explode” back in 2014 – average a SofaScore match rating of 7.26.

As such, should Jovic be able to refind this level of form following a potential switch to West Ham this summer, alongside Antonio, Moyes will have finally formed an extremely dangerous attacking duo at the London Stadium – something that has been a huge issue for the Hammers over the last year and a half.

AND in other news: Moyes could unearth WHU’s next Cottee in 18 y/o “talent” who’s “getting rave reviews”

Crystal Palace have moved on with Patrick Vieira steering the side into a much more comfortable position of 11th in the Premier League since he joined the club in the summer and made signings of a number of young players in the side, but could now be heading for his first mistake of his career with the Eagles.

What’s the word?

According to talkSPORT, Palace are front runners to sign Juventus outcast, Aaron Ramsey, after the Serie A giant’s manager, Massimiliano Allegri, confirmed that the 31-year-old will leave the club in January.

Juventus’ official club Twitter account tweeted a quote from the manager;

“@aaronramsey is an outgoing player. Instead @AlvaroMorata will not leave, he is a performance footballer. The problem with him is that he is given a wrong label. He is very important: I talked to him and I told him not to move from here. Case closed.”

Sky Sports have added that Allegri also said:

“Ramsey, he returned today after we had given him a few days off to work, to train separately, in England. In any case, he’s an outgoing player. “

The Eagles are not the only club rumoured to be interested in the midfielder, with Sport MediaSet reporting that both Newcastle United and Aston Villa are interested in securing his signature this January, following the comments from Allegri.

Fans will be fuming

Palace fans have welcomed the new era of Vieira, who has brought in a number of young players to the club that have made a great impact on the side this season so far, with loan player Conor Gallagher stealing the headlines on a number of occasions for his performances at the club.

However, adding a player like Ramsey to the team doesn’t make much sense in Vieira’s path to produce and nurture young talent at Selhurst Park, with the £175k-per-week star turning 31 years old last month, it would seem that he wouldn’t be part of a future project at the club but more of an impact signing that could hinder the development of other players.

One CPFC fan tweeted about the speculation of signing the player;

“I cannot understand why we are/were favourites to sign Aaron Ramsey. If it was as simple as ‘would you like Aaron Ramsey in the Palace team?’ then obvs it would be a yes but basically every single caveat of the deal makes no sense for us.”

Crystal Palace’s squad was the oldest in the Premier League upon Roy Hodgson’s departure, but Vieira’s appointment has seen him sign Gallagher, Odsonne Edouard, Will Hughes, Michael Olise and Marc Guehi, which has brought the average age down from 29.8 to 28.

Adding Ramsey, therefore, would only repeat Hodgson’s mistakes. Vieira must forget about the Welshman, even if his Arsenal association is tempting.

In other news: Journo reveals blow to Palace transfer target

Phil Hay has dropped an update on the current condition of Leeds United centre-forward Joe Gelhardt.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent revealed that, after limping off with what initially appeared to be a dead leg in the U23’s 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday evening, the 19-year-old is now set for further assessment to determine the seriousness of his knock.

In his post, the journalist said: “Due to have more assessments.”

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Marsch will be gutted

Considering the terrible luck Jesse Marsch has had with injuries since his arrival at the club back in March – with all of Patrick Bamford, Jamie Shackleton, Lewis Bate, Junior Firpo, Tyler Roberts and Leo Hjelde currently in the Elland Road treatment room – the news that Gelhardt could join the Whites’ stricken group ahead of Saturday’s six-pointer against Watford is sure to have left the 48-year-old gutted.

Indeed, with Bamford out of the season, should the 19-year-old be unavailable for selection this weekend, the American manager will have no fit centre-forwards in his first-team squad – something that could well lead to Marsch fielding Daniel James in a central attacking role once again.

However, with the winger having failed to impress when deployed through the middle so far this season – bagging just three goals over 17 appearances at centre-forward this season, as well as averaging an extremely disappointing WhoScored match rating of just 6.56 – it is clear to see that the absence of Gelhardt would come as a huge blow to Leeds’ chances of securing all three points at Vicarage Road.

And, with just eight points separating the 18th place Hornets and 16th place Leeds, a loss on Saturday could well see the Whites slip back into a fight for survival over the run-in of the Premier League campaign – an eventuality no one involved with the club will want to occur.

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