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Leeds fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed on the club’s official website that Kemar Roofe will spend a period on the sidelines after damaging knee ligaments in the recent win over Swansea.

The news will come as a big blow to promotion chasing Leeds, who will now be without their top scorer for the bulk of the run-in – 2-goal Patrick Bamford will most likely step in to cover the English striker.

Roofe has scored 14 goals in 26 Championship starts this season, so his absence will be a huge blow to Marcelo Bielsa who currently has his side sat in third and just two points off the top, along with a game in hand.

It is yet to be revealed just how long Roofe will be out for, but with such little striking depth in reserve who can match the 26-year-old’s output, Leeds supporters on Twitter are understandably worried about their chances of promotion following the crippling news…

Roy Keane has rejected the opportunity to become the next Sunderland manager.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Michael Walker, with The Athletic journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that, despite his heavy links with a move to the Black Cats, the 50-year-old will not become Lee Johnson’s successor at the club.

In his tweet, Walker said: “It appears Roy Keane is no longer part of Sunderland’s search for a new manager.”

Fans will be devastated

While it is true that Keane’s last management role came at Ipswich Town more than 11 years ago, considering the former Manchester United midfielder’s history with Sunderland, the news that the club look to have missed out on the appointment of the 50-year-old who podcaster Richard Mennear claimed would be a “major coup” is sure to have left fans devastated.

Indeed, during his first spell on Wearside from 2006-2008, Keane led the Black Cats to the Championship title in his first season in charge, before securing Premier League survival relatively comfortably in the subsequent campaign with a 15th place finish in the top flight.

However, after a shaky – but not unsalvagable – start to the 2008/09 season, with the Mackems having won four, drawn three and lost eight of their opening 15 league fixtures, Keane offered then-chairman Niall Quinn his resignation, which the former Sunderland centre-forward reluctantly accepted.

Following his departure, Quinn said of the 50-year-old: “He had put a lot of effort in here, brought more than just his presence here – he brought a way of thinking into this place. He was instrumental in developing a winning mentality – that was the toughest thing of all for him to come and do when we were at the foot of the Championship. He brought standards to this club which are amazing. But to do that, it’s intense.”

And, with Sunderland’s current promotion push falling off a cliff – with the Black Cats having won just one of their last seven League One fixtures, a run of results that also includes four defeats – Quinn’s description of Keane would very much appear to be exactly the type of manager the club require in order to get them back on track this season – leading us to believe that the Irishman’s return to the Stadium of Light would have been a fantastic appointment for the Mackems.

In other news: Scott Wilson now drops teasing update in SAFC managerial search, fans will be buzzing

Aston Villa journalist Ashley Preece believes a summer move for Luis Suarez is possible. 

The lowdown

Villa have already pulled off a blockbuster transfer under Steven Gerrard, bringing Philippe Coutinho – the fourth-most expensive player in football history – to The Midlands.

Gerrard, of course, played with both Coutinho and Suarez at Liverpool.

Suarez, who’s about to turn 35, is now into the final six months of his deal at Atletico Madrid.

Villa’s current striking options – Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings – have only managed nine goals between them in 34 combined appearances this season (via BBC Sport).

The latest

In a fan Q & A, Preece said that Suarez ‘is one for the summer’ because he’ll be remaining at Atletico until the expiry of his contract.

The move may depend on ‘whether Gerrard gives him a call like he did with Coutinho’.

He envisages a ’12-month deal’ but did caution that Suarez’s ‘astronomical’ wages could complicate matters.

The verdict

Suarez would arguably be an even more high-profile signing than Coutinho. In his pomp, this is a striker who featured in the FIFPro World XI.

And his output remains strong. Since joining Atletico ahead of the 2020/21 season, he’s bagged 30 goals in 66 appearances, including nine this season

Suarez has spoken extremely highly of the Villa boss, hailing him as one of ‘a small number of players in the world that are irreplaceable’.

If Gerrard makes the call and he agrees to a reduced wage, then perhaps we could genuinely see Suarez at Villa Park.

In other news, fans react to this approach for their defender.

Taking to Twitter, a number of West Ham fans have slammed the rumours suggesting that Andy Carroll could return to the club, following the news that he was pictured at the Hammers’ Rush Green training ground.

Shared by WestHamFans.org (via Claret & Hugh), images of former Hammers player Carroll at West Ham’s training ground have recently emerged, sparking rumours that he could be making a shock return to the club.

The 6 foot 3 striker made 142 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 34 goals during his tenure at the East London side.

In November last year, the 32-year-old joined Reading on a short-term contract. However, this contract has now expired, and the former Newcastle man is without a club. As a result, it remains to be seen what lies in the player’s imminent footballing future.

These West Ham fans react to the Carroll news

Club insider ExWHUemployee downplayed the rumours of Carroll’s return on Twitter, claiming that he has ‘been told the deal isn’t on’, further stating that he was ‘not sure why this Carroll rumour has so much legs’.

However, this still doesn’t explain why the player was pictured at the club’s training ground.

Consequently, fans flocked to the comments to share their disbelief, many slamming the club for entertaining such a prospect.

Here’s what some of them had to say:

“It’s baffling he is playing in the championship for a reason IMO even if we were in the bottom 4 it’s the wrong move and there are better options out there.”

Credit: @AshBarton70

“Don’t need to sign him ( we do need a striker). That’s a step backwards for us . Leave him in our history & move on .”

Credit: @SkeltonTony

“We’re desperate. That’s why hahahahaha”

Credit: @breggertelli

“Think it’s more about just how low our expectations still are!”

Credit: @richards_shaun

“Would be my last day as a West Ham fan”

Credit: @altgram

“Why on earth would they even consider it, are our fans deluded or something???”

Credit: @BKhammer1

Leeds United have made a late approach for Nantes forward Moses Simon, GFFN report.

The Lowdown: Simon profiled

Simon is 26 years of age and has been with the French side for 18 months since arriving in a £4.5m move from Spanish outfit Levante after a successful loan spell.

Primarily a left-winger who can also play as a centre-forward and on the right, Simon has scored 61 goals for club and country during his career.

The Nigerian appears to be at the peak of his powers with a career-high Transfermarkt valuation of £8.1m and seems to be attracting interest from Leeds.

The Latest: Approach made

According to journalist Ignazio Genuardi, via Get French Football News, the Whites are among the clubs to have made an approach for Simon.

There have been no major developments since this was reported on Saturday, so it seems as if Leeds could be biding their time before a possible deadline day move for the versatile forward.

The Verdict: Unlikely

The report claims that it could take an offer in the region of €20m (£16.6m) for Nantes to part ways with Simon this month, a fee which would be double his Transfermarkt valuation and be a costly one for Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers Enterprises.

Should Crysencio Summerville leave for Hamburg following recent rumours, then it looks as if Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino could be a serious target to replace the youngster.

Who knows, Simon could also be on the list, but Victor Orta and co may simply run out of time to push a deadline day move through, with Minamino a closer option geographically at Anfield. A deal for the Japan star will potentially have less complications in the negotiating room too if Liverpool opt to loan him out after the capture of Luis Diaz.

In other news, Leeds have been boosted in their quest to sign a Premier League player. Find out who it is here.

Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur side went into Sunday’s Premier League clash with Crystal Palace in an excellent run of form, winning three and drawing two of the 52-year-old manager’s five league fixtures in charge of the club.

And, goals from Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Heung-Min Son ensured that this unbeaten run would be extended to six league fixtures, with Spurs running out comfortable 3-0 winners against Patrick Vieira’s Palace side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, although all three goalscorers did indeed impress on Sunday afternoon, it was undoubtedly right-back Emerson Royal who stole the show for Conte’s side in the Premier League clash.

Four key passes

Having made a £22.5m move from Barcelona to Tottenham this summer, Emerson’s career in England did not exactly get off to the best of starts, with Kieron Dyer stating of the defender back in October: “Tottenham had [Kieran] Trippier and Kyle Walker as right-backs. The right-back they recruited, Royal, [he’s] miles off it, for me personally, miles off it.”

However, the £22.5m-rated man was anything but off the pace against Crystal Palace on Sunday, with the right-back turning in a performance of the highest quality in Spurs’ 3-0 win.

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch, the £62k-per-week Brazil international enjoyed 88 touches of the ball, completed 94% of his passes – four of which were key – found his man with two crosses and two long balls, and brilliantly set up Moura for Tottenham’s second of the game.

The defender was also incredibly solid at the back, making five tackles, two clearances and winning five duels, with these metrics seeing the 22-year-old receive a SofaScore match rating of 7.8 – bettered only by Moura and Son on the day.

Football.London reporter Alasdair Gold was also impressed with the returns of the right-back, awarding him a nine in his own player ratings, as well as stating of the youngster’s display:

“Struggled for quality early on with his passing but more than made up for it with first a weighted ball into Lucas’ path for the first goal for Kane and then perfectly stood up cross for his fellow Brazilian to power home Spurs’ second goal. Crossed for Lucas again late on only for his compatriot to fire over acrobatically. One of his best performances so far in a Spurs shirt.”

As such, while one swallow does certainly not make a summer, Emerson’s performance against Palace certainly proved many of the defender’s doubters wrong, as the 22-year-old was anything but “miles off it” on Sunday.

In other news: Bye-bye Doherty: Paratici could land Conte’s dream Spurs deal with £45k-p/w “Duracell”

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Paul Brown of The Daily Star has made a transfer claim involving Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye defensive overhaul?

Coming after the signings of Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero in the summer, it appears that Spurs chief Fabio Paratici isn’t quite done there in terms of defensive reinforcements.

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Since Antonio Conte’s arrival at the north London club, they have also been tipped to add more centre-backs to their roster, including marquee Serie A names like De Vrij, Juventus sensation Matthijs de Ligt and AC Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli (Calciomercato.it).

This could be ever more important given Romero’s recent hamstring injury, with Conte himself believing that it is ‘serious’.

In an update, Brown has now shared what he knows on Tottenham’s pursuit of De Vrij in particular.

The Latest: Brown makes de Vrij claim…

Speaking to GiveMeSport, the reporter said that Conte wants a ball-playing centre half and Spurs like the Nerazzurri mainstay the most out of the aforementioned targets.

He explained: “I think the main role Antonio Conte wants is a centre back who can play it out. De Vrij seems to be the one Spurs like most for that role.”

The Verdict: Best target?

It appears to be a toss-up between De Ligt and De Vrij for Spurs’ most prestigious centre-back target, with the former even being likened to Cristiano Ronaldo for his work ethic.

Meanwhile, the latter has been called a ‘worldbeater’ by former Leeds striker Noel Whelan after he played a crucial role in guiding Inter to the 2020/21 Serie A title.

De Vrij could be a more realistic purchase for Spurs going by price tag considering that he is rated at around £40m, whilst De Ligt could cost significantly more going by his £63m Transfermarkt valuation.

The only caveat may be the Inter defender’s age, however, with the 29-year-old hardly possessing a long shelf life when compared to De Ligt, who is seven years his junior.

In other news: ‘Coming from Tottenham’…Journalist makes exciting transfer claim with big offer tabled, find out more here.

Transfer insider Dean Jones has now revealed some exciting Newcastle United news involving three striker targets.

The Lowdown: New striker wanted?

Given recent links to the likes of Memphis Depay and Hugo Ekitike, it seems as if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium want to bring in another striker to St. James’ Park in the summer.

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Chris Wood was bought from Burnley in the January transfer window, but has only managed injury problems this season, and so bringing in another forward may be a smart bit of business.

The Latest: Three options

When asked if the Tyneside outfit will bring in the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Patrick Schick or Darwin Nunez to play ahead of or with Wilson next term, Jones told GiveMeSport:

“They’ll bring in somebody ahead of him as their go-to guy for goals. And, those three are all on the list.”

The Verdict: Exciting

It is certainly exciting for the Toon Army to be linked with all of these big-name players.

Calvert-Lewin is perhaps the one that they would be most familiar with, and if Everton get relegated from the Premier League, then he could become available on the cheap.

Nunez meanwhile is having a standout season at Benfica, as his recent goal in the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool was his 28th in total over all competitions so far.

Schick is perhaps more well-known on the international stage, where he averages roughly a goal every two games for Czech Republic, as his five strikes in Euro 2020 helped them get to the quarter-final stage of the competition (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, even bringing in one of these elite finishers will elevate the quality in Eddie Howe’s squad for the next campaign.

In other news, find out who will also miss Wolves alongside Joe Willock here!

Everton could create a formidable attacking partnership by partnering Dele Alli with Dominic Calvert-Lewin…

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that the Toffees have got their sights set on the Spurs star, and that Rafa Benitez’s side could well make a move for the England international later on in the January transfer window.

Imagine him and Calvert-Lewin

While Alli hasn’t enjoyed the greatest of times at Spurs in the past couple of seasons, his partnership with Harry Kane when the duo were in full flight was something to behold.

In fact, as per Transfermarkt, the duo have combined for a whopping 33 goals between them ie. directly setting each other up for goal – which is by far the highest of any teammate Alli has had in his career thus far.

His ability to break into the box and get on the end of things is what led former Spurs man Darren Anderton to previously suggest that Alli was comparable to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes in terms of his talent.

He said: “I’ve got to say that I loved Stevie G as a player and Scholesy but Dele Alli for his age is just a freak of a talent. I love his arrogance on the pitch, how clever he is in finding the positions that he does and his willingness to try everything. He is a real joy to watch.”

And, more recently, former Scotland boss Alex McLeish tipped him to enjoy a renaissance, saying: “In those days he was looking like an absolute wonderkid then all of a sudden it plateaued and then dipped. Hopefully, he’s coming back up the hill again. Back in the day, I thought he was a kid of enormous talent and was going to be an absolute superstar.

“That’s not quite happened yet but there’s still a chance for him to resurrect his career and be that superstar. His recent form with Tottenham has been excellent.”

With another leading England striker in the ranks on Merseyside in Calvert-Lewin, Alli could thrive in that support striker role that saw him flourish alongside Kane.

Calvert-Lewin and Alli could work off each other both with their ability in the air, and their movement inside the box – the kind of double act that could fire Everton up the table.

The £100k-a-week earning star could well replicate his old partnership with Kane at Spurs, by teaming up with Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park.

Meanwhile, Everton are considering a swoop for this Premier League outcast…

Leeds United centre-back Pascal Struijk is still suffering from a hip injury and will remain unavailable to Marcelo Bielsa, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Struijk missing for Leeds

The Whites enjoyed more stoppage-time drama on Sunday afternoon, drawing 2-2 at home to Brentford in their Premier League clash, thanks to Patrick Bamford’s last-gasp equaliser.

Bamford’s return was another indication that Leeds’ injury problems are slowly easing, but one player who is out is Struijk.

The 22-year-old went off at half-time against Crystal Palace last week after picking up a hip issue and missed Sunday’s clash with the Bees.

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The Latest: Hay gives injury update

Taking to Twitter after the weekend action, Hay confirmed that Struijk was still nursing that injury and is working on making a swift return:

“Struijk has a hip problem and is finishing his recovery.”

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The Verdict: Key figure to have available

Struijk may not be one of the first names on Marcelo Bielsa’s team sheet but he is a strong squad player due to his versatility, with Dominic Matteo claiming he’s ‘got it all’ as a player.

He is capable of playing at both centre-back and in a defensive midfield role, giving his manager more options as he looks to rotate his players during the busy festive period.

The hope is that Struijk is back fit for Saturday’s taxing trip to Chelsea, especially if Kalvin Phillips is injured for the game, having picked up a knock against Brentford.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly eyeing up a loan move for a player. Find out who it is here.