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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has backed Jurgen Klopp to stay at Liverpool.

There has been some talk about Klopp leaving the Merseyside club, with The Mirror recently reporting that there are fears at Anfield that the Reds boss is keen on succeeding Joachim Low as Germany manager.

This comes after what has been a difficult season for the German and Liverpool, who find themselves miles away from runaway leaders Manchester City and in a battle to secure Champions League football.

Without a doubt, Liverpool’s defence of their Premier League title has been a disappointing one. That alone, however, will not be enough to see Klopp out of Anfield, according to Palmer, who has described the former Borussia Dortmund manager as a “strong character”.

In an exclusive interview with FFC, Palmer said:

“I think he’s had a difficult time this year. I mean, his mother’s died and he’s had a difficult time. I wouldn’t see Jurgen leaving Liverpool to take the Germany job, I would see him leaving Liverpool to have a break. Sometimes, you know, emotionally and everything, things get a bit on top of you.”

Speaking on the subject further, Palmer added: “I’ve seen too much of Jurgen, I’ve seen too much of his strong character. Knowing him, I think he’ll want to finish the season strongly, finish in the top four and then have a tilt and prove that them winning the league wasn’t a fluke.”

While Liverpool’s title defence looks all but over, there is still much to play for. As well as fighting for Champions League qualification, the Reds have a chance to win the trophy before the start of next season.

They head into the second leg of their last-16 tie against RB Leipzig in a strong position, having won the first encounter 2-0, leaving them 90 minutes away from making it to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition.

According to a report by Football Insider, Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy remain keen on Wigan Athletic attacker Kyle Joseph but Scottish giants Celtic having offered him a pre-contract in an attempt to fend off the Lilywhites. 

It has been reported recently that Tottenham have been keeping tabs on Joseph ahead of the summer window, with Football Insider claiming last week that former Spurs boss David Pleat is actively monitoring the forward as a club consultant.

Tottenham remain keen on Joseph despite tabled Celtic offer

Tottenham have apparently been compiling a dossier on Joseph as they plot a swoop – with a development now emerging that rivals in the race Celtic have attempted to swoop in first.

Indeed, the Hoops have offered the 19-year-old a pre-contract in a ploy to fend off Spurs according to this report – who are their most notable competitors for Joseph.

However, in a glimmer of hope for the Lilywhites, Football Insider also claim that Celtic definitely haven’t sealed his signing and Tottenham remain keen – as well as fellow Glasgow giants Rangers.

Transfer Tavern take

Despite currently being out with a back injury, Joseph has shone for the Latics this season – described by Wigan Observer journalist Paul Kendrick as a ‘shining light’ from their academy.

He only made his debut in October but still managed five strikes in 14 appearances for Leam Richardson’s side before being sidelined.

If Spurs can eventually beat the likes of Celtic and Rangers to his signature, they could debatably have another talent on their hands alongside their growing crop of promising youngsters.

In other news: This star reveals he rejected a move to Spurs, find out more here.

In a recent interview, former Premier League forward, Gabriel Agbonlahor, took aim at the Leeds United manager, Marcelo Bielsa, for his part in Patrick Bamford’s injury.

Having started all 28 of Leeds’ Premier League fixtures so far this season, playing 94% of all the possible minutes, Bamford was withdrawn due to injury after just 35 minutes in the club’s recent 0-0 draw with Chelsea, after initially attempting to play on through the pain.

And, in a recent interview with Football Insider, the former Aston Villa striker, Agbonlahor, took aim at Bielsa for failing to give the Leeds forward a rest at any point over the course of this season, suggesting that the 65-year-old is 100 per cent to blame for the 27-year-old’s injury.

He said: “[Bielsa is] 100 per cent [to blame]. You can’t play every game of the season, very rarely. Maybe when you’re young, [but] he’s getting older, Bamford.

“You need to have a little rest. Training is so demanding for them, it’s inevitable he’s going to pick up injuries. I’m sure he’ll be having a little rest now to recover from his injury before he comes back into the side.”

Transfer Tavern Take

While Bielsa has both Rodrigo and Joe Gelhardt as centre-forward options in his first-team squad aside from Bamford, Rodrigo has often been playing in an attacking midfield role this season, while 18-year-old Gelhardt is yet to make his senior debut for the Whites.

As such, perhaps Leeds’ failure to bring in experienced backup for Bamford last summer does lay at the feet of the Argentine, however, considering the remarkable form the 27-year-old has been in this season, scoring 13 goals over his 28 league appearances, it is questionable whether he would be dropped by Bielsa even if there was the option of a direct replacement.

In other news: Leeds are ‘thinking seriously’ about making this key addition – find out more here!

Some Liverpool fans have been providing their thoughts on Nabil Fekir joining the Reds, with a report linking them with their former target.

Back in the summer of 2018, it looked as though Fekir was going to be the latest exciting addition to Liverpool’s squad, with Jurgen Klopp extremely close to snapping him up. A failed medical because of a knee issue saw the move for the Frenchman fall through, however, and it ended up being a transfer that got away.

Liverpool didn’t fare too badly without Fekir added to their squad, though, winning the Champions League in the season that followed before clinching Premier League glory a year later.

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Now 27 and plying his trade at Real Betis – he moved there from Lyon in 2019 – the attacking midfielder has again been linked with a move to the Reds.

According to Todo Fichajes, Klopp is potentially still keen on bringing him to Anfield and he will likely cost less than before.

It is a move that is hard to see happening, though, considering Fekir turns 28 later this year and the Liverpool manager is known for signing younger players who he can turn into world-beaters.

Liverpool fans don’t want Fekir at Anfield

These Reds supporters reacted to the news on Twitter.

“Why? His injury problems haven’t gone away”

Credit: @b4thekid

“Not unless he found a new knee in Seville”

Credit: @Jonny_Faulkner

“Stop it!! Do not go there!”

Credit: @andymoff86

“How many crocked players do we need?”

Credit: @GhostmanMus

“Zero chance”

Credit: @BigAl130

“Don’t do this to me again”

Credit: @danyoung91

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been calling for one Reds star to leave the club this summer. Find out who it is here.

Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has revealed Nathan Patterson is a doubt for this weekend’s Old Firm derby.

Patterson a doubt

Patterson started against Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday but was substituted after 78 minutes, with Jack Simpson coming in to replace him.

Speaking prior to this weekend’s clash with Celtic, Gerrard revealed he is a doubt for the match. He said (via The Daily Record):

“In terms of the injury news we’ve come out of last night’s game pretty well, Nathan Patterson had to be removed because he had quite a severe kick in the calf area that we’re assessing this morning.

“So I’d say he’s probably the only real big doubt, everyone else has come through pretty fine.”

Blow

This is no doubt a big blow to Gerrard. He is already without his usual first-choice right-back James Tavernier, who is also the club captain and the Gers’ top scorer so far this season (Transfermarkt). Since he was forced out of the team through injury, Patterson has stepped up and impressed. Even former Celtic winger Kris Commons has praised the 19-year-old, calling Patterson “excellent” after his performance against Slavia this week.

In his absence on Sunday, Gerrard would have a difficult decision to make. Leon Balogun has played on the right of the back four on occasion, but it is certainly not a position he is familiar, while Simpson is not accustomed to featuring in that position either. Whoever is chosen, the 55-time Scottish champions will be weaker without Patterson if he is unavailable.

In other news, Alan Hutton suggests this Rangers ace could leave Ibrox this summer.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who scored four goals in 13 appearances for England, believes Michael Keane will get back into the England squad, but he must convince Gareth Southgate he can offer something different.

Southgate made a number of big calls for his latest England squad with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dele Alli, Patrick Bamford and Jack Grealish all missing out.

This is the last round of fixtures before Southgate announces his squad for this summer’s European Championships and after being in most of Southgate’s previous squads, Keane now has an uphill battle to secure a seat on the plane this summer.

Speaking on what Keane must do to get back in Southgate’s thoughts and how he may have to rely on other’s having a poor run of form, Bull told FFC:

“Michael Keane is a very good and talented young player, who has got time in front of him. He hasn’t got in the squad this time, but Coady might have a bad session this time and then next time around Keane could get the call-up.

“So, all he’s got to do as a player is keep rolling his sleeves up and performing for Everton and then he’ll get his call up when Gareth Southgate can see something in him to say ‘yeah, he is ready for the job’.”

During the last round of International fixtures, Michael Keane got his first goal for England in a 5-0 win against Montenegro.

Both Everton and Wolves find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League for goals conceded with 37 and 38 respectively.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Leeds are fully intent on extending Marcelo Bielsa’s time at the club.

What’s the story?

The Argentine has come to signing one-year rolling contracts at Elland Road, and inevitably that always raises questions towards the end as to whether he will put pen to paper on a new deal.

Reports in recent days and weeks have even thrown former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri’s name into the equation, but Romano has insisted that the Italian is not on Leeds’ radar, and that Bielsa is the man they want in charge for the foreseeable future.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Romano said: “I’m told that they are planning with him and that they are doing their best to keep him. They want to go on with him and are doing their best to convince Bielsa. What I’m told is that there is nothing with Allegri, and that he’s looking for something different.

“All respect to Leeds, but Allegri is looking to win titles and was one of the best managers in Serie A, and is looking for top, top clubs. Leeds is an amazing project but they are happy with Marcelo Bielsa. I think, yes, they will go on with him and are planning with him. It’s up to Bielsa, we know he’s a particular as a person and not just as a manager. But let’s see what happens in the coming weeks.”

Radrizzani must act now

Make no mistake about it, if there’s one priority for Andrea Radrizzani when it comes to this summer, then tying down Bielsa to a new deal at Elland Road simply has to be it.

The Argentine has been the catalyst for Leeds’ revival over these past few years, leading them to the Premier League after so many years away and already establishing them as a force with which to be reckoned within it.

Bielsa has very much built himself as the face of the Yorkshire club, and it’s incredibly difficult to imagine a time without him sitting down on his chair in the dugout and barking out instructions constantly.

Making sure he signs a new contract would send a hugely important message about Leeds’ plans for the future, and act as a welcome boost to the playing squad too, most of whom have been on that long journey from the Championship to the top flight.

Meanwhile, Leeds must surely regret selling this star…

Reports by L’Equipe, via Sport Witness, earlier this week claimed Everton have shown an interest in Valere Germain, but Carlo Ancelotti would make an unforgivable mistake by pursuing a deal for the Olympique de Marseille striker.

Germain is understood to be a target for a host of European sides with the 30-year-old out of contract in the summer, and his time at the Orange Velodrome expected to come to an end having been unable to impress Jorge Sampaoli.

The Argentine took over from Andre Villas-Boas at the OM helm in February and is yet to award Germain a single second of game time, having left the £3.5m-rated forward as an unused substitute in each of his four Ligue 1 fixtures in charge.

It is claimed that Germain’s spectator role in Marseille’s 2-0 win at home to Dijon FCO on Sunday came as a clear indication to his time in southern France being over, and that it is now inevitable he will leave at the end of the season.

Germain has already discussed a summer transfer with several clubs, including serious talks with Italian outfits as the Serie A emerges as his most likely destination. Ligue 1 sides FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Stade Rennais are also very keen to keep the forward in France.

But they could face competition from AC Milan and Everton as well, as the two parties have also come forward to express their interest in a potential move for the former France U21 international with a view to taking on a squad role.

The Toffees and Rossoneri have only made initial contact with Germain over transfers to Goodison Park and the San Siro, as they look to round out their options for next season.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-everton-news-and-views” title=”The latest Everton news and views!”]

Everton may be in the market for a striker this summer amid doubt in the long-term futures of Cenk Tosun and Moise Kean on Merseyside, with the attackers both available for the right fee and Joshua King being expected to leave at the end of his contract in June.

But Ancelotti would make an unforgivable mistake by targeting Germain to offer depth behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, as the Marseille outcast would not be expected to push either to perform at their best.

Ancelotti has praised AS Roma loanee Robin Olsen for keeping Jordan Pickford on his toes this season, having seen the 31-year-old push the England number one to clean up his game by not being afraid to swap his goalkeeper option.

That choice would not be there with Germain being the latest understudy for Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, having never proven to be a prolific centre-forward throughout his career.

Sampaoli’s assistant coach Nasser Larguet, who took interim charge of Marseille following Villas-Boas’ sacking, may have described Germain as “a very good professional” who can be influential on results, yet that is all too often not the case.

Germain boasts a woeful one in five goal record for Marseille since his arrival at the Orange Velodrome in 2017, having scored just 31 times in 159 games across all competitions. In fact, across his career, his record sits at just one in four with 94 goals in 397 appearances.

The ex-AS Monaco striker has only provided 40 assists throughout his career since making his Les Monegasques debut in May 2011, as well, for a combined goal involvement of one in every three games or every 177 minutes.

Ancelotti would not be able to rely on Germain stepping up to the plate and delivering for Everton when Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison are off-form next season, and must not step up the Toffees’ alleged interest despite the £43,000-per-week attacker set to be a free agent.

AND in other news, Everton have landed a huge boost in the race to sign a £20m “victim of circumstance”…

Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed he does not care about Danny Ings’ mentality for Euro 2020 and has said the striker must put Southampton first.

Hasenhuttl discusses Ings

The £19.8m-valued ace has so far earned three caps for England, scoring once, and is in with an outside chance of making Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s showpiece.

However, ahead of the Saints’ clash with West Brom on Monday, Hasenhuttl claimed that Ings must concentrate on the St Mary’s Stadium outfit above all else. He said (via football365.com):

“If he has a (place in the) Euros or not, he is part of this club.

“He has a contract with this club, so that contract means he has to do everything and just to help us, this is the deal we made.

“I don’t care about the mentality for the Euros, this is something like a bonus for him.

“The most important thing is that he helps us win games, that he helps us in climbing the table and that he helps us maybe come into the FA Cup final.

“This is the deal we have with him, and so long as he is here, he tries to give his part to this deal and we give our part of the deal.

“We offer him everything that is possible to make him better – and this is how it should be with every player.”

Spot on

Of course, Ings will have eyes on the international tournament this summer, and he will no doubt want to be a part of the squad. However, as Hasenhuttl says, the Saints must come first, especially as they still have so much to play for. While the Saints are 10 points above the relegation zone as it stands (Sky Sports), they are not yet mathematically safe, and they also face Leicester City in the FA Cup semi-finals next weekend.

Ings’ future at Southampton remains uncertain as rumours continue to circle about a potential move away from the south coast. For now, though, he remains a Saints player, and as their top scorer he has a big role to play between now and the end of the season.

In other news, Southampton are interested in this midfielder.

Charlton Athletic bolstered their League One play-off ambitions with a huge victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Sunderland on Saturday afternoon, and arguably, midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey ran the show.

Nigel Adkins’ side made it three games unbeaten under his tenure and eight unbeaten overall, moving the Addicks to within one point of the top six, with only seven games left to play this season.

An own goal from Josh Scowen and a close-range finish from Alex Gilbey saw the Black Cats’ own 14-match unbeaten run come to an end.

After the match, The Valley faithful voted for their ‘Man of the Match’ on social media, and goalkeeper Ben Amos won it, taking a 65% share of the votes.

Indeed, that was rather deserved considering SofaScore graded him as the Addicks’ best player on the pitch with a rating of 7.8, only Aiden McGeady from the home side managed better.

However, it was Forster-Caskey who put in an industrious performance in the heart of the pitch, so much so that he merits far more plaudits and perhaps was their unsung hero on the day.

The 26-year-old dynamo recorded more touches (52) than any other Charlton player, merely showing the sort of influence he has on this side – everything ran through him, and it paid off.

In return, Adkins saw his box-to-box maestro deliver three key passes, which ended up being a solid chance created once every seven passes, as per SofaScore. Only one other player bettered his 73% passing accuracy as well.

Once again, no other Addicks starter was able to match this creativity, whilst defensively, he proved to be just as productive.

Forster-Caskey made a squad-high four tackles, which was double the amount of the next best Ian Maatsen, and one more than the whole Addicks defence combined. He also put in two interceptions, thwarting the league’s third-best midfield, whilst he won seven of his duels, too.

Previously lauded as “unbelievable,” the 5 foot 10 ace has always been noted for his pressing and high work rate.

Ex-Charlton boss Lee Bowyer said to LondonNewsOnline last month: “If you do see your teammate running and fighting and pressing then it has a natural reaction. You have to go with him because if not you stand out like a sore thumb. He does have that impact. He’s been here since day one when I was here. He does have that aura in the dressing room.”

Forster-Caskey was dominant for the Addicks on Saturday afternoon, as evident by his lucrative returns above. Amos may have made the standout impact between the sticks, stopping the Black Cats in their tracks but the long-serving midfielder deserves plenty of praise.

He was Charlton’s unsung hero.

AND in other news, Gallen on verge of making ghastly Charlton mistake over “unplayable” £5.4k-p/w dynamo…