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Newcastle United tasted their second successive defeat in the Premier League as they fell 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday night.

Eddie Howe’s side took the lead thanks to a superb strike from Jonjo Shelvey, before goals from Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold saw the Reds clinch all three points.

One man who’s certainly given the Newcastle boss some food for thought going forward, is Matt Ritchie.

The Scotland international found himself on the bench again before the game – he’s been out of the starting line-up since the clash against Arsenal – but following Jamal Lewis’ injury, was forced to come on very early in the first-half.

While having to deal with the likes of Salah and Alexander-Arnold was always going to be a thankless task, Ritchie just couldn’t get to pace with the game.

As per Sofascore, he made no tackles whatsoever and didn’t win a single duel in the time that he was on the pitch – compare that to the likes of Jacob Murphy and Joelinton who each won eight and nine respectively.

Ritchie also couldn’t get going the other way either, failing to attempt a single cross and actually having fewer touches than even goalkeeper Martin Dubravka too – a sign of just how much he was penned back.

And, Ritchie’s situation is made all the more pressing by the news that Lewis’ injury is said to be a “bad” one according to Howe.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Newcastle boss added: “It’s a hamstring injury, which is a surprise with Jamal because he’s obviously so athletic.

“He’s been excellent in terms of his athletic work for us so far, so for that to happen so early in the game, I was surprised.”

With Paul Dummett still not fully fit, and Lewis seemingly set for an extended period out on the side-lines, it appears Newcastle have no choice but to stick with Ritchie in that left-back role for the time being.

It’s another major headache for Howe and one that he would have been desperate to avoid, no doubt hoping to focus his attentions elsewhere.

The January transfer window has already seen them linked with a number of players, including Sven Botman at Lille and a potential new central midfielder too.

But, having Lewis and Dummett out, and Ritchie having to once again play in an unfamiliar role, a new left-back may be something for the Magpies boss to consider.

Ritchie’s performance certainly didn’t show anything like the quality that would suggest he can be a short-term answer, let alone a longer-term one.

Meanwhile, Newcastle have suffered a major injury blow…

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Oliver Skipp could make a return from his ‘painful’ injury against Brighton on April 16, as per football.london journalist Alasdair Gold.

The lowdown: Progress halted

The 21-year-old has been enjoying a breakthrough campaign in N17 following a stellar loan spell at Norwich City last season.

Having started on 14 occasions from 18 Premier League appearances, Skipp had appeared to be growing into life in the top flight before a pelvic issue took hold.

The defensive-minded midfielder has now not featured for Antonio Conte’s side since their 2-0 defeat at the hand of Chelsea in January and continues to toil against the injury.

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Further light has now been shed on the problem as well as a potential return date.

The latest: ‘painful’ complications

Gold took to Twitter to share a corresponding article from football.london regarding the England youth starlet in the build-up to Sunday’s meeting with Newcastle, which will come too soon.

The journalist tweeted: “A piece on the full story of Oliver Skipp’s painful problem, the light at the end of the tunnel and why Antonio Conte loves him.”

The report adds that Skipp has endured an ‘awkward’ pelvic problem but could be ‘back in action within a fortnight’ and ‘perhaps’ in time for the clash with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It’s also added that Conte has a particular admiration for the 12-cap ace and regards the defensive midfielder as an ‘important player’ in the Spurs ranks.

The verdict: Huge boost

There can be little doubting that the workaholic engine room operator has been missed by Spurs, particularly for standout showings such as the one against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day, when the youngster was singled out for praise by Conte following a ‘very strong’ display.

Overall the academy graduate has earned an impressive 6.81 rating this season (Sofascore), playing an average of 75 minutes per game.

With an opportunity to earn a place top-four still on the horizon, welcoming the £18million valued Skipp back for the run-in would be a wholly welcome boost.

In other news, Italian source delivers an update on Tottenham’s pursuit of Serie A star. Find out more here!

Aston Villa have been one of the clubs linked with a January loan move for PSG midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, with the Dutchman struggling for game time in Paris.

What’s the story?

After a transfer to Spanish giants Barcelona fell through during the summer, Wijnaldum opted to go to France and join PSG after his contract at Liverpool expired.

However, the 31-year-old has only managed to accumulate 949 minutes of football this season under Mauricio Pochetinno, who once labelled the £27m-rated midfielder as “aggressive”.

According to 90min, the former Liverpool star has been linked with an array of Premier League clubs, including Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa with the Parisians reportedly willing to allow the Netherlands international to go on loan in January in a quest for minutes.

The major implication to any deal going through is the fact that Wijnaldum is reportedly earning over £300k-per-week, meaning that the French giants would have to cover a significant proportion of his salary if he was to play elsewhere for the remainder of the season.

Imagine him & McGinn

It has already been reported that the Villans plan to invest heavily and Steven Gerrard will be assessing his squad over the coming weeks to identify areas for improvement.

The 41-year-old appears to have found his preferred midfield trio for the time being, with John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba all starting together in the last three games.

McGinn in particular has been a stand out performer under the Englishman scoring in the 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace and has averaged a 7.62 match rating under Gerrard, according to SofaScore.

The Scotsman has been linked with a £50m move to Manchester United with new manager Ralf Rangnick looking to “inject energy” into his team. It’s easy to see why he’d be a good addition for anyone, let alone Villa after he was described as “unbeatable” by Ryan Babel.

The Dutchman has amassed a pass success rate of 89.5% proving his ability to keep things ticking over with a measured approach in the middle of the park which combined with McGinn’s dynamic and bullish approach would be quite the sight.

Should McGinn stay and Wijnaldum join, the Villans would certainly mean business with a mouth-watering midfield with one of either Luiz or Nakamba likely to fill the third place in the middle.

Furthermore, if Villa were able to land such a deal, it would prove a major statement of intent from the West Midlands club, with Villa seven points off of the top six.

Trent Alexander-Arnold could be fit for Liverpool’s vital Premier League clash with Manchester City, according to journalist James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Liverpool suffer Trent blow

The Reds are firing on all cylinders at the moment, with their quadruple chances still alive going into April, in what could be a legendary season at Anfield.

They suffered a blow recently, however, with Alexander-Arnold suffering a hamstring issue in the 2-0 win away to Arsenal in the Premier League.

It was reported that he would miss ‘weeks’ and therefore the potentially season-defining trip to City on April 10th, but that may have changed.

The Latest: Promising update emerges

Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, The Athletic‘s Pearce claimed that Alexander-Arnold could now be available, in what is a significant update:

“Trent Alexander-Arnold’s rehab progressing well. Chance he could be fit for crunch clash at the Etihad on April 10 – but that would be a quick return. Important hurdles still to clear. (Includes an update on Naby Keita too).”

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The Verdict: Potentially result-defining

Alexander-Arnold’s influence is absolutely enormous, so him starting at the Etihad a week on Sunday has the potential to alter Liverpool’s title chances.

The 23-year-old is the Reds’ main creative force, registering 15 assists this season, with so much of their play coming through his wand of a right foot, in terms of his passing, crossing and energy down the flank.

Alexander-Arnold being fit would give City so much more to worry about than if Joe Gomez plays at right-back, with all due respect to the makeshift full-back, and it would enhance Liverpool’s hopes of picking up one of their biggest Premier League wins of all time.

In other news, Fabrizio Romano has dropped a key Liverpool transfer claim. Read more here.

Everton have now officially sold Lucas Digne to Aston Villa, and in return are set to take one of their players off their hands and a fresh update on the move has been revealed.

What’s the word?

Fabrizio Romano has revealed an update on Everton’s signing of Anwar El Ghazi.

The Italian transfer insider tweeted in the early hours of this morning:

“Anwar El Ghazi has signed his contract as new Everton player, deal sealed and here-we-go confirmed. Medical completed, official announcement will be today.

“El Ghazi joins on loan from Aston Villa. Buy option clause [not mandatory] is also included in the deal.”

Fans will be furious

The move for El Ghazi to Everton is one that will come tinged with negativity, as he is signing at the cost of fan favourite, Digne, and when you look at Everton’s team, the signing of a winger doesn’t seem to be a priority position to fill in the team.

After all, they already have the likes of Andros Townsend, Demarai Gray, Anthony Gordon and Alex Iwobi at their disposal in that area of the pitch.

Toffees fans have taken to social media to share their thoughts and their confusion on the signing of the Dutch attacker, with one fan exclaiming:

“We’re wasting money to replace players who don’t get a game then? El Ghazi to replace our 5th choice winger? Clearly the priority should have been a CDM/CM to replace Allan, one of our best players, essential to breaking up play, who Rafa seems determined to drive out next.”

Another furious fan tweeted:

“Gone from Carlo, James, Digne to Rafa, Rondon, El Ghazi. Biggest downgrade in history.”

Indeed, it’s easy to see why they’re so angry about proceedings. The club seems to have not learned their lesson about wasting money on players that they don’t need, with owner Farhad Moshiri making a large number of signings in his time as owner of the club.

He has spent over £500m without the Toffees progressing or winning any trophies in the process, and as a consequence, they now that they sit 15th in the Premier League, just six points off relegation.

Therefore, the idea of signing a player who isn’t even a regular at one of their league rivals is a puzzling one as it’s unlikely to take them to the next level at all.

It will be interesting to see how Benitez will fit the Villa man into his line-up and whether he will become a first-team player, replacing a starter already in the side.

In other news: Everton should land Dele Alli

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Tottenham Hotspur face a tough visit to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Saturday in a Premier League encounter. Realistically, Spurs have to win in order to maintain their status of title contenders.

On paper, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be heavy favourites, but Sean Dyche’s team can be extremely hard to beat, especially on their own patch.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

The Clarets are very physical, and with the likes of Chris Wood, Ashley Barnes and Peter Crouch in their ranks they pose a serious aerial threat in the final third. For that reason, Toby Alderweireld must retain his place in Spurs’ starting XI.

The 29-year-old centre-back started against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last time out, but did not start the previous league outing against Leicester City. Pochettino has rotated his defence frequently recently and having huge games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Dortmund on the horizon – along with the return to fitness of Danny Rose, which could allow Jan Vertonghen to resume his favoured central berth – could tempt the manager into resting Alderweireld against Burnley.

That would be a mistake though, as the Belgian’s experience and aerial prowess make him better suited to dealing with this specific opposition than the likes of Juan Foyth or Davinson Sanchez. Without him, Spurs will struggle.

Flocking to Twitter, many Manchester City fans have erupted over the latest transfer update out of their club following on from their alleged agreement to sell Ferran Torres to Barcelona.

The Spaniard, as per very reliable reports, will return to Spain as the Catalans and City shake hands on a £46.7m (€55m) initial fee plus a further £8.5m (€10m) in add-ons (Sky Sports).

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Torres came to Eastlands with bags of potential and impressed on more than one occasion, but a move to Barcelona is seemingly too good to turn down for the player with City now cashing in after just one full season.

As the Sky Blues and sporting director Txiki Begiristain look set for a cash injection, an update has emerged on City’s transfer plans courtesy of reliable reporter James Ducker of The Telegraph.

According to his information, the money raised by Torres’ sale will likely be put towards the signing of a star striker for next year with Pep Guardiola’s side still firmly in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Braut Haaland.

Man City fans erupt…

Flocking to this transfer claim, which one fan called ‘massive’, many City supporters have erupted on Twitter given their club’s failure to sign a world-class forward in the summer.

It is arguably the only gaping hole in Guardiola’s squad after the departure of club legend Sergio Aguero with the City coach yet again improvising with makeshift options this campaign.

Hearing the fee for Torres could be reinvested to back City with a star forward, as a result, has come as music to the ears of supporters – especially with Haaland as a target.

Find all of their best reactions down below after @CityXtra shared The Telegraph’s update:

“YESSSSS”

Credit: @BernardoTouch

“I’m on my knees for this to happen.”

Credit: @Zhubbie2

“It’s time.”

Credit: @MCFC_67

“YESSSSS SSIRRRRRRRRRRR”

Credit: @thaworldzyours

“Please please please”

Credit: @fidels782

“DO NOT GASS MEEEEEE”

Credit: @izmcfc

“Massive W”

Credit: @MNCTed

In other news:  ‘Wow’, ‘Yessss’, ‘Get it done’…Man City fans beg for ‘no brainer’ as ‘great news’ emerges, find out more here.

West Ham United have reportedly made a bid for Flamengo striker Gabriel Barbosa as David Moyes looks to add to his squad ahead of the January transfer window closing in just over a week.

What’s the latest?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Peter O’Rourke has confirmed that the Hammers have been negotiating a deal to sign Barbosa on an initial loan deal from the Brazilian outfit.

“They’re still in and around Gabigol but the problem is Flamengo would prefer a straight-up sale for the Brazilian striker,” said O’Rourke.

“West Ham are trying to negotiate a loan deal with an option to buy and so far Flamengo are not interested in that, so it’s a bit of a stalemate at the minute.”

The east London club have just one senior striker in Michail Antonio and are yet to make a signing this window, meaning that Moyes and co. could be set for a dramatic final week.

West Ham must sign Barbosa

Chasing Champions League football with one senior striker is a disaster waiting to happen for the Irons. Luckily, Antonio has only missed one Premier League game for West Ham this season but could easily pick up an injury or suspension over the final months of the season.

The Hammers have been able to find goals of late from their wingers, with Jarred Bowen in particularly hot form, scoring four goals in his last four games. However, that isn’t sustainable and the east Londoners will need to add depth to their attack.

Valued at £23.4m by Transfermarkt, Barbosa’s record for Flamengo is particularly impressive, scoring 84 goals in 123 appearances for current employers Flamengo, with the Brazilian outfit signing the 25-year-old from Inter Milan two years ago.

In fact, Flamengo legend Zico showered the striker in high praise, stating: “I think Gabigol has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history. It’s getting there. His performance got better and better, consolidating himself as one of the greats.

“He’s already gone down in history. He is young and can do much more, and hopefully, he can do it. Doing this is always good to give joy to the Rubro-Negro fan and, logically, we always expect this from a guy who has the potential that he has.”

Granted, the Brazilian has already endured spells in Europe which proved unsuccessful, making just ten appearances for Inter Milan and scoring once as well as playing in five matches for Benfica, also scoring once.

However, West Ham, in the predicament that they’re in, cannot ignore a goal record like the one Barbosa has at Flamengo, regardless of the level at which he has been playing.

Not only is Antonio Moyes’ only senior striker, but he hasn’t exactly set the world alight this campaign. After a prolific start to the season where he scored five goals in his first six Premier League games of the season, the Jamaica international has only found the back of the net on three occasions in the top-flight since.

If the Hammers are serious about making a push for a top-four finish, it is vital that they add at least one reinforcement up front.

Meanwhile, West Ham target is made available for sale…

A number of Liverpool supporters are happy after journalist Neil Jones claimed James Milner would leave the Reds in the summer.

The 36-year-old has proved to be a fantastic servant for Liverpool since arriving on a free transfer from Manchester City back in the summer of 2015.

Milner has made a total of 272 appearances for the Reds, using his experience to great use and winning both the Premier League and the Champions League.

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The midfielder’s current deal expires this summer, however, and it may be that his time at Anfield comes to an end at that point.

That certainly seems to be the opinion of Goal‘s Jones [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], who claims that Milner is ‘expected to leave’ once the season reaches its conclusion.

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Liverpool fans react to Milner claim

It’s fair to say the versatile veteran hasn’t been at his best this season, and these Liverpool fans reacted to the news positively on Twitter, claiming it is the right time for him to move on.

“Great news”

Credit: @2kelo_tuks

“Thank you Lord”

Credit: @charmokwana

“This is the best news of the year so far. Strip #7 off of him and give it to Harvey or Diaz”

Credit: @Sabista_

“Good”

Credit: @Smartooski

“Milner off to Leeds where he’ll be a player-coach”

Credit: @yemoisakop

“Give Diaz no.7 then I beg”

Credit: @BSSLFC

In other news, Liverpool have reportedly made an ‘official proposal’ for one player. Find out who it is here.

Newcastle United are interested in a deal to bring James Tarkowski to St. James’ Park in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent claim made by Dean Jones, with the transfer insider revealing in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that he expects the Magpies to pursue a deal for the Burnley centre-back in the winter market, with Sean Dyche’s side reported to be willing to part with the defender for a figure of around £20m.

Speaking about Eddie Howe’s reported interest in the 29-year-old, Jones said: “They do want an English spine and that’s why Tarkowski makes sense, signings like that, and I still think that Tarkowski is someone they’re going to pursue.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Tarkowski has been for Burnley in recent years, in addition to the fact that Newcastle’s defence is an area of the pitch in which Howe simply must strengthen this January in order to give his side the possible best chance of beating the drop come May, the news that the Magpies look set to make a move for the England international is sure to have left fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his 12 Premier League appearances this season, the £22.5m-rated man has scored one goal, registered two assists and helped his side keep one clean sheet, in addition to making an average of 1.8 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 5.2 clearances and winning a whopping 6.9 duels per game.

These returns have seen the £50k-per-week centre-back average a SofaScore match rating of 7.22, ranking him as Burnley’s second-best performer in the league, as well as the 32nd-best player in the top flight.

As such, the addition of Tarkowski to a Newcastle defence that has already shipped 27 goals over their 12 league fixtures would indeed appear to be a very wise move for the club in January, particularly at an extremely affordable – in the eyes of PIF – £20m.

In other news: PIF could “easily” seal NUFC deal to kickstart Howe era in £76m-rated “golden boy”