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According to a West Ham United source, speaking to Football Insider, star striker Michail Antonio looks set to make his decision on switching international allegiances to Jamaica at the end of the season – with the 30-year-old currently wanting to focus on the Premier League campaign.

Antonio, who has debatably been one of the Hammers’ most important players this season when available, has been at the centre of reports linking him with representing the Reggae Boyz at international level.

Fans have often expressed their concern that Antonio’s injury problems could be exacerbated by regular trips across the Atlantic for international breaks, feeling his final decision could have a big impact on his availability for the Irons.

Antonio looks set for end of season decision

A claim by the Telegraph last month emerged detailing that Antonio looked certain to turn out for Jamaica in their quest to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, with the country’s Football Federation wanting him in the squad for qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico in September.

Football Insider have now provided this latest update as a Hammers source tells the outlet that Antonio is going to delay his call until the end of the campaign.

It is relayed by the outlet that Antonio is ‘passionate’ about turning out for Jamaica given he is yet to receive his first international cap for England.

Transfer Tavern take

Former Three Lions boss Sam Allardyce has called him up to the squad before, as well as Gareth Southgate, but with no appearances to date.

Described as ‘frightening’ by Harry Redknapp on Sky Sports (via the Boot Room) earlier this season, one could argue that Antonio has been unfortunate to miss out on a first cap so far.

Time will tell exactly when this decision will be at the end of the campaign, but the reports could suggest he is more likely to opt for Jamaica.

In other news: West Ham are eyeing talks to sign this starlet, find out more here.

It appears the Glasgow Rangers hierarchy are now actively looking to offload wantaway winger Jordan Jones in the summer transfer window after they named their asking price for the Northern Irishman.

The 26-year-old’s future at Ibrox was thrown into doubt this week after Football Insider revealed he has set his sights on staying at an EFL club this summer after falling out of favour under Steven Gerrard.

Jones has been on the receiving end of Gerrard’s wrath over the years, dating back to the red card he received for his late challenge on former Celtic right-back Moritz Bauer in 2019, and his latest infraction – which came hours after the Gers beat Kilmarnock 1-0 to go nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership – appears to have been the final straw.

According to Football Insider, it seems Rangers chiefs are ready to cut ties with Jones for good and will accept a reduced asking price for a player who was once valued at £1m by Kilmarnock.

The Gers are willing to accept a six-figure fee for the Northern Irish international, which is believed to be in the region of £600,000, to rid themselves of the problematic ace once and for all.

After impressing at Premiership rivals Kilmarnock, big things were expected from the winger when he first arrived at Ibrox, but unfortunately it hasn’t worked out for him in a Rangers’ shirt as he has barely featured at all since the start of this season – and for very good reason.

In the last season alone, the versatile forward has only found the back of the net once in his past seven appearances across all competitions. By comparison, even Brandon Barker has contributed to more goals and assists this season, per Transfermarkt.

Now 26 and entering the final two years of his £9,100-per-week contract, Rangers should do all they can to get him off their books.

Despite his shortcomings, it’s unlikely he will be short of suitors with many EFL clubs still on tight budgets due to the financial restraints of the coronavirus pandemic.

AND in other news, Rangers outcast Brandon Barker sends Steven Gerrard timely reminder…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer suggested his former club West Brom did all they could in the January transfer window.

During it, manager Sam Allardyce and technical director Luke Dowling were able to bring in the likes of Robert Snodgrass, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Mbaye Diagne, giving the Baggies a boost in their fight for survival.

With West Brom struggling at both ends of the pitch this season, though, the Baggies could have perhaps done with further strengthening. They are one of the lowest scorers in the Premier League, registering just 20 goals in the current campaign, and have the worst record when it comes to goals conceded.

However, Palmer believes the club did what was realistically possible in the transfer market, noting the need to be financially cautious. In an exclusive interview with FFC, the former England international said:

“Well, the problem is in the position that they’re in, it’s always dangerous, isn’t it? Do you overspend to try and stay in the Premier League? Because, you know, if you go down, you’re left with a big wage bill.

“And it’s not that easy, as we’ve seen, to get automatic promotion from the Championship, so I think it’s a balancing act. And I think they would have taken that with a view when they brought Sam in.

“At the time they brought him in, obviously the wage they’ll be paying Sam and the recruitment they’ve done, I think they would have taken a calculated gamble in what they were doing. So, you know, I think they’ve done as much as what they can.”

Whatever the case, West Brom will believe that they can stay up. The Midlands club are currently nine points adrift of safety; however, they play 17th-placed Newcastle United on Sunday in a relegation clash that could completely change the dynamic down at the bottom.

The players can also draw confidence from having a very experienced manager in charge in Allardyce, with the ex-England boss boasting zero relegations from the Premier League on his CV, leading previous sides Crystal Palace and Sunderland to top-flight safety.

Whilst Southampton have enjoyed a fairly impressive start to the 2020/21 season, they have been reliant on Danny Ings and Che Adams for their goals at times, with their wingers struggling for goals.

Stuart Armstrong has two goals in the top-flight, whilst Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond have just one each and the fact that the Saints have now failed to score in their past three Premier League fixtures emphasises that these wingers need to start contributing a lot more.

We have seen Nathan Tella on the bench at times this season, with the academy talent having notched four goals as a striker in a recent game against Leicester City U23s but other than that, Hasenhuttl seems reluctant to put his faith in Southampton’s youngsters.

Something the Austrian should consider doing to amend their current goalscoring problem is promoting 20-year-old Will Ferry to his senior side.

The left-winger, who joined from Bury FC in 2017, has impressed with the academy sides at Southampton and was rewarded with a new two-year contract in January of this year.

The Ireland U21 international certainly seems to have a knack for scoring goals, having contributed seven goals and nine assists in 23 appearances for the U’18 side, before being moved to the U’23 side.

This season he has managed one goal and two assists in 10 appearances in the Premier League 2 and certainly deserves a chance to show what he can do in the Southampton first-team.

When he was handed a new deal with the club, the Southampton website described him as a “pacey winger” who has impressed with the academy and wants to make the next step into the first-team.

Certainly, next month’s FA Cup fixture against Shrewsbury Town could prove to be the ideal time to give Ferry a chance in the Saints first-team, and if he impresses Hasenhuttl, there’s no reason why he can’t push for a Premier League debut, should the likes of Redmond and Djenepo continue to struggle.

And, in other news… Boufal 2.0: “Super-talented” Hasenhuttl buy risks following failed path at Southampton 

Leeds United have found themselves being linked with several new recruits this month as the January transfer drama continues to ramp up. According to the Daily Mail, the Yorkshire outfit have registered interest in Swansea City’s Yan Dhanda, along with Bournemouth, Marseille and RB Leipzig.

Whilst the midfielder has been somewhat out of favour for the Swans this season, it could be worth Victor Orta taking a chance on him and bringing him to Elland Road.

Would Yan Dhanda fit in at Leeds?

According to Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old has made just 12 appearances in the Championship this season and he has one goal and one assist to his name. Whilst this isn’t an ideal window into his abilities as a midfielder, Leeds could be an ideal destination for the playmaker.

Dhanda has a lot of promise – coming from the youth ranks of Liverpool, the England youth international will have enjoyed playing and training in a fast-paced environment. Joining a side like Leeds will be a huge step in his career, which could bring out the best in his abilities.

Sofascore statistics show that Dhanda is fouled on average 1.3 times per match, which indicates that his footwork and movement on the ball can be a handful for opponents, forcing them to commit the foul to stop him in his tracks.

Marcelo Bielsa is known for putting faith in players and building them up to their full potential. Kalvin Phillips is a prime example of this. The 25-year-old came through the club’s academy and is now one of the Argentinian’s first ports of call when it comes to selecting his match day squad.

Bielsa put a lot of faith into Phillips, who is now arguably one of the most dependable defensive midfielders in the league. His Sofascore stats of 2.9 tackles per game is higher than fellow No.6 operators such as Joao Moutinho and Declan Rice. Phillips has thrived under the trust of Bielsa and the Argentinian boss can also turn Dhanda into a solid attacking midfielder if he joins the club.

With a valuation of just £900,000 as well, the 22-year-old will be a very inexpensive signing and one that could potentially work wonders in the Leeds engine room under Bielsa’s watchful eye.

In other news, Leeds must splash on signing Ryan Kent from Rangers…

Leeds host West Ham at Elland Road this evening with the Yorkshire outfit now 14th in the Premier League table. After their recent 3-1 loss to Chelsea they will be hoping to bounce back.

Despite Patrick Bamford’s goal against the Blues, Leeds were unable to hang onto their lead and suffered the wrath of Frank Lampard’s clinical side.

Marcelo Bielsa is suffering with several injury problems and he will be without both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente when the Hammers come to town.

In his latest press conference, the manager revealed his entire planned starting lineup (as per Phil Hay), which was certainly a bold decision.

Bielsa stated Rodrigo is going to start in attack. The £120,000 per week (as per Sportekz) summer signing hasn’t started for Leeds since October, which was only his third start of the season. So far, he has just one goal contribution to his name, which came in the 1-1 draw against Manchester City, via Transfermarkt.

But he cannot ride on this achievement for the rest of the season. Since his strike against City, Rodrigo hasn’t contributed to his new club’s attack.

Despite that, he earned plenty of praise from the aforementioned Hay on his Athletic Podcast who described him as a class act and said he could be a huge player over the next couple of years.

West Ham will be without striker Michail Antonio which certainly will restrict their attacking threat. Bielsa must look to pounce on this and deploy his strongest players to hit them on the counter. Sadly, judging from recent performances, the Spaniard is not part of that group.

Star man Bamford needs creative support and starting a man with just one goal contribution in nine matches is a questionable decision.

Ryan Fraser badly betrayed Steve Bruce with an invisible display in Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup quarter-final loss to Brentford on Tuesday night.

The ex-AFC Bournemouth wide man started the action away to the Bees as Bruce sought to secure the Magpies a place in their first League Cup semi-final since 1976, yet left the pitch after 65 minutes having run out of steam with nothing to show for his efforts.

Fraser had returned from a hamstring injury in Newcastle’s 5-2 humbling at Leeds United last week before only making the bench against Fulham, and would have sought to use a meeting with lower-league opposition as his chance to display his importance to the side.

Yet he could not deliver anything of true significance as Brentford emerged 1-0 victors thanks to a 66th-minute effort from Josh Dasilva, moments after Bruce had replaced Fraser with club-record striker Joelinton.

Fraser came close to assisting fellow summer arrival Callum Wilson with a teasing delivery into the Brentford box, but his cross proved his only telling contribution on a night where goalkeeper Karl Darlow had more touches of the ball (31) than the 26-year-old (30), per SofaScore.

The Scotland midfielder further failed to impress having offered no additional crosses than the ball which failed to meet Wilson in the centre, while also losing out in his sole attempted dribble, two of four ground duels and each of his two aerial contests.

Fraser hugged the left-hand touchline inside the Bees’ territory at the Brentford Community Stadium, so Bruce would have expected a greater offensive contribution than what he saw from the £10.8m-rated man, with left-back Jamal Lewis recording five attempted crosses and one key ball despite venturing forward into the final-third just as often.

Bruce has previously lauded the impact he expected Fraser to add to his plans alongside Wilson, feeling the pair’s initial influence would bring a bright future the Toon are yet to see.

“It gives me what we have never had. I think, since the summer, the four players added to the squad has given us options and we’re better for it,” Bruce said, via quotes by the Chronicle.

“Certainly, Callum and Ryan have given us another dimension if you like. That is what we’re looking for.”

But Bruce will struggle to see a reason to hand Fraser only his third Premier League start in black and white when Newcastle visit Manchester City on Boxing Day after his horror show against Brentford, whose players dribbled past the Aberdeen-born winger more often than he was able to make a successful tackle.

AND in other news: “No point him going to…” – Exclusive: Rob Lee drops huge claim on Newcastle star’s future.

Wolverhampton Wanderers may have made one major blunder in the latest transfer window, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

Italian news outlet Calciomercato claim that the Midlands side seriously pursued a move for AC Milan striker Rafael Leao, who is owned by super-agent Jorge Mendes.

It’s also suggested that the 21-year-old was a player that Wolves boss Nuno Santo really wanted to sign but the Serie A giants weren’t letting go of someone they deem as a ‘diamond.’

The Portuguese talent is reportedly happy in Milan and isn’t going to leave the San Siro anytime soon. A killer blow for the Premier League outfit, no doubt.

One that got away?

Despite battling with the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Leao has still started the season like a house on fire.

In seven appearances, the former Lille forward has provided three goals and three assists whilst in the league alone, he has averaged 2.2 dribbles, one shot and one key pass per game, via WhoScored.

His dynamic playing style would’ve not only made him a like-for-like replacement for Jota, but also would have brought Raul Jimenez a perfect partner, especially as he’s been playing in off the left just like his old Portuguese counterpart.

The presence of the Liverpool sensation is something that Wolves are lacking – only Jimenez has scored more than once this season.

Leao has an incredible ceiling at just 21, in fact during his time in France, the 6 foot 2 attacker drew comparisons to Kylian Mbappe and was described by journalist Julien Laurens as “strong and quick” as well as being “a good finisher.”

Whilst former Sporting youth coach Tiago Fernandes believes he was even better than Cristiano Ronaldo, speaking to L’Equipe (via Goal), he said: “I pushed 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.”

You couldn’t get a better endorsement than that.

Now valued at a whopping €40m (£36m) by CIES, you can’t help but feel Nuno and Wolves have missed an incredible sensation in Leao. They could long regret this one.

AND in other news, Wolves starlet with “great ability” the ideal heir to Diogo Jota…

Things haven’t gone to plan for Christian Eriksen since his departure from Tottenham Hotspur last January, but that doesn’t mean chairman Daniel Levy should pass up the opportunity to create the unthinkable in north London at the turn of the year…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Spurs along with several other Premier League teams have been offered the chance to re-sign the Danish playmaker ahead of the winter transfer window.

It’s claimed that Serie A outfit Inter Milan are keen to trim their wage bill and thus, will need to raise funds through player sales or loan spells away from the club.

Eriksen, who is on £200k-per-week at the San Siro, with more details here on how to get that sort of money, fits into that category.

Levy and Jose Mourinho brought back Gareth Bale to the club, so should they repeat that masterstroke here?

Big mistake not to

The 28-year-old’s form has undeniably tailed off over the past 18 months, contributing to just four goals in 20 appearances in his final half-season in N17 whilst in Italy, he’s yet to score or assist this season after three goals and three assists last term, via WhoScored.

However, the speculation over Eriksen’s future at Spurs clearly had a negative effect on the pitch and he’s just not been fancied by Antonio Conte at Inter.

This is a player that has undisputed numbers for the club – originally signed by Andre Villas-Boas in 2013, the attacking midfielder would go onto provide at least six goals and nine assists in all but one season between his arrival and 2018/19, per Transfermarkt.

Now valued at €70m (£63m) by CIES, Eriksen could prove to be his own solution back at Spurs as Giovani Lo Celso is yet to convince as a no.10, contributing to just eight goals since the start of last season.

Mauricio Pochettino once dubbed his star man “special” and claimed that he has “amazing quality and can shoot from outside the area” whilst Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said to the Daily Mail (via 90min) that Eriksen was a “ruthless playmaker” who can “destroy you” with time and space.

It remains to be seen what sort of deal could happen in January, but Levy would be making a mistake by not bringing him home. Imagine a front four of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Bale and Eriksen – on top of Tanguy Ndombele and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg a little deeper.

That’s the stuff of dreams. We’ve seen the impact the returning Welshman has had, this could be similar if not better.

AND in other news, £40.5m-rated star’s snub a worrying sign for his Spurs future…

Aston Villa return to Premier League action later this evening and they’ll be looking to continue their fantastic start to the new campaign with three points at Craven Cottage.

Dean Smith’s side are unbeaten from their first three matches in all competitions, Last week, they defeated Sheffield United and now they head to London to face top-flight newcomers and old foes Fulham.

Whilst in mid-week, a fringe XI thrashed Bristol City 3-0 in the EFL Cup to advance into the round of 16, so will the Villa boss make any changes today?

Here’s what we are predicting…

Smith could name almost an entirely new starting XI with only one player keeping their place from Thursday evening.

Between the sticks, summer signing Emi Martinez returns over Jed Steer whilst a usual back four of Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash is also named.

£15m enforcer Douglas Luiz also starts at the expense of Marvelous Nakamba in defensive midfield although this time, the Brazilian sits behind John McGinn and skipper Jack Grealish, who perhaps surprisingly moves into the hole having played left-wing for the majority of the past 12 months or so.

The one name to remain could be the debutant from Ashton Gate, Bertrand Traore. The £19m summer arrival scored an outstanding goal and got some much-needed match fitness, he’s surely in line to start.

It means Trezeguet takes up a spot on the other wing with Ollie Watkins playing through the middle in the attack.

Therefore, there are no places for Conor Hourihane, Anwar El Ghazi, Keinan Davis or Henri Lansbury, who are all likely to settle for the bench.

AND in other news, Villans have to break club-record fee again to sign “incredible” transfer target…