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The Chronicle journalist Lee Ryder has insisted that Newcastle United have not made a move for Strasbourg midfielder Ibrahima Sissoko.

There have been suggestions that the Magpies were in the hunt to sign the 22-year-old as the January transfer window continues to gather pace.

However, according to Ryder, who took to social media on Wednesday night, Steve Bruce’s side ‘have not made an approach’.

The journalist has actually gone a step further and written that there has not even been ‘an enquiry’ as to the Frenchman’s possible availability.

Sissoko has already made 22 appearances for his French club during the 2019/20 campaign, including 17 in Ligue 1.

Who the heck is that?! Can you name all 25 of these obscure Newcastle signings…

L’Equipe, via Get French Football News, claimed that there had been contact between Newcastle and representatives of the player in the latter stages of 2019.

However, Ryder has suggested that the recent speculation surrounding a player who has a contract with Strasbourg until June 2022 is wide of the mark.

The journalist’s post on social media can be seen below:

Meanwhile, journalist Alan Nixon has recently provided an update on Newcastle’s reported pursuit of Lyon forward Moussa Dembele.

“Leeds and Nottingham Forest are both interested in the player.”

How many times have you read that sentence this month?

If you’re keenly following every transfer rumour concerning Leeds United you will have seen an uncanny trend around their pursuits with Nottingham Forest continuously rivalling them for players’ signatures.

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Che Adams, Dwight Gayle, Luke Freeman, Cauley Woodrow (The Daily Mail, January 9, page 56) and Billy Sharp have all been linked to both clubs already this month, and it seems as if United’s work in the transfer window could be heavily affected by what the Reds do.

It seems as if the two Championship rivals will be embroiled in a bit of a tug of war this month whenever they move for one of their targets and depending on who is offering the more lucrative financial package and who negotiates more effectively they could put a huge dent in each other’s promotion hopes.

Nottingham Forest may be in sixth place, but they’re set-up to be one of Leeds’ closest challengers as they would move just two points behind the Whites if they win their games in hand.

How perfectly Leeds would it be if Forest pipped them to one of these signings and then that player plays a huge role in getting the Reds promoted ahead of Bielsa’s men?

This transfer window will be key for the Yorkshire club if they want to be in the Premier League next season, but if Forest flex their financial muscles more than the Elland Road outfit, landing their main targets may be out of their hands.

The Nottingham side could ruin Leeds’ season in more ways than one – not only on the pitch, but also in the transfer window.

In other news, Phil Hay has poured cold water on Leeds’ pursuit of one striker.

According to an exclusive report from The Mirror, West Ham are hoping to land Bournemouth ace, Ryan Fraser, and bring him to the London stadium in the coming summer. The 25-year-old forward’s contract is due to expire and the Hammers could be going toe to toe with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool for his signature.

But there’s one clear winner and one clear loser within West Ham’s squad that would emerge from this reported deal…

Call yourself a West Ham expert? How much did each of these January signings cost?

Winner: Sebastien Haller

Haller has only managed to net six goals in the ongoing Premier League campaign and this has largely been due to him being far too isolated up front with no one to service him properly.

Back when he was at Eintracht Frankfurt, the now 25-year-old rattled the inside of the net 20 times across all competitions in 2018/19 prior to his move to England so we know he’s very much lethal in front of goal.

And with Fraser’s tally of 15 assists in all competitions last season, West Ham could actually develop a deadly combination in the final third that just might change their fortunes around. The 25-year-old could not only help Haller rediscover his form and his scoring boots but also give the Hammers a much-needed creative boost as well.

With no West Ham player surpassing four assists so far in 2019/20, there is a clear need for improvement in this area. The nippy Fraser can give them that.

Loser: Robert Snodgrass

With 1324 minutes under his belt in the ongoing campaign before their Cup game on Saturday, Snodgrass is certainly an instrumental part of the Hammers’ squad. But with Fraser’s possible arrival, it’s difficult to see him remaining that in the not so distant future.

After all, both wide players are of similar profiles. They are both hardworking wingers with a similar output – Fraser with one goal and three assists and Snodgrass with three goals and three assists – and someone would have to be cut off if the new signing was to be incorporated into the team.

It seems unlikely that David Moyes would actually decide to drop Felipe Anderson, their second-highest transfer in the history of the club. Unfortunately for Snodgrass, that only leaves him as a possible casualty. It feels like this could be a straight swap for a place in the team between the two Scots.

It was a huge relief to see Leeds win on Tuesday evening.

The Whites were 2-0 down at half-time, and it seemed as if the team’s bottle had completely gone as they looked set to lose their third consecutive league game.

United had been in a downward spiral ever since their second-half collapse against Cardiff City which saw the Bluebirds come from 3-0 down to draw 3-3, but they proved their mental strength on Tuesday by recovering in a Cardiff-esque fashion to beat the Lions.

United exercised the demons of December’s draw with Cardiff this week, and on Saturday they have the chance to put things right from what was arguably their most disappointing result of the past 12 months.

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Indeed this weekend sees Wigan return to Elland Road for the first time since their 2-1 win over the Yorkshire club that sent Leeds out of the top two with just three games to go last season.

If ever there was a sign that the stars were aligned against Leeds, their loss to the Latics last season was it.

Wigan had 10-men for the majority of the game, and it turned out to be the club’s only away win of 2019. Not only that but United absolutely dominated proceedings with 36 shots and they still failed to win.

That game will still give people nightmares, but Saturday is a chance to right the wrongs of last season by comprehensively beating the team that cost them so dearly in 2018/19.

Not only would a win keep them at the top of the league, but it would be a huge mental boost to the side as it could silence any lingering doubts the players may have had about last season’s capitulation.

In other news, Leeds may be delivered a financial blow.

Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has criticised Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in his latest set of Premier League predictions ahead of the weekend fixtures.

What did he say?

Well, the Scot was talking about the Toffees’ comeback 3-2 win against Watford at Vicarage Road last weekend, labelling them as “absolutely abysmal” while they were 2-0 down.

However, while he then proceeded to pick out Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and previous match-winner Theo Walcott for general praise, their stopper teammate wasn’t so lucky.

Nicholas told Sky Sports: “The form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been promising, while Walcott has improved, with his pace and movement a constant threat. Richarlison is down the left and they have some tidy enough midfielders to complement their attack but it is the defence that is the worry.

“They look so vulnerable. Jordan Pickford cannot be branded as England’s No. 1. He looks off it.”

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

Is he right?

He’s certainly right about them defensively even though they lie ninth in the Premier League standings, given they have conceded 37 times in their 25 top-flight matches this term – to put that into perspective, the tally is only two fewer than Watford and one fewer than Bournemouth.

It’s fair to say that Pickford hasn’t been in brilliant form either for the Toffees, and he was rightly called into question by The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland following the collapse against Newcastle United earlier this month, having been stood behind his line when he ‘saved’ the Magpies’ equalising goal.

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His distribution may be one of his big strengths, but he has his weaknesses too and one of those is his general failure to command his penalty area effectively.

His manager Carlo Ancelotti has already backed him publicly, but you still get the feeling the England number one may have plenty to prove to his manager between now and the end of the season.

In other Everton news, Toffees fans have been feverishly discussing a Scottish Premiership star with 19 goals in 22 league games this season, with one saying they’d “take him at Everton”…

As the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.

And that really is the case with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede has proven himself to be one of the greatest goal-scorers of this generation, with 459 strikes in just 747 games in his entire career.

But following a cruciate knee-ligament damage suffered whilst he was at Manchester United, there may have been concerns that the end was near in terms of him calling it quits.

Instead, the ever-green 38-year-old continues to defy logic with his performances, and has started life at Milan incredibly well. Despite being on the wrong end of a derby day defeat to Inter on Sunday, Ibrahimovic scored one and made one.

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And after watching his performance, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the man who scored 29 goals for them in his time at the club.

A couple of fans suggested they would have loved to have seen Ibrahimovic back in United colours rather than turning out for Milan.

Another United supporter meanwhile simply admitted they let him go too early, and wondered what what would have happened if he hadn’t suffered his injury.

Should United have kept Ibrahimovic instead of allowing him to walk away?

Knowing how things have panned out since, perhaps the Red Devils would have ensured the Swede stayed put at Old Trafford. After all, having sold Romelu Lukaku without signing a replacement, the Manchester side scrambled around on deadline day trying to find a striker, eventually settling on Odion Ighalo on loan.

Mourinho’s produced some incredible footballing stars – how much do you know about them?

Surely Ibrahimovic would be able to do a better job than Ighalo? As it is, the veteran forward is continuing to do the business elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Man Utd ace Daniel James delivers an exciting verdict on Bruno Fernandes.

Kiko Casilla’s racism charge has been an ongoing saga for months at this point.The Spaniard was originally charged by the FA back in November, and we’re still yet to hear what the outcome will be.If the stopper is found guilty of racism then the minimum sanction he’ll be handed is a six-game ban, but that could be as many as 12 games that he misses, effectively ending his season with just 13 matches to go.

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We’ve been waiting for the verdict on this matter for quite some time now, and it seems as though it will all be wrapped up this week as Adam Pope shared an update.

What’s been said then?

The BBC Radio Leeds journalist had the latest on Casilla’s situation.

Big moment

With both Phil Hay and Graham Smyth stating that it’s likely Casilla will be found guilty at his hearing this could be a season-defining moment for Leeds United.

From a purely footballing standpoint, the Whites will now need to make a change between the sticks. That means Illan Meslier will have to come in, something that could affect United’s promotion chances one way or another.

The Frenchman was impressive on his debut against Arsenal, drawing praise from both sets of supporters, but that’s such a small sample size to judge him on.

If he comes in and continues that form then he will be a huge asset to the Yorkshire club and their promotion hunt, but there’s every chance he could come in and flop.

The fact of the matter is that he hasn’t got much experience playing at this level, failing to make a single Championship appearance this term, and this is a very strenuous time for the club as their form has dipped lately, winning three of their last 12 league games.

Whether or not Meslier can cope with the stress will be vital, and he’s going to be thrown in the deep end very soon as the likelihood is that he’ll be needed this weekend against Reading.

In other news, Adam Forshaw has posted an encouraging update on his injury.

West Brom can be very happy with their result and their performance against Bristol City on Saturday as they ran out 3-0 winners against the Robins.

However, one negative to take away from the game was Romaine Sawyers’ red card.

The midfielder was sent off in the second half, but the Championship leaders’ performance didn’t seem to be affected after going down to ten men as they would go on to score again to make it 3-0.

Slaven Bilic now has a decision to make on who will replace the 28-year-old.

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Steve Madeley believes that one man is the logical replacement, stating that he expects Rekeem Harper to be next in line.

What’s been said then?

The journalist was hosting a post-match Q&A session after the game, and as you’d expect fans asked about Sawyers’ replacement.

Madeley states that Harper is likely to be next in line after Saturday’s incident.

“Harper has been on the bench for the last few games so you’d have to think he’s next in line. As I said previously, Barry would be the most obvious like-for-like replacement,” he said.

Despite saying the youngster is likely to step up, the reporter believes that Barry is the most obvious replacement for Sawyers, but he’d already stated earlier in the Q&A that he has doubts over whether or not he’ll be fit in time for the Baggies’ next game.

“Barry returned to training at the end of this week. Not sure whether he will be deemed ready for Tuesday night.”

Is he up to it?

Harper seems like the most logical man to come in for the suspended midfielder, but there have to be concerns about whether or not he is up to the task.

The 19-year-old has played just 23 minutes in the league this term, and now he’s going to be thrown into the deep end.

West Brom’s next game isn’t an easy one either – they host playoff contenders Preston North End at The Hawthorns.

Luckily the Baggies’ recent good form has given them a bit of a gap over third place, sitting nine points clear of Fulham, so if Harper flops and the Baggies get beat in midweek it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

In other news, West Brom fans have been drooling over one man.

After Everton’s decision to sack Marco Silva the day after their 5-2 thrashing by Liverpool, it meant both the Toffees and Arsenal were both on the hunt for new managers.

The Gunners had let go of Unai Emery almost a week prior to Silva’s departure, and naturally, that kick-started the managerial rumours into overdrive.

But one man who appeared to feature on both clubs’ short-list, was Carlo Ancelotti. The Telegraph ran a report that the Italian was “among the candidates” being considered as a potential long-term successor to Emery, whilst Sky Sports revealed that Everton would begin contract talks with the 60-year-old following his dismissal as Napoli boss.

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In the end, Arsenal opted to go for former Toffees midfielder, Arteta, as their new head coach, with the Merseyside club managing to lure Ancelotti to them.

On Sunday afternoon, the former Milan manager takes his Everton team to the Emirates to take on Arsenal, and the Gunners’ hierarchy will no doubt be watching the game with keen interest. And that is exactly why he has the perfect opportunity to make a major statement.

By masterminding a performance and victory over the north Londoners, Ancelotti can lay down a marker about how the Gunners may regret passing up on him. The fact they opted for Arteta – a man with no prior managerial experience – over him, a multi-time Champions League winner, should surely rankle him on a professional level at least.

When did that happen?! Premier League experts will know which surprising clubs these stars once played for…

The Italian has already proven in his short time on the blue half of Merseyside that he seems to be a perfect fit for the club. Since he officially took to the dugout against Burnley, he has tasted defeat only twice – and those were to Manchester City in the Premier League, and Liverpool in the FA Cup.

But when the Toffees travel south, Ancelotti may have Arsenal’s snub on his mind. It will surely give him that extra piece of motivation to engineer a positive result for his side, and simultaneously cast some doubts in the Gunners’ mind over their decision to go with Arteta. The stage is perfectly set for him to spoil the party on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Everton are interested in this highly-rated chief scout.

Sir Alex Ferguson is back in the groove – not a managerial vibe, but he’s certainly showing he still has a significant stronghold over Manchester United.

According to reports, he met with Jude Bellingham and his parents at Carrington this week as speculation surrounding the Birmingham midfielder’s future continued.

The 16-year-old has been linked with a switch to a plethora of clubs in recent times, including United and Borussia Dortmund.

However, another Englishman remains at the forefront of United’s minds. Jack Grealish was the subject of interest last month but now a fresh report has claimed the Red Devils are set to agree a cut-price deal for the talented 24-year-old should Aston Villa get relegated.

Considering their league position of 19th, it’s a distinct possibility.

Valued at £34.2m according to Transfermarkt, Stretford Paddock understand the £80m Villa previously rated him at would tumble significantly if a deal was agreed upon their potential relegation.

The attacking midfielder has been a revelation in the Premier League this season, building on a fabulous Championship campaign where he contributed to 13 goals and helped Dean Smith’s side achieve promotion.

Since performing at a higher level, he’s netted seven goals and racked up six assists playing in the centre and on the left-wing. More impressively, however, is his tally of 69 key passes – a record that puts him fifth in the division for creative numbers.

An emerging talent, he is a throwback to the Ferguson era at Manchester United, something that began to become prominent again last summer.

Under Ferguson and David Gill, the Reds would only pay fees for players under the age of 27. An exception to the rule was Robin van Persie, a man who ultimately helped them to a Premier League title after bagging 26 goals in 2012/13.

After Sir Alex left, players like Alexis Sanchez (29 at the time) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (30) both arrived. Yet, footballers like Daniel James, Harry Maguire and Aaron-Wan Bissaka came through the door last summer – indicating a change in strategy from signing ageing individuals.

Their pursuit of Grealish is similar and issues a timely reminder of how keen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are to establish the philosophies that Ferguson engulfed the club with.

That’s particularly the case in terms of building a strong British core of players – something that had become a key part of United. Ferguson, of course, had players like Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney that he built many of his teams around.

Quickfire Questions: Can you get 100% on this Man United prodigies quiz?

Throw in a dash of Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, among others, and you had one of the best sides in English club football history.

That’s not to suggest the current United side are anywhere near that level but adding a player like Grealish to their armoury would be further recognition of the need to head back to the days of old.

If he signs, United’s core could be made out of primarily British players again – Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, James, Scott McTominay and last but not least, Marcus Rashford. That’s before you even mention players like Mason Greenwood too.

Grealish would be a stellar addition, one that also recognises one of their age-old philosophies.

Meanwhile, Man United have every reason to FORGET about Chong with the discovery of a new diamond…