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Heading into their next Premier League clash at the weekend with a trip to Watford, Liverpool boast the best attacking record in the top flight with 17 goals scored in seven games.

One player who has featured heavily for the Reds so far this season and been a significant part of their attacking force over the years is Mohamed Salah, with nine goals in as many appearances across all competitions this season alone.

Since joining the Merseyside club back in the 2017 summer transfer window from AS Roma for a fee of £34m, the Egyptian has gone on to make 212 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, scoring 134 goals and providing 50 assists along the way. Furthermore, he has also won a number of team titles and individual awards during his time with the Reds.

On the international stage, Salah has made 71 appearances for Egypt’s senior side, scoring 43 goals in the process and showing just how important he is for his country as well as his club.

In terms of his market value, it was listed as £36m in October 2017 according to Transfermarkt shortly after he moved to Anfield, whereas it now stands at a massive £90m, showing just how much he has progressed and improved since joining Liverpool.

Taking all this into account, it’s safe to say that Salah, who has been described as an “incredible” footballer and person by Reds teammate Andy Robertson, has been a vital figure for Jurgen Klopp’s side since his arrival four years ago and arguably one of the best signings the club has ever made.

Looking ahead to the future, with Salah’s contract set to expire in 2023 and recent reports claiming that the club are trying to get him to sign a new one, we feel that Liverpool should be doing all they can to get the winger to pledge his long-term future to the Reds given how crucial he has been for them.

If he does sign a new contract with Liverpool and continues scoring a ton of goals, there’s every possibility that his market value could increase even further despite him turning 30 next June.

In other news: Klopp could seal Wijnaldum replacement at Anfield with “sublime” £49.5m-rated ace

Sunderland managed to rescue a point late on at home to Rotherham United as they drew 1-1 in League One on Tuesday night.

An own goal from Michael Ihiekwe spared their blushes after the central defender scored at the right end for the visitors in the first half, in a game that saw Alex Neil’s team dominate possession, but create very few chances (SofaScore).

As such, The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the hosts on the night, as this trio lost the ball a combined 37 times from 123 touches, or roughly every three touches.

With such a crucial final game of the season coming up this weekend, could any of these men be fearing for their place in the XI?

Nathan Broadhead

Admittedly tied with second in terms of overall rating (6.4/10), Broadhead ranks in third here as he did not complete the full 90 minutes.

The Everton loanee lost out on four of his duels in total, and also failed to record a single shot, dribble or key pass, managing a mere 19 touches of the ball and giving it away with nine of those.

Callum Doyle

Also given a 6.4 rating, Doyle ranked as the Stadium of Light faithful’s second-worst player.

The central defender lost eight duels, more than any of his teammates, and also made no clearances, interceptions or key passes, while he was dribbled past once and lost the ball 13 times from 62 touches.

Jay Matete

Matete ranked as the Wearside club’s worst performer with a 6.2 rating.

The centre midfielder got off to a bad start with a booking inside the opening eight minutes, and struggled to really recover from that, as he was unsuccessful in five of his duels, and recorded no shots, dribbles, clearances, interceptions or key passes, making two fouls and giving possession away a total of 15 times from 42 touches.

In other news, find out what Black Cats update has Roker Report buzzing here!

Manchester United have made contact over a possible move for Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix.

That’s according to Spanish newspaper AS, relayed by Sports Witness, and, as to be expected, the update has had a number of United fans talking on social media.

The 22-year-old is valued at £63m by Transfermarkt and is extremely versatile, capable of playing anywhere in attack. He’s scored 20 times in 88 appearances for Madrid after joining back in 2019 from Benfica in a deal worth £114m.

It now seems as if the Portugal international is on the club’s radar, with Sports Witness relaying claims suggesting United have ‘already asked for’ the forward.

Fellow Premier League sides Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United are also name-checked with an interest, with Felix’s contract not up until 2026.

A move away from Atletico may materialise, though, with the report revealing Felix’s representatives are now ‘studying various alternatives to try to convince’ Atletico to let the forward depart.

United fans react

Well-known page @utdreport shared the claims regarding Felix on Twitter on Thursday. These United fans were all buzzing at the news, with one labelling it as ‘serious’.

“Swap with Rashford.”

Credit: @DinkTony

“Get him at whatever the cost”

Credit: @CessiLUHG

“I AM ON MY KNEEEEEESSSSSSSS”

Credit: @choloo_la

“Would be unreal but doubt it’ll happen”

Credit: @OllieBest_

“spend everything u have”

Credit: @richie_r2

“PLEASE”

Credit: @MUFCJosh98

“OMG, let this be true… I legit wanna rep Joao Felix.”

Credit: @Ab_Oktober

In other news: ‘Not surviving the Rangnick era’ – Many MUFC fans slam ace who lost the ball 19 times vs Young Boys; ‘sell him’. 

Tottenham Hotspur are said to be confident of signing Adama Traore this month…

What’s the word?

The north London outfit were linked with a £20m move for the Wolverhampton Wanderers star by The Times over the weekend as manager Antonio Conte seems him as the solution to his right wing-back problems.

And now transfer insider Dean Jones of Eurosport has provided a fresh update on the situation.

“Adama Traore is a genuine target. They’re trying to negotiate terms and a deal with Wolves right now. Chelsea are also interested in signing Adama Traore though,” he told The Football Terrace.

“They haven’t gone particularly far with it, certainly not as far as down the road as Spurs are yet. Tottenham are reasonably confident they will complete the deal though.”

Conte would love him

Spurs are seemingly edging closer to their first signing of the January transfer window and one that the Italian head coach is surely going to be thrilled with.

During his time at Chelsea, he won the Premier League and FA Cup, having converted out-of-sorts winger Victor Moses into an exceptional and reliable wing-back.

You could argue that Traore is way ahead of his level.

Not only has he previously played the wing-back role many times before but he is also built like a brute force and has rapid acceleration that will not only stop the opposition’s attack but also prove to be a menace in the final third for the club – something that Emerson just does not offer.

The Spain international leads the division for dribbles (4.5 per game), even ahead of players like Mo Salah and Spurs’ very own Lucas Moura, via WhoScored, whilst he has previously been dubbed a “monster” by Southampton forward Che Adams and a “machine” by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand.

It’s a move that also seems like an absolute steal at the price. Spurs may only have to pay £20m for a £25.2m-rated player.

You’d imagine that if sporting director Fabio Paratici and co can pull this off in the near future, Conte will be a very happy man. It could well be the start of a big transformation to this struggling Spurs squad.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano issues update on Tanguy Ndombele’s future at Spurs…

Tottenham are ‘confident’ of signing Wolves winger Adama Traore this month, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Conte transformation

The 26-year-old has made the majority of his appearances during his career as a right winger for the likes of Barcelona, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and now Wolves.

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However, should the Spaniard move to north London, it seems as if Antonio Conte has a specific plan in mind. According to The Athletic, the Italian is looking to mould Traore into a right wing-back, in a similar way to how he redeployed Victor Moses at Chelsea.

Spurs are yet to make any first team signings this month, but it appears as if that may change with Traore.

The Latest: Romano’s post

Romano took to Twitter on Monday morning to provide an update regarding Tottenham’s pursuit of the Wolves speedster.

He revealed that Fabio Paratici and co are now ‘confident’ of completing a deal, outling: “Tottenham are prepared to push on Adama Traore deal starting from today. Talks will re-start with Wolves to enter into final details & reach the agreement. Club confident to complete the new signing.”

Sky Sports added later in the day that a £20m transfer is moving closer.

The Verdict: First of many?

It seems as if it could be a busy final few days for Conte and Paratici, and Traore could be the first of several through the door.

The Spurs boss wants three players signed in the final days of the month in what could be a pivotal week regarding his future at the club.

Should he get what he wants, the second half of the season could be viewed as a building block ahead of a successful 2022/23 campaign. However, if Conte doesn’t get his wish, he could start to lose faith in the project, which may spell the beginning of the end for him despite only being at the club since November.

In other news: Spurs now ‘considering’ new attacking target in 18 y/o prodigy – journalist. 

Swansea City could be set to face a truly devastating transfer deadline day with Leeds United edging closer towards a deal for Daniel James, while Leroy Fer and Jefferson Montero are both likely to depart.

Marcelo Bielsa has been in hot pursuit of James in the second half of the transfer window and it looks like his persistence is set to pay off.

Leeds United supporters may not have been feeling completely optimistic about their chances of clinching a deal first thing this morning, but their prayers appear to have been answered.

Indeed, according to Guardian journalist Stuart James, Daniel James is set to sign for Leeds, with the player personally expressing his desire to depart before the deadline.

The respected journalist revealed the news via his Twitter account and he poured more misery on Swansea by suggesting that there is a strong possibility both Leroy Fer and Jefferson Montero will follow James out of the exit door.

Oh dear, oh dear. Swansea supporters will be feeling absolutely incensed by the scenario they could be facing, as the aforementioned trio represent three of the most integral players residing within Graham Potter’s squad.

To lose them at this stage in the season without ample time to source replacements would be deflating to put it lightly, but Swansea’s loss could well be Leeds’ gain.

The Whites are short of strength in depth and the injection of a fresh dynamic in midfield could provide them with a priceless boost ahead of the final months of the season.

Samu Saiz’s departure will guarantee a regular role for Pablo Hernandez in the number ten role, thus paving the way for James to battle with the likes of Ezgjan Alioski, Jack Harrison and Jack Clarke for a place in the starting eleven.

The form James has demonstrated on his maiden Championship campaign hints that he could offer an extra burst of pace and touch of flair in the final-third to unlock sturdy defensive units when they need it most at the business end of the season.

It appears that Leeds’ interest has turned James’ head towards Elland Road, and the 21-year-old prodigy looks more than likely to be on his way to Yorkshire to conclude a deal today following Stuart James’ Twitter update.

Leeds fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Wolves could sign striker Hwang Hee-chan permanently after his loan deal at Molineux ends, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Hwang shines for Wolves

The 25-year-old joined Wolves on loan from RB Leipzig in the summer, having found it difficult to start regularly for the Bundesliga giants.

Hwang has made a hugely impressive start to life at Molineux, scoring four goals in as many Premier League starts, proving to be one of his team’s most influential players.

As things stand, the South Korea international will return to Leipzig at the end of the season, but there is a chance that Wolves could sign him permanently.

The Latest: Hatfield makes Hwang claim

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Hatfield claimed that Hwang’s temporary spell could be made permanent, as was the case with other former favourites. He outlined:

“They’ve done that before; Jota was one case. Jimenez, they obviously had him on loan before signing him on a permanent basis.

“So, it’s a tactic that they’ve worked in terms of recruitment before, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were to tie up some sort of permanent deal for him again.”

The Verdict: Hopefully it happens

Considering the start that Hwang has made at Wolves, signing him next summer would be ideal, strengthening their attack in the long-term. Ian Wright has claimed that the 25-year-old ‘has everything’ as a player, which speaks volumes considering the ex-Arsenal striker’s impressive scoring record at Premier League level.

With Raul Jimenez’s head injury potentially curtailing his career further down the line – he is also 30 now – the South Korean could become the leading figure in Wolves’ attack over the coming years if the club can swing a permanent deal for him.

As Hatfield pointed out, the Mexican is a prime example of how Wolves have had success with the try-before-you-buy route in the recent past, so hopefully they can pull off a similar move with Hwang.

In other news, some Wolves fans are excited by another transfer rumour. Read more here.

Many Everton fans have been left speculating over a claim made by Abdoulaye Doucoure on Rafa Benitez’s tactics.

Speaking to The Liverpool Echo, the former Watford ace claimed that it is ‘better’ to play in a three-man midfield, rather than the two that Benitez has often played this season:

“I think sometimes when you play a three, especially some games where Andre (Gomes) came on, I think we played much better because we have more possession in midfield and have more numbers in the middle sometimes.”

Gomes was given the start alongside Allan in midfield in the FA Cup fixture at Hull City last weekend, but the manager has not deployed a three-man midfield since the 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace, where Fabian Delph started alongside Gomes and Doucoure.

This is not the first time that someone inside the club has challenged Benitez’s tactics, as Lucas Digne reportedly had a row with the manager over how he was using him.

The left-back has now been sold to Aston Villa, and so members of the Goodison Park faithful are now speculating whether Doucoure will have the same fate, should he take up his claim with Benitez.

Nonetheless, it is a matter that should be discussed on the training ground behind closed doors, with a game away at Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon to come.

Everton fans on Doucoure claim

These supporters of the Merseyside club speculated as the claim was shared on Twitter:

“That’s him out the door”

Credit: @magtinheb316

“Another name to the transfer list.”

Credit: @ohso_savage

“That’ll be him sold next”

Credit: @_GaryRoe

“Bye Doucs”

Credit: @Stu17666455

“There’s Doucoure gone then”

Credit: @andrewJNRdwyer

“Benitez will probably sell him after seeing this”

Credit: @JoelFreemanEFC

In other news, find out what transfer update Blues have flocked to here!

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe will be plotting his targets for the summer transfer window and some names have started to slip through the cracks.

FCInterNews recently reported that the Magpies are one of a number of teams interested in a deal to sign Argentine international Paulo Dybala at the end of the season.

He is out of contract at Juventus this summer and Newcastle, along with Arsenal, Inter, PSG and Atletico Madrid, are eyeing up a swoop for the £36m-rated phenomenon’s services.

The new David Ginola

The Toon must complete a deal to sign Dybala as they can find their new David Ginola in the mercurial playmaker.

Ginola played 76 games for Newcastle during his time on Tyneside and produced seven goals and 16 assists for the club. He also played for Tottenham in the top-flight, scoring 19 times and assisting 18 in 119 matches for the London giants.

The Frenchman was able to score and assist goals in the Premier League and was capable of coming up with special moments, once scoring a minute into a game against Arsenal for the Magpies.

ITV noted that he was renowned for his “magical touch” on the pitch and current Spurs attacker Kulusevski once claimed that Dybala has a “magical left foot”, which illustrates the similarity between the two players – with both of them operating out wide or through the middle.

As you can see in the graphic above, with statistics via Transfermarkt, Dybala has enjoyed a terrific time with the Italian giants as he has directly contributed to a goal every 1.77 games for them in all competitions over the course of his career in Turin.

Ex-Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey previously showered the midfielder with praise, saying:

“I can just confirm that Dybala is an unbelievable player. He’s very gifted — a team player — and some of the things he’s done in training and some of the games this season has been quite breathtaking.”

These comments, along with his impressive statistics in Italy, suggest that he has the requisite quality to come in and be the club’s new magic man in the final third, just like Ginola did when he arrived at St. James’ Park.

At the age of 28, Newcastle can still get a lot out of Dybala and that is why PIF must splash the cash to convince him to make the switch to England this summer. Just imagine him weaving past opposition players before beautifully curling the ball into the back of the net, something his record for Juventus suggests he will be able to do on a regular basis.

AND in other news, Huge boost: Newcastle handed key injury lift that’ll leave Eddie Howe ecstatic…

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a major blow in the race for a top-four finish as the Lilywhites lost 1-0 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon, with Leandro Trossard bagging a last-minute winner.

Antonio Conte’s men were lacklustre in front of goal, managing just five shots all game, none of which were on target, whilst Brighton managed to get five of their 12 shots on target.

Despite staying in fourth, the defeat will provide an opportunity for Spurs’ rivals in the top four race to make up ground as we enter the final weeks of the season.

No player in a Tottenham shirt can hold their head up high after the defeat, with Emerson Royal, Heung-min Son, Eric Dier all being well below-par.

However, it was undoubtedly left wing-back Sergio Reguilon who was the worst of the bunch against Brighton.

According to SofaScore, the Spaniard enjoyed just 46 touches all afternoon, as well as lost possession on 12 separate occasions – meaning he gave away the ball with every 3.8 touches.

Moreover, the 25-year-old failed to complete a single dribble, attempting just one.

Furthermore, there was also little defensive prowess from the wing-back, who failed to make a single interception, clearance or block, in addition to making just one tackle all afternoon.

Most of all though, Reguilon’s passing was well below par, with the Spaniard’s 62% accuracy – completing just 17 of his 28 attempted passes – being the worst out of Spurs’ starting lineup.

The left wing-back has had a decent season – for the most part – this term, averaging a 6.92 SofaScore match rating. However, against Brighton, the 25-year-old mustered a 6.6.

Against the Seagulls, Reguilon made his sixth appearance in Spurs’s last seven in the league – having missed the 5-1 win over Newcastle with a knock – and had certainly been earning his place in the side back after falling down the pecking order.

Following Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat to Southampton in early February, the wing-back who John Wenham claimed is the “worst of the bunch” and Tom Young labelled “pathetic” went a month without game time in the league before being reintroduced against Everton last month as the Lilywhites won 5-0, with Reguilon scoring.

What is for certain is that lacklustre displays as Tottenham pick up poor results won’t pass the grade for Conte, and Reguilon will certainly have to produce better performances over the remaining weeks of the season to ensure that his place in the side is a certainty going into next season.

AND in other news: Source: Insider drops major Spurs claim on £30m maestro, it’s great news for Conte