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Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch will be without two experienced squad members for their FA Cup clash with Cardiff City this afternoon, according to Phil Hay…

What’s the latest?

The Athletic’s ever-reliable reporter claimed that the Whites would be without the “usual suspects” when they make the trip to Wales, where they will begin their latest cup campaign in the third round.

He revealed:

“It was quite telling, I thought, that Jesse Marsch said on Friday that Leeds (or Angus Kinnear) had told him that they want a cup run. That’s clearly removed the scope for Marsch to weaken his line-up drastically this afternoon.

“The usual suspects are likely to be missing again – [Patrick] Bamford, [Adam] Forshaw etc – but Cardiff are not having a great season and Leeds should be confident of making this tie theirs.”

A big blow to Marsch

Given the recent comments from Kinnear to Marsch, it will come as a frustrating blow and bad news that he will not be able to call upon two of the club’s most experienced stars – and more – in a competition that has been a cause for concern in recent times.

Indeed, the Yorkshire giants have a diabolical record in the FA Cup, having been knocked out at this very stage in each of their last five attempts and that includes embarrassing defeats to lower league opposition like Newport County and Crawley Town, both of whom are in League Two right now.

Patrick Bamford has endured a rough time with injuries since the start of the 2021/22 campaign and recent surgery has ruled him out of action thus far in 2023. Leeds could certainly do with the man who bagged 17 goals in their first season back in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Marsch’s current first-choice engine room are all signings from the summer transfer window, with Mateusz Klich departing for pastures new.

Marc Roca and Tyler Adams, with all respect, will not understand what this competition means to fans in England, at least in comparison to Forshaw, who has made an FA Cup appearance for four different teams.

The Whites have also struggled massively in the league, finding themselves languishing down in 14th place, just two points above the relegation zone and with only two wins in their last 15 in the top-flight.

Game-changers such as Luis Sinisterra are also likely to be missing in the Welsh capital, only further adding to Marsch’s frustrations, with the Elland Road hierarchy clearly looking for a run in this competition to offer supporters some respite from their league woes.

As such, the American has got to be frustrated to have the likes of Bamford, Forshaw and Sinisterra unavailable, not just because they are all valuable in their own right but because their involvement could have also handed valuable rest to those that have been playing in their place each week.

AND in other news, Marsch has unearthed “an absolute star” at Leeds after he gave West Ham “nightmares”…

Celtic defender Stephen Welsh has been urged to make a move away from the Parkhead club during the upcoming January transfer window by BBC pundit Tam McManus. 

The Lowdown: Welsh’s season so far

So far this season, the 22-year-old has made just six appearances for the Hoops across all competitions, which suggests that he’s not particularly high in Ange Postecoglou’s pecking order.

With the Hoops recently acquiring the services of defender Yuki Kobayashi, this could make Welsh’s chances of getting regular game time even thinner.

With the January window close to opening, the Scotsman has been backed to make a move away from Parkhead.

The Latest: Welsh backed for January exit

Speaking to Football Insider, McManus had this to say Welsh and his immediate future at Celtic ahead of January.

“He’s 22 now, he cannot be sat on the bench or in the stands every week. He has to go and play games for somebody. Celtic have depth at centre-back and now they have just signed Kobayashi as well.

“Welsh is well down the pecking order at Celtic now and he just has to leave. Whether he goes to Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen or somewhere down south, he has to get away.

“Whether it is a loan deal or a permanent doesn’t matter right now. We’ll have to see what kind of offers come in but he is helping no one if he isn’t playing.

“I would be surprised if Welsh is still at Celtic when the window closes.”

The Verdict: The right move

Given the lack of regular game time he’s had so far this season, it would make sense for Welsh to potentially join another club on loan, where he’d be able to play on a consistent basis.

Even though he’s only played in four league games this season, his performances in those games have earned him a season rating (6.88/10), which makes him the lowest-rated centre-back at the club according to WhoScored.

With that in mind, it could be an idea for the club to move him on temporarily in January so he can improve his game and have a better chance of breaking into the team in the future or earning a permanent switch.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will need to find their goalscoring form in the second half of the season in order to preserve their Premier League status.

The Old Gold have scored just eight league goals this season, the lowest in the top flight and Julen Lopetegui faces a challenge in order to find a tune from his side’s goal-shy attacking department.

With the January transfer market looming on the horizon, Wolves might be able to ditch one of these players, as according to BILD, Borussia Monchengladbach are interested in signing Hee-chan Hwang to replace the inevitable departure of Marcus Thuram.

The South Korea international joined the Molineux side initially on loan from RB Leipzig back in the summer of 2021, before signing permanently for a £14m fee in January this year.

Since then, he has scored just one goal, against Arsenal in February this year, before going 13 matches in the current campaign without scoring.

It’s an extremely disappointing return, especially considering the outlay Bruno Lage spent to keep him at the club, and Lopetegui will surely be looking at considering whatever offer comes in for the 26-year-old.

A WhoScored rating of just 6.15/10 ranks the forward a lowly 21st in the Wolves squad, while he has only started three times in the Premier League.

Even when he did make an appearance, the player failed to jump on his opportunity and convince either Lage or Steve Davis that he deserved more game time. Hwang managed just three shots on target in the league while chipping in with a solitary assist.

He doesn’t appear to be the saviour that the club urgently requires in order to solve their current problems in front of goal and a move back to the Bundesliga in January might be the best move for both parties going forward.

The decision to sign him permanently will surely go down as a major Lage mistake and the club has been paying for it ever since.

Former Everton striker and Kevin Campbell claims that his old club could hire Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou to replace Frank Lampard.

The Lowdown: Top target

As per journalist Alan Nixon, the 57-year-old is ‘top of the wish list’ for the Goodison Park outfit, should they decide to part company with Lampard.

Former Leeds United coach Marcelo Bielsa has recently been linked with the job on Merseyside, with Lampard a man under pressure after a run of results which has seen his team win just one of their last eight games across all competitions, slumping to a worrying 17th place in the Premier League table.

The Latest: Campbell reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell claims that Lampard is still the right man for the job at Everton, but given the ‘remarkable’ work that Postecoglou has done at Celtic, the ex-Toffees striker has not ruled out the Aussie potentially replacing the 44-year-old:

The Sky Sports pundit said: “I think Lampard is the man for the job right now. But who knows? He could be sacked next week.

“What Postecoglou has done at Celtic has been remarkable. He came with a resume that no one really knew too much about, as a wildcard – and he’s made a real difference.

“Could I see him taking that to Everton? Potentially.

“He’s got his own style and his own methods both on the pitch and in the transfer market. Why wouldn’t that work at Everton?”

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The Verdict: Now is the best time…

If Everton are to change their manager, now is the best time to do it.

There is now a break for the World Cup, during which a new manager could come in and put his stamp on the club, getting tactics ready for when players return from the tournament, and holding training sessions for those who aren’t in Qatar ahead of the league season resuming.

Postecoglou has been linked with managerial jobs at Wolves and Leeds recently, showing that some of Everton’s Premier League rivals feel that he has the capabilities of managing in the top flight.

The 57-year-old wrestled the Scottish Premiership title back off bitter rivals Rangers in his first season in charge at Parkhead, and his team are dominating the division once again in 2022/23.

Only time will tell whether he is ready to take a Premier League job at a club as big as Everton, but they will not know unless they give him a chance.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been in woeful form this season, recording just two Premier League victories as they languish in the relegation zone.

While the hiatus for the upcoming World Cup might dent the momentum for some teams, Wolves will surely be looking at the break as a chance to regroup and focus ahead of an important second half of the season.

There could be a big Molineux contingent playing at the tournament, with Ruben Neves and Jose Sa having a strong chance of making the Portugal squad given their involvement in recent months. However, it is another Old Gold player who might just be a wildcard for Fernando Santos’ squad…

Matheus Nunes could shine at the World Cup

Nunes already has nine caps for Portugal, although his below-par performances in the Premier League this season might go against him, especially when he is up against Otavio, Joao Palhinha and Vitinha for a seat on the plane to Qatar.

The £85k-per-week sensation clearly has talent in abundance, judging by his displays for Sporting Lisbon last season.

He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.95 for his performances in Liga Portugal while chipping in with three goals and two assists, demonstrating his attacking ability from the middle of the park.

Wolves swooped in and signed him for a club-record £42.2m in the summer, and although he has found the transition from Portuguese to English football more difficult than imagined, the more experience he gains, the better he will adapt.

The 24-year-old was dubbed “special” by talent scout Pedro Alves during his time at Sporting, while Pepe Guardiola claimed that he was “one of the best players in the world today” after Manchester City faced the Portuguese side last season.

Santos has a plethora of options available to him in the midfield area and Nunes faces a fight to make the 26-man squad. If he does make it to Qatar, the Wolves man can certainly make his mark, and it might just be the tournament which launches him into stardom.

Glasgow Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has shown a willingness to dip into the academy to unearth new talent since arriving at Ibrox last year.

He has handed opportunities to the likes of Alex Lowry, Charlie McCann, and Adam Devine throughout 2022, whilst Leon King has been a regular in the side throughout the current campaign.

Prior to his arrival, Steven Gerrard was also willing to promote B team players into the first-team squad and one brilliant example of this was right-back, Nathan Patterson.

The gem, who joined the academy for £0 at the age of eight in 2009, was backed by Gerrard to make the breakthrough, with the former Gers coach admitting that he allowed other players to leave in order to develop Patterson, saying:

“He has got a massive future ahead of him and we just need to keep guiding him and shaping him and improving him. We have got a player here, I think.”I think you’ve seen the moves I’ve made in terms of the squad. I moved two or three full-backs on because I had big confidence in Calvin Bassey and also Nathan.”He made his first-team debut in the 2019/20 campaign and made 27 first-team appearances for the club in all competitions under Gerrard and Van Bronckhorst combined before earning himself a transfer to Premier League side Everton in January 2022.

The club confirmed that the move was a club-record fee for the Light Blues, which Sky Sports reported to be £16m, and sporting director Ross Wilson commented on the gem’s growth in Glasgow, saying:

“Personally, Nathan is someone that I’ve placed a lot of faith in since I joined Rangers. We saw top potential in him and I’ve enjoyed working with him and seeing him develop every day.

“Nathan is supported brilliantly by his family and as Rangers fans, I know they are extremely proud of his Rangers achievements.”

The dynamo, who was once dubbed “first class” at international level by Callum McGregor, only played 11 times in the Premiership for the club, as captain James Tavernier was ahead of him, but made his Scotland debut in 2021 whilst at Rangers.

Gerrard was ready to cast other, senior full-backs, aside – according to his aforementioned quotes – to allow Patterson the chance to develop at Ibrox and it worked perfectly.

The defender was able to play a supporting role behind Tavernier whilst getting minutes in several competitions and playing for his country at international level, which was enough to attract interest from Everton.

This led to a club-record exit, which has since been trumped by Calvin Bassey’s move to Ajax for roughly £23m in the summer, and this gave Ross Wilson plenty of money to work with to improve the squad moving forward.

Therefore, Rangers struck gold by unearthing Patterson from the youth team and Van Bronckhorst will now be hoping the likes of Lowry, McCann, Devine, and King can also go on to be record-breakers in the future.

It’s become blatantly obvious in recent weeks that Tottenham Hotspur are absolutely missing the presence of Dejan Kulusevski in the final third as the Swedish workhorse has emerged as an imperative figure to manager Antonio Conte since his arrival back in January.

Spurs have been struck with some tough results in recent weeks, ranging from defeats to Sporting CP in the Champions League and at the weekend, in the north London Derby and then on Tuesday night, the frontline looked woeful against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Indeed, a front three of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Richarlison mustered up only two attempts on target throughout the 90 minutes as the Lilywhites were held by the Europa League holders in Germany.

Before the game, Conte hinted at a tweak in the system to cater for the loss of the injured Kulusevski and it was perhaps especially surprising to not see the change deployed at the Waldstadion.

“With this type of players and this squad we can play with these two systems, 3-4-3 and a 3-5-2,” the Italian told reporters (via football.london). “Also [Yves] Bissouma who is a good player who can play with the two midfielders and the two strikers can be Sonny and Kane or Richarlison and Kane.”

That 3-5-2 is what brought a first Serie A title in over a decade back to Inter Milan in 2020 and it’s a change that helped him adapt to the loss of key players after his Premier League triumph at London rivals Chelsea, where Eden Hazard was allowed to roam free with Cesc Fabregas the main ‘creator’ in the hole.

With Spurs now in a slump, it’s a system that the 53-year-old must return to and the key to that exciting transition is surely Oliver Skipp, who can become the anchor of that midfield three, allowing any two of Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur the freedom to advance forward.

Tottenham could keep their defensive stability by going to a three-man engine room and it could lead to greater control of matches, with the side ranking seventh-worst in the Premier League for passes into the final third (24 completed per 90), via FBref.

That’s worse than Wolverhampton Wanderers, who recently sacked their manager Bruno Lage, and Southampton, where Ralph Hasenhuttl is looking likely to be the next to go in the English top-flight.

Skipp had been a regular starter under Conte before he picked up persistent injury troubles but now he’s fit and available, it would be foolish to not unleash him in the coming fixtures.

Last season, the England U21 international enjoyed a better tackle success rate per 90 (66.6%) than Hojbjerg (62%), and registered fewer inaccurate short passes per 90 than the Dane, as well as Bentancur, as per WhoScored.

That stability is exactly what Conte needs to make the 3-5-2 work, so heading into this weekend’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion – who are just three points behind Spurs in fourth – Skipp must be back in the starting XI.

The £80k-per-week enforcer, once lauded as an “absolute machine,” by Opta’s Matt Hayes, can help Spurs forget about Kulusevski and his injury in the short term and help aid the smooth transition into Conte’s success-proven 3-5-2.

AND in other news, £50k-p/w “special talent” who had 101 touches was Conte’s one shining light in Germany…

Club ‘insider’ John Wenham claims Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min is ‘hampering the team’ amid his poor run of form so far this season.

The Lowdown: Son struggles…

The South Korea superstar marked himself out as Antonio Conte’s player of the season last year, even sharing the Premier League golden boot with Liverpool big name Mohamed Salah after both men finished 2021/22 with 23 goals each.

However, Son hasn’t managed to replicate that imperious form over his first six league matches – having failed to find the net once whilst currently ranking as Spurs’ ninth-best performer overall (WhoScored).

If the north Londoners are to regain European qualification or clinch silverware by the end of this campaign, they’ll need their previously electric forward back to his best.

The Latest: Wenham makes ‘complacent’ Son claim…

Speaking to Football Insider, Wenham, who regularly breaks club news on his Lilywhite Rose social media accounts, claims the 30-year-old is ‘hampering’ Conte’s side.

He explained:

“Son just looks complacent and he is hampering the team at the moment because he and Kane are the main men.

“When it works, we score goals. It’s just not happening for them right now, it’s a bad run and he needs a rest.”

The Verdict: Rested for Leicester?

The Lilywhites take on struggling Leicester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon, and if there is an opportunity for Son to get his season up and running, it’s against Brendan Rodgers’ out-of-form side.

Languishing at the foot of the table, only newly-promoted Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth have conceded more goals than the Foxes who are currently very vulnerable.

Tottenham’s winger may well have a field day this afternoon and it’s arguable he is in dire need of an afternoon where he can run rampant and rediscover his ruthless streak.

Tottenham Hotspur are still interested in signing Wolves winger Adama Traore, according to reputable journalist Ryan Taylor.

The lowdown: Long-standing admirers

Spurs were heavily linked with a move for Traore during the January transfer window but were unable to prise the Spanish speedster away to north London.

Instead, the 26-year-old Spain international headed back to Barcelona – where he came through the La Masia ranks as a youngster – for a short-term loan spell.

Now, having returned to Wolves and upon entering the final 12 months of a deal in the Midlands, Spurs could well be set to rekindle their interest in Traore…

The latest: ‘100% a target as well’

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Taylor – a journalist for the Daily Express – claimed that Tottenham are still keen on signing the eight-cap ace.

He said: “Adama Traore is 100% a target as well. And the fact he’s out of contract next summer means he could be available for literally, we’re talking £10 million, £15 million.”

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The verdict: Make it happen

Dubbed a ‘freak of nature’ by football journalist Tolga Akdeniz and a ‘game changer’ by pundit Noel Whelan, despite often struggling to covert frightening attributes into impactful performances, Traore certainly possesses everything required to be a major asset to Antonio Conte’s squad.

Already linked with potential wide options such as Hakim Ziyech and Ruslan Malinovskyi, it seems almost certain that Spurs will add another attacking option to the N17 ranks before the September 1 deadline.

Capable of operating on either wing, centrally and as a wing-back – a position of use in Conte’s favoured 3-5-2 formation – last season, the flying forward scored just once and provided four assists in 40 appearances across all competitions in Spain and England.

Despite that misfiring form, at the mooted low asking price, singing Traore – who shares similar stylistic traits to the likes of Jadon Sancho and Allan Saint-Maximin(FBref) – would be a no-brainer for Fabio Paratici and co.

Newcastle United will reportedly make a bid to try and sign Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos.

The Lowdown: Continuing pursuit

It was reported last week that the St. James’ Park outfit are continuing their pursuit of Ramos, as they look to bring in a new striker before the transfer window closes.

Benfica are thought to have included a massive €120m (£100m) release clause in his contract as part of his most recent deal, but he could be sold for less – the Eagles have a reputation for developing top talents and selling them on when the time is right.

The Latest: Bid incoming

As per Jornal de Noticias (via Sport Witness), the North East club ‘will present an offer’ to Benfica worth just over €40m (£33.6m) for Ramos.

They are trying to ‘anticipate the competition’ for his signature, which includes fellow Premier League rivals Everton, Leeds United, Southampton and Wolves.

The Verdict: Get it done

Given the level of competition for Ramos and their desperation for a new number nine, this is a deal that the Tynesiders need to get done as soon as possible.

Hailed by BBC broadcaster Andy Sixsmith as a player who is the ‘perfect fit’ for the Magpies as he is ‘brilliant in the air’, a ‘real clever finisher’ and a ‘proper grafter’, Ramos has already hit the ground running this season with four goals and three assists, including a hat-trick against FC Midtjylland in Benfica’s UEFA Champions League qualifier (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, the Portuguese starlet is only 21 years of age, and so Eddie Howe’s team would be getting someone who has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world.