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Taking to Twitter, journalist Rudy Galetti of Sportitalia TV has dropped a major update on Newcastle United’s pursuit of manager Paulo Fonseca.

The Lowdown: Magpies in Fonseca talks…

As widely reported, Newcastle have been in talks over the potential appointment of Fonseca after they sacked Steve Bruce (Chronicle Live).

The former AS Roma tactician has been tipped as one of the overwhelming favourites for the role and reliable reporters like Fabrizio Romano insist that there is progress being made in negotiations.

Sharing an update on social media, Galetti has now backed this news whilst going a step further.

The Latest: Fonseca ‘ready to sign’ for Newcastle…

Indeed, the Italian reporter claimed that Fonseca is now ‘ready to sign’ a three-year contract with the Magpies and the announcement ‘could already be made official’ quite soon.

“Paulo Fonseca is ready to sign a 3-year contract with Newcastle,” Galetti explained on Twitter.

“The former Roma coach should be present in the Selhurst Park stands to follow the match against Crystal Palace.

“The announcement could already be made official soon.”

The Verdict: Big claim…

Coming as a big claim, Newcastle supporters could be enticed by the prospect of potentially appointing Fonseca as Bruce’s immediate heir.

Lauded as an ‘international class’ tactician by Roma chief executive officer Tiago Pinto, the 48-year-old has also been described as mixing both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s tactics in ‘a symphony of Beethoven and Metallica’ (Liverpool Echo).

Also a three-time league title winner with Shakhtar Donetsk, it’s clear that Newcastle and PIF could certainly do far worse than hiring Fonseca.

In other news: Newcastle now preparing £67.7m bid for ‘extraordinary’ ace with eight goal contributions already this season, find out more here.

Ahead of a huge game for Liverpool against arch rivals Manchester United tonight, manager Jurgen Klopp must brutally axe “superstar” Mohamed Salah from his starting XI.

On the chalkboard

The Egyptian has had a great season this year, but his performance against Manchester City in the recent FA Cup semi final was far from memorising.

He was hardly in the game and only touched the ball 38 times, which was less than goalkeeper Alisson.

Liverpool are now fortunate enough to be blessed with plenty of options for their front three and we think Klopp should go for a combination that doesn’t include Salah.

With two goals in the cup game against City, Sadio Mane is one of the obvious choices to start, Luis Diaz also deserves to keep his place in the side, and Diogo Jota should be brought in to complete the trio.

Statistics show that Jota can be more of a threat from open play than Salah, with his number of expected non penalty goals higher than the 29-year olds.

Despite the recent poor run of form, Salah’s team mates have leapt to his defence. Andy Robertson praised his work rate as “different class” when speaking to the Athletic.

Jurgen Klopp also spoke after the cup game against City saying that it’s “a completely normal spell” he’s going through and that the goals will eventually come.

Whilst he’s likely to find his form again soon, perhaps a spell out of the team will benefit him? All of Liverpool’s games between now and the end of the season are crucial if they want to beat Manchester City to the title and go all the way in the Champions League and FA Cup.

But derby games against Manchester United are always more difficult. Klopp should play Salah in the easier games until he regains his form or they risk dropping points.

There are also no guarantees that Salah will be a Liverpool player in the future as he’s still not signed a new deal committing his future to the club.

So maybe now is a good time for them to get used to winning without him.

While Anfield may be shocked at such a huge decision, it might just be the right call.

IN other news: Liverpool now targeting “special” £49.5m-rated star, he’s the dream Salah replacement – opinion…

Wolves shouldn’t consider making a move for Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli in the January transfer window, according to journalist Luke Hatfield.

The Lowdown: Alli linked with Spurs exit

The 25-year-old’s stock has fallen rapidly in recent years, going from one of England’s World Cup stars in 2018 to an outcast at Spurs.

Alli could leave the north London club in January in order to earn more playing time, considering that he has only started six Premier League games this season, and none since the end of September.

While Wolves haven’t officially been linked with a move for the midfielder, Paul Merson recently said on Sky Sports (via Molineux News) that the Old Gold should consider him as a prospective signing.

The Latest: Hatfield plays down interest

Alas, Hatfield has been quick to play down this potential transfer. Speaking to Give Me Sport, the journalist had no doubt that Alli would jump at the chance to join Wanderers but doubted that it would work out well for the Black Country outfit

He said: “It wouldn’t work if you’re Wolves. I could understand it from the player’s perspective because he’d want to go to a club where they’re not worried about relegation.”

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The Verdict: Not worth the risk

It is sad to see what has happened to Alli’s career, given the potential he had as a teenager, but the fire in him appears to have gone out, despite being hailed as a ‘machine’ by Rio Ferdinand.

While the 25-year-old’s natural talent is undeniable – he once scored 18 goals in a Premier League season in north London – he simply isn’t worth the risk for Wolves, with far too many ineffective performances thrown in for Tottenham under the likes of Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.

Alli has only scored three league goals since the beginning of last season, which sums up his struggles considering that he is an attack-minded player, and he hasn’t completed 90 minutes in a league outing since September. When you also factor in criticism of his application at times, it’s easy to see why Hatfield has his reservations about the Spurs playmaker succeeding at Molineux.

In other news, some Wolves fans are buzzing over an injury update. Read more here.

West Bromwich Albion secured the permanent signing of striker Daryl Dike on New Years Day, with the 21-year-old making his Baggies debut against QPR on Saturday.

Although the USA international’s first game for the West Midlands outfit didn’t go to plan, with Albion losing 1-0, there will be plenty of excitement regarding what the former-Orlando City man can do based on his previous spell in the Championship on loan at Barnsley last season.

Under current West Brom manager Valerien Ismael, Dike scored nine goals in 22 appearances for the South Yorkshire outfit, helping them to secure a play-off place.

The 21-year-old returned to the MLS outfit, where former Manchester United star Nani had played, with the Portuguese labelling Dike “a special boy.”

Now at The Hawthorns, the £9m-rated striker will be looking to go one better than last season and secure promotion to the Premier League. What is for sure is that if the American can replicate similar form to that of last term, the Baggies’ bid for promotion will certainly be boosted.

Ismael’s side are currently fifth in the Championship, seven points off of the automatic promotion places and in need of an extra goal source.

The Black Country club are the league’s best defenders, having conceded just 20 goals. However, they’re the second-tier’s joint-tenth top scorers with 31 goals. First place Fulham have scored more than double with 64 in one game less.

It’s a major issue that needs to be resolved immediately. In fact, the Baggies haven’t particularly had a recognised goal scorer they could rely on for a handful of seasons now, with former loanee Romelu Lukaku enjoying the most fruitful campaign since the Belgian made the temporary move to The Hawthorns from Chelsea.

The striker scored 17 goals in the 2012/13 campaign, helping Albion to an eighth-placed finish. Similarities can certainly be drawn between the two strikers.

After all, his former teammate Jordan Williams once said: “Daryl has got a rocket of a right foot. I think he’s similar to Lukaku. He hasn’t scored as many goals yet, but he can hit a ball just as hard.”

Stood at 6 foot 2, Dike is only four centimetres shorter than the Belgian, with the use of their respective physicality a major part of both players’ games.

Of course, if Dike was to evolve into a world-class talisman-like Lukaku, Albion fans would be delighted. However, it is certainly realistic to expect the American to score double digits by the end of the season.

If so, the Baggies may have an improved shot at an instant return to the Premier League.

AND in other news, West Brom eye swoop for “dominant” £5.4m-rated beast, he’s miles better than Hugill…

Everton have had a hectic January transfer window, making three signings early in the month and sacking their manager, Rafa Benitez, soon after, with all the attention firmly on the appointment of the next manager, Moshiri could be lining up a last-minute bid that could add a fourth new player to the squad.

What’s the word?

According to TEAMtalk, Everton are one of the three Premier League clubs interested in signing Armando Broja, who is currently on loan at Southampton from Chelsea.

The Toffees reportedly join Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race to sign the 20-year-old striker, with just four days left to go in the January transfer window.

The report claims that Southampton are keen to keep Broja with them at St Mary’s, but with many Premier League clubs now showing interest in the youngster, it could be a challenge for them to hold onto him.

Lukaku 2.0

Everton are no strangers to attracting young Chelsea talent, with the potential signing of Broja similar to the £28m club-record signing at the time of Romelu Lukaku back in 2014, when the Belgian goal machine was just 21 years old.

Lukaku was a huge success at Everton, scoring 87 goals and bagging 29 assists in just 166 appearances for the club, with a goal involvement every 120 minutes for the Toffees, so the club could be onto their next Chelsea swoop to potentially emulate the success of their former striker.

The £8.1m-rated monster who was hailed “dangerous” by his current manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, has been making his mark on the Southampton team with 21 appearances and seven goals, five of those have been scored in the Premier League.

However, goals aren’t the only attribute that Broja has been excelling in, according to One Versus One the youngster has been using his 6 foot2 stature to impose himself on opponents, making 170 aerial challenges this season so far, and ranking 8th in the Premier League for completing aerial duels, proving that he is not afraid to get stuck into the game away from just scoring goals.

There has been real upset and aggravation amongst fans with a protest staged last night at Goodison Park, so bringing in young players with bags of potential could be a move for Moshiri that could potentially settle the current outrage.

That’s especially if Broja could come in and make an instant impact in changing the fate of the Toffees nightmare season, and helping the side climb back into a safe position in the Premier League table.

In other news: David Ornstein drops major Everton manager update

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According to The Sun, West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is a summer target for Premier League champions Manchester City.

The report has claimed that City could expect to pay as much as £70m for the 20-year-old, who has been in impressive form for the Hammers this season.

Rice recently signed a new long-term contract with West Ham, meaning that he is contracted to the capital outfit until the summer of 2024.

As a result, the Hammers are in a very, very strong position to negotiate, should a huge bid arrive in this summer’s transfer window.

The West Ham fans have been on social media reacting to the transfer report.

And it would be fair to say that the supporters are absolutely desperate for their club to keep hold of the 6ft 1in midfielder.

Many even feel that £70m would not be enough to sign the London-born youngster.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Leeds United could be without both Junior Firpo and Jamie Shackleton against Leicester City this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Leeds’ injury woes

The Whites have had plenty of injury issues to deal with this season and will definitely continue to be without Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling and Robin Koch against The Foxes.

Bamford and Ayling have missed the last seven games with ankle and knee injuries respectively, whereas Koch has been absent with a pubis problem which has kept him out since the opening weekend.

Firpo returned from injury for the Under-23’s at the end of October and Shackleton hobbled off against Norwich last weekend, and it now seems as if the pair may also miss the Elland Road clash.

The Latest: Bielsa’s comments

In Bielsa’s pre-match press conference on Friday, reported by The Yorkshire Evening Post, cited by MOT Leeds News, he gave an update on the full-back duo.

The Argentine admitted he would have a ‘clearer vision’ on the weekend, however, with Bielsa so up front when it comes to injuries, it appears as if the pair may miss the match against Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The Verdict: Drameh’s full Premier League debut?

Cody Drameh has been thrown into the first-team fold as a result of Leeds’ defensive injuries, making his first start for the club in the Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal.

He then replaced Shackleton against Norwich last weekend, so if Shackleton, described as ‘important’ by Bielsa, fails to make it, the 19-year-old could be in line for a full Premier League debut.

If Firpo, who was hailed as ‘incredibly fit’, misses out again, then Bielsa may have no choice but to stick with Stuart Dallas at left-back instead of using the Northern Irishman in midfield.

In other news: ‘Immense’ Leeds player reveals ‘not so good situation’ under Bielsa; not happy in Yorkshire. 

Leeds United reporter Conor McGilligan has been reacting to a transfer update on Robin Koch.

The Lowdown: Koch to go?

The Whites defender has been in and out of the team this season, failing to nail down a regular role at the back.

The German did fill in for Kalvin Phillips in a defensive midfield role since the turn of the year but has been a substitute in Leeds’ recent upturn in form over the last three games and might not be confident of getting into the line-up for the visit to Watford on Saturday.

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According to Football Insider, the club will listen to offers for Koch in the summer, with a fee in the region of £10m-£11m thought to be enough to prompt a deal.

Leeds are thought to be planning a defensive overhaul ahead of Jesse Marsch’s first season in charge, with Koch potentially moving on from Elland Road.

The Latest: McGilligan reacts to Koch exit reports

McGilligan, who works for Leeds Live, took to Twitter in response to the update regarding Koch. He feels that the 25-year-old has ‘way more potential’ than Diego Llorente, describing a possible exit for the former as an ‘absolutely bizarre decision’.

When asked if he thought Koch should be allowed to leave, the journalist firmly replied:

“Absolutely not. Llorente goes over Koch ability wise for me, you’ve also got to look at the age of both – way more potential for Robin. Would be an absolutely bizarre decision.”

The Verdict: Leeds’ worst-rated defender…

You can see why Leeds are considering parting ways with Koch this summer in what could well be a summer shake-up at Elland Road, should Marsch steer the club to Premier League safety.

As per WhoScored, Koch has struggled this season with an average match rating of just 6.32/10, with fellow centre-backs Liam Cooper, Pascal Struijk and Llorente all outperforming the German.

He has actually been the club’s worst-rated senior performer and has also missed 38 games through injury and illness since arriving in Yorkshire, so if one of the four were to go, it wouldn’t be a shock if Koch was the man to be jettisoned, despite McGilligan’s protestations.

In other news: Leeds and Marsch handed early injury boost as ‘strong’ player may now return v Watford  

Despite boasting an impressive defensive record in the Premier League this season with just 14 goals conceded in 19 games, it seems as though Wolves are looking to the January transfer window as an opportunity to strengthen their squad at the back as they aim to secure a European place by the end of the current campaign under the guidance of Bruno Lage.

In a recent report from W Deportes, Wolves are apparently interested in signing Tigres defender Carlos Salcedo this month.

The 28-year-old joined the Mexican club from Eintracht Frankfurt back in the 2019 January transfer window after previous spells at clubs such as Deportivo Guadalajara, Fiorentina and Real Salt Lake City, winning some trophies in the process.

Since his move to Tigres, the defender has made a total of 101 appearances across all competitions, scoring seven goals along the way, showing how much of a danger he can be in front of goal as well.

Last season, Salcedo, who was dubbed as a potentially “massive” acquisition for a possible suitor this month by Rudi Schuller, ended Tigres’ league campaign as their joint-sixth highest rated player with an overall performance rating of 7.01/10 from SofaScore.

That would have made him Wolves’ fourth-highest rated player in the Premier League last season, showing how capable he could be in Lage’s side if he were to make a move to Molineux this month.

Salcedo’s latest performance for Tigres in their 1-1 draw against Santos Laguna saw him not only score his side’s goal but also make three clearances, four interceptions and one tackle, ultimately earning himself an outstanding overall match rating of 7.8/10, making him the highest-rated player on the day according to SofaScore.

With Lage reiterating the need for Wolves to sign a centre-back as soon as possible with Romain Saiss away on international duty and Willy Boly injured, Jeff Shi could solve Lage’s big issue with a move for Salcedo, who is currently valued at £4.5m according to Transfermarkt, in the coming days and weeks.

Moving forward, with Salcedo’s contract at Tigres set to expire at the end of December, this could cause the Mexican club to be more willing to sell their defender to Wolves this month rather than risk him leaving on a free transfer at the end of the year if he doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal before then.

In other news: Fosun heading for Wolves disaster over “dynamic” £46k-p/w ace that’ll have Lage fuming – opinion

In recent comments cited by Birmingham Live, West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael suggested that, despite having played a bit-part role at The Hawthorns so far this season, Kenneth Zohore could well still have a role to play for the Baggies.

Speaking about the centre-forward’s standing in his squad ahead of the January transfer window, Ismael said: “At the minute it’s early – you never know what can happen. You see with Kean [Bryan], that situation. In the next game, there could be another situation and the player is involved in the game.

“Just patience, work, he wants to play every time with the U23s which is a good sign. He wants to stay in the rhythm. He trains well. He is our player so everyone needs to be involved, stay focused and involved and you never know.”

Zohore must go

While Ismael’s suggestion that Zohore could still prove to be a useful part of his Albion squad if one of his favoured forwards becomes unavailable due to injury or suspension is perhaps sensible, it is nevertheless an unavoidable fact that, so far in his West Brom career, the 27-year-old has simply not been good enough.

Indeed, after making an £8.01m move to the Baggies back in 2019, the £1.8m-rated man failed to impress over his 17 Championship appearances in his debut campaign, scoring three goals, providing no assists and missing four big chances, as well as hitting the target with an average of just 0.6 shots per game.

These returns saw the player who Neil Warnock once dubbed an “outstanding” talent average a SofaScore match rating of just 6.67, ranking him as Albion’s fourth-worst performer in the league that season.

The £16.5k-per-week striker then endured an equally disappointing loan spell at Millwall last year, scoring two goals over 17 Championship appearances for the Lions, before returning to The Hawthorns this summer.

Furthermore, so far this season, Zohore has found himself left out of each of Ismael’s matchday squads since the second fixture of the campaign against Luton Town, a fixture in which the 46-year-old Albion boss was furious with the 27-year-old’s efforts upon his introduction to the game.

As such, considering the 6 foot 3 striker’s below-par performances and rather hefty weekly wage, Ismael simply must axe the centre-forward this winter, as he is undoubtedly becoming something of a burden for the club.

In other news: West Brom confirm exciting development which is sure to leave Baggies fans buzzing