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According to Mundo Deportivo, Crystal Palace are reportedly considering a move for Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero as a potential replacement for Real Sociedad target Vicente Guaita.

What’s the word?

Reports have emerged over the past week that the La Liga giants are interested in signing the Spaniard stopper, who has shown flashes of his ability at Selhurst Park this season.

Guaita moved to Palace from Getafe as a free agent almost three years ago and has started every single game in the Premier League so far this season and has three clean sheets to show for his 20 starts.

Now, the Spanish publication claim that the Eagles are eyeing up a move for Romero, who has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford, with the 33-year-old now in the final few months of his contract.

Guaita’s perfect replacement

Hodgson’s side have conceded 36 goals in the Premier League this season, second only to newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion with 48.

Described as being a “top professional” by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the stopper would make a fine addition at the back of Palace’s squad.

Like Guaita, Romero has shown tremendous dexterity, with WhoScored listing his strong reflexes as one of his key strengths. The similarities don’t stop there, either, as both keepers have shown they are comfortable saving shots from close range.

Last season, the Argentine goalkeeper averaged 1.2 saves per game in the Europa League, albeit against a higher level of competition, while Guaita has managed three in the Premier League this season. The pair also possess a similar work rate, with Romero taking 32.3 touches per match, slightly ahead of Palace’s stopper at 32.1.

If Hodgson is looking for another veteran to come in and replace Guaita between the sticks, then he could find the perfect replacement in the £1.8m-rated United outcast.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer on Crystal Palace contract talks with Patrick van Aanholt…

Celtic’s 2020/21 woes continue after they fell victim to St Mirren’s sword this afternoon in the Scottish Premiership. The sixth place Saints put in an incredible performance to topple the reigning league champions and any chance of catching runaway leaders Rangers looks bleaker than ever.

The Hoops have two games in-hand, but their clash against St Mirren was also a chance to gain some momentum on their Glasgow rivals. But to Neil Lennon’s dismay, they couldn’t do enough to come away with a vital three points.

The Saints opened up the scoring after just 18 minutes through Kristian Dennis and despite an Odsonne Edouard equaliser, Celtic were dealt a blow just five minutes after the Frenchman’s strike. Ilkay Durmus put the game to bed before half time and the Bhoys showed little promise of even getting back into the match.

It was a poor performance all round for Celtic, but one man who keeps sticking out as a below par player is loan signing Shane Duffy, whose glaring error it was that led to winning goal on Saturday.

Duffy stats vs St Mirren

The Brighton loanee has hardly painted himself in gold since he joined the Glaswegians. He has been that much of an unreliable option that Celtic are reportedly considering cutting his short-term deal short before the January transfer window closes.

Duffy’s performance attracted criticism from Paul John Dykes on Twitter, who claimed that the centre-back was amongst Kristoffer Ajer, Nir Bitton and Scott Bain as Celtic’s worst performers today. However, he added that he thought Duffy was the “worst culprit” for the Hoops’ humiliating loss to St Mirren.

This isn’t the first time the 29-year-old has disappointed in Scotland. According to Sofascore, averages less than on tackle per match, which is worryingly low compared to Ajer (1.5) and Christopher Jullien (1.2).

For a centre-back looking to find the next step in his career, this statistic isn’t wowing anybody. With his links to Nottingham Forest potentially spelling an early end to his Celtic spell, Peter Lawwell should consider offloading the £6.3million-valued defender who is leeching him of £20,000 per week in wages.

In other news, Lawwell has pulled off smart Celtic business with Ben Davies coup…

If you could pluck two words from the dictionary to describe Leeds’ season they could be ‘swashbuckling’ and ‘inconsistent’.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men play vibrant attacking football but at the same time, are often left wanting in defence. That was evident during their 4-2 defeat to Arsenal. At the back, they were a shambles but going forward, they caused plenty of problems.

Of course, injuries have wreaked havoc with their ambitions thus far. Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper and Robin Koch have all endured spells on the treatment table but another problem has been in midfield.

Not having a real alternative to Kalvin Phillips at the base is becoming an increasing issue while the attacking numbers of Mateusz Klich and Rodrigo leave plenty to be desired.

The former has found the net on just three occasions this term while their club-record signing has struggled in English football, scoring with the same regularity as Klich.

With that in mind, could yet more spending be on the cards in the summer? If those linked with the exit door depart, then it will surely become a necessity. Tyler Roberts nearly departed in January while Pablo Hernandez is attracting interest from Spain once more.

Thus, just imagine what a light sprinkling of Rodrigo de Paul could do for this side. Leeds supporters must be sick to death of hearing his name this term but if they’d splashed out the costly sum of £35m+ last summer, he would have been their player.

The Argentine teased a move on social media but he’s remained at Udinese in Italy. He’s very quickly become one of the most creative players in Serie A, something his performance on Sunday testified.

In fact, his performance will surely have left Victor Orta salivating from the mouth. The Spaniard is one of De Paul’s keenest admirers and it would be a great surprise if they didn’t renew their interest in the coming months.

After all, he’d certainly plug a gap of quality in central areas. De Paul has scored five times in 2020/21 but more importantly, has been a hub of creativity. Per WhoScored, he has amassed 2.5 key passes per game – more than anyone in the Leeds side – while registering 3.5 dribbles per match. Once again, that tally usurps every Leeds player.

The attacking midfielder’s latest virtuoso performance came at the weekend. He produced five key passes – providing an assist for one goal in Udinese’s 2-2 draw with Parma. On top of that, the 26-year-old was successful with five take-ons and won ten ground duels.

De Paul would often drift into the right-hand side and based on that, he could generate quite the link-up with Raphinha if he came to Elland Road.

The Brazilian has been a brilliant capture and has managed three assists and two goals in his last six outings. Imagine what he could do alongside a player as good as De Paul…

It’s certainly an exciting prospect for Leeds supporters to think about.

AND in other news, 6 key passes, 4 tackles: Leeds beast who “does everything right” was a standout v WWFC…

Some Everton fans were far from happy with the display of Gylfi Sigurdsson despite their 1-0 victory over Southampton on Monday.

The Toffees picked up the three points thanks to a goal from Richarlison in the first 10 minutes – it proved to be the only goal of the game. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are now just two points away from the top four in the Premier League with a game in hand (Sky Sports) and have a real chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Sigurdsson actually provided the assist for Richarlison’s effort, but that was not enough to please some Everton fans. Many expected more from the Iceland international, who was actually named as captain on the night, with many feeling he was anonymous for much of the 90 minutes. He completed just 19 passes against the Saints, the third-fewest of the Toffees’ starting line-up (Sofascore).

These supporters took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts, with one branding the 31-year-old a “headless chicken”.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Sigurdsson below

“Sigurdsson rivaling Lord Lucan in the world hide and seek championship…great ball for Richarlison and absolutely anonymous since”

Credit: @1878Paul

“Time to get Sigurdsson off. Running on empty.”

Credit: @ToffeeCardinal

“I’m amazed. I thought he Gomes came to life for about 5 or 6 mins midway through the 2nd half but thought the game totally passed him by for the rest. Too pedestrian, not capable of breaking the lines or committing opposition defenders. Sigurdsson usual anonymous performance.”

Credit: @AlanNorbury1

“Didn’t enjoy that performance at all. We were cruising when we could’ve easily won that by more. Didn’t get out of second gear. At least we got the 3 points. Still no idea what Sigurdsson does. Headless chicken.”

Credit: @LloydyLloydyboy

“Not sure about 7 for Sigurdsson Adam. Great pass for the goal, credit where it’s due. That aside, he was anonymous though.”

Credit: @DannyBrodders

“Very nice pass for the goal. Some decent deadball delivery. After half an hour he turned into the invisible man. Another typical Gylfi performance. He wasn’t only v average performer. Terrible game. Poor team performance. No way you can say he had a good game.”

Credit: @Toffee1995

In other news, Ancelotti is ready to sanction the bargain sale of this Everton ace.

Aston Villa have been without talisman Jack Grealish for the last couple of games and Dean Smith has provided an injury update on the player.

The latest on Grealish

Smith was talking in the press conference previewing the game against Sheffield United on Wednesday evening and he revealed that they will be without Grealish again, saying: “He won’t be ready for the game and he’s not travelling with us. We’ll decide later in the week if we can get him on the training ground.”

This is a worrying update from the manager

In terms of creativity, Grealish is one of the best attacking midfielders in the division, his 10 assists in the Premier League just one fewer than the joint-leaders in this regard (WhoScored), and it is exciting for fans of England to watch him grow. Clearly England manager Gareth Southgate is impressed by the Villa skipper as he hailed his performance against Belgium in the autumn as ‘outstanding’.

The 25-year-old has averaged 2.1 shots, 3.4 key passes and 2.8 successful dribbles per game and turned these amazing attacking stats into end product, picking up six goals as well as his 10 top-flight assists (WhoScored).

Therefore, the six words from Smith that he “won’t be ready for the game” is of course going to be a big worry, and it seems like he could still be out for an unknown period, which is a blow for all associated with the club.

In other news, these Villa fans are loving this crazy statistic!

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer praised Leeds United summer signing Raphinha and the impact he has made at Elland Road this season.

The 24-year-old joined the Yorkshire club from French outfit Rennes in a £17m deal last October and has not disappointed manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Raphinha is proving himself to be a game-changer and has been directly involved in 10 of Leeds’ 43 Premier League goals in the current campaign. The Brazilian is also averaging 2.1 key passes per game, the highest average in the Whites’ squad (via WhoScored), further showing his attacking influence.

His displays in English football’s top flight have caught the eye, and Palmer is one individual who has certainly taken notice. Speaking exclusively to FFC about Raphinha, Palmer said:

“I’ve seen a lot of him and I’ve read up a lot on him. I mean, he’s a Brazilian and, you know, especially away from home, I think he’s a fantastic outlet for Leeds United because of his ability to dribble with a ball.

“It’s typical Brazilian flair and style, but he has assists and is getting into positions to make crosses because of his pace and his ability to dribble past players.”

If Raphinha continues performing at the level he has been at this season, it will be interesting to see where that takes him.

Despite only arriving at Elland Road last year, the Brazilian attacker is already being linked with a move elsewhere, with current Premier League champions Liverpool said to be circling.

According to France Football (via MailOnline), Raphinha tops the Reds’ shortlist of transfer targets for the summer. Leeds, however, are said to be under no pressure to sell, which will come as welcome news to Bielsa.

Celtic will continue to monitor Airdrie winger Thomas Robert over the coming months after he impressed on trial in recent weeks.

That’s according to an exclusive report from Football Insider, who claim that the Hoops are yet to offer the 20-year-old a deal, or hold talks with the League One side over a potential transfer.

Celtic’s reasons for Robert stall

The Frenchman is out of contract at the end of the season after being watched by Nick Hammond back in December, so could end up joining the club for a nominal fee.

Football Insider claim that Celtic have decided to hold off on tying up a deal for Robert due to the club’s ongoing search for a director of football, as well as a new manager.

There have been reports of a mass overhaul at the club this summer, and it seems the club have decided to halt transfer activity while they sift through the impending chaos.

Transfer Tavern take

It seems as if Robert impressed at Lennoxtown, but holding off on a potential transfer until off-field positions are filled seems to be a sensible decision.

Liam Shaw’s summer move was officially announced on Wednesday, however, that deal was reportedly secured during Neil Lennon’s tenure in the Celtic Park hotseat.

Lennon’s long-term successor and the new director of football may well end up giving the green light to a deal for Robert, who has been involved in six goals this season. However, holding off for now appears to be the correct decision.

Southampton centre-back Jannik Vestergaard is reportedly attracting interest from Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the summer and if Ralph Hasenhuttl wants to keep him on the South Coast, then the club should consider offering him a new deal as soon as possible.

The Danish international’s contract with the Saints is set to expire at the end of next season, meaning that if Spurs did make an approach for the six-foot-six defender in the summer, then it is unlikely that Southampton would be able to demand a significant fee, despite his impressive performances this season.

In fact, Hasenhuttl could potentially lose him on a free transfer next year, with foreign clubs free to approach him with the view to signing him on a Bosman transfer in January 2022.

Considering how important the 28-year-old has been in the Austrian’s side this season, the club should surely be looking to tie him down to a longer deal to ensure that he isn’t prised away from them too easily in the future.

In 21 appearances this season, the former Borussia Monchengladbach man has averaged an impressive 7.09 rating for his performances, which is second to only James Ward-Prowse in the Southampton squad.

Therefore, he is clearly a key figure in this Southampton side and should be rewarded with a new deal, as his current deal sees him earn £60k per week at the South Coast club.

Arguably, the club should be focusing on the Dane more than Danny Ings, with the club currently in ongoing negotiations with the England international over a new deal, with his contract also set to expire at the end of next season.

However, despite his impressive performances in recent seasons, the former Liverpool man has suggested that he sees his future with a Champions League side, so it is difficult to see his long-term future with Southampton.

Although Vestergaard will likely share the same dream, he hasn’t openly admitted to it, so there’s no reason to think he can’t finish his career at the top with Southampton by signing a new long-term contract.

Therefore, Martin Semmens should perhaps forget about Ings and instead focus on delivering a new contract to the Danish international, as his performances this season certainly warrant him earning a new deal.

And, in other news… Semmens can deliver Saints’ Ings replacement with swoop for in-demand 24 y/o

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who made 561 appearances for Wolves, has encouraged Wolves to go all out and sign Dwight McNeil from Burnley, claiming he’s gone under the radar.

Wolves have struggled in front of goal this season after finding the net just 28 times, and Bull believes McNeil, who Wolves reportedly targeted last summer, would add goals and creativity to the Midlands side.

The 21-year old has just been called up to the latest England U21 squad and boasts seven goals and 14 assists in 98 games for Burnley.

McNeil often seems to go under the radar but showed a big glimpse of his quality with his fantastic goal in the win against Everton at Goodison Park last weekend.

McNeil featuring for the Clarets certainly hasn’t put off Bull who thinks he could be a great signing for Wolves.

Speaking on the young Premier League winger, Bull told FFC:

“It’s very rare that talented players like that go under the radar, Leicester found one in James Maddison. So, yeah all day long I’d take him.

“Put him in a good side full of talented and skilful players like we’ve got and it might bring him on leaps and bounds.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/exclusive-andreas-sondergaard-wolves-premier-league” title=”Exclusive! Andreas Sondergaard talks all things Wolves”]

“So, you never know what might happen but, any new kids on the block will be good for the club.”

Wolves sold Diogo Jota to Liverpool in the summer and lost Raul Jimenez to a fractured skull last year so it’s been a tough season for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to find goals in the final third.

McNeil is currently Burnley’s joint 10th top scorer of all time in the Premier League at just 21-years old it could be a good player for Wolves to target this summer.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has tipped Jack Grealish to go on and become one of the greatest Premier League players of all time.

Grealish has been in stunning form this season, helping fire Villa into European contention.

In 22 Premier League appearances, the 25-year-old attacking midfielder has scored six goals and provided 10 assists, firmly establishing himself as the team’s chief playmaker.

He has certainly kicked on from the last campaign, where he also posted some pretty decent numbers, and Hendrie is now backing him to reach the summit of English football in the future.

In an exclusive interview with FFC, the ex-Villa player said:

“I’ve spoken to Jack many times, you know, quite pally with him and good friends with his dad as well. I haven’t spoken to him quite recently, but I often enough send him a message, compliment him on how he’s played and things like that. Yeah, there’s always been that comparison and likeness with me and Jack.”

Discussing Grealish further, Hendrie went on to say:

“I’ve had conversations with Jack, that he could go on and be the next best thing. It’s all down to him, and I feel that he believes that himself as well. I just think he’s at a stage now where, you know, lots of clubs are talking about him, the international scene, and I just feel that he is an immense talent that certainly can go on and be one of the best Premier League players of all time, I really do.

“He’s got that individual brilliance that not many have. I’ve always said to Jack, ‘you just keep doing that sort of thing’.”

Next up for Villa in the Premier League is a clash against relegation candidates Fulham, a fixture manager Dean Smith will be hoping to have Grealish back for following his recent absence. The England international has missed his side’s last six games due to injury, and his return will undoubtedly come as a huge boost to the team.