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Liverpool could well be on course to win their first Premier League title this season, with Jurgen Klopp’s men in a fierce battle with Man City for top honours.

The Reds have been superb for the most part this campaign, and the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah have excelled with their form.

However, with a squad full of quality like Liverpool have, there are always going to be those players who simply fall by the wayside somewhat, and we here in the Tavern feel that Adam Lallana is one of those players who might be left behind at Anfield.

Granted, Lallana has had his injury issues, but he has never really made a massive name for himself in a Liverpool shirt, and you get the feeling he might shine more at a club with less pressure on a weekly basis.

Lallana is of course a big talent, and a player who on his day can cause havoc in opposition defences, but Liverpool have moved on, and at the level they are now at, there has to be questions around Lallana’s ability to break into the starting XI on a regular basis.

A summer move might make perfect sense for the former Southampton man, and there would be plenty of clubs willing to take a punt on him.

Injury free, he can be a fine Premier League midfielder, but those injuries could well have robbed him of his best years at Anfield.

Nonetheless, it would be great to see the England man depart with a Premier League winners medal after playing a big part in the revolution of the club in the last few years.

Aston Villa have always been rather active in the transfer market over the past number of years, whether they’ve been in the Premier League or Championship.

Numerous players have moved in and out of the Midlands club either on loan or permanent deals.

However, one player the Villans were linked with that didn’t end up donning a Villa shirt is Wesley Sneijder, someone they quite clearly made a huge mistake over.

Back in the 2009 summer transfer window, it was reported that the Midlands club were favourites to sign the Dutchman from Real Madrid after his agent revealed that Inter Milan, who were also after him at the time, were quite some way from offering the sort of money that the Spanish side were looking for.

Unfortunately for Villa, the midfielder did end up joining the Italian club that summer after racking up a total of 246 appearances for Madrid and his original club Ajax, scoring 69 goals and providing 57 assists along the way.

During his time with Inter, Sneijder found the back of the net 22 times in 116 appearances, delivering 35 assists in the process.

In the 2013 January transfer window, the 37-year-old, who has been described as a “monster” by journalist Grant Wahl, then moved to Turkey after signing with Galatasaray where he delivered 89 goal contributions in 175 games.

He then went on to have spells in France with OGC Nice and Al-Gharafa in Qatar before retiring in 2019 having won numerous trophies in Spain, Italy and Turkey.

Labelled as a “lethal” player in terms of his dead-ball ability by the official Copa90 Twitter account following his induction to Inter’s Hall of Fame, Sneijder ended his playing career with a total of 295 club goals and assists to his name.

Having also racked up an accumulative transfer fee of £44.6m from his moves to Real, Inter and Galatasaray according to Transfermarkt, Villa and their then-owner Randy Lerner certainly made a mistake by not splashing the cash when they had the chance and bringing the Dutch maestro to England.

Bearing in mind this was a player that claimed he could have been on the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of talent, having a figure of his footballing calibre in a Villa shirt could have been a sight to behold for the fans.

In other news: Huge boost: Gregg Evans reveals fresh Villa development, it’s great news for Gerrard

Writing for inews, reliable journalist Mark Douglas has delivered an interesting transfer update regarding Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen. 

The lowdown: Fairytale comeback

The 30-year-old was an icon in north London prior to moving to Inter Milan in 2020, scoring 69 times and providing an astonishing 90 assists in 305 outings for the Lilywhites.

Having won the Serie A title in Italy under Spurs boss Antonio Conte, Eriksen’s career at the San Siro came to an abrupt end when Italian regulations meant the Danish star couldn’t return to the club following a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.

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Since then the cultured midfielder has signed for Brentford on a short-term deal and made a successful return to the international fold, scoring in the most recent international break.

The latest: Reunion on the cards?

Citing his report on Twitter, Douglas stated that Tottenham are amongst the clubs ‘queuing up’ and ‘keen’ to sign Eriksen this summer.

Out of contract at the end of this season (Transfermarkt), it’s claimed that Spurs are ‘interested in a reunion’ with the 111-cap ace as Conte attempts to bolster the ranks.

As per senior sources at inews, there have been ‘no talks’ of an extension with Brentford at present and while Manchester United and Newcastle also watch on with interest, Tottenham are ‘paying the closest attention’.

The verdict: No-brainer

Back in 2019, Spurs placed a minimum eye-watering £100million price tag on the creative Dane (The Times), a reflection of the class and indeed importance of Eriksen to Mauricio Pochettino’s side at the time.

Since returning to competitive action, the man recently hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by manager and compatriot Thomas Frank has scored once and provided one assist in four Premier League outings.

Having proven to still be a first-class operator, both Fabio Paratici and Conte should be pushing hard to bring Eriksen to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, particularly as a free agent in order to leave the budget untouched for elsewhere in the squad.

In other news: Tottenham favourites to sign England man, find out more here.

Wolves are currently sitting in eighth place in the Premier League table, two points below Manchester United and West Ham United directly above them.

With 32 games played, the Old Gold have won 15, drawn four and lost 13, showing how unpredictable their results have been throughout the campaign.

One fairly noticeable statistic is the fact that Bruno Lage’s side have only managed to score 33 league goals throughout the season.

This leaves only Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Watford and Norwich City having found the back of the net on fewer occasions.

The Old Gold did have the chance to add some extra firepower to their squad during the previous January transfer window having been mentioned with a move for Flamengo striker Gabriel Barbosa – also known as Gabigol.

However, as many Wolves fans will be aware, this transfer didn’t end up happening, and the club may now be paying the price for it.

Moving forward, should the Molineux outfit end their latest season in the Premier League with a whimper in terms of their ability to find the back of the net, they should definitely reignite their interest in signing the Brazilian.

Labelled as a “quality” player by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Barbosa has racked up a combined total of 179 goals and assists throughout his career with clubs such as Flamengo, Benfica, Inter Milan and Santos.

With ten goals to his name in 15 appearances this season, the 25-year-old certainly knows how to score goals on a regular basis, which is something that Wolves desperately need in their side.

Having also been described as a figure that “has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history,” according to Zico, the Old Gold must call an end to his time in Brazil and see if he can be as clinical for them as he has been for his current side.

Taking all of this into account, with the upcoming summer transfer window on the horizon, this is a deal that Jeff Shi must complete if he wants to make Lage’s side a deadlier attacking team.

If the club aren’t able to bring in a regular goalscorer or get their current attacking players to start finding the back of the net on a consistent basis, this could put an end to their hopes of playing in Europe.

In other news: Sky Sports: Wolves may now lose “sensational” £36m-rated “maestro”, Lage surely fuming

Liverpool are the Premier League club showing the most interest in Torino defender Gleison Bremer, but Inter Milan are favourites to get their man.

The Lowdown: Reds eye up Bremer move

The Reds have been linked with a move for the Brazilian a lot in recent weeks, with Jurgen Klopp potentially looking at bringing in a new centre-back this summer due to the exit links surrounding Joe Gomez.

Praised as a ‘star’ in the division by Italian media, Bremer, who idolises Virgil van Dijk, has proved to be a dominant figure for Torino throughout the 2021/22 season, helping them sit 11th in the Serie A table and being handed four Man of the Match awards by WhoScored.

There looks set to be a battle for the 25-year-old’s services this summer, with a fresh claim suggesting Liverpool will be in the thick of it.

The Latest: New update emerges

According to Sport Mediaset journalist Marco Barzaghi [via Sport Witness], ‘there is a great deal of competition from English teams, Liverpool above all’.

That’s not to say that they are the front-runners to snap up the defender, however, with Inter currently in pole position. An agreement in principle is reportedly in place with the Serie A champions.

Sources in Brazil revealed Klopp ‘wants to sign’ Bremer though, and they may have one advantage over Inter because the Nerazzurri need to sell to buy – Liverpool do not.

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The Verdict: Happy as fourth-choice?

The main stumbling block behind Bremer joining Liverpool is whether or not he is happy to play a squad role instead of being a key man every week.

In van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate, the Reds have three great options, while Gomez is also in contention should he stay on, which is debatable.

Bremer may feel that he could go straight in as a regular starter at Inter, which wouldn’t be the case under Klopp, possibly putting paid to a move to Anfield.

In other news, David Ornstein has provided a Liverpool transfer update. Read more here.

ExWHUEmployee has claimed that West Ham United “will try” once again to sign Jesse Lingard in this final week of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to earlier reports from The Evening Standard, David Moyes remains keen on exploring a potential January deal for Lingard, and with fellow Premier League side Newcastle seemingly out of the running now, the race has opened up for the Hammers.

Via his Patreon, Ex said: “The club, on the back of the Lingard situation with Newcastle (although we do expect Newcastle to try again), will try another attempt at a deal but Manchester United are very reluctant to deal with us and there are issues to resolve still with his former stay here. We hope to have more details on this deal later.”

Moyes will love it

With Newcastle potentially out of the picture, the chances of the Hammers making a late swoop for Lingard is now very much a realistic prospect.

If the London club can work out some of the issues Ex says exists from Lingard’s previous loan deal at the London Stadium, then it would be a superb late window coup for Moyes.

After joining West Ham back in the January transfer window on a short-term loan, the attacking midfielder notched an impressive nine goals and four assists in just his first ten Premier League games for the club – it was no surprise then that he was lauded as being “absolutely phenomenal”.

His performances with the Hammers showcased the kind of impact the £75k-a-week earning star can have when he’s on song and the confidence is flowing through his veins.

With West Ham still very much in the mix for a Champions League spot this season, adding that extra sprinkling of goals and dynamism in Lingard could well prove to be the difference-maker when it comes to those big moments and big games.

After seemingly looking like Newcastle would trump them in their chase for Lingard, making a fresh move to land the England ace’s signature would surely have Moyes buzzing.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update on this reported West Ham transfer target…

Rangers need to tie down Connor Goldson to a new long-term deal at Ibrox as his contract is due to expire at the end of the current campaign.

What’s the word?

Goldson has been a mainstay at the heart of defence for Rangers ever since joining the side in the summer of 2018 under the previous manager Steven Gerrard.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, there has been no word of an extension from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and this is concerning.

Having featured in all 32 Scottish Premiership matches this season; Goldson would leave a massive hole in the Gers backline if he chose to leave the club.

Disaster if Goldson doesn’t stay

There is no doubt about it that Goldson has been key to Rangers’ success over the previous two seasons. Alongside Filip Helander, the Ibrox side only conceded Chelsea in 2004-2005.

Additionally, the defender also scored eight times during the campaign, including a brace against Celtic, and was arguably at his peak.

The start of this season saw the Gers struggle to replicate the highs of the previous campaign, being knocked out by Malmo in the Champions League qualifiers and stuttering in the league.

Following the 3-1 League Cup semi-final defeat to Hibernian at Hampden in November, Goldson said that Rangers had “lacked hunger” following their title win and this statement was not popular amongst the supporters.

The last few weeks have seen a resurgence in both Rangers and Goldson’s form, with progression in the Europa League following victory over Braga and an excellent win against Celtic in the Scottish Cup Semi-final, it could be a wonderful final few weeks of the season for the Ibrox faithful.

During that run, he hasn’t dipped an impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.9, with six of the seven appearances seeing him register a rating above 7.0, illustrating his importance during the back end of the term.

The £27k-per-week defender has been described as the “rock” that the side is built on, and after these last few weeks, it’s hard to argue.

Goldson will be a key protagonist if success is to be claimed and seeing him leave, despite the incoming arrival of John Souttar, would be a disaster for van Bronckhorst and co.

In other news, Sources: Huge transfer news emerges that could send Rangers into panic mode – opinion

Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has name-checked Tottenham as the possible unnamed side who made a bid for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz last month, Give Me Sport report.

The Lowdown: Contract talks

Luiz, who has been playing in a slightly more creative role under Steven Gerrard, was a player in demand in the final weeks of the winter window.

The 23-year-old has just 18 months remaining on his Villa Park deal, with the club turning down three bids for the Brazilian, one of which was on deadline day.

David Ornstein didn’t name the sides to make a formal offer and claimed that Villa are now looking to tie the midfielder down to a new deal in the Midlands.

The Latest: Bridge’s comments

Talking to Give Me Sport, Bridge shared what he was told more on who could have made a move for Luiz, citing both north London clubs.

“Douglas Luiz, the Brazilian midfielder. There was talk of a bid from an unnamed Premier League club. People said to me it was Tottenham, people said to me it was Arsenal.”

The Verdict: Correct call?

Villa failed to add to their midfield ranks last month despite looking to bring in both Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur, so keeping hold of Luiz seems to be the right decision.

Luiz is the only fit defensive midfielder available to Steven Gerrard at this moment in time due to Marvelous Nakamba’s injury.

Villa’s stance may have been different if Nakamba remained fit and a tempting bid came in for Luiz, but due to the circumstances, keeping hold of the Brazilian and making sure he isn’t in the final 12 months of his contract in the summer could turn out to be a shrewd call.

In other news: Villa and Lange now set to sign another young gem for Gerrard; personal terms agreed. 

Despite David Moyes continuously stating that his West Ham United side were in desperate need of a new centre-forward in the January transfer window, as the clock struck midnight on Tuesday morning, the Hammers entered February with the same number of strikers as they had 31 days prior – one.

Indeed, while the Irons did make a flurry of late moves in the winter market, reportedly offering Benfica €50m (£41.5m) for Darwin Nunez, as well as making a late bid to sign Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata, none of the club’s approaches were successful, leaving Moyes incredibly short of depth at centre-forward ahead of the second half of the current campaign.

As such, considering Michail Antonio’s hamstrings are made of glass, the 58-year-old manager now faces the challenge of rotating the 31-year-old enough to keep him fit, but possessing no direct replacement for the Jamacia international – something that will likely lead to the Scot fielding Jarrod Bowen up top.

However, rather than playing one of the Hammers’ most talented wide attacking threats out of position, perhaps it would be wise for Moyes to take a closer look at one of the club’s up and coming forwards in the form of Armstrong Oko-Flex.

“Very dangerous”

While a 19-year-old winger is certainly no substitute to the £41.5m signing of a centre-forward who has scored 34 goals and registered 14 assists over 69 appearances for Benfica, there is nevertheless an argument to be made that Oko-Flex is deserving of a more regular place in Moyes’ matchday squads – something that West Ham missing out on Nunez’s signing could well have created an opportunity for.

Indeed, since joining the Hammers from Celtic last summer, the Republic of Ireland U21 international has been in fantastic form over his 16 Premier League 2 appearances for Dmitri Halajko’s side, scoring 11 goals – including hat-tricks against Arsenal and Crystal Palace, as well as a brace against Manchester United – and providing his teammates with one assist.

And, speaking after the teenager’s three goals against the Gunners – a fixture in which West Ham ran out 6-1 winners – Halajko was rather understandably full of praise for Oko-Flex, stating: “Armstrong’s finishing is a real strongpoint of his. When he gets into the final third, he’s a very dangerous player. We wanted to do that tonight and he managed to take his chances.

“We’ve got confidence in him scoring goals and taking chances, without a shadow of a doubt – that’s what we brought him here to do. He’s got off the mark and deserved his hat-trick, and hopefully there’s more to come.”

As such, while is it by no means the ideal situation, considering West Ham’s “criminal” lack of action in the January transfer window, Moyes simply must unleash Oko-Flex in the second half of the season – as the Irons prodigy could well go on to play a crucial role in helping keep Antonio fit and firing for as long as possible this term.

In other news: Moyes now working on “important” WHU deal after failed Phillips bid, fans will love it

Over recent years, Aston Villa have not been shy when it comes to spending money on new players to help strengthen their squad.

They signed the trio of Danny Ings, Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia in the previous summer transfer window for a combined total of £89.84m according to Transfermarkt, and followed that by splashing £25m on Lucas Digne this month.

With that in mind, there’s no doubt that the Midlands club is capable of paying vast sums of cash in the transfer market when they think they need to.

Looking ahead to the remainder of this current window or even towards the summer window, one figure that Villa could look to bring in that would certainly add an extra attacking dynamic to Steven Gerrard’s team is Bayer Leverkusen’s 18-year-old attacking-midfielder Florian Wirtz, who Villa have been linked with in the past.

Despite his young age, the teenager, who is currently valued at a whopping £63m by Transfermarkt, has made 70 senior appearances for Leverkusen across all competitions, managing to score 17 goals and provide 20 assists along the way, highlighting the attacking talents he has.

Labelled as the “total package” by Germany head coach Hansi Flick in terms of his ability on the pitch, Wirtz has managed to rack up five goals and nine assists in 17 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Furthermore, he’s earned an overall performance rating of 7.41/10, making him Leverkusen’s second-highest rated player according to WhoScored, which would also comfortably make him Villa’s highest-rated player by the same metric.

With previous reports claiming that Villa’s current teenage attacking-midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka will not be signing a new deal at the Midlands club due to his lack of game time, his potential exit from Villa Park could pave the way for the club to launch a move for Wirtz to see if he would have a better chance of competing for a place in Gerrard’s side than Chukwuemeka.

Given the goals and assists he’s managed to deliver for Leverkusen so far in his short career, it wouldn’t be too difficult to see Wirtz getting regular playing time if he can have a similar sort of attacking impact in the Midlands.

In other news: Sky Sports drop fresh Aston Villa transfer update, Lange could be making a big mistake – opinion