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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson could miss the rest of the season through injury, according to The Athletic’s James Pearce.

The Reds have been plagued by fitness problems throughout 2020/21, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all ruled out for the rest of the campaign.

While some of Liverpool’s injury woes have eased in other areas, Henderson is another key absentee, having picked up a groin problem against Everton back in February.

It has left his involvement at Euro 2020 for England in doubt, but more importantly, he has missed some key matches for the Reds.

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Pearce delivers Henderson injury update

Pearce has given a bleak update on Henderson’s current situation, claiming a return to the pitch ‘remains some way off’, also adding that it is ‘unclear’ whether or not he will play again this season.

As a more positive aside, though, he added that Curtis Jones is nearing a return from an injury of his own.

Transfer Tavern take

Henderson’s absence has been a huge blow for Liverpool, with the skipper such a major influence in terms of his leadership, energy and quality.

The Reds seem to lack a spark when the 30-year-old isn’t around, and while that doesn’t mean they can’t win without him, they are invariably a better with him involved in the midfield. All of Liverpool’s league defeats this season have come whenever their captain has either been absent or forced to play in defence to plug a gap.

Jurgen Klopp will be ruing not having Henderson for the season’s run-in and it is up to other midfielders to step up to the plate now.

In other news, there has been another key development in the Gini Wijnaldum saga – find out more here.

Manchester City’s hopes of signing Lionel Messi this summer appear to have been dashed as the legendary Argentinian is seemingly on the brink of signing a new contract with Barcelona.

The Citizens have been regularly linked with a move for the 33-year-old, whose current contract at Barcelona is set to expire at the end of the season, which would have allowed the Premier League leaders to bring him to the Etihad Stadium on a free transfer.

Messi was hugely frustrated with former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu last summer when he wasn’t allowed to depart Camp Nou, even though he felt that a clause in his contract meant he could leave for nothing.

However, he was convinced to stay with the Catalan club and clearly hasn’t allowed his frustrations to show in his performances, as he has delivered yet another superb campaign for Barcelona.

In 29 league appearances, the Argentina international has contributed a remarkable 25 goals and nine assists, averaging an incredible 8.57/10 WhoScored rating for his performances, with 19 man of the match awards to his name.

Unsurprisingly, this comfortably ranks him as the best performer in La Liga so far this season, so it seems clear that he would have been an incredible addition to Pep Guardiola’s side had he made the move to Manchester.

However, the return of former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has seemingly boosted Messi’s mood and recent reports have suggested that he is edging closer to a new two-year deal at the club.

He also seems to have been convinced by the promise of Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero joining him at Barcelona this summer, with the Etihad legend set to depart on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The late, great Diego Maradona is just one of several footballing legends to have sung Messi’s praises during his illustrious career, saying: “I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius.”

Therefore, it is a huge blow for Guardiola that he and Messi seemingly won’t be reunited at Manchester City next season, as the new contract will surely see him finish his career with the La Liga giants.

In other news… Mansour’s huge call is massive news for Pep, De Bruyne will be delighted

Jurgen Klopp finally appears to have secured a much sought-after centre-back in the form of RB Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate.

The Reds have long been linked with a move for the Frenchman, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano now suggesting that a deal is “set to be completed”.

Liverpool will be hugely boosted by the fact that they have managed to get a central defender through the door.

The Reds have hugely struggled this season due to long-term injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

Midfielder Fabinho has been forced to deputise in the heart of defence on numerous occasions and whilst not his fault, Liverpool have endured a huge drop-off in the league, currently sitting seventh and in a desperate scramble to get back into the UEFA Champions League.

The arrival of Konate though should go a long way in rectifying those problems having developed a reputation as one of the most exciting defenders in Europe.

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At just the age of 21, the £31.5m-rated centre-back has made 92 appearances in all competitions for Leipzig since his 2017 move from Sochaux-Montbéliard.

Whilst he has not played as regularly this season under Julien Nagelsman, he has certainly still contributed having racked up a hugely impressive six clean sheets in just 11 starts in all competitions.

He has also certainly shown his class in the UEFA Champions League having already played eight matches in the competition proper, playing a key role in victories against Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain and Benfica.

However, he was not quite able to display his abilities to Klopp in person having been benched in each of Leipzig’s Round of 16 meetings with the Reds in the competition this season.

Nevertheless, the German will certainly be delighted to have secured the Leipzig man and to have finally got a defender through the Anfield doors.

AND in more news, find out how Liverpool could secure their next Luis Suarez with a Sparta Prague wonderkid…

Tuesday night was another reminder of what might’ve been for West Ham United.

Whilst the Irons were enjoying a much-needed week off from action, their local rivals, Chelsea, were competing in a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.

These are the sorts of matches that many are dreaming about at the London Stadium with David Moyes’ side pushing for a lucrative spot inside the Premier League’s top four.

The Blues defeated the Hammers over the weekend and then held the La Liga giants to a draw, meaning there is still everything left to play for in the return leg next week.

One player starred across both encounters and what makes it worse is the fact that he could’ve become a West Ham player back in 2015 under Slaven Bilic.

This is, of course, N’Golo Kante, who looks back to his best in the heart of Chelsea’s engine room.

Back in the summer of 2015, Bilic enquired to Caen about signing the diminutive Frenchman for just £5m but no move came to fruition and he subsequently joined top-flight rivals Leicester City for just €8m (£7m).

Now look at him.

The £49.5m-rated midfielder pulled the strings on Saturday, making 88% of his 48 passing attempts and managing a game-high four tackles. In fact, none of Moyes’ starting XI could match his 7.2 SofaScore rating either.

Kante then backed up this performance with another fine showing at the Bernabeu, where he recorded a whopping six dribbles against a midfield that contained Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric.

This was more than the entire La Liga outfit combined, which is startling.

As a result, he was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ award and earned the most glowing of endorsements from his ex-teammate Cesc Fabregas, who tweeted: “N’Golo has always been a big game player. Never doubt him. He plays for 2.”

Despite entering his thirties, you can see that the 45-time international is a cut above many in the Premier League and one can only wonder what a current Hammers midfield of Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Kante would look like.

All in all, the East Londoners must continue to be haunted by Bilic’s failure to land the World Cup winner. What a catastrophic call that was.

AND in other news, West Ham star a major injury doubt for rest of the season, Moyes will be worried…

Marcus Bent has exclusively told Football FanCast that Gylfi Sigurdsson still has a future at Everton past this summer.

The Icelandic international is in his fourth season on Merseyside following his £45million switch from Swansea City, but hasn’t quite managed to live up to expectations.

Besides Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the former Tottenham man has scored the most goals in the Toffees squad but isn’t a guaranteed starter under Carlo Ancelotti.

Sigurdsson has started each of Everton’s previous five Premier League matches but has been on the bench 13 times this season – with Alex Iwobi and Bernard occasionally preferred in the attacking positions by the Italian.

His Everton deal expires in 2022, but despite reports suggesting that the Toffees are open to selling him this summer, Bent has been reliably informed that Sigurdsson is still seen as a vital part of Ancelotti’s squad.

He told Football FanCast:

“Everton are happy with him and not looking to let him go. I think he’s got a future there; I’ve heard it from many people at Everton.”

Sigurdsson netted twice in the recent draw with Spurs, taking his tally for the campaign to eight in all competitions, but Bent still expects more from the ex-Swansea man.

“He’s got to score more goals and be more consistent,” he added.

In an exclusive interview with Football Fancast, former Derby County manager, Paul Jewell, has claimed that his former club may benefit from being relegated into League One this season.

Derby find themselves set to be involved in a final day relegation shoot out between themselves, Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday, who they play at home on the last day of the season.

It was highly expected that Derby were set to have new owners and Mel Morris would be able to move on, but it has recently been reported that Erik Alonso is ultimately a time waster and doesn’t have the necessary funds to buy the club.

Speaking on how Derby could benefit from relegation and why the league they are in may change their recruitment policy, Jewell exclusively told FFC:

“If they do go down then they will certainly be able to attract the best players at that level and sometimes when you have a losing culture at a Football Club, it can be good to take a step back by going down and getting used to winning again, and it can help you gain momentum.

“They would have the chance to recruit the best players at that level and they certainly would be able to do that so, it could be a blessing in disguise, but I doubt the new owners would agree.”

The Rams parted ways with Phillip Cocu as they struggled at the bottom of the Championship earlier this season, however, after appointing Wayne Rooney, fortunes have failed to change.

In what is Rooney’s first job in management, he will see it as a great achievement if he manages to keep Derby in the Championship this season.

According to a report by The Sun, Tottenham striker Harry Kane is now ready to ask chairman Daniel Levy to consider offers for him this summer.

The Lowdown: Kane exit saga continues…

The Athletic first caught wind of Kane’s potential desire to leave Spurs, reporting that the 27-year-old has grown frustrated and concerned by the lack of challenging for silverware in north London.

They claimed that the England captain could push for an exit if Spurs fail to qualify for the Champions League at the end of this season – a possibility which now seems increasingly inevitable.

It is reported that he is ‘prepared’ to tell the Spurs hierarchy that he wants a new challenge, and The Sun have now brought a major development on the situation.

The Latest: Kane now ready to ask Levy to consider offers

Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat at Leeds United on Saturday has only cemented Kane’s thinking over his future according to the outlet.

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The Sun believe that he will now appeal to Levy to consider any bids which come in for him this summer, with the report describing the development as the ‘clearest indication yet’ that Kane could leave. He will stop short of submitting an official transfer request but hopes that his appeal to the Spurs chairman will see a big money move potentially being set up.

The Verdict: Big blow for Spurs

The star striker has been Tottenham’s most crucial player this season by some distance, scoring an incredible 21 goals and setting up 13 others in 32 Premier League starts (WhoScored).

He partnered Son Heung-min to great effect earlier in the campaign, with the duo even breaking a Premier League record of most combined assists (Goal).

Whoever the Lilywhites’ next manager may be, they will certainly not want to lose a player who is critical to the Tottenham team, and news of Kane’s increasing desire to leave certainly comes as a worrying potential blow to Spurs.

In other news: Some Tottenham fans flock to this ‘best news’, find out more here.

Former Leeds United striker Brian Deane has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that he is not expecting Marcelo Bielsa to do too much this summer.

There has been quite a bit of speculation about Bielsa’s future, with his contract set to expire. However, all of that could soon be put to bed after The Telegraph reported that the 65-year-old is close to agreeing a new deal.

It means that Leeds will be able to turn their full attention to the summer transfer market and the upcoming 2021/22 season, though Deane would not be surprised to see Bielsa not do too much over the next few months.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about the Yorkshire club’s potential plans for the summer, the retired Premier League forward said:

“I don’t think he’ll do too much different. He’s been there three seasons now, and I think all he’ll probably do is look to tweak what he’s done – maybe bring in a little bit more quality.

“I don’t think Leeds are in a position to start spending, you know, hundreds of millions. I think he’ll refresh certain positions. But, yeah, I think it’s just the natural progression now.”

Leeds had a very successful transfer window last year, bringing in the likes of Raphinha and Diego Llorente, who have gone on to become regulars – the latter after picking up a serious groin injury. So it will be interesting to see if they can replicate that kind of recruitment again.

Twitter account @AVFC_News has asked Aston Villa fans if they would like to see the club make a move for Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendia.

Buendia has been instrumental in helping Norwich regain their top-flight status as winners of the Championship.

The Canaries posted a final tally of 97 points, finishing six points clear of Watford, who were also relegated in 2019/20.

Outstanding numbers mean Buendia is attracting interest

Buendia led the division for assists with 16 overall, four clear of his nearest challenger – Reading’s Michael Olise.

And, on top of that, his tally of 15 goals left him joint-eighth in the second tier. Buendia was WhoScored’s player of the season with an average rating of 7.78.

The 24-year-old does still have three years left on his Norwich City contract. Transfermarkt value him at £19.8million.

Buendia’s excellent creative stats make him appear a natural replacement for Jack Grealish, were the Englishman to depart this summer, as Birmingham Live report that Norwich could cash in with Villa one of many clubs interested,

Do Villa fans want the club to sign Buendia?

“He is quality but price is gonna be high! Norwich might sell though to fund other purchases.”

Credit: @pauljb412

“Yes, yes, yes. Let’s not miss out on him, as I really think we’ll regret it.”

Credit: @ABCDEFC45833367

“Yessss, please”

Credit: @MarioJimenez89

“Should have bought him last summer”

Credit: @tw1708

“Yes.”

Credit: @Laithmatic

“You wait years for a Brazilian and now we have two. We’ve only got one Emi so let’s do the double there too. Then Djemba Djemba can come back too.”

Credit: @Villafied77

In other news, this forward has been tipped to leave Villa Park in the summer.

Journalist Stuart Hodge has said that a report claiming that Eddie Howe could be announced as Celtic’s new manager this week ‘sounds bang on’.

The lowdown

The Hoops have been without a permanent manager since they parted company with Neil Lennon at the end of February.

It was reported at the start of April that they were close to an agreement with former Bournemouth boss Howe, having held talks in London, and an official announcement could finally arrive this week.

Howe led Bournemouth from League Two to the Premier League, where they remained for five seasons before dropping back to the Championship last year (Transfermarkt).

The Scottish transfer window is set to open on 9 June, with Celtic looking to assemble a squad capable of overturning a 25-gap to 2020/21 champions Rangers.

The latest

Hodge corroborated the timeline outlined by the Daily Record, saying that he too was told the appointment would be made official this week.

He tweeted: “This timeline sounds bang on. Was told it’d be before the end of next week, but stock exchange needs to know first.”

The verdict

The lengthy wait for the appointment to be confirmed means that many Celtic fans may be relieved rather than excited when Howe is finally presented, but they’re getting a coach responsible for one of the most impressive achievements in recent British footballing history.

You’d like to think that he has already been privately identifying potential transfer targets, or at least areas which need upgrading, in recent weeks.

He has time to begin implementing his vision before Celtic get their campaign underway in late July, and Hodge’s remarks appear to offer an even stronger hint that Howe will already be in the job for nearly two months by then.

In other news, Danny Mills thinks a Premier League club may swoop for this Celtic star before Euro 2020.