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Southampton could have a replacement for recent departure Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg lined up.

According to L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), the Saints have their sights firmly set on 21-year-old Ibrahima Diallo from Brest. After attracting interest from Leicester in January, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side become the latest to monitor the Frenchman’s situation.

Who is Southampton transfer target Ibrahima Diallo?

The club have named Diallo as their priority signing to secure before the transfer window closes. The Brest ace has represented his country at an U20 level and has made a total of 53 senior appearances in Ligue 1 (via Transfermarkt).

Diallo operates primarily as a defensive midfielder but he has also been known to play further forward as well.

L’Equipe state that the Saints could sign the France youth international for €15million (£13.6m), despite still having three years left on his current contract.

Where would Ibrahima Diallo fit at Southampton?

Southampton are currently strapped in the engine room, having a mere five midfielders listed on their senior roster. However, the likes of Will Smallbone have only recently been promoted from the youth league. Despite his young age, adding Diallo to the ranks could seriously bolster Southampton’s options.

With Hojbjerg no longer in the picture, Hasenhuttl’s side are really lacking depth. Star striker Danny Ings will also see a dip in performance if the midfield is struggling to feed him the chances he is prolific at latching onto.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg vs Ibrahima Diallo

Despite generally playing in a more defensive role than Hojbjerg, Diallo registered the same amount of assists (1) as the Dane during the 2019/20 season, and tallied a better passing percentage with 86% to the new Spurs signing’s 78.1% (via WhoScored).

Diallo also completed more dribbles per match – 1.4 – to Hojbjerg’s 1.2. His discipline was also much better, receiving just two yellow cards in the league season compared to the 25-year-old’s five.

These stats alone suggest that the Frenchman is a more level-headed player and can pull the strings in midfield, whilst helping to protect the backline. With the Saints finishing in a respectable 11th place last campaign, Diallo could be a signing to help push them further up this table this time round.

In other news, Spurs are keen to sign Southampton striker Danny Ings…

West Bromwich Albion’s decision to sell Chris Wood in 2013 has turned out to be an absolutely woeful piece of business and over seven years on, it could be coming back to haunt them.

The Baggies are back in the big time and are seemingly playing without a recognised no.9 – Charlie Austin and Kenneth Zohore are edging closer to the exit door and their pursuit of Huddersfield Town talisman Karlan Grant continues to stumble over finances.

If only they gave a chance to Wood, who proved himself in no fewer than six loan spells away from the Hawthorns. Instead, ex-Albion boss Steve Clarke decided to cash in on him for a pathetic £1m as Leicester made his final temporary switch into a permanent one.

Where is Wood now?

The 28-year-old has gone on to become one of the most underrated forwards in the Premier League as he now plies his trade under Sean Dyche at Burnley.

In each of his last three Premier League campaigns, Wood has netted at least ten goals with his best coming last year having bagged 14 times in 32 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

He’s even played and scored in the Europa League all whilst Albion languished in the Championship.

His best spell to date, though, came at Leeds United where he started to make a name for himself as a prolific goalscorer – in his first campaign, he delivered 13 goals before he found the net a whopping 27 times in 44 matches in 2016/17.

That form earned him a £15m move to Turf Moor where he has been ever since, and that’s a fee that CIES Football Observatory still values him at.

Wood has been that thriving that much in the top-flight that this summer he was tipped as a surprise candidate to join Spurs before they eventually decided on Carlos Vinicius.

The New Zealand powerhouse has certainly been the one that got away in the west Midlands and in time of desperate need, perhaps the Baggies shouldn’t have given up so soon.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Hal Robson-Kanu talks West Brom and tumeric…

As confirmed by the club’s official website, Newcastle star Allan Saint-Maximin has penned a new six-year contract to stay at the club.

What’s the word?

The Frenchman has been a revelation at St James’ Park since arriving from Nice in the summer of 2019, lighting up the Premier League with some virtuoso individual performances – no Newcastle fan will forget his incredible hat-trick of assists away at Bournemouth at the back end of last season for example.

Now, the club have confirmed that Steve Bruce’s side have taken a major step in ensuring Saint-Maximin’s best days are on Tyneside, with a bumper new contract all signed.

The Daily Mail had earlier revealed that there had been interest in the winger, but Bruce himself knows that keeping the 23-year-old happy on and off the pitch at St James’ Park is crucial to the side.

Some redemption for Mike Ashley

Mike Ashley will never be a fan favourite at Newcastle, and rightly so given the way the club has stagnated over the years – no European football has been seen at St James’ Park since the 2012/2013 campaign. But his part in helping to strengthen the first-team squad over the course of the summer transfer window have been important in ensuring Bruce can help the Magpies kick on.

But more than the amount of money he could put into the club to help bring new signings, getting Saint-Maximin to commit his future to the club and shelve interest from elsewhere may go down as the best piece of business Newcastle could do this year.

The Frenchman has made himself a talismanic figure for the Magpies, and that’s clearly shown in how they perform when he’s on the pitch, as opposed to when he’s not. In the 15 Premier League games they have played without Saint-Maximin in the starting line-up, they have won just one match. In contrast, in the 26 games he has been, they’ve won almost half, with 12.

So for all the positives in signing Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser and Jamal Lewis, among others, getting Saint-Maximin to stay tops the lot.

In other news, Newcastle dodged a bullet by not signing this Premier League ace.

Glasgow Rangers are doing rather well at the moment, aren’t they? Steven Gerrard’s side are unbeaten in their past sixteen games and they’ve taken 13 points from the last 15 available to them as they sit at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, with a six point lead over their arch rivals Celtic.

And Darren Bent believes the Rangers boss will be “buzzing” by the fact he has so many options to choose from ahead of the Europa League clash against Lech Poznan on Thursday.

He told Football Insider: “They’ve got Morelos that’s still there, they’ve got Defoe.

“But Kemar Roofe he looks hungry. I like Kemar Roofe I have always done since he was at Leeds.

“It’s what you want and Steven Gerrard is buzzing that he’s got all these players now that are fighting for the starting place.

“If Morelos throws his toys out of the pram, or lets the team down, which he has done in the past then it doesn’t really make a difference because you’ve got guys there who are chomping at the bit for their chance.

But that seems to be the problem, as Gerrard will have to wrestle with his decision as the once-injured star has returned to action.

Roofe’s revival

Roofe marked his return from injury with a sensational strike against Standard Liege in the Europa League last week. And he received praise from the Gerrard for his performance. He said:

“The goal was a moment of genius. It was a world class moment. I’ve been playing football professionally since 1998 and it’s the best goal I’ve ever seen live.

“He collects the ball 15 yards outside our box. He is strong for two challenges. He holds the player off for the third challenge and then he takes the player on in the worst conditions I’ve seen.

“Then to have the vision, and the power and the class to score from 55 yards. I don’t think I’ve seen a better goal and I don’t think I will see a better goal.”

The Rangers manager clearly rates Roofe very highly, so his return to form has left the Liverpool legend with a tough call to make at the top of the pitch.

Gerrard’s nightmare

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is going to be one of the biggest headaches Gerrard has faced ever since taking charge of the Ibrox outfit. For now, Alfredo Morelos seems to be the first-choice striker, as he has started four out of the past five games in all competitions, but it looks increasingly likely he could be dropped any minute, as he has failed to score since the 2-2 draw with Hibernian in September.

With that being said, the Colombia international has still scored three goals and supplied three assists in the Scottish Premiership so far, via Transfermarkt, whilst Jermain Defoe was axed from the Europa League squad altogether.

Roofe may come in to replace Morelos, although dropping him would be an incredibly harsh decision as the Colombian is arguably the club’s best striker on his day. In fact, it’s fair to say this mini goal drought isn’t exactly anything new, as he has often gone without scoring in short spells before bouncing back in style.

But the beauty of balancing both domestic and European competitions means that Gerrard arguably has more creative freedom to mess around with his starting line-up.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Barker: Glasgow Rangers must return for long-term target Jacob Murphy…

With Southampton eyeing LASK Linz winger Husein Balic ahead of the January transfer window, we feel that Nathan Redmond may struggle to keep his place in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s first team.

According to the Daily Mail, the Saints and Brentford are chasing the Austrian ahead of the winter transfer window, with Celtic also attributed with an interest in the 24-year-old.

The report suggests that Balic is regarded as one of the quickest players in world football, after clocking a running time of 39km/h during an Under-21 game against France, and he is nicknamed “the sprinter” due to his unbelievable speed.

The winger is currently valued at just £1.35 million by Transfermarkt, suggesting that he could be a very affordable option for the Saints in January.

Balic has enjoyed an excellent start to the 20/21 season, having contributed two goals and one assist in seven appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga for LASK Linz.

He has also impressed in their Europa League campaign thus far, with one goal and one assist in three appearances, which shows that he can perform at a high level, and is perhaps ready to make his mark in a more established league.

WhoScored suggests that Southampton like to play down the left-hand side, so should Balic join the club, you would imagine that he would have to become a big part of the way they play.

The 24-year-old’s pace could also help to significantly increase Southampton’s counter-attacking potential, as you imagine that his speed, alongside Che Adams and Danny Ings up top, would be enough to cause a lot of Premier League sides problems.

However, his potential arrival could spell trouble for Nathan Redmond. The 26-year-old has had a disappointing start to the 20/21 season, having contributed no goals and no assists in his five Premier League appearances thus far, which has seen him average a less than impressive 6.48 rating (per WhoScored).

Although he was excellent for the Saints at times last season, averaging a very solid 6.96 rating across the season, you would imagine that if his poor performances continue this season, Hasenhuttl would see no issue in replacing him with Balic in his starting XI.

It will be interesting to see if Southampton can see off competition from Brentford and Celtic in order to bring in Balic in January, and whether the speed-demon would be able to adapt to life in the Premier League quickly, which could see him keep the likes of Redmond on the bench.

After arriving for a reported £7m from Belgian side Gent, it’s fair to say Lovre Kalinic hasn’t enjoyed the best of times at Aston Villa.

The goalkeeper has played just eight times for the first-team at Villa Park, and his playing time under Dean Smith doesn’t look set to get any better anytime soon, what with Emiliano Martinez’s arrival from Arsenal in the summer.

The Argentine has been Smith’s undisputed number one thus far, and Kalinic’s route back into the team – especially with a returning Tom Heaton on the horizon – looks difficult at best.

With his reported £50k-a-week wages, the Croatia international has actually cost Villa around £12m in total, in the 100 weeks that he has been at the club.

That’s an awful lot of money for a player who barely features, even despite Smith calling him “outstanding” when the move went through a couple of years ago.

Villa owner Nassef Sawiris must surely be fuming at just how much of a drain on resources Kalinic has become, and it was quite telling that earlier in the year, reports suggested the club were still absolutely intent on selling him despite the major injury to Heaton.

Kalinic is so far down the pecking order at Villa that it makes no sense for the club to keep him anymore, and trying to find a buyer for him in January is surely the best route to go down.

If the Croatian remains at the club for any longer than that, then Sawiris will have some choice words for those responsible for conducting Villa’s transfer business.

West Brom are certainly being punished this season as they find themselves second from bottom going into the festive period, and perhaps they are now truly regretting their failed move for Ismaila Sarr…

What was the word?

Back in September, Senegalese news outlet Wiwsport reported that the Baggies had entered the race to sign the 22-year-old alongside the likes of defending champions Liverpool, arch-rivals Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.

At the time, a £50m price tag was set but Sarr is now currently valued at just shy of £20m by Transfermarkt.

According to the Watford Observer, no offer came in for the 6 foot 1 winger, much to the delight of Hornets boss Vladimir Ivic.

Too good for the Championship?

Since then, Sarr has already proven to be too good for the English second-flight and that may well spell trouble if Albion had any intentions to revisit the speed demon next month.

In 14 starts, he has contributed to five goals whilst also averaging 2.4 shots, 2.2 dribbles, 0.9 key passes and even 0.9 tackles per appearance, via WhoScored.

These are numbers that far exceed the returns of £18m summer signing Grady Diangana thus far. The former Hammers ace has scored just once in ten appearances and is starting to look a tad out of his depth at this level of football, averaging just 1.6 dribbles and one shot per game, also via WhoScored.

Given his nationality, the 32-cap sensation has drawn comparisons to fellow Senegal international Sadio Mane, who himself lauded Sarr as “very, very fast” as well as claiming that “defenders will struggle” against him in the Premier League during an interview with The Athletic.

Such praise is reflected by former teammate Abdoulaye Doucoure, who did earn himself an instant return to the top-flight as he joined Everton in the summer, he told RMC Sport (via talkSPORT): “I’ve told him as a joke that he’s a Champions League player, but I really think it’s because I know he has exceptional qualities. He’s not just quick, he’s incredible at finishing, he can find space, keep the ball and I hope he’ll go very far.”

The Baggies have been seriously lacking on that right flank and a player like Sarr would’ve quite understandably been the perfect signing, especially given his experience in the PL last term.

Sporting and technical director Luke Dowling dropped the ball over this one, a decision Albion could long regret.

AND in other news, Lai could REVIVE West Brom’s season by hiring 43 y/o “man-manager” who’s shades of Darren Moore…

Celtic are stuck in a rut.

Neil Lennon is facing enormous questions over his future and it wouldn’t be a great surprise if he was soon sacked.

The Hoops boss is under scrutiny following a 2-2 draw with Hibernian and a second 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague.

To say things aren’t going well would be putting it lightly. Heading into this weekend, the Hoops were 11 points behind their rivals Rangers in the race for the SPFL title.

On top of that, they have just been dumped out of the Europa League with two games still to play.

With that in mind, surely change is needed in terms of the manager?

Either way, Lennon has a League Cup clash with Ross County to prepare for. A solid cup run could act as a good distraction for the Hoops right now, but equally, if they get beaten it won’t look good.

Who starts will be interesting to see. At the moment, Celtic’s defence is being breached on a regular basis so replacing Scott Bain in goal would be a canny idea.

The stopper was in wretched form against Sparta Prague on Thursday and was torn to shreds by a certain Chris Sutton at full-time.

“I thought the goalkeeper was hopeless. I don’t know what he was doing for the fourth. It summed up Celtic, their performance and their season so far,” he remarked on BT Sport’s post-match show (26/11).

Indeed, Bain was all over the place. He failed to stamp down his authority in the penalty area by letting the ball roll across the six-yard box for the second goal and then for the fourth, he came racing out of his goal before missing the ball.

The 29-year-old made one individual error according to SofaScore, and made just eight accurate passes. Clearly, he was not great with his hands or his feet, gifting possession to the opposition on a regular basis.

Remarkably, for a ‘keeper, he was also dribbled past on one occasion. It was an embarrassing night for Bain and thus, Lennon needs to consider Vasilis Barkas on Sunday afternoon.

The summer signing has kept eight clean sheets in just 14 outings this season so it’s obvious to argue that Celtic are a sturdier outfit with him between the posts.

Regardless of that, Bain needs some time out of the team.

Meanwhile, Celtic could spark a revival by hiring a “special” manager… 

Liverpool travel to Selhurst Park on Saturday for the early kick-off and Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to key in the Reds’ chances of taking away all three points.

The England international returned from injury recently and helped the Reds move back top of the table with a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

However, he is in for another tough game on Saturday, as he likely be up against Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha on the left-wing, with the former Manchester United man’s recent performances certainly catching the eye.

The 28-year-old has seven goals and two assists in 11 appearances in the top-flight so far this season, which has seen him average a superb 7.10 rating.

This means that he has already beaten his goal tally of four from the whole of last season, with the winger having seemingly added goals to his already dangerous all-round play for Roy Hodgson’s side.

It is clear that he is extremely important to the way the Eagles play, with 45% of their attacks coming down the left-hand side, which is the most of any team in the Premier League.

Therefore, Alexander-Arnold will have to be at his best if he wants to keep Zaha quiet on Sunday but if he can, he will give Klopp’s side an excellent chance of picking up maximum points, which would see them remain top of the Premier League table at Christmas.

The 22-year-old has been impressive at times this season, although has enjoyed a lot more success in the Champions League, where he has averaged a 7.10 rating, compared to his arguably disappointing 6.68 average in the Premier League.

However, there is no doubting his extraordinary talent, with fellow superstar Kylian Mbappe lauding the youngster after he was asked about Alexander-Arnold mimicking his celebration after scoring in a win against Leicester City last season, saying:

“Yeah, I saw! I’m proud. This guy is amazing.”

So, if the Liverpool academy graduate can perform to the best of his ability, from both an attacking and defensive point of view, he will give the Reds a good chance of winning the game at Selhurst Park, especially if he is able to limit Zaha’s influence on the game.

And, in other news… The emergence of “extraordinary” talent at LFC could spell trouble for injury-prone liability

Aston Villa could land one of the signings of the January transfer window by bringing in Bournemouth striker Josh King.

Johan Lange’s priority

With Ollie Watkins starting life at Villa Park like a house on fire – he’s bagged eight goals in 15 games this season – Dean Smith’s side have seen the kind of success a proven finisher can bring.

And having been linked with a move for him in the summer, Villa could add yet more firepower to their attack with a swoop for King. The Athletic’s Gregg Evans claims that the Norway international “is likely to be considered again”, and if Johan Lange can seal a move for him in the January transfer window, that could set Smith and his team up nicely for the rest of the season.

Imagine him and Ollie Watkins

Whilst King can play through the middle by himself, his ability to play just off the striker (like he did with Callum Wilson), or even out wide on the flanks, means he’s the kind of versatile option that Smith could really come to love.

Described as a “complete package” by former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, King could dovetail with Watkins and build up the kind of partnership and relationship that he did with Wilson at the Vitality Stadium in seasons gone by.

The £45k-a-week ace’s Premier League experience also makes him a perfect January signing as he can come in and hit the ground running at Villa Park, and it’s a move Lange should surely be putting all his eggs into.

Meanwhile, Villa must offload this outcast who’s robbing Sawiris and Edens blind.