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According to a recent report from The Liverpool Echo, striker Divock Origi could be set for a move away from Liverpool come the New Year. The Belgium international made the move to Anfield back in 2014 after beginning his senior career in France with top-flight side Lille, although a distinct lack of first team football under Jurgen Klopp this season has called his future at the club into question.

And reports suggest that Turkish giants Galatasaray are eyeing up a January move for the 23-year-old, a move that Origi simply must seek to make with it looking like time is up on his relatively mediocre Liverpool career.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the striker made the move to Merseyside under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers little over four years ago, only to then rejoin Lille on loan for the 2014/15 season in a bid to stake a claim for regular football at Anfield the campaign after.

And with ten goals in the 2015/16 season, it looked like Origi was set for big things at Liverpool, with the 23-year-old then increasing that tally by one the season after in Klopp’s first full campaign in charge to help the Reds return to the Premier League’s top four.

Yet that is as good as it has got for the Belgian ace given he has mustered just 11 minutes of first team action so far this season, and with the Reds well-stocked in the attacking department following the resurgence in form of Daniel Sturridge, it doesn’t look like Origi is going to add many more appearances to his tally.

In the front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah, Klopp possesses one of the strongest frontlines in European football, what with the trio bagging in excess of 90 goals in all competitions last season, and already netting 19 between them this time round.

And with England international Sturridge improving greatly over the summer to become a key part of things this term, having already scored four goals in all competitions, Origi has fallen even further down the pecking order, and seemingly out of contention altogether – it’s surely time for a move for the better of his career.

Ultimately, while the 23-year-old has shown glimpses of promise during his time at Anfield, it has on the whole been an underwhelming stint from the striker given the amount of potential he has – it has turned out to be a mediocre signing from former boss Rodgers.

And with Galatasaray reportedly keen on the forward, time does appear to be up on Origi’s Liverpool career, with a January move without doubt in his best interests, and indeed those of the Reds.

Liverpool fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Losing David De Gea would be disastrous for Man Utd, make no mistake. He’s one of Europe’s best goalkeepers, and he’s undeniably one of Man Utd’s best and most consistent players. 

However, the prospect of losing him is, very quickly, becoming a realistic outcome. According to the Evening Standard, De Gea is reluctant to agree fresh terms at Old Trafford, owing to his own personal ambitions. Clearly not content with not winning major trophies, the Spaniard is seemingly prepared to, at least, consider an exit to achieve his aims.

So, if he were to leave, make no mistake, Man Utd would have to spend big in order to be able to replace him. It’s not easy to replace someone so good, though, and so they’ll need to target someone that is world-class in search of a replacement. In that hunt, they can only end with one man – Jan Oblak.

Like De Gea, Oblak has emerged as one of Europe’s best over the last few years, and he’s continually been one of if not the single best goalkeeper in La Liga.

Incredible shot-stopping, fantastic agility, solid aerial dominance – Oblak is the sort of goalkeeper that any team would be lucky to have.

Granted, he’s helped out by the strength of the Atletico Madrid defence, but he’s still regularly called into action, and more often than not, he’s on the successful end of an opposing attack.

Oblak is one of very few goalkeepers in the world that is able to hold a candle to De Gea, and at 25-years-old, the Slovenian is only getting better.

Thoughts?

Just prior to the recent international break, Celtic beat RB Leipzig 2-1 at home in the Europa League to go level on points with the Bundesliga outfit in Group B. 

On the night, it was a very good team performance from Brendan Rodger’s men, a performance that has left Munas Dabbur from group leaders RB Salzburg surprised.

The Breakdown

“If I’m honest, I was surprised that Celtic beat Leipzig in the last game, but we know Celtic at home is a different game, different football,” Dabbur was quoted saying by the Scottish Sun.

“I didn’t see their game against Leipzig but I’m sure they won’t make it easy for us in Glasgow in the last game next month.”

While Celtic would have been disappointed to be miss out on the Champions League group stages this season, the club will be pleased with how things are currently going in the Europa League with progression into the knockout round still a strong possibility.

And based on Dabbur’s recent comments, it is clear that the SPL champions, at home in particular, are a side in the competition that other teams fear.

No outfit will fancy a trip to Celtic Park, and Rodgers’ side must look to take advantage of that as they try to do something special in Europe.

And with a couple of quality additions to the squad in January, should Celtic still be in the competition, the above is certainly possible.

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For many Crystal Palace fans Tuesday night’s loss to Brighton highlighted the lack of a quality striker, but a closer look into how the team is set up to play shows that the Eagles forwards are becoming victims of a system that does not play to their strengths.

On the chalkboard

Crystal Palace travelled to the Amex on Tuesday night in high spirits after drawing comparisons to Brazil in their 2-0 win over Burnley at the weekend but, instead, the Eagles looked more like Macclesfield as they slumped to a 3-1 loss against bitter rivals Brighton – to make matters worse, the Seagulls were playing with 10 men for much of the clash after Shane Duffy was sent off in the first half.

Goals have been hard to come by for the south London outfit this season, indeed, none of their natural strikers have netted in the league despite proving in previous seasons – with different clubs – that they are more than capable of putting the ball in the back of the net pretty regularly.

Alexander Sorloth and Jordan Ayew have taken most of the flack in Christian Benteke’s absence through injury, with the former coming on in the latter stages once the game was effectively lost and being ripped to pieces on social media for his lack of contribution thereafter.

To most, the aforementioned hitmen look far from the quality required to compete in the Premier League, but it isn’t that simple.

Doomed to fail

Roy Hodgson’s lack of faith in his strike-force manifests in his frequent decision to deploy wingers Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha as an unorthodox partnership up front, but both are somewhat nullified in these roles as their strengths lie in in being able to run at full-backs and get balls into the box.

When fresh legs are required, none of the options off the bench are able to provide any impetus and this is down to the shortcomings of the system and not of the players – the Selhurst Park outfit have around £40m worth of strikers (Transfermarkt) on the books and it shouldn’t be assumed that they are all useless.

Hodgson’s style of play comprises triangles aplenty and low cutbacks to find players rushing on at the near post, neither of which complement any of the strikers the former England boss has at his disposal, and so the likes of Sorloth and Benteke are doomed to fail.

If these target men continue to be shoehorned into the attack then they will never be successful and their confidence will only get worse. Palace must bring in a goalscorer who can offer pace, crucially, up front as, try as they might, the current crop are square pegs in round holes – it’s either that or make a change in management.

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Safe to say that Everton supporters were not pleased with Seamus Coleman’s performance in Monday’s 2-2 draw with Watford in the Premier League.

Coleman scored an own goal to see Watford level the scores at 1-1, and was then beaten in the air by Abdoulaye Doucoure as the Hornets took a 2-1 lead.

Lucas Digne netted in the sixth minute of added time to ensure that Everton would take a point, but the Toffees have now won just one of their last five in the league.

Coleman’s form has been inconsistent this season, and the Everton supporters were not pleased with what they saw from the Republic of Ireland international on Monday night.

Indeed, following the 2-2 draw, many of the club’s fans took to social media to blast the long-serving defender.

It was certainly not Coleman’s finest night, but the own goal was unfortunate, and the 5ft 10in ace was never going to win a physical battle with Doucoure.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Leeds United should attempt to sign Everton’s Theo Walcott next summer if they earn promotion to the Premier League for the 2019-2020 campaign.

What’s the word, then?

Leeds are currently going very well in the Championship, with a total of 45 points from 22 matches leaving them top of the division entering the festive period.

Leeds have won each of their last five in the Championship – conceding just once – and have a huge match away to Aston Villa this weekend.

It seems extremely likely that the Whites will be in the mix for promotion come the end of the season, and the club’s plans will switch to preparing for life back in the Premier League.

Whilst Marcelo Bielsa has a talented squad at Championship level, investment will need to be made for Leeds to compete in the top flight next term.

And the Championship leaders should target an ambitious move for Everton’s Walcott.

Could Leeds actually sign Walcott?

Walcott, who has managed 70 goals in 301 Premier League appearances during his career, only joined Everton from Arsenal in January 2018.

The 29-year-old received a lot of stick during the latter stages of this time at Arsenal, but it is worth remembering that he scored over 100 times for the Gunners.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Playmaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

Walcott impressed in the second half of last season, but has managed just two Premier League goals this term, and his last was back in August.

It seems likely that the Englishman could become available at the end of the season as Everton again prepare to spend big in order to keep pushing forward.

And the chance to represent a huge club on their return to the top flight would surely appeal to a player who has never really gone on to fulfil his early promise.

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Everton have a stunning youth player on their hands, but his future may just as easily reside elsewhere.

21-year-old Nikola Vlasic is currently away on loan to CSKA Moscow and revelling in the Russian top-division. In 14 games, the Croatian has netted four times and assisted a further two goals, while providing a key pass every 34.3 minutes.

But for all his worth in the Russian Premier League, his European performances have been his standout quality. When competing in the Champions League, the attacking midfielder has scored three times and created two further chances, including an assist as his side humbled Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu – it was Vlasic’s sixth continental fixture of the season, four of which came against Madrid and Roma.

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Playmaker FC…

Wednesday night’s win was Vlasic’s second consecutive man-of-the-match performance, and his rise to prominence has caught global attention with US outlets using the Everton loanee to promote the Champions League tie.

His creative abilities have seen comparisons made with Gylfi Sigurdsson, followed by suggestions that he could one day replace the great Icelandic force at Goodison Park.

One issue with that, however, is that Vlasic is currently starring in a competition Everton will struggle to qualify for. And given he plays in the same role as Sigurdsson, would he get the same minutes on the field at Goodison Park that are on offer elsewhere?

It is highly unlikely he’ll settle for the Blues’ bench after setting the world alight at the Bernabeu.

These Everton fans have delivered their verdict on the 21-year-old’s future…

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Leeds should make a move for free agent striker and former West Ham man Emmanuel Emenike to give them some added firepower up front and aid their push for promotion to the Premier League.

What’s the word, then?

Marcelo Bielsa’s side are currently top of the Championship and have an excellent chance of returning to the top-flight after a lengthy absence away from it. In Kemar Roofe, the Whites have one of the most in-form strikers in the second tier – the 25-year-old has 10 goals in 16 games and is spearheading the club’s promotion push.

Behind him, though, Leeds have no real dangerman who can keep Roofe on his toes and push him to perform at his maximum. Patrick Bamford is available but has just one league goal, whilst Samu Saiz is set to depart the club in January; Bielsa would be wise to replace the important Spaniard in January.

They won’t want to spend too much on a replacement, so perhaps a dip into the free agent market would be a wise move for the league leaders.

Who could they get?

Former West Ham striker Emmanuel Emenike is currently available for free after leaving Olympiakos in the summer. The 31-year-old only managed to make 10 appearances, but still scored four goals, but in what has been a key feature of his career, the Nigerian can still cause opposition defences a problem with his pace, power and movement.

As an option off the bench, purely to take advantage of tired opposition and allow Roofe to remain motivated and firing, a move for Emenike for the cost of nothing could be a stroke of genius for the promotion chasers.

Emenike has experience at the very top level of the game, often playing in the Champions League whilst with Spartak Moscow, something which could be invaluable for Leeds.

Aston Villa have begun the new year with a mediocre 2-2 draw at home to QPR, who remain just one point above them in the standings, as it becomes ever more apparent that, without Tammy Abraham’s goals – the Englishman struck twice – the Villans would be much further down the table.

A slew of injuries has meant that Dean Smith has often been forced to hash his defence together this season and Alan Hutton has been deployed all across the back four, owing to his versatility, but the 34-year-old was poor against the Hoops and was consequently ripped to shreds on Twitter by the Villa Park faithful.

Completing just 70% of his passes, the Scotsman was sloppy in position and was exploited by youngster Ebere Eze, who scored his side’s second.

The former Bolton man has been a faithful servant to the Midlands club since his arrival in 2014, but the fans seem to believe that his time in claret and blue should be up – you can find the best of the reaction below…

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Playmaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video above…

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According to the Telegraph & Argus, Bradford City are considering recalling Shay McCartan from his loan spell at League Two outfit Lincoln City.

McCartan joined Lincoln on loan during the summer and has scored four times for the League Two leaders during the 2018-19 campaign.

There is a recall option in the deal, however, and it is understood that Bradford are considering bringing the Northern Ireland international back to the club this month.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

With that in mind, we recently asked the Bradford fans whether they would want McCartan to return to the club during the January transfer window.

And 55% of those polled voted against the 5ft 10in attacker moving back to the League One side.

McCartan, who moved to Bradford from Accrington Stanley in 2017, has only managed four goals and one assist in 28 appearances for his parent club.

Bradford are currently 21st in the League One table, however, and need some inspiration from somewhere.

The full results of the poll can be seen below: