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Liverpool have been linked with several midfielders ahead of the January transfer window and now a new potential transfer target has been identified.

What’s the latest?

According to journalist Hrach Khachatryan, Liverpool are one of three Premier League clubs interested in signing OGC Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram in 2023.

Khachatryan tweeted:

“Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram is linked with Premier League move. Chelsea, Newcastle, and Liverpool are interested.”

Klopp could land his own Mac Allister

There is no doubt that bolstering the squad at Anfield would be hugely advantageous for Jurgen Klopp ahead of the second half of the season since they have suffered their worst start to a Premier League campaign in a decade.

The Reds are currently sixth in the league table after a string of inconsistent performances over their first 16 outings and are currently 12 points adrift from Arsenal who comfortably occupies the top spot in the top flight at present.

The midfield at Anfield are set for several changes over the coming months with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain set to leave the club in the summer of 2023 – as it stands – so the signing of Thuram could be the perfect opportunity to strengthen in January.

Over 16 Ligue One appearances, the 21-year-old Frenchman – who is the son of World Cup winner Lillian Thuram – has registered two assists, successfully completed 68% of his dribbles and tallied up an 89% pass accuracy so far, as well as averaging 1.4 tackles and 2.9 duels won per game.

Not only that, Klopp could land his very own Alexis Mac Allister as the World Cup winner has been named as one of the most comparable midfielders to Thuram over the last 12 months, according to FBref.

The positional peers have shown many similarities in their output in the centre of the pitch over the season so far including pass completion rate (87.4% v 88%), shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (2.08 v 2.22), goal-creating actions (0.27 v 0.21) and blocks (10 v 13).

Liverpool were linked earlier this week with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Mac Allister who would reportedly cost €35m – €40m (£31m- £35m) to secure his signature, however, the powers at Anfield could potentially sign a very similar player in Thuram for over half the price with the OGC Nice talent – who was hailed “perfect” by Alex Jaquin – set to cost around €20m (£17m).

With that being said, the signing of Thuram would be a great piece of business for Liverpool and could be the perfect player to improve the performances in the centre of the pitch over the remainder of their Premier League campaign.

Manchester United have reportedly taken the next step in their pursuit of Joao Felix, with the transfer saga surrounding the Atletico Madrid forward gaining steam…

What’s the word?

According to a report from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Red Devils have put forth their first official offer to Atletico manager Diego Simeone for the acquisition of Felix, with a view to attaining his services to lead the line across the business end of the 2022/23 campaign.

Reports from Spain have recently confirmed that a meeting between Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin and Felix’s agent Jorge Mendes had taken place, with the immediate future of the dynamic forward likely to have been at the forefront of the conversation.

With United manager Erik ten Hag short on centre-forward options since the abrupt departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November, someone of Felix’s calibre would be great appreciated by the ambitious Premier League outfit.

However, with a fee of roughly €100m (£86m) allegedly required to prise the Portuguese gem away from the Wanda Metropolitano on a permanent deal, a loan move has been discussed.

“Beautiful” to watch

When Felix arrived onto the scene with Benfica in his homeland, heads were turned across the continent at the captivating and coruscating style of the young phenomenon, with a transfer to one of football’s most prominent clubs seeming inevitable long before it happened.

Having scored an impressive 20 goals and registered 11 assists from only 43 appearances for the Lisbon club, impressing despite his tender age and inexperience, Felix earned a lucrative £113m transfer to Spanish giants Atletico in 2019, where he has since made steady if unspectacular progress.

Largely due to the polarity between the 23-year-old’s style of play and Simeone’s structured, regimented philosophy, tensions between the club and player have seemingly reached boiling point, and the overarching feeling is that all parties would be best placed by instigating a transfer away from Madrid.

Felix has only scored 34 goals and supplied 18 assists across 130 appearances for Atletico, but he has maintained his natural grace and elegance, with talent scout Jacek Kulig once saying that the 23-year-old is “a beautiful player to watch”.

Over the past two seasons, the £246k-per-week maestro has racked up 24 direct goal contributions despite only making 32 starts across all competitions, and he would likely flourish under Ten Hag’s wing at the Theatre of Dreams.

As evidenced by his exploits with Portugal, Felix can excel as a dynamic and multi-faceted forward, with Sofascore recording his average rating at 7.03 at the 2022 World Cup, landing a goal and two assists from four outings while averaging 2.8 shots and 0.8 key passes per match.

If United are able to get the deal over the line this January, they must do so swiftly as there are a swirling tank of suitors eyeing Felix’s name, and moves must be taken to bring him to Old Trafford to spearhead the new era under Ten Hag.

Aston Villa have held talks with Juventus over a potential deal this month for the American midfielder Weston McKennie, according to Fabrizio Romano.

What’s the latest?

There have been reports linking McKennie away from Turin for a number of months now with the Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur, credited with an interest for a while now.

And it is now believed there is an opportunity for the 24-year-old to leave the Serie A side this month with the Italian club currently in a real spot of bother off the field.

Speaking to CBS Sports, Romano has now claimed Unai Emery’s Villa are one of the sides to have recently discussed a potential deal for the American:

“Let’s see what happens with McKennie because they had some conversations with Aston Villa, with other English clubs. At the moment, Juventus have not received any official bids yet, but for McKennie, it’s a possibility to leave the club in January.”

The American dream

Although Romano claims there have been talks over a potential deal for McKennie, he does also say that there is yet to be any formal bids made.

In a recent report from the Daily Mail, it has been suggested that the midfielder could be able to leave Turin this month for a fee in the region of £26m-£30m.

And with the current Juventus regime believing McKennie is a player who is replaceable, it does seem as if there is a real opportunity to be had with some Premier League clubs showing an interest.

Despite Juventus reportedly being open to selling McKennie, the midfielder has played a fairly significant role in Massimiliano Allegri’s side this season with 14 appearances and 11 starts in Serie A.

However, in comparison to Villa’s Douglas Luiz, McKennie has provided fewer tackles, fewer shot-creating actions, fewer passes and fewer goal contributions so far this season (via Fbref).

So there would have to be the question of where would McKennie fit into this Villa side?

Emery set Villa out with two holding midfielders in their last game against Wolverhampton Wanderers with Boubacar Kamara partnering Luiz.

McKennie has marginally provided more of an attacking threat than Kamara this season, but again, the Villa man has offered more defensively with over three times as many tackles per 90 than McKennie (via Fbref).

Given Tottenham’s director of football, Fabio Paratici, is believed to want to reunite with the player this month, there is clearly something McKennie has that the stats do not necessarily show.

And during his time in Qatar for the winter World Cup, it was apparent the 24-year-old did impress with Jamie Carragher taking to Twitter to hail the American as “excellent”.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be positively delighted with the progress his side have made this season; having failed to reach the Champions League across the past six years, the Gunners now top the Premier League table, eight points clear of Manchester City in second.

What’s the word?

With the north London outfit indeed flying high above expectations, even the most positive-minded of supporters would have expressed some sense of incredulity before the season’s inception at the prospect of not only being in the title race, but dictating it with an unfaltering grip.

According to The Times, Arteta has distinguished West Ham United captain Declan Rice as the primary target to try and lure to the Emirates Stadium in 2023, with his presence anchoring the midfield likely to fortify the ranks with iron-clad resolve and instil a finely-poised balance.

Despite Arsenal’s endeavours this season, there is an underling sense that world-class acquisitions across several departments of the field are needed in order to cement the club’s success for the coming age.

In Rice, who could cost £80m, Arteta could unleash a homegrown talent with an abundance of quality. At a vibrantly upward club such as Arsenal, under a blossoming young manager who’s growing his reputation substantially, the 24-year-old could take his game up to another level.

Arsenal’s next Vieira?

Having spent his formative football years at Cobham academy with Chelsea, Rice departed for east London in 2013, where he originally starred for West Ham’s U21 team before forging his way into the first-team fold with resounding success.

Since that point, Rice’s development has coincided with that of his club. During his 220 appearances for the club, he has been instrumental to the Irons’ successive European-clinching campaigns and reaching the Europa League semi-final against eventual trophy winners Eintracht Frankfurt last year.

Often captaining the team, the 24-year-old has missed just ten league games since the start of 2019/20, also playing ten times in that European run last season.

Despite the difficulties being experienced by David Moyes’ team in the current campaign, as they languish in 18th place in the Premier League, the England midfielder has maintained his sublime performance levels.

As per Sofascore, Rice has recorded an average league rating of 7.25 this term, completing 90% of his passes and making 1.3 key passes and 2.4 tackles per game.

For comparison, Martin Odegaard is the only Arsenal regular with a higher Sofascore rating in 2022/23, illustrating the impact that the “superb” Rice – as once hailed by journalist Sam Inkersole – would likely make in north London.

Should he stride the midfield at the Emirates, the 24-year-old could find himself emulating legendary former Gunners icon Patrick Vieira, who cemented his legacy as one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever midfielders following his escapades under Arsene Wenger.

Vieira was a fearless, unabating storm of a player who captained Arsenal to three league titles and four FA Cups during his illustrious tenure in London. Making 400 appearances for the Gunners, he was an imperious, dominating colossus who combined power, aggression and skill, breaking up the play and recycling possession with dogged determination and taking the reins with his galvanising leadership.

West Ham’s captain and “force of nature” – as dubbed by Rob Blanchette – ranks among the top 5% of midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues over the past year for pass completion and the top 7% for interceptions, and is already a seasoned Premier League operator of 186 appearances.

Arteta could secure a modern-day version of the legendary Vieira by raiding Arsenal’s capital rivals for their skipper.

Glasgow Rangers continued their unbeaten start to life under new head coach Michael Beale with a 3-2 win over Kilmarnock in the Premiership on Wednesday night.

However, they had to come from behind to secure all three points as the home side opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Christopher Stokes rose highest to head in a corner.

The Gers battled back to make it 1-1 in the 22nd minute as Fashion Sakala made a brilliant run down the right channel and picked out the perfect cross for Alfredo Morelos to roll the ball into the back of the net.

It took until the 51st minute for the Light Blues to take the lead as Morelos turned provider to cut the ball back to Ryan Kent inside the box and the winger superbly fired into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.

Kilmarnock were dealt a huge blow on the hour mark as forward Danny Armstrong, bemusingly, decided to elbow Borna Barisic in the face and was sent off for his second bookable offence.

Morelos made it 3-1 in the 72nd minute as he jumped highest to head a cross into the bottom corner for his second goal of the game, before the hosts scored a phenomenal consolation goal through Joe Wright – who smashed a volley into the roof of the net.

One Rangers player who caught the eye with his performance, outside of the goalscorers, was Croatia international left-back Barisic as he put in an excellent display.

The defender was criticised for his showing in the League Cup semi-final clash with Aberdeen last time out as he produced a defensive calamity for the Dons’ opening goal in the match – allowing Matthew Kennedy to run beyond him, after a lapse in concentration, to assist their striker.

Barisic, however, can now forget his League Cup horror show as the defensive gem put in an excellent performance against Kilmarnock and redeemed himself for Beale.

The 30-year-old was defensively solid throughout the 90 minutes as he allowed little to go past him on the night. As per Sofascore, the dynamo won eight of his 11 duels (73%) and made four tackles and two clearances, without being dribbled past a single time.

In possession, Barisic had a whopping 100 touches of the ball and completed 80% of his attempted passes. The full-back also created two chances for his teammates and the gem’s deflected cross, which has not gone down as his assist, allowed Morelos to make it 3-1.

He was also able to win a free-kick and, in turn, reduce Kilmarnock down to ten men when his coolness at the back allowed him to take the ball past Armstrong – leading to the midfielder elbowing him.

Therefore, the Croatian talent redeemed himself after his League Cup nightmare by playing a crucial role in the win on Wednesday and Beale should consequently be delighted with his left-back’s performance on the night.

West Ham United are among the frontrunners to sign Lorient striker Terem Moffi, according to reports.

The Lowdown: West Ham making moves…

Irons manager David Moyes was hugely boosted with a crucial 2-0 win over Everton at the London Stadium today, a result which eases the pressure on his position.

West Ham have also climbed out of the relegation zone with that victory, and it’s a result that the east London club could look to build upon to salvage their season.

Jarrod Bowen’s brace to secure all three points has provided a huge lift, and with 10 days of the January transfer window remaining, things could get better for Moyes with more additions.

The Latest: West Ham ‘leading the way’ for Moffi…

According to club insider ExWHUemployee via Patreon, West Ham and Ligue 1 outfit Nice are ‘leading the way’ for in-form forward Moffi.

While the player is thought to prefer remaining in France, the Hammers are hopeful of convincing him otherwise, coming as the 23-year-old is left out of today’s Lorient matchday squad.

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The Verdict: Get it done…

Over the 2022/23 season. the Nigeria international has bagged a very impressive 12 goals in 17 league starts for the French top-flight side, rivalling the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Jonathan David as the division’s top scorers.

Moffi would provide both quality and the potential to be more of a long-term signing for the Irons, given his age and his evident potential to get even better.

He has been called an ‘explosive talent’ by sections of the press over the last few seasons, with former Lorient boss Christophe Pelissier – now coach of Auxerre – absolutely raving over the 6 foot 3 talent.

He described Moffi as a ‘man of gold’ who ‘ticks all the boxes’ of a high-level player, and judging by plaudits like these, it’s clear why West Ham have taken a real interest in the 23-year-old.

Julen Lopetegui is on a mission to improve Wolves’ goalscoring woes this month, as he looks to steer the Old Gold to safety in the Premier League.

The Spanish manager has dragged his new side out of the relegation places after important wins over Everton and West Ham, while he has bolstered the attacking options at Molineux following the signings of Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia from Atletico Madrid and PSG respectively.

The latter could prove to be a phenomenal addition if he can rediscover the form he showed on loan at Sporting Lisbon last season, with the Spain international contributing a hugely impressive 15 goals and six assists in 29 league appearances for Ruben Amorim’s side.

Considering Wolves are still the lowest scorers in the top flight this season, adding creativity and goals in attack should be a matter of priority for Lopetegui before the window closes next week, and he could form an exciting duo should he bring in long-term target Alex Scott.

According to John Percy of The Telegraph, Wolves have long admired the Bristol City midfielder, although they could be forced to pay £25m to the Championship side if they want to bring the 19-year-old to Molineux this month.

Scott may be 19 but he already boasts 73 senior appearances for the Robins, in which he has contributed an impressive four goals and seven assists, including five assists in the second tier already this season.

Bristol City’s player pathway manager Brian Tinnion was full of praise for the Englishman when he first broke into the first team at Ashton Gate in 2021.

He said: “His work rate and his desire to learn has been unbelievable. To start every single Championship game so far as a 17-year-old is excellent.

“He has every single attribute you would want in a professional footballer. He can tackle, he’s great with both feet, he can head the ball, his delivery is good and his overall quality is great.”According to WhoScored, both Sarabia and Scott excel at holding onto the ball, while they both like to cross the ball, which suggests they could hold the key to unlocking Wolves’ attacking potential in the second half of the campaign, especially given their ability to provide teammates with goal-scoring opportunities.With the young Englishman occupying a deeper creative role in Wolves’ side, with Sarabia further forward, there seems no reason why Lopetegui couldn’t form a superb creative partnership in his side by signing the Bristol City wonderkid this month.

Tottenham Hotspur have seen their move to bring Pedro Porro to the Premier League collapse with less than 48 hours remaining of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to David Ornstein, with the journalist revealing in his latest article for The Athletic that, despite Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici having agreed a €45m (£39.5m) deal with Sporting Lisbon for the transfer of the right-back, the Liga Portugal side have now reneged on the terms of the 23-year-old’s proposed move to north London.

Subsequently, Fabrizio Romano revealed in a post on Twitter that talks between the two clubs will “continue today” in order to attempt to reestablish an agreement regarding the defender’s fee.

In his post, the Italian transfer insider said: “Pedro Porro – Tottenham had medical tests booked today in order to complete the deal, agreed on Saturday as player said goodbye to the fans. Sporting changed details/conditions of the deal right before signing documents. Talks continue today to resolve the issues.”

Forget Porro

While it is undeniable that Porro would represent a fantastic addition to Conte’s current options on the right of his backline at Tottenham, should Sporting continue to mess Paratici around heading into the final 24 hours of the transfer window, it would appear wise for the Italian sporting director to turn his attention back towards a long-term target: Denzel Dumfries.

Indeed, reports from Italy earlier this month suggested that Conte views the Inter Milan full-back as a dream alternative to the Spain international, with Tottenham said to be planning to ‘slingshot on Dumfries’ if ‘negotiations for Porro were to fail’ this month – with the Serie A side believed to be willing to part with the 26-year-old for a fee of €40m (£35m).

And, considering how similar the two players are in an attacking capacity – with Conte known to prefer his wing-backs to be predominantly forward-thinking rather than defensively focused – the argument that Dumfries would be a dream alternative to the Sporting star is an extremely easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 33 Serie A appearances in 2021/22, the £35m-rated Dutchman was in fantastic attacking form, scoring five goals, providing five assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.4 crosses per game.

The £54k-per-week right-back has been in similarly fine form over his 18 league outings this season, having already hit the back of the net once, registered two assists and created eight big chances, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.4 crosses per match.

In comparison, over Porro’s 23 Liga Portugal appearances last season, the £22m-rated talent was also in eye-catching form going forwards, bagging four goals, providing four assists and creating 11 big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.6 shots, making two key passes and completing 1.8 crosses per game.

It has been a similar story over his 14 league fixtures this season, with the £10k-per-week Spaniard having already scored two goals, provided six assists and created eight big chances, as well as taking an average of 2.6 shots, making 2.4 key passes and completing 1.8 crosses per match.

As such, while it is true that Porro’s returns slightly better those of Dumfries over the last 18 or so months, considering the fact that the Dutchman looks to be available for roughly £4.5m less than the Sporting star, should Paratici fail in his negotiations for the 23-year-old, the Inter defender who Micah Richards dubbed “breathless” would indeed appear a dream alternative.

Leeds United haven’t offered to match Leicester City’s contract terms to Jack Harrison despite previous reports to the contrary, according to Rob Dorsett.

The Lowdown: Failed Leicester move

Harrison is currently in the final 18 months of his Elland Road contract and came close to making the move to the King Power Stadium on deadline day.

The 26-year-old actually headed south for a medical with the Foxes in case an agreement was reached, but as we know, a transfer failed to materialise, with Leeds backing away from a sale.

The Latest: Dorsett’s update

Dorsett previously stated that Leeds offered to match Leicester’s financial proposal to Harrison.

However, the Sky Sports journalist has now ‘been told’ that the Whites actually haven’t offered to match Leicester’s terms, although Harrison is still expected to sign a new contract soon.

The Verdict: Similar to Llorente?

We saw first-hand that signing a new contract doesn’t guarantee a long-term future at Leeds. Diego Llorente penned new terms back in December but ended up moving to AS Roma last month.

Therefore, the club could have something similar in mind with Harrison, as extending his deal should keep his valuation high. The Whites may even then look into a sale in the summer, especially as they appeared close to doing a deal earlier in the week.

It’ll be one to keep an eye on, and hopefully, an agreement can be reached before the summer, with Harrison currently one of Leeds’ best-performing players, as per WhoScored.

Arsenal could have a potential contract issue on their hands over the summer with the expected return of their on-loan striker Folarin Balogun.

What’s the latest?

The 21-year-old striker is currently out on loan with the French side Reims where he is enjoying regular football in Ligue 1 and he is expected to return to the Emirates Stadium in the summer.

However, with the likes of Eddie Nketiah currently shining under Mikel Arteta amid Gabriel Jesus’ absence, there will be question marks as to where his future will lie.

Balogun’s contract is expected to run for another two years but it is apparent the youngster has two hungry strikers above him in the pecking order in north London.

Indeed, speaking on the FIVE YouTube channel, journalist David Ornstein has suggested the Gunners may have a big decision on their hands as to what lies ahead for the 21-year-old striker:

“I think there’s only a couple of years left on his contract, so it’s a situation that Arsenal are going to have to look at. But clearly, he looks a top prospect who – for club and also for country, I’m sure – has a great future ahead of him.

“Arsenal will hope that’s with [them], but it looks like they’ll need to tie him down for longer. I remember there was a big contract story involving him, I was reporting on it myself, but we could be in that situation again, the way he’s going. And if Arsenal manage to hold on to him, it looks like they’ve got someone prolific on their hands for the long term.”

Decision to make for Arsenal

Having signed a new four-year deal in April 2021, it does leave the Gunners with a decision to make over the future of the England youth international.

As previously mentioned, the Gunners are not exactly struggling for options up top with the likes of Jesus and Nketiah playing a big role in the north London club’s success this season.

Prior to his injury in the World Cup, Jesus had provided a return of five goals and six assists in his 14 league appearances in the Premier League.

And in his absence, Nketiah has provided Arteta with a seriously impressive return of four goals in the league since the return from the World Cup break.

Adding to this, Nketiah signed a big-money deal over the summer which is believed to see the 23-year-old striker earn in the region of £100k per week.

Now with this in mind, it does seem as if Balogun could have a serious challenge on his hands if he is to return to Arsenal and make a claim for a spot in the squad.

Not only would the 21-year-old have to prove he is capable of outperforming the likes of Nketiah, but he would have to justify a decision to see Arsenal potentially reduce the responsibility given to Nketiah over this season.

However, when he has returned 14 goals in his 20 appearances in Ligue 1 – becoming the top scorer in the French top flight in the process – it will surely leave Arsenal with a welcomed headache of what to do with the 21-year-old.