It was a difficult evening for Liverpool’s youngsters against Aston Villa on Tuesday.

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Well, that’s what the 5-0 scoreline will tell you. In reality, the Reds were far better than that. They actually managed more shots than their opponents, and also had 58% possession of the ball. Not bad for the youngest team in the club’s history.

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At 22 years of age, Pedro Chirivella was the oldest player for the Anfield outfit, and the most experienced one as well – this was the 60th professional appearance of his career to date. Perhaps in recognition of that, he was given the captain’s armband by Neil Critchley.

This decision garnered plenty of reaction from the club’s supporters.

Of course, Chirivella was the player who caused Liverpool to be fined following their match against MK Dons in a previous round. He was ineligible to play, but still took to the field anyway. It is some turnaround for him to now lead the club out at Villa Park.

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Many fans were impressed with his display.

With a SofaScore rating of 7.2, whilst also managing two key passes, he definitely stood out.

There were a few fans, such as the one below, who hoped that this would now earn him a move so that he can kickstart his career.

Indeed, at 22 years of age, he really should find himself a settled home where he can play on a regular basis. On this display, there should be some takers in the near future.

In other news, Tony Cascarino says this Liverpool winger would be a good fit for the Reds.

Plenty of West Ham supporters were showering praise on defender Angelo Ogbonna following his performance this evening.

The 31-year-old centre-back helped the Hammers to a second away win out of three in the Premier League as they defeated Southampton 1-0 at St Mary’s earlier to ease some of the pressure on manager Manuel Pellegrini.

The Italy international won three headers against the Saints as well as recording one successful tackle and making two interceptions and two clearances. [via WhoScored]

Ogbonna did his bit in stifling the threat of in-form Southampton striker Danny Ings, who had scored in each of his last five Premier League matches prior to today but was restricted to only one shot against the Hammers.

Football London writer Sam Inkersole lauded the 31-year-old’s performance as “absolutely immense” and gave him a nine in his player ratings, noting how he “stared down adversity in the second half with little to no fuss”.

These West Ham fans on Twitter also saluted Ogbonna’s display against the Saints this evening:

Did you think Ogbonna was one of West Ham’s best players this evening? Share your views in the comments section below!

Sunday was a dark day for Tottenham Hotspur.

Not only did they play abysmally against Chelsea in a derby that had an awful lot riding on it, but a section of their supporters disgraced them.

We have all seen the condemnation on social media of racist incidents in Italy and beyond, and during England internationals.

But here, on Sunday, there were three announcements about racist incidents after Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea’s excellent central defender, complained that he had heard monkey chants.

Cesar Azpilicueta, the club captain, reported the incident to referee Anthony Taylor, who sprinted over to the managers to inform them of the development.

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Three separate tannoy announcements warned fans that racist abuse was interfering with the game and reminded them that there is no place for such hateful prejudice in football. Spurs have confirmed since that there was one incident and that an investigation is being carried out.

Emotions, of course, run high during derby games. Tottenham and Chelsea have a long and storied rivalry and the two clubs absolutely do not like each other.

But to resort to racist abuse when losing is lower than low and Spurs must now help police identify the culprits and, hopefully, ban them for life.

Their performance on the pitch, really, is secondary to those events, to those stomach-churning announcements that remind us that we still have so far to go to eradicate racism from both football and our society.

Stormzy, the grime artist and rapper, was asked earlier this week if the UK was a racist country. He replied, per indy100: “Definitely, 100 percent. It’s like: ‘Oh no, we’re not racist’. But there’s a lot of racism in the country.”

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His quotes were subsequently taken out of context and peddled as though he had said that everyone in the country was racist, rather than a small sub-section. Predictably, it led to some hateful backlash.

Sunday was yet another example that he was right to say what he said.

We have a long way to go, and, in football, Tottenham have to lead the charge as they look to find the culprits and hand out bans.

Meanwhile, one man could end up at Spurs due to “fate”. 

Back in April, a report from O Jogo stated that Jurgen Klopp is an admirer of Wolves left-back Ruben Vinagre, and approached the player at the end of Liverpool’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat to the Midlands-based side in January to confess his admiration for him.

In addition to making that confession, the former Borussia Dortmund coach reportedly asked Vinagre if he would like to live in Liverpool – interesting stuff indeed.

Nevertheless, any further links between Liverpool, Klopp and Vinagre have not been seen, although the 20-year-old’s performance against the European champions at Anfield on Sunday will have surely left the German boss salivating.

How did he do?

After Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a masterclass against Leicester on Boxing Day with a goal and two assists, Vinagre dragged the England international back down to Earth with a humbling performance down his flank.

The Wolves No.29 had 77 touches of the ball – more than any of his teammates managed to have – while also recording an eye-catching six dribbles, which was more than any Liverpool player mustered up while only being matched by Adama Traore.

Vinagre also made three clearances, one block and took one shot, but perhaps should’ve had an assist to his name instead of an effort on goal as Raul Jimenez was open for a cross – the Mexican made his frustration clear to the Portuguese full-back soon after, yelling at him in anger after Vinagre blazed over the bar.

Surely won’t have put Klopp off

In that aforementioned FA Cup meeting between Wolves and Liverpool – the match that left Klopp starry-eyed over Vinagre – the left-back recorded an assist, as well as one dribble and four successful tackles.

Klopp may have reportedly confessed his admiration for the player as far back as January – almost a year ago – although after watching the former Monaco man deliver yet another good performance against his side, we presume that the former Mainz boss will not have been put off – not one bit, for he was excellent.

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Lee Bowyer has stated that he wants another striker to be signed by Charlton Athletic during the January transfer window, as reported by News Shopper.

What did he say?

The Addicks have already brought in Andre Green, whom they are relying on to get off to a quick start in their attack.

However, Bowyer is seemingly not satisfied with that alone, feeling that another out-and-out striker is needed, as Lyle Taylor and Macauley Bonne are both unavailable through injury.

He has cited the level of pressure this currently puts on Josh Davison as a reason why the signing needs to be made:

“It’s obvious, I want a striker, Josh is the only fit striker we have. I don’t think it’s fair to say to him you’re going to be our main striker against a team pushing for promotion.

“Is that fair? Probably not, but I know if we don’t bring in a striker he’ll give me everything but I’d rather have a bit more experience.”

In need of recruits

The 20-year-old has only played five Championship games for Charlton, three of which were cameos that lasted under ten minutes, while his start against Swansea City was his first for the club.

Considering this, Bowyer is right in suggesting that Charlton could use someone with more experience at Championship level, especially when the considerable number of youngsters being used elsewhere is added into the mix.

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The need for experience has been indicated by one of their transfer targets, Leon Clarke, who has played a total of 285 Championship games throughout his career, scoring 60 goals and adding a further 21 assists.

He also offered a reminder of his goalscoring prowess by notching against AFC Fylde in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Charlton could definitely use somebody of that ilk within their ranks, as they look to maintain the status in the league past the current campaign.

In other news, Charlton will be looking to one man for inspiration.

Manchester United fans have hailed Mason Greenwood after the young striker scored in the Red Devils’ 4-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday.

The 18-year-old was introduced in the 71st minute and scored just five minutes later, sending a composed finish past Tim Krul from the edge of the area to wrap up a comfortable victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.

It marked the teenager’s ninth senior goal in all competitions this term and supporters were delighted with the skill involved in the strike, taking to Twitter to hail the youngster.

Solskjaer began the game with Anthony Martial as the lone striker, with Marcus Rashford, Andreas Pereira and Juan Mata forming the attacking midfield trio behind him.

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Rashford netted a brace while Martial was also on the scoresheet, but some United fans are desperate for Greenwood to be starting games in the coming weeks.

United face Wolves in their FA Cup third-round replay in midweek before a daunting trip to Anfield to take on league leaders Liverpool.

United’s win on Saturday kept up the pressure on fourth-placed Chelsea, leaving them five points behind Frank Lampard’s men, who beat Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has issued a worrying verdict on United’s January plans. 

According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, West Bromwich Albion are set to sign free agent Martin Olsson once finer details have been agreed.

What’s the word?

It’s claimed that the 31-year-old is in talks with the Baggies after he confirmed to press that there were offers on the table from England. He has been allowed to leave Sweden’s camp in Doha to sort out the move.

Olsson has been without a club since he was released by Swansea City at the end of last season.

Albion boss Slaven Bilic will be looking to strengthen key areas this month, and if these reports are correct, then he views the left-back area as a cause for concern – as we have also previously highlighted at Football FanCast.

First-choice Kieran Gibbs faces another lengthy spell on the sidelines while Nathan Ferguson has also been absent through injury.

Risky business

Despite the obvious need to bolster the left side of the defence, a move for Olsson could prove to be a very risky piece of business.

The Swede hasn’t played in over a year. A rather worrying sign.

His last match was a 3-2 victory over Brentford back at the start of December 2018 – he lasted just 14 minutes and wasn’t seen again that season, per Transfermarkt.

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That’s an almighty throw of the dice from Bilic, signing a player that can’t be anywhere near match fit and by the time he gets up to speed, Gibbs will be back and even if he suffers another injury, there’s Ferguson and Conor Townsend.

He may have played three games shy of 200 times in the top-flight, but that’s well in the past.

A wiser decision may have been to opt for the loan market; draft in a young player from one of the Premier League academies, even if it were on a short-term deal. That would make more sense.

In the 13 starts he managed for Swansea, Olsson averaged a poor average rating of 6.50, where he conceded 0.9 fouls per game, via WhoScored.

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This isn’t the sort of signing that a side chasing the title should be making, it neglects the future as their end goal is the Premier League and the veteran full-back clearly isn’t up to that standard now.

He was barely before with four relegations to his name.

Meanwhile, there has been an update provided in the pursuit of long-time target Dwight Gayle…

Former Crystal Palace defender Marc Edworthy has shared his views on Kyle Walker-Peters and what he thinks of the Tottenham man’s prospective move to Selhurst Park.

Roy Hodgson confirmed that discussions were underway between the Eagles’ Sporting Director Dougie Freedman and Spurs over a deal for the England U21 international.

Additionally, The Telegraph wrote that Walker-Peters was ‘hoping’ to join Crystal Palace, so this move could well have some legs.

Edworthy – who made 38 appearances for the south Londoners during his playing career – has told Love Sport Radio what he thinks of the potential transfer.

What did he say?

Speaking on Love Sport Radio, the 47-year-old said: “I think it is a good signing, it is a difficult position to play in. The modern day full-back has to provide goals and assists as well. Roy Hodgson will know exactly what he’s looking for, you are not going to get every signing right but the personnel is something the football club will always look to improve.”

Edworthy is right – it would be a good signing

Despite Walker-Peters’ struggles for game time under Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho this season – he has just three Premier League starts to his name – the 22-year-old would be a good signing for the Eagles.

He would provide a much-needed injection of youth to what is an ageing squad – only four players are under the age of 27 – while the Tottenham academy graduate already has some valuable experience under his belt despite his young age.

The Spurs No.16 has played 90 minutes at the Allianz Arena this term, and also played 90 minutes against Manchester City at the Etihad earlier this season as Tottenham grabbed a 2-2 draw.

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Additionally, Walker-Peters also started a crucial Champions League Group Stage game against Barcelona last season, while spending time on the bench in the memorable semi-final tie against Ajax as well as the final against Liverpool – while he may not have got off the sidelines, that experience for such a young player will surely have been beneficial.

He also boasts 11 caps for England’s U21 side.

Edworthy is right – it would be a good signing for a Crystal Palace side in need of a reinvigorated feeling.

In other news, Crystal Palace would be making a mockery of their own ‘acceptance’ if they completed this transfer deal…

According to a recent report from The Daily Star, Tottenham Hotspur could be lining up a raid on high-flying Sheffield United for their defender, Jack O’Connell.

The 6 foot 3 man has impressed at the heart of the Blades’ defence, making 4.7 clearances per game and 1.4 interceptions. Bearing in mind the fact he’s just 25, he could be a long-term solution for Spurs.

But this deal could potentially yield a clear winner and a clear loser from Spurs’ team…

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Winner: Jose Mourinho

We all know about Mourinho and the way he likes his teams to play – highly defensive, low risk and with an aim to keep those clean sheets coming at all times. We’ve seen that at numerous clubs, specifically Manchester United, but it’s been quite a tall task for the Special One at Tottenham.

In his first 16 games as Spurs’ new coach, Mourinho has averaged 1.69 points per match and has conceded a total of 22 goals, only managing two clean sheets in the process.

Quite clearly, his current squad is missing some defensive stability and bringing in O’Connell just might tip the scales back in their favour. Sheffield United have already amassed eight clean sheets in the ongoing campaign and their 25-year-old centre-back has had a hefty hand in that feat.

Maybe he could help Spurs replicate that with his possible arrival.

Loser: Jan Vertonghen

Needless to say, the potential arrival of another young and prolific centre-back would surely put the older ones under a lot of additional pressure, and this is especially true for Vertonghen himself.

The 32-year-old centre-back is yet to decide his future with his current deal due to run out in the coming summer and it remains to be seen how exactly O’Connell’s introduction would affect his status in the team.

If Spurs suddenly managed to scoop up a solid replacement for the Belgian international, maybe there would no longer be a need for Mourinho to worry about his future, which could, in theory, also see him sold in the end.

Only time will tell and we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Sadio Mane will not be involved in Liverpool’s Premier League clash with West Ham United on Wednesday night due to “a small muscle tear”.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp revealed that the Senegal international would be absent when speaking during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

And now the Merseyside club’s fans have been on social media debating who should start alongside Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in the final third of the field.

There are, of course, no guarantees that Firmino and Salah will be in the XI on Wednesday night, but the pair have once again formed a potent front three with Mane during the 2019/20 campaign.

Some fans have claimed that Divock Origi, who has scored three Premier League goals this season, should be given the chance to feature.

Others, though, have put forward a case for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to feature in the final third.

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There are also some shouts for January arrival Takumi Minamino despite the fact that some of the fans criticised his performance against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a number of the Liverpool fans slammed the performance of another of their attackers in Sunday’s clash with Shrewsbury.