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Leeds United have given Hibernian teenager Ethan Laidlaw a trial at the club with a view to potentially signing the Scottish youngster.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side drew 0-0 at home to Chelsea on Saturday, once again proving that they can go toe-to-toe with the best sides in the Premier League.

Leeds give trial to Hibs youngster Laidlaw

According to the Daily Record, Leeds gave a trial to Hibs striker Laidlaw last week, with the 16-year-old considered a hugely exciting prospect.

Described on Hibs’ official website as an ‘agile, quick and skilful attacking player’, he will hope to have impressed during his short stay at Elland Road. Should that be the case, Leeds could eye up a permanent move for Laidlaw this summer.

He signed his professional deal at Hibs last month, highlighting how keen the Scottish Premiership club are to tie him down at Easter Road.

Transfer Tavern take

Laidlaw must be a very promising player to have already signed a professional contract at just 16, so it is exciting to see the Whites linked with a possible move for him.

It is always hard to tell how smoothly any young player will make the step up to senior football, especially in one of Europe’s top leagues, but if Laidlaw is to make the move to Elland Road, he could represent a smart coup for Leeds with plenty of raw talent to nurture into a polished diamond.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly eyeing up a move for a Premier League defender with considerable experience. Read about it here.

Ed Woodward must cash in on AC Milan’s interest in Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot as he has fallen out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford.

What’s the word?

Reports have emerged over the past week that Norwich City starlet Max Aarons finds himself on the Red Devils’ radar.

Solskjaer himself is reportedly eyeing a move for the Canaries defender as he seeks cover and competition for first-choice right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

And such a move could push Dalot closer towards the Old Trafford exit door, with the Portugal U21 international currently on loan at AC Milan.

Get rid

While it is noted the Red Devils are yet to reach a decision on Dalot’s future amid the Rossoneri’s interest in signing him in a £15m deal, Woodward must accept that the time is right to give the right-back the boot once and for all as he will never be the perfect backup to Wan-Bissaka.

Solskjaer has shown throughout his time at Old Trafford that he doesn’t think much of Dalot’s talents as he has been constantly overlooked by the club legend, having made just 29 appearances across all competitions in the past three seasons alone.

The Norwegian manager has even restored to fielding the likes of Axel Tuanzebe and Timothy Fosu-Mensah at right-back at times this season whilst Dalot himself has been shipped out the door.

It’s no surprise then that Solskjaer has been linked with a number of replacements after deciding to use the winter transfer window to find an alternative to Wan-Bissaka, with Aarons and Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier among the names mentioned.

Dalot faces a difficult road back to Old Trafford, and AC Milan’s firm interest in the loan signing could be their best bet of getting him off their books for a reasonable fee.

AND in other news, Manchester United handed huge Jadon Sancho boost as Dortmund reduce demands…

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has extortionately claimed that Liverpool star Thiago Alcantara would be more at home with the Red Devils.

The 46-year-old, who patrolled the centre of the park at Old Trafford for the best part of two decades, has claimed that the Spaniard would be ‘more suited to a Manchester United team’.

The reasoning that Scholes gives for this is that the former Bayern Munich midfielder does not have the ‘energy’ to play in a midfield three and instead needs a more defensive presence besides him.

He may well be correct in the sense that Thiago needs more of a destroyer next to him in order to flourish from an attacking standpoint. Indeed, he has not registered a goal or an assist in his time at Anfield. However, that defensive influence is already at Anfield in the form of Fabinho.

The Brazilian, signed from Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco back in 2018, can be extremely effective at the base of a midfield diamond – an aspect that his personal defensive statistics can attest to.

In his Premier League appearances this season thus far, Fabinho has contributed 6.3 defensive contributions per match according to WhoScored. This includes just over two tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 2.4 clearances every 9 minutes.

Considering that he has been deployed at centre-back in 14 out of his 18 league appearances this season, it could be expected that those numbers would go up should he return to a more natural midfield position.

This then gives Thiago the perfect foil in the centre of the park to venture forwards and be creative.

Whilst it could be argued that the £43.2m-rated man could get the same, if not better, at Old Trafford, none of Scott McTominay, Fred or Paul Pogba get anywhere near Fabinho’s defensive contributions to their team.

It could be suggested then that Thiago would have to assume even more defensive responsibility at Old Trafford given those deficiencies, meaning that Scholes’ comments on the midfielder are not quite as refined or researched as they should be.

In further news, Alisson and Diogo Jota are set to return for Liverpool against Chelsea on Thursday…

There are no easy games in the Premier League and West Brom have it all to do if they are to drastically turn around their plight this season.

Sam Allardyce’s men now head to defending champions Liverpool looking for only their second win of the current campaign.

In the 66-year-old’s first game in charge, the Baggies were thrashed 3-0 by arch-rivals Aston Villa, and now they face an almighty task at Anfield.

Albion have suspensions and injuries to deal with, so it will be interesting to see how Big Sam lines up the squad this afternoon.

Here’s the XI we’re predicting as the division’s leaders host second from bottom…

There could be as many as four changes as Allardyce looks to spark a reaction today.

In goal, Sam Johnstone keeps his place as do the majority of the back four barring Dara O’Shea, who makes way for PL veteran Branislav Ivanovic.

Club captain Jake Livermore is suspended for this match after receiving his marching orders for a lunge on Jack Grealish last weekend, so there’s a change afoot in midfield.

Romaine Sawyers and Chelsea loan sensation Conor Gallagher could partner each other with Matheus Pereira returning from his own suspension to take an advanced place in the engine room.

Whilst in the attack, only Matty Phillips keeps his place at right-wing.

It means Karlan Grant is axed for Charlie Austin up top, and Grady Diangana also drops to the bench in favour of the £9m-rated Callum Robinson on the left flank.

The likes of Sam Field, Hal Robson-Kanu, Kyle Bartley and Conor Townsend are all still out through injury.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce tipped to sign former West Ham star in January swoop…

West Brom remain interested in AFC Bournemouth forward Joshua King, according to reports…

What’s the word?

Sky Sports claim the 29-year-old is still being monitored by the Baggies over a potential move before the February 1st transfer deadline, though relegation rivals Burnley have entered the race alongside West Ham.

King is out of contract in the summer, so the next week presents a final opportunity for the Cherries to cash in on his signature before it is too late.

And Albion boss Sam Allardyce has made no secret of their interest in the Norway international, he told reporters: “No idea what the price may be (for King) – if the price is within our range then I think we would be interested, and if it’s out of our price range then we won’t.”

King the Saviour?

The Midlands outfit have been linked to plenty of strikers since the turn of the year, including former loan sensation Dwight Gayle.

Ahead of the January transfer window last month, ChronicleLive reported that the 29-year-old was someone on the club’s radar as his contract is also expiring at the end of the current campaign.

He bagged an impressive 24 goals in 40 appearances on their way to the Championship playoffs in 2018/19, and clearly, much of the Hawthorns faithful would welcome his return as Big Sam currently has one viable forward option.

But given his history of injuries and lack of game time, it’s time to move on from the one-time hero – he’s played only 125 minutes this term, and has averaged only 35 minutes per appearance since his Baggies loan spell finished.

King could be available for a bargain price given his contract situation and the need to shift his £45k-per-week salary off a second-tier wage bill. His record in the top-flight has been remarkable, if not hugely underrated.

In terms of finishing, his most prolific season came in 2016/17 where he ended the year with 16 goals, though he’s hit six or more goals in all five of his seasons in the Premier League, per Transfermarkt.

That’s even despite being primarily deployed on the left flank. His work-rate is another key attribute that would please Big Sam as last season, he ranked 15th for possession won in the attacking third, winning 6.8 duels per 90 minutes, as per Sky Sports.

King was even clocked at just one km/h slower than the rapid Adama Traore (37.78 km/h), so he’s an absolute speed demon capable of tormenting the opposition’s defence.

It’s no wonder that former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe dubbed him the “complete package” because he’s “outstanding physically, technically and mentally,” to Match of the Day (via Football Faithful).

Even more recently, his successor Jason Tindall lauded King as a “real handful,” and joked that he would add “another £5million on his price tag” – that being in the region of £10m, from what The Athletic’s Tim Spiers has heard as he revealed to The Molineux View podcast on January 5th.

All of the above combine to make him a hugely attractive proposition for any top-flight team, but equally, one that the Baggies need as his versatility, work rate and prolific finishing capabilities could be enough to revive their survival hopes tenfold.

They currently sit second-from-bottom some six points from safety whilst Big Sam’s squad rank third-worst for goals scorer.

A striker is paramount to their chances of remaining a Premier League outfit and on the above evidence, King would be a wonderful solution.

AND in other news,ÂWest Brom could finally replace Chris Brunt by signing 42-cap powerhouse…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast correspondent Tom Ward, Carlton Palmer has delivered his verdict on Arsenal’s treatment of German star Mesut Ozil.

The Gunners stunned English football when they decided to leave the playmaker out of both their Premier League and Europa League squads for the current campaign.

Ozil is famously on a wage of £350k-a-week in north London but hasn’t played all season.

In fact, the 32-year-old hasn’t been seen in an Arsenal shirt since a 1-0 win over West Ham in early March. It’s rather incredible that a player of his ability isn’t featuring in the side but there are a host of reasons to potentially explain his absence.

Mikel Arteta has previously revealed that he wasn’t included for ‘football reasons’.

It’s hard to believe that though when you consider the Gunners scored just once from open play in the entity of November in the Premier League. It’s made even worse when you assess the statistics from last season. Despite his lack of game time, the number 10 was still Arsenal’s best creator with 2.1 key passes a game.

Why therefore is he not playing? At one stage this season, Arsenal had managed fewer shots per game than any of the bottom clubs across Europe’s top five leagues.

Surely Ozil would be of use to Arsenal then? That’s something Palmer certainly thinks.

Speaking to FFC, he suggested that the former Germany international was being mistreated. The pundit was clearly baffled by the situation, saying:

“I’ll come back to how can they be struggling when somebody like Ozil’s not getting a game. I just don’t get that.”

Palmer continued: “I think that’s a bit of a personal something, a personal vendetta that’s gone on there with the club and if you’re paying that type of money, and he’s a talented, talented player, and you’re not winning football matches, there’s something wrong if he’s not playing.”

Indeed, it would be a shock if we saw Ozil in an Arsenal shirt ever again.

His contract expires at the end of the season and it would seem that Arteta has already moved on from him. It’s a sad end to his stay at the Emirates Stadium.

Yerry Mina was Carlo Ancelotti’s real hero against Arsenal on Saturday as Everton recorded a 2-1 win over the Gunners.

The Toffees opened the scoring midway through the first half when Arsenal defender Rob Holding inadvertently deflected Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header past Bernd Leno, but the visitors drew level 10 minutes before the break when Nicolas Pepe calmly converted from the spot after Tom Davies fouled Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

It was a performance to forget for Davies on his return to the starting line-up.

However, Everton’s blushes were saved when Mina headed home on the brink of first-half stoppage-time to ensure Ancelotti enjoyed his one-year anniversary with Everton by moving into second place in the table.

Everton often allowed Arsenal to dictate the flow of proceedings at Goodison Park on Saturday, feeling the Gunners’ toothless nature this season would see the north London outfit struggle to create a second equalising goal.

With the Blues’ backs to the wall, defenders came in for much praise at the full-time whilst having seen out the one-goal lead to claim only a second win over the Reds since 2016, with supporters naming makeshift left-back Ben Godfrey as their Man of the Match.

Godfrey excelled in place of the injured Lucas Digne, never shrugging off his responsibilities to surge up and down the channel with fully-committed challenges and his rapid speed.

Yet it was Mina and not Godfrey who was Ancelotti’s real hero against Arsenal, with the Colombian centre-back a commanding figure that Mikel Arteta’s men could never find an answer to.

Mina positioned himself well to capitalise on timid marking by the Gunners to head home his second goal of the season for what would prove to be the winner, and stood tall in front of Jordan Pickford’s net to thwart the likes of Willian, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka.

The 6 ft 4 Toffees titan’s efforts would return two successful tackles, one interception, two clearances and two shots blocked, while never being dribbled past and winning four of five ground duels and one of two aerial contests, per SofaScore.

Mina only turned possession over three times as he offered Ancelotti a calm presence on the ball, too, having found teammates with 57 of his 60 passes for a 95% completion rate, including four of six long balls.

He further took 70 touches, more than any other Everton player, scored from his only shot of the game and was fouled twice, double the number of set-pieces he conceded.

Ancelotti will have been buoyed to see Mina thrive against Arsenal on a day his teammate stole the praise.

AND in other news: “Huge blow” – Exclusive: Pundit reacts to major Everton setback…

Crystal Palace made a massive mistake in the summer transfer window by not signing Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins…

What was the story?

A report at the time from The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg and Ed Aarons revealed that Roy Hodgson’s side were battling with Premier League rivals Aston Villa to sign Watkins from Brentford in the summer.

The report revealed that Palace almost signed the striker for £10m the summer beforehand but faced fierce competition from Dean Smith’s side, who were looking to add more firepower to their attack after avoiding relegation.

In the end, Watkins moved to Villa for a club record fee of £28m, whilst the Eagles ended up signing Michy Batshuayi on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea instead.

Unforgivable error?

After a promising start to the season with a 1-0 win over Southampton, followed by a 3-1 win away at Manchester United, coupled with the fact their new signings had started to settle in well, Palace fans could have been forgiven for feeling a little optimistic.

However, things would soon take a turn for the worse, as Hodgson’s side suffered back-to-back defeats to Everton and Chelsea respectively before the international break. Batshuayi has made three appearances in the Premier League, but has failed to score so far, via WhoScored.

On the other hand, Watkins, who earns wages worth £75,000-per-week, has continued his fine form for Brentford at Villa Park. The 24-year-old, who is comfortable playing as an attacking midfielder or further forward, has shown that he is a potent goalscorer – he has already scored three goals in four games in the Premier League this season.

When you compare that to Palace’s options this season, well, then it’s a bit embarrassing really. Only Wilfried Zaha has scored more with four from five, whilst only Andros Townsend has managed to create more assists.

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith insists he is “something special”, after Watkins scored a hat-trick against Premier League champions Liverpool at Villa Park.

Even Jurgen Klopp spoke of his sheer admiration, as he admitted that the Englishman was “undefendable.” Whilst he may not have received an England callup quite just yet, he’s definitely a player who Steve Parish should have brought to Selhurst Park.

Watkins would’ve made a massive difference for Hodgson’s side, who could only muster one shot on target against Brighton in the A23 derby.

AND in other news, Steve Parish must return for Crystal Palace target Ismaila Sarr in January…

Carlo Ancelotti can cast Andre Gomes to the side and solve Everton’s creativity crisis with a winter raid on SS Lazio for rumoured target Luis Alberto.

What’s the word?

According to Il Tempo, via Sport Witness, the Toffees are monitoring Alberto’s situation at the Stadio Olimpico and could offer the former Liverpool dud a route out of Italy amid a dramatic fallout with his Serie A side.

Alberto is currently butting heads with the Lazio hierarchy after publicly shaming their decision to purchase a new luxury private jet, instead of paying the first-team their full salaries during the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

His public outburst on Twitch saw Alberto handed a fine worth up to €70,000 (£62.4k), and will soon meet with manager Simone Inzaghi to see it they can mend the Spaniard’s shattered relationship with President Claudio Lotito and Sporting Director Igli Tare.

Lotito and Tare were furious with Alberto’s outburst and immediately dropped the 28-year-old from the senior squad feeling he betrayed them, and are not expected to offer a recall for this weekend’s meeting with Crotone.

Alberto is very loyal to Inzaghi, who is acting as a mediator and is a staunch advocate of the Spaniard, but could be offered a move to Everton with Ancelotti eager to solve his side’s lack of creativity.

Sevilla, where Alberto grew up, are also interested in the £45million-rated gem who had started six of Lazio’s opening seven Serie A fixtures this term, offering one goal.

Move aside Gomes

While Alberto is said to be loyal to Inzaghi, who likewise harbours a high level of respect for the Spaniard, Ancelotti can solve his creativity crisis by bringing the 28-year-old to Goodison Park in the New Year.

Alberto just penned a new, five-year contract with Lazio in September after a top-draw 2019/20 campaign, with only Atalanta’s Alejandro Gomez (16) claiming more assists than the Inzaghi favourite (15) who ranked first among all Serie A players for key balls (106), per WhoScored.

The former Liverpool flop, who managed just one assist and zero goals in 12 outings for the Reds in 2013/14, ranked joint-fifth in the Italian top-flight for successful (73) and attempted (107) dribbles, fifth for total passes (2,074) and eighth for shots taken outside the box (55) last term, as well.

His form in Italy has seen Alberto prove former Malaga head coach Javi Gracia right, having backed the midfielder to recover from his Anfield horror while with the La Liga side in 2015.

“He is talented, finishes well and scores goals,” Gracia said, via quotes by The Guardian. “He has a promising future. I have no doubt that he is a very good player.”

Ancelotti would no doubt adore having those traits at Goodison Park, where he has seen his current midfielders struggle to create chances with Abdoulaye Doucoure (8) ranking first among the Italian’s central options for key balls, Allan for successful (9) and attempted (14) dribbles and Gylfi Sigurdsson for shots taken from range (4) in the Premier League.

Gomes, meanwhile, is last for shots from outside the box (0), joint-third for key balls (3) and third for total passes (209) and successful dribbles (3), having played the third-most minutes (366) in the top-flight thus far.

It remains to be seen how Alberto’s crunch talks with Lazio chiefs Lotito and Tare go, and whether or not they decide to cash-in on the 28-year-old this winter despite his new contract.

AND in other news, seriously naïve comments from a Premier League hero show a “fantastic” Everton ace is criminally underrated.

Time is quickly running out if West Bromwich Albion are to secure that elusive new striker this transfer window, although the Midlands outfit are set to launch a “major bid” this week…

What’s the word?

According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, the Baggies are preparing one final move for Huddersfield Town forward Karlan Grant as they put other options ‘from abroad’ on hold.

He claims that Albion are making a “major bid” but with an odd structure – but it could work.

Slaven Bilic’s men are strapped for cash this summer and have previously been linked with a £5m move upfront for the 23-year-old talisman with a remaining £13m to be paid if they stave off relegation at the end of the season.

Phillips 2.0?

West Brom’s’ history with strikers isn’t great but for every Ideye Brown, there’s been a Romelu Lukaku and as such, the Midlanders may have found a new star that resembles a club legend.

Grant is very much in the mould of the prolific Kevin Phillips.

The former Sunderland man fired the Baggies into the big time and wasn’t really known for his imposing stature, but rather his pace and ability to find the back of the net.

Well at 6 foot, Grant is hardly a man-mountain but according to his old boss Lee Bowyer, he “causes problems and scores goals.”

Whilst Addicks assistant Jonnie Jackson reinforced this and said: “[Karlan is] someone with pace to burn, I always wanted him playing on the shoulder of defenders.”

Last season, the 23-year-old bagged 19 goals in 43 appearances, which is nearly double what Charlie Austin could manage in the Championship. He also averaged 2.6 shots, 1.2 key passes and 1.1 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

As a solitary striker in Bilic’s system, it’s important to be able to bring other players into the game and these numbers hint that Grant would be able to do that.

It’s about time the Albion faithful got a striker to be excited about and the Phillips-like Grant could indeed be that man if Luke Dowling and co can get the move sealed and signed before the incoming deadline.

AND in other news, West Brom heading for a familiar mistake if they sign club-record PL FLOP this window…