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Liverpool will be aiming to maintain their unbeaten start to the new season when they take on Norwich City in the Carabao Cup this evening.

Manager Jurgen Klopp is expected to make several changes to his starting lineup, partly due to injury and illness issues and partly due to his tendency to rotate in the domestic cup competitions.

During Tuesday’s press conference, assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed that Roberto Firmino, Thiago, Harvey Elliott and Neco Williams will be unavailable due to fitness concerns, while Trent Alexander-Arnold has not yet recovered from a sickness that saw him miss the weekend’s clash.

However, he did reveal that academy graduate Curtis Jones is set to make his 50th appearance for the club at Carrow Road, while fellow youngsters Caoimhin Kelleher and Kaide Gordon are also expected to make their first outings of the campaign.

If 16-year-old winger Gordon does come into the side, it will be his senior debut for the club and that could add extra excitement to an already intriguing tie.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects Klopp’s side to line up against Norwich, with eight changes from the team that defeated Crystal Palace…

In goal, 22-year-old shot-stopper Kelleher appears to have overtaken Adrian as the Anfield outfit’s No.2, meaning he should receive his first minutes of 2021/22 against the Canaries. Ahead of the Irishman is expected to be a similar back four to the one that started against Palace, only with one major change.

Left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas should keep his place alongside Ibrahima Konate and James Milner, but talismanic Virgil van Dijk is likely to be rested, allowing Joe Gomez to return to the starting XI.

The engine room is set to have a rather unfamiliar feel to it, though, with Klopp completely changing the midfield personnel for this one.

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Naby Keita’s wonder strike last time out will see him line up alongside Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as club captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho watch on from the sidelines.

But it’s in attack where Klopp is likely to make his boldest decisions. Gordon could replace the £90m-rated Mohamed Salah on the right-wing, with Takumi Minamino getting his first taste of action on the opposite flank and Divock Origi leading the line through the middle.

And, in other news…Liverpool suffer double selection setback ahead of Norwich, Klopp will be gutted

Some Liverpool supporters have criticised Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain despite a video emerging of him scoring a stunning goal in training.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has had an up-and-down Reds career in many ways, with high points thrown in but injuries often holding him back.

The 28-year-old has increasingly struggled to hold down a regular place in Jurgen Klopp’s starting lineup, making just two starts in the Premier League last season.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359326”]

Despite this, there is no doubt that Oxlade-Chamberlain is a talented technical footballer and a video shared by Liverpool’s official Twitter account has highlighted that to perfection.

The clip shows the midfielder rifling a stunning volley into the top corner in training before he nonchalantly celebrates the moment.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-3/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans critical of Oxlade-Chamberlain

While the video clearly shows what a talented player Oxlade-Chamberlain is, these Liverpool fans saw the negative side on Twitter, claiming he doesn’t replicate it enough during matches.

“Do it in a game”

Credit: @KlngJohnson_10

“He absolutely stinks in matches”

Credit: @Rome_yR

“I’d rather you’d do one thing that would impress me during an actual match”

Credit: @WasonJack

“Only at training”

Credit: @KatlegoPodile

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“Admin releasing Ox’s season highlights”

Credit: @tannaknowsball

“Would be great to see that in a game”

Credit: @AbsolutefitOC

In other news, some Liverpool fans are excited after a January transfer rumour emerged. Read more here.

Erkut Sogut, the agent of Everton striker Cenk Tosun, has revealed it will not be long before the forward returns to full training with the Toffees.

The Lowdown: Difficult time

A loan move to Besiktas appeared to be rejuvenating Tosun – he scored three goals in three games for the Turkish outfit last term in the league (Transfermarkt).

However, disaster struck when he ruptured his Patella – that was in April, and he has not played a game of football since.

The Latest: Tosun close to return

However, Sogut has provided a positive update on the 30-year-old. He told Fanatik:

“I hope Cenk Tosun will return to the field even stronger, as soon as possible. For this, he continues to work day and night with his private trainer. He has started running and will start training with the ball at his club, Everton, in a few weeks.

“[Tosun] is also very happy to be joining his friends at Everton again. He has one more year [on his] contract and will do his best on the field. The success of Everton is very important for Cenk.

“He is counting down the days to return to the national team as soon as possible and fight with his friends on the field to participate in the World Cup. Participating in the World Cup in Qatar is very important for both Turkey and Cenk.”

The Verdict: Future at Goodison Park?

For Tosun’s career, this is obviously great news. He will be eager to get back on the pitch as quickly as possible and get back to his best after such a long spell on the sidelines.

However, whether that will come at Goodison Park remains to be seen. After all, he has just 11 strikes in 58 games for the club after making the switch for £27m in 2018 (Sky Sports).

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After all, the Toffees do have a few options available following the signing of Salomon Rondon. Tosun does have plenty of ability judging by his displays for his national side, but whether he can force his way into Rafael Benitez’s plans when he does return is a different matter entirely.

In other news, Everton fans were livid with this international break news.

Get French Football News features writer Adam White thinks that Emerson Palmieri joining Ligue 1 side Lyon from Chelsea is a great deal.

The full-back saw his game time limited at Stamford Bridge as he has fallen down the pecking order behind both Ben Chilwell and Marcos Alonso for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI, before his move to the French club was announced later last month.

The Italian international featured for Italy at Euro 2020 in four games, including the final against England, with Emerson adding a Euros winners medal to his collection. This goes with his Champions League, FA Cup, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup winners’ medals.

Adam White believes Emerson is a good signing for Lyon, telling Football FanCast: “It’s a good signing, I think. It’s amazing that an Italian international who played at the Euros is third choice at Chelsea at left-back as there’s two guys in front of him

“It’s quite amazing and I think for that reason he’s a solid player as he’s proven for Italy,05 and he’s a good fit at Lyon.”

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Journalist Fabrizio Romano also reported that Chelsea are still working to sell Emerson Palmieri, with Lyon talks progressing but Napoli hope that Emerson waits for their proposal in the coming days.

Sheffield United are closing in on a deal to bring Robin Olsen to Bramall Lane.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing on Twitter that Slavisa Jokanovic’s side are nearing a deal for the AS Roma goalkeeper, who is expected to join the Championship side on a season-long loan as Aaron Ramsdale’s replacement.

In his tweet, Romano said: “Robin Olsen is close to [joining] Sheffield United from AS Roma, here-we-go soon. He’s expected to be Ramsdale’s replacement, deal agreed on [a] one-season loan.”

Fans will be buzzing

While the loss of Ramsdale will have come as a major blow to everyone involved with Sheffield United, if Jokanovic manages to secure the signing of Olsen prior to Tuesday evening’s transfer deadline, it would undoubtedly soften the hit of losing the English stopper.

Indeed, the 31-year-old Swede impressed over his seven Premier League appearances while on loan at Everton last season, with the £2.7m-rated ‘keeper keeping two clean sheets, conceding an average of just 1.3 goals and making three saves per game.

These metrics saw the man who Alexander Isak dubbed an “incredible” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.87, ranking him as the Toffees’ 12th-best player in the top flight of English football.

As such, considering that Olsen’s level of performance would more than likely improve upon dropping down a division – on paper, at least – the signing of the Sweden international would be quite a coup for the Blades.

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Furthermore, with Jokanovic desperately requiring a boost to kickstart Sheffield United’s Championship campaign – as the 53-year-old has seen his side pick up just two points over their opening five league fixtures of the season, leaving them languishing in 23rd place in the table – the last-minute signing of a player who boasts the quality and experience of Olsen could well prove to be the spark the Blades manager has been craving.

In other news: Witcoop drops SUFC transfer claim on “exciting” £2.6k-p/w ace, fans will be buzzing

West Ham’s arduous search for a new forward may finally be coming to an end…

What’s the word?

According to ExWHUemployee, the Irons are in talks with Lille attacker Jonathan Bamba over a potential late deadline day switch to the London Stadium.

He revealed on his ‘The West Ham Way’ Patreon site:

“We are also in talks with a forward at the moment. Jonathan Bamba is a player I have covered extensively recently on the podcast and it appears discussions are going on with his agents as we speak.”

Last week, the Express first linked the versatile 25-year-old with a move to the Hammers, claiming that the Ligue 1 champions wanted a fee in the region of £25m.

Late, late solution

They’ve left it late but the east Londoners could finally be about to sign the new frontman that they’ve been desperate to recruit.

West Ham have been linked with an array of names throughout the summer, one of which was Tammy Abraham, who was widely believed to be Moyes’ top target before he swapped Chelsea for AS Roma earlier this month.

The Scotsman is in dire need of someone to provide the perfect foil to Michail Antonio, especially as they are set to compete in the Europa League this season, meaning two games per week could quickly become the norm.

Antonio has suffered from injuries throughout his Hammers career, failing to start more than 24 league games in each of the last four seasons. He could not only do with a backup but perhaps another forward opens up the possibility of tactical changes, too.

In Bamba, they’d be getting the perfect solution as he will also be able to provide cover for the likes of Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen on the flanks.

The 5 foot 9 dynamo played an integral role in Lille pipping Paris Saint-Germain to the title last season – as per Transfermarkt, he provided six goals and 11 assists, averaging a direct contribution every 176 minutes.

Bamba also averaged 1.7 key passes, 1.6 shots and 1.4 dribbles per game, via WhoScored, proving to be a massive creative influence, on top of a lethal threat in front of goal.

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Indeed, the £18m-rated forward was dubbed the “creative leader” of Christophe Galtier’s side by journalist Zach Lowy.

If West Ham can secure a move for him before tonight’s 11pm deadline, then there will certainly be a sense of relief around the London Stadium. What a final few hours it could be for the club in this transfer window.

AND in other news, West Ham close in on 2nd deadline day signing, it’s another Moyes transfer masterclass…

Wolves are looking to make more signings before the transfer window closes next week, journalist Luke Hatfield has told Football FanCast.

It has been a pretty quiet window for Wolves so far, with the arrival of goalkeeper Jose Sa to replace Rui Patricio and permanent signing of Rayan Ait-Nouri probably their main pieces of business.

Most of the transfer talk at Wolves this summer has been dominated by current players Ruben Neves and Adama Traore, who both continue to be linked with moves away from Molineux.

According to Fabrizio Romano (via The Here We Go Podcast), Neves is one name on a list of midfielders Manchester United are looking at. Meanwhile, The Telegraph are reporting that Tottenham are hoping to sign Traore on a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer.

And Hatfield has spoken to FFC about that potential loan deal and Wolves’ overall plans for the rest of the month.

“The deal with a loan with a view, I don’t think it would work for Wolves,” the Express & Star reporter said. “They’d be losing a very good player, or one of their best players, for essentially a very small fee right now.

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“It would give them very little money to play with in terms of this window when they are looking to make signings before this window closes.”

It is shaping up to be an exciting deadline day at Wolves, with it certainly looking like they could get some last-minute deals done.

An update has emerged on Sunderland target Daniel Jebbison…

What’s the talk?

According to the Sheffield Star, Sunderland have been put off by Sheffield United’s loan fee demands for the 18-year-old striker.

The report claims that the Black Cats have held talks over a swoop for the forward, but they are baulking at the Championship’s side £1m loan fee that they want in exchange to send him out on loan.

Fans will be livid

Sunderland fans will be livid with this news as it seems to all but rule out a deal for Jebbison before the end of the window, unless Sheffield United decide to lower their demands.

A £1m loan fee for a player with four senior league appearances for his name is steep, as there is no solid evidence to suggest that he will be a star player in League One.

Transfermarkt value him at a little less, around £900k, for example.

That is not to say he does not have the potential to be, but Sunderland would surely want a degree of certainty about what they are getting if they are shelling out seven figures to have a player for less than a year.

Therefore, the club’s stance on this move is understandable. It has the possibility of being a waste of money, which may be why they are not interested in meeting United’s demands for the player.

This will not stop fans from being gutted that Jebbison may not be coming to the Stadium of Light, though, as he is a talented young player.

Ex-Manchester City defender Micah Richards hailed Jebbison as the shining light in Sheffield United’s squad as they were relegated from the Premier League. He told Sky Sports (via the Examiner):

“I really like the look of him. He just gets in the right areas, and they needed that with all the negativity that’s gone on at the club.

“You want to bounce back straight away, and you want to go to the end of the season with positivity.

“They’re playing for pride, and he’s the shining light.”

He scored one goal in four Premier League appearances for Sheffield United at the backend of last season, winning 1.3 aerial battles and 1.5 tackles per game.

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This is an impressive return for an 18-year-old striker and suggests that he could have the quality to make an impact in League One, which is why fans would be excited to see him come through the door.

However, you have to consider the financial element that comes along with it and – as it stands – the deal would be too much of a gamble for it to make sense for Kristjaan Speakman and Lee Johnson to pull the trigger.

So, the fans will be livid but it looks to be the correct decision on paper.

AND in other news, Forget Stewart: £3.6k-p/w SAFC beast who won 87% of duels stole the show vs MK Dons…

Celtic may have their first win of the Ange Postecoglou reign under their belts but they cannot neglect the need to bring more new faces to Paradise.

Joe Hart and James McCarthy became members of the Hoops family last week but there is still plenty of work to be done.

On the chalkboard

Anthony Ralston has performed admirably this season after coming in for scrutiny that he wasn’t good enough for Celtic.

Those claims made sense considering he played just once for the Bhoys last term. However, he’s been ever-present since Ange Postecoglou took charge and even scored a wonderful goal against Hearts last weekend.

Ralston collected the ball from Odsonne Edouard before dancing beyond several defenders and then planting the ball past Craig Gordon from inside the area.

He also scored against Dundee on Sunday afternoon in their 6-0 thrashing to continue his mightily impressive campaign.

Though, if Celtic are serious about advancing in Europe and contending for the title again, they will need to sign an improvement.

That’s why supporters should be delighted that they are in discussions to sign Royal Antwerp defender Aurelio Buta.

He’s been on Celtic’s radar for a number of weeks now but Sky Sports reported last Friday that a bid of £4.5m was now being prepared.

If they can lure him to Paradise, it would be an almighty upgrade on Ralston.

The Glaswegian side haven’t replaced Jeremie Frimpong since he left for Bayer Leverkusen last January but Buta would help them significantly.

He is a tackling machine and is equally adept in forward phases of play. Dubbed “very gifted” by journalist, Aster Nzeyimana, the 24-year-old completed 1.2 tackles per match in 2020/21.

That’s a tally that would have equalled Frimpong’s success rate in a Celtic shirt from the same season.

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Hailed as one of the best full-backs in the Belgian top-flight, Buta would be an exceptional piece of business by Postecoglou and co.

They have needed a permanent full-back for the best part of eight months now and thus, fans should be excited at the idea of signing him.

Ralston has enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign but he is still relatively unproven in the Premiership over a prolonged period of time.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Edouard: Celtic can boost title hopes by signing “wonderful” 19-goal beast…

Wolves may no longer be actively looking to sell some of their most important players but after a dismal pre-season, it’s clear that new recruits are needed.

Just how the Old Gold manages that remains to be seen. After all, we were told at the beginning of the window that they lacked financial power.

What’s the word?

One player Wolves have been interested in since the winter months is Divock Origi.

Reports emerged again this week detailing the club’s attraction to the Liverpool forward but they’ve not taken their interest a step further.

According to Ekrem Konur on Twitter, they have now submitted a bid to sign Origi in the final weeks of the market.

That said, it’s an offer that falls short of the Reds’ valuation.

Konur commented: “Wolverhampton have made a £10m bid for Divock Origi to Liverpool. Liverpool are demanding £20m.”

Howler on the cards

Fans should be thankful that Wolves’ bid falls short of Liverpool’s estimations because he would be a questionable signing.

After a horrendous campaign in 2020/21 from an offensive perspective, there’s no denying that Bruno Lage needs to strengthen his options in attack.

Raul Jimenez was missing with a fractured skull from November onwards and those who stepped in for him didn’t exactly set the world alight.

Pedro Neto had an excellent season but finished as their top scorer on just five goals. Fabio Silva only found the net on four occasions after his club-record move while the less said about Willian Jose the better.

The big Brazilian scored once following a loan move back in January. Throw Patrick Cutrone into the mix and their options in the final third look rather shoddy.

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Origi, however, would not improve their options. The Belgian was once dubbed a “monster” by Vincent Kompany but his 35 Liverpool goals have come in a less than impressive 156 outings.

Furthermore, the 26-year-old only scored one goal in the entire of the 2020/21 campaign, starting twice in the Premier League.

If Wolves are going to find an able back-up to Jimenez, they should look closer to home. Rafa Mir anyone?

AND in other news, Wolves can find a new Traore by signing “elegant” 13-goal gem with “something special”…