Manchester City fans are far from happy with the news that Brendan Rodgers is eyeing the Citizens managerial position when Pep Guardiola departs the club.

Since making the move to the Citizens in 2016, Guardiola has had huge success. He has already won ten trophies during that period, including three Premier League titles, one of which came after the Citizens racked up 100 points (Goal.com).

He has yet to get his hands on a European trophy, with last year the closest City have come to the Champions League as they lost 1-0 to Chelsea.

However, the five years he has spent at City is his longest spell at one club, and so perhaps the club do need to start considering long-term plans. And, according to Caught Offside, Rodgers is reluctant to enter negotiations with Manchester United as he would like to succeed Guardiola instead.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Rodgers news below

“Let’s all have a laugh at this? Nah thank you Rogers.”

Credit: @MarionEsther9

“Just no I don’t want Rodgers. I want Enrique or Ten Haag. Nagelsmann and Flick would be great but I can’t see them leaving Bayern and Germany NT in next 5 years.”

Credit: @Jerarudo1

“Yea no thanks, Nagelsmann or Ten Hag for me.”

Credit: @JMC_Official

“Will be biggest downgrade in history. I’ll even consider stop supporting city”

Credit: @gotcakemate

“Please no”

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Credit: @7Mcfcmax

“Rodgers is a big no for me. He could not perform at Liverpool despite having a good squad and you expect him to perform at Man City. Nope.”

Credit: @IrepApril6

In other news, City fans were gutted with this United news.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Paul Brown of The Daily Star has revealed what chairman Daniel Levy has personally ‘promised’ Antonio Conte at Tottenham.

The Lowdown: Conte takes charge…

The 52-year-old’s tenure has officially begun and it’s a new era which comes with plenty of promise and excitement.

Calciomercato.it recently claimed that the former Chelsea boss has demanded a €280 million (£239.6m) transfer war chest as he eyes a plethora of Serie A stars and a major Tottenham rebuild.

Meanwhile, The Sun believe Conte will be given a big budget to play with, though not quite as extravagant, with Levy apparently set to grant him a £150m budget to bring in his desired talent.

Now, backing somewhat backing these claims, Brown has shared what he believes to GMS.

The Latest: Brown makes Levy claim…

Speaking to the outlet, Brown has now shared what Levy has personally ‘promised’ Conte at Spurs and it’s quite an intriguing claim which could entice some Spurs supporters.

“He has been promised a fairly big whack, and a good go at things.” said the journalist.

The Verdict: Promising…

If Conte does indeed get the backing required to make Tottenham a force again, perhaps akin to the latter stage of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure, they could have all the ingredients to become a European powerhouse once again.

Since reaching the Champions League final in 2019, the club have seen Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo sacked whilst also delaying the rebuild process of a squad in need of a big overhaul.

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Pochettino himself candidly admitted that his side needed a ‘painful rebuild’ long before he was shown the door and Conte’s arrival could finally mark the beginning of the process.

He will need help from managing director Fabio Paratici as the Italian duo seek to turn Tottenham’s fortunes around.

In other news: Conte personally plotting to sell ‘very talented’ Spurs player who Nuno called ‘unique’, find out more here.

Leeds Live’s Beren Cross has delivered an update on Leeds United’s pursuit of John Swift ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to recent reports in The Sheffield Star, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have their eye on the attacking midfielder, along with the likes of Newcastle United and Brentford.

Cross has now delivered an update on where things currently stand with a potential move for Swift.

He said: “Swift will certainly be a player Orta and Bielsa are aware of. An English talent at 26 with an expiring contract is hard to ignore. After a few injury issues across the past few seasons, he has continued to play well this season and led from the front with Reading. Evidently, he will leave there in January for a smaller fee or wait to go for nothing next summer.

“It is fair to say he has outgrown the Berkshire club. I am not aware Leeds have ever shown strong interest in taking Swift to Elland Road, and that includes the Championship days. Now, in the Premier League, Swift is unproven and could be considered a risk. The finances would not be an issue, but is he that much better than what Leeds already have and does he have that box-to-box profile Leeds need alongside a Rodrigo in the middle?”

Would be an exciting addition for Leeds

Swift has a track record of offering a goal-scoring threat from attacking midfield, managing an impressive 63 goal contributions in 181 games. in fact, his start to the current campaign for Reading has been quite incredible, netting eight goals in 17 matches in the Championship as well as chipping in with seven assists.

Speaking back in August after a 2-1 win over Preston, Royals manager Veljko Paunovic said of the 26-year-old: “Now he’s back, it is important we keep him healthy and motivated as he is now because that will help us a lot.

“He is super talented and he showed an urgency that he wanted to decide the game. The first couple of passes to Azeez and Joao were fantastic vision and execution of the final pass – something we’ve missed in the past. We missed those slick combinations through the middle when we progress forward so that’s something we have to keep up.”

That ability to come from deep and find the back of the net – he has scored 40 senior goals in his professional career thus far – would add a different dimension to Leeds’ side.

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The fact that Bielsa and Orta will be “aware” of Swift and his progress at Reading could be crucial to potentially making a move for him in January when the transfer window opens again.

He’d certainly be an exciting addition for Leeds fans.

Meanwhile, Leeds are facing a transfer battle for this Brazilian ace…

Despite losing their previous Premier League game 3-2 against West Ham United going into the latest international break, Liverpool have had a fairly good start to their 2021/22 season, with 22 points on the board in the league and remaining unbeaten in the Champions League and Carabao Cup.

One man who has played a big part in Liverpool’s campaign and deserves a lot of credit is Diogo Jota. With 14 appearances under his belt for the Reds this season across all competitions, the 24-year-old has scored five goals and provided two assists in the process.

As well as his goals and assists, the winger – who is currently valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt – has averaged 2.2 shots and 1.6 key passes in the league, showing how much of a danger he can pose to opponents.

The Portuguese forward has also showed his worth to Jurgen Klopp in the Champions League this season by either providing an assist or scoring a goal in Liverpool’s group games against his former club Atletico Madrid.

With this in mind, it seems as though Jota is having a similar sort of season to last year after joining the Reds from fellow Premier League side Wolves in a deal worth a reported fee of £41m, with 13 goals in 30 appearances in the 2020/21 campaign.

Even though fellow Reds wingers Sadio Mane (eight) and Mohamed Salah (15) have scored more than Jota at this point in the season, the former Wolves man – who has been described as “incredible” by fellow Reds teammate Adrian – has certainly proven himself to be an unsung hero for Klopp who can step up to the plate whenever he’s called upon.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, with Salah and Mane set to spend a period of time away from Anfield in January to take part in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, it’s safe to say that Klopp will be relying on Jota to fill in for the duo when that time comes.

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Thankfully, the 24-year-old has proven during his time on Merseyside  that he is capable of doing just that, and he could help the team push closer to the top of the table in the forthcoming absence of Salah and Mane.

In other news: Liverpool handed huge injury boost ahead of Arsenal clash, Klopp will be buzzing

Many Southampton fans have been slamming the performance of Adam Armstrong in their 4-0 loss at Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.

The visitors almost immediately went behind to a second-minute Diogo Jota goal after some fine work by Andy Robertson, before the former Wolves winger got his second just after the half-hour mark.

Thiago and Virgil van Dijk added to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s misery by the full-time whistle, as his team endured a real drubbing at Anfield.

Armstrong was one Saints player who seemed to struggle throughout the game, losing out on two of his duels, while he also missed with four of his goal attempts and failed to record a single successful dribble or key pass (SofaScore).

The striker was guilty of losing the ball on 10 separate occasions, and the fact that he had fewer touches (31) than his own goalkeeper Alex McCarthy (37) (SofaScore) summed up how little impact he had on the match.

Southampton fans slam Armstrong

These Southampton fans slammed the striker’s performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘Championship’ player:

“Perraud – Championship player. Armstrong – Championship player. Saints squad – Championship. Just not good enough.”

Credit: @LoveysShaun

“Better 2nd half. Lyanco is levels above Bednarek. Tella has to start more often. Armstrong was far too wasteful.”

Credit: @CameronSFC

“Adam Armstrong looks broken after 13 games. Buying good Champ players will always be a massive gamble as they can’t always make that step up to the PL”

Credit: @jamiepang

“Adam Armstrong is so so bad.”

Credit: @SB85SB

“I didn’t think there could’ve been a less convincing finisher that Chele but we certainly found him in Armstrong. Shocking”

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Credit: @RJn00b

“Armstrong = The English Carrillo”

Credit: @And_McDougall

In other news, find out whose display against Liverpool was also slammed by many Saints fans

Lurking within Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is an inner child. He is happy when at his most playful but stroppy and dejected when he doesn’t get what he wants.

At the moment, all the Gunners skipper wants is a goal, something that has failed to elude him for the vast majority of his career.

The Gabon international is a ruthless finisher, well so we thought he was anyway. He has found the net on 92 occasions in 162 outings for Arsenal, a record that many will rightfully stand and applaud.

Yet, throughout the current campaign, his level of finishing has been average at best.

He got his account up and running by scoring a hat-trick against West Brom in the Carabao Cup but we’ve not seen the best of him since.

Aubemeyang missed a gilt-edged opportunity from just a matter of yards out in the win over Newcastle last weekend and on Thursday night in the defeat to Manchester United, he was sloppy again.

The striker was fortunate to find himself offside at one moment in the second half, having his blushes spared after missing a tame opportunity when one-on-one with David De Gea following a cross into the area.

There was a sheer lack of conviction to his game and that was typified late on in the match. Gabriel Martinelli drove forward with youthful enthusiasm, taking several United players out of the equation.

However, after finding the club captain and making a darting run into the penalty box, Aubameyang ignored the young Brazilian and instead struck a tame effort right at the goalkeeper.

We are so used to seeing a ruthless finisher inside the 32-year-old but it’s got to a point where if Arsenal are going to have any chance of finishing in the top four, they need to sign a goal scorer. Dusan Vlahovic anyone?

The Fiorentina livewire has been sensational this term and while being linked with a move to the Premier League, has scored 14 goals already in 2021/22.

A devastating finisher like the Serbian would surely go down a treat at the Emirates, especially when you consider the elusive nature of Aubameyang.

He was the very definition of enigmatic on Thursday evening, not only squandering chances to score but failing to press or hold the ball up in a pretty lethargic performance. It was Martin Odegaard who gave away the decisive penalty but it may not have been so crucial had his colleague leading the line turned up at Old Trafford.

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Come full time, the attacker had registered just 28 touches of the football, which was 19 fewer than goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Furthermore, the Gunners talisman only registered 14 passes and won a mere 33% of his physical battles as he was bullied by Harry Maguire and co.

On this evidence, Arsenal need an upgrade, and they need it quick if they are to have a successful season. Aubameyang has offered plenty to this team down the years; he’s won them an FA Cup final and scored some devastating goals but it might just be time to move on.

At the moment, Arteta is clearly being let down by his main man.

Sunderland’s previous League One outing saw them comfortably beat Morecambe 5-0 thanks to goals from Ross Stewart, Nathan Broadhead, Alex Pritchard and Leon Dajaku, making it the second league game of the season where they’ve managed to put five goals past their opponents with the first being their 5-0 victory over Cheltenham Town back in September.

With the January transfer window on the horizon, Sunderland have the opportunity to add even more firepower to their squad after a recent report from The Northern Echo claimed that Lee Johnson is “considering recalling Jack Diamond and Josh Hawkes from their respective loan spells in order to increase his options in the second half of the season.”

Taking into account how many injuries Sunderland have at the moment, particularly in the defensive areas, Johnson could have the mindset of overpowering their opponents in an attacking sense, in the same way they did with Morecambe, to make up for their defensive weaknesses, which could make it a smart move to have the likes of Diamond and Hawkes at his disposal again.

In 12 League Two appearances for Tranmere Rovers, Hawkes has managed to score one goal and provide two assists whilst playing in a number of different midfield and attacking positions.

For Diamond, he has racked up five goals and four assists in 17 appearances for Harrogate Town across League Two and the FA Cup.

This shows why Johnson reportedly wants the duo back at the Wearside club in January to see if they can continue their good starts to the season back at Sunderland and help the Black Cats win promotion back to the Championship.

If Johnson can guarantee Diamond and Hawkes regular playing time back at Sunderland for the remainder of the season, then Kyril Louis-Dreyfus should definitely bring them back in case his squad are struck down with any more injuries that could be a setback for their promotion hopes.

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Providing the duo do return in the winter and are able to have a positive impact on the team and their results moving forward, this would be a massive boost for the fans who would undoubtedly be thrilled, especially if the team manages to secure promotion.

In other news: Johnson could solve major SAFC predicament by unleashing “terrific” 21 y/o sensation – opinion

A number of Liverpool supporters have bemoaned an update on Divock Origi, as he allegedly only has six months remaining on his current deal.

The Belgian is an undoubted Reds legend, despite not always being a regular starter during his time at the club.

Origi has produced some of the most iconic moments of Jurgen Klopp’s reign, famously scoring twice against Barcelona in the Champions League in 2019, not to mention netting in the final win over Tottenham in the same year and of course bagging that infamous winner against Everton at Anfield.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

The 26-year-old has also been hugely influential in this season’s title race, most recently against Wolves earlier this month, but according to the Mirror‘s David Maddock [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], his contract expires next summer.

It is an update that seems to have taken some by surprise given that he signed a new deal in 2019, but Transfermarkt’s data also seems to support Maddock’s claim, noting his deal is to 2022 but with a performance-based option.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-14/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans bemoan Origi update

These Liverpool fans reacted negatively to the update on Twitter.

“He deserves at least another 3 years”

Credit: @LFC_marti

“Really??? Thought it was like 2023 or 2024?”

Credit: @LewYNWA

“Wait what?”

Credit: @chasin_mo

“Christ I thought he signed a five year deal after the CL final”

Credit: @lfcj__

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“Renew it please”

Credit: @AnfieldOpinion6

“Awww come on we’re suffering enough now without more bad news”

Credit: @seanbaillie91

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming at another rumour that has emerged. Read more here.

After a disastrous defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday night, Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa will be hoping for an immediate reaction when his side take on Arsenal at the weekend.

The Whites fell to a 7-0 thrashing at the Etihad, and the Leeds manager admitted that his team “have never played so badly in these four years.”

Bielsa could be tempted to make some big changes against the Gunners even with the current injury crisis, and one man who he should seriously consider axing is Jack Harrison.

The winger finally signed on a permanent deal in the summer, and while it would be far too easy to suggest his performances have slipped off as a result of signing on the dotted line, he certainly hasn’t shown anywhere near enough this season.

In fact, in the 14 Premier League games that he has played this season, he is yet to score a single goal, while he has only provided one assist.

With the likes of Raphinha and Patrick Bamford having spells out on the sidelines due to injury at different points of the season, Harrison had the perfect opportunity to grasp the mantle and lead from the front.

Instead, the former City ace has been a shadow of his former self, and it appears he is really struggling for one thing in particular.

Speaking in late October, former Scotland boss Alex McLeish said: “I would put it down to confidence. No player wants to go out and not perform. Maybe he’s trying too hard.

“That is a real killer in any sport, when an individual loses confidence. Him and Leeds are going through a bad run. Leeds have lost that wee bit, last year they were winning one week, the next week losing.”

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With Arsenal on the horizon, and coming off the back of a woeful defeat, Bielsa could spark some life into this Leeds team by making some big calls, starting with Harrison.

The £13.5m-rated star could do with being taken out of the firing line.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing a move for this South American star…

2021 has been a year filled with joy for Rangers fans as they ended a long wait for a top-flight title with their success last season.

Steven Gerrard guided the Gers to glory to end Celtic’s domination of Scottish football, before heading off to Aston Villa in November of this year.

He was then replaced by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who has won seven of his eight matches in charge of the club in all competitions. This has left the Gers heading into Christmas top of the league table and eight points clear of the Hoops as it stands.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Dutchman will be able to carry on his fantastic start to life in Scotland by winning the Premiership and going far in Europe in 2022, but it is safe to say that 2021 has been a fine year for those assossiated with the club.

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Take our big, bumper, Rangers quiz of 2021 and see if you can get 100% – only true die-hards will!