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Sunderland fans have been reacting after Chris Maguire scored for the club’s U23 side against Burnley on Monday.

The Black Cats hosted the Clarets in the Premier League 2. The score ended up being 3-0 to the home side, and Maguire was on the scoresheet. The victory now means the Wearside outfit are up to ninth in the Group 2 table with 24 points from 18 matches (flashscore.com).

To see Maguire playing at this level may seem unusual. After all, he is 32 years of age and has appeared 29 times in League One already this term, scoring four times and providing five assists (Transfermarkt). However, he has not started a match in the third tier since December 12th of last year, against Wigan, and he is therefore clearly in need of some match practice as we approach the end of the campaign.

The news of his goal was shared on Sunderland’s official Twitter account, and the fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

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

“Imagine my shock”

Credit: @RyanC2408

“The king has spoken”

Credit: @SAFCAcademy

“shock”

Credit: @kylesafc_73

“THE KING IS BACK”

Credit: @KINGMAGUIRE1

“Fantastic Chris but please save one for an important league game!”

Credit: @Squealer66

“Baffles me why he’s even playing in this game. He should be in the first team.”

Credit: @CameraChris79

In other news, Sunderland fans love this club video.

Southampton have been linked with a move for Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham ahead of the summer transfer window and, if he were to join Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, he could be the dream successor to Danny Ings.

According to Eurosport, Southampton and West Ham have both enquired about signing the 23-year-old in the summer, as he has found himself on the fringes of the Chelsea squad since Thomas Tuchel arrived as manager.

The report suggests that the Blues will try and sign Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland in the summer, which would free up Abraham to leave, and Southampton could then look to bring him to the south coast.

Hasenhuttl’s side could find themselves without their own talismanic striker in the near future, with Ings yet to agree to a new deal with the Saints and his current contract set to expire at the end of next season.

It has been reported that the former Liverpool man would be keen to move to a club which can offer Champions League football next season, and considering Southampton’s woeful form in 2021 so far, it seems as if he will have to achieve that with another Premier League club.

Therefore, if he were to leave, Southampton would desperately need to bring in a replacement who can score goals, with Che Adams suffering a crisis of confidence in front of goal at the moment, his barren streak currently standing at 15 games.

Abraham has shown himself to be an excellent goalscorer in his time in the Championship and the Premier League, as he was prolific with both Bristol City and Aston Villa in the second tier before being given a chance under Frank Lampard in the top-flight.

He has 30 goals and 12 assists in just 80 appearances for the Blues but has fallen behind both Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud in the pecking order under Tuchel, whilst the potential arrival of Haaland could unfortunately spell the end for his time with the west London club.

Despite starting just 12 games in the top flight this season, Abraham has still managed six goals, whilst he also has six goals in other competitions, so clearly knows where the back of the net is.

Back in 2019, Rio Ferdinand compared the youngster’s impressive performance against Lille in the Champions League to Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, and if he could produce performances like that on a consistent level with Southampton, he would surely prove to be a very good signing indeed.

Therefore, if Southampton cannot convince Ings to sign a new deal, then perhaps they should turn their attention towards the £36m-rated Abraham, as he could be a superb replacement for the 28-year-old striker in Hasenhuttl’s side.

And, in other news… Silver Lining: Key Southampton injury blow can be the making of 21 y/o Saints beast

Writing on Twitter, West Ham United have confirmed a new deal for number one shot stopper Lukasz Fabianski until 2022 – prompting many Irons to flock in excitement to this news as the Poland international decides to extend his stay in east London. 

Fabianski, who is manager David Moyes’ first choice in between the sticks for West Ham, has now opted to remain at the London Stadium until the end of next season.

The 35-year-old’s deal was set to expire upon the conclusion of 2020/2021, but his one-year contract extension means he will remain a Moyes player for the foreseeable future.

West Ham have a real opportunity to clinch European qualification this season, with Fabianski’s new deal meaning he could be along for the ride if Moyes’ men make it.

Flocking to this news, Fabianski’s decision to sign on has prompted much excitement – with one Iron even calling it ‘amazing news’ – the shot-stopper has been superb since joining from Swansea in 2018.

Find all of their best verdicts down below.

West Ham fans erupt at Fabianski new deal

“Amazing news”

Credit: @whuLeo

“Yesssss”

Credit: @whufc_lewis

“Fantastic news just need a quality back up”

Credit: @Ramsgatehammer

“Absolute no brainer. Stability in a position we’ve not had stability in for a long time.”

Credit: @CraigLewis1990

“Big for us, he has been solid”

Credit: @JakeWilliam0502

“Great news, don’t know why people keep discussing bringing in new GKs when he’s performing perfectly fine”

Credit: @henry_hh_95

“Beautiful stuff. Another year of the polish prince”

Credit: @ReganEveringha1

“Great news. Still a fantastic keeper, as we saw against Leeds on Monday. COYI”

Credit: @DJBazMati

In other news: West Ham are eyeing this starlet, find out more here.

Speaking exclusively to FootballFanCast, Dean Windass has touted Brentford striker Ivan Toney as someone Aston Villa should look to be signing.

The 24-year-old has proven to be a striking revelation over the past couple of seasons, bagging an incredible 24 times in just 32 matches for Peterborough.

And, after making the move to Brentford in the summer, Toney has just hit the ground running at his new club, and he’s already fired in an impressive 16 goals in just 23 games for the Championship side.

Now, speaking to FFC, Windass has suggested that Dean Smith’s Villa could be a perfect destination for the centre-forward.

He said: “He’s a prolific goal-scorer. He’d fit Villa. He’s got the other boy from Brentford obviously (Ollie Watkins) who’s done well. It’ll be interesting to see the transfer window this year, in the sense of how many teams are going to pay big money. But yeah, he would be good for Villa.”

Given how well he has already made one big step up from League One to the Championship, the £9m-rated Toney himself would surely be confident of taking that final leap to Premier League level.

And judging by how Villa’s own former Brentford striker Watkins has done in his short time at Villa Park thus far, there’s no reason why Toney wouldn’t be able to follow suit.

The 24-year-old is supremely confident in his own abilities, even going so far as to saying that he’s got similarities with former Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

He said: “I’ve always liked Zlatan. I just love his confidence.  Some people see it as arrogance but you must be like that to succeed. I’m similar to Zlatan in both my confidence and the way I play. When he wants to do something, he just does it. I have some of that in my game and personality. And I believe I’ll be a Premier League striker.”

If Toney develops into half as good of a centre-forward as the mercurial Swede, then Villa absolutely would do well to heed Windass’ suggestion and make a move for the Brentford man.

Meanwhile, Villa are making a major transfer mistake…

When Marcelo Bielsa muttered last week that he was happy with his Leeds squad in January, it was disappointing to hear.

Of course, the Daniel James and Jean-Kevin Augustin sagas tell you that United don’t tend to do business too well in January but they need recruits.

The Whites missed out on Michael Cuisance in the summer who failed a medical at Elland Road and despite lacking options in the middle of the park, are unwilling to think of alternatives.

Though, with Rodrigo going off with an injury against Leicester on Sunday, it only proved why Victor Orta needs to head back into the market for a central player.

Mateusz Klich has been hopelessly out of form lately and has scored just once since the opening weekend of the campaign. Noel Whelan thinks he’s been drifting through games and the very fact he’s now started two games in a row on the bench says a lot.

The Pole is usually the first name on the team sheet and has failed to start in the league under the current manager on just three occasions. Combine Bielsa’s dwindling trust in Klich with the fact Rodrigo is struggling in English football and is now injured, Leeds simply have to be active on deadline day.

One midfield player they’ve been linked with recently is Barcelona’s Riqui Puig. The Spaniard has seemingly patched things up with Ronald Koeman after a falling out but with minimal game time being the subject of Puig’s season, a move to Leeds would be perfect for all involved.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-leeds-transfer-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Leeds news!”]

The 21-year-old is a magician on the ball and if anyone typifies a Bielsa player, it would be him. The youngster is composed in possession, completing 89.6% of his passes this term. For context, that’s higher than every single outfield player at Leeds.

For Puig, football is an art form and he possesses an abundance of creativity. His 1.7 key passes per game in the Champions League this season is bettered only by Klich and Jack Harrison in the Whites’ squad.

At just 21, the £25k-per-week Spaniard has the world at his feet and you only need to consult words from former Italy international Gennaro Gattuso to understand that.

He said: “Riqui Puig is a spectacle, to see boys who still have a child’s face and how they treat the ball is something that amazes me, they feel football inside and it’s something like poetry. I’ve heard them talking about him for some time, it’s something you can’t cut and paste into another club.”

Those are special words and with Leeds licking their wounds in the middle of the park, they desperately need another playmaker. With Rodrigo now injured, Puig is their man.

AND in other news, Bielsa must start to unshackle rarely-seen Leeds gem, Phillips says he’s “really good”…

If there was one guarantee about how Leeds United’s first season back in the Premier League would be like, then it would have been about how entertaining life would be.

And boy have the Whites served up some real treats this season. The last two games in the top-flight alone have seen 15 goals in total, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side thrashing Newcastle 5-2, before receiving a taste of their own medicine with a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United.

That heavy defeat at Old Trafford may have left Bielsa pondering about making some changes to his starting eleven for the clash against Burnley, and below is a look at just how Leeds might line up.

In front of regular number one Illan Meslier, the likes of Luke Ayling and Stuart Dallas (the latter two of course being Leeds’ goal-scorers against United), should all keep their place, whilst Liam Cooper’s injury might finally see Diego Llorente get his chance.

One change Bielsa might consider making to his back-line is unleashing Leif Davis – the 20-year-old came off the bench at Old Trafford, and could bring some energy and drive in his more usual left-back slot.

Further forward, the Leeds boss may also be tempted to start Pablo Hernandez from the off. The Spaniard rather unsurprisingly has only been sparingly used, what with him now being 35, but with Rodrigo not really hitting the ground running at Elland Road, could give the Whites that extra bit of creativity and cutting edge.

Predicted XI: Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Llorente, Davis; Phillips, Hernandez, Klich; Raphinha, Bamford, Harrison.

Many Everton fans have flocked to the transfer news involving Tariq Lamptey that recently emerged on social media.

The Athletic have recently reported about Everton’s interest in Lamptey, saying that the Toffees are one of the clubs keeping tabs on the Brighton star. The report claims that despite the fact Lamptey has signed a new deal at the Amex Stadium-based side, it hasn’t put off the likes of Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City.

The report states that Brighton handing a long-term contract worth £40,000 per week to Lamptey means he won’t leave this month. Brighton though, won’t stand in Lamptey’s way if any suitable offer arrives for him in the future.

Lamptey has impressed for Brighton this season, contributing to four Premier League goals . He has been the club’s third-best player in the Premier League campaign. Even in the 2019/20 season for Brighton, he had picked up a pretty good rating of 6.84 for the Seagulls.

Lamptey has also been linked with a move to Bayern Munich and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. When the youngster signed a new contract with the Seagulls, Graham Potter said:

“We knew his potential when we signed him a year ago, and hoped he would have a really positive impact on the club, and that has proved to be the case with his performances since June.

“He has been the model professional, he works exceptionally hard, is a humble lad and is a team player. He fits in with everything we would want from a player, now it’s about helping him reach his potential.”

The update about Lamptey involving Everton was relayed on Twitter by the Toffee Blues. Many Everton fans talked about the news.

What did Everton fans make of this news about Lamptey?

“Him or Aarons I’d happily take.”

Credit: @richjsaunders28

“Would be a fantastic acquisition. Can see him replacing Kyle Walker, personally.”

Credit: @WatchedToffee

“Boss player would love him at Everton.”

Credit: @OrmandyJohn

“I’d happily take him.”

Credit: @lucaswalsh__”He’s gotta be number 1 target for right back in the summer. If we can’t get him we’ve gotta get Max Aarons.”Credit: @ToffeeTalkEFC”Baller.”Credit: @FootballHlbIn other news, Everton fans have been discussing an update about a club target – read more here.

West Brom chief Luke Dowling could deal their top-flight relegation rivals an almighty blow this January…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Baggies are eyeing up a move for Sheffield United centre-back Rhys Norrington-Davies, who has been impressing out on loan at Luton Town.

Burnley are also said to be keen on the 21-year-old Welshman, so three of the Premier League’s bottom four could be thrown into a tug-of-war over his future.

Norrington-Davies is primarily a left-back but can play further forward and also in central defence whilst his form for the Hatters this season earned him his first international cap. He started both of Wales’ UEFA Nations League matches in the latest break.

Relegation blow

Albion currently hold the unwanted record of being the leakiest side in the Premier League so far this season, conceding 18 goals from their opening nine matches. That’s an average of two per game and is only matched by Fulham.

Bolstering the left-back spot could be a good place to start – when Conor Townsend is starting over Kieran Gibbs, you know it’s a troublesome position.

The Daily Mail’s ‘Secret Scout’ has been to watch him, and said (via YorkshireLive):

“[Norrington-Davies is] a tall, powerful player, he is difficult to shake off the ball when he moves forward.

“He has the build of a central defender and perhaps he may settle there.

“He looks an excellent competitor and for the present, he seems better equipped for an orthodox left-back role.”

As per WhoScored, the Saudi-born Hatters loanee has averaged 1.4 clearances, 1.1 tackles and 0.8 key passes each game in the Championship this season.

You’d imagine that if the likes of West Brom and Burnley are eyeing a move, then the Blades must be considering a recall to Chris Wilder’s first-team, especially with them likely to be embroiled in this relegation battle into the New Year too.

Nathan Jones has also waxed lyrical over his loan star, dubbing him a “wonderful player” who was “the best about” in his search for a left-back in an interview with Luton Today.

Maybe the Baggies could do with an “upbeat character” such as Norrington-Davies.

Dowling should do all he can to sucker-punch their nearest rivals.

AND in other news, West Brom dodged a financial nightmare with £65k-p/w summer target…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former England international Rob Lee has claimed Saints chairman Jisheng Gao and a missed opportunity at Southampton.

Lee is clearly impressed with the job that Ralph Hasenhuttl has done with the South Coast club in recent seasons and suggests that the club should be backing the Austrian in the transfer market, to help them push on even further.

Southampton appointed the 53-year-old in December 2018, and he has helped transform the Saints from potential relegation candidates into European hopefuls this season, as they currently sit fifth in the Premier League ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Here’s what Lee had to say about Hasenhuttl when speaking exclusively to FFC…

“The thing it depends on is the owner. If you were a Southampton fan or a football fan, and you saw him long term at Southampton, then you have to do that [back him in the transfer window], because he’s done an unbelievable job.

“They got smashed 9-0 [just over] a year ago, and everyone thought he was going to be sacked. They are good to watch, they score goals, and I think he’s got some awesome players.

“Ward-Prowse has come on leaps and bounds. If you look at the players they’ve sold over the last 10 years, it’s been unbelievable.

“They’re still competing and they’re competing very well this year. They’re not going to be anywhere near the bottom. If anybody is playing against Southampton now, they know that they’re in for a game, they know that they could beat them.

“Again, talking about owners, if the owners think ‘I’m fed up of this’, then he’s not going to really invest money for him, so it depends on who runs the club.”

Lee seems to credit Gao for not rushing into a decision over Hasenhuttl when the Saints were thrashed by Leicester City last year, in a result that saw them drop into the relegation zone.

However, he also suggests that the Austrian manager should be backed financially in the upcoming transfer window as if he is allowed to strengthen his squad, there is no telling where this Southampton side could end up.

Considering Hasenhuttl has been touted as a potential replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, Gao and the other members of the Southampton board should definitely consider backing the 53-year-old in the winter transfer window, as that could prove to be a huge factor in whether or not he wants to stay should another side come knocking.

And, in other news… Final piece of the jigsaw: Hasenhuttl set to be handed a huge boost with club decision on £70k-p/w leader

Speaking exclusively to FootballFanCast, Steve Howey has claimed his former side Newcastle should have signed Southampton star Danny Ings.

The England international enjoyed a sparkling campaign last year for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, netting 22 Premier League goals and finishing joint-second in the race for the Golden Boot, with Leicester’s Jamie Vardy taking the crown with 23.

When asked by FFC’s James Beavis about which summer signing from another club Newcastle should have made themselves, Howey said: “I don’t think it was this summer in fairness, but I know for a while, a long while, I was singling out Danny Ings. I thought Newcastle could have benefitted from somebody like him. I think Steve McClaren was the manager, and having a quick conversation with Steve, I think the fee was something like £12m and they were quite happy to pay that. Then it went up to £15m, and it was a case of we’re not paying that fee for him.

“For me it would have been him. Having said that, I was really pleased with Callum Wilson. I’ve always liked Callum Wilson, and I like Josh King. But as I said, I think Danny Ings would have been the one.”

Wilson’s start to life on Tyneside has been a very encouraging one, with the former Bournemouth man bagging four goals in six games – the exactly same amount as Ings.

The latter however, appears to have moved up the pecking order at international level, with England manager Gareth Southgate calling him up for the recent friendlies and Nations League clashes.

Valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, Ings could have been a real marquee signing for the Magpies. But as Howey himself points out, Newcastle have still got a very good striker in the shape of Wilson.